Category: Miscellaneous

Should coal states boycott New York City?

New York City Michael Bloomberg declared war against coal states last week by donating $50 million to the Sierra Club’s effort to stop coal-fired electricity generation. Will coal states and their residents take this lying down? Continue reading Should coal states boycott New York City?

Poll: Gambling an infectious disease?

Which of the following is not like the others?

  • Gambling
  • HIV
  • Smallpox

If you picked “gambling”, you’d be out of step with the journal The Lancet Infectious Diseases which is apparently trying to medicalize politically incorrect social behavior with this new study. BTW, HIV and smallpox were the subjects of the other two stories spotlighted in the journal’s media release.

What do you think?

‘Cold as hell’ may be accurate sentiment, study says

Expressions like “cold as hell,” “snowball’s chance in hell” and “cold day in hell” may be more/less accurate than previously believed, according to a new study in Nature. Continue reading ‘Cold as hell’ may be accurate sentiment, study says

Finger length linked to ALS?

Ringer finger length has been “associated” with amyotropic lateral sclerosis (ALS or “Lou Gehrig’s disease”), claimed British researchers in the May 9 online edition of the Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery and Psychiatry.

But before you started looking at your fingers with too much concern, be aware that there seems to be no particularly sound biologic reason for looking at ring finger length in the context of ALS. Accordingly, one could collect any 100 people, measure their body parts and report a host of correlations between body part size/type and any disease. But correlation does not equal causation — that’s basic junk science judo.

(h/t Mitchell in Houston)

Obama postures about $4-gallon gas at a $35,800 per plate fundraiser

At a $35,800-per-plate Democratic fundraiser last night in California, President Obama slammed “climate change deniers” and postured about the high price of gas:

“Right now we’ve got $4-a-gallon gas, and most of the people under this tent don’t have to worry about that. But for the average person who has to drive 50 miles to work and can’t afford to buy the [$100,000] Tesla, it’s hammering them. It’s hurting them,” Obama said, according to a White House transcript that notes the Tesla comment drew laughter.

Obama also said,

“But I don’t think there’s any doubt that unless we are able to move forward in a serious way on clean energy that we’re putting our children and our grandchildren at risk.”

If he was really worried about “children and grandchildren,” then he be more concerned about the “average people” who are raising those kids.