Governor Palin shot off a joke line yesterday that revealed her dangerous ignorance of and disdain for science (you know, that irritating reality stuff).
In order to fund programs for special needs children she proposes slashing earmarks for, well, in her words:
Sometimes these dollars they go to projects having little or nothing to do with the public good. Things like fruit fly research in Paris, France. I kid you not!
jforman has a post that demolishes this attitude since fruit flies (and other critters) are extremely relevant for the basic research that affects human health and many other things - including genetic diseases that have a lot to do with why some people have special needs.
Click on the link. You can learn a lot from jforman's article; I did.
Of course, I enjoy learning about the world I live in. I suspect the Governor of Alaska does not.
Ignorance and lack of intellectual curiosity combined with power makes for a very dangerous combination (cf. George Walker Bush).
--the BB
6 comments:
Amen, Paul... and by all accounts I've seen, McCain is her equal in intellectual curiosity. Now I know intelligence and wisdom are two different things, but curiosity, asking questions, looking for not only the what but the why and how answers seems to me to be one of the main failings of the Bush43 Presidency. That and surrounding yourself with cronies and people who work you harder than Edgar Bergen worked Charlie McCarthy.
Nice to see you here, Bishop.
Curiosity is the key. I don't require a brilliant president (though it would be a lovely change) but I do want one who is always listening, looking, learning, asking questions, and seeking a deeper and broader understanding. People with curious minds tend to be less arrogant and much more interesting. I quite prefer them. For almost anything.
To be expected from the "killa from Wasilla".
Love the Modigliani, Paul. :-)
Thanks for noticing the artwork in the sidebar, Abinas.
Been admiring it for a while... Noticed it a few weeks ago but maybe it had been there for months!
Abinas, what an interesting name.
As for Gov. Palin, OY! I just posted something related after reading your post (I had coincidentally been working on something on religion and science) and one of the things I noted was that this woman does not realize where her lipstick comes from. It took a bunch of science research to get it to be the right color and consistency and to get the right kind of packaging. Yeesh. Our Lady of the Negative Fruit Flies.
A curious president. Now there's a thought.
Fruit flies - essential to all kinds of research because of their short life cycle. She's so clueless! Scary.
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