Science: The Tipping Point?

Warawa's Wank, aka M408, or the Motion to Pretend Conservatives Give a Shit about Women, is a classic political gotcha.

Frame an anodyne sentiment in such a way as to make it difficult to oppose. When critics try to expose it for the sham it is, the trap is sprung!

'Gotcha! You support discrimination against females! You are in favour of sex-selective abortion! SHRIEEEK!'

Cue up the video editing machine and commence production of attack ads.

So as this pig-ignorant government muzzles scientists, shuts down world-renowned research facilities, and just generally behaves like illiterate vandals, we thought a science-related gotcha! from the Fucking Useless Opposition® would be fun.

Look! The FUO put their pointy little heads together and came up with one all on their own. This past Wednesday, Kennedy Stewart (NDP, Burnaby-Douglas) put forward this modest proposal.

That, in the opinion of the House: (a) public science, basic research and the free and open exchange of scientific information are essential to evidence-based policy-making; (b) federal government scientists must be enabled to discuss openly their findings with their colleagues and the public; and (c) the federal government should maintain support for its basic scientific capacity across Canada, including immediately extending funding, until a new operator is found, to the world-renowned Experimental Lakes Area Research Facility to pursue its unique research program.

Basically: a) science good, b) communication good, and c) please, pretty please throw a little interim dough at ELA.

The facty-sciency version of mom's apple pie, yes? Who would vote against that?

Who’s against science, open communication, and very modest funding for basic research? Every Conservative MP. parl.gc.ca/HouseChamberBu…

— Dan Gardner (@dgardner) March 22, 2013

Every single one of the blockheads running this country including creationist chiropractor and Minister of (Destroying) Science and Technology, Gary Goodyear, and former bingo-caller and Minister of (Destroying) the Environment, Peter Kent, voted against it. And the Prime Sinister himself, of course.

Doesn't your maple-leaf imprinted heart swell with patriotic pride?

I keep whinging asking: Where is the goddam tipping point? When will people wake up to the fact that, in the words of co-blogger deBeauxOs, 'Toxic Harper killing everything that is Canadian?

Is this it? Dunno, but here are some relatively new initiatives that look like a good beginning: Unmuzzled Science, Evidence for Democracy, Science Uncensored and Death of Evidence.

Check them out. Get involved.

Pretty please?

Attempted Gotcha Gone Wrong

A resolution has been reached in the case of the pregnant Texas teen suing her parents who were allegedly pressuring her to abort.

To the surprise of absolutely no one, the judge ruled in the girl's favour.

But I'm not sure it's the propaganda victory the fetus fetishists envisioned.

They obviously thought they were being oh so clever in using Roe v. Wade in yet another braindead attempted gotcha.

But look what they wind up saying.

“This is a tremendous victory, and another life has been saved,” said TCDL (Texas Center for Defense of Life) attorney and President Greg Terra. “Our victory today stands for the principle that ‘choice’ goes both ways. Under Roe v. Wade and post-Roe cases, a teenage girl has the absolute legal right to choose life, even over the strong objections, pressure, and punishments of her parents.”

Yes, indeedy, as sane people have known all along, choice does go both ways.

Ijits.