This National Geographic video on cockroaches is fascinating by its own rights, but the quote at the 30 second mark sounded like information that might apply to more than a few of the annoying people in the news: "The cockroach doesn't really have a brain per se, but it has instinct and a ferocious desire to survive and reproduce."
Peter Daou argues that the anti-environmentalism espoused by the political right wing is not only wrong-headed; it is dangerous:
Of all the wrongheaded ideas proudly trumpeted by America's right, anti-environmentalism occupies a unique position: it is at once the most devoid of a rational or moral foundation and the most dangerous. It is selfish, crass, illogical, willfully blind, a denial of the undeniable reality that humans are pillaging irreplaceable natural resources and spewing filth into the air and water and soil at unsustainable rates. Green-bashers stubbornly negate what is directly before them. There is no moral imperative underlying their belief (or lack thereof). It's about unbridled hostility at the suggestion that we must all make shared sacrifices. It's about refusing to acknowledge that the environmental movement has been right to sound the alarm. It's about laziness. And greed. And irresponsibility. And colossal shortsightedness. Green-bashing exposes the rot at the core of modern conservatism.The reason this conservative attitude toward the environment is dangerous is that it would leave us unprepared for the quickly approaching transition from oil to post-oil. It would be an economically and socially dangerous transition even if we planned well for it. I've argued before, and I still maintain, that the right wing uses its anti-environmentalism as a badge of group identification (among other things). In short, I don't believe that most right-wingers are truly against the green positions that they publicly disparage. I'm not convinced that most right-wingers have actually thought their positions through (e.g., most conservatives don't realize that there's only enough oil in Alaska to run the U.S. for six months, which makes "Drill Baby, Drill palpably absurd). I believe that when conservatives shout down green positions, they are actually shouting up their membership in the right-wing herd. But how can someone take a policy position contrary to the facts without a straight face? See the Dunning-Kruger cognitive bias, which refers to the fact that "people reach erroneous conclusions and make unfortunate choices but their incompetence robs them of the metacognitive ability to realize it." Thus, many people are ignorant of the fact that they are ignorant, thus freeing them up to pontificate to others and to run for Congress in good conscience. We're surrounded by this, and we're fed "news" media stories that flout this conflict pornography (featuring know-nothings shouting at people who do know something) in order to sell commercials. Note that self-critical fact-finding and careful analysis is not treasured anywhere in this process. See also, this earlier post on tortucanism.
Not very well. If you haven't yet seen the following video featuring Jamie Oliver (part of his extremely well-executed six-part "Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution" television series), you are in for a treat. Oliver has a genius for making the life-or-death issue of nutrition engaging.
I'm really getting tired of progressive organizations sending me emails with disturbing headlines, colorful call to action links and THIS: No links to any independent information that would allow me to really understand whether the organization's claim is true. If the problem concerns pending legislation, send me a link to the legislation so that I can verify the problem myself. If the claim is the supposed existence of a dangerous food or drug, send me a link to a neutral site so that I can go read about the alleged problem myself. I am not persuaded by circular links back to your own unsubstantiated claims -- I don't care how many times YOU make the claim on your own pages. I want reassurance that it is true before I take any action at all. I'm not going to write to Congress just because you give me a scary headline and tell me to. I sympathize with many (not all) progressive causes, but I will never simply take it on faith that I need to write my Congressional reps just because an organization tells me to (even an organization that has been somewhat credible in the past). Do you hear me, Move-On, and all you others out there? Do you think that your followers are stupid? sheep? Stupid sheep? Come on. If you've got a legitimate cause that needs attention, provide us with the means to independently verify your claims. For many years, I've seen this tactic used in many right-right calls to action. For example I receive link-less material such as "Click here to write your representatives because OUR public schools won't allow students to voluntarily pray at recess!!" It's a shame to see this tactic spreading to so many progressive organizations, however. It is a disreputable tactic meant for people without brains.
Hate = total lack of empathy. At least that's how I define it. That's what I see in this incredibly disturbing photo. Once you understand what happened to this woman, it is all the more disturbing.