What if our economic woes were really about something we can’t bear to consider?

What if our economic woes were something symptomatic about a deep dysfunction many Americans refuse to contemplate. What if Thomas Friedman has it about right when he suggests that our infinite growth model inevitably leads to environmental/economic hell?

Let’s today step out of the normal boundaries of analysis of our economic crisis and ask a radical question: What if the crisis of 2008 represents something much more fundamental than a deep recession? What if it’s telling us that the whole growth model we created over the last 50 years is simply unsustainable economically and ecologically and that 2008 was when we hit the wall — when Mother Nature and the market both said: “No more.”

We have created a system for growth that depended on our building more and more stores to sell more and more stuff made in more and more factories in China, powered by more and more coal that would cause more and more climate change but earn China more and more dollars to buy more and more U.S. T-bills so America would have more and more money to build more and more stores and sell more and more stuff that would employ more and more Chinese ...

We can’t do this anymore.

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How to spot religion in science clothing

How can you easily spot religion in science clothing? According to New Scientist book review editor Amanda Gefter, look for these code words:

  1. Scientific Materialism
  2. The invocation of Cartesian dualism
  3. Misguided interpretations of quantum physics (also a "New Age" giveaway)
  4. The terms "Darwinism" or "Darwinist" (scientists refer to "evolution" and "biologists")
  5. Referring to natural selection as "blind", "random" or an "undirected process"
There's also a censorship story within this story. Click the above link for more.

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Handy list of transition fossils: seven missing links for handy reference

I've often wished that I had a short list of impressive transition fossils handy for the next time a creationist claimed to me that there were no such transition fossils. Well, here's the list I've been looking for, published by the National Geographic. The first fossil on National Geographic's list is the especially compelling find, Tiktaalik, the "fishopod."

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Here’s what often happens when you try to videotape police.

Here's what often happens when you videotape police. The priest who tried to videotape this incident eventually got his camera back, which is more than you can say for many other folks who have tried to photograph law enforcement officers in public places. Here's a related post dealing with threats of arrest for taking photos in public places. And be careful when you consider blogging about your First Amendment rights, especially when arrogant judges get wind of it.

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