Displaying 31 To 53 Of 53 Comments WATCH: Vice Special Report: Killing Cancer Although I’m only an occasional visitor, I’m very sorry to hear about KQuark. At my age, I understand that we are mortal, but cancer (with it’s debilitating treatment before the end) is not a nice way to go. I’d prefer a massive stroke. As I approached my MS degree in Physics, decades ago, I was hired by the University Medical School Biochemistry Department even before the degree was finalized. Odd, how many openings an MS in Physics offers. I took the job (presumably to oversee a ‘molecular physics’ lab in the near future), however, not being a ‘Doctor’, I was put ‘under’ an older, tenured professor. My ‘boss’ was a wonderful man. He was a protein chemist. Within a week or two, I attended a ‘journal club’ and asked such penetrating questions of a graduate student of the Department Chair, pointing (without actually ‘pointing’) to the logical flaws in the thesis she was proposing, that my boss called me into his office. He let me know that I was absolutely correct, however none of the Department members had the guts to point out those flaws. Apparently, we were ruled by a ‘little Hitler. My boss and I struck a harmonious chord. He valued basic research and encouraged and gently guided his graduate students and post-docs. I became very much interested in protein chemistry, and my boss entrusted me with the job of making sure the work of several of his graduate students was ‘up to snuff’. I worked with the students, made sure their experimental design was rigorous, and helped them reduce and present the data. Eventually, I developed a love for teaching, and left my nest (after becoming certified, with most courses at the graduate level) to teach in High School. However, during my stint at the Med School, I learned a bit about funding. First, in those days, most research was publicly funded (NSF, etc.) However, there were a few ‘New Turks’ who learned to tap drug companies for grants. They were valued by our ‘Hitler’ because they brought in extra revenue to the Department. However, the ‘research’ that generated these funds often involved ‘proving’ that the patented drugs of the grantor had some ‘activity’. By ‘activity’, I mean that the drug had some potential to ‘manage’ a disease, not cure it. The primary objective of a drug company is to make money. They can do this by treating the symptoms of a disease, but not by curing it. To put drug companies in charge of ‘medical research’ simply guarantees a sick populace dependent upon their products. Cancer cells lose control. They forget how to control their replication rate, and forget how to become cells like the tissue that spawned them. The ‘cure for cancer’ lies in understanding the chemical/molecular reasons for this loss of control, not in the search for ‘active’ drugs. With today’s medical research now in the hands of drug company grants, the necessary basic research will not happen in our country except by accident. I hope the positive news given in this article is a boon to us and our neighbors. In our current society, I fear it will not benefit most of the people. I mourn for KQuark. He did what he could, and that makes him a great citizen. Please let his family know that his contributions were appreciated far beyond the circle of those who knew him in person. » Posted By Daedalus On March 4, 2015 @ 6:13 pm The Bubbling Cauldrons in Ferguson and NYC Copy away, MonicaAngela. And, discuss at length. I wish I could be there to share in the communal insight. I wish there was a way for you to let me know the result. As for ‘brilliant’, I’m blushing (as a male). I really think that term needs to be reserved for AdLib (our blog’s lifeblood), who seems to have the ability to skewer hypocrisy and bullpucky with humor in a most adroit way. Thanks for your note of support. » Posted By Daedalus On September 30, 2014 @ 9:51 pm Your piece resonated. Not long ago (upon the death of jazz bassist Charlie Hayden), I ‘refreshed my memory’ before writing a column piece for our local newspaper. I did this by playing some his work (and political statements) in the ‘Liberation Music Orchestra’. In that group, Hayden was the ‘leader’, however Carla Bley was an important arranger. I began to learn a LOT about the state of our race relations. First (of course), there was the fact that Hayden (Midwestern white kid with a country music background) was picked up by Ornette Coleman (Black, avant-garde). I understood that part, because I followed jazz in the late 50’s and early 60’s. It was understood that music was the great equalizer. JJ Johnson played for Stan Kenton, I could walk into a dive on E. 55th st. in Cleveland Ohio, and listen to Dizzy Gillespie. If you loved the music, you were accepted, no matter your race. But, then, I began to research a track on the last Liberation Orchestra recording, because I found it fascinating. I wanted to learn to play it. It was a segment of a piece called ‘America the Beautiful’ (given that this was a protest album, irony might have been intended) called ‘Lift Every Voice and Sing’. I soon discovered that the tune was a hymn, and, from the comments, it was considered to be the “black national anthem” I was amazed, because, as a music style, it was so European. Yes, it was a bit more complex than most hymn tunes (which is why it attracted my attention), but there was NOTHING (musically) that suggested African roots. I doubted the authenticity of the “Black National Anthem” claim, but then discovered that the tune was written by an African American, John Rosamond Johnson, a successful song writer in NYC, who supplied the music to a poem written by his brother. This happened in 1900, over a century ago! Let my explain and expand. The poem and tune were written less than 50 years after the American Civil War that freed those of African origin from slavery (and, a particularly cruel version of slavery that consigned the children of slave to be slaves, as well… a FAR more heinous institution that that of either the Greek of Roman era). In that short time, one brother became a respected academic (though in a Black college), and the other became a songwriter in New York that wrote for both black and white audiences (and wrote a particularly powerful hymn tune, now in the official Episcopal songbook). The ‘European’ nature of ‘Lift up every voice and Sing’ is explained by the fact that the mother of those two boys taught them that European culture was to be emulated and valued. About the same time, “the blues” was discovered by Handy in the Mississippi delta region. Handy was also an African American who led a band that played for both white and black audiences, and he only (at first) played ‘white’ music, because that was all he knew. Being a black southerner, however, he toured, primarily, black southern venues and (it is said) did a ‘gig’ in a tiny corner of the delta, where he was asked.. “Hey, I really like your music, but why don’t you play any of ours?’ He responded, ‘What’s yours?’, at which point a number of local musicians assembled and produced what he considered to be the strangest assembly of major and minor chords he had ever heard. Handy wrote (for his band) a tune that encapsulated that music in the song, ‘St. Louis Blues’ And, the acceptance of that new music was so rapid during the ‘Progressive Era’, that, by the end of the 1920’s, ‘American popular music’ became distinctive BECAUSE of it’s integration of African and European elements. Let me recap. Within 60 years of the Civil War, African Americans had accepted (and emulated) the European culture of white America, and those of European heritage had discovered (and emulated) the musical culture of those few African Americans who had preserved their musical culture. In other words, a CENTURY ago, we were on the verge of mutual ethnic admiration and a melding of black and white. WHAT HAPPENED!! I really don’t know, but it seems our country is sliding rapidly back into the 19th century. » Posted By Daedalus On September 29, 2014 @ 5:13 pm The Court Ruling that Could Kill ACA Kinda like orange. It tastes good. » Posted By Daedalus On July 5, 2014 @ 5:54 pm Yep. Sorry to say, it may be the inevitable option unless our masters wake up from their Randian wet dream. » Posted By Daedalus On July 5, 2014 @ 4:02 pm Excellent information, Murph. Your thumbnail political history seems to be similar to mine. I, too, ‘liked Ike’ in my youth. His ‘cross of iron’ speech is a masterpiece. I now live in Tennessee (pretty red, I’d say), but I’ve lost so much faith in the Dems (corporately owned almost to an equal degree) that I would never say that I have a Blue agenda. I have, instead, a Populist agenda. Perhaps we need our own color. Not ‘green’, that brand has been tarnished and the focus was too narrow. As Kermit said, “It’s not easy being green”. Not ‘yellow’, that just invites mockery. Perhaps ‘violet’, a cross between red and blue. That could give the impression of a ‘middle ground’, but I didn’t mean THAT red, I meant Red, which is where I think I stand (somewhat to the left of Democrats, but not quite at the utopian fringe). Anyway, thanks for your research. » Posted By Daedalus On July 5, 2014 @ 3:58 pm Repubs Back Forcible Legislation on Women Why not? AdLib is a true American hero for holding a rear-guard as our civilization crumbles. (Sorry to be so cynical. I hope I’m wrong, but only time will tell.) » Posted By Daedalus On July 12, 2013 @ 6:54 pm What a hoot! YOU ARE GREAT! I love your pieces, and wish I had more time to contribute to this site. Unfortunately, my septuagenarian brain is fading fast. And (as I disengage from my local responsibilities) I’m not sure I will ever have the energy to productively contribute. But, I do love your stuff, and I appreciate, very much, your effort on behalf of so many of us. » Posted By Daedalus On July 12, 2013 @ 6:09 pm The good news, Kalima, is that Barr only heads the DOJ. In my experience, a bureaucracy is staffed by people who consider their politically appointed ‘head’ to be a temporary inconvenience. An outfit as large as the DOJ will be slow to change (in any direction). The ‘rotten apple at the top’ can only do so much, and it may take a decade or two for the good apples (if they exist) on the bottom to become infected. My hope for the next AJ is Preet Bharara. » Posted By Daedalus On August 24, 2019 @ 8:05 am All of the antebellum slaves (including women and children) were guaranteed a job. Most of them didn’t like that system. » Posted By Daedalus On August 24, 2019 @ 7:52 am Thank you, again, for this clear exposition. I’m “copying and pasting” this to our local email network. Graphs (as you use) are far better than tables of numbers for the analytically literate, however our general populace has been so indoctrinated (or poorly educated) that they eschue numbers in any form. I fear the impact of the graphs on most folks will not be as powerful as they ought to be. Also, thanks for your prodigious efforts in general. Here’s hoping this site gathers more and more viewers. » Posted By Daedalus On September 19, 2011 @ 4:24 pm Game Changer? Cold Fusion? At Least We Should Know Soon I gotta say, K, I’m probably more skeptical than you (probably because I’m older). With a BS in astronomy (particularly emphasis on stellar astronomy) and an MS in physics (several offers to be a PhD student under two different prof’s),a stint in the research unit at an AEC installation and, finally, a secondary level teaching career in the physical sciences, it’s hard for me to wrap my head around such a spectacular failure of the laws of thermodynamics. It’s even more difficult to believe that the fusion of atomic nuclei can be attained without the energy needed to strip outer electron shields in order to allow those nuclei to react. Can there be that much energy stored in a catalyst? This is highly unlikely. Yep, we’re trained to recognize that every so often (Kepler, Einstein, Josephson, etc.) a completely new perspective emerges. Still, it will take a lot of hard, peer-reviewed data to convince me. » Posted By Daedalus On August 17, 2011 @ 4:23 pm We Are Morally Bound to Take Care of Each Other I love Giroux’s work. Sadly (or maybe happily) he has moved to Canada (last I knew) and a society that still has some tolerance for rationalism. » Posted By Daedalus On July 9, 2011 @ 3:46 pm BREAKING: Sun Rises, Trump Proud Brilliant!! » Posted By Daedalus On April 28, 2011 @ 4:33 pm GOP Economics – How to Become Taller by Digging Holes First, thank you for this contribution and your herculean efforts at establishing this blogsite. Your avatar is exactly the way I feel about the direction our country has taken (and, thus, the world that surrounds me here in the United States). However, I still feel you are a bit too optimistic. As a person with a science background, I’ve developed a profound respect for inductive reasoning. In a nutshell, induction (as opposed to deduction) gives precedence to observation and prediction. As a result, I consider “trickle down” supply side economics to be proven nonsense. However, apparently not only have Americans lost all respect for inductive logic, they are equally unconcerned about glaring deductive inconsistencies and seem to have an infinite ability to accept any drivel they are fed as a matter of faith. In fact, they will probably make perfect slaves. » Posted By Daedalus On April 12, 2011 @ 4:45 am Tea Party Ingredients: Old Hateful White Males on Social Security Thank you, AdLib. If only we could discover that cure. » Posted By Daedalus On April 15, 2010 @ 3:38 pm There is a big difference between scientists and engineers. Scientists try to build mental models that allow us to better predict and describe what we experience. Engineers try to build cool stuff (they would say that they use the models developed by science to solve “practical problems”). The people who invented white phosphorus were engineers, not scientists. » Posted By Daedalus On April 9, 2010 @ 12:54 am PROGRESSIVES AND THE DEMOCRATIC PARTY Hey, you have a full-time job HERE! I was hoping to stimulate some of our other correspondents. I’m retired on SS and a small pension, and my little house has no mortgage, so I guess that makes me “independently wealthy”. The lobbying part takes several days a week, which is hard for working folk. I did it for a few years, and it was actually fun, but it did get expensive driving to the state capital, buying lunch and parking. The County Executive Committee part only takes a few hours a month (a bit more at election time), and this is the truly important part of the effort. The lobbying only provides a bit more education. Since I’m almost officially poor, I don’t contribute much in dollars to the Party, but I DO concentrate my efforts and donations at the local (county) level. » Posted By Daedalus On February 13, 2010 @ 5:40 pm Cherny: » Posted By Daedalus On February 13, 2010 @ 4:50 pm New Populist Group – Vote For Your Favorite Names! Hmmmm… Perhaps Drew Weston or George Lakoff would have been a better choice. But you gotta admit, Norquist has been effective. » Posted By Daedalus On February 13, 2010 @ 5:23 pm Sadly, none of the folks we are trying to reach ever heard of Upton Sinclair (sorry to be ‘elitist’, but Sinclair’s works, which may have been formative to my politics, were well-known 60 years ago). Don’t get me wrong, “Main Street” isn’t awful. I just think we can do better and we should carefully consider the audience we are trying to reach. No business on my Main Street even comes close to 500 employees, and even so the business owners identify with “Main Street”, but the employees don’t. » Posted By Daedalus On February 13, 2010 @ 5:14 pm Sounds better than Main Street… Would agree. I think the name is VERY important, and we might need Grover Norquist to find out what’s good (LOL)! » Posted By Daedalus On February 13, 2010 @ 5:03 pm Bravo to this effort! I’ve been trying to pry the populist outrage of the “teabaggers” away from the Republican Party for several months, now, in my columns. » Posted By Daedalus On February 13, 2010 @ 10:25 amComments Posted By Daedalus
As for Dawkins, he’s a bit too pompous and sure of himself to make a good scientist, but he might be an excellent engineer.
I think the key lesson of Part 4 is NOT merely internet activism, but rather we should take over the Democratic Party. From my brief experience (less than 10 years), it’s not that hard to do. First, go to a few county Democratic functions. You will probably find that the Democratic Executive Committee is BEGGING for folks to represent their districts, so volunteer! Yep, become a politician!
It might also help if you spent a little time trolling the halls of your state legislature, perhaps as a volunteer lobbyest for some socially responsible group. This takes more time, since it will require your becoming informed on the issue you choose and being helpful to the legislators, and it well take a few years before they will trust you. Nevertheless, you will ALWAYS be welcome in the offices of the representatives of your county, for a start, and your issue will resonate with at least a few of the Progressive politicians that you will discover (so you can help them out as well). This will give you some idea what you are up against, but will also teach you where to attack and how to negotiate. It will also (sadly) reveal more than a few enviro. groups that succumb to corporate ideas and others who use progressive angst for fundraising and are not interested in substantive change.
I can say that our Democratic Executive Committee is in the hands of Progressives. Unfortunately, our Democratic U.S. Congressman (as a “Blue Dog”) ignores us at present, but we are at least in a position to back more progressive candidates in local elections, and I think we have a good shot at the County Mayor (top executive position) this fall.
All that said, it isn’t a cakewalk. It requires getting down and dirty, not just talk. It requires hundreds of hours of unpaid duty. If you value democracy, though, isn’t it worth the effort?
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However, I’m a bit concerned by the use of “Main Street” in the mission statement for several reasons. The term appeals to the few remaining small busniss men and women who still exist, not most folks who are employees of larger companies. It is narrow and exclusive (not the right tone for a Populist movement).It also leaves out rural residents (I being one, although I usually support in-town merchants, although not the Chamber of Commerce they all seem to revere). It’s a cliche, and Obama may think it works, but it’s becoming a bit cloying to me.
I would suggest that the words “The People” replace “Main Street” in both the mission statement and in the suggested organizational names. “The People” is expansive (big tent) and congers images of our early (revolutionary) history.
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