America has lost its greatest chronicler and oral historian. Please take some time and listen to Stud Terkel's radio programs on his Web site . I…
Read moreIn today's issue of Science , I write about two papers--one published this week in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences , the oth…
Read moreJohn McCain has displayed spectacular ignorance of science during this election campaign, first when he ridiculed spending on understanding bear gene…
Read moreIt's pouring rain today in Manhattan, where I am having a little down time with my family, but Sunday was picture perfect. This blog does like to…
Read moreCould there be a bigger joke than John McCain calling Barack Obama the " Redistributionist -in-Chief? " This is the guy who has voted again…
Read moreI am sure most readers of this blog have read the numerous news stories about problems with voter registration lists, voting machines, etc. that are …
Read moreFrank Rich's column in today's New York Times is mandatory reading for anyone who wants to understand why McCain is going to lose this elec…
Read moreIt's going to be interesting to see how this story plays out over the next few days. Did anyone in the McCain campaign, even at a lower level, pu…
Read moreI'm worried that someone is going to get hurt as Republicans rush to be among the first in their party to endorse Obama. Since Colin Powell gave …
Read moreIt was inevitable that the pundits would weigh the "risks" and "benefits" of Obama taking time out to visit his gravely ill grand…
Read moreBut I forgive him. Afterthoughts (Oct 21): This post was intended to be somewhat facetious, but one commenter (see Comments below) took me to task o…
Read moreThe pundits are all over the significance of today's news, which I think will be huge. I would just add one thought: Powell's calm, dignified…
Read moreFrom today's New York Times . Is anyone paying attention? T he Department of Defense has identified 610 American service members who have died as…
Read moreYou probably know this already, but it's always nice to have photographic evidence. Now, if Colin Powell would just... Update : He did, he truly…
Read moreIt is only rarely that I disagree with Glenn Greenwald, but I have to take issue with his slam in Salon today of the New York Times ' profile o…
Read moreWith profuse thanks to Josh Marshall at Talking Points Memo.
Read moreIn today's New York Times , we are treated to the umpteenth article about the so-called "Bradley effect": The possibility that some vo…
Read moreIt's science time again! Today my partner on Science 's anthropology beat, Ann Gibbons, and I pull a double whammy with two important stories…
Read moreI was just watching CNN while eating my lunch, and saw them do something that totally amazed and outraged me. They were inviting the audience to emai…
Read moreCould there be a better time for an economist ( now ) sympathetic to Obama to win the Nobel Prize? I don't think so! Let's hope that Krugman …
Read moreThe New York Times has an important story today about Andy Martin, an apparently unbalanced anti-Semite who nevertheless has managed, beginning in …
Read more"When we consider what, to use the words of the catechism, is the chief end of man, and what are the true necessaries and means of life, it appe…
Read moreI've been waiting to comment on Tim Dickinson's hit piece on McCain in Rolling Stone , "Make-Believe Maverick," until I had a chan…
Read moreThe New York Times reports today that law enforcement officers in Chicago will no longer evict residents from foreclosed properties. The move was a…
Read moreThe Adler Planetarium in Chicago released this statement today (with thanks to DanO for alerting us to this on Marc Cooper's blog .) It is an ex…
Read more9:17 PM-- I would say that both candidates are off to a shaky start. Obama is struggling to make his own points while fighting off McCain's atta…
Read moreNote that Betty was elected in the midst of the Great Depression.
Read moreSome Obama supporters are debating the wisdom of "dragging out" the 1990s Keating Five scandal at this point in the campaign, in the form o…
Read moreAlthough I have shifted my focus to archaeology and human evolution in recent years, I served for a long time as Science 's backup man on AIDS co…
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