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Even on sites where comments are actively screened — like Nytimes.com, where moderators either post or reject submissions — people who think evolution is bunk are generally permitted to voice their view, often to be shouted down by others; for some readers, following such comment threads is part of the fun. But Popular Science and other publications do not have the resources to moderate all comments, so personal attacks and other bits of ugliness can slip in.

Still, the move to silence what many online readers consider a digital town square has ignited a burst of reaction from bloggers and commentators on science and the media, as well as editors at other science magazines. Many sympathized with the feeling that a Wild West of uncouth, illogical commenters can infect the tenor of discussion.

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– http://www.nytimes.com/2013/10/01/science/comment-ban-sets-off-debate.html?ref=todayspaper

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“The House speaker, John Boehner, won’t bring “a clean C.R.” — that is, a continuing resolution without any of the anti-Obamacare language — not because it won’t pass, but because it probably would, which would infuriate the Tea Party wing of his party and jeopardize his leadership post. Indeed, as Boehner well knows, many House Republicans do not want the government to shut down and would probably vote for the Senate’s clean bill if given half a chance. Their unwillingness to speak out against the extreme faction in their party is shameful. And it’s tragic that, at a time when the House desperately needs a strong speaker, it has John Boehner instead.”

– http://www.nytimes.com/2013/10/01/opinion/nocera-those-banana-republicans.html?ref=todayspaper

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Arcade Fire – Here Comes the Night Time

Directed by Roman Coppola. Featuring ‘Here Comes The Night Time,’ ‘We Exist,’ and ‘Normal Person’ from the new album REFLEKTOR out Oct 29th.

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Financial markets have long treated U.S. bonds as the ultimate safe asset; the assumption that America will always honor its debts is the bedrock on which the world financial system rests. In particular, Treasury bills — short-term U.S. bonds — are what investors demand when they want absolutely solid collateral against loans. Treasury bills are so essential for this role that in times of severe stress they sometimes pay slightly negative interest rates — that is, they’re treated as being better than cash.

Now suppose it became clear that U.S. bonds weren’t safe, that America couldn’t be counted on to honor its debts after all. Suddenly, the whole system would be disrupted.

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– http://www.nytimes.com/2013/09/30/opinion/krugman-rebels-without-a-clue.html?ref=todayspaper

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Above all he approves of the First Amendment to the US Constitution, which states that government can “make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof.”

Historically, many of these provisions were introduced in order to head off the danger of violence in the name of religion, though they function nowadays mainly to protect small churches and cranky sects that pose no real threat to anyone. But their real justification, according to Dworkin, has nothing specifically to do with religion: there is no special right to religious freedom, but only what he calls a “general right to ethical independence” – or, to put it differently, a restraint on any government activity based on the assumption that one conception of the good life is superior to another. He admits that it may be hard to decide what this principle implies, but has no doubt that it rules out any attempts to criminalise homosexual acts or early abortions, outlaw same-sex marriage or force schools to teach intelligent design.

Dworkin’s secularist defence of religious freedom is thus not as paradoxical as it might seem: for him, it is no more than specific application of a purely secular right – the right to “ethical independence”. But he puts a double lock on his doctrine with an argument to the effect that, strange as it may sound, religion should not be defined in terms of belief in God, and that secular atheism of the kind he espouses should be treated by the law as a form of religion.

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– http://rationalist.org.uk/articles/4313/wrong-in-the-right-way

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“Over the course of her study, she found measurable trends towards openness to counter-attitudinal ideas just by switching the “like” or “recommend” button with “respect.” It became clear that people were much more likely to click on opposing view points with the “respect” button in place, and in fact, it lead to more interaction in the comments section in general. For example, in a comments section with eight comments, people clicked “recommend” an average of 1.5 times, while they clicked “respect” an average of 1.8 times. “You wouldn’t like a comment that held a totally different view than your own, and I understand why,” she says. “It sounds like you support of it and approve and agree with it.” Respect, on the other hand, is more neutral and doesn’t carry connotations of concurrence. Websites like the Huffington Post and Tampa Bay Times are toying with using positive phrasing like “amazing” or “inspiring” on their buttons. And while those words skirt the direct affirmation of “like”,” they do little to spread the idea of respectfully disagreeing.”

– http://www.wired.com/design/2013/09/can-you-design-a-website-to-encourage-readers-to-consider-a-different-point-of-view/

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We’ll refrain from deliberately sabotaging the global economy, Speaker John Boehner and the other leaders said, if President Obama allows more oil drilling on federal lands. And drops regulations on greenhouse gases. And builds the Keystone XL oil pipeline. And stops paying for the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. And makes it harder to sue for medical malpractice. And, of course, halts health care reform for a year.

The list would be laughable if the threat were not so serious. A failure to raise the debt ceiling would cause a default on government debt, shattering the world’s faith in Treasury bonds as an investment vehicle and almost certainly bringing on another economic downturn. Unlike a government shutdown, a default could leave the Treasury without enough money to pay Social Security benefits or the paychecks of troops.

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– http://www.nytimes.com/2013/09/27/opinion/a-republican-ransom-note.html?ref=todayspaper

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But the problem of overweight dogs cuts across breeds. More than half of American dogs are overweight, according to the Association for Pet Obesity Prevention, an organization founded by a veterinarian to draw attention to the problem. And in dogs, as in people, extra weight is linked to diabetes, arthritis and high blood pressure as well as kidney and respiratory diseases.

Reducing calorie intake is part of the solution, veterinarians and pet behaviorists say. But diet without exercise isn’t enough. So dogs have been hitting the gym for fitness programs at kennels and pet spas around the country.

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– http://www.nytimes.com/2013/09/26/garden/roll-over-fat-chance.html?ref=todayspaper

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