What's New -- Bob Park -- Friday, January 5, 2007


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Topic: Science > Physics
User: "Sam Wormley"
Date: 05 Jan 2007 07:04:55 PM
Object: What's New -- Bob Park -- Friday, January 5, 2007
What's New -- Bob Park
Friday, January 5, 2007
http://bobpark.physics.umd.edu/WN07/wn010507.html
1. THE JUNKMAN: EXXON USES MILLOY TO DOWNPLAY GLOBAL WARMING.
The Union of Concerned Scientists released a report on Wednesday
describing Exxon Mobil's efforts to manipulate public opinion on Global
Warming. In doing so the report further exposes the role of Steven J.
Milloy, the notorious "Junkman" who wrote Junk Science Judo (CATO,
2001), and a column for Fox News. WN reported a year ago that Milloy,
who masquerades as a fearless debunker of bad science, in real life
works for oil and tobacco giants (WN 3 Feb 06) .
2. AGE: DOES THE PARK SERVICE KNOW HOW OLD THE GRAND CANYON IS?
Somewhere between six thousand and six million years is as close as
they can come. The six million year figure comes from adding up the
ages of the geologic strata exposed on the canyon walls. You get six
thousand years by adding up the "begats" in the Old Testament until you
get back to Noah. So which is it? Three years ago, bookstores in Grand
Canyon National Park began selling "Grand Canyon: A Different View,"
approved by the Park Service. The book explains that runoff from Noah's
flood carved the canyon (WN 2 Jan 04) . A promised review of whether
the book should be sold in the Park stalled "over issues of church and
state." Whoa! Geology is not church or state, it's science. Mary Bomar,
Director of the National Park Service since October, should be called
on to keep this silly religious tract out of National Park bookstores.
3. VALUES: SO WHAT DOES THE CONSTITUTION SAY ABOUT TAKING OATHS?
The new Congress began on a note of monumental unimportance: the first
Muslim elected to Congress, Keith Ellison, took the oath of office on
the Koran (or is it Quran). The person who acquitted himself
professionally was the rare-books librarian at the Library of Congress,
Mark Dimunation, who came up with Thomas Jefferson's personal copy of
the Koran for Ellison to use. Rep. Goode (R-VA) objected that an oath
on the Koran would violate "traditional American values." The
Constitution requires an "oath or affirmation" from the President, but
two presidents, Hoover and Pierce, chose to affirm rather than swear.
"Swear not at all," Jesus said. "Yes should mean yes, no should mean
no."
4. TERRORISM 2007: PAT ROBERTSON HAS BEEN TALKING TO GOD AGAIN.
During a recent prayer retreat, God told him that a terrorist attack on
the U.S. late in 2007 will result in a "mass killing". Robertson
relayed God's message to "The 700 Club" on Tuesday. "The Lord didn't
say nuclear, but I do believe it will be something like that." "I have
a relatively good track record," he said. "Sometimes I miss." It's not
clear whether God mumbles, or Robertson takes poor notes, but maybe in
the future he could take along a recorder. He once asked God to unleash
hurricanes on sinful Florida, but if sin leads to hurricanes, Florida
has been sinful since they began keeping weather records.
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