All posts by Chris

call your representative, demand a debate

Community & Activism, Government, Iraq

The time has come to open the debate on Iraq again.  How?

With 218 signatures on a petition called House Resolution 543, regular business in the House of Representatives must stop and a 17 hour debate on the Iraq war must immediately begin. The debate will require that Congress consider and vote on all amendments offered as alternatives to the Bush administration’s policies in Iraq.

What can you do?  Call your congressperson and urge him/her to sign HR 543.  There are 98 signatures so far, so we’re almost halfway there already.  (Deb, your rep already signed.  Yay!)  I’m calling Susan Davis today, and if you know me you know how much that means.

brother astronomer

Philosophy, Religion, Science

What do you call a Jesuit brother who was trained at MIT, splits his time between Italy and the (oxymoronically named) Vatican Observatory in Arizona, and wrote a well-received amateur astronomy book?  You call him Guy Consolmagno, apparently, or Brother Guy.  I just heard a fascinating interview with him on CBC’s Quirks and Quarks podcast, and his views on science and religion are well worth hearing.  I just wish we could hear even-handed ideas like his from the Vatican more often.

i can’t help loving The Onion

Fun, Government, Humor, Iraq

From the most recent Onion:

Donald Rumsfeld is under pressure to resign, first by a cadre of retired generals, now by Senior Democrats for his handling of the war. What do you think?

Young Woman
Danielle Bennet,
Daycare Provider
“As a daycare provider, I sympathize with Rumsfeld. 2,500 kids die on your watch and suddenly you’re not qualified to do your job?”

you must read Red Lightning

Fun, Literature, Science fiction, Space

This weekend I read Red Lightning, John Varley’s latest page-turner. I stand by what I said about Red Thunder, its predecessor:

It’s a fantastic read, the kind of book that would be written by the mutant prodigy love-child of Varley, Robert Heinlein, Carl Hiaasen, Spider Robinson, Douglas Coupland, Neal Stephenson, and Carl Sagan.

You must read this book. If you won’t take my word for it, listen to Cory Doctorow:

There are few writers whose work I love more than John Varley’s, purely love — but now that I’ve finished Red Lightning, I love his stuff even more.

Go get it. Now. Why are you still here?  [Special thanks to Ted for lending me his copy before he read it himself.]