Reflections From a Murky Pond

I live in NYC and we’re experiencing yet another snow storm. This one promises to be interesting since it will supposedly involved “mixed precipitation” – that would be rain, sleet, and snow all together – and increasing winds throughout the day and evening.

A hard day for any us who had to go into work and a hard day for any of us, et al, to stay warm. That being the case, I’d suggest that as many of us as possible enjoy some hot chocolate today.

Heidilicious Hot Chocolate!

In my personal and rarely humble opinion I’d say that the above constitutes some truly hot chocolate and would keep just about anybody warm on a day like today.

These absolutely delicious images of Heidi Klum are from her and the renowned photographer Rankin’s 2009 book, Heidilicious which they created during Heidi Klum’s pregnancy.

And, if hot chocolate doesn’t work for you or if it just isn’t quite enough, you could always try some Warm Milk.

On Rumors: How Falsehoods Spread, Why We Believe Them, What Can Be Done

This is the latest book – it’s actually more of a monologue – by Cass Sunstein, President Obama’s new Regulatory Czar. In it Obama’s new chief of the White House Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs calls for the end of free speech in this new, Internet Age.

This is, due to Sunstein’s new job,  cause for worry.

In his monologue Sunstein contends that rumors threaten democracy by undermining public confidence in government, though he admits in the opening pages of On Rumors that there is no good definition for what constitutes a rumor.

What can we do to protect ourselves against the harmful effects of false rumors? As we shall see, part of the answer lies in recognizing that a ‘chilling effect’ on those who would spread destructive falsehood can be an excellent idea.

~*~

There is no settled definition of rumor, and I will not attempt to offer one here.

– Cass Sunstein
On Rumors, Pg 5

Mr. Sunstein admits that there is no adequate definition of rumor that he could use in his treatise, but wants the government to enact a “chilling effect” on rumors on the Internet – as a start no doubt. Later in work he claims that he is not calling for censorship, but thinks that there’s too much freedom of speech on the Internet.

Any marketplace requires standards and ground rules; no market can operate as a free-for-all. It is not obvious that the current regulatory system for free speech — the current setting of chill — is the one that we would or should choose for the Internet era.

– Cass Sunstein
On Rumors, Pg 78

That “setting of chill” within the current regulatory system for free speech was defined in the 1st Amendment of the US Constitution, a document that Cass Sunstein is obviously not particularly fond of.

It should also be noted that Sunstein contextualized his work with references to Obama’s campaign and the work was little more than a threat against Conservative websites.

Since President Obama installed Sunstein in a position to carry out that threat, Sunstein must be classed as a clear and present danger to America’s liberty and freedom of speech.

When the man that President Obama hand-picked to head the agency in the federal government that reviews draft regulations under Executive Order 12866 and develops and oversees the implementation of government-wide policies in the areas of information technology, information policy, privacy, and statistical policy is afraid of freedom of  speech – especially on the internet, the seeds of tyranny have been well and truly planted – in the fecund soil of Obama’s government.

It seems that President Obama has found in Cass Sunstein the perfect Hierophant for his Ministry of Truth. One is forced to wonder, if one is American,  how long we have before Inquisition begins.

The Mystery of Life’s Origin: Reassessing Current Theories

The Atheists really hate this book because it scientifically approaches Intelligent Design and the statistical improbability of evolution of cellular life by random chance. This is especially true of Eugenie Scott, PZ Myers, Richard Dawkins, and their ilk, who are theologically invested in a Godless universe.

But why do these Atheists hate the work of the authors: Charles B. Thaxton, Walter L. Bradley,  Roger L. Olsen so much? They hate and despise their work, The Mystery of Life’s Origin: Reassessing Current Theories, because in it these three scientists show the inherent  implausibility of life spontaneously arising from non-life. Atheists like Scott, Meyer, and Dawkins are far more comfortable attacking religions and religious beliefs than they are defending their pet theories and postulates against scientific inquiry.

This book offers an excellent scientific analysis of important data related to the theory of evolution. It is – or should be – a seminal work for the theory of intelligent design since it scientifically critiques the Atheists’ prevailing paradigmatic theories of chemical evolution. It doesn’t so much criticize Darwinism as it does criticize the very underpinning of the initial evolution of life on Earth, something that is a prerequisite for the Darwinian mechanism of evolution to happen.

The volume as a whole is devastating to a relaxed acceptance of current theories of abiogenesis. It is well written, and, though technical, much of the book is within the reach of the informed non-scientist. The book apparently has been well received by many who are working in the field of abiogenesis, such as Dean Kenyon and Robert Shapiro.

– James F. Jekel
Dept. of Epidemiology & Public Health
Yale University School of Medicine

Be forewarned though; the authors are distinguished scientists holding advanced degrees in chemistry, materials science, and geochemistry and the book, while very important and quite interesting, is not an easy read by any stretch of the imagination and truly requires a firm grounding in chemistry to fully appreciate.