What were they thinking?

What were they thinking?

There were lots of ways to make it to the inauguration festivities. You could brave the crowds on the metro. You could take one of the eerily empty buses heading downtown. It took ten minutes to drive across town, since cars were scared from the roads. Entire families bundled up to cycle on the trails to the national mall.  Read more

Day of service—for Science

President Kennedy once famously declared Washington, DC a city of “Southern efficiency and Northern charm.” Something happened the last few days. Despite the crowds, people have not only been amazingly civil, but outright friendly—strangers strike up conversations, locals take the time to point out-of-towners in the right direction. I’d be happy if this relaxed courtesy courteous lingered but I suspect it might be due to the influx of people from more polite locations—not to mention what I’ve observed to be the euphoria-inducing effects of Obama-mania.  Read more

Gearing up after the election

Gearing up after the election

Here in Washington DC, a heavily Democratic city, there was undeniably a sense of jubilation on the streets after the election, such as this spontaneous celebration at 14th and U. And yesterday while I cycled home I saw something rare in front of the white house: a street musician.  Read more

Slippery on stem cells

John McCain is not talking straight about stem cells in these last days of the campaign. In the last presidential debate he emphatically voiced his support for “stem cell research.” Given that he conveniently left off the word “embryonic” that’s kind of like emphatically supporting the right of Joe the Plumber to hire a publicist.  Read more

Word Watch

When I turn on the TV to election events, I’m sensitized to the term ‘Science’. Bill Clinton said ‘Science’ in his speech at the Democratic national convention, referring to an ‘assault on science’ by the Bush administration (hey! Cool! He said ‘Science’!). Obama said it, once, in his acceptance speech.  Read more