Alberto Gonzales at UF

Despite my (continued and unresolved) anger that they invited him in the first place, I'm proud of the UF student body for protesting the criminal's speech.

Also check out the Alligator's article and their video of the protests.


Go Gators!

You have got to be shitting me

Alberto fu%*ing Gonzales is getting paid $40K to come speak at my beloved UF?!?!?!?

Alberto Gonzales to speak at UF
By KIM WILMATH, Alligator Staff Writer
Thursday, November 8, 2007 1:38 AM EST

Alberto Gonzales, the former U.S. attorney general who resigned in August, will speak at UF on Nov. 19.

Student Government records state Gonzales was paid $40,000 for his speech at UF, which is the first college appearance since he resigned, said Steven Blank, Accent chairman. Accent, SG's speakers bureau, is sponsoring the appearance.

The speech will take place 7:15 p.m. at the Phillips Center for the Performing Arts, stated a press release from Accent.

The event has been in the works for a few weeks, Blank said.

Free tickets will be available for students with Gator 1 cards on Nov. 14 and for the general public Nov. 15 at the Phillips Center and the University Box Office, the release stated.

Blank said he expects a full house.

In 2005, Accent brought another former state attorney to UF - Janet Reno.

The show was so successful that the bureau jumped at the chance to host Gonzales, Blank said.

Gonzales was appointed the first Hispanic attorney general in February 2005 and later played a role in President Bush's fight in the war on terror after Sept. 11.

Gonzales resigned in August after a controversial tenure.

Gonzales faced scrutiny over his leadership of the Department of Justice in 2006, after he dismissed nine U.S. attorneys.

The White House administration said the dismissals were solely based on performance.

Gonzales called the issue "an overblown personnel matter."

However, some officials have said that the Bush administration was trying to politicize the justice system.

Questions were raised about whether Gonzales testified truthfully about the National Security Agency's abuse of surveillance programs.

Bush denied the accusations against Gonzales.

Meanwhile, Democrats cheered his resignation.

Bush appointed Peter Keisler as acting attorney general Sept. 17.

Gonzales wasn't the only high-level official to resign during Bush's second term.

Gale Norton, Bush's former secretary of the interior, resigned in March 2006. Andrew H. Card Jr., former chief of staff, resigned the same month.

Norman Mineta, former secretary of transportation, left in June 2006.

Why Did I Choose UF?

Did I choose UF for its academic rigors? Its location and subsequent sunny warm weather? Its amazing atheletics?

No.

I chose it for its "other" talents:

"There's absolutely a lot of talent here," said Georgiou, who has been shooting for Playboy for 18 years. "We always have at least one girl from each school featured in the pictorial. But usually we take three or four from UF."

;-)
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Technorati tags: Humor

Gators: National Champs, Yet Again

Yeah, baby!

Go Gators! Go Gators! Go Gators! Go Gators!

Go Gators! Go Gators! Go Gators! Go Gators!

Go Gators! Go Gators! Go Gators! Go Gators!

It is so sweet to be here in Gainesville right now. The smell of charred nuts (buckeyes, not testes), stale vomit, and victory is once again in the air, as on January 8th:


It is indeed great to be a Florida Gator.
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Technorati tags: Sports

Homeless Shelter Locale Approved

So the city commissioners finally decided on a place to put the homeless shelter -- 3335 N. Main Terrace (MAP). I've mentioned the issue here in Gainesville before, and I sincerely hope this does something to alleviate human suffering. Recently, some students tried to stage a camp-out in the Plaza area, in protest of the plight of the transients in Gainesville, and were forcefully removed, only the latest in a long series of efforts to raise awareness and concern.

The center, named the GRACE Marketplace, will contain beds, showers, phones and laundry facilities. Social services, including budgeting help, legal aid, drug intervention and vocational training, will also be offered.

About $1.4 million will be spent per year in aid and services.

To me, the only responsible city policy is one in which panhandling is outlawed...IF you have a city-run shelter that will provide basic needs for those people panhandling. If you don't have such a shelter, then it is morally reprehensible to kick people off the sides of the roads (or arrest them) for trying to get money that may or may not be used for food and survival.

I think the former option is the most humane and intelligent solution -- panhandling is bad for everyone involved, and those who wish to give to the homeless now have a central location to find them and an associated charity (and responsible, accountable administration over it) to give to.
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Technorati tags: Politics

In Which it is Necessary to Defend (one more time) Science from Religious Kooks

Bernie Machen was disappointed that his buddy Jeb didn't get an honorary sheepskin from UF. You know why he didn't, Bernie?

Because of dumbass moves like this one: presiding over the appointment of a young-earth creationist idiot politician, Cheri Pierson Yecke, who was basically fired from her previous job for trying to corrupt the science education of Minnesotan schoolkids (only through the hard work of these guys), as CHANCELLOR of Florida's state K-12 education!!! Had Jeb made any effort, whatsoever, to cleanse Florida's state education of incompetent boobs and fanatical religious right puppets, perhaps he would've earned the esteem of a degree from Florida's flagship university...

...then again, I doubt he had a GPA of 4.0 and an SAT of 1300, so he doesn't deserve it anyway.

Guess who will be fending off the drooling cretinists this time around? You know who.
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Technorati tags: Intelligent Design, Evolution, Creationism

UF Walkout for Peace on 3/20; Red Dawn Analogy

Activism:

Join the UF Walkout for Peace with the Students for a Democratic Society in Gainesville. See the Facebook event for more, and use it to invite friends. For me, it doesn't impact any classes or anything, since I'm a grad student.

On that note, I read a very poignant take on Iraq, using the comparison to the film Red Dawn, by Jim Downey. His major point is that rightwingers love that movie, and the ideals it embodies, but fail completely to apply that perspective to Iraq:

But what gets me is the complete disconnect that occurs with those on the right when it comes to applying the ostensible lessons of the movie to the real world, and specifically to Iraq. Red Dawn is all about how Americans would resist an invasion, even unto death, and is glorified on the right for this reason. People don't take kindly to being "ruled" by outside invaders or illegitimate government. Why on earth do the Republicans who still support this war think that the Iraqi people are any different from us in this regard?

Perhaps that's just it - early on the rhetoric was how we would be 'bringing democracy' to Iraq, and the repressed Iraqis would welcome us and quickly adopt our ways, because all people yearn to be free. But now the notion is that the Iraqis are somehow different from us in this regard, 'less' than us, and all we have to do is to continue to occupy their country long enough, with enough troops, as we did to the evil Germans and Japanese after WWII.

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Technorati tags: Politics

SOSDD: More of the Same

"Creation Scientists" are frauds and cons, and this guy is no different. Their tactics may evolve, but their arguments, quote mines, and obfuscations are pretty well-worn...Except that this one will be here at UF on 2/27 to spew distortions and lies to a crowd of university students:

He's so bad he throws out the PRATTs from the get-go:

No one has ever produced a species by mechanisms of natural selection

Lie. And a bold one.

The "greatest" evidence put forward since Darwin has been able to go no further than the "industrial melanism" of the moths in England.

1) This is a complete distortion of the peppered moths' value as evidence of evolution
2) citing this particular evidence as being the "greatest" for speciation is a strawman, many better ones exist

"Natural selection can do nothing until favourable variations chance to occur".8 This is why neo-Darwinism has had to elevate mutations next to natural selection as the "cause of beneficial changes". However as we shall see, mutations can only be "the cause for harmful changes".

Yet another canard of creationism.

I don't have the stomach to dissect the rest of this dreck, but you can feel free to do so on your own, here's the list where you will find all of his points refuted. It's been done a million times, to a million different people repeating the same silliness.

I don't have much hope for non-skeptics who attend such events, as it basically means they're looking for confirmation of something they already believe, and not education on something they're ignorant of. It's sad that people who come to a university to broaden their horizons would seek to fill their heads with nonsense in order to prevent their religious notions from being challenged.

PS: See more on Harun Yahya here, here and see this and this long article in Science about him.

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Technorati tags: Intelligent Design, Evolution, Creationism

The Homeless in Gainesville

I'm not sure if it's the location of Gainesville, its proximity to I-75, its geographic resources for people who sleep outdoors (apparently, the Rainbow Family loves Ocala National Forest), or the generosity of its citizens, but the number of vagabonds is now a city-mandated issue, with a "10 Year Plan", including shelter construction, to affect homelessness in G'ville. It's been a boilerplate issue in city politics.

I mentioned my own interactions with "Radical Bill", aka William H. Abney, a vagrant 70s-era activist who lingers about the UF campus throughout the day and still engages with campus preachers (he's still radical, I guess) in my review of the campus preachers, parts 1 and 2. Some of them fall into the well-worn "pretend to be a vet/disabled/have my pet with me to evoke sympathy" category to elicit more money, but some don't even ask for it, and I find these people fascinating, if I can say that without sounding condescending. Of course, most generic bums don't qualify, but some transients leave me with the impression that they enjoy life more than I do, and Bill is one of these. He is always smiling and happy, always reading a book or newspaper, always ready to share an anecdote.

There's something about the ones who are mentally healthy and "just choose to live that way" that is strangely appealing to me. Like Thoreau at Walden Pond, they seem more liberated to me than destitute -- like they've transcended the petty stuff we shackle ourselves to and have returned to nature...or something.

And then I remember how much I like a hot shower and a clean bed and fine wine and food. I'm just a weenie.

Maybe I just need to do a few weeks in the wilderness every once in a while to put that wild impulse in perspective.

I bring this up because I read about some overlap with this concern (homeless) in Jacksonville, where an Ass. Prof. was recently charged with violating a city ordinance for feeding the homeless without a permit. The charges were later dropped, but I found it both sad and exasperating that such a law would exist in the first place. He is now challenging the constitutionality of the law on the grounds of religious expression. (HT: Religion Clause)
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Technorati tags: Politics

NCAA Football Championship

It's old news now that the Gators are going to Glendale, AZ, to play the Buckeyes on Jan. 8th for the BCS win.

If anyone is interested in going, details on tickets are here, and I found a round-trip flight with JetBlue for ~$500/adult (as of now) out of Orlando to Phoenix, 1/5 to 1/9. This was my first attempt to get a figure for airfare, though, and I'm sure better deals are out there. Email me if you're considering going, or if you want to help me procure tickets, then turn around and sell them to me (I really need to get one for my wife, after that it's mutual profit).
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Technorati tags: Sports

Gators Win the 2006 NCAA Basketball and Football Championships?

We'll find out.

Go Gators!!!!

Boy, this has been a good week :)
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Technorati tags: Sports

Lots of Hate Groups Around G'Ville

I've been to places like Putnam County, and so I figured there would be a few dumb hicks putting on the white sheets around here...but man, there are a lot of hate groups in this part of the state...within 1 hour's drive of Gainesville 35 out of the state's total 50!:

HT: PZ
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Technorati tags: Hate Groups