Politics and Science

             There are two types of freedom- positive and negative. Positive freedom is the freedom to do or own something- the freedom to own a gun, or house, or to own slaves, or to vote. Negative freedom is freedom from something- the freedom from intimidation by gun owners, to be free from slavery. Most positive freedoms can be reframed as negative freedoms. The US Constitution’s 2 nd Amendment, as currently interpreted, guarantees freedom to own firearms. But what about other people’s freedoms to not be shot by a gun, or not be intimated by a someone carrying a gun? The US Civil War was fought over the freedom to own slaves. But what about the slave's right to be free? The current debate about abortion, in the right-wing framework, defends the life of the fetus. (I don’t think fertilized eggs or fetuses are unborn children.) But what about the freedom of the woman to decide when she chooses to be pregnant and give birth? Republicans frame anti-...

             The quote, “An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure,” is commonly attributed to Winston Churchill. This is especially true in mental healthcare. If someone experiences trauma or neglect, this can cascade into other serious psychological conditions. Neglect as an infant or toddler can result in Reactive Attachment Disorder (RAD), which is when the child doesn’t develop healthy attachments to other people. Multiple stressors at once can result in a depressive episode, and if untreated can continue for months. A first episode of psychosis can develop into schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder without early treatment. A kid with a conduct disorder can develop into antisocial personality disorder as an adult.             These are all cases where early intervention are preferrable to later intervention. Instead, the US, state, and local mental healthcare systems are designed t...

             I support competitive pay for politicians for the following two reasons. First, when governments don’t pay their politicians much, then they become corrupt, typically because their salaries are so low, so they seek ways to supplement their income. Second, if politicians are not paid well, then those jobs are only attractive to the wealthy. I do not want corrupt politicians, and I do not want only the wealthy to be politicians. I want politicians’ pay to be competitive with the stress and responsibility of their jobs.

 Governor Kim Reynolds introduced some disturbing proposals from Iowa tonight. From what I could tell, none of them were grounded in evidenced-based practices.       She suggested a flat income tax at around four percent, eliminating taxes on retirement income, and cutting taxes on shares of corporations given to employees. This is largely regressive.       She attacked electric vehicles and suggested more biofuels and carbon capture. None of that will help the climate crisis. It will just help big agribusiness.     She said that items in school libraries should be published online, and that what was being taught in school should also be published online, so parents could approve of it. Parents aren't experts in education- teachers and administrators are.      She said that she would be cutting unemployment benefits, and that the social safety net had become a hammock. She said that people on unemployment would be giv...

             In the past, the press has tried to objective. Objectivity is not passive, but involves accountability and justice. That means telling the truth to their consumers and speaking truth to power. However, the press should not be neutral. If the press tried to be neutral by telling the Democrat and Republican side equally, then their consumers would be left confused by the two different accounts. If one politician from one party lets a pandemic decimate their state or country, objectivity doesn’t mandate that we portray their actions in neutral terms, but that we hold them, their words, and their actions accountable. If one politician says or does something inappropriate, then we should hold them accountable and tell the truth, not tell both sides, not tell the aggressor and victim's side equally. The press should also not be value neutral. Value neutrality involves refusing to take a stand on a moral issue between two sides. For example, on...

  My dad, Frank E. Bowers, died almost 20 years ago, on February 11, 2002. He was 60, and I was 10. Here are some memories in roughly chronological order. I remember my parents asking me when I was around kindergarten age, whether I wanted to take piano or violin lessons. I said piano, because my dad played the piano and I wanted to be like him. Sometime later, when I was in 1 st or 2 nd grade, I was practicing a piece, and my dad would listen to me practice and correct me when I made a mistake. I made a mistake, and he said, “Do it again.” And tried again, and I got it wrong, and he said, “Do it again.” And I tried again, and got it wrong, and he said, “Do it again.” This happened what felt like another 40-50 times to my young mind. Finally, I ran out crying to my mom who was working in the backyard. I told her, “Dad is being mean and making me practice the same part over and over again.” Dad came out to talk to her, and I listened to them talk. My dad said vehemently, “I kn...

A History of Astronomy- A history of astronomy throughout culture and the West. I took two semesters of Astronomy in undergrad, but this book was enlightening anyway. My Body, by Emily Ratajowski- A memoir of Ratajowski’s life through the modeling and influencer. How capitalism commodifies the human body, and in particular, beauty in women is incredibly disappointing but not surprising. Ratajowski says that initially she finds her sexuality and desirability empowering, but to whose advantage is it that she feels that way? Modeling and the commodification of women’s beauty divides women into “desirable” and “undesirable” categories, typically for men's consumption. I’m not sure what the solution is, or if there is a solution. The Code Book by Simon Singh- a history of creating and cracking codes. Singh does a great job explaining how the codes are written and broken, and how these breakthroughs have real world effects in politics and war. The Pentagon’s Brain, by Annie Jacobse...