links of late

I'll admit Facebook has pretty much become the place where I post links, snide comments, and assorted other miscellany. Here are some of the links that caught my eye while on hiatus:

• Although it's hard to pick even a top ten, the so-called "conscience clause" ranks high on my list of the crappiest rules put in place by the Bush administration. Here's an editorial that goes over why it's so wrong. Actually, many of the comments put an even finer point on it. See in particular numbers 8,15, and 103.

"[I]f one gets to prefer one’s own internal judgments to the judgments of authorized external bodies (legislatures, courts, professional associations), the result will be the undermining of public order and the substitution of personal whim for general decorums..."

• Farmers using Roundup Ready crops find...their weeds are becoming resistant to Roundup. Nearly all the farmers in a Purdue survey (funded by Monsanto, the makers of the herbicide) said their weeds were developing resistance. I went to look at the original paper, published in the journal Weed Technology, and found that every recent issue had articles on one resistant weed or another. Let's hear it for Monsanto for proving natural selection.


• I have an idea: we can raise tax dollars by getting rid of the tax-exempt status of religious organizations that spend millions of dollars into political campaigns, ballot initiatives, and political activity. This article explains the IRS rules regarding spending and lobbying by religious groups and churches, which need to be enforced and/or strengthened.


• Just because two sides disagree over an issue doesn’t mean both arguments should be given equal weight. Journalists in particular need to GET THIS. This editorial is about stem-cell research, but makes the point and describes the difference between a controversy and a quandary.

Comments

[John]

Weeds becoming resistant to Roundup makes me laugh. I guess the weeds were Roundup-Ready, too.