By Evan Matthews, a Hoosier Libertarian
“Spend now, while the economy remains depressed; save later, once it has recovered. How hard is that to understand?”
Thus begins Paul Krugman’s June 20 article. The answer to his question is that it’s quite difficult if we are living in reality. When speaking in simplified, self-righteous rhetoric, this concept is [...]
Monthly Archives: July 2010
Support for UC Merced med school grows – Fresno Bee
Support for UC Merced med school grows Fresno Bee A proposed medical school at the UC Merced has overwhelming support in the San Joaquin Valley, with a growing coalition ... |
Puff, the Magic Dragon?
A dragon-shaped cloud of dust seems to fly out from a bright explosion in this infrared light image (bottom) from NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope, a creature that is entirely cloaked in shadow when viewed in visible part of the spectrum (top). Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/Penn State/DSS - Full Image and captionA dragon-shaped cloud of dust seems to fly with the stars in a novel image from NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope (bottom). In visible light (top), the creature disappears into the clouds -- perhaps it's "frolicking in the autumn mist" like Puff, the Magic Dragon, from the well-known Peter, Paul and Mary song.
The infrared image has exposed that this creature, a dark cloud called M17 SWex, is forming stars at a furious rate but has not yet spawned the most massive type of stars, known as O stars. Such stellar behemoths, however, light up the M17 nebula at the image's center and have also blown a huge "bubble" in the gas and dust that forms M17's shining left edge.
The stars and gas in this region are now passing though the Sagittarius spiral arm of the Milky Way (moving from right to left), touching off a galactic "domino effect." The youngest episode of star formation is playing out inside the grimy dragon as it enters the spiral arm. Over time, this area will flare up like the bright M17 nebula, glowing in the light of young massive stars. An older burst of star formation blew the bubble seen in the region to the far left, called M17 EB.
The visible-light view of the area clearly shows the bright M17 nebula, as well as the lustrous hot gas filling the "bubble" to its left. However the M17 SWex "dragon" is hidden within dust clouds that are opaque to visible light. It takes an infrared view to catch the light from these shrouded regions and expose the earliest stages of star formation.
The bottom image is a three-color composite that shows infrared observations from two Spitzer instruments. Blue represents 3.6-micron light and green shows light of 8 microns, both captured by Spitzer's infrared array camera. Red is 24-micron light detected by Spitzer's multiband imaging photometer. The bottom visible-light image is a composite of visible-light data from the Digitized Sky Survey (DSS) from the UK Schmidt telescope. The image combines two observations that symbolize the blue and red light from the region.
For a more detailed feature story about the science in this image, visit http://www.spitzer.caltech.edu/news/1143.
This image was taken before Spitzer ran out of its liquid coolant in May 2009, beginning its warm mission.
NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif., manages the Spitzer Space Telescope for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington. Science operations are conducted at the Spitzer Science Center at the California Institute of Technology, also in Pasadena. Caltech manages JPL for NASA.
For More information visit http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/news.cfm?release=2010-225
Exclusive – Oval Office Watch – Friday, July 9 – Family Security Matters
 Los Angeles Times | Exclusive – Oval Office Watch – Friday, July 9 Family Security Matters Berwick, a professor at Harvard Medical School and CEO of the Institute for Healthcare Improvement (a think tank), has expressed his disdain for free-market ... Health IT leaders praise appointment of CMS chiefGovernment Health IT With Donald Berwick's appointment, the doctor is (finally) inWashington Post While Congress is awayBaltimore Sun Politico -New York Daily News -WND.com all 877 news articles » |
Upping exercise in obese kids no answer – UPI.com
Daily Mail | Upping exercise in obese kids no answer UPI.com Researchers of the EarlyBird Diabetes Study, based at the Peninsula Medical School in Plymouth, England, found physical activity had no impact on weight ... Inactivity's Role In Childhood Obesity DownplayedAHN | All Headline News Does fat lead to inactivity?NHS Choices Which Comes First, Inactivity or Childhood Obesity?TIME (blog) Telegraph.co.uk -BBC News -WebMD.Boots.com all 146 news articles » |
To catch a predator: familial DNA | Gene Expression
I already blogged this general issue, but the ‘grim sleeper’ murderer was caught because of a match of old samples with those of us his son. If I had to bet money I think this sort of result (California and Colorado are the two American states which have a system in place to allow for this) is going to allow for a push toward more widespread usage of the technique. It may be that we need to stop talking about privacy as if we can put off the inevitable future, and start talking about accuracy and precision with the data that is going to be easily available to authorities. By the way, I found this objection somewhat strange:
“I can imagine lots of African-American families would think it is not fair to put a disproportionate number of black families under permanent genetic surveillance,” said Jeffrey Rosen, a law professor at George Washington University who has written about this issue.
A disproportionate number of black families have relatives incarcerated. The American public does not seem particular worried about that. As I noted before, criminal behavior is not randomly distributed across families. Rather, there are distinct clusters, so familial genetic data is going to be more efficacious than you would expect if the commission of crime consisted of a sequence of independent events.
I have to add that worries about this technology strike me as a bit rich, in light of the fact that methods which are proven to be highly subjective and often inaccurate, such as fingerprinting and eyewitness identification, are accepted in the criminal justice system. I worry about what the state could do with DNA data if the state became malevolent, but despite its flaws it seems to me far preferable as a means of assessing evidence than some of the “tried & true” techniques. So let’s keep some perspective.
SIU School of Medicine celebrates 40th anniversary – The State Journal-Register
SIU School of Medicine celebrates 40th anniversary The State Journal-Register He is one example of “mission accomplished” for Southern Illinois University School of Medicine. The Springfield-based medical school was founded 40 years ... |
As a foreign refuge closes in Kabul, local mosques are at risk, too – Washington Post
As a foreign refuge closes in Kabul, local mosques are at risk, too Washington Post The most famous of all is Jalalladin Rumi, a 13th-century Persian poet, whose search for spiritual enlightenment and a direct, passionate relationship with ... |
What Kind of World Do We Want to Live In?
Ecosocialism and ecofeminism might be new phrases to some people, but they are growing movements in the United States. The U.S. is a latecomer to these topics in many respects because Ecosocialism is already an established movement in Europe and Australia and elsewhere. But finally the U.S. is starting to catch up. The video below was recorded at the U.S. Social Forum in Detroit that was held at the end of June. It was a workshop titled Building Ecosocialism and led by environmentalist Joel Kovel. Described as, “Meeting at USSF in which ecosocialist activists discussed commoning, ecofeminism, the destruction of capitalism, strategy, convergence.” (I have to admit to lack of familiarity with “commoning”.) Here is just one of many websites about ecosocialism.
Ecosocialism is a growing movement because many people are asking themselves the question “What kind of world do we want to live in?”
If you are born in the United States, it’s a given that you grow up with certain things drilled into your head. One is that buying and selling, capitalism, and profits, having a job to make a lot of money, is the purpose of life on the path to the American Dream. We are told that capitalism equals freedom, and it’s the natural desire of every human being everywhere. (This is how they sell wars to us too).
Then we are told that this system, which is built on pursuing money (a human invention) as a life goal, is the dream of people everywhere, so we must help them pursue it. Think about how unnatural that all is. The system is based on a cutthroat philosophy that some people get rich (those who are successful) and some people don’t, (those who are failures) so you should try very hard to pursue this life goal of having a “good job” (i.e., one that pays you a lot of money) is the dream of all people everywhere. On the path to this “success” you must buy and discard and buy and discard many things, some of which are status symbols, like expensive cars and expensive clothes and jewelry, etc.
Of course a LOT of people don’t pursue jobs just for money, but those other jobs are simply not as valued in the U.S. as much because we are a super-capitalist country. An investment banker in the U.S. is much more admired by many people than a scientist, who’s status is somewhere between garbage collector and public school teacher. (Many right-wingers want to destroy public schools). Look at the scorn heaped on James Hansen, NASA Scientist and climate change expert — if Americans have heard of him at all. Look at the climate change deniers and who they hate — scientists. (Look at who they revere — religious leaders, even the most fake and perverted.)
This is all due to cultural brainwashing, in my opinion. But eventually as people grow older they realize that other things matter a lot more than business, profits, denying science they don’t [...]
Happy 130th Birthday Antisa Khvichava !
From today's AP Article by MISHA DZHINDZHIKHASHVILI:
"Authorities in the former Soviet republic of Georgia claim a woman from a remote mountain village turned 130 on Thursday, making her the oldest person on Earth.
Antisa Khvichava from western Georgia was born on July 8, 1880, said Georgiy Meurnishvili, spokesman for the civil registry at the Justice Ministry."
...
I've always been healthy, and I've worked all my life — at home and at the farm," said Khvichava, in a bright dress and headscarf.
...
Meurnishvili showed two Soviet-era documents that he says attest to her age. Scores of officials, neighbors, friends, and descendants backed up her claim as the world's top senior.
...
Khvichava's 70-year-old son Mikhail apparently was born when his mother was 60. She said she also had two children from a previous marriage, but says they died of hunger during World War II.
While Antisa may never be officially "proven" to be 130 years of age; it certainly proves there are more people alive today living beyond those "on record" and who live well beyond what we consider our norms.
Beth Israel Pathologists Press for Personalized Medicine Training
Leading pathologists from Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (BIDMC) and Harvard Medical School are among those advocating for making genomic and personalized medicine training part of all pathology residency training programs in North America over the next two years, according to “A Call to Action” published in the June issue of the American Journal of Clinical Pathology.
“No field of medicine has really taken this on, but there is a clear need for pathology to be out in front of this type of analysis in medical practice,” said Jeffrey Saffitz, M.D., Ph.D., BIDMC’s chief of pathology.
The suggested training curriculum would be modeled on that offered by the Genomic Medicine Initiative (GMI), which was launched by the BIDMC pathology department in 2009. “By July 2012, we want every pathology training program in the United States and Canada to have this program in place,” said Saffitz, adding that GMI officials have had discussions with CAP leaders about developing standards, as well as a funding model, for these programs.
The curriculum includes lectures on current genomic testing technology, including next generation sequencing, as well as analyzing what the results mean—both for patients and other medical providers. Pathology residents also have the opportunity to analyze their own genome.
An important component of the training program is to understand what current genomic technology can offer in terms of information. “We want the residents to have a clear sense of what the current limits of this testing are, even though this is changing daily,” said Saffitz. “But overall, the goal of the training is to demystify personalized and genomic medicine to our residents.”
Goal for High School Smoking Is Unmet – New York Times
 GMA news.tv | Goal for High School Smoking Is Unmet New York Times “At a time when all eyes are focused on health care reform, escalating medical costs and childhood obesity, cigarette smoking remains by far the most common ... Watching films increases risk of tobacco useHindustan Times |
Eat, Pray, Merch: You Can Buy Happiness, After All – Huffington Post (blog)
Eat, Pray, Merch: You Can Buy Happiness, After All Huffington Post (blog) Gilbert's bestselling memoir is ostensibly about spiritual enlightenment, and this merch run-up to the movie version's release could be perceived as its ... |
Later school start means more rest, better moods – Reuters India
New York Daily News | Later school start means more rest, better moods Reuters India NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Starting school just a half-hour later doesn't just help kids get more sleep; it may also make them cheerier and ... Later School Start Times May Foster Better StudentsBusinessWeek Start school day later for high school students: Improve conduct, grades and ...Atlanta Journal Constitution (blog) Teens More Alert, Motivated, When School Starts Later, US StudyMedical News Today Los Angeles Times -Medscape -EurekAlert (press release) all 563 news articles » |
Methanol Solubility Prediction Model 4 for Ugi reactions in the literature
Since non-aqueous solubility measurements have not become part of the standard characterization of organic compounds, it is not surprising that all the data we have for Ugi products originate from measurements that we made on our own compounds.
Since methanol is our most common solvent, Andrew Lang has collected the measurements that we have with values from the literature for a range of compounds, including our Ugi products, to generate a web service returning a predicted solubility based on a submitted SMILES string. The model (Model 4) was derived from a Random Forest algorithm, using molecular descriptors supplied by the CDK and VCC.
It would be nice to be able to test the model's ability to predict what will happen if a Ugi reaction is carried out in methanol. Although the actual solubility of Ugi products in the literature is typically not reported, reading the experimental sections in papers can still provide some validation of the model in some cases.
For example, consider the following Ugi products synthesized recently by Lezinska (Tetrahedron 2010)
Note that these images represent the azide group not following the octet rule. It is necessary to represent the structure SMILES without charges because the CDK and VCC web services used by the model do not process charges correctly. Stereochemistry also cannot be used and this can be removed from the SMILES simply by deleting slashes. Thus for the two molecules above the SMILES to be submitted to the prediction web service are:
O=C(NC1CCCCC1)C(Cc2ccc(C)cc2)N(c4ccccc4C(=O)c3ccccc3)C(=O)C(Cc5ccccc5)N=N#N
AND
O=C(NC1CCCCC1)C(C(=O)c2ccccc2)N(Cc3ccc(C)cc3)C(=O)C(C)CCN=N#N
The predicted methanol solubilities are respectively 0.004 M and 0.03 M.
Now if we look at the details in the experimental section, both of these Ugi products were synthesized in methanol at a limiting reactant concentration of about 0.1 M. Even though this is much more dilute than the usual 0.5-2.0 M generally recommended for Ugi reactions (Domling 2000), the products still precipitate and can be filtered off. This is consistent with the predicted solubilities above and the model would have suggested ahead of time that methanol might be a good solvent for isolation of the products by precipitation.
So far these are just anecdotal results but it does illustrate that solubility models can be evaluated without explicit determination of solubility in the literature.
Kristin Davis to petition for NY Governor under Anti-Prohibition Party
BREAKING NEWS!!
EX-MADAM WILL RUN ON ANTI-PROHIBITION PARTY
Kristin Davis, formerly known as the Manhattan Madam who supplied high priced call- girls for Eliot Spitzer when he was Governor and Attorney General announced today that she would run for governor as the candidate of the Anti-Prohibition Party (APP). She had previously considered the Free Libertarian Party and the Reform Party labels but rejected both although neither is recognized in New York State as a party." We need to legalize marijuana, gay marriage and casino gambling by ending the Prohibition on them " said Davis.
"It's time to end the Government prohibition on Marijuana and tax it for the public benefit "said Davis "Its time to end the prohibition on gay marriage and it's time to end the prohibition of casino gambling"
"It's also time to end the government prohibition of prostitution in order to drive those who exploit women and utilize drugs out of the business and to protect the public safety as well as filling the public coffers by taxing it" said Davis,a former hedge fund Vice President.
Davis was convicted of promoting prostitution and spent four months in prison before becoming a feminist, libertarian activist and advocate for a freedom based agenda that includes legalizing pot,prostitution and casino gambling to bring new revenues to New York."These are the best alternatives to higher and higher taxes on the people of our state" said Davis.
Davis requires 15,000 valid voter signatures to get her Anti-prohibition campaign on the ballot. If Davis and the Anti-Prohibition party get 50,000 votes they would win permanent ballot status until the next gubernatorial election and could run candidates for state and federal office in 2012.
Note - the official Party logo for the Anti-Prohibition Party will be the Marijuana leaf (above.)
Dave Weigel says he sympathizes with Sarah Palin over email hacking
Breaking News...
Libertarian Republican was one of a number of on-line media to receive an early release of a commentary from left-libertarian journalist Dave Weigel at Esquire Magazine. Weigel resigned from the Washington Post two weeks ago. Weigel, a sometimes friend of Libertarian Republican blog, and a former writer for Reason, for the first time admits that he has somewhat of an admiration for Sarah Palin.
From Esquire:
Over the first churning forty-eight hours of this whole mess, I resisted — and then accepted — a new sympathy for a politician I'd never pretended to admire much: Sarah Palin. A political celebrity who raises money and appears on TV needs the media in a way that a reporter doesn't. But damn if I didn't feel sorry for the way every utterance Palin ever makes is taffy-pulled and inspected for lies. During the trial of a boy who hacked into Palin's private e-mail account, I debunked a rumor while appearing on MSNBC — where I am now a contributor — that she had "perjured" herself on the stand. She hadn't. She'd spoken correctly, if clumsily, about some of her old e-mails. Like I said: screwed, and then a new sympathy. (Of course, journalists would have had an easier time reaching me than Palin, who is notoriously difficult to get a comment from unless you happen to be a Fox News host.)
Libertarian Republican blog update – Getting it just right
Hello Libertarian Republican readers:
You may have noticed an unusually high number of posts today. I apologize. There's just so much news out there. And I anticipate that the volume is only gonna get more and more in the coming weeks. We're less than 4 months from the election.
You'll probably see less and less issues-oriented posts here, and most certainly more pure politics through November. That means polls, candidate news, campaign videos, campaign press releases, ect...
I'd appreciate a little feedback. Are you all pleased with the balance of articles? And are you fine with the volume? We try to post 4 to 6 articles a day. I tend to think 8 to 10 is too much. Do you agree? Please take a second to answer the question on the poll on our sidebar. Thanks
Did Chris Matthews help boost Marco Rubio’s poll numbers?
From Jim Fryar, Real World Libertarian:
Charlie Crist and Marco Rubio have been in a neck and neck battle for the Florida Senate seat, with the Democrat way back out of contention. Crist has been slightly in the lead over Rubio, but the latest statement from Chris Mathews has changed the whole tenor of the campaign with his assertion that Crist will caucus with the Democrats.
Any Republicans who stuck to Crist must now reconsider their positions. As a matter of interest, I don't see much of this guy, so can anyone tell me if he is half cut or is this what he is always like.
(H/t Newsbusters)
MAJOR NEWS!!! Rubio pulls ahead of Crist in Florida race
JUST BREAKING...
From Eric Dondero:
Since Charlie Crist announced as an Independent back in May, Republican Marco Rubio has consistently polled slightly behind the Florida Governor. Now, for the first time, a major polling firm shows libertarian/Tea Party-favorite Rubio pulling ahead.
From Rasmussen:
The latest Rasmussen Reports telephone survey of Likely Voters in Florida finds the two candidates neck-and-neck again this month, with Rubio earning 36% support and Crist, the state’s current Republican governor, capturing 34% of the vote. Prospective Democratic candidate Kendrick Meek remains a distant third, picking up 15%. Fourteen percent (14%) of the state’s voters remain undecided.
A month ago, Rubio, former speaker of the Florida House, and Crist were tied at 37% apiece. Meek, an African-American congressman from the North Miami area, again was at 15%.
For 2010, Libertarian Republicans are most enthusiastic about the Senate races of Rand Paul in Kentucky, Pat Toomey in Pennsylvania, Sharron Angle in Nevada, Mike Lee in Utah, and Marco Rubio in Florida. These candidates are officially endorsed by the Republican Liberty Caucus (rlc.org). With Rubio pulling ahead, the RLC and the overall Libertarian Republican movement could now have a full sweep of election victories for the US Senate.
Not too mention, this will be also be a complete sweep for the Tea Party.
