Before going any further on the subject of climate change, let’s remind ourselves what science is. Science is a process we use to determine facts, not a method for establishing truth. Truth is a more complex matter. Science takes a question like, “what is the airspeed velocity of an unladen swallow?”, and finds an answer through observation and repeatable experiments. If there is any lesson we learned from the 20th Century, it’s that science is only helpful in defining reality, not determining our values.

While science is very good at answering a specific question like “how much fat is in this doughnut?” It has a harder time answering complex matrix questions likes, “What should I eat?” In science, the farther you get from any experimental capability, the farther you get from reliable results. It’s not terribly hard to build an experiment that will predict with confidence how much salt there will be in your next order of French fries. It is very difficult experimentally to establish which combination of foods over a lifetime is best for any particular person.

You can find a perfect example of what happens when science is divorced from experimentation by talking to a physicist. The field of particle physics outran its experimental capabilities a long time ago and the mysteries they are confronting, with only limited tools for proof, are making them sound slightly mad.

As Governor Rick Perry positions for his big run, it’s worth examining what accomplishments he can and can’t take credit for. The importance of the exercise stretches beyond his campaign. You can expect that other states might try to duplicate Texas’ relative success in weathering the economic crisis. It’s important that they replicate what works rather than merely believing the propaganda.

First, how well has Texas done? Meh.

Perry has touted Texas’s fabulous success in job creation, but it’s not entirely clear what he’s talking about. The state has created a lot of new jobs and the unemployment rate is better than average – it ranks 24th – with unemployment at a stubborn 8%. It is true that Texas’ population is growing rapidly, but the majority of the growth is coming from Mexico.

Imagine this scenario: You walk into your kitchen on a hot, muggy summer day for a midday snack. You fix yourself a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, a common and traditional All-American treat. You open the refrigerator and pour yourself a nice, cold glass of milk.

As you sit down at the table, you are in great anticipation to partake in this delicious snack. As you put the glass of milk to your quivering lips, you suddenly portray a look of disgust and dissatisfaction. The milk is spoiled. It’s been in the refrigerator without use for far too long. You groan in disbelief as you become victim to the sour taste of milk gone bad.

We were once taught that America was the place of opportunity and achievement. We believed in the concept that you can be anything that you desire to be and that America was a beacon of hope for those who dreamed of success. But for those who are looking up to America as a symbolism of hope and prosperity will quickly find that America is simply unrecognizable, and like sour milk, leaves a bitter taste in many people’s mouths.

So what has Obama done right since May that turned around voters? In any negotiation it’s important to know which side has time on their side. Obama knew from the beginning that time rested with him. After all, would the GOP really be prepared to let the nation fall into default and allow their party be seen as political and petty minded? Probably not. But then again, what if they were? What would that mean? If the GOP were that diabolical and beholden to the Tea Party (who represent the majority of those pushing there shouldn’t be a deal) then Obama would have increased leverage with voters and with Congress.

Clearly, Obama doesn’t want default. Interest rates will rise, U.S. treasuries will decrease, the U.S will lose its triple A rating for the first time in its history, and a host of other unintended consequences will come down the pike, the full extent will have yet to know.

Nobel Prize winning economist Milton Friedman argued for the modern concept of vouchers in the 1950s, stating that competition would improve schools and cost efficiency. In Maine, the geographic layout is such that, building public schools was not feasible. Instead they relied on the established parochial schools. Friedmans’s argument is the backbone of the conservative movement in favor of offering education choice to urban youth.

Looking at the data from the New Jersey Dept of Education we see Urban enrollment diminishing as children get older; when, however you look at suburban school district’s enrollment, it stays the same throughout. This is ample evidence that student retention is those areas are subpar. Some suburban areas actually enroll more students in 12th grade than they did in 1st and 2nd grade.

Wonder why Urban public schools don’t do so well? Well I do. I asked a few teachers, some from charter schools, others from public schools. Teacher pay was one of the biggest complaints. Individuals switched from public to charter schools for better pay, and because charter schools had more responsive administration, responsive in terms of the needs of the pupils.

So the dominant Republican strategy on race issues remains now what it has been for a generation – downplay, deny, distort, until memories fade and the matter is forgotten. It might actually work, but it’s cynical and corrosive and undermines so much else we want to accomplish. Along the way it makes it practically impossible for blacks to participate in the GOP in the numbers that they otherwise would.

There is a strong conservative tradition in the black community that has been stifled for generations by the leftist black establishment that emerged in the Sixties. The GOP has an opportunity to give that community a voice that they deserve. The impact for the country could be tremendous, but it would require conservatives to accept a much less satisfying picture of our legacy. The response from the GOP generally has been, “Who needs ‘em?”

Bachmann isn’t alone among conservatives in clinging to a faith-based history that excludes the uglier bits. It reflects a cowardice about unpleasant truths that undermines our ability to tackle difficult, real problems of all kinds. It’s not exactly racism, it’s more like denial. But it tastes the same.

There is no secret that we have a marriage and family crisis in this community. To be honest nearly half of Black Americans have never married—the highest percentage for all racial groups. Only 30 percent of Blacks are now married. Nearly 10 million Black families lived in the United States in 2010.

Twenty-one percent of these families were married couples with children. This is the lowest for all racial groups. The U.S. average is 32.4 percent. We also know that more than half of Black kids live with only one parent and that’s overwhelmingly with their mother. A home headed by a single mom often equals an economically poor home.

So there are issues here. However, Congresswoman Bachmann is NOT the person to even begin to discuss this issue. After all, this is the same Representative Bachmann whose grasp of American history has never been firm, particularly when it comes to slavery. She has stated that the founding fathers “worked tirelessly until slavery was no more in the United States,” despite the fact that several of our Nation’s founders owned slaves and fought to keep slavery alive in the new republic.

Every nation wants a sustainable, lasting peace between Israel and Palestine. But forcing Israel to The Obama Administration’s policy on Israel puts the United States in a hypocritical position rather than one of peace brokers. The U.S. has always supported nations that uphold free markets, demonstrate religious freedom, and promote our general values and principles of governance. Israel is the ONLY Middle East nation that does.

Every nation wants a sustainable, lasting peace between Israel and Palestine. But forcing Israel to surrender land conquered during the Six Day Arab-Israeli War of 1967 won’t bring it. To expect Israel to go back to indefensible pre-1967 bordersis about as logical as expecting our returning Texas, California, Nevada, Arizona,and New Mexico to Mexico after taking them in the Mexican-American War.

We must support Israel’s sovereign right to decide for themselves whether they should or should not give their land to the Palestinians. For President Obama to take the position he did against our ally’s wishes, and given our country’s history on the subject, is disloyal, hypocritical and irresponsible. We should support and facilitate peace in the Middle East.

As a life long fan of hip-hop music, one of the things that I loved about it is the anti-establishment, challenge authority message in the music. N.W.A’s “Fuck the Police, Public Enemy’s “Fight the Power, 2 Live Crew’s “Banned In the USA” all carry a theme Libertarians endorse. Which is, always challenge authority and people or institutions that try to control your actions.

I always found it funny that virtually all in hip hop align themselves with Democrat politicians, when it was the Democrats like Cynthia Tucker and Al Sharpton who waged a war on hip hop claiming rappers like Tupac and Ice Cube were the reasons black neighborhoods have become beds for gang violence and drug crimes. Not the War on Drugs or the United States policies which turn low income people into criminals just by living in a certain neighborhood.

Libertarians have been against the War on Drugs since it’s beginning, believing that you own your own body, and by prohibiting someone from something, only creates more crime and an environment where gangs, organized crime, and violence is the norm. Another libertarian issue is police brutality. Libertarians, not Democrats, and certainly not Republicans, have long been opponents of police brutality, SWAT tactics, misuse of force, and warrantless search and seizures by ALL policing agencies, city, state and federal.

THE novelist Harriet Beecher Stowe, born 200 years ago today, was an unlikely fomenter of wars. Diminutive and dreamy-eyed, she was a harried housewife with six children, who suffered from various obscure illnesses worsened by her persistent hypochondria.

And yet, driven by a passionate hatred of slavery, she found time to write “Uncle Tom’s Cabin,” which became the most influential novel in American history and a catalyst for radical change both at home and abroad. Today, of course, the book has a decidedly different reputation, thanks to the popular image of its titular character, Uncle Tom — whose name has become a byword for a spineless sellout, a black man who betrays his race.

And we tend to think of the novel itself as an old-fashioned, rather lachrymose affair that features the deaths of an obsequious enslaved black man and his blond, angelic child-friend, Little Eva. But this view is egregiously inaccurate: the original Uncle Tom was physically strong and morally courageous, an inspiration for blacks and other oppressed people worldwide. In other words, Uncle Tom was anything but an “Uncle Tom.”

The National Association for the ADVANCEMENT of Colored People, emphasis on the word “advancement,”claims “for 102 years, the NAACP has fought to ensure that all our children have access to high-quality public education.” If this is indeed true, then why would the NAACP, which used to be the most revered civil rights organization for black Americans, throw New York City black kids under the bus to save unionized teachers’ jobs and keep failing schools open?

In May to the shock and awe of thousands of New York City parents, the NAACP locked arms with the United Federation of Teachers (emphasis on union) and filed a lawsuit in the State Supreme Court to stop the city from closing 22 poor performing schools and giving 20 charter schools space inside public schools.

After 2,500 charter school parents and students protested in Harlem last week, blasting the NAACP, it wrote an op-ed arguing that allowing charter school students to use available space in NYC schools “impedes learning” or “tears at the fabric of communities.” Tell me how giving parents’ access to 20 charter schools impedes learning. What the NAACP failed to mention in weak defense of its actions was that by filing the lawsuit with the teachers’ union, the NAACP prevented 4,100 teachers from losing their jobs and denied 7,000 children access to a better education. That is called hypocrisy!

This post is specially dedicated to my thousands of admiring readers who are major political figures (you can’t prove otherwise). It’s time we had a grown-up talk.

When Bill Clinton left office I thought it was finally safe for children to watch the news again. But clearly you folks need some help dealing with two very important subjects: The Internet and your personal sexual choices which creep me out. Why? Not to save your careers, or protect the Republic, or advance your political agenda. I want you to listen to my advice because I’m sick of hearing what you cheeky monkeys do with your free time and I’d like a break.

Many of you came of age in the era of the rotary dial phone, so let me take a moment to explain the Internet. The Internet is a place where people post semi-anonymous naked pictures of themselves for anyone to enjoy. It can also be used for other stuff like playing games, stealing classified information, pirating movies, and virtual farming.

The country is in the crapper and the economic outlook for America is bleak. Our debt topped $14 trillion and in two short years, because Obama spent $4 trillion. That’s the same amount president Bush spent during his eight years in office. Unemployment is at 9% and will probably remain high for years to come though Team Obama pledged in 2009 the $800 billion stimulus would stop unemployment from reaching 8%. Auto sales are down despite the $80 billion auto bailout for Chrysler and GM of which $14 billion in taxpayer money will never be repaid.

And the frosting on this horror cake is home prices have plunged to 2002 levels in every state except DC and Washington, wiping out 10 years of equity for Americans. Obama’s foreclosure prevention programs and the administration’s $8,000 homebuyer tax credit did nothing to fix the housing problem. This reality was the result of Obama’s lack of leadership. During remarks in Ohio to Chrysler workers, Obama said the economy had been “hit by a truck” and “it’s going to take a while to mend.” More like the economy was hit by a tsunami.

I’m not an expert on Egypt. I’m starting to expand my knowledge of Islam but I am no expert on that subject either. So, when I’m faced with a deficit of expertise and the pundits that appear on TV, all who have an agenda of their own, I’m forced to turn to the one thing I do know, Gangsta Movies. If I can fit each person, or side, of a conflict into their appropriate places in Scarface, Casino, or Godfather, I can pretty much figure out how the story will end.

First there’s the Head of the Organization, or the Don; which in this case would be America. Then there are the heads of all the families in the Organization; which in this case would be Egypt and Mubarak would be the head of the Egyptian Family. Keep in mind that there are other families that rely on the loyalty and “mutual respect” from The Don. There are also factions outside the Organization that would love to see the The Don fall and quickly take his place, but that’s what makes the “mutual respect” so important. As long as The Don is even handed and allows the Men to be Men and handle their own affairs, they would support him whenever the need arises. But when The Don starts to show favor, a lack of courage, or a waiving loyalty, the Organization is vulnerable to internal threats.

We are told that the key to advancement is to go to college, get a degree, and to go to graduate school. Without this, we are told, we might as well resign our lives to work at McDonalds as part time hourly workers. I want to know why is this the mindset in America? Have we forgotten that many of our most treasured Leaders did not go to College? Lincoln, Vanderbilt, Astor, Washington, Hamilton, Jefferson–All of these celebrated heroes of the American Pantheon did not go to college. So Why are we in such a hurry to go?

College is no longer a marker of whether you will have a pleasant life. There are plenty of college graduates with no jobs, negative bank accounts, and no equity. The years of college and a nice salary and easy life after are no longer valid. Members of my generation face a high unemployment rate, yet we receive no recognition from any political party. College has gotten harder to pay for us, yet political leaders focus only on the elderly. All of this was happening when the economy was thriving. Now the economy has stalled for the forseeable future and nothing has prepared us for what we face.