1. Kenneth Miller on Colbert Report

Comment #195097 by Maximoose on June 17, 2008 at 5:58 pm

I think we forget that shows like the Colbert Report and Daily Show actually criticize the gov't in power. The shows are designed to critique the leaders in order to point out faults and misdirections and keep the public thinking about where their country might be going.

Here in Canada, shows like the Royal Canadian Air Farce and This Hour Has 22 Minutes are constantly tearing out everybodies ineptitudes with the focus on the current elected body.

I'm willing to bet that should Obama become president, then these shows will start to poke at the Democrats. The reason why it always seems against the right is because that's who've been giving the most material these years. Do you remember when Kerry was running? You didn't see anyone pulling punches.

I'm not saying that the shows are politically neutral, but I think that they are still dedicated to pointing out bullshit no matter which side is spewing it.

2. Physicists in Congress Calculate Their Influence

Comment #193504 by Maximoose on June 15, 2008 at 5:59 pm

I think that what any government needs is people who can deftly inform the public how much science really affects their lives. If it was possible to somehow make people not take everything that science has given them for granted, everything from cellphones to heart transplants, then I think we'd see a lot more people opening up to scientific thought. As a result, we might see people actually listening to their governments should their governments talk about the need for a shift in societal approaches to something like environmental conservation efforts, for example.