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Loyal Oaths And Constitutional Freedom

Tue, 06 May 2008 12:37:49 GMT

clipped by: debbyski

When Wendy Gonaver was offered a job teaching American studies at Cal State Fullerton this academic year, she was pleased to be headed back to the classroom to talk about one of her favorite themes: protecting constitutional freedoms.

But the day before class was scheduled to begin, her appointment as a lecturer abruptly ended over just the kind of issue that might have figured in her course. She lost the job because she did not sign a loyalty oath swearing to "defend" the U.S. and California constitutions "against all enemies, foreign and domestic."

As a Quaker from Pennsylvania and a lifelong pacifist, Gonaver objected to the California oath as an infringement of her rights of free speech and religious freedom.

"I wanted it on record that I am a pacifist," said Gonaver, 38. "I was really upset. I didn't expect to be fired. I was so shocked that I had to do this."

The Metobolic Magic Of Sled Dogs

Tue, 06 May 2008 12:32:51 GMT

clipped by: debbyski

Clip Source: www.nytimes.com

When humans engage in highly strenuous exercise day after day, they start to metabolize the body’s reserves, depleting glycogen and fat stores. When cells run out of energy, a result is fatigue, and exercise grinds to a halt until those sources are replenished.

Dogs are different, in particular the sled dogs that run the annual Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race in Alaska. This is a grueling 1,100-mile race, and studies show that the dogs somehow change their metabolism during the race.

Dr. Davis, who studied the sled dogs, found they did not chew up their reserves and avoided the worst aspects of fatigue.

Dr. Davis, who is teaming with researchers at Texas A&M in a $300,000 Darpa grant, awarded last fall, has been traveling to Alaska for years to learn why the sled dogs are “fatigue-proof.”

“They have a hidden strategy that they can turn on,” he said. “We are confident that humans have the capacity for that strategy. We have to figure out how dogs are turning it on to turn it on in humans.”

I'm Not Lying; Just telling a Future Truth

Tue, 06 May 2008 12:30:04 GMT

clipped by: debbyski

Clip Source: www.nytimes.com

Some tales are so tall that they trip over their own improbable feats, narrative cracks and melodrama. That one-on-one playground victory over Kobe Bryant back in the day; the 34 hours in labor without painkillers; the former girlfriend or boyfriend who spoke eight languages and was a secret agent besides.

Yes, uh-huh, really. Is it closing time yet?

Yet in milder doses, self-serving exaggeration can be nearly impossible to detect, experts say, and there are several explanations.

In that sense, fibs can reflect something close to the opposite of the frustration, insecurity and secretiveness that often fuel big lies. That may be why they can come so easily, add up so fast and for some people — especially around closing time — become indistinguishable from the truth.

Our Gods Take Credit Cards

Tue, 06 May 2008 12:24:45 GMT

clipped by: debbyski

Clip Source: www.nytimes.com

Suppose you’re preparing to travel by air. Which of these precautions do you think is most likely to prevent your plane from crashing?

A) Sacrificing a gilt-horned bull on an altar.

B) Sacrificing two goats on the tarmac.

C) Buying flight insurance.

I’m guessing you didn’t go for the bull sacrifice

Last year, tens of millions of people bought life insurance for scheduled flights of airlines in the United States. Not one of those insured passengers died in a crash — and this was not just a coincidence, at least not to many of the people who bought the insurance.

No, at some level they believed that their insurance helped keep the plane aloft, according to psychologists with new experimental evidence of just how weirdly superstitious people can be.

We may not slaughter animals anymore to ward off a plague, but we think buying health insurance will keep us from getting sick.

But at least our gods take credit cards.