McCain 'stands up to Cuba'

Why do US conservatives still harp on about Cuba as though it's some kind of material threat to the United States? Castro's presidency has never been a realistic danger to American interests in any way, except by making reactionaries more indignant than usual.

Cutting Cuba off with the embargo has been an awful policy that has only served to cement Castro's popularity by both hiding from the Cuban people what they are missing, and giving him an obvious and tangible 'enemy'.

The USSR did not disintegrate because of Reagan's incredible military spending, nor from our covert operations, nor from our support of Afghan fighters. Detente brought about the end of the USSR by slowly letting the populace know that there was more out there and that they were missing out. Once they became dissatisfied with their government, change was only a matter of time.

The Cuban situation is exactly the same; we should lift the embargo, allow trade with Cuba, end the illegal occupation of Guantanmo Bay, and wait for the Cubans to work it out for themselves. If experience is anything to go by, they will quickly realize how much they have been missing.

Creation Museum

It's a little difficult to know where to begin with the 'Creation Museum' that recently opened in Kentucky. There is so much wrong there that I don't think I can cover it one post. I'll just say this:

The worst thing about this 'museum' is not that it is filled with glaring inaccuracies and blatently made-up 'facts'. It is that it has crystalized into a physical, permanent structure a disturbing trend in American society - intellectual laziness.

This institution tells its visitors that analytical thought, objective skepticism, and even a minimal requirement of proof are not necessary before one makes 'factual' claims. The creators of these exhibits have felt completely at ease in just making things up, relying on a faith-driven instinct that what they conclude must be the truth simply because it is buttresed by a strong pillar of Christianity.

This is the exact opposite of the processes of science that led us out of the dark ages (not uncoincidentally the peak of Christian influence) into the modern world. We must stand up to this head-in-the-sand zealotry and anti-intellectualism. It is simply not acceptable to say that because you believe something, it must be true. It is even less acceptable to then present your imagined reality in a way that deliberately emulates scientific museums around the world so as to appear credible and scientific while actually being the exact opposite.