What's New Friday January 5, 2007

WHAT'S NEW   Robert L. Park   Friday, 5 Jan 07   Washington, DC

1. THE JUNKMAN: EXXON USES MILLOY TO DOWNPLAY GLOBAL WARMING. 
The Union of Concerned Scientists released a report on Wednesday
describing Exxon Mobil's efforts to manipulate public opinion on
Global Warming.  In doing so the report further exposes the role
of Steven J. Milloy, the notorious "Junkman" who wrote Junk
Science Judo (CATO, 2001), and a column for Fox News.  WN
reported a year ago that Milloy, who masquerades as a fearless
debunker of bad science, in real life works for oil and tobacco
giants http://bobpark.physics.umd.edu/WN06/wn020306.html .

2. AGE: DOES THE PARK SERVICE KNOW HOW OLD THE GRAND CANYON IS? 
Somewhere between six thousand and six million years is as close
as they can come.  The six million year figure comes from adding
up the ages of the geologic strata exposed on the canyon walls. 
You get six thousand years by adding up the "begats" in the Old
Testament until you get back to Noah.  So which is it?  Three
years ago, bookstores in Grand Canyon National Park began selling
"Grand Canyon: A Different View," approved by the Park Service. 
The book explains that runoff from Noah's flood carved the canyon
http://bobpark.physics.umd.edu/WN04/wn010204.html .  A promised
review of whether the book should be sold in the Park stalled
"over issues of church and state."  Whoa!  Geology is not church
or state, it's science.  Mary Bomar, Director of the National
Park Service since October, should be called on to keep this
silly religious tract out of National Park bookstores.

3. VALUES: SO WHAT DOES THE CONSTITUTION SAY ABOUT TAKING OATHS?
The new Congress began on a note of monumental unimportance: the
first Muslim elected to Congress, Keith Ellison, took the oath of
office on the Koran (or is it Quran).  The person who acquitted
himself professionally was the rare-books librarian at the
Library of Congress, Mark Dimunation, who came up with Thomas
Jefferson's personal copy of the Koran for Ellison to use.  Rep.
Goode (R-VA) objected that an oath on the Koran would violate
"traditional American values."  The Constitution requires an
"oath or affirmation" from the President, but two presidents,
Hoover and Pierce, chose to affirm rather than swear.  "Swear not
at all," Jesus said. "Yes should mean yes, no should mean no."  

4. TERRORISM 2007: PAT ROBERTSON HAS BEEN TALKING TO GOD AGAIN. 
During a recent prayer retreat, God told him that a terrorist
attack on the U.S. late in 2007 will result in a "mass killing". 
Robertson relayed God's message to "The 700 Club" on Tuesday. 
"The Lord didn't say nuclear, but I do believe it will be
something like that."  "I have a relatively good track record,"
he said.  "Sometimes I miss."  It's not clear whether God
mumbles, or Robertson takes poor notes, but maybe in the future
he could take along a recorder.  He once asked God to unleash
hurricanes on sinful Florida, but if sin leads to hurricanes,
Florida has been sinful since they began keeping weather records.

THE UNIVERSITY OF MARYLAND.
Opinions are the author's and not necessarily shared by the
University of Maryland, but they should be.
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