Tag: politics

How to Vote for Science

On By Catherine HausteinIn UncategorizedLeave a comment

Vote NO for poisons and censorship!

Some in this town have gotten a political mean streak and passed it on to their kids. Kids, or another immature group, have been roaming the town late nights and early mornings stealing political signs and in darkness ringing doorbells of people who might be signaling that they are open minded. Pella is poisoned with such bigotry.

I can’t understand why people here are so afraid and define themselves by opposition to others.  Maybe they hate something inside themselves. How deep does the censorship urge go in these people? Do they want scientists to be censored? The real fear of many scientists is yes, they do. 

I’m proudly displaying signs and I’m here to confess to one more reason I’m a Democrat—science policy. I admit, science policy isn’t going to sway the vote of a low information voter. But do you think even those voters want to pave the ways for cures and sharing of information that could lead to those cures? Who should own these cures? Will they be only for the rich? Might they be curious about new sources of energy? Do they want protection from toxins and a healthy life? Do they use weather forecasting and knowledge about weather and climate to keep safe or at least comfortable? Do they want to invest in basic science? Science can bring security to our lives, security that could be tossed out with the wrong president or party in charge. 

In general, Republicans don’t like science or take advice from scientists. Remember when Trump said COVID would go away and Iowa Governor took advice from Moms about masks—even saying that people should be able to make their own healthcare decisions. As Christina Bohannan pointed out, Iowa’s policy will make it harder to keep people safe should another pandemic arise.  Even before this, Republican presidents rejected even fundamental science such as evolution in favor of weapons of war, some of which couldn’t even be made. 

Why should government be involved in science? The government has long led the way in innovations, especially in computers and the life sciences. Every new drug since 2010 has started off with tax-payer funded basic research. Basic research is the study of a phenomenon or set of observable facts to understand them without a product in mind. Funding for basic research can come from the government, academia, or business. The federal government provides funding for about 40% of basic research, much of it health related. One thing that is good about government funded research is that it is shared with the public. Accessibility to scientific findings funded by the government was implemented during the Obama years. Biden has kept that legacy alive. This means that important discoveries won’t be made secret from the public and all of us, especially other scientists, can benefit and move things forward. As Isaac Newton said, science stands on the should of giants. 

Private funding of discoveries has a few downsides. For one thing, private organizations often have CEOs making huge salaries and sometimes these people can be huge jerks. Privatized research often has less oversight and has the potential to harm human and animal subjects. It doesn’t have to share research results and thus, hoards information that can be valuable to everyone. We could even see scientific advances being made available to a select few. Think about the harassment people get in Pella simply for having a sign! 

Although it often depends on Congress, basic science could be highly disrupted by Trump’s rearrangement of federal offices. You may be familiar with the principle CEOs use when they have to look like they are doing something—reorganization. Trump has said this is something he would do and institutions such as the Institutes of Health and the National Science Foundation could face disruptions. He’s tried this before. The only silver lining is that he failed at his reorganization attempt, just as many of these strategies fail in the long run. Sadly, he appointed many unqualified people to science positions, prompting Scientific American to endorse Harris.

Scientific freedom is another consideration when deciding which party to vote for. Remember when George Busch stopped stem cell research and set back cures for things like cancer and Parkinson’s disease? Here in Iowa, we have had a requirement to teach about HPV and vaccines for it removed from the public school curriculum, a furthering of dumbing down science literacy. Why this happened, nobody is saying.  But let’s be real—Protect My Innocence is probably hiding under your bed on this one. 

Trump has already done things that alarmed scientists such as altering a FEMA Hurricane map. In fact, he has interfered with science based decision making over 200 times. (As a comparison, Biden has done this two times.)

In stark contrast, Biden-Harris has moved to regulate and eliminate toxic substances such as endocrine disruptors from our lives while Trump issued an executive order that for every new regulation, two regulations had to be eliminated. Biden-Harris made limits and laws against toxic substances a priority. They even have worked to limit polyfluoroalkyl substances, PFAS. (Read here) Meanwhile, Trumps speaks highly of asbestos.  

 There are more comparisons and you can find them here, where I got much of my information. For further analysis, click here.

It’s sad that some in Pella are prompted to engage in censorship. Just remember, according to this book if you aren’t a Puritan, you are the enemy within. But Puritans respected science, so under Republicans, things have gotten much worse. Now even scientists are the enemy within. We saw how things went when a pandemic was downplayed. Let’s not do it again.  Vote NO for poisons and censorship

And by the way, putting American flags on a sign might make it harder to steal. 

The “A” word on Many Lips

On By Catherine HausteinIn Uncategorized1 Comment

As an eldest daughter, I can understand the appeal of authoritarianism. I was put in charge of these lesser beings, my siblings, by parental authority figures. Of course, they rebelled against my rule but I found that scaring them with the threat of home invasion and the paranormal—which only I could control– worked well to keep them under my thumb. Somehow, I inherently knew that making the world, or at least those nights when I babysat, a scary place worked in my favor.  I’m glad to say I grew out of my tyrannical ways. I can’t say how it happened. Maybe I decided I couldn’t pull it off for the rest of my life, or, having a happy childhood, I outgrew it. Good thing! It was antithetical to being a scientist.

Scientists are drawn to a dynamic body of knowledge that builds and expands. Authoritarianism is a form of ignorance, governing by omission of information. It’s often static. That’s why science and authoritarianism clash.  Authoritarianism most often fails, but it can last way too long for the life of a scientist. 

Authoritarianism is fueled by both ideology and prejudice and is held up by two worldviews. Followers often follow the first view, leaders the second view, and some people have both views.

  1. The world is a dangerous, unstable and un-predictable place. A candidate appealing to this group will take a dark world view. Coercing people into conforming helps stabilize the status quo. Punishing people for violating the norm is encouraged. Scary people are at the door!  Crime is up! You’re going to need weapons! This is particularly true for right wing authoritarians (shown here in cartoon) and people who grew up with instability who have not developed “openness.”
  • The desire to socially dominate in a competitive world where the strong survive and the weak perish. These people cultivate inequality and see themselves as tough. They don’t like participation trophies. They aren’t afraid to lie. Lies make them strong when people believe them. 

One important step along the way is creating prejudice. First, an out group must be identified as both threatening to the social order and capable of competing with the dominant societal groups. I was once at a bookstore selling some of my novels alongside a person selling Pella history books. She told me that Pella was once a coal mining town. When miners went on strike, the mining company went to the South and brought back black miners to break the strike, creating prejudice.

This might explain this racist political advertisement, which combines fear, subtle prejudice, and the superiority of the white, small-town life. And it’s not the only one that will flood your screen. Most authoritarian prejudice is towards people perceived as scary, people perceived as weak (lazy, old), and people perceived as different.  

Authoritarians in general support these types of policies:

  1. Leaving cooperative alliances with others. Brexit for example lead to the United Kingdom exiting The European Union
  2. Aggressive behavior to others such as corporal punishment, banning abortion for rape victims, and forced assimilation (one language polices, forced religion) which involves removing civil rights. 
  3. Belief that your country should not be criticized.
  4. Rigid stands against personal choices and public health and safety if they oppose monied interests, including those that honestly help the group such as maintaining a clean environment. 
  5. Refusal to accept evidence and lack of awareness of anything that goes against their beliefs.
  6. Unambiguous rules and morality. 
  7. Unity means conformity, as this authoritarian expert points out in a bone chilling analysis of the RNC convention.
  8. Restraints on voting and participation.

Both right and left political views can follow authoritarians but in general, left-wing authoritarianism is much less prevalent and focuses on the good of society. It still can suffer many of the flaws of authoritarianism. By definition, right wing politics promotes social hierarchy and meshes better with authoritarianism. 

Authoritarianism is having a global resurgence. Only 20% of global citizens enjoy what would be classified as freedom. Iowa itself has repeatedly put well-funded authoritarians, often connected with  Christian Nationalists,  at the helm. Authoritarianism is the way with Christian Nationalism. Every bona fide pastor should be denouncing it but they won’t because they know what will happen at the hands of their authoritarian congregation members. 

Authoritarian candidates see generous funding and not just from Christian Nationalists. Many tech billionaires in the US says they don’t believe in democracy anymore. One of those men gave us JD Vance. Elon Musk alone is pledging tens of millions of dollars per month to Trump. 

In general, traits needed to be a good scientist such as honesty, preference for group-based hierarchy (team players), and openness to experience do not promote authoritarianism and are negatively associated with conservatism. Thus, you will see right-wing authoritarians actively opposing scientists. 

Although scientists promoted masking to protect classrooms from COVID, the Iowa Governor chose to listen to and promote a right-wing mom group. In fact, I know of people in Pella who would not get a covid test and got mad at people who did because they did not want to make their authoritarian governor look bad. 

Noted climate scientist James Hansen is from Iowa. You’d think we’d be proud of him and have our elected ones consult him. Instead, our state leaders ignore him and get scientific advice from Ashton Kutcher. Extreme weather is associated with climate change, yet authoritarians want to cut weather forecasting and study because they tell it like it is.

A downside of right-wing authoritarianism, which has been studied more than left-wing authoritarianism because it is more of a threat, is that the population will be exploited by right-wing leaders and will become less innovative and less open to learning and exploration. Because they are by nature dishonest and even unaware, authoritarians most often fall into corruption. Authoritarians are a danger to a country.

A right-wing society also faces more intergroup conflict because it promotes hostility, competition, and rigid beliefs. I like football and recognize that team sports can help foster cooperation but we are such a competitive society these days that people have to have therapy when their favorite team loses.  The dark triad of high narcissism “fosters a competitive worldview.”

You can see these elements in this t-shirt. The shirt implies others might step out of bounds and need to be strong armed and removed from town.

Many right-wing leaders have emerged recently. They most often arise out of a chaotic situation which is why they love to sew more chaos and out-group hostility. Trump and the Iowa Republicans are such leaders. Trump and Republicans have authoritarian plans for education, which wipes out any intercultural understanding. Iowa appears to be a test case for Pr0ject 2O25 which is distinctly uncooperative and right wing. 

Authoritarianism is a harmful societal ideal which ultimately undercuts personal autonomy, a key to happiness and diminishes democracy. It undermines science and public health. It cuts creativity, which requires openness. 

To resist authoritarianism, point out their corruption and stand up for human rights. People who dislike authoritarianism and prefer intergroup cooperation are a diverse group of people, so appreciating some differences of opinion is important. Leave the absolutes to the authoritarians! Not all of them are not going to grow up, unfortunately. 

Most of the information for this post comes from this review article in the prestigious science journal Nature. 

When moms turn bad

On By Catherine HausteinIn Uncategorized1 Comment

I had a great Mother’s Day. My family is amazing. But I can’t help be a little disturbed about what “Mother” is coming to mean these days. Have you noticed all the women and politicians who are playing their Mom card when they do mean things to other women? “I’m a mom and I want to regulate your pregnancy.”

It really doesn’t matter if you are a mom, a grandma or whatever. Those labels don’t get you off the hook for your misogyny. Misogyny, hatred of women, runs deep. 

Women have faced so much oppression that naturally, some seek refuge in being misogynists themselves for their own safety. This link points out the numerous forms of female misogyny, some of which I have no doubt embraced at a point in my life. Certainly, we can have different opinions. But let’s face it, betrayal and denial of autonomy, is the ultimate crime against women. At its core, misogyny takes away choices and sadly, some females are more than happy to take away the choices of others.

Take a moment to read about the hellscape Idaho has become for women of childbearing age. The idea that you and your doctor can’t make pregnancy decisions is a blatant form of misogyny. Why do females subscribe to these views? The answer is: we’ve all been indoctrinated into a society that devalues women. Some of us may have been mean girls. We may have gotten our promotion but kept other women down. Maybe we’ve felt that a capable woman didn’t deserve a leadership position. Maybe, like Queen Victoria, we’ve disparaged feminists, because we are good girls, worthy leaders, and they are bad.

 Let’s not forget that the Nazis treasured motherhood and gave women gold crosses for having kids. Lots of women loved this and were Hitler fans because it gave them a purpose and a justification for being and a godly reward for their piety and submission to their husbands. Not to be too graphic here but these women let others be shot and lead to the gas chambers in order to make themselves feel good about their lives. That’s how bad women have it. They kill for respect. Some women who have low self-esteem and have been abused even find serial killers of women sexually appealing.

Yes, women are misogynists. They even hate themselves. Hatred of women rubs off. I don’t think many can escape it. Now it seems, we have a whole crop of female politicians and Supreme Court justices who are here to support the devaluation of female life. It’s getting to be too much. Doctors won’t put up with this unhealthy, inhumane behavior.Heck, normal people won’t either. But misogyny is sneaky and takes many disguises. The most recent is to pretend to be a gynomorph. 

The gynomorph, combining male and female characteristics, has always had a certain allure. Think David Bowie, who has recently had a gynomorph lobster named after him. Many of us love unisex fashion, unisex fragrance, and gender neutral baby names. In the past, Bacchus, the ancient god of ecstasy, has been portrayed as a gynomorph. The gynomorph is powerful, but it’s being used for unsavory ends that betray the whole concept.

Here is a modern-day interpretation of a gynomorph. It’s a female but a tough woman with a gun down there to represent her “masculine side.” How many political ads have we seen like this? The far-right, guns, and misogyny go hand in hand.Easy access to guns is part of a misogynist’s toolbox. Mass shootings and misogyny are buddies.  Misogynists are more likely to be violent.  Yes, misogyny is the gateway for violence. Despite this, politicians, including female politicians, glorify violence in their advertisements. Most of these violent types claim the label of mom. Exposure to violence is bad for kids by the way. 

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If you think about it, a woman who is willing to define and betray her sisters and/or who embraces violence, is a warped evil gynomorph, embracing the male art of betraying females and being a violent misogynist. Gynomorphs are supposed to be symbols of unity. Too bad this symbol is being used for false purposes by politicians.

It’s difficult for women to get ahead without some form of gynomorphism. It might be brandishing a gun, drinking men under the table, or most blatantly, making laws targeted at other women. I wish I had a dollar for every man who said positive things about women who hold the very same views as misogynistic men. These false gynomorphs are reversing women’s rights and obediently doing everything misogynic men would love, as this person points out so clearly. 

And don’t forget—the new false gynomorphs are wives, mothers, and grandmothers. In case you didn’t know, their biographies, group names, and they will tell you. They want you to believe that what they stand for is what a normal woman would do. Well, I’m a mother too and I don’t like what they have brought us–women airlifted to abortion friendly states to save their lives or tossing doctors in jail for example. And let’s not forget some of the things the man they endorse for president has said about women. Claiming that infanticide is a thing is blatant misogyny—it’s aimed at taking away rights. Terrorizing women is the goal of misogyny. 

There are “moms” who support the assault on information both in the forms of library bans (claiming some sort of knowledge about books harming children)  and bad mouthing public schools—because censoring and ignoring other opinions is a sign of these control freak moms married to control freak men who lose their cool. It’s sad to say but their kids will suffer—struggling to make choices and exhibiting low self-esteem. Maybe that’s the way they like it. 

There is nothing wrong with a woman being strong, decisive, informed, a scientist, a rugby player, a Jezebel, a homemaker, or even liking target practice. Several people in my family are good shots. There’s nothing wrong with protecting children.

One beef I have with these evil gynomorphs is the way they downplay the expertise of other women and their advocates (such as OBGYNS) as if there are only so many seats at the table. Another problem comes when they deny autonomy to others, because autonomy is at the heart of happiness. Having autonomy in life choices is key to adolescent happiness. It makes for a better workplace. Lack of autonomy is why traditional roles can be stifling and it’s why, people are drawn to the power of the gynomorph.

A gynomorph should be a unifying symbol, a fun way of celebrating inclusivity. Sadly, those masquerading as a gynomorph want to take away the choice and self-expression of others. Women, let’s stop killing each other, and our pets, to try to get self-respect. And please, stop labeling hate groups with the word “mom”. It’s truly degrading.

Monday’s Iowa Caucus–and my opinion on it

On By Catherine HausteinIn Uncategorized4 Comments

The Iowa caucuses will take place this Monday, January 15. A caucus is a party meeting and both the Democrats and the Republicans will meet separately to discuss who should run for president and what their party goals and beliefs should be.

Iowa has had the first in the nation caucus since 1968. It’s my opinion that the caucuses have made Iowa a mean, attention seeking, and stressed-out place. That’s the goal of authoritarians, and a big part of the Republican base here in Iowa are authoritarians (evangelicals).

In case you haven’t followed the Republican caucuses here, candidates have been crisscrossing the state trying to prove which one is the biggest, toughest bully. Ever since Joni Ernest won a Senate seat with an ad about castrating pigs and shooting Obamacare, Iowa has been racing towards the bottom of the valley of incivility. We have an attorney general who never tried a case, so understandably needs an extra million dollars to run her office. But she wanted to give Biden the Bird and this mean message won over the hearts of Iowans.

In a local election, the library was disparaged to the extent that some highly sheltered people became afraid to go there. The worry? They were lead to believe porn was sitting out in the childrens’ section. When a library crack-down referendum lost in a local election, the head of the group pushing for the oversight called those who didn’t support her views porn loving Marxists for government spending. And on matters of book censorship, my own state senator implied I was a pervert when I pointed out that for books, context was important.

Our governor ignored the urging of medical professionals on several issues numerous times, yet took the advice of Moms for Liberty, even posing with them. It really doesn’t matter if people in these groups have kinky sex or shoplift.  There’s money to be made from endorsements after all.

What happened to Iowa? I’d credit money pouring into misinformation. Take a look at the local county website. It’s filled with conspiracy theories and misinformation. Their antics have been reported, yet people still vote for them. It’s no secret that money has fueled their opinions and packed the Supreme Court. Iowans are no match for the conservative media sites popping up, many of which inflame stories and harass people they disagree with.  Studies have shown that conservative people are more susceptible to misinformation, more likely to repeat it, and that conservative news sites spread more misinformation.

Conservatives are lied to more and they believe it. Those who believe it and repeat it the most have a high desire for chaos. Republicans are associated with more inequality—and also more violence.  What isn’t discussed enough is that these people are also bored. They want to dress up and spread chaos because being a Republican is like putting on a costume and getting attention, especially here in Iowa where we have the first in the nation caucus.  Maybe they feel they can’t fit in with polite society and  they feel marginalized. In any case, it’s a circus of single issue voters and misinformation here in Iowa. Thankfully, it will be over soon.

The Democrats are having a caucus but not voting for the presidential candidate. The vote will be done through a mail in ballot. According to the Marion County Democrats:

On November 1, 2023, the window opened for Iowa Democrats to request their Presidential Preference Cards for the 2024 Iowa Caucuses.  The IDP Disability Caucus was instrumental in this process.  This is a major change in our Caucus; however, it’s definitely more inclusive and something that many will appreciate this year with the extreme weather that we’re experiencing.  It enables participation by those who are sick, don’t drive at night, work evening shifts, stuck at home due to nasty weather, babysitting or elderly sitting and the list can go on and on.

If you’ve not requested your Presidential Preference Card, please note that February 19th is the last day to make your request. The on-line process is the easiest and quickest way to ensure your request is received in a timely manner. The online submission form meets accessibility needs and does provide an option for Spanish translation. If there are questions regarding the online process, they’ve created a helpline to call (515-216-3893) and if necessary, leave a message and they’ll call you back as soon as possible.

Another option to request a Presidential Preference Card, is to print & complete the attached IDP Request Form.pdf and mail it to the address on the form.

The bold is my addition. I always liked the caucus and the discussion with neighbors. However, I find the “discuss now, vote later” approach more appealing than I thought I might. It’s true that it’s more inclusive. Additionally, COVID is on the rise again, and although Iowan’s don’t like to admit having it, wastewater don’t lie and our level right now is “very high.” Not everyone can afford to be exposed.

If that’s not enough to show that an in-person vote isn’t inclusive, get a look at the weather forecast!

It’s not just cold.

It’s windy!

It’s too bad the weather won’t allow more people to attend because one useful thing that will happen is to discuss the party platform.

Here is the Democratic Party Platform

Here’s the Republican one.

The weather is likely to suppress the rural and elderly participants. Iowans are being told to let god guide their vote.

Many will probably see this as a test of their faith. These are the same people who ignored COVID warnings and had and continue to have higher death rates.

Iowans want personal attention. However, it’s notable that one candidate who ignored warnings slid off the road during a snow storm on the way to an event and has slowed down his campaigning. We have a blizzard warning here today and candidates are altering their schedules by cancelling or going virtual. As for the Republican front runner, he’s been in court and is keeping a light schedule here.

Biden’s American Rescue Plan has been good for Iowa but our governor has given him the cold shoulder, downplaying his help, ignoring his visits, and even rejecting summer food aid to feed kids.  Needless to say, he hasn’t been here. Smart guy.

Update: within 31 minutes, Trump was declared the winner.