justjack Georgia Up For Grabs
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CNN) - Republican Rep. John Linder of Georgia won’t seek re-election in November’s midterm election, a National Republican Congressional Committee spokesman said. |
This is another great place for a spoiler to run in the Republican primary.
justjack This is a very improtant study that should inform your choices in deciding to run or supporting particular candidates. This should not, of course, be your only consideration but one of the criteria to be considered.
(CNN) — Political, religious and sexual behaviors may be reflections of intelligence, a new study finds.
Evolutionary psychologist Satoshi Kanazawa at the the London School of Economics and Political Science correlated data on these behaviors with IQ from a large national U.S. sample and found that, on average, people who identified as liberal and atheist had higher IQs. This applied also to sexual exclusivity in men, but not in women. The findings will be published in the March 2010 issue of Social Psychology Quarterly.
The IQ differences, while statistically significant, are not stunning — on the order of 6 to 11 points — and the data should not be used to stereotype or make assumptions about people, experts say. But they show how certain patterns of identifying with particular ideologies develop, and how some people’s behaviors come to be.
The reasoning is that sexual exclusivity in men, liberalism and atheism all go against what would be expected given humans’ evolutionary past. In other words, none of these traits would have benefited our early human ancestors, but higher intelligence may be associated with them.
“The adoption of some evolutionarily novel ideas makes some sense in terms of moving the species forward,” said George Washington University leadership professor James Bailey, who was not involved in the study. “It also makes perfect sense that more intelligent people — people with, sort of, more intellectual firepower — are likely to be the ones to do that.”
Bailey also said that these preferences may stem from a desire to show superiority or elitism, which also has to do with IQ. In fact, aligning oneself with “unconventional” philosophies such as liberalism or atheism may be “ways to communicate to everyone that you’re pretty smart,” he said.
The study looked at a large sample from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (Add Health), which began with adolescents in grades 7-12 in the United States during the 1994-95 school year. The participants were interviewed as 18- to 28-year-olds from 2001 to 2002. The study also looked at the General Social Survey, another cross-national data collection source.
Kanazawa did not find that higher or lower intelligence predicted sexual exclusivity in women. This makes sense, because having one partner has always been advantageous to women, even thousands of years ago, meaning exclusivity is not a “new” preference.
For men, on the other hand, sexual exclusivity goes against the grain evolutionarily. With a goal of spreading genes, early men had multiple mates. Since women had to spend nine months being pregnant, and additional years caring for very young children, it made sense for them to want a steady mate to provide them resources.
Religion, the current theory goes, did not help people survive or reproduce necessarily, but goes along the lines of helping people to be paranoid, Kanazawa said. Assuming that, for example, a noise in the distance is a signal of a threat helped early humans to prepare in case of danger.
“It helps life to be paranoid, and because humans are paranoid, they become more religious, and they see the hands of God everywhere,” Kanazawa said.
Participants who said they were atheists had an average IQ of 103 in adolescence, while adults who said they were religious averaged 97, the study found. Atheism “allows someone to move forward and speculate on life without any concern for the dogmatic structure of a religion,” Bailey said.
“Historically, anything that’s new and different can be seen as a threat in terms of the religious beliefs; almost all religious systems are about permanence,” he noted.
The study takes the American view of liberal vs. conservative. It defines “liberal” in terms of concern for genetically nonrelated people and support for private resources that help those people. It does not look at other factors that play into American political beliefs, such as abortion, gun control and gay rights.
“Liberals are more likely to be concerned about total strangers; conservatives are likely to be concerned with people they associate with,” he said.
Given that human ancestors had a keen interest in the survival of their offspring and nearest kin, the conservative approach — looking out for the people around you first — fits with the evolutionary picture more than liberalism, Kanazawa said. “It’s unnatural for humans to be concerned about total strangers.” he said.
The study found that young adults who said they were “very conservative” had an average adolescent IQ of 95, whereas those who said they were “very liberal” averaged 106.
It also makes sense that “conservatism” as a worldview of keeping things stable would be a safer approach than venturing toward the unfamiliar, Bailey said.
Neither Bailey nor Kanazawa identify themselves as liberal; Bailey is conservative and Kanazawa is “a strong libertarian.”
Vegetarianism, while not strongly associated with IQ in this study, has been shown to be related to intelligence in previous research, Kanazawa said. This also fits into Bailey’s idea that unconventional preferences appeal to people with higher intelligence, and can also be a means of showing superiority.
None of this means that the human species is evolving toward a future where these traits are the default, Kanazawa said.
“More intelligent people don’t have more children, so moving away from the trajectory is not going to happen,” he said.
justjack Write to your senator, congressman and to the White House and let them know that you will oppose this man’s election.
Antigay Rep to Run for Indiana Senate Seat
Indiana representative Brad Ellsworth, a conservative Democrat who has an antigay record, Friday announced his intention to seek the Senate seat being vacated by Evan Bayh.
Ellsworth, favored by the White House and the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, rose to prominence after Bayh’s decision to not seek a third term, according to The Washington Post’s blog The Fix.
Ellsworth has a poor record on gay rights and received a score of only 30 out of 100 in the Human Rights Campaign’s scorecard for the 110th Congress, 2007-2008, his first term. The HRC ranked him one of the 10 worst Democratic Congress members.
Reacting to the possibility of Ellsworth’s candidacy, HRC spokesman Michael Cole told The Huffington Post, “We do not generally get involved in these types of state party decisions. During his 2006 campaign, Brad Ellsworth voiced his support for the federal marriage amendment, making him ineligible for our endorsement.”
Ellsworth voted against federal funding for stem cell research three years ago, voted for federal bailouts of businesses, voted against the Helping Families Save Their Homes Act, and voted against health care reform.
“He is as far to the right as you can get for a potential Senate Democrate,” Chris Cillizza wrote in The Fix. “He’s a virtual Parker Griffith, the right-wing Democrat who just switched parties.”
justjack
My last post was on Mardi Gras Day when I was preoccupied with holiday issues. It seems that I was less than clear on two issues: I do not recommend investment in solar stocks. I would never presume to give anyone advice about the stock market and certainly not online in a blog. I would not take such advice myself and would hope that readers would avoid doing so.
My suggestion that readers consider “investing” in solar panels was referring to capital investment such as starting your own company, a partnership, loans and such directly in individual businesses after taking all pros and cons into consideration including an evaluation of the business plan and checking into the history of all others involved in the business. I am very big on the idea of leasing solar panels if it is done using best business practices. The same is true of panel manufacturing and research and development as well as the manufacture and renting, leasing and sale of portable solar generators. In every case it is necessary to do your homework and due diligence before spending a penny.
The other matter was my statement that I am in favor of more use of nuclear power. Certainly there are problems involved, the primary one is the nuclear waste that is now being stored on sight at power plants. Reprocessing is only a partial answer and other solutions are needed. This is also not as clean as something like fusion would be but, compared to coal, it is a much better alternative. Coal is destroying this country in so many different ways and proposals for “clean coal technology” are so far mostly mythological. The containment and disposal of coal mining waste is an even greater threat, in my opinion, than nuclear waste because of weak regulation and the violation of existing regulations that go almost completely unenforced.
There are no energy production methods that will avoid all effects on the environment but I do believe that we have an obligation to find and use the methods that will make the least impact as we move to more energy independence and that we should continue to develop as many different methods as possible from finding cheaper ways to produce vegetable oil and hydrogen and the use of wind turbines wherever practicle.
Putting “global warming” or “global climate change” aside (and these things do concern me personally) energy independence is essential if we are to ensure the safety and health of future generations.
justjack
If you have any money to invest and want to do so in a way that will make money and be an asset to the country and the environment I suggest you consider investing in water, solar power and nuclear power plants ( yes, I am in favor of much greater use of nuclear power.) We also need to invest in the containment and storage of nuclear waste which could turn into a very lucrative business if handled responsibly. I am also in favor of wind turbines for certain uses and in certain places but I do believe that solar will be the money making business as the country moves toward energy independence.
Happy Mardi Gras!
justjack
Evan Bayh, Democratic Senator from Indiana has announced his retirement. A moderate, Senator Bayh seems to have become disenchanted with the role of Senator. Speculation is that he will run for Governor of the state in 2012, a position he is known to prefer.
This is a seat that must not be allowed to go Republican. This is a good place for a Gay candidate to run in a Republican primary in order to be a spoiler and then run as an Independent in the general election.
The primary issues in this race are likely to be fiscal policy, the deficit and the debt. Social issues are not as prominent in Indiana as in other mid-western states but are certainly a part of the dialogue. A plan for jobs, debt and deficit reduction and health care will all be necessary going in.
justjack
With the entry of hate radio’s former congressman, Hayworth into the the Republican primary opposing John McCain there is now every opportunity for a Democrat or Independent to slide into a seat that will be a symbolic victory for progressives if the GOP is squeezed out.
Talking point: Is Arizona going to turn the state over to Tea Party wing nuts?
The most important issue in Arizona is immigration. You will need to make a stand on this issue and if you subscribe to a liberal policy you will need to launch a powerful effort to energize the Hispanic vote. This might be tied to an effort to change the hearts and minds of anti-gay Hispanic attitudes. Gays are willing to fight for Hispanic equality with Hispanics that are willing to fight for Gay equality.
Vive el sueño
justjack
I have given you my opinions on what I think you should do to gain economic and political influence in the country. I guess it is time that I talk about what I am doing and what I plan to do, myself.
First of all, I blog and I tweet. I am on Facebook and will soon be on YouTube. I speak my mind and expect others to do the same.
I am not able to run for public office for reasons I will not go into. Suffice it to say that I am physically limited from doing so.
I grow a good deal of my own food and have for several years so that I do not feed the corporate farming industry any more than necessary.
My partner and I share a single automobile.
I lobby my senators and congressmen on a regular basis and sign every petition that I receive that is in keeping with my personal opinions on government policies. I circulate my own petitions from time to time. I do not host political events because I do not have a proper place to do so but I do encourage these events and hope that my friends will host them. I lobby the White House on a regular basis.
My plans for the future are more ambitious and I will be in a position in a couple of months to act on those. They include small scale, sustainable food production, both animal and vegetable products, on a commercial scale and production of food products for export to countries with whom we have a serious trade deficit. I am considering the manufacture of large, portable solar generators to be rented out for special events and power outages. I have not costed out the generator project yet so I do not yet know if it will be financially feasible but I have no reason to believe that it will not. I will be using solar panels to generate electricity for most, if not all, of my farming operations. This is not only more reliable but very cost effective over time. I am even thinking of a trial project to lease solar panels to home owners but I can’t do all of this at once and that is a project for the future if I decide to go forward with it at all. I will have more than ample opportunities to drill for water on the property that I will be moving to. This will supply my crops and livestock and possibly will be bottled and sold on the open market.
Power to the (Gay) People!
justjack
Within the next ten years virtually every region of the US will be dealing with shortages of drinkable water. Prepare now to be situated to influence the policies that will be necessary to provide sufficient water to the people of this country.
If you live in a rural area and you own land you can, and should, drill wells, test the water for heavy metals and bacteria and use it or bottle and sell it. This, though, is a drop in the bucket of the larger problem.
You will have the most effect and influence if you are holding public office, particularly at the state and municipal level. Creative approaches such as solar or wind powered stills and desalination plants in addition to major cleanup projects will be required as well and this is where the debate over funding will be the most volatile and and the most important. Coal companies in particular should be responsible for funding these projects because they are the industries that create the most pollution both on the front end in mining operations and on the back end when coal is used to generate electricity.
Clean coal technology, if it really existed would eliminate only a small part of this pollution. It would do nothing to rectify the damage done in the mining operations which could be mitigated even now simply by enforcing existing regulations.
The other and most important part of clean water legislation is the clean air act because much of this pollution gets into the water in the form of acid rain which interacts with the environment to release mercury into the water that is absorbed by fish and pollutes our food supply as well.
“Keep a movin’, Dan. Don’t you listen to him, Dan. He’s a devil not a man and he spreads the burning sand with water; clear, cool, water.”
justjack
If you are living on the grid you are dependent on energy companies and the oil, gas and coal industries. If you are running your home with solar panels you are off the grid and not subject to all the pain and inconveniences of downed power lines and blackouts due to temperature.
If you are supplying people with affordable solar power you control your own fate in many ways that help to eliminate the political influences of oil, gas and coal companies wherever you do so.
I would like to see members of the LGBT community applying for stimulus funds to start up solar panel leasing companies all over the United States.
The new proposal to use returned TARP funds to supply SBA loans will make even more money available to the public.
These companies will also create jobs for administrators, clerical workers, installers and maintenance people as well as sales people to get the public on board.
Gay self reliance is about more than public office. It’s about controlling all the major influences on our lives. Energy is a huge one, but just one of those influences. Water, potable water, water for growing crops, is another.
And on a personal note, Draft Sean Payton for Governor.
