Seeing the Light

Social "Science," Really?

"We know stuff. Really, we do. We wear lab coats and everything."

For virtually my entire adult life, I have labored to disabuse people of the notion that "social science" is an actual thing. As you might imagine, this has not been an easy task.




It has been my experience that almost all such "science" is just thinly-veiled, agenda-promoting leftist claptrap. So you'll forgive me if I indulge in some well-earned gloating at reports that one of the most-quoted "studies" purporting to show that conservatives are prone to psychotic behavior and authoritarianism got their results exactly backwards. In other words, the tendentious "scientists" responsible for this nonsense AND their echo chamber in the progressive mainstream media were completely full of shit the whole time.

The big news on this front today is a story about how one of the most influential studies in the field of human psychology turns out to be complete applesauce.

My primary objection to that sort of "science" has been its lack of reliability. The results simply don't reproduce when other researchers try testing the same hypothesis. Some people have gone so far as to call this a "crisis," which of course the social science folks hotly dispute.

All I know is, a whole bunch of progressives are running around pushing for significant changes in public policy, disruptive changes, and accusing anyone who opposes them of being "anti-science."

For instance, given the current political climate and the power wielded by the LGBT lobby, a tremendous amount of "research" on the subject of human sexuality has popped up in the social sciences, almost always with a finding that supports some key tenet of the the LGBT political agenda. As one would expect, it turns out that there is less here than meets the eye. Much less, in fact.

Two prominent figures from the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine recently published an analysis of the literature in the field of human sexuality. Among their key findings?

Some of the most widely held views about sexual orientation, such as the 'born that way' hypothesis, simply are not supported by science.

"Ouch! That's going to leave a mark..."

If we're fortunate, yes...I won't be holding my breath, though...

Eight

Yesterday afternoon at Kauffman Stadium my beloved Kansas City Royals continued their recent hot streak, beating the Minnesota Twins in a tense 2-1 pitcher's duel. It was the team's eighth straight victory, and the sweep of the four-game series against the Twins was their fifth consecutive series win.

Now 11-1, 2.66 ERA

Royals starter Danny Duffy continued to assert himself as the staff ace, allowing only a single run over his 6 2/3 innings. Danny won his 10th straight decision, and the team hasn't lost a game he has started for two months.

Relievers Peter Moylan, Joakim Soria, and Kelvin Herrera didn't allow a baserunner over the game's final 2 1/3 innings.

"Bang!"

The Royals didn't muster much offense against former teammate Ervin Santana, getting only five hits, but they were able to break the 1-1 tie in the bottom of the 6th inning on 1B Eric Hosmer's RBI double that scored RF Lorenzo Cain all the way from first base. It was just enough.

"After eight straight wins I'll bet the team is really moving up in the Wild Card stan--"

Just. Shut. Up.

Take a Mulligan, Mr. President

From the incisive pen of Michael Ramirez, whose editorial cartoons you should read often, as I do.

Until Next Time...

The music business has changed an enormous amount since my adolescence. Among the most significant changes is the rate at which artists release new material. During my high school days it was not unusual for artists to release two and occasionally even three albums within a calendar year.

One of the most prolific bands of this period was also one of my all-time favorites, Creedence Clearwater Revival. They released their eponymous first studio album in July 1968, a few weeks before I began my sophomore year of high school. Just before Christmas of my senior year, they released their sixth studio album, Pendulum.

They released my favorite of all of their albums, Cosmo's Factory, on July 25, 1970, just a few months after their multi-platinum Willy and the Poor Boys the previous November, and about three weeks after I had seen my favorite band The Who in concert for the first time. I played the new album obsessively well into my senior year, which began just as the album was peaking.

On August 22, 1970 Cosmo's Factory reached No. 1 on the Billboard 200 Albums chart, a position it would hold for nine consecutive weeks. It went on to become the best-selling album in the band's Rock and Roll Hall of Fame career, receiving four platinum certifications from RIAA, and being named to Rolling Stone magazine's 500 Greatest Albums of All Time list.




One of Creedence's signature habits was producing singles with two "A" sides, and typically having both of those songs do well on the charts. Cosmo's Factory produced
six Billboard Hot 100 Top 5 hits, four of them reaching No. 2 on that chart (the band never had a Hot 100 No. 1, oddly enough).

My favorite of them was "Long As I Can See the Light," the album's mournful finale. The song's theme, about having to travel yet always returning home, resonates with me, given the life I've led.

Today's send-off is the 2008 remastered version of the song. Enjoy...