Friday Open Thread

Filed in National by on September 3, 2010

Welcome to your Friday open thread. It doesn’t look too hurricane-y around here. I guess we’re getting a miss. How does it look in southern Delaware?

Physicist Stephen Hawking has a new book out and he’s sure created a lot of attention. I saw blaring headlines all day yesterday “Hawking: God did not create the Universe.”

God did not create the universe, the man who is arguably Britain’s most famous living scientist says in a forthcoming book.

In the new work, The Grand Design, Professor Stephen Hawking argues that the Big Bang, rather than occurring following the intervention of a divine being, was inevitable due to the law of gravity.

“Because there is a law such as gravity, the universe can and will create itself from nothing,” he writes. “Spontaneous creation is the reason there is something rather than nothing, why the universe exists, why we exist.

“It is not necessary to invoke God to light the blue touch paper and set the universe going.”

In the forthcoming book, published on 9 September, Hawking says that M-theory, a form of string theory, will achieve this goal: “M-theory is the unified theory Einstein was hoping to find,” he theorises.

He did an interview with the BBC.

Despite what the headlines say, Hawking did not change his mind about God. I plan on picking up his book, I’ve always been interested in the Grand Unified Theory.

Sharron Angle said what?

I don’t know who’s advising Sharron Angle (R), the extremist Senate candidate in Nevada, but those responsible for writing her talking points must be awfully frustrated. This week, Angle managed to argue — out loud, in public, and on the record — that unemployment benefits don’t benefit anyone.

Sitting down with conservative radio talk show host Heidi Harris, Angle once again addressed a topic that brought her a bit of political heat — including a hard-hitting ad from her opponent Harry Reid– not too long ago.

“People don’t want to be unemployed,” she explained. “They want to have real, full-time, permanent jobs with a future. That’s what they want, and we need to create that climate in Washington, D.C. that encourages businesses to create those full-time, permanent jobs with a future, and all [Rep.] Shelley Berkeley and [Senate Majority Leader] Harry Reid want to do is put a band-aid on this by extending unemployment, which really doesn’t benefit anyone. What happens is of course that your skills stagnate. You become demoralized yourself, you know, feeling that I can’t ever get a job, and these are not the solutions to the problem. We have real solutions, but they won’t look at the real solutions.”

This isn’t necessarily surprising. Angle has already accused jobless Americans, struggling to get by in an awful job market, of being “spoiled.” It stands to reason, then, that she actually believes this nonsense.

Just think, if Christine O’Donnell wins the Republican Senate primary there will be a whole host of articles on the dumb things Christine O’Donnell is saying. Oh joy!

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Opinionated chemist, troublemaker, blogger on national and Delaware politics.

Comments (15)

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  1. dv says:

    anyone else get the Mike Castle mail piece that said he was going to cut taxes and balance the budget? And that he voted against the stimulus?

    it’s priceless.

  2. Mike Castle is riding the magic tax-cutting unicorn still?

  3. MJ says:

    We’re basically having some drizzle and light winds (5-10 MPH). Earl is a bust.

  4. MJ says:

    More fun at the expense of Jan Brewer – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sRdN_m48m4o

  5. cassandra m says:

    James Carville was right about Central PA:

    Butts Arrested in Boob Murder Case

  6. Delaware Libertarian says:

    It’s amazing that this Senate race is so interesting for so many people. At restate.com, the story with the most comments is the senate race for Delaware

    Including this article, where Erick Erickson retracts (kind of) his support for O’Donnell. http://www.redstate.com/erick/2010/09/03/pulling-the-plug-in-delaware-the-libertycom-and-christine-odonnell-matter/

    Also, Chris Christie came to UD and endorsed Castle.

    I swear, if O’Donnell wins, I’m voting for Coons- he’ll probably be the only democrat on the ticket that I would vote for.

  7. It’s just one of those races, Libertarian. I can’t see O’Donnell winning – she’s just got too much baggage.

  8. Seriously, PPP – polling Boehner’s tan?

    On a less serious note Boehner’s overall poll numbers are at least running ahead of the poll numbers for his tan. Only 8% of voters in the state have a favorable opinion of Boehner’s tan while 27% view it unfavorably. Democrats, Republicans, and independents alike have a negative opinion of it, about the only thing they all agreed on in this poll. 30% of voters in the state think Boehner spends too much time on his tan, 14% think he spends about the right amount of time, and 4% say it’s not enough. Maybe his overall poll numbers on the home front will go up if he tones it down a little on the tanning

  9. anonone says:

    Amazing? Hardly. Watching attractive women do dumb things and obliviously humiliate themselves will always sell papers. ( . Y . ) If O’Donnell was not pleasing to look at, this would be a total non-story.

    BTW, win or lose, this publicity will turn out to be the gold mine that she has been looking for.

  10. Phil says:

    If she had just left this part out she would of been ok:

    “…which really doesn’t benefit anyone. What happens is of course that your skills stagnate. You become demoralized yourself, you know, feeling that I can’t ever get a job, and these are not the solutions to the problem.”

  11. There is a Household Hazardous Waste collection event tomorrow in Newark 8-4 at the Old Curtis Paper Mill site on Paper Mill Road.

  12. Aoine says:

    did Chris Christie come to take a class on ” filling out a federal education application correctly?”””

    Ten other states seemed to do it ok – Then he blames the feds – then his staff – then the paperwork volume

    and if you have not seen the video of the meeting – you need to…

  13. CycloneRanger says:

    Are we drinking liberally? I got a funny. Its not about puking its about stupid college deans

  14. anonone says:

    Actually, MJ, I often write comments that have nothing to do with Obomba. I post my comments and criticisms about Obomba mostly in open threads, although I will comment about his actions or inactions if they are related to a current thread’s topic. I deliberately try to avoid hijacking threads, in spite of your accusations to the contrary.

    And I make no apologies for being on the far left.

    Funny how a blog that used to criticize the President all the time when it was Bush rarely even blogs about Obomba at all. Why bother, I guess, when y’all can blog about more important topics like O’Donnell and baseball?

    So I am sure that you’ll continue with your name-calling, attempts at ridicule, and your passionate defense of the status quo, but you’re not defining others; you’re only defining yourself.

  15. MJ says:

    A1 – maybe when you show some respect for the President and use his correct name, you’ll get some respect on here. Until then, you are considered a lefteagging troll.

    And so much for your philosophical blather (translation – I know you are but what am I?). Blah, blah, blah.