Lessons in Critical Thinking # 51026

Statistically, most urbanites are liberal leaning, global warming pushers; what about this New Yorker? - Large waves in New York city beach Tuesday, from remnants of Wilma offshore. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull) . Hat Tip Drudge

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Since 1960, the Search for Extra-Terrestrial Intelligence (SETI) has surveyed the heavens in hopes of finding transmissions from distant civilizations on alien planets. Of course, there is no way to know what frequency aliens might be using, or their language. In 1992, the U.S. government actually funded a SETI program. Later, it was ridiculed by Congress and cancelled. From Australia comes the latest whale grounding episode, Nearly 60 Whales Die in Mass Stranding. A group of 70 long finned pilot whales beached themselves in the same location in 1998, a spokeswoman said. Only 10 survived. Pilot whales are known to beach themselves in large numbers, though scientists have yet to pinpoint why. We do not know the whale's frequency or their language. Are the whales possibly sending us a message? Maybe we should know our own world better, before we attempt to communicate with aliens. For all we know, aliens may have programmed these whales to send us their message.

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Verdict Vs. Lawyer in Terror Case Upheld, a judge ruled Tuesday. Ex-lawyer Lynne Stewart was convicted of defrauding the government and making false statements after she helped pass messages between convicted bomb-plot Sheik Omar Abdel-Rahman and his followers. Stewart faces up to 20 years in prison when sentenced in December. History proves she is likely to be pardoned by the next Democrat (party of lawyers) president, which could occur before 20 years pass. Her pardon should be a "litmus" test for Dem. candidates.

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You may want to skip this one, if you object to bludgeoning of Harp seals for pelts, and now, for Omega-3, a beneficial fatty acid derived from harp seal oil used as a health food ingredient.

In 2004, 365,900 harp seals were taken, and their pelts brought about $70 each. Canada estimates the value of the 2004 Atlantic seal harvest at $16.5-million. The $3C bread is a collaborative effort of Auntie Crae's and Terra Nova Fisheries, whose president, Cosmas Ho, is also a physician. In some people's view, sealing is a controversial topic, although hunting unweaned infant seals has been banned since 1987. Now, to your mind, what is the real issue to this story? If Dr. Ho is not retired, why has he chosen not to practice medicine? Could this be yet another suboptimization of socialized medicine?