Too poor to pay taxes
Conservatives I know keep bitching about how half of Americans don’t pay taxes.* I think their position here is kind of horrible: they see “46% of Americans don’t pay federal income taxes” and demand that they pay “their fair share.”** Isn’t a better question why are half of Americans so poor they can’t pay income taxes?
*This is wrong on its face. Half of Americans don’t pay federal income taxes. When you take into account payroll taxes, state taxes, etc, poor Americans are still paying a big chunk of their income on taxes.
**Which they already do.
Science-ese
Owens, writing in The Reproductive Biology of Lodgepole Pine, says
The genus Pinus has about 108 species but the actual number is uncertain and the taxonomy of the family unsettled.
What he means is
OMG! Why are you so complicated, pine trees?
Berry Go Round #51
Now that the days are long and the sun is out again, I’ve been spending as much time as I can outside. This is my first spring in Epiphyte City and I’ve got a lot of new plants to learn. You wouldn’t know all the botanizing I’ve been doing by looking at my blog, but lucky for you, other bloggers haven’t been so lazy. Here’s all the latest and greatest on botanizing and plant science interspersed with a few of the plants I’ve seen recently.
Bora‘s reported on some cool new research on how humans have all but turned off barley’s circadian clock.
Cindy at Dipper Ranch gives some tips for spring botanizing in the Santa Cruz Mountains, and Brett goes botanizing (and birding) on the other side of the continent in New England.
Camassia fruit
Hollis has a fascinating post up on the evolution and biogeography of two related ironwoods in southern California.
Read about the chemical helpless-looking corn seedlings make to kill harmful bacteria and attract helpful bacteria over at Inkfish.
Yuval Sapir steps in at The Daily Plant to talk about Madonna lilies – and mixes a little history with his botany.
Equisetum
Danny Chamovitz talks about the questions plant scientists try to answer. The biggest one, of course, is how to feed people in the future.
Kathryn Turner compares the destructive farming practices of modern tequila production with traditional agave growing. Guess which is best?
Lysichiton americanus, aka skunk cabbage or swamp lantern
Thanks for visiting the carnival! I hope you enjoyed it as much as I did – I can’t believe it’s been more than two years since I last hosted Berry Go Round! If it’s been awhile since you’ve hosted, or you’ve never hosted but would like to, send a quick email to berrygoround at gmail to sign up. Submit your plant related blogging for the next carnival, which will be at In the Company of Plants and Rocks.
Why people pirate
Music for dancing around your office when your supervisor likes your paper
Thank you, Jesus, for assistance with residual maximum likelihood
In the acknowledgements for some super annoying software I am being forced to use at a workshop this week is this gem:
I, Arthur Gilmour, thank Jesus Christ for His forgiveness and personal support over many years. As He has said Behold I stand at the door and knock. If any man hear my voice and open the door I will come in, and sup with him and he with me. (Revelation 3:20). I thank the Lord for the privilege of collaborating with several very gifted people including those involved in the ASReml project, acknowledging their acceptance, generosity, patience and perseverence toward a boy from Boree Creek. The heavens declare the glory of God and the firmament (earth) shows His handiwork. Psalm 19:1 Be exalted O God, above the heavens: and Thy glory above all the earth. Psalm 108:5.
This totally makes up for the two hours of hair-pulling and teeth-gnashing the program induced this afternoon. My favorite part is the parenthetical clarification of “firmament.”