I wasn’t going to link to this cartoon — it’s a little too obvious, even for me — but I’m getting so many emails about it, what the heck.
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Click it to see the rest of it.
Note: I do not endorse the use of singularities, wormholes, event horizons, or any other cosmic division-by-zero to influence the elections. My name is Phil Plait, and I approve this disclaimer.
If you went to BadAstronomy.com and found yourself here, never fear: the BA Blog has moved to its new home at Discover Blogs. The original BA site (with the Moon Hoax debunking and all that) is still online, too.
Phil Plait, the creator of Bad Astronomy, is an astronomer, lecturer, and author. After ten years working on Hubble Space Telescope and six more working on astronomy education, he struck out on his own as a writer. He has written two books, dozens of magazine articles, and 12 bazillion blog articles. He is a skeptic, and fights misuses of science as well as praising the wonder of real science.
Contact me: The Bad Astronomer "at" gmail "dot" com
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October 12th, 2008 at 12:34 pm
Everyone injects their politics these days. I remember when that was considered distasteful. I’m not sure whether this change is good or bad.
October 12th, 2008 at 12:39 pm
Interesting use for the LHC, I must say…
October 12th, 2008 at 12:47 pm
I like how he drew ATLAS exposed and upfront like that. I think that’s the mental image most people have of the LHC.
October 12th, 2008 at 1:31 pm
Knowing your policy on naughty language, you might want to mention the f-bomb in the header.
October 12th, 2008 at 1:48 pm
They’d have done better to follow the first few frames with an admission: “actually, we did create a black hole – it’s been bouncing around Wall St for nearly a month now…”
October 12th, 2008 at 2:17 pm
I agree, the punch line is obvious.
I’d prefer to see the Democrats beat Sen. McCain the old fashioned way, you know, by winning the election.
October 12th, 2008 at 2:35 pm
BTW, since we’re on the upcoming election, how about this?:
http://tinyurl.com/4hjw9k
Since Phil is currently the President of the JREF, why not up the ante?…
October 12th, 2008 at 3:00 pm
It’s still giggle worthy.
October 12th, 2008 at 3:10 pm
Pretty funny. I wish it could work that way (no, not really: I wish John McCain a very nice and tranquil retirement).
BTW, shouldn’t it be “I approved this disclaimer”? Otherwise it’d be “I approve of this disclaimer”.
October 12th, 2008 at 3:11 pm
David: done before, I’m afraid.
October 12th, 2008 at 4:00 pm
I want the last panel on a t-shirt.
October 12th, 2008 at 4:25 pm
Great, now I see political messages on an astronomy blog.
what’s next? seeing “vote Obama” ads on diapers?
October 12th, 2008 at 4:33 pm
I giggled at Obama clapping, but your disclaimer had me laughing heartily.
October 12th, 2008 at 5:02 pm
mark, take a look on the categories of this blog. See the one marked “politics”. Click that, and then rethink your use of the word “now”. Also, read this.
October 12th, 2008 at 6:28 pm
Cute! I agree, I want that last panel on a T-shirt!
October 12th, 2008 at 7:25 pm
So why doesn’t the cartoon skip to the chase and have a sniper instead? Far more economical.
October 12th, 2008 at 9:08 pm
See, McCain could’ve avoided this if he learned about black holes from a PLANETARIUM.
October 12th, 2008 at 10:02 pm
I dunno. If the setup had been changed to two ministers (for example) talking, and the punchline being a lightning bolt (not on McCain), would any of us have found it all that funny? I’ll second Shoeshine boy by saying the scenario that’d give me the most pleasure would be watching Obama win by a decisive 10 point margin.
October 12th, 2008 at 10:32 pm
It does seem that after the LHC was activated the McCain campaign imploded. Maybe we have flipped back to the universe where Spock will not have a beard afterall.
October 12th, 2008 at 11:06 pm
[...] Bad Astronomy has a post with this cartoon from WTTF (Name actually NSFW.) Click the picture to see the punch line on this funny but obvious cartoon. Republicans shouldn’t be anti-science. Things can get sticky. Published in: [...]
October 13th, 2008 at 12:13 am
October 13th, 2008 at 1:09 am
Being an Aussie and not caring about USA elections …. I must say…. I don’t get it.
October 13th, 2008 at 1:44 am
As another Aussie who does care about the US elections – because they end up affecting the rest of the planet – I did get it & enjoyed it.
I don’t want McCain to die – although Iwant him tobe Prsedidnet even less -but let’s face it folks he’s a lot closer to life’s endpoint than its beginning anyway. Either way he won’t be around too much longer..
If the Retardican’s win the US election we’ll have Sara Palin in power after McCain departs ..whethere through illness, or death or whatever. (He’s 72 years old now so serving out his term? I doubt it.)
Save us all? Yes please, turn the LHC on and zap him away I say!
October 13th, 2008 at 1:48 am
@#!#@@# typos!
—————-
CORRECTED VERSION :
As another Aussie who does care about the US elections – because they end up affecting the rest of the planet – I did get it & enjoyed it.:-)
I don’t want McCain to die – although I want him to be President even less -but let’s face it folks he’s a lot closer to life’s endpoint than its beginning anyway. Either way he won’t be around too much longer..
If the Retardican’s win the US election (& I sure hope they don’t for all our sakes) then we’ll have the nightmare of Sara Palin in power after McCain departs ..whether through illness, or death or whatever.
(He’s 72 years old now so serving out his term? I doubt it.)
Save us all? Yes please, turn the LHC on and zap him away I say!
October 13th, 2008 at 4:12 am
Unh, I say we need scientists in politics about the same as you need politicians in science. Actually, we do have it both those ways, don’t we? No wonder everything is all fouled up.
@ MarkP
You must be younger than I am; I lived through, as an adult, the assinations of Pres. JFK, his brother Bobby, and Martin Luther King, Jr. Not one of them was anything to joke about.
Did any of you read the fine print disclaimer, beneath the last frame? He’s so light, it doesn’t matter.
October 13th, 2008 at 7:43 am
Ah, it was just a wormhole to a Republican controlled universe, the perfect reward for John,,,
If there was a god, everyone would get to have their own unique, heaven/hell, predicated on what they’ve given to a wounded world. Hitler would be a Jewish B-monkey, MArtin Luther King would exist in a dream of equality and my heaven would look exactly like this,,,contentious, hopeful and full of possibility.
Oh, wait, this IS my heaven,,,
GAry 7
October 13th, 2008 at 10:47 am
I myself loved the line about the Tesla coil best.
October 13th, 2008 at 12:32 pm
That’s hilarious!
October 13th, 2008 at 12:51 pm
Wow, Phil. Can you be any more in the tank for Obama?
Well, the good news Obama’s buddy Ayers could not skillfully build bombs… if he were smarter this might have indeed happened.
If this were about Obama being killed by terrorist scientists, people would call the writer a bigot. Not to mention anyone cross posting it. As in this case it only makes you a hypocrite.
October 13th, 2008 at 12:56 pm
Bzzzt. Nice try as a troll, Pulled Pork. You score some points for putting words in my mouth, and assuming how I’d act.
As it is, I’m not “in the tank” for Obama. However, I am not a big fan of McCain’s. There’s a difference. But given your second paragraph, I’m guessing that subtlety isn’t a forte of yours, but subjection to propaganda is.
So all in all, I give you a 6 out of 10. Next time, throw in a “Hussein” for an extra point.
October 13th, 2008 at 1:20 pm
Hussein was more dedicated to rocketry. Ask Isreal. If Obama gets his way and delay’s the next manned program for social programs I will be dismayed.
But lets say a conservative science oriented web comic showed a picture of Obama in a debate being killed by a wayward rocket. And for sake of argument it is only as a protest for his desire to delay/kill the manned space program.
Liberal bloggers would howl. Cry racist. Etc.
Even though it was a stpud joke.
Like that WTTF’s efforts to be funny.
Frankly both leave something to be desired in regards to science, but that really is not an election issue. Beyond the liberal noise machine jumping on McCain’s wrong headed planetarium pork potificating. Which was stupid.
Phil, you are in the tank for Obama. Which is fine. I religiously read your blog and conservatives can like astromy too. You are a hell of a science writer. Your political writing falls short of that excellent standard. I give you a sad face for a grade, because an F is too cruel.
October 13th, 2008 at 1:39 pm
I don’t think anything is too obvious for you.
October 13th, 2008 at 4:00 pm
Haha, great. Extra win for using ATLAS
But I can’t help mentally completing the punchline: http://xkcd.com/54/
(PS. That one you _can_ get on a tshirt!)
October 13th, 2008 at 8:10 pm
He now has the last panel available as a t-shirt. Click on the red picture above the “Support This Cartoon” thing.
October 14th, 2008 at 3:51 am
Hey, Phil, REALLY could have done with an NSFW warning on the linky.
October 14th, 2008 at 4:11 am
OK, OK, so DNFTT, but sometimes I can’t resist…
Pulled Pork said:
Uh, yeah. Any info more recent than 1991?
It depends. Would you rather the manned programme were rushed, and therefore risky, or delayed, and therefore done in a more considered fashion?
A what, now?
Uh, right.
And was it Obama whose choice of VP is an out-and-out antiscientist?
Was it McCain or Obama that failed to answer the questions posed by Nature?
Maybe they would, but there’s no parallel here. Science and science education have suffered at the hands of the Bush administration. There is no reason to believe that this would be different under a different Republican administration.
There is, however, reason to hope that a Democrat administration would respect and nurture science and science education.
Heh. “Stpud”.
Nice post-modern irony there.
To a scientist or a science educator it is the most important issue.
To anyone who cares that the US govt is using the best information available upon which to base policy decisions, it is an issue. And to anyone who cares that their children receive a solid education in the basics of science, it is an issue.
If he appoints incompetent staff to run his campaign, what makes you think he won’t appoint incompetent staff to run his administration if he wins?
Actually, I find Phil’s political writing to be quite enlightening. Perhaps not in the same league as his science posts for sheer gushing enthusiasm, but certainly their equal for factual content and attempting only to reach conclusions that are justified.
Just remember that scientists are people too, and have as much right to participate in the process of government as anyone else.
October 14th, 2008 at 10:27 am
A rocket killing Obama seems slightly less absurd than an LHC killing McCain. (But maybe that’s just me and my ignorant leftist bias, who am I fooling..)
October 14th, 2008 at 2:59 pm
FWIW, in the October 2008 issue of “Physics Today” (yes, there is such a magazine, and yes, I am a nerd for reading it) there is a special report entitled: “Science issues are prominent in this year’s presidential race.”
Of particular note is the line that appears under the title: “Barack Obama responds to the quadrennial Physics Today questionnaire on science policy matters; John McCain declines invitations to participate.”
@ Pulled Pork
Learn the proper use of apostrophes and you won’t come off as quite so uneducated. Also learn how to spell or at least how to use a spell checker. If you know better and give the excuse that you were “typing fast” or some such, it just tells me that you’re spouting off without careful consideration of what you’re actually writing. If your opinion is so important that the whole world should have the opportunity to read it, then it deserves to be proofread.
As for your personal attacks, I’m so sick of the latest Republican talking point catch phrase “in the tank,” used to imply that someone supports their opponent mindlessly. It’s almost as overused as “going forward” (not to imply that the latter is unique to Republicans).