Science Cheerleader

The winner of the $25,000 Homeland Security Award, presented by the Christopher Columbus Fellowship Foundation, will be honored during the evening of September 11th in Washington, D.C. (I do some work for the Foundation–recommending worthy candidates–so I’ll be at the ceremony.)  Check out the Columbus site to get ahold of some of the fascinating work folks are doing to keep us safe. It’ll make you feel warm and cozy.) I’ll be in D.C. Sept 11 and Sept 12. Got a couple of other meetings lined up but if you think there’s something I should cover while I’m there, let me know!

Same goes for my visit to NYC where I’m scheduled to meet with a pal from Business Week and another from Discover. That’ll be the day before…on September 10th.

Until Labor Day, I’ll be hanging at the beach, here on Long Beach Island.

Cheers!

When you have a few minutes, check this out. I hope you enjoy it! (If this doesn’t play on your computer, try this link.)

(Many thanks to the talented folks at Gyro Worldwide, Inc. and Backseat Conceptions.)

Here’s how you can take action–it’s SO simple and important. Spread the word if the spirit moves you!

And, how would YOU reply to these questions? Leave a response, below, for thousands to read and react to. Let’s get these parties started!

Seven Questions for the Congressional Candidates: (plug in your zip code to pester your local candidates to answer the questions…and see how some have already answered)

Find your candidates,
ask where they stand.

Zip Code:

CNN’s The Situation Room wants to hear about the political topics most important to you. Send in your concise questions and commentary on video and it might be used on air. Click here to get started.

Here’s one I sent in on Sunday while vacationing on Long Beach Island, NJ. (First time I used a webcam…super easy!) I asked the candidates to RSVP to the ScienceDebate2008 organizers’ invitation to debate science policy in October. It’s been eight months since the invites were sent and the candidates still haven’t replied with a Yes or No.  So rude

Winner: Bart Leahy. Congratulations! Your Science Cheerleader T-Shirt is on its way. Bart was the first to respond to this post in which readers were challenged to read science fiction books and report back on what “real science” was learned. See here for Bart’s reply. 

Loser: ME. I’m off to a theme park today–hooray!–where I will sneak away for one hour to participate in a conference call with scientists. Ok, the real reason I’m a loser is because I’m SO excited to be part of this call. Leaders in the world of science will talk about the findings of their poll showing voters (us) support candidates who are committed to advancing science and technology on a range of top-tier election issues. But I ask you: is that true? Does a candidate’s commitment to advancing science and technology factor in to your voting decisions? Let me know. Give me something to work with.  (more…)