Coffee and Provocation

America's Oldest Magazine Takes a Stand Against Trump
In an unprecedented editorial, Scientific American has come out against the stunning and reckless ignorance Donald Trump, noting that his "lack of respect for science is alarming." The go on to note that "Americans have long prided themselves on their ability to see the world for what it is, as opposed to what someone says it is or what most people happen to believe. In one of the most powerful lines in American literature, Huck Finn says: “It warn't so. I tried it.” A respect for evidence is not just a part of the national character. It goes to the heart of the country's particular brand of democratic government. When the founding fathers, including Benjamin Franklin, scientist and inventor, wrote arguably the most important line in the Declaration of Independence — 'We hold these truths to be self-evident' — they were asserting the fledgling nation's grounding in the primacy of reason based on evidence."

Bounties Work
There are no wolves in Pennsylvania and Ohio because they were extirpated after bounties were paid on them. Bounties still work, as can be seen in Louisiana, where a bounty program is working to reduce the number of nutria (coypu) eating up the marshland. During the 2012-13 hunting season, hunters using rifles, shotguns and traps killed 388,160 of giant water rats, and were paid $5 a tail for their efforts.

Camels Gave Us the Common Cold
Camels gave the world the common cold, as well as MERS.

How Do They Make Nature Documentaries?
How much is fake?  What are the ethical choices when filming a kill scene?

‘Disease Detective’ Who Eradicated Smallpox, Dies at 87

Donald “D.A.” Henderson, an American epidemiologist who led the war on smallpox that resulted in its the eradication of the disease in 1980, the only such vanquishment in history of a human disease, died Aug. 19 at a hospice facility in Towson, Md. He was 87 and is credited with saving scored of millions of lives.

Roald Dahl Beer?
In celebration of Roald Dahl's 100th birthday, fans will soon be able to drink a beer made from a yeast cultured from his writing chair.

Police Destroy House In 10-Hour Standoff with Police 
An Idaho woman is suing the Caldwell Police Department, several officers and the city for damaging home during a 10-hour standoff 2014. Police thought an armed suspect was in the house, but in fact there the only her dog.