Everyone is my friend until they prove otherwise.
Good News Clubs are infiltrating our public schools an turning them into tax-payer funded indoctrination centers.
Presentations by Rebecca Hale, Katherine Stewart, Richard Dawkins, Eric Cernyer and Sean Faircloth.
Presented at Colorado College, Colorado Springs, Colorado. February 27, 2013
This is good overview of how the creationist groups work behind the scenes on anti-science and regressive social legislation. It’s not just evolution – it’s also gay marriage, climate change, stem cells, right to die, and other issues where religious zealots are stalking state congressional halls as part of one large consortium. What’s happening in Louisiana has happened here in my state as well, it’s not just one state or one governor.
Eugenie Scott is always a good listen.
P.Z. Meyers boils Discovery Institute’s argument for design down to essentials.
NCSE has a new video out covering evolution of the mollusk eye which debunks one of the ID/Creationist’s favorite claims: that the eye is just too complex to have evolved, that each step would need to provide a benefit to be selected for. They are right in the second part, but wrong in the first. The eye did evolve naturally over long periods of time through many simple steps – but each provided some benefit. This video traces evolution of the eye in just one phylogenetic tree branch.
This second video is a great recap of some of the challenges overcome by NCSE in the Dover Trial and in Kansas when the board wanted to remove science standards.
Don McLeroy, Dentist, Discovery Institute shill, and Chairman of the Texas State Board of education is under fire and likely out of a job. He’s a Governor Rick Perry appointee, but the legislature still has to confirm. So far they haven’t done so even though these are usually fly through appointments. If they don’t by June 1st that will be it for the Dentist.
State Sen. Mike Jackson, R-La Porte, chairman of the Senate Nominations Committee, declared McLeroy’s confirmation dead in the water. If so, Gov. Rick Perry will have to look to the other nine Republicans on the 15-member elected board for a new board chair.
It will be interesting to see who Perry’s next appointee to the Texas State Board of Creationist Indoctrination is. Read more here.
Leo Berman, Republican Texas state congresscritter, has introduced a bill that would allow private schools to issue Science degrees with exceptions to science standards. This exemption from state standards is specifically designed for the Dallas-based Institute For Creation Research, a Young Earth Creationist think tank that searches for evidence of God through pseudo-science.
Leo’s known for bone-headed bill attempts, like this one that attempts to subvert the US Constitution at state level in determining what US citizenry consists of.
Allowing ICR to issue science degrees is ridiculous, especially in view of their support of biblical inerrancy, outright lies, and pseudo-science, (hell, these guys are so off the deep end, let’s call is “Suedo-Science”.)
It lowers the standards for all science degrees from Texas if allowed, and what the heck is next? Degrees in Astronomy from the Velikovsky institute? Degrees in Cosmology from Harun Yahya? Geology degrees from the Shirley McLaine school of crystal gazing?
To put this in perspective take a look at the picture, click on the thumbnail and enlarge it. You can see a series of striae of sedimentary rock: silt and detritus deposited over eons and eons and eons. The silt was compacted gradually over time into rock from the steadily increasing weight above it. ICR teaches that it was all the outcome of one flood. If you believe that I still have a bridge for sale, and it’s not only a bargain, but really pretty.
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