Evolution sucks, says Kansans

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The more things change, the more they stay the same in my home state.
Kansas school board approves science standards casting doubt on evolution
By JOHN HANNA
Associated Press Writer
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Revisiting a topic that exposed Kansas to nationwide ridicule six years ago, the state Board of Education approved science standards for public schools Tuesday that cast doubt on the theory of evolution.

The board's 6-4 vote, expected for months, was a victory for intelligent design advocates who helped draft the standards. Intelligent design holds that the universe is so complex that it must have been created by a higher power.

Critics of the proposed language charged that it was an attempt to inject creationism into public schools in violation of the separation between church and state.

The board's vote is likely to heap fresh national criticism on Kansas and cause many scientists to see the state as backward. Current state standards treat evolution as well-established — a view also held by national science groups.

The new standards will be used to develop student tests measuring how well schools teach science. Decisions about what's taught in classrooms will remain with 300 local school boards, but some educators fear pressure will increase in some communities to teach less about evolution or more about creationism or intelligent design.

Advocates of intelligent design said they are trying to expose students to legitimate scientific questions about evolution.

"Under these standards students will learn more about evolution, not less," said Casey Luskin, a spokesman for the Seattle-based Discovery Institute, which supports intelligent design.

Many scientists argued that the language was an effort to get around U.S. Supreme Court rulings that have held that the teaching of creationism violates the constitutional separation of church and state.

In 1999, the Kansas board adopted science standards that eliminated most references to evolution.

Harvard paleontologist Stephen Jay Gould said that was akin to teaching "American history without Lincoln." Bill Nye, the "Science Guy" of children's television, called it "harebrained" and "nutty." And a Washington Post columnist imagined God saying to the Kansas board members: "Man, I gave you a brain. Use it, OK?"

Two years later, after voters replaced three members, the board reverted to evolution-friendly standards. Elections in 2002 and 2004 changed the board's composition again, making it more conservative.

Other states have also dealt with conflicts over the teaching of evolution and intelligent design. In Pennsylvania, a federal judge is expected to rule soon in a lawsuit against a school district policy that requires students to be told about intelligent design.

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That's okay, here in Texas, not only did they pass the gay marriage ban by something like 75%, but a town here called White Settlement (named so because white settlers killed all the local native americans and set up a whites only outpost) refused to change it's name by a vote of 90%. So maybe not all of us have evolved after all. :dunno:
Just cut them up like regular chickens

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Someone out there on the "Internets" joked the other day that, gee, since evolution is baseless, we have nothing to worry about in terms of bird flu jumping to humans.

Not sure if the science there is accurate, but it made me chuckle. 8)

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Maybe the Kansans were afraid of Pat Robertson...
Pat Robertson warns Pa. town of disaster

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. -- Religious broadcaster Pat Robertson warned residents of a rural Pennsylvania town Thursday that disaster may strike there because they "voted God out of your city" by ousting school board members who favored teaching intelligent design.

All eight Dover, Pa., school board members up for re-election were defeated Tuesday after trying to introduce "intelligent design" - the belief that the universe is so complex that it must have been created by a higher power - as an alternative to the theory of evolution.

"I'd like to say to the good citizens of Dover: If there is a disaster in your area, don't turn to God. You just rejected him from your city," Robertson said on the Christian Broadcasting Network's "700 Club."

Eight families had sued the district, claiming the policy violates the constitutional separation of church and state. The federal trial concluded days before Tuesday's election, but no ruling has been issued.

Later Thursday, Robertson issued a statement saying he was simply trying to point out that "our spiritual actions have consequences."

"God is tolerant and loving, but we can't keep sticking our finger in his eye forever," Robertson said. "If they have future problems in Dover, I recommend they call on Charles Darwin. Maybe he can help them."

Robertson made headlines this summer when he called on his daily show for the assassination of Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez.

In October 2003, he suggested that the State Department be blown up with a nuclear device. He has also said that feminism encourages women to "kill their children, practice witchcraft, destroy capitalism and become lesbians."
Link
Just cut them up like regular chickens

Vatican Official Refutes Intelligent Design

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Wow, someone at the Vatican showing a little common sense. How unusual.
Vatican Official Refutes Intelligent Design
Nov 18 11:55 AM US/Eastern
Email this story

By NICOLE WINFIELD
Associated Press Writer


VATICAN CITY


The Vatican's chief astronomer said Friday that "intelligent design" isn't science and doesn't belong in science classrooms, the latest high-ranking Roman Catholic official to enter the evolution debate in the United States.

The Rev. George Coyne, the Jesuit director of the Vatican Observatory, said placing intelligent design theory alongside that of evolution in school programs was "wrong" and was akin to mixing apples with oranges.

"Intelligent design isn't science even though it pretends to be," the ANSA news agency quoted Coyne as saying on the sidelines of a conference in Florence. "If you want to teach it in schools, intelligent design should be taught when religion or cultural history is taught, not science."

His comments were in line with his previous statements on "intelligent design" _ whose supporters hold that the universe is so complex that it must have been created by a higher power.

Proponents of intelligent design are seeking to get public schools in the United States to teach it as part of the science curriculum. Critics say intelligent design is merely creationism _ a literal reading of the Bible's story of creation _ camouflaged in scientific language, and they say it does not belong in science curriculum.

In a June article in the British Catholic magazine The Tablet, Coyne reaffirmed God's role in creation, but said science explains the history of the universe.

"If they respect the results of modern science, and indeed the best of modern biblical research, religious believers must move away from the notion of a dictator God or a designer God, a Newtonian God who made the universe as a watch that ticks along regularly."

Rather, he argued, God should be seen more as an encouraging parent.

"God in his infinite freedom continuously creates a world that reflects that freedom at all levels of the evolutionary process to greater and greater complexity," he wrote. "He is not continually intervening, but rather allows, participates, loves."

The Vatican Observatory, which Coyne heads, is one of the oldest astronomical research institutions in the world. It is based in the papal summer residence at Castel Gandolfo south of Rome.

Last week, Pope Benedict XVI waded indirectly into the evolution debate by saying the universe was made by an "intelligent project" and criticizing those who in the name of science say its creation was without direction or order.

Questions about the Vatican's position on evolution were raised in July by Austrian Cardinal Christoph Schoenborn.

In a New York Times column, Schoenborn seemed to back intelligent design and dismissed a 1996 statement by Pope John Paul II that evolution was "more than just a hypothesis." Schoenborn said the late pope's statement was "rather vague and unimportant."
Link
Just cut them up like regular chickens

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As it says, they're rather disorganised about their approach to common sense. One week they're saying they don't see anything wrong with Big Bang theory, the next they're saying condoms give you AIDS. It's the kind of anarchic approach you'd expect from Vatican City, the state with the highest per-capita crime rate in the world. 8)

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Well, it's a selective common sense of course. Teaching Intelligent Design doesn't bring in any additional cash. But preventing condom use adds to the catholic population and thus increases offerings at the collection plate. They gotta keep the doors open somehow after all. :)
Just cut them up like regular chickens

Field trip to the Creationism Museum!

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Hmm, good points there...look at how science uses flimsy, squiggly lines as compared to God's straight arrow stylie...
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Hmm, 'suggesting God provided organisms with special tools to change rapidly.' Yup, I'm sold. No other explanation, really.
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Hmm...all I can say is Hmm...

http://arstechnica.com/articles/culture ... museum.ars
"I'm like a dog chasing cars, I wouldn't know what to do if I caught one. . . . I'm not a schemer. I just do things."

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lolz. a nice companion to this piece i saw elsewhere:

The Creationist Science Fair:
http://objectiveministries.org/creation ... efair.html

some highlights:

Elementary School Level
1st Place: "My Uncle Is A Man Named Steve (Not A Monkey)"
Cassidy Turnbull (grade 5) presented her uncle, Steve. She also showed photographs of monkeys and invited fairgoers to note the differences between her uncle and the monkeys. She tried to feed her uncle bananas, but he declined to eat them. Cassidy has conclusively shown that her uncle is no monkey.

Honorable Mention:
"God Made Kitty" - Sally Reister (grade 3)
"The Bible Says Creation" - Aaron Kent (grade 5)
"Pokemon Prove Evolutionism Is False" - Paul Sanborn (grade 4)


Middle School Level
2nd Place: "Women Were Designed For Homemaking"
Jonathan Goode (grade 7) applied findings from many fields of science to support his conclusion that God designed women for homemaking: physics shows that women have a lower center of gravity than men, making them more suited to carrying groceries and laundry baskets; biology shows that women were designed to carry un-born babies in their wombs and to feed born babies milk, making them the natural choice for child rearing; social sciences show that the wages for women workers are lower than for normal workers, meaning that they are unable to work as well and thus earn equal pay; and exegetics shows that God created Eve as a companion for Adam, not as a co-worker.

Honorable Mention:
"Rocks Can't Evolve, Where Did They Come From Mr. Darwin?" - Anna Reed (grade 6)


High School Level
Honorable Mention:
"Thermodynamics Of Hell Fire" - Tom Williamson (grade 12)

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Image
Yeah, Uncle Steve's not a monkey, he's a fucking child molester.
"I'm like a dog chasing cars, I wouldn't know what to do if I caught one. . . . I'm not a schemer. I just do things."

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fucking child abuse. Where do these idiots get off using the word "science"? Here's my entry "4 out of 5 starving lions will eat Creationists, therefore god made lions to specifically eat christians."

Take a creationist to the zoo today.
Ride me a worm, you're a rider...
Walk without rhythm and you're a strider of deserts...

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Also on the wires:
Americans believe in both evolution, creationism: poll

Fri Jun 8, 2:22 PM ET

Asked their views on whether human life is a result of God's creation or a product of evolution, one quarter of Americans chose both conflicting theories, a poll suggested Friday.

"All told, 25 percent say that both creationism and evolution are definitely or probably true," USA Today said.

Overall, more Americans expressed a strong belief in creationism, or the theory that God created humans in their present form at a single period in time within the last 10,000 years.

A full 66 percent said they believed in creationism, with 39 percent of those polled saying it was definitely true and 27 percent believing it was probably true.

But 53 percent said they believed in evolution, the scientific theory that humans developed over millions of years from less advanced forms of life. Eighteen percent said evolution was definitely true, while 35 percent said it was probably true.

The results were released in a USA Today/Gallup poll of 1,007 adults, taken between June 1-3. The margin of error was three percent.

The polarizing issue of how life came to be has worked its way into US classrooms in recent years. Some states have enacted legislation that says teachers must include critical analysis of Charles Darwin's evolutionary theory.

More recently, the question divided Republican presidential candidates who traditionally represent the Christian conservative elements of US society, with three answering in last month's debate that they do not believe in evolution.
This is a snakeskin jacket. And for me it's a symbol of my individuality and my belief in personal freedom.

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Here's a really detailed review of the museum from a paleontologist. It's a long read, but amusing.
Review
My favorite part is the bit about ancient Japanese children having pet Stegosaurs. Apparently the museum was packed, despite charging $20 a person for admission. We are fucked indeed.
Just cut them up like regular chickens

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streaming for your pleasure:
[video][/video]

"I personally believe that U.S. Americans are unable to do so because, uhmmm, some people out there in our nation don’t have maps and uh, I believe that our, I, education like such as uh, South Africa, and uh, the Iraq, everywhere like such as, and I believe that they should, uhhh, our education over here in the US should help the US, uh, should help South Africa, it should help the Iraq and the Asian countries so we will be able to build up our future, for us. "

so amazing. i've been laughing about this for a week. sorry i didn't post it here sooner. the one tidbit i didn't know was that they got the questions in advance. WOW, that's makes it even more hilarious. where the hell was she trying to go with the "south africa" thing? i thought maybe she was just nervous and unable to think on her feet, trying to throw every buzz word/topic into the answer as possible, but if she got these ahead of time....

WOW.
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I watched it three times when I first got the link and I still don't have any idea what the hell she was trying to say.
Just cut them up like regular chickens