Toast442.org

There is a a great article in Salon about the surprising (at least to me) connections between those aliens-and-Atlantis “archaeologists” and today’s creationists. It draws parallels between their methodologies and their common interests in tearing down the current scientific establishment:

… over the last several decades, a loose and sometimes uncomfortable common front has been forged between fundamentalist Christian creationists and New Age-flavored practitioners of alternative archaeology. Although the two sides’ philosophies are sharply different in some areas, they’ve both launched forceful attacks against the authority and guiding ideology of modern science. (In general, these movements rely on reinterpreting existing data, although some prominent alternative-archaeology researchers fund their own expeditions and research, and there are creationists involved in biblical archaeology.)

Good read.

And another article from the NY Times, this time an op-ed with an excellent summary of how the intelligent design nutcases have pushed it into the mainstream, and duped millions of people in the process. He brings up a good point that I had pondered (and feared) as well: The attacks against the theory of evolution would work equally well against, say relativity or quantum theory.

Think about this for a moment: If those pushing ID can convince people about how ridiculous sounding the theory of evolution is, just imagine what could be done with quantum theory and some of it’s consequences: they completely defy common sense, and yet they appear to be completely true. The only reason these things aren’t targeted is because they don’t offend the common fundamentalist religious types - yet.

I especially like these paragraphs toward the end:

The Discovery Institute, the conservative organization that has helped to put intelligent design on the map, complains that its members face hostility from the established scientific journals. But establishment hostility is not the real hurdle to intelligent design. If intelligent design were a scientific idea whose time had come, young scientists would be dashing around their labs, vying to win the Nobel Prizes that surely are in store for anybody who can overturn any significant proposition of contemporary evolutionary biology.

Remember cold fusion? The establishment was incredibly hostile to that hypothesis, but scientists around the world rushed to their labs in the effort to explore the idea, in hopes of sharing in the glory if it turned out to be true.

Instead of spending more than $1 million a year on publishing books and articles for non-scientists and on other public relations efforts, the Discovery Institute should finance its own peer-reviewed electronic journal. This way, the organization could live up to its self-professed image: the doughty defenders of brave iconoclasts bucking the establishment.

Very good read.

Check out this article from the NY Times (ridiculous registration required.) It’s about a survey conducted regularly for the past 30 years by Jon Miller at Northwestern University Medical School in Chicago. Get this:

Dr. Miller’s data reveal some yawning gaps in basic knowledge. American adults in general do not understand what molecules are (other than that they are really small). Fewer than a third can identify DNA as a key to heredity. Only about 10 percent know what radiation is. One adult American in five thinks the Sun revolves around the Earth, an idea science had abandoned by the 17th century.

Read that last sentence again. TWENTY PERCENT OF ADULT AMERICANS THINK THE SUN REVOLVES AROUND THE EARTH. I can almost forgive the molecules and DNA - but the DAMN SUN?

I now know how people can wholeheartedly endorse such crap as intelligent design. They actually are completely uninformed, and probably don’t even know it. UN - FREAKING - BELIEVEABLE.

The Association of Christian Schools International has sued the University of California because UC has refused to certify “science” courses that teach creationism. You just knew this was going to happen, right? The poorly-educated spawn they’re churning out is coming face-to-face with the real world and isn’t measuring up. So naturally, they sue.

From an LA Times article:

According to the lawsuit, UC’s board of admissions also advised the school that it would not approve biology and science courses that relied primarily on textbooks published by Bob Jones University Press and A Beka Books, two Christian publishers.

Instead, the board instructed the schools to “submit for UC approval a secular science curriculum with a text and course outline that addresses course content/knowledge generally accepted in the scientific community.”

“It appears that the UC system is attempting to secularize Christian schools and prevent them from teaching from a world Christian view,” said Patrick H. Tyler, a lawyer with Advocates for Faith and Freedom, which is assisting the plaintiffs.

Secularize Christian schools? Bullshit. No one is stopping you from teaching your own little myth. You just gotta teach something that is actually true as well. In reality, these crazed loons can’t do this, of course, without blowing a head gasket, so they have little choice but to sue. Or something.

It’s really these guys that want to dumb down everyone else. Where’s the end of this? You don’t want to teach math but still want to go to a university? And that whole readin’ and writin’ thing is overrated as well. When you start messing with academic standards like this lawsuit it just devalues everyone else’s education - as evidenced by these children’s diplomas becoming worthless because their “school” refuses to actually educate its students.

I kinda feel bad for the kids. For the most part, they didn’t choose these schools, but unfortunately, they are paying the price for the nut-jobs out there who have an agenda.

State Senator Chris Buttars from West Jordan, Utah is AGAIN in the news for his ridiculous pandering stance on intelligent design. From the AP:

The state Board of Education next week will consider a position statement on the matter. The statement likely will support the current curriculum and include language on teacher sensitivity to student beliefs … Buttars plans to address the board on his stand that evolution should be taught “as an unsubstantiated theory.”

If the board refuses, Buttars said he would request that intelligent design be taught in some sort of humanities class.

“Unsubstantiated theory.” This fool is completely ignorant. If this keeps up we’re going to get as good a reputation as Kansas.

This comes after his July 18th retraction of his bill that would require teaching intelligent design in class. Of course he on did this because “State Board of Education director Patti Harrington assured him that Utah public school curriculum does not teach that man descended from apes,” which is good because we DIDN’T DECEND FROM APES, but a common ancestor. He would have known this previously if he’d actually read a book. I can’t help but imagining Harrington snickering to herself as she assured Buttars that this wasn’t taught, simply because it ISN’T TRUE.

This article from the Des Moines Register shows how far intelligent design has infiltrated our educational system. At Iowa State University - a University!!! - they are having a forum “on how the theory of intelligent design should be taught.” Ack! They’re even calling it a theory. Fortunately, 124 of the ISU faculty have signed a petition opposing the teaching of intelligent design as a scientific theory at the school. But get this:

Guillermo Gonzalez , an ISU astronomy professor who is nationally known for his research on intelligent design, said his colleagues are creating a hostile work climate by circulating the petition.

“I’m really taken back by the viciousness of the attack,” Gonzalez said Thursday in an interview with The Des Moines Register. “I’m amazed at the campaign they are orchestrating to try to intimidate me with this petition.”

Well, professor, maybe they’re getting a little fed up with idiots pushing a “theory” that doesn’t have a single piece of evidence backing it up; a “theory” whose only real purpose is to attack the theory of evolution; a “theory” with any merit whatsoever. Perhaps they are tired of fighting a constant battle against the mindless followers of this junk “science.”

Persons supporting intelligent design like Gonzalez always fall back on the “I’m being persecuted” line. This is always their defense when confronted with the fact that there has never been any published evidence for intelligent design. Indeed, Gonzalez’s own book, which he says “argues for design based on evidence drawn from the physical sciences,” is published not by any scientific press, but by Regnery Publishing, a self-described “conservative publisher.” They put out such great works as Unfit for Command, the book that unfairly portrayed John Kerry as a liar during the last presidential election cycle. This same publisher has been linked to white supremacist groups. Perfect place for a scientific treatise, huh?

Gonzalez said he doesn’t want to attend forums because he doesn’t approve of Avalos’ [associate professor of religious studies at ISU] tactics.

He said he is the only “lightning rod” for intelligent design at ISU, which is why he said he feels the petition targets him.

Baldwin said she understands Gonzalez’s reluctance to attend the forum.

“I think the problem here is we have a great number of faculty en masse who have said this is not science,” she said. “Dr. Gonzalez is there, perhaps, alone. I don’t know how many supporters he has in his department.”

I feel so sorry for him. He’s a lightning rod for intelligent design. Poor baby. Maybe if he didn’t support such crackpot theories he’d feel better.

This Salon article gives a good summary about something I’ve seen mentioned a few times during the great ID debate: That the Gates Foundation (Bill Gates’ charitable arm) has given over $10 million to the Discovery Institute, the prime pushed of intelligent design around the world. This “think tank” is responsible for just about every piece of ID propaganda in the US. However, they do have other projects, including one called the Cascadia Project, a program aimed at improving transportation in the Northwest. It is to this project Gates’ foundation is providing money. So he’s not directly funding intelligent design research. But he is funding a good portion of the Discovery Institutes’ founder and current director, Bruce Chapman - to the tune of $50,000 a year. Ostensibly for the work on the transportation project.

Check out this quote from the Salon Article:

In an e-mail, Keith Pennock, the program administrator of Discovery’s Center for Science and Culture (which runs its intelligent design work), concurs. “Mr. Martin is a member of the Discovery Board in his individual capacity and does not represent the Microsoft Corporation. Does Microsoft support Discovery’s work on intelligent design? No.”

Kennock ends his e-mail to Salon with criticism over the inquiry into the groups that finance Discovery’s work. “Finally, I have been asked to advise you that it is unseemly for people who dislike one program at a think tank (or a university — or an on-line magazine, for that matter) to try to pressure funders of other programs there,” he writes. “It is illiberal and contrary to the spirit of free speech.”

Yes, well, that’s a nice sentiment, and one I’d be generally inclined to agree with. Except that the Discovery Institute’s pushing of intelligent design is so odious and so contrary to Bill Gates’ statements about the poor quality of science education in the states that it merits special attention.

Maybe this explains why Windows sucks so much - they’re relying on the mythical creator to fix all it’s problems.

Check out this freaking senile old weasel! On CNN.com today there’s an article in which Robertson claims:

“I didn’t say ‘assassination.’ I said our special forces should ‘take him out.’ And ‘take him out’ can be a number of things, including kidnapping; there are a number of ways to take out a dictator from power besides killing him. I was misinterpreted by the AP, but that happens all the time,”

Didn’t say assassination, huh? Watch this video, then continue reading.

Done? Good. It doesn’t get any clearer than that. What the hell is this old fool thinking? We have him ON VIDEO for Christ’s sake. He’s outright LYING to the press about his comments.

“If he thinks we’re trying to assassinate him, I think we really ought to go ahead and do it,” said Robertson on Monday’s program. “It’s a whole lot cheaper than starting a war.”

If you think I’m messing with the video, see CNN’s version in the article linked above.

This moron is a complete and utter lunatic. Anyone who supports this idiot has seriously got a screw loose. He’s called for dropping a nuke on the state department, indirectly called for the deaths of three supreme court justices, and now this. This guy has lost his mind, I believe literally. Someone needs to get him back to his nursing home and crank up the meds.

And to think this man was a semi-serious contender for the Republican presidential nomination back in ‘88. Very scary.

Update later in the afternoon: This guy really is some piece of work. First we have “If he thinks we’re trying to assassinate him, I think we really ought to go ahead and do it.” Then the very next day, “I didn’t say ‘assassination’,” despite unambiguous video evidence to the contrary. Now we have “Is it right to call for assassination? No, and I apologize for that statement.” Well, gee, isn’t that special. I’m glad that one of this country’s so-called religious leaders clarified his position on assassinating other heads of state. What a jerk.

Ever use TypeIt4Me? This utility has been around for ages. Basically it allows you type abbreviations which are then expanded into full words, phrases, etc. So instead of typing your full email signature, you might just type fsig. You could even have the cursor repositioned in the middle of the expanded text with a little work. Nice time saver. Unfortunately, TypeIt4Me never really caught on with me - it was too slow, and I found myself pausing while it expanded stuff and moved the cursor around. If you typed while it was doing this, either the characters would be ignored or they would get stuck in the wrong places. Very annoying for me.

But along comes Textpander. This thing does what TypeIt4Me does and a whole hell of a lot more. It’s blazing fast. Text is expanded and the cursor positioned instantly. No delay, no stray characters. Once you start using it, it just fits right in with your normal typing. And get this - you can include images as well. Want a nice signature on your documents? Just drop in an image along with your text and you’re good to go.

And did I mention it’s free? Well, the developer asks for donations via Paypal. I’m going to kick him a few bucks for this thing. It fixes all the problems of TypeIt4Me and does it with style.

Link to Textpander.

Thanks to Tivo, I don’t see too many commercials, but tonight I was semi-paying attention and out of the corner of my eye saw this screen completely filled with a pore-revealing close-up of some woman shot by a semi-drunken baboon. It was for Tylenol. The woman went on to explain that she gets a lot of headaches “almost every day” and that she used to just take whatever was laying around to alleviate the pain. But then she learned that aspirin could cause problems with her stomach - problems she couldn’t even feel! And she says - “I’m not OK with that.” So she started taking Tylenol and now life is all peaches and clean toilets.

What strikes me as really freaking strange about this is that she says she gets headaches almost every day. But somehow this concerns her not one whit. It’s the theoretical damage to her stomach that gives her sleepless nights. That brain tumor keeps growing in her frontal lobe, but at least her stomach is A-OK!

Just nobody tell her about the damage to her liver that could be occurring by taking the stupid Tylenol every damn day. She wouldn’t be OK with that.

I personally nominate this for the dumbest commercial of the year.

Update: Check it out! An actual copy of the commercial. (2.0 MiB, Quicktime)