Just When You Think This Guy Can't Get Any Dimmer

Our Governor Perry in a NYT Magazine interview by Deborah Solomon about his new book and the Boy Scout legal fund. . .

Which has been fighting the A.C.L.U., to keep gays out of the scouts. Why do you see that as a worthy cause?

I am pretty clear about this one. Scouting ought to be about building character, not about sex. Period. Precious few parents enroll their boys in the Scouts to get a crash course in sexual orientation.

Why do you think a homosexual would be more likely to bring the subject of sex into a conversation than a heterosexual?

Well, the ban in scouting applies to scout leaders. When you have a clearly open homosexual scout leader, the scouts are going to talk about it. And they’re not there to learn about that. They’re there to learn about what it means to be loyal and trustworthy and thrifty.

But don’t you think that homosexuals might also be interested in being loyal and thrifty?

The argument that gets made is that homosexuality is about sex. Do you agree?

No.

Well, then why don’t they call it something else?

Um, well, if "homosexuality is about sex" because it has "sex" in the name, what about the heterosexuals? Can anyone be safe with them???

For Dinner Tonight -- Chickensaurus Pot Pie?

For anyone who scoffs at the idea that birds aren't avian dinosaurs, just take a look at Chickensaurus!

Hmm, perhaps a Chickensaurus cookbook isn't far behind!

Evolution is NOT Boring -- and ID "Proves" that the Creator is a Cephalopod!

An Austin HS science teacher, Steve Bratteng, proposes 13 questions that Intelligent Design cannot answer in an article in the Austin American Statesman:


http://www.statesman.com/opinion/content/editorial/stories/02/08/0209bratteng_edit.html

here are the answers:

http://www.statesman.com/opinion/content/editorial/stories/02/08/0209answers_edit.html

Here's one of the questions:

"3. Why does each of your eyes have a blind spot and a significant tendency for retinal detachment, but a squid's eyes, which provide equally sharp vision, do not have either problem?"

We have the scientific explanation (albeit simplified):

"Vertebrate and squid eyes have very different evolutionary origins, arising in very different ways, but both achieving an effective visual structure. The vertebrate pattern happens to leave the retina open to a much greater tendency to become detached."

And we have a possible ID explanation:

"I know! I know teacher! I know! This proves the creator was a cephalopod!"

If IDers & creationists want their beliefs taught in science class, they're going to have to demonstrate that they are, indeed, science. I think we'll be waiting for quite a long time for that.

Little Sir Echo Satellite

In 1960, NASA launched their first communications satellites. Echo 1 launched in August of that year, and my father and a couple of his brothers loaded a bunch (at least 6) of the Brown cousins into the back of my father's old Chevy pick-up and drove us outside of town so that we could see the satellite passing by. I was 7 or 8 at the time and in awe of the dark, dark rural Colorado sky and the wonderful stars.

When we finally saw Echo, looking just like a star, but moving swiftly across the sky, one of my cousins started singing, "Little Sir Echo how do you do? Hello, (hello) hello, (hello!)" The rest of us joined in and we sang it at the top of our lungs until dad got us all home (I'm SURE that drove him and my uncles nuts.)

Well, for almost 50 years I thought that my cousin Kenny had just composed that song out of the same awe I had at seeing something move across the sky so quickly, but thanks to the powers of the internets, I have found that my cousin did not spontaneously compose an astronomical paean -- this song dates back to at least 1939 (you can hear it on YouTube if you click the title.)

Such disillusionment, haha!

Just a Theory?

I can hardly get past the first paragraph of the above article (click on the title) -- in Florida,


Top state legislators say they're ready to join the fight over putting the word ''evolution'' in Florida's public school science standards to ensure that it's taught as just a theory and not as fact.

It all just depends on what you think the meaning of theory is, isn't it!

Here's a thought, school boards -- why don't you let the SCIENTISTS decide what should be taught in science courses, and how it should be taught?

Evolution too Boring? Too Boring! WTF?

Did Mr. Villalobos of the ATX sleep through his biology courses or what?!


John Young’s column is another attempt to keep the Institute of Creation Research from attaining a graduate degree program for creation science

Young fails to see that Darwinism has failed to pique the interest of students to further their academic knowledge. Except for T-rex kicking dinosaur butt, evolution stinks. It’s boring and no self-respecting kid is going to lay claim that he came from a monkey.

Darwinism has contributed more to the dumbing down of our kids than all the negligent, uncaring, uninvolved and pathetic parents combined.

Where to begin with this? All subjects will have their boring parts for some people, but if you are bored by a theory that explains the development of life on this planet then go back to your WoW. Science is hard, and it isn't for wimps like you. (I know, I know, ad hominem and all, but I just couldn't help it.)

There is a good chance that if he was educated in Texas, he wasn't really taught much about evolution anyway.