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.

Didn't Find the Book Club, but We Did Find This. . .

Doh! The book club (Center for Inquiry - Austin) is on Thursday night and this is Wednesday! My days are all off. Well, it will give Scott another day to finish the book.

We did look around the bookstore where I found, "Science Evolution, and Creationism" brought to us by the National Academy of Sciences (click the title above to a link where you can find the book -- you can even read it free online.) This will save me sending off for it, although they were discounting it so cheaply if you bought copies in bulk, I thought I'd buy a few extra copies to distribute to some creationist relatives.

The bookstore was also playing such gawd-awful, somewhat atonal music -- not music that made me want to browse and spend $$ -- it was music that grated, irritated and made me want to flee! I have pretty broad musical tastes, but that was atrocious. We do hope it isn't playing tomorrow night, when the book club really meets.

Oh, and the book we're discussing is The Subtle Knife. Next month, I think, is a collection of short stories, Galileo's Children: Tales Of Science VS. Superstition, ed. by Gardner Dozois. Scott's read all of it, and I've read about half, so I should be able to finish that soon (and review what I have read.) This is about the same proportion of reading we've done for Subtle Knife -- I've read it all, and Scott hasn't finished.

Master of "Science" Education

There is a big controversy here in Texas over the proposed "Master of Science Education" degree that the Institute of Creation Research wants to offer. If this degree is approved, I'm afraid of what we'll see in our science classes.

I have never seen a Sunday School/religious school religion assignment that has been in the least bit challenging -- they're all designed so that everyone "passes."

I can see the attraction some have to intelligent design/creationism/ and science "from a Christian perspective" -- after all, science is hard and Sunday School is mind-numbingly easy.

(I've adapted this from a comment I left at Possummomma.blogspot.com)

What's Next in Texas -- The University of Astrological Studies?

Or a revival of the phlogiston theory in the Chemistry Department?

The geologists should also get up in arms about this, since these are young earth creationists.

The whole article was pretty disturbing -- here are a couple of points that were particularly so.

This first one is pretty scary -- the possibility that the graduates of this Institute could be unleashed on the public schools.

"Patricia Nason, the institute's department chairwoman for science education, said most of the institute's students end up teaching at private Christian schools. But, she said, they learn about evolution and are qualified to teach in public schools."

Of course they want "academic" freedom for themselves, but they aren't willing to give any:

"It is ... expected that faculty members as teachers, scholars, and citizens, will further the ministry of the Institute through their life example and commitment to Jesus Christ as Lord. Acceptance to this limitation of academic freedom is reaffirmed with each annual contract."

Click on the title of this post for the rest of the story, "Creationist institute seeks certificate to operate master's program in Texas Christian facility teaches science from biblical perspective."

Going back to Colorado for retirement is looking more and more attractive, but then of course we'd end up right in the midst of the evangelical cluster economy (Focus on the Family, The Navigators, Young Life, New Life Church, etc.) Yikes -- there's no escape!

Texas is Soooo Much Fun Right now

From Lizzette Reynolds, TEA Deputy Commissioner:

"The concern was, should these sorts of things be on the TEA e-mail?
Maybe this was my sensitivity from working on the federal level. I
looked at it and said, “This could be political.” My goal was to make
sure the right people looked at this.

I realize that people have their opinions. If you want to do that, Yahoo is free. Get a Yahoo account."

and later:

"I still think the e-mail by Comer left the agency exposed. The whole
situation has been a little disturbing to me. Maybe I should have seen
the political side of it."

So which is it?? -- she thought "This could be political" or "Maybe I should have seen the political side of it."

************ ********* ****

I sent this comment in response to the article:

Why should the sending of this message from Comer’s work email be inappropriate?

Barbara Forrest was a witness at the Dover, PA, trial.

The Dover school board had injected the religious concept of intelligent design into the high school biology classes.

There are members of the SBOE who would like to do the same in Texas.

Attending the Forrest lecture should have been mandatory for all
SBOE members so that they could have some idea of what they were
getting into. I’m appalled and dismayed that they didn’t have the
curiosity to attend, and that Reynolds thinks there is anything wrong
with a Science Director informing various populations about a lecture
on a science issue.

The Kitzmiller vs. Dover trial cost the school district over $1,000,000, as they were ordered to pay the plaintiff’s fees.

Can you imagine the cost to the State of Texas to go through such a
trial on a state level? Can you imagine the cost to the State of Texas
as scientists, biotech businesses and concerns, etc. avoid a state with
such a hostile environment to science?

Chris Comer should be lauded for trying to save the State of Texas a vast amount of money, time, and prestige.