Affirmanti non neganti incumbit probatio

Dembski's question #4 is just perfect

2009-08-12T08:08:00.002-04:00

PZ and others have all over the story about Demski's course on Intelligent Design, and its trolling requirement. What struck me as particularly ironic was this question from his 2007 final exam for this course:

3. You are an expert witness in the Dover case. You’ve been asked to summarize why you think intelligent design is a fully scientific theory. Do so here. Sketch ID’s method(s) of design detection and then show how it/they apply (or might apply) to biological systems. Further, indicate how ID is testable: what evidence would confirm ID and what evidence would disconfirm ID? Also, indicate how ID differs from creationism and from natural theology. Finally, what would you say to the charge that ID is “pseudoscience”? What would you say to the charge that ID is “religion”?

Dembski, of course, was scheduled to be a witness in the Dover case. He was to be called by the defense as an "expert", to provide exactly this type of testimony. But before he could be deposed in the case, Dembski withdrew as a witness.

Ironic, to say the least.

Welcome back, Randi

2009-04-04T19:57:00.000-04:00

A plea - and a suggestion - to VenomFangX

2009-04-03T22:36:00.003-04:00

This is a video by a devout theist, who points out to VenomFangX that his misrepresentations of the natural world are wholly counterproductive to his efforts to evangelize: When a person lies about one thing, folks tend to tune that person out from then on.

WTF? YouTube has banned the James Randi Educational Foundation

2009-03-30T20:37:00.004-04:00

YouTube, what the heck is going on? You ban Thunderf00t, you turn a blind eye to votebot attacks, and now this:

My All-Time Favorite Christian

2009-03-16T21:18:00.000-04:00

Ovechkin is God

2009-02-19T20:25:00.000-05:00

Happy Darwin Day!

2009-02-12T21:20:00.005-05:00

From one primate, to another.

Bible-Thumpers, and the Future of the GOP

2008-12-06T10:15:00.002-05:00

"By all means, let faith inform one's values, but let reason inform one's public arguments."
- Kathleen Parker, Washington Post, 5 Dec 2005.

Kathleen Parker has written a couple of columns in the Washington Post, highlighting the concerns she and other lifelong Republicans have regarding the undue influence of Christian fanatics upon their party.

South Carolina ready to move forward with Christian-themed license plates.

2008-11-08T23:17:00.003-05:00

Despite the pending legal challenge from Americans United, the South Carolina Department of Motor Vehicles is apparently ready to start issuing license plates advocating Christianity. The plates, which were authorized by the South Carolina legislature, look like this:

A New Day

2008-11-05T08:40:00.005-05:00

This country has a remarkable ability to do amazing, wonderful things. Over the past few months, I've enjoyed enormously joining with the many people in my neighborhood who have been working for the election of President-Elect Barack Obama. It has been an astounding ride, and I've been thrilled to be a part of it.

And now, a word from our president . . .

2008-10-24T23:20:00.001-04:00

First Nominee for "Fucktard of the Year"

2008-06-28T08:43:00.006-04:00

Our first nominee for "Fucktard of the Year" is Bobby Jindal, the creationist governor of Louisiana, who will go down in infamy as the first American governor to sign one of these "equal time for scientific nonsense" bills being promoted by the cdesign proponentsists at the Disco Institute.

An Open Letter to Governor Jindal

2008-06-18T23:50:00.001-04:00

Dear Governor Jindal:

SB 733, which is based on sample legislation drafted by the infamous Discovery Institute, is a terrible bill that will do immense harm to Louisiana. I urge you to veto this bill.

Every other state that has considered this legislation has rejected it (with the sole exception of Michigan, where this bill currently sits in committee, with no action pending). If you allow this bill to become law, then Louisiana will be the only state in the country to have passed this Discovery Institute-modeled law. You have seen the criticism and ridicule that was directed at Kansas while it considered adding Intelligent Design Creationism to its public school curriculum; I am sure that you would not want to see Louisiana reap the same ridicule. By vetoing this bill, you will help insure that Louisiana schools do not become the objects of nationwide scorn.

Since Hurricanes Katrina and Rita have devastated so much of the Louisiana economy, it has become desperately important for Louisiana to attract new investment and new businesses. Economic development has been a key effort for your administration. It would be a tragedy if your efforts in this area came to naught. But if businesses perceive that Louisiana’s schools are becoming deficient in science education, they will have every reason to build new facilities elsewhere. I’m confident that you do not want that to happen.

You have done a great deal of good for Louisiana during your term as governor. It would be a shame if your legacy came to be seen as an enemy of science education. I’m sure you’ll do the right thing, and veto this bill.

Very respectfully,

John the Skeptic

I swear I thought this had to be a joke.

2008-06-16T19:35:00.008-04:00

Have you heard about this?

Some Republican from Texas named Robert Hurt is upset that some of the artwork in Washington DC actually features nudes. “At the National Gallery, he was appalled to see statues of unclothed people. “I found it very inappropriate,’ he said.”

That’s right, innocent children can walk right into the National Gallery of Art, and see paintings and sculptures with men showing their unclothed weenies and women with bare boobies. These poor kids will no doubt be scarred for life by the Cassatts and Degas that are blatantly displayed for the public to see.

And it's not just in the museums: “He discovered Arlington Memorial Bridge, flanked by the bare-chested figures of Valor and Sacrifice.” Nekkid ladies on our bridges!! That’s a terrible safety risk. Just imagine some impressionable young man who just got his drivers license, driving across Memorial Bridge, seeing these bare breasts, and becoming so excited that he swerves wildly into oncoming traffic. Can you picture the devastation?

Fortunately, Hurt is doing everything he can to fight this depravity: “Hurt notified his elected officials of his concerns but believes nothing was done. While he said he respects free speech, ‘I believe art affects a country indirectly. I have been studying the decline of morals in this country. It's sending the wrong message to children that nudity is fine, that nakedness is fine. . . . There are degrees of vulgarity, and it opens up the door for the other stuff.’”

Good for you, Bob Hurt! And while you’re at it, see what you can do about putting pants on all the animals at the National Zoo.

Those pandas are completely naked!

The American Family Association does NOT support the Troops!

2008-06-09T21:38:00.003-04:00

Our men and women in the armed forces are doing a difficult job under very trying circumstances. So you’d think that most people would want to do what they could to support the troops. You wouldn’t think that there would be people out there actively trying to take away things that boost our troops' morale.

But you’d be wrong.

Donald Wildmon from the American Family Association thinks that our service men and women, who risk their lives on a daily basis, who face roadside bombs, insurgent attacks, and other assorted hazards, shouldn’t be allowed to see nudie pictures. The wingnuts at the AFA are upset that military exchanges are selling “se-ually-explicit [sic] publications . . . such as Celebrity Skin, Pl-yb-y's [sic] College Girls, and Playmates In Bed”.

Most of us can remember what it was like to be a young adult, with our hormones running at full throttle. So if our soldiers want to look at nudie magazines, most normal people wouldn’t have a problem with that. But for the prudes at AFA, safeguarding their own delicate sensibilities from the knowledge that other people are looking at porn is more important than letting our soldiers make up their own minds about what they want to look at.

The douchebags at the AFA are supporting a piece of nonsense called the Military Honor and Decency Act, that would remove magazines like "Playboy" from the military exchanges.

If you really care about our soldiers, you'll contact your congressman or Senator to express your opposition to this ridiculous bill.

Well, hell. There's always next year.

2008-06-05T00:15:00.003-04:00

Here we go! Game 6 is up. Let's go Pens!

2008-06-04T20:06:00.003-04:00

Wow, that was a wild ride for Game 5. Here's hoping that the Pens can get out to an early lead, and make the older Redwings have to skate that much harder to get back in the game.

Last Gasp for the Pens

2008-06-02T20:00:00.004-04:00

Wow, the Pens are down 3 games to 1, after the Redwings skated a smothering Game 4 on Saturday night in Pittsburgh. The Pens need to find a way to solve the Detroit PK unit. They couldn't convert the 5-on-3 on Saturday, they absolutely need to do that tonight.

OK, here we go . . . Let's Go Pens!!

ID is real because . . . it’s in a videogame

2008-05-22T08:01:00.002-04:00

The IDiots at “ID The Future” are actually trying to argue for ID because it fits with the plotline of a videogame.

Seriously.

Good ol’ Casey Luskin, IDiot extraordinaire, interviews an artist for the Nintento DS videogame Spore, and concludes that “Spore’s game-play actually hinges on intelligent design theory, because success depends entirely on the ability of the player — i.e. intelligent agent — to fashion a creature ready to take on the growing challenges of its environment.”

So if it’s in a video game, it must be real. Great. Good to see they finally have some positive evidence for ID

Eek! A gay man is trying to sell me a Big Mac!

2008-05-16T07:50:00.003-04:00

Donald Wildmon from the American Family Association is always good for a laugh. In his latest "Action Alert", Donald seems really concerned that a McDonald's corporate officer is, you know, one of them kinda people:

In addition, [McDonald's Vice President Jack] Daly told AFA that Richard Ellis, vice president of communications for McDonald’s, is a "gay man"

NO!! A "gay man" in an actual corporate job? What's the world coming to?

I know I'm not the first one to notice this, but it sure seems like a disproportionate number of these virulent fundy homophobes turn out to be closet cases themselves.

So Donald, anything you'd like to share with us?

Edward Current says people's beliefs should be respected.

2008-05-01T21:11:00.001-04:00

I find it really hard to argue with Edward's reasoning

The latest from eddygoombah--or is it?

2008-04-23T23:45:00.001-04:00

A Brief Tribute to Olaf Kolzig

2008-04-22T23:20:00.003-04:00

Well, tonight may have been the last time any of us will see Olie Kolzig in a Caps uniform. For years, Olie was the heart and soul of the Caps. Olie kept the Caps in a lot of games when the rest of the team didn't have a whole lot of talent. For those of us who suffered through years like 1999-2000, when Chris Simon led the team in goals, Olie was the one guy Caps fans could rely on night after night. (Really! When Chris Simon is your leading goal scorer, your team is going to have problems.)

So Olie, whatever the future holds, thanks for all those great games in net. Thanks for all those great memories. And Go Caps!

(Oh, and by the way, Ben Stein licks sweaty balls.)

Why People Laugh at Creationists

2008-04-22T09:00:00.002-04:00

Thunderf00t has a great series of videos on why we laugh at the cretins. Number 23 deals with Expelled, and may be the best in the series.

Bravo Zulu, Thunderfoot!

Caps Win!!

2008-04-21T21:34:00.003-04:00

Wow, what a comeback from two goals down. Game 7 tomorrow night, and I've got tix!

A good essay on Intelligent Design

2008-04-18T08:42:00.002-04:00

Here's a good essay on IDC, written by a non-fundamentalist theist.

What does this week have in store for Expelled?

2008-04-14T21:04:00.002-04:00

So now that the producers of Expelled have been caught red-handed, and they've been put on notice of their copyright infringement, what will they do now?

Will Premise simply decide to go ahead with their planned release, and ignore the Demand letter from XVIVO?

Will XVIVO seek a TRO before the scheduled April 18 release of Expelled?

Will there be a hearing for a preliminary injunction this week? And if there is, what will we learn from it? Did the animator who produced the "substitute" animation have access to a scientific consultant, or did they simply rely on what they saw in The Inner Life of a Cell?

It's going to be an interesting week.

A gift, for the religious person in your life

2008-04-13T19:35:00.003-04:00

Do you have colleagues, neighbors, or in-laws who incessantly flaunt their religiosity? As a less-than-pious person, do you have trouble finding appropriate gifts for the holier-than-thou?

Well, your problem is solved, because The FAIL Blog has done the work for you, and has found the perfect gift for them!

The REAL story behind "Expelled"

2008-04-11T23:24:00.005-04:00

Aha! The truth is revealed at last! It turns out that the makers of Expelled have deliberately made the stupidest pro-ID movie possible. They are secretly working to destroy the ID movement by laying out it's idiocy in great, gory detail. Kudos to IO9 for bringing this conspiracy to light.

Caps and Pens Win

2008-04-11T23:09:00.001-04:00

Two big wins for the Caps and Pens. The Caps came back from a 4-2 deficit, helped by two sweet 3rd period goals by Mike Green. Ovie put in the game-winner for them.
The Pens squandered an early lead, but came back to win 5-3.

Stanley Cup Playoffs are underway!!

2008-04-11T15:29:00.003-04:00

Well, the Caps have their first playoff game tonight, against the Flyers. While I'm really pulling for the Pens (you never stop rooting for the hometown team), I really hope the Caps do well in the playoffs. They had a great run in the second half of the season, to fight their way back into the playoffs.

Of course, Bettman is really hoping for a playoff series between the Pens and the Caps. He's really hoping to have TV audiences able to see this:

Early report on hearing for Florida's "Academic Freedom" bill

2008-04-08T21:42:00.002-04:00

Florida Citizens for Science have an early report on the Florida Senate Judiciary Committee's hearing on the so-called "Academic Freedom" bill.

Call for Papers: Darwin's Reach

2008-04-08T19:51:00.002-04:00

In celebration of the 200th anniversary of Charles Darwin's birth, and the sesquicentennial of the publication of

On the Origin of Species, Hofstra University is hosting a conference titled "Darwin's Reach: Celebrating Darwin's Legacy Across the Disciplines" March 12-14, 2009.

Papers are invited, exploring topics on Darwin's Legacy. More information may be found here.

200 word abstracts are due June 16, 2008.

Obama on distinguishing between science and faith

2008-04-07T22:41:00.003-04:00

Here's what Barack Obama had to say to the York Daily Record on teaching evolution in public schools:

Q: York County was recently in the news for a lawsuit involving the teaching of intelligent design. What's your attitude regarding the teaching of evolution in public schools?
A: "I'm a Christian, and I believe in parents being able to provide children with religious instruction without interference from the state.
But I also believe our schools are there to teach worldly knowledge and science. I believe in evolution, and I believe there's a difference between science and faith. That doesn't make faith any less important than science.
It just means they're two different things. And I think it's a mistake to try to cloud the teaching of science with theories that frankly don't hold up to scientific inquiry."

Egads! A coherent answer from a presidential candidate on teaching evolution! What's the world coming to?

"And it’s dangerous for our children to even know that your philosophy exists!"

2008-04-05T22:28:00.003-04:00

This is an exchange between Illinois State Rep. Monique Davis, and atheist activist Rob Sherman, who was testifying before the Illinois General Assembly regarding a $1 million grant for the Pilgrim Baptist Church.

What's disappointing here is that an elected official, dependent on the goodwill of her voters, apparently feels there is no political risk (and perhaps some political benefit) to publicly berating an atheist simply for his beliefs.

Kent Hovind, my favorite Creationist

2008-04-05T21:43:00.002-04:00

I have to admit that Kent Hovind is still my favorite of all the high profile creationists. Sure he's a liar and a cheat, but he's just so freaking nuts that it's hard to not get a kick out of his crazy shit.

Since he'll be in prison for tax evasion until 2015, we'll have to get by with what he's left us. In the meantime, please enjoy this tribute video. It's about 6 months old, but it still makes me smile:

Missouri: New Anti-Evolution Bill introduced

2008-04-05T12:29:00.000-04:00

Another one of these so-called "Academic Freedom" Bills has been introduced in Missouri. Like the other "Academic Freedom" bill in Florida, this one is limited to "theories of biological and chemical evolution." The NCSE has a brief summary.