Dembski's question #4 is just perfect

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

A plea - and a suggestion - to VenomFangX

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

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

Ovechkin is God

Happy Darwin Day!

From one primate, to another.

Bible-Thumpers, and the Future of the GOP

"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.

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

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 . . .

First Nominee for "Fucktard of the Year"

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

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.

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!

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.

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

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

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

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!

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?