According to Florida Citizens for Science the Taylor County School Board has decided that evolution should not be taught as a fact and instead should be taught alongside other theories of evolution.
What other theories? I assume they mean Creationism or Intelligent Design, both of which ARE NOT scientific theories.
The board's meeting minutes included the following: "we are requesting that the State Board of Education direct the Florida Department of Education to revise/edit the new Sunshine State Standards for Science so that evolution is presented as one of several theories as to how the universe was formed."
Since when does evolution seek to explain the formation of the universe? Last I checked it had to do with genetic changes in populations of organisms on EARTH. These people have absolutely no idea what science is, how it is carried out or what it explains. They don't even appear to understand what evolution is.
I'm so irked that this is happening. Sure, question evolution. Sure, go out there and do research and learn and try to refute evolution. But do it scientifically, not politically. Stop making decisions without the correct information. Stop taking a stand on something while blatantly demonstrating that you've put no effort into understanding it. Stop making our country look stupid, lazy, ignorant and irrational.
(Hat-tip to Pharyngula)
Showing posts with label i freakin' hate politics. Show all posts
Showing posts with label i freakin' hate politics. Show all posts
Wednesday, January 9, 2008
That Darn Election...
Julia did it and Will did it and now I'm doing it:
It's the 2008 Presidential Candidate Matching Quiz:
92% Mike Gravel
91% Dennis Kucinich
79% John Edwards
76% Barack Obama
74% Hillary Clinton
73% Joe Biden
73% Chris Dodd
72% Bill Richardson
34% Rudy Giuliani
30% Ron Paul
23% John McCain
21% Mitt Romney
21% Tom Tancredo
17% Mike Huckabee
9% Fred Thompson
It's about right on. At this point, Kucinich is one of my favorites, but he doesn't have a snowball's chance in hell. I honestly don't know a lot about Gravel, so I'm going to go look him up. Seems, according to this quiz, that Obama is the closest match, though I really have my doubts.
Of course, I'm not going to use this as a deciding factor, but it is interesting.
It's the 2008 Presidential Candidate Matching Quiz:
92% Mike Gravel
91% Dennis Kucinich
79% John Edwards
76% Barack Obama
74% Hillary Clinton
73% Joe Biden
73% Chris Dodd
72% Bill Richardson
34% Rudy Giuliani
30% Ron Paul
23% John McCain
21% Mitt Romney
21% Tom Tancredo
17% Mike Huckabee
9% Fred Thompson
It's about right on. At this point, Kucinich is one of my favorites, but he doesn't have a snowball's chance in hell. I honestly don't know a lot about Gravel, so I'm going to go look him up. Seems, according to this quiz, that Obama is the closest match, though I really have my doubts.
Of course, I'm not going to use this as a deciding factor, but it is interesting.
Monday, January 7, 2008
House Resolution 888...
Okay, so the House of Representatives will vote on House Resolution 888, which supposedly seeks "Affirming the rich spiritual and religious history of our Nation's founding and subsequent history and expressing support for designation of the first week in May as `American Religious History Week' for the appreciation of and education on America's history of religious faith." However, there are all sorts of problems with the resolution. I don't feel comfortable making any assertions about it here, but you can visit the Talk to Action website for details.
Here's what can be done about it, or specifically what I'll be doing:
1. Research. Read the proposed resolution in entirety. Do a little fact checking. If you find the bill is full of lies, then proceed with step 2.
2. Find out how your representative voted on House Resolution 847: Recognizing the importance of Christmas and the Christian faith. You can check here.
3. Write a letter to your representative asking that he vote "nay" on House Resolution 888 . There's a form letter here, though I highly recommend you write your own.
Hopefully, with some effort, this will not pass.
(Hat-tip to Pharyngula)
Here's what can be done about it, or specifically what I'll be doing:
1. Research. Read the proposed resolution in entirety. Do a little fact checking. If you find the bill is full of lies, then proceed with step 2.
2. Find out how your representative voted on House Resolution 847: Recognizing the importance of Christmas and the Christian faith. You can check here.
3. Write a letter to your representative asking that he vote "nay" on House Resolution 888 . There's a form letter here, though I highly recommend you write your own.
Hopefully, with some effort, this will not pass.
(Hat-tip to Pharyngula)
Sunday, September 30, 2007
OOH...GRRR...
If you thought my eyes looked like ancient-person eyes last week, you should see them this morning. I'm functioning on a few crappy hours of sleep, a cup of nasty cafeteria coffee and the hope that one day I will be doing what I want, instead of sitting in this office. I have a headache...which has been tripled in strength by the natural gas main that ruptured over on central campus. Supposedly, the gas didn't reach my building, but the funny smell in our office suggests otherwise.
I got into a fight with J last night about the presidential candidates. I HATE politics. I really really hate talking about politics...which is funny, because I'm the one who brought them up last night. I did some research yesterday after hearing that three of our candidates do not believe in evolution...and then I ended up researching Ron Paul, because he fascinates me (also because I was curious to see if he believes in evolution). I took my findings home, presented them and then preceded to get all bugged out when J asked me a few questions. And of course, when I want to talk about dinosaurs and rocks, he listens and is supportive and wonderful. When he wants to talk about politics and conspiracy theories, I am mean and defensive and irrational. I don't know why I get so upset. Maybe I just don't like stating an opinion without facts to back it up because I'm terrible at arguing. The thing is, he says he doesn't want to argue...just discuss, but I seem to be incapable of doing that, since I treat our discussions as if they were arguments. Maybe it's my whole no-information thing...I really don't know. But it makes talking about 9-11 unbearable. Anyone else get all bugged out?
I had my chem lab last night and I am utterly blown away by the stupidity of some of my classmates. The girls that use the bench next to mine didn't seem to understand that anything to the left of the bench divider was my space. Apparently, the also didn't understand that the glass pipe was supposed to be above water level to avoid poisoning the whole room with bromine gas, because they laughed when I asked them to fix it. I don't think I was out of line...I just didn't want to inhale bromine gas. And the kid next to me that thinks it's fun to light unknown chemicals on fire near the hydrogen generator...he's also the one who publicly announced that he farted. I can't stand him. My lab partner may be the worst of all. She's nice enough, but she's got this high-pitched, squeaky voice and acts like a 7-year old. She seems to think our lab TA is there for us, and only us, because if she has any questions she immediately waves her hand and shouts, "hey, 'scuse me Mr. TA Guy," no matter what he's in the middle of. He has a name. He also has thirty other students. And seriously, she needs to stop calling me "Ms. Perfectionist" and following it up with "but there's nothing wrong with that." I HATE that. I prefer to be thorough when working with dangerous substances...and I like earning good grades. If there's one thing I'm going to be a perfectionist about, it's school. I'm certainly not a prudish rule-follower anywhere else.
I began painting a picture of a Triceratops skeleton last night. It’s coming along nicely and I only have one complaint: it’s not original. Paleo art is tough because there’s no way to photograph the subject and in order to paint something with skin and hair and feathers, you need to be able to visualize what a skeleton would look like with all that stuff attached. And to do that, you need an understanding of how muscle attaches to bone. I work mostly from photos because my visual memory sucks. All the photos I have of dinosaur skeletons have been taken by someone else. It looks like a trip to the museum (generic, since I have to travel a few hours to get to one) is in order. I’d love to paint some close-up skulls. Close enough to see the little details and fill the canvas, but not so close that the dino is unrecognizable. For now, pictures from books will have to do.
I got into a fight with J last night about the presidential candidates. I HATE politics. I really really hate talking about politics...which is funny, because I'm the one who brought them up last night. I did some research yesterday after hearing that three of our candidates do not believe in evolution...and then I ended up researching Ron Paul, because he fascinates me (also because I was curious to see if he believes in evolution). I took my findings home, presented them and then preceded to get all bugged out when J asked me a few questions. And of course, when I want to talk about dinosaurs and rocks, he listens and is supportive and wonderful. When he wants to talk about politics and conspiracy theories, I am mean and defensive and irrational. I don't know why I get so upset. Maybe I just don't like stating an opinion without facts to back it up because I'm terrible at arguing. The thing is, he says he doesn't want to argue...just discuss, but I seem to be incapable of doing that, since I treat our discussions as if they were arguments. Maybe it's my whole no-information thing...I really don't know. But it makes talking about 9-11 unbearable. Anyone else get all bugged out?
I had my chem lab last night and I am utterly blown away by the stupidity of some of my classmates. The girls that use the bench next to mine didn't seem to understand that anything to the left of the bench divider was my space. Apparently, the also didn't understand that the glass pipe was supposed to be above water level to avoid poisoning the whole room with bromine gas, because they laughed when I asked them to fix it. I don't think I was out of line...I just didn't want to inhale bromine gas. And the kid next to me that thinks it's fun to light unknown chemicals on fire near the hydrogen generator...he's also the one who publicly announced that he farted. I can't stand him. My lab partner may be the worst of all. She's nice enough, but she's got this high-pitched, squeaky voice and acts like a 7-year old. She seems to think our lab TA is there for us, and only us, because if she has any questions she immediately waves her hand and shouts, "hey, 'scuse me Mr. TA Guy," no matter what he's in the middle of. He has a name. He also has thirty other students. And seriously, she needs to stop calling me "Ms. Perfectionist" and following it up with "but there's nothing wrong with that." I HATE that. I prefer to be thorough when working with dangerous substances...and I like earning good grades. If there's one thing I'm going to be a perfectionist about, it's school. I'm certainly not a prudish rule-follower anywhere else.
I began painting a picture of a Triceratops skeleton last night. It’s coming along nicely and I only have one complaint: it’s not original. Paleo art is tough because there’s no way to photograph the subject and in order to paint something with skin and hair and feathers, you need to be able to visualize what a skeleton would look like with all that stuff attached. And to do that, you need an understanding of how muscle attaches to bone. I work mostly from photos because my visual memory sucks. All the photos I have of dinosaur skeletons have been taken by someone else. It looks like a trip to the museum (generic, since I have to travel a few hours to get to one) is in order. I’d love to paint some close-up skulls. Close enough to see the little details and fill the canvas, but not so close that the dino is unrecognizable. For now, pictures from books will have to do.
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