…and this is a 
Confirmed: Texans can be smart!
Category: Creationism
Posted on: April 24, 2008 9:28 PM, by PZ Myers
The recommendation I noted before has been officially and finally followed by the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board: the Institute for Creation Research's application to offer an online master's degree program in creationist bullshit has been rejected. Bravo!
The ICR has said they will probably appeal. Don't slack off, Texas, and keep the pressure on.
Taurus: Great news! Soft drink executives are planning to market a new energy drink made from your urine, on the basis of vague, unfounded rumors of your vitality. This is not such happy news for the rest of us, however.
Comments
C'mon PZ, you've got to get to Capricorn today! You can't tell me you're letting that silly academic job get in the way of writing your astrology column!! :-)
Posted by: tikistitch | April 24, 2008 9:34 PM
But if fundies dont have an ID degree on their resume, how do colleges know not to hire them?
Posted by: Dennis N | April 24, 2008 9:35 PM
Well, yeah, I knew this...
my last girlfriend was a texan
she told me horror stories about her professors, though
one actually wanted to expel her for not supporting Dubya
Posted by: wazza | April 24, 2008 9:36 PM
Taurus urine is the taste of a new generation.
I'm sticking with Slurm Classic.
Posted by: inkadu | April 24, 2008 9:37 PM
Dennis
"how do colleges know not to hire them?"
Ask them a question like Can you define 'Peer-review'?
Posted by: sidelined | April 24, 2008 9:46 PM
New Slurm is better!
It's even more addictive and won't make your teeth fall out.
Good to hear ICR has been rejected. Those guys are full-on nutters.
Posted by: ThirdMonkey | April 24, 2008 9:47 PM
9 astrological signs and counting! Come on PZ! You can get 'em all before midnight! I know you can!!!
Posted by: mezzobuff | April 24, 2008 9:49 PM
sidelined, Blasphemy! God has no peers and cannot be reviewed!
Posted by: Dennis N | April 24, 2008 9:51 PM
"Institute for Creation Research"?
What, pray tell, could that "research" consist of?
-jcr
Posted by: John C. Randolph | April 24, 2008 10:03 PM
Where's Capricorn?? I've been waiting all day for the Capricorn horoscope. Did you know both Elvis Presley and Richard Nixon were Capricorns? I'm in distinguished company, and I want my horoscope ASAP. Come on PZ! Do Capricorn.
____________________________________________
Posted by: Aris | April 24, 2008 10:05 PM
Well, there is lots of market success based on the other taurine excretory product, so the energy drink might well be a success. I'd avoid the product myself, but if I can get in on the IPO...
Posted by: Brad | April 24, 2008 10:09 PM
Sweet Imaginary Jeezus! That's what you get for dating a girl from Baylor!
Posted by: Rational Jen | April 24, 2008 10:12 PM
Yeah, but the explanation is based on the execrable notion of two magesteriums, that science somehow excludes from the outset any consideration outside the bounds of nature, whatever that is supposed to mean.
Posted by: Russell | April 24, 2008 10:20 PM
Actually, she was from Sherman, the shiny red ruby in the eye of the armadillo on the buckle of the bible belt
Posted by: wazza | April 24, 2008 10:22 PM
About that "vitality" in the Taurean urine... I'm pretty sure that was actually the "Asparagus Effect."
Posted by: MTran | April 24, 2008 10:23 PM
Wait a minute... Taurus... Urine...
I think I've discovered the horrible truth about Taurine.
I think I'll stick to Jolt.
Starbix
"Don't Panic." -Douglas Adams
Posted by: Starbix | April 24, 2008 10:30 PM
Magical thinking, as well as brainstorming new ways to describe scientists as being devil-worshipping atheistic pagan baby-eating sorcerers.
Posted by: Stanton | April 24, 2008 10:37 PM
I am still waiting for Aquarius... gimme gimme!
Posted by: theGomezSymbol | April 24, 2008 10:43 PM
C'mon, c'mon, squids need water! Let's get some Aquarius love going here! ^_^
Posted by: Falyne | April 24, 2008 10:45 PM
*offers high-five to theGomezSymbol*
Posted by: Falyne | April 24, 2008 10:46 PM
VOT:
I noticed a big bumble hovering on my deck. It was just hovering, hanging out by the door, when it veered off to right, then left, then back right again, and then it finally flew off. Strangely, I found myself wondering what it was thinking, but bees can't think, can they? How do they decide where they want to fly and why? I understand a little about the nervous system but I don't understand what the bee is reacting to specifically. Sorry, for going off topic, but it's just been puzzling me all day.
Posted by: Lelouch | April 24, 2008 10:52 PM
Oh come on, let's stop fooling around with these 'Posts' and get to what we all really want - Horoscopes with Squid Pictures!
Posted by: ColinB | April 24, 2008 10:55 PM
Texas is doing good lately; cracking down on polygamist serial molesters and degrees for creationists.
I know of at least two smart Texans. I also know two mormon Texans. Do they cancel each other out?
Posted by: Eric Jones | April 24, 2008 11:02 PM
Don't get your hopes up to high for Texas. I live here. The state is still sliding down hill. We only just hit a snag in that slide and had a momentary bit of clarity.
Regarding that FLDS ranch - we're still early in this thing, that "probable cause" (the phone call from an alleged minor) might not hold up. Depending on how strictly the laws of evidence are adhered to (and the defense lawyers are sure to push this very strongly), we may see this all be dismissed on a technicality, and all evidence collected because of that faulty first call that instigated the raid, will be for naught.
I sound like a pessimist. Well, in my defense, I do live in Texas.
JBS
Posted by: John B. Sandlin | April 24, 2008 11:10 PM
I found this quote interesting: "Students and faculty in the institute must profess faith in a literal translation of Biblical creation, that God created the world in six days and that the Earth is much newer than evolutionary science suggests."
Are they not even pretending that they're looking for a scientific alternative to evolution anymore? This sounds like, before entering the program, you are required to solemnly swear that evidence no longer means anything to you, and you will willfully ignore whatever you feel like. I mean, that's been the idea all along, but to come out and say it like that, especially about a proposed graduate degree program, seems like a whole new level of stupid.
Posted by: Scott | April 24, 2008 11:15 PM
This article suggests to me a good test to see if your educational institution is deeply flawed.
If you have to sign a statement before entering an institution that you believe in X no matter what the evidence you might encounter, then you should probably avoid going to that institution.
Posted by: Christianjb | April 24, 2008 11:23 PM
Unfortunately this is the "higher education". For the public school kids I fear that school board is still full steam ahead for ID.
Posted by: douq | April 24, 2008 11:28 PM
You know, I don't think I'd have objected to it quite as much if that had been what it was actually called. It's the whole master of science part that was whack.
Posted by: AlanWCan | April 24, 2008 11:43 PM
Maybe. The FLDS is looking uglier as more data is gathered.
This is really just sectarian warfare. The fundies and catholics of Texas are beating up on another group of fringe Xians who are even weirder and more malevolent than they are.
Both Utah and Arizona just ignored them and hoped they would go away. Didn't work. This is an apocalyptic cult that predicts that the rapture is coming soon after "outsiders" "try to destroy them." The probability that they end up in a Jonestown or Waco scenario is pretty high.
Posted by: raven | April 25, 2008 12:02 AM
The ICR is just a diploma mill. This is an online degree about how 2 pages of 4,000 year old mythology describes the universe. How long does it take to learn to spell "goddidit"?
A real insult to people who go to real universities and earn real M.S.'s.
Posted by: raven | April 25, 2008 12:08 AM
"A poll in 2006 by Catholic magazine Famiglia Cristiana found that more Italian Catholics prayed to Padre Pio than to any other figure, including the Virgin Mary or Jesus. His picture is stuck to the dashboards of many taxis and cars throughout Italy."
Nice.
Posted by: spencer | April 25, 2008 12:34 AM
While my comments may be off-topic in the best tradition of the WorldWideWord portion of Dreamcatcher or EvC Forum, as a librarian in Texas I personally celebrate this seemingly small yet significant victory over the forces of willful ignorance.
May there be many more.
Posted by: Anglagard | April 25, 2008 1:04 AM
Oh my: that is so true! I was just approached by soft drink executives. Clearly PZ has some tentric black magical powers...
*awaits ultimate destruction ceremony*
Posted by: MJ | April 25, 2008 1:37 AM
@#33
I was thinking the same thing! We are known for our vitality! Just think, because we are minions of the great PZ Myers, our prowess will be world known and many a young maiden will succumb to our naughty bits!
Posted by: firemancarl | April 25, 2008 8:08 AM
The horoscope for Taurus is irrelevant. We Taurians do not believe in astrology.
Also, Go Texas! We Texans are trying to take back the soul of our state from the idiots and whack-jobs.
Posted by: Matt M | April 25, 2008 9:26 AM
TAURUS: You will never find true happiness - what you gonna do, cry about it?
The stars predict tomorrow you'll wake up, do a bunch of stuff, and then go back to sleep
Posted by: Laser Potato | April 25, 2008 9:57 AM
I'm a torus. Does your horoscope still count?
Kermit
Posted by: Kermit | April 25, 2008 10:26 AM
@24 JBS- When the DNA results come in, this family tree will look like kudzu on a telephone pole. A recent (yesterday?) Supreme Court ruling is that evidence found in a search, even when the grounds of the search were found to be illegal may still be used for prosecution. Admittedly, this was regarding an incident where a driver was pulled over for DUI, the occupant was sober but drugs were found in the vehicle. This type of ruling might be applicable here- but I am not part of the legal profession.
Also, the LDS case might have caused a few elected nutters to duck & cower a little and may have, in some small way, facilitated the negative ICR ruling.
ICR stands for 'I Can't Reality.'
Posted by: mothra | April 25, 2008 11:17 AM
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_University_of_Texas_at_Austin_people
Posted by: Rev. Ayatollah Mulla Fakir | April 25, 2008 12:18 PM
Now lets hope Florida wises up!
Posted by: doubtingfoo | April 25, 2008 3:22 PM
No, I don't think so. The fellow who chairs the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board is a real and serious scholar. Presidents of Texas universities called him, wrote him, and in other ways suggested he should defend the good reputation of Texas higher education (think Andy Ellington at the University of Texas, not to mention Steven Weinberg). There was a second tour of ICR facilities with real biologists and real scientists and real education professors.
The crunch had been scheduled for January; ICR asked for more time, in my opinion to try to pull strings to bully the board into acting wrongly.
And, please, the people living in El Dorado, Texas, aren't Mormons. They're not even apostate Mormons. They are a splinter sect off of antique Mormonism.
Modern Mormons study evolution and dance, which is how you can tell them from Baptists.
Posted by: Ed Darrell | April 25, 2008 5:22 PM
ICR issued a press release today about as dirty as any I've seen (hey, I used to be a press secretary in Congress, and I've seen some dirty ones). They're going to make this political and fight it.
Copy at TCU's newspaper, the Daily Skiff:
http://blogs.tcudailyskiff.com/newsroom/2008/04/25/creationist-group-responds-to-texas-board/
Posted by: Ed Darrell | April 25, 2008 5:59 PM
You may want to read the Texas Citizens for Science press release in response to the ICR press release:
http://www.texscience.org/releases/tcs-icr-2008april29.htm
Posted by: Steven Schafersman | April 30, 2008 4:27 PM