Florida and Texas going at it

the TEA education commissioner, Robert Scott, has spoken up. It's nothing new, but is what you'd expect: denial. He claims there are no litmus tests for political ideology at the TEA, and that religion is irrelevant, and that Comer had a history of personnel problems that lead to her dismissal.

Comrade Scott is just lying. Creos lie, lie, and then lie some more. How else can they pretend that 2 pages of 4,000 year old mythology explains the real world better than 150 years of science.

Comer was at the TEA for 9 years and rose to head of the Science Curriculum. Then they found some personnel problems when the religious fanatics took over. Yeah, she accepted reality.

These people are evil.

Here's another kick in the pants...it seems that when a similar thing happened in Florida, only with the education official who used an e-mail from her personal account to other people to get them to oppose evolution was in the draft of the state's science standards, she was only reprimanded, not canned. Link.

Aren't the religious right wackos the ones always complaining about persecution?

I just took a quiz at ChristiaNet.com. To quote Wolfgang Pauli, "It's so bad, it's not even wrong!". Many of the answers don't even follow from their own absurd biblical logic and I was unable to avoid getting 12% correct. With morons like this in a near majority, is there any hope for this country? Well at least Mitt Romney's magic underwear seems not to be working.

I posted this once but it is relevant. Texas is an abstinence only state. They also have a teen pregnancy rate much higher than the national average. It isn't going down and nationwide the teen pregnancy rate and STD rates are going up.

The theocrats remind me of the Soviets or the Khymer Rouge. They have a fairy tale ideology that has nothing to do with reality and doesn't work. So they end up leaving a trail of ruined lives behind them while pretending to have The Answers.

It turns out abstinence only sex education is failing. For the first time in 15 years, the teen pregnancy rate is rising rather than falling. STD rates are up to.

Yet again another triumph for wackodoodle ideology over common sense and reality. These clowns really don't care how many lives they ruin as long as they can make their wrongheaded points to their pea brained followers.

First rise in U.S. teen births since '91 By MIKE STOBBE, AP Medical Writer Thu Dec 6, 7:07 PM ET
ATLANTA - In a troubling reversal, the nation's teen birth rate rose for the first time in 15 years, surprising government health officials and reviving the bitter debate about abstinence-only sex education.

The birth rate had been dropping since its peak in 1991, although the decline had slowed in recent years. On Wednesday, government statisticians said it rose 3 percent from 2005 to 2006.

The reason for the increase is not clear, and federal health officials said it might be a one-year statistical blip, not the beginning of a new upward trend.

However, some experts said they have been expecting a jump. They blamed it on increased federal funding for abstinence-only health education that doesn't teach teens how to use condoms and other contraception.

Some key sexually transmitted disease rates have been rising, including syphilis, gonorrhea and chlamydia. The rising teen pregnancy rate is part of the same phenomenon, said Dr. Carol Hogue, an Emory University professor of maternal and child health.

"It's not rocket science," she said. continues ...

is simply more desperate floundering to cover what is turning into a major gaffe by the creationists.

That is so wrong. The creos don't care who knows that they are authoritarian religious bigots. What is the point of finally grabbing some power if you can't persecute a few hundred or a few million people?

Inquisitions, purges, Gulags, Siberias, show trials, torture, burning witches and heretics at the stake. They long for the good old days. You know, what the rest of us call the Dark Ages.

What's wrong with favoring something that is true and that you teach? Evolution is a theory and also a fact, ID is not even a THEORY nor is it fact-If we lose the teaching of evolution in school, America is lost- it's the last stand for science and progress- and I'm starting to worry...

Silly creationists!

"But you can be in favor of a science without bashing people's faith,"

So, by telling people about a talk that showed how silly ID is, she was "bashing people's faith".
But ID isn't faith, it's a scientific theory!

But you can be in favor of a science without bashing people's faith, too.

Unless "people's faith" not only denies but demonizes said science....

The Fort Worth-Star Telegram was piling on this weekend. Referring to the TEA as "mullahs" and noting that Governor Perry has a degree in animal science, so he should be able to identify intelligent design creationism as BS were just two of the highlights.

But you can be in favor of a science without bashing people's faith, too.

Umm. No, you can't. If someone's "faith" says that the Earth is 6,000 years only then, if one is in favour of geology, one must "bash" someone else's faith. Similarly, you can't be in favour of biological science and not "bash" the faith of someone who does not accept that man and ape share a common ancestor, or refuses to hold to a purely naturalistic explanation for life. It simply isn't possible.

This isn't even the old canard of non-overlapping magisteria. This is science vs. lunancy pure and simple; these are people trying to teach that 1+1=3, and claiming "faith-bashing" when it's pointed out - however politely or heatedly - that they're wrong.

But you can be in favor of a science without bashing people's faith, too.

Sure, so let's see some pro-Wicca material introduced into the Texas school system. I'm sure he would be just fine with that, right? He wouldn't bash Wicca, would he? Not a tolerant feller like Robert, nosireebob.

But you can be in favor of a science without bashing people's faith, too.

But the lecture wasn't addressing matters of faith. It was addressing Intelligent Design which is, according to its proponents, a scientific theory rather than a religious belief.

I wonder how long it will take before this double-speak strategy becomes so overused that the majority begin to see through it.

"ID doesn't violate the separation of church and state because it isn't religious, but if you judge it by scientific criteria then you are an anti-religious bigot."

"'God' in the pledge of allegiance doesn't violate the separation of church and state because it isn't religious, but if you want to remove it then you are an anti-religious bigot."

"Posting the ten commandments in government buildings doesn't violate the separation of church and state because it isn't religious, but if you don't want them posted then you are an anti-religious bigot."

"The faith-based charity grants don't violate the separation of church and state because the organizations are secular, but if you want them to follow the rules for secular charities then you are an anti-religious bigot."

Seriously, if I were Yahweh I'd be pissed by all of these so-called believers who wouldn't stand up for me.

Hi,

Recall all those rather slow kids from school? The dullards that taunted you for your smarts? They became Fundies so they could continue the practice. See the PBS special on the Dover suit.

Consider now that these individuals are among the lowest of the socioeconmic class. They look up to every one else's accomplishments, wealth, and status. Fundie religion teaches that men are human and that women and children are property of the glorious male. How to keep that happy state of affairs? Keep the kids stupid and unable to question the rightness of the current system. Have school be so useless that many leave. It has the effect of lowering wages and depressing learning rates. Don't want those kids thinking. They might get ideas.

The Atlanta Journal Constitution also commented on the issue, and used it to frame (sorry for dropping the F-bomb, P.Z.) America's latest failures in international math and science testing.

Key quotation from the AJC editorial: "Evolution is not a camp, personal opinion or belief. It is the unifying principle of modern biology." Wow, that felt good to read in a mainstream newspaper.

I looked at the purity poll on ChristiaNet. Here's the question:
1. Should Christians participate in Santa Claus?

Now WTF does that mean? How does one "participate in Santa Claus"?

Wait a minute! Within the context of remarks, isn't the statement "But you can be in favor of a science without bashing people's faith, too." yet another admission that ID is religion and perceived to be so by Scott? Someone store this one away, so that when the committee tries to introduce ID it will be clear that they all knew it was religion before it came up.

Tom

#1: "How else can they pretend that 2 pages of 4,000 year old mythology explains the real world better than 150 years of science."

Science gives you only one canonical explanation. The first two pages of Genesis are much better: they give you two contradicting explanations to choose from, as the situation needs.

There are some rational people in Florida

Despite the fact that we recently hosted a GOP "debate," for the most part St. Pete is one of the saner parts of Florida. For example, it's far more sane than Tampa / Hillsborough County, just across the bay. They have some real issues over there . . .

i wanna see this one go to court.

as a public school teacher, you can't take a negative stance on faith any more than you can take a positive one. but what happens when someone's faith is demonstrably untrue? does advocating facts become ridiculing of faith?

if, for instance, i'm a radical islamic fundamentalist, and the idea that the holocaust never happened is part of my faith, is learning about it an insult to my faith, or the school taking a position on religion?

does the promotion of ignorance serve the legitimate secular interest of the public education system? i think not. i also think that if teaching facts is an insult to your faith, your faith is the thing at fault. we have to protect religious freedom in this country, yes, but not to the extent each and every person must be shielded from the outside world, reality, and knowledge at every turn.

and more importantly, where is the discovery institute in all this? for people who advocate teaching the controversy, they're sure not defending this person who did teach the controversy.

#19: isn't St Pete where the Scientologists headquarter?

I love Robyn -besides being an outstanding columnist in general, she is an admitted atheist.

#21: Nope. That's Clearwater, IIRC.

Coming home from work, I noticed this too:

In response to the first question:

I'm aware of the reports and a bit disturbed by them because they're not based in reality or fact.

In response to the last question:

I don't know all the facts, but I think that may be the real issue here.

Hang on a minute. How can he not know all the facts, yet complain about reports of her dismissal not being based "in reality or fact". If he doesn't know all the facts, he can't know that the reports were not based on "reality or fact". If he does know all the facts then his second statement is blatantly false and he is lying.

we have standards of conduct and expect those standards of conduct to be followed.

Presumably those standards include knowing the details of a potential constructive dismissal case (as it is termed in the UK - don't know if the same thing exists in the US) before demonstrating one's ignorance to the press...

Robyn is wonderful. As stated, she's openly atheist (http://www.sptimes.com/2004/08/08/Columns/I_m_an_atheist___so_w.shtml) and headed the ACLU of Utah and Florida. Her piece is the first thing I turn to each Sunday. I think a lot of people here would enjoy making her weekly column a part of their routine.

And yes, Woo Woo Centr... er, I mean, Scientology HQ is in Clearwater, a bit north of St.Pete.

I don't know all the facts

I can't remember, do I take two shots or three shots whenever someone pretending to be an authority figure on education says that?

FFS Mr Scott, you are the education commissioner, it's your job to know all the facts about an education issue. Particularly if you are going to fire (sorry *encourage early resignation*) of staff members for innapropriate advocacy.

If he doesn't know all the facts, how does he know whats innapropriate or not.

Hey, PZ, in your third paragraph you mean "led", not "lead".

Ms. Comer didn't advocate anything in her e-mail. She notified people who should have been interested that more information was available if people chose to attend a lecture about a subject that they should have been concerned with. She didn't even urge them to go.

>>...dinosaurs and man roamed the Earth at the same time.<<

And still do.

#1: "How else can they pretend that 2 pages of 4,000 year old mythology explains the real world better than 150 years of science."

Science gives you only one canonical explanation. The first two pages of Genesis are much better: they give you two contradicting explanations to choose from, as the situation needs.