Glenn Branch confesses!

He seems curiously proud of the fact that he's pro-science and that he thinks the Texas Education Agency's position of "neutrality" on evolution is ignorant humbuggery.

I'm missing the joke. I don't see why Glenn Branch's position would be curious.

What "got" Chris Comer fired was pro-Creationist idiocy at the TEA. The only side that a policy of so-called neutrality serves is the anti-science side.

It's called sarcasm. Of course he should be proud of freaking out the creationists by merely sending an invitation to a talk!

I'm actually rather impressed with how effortlessly he made them squeal and run to human resources to get the "threat" removed.

I think Brownian will have to lose his OM for naïveté. :)

Is there any update on Comer's current situation? Has she landed on her feet yet?

As for the wingnuts at TEA, who's planning to take the fall before the lawsuit lands?

Where David Gibbs in this? He's got to be in there somewhere! After all, he's now involved with both the Nathaniel Abraham lawsuit against WHOI and leading opposition to new science education standards in Florida. I can't believe he hasn't managed to find himself some time in the spotlight in the Comer/TEA situation.

I'm going to admit my own noob ignorance, bite the bullet, and ask what the following acronyms after peoples' names mean. I often see people style themselves:

"John Q. Public, OM"

or

"Jane M. Citizen, FCD"

What do "OM" and "FCD" mean?

Go ahead, pwn me, I deserve it.

An FCD is a Friend of Charles Darwin. You can be a friend, too! Go to their website and see!

As for OM, this is an acknowledgment from readers that you have contributed to raising the level of discourse here. You can read about that on PZ's site here.

@Josh,
OM is Order of the Molly, a discussion/explanation and list of previous recipients found here. FCD had me for a while too, I did a Wikipedia search on it and came up with Friend/Follower of Charles Darwin. I suspect that is the case here.
I'm a newbie here too. Although the posters are none too gentle at times, they are less harmful then snowblowers.

Gentlemen, thank you kindly for the explanations. I'm a dedicated lurker here - one of my favorite blogs. I just had to know what the acronyms stood for.

Well, look at this:

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/12/19/education/19texas.html?_r=1&ref=us&or…

"Green Light for Institute on Creation in Texas

By RALPH BLUMENTHAL
Published: December 19, 2007

HOUSTON -- A Texas higher education panel has recommended allowing a Bible-based group called the Institute for Creation Research to offer online master's degrees in science education."

It's called sarcasm.

Don't you sass me, young man!

I think I was just tired. I've amended my OM to an OM-. You guys think if I work my ass off this term, I can bring my average back up?

Speaking of Mollies, has this thread been tallied yet? Those that haven't yet but wish to should get in there.

HOUSTON -- A Texas higher education panel has recommended allowing a Bible-based group called the Institute for Creation Research to offer online master's degrees in science education."

I'm going to puke on the first "master's degree" that is shown to me from someone thinking it represents a real degree in science.

and then I'll laugh.

hard.

seriously, other than a political agenda, what's the point?

no serious science institution in any country is going to think that a master's degree from such a place is worth wiping their asses with.

so the only reason i can think of is just political: to make the fundy morons look more "edumacated" to a public that is largely ignorant of what science is anyway.

from the ICR in response to why they want an accredited master's of science proggy:

It[the ICR] also says "the harmful consequences of evolutionary thinking on families and society (abortion, promiscuity, drug abuse, homosexuality and many others) are evident all around us."

and there you have it.

onward demented fuuuucknuts, marching as to war...

Don't laugh at those master's degrees from the ICR. They will allow anti-science science teachers to qualify for higher pay and easier renewal of their teaching licenses. It matters.

Barkdog wrote: Don't laugh at those master's degrees from the ICR. They will allow anti-science science teachers to qualify for higher pay and easier renewal of their teaching licenses. It matters.

Indeed it does. Eventually, someone will be turned down for a job or promotion because that person's degree was awarded by ICR, and there will be a lawsuit, and no matter how the court case turns out, it will cost a lot of money and time that would be better spent teaching kids some actual biology, and all of the culture-warrior right will bloviate non-stop on TV and radio during the whole thing, and the ICR will get a lot of completely unwarranted international publicity that -- even if as deservedly bad as it should be-- will make them beam like Britney Spears going commando in front of a battalion of paparazzi.

Unless you have stock in a company that makes headache remedies and antidepressants, you should be very, very afraid of these determined idiots.

In Blumenthal's NYTimes article (thanks, SteveC!), the ICR... says "the harmful consequences of evolutionary thinking on families and society (abortion, promiscuity, drug abuse, homosexuality and many others) are evident all around us."

So all these "consequences" only started happening after The Origin of Species was published?

And what was Leviticus condemning?

Hell, no, don't laugh at those bogus master's degrees. Think of us poor Texas parents, forced to research every damn teacher our kids get in the public schools to ensure that one of these fucktards isn't in the classroom with our precious spawn, sucking the brains out of them. Or, in the case of my two very hardheaded progency, inciting an unseemly brawl (the twins don't suffer fools gladly).

Ms. Comer would have an excellent case if she sued Texas for religious discrimination. The theocrats that run the state and are persecuting her know it too. They have already started the spin and coverup. Hear those paper shredders in the background?

I've seen cases that weren't as clear cut that prevailed in court.