evolution

My Fellow Blogeratti,

It's 0515 in the AM, I haven't got my Times Union yet, but when I looked for it, I noticed the moon through a bit of haze in the sky.  Nice to see it's still there.  So, without the paper to read yet, I checked my e mail & what do I see on the front page of the New York Times?  A story from Orange Park, Florida centered on the fight @ teaching evolution versus creationism & the problems trying to teach evolution in this state when so many students come to school already accepting the literal interpretation of the creation from the Bible.

The story focuses on the efforts of David Campbell, a science teacher at Ridgeview high School.  Some of you may know him or know of him & his efforts to advance science, critical thinking & the scientific process in the schools.  From what I've read about his efforts in this state, is has been an up hill battle all the way.

This morning I caught the tail end of a minor story (so far) on CNN concerning the U. Of Cal. rejecting credit for several Christian high school courses.  I looked for the story on line at CNN but couldn't find it.  I went on line to Americans United & found it.  OK kids.  Roll 'em up & hook 'em.  Stand by for heavy rolls.

As reported, the U of CA, "won a major victory last week when a federal court upheld the university's decision to deny credit for several Christian high school courses because they were too narrow & not rigorous enough to meet entrance requirements.  The full story can be found by going to au.org.

While not getting a heck of a lot of press, unless you were actually looking for it, Florida’s “Evolution Academic Freedom Act,” has been percolating just under the surface.  I came across an article @ it this morning in the Orlando Sentinel that points out a couple of problems with the concept.

The act was approved 7-3 by the Fl. Senate Judiciary Committee & will go to the full chamber for consideration.  No date has been set yet.  The reason for this, & I’ll quote reporter Linda Kleindienst here, is so that, “Florida teachers could mention religious theories about human origins, such as creationism & intelligent design, without fearing retribution under a measure that passed a key Senate committee Tuesday.”  And within that statement are the problems.

Here's a good one kids.  It's been a slow day & the CUBS aren't on TV, so I've been surfing the favorites on the computer.  Came across this on Science Daily.  It has to do with science & evolution.  Not to worry.  Uncle Rich is going for the purely scientific nature of the information, so no politics or religion.

It seems that a man by the name of Tim Weaver, an anthropologist from UC Davis, "adds evidence that CHANCE, rather than natural selection, best explains why the skulls of modern humans & ancient Neanderthals evolved differently.  The findings may alter how anthropologists think about human evolution."

Warning!  This is a disclaimer.

The following blog entry contains material that might not be suitable for some people.  It contains, lies, obfuscation, misconceptions, misdirection, inflamatory opinions. It also contains a lack of political correctness, biased facts & opinions, common sense & rational thinking by the writer which some people might find unsuitable, unsettling and in some ways infuriating to their philosophies/beliefs.  These views do not necessarily reflect the views of MCS or the community in general.  The writer is not responsible for bulging veins, shortness of breath, vapors, swooning, or infuriating thoughts that might raise blood pressures to dangerous levels.

In my random browsing of the stuff on the Internet (but not at work, I promise, Lamar) I came across a couple of thing I thought were worth sharing.

The first one is a test of the 50 states: How many can you get without cheating? I got 42...which is miserable.

The second is a Scientific American map of where evolution is taught in American schools, by state. Some of the states are surprising...for example, South Carolina; my home state and what I assumed would be a bastion of anti-evolutionary teachings, is just 1 of 9 states with an "excellent" rating.