Obama/Biden vs. McCain/Palin

[Gashouse]

not all schools use the same textbooks and textbook content is not universally the same. Some texts may make mention of creationism while others do not. And, for that matter, creationism isn't unique to Christianity. Most religions have a creation story, so making a blanket statement about creationism is not necessarily Christianity sneaking into public schools.

Evolution is still a theory. Creationism is also a theory. I'm Ok with creationism being mentioned as a theory. Not much class time should be spent on it in a science classroom since it's more of a religion theory than a science theory.

[jim]

not all schools use the same textbooks and textbook content is not universally the same. Some texts may make mention of creationism while others do not. And, for that matter, creationism isn't unique to Christianity. Most religions have a creation story, so making a blanket statement about creationism is not necessarily Christianity sneaking into public schools.

Creationism is strictly based on the Old Testament. They make heavy use of the flood to explain away any inconvenience and base the age of the earth at some figure that can be calculated back to Adam and Eve using the ages given in the bible. It's easy to confuse creationism with creation stories - creationism is an attempt to use the natural world to explain a particular creation story.

[obucard]

From abortion to the origin of the universe. The way we're avoiding relevant issues, you'd think we were the ones running for office.

[jim]

From abortion to the origin of the universe. The way we're avoiding relevant issues, you'd think we were the ones running for office.

The education of our youth is of primary importance to me in this and every election. Palin worries me on this subject.

[heyzeus]

The pregnant daughter is one thing. Hopefully a clever reporter will ask the Gov if she made sure her daughter received abstinence-only education. But overall, it's embarrassing but not damning.

The ethics complaint is another. Do we need another white house leader who will use his/her power to intimidate and punish those who do not go along with him/her? Especially for something as personal as getting back at your sibling's ex? This is the stuff that would make me not vote for a ticket.

Well, another reason.

[BenNX74205]

not all schools use the same textbooks and textbook content is not universally the same. Some texts may make mention of creationism while others do not. And, for that matter, creationism isn't unique to Christianity. Most religions have a creation story, so making a blanket statement about creationism is not necessarily Christianity sneaking into public schools.

Creationism is strictly based on the Old Testament. They make heavy use of the flood to explain away any inconvenience and base the age of the earth at some figure that can be calculated back to Adam and Eve using the ages given in the bible. It's easy to confuse creationism with creation stories - creationism is an attempt to use the natural world to explain a particular creation story.

Personally I'm a big fan of the Intelligent Design version of creationism. Sure, evolution may be happening now, but it's just so complicated and complex that there's gotta be some big guy with a white beard that set the whole thing up. I mean, if you found a watch out in a field, you'd look at all those little parts moving together to do something, and you'd think to yourself "man! somebody smart must have built this thing!" And the universe is infinitely more complicated than a watch; ergo someone infinitely more intelligent had to build the universe. No, not the Flying Spaghetti Monster.........

And as for evolution only being a "theory" when you are discussing the part of evolution that postulates that evolution explains how the very first amino acids joined together to form the first protein, or cell, or mitochondria, or whatever--yes that's all theoretical at this point. I remember reading a study when I was in high school biology about a recent breakthrough (this was 10 years ago) where scientists had created a form of lipidious permeable structure that could have acted as a prehistoric cell wall, so there's progress on showing that evolution could have kicked everything off.

But as for evolution being a "theory" when discussing natural selection and observable changes based on the human environment, that's not a theory. That's cold, hard, observable, replicable fact.

[obucard]

From abortion to the origin of the universe. The way we're avoiding relevant issues, you'd think we were the ones running for office.

The education of our youth is of primary importance to me in this and every election. Palin worries me on this subject.

Government has been finding new and improved ways to mess up education ever since they had the power to do so.

[jim]

not all schools use the same textbooks and textbook content is not universally the same. Some texts may make mention of creationism while others do not. And, for that matter, creationism isn't unique to Christianity. Most religions have a creation story, so making a blanket statement about creationism is not necessarily Christianity sneaking into public schools.

Creationism is strictly based on the Old Testament. They make heavy use of the flood to explain away any inconvenience and base the age of the earth at some figure that can be calculated back to Adam and Eve using the ages given in the bible. It's easy to confuse creationism with creation stories - creationism is an attempt to use the natural world to explain a particular creation story.

Personally I'm a big fan of the Intelligent Design version of creationism. Sure, evolution may be happening now, but it's just so complicated and complex that there's gotta be some big guy with a white beard that set the whole thing up. I mean, if you found a watch out in a field, you'd look at all those little parts moving together to do something, and you'd think to yourself "man! somebody smart must have built this thing!" And the universe is infinitely more complicated than a watch; ergo someone infinitely more intelligent had to build the universe. No, not the Flying Spaghetti Monster.........

And as for evolution only being a "theory" when you are discussing the part of evolution that postulates that evolution explains how the very first amino acids joined together to form the first protein, or cell, or mitochondria, or whatever--yes that's all theoretical at this point. I remember reading a study when I was in high school biology about a recent breakthrough (this was 10 years ago) where scientists had created a form of lipidious permeable structure that could have acted as a prehistoric cell wall, so there's progress on showing that evolution could have kicked everything off.

But as for evolution being a "theory" when discussing natural selection and observable changes based on the human environment, that's not a theory. That's cold, hard, observable, replicable fact.

Scientific use of the word "theory" and your use of the word "theory" aren't the same. Theory is a much stronger word in science than it is in the lay population. Yes, evolution is a theory (even your cold, hard, observable facts don't aren't enough to make evolution a law). I'm not going to discuss what is a theory here, but creationist love to mangle that word to death and turn it into something that isn't very concreted.

All of your points about the watchmaker etc... are perfectly valid, but you cross the line from science to something else. Science is about making deductions based on physical evidence. It makes no claim greater or lesser than that. What you are talking about, though perfectly reasonable, crosses that line and therefore can not be entered into a Science curriculum.

It's ok in my book to say that you believe the universe was created in six days because that is what the bible says and what you believe. That's faith, and science doesn't and can not address faith. It's not ok in my book to start fabricating physical evidence and stuffing it into the science classes throughout our country. That's not faith, that's a crock.

Palin supports teaching creationism. Here is what she said once:

"Teach both. You know, don't be afraid of information ...".

Wow Sarah, brilliant. Just brilliant.

[BenNX74205]

Scientific use of the word "theory" and your use of the word "theory" aren't the same. Theory is a much stronger word in science than it is in the lay population. Yes, evolution is a theory (even your cold, hard, observable facts don't aren't enough to make evolution a law). I'm not going to discuss what is a theory here, but creationist love to mangle that word to death and turn it into something that isn't very concreted.

I think my tone may not have come across as well as I would have hoped. That whole first paragraph should have been written like this. Intelligent Design as a theory says "hey evolution if you're the-way-it-is, then explain how all life began. Oh you can't? So you must be wrong." ID is the equivalent of saying "because you can't explain everything, you're completely wrong." Intelligent Design is a feeble attempt at making Creationism more palatable.

I also do know the technical, scientific definition of theory. It's more than a hypothesis, but cannot be completely and totally proven, so it cannot be considered a law. I wanted to point out that even though it's only called a "theory," there is a lot of empirical evidence to support the existence of evolution. Dismissing it as only a "theory" doesn't work because it's stronger than the word implies.

All of your points about the watchmaker etc... are perfectly valid, but you cross the line from science to something else. Science is about making deductions based on physical evidence. It makes no claim greater or lesser than that. What you are talking about, though perfectly reasonable, crosses that line and therefore can not be entered into a Science curriculum.

Again, blue font problem here. The watchmaker analogy clearly jumps from science to belief when trying to analogize the watch to the universe, and saying "well a watch didn't just show up, so neither did the universe!' It's disingenuous and not rooted in the scientific method.

It's ok in my book to say that you believe the universe was created in six days because that is what the bible says and what you believe. That's faith, and science doesn't and can not address faith. It's not ok in my book to start fabricating physical evidence and stuffing it into the science classes throughout our country. That's not faith, that's a crock.

I'm with you 110%.

[Fat Strat]

Since Palin has been run though the ringer by left-wing blogs, I think it's only fair to turn the table...

1.) Selma Got Me Born - LIAR, your parents felt safe enough to have you in 1961 - Selma had no effect on your birth, as Selma was in 1965. Source: hotair.com
2.) Father Was A Goat Herder - LIAR, he was a privileged, well educated youth, who went on to work with the Kenyan Government.
3.) Father Was A Proud Freedom Fighter - LIAR, he was part of one of the most corrupt and violent governments Kenya has ever had Source:http://atlasshrugs2000…
4.) My Family Has Strong Ties To African Freedom - LIAR, your cousin Raila Odinga has created mass violence in attempting to overturn a legitimate election in 2007, in Kenya. It is the first widespread violence in decades. Source:http://atlasshrugs2000…
5.) My Grandmother Has Always Been A Christian - LIAR, she does her daily Salat prayers at 5am according to her own interviews. Not to mention, Christianity wouldn’t allow her to have been one of 14 wives to 1 man. Source: According to NYTimes story of April of last year, Sarah Hussein Obama told the New York Times she is a devout Muslim.
6.) My Name is African Swahili - LIAR, your name is Arabic and ‘Baraka’ (from which Barack came) means ‘blessed’ in that language. Hussein is also Arabic and so is Obama.
7.) I Never Practiced Islam - LIAR, you practiced it daily at school, where you were registered as a Muslim and kept that faith for 31 years,until your wife made you change, so you could run for office.
8.) My School In Indonesia Was Christian - LIAR, you were registered as Muslim there and got in trouble in Koranic Studies for making faces (check your own book).
9.) I Was Fluent In Indonesian - LIAR, not one teacher says you could speak the language.
10.) Because I Lived In Indonesia, I Have More Foreign Experience - LIAR, you were there from the ages of 6 to 10, and couldn’t even speak the language. What did you learn, how to study the Koran and watch cartoons.
11.) I Am Stronger On Foreign Affairs - LIAR, except for Africa (surprise) and the Middle East (bigger surprise), you have never been anywhere else on the planet and thus have NO experience with our closest allies.
12.) I Blame My Early Drug Use On Ethnic Confusion - LIAR, you were quite content in high school to be Barry Obama, no mention of Kenya and no mention of struggle to identify - your classmates said you were just fine.
13.)An Ebony Article Moved Me To Run For Office - LIAR, Ebony has yet to find the article you mention in your book. It doesn’t, and never did, exist.
14.) A Life Magazine Article Changed My Outlook On Life - LIAR, Life has yet to find the article you mention in your book. It doesn’t, and never did, exist.
15.) I Won’t Run On A National Ticket In ‘08 - LIAR, here you are, despite saying, live on TV, that you would not have enough experience by then, and you are all about having experience first.
16.) Present Votes Are Common In Illinois - LIAR, they are common for YOU, but not many others have 130 NO VOTES.
17.) Oops, I Misvoted - LIAR, only when caught by church groups and democrats, did you beg to change your misvote.
18.) I Was A Professor Of Law - LIAR, you were a senior lecturer ON LEAVE.
19.) I Was A Constitutional Lawyer - LIAR, you were a senior lecturer ON LEAVE.
20.) Without Me, There Would Be No Ethics Bill - LIAR, you didn’t write it,introduce it, change it, or create it.
21.) The Ethics Bill Was Hard To Pass - LIAR, it took just 14 days from start to finish.
22.) I Wrote A Tough Nuclear Bill - LIAR, your bill was rejected by your own party for its pandering and lack of all regulation - mainly because of your Nuclear Donor, Exelon, from which David Axelrod came.
23.) I Have Released My State Records - LIAR, as of March, 2008, state bills you sponsored or voted for have yet to be released, exposing all the special interests pork hidden within.
24.) I Took On The Asbestos Altgeld Gardens Mess - LIAR, you were part of a large group of people who remedied Altgeld Gardens. You failed to mention anyone else but yourself, in your books.

joeybomb