Okay, I admit it. I've been busy. But that's no reason not to finally get around to posting the results of the latest James Randi Educational Foundation Pigasus Awards, right?
My
congratulations to Dr. Stanislaw Burzynski, the Pumpkin Hollow Retreat
Center, SyFy, Alex Jones and Dr. Mehmet Oz for choosing to step in it
hard and deep. Your hard work at fostering differing forms of woo and
complete bullshit are a cautionary lesson in gullibility and a source of
unintentional humor for the rest of us.
(Also on WTTFTG)
Wednesday, May 1, 2013
Thursday, March 14, 2013
Higgs. Yes, *Higgs*.
Earlier in the week, there was some degree of confusion as to whether
CERN had actually discovered the Higgs Boson (or the "God particle", if
you so choose); apparently, they did:
We observe in our data clear signs of a new particle, at the level of 5 sigma, in the mass region around 126 GeV. The outstanding performance of the LHC and ATLAS and the huge efforts of many people have brought us to this exciting stage,” said ATLAS experiment spokesperson Fabiola Gianotti, “but a little more time is needed to prepare these results for publication.”
"The results are preliminary but the 5 sigma signal at around 125 GeV we’re seeing is dramatic. This is indeed a new particle. We know it must be a boson and it’s the heaviest boson ever found,” said CMS experiment spokesperson Joe Incandela. “The implications are very significant and it is precisely for this reason that we must be extremely diligent in all of our studies and cross-checks."
“It’s hard not to get excited by these results,” said CERN Research Director Sergio Bertolucci. “ We stated last year that in 2012 we would either find a new Higgs-like particle or exclude the existence of the Standard Model Higgs. With all the necessary caution, it looks to me that we are at a branching point: the observation of this new particle indicates the path for the future towards a more detailed understanding of what we’re seeing in the data.”
(Also on WTTFTG)
We observe in our data clear signs of a new particle, at the level of 5 sigma, in the mass region around 126 GeV. The outstanding performance of the LHC and ATLAS and the huge efforts of many people have brought us to this exciting stage,” said ATLAS experiment spokesperson Fabiola Gianotti, “but a little more time is needed to prepare these results for publication.”
"The results are preliminary but the 5 sigma signal at around 125 GeV we’re seeing is dramatic. This is indeed a new particle. We know it must be a boson and it’s the heaviest boson ever found,” said CMS experiment spokesperson Joe Incandela. “The implications are very significant and it is precisely for this reason that we must be extremely diligent in all of our studies and cross-checks."
“It’s hard not to get excited by these results,” said CERN Research Director Sergio Bertolucci. “ We stated last year that in 2012 we would either find a new Higgs-like particle or exclude the existence of the Standard Model Higgs. With all the necessary caution, it looks to me that we are at a branching point: the observation of this new particle indicates the path for the future towards a more detailed understanding of what we’re seeing in the data.”
(Also on WTTFTG)
Wednesday, January 23, 2013
Creationism in state legislatures: same old same old
It's been a while, but the anti-science legislation mills that exist on the state legislature level are back in action as usual. To wit:
Missouri: House Bill 179 (primarily sponsored by Andrew Koenig [R-District 99] who was also responsible for House Bill 1276 from last January) was introduced to the Missouri House of Representatives on January 16th. Unsurprisingly, the language of the new bill seems just a little reminiscent of the earlier one.
Colorado: House Bill 13-1089 was introduced on the same day by cosponsors Stephen Humphrey (R-House District 48) and Scott Renfroe (R-Senate District 13) and regurgitates the usual boilerplate about "respectfully (exploring) scientific questions and learn about scientific evidence related to biological and chemical evolution, global warming, and human cloning." It's as if merely repeating those words in every one of these bills will somehow cause them to get passed by accident. It's also the first time a pro-creationism bill was proposed in the Colorado legislature since 1972.
Oklahoma: Not to be outdone, the state with one of the worst records in similar legislation attacking the biological sciences saw the introduction of two more bills, namely Senate Bill 758 (Sponsored by Josh Brecheen [R-District 6], who was also responsible for Senate Bill 554 in 2011 and Senate Bill 1742 in 2012) and House Bill 1674 (sponsored by Gus Blackwell [R-61], who also sponsored the revival of 2011's House Bill 1551 in 2012). What's surprising here is the lack of Sally Kern's hand in promoting this latest slew of bills; she's practically made a career out of it.
The really frightening thing here actually isn't the bills themselves, since most probably won't make it out of committee and certainly none will survive a court challenge. The really terrifying fact is that politicians continue to do this for all the usual reasons (pandering to a still virulent conservative evangelical voting bloc, for example) despite the fact that just like Flat Earthers, Holocaust deniers and Birthers their obvious quackery just gets more and more unintentionally funny (while remaining disturbing for its anti-intellectual tone) with time.
UPDATE: this is somewhat old news, but the Oklahoma bills are effectively dead - at least for now.
(Also in WTTFTG)
Missouri: House Bill 179 (primarily sponsored by Andrew Koenig [R-District 99] who was also responsible for House Bill 1276 from last January) was introduced to the Missouri House of Representatives on January 16th. Unsurprisingly, the language of the new bill seems just a little reminiscent of the earlier one.
Colorado: House Bill 13-1089 was introduced on the same day by cosponsors Stephen Humphrey (R-House District 48) and Scott Renfroe (R-Senate District 13) and regurgitates the usual boilerplate about "respectfully (exploring) scientific questions and learn about scientific evidence related to biological and chemical evolution, global warming, and human cloning." It's as if merely repeating those words in every one of these bills will somehow cause them to get passed by accident. It's also the first time a pro-creationism bill was proposed in the Colorado legislature since 1972.
Oklahoma: Not to be outdone, the state with one of the worst records in similar legislation attacking the biological sciences saw the introduction of two more bills, namely Senate Bill 758 (Sponsored by Josh Brecheen [R-District 6], who was also responsible for Senate Bill 554 in 2011 and Senate Bill 1742 in 2012) and House Bill 1674 (sponsored by Gus Blackwell [R-61], who also sponsored the revival of 2011's House Bill 1551 in 2012). What's surprising here is the lack of Sally Kern's hand in promoting this latest slew of bills; she's practically made a career out of it.
The really frightening thing here actually isn't the bills themselves, since most probably won't make it out of committee and certainly none will survive a court challenge. The really terrifying fact is that politicians continue to do this for all the usual reasons (pandering to a still virulent conservative evangelical voting bloc, for example) despite the fact that just like Flat Earthers, Holocaust deniers and Birthers their obvious quackery just gets more and more unintentionally funny (while remaining disturbing for its anti-intellectual tone) with time.
UPDATE: this is somewhat old news, but the Oklahoma bills are effectively dead - at least for now.
(Also in WTTFTG)
Wednesday, December 12, 2012
Indiana: more nonsensical gymnastics
If you thought that Indiana state Senator Dennis Kruse's previous effort at shoehorning creation "science" into the state's scientific curriculum was ridiculous, his current effort is even sillier:
The expected antievolution bill in Indiana appears to have mutated. As NCSE previously reported, state senator Dennis Kruse (R-District 14) told the Lafayette Journal and Courier (November 10, 2012) that he planned to introduce a bill drafted by the Discovery Institute, presumably along the lines of the bills enacted in Tennessee in 2012 and Louisiana in 2008, encouraging teachers to misrepresent evolution as controversial. But now the Indianapolis Star (December 4, 2012) reports that Kruse plans "to pursue legislation that allows students to challenge teachers on issues, forcing them to provide evidence to back up their lessons."
In 2011, Kruse's Senate Bill 89 would have allowed local school districts to require the teaching of creation science — despite the Supreme Court's ruling in the 1987 case Edwards v. Aguillard that teaching creation science in public schools is unconstitutional. SB 89 passed the Senate but was amended there to delete the reference to creation science and to require reference to "Christianity, Judaism, Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism, and Scientology"; the speaker of the House of Representatives declined to let it come to a vote there, citing concerns about a potential lawsuit, and the bill died when the legislature adjourned.
It's a pity the bad idea that inspired it it didn't die as well:
Describing his new idea as "a different approach," Kruse explained to the Star, "I would call it 'truth in education' to make sure that what is being taught is true ... And if a student thinks something isn't true, then they can question the teacher and the teacher would have to come up with some kind of research to support that what they are teaching is true or not true."
Now, does anybody want to try to point out to Kruse what the problem is, here? Namely, that what a science teacher is supposed to be providing in a lesson plan is already supposed to be based on an understanding of what current scientific research has already discovered?
Likewise, if a student were to attack what the teacher knows on a basis that has nothing to do with science or the scientific method (read: on religious grounds alone, which seems likely), is that acceptable? I suspect that Kruse would say yes. He'll apparently say "yes" to any number of silly things (as state newspapers have also pointed out), so why not that as well?
(Also at WTTFTG)
The expected antievolution bill in Indiana appears to have mutated. As NCSE previously reported, state senator Dennis Kruse (R-District 14) told the Lafayette Journal and Courier (November 10, 2012) that he planned to introduce a bill drafted by the Discovery Institute, presumably along the lines of the bills enacted in Tennessee in 2012 and Louisiana in 2008, encouraging teachers to misrepresent evolution as controversial. But now the Indianapolis Star (December 4, 2012) reports that Kruse plans "to pursue legislation that allows students to challenge teachers on issues, forcing them to provide evidence to back up their lessons."
In 2011, Kruse's Senate Bill 89 would have allowed local school districts to require the teaching of creation science — despite the Supreme Court's ruling in the 1987 case Edwards v. Aguillard that teaching creation science in public schools is unconstitutional. SB 89 passed the Senate but was amended there to delete the reference to creation science and to require reference to "Christianity, Judaism, Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism, and Scientology"; the speaker of the House of Representatives declined to let it come to a vote there, citing concerns about a potential lawsuit, and the bill died when the legislature adjourned.
It's a pity the bad idea that inspired it it didn't die as well:
Describing his new idea as "a different approach," Kruse explained to the Star, "I would call it 'truth in education' to make sure that what is being taught is true ... And if a student thinks something isn't true, then they can question the teacher and the teacher would have to come up with some kind of research to support that what they are teaching is true or not true."
Now, does anybody want to try to point out to Kruse what the problem is, here? Namely, that what a science teacher is supposed to be providing in a lesson plan is already supposed to be based on an understanding of what current scientific research has already discovered?
Likewise, if a student were to attack what the teacher knows on a basis that has nothing to do with science or the scientific method (read: on religious grounds alone, which seems likely), is that acceptable? I suspect that Kruse would say yes. He'll apparently say "yes" to any number of silly things (as state newspapers have also pointed out), so why not that as well?
(Also at WTTFTG)
Thursday, November 15, 2012
On the other hand...
...at one point or another, you realize that all of the anti-science pointing and shouting in the world will never take away from a utterly bizarre, wonderful discovery like this:
Astronomers have discovered what they believe to be a rogue planet floating through space without a star. The super-Jupiter, called CFBDSIR2149, has a mass four to seven times that of our own gas giant, and is probably a scorching 800 or so degrees Fahrenheit. It appears to sit in a moving group of stars that, at a rough distance of 65 light-years, is just a cosmic stone’s throw away from us.
If the idea of a planet sans star seems more than a trifle outlandish, it probably isn't. Probably.
Researchers aren't quite sure how such an untethered planet comes to be: It may be that they form the standard way, from the ring of coalescing dust around a young star, and is later somehow kicked out of the system.
So the next time anyone is daft enough to believe that there's no point to scientific research or even the idea of science in general, show them this. And then feel free to shake your head.
(Also on WTTFTG)
Astronomers have discovered what they believe to be a rogue planet floating through space without a star. The super-Jupiter, called CFBDSIR2149, has a mass four to seven times that of our own gas giant, and is probably a scorching 800 or so degrees Fahrenheit. It appears to sit in a moving group of stars that, at a rough distance of 65 light-years, is just a cosmic stone’s throw away from us.
If the idea of a planet sans star seems more than a trifle outlandish, it probably isn't. Probably.
Researchers aren't quite sure how such an untethered planet comes to be: It may be that they form the standard way, from the ring of coalescing dust around a young star, and is later somehow kicked out of the system.
So the next time anyone is daft enough to believe that there's no point to scientific research or even the idea of science in general, show them this. And then feel free to shake your head.
(Also on WTTFTG)
Indiana: more nonsense on stilts
No one should really be surprised that the Indiana state Senate is about to undergo yet another round of "intelligent design" silliness in the form of a bill drafted by the Discovery Institute and sponsored by Dennis Kruse (R-14th), who was also one of the parties responsible for Senate Bill 89 last year. As usual, the emphasis of the bill on alleged scientific doubts about the theory of evolution (just like all of the others based on the "teach the controversy" approach the DI favors) quickly took a back seat to the religious rhetoric of the sponsor:
Although the text of the bill that Kruse eventually introduces in the senate may disclaim any intention to promote a religious doctrine, it seems likely that in Indiana as in Tennessee and Louisiana, it will be difficult for the legislative sponsors to avoid disclosing their true intentions. "I'd guess 80 percent of Indiana would be oriented with the Bible and creation," Kruse was quoted as saying. His previous efforts — SB 89 and two similar bills he introduced in 2000 and 2001 while serving in the Indiana House of Representatives, plus a 1999 pledge to introduce legislation to remove evolution from the state science standards — might also be taken as indicative.
When somebody like Kruse admits that he's playing to the crowd as blatantly as he does, you can take it as a sign that a real scientific argument for the bill is hardly an issue - he's just trying to get re-elected. One of these days, maybe his district will wise up; but somehow, I doubt it.
(Also on WTTFTG)
Although the text of the bill that Kruse eventually introduces in the senate may disclaim any intention to promote a religious doctrine, it seems likely that in Indiana as in Tennessee and Louisiana, it will be difficult for the legislative sponsors to avoid disclosing their true intentions. "I'd guess 80 percent of Indiana would be oriented with the Bible and creation," Kruse was quoted as saying. His previous efforts — SB 89 and two similar bills he introduced in 2000 and 2001 while serving in the Indiana House of Representatives, plus a 1999 pledge to introduce legislation to remove evolution from the state science standards — might also be taken as indicative.
When somebody like Kruse admits that he's playing to the crowd as blatantly as he does, you can take it as a sign that a real scientific argument for the bill is hardly an issue - he's just trying to get re-elected. One of these days, maybe his district will wise up; but somehow, I doubt it.
(Also on WTTFTG)
Monday, October 8, 2012
Stepping in a pile of Broun
There is, of course, the slim possibility that Paul Broun's publically uttered pile of Stupid from a few days ago was actually caused by a brain fart of incredible proportions and is not actually what he believes. Fine. I also hold that there's the equally slim possibility that I was secretly made the King of Sweden overnight (my apologies to King Carl XVI Gustav for unseating him if I'm wrong), but somehow I doubt it.
Paul Broun, as far as I know, is running unopposed in a district where most voters actually think that his particular brand of serial idiocy is perfectly acceptable to all involved. What's especially nauseating is that the district actually includes the University of Georgia (and boy, that fact must fill their seven biological sciences subdivisions with oodles of pride, right?), and despite the fact that some people in that district probably don't want him around anymore he's still running unopposed. Apparently, nobody could even find a rock brave enough to take him on despite the rock's obvious intellectual superiority. Which leads me to the following:
A while back, Dan Savage took issue with the equally vapid Rick Santorum on a certain issue and ended up sticking him with the (completely deserved, in my opinion) stigma of having a surname synonymous with certain, shall we say, unpleasant byproducts of a sexual act. I'm not trying to top Savage on this, mind you, but I believe that the following proposition concerning the meaning of the surname "Broun" should be added to the next slew of dictionaries to be published because it just fits so well. To wit:
"Broun (1) (n); An individual whose position of authority and public trust are entirely contradicted by his or her intellectual inadequacy and by concomitant appeals to ignorance and demagoguery in order to shore up their aforementioned position;
(2) (v) To engage in demagoguery and similar unsavory appeals to anti-intellectual behavior in order to gain and/or maintain public favor".
By the way, I intend to take full credit for getting the ball rolling on this if it succeeds. And maybe somebody will find a rock (or - shock of shocks! - an actual human being) brave enough to take him on by 2014.
(Also on WTTFTG)
Paul Broun, as far as I know, is running unopposed in a district where most voters actually think that his particular brand of serial idiocy is perfectly acceptable to all involved. What's especially nauseating is that the district actually includes the University of Georgia (and boy, that fact must fill their seven biological sciences subdivisions with oodles of pride, right?), and despite the fact that some people in that district probably don't want him around anymore he's still running unopposed. Apparently, nobody could even find a rock brave enough to take him on despite the rock's obvious intellectual superiority. Which leads me to the following:
A while back, Dan Savage took issue with the equally vapid Rick Santorum on a certain issue and ended up sticking him with the (completely deserved, in my opinion) stigma of having a surname synonymous with certain, shall we say, unpleasant byproducts of a sexual act. I'm not trying to top Savage on this, mind you, but I believe that the following proposition concerning the meaning of the surname "Broun" should be added to the next slew of dictionaries to be published because it just fits so well. To wit:
"Broun (1) (n); An individual whose position of authority and public trust are entirely contradicted by his or her intellectual inadequacy and by concomitant appeals to ignorance and demagoguery in order to shore up their aforementioned position;
(2) (v) To engage in demagoguery and similar unsavory appeals to anti-intellectual behavior in order to gain and/or maintain public favor".
By the way, I intend to take full credit for getting the ball rolling on this if it succeeds. And maybe somebody will find a rock (or - shock of shocks! - an actual human being) brave enough to take him on by 2014.
(Also on WTTFTG)
Thursday, October 4, 2012
State legislative attacks on evolution in science education since 2011: a rough guide
It took me a while to get around to this, and for obvious reasons; so many of these bills have been proposed since January 2011 that even writing up a brief list of them (with massive help from the NCSE's archives, of course) took a fairly long time to compile and edit. The following is a list of bills that either contains language attacking the teaching the Theory of Evolution (or that advocate "alternative theories" such as Intelligent Design) that have been proposed in state legislatures from January 2011 to the present; they also include information on who proposed the legislation, whether anthropocentric global warming (AGW) or other scientific topics were also targeted and whether the bill has passed, was voted down or merely died in committee as a result of being tabled.
KENTUCKY House Bill 169; proposed by Tim Moore (R-26th district) on January 4, 2011; died in committee as of March 9th, 2011.
MISSOURI House Bill 195; proposed by Andrew Koenig (R-88th district) and 13 others on January 13th, 2011; died in the House Elementary and Secondary Education commitee as of May 13th, 2011.
OKLAHOMA SENATE BILL 554; prefiled by Josh Brecheen (R-6th district) on January 19th, 2011; died in committee on February 28th, 2011.
OKLAHOMA House Bill 1551; prefiled by Sally Kern (R-84th district) in January 2011; initially rejected in committee on February 22nd, 2011; reintroduced by Gus Blackwell (R-61st district) on February 20th, 2012; passed the House 56-12 on March 15th, 2012; died after being rejected by the Senate Education Committee. Bill also attacked academic discussion of AGW, abiogenesis and human cloning.
NEW MEXICO House Bill 302; introduced by Thomas A. Anderson (R-29th district) on February 1st, 2011; died in committee on March 8th, 2011. Bill also attacked discussion of AGW, abiogenesis and human cloning.
TENNESSEE House Bill 368; introduced by Bill Dunn (R-16th district) on February 9th, 2011; passed the state House of Representatives by a 72-23 vote on March 16th, 2012; allowed to become law by Governor Bill Haslam without signature on April 10th, 2012. Bill also attacks discussion of AGW, abiogenesis and human cloning.
TENNESSEE Senate Bill 893; introduced by Bo Watson (R-11th district) on February 16th, 2011; passed the state Senate by a 24-8 vote on March 19th, 2012; allowed to become law by Governor Bill Haslam without signature on April 10th, 2012. Bill also attacks discussion of AGW, abiogenesis and human cloning.
FLORIDA Senate Bill 1854; introduced by Stephen R. Wise (R-5th district) on March 5th, 2011; died in committee on May 7th, 2011.
TEXAS House Bill 2454; introduced by Bill Zedler (R-96th district) and James White (R-12th district) on March 8th, 2011; died in the House Committee on Higher Education on May 30th, 2011.
NEW HAMPSHIRE House Bill 1148; prefiled by Jerry Bergevin (R-17th district) on December 21st, 2011; defeated 280-7 by House vote on March 16th, 2012. Also attempted to compel inclusion of the "political and ideological viewpoints (of "theorists") and their position on the concept of atheism".
NEW HAMPSHIRE House Bill 1457; prefiled by Gary Hopper (R-7th district) and John Burt (R-7th district) on December 21st, 2011; killed by voice vote in week previous to vote for HB 1148 above.
INDIANA Senate Bill 89; prefiled by Dennis Kruse (R-14th district) in December 2011; passed by the Senate by a 28-22 vote on January 30th, 2012; shelved by the House of Representatives in early February 2012.
MISSOURI HOUSE BILL 1227; introduced and sponsored by Rick Brattin (R-124th district) and five others on January 10th, 2012; died in committee on May 18th, 2012.
MISSOURI HOUSE BILL 1276; sponsored by Andrew Koenig (R-88th district) and 13 others on January 11th, 2012; died in committee on May 18th, 2012.
OKLAHOMA SENATE BILL 1742; prefiled in January 2012 by Josh Brecheen (R-6th district) in January 2012; Bill also attacked AGW, abiogenesis and human cloning. Died in committee on March 1st, 2012.
ALABAMA HOUSE BILL 133; introduced on February 7th, 2012 by Blaine Galliher (R-30th district); died in committee on May 16th, 2012. Would have authorized "local boards of education to include released time religious instruction as an elective course for high school students.", including courses in "creation science".
OKLAHOMA HOUSE BILL 2341; a previously passed bill that was amended by Steve Russell (R-45th district) to include language identical to Oklahoma HB 1551 above; bill died when it was not brought to the floor for a vote in amended form on April 26th, 2012.
(Also available at WTTFTG)
KENTUCKY House Bill 169; proposed by Tim Moore (R-26th district) on January 4, 2011; died in committee as of March 9th, 2011.
MISSOURI House Bill 195; proposed by Andrew Koenig (R-88th district) and 13 others on January 13th, 2011; died in the House Elementary and Secondary Education commitee as of May 13th, 2011.
OKLAHOMA SENATE BILL 554; prefiled by Josh Brecheen (R-6th district) on January 19th, 2011; died in committee on February 28th, 2011.
OKLAHOMA House Bill 1551; prefiled by Sally Kern (R-84th district) in January 2011; initially rejected in committee on February 22nd, 2011; reintroduced by Gus Blackwell (R-61st district) on February 20th, 2012; passed the House 56-12 on March 15th, 2012; died after being rejected by the Senate Education Committee. Bill also attacked academic discussion of AGW, abiogenesis and human cloning.
NEW MEXICO House Bill 302; introduced by Thomas A. Anderson (R-29th district) on February 1st, 2011; died in committee on March 8th, 2011. Bill also attacked discussion of AGW, abiogenesis and human cloning.
TENNESSEE House Bill 368; introduced by Bill Dunn (R-16th district) on February 9th, 2011; passed the state House of Representatives by a 72-23 vote on March 16th, 2012; allowed to become law by Governor Bill Haslam without signature on April 10th, 2012. Bill also attacks discussion of AGW, abiogenesis and human cloning.
TENNESSEE Senate Bill 893; introduced by Bo Watson (R-11th district) on February 16th, 2011; passed the state Senate by a 24-8 vote on March 19th, 2012; allowed to become law by Governor Bill Haslam without signature on April 10th, 2012. Bill also attacks discussion of AGW, abiogenesis and human cloning.
FLORIDA Senate Bill 1854; introduced by Stephen R. Wise (R-5th district) on March 5th, 2011; died in committee on May 7th, 2011.
TEXAS House Bill 2454; introduced by Bill Zedler (R-96th district) and James White (R-12th district) on March 8th, 2011; died in the House Committee on Higher Education on May 30th, 2011.
NEW HAMPSHIRE House Bill 1148; prefiled by Jerry Bergevin (R-17th district) on December 21st, 2011; defeated 280-7 by House vote on March 16th, 2012. Also attempted to compel inclusion of the "political and ideological viewpoints (of "theorists") and their position on the concept of atheism".
NEW HAMPSHIRE House Bill 1457; prefiled by Gary Hopper (R-7th district) and John Burt (R-7th district) on December 21st, 2011; killed by voice vote in week previous to vote for HB 1148 above.
INDIANA Senate Bill 89; prefiled by Dennis Kruse (R-14th district) in December 2011; passed by the Senate by a 28-22 vote on January 30th, 2012; shelved by the House of Representatives in early February 2012.
MISSOURI HOUSE BILL 1227; introduced and sponsored by Rick Brattin (R-124th district) and five others on January 10th, 2012; died in committee on May 18th, 2012.
MISSOURI HOUSE BILL 1276; sponsored by Andrew Koenig (R-88th district) and 13 others on January 11th, 2012; died in committee on May 18th, 2012.
OKLAHOMA SENATE BILL 1742; prefiled in January 2012 by Josh Brecheen (R-6th district) in January 2012; Bill also attacked AGW, abiogenesis and human cloning. Died in committee on March 1st, 2012.
ALABAMA HOUSE BILL 133; introduced on February 7th, 2012 by Blaine Galliher (R-30th district); died in committee on May 16th, 2012. Would have authorized "local boards of education to include released time religious instruction as an elective course for high school students.", including courses in "creation science".
OKLAHOMA HOUSE BILL 2341; a previously passed bill that was amended by Steve Russell (R-45th district) to include language identical to Oklahoma HB 1551 above; bill died when it was not brought to the floor for a vote in amended form on April 26th, 2012.
(Also available at WTTFTG)
Wednesday, September 19, 2012
It bears repeating...
I've been remiss in banging the drum here for a while (because, see, I was at this thing in late August and early September that took up most of my leisure time), but I got the feeling that somebody a good deal more credentialed than I am should drop some appropriate propaganda on readers of this blog. Granted, the following videos definitely fit the category of preaching to the choir on this blog, but if you think somebody needs to see these, then by all means point these out:
Monday, August 6, 2012
Something to be optimistic about, for once
The Mars Curiosity rover made it to the surface of its target intact and is probably collecting reams of data as I write this.
Wednesday, August 1, 2012
Louisiana continues to slide into the muck
Bobby Jindal continues to offer up reasons why he should never, ever be elected to anything ever again:
Louisiana is about to spend almost twelve million dollars to fund the teaching of creationism, charges Zack Kopplin, famous for organizing the effort to repeal the so-called Louisiana Science Education Act. In Kopplin's sights now is a controversial new voucher program in the state that uses public school funds to pay for tuition and certain fees at private schools for students who attend low-performing public schools and whose family income is below 250% of the federal poverty level. When the Board of Elementary and Secondary Education considered a set of accountability guidelines for such private schools at its July 24, 2012, meeting, Kopplin testified that of the roughly 6600 spaces available for students under the program, 1350 will be filled, as the Lafayette Independent Weekly (July 26, 2012) described it, "at private Christian schools that teach creationism and peg evolution as 'false science.'”
There's more, but don't bother to read the link if you're depressed about the state of science education in the US. It won't help.
(Also on WTTFTG)
Louisiana is about to spend almost twelve million dollars to fund the teaching of creationism, charges Zack Kopplin, famous for organizing the effort to repeal the so-called Louisiana Science Education Act. In Kopplin's sights now is a controversial new voucher program in the state that uses public school funds to pay for tuition and certain fees at private schools for students who attend low-performing public schools and whose family income is below 250% of the federal poverty level. When the Board of Elementary and Secondary Education considered a set of accountability guidelines for such private schools at its July 24, 2012, meeting, Kopplin testified that of the roughly 6600 spaces available for students under the program, 1350 will be filled, as the Lafayette Independent Weekly (July 26, 2012) described it, "at private Christian schools that teach creationism and peg evolution as 'false science.'”
There's more, but don't bother to read the link if you're depressed about the state of science education in the US. It won't help.
(Also on WTTFTG)
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