Not that I’m shocked or anything like that, but apparently Alyssa Campanella, our new Miss USA, is a huge science geek, and she believes in evolution!
More responses on whether evolution should be taught in school from the contestants:
Via ThinkProgress
Members of the Tea Party frequently claim that the federal government is destroying the U.S. Constitution, but although the Tea Party utilizes the phrase “Don’t Tread on Me,” the Tea Party is the first to tread on the U.S. Constitution with their shameless ignorance. In a recent debate with the Delaware U.S. Senate Democratic nominee Chris Coons, the Republican nominee and Tea Party-backed Christine O’Donnell said, “Where in the Constitution is the separation of church and state?” She also incorrectly declared that evolution isn’t a fact. However, evolution is both a fact and a theory. Intelligent design is a meticulously-crafted lie that was invented to compete with evolution, and intelligent design isn’t science. More via the late Stephen Jay Gould:
Well, evolution is a theory. It is also a fact. And facts and theories are different things, not rungs in a hierarchy of increasing certainty. Facts are the world’s data. Theories are structures of ideas that explain and interpret facts. Facts do not go away when scientists debate rival theories to explain them. Einstein’s theory of gravitation replaced Newton’s, but apples did not suspend themselves in mid-air, pending the outcome. And humans evolved from apelike ancestors whether they did so by Darwin’s proposed mechanism or by some other, yet to be discovered.
You can read more about Christine O’Donnell’s frightening views on science at Southern Fried Science.
Does the United States need more anti-intellectuals in government? The answer may seem obvious, but the anti-intellectual movement is serious business in American politics, since it appeals to some voters. Nonetheless, it’s scary to think that politicians like Christine O’Donnell could be voted into the U.S. Senate to influence or implement policy for all Americans. Of course, we already have Senators that are anti-intellectuals, but we certainly don’t need more of them.
Video: Christine O’Donnell believes that evolution is a myth.
Video: “Evolution is a Myth” — Christine O’Donnell
Video: Christine O’Donnell claims that scientists are conducting crossbreeding experiments that produce mice with human brains.
Video: Christine O’Donnell on mice and human brains: “American scientific companies are cross-breeding humans and animals and coming up with mice with fully functioning human brains.”
Video: Christine O’Donnell’s greatest hits (so far):
Image via Colin Purrington on Flickr
Via Max Fisher at The Atlantic Wire:
But what about when the roles are reversed and the one advocating creationism in the classroom is the teacher? Laden cites parenting blogger Dale McGowan, who responded to a creationist science teacher by writing a pointed letter asking for more conventional lectures. Laden sighs, “You can’t win that kind of discussion.” The teacher can “nitpick” their way out of it by insisting the student misunderstood or by saying they are simply explaining the controversy. Laden insists you get more aggressive, calling for “A decisive take-down of a creationist teacher who is in violation of the law.”
The teacher is doing something wrong, got caught, and it is perfectly reasonable for the parent, in a more or less irate manner but hopefully reasonably professionally, approaches the school administration (having first contacted, in person, someone at the National Center for Science Education) directly and issues a firm, clear, no-nonsense complaint.
Following up, Laden writes a “template” letter for his readers to use to demand that science teachers cease teaching creationism or intelligent design.
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