Texas is reviewing its science standards, specifically with the desire to remove them altogether. Skepchick has a great discussion of exactly what this means, but here’s the short version: Texas and California’s choices for scientific textbooks drives the availability of textbooks nationwide because of their massive marketshare the Texas State Board of Education (TSBE) has [...]

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I’ve been collecting emails since the success of the last Fun Quotes post. Without further ado: A myth is a religion in which no one any longer believes. -James Kern Feibleman, philosopher and psychiatrist (1904-1987) This is definitely something I’ve believed in for awhile. It’s just nice to hear someone with authority say it (in [...]

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I may actually agree with the state representatives of Tennessee in the following, though probably not for the same reasons: A proposal that would allow the state Department of Education to develop a curriculum for the academic study of the Bible in public schools has passed the House. The legislation sponsored by Rep. Mark Maddox [...]

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Some students at the Vancouver Film School put together this beautiful film project that presents creationism in modern science/business language and the birth of our solar system and the evolution of life in archaic, religious language and imagery.  I could say it’s provocative and thought-inducing, but I won’t.  It’s just plain fun, dammit.  Here we [...]

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When I was in high school, I idolized Carl Sagan.  After watching Cosmos on PBS, my imagination would be fired up with visions of black holes and humid primeval forests.  He filled me with wonder at the vastness of the universe and the natural miracle that is life and intelligence.  I hesitate to make comparisons [...]

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I’ve got a butt-load of reading to do tonight (hoping to fit in some Spe Salvi on top of everything else), so post-writing time is limited. For the time being, I’ll point you all to this fascinating Wikipedia article on Creationism. It (and its Wikipedia neighbors) bring up a few points that are often missed [...]

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Twice a year, when my NPR station has its fundraising drives, I switch over to the local socialist network, to remind myself that I’m really not that liberal…Also, whenever I’m at my parents’ or my sisters’, I read their right-wing magazines & newspapers. Both of these, I feel, help remind me that not everyone thinks [...]

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Nova has a special on the Dover, Pennsylvania ID controversy (hat tip to Rich–thanks!) The entire two hour show is split into 12 episodes for viewing on the web. I have to admit that I’m more familiar with the politics than the science behind intelligent design. It seems that it is being pushed almost exclusively [...]

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John Scalzi, SF author and blogger extraordinaire (famous for Bacon Taped to Cat and the recipe for Schadenfreude Pie that we baked to celebrate the 2006 Democratic victory), gives us a guided tour of the infamous Creation Museum: Here’s how to understand the Creation Museum: Imagine, if you will, a load of horseshit. And we’re [...]

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