Topical Cream

Judge Bans Teaching Intelligent Design
U.S. District Judge John Jones (appointed by President W) has issued 139 pages of pure gold. I'm sure you'll be reading many posts for days to come on this one, but a few brief (heh) comments...

• Intelligent Design is religion, not science, since it doesn't come anywhere close to the tenets of a scientific theory.


• Intelligent Design may even be the correct explanation of life on this planet, but that doesn't make it science.


• As a religious belief, it doesn't belong in a Biology curriculum.

Why the constant efforts to mask religion in the guise of science if not to evangelize and establish one religion over others? I actually think schools should teach a comparative religion class, when speakers from each religion could even come in to prosteletyze their position. Let's expose kids to religion, and religious beliefs. But no, religion advocates say that the "teaching" of religion belongs at home. Unless it's in science class. And it's their religion.

Adminstration Caught Spying On U.S. Citizens, Declares Jihad on New York Times
It's ludicrous. Sen. John Cornyn (the standard mouthpiece for comments Bush wants to make but probably can't without mispronouncing) attacked the New York Times for publishing some investigative journalism findings.

The issue is domestic spying. The FUD is editorial privilege.

On the FUD:

• The NYT only released the story now to promote a book by one of their reporters. The book isn't out yet. They don't have a financial interest in the book. And it was most probably the other way around - the fact that a book is coming out next month which outs the NSA spying program forced their hand to either get scooped (and be accused of partisanship for holding it) or to publish (and be accused of partisanship for publishing). Editors should have published the article when it was first written. They supposedly didn't because they were told by unnamed administration officials it would damage national security.


• It was only this New York Times article that caused many Senators, including some Republicans, to stall the renewal of the Patriot Act. How friggin' short is our attention span, anyway? It was only last week that reports about possible fillibusters and senatorial concerns came out - before the NYT article.

On Domestic Spying:

What, you're surprised? (Brace yourself - I have some really tough news about Santa for you...)

Don't blame Bush. This administration has run roughshod over rights and due process for years, and 'we' voted it back in. That's the great thing about democracy - the people always get the government they deserve.

Iraqi Elections Bring Peace and Goodwill

Oh wait...never mind.