Bush endorses Intelligent Design

[diversasy]

Bush: Schools should teach intelligent design
Students should learn about it along with evolution, he says

Updated: 11:07 p.m. ET Aug. 1, 2005

WASHINGTON - President Bush said Monday he believes schools should discuss “intelligent design” alongside evolution when teaching students about the creation of life.

During a round-table interview with reporters from five Texas newspapers, Bush declined to go into detail on his personal views of the origin of life. But he said students should learn about both theories, Knight Ridder Newspapers reported.


What is really distressing about this statement is I can't decide if Bush is just stupid or pandering to the Christian right. Either way, I think we can expect a big push from the ID'ers to put religion back in the school in this disguise.

 

[ddobson]

Okay, then, all together now, let's get ready to defend proper science when unenlightened friends bring the ID issue up. None of these ideas originate with me, but I consider them part of my personal Intelligent Design Survival Kit.

- First of all, assume that believers in ID mean that some sort of alien culture designed all life on Earth. Whenever you discuss the "science," start with something like "Okay, so these aliens sat down to make a cat, and..." If they try to mention God at all, the battle is eased.

- Note all the really lousy design that exists in human beings. Semi-exposed nerves that are easily shockable in the elbow/humerus area, optic nerves running through the back of the eyeball creating blind spots, a respiratory system that does not allow us to swallow and breathe at the same time, cancer cells sprinkled randomly throughout our bodies like little time bombs...

Maybe this will be a good thing when all is said and done, if some real public debate comes out of it. Though Bush made similar statements about "both points of view" when he was Governor of Texas, and he still managed to get elected President. Twice. :/

 

[Plognark]

On that "bad design" note allow me to plug Oolon's List of Suboptimal Designs.

 

[rikzilla]

Shermer

...just debated some IDer on CNN. (Gee he sure is starting to thin out on top there....)

Anyway, Shermer was a man of few words. The other guy said that ID was akin to "engineering sciences" because "It takes nano-technology to explain life at a cellular level".... What a tool.

Shermer just said; "It's not science." Then went on to explain what science actually is.

In the final examination ID is both religious and political hogwash dressed up as science.

We're doomed....aren't we??

-z

 

[Eos of the Eons]

We're doomed anyways. Too many people are miseducated, too many people don't give a damn (apathy), and too many people are just waiting for gods to hand them things instead of figuring they have to work for it.

Okay, okay, some people like Shermer plus others here give me some hope, but you know...look at who's running the USA!!

I really enjoyed this: http://www.badastronomy.com/bablog/?p=111

 

[Jyera]

I wonder if he qualified what ID ?

Is it Christian ID? Or Atheist ID ?
How about UFO based ID?

Since he mentioned DISCUSSING ID with Evolution,
perhaps it is an opportunity for the Critical thinking community to craft a critical thinking education to educate the children about what is nonsense, what is science and what are culturally originated believes.

What about teaching re-incarnation as a possibility ?
And that our individual souls are the Intelligent entity that do the ID over and over again as we re-incarnate.
And not some deity.

 

[Overmannr]

I happen to have a lot of interest in the nephilim theory. the nephilim are a race of alien giants (believed to have been quoted in the bible a few times) who came to earth in search of gold to fix the broken spaceships. They used the animals on earth (humans) to mine it. They had adapt our minds and bodies to better work for them.
I think this explains why so many of our natural animal instincts are so different from other animals such as mating times, and relationships, the need for money especially the need for gold which seems to be the same in virtually all cultures around the world.
However you will never hear about THIS intelligent design in schools or even in church. I would have seriously liked to have heard about the nephilim in school side by side with evolution and creationism which by the way IS tought in school. I know because the teacher always says " and then some people believe that god just made stuff the way it is now and you can believe that too as long as you know waht evolution is". Is there really anything more that needs to be said?