Eighty-five years ago today (7.2 and 8)

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Wednesday July 21, 2010 · 1:43 PM PDT

2010/07/21 · 13:43

Eighty-five years ago today -- Tuesday, July 21, 1925 -- was the eighth and last day of the trial of State of Tennessee v. John Thomas Scopes. On trial: a man who had committed the crime of teaching evolution in the public schools, violating Tennessee's brand new Butler Act. Also on trial: two different modes of thought -- one, the comfortable, appealing, small-town Christianity of rural America; the other a brash, modern way of testing and sometimes shattering old beliefs. On the one side, an appeal to God and the Bible; on the other, an appeal to evidence and science.

Poll

38 votes Show Results

When examining a controversial topic, I:

38 votes Vote Now!

When examining a controversial topic, I:

Look at all the evidence, weigh it, and come to a dispassionate conclusion from a neutral point of view

17 votes

Weigh the evidence based on what I already know, and pay attention only to what seems reasonable

8 votes

Look for evidence that will support what I already know to be true

0 votes

Ignore all evidence, and simply state what I believe

0 votes

Invent whatever evidence would best support my views

8 votes

Ignore the controversy! Go have some pie!

5 votes

Eighty-five years ago today (7.1)

WIds

Community (This content is not subject to review by Daily Kos staff prior to publication.)

Tuesday July 20, 2010 · 7:01 PM PDT

2010/07/20 · 19:01

Eighty-five years ago today -- July 20, 1925 -- was the seventh day of the trial of State of Tennessee v. John Thomas Scopes.

This is the seventh in an ongoing series of diaries chronicling, day by day, the events of the Scopes trial 85 years ago. At issue: whether schoolteacher Scopes had violated the Butler Act, banning the teaching of evolution in Tennessee state-funded schools; but on a greater scale, the trial matched proponents of a Bible-based curriculum, claiming the literal truth of the Genesis stories of creation, against proponents of a science-based curriculum, including evolution. On the side of the prosecution, standing for the literal truth of the Bible, stood former Democratic Presidential candidate and Secretary of State William Jennings Bryan; on the side of the defense, standing for science and evolution, stood former Democratic activist, agnostic, and renowned attorney in the fields of labor and criminal law, Clarence Darrow.

This diary is incomplete owing to space limitations on its extreme length. In attempting to provide a complete record of the most vivid parts of the trial, it is difficult to justify leaving very much out. The remainder will be posted tomorrow, together with an account of the eighth day.

Poll

19 votes Show Results

Do you believe in the literal truth of the Bible?

19 votes Vote Now!

Do you believe in the literal truth of the Bible?

The Bible is literally true, and I understand every word of it!

0 votes

I believe that the Bible is literally true, but there are parts I admit I do not understand.

6 votes

When the Bible can be interpreted literally, it is true, but many parts of it are figurative.

1 vote

The Bible contains both literal and figurative elements; the literal parts are sometimes true, sometimes not

8 votes

The Bible must be taken literally, but much or all of it is false.

0 votes

The Bible is part literal, part figurative, but it's all a pack of lies.

1 vote

I've never read the Bible, so I can't answer.

1 vote

Bible? I believe you meant PIE-ble, Sir!

2 votes

Eighty-five years ago today (6)

WIds

Community (This content is not subject to review by Daily Kos staff prior to publication.)

Saturday July 17, 2010 · 11:04 AM PDT

2010/07/17 · 11:04

Eighty-five years ago today -- Friday, July 17, 1925 -- was the sixth day of the trial of State of Tennessee v. John Thomas Scopes. At issue: nominally, whether a high school teacher had, in violation of a recently passed statute (the Butler Act) taught evolution in the classroom; but increasingly, as the trial moved on, it became a question of whether the American mind would be dominated by science or theology.

Poll

19 votes Show Results

Who's your favorite lawyer of the case so far?

19 votes Vote Now!

Who's your favorite lawyer of the case so far?

Tom Stewart, Attorney-General for the State of Tennessee

0 votes

Arthur Garfield Hays, lead defense counsel

1 vote

Ben McKenzie, former attorney general, for the prosecution

0 votes

Dudley Field Malone, for the defense

1 vote

William Jennings Bryan, for the prosecution

0 votes

Clarence Darrow, for the defense

15 votes

Legally, pi = 3, so gimme three pies

2 votes

Eighty-five years ago today (5)

WIds

Community (This content is not subject to review by Daily Kos staff prior to publication.)

Friday July 16, 2010 · 5:08 PM PDT

2010/07/16 · 17:08

Eighty-five years ago today - Thursday, July 16, 1925 - was the fifth day of the trial of State of Tennessee v. John Thomas Scopes, prosecuting the schoolteacher Scopes for the crime of teaching evolution in the Tennessee public schools.

This is the fifth in a series of diaries commemorating the 85th anniversary of the Scopes trial, summarizing its events day by day. For the first four diaries see:

July 10, 1925

July 13, 1925

July 14, 1925

July 15, 1925

Poll

55 votes Show Results

Studying evolution will make your children

55 votes Vote Now!

Studying evolution will make your children

Lose faith in heavenly immortality

0 votes

Lose faith in the Virgin Birth

0 votes

Lose faith in the Resurrection

0 votes

Lose faith that Jesus is Our Savior

4 votes

Become skeptics, infidels, atheists, or agnostics

3 votes

Study Nietzsche

1 vote

Commit thrill-murders

2 votes

Eat pie

4 votes

Smarter

41 votes

Eighty-five years ago today (4)

WIds

Community (This content is not subject to review by Daily Kos staff prior to publication.)

Thursday July 15, 2010 · 7:54 PM PDT

2010/07/15 · 19:54

Eighty-five years ago today -- Wednesday, July 15, 1925 -- was the fourth day of the trial of State of Tennessee v. John Thomas Scopes. On trial: the right to teach science in the public schools.

This is the fourth in a series of day-by-day reviews of the events of the trial. The preceding three chapters are found at:

July 10, 1925

July 13, 1925

July 14, 1925

Poll

20 votes Show Results

Is man a mammal?

20 votes Vote Now!

Is man a mammal?

If monkeys are mammals I want nothing to do with them!

0 votes

I'm a mammal, he's a mammal, she's a mammal, wouldn't you like to be a mammal too?

13 votes

Mammal? That's a funny way to pronounce animal.

1 vote

I thought whales were fish.

0 votes

Man does not suckle his young. Only woman is a mammal.

3 votes

Pie is good eats for mammals.

3 votes

Eighty-five years ago today (3)

WIds

Community (This content is not subject to review by Daily Kos staff prior to publication.)

Wednesday July 14, 2010 · 11:01 AM PDT

2010/07/14 · 11:01

Eighty-five years ago today -- Tuesday, July 14, 1925 -- was the third day of the trial of State of Tennessee v. John Thomas Scopes.

The jury remained out of the courtroom for the day, as the Court was still considering the defense motion to quash the indictment. The public and the press, however, were still very much present, and the fact that proceedings would be dashed and dotted to the world over the telegraph lines, or beamed by radio waves to thousands of listeners, was very much on everybody's mind -- not least that of Judge John T. Raulston.

This is the third of an ongoing series considering the events of the 1925 Scopes trial day by day. The first two installments can be found here (July 10, 1925) and here (July 13, 1925).

Poll

29 votes Show Results

I most often invoke divine guidance when:

29 votes Vote Now!

I most often invoke divine guidance when:

I go to church

7 votes

I get up in the morning

3 votes

I start the day's work

0 votes

I write a diary for Daily Kos

0 votes

I stub my toe

8 votes

I'm having an orgasm

8 votes

I'm eating pie

3 votes

Eighty-five years ago today (2)

WIds

Community (This content is not subject to review by Daily Kos staff prior to publication.)

Tuesday July 13, 2010 · 12:31 PM PDT

2010/07/13 · 12:31

Eighty-five years ago today, opening arguments began in the case of State of Tennessee v. John Thomas Scopes; or, as it was commonly called, the "Scopes Trial", or more colloquially and vividly, the "Monkey Trial".

The "monkey" in the Scopes case was the Theory of Evolution, pioneered by Charles Darwin some 75 years earlier, which proposed a descent of humankind from animal ancestors; since monkeys were among humanity's closer living relatives, the opponents of the Theory -- claiming a literal belief in the six-day creation of the world they saw described in the Biblical book of Genesis -- caricatured it by saying that it made humans out to be the descendants of monkeys, often playing on the secondary meaning of "monkey" as "fool", "dupe", or "buffoon".

The day was Monday, July 13th, 1925. The trial had opened the preceding Friday, July 10th, but had proceeded no further than the selection of a jury. For more background on the trial and its participants, see the preceding diary in this series here.

Poll

90 votes Show Results

Banning teaching evolution from the public schools is:

90 votes Vote Now!

Banning teaching evolution from the public schools is:

Just fine and dandy

15 votes

Stupid, but completely legal

4 votes

A violation of freedom of religion

29 votes

A violation of freedom of speech

34 votes

Pie in the sky

8 votes

Eighty-five Years Ago Today

WIds

Community (This content is not subject to review by Daily Kos staff prior to publication.)

Saturday July 10, 2010 · 8:15 PM PDT

2010/07/10 · 20:15

Eighty-five years ago today — July 10, 1925 — was the first day of what may, in retrospect, be considered the trial of the 20th century.

The trial was State of Tennessee v. John Thomas Scopes. For some, it was a sign that America was struggling to emerge from the Dark Ages. For others, it was a warning that Satan's forces of godlessness were gaining alarming strength in America.

Poll

63 votes Show Results

Humans are:

63 votes Vote Now!

Humans are:

Molded from clay by God on the Sixth Day of Creation

8 votes

Descended from pre-human ancestors related to apes

30 votes

Made out of mud by Prometheus, with life breathed in by Athena

3 votes

Created by the Ã†sir from the ash and elm trees

0 votes

Born from the mouth and limbs of Purusha, the proto-human

0 votes

Descended by the gradual corruption of the gods into mortal form

1 vote

Children of two demons of darkness who had consumed the immortal Light

2 votes

Arisen from ears of corn into which the winds blew life

4 votes

Pie is good in July

15 votes

UK Leaders' Debate liveblog

WIds

Community (This content is not subject to review by Daily Kos staff prior to publication.)

Thursday April 29, 2010 · 12:26 PM PDT

2010/04/29 · 12:26

This is a liveblog for following the debate between the leaders of the three major parties in the United Kingdom, which is starting today at 8:30 p.m. British Standard (1:30 p.m. Eastern Standard).

You can follow the debate on BBC One or at the BBC website.

Poll

24 votes Show Results

Who did best in the debate?

24 votes Vote Now!

Who did best in the debate?

Gordon Brown

7 votes

Nick Clegg

12 votes

David Cameron

4 votes

None of the above

0 votes

Pie!

1 vote

British PM debate liveblog

WIds

Community (This content is not subject to review by Daily Kos staff prior to publication.)

Thursday April 22, 2010 · 12:06 PM PDT

2010/04/22 · 12:06

This is a liveblog for discussing the ongoing debate between the leaders of the three largest parties in the UK Parliament, now showing on Sky TV (live webcast here):

Gordon Brown, Labour Party leader and current Prime Minister, now trailing in the polls;

David Cameron, Conservative party leader and strong challenger; and

Nick Clegg, Liberal Democrat leader, and surprise leader in some polls.

Poll

50 votes Show Results

Who did best in the debate?

50 votes Vote Now!

Who did best in the debate?

Gordon Brown

8 votes

David Cameron

4 votes

Nick Clegg

35 votes

Nobody

2 votes

Pie!

1 vote

Good news from Croatia

WIds

Community (This content is not subject to review by Daily Kos staff prior to publication.)

Sunday January 10, 2010 · 6:32 PM PST

2010/01/10 · 18:32

The results from the Croatian presidential election are in, and Ivo Josipovich is the winner.

This represents a victory for Croatia's Social Democrats, and -- 20 years after Croatia's independence -- a chance for Croatia to rid itself of some of its demons.

WIds

Community (This content is not subject to review by Daily Kos staff prior to publication.)

Tuesday December 08, 2009 · 12:14 PM PST

2009/12/08 · 12:14

The following is inspired by the several conservative attempts to rescue science from the grip of liberal activists. We've known for a long time that liberals seized control of biological science in the mid-19th century, or thereabouts (precision on dates is a liberal value and so won't be adhered to here); the conservative alternative is Intelligent Design (so called since our former venture, Creation Science went belly-up and had to be rebranded.

Poll

39 votes Show Results

What crazy moon language do you speak/read?

39 votes Vote Now!

What crazy moon language do you speak/read?

Spanish

12 votes

French

7 votes

Arabic

1 vote

Russian

1 vote

Chinese

1 vote

Japanese

2 votes

German

2 votes

Italian

1 vote

Hindi/Urdu

0 votes

Portuguese

1 vote

Bahasa Indonesia

0 votes

Persian

1 vote

Turkish

1 vote

Hebrew

1 vote

Other

8 votes

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