This was originally published as a comment, but it's more than a couple of paragraphs. It has also previously been covered in an excellent diary by Clytemnestra, but I thought it was worth highlighting just what it is that makes the "Origin of Stupidity" video so great.
The video is a retort by someone named Cristina to another video by washed up child star Kirk Cameron boasting about a plan to distribute adulterated copies of "The Origin of the Species" on college campuses on the 150th anniversary of the publication date. It made an impression on me. It can be found in this HuffPo piece below Cameron's video.
Also check out the discussion on Science Blogs.com
What impressed me is that Cristina gets the science exactly right, in a few short phrases.
For instance, she "gets" the simple fact that life at the present time is a snapshot of evolution. When Cameron stupidly parrots the claim about "no transitional forms", she points out that forms are continuously in transition. All species are transitional forms. A simple statement about a profound truth.
And yes, backing that up, even given the difficulty involved in the creation of fossils, there are plenty of examples of the endless stream of change. These are not "missing links" between rigid categories. Rigid categories are just an illusion caused by looking at a snapshot instead of a movie.
Bible thumpers say: how would an "ape" suddenly give birth to a human? And who would the human breed with to produce more humans? The answer is simple. Earlier species transition into later ones. They diverge because of geographical or other types of separation. The transition is for the most part gradual. Every generation can interbreed with members of the previous generation. But eventually, as changes pile up, you get the situation that a generation could no longer breed with its great-great-multi-great grandparent's generation, while it still can with generations on both sides of it. A new species has appeared. And so goes the continuum.
This simple picture, which is confirmed by huge amounts of genetic, fossil, geographical, etc. data is true. When you think about it, it appears almost obvious.
Cristina reminds us that not everybody in the world is purposefully letting themselves and their children be dumbed down in the name of religion. We compete with these people, and tying both hands (or actually, our brains) behind our backs is not very smart. Fundamental Islamists have already tried this for many hundreds of years. The result is the economic backwater of the Middle East, that is also a backwater in terms of human rights. They're down with God, but who in America wants to live that way? If the Religious Right gets its way, we're gonna find out what it's like.
Oh yeah, Cristina also smacks down Ray Comfort, the originator of this atrocious idea to deface Darwin's great work, previously made famous as the banana guy". A must see.