An early Cretaceous "turkey" as tall as a human, aka a slightly updated and more accurate illustration of Utahraptor ostrommaysorum. Based on fossil remains brought to virtual life by paleo-wildlife artist Emily Willoughby
Science ed won a victory against the forces of ignorance and opportunism in the Lone Star State this
holiday season:
Last week’s State Board of Education (SBOE) vote to adopt new science textbooks for Texas public schools represented an important victory for science education. But what you have been reading in the news media doesn’t tell the whole story about what was happening behind the scenes in this battle — including the effort to derail the adoption of one of the leading high school biology textbooks in the country. Following is the story of how science education came under attack in Texas and how it won in the end.
But ignorance marches on ...
- Via Rightwing Watch:
As he does every day, Bryan Fischer began his radio program with a Bible reading and discussion, in this case, a passage from Psalm 135 which he cited not only as proof that God struck down the Native Americans so that the United States could be established by Christians, but also as proof that there is nothing that human beings can do to influence the climate.
- Who could be more qualified to carefully evaluate the medical science and over all effectiveness of Obamacare than this guy?
Republican Representative from Georgia Paul Broun — who believes that evolution, embryology and the Big Bang are “all lies straight from the pit of Hell.
I could go on, and it's not all political, it doesn't always fall clearly across the usual political axis: magic underwear that heal or prevent injury, magic cookbooks that resolve any manner of medical issue resistant to diagnosis and treatment, massive government conspiracies where one lone brave whistleblower -- with a CD or seminar to sale -- stands against the tyrannical establishment, big pharma out to keep the cancer cure under wraps, big energy colluding to spike the 500 mile per gallon engine, big agribusinesss intentionally out to poison or zombify entire populations, etc. Some with a grain of truth that can be spun into colorful yarns rife with woodoo, others wholly fabricated from beginning to end and dressed up as science-y.
But there are places online where you can get the straight dope, where the wheat will be separated from the chaff, as much as we can figure out anyway, and we'll tell you when and if we're not sure about something. That's the progressive netroots and our big, sprawling loud argumentative corner of it here on Daily Kos.