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filthy
SFN Die Hard
USA
14408 Posts |
 Posted - 01/14/2008 : 05:03:47
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I myself would not vote for anyone who rejects the Theory of Evolution regardless of his/her political affilations. It clearly shows an appalling ignorance of science in general and biology in particular, and in this day & age leaders should at least have a grasp of the scientific arts. Where do the candidates stand on modern biology?
Posted January 10th, 2008 at 2:28 pm
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Ronald Bailey, Reason's science correspondent, took on an interesting project this week: documenting where every major-party presidential candidate stands on evolutionary biology.
Oddly enough, this has taken on far more political significance this election cycle than the last two. It started back in May, in one of the more memorable debate moments of the year, when John McCain was asked a straightforward question: Do you believe in evolution?
It's the 21st century and McCain is an educated man, so it should have been an easy one, but he's a Republican, and he needs to appeal to a far-right base that has little use for modern science so he hesitated. After a pregnant pause, McCain said, Yes.
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Tryin' to go with two flows, John? "John McCain Has rejected, embraced, and rejected again intelligent-design creationism." I'd thought better than that of you.
I rather liked Mike Gravel's response: | * Mike Gravel Has been rather emphatic on the subject. My God, evolution is a fact, and if these people are disturbed by being the descendants of monkeys and fishes, they've got a mental problem. We can't afford the psychiatric bill for them. That ends the story as far as I'm concerned. |
Maybe I should have put this in Politics instead of E/C, but here it is and I'm too lazy to change it.
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"What luck for rulers that men do not think." -- Adolf Hitler (1889 - 1945)
"If only we could impeach on the basis of criminal stupidity, 90% of the Rethuglicans and half of the Democrats would be thrown out of office." ~~ P.Z. Myres
"The default position of human nature is to punch the other guy in the face and take his stuff." ~~ Dude
Brother Boot Knife of Warm Humanitarianism,
and Crypto-Communist! 
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moakley
SFN Regular
USA
1888 Posts |
Posted - 01/14/2008 : 06:00:39 [Permalink]
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Science is a way of thinking much more than it is a body of knowledge. Carl Sagan
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Faith is in no way a reliable means for establishing truth. |
Life is good
Philosophy is questions that may never be answered. Religion is answers that may never be questioned. -Anonymous |
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chaloobi
SFN Regular
1620 Posts |
Posted - 01/15/2008 : 11:08:25 [Permalink]
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I loved this so much I had to quote it:
| My God, evolution is a fact, and if these people are disturbed by being the descendants of monkeys and fishes, they've got a mental problem. We can't afford the psychiatric bill for them. That ends the story as far as I'm concerned. |
Starting with "My God" says so much in just two words.  |
-Chaloobi
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| Edited by - chaloobi on 01/15/2008 11:09:40 |
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BigPapaSmurf
SFN Die Hard
3192 Posts |
Posted - 01/15/2008 : 11:29:42 [Permalink]
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Mike Gravel Has been rather emphatic on the subject. My God, evolution is a fact, and if these people are disturbed by being the descendants of monkeys and fishes, they've got a mental problem. We can't afford the psychiatric bill for them. That ends the story as far as I'm concerned.
This is a sure fire way to make your campaign manager have a heart attack. Way to call 60% of voters insane, jackass. |
"...things I have neither seen nor experienced nor heard tell of from anybody else; things, what is more, that do not in fact exist and could not ever exist at all. So my readers must not believe a word I say." -Lucian on his book True History
"...They accept such things on faith alone, without any evidence. So if a fraudulent and cunning person who knows how to take advantage of a situation comes among them, he can make himself rich in a short time." -Lucian critical of early Christians c.166 AD From his book, De Morte Peregrini |
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filthy
SFN Die Hard
USA
14408 Posts |
Posted - 01/15/2008 : 13:13:30 [Permalink]
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Originally posted by BigPapaSmurf
Mike Gravel Has been rather emphatic on the subject. My God, evolution is a fact, and if these people are disturbed by being the descendants of monkeys and fishes, they've got a mental problem. We can't afford the psychiatric bill for them. That ends the story as far as I'm concerned.
This is a sure fire way to make your campaign manager have a heart attack. Way to call 60% of voters insane, jackass.
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So true & so sad.
"The American voter is as drunk and stupid as ever!" ~~ Nixon's Head
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"What luck for rulers that men do not think." -- Adolf Hitler (1889 - 1945)
"If only we could impeach on the basis of criminal stupidity, 90% of the Rethuglicans and half of the Democrats would be thrown out of office." ~~ P.Z. Myres
"The default position of human nature is to punch the other guy in the face and take his stuff." ~~ Dude
Brother Boot Knife of Warm Humanitarianism,
and Crypto-Communist!
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Dude
SFN Die Hard
USA
6891 Posts |
Posted - 01/15/2008 : 13:28:56 [Permalink]
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BPS said:
| This is a sure fire way to make your campaign manager have a heart attack. Way to call 60% of voters insane, jackass. |
Gravel isn't running to be president, hes running just so he can say stuff like that and have some media attention given to it.
Also, he isn't wrong with that particular statement. Those who deny the fact of evolution are delusional.
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Ignorance is preferable to error; and he is less remote from the truth who believes nothing, than he who believes what is wrong.
-- Thomas Jefferson
"god :: the last refuge of a man with no answers and no argument." - G. Carlin
Hope, n.
The handmaiden of desperation; the opiate of despair; the illegible signpost on the road to perdition. ~~ da filth |
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chaloobi
SFN Regular
1620 Posts |
Posted - 01/16/2008 : 08:25:32 [Permalink]
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Originally posted by BigPapaSmurf
Mike Gravel Has been rather emphatic on the subject. My God, evolution is a fact, and if these people are disturbed by being the descendants of monkeys and fishes, they've got a mental problem. We can't afford the psychiatric bill for them. That ends the story as far as I'm concerned.
This is a sure fire way to make your campaign manager have a heart attack. Way to call 60% of voters insane, jackass.
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There's something to be said for having the fortitude to call it like it is.
Dude Said: | Those who deny the fact of evolution are delusional. |
To be fair, there's a number of issues:
1. Those who know better - ie are educated enough to know better - are delusional.
2. Many are just ignorant of science.
3. Many others are victims of leaders who are either ignorant themselves, delusional, or intentionally misleading them for some reason.
4. Lots of folks are all of the above. |
-Chaloobi
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| Edited by - chaloobi on 01/16/2008 08:30:30 |
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Dude
SFN Die Hard
USA
6891 Posts |
Posted - 01/16/2008 : 08:36:51 [Permalink]
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To be fair, everyone who has heard the word "evolution" is also aware that the proper authority to listen to for data on the topic is a biologist. The fact that some decide to trust what their religious leader tells them on the matter makes them just as delusional as those well educated deniers.
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Ignorance is preferable to error; and he is less remote from the truth who believes nothing, than he who believes what is wrong.
-- Thomas Jefferson
"god :: the last refuge of a man with no answers and no argument." - G. Carlin
Hope, n.
The handmaiden of desperation; the opiate of despair; the illegible signpost on the road to perdition. ~~ da filth |
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BigPapaSmurf
SFN Die Hard
3192 Posts |
Posted - 01/16/2008 : 08:40:20 [Permalink]
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| Im in no way saying that it isnt delusion, just that you'll never get elected in America saying stuff like that. |
"...things I have neither seen nor experienced nor heard tell of from anybody else; things, what is more, that do not in fact exist and could not ever exist at all. So my readers must not believe a word I say." -Lucian on his book True History
"...They accept such things on faith alone, without any evidence. So if a fraudulent and cunning person who knows how to take advantage of a situation comes among them, he can make himself rich in a short time." -Lucian critical of early Christians c.166 AD From his book, De Morte Peregrini |
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chaloobi
SFN Regular
1620 Posts |
Posted - 01/16/2008 : 10:51:58 [Permalink]
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Originally posted by BigPapaSmurf
Im in no way saying that it isnt delusion, just that you'll never get elected in America saying stuff like that.
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Which is the saddest fact of all.... |
-Chaloobi
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Ricky
SFN Die Hard
USA
4907 Posts |
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Dude
SFN Die Hard
USA
6891 Posts |
Posted - 01/16/2008 : 11:47:50 [Permalink]
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Ricky said:
| Now combine this fact with the perpetuation of the conspiracy that liberals control the upper levels of education and what you arrive at is a distrust in most results which are obtained in Universities that are not easily understood. |
Which is yet another delusion.
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Ignorance is preferable to error; and he is less remote from the truth who believes nothing, than he who believes what is wrong.
-- Thomas Jefferson
"god :: the last refuge of a man with no answers and no argument." - G. Carlin
Hope, n.
The handmaiden of desperation; the opiate of despair; the illegible signpost on the road to perdition. ~~ da filth |
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chaloobi
SFN Regular
1620 Posts |
Posted - 01/16/2008 : 13:21:47 [Permalink]
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| When the majority of people regard the educated class as elitist and untrustworthy, you have a formula for social disaster. |
-Chaloobi
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The ToE according to the candidates
