Paula Zahn with Richard Dawkins on Darwin Day (2/12/07)

After the first (arguably horrific) segment done on the PZ hour regarding atheists and discrimination, the producers decided to take a stab at it again; this time, they actually include atheists on their panel, and feature Richard Dawkins in an interview with Paula.

**update**
Youtube 1 -- interview with Dawkins
Youtube 2 -- panel conversation
**

digg story

Letter to the Editor Published in Alligator Today

Read it below:

Letter to the Editor
Separation of church and state needed
Fri., 2/9/07
By S. DANIEL MORGAN
President, Atheist, Agnostic and Freethinking Student Association at UF

I was involved in the Dixie County courthouse monument debacle as it went from local gossip to national news: I did an appearance opposite Joey Lander on Fox News' "Hannity & Colmes" on Nov. 29. I have talked behind the scenes with some people who were interested in challenging the legal status of the placement of the Ten Commandments monument at their county courthouse. Yesterday I breathed a sigh of relief as I saw that a motion had finally been filed by the American Civil Liberties Union.

The names of the plaintiffs are being withheld for good cause - intimidation, harassment and violence are commonplace in rural communities with these sorts of cases. It takes guts to go against the grain, and I'm proud of their courage for moving this case forward. I fully expect to see that monument relegated to its proper place - private property - and none too soon. The demise of this affront to the separation of church and state is certain. If we don't fight for the freedoms we enjoy as private citizens, we will see them swallowed up by intrusions of government authority. We must write letters to newspapers and politicians to voice and defend civil liberties, or else the steady erosion of liberty will continue unabated by forces of tyranny and theocracy. All it takes for those forces to win is for us to remain silent and afraid. Thank you, courageous citizens of Dixie County, for refusing to be either.

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Technorati tags: Religion, Church-state

"Adultry" Fixed on Dixie County Monument

A while back, I noted that the Dixie monument had "adultry" rather than "adultery" inscribed on it. Almost all of the news articles from the original time of the media buzz (approx. Nov. 29-Dec. 8) show this misspelling, because they used the same pictures over and over. The clearest picture, and one used a lot, is from the original Dixie County Advocate news article, and you can view the full-size image here. It's as clear as day, and carved into granite. Even yesterday's article in the Sun shows it the same way.

Today, when I read about the ACLU finally filing a challenge, (see official court document here) I went to their site, and lo and behold: it is fixed!

I decided to call Ben Barber, owner of Dixie County Monuments, and personally ask him about it. He confirmed to me that he had done the repair, and said that he repaired it about a week after it was first noticed. He said that you really can't see the repair unless you get up close and look for it, but that if you do, you will see the fix. I think he did a great job; granite is as hard as hell to work with once it's finished.

Too bad that most of the pics of the thing are testifying to their illiteracy, rather than to their religious faith.

Here's the media roundup, again:

1. Gainesville Sun -- 11/28
2. Dixie County Advocate -- 11/30
3. Alligator -- 11/30
4. Alligator -- 12/1 (editorial)
5. FFRF Press Release -- 12/1
6. Gainesville Sun -- 12/02
7. 3 Letters to the Editor at the Sun -- pro, pro, con (12/2)
8. Dixie County Advocate -- 12/7
9. 2 More Letters to the Editor at the Sun -- pro (12/12), con (12/17)
10. St. Petersburg Times -- 1/3/07
11. St. Petersburg Times -- letter (con) 1/13/07 (4th letter down; response to 1/3/07 article above)
    
12. Gainesville Sun -- 2/7
13. ACLU News Release -- 2/7
    
14. Reuters (Miami) -- 2/7
    
15. Gainesville Sun -- 2/8
16. St. Petersburg Times -- 2/8
    

And HERE are all of the articles I've written on this story, as it developed, and my involvement and analysis of the situation.
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Technorati tags: Religion, Church-state

Dixie County, Now You're F#&%*d!

There's an old song I like, especially the version by Randy Travis:

"I told you so..."

Dixie County's dumbass decision to plant their religious monument at the courthouse is now officially headed to court. The names of the plaintiffs are being withheld to protect them, and I agree with that decision; those dumbass rednecks were ready to assault me that night.

I've heard over and over the assurances from the county's residents that no one in the county objects to it. Bullshit. People were just afraid to be harassed or beaten in retaliation (you know, because of God's abounding grace). Thankfully, a few plaintiffs have the courage to see this illegal action challenged.

Although the DC Commissioners are ecstatic about having free legal representation, what those stupid people don't apparently realize is that they'll have to pay the plaintiff's rather hefty legal fees once they lose this case. I'd love to see what percentage of the county budget $100K would be. If this goes way up to a state supreme court, that number could go into the millions.

Eventually, theocrats will be bled dry from such efforts, hopefully, and stop pulling this old trick.

For those who don't know, I appeared on FoxNews regarding this issue back on Nov. 29. CLICK HERE to watch and read some preliminary comments, and HERE for my detailed commentary on the legal and political issues.

Gainesville Sun, AP, St. Petersburg Times, my media roundup
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Technorati tags: Religion, Church-state

Templeton Foundation Distances Itself from ID

In both the LA Times and WSJ, we have a smile-evoking letter published today. It regards the scientific vacuity of ID, which isn't new; the source of the letter and their connection to ID is what is eyebrow-raising. (HT: Ed)

Letters to the Editor
We Don't Support 'Intelligent Design'
167 words, 5 February 2007
The Wall Street Journal
B6, English
(Copyright (c) 2007, Dow Jones & Company, Inc.)

In the past, the John Templeton Foundation has given grants to scientists who have gone on to identify themselves as members of the Intelligent Design community. We understand that this could be misconstrued by some to suggest that we implicitly support the Intelligent Design movement, but this wasn't our intention at the time nor is it today ("Doing Good Leads to Doing Well, Just Ask Mom or Watch Monkeys," Informed Reader, Jan. 22).

The foundation doesn't support the political movement known as "Intelligent Design." This is for three reasons: We don't believe the science underpinning the "Intelligent Design" movement is sound, we don't support research or programs that deny large areas of well-documented scientific knowledge and the foundation is a non-political entity and does not engage in, or support, political movements.

Pamela Thompson, Vice President for Communications
John Templeton Foundation, West Conshohocken, Pa

Sweet.
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Technorati tags: Intelligent Design, Evolution, Creationism

Pat Boone Lies; WingNutDaily Spreads

**UPDATE: WingNutDaily removes the bullshit paragraph, leaves the rest of the bullshit article up, and allows Boone to replace one bullshit with another:

With his "The Origin of Species" about to be released, he wrote to fellow British biologist George Bentham, "Thank you heartily for what you say about my book; but you will be greatly disappointed; it will be grievously too hypothetical. It will very likely be of no other service than collocating some facts; though I myself think I see my way approximately on the origin of species. But, alas, how frequent, how almost universal it is in an author to persuade himself of the truth of his own dogmas. My only hope is that I certainly see very many difficulties of gigantic stature."

Problem is, this quote is a classic quote mine (#2.2), and Boone is too fu*%ing stupid to do real research YET AGAIN! This letter was written before the Origin of the Species was even published! All of his correspondence with Bentham was on the breeding of plants. Stupid bastards did it again.**

Pat Boone breathlessly repeats the old "Darwin recanted on his deathbed" canard in the latest WingNutDaily. Are we surprised? Even other creationists admit this is a fraudulent story, and have the lie included in their "arguments not to use" list (the very first one on the list, in fact), but here we have WingNutDaily's complete lack of integrity shining through. Any wingnuts out there who claim this paper has one ounce of journalistic worth are self-deluded morons.

Write them or call them and ask them why they published this bullshit story:

WorldNetDaily
PO Box 1087
Grants Pass, OR 97528
Customer Service: 800-496-3266
(541) 474-1776
FAX: (541) 474-1770
corrections@worldnetdaily.com
letters@worldnetdaily.com
news@worldnetdaily.com

(HT: PZ)
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Technorati tags: God, Evolution, Creationism

COTG #59

The 59^th edition of the Carnival of the Godless is up at Aardvarchaeology.

(I said I wouldn't be writing much [any] for 2-3 weeks, I didn't say I wouldn't throw up a link now and again.)
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Technorati tags: God, Religion, Atheism, COTG

Next Time I Hear, 'the liberal MSM'...

...I may have to spit on someone.
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Technorati tags: God, Religion, Atheism, Church-state

Proposed Dissertation

There won't be much writing (maybe none) here for the next two-three weeks.

I am currently writing up my defense of my proposed dissertation program. I have to present this to my committee (5 profs) and defend the relevance and method of this work. They quiz you on lots of the background science involved to get a feel for your capabilities. There are three possibilities: pass, fail (with or without one redo, at their discretion), and half-pass (modifications necessary). Once you pass, you are officially a Ph.D. candidate and no longer "just a grad student". If you do not, you may end up with an M.S.

I have already invested a lot of time and energy into this research, and I have no intention of changing it; I also have no fear they will reject it on its own merits. If they do not like it, then I am to blame, and not the topic. It will probably take me about two years from today (or so) to actually finish the Ph.D. I started in Fall '04, and our department's average time is 5.1 years to complete the Ph.D., so I'm on schedule.

In the (unlikely) event that you actually give a poop as to what I do, I will probably post the finished proposal here later. For now, suffice with the title:

"Oxidation of Fatty Acids and Sulfides with Chlorine Dioxide: Kinetics and Mechanism".

I made a vow a while back to have a simple and informational title, rather than the jargon-obscured titles that are so common these days.

So...sayonara for a few weeks.
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Technorati tags: Chemistry

Brian Sapient on "Nightline" re "Blasphemy Challenge"

Brian Sapient, of Rational Responders (the site is temporarily down from the flood of traffic generated by this media appearance) was on "Nightline" talking about the "Blasphemy Challenge" on Jan. 30. ABC News was even kind enough to post a video of the entire segment of the interview, as well as videos of people taking the blasphemy challenge and the URL of the site online. Read their article here. I think they were somewhat fair, but the whole, "taking on God" and "fighting God" rhetoric is a little thick. Go Digg the story.

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Technorati tags: God, Religion, Atheism