It’s been a good week for science, and evolutionary science in particular so let me mention a few newsworthy events.
- Alabama Kills Evolution Bill
- Ono gains temporary injunction against “Expelled”
- Kenneth Miller reviews “Expelled”
- Jeffrey Schloss reviews “Expelled at ASA
- Percival Reviews “Expelled”
And in late breaking news:
Turkish Islamic author Oktar aka Harun Yahya given 3-year jail sentence
Oktar’s teachings echo those of Christian fundamentalists in the United States. He has publicly denounced Darwinism and Freemasonry in high-profile attacks.
Expelled Theatre count
| Week | Theatres | Change |
| May 09 | 402 | -254 |
| May 02 | 656 | -385 |
| April 25 | 1041 | -11 |
| Launch | 1052 | 0 |
The bill is in ‘good’ company
Hundreds of bills have died in the 2008 session of the Alabama Legislature because they did not pass in the house where they were introduced. Some of them would have:
- Repealed the state’s ban on sex toys.
…
- Protected teachers from being fired for giving personal opinion while teaching controversial subjects like evolution. - Allowed Alabama voters to decide if they want to legalize electronic bingo games at greyhound dog tracks in Mobile and Birmingham.
Ono gains temporary injunction against “Expelled”
A federal judge in Manhattan has told the makers of Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed that they cannot distribute the film any further, until a copyright infringement complaint is heard in court later this month.
Kenneth Miller reviews “Expelled”
Kenneth Miller Wrote:Despite these falsehoods, by far the film’s most outlandish misrepresentation is its linkage of Darwin with the Holocaust.
and
Kenneth Miller Wrote:“Expelled” is a shoddy piece of propaganda that props up the failures of Intelligent Design by playing the victim card. It deceives its audiences, slanders the scientific community, and contributes mightily to a climate of hostility to science itself. Stein is doing nothing less than helping turn a generation of American youth away from science. If we actually come to believe that science leads to murder, then we deserve to lose world leadership in science. In that sense, the word “expelled” may have a different and more tragic connotation for our country than Stein intended.
Jeffrey Schloss reviews “Expelled at ASA
A 33(!) page review by Jeffrey P. Schloss from the Center for Faith, Ethics, and Life Sciences at Westmont College that looks in depth at a variety of aspects and issues. Well worth reading.
The science and science education communities experience much the same exasperation from the on-going conflict first with the creation science community and then with intelligent design proponents. I agree with Expelled that a healthy academic community depends on the free exchange of ideas, but if the film has any impact at all, I can only see it leading to a reinforcement of the wall it seeks to criticize and to further cultural polarization.
Never thought, in my life-time, I’d be rooting for Yoko Ono. And I’ve got a hyperactive imagination.
hmmm… this is interesting. The listing page still shows Expelled being shown here at the UA High Ridge. What’s funny is that they don’t show it on the sign outside the theater, and the other day there were a ton of public school busses parked outside the theater. I’m going down to take a look, and taking my camera…
You guys are missing this weeks classic from Ben “I’m Smarter Than Any Scientist” Stein at Christianity Today:
http://www.christianitytoday.com/mo[…]enstein.html
Get with it!
Oops I didn’t get the entire tard in one of those quotes, let’s try again:
So Ben’s ID/evolution scholarship consists of reading one book written by a crank funded by the DI. Brilliant!
Not a very good week for fantasy, is it?
doov
Yes, but:
“Some of the other bills that died would have ended Alabama’s ban on the sale of sex toys…”
Bag. Mixed. True freedom, nixed.
Sexpelled, again!
It seems to me that Yoko could make more money by letting them continue to show the film and simply demanding a percentage of all of the profits. Now of course they are going to scream censorshop again. The vast Yoko conspiracy is against them!
I wonder if she can also prevent them from showing the movie for free. Also, what happens if they are caught defying the law? Will anyone ever go to jail?
Good news indeed. Cat’s outta the bag anyway, lots -n- lots -n- lots -n- lots of American eyeballs exposed to Expelled already, and the screenings will continue for a bit longer at least, no matter what Ono (or desperate evolutionist reviewers) attempt to do at this stage.
FL :)
In the Yoko Ono story, the court order includes:
“Defendants will produce the following documents on or before _May 6_, 2008: (i) a complete copy of the Movie, (ii) Defendants’ agreements, licenses and contracts with third parties in connection with rights and permissions for all musical compositions or “clips of third-party film or video footage, still photography, and any and copyrighted materials included in the Movie…”
I wonder if the judge will watch the movie and give a “Judge Jones” opinion on it?
I found Percival’s essay to be oddly ambivalent. He seems to accept that there is some sort of scientific controversy here, but that Stein’s film focuses on the politics rather than the genuine scientific issues. He seems to say that suppression of alternative ideas is perhaps worse in the US than in Poland, but somehow never goes anywhere near looking at the merits of any of these views. He seems unaware that Dawkins is answering a question posed during the interview that is NOT the question posed in the movie, and gleefully enjoys Dawkins being “caught in a contradiction” without ever bothering to check out the circumstances (and find it’s nothing of the sort).
And so on the whole, Percival comes across as someone who accepts that Expelled is being totally honest in what they say, but who regrets that this honesty must be couched in such us-against-them black and white terms. And he regrets this, apparently, because he thinks these are genuine issues being presented, which should be aired without so much high-voltage political charge attached.
He sounds as naive and trusting as the earlier scientists debating against Gish, who went into the debates thinking that their opponent was honorable, that evidence mattered, and that normal protocols of discussion would be followed. And so he completely misses the little detail that not one single element of the entire film is honest - not the editing, not the science, not the associations, not the allegations, not the implications, not even the way many of those in the film were tricked into interviews under false pretenses.
Ah, NOW I get it. At Westmont, Expelled is DEFINED as telling the truth; the complaint is that in polarizing their audience, they are unlikely to make as many converts as Percival would have hoped. Perhaps the statement of faith he signs every year actively prohibits him from (publicly) noticing the bad-to-the-bone dishonesty that pervades the movie. Or perhaps if he COULD notice it, he wouldn’t sign his Loyalty Oath To Jesus quite so religiously.
FL.
What did you think of Jeffery Schloss’s review?
A quote:
Baylor - a private, religiously-affiliated university featured in the film – is portrayed as offending academic freedom by failing to allow afull range of positions, including ID and rejection of common descent. Presumably this offense should be corrected. But Biola - another private, religiously-affiliated university featured in the film – endorses, indeed requires, acceptance of design and rejection of common descent. Presumably this does not need to be changed?
and the conclusion:
Sadly, the film contributes to an approach that has raised rather than lowered walls between Christians and the surrounding culture. Sadly, it raises the already growing walls of suspicion about any scholarly attempts to explore the relationship between science and faith. Sadly, it raises walls that don’t protect but constrain the spiritual growth of our students, if they are driven to believe they must choose between God and evolution. And most sadly, it is raising all these walls unnecessarily, along a border that is never demonstrated to have been accurately surveyed, much less to be in need of defending.
??? Yoko Ono’s opinions about biology seem totally irrelevant here. What’s relevant is that the movie stole her property without permission or compensation, like good Creationists seem to do so often. And got caught.
??? Yoko Ono’s opinions about biology seem totally irrelevant here. What’s relevant is that the movie stole her property without permission or compensation, like good Creationists seem to do so often. And got caught.
In “singlespeak” it was a creationist bill. But the important thing is that “Kill Bill” was enjoyable.
Oh noes! Charles Darwin wasn’t responsible for making his theory - perhaps it originated with Erasmus Darwin - and that repudiates the empirical content of it. Yeah, right.
Darwin’s theory doesn’t make predictions on abiogenesis. IIRC Darwin made some speculation on this somewhere, speculations that are consistent with most of the modern abiogenesis hypotheses. And as always, predictions can’t prove, they can disprove.
But no DVD’s… Bummer!
Hi all,
It will get better for us in the weeks ahead. I heard Ken speak last night at AMNH, and then, afterwards I got a chance to hold his new book. I’m sworn to secrecy on this, but believe me when I say that Ken has taken off his gloves to rip the IDiots to shreds.
Regards,
John
No DvD’s - no HBO - snicker :-)
Expelled may well boomerang on the creos. It is so over the top on lies as to be ridiculous in a sick sort of way.
The Expelleds are not acting like Xian, educated, honest, or civilized people. Their blood libel on the crowning acheivement of western culture is likely to end up being counterproductive.
Goebbels was a skillful liar. It took him all the way to Chancellor of the Third Reich. The next day he killed his 6 kids and shot himself. In retrospect, he would have been better off making a different career choice.
The creationist flyover-state red meenies are now in full “Advance Backward!” mode. Would that, on this issue, they showed evidence of even ONE quality that could be admired, however reluctantly ironically.
Blip, meet radar:
http://www.google.com/trends?q=%22i[…]nt+design%22
Why is Alabama afraid of sex toys?
I never have understood the Hate Yoko cult. She was an artist who did some OK things. And when the four egos of the Beatles couldn’t fit inside the same room, she ended up with John. About the time he was ready to go back to work, a psychotic asshole killed him. End.
The current issue is all lawyers all the way down, there is no “Yoko” involved.
I’m not so sure that is a good idea for the IDers. They’ve only had two things going for them in this battle: organization and stealth. ID is, after all, a con, at its core. It is religion and politics pretending to be science. It cannot survive once people are aware of what it is, and how dishonest the people peddling it are.
Expelled put that dishonesty on display for everyone to see. The next person who brings up ID at a school board meeting is liable to get “Wasn’t that the group that made that awful Ben Stein movie and got a lot of people sued?”.
Time will tell, although if Bobby’s graph is any indication, ID is dying, it’s greatest days behind it.
Depending on what movie tickets cost, it looks like about a million Americans have seen Expelled. That’s less than one-third of one per cent of the American population. The word for that is “pitiful.”
Go get ‘em, Ken! Looking forward to it.
Some info from Mary B. at Florida Citizens for Science - does anyone know anything more about this?
http://www.nea.org/lac/highered/fre[…]osition.html
Raven,
Stacy S. wanted me to pass this along to you in case you haven’t seen it:
http://www.sunclipse.org/?p=626
Maybe if the ACLU writes the review for him.
Still spreading that foolish story?
Sigh, despite being provided with all the necessary background information, William insists on repeating this misrepresentation.
Stuart,
Alabama, per se, doesn’t hate sex toys. However, most sex toys are designed to penetrate. Since everyone here in Bama knows women don’t enjoy sex, therefore they wouldn’t buy such devices. Ergo, all such items are obviously sold exclusively to “those” type of men. If they can’t buy their perverted items here, we’ve no doubt they’ll move back to California where they came from.
(I would stick an /end sarcasm at this point, but I’ve actually heard some of my inbred neighbors say this.)
I thought I read somewhere our favorite troll was banned? If not, could someone PLEASE send him to a fundy site so he can get some new material. He’s told us that ACLU joke too many times already, and it wasn’t that funny to begin with.
When William says something foolish, I am more than willing to let him comment on my threads although it is up to the thread owner’s discretion to approve his postings. Since William insists on sounding foolish, I tend to approve most of his ‘arguments’ as a warning of the cost if foolishness to faith, science and common sense.
On the Eye thread, he seems to have misunderstood several aspects of the presentation even though the commentary is quite clear to those familiar with evolutionary theory.
It’s May 20th here, still May 19th most other places and I’ve been searching on the web for any news on Yoko Ono’s hearing, which I thought was to be held today. Does anyone have any information on when we are likely to hear the result?
Despite the fanfare over Expelled in Missouri, the antievolution House Bill 2554 has died.
The score so far: “academic freedom” antievolution bills have died in Florida, Alabama, and Missouri, and South Carolina’s looks poised to die as well.
Yay! Thanks for the good news!
I did email Dembski and he said he would debate Elsberry after he had finished some articles for publication. I’ll follow up in a few weeks to see if he intends to comply.
I can give you the email address of the person who makes available audio copies of the WilderSmith vs Dawkins debate at Oxford a decade or more back. You know the one where Dawkins had his brain eaten out in one hour and refused to ever debate a creationist again.
Is the Gish gallop where he leaves the stage after kicking in the teeth of every evo geek he ever debated?
I have watched and listened to several such debates and I recall the audience declaring Gish the winner 99.999% of the time.
You people bore me.
Seems Keith is still unwilling to look at the evidence. Sad really but denial is the first step towards recovery.
Farewell my confused Christian friend. Sorry to hear that your mind is closed to knowledge.
As to Gish being the winner, so what? He is still wrong.
Making up stories again?
Listen for yourselves at Richard Dawkins website
Update