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Ed Brayton is a journalist, commentator and speaker. He is the co-founder and president of Michigan Citizens for Science and co-founder of The Panda's Thumb. He has written for such publications as The Bard, Skeptic and Reports of the National Center for Science Education, spoken in front of many organizations and conferences, and appeared on nationally syndicated radio shows and on C-SPAN. Ed is also a Fellow with the Center for Independent Media and the host of Declaring Independence, a one hour weekly political talk show on WPRR in Grand Rapids, Michigan.(static)
Ed Brayton also blogs at Positive Liberty and The Panda's Thumb
More articles by Ed Brayton can be found on Freethoughtblogs at the new Dispatches from the Culture Wars!
October 6, 2011
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After a couple months, it's become obvious to me that there's little point in keeping this blog going. It's been a great run here at ScienceBlogs, I've enjoyed my time here and it's been a great boon to my career, but Freethought Blogs has taken off beyond my wildest dreams and there's no point in dividing my output anymore. So please join me at the new -- and now only -- Dispatches from the Culture Wars.
Posted by Ed Brayton at 9:30 AM • 48 Comments
October 5, 2011
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You'd think all the fundies would love Answers in Genesis, but apparently there are people who are so crazy that they think even AIG is too liberal. Don Elmore, pastor of a church called Fellowship of God's Covenant People, appears to be one of them.
I am aware of the forces supporting "Answers in Genesis", these being the same powers that are supporting similar multi-cultural anti-Christian organizations such as Alpha, Promise Keepers, The Full Gospel Businessmen's Association, Billy Graham ministries, producers of many modern Bible versions, and a multitude of other ministries. These forces are the anti-Christian powers seeking One World Government under man, not God. The essence of my criticism is to show that "Answers in Genesis" supports the humanistic and unbiblical "Brotherhood of Man" doctrine (which also is a Hindu/Roman Catholic/Masonic/Jewish/Judeo-Christian and World-Church belief).
Posted by Ed Brayton at 9:04 AM • 171 Comments
October 3, 2011
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Before I was born, my dad turned down a chance to do graduate study at Harvard. He mentioned this to me a few years ago and said that while he now regrets not having taken the opportunity in one sense, if he had done so he would not have met my mother and therefore wouldn't have his children and thus he's glad he didn't. And I told him that while I'm certainly very glad to be alive, if he had gone to Harvard he would likely have met someone else, had other children and would now love them as much as he loves me -- and would be just as convinced that this alternative outcome was the best possible thing that could happen.
This is the concept of contingency and it is one that has long been misunderstood by intelligent design advocates, as biologist Joe Thornton pointed out in a letter to Carl Zimmer a couple years ago.
Posted by Ed Brayton at 9:38 AM • 34 Comments
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My friend and longtime Dispatches reader Vic Hutchinson, a retired biology professor at the University of Oklahoma, has been honored by the Oklahoma Science Teachers Association with the Jack Renner Distinguished Service to Oklahoma Science Education Award. It is certainly well deserved. Here's why he got it:
Posted by Ed Brayton at 8:50 AM • 5 Comments
September 30, 2011
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PZ writes about a guy showing up at his blog challenging him to debate Bob Enyart, a completely whacko evangelist from Colorado. I first encountered Enyart when he had a TV show syndicated on Christian stations, including one on the cable where I was living about 15 years ago. It was endlessly amusing. I used to call in once in a while.
It turns out the troll commenter is the producer of Enyart's radio show. And he had some really funny things to say. Like this:
Posted by Ed Brayton at 9:08 AM • 13 Comments
September 28, 2011
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I'm sure you've noticed an amusing commenter by the name of Elijah Saatori recently. He showed up in the comments of my post about Nick Matzke and displayed some serious crazy and stupid. Turns out he's a Ron Wyatt acolyte, leaving a link to this post about Wyatt discovering the real Noah's Ark. And he issued this very funny challenge:
One last chance to study the REAL Truth. Click my name above, IF you dare !!!!!
Posted by Ed Brayton at 9:02 AM • 229 Comments
September 27, 2011
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Here's one of the funniest things you'll read this week. Our old friend Ellis Washington writes about Richard Dawkins, the wingnuts and their ignorant stance on evolution in his latest column.
Dawkins, in ablog entry, attacked Perry:There is nothing unusual about Gov. Rick Perry. Uneducated fools can be found in every country and every period of history, and they are not unknown in high office. What is unusual about today's Republican [P]arty (I disavow the ridiculous 'GOP' nickname, because the party of Lincoln and Theodore Roosevelt has lately forfeited all claim to be considered 'grand') ... Ignorance and lack of education are positive qualifications, bordering on obligatory. Intellect, knowledge and linguistic mastery are mistrusted by Republican voters, who, when choosing a president, would apparently prefer someone like themselves over someone actually qualified for the job.
Posted by Ed Brayton at 9:45 AM • 20 Comments
September 26, 2011
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The Dallas Observer reports on creationist material found on a teacher's online bulletin board in the Dallas public schools:
Turns out, Rick Perry was right after all.What you see at right is a slide I received last night from a fellow Dallas Independent School District parent. It was, until this morning, available on the district's Curriculum Central website, accessible only to teachers and administration and a resource for instructors needing further materials to flesh out what's being taught in class.
Posted by Ed Brayton at 8:52 AM • 16 Comments
September 23, 2011
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While Kent Hovind serves time in the big house -- and no, I don't mean U of M's football stadium -- he has others continuing his perfect track record of saying things that are either utterly dishonest or mind-numbingly idiotic. One of them is Paul Taylor, who is now attacking Sir David Attenborough in the same moronic way that ol' Kent would if he wasn't busy talking to God in prison.
He begins with this rather amusing statement:
Posted by Ed Brayton at 9:10 AM • 22 Comments
September 22, 2011
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My friend Dan Quinn, who does such a great job as the communications director of the Texas Freedom Network, emailed me after my post the other day about the new law in Texas that allows local school boards to purchase textbooks not approved by the State board of Education.
He said that while TFN shares my concerns about local school boards trying to put creationist materials into classrooms, there's something I missed in my report. The new law also includes a requirement that schools report any such purchases to the Texas Education Agency, which will make it easier for groups like TFN to monitor them and respond if they do purchase creationist textbooks.
Posted by Ed Brayton at 9:12 AM • 5 Comments
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