A Rant Against Idiocy

Ken AshfordRight Wing Punditry/IdiocyLeave a Comment

PZ Myers has had it up to here with the morons on the religious right who continue to — well, lie — about evolution out of either (a) intentional ignorance or (b) cognitive dissonence:

I know what some people are thinking: just don’t call them "stupid" or a "moron", it distracts from the scientific argument. Of course it does; but one thing I’ve learned over the years is that this is not a scientific debate. The scientific part was settled a century ago, and evolution won, hands down. There is absolutely no legitimate, intelligent argument against evolutionary theory right now. This is not to say that we know everything or that the theory is complete or that we expect no major revisions; it means that evolution in a broad sense is an inarguable fact, and what we need to know now are details and mechanisms. The earth is billions of years old, species are all related to one another, and there has been a complex and ongoing pattern of change over the course of all of that time. All of that has been supported by multiple interlocking lines of evidence uncovered by the work of thousands of people, rechecked and verified by thousands more. That’s just not going to be seriously challenged by anyone sensible, let alone some ranting guy who took a general science course in high school.

The big picture is done. The ships have sailed, they’ve discovered the coastline of the New World, they’ve established a few thriving colonies—and there’s a huge, exciting continent to explore. Meanwhile, we have a few lunatics in the Old World who have clamped their eyelids shut and are screaming that they can’t see it.

So what’s the argument about? Not science, that’s for sure. The opponents of evolution don’t know any. They are effective political agents who are attacking the enterprise of science without addressing the scientific issues seriously. They have been relying on their opponent’s hesitation or aloofness to escape criticism of their competence or ignorance. They shout with authority when they possess none.

You know what? It’s time to stop that.

When someone lies, and tells you that increasing numbers of scientists are opposing the evolutionary ‘paradigm’, shoot them down, but also be blunt: call ’em a liar. Don’t let them get away with pretending this is an honest debate between sincere opponents. It’s an argument with a shameless liar.

When they parade their ignorance and try to claim that scientists have never discovered any transitional fossils, hand them a list, and make it clear to everyone that they are stupid. They are ignorant. Don’t let them skip over it and move on to yet another issue that they will misrepresent: stop everything cold at that point and hammer on the fact that this person is not competent, is not informed, is unaware of the basic facts that he is railing against.

Seriously. If you went to a doctor, and he didn’t know which end of the stethoscope to stick in his ears, would you let him go on to do open-heart surgery on you? Would you continue to call him "doctor", or should you leave the quack’s office and look for someone who knows what they are doing? Why do we allow pseudoscientists and creationists to babble on, moving on from one lie to one distortion to one outright crazy assertion to another?

Slap ’em down. Anyone who tries to tell you that the world is 6000 years old or that evolutionary biology is a failure is an idiot. They don’t deserve your patience.

He’s right. 

Look, there is nothing wrong, and many things right, with the Bible or religion or faith.  But to place EVERY religious tenet — no matter how silly — higher than the mantle of repeatedly verified scientific fact (which some would argue is God-given ability of man) is simply backwater bullshit.  One can believe in God and religion and have faith AND be intelligent.  And that’s what people should strive for.  But stupidity and ignorance should not be allowed to flourish behind the skirts of piety.

“Why wasn’t letting Schiavo die a Christian option, too?”

Ken AshfordAssisited Suicide/Schiavo, Godstuff, Health CareLeave a Comment

It’s a damn fine question, asked by (among many others) the Rev. Frederick Schmidt, an Episcopal priest and theologian at Southern Methodist University in Dallas, according to this wonderful article in the St. Petersburg Times:

"I think the religious right is captive to a medical, scientific description of life that equates merely to survival," said Schmidt, director of spiritual life and formation at SMU’s Perkins Graduate School of Theology.

"But Christians can say no, life is broader than that . . . and to let someone go under these circumstances is perfectly appropriate."

He and other scholars say the religious, moral argument in the Schiavo case was largely one-sided. Though polls show a strong majority of mainline Protestants disapproved of Congress’ actions, they and their religious leaders allowed conservative Christians to carry the debate, as they’ve done with embryonic stem cell research and gay marriage.

It’s more than academic. Just as conservatives realized 20 years ago they could not afford to sequester themselves from public affairs, moderates risk becoming culturally and politically irrelevant if they withdraw.

Evangelical Christians "have become the moral edge in the country, because there’s no one else articulating a moral religious view," said Dr. Robert Blendon, professor of health policy and political analysis at Harvard University.

"Something has happened to the moderate, mainstream Protestant church. They should be arguing this is a moral issue, and there is another side."

The dispute over Schiavo has been cast in terms of the religious versus the secular. But that’s an artificial line, "because most Americans want some sort of moral religious perspective in their lives," he said.

The moral judgments that help us decide when life begins help us decide when life ends. The Catholic church teaches that life begins at conception; it used to teach that life began at quickening, some 40 days into pregnancy. Are we dead when our brain no longer functions? Or only when our heart stops?

"Science can never adjudicate the boundary between life and death," said Dr. Barbara Koenig, a medical anthropologist and former head of the Center for Biomedical Ethics at Stanford University. "That is fundamentally a social assessment."

It doesn’t help that many of the terms – brain death, coma, persistent vegetative state – are largely subjective. "People think these are real states that exist in nature, and we can somehow magically measure them using machines," Koenig said. "No, no, no. It’s extremely difficult."

So let’s celebrate the end of Terri’s tortured life this Easter, as we should celebrate the end of ALL torture.

For Easter . . .

Ken AshfordRandom MusingsLeave a Comment

Peeps A bunch of Peeps links . . . and some info courtesy of the Washington Post:

  • In the past three years, Peeps consumption has surged by more than 100 million a year; Americans eat an average of 2.3 Peeps apiece each spring.
  • Certainly Peeps are eaten in a variety of ways: fresh, stale, warm, microwaved, frozen, fricasseed, roasted and sometimes even as a pizza topping, says [Peeps spokes woman Milena] DeLuca. Many fans say Peeps are tastiest after they have hardened for two to three weeks. Others find them most satisfying when they bite their heads off first.

  • The newest Peeps craze is Peeps jousting, according to DeLuca. To see two Peeps joust, insert a toothpick into the chest of each, place them 1-1/2 toothpicks apart in a microwave, and nuke them for no more than 10 seconds

AND, as an added bonus, The Catholic Herald gives us the low-down on those annual nagging Easter questions:

What about the Easter bunny? The actual word Easter is derived from the word Eoster (also spelled Eastre), the name of the Teutonic goddess of the rising light of day and Spring, and the annual sacrifices associated with her. (Keep in mind that while the Romance languages used the root word for Passover to denote "Easter," as mentioned previously, the German and English languages "baptized" the word Eoster.) Spring is a season of fertility, life, and abundance. In Teutonic mythology, Eoster’s pet bird laid eggs in baskets and hid them. On a whim, Eoster transformed her pet bird into a rabbit, who continued to lay eggs. 

In other words, the religious leaders of the day "borrowed" (i.e., stole) secular traditions and incorporated them into religious celebration, making the whole religious thing more palatable to the heathen masses.  Like the Christmas tree, which obviously had nothing to do with Christ’s birth (a lot of fir trees in Bethlehem, were there?). 

Hey, I have no problem with P.R. and making religion more accessible to the masses.  I just think people oughta know the truth, is all.

Terri and the GOP

Ken AshfordAssisited Suicide/Schiavo, RepublicansLeave a Comment

Finally finally finally it looks like Terri Schiavo is going to slip quietly into the great beyond, as she wished.  As I would wish for myself.  As most would wish for themselves.  By refusing to give the Schindlers yet another bite at yet another apple, repeating the same arguments already heard, the “little Eichmans” (as wackos on the Christian right are calling Terri supporters these days) of the United States Supreme Court have followed in the shoes of the “little Eichmans” of the Eleventh Circuit, and the “little Eichman” of the Florida federal district court, not to mention the “little Eichmans” of the Florida state judicial system, not to mention the newly-minted “little Eichmans” of the Florida legislature who refused to pass a law giving Jeb Bush (no little Eichman, he) power to take Terri Schiavo into custody.

Meanwhile, some on the right of the political spectrum are taking a rare and introspective look at their party.  Instapundit openly wonders about a “conservative crackup” in light of its “fair-weather federalism”, and another conservative blogger of note, John Cole, blatently proclaims the death of modern conservatism. 

Seeing this political cannibalism coming from the right (rather than the left) warms me.  And I am reminded of days many many years ago when, at the age of ten (as I was becoming poltically aware), I watched a Republican party self-implode with disgust at President Nixon and Watergate. 

Seems like it was only weeks ago when Bush was boasting of his mandate, doesn’t it?  Kind of hard to make that statement now, when his approval is at an all-time low, and approval of Republicans in Congress is at its lowest since they seized congressional power.

Whether any or all of this sticks remains to be seen, so . . . no victory dances.  But this certainly has played well for the left — even in the short term — who really can’t take much credit in bringing the downfall about.  As we have always said, the Republicans want power and control of your bedroom, not to mention your soul, and will do everything and anything to get it.  We weren’t lying, folks.  And the GOP politicians, by stepping on the principles which the Republican party was rebuilt, have proven themselves to be more blatently power-hungry and freedom-of-choice-disrespecting than most Republicans can stomach.

Dr. Cheshire Cat

Ken AshfordAssisited Suicide/Schiavo, Health CareLeave a Comment

Jeb Bush has found a neurologist who claims that Terri Schiavo’s diagnosis ha been wrong all these years.  He claims that Terri, rather than being in a "persistent vegetative state", is actually in what the medical profession calls a "minimal conscious state".

That doctor’s name is Dr. Cheshire.  Let’s take a look at him, shall we?

Perhaps one place to look is a poem he wrote entitled Exit Ramp.  It appears in a magazine called Ethics & Medicine.  And what is Ethics & Medicine magazine?  Why, it bills itself as a magazine for "guidance to a perplexed world from the Judeo-Christian worldview". 

Uh-oh.  I see there this is going. 

Anyway, here is an excerpt from Dr. Cheshire’s "Exit Ramp":

And if a noble benefit
Is gained by choking respiration
Then why withhold from those unfit
To voice their fatal last petition?

Such killing fast degenerates,
Despite concern for patients’ best,
Into a plot that terminates
Without explicit prerequest.

And exercise of “right to die,”
If done with regularity,
Would drive the expectation high
That suicide is one’s duty.

The notion of a right to die
In reason finds approval nil,
From such a harsh judicial lie
Would obligate doctors to kill.

Okay.  So it is pretty clear that we know this Dr. Cheshire’s bias even before looking at his evidence.  But what is his evidence that Terri is in a "minimally conscious state"?

Let’s look closely at the key quote from Dr. Cheshire’s affidavit:

"Although Terri did not demonstrate during our 90-minute visit compelling evidence of verbalization, conscious awareness or volitional behavior," he wrote, "yet the visitor has the distinct sense of the presence of a living human being who seems at some level to be aware of some things around her."

(Source)

That’s medical evidence?  Gee, there are no compelling evidence of conscious awareness, but he gets the distinct sense that she is aware of things around her?

You know what? I get the distinct sense that Dr. Cheshire is letting his personal bias interfere with his medical objectivity.  Perhaps he sees dead people, too.  In any event, well-meaning as he might be, he clearly cannot be taken seriously when his "medical" evidence is nothing more than a sixth sense, goosebumps, hairs on the back of his neck, gut feelings, and intuition.

UPDATE:  Seems Dr. Cheshire isn’t very well respected, or known, in the medical community.  Read this from Dr. Elizabeth Whalen, founder of the American Council on Science and Health (and a lifelong Republican):

While we at American Council on Science and Health have been determined to remain on the sidelines of the raging national debate about the fate of Terri Schiavo (this is largely a legal and ethical issue, not a scientific one), we cannot remain silent about the outrageous misrepresentation of scientific facts about this case that has been occurring in the past ten days.

The medical reality of Ms. Schiavo’s case is this: She has been in what is medically referred to as a "permanent vegetative state" for the past 15 years, ever since her heart temporarily stopped (probably due to the severe effects of an eating disorder), depriving her brain of oxygen. Brain scans indicate that her cerebral cortex ceased functioning — probably just after she experienced cardiac arrest in 1990. Ms. Schiavo’s CAT scan shows massive shrinking of the brain, and her EEG is flat. Physicians confirm that there is no electrical activity coming from her brain. While the family video repeatedly shown on television suggests otherwise, her non-functioning cortex precludes cognition, including any ability to interact or communicate with people or show any signs of awareness. Dozens of experts over the years who have examined Ms. Schiavo agree that there is no hope of her recovering — even though her body, face and eyes (if she is given food and hydration) might continue to move for decades to come.

Those are the harsh facts.

Yesterday, there was another public challenge to Ms. Schiavo’s well-established diagnosis: Florida governor Jeb Bush announced that a "very renowned neurologist," Dr. William Cheshire, had concluded that Terri had been misdiagnosed and that she was really only in a state of "minimal consciousness" rather than a persistent vegetative state. He used this "new diagnosis" to argue that "this new information raises serious concerns and warrants immediate action."

As it turns out, Dr. Cheshire is not "renowned" as a neurologist — his limited publications focus on areas including headache pain and his opposition to stem cell research. Dr. Cheshire never conducted a physical examination of Ms. Schiavo, nor did he do neurological tests. Dr. Cheshire is director of biotech ethics at the Center for Bioethics and Human Dignity, a nonprofit group founded by "more than a dozen leading Christian bioethicists." Everyone is free to be guided by a personal agenda — and it is clear that Dr. Cheshire has his.

Let’s call tripe when tripe is served. All of us are entitled to our own personal views on the Schiavo case, what her fate should be, and who should make decisions for her. But all of us should be united in rejecting politically-generated junk science.

ZZZzzzzzzingggg!!!!

Thoughts Of A Dreamer

Ken AshfordBloggingLeave a Comment

Here is the blog of Jeff Weise, the 16-year-old Minnesota high school gunman who killed nine people before committing suicide.

And if you really want to look into his disturbed mind, visit The Smoking Gun to view Weise’s self-made Flash animation.  Screen captures from that animation are below:

0323051weise1_1

Moblogging A Rainbow

Ken AshfordBloggingLeave a Comment

So I was driving to rehearsal last night and there was a tornado warning but instead of a tornado, there was this amazing rainbow, so I took my cell phone and took a picture of it (through the windshield and rain while driving) and sent it to this blog.

Technology is cool, but nature is cooler.

Full Eleventh Circuit To Terri’s Parents: No

Ken AshfordAssisited Suicide/Schiavo, Courts/LawLeave a Comment

Another victory for Terri in a 24 hour span.  The vote was 10-2.  And this is a conservative appellate court.

I feel bad for the parents, but hopefully all these NEW courts going against them will help them to come to grips with reality.

UPDATE:  It’s not clear from the press reports whether the full appellate court affirmed the appellate panel’s decision, or merely refused to open the case up to the full appellate court.  I THINK it is the latter.  Although truthfully, it doesn’t make a whole lot of difference.  The next stop is the Supreme Court either way.

Speaking of which, this is what Scalia wrote in his Cruzan concurrence (Cruzan was the 1990 right-to-die case involving another young woman on life-supporting machinery, and whether or not to pull the plug, so to speak):

While I agree with the Court’s analysis today, and therefore join in its opinion, I would have preferred that we announce, clearly and promptly, that the federal courts have no business in this field; that American law has always accorded the State the power to prevent, by force if necessary, suicide – including suicide by refusing to take appropriate measures necessary to preserve one’s life; that the point at which life becomes “worthless,” and the point at which the means necessary to preserve it become “extraordinary” or “inappropriate,” are neither set forth in the Constitution nor known to the nine Justices of this Court any better than they are known to nine people picked at random from the Kansas City telephone directory. . . .

That doesn’t bode well for Schiavo’s parents.

What Would Jesus Do?

Ken AshfordCongress, Godstuff, Health CareLeave a Comment

Beautifully put by Heriod at The American Street

Dateline Jerusalem, 29 a.d. — The ongoing controversy surrounding whether or not Jesus of Nazareth has the right to voluntarily die on the cross, took a dramatic turn yesterday.

Roman Senator, Billius Fristus Felinocidicus announced that in a late night, weekend session, the Senate had passed an imperial edict, signed by Emperor Tiberius W. Caesar, declaring that Jesus of Nazareth did not have the right to voluntarily relinquish his life, and that the decision is up to his parents. Caesar quickly returned from his summer retreat at Capri to affix his seal to the document. Upon sealing it, Tiberius, who is widely credited with the assasination of all his major rivals for the throne, declared that he would always “err on the side of life.”

Jesus’ legal representative, Saul of Tarses, expressed outrage at Rome’s intrusion into his client’s personal decision. “Jesus ben Joseph has a job to do. He believes he is fulfilling God’s plan to redeem the souls of man by dying on the cross. This is his right and his mission. This unprecedented interference by Roman politicians is nothing but grandstanding.” Fristus is believed a candidate to be Ceaser’s handpicked successor.

When reached for comment at his jail cell in Jerusalem, Jesus of Nazareth replied in a short statement “forgive them, for they know not what they are doing.”

Jesus’ mother, Mary, expressed relief. “I don’t care what Jesus says now,” she said in a statement. “Once, when he was 11 years old, he said he wanted to be a carpenter, not the messiah. I’m just glad that Senator Fristus and Praetor Tomarius Delayulous Pecuniarius see this for what it is.”

Leading juridical scholars agreed that the law was unprecedented. “Usually, Rome condemns people to die as traitors to the state or in wars. Actually passing a law that says you can’t voluntarily relinquish your life has never been done before,” said Rabbi Alanus Dershaiaphus.

Religious fundamentalists praised the decision. “We are absolutely thrilled by this decision,” said the Teacher of Righteousness, the leader of the radical Essene Jewish sect. “It reinforces that when people think of the Roman Empire, they think “culture of life.”

South Determined To Stay Ignorant

Ken AshfordRight Wing Punditry/IdiocyLeave a Comment

This really takes the cake.  Showing of an IMAX volcano film is being denied by IMAX theaters in the South because it suggests that observable similarities occur between the DNA of species

Buzzelli said while the Charleston theater doesn’t rule out showing "Volcanoes of the Deep Sea" in the future, she considers people’s religious views when showing films.

The film makes a connection between human DNA and microbes inside undersea volcanoes. Buzzelli said the handling of evolution was considered in her decision.

IMAX theaters in Texas, Georgia and the Carolinas have declined to show the film, said Pietro Serapiglia who handles distribution for Stephen Low, the film’s director and producer who is from Montreal.

"I find it’s only in the South," Serapiglia said.

This is quite sad when educational films are rejected for being, you know, educational and factually correct.

Schiavo Latest

Ken AshfordAssisited Suicide/Schiavo, Health Care, Supreme CourtLeave a Comment

Actually, there is remarkably little to say.  The debate rages on, and the debate about the debate rages on.  Meanwhile, the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals panel affirmed the lower court’s decision to replace the feeding tube, and the Schindlers are now appealing to the full panel of the 11th Circuit.  The next stop after that, and probably the last one as fas as the courts are concerned, is the U.S. Supreme Court. 

Most think that SCOTUS will not touch this matter, since they have refused to hear it three times.  I am unsure.  It is a LITTLE different this time because this comes to SCOTUS based on a very unique and unconstututional law passed by Congress only a few days ago — the Terri Schiavo Act.  The U.S. Supreme Court might have something to say about a law made for only one person, as well as some of the issues of federalism — i.e., Congress can’t effectively overturn a state court judgment made pursuant to state laws.

Meanwhile, the political fallout against Republicans in Congress grows:

"My party is demonstrating that they are for states’ rights unless they don’t like what states are doing… There are going to be repercussions from this vote. There are a number of people who feel that the government is getting involved in their personal lives in a way that scares them."

— Rep. Christopher Shays (R-CT), quoted by the New York Times, on the congressional vote to intervene in the medical care of Terri Schiavo.

Sing it, Christopher, Republican from Connecticut!

Not being a Republican, it’s hard for me to say . . . but I think certain Republicans have hijacked the GOP.  Check this out:

2000 Republican Platform: "Medical decision-making should be in the hands of physicians and their patients."

2004 Republican Platform: "We must attack the root causes of high health care costs by… putting patients and doctors in charge of medical decisions."

Wow.  Talk about a flip-flop.

And here’s another nice bit of hypocrisy: Republican (and heart doctor) Bill Frist (who diagnosed Terri based on a video) wrote a book in 1989 called Transplant where he advocated changing the definition of "brain dead" to include anencephalic babies. Anencephalic babies are in the same state as Terri Schiavo except that she suffered a physical trauma that put her into a vegetative state while the anencephalic babies are born that way. Read more here.

Anyway, there’s a lot of good editorials and commentary out there, but they are all starting to say the same thing.  If there’s one that encapsulates my sentiments, it woud be this one from Molly Ivans.

And the nutjob editorial award goes to Cal Thomas, who argues that we libruls allow Terri Schiavo to be killed, because it is "part of a flow" which ultimately will include killing off the elderly so that Social Security will remain solvent.

And the so-called "Christians" at Renew America are sharpening their knives and looking at Jeb Bush.  Apparently, they expect Jeb to call out the National Guard and force that tube back into Terri’s body, dammit!!

Minnesota Rampage

Ken AshfordCrimeLeave a Comment

News organizations are beginning to reveal the name of the high school kid who went on a murder-suicide rampage in Minnesota yesterday, but bloggers have known that his name was Jeff Weise.

This is a link to a Google-cached page (an page on the web which no longer exists, but has been preserved by Google) in which the kid writes a message of interest directed to the American Nazi Party.

It’s chilling, especially this entry from April 19, 2004:

By the way, I’m being blamed for a threat on the school I attend because someone said they were going to shoot up the school on 4/20, Hitlers birthday, and just because I claim being a National Socialist, guess whom they’ve pinned?

And this entry dated May 26, 2004

But the school threat passed and I was cleared as a suspect, I’m glad for that. I don’t much care for jail, I’ve never been there and I don’t plan on it.

Other 293 Million Americans Waiting For Congress To Pass Bills For Them

Ken AshfordCongressLeave a Comment

The success of Congress’s record-breakingly speedy passage of a bill specifically crafted for the parents and brother of persistently-vegetative Terry Shiavo induced a furor this morning as America’s other 293 million inhabitants eagerly awaited their own "personal legislation."

"I can’t wait," said seven-year-old Terry Dooley, who has petitioned Congress to pass legislation ordering Schwinn to give him a new bike.

Americans couldn’t be happier that Congress is finally doing something for them. "Now, this is your government at work," said Piper Cobb, who has asked Congress for a law requiring credit card companies to give him an exceptionally low rate of interest with no late payment fees.

From Tom Burka’s "Opinions You Should Have".