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Friday, November 18, 2005

Monkey Business

When Chuck Krauthammer starts agreeing with me, you know the apocalypse is well nigh, verily and forsooth.

Let's be clear. Intelligent design may be interesting as theology, but as science it is a fraud. It is a self-enclosed, tautological "theory" whose only holding is that when there are gaps in some area of scientific knowledge -- in this case, evolution -- they are to be filled by God. It is a "theory" that admits that evolution and natural selection explain such things as the development of drug resistance in bacteria and other such evolutionary changes within species but also says that every once in a while God steps into this world of constant and accumulating change and says, "I think I'll make me a lemur today." A "theory" that violates the most basic requirement of anything pretending to be science -- that it be empirically disprovable. How does one empirically disprove the proposition that God was behind the lemur, or evolution -- or behind the motion of the tides or the "strong force" that holds the atom together?

In order to justify the farce that intelligent design is science, Kansas had to corrupt the very definition of science, dropping the phrase " natural explanations for what we observe in the world around us," thus unmistakably implying -- by fiat of definition, no less -- that the supernatural is an integral part of science. This is an insult both to religion and science.


Amen. However, I submit that scientifically sensible conservatives like Chuck have been enablers of a sort -- they let it get this far because they were too busy cultivating the Cro-Magnon wing for political purposes. Well, this is what you get when you soft-pedal this nonsense under the guise of faux ecumenicism. They get emboldened, they start assuming that political equality subverts the laws of nature and grants them scientific equality as well. They start getting this insane idea that "both" sides of "the story" must be taught as if they were merely opposing viewpoints. Hell, who's science to say that the moon isn't made of green cheese? You ever been to the moon, smart guy?

So it's nice that Chuck is finally, erm, finding God on this one and laying down some wood, but it's going to take some effort to get the sheeple back into their holy corral and out of our science classes. The Dover case is going before the Supreme Court, regardless of the ruling, so we better pack a lunch.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Good point, Heywood, but I'd be wary of anything Chuck bothers to scribble. Here's my conjecture: I don't think Krauthammer has suddenly decided that enough is enough and that the Republicans must, after all, be seen to stand for (some sort of) reason. I mean, look at all the deeply irrational policies of the Bushy Dick administration, which Chuckie is all too happy to endorse like the cheap whore that he is.

I suspect the Cabbage Hammer has decided it's time for some payback to the knuckle-dragging "base" after morons with college degrees like him have been accused, by their own people, of being "elitist", in the wake of the Harriet Miers debacle. I bet that was a slight they couldn't forget--the Cro-Magnons stepping out of line and questioning the Conservative Establishment's pronunciamentos. Much like Abramoff with his hapless Indian clients, people like Chuckie and George "Triumph of the" Will expect the base to dutifully get their ever-expanding asses out and vote, or write letters on behalf of Jim Dobson--but not have any ideas or proposals of their own. But then, surprise, surprise! The wackos turn out to have a thing or two to say when it comes to nominations and policy making, and it ain't no Chuck Krauthammer that's gonna stop'em.

Boy, he must have been pissed! Mega-church neanderthals questioning their wisdom! Simply unforgivable. Time to put those morons where they belong. Well, good luck to him, I say. The Jesus crowd is on a roll these days, and, being in denial, these people don't know when to stop.

--Marius