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Texans Read This

More stupidity out of Florida. Two other counties (Baker and Holmes) had passed similar, IDiotic resolutions.

http://www.flascience.org/wp/?p=379

ETA: Baker County is Okefenokee Swamp land. Holmes, like Taylor, is part of Floribama.

Is it possible for the subject of this thread to be changed to "Texans and Floridians or should a separate thread be started? Off the top of my head the only Floridians we have are at the JREF, but I know there must be more.
 
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Want to get your master of science degree in creationism? It may be possible soon in Texas.

http://www.upi.com/NewsTrack/Top_News/2008/01/10/texas_official_call_it_creationism_degree/1799/

If you want the degree you'll have to agree to the following terms:

The program is open only to students who believe that God created the universe in six days and that those who deny Jesus Christ face eternal damnation, the newspaper said. Adultery, homosexuality and fornication are banned.
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Of course, you can get that in many churches. The part that scared me the most was, ". . . the planned curriculum includes evolution and those who earn the master's degree would be qualified to teach in public schools." What?! Teach what in public schools? Science?

Also see:

http://www.texscience.org/reviews/2007dec20-press-release.htm

http://scienceblogs.com/pharyngula/2008/01/a_clever_compromise.php
 
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Thanks for all this info. I live in Dallas and had heard about this.

I go to school at UT Dallas and there is a biology instructor here who is an ID proponent. When I complained to the department they said it was impossible for students to not eventually accept evolution because it was so evident in the science of genetics.

I think this reflects a tendency in science to have this live and let live approach to creationists.

UT Dallas is not a religious university it is a state university, it has also hosted one nobel laureate in physics and one in chemistry. It is an embarrassment that biology is taught by a creationist.

But how can I do anything about this when our current state government has such a strong endorsement of creationism.
 
Small world, I drive by UTD many mornings when I go home after work.

I know that there has been an active C/ID group there for at least 5 years. I seem to recall one of their proponents debating someone from North Texas Skeptics a while back.
 
There is no active group any more, but its a common view, even in the life-science departments by students.

There is at least one ID-proponent lecturer in biology at UTD, in the biochem lab.

Are you in North Texas Skeptics?
 
mindcore said:
There is no active group any more, but its a common view, even in the life-science departments by students.
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I'm not really surprized. Since UTD added the undergrad cirriculum, and this is Texas, I'd be shocked if that wasn't the case. It's still a bit disappointing. One of the few proud moments I've had in recent years was when I read the Baylor statements by the biology and geology departments regarding an old Earth and evolution.

A gal I was involved with took some undergrad work there in 2000 and was a cheerleader (I have this awesome photo of her planting a kiss on Comet), so I'm not entirely disappointed with the expansion of the courses offered in the 1990s. ;)

mindcore said:
There is at least one ID-proponent lecturer in biology at UTD, in the biochem lab.
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Don't be all enigmatic. S/he is a professor at a UT system university and if this person is so outspoken about C/ID views, s/he won't mind being outed. Link to his/her homepage?

mindcore said:
Are you in North Texas Skeptics?
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Not any more, but only because my work schedule prevents me from attending any of their meetings. I worked with a few guys at Alcatel (go north on Waterview past the driving range, over 190 and take the first left when it turns to Independance in Plano) who were officers in NTS, but they have since left the company. They're a great bunch of folks and if you can't make it downtown for their monthly lectures, try their dinner meet-ups which are normally held in Northeast Dallas - usually in a casual dining eatery near Central and Forest (at least in the past).
 
I'll have to check it out then.

As far as the instructor, his name is Scott Rippel. Since I don't have 50 posts yet I can't link anything.

But soon, oh so soon.
 
mindcore said:
I'll have to check it out then.

As far as the instructor, his name is Scott Rippel. Since I don't have 50 posts yet I can't link anything.

But soon, oh so soon.
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Here you go. :)
http://www.utdallas.edu/biology/faculty/index.html

Scott A. Rippel, PhD
Dr. Rippel joined the faculty in 1999 as a Senior Lecturer. His primary instructional duties include teaching a Biotechnology Laboratory BIO2V00) for non-majors,and the junior-level Biochemistry Laboratory (BIO4380).

He also functions as the Undergraduate Laboratory Facilities Coordinator and serves on both the Undergraduate Education Committee and the Health Professions Advisory Committee. Dr. Rippel received a B.S. in Biochemistry from Texas A&M (1988), an Associates in Business Management from the University of Maryland Overseas Division (1993), a M.S. (1996) and PhD (1999) in Molecular and Cell Biology from The University of Texas at Dallas. His PhD thesis involved structure function analysis of selection of the translational start site codon. He is a member of the American Association for the Advancement of Science and Sigma Xi.
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Hey looking over this thing again,

does anyone in here follow the work of the late great Molly Ivins, it makes me feel like the Texas state government is beyond backwards, and almost beyond redemption.
 
Just now saw this thread... every time our state does something stupid re: science and education, I cringe in utter disbelief. Great to see these being addressed.

I'd admired Molly Ivins for years, for a variety of reasons, but didn't follow her work closely. I do remember pretty much agreeing with everything I read by her.
 
mindcore said:
does anyone in here follow the work of the late great Molly Ivins, it makes me feel like the Texas state government is beyond backwards, and almost beyond redemption.
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I read the DMN, not the Startlegram so I didn't see many of her colums. I did like her Moxie and saw one of the last appearances she made on C-SPAN and you could tell the cancer was back at that time. IIRC, Tricky is a big fan of her.
 
Molly Ivins

Molly was definitely an ally to free thinking Texans.

She would occasionally write about her experiments with alternative health retreats but she would usually mock them in the process.
 
I was just reading through some old mailings from Texas Citizens for Science and learned that ICR relocated to Dallas last year.

I'm aghast to learn this!!!

I'm even more aghast that it's true.

edit - 1806 Royal Lane, which Google maps shows being on the west of Stemmons. ZO, you might be even closer to them than I am.
 
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Oh crap. I thought I'd recognized that sign when driving by... I'm a mile away from them. Thankfully they're technically in Dallas, and I'm in Irving/Las Colinas, but still... they are literally DOWN THE ROAD from me. *shudder*
 
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