He's baaaack . . .
Not Jeffrey Dahmer, thank goodness, but the Texan who squealed
JEFFREY DAHMER, SERIAL KILLER, BELIEVED IN EVOLUTION
Kelly Coghlan has an opinion letter in this morning's Lubbock Online in which he flaunts several familiar anti-science themes which are examined for your entertainment after the jump.
Coghlan: The "strengths and weaknesses" language rejected this time by the Texas State Board of Education was in place "for decades."
FACT: That language was added in 1998 to the Texas Essential Skills and Knowledge (TEKS), the Texas state science standards. Coghlan's math skills are just as weak as his science comprehension.
Coghlan: Darwin's "A fair result can be obtained only by fully stating and balancing the facts on both sides."
FACT: As Jeremy's shown in detail, this quotemine is
Coghlan: Oh no, without this language teachers can't discuss the weaknesses of evolution.
FACT: The language is now stronger: teachers will now be having students "analyze and evaluate" the evidence supporting scientific theories. "Analyzing and evaluating" evidence requires much more critical thinking than just memorizing "strengths and weaknesses." Why does Coghlan hate critical thinking?
Coghlan: Lubbock's representative on the Texas State Board of Education, Republican Bob Craig, voted to change the directive and replace it with "analyze and evaluate" evolution."
FACT: Here's what Coghlan had to say about Craig in the "Jeffrey Dahmer believed in evolution" email, with bolding by me:
Who voted to do this? All the Democrats plus 3 Republicans. The 3 Republicans are (1) Mr. Bob Craig of Lubbock (phone: XXX.XXX.XXXX; fax: XXX.XXX.XXXX), (2) Ms. Tincy Miller of Dallas (phone: XXX.XXX.XXXX; fax: XXX.XXX.XXXX), and (3) Ms. Patricia Hardy of Weatherford (phone: XXX.XXX.XXXX; fax: XXX.XXX.XXXX). All claim to be conservative Republicans. Bob Craig says he is a "strong Christian."
Strangely enough, Jeffrey Dahmer is credited with becoming a "strong Christian" sometime during his sentencing. So by Coghlan's logic, one can unrepentantly kill/eat other humans and still be considered a Real ChristianTM, but someone who votes for strong science education is just faking their faith. Got it.
Coghlan closed his email with
ACTION TO TAKE TODAY: (1) Make this a matter of prayer; (2) Read the below email for information; (3) Sign the Petition below; (4) Call, fax, and email the 3 Republicans named above; (5) Call, fax, and email your own Representative to the Board from your area; (6) Contact the other Democratic members of the Board and ask them to change their vote for the March meeting; (7) forward this email to everyone you know. This issue is worth fighting for. Thank you.
To help you translate:
(1) . . . but this isn't about religion, nope, no sirree.
(2) The email contains precious little information.
(3) The Petition is the standard anti-evolution petition.
(4) Overwhelm them with numbers because everyone knows that if an idea is popular it must be scientifically valid.
(5) same
(6) same
(7) Because a lie will travel half-way around the world before truth can get its boots on.
That last helps explain the effectiveness of the anti-evolution movement, by the way.
Blaming evolution for the actions of Jeffrey Dahmer, Stalin, Hitler, Pol Pot and that plumber who overcharged you is a common tactic of anti-evolution activists. (Alright, maybe not that last.) Those activists would like us to forget about the actions of figures such as Torquemada, Caligula, Nero, Vlad the Impaler, the Borgias, Ivan the Terrible, Genghis Khan . . . all who operated well before the 1859 debut of Darwin's "On the Origin of Species."
But I guess we have as much chance of Coghlan owning up to his mistakes as we do of Dahmer's ghost appearing.
posted by Cheryl Shepherd-Adams
