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So I've seen quite a number of impassioned mentions of Bush 'endorsing' intelligent design, both on my friends list and in articles like this, this, and even this. Now, I am no fan of Bush or his administration, but I almost side with them here - in as much as he didn't actually endorse it. If you look at the transcript, you will see that the pointed question-and-answer goes like this:
Q: So the answer accepts the validity of intelligent design as an alternative to evolution?So a reporter backs him into a corner, and not only does he try to say as little about the issue as possible, pulling the old change-the-question gambit, he almost slips up and comes out against ID. So, yeah, he is a typical politician, so he's trying not to raise the right's hackles, but he tried his best to avoid supporting it either. And yet, the reporter who put him on the spot gets to run the headline that he supports ID, and every liberal in the world repeats with morbid glee that he's an insane, despicable enemy of science. The system contrives to invent repugnance even when its worst offender backs off, and the ultimate result is the same. It's no surprise that our political machines will churn on regardless, but it's sad that we are so throughly drawn into repeating what our opponents want to be true.
A: I think that part of education is to expose people to different schools of thought, and I'm not suggesting -- you're asking me whether or not people ought to be exposed to different ideas, and the answer is yes.
Distractions, distractions...
I breathe deep, heavy, sad sighs whenever the media and the public grab hold of an issue like ID in schools, or Terry Shivo, or ten commandments on courthouse lawns...they are SMOKESCREENS, and the genius of the Bush planners and handlers (not GW himself, of course) is their ability to raise and propagate these issues in the public consciousness, where they scream so loudly that everyone ignores, such as...
- the fact that over 82 million Americans (including many people I know, including my sister-in-law) have no health insurance
- the fact that so many jobs in America don't pay a living wage
- the fact that higher education and stable housing have become all-but-unaffordable
- the fact that public services, including those same schools in whose curriculum GW takes such an interest in, are drastically underfunded
- the fact that, as Commander Collins aboard the shuttle pointed out today (as if we didn't know already), the planet's biosphere is in serious danger of collapse
Watching TV, reading newspapers, or browsing blogs, you would never think these issues even existed...you would think the biggest problems our country is facing is panic over some pretty white rich girl getting kidnapped in Aruba MONTHS ago.
Don't buy into it. Let's open up a dialogue about the REAL issues facing America. Heaven knows the Democrats aren't doing that...let's set an example in the online community.
- SW
Re: Distractions, distractions...
I don't think they're a smokescreen, I think they accurately reflect the petty and shortsighted interests of the public. Nonetheless, let's look at the real issues.
over 82 million Americans (including many people I know, including my sister-in-law) have no health insurance
so many jobs in America don't pay a living wage
higher education and stable housing have become all-but-unaffordable
public services, including those same schools in whose curriculum GW takes such an interest in, are drastically underfunded*
These are all the same problem, really - poor distribution of money, both in the budget and in individuals, which feed off each other. We could pay for universal health insurance (though it has no simple solution) and schools if the government had more money, or spent it less dumbly. With the possible exception of military spending, most Americans aren't willing to have other services cut back, or taxes raised, to achieve these ends. Of course, if taxes were lower and concerns about the US economy not keeping it depressed, the housing market might well go down, the wage go up, and everyone be happier. So what we really need is a balanced budget, so we can work towards spending more and taxing less (once we pay off the national debt, interest on which is something like 18% of our budget). Of course, that's rough in the short term (give it a try (http://www.nathannewman.org/nbs/)), which may be why neither major party, nor the vast majority of citizens, really wants to deal with it.
mmander Collins aboard the shuttle pointed out today (as if we didn't know already), the planet's biosphere is in serious danger of collapse
Oh? Do you have any hard numbers on this, because I've seen studies both ways, and it looks inconclusive, if not very positive.
Let's open up a dialogue about the REAL issues facing America...let's set an example in the online community.
The political blogosphere is 97% liberal**, so I suspect it will be pretty vapid from a debate standpoint. Then again, that's what we have now anyway.
*Of course, it's inevitable to make a grammatical error in a sentence about education.
**Genuine made-up statistic