A boy asks him "How old do you think the Earth is?" and Perry answers "I don't have any idea" admitting that "...it goes back a long, long ways.." and "...I'm not sure anybody actually knows completely and absolutely how long ago..." Then he references a question the boy's mother must have just asked him about evolution calling it a "...theory with gaps in it..." and then makes a truly astonishing and completely false statement.
The Governor of Texas told the boy that "In Texas, we teach both creationism and evolution in our public schools..." Holy shit! First off, this is false. Texas does not teach creationism in public schools, although attempts have been made by members of the Texas State Board of Education to introduce "Intelligent Design" (mostly unsuccessfully due to national attention). So, not only is the Governor of Texas totally out of touch with a major educational controversy in his state, he apparently supports the unconstitutional teaching of creationism in public schools (this is not an opinion - numerous courts have ruled that creationism and intelligent design - its better-dressed cousin - are unconstitutional in schools).
Perry sure as hell tries to get creationism taught in Texas public schools, he's appointed young-Earth creationists numerous times to the State Board of Education (which makes decisions on how science is taught and what textbooks are used). The good news, however, is that just a few weeks ago sanity prevailed and the use of intelligent design textbook supplements was rejected.
Perry also recently said the following about climate change:
"I do believe that the issue of global warming has been politicized. I think there are a substantial number of scientists who have manipulated data so that they will have dollars rolling into their projects. I think we’re seeing it almost weekly or even daily, scientists who are coming forward and questioning the original idea that man-made global warming is what is causing the climate to change. Yes, our climates change. They’ve been changing ever since the earth was formed. But I do not buy into, that a group of scientists, who in some cases were found to be manipulating this data.”
Yes, Rick, it's a great conspiracy. You're on to us. Climatologists lie about climate change, biologists lie about evolution, geologists lie about the age of the Earth (astronomers too). All those PhD eggheads are just living high on the hog sucking at the government teat of grant money and telling lies to all the good God-fearing folk of this country. Know why? Because they hate God, that's why Rick. They hate God and bought into the lies of the enemy - Satan himself. Yes, I'm being sarcastic but there are a large number of Americans out there who truly believe this - I've met some locally.
Anyway...
Fuck you Rick! I know people working on climate change and they are not manipulating data. They're not making shit up. They're out there in the field, gathering data year-after-year, and publishing in peer-reviewed journals. Some of these highly-trained, experienced scientists with PhDs are also living on almost poverty wages. Some have trouble staying employed because they're on soft-money (grants), and not in a tenure-track faculty position (because, due to budget cuts, there are essentially no faculty positions out there anymore, your precious darlings in college are mostly being taught by part-timers). Meanwhile the federal, state, and local governments cut, cut, cut money for education and basic scientific research on something as important as climate change THAT WILL AFFECT EVERY LAST MAN, WOMAN, AND CHILD ON THIS IDIOTIC PLANET!
Are we really going to elect this fucking idiot to the presidency of the United States? This country can't sustain more cuts to education and scientific research and the inauguration of this anti-intellectual liar. ("Tell us how you really feel, Steve").
I live in Housotn, Texas and could not agree with you more.
ReplyDeleteRick Perry is an ass. The fact that he thinks that Creationism is taught it schools just shows how much he doesn't care about the Texas education system.
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