Do Wackadoos Evolve?

Monday, February 23, 2009
I feel like The Metatron this morning - It never ends.

It seems that a young woman in Washington state named Kim Struiksma has decided that teaching evolution is Teh EEEvil, and is attempting to get an initiative on the state ballot that would ban this bit of blasphemy.

Specifically, the initiative would prohibit "state use of public money or lands for anything that denies or attempts to refute the existence of a supreme ruler of the universe, including textbooks, instruction or research."

Wow. Just...wow.

Even Ms. Struiksma's muse, the Reverend Tom Hoyle, who operates Bible and Sciences Ministries* out of Tacoma, thinks this is a crappy idea. Not because it violates the establishment clause, but because evolution is a legitimate scientific theory. Like most ID proponents, he thinks it's incomplete, but at least he has the sense to recognize that the idea some merit.**

As opposed to Ms. Struiksma, whose grasp of biology is apparently equalled only by her familiarity with the 1st Amendment.

Luckily, these wackadoos have some work to do before this piece of crap ends up on the ballot. The group requires 241,153 valid voter signatures by July 3rd to qualify the initiative. Here's hoping the registered voters of Washington state can see this for what it is, and laugh Ms. Struiksma and her retarded little initiative right off the public scene.

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*Yes, I did giggle like a school girl when I wrote "Bible and Science Ministries."

**Or he could be disavowing Ms. Struiksma's ideas to make his IDiocy look more mainstream by comparison. There's nothing like a freeze-dried wackaloon to make your wackadoo tendencies look less crazy, and preachers are typically second only to politicians when it comes to pandering.


H/T to Skepchick

11 comments:

vince said...

Ms. Struiksma needs some edumacation. Or maybe that's what she got instead of education. Evolution, per se, makes no claims as to the existence or non-existence of a supreme being. Therefore teaching it in school does not violate the first amendment. Therefore the initiative wouldn't prohibit teaching evolution in schools.

And yes, wackadoos evolve. They just don't evolve very much.

Janiece said...

Vince, that's pretty much my take on it, too, but this woman's position is so riddled with logical fallacy it's difficult to know where to begin (aside from pointing and laughing, I mean).

It seems like those who are "edumacated" really have a very poor grasp on the idea that evolution and faith are not necessarily mutually exclusive.

But maybe that's just me.

Jim Wright said...

Do Wackadoos Evolve?

No

Thordr said...

I'll refer you to Jim's Rule of Stupidity #2 corrilary #2, and rule #3.
My money is that it appears on the ballot and gets shot down in the election.

John the Scientist said...

Will. Not. Bite.

Eric said...

I think if you cross Wackadoo with Jigglypuff, they evolve into Megapuffadoo, but because I'm not actually an eight-year-old in the year 1999, I'm not 100% sure.

Also, what everybody else already said.

Janiece said...

John, come on, now. I wasn't directing this at you.

If I wanted to do that, I'd direct you here.

Hehe.

MWT said...

Someone is always doing something like that somewhere. Have been for decades.

Random Michelle K said...

No. They are devolving and becoming successively less intelligent over time.

Jeri said...

The basic concept here seems to be that you can vote on matters of fact and science and that democratic vote will alter that science.

It's like putting an initiative on the ballot resolving that henceforth pi will equal 3.0 because it's easier to calculate.

It doesn't make it so, no matter how deeply you bury your head in the sand or how firmly you plug your ears and sing "la la la la".

John the Scientist said...

I didn't think you were directing this at me, but it is one of my hot buttons. However, that link was a low blow. :p