As if there is any doubt posed by the question “Are we slouching towards Idiocracy?” what else can a sane person conclude when confronted with headlines like “Conservatives Split Over Oppposition to Anti-Obesity Campaign” (WHO would be PRO-obesity aside from a politically astute moron like Sarah Palin? Surely the morbidly obese must make up a large percentage of her supporters) and “Kentucky Creationist Museum to Feature Dragons, Unicorns.”

Aside from a similar accident of birth on the North American land mass, I don’t perceive myself as having ANYTHING in common with someone who believes that dinosaurs and unicorns were on Noah’s fucking Ark (or Sarah Palin supporters for that matter)! Do you? Where is the commonality when IQs have become this stratified? And where is this mess headed when the stupidest people in the country are the only ones reliably voting? It’s really getting frustrating to read the news these days. I feel like there is a new low reached almost daily. The dumbness used to be a little more spread out.

Truly, it’s undeniable at this juncture that “the dumbs” are really starting to take over and if these shit-for-brains types are allowed to continue dominating the conversation, then all bets are off for the future of the American republic. I can’t help but to feel we’re about to reach a tipping point towards some serious bad craziness. If you can convince a man that dinosaurs and unicorns were on Noah’s Ark, you can convince this man of ANY darned thing (like millionaires and billionaires pay too much in taxes or that Sarah Palin is qualified to be president).

Reblogging this from Barefoot and Progressive:

I asked Answers in Genesis if there will be dinosaurs on their Ark. They said yes.

I’ve since asked if there will be fire-breathing dragons on their Ark.

My visit to the Creation Museum last week told me that the answer is a strong “probably so.” Digging through the AiG archives this morning, I now see that Ken Ham says the answer is an emphatic “yes”:

Being land animals, dinosaurs (or dragons of the land) were created on Day Six (Genesis 1:24–31), went aboard Noah’s Ark (Genesis 6:20), and then came off the Ark into the post-Flood world (Genesis 8:16–19). It makes sense that many cultures would have seen these creatures from time to time before they died out.

There will be dragons on their Ark. [What about Godzilla or Ghidorah, the Three-Headed Monster? Will non-American “dragons of the land” be considered for inclusion?—RM]

But here’s one more question for you: Will there be unicorns on the Ark?

According to Ken Ham and AiG, the answer is yes.

“Some people claim the Bible is a book of fairy tales because it mentions unicorns. However, the biblical unicorn was a real animal, not an imaginary creature.”

“Modern readers have trouble with the Bible’s unicorns because we forget that a single-horned feature is not uncommon on God’s menu for animal design. (Consider the rhinoceros and narwhal.) The Bible describes unicorns skipping like calves (Psalm 29:6), traveling like bullocks, and bleeding when they die (Isaiah 34:7). The presence of a very strong horn on this powerful, independent-minded creature is intended to make readers think of strength.”

“The absence of a unicorn in the modern world should not cause us to doubt its past existence. (Think of the dodo bird. It does not exist today, but we do not doubt that it existed in the past.). Eighteenth century reports from southern Africa described rock drawings and eyewitness accounts of fierce, single-horned, equine-like animals. One such report describes “a single horn, directly in front, about as long as one’s arm, and at the base about as thick . . . . [It] had a sharp point; it was not attached to the bone of the forehead, but fixed only in the skin.”

“To think of the biblical unicorn as a fantasy animal is to demean God’s Word, which is true in every detail.”

There will be unicorns on the Ark. So this is what we’re left with:

Thanks to [Governor] Steve Beshear, Kentucky is no longer just known as the state whose governor endorsed and gave $40 million in tax breaks to people who want to tell children that science and history explain that a 600 year old man herded dinosaurs onto a big boat 4,000 years ago.

No, Kentucky will now be known as the state whose governor endorsed and gave $40 million in tax breaks to people who want to tell children that science and history explain that a 600-year-old man herded dinosaurs, fire-breathing dragons and unicorns onto a big boat 4,000 years ago.

But Steve Beshear wasn’t elected to debate religion, he was elected to create jobs…

Ouch! I just want to pull the covers over my head when I read something like this, don’t you? Obviously, requesting a unicorn chaser would not really be appropriate here…
 

 
If Modern Humans Are So Smart, Why Are Our Brains Shrinking? (Discovery)

 
Lately I’m more inclined than I’ve ever been—am I mellowing with age or have I just been worn down?—to feel zen about the fact that I live in a country where the stupidest people are on the ascent everywhere. It used to bother me, but now I’ve come to realize that there is not a damned thing I can do about it.

I just think it’s better for my health this way.

Full-scale replica of Noah’s Ark planned in Kentucky (USA Today)

Via Christian Nightmares/Jesus Needs New P.R.

 
“He can’t hide from being a liberal!”  As campaigns go, Alabama’s race for Governor is shaping up to be even nuttier than the one on last season’s Big Love.  It seems ex-Democrat but now Republican Bradley Bryne just isn’t conservative enough for many people in that state (boosters, I’m guessing, of Byrne’s “faith and family values” opponent, Tim James).

Watch below as Byrne’s “lunatic” belief in evolution and skepticism that the bible’s 100% accurate come under attack.  As one YouTube commenter noted, the exaggerated Southern accents were probably used to appeal to as many hillbillies locals as possible.

 
More Alabama nuttiness: The Real Bradley Byrne

(via J-Walk)

 
Well, summer’s over.  I never made it back to Camp Firefly, or enjoyed another night of possibly anti-semitic television with Kirk-‘n’-Chelsea, but I still want to catch up with them this fall, when they

plan to subvert ‘Darwin Day’ on November 19, 2009—a date marking the 150th anniversary of the publishing of Charles Darwin’s “Origin of Species.”  Cameron says that he and like-minded activists plan to deliver 50,000 copies of an altered version of Darwin’s book to students at dozens of U.S. universities.

Cameron explains that this “very special” edition of the “Origin of Species” will include an introduction explaining “Adolf Hitler’s undeniable connection” to the theory of evolution, and highlighting “Darwin’s racism” and “his disdain for women.”  Cameron’s edition also exposes the “many hoaxes” of evolutionary theory, while presenting a “balanced view of Creationism.”

PARADOX ALERT: if you’d like to hear how Cameron thinks our (theoretically) constitution-backed country is stripping us of our many “God-given” liberties, click here.  You’ll be far more amused, though, watching ZOMGitsCriss’ video response below.

And when you’re through, mark your calendars for November 19th.  But rather than going all “town hall” on Cameron’s book giveaway, why not do as as ZOMGitsCriss suggests: simply take as many copies as your ape paws can grab, and use that intro for something less meta and more physical.  I know Darwin would approve!

 
In Huffington Post: Kirk Cameron’s “Origin Of Species” Plan: Ex-Actor To Distribute 50,000 Altered Darwin Books

Ray Comfort’s New Introduction To Darwin’s On The Origin Of Species

Previously on Dangerous Minds: The Truth Behind Muslim Creationist Harun Yahya

“Origin of Stupidity” spotted via: YBNBY

Small town, right-winger busybody know-nothings strike again!

The Scopes Monkey Trial was decided 84 years ago this past July, but in Sedalia, Missouri, you’d think it’s the summer of 1925 again.

That’s because the band director at the town’s Smith-Cotton High School recently got in hot water for making T-shirts that depict primates evolving into man. The shirts—based on the popular illustration above—were designed to promote the band’s fall program, “Brass Evolutions,” that explores how brass instruments have changed from the 1960s to today.

On the T-shirt, monkeys and early humans hold trumpets throughout their various stages of evolution.

That didn’t sit well with Sherry Melby, a teacher in the school district and mother of a band member. Yesterday Melby told the Sedalia Democrat: “I was disappointed with the image on the shirt.” Melby said. “I don’t think evolution should be associated with our school.”

Evolution T-Shirts on Trial in Missouri Town

Ah religion, that organized system of ignorance… you never fail to bring the funny:

A ruling by U.S. District Judge Casey Rodgers states that the nine properties that make up Dinosaur Adventure Land as well as two bank accounts associated with the park will be used to satisfy $430,400 owed to the federal government.

Kent Hovind, who founded the park and a ministry, Creation Science Evangelism, is serving 10 years in federal prison for failing to pay the Internal Revenue Service more than $470,000 in employee taxes.

He was found guilty in November 2006 on 58 counts, including failure to pay employee taxes and making threats against investigators.

The conviction culminated 17 years of Hovind sparring with the IRS. Saying he was employed by God and his ministers were not subject to payroll taxes, he claimed no income or property.

Judge clears way for dinosaur park to be seized