Sunday, January 30, 2011
Rep. Jack Kingston denying the existence of evolution on Real Time with Bill Maher.
What an idiot!
I am absolutely dumbfounded that he actually used the "Where is the missing link? argument. Clearly this moron has not paid any attention to the incredible research and progress being made in evolutionary biology.
Thankfully my daughter no longer lives in Georgia.
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That was embarrassing . . . for Kingston. So is this where we are? Elected officials responsible for the continuance of a higher level of national discourse and furthering this country into the twenty-first century stating he doesn't believe in evolution?
ReplyDeletePitiful.
Wow, just WOW!
ReplyDeleteOT You all should check out Mo Kelly's article in HP "God Bless, Sarah Palin, if you haven't yet.
Former Conservative PM Kim Campbell has finally seen the light.
ReplyDeleteShe was great and sounded down right liberal.
Small wonder the conservative media outlets up here didn't mention her appearance.
Try living in a small town in GA and feeling, at times, like you are the only sane person for miles. My parents actually regret paying for my college education. My sisters tell I'm going to hell. I usually tell them it couldn't be any hotter than GA in July.
ReplyDeleteA friend on another site pointed out the following:
ReplyDelete"Saying you believe in adaptation but not evolution is like saying 'I don't believe in gravity, but I believe that if I drop my Bible it will land on the floor."
Yeah, that about sums it up!
Oh Gryphen, people and politicians like this don't just come from Georgia.
ReplyDeleteWhat cracks me up is the claim that evolution is something you can agree to believe in. As though there's a choice.
ReplyDeleteTo claim one "doesn't believe in evolution" is to proclaim that one doesn't understand the theory.
When confronted with that reality, to follow with "it's only a theory!" shows further ignorance.
A scientific theory is "the explanation that best fits the facts."
It's science people:
evolution isn't A theory
...it is the theory.
Evolution is the explanation that best fits the facts, the only explanation that fits the data.
...and there are mountains of data.
Creationism - or it's retarded cousin, "Intelligent Design" - are NOT alternate theories (because they ignore the data) but in fact, are the antitheses of a theory.
Intelligent Design should no more be taught in a science classroom than should astronomy be taught side-by-side with astrology.
Well, to be fair I'd say it's debatable whether or not today's Republicans have evolved.
ReplyDeleteGagirly,... MOVE ! It will only get worse. There is no sanity in Georgia. Just don't move to Texas,...there's no sanity there either.
ReplyDeletedmoreno56- Thanks for sharing Mo Kelly's article ... too,too funny!!! Maybe Mo can write his next article on Mr. Kingston and his ilk.
ReplyDeleteHow long before the NE story on Todd Palin "evolves" into a new set of facts ?
ReplyDelete3..2..1
I was gobsmacked when I heard that man defend his anti-evolution stance. He said there were "not enough fossils" to prove evolution. Huh? He kept digging himself further in a hole - or a cave that our predecessors lived in. Nice drawings in that cave in Europe. Wonder who did them?
ReplyDeleteAs to Kim Campbell, the form of conservatism she represents in Canada is practically non-existent in the US. The so-called "right" in the US is what I would call "reactionary" - not to be confused with true conservatism.(BTW, Campbell was thrown under the bus by her party. Not a nice way to treat a lady.) Glad to see her on Maher's show.
so sad. As a scientist, I'm appalled at the lack of knowledge so many of our representatives display.
ReplyDeleteScience appeals to logic.
ReplyDeletePolitics appeals to populism.
No surprise they rarely meet.
Ok Gryphen, you need to be linking to this blog. This is hilarious.
ReplyDeletehttp://theperilsofpalins.wordpress.com/2011/01/29/fee-speech/
I was pumping gas the other day at my local Costco when a car zipped in front of mine into the space vacated by another customer.
ReplyDeleteHe jumped out, and just as soon as he got the nozzle into his car, he began stomping towards me, hands clenched.
Seems he was "curious" (read outraged) by one of my bumper stickers. I have one of those Darwin fish stickers. He said, "I'm curious, what does that bumper sticker with a fish and feet mean? You know that the fish is a church symbol, right"
I nodded and said,"It means I believe in evolution."
"Oh, so you're not a Christian," he spat out and came closer, his body language even angrier.
"Christians can believe in evolution."
"No they can't," he said. "God made everything. The Bible says so."
"Why can't God be behind the process of evolution?"
Silence. He backed off a bit.
I added, "Even the Vatican has a Science spokesman and seems at peace with evolution."
"Oh, that's Catholic. I don't have no use for Catholics. They're not Christians." With that he stomped back to his car.
I smiled at his retreating back and said, "Well, I guess it depends upon which church dogma you believe."
"There's just the Bible," he shouted.
"There are many ways to interpret the Bible, you know.
"I will pray for your soul," he said. "You can't believe in evolution."
"God is everywhere," I said as I smiled and started to get back into my car.
He stood there stunned, and said, "Well, at least you got one thing right. God be with you."
"And also with you" as I drove away.
I sort of chuckled as I drove away and then I remembered his rage, his angry body language. He might have hit me, a middle-aged woman all because I said I believed in evolution.
Maybe I will pray for his soul. He seems to need some help.
Gryphen D.L. Hughley was also on the show and he didn't believe in evolution.
ReplyDeleteThere was a time when I too did not believe in Darwin's theory.
ReplyDeleteBut then I grew up, became
educated and the real clincher was getting into politics and listening to Republicans!
All Kingston has to do to understand evolution is pull his head out of his ass and look into the mirror!
"Believe in evolution"- just nuts! Can I choose not to believe in quantum physics? Newtonian mechanics? Electromagnetic theory? Nuts!
ReplyDeleteBTW- I read a column a few months back suggesting that. like the people who moved TO America for a better life, it's logical to move FROM America for the same reason. The author was living in western Europe. GA, TX- even New England has our share of dopes who don't know what a scientific theory is. Time to move on?
Anon @7:56 Thanks so much for suggesting the PerilsofPalin. It is hilarious. You all should check it out. Gosh, the hatred of this women and what it is doing to the sane among us. We are all going to need rehab after she vanishes from our lives.
ReplyDeleteMY "theory" of why so many people don't want to accept the evolutionary reasoning, is that there is a primitive desire within us, to view "God" as some big white haired guy wearing a top hat and tails, who does spectacular magic tricks.
ReplyDeleteLike waving a wand, to create the Earth.
To evolve ourselves into people with working, learning minds, means you can instead see how the Deity would more likely use NATURE to make it all happen.
That is no less wondrous, than if He pulled rabbits out of his hat, as the way to introduce them into the planet's animal population.
I see this same mindset at work, with the Jewish reluctance to acknowledge Jesus: I'll admit, it would have been a lot cooler to have a Sylvester Stallone type dude show up back then, and kick some Roman ass--but what humans needed more was an example set of how to live life as a humble, loving person.
We have PLENTY of angry, aggressive folks, and always have.
Wouldn't it be fantastic, if most of those who call themselves "christians" actually conducted themselves as He directed, instead of threatening other people at gas stations?
Randall--
ReplyDeleteYou rock!
"Where's the missing link?"
ReplyDeleteSitting at that table yapping away, proudly demonstrating his total scientific illiteracy.
"He might have hit me, a middle-aged woman all because I said I believed in evolution."
ReplyDeleteA couple of hundred years ago, he'd have reported you and you'd have been burned alive. At least we've "evolved" a little bit.
Kingston is not only living proof that we are descended from apes, he's indisputable evidence that evolution is very much a work in process.
ReplyDeleteThat's right-ignorant, backwards Southern Hicks couldn't possibly be part of "intelligent design". God help us!
What is the difference between an idiot and a fidiot?
ReplyDeleteAn idiot, through no fault of thier own, is just plain stupid.
A fidiot is someone who is willfully ignorant and takes pride in it.
Kingston is a Fucking Idiot = Fidiot.
The missing link is hanging between his legs. He plays with it very day.
ReplyDeleteThe presence of the Y chromosome in mammals separates mammals from other species and unites mammals into a common group that are so closely related that they share the same mutation, the missing portion of the Y chromosome.
That and a couple billion other mutations we share wih chimps and the other great apes. Genus Homo is a great ape.
Duh....just, Duh.....
ReplyDeleteI think I've posted the link to this video before, but here it is again. Great information to make a creationist's head explode!
ReplyDeletehttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dK3O6KYPmEw&feature=related
Religion is ingrained the culture of the south. The majority of the population attends church. When we moved to east TX, we were asked on more than one occasion, "what church do you go to?" or "have you found a church yet?" It's just assumed that you're a Christian and go to church. :(
In 8th grade in Connecticut we had a science teacher who taught us the difference amoong a hypothesis, a theory and a law.
ReplyDeleteMost people use the word theory in the wrong way. As in "I have a theory of how the Eagles are going to win Saturday" or "I have a theory that she must have had a boob job." Those are not theories, they are conjectures. But the casual use of theory has cheapened and twisted the word.
By the way, atomic energy is a theory, which is why it's called atomic theory. Ask somebody like Mr. Kingston if we should close the nuclear power plants because atomic energy is a theory. Then get back to a safe distance before his head explodes.
Tom, FL
This well-speaking Representative likely also doesn't believe in Gravity. Maybe he thinks the Earth Sucks? How did this country get to the point where so many despised real science...and real history...and reality in general?
ReplyDeleteoh, hey. look! they are evolving before our eyes:
ReplyDeletehttp://newsfeed.time.com/2011/01/30/for-weekend-viral-weekend-watch-a-gorilla-walk-like-a-human/
ask and ye' shall receive, cons ;)
- kellygrrrl
Religion is ingrained the culture of the south. The majority of the population attends church. When we moved to east TX, we were asked on more than one occasion, "what church do you go to?" or "have you found a church yet?" It's just assumed that you're a Christian and go to church. :(
ReplyDelete10:33 AM
Remind me NEVER to move to TX, or anywhere south of the MD line. I wouldn't be able to help askign - "Why have you lost one?"
Sarah Palin was just discussed by Julian Assange on 60 Minutes. "Incitement to murder!" She is getting quite the rep!
ReplyDeleteAfter listening to Julian Asange, I have a feeling he will bring Palin down! He seemed very upset and associated her name with the "incitement of murder" in relation to her attack of him.
ReplyDeleteTom in FL: Can you hear my yell "HYPOTHESIS" at the TV every time someone misuses the word theory? (I'm in CT.)
ReplyDeleteSo this ding smacks Republicans, stupid people and Southerners with one swing of the hammer. Good shootin' Ace.
ReplyDeleteAnon 7:01 am. I've got no intention of moving. I've been living in the same place for 20 years and will pay it off at the end of the year (yay !!! No more mortgage !!!) I've got a good job and, despite the difference in our religious beliefs (I have none), I love my parents. I get by just fine, as I have a thick skin and, most importantly, a sense of humor. The stories I could tell...
ReplyDeleteAldous Huxley wrote, "Facts do not cease to exist because they are ignored."
ReplyDeleteWhether or not Rep. Jack Kingston (R-Ga.) - why is it not surprising that he is in the GOP and from the South? - believes in evolution is absolutely irrelevant. His disbelief has not the slightest effect upon the reality of natural selection. The fact that he would characterize evolution as meaning that humans came "from a monkey" or that "a creature crawled out of the sea and became a human being one day" clearly illustrates that he has not the slightest understanding of the process.
Furthermore, the belief or non-belief of Americans as a whole has not the slightest effect upon the very real existence of natural selection. However, our willingness to wallow in 1st century religious superstition does not bode well for our survival as a nation. It is unlikely that our international rivals will cut us any slack because of our willful ignorance. As Darwin's work strongly suggests, being clever is an excellent strategy for survival in nature while stupidity is not. Neither can stupidity lead to success as a nation.
Kingston is an ignoramus. Our country is in big trouble as long as we continue to elect ignorant buffoons like Kingston into positions of authority. Didn't we learn our lesson by annointing the swaggering idiot cowboy as president?
I have never been able to get someone who does not believe in evolution to explain to me why fossils are found in different layers (as in the deepest layers contain only the simpler organisms like clams, etc., and steadily increase in complexity as they get closer to the surface) if ALL CREATURES were created by God in a six day period. I mean, wouldn't clams and humans and whales and dinosaurs and ammonites be found all jumbled up at every depth if that were so?
ReplyDeleteI have been told many times by people who do not believe in evolution that everything is just so complex, that it just could not "happen" all on it's own. That it had to take an incredibly complex and magical being (God) to create these incredible creatures. But when I ask them where God came from, they tell me that he just "Is". Then I say, "but you said that the earth and it's creatures are too complex to have "just happened", so who or what was the even more incredibly complex and magical being that had to have created God?
At this point they usually say, "Well, with some things you just have to have Faith".
I guess that Faith in Fossils and DNA is just not as good as Faith in God, for some reason, so I myself will go with EVIDENCE.
Gagirley, I live in the northeast ga area. I know exactly what you are talking about. Where I work, most of my co-workers are conservative, Republican, Southern Baptist. Trying to speak up here is very uncomfortable. I worried when I put a Obama campaign bumper sticker on my car. We have had cars damaged for that.
ReplyDeleteAn example of the type of mindset here is when one of the RN's stated as a matter-of-fact, "I'm sure ya'll have noticed that we have had many more natural disasters happen here in America since we stepped on the moon."
She and others here are also strong supporters of having the Ten Commandments be posted in the courthouses.
As to the comment that Kingston made stating, "I have never seen fish that walk on land." I wish someone had mentioned this to him.
Examples of walking fish
These people are fucking idiots. I can't believe they are in charge of setting policy for our country. Here's another example of why they should be dragged off the political stage and sent back to elementary school: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=symYfq51aho
ReplyDeleteOur energy secretary Stephen Chu having to explain the concept of plate tectonics to GOP Rep Barton, who at the end of the video shakes his head in disbelief at the concept.
@Anon 8:05 - great way to handle that confrontation with the Angry Man At The Gas Station. I don't know why they think the Bible is at odds with evolution or why God couldn't be behind evolution. For one thing, the first book of the Bible, Genesis, opens with a description of earth in the beginning exactly as evolution theory describes earth in the beginning: covered in water.
ReplyDeleteBig Evolution Discovery !
ReplyDeleteBritish professor Nigel Swiggerton of Chapsworth College has recently found a missing link in the evolution/creation debate. Everyone is familiar with the "stages of man" chart found in textbooks which begins with a naked, hairy, bent over, grunting Neanderthal type which over millions of years finally learns how to stand erect while sporting a 1930s-style haircut. Well, Dr. Swiggerton discovered that someone accidentally reversed the negative. It turns out that the first man was actually standing erect with a short haircut but has been descending over the years until he has finally reached the last stage - the stage at any rock concert filled with naked, hairy, bent over, grunting Neanderthal types!
[Saw the above web item! Are overly God-blessed, underly grateful Americans aware that Darwin acknowledged the "Creator" on the last page of his "Origin of Species"? Why did he use this term if he meant some "unknown process"? When God allows an entire American city to be destroyed, will surviving American ingrates pray to the anti-Christian, anti-American shmucks in Hollywood that they long worshiped more than God? Thank God for Rep. Jack Kingston (GA) who does serve the "Creator" in the Declaration of Independence and the "God" mentioned in all 50 state constitutions! Jon]