Free Republic

No Seal of Approval for Evolution by Frank Sherwin, M.A.* The recent discovery of an incomplete northern Canadian fossil is causing waves in certain evolutionary circles.1 Some scientists claim that Puijila darwini is a flipper-free pinniped (a group that includes walruses, sea lions, and seals) that is supposedly a long sought-after Darwinian transition between a land and freshwater animal. But although a BBC headline proclaimed it a "missing link," this status is made doubtful by the article's uncertain verbiage. Terms such as "probably," "very likely," "suggest," "hint," "apparently," "may have," and "appears to have" are used to describe this animal...

June 3, 2009 — Movements since the late 19th century have employed science as justification for tyrannical ideas. Ziauddin Sardar wrote in Nature, “Misplaced faith in science, as rational dogma, as the enemy of pessimism, as a theory of salvation, often serves as the glue that binds modernity and fascism together.”1 Could that happen again? Sardar, the editor of Futures, was reviewing a new book by Christine Poggi, Inventing Futurism: The Art and Politics of Artificial Optimism (Princeton, 2009). He began,...

101 evidences for a young age of the earth...and the universe Can science prove the age of the earth? There are many different categories of evidence that the cosmos and the earth are much younger than is generally asserted today...

DNA Fence Posts Hold Back Cancer. . . and Evolution by Brian Thomas, M.S.* New research has uncovered a tiny protein that, when it breaks down, leads to cancer. This useful protein attaches to DNA in certain places and serves as a marker or “fence post.” These fence posts keep certain zones of DNA accessible to the cell regulatory mechanisms that activate gene expression to produce other proteins. If the protein posts are knocked down, these regions of DNA become inaccessible and the cells become cancerous. But how could cells have evolved if the necessary restructuring of their DNA, and...

You Can Trust a Scientist – Can’t You? May 31, 2009 — After the flap over the “missing link” Ida last week (05/19/2009), paleontologist Christopher Beard warned about how such stunts damage scientific credibility. “The only thing we have going for us that Hollywood and politicians don’t is objectivity,” he told Science magazine.[1] Can the public trust the objectivity of scientists as a class? Do they get more credibility points than other groups of professionals? Do the processes of scientific publication warrant a higher level of trust? A study reported on Science Daily may shake that trust...

Multifunctional Genes Indicate Ingenious Programming by Brian Thomas, M.S.* Computer programs are written in coded computer languages, and sometimes the same piece of code can be reused in different programs to perform new functions. This way, programmers save time and energy by not having to invent new code. For this to work, however, the programmer must intentionally specify how each program will use the recycled code to perform the designated functions. Genes can be compared to computer codes. The same gene or set of genes can be used to build...

May 29, 2009 — A battle of websites is rising, and New Scientist is gloating.  Francis Collins, former head of the Human Genome Project (and a candidate to lead the National Institutes of Health) has launched a website promoting theistic evolution called Biologos.org.  The intelligent-design think tank Discovery Institute has offered a counter-site called FaithAndEvolution.org.     Amanda Gefter wrote for New Scientist, “Christians battle each other over evolution.”  Gefter, who subscribes to Stephen Jay Gould’s “NOMA” strategy (non-overlapping magisteria), believes that science and religion must remain separate spheres.  She thinks the latest website battle betrays religious motivations behind the...

Texas Evolution Lobby Making Power Grabs to Promote Their Censorship Agenda A Wall Street Journal (WSJ) article from last month, “Education Board in Texas Faces Curbs,” revealed how the Texas evolution-lobby has been seeking to use both censorship and power grabs to promote their agenda. First, they sought to censor from Texas students any instruction on scientific weaknesses in evolution. Having lost that fight before the Texas State Board of Education (TSBOE), they have tried to use other tactics to punish the board for adopting science standards that teach evolution objectively, or to grab power away from the democratically elected...

The prospect of a gun rights group demonstrating their right to openly carry firearms in Hazle Township Community Park on the same day as the annual “Celebration of Life Walk” sponsored by the Hazleton Chapter of the American Red Cross is threatening cancellation of the 10th annual Red Cross fundraiser. Joyce Bradbury, executive director of the Hazleton Chapter of the American Red Cross said a significant number of walk participants called the Red Cross headquarters to cancel their participation in the event in light of the gun group’s plans. Most of the cancellations came from school student groups, Bradbury said....

Anti-God Ads Hit Dallas by Christine Dao* In the heart of the Bible belt, billboards stating “Don’t believe in God? You are not alone” have been posted in parts of Dallas, home of the Institute for Creation Research. The boards are sponsored by the Dallas-Fort Worth Coalition of Reason (DFWCoR), an atheist nonprofit group which joins together smaller local anti-theistic organizations to “increase the growth, visibility and acceptance of nontheists throughout the Metroplex.”[1] Two ads have been posted in the D/FW area, one just a few miles from ICR headquarters, and will remain up through April. According to Fred Edwords...

10. Tesco’s Whistling Carrots In 2002, Tesco ran a fake newspaper ad announcing the ‘whistling carrot,’ a carrot genetically modified to contain airholes on each side that caused the carrot to whistle when it finished cooking. 9. Lebanon Circle Magik Co.’s Mummified Fairy Lebanon Circle Magik Co., a studio specializing in sculptures and curios, posted a picture of what appeared to be a mummified fairy on its homepage in 2007. The site explained that the fairy had been found by pedestrian in rural Derbyshire, leading to an explosion of online speculation about whether the fairy was real. Even after owner...

American International Group’s unpaid CEO Edward Liddy said the company’s board has been in close consultation with the Federal Reserve since November about whether to hand out the $165 million in bonuses it issued to its top employees last week. The disclosure took Capital Markets subcommittee chairman, Rep. Paul Kanjorski, D-Pa., by surprise and he asked Liddy to clarify his statement. Since the bonuses were disclosed last week, the Obama administration has said they found out about the payments just before they were handed out by AIG, which is the recipient of $170 billion in government funds and is slated...

Tired, Frustrated Obama Inspires Zero Confidence, Scares MillionsMarch 9, 2009 **SNIP** OBAMA: By the time we got here, there already had been an enormous infusion of taxpayer money into the financial system, and the thing I constantly try to emphasize to people is that if coming in the market was doing fine, nobody would be happier than me to stay out of it. REPORTER: Right. OBAMA: You know, I have more than enough to do without having to worry about the financial system. RUSH: Now, that's an inspiring thing to say. I have more than enough to do without having...

Dear IRS, I'm sorry to inform you that I'm not going to be able to pay the taxes owed on April 15th, but all is not lost. I paid these taxes, accounts receivable tax, building permit tax, CDL tax, corporate income tax, dog license tax, federal income tax, unemployment tax, gas tax, hunting license tax, fishing license tax, waterfowl stamp tax, inheritance tax, inventory tax, liquor tax, luxury tax, Medicare tax, city tax, school and county property tax up to 33% the last four years. Real estate tax, Social Security tax, road use tax, toll road tax, state and city...

GROWING numbers of Muslim men are “marrying” up to four wives in Britain, a leading Muslim peer warned last night. Tory Baroness Sayeeda Warsi fears a sharp increase in polygamy in the UK is becoming a threat to community cohesion. And she accused Labour ministers of turning a blind eye to the practice, which is common in some Islamic countries. The Government must make it clear to Muslims that “in this country, one married man is allowed to marry one woman,” she said. Most Muslim polygamous arrangements are not illegal because the “weddings” are private religious ceremonies that are not...

Barack fools us -- Whole world will pay for America's electoral mistake By MICHAEL COREN, TORONTO SUN A young student friend e-mailed me on Tuesday night. "Have locked myself in my room because the place is full of little idiots -- who cannot spell Barack Obama's name and could not name one of his foreign or domestic policies -- running around screaming obscenities about George Bush, conservatives and how Sarah Palin is a bitch. I love democracy!" Even so, the people spoke. A victory for the hysterical Oprah Winfrey, the mad racist preacher Jeremiah Wright, the mainstream media who abandoned...

Republican lawmakers today signed petitions protesting a possible transfer of Guantanamo Bay prisoners to Colorado, saying the state shouldn't be a dumping ground for terrorists. "The type of terrorists these would be, I'd be ill at ease if I lived in Florence or Canon City or Pueblo West," said Republican Sen. Ken Kester of Las Animas "I don't think we need 200 or 300 terrorists in Colorado. They will infiltrate the other convicts that are there." President Barack Obama announced Thursday he would close the Guantanamo Bay prison, located on an American naval base in Cuba, that has held suspected...

Jim Hansen is the 'grandfather of climate change' and one of the world's leading climatologists. In this rare interview in New York, he explains why President Obama's administration is the last chance to avoid flooded cities, species extinction and climate catastropheRobin McKie, science editor The Observer, Sunday 18 January 2009 Article historyAlong one wall of Jim Hansen's wood-panelled office in upper Manhattan, the distinguished climatologist has pinned 10 A4-sized photographs of his three grandchildren: Sophie, Connor and Jake. They are the only personal items on display in an office otherwise dominated by stacks of manila folders, bundles of papers and...

One of these day's I'll have to find other subject matter to write about, but stupidity isn't particular. Here we have "larger than life art," according to our giddy narrator, from Chicago elementary school kids, bringing this sky-view image of Barack Obama to life. See video here:

NEW YORK (Reuters) – Barack Obama will be "nerd-in-chief" when he takes office as U.S. president this month, according to Marvel Comics, which is putting him on the cover of its next "Spider-Man" comic.