I have to say, I wouldn’t normally link to the Telgraph, but this is just too good (and surprisingly on-the-ball for the Torygraph.) I mean, obviously, it doesn’t qualify as news per-se, but it’s good to see the concept is sinking in.

… or er something.

Suddenly I feel a lot better about myself again. I mean, I might have underestimated the diversity of an important order of mammals, but at least I can tell the difference between a cat and an orange. This guy is either stupid enough that he can’t or stupid enough to think scientists can’t. I’m not sure which would be worse.

In any case, PZ says everything that needs to be said.

A couple of years ago, during the Kitzmiller vs Dover area School District case, I was pretty shocked by the behaviour of some members of the board that had tried to force ID into the science classroom. I’m starting to wonder if that was a special case, or if the whole purpose of school boards is to introduce totally off-the-wall-loopy rules.

Take this case for example. This girl, Megan Coulter, has been given detention, not once, but twice, for… wait for it … hugging her friends. Yeah, that’s it. She wasn’t in class or anything, just hugging her friends goodbye at the end of the school day. Unfortunately for her, the school has a rule against “public displays of affection,” because – and this is from the students handbook – “It is in poor taste, reflects poor judgment, and brings discredit to the school and to the persons involved.”

That’s right. displaying affection towards your friends shows poor taste and brings discredit to you. What the hell planet are these people from? It reads like something from the fifties.

The UK government has issued guidelines to science teachers, detailing what they should teach about ID and other forms of creationism. The answer, thankfully, is: “pretty much nothing.” Well, except possibly to point out that it’s not science. Now all we need them to do is get rid of the faith schools, and we’ll be able to say we’re giving (all) our kids a good science education.

Reported in The Guardian, and linked from The Panda’s Thumb.

The interwebs are just full of stories that would be funny if they weren’t depressing at the moment. It’s not quite as extreme as claiming that condoms give you AIDS, but this theft of a Kindergarden’s pet rabbit does fit the bill. Not just because some poor rabbit has just had it’s quality (or duration) of life significantly reduced, but because of what it says about the intelligence of some members our species.

Normally, I’d laugh at that degree of idiocy, but right now, when it’s applied harmfully against a defenceless rabbit and a group of preschoolers, it just doesn’t seem that funny. Not even five year old Zion’s plaintive lolcat-ism raised a smile.

Linked via Denialism.