Dover documentary

Is everyone looking forward to the new Nova program, Judgment Day? Look for it next Tuesday, 13 November, on PBS. The first review I’ve seen is available in this week’s Nature, and it’s positive.

Hot on the heels of several books chronicling Kitzmiller vs Dover, comes Judgment Day, a rigorous television documentary from the producers of the prestigious science series Nova. This two-hour montage of interviews and reconstructions, to be shown on the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) in the United States, features all the main players, bar one. Michael Behe, inventor of the specious meme “irreducible complexity” and guiding light of the intelligent-design movement, refused to participate. His testimony — the cornerstone of the defence — revealed a definition of science so loose that it includes astrology.

I thought Behe was so proud of his testimony! Why should he now be reluctant to expound further on it in a documentary?

Herein lies the dramatic challenge of retelling this important story. The feebleness of the intelligent-design case, and the overwhelming strength of the prosecution in systematically deconstructing it, render the verdict clear just minutes into the programme. The makers of Judgement Day inject tension with eyewitness accounts from the people of Dover, and home-video footage of raucous school board meetings shows how passionate and divided this small community became. It works: it is inspiring to hear parents and educators,such as Sunday school and physics teacher Bryan Rehm, recount how they refused to be steam-rollered into bringing religion into the science classroom.

I’m happy to see that due importance is being attached to the real center of the argument: while they are important, the testimony of the scientists is secondary to the role local communities play. This is a battle that’s got to be fought in the minds of ordinary citizens, not just in laboratories.

Be sure to tune in next week!

Rutherford A (2007) Dover trial documentary screens. Nature 450:170.

Congrats to Russell Blackford

Cool — Russell Blackford was noticed by the Dawkins site for this very nice article, “The New Atheism rocks”. Russell is a commenter here, too, you know — give him a gold star. The article begins,

The New Atheism deserves our cheers.
This is not a time for hyper-scrupulous
misgivings about how robustly religion
should be criticised, even leaving aside the
relative mildness that the New Atheists actually display. Books like The God Delusionand
God is Not Great should give confidence to
anyone who embraces secularism and
deplores the political influence of religion.
These books will convince at least some
intellectual opponents, or play a role in doing
so, expose the population to the idea (doubtless shocking for some) that there are alternatives to theism, and provide a rallying
point for opposition to religious influences
on public policy.

Exactly. This is not the time to moan and worry — let the other side do that. This is the time to exult and push a little harder, and I’m glad some people get it.

Washington DC meetup!

Hey, everyone, I said I was going to be in Washington DC this weekend, with the notorious Phil Plait. We’ve compared notes and figured out our schedules, and are ready to announce a time and place for a general meetup: 9pm, Saturday, 10 November at the Senators Sports Bar at Holiday Inn on the Hill (here’s a map). There may be some other infamous bloggers on hand, too — we’ll invite them, but well, you know, this is going to be a gathering of High Nerddom, and it may be a bit intimidating to normal people.

Now go vote for Bad Astronomy for Best Science Blog. He’s behind that front for denialists blog, and this is the last day…help him out! If he doesn’t win, everyone will have to buy lots of Bubble Me Blue martinis to console him.

It’s like they’re accomplished, professional liars

Right Wing Watch has the press kit for Ken Ham’s creation science “museum”. It’s somewhat bizarre; they provide a collection of videos that are done exactly like broadcast news stories — making it easy for small town news stations to simply slot in creationist propaganda as if it were part of a real newscast.

Sleazy. Sleazier still if any broadcaster actually used the ghastly things.

Carrier on Flew

If you haven’t had enough of the Antony Flew story, Richard Carrier fills in the background. It looks worse than it did before — Flew is being obliging, and allowing some loony fundagelicals to put words in his mouth.

In my opinion the book’s arguments are so fallacious and cheaply composed I doubt Flew would have signed off on it in sound mind, and Oppenheimer comes to much the same conclusion. It seems Flew simply trusted Varghese and didn’t even read the book being published in his name.And even if he had, he is clearly incapable now of even remembering what it said. The book’s actual author turns out to be an evangelical preacher named Bob Hostetler (who has also written several books with Josh McDowell), with considerable assistance from this book’s co-author, evangelical promoter and businessman Roy Abraham Varghese.

It gets more scathing from there.

This is spam, from an unexpected source

I just got this fairly typical piece of election email.

A MESSAGE FROM JOHN EDWARDS ’08

Dear PZ,

John Edwards needs your help during the next Iowa statewide canvass,
Saturday, November 17 and Sunday, November 18.

It goes on, but never mind. The annoying thing is the source: it’s from Ted, at the domain for my university and my lab. It has a spoofed source address! This is the kind of obnoxious crap I get from the peddlers of gadgets and drugs for my penis … it’s not the behavior I expect from someone who wants me to vote for him.

Just a word of warning to any candidates out there: it doesn’t matter how good you are, if you start spamming I will put your name in my mail filters and I will ignore you…in the voting booth, as well.

And no, I won’t be canvassing for John Edwards.

Can’t it at least wait until after Thanksgiving?

The War on Christmas starts earlier every year. The first salvo: an advent calendar in Hanover, Germany includes a small, cartoonish portrayal of famous local son, Fritz Haarmann. He was a serial killer who lived over 80 years ago.

i-8564948d3731bcd62219d402e60a070a-killer.jpg

I think the wounds of the monster’s actions are healed over and largely forgotten now, so while not entirely in good taste, I don’t think Christianity should be too outraged at the inclusion of a wicked fellow who killed 24 people. There are other mostly forgotten characters who could be put on a Christmas calendar without causing this kind of misplaced outrage, like Athanasius or Savanarola or Arnaud-Amaury or more than a few popes, who were responsible for many more deaths. I guess it just isn’t the holiday season without something for the right wing to rage over, and it’s better that they’re howling at Fritz Haarmann than some bewildered greeter at Wal-Mart.

But while you’re scowling at the reminder of the holiday season, I’ll mention that this is a good time to order your secular season cards. I fear the “Stop the Lies” card might give Aunt Tillie a heart attack when she opens it, but the Darwin as St Nick cards are nice.

Vote on the Weblog Awards, while you still can

You can vote today, and you can vote tomorrow, and then the polls close…so get out there and vote for Bad Astronomy for best science blog. The forces of stupidity have been motivated and are pushing a denialist blog up in the rankings, and it would be good to consolidate our votes and make sure a decent blog wins. Tim Lambert agrees, and also informs us that Steve Milloy has endorsed the Climate Audit blog—any doubt that it was an undeserving mouthpiece for right-wing hackery has now ended.

Besides, I’m rooming with Phil this weekend in Washington DC, and I really don’t want to have to put up with his bitter tears the whole time, or worse, if he feels compelled to drown his sorrows in vodka. Vote BA, because grown astronomers shouldn’t have to cry, and because I want to have fun, rather than nursing a broken man.

My other suggestions are here.