Thursday, June 21, 2012

 

What Did the Kids of Kansas Do to Deserve This?


[Ouch]
Topeka resident Jack Wu says his run for the State Board of Education was prompted by his opposition to public schools teaching evolution ...
Nothing too unusual for Kansas and with the added benefit of playing on the candidate's name.

But then it gets serious:
Reached by phone Thursday, Wu confirmed that he attends Westboro Baptist — which is known nationwide for its anti-gay protests — and adheres to its teachings, but has not been baptized as a full member.

Wu's campaign website notes that he moved to Topeka from California "after seeing the light of the Westboro Baptist Church."
Now, it is devoutly to be wished that this loon not be allowed any where near children, much less the levers of power over their education. There are hints that it is unlikely:
Wu has registered to run as a Republican and says he's not perturbed that the head of the Kansas Republican Party said Wu is not connected to the organization.  
"It seems kind of like they want to distance themselves from me," Wu said. "That's fine. I don't believe the party gets to decide who is and isn't a Republican."
Distance the party from him? Ya think so? A candidate who protests at the funerals of military men and women killed in action? In Kansas?

But this is a presidential election year and many people will know nothing about the Board of Education races and ... well ... stranger things have happened.

But few would be more tragic for the kids in Kansas.

Comments:
Hi John. Saw your link on TO where I'm also getting scarce in this era of troll-feeding. What I always recommend doing with politicians who peddle the "fairness" nonsense is to ask them detailed questions about the alterenate "theory" (if any) they find (or pretend to find) more connvincing than evolution. Starting with the basic "how old is life?" and "do humans share common ancestors with other species?" And of course "what are the weaknesses of the other 'theories' and why don't you critically analyze them here?" Depending on how far into the scam they are they will either fumble an answer off guard or give some rehearsed version of "we don't need to connect no stinkin' dots." In either case they will demonstrate a blatant and pathetic double standard, which makes their demands 100% unreasonable without even considering church-state issues.
 
Depending on how far into the scam they are they will either fumble an answer off guard or give some rehearsed version of "we don't need to connect no stinkin' dots."

Good tactic. The only problem is that many, if not most, of these politicians are in office because their constituents are in on the scam too.
 
I love this:

"I don't believe the party gets to decide who is and isn't a Republican."

That would be true if Republican were a natural-kind term, or something like that -- but, umm, no, it is really is the case that the Republican Party decides who is and who is not a member of that party, and that's what "being a Republican" is.
 
What, there's an adherent of WBC who isn't related to Father Fred by blood or marriage?
 
that's what "being a Republican" is.

Hey, the guy thinks being a Christian has something to do with the WBC.

What, there's an adherent of WBC who isn't related to Father Fred by blood or marriage?

Freaking strange, isn't it? And he came all the way from California. That's why I called him a loon.
 
The only problem is that many, if not most, of these politicians are in office because their constituents are in on the scam too

Not in the sense that I mean, which is intimate knowledge of the "big tent" strategy. Most politicians are only partly in on the scam (Santorum, Jindal and McLeroy are probably completely), and very few of even the most militant fundamentalist constituents are. And by most references, they are a minorty (~25%) as opposed to the majority that falls for the "fairness" line. So on this issue at least I think we have a shot at turning off all but the militant fundamenalists. Then these politicians will be forced to stop pretending that they know better than the scientists who do the actual work and have the most to gain by falsifying evolution.
 
So on this issue at least I think we have a shot at turning off all but the militant fundamenalists.

I didn't mean to suggest that it wasn't worth trying ... only that there is a strong headwind.
 
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