Thursday, May 31, 2007

And for those of you who want an alternative to actual science ...


[And a big Canadian "How's it goin', eh?" to all the visiting Pharyngulites ... Pharynguloids ... whatever. You know who you are.]

... we have the embarrassment of Alberta's spanking new Big Valley Creation Science Museum, whose founder Harry Nibourg has already convinced the scientific illiterates at the CBC that this is somehow news.

Any snark on my part could not possibly do justice to the eye-rolling ignorance on display in the general press release (dumbassitude emphasis added, as if that's necessary):

There are numerous themes presented in the museum displays including:

"Evidence From Geology" display which deals with the geological column, the fossil sequence and the profound evidence for a global flood such as the Quartzite boulders of the Cypress Hills in Alberta and Saskatchewan.

"Fossils and the Flood" is a fantastic visual arrangement that contains only genuine, museum quality fossils and a giant model of Noah's ark. The museum presents the answer to why fossils are profound evidence for the flood of Noah.

"Dinosaurs and Humans" display shows considerable evidence that not only did dinosaurs exist recently, but also that humans existed with them. This evidence is fatal to the evolutionary dogma which has dinosaurs extinct at least 60 million years before humans evolved.

I'm sorry ... if I read any further, I'd have to start stabbing myself in the eye with an ice pick or something -- the stupidity is almost indescribable, but here's the part I found most intriguing:

Currently we cannot offer tax deductible receipts for donations (charity status paperwork is in progress) ...

Excuse me? The BVCSM is applying to be a tax-deductible charity? Now that's an interesting development since it wasn't that long ago that the Canadian wingnut-o-sphere couldn't strip the Status of Women Canada fast enough, given that the SWC was involved in (gasp! horrors!) "advocacy."

But now, we have the BVCSM -- a religious advocacy group if there ever was one -- taking a shot at charity status which means they'd be getting funded, at least partially, by the Canadian taxpayer.

One wonders if those same Blogging Tory guardians of the public purse are going to be equally outraged by this outright theft of the taxpayer dollar, or whether they're going to be their typical, hypocritical selves.

(Note: That last issue was purely rhetorical. But you knew that, didn't you?)

And, no, we're not done here. Not by a long shot.

A CC READER CHALLENGE: Can we start a list of prominent Canadian wingnuts who have publicly promoted this kind of scientific inanity? Of course, first and foremost on that list would be current Minister of Public Safety and Total Douchebaggery Stockwell "Doris" Day:

Day was also angry at CBC Television on Wednesday. He said a report on The National the previous night, examining the relationship between his religious and political beliefs, was an example of "yellow journalism."

"CBC was a dredging up of things that were dealt with months and months ago," he said, adding he was upset he wasn't asked to comment.

The CBC report included an interview with a teacher who said Day told students at Alberta's Red Deer College in 1997 that creationism was as plausible a theory as evolutionism.

And I have to think Doris isn't the only intellectual illiterate in that collection of assclowns. So leave your suggestions in the comments section. Lines are open, and operators are standing by to abuse you.

9 comments:

Michael said...

*snarf*

"Harry Nibourg, the owner of the Big Valley museum, said he has offered to debate many scientists in Alberta and across Canada, but most have refused his request."

If his definition of "debate" is anything like his apparent definition of "evidence", it's no wonder that anyone with more than two fully functioning brain cells doesn't want to engage this clown: "Excuse me Mr Scientist, y'all jes' sit down and shut up while I harangue you with these-here Bible quotes direct from the mouth o' the Lord."

MgS said...

If you follow a few of the links from the bvcsm.com website, you'll find that most of the 'contributors' who helped put together the museum believe that science should take a back seat to the Bible when interpreting the natural world.

It's actually quite humorous - in the same way that the Stephen Harper government is humorous...

chris said...

I'm stuck on "fast fossils."
Do they come with fries?

MgS said...

Oh here's one of the websites, complete with piccys what they claim is "counter evidence" like "fast fossils":

Creation Truth Ministries

... you may resume abnormal programming now

Unknown said...

For once you are 100% correct.

This "museum" would be great comedy, if you knew that people would not go there and believe everything they see.

What a step backward.

Ti-Guy said...

They might as well give up their quest for charitable status right now. Because they're not getting it.

Anonymous said...

A CC READER CHALLENGE: Can we start a list of prominent Canadian wingnuts who have publicly promoted this kind of scientific inanity?

How about Toronto Sun columnist Michael Coren? Back in 1999 he wrote a commentary defending the Kansas school board, in which he repeated a number of tired creationist 'objections' to evolution.

I'm not sure if Coren still holds those views though.

Anonymous said...

Another candidate is the Globe and Mail, though they seem to have cleaned up their act a little in recent years. A few years ago they had Michael Behe review Dawkin's Climbing Mount Improbable, and they later published an editorial commenting on the then-new evolutionless Kansas science curriculum. The main point of the editorial was that people might object less to teaching evolution if all the many scientific problems with evolution (samples drawn here from a grab-bag of DI propaganda) were acknowledged. I haven't seen anything quite so silly since, so perhaps they've given up on it.

Anonymous said...

My favorite is the "Evidence from Genealogy" display. Apparently, the fact that medieval English kings traced their lineage back to Adam is proof that Adam existed.