Here is the latest on the Rally for Reason.
Also, please see: www.rallyforreason.com
Y’all come y’hear.
Edwin.
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From:
A M E R I C A N A T H E I S T S
A A N E W S
#1235 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 5/25/07
http://www.americanatheist.org
http://www.atheistviewpoint.tv
PRO-SCIENCE GROUPS TO RALLY THIS WEEKEND AT OPENING OF
ANSWERS IN GENESIS CREATIONIST MUSEUM
It’s “Yabba-dabba-doo!” versus empirical science, good teaching
Eighty-two years after the infamous “Scopes Monkey Trial,” the issue
of Darwinian evolution versus fundamentalist religious accounts of how
the universe and human life came to be is still being debated.
Contrary to the expectation of most scientists, museum officials and
cultural historians, creationism — the Christian doctrine that claims
Jehovah fashioned the Earth and human beings about 6,000 years ago as
vividly described in the book of Genesis — remains a belief embraced
in some form by a near-majority of Americans. A 2004 CBS News poll,
for instance, revealed “Americans do not believe that humans evolved,
and the vast majority says that even if they evolved, God guided the
process.” Worse yet, and reflecting widespread scientific illiteracy,
“Just 13 percent say that God was not involved.”
Once shunned as a form of fringe belief confined only to back-woods
evangelical Christians and cranks, acceptance of creationism has
become wide-spread and even mainstream. This weekend, for instance,
creationist advocates along with international media and protesters,
will be arriving in Boone County, Ky. for the opening of the “Answers
in Genesis Creation Museum.” The 69,000-square-foot facility, built
at the cost of over $27 million, boasts state-of-the-art exhibits, a
gift and book shop, and meeting space all designed to counter current
scientific findings about evolution. According to founder Ken Ham,
the museum is firmly based on “biblical supremacy,” and hopes to cater
to the growing number of Christian Americans who see evolution as the
root of all evil, a curse identified with Atheism, Humanism and a
potpourri of social and cultural problems.
For Ham, acceptance of evolution lurks as the cause of everything from
rampant feminism and gay rights to abortion, gangs, war and … well,
you name it.
Not so, says Edwin Kagin, a Boone County resident who lives within a
short drive of the new AIG museum, and is a long-time opponent of
creationism. Kagin serves as National Legal Director for American
Atheists, and is co-founder Camp Quest, an initiative to provide
Atheist and other non-believer youngsters with summer camp learning
and fun.
Along with a network of sympathetic Atheists, Freethinkers and
Humanists — and even local clergy and religious groups — Kagin has
put together a “Rally for Reason” (http://www.rallyforreason.com) that
will take place this Memorial Day, Monday, outside of the grand
opening of the AIG Creation Museum.
“We’re not challenging the right of Answers in Genesis to promote
their views,” said Kagin. “But we are saying that Creationism is a
doctrine not based on science and empirical evidence, and that people
should be cautious before they accept this religious belief as the
truth.”
For Kagin and others, much of the Creation Museum sounds like a trip
to the religious version of Oz. Mr. Ham and his associates, thanks to
plenty of funding, have skillfully blended the language of science
with high-tech, sophisticated exhibits to promote a theological
fantasy. Critics cite one claim made by the creationists, that
dinosaurs once co-existed on the Earth with human beings.
The weekend promises to be “interesting,” said Mr. Kagin. Media
organizations from around the world including the BBC are dispatching
crews to cover to the protest and opening of the AIG museum.
Hundreds, maybe even thousands of demonstrators are expected to show
up for a peaceful protest, including a program of speakers, and
entertainment by the Smalkowski family Blue Rocket Band.
On Sunday night, May 27, the Free Inquiry Group of Cincinnati and
Northern Kentuc
ky will host a “Rally for Reason Speak-Out” with
lectures and an open microphone.
Kagin suggests that people on all sides of this issue come to the
Speak-Out and protest, and even visit the Creation Museum to see the
evidence (or lack of evidence) for themselves.
**
WORTH NOTING — THE LATEST PRESS COVERAGE, CREATIONSIM v. SCIENCE
AND THE OPENING OF THE “ANSWERS IN GENESIS CREATION MUSEUM”
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2004/11/22/opinion/polls/main657083.sht
ml
POLL: CREATIONISM TRUMPS EVOLUTION
http://news.cincypost.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070525/NEWS02/7
05250343
CREATING DEBATE
A glimpse inside the new Answers in Genesis Creation Museum along with
coverage of this weekend’s RALLY FOR REASON.
http://www.wcpo.com/news/local/story.aspx?content_id=10e52ca0-e251-44f
4-8205-224c55703178
PROTESTORS EXPECTED AT CREATION MUSEUM OPENING
“The opening of Boone County’s Creation Museum later this month won’t
come without protests…”
http://blog.sciam.com/index.php?title=new_creation_museum_mostly_illus
trates_t&more=1&c=1&tb=1&pb=1
NEW CREATION MUSEUM MOSTLY ILLUSTRATES THAT CREATIONISTS HAVE LOTS OF
CASH
“The guy who developed the Jaws and King Kong rides at Universal
Studios is behind the new Creation Museum…”
http://news.kypost.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070525/NEWS02/7052
50344/1014/NEWS02
PREACHING CHAPTER ONE AS LITERALLY TRUE
“Where did it all come from? For the answers, the folks at Answers in
Genesis look no further than the Bible’s first book, Genesis…” An
excellent article with great pics on the opening of the AIG Creation
Museum.
http://www.insidebayarea.com/argus/oped/ci_5985119
YABBA-DABBA SCIENCE
Fred Flintstone meets Genesis?
http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/nationworld/bal-te.creationist20may20
,0,7993512.story?coll=bal-nationworld-headlines KY.
CREATION MUSEUM GOES HIGH TECH
“Flat-screen TVs, special effects used to tell Bible’s history…”
http://www.newsobserver.com/105/story/576084.html
MUSEUM PUTS DINOSAURS IN EDEN
“Tyrannosaurus rex was a strict vegetarian, and lived with Adam and
Eve in the Garden of Eden… Exhibits showing all this and more will
be at the Creation Museum, a $27 million religious museum set to open
next week in northern Kentucky…”
**
SILVERMAN TO HOST SPEAKER
LINE-UP AT MONDAY
RALLY FOR REASON
Smalkowski Family Rock Band, Zindler, Kritsky & More
FREETHOUGHT activist Herb Silverman will MC Monday’s giant “Rally for Reason” events as we gather outside the gates of the new Answers in Genesis Creation Museum (see the op-ed piece below from the Los Angeles Times for background.)
Herb is a long-time rabble-rouser and articulate spokesperson on behalf of Atheism, good science, and the separation of church and state.
Others tapped for the speaker roster at the Memorial Day event include:
* DR. LAWRENCE M. KRAUSS, Professor of Astronomy and Physics, Case Western Reserve University, author of numerous article and books including “The Physics of Star Trek,” columnist; member of the advisory boards of the Campaign to Defend the Constitution, an organization dedicated to opposing the religious right, and Scientists and Engineers for America which focuses on promoting sound science in public policy.
* FRANK ZINDLER, Editor of American Atheist Press, biologist and science writer, and a nationally-prominent figure in the debate over evolution v. Christian creationist pseudo-science.
* CHUCK SMALKOWSKI AND FAMILY. Daughter Nicole Smalkowski was expelled from her high school in Hardesty, Oklahoma for refusing to join in a recitation of the “Lord’s Prayer” after a basketball game. Her father, Chuck Smalkowski, was dragged into court on trumped-up charges. Defended by Edwin Kagin and American Atheists, Chuck was found “not guilty.”. The Smalkowskis have a lawsuit pending in Federal Court in Oklahoma City. Their BLUE ROSE ROCKET BAND will be performing at the Rally for Reason demo!
* DR. GRETCHEN MANN, physician, outspoken opponent of creationism.
* CARLY NICHOLS, a housewife and mother from Northern Kentucky, Carly is one of the organizers for the Rally for Reason.
* DR. GENE KRITSKY is an evolutionary biologist from Cincinnati, author, and expert on the life of Charles Darwin.
* DR. HELEN KAGIN is a retired physician, and Co-director/Co-Founder of Camp Quest, a nationwide summer camp for non-believing youngsters.
* REV. MENDLE ADAMS, ordained Christian Minister, and Pastor of the United Church of Christ in Cincinnati. Rev. Adams is a supporter of sound science and has spoken out against creationism for years.
* HEMANT MEHTA, freethought activist representing the Secular Student Alliance.
* ARLENE-MARIE, Michigan State Director for American Atheists and President of Michigan Atheists.
* BLAIR SCOTT, Alabama State Director for American Atheists.
* MELISSA HARTMAN, Rally for Reason
* FRANK BICKNELL, member of the Free Inquiry Group of Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky
* EDWIN KAGIN, Rally for Reason, National Legal Director for AMERICAN ATHEISTS, Co-founder of Camp Quest.
**
From the L.A. Times
http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/la-ed-round24may24,0,7881591.story?coll=la-opinion-leftrail
Yabba-dabba science
Note to would-be Creation Museum visitors: the Earth is round.
May 24, 2007
THE CREATION MUSEUM, a $27-million tourist attraction promoting earth science theories that were popular when Columbus set sail, opens near Cinc
innati on Memorial Day. So before the first visitor risks succumbing to the museum’s animatronic balderdash — dinosaurs and humans actually coexisted! the Grand Canyon was carved by the great flood described in Genesis! — we’d like to clear up a few things: “The Flintstones” is a cartoon, not a documentary. Fred and Wilma? Those woolly mammoth vacuum cleaners? All make-believe.
Science is under assault, and that calls for bold truths. Here’s another: The Earth is round.
The museum, a 60,000-square-foot menace to 21st century scientific advancement, is the handiwork of Answers in Genesis, a leader in the “young Earth” movement. Young Earthers believe the world is about 6,000 years old, as opposed to the 4.5 billion years estimated by the world’s credible scientific community. This would be risible if anti-evolution forces were confined to a lunatic fringe, but they are not. Witness the recent revelation that three of the Republican candidates for president do not believe in evolution. Three men seeking to lead the last superpower on Earth reject the scientific consensus on cosmology, thermonuclear dynamics, geology and biology, believing instead that Bamm-Bamm and Dino played together.
Religion and science can coexist. That the Earth is billions of years old is a fact. How the universe came into being and whether it operates by design are matters of faith. The problem is that people who deny science in one realm are unlikely to embrace it in another. Those who cannot accept that climate change may have caused the extinction of dinosaurs 65 million years ago probably don’t put much stock in the fact that today it poses grave peril to the Earth as we know it.
Last year, the White House attempted to muzzle NASA’s top climatologist after he called for urgent action on global warming, and a presidential appointee in the agency’s press office chastised a contractor for mentioning the Big Bang without including the word “theory.” The press liaison reportedly wrote in an e-mail: “This is more than a science issue, it is a religious issue. And I would hate to think that young people would only be getting one-half of this debate from NASA.”
With the opening of the Creation Museum, young people will be getting another side of the story. Too bad it starts with “Yabba-dabba-doo!”
**
FREE INQUIRY GROUP OF CINCINNATI TO HOST
RALLY FOR REASON “SPEAK OUT”
Sunday, May 27, 2007 ~ 7:00 PM EDT
The Free Inquiry Group of Cincinnati will host a special “Speak Out”
event the evening before the Rally for Reason demo.
Rally for Reason will take place the following day (Memorial Day,
Monday 5/28) at the opening of the “Answers in Genesis” Creation
Museum in neighboring Boone County, KY.
The Speak-Out will feature talks by Arlene-Marie (Michigan Atheists);
Frank Zindler (American Atheists); Rev. Mendle Adams (Minister and
critic of creationism); evolutionary biologist Gene Kritsky; former
physician and Camp Quest co-founder Helen Kagin and others. There
will be an open mike after the formal presentations, and the news
media has been invited.
WHAT: RfR “Speak Out” hosted by the Free Inquiry Group, Cincinnati
WHEN: Sunday, May 27, 2007, 7:00 PM EDT
WHERE: Hilton Hotel, Cincinnati Airport, 7373 Turfway Rd., Florence,
KY. Phone 859-371-4400
MORE INFO: http://www.gofigger.org and Rally for Reason.
http://www.rallyforreason.com .
**
The RALLY FOR REASON
Media: Edwin Kagin
859-384-7000 or
COALITION SUPPORTING GOOD SCIENCE, SOUND TEACHING
TO SPEAK OUT AT OPENING OF CREATIONIST MUSEUM
Sun-Mon. May 27-28, 2007
A broad coalition of secularist, religious, and educational groups and other advocates of “good science” will be protesting this Memorial Day weekend at the opening of a Creationist Museum in Kentucky.
The Answer in Genesis Creationist Museum is a 60,000-square-foot facility that will feature state of the art exhibits and other presentations arguing on behalf of an Old Testament view of how human beings and the universe came into existence. It is meant as a statement against Darwinian evolution, and scientific findings that the cosmos is billions of years old, and that human beings evolved, along with other present-day creatures, from earlier life forms. Instead, “young Earth” creationist groups like AIG preach that the Earth is only about 6,000 years old. The museum will reportedly have exhibits reflecting the dubious claim that dinosaurs and human beings co-existed, contrary to scientific evidence.
The RALLY FOR REASON includes groups and individuals who support objective science and high standards for science instruction in public schools. It includes religious and non-religious groups ranging from the Clergy Letter Project to the Institute for Humanist Studies and American Atheists.
Edwin Kagin, organizer of the Rally stated that the protest does not challenge the right of AIG to present its views. “They can teach that things fall up if they wish,” said Mr. Kagin. “We’re simply trying to show that their views are based on a particular and narrow religious doctrine, not on good scientific evidence.”
The RALLY FOR REASON will take place on Monday, May 28 2007 beginning at 9:00 AM in front of the Creation Museum, Petersburg Rd., Boone County, KY. More information can be found at http://www.rallyforreason.com.
There will be a RALLY FOR REASON SPEAK-OUT hosted by the Free Inquiry Group of Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky on Sunday, May 27, 200 at the Hilton Cincinnati Airport Hotel, 7373 Turfway Rd., Florence, KY beginning at 7:00 PM. Speakers will include Rev. Mendle Adams; Frank Zindler (biologist, geologist); Dr. Gene Kritsky (evolutionary biologist); Helen Kagin, physician and others. For info on that event, visit http://www.gofigger.org .
Media: For commentary and further information on the RALLY FOR REASON, contact Edwin Kagin ([email protected]) — phone: 859-384-7000 or visit http://www.rallyforreason.com
**
AMERICAN ATHEISTS
RALLY FOR REASON update
DR. LAWRENCE M. KRAUSS JOINS SPEAKER
ROSTER — RALLY FOR REASON — SLATED FOR
MEMORIAL DAY (THIS MONDAY) May 28, 2007
The RALLY FOR REASON announced today that Dr. Lawrence M. Krauss, Professor of Astronomy and Physics at Case Western Reserve University, has joined the speaker roster for Monday’s demonstration outside the gates of the Answers in Genesis Creation Museum in Boone County, KY.
RALLY FOR REASON is a coalition of secular, religious, educational and other groups defending “good science and the teaching of good science in public schools” against religion-based attacks on evolution and other areas of the scientific enterprise. The Rally will begin at 9:00 AM on Memorial Day (this Monday) May 28, 2007.
Dr. Krauss is the author of several best-selling books including “The physics of Star Trek,” “Fear of Physics,” and “Quintessence.” He was born in New York City, and received undergraduate degrees in Mathematics and Physics from Carleton University. In 1982, he received his Ph.D. from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He has appeared regularly in national media as a staunch advocate for science, and spoken out against so-called “intelligent design” and Old Testament-based “creationist” accounts.
Dr. Krauss joins an already-impressive line-up of scientists, civic activists, educators and others who will be speaking at Monday’s rally.
THOUSANDS OF Atheists, Freethinkers, and Humanists will be joining other advocates of secular education and good science to protest at the opening of the “Answers in Genesis” Creationist Museum in Boone County, KY. on Memorial Day — Monday, May 28, 2006. We do not oppose the right of AIG or other religious groups to express their opinions, no matter how inaccurate or fanciful. We do support the scientific enterprise, and the teaching of good science.
THE EVENING BEFORE this historic event, the Free Inquiry Group of Cincinnati will host a “Rally for Reason Speak-Out”at the nearby Hilton Cincinnati Airport Hotel. Speakers will include Arlene-Marie (Michigan Atheists); Rev. Mendle Adams, opponent of Creationist fantasy and misinformation; Frank Zindler (American Atheists Science Policy Advisor); Dr. Gene Kritsky, evolutionary biologist; Dr. Helen Kagin, physician and many others. There will be an open microphone for comments and Q&A. The FIG web site is at http://www.gofigger.org .
UPDATES…
* The Rally for Reason will take place beginning at 9:00 AM, Monday (Memorial Day) May 28, 2007 outsides the gates of the “Answers in Genesis Creation Museum,” set to open that very day. The venue is Bullittsburg Church Road, Exit 11, off of 275 West from I-75, Petersburg Road in Boone County, KY.
* Lodging and other services are within a few minutes drive, so check the RfR web site at http://www.rallyforreason.com . We suggest, though, that you bring water, some food, and dress appropriately for the event.
* Bring signs and banners. We urge you to keep the message polite and simple. Visit http://www.rallyforreason.com web site for more.
* Endorse the Rally for Reason! Local, regional and national groups are supporting this important protest on behalf of good science and sane public policy. Give your endorsement, and send your logo, to the RfR web master at [email protected] .
* If you need directions or other information, visit http://www.rallyforreason.com . You may also contact Mr. Edwin Kagin, Kentucky State Director for American Atheists at [email protected]
* The RALLY FOR REASON Speak-Out will be held the night before the rally and is hosted by the Free Inquiry Group of Cincinnati. Get more information at http://www.gofigger.org.
WHAT: The RALLY FOR REASON Speak-Out
WHEN: Sunday, May 27, 2007 (the night before the Rally), 7:00 PM EDT
WHERE: The Hilton Cincinnati Airport Hotel, 7373 Turfway Road, Florence, KY. (Yes, the Cincinnati Airport is actually located in Kent
ucky, but is right across the Ohio state line and near Cincinnati. The Speak-Out and Rally are all taking place within a proximate area.).
MORE INFO: http://www.gofigger.org and http://www.rallyforreason.com
PLEASE make plans now to attend these historic events… We’ll see you at the Rally for Reason demo and speak-out!
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The Cincinnati Enquirer, May 25, 2007.
http://news.enquirer.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070525/NEWS0103/705250385/1077/COL02
Museum’s unveiling days away
Believers and opponents expect to attend Monday’s opening
BY RYAN CLARK
When the gates of the new Creation Museum in Petersburg open Memorial Day, several groups will be inside – and outside – waiting to see what all the fuss is about.
Many of those people will be followers of the creationist faith, believing in the literal Bible. They think the world is about 6,000 years old, that dinosaurs and man co-existed and Noah built an ark to save God’s creatures from a massive flood.
Others will be there to protest the museum and its ministry, Answers in Genesis. Some will have religious and political agendas, while others do not believe in God at all. Some are concerned the museum’s teachings will warp children, while others say the ministry uses bad science.
All protesters will remain outside the gates, according to museum officials.
Mark Looy, vice president of outreach for Answers in Genesis, said this week there is no way to determine how many visitors will turn out on opening day. But 2,000 people came to a “behind the scenes” tour given to charter members a few months ago. Looy said they could expect at least that many for the opening.
No one knows how many protesters will show up.
Because of the media attention the museum already has received – from CNN, “NBC Nightly News,” PBS, the BBC and Thursday’s New York Times – a spirited plethora of protest is expected.
Some, like Martha Heil, editor and strategic planner of the 140,000-member American Institute of Physics based in College Park, Md., hope to talk to the media about science.
“We don’t want to be there screaming that it’s wrong,” said Heil, who plans to attend the opening with area physicists. “We are not against religion or houses of faith. We are against the misuse of science in religion, and you don’t have to go through the museum to see it. You can see it on (the Answers in Genesis) Web site.”
Her group wants to teach – not preach – to the crowd. Though there’s also nothing wrong with preaching, they say.
“Others may be anti-religious, but we are not,” she said. “We’re very modest, and we want to be unified and talk to reporters about how (Answers in Genesis) are using deliberate scientific untruths.”
Inevitably, Heil will be surrounded by others who will be more vocal.
The Campaign to Defend the Constitution, a national group that opposes the religious right, drafted petitions against the museum. They claim Answers in Genesis markets its unscientific ideas to children, much in the same way R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co. used its “Joe Camel” cartoon character to promote Camel cigarettes. The group says so far 3,000 people have signed its petitions.
“We agree they can build this museum and believe what they wish,” said Clark Stevens, co-director of the Washington-based group, which claims 125,000 members nationwide and 7,000 members in the region. “But we feel they can’t try to convince children that this is true.”
Atheists and those Christians who are not creationists could be standing side-by-side Monday, and for once they will believe the same thing: that the Creation Museum is bad for the area.
Edwin Kagin, a Union lawyer and the national legal director of American Atheists, is urging members of his group to walk through the museum.
“We want to let the world know that most rational people do not share the primitive world view of creationists that the Earth is only a few thousand years old, and that humans and dinosaurs existed at the same time,” he said. “Various groups, representing both religious and secular orientations, will join together to protest this destructive world view.”
Others will stay home – and protest in their own ways.
“We don’t get into protests,” said Frank Traina, of Wilder, who is vice president of the nonprofit Society for Evolution Education, or SEE. “But we were rather inspired by the Creation Museum’s presence.”
=============================================================================================================
The following letter was received by Rally for Reason. It is representative of a criticism we have heard of our effort.
My answer follows.
The name of the sender has been redacted.
Edwin.
—————————————————————————————-
Hello,
I have been following the planning and building of this “museum” since
the beginning. I am equally dismayed that visitors will be mis-informed
by the exhibits, but what are you going to do? People will believe
what they want to believe, what they are taught to believe. And they
have already been taught these un-truths in their churches and in their
homes. At least the children will hear the other side of the story at
school and will have the opportunity to choose for themselves.
I firmly believe that this too will pass. Many fine, respected museums
are struggling financially to stay open. The Freedom Center in
Cincinnati for one. The Creation Museum will not be around for long.
Too few people will take it seriously. As long as government money is
not involved in keeping it open, I plan to ignore it. I’ll laugh when
people bring it up, but I will save my anger and passion for greater threats to the Constitution.
Thank you for your good work.
(Senders Name Redacted)
————————————————————
(Redacted),
You are quite correct when you say that people will believe as they will.
And we do not in any way contest their right to do so. They can believe that things fall up when dropped with no complaint from me.
The “Rally for Reason” is to let people know we will not permit this mythical world view to take us back to another Dark Ages.
It is to let legislators, who may be toying with the idea of teaching religious fundamentalism as science, that there are educated adults who intend to prevent them from doing so.
Government money is already being spent to advertise the museum of nonsense that Ken Ham built.
Consider just why, as you say, “Many fine, respected museums are struggling financially to stay open,” while the “Creation Museum” has raised 27 Million dollars and will open debt free.
At this moment, bills are pending in both Ohio and Kentucky to teach Bronze Age mythology in science classes.
That is a substantial threat to our Constitution.
Come and join us in saying that we do not want to have to retake the same ground that knowledge has previously so painfully won.
Come and help us say NO to the idea that science is bad.
Come and help us hold back the darkness.
Edwin.
Edwin Kagin
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http://www.ncseweb.org/resources/news/2007/KY/563_reactions_to_creation_museum_5_25_2007.asp
National Center for Science Education
Reactions to creation “museum”
With the young-earth creation ministry Answers in Genesis scheduled to open its lavish creation museum in northern Kentucky over the Memorial Day weekend, there is a great deal of concern among the scientific and educational communities in the adjacent states about its impact on the public understanding of evolution. NCSE executive director Eugenie C. Scott told ABC’s Good Morning America (May 25, 2007) that her fear is that students will “show up in classrooms and say, ‘Gee, Mrs. Brown, I went to this spiffy museum last summer and they say that everything you’re teaching me is a lie.'”
Early reports from the museum suggest that its exhibits are just as scientifically misleading as expected. Edward Rothstein of The New York Times (May 24, 2007) offered a bemused review of the museum, which impressed him with its “sheer weirdness and daring.” In a report in the eSkeptic newsletter (May 23, 2007), Stephen T. Asma, the author of a book on the history of natural history museums, said that skeptics will find the museum quirky and amusing, but added, “When I think, however, of the young children who are unprepared to critically assess the museum, my sense of humor fades.”
Over 800 scientists in the three states surrounding the museum — Kentucky, Indiana, and Ohio — have signed a statement sponsored by NCSE reading, “We, the undersigned scientists at universities and colleges in Kentucky, Ohio, and Indiana, are concerned about scientifically inaccurate materials at the Answers in Genesis museum. Students who accept this material as scientifically valid are unlikely to succeed in science courses at the college level. These students will need remedial instruction in the nature of science, as well as in the specific areas of science misrepresented by Answers in Genesis.”
Additionally, the Campaign to Defend the Constitution (or DefCon) is sponsoring two petitions denouncing the creationist pseudoscience on display at the museum: one for educators, signed by over 3500 teachers, and one for the general public, signed by over 15,000 signatories. “The main problem,” Lawrence Krauss, a professor of physics and astronomy at Case Western Reserve University and a member of DefCon’s advisory board, told the Lexington Herald-Leader (May 25, 2007), “is that this is a museum of misinformation.” In his opinion column in the Louisville Courier-Journal (May 22, 2007), Krauss was similarly outspoken, describing the museum as “an educational travesty.”
And a protest called Rally for Reason is scheduled to take place outside the museum on Memorial Day, with a press event to be held on the preceding Sunday. Rally for Reason’s organizer Edwin Kagin told the Cincinnati Enquirer (May 25, 2007), “We want to let the world know that most rational people do not share the primitive world view of creationists that the Earth is only a few thousand years old, and that humans and dinosaurs existed at the same time.” “Various groups, representing both religious and secular orientations, will join together to protest this destructive world view” at the rally, he added.
The editorialist for the Los Angeles Times (May 24, 2007) cut to the heart of the matter, lamenting, “Young Earthers believe the world is about 6,000 years old, as opposed to the 4.5 billion years estimated by the world’s credible scientific community. This would be risible if anti-evolution forces were confined to a lunatic fringe, but they are not,” citing the political influence of creationism. The editorial concluded, “With the opening of the Creation Museum, young people will be getting another side of the story. Too bad it starts with ‘Yabba-dabba-doo!'”
May 25, 2007
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TOP SECRET INFORMATION ON PARKING AT RALLY FOR REASON
Warning: If you are a religious fundamentalist who believes the earth is only some 6,000 years old and that humans were made from dirt, please do not read further in this message!
Through scientific methods that would be baffling and inexplicable to you, and by using an ancient Babalassian Methodological Interface, we have spotted you and programmed your computer to do bad things if you proceed further, like wiping out all of your data and sending all of those things you don’t want anyone to know you have in your computer to everyone in your church.
So, for your own good, do not proceed. You have been warned!
For those remaining, here is how you park at the Rally for Reason.
1) Under Kentucky law, there is no off road parking on any of the roads leading to Answers in Genesis. This will be enforced by the Boone County Sheriff’s Office. They will cooperate with us in every way possible, but who will also uphold the law.
2) It is strongly suggested that you car pool as much as you can. Get as many people as lawfully possible into one car and leave the other cars at your motel or wherever.
3) The driver of your car should let everyone off as near to the entrance to Answers in Genesis as possible. See directions and map here: http://rallyforreason.com/Rally_4_Reason_files/R4R.htm
4) As a practical matter, the closest you may be able to reasonable get is the intersection of Highway 8 and Bullittsburg Church Road. Once they are let off, the persons in your car can walk the fairly short distance to the Iron Age gates that hold the Bronze Age fantasies of the “Creation Museum.” It is important that they walk on the edge of the road and not in the road.
5) The Rally for Reason will take place in the area to the left of Bullittsburg Church Road just across Deck Lane, which runs parallel to the gates of AiG. Stay within the area that should be marked with yellow caution tape.
6) After letting off passengers, the driver of the car should continue along Hwy 8 to Stevens Road. Stevens Road is one mile on the right after you get off at Exit 11 (Petersburg) off of 275. So, if you are going West from 1-71 / I-75, take Exit 11, turn right, stop at Bullittsburg Church Road (which will be on the left), and then proceed without passengers to Stevens Road.
7) At Stevens Road, turn right and go about one mile to First Farm Inn. That is where we will be parking. The address is: 2510 Stevens Road, Petersburg, KY 41080. It can be identified by white fences on the right side of the road.
8) Turn right in the parking area indicated. There should be signs and volunteers to help if needed.
9) A car driven by a Rally for Reason volunteer will then take you back to the Rally for Reason.
10) When your party is ready to leave, you can get a ride back to the parking area with a Rally for Reason driver, get your car, and then pick up your passengers.
11) There will be volunteers for the Rally for Reason wearing brightly colored safety vests with Rally for Reason on the back (see photo on www.rallyforreason.com) to help you out and to answer your questions after you fail to carefully read these instructions.
12) This should work. Can’t think of any reason why it should not.
13) However, it has been said that if you want to make god laugh, tell him your plans.
Oh, and please do not forget to bring water, snacks, something to sit on, a hat, and rain gear.
May random chance operate in your favor.
Edwin.
Wonder if this just means that it is soo messed up they couldn’t hire enough testers to get some fresh ideas and to work the bugs out