Just a quick update: you may remember Linda Schrenko, the creationist and Georgia state school superintendent who was indicted for embezzlement (or you may not; she is a rather minor figure in the creationism wars, notable only for blatant corruption on top of the usual blatant stupidity). She pled guilty and has been sentenced to 8 years in prison.
Pharyngula
Evolution, development, and random biological ejaculations from a godless liberal
Has she been declared a martyr to the cause of biblical science yet? I’m sure it’s just a matter of time.
Don’t you love how religion instills ethical behaviour in people.
Speaking of creationist politicians, Tim Collins, a high school student recently interviewed Bachmann – and his interview was published in this months “Strictly High School”. Collins asks Bachmann some hard hitting questions.
I’ve got the excerpts that show her creationist leanings on Dump Bachmann.
The complete interview is posted on Tim Collin’s blog.
Money quote:
And one final quote from our up-to-date-on-scientific-happenings state senator: “Scientists-you know-aren’t locked down in agreement on the issue of the age of the earth.” Yes they are, Senator.
Michele Bachmann claims that her expertise is in the area of education. Luckily people like PZ and others helped publicize the nonsense that was going on with the science standards, so the Michele Bachmann’s and Cheri Pierson Yecke’s of the world didn’t get permanent influence on them.
Don’t you love how religion instills ethical behaviour in people.
Amen brother. I can’t recall any time in history when so many God-fearing and loving people were at once so openly and unabashedly crooked.
Tom Delay. George Bush. Donald Rumsfeld. Dick Cheney. Richard Reed. Katherine Harris… I could keep going, but this post would be 6 miles long.
Suffice it to say, when you’ve got so many of your own leaders telling you to do one thing while they do the opposite, it’s time to get out the pad of pink slips and start writing.
Cue the Genesis song “Jesus He Knows Me”. It’s an underrated one to be sure, and yet still poignant, 15 years after its release.
CanuckRob & BlueIndependent: It’s the other way around. Religion doesn’t make people into thieves and liars, per se.
However, unethical people–even if they’re not too too bright about anything else–latch on to religion because it offers excellent camoflage, both to themselves and to others, for whatever self-serving claptrap they dream up.
Which is not to say (just so we’re clear) that all religious people are out to screw their fellow man–just that anyone who is out to do so will make as big a song-and-dance about his piety as possible.
Conversely, there’s no advantage for a con-artist to espouse atheism.
In another bit of irony, the Federal Judge who sentenced her was Clarence Cooper, who decided the Selman v. Cobb County “textbook sticker” case, which was just remanded for further proceedings by the Circuit Court of Appeals.
You forgot the Enron bunch. There were some telling quotes which various media organisations noticed, eg:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/5018620.stm
Do I have a button for you! I think it’s from Evolvefish.com and it says, “Christians aren’t perfect. They just want you to be.”