Tonight, broadcast at 6:30pm ET on WBAI 99.5FM in the New York tri-state area or streamed live, Matthew LaClair will take on the awful Don McLeroy in a discussion of the Texas textbook revisionism. If you miss it, it will also be available later at Equal Time for Freethought.
It could be interesting: young, smart, and open-minded against a ferociously ignorant crank.
I don’t know that i’d really want to hear this.
I’ve just been having an e-mail discussion with someone from ‘Reasons to Believe’. I found it impossible to get through to him. His religious faith seems to give him a certainty that defies rationality or evidence.
I bet Don McLeroy is just as frustrating.
To the true believers, this will only be proof that scientists and other god-haters are mean to people like themselves (ignorant dolts). Which is true to certain extent, although the dolts are the ones who want to keep their children stupid, which seems plenty mean to me.
So I’m not sure whether this is really worth doing. Since it will, though, I hope the pro-knowledge guy has a lot of McLeroy’s stupid quotes at hand to repeat on air.
Glen D
http://tinyurl.com/mxaa3p
How do you debate that which has no honesty?
I’m worried that LaClair might not be prepared for the sheer volume of bullshit that Don McLeroy is about to shovel his way. Or that he might be expecting an honorable debate. He has dealt with these types before, so hopefully my concern is unwarranted.
Yes, those are religious fanatics. Although they are not harmless, few end up in prison or flying planes into skyscrapers.
All you can do is keep a close eye on them. If they break the laws, arrest, try, convict, and send them to jail.
Ah. Moment of WFT there. This is the LaClair I know (of).
Ever since I turned to the dark side, my time and bandwidth has been eaten up, with these debates, movies and doccies. It’s been ages since I have seen a “wildlife” movie.
Thanks Atheism for cleaning up my life.
Based on his recent NPR interview, watch for McLeroy to claim that he was persecuted for his Christian beliefs. I was so annoyed that no one at NPR pointed out that the entire SBOE is Christian, maybe Matt will call him on it.
LaClair: “But I truly believe that there is a possibility for some agreement and common ground”
Sure, sure. Maybe about the weather, Texas BBQ and the importance of flossing.
Other than that: I wouldn’t hold my breath if I were LaClair.
Huh, when I read LaClair I was thinking about the infamous chemistry wacko JJ LaClair who was caught over scientific fraud a few years ago. I hope the name is no bad sign :D
Some things just aren’t deserving of equal time.
McLeroy is one of them.
Look, i’m not saying you can’t have religion.
Feel free to indulge in magical thinking on your free time, just don’t involve me in it or insist that I join you.
And therein lies the rub (to butcher Shakespeare).
McLeroy insists that I join him in his folly, to the point of making law to that end.
Further, he has no intention ever of ‘seeing reason’ about it. Anyone who goes to Don McLeroy and says “come, let us reason together”, is going to find themselves reasoning with the unreasonable, and trying to unscrew the inscrutable.
Hey, PZ, are you familiar with the YouTuber known as C0nc0rdance? He has great videos laying the smackdown on alternative medicine and homeopathy, as well as creationism, which I figured would be right up your alley. From what I understand, he works in the field of medicine and defends it, and science in general, against stupidity.
Just about every word that Don McLeroy spoke was a lie. I had to turn it off after 20 minutes to let my bullshit detector take a rest.
I fail at quotes apparently.
At least McLeroy if now a lame duck after being defeated in the primaries. His burning stupid will, however, continue until the end of his current term. You can laugh at Texas now but this is same thing that could happen elsewhere if thinking people don’t pay attention to who is running in minor elections.
Remind me not to listen to that jerk ever again, He’s just to hard on my blood pressure, which is otherwise very well controlled. Its sort of like getting all the negative parts of drinking a half gallon of Einstein Bagels coffee, with none of the good parts, like the delicious coffee, and tasty bagels and cream cheese spreads.
It might be worthwhile noting that Matthew LaClair is, I believe, the former Kearny, NJ high-school student who recorded his history teacher actively proselytizing in class, and was then threatened with suspension when he complained. This was 2006, and he was in 11th grade, so he’s definitely young.
I’ll certainly be interested.
Incidentally, I’d last checked about a year ago and the teacher in question was still listed on the Kearny HS website.
Just a thought, but doesn’t this Mcleroy guy bear a frightening resemblence to Dennis Rader (aka BTK)?