Bill Nye booed in Texas for saying the Moon reflects the Sun light

[The Count]

http://bsalert.com/news/1990/Bill_Nye_Bood_In_Texas_For_Saying_The_Moon_Reflects_The_Sun.html

Bill Nye, the harmless children's edu-tainer known as "The Science Guy," managed to offend a select group of adults in Waco, Texas at a presentation, when he suggested that the moon does not emit light, but instead reflects the light of the sun.
snip

At this point, several people in the audience stormed out in fury. One woman yelled "We believe in God!" and left with three children, thus ensuring that people across America would read about the incident and conclude that Waco is as nutty as they'd always suspected.

This story originally appeared in the Waco Tribune, but the newspaper has mysteriously pulled its story from the online version, presumably to avoid further embarassment.

http://www.wacotrib.com/news/content/news/stories/2006/04/06/04062006wacbillnye.html

[WindRavenX]

1. oh. my. god.

Please tell me no one could possibly be *that* ignorant where they BOO Bill Nye the fuckin SCIENCE GUY over stating a fucking FACT.

oh my god.

[ulysses]

6. and you were worried about Utah.

:D

[WindRavenX]

14. I dunno...I don't want to find out the winner of a TX V UT science ignorance fight

One of my co-workers--shit you not-- just flat out doesn't "believe" in evolution or even modern science.

Yeegads.

Oh, and hiya :hi:

[sakabatou]

65. Tell him or her to throw out everything made after 1906

:D

[WindRavenX]

68. the ironic thing to me is...

...she survived childhood luekemia. Through modern medicine.

I bit my tongue when I found that out.

[ulysses]

101. you know chemo only works when you pray over it first.

:eyes:

:hi: to you too!

[HCE SuiGeneris]

148. Do the 1990 and 2006 dates in the link addresses have any relevance? How old is this story?

[struggle4progress]

221. Supposedly happened in early April 06

The following site supposedly contained a link to a 6 April 06 Waco TRib article, which apparently no longer exists; searching the Waco Trib does show Nye has spoken at the Community College

http://www.duggmirror.com/general_sciences/Bill_Nye_Booed_in_Waco_for_pointing_out_Moon_reflects_the_Sun/

[Donnachaidh]

198. then prayer would be a sort of *secret sauce* ingredient?

:eyes:

:rofl:

[mitchum]

170. You shouldn't bite your tongue; hypocrites should be called by name

[evilkumquat]

269. A Knew a Girl Who Was Only 3 Feet Tall Due to Childhood Illness...

...and she became a HUGE* religious nut because of it.

She once told me she was so into "God" because she had been so sick but he let her live.

I would have been like, "Fuck you, God, you fucking psycho! Is this how you get your kicks? Picking on babies? Well, FUCK YOU!"

But then, that is just me, I suppose.

Seriously, though, I am amazed at how people react to tragic but naturally-occurring events in their lives and are so desperate to find "meaning" in it they surrender all their logic to the great wishing well of religion.

Evil Kumquat
________________________________

*Well, as "huge" as a three-foot tall woman can get.

[Jack Rabbit]

205. I guess we're not in Kansas any more

??

[OmmmSweetOmmm]

166. "oh my god" is the first thing I said when reading this. This sounds like a set-up.

Why are these people going to see a Science Guy if they don't believe in Science?

[Jack Rabbit]

207. It's not a set up, its just Biblical literalism

Genesis 1:14-19 (The Fourth Day of Creation):

14: And God said, Let there be lights in the firmament of the heaven to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs, and for seasons, and for days, and years:
15: And let them be for lights in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth: and it was so.
16: And God made two great lights; the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night: he made the stars also.
17: And God set them in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth,
18: And to rule over the day and over the night, and to divide the light from the darkness: and God saw that it was good.
19: And the evening and the morning were the fourth day.

According to this, the Moon is a light.

Will the same people get upset when a mathematician says that the ratio of the circumference of any circle to its radius is an irrational number approximately equal to 3.14159? Consider 1 Kings 7:23

And he made a molten sea, ten cubits from the one brim to the other: it was round all about, and his height was five cubits: and a line of thirty cubits did compass it round about.

That comes out to an even 3. The Hebrews did not get that from God; they got it from Egyptian mathematicians.

[OmmmSweetOmmm]

213. I should have elaborated. When I said set-up, I was saying that the people that booed and walked

out knew that he was going to talk about science and that they were there deliberately to make their point and leave.

[Jack Rabbit]

217. That it could have been

Of course, what else is Bill Nye going to talk about but science? Nye is filling the cultural niche once occupied by the late Don Herbert, aka Mr. Wizard.

It's bad enough to argue against evolution on Biblical grounds and claim it's science, but the people who walked out on Bill Nye were challenging modern physics. This is really taking Biblical literalism to a new logical extreme. At least so far, I haven't heard a Christian mathematician assert that the value of p is an even 3 and then try to prove resulting ellipses he gets are really perfect circles.

Science is a materialistic philosophy that does not even pretend to address spiritual questions. Spiritual questions it leaves to religion. A Biblical literalist has painted himself into a corner by asserting something contrary, viz., that the Bible answers all questions, spiritual and material; where the Bible conflicts with modern science, the Bible is correct. This is not science; it is authoritarianism. A scientist looks at the material facts, forms a hypothesis and tests the hypothesis with experimentation, after which he will either affirm, reject or modify the original hypothesis. To a Biblical literalist, the Bible is self-validating and final; no formulation of hypotheses or experimentation is necessary.

That should go a long ways to explaining why the term scientific creationism is an oxymoron. Science does not and cannot prove or disprove the existence of God, and consequently no materialist theory that asserts the existence of God (or an intelligent designer, if one wants to play word games) is not a scientific theory. This does not mean a belief in God is wrong; it is simply wrong to say that such a belief is grounded in science.

Modern science has not and cannot destroy spiritual belief. However, modern science has dealt a fatal blow to Biblical literalism. One can be a scientist and at the same time a Christian or the follower of any other religion in a broad sense, but one cannot be a scientist and at the same time Biblical literalist.

[LiberalFighter]

246. The math

If it was ten cubits from the one brim to the other (or known as the diameter)

Then the compass or circumference is 31.41592653589793

The height or radius is 5 cubits

[TahitiNut]

257. Give that man the peace of pi!

:party:

[Jack Rabbit]

272. My bad

I radiused when I should have diametered.

[colorado_ufo]

266. Well, the moon IS a light.

It just doesn't EMIT the light. The reflected light, though, on a clear night, can be bright enough to cast a shadow. This is more a matter of language than anything else.

[Katherine Brengle]

231. seconded. oh. my. dog.

[CaliforniaPeggy]

2. Even God knows that the moon reflects light!

What a bunch of idiots...:puke:

[WindRavenX]

8. hiya Peggy...

...kinda makes your head hurt, huh?

I mean...damn.


Are we gonna hear boos when he says gravity makes things fall instead of Jeebus?

[CaliforniaPeggy]

37. Hey, my dear WindRavenX...

Yes, it does make my head hurt, damn it!

There is so much creativity in human beings....

And then you get hit with this sort of shit...

What planet are these idiots from?

:wow:

[Gato Moteado]

126. apparently they're not from the moon.....

otherwise the would know that the sun was reflecting off of it.

anyway, i'm not sure where they're from but i wish they'd go away.

[loves_dulcinea]

261. the planet these people are from,

the flat earth part of texas.

[adamuu]

110. LMAO

:rofl:

[The Doctor.]

115. LOL. Yes... God most certainly does know.

And we are striving daily to know more of what God does.

We'll be at it until we are God.

Unfortunately, God knows what they do too. :crazy:

[LiberalFighter]

251. I wonder if they believe that men have stepped foot on the moon

If they do then they themselves should personally volunteer to travel to the Sun and make a landing there.

If they don't then they need to explain why details of the moon such as craters can be seen but not of the Sun.

[Kajsa]

279. I love this, Peggy!

You put a big smile on my face!

;-)

- you tell 'em!

:hug:

[Gregorian]

3. What?

Alrighty, then.


Don't ask why I'm posting here. I have nothing to say. Nothing that could possibly express my disbelief.

OK, I'll try. You know America is in trouble when Bill Nye is controversial. :)

[karlrschneider]

10. You didn't get the memo...albedo is a Librul plot?

:eyes: :grr: :puke:

[Gregorian]

98. Well this explains the 28% Bush approval rating.

I never could figure it out. It's quite clear now.

You know, I was on a bike ride today (that's when my brain actually functions normally), and I was saying to myself "You only need one thing to be a conservative- ignorance". But it's trivial. You already knew that.

[karlrschneider]

106. Yeah, ignorance is fine for the garden variety conservative but the real deal ones

need deliberate stupidity.

[Tesha]

211. Al Baedo? (NT)

[marions ghost]

158. I knew America was in trouble

back in the 90's when a small-town grocery store owner told me that her preacher said, "Art is evil."

(Not long after the big Jesse Helms nationwide indoctrination campaign on the subject).

Those churches spread the messages FAST.... :(

[derby378]

4. I haven't heard about that story in years...

It was truly surreal when I first heard about it. If I was in that audience, I probably would have asked a cop to take those kids away on the grounds of reckless endangerment.

[Az]

36. Um... it just happened 6 days ago

Not sure what you heard. But this is new.

[derby378]

50. We're both wrong...

It happened in April 2006.

http://attebury.wordpress.com/2006/04/07/bill-nye-angers-some-creationists-during-lecture/

[Az]

190. Yeah, I did my own digging and found out

Doh.... :hide:

[eShirl]

5. lunatics

[Breeze54]

12. No pun intended.

:rofl:

[Breeze54]

7. OML!!! WTF?!

Bill Nye is my favorite Science Guy on Saturday mornings!:rofl:

He's so funny and entertaining and informative.

Those people are WHACKED!!! :wtf:

OMG!! What the 'F' is America coming to??

:crazy:

[SeattleGirl]

9. Maybe they should change the name of the town to Whacko.

Some people are utterly, totally, and completely ignorant and stupid.

[Flying Dream Blues]

88. A lot of us here in Texas call it exactly that... nt

[SeattleGirl]

93. I can certainly understand why. n/t

[snappyturtle]

226. You stole my thunder!!! n/t

[Liberal In Texas]

240. Yes we do. n/t

[tammywammy]

195. I already to

I drive as fast as I can through that area.

[Bongo Prophet]

249. Careful driving fast thru wacko, it is DPS home base.

[smokey nj]

11. BLASPHEMY!!!! If the "Science" guy is allowed to get away with saying that,

next thing you know he'll be saying that thunder isn't the sound of angels bowling.

[SeattleGirl]

15. You mean it's NOT?????

:rofl:

[smokey nj]

35. I heard some crazy liberal theory (now it's ONLY a theory) where they

make some bogus claims about pressure systems or some such nonsense. But WE know it's angels bowling.

:rofl:

[SeattleGirl]

82. YEAH! We know what's what!

:rofl:

[sakabatou]

74. O NOES!

[SammyWinstonJack]

202. ...

:spray:

[tularetom]

13. One woman yelled "We believe in God" and left in a huff

returning to her double wide with her three home schooled children in her 1985 beater car to weep over the death of Elvis.

[derby378]

27. Who built the pyramids? ELVIS!! Who built Stonehenge? ELVIS!!

What's going on in the Bermuda Triangle? Down in the Bermuda Triangle...

Elvis needs boats!
Elvis needs boats!
Elvis, Elvis, Elvis, Elvis, Elvis, Elvis, Elvis needs boats!

Yes, the sailing Elvis! Captain Elvis! Commodore Elvis!

:rofl:

[Forkboy]

162. Bring on the Mojo!

One of the funniest songs ever!

[Oeditpus Rex]

85. FYI

I live in a "double wide," and there are other DUers who also live in mobile homes.

:eyes:

[Lyric]

91. *raises hand*

Non-idiotic mobile home dweller here.

In a mobile home park.

In West Virginia, no less.

[Zomby Woof]

94. Classist bullshit has always thrived here

Unfortunately.

Where you live, what you eat, what music you listen to... it makes you fair game to be pre-judged.

(So I am not pre-judging the playoff picture right now)

[Oeditpus Rex]

99. What ball club you root for...

:toast:




Stults? Stults?!

[Tsiyu]

129. I love you Zomby

:grouphug:

One of my (college educated) friends has coined a new term for those of us Caucasians who don't live in groomed subdivisions and who don't send our kids to private schools and who buy our clothes at the thrift stores and who drive old cars while STILL managing to be "readers' and thinkers:

Progressive White Trash

(yes, I know the term White Trash is offensive to some - it's my friend's way of turning the phrase into something positive for herself, after being shunned by the Mega-Materialists in her town.)

Yes, whoever made that ignorant statement up above: I live in a trailer and I homeschooled my kids and I'm proud to say my daughter walked out of an anti-evolution "talk" at her college.

I'll bet the mother who walked out, clutching her babies and shrilly proclaiming her belief in Gawd, drives a late model Suburban, lives in a McMansion and goes to a MegaChurch, while sending her kids to a public school (where she demands the library burn Harry Potter .)

Actually, I don't know where the hell she lives, but here's a clue for some of the folks here: lots of really cool people live in trailers, homeschool their kids and drive old beaters. We are called Democrats.

(love ya Zomb, say hi for me! :hi:)

[Breeze54]

131. WORD!!!!!!

:hug:

[Tsiyu]

136. back atcha!

:hug:

[Oeditpus Rex]

138. Anyone who thinks they can pull this 1,280-square-foot 'trailer'

is welcome to come and try.

[Name removed]

149. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[Oeditpus Rex]

151. Somebody here has 'issue's'

But it's not me.



Buh-bye! :hi:

[Breeze54]

152. I resent others, who put down others, for where they live,

I value people for who they are, not where they live.

You are a victim of the M$M. Turn it off!!!!

You are getting a warped view of your fellow Democrats and it's really sad and scary.

[WindRavenX]

161. you just posted that you would derive pleasure from OR getting hit by a tornado

I don't think he's the one w/ issues.

[Tsiyu]

164. Are you sure you're yelling at the right one?

OR says he, too, lives in a trailer.

Or is this one of those DU things i don't get? :P

Anyhoo, check above. :hi:

[DarkTirade]

156. Class can't be bought

and therefore doesn't require money. :)

[marions ghost]

160. truer words were never spoken

n/t

[DarkTirade]

163. I just hope it's true... 'cause my whole family is poor :)

Seriously though, my family is all very well educated, fairly sophisticated... and we even know what wines go with what meals. We just don't spend 200 bucks on a bottle. :)

[marions ghost]

188. my dad was from a family without much money

...urban poor. He grew up in a small apartment and they never owned a car or had any luxuries. The only toys he ever had were some marbles and a firetruck he said. He played in the dirt and on concrete. But my Dad is one of the most creative, successful individuals you'd ever want to meet now. He went into journalism and public relations. He's not rich but he's spent his life giving to others. He has so many friends he can't keep up with em all. He has an air of "living well" so the joke is, people think he's rich, but he's not at all. He just doesn't go around with an air of lacking anything.

My mom was from a wealthy family with a lot of doctors, lawyers & businessmen. Although there are the exceptions, for the most part they are small-minded, disagreeable, stingy, competitive and actually not very happy at all. Though they live in cities they are quite provincial and always concerned with Keeping Up Appearances (if you've ever seen that British comedy show, there are several 'Hyacinths'...). And yet they're the ones who think they're classy! My mom was the Black Sheep because she didn't conform and didn't have money because of that renegade streak. But in reality she was the Swan.

My SO's family comes from Appalachia and have never had any big bucks. Smart, ingenious, interesting, warm, and do they ever know what real sharing and community is...

I've lived it--money has nothing to do with "class."

[DarkTirade]

203. I dated a girl whose family was much like your mother's

They were constantly trying to keep up with their rich friends and always had to have the shiniest fanciest things.

Eventually they drove her to develop an eating disorder because one of the things they wanted to be able to show off was a 'perfect daughter', which of course meant that she had to be skinny. :\

After we broke up I got the impression that she dated me solely because I was the opposite of all that. Well, that and my dashing good looks. :P

[marions ghost]

209. If they weren't so dangerous and controlling

you could feel sorry for them, esp the kids the way they get brought up.

You reminded me that as a child I had a couple of rich friends who were so micro-managed and stressed out (while being heavily indulged) that they both went bonkers by adulthood. One of the mothers of these kids was anorexic herself & had a closet full of shoes that outdid Imelda Marcos. It was ALL about image. Stories abound there. Like your friend, the girls were told they should look like Barbie but then went more Auschwitz, as true anorexics do. It was sad. I try to have some compassion. People talk alot about the oppression of children in Fundy or religious sect families--but this money-related disorder is NO better. We need to start seeing the pathology in it.

If I saw the young GWB as a child of Babs and Poppy, I probably could have predicted his future outcome pretty accurately...except for the presidency (which I don't accept that he actually won, not sure about the governorship). We probably could have even felt sorry for him as a child.

But I sure can't muster up ANY pity for these tragically conflicted people now, after living this BFEE nightmare at their hands. Rule by the conservative twisted rich is killing us & killing the country. I don't feel neutral about it. We can't let their "values" prevail.

[kittenpants]

220. great quote

[dddem]

174. How about changing that to

Progressive Caucasian Biodegradable Landfill Product? Al Gore would approve, I'm sure.
Peace!

[Tsiyu]

212. Nice

I'll tell my friend we CAN make it a PC moniker :)

[Zomby Woof]

238. Hey BHG!

:loveya: I haven't seen you haunt GD in a while. :hi:

Love ya back, and will do!

[LiberalFighter]

247. Probably the best for home schooling to be effective

Are cities and towns that don't teach real science.

[noamnety]

287. "White trash"

It isn't something your presumably white friend can just turn into a positive about herself.

It's offensive because it's classist - but also because it's racist, and your friend embracing the term doesn't change that.

Ever wonder why the word "white" is in that phrase? It's a marker to differentiate it from the normal default kind of trash. It's insulting white folks by saying they are acting like regular black trash. There's no way to make that NOT offensive.

[China_cat]

253. Living in a double wide is only an insult

if you use a dictionary and 3 volumes of the encyclopedia to help level it.

[Breeze54]

130. I'm hoping to buy a double wide with a fireplace and a jacuzzi and

you're not invited! :P

:toast: <--- Cheering you won't be there! You wouldn't 'fit in' anyway.

:D

[Skittles]

178. when I was born, my first home was a trailer

yes INDEED

[wicket]

204. A lot of my family lives in a trailer park

So sick of this bullshit :eyes:

:hug:

[RebelOne]

305. I'm sick of it also. I live in a mobile home

and it ruffles my feathers when people make derogatory remarks about us trailer dwellers. Most of us are not beer-swilling, foul-mouthed, ignorant, rednecks.

[loves_dulcinea]

263. yup!

and by choice, at that!

[sandnsea]

154. Or to her 4 br 3 ba mcmansion

and Sunday mega-church with separate school, followed by a visit to the country club and an RNC meeting Monday night.

[ms liberty]

173. mr liberty and I call them "hypocrite factories" n/t

[girl gone mad]

244. Let's not demonize poor people, please.

Plenty of good liberal people live in double wides and/or drive beaters. In fact, a lot of said people are probably better off financially than those who take out lots of debt living a lifestyle above their means.

[Madspirit]

16. Bill Nye the Science Guy IS Dead

The Science Guy died recently. I k&red you but you do know that Waco does not represent the entire state, right? Waco...WE even call it Wacko. It is the home of David Koresh and the Branch Dividians or was...dead too.

I hated it when Bill Nye died. I've loved him...AS AN INTELLIGENT SECOND-GENERATION-ATHEIST AND A NATIVE TEXAN...since I was little.

Lee

[WindRavenX]

18. WHAT???

Bill Nye is dead?? When did this happen??

[tchunter]

274. he died in a vinegar/baking soda explosion

while attempting to make a homemade volcano, it was tragic, blood and fizz everywhere

[TheMightyFavog]

29. Ummm... Bill Nye is still very much alive.

http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0638557/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bill_nye

[karlrschneider]

30. Oops, my bad

...

[whoneedstickets]

31. Bill Lives!!!

Check out deadoraliveinfo.com

http://www.deadoraliveinfo.com/dead.nsf/nnames-nf/Nye+Bill

[Az]

Um... no he's not

He is alive and well. This event occurred on Aug 12 2007. Thats a couple of days ago. So unless he died in the last week he is still alive and terribly embarrassed about the ignorance of some people.

[Zomby Woof]

44. She's thinking of Mr. Wizard

Who died not too many weeks ago.

I got to meet Bill Nye at the Barnes & Noble I worked at in Seattle in the mid-90's. He came in to do a demonstration and promote his new book. As quiet and unassuming as you would expect.

I used to enjoy watching him on a locally produced comedy skit show which preceded SNL's broadcast called "Almost Live". He did straight comedy on there in skits, and occasionally a demonstration once every few shows. Then he got his series after that. :-)

[Madspirit]

76. THANK-YOU ZOMBYWOOF

Man...I thought I had just made it up out of the clear blue. Mr. Wizard of Mr. Wizard's Science Secrets is the person I was thinking of. I like both.

I SO appreciate you posting this. I would have worried about my brain all night.

Lee

[Zomby Woof]

84. It's an understandable error

Mr. Wizard made Bill Nye possible. They both dedicated their careers to making science accessible and fun for kids and adults.

Bill Nye was a student of Carl Sagan's at Cornell, for the trivia fans here.

:-)

[Madspirit]

92. That's Cool Trivia. I loved Carl Sagan....n/t

[Skittles]

179. Mr. Sagan used to piss me off

way back when, at bedtime I used to listen to a talk radio show because it was usually so boring it put me to sleep. But when Carl Sagan was the guest, I would end up staring half the night into the darkness, contemplating billions and billions of stars :o

[Liberal In Texas]

241. I met him once, and he acted like a jerk.

Maybe he was having a bad day.

[WindRavenX]

108. That explains a lot. I adore Sagan.

He's probably the scientist that made me want to be a scientist in the first place :)

[Toasterlad]

235. Actually...

God made two science guys, Bill Nye and Mr. Wizard, and set one to rule the day (Bill) and one to rule the night (Mr. Wizard).

[Manifestor_of_Light]

294. But you forgot BEAKMAN!!! ....Paul Zaloom!

He's in reruns now on Sat. mornings. Loved that poisonous green lab coat of his, the gum popping valley girl and Lester the giant rat!!!

[jhrobbins]

137. Or maybe she is thinking of Mr. Rogers.

[Madspirit]

275. No...Mr. Wizard as I've already said about 52 times...n/t

[symbolman]

186. I lived in Seattle about that time

Remember "High Fivin' White Guys"? Hilarious stuff, almost as good as SNL's "Super Fans"...

Did you ever see the Kung Foo episode where they showed the perspective from the "flying" legs of the fighter, and the legs were flying all over, chasing the enemy combatant? I think Bill Nye was the combatant in that one.. the legs FLEW around corners, up stairs, etc, as Bill tried to escape - I was on the floor :)

Seattle was Kicking in those days, Grunge came upon us while I was living there, as a matter of fact the Indian guy from "Sound Garden" once washed pots and pans for me in a restaurant downtown called, "City Picnics".. while I'd vacuum up the floors, he's ask if he could put the latest cassette of their songs in the sound system, and I'd say, "Sure, why not, I'm just cleaning up.."

So there was SOUND GARDEN, undiscovered playing over the speakers as I wiped down steel surfaces.. he asked me what I thought of the band, and I said, "Well, sounds a lot like Zepplin.. it's not bad.." I'm a guitarist as well.

He said that he was going to be famous, and I said, "Yeah, YOU and Every OTHER Band in Seattle.." little did I know - if only he's accidentally LEFT that tape in the player, and quit (he didn't last long), I'd be able to sell it on EBAY for a Load of Bucks! :)

The thing that pissed me off the most is that I had a baby at the time, other wise I would have been IN A BAND, always am, one way or another, and PROBABLY would have made a LOT of MONEY.. it was being thrown around a LOT back then by A&R guys.

Less than a year later Sound Garden won a Grammy. Shit.

I've met Bill Nye lots of times, a cool human being, he really IS like he's portrayed.. he'll stop at the drop of a hat and explain shit to you in that friendly way he's got..

Worked at Seattle Art then too, we probably Met at some point. :)

[Zomby Woof]

237. Mind Your Manners, with Billy Quan!

One of the best recurring skits EVER. :D

I lived in Seattle from 1988, just before the boom began (musically and economically), until 2003, when the good times were well over. Some of the best years of my life.

I got to see Soundgarden just a few weeks before they split - it came out of the blue, so none of us had any idea that would be their last show in Seattle. I started following them in '89 when I was a DJ at KGRG (Green River CC's FM station) and played 'Ultramega OK' week after week. :thumbsup:

Good times, GREAT beer! :beer:

[Marr]

121. This can't have occured in August 2007-- I'm sure I read this

article at least a year ago.

[TheMadMonk]

150. So. It's happened twice. This stupid female probably does this regularly.

[Madspirit]

276. Who the fuck are you calling "stupid" ...which actually breaks the rules...

I was talking about Mr. Wizard.

Lee

[SeattleGirl]

38. He's very much alive. There was a rumor going around that

he had died, but that's all it was; a rumor.

Scroll down just a bit and you will find info on this.

http://urbanlegends.about.com/library/weekly/aa022801a.htm?terms=bill+nye

[SeattleVet]

41. Maybe you're thinking of Don Herbert, who was "Mr. Wizard" to several

generations. He died earlier this year.

Bill Nye is still going strong.

[Madspirit]

81. Yup...

Mr. Wizard's Science Secrets! *Whew*...

Thanks.

I thought I had finally gone completely around the bend.
Lee

[Canuckistanian]

He's not dead.

This story was from Aug. 12th. And on Aug. 2nd, he appeared on CNN as an engineering consultant for the Minnesota bridge collapse.

You must be thinking of someone else.

[Madspirit]

59. Evidently I Imagined It

I was just sure but I was wrong. *Whew* Why the hell did I think that? Sorry about that. I love the guy. I am very glad I was wrong though I am now wondering about my iffy sanity since I was so damned sure.

The rest of my message is still valid...<g>

Lee

[Canuckistanian]

100. Don't worry, we all do it

At least you didn't get all morally outraged and tell us all that we're all going to Hell.

[Madspirit]

107. I Was Thinking of Mr. Wizard...and thanks...

...but y'all are all going to hell. :rofl: Not really. There is no hell. Everyone has to move to Waco....

Lee

[ProudDad]

120. I think it's Elvis who's dead

Oh, boy, I'm gonna get flamed now :hide:

[DarkTirade]

157. No, Elvis is dead.

He had a heart attack when he found out that his daughter married Michael Jackson.

[Behind the Aegis]

17. This is just sad!

The level of ignorance in this country is astonishing.

[Madspirit]

19. OH YEAH...AND NASA IS IN TEXAS. I hope you do realize that....n/t

[karlrschneider]

28. Some of it's in Alabama too.

Just sayin'...

[Breeze54]

49. LMAO!

:P

[Madspirit]

63. That's Just Mean Karl

:rofl:


Lee

[karlrschneider]

71. Yeah, it was, wasn't it? HAHA

Me bad. Bad, I tells ya, bad.
:rofl:

[Madspirit]

78. Yup...bad but funny as hell... : > n/t

[SoCalDem]

66. 'goin ta Alabama with mah banjo on mah knee

the NASA compound in Hunstville must be an oasis.. kind of like a real "Eureka"

but for every yin..there is a yan

Alabama - Death Row Inmate Pen-Pal
I am from Huntsville/Alabama and have been on death row for 7 years. .... I'm in prison, been here since 1992. and this is what I like to do in here: write ...
www.ccadp.org/AL.htm - 38k - Cached - Similar pages

Alabama Prison Returns Inmate Writer to General Population
CNG2 HUNTSVILLE, AL (June 29, 1998) According to a spokesman for the Alabama ... "I speak to you from the absolute pits of hell, an Alabama Prison. ...
www.patrickcrusade.org/alabama_prison_writer.htm - 6k - Cached - Similar pages -

[ThoughtCriminal]

219. I grew up there in the 60s-70s

Yeah, now that you mention it - it was sort of like "Eureka". I got a kick out of the the science fair episode. Our school's science fair was amazing.

[Manifestor_of_Light]

301. NASA is a LONG way from Whacko.

Mission Control is in Far SE Houston, Probably 25 miles south of Downtown. A long way from Waco.

There are lots of smart cool people in TX; you just have to find them. And it's possible to get a good education in TX too. There are lots of good universities that don't shove propaganda down your throat. We're not all idiots.

[Breeze54]

20. 2006-2007 Smartest State Award --> Rank # 25 - TEXAS

http://www.morganquitno.com/edrank.htm

[awoke_in_2003]

97. Well, I've been here 14 years

and was educated in a blue state. I find it hard to believe Texas ranked that high.

[Breeze54]

109. LMAO!

After this OP, I find it hard to believe as well. It's really a shame for
the good people of TX after B* and the GOP screwed them so bad on Education.
Then he spread his ignorance across the country. Makes me angry! :grr:

But another eye opener is this!

Rank # 50 - Arizona!!

:wow:

[BadgerLaw2010]

278. Woot, go Midwest and Northeast.

Wisconsin #8.

:woohoo: :woohoo:

[Bitwit1234]

21. This is what bush and the republicans have done to Texas

remember bush was governor and then perry took over. Republicans want to stiffle science, keep people stupid that way they will vote for republicans. And think bush came to the world by rote of God.

[billyoc]

22. Two words:

Registered Voters.

[Duppers]

114. my exact thoughts

that the problem: these idiots are allowed to vote!

Sorry, is this undemocratic of me?!

[Canuckistanian]

23. What were a bunch of science haters doing at a science show?

I should go down to a revival meeting and start booing when the faith healing starts.

But on second thought, no. I don't think I would make it out alive.

[NYC Liberal]

33. Better yet - fuck with em. Go in a wheelchair and pretend you are disabled,

then when the faith healing begins just stand up and shout, 'MY GOD IT'S a MIRACLE!"

:rofl:

[Canuckistanian]

79. Or how about "His Noodly appendage has healed me!!"

No, no, that would get me killed as well.

[EstimatedProphet]

197. Even better

REALLY fuck with them. When the faith healing starts, become crippled instead of healed!

[Posteritatis]

48. Moral outrage is a narcotic. (nt)

[Tesha]

215. Witnessing for the Lawd, obviously. Saving us heathen sinners. (NT)

[SoCalDem]

24. Jeeeeeeeesus...H Christ.. do they think God put a light bulb in it?

or that it's some celestial flashlight that god operates via remote control?

Sounds like they better take a look at some of those homeschoolers and storefront jesus academies:eyes:

[smokey nj]

40. God uses his Clapper, silly.

:silly: :rofl:

[SoCalDem]

42. Duh.. Every time god turns on a light in Taiwan, we get thunder in Indiana makes sense

in a cosmic way :) Clap on Clap off.. Now I get it :)

and the flashes of lightning, must be when a bulb blows :)

[Breeze54]

47. roflmfao!!

:rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl:

[NYC Liberal]

52. Reminds me of what Robin Williams said in his HBO special:

Here's the drill. Fundamentalists take it to be "the word".
Not translatable, not metaphorical: "the word".
In the Genesis, "Let it be light!" could be a metaphor for the Big Bang?
No. God just went click.

[southerncrone]

25. This country's ignorance is becoming legendary. HELP! HELP! HELP!

:scared:

[TomInTib]

26. Genesis 1:16, which reads: "God made two great lights -- the greater light to govern the day and th

Genesis 1:16, which reads: "God made two great lights -- the greater light to govern the day and the lesser light to govern the night. He also made the stars."


Any questions?

Good enough for me.

[WindRavenX]

34. Have I got a link for you!

http://www.unicornmuseum.org/index.html

:D

[rockymountaindem]

53. It says nothing about where the light comes from and how it gets here

This is a new low.

[TomInTib]

222. Did you think I was cereal?

I shirley hope knot.

is their steel room for irany?

[NoodleyAppendage]

72. Only wish there was a Biblical passage, "True Believer, God commands you to commit seppuku!" n/t

J

[DU GrovelBot]

32. ## PLEASE DONATE TO DEMOCRATIC UNDERGROUND! ##

==================
GROVELBOT.EXE v4.0
==================



This week is our third quarter 2007 fund drive. Democratic
Underground is a completely independent website. We depend on donations
from our members to cover our costs. Thank you so much for your support.

[slowry]

254. SOULLESS HEATHEN! n/t

[Webster Green]

39. Wow, do these folks have a theory on how the moon generates light?

Are they now against ALL science?

Has the science-chimp weighed in on this topic yet?

[SeattleGirl]

45. Well, WG, it's like this. God sends the angels to scatter their

angel dust (no, not THAT kind) over the surface of the moon, and that's what makes it light up!

:rofl:

[Breeze54]

69. "Blue Angel Dust"

;)

[SeattleGirl]

86. I knew it! I knew it!!!

:rofl:

[LiberalFighter]

I want some of that blue angel dust

[Harper_is_Bush]

43. YOUR LINK TO WACO TRIP IS BAD.

[Posteritatis]

58. YOU CLEARLY DIDN'T READ THE POST.

[Harper_is_Bush]

80. I READ THE POST. IT WASN'T CLEAR IF THE LINK PROVIDED WAS THE SAME AS THE ONE PULLED.

AND WHY GIVE A LINK IF IT'S BAD? DOESN'T MAKE SENSE, HUH?

[bananas]

103. THE STORY IS OVER A YEAR OLD NO WONDER THE LINK IS BAD

THEY PROBABLY DON'T KEEP OLD NEWS ON THEIR WEBSITE
MAYBE THEY CHARGE PEOPLE TO ACCESS THEIR ARCHIVES
HUGH!!!!

[Harper_is_Bush]

112. A YEAR IS NOT A LONG TIME, AND DOES NOT TYPICALLY RESULT IN BAD LINKS.

I READ LOTS OF STUFF THAT IS OVE A YEAR OLD.

AND NO, IT'S GOT NOTHING TO DO WITH CHARGING FOR ARCHIVES. ANYONE WITH EVEN BASIC ONLINE KNOWLEDGE CAN SEE THAT.

[Adsos Letter]

153. ...why is everyone yelling...?

:scared:

[paparush]

260. Google Cache

[Warren DeMontague]

283. GOD HATES CAPS nt

[Duppers]

122. jeeeees! the post and blog link said:

"This story originally appeared in the Waco Tribune, but the newspaper has mysteriously pulled its story from the online version, presumably to avoid further embarrassment."

What's so difficult to understand about the given link not working as a demonstration to that fact????? duh!

[bananas]

90. The story is over a year old, someone posted it to usenet

edit to add: The story is over a year old, which might explain why the link is bad.

http://groups.google.com/group/alt.politics/msg/3afea9a323513060?dmode=source&hl=en

http://www.wacotrib.com/news/content/news/stories/2006/04/06/04062006wacbillnye.html?cxtype=rss&cxsvc=7&cxcat=11

'The Science Guy' is entertaining and provocative at MCC lecture

Thursday, April 06, 2006

By Tim Woods

Tribune-Herald staff writer

Audience members who expected to see Bill Nye "The Science Guy"
conduct experiments and wow their children received quite a surprise
Wednesday when Nye spoke at McLennan Community College.

Nye instead addressed such topics as Mars exploration, global warming
and energy consumption, particularly oil and gas. He even ruffled a few
religious feathers along the way.

The scientist with a background in stand-up and sketch comedy kept
spectators interested, entertained and at ease with his funny,
sometimes hilarious, delivery.

Speaking as part of MCC's Distinguished Lecturer Series, Nye spoke to
two audiences, one at 1:30 p.m. and the second at 7 p.m., of about 600
each. He said the first audience, though littered with young children
listening to some rather adult scientific topics, "was very
supportive."

The second group also was rapt from the beginning, greeting the
scientist with a raucous standing ovation upon his introduction.

"You haven't heard the presentation yet!" Nye told them.

Opening with a discussion of Mars and his hopes for further discovery
on the neighboring planet, Nye encouraged the audience to take interest
in discovery and "change the world," a mantra he repeated
throughout.

Nye indicated that the presence of water in Mars' atmosphere -
evidenced by the planet's ability to form frost - leads him to
believe that there is a strong possibility that the planet once
supported life.

The Emmy-winning scientist angered a few audience members when he
criticized literal interpretation of the biblical verse Genesis 1:16,
which reads: "God made two great lights - the greater light to
govern the day and the lesser light to govern the night. He also made
the stars."

He pointed out that the sun, the "greater light," is but one of
countless stars and that the "lesser light" is the moon, which
really is not a light at all, rather a reflector of light.

A number of audience members left the room at that point, visibly
angered by what some perceived as irreverence.

"We believe in a God!" exclaimed one woman as she left the room
with three young children.

Nye also was critical of what he said was governmental agencies' lack
of action, even lack of understanding, in protecting the Earth from
global warming and wasted resources.

Nye's educational science show won 28 Emmy awards during its
television run from 1992-98.

It seemed most in attendance were pleased to hear Nye speak, and some
were even awed by the presence of a childhood icon.

"How cool is that, to be face to face with the man, Bill Nye?" said
Jared McClure, who worked sound and video for the event. "And he's
funny, too."

[Harper_is_Bush]

96. thankyou. n/t

[Az]

46. To clarify why the Fundamentalist Literalist Christians were pissed

Genesis 1:16 And God made two great lights; the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night: he made the stars also.

Basically they believe that God made two lights in the sky. The sun and the moon. This means to them that the moon shines by its own light. The idea that the moon merely reflects the light from the sun was unknown to the authors of the OT so they mistakenly thought it was a light of its own. The modern day literalists continue this mistake while the rest of the world moves on.

[Canuckistanian]

51. Then how do they explain lunar eclipses?

Is the angry God eating the moon?

[ulysses]

54. low-watt bulbs.

[proud2BlibKansan]

128. So it's all Al Gore's fault

[ulysses]

228. do you have any idea how much god pays to keep that moon lit?

Hell, even deities have bills to pay.

:hi:

[rockymountaindem]

60. That's a *really* good question

I hadn't thought of that myself. If, *if* I ever encounter someone of this variety I'll be sure to pose this question to them.

FWIW, I believe in God, and these folks scare me.

[Canuckistanian]

87. Like everything else they do

It all falls apart in details like this. (the literalism, I mean)

[rockymountaindem]

95. You're telling me

I live in Colorado Springs a mere block and a half from Focus on the Family. I went to high school with these types. Yet, I can safely say, this is the craziest thing I've ever heard from them.

[dsc]

176. There are solar eclipses too

[SaveAmerica]

307. Dude, that's Satan, slycics, and Gorgyles, YOU ARE NOT A CHRISTIAN!!

Easy to explain because fear rules their world.

http://www.searchforvideo.com/watchclip.php?title=The+Infamous+%26quot%3Bgod+Warrior%26quot%3B&link=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2F%3Fv%3DCCODIhAXbQM&description=Trading+Spouses+episode...+similar+to+%26quot%3BWife+Swap%26quot%3B++The+lady+you+are+about+to+watch+has+just+come+home+from+her+%26quot%3Bhost%26quot%3B+family%2C+and+flips+out+on+her+own+family.++Talk+about+a+religious-zealot-NUT-CASE%21%21%21+I%26%23039%3Bm+a+ch...&source=YouTube.com&image=http%3A%2F%2Fimg.youtube.com%2Fvi%2FCCODIhAXbQM%2Fdefault.jpg&category=directory&searchterm=%2Fviral%2Fpopular%2Fgod-warrior%2F

[NYC Liberal]

64. How do they explain how God supposedly created light before he

created the objects that give off the light?

Genesis 1:3 And God said, Let there be light: and there was light
Genesis 1:16 And God made two great lights; the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night: he made the stars also

[Az]

83. Faith

That is really all they have.

[NoodleyAppendage]

102. Logic is lost to these dumbasses. Pity them. n/t

J

[Bill McBlueState]

245. the authors of Genesis did (accidentally) get this right

There was light in the universe before the first stars formed. Before the universe had cooled off much, the cosmic background radiation would have had optical wavelengths. Stars didn't form until much later.

[Manifestor_of_Light]

302. Four degrees Kelvin,

according to my math/physics guy who will talk about quantum mechanics at the drop of a proton -- or the hit of a photon.

When he was looking for a job I suggested he stand on a street corner with a sign that said "WILL BUILD THERMONUCLEAR DEVICES FOR FOOD".

[Jed Dilligan]

118. Ah.

I thought they must be pagans, offended at the insult to Selene.

[KittyWampus]

181. The authors of the OT were absolutely aware of astronomical reality. Ancient Semites were very well

accomplished astronomers.

They did employ allegory however and spoke in a symbolic language.

The issue are modern day literalists who don't bother to learn the inner meaning of the symbolic language, not the original thoughts spoken in the OT.

[The Backlash Cometh]

182. Anti-abortion is going to be synonymous with anti-science with this group.

[NoodleyAppendage]

55. What do you expect from a region that is proximal to the LARGEST BAPTIST UNIV.?

Xtian fundies are pitiful and ignorant. Afraid of death, so they buy into a mythical system that make them feel "all good inside" and pine for a better life in the hereafter. Poor deluded assholes.

J

[Manifestor_of_Light]

132. Yes, Waco is the Vatican City of the Babtists.

That's what Molly Ivins called it.

Baylor University, the world's largest Babtist university.

Look up W.C. Brann. He had a Waco paper in the late 1890s called The Iconoclast. He printed things in it like "The problem with our Baptists is that we do not hold them under water long enough."

This made him unpopular. In 1900, he was shot on the main drag by somebody who didn't like him. However, though mortally wounded, he managed to pull his pistol and kill his murderer.

That's why the Crawford paper is called the Iconoclast. And it's not far from Wacko.

[tammywammy]

199. I think they started to allow dances a few years ago

:) Crazy Baptist. (No offense to any rational Baptist on DU)

[Manifestor_of_Light]

300. I'm not sure how many years ago they wouldn't let girls wear shorts on campus.

Fortunately my folks would never have thought of sending me there.

It's too bad that "Christian" and "university" have opposing goals at some colleges.

[Warren DeMontague]

56. Hey. "The Jury Is Still Out". Get used to this sort of thing.

Oh, and don't point out that these people are IDIOTS who are ON FUCKING CRACK--- that's "bashing people's faith"... not to mention "alienating the values voter"

:eyes::eyes::eyes::eyes::eyes::eyes::eyes::eyes::eyes::eyes::eyes::eyes::eyes::eyes::eyes::eyes::eyes::eyes::eyes::eyes::eyes::eyes::eyes::eyes::eyes::eyes::eyes::eyes::eyes::eyes::eyes::eyes::eyes::eyes::eyes::eyes::eyes:

[Madspirit]

70. I Am Seeing Posts On Every Progressive Group I Am A Member Of

Saying this shit. There is one..."why is it not ok to bash gays and blacks but it IS ok to bash fundie Christians?" That fucking thread is everywhere. Duh...it's the MORON factor people. Jeez.

Do we REALLY have to pretend respect for people who truly do believe in gnomes and fairies? ...because I refuse.


Lee

[Lydia Leftcoast]

201. I'm a liberal Christian, and I'll join you in bashing right-wing fundies, too

:hi:

They're the worst phenomenon in American religious life since the Salem Witch Trials.

[sakabatou]

57. The stupid! IT BURNSES US!!

[WindRavenX]

62. i sure wish stupidity was painful at times

x(

[spanone]

61. Only one thing to say........

[ComerPerro]

67. a friend told me about this a day or two ago, and although I was amused I was not suprised

[ruiner4u]

73. poor persecuted majority religion..

[HCE SuiGeneris]

75. That's it then. Time to go camping for a really long time. I'm done with "society" and "culture".

Where's my Kon Tiki?

[Lone_Star_Dem]

77. And there you have it

This is the intellect that I have to deal with daily.

Is it any wonder I don't know how ignorant I actually am?

[Bjorn Against]

89. That story made me laugh so loud...

But while I laugh it is hard not to feel shame at just how stupid some of our fellow Americans are. This is the base of the Republican Party.

[Celeborn Skywalker]

104. ...

Jesus Christ on a pogo stick, what the fuck are these people smoking? How is it that we still have all these brainwashed morons walking amongst us? These people aren't even in the 19th century, let alone the 21st.

[Triana]

105. BWAH! What is scary too, is that those poor ignorant people VOTE...

..not that I think they shouldn't - but it's a scary thought that they do!

[Neoma]

111. I give up on the human race.

[The Doctor.]

113. Deja Vu.

I remember someone posting here on DU.

http://www.ocellated.com/2006/04/13/bill-nye-in-waco/

[ProudDad]

116. Wacko in Waco

It doesn't get any better than this... :rofl:

[CreekDog]

117. These are the same people that wrote the angry letters to that museum

after visiting the Dinosaur exhibit and finding out there are no "live" dinosaurs there.

[SeattleGirl]

139. WTF???? Are you kidding me?

Fuck! They're dumber than I thought they were.

[EFerrari]

119. Omg.

I was really hoping this was an Onion piece.

[Breeze54]

123. lmao!

:rofl:

[porphyrian]

124. If it weren't for the last seven years, I'd never believe this wasn't a joke. -n/t

[uppityperson]

125. well, good for them. Good for someone standing up for what they believe in!

After all, if God had wanted them to think, they would've been given the ability to critically think and reason things out, right?

[DeposeTheBoyKing]

127. Okay, THAT'S IT - I want OUT

For the love of God (and science), GET ME THE HELL OUT OF TEXAS!!!

[AnotherDreamWeaver]

133. Americans are NOT stupid, With Subtitles

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fJuNgBkloFE&eurl=http%3A%2F%25
check it out...
*can you believe it?

[Az_lefty]

134. it's unbelievable that there are people who are really this ignorant...

and not just in Waco...but all across the shrub's heartland.

[progressoid]

135. Ahhh. Bush's Base rears it's ugly head again.

[Rex]

140. Ah yes, my state - full of stupid people who waste good air.

See, this is how they think - The Moon reflects sunlight from the Sun...WHAT? NO GOD IS ALL, WE BELIEVE IN GOD! GOD GOD GOD! LALALALALALALALA!

Nevermind the fact that the one statement has NOTHING to do with the other! I guess there will always be sewer dwellers that can't understand rational thought.

Sigh.

[CreekDog]

143. I thought it was a good thing to reflect the

Light of The Son.

Science is almost poetic in the homonymal sense.

[Gabi Hayes]

146. I/m on hold at WGN to talk about this craziness, but time appears to have run out.

don't think I'm going to get on, but they were laughing in screenland when I told em about dangerous blasphemist Bill Nye.

too bad

[Cobalt-60]

141. Where does the bible suggest the moon is self Luminous?

Or now does any scientific fact send these people scurrying for cover?

[CreekDog]

142. Some of them are back in Texas after leaving their old jobs

to "spend more time with their families".

[smiley_glad_hands]

144. This country has gone to shit. eom

[Buns_of_Fire]

145. So when Debbie Boone sang, "You Light Up My Life"

that REALLY meant that she had been touched by a noodly appendage and her whole existence had been transformed into an incandescent light source. I think I understand now.

[sampsonblk]

147. Do we "reach out" to these people or do we educate them?

This is our party's dilemma. These are the hardcome Bush=Savior voters. They never miss a vote. Some say our party should 'reach out' to these clowns. You know, say things they'd support, try to find common ground and not offend these people. I say the hell with that.

We need a massive re-education in this country. Science. Histroy. Civics. And we need it now, before its too late.

The GOP cannot survive if more people are educated.

[n2doc]

155. They must have thought they were seeing "Bill Nigh the Creation Science Guy"

...Wrong Bill....:7 :P

[Norrin Radd]

159. Just because the moon is made of green cheese,

doesn't mean it can't reflect the sun's light.

[GreenTea]

165. Aren't they just the cutest little devoted ignoramuses?

Don't you dare pop my bubble! I watch Fox news & listen to Rush, I'm informed!!

Think she voted for the chimp, and still believes every word and his delusions?

[spindoctor]

167. This is just not funny anymore....or is it?

I don't know if I should laugh or cry. Regardless, this may very well be the root of what is wrong with this country.

Aren't we fighting fundamentalists over somewhere so we don't have to fight them here?

[spindoctor]

168. Second and final comment: Not everyone should have the right to vote. n/t

[mike_c]

169. proudly ignorant xtians....

sheesh

[Jacobin]

171. Welcome back to the Dark Ages

:eyes:

[tom_paine]

172. Busheivks are the spiritual descendants of both Nazis and Witch Burners

(Actually, the Nazis themselves are the spiritual descendants of the WEitch Burners, and the Bushies are the spiritual descendants of the Nazis)

The New Dark Ages are coming, not long after the Penultimate and Final Phases of the New Totalitarianism is fully in place.

Take a good long look at those who will sit in violent and cruel judgement over the Godless in a century or less.

[dddem]

175. Somebody really needs to tell these people that God didn't

make us with brains and a conscience and not expect us to use them. Sheesh!

[Skittles]

177. Texas' reputation remains intact

I feel it is my mission in life to live here and torment those ignorant fucks

[zanne]

192. If I was a Texan, I'd feel constantly insulted.

There has to be intelligent life there. Why don't we ever hear about those people?

[Bosso 63]

180. "Conservatives are not necessarily stupid,

but most stupid people are conservatives".
John Stuart Mill
English economist & philosopher (1806 - 1873)

[TZ]

183. I'm an ignoramus and I am proud of it!!

That's what it sounds like to me. Wonder how many were there to make sure Mr.Nye didn't say anything truly offensive to young minds..you know like that whole awkward evolution and global warming thingies....

[Stinky The Clown]

184. The citizens of Dumbfuckistan are obviously alive and well.

[Elspeth]

185. This is an American tragedy

It's like Olbermann's pro-gravity and anti-gravity stances.

[no_hypocrisy]

187. Surprised the mob didn't declare him a witch, take him outside, and burn him.

[marmar]

189. Fright-full!

:scared: :scared: :scared:

[LWolf]

191. When did "God" say that the moon is really a sun?

This is too incredibly stupid for words.

[Posteritatis]

196. Gen. 1:14-18 (nt)

[LWolf]

206. It says he made lights; it doesn't say anything about

how the lights work, lol.

[Posteritatis]

233. Well, yeah

I can see how a sufficiently deluded inerrantist would claim that it meant the moon was a source of light rather than a reflector of it, though.

They're still dumbasses, but they can support their dumbassitude with chapter and verse. Sorta. Vaguely.

[LWolf]

236. Sorta/vaguely, lol.

That's a good point. The creation story is about as vague and ambiguous as a story can get. There is plenty of room for all kinds of interpretations and fill in the blanks, and plenty of information not supplied.

If you are a literalist, and have to have everything laid out linearly, literally, concretely, you need people to come in and fill all the blanks in for you so you can feel secure. That's what your sect leaders are for, inviting corruption to thrive.

Since the flock needs to feel threatened by some enemy force, idea, spirit, or group of people in order to group tightly around their leaders for protection, and to rally them for battle, I can see that some in positions of power might make use of vague, ambiguous references to keep the troops motivated and tuned up.

Sorta like government leaders do to keep the masses supporting war, and political parties do to keep the party faithful.

[JanMichael]

193. Has Bill BEEN to the Moon??? No! So how does he know???

Also this round earth bullshit has GOT to GO. It doesn't feel round, there are hills and valleys and other stuff, it's no basketball.

[Manifestor_of_Light]

295. Ferdinand Magellan.

"The Church says the Earth is Flat; but I have seen the Shadow on the Moon; and it is Round; For I have More Faith in a Shadow on the Moon than in the Church."

--Ferdinand Magellan, explorer and cartographer.

[Philosoraptor]

194. At least they didn't lynch him.

[Lydia Leftcoast]

200. Isn't this the state where some schools ask boys with football talent

repeat 8th grade so that they'll be bigger when they enter high school?

That doesn't sound like a state that values education (as opposed to schooling and using schools as minor leagues for the NFL).

Seriously, though, the anti-science attitudes seem to be worse than they were when I was a kid in the 1950s.

We did the "lamp, basketball, and baseball with luminous paint" demonstration when I was in first or second grade. It was an era when nearly everybody attended some kind of church, and nobody ever objected to any of the science lessons. Even the unit on evolution in 10th grade biology passed without comment, except from the one Jehovah's Witness in my class.

[CGowen]

208. and the earth reflects light on the moon "Earthshine"

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Planetshine

[Manifestor_of_Light]

297. Don't tell em about gegenschein and zodiacal light.

That'll really baffle 'em.

[minnesota_liberal]

210. Headline Should Read: Fundamentalist Wackos Ignore Inconvenient Facts

It's the same sort of fundamentalist stupidity that keeps Shrub's approval ratings from going below 28%. No matter what the facts are, there will always be plenty of fundamentalist cretins who are comfortable ignoring inconvenient facts.

[Schema Thing]

214. Albedo Gonzales: I don't recall the source of my light

...but I am most definitely a "lesser luminary".

[NoSheep]

216. Morans.

[cloudbase]

218. Saw him in Houston a few years ago.

He gave a well-received presentation at the Houston Museum of Natural Science about the Mars landers. A couple of people from NASA were there, too.

Waco is, well, Waco.

[MasonJar]

223. Excuse my ignorance, but, lady, how does the moon reflecting light

from the sun in any way disavow the existence of God? Are you saying that God is too provincial and "moran"ic to figure out such a delicate and superior form of engineering?

[Fox Mulder]

224. You've GOT to be kidding me...

[L. Coyote]

225. GOD is WRONG and Bill NYE is right. What else is new?

"nothing got people as riled as when he brought up Genesis 1:16, which reads: "God made two great lights -- the greater light to govern the day and the lesser light to govern the night. He also made the stars." "

[Martin Eden]

227. Reminds me of an old Archie cartoon

Jughead was asked which was more important -- the sun or the moon. He replied the moon, because the moon shines at night when it's dark and the sun shines during the day when it's light out anyway.

[RestoreGore]

229. LOL

Now this made my day. :rofl: I know it's really sad, but this is just so damn funny to me.

[AlCzervik]

230. oh my god i hope he didn't tell them earth revolves around the sun.

[That Is Quite Enough]

232. Waco will be shocked to learn the tooth fairy and easter bunny aren't real...

:banghead:

[mudesi]

234. BUT IT'S JUST NYE'S BELIEF! NO FACT! IT IS NEITHER PROVEN NOR DISPROVEN! NOTHING TO SEE HERE!

:eyes: :sarcasm: :eyes: :sarcasm: :eyes: :sarcasm: :eyes: :sarcasm: :eyes: :sarcasm: :eyes: :sarcasm: :eyes: :sarcasm: :eyes: :sarcasm: :eyes: :sarcasm: :eyes: :sarcasm: :eyes: :sarcasm: :eyes: :sarcasm: :eyes: :sarcasm: :eyes: :sarcasm: :eyes: :sarcasm: :eyes: :sarcasm: :eyes: :sarcasm: :eyes: :sarcasm: :eyes: :sarcasm: :eyes: :sarcasm: :eyes: :sarcasm: :eyes: :sarcasm: :eyes: :sarcasm: :eyes: :sarcasm:

[lumberjack_jeff]

239. The link goes to "BSAlert.com".

I suspect it was satire that was inadvertently printed in the Waco paper.

It rings true because it fits in with my stereotypes of fundies. That doesn't necessarily indicate that it is true.

[ladywnch]

242. ya know, the US is falling behind in just about everything these days

technology, health, education, height.....

give it a generation....after these fundie kids grow up......and the US will be being referring to the US as 'that third world country across the Atlantic'

I'm just curious how these people would explain lasers...."the devil's eye"? They're going to be so ignorant they'll look like the cavemen discovering fire! They won't be able to work manufacturing jobs.......the machinery will be to advanced for them!

[bonito]

243. And they vote

The problem with America in a nutshell(s)

[MountainLaurel]

248. Dude, that's just fucked up

:scared:

[ChromeFoundry]

250. LOL, I bet he thinks the world is round too!

unbelievable... I sure hope these people are not attempting to home-school their offspring. Come to think of it, I hope someone is doing something to prevent these people from having offspring!

[tanyev]

252. If the moon emitted light, it would have made it a lot trickier to land spaceships there.

Of course, I knew a guy in a church I attended who subscribed to the theory that the moon landings were all faked.


:banghead:

[CoffeeCat]

255. Come on now people!

We all know that the moon glows because thousands of
angels orbit around it at night---and their halos radiate a
blinding light--created by the fusion of magic sparkles,
downy feathers and the glow of their golden harps.

I guess Bill Nye is the devil!

[Juan_de_la_Dem]

256. Cheese Gromit!

Tasty Camembert, nothing more

[GMFORD]

258. I've got one for you.

A woman where my grandson works got upset when he said he was going to lunch. She said using the word 'lunch' is blasphemous, the bible says the midday meal is 'dinner'.

I sure do wish they were right about the rapture...dreaming about an America without fundie nutjobs.

[BreweryYardRat]

308. That's just unacceptable.

Your grandson should do his best to get her fired. If she's so fanatical about her warped version of Christianity that she's hassling him for fucking word choice, I'd say he could make a "hostile work environment" claim.

Sadly, society prevents us from killing fools like that shrew.

[never cry wolf]

310. Have him ask her what the words for lunch and dinner are

In ancient Hebrew in which it was originally written and what the words are in the dozens of translations it underwent until it arrived on her bed side table in American English.

Oops, I forgot that Jaysus was a blond haired blue eyed english speaking murican who loves king george.

[sarcasmo]

259. Religious NUTS in every state.

[east texas lib]

262. If you think...

If you think what they did to Bill Nye was bad, you should see what the school
boards do to textbook vendors!

[Manifestor_of_Light]

299. I think Mel Gabler, one of the textbook nuts died the other day.

[OPERATIONMINDCRIME]

264. I Find Myself Perplexed... Since When Are Creations Of God Immune From Relecting Light?

Since when would such a concept be blasphemous? I've never heard such reference to such an ideal ever. Fucking EVER.

Now granted, I know some take the whole religion thing to the nth degree and all, but to a degree that it would imply God didn't exist if the moon had the ability to reflect light? That's a new one to me. I just don't get it. WTF?

[Maestro]

268. That is what I thought.

What they hell is freaking this woman out? :shrug: Of course so many talibornagains and fundies do not even understand what they supposedly follow so for her to shout this out doesn't surprise me.

[Ilsa]

265. Waco, Baylor Baptist, seriously tight Bible Belt. nt

[colorado_ufo]

267. Who taught her this? Unbelievable!

[DesertRat]

270. This is the same crowd who believe Adam and Eve rode dinosaurs

:eyes:

[Jamastiene]

271. Oh, good grief.

Nye was telling the truth. Those types of people cannot handle the truth. What dumb asses. They sound like some of these FReepers around where I live. Those people are not right. :crazy: :wtf:

[TankLV]

273. What idiots - religious fundy ignorant idiots - but I repeat myself...

[Swamp Rat]

277. LOLOLOLOLOLOLOL!!!!

:rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl:

[Kajsa]

280. IF the moon " emits" light ( which it doesn't)

like some Fundies believe--

how do they explain a new moon?

[Vinca]

281. What's the sun reflecting off the moon got to do with believing in God???

Note to self: Never, ever, ever go to Wac(k)o, Texas.

[Bluebear]

282. 'God made two great lights,the greater light to govern the day & the lesser light to govern night'

Genesis 1:16

The lesser light, (Nye) pointed out, is not a light at all, but only a reflector.

At this point, several people in the audience stormed out in fury. One woman yelled "We believe in God!"

[Zynx]

284. Well, if one just wishes to plug their ears and drown out the modern

world and scientific knowledge, that's their business. I personally thought this was pretty damn commonly accepted.

[Guava Jelly]

285. And he has the gall to call himself a science guy....

Did he also forget to mention that god made the moon out of green cheese??

[Warren DeMontague]

286. I think we should show more respect for these folks' deeply held religious faith-based views.

And frankly, I think that our public schools- in the interest of fairness- should teach "both sides" of the moonlight "controversy".

Really, if you science heathens are so sure of yourselves and your little "facts", why are you afraid to compete with alternate theories in the marketplace of ideas? See, by wanting to silence different hypotheses of what causes the holy light of the moon to glow above our flat, Christ-Centric Earth, you obviously must feel threatened by the inherent factual weakness of your argument. Oh, science is based on evidence, you say? Well, how about THIS evidence- the evidence of what was written by GOD in the BIBLE, which is the MOST AUTHORITATIVE SCIENCE WORK KNOWN TO MAN!

Moonlight. It's just a theory. Our kids deserve to hear ALL sides of the story!

Oh, and :sarcasm:

[seasat]

288. Of course Nye is wrong, the moon doesn't reflect light...

Light is emitted by the bioluminescent fungus that grows on the cheese.

Either that or angels throwing a party seeing how many of them can do the macarena on the head of a pin.

Silly science guy!

[Deja Q]

289. And you've got it all wrong!

The cow, when jumping over the moon, makes the moon glow like that. Now consider what created all those craters on the moon's surface and wince...

[seasat]

291. Well your belief does explain lunatics

All those psychedelic mushrooms growing in the cow pies on the moon are driving people mad. Quick! Recall Rummy! We must declare war against lunar mushrooms.

[Initech]

290. And the fundies say WE are the intolerant ones.

Un fucking believable! :eyes:

[jobycom]

292. Not to ruin a good laugh, but that summary isn't accurate.

They didn't storm out because Nye said the moon reflected the sun's light, they stormed out because Nye was trying to argue that literal interpretation of the Bible was disproven by science.

"But nothing got people as riled as when he brought up Genesis 1:16, which reads: "God made two great lights -- the greater light to govern the day and the lesser light to govern the night. He also made the stars."

The lesser light, he pointed out, is not a light at all, but only a reflector."

For those who think that's a merely technical distinction, imagine someone telling our side that homosexuality is bad because it doesn't result in procreation. The scientific qualifier (it doesn't result in procreation) would be true, but the entire statement would be wrong and offensive, and would anger us greatly. A fundie somewhere writing that DU "erupted in anger when told that gays can't procreate" would be full of shit, even though they technically described the sequence of events properly. They would be all wrong on the cause and effect of our outrage, though.

Not to mention, we don't know what else he said. He may have been doing that the whole night.

I'm not blaming Nye, and I'm not excusing those who stormed out rather than listen to Nye's speech. I'm pointing out that the story does not accurately represent what happened. If anyone cares.

[wtmusic]

293. Doesn't add up

"Homosexuality is bad" is a value judgement; that literal interpretation of the Bible has been disproven by science is fact.

They stormed out due to the cognitive dissonance which resulted from a calm, rational explanation of why their firmly-held beliefs are silly.

[jobycom]

298. They stormed out

because he insulted their beliefs.

As for the rest of what you say, don't assume that because you believe it, it must be true. That's the mistake they make, too. If you start with the assumption that the Bible is literal truth, as they do, then you reconcile whatever contradicts it based on that assumption. If you start with the belief that the Bible is not infallible, then you can see the contradictions as proof, rather than as puzzles to work out. That's a choice--a question of belief, of values. That belief, nor the opposite belief, doesn't make a person good or bad, it's just the belief system from which the operate, and their individual character makes them good or bad, intelligent or stupid, tolerant or intolerant.

I'm an atheist, but I can shoot down Nye's statement without half an effort. The Bible doesn't say the Moon contains its own light, only that it is a lesser light. Start with the assumption that the Bible is literally true, and you can easily argue it's not a contradiction with science, simply a linguistic ambiguity. Even more, I doubt Bill Nye knows the ancient Hebrew words used, and all their connotations, which may or may not have different connotations than our words for light. Nye was disrespecting their beliefs, more than proving anything. That's why some of them got angry. As you would.

[wtmusic]

303. He did nothing of the kind

He merely showed, clearly and demonstrably, how they were wrong. If they are insulted that's entirely their issue.

Your argument is specious. I don't assume everything I believe is true. But I do assume light emanating from the moon is reflected sunlight because it has been proven beyond doubt. "God made two great lights -- the greater light to govern the day and the lesser light to govern the night". Nye pointed out that they are not two lights but one light and its reflection. If this is merely an ambiguity, certainly these giants of intellect would realize Nye's oversimplification and not get so riled about it (they were aware of all the ancient Hebrew connotations, no?) :eyes:

Personally, I feel I owe a debt of gratitude to those who prove me wrong -- with facts. You are trying to make facts (certainties) indistinguishable from beliefs (uncertainties supported by evidence, or uncertainties due to ignorance of the holder). If this is your standard we should base the design of the space shuttle on not only science but a variety of religious beliefs as well, so no one is insulted. :crazy:

[eastsyde]

296. Remember, by the tenants of the Flat Earth Society the moon is a mile wide and 30 miles away.

It's science!

[LanternWaste]

304. I've been going to churches of various denominations for 30 yrs...

I've been going to churches of various denominations for 30 years in TX and I'm still waiting to meet a Biblical Literalist.

Not saying they don't exist, but it gets me curious as to where their (not on the 'net, though-- if there's a website devoted to people who worship hamburgers (and there is), then anyone can find anything) churches are located.

I've been up and down the I35 corridor and still haven't seen any signs that read to the effect, "Biblical Literalists-- Last Church 'till San Antonio..."

Anyone know of any in TX?

[skater314159]

312. If you want to find some in the Houston area...

... I can turn you on to them... but I warn you.

They ARE nutty!

You could visit them as a sort of Anthropological field study... :hippie:

[Forkboy]

306. Who wants pie?

Figured some of you guys could use a snack. :P

[Javaman]

309. I'll have a moon pie!! ;)

:rofl:

[Forkboy]

313. LOL

Damn,I always said I make the perfect straight man.

Say goodnight Gracie. :)

[skater314159]

311. Whaaaaaaa?

I. am. sooooo. confused.

I know a friend who went to a job interview in Waco (it was for a museum job) and the interview panel asked her if "she was washed in The Blood of The Lamb". She busted out laughing. Needless to say, she didn't get the job. Waco is kinda like that, I guess.

I remember watching Bill Nye at my friends' after school - I esp. liked the one on Spiders.

But I still don't get them going nuts over saying the Moon relects light... where in the Bible, the Suras, the Dhammapadda or any of the Gitas does it say that God hates people who teach that the Moon reflects light? Didn't God, Selene, Luna or somebody *make* the Moon to reflect light?

~~~siiiigh~~~

[yurbud]

314. fortunately, there was a pond near by so they were able to test whether he was a witch