Archive for August 4th, 2006

More on vouchers, this time from Panda’s Thumb

Friday, August 4th, 2006

Timothy Sandefur, the resident no-comment Libertarian at Panda’s Thumb, asks us Is School Choice the answer?, and links us to a mini-debate between Neal McCluskey of CATO and Matthew Yglesias on the issue of resolving the creation/evolution debate.

The simple answer to Sandefur’s question and McCluskey’s assertion is, obviously, no – vouchers would not solve the problem of kids getting a poor science education. Vouchers would merely force me and other taxpayers to foot the bill for deluding children with demonstrably incorrect pseudoscience.

Sure, vouchers could eventually end the complaining about what kids were being taught in public schools (by eliminating the public schools), but it would do little else other than shift the complaints onto other targets.

Colleges would (rightly) penalize students with with the kind of substandard education you get from the small, fundamentalist schools that stand to benefit the most from vouchers. And then these disadvantaged students would sue the colleges, et cetera. Problem most definitely … unsolved.

Posted in Education | 7 Comments »

Public service announcement

Friday, August 4th, 2006

It’s tax-free weekend in South Carolina! All y’all Libertarians here in South Carolina can run to the stores today and stick it to the man by buying items without paying any sales tax.

But remember, not all items are tax-free this weekend:

You can buy bobby pins, galoshes, bridal veils, and adult diapers tax-free.

You cannot buy soap, clocks, personal floatation devices, or sheet stretchers tax-free.

Everyone got that?

Posted in Silly stuff | 1 Comment »

A fundamentalist goes to the movies

Friday, August 4th, 2006

Kellie sent me a link to this site, which features movie reviews from the fndamentalist Christian perspective. This certainly isn’t the only site like this on the net, but it’s good for some amusement value.

Let’s look at those reviews!

Here’s Jurassic Park, which the reviewer finds Very Offensive:

[…] perverted by the movie’s unceasing barrage of evolutionist propaganda, including casual references to man and dinosaurs being separated by 65 million years, and other theories hopelessly unsubstantiated yet dressed as undeniable scientific

You know, there’s a reason that the movie treats evolution as a generally accepted scientific theory. That’s because evolution is a generally accpeted scientific theory. But wait, there’s more!

[…] Christian parents should be warned of the intensity with which the dinosaur attacks are depicted (primarily against the pre-teen grandchildren of the park’s owner).

So, the reviewer is one of those who believes man and dinosaurs lived at the same time, but is offended by the depiction of what might happen if man and dinosaurs actually did live together.

The site also reviews Sin City, finding it Extremely Offensive. The only question I have to ask is this – why would anyone think that Sin City would be anything other than offensive to fundamentalists? So what’s the point of the review?

The reviewers find Carl Sagan’s Contact Very Offensive. Why? Profanity? Violence? While there might have been a little profanity in the movie, the real thing that caused offense here was an idea:

Christian’s are, once again portrayed, many times throughout the movie, as not having answers. A young Ellie was kicked out of Sunday School when the teacher couldn’t tell her where Cain got his wife.

… the idea that fundamentalists might not have all the answers. I guess all the parts about humility have been struck from the christiananswers.net Bible.

Still, the site’s a fun read. Look up your favorite movies and try to guess how offended you should have been while watching them!

Posted in The culture wars | 1 Comment »

Tunnel of Tom

Friday, August 4th, 2006

Here’s the newest attraction in the shrimp and grits kitchen. It’s the Tunnel of Tom!

[Tunnel of Tom]

Check out the ghostly Phantom Tom in the shiny floor surface!

[Phantom Tom]

For more furry friends, have a look at the Friday Ark.

Posted in Animals | Comments Off on Tunnel of Tom