During a round-table interview with reporters from five Texas newspapers, Bush declined to go into detail on his personal views of the origin of life. But he said students should learn about both theories, Knight Ridder Newspapers reported.

"I think that part of education is to expose people to different schools of thought," Bush said. "You're asking me whether or not people ought to be exposed to different ideas, the answer is yes."

This whole "we should teach different ideas" is retarded. There are ideas that life spawns from rotten meat. There are ideas that the US forced Japan to attack Pearl Harbor because of an oil embargo. There are ideas that the earth is hollow.

The point is there are ideas for everything, and we don't teach them all. We have some criteria that concepts have to meet to be taught. In science classes, that criteria is the scientific method.

I quote the Intelligent Design article on Wikipedia:

Critics call ID religious dogma repackaged in an effort to return creationism into public school science classrooms and note that ID features notably as part of the campaign known as Teach the Controversy. The National Academy of Sciences and the National Center for Science Education assert that ID is not science, but creationism. While the scientific theory of evolution by natural selection has observable and repeatable facts to support it such as the process of mutations, gene flow, genetic drift, adaptation and speciation through natural selection, the "Intelligent Designer" in ID is neither observable nor repeatable. This violates the scientific requirement of falsifiability. ID violates Occam's Razor by postulating an entity or entities to explain something that may have a simpler and scientifically supportable explanation not involving unobservable help.

ID is *not* science. It should not be taught in a *science* class. Doing so undermines the entire point of science. Bush's complete misunderstanding of this is beyond excuse.

That sound you hear is future doctors and engineers turning into ditch diggers in Mexico beacause our education system isn't up to teaching the skills they need.

CNN.com - Bush: Schools should teach 'intelligent design' - Aug 2, 2005

Jan Koch, who with her husband milks 250 cows and farms 500 acres near De Forest in southern Wisconsin, was mostly disgusted with Congress, but not for any effect the change would have on her farm.

"If that is the best Congress can come up with for an energy idea, we are in trouble," she said. "They should be able to come up with something better than that to save energy."

I think that one quote pretty much sums up the problem.

Extended Daylight-Saving Plan Worries Some - Yahoo! News

The draft states no law will be approved that contradicts "the rules of Islam"

Sweet! We managed to create a second Algeria! Way to go! I have a really hard time saying that's an improvement over Saddam.

Islam Dominates Iraq's Draft Constitution - Yahoo! News

The boy told investigators he and the teacher had sex in a classroom, her house and once in a vehicle while his 15-year-old cousin drove. He said Lafave told him her marriage was in trouble and that she was aroused by the fact that having sex with him was not allowed.

I think the kid in this case has a serious problem. The rest of the people in his school are all going to be going "Dude! You were nailing a totally hot teacher and you had to fuck it up AND get her sent to jail? What the fuck is wrong with you man!" (beatings start)

Fla. Teacher to Claim Insanity in Sex Case

I'm not recommending the article, it's the usual NASA oops stuff. No, what I found interesting was the photo with the article. It'sa NASA huey gunship. Call me nuts, but the last thing I want next to a hundred odd tons of explosive fuel is a helicopter, that it's armed is just one more thing that can go wrong.

*UPDATE* Thanks to Decius, I've updated the URL to go to photo rather than the article.

NASA calls off Wednesday's shuttle launch

The bill has yet to be considered by the full House of Representatives. In the meantime, Amtrak is facing tough opposition from critics who say the federal government can't afford to subsidize a poorly run passenger rail system.

Well why the hell not? They subsidize poorly run airlines all the time!

Politicians Rally for Struggling Amtrak - Yahoo! News

"The issue isn't one of whether or not we will be forced into a draft," said Lt. Gen. Michael Rochelle, commander of Army Recruiting Command. "I think the issue is whether people will get behind and stand behind the all-volunteer force concept that has served us quite well for 32 years."

Well, with the current state of affairs (see the current administration approval numbers) they won't, and will be even more adamantly against reinstating a draft.

Army Misses Recruiting Goal for 4th Month

] The Swedish situation is different from that in countries
] where organized crime, drug trade and easy access to
] weapons result in a higher percentage of murders
] committed by people who are not certifiably ill than in
] Western Europe, the study's authors acknowledged.
]
]
] They cited as examples the United States, Bolivia, South
] Africa and the Baltic countries.

Wow! We rank right up there with Bolivia!

Nearly all murderers are mentally ill: Swedish study - Yahoo! News

] Kansas School Board chairman Steve Abrams said the
] hearings are less about religion than they are about
] seeking the best possible education for the state's
] children.
]
]
] "If students... do not understand the weaknesses of
] evolutionary theory as well as the strengths, a grave
] injustice is being done to them," Abrams said.

Bullshit! One of the core parts of teaching science is that you teach the spots where there are problems (general relativity and quantum mechanics seem fundamentally incompatible, but they both work in their areas). What you skip is stuff that ISN'T SCIENCE. How did "Lucy" end up where we are now? Gee, we don't know, must have been some intelligent design, of course we can't explain that or say who might have done it, just that it obviously wasn't anything like that evolution stuff those guys are talking about...

Bullshit, bullshit, bullshit.

Evolution on trial as Kansas debates Adam vs Darwin

] Repeatedly admonished, Bolton persisted in trying to
] arrange meetings with Russian, French and British
] officials, she said.
]
]
] The foreign ministries would then notify the U.S. Embassy
] or the State Department "and ask me what does he want,"
] Jones said.

Assuming this is accurate, this is a rule that is in place for security reasons. Guys who don't even understand security don't belong in this kind of position. How can this guy possibly be the best one for the job?

Official Says Bolton Flouted Travel Rules