You Have Got To Be Kidding Me

From Cookie Jill over at Skippy the Bush Kangaroo comes a story on how a number of IMAX theaters in my region of the country are refusing to show a documentary on undersea volcanoes because of references to evolution. Apparently they're worried that the fundies in their markets will rise up in arms and burn them as witches or something if they say anything that contradicts the view that the Great Invisible Sky Being put everything here. I am very sad to report that apparently even the Exploris museum here in my town -- a science museum, can you believe it? -- is also declining to show it. Maybe I should make that, "supposed science museum".

In the same post, she links to an article that points out an alarming trend. The US is falling further and further behind in leading technology -- we're having to import students from other countries where science is actually valued (gasp!) to do the more technical jobs.

With increasing prosperity in America, [Dr. Steven Koonin provost of CalTech] said, "the children of the higher socioeconomic strata are pursuing other careers, where you don't have to work as hard."

(This begs for a link to DL's performance in the second debate where he kept repeating variations on the theme of "it's hard work", but I don't feel like hunting up a good one right now. I'm sure you can come up with a snarky comment you remember reading from then.)

In the same tone, a commenter on Eschaton bemoans:

When I was a kid in the early 70s, America still felt like the greatest country in the world. It made me pround to grow up in a country where we were the best at science, technology, and democracy. We were putting people on the fucking moon, and we were even starting to clean up our environment. The only time religion was discussed was at Sunday mass. Now I feel as if I live in the most backward-assed, batshit-crazy banana republic in the Western world. How did we go from the pre-eminent scientific, technological, and rational civilization on earth, to a nation whose political discourse and civic life is held hostage by a bunch of barking-mad fundie loons and other assorted God-botherers?

Well-said. And I hope he doesn't mind me stealing it for here.