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Last spring I predicted that the PRC would not launch a military invasion of Taiwan after the Olympics. And fortunately the saber rattling by the militant DPP has been ineffective, as the situation gets rosier and rosier.

For instance, both sides just signed transportation, shipping, mail and other agreements today.

Peace in our time? With any luck it looks that way.

See also: Not only are they better capitalists, but better peacemakers too?

Here is my bi-annual public service announcement to not vote.

- My favorite piece from this year comes from Lew Rockwell.
- Bob Murphy has an interesting take on many of the counter arguments too.
- Here is an old classic from the original Mov.com: Vote it’s easier than working

And, a cleverly worded defense of not voting from George Carlin:

See also: the non-voting archive
Don’t you have something better to do than stand in line for 3 hours?

I recently had a chance to watch Expelled and it left a sour taste in my mouth.

Regarding Sternberg, Egnor, Marks, Gonzalez and others, the website Expelled Exposed does a good job detailing why you shouldn’t feel sorry for them. So while the movie paints them as victims in some huge evil conspiracy, each one of their cases is actually much different than you are led to believe.

The overall content of the movie goes from talking about a grand debate regarding intelligent design, to one that involves eugenics and the Inner German Border of the Cold War.

Wrong on all counts

First, the analogy with the Berlin Wall and Inner German Border is total bupkis. I have written on these in the past regarding North Korea (and why I refuse to patronize the DMZ), and ID proponent Stephen C. Meyer is historically wrong in the movie. The wall was not built to keep out ideas or invaders, rather it was specifically built to keep Eastern Germans from flooding over to the West.

It was the teutonic equivalent to the Soviet refusenik policy made possible only because of the government, not scientists.

Which brings up the other issue of eugenics and ethnic cleansing. Stein and the producers go to great lengths trying to connect Darwinism with Nazism and involuntary eugenics. However, they totally miss the forest for the trees when all of these violent policies were instigated and carried out by the government.

Sure the politburo and the Third Reich used propaganda from various scientists, but that doesn’t mean a particular theory is valid or not. In fact, we see this same issue alive in terms of climate change policy. Regardless as to whether there is a consensus by scientists it is the action by governments that should ultimately be judged because they are the ones enacting and enforcing policies.

Thus Stein should have been condemning statism in addition to pin headed scientists. In fact, to be even handed Stein should have brought up all the atrocities conducted by organized religions, most notably the Crusades and Inquisition. Teach the controversy, right?

Jump rope

One of the questions stated is “that we don’t even know what a species is?” I humbly submit the thorough answer provided by wikipedia. Be sure to read through speciation and transition fossils.

The various quotes that linger in and out throughout the movie make it fairly obvious that it was made by theists, so it really hurts the cause of ID whose proponents claim it is agnostic and secular.

In fact, the whole movie is fairly erratic, jumping from topic to topic. Biological evolution and the origin of life are two separate topics entirely, yet Stein tries to lump them together as one.

Furthermore, modern biology has only been around for at most 150 years so it is unfair to expect researchers to have fully fleshed out every aspect or have an ironclad law for every phenomenon. Organized religions on the other hand have had millenia to play mental gymnastics in answering the hows and the whys for how the cosmos works. But again, this still misses the bigger point. Intelligent design was not fleshed out.

In fact, the PBS show Intelligent Design: Judgment Day was not only more even handed, but really did a good job focusing on the specific scientific arguments involved in biological evolution versus intelligent design.

In reality, what Stein should have done is made a movie without talking about religion or deities. Instead, he should have simply focused on the scientific claims of ID. Yet none of that was done. In fact, the only real science shown was a 3D CGI sequence of cell processes that actually was ripped off a Harvard presentation… on evolution.

And worse yet, by quoting Pamela Winnick the producers demonize and erect a strawman for someone like myself. I do not condone death and have made the case that if you really think you are pro-life, then you have to be anti-war. But again, that is a topic for another day in a different forum.

Spinning around

Fortunately for humanity, irrespective of what political tendencies or religious beliefs you have, there is always the night time sky. It cannot be regulated or purged (yet). And as a result, provides the most unbiased evidence against Young Earth creationism and probably most ID supporters.

Or maybe I’m speaking too soon. Perhaps in the future Stein will link mass democide with the abandonment of geocentricism. Think of all the awful things that have happened after the Earth-centered worldview was questioned and abandoned!

Final verdict: 1 out of 5. The historical archives were at least cleverly interwoven throughout the vignettes. The music does a good job setting the mood sought by the Discovery Institute the producers. And fortunately for me, I didn’t have to endure being expelled from the premier like PZ Meyers.

See also:
Why Intelligent Design is not Scientific
Stellar Appreciation Day
How long did it take for the rings to form around Saturn?
Long distance phone calls in outer space
Are Half-Lives Legit or Just Something Sagan Liked?
Fighting debris with debris creates more debris
Admitting You Are Wrong On Easter
Intelligent Design and the Light-Year