Jefferson the Creationist

I realize that this is a little bit late, but as I was listening to Episode #209 of the Skeptics Guide to the Universe, I heard that the DiscoTute has confirmed that Jefferson would be a creationist if he were alive today. At least that's what Stephen Meyers would have us believe.

Keep in mind that Jefferson died before the Origin of Species was published, not to mention the discoveries of Hubble's Law or Cosmic Background Radiation. To his credit, at least Meyers confirmed this in his article.

Meyers touches on DNA for just a moment, referring to Crick and Watson's discovery of DNA structure. Of course, what Meyers doesn't tell you is that Crick was an agnostic "leaning toward atheism," while Watson, 81, is an atheist. Crick has gone so far as to say "Christianity may be OK between consenting adults in private but should not be taught to young children." Neither does Meyers tell you that Jefferson was a deist, not a Christian.

Like most creationists, Meyers is trying to push not just creationism onto the public, but a very specific kind of creationism. And that's something that should give all of us pause.

In somewhat related and equally late news, the Texas State Board of Education thinks its high school history text books need revised. Apparently, Thurgood Marshall isn't a hero worthy of recognition, but Billy Graham is.

Says right-wing, fundamentalist lunatic, Don McLeroy, "America is a special place and we need to be sure we communicate that to our children. The foundational principles of our country are very biblical.... That needs to come out in the textbooks."

As if Rome had nothing to do with the foundation of Western civilization. Why this man is still employed by anyone is beyond me.