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August 04, 2005

Up is Down and Black is White

Cats and dogs sleeping together:

PHILADELPHIA (Reuters) - A leading Republican senator allied with the religious right differed on Thursday with
President Bush's support for teaching an alternative to the theory of evolution known as "intelligent design."

Republican Sen. Rick Santorum, a possible 2008 presidential contender who faces a tough re-election fight next year in Pennsylvania, said intelligent design, which is backed by many religious conservatives, lacked scientific credibility and should not be taught in science classes.

Of course, he still equates homosexuality with humping your dog, but this is progress.

Santorum sided in part with intelligent-design proponents in saying that there were gaps in the theory of evolution.

He'd also be siding with evolutionary scientists who are seeking to fully understand the mechanisms behind evolution (but who don't doubt that evolution has happened).

I'm afraid, though, that if you asked Santorum which holes should be taught, he might say something like "you know, there's an 'o' in evolution - two of'em - and each one's got a hole right there in the middle."

"As far as intelligent design is concerned, I really don't believe it has risen to the level of a scientific theory at this point that we would want to teach it alongside of evolution."

Holy crap, there's hope yet. In his admission that ID is not a scientific theory, he showed more grasp of the matter than 90% of the yahoos spewing their ignorance across the blogosphere the last few days.

The way this is going, next we'll find out he likes a little rear-attack action with boys* in leather.

Let us pray.

(found via Reconstitution)

Update: For those of you wondering, no, I don't believe Santorum has changed his mind. I think he's pandering to moderates who, I hope, are smart enough to see this for what it is.

One need only look back to 2002 when Santorum said:

"Research has shown that the odds that even one small protein molecule has been created by chance is 1 in a billion. Thus, some larger force or intelligence, or what some call agent causation, seems like a viable cause for creating information systems such as the coding of DNA. A number of scientists contend that alternate theories regarding the origins of the human species — including that of a greater intelligence — are possible.

Therefore, intelligent design is a legitimate scientific theory that should be taught in science classes."

Yup, as always, Santorum is full of crap.

Update: Santorum also hates personal freedom. There's a way to win the moderates over, ya idiot!

* Note, "boys" here is not meant as "children," but rather as "young men."