Americans do be dumber.

am i missing the "liberal idiot" fest?

...hopefully flossing...?...mon ami...

Without you, us liberals could only make fun of hypothetical idiots.
Now that you are here, the "fest" can begin!

So, this man who says he is Christian, goes to a Christian Church, and wrote a book about his spiritual journey to Christianity is somehow NOT a Christian?

So tell me, what methodology have you perfected to discover an individuals religion other than what they say and do?

No, the belief itself is not racist- but without a doubt "fear of the other" is a huge driving force behind those who cling to concepts like Obama being a Muslim, or Obama not being born in Hawaii, or calling him a "Marxist" or an "Imperialist".

It's a desire to make him seem more "alien", thus making blind hatred more allowable.

It's called Demonization.

It's so much easier than actually debating issues on their merits.

THIS HAS BEEN A PAID POLITICAL ANNOUNCEMENT....eh?

When I was reading the many impassioned responses to the "music intervention" thread in the interim, I wondered, considering that most all of the commentators had certainly computers, stereos, music collections and television sets, how many had a globe, or an atlas of the Earth in their house.
That would be a good question in the next survey.
My guess is either of those items, both probably less than $20, are in fairly short supply in many otherwise well-equipped (for entertainment) American homes.

The issue isn't pushing forward - the issue is that federal government threatens to take all federal funding from school districts if they don't participate in "No Child Left Behind," and if you do not pass, your school becomes at risk to be restructured, or worse, closed down completely. This means teachers are required to teach to the test. And the test only tests 2 our of the 11 learning styles found among students, which means... 9/11 students are in the dark. The tests also don't test history, geography, science, music, kinesthetics. All it tests is reading comprehension, writing and mathematics. SO, yes, as long as these kids can pass the tests, we pass them forward... which is the pushing kids through to the next grade.... but that's only the schools who teach solely to the test, disregarding other curriculum. So we may appear to be pushing kids through the system, but realistically we are just holding them farther and farther back. It's depressing. And it's a lot more to do with the federal government and school administrators than educators.

Education has been on the back burner for sometime now. The No CHild Left Behind Act only pushed us further back. Parents don't take responsibility for the education of their children either. We are screwed!

P.S.
My 7yr. old stepson knows where Iraq is...
Its a sad day to admit that someone who just started 1st grade last week is smarter than the average adult.

It doesn't take a lot of brains to say "you want fries with that?"

Have you seen the cash registers at fast food joints?
The employees do not even have to type in prices anymore- they push a button with the name of the product on it.

Soon, I bet the cash registers will just have little pictures on the buttons instead of words.

Then, they will just turn them around, and the customer will push the buttons themselves.

Shoot, even if they can't immediately point to the countries, could they not at least READ the map? I mean, that IS the point of a map, to show WHERE countries are located - so it goes beyond not knowing where a country is and moves into the realm of not having enough common sense and common intelligence to problem solve and find the answer....

Sigh, I wish we had more parents like you! It is so frustrating to see an intelligent, able child and they don't move forward because their education ends at the ring of a bell, and learning is a 24 hour job.

Stats show parents who are involved with their childs education, regardless of socio-economic status, succeed academically at a high rate. (although it does affect the student one way or another, it is a much smaller margin than with non-participating parents).

It is nice to see a parent who is aware of the problem as a whole, and that we are all at fault right now, vs just one or the other.

Forget the "long row to hoe" darling. Time to plow this field under.

Hilarious. Also, I must confess, in the same "field" as my first thoughts. But then, we must as responsible humans, always project hope and reassurance to others when it looks SO VERY dicey.
Not a duty one savors, but a duty, nonetheless.

Are you a Gaytarded, fuck yeah!

Loffle!

manslaughter fuck yeah
torture fuck yeah
guantanamo fuck yeah

fuck yeah

Varex_Sythe fuck yeah
iraq fuck yeah
vampires fuck yeah
kim kardashian fuck yeah
current fuck yeah
jews fuck yeah
tea party..

beetlejuice fuck yeah
tiger woods fuck yeah
paintball guns fuck yeah
your mom fuck yeah!

Jacking off to hard-core Brazilian beastiality porn, fuck yeah!
Getting joy from watching countless beheading videos, fuck yeah!
Waiting to get the welfare check, fuck yeah!
breathing in nanobots for future programming, fuck yeah!
look at grandma and thinking sexy thoughts, fuck yeah!
Swallowing a beer bong full of jizz, fuck yeah!

Let your fingers doing the walking.
Look up the August 10, 2010 Pew Poll. Then look up the Gallup Poll cited in the article.
Credible polls are conducted to specific recognized and stated standards to obtain a representative sample. The Gallup Poll has been conducting this kind of public research for many decades. They are relied on by corporations, research groups and government agencies to get verifiable data.
These aren't polls conducted by Fox News or some partisan group with a particular special agenda.
And yes, replies like yours, which express an unfounded opinion without having done one second of simple research, do prove the point.

Took the words right off my keyboard Amp..Well said!

You're right, I hadn't done any research because I already knew their results would be bogus.

Of all the polls in the article only 9 showed SOME of their methods for conducting their surveys. On average, the polls that did share some of their methods, conducted their surveys to about 1,395 people in a country of 307,006,550 people. So what you're saying is that data collected through less than 5% of a population is relevant enough to determine that the other 95%'s results will be congruent? Sorry, I don't follow that logic. They use ratio's and percentages for a reason. Just because the government and businesses use their service doesn't make them any more accurate or correct.

yes bravo woopie yeehaw and all that BS

That's true. I'm sure polls taken in cities like Seattle, Boston, DC, and others who are noted to have the highest educated populations, vs middle america cities, or even cities with other hurdles like language barriers and school funding issues.

hit a nerve did I?

Well it is kind of concerning when people commend ignorance over reason

I believe we have already reached that point, the dumbing down of Americans during the Reagan administration has paid huge dividends for the Fascists that rule. They can pretty much control large swaths of ignorant fools whenever they want. Don't like the headline for the day like maybe an oil slick, divert the attention to a Muslim community center.

...lol...ya wouldn't be "t-wiccan" me, wouldya...

It was the giant hairy monkey balls part that caught my attention, caro. Delicate flower.

...ahhh, but I do so love a "Darwinian" type of girl...

Clarence Darrow, Charles Darwin...OK, I'll bite. Do you mean "evolved?"

"Well, if 9/11 did involve the bush administration, why are we stabbing Muslim cab drivers and saying no to a mosque 2 blocks away from ground zero?" Cause Bush and Cheney are not driving cabs around ground zero".... and....."Why aren't we calling our own government the real terrorist?".... I am.

No point was even if they were driving a cab the person would say "Nice job kicking those muslims ass in Iraq!" And I am too.

(continuing)...doobie doo, doo doo doo dee da, dah, dah dah...just scattin' on your scatt...

LOL!

And I also recall (to the Sun revolving around the Earth one) that a crowd in Texas booed Bill Nye when he explained that the Bible was found to be wrong when it said that God created the two lights of the heavens, the Sun and the Moon. Because he said the Moon's light was actually sunlight being reflected off it's surface.

http://www.inquisitr.com/22800/christians-boo-speaker-for-saying-the-moon-reflec...

They BOOED Bill Nye!?!?!?!?!? Those fuckin fucks

Absolutely, for the most part the American public is to naive and to willing to blindly believe propaganda if its on the Nightly News. As far as the Bush Administration lying to the American public, Congress and the U.S Military about the presence of WMD in Iraq and Saddam's connection to the events of 9-11 make me sick to my stomach. I feel so betrayed and used as pawns for the Bush Administration and the various friendly Corporations who reap millions from the blood and chaos from both Iraq and Afghanistan. I lost to many friends, and carry a few scars myself. Which is fine, its what I signed up for, it is the career I wanted and that I still love. But to find out that much of it was based on deceit and lies just eats me up inside. I only spent 10 months in Iraq until I got my head rocked. But, I spent plenty of time in Afghanistan and going there again in about 30 and a wake up.

...and Colin Powell explained it so clearly to the United Nations.

Disgraceful. Then we asked those same countries for troops and branded them international pariahs if they refused to cough up (need any "freedom fries" with that order, mister?)

I am disgusted with the entire Bush Administration. But, Collin Powell holds a special place in my heart. Collin Powell was a war hero from Vietnam, and the man behind the "Storm" during Desert Storm. He seemed to bring a quiet dignity and intelligence to a GOP cabinet that seemed filled with idiots and evil, racist, white men. Then when all the dust settles and he resigns from his position, we find out he know when he gave that speech to the U.N. that the information concerning the WMD in Iraq was false. So here is a former soldier, who fought in combat and who had to watch as men he sent into battle died and now he was dooming a whole generation of young American Service Men/Women to fight a war he knew in his heart was unjust. I expected this bullshit from former President Bush and that devil former Vice-President Cheney but Collin Powell was the quiet warrior you were suppose to be able to trust.

Yeah, I know. I admired him, too. I want to believe that he was a completely unwilling stooge with respect to the WMD speech before the UN, but that doesn't square too well with his reputation for intelligence.

I met his son, Michael, when he became chairman of the FCC. The experience was...underwhelming. I was leading a delegation of Native American chiefs who were seeking broadband connections to their reservations. The first thing Michael showed them was the pictures of old-time mounted cavalry he had hanging on his wall. Now, I realize that he came from a cavalry background...but purposely showing Native Americans pictures of them and beaming at them in expectation of their ooohs and aaaahs of appreciation? One of the older chiefs cast a sidelong glance at me as if to say "WTF?" I just shrugged my shoulders and rubbed my temples at a sudden pain.

Wouldn't you agree that, believing what you are told, without taking any initiative to confirm the facts, is the one of the foundations of ignorance?
It's true that perhaps some were fooled by the propaganda barrage.
After all, it was designed to do that, and the Bush Administration and its supporting corporate interests had the power and money to do it very effectively.
The point is, the truth was soon exposed to all, quite clearly.
What are the characteristics of the folks who cling obsessively to this type of self-reinforcing ignorance? A great deal of it no doubt is using the full force of denial to "refudiate" facts that contradict something you are already far too fully invested in psychologically to question.
You might, (horror of horrors!) have to start over, and objectively question some of your long-held assumptions.
That's where intellect might come in handy.

Freedom fries, a perfect example of the ruling ignorance!

Man, I hear ya.

Wow, I can't believe that. Yeah the Powells come from a long tradition of Military service and Collin was a war hero in Vietnam. But, honestly how stupid can you be to proudly display an image of the U.S Cavalry to a group of Native Americans when it was the U.S. Cavalry that slaughtered and murdered so many of the western plains Indians. The not only show incredible ignorance but total disregard for the very group of men, Michael Powell was hoping to business with. That's like showing a group of black business men a picture of your Great-grand father in his Klan gear. You must have felt like an ass.

That time they went to far.

I think Collin may have also had a hand in the My Lai Massacre attempted cover up. I am not totally sure about that and in any case war is hell and a soldier has to do what a soldier has to do. Just ask George W. Little touchy on the hero thing, brother. Only heroes I ever met, never came back.

Collen Powell was a Captain (I think ) at the time of the My Lai Massacre and he was charged by the High Command to investigate the massacre and determine what actions should be taken. He failed in his duty to properly investigate the Massacre because he relied on second hand information. He didn't speak to the commander of the Infantry Unit that committed the rapes and murders and he didn't speak to the Helicopter pilots who risked their own lives to save as many Vietnamese civilians as they could.
Several of the Helicopter pilots received medals for their actions and while many of the officers from the 11th Infantry faced court martial. None of the enlisted men who had taken part in the massacre were punished.
Collin Powell has long been criticized for not investigating the Massacre properly only going though the motion. His lack of initiative is thought to be the reason so many soldiers went unpunished. But, also many say that Captain Collin Powell was ordered to drag out the investigation and that the Army High Command never wanted the truth of the My Lai Massacre to ever come to light. Without a doubt this is a stain on the man's character and on the conduct of the U.S. Army's actions in Vietnam as a whole.
Collin Powell writes in depths about his investigation of the My Lai Massacre and his guilt over not properly pursuing justice and punishing those who were responsible. Although its easy to show remorse years after the fact. I never consider Collen Powell a hero but I did consider him a soldier and politician I could admire and trust. He made a fool at of me.

Under the Bush Administration, the Army was forced to reduce its enlistment standards to meet its recruitment goals. We were accepting people with medical waivers, criminal waivers, GED's, and chronic past drug use. The last two years the Army has not only met its recruitment goals but has surpassed them. The Army can be much more picky with its recruits, once again taking only the best of the best. Also over the last four years the Army has been offering many soldiers early separation.
Many young man and women who thought they would make the Army their career are getting a rude awaking. Mundane or just average soldiers are no longer making the cut and promotions are getting harder and harder to come by. Thats why I constantly take as many training courses as possible and signed up for a critical skill MOS in the first place.

there were no americans hero in Viet-Nam war, for respect to you I,m not going to say what kind of people were there;

I'd invite you to go to the war museum in Sai-Gon, and around the hamburger hill, around the DMZ,

this is a topic too difficoult to explain unless you have not seen with your onw soldier eyes, too many has been said with no real knowledge

My-Lay is only the know case, have you got any idea of how many My-Lay cases in Viet-Nam ?

did you know that there isn't a declaration of war made from america to Viet-Nam a that time?
that americans came to help the france foreign legion after Diem Bien Phu and from there on never left ?

do you know that christian de castris did not wanted to belive that Gen. Giap would have managed to carry cannons on the soldiers shoulders crossing a jungle in the mountains, and that Viet-Minh worked digging day and night to arrive just few hundred meters from france frontline? it has been a dirty indochina war from every side you see it;
is difficoult to say what makes a hero in the war time, wars makes nobody great, it seems you are a loyal soldier, able on your dutyes to think with your mind, is a gift

only one thing, Vietnamese did it for indipendence, for freedom to push out the invasors

it was another time a unreal time for us

reading the followed comments I'have discovered that you know about the absence of a formal even unformal declarations of war in Viet-nam by americans

there in Afghanistan you surely know that since ever never Army has manage to beat them, you know about the mountains with so many holes were nobody can find nobody, unless you are afghan

and is a news that now there is a golf camp made on the rough isn't funny this ??

I never said Collen Powell was my hero, only that he was an accomplished soldier and politician that I once admired until I learned the truth about his character. Vietnam was a horrendous and violent part of America's past. Your correct, Congress never declared war instead President LBJ used the Gulf of Tonkin resolution as an excuse to escalate the level of U.S Military direct involvement in the conflict between South and North Vietnam.
It is hard to find any heroes in any war or armed conflict. I consider both my father and my uncle heroes each served in the Vietnam Conflict/War and each return home safe and raised great families and were both amazing fathers. My dad was with the 9th Infantry Division and spent most of his time in the Mekong Delta, my uncle was with the Big Red One (1st Infantry Division).
My father and uncle learned to respect the Viet Cong the same way I have learned to respect the Afghan Taliban and Jihadist fighters. I have spent most of my time in Afghanistan in the mountains and valleys of the Logar and Wardak Valley and I will be the first to attempt we don't even know a tenth of the secret paths, valleys and caves that those mountains hold.

A golf course? I'm not sure what you mean.

as he did us all my friend.

Amazing, I missed that. Was it just some soldiers fcuking around or is it an attempt to build a professional course? I can assure you, we have no golf course in the mountains and valleys of eastern Afghanistan (Logar and Wardak provence)

http://CNN.com

because I have no words

...Afghanistan Crossroads - CNN.com Blogs
-
24 Aug 2010 ... A dirt road leads to the "Kabul Golf Club," the only golf course in Afghanistan
afghanistan.blogs.cnn.com/

Great point! There are a few of these question that are tough to simply say "right or wrong" to because they are multi-faceted in the many schools of thought.

...hey, MJ..your group of words..."because they are multi-faceted in the many schools of thought"...bloody brilliant...I'm going to pinch that statement, as I often get myself caught up in the "this and that's" and the many layers of thought (like I'm doin' now) ha...

What part of evolutionary theory do you think "scholars perverted?"
What part do you view as a "matter of faith and personal choice to believe?"

I'm sorry, but that is a perfect example of a position held based on ignorance vs knowledge.

I have debated Creationism vs Evolution with Creationists hundreds of times, and there is a perspective that creationists have that shows a lack of understanding of science.

For example, you said:
"scholars took Darwin's theory and perverted it to say something he never intended it to say"

This is an almost "Biblical" perspective, that Darwin's Origin of the Species is holy writ, and scholars "perverted" it.

In reality, Darwin was just a man- the man who first brought evolution to public focus, but that's all. We have learned so much about evolution far beyond his understanding.

Our knowledge of evolution is not based on some old book, it's based on observation and documentation of evidence.

Yes, evolution is a verifiable fact. It's all one process- there is no "macroevolution" or "microevolution". It's just one process, over a longer amount of time.

This is not about "faith" or personal choice- just like believing the Sun goes around the Earth is not about faith or personal choice.

It is really about knowledge of a topic vs ignorance of a topic- and I know I am not going to convince you of that fact.

Think of it this way- you accept microevolution as a fact.

I'm sure you are aware that there are Creationists who believe the Universe is only 6,000 years old, everything was created in only seven days, and no life forms ever changed even in the slightest.

Do you think that you could say anything to convince them they are wrong, and that what you know to be a true fact is not simply your opinion?

It's interesting that you brought up the fact that sex makes babies- the people of the Trobriand Islands refuse to believe there is any correlation between sex and pregnancy. They say that since people can have sex without having children, there is no correlation.

Pregnancy occurs when a spirit decides to enter a woman, that's all.

http://www.aaronsw.com/weblog/savagesex

Should we treat their views as an equally valid opinion, and that Fertilization is nothing more than a "theory"? Or should we go by what we know from the process of observing and documenting, instead of what some people just happen to believe?

Faith is a strong psychological block.
It prevents people from learning any facts that contradict that faith.

Thanks for proving my point. As I said beyond the verifiable fact that the physical sex act (or a doctor mixing sperm and egg in a test tube) = pregnancy = how people (or anything beyond plants or earthworms) get here-- the rest is all a matter of interpretation and faith and educated or uneducated guessing/speculation.

Thus again--it has nothing to do with knowledge--it has to do with what you choose to believe or not believe-- and its all a straw man argument and one more thing people use to bite on each other and blind each other to the fact we are all, in the end, human beings and the rest is just labels.

No, I did not prove your point.

You are, however, demonstrating highly selective reading.

Evolution is no more or less verifiable than Fertilization.
Evolution is a fact.
It is verified.

Denial of what can be verified because of Faith is the equivalent of choosing ignorance over knowledge.

Yes, I said knowledge.

This has everything to do with knowledge.
There actually ARE things that we can know and verify- evolution is one of them.

Scholars perverted Darwin's verifiable scientific facts that species evolve and those within a specific species who survive live to pass on their genetics and are thus worthy of the title "fittest"--but Darwin did not say that ALL life and ALL species evolved from single cell amoeba at the bottom of the ocean.

And as I said--mixing sperm and egg together and waiting a specific gestation period--is how pretty much every living being--outside of plants and single cell organisms--got here. ALL the rest is theory or speculation or takes a certain amount of faith to believe and should therefore should be a personal decision--not a point of public debate or ridicule.

I just asked. But, while I'm here, if you didn't want a public debate, why did you post your (highly debatable) opinion?

Why ask a question if you don't want a response?

Also you obviously misunderstood my original post. I said I like this list--and I agree with it for the most part. It's just that with regard to evolution vs. creation I think its a straw man argument and basically a more elevated level of the mental masturbation game that people are playing with regard to whose religion is more "correct" Muslims or Christians.

I also think that really with regard to things that happened thousands of years ago at least--since none of were alive then and no one has invented a functioning time machine--and thus none of us were there personally to take notes and experience it "live"--its rather silly to discredit one another or bite on one another or say one person's belief that God created the world is any less valid than another person's belief that science or the big bang created the world.

Also again--I never said evolution was not a verifiable fact. I said evolution does not explain the beginning of the world and that Darwin never intended for it to go back that far.

That and honestly the Catholic church and/or the Church of England are responsible for taking the other extremist view that it was God's intent to use the Genesis story as the ultimate and only valid explanation of the world's origins.

Because there again--nobody alive today knows for sure how or who or what actually kicked off the beginnings of life.

So again--aside from your parents having sex or your mom undergoing some type of invitro fertilization process--how you or anybody else got here is and should be a matter of personal opinion and reflection. And whatever conclusions individuals draw about that should be their own and not used as a weapon or a tool to hurt or harm or kill or physically or emotionally wound another.

Well, I've read your replies a couple of times, and, even though they repeat themselves, they seem to be resolutely free of any specific answer about the actual differences you have with evolutionary theory. I'm not here to browbeat you, though. I get that you think God started mankind and world. That's fine.

You still don't get it. It isn't about whether I believe creation or evolution explains the origins of life--just as it isn't about claiming the knowledge higher ground.

You asked--What part of evolutionary theory do you think "scholars perverted?"

I answered that I think scholars perverted Darwin's theory of evolution to say it explains the origins of all life. Something Darwin never said--he simply made observations that if you survived long enough to procreate you were allowed to pass on your genetic material--if you didn't survive then your "fail" conversely improved the genetic pool because you weren't in it.

Also anybody can tell you that evolution happens WITHIN a species or a culture or a society -- but no one has actually observed one species literally turning into another. Or more if they have--they were not Darwin.

I also think that creationists are wrong in that Genesis was NOT intended to be anything other than a story/history/genealogy of the Jewish people.

which goes back to your second question--What part do you view as a "matter of faith and personal choice to believe?"

And the answer is all of it. Since no one is still alive that would have witnessed the creation of life or the Earth as we know it--all ideas and concepts and thoughts and opinions on the ancient past and how the beginning of time happened are inherently theories or guesses and therefore it should be the person's right to believe what they want to about something that is really irreverent to their day to day life. Because as I said--the only tangible right here/right now observable proof of how life is created or gets started is to mix sperm and egg or observe some life force act on cells so they divide. Beyond that its all speculation and mental masturbation.

Darwin is not god.
Darwin did not even know about DNA.
We now know a lot more then Darwin knew.
Learning new things is not "perversion".

You know that mixing a sperm and egg is how we got here.
A long time ago, people did not know that.
Then, they learned.

To this day, as I sad about the Trobriand Islanders, there are people who do not believe in fertilization.

Yes, there is a difference between knowledge and beliefs.
It's a line called ignorance.

In your case, you do not understand evolution- just like those Trobriand Islanders do not understand fertilization.

So, to you, it's just a mater of faith.

To those of us who understand evolution, we know it's a fact, and requires no faith at all.

Yes, evolution is a verifiable fact- and yes, you did say it was.

But, you do not know what evolution IS.

You think the only thing verified is microevolution.
You are wrong- macroevolution is also verified.
That's because microevolution and macroevolution are the exact same thing.

Again- Darwin simply pointed out evolution.
Science is a CONSTANT process of discovery.
It is not limited to the writings of one man a long time ago.
"The Origin of Species" is not a Bible.

What Moses may or may not have done is irrelevant- what is important is what we know NOW. If you limit your knowledge to what people believed 4,000 years ago, that is ignorance. It is ignorance of all the knowledge we have gained since then.

I have no clue why you are talking about Hitler. If it's because I mentioned DNA, we can use DNA to determine all kinds of family relationships- close ones like paternity or Hitler's Jewish ancestry, and ones further away like our link to primates, and the family relationships between assorted species to each other.

You think that knowledge of the past is not verifiable, because you do not know the methodology used to verify it.

Again- it's not faith. It is knowledge that you do not have, so you THINK it's faith.

You thinking that evolution is just a mater of faith is no different than Trobriand Islanders thinking fertilization is just a mater of faith.

It is all because it is something you do not understand- and that is why it was a perfect example for the post.

It is not a "personal journey" any more than knowing where Asia is on a map is a "personal journey". It's not a "choice", any more than 1+2=3 is a "choice".

It really is something that some people know, and some people do not.

No, I'm not the ultimate authority- I am just someone who understand evolution.

And because I understand evolution, I know that it is something one understands, not one believes.

Again, like you say you understand Fertilization, thus you know something the Trobriand Islanders do not know.

Are you saying no one ever knows anything that you do not?

You say:
"Just re-read your statement after you look up the definition of contradiction and the verb perverted in the dictionary. Because DUH! inherently if "we have learned so much about evolution far beyond his (Darwin's) understanding--then again DUH! since your statement also presupposes that this knowledge was "learned" after Darwin was dead--he was obviously not around to run his experiments again and do his own personal research so he could tell you anybody else in person if the "new" knowledge was really what he would have said or not said."

I'm sorry, but that was just bizarre.
There was nothing contradictory in what I said- again, your analysis shows that you have no idea what evolution is, or what the scientific process is.

The fact that Darwin is dead is irrelevant to what WE know about evolution.

I did not say Darwin learned things after he died.

I said WE did.

WE were around to run experiments, and do observations.

Our knowledge of the universe did not end because of the death of Galileo. He did not even know about Neptune and Uranus- should we ignore those discoveries because he's dead, so he cannot add them to his model of cosmology?

No one cares what Darwin would have said or would not have said.
The concern is how evolution works, and Darwin got some things wrong.
Through observation of nature we continue to make discoveries.
Again- Darwin is not a God.
"The Origin of Species" is not a Bible.

Darwin is just a human being, and simply the first one to bring evolution into public focus- he was not even the first to discover evolution. Aristotle had the basic idea about 2,000 years earlier.

Your whole concept of "perversion" is, ad I said, a "Biblical" mindset, showing you do not have even the slightest grasp of science.

Religion is based on bowing to the oldest authority; science is about constantly making new discoveries.

I do believe "common_sense" ran off blithering to himself.
Oh, my!
The weight of all those contradictions!
The tender skin of shallow thinking burning suddenly at all that sudden exposure to the unforgiving sunlight.

The point is this-

The article did not debate the validity of evolution, just like it did not debate the validity of death panels, geography, the solar system, or Obama's religion.

That is because there are all questions with only one correct answer, yet some people do not know the answer.

39% gave a correct answer.
25% gave an incorrect answer- showing how bad our nation's education is.
The remaining 36% did not engage in an active rebellion against the concept of polls. They just did not know the answer, or did not want to be bothered.

And Gallup definitely knows how to conduct polls, and all about statics.

And, despite your claim about what your point "was/is/and continues to be" you have shifted your goalposts.

You were adressing evolution itself:

"...since scholars took Darwin's theory and perverted it to say something he never intended it to say."

Now, you would like to claim that knowledge of evolution is irrelevant.

It is not.

First, Evolution is a key concept of biology. Our nation has a severe shortage of doctors. Children who do not understand biology result in a culture with fewer and fewer doctors, resulting in rising health care costs, and less capable coverage as "nurse practitioners" with less education take on more and more of doctor's responsibilities.

Second, just like learning Science, Math, and History, it is exercise that strengthens the brain, so we can use our minds successfully in whatever our endeavors. That is the main reason we educate children- not to learn specific facts, but to learn how to LEARN.

Are you going to argue that Math, Science and History should not be taught in schools?

Evolution is a concept not limited to Biology- cultures evolve. Societies evolve. Political views evolve. Being able to notice what has gone before, what is going on now, what the factors are that influence it, can help someone predict how things will change in the near future.

Evolution can help you buy stocks.

Learning how to SEE evolution is important. Without that knowledge, one becomes someone who fears change, fears progress, and fears anything new and different.

You say:
"all pointing this out does is allow people to bite on each other and argue with each other and allow people to play this game of I'm better or smarter or more knowledgeable than you because I believe something you don't."

Just look at what you said- to you, the fact that some people know things other people do not is a "game" about "beliefs".

People who know things other people do not know are more knowledgeable on that topic. That is not an issue of belief. It's an issue of education.

The fact that so many people lack knowledge is as important as them lacking food, water, or a place to live. It is NOT a game.

Pointing this out is just as important as any other socio-political topic on Current.

Our nation is rapidly declining in it's level of education.
Our nation is rapidly losing high-tech jobs overseas.
As I said, we have a shortage of doctors.
Our nation is rapidly becoming dependent on foreign countries, while we become a nation of "service industries".

We have a culture that thinks education is a bad thing.
Smart kids get beat up in school, while jocks are the role models.
Smart girls play dumb to get the boys.
Idiot celebrities are placed on pedestals, make millions, write books, and people actually read them.

Huge corporations easily manipulate the uneducated masses to do whatever they want them to do; to deny Climate Change so they don't have to stop polluting. To fight against safety and health regulations. To fear scapegoats.

Anti-Intellectualism has become a platform of the Republican party- fight against "so-called experts" and "Ivory-tower elitists" and "Liberal Academia". When facts disagree with their agenda, they control the populace to reject facts.

Uneducated masses are masses of sheep, THAT is why it is important.

And the fact that after all of this you still confuse knowledge with beliefs shows how serious the problem is.

*sigh*

I answered your questions, and you persist with the belief that education has no value.

You are a perfect example of the people I described in the post you just replied to- the post you obviously did not read.

You will not be able to understand the answer to any question until you learn how to learn.

That it, you are right, I'm wrong; the earth does not go around the sun, it's just some people's belief.

And no one ever knows anything that you do not know- because if they even suggest such a thing, that means they are God.

Because only God knows more than you.

Everything else, is just people's opinions, and completely irrelevant to our Nations continued success.

People don't need to know science and math- it won't help them get a job at McDonalds, and that is all anyone should ever hope for.

Now who moved the goal posts? And why is it so important to you that I acknowledge to you that I know the earth revolves around the sun? What do I get as a prize for agreeing with you? Because unless I missed it--disagreeing with you is not going to kill me or change the fact the sun will rise in the East tomorrow morning whether I believe it or not or don't acknowledge to you I know this is a fact--doesn't change the reality it is in the end a fact. And what scientist said hope is a fact and not a belief or a social construct?

Also once again this is ALL proving my point that yes facts are facts and some things are what they are--but its my right to believe or not believe them or accept or not accept them--and it should be my personal - private right to construct my reality however the fuck I want as long as I don't hurt you or take something from you--and once we as a society get off on asking people's thoughts or opinions about facts and then prejudging their answers--its creates this place where we are now--where we bite back and forth on each other over assumptions and debating this nonsense and create this "us" and "them" mentality that serves no purpose aside from making us feel superior or "good"--and thus the term for it is mental masturbation.

But having knowledge the facts you seem to think are relevant doesn't really matter in the giant scheme of things or have the ability to change my life. Sorry but I can't go to the grocery store or the department store or send back my bill statements with a written thesis that says I understand that evolution is an absolute fact and oh by the way whether you believe it or not or your concept of these terms is different than whatever preconceived answer I feel is the only "correct" one is irrelevant--so can I just walk out of here with what I need now because I possess this knowledge? No? Well that sucks--too bad you are an ignorant moron who doesn't have hope or a dream in your life and is doomed to spend your life being dumb and working a minimum wage job because UtopianSky--some anonymous person on the internet thinks he/she has the market cornered on defining the terms knowledge and science -- while also possessing the right to determining which facts you must absolutely acknowledge as ultimate truths in order to justify your right to exist.

But don't bother to point out that while this is fun and you too are just some anonymous person on the internet wasting time and brain cells debating this nonsense which at the end of it all is obviously irrelevant to the rest of your life and that you have already wasted way too much time editing and changing it because the fact really is you should be putting the kids to bed so they aren't assholes about getting up to go to school tomorrow :P Or bother to ask UtopianSky only half sarcastically dude do you think you are God? Because the "correct" answer is No UtopianSky is not God -- he/she just has a serious need to feel superior to everybody else--and can't seem to lighten up and just enjoy some dark humor every once in awhile.

Thus again-- what a person dreams about or aspires to do with their life has absolutely nothing to do with the fact the earth revolves around the sun or Darwin is a British citizen or that evolution is a fact. Nor does the fact they, or some random person who was their sample stand in, answered some stupid survey questions differently than what some other anonymous person predetermined was the only "correct answer" destine them to a life of ignorance and working at McDonald's. (and that's a fact too :P )

*facepalm* (more for me than you, you'll see why)
Dasher, Dancer, Prancer, Vixen, Comet, Cupid, Donner, Blitzen, Rudolph.
Doc, Dopey, Grumpy, and... I'm too embarrassed to continue...

lol...stop showin' off, Al, you googled...