Florida Citizens for Science

Writer Daniel Ruth does a quick followup on the Dr. Madrigal event cancellation: Darwinners And Darlosers: Stupidity Is 1 Thing That Just Keeps Evolving.

Here is the old event notice, and another mention. And here is a general Q&A with Dr. Madrigal (not about the canceled event). Here is an article in which Dr. Madrigal talks about the importance of evolution: Anthropologist shares insights on Darwin and the evolution of the evolutionary theory. And this book chapter that mentions Dr. Madrigal is interesting.

Scientists map the genetic makeup of the platypus

SYDNEY, Australia — With a bill like a duck, a tail like a beaver and snake-like venom hidden in heel spurs, the platypus could be the result of some strange genetic experiment.

And it is, scientists say: evolution.

A scientific team published the genetic makeup of the Australian animal in the scientific journal Nature on Thursday, confirming that its features - which straddle multiple animal classes - are reflected in its DNA.

The research could help explain how mammals, including humans, evolved from reptiles millions of years ago, they said.

A longer story in ScienceDaily and the paper in Nature (if you have a subscription).

I’m not sure why it took this long to see news on the subject. Maybe I just happened to miss it when it happened, or the folks responsible were good at keeping it under wraps. But, apparently, back in February a scientist was set to give a speech about evolution, a subject she is an expert in. The event was Darwin Day. Rather fitting to have a speech about evolution on that day, don’t you think? Pinellas County officials didn’t think so.

And since [University of South Florida professor Lorena] Madrigal’s [link] doctorate is in anthropology, in which she has developed an academic expertise in genetics and human evolution, what better speaker could the Friends of the Brooker Creek Preserve [link] hope for to deliver remarks on Darwin Day?

However, a week before she was to speak, Madrigal was given the bum’s rush by Pinellas County officials, who canceled her appearance.

“They told me very clearly they felt their budget was in danger if the lecture took place,” Madrigal said.

…

“Her topic was about evolution,” [William Davis, the Pinellas County director of environmental services] said. … “I flinched on that.”

“I canceled her out after discussing it with my supervisors,” he said. “We are not the platform for debate on creationism versus evolution.”

Even on Darwin Day?!?!?! Apparently not.

“We don’t believe it’s our role to engage in that debate,” Davis said.

It’s a Preserve. It’s a place devoted to nature and science and education. There is no debate, Mr. Davis.

I know there are some of y’all here with me in the Daytona Beach News-Journal’s area. Do you have any interest in the attending this lecture over in Flagler County?

May 12, the Flagler Area Chapter [of Americans United] is hosting a talk by Daytona Beach News Journal columnist Mark Lane. He will be addressing, “A Legislature Awash in Bad Ideas - The Let’s Talk About Creationism and Other Bills.”

The meeting will take place from 6:30-7:30 PM in the 3rd floor training room of the Flagler County Administration Building (1769 East Moody Boulevard, Bunnell, FL Google Map ). It is free and open to the public. For more information, please contact Merrill Shapiro at 386-445-3006.

The evolution bills that derailed in the Florida legislature recently are still drawing some attention. This column does a good job of addressing many of the anti-evolution arguments we heard during the legislative session.

I don’t think there’s any point to passing laws that give teachers permission to do the impossible.

Several recent letters to the Daily News assert that Florida’s “Evolution Academic Freedom Act” is good because it allows teachers to “objectively present scientific information” against evolution. This makes as much sense as saying teachers should be allowed to present geographic proof the world is flat or scientific proof the Earth doesn’t move around the sun — they can’t present something that doesn’t exist.

The Florida Baptist Witness takes a look at the good and bad of the legislative session from their perspective. Of special note is:

It must be conceded the academic freedom issue got a late start due to the timing of the State Board of Education action on the new science standards in February, shortly before the beginning of the legislative session. Starting a major piece of legislation only two weeks before the session began made passage difficult.

What does that tell you about the next session? It tells you that next year the bills’ supporters will be more organized well in advance. Our best weapon against this? Education. With the legislative session over, now is the time to make appointments with all the lawmakers who represent you. Waiting until the first day of the next session is not a good idea. The time for education is now. No rest for the weary!

There are several newspaper articles and opinion columns popping up over the past several days complaining about this past legislative session. It’s nice to see that the majority of them that I’ve seen have been lumping the evolution bills in with the Truck Nutz and I Believe license plate bad idea garbage. Not everyone feels that way, though.

[James A.] Smith, [the executive editor of the Florida Baptist Witness] said that moderate Republicans — dubbed RINOs, for “Republican in Name Only” — who voted against the abortion and evolution bills would have to be defeated by social conservatives to win future legislative battles.

“Until one of these RINO Republicans gets taken out, there’s not going to be much reason from them to believe there’s any accountability to be feared for voting against religious conservatives,” Smith said. “Whether or not religious conservatives are not as influential as they were once believed to be kind of remains to be seen.”

I’m loathe to give even negative publicity to that horrific, big screen spew Expelled, but I’ve decided to mention an upcoming event concerning that movie for two reasons. One: a deeply concerned person near where this event is taking place e-mailed me to ask for help/advice on what to do about the event. Two: it pounds yet another nail in the “this in not about religion” coffin. You now what I mean … Florida Representative D. Alan Hays made a big deal out of the movie, exhorting his fellow lawmakers to see it because it supports his reasoning for introducing his dreadful anti-evolution bill. But any talk of connecting religion to his bill was just “hot air.”

On Thursday, May 8, the event Beyond Expelled will be hosted at the Mattie Kelly Arts Center, Okaloosa-Walton College, Niceville, Fl. It looks like the event is sponsored by the Westminster Presbyterian Church, which has this to say:

Westminster holds that Christianity is the only worldview system that is completely consistent and rationally justifiable upon all grounds. We desire to serve our Christian and non-Christian communities in this respect by raising worldview awareness, and our first large-scale effort at reaching these communities will be held on May 8th as we present Beyond Expelled, an evening with author and speaker Nancy Pearcey. Nancy will question the claims of the Darwinian worldview at a foundational level and expose its emptiness, leaving us to consider why this is the only worldview allowed to be taught at many of our higher educational institutions!

So, is anyone going to be in the Niceville area this week? The local woman who e-mailed sounds like she feels isolated. Let’s show her some support. If you want to help in some way, send me an e-mail at bhaught [at] flascience [dot] org, or leave some information in the comments. I will then put you in contact with this concerned citizen.

Let us take a moment of silence for House Bill 1483 and Senate Bill 2692, the deceptively named “academic freedom” bills.

Time of death: 6 p.m.

I doubt they will rest in peace, though.