I'm from Missouri

This site is named for the famous statement of US Congressman Willard Duncan Vandiver from Missouri : "I`m from Missouri -- you'll have to show me." This site is dedicated to skepticism of official dogma in all subjects. Just-so stories are not accepted here. This is a site where controversial subjects such as evolution theory and the Holocaust may be freely debated.

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Location: Los Angeles, California, United States

My biggest motivation for creating my own blogs was to avoid the arbitrary censorship practiced by other blogs and various other Internet forums. Censorship will be avoided in my blogs -- there will be no deletion of comments, no closing of comment threads, no holding up of comments for moderation, and no commenter registration hassles. Comments containing nothing but insults and/or ad hominem attacks are discouraged. My non-response to a particular comment should not be interpreted as agreement, approval, or inability to answer.

Friday, October 23, 2009

Incredibly stupid inference

Richard Hoppe wrote on the Panda's Thumb,

In spite of the Disco ‘Tute’s [Discovery Institute's] recent efforts to imply that the Smithsonian Institution is somehow sympathetic to anti-evolutionist films, the stodgy old place persists in being a place where evolution education is important. Most recently it has announced (pdf of press release) the upcoming opening of a new exhibition hall devoted to human origins.

And what exactly are these "recent efforts" to "imply that the Smithsonian Institution is somehow sympathetic to anti-evolutionist films"? In another article, Hoppe describes these efforts as a mere statement describing the original contracted screener of the film, the California Science Center, as a "west coast affiliate" of the Smithsonian Institution! And Hoppe said, "In its glee about the showing, the ‘Tuters issued a press release that strongly implied that the Science Center and Smithsonian are somehow involved in the film’s premiere"! Actually, the "'Tuters" accused the Smithsonian of putting pressure on the Science Center to cancel the premiere and accused the Science Center of caving in to the pressure, and how did those accusations imply "that the Science Center and Smithsonian are somehow involved in the film’s premiere" and "that the Smithsonian Institution is somehow sympathetic to anti-evolutionist films"?

BTW, the premiere has been moved to the University of Southern California, which is right in my neighborhood, so I am planning on attending (the California Science Center is also in my neighborhood). Following the screening will be a panel discussion that will include well-known ID proponents David Berlnski and Jonathan Wells (Berlinski is not listed in the DI's announcement but is scheduled to participate).

2 Comments:

Anonymous zork said...

> right in my neighborhood <

Personal gossip!

Saturday, October 24, 2009 6:55:00 AM  
Blogger Jim Sherwood said...

If the Smithsonian hadn't pressured the California Science Center to censor and cancel the showing, what would that have implied? At most, that the Smithsonian is sympathetic to free speech and free thought, not that it is sympathetic to intelligent design.

But apparently the Smithsonian isn't sympathetic to freedom of thought. Understandably: because the Smithsonian is a longtime Darwin-dogma outfit, and dogmatism and free thought don't fit with each other.

Saturday, October 24, 2009 5:39:00 PM  

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