Thursday, September 06, 2007

John Tory's Creationist Flip-Flop

From Yahoo News:

OTTAWA (CBC) - Faith-based schools that teach creationism in science class won't receive the public funding Ontario's Progressive Conservatives have proposed, a party spokeswoman said.

Just yesterday it seemed John Tory was saying that they would. But note that I'm not the guy calling this shift a flip-flop. Its the SoCon True believers at Free Dominion (a selection from comments):

This is going to hurt them both ways - bringing it up could swing secular moderates to the Liberals and the flip-flop could swing social conservatives to the FCP or keep them at home.

[...]

He is certainly doing a good job of letting the Premiership fall right out of hands with this kind of flipfloppping.

And I'm not accusing Mr. Tory of flip-flopping because I am not impressed with his "clarification". His current position runs as follows:

"It's still called the theory of evolution," Tory said. "They teach evolution in the Ontario curriculum, but they also could teach the fact to the children that there are other theories that people have out there that are part of some Christian beliefs."

So the only difference post-clarification is that now Creationism will be taught in the religion rather than science class. But what is going to be taught in the religion class--that Evolution is just a theory, that Creationism is also a theory, and in fact an alternative theory to Evolution--is still a scientific falsehood.

And to me using your religion class to undermine what your science class is teaching is unacceptable, at least if its being done on the public dime. Would we let religious studies teach that IF (Intelligent Falling) is an alternative to the theory of Gravity? I think not.

Update: Coyne's take on this issue, written before the whole Creationism thing came up.

15 comments:

Anonymous said...

but don't the secularists who run the public school system already teach Faith Based Science . . aka the AGW theory ??

It is still a theory, with precious actual science to back it up and is based on the use of models developed by scientists whose funding is dependent on finding catastrophic global warming hiding under every rock and piece of falling sky.

Models based on data that is now being routinely fisked when actually examined rather than accepted as being correct by consensus. Fisked as fraud. Theft of taxpayer money while the High Priests like The Goreacle & Dr. fruit Fly make buckets of money selling their snake oil bullshit to the gullible & stupid.

Faith Based Science . . . wrong for Creationists and more wrong for Liberal, Socialist secularist Believers.

Ti-Guy said...

but don't the secularists who run the public school system already teach Faith Based Science . . aka the AGW theory ??

Ah, shaddup.

Anonymous said...

seems facts are hard for ti-guy to digest . . . maybe it's the lack of teeth due to poor dental hygiene, lack of mental ability or just plain stupidity.

Pick one.

Ti-Guy said...

Shaddup.

Anonymous said...

def'n of flip-flop: a Liberal-like behaviour on an issue, characterised by being both for it and against it at the same time, having never done anything on the issue when in power but will vocally criticise the new gov't when they actually do something about it.

Anonymous said...

ddkd:

Yep, climate change models are just as unlikely as a puff of smoke from a magic man creating the known universe.

Give your head a shake, dipsh*t.

Anonymous said...

BTW, it is sooooooo nice to see PET's legacy being ridiculed and dragged through the mud again. Especially since he'd recently been voted

Worst
Canadian
Ever!

It's great to see that some people remember him as the communist, antisemitic, Anglophobic, arrogant, elitist, Western Canada-hating, country-splitting prick that he was. We need to erect some more statues of PET so that pigeons can crap on him, too.

Anonymous said...

Honestly, BCL, you've got to go courting a better class of troll! These ones are deadly dull.

Anonymous said...

So big brave Mulroney attacks a dead man - why didn't he do it when Trudeau was alive - because he's a chicken-shit full of self pity, pettiness and hates the fact that he is so hated.

Poll done today says that 76% of Canadians dislike Mulroney - his new book of trash and bash won't help his legacy at all.

What a foolish man - wants to create a legacy (because he didn't when he was PM) and resorts to this - good grief.

Anonymous said...

or maybe the trolls are lying cheating thieving Liberals who didn't get their hands on any of the stolen $40 million Adscam money.

You know, typical Liberals . . . skanky, lying, thieves. Entitled to their entitlements.

The wonderful Trudeau legacy.

Ti-Guy said...

No, they're Conservatives.

...Can't you read, dumbo?

Justin Socie said...

I think this comment thread went really well.

Ti-Guy said...

No, it didn't; this comment thread was crap. BCL enjoys his anony-tards.

Anonymous said...

I think ding dong is the Bell recorded voice named "Emily." Doesn't matter what the topic is, it repeats the same bull shit.
-Jude

Ti-Guy said...

That would be comforting if it were true. Unfortunately, ding dong sounds just as sentient as most conservatives do these days.