BY COLUMNISTS

| Editorial | John W. Ashbury | Chris Charuhas | Norman M. Covert | Kevin E. Dayhoff | Wile E. Delaplaine | Jason Grabill | Alan Imhoff | Patricia A. Kelly | David 'Kip' Koontz | Edward Lulie III | Tom McLaughlin | Roy Meachum | Derek Shackelford | John P. Snyder | Tony Soltero | Richard B. Weldon Jr. |

www.americanah.com

There’s More To The Story

October 10, 2005

While Tony Soltero echoes the ugly attack rhetoric of many intellectual supremacists of which he apparently wishes to be a part, I do not read anything in his commentary (of Thursday October 6) that indicates he has researched his topic beyond the reports or thoughts of others (who have probably not read both sides either).

There is nothing more exasperating than reading the hateful commentary of someone so clearly biased. In his commentary he refers to people who may oppose his view as “radical clerics” and “Taliban-style” while he is a member of “cooler heads” that “thankfully (so glad we have them) prevail.” He refers to our democratically elected government leadership as “hostile to science and reason” and “medievalists.” That is just part one.

He considers himself part of “most rational Americans” and worries that the rest of the world points and laughs at us. (They do, but not for the reasons he cites in this commentary.) He calls the hearing in Dover, PA, “an eventful showdown” and cites a statement that Dover High School teachers were to read without even bothering to find out what that statement was.

Here is what the teachers were instructed to share with their classes:

"Because Darwin's Theory is a theory, it is still being tested as new evidence is discovered. The Theory is not a fact. Gaps in the Theory exist for which there is no evidence. A theory is defined as a well-tested explanation that unifies a broad range of observations.

"Intelligent design is an explanation of the origin of life that differs from Darwin's view. The reference book, Of Pandas and People, is available for students to see if they would like to explore this view in an effort to gain an understanding of what intelligent design actually involves. As is true with any theory, students are encouraged to keep an open mind. "The school leaves the discussion of the Origins of Life to individual students and their families. As a standards-driven district, class instruction focuses on the standards and preparing students to be successful on standards-based assessments."

Wow! Shocking! Clearly this is Taliban-ish (When is the last time a Christian blew up your local supermarket?) and calls for the strong reaction from so many to be regurgitated so eloquently by Mr. Soltero.

He continues his narrow minded argument by insisting that evolution is not actually a “theory” at all and should not be questioned. It was once insisted that the world was flat as well.

Here’s where he “jumps the shark:”

I quote: “And there is no law preventing fundamentalists from teaching intelligent design in their own schools unsubsidized by taxpayer dollars.”

There is a lot on the liberal agenda I would like to un-subsidize. By fundamentalists he refers to anyone who may actually question “Darwinism” as the source of life.

Interesting. I suppose one might infer from this that Mr. Soltero must be in favor of school vouchers. Maybe when we get vouchers, he will realize that he is not as much a majority as he believes.

Wherever you stand on Intelligent Design, if you actually do any research whatsoever, you can find many scholarly and well thought out arguments on both sides. There are unquestionably inexplicable gaps in evolution that I am not afraid to reveal to children. Why would we want to hide the fact that there is more to discover? Why – in this free society – would we be so eager to censor what our children learn about the beliefs of society relating to our origins?

Why would we discourage a statement from teachers encouraging students to discuss the origins of life with their families?

I can certainly see why some of our citizens would hope there is not a God. I wouldn’t want to be in their shoes when they go to face him. But why so vicious to the rest of us? We know you just haven’t learned yet. We are not mad at you for what you cannot know or understand (yes, I do know how that drives you crazy).

I hasten to point out that once again, the liberals are trying to influence our society through the only means available to them – the courts. It is nice that we finally have a society in which the “cooler heads” can create laws from the bench for “most rational Americans” and even cite nonexistent portions of the Constitution and foreign law where necessary to achieve societal advancements. Phew, glad I got that off my chest.

Would we want to find out what the majority of our citizenry actually desires or believes to be appropriate in this (or any) case?

Nah, it interferes with the liberal indoctrination and political correctness of our day. I forgot.

Note to Mr. Soltero:

“I do not feel obliged to believe that the same God who endowed us with sense, reason and intellect had intended us to forgo their use.”

-Galileo Galilei (1564-1642)

Maude Franceschina
Ijamsville



Each Article contained on this website is COPYRIGHTED by The Octopussm LLC. All rights reserved. No Part of this website and/or its contents may be reproduced or used in any form or by any means - graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping, or information storage and retrieval systems, without the expressed written permission of The Tentaclesm, and the individual authors. Pages may be printed for personal use, but may not be reproduced in any publication - electronic or printed - without the express written permission of The Tentaclesm; and the individual authors.

Site Developed & Hosted by GTI Technology Consultants. For questions on sitenavigation or links please contact Webmaster.

GTI is not responsible for any written articles or letters on this site.