For Steve

The Discovery Institute is a stealth-religious creationist think tank (Bill Maher: "You can't call yourself a think tank if all your ideas are stupid.") public-relations organization.

They promote a list of "scientists who dissent from Darwinism" that, they recently boasted, exceeded 700 signers.

At the same time, the National Center for Science Education has been collecting signers to a statement that begins

Evolution is a vital, well-supported, unifying principle of the biological sciences, and the scientific evidence is overwhelmingly in favor of the idea that all living things share a common ancestry.

As serious as the core issue is, the NCSE project is intentionally silly: In order to be a signer, you have to be named Steve. And there are over 700 Steves, by the way.

Meanwhile, the DI's William Dembski put together a lame flash animation mocking Judge Jones of the Dover trial with a squeaky, high-pitched voice and fart jokes.


Why, in the culture wars, is it that the good guys are the only ones with a sense of humor?

(OK, except for P. J. O'Rourke.)

The easy, self-aggrandizing answer is: "Well, we're right, and are reality-based, and know how to pronounce "Colbert," and why that matters."

But I suspect that there's something deeper at work here. I'll let you know if I figure it out.



Linky-link:
The National Center for Science Education Project Steve.