Darwinism and Hitler: Is There a Connection?

The leftwing Anti-Defamation League recently denounced Ben Stein's movie Expelled - No Intelligence Allowed as having "misappropriated the Holocaust." In the film Stein spends about 10 minutes showing how Darwin's theories were used by Hitler to justify his policies of eugenics, euthanasia and extermination of "lesser" races.

Charles Johnson of Little Green Footballs agrees with the ADL. See his comments at this link.
However, the ADL arguments are disingenuous and Charles Johnson is wrong to adopt them as his own.

A recent article in National Review shows that Ben Stein was right and his assertions were based on "impeccable scholarship." The article by David Klinghoffer states that the Darwin-Hitler connection is not a new concept, and he quotes a number of scholars who have written about it. Nevertheless, writes Klinghoffer:

Reviewers in Time, Scientific American, Variety, Fox News, and elsewhere
have denounced the filmmakers for suggesting that Hitlerism without the
contribution of Darwinism would be hard to imagine...Expelled touches on Darwinism’s historical social costs, notably the unintended contribution to Nazi racial theories. That part packs an emotional wallop. It also happens to be based on impeccable scholarship.

Read the whole thing. If there's one thing Charles Johnson should remember, it is this: don't adopt leftist arguments uncritically without some research to see if they are justified.

A Lot of Silliness Over Ben Stein's "Expelled" Movie

I haven't seen Ben Stein's film, "Expelled - No Intelligence Allowed" but I figure it must really have tweaked the big red noses of certain scientists and academics. Think of the sound an old-fashioned car horn makes: "Bee-Beep! Bee-Beep!"

Yes, getting your big red honker tweaked can be embarrassing, especially in front of all the students you are trying to indoctrinate, the ones who are supposed to think you are an infallible genius. Scientists aren't sitting still for these nose-tweakings and have launched a counterattack at a website set up by the National Center for Science Education. The website is called "Expelled Exposed," wherein the aggrieved scientists with the swollen snoots point out all the fallacies and mistakes of Ben Stein and other neanderthalls who believe (1) that evolution is far from a proven fact, (2) that it does not explain the origins of life on Earth and, in fact, science hasn't a clue as to those origins; and (3) evolutionary scientists have themselves evolved into a quasi-religion who view skeptics as heretics, fit only for derision and ostracism.

Well the NCSE recommended another website of British scientists who explain why evolution is, in fact, fact. The website is NewScientist. NewScientist says of evolution:

If you think you understand it, you don't know nearly enough about it

It will soon be 200 years since the birth of Charles Darwin and 150 years since the publication of On the Origin of Species, arguably the most important book ever written. In it, Darwin outlined an idea that many still find shocking – that all life on Earth, including human life, evolved through natural selection.

Darwin presented compelling evidence for evolution in On the Origin and, since his time, the case has become overwhelming. Countless fossil discoveries allow us to trace the evolution of today's organisms from earlier forms. DNA sequencing has confirmed beyond any doubt that all living creatures share a common origin. Innumerable examples of evolution in action can be seen all around us, from the pollution-matching pepper moth to fast-changing viruses such as HIV and H5N1 bird flu. Evolution is as firmly established a scientific fact as the roundness of the Earth.

Well there you have it folks, evolution is a proven scientific fact and no further discussion is needed or necessary. Sort of like the facts about Global Warming.

Anyone who would say something as transparently false as NewScientist's last sentence above has already utterly destroyed all of their own credibility. Objective they are not.

NewScientist then provides a list of misconceptions about evolution as well as a list of "creationist myths," followed by their rebuttals of these misconceptions and myths. They are hardly convincing as to the evolutionist point of view. See the following example.

One "myth" NS considers is the "creationist" assertion Evolution is just so unlikely to produce complex life forms. (It is intellectually dishonest to imply that only "creationists" believe that evolution is mathematically improbable, but that's another discussion.)

Here's their argument against mathematical improbability:

To understand evolution, you need to appreciate three things. Firstly, that
quadrillion-to-one chances actually happen all the time. Secondly that, while mutation is random, which mutations survive often is not. And thirdly, given enough time, the accumulation of one beneficial mutation after another can produce amazingly complex systems. Natural selection can be seen as a kind of improbability drive that – given enough time – makes the apparently impossible extremely likely.

If you pick even the simplest creatures alive today and calculate the odds of getting their genome by randomly shuffling DNA sequences, you'll find they are pretty astronomical. Even matching the sequence of the simplest virus is stupendously unlikely.

So there you have it, folks. Quadrillion to one chances actually happen all the time. This is their answer to the "unlikely" argument?? Sounds to me like they just refuted themselves.

Well, if they are correct, any day now we can expect a roomfull of chimpanzees with keyboards to retype the complete works of Shakespeare. Or a cyclone to blow through a junkyard and create a fully assembled Boeing 787. Given enough time, it could happen.

I do believe that some form of evolution might be possible and I don't completely discount the possibility. But the whole recent arguments and mobilization of scientists to refute and demean Ben Stein and other nay-sayers only proves the point of his film: scientists are close-minded in their own way and in support of their own prejudices, and sometimes downright intolerant of other opinions.

All of which raises the question: what the heck are you evolutionary scientists so afraid of anyway?

Our Future Conquest by Islam

Little Green Footballs blog is bashing Gates of Vienna blog again. Yesterday, Gates of Vienna had a guest author who discussed the Muslim problem in Europe and possible solutions. That writer came uncomfortably close to implying that genocide might be a last-ditch solution. He wasn't advocating it, just saying that a desperate Europe might be pushed to resort to it unless things change. It was a stupid article and should not have been posted. Gates of Vienna should have foreseen the negative reaction it deservedly provoked.

Nevertheless, the growing Muslim presence in Europe is a serious threat to freedom and pluralistic democracy there. Unless something is done, Europe will be comprised of Islamic nations in 50 years. The Muslims know this. They are patient and keep on immigrating and producing babies. Europe, led by liberals, leftists and socialists, are busily committing national suicide. They have swung wide open the national gates to the barbarian hordes, all the while passing laws making it illegal to criticize Islam or warn of its dangers. Liberals are politically insane. That knowledge is the beginning of wisdom.

We do indeed need to write essays on the Muslim presence in Europe and we need to propose workable ways of dealing with it (excluding genocide of course). There are those, and LGF is rife with them, who are more interested in showing their liberal bonafides than they are in solving the problem. Other LGFers in their comments are slavish Charles Johnson ass-kissing sycophants. I often get a strong feeling that, by disagreeing with the group, I could be summarily blocked at any time. It is an oppressive feeling. I generally do agree with Charles Johnson, but not always. He is more liberal than I am, e.g. coming down on the side of the evolutionists in the Ben Stein dispute.

Many of the LGF members are operating under the false premise that Islam is just another religion and the terrorists have co-opted it. That's utterly naive. Islam is a religion/political/social system. Its core beliefs include violent conquest of the non-Muslim world and the imposition of totalitarian rule. History confirms this, with millions of non-Muslims dead or enslaved as a result.

Another core belief is the replacement of all secular systems of government with Sharia law. That's the Islamic code that requies amputation of limbs of thieves and stoning of adulterers and adulteresses.

One of the first steps the West must take to save itself from an Islamic future is to cease all further Muslim immigration into the West. That's an undebatable given. the Gates of Vienna writer was taken to task at LGF for saying that Muslims already in the West should be encouraged to leave. I agree, however, with the GOV writer. We can pay them to leave, or provide free travel to the Islamic nation of their choice. A large Muslim population is, and will continue to be, a base of logistical and moral support to home-grown terrorists and violent Jihadis. We don't need that in our midst.

Another thing we can and should do is to deny Islam recognition as a religion in the United States, thus making all of its operations taxable and subject to IRS audit. It is not a religion in the usual sense of the word, but a society of sedition that seeks to destroy our Constitution and Bill of Rights. It does not deserve a tax exempt status.

I'm off on a road trip and will be back Sunday. Have a great weekend.

Puffin' and a Grinnin'

It's cool here in Podunk where I live. It's a small town 90 miles south of San Francisco. Quite rural. There are lots of farms around, with furrowed fields and crops always growing. Lots of cows.

Today I am just puffing on a cigar underneath our new gazebo in the backyard, reading Jonah Goldberg's book, "Liberal Fascism." It's a history of fascism and Nazism and an explanation of why fascism and Nazism are ideologies of the political left, not the right. Maybe I'll blog about it later on.

I just got off of a contract project with a large construction company that is helping to rebuild the World Trade Center in New York. While I wait for a new assignment, I am just puffin' and grinnin.' That's a take off from the old Hee Haw show where Buck Owens and friends played guitars and banjos in a segment called "Pickin' and Grinnin'.

With any luck I may have time to get a nap in before bedtime.

The 911 Call of Sarah Said as She Lay Dying

Here is a video that contains Sarah Said's 911 call after having been shot by her father, Yaser Said.

Help us catch the bastard. Read the two previous posts.

A Murdered Girl's MySpace Page

One of the teenagers, Amina Said, murdered in Texas on New Year's Day 2008 had a MySpace page. It is still up and running. You can hear Amina's favorite tune and see her favorite pictures there. What a pretty and nice young lady she was.

It's touching to see pictures of her running there, so full of life, knowing that she is now dead and buried.

Amina's personal quote on her page, is, ironically: "Don't take life too seriously. You will never get out of it alive."

Also ironic is the caption above her MySpace photo (at right): "I don't want to become a memory."

Her father saw to that. To help catch the bastard, read the immediately preceding post.

Help Catch a Muslim "Honor Killing" Murderer

This morning I listened to Blog Talk Radio. Pamela Geller of Atlas Shrugs interviewed the aunt of the slain teenage girls, Sarah and Amina Said. The aunt, Gail, is highly motivated to find and prosecute the girls' killer and father, Yaser Said.

There is a fund for the purpose of creating a reward for those who provide a tip to the police that leads to Said's capture.

Yaser drove his girls to some remote spot where he filled them with lead from a 9 mm handgun. One of the girls called 911 screaming for help. They put her on hold while her father pumped nine bullets into her body.

Yaser Said is a miserable piece of shit, a coward, a monster, a bully and a common criminal. Screw him and the vile religion that motivates him.

I have pledged $100 to the reward fund. Please help and donate whatever you can.

Those of you who live in the area of Irving, Texas, be on the lookout for this creep. It is believed that he is being sheltered by the Muslim underground in the area where the girls were killed.

Here's the post from Atlas Shrugs. See the many pictures there of the victims and the perpetrator. Post pictures of Yaser Said on your blog and alert your readers to be on the lookout. Let's catch the bastard.

WANTED FOR MURDER IN COLD BLOOD
The North Texas Crime Commission has added $10,000 to the reward money already being offered in the case of two sisters who authorities believe were killed by their father on New Year's Day.

Rewards in the case now total $20,000.

Yaser Said, an Egyptian-born cabdriver, has been missing since the shooting deaths of his two daughters, 17-year-old Sarah and 18-year-old Amina. The sisters, who were honor students and athletes at Lewisville High School, were found slain in a cab their father had borrowed at an Irving hotel. Police have said they have no leads about Mr. Said's whereabouts.
"I just think that money talks, and we've done everything else we know to do" to find him, said Gail Gartrell, the sisters' great-aunt. "I just think that getting more money up on his head is a good thing."

The crime commission's reward is for information leading to the arrest and conviction in the killings.

Schepps Dairy already was offering a $10,000 reward for an arrest and indictment in the case.
Anyone with information on Mr. Said's whereabouts can call Crime Stoppers at 1-877-373-TIPS or go to www.ntcc.crimestoppersweb .com.

The crime commission also is creating a special fund to raise more reward money.
Donations can be made out to the North Texas Crime Commission Said Fund and mailed to the North Texas Crime Commission, 1601 Elm St., Suite 2350, Dallas, TX 75201-4728.

Young Black Republicans Fight the Good Fight

I found this at Atlas Shrugs. Some young black Republicans have a blog where they fight for the same causes we do. The blog is called "Hip Hop Republican." We dig it. Give them a look and leave some encouraging comments. We need to support our friends.

Black & White on the Grey Matters 2 (War)

Greenpeace: Putting Politics Over Science

Patrick Moore, a founder of Greenpeace, has an article in the Wall Street Journal called "Why I Left Greenpeace." Moore has a PhD in Ecology and is an accomplished scientist. He said he found that the leadership of Greenpeace was composed of politicos who were not scientists. They had a bad habit of opposing chemicals like chlorine in drinking water and other useful and harmless chemicals like phthalates, which are used to make plastics pliable.

He writes:

Sadly, Greenpeace has evolved into an organization of extremism and politically motivated agendas. Its antichlorination campaign failed, only to be followed by
a campaign against polyvinyl chloride.

Greenpeace now has a new target called phthalates (pronounced thal-ates). These are chemical compounds that make plastics flexible. They are found in everything from hospital equipment such as IV bags and tubes, to children's toys and shower curtains. They are among the most practical chemical compounds in existence.

Phthalates are the new bogeyman. These chemicals make easy targets since they are hard to understand and difficult to pronounce. Commonly used phthalates, such as diisononyl phthalate (DINP), have been used in everyday products for decades with no evidence of human harm. DINP is the primary plasticizer used in toys. It has been tested by multiple government and independent evaluators, and found to be safe.

What is it about liberals that they can refuse to acknowledge real threats (like Islamic terrorism) while creating fake ones like DDT, Chlorination and Global Warming?

Al Gore Used Fictitious Video in "An Inconvenient Truth"

Last Friday ABC News (20/20) disclosed the fact that Al Gore used a computer-generated video clip in his film "An Inconvenient Truth." Gore's video of the ("collapsing") Antartic Ice Shelf was actually a computerized segment from the eco-disaster film "The Day After Tomorrow." Gore did not identify the segment as computer-generated.

Newsbusters.org has the story and also a video clip comparing the same segment of film from both fictional films.