President Bush thinks that intelligent design and evolution should be taught side-by-side in our nation’s science classrooms. I’m surprised he didn’t also advocate teaching that thunder is the result of God bowling. Because, hey, you can’t prove that God isn’t bowling. I love how ID advocates love to call their fantasy a theory, as if that makes their assertions any more credible.
Here’s what I don’t get about fundamentalist Christians. They claim to detest everything Darwin’s theory implies about the origins of human life. But many of them seem to practice a vigorous form of social Darwinism, i.e. if you’re poor, it’s most likely your fault. Or you’re poor because you’re supposed to be poor. At least, that’s what I hear from the mouths of many conservative Christian leaders. Granted, it’s not exactly the same as saying we’re descended from monkeys, but it is definitely a variation on the theory of natural selection.
But if we’re gonna teach ID in biology classes, then I totally think we should give equal time to the-world-is-carried-on-the-back-of-a-giant-turtle theory.

The other night, one of my nurses looked up from her charting and said, “I have no idea what to write about you. You’re so healthy.” Which would probably be news to most of the people I pass on the street. To most of them, I probably look quite ill indeed. Of course, it’s all a matter of perception. Those who know me to some degree know that I’m one of the toughest gimps on the block. Those who don’t may assume that I’m sick or dying or in a great deal of pain, but they probably wouldn’t use the word “healthy” to describe me. The whole concept of health is one that seems to be grounded so deeply in appearance. It’s illustrated in the cliched image of a parent checking a newborn baby for ten fingers and ten toes. But the human capacity to thrive is tremendously adaptable. Even with my tubes and a couple additional orifices in my body, I feel good almost all of the time. And I think that doesn’t jibe with how others see me, at least at first.
I’m going to see a movie at Loring Park with a friend tonight. I don’t think I’ve seen an outdoor movie since I was teenager. Tonight’s forecast is for a warm and humid evening; in other words, perfect weather to be in the park.

To the guy who constructed a mathematical proof as to why you don’t have a girlfriend: the reason you don’t have a girlfriend is because you’re spending all your time at the computer constructing proofs about why you don’t have a girlfriend instead of dealing with the fact that you’re kind of an ass. Now get away from the computer, put on a clean shirt, and go meet some people. And quit being an ass.

So, after two and a half years of redesign, they still can’t prevent pieces of foam from falling off the fuel tank and dinging the shuttle. This might be one of those engineering problems that simply doesn’t have a foolproof solution. The fact that we still blast people into space on top of a container full of millions of gallons of flammable fuel with some reasonable expectation of safety continues to blow my mind. If it was up to me, I’d ground the whole manned program and use those funds to research and build a reliable means of conveying people into space. We’ve proven we can put people in space; let’s focus on finding a better way to do it.
One of my friends who was at the party works as a psychic. I’m a skeptic, of course, but I was curious and asked her if she can see auras and such. She nodded and said that I had a good aura with shades of yellow and green. Apparently, this mean I’m a laid-back thinker. Or it could say something about my allegiance to the Packers. I cannot say.

Today, I attended a conference to commemorate the 15th anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act. John Hockenberry delivered the closing address and he made some interesting points. He implied that any hopes of advancing disability rights at the federal level, whether in Congress or the Supreme Court, are mostly dead for the moment. Instead, attitudes about disability and disability rights will be shaped at the local level. All of those kids coming home from Iraq with serious injuries will do more to shape their communities’ views on disability than any court decision. He makes a good point. Most people seem to understand, at least in the abstract, that racism in wrong. But when it comes to issues of inclusion and accessibility, people don’t quite “get it” unless they have some personal exposure to people with disabilities. In the context of civil rights, people with disabilities continue to be viewed as a group that must be “given” rights, rather than a group with inherent rights. People with disabilities still have to beg and plea for things that other people would deem mundane; the right to enter a restaurant, the right to live at home, the right to work. The federal legal and legislative structures don’t have much interest in recognizing these inherent rights, but I have hope that it will be the towns and cities in every region of the country that will step into the gap and join us on the path to a more just and equitable future for everyone.
Remind me to refer back to this blog entry if I ever need ideas for a campaign speech.