Uncommon Descent Serving The Intelligent Design Community
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Laws

“No process can result in a net gain of information” underlies 2LoT

Further to Granville Sewell‘s work on the 2nd Law in an open system, here is Duncan & Semura profound insight into how loss of information is the foundation for the 2nd Law of Thermodynamics. This appears foundational to the understanding and development and testing of origin theories and consequent change in physical and biotic systems. ———————

The key insight here is that when one attempts to derive the second law without any reference to information, a step which can be described as information loss always makes its way into the derivation by some sleight of hand. An information-losing approximation is necessary, and adds essentially new physics into the model which is outside the realm of energy dynamics.

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ID skirmish in Virginia public schools

There have been a few limited skirmishes in Virginia over ID in the universities. Up until now the public school issue has been quiet. But are things set to change?

Ed Brayton brought this article to my attention: Evolution vs. Intelligent Design

How were the oceans, puppies and human beings formed? Was it through evolution, creationism or something in between?

It’s a heavy topic that’s generated debate for years. That discourse landed in Chesterfield School Board members’ laps…

Intelligent design proponents urged the School Board to include that theory in the school system’s science curriculum so students can consider differing viewpoints in the classroom. But, federal law requires school systems to remain neutral on the topic, making it illegal for teachers to prompt discussions involving intelligent design or creationism.

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First they came…

The following poem entitled “First they came…” is inscribed at the Boston Holocaust Memorial. Those who believe Guillermo Gonzalez’ involvement with ID outside the Iowa State campus can be justly used in consideration of whether or not to grant him tenure would be well served to think about this. First they came… They came first for the Communists, and I didn’t speak up because I wasn’t a Communist. Then they came for the Jews, and I didn’t speak up because I wasn’t a Jew. Then they came for the trade unionists, and I didn’t speak up because I wasn’t a trade unionist. Then they came for the Catholics, and I didn’t speak up because I was a Protestant. Then they Read More ›

Freedom of Religious Expression Protection Act of 2007

The act, often abbreviated “PERA” (Public Expression of Religion Act) was introduced introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives in 2006 and was passed by a strong majority. It was not considered by the Senate in 2006. Sam Brownback (R-Kansas) has reintroduced it to the Senate for 2007. The act prohibits the award of attorney’s fees in 1st amendment establishment clause cases which are characterized by citizens suing the government (federal or local) for things like having a cross in a city seal, a monument with the ten commandments in a courthouse, or (directly relevant to ID) putting a sticker in a textbook saying evolution is a theory not a fact (Cobb County), or telling a biology class that there Read More ›

Where Science Fails, Financial Intimidation Wins

The “science” of evolution can’t withstand even mild criticism so they resort to financial intimidation to win the day. Cobb county, Georgia, didn’t teach evolution at all in their high schools. A few years ago they decided to start teaching it and placed the following sticker in the textbook: This textbook contains material on evolution. Evolution is a theory, not a fact, regarding the origin of living things. This material should be approached with an open mind, studied carefully and critically considered. The ACLU sued the school district, won in the lower court, the ruling was appealed, and the higher court remanded the case back down to the lower court for a do-over saying the original trial evidence was flawed. Read More ›

“The Judge Jones School of Law”

A hilarious flash animation of Judge Jones as a pull-string doll appears over at www.overwhelmingevidence.com. The humor is, granted, adolescent, but this is a site for high school students, and they are, after all, the ones that Judge Jones’s decision disenfranchised.

Jury Nullification – People Stripped of Their Power

This is a follow on to my earlier article urging people to write their congress persons in support of H.R. 2679, Public Expression of Religion Act of 2005.

What I want to talk about here is how the people have been stripped of their right to have a jury judge the law – commonly called jury nullification – and have a judge’s opinion substituted for that of a jury of peers as intended by the constitution. Read More ›

ACLU Supports Vile Protesters at Military Funerals

ACLU lawsuit challenges Ky. funeral-protest law

By The Associated Press
05.02.06
FRANKFORT, Ky. — Portions of a new state law intended to prevent protesters from disrupting funerals for soldiers killed in Iraq are unconstitutional and should be struck down, the American Civil Liberties Union said in a federal lawsuit filed yesterday. Read More ›

ACLU Stops Graduation Prayers

Graduation prayer axed at Shelby County High
PRINCIPAL CITES COMPLAINT FROM STUDENT, CIVIL LIBERTIES ORGANIZATION
ASSOCIATED PRESS
SHELBYVILLE – The principal of Shelby County High School said the school will not have formal prayer at graduation exercises next month after receiving a complaint from a student and the American Civil Liberties Union of Kentucky.

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Good Democracy, Bad Democracy, and No Democracy

Henry Neufeld is entitled to an opinion. So are all these people: http://www.harrisinteractive.com/harris_poll/index.asp?PID=581 Only 12% of the adults in the U.S. think Darwinian evolution should be taught in a vacuum. Biblical creationism is out on establishment clause grounds but ID is neutral on the nature of the intelligence and widely supported as contrast for unintelligent evolution. What kind of democracy are we living in when 12% of the people get to censor what 88% want to their children exposed to in public schools? A bad democracy at best. ID may never be accepted in the halls of academia but it’s already overwhelmingly accepted by the public. The only question that remains is whether a vast majority will allow a small Read More ›

(Culture War) The Final Rout of the Left Has Begun

South Dakota just passed a law making abortion a felony except in case of medical emergency. It’s now just a matter for the governor to sign it which everyone expects him to do. The law is designed to force the Supreme Court to reconsider Roe v. Wade. The present Supreme Court is unlikely to hold up Roe v. Wade which is based on a made up out of whole cloth (mythical) constitutional guarantee of privacy. It will become again a matter for states to decide for themselves. This is as it should be. A bunch of politicians or judges in Washington have no business defining the moral standards that the good and free people of South Dakota or any other state must live with. Legislated moral values not explicitely enumerated in the constitution are simply something the federal government has no business dictating to the states.

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