DEFCON: Fighting the Religious Right

[kerrygoddess]

DEFCON: Fighting the Religious Right
September 29th, 2005

Today, more than a dozen leading scientists, legal scholars and clergy announced a new grassroots movement aimed at fighting the Religious Right - The Campaign to Defend the Constitution (DEFCON). DEFCON will take on a variety of issues, including stem cell research, teaching evolution in schools, gay and lesbian rights and the independence of the judiciary.

In its first action, the Campaign organized leading scientists and clergy to write jointly to the nation’s governors asking them to protect science education and to oppose inclusion of intelligent design in science curricula. The letter was signed by over 100 clergy, led by Rev. James Forbes of the Riverside Church in New York and Rev. Welton Gaddy of the Interfaith Alliance. Nearly 100 scientists joined them, including a half- dozen Nobel laureates — Peter Agre, M.D., Paul Berg, Mike Bishop, M.D., Gunter Blobel, M.D., J. Robert Horvitz, and Harold Varmus, M.D.

The Campaign — whose website is www.defconamerica.org — also released its first “DefCon Alert” — on the top ten “Islands of Ignorance” around the country where science education is under attack — and launched a petition drive to the nation’s governors to defend the teaching of evolution. The report’s release coincides with the start this week of the trial in Dover, PA regarding a school board mandate to teach intelligent design as an alternative to evolution.



MORE & LINKS - http://blog.thedemocraticdaily.com/?p=719

[Downtown Hound]

1. Great idea!

The Religious Wrong is the greatest threat to America today, much greater than foreign terrorist organization.

[Angry Girl]

2. This is a TERRIFIC SITE! n/t

[DarkTirade]

3. Yay, I have enough posts to recommend this one. :)

On that note, nice site.

[Maat]

4. Thanks for the post!

I'm spending some time over there! I think that I can come up with a donation for the effort.

They have a list of Religious Right players there, and the information is good.

I'm going to get my hubby involved in this effort; he is an engineer with a law degree. He's very interested in this fight.

We have our daughter going to a little private school due to concerns about what she will be taught in local public schools.

Richard D. Ackerman, "a Christian attorney," is running for the local school board spot, and we are gravely concerned (see livelyackerman.com and links). "Intelligent Design" seems like is a short step away.

[kerrygoddess]

6. Lot's of good stuff there...

I spent quite a bit of time there myself today.

[drm604]

5. I really like and support what they're doing

but do they have to label whole states as “Islands of Ignorance”? One school district does not speak for all of Pennsylvania.

[Maat]

7. The only thing is that Dr. Gaddy of Intefaith Alliance is involved.

I admire Dr. Gaddy very much. I have, however, heard that he is a Baptist - I'm trying to find out if his church is affiliated with the Southern Baptist Convention. The beliefs espoused in their resolutions are shocking - women cannot assume positions of leadership, for example.

All I am saying is: I would add Richard Land and Albert Mohler, both of the SBC, to the Religious Right-Most Dangerous List.

Check out the following sites:

http://www.albertmohler.com/

http://www.bpnews.net/bpcolumn.asp?ID=1910

http://www.faithandfamily.com/ .

I wonder if Land's and Mohler's names are not brought up because they are part of a large 'mainstream' church administrative body; make no mistake about it, they are religious extremists, in my humble opinion.

[AspenRose]

8. They need to add Janet Parshall to that list

She's shrill....

[Maat]

11. Good addition.

I watched the most evil 'documentary' on TBN (just taking a momentary look at the madness - then realized what was going on) - Parshall was in it. She was engaging in outright propagandizing and distortion; she was spouting the Religious Wrong's talking points about 'judicial activism,' on the part of evil liberals, of course.

[atommom]

9. Great site! I was saddened, but not surprised, to see that

Kansas is their #3 Island of Ignorance. Sigh.

[AX10]

10. Pennsylvania is under threat?

:wtf::wtf::wtf::wtf::wtf::wtf::wtf::wtf::wtf::wtf::wtf::wtf::wtf::wtf::wtf::wtf::wtf::wtf::wtf::wtf::wtf::wtf::wtf::wtf::wtf::wtf::wtf::wtf::wtf::wtf::wtf::wtf::wtf::wtf::wtf::wtf::wtf::wtf::wtf::wtf::wtf::wtf::wtf::wtf::wtf::wtf::wtf::wtf::wtf::wtf::wtf::wtf::wtf::wtf::wtf::wtf::wtf::wtf::wtf::wtf::wtf::wtf::wtf::wtf::wtf::wtf::wtf::wtf::wtf::wtf::wtf::wtf::wtf::wtf:


Good name choice, by the way.

[YOY]

12. So is Ohio...Southern Ohio mostly

Bible freaks flock to Cinci.

[GreenPartyVoter]

13. Will have to add that to

my site: http://www.geocities.com/greenpartyvoter/liberalchristians.htm

[BurgherHoldtheLies]

14. Thank you KerryGoddess! nt

[The Doctor.]

15. So what happens to a state that purposefully keeps their children out

of the real world?

Seriously, These children, once taught a form of creationism, will never be able to go into the fields of Physics, Astronomy, Biology, Genetics, Chemistry, Anthropology...

-Which will forever preclude them from ever entering a field that relies on scientific method without their going through an ugly catharsis.

Imagine trying to become a doctor and having to go through a period where your peers realize how badly stunted your education is.

These states will bleed dry their own talent. They will slowly become, more and more, factories for turning out unskilled labor. They will go deeper and deeper into debt.

Eventually, we will have real 'third-world states' in America.

Morons.

[kineneb]

19. their future occupation involves the phrase...

"Would you like fries with that?"

[really annoyed]

16. Thanks for the new link!

I will definitely bookmark.

[Lifelong Protester]

17. Good site but...

I don't like their map showing the entire state being an 'island of ignorance' (a quibble on my part I know) as most of Wisconsin is still a progressive state. I am quite familiar with the Grantsburg case, and it caused a HUGE uproar here, especially with clergy and the state's largest teachers' union, WEA.
And I an a school administrator.
In Wisconsin.
And I will fight that one to the death or being fired.

[texpatriot2004]

18. Thanks for the link glad to see there are people fighting for the

Constitution.

KerryGoddess - You rock.

:yourock: