Posted on 11/29/2005 9:31:13 AM PST by Sub-Driver
Kansas Prof. Apologizes for E-Mail
11 minutes ago
A University of Kansas religion professor apologized for an e-mail that referred to religious conservatives as "fundies" and said a course describing intelligent design as mythology would be a "nice slap in their big fat face."
In a written apology Monday, Paul Mirecki, chairman of the university's Religious Studies Department, said he would teach the planned class "as a serious academic subject and in an manner that respects all points of view."
The department faculty approved the course Monday but changed its title. The course, originally called "Special Topics in Religion: Intelligent Design, Creationisms and other Religious Mythologies," will instead be called "Intelligent Design and Creationism."
The class was added to next spring's curriculum after the Kansas State Board of Education decided to include more criticism of evolution in its standards for science teaching. The vote was seen as a big win for proponents of intelligent design, who argue that the universe is so complex that it must have been created by a higher power.
Critics say intelligent design is merely creationism — a literal reading of the Bible's story of creation — camouflaged in scientific language.
Mirecki's e-mail was sent Nov. 19 to members of the Society of Open-Minded Atheists and Agnostics, a student organization for which he serves as faculty adviser.
"The fundies (fundamentalists) want it all taught in a science class, but this will be a nice slap in their big fat face by teaching it as a religious studies class under the category mythology."
Mirecki addressed the message to "my fellow damned" and signed off with: "Doing my part to (tick) off the religious right, Evil Dr. P."
(Excerpt) Read more at news.yahoo.com ...
Faulty analogy. Certification is required to be a certified public accountant - it is not required to be a practicing psychiatrist.
Thanks for punishing me for trying to talk to you like I would any normal person. That's what I get for treating you respectfully. Faced with enough of your silly obdurance, maybe I'll learn my lesson and not speak to you at all.
Failing a board specialization exam means nothing more than he failed a board specialization exam. It does not make him a failure in his field. I don't understand why you would be so keen to paint him as a failure. There must be something about him you don't like. Or perhaps, you don't like me you feel you must take a diametrically opposed position, and because I defended him you must attack him.
One wonders who among us dares call themselves "successful"...
I have made my point with your refusal to answer a simple question. Would you go to a psychiatrist for chest pains? I answered the question. I even answered your question about cardiologists and back pains. But a simple "Would you go to a psychiatrist for chest pains?", ties you up in knots.
If it makes you happy to think that someone who declines to follow you into irrelevancy is tied up in knots, so be it.
You don't have to be certified to be a practicing public accountant.
Alas, you said "CPA", not "practicing public accountant".
If your argument relies on people forgetting what you just posted like this, you might consider spacing your posts out over a few days or weeks. Might make such a tactic a bit more successful. Just a thought.
If I recall correctly, I provided evidence of what exactly was going on between the Dr. and the defendants. He sued them. He lost. In the information provided by one of the defendants, you will find that he has 40 other like suits. He also is supposedly an expert in fields such as chiropractic. I have nothing against you, but you are being very melodramatic.
Explain… Who is this mythical ‘liar’?
According to this logic, every scientist who failed to win a Nobel Prize is a "failure"......
It's all the more bizzare when you consider that Board Certification isn't required to practice a specialty in medicine, and downright laughable when you consider that you don't need to be a psychiatrist to recognize the fact that the nutritional theory of disease as espoused on this thread is one of the most obvious piles of quackatorial heifer-dust ever to be promolgated upon the ill-educated, the gullible, and the desperate.
Psychiatric training would be useful, however, in probing the motivations as to why anyone would promote this sort of errant crap.
Alas, I said "CPA test", which is the certification for public accountants, which makes them certified public accountants. Much like doctors take a board certified test, in order to put the "board certified" on their shingle.
One wonders if it's an attempt to distract attention from the exposure of yet another creationist as a multifaceted kook.
And if you want to be a CPA, you must pass the CPA exam. No such certification - aside from the USMLE, of course - is necessary to be a psychiatrist, successful or otherwise.
In the immortal words of "Francis Urquart": "You might think that, but I couldn't possibly comment."
I'm asking myself, why are we arguing with these people, when we could be getting rich selling them patent medicines?
(or a guarantee of eternal happiness, for a mere 10% of their incomes)
Boy, that sure sounds similiar to my #459:
You've hit the nail on the head; many people are susceptible to anti-Evolutionism precisely for the same reason they reject modern medicine, pharmacology, and other sciences: they are unable to distinguish real science from pseudo-science. This makes them a "mark" for every crackpot idea that comes along, whether it be dietary cures for all diseases or "free-energy" scams.
Great minds think alike?
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