Failure to substantiate argument from authority noted.
I'm an engineer too. But I don't claim argument from authority with authorities who I cannot substantiate. Such a claim carries zero weight and has zero credibility. Argument from authority itself carries at a maximum very limited weight, which makes your obsession with the qualifications of the evos round here curious.
It's not about authority. It's about humility. We all have our opinions on what makes a conservative, but one thing that we should all agree on is that conservatives have humility. We aren't like the Left that shrieks and demonizes those they disagree with.
You see, my British friend, you evos can point to all kinds of highly credentialed experts who explain and demonstrate with "facts" how your opinion is correct. However, we non-evos can do likewise. Sure, most credentialed scientists believe in evolution, but that same sample overwhelmingly believes George Bush is the world's greatest terrorist. Anyway, both sides can produce impressive amounts of thoughts and writings supporting their position.
Unfortunately, some evos have an annoying sense of moral superiority (on this thread alone they have called their opponents all kinds of names) that we typically expect from the Left. By asking them to identify their education and occupation (authority as you put it), I think it may humble them a bit and they are less likely to be quite as overbearing. After all, a guy who plays music to soothe his goats (such as our friend Carolinaguitarman) may be less likely to thump his chest about his own absolute rightness if everyone knows he is but a simple goatherder (not that there's anything wrong with that).
So, if we practice a little humility (perhaps use Reagan as our example), we can enthusiastically disagree on this one subject, but still remain friends and allies on the majority of things we do agree on.
TTFN.