TechgnosisWeb Prime

Two things tonight: One, an absolutely brilliant response to a bit of idiocy going in the the ol’ heartland, and another a step towards the.. err.. brave new world that Shrub’s leading us into over the next 4 hellish years. First, the good news:

From the good people @ BoingBoing:

Gary Peare sez: “I have a modest proposal regarding the following story:”

A federal trial began today in Atlanta over evolution disclaimers in Cobb County schools. A group of parents backed by the ACLU argue that the disclaimers in science biology textbooks are a government endorsement of religion.

“The county put stickers with the following text into the books:”

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.

“So here’s my proposal. Let’s allow the religious right to paste their stickers in all the biology texts they want so long as they affix the following text to each and every one of their Bibles:”

“This book contains material on Judeo-Christian theology. Judeo-Christian theology offers insight into the origin and meaning of life and is the basis for several of the world’s great religions. But it does not encompass the full range of religious beliefs held sacred by members of our diverse American society. Moreover, this material is based on ancient texts, and significant errors may have been introduced through subsequent translations and omissions. This material should be approached with an open mind, studied carefully and critically considered.”

See, that’s just freakin’ brilliant. I’ve got half a mind to have a few hundred of those stickers printed up and have them ready to go.

And now for the bad news:

The celebration over Ashcroft resigning has been pretty short-lived. Shrub’s already nominated his successor, and if you thought it would be hard for him to top the evil of Ashcroft, well, it seems we’ve misunderestimated monkey-boy again. He’s nominating Alberto Gonzales as the next person to take up Ashcroft’s crusade. What’s so bad about that? Well, after a short Google search on his name, I came up with this gem:

http://msnbc.msn.com/id/4999734/

The concern about possible future prosecution for war crimesand that it might even apply to Bush adminstration officials themselves is contained in a crucial portion of an internal January 25, 2002, memo by White House counsel Alberto Gonzales obtained by NEWSWEEK. It urges President George Bush declare the war in Afghanistan, including the detention of Taliban and Al Qaeda fighters, exempt from the provisions of the Geneva Convention.

That’s right. It’s Alberto “Who needs the Geneva Convention anyway?” Gonzales. This guy actually thinks torture is handy and dandy when it comes to making those evil A-rabs talk. Holding people indefinetly without due process? Hey, they won a mandate, man. It’s par for the course.

Yeah… he’s just been nominated, and he’s already making Ashcroft look good in comparison.
Not convinced the guy’s bad news yet? Then read this: The man behind all the bad decisions. Yup. He’s the new Attorney General. Enjoy.