Subject: [Fwd: Re: Darwin Day a Success in 2006!]

From: "R.Stephens" <[email-masked]>
Date: Wed, 21 Jun 2006 21:31:39 +0000

This gentleman is a physicist and activated some serious legal cases 
like Michael Newdow!

See some info at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ellery_Schempp

His parody of the Discovery Institute is nice too.  And his paragraphs 
at the end of his message are quite well expressed.

Unless otherwise directed, I'll leave this to you.  You'll probably be 
able to do some nice sharing.

  - David

-------- Original Message --------
Subject: 	Re: Darwin Day a Success in 2006!
Date: 	Tue, 20 Jun 2006 22:30:56 -0400
From: 	elleryfs <[email-masked]>
To: 	<[email-masked]>
CC: 	Jerry Sloan <[email-masked]>
References: 	<[email-masked]>

Dear Robert Stephens,
Hearty applause to you for organizing Darwin's Day recognitions 
worldwide.  I have some idea to visit  the Bay Area in late September, 
and I would love to meet you.  I am sure that we have many friends in 
common; Genie Scott at NCSE, Barry Lynn at AU, Pandas Thumb, Phyrangula, 
and RedState blogs, /et al/. 
 
Owing to my background (wikipedia/schempp), I get to talk on such 
topics.  Excerpts from one I gave on Darwin's Day are below.  And 
recently re-used in Texas, Baptist territory! 
 
It is likely a fantasy, but I hope to save evolution-deniers from perdition.
 
Cheers,
     Ellery Schempp
 
Writing from Medford, Massachusetts
781-483-3100
 
P.S.: You may know my parody /Gravity: Just a Theory/.  
www.re-discovery.org <http://www.re-discovery.org>

------------------------------------------------------------------------
"The Noah's Flood pictures we all saw in childhood distort our 
impression of life.  Giraffes, hippopotamuses, zebras---but no pictures 
of octopuses, or dragon flies, or maple trees.  The baby-book pictures 
of the Ark are a grave distortion of life on earth.  They are all a form 
of propaganda.  The Ark icon gives the silly impression that there were 
cute boy and girl giraffes frolicking without worry, or mommy and daddy 
giraffes, and hence little ones.  Five-year olds love this. 
 
"One clear objective of ID groups is to divert attention from Noah's 
Flood.  Creationists and Biblical literalists know that every aspect of 
the Noah's Flood account in the Bible's Book of Genesis is open to 
questions of logic, morality, and science.  IDists quickly recognized 
that Noah's Flood was a losing proposition for them in terms of science.
 
"Hence, IDists have worked diligently to shift the focus to evolution.  
Biblical faith-believers have a great fear:  if part of the Bible is 
incorrect, then all of their life belief collapses.  Remember, they 
claim to live only for achieving a future life, one that will be better 
than what they have now.  This is a peculiar view of being alive---for 
them being alive here and now seems to be a weird intermediate step 
between getting a soul at the moment of conception and going on to 
eternal bliss, whatever that means." 
.........
"And I note a peculiar connection.  Muslim fundamentalists and Christian 
fundamentalists are perfectly united in rejecting evolution.  Both 
groups reject science;  both groups insist on a god that makes 
supernatural interventions; both Muslim fundamentalists and Christian 
fundamentalists insist that all knowledge is in their sacred texts, the 
Qu'ran or the Bible;  both groups insists that the other is an "infidel" 
and not really human as acceptable to their clan."
....
"Darwin did not foresee that his idea would contribute to equal 
political status for women, but the idea that we all evolved from 
previous animals made it difficult for men to argue that there was a 
special creation for Eve.  Especially, an Eve that was inferior by 
reason of being secondary in creation.  A species with male and female 
components evolving via natural processes undermined claims that females 
were 'by nature' somehow different, separate, and morally weaker.  
Indeed, Darwin forced onto churches the radical notion that if some 
humans have souls, then all humans must have them, even women, Africans, 
Asians, American Indians, and "pagans"."
.....
"Aspects of the 'scientism critique' remain.  "Science is a religion".   
This is wrong.  A frequent claim by IDists is that confidence in 
evolution is merely a way to keep the grant money flowing.  I say, 
"follow the money".  The money flowing into televangelists, like Pat 
Robertson, about $300 million per year, and to the Discovery Institute, 
the Creation Research Institute, the Answers in Genesis group, Phillip 
Johnson from book sales and speaking, comes to about $40 million per 
year.  In contrast, the National Center for Science Education struggles 
along with a mere $1.5 million per year."
 
"Teach the controversy:  IDists have contrived a fictitious controversy, 
tempting the naïve to accept a creationist view as equal to a 
non-faith-based view.  There is no real controversy---IDists never have 
a controversy over X-rays or whether pixies make nice sunny days....."
 
"Evolution deniers claim there is a 'Darwinist', Marxist, Nazi, 
communist, ACLU, humanist, science-elites plot to destroy morality and 
fluoridate the water supply.  I have been curious about this, but I am 
perplexed why those who claim to know never give out God's email address 
to the rest of us."
------------------------------------------------------------------------

    ----- Original Message -----
    *From:* Dr.R.Stephens <mailto:[email-masked]>
    *Sent:* Monday, June 19, 2006 8:28 AM
    *Subject:* Darwin Day a Success in 2006!

    Redwood City, California
                                                                      
    United States
                                                                      
    17 June 2006
    Dear Ellery Schempp,

    First let me thank all of you for providing your names or e-mails as
    supporters of Darwin Day --- the Celebration of Science and
    Humanity.  If there is anything our nation currently needs, it is a
    better understanding of Science and a mutual appreciation of all
    Humanity. 

    I?m very pleased to be able to report that this year's celebration
    on February 12, 2006, was a tremendous success, with more that 650
    events being held around the world.  Most of the Celebrations were
    held in English speaking countries, but in recent years there has
    been a growing participation in Darwin Day throughout the world. 
    For instance, events were held in 13 different countries, including
    26 events in Italy, where 15 of the major universities held
    celebrations.  Other countries with Darwin Day celebrations include
    Canada, England, Ireland, Chile, Australia, Argentina, Bangladesh,
    Brazil, Ecuador, Germany, Guatemala, India, New Zealand, Nigeria,
    Norway, Spain, the United Kingdom, and the United States.

    Together we made news this year receiving Darwin Day coverage in
    over 150 newspapers, E-news articles, and even on prime time TV
    news!  In addition, our Website www.darwinday.org
    <http://www.darwinday.org/> remains on-line year-around as a source
    of educational material about Charles Darwin's life and the science
    of evolution.

    Together we have created a very effective system for communicating
    the history and logic of Charles Darwin's pioneering discoveries and
    the convincing scientific evidence for evolution.  We have nearly
    1500 people who have a strong interest in Darwin Day's activities,
    and we have communicated with nearly 67,000 academic and medical
    people who have advanced understanding of the scientific process. 
    We can e-mail to them at low cost to coordinate the public
    Celebrations on Darwin Day, when we who understand Science and
    respect Humanity share with the rest of the world the importance of
    evolution for interpretation of biomedical research.

    *Darwin**'s bicentennial birthday will arrive on February 12, 2009,
    and we need your help.  If you could make a donation of 25 to 50
    dollars it would make it possible for us to expand our communication
    network to the entire world.  For US taxpayers this donation can be
    tax deductible.  Your support will enable **our staff to develop the
    Web site so that by the fall of 2006 it will appear in at least 8 of
    the major world languages.  Your support will enable *us to create
    downloadable posters, songs, lesson plans, banners and slogans that
    can be used at any time to keep Darwin Day and science advancing. 
    By going to http://darwinday.org/englishL/donate/index.html, you can
    make a donation conveniently through ***Pay Pal or by other means. *

    Please make a donation to this very worthy cause that we all support
    intellectually!

    Yours sincerely,

    Robert J. ("Bob") Stephens, Ph. D.
    Emeritus Director, Cell Biology Program
    SRI International (formerly Stanford Research Institute)
    President, Darwin Day Celebration, a nonprofit, tax-deductible
    501(c)3 corp.
    http://darwinday.org <http://darwinday.org/>