Well, it *IS* kind of true . . .

Last week in my Modern Europe class I did the Evolution Revolution lecture, which I love (but which wasn't as good as I would have liked, maybe b/c I cut out the third of the lecture on Realism so we got out of class early). The theory of evolution's impact on Western society is, I would say, tremendous. Sure, the impact of Christianity on it is also titanic - but only one should be taught in a science classroom. (I did my little soap-box bit in class, although we have also spent about 1/4 of our total class time on religious topics - shit, the class begins with the Reformation). So I don't feel bad about talking about Darwin, Lyell, Wallace, Lamarck, et al for a whole 80 minutes. Imagine how giddy this makes me then - like the guy can just read my mind!!
And yes, the painting is real, and you can learn all about it (Mouseovers!!!!) by visiting the site. Although I think he fundamentally misunderstands what exactly the Constitution is supposed to do (you'll note this in his comments below, #2). As any former American History student of MINE could tell you, or anyone who has read The Federalist Papers would know: the Constitution was specifically written to CREATE A STRONG FEDERAL GOVERNMENT!! The Articles of Confederation were terrible, the Whiskey Rebellion scared the shit out of people, and as Hamilton, Madison, and Jay explain in TFP, a strong federal government was the best possible alternative.

And also, Asshat, how can Patrick Henry be a Founding Father when he voted against ratifying the Constitution (Henry is standing behind JFK)?? (Though yes, I MIGHT attribute that honorific to his role as a leading Anti-Federalist to secure the Bill of Rights, but I'm guessing you knew neither of those things.)

UNBELIEVABLE

In commemoration of the 200th anniversary of Darwin's birth (where's Wallace??!!) lots of interesting things have been popping up regarding evolution, but this totally stunned me. I really can't believe it. Only 14% of Americans believe in strict evolution - 36% and 44% believe some type of guidance or intervention. Now, I have no beef with believers and faith (I take the Jamesian approach to faith and belief - if it works, more power to you), but SERIOUSLY?? I think an honest scientist would admit that there is no "conclusive" proof of human evolution, and the question of the transition from chemical life (bacteria, molecules, etc.) to sentient life (how complex organisms, consciousness, etc.) is still very much unresolved, but SERIOUSLY?? Worse still is the fact that 54% think that Creationism should be taught in public school SCIENCE classes. Creationism is a philosophy of human origins - it has ZERO merit as a scientific explanation of anything: not a testable or verifiable hypothesis, and effectively no tangible, physical, or empirical evidence (unless you count the Genesis story). Now if you want to introduce a philosophy or theology curriculum in public schools, sweet! (And theology broadly, obvs, with all the biggies covered, though this gets into superthorny issues of what is "biggie" - Scientology? Mormonism? I guess if they make the cut for the Super Best Friends they're good.) But no place in a science classroom.
Things like this always are helpful for reminding me how we get into so much silly sh** in this country.