I went to see Ben Stein's movie, Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed [Web site], this afternoon. It was well-constructed, and his interviews were well-done, showing respect for the evolutionists he interviewed and asking the hard questions of the intelligent design representatives he interviewed.
You should see this movie.
The movie is not about Creationism. The movie is not about the theory of intelligent design. The movie is about academic freedom.
Students are being oppressed in this country by those who would deny our God-given right to ask questions (partially guaranteed by the First Amendment in the redress of grievances clause). It is not whose idea is right or wrong or valid or invalid. It is that we have the right to ask questions. It should be self-evident that God has given us the right to ask questions about anything and everything. It is most profitable to us if we ask questions in humility and in the search for truth, but we can ask any question.
Except in the classroom. In the classroom, the Right of Inquiry is being denied.
That is why this movie is important. We need to be aware that the Right of Inquiry is being denied, and we need to demand that institutions and governmental bodies respect our rights of inquiry and discourse. We need to demand that theories be taught in the context of discourse and rigorous criticism.
I do not believe Creationism should be taught in a classroom funded by taxpayers. I do not believe that Intelligent Design Theory should be taught as the only theory of the origin of life. I do not believe that Neo-Darwinian Evolution Theory should be taught as the only theory of the origin of life. I believe that these theories should both (or in concert with other theories) be honestly discussed as theories put forth by their respective authors, honestly criticized in a discourse of examination and inquiry, and honestly set to rest at the end of the unit or class as exactly what they were at its beginning: theories. And let the students decide for themselves what theory they feel has the best basis in fact, evidence, logic, and their own personal worldview. Anything less is a disservice to science and to the students of our educational institutions. To teach one theory and only one theory in a classroom is to preach a dogma, not to teach an informative course in science or anything else that falls under the heading of education.
Any theory that cannot exist in an environment of discourse, criticism, and inquiry is not a serious theory. In the words of Charles Spurgeon, "Truth is a strong tower and never requires to be buttressed with error."

This evening, there was at OWC's Arts Center a lecture by Nancy Pearcey on the cultural implications of the evolution theory. This was part of the reason I chose to watch the movie today. The newspaper indicated that the movie was the subject of the lecture. It was called "Beyond Expelled"
One of the interesting things she pointed out is that roughly 80% of this country believes that an intelligent designer (either through guided evolution or through direct creation) was involved in the origin of the forms of life we see in the world today. Only 10-20% believe evolution without any supernatural force is the source of today's diverse world of life. And then she said something I thought was noteworthy:
"The public schools have a responsibility to respect the public."
Now, if 80% of the nation believes there was a designer involved, why do the school systems teach as though it were uncontested a theory of naturalistic forces without the input of a designer?

Something that occurred to me while she was speaking was the realization that the environmentalist who fights to protect the planet from polluter-humans and the amoral business that pours toxic sludge into the rivers both take their worldview from the same place. Darwinism is the belief behind both the personification of the environment, or less extremely, the dignity of the environment, that the environmental movement holds central and the contextual erasure of the exploitative business or social pragmatist. They both rely on this idea of man as an evolved animal who has no higher spiritual calling than to either fulfill his animalistic passions or to protect nature as an example of all that is pure and natural.
Neither the environmentalist nor the unscrupulous corporate raider has respect for both human freedom and dignity and for stewardship of the earthly realm. In fact, I would suggest that only a worldview based on the Bible (an economic model of Biblical capitalism, which relies on both stewardship and individual self-determination) can respect both humanity and natural stewardship.
In other words: If there is no creator, if we came from non-living matter purely by chance or natural laws, but either way without a creator, then we have no responsibility to each other as humans with dignity, nor do we have anyone to be responsible to in the question of whether to practice good stewardship of the land, because without a creator, we have no one to be stewards for... and since I have already said that without a creator there can be no responsibility to each other, there is likewise no responsibility to hold the land in stewardship for our descendants. This is the logical consequence of a worldview wherein people came from evolutionary processes alone.

By the way, she also mentioned in passing the practice in many schools of telling children that all ideas have equal validity. This is a precept of postmodernist philosophy. I immediately thought of this comic: Hard Onions: Marketplace of Ideas
So, go see the movie, and check out the writings of Nancy Pearcey.

Edited to add:
Freedom of Inquiry means being able to follow the evidence wherever it leads.
There is a false dichotomy between science and religion. I believe honest scientific exploration in search of the truth will always lead to a deeper understanding of the truth of God's word.
Freedom of Inquiry means encouraging questions and seeking of the truth.
Students have the right to know that what they are being taught is accurate. How can they discover that if they can't ask questions about the validity, truth, and accuracy of what is being put forth?
"The situation may be expressed by an image: science without religion is lame, religion without science is blind." --Albert Einstein

I'll take this opportunity to thank all of you who've been praying for me. In spite of being snappy and motivated only in fits, I did manage to get my profile article done Tuesday night. I wasn't very pleased with it, but I did get it done. And I have a rewrite for that article, so maybe I can pull it into better shape the second time around.
I had a very bad day Wednesday. I went to the local city library, and not only did they have no periodicals archives, they didn't know how to access the electronic periodical databases they had. At least, they didn't tell me when I tried to get something.
Really, people! When you take something away because you think you are providing something better, make sure everyone knows how to use it properly so your patrons won't be frustrated and think your building is a waste of real estate.
So, I was so frustrated (I'd wasted an hour I didn't have to waste) I stormed out and forgot my notebook (but it turned out okay, because I had someone go pick it up). After grabbing a quick bite, I headed for Niceville, where a friend of mine is a research librarian who knows what's what and which end of the box goes up was waiting with some articles and a working database system.
But as I was waiting for the turn signal at the corner, an accident happened right in front of me. I only saw the last second of it. Basically knew they were going to collide and hoped they wouldn't, but they did. So, I pulled to the side and called 911. They'd gotten several calls about the accident, and the operator connected me with law enforcement, to whom I explained that I had been waiting for the light and wasn't paying attention, so I didn't know what had happened. They said I didn't need to stay at the site, which is good, because I was shaking and still needed to go do things. But if they had said to, or if I'd known what happened, I would have stayed.
So, after doing some research at a real library, I went to the campus and tried to relax, printed out my profile, and proofed someone else's. I was feeling pretty mellow by this time, which surprised me, but I guess it was your prayers.
This morning, I got up, decided I wasn't going to get anything done at home, and went to class. After class, I sat down, mildly panicked on the back burner, and started piecing together citations and pulling stuff out of my rear end so I'd have something to turn in for my Econ paper. It came out better than I'd hoped, and I had the required length before I realized it. I just wanted something to turn in, figuring with the test grades I have and the expectation of a good final, I didn't need more than a 50% on the paper to earn a passing grade. This being a class not in my major, and my having dropped the minor option in favor of an area of concentration (using existing credits), I no longer have a strong reason to care about this class other than one of three credits I need to fill the 15sh requirement.
Wow, I didn't start out to write this much!

Anyway, on to the addiction.
I think I am getting addicted to this tagging (and social bookmarking) site, del.icio.us. Click the name to see my tags. I've gone overboard with posting my bookmarks and with snagging links posted by others. You could probably spend a whole day just visiting sites linked from there, if you could stand being at your computer for that long.
In any case, I think you might find the site useful for finding interesting links related to a topic of your choice. for instance, you can find procedures for reaching a human on customer support lines, fables about organization, and insight into how car dealerships work so you won't get ripped off when you buy your next car.
God bless you. Have a great weekend. I may not be on much, because I have another major profile due Monday. I need to be sure I do that on Saturday.

The following table is made up of information contained in my Nutrition class notes from several years ago. It is provided for informational purposes only.

Food	Thiamin B1	Riboflavin B2	Niacin B3	Pantothetic Acid B5	Pyridoxine B6	Folate B9	B12	A	C	D	E	K
pork	B1			B5			B12
liver	B1			B5		B9	B12	A		D		K
whole grains	B1	B2	B3	B5	B6						E
nuts	B1		B3	B5							E
red meat		B2	B3	B5	B6		B12
milk		B2	B3	B5				A (fortification)		D (fortification)		K
yogurt		B2		B5
cheese		B2		B5				A
leafy greens		B2		B5	B6	B9			C		E	K
eggs			B3	B5				A (yolks)		D (yolks)
fish			B3	B5	B6		B12
poultry			B3	B5	B6		B12
shellfish				B5	B6		B12
legumes	B1		B3	B5	B6	B9
fruit				B5	B6
seeds				B5		B9					E
citrus				B5	B6	B9			C
cabbage, kale, Brussels sprouts				B5								K
Other:				B5 (all foods)				A fruits and veggies: dark green deep yellow bright orange or red		D (sunlight)

I am not a doctor or a nutritionist. This table is not to be construed as medical or dietary advice. I make no claims as to the accuracy or completeness of this table. It may be outdated, incomplete, or inaccurate. While I welcome any corrections (no additions), I take no responsibility whatsoever for this table. Use at your own risk. Take responsibility for your own actions. Lawyers are killing society.

When I left Florida, my college said they'd mail my degree (to my mom). I got an email from her a few days ago. I haven't mentioned this, because we've been discussing it, but it seems I've graduated cum laude. The reason we were discussing it is that (perhaps in keeping with the college policy against offering Latin courses) the diploma said "with Honors" rather than the Latin phrase of the same meaning. Oh, well... (Yes, this explains why I haven't mentioned the name of my college...)

It's been a quiet week, here in Crestview.

The weather has been cold (we heven had a hard freeze last night), and the hours are ticking away until the new semester. I'm charging my rechargable batteries so I'll be ready to record my classes. I've got all my books (bought the last one yesterday), and I've got my bookbag and satchel packed for the first day. I had a folder box, but I got tired of people asking me if it was a laptop. Besides, it wasn't serving me well; my papers got wrinkled last semester. My satchel has straps, so I can throw it over my shoulder and pull my bookbag behind me.

I've been teaching a friend of mine HTML. She's very smart, and she learns things quickly. Her site is likely to be a very interesting one. I'll link to it when she's satisfied with it.

Speaking of websites, I've been working on mine all day. I'm finished updating it (except for changing the QOTU and the Last Updated date. All I need to do now is come up with a sidebar graphic.
I'll come up with something sooner or later... (though probably of a lower quality).

Pray for me. I'm doing pretty well with my new dedication, but I still have a stray thought here and there that dismays me.

God bless you all.

It's been a long time since I posted, hasn't it?

Well, I finished my exams... did I mention that? I got my grades on Monday. I wasn't surprised, but my mom was. She thought it would take longer. Anyway, I got an A in General Bio and Statistics, and I got a B in PoliSci and Earth Sci, which was exactly the distribution I had expected.

I've been writing a lot lately, except the past two days. I've gotten to the point in writing a story where I can no longer just call the characters X, Y, and Z. So, I've been reading a baby name book to try to fill in the names so I can get back to the story.

Today, I got a wild hair and started cleaning. In fact, I'm going back to that in a minute. I should have mopped the kitchen floor today, but the frige is pulled out, so I'm going to wait until I push it back in before I try to mop.

Well, that's the update on my life. It doesn't sound very exciting, does it? Well, it isn't. I was going to go out tonight, but *someone* took my car, and I'm not driving the yacht to Fort Walton. Uh-uh. No way. I hate that thing.

So, I'll just sit home and complain about being lonely. Sound like a plan? I like it. Taking my car was rude.

So, anyway, I'd like to hear from anyone who's reading my journal:
How are things with you? What has the Lord been doing in your life?

More updates later... *zoom*

I woke up early this morning. I had a nightmare. It was rather strange.

My community college was having some of its classes at a software store in the mall, and the instructor was obviously a droid from Adobe (It was Adobe in my dream, but I think it was really supposed to be Real.com). I had to get my class changed. So, I was upset about that.
Then, some military student said something about how something would be different if I were older.
I exploded.
I went into an enormous and explosive tirade, screaming about how if I heard one more person tell me that I don't understand because I'm "young", or something would be different if or when I got older, or that they aren't surprised I think the way I do because I'm "young", or that I'll think differently when I'm not so "young", or that I'm too "young" to understand, or simply "You're young," as though that explains every skewed viewpoint in the world, assuming that there is NO WAY I could have hit upon a bit of wisdom because I'm "young"; That I was going to either spontaneously combust or choke someone.
I mean, my ideas and the things I say are not stupid. They're things that would be simply accepted if said by an older person. Other adults would simply think, "That hasn't been my experience," and not even say anything. Grrrrr...
It was rather surprising that I just exploded in the middle of class.
Anyway, one of my classmates asked me if I were leaving right after class or wandering the mall, and I was thinking, "Don't you have other classes?"
So, I rushed to the student services rooms in the mall, and there I looked at my schedule, and I said to myself, "ACK! These can't possibly be the classes I picked! Those idiots really messed up my schedule this time.
Then I decided that my first class had run WAY over and that I was already going to be late for the next one, so I just rushed off toward that.
About this time, I got so sick of my school that I decided to end it all and get out of bed.

So, today is 2/3 of my finals. I'm not optimistic about the first one. It's one of those idiot instructors who makes the test questions so confusing in an attempt to throw off the people who didn't study that the test is not any kind of measure of how well we know the material. We have just as good a chance doing the test by Christmas tree method as by trying to figure out what he's asking and then figure out which answer is right.
The second final should be fine, but I'm a little worried about some of my classmates. They've been working with me the whole semester, and we've all gotten used to working together. The teacher won't let us work together on the final, but she did agree to let us check each other's papers before we turn them in. :)
Tomorrow is my last final! YAY!
It's a good class with a good teacher, and I expect to do really well on the final, not that a poor final would hurt me. My lowest test score in that class is a 90% (18/20).

Anyway, I hope everyone out there is doing well.
I should eat my breakfast, but I needed to do this first. :)

I finished my semester project, my homework for PoliSci, and the final. Monday and Teusday are finals, but that doesn't worry me. As far as I'm concerned, I made it.

Yes, it's Saturday again, and that means it's update time for the online version of The Land of Crowns. If you haven't discovered this work of literature, be sure to go see it. Chapter Eleven is now online for your viewing pleasure.

I just finished one of my writing assignments for Statistics class. It involved finding all sorts of different types of data display, and I had a terrible time finding some of it. Now, though, all of that is behind me. I only have to discover two more studies to complete my writing assignments.

Be well, everyone. :)

My college just released its schedule of Spring classes, and there's no possible way for me to develop a decent schedule. There aren't many classes offered, and the ones that are offered are in inconvenient times.

I've been pretty busy today... I have to finish reading a chapter in PoliSci so I'll be ready for the midterm on Friday... but I managed to find time (read: I needed a break) to post chapter four of The Land of Crowns. Please take a look at it. :)

I'll likely be back to say something profound later today. Be well, and God bless!