QUOTE OF THE DAY

“A great deal of nonsense is being talked in this zone recently. Science is science, and ought to be taught in our public schools conservatively, from the professional consensus, as settled fact. Religion is quite a different thing.” – John Derbyshire, talking sense, at NRO. I have to say that, although it happened while I was avoiding the news, president Bush’s endorsement of “intelligent design” for teaching in public schools really does strike me as the dumbest idea he has ever expressed. There are two views of Bush-as-evangelical. The first is that he uses the religious right; the second is that he is the religious right. Of course, they’re not exlcusive. I think he’s around 30 percent cynical on these matters and 70 percent sincere. It’s the 70 percent that more thoroughly worries me.