Ortonville, Minnesota

Just over the state line from Big Stone City, South Dakota is its sister city of Ortonville, Minnesota. Separating them is the long (26 miles) and narrow (1 mile) Big Stone Lake. Like Big Stone City, Ortonville’s history often is told in the history of the lake. The photos here are of the old, the Columbian Hotel built in 1892, and the new, the Big Stone Lake/Whetstone River Project completed in 1985. The Whetstone River Project created the Big Stone National Wildlife Refuge south of Ortonville.

Big Stone City, South Dakota

Our trip west for the reunion brought some interesting sights. Lots of Birds. Some life birds for Best Wife. Lots of walking in the Big Stone National Wildlife Refuge in Odessa, Minnesota. (It impacts environments in both Minnesota and South Dakota.) Plus the environs of Big Stone City, South Dakota.

All Class Reunion - Bellingham, Minnesota

June, 12, 13 and 14. An All-class Reunion was held this year at the old schoolhouse. It commemorated the passing of an era. No more classes. No more schoolhouse; it's up for sale. Bellingham serves a small rural community in western Minnesota. Like me, most graduates leave the farms they grew up on.

The reunion was well attended. When I made my late registration there were 820 already on the list. This may not sound like a lot until you realize that an average class was probably around 25 students. Mine, the class of '61, graduated 14. Half of us where there. Annella, Ardis, Carol, Leon, Lloyd, Pearl and myself.

July and Independence Day!

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Our Egg laying Machines

Chicken Cacciatore, (Chickie), and Henrietta, (Hennie), are egg laying machines! At twenty five weeks they are still pullets. The first egg was only a month ago and now they each lay an egg a day. The breed is Bovan Brown.

Chickie is a little sloppy where she deposits her morning egg so I put a large large darning-egg in one of the nest boxes hoping she'd take the hint. Well she took the hint alright. Maybe she thought she had competition because this morning she layed a colossal egg. Not just a large pullet egg but the biggest chicken egg I have ever seen. It is more than 2-1/2 inches in length and weighs a quarter of a pound! Easily twice the size of an extra large egg. It's much too large to fit in an egg carton.

June and Fathers Day

The Wearing of the Green

On the Origin of Intelligent Design

photo of Charles Darwin by J. Cameron, 1869

As we remember Charles Darwin on his two-hundredth birthday, I thought I’d use this play-on-words to post some thoughts on intelligent design.

The term intelligent design is the contention that humans and all living things are too complex to explain by the random route of natural selection therefore they must be prima facie evidence of an intelligent designer. Superficially, this seems to make sense. Especially if you grew up hearing the Bible called the Word of God. But if you take intelligent design to its logical conclusion then you have to reject the role of DNA, advances in medicine, genetics, fossil records, and two-hundred years of evidence that supports natural selection and evolution.

I’m not going to present a detailed argument here against intelligent design. That’s been done before and much better than anything I could do. If you want such an argument, I highly recommend the one presented by PBS’s NOVA entitled Judgment Day – Intelligent Design on Trial.

What I want to do is present a theory on the origin of intelligent design. I’m not referring to the obvious need for a new term to represent creation-science after the 1987 decision by the US Supreme Court. No, I want to try to answer the question, “Why do intelligent people, including some trained in modern science, find at so hard to reconcile religion and evolution? Why not take the religious position that God created the process of evolution via natural selection? The Roman Catholic Church has officially accepted the validity of evolution. So what is the problem?

Thirty years ago I attempted to dismiss creation-science as the work of crackpots but now that just doesn’t fly. In my post from last week (Feb. 7) I made a joke about it and called them crazy. Even as I posted, I knew I’d have to make a serious attempt to articulate my theory.

So here it is.
These ideas are fundamental:
1. A serious problem exists that proponents are trying to address.
2. Powerful and persistent forces support the problem. Therefore, powerful and persistent opposition is required.
3. The problem is serious enough for some to devote a lifetime to its solution.
4. The symptoms of the problem include a breakdown in the moral underpinnings of government, business, and daily life.
5. A solution based on religion is essential.

These ideas didn’t develop while witnessing the onslaught against teaching evolution in high school. They developed during media coverage of events in Iran during the Islamic revolution and the return of the Ayatollah Khomeini.

To be continued…

(It takes me so long to develop a post, I hope this one is finished sometime in February. Ah well, if Darwin procrastinated for two years on his book, please indulge my few days.)

Trying to educate the religious-right in Texas?

The pseudo-science advocate, John Donald McLeroy, was just reappointed chairman of the Texas State Board of Education by Texas governor, Rick Perry.

Science education managed a victory against both of them last month.

As a member of the Texas Board, McLeroy has been trying to insert his religious beliefs into science education for more than a decade. It reminds me of that old definition of insanity: repeatedly doing the same thing and expecting different results.

When are you going to get the message Don?

Hmmm

I feel a new post coming on. How about religion?