Pundits Ponder Pupil's Poor Performance: By Jimmy Petrol

"Bad" Science. AIMS test scores reveal that only about one-third of Arizona high-school grads show "proficiency" in science upon graduation. Remember, this is proficiency at the high-school level; hardly rocket science.

Pundits, pondering this without the aid of a personal proficiency in science....that is to say without a clue as to the scientific investigative process, blame teachers, curriculum and the like; I can see them scratching their heads in bewilderment as they watch Fox news, listen to Rush Limpbergher and attend regular sermons at the church of choice.

The reasons for American scientific ignorance are societal, not a problem with schools or teachers.

We, as a nation, currently are seriously entertaining the notion of electing a female to the office of Vice President who does not "believe" in evolution.

We, as a nation, have supported the caprices of a dunce acting as puppet president, whose claim to understanding of the scientific method is to cast doubt on un-Bushly research by simply calling it "bad science". It has worked well enough; who wants to be fooled by "bad science"?

We, as a nation, support the idea that religious ideas have "scientific" merit... which proves unequivocally that we do not have the slightest idea what "science" is and even that we do not own dictionaries.

To wit: "science" is simply the intellectual investigation of various ideas and phenomena, using the "scientific method", which is a set of rules "scientists" are supposed to use to analyze information/data and come up with probable, reasonable theories. Religion, to contrast, is based on something called "blind faith" and cannot be confused with science by intelligent beings.

Simple. You can Google "scientific method" and get the whole scoop; I will not try to make this into Science 101.

But the point is simple: Americans have been told that science can be "bad" by people who wish to make things harder to figure out than they are. These people have objected to the very idea of an investigative process with rules, loudly demanding that emotion and personal belief be treated as "science". These people want to govern our country according to the dictates of "religious" beliefs....something the constitution was designed to prohibit.

No wonder that the high-school grads have no proficiency in science. Lots of them have parents that demand intellectual subjugation to religious doctrine. Some watch Fox news, where-in the government hotly denies the very existence of the scientific method, choosing to over-complicate any policy which is insupportable when subjected to investigations performed using the rules and conventions of science.

For us, it is important to remember that the reason Jill and Johnny can't cipher is because they don't have to; in a world where personal religious beliefs can trump science, nobody has to bother giving thought to scientific investigation; we need only to pray for the will of God to be revealed to us. Of course, since we never hear back ourselves, we have to rely on our spiritual leaders to let us in on the will of God, when they can spare the time away from altar boys, hookers and personal audiences with Himself.

So What?

The time of American technical security is ending. When people like G.W. Bush, Sarah ("Twinkie") Palin and the like get to run the country, withou the intellect to distinguish between science and religion, long-term and short-term benefit or even good and bad, the American I.Q. goes down.

Generally speaking, of course, money makes world policy everywhere and it is of little matter who is president, king or queen.

There are times, though, when allowing a particular party to govern, when it is a party that believes in torture, war, the subjugation of women, demonization of sexual minorities, lies of convenience and so on, that it is too dangerous for us as a people to allow it to continue to govern.

For the first time in the Petrol experience, it is time to care about the vote.

It is imperative that the constitutional erosion be stopped. We stand at a turning point. We must make a decision. It will not "all be ok" unless the constitution is re-instated and the people that have turned American government into a personal financial instrument be sent away.

We must not listen to the people who brought us to this pass when they tell us that we need them in power to be safe. We are not safe. The cost of American moral, financial and technical recovery cannot be made light, but it can perhaps still be made if we move away from lies, torture and profiteering.