The Uninspired Manifesto

From Bad Astronomy Blog.

The South Carolina (motto: "First to Secede!") governing body is maybe not so much the bastion of science and reality-based thinking. But now, as reported in The Charleston Post & Courier, they join Texas in what I can only think of as utter stupidity:

State lawmakers shot down a request for extra financial help for low-income students who will attend South Carolina’s public colleges and universities next year.

Meanwhile, they approved $2.5 million to help low-income students attend Bob Jones University, a private school in Greenville.

Yes, that BJU, where it is school policy to forbid interracial dating (I guess Thomas Jefferson wouldn’t be allowed to attend), and where, more to the point, they teach creationism instead of, y’know, reality.

That’s right. In South Carolina, if you are poor or middle class and want to be educated, you can either do without, or go to a private school like BJU where you’ll learn the Earth is 6000 years old!

If you go there, you can take a Life Science class where you can learn that:

Christians must reject any evolutionary ideas that people try to include in the classification system… God commanded all living things to reproduce "after their kind". You can see the results of God’s command by simply observing the living things around you.

Of course, BJU is accredited… by the Transnational Association of Christian Colleges and Schools. That sounds legit enough… until you actually do some, y’know, research. If you go to their website and look at their educational standards for schools they accredit, you’ll see this gem:

The institution must have a Biblical Foundations Statement that includes affirmations of tenets such as … the divine work of non-evolutionary creation including persons in God’s image… Special creation of the existing space-time universe and all its basic systems and kinds of organisms in the six literal days of the creation week.

That’s right. To get accredited by this fine organization, you have to affirm that you do not teach evolution, and/or that you do teach young Earth creationism.

Also, you have to affirm that existence of Satan.

This is why Americans are so fucking stupid. Legislators would rather endorse 'No Child Left Behind' and give money to bullshit Universities than give help to people that actually need it.