Cosmos with Neil DeGrass Tyson

Ironically, the network responsible for this series is none other than Fox itself. So if the GOP get's their panties in a bunch regarding the content of the new Cosmos, are they going to boycott Fox? Wouldn't that be hilarious.

Seth MacFarlane (who is one of the producers of Cosmos) was once asked about what it was like working for Fox, where Family Guy is aired.He actually said there is a huge disconnect between the Fox News divisions and the entertainment division. They basically function as totally separate entities, never interacting with one another. So my guess is that the guys making Cosmos do not need to answer to the folks on the news side of the aisle.In a funny way, the company is actually gaining on both sides. They produce a show that stirs controversy and then they report on the very controversy they created. Profit on both sides.And that is ultimately what Rupert Murdoch is all about. Folks that worked for the guy indicated he had little political sway one way or the other, despite what most may think. He is a businessman. If he realized tomorrow that he could generate more revenue turning Fox News to the left of the aisle, he would do it without a moments hesitation.

Arrgh! Tyson should have known better. I am sure it was just a slip of the tongue, but still.

They are not any type of defense. The first one is actually just attacking the individual versus attacking the position. A typical creationist ploy. (If we tell children they came from monkeys, won't they act like them?)I read somewhere that some creationists are complaining about the lack of airtime they are allowed on the show. Then maybe they should produce something tangible that can be reviewed and debated. But it never happens. They spend their time poking holes in other people's theories (usually leveraging science they don't understand) rather than actually creating and defining experiments that can confirm the veracity of their viewpoints.The Templeton fund has made available grants to creationists for advancing their intelligent design or creationist theories. Yet not a single individual has produced any viable experiment or scientific concept. The only recourse they have is doing what Michael Behe did which is try to redefine science so they can pigeon hole their views into it. Which would also open the floodgates for allowing things like astrology and pyramid power into the fray.

The latest episode was mostly around Newton and Halley, of Halley's Comet fame. Was quite interesting. He also coyly takes jabs at astrology and other similar nonsense. The Halley episode talked about how his discoveries and predictions about the motions of comets pretty much debunked centuries worth of idiotic superstitions and the attempts by con artists to use people's ignorance and fear to peddle their garbage.