Sen. Judy Burges wants to be the Grand Inquisitor of the Tea-Publican Inquisition against climate science

Posted by AzBlueMeanie:

You remember Judy Burges (R-Skull Valley) or alternatively (R-Sun City West), don't you? Then Rep. Judy Burges was the "Birther Queen" who did not believe President Obama was born in the U.S. and that he was a "secret Muslim." The Birther Queen wanted President Obama to provide proof of his birth in the U.S., and inferred that there should be a religious test for office in violation of the U.S. Constitution, Article VI, Section 3. Legislator: No Obama on ballot if he can't prove US birth.

And who can forget her Tea Party World Nut Daily conspiracy theory against the United Nations Agenda 21 “sustainable development” plan: "an insidious attack on American sovereignty in an effort to build a one-world order." Arizona Bill Would Ban UN Agenda 21 Within State. "The blue helmets are coming!"

Now Sen. Judy Burges wants to be the Grand Inquisitor of the Tea-Publican Inquisition against climate science, and require teachers to teach children that climate scientists are blasphemers and heretics. "They are witches! Burn them at the stake!" AZ bill would let teachers dismiss global warming:

[A] state senator wants to free teachers to tell students why some
believe there is no such thing as human-caused "global warming."

Galileo facing the Roman Inquistion by Cristiano Banti (1857)

More
specifically, SB 1213 says school boards and officials cannot prohibit a
teacher from helping students analyze and review the "strengths and
weaknesses of existing scientific theories," which means teachers would
be free to tell students not only that they believe global warming is a
myth, but would open the door for teachers to argue for the scientific
validity of "intelligent design" as an alternative to evolution.

Wait for it . . . "The bill has all the markings of model legislation written by the
American Legislative Exchange Council, a conservative business-backed
organization, to suppress certain issues like global warming."

Burges said she did not get the language from the Legislative
Exchange Council, saying it came from Tennessee. [And where did Tennessee get its "model legislation," Judy? That's right, ALEC.] But she made it clear
she believes only the environmentalists' viewpoint is being presented.

"I
just feel that our students are being inundated with things in
classrooms," she said. "Students should be given all sides of the
story," Burges said, something they may not be getting now.

"It actually says in the textbooks that if you don't believe in global change that you're very misinformed," Burges said.

"There
should be an opportunity for teachers to step up to the plate and give
their opinion, if they have scientific proof, that it isn't happening,
that it's a natural phenomena, without retribution," she explained.

"I
just happen to think that if a person believes that this is not
man-caused or that man only contributes so much, then they should be
able to stand before their class and discuss it," she said.

Science is based upon empirical observation and data, and then subjecting the findings to peer review to confirm the empirical observation and data. It is not based upon religious beliefs, myths, legends and superstitions, nor uninformed opinions one got from the conservative media entertainment complex.

Andrew Morrill, president of the Arizona Education Association, said "The curriculum for teaching science is already balanced," he said.
"If there's overwhelming evidence on one side, then within the science
curriculum there's going to be a look at that evidence."

He said
the [American] Legislative Exchange Council and other business interests want to
label the issue "controversial" to minimize all the evidence linking
human activity and rising levels of greenhouse gases to climate change.

"The controversy is at the political level, not the scientific level," Morrill said.

Enter the right-wing think tanks and scientists on the payroll of "big oil" and "big coal," and the GOPropaganda of the conservative media entertainment complex.

[Burges] noted, there are "numerous articles you can find that NASA has
written about global warming and the impact of it" saying that "opposite
side" is frequently ignored.

However, a quick read of the
National Aeronautics and Space Administration on the topic of climate
change questions Burges suggestion they represent an "opposite side."
The space agency says "the current warming trend is of particular
significance because most of it is very likely human-induced and
proceeding at a rate that is unprecedented in the past 1,300 years," and
cites five studies.

Burges also cited a petition signed by 30,000
scientists that says there is "no convincing scientific evidence" that
human release of greenhouse gases will disrupt the planet's climate.

But
critics have said the credentials of those "scientists" nowhere match
those who see a link between human activity and climate change.

[See, Is there a scientific consensus on global warming? "This overwhelming consensus among climate experts is confirmed by an
independent study that surveys all climate scientists who have publicly
signed declarations supporting or rejecting the consensus. They find
between 97% to 98% of climate experts support the consensus (Anderegg 2010).
Moreover, they examine the number of publications by each scientist as a
measure of expertise in climate science. They find the average number
of publications by unconvinced scientists (eg – skeptics) is around half
the number by scientists convinced by the evidence. Not only is there a
vast difference in the number of convinced versus unconvinced
scientists, there is also a considerable gap in expertise between the
two groups."]

But wait! There's more. . .

The list of "controversial" issues SB 1213 is designed to address
includes not just global warming but also biological evolution and the
chemical origins of life, opening the door to teaching alternate
theories like "intelligent design."

And there it is! The Grand Inquisitor wants to teach creationism (intelligent design) in schools. That's right, the Earth is only 6,000 years old and Jesus rode dinosaurs with his lesser known apostles, Fred Flintstone and Barney Rubble. Judy Burges spent too much time hanging around with former Sen. Sylvia "6,000 years" Allen (R-Snowflake).

Burges said she plans to
remove those references as the bill goes through the Senate. But because
that language is only in a "legislative intent" clause and would not
become part of the law itself, removing them would not legally limit the
legislation to only cover climate change.

The Grand Inquisitor of the Tea-Publican Inquisition wants to repress science with religious beliefs, myths, legends and superstitions. It's back to the Dark Ages if Judy gets her way.