Aside from being a practitioner of the Lindy Hop, Bill Nye (yes, the Science Guy) is a hero of mine.

Why? Because he is standing up for science and logical reasoning.

He is the theocons’ worst enemy, in sheep’s – or geek’s – clothing.

From a story in the Waco Tribune:

Audience members who expected to see Bill Nye “The Science Guy” conduct experiments and wow their children received quite a surprise Wednesday when Nye spoke at McLennan Community College.

Nye instead addressed such topics as Mars exploration, global warming and energy consumption, particularly oil and gas. He even ruffled a few religious feathers along the way.

…

The Emmy-winning scientist angered a few audience members when he criticized literal interpretation of the biblical verse Genesis 1:16, which reads: “God made two great lights — the greater light to govern the day and the lesser light to govern the night. He also made the stars.”

He pointed out that the sun, the “greater light,” is but one of countless stars and that the “lesser light” is the moon, which really is not a light at all, rather a reflector of light.

A number of audience members left the room at that point, visibly angered by what some perceived as irreverence.

“We believe in a God!” exclaimed one woman as she left the room with three young children.

Priceless – simply priceless. Nye comes out swinging, teaching kids – as well as their reluctant parents – actual science. Logical, researched, reasoned arguments that are backed up by tons of evidence – along with some well-placed humor – are his weapons of mass instruction.

It’s stuff that a lot of BushCo and his theocon followers refuse to believe. He has them scared, and I love it!

A wonderful Q&A is also available, and is equally great:

Q: How do you view the theory of “intelligent design?”

A: Intelligent design is not an alternative explanation. It’s a philosophy, it’s a faith. The notion that the earth is 6,000 years old is inconsistent with scientific discovery. The earth can’t possibly be 6,000 years old. So, this idea that it is is not appropriate in the science realm.

It is fascinating that we live in this technologically advanced society and we have a huge number of people, including, apparently, the president of the United States, who can’t distinguish between the reasons scientists believe the earth to be very old and the translation of the Bible . . .being taken literally. So, I’d like to talk about that in my talk. And, you know, there’s jokes.

And then there’s this gem – one that’ll have Bush, Buchanan, Robertson, Falwell and their ilk calling for Nye to be burned at the stake:

Another thing that always throws me off a little is these extraordinary claims are based on the Bible written in English. Do you speak Aramaic: Are you sure you got it all right?

This guy is great: standing up for reality in a United States that is increasingly at risk of falling into a chasm of lies, distortions and Iron Age belief.

Hats off to Bill Nye!