After a slightly uncomfortable lunch–during which I was informed that an ultra-conservative who sits on our board might be attending our upcoming business trip to Chicago–I was reminded of many of the points Charles Pierce raises in his latest article for Esquire “Welcome To Idiot America.”

Fights over evolution—and its faddish new camouflage, intelligent design, a pseudoscience that posits without proof or method that science is inadequate to explain existence and that supernatural causes must be considered—roil up school districts across the country. The president of the United States announces that he believes ID ought to be taught in the public schools on an equal footing with the theory of evolution. And in Dover, Pennsylvania, during one of these many controversies, a pastor named Ray Mummert delivers the line that both ends our tour and, in every real sense, sums it up:

“We’ve been attacked,” he says, “by the intelligent, educated segment of the culture.”

I often wonder how these people avoid shame at using their brains for anything. The article is an affirming read for anyone with half a brain, and might make some others uncomfortable. Good I say. Not what I’d expect from Esquire, and I applaud them for running it. (Found on MeFi)