An Angus Reid poll, released a week ago, shows that 42% of Canadians actually believe humans and dinosaurs co-existed. Another 21% “aren’t sure”. Particularly shameful is that the province with the greatest urban population (Ontario) is also the most fucking stupid. We’re a place right out of history. Other gems from the A-R poll (PDF alert):

In November 2000, Canadian Alliance leader Stockwell Day—who currently serves as Canada’s public safety minister—said there is “scientific proof” that early man co-existed with dinosaurs. Day rejected criticism of his views, declaring, “If you’re looking for dinosaur politics, you need to look at the Liberals.”

Dumb as a box of hair, sure, but looks hot on a jet-ski, no? Non-Canadian readers may be amused to note that Day, a longtime opponent of abortion and gay rights, was also an advocate for a peculiar form of “direct democracy”, in which any group could force a national referendum by getting 3% of the population to sign a petition. This Hour Has 22 Minutes‘ Rick Mercer then handily acquired the requisite signatures for a referendum in which Canadians would vote for Stockwell Day to change his name to “Doris”. It was a high-water mark for Canadian political satire.

Anyway, in other dickweasel conservative politician news, former leader of the opposition Preston Manning, swollen with the sort of religious indignation possessed by those who have neither an awareness of their own intellectual limitations nor of the staggering intellect of the truly brilliant, decided to embarrass himself by writing a smarmy, illogical response to Richard Dawkins’ The God Delusion in last week’s Globe and Mail:

I conclude by suggesting that the proponents of faith and the proponents of science should agree on at least one vital point: The rights of human beings to freedom of conscience and expression should never again nor in the future be abrogated in the name of either faith or science. Do you agree?

And, of course, Manning makes the mistake — though he’s far from solitary in this regard — of actually believing that because science and religion both exist, they are therefore equivalent. They are not. But that’s just one of the howlers from his essay.

The last word must, of course, go to Dr. Dawkins, whose blunt assessment of these two fools is, typically, as bulletproof as his writing:

“Preston Manning’s suggestion that I want to take children away from their parents and deprive them of their heritage may be libellous, but I really can’t be bothered to find out. Manning’s article is interesting only as an indication of how desperately panicked religious apologists of his kind are becoming.”

“[Stockwell Day] is a cabinet minister?” Dr. Dawkins says incredulously, ordering me to make note of his rolling eyes. “Tell him his belief is equivalent to believing that the width of North America, from shall we say New York to San Francisco, is 7.8 yards - that’s the scale of the error he’s buying into. This man is the minister responsible for security? He’s clearly a complete idiot - or ignorant, anyway. Ignorance by itself is no crime, but ignorance in a cabinet minister is.”