The Discovery Institute has been going Eclipse Crazy

I've been reading their 'coverage' of the upcoming Solar Eclipse and it's been very entertaining.  While their posts start out OK, they quickly have to being a Creationist spin to the party, but not much of it.  That's the funny part.  All of these posts are over at their pseudo-blog site, Evolution 'news' and Views (EnV).

• The Great American Total Solar Eclipse of 2017: They say this:
  "Oh yes, we will also cover the intelligent design aspects of solar eclipses!"
• Great American Eclipse: A Teachable Moment:  Lists 10 things about eclipses, all from their 'design' perspective.  Reading this led me to believe they will be working in their 'Privileged Planet' nonsense.  You remember how they tried to explain that the formation of the solar system and the position of Earth was done so that life could survive, well after it was first created by one of their deities.  Bet they interview Guillermo Gonzales, unless he's cowering under a desk somewhere because of the:
  ". . . total solar eclipses are fearsome and awesome phenomena . . ."

Now here is where I got a little confused.  You see EnV tags all their posts, and while these first two tags are "Intelligent Design", the later Eclipse stories are tagged as "Physics, Earth, and Space".  Here's a screenshot:

So are they reneging on their promise to thrill us all with their Intelligent Design perspective on the eclipse?  I guess we shall see.  

• Recalling the 1979 Total Eclipse:  Is a written memory of an eclipse witness.  Nothing design worthy, but I can see why the DI liked it, I mean they like anything that acknowledges a deity, and this ended with:
"We blinked in the light It was as though an enormous, loping god in the sky had reached down and slapped the earth’s face."So that reference alone made this post 'design-worthy'.
• Eclipse Coincidences: They list a few things that sound suspiciously like facts, like the distance to the Moon, how the Moon is receding from the Earth, how over the course of time the Sum will expand . . . we're talking millions of years here.  The DI claims that the 'coincidental' Moon moving away and Sun getting bigger will let us enjoy perfect eclipses for a long, long time.  Then they add:
  "Are these just coincidences, or do they point to intention and design? How could observers on earth be linked to total solar eclipses? Stay tuned and follow our eclipse series for answers."A 'perfect eclipse' is one only visible from Earth because the sun and the moon are a 'perfect' fit.  Of course, by the wording, you know what they believe.  They very idea of a coincidence is an anathema to them.  It has to be intention and design!
• Solar Eclipses Still Inspire Science: And here we have it, the whole "Privileged Planet" nonsense.  Yes, things exist, but trying to rationalize they exist because one deity intended for them to happen is not science.  They offer no support other than supposition, no evidence other than the acknowledgement that things exist.  They cannot accept natural explanations, so they have to force reality into a mold that demands the existence of and very specific actions by a deity.  I'm sure it will get mentioned again, ad nauseum!  They end it with this quote from the film:
  "Our argument suggests something completely different. It suggests that the universe was intended, that the universe exists for a purpose, and that purpose isn’t simply for beings like us to exist, but for us to extend ourselves beyond our small and parochial home: to view the universe at large, to discover the universe, and to consider whether, perhaps, that universe points beyond itself."
  Isn't that dead horse glue yet?  No!  Well. let's beat it some more.
• To Go, or Not to Go (See the Eclipse)? That Is the Question:  Well, it's a question, not 'the' question.  I, for one, will not be going anywhere.  I'll get a small partial eclipse here in Ohio and will see the shadow from my office window.  If I were closer to the total eclipse, it might be worth a drive, but I have plans for my vacation days that don't include an 8 or so hour drive to see a two minute event that will be covered over and over again by the news.  Partial eclipse is just going to have to be enough.  Nothing special about this post.  Anyone who has planned a trip anywhere for any purpose knows about dealing with the logistics, including lodging, meals, traffic, and weather.  I do have to wonder if the eclipse is some message from a deity, shouldn't the weather be perfectly clear all along its path?  The message gets a little lost if you can't see much of it.  You want to prove the hand of a deity, how about a total solar eclipse around the entire world all at the same time!  Now that might get a few converts.
• The Best Solar Eclipses:  Best?  By what standard?  The DI seems to think eclipses anywhere but here aren't very special because of the size differences between the Sun and the object casting the shadow.  Other planets have total solar eclipses as well, in fact Jupiter, with it's 60+ moon can have multiple ones on the same day (NASA has pictures).  'Best' is an arbitrary distinction that doesn't mean much.  We even have pictures of a solar eclipse from Mars, the Curiosity Rover sent us the pics.  This 'best' things sounds like something that hamster-haired serial lying misogynist would say "We get the best solar eclipses in the solar system, by far!"  Makes as much sense as anything he has said.
• Don’t Miss the Solar Eclipse! (Unless You Are Ill, or Trapped in a Dungeon): Here's a quote:
  "Have you noticed the odd coincidence? The Moon and the Sun aren’t much alike. Yes, they’re spherical. But one is a giant ball of gas and plasma. The other is a much smaller rock. And yet, during a total eclipse, they mark off the same space in our sky. They match. That’s because the Sun is about four hundred times larger than our Moon, but also about four hundred times farther away."
  Gee, they are round and for a brief period of time they pass each other in line with the Earth.  So they 'match'?  Really?  Now if the math seems off to you, the DI is talking about diameter, not any other measurement.  Area or Volume and the Moon is pretty much insignificant when compared to the Sun.  The DI thinks it's special simply because it will block out much of the Sun's body.  But that will be changing, remember the Moon is moving away form the Earth and in about 600 million years, solar eclipses will look very different.  In a few billion years the sun will be expanding, and eclipses, if we have a moon then at all, will be very, very different by then.
• Solar Eclipses and Life:
  "Since there appears to be a physical basis for the solar eclipse coincidences, does this not remove the need for a design explanation? Not at all! It seems surprising on the chance hypothesis that the universe would be setup in a way that the most habitable locations would also be the best places to observe total solar eclipses. But this makes sense on the hypothesis that the universe is designed so that observers can enjoy total solar eclipses.
  Thus, solar eclipses became the first example of the Privileged Planet thesis (published in book form in 2004), that the universe is designed for scientific observation and discovery."
  The fact that solar eclipses occur, and that because they occur here and are visible to humans is an example of the Privileged Plant Thesis?  The link takes you to the Privileged Planet website where they hawk the book.  So what is this thesis?  For a change, at least, they are admitting it's a thesis, which is nothing more than a statement or theory that is put forward as a premise to be maintained or proved.  Which simply means more conjecture and wishful thinking, not proof, not empirical support, but just a statement that would like someone else to support -- because in the 13 years since publication, nothing has actually supported it.

OK, so in all their posts, and I am sure there will be more before the 21st, there is very little design perspective in their 'coverage' of the upcoming eclipse.  It's more like they are using a natural event to push their own agenda, while dressing it up to sound like they know and understand real science.

I am reminded of a scene in an old movie, A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court.  The Bing Crosby one from 1949.  He's about the be hung and remembers that an eclipse was going to happen right then and there.  So he plays up the fear as the sun disappears and wins the day, and eventually the fair maiden -- well sort of.  Apparently that story was taken from a real-life example of none-other-than Christopher Columbus on his 4th voyage.

Even Answer in Genesis is getting into the act with a bunch of posts of their own.  Before you explore that, you might read this one from 2015.  "Watch the Lunar Eclipse from the Creation Museum"  Here's a quote:

"It’s your last opportunity to see a total lunar eclipse from North America until 2018. And we want to invite you to watch the whole thing with us at the Creation Museum! On September 27, around 9:07 PM, we’ll see the moon start to slip into the moon’s shadow and it will be completely hidden a few hours later."

So back in 2015 there was a Lunar eclipse and the Creation pseudo-museum threw a party.  I have to guess it wasn't a big hit because they aren't holding an event this time around.  Granted you wouldn't get to see the total solar eclipse at the pseudo-museum, but you would get a decent partial one.

Since using eclipses' is a time-honored tradition both in movies and real life, I am surprised little kennie ham isn't selling tickets.The one in 2015 was $16 a person, imagine what he could charge today?