That other School Board Member with strange views

I have a like/dislike relationship with Joe Messina, elected Hart Board member, local radio personality, and all round good guy. 

I love the fact that Joe Messina dishes on local Republicans and isn't afraid to voice his views on Facebook, his blog, or his radio show. Joe is not a careful politician, and in an age of polished pols with focus-group tested messages, Joe Messina stands out for his frankness. Hell, I even voted for him, he was such a breath of fresh air!

The dislike part of my relationship involves his actual message. It's sad but true; what makes Joe authentic is also the thing that makes me kind of frightened that he's actually an elected official. Indeed, when he's not writing illuminating posts on Facebook about internal SCV politics, he's taking to his blog to complain about second-hand accounts of bestiality being taught to grade school kids in some other state, claims that any rational person would take with a grain of salt, or spend a few minutes tracking down to find that they are often false, exaggerated, or just silly misinterpretations.

But for Joe, they are gospel. And such horror stories are proof that not only is American civilization in decline, but that there is an immense battle underway between the forces of Secular Humanism and good ol' fashioned American Conservatism. And, in this battle, Joe views himself as an active combatant.

He is the SCV's own Glenn Beck. You're kind of fond of him for making something of himself, you admire his success in life, and you want him to have his say, but his actual views are quite frankly, frightening. He's like a walking, talking, breathing conservative id; what flows from that id is disorganized, often contradictory and seeks immediate gratification & validation; Messina's conservative id is, as Freud called it, "a chaos, a cauldron full of seething excitations." 

Tomorrow we'll see another piece of Joe Messina's id that, uncharacteristically, he's been careful to hide up until this point. Yes, we all know he worries about schools teaching bestiality or building gender-neutral bathrooms, but tomorrow, we'll get to see the real Joe Messina on the topic of science and evolution. Today he announced a special guest for his radio program tomorrow:

Yep. You're reading that right. On June 25, 2013, Hart District Board member Joe Messina, in his role as a radio host, will bring to the SCV a 21st century version of the Scopes Monkey trial.

Evolution is on trial in Joe's mind; it's not settled science, which is why he's hosting a (Young/Old?) earth creationist on tomorrow's program. I looked up this Dr to see his background, and while he holds a Doctorate, it's not in biology, evolutionary biology, physical anthropology or bio-chemistry, he's an orthopedic surgeon. Which means, from the get-go, there's a logical flaw to this program (appeal to authority fallacy, look it up) even as the good Dr. will attempt to explain the logical fallacy of evolution. 

In any event, there you have Joe Messina in a nutshell. He's a good and decent man, his work on the Hart District hasn't been remarkable or even controversial, but on the inside, he is waging a battle to take us all back to simpler times (the 1950s perhaps, or maybe the 20s, I don't know what conservatives ultimately want) and every once in awhile, he shows his true colors. Keep this in mind the next time he runs for public office. 

Tune in tomorrow on your AM Radio Dial to KHTS 1220 to hear -in 2013 no less!- how evolution is false, courtesy of our School Board member Joe Messina.