Wednesday, June 18, 2008

Looks Like the Next Dover will be in Louisiana

The Lousiana Senate has passed the bogus Academic Freedom bill, and now it sits on Governor and vice presidential contender Bobby Jindal's desk awaiting a sure signature. Let the governor know your displeasure with this scam.

This sets up the first Louisiana school district that allows religious material into a science class, most likely something from the Intelligent Design crew who is behind the bill, for a Doverlike fiasco of a lawsuit. This would be a tragedy, since the cost of the suit will likely fall entirely on the shoulders of the duped school district in question, and not the ID proponents who are ultimately responsible. Our school districts are strapped enough for cash as it is, they certainly don't need this.

In the bigger political picture, this will have interesting implications. If McCain makes Jindal his VP, it will certainly endear him to the fundamentalist base, but it risks alienating the center where this election is going to be won. So far creationism has not sold well in this election.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

"This sets up the first Louisiana school district that allows religious material into a science class,"

Like what?
Perhaps you can link to the text of the bill?

ScienceAvenger said...

Like Intelligent Design of course, or any of the purely religiously motivated and scientifically fraudulent "strengths and weaknesses of evolutionary theory". The IDers will assure the school district that their materials qualify under the bill (which specifically excludes promoting religious beliefs), and the naive district will believe them. Then the lawsuit will come, Dembski and company will once again bravely run away, and leave the school district and its taxpayers with the bill after the court rules (again) that ID is religion, not science.

Hopefully we who fully understand this scam will get to them first, but I am not optimistic. I would also never be happier to be proved wrong. Time will tell.