Posted on 09/23/2005 5:18:19 PM PDT by PatrickHenry
The trial in Kitzmiller v. Dover, the first legal challenge to the constitutionality of teaching "intelligent design" in the public schools, is scheduled to begin in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, on September 26, 2005, and the media are already focusing attention on the case. As the York Dispatch (September 23, 2005) reports, journalists from The New York Times, the Washington Post, the Chicago Tribune, and National Public Radio have already reserved space in the courtroom; Court TV sought but was denied permission to televise the trial. Paula Knudsen of the ACLU remarked, "It's the first time ["intelligent design"] has ever been in a curriculum, so whatever happens will be of interest ... It's a debate ... about religion's place in society and that more than anything I think gets people fired up."
Speaking to the Wall Street Journal (September 22, 2005), NCSE executive director Eugenie C. Scott commented, "The results of the Dover trial will be extremely significant for American public school education ... If the judge rules in favor of the plaintiffs, then this will truly throw sand in the gears of efforts to get intelligent design taught at the high school level." But, she warned, "If the judge rules ... for the district, I think this will give a green light to school districts that would like to introduce some form of creationism in the classroom." Bryan Rehm, a plaintiff in the case, also offered his assessment: "If the school board gets it in its favor, we've got one more place in the country where kids aren't getting an acceptable science education ... And if we win, the school board gets stuck footing the bill."
New Scientist's story (September 23, 2005) noted that the plaintiffs will argue that "intelligent design" is simply "a religious belief that masquerades as science to sidestep a 1987 Supreme Court ruling that outlawed the teaching of creationism in schools." Comparing the "intelligent design" textbook Of Pandas and People, first published in 1989, with pre-1987 drafts of the book, Witold Walczak of the ACLU explained, "It's identical except for where it says creationism it now says intelligent design." (Of Pandas and People is central to the case, because the oral disclaimer required by the Dover Area School Board specifically recommends the book "for students who might be interested in gaining an understanding of what Intelligent Design actually involves"; copies of the book were anonymously donated in bulk to the school district.)
Information about the Kitzmiller trial is available from NCSE, the ACLU, Americans United for Separation of Church and State, and the court itself.
restoration bump.
Please restore this thread to News/Activism where it belongs. There's a big trial coming up on Monday re: the Dover, PA school board's decision to promote intelligent design. It's getting increasing coverage in the news, and it'll only get bigger on Monday.
I've been waiting for this. The crevos are finally going to get shut down.
Who exactly are the crevos?
DI-types and their running dogs who want to turn science class into a bible study.
These threads have been called crevo as an abbreviation for creation/evolution. Maybe you mean creo. It's all internet slang anyway.
*ugh* You're right, my mistake. It's too early here.
Your point is well taken; this thread is extremely topical; the one you reference is some drivel written in 1999.
Clearly there's a mistake in putting that screed in NEWS/Activism, and relegating this thread to the blog forum. My guess is that early in the life of a thread, if complaints are made, the MODS make a determination of whether or not to move the thread to a different forum, and once made, rightly or wrongly, they are loathe to revisit the decision. While we may not agree with that decision in every instance, we should be cognizant that they have to make that call on probably dozens if not hundreds of threads every day, and no wonder they don't want to get into the business of second guessing decisions.
In the big scheme of things, it matters not: 99% of the threads Evos post from reputable news sources stay in News/Activism, as they should. Conversely, most of the threads posted by anti-science lunatics published on anti-science websites and personal blogs end up in bloggervile, as THEY should. Tomorrow, there will be no shortage of new topical news articles about the Dover case which can be rightfully posted to News/Activism.
You're right, this thread deserves to be in News/Activism, but there are bigger fish to fry.... DarwinCentral has advised via FLASH TRAFFIC on the low frequency TORTOISE NET circuit that we are to move on and continue the battle on other threads. Set your Decoder rings to "FINCH 9" and await further orders.....
They'd find this fascinating.
Hey, this thread is back in News/Activism. Yay!
Vindicatory bttt
Ah, the mods have come through. All it takes is patience. And a few good people requesting that an error be rectified.
Thank you.
This is a time for humility. The hand of Providence has protected us once more.
Now there's the matter of SeaLion ...
Has there been a popular outcry for your creation story from the school district patrons? Was there a peculiar aspect to your mother's labor pains that made your particular creation story of unusual curiosity or interest otherwise?
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