Another Florida school board to consider resolution against Darwinian dogmatism

The Florida Citizens for Science blog reports that the Bay District School Board in Bay County, Florida, will at its coming Wednesday meeting consider a resolution against the current proposed state science standards that call for dogmatic teaching of Darwiinism. The email addresses of the school board members and the superintendent are:

mccalje@bay.k12.fl.us,
sabispg@bay.k12.fl.us,
brockjl@bay.k12.fl.us,
littllt@bay.k12.fl.us,
mcfatjt@bay.k12.fl.us,
allendm@bay.k12.fl.us

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Highlands County school board cops out

A Feb. 7 news article reported that the Highlands County school board in Florida failed to pass a resolution opposing the proposed state science standards on evolution education. Previous news articles -- here and here -- reported that all five school board members were leaning towards passing such a resolution. The school board has no credibility. I could understand one or two members being persuaded to change their minds -- but more? There were two different proposed resolutions and the board did not vote on either of them, and the board did not even discuss the resolutions after the public testimony. Well, as Sir Thomas More said in the play "A Man for All Seasons," silence betokens consent, not denial. LOL

According to the Feb. 7 news article, there were 10 public speakers opposed to the resolutions. Florida Citizens for Science said that there was one public speaker in favor of the resolutions, but this public speaker is not mentioned in the news article. The underrepresentation of pro-resolution speakers was probably a factor in the defeat of the resolutions. Another factor was that email addresses of the board members were not posted, making it difficult for supporters of the resolutions to send in opinions.

The Feb. 7 news article said,

The original resolution the school board considered states, "the State Board of Education is urged strongly to direct the Florida Department of Education to revise the new Sunshine State Standards for Science such that the "Big Bang" theory and evolution shall be presented only as two of several theories in the study of science."

School Board Chairman J. Ned Hancock suggested an alternative resolution, which was prepared shortly before Tuesday's meeting, that stated, "the board urges the State Board of Education to direct the Florida Department of Education to revise the new Sunshine State Standards for Science to allow for balanced, objective and intellectually open instruction in regard to evolution, teaching the scientific strengths and weaknesses of the theory rather than teaching evolution as dogmatic fact."

The alternative resolution, which as I noted also failed to pass, says nothing about other theories -- it only asks that the new state standards "allow" the teaching of scientific weaknesses of evolution. The Darwinists are not only saying that scientific weaknesses of evolution are not known now, but are also saying that such weaknesses are not going to be found in the future. It's like Judge Jones' following ruling in the Kitzmiller v. Dover decision, inter alia: "we will enter an order permanently enjoining Defendants . . . . from requiring teachers to denigrate or disparage the scientific theory of evolution . . " He was not only ruling against Intelligent Design but was also ruling against criticisms of Darwinism that he had not even considered. The Darwinists have inaugurated a reign of terror where some Darwinists themselves -- like some of the leaders in the Reign of Terror in the French Revolution -- will become victims. Darwinian dogma will become so rigid that even unorthodox versions of the dogma -- e.g., punctuated equilibrium -- will not be tolerated.

On the bright side: apparently no Florida county school board has yet passed a resolution supporting the proposed state science standards and around a dozen have passed resolutions in opposition.

Chalk up another Pyrrhic victory for the Darwinists.
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Florida update

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The Florida Citizens for Science reported that as of Jan. 31, 11 Florida county school boards had passed resolutions opposing the proposed Florida science standards' requirement that Darwinism be taught dogmatically. The FCS incorrectly stated for each of these Florida school boards, "the school board passed a formal resolution against the inclusion of evolution in the state science standards. " In all cases where I have seen a board’s actual resolution or read a media report about a resolution, the board did not say that it doesn’t want evolution to be taught at all. Many, maybe even all of the resolutions passed unanimously -- FCS does not mention any dissenting votes.

Futile efforts to keep these resolutions from spreading are keeping the Florida Citizens for Science busier than the proverbial one-legged man trying to stomp out a fire in a powder magazine.

The Pandas Thumb blog claims that one county school board, Brevard County's, supports the proposed standards, but there is no evidence of that. Quoting a Florida Today news article, Panda's Thumb says,
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Superintendent Richard DiPatri said the change wouldn’t make a difference in Brevard Public Schools, where evolution already is taught and the curriculum is aligned with national science education standards . . . .

Ginger Davis, a science resource teacher for the Brevard district, said students participate in labs where theories of evolution can be proven.

“Evolutions is much more than just that one little piece of Darwin,” she said. “It is a fundamental scientific concept that you can observe in a lab, but people tend to want to focus on that little narrow piece.”

She said that in science, a theory is much like a law. Theories have to stand the test of time, and it’s more about observable trends than schools of thought, Davis said.

Interpreting that as school board support for the new science standards is wishful thinking.

A news article in the News Leader, a weekly Florida newspaper, says,

This language is proposed in draft revisions to Sunshine State Standards for science, evolution and diversity being considered for various grades by the state.

~~ Kindergarten: "Observe and describe . . . .

~~ Second: "Differentiate . . . . . .

~~ 12th: "Explain how evolution is demonstrated by the fossil record, extinction, comparative anatomy, comparative embryology, biogeography, molecular biology (crosscuts with Earth/space), and observed evolutionary change; discuss the use of molecular clocks to estimate how long ago various groups of organisms diverged evolutionarily from one another; explain the reasons for changes in how organisms are classified; compare and contrast organisms at kingdom level; discuss distinguishing characteristics of major kingdoms, . . . Express scientific explanations of the origin of life on Earth."

There is nothing in there specifically about the weaknesses of evolution theory. It might be possible to squeeze some of these weaknesses in under the standard, "Express scientific explanations of the origin of life on Earth."

The News Leader article also said,

The Nassau County School Board will ask state education officials to revise science standards "so that evolution is not presented as fact" . . .

. . . . Board members voted unanimously Thursday to adopt the resolution recommended by Schools Superintendent John Ruis . . .

Board members Gail Cook and Janet Adkins asked the superintendent to forward the resolution to the Florida Legislature, in addition to the state board of education.

"I was hoping they had heard enough" from the public "that we wouldn't have to do this," Cook said.

The state board will meet Feb. 19 in Tallahassee to consider the science standards.

Maybe one reason why the state board and the legislature have not "heard enough" from the public is that there have been 11 politically correct newspaper editorials that support the new standards and apparently no newspaper editorials that are opposed (see this and this), and this perhaps gives the false impression that public support for the proposed standards is overwhelming.

The controversy must really be heating up in Florida, because the SiteMeter for Florida Citizens for Science shows what must be some of the biggest spikes (see this and this) in website visits in American history -- from under 200 visits per day on Jan. 4-6 to over 10,000 visits on Jan. 11, and from 2,745 visits per month or less for Feb.-Oct. 07 to 33,731 visits for Jan. 08 and 19,643 visits for Dec. 07.
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Darwinist petition supports proposed FL science standards

The Darwinists have posted an online petition supporting the proposed Florida science education standards:

A PETITION TO THE FLORIDA BOARD OF EDUCATION FOR ADOPTION OF REVISED PUBLIC SCHOOL SCIENCE EDUCATION STANDARDS.
FEBRUARY 2008

The petition, which is full of the usual "whereas's," says,
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WHEREAS: The current Sunshine State Science Education Standards have received an ‘F’ from the Thomas B. Fordham Foundation while the proposed revised standards have been graded excellent by one of the scientists who previously authored the report that gave Florida its failing grade.

The Fordham Foundation's (or Institute's) report on state science standards has no credibility. Even though evolution education counts for only 3 points out of a maximum possible 69 points in the Fordham science standards rating system, Fordham threatened to drop Ohio's overall grade from a B to an F just because of the Ohio evolution lesson plan. The Fordham report has vague criteria for rating the science standards (e.g., expectations, purpose, audience; quality; seriousness), and the report's ratings are subjective and arbitrary and have no correlation with student performance. Paul R. Gross, chief author of the report, is a Darwinist bigot who co-authored Creationism's Trojan Horse, a book claiming that critics of Darwinism are conspiring to turn the USA into a fundy-type theocracy. There is no connection to Fordham U., which should sue the Fordham Foundation (or Institute) for trademark infringement.

WHEREAS: The revised standards address the scientific theory of evolution without equivocation or the introduction of nonscientific notions.

Many Darwinists admit that Darwinism has weaknesses and say that scientists are working on resolving those weaknesses. The new Florida science standards imply that the weaknesses don't exist at all.

Evolution is the central organizing concept that allows us to understand all biological sciences from medicine to forestry to entomology

There we go again with that "grand central supreme overarching underlying unifying principle of biology" stuff.

and its principles are the theoretical basis that underlies major advances in all biological fields

Baloney.

Students must understand the current state of the science to be part of an informed citizenry.

I agree -- but they should understand the weaknesses as well as the strengths of Darwinism.

WHEREAS: The economy of Florida requires the foundation of well educated citizens in order to compete and prosper within global competition.

A knowledge of Darwinism is required for relatively few high-tech jobs and a belief in Darwinism is required for none. Anyway, I am not aware of anyone who is seriously proposing that Darwinism not be taught at all.
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Another victory in Florida

I recently reported that the Nassau County school board in Florida was going to vote on a resolution opposing the dogmatic teaching of Darwinism. Florida Citizens for Science now reports that the resolution passed unanimously and that a total of ten Florida school boards have now passed such resolutions. I previously reported that two other county school boards in Florida passed similar resolutions unanimously.

Judge Jones, whose Dover opinion said, inter alia, "we will enter an order permanently enjoining Defendants . . . from requiring teachers to denigrate or disparage the scientific theory of evolution," must be having conniption fits.

I predict that what is going to happen is that the Florida state board of education will just drop the most controversial language from the proposed new standards for science education.

Dire warnings that universities and businesses are going to discriminate against Florida and Floridians are unfounded. Universities compete very hard for the best students and are not going to discriminate against top students from Florida just because the Florida state science standards are not sufficiently pro-Darwinist. And businesses have many other far more important factors to consider in deciding where they are going to locate.

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News articles about evolution controversy in Florida

The articles are here, here, here, and here.

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Two Florida county school boards unanimously oppose Darwinian dogmatism

This article in Panda's Thumb reports that two county school boards in Florida -- in Clay and St. Johns Counties -- have unanimously passed resolutions opposing proposed language for the state science standards that calls for the dogmatic teaching of Darwinism (unfortunately, the St. Johns county school board did not put the resolution on the agenda in advance -- that would be illegal under California's Brown Act). It has been estimated that up to 12 Florida county school boards have passed such resolutions. Judge Jones must be having a conniption fit.

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Darwinists' obsession with religion

Darwinists have this crazy idea that the main or even the sole cause of Darwin-doubting is that Darwinism conflicts with religious beliefs. This crazy idea is advocated by an op-ed in the Austin American-Statesman.

The main cause of Darwin-doubting is that people do not find Darwinism to be credible. Geocentrism -- like creationism -- is in the bible, but geocentrism is unacceptable to most religious people because the evidence against it is strong.

The op-ed says,
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The age-old, simmering conflict between science and religion is threatening to boil over in Texas with the usual battle lines being drawn around evolutionary biology and public education science standards. Here's a thought: Instead of a long and potentially bitter stand-off between science advocates and creationist proponents, why doesn't Texas skip that mess and go straight to a reasonable compromise? Instead of arguing about fossils, radiometric dating methods or constitutional law, I'd ask those skeptical of evolution what better natural evidence for the brilliance of a Creator could there be than myriad complex processes unfolding over billions of years through countless steps in exquisite order spanning the entire cosmos?

That is not a "reasonable compromise" -- that is not even a compromise at all. That is a completely one-sided endorsement of Darwinism.

The article then describes the Kitzmiller v. Dover decision as a "blistering rebuke against Intelligent Design Creationism." For crying out loud, this was just a decision of a single judge, and a stupid, biased judge at that. The Dover opinion's ID-as-science section was ghostwritten by the ACLU and Judge Jones showed extreme prejudice against the defendants by saying in a commencement speech that his decision was based on his notion that the Founders based the establishment clause on a belief that organized religions are not "true" religions.

The op-ed then says,

We could discuss the Constitution, most especially our cherished Bill of Rights, which wisely forbids government from taking sides in a purely religious debate.

No, it is not a "purely religious debate." There is nothing in the bible about irreducible complexity, random mutation, bacterial flagella, co-evolution, etc..

The Roman Catholic Church accepts the age of the universe and the validity of evolution. Similar statements have been made by the United Methodist Church, the American Jewish Congress, the United Presbyterian Church, and many others.

So far as I know, the Catholic church does not accept the idea of unguided evolution. Cardinal Christophe Schoenborn, chief editor of the Catholic catechism, is an especially vocal critic of Darwinism. Orthodox Jews tend to be especially hostile towards Darwinism. The op-ed does not mention Islam, which also opposes Darwinism.

And for the faithful who carefully and honestly study the fascinating bounty of scientific evidence, there can be only one liberating conclusion: God is one hell of a scientist, and He's not exactly a bad engineer either.

Anyone who knows anything about anatomy and physiology knows that god is one hell of a bad engineer.
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Backlash against dogmatization of Florida evolution education

The Darwinists thought that the "creationists" and "fundies" -- as they call those opposed to dogmatic teaching of evolution in the public schools -- were going to roll over and play dead after a stupid, biased judge in Pennsylvania ruled that criticism of evolution is unscientific. Well, events around the country since that ruling have shown otherwise. Opposition to the dogmatization of evolution education is especially strong in Florida. it has been reported that 12 Florida school boards have passed resolutions opposed to the dogmatic teaching of Darwinism.

Though the Darwinists have long had the upper hand in science education, they are not satisfied with the status quo but are trying to make evolution education more dogmatic. I don't even remember studying Darwinism in high school biology class in California in the early 1960's. We certainly didn't get any of this "grand central supreme overarching underlying fundamental unifying principle of biology" crap. Darwinism was just not seen as being all that important. What's the big problem with teaching the weaknesses of Darwinism? It seems that it is mainly the Darwinists who are demanding that their side be taught dogmatically.

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Why the secrecy about Comer ouster?

Ousting Chris Comer has backfired -- she has become a Darwinist martyr. Why did they want to get rid of her anyway? She was obviously powerless -- she couldn't even keep her job. And why all the secrecy about her ouster? The Texans for Science Education Texas Citizens for Science reported, "Chris was forced to agree to a public non-disclosure or no-comment policy regarding her termination from TEA" (I wonder how the TSE got this confidential information). Also, initially, the information for the Austin American-Statesman articles that first exposed the story was obtained through the Freedom of Information Act. I wonder why the anti-Darwinists in the TEA did not want to brag to the world about their great victory in ousting her for what appears to be a relatively minor offense.

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Did Texas Education Agency overreact to Comer's email?

First we had the Dover Trap -- and now we have the Comer Trap!

As a result of the Chris Comer affair, I decided to subscribe to what I believe is the email list that Comer used to inform members of the public about the Barbara Forrest lecture -- though I am not sure. There is a blacked-out email address on the published copy of Comer's email and I presume that this address is that of this list. The email list's address is SCIENCE@LIST.TETN.NET and it is now being distributed by Irene Pickhardt (Irene.Pickhardt@TEA.STATE.TX.US), the Assistant Director of Science of the Texas Education Agency.

I just got my first email from the list. It includes an announcement of a lecture about global warming titled, "Beyond Science: The Economics and Politics of Responding to Climate Change" (the announcement is reproduced below). Like evolution, global warming is a controversial subject, even though the lecture appears to be mainly about responding to alleged global warming rather than about the existence, magnitude, and causes of global warming (in the same way, the Forrest lecture was mainly about politics and not about science). So IMO by the TEA "neutrality" standard used against Comer's announcement of Forrest's lecture, this announcement of a global warming lecture should also have not been distributed by the TEA.

IMO the TEA should either send out announcements of all public events related to science (along with a disclaimer saying that there is no TEA endorsement) or send out none. Picking and choosing which announcements to send out amounts to censorship of the announcements not sent out. Examples of public events related to science are the Discovery Institute's "Darwin v. Design" conferences, Richard Weikart's "Darwin to Hitler" lectures, and the "Answers In Genesis" lectures and conferences. IMO the TEA should even announce an Aryan Nations lecture claiming that Darwinism proves that non-Aryans are inferior, because no one could reasonably claim that the TEA endorses such a lecture.

The ouster of Chris Comer has completely backfired. I suspect that TEA gave her a lot of hush money to keep quiet about the circumstances of her departure, but then a muckraking newpaper, the Austin American-Statesman, upset the applecart by publishing confidential information obtained by the Freedom of Information Act.

Below is a copy of the announcement of the lecture about global warming:

--Beyond Science: The Economics and Politics of Responding to Climate Change
On behalf of the James A. Baker III Institute for Public Policy, the Energy & Environmental Systems Institute and the Shell Center for Sustainability, you are cordially invited to our upcoming conference:
Beyond Science: The Economics and Politics of Responding to
Climate Change
Saturday, February 9, 2008
James A. Baker III Hall
Rice University, Houston, TX
Registration at 7:30am
Closing Remarks and Reception at 6:00pm
The conference will bring together leaders committed to educating the public about the impact of global warming and discuss their experiences in crafting public policy in this area. In particular, we will focus on such issues as the economics of climate change, the costs and benefits of mitigation strategies, the role of emerging technologies, and the politics of international, national and subnational response strategies.

For more information and to register, please go to www.bakerinstitute.org/climatechange.cfm. For additional questions, email stpolicy@rice.edu or las1@rice.edu.

This event represents a collaboration at the Baker Institute between the Science and Technology Policy Program, the Energy Forum and the Health Economics Program.

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Chris Comer's "best butter" argument

The "best butter" story from the Mad Hatter's Tea Party in Alice in Wonderland is one of my favorite parables. I am really surprised that the term "best butter" has not become a standard expression in the English language. I Googled the term "best butter" and nothing about the Mad Hatter's Tea Party turned up. I have to explain my meaning of the term each time I use it. Basically, the story ridicules the idea that it is OK to break a rule just for what speciously seems to be a "good" reason (but is not a good reason at all). Here is the "best butter" story:
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The Hatter was the first to break the silence. `What day of the month is it?' he said, turning to Alice: he had taken his watch out of his pocket, and was looking at it uneasily, shaking it every now and then, and holding it to his ear.

Alice considered a little, and then said `The fourth.'

`Two days wrong!' sighed the Hatter. `I told you butter wouldn't suit the works!' he added looking angrily at the March Hare.

`It was the BEST butter,' the March Hare meekly replied.

`Yes, but some crumbs must have got in as well,' the Hatter grumbled: `you shouldn't have put it in with the bread-knife.'

The March Hare took the watch and looked at it gloomily: then he dipped it into his cup of tea, and looked at it again: but he could think of nothing better to say than his first remark, `It was the BEST butter, you know.'

I am not saying that there is never a good reason to break a rule. I remember the story of a football player who was big for his age when he was growing up. When he was 11 years old, his father tried to enroll him in Pop Warner football. The coach told the father, "we have a rule. A kid's got to be 13." The father asked the coach, "have you seen him?" The coach took one look at the kid and said, "we've just changed the rule." The reason for breaking the rule here was clearly a good one and there is a clearcut, objective distinction between big and little kids, unlike Wickedpedia's arbitrary and capricious distinction between "notable" and "crappy" blogs.

Anyway, on to Chris Comer. The National Center for Science Education says,

Comer herself appeared on NPR's "Science Friday" on December 7, 2007, relating her story to the show's host, Ira Flatow. After receiving the e-mail announcing Forrest's talk, she said, "you know, I had a half minute and I said, gee, this is really interesting. And then, I looked up the credential on my computer, I Googled Barbara Forrest and I said, oh my goodness, this is quite a credential[ed] speaker. And then I thought to myself -- you know, I'm telling my biology teachers almost on a weekly basis, teach the curriculum, teach the evolution curriculum because it's part of the state-mandated curriculum. And now, I should be -- you know, I should be walking the talk here, and I -- there's nothing wrong with this e-mail, of course." Less than two hours later, a colleague was calling for her termination, and in the following week, she was effectively forced to resign.

As for credentials, college professors and Ph.D.'s are a dime a dozen. There is even a surplus of Ph.D.'s. And a lot of college professors and Ph.D.'s are bigots and crackpots. And a person's views should not be dismissed solely on the basis that the person lacks high credentials.

Richard Weikart, author of From Darwin to Hitler: Evolutionary Ethics, Eugenics, and Racism in Germany, has impressive credentials too. So would Comer have sent out an "FYI" announcement of one of his "From Darwin to Hitler" lectures?
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Chris Comer added more than "FYI" to forwarded email

Added by Chris Comer to the forwarded email


Image is from Dallas Morning News








The press only reported that Chris Comer added the initials “FYI” to the forwarded email and I thought that her email address was the only indication that the forwarded email came from her. The above excerpt from the email shows that she added more than just “FYI” — she also added her name, position, TEA address, phone, and fax. Also, the blacked out text under the TEA street address could be her TEA email address.

Needless to say, adding that personal information greatly enhanced the appearance of endorsement.

Ding Elsberry’s copy of the forwarded email does not show this personal information that she added.

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Comment on proposed Florida evolution education standards

The proposed Florida science education standards can be reached only by logging in on this webpage.

When you reach the webpage subtitled "Grade Level Site Map," click on the grade level of 9-12, then click on "Review Standards" for "Life Science Body of Knowledge." Then scroll about halfway down through the webpage, and between Benchmark SC.912.L.1.52 and Benchmark SC.912.L.2.1 you will see the following:

Evolution and Diversity.

A. Evolution is the fundamental concept underlying all of biology and is supported by multiple forms of scientific evidence.
B. Organisms are classified based on their evolutionary history.
C. Natural selection is the primary mechanism leading to evolutionary change.

I clicked on the "Strongly Disagree" option and added the following comment:

"Evolution is the fundamental concept underlying all of biology"

Wrong. There are many areas of biology where evolution is irrelevant. A knowledge of evolution theory is needed in understanding some areas of biology, e.g., paleontology and cladistic taxonomy, but that doesn't necessarily mean that evolution theory is true in whole or in part. Evolutionary explanations are often perfunctorily added as a mere formality.

" -- and is supported by multiple forms of scientific evidence"

Study of the weaknesses of Darwinism should be added to the science standards. One weakness is called "irreducible complexity." Another weakness is co-evolution, the mutual evolution of two co-dependent kinds of organisms, e.g., bees and flowering plants. In co-evolution, unlike in evolutionary adaptation to widespread fixed physical features of the environment, e.g., water, land, air, and climate, there may be nothing to adapt to because the corresponding co-dependent trait in the other organism may be initially absent.

"Organisms are classified based on their evolutionary history."

Only in cladistic taxonomy. Evolution theory is not used in traditional Linnaean taxonomy, which is still popular, particularly outside of paleontology. Linnaean taxonomy was developed long before Darwin introduced his theory of evolution.

"Natural selection is the primary mechanism leading to evolutionary change."

Both mutations and natural selection are necessary for evolutionary change and neither of the two is "primary."

I then clicked on the "Save Comment" button but got no indication that the comment was saved. Hence, as a precaution, I also emailed the above comment to the email addresses listed in this post.

The current Florida science standards do not mention the e-word. The infamous Fordham Institute (no connection to Fordham U.) state science standards report gave Florida an F for evolution.

Contrary to what the Darwinists say, science education is a democracy. Within the limits of the Constitution (and not the constitutional limits as interpreted by Judge Jones), we do not have to resign ourselves to sitting back and letting science education standards be dictated by bureaucrats, journalists, scientists (though their input is important), scientific organizations, the ACLU, politicians, and even judges (there are ways to get around judges' decisions on the matter).
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Letter to Texas Education Commissioner

I used this contact form to send the following letter to Texas Education Commissioner Robert Scott. The subject area I selected on the contact form was "Commissioner of Education":

Letter to Education Commissioner Robert Scott

Re: Opposition to Letter from Texas University Biology Professors Defending Biological Evolution as a Central Pillar of Modern Science Education"

Though I feel that Chris Comer should not have been ousted, I am strongly opposed to the above letter from biology professors.

Comer is certainly not innocent. The Barbara Forrest lecture that Comer announced was not about science but was a false ad hominem attack on all critics of Darwinism, using guilt-by-association to vilify them as allegedly being part of a fundy conspiracy to create a Taliban-type theocracy in the USA. Forrest is a bigot who is trying to shut down discussion of the scientific issues. Forrest cannot stand discussion of the scientific issues because if Intelligent Design or other criticisms of Darwinism have scientific merit, then her conspiracy theory is irrelevant. What Comer did was like a government AIDS agency sending out an "FYI" announcement of a Fred Phelps demonstration. A "Darwin-to-Hitler" lecture might be more neutral, as it would not necessarily be an attempt to shut down discussion of the scientific issues. And I have seen no claim that Comer was even-handed about the "FYI" public-event announcements that she sent out. Finally, Comer violated the Texas Education Agency policy of neutrality on upcoming science standard reviews. There is good reason for the policy of neutrality -- in the future the TEA may have to implement a science curriculum that includes study of the weaknesses of Darwinism. Anyway, right or wrong, neutrality was the policy.

Earlier this year there was a “Darwin v. Design” conference at Southern Methodist University in Dallas — that conference got a lot of publicity because some Darwinist faculty members asked the administration not to hold it. If Chris Comer knew in advance about that conference — and there is a fair chance that she did — did she send out an “FYI” notice about it?

Also, you should forget about what that stupid judge in Pennsylvania said. He did not even write the ID-as-science section of the opinion -- the ACLU did. And he showed extreme prejudice against the defendants -- regardless of whether or not Intelligent Design is a religious concept -- by saying in a Dickinson College commencement speech that his decision was based on his notion that the Founders based the establishment clause on a belief that organized religions are not "true" religions. He said,

". . . this much is very clear. The Founders believed that true religion was not something handed down by a church or contained in a Bible, but was to be found through free, rational inquiry. At bottom then, this core set of beliefs led the Founders, who constantly engaged and questioned things, to secure their idea of religious freedom by barring any alliance between church and state."
-- from
http://www.dickinson.edu/commencement/2006/address.html

Sincerely,

Larry Fafarman

http://im-from-missouri.blogspot.com/

(END OF LETTER)
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The Darwinists may be better organized than their opposition, but a large proportion of the public feels that both the strengths and weaknesses of Darwinism should be taught, and I think we are being heard.
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Nosy newspaper shafted Chris Comer

I am actually starting to feel a little sorry for Chris Comer. Really I am. IMO she should have just gotten a slap on the wrist. She tried to leave her job quietly, but a nosy newspaper, the Austin American-Statesman, used the Freedom of Information Act to pry into her privacy and expose her. She now has a widespread public image as a troublemaker who won't follow rules, and that image may make it difficult for her to find another job or maybe return to her old job.

Here is what the Texas Citizens for Science reported:

Texas Citizens for Science has known about the forced resignation of Texas Education Agency (TEA) Director of Science Chris Comer since November 6, but planned to keep this knowledge private until Chris's administrative leave was over. Chris was forced to agree to a public non-disclosure or no-comment policy regarding her termination from TEA. I can attest that Chris has said nothing publicly, although dozens of people and reporters knew about the forced resignation from the beginning from sources within the TEA. The Austin American-Statesman (see news article below) got around this policy by using the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) and have the TEA give them the relevant documents to write their story. Several reporters have had this story since November 9, but held back in respect to Chris Comer's wishes. (emphasis added)

Also, it is particularly fishy that the Texas Citizens for Science got advance inside information about Comer's resignation.

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"I'm from Missouri" do-it-yourself cartoon contest

WHAT? NOT NEUTRAL? WHO? ME?












Here is another version of my last cartoon, and this one is no exaggeration -- the sign actually states the theme of the Forrest lecture that Comer announced.

The contest is to suggest words for the sign and the cartoon caption. Example:

Sign: DARWIN INSPIRED HITLER

Caption: I'm just showing my even-handedness.

The reward for the winner will be a guest post opportunity.

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PS: I just added the initials "FYI". That is a big improvement.

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Florida education official abuses position to oppose Darwinism

WHAT? NOT NEUTRAL? WHO? ME?













An ousted Darwinist education official in Texas has an anti-Darwinist counterpart in Florida. A news article said,

The debate over evolution, creation and Florida's science standards has grown increasingly heated as a decision nears, and a state Department of Education manager who has waded into it now finds herself in hot water.

Selena "Charlie" Carraway, program manager for the department's Office of Instructional Materials, recently used her personal e-mail on personal time to send a missive urging fellow Christians to fight the proposal to include evolution as a "key idea" in the science curriculum.

But she invoked her position as a way to, in her words, "give this e-mail credibility." And that, it turns out, is a no-no.

"It is inappropriate for any department employee to use their public position to advocate their personal positions," department spokesman Tom Butler said Friday. "Ms. Carraway has been counseled."

That means human resources personnel met with Carraway and warned her not to do this again, but she remains on the job.

That's quite a different result than the one that befell the Texas Education Agency's director of science for a similar situation.

Last month, Christine Comer was forced to resign from her job in Texas after forwarding an e-mail announcement of a speech by an author who favored teaching evolution. In several articles, Comer blamed evolution politics for her fate in Texas, which also is reviewing its science standards.

Observers familiar with both situations said it looked like Carraway, more than Comer, had done something deserving of reprimand. They praised the Florida Education Department for acting with restraint.

"They behaved with much more proportionality," said Eugenie Scott, executive director of the pro-evolution National Center for Science Education. "Indeed, Ms. Carraway should not use her public position to promote her religious position. ... Now she has a second chance, and hopefully she'll behave more responsibly."

Joe Wolf, president of the pro-evolution Florida Citizens for Science, agreed.

"I think she's allowing her religious beliefs to interfere with her public duty," Wolf said. "I wish she hadn't done it. But I think it's an internal matter."

Scott and Wolf both observed that such restraint can be difficult in this charged atmosphere.

Carraway did not respond to several requests for an interview. Butler said he confirmed that the e-mail in question, which has been widely distributed across Florida, came from her.

Here's how she introduced herself:

"My name is Charlie Carraway, and I'm a member of Sopchoppy Southern Baptist Church, Sopchoppy, Florida, but I also work for the Florida Department of Education as the Director of the Office of Instructional Materials," Carraway wrote. "That means I oversee the adoption process of books and materials in the state, and I work in close proximity to the folks in the Office of Mathematics and Science, who have been in charge of the revision of the science standards. I say all of this, obviously, to give this e-mail credibility."

Carraway detailed the proposed standards, which have won accolades from scientists, and provided ways to contact the State Board of Education.

"Once these become adopted standards and benchmarks, FCAT assessment will be based on them," she wrote. "Districts will not have a choice in teaching evolution as a theory, but will be expected to teach it as stated in these standards, big ideas, and benchmarks. ... Whose agenda is this and will the Christians in Florida care enough to do something about it?"

She ended by urging recipients to lobby against the standards, ending, "The least we can do is make sure evolution is presented to our children and grandchildren as a theory as it has been in the past. Hopefully, though, we can do better than that." Carraway was not part of the committee that recommended the science standards.

Carraway's statement "The least we can do is make sure evolution is presented to our children and grandchildren as a theory as it has been in the past" is alarming. It implies that the proposed new science standards are attempting to present evolution as more than just a theory.

And Comer is certainly not innocent. The Forrest lecture that Comer announced was not about science but was a false ad hominem attack on all critics of Darwinism, vilifying them as allegedly being part of a fundy conspiracy to take over the USA. Forrest is a bigot who is trying to shut down discussion of the scientific issues. Forrest cannot stand discussion of the scientific issues because if Intelligent Design or other criticisms of Darwinism have scientific merit, then her conspiracy theory is irrelevant. What Comer did was like a government AIDS agency sending out an "FYI" announcement of a Fred Phelps demonstration. A "Darwin-to-Hitler" lecture might be more neutral, as it would not necessarily be an attempt to shut down discussion of the scientific issues. And I have seen no claim that Comer was even-handed about the "FYI" public-event announcements that she sent out. Finally, Comer violated the Texas Education Agency policy of neutrality on upcoming science standard reviews. Right or wrong, that was the policy.

IMO it would have been better if Comer had also received just a slap on the wrist. Ousting her has backfired, as she has become a martyr in the minds of a lot of Darwinists.
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Update on ousted education official

This post is a follow-up to my post titled Darwinist hypocrites protest proper ouster of education official.

I originally thought that the Texas Education Agency’s gag rule was OK. Other public officials and employees work under gag rules — for example, California’s Brown Act prohibits members of a legislative body from privately communicating with each other to try to develop a consensus on something that they may later vote on. However, I have changed my mind about the TEA gag rule because of widespread opposition to the rule, even among anti-Darwinists. Anti-Darwinist William Dembski said on Uncommon Descent,

I’m still not clear about the details of the case, but if Comer’s firing were solely for supporting Forrest, this ought not to be.

Also, the anti-Darwinist chairman of the Texas Board of Education, Don McLeroy, said,
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“As far as I’m concerned, (agency employees) can say what they want. They’ve got freedom of speech.”

OK, Chris Comer may be entitled to express her own biased opinions, but when sending out "FYI" notices of public lectures, conferences, and debates, she should send out notices of all relevant public events or send out none. To do otherwise is censorship. Would she send out an "FYI" notice of a "Darwin-to-Hitler" lecture by a bible-pounding holy-rolling fundy-type creationist crackpot? That is what Barbara Forrest is -- a crackpot. She is a crackpot conspiracy theorist.

Earlier this year there was a “Darwin v. Design” conference at Southern Methodist University in Dallas — that conference got a lot of publicity because some Darwinist faculty members asked the administration not to hold it. If Chris Comer knew in advance about that conference — and there is a fair chance that she did — did she send out an “FYI” notice about it?

If -- as many contend -- Comer is innocent and has a good case that she is a victim of discrimination, then why did she resign so quietly? Why didn't she fight to keep her job? I suspect that an investigation has turned up or would turn up more evidence of bias on her part. Anyway, the fact that she resigned and was not fired is going to hurt her if she tries to sue the TEA.
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Florida to teach Darwinism dogmatically

With bible-pounding, holy-rolling creationist fundy crackpot Cheri Yecke (1, 2) safely out of the way (she was not appointed Florida commissioner of education and remains in her job as Florida K-12 chancellor), the state of Florida is now poised to teach Darwinism dogmatically. The Orlando Sentinel reported,

Florida has written new standards for teaching science that for the first time say public-school students need to learn about evolution.

The proposed science standards, released Friday, call evolution one of the "big ideas" that must be taught as part of in-depth, hands-on learning.

What's the "big idea"? Darwinism is a mickey mouse idea -- all it tells us is that (1) random mutations occur (duh) and that (2) fitter organisms are more likely to survive than less fit organisms (duh again).

Current standards do not use the word evolution -- long a controversial word in education -- but do require teaching evolutionary concepts in public schools.

The Thomas B. Fordham Institute in a 2005 report gave Florida an F for its current science standards, calling them "sorely lacking in content," "thin" and "nebulous." In particular, it criticized the "superficiality of the treatment of evolutionary biology."

The Fordham Institute's report on state science standards is worthless. The rating criteria are vague and there is far too much emphasis on evolution education, even though evolution education officially accounts for only 3 points out of a total of 69 in the Fordham rating system. The Fordham ratings do not correlate with student achievement. Fear of low Fordham Institute ratings frightens states into adopting excessively pro-Darwinist science teaching standards.

We've got to start developing more scientists," said Mary Jane Tappen, executive director of Florida's Office of Math and Science at the Florida Department of Education. "We've got to improve science education."

Wrong. We don't need more scientists -- we have too many already.

In recent years, some have pushed for teaching "intelligent design," which holds that aspects of living things are best explained by "an intelligent cause rather than an undirected process such as natural selection." Others have pushed for teaching that the theory of evolution does not fully explain the origins of life.

Fred Cutting, a retired engineer in Clearwater who served on the standards committee, wanted the new document to reflect that latter view and to let students know that scientists do not yet have all the answers.

"If you want students to understand the theory, they have to understand the pros and cons," he said, adding that the draft presented too "cut-and-dried" a view of evolution.

There we go again with that "contrived dualism" where ID is regarded as the only alternative to evolution theory. As I pointed out many times, there are also non-ID scientific (pseudoscientific to some) challenges to evolution theory. Anyway, it is good to see that an engineer on the standards committee said that the draft presented a too "cut-and-dried" view of evolution (IMO engineers are sharp people, but of course I am biased about that because I am an engineer myself).

Joe Wolf, president of Florida Citizens for Science, called the draft standards a "wonderful" blueprint for science education. Wolf, of Winter Haven, said the evolution debate holds little interest to most scientists, who accept it as fact. That's why the issue did not become controversial during the standards-writing meetings, he said.

In the words of Wickedpedia, the blog of the Florida Citizens for Science is -- as shown by SiteMeter statistics -- a "notable" blog that generally gets a lot less traffic than this "crappy" blog.
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