EonBlue

Thanks to Pharyngula for this wonderful bit of info

The Florida Citizens for Science has posted the Nov 20 meeting of the Taylor County Florida School Board:

Upon motion by Danny Lundy, seconded by Darrell Whiddon the Board adopted/approved the: 1.) Resolution regarding the new Sunshine State Standards for Science.

The adoped resolution is as follows:
Whereas, the Florida Department of Education has drafted and is now proposing new Sunshine State Standards for Science, the Taylor County School Board opposes the implementation of the new standards as currently presented.
Whereas, the new Sunshine State Standards for Science no longer present evolution as theory but as “the fundamental concept underlying all of biology and is supported in multiple forms of scientific evidence,” we are requesting that the State Board of Education direct the Florida Department of Education to revise/edit the new Sunshine State Standards for Science so that evolution is presented as one of several theories as to how the universe was formed.

Once again, the willfully ignorant and the pious frauds show their ugly heads. What other “theories” about the universe are they talking about? Do they know what a scientific theory actually is? And these people were elected to educate the children to help take this world into the 21st century, not the 15th century! Makes one wonder if humans are mature enough to have this so-called democracy. Perhaps the law can be changed so that to be able to decide scientific matters in education, one must demonstrate a high school level understanding of science.

Posted at The Panda’s Thumb:

In South Carolina, things were mostly quiet after last year’s election and defeat of creationist candidate for state superintendent of education Karen Floyd, and the defeat of the pro-creationism language that the Discovery Institute tried to worm into the curriculum standards.

But you knew they wouldn’t give up. Now a young-earth creationist named Kristin Maguire has been elected as the chairperson of the State Board of Education. Her qualifications? She home-schooled her four children. And that’s it.

Again, we see the results of the full force effort given by the opponents of science. They use their vast array of churches, talk radio, and the internet to communicate to the gullible about how to defeat the evilutionists. They target certain states that have a majority of ignorant, under-educated, easily led electorate to elect a representative into a position of power. Once this person has infected the education system, they will inject their virulent religious dogma into the system and attempt to boot out legitimate science as dictated by the Wedge Strategy.

They ignore the Dover Trial to do this. They must know that lawsuits will be brought, resulting in millions of dollars of taxpayer money wasted in failed attempts to subvert good education. They must know that they do not have judicial precedence to back them up. They must know that when the cards fall, their supports from the Discovery Institute will shrink away like they did in the Dover Trial.

So what drives them?

Faith. The belief that they are on the good side, and that anything that happens bad is either God testing them or the Devil throwing up obstacles. Knowing that morals are thrown out the window as long as what they do is for God (you know, lying, cheating, and stealing).

If you live in South Carolina, contact your government representatives and let them know how you feel. Contact the South Carolinians for Science Education and give them your support.

There are some rather unsettling events happening in Texas and Florida as of late. These events center around the educational system and what is approved to be taught to our children in public schools.

In Texas, Chris Comer, who has been the Texas Education Agency’s director of science curriculum for more than nine years, was “asked” to resign because of an email she forwarded. News Source Apparently, creationist cretins have managed to infect the Texas Education Agency, and are now exercising their power to silence their enemies.

In Florida, State Board member Donna Callaway has publicly stated that “other theories” should be taught along side evolution in the classroom. You can read more about her thoughts on the matter from an article on the Florida Baptist Weekly. But be warned, this article will at the very least give you a headache from the amount of idiocy contained within it. It could be the talking points of the Discovery Institute cut-n-pasted.

To me, the Wedge Strategy appears to be in full force, despite the monumental setback realized by the Dover decision. Frankly, I’m surprised that this issue hasn’t crept up yet here in Alabama that I’m aware of. It behooves us, the rational, to keep an ever-watchful eye on who is elected to our school boards, and their stance on the teaching of real science. These people who push to add their version of god to our public schools see this as a major milestone in the establishment of a theocracy in America. Don’t believe me? Read the Wedge Document. It’s scary.

If you live in Texas or Florida, please contact your government representatives and let them know how you feel. Real science taught be qualified, professional teachers is what our children, and our country, need desperately. Even now, America slips further behind Europe and Asia in science education, and this will have far-reaching effects in the years to come.