Right Thinking From The Left Coast
"To what purpose are powers limited, and to what purpose is that limitation committed to writing,
if these limits may, at any time, be passed by those intended to be restrained?"
-- Chief Justice John Marshall, Marbury v. Madison, 1803

Friday, June 27, 2008

Jindal’s Junk Science
by West Virginia Rebel

The public education system in Louisiana has taken a step backward.

NEW ORLEANS (Reuters) - Louisiana Republican Gov. Bobby Jindal has signed into law a bill that critics say could allow for the teaching of “creationism” alongside evolution in public schools.

Jindal, a conservative Christian who has been touted by pundits as a potential vice presidential running mate for Republican presidential candidate John McCain, signed the legislation earlier this week.

The law will allow schools if they choose to use “supplemental materials” when discussing evolution but does not specify what the materials would be.

It states that authorities “shall allow ... open and objective discussion of scientific theories being studied including, but not limited to, evolution, the origins of life, global warming and human cloning.”

It also says that it “shall not be construed to promote any religious doctrine, promote discrimination for or against a particular set of religious beliefs, or promote discrimination for or against religion or nonreligion.”

Jindal’s office declined on Friday to comment. The bill was backed by the Louisiana Family Forum, a conservative Christian group, and the Discovery Institute, which promotes the theory of “intelligent design”—a theory that maintains that the complexity of life points to a grand designer.

“Intelligent design is currently not in the Louisiana state science standards and so could not be taught. But this allows scientific criticisms of Darwin’s theory to be taught,” said John West, a senior fellow at the Discovery Institute.

And how long do Lousianans think it will be before this becomes the de facto curriculum in the schools? Junk science through the back door is still BS.

Posted by West Virginia Rebel on 06/27/08 at 11:18 PM in Religion and Sky Pixies  • (12) Comments • (0) Trackbacks • Permalink • Discuss this in the forums
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