ID Struck Down

[Chad3232132]

Whooooohooooooo! Choke up another defeat for the pro-mythology crowd. And to top it all off, every single one of those Dover School Board members who voted FOR intelligent design were defeated in this past November's elctions by anti-intelligent design candidates.

 

 

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/10545387/

 

HARRISBURG, Pa. - A federal judge ruled Tuesday that the "intelligent design" explanation for the origin of life cannot be taught in biology classes in a Pennsylvania public school district.

 

The Dover Area School Board violated the Constitution when it ordered that its biology curriculum must include "intelligent design," the notion that life on Earth was produced by an unidentified intelligent cause, U.S. District Judge John E. Jones III ruled.

 

The school board policy, adopted in October 2004, was believed to have been the first of its kind in the nation. Eight families then sued to have intelligent design removed.

 

"The citizens of the Dover area were poorly served by the members of the Board who voted for the ID Policy," Jones wrote. "It is ironic that several of these individuals, who so staunchly and proudly touted their religious convictions in public, would time and again lie to cover their tracks and disguise the real purpose behind the ID Policy."

 

The board's attorneys said members sought to improve science education by exposing students to alternatives to Charles Darwin's theory of natural selection causing gradual changes over time; intelligent-design proponents argue that it cannot fully explain the existence of complex life forms.

 

The plaintiffs argued that intelligent design amount to a secular repackaging of creationism, which the courts have already ruled cannot be taught in public schools.

 

The Dover policy had required students to hear a statement about intelligent design before ninth-grade biology lessons on evolution. The statement says Charles Darwin

[Amethyst]

Yay!

 

[Skankboy]

Whoot! It's about time someone acknowledge that ID is really just thinly veiled creationism (and therefore religious and NOT appropriate for science classes).

 

If they want to teach a philosophies class and include the evolution/ID debate, then I would support that, but it is NOT a science class.

[Chad3232132]

Here's a link to the judge's actual opinion which is a whopping 139 pages! It seems to be very well done from what I've read and he tore the pro-intelligent design argument to shreds.

 

http://www.stcynic.com/kitzmiller_342.pdf

 

EDI: I just read that the judge that made this ruling was appointed by George W. Bush. Very interesting. I assumed he would be a Democratic appointee. Guess even conservative judges are sick of this intelligent design nonsense.

[Ro-bear]

This is a day to celebrate. One so rarely gets to say that given our current political climate. I'm going to have a nice Belgian ale. Cheers!

[Vigile]

This is a day to celebrate. One so rarely gets to say that given our current political climate. I'm going to have a nice Belgian ale. Cheers!

 

 

 

mmm... Belgian ale.

 

 

A man after my own heart. Chimay?

[Celsus]

Dec. 20, 2005 (AP Online delivered by Newstex) -- Excerpts from U.S. District Judge John E. Jones III's ruling that struck down a school board's decision to require biology students in Dover, Pa., to hear about the concept of "intelligent design":

 

"We find that the secular purposes claimed by the Board amount to a pretext for the Board's real purpose, which was to promote religion in the public school classroom, in violation of the Establishment Clause."

 

___

 

"Repeatedly in this trial, Plaintiffs' scientific experts testified that the theory of evolution represents good science, is overwhelmingly accepted by the scientific community, and that it in no way conflicts with, nor does it deny, the existence of a divine creator."

 

___

 

"Those who disagree with our holding will likely mark it as the product of an activist judge. If so, they will have erred as this is manifestly not an activist Court. Rather, this case came to us as the result of the activism of an ill-informed faction on a school board, aided by a national public interest law firm eager to find a constitutional test case on ID, who in combination drove the Board to adopt an imprudent and ultimately unconstitutional policy. The breathtaking inanity of the Board's decision is evident when considered against the factual backdrop which has not been fully revealed through this trial. The students, parents, and teachers of the Dover Area School District deserved better than to be dragged into this legal maelstrom, with its resulting utter waste of monetary and personal resources."

 

___

 

"The citizens of the Dover area were poorly served by the members of the Board who voted for the ID Policy. It is ironic that several of these individuals, who so staunchly and proudly touted their religious convictions in public, would time and again lie to cover their tracks and disguise the real purpose behind the ID Policy."

[Reality Amplifier]

Reason has prevailed (as it should).

 

This is a landmark decision, and time will show us how much so. It will be very interesting to see how it ripples out and effects other ID movements in states like Kansas and Georgia.

 

I wonder how the Raelians are taking this news...

[Amethyst]

I was bored at work and read most of the judge's ruling. Unfortunately, those who really need to read it the most probably never will, because they'll be too afraid they will go to hell for reading it.

 

[Amethyst]

Saw this story. Read through most of the ruling. It's about time something like this happened.

[Samurai Tailor]

That is one of the most resoundingly one-sided judicial smackdowns I have ever read.

 

That, friends, is what supreme victory looks like.

[Amethyst]

Unfortunately, with Dubya in office, I doubt it's going to last very long. The creationist proponants will just come up with some other catchphrase and do another huge find/replace in their book, and disguise it as something else.

[Chad3232132]

Another thing that gives me hope is the fact that it wasn't just the court decision that made an impact in the fight against intelligent design. All of the school board members that voted for intelligent design awhile back were voted out of office by the voters this past November. So just in case the religious right tries to blame "activist judges" as they usually do, it simply won't fly since the voters made their decision long before the courts did.

[greasemonkey]

I'm feeling a bit sick today, the the headline sure put a little bit more spring in my step! I was just over at worldmagbog sucking in all the weeping & gnashing of teeth over there (I'm a little perverse that way, I always like to hear the rabid fundy responses)! Damn but those folks don't like to be reminded dubya appointed brown...

[Guest Brando]

"...it in no way conflicts with, nor does it deny, the existence of a divine creator.""

 

 

BULLSHIT

 

How can anyone understand natural selection and still see any room for any kind of benevolent creator?

 

"oh yes thank you sweet lord for bringing me into a world based on eating other creatures and competing for sex and then dying. hallelujah."

[Gnosis of Disbelief]

Cool! The theocrats lose one for a change!

 

[NorthenSun]

From the decision:

 

r. Defendants Presented No Convincing Evidence that

They were Motived by Any Valid Secular Purpose

Although Defendants attempt to persuade this Court that each Board

member who voted for the biology curriculum change did so for the secular

purposed of improving science education and to exercise critical thinking skills,

their contentions are simply irreconcilable with the record evidence. Their asserted

purposes are a sham, and they are accordingly unavailing, for the reasons that

follow.

 

In other words the supporters of Intelligent Design lied about their motives in wanting to present ID as a secular theory. The judge clearly points out that their real motive was one of a religious purpose. So the promoters of ID are identified as liars, but everyone here already knew that.

[Chad3232132]

Hmm... if President Bush placed this judge on a District Court it gives me hope that Alito and/or Roberts, whom he nominated to the Supreme Court this year may not end up as much of a fundie as I originally thought. I suppose there will always be Court picks that end up not being as much of an ideologue as the President making the pick thinks.

[Dark Helmet]

Praise the Lawrd! The irony is breathtaking though that a judge appointed by the prophet, er, president overturned ID. Gloorrry to Kryastt for judge Jones using his (ironically)god-given brains!

 

EDIT : Has anyone seen Brother Jeff?

[Ex-COG]

 

I wonder how the Raelians are taking this news...

 

I thought they committed suicide for their alien saviors...no, wait, that was Heaven's Gate...or did they die because they refused blood transfusions? Ah, no, that's the Jehovahs Witnesses. The JW's really need to learn how to call a doctor when they are sick...ooops, it's the Christian Scientists who are the anti-doctor people. Well, that group still could dump the literal truth of the KJV...ah, shucks, that's your run-of-the-mill fundy Christian! If the fundies would back off of cloning...ack! Cloning was the Raelians pet project. Damn it, it's getting harder and harder to tell which cult is which!

 

As to the creationism/ID vs. evolution battle, perhaps there is hope after all that the tide is turning. The shrill shreaks from the fundamentalist crowd are not from a position of strength, but because their grip is slipping.

 

I've always enjoyed Doonesbury, here's an appropriate strip from the other week refering to creationists.

http://www.ucomics.com/doonesbury/2005/12/18/

[Godless Dave]

"...it in no way conflicts with, nor does it deny, the existence of a divine creator.""

 

 

BULLSHIT

 

How can anyone understand natural selection and still see any room for any kind of benevolent creator?

 

"oh yes thank you sweet lord for bringing me into a world based on eating other creatures and competing for sex and then dying. hallelujah."

 

 

He just said divine creator. He didn't say anything about benevolent.

[txviper]

I get an email from Answers in Genesis every week which always has several articles attached. Some are interesting, some are not. This one was amusing from my point of view, porbably quite galling to most of yours.

 

-------------------------

 

The first day of Biology class in the year 2015

by David Menton, AiG–USA

 

January 2, 2006

 

The following article written by David Menton, Ph.D. (cell biology), Associate Professor (retired) of Anatomy at Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, Missouri (1966-2000), is really a spoof on the current situation regarding the creation/evolution battle in the secular school system. However, at the same time, what Dr. Menton has written could become reality if the secularization of this culture continues. You may smile as you read this article—but be warned: much of what Dr. Menton portrays is only an extension of what is happening right now in this culture. We print this as a wake up call to God’s people concerning the state of the nation and its future.

 

 

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

Welcome to your federally mandated biology class—“The Evolution of You by Way of the Zoo.” I am Miss Lead, I have a B.S. degree in “Evolutionary Indoctrination” and I will be your learning facilitator.

 

I especially want to welcome you students who are new to our Federal schools. I know that this has been a trying year for many of you and your families, but as you know, the Supreme Court has declared that homeschooling and all explicitly Christian schools are prohibited by law and that you must now attend a federally controlled school. I thank you for your willing cooperation. It is regrettable that some children had to be forcibly taken away from their uncooperative parents, but the Court has decreed that it is the State, not the parents, who are primarily responsible for their education.

 

It is required by law that we spend our first class period advising you of the legal rules and regulations governing both the definition of science and impermissible thoughts in the science classroom. As your facilitator, I myself must follow these regulations to remain on the federal payroll, and you must follow them to avoid being sent for mental deprogramming. So listen up! It is no fun having your memory banks reset to that of an artichoke.

 

First we will consider the legally mandated definition of science: The Supreme Court has declared that “Science is the study of everything in the cosmos that is real and involves the effort to explain the origin of all real things in exclusively materialistic terms.” The Court has defined the “cosmos” (i.e., material universe) in terms of Sagan’s law—“The cosmos is all there is, all there ever was, and all there ever will be.” Please note that the Court has left the entire realm of things that are unreal to the exclusive domain of the church. In this way that impregnable “wall of separation” between church and state, so wisely mandated by the framers of our Constitution, is not breached.

 

Next we must consider the two laws of “Unthinkable Thought” which prohibit certain thoughts and speech in the science classroom. To enforce these laws, the courts require that all classroom instruction and discussion in science be recorded for analysis on videotape and that all teachers and students submit to lie detector questioning by Federal Thought Police. Those failing such tests will be given one more chance to abandon their unthinkable thoughts before being subjected to deprogramming.

 

In the “First Law of Unthinkable Thought,” the courts have declared that “no student or teacher will be permitted to think, much less articulate, any thought that dares to question the dictates of evolutionary dogma.” While critical thinking and a questioning mind are essential to all fields of empirical science, such is not the case for evolutionism. The courts have found that atheists and “skeptics” never question the fact of evolution, while most criticisms of evolution, no matter how valid or scientific they might be, come from suspected “stealth” religionists and thus constitute the teaching of religion.

 

The “Second Law of Unthinkable Thought” (best known as the “Anti-Intelligence law”) declares that “no teacher or student will be permitted to think, much less articulate, any thought that something in nature is too complex and integrated to have been formed by random chance processes and to suggest instead that it reflects intelligent design or, God forbid, a divine Creator.” Educators have found that most students tend to think of the possibility of intelligent design when teachers give insightful, substantive and enthusiastic lectures on complex biological systems. Thus the law now requires that biology teachers must give superficial and boring lectures laced with evolutionary speculation on organs such as the eye, lest students be led astray by their intuitive recognition of intelligent design.

 

But why you might ask (but dare not) have the courts passed such draconian laws governing our very thoughts in the science classroom? The answer is really quite obvious. For years evolutionary dogma has been taught extensively in almost every class from first grade on, but surveys have shown that most students still fail to believe in evolutionism. Professional educators are amazed that even further increasing the quantity and intensity of evolutionary indoctrination has proven unsuccessful in producing true believers! Even worse, these unbelievers seem to have no difficulty in feeding back to us the required correct answers to evolutionary questions on examinations—indeed they seem to perform better than the true believers!

 

Surely you can see that it was time for the courts to intervene and require actual belief in evolutionism and not just indoctrination. The very survival of America, indeed the survival of the world as we know it, depends on it! After all, Dobzhansky’s law declares that “nothing in biology makes sense without evolution.” If students do not truly believe in evolutionism, it is a proven fact that they will be totally incapable of pursuing any field requiring scientific understanding. Thus they will be completely unsuitable as teachers, researchers, physicians, nurses, engineers, geologists, astronomers, farmers, lawyers, parents, news reporters, talk show hosts and popular entertainers.

 

Finally I will remind you that a federally mandated sticker known as the “revised Cobb County sticker” has been permanently affixed on the inside cover of your biology textbook declaring:

 

“This textbook contains material on evolution. Evolution is a fact, not a theory, regarding the origin of living things. This material must be approached with a closed mind, studied superficially, and uncritically accepted.”

 

You are required by law to memorize this sticker and repeat it as a confession of faith before meals and each time you open and close the book.

 

Rest assured that all these laws forbidding unthinkable thoughts and requiring unquestioning belief in crass materialism and evolutionism have received the enthusiastic support of almost all the professional educational, legal and human rights organizations as well as from distinguished people of faith from nearly all of the major Christian denominations and seminary schools. Now, if we are all willing to comply (and of course, you are), let's get started!

[crazy-tiger]

Yes, we can always rely on AiG for factually inaccurate articles and scaremongering stories...

 

 

Tell you what though... try replacing evolution with creation in that story, and you have exactly what the Christian right has been aiming for over the last few decades.

 

Would the new version be amusing to you, or would it be galling?

[Guest Heavenly Deceit]

Creationism/ID isn't about thinking, its about having your head up your ass and leaving it there.

[Samurai Tailor]

Menton is a bona fide idiot. How can a cell biologist honestly make the claim that evolutionary science is nothing but sycophancy, back-slapping and goose stepping?

 

The mind boggles at what creationists can convince themselves of.