Texas is only 6000 years old!
Not satisfied with destroying evolutionary theory and turning sex ed into a
Bible course, Texas educators have decided to put the age of the universe to a
vote.
Phil Plait at Bad Astronomy writes:
= "During the Texas State Board of Education hearings on science standards for
Texas schoolchildren, BoE member and staunch creationist Barbara Cargill
decided that the age of the Universe was up for vote. Oddly enough, I had some
issue with that.
You may vote on issues all you want, and you can even vote on morality if you'd
like, but scientific reality is not a matter of opinion and cares not for the
majority vote...
It is perfectly transparent what she wanted: to wedge open the door to allow
the teaching of young-Earth creationism in the classroom, using the standard
"strengths and weaknesses" creationist propaganda tactic.
Need I say it? Her amendment passed, 11 to 3."
=
The amount of power wielded by the Board of Education in my home state is
astonishing. That conservative Christian parents would handicap their
children's prospects by teaching them pseudo-science is bad enough; forcing
religious wackery on the general student population is downright criminal.
More than a dozen bills have been filed this year to curtail the power of the
BoE. All have languished. Some have died. This is because of the pressure
being brought by fundie Christians and GOP groups to force lawmakers to
maintain the Republican-dominated board's authority.
Governor Rick Perry ("Texas might secede from the union!") nominated a young
earth creationist named Don McLeroy to oversee education in the Lone Star
State. Senate Democrats have been trying to block his appointment as chairman
of the education board.
>From the Austin American Statesman:
= With McLeroy at the helm, some board members have made international news by
questioning the theory of evolution, arguing that the universe is less than
10,000 years old and writing that President Barack Obama is a terrorist
sympathizer who intends to establish martial law...
Though the board is legally prohibited from editing textbooks, it continues to
do so by bullying publishers whose books are rejected if they don't conform to
political and social agendas of a seven-member voting bloc that includes
McLeroy.
And when it comes to textbooks, what happens in Texas doesn't stay in Texas.
Publishers are reluctant to develop whole new textbooks - an expensive endeavor
- for smaller markets in other states.
=
It's like the tentacles of some insidious octopus, reaching out and snatching
knowledge from the minds of future generations. This insanity must be stopped.
If fundie Christians are determined to believe in a dinosaur-filled ark,
giants roaming the earth, Balaam's talking ass, and a 6,000-year-old universe,
they're perfectly free to do so. But a science classroom isn't the place for
superstition and fairy stories.
~~ Max Pearson
Links here: http://snipurl.com/hqkhv
