More Intelligent Design in the News

It's back! Intelligent design gets a win in Kansas, while in Pennsylvania, it's still up in the air. For those that don't know, I'll give you the short version. Intelligent design basically says that Darwin is an ass and that his theories can't explain the complexities of life on this planet. Therefore, they claim, life on earth owes itself to some higher power. That power, while not stated, can obviously be inferred to be God. If you want my thoughts on the subject, read my previous post, "Where I Grew Up," from October. Here I'll just quote from the above articles.

In Kansas, "the Kansas Board of Education approved new public school science standards Tuesday that cast doubt on the theory of evolution." These standards were written in part by the Intelligent Design folks, so this is a pretty big win.

"The standards state that high school students must understand major evolutionary concepts. But they also declare that some concepts have been challenged in recent years by fossil evidence and molecular biology.

The challenged concepts cited include the basic Darwinian theory that all life had a common origin and the theory that natural chemical processes created the building blocks of life. In addition, the board rewrote the definition of science, so that it is no longer limited to the search for natural explanations of phenomena."

In the town of Dover, Pennsylvania (my home town), 8 families are suing the school board and their policy that "requires students to hear a statement about intelligent design before ninth-grade biology lessons on evolution."

The statement says Charles Darwin's theory is "not a fact," has inexplicable "gaps," and refers students to a textbook for more information.The school district's policy "has the primary purpose and primary effect of advancing science education," Gillen said."Eight families are suing to end the practice, saying it violates the constitutional separation of church and state.Intelligent design became the label for the board's desire to teach creationism," Rothschild said in closing arguments.

On a similar (but funnier) note, Guinness proves what we've all known for ages: that men come from mud puddles, and Guinness is yummy.