I think you need to follow the trail of the
I'm starting to think evolution is a major part of the gay agenda.
Posted on 01/14/2005 1:52:17 AM PST by Cincinatus' Wife
A federal judge ordered the immediate removal of evolution disclaimers from Cobb County textbooks Thursday because they convey an unconstitutional endorsement of religion.
U.S. District Judge Clarence Cooper said the stickers, which call evolution "a theory, not a fact," violate both the U.S. and Georgia constitutions.
Affixed to textbooks in 2002, the disclaimers send "a message that the school board agrees with the beliefs of Christian fundamentalists and creationists," Cooper said.
The stickers might be small in size compared with the numerous pages of material on evolution in Cobb textbooks, he said, but "the message has an overwhelming presence."
Cobb school board Chairwoman Kathie Johnstone said the board would have no official comment until it could meet to review the ruling and talk with its attorneys.
The school district issued a statement saying it was "disappointed. . . . and maintains the textbook stickers are a reasonable and evenhanded guide to science instruction and encouraging students to be critical thinkers."
Over the past decade, the U.S. Supreme Court has retreated from a stance supporting strict separation of church and state in public schools and has become more deferential to state and local governments, said John Witte, director of the Law and Religion Center at Emory Law School. This has encouraged some school boards, particularly in the South, to reintroduce religion into public schools in more direct ways, such as allowing prayers before graduation ceremonies and athletic events, and in indirect ways, such as with the evolution disclaimers, he said.
Yet Witte said he was not surprised by Cooper's ruling.
The Supreme Court "has said repeatedly that creationism cannot be required and evolution cannot be prohibited in public school teaching," Witte said. "This case takes the next step in saying that evolution cannot be deprecated either — especially for the sake of protecting the religious sensibilities of those who don't believe in evolution."
30 days to appeal
One issue that must be resolved soon is what to do about the disclaimers on tens of thousands of textbooks. If they are not removed, the school board will be in violation of Cooper's court order. School board attorney Linwood Gunn said removal of the disclaimers in the next few days appears unlikely.
The board has 30 days to decide whether to appeal Cooper's decision to the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Atlanta.
Curt Johnston, a school board member who was chairman when the board voted unanimously to approve the disclaimers, said he was concerned about the costs of litigating the case further. "I'm not inclined to challenge it . . . having lost it once," he said.
The Cobb disclaimer case, watched by school boards across the nation, is only the latest challenge to determine what can be made part of a school's curriculum concerning the origin of the species without running afoul of the Constitution.
Nick Matzke, spokesman for the National Center for Science Education, a nonprofit watchdog group that advocates for evolution instruction, called the judge's decision "a tremendous victory for science, and it's a big defeat for the new creationist strategy."
If the court had allowed the disclaimers to stay, he said, "we would have seen it pop up all over the country. All of the creationist groups have been watching this case. The whole challenge for creationists for the last 30 years has been to try something that will pass constitutional muster."
The lawsuit challenging the disclaimers was brought by six parents who contended the stickers violate the principle of the separation of church and state.
Jeffrey Selman, the lead plaintiff in the case, was thrilled by Cooper's ruling. "I got what I wanted," he said.
His attorney, Michael Manely, who brought the case with the American Civil Liberties Union, said he would press for removal of the disclaimers as soon as possible. "It would be quite a ceremony if children were actually sitting in a classroom pulling these off," he said.
The disclaimers read: "This textbook contains material on evolution. Evolution is a theory, not a fact, regarding the origin of living things. This material should be approached with an open mind, studied carefully and critically considered."
The stickers stem from a drive begun in 2002 by Marjorie Rogers, a creationist who collected 2,300 signatures on a petition that prompted the school board to stick the disclaimers on the inside front covers of 13 science books used in middle and high schools.
Cobb school board member Lindsey Tippins said that by not recognizing "the nature of the controversy" about evolution, the judge had "erred" in his ruling.
But Gerry Wheeler, executive director of the 56,000-member National Science Teachers Association, said Cooper got it right. "It's great news for the kids in Georgia," he said. "It's a strong signal that religion doesn't belong in the science classroom."
Georgia State University constitutional law professor Lynn Hogue said, "Anti-evolutionists can take their case to the pulpit, but they have no business making it in public school classrooms through stickers in textbooks paid for by taxpayer dollars."
Closely watched case
Cooper, appointed to the federal bench by President Bill Clinton in 1994, acknowledged there was no evidence before him that showed Cobb's school board included the statement "evolution is a theory, not a fact" to promote or advance religion.
Nonetheless, he wrote, "By denigrating evolution, the school board appears to be endorsing the well-known prevailing alternative theory, creationism or variations thereof, even though the sticker does not specifically reference any alternative theories."
In light of the historical opposition to evolution "by Christian fundamentalists and creationists in Cobb County and throughout the nation, the informed, reasonable observer would infer the school board's problem with evolution to be that evolution does not acknowledge a creator," Cooper wrote. By adopting the language it did, "the Cobb County school board appears to have sided with . . . religiously motivated individuals."
Edward Larson, law and history professor at the University of Georgia, said the ruling is significant because it discourages other school districts from moving down the same path.
Cooper made particular note of what his decision did not address. It does not, he wrote, resolve whether science and religion are mutually exclusive and he took "no position on the origin of the species."
The judge also said his decision is not about whether public schools can teach the notion of intelligent design and it does not resolve the "ongoing debate regarding whether evolution is a fact or theory or whether evolution should be taught as fact or theory."
Instead, Cooper said, "this opinion resolves only a legal dispute."
Not sure what you're getting at here.
ALL the sticker said is "Evolution is a theory, not a fact".
HOW ON EARTH is that "endorsement of religion"?
The sticker contained a technically factual statement. It did not say "evolution is a theory, and an implausible one at that. This school board heartily believes that mankind was created by an omnipotent and benevolent God, worshipped by millions of Christians across the world". Now, THAT would be endorsement of religion.
No, this is about squelching opposing points of view to a secular agenda, just as the Philly demonstrators were arrested for quoting scripture on a public street.
It's truly a slippery slope, and one that isn't far from what some very restrictive societies (Russia and N. Korea come to mind) do to their citizens.
If we don't take steps to prevent leftist judges from chipping away at our basic freedoms, we're all in a real heap of trouble.
The statement is scientifically valid. Nobody knows for sure how life started. So what's wrong with adding it to the books just because the people who wanted it added are pushing an agenda that disagrees with yours?
Science itself is encouraged by skepticism. The statement encourages children to face the fact that most scientists have differing viewpoints. It's an object lesson on cognitive dissonance right in the classroom.
It's a useful comment that the ACLU wants to fight out of sheer hatred for people who might happen to be religious. Isn't that curious to you?
Actually alternate theories of the origin of life can still be taught at schools. They can be taught in philosophy classes or world religion classes. But since those beliefs are not science, they should not be taught in science class.
Look, there has to be an end to this constant bickering about religion in the public square. It's senseless. With few exceptions, nobody is forcing anyone to think or express anything at all. Most of the damage to free expression today comes from these inane court cases. Why not choose our battles more wisely? Draw the line at misstatements about the Constitution or that sort of thing. Why not leave people alone to their own ideas? Who is in charge of ideas today? Not the government, I hope. It better not be. This case does not facilitate science, scientific thinking in children, or their mental maturity in any way. It's a regression in fact. All so the ACLU can say that they're protecting our rights. How were your rights violated? And anyway, how were the children harmed by this sticker?
Everyone wants to be the Priest--to dominate the minds and souls of others. "Scientists" are no exception.
Religion has it's place and that's in church. The textbooks say it's a theory (although one strongly supported by fact) and there should be no need for a sticker placed there at the behest of creationists.
Please tell me how this sticker, in pure analytical terms confined to the English language it contains, involves religion.
Evolution has more mysteries than any other religion:
spontaneous generation, something for nothing origins, consciousness from random molecules,
anti-entropic upward organization, maintainence-free
billion year old systems...etc,etc.
How many miracles do you want? Occam's Razor
says "One" !
As an ex-darwinist who looked thru the microscope...
Evolution has more mysteries than any other religion:
spontaneous generation, something for nothing origins, consciousness from random molecules,
anti-entropic upward organization, maintainence-free
billion year old systems...etc,etc.
How many miracles do you want? Occam's Razor
says "One" !
Just like over here....
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1316020/posts?page=796#796
Says YOU!
I.D. is based on following scientific and mathematical logic. Evolution is alchemy; changing algae to ecosystems with magical time.
The most important aspect of this case has nothing to do with evolution. It's the notion that the government can step in and decide what is legitimate curricular skepticism, and what is not.
Love your tagline
Anyone who isn't gullible enough to believe everything came from nowhere is a creationist. Anyone who looks at the facts accepts Intelligent Design
Guess I'm on my way to heck! LOL!
I agree. My statement was a little too broad.
I think you need to follow the trail of the
I'm starting to think evolution is a major part of the gay agenda.
According to the judge, that's at least contributory impetus to justify his decision. The judge has unconstitutionally ruled that disagreement with Christians is required of the school board.
Evolution may not be attacked, homosexuality may not be spoken against, murder of unborn children may not be reviled, etc. The Left is advancing its legal codification to insulate all its beliefs against challenge, while positing as prima facie evidence that even coincidental congruity with beliefs held by Christians is illegal and must be removed.
This reminds one of David Boies' unrelenting harangue on BO'R last night. Boies' message was that neither lies, misrepresentations, nor anything else should be disavowed in political rhetoric. What a despicable organization of skin and bones that is!
HF
It's a theory. It cannot be a fact by definition.
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