Posted on 10/27/2005 1:41:22 PM PDT by Right Wing Professor
HARRISBURG, Pa. - A former school board member who denied advocating that creationism be taught alongside evolution in high-school biology classes changed his story Thursday after lawyers in a federal courtroom played a TV news clip that recorded him making such a comment.
William Buckingham explained the discrepancy by saying that he "misspoke."
Buckingham's testimony came in the fifth week of testimony in a lawsuit filed by eight families who are challenging the Dover Area School District's policy that students hear a statement about intelligent design in biology classes. Critics say intelligent design is a repackaging of the biblical view of creation and thus violates the constitutional separation of church and state.
Buckingham, who led the board's curriculum committee when it approved the policy a year ago, confirmed Thursday that he said during a June 2004 board meeting that the biology textbook is "laced with Darwinism." The clip that was shown later in the day came from an interview that he gave to a news crew from WPMT-TV in York later in the month.
"It's OK to teach Darwin," he said in the interview, "but you have to balance it with something else, such as creationism."
Asked to explain by a lawyer for the plaintiffs, Buckingham said he felt "ambushed" by the camera crew as he walked across a parking lot to his car and that he had been consciously trying to avoid mentioning creationism.
"I had it in my mind to make sure not to talk about creationism. I had it on my mind. I was like a deer in the headlights. I misspoke," he told U.S. District Judge John E. Jones III, who is presiding over the non-jury trial.
Earlier in Thursday's court session, Buckingham claimed that he had been misquoted in stories from two newspapers that reported his advocating the teaching of creationism to counterbalance the material on evolution.
"It's just another instance when we would say intelligent design and they would print creationism," he said.
When Stephen Harvey, the plaintiffs' lawyer, noted the similarity of the newspaper reports to what he told the TV crew, Buckingham replied, "That doesn't mean it's accurate."
Buckingham moved to North Carolina in July and resigned from the board, citing health problems.
The statement that the Dover teachers are required to read before ninth-grade biology lessons on evolution says Darwin's theory is not a fact and has inexplicable gaps. It refers students to a textbook, "Of Pandas and People," for more information.
Intelligent design supporters argue that natural selection, an element of evolutionary theory, cannot fully explain the origin of life or the emergence of highly complex life forms.
The trial began Sept. 26 and could last through early November.
The plaintiffs are represented by a team put together by the American Civil Liberties Union and Americans United for Separation of Church and State. The school district is being represented by the Thomas More Law Center, a public-interest law firm based in Ann Arbor, Mich., that says its mission is to defend the religious freedom of Christians.
She may look like a man, but that's Miss Peak.
Thing is, back in the day, most of those arguments were pushed forwad by AiG or it's parent body, The Creation Science Foundation of Australia.
I don't think he's the only one. There were reporters at a lot of school board meetings, and there's a lot of news coverage of them.
Sounds like perjury to me. But then, if we were to convict all the creationist 'misspeakers', I don't know if we could afford to build enough jails.
Looky here, someone else who thinks perjury is no big deal. So you were against Clinton's impeachment, right?
Then Harvey produced a cancelled check from Buckingham for $850 to a Dover school administrator clearly marked for the purchase of the textbook and Buckingham confirmed it came from his church."You lied to me in your deposition didn't you Mr. Buckingham?" Harvey said.
"How so?" replied Buckingham.
"When I asked if you knew where the money came from," Harvey said.
"I did not take a collection," he said.
Buckingham contradicts self on money for books
Former board member's testimony goes against his earlier testimony.
By MICHELLE STARR
Daily Record/Sunday News
Friday, October 28, 2005
HARRISBURG — Former Dover Area School board member Bill Buckingham struggled to clarify Thursday how he raised $850 at his church for copies of the textbook "Of Pandas and People" even though earlier he gave a deposition saying he didn't know how the books were donated to the high school. Plaintiffs' attorneys are trying to prove in the First Amendment case that the board was religiously motivated in its decision to change the biology curriculum to include a statement about alternative theories to evolution.
Buckingham lobbied for the use of "Pandas," which supports intelligent design, as a companion to the textbook "Biology." But in the summer of 2004, the district decided not to spend taxpayer money on "Pandas."
During testimony in federal court Thursday, Buckingham said he went to his church, Harmony Grove Community Church, for help.
"I said there is a need, if you want to donate that's fine," Buckingham testified. "There is a need."
Buckingham specified that he never "asked" for money from the congregation. It gave $850.
Thursday, Buckingham testified that he wrote a check dated Oct. 4, 2004, to Donald Bonsell, the father of board member Alan Bonsell, for that amount with a note saying the money was for "Pandas" books.
The money had come from the congregation, Buckingham testified. Because it was in cash except for one check, he said he didn't know the donors' names.
Buckingham said he collected money only at his church because that's where his friends are. The church makes various donations, not only religious ones, he said.
He testified that he gave the check to Alan Bonsell to give to his father.
Plaintiffs' attorney Stephen Harvey pointed out that, during a January deposition, Buckingham said he didn't know where the 60 donated copies came from.
"You have no idea?" Harvey asked during the deposition.
"I have thoughts, but I don't know," Buckingham said.
"What are your thoughts?" asked Harvey.
"I think it could have a tie to Alan Bonsell, who was board president at that time," Buckingham said.
"Why do you think — I know you're not saying it was, but why do you think it might have had ties to Mr. Bonsell?" Harvey asked.
"Because he was the president of the board at the time, and I just deduced from that," Buckingham said.
Outside court, Alan Bonsell declined to comment about the check.
His father, Donald Bonsell, said Thursday night outside court he did not know the details about the check because his wife handles the family finances. Donald Bonsell said he wouldn't comment if he donated the books.
In court, Harvey asked, "Mr. Buckingham, you lied to me at your deposition ... isn't that true?"
"How so?" Buckingham said.
"By not telling me you took a collection," Harvey said.
"I did not take a collection," Buckingham said.
Outside court, defense attorney Richard Thompson said he believed Buckingham was trying to give specific answers to specific questions.
He attributed the discrepancy between the testimony and the deposition to Buckingham's treatment in December 2004 for an addiction to the painkiller OxyContin. Harvey deposed Buckingham in January.
Buckingham knows he wrote the check to Donald Bonsell and he must have forgotten that during his testimony, Thompson said.
"I don't think it was damaging at all," Thompson said of Buckingham's comments on donations.
Just the latest in the string of great victories for ID in this trial.
Do they specify "aloud"?
Not even when you figure THE SAME GUY couldn't remember having said that we must teach creationism alongside evolution. In fact, denied having said it. Claimed that several witnesses and newspaper accounts were "misspeaking." Then, shown a videotape, realized that HE had "misspoke." (But only that one time, supposedly.)
This is that guy again. But it's not damaging.
I've often wondered how many are DUmmies or the like salting FR with juicy quotes for later mining.
Whoo Hoo is the background tune in an insurance commercial played in the midwest here. It shows a series of 3 stooges type acts. It's the kind of clown show you're reporting on. The tune goes with the type of action, not the insurance.
Sorry. I'm used to 'woo-hoo' being a sarcastic way of expressing a last of interest.
I need a placemarker, placemarker.
A single "whoo hoo" is when the babe bounces with excitement. I think you're thinking of whoopty doo?
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