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Ga. School District Abandons Stickers
Fox News ^ | Tuesday, December 19, 2006 | DOUG GROSS

Posted on 12/19/2006 2:19:29 PM PST by Sopater

ATLANTA — A suburban school board that put stickers in high school science books saying evolution is "a theory, not a fact" abandoned its legal battle to keep them Tuesday after four years.

The Cobb County board agreed in federal court never to use a similar sticker or to undermine the teaching of evolution in science classes.

In return, the parents who sued over the stickers agreed to drop all legal action.

"We certainly think that it's a win not just for our clients but for all students in Cobb County and, really, all residents of Georgia," said Beth Littrell of the American Civil Liberties Union of Georgia.

The school board placed the stickers inside the front cover of biology books in 2002 after a group of parents complained that evolution was being taught to the exclusion of other theories, including a literal reading of the biblical story of creation.

The stickers 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."

A federal judge ordered the stickers removed in 2005, saying they amount to an unconstitutional government endorsement of religion. The school board appealed, but a federal appeals court sent the case back, saying it did not have enough information.

"We faced the distraction and expense of starting all over with more legal actions and another trial," said board chairwoman Teresa Plenge. "With this agreement, it is done and we now have a clean slate for the new year."

School board attorney Linwood Gunn said the agreement is not an admission that the stickers were unconstitutional. "The school board attempted to reach what they thought was a reasonable compromise," he said.

(Excerpt) Read more at foxnews.com ...


TOPICS: Culture/Society; Philosophy; US: Georgia
KEYWORDS: atheistinaction; commonsenseprevails; creation; creationmyth; evolution; evolutionisbelief; evolutionisnotfact; evolutionistheory; impolitetruth; indoctrination; itisatheory; itisnotafact; science; theorynotfact; thoughtcrime
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To: jbwbubba

It shows what the real agenda is of these folks if a sticker that states what should automatically be considered part of science is *endorsing religion*. It's not about science at all; it's about keeping religion out of the schools using science as the weapon of choice. I'd bet that the ACLU doesn't give a rats hindend about whether efvolution is true of not. All they care about is getting the most mileage of the theory that they can in their efforts to rid the US of any trace of Christianity.


41 posted on 12/19/2006 3:20:08 PM PST by metmom (Welfare was never meant to be a career choice.)
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To: My2Cents

Just google the term.

Charles Darwin's Theory of Evolution
Brief Summary on the Theory of Evolution by means of Natural Selection by Charles Darwin.


42 posted on 12/19/2006 3:21:58 PM PST by stockpirate (John Kerry & FBI files ==> http://www.freerepublic.com/~stockpirate/)
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To: metmom

Yeah, particularly when all the great scientists throughout the history of Western Civilization believed in the Creator.


43 posted on 12/19/2006 3:22:11 PM PST by My2Cents (In a time of universal deceit, telling the truth is a revolutionary act. -- George Orwell)
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To: stockpirate

Thanks for the tip, but I was thoroughly indoctrinated in public school on what constitutes Darwin's theory of evolution. I got A's in those classes, too.


44 posted on 12/19/2006 3:23:12 PM PST by My2Cents (In a time of universal deceit, telling the truth is a revolutionary act. -- George Orwell)
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To: My2Cents

Details, details.


45 posted on 12/19/2006 3:26:30 PM PST by metmom (Welfare was never meant to be a career choice.)
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To: jwalsh07

You and I are not in disagreement.


46 posted on 12/19/2006 3:26:56 PM PST by Dog Gone
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To: Dog Gone

I'm happy about that actually. Later.


47 posted on 12/19/2006 3:34:19 PM PST by jwalsh07
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To: stockpirate

...and by "public schools," I also mean the University of California.


48 posted on 12/19/2006 3:35:02 PM PST by My2Cents (In a time of universal deceit, telling the truth is a revolutionary act. -- George Orwell)
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To: Dog Gone
dissing evolution as a theory is the same as dissing gravity as a theory

This analogy is absurd. At least you can see gravity working. Gravitational forces can be measured in repeatable experiments. Evolution is more like trying to postulate the "theory of gravity" based solely on a collection of stop-action photographs of falling objects without knowing how fast the object was initially moving or what other forces may be acting on the object.

I think if the Cobb County school district wants to teach only Creation Science or its clone, Intelligent Design, they should be able to.

They don't. They only want to teach the kids to think critically and to understand that the ToE is not a proven fact.

The irony with teaching children that evolution is fact is that not only does it have the intended effect of reducing the number of people who believe in creation, it also reduces the number of people who grow up to try and prove evolution since they think that it has already been proven.
49 posted on 12/19/2006 3:39:30 PM PST by Sopater (Creatio Ex Nihilo)
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To: stockpirate
Well it [Darwin's theory of evolution] is a theory, and that is the truth of it.

That is true of all of science. No theory in science is ever proven. All a scientist can do is collect data that tends to support the theory. But that is not a proof. The sticker seems to be quite accurate. I think they should put it back on the books.

50 posted on 12/19/2006 3:53:15 PM PST by stripes1776
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To: Dog Gone
Well, the school district had the taxpayer to tap as financial power.

How exactly do you get deeper pockets than that?


You must be a Democrat to think that the "taxpayer" is an bottomless supply of cash.
51 posted on 12/19/2006 3:57:47 PM PST by Sopater (Creatio Ex Nihilo)
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To: Sopater

The analogy between "theories" in science is not absurd. Both theories, and many others, meet the test of what a theory is.


Gravity is perhaps more testable in real time. That's not the fault of evolution or to the credit of gravity. It is what it is.

What is nonsense is your suggestion that the teaching of it somehow reduces the number of people who either question it or work to refine it. By that logic, we'd create a bunch more scientists if we kept kids out of school altogether.


52 posted on 12/19/2006 4:07:48 PM PST by Dog Gone
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To: metmom

Kind of makes you wonder how the human race survived and science progressed before the Scopes Trials, doesn't it? /roll eyes


Obviously, there were no technological advances as all human knowledge is based on Darwinism.


53 posted on 12/19/2006 4:21:54 PM PST by freedomfiter2
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Comment #54 Removed by Moderator

To: Dog Gone
Then you must be a statist because neither the ACLU nor the federal courts have any jurisdiction as to what a local school board mandates. There is not even a religion/state issue here.
55 posted on 12/19/2006 4:30:09 PM PST by streetpreacher (What if you're wrong?)
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To: Sopater
You must be a Democrat to think that the "taxpayer" is an bottomless supply of cash.

No, I live in the real world, and that's what the taxpayer is.

Maybe you live in some fantasy world where you're not paying more taxes every year. Maybe you live in some fantasy world where the taxpayer isn't considered the ultimate Deep Pockets.

Don't call me names. At least not that one.

56 posted on 12/19/2006 4:30:10 PM PST by Dog Gone
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To: streetpreacher

Try reading the rest of the thread before hurling insults.


57 posted on 12/19/2006 4:30:54 PM PST by Dog Gone
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To: Dog Gone
What is nonsense is your suggestion that the teaching of it somehow reduces the number of people who either question it or work to refine it.

I never said not to teach it, I simply advocate the teaching of it as a theory and the presentation of all evidence. Teach children to think critically and you will more thoroughly teach children to advance scientific knowledge.

I also advocate an honest assessment of the evidence. This will encourage the scientists of the future to continue to diligently seek for answers and to keep an open mind as to their meaning.

There is nothing in those stickers that is not to be considered good scientific advice. Please show me one part of this statement that is bad scientific advice.
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.

58 posted on 12/19/2006 4:31:59 PM PST by Sopater (Creatio Ex Nihilo)
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To: Dog Gone

I wasn't hurling insults and there's no need to read the rest of the thread as I was replying to a particular post of yours not your entire posting history.


59 posted on 12/19/2006 4:32:07 PM PST by streetpreacher (What if you're wrong?)
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To: Sopater

What is your definition of theory? And what do you think a high school kid thinks the definition is?


60 posted on 12/19/2006 4:38:42 PM PST by Dog Gone
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