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"...science, not just evolution, is undermined..."

Undermining evolution, as you say, is not undermining science. There are many technological advances that have originated here, in the minds of many of our technologically overachieving citizens. Let evolution stand on its own feet, if it has feet, and do not imply that if a person does not accept the evolutionary theory that true science is dependent on 'a fact of evolution'.

My point relates to the blatant abuses, misrepresentations and distortions of other fields of science by many people, primarily in the ID and creationist camps. There hasn't been too much of that on this thread, but I've seen it frequently on other threads and I've seen it thoroughly in the ID and creationist websites. Evolution does a good job of standing on it's own. Having said that, it is important to remember that all fields of science are inter-related at some level or another. Corrupt something well established in one field and, like ahouse of cards, everything else will crash around it. If you want to attack evolution, you still must accept the scientific understandings gathered from all the other fields of science and your alternate explanation for why we have biodiveristy must still be consistent with those fields, too.

The problem I see is that too many IDer and creationists aren't gethering evidence and building a body of knowledge to support their idea. Evolution has had over a century's worth of evidence. More and more evidence is found every day and what is found fits within the framework of evolution. If ID was science, then there should be an equally developed body of self consistent knowledge. There isn't. Instead, they are trying very hard to discredit evolution. That is not science. My biggest pet peeve is when they get the basics of chemistry, physics and biology wrong. It is still irksome that many people believe evolution explains the origin of life, which it does not. It is also irksome how people use the word 'theory' in a layman's sense and not in the strict context of science. That is the origin of my comment that undermining evolution undermines science - people need to change the basic scientific definitions in order to try to get traction against evolution.