Posted on 01/03/2006 12:12:37 PM PST by PatrickHenry
Also today, Dover's board might revoke the controversial intelligent design decision.
Now that the issue of teaching "intelligent design" in Dover schools appears to be played out, the doings of the Dover Area School Board might hold little interest for the rest of the world.
But the people who happen to live in that district find them to be of great consequence. Or so board member James Cashman is finding in his final days of campaigning before Tuesday's special election, during which he will try to retain his seat on the board.
Even though the issue that put the Dover Area School District in the international spotlight is off the table, Cashman found that most of the people who are eligible to vote in the election still intend to vote. And it pleases him to see that they're interested enough in their community to do so, he said.
"People want some finality to this," Cashman said.
Cashman will be running against challenger Bryan Rehm, who originally appeared to have won on Nov. 8. But a judge subsequently ruled that a malfunctioning election machine in one location obliges the school district to do the election over in that particular voting precinct.
Only people who voted at the Friendship Community Church in Dover Township in November are eligible to vote there today.
Rehm didn't return phone calls for comment.
But Bernadette Reinking, the new school board president, said she did some campaigning with Rehm recently. The people who voted originally told her that they intend to do so again, she said. And they don't seem to be interested in talking about issues, she said. Reinking said it's because they already voted once, already know where the candidates stand and already have their minds made up.
Like Cashman, she said she was pleased to see how serious they are about civic participation.
Another event significant to the district is likely to take place today, Reinking said. Although she hadn't yet seen a copy of the school board meeting's agenda, she said that she and her fellow members might officially vote to remove the mention of intelligent design from the school district's science curriculum.
Intelligent design is the idea that life is too complex for random evolution and must have a creator. Supporters of the idea, such as the Discovery Institute in Seattle, insist that it's a legitimate scientific theory.
Opponents argue that it's a pseudo-science designed solely to get around a 1987 U.S. Supreme Court ruling that biblical creationism can't be taught in public schools.
In October 2004, the Dover Area School District became the first in the country to include intelligent design in science class. Board members voted to require ninth-grade biology students to hear a four-paragraph statement about intelligent design.
That decision led 11 district parents to file a lawsuit trying to get the mention of intelligent design removed from the science classroom. U.S. Middle District Court Judge John E. Jones III issued a ruling earlier this month siding with the plaintiffs. [Kitzmiller et al. v Dover Area School District et al..]
While the district was awaiting Jones' decision, the school board election took place at the beginning of November, pitting eight incumbents against a group of eight candidates opposed to the mention of intelligent design in science class.
At first, every challenger appeared to have won. But Cashman filed a complaint about a voting machine that tallied between 96 to 121 votes for all of the other candidates but registered only one vote for him.
If he does end up winning, Cashman said, he's looking forward to doing what he had in mind when he originally ran for school board - looking out for students. And though they might be of no interest to news consumers in other states and countries, Cashman said, the district has plenty of other issues to face besides intelligent design. Among them are scholastic scores and improving the curriculum for younger grades.
And though he would share the duties with former opponents, he said, he is certain they would be able to work together.
"I believe deep down inside, we all have the interest and goal to benefit the kids," he said.
Regardless of the turnout of today's election, Reinking said, new board members have their work cut out for them. It's unusual for a board to have so many new members starting at the same time, she said.
"We can get to all those things that school boards usually do," she said.
Is Bertrand Russell still alive?
Fester, did you ever get around to measuring the speed of light with the chocolate bar in the microwave??
"Gee. I guess we all better stop reading them. I repeat, they were written for an audience that experienced at the time, and an audience that still experiences on a daily basis, a sun that rises and sets. Or are you one of those people who, when the sun rises, says, "Look! An illusion created by the rotation of the earth!" Cut me a break."
"moon" should be "moons" in the previous post.
nah, it wasn't your id, it was your ego being pushed by your superego.
I like the ones in white. Makes for a better wet burqua contest.
No. Did you?
Gee, I hauled off and made myself infamous.. Cool..
Marx, Darwin, Stalin, and Mao have the same problem.. They see themselves as primates.. earth bound and progressively exhibit primate tendency's..
The Law of Gravity: What goes up must come down. Except when it goes up really, really fast. Then it escapes & becomes a fugitive from justice.
:-)
"Yet simply stated - what goes up must come down."
Not so fast, mclnnnn. This is not always true, you see. If it were, we couldn't launch missions into space. We have a spacecraft or two which have already exited our solar system. We threw them up and they aren't coming down. Gravity's an amazing thing, huh?
Bingo! Simply read their Wedge Strategy.
That's not to say that there is not some possibilities behind ID, but the Discovery Institute pretty much has laid out it's agenda through the wedge stategy and this school board was a trial balloon.
Much of that agenda repackaged the Creation story to something that is more palatable to the fence sitters amongst us. Don't believe in our God, well then maybe you'll at least accept some sort of "Creator". It was also a way to muddy the water on other theories rather than scientifically and through the process of falsification the validity of it's theory.
Again, years ago, ID was widely rejected by people of deep faith. Not much has changed in terms of it's foundation, yet now it is being embraced. The sudden turn around is fishy.
"Again, years ago, ID was widely rejected by people of deep faith. "
And it still is. The current little wave of creationism, relabled as Intelligent Design is not being promulgated by those of deep faith. Rather, it is being promulgated by those who wish everyone to have the same beliefs they do. Most of these, I find, lack deep faith. Shallow faith is more their style, in most cases.
You have nailed it, AG.
....and how shall the hypothesis be learned if it only gets presented by the media and by its other opponents?
It must be presented as what it IS and not what supporters, opponents, judges, juries, etc. would make it to be in some sort of melodrama of their own creation.
At what point did the breeding of animals and manufacture of bronze become "scientific?" Was it as soon as any notion of God or intelligent design was left out of the picture?
It must be presented as what it IS and not what supporters, opponents, judges, juries, etc. would make it to be in some sort of melodrama of their own creation.
YOU are exactly correct!
Great Point!
ID is Agnostic Creativeism... at least as ligitimate as Evolution.. which is scientific materialism.. if one is taught so should the other be.. Not teaching both as fact would best.. But ID does steal the limelight from Evolution.. thats what they hate.. Progressive ideologies don't like to share.. they do not play well with others.. its their way or the highway.. Not all Evos feel this way, only the progressive ones.. Matter of fact you can tell the "progressive" ones by this trait.. Especially here at Free Republic.. Not all Evos are "conservatives".. Most are progressives.. You know ex-democrats, or stealth democrats.. some are Loosertarian..
That's the best description of ID I've read in a long time.
Thanks!
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