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Leaked PBS Memo Reveals Improper Political Agenda
Discovery Institute via US Newswire ^ | 09/27/2001 | Discovery Institute

Posted on 09/27/2001 7:43:35 AM PDT by Nora

Discovery Institute: Memo Reveals 'Evolution' Agenda


U.S. Newswire
27 Sep 6:00

Leaked PBS Memo Reveals Improper Political Agenda Behind 'Evolution' Series, Says Discovery Institute


To: National Desk, Science and Education Reporters
Contact: Mark Edwards of the Discovery Institute, 206-292-0401, ext. 107;
e-mail: medwards@discovery.org

SEATTLE, Sept. 27 /U.S. Newswire/ -- An internal PBS memo made public today reveals an improper political agenda behind WGBH/Clear Blue Sky's ongoing series "Evolution", according to the Seattle-based Discovery Institute. The memo describes how "Evolution" will be used to influence government officials and promote political action in order to shape how evolution is taught in public schools.

Dated June 15, 2001, the memo bears the title "The Evolution Controversy, Use It or Lose It: Evolution Project/WGBH Boston" The document outlines the overall goals of the ongoing PBS series Evolution and describes the marketing strategy for the series. The complete text of the PBS memo is posted at http://www.reviewevolution.com.

According to the document, which was leaked by a source within PBS, one of the goals of "Evolution" is to "co-opt existing local dialogue about teaching evolution in schools." Another goal is to "promote participation," including "getting involved with local school boards."

In addition, the document identifies "government officials" as one of the target audiences for the series, and it describes a publicity campaign accompanying the series that will include writing op-eds for newspapers and "guerilla/viral marketing."

"Clearly, one purpose of 'Evolution' is to influence Congress and school boards and to promote political action regarding how evolution is taught in public schools," says Discovery Institute President Bruce Chapman. "In fact, 'Evolution's' marketing plan seems to have the trappings of a political campaign."

"Public television is funded in part by American taxpayers, and it should be held to high standards of fairness. It is inappropriate for public broadcasting to engage in activities designed to directly influence the political process by promoting one viewpoint at the expense of others," said Chapman.

According to Discovery Institute's John West, the political agenda behind "Evolution" is made even more explicit by its enlistment of Eugenie Scott as one of the official spokespersons for the series.

Scott runs the National Center for Science Education (NCSE), an advocacy group that by its own description is dedicated to "defending the teaching of evolution in the public schools." According to the group's Web site, the NCSE provides "expert testimony for school board hearings," supplies citizens with "advice on how to organize" when "faced with local creationist challenges," and assists legal organizations that litigate "evolution/creation cases."

"The NCSE is a single-issue group that takes only one side in the political debate over evolution in public education," says West, an Associate Professor of Political Science at Seattle Pacific University. "It is inappropriate for public television to enlist NCSE's executive director as an official spokesperson for this program."

------
Founded in 1990, Discovery Institute is a non-profit, non- partisan public policy center for science, technology, regional development, environment, and defense. More information about the Institute and its activities can be found at www.discovery.org.

KEYWORDS:
SCIENCE, EDUCATION

-0-
/U.S. Newswire 202-347-2770/
09/27 06:00
Copyright 2001, U.S. Newswire


TOPICS: News/Current Events
KEYWORDS:
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To: Nora
Continued funding of PBS' stinking left-wing, liberal reactionary, anti-American diatribe has to end once and for all. First they are completely redundant. Second, they are utterly biased and suspect. Third, they are a major tax drain on the local and national level being only a part of the vast left-wing "public" education media that includes the equally ridiculous and squalid NPR.
121 posted on 09/27/2001 12:11:32 PM PDT by Imperial Warrior
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To: WRhine
The law/truth of Darwin you live by? The jungle--chest thumpers?? Write your own history--science???
122 posted on 09/27/2001 12:11:34 PM PDT by f.Christian
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To: rvoitier
"Evolution makes me wonder that if we came from apes, then why are they still here?"

Good question.
-sigh-
Apparently...no one's told you of the new developements that Clintigula's NEA have discovered.

Yea, the tree doesn't fall far from the apple.

123 posted on 09/27/2001 12:15:18 PM PDT by Landru
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To: woollyone
Can a Finch's beak turn into a pair of lips?

If the environment called for it.

If so, would it survive?

If the adaptation was a result of a change in environment, then the change would be necessary for survival.

I can also point out the exmples of the woodpecker and the Cleaner-Fish and demonstrate that it is an impossibility for these creature to have evolved naturally. Each of these two examples show intellegent design

I don't think they do. Mutualism supports evolution. Please expand.

But can you demonstrate a finch turning into a lizzard, or a dog?

Sure, have you got a couple hundred finches, a lot of land and a few hundred thousand years?

124 posted on 09/27/2001 12:16:05 PM PDT by Ice-D
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To: KC_Conspirator
Abolish Public Television

Abolish Public Education

Let parents and the free market rule.

125 posted on 09/27/2001 12:17:06 PM PDT by Aggressive Calvinist
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Comment #126 Removed by Moderator

To: Steve0113
How about the fact that "our rabid religious nuts" don't make a habit of murdering those who disagree with them?

Ever hear of the abortion clinic murders, Salem witch trials, writings about the savage american indians who know not God and are therefore no better than animals, or maybe the Inquisition? I find no fault with religeon, only those who think they have the ultimate answer in their religeon, be it Christianity, Islam, Hinduism or whatever. These fundamentalists are the dangerous ones, historically. I think Pascal had it right.
127 posted on 09/27/2001 12:22:07 PM PDT by marsis
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To: Ice-D
Sure, have you got a couple hundred finches, a lot of land and a few hundred thousand years?

That's wishful thinking. By evolutionary standards, it'd take a lot longer than that.
128 posted on 09/27/2001 12:26:10 PM PDT by dubyagee
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To: dubyagee
But long enough to see a change
129 posted on 09/27/2001 12:27:56 PM PDT by Ice-D
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To: Steve0113
How about the fact that "our rabid religious nuts" don't make a habit of murdering those who disagree with them?

You might want to share that info with some of the anti-abortion crowd, what with their website with the crossed off names and all.

130 posted on 09/27/2001 12:29:19 PM PDT by ThinkPlease
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To: f.Christian
The law/truth of Darwin you live by? The jungle--chest thumpers?? Write your own history--science???

You undermine your own cause by your incoherence and irrationality. Keep on posting. LOL.

131 posted on 09/27/2001 12:30:14 PM PDT by WRhine
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To: VadeRetro
Splain this...

The Cleaner fish lives in a certain variety of brightly colored coral that is attractive to the barracuda. The barracuda swim over to this coral and hover with their mouths open while the CleanerFish swims into his mouth and feeds on the bacteria that are on the barracuda's teeth. The barracuda allows this to happen and doesn't eat the cleaner fish. Without this activity, the teeth of the Barracuda would rot out and kill it and the Cleaner Fish wouldn't survive.
Splain how the barracuda "evolved" this behavior of alowing fish to swim in thier mouths and not eating them.
OR, how the Cleaner Fish learned to swim in the mouths of larger fish, knowing they wouldn't be eaten.
Or, how the barracuda learned which type of coral to hover near.

All of these traits had to mutate in these organisms at the same time or this phenomena would bot be happening today. Swimming into the mouth of a larger fish is not what is termed "survival of the fittest". Allowing fish to swim in your mouth without eating them is not "survival of the fittest". This is a great example of intellegent design and refutes the evolutionary theory.

Even if these events were to have mutated silmultaniously, these mutations would have had to breed offspring with the same mutations and they would have had to interact only within the the mutated relationships...for instance, if the mutated Cleaner Fish treid his teeth-cleaning stunt in a non-mutated barracuda, he'd be lunch...end of that evolution! Can't happen. Didn't happen.

Evolution is a theory, not fact. And those that hold to it fail to realize that their belief that it is fact is based upon thier faith...faith that there isn't a Creator God. If there is a God, then they aren't Him and are under His reign. This is the core issue with most (not all) evolutionists...submission.

God loves you. His burden is easy and light. Turn to Him and be saved.

...it's lightning...gotta go for now...

baa

132 posted on 09/27/2001 12:35:21 PM PDT by woollyone
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To: WRhine
How do you decide which frog is rational--cohearent?

Water--frogs do seek their own destiny--level??

133 posted on 09/27/2001 12:40:08 PM PDT by f.Christian
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To: ThinkPlease
you've got mail
134 posted on 09/27/2001 12:40:17 PM PDT by marsis
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To: VadeRetro
Why do some mammals lay eggs? Why do some reptiles give live birth? So? There is little doubt that all species have evolved ...physically in particular but the essence of this argument is about the origins of life or more precisely...mankind. School is still out on that subject insofar as I know. Both schools of thought here are basically theories which cannot be "proven". One is based on an examination of patterns being revealed as our technology and discoveries improve and the other is based on faith in a written word that a number of us have chosen to ascribe to. These two schools of thought do not necessarily have to be mutually exclusive.
135 posted on 09/27/2001 12:43:19 PM PDT by wardaddy
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To: woollyone
But can you demonstrate a finch turning into a lizzard, or a dog? That's the type of transition that is required for evolution to be believable...that a species can turn into another species.

Nope, I don't think that will ever be possible. The circumstances the allowed for the path for proto-critter to become proto-finch and proto-lizard, and proto-dog will likely never be the same. Sure, it is possible for speciation to occur, but it will take millions of years for the finch or the dog to evolve. Who knows what the future finch will look like?

136 posted on 09/27/2001 12:45:32 PM PDT by ThinkPlease
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To: PatrickHenry
"There is (protein molecules are formed in various natural ways) but no truly living cell has yet been produced in the lab. What of it?"

There is no evidence of inanimate objects evolving into any animated form whatsoever. This means that there is utterly no EVIDENCE to support the first required step of the Evolutionary Process on an inanimate planet.

In science, one should be a bit suspicious of any theory that fails to find evidence to support the very first step of said theory.

I see, however, that you have religiousesque FAITH is said theory even without said evidence. That's fine, but call your beliefs religion because they aren't based upon tangible scientific evidence.

137 posted on 09/27/2001 12:45:38 PM PDT by Southack
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To: toddhisattva
Hey, I even fell for that "Christ risen from the dead" crap

If I wrote Hey I even fell for that "Talmudic rabbinical crap"...I would be rightly admonished by many.

Personally I think the abuse button is for sissies but you went way over the line. You should be ashamed. Please try not to go ad hominum if possible.

138 posted on 09/27/2001 12:46:57 PM PDT by wardaddy
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To: VadeRetro
"What's an amphibian doing with a fish head?"

One could say the same thing about various automobiles over the years, yet it wasn't the cars per se which evolved, but rather the DESIGNERS of the cars evolved.

Likewise, seeing the same DNA code (i.e., same skull) re-used in two different species isn't evidence that one species evolved into another so much as it is evidence that the designer of the two species had a reason to re-use some of his old DNA code.

139 posted on 09/27/2001 12:49:53 PM PDT by Southack
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To: marsis
Actually, history has proven the Godless such as Hitler and Lenin and Beria and Stalin and Pol Pot to be much more dangerous than religious Christian fundamentalists. I can't speak for other religions. We are unfortunately learning that in particular Islam may have a new lesson for us all in that regard.
140 posted on 09/27/2001 12:51:54 PM PDT by wardaddy
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