Dear Friends of NCSE,
Judgment Day, the special documentary about Kitzmiller v. Dover to air
on
PBS on November 13, 2007, received a glowing review in Nature.
Meanwhile,
a governor who vocally supported creationism is out of office, the
president of NCSE's board of directors was elected as a Fellow of the
AAAS,
and NCSE has a new logo at last!
JUDGMENT DAY PRAISED IN NATURE
Reviewing Judgment Day: Intelligent Design on Trial -- the new
documentary
about Kitzmiller v. Dover -- for the November 8, 2007, issue of Nature
(450: 170), Adam Rutherford was impressed, not least with the way in
which
the filmmakers met the challenge of retelling the story. "The makers of
Judgment Day inject tension with eyewitness accounts from the people of
Dover," he writes, "and home-video footage of raucous school board
meetings
shows how passionate and divided this small community became. It
works: it is inspiring to hear parents and educators, such as Sunday
school and physics teacher Bryan Rehm, recount how they refused to be
steam-rollered into bringing religion into the science classroom."
"Judgment Day gracefully avoids ridiculing intelligent design for the
pseudo-intellectual fundamentalist fig-leaf that it is, by simply
showing
how the protagonists shot themselves in the foot," Rutherford
adds. Acknowledging that the "intelligent design" movement is still
alive
in the wake of the trial, he nevertheless concludes that "the Kitzmiller
vs
Dover verdict, matched this September with the outlawing of intelligent
design in the UK national curriculum, marked the official neutering of
this
unpleasant, sneaky movement in much of the western world. Judgment Day
is
just the sort of thoughtful programming that celebrates how sensible
people
-- faithful and otherwise -- can use science and reason to combat
fundamentalism."
Judgment Day airs on PBS stations nationwide at 8:00 p.m. on November
13,
2007. (Schedules for local affiliates can be checked on-line via the
PBS
website.) Be sure also to visit the generous website, featuring
interviews
with Kenneth R. Miller on evolution, Phillip Johnson on "intelligent
design," and Paula Apsell on NOVA's decision to produce the documentary;
audio clips of Judge John E. Jones III reading passages from his
decision
in the case and of various experts (including NCSE's Eugenie C. Scott)
discussing the nature of science; resources about the evidence for
evolution and about the background to the Kitzmiller case; material
especially for teachers, including a briefing packet for educators; and
even a preview of the documentary.
For Rutherford's review in Nature (subscription required), visit:
http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v450/n7167/full/450170a.html
For information about Judgment Day, visit:
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/id/
For the preview, visit:
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/preview/i_3416.html
For PBS schedules across the country, visit:
http://www.pbs.org/tvschedules/
FLETCHER LOSES KENTUCKY GOVERNORSHIP
Kentucky's incumbent governor Ernie Fletcher (R) was soundly defeated in
the November 6, 2007, election, by Steve Beshear (D), a former
lieutenant
governor of the state, who took 59% of the vote. A Baptist minister,
Fletcher was perhaps the most outspoken supporter of creationism to
serve
as a governor anywhere in the country in recent years. He expressed
disappointment about the verdict in Kitzmiller v. Dover, for example,
saying that local school districts ought to be able to teach
"intelligent
design" if they wish (Cincinnati Enquirer, December 25, 2005).
Subsequently, in his State of the Commonwealth address in January 2006,
Fletcher contended that under Kentucky law, teachers already have the
freedom to teach "intelligent design" in the public schools. He was
apparently referring to a portion (KRS 158.177) of Kentucky's Education
Code authorizing teachers to teach "the theory of creation as presented
in
the Bible" and to "read such passages in the Bible as are deemed
necessary
for instruction on the theory of creation." The Louisville
Courier-Journal
(January 11, 2006) reported that according to a November 2005 survey of
the
state's 176 school districts, none were teaching or discussing
"intelligent
design."
Reaction to Fletcher's comments on the part of the state's newspapers
was
negative. For example, a Kentucky Post (January 11, 2006) editorial
responded, "His plug for teaching intelligent design in public schools
is
manifestly unwelcome, if what he meant was that science teachers ought
to
incorporate it into their curriculum. If schools offer comparative
religion classes as electives and teachers wish to address intelligent
design in such classes, that's another matter. But this is instruction
that most families can take care of just fine in their own homes or
churches."
The topic of "intelligent design" arose again during a televised debate
between the gubernatorial candidates at Northern Kentucky University on
October 3, 2007. According to WKYT (October 3, 2007) in Lexington,
Kentucky, Fletcher commented, "I think there's nothing wrong with
teaching
that, in fact, I think to teach that is part of our founding heritage
and I
think it's very important," while Beshear retorted, "I believe that
science
ought to be taught in schools and religion ought to be taught at home
and
in the churches and in the synagogues." Beshear takes office on
December
11, 2007.
For section 158.177 of the Kentucky Revised Statutes (PDF), visit:
http://www.lrc.ky.gov/KRS/158-00/177.PDF
For WKYT's coverage of the debate, visit:
http://www.wkyt.com/home/headlines/10215651.html
And for NCSE's coverage of previous events in Kentucky, visit:
http://www.ncseweb.org/pressroom.asp?state=KY
NCSE PRESIDENT ELECTED TO AAAS
Kevin Padian, the president of NCSE's board of directors, was elected as
a
Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science in
October 2007 "for distinguished contributions to the study of the
vertebrate evolutionary adaptations and especially for his leadership in
science education," according to an October 26, 2007, press release from
the University of California, Berkeley. Padian is Professor of
Integrative
Biology at the University of California, Berkeley, and Curator at the
University of California Museum of Paleontology. He testified for the
plaintiffs in Kitzmiller v. Dover, the 2005 case in which teaching
"intelligent design" in the public schools was found to be
unconstitutional, and the transcript of his testimony, together with the
slides he used, is available on NCSE's website.
Members of NCSE who were also elected Fellows of the AAAS in October
2007
include Carl A. Maida of the University of California, Los Angeles;
Sally
McBrearty of the University of Connecticut; Lawrence M. Schell of the
University at Albany, State University of New York; Sara Stinson of the
City University of New York, Queens College; Linda D. Wolfe of East
Carolina University; J. David Archibald of San Diego State University;
Tom
A. Ranker of the University of Colorado; Randy W. Schekman of the
University of California, Berkeley; Andrew D. Miranker of Yale
University;
Naomi Oreskes of the University of California, San Diego; and Adrian L.
Melott of the University of Kansas. (Let the NCSE office know if we
overlooked your name on AAAS's list!)
For the press release from the University of California, Berkeley,
visit:
http://www.berkeley.edu/news/media/releases/2007/10/26_AAAS.shtml
For Padian's testimony in Kitzmiller v. Dover, including his slides,
visit:
http://www.sciohost.org/ncse/kvd/Padian/kpslides.html
For AAAS's list of new Fellows, visit:
http://www.aaas.org/aboutaaas/fellows/new_fellows.shtml
NCSE LOGO CONTEST WINNER
NCSE is pleased to announce that we've selected a winner in our logo
contest.
The winning entry is by graphic artist Andrew Conti. He describes his
entry as follows: "I have taken Charles Darwin's original notebook
sketch
of the tree of life and reworked it with rounded and more organic
lines. By doing so, it is my intention to give a sense of open-minded
and
creative playfulness, while at the same time tying a direct link to the
science and history of scientific understanding that is the focus of the
NCSE."
NCSE offers our congratulations to Andrew and our deepest thanks to all
our
participants for their continuing support of NCSE and science
education. Expect our new logo to replace the old logo over the next
few
months.
For the new logo, visit the version of this story on our website:
http://www.ncseweb.org/resources/news/2007/ZZ/238_ncse_logo_contest_winn
er_11_8_2007.asp
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Thanks for reading! And as always, be sure to consult NCSE's web site:
http://www.ncseweb.org
where you can always find the latest news on evolution education and
threats to it.
Sincerely,
Glenn Branch
Deputy Director
National Center for Science Education, Inc.
420 40th Street, Suite 2
Oakland, CA 94609-2509
510-601-7203 x305
fax: 510-601-7204
800-290-6006
branch@ncseweb.org
http://www.ncseweb.org
Not in Our Classrooms: Why Intelligent Design Is Wrong for Our Schools
http://www.ncseweb.org/nioc
Eugenie C. Scott's Evolution vs. Creationism
http://www.ncseweb.org/evc
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Received on Fri Nov 9 15:40:35 2007
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