Re: [asa] Lousiana Coalition for Science formed to fight Creationist bill

> I agree it was dissapointing to hear of Jindal supporting ID in Louisiana. I think this is a mistake and I thought with his background he should have known better. Maybe there is a way to reach him on this and keep him from going to the matt over it. He seems to be pretty open on most other issues. Perhaps the ASA should send him a letter or something?<

There is a major letter-writing campaign. I tried searching for the
text of the bill via Google and instead got a bunch of websites
expressing dismay about the bill. Going to the Louisiana state
legislature site was more productive. Probably it's a good idea to
have more letters that are sympathetic to the concerns about atheistic
agendas of many who oppose the bill while also having serious concerns
about attacks on evolution or global warming.

Here's the relevant parts of SB 733:
"B.(1) The State Board of Elementary and Secondary Education, upon
 request of a city, parish, or other local public school board, shall allow and
 assist teachers, principals, and other school administrators to
create and foster
 an environment within public elementary and secondary schools that promotes
 critical thinking skills, logical analysis, and open and objective
discussion of
 scientific theories being studied including, but not limited to, evolution, the
 origins of life, global warming, and human cloning.
 (2) Such assistance shall include support and guidance for teachers
 regarding effective ways to help students understand, analyze, critique, and
 objectively review scientific theories being studied, including those
enumerated
 in Paragraph (1) of this Subsection.
 C. A teacher shall teach the material presented in the standard textbook
 supplied by the school system and thereafter may use supplemental textbooks
 and other instructional materials to help students understand,
analyze, critique,
 and review scientific theories in an objective manner, as permitted
by the city,
 parish, or other local public school board unless otherwise prohibited by the
 State Board of Elementary and Secondary Education.
 D. This Section shall not be construed to promote any religious doctrine,
 promote discrimination for or against a particular set of religious beliefs, or
 promote discrimination for or against religion or nonreligion."

If it really meant what it says, it would be a good thing (apart from
the confusion evident in calling human cloning a theory). In reality,
the selection of issues cited and the list of supporters makes it
fairly obvious that the intent is to promote confused thinking,
illogical analysis, and closed, subjective arguments through promotion
of misinformation about evolution, global warming, etc. Of course,
not all those in favor of evolution, etc. exemplify objective
rationality, either.

-- 
Dr. David Campbell
425 Scientific Collections
University of Alabama
"I think of my happy condition, surrounded by acres of clams"
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