The Quote

The Quote:
In the lawsuit challenging the intelligent design policy, Buckingham was further quoted as saying: "This country was founded on Christianity and our students should be taught as such."

The Truth:If I only had a brain.
“This country was founded over 200 years ago and we should be a little more advanced in our thinking by now.”


Note:
I will endeavour to provide more intelligent commentary in the future but I find my emotions getting the best of me in witnessing this absurdity.  

First Kansas and now Pennsylvania. What is goin on down there people? WAKE UP!

Republished from education.guardian.co.uk
US school's evolution teaching goes on trial

Supporters of the theory of evolution go head-to-head with proponents of "intelligent design" in a Pennsylvania court today in what is being billed as a crucial cultural battle for American education.
A group of parents in the small town of Dover, backed by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), is seeking to overturn a decision by the local school board insisting that intelligent design - the claim that complex organisms have been designed rather than evolved in response to natural selection - must be included in the curriculum.

The case, to be heard in the US district court in nearby Harrisburg, will revisit the clash between creationism and Darwinism in the 1925 Scopes Monkey trial and highlight the growing influence of the religious right.

Any verdict in the case could end up before the supreme court because of the importance of the issues at stake.

The 11 parents challenging the Dover school board will argue that intelligent design is a cover for creationism and therefore an attempt to impose religion in schools.

"We're fighting for the first amendment, the separation of church and state and the integrity of schools," Philadelphia lawyer Eric Rothschild told the Los Angeles Times. "This trial should decide whether a school board can impose its religious views on other students."

This is the first legal challenge to the mandatory teaching of intelligent design, which is championed by a growing number of Christian fundamentalists and has been taken up by a number of school boards across the United States. President Bush has backed the teaching of intelligent design in schools.

Although supporters of intelligent design claim it is not creationism because it does not actually mention God, there is no doubt about the religious overtones of the controversy which has split the town of Dover as well as the nation.

In October last year, the school board voted six to three to require a statement on intelligent design approved to be read to ninth-grade science students. One board member, William Buckingham, urged his colleagues: "Nearly 2,000 years ago someone died on a cross for us. Shouldn't we have the courage to stand up for him?" The statement said: "Because Darwin's theory is a theory, it continues to be tested as new evidence is discovered. The theory is not a fact. Gaps in theory exist for which there is no evidence ... Intelligent design is an explanation of the origin of life that differs from Darwin ... With respect to any theory, students are encouraged to keep an open mind."

Students are then pointed to a book, Of Pandas and People: the Central Question of Biological Origins, published by an intelligent design advocacy group, the Foundation for Thought and Ethics, based in Texas.

Two school board members, Carol and Jeff Brown, resigned in protest and a group of angry parents contacted the ACLU, which is hoping to put intelligent design on trial as a theory without any credible scientific basis.

Standing against them will be a team from the Thomas More Law Center, a non-profit Christian law firm that says its mission is "to be the sword and shield for people of faith" in cases on abortion, school prayer and the 10 commandments.

In Dover, Sheree Hied and her husband Michael strongly back the board. "I think we as Americans, regardless of our beliefs, should be able to freely access information, because people fought and died for our freedoms," she said.

But neighbour Steven Stough countered: "You can dress up intelligent design and make it look like science, but it just doesn't pass muster. In science class, you don't say to the students, 'Is there gravity, or do you think we have rubber bands on our feet?" '

OPEN LETTER TO KANSAS SCHOOL BOARD

http://www.venganza.org/

I am writing you with much concern after having read of your hearing to decide whether the alternative theory of Intelligent Design should be taught along with the theory of Evolution. I think we can all agree that it is important for students to hear multiple viewpoints so they can choose for themselves the theory that makes the most sense to them. I am concerned, however, that students will only hear one theory of Intelligent Design.

Let us remember that there are multiple theories of Intelligent Design. I and many others around the world are of the strong belief that the universe was created by a Flying Spaghetti Monster. It was He who created all that we see and all that we feel. We feel strongly that the overwhelming scientific evidence pointing towards evolutionary processes is nothing but a coincidence, put in place by Him.

It is for this reason that I’m writing you today, to formally request that this alternative theory be taught in your schools, along with the other two theories. In fact, I will go so far as to say, if you do not agree to do this, we will be forced to proceed with legal action. I’m sure you see where we are coming from. If the Intelligent Design theory is not based on faith, but instead another scientific theory, as is claimed, then you must also allow our theory to be taught, as it is also based on science, not on faith.

Some find that hard to believe, so it may be helpful to tell you a little more about our beliefs. We have evidence that a Flying Spaghetti Monster created the universe. None of us, of course, were around to see it, but we have written accounts of it. We have several lengthy volumes explaining all details of His power. Also, you may be surprised to hear that there are over 10 million of us, and growing. We tend to be very secretive, as many people claim our beliefs are not substantiated by observable evidence. What these people don’t understand is that He built the world to make us think the earth is older than it really is. For example, a scientist may perform a carbon-dating process on an artifact. He finds that approximately 75% of the Carbon-14 has decayed by electron emission to Nitrogen-14, and infers that this artifact is approximately 10,000 years old, as the half-life of Carbon-14 appears to be 5,730 years. But what our scientist does not realize is that every time he makes a measurement, the Flying Spaghetti Monster is there changing the results with His Noodly Appendage. We have numerous texts that describe in detail how this can be possible and the reasons why He does this. He is of course invisible and can pass through normal matter with ease.

I’m sure you now realize how important it is that your students are taught this alternate theory. It is absolutely imperative that they realize that observable evidence is at the discretion of a Flying Spaghetti Monster. Furthermore, it is disrespectful to teach our beliefs without wearing His chosen outfit, which of course is full pirate regalia. I cannot stress the importance of this enough, and unfortunately cannot describe in detail why this must be done as I fear this letter is already becoming too long. The concise explanation is that He becomes angry if we don’t.

You may be interested to know that global warming, earthquakes, hurricanes, and other natural disasters are a direct effect of the shrinking numbers of Pirates since the 1800s. For your interest, I have included a graph of the approximate number of pirates versus the average global temperature over the last 200 years. As you can see, there is a statistically significant inverse relationship between pirates and global temperature.

In conclusion, thank you for taking the time to hear our views and beliefs. I hope I was able to convey the importance of teaching this theory to your students. We will of course be able to train the teachers in this alternate theory. I am eagerly awaiting your response, and hope dearly that no legal action will need to be taken. I think we can all look forward to the time when these three theories are given equal time in our science classrooms across the country, and eventually the world; One third time for Intelligent Design, one third time for Flying Spaghetti Monsterism, and one third time for logical conjecture based on overwhelming observable evidence.

Sincerely Yours,

Bobby Henderson, concerned citizen.