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Texas Science Curriculum Director Resigns Over Creationism Kerfuffle
The science blogosphere is abuzz (here, here and here, for starters) with some juicy creationism news from Texas. According to the Austin American-Statesman, Chris Comer, the state's director of science curriculum, was pressured into resigning this month. Her crime? Forwarding an e-mail about an upcoming talk by creationism expert Barbara Forrest. (Now mind you, by "creationism expert," I don't mean "creationist." Barbara Forrest testified in the Dover trial, and according to Pharyngula blogger PZ Meyers, she had creationists shaking in their boots.)
Anyway, long story short, the Texas Education Agency (TEA) had a fit. A TEA memo obtained by the Statesman said, "Ms. Comer's e-mail implies endorsement of the speaker and implies that TEA endorses the speaker's position on a subject on which the agency must remain neutral."
Now, never mind the fact that the neutrality for which Texas strives on the subject of creationism pretty much amounts to bad science. Even if neutrality is your goal—heck, even if you're the biggest creationist ever—you might still be interested in hearing what this Barbara Forrest has to say. And if you're a teacher, you're ostensibly interested in open forums, free exchange of ideas, etc. Tough luck for you if you're teaching in Texas. Talk about a hostile learning environment.
Lizette Reynolds, formerly of the Bush Department of Education, who called for the firing has never taught in a classroom.
Neither have most of the "officials" of the Texas Department of Education.
"Is our children learning?"
Not much. Not in Texas anyway.
Perhaps they failed to receive God's memo on the subject of education. Perhaps God should have CCed Texas when he sent the memo to Kansas.
http://www3.sympatico.ca/n.rieck/docs/god_on_evolution.html
Incredible. They clearly need a dose of the Flying Spaghetti Monster:
http://www.venganza.org/
Explain again why we should be amazed at this turn of events. When, exactly, did broadminded discussion move to the forefront of this issue?
If God wanted broad-minded people of high IQ he wouldn't have created Texas.
You have got to hand it to those Texans, they pump Texas Tea, Black Gold, OIL out of the ground, and seem to think it, like Topsy, "jes growed." The creatures we and they know it "growed" from are not here anymore, and we can thank a compassionate Nature for that. One of the things Mom Nature got right was ridding the earth of Tyrannosaurus before letting us humans out to play.
What do you expect from a once 'bush-led' state? Now bush can retire down there with all the other idiots.
I wonder if Bush really plans to retire...If he manages to bomb Iran, he could declare a state of emergency, instill martial law, and call off the 2008 elections....I mean, he's already destroyed a good portion of the Bill Of Rights..he's committed numerous crimes against humanity,(like the use of a new, improved chemical weapon similar to napalm, nicknamed "whisky pete" by the military, that burns one alive, and was used on the citizens of Faluja) lied to the American people, over and over, did everything to prevent an investigation into 9/11, and when he finally allowed one made sure it was a whitewash. I heard that on 9/11 that Bush wouldn't let the Fighter Pilots use their full speed...which is understandable under peacetime conditions...But to tell them not to bust the sound barrier (if this is true) when our country was being attacked...well, there can be only one reason for that. And what about Pilots for 9/11 Truth? These guys are highly educated people, and for one, they have said there's no way the plane that hit the Pentagon could have taken out the light poles. Also, if a plane did hit the Pentagon, why not show the footage? I find it impossible to believe that planes flew around attacking U.S. targets for 2 hours without a military response--unless it was designed that way. And I don't know about how the towers collapsed, but WTC 7 was definitely brought down with explosives! Silverstein was on T.V. and said "they weren't sure they could contain the fires (bull) and there's been such loss of life..so we made the decision to pull it...and so they pulled it, and then we watched the building collapse." This building contained Guiliani's emergency bunker, the offices of about every intelligence service in the U.S., pertinent evidence on the Enron investigation...that building was meant to stand! Fire has NEVER collapsed a steel-framed building before or since 9/11, even though some have burned for 18 hours...This building wasn't hit by a plane. And there's no way they could have rigged it for implosion right then and there--experts say it would take about 30-40 men at least an hour or more, which would have been noticed...So, it must have been rigged beforehand...And why wouldn't Makasey, who knew exactly what waterboarding is, say it was torture? Because then old George and Cheney could actually end up in jail, where they belong. We need to take to the streets in a mass movement larger than anything before, and take back our gov't before it is too late.
Alan you have said exactly how I feel-9/11 was an inside job-Jeb owned the co. that had the security for the towers-look at the money made on put options-on American airlines-look at how many were warned not to go to work that day. We all know-but many cannot face the facts,
I would urge fellow Texans to email TEA commissioner Robert Scott at commissioner@tea.state.tx.us as I have just done.
The thing that really scares the heck out of me is that most of the nations educational materials come out of Texas. I guess there are Islamo Fascist and then there are Christian Fascist.
God Bless us all and my somebody save us from our eternal stupidity and religious intervention in politics and education.
It's hardly worth posting to this. Good article but it seems that the people who decide upon faith over facts will always be with us. Good post Alan. The evidence is too great to deny that 9/11 was in at least a complicit action by the executive branch of our government. Too many facts tell us we are being lied to grossly. And it fits far too well the agenda of the executive/intelligence/military branches of the government.
Just remember; Oceania is at war with Eurasia. Oceania has always been at war with Eurasia. Eastasia is our ally. Eastasia has always been our ally (and the chocolate ration is going up to 15 grams next week; doubleplusgood!) This shows how far down Texas has gone since it got Bushed last millenium; now I'm not so sorry I moved north to Oklahoma.
You have it all wrong, the state of emergency will not be Iran based; but because of an internally created crisis; probably race related or financially related.
Bushwhacked again! Haven't we got enough cow dung from Texas already? What with George, Jeb and the so-called christian right, along with the Bush clan, we don't need any more cow dung coming out of Texas.
Yeah Texas is big but who would have thought it could hold so much BS!
I dont understand why Texas Education Agency (TEA) had a fit