Oklahoma GOP platform requires teaching creationism

Even if Sam Brownback is elected Governor in 2010, Kansas won't be the clear cut favorite to be the most backward state. Look what the Oklahoma GOP platform calls for"

7. We believe that the scientific evidence supporting Biblical creation should be included in Oklahoma public schools curricula, and if any evolution theory is taught, that both should receive equal funding, class time, and material. Teachers should have the freedom to cover creation science without fear of intimidation, reprimand, or lack of professional respect.

[...]

Curriculum
1. Curricula should include [...] the option of using the Bible as HISTORY [emphasis added] or literature text.

State Board of Education: Vote the Whole Ballot

Hey, Kansans, when you vote this November don't quit too soon. The most important vote you cast could be close to the very end of the ballot. Five members of the Kansas State Board of Education (SBOE) will be elected on Tuesday.

And, if you have any doubts about what is at stake read the candidate survey from Kansas Citizens for Science

Whether the SBOE will be again be controlled by pro-science moderates or be deadlocked and at risk of swinging back into control of anti-science, anti-public education extremists is at stake. And, it is not just science standards that are at risk. When the conservative extremists were last in control of the SBOE, they hired an ideologue with no educational experience and no experience managing large institutions as Education Commissioner at a $140,000 salary.

Only one incumbent, the anti-science, radical anti-fundamentalist Kathy Martin is running for re-election. Fortunately, voters in the 6th District have a very solid alternative--Chris Renner.

But for the other four races, voters may have a harder time knowing the score. Just as they did when originally gaining control of the SBOE, anti-science candidates seem to prefer stealth and code words.

Fortunately, there are ways to find out who is anti-science. The KNEA has made endorsements (2nd--Sue Storm; 4th Carolyn Campbell, 6th Chris Renner, and 8th Walt Chappell.) The anti-science "Free Academic Inquiry and Research Committee which bills itself a "Kansas Republican Assembly PAC" has endorsed the other candidates in the 4th, 6th, and 8th races.

In the 10th District, both Republican David Dennis and Democrat Paul Casanova appear to be pro-science.

Amazing, Revealing Answers in KCS Survey

The candidate survey from the Kansas Citizens for Science deserves the exclamations seen in old-time movie trailers--"amazing" "revealing" "bizarre." The very first question from KCS asked

which of the following organizations would you trust to inform your decision-making in regards to science? Check all that apply.

KCS also asked whether they favored revisions to the state science standards.

Here's how the bad guys answered those questions.

Kathy Martin

would trust The Intelligent Design Network Discovery Institute, Answers in Genesis, and the The Institute for Creation Research ( in addition to mainstream science organizations).

Dennis Hedke

would also trust The Intelligent Design Network Discovery Institute, Answers in Genesis, and the The Institute for Creation Research ( in addition to mainstream science organizations).

He answers

I have stated publicly and openly that the theory of evolution should be scrutinized along with any other theory that makes its way to the domain of scientific review. I can see no logic in attempting to isolate and protect this theory against the broad range of theories in science, economics, sociology, etc.

Hedke is also a global warming denialist, ally of Americans for Prosperity, and a voucher advocate.

Robert Meissner

Declined to answer the Kansas Citizens for Science survey. That tells you something, as does his 2004 support for "alternative theories" and 2008 contributions from FAIR.

f the SBOE races haven't gotten the media attention they deserve, don't blame the moderate candidates. They all seem to be running vigorous campaigns. In Wichita, for example, Walt Chappell is running radio and TV commercials. Here's his TV spot

Darwin vs Kansas

Kansas vs. Darwin, a documentary film about the 2005 "kangaroo court" hearings on evolution, is scheduled to air on Kansas PBS stations in late July and August.

It will air at 9:00 p.m. on July 28 on KTWU, Channel 11 in Topeka; at 7:30 p.m. on July 31 on KCPT, Channel 19 in Kansas City; and at 8:00 p.m. on August 21 on KPTS, Channel 8 in Wichita.

KBOE Forum: Science Standards

Five of the six Wichita area candidates for the Kansas Board of Education appeared at a forum on June 30 at Allison Middle School. Towards the end, they were asked about science standards (i.e., evolution vs. creationism.)




It's not always easy to tell where BOE candidates really stand. In the past, anti-evolution candidates have been elected to the KBOE through stealth campaigns.

Two candidates in the 8th district--Democrats Walt Chappell and Chalels Wiggins are clearly in favor of strong science-based science standards. Republican Dennis Hedke appears ambivalent.

In the 10th District, Democrat Paul Cassanova and Republican David Dennis are against imposing religious views on science instruction. Republican Marty Marshall skipped the forum.

Marshall and Hedke have both been endorsed by the Kansas Republican Assembly, which supports so-called intelligent design.

Flock of Dodos comes to Wichita

The hilarious documentary Flock of Dodos: The Evolution-Intelligent Design Circus is being shown twice in Wichita in early Day.


First, on May 4, it will be showing at Exploration Place, 300 N. McLean Blvd. in Wichita, at 6:30 p.m. The screening will be followed by a panel discussion; tickets are $5, $3 for Exploration Place members. For further information, visit: http://www.exploration.org/events/index.cfm

Then, on May 7, it will be showing in Wichita State University's CAC Theater, at 7:00 p.m. The screening will be followed by a question-and-answer panel discussion featuring director Randy Olson; the event is free and open to the public. For further details, visit:
http://www.wichita.edu/thisis/news/news.asp?__A=article&__NID=2629

For further details about the film, visit:

Two reports on Taner Edis Talk on Islam and Evolution

Taner Edis, a physicist at Truman State University, gave a talk Tuesday night in Lawrence on Islam and creationism and related topics.

Josh Rosenau at Thoughts from Kansas

... science in the Muslim world is seen through the lens of technology. Improvements in living conditions and advancement of a people or a nation through technological advances are good. Connecting those technical advances to broader theoretical frameworks has always been seen as a dangerous and potentially heretical act. Islamic philosophers have would argue that the Quran provides the necessary overarching framework, and that attempts by the sciences to usurp any part of that role have always found resistance.

Thus, efforts to harmonize science and Islam have tended to focus on finding ways to show that particular scientific discoveries are explained by the Quran. The Prophet referred to the seven levels of the heavens, so exegetes seek to identify seven meteorological or astronomical layers. Vague descriptions of the formation of a fetus are presented as perfect brief descriptions of modern embryology. As Edis writes, "it is striking how little writers of the science-in-the-Quran genre know about science. … [T]hey conceive of science as a set of practical applications and concrete facts to be collected and organized like stamps. This view is not even medieval; medieval science at least enriched its stamp collections with an elaborate God-centered perception of nature."

Red State Rable, notes the contradiction between the efforts of the the Discovery Institute to globalize ID and statements like the following on prominent ID blogs

"Islam is a cancer growing on the planet. It needs to be killed not accomodated

Unfortunatley, RSR seems to accepts the myth of Islamic tolerance.

RSR promises more posts on the talk in coming days.

Meanwhile, take a look at The Illusion of Harmony, the latest book by Taner Edis.