Teaching pseudo-science drives scientists away

Once again we see it in the news… evangelical xians attempting to foment their dominionistic dreams by foisting their myths on the children. The same thing keeps happening over and again… in Alabama, Georgia, Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, Missouri, Montana, New Hampshire, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Washington, West Virginia, and several other states. These are just those few that could be found with a quick key word search of the internet.

There is the ongoing battle for control of education here in Texas, and in June of 2001 the Republican led U.S. Senate tried to pass an anti-evolution measure as their first bill out of the box.

This one, like many of these unwise laws, will wind up in court. Knowing the myth peddlers as we do we can expect them to appeal any losses all the way to SCOTUS. The protagonist in this case is a 19-year-old former student from Baton rouge, and he will likely win his case. American youth will be the ones leading this country back from the fringes of a second dark age. Kids will be our vaccine against ignorance.

At the hearing, Zack Kopplin, a first-year student at Rice University who launched the repeal effort while a senior at Baton Rouge Magnet High School, told the committee that the law was hurting Louisiana's reputation. Kevin Carman, the dean of Louisiana State University's Department of Science, confirmed it, saying that two scientists he was trying to recruit to the university cited the law as their reason not to accept and one scientist already at LSU departed because of worries about the quality of his children's science education. "Teaching pseudo-science drives scientists away," Carman said.

Probably the leading, grass roots youth organizations engaged in the effort to keep pseudo-science and religious mumbo-jumbo out of public education is the Secular Students Alliance. If you’re a secular parent wishing to expose your children to positive role models, please check this group out. If you’re feeling philanthropic and looking for somewhere to donate a few bucks, the SSA will provide lasting reward.

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