Anti-Evolution "Academic Freedom" Bill Passed In Louisiana

Ars Technica is running a story about recently enacted legislation in Louisiana which will allow school board officials to "approve supplemental classroom materials specifically for the critique of scientific theories" such as evolution and global warming. The full text of the Act (PDF) is also available. Quoting: "The text of the [Louisiana Science Education Act] suggests that it's intended to foster critical thinking, calling on the state Board of Education to '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.' Unfortunately, it's remarkably selective in its suggestion of topics that need critical thinking, as it cites scientific subjects 'including, but not limited to, evolution, the origins of life, global warming, and human cloning.'"

Comments

Re:Anti-Evolution in other countries?

[Jah-Wren Ryel]

There are some schools in the UK, for example, who teach cretinism,

So THAT"S where all the soccer hooligans come from!

Re:Weren't schools were supposed to do that alread

[Anonymous Coward]

Catch up with the times grandpa, Intelligent Design has evolved.

Re:And here we go again

[antirelic]

I think its encouraging that the state of Lousiana is supporting role playing in their school environments. Being a fan of D&D for more than two decades, having a whole bunch of people discuss fiction on such a large scale can only benefit the FRP community as a whole. I am always amazed at the level of depth grown men can achieve talking about a fictious being and the possible actions such a fictious being can take against the people of the real world. Even better is the discussion of the fictious creatures that said fictious being can send to do its combat. Though I have yet to hear these people discuss statistics, I'm sure they will given this new input into the academic settings, where things are weighed and measured for accuracy.

We are talking about role playing... oh... religion. Nevermind.

Re:Weren't schools were supposed to do that alread

[grimwell]

Instead, ID simply says that life is too complex to have evolved spontaneously on its own, therefore God must have done it.

Your troll-fu isn't all bad. You used the babel fish as bait, got some bites and even got modded up to +4 interesting. Well done.

The Babel fish is small, yellow and leech-like, and probably the oddest thing in the Universe. It feeds on brainwave energy recieved not from its own carrier but from those around it, It absorbs all unconscious mental frequencies from this brainwave energy to nourish itself with. the practical upshot of this is that if you stick a Babel fish in your ear you can instantly understand anything said to you in any language.

Now it is such a bizarrely improbable coincidence that anthing so mind-bogglingly useful could have evolved purely by chance that some thinkers have chosen to see as a final and clinching proof of the non-existence of God. The argument goes like this : "I refuse to prove that I exist", says God, "for proof denies faith, and without faith I am nothing."

"But", says Man, "the Babel fish is a dead giveaway isn't it? it could not have evolved by chance. it proves you exist, and so therefore, by your own arguments, you don't. QED."

"Oh dear", says God, "I hadn't thought of that," and promptly vanishes in a puff of logic.

Just posted to Uncyclopedia (jokes from here)

[David Gerard]

NO ORLEANS, Friday (UNN) - The Louisiana Science Education Act (LSEA) was signed by Governor Bobby Jindal yesterday. The bill will allow local school boards to approve supplemental classroom materials specifically for the critique of controversial alleged "scientific" theories.

"The Act is intended to foster critical thinking," said Gov. Jindal. "We want the state Board of Education to assist teachers in promoting open and objective discussion of scientific theories including, but not limited to, evolution, the origins of life, global warming, and human cloning."

"Next, we'll work on classroom resources concerning the debates on the position of the Earth in the universe, whether Newton got it right, whether Democritus or Aristotle was correct about matter, and whether, in fact, the liver is the most important organ in the body. Then we'll get onto whether the 'periodic table' is just a Liberal conspiracy or fire, earth, air and water are a better fit for reality, and, of course, a critical examination of whether the so-called Holocaust happened or was a put-up job by the Jesus-killers."

Some have worried that the United States will fall behind in education, science and engineering and hence economic achievement. But the new bill comes in the wake of the vast successes of Faith-Based Mortgage Lending and its beneficial effects on the US housing market. "The replacement of the US dollar with rocks and small twigs as a more trusted and widely-accepted medium of exchange is merely a temporary blip," said Ben Bernanke, director of the Federal Reserve. "The hordes of Europeans flocking to New York for the cheap shopping and laughing as they give the bums Euro notes or pound coins are merely an optical illusion. The Faith-Based Security employed by the Transport Security Administration should deal with it conclusively."

Gov. Jindal looks at the move as an opportunity. "Louisiana will make America proud again. After the success of No Orleans' Faith-Based Levees in 2006, we'll impress the world again with our Penis Rocket To The Moon project. Or we would, except that we'll be advocating critical discussion of the Intelligent Stork theory of reproduction."

Re:Weren't schools were supposed to do that alread

[croftj]

My wife grows modus ponens in our flower garden.

Re:Weren't schools were supposed to do that alread

[aproposofwhat]

Got to trot it out - as J B S Haldane said (when asked "What has the study of biology taught you about the Creator, Dr. Haldane?"):

"I'm not sure, but He seems to be inordinately fond of beetles."