stand up for REAL science

As some readers may know, the "stand up for REAL science" website was originally created in response to a campaign that the Discovery Institute launched in the summer of 2006.

The campaign, entitled "Stand Up for Science", included a website and an online petition encouraging public support of the 2005 Kansas Science Education Standards.

For those who may not remember, these were the standards written by a minority of intelligent design (ID) supporters on the Board-appointed writing committee. The Board adopted the standards in November, 2005 despite vigorous opposition from educators, scientists, and the general public.

In the summer of 2006, I was interviewed for a newspaper article (archived) that referenced the campaign and other efforts by ID promoters in Kansas prior to the primary elections in August, 2006. Although there were protestations to the contrary, these efforts were widely perceived as an attempt to influence the outcome of the 2006 Kansas State Board of Education elections.

Thankfully, the 2006 elections changed the make-up of the Board, and the new majority summarily rejected the 2005 standards in favor of the standards written by the majority of the writing committee.

Curiously, even though the 2005 standards are no longer in effect, the "Stand Up for Science" website has not significantly changed. The petition still reads:

Show your support of strong science standards by signing this petition. You don't have to be a Kansas resident to stand up and say you support the good work that Kansas has done on its science standards. Sign the petition today.

"YES! I want to stand up in support of the Kansas science standards. I agree that teachers should equip students to critically analyze evolutionary theory by presenting them with the scientific evidence both for and against Darwinian evolution."

In the newspaper article referenced above, the Discovery Institute's Robert Crowther was quoted as saying:

This is a long-term initiative. There is a national debate over how to teach evolution. This web site will be around long after the elections are over.

Crowther was telling the truth. It has been over a year, and the website is still there. New entries have even been periodically added to the "UPDATES" column on the main page. However, the main content of the website still does not acknowledge that the 2005 standards are no longer in effect. Visitors unaware of the current state of affairs in Kansas are being inappropriately misled.

Unfortunately, although most Kansans have moved on, the Discovery Institute is apparently determined to stand in place.

Or maybe they are trying to remember why they stood up.

Don't you hate it when that happens?