Everything's bigger in Texas, they say, and that saying seems to encompass the mess they're having right now over the science standards.
The Texas Freedom Network and Josh over at Thoughts from Kansas (and points west) have been live-blogging the Texas Board of Education "hearings" on the science standards. The latest from TFN:
4:23 - McLeroy wants to amend the section on biology dealing with evolution, calling into question common descent through evolution. This is a very bad amendment. Good heavens. McLeroy is a dentist, and he's trying to argue against the heart of evolution right here. He has absolutely no qualifications here.
4:32 - We're reeling here. McLeroy has launched a broadside against a core concept of evolution - common descent. This is like an army losing a battle ("strengths and weaknesses") and then launching a nuclear strike.
4:45 - Good God. It passed. Board members surely don't understand what they've done here. Certainly not all of them. Strengths and weaknesses is out, but McLeroy has succeeded in using the standards to raise doubts about a core concept of biology.
4:48 - The board has voted 9-6 to give preliminary approval to the standards.
4:32 - We're reeling here. McLeroy has launched a broadside against a core concept of evolution - common descent. This is like an army losing a battle ("strengths and weaknesses") and then launching a nuclear strike.
4:45 - Good God. It passed. Board members surely don't understand what they've done here. Certainly not all of them. Strengths and weaknesses is out, but McLeroy has succeeded in using the standards to raise doubts about a core concept of biology.
4:48 - The board has voted 9-6 to give preliminary approval to the standards.
McLeroy may also have just opened up the Texas science standards to an easy legal defeat by singling out evolution over other theories in such a blatant manner. One thing's for sure - McLeroy and his partners in crime aren't going to give in easily to the Enlightenment.
posted by Cheryl Shepherd-Adams
