By Design

In 2005, a federal judge appointed by George Bush, John Jones III, slapped down a bid in Dover, Pennsylvania, to insert creationism into public school science. (He received death threats for his efforts.) Don’t expect the creationists to give up. Texas looks like friendly territory.

The Austin-American Statesman reported last week that science curriculum director Chris Comer's ouster followed her circulation of an email announcing an upcoming speech by Barbara Forrest, co-author of Creationism's Trojan Horse: The Wedge of Intelligent Design and an expert witness in Kitzmiller v. Dover.

[...]

Hours after Comer used her work email account to forward the Forrest announcement to friends and a few online communities, Texas Education Agency adviser Lizzette Reynolds emailed Comer's bosses and called for her dismissal.

  Wired

Now, it appears that TEA employees can also jeopardize their jobs for not having a sufficiently sunny attitude about the current education scheme in Texas. In October, Lizzette Reynolds - the same person who called for Comer to be fired - found a “fire-able offense” in an email sent by Cami Jones, TEA’s director of early childhood development, according to copies of agency e-mails obtained by the Observer.

[...]

The offending line came at the end of a long e-mail Jones sent to Pam Schiller, a freelance early childhood consultant and author, answering a question about upcoming revisions to the Pre-K curriculum. “I long for the good ole’ days when we were making good things happen for young children. Those were the days….take care….”

  Texas Observer

Alas, Ms. Jones is the one who needed to “take care.”

Schiller said Jones has butted heads with the No Child Left Behind partisans who run the show at TEA. “I think Cami has a difficult time there,” Schiller said. “She is kind of Don Quixote. She fights for the rights of children in a sturdy way. She is firm in her philosophical foundation of what she thinks is appropriate for small children … I wouldn’t be surprised if they weren’t looking for a way to make her quiet.”

In the interview with the Statesman published today, Reynolds baldly asserted that she “doesn’t think there is a muzzle on anyone [at TEA]. Everyone can express their opinions — goodness knows I have many — but we are a state agency and must respect the beliefs of Catholics, atheists, Jews, Christians, Muslims, everyone.”

But we won’t be listening to information that shows “intelligent design” is not science.

According to the [Institute for Creation], based in Dallas, “flexible blood vessels” discovered in dinosaur bones proves that dinos have only been around for centuries instead of millenia. Also, in the ICR’s December issue of Acts & Facts, the ICR’s director of research, Dr. Vardiman, discusses his scientific project called RATE (that’s radioisotopes and the age of earth for the uninitiated). His findings have led to the major conclusion that the Earth is thousands — not billions of years old. Dr. Vardiman admits he’s still struggling with some pesky scientific questions

  Texas Observer

The Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board Committee tabled consideration until January of the Institute for Creation Research’s request to grant degrees in Texas.

[...]

When asked if the commissioners wanted the subject read out at the meeting, they mumbled “no thanks” and the subject was tabled until the next board meeting on January 24th.

“It would seem odd for a state agency to certify a science degree at an institution that doesn’t teach science,” says Dan Quinn, Communications director at Texas Freedom Network.

Odd indeed, but then again, this is Texas.

  Texas Observer

Nova has a 2-hour documentary (in several parts so you can watch it as you find the time) available on its website entitled: Judgment Day: Intelligent design on trial. I saw it on TV recently, and learned, as did Judge Jones, a lot more about research and new evidence for the theory of evolution since I was in school. It’s a very nicely put together program. I recommend you watch it if you haven’t seen it already or didn't follow the Dover case.

....but hey, do what you want....you will anyway.