Religion, Science May Turn a Page Over Textbook in Texas

[DBoon]

Per LA Times

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-textbook6nov06,1,332681.story?coll=la-headlines-nation

(registration required)

Choice quotes:

A coalition of religious conservatives — buoyed by the work of Dembski and a few others — has launched a campaign to point out what it calls inaccuracies and inadequacies in the books' presentation of evolution. Their goal: Persuade the board to reject the books or require publishers to edit passages about evolution, raising enough questions that some believe the door would be opened to teaching creationism in public schools...

...In Texas, both sides of the debate see the dispute as a test for the emerging presence of evangelism in science, politics and government. The vote, state officials say, will be close. Several of the 15 elected members of the board of education have spoken openly about conflicted feelings.

Have we entered the new dark ages? When do we start drowning witches?

[theivoryqueen]

1. Yikes !

My thoughts exactly. I read the Handmaidens' Tale a while back, and still shudder when I see some of that books prophesies coming true. It's disheartening to remember that none of the Dark Ages nations were democratic. I guess people just want to hand over all responsibility for their lives to god and bush. Don't wanna worry their lil' heads with rational, messy thought. Plus science is a lot harder to study for - all those facts and stuff. It's soooo much easier to pass the test where the only right answer is "god".

[DarkPhenyx]

8. Did you post on the "Handmaid" thread...

...in the Meeting Room about two weeks ago?

[Malva Zebrina]

2. this is another issue that is both so totally stupid

and sadly shameful. Texas seems to have been going that route for a long time--deliberately altering textbooks. I read there is an influential woman, forget name, who has made it her life's work to influence textbook buying and coerce the publishers into publishing subjects in the textbook according to the Christian religion. Selling textbooks is a big business--they cave in and supply what Texas orders.

[dwckabal]

3. This is just the Kansas debacle

(and Georgia, and Louisiana, and...) all over again.

Science will prevail.

[walkon]

4. Effective Planning

The right wing-nuts decided years ago to get themselves elected to school boards and other low level local political positions. They have been successful and now they can push issues like this all the way. Reasonable people are in the minority on many of these boards. I believe this is nation wide but it reveals itself more in the South, it seems - and "boarder states". They aren't called Neocons for nothing!

[DarkPhenyx]

9. Unfortantely we can't rely on that.

Science should prevail, and will in a logical rational society. However we aren't living in one of those. It is entirely possible for a small group of zelots to have an inordinamount of pull in these issues. particularly when they have money and powerful backing. Look at the gains they have already made, and the changes forced by them.

[muriel_volestrangler]

5. Nothing, from outside the US, looks quite as strange

as large parts of the world's most technologically advanced nation stubbonly rejecting 200 years of geological and biological knowledge. And when there's a president who seems to associate with such people, we have that little uneasy feeling in our stomachs, for 4 years, that maybe this guy really does believe Armageddon is just around the corner, and that it might not be a bad thing.

[maha]

6. Texas writes America's textbooks.

I've spent years in the textbook publishing industry. The truth is that the big "adoption" states like Texas and California determine what goes into the books published by the big textbook publishers and used nationwide. Their adoption committee members, who are usually appointees of the governor, decide what they want in textbooks and how they want it presented, and they send their guidelines to the publishers, and the publishers create the textbooks to fit the guidelines.

Some states (Texas in particular) have requirements for Texas-specific material, which forces the publsihers to create separate "Texas editions" of Textbook series that are different from the national editions. But to save costs, the Texas editions and national editions are as identical as possible so that at the printing plant the Texas edition requires only a black plate change and not a whole new set-up.

How this might work is if the national textbook has a few paragraphs on evolution that can't be used in Texas, the black plate is changed so that the text (printed in black) in the Texas book is different form the national book. But to make this do-able the textbook writers have to limit what is said about evolution in the national books, in effect quarantining evolution information into a few paragraphs that can be easily switched.

[DarkPhenyx]

7. Since they aren't going to be willing to teach evolution...

...in their churches to my satisfaction and standards they can't teach their Creationism in my schools. If you keep your religion out of my science I will keep my science out of your church.

[Grins]

10. Thanks, but...

Thanks for the catch. I truly hate what the Christian right is attempting to do in education. There was a post a while back that the "Creationists" had been beaten back in Texas. Looks like "...they’re baaaack...."

Dembski is a senior fellow with the Seattle-based Discovery Institute that the Howard F. Ahmanson Foundation has generously funded; specifically, the Institute’s anti-evolution movement and other right-wing causes that advance their fundamentalist Christian outlook. Their goal is to, "unseat not just Darwinism but also Darwinism's cultural legacy." Although Dembski claims to be interested only in the scientific "evidence" against evolution, Dembski's appearance at Calvin College, a school the promotes his research in attacking Darwin and funded also by Ahmanson’s wife, is entitled "Seminars in Christian Scholarship".

Ahmanson himself was (he's now deceased) a bit of a religious nutcase and served for over two decades on the board of directors of the Chalcedon Foundation, Rousas J. Rushdoony's Reconstructionist think tank. Ahmanson's opposition to evolution remains part of a larger plan toward establishing a fundamentalist "Christian nation". They would just love to have the death penalty for: … adulterers (look our conservative republicans!), homosexuals, witches, incorrigible children and those who spread "false" religions. They regard the teaching of evolution as part of a "war against Genesis."

Take a look here: <http://www.txscience.org/files/discovery.htm>

However, my comment here is a bit different. There are a lot of postings on this site that link to the LA Times, and you have to register with them before you can read the article.

Today, I finally broke down and decided to register. I got more than halfway - then I read their privacy policy and decided not to. Basically they admit that they can take your name, address, telephone, email, and link that to what you read (Jesus, this is sounding like something Herr Ashkroft would like to have!), and do with it as they wish. More, they reserve the right to pass that information on to all their "Affiliates", in which case, their privacy policy goes right out the window. See ‘ya!

I know I’m a bit of a paranoid on this, but given what the administration’s Nazi’s in the Pentagon are trying to do, I think I’m a bit justified. (For reference you can read Safire’s NY Times columns, “Privacy Invasion Curtailed”, 13 Feb 2003{btw, Safire was wrong}, and “Dear DARPA Diary” of 05 June 03.) I also have software on my computer that watches who gets my ‘clicks’ and, after looking at the hit list, I was astounded on who is getting my information. Now, I block it all.

Again, thanks for the heads-up.

[jokerman93]

11. The next obvious question for me is

do I care who knows what I read? I'm a strong progressive and my political interests and concerns are going to to be known anyway once I start stepping up to my commitment to activism this year.

Screw them.

I'm ready for head-on confrontation in this contry anyway, and I'm going to be counted!

"Bring 'em on!"

[Grins]

12. And my reply is..

It's none of their damn business what the hell I read!

In most cases, you're right, who cares? But what right have they to make hay ($$$?) off my information without my consent? The combinations of data they collect, and can assimilite from other sources, hold all kinds of infomation about you true or not.

I know, maybe it's me. But I've been leery of this ever since I read Vance Packard's books years ago, and it's been getting worse each year regardless of legislation.

I'm mad because my local grocery chain gives a discount if I register with them. Of course they now know my credit card number, what I buy, when I buy, where I live, and who knows what. It must have great value, because they are willing to pay others discounts to get it!

Sixty Minutes did a story years ago when they picked a couple of people at random. They volunteered to allowe an investigator to look at their cancelled checks. In 4 days he sliced and diced the two volunteers up. Told the women her medical history, mentioning her drug required to control her menstrual problems. Surprised the heck out of her. Big deal? Let a prospective employer know that you may be out of work each month - and goodbye job. Nutzy? EDS got caught doing it.