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From the National Center for Science Education.
http://www.ncseweb.org/resources/news/2005/KS/128_biologists_snub_39kangaroo__3_30_2005.asp
This report on a planned six days of hearings on evolution, with
"intelligent design" (ID) proponents given equal time with
scientists. The hearings are being organized by the conservative
majority on the Kansas State Board of Education, at the suggestion of
the Kansas-based Intelligent Design Network, in part says:
Scientists refusing to participate
The hearings are scheduled for May 5-7 and May 12-14. However,
Nature reports that the Kansas BoE has so far failed to find any
evolutionary biologists willing to participate in a grueling set of
hearings, with no standards for what constitutes "expert testimony,"
and with an apparently predetermined result. Harry McDonald,
president of Kansas Citizens for Science, was quoted in the Nature
article as saying the Board is "just doing this as a political
smokescreen." Kansas Citizens for Science has recommended a boycott
to scientists who might be invited to testify, and is planning to
host alternative events in opposition to the hearings.
Reaction to kangaroo court
The Kansas "kangaroo court" for evolution has attracted considerable
criticism in addition to that of Kansas Citizens for Science. People
for the American Way called the idea a "Creationism Show Trial." On
March 29, J. David McDonald, Chairman of Biological Sciences at
Wichita State University, wrote in the Wichita Eagle, "Simply put,
certain religious groups feel threatened by evolution and have thus
set out to attack it in any way they can. They cannot threaten it
scientifically, so they are using political power to do what they can
to push it to the margins." He concluded by saying, "The science of
evolution is about the how of life's origins. Religions are about the
why. Both science and religion are overreaching when they extend into
the other's domain."
Martin
>ISEN-ASTC-L is a service of the Association of Science-Technology Centers
>Incorporated, a worldwide network of science museums and related institutions.
>*****************************************************************************
>
>Colleagues: As the former project director of Man: A Course of Study I have
>followed this discussion with considerable interest, but I wonder why science
>museum folks feel that it is necessary to draft statements defending science.
>Aren't you giving the Creationists just the visibility that they seek? The
>whole strategy of the Creationists and the Religious Right is to try
>to get people
>who believe in rational discourse to engage in a dialogue with them -- not to
>achieve understanding but to create a public platform where they can express
>their dogmatic beliefs. Turning a science museum into a forum for such debates
>only denegrates science. Why not ignore this nonsense and press on with your
>good work. Truth reveals itself to each of us in its own sweet way, and I have
>never met anyone who has a corner on it. Peter Dow
>
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--
Martin Weiss, Ph.D
Vice President, Science
New York Hall of Science
47-01 111 th Street
Corona, New York 11368
718 699 0005 x 356
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More information about the Informal Science Education Network and the
Association of Science-Technology Centers may be found at http://www.astc.org.
To remove your e-mail address from the ISEN-ASTC-L list, send the
message SIGNOFF ISEN-ASTC-L in the BODY of a message to
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