"Intelligent design" cannot be mentioned in biology classes in a Pennsylvania public school district, a federal judge said Tuesday, ruling in one of the biggest courtroom clashes on evolution since the 1925 Scopes trial.
The Dover Area School Board violated the Constitution when it ordered that its biology curriculum must include "intelligent design," the notion that life on Earth was produced by an unidentified intelligent cause, U.S. District Judge John E. Jones III ruled Tuesday.
The school board policy, adopted in October 2004, was believed to have been the first of its kind in the nation.
"The citizens of the Dover area were poorly served by the members of the Board who voted for the ID Policy," Jones wrote. "It is ironic that several of these individuals, who so staunchly and proudly touted their religious convictions in public, would time and again lie to cover their tracks and disguise the real purpose behind the ID Policy."
The lying by those on the right is not so much ironic, but sadly typical. They know if they speak the truth, their objectives will not be accepted, so they disguise their intentions with lies.
Since this ruling only applies to the Dover district, it will be interesting to see if the ID supporters will appeal. A ruling against them at a higher court would have much greater impact, and should discredit this idea nationally.
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2 comments:
I guess the religious right doesn't believe in the 9th commandment about bearing false witness.
that judge really didn't rip those guys a new one, didn't he?
e+
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