Thursday, June 02, 2005
Calvert Calls For Kansas Board to Adopt Intelligent Design Proposal by Default
"The boycott of the hearings had the effect of coercing silence, subverting the search for good solutions to a problem that plagues public education," Calvert wrote.
[Pedro] Irigonegaray, {[the attorney who represented the majority draft standards at the hearings] meanwhile, submitted 15 court decisions related to the teaching of evolution and the establishment of religion. And in an introductory letter with his filing, Irigonegaray said the claim that evolution is the same as atheism is flawed.
"There appear to be no cases in which the judiciary has stated that evolution is the equivalent of atheism," Irigonegaray said. "Moreover, many scientists who do embrace evolution are not atheists. Categorically defining evolution as a dogma of
atheism is incorrect."
Red State Rabble finds Calvert's reasoning flawed. After all, mainstream scientists and educators participated in -- and led -- the normal curriculum development process and won the vote there by a two-thirds majority. Just because the board changed the rules in the middle of the game does not invalidate that work.
Moreover, mainstream scientists participated in the four public hearings held in Kansas in February. It was the failure of the intelligent design proponents -- and their largely creationist foot soldiers -- to offer convincing public arguments in favor of the minority proposal that ultimately led the Discovery Institute, the Calvert's ID Network, and their clients, the conservative majority on the board, to abandon the established process and hold the star chamber hearings.
