Tuesday, January 25, 2005
"Get Yer Hot Ant News Here!"
For those of us who simply can't find enough ant info from our local news outlets, here's a link to a blog named Ant News. Here you'll find discussions and opinions regarding the latest ant literature. This blog has also been added to the blogroll. Hey, we can't talk politics all the time!
For those of us who simply can't find enough ant info from our local news outlets, here's a link to a blog named Ant News. Here you'll find discussions and opinions regarding the latest ant literature. This blog has also been added to the blogroll. Hey, we can't talk politics all the time!
Sunday, January 16, 2005
Don't Monkey With Evolution!
Georgia seems to be joining the 21st Century! In a moment of clarity, a federal judge in Atlanta has ruled that a school district's biology textbook stickers referring to evolution as "a theory not a fact" are unconstitutional:
"ATLANTA, Georgia (CNN) -- A federal judge in Atlanta, Georgia, has ruled that a suburban county school district's textbook stickers referring to evolution as "a theory not a fact" are unconstitutional.
In ruling that the stickers violate the constitutionally mandated separation between church and state, U.S. District Judge Clarence Cooper ruled that labeling evolution a "theory" played on the popular definition of the word as a "hunch" and could confuse students.
The stickers read, "This textbook contains material on evolution. Evolution is a theory, not a fact, regarding the origin of living things. This material should be approached with an open mind, studied carefully and critically considered."
The disclaimers were put in the books by school officials in 2002."
-snip-
"His conclusion, he said, "is not that the school board should not have called evolution a theory or that the school board should have called evolution a fact."
"Rather, the distinction of evolution as a theory rather than a fact is the distinction that religiously motivated individuals have specifically asked school boards to make in the most recent anti-evolution movement, and that was exactly what parents in Cobb County did in this case," he wrote.
"By adopting this specific language, even if at the direction of counsel, the Cobb County School Board appears to have sided with these religiously motivated individuals."
The sticker, he said, sends "a message that the school board agrees with the beliefs of Christian fundamentalists and creationists."
"The school board has effectively improperly entangled itself with religion by appearing to take a position," Cooper wrote. "Therefore, the sticker must be removed from all of the textbooks into which it has been placed."
-snip-
"According to the AP, the schools placed the stickers after more than 2,000 parents complained the textbooks presented evolution as fact, without mentioning rival ideas about the beginnings of life."
While we're at it, why don't we place disclaimer stickers in the bible, stating that although this book is reputed to be the word of god, rival religions do exist explaining "rival ideas" regarding the meaning of life. THAT would go over quite well.......
Georgia seems to be joining the 21st Century! In a moment of clarity, a federal judge in Atlanta has ruled that a school district's biology textbook stickers referring to evolution as "a theory not a fact" are unconstitutional:
"ATLANTA, Georgia (CNN) -- A federal judge in Atlanta, Georgia, has ruled that a suburban county school district's textbook stickers referring to evolution as "a theory not a fact" are unconstitutional.
In ruling that the stickers violate the constitutionally mandated separation between church and state, U.S. District Judge Clarence Cooper ruled that labeling evolution a "theory" played on the popular definition of the word as a "hunch" and could confuse students.
The stickers read, "This textbook contains material on evolution. Evolution is a theory, not a fact, regarding the origin of living things. This material should be approached with an open mind, studied carefully and critically considered."
The disclaimers were put in the books by school officials in 2002."
-snip-
"His conclusion, he said, "is not that the school board should not have called evolution a theory or that the school board should have called evolution a fact."
"Rather, the distinction of evolution as a theory rather than a fact is the distinction that religiously motivated individuals have specifically asked school boards to make in the most recent anti-evolution movement, and that was exactly what parents in Cobb County did in this case," he wrote.
"By adopting this specific language, even if at the direction of counsel, the Cobb County School Board appears to have sided with these religiously motivated individuals."
The sticker, he said, sends "a message that the school board agrees with the beliefs of Christian fundamentalists and creationists."
"The school board has effectively improperly entangled itself with religion by appearing to take a position," Cooper wrote. "Therefore, the sticker must be removed from all of the textbooks into which it has been placed."
-snip-
"According to the AP, the schools placed the stickers after more than 2,000 parents complained the textbooks presented evolution as fact, without mentioning rival ideas about the beginnings of life."
While we're at it, why don't we place disclaimer stickers in the bible, stating that although this book is reputed to be the word of god, rival religions do exist explaining "rival ideas" regarding the meaning of life. THAT would go over quite well.......
