Texans fight about evolution
• Miseducation
Michael King in the Austin Chronicle:
A decade ago, the state's biology teachers were finally allowed to acknowledge what the biological and geological sciences have taken for granted for a century -- that the evolutionary theory of natural selection is the best available scientific explanation for the origin and variation of biological species. ...
Overwhelmingly, the testimony of practicing scientists and science educators, as well as that of ministers, parents, and other citizens, supported the textbooks. It's not yet clear if that will be enough to defend the books from the 15-member board. Several have already made apparent their personal hostility to evolutionary theory, but others seemed inclined to leave scientific matters to the scientists. Don McElroy, the Bryan dentist who represents District 9, brought his own show-and-tell poster board attacking evolution. ...