[unscientific teaching in louisiana *science* classes]

In May last year I blogged about the Creation musueum that had just opened in Kentucky devoted to telling the history of the world...according to the bible. Well, know there's the Louisian State Education Act "is designed to slip ID in "through the back door", says Forrest, who is a professor of philosophy at Southeastern Louisiana University and an expert in the history of creationism. She adds that the bill's language, which names evolution along with global warming, the origins of life and human cloning as worthy of "open and objective discussion", is an attempt to misrepresent evolution as scientifically controversial.

Forrest's testimony notwithstanding, the bill was passed by the state's legislature - by a majority of 94 to 3 in the House and by unanimous vote in the Senate. On 28 June, Louisiana's Republican governor, Piyush "Bobby" Jindal, signed the bill into law. The development has national implications, not least because Jindal is rumoured to be on Senator John McCain's shortlist as a potential running mate in his bid for the presidency.

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Supporters of the new law clearly hope that teachers and administrators who wish to raise alternatives to evolution in science classes will feel protected if they do so. The law expressly permits the use of "supplemental" classroom materials in addition to state-approved textbooks. The LFF is now promoting the use of online "add-ons" that put a creationist spin on the contents of various science texts in use across the state, and the Discovery Institute has recently produced Explore Evolution, a glossy text that offers the standard ID critiques of evolution (see "The evolution of creationist literature"). Unlike its predecessor Of Pandas and People, which fared badly during the Dover trial, it does not use the term "intelligent design".

Because the law allows individual boards and teachers to make additions to the science curriculum without clearance from a state authority, the responsibility will lie with parents to mount a legal challenge to anything that appears to be an infringement of the separation of church and state. "In Dover, there were parents and teachers willing to step forward and say, this is not OK," says Rosenau. "But here we're seeing that people are either fine with it or they don't want to say anything because they don't want to be ostracised in their community."

Read the full article at New Scientist.

NB some of the comments in relation to this article in NS are hilarious while others are deeply saddening.

[oh god - literally]

So the bible might be written by some good non-English speaking *male* authors but it remains a story. A story that some take much too seriously and a story in which others find peace. Whatever your interpretation of the bible I'm sure most people today would agree that it a story that acts as a filter (for some) for current life. How bizarre then that in PETERSBURG, Kentucky the Creation Museum has just opened. It cost 27 million American dollars to build an omage to the first story in the bible, genesis. This is a place where "Evolution gets its continual comeuppance, while biblical revelations are treated as gospel." How odd! Apparently for a growing number of Americans, the bible is the bedrock of his-tory, as the museum site proclaims: "Prepare to Believe." Now, that must be some immersive story-telling. "A fully engaging, sensory experience for guests. Murals and realistic scenery, computer-generated visual effects, over fifty exotic animals, life-sized people and dinosaur animatronics, and a special-effects theater complete with misty sea breezes and rumbling seats. These are just some of the impressive exhibits that everyone in your family will enjoy." I wonder if this will be like Disney-land for Christians: I can hear the kids begging for a ride on Noah's arc...well, they do charge you for it.

Read an article on the Creation Museum in the New York Times

For those interested in the teaching of science and not creationism a petition has been started by The Campaign to Defend the Constitution and has aimed it at educators. (the Answer in Genesis group behind the building of the Creation Museum aren't too happy with the petition)