| No, this is NOT an April Fool's story, and yes, Democrats are people of faith too, y'all. Just in case y'all didn't know that.
A Democratic State Senator - Ben Nevers - has filed a bill, SB 651, currently titled "The Louisiana Academic Freedom Act." I'm guessing Frank Luntz advised him on the name.
The bill provides for the following:
- Educational authorities in Louisiana should “assist teachers to find more effective ways to present the science curriculum where it addresses scientific controversies.”
- Biological evolution, global warming and other topics “can cause controversy” in public school classrooms and may confuse teachers on how they should be taught.
- Teachers and others should encourage students to tackle different views on such topics, including scientific strengths and weaknesses of each theory.
Secular institutions, of which public schools are, cannot teach religious instruction in the curriculum. It's as simple as that. The Supreme Court already smacked us down before for trying to teach creationism in our schools. Are we attempting to prove Albert Einstein right? After all, he defined insanity as "doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results."
Now, Mr. Nevers is a nice man, but he has been hoodwinked by the Louisiana Family Forum, which is an innocuous sounding name for a right-wing shill group intent on telling us all how we ought to be living our lives. Don't believe me? Look at their mission, which is right on their website (emphasis added):
To persuasively present biblical principles in the centers of influence on issues affecting the family through research, communication and networking.
Biblical principles? Centers of influence? That's mighty high falutin' language to dress up the fact that they'll use our elected officials to push their agenda upon the rest of us. |
