Deja vu in Kansas again?

What, really, is wrong with Americans these days?

Is fear and ignorance really that pervasive, or is it something else? Something perpetrated by a vocal, fanatical minority is making claims that on the surface appear moderate or at least cogent, that with a little more than a sideways glance reveals that these are coordinated efforts to consolidate positions of authority at every level of society.

From complaints to the FCC about "objectionable" material that focuses on sex, but not violence to this garbage coming out of Kansas and Ohio about challenging the Theory of Evoltution, this time pointing at it obliquely, using hte term Darwinism, and now avoiing the term "Intellignet Design", which is just a euphemism for "Creationism" which is in turn another term for "Religous fundamentalist". Now, they are not trying to get Evolution removed entirely, they just want it questioned in the classroom. Once that happens, it's just a matter of time before the changes start.

From the New York Times:
"In Kansas, Darwinism Goes on Trial Once More"
here

TOPEKA, Kan., May 5 - Six years after Kansas ignited a national debate over the teaching of evolution, the state is poised to push through new science standards this summer requiring that Darwin's theory be challenged in the classroom.

In the first of three daylong hearings being referred to here as a direct descendant of the 1925 Scopes Monkey Trial in Tennessee, a parade of Ph.D.'s testified Thursday about the flaws they saw in mainstream science's explanation of the origins of life. It was one part biology lesson, one part political theater, and the biggest stage yet for the emerging movement known as intelligent design, which posits that life's complexity cannot be explained without a supernatural creator.

Darwin's defenders are refusing to testify at the hearings, which were called by the State Board of Education's conservative majority. But their lawyer forcefully cross-examined the other side's experts, pushing them to acknowledge that nothing in the current standards prevented discussion of challenges to evolution, and peppering them with queries both profound and personal.

"Do the standards state anywhere that science, evolution, is in any way in conflict with belief in God?" the lawyer, Pedro Irigonegaray, asked William S. Harris, a chemist who helped write the proposed changes.

When a later witness, Jonathan Wells, said he enjoyed being in the minority on such a controversial topic, Mr. Irigonegaray retorted, "More than being right?"

The problem with that is the Forces of Ignorance are using real scientists' refusal to participate in the farce for their own purposes.

But Linda Holloway, a member of the 1999 state board that dumped evolution, said the mainstream scientists' failure to participate in the hearings signaled that "they're afraid to be cross-examined, they're afraid to defend their theory."

The worst part is that Kansas isn't alone in this foolishness.

If the board adopts the new standards, as expected, in June, Kansas would join Ohio, which took a similar step in 2002, in mandating students be taught that there is controversy over evolution. Legislators in Alabama and Georgia have introduced bills this season to allow teachers to challenge Darwin in class, and the battle over evolution is simmering on the local level in 20 states.

The article also states;

"While the proposed standards for Kansas do not specifically mention intelligent design - and many of its supporters prefer to avoid any discussion of it - critics contend they would open the door not just for those teachings, but to creationism, which holds to the Genesis account of God as the architect of the universe."

Then what? Dress codes to prevent "indecent" clothes like pants for girls? Mandatory drug tests for high school atheletes? Mandatory school prayer? Schools are already forbidden to teach reproductive health issues with kids aside from abstinence only. And we wonder why unwed pregnancy is an issue. That and childhood obesity. NAd school shootings are becoming more and more prevelant.

An animal knows when it is trapped, and acts out accordingly.