Indiana DEFINITELY isn’t perfect


At least Seattle limits its scientific ignorance to a piece of bad journalism. Indiana has anti-evolution legislation bubbling up:

Senate Bill 89, prefiled in the Indiana Senate and referred to the Committee on Education and Career Development, would, if enacted, amend the Indiana Code to provide that “[t]he governing body of a school corporation may require the teaching of various theories concerning the origin of life, including creation science, within the school corporation.” The sponsor of the bill is Dennis Kruse (R-District 14), who chairs the Senate Committee on Education and Career Development. In 1999, while serving in the Indiana House of Representatives, Kruse pledged to introduce a law to remove evolution from the state’s science standards, according to the South Bend Tribune (August 27, 1999). Instead, however, he introduced bills with the same wording as Senate Bill 89, House Bill 1356 in 2000 and House Bill 1323 in 2001. Both died in committee.

It’s irritating enough that people want to legislate their religion into science classrooms. But this is obviously unconstitutional and has no chance of surviving a legal battle. Stop wasting the time and money of Hoosiers and focus on issues that actually matter.

…One day, one day I will receive positive news from my home state.

Comments

  1. fastlane says

    The first good news will hopefully be that Dennis Kruse lost his re-election bid.

    This is clearly, and easily shown to be, unconstitutional. The bill even contains the phrase ‘creation science’ which has explicitly been ruled on in the past. Unless he is really so stupid as to think even the current SCOTUS would reverse Aguillard.

    http://www.talkorigins.org/faqs/edwards-v-aguillard.html

  2. ButchKitties says

    At least we have awesome breweries?

    A steady stream of Alpha King does help make living in this state more tolerable.

  3. MCJB says

    so which part of “intelligent design” isn’t science do these people not quite understand???

  4. Tony B says

    Im afraid you being from here is the best news Indiana has produced in recent memory. That and Mitch not running for president.

  5. says

    “…One day, one day I will receive positive news from my home state.”

    Join the club. Tennessee is just plain depressing right now–you don’t even want to know. :)

  6. peterh says

    @ #3:

    Which part don’t they understand? A simpler question would be what part of anything do they understand?

  7. Rod Chlebek says

    A lot of us are rolling our eyes here at this Bill. It would be similar to teaching astrology along side of astronomy.

  8. icecreamassassin says

    “so which part of “intelligent design” isn’t science do these people not quite understand???”

    The ‘science’ part.

  9. Beth says

    There’s an Upland brewery/bar in Indy now too; it’s a bit south of Broad Ripple. I don’t drink beer myself, but my friends who do say it’s pretty amazing.

  10. lordshipmayhem says

    I encourage Dennis Kruse to impose on the students of the great state of Illinois this superstitious belief system that is “Creation Science”.

    It will be a great deal of help to my kith and kin, in that it will help ensure that the education Canadians receive is superior to those of the students in Indiana, making Canada a much more attractive location in the continental competition for jobs.

    Thanks, Dennis the Menace!!

  11. ohioobserver says

    Jen,
    You’ll notice I no longer live in Indiana, where I grew up (although Ohio is probably not much better in this regard).

    So far the principle bulwark against this kind of theocratic idiocy has been courts who indeed recognize the non-constitutionality of creationist initiatives in the schools. But watch out. As more conservative ideologues attain executive office — even the Presidency — the composition of courts will change, and they will become more amenable to interpreting the first amendment in terms of “free exercise”, meaning Christians are “free” to “exercise” their religion at the expense of everyone else.

    This is why who we elect matters.

  12. Thegoodman says

    I prefer the Java Stout from Barley Island in Noblesville (and now Broad Ripple I think).

  13. darchole says

    Don’t forget Indiana is the state who tried to deny Medicaid funding to health providers that also did abortions. Which really only targeted Planned Parenthood.

  14. geocatherder says

    Zach #13, your comment is oh so helpful. Who were you targeting with it?

    Indiana is the home of my crazy brother-in-law, and my relatively patient husband’s sister who deals with him daily. I love my Indiana relatives — even my crazy brother-in-law, though I wish he was easier to like. All the same, I’m glad I live on the west coast, and interact with them via Facebook. :-)

Leave a Reply