Bama Victory

Posted by Reed A. Cartwright on May 4, 2005 10:00 PM

From Bob Collins:

Dear Friends of Science and Education:

We won!!!

Tuesday, May 3, was the deadline for bills to pass at least one house of the Alabama Legislature, or they would be dead for the remainder of this session.

The three creationist bills, HB352, HB716 and SB240, each misnamed “The Academic Freedom Act”, all failed to pass even one house by that date, so they have now died a well-deserved death.

These bills were supported by the Alabama Christian Coalition, who emailed 6 separate “alerts” asking their membership to ask their legislators to support these bills.

Last year, a creationist bill was approved by the full Senate and the House Education Committee, and was within hours of passing the full Alabama House of Representatives when the legislature ran out of time. We were better organized this year, and it worked!!

Thanks to everyone who called, wrote, faxed, talked to their legislators and/or testified.

We made a difference!!!!

There is no time to rest. This summer and fall, the Alabama State Board of Education will pick science textbooks for our schoolchildren. They will also decide whether to continue use of the embarrassing “Evolution Disclaimer” pasted in the front of every elementary, middle and high school textbook that mentions anything that happened over 6,000 years ago.

We will be monitoring the textbook selection process and will keep this email list informed.

Thanks again

Trackback URL: http://www.pandasthumb.org/cgi-bin/mt/mt-tb.cgi/1004

Comment #28279

Posted by Sir_Toejam on May 4, 2005 10:04 PM (e) (s)

Woot!

Comment #28280

Posted by Gary Hurd on May 4, 2005 10:08 PM (e) (s)

Great news.  It is sometimes hard to remember that most people are not like the professional creationists and their dupes we so often encounter here on PT.

Comment #28281

Posted by Joseph O'Donnell on May 4, 2005 10:11 PM (e) (s)

Good to see that science education standards were maintained.

Comment #28282

Posted by Great White Wonder on May 4, 2005 10:12 PM (e) (s)

That is AWESOME.  Congratulations!

Maybe next year Alabamans can pass a “Defense of Scientific Integrity” bill that relegates creationist garbage to history classes.

Comment #28283

Posted by Stuart Weinstein on May 4, 2005 10:12 PM (e) (s)

Oh Well. Good News. Of course one can already hear the battle cry of the creationists..

“Wait till next year!”

Comment #28286

Posted by Sir_Toejam on May 4, 2005 10:30 PM (e) (s)

“There is no time to rest. This summer and fall, the Alabama State Board of Education will pick science textbooks for our schoolchildren.”

*sigh* and here I was thinking only freedom required eternal vigilance.

evidently, preventing the spread of ignorance does as well.

Comment #28291

Posted by RBH on May 4, 2005 11:02 PM (e) (s)

Sir TJ wrote

*sigh* and here I was thinking only freedom required eternal vigilance.

evidently, preventing the spread of ignorance does as well.

They’re synonymous.

RBH

Comment #28294

Posted by Sir_Toejam on May 4, 2005 11:11 PM (e) (s)

true, dat.

Comment #28300

Posted by moioci on May 5, 2005 12:19 AM (e) (s)

I have to say I’m a little disappointed that this issue has not yet made it to the ACSE site and that I didn’t receive email via the AIB listserv referenced there. I am grateful to Bob Collins and Reed Cartwright for spreading the word through this august channel and EXTREMELY grateful that their efforts have been rewarded. I fear that eternal vigilance will remain the watchword here in the land of Judge Roy Moore.  Next year I’ll have a statement in the can, ready to fire off when, not if, the time comes.

Comment #28320

Posted by Mike P on May 5, 2005 03:31 AM (e) (s)

May I suggest we e-mail and thank the congresspeople for not approving this nonsense?  I think some positive reinforcement might increase the chance that they’ll act this way on their own in the future.

Comment #28345

Posted by Flint on May 5, 2005 08:24 AM (e) (s)

We might choose to notice that nobody actually had to go on record as voting AGAINST this proposal.

Comment #28508

Posted by "Rev Dr" Lenny Flank on May 5, 2005 07:57 PM (e) (s)

May I suggest we e-mail and thank the congresspeople for not approving this nonsense?  I think some positive reinforcement might increase the chance that they’ll act this way on their own in the future.

Uh, guys, the idiots who introduced this bill KNEW it would never pass.  Passing it was not their intention.  Like the dozens of similar bills that get introduced every year all over the country, they are simply some pablum that the R’s toss to the foaming fundies occasionally to insure that the votes and checks keep coming, even if the R’s don’t actualyl DO anything for them.

It’s electioneering grandstanding.  Nothing more.

Comment #28559

Posted by Sir_Toejam on May 6, 2005 04:34 AM (e) (s)

well, as my pop always says, “it’s better than a poke in the eye with a sharp stick”.

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Trackback: Alabama on My Mind*

Posted by Abnormal Interests on May 5, 2005 04:07 PM

I don't live in Alabama. Anywhere there is an effort to legislate nonsense may well be the starting place of a trend that could even reach California or Washington, DC. For this reason, I take interest in Alabama. On May...