Texas' Director of Science Curriculum fired for criticizing Intelligent Design

[woad&fangs]

Guncite.com did have some bias but it actually wasn't too bad. It also provided links to pro-guncontrol websites so if they made up a bunch of Bull **** it would have been pretty easy to realize. I didn't bother to bash it in the debate because of that. There are very few sources that aren't biased. The Colbert Report and a magazine called The Week are the only news sources that I can think of that have no or almost no bias.

[English assassin]

"...implies that TEA endorses the speaker's position on a subject on which the agency must remain neutral."

Yo. Bias dudes. The TEA itself says it must remain neutral on the question of intelligent design.

To spell that out, the TEA is unable to bring itself to say that telling lies to children in its care is wrong.

[Crazed Rabbit]

Strictly speaking, it's not 'lies' - it's just 'science which we have no facts to support'.

CR

[English assassin]

Strictly speaking, it's not 'lies' - it's just 'science which we have no facts to support'.

CR

This is some new use of the word "science" not to be found in my dictionary... Still, we seem to be more or less in agreement.

I discovered this week that one of my assistants is a creationist. Thanks to new Labour's equality Nazis, he is free to give me worthless creationist tracts. Whereas if I give him John Maynard Smith's classic "The Theory of Evolution" I will have discriminated against his religion, and he will have hit the compensation jackpot.

This urinates me off somewhat.

[Husar]

Thanks to new Labour's equality Nazis, he is free to give me worthless creationist tracts.

And you're free to throw them into the trash while he's watching, maybe he'll get the idea.

[Papewaio]

So the science director can't make a decision on what is and isn't science?

And that is decided by the TEA. Aren't they making a non-neutral decision on what is and isn't science? How would you feel if TEA was saying that ritual sacrifice on pyramids was a central tenant of christian belief? Its just as arbitrary and just as dumb... but it would be 'neutral'.

"Houston we have a problem. The woombles are at the gates demanding that we stop faking moon landings and that the world is indeed flat. We are to cease and desist and commit to a course of crystals, tea, phrenology, tarot card readings and a remedial course in astrology."

[Big_John]

Strictly speaking, it's not 'lies' - it's just 'science which we have no facts to support'.

CR

strictly speaking (hell, even loosely speaking), 'intelligent design' is no kind of science.

[Lemur]

Strictly speaking, it's not 'lies' - it's just 'science which we have no facts to support'.

That doesn't sound like strictly speaking at all, it sounds like loosely speaking with a tenuous grasp of the English language.

What kind of science do you have when there are "no facts to support"? How is that different from magic, witchcraft, astrology, Dianetics or spontaneous human combustion? (No, wait, strike that last one. At least there's some evidence for SHC, whereas there is none for ID.)

[Crazed Rabbit]

That doesn't sound like strictly speaking at all, it sounds like loosely speaking with a tenuous grasp of the English language.

What kind of science do you have when there are "no facts to support"? How is that different from magic, witchcraft, astrology, Dianetics or spontaneous human combustion? (No, wait, strike that last one. At least there's some evidence for SHC, whereas there is none for ID.)

Good grief, it was just a figure of speech to get in a joke about ID.
(Also, a lie is something you know is false, whilst ID'ers believe in ID)

I didn't think it was politics, but that it was very much related to science, and to her occupation. It was a talk given by a _scientist_, regarding Intelligent Design, which is part of the curriculum. How is it NOT related to her job description to announce such events ?

I think she doesn't have the power to announce such events solely by herself, which is the issue on that point.

CR

[Lord Winter]

Then for that matter CR, is it wrong for a teacher to offer etra credit for students to go to a well qualified speaker on say the effects of fertillizer on frog population. Something which also has a certain degree of "conterversy" mainly coming from fertillizer companys?

[Papewaio]

I think she doesn't have the power to announce such events solely by herself, which is the issue on that point.

Most job descriptions of any caliber I read have 'initiative, works well without close supervision, independent thinker, can think outside the box' kind of statements.

What is the point of hiring for a senior position then having to vet every email by committee?

[Cheetah]

Also, seems to be overlooked that the person whos lecture she advertised through e-mail "is also a member of NCSE's board of directors".

So the director of NCSE cannot advertise a lecture by an other member of the board?

[Crazed Rabbit]

Most job descriptions of any caliber I read have 'initiative, works well without close supervision, independent thinker, can think outside the box' kind of statements.

What is the point of hiring for a senior position then having to vet every email by committee?

Really - do they have "exceeds authority in a way that comprises her agency's reputation" along with all the other complaints about her in the article as desired qualities in employees?

CR