The New York Times just posted a damning article about the Texas Education Agency (TEA) pressuring a science director to quit. While there isn't a whole lot more info in the article than we knew before, it's in the freakin;' New York Times. And the article makes a very important point about the science standards in Texas:
The standards, adopted in 1998, are due for a 10-year review and possible revision after the 15-member elected State Board of Education meets in February, with particular ramifications for the multibillion-dollar textbook industry. The chairman of the panel, Dr. Don McLeroy, a dentist and Sunday School teacher at Grace Bible Church in College Station, has lectured favorably in the past about intelligent design.
The standards may be the key issue here, since it looks like there is a whole passel of creationists in the TEA just waiting to rewrite the standards and set the clock in Texas back to the Middle Ages. Note in particular that the article mentions our old friend Don McLeroy, and the more people read about that guy the better. While people at TEA deny his involvement, as head of the State Board of Education -- and as a backwards-looking creationist among other things -- you can bet your bottom dollar he will be involved in this mess. So congrats, Texas: the whole world is now looking at you. It is your choice now what path to follow. There is humiliation and mocking, as suffered by Dover and Kansas, or the road to reality and reason. The choice is yours.
