Now, lately, I've been trying very hard not to be so critical of religious zealotry; however, after receiving the following in my email, it's going to be close to impossible.
We in the LA Coalition for Science have reached the point at which the only possible measure we have left is to raise an outcry from around the country that Gov. Jindal has to hear. What is happening in Louisiana has national implications, much to the delight of the Discovery Institute, which is blogging the daylights out of the Louisiana situation.
SB 733, the LA Science Education Act, has passed both houses of the legislature, and the governor has indicated that he intends to sign it. But we don't have to be quiet about this. There is something that you and everyone else you know who wants to help can do:
The LA Coalition for Science has posted a press release and an open letter to Jindal asking him to veto the bill. The contact information is at the LCFS website.
It is time for a groundswell of contacts to Jindal, and this must be done immediately since we don't know when he will sign the bill. The vote in the legislature is veto-proof, so any request for Jindal to veto the bill must stress that the governor can make this veto stick if he wants it to stick. Please contact everyone you know and ask them to contact the governor's office and ask him to veto the bill. Please blog this. If you have friendly contacts in your address book, please ask them to also contact the governor's office.
We want people all over the country to do this, as many as possible, since Louisiana will be only the beginning. Their states could be next. Here are the talking points:
Point 1: The Louisiana law, SB 733, the LA Science Education Act, has national implications. So far, this legislation has failed in every other state where it was proposed, except in Michigan, where it remains in committee. By passing SB 733, Louisiana has set a dangerous precedent that will benefit the Discovery Institute by helping them to advance their strategy to get intelligent design creationism into public schools. Louisiana is only the beginning. Other states will now be encouraged to pass such legislation, and the Discovery Institute has already said that they will continue their push to get such legislation passed.
Point 2: Since Gov. Jindal's support for teaching ID clearly helped to get this bill passed in the first place, his decision to veto it will stick if he lets the legislature know that he wants it to stick.
Point 3: Simply allowing the bill to become law without his signature, which is one of the governor's options, does not absolve him of the responsibility for protecting the public school science classes of Louisiana. He must veto the bill to show that he is serious about improving Louisiana by improving education. Anything less than a veto means that the governor is giving a green light to creationists to undermine the education of Louisiana children.
You can pull additional talking points from the LCFS press release and our online letter if you want them.
Now we have to get the message out to people. People can contact the governor and and also contact their friends, asking them to do the same. We need to create a huge network of e-mails asking people to do this. Where they live does not matter at this point. What is happening in Louisiana has implications for everyone in the nation. The Discovery Institute does not intend to stop with the Pelican State.
It's from Barbara Forrest, and she's terribly worried about the inevitable and impending collapse of Louisiana's educational system as a result of the passing of SB-733, The Louisiana Science Education Act, which seeks to give the pseudo-scientific nonsense of creationism and intelligent design time in the state's public school science classrooms.
The thing is, this legislation is going to lead to yet another lawsuit since, as was seen in Dover, PA, it's already been proven that creationism and intelligent design violate the separation clause of the First Amendment to the United States Constitution as a result of their blatant religious underpinnings. And, it only takes a moment to realize that religious superstition and Dark Age philosophy have no place in the texts of today's American science scholars.
Unfortunately for Louisiana, Governor Jindal has shown that he is in favor of cramming religious dogma into the minds of the students regardless of the wishes of our nation's founders that this country shall always remain free.
So, sadly, there is little hope to save the free minds and beliefs of Louisiana's children as well as the already strapped finances of Louisiana's taxpayers; however, as Dr. Forrest suggests, there may still be time to open Governor Jindal's eyes to the dark and damaging path that lay ahead for the good people of Louisiana should he not veto this legislation. So, clearly, it's important to write Governor Jindal or call him (225-342-7015 or toll-free at 866-366-1121) to express your concerns and try to convince him to stop this now.
You can find a copy of the open letter written by the Lousiana Coalition for Science here.
Moreover, for the Christians reading this who also wish to save science education in Louisiana, I found a fine letter of concern written by a Christian here.
So, get on that if you can. The people of Louisiana have suffered enough, and the last thing they need is to have the minds of their children crippled by superstition and pseudo-science.
I agree with P.Z. Myers in that it must be made perfectly clear to Governor Jindal that should he have any national political aspirations, the willful destruction of science standards in the Louisiana curriculum will "follow him like stink on a skunk."
Phil Plait, the Bad Astronomer also has a lot to say on this.
Thanks,
Dan
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Posted By Dan to The Wisdom of a Distracted Mind at 6/18/2008 07:44:00 PM
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