Wednesday, June 11, 2008 | Science : Teaching Science | print version

Analysis of SB 733: 'LA Science Education Act'

by Lousiana Coalition for Science

Reposted from:
http://lasciencecoalition.org/

SB 733, the "LA Science Education Act," is a stealth creationism bill. Introduced by Louisiana Sen. Ben Nevers on behalf of the LA Family Forum (LFF—the LA affiliate of Focus on the Family), it is the direct descendant of SB 561, the "LA Academic Freedom Act." SB 561's twin in the LA House of Representatives was HB 1168. SB 733 was passed in the LA Senate on April 17, 2008, and in the House Education Committee on May 21 as a compromise bill. SB 733 is being promoted by the Discovery Institute (the Seattle headquarters of the intelligent design (ID) creationism movement) and the LFF as part of the Discovery Institute's coordination of the introduction of academic freedom bills in six states: Florida, Alabama, Missouri, Michigan, South Carolina, and Louisiana.

Such academic freedom bills represent the Discovery Institute's newest tactic to promote ID following the defeat of pro-ID forces in the first ID legal case, Kitzmiller et al. v. Dover Area School District (2005). The Discovery Institute sent two of its representatives to the May 21, 2008, LA House Education Committee hearing: Casey Luskin, a DI staffer, and Dr. Caroline Crocker, executive director of the IDEA (Intelligent Design and Evolution Awareness) Center. Dr. Crocker testified in favor of SB 733.

The bill will be debated in the House of Representatives on Wednesday, June 11, after which it must return to the Senate for another vote because of an amendment added by the the House committee. If the bill passes both houses, it will then be sent to Gov. Bobby Jindal. If the governor signs the bill, Louisiana will become the first state to pass a creationist academic freedom bill. The Florida, Alabama, and Missouri bills died without passage.

Here is an analysis (updated: June 5, 2008; pdf) of the bill written by Barbara Forrest, an expert witness for the plaintiffs in the Kitzmiller trial.

To contact members of the House of Representatives, go here. To contact members of the Senate, go here.

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1. Comment #191646 by Shire Brooks on June 11, 2008 at 11:55 am

I know Bobby Jindal is on McCain's shortlist for VP. Do you think he's a Creationist Republican? He's Indian-American, so I'm not sure.

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2. Comment #191659 by logicalbasedreality on June 11, 2008 at 12:15 pm

A similar bill appears to have been thwarted in South Carolina as well, however the sponsors plan to re-introduce the bill next session. The same sponsors appear to be calling for a separate bill to abolish the State School Board of Education and have the Superintendent appointed by the governor. Hmmm.... wonder why that is.......

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3. Comment #191662 by Quiddam on June 11, 2008 at 12:16 pm

I know Bobby Jindal is on McCain's shortlist for VP. Do you think he's a Creationist Republican? He's Indian-American, so I'm not sure.

Yes, he's a conservative catholic convert from Hinduism. He has a 100% pro-life voting record. He's against embryonic stem cell research and he's pro intelligent design creationism.

A Catholic convert who grew up in a Hindu household, Jindal has made his name by aligning himself with the cultural conservative wing of the Republican Party, fiercely opposing stem cell research and abortion while favoring the teaching of Intelligent Design in public schools. The strategy has helped his standing among the state's conservative Christian voters, and helped him overcome the twin liabilities (in some circles) of intellectualism and ethnicity â€" traits that arouse suspicion in some of Louisiana's rural stretches, and that many say also helped tip the scales against him in 2003.

http://www.time.com/time/politics/article/0,8599,1668433,00.html

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4. Comment #191666 by 82abhilash on June 11, 2008 at 12:24 pm

Piyush "Bobby" Jindal comes from a Punjabi Hindu converted to Caholicism in high school and practices his faith devoutly. He is also on the ultra-conservative send of the political spectrum. He is extremly intelligent and can pose a formidable challenge to any worthy opponent. And yes, he thinks there is validity in the 'teach the controversy' stand.

These are his words:

"[L]et's talk about intelligent design. I'm a biology major. That's my degree. The reality is there are a lot of things that we don't understand. There's no theory in science that could explain how, contrary to the laws of entropy, you could create order out of chaos. There's no scientific theory that explains how you can create organic life out of inorganic matter. I think we owe it to our children to teach them the best possible modern scientific facts and theories. Teach them what different theories are out there for the things that aren't answerable by science, that aren't answered by science. Let them decide for themselves. I don't think we should be scared to do that. Personally, it certainly makes sense to me that when you look at creation, you would believe in a creator. Let's not be afraid to teach our kids the very best science."

How many logical fallacies can you count from that quote?

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5. Comment #191674 by Dax on June 11, 2008 at 12:38 pm

Jindal goes wherever the voter's wind blows... he's a hypocrite, a total totalitarian jerk, and I want him out of the state but not into the White House.

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6. Comment #191723 by black wolf on June 11, 2008 at 2:09 pm

Jindal is correct in recommending the teaching of different theories (as long as students have enough basic knowledge to understand). The slight problem he ignores is that ID is not a theory. It's not even a testable hypothesis the students could play around with to learn about the scientific method. If Jindal honestly can't grasp the difference, I wonder how he ever got a biology major, or how he managed to forget all about how science works.
Looking at his wiki bio page, he proceeded to study political science and then worked in economic consulting. Apparently he has embraced the idea that promoting a cause is more important than standing in for truth.
Someone should send him the Vatican's statements about ID and creationism. They state clearly that belief in a creator has nothing to do with non-acceptance of evolution. As Catholic scientists all over the world confirm, not even the assumption of a guided creation accounts for the bold and unsupported claims trickling out of all the creationism relabeled ID noise.
Yes, let's teach our kids the very best science. Stuff made up to wedge theocratic ideals into politics don't even touch on mediocre science. Has Jindal been asleep for the last 20 years?

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7. Comment #191738 by stephenray on June 11, 2008 at 2:38 pm

82abhilash: "How many logical fallacies can you count from that quote?"

Well, I got stuck on the one where he claimed to be "a biology major - that's my degree" and then two sentences later, demonstrated a total inability to understand the second law of thermodynamics.

Donkey.

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8. Comment #191744 by EvidenceOnly on June 11, 2008 at 2:52 pm

The LA Science Education Act is not about science and not about education. It is all a pretext to give liars for Jesus legal protection while teaching religion (believes for which no evidence exists) in science class where only theories and laws supported by overwhelming evidence should be thought.

In the same vain, the Discovery Institute is not about discovering anything. They proclaim GodDidIt and instead of resting their case with that ludicrous statement, they resort to mental terrorism and their target victims are students.

All religions know: get them while they are young.

It is child abuse.

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9. Comment #191749 by Border Collie on June 11, 2008 at 3:33 pm

They already have academic freedom to teach ID/cretinism ... at Sunday School/Church ... what is their f'ing problem?!

I propose that a rider be attached to this bill requiring the cessation into perpetuity of the following in Louisiana: pickup drivin', crayfish eatin', mosquito slappin', football watchin', frog giggin', coon assin', pirotin', Tobasco eatin', shotgunnin', bass fishin', with-cousin procreatin', ad nauseum, etc. See if it passes then.

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10. Comment #191755 by thewhitepearl on June 11, 2008 at 3:42 pm

I wonder if one of the c-span channels are going to be showing this. I'm going to have to check it out.

I dont think it will pass

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11. Comment #191775 by Ansu on June 11, 2008 at 4:42 pm

Dont worry about Bobby. He is probably a secret muslim...
or at least secret hinduist...
have you ever seen him eat a pig?
or a cow?
and he probably doesnt wear a flag pin.
secret terrorist. No doubt.
(silly arguments, arent they? yet... )

Plus, catholics dont support ID. So its not out of religion convictions ,but more for political advantage. If he sings that bill thats good bye to his VP post. ( McCain has lots of nuts to choose from, I dont think he needs one more- remember he now has to lure the Clinton supporters ) So I think he will chicken out.

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12. Comment #191776 by gos on June 11, 2008 at 5:10 pm

How many logical fallacies can you count from that quote?

OK, I'll bite :)

[L]et's talk about intelligent design. I'm a biology major. That's my degree. The reality is there are a lot of things that we don't understand.

OK so far. I'll take his word for it.

There's no theory in science that could explain how, contrary to the laws of entropy, you could create order out of chaos.

This is a misunderstanding/misrepresentation of the second law of thermodynamics, which is what I presume is meant by "the laws of entropy."

The second law states that the entropy of a closed system cannot decrease over time, and this is often equated with "chaos becoming ordered," but of course we see constant examples of parts of a system lose entropy while another part of the same system gains more, for a net increase.

The next time somebody spouts this at you, point at a refrigerator.

There's no scientific theory that explains how you can create organic life out of inorganic matter.

This is quite simply false. I hope we've all read enough Dawkins to be able to name more than one such (testable, scientific) theory off the tops of our head.

I think we owe it to our children to teach them the best possible modern scientific facts and theories.

I think we can all agree with this point.

Teach them what different theories are out there for the things that aren't answerable by science, that aren't answered by science.

Well, to be charitable, he doesn't say "scientific" theories, which would make the statement an oxymoron, but he's obviously blurring definitions here.

The questions raised by this statement (Are there "things"/questions that are not answerable by science? Are any of those possible questions interesting? Is a statement that cannot be determined to be true or untrue an answer?) are quite interesting, and worthy of a class or two in the philosophy of science, but they should clearly be separated from the teaching of mainstream scientific theories.

Let them decide for themselves. I don't think we should be scared to do that.

Again, something we should all hope for.

Personally, it certainly makes sense to me that when you look at creation, you would believe in a creator.

This is begging the question.

Let's not be afraid to teach our kids the very best science.

Good last sentence :)

So, that's 4 to 5 logical fallacies by my count.

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13. Comment #191777 by acs on June 11, 2008 at 5:11 pm

The entropy argument alleged by Bobby Jindal and referred to by 82abhilash in comment 4. above is complete bullshit.

Any hack scientist knows that in order to examine entropy you have to determine your "macro-state" or the entire system which is being considered. In this case, the planet earth as a macro state may become less complex and chaotic with the formation of life, but we can accept that.

The macro state of the earth - plus the sun - however is becoming more chaotic. The sun loses billions of tonnes of fuel which comes down to earth and enters the system here. That process makes the energy and mass in the sun become spread out over a larger area (ie entropically normal pattern).

I would ask Mr Jindal whether he can show that the mass entropy of the sun's loss of fuel to the earth is outweighed by the relatively small amount of life on earth.

Futhermore, does Mr Jindal propose any forms of life on earth that are not the result of the energy added to the planet earth by the sun?

(I note there is some sea life that subsists on volcanic vents, but that is the same principle only applied to internal geological heat).

Clearly, life on earth does obey the laws of thermodynamics if you look at the 'total system', rather than cherry pick little bits of it.

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14. Comment #191778 by mordacious1 on June 11, 2008 at 5:15 pm

Oh shit, where did I put the whack a mole mallet? Oh, there it is. This kind of crap is going to keep popping up. whack whack WHACK WHACK...

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15. Comment #191800 by History_Junky on June 11, 2008 at 7:44 pm

Mr. Jindal should of done himself a favor and stayed a hindu, maybe then he wouldn't have his so call biology degree conflicting with his religious faith(Blah blah i know the whole catholic and ID relationship, but apparently Mr.Jindal does not).

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16. Comment #191820 by strengthofmind on June 11, 2008 at 10:52 pm

Religiosity vs Income in the USA
Notice LA
http://www.stat.columbia.edu/~cook/movabletype/archives/2007/11/religiosity_and.html

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17. Comment #191987 by DamnDirtyApe on June 12, 2008 at 8:52 am

That's a freaking excellent graph there strengthofmind.

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18. Comment #192041 by kurzweilfreak on June 12, 2008 at 11:16 am

Here's all you need to know about my governor:
http://tpmelectioncentral.talkingpointsmemo.com/2008/06/bobby_jindals_dance_with_the_d.php

I swear, I'm starting to hate living in Louisiana. I don't know how much more of this I can take. :(

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19. Comment #192045 by room101 on June 12, 2008 at 11:31 am

TheWhitePearl & All:

I just heard from PZ Myer's blog that it passed 94-3.

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20. Comment #192046 by mordacious1 on June 12, 2008 at 11:35 am

room101

Another Federal Court case on the horizon methinks. Not suprised, it is LA after all.

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21. Comment #192078 by cazayoux on June 12, 2008 at 12:27 pm

Timmy Teeple is Governor Jindals COS. He is a Born Again Christian, Home Schooled white male. He did not pursue a formal education beyond the high-school diploma. He is Rovian smart.

He was born 25 years too late, he would have been truly scary when the Contract w/America and the other right wing agendas were being established.

In my opinion Governor Jindal is much better at playing the masses. Mr. Teeple is too close to his views and would have trouble in the public eye and scrutiny. It makes me sad that someone as smart as Jindal is manipulated by people like Mr. Teeple.

Regardless of his religion or politics, Timmy, seriously. It just rings Scooterish if you know what I mean?

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22. Comment #192295 by RickM on June 12, 2008 at 5:45 pm

Louisiana Will Face Lawsuit If New Law Brings Religion Into Public School Science Classes, Says Americans United

Wednesday, June 11, 2008

Church-State Watchdog Group Warns Against Using Anti-Evolution Legislation To Advance Fundamentalism In The Classroom

The Louisiana House of Representatives today approved a measure that opens the door to teaching creationism in public schools, an action that is likely to spark litigation, says Americans United for Separation of Church and State.

Approved by a 94-3 vote, the so-called "Science Education Act" (SB 733) allows public school teachers to use "supplemental materials" when discussing evolution.

See;

http://www.au.org/site/News2?JServSessionIdr009=7gq874stu2.app5b&abbr=pr&page=NewsArticle&id=9881&security=1002&news_iv_ctrl=1241

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