blivet radio
The Radio weblog of Hal Rager

Friday, June 28, 2002

"Creationist victory" in US Supreme Court "Four of the nine justices argued that the vouchers violate the separation of church and state. But the Christian Coalition, a conservative political organisation, called the decision a "victory for school choice" and called on other states, and Congress, to permit vouchers. President George Bush, who has long supported school vouchers, issued a statement calling it "a victory for parents and children throughout America". But the decision will mean that even fewer US children will be taught evolution. Repeated attempts since the 1920s by Christian fundamentalists in the US to ban the teaching of evolution in public schools, or at least mandate teaching the biblical account of creation as well, have been defeated in court on the grounds that teaching religion in a state-funded school violates the separation of church and state. Private schools are under no such restriction. So creationists have turned their efforts towards expanding private schooling. The voucher scheme is widely supported by Christian right wing organizations. One Cleveland voucher school states that "the one cardinal objective of education to which all others point is to develop devotion to God as our Creator". [New Scientist] 11:30:37 PM    comment   trackback []

Secular America. The more I think about the Bush quote from yesterday, the more it disturbs me. What does it say about this country that our President thinks that "common sense judges" are ones who "understand" that our rights are derived from God? Doesn't it make more sense to appoint judges who understand that our rights are derived from the Constitution? (more ...) [rc3.org] 7:11:09 AM    comment   trackback []