Thoughts from Kansas

Mike Dunford has a great rundown of the ruling in ASCI v. Stearns, a lawsuit in which Christian schools attempted to force the University of California system to rework its admissions standards to accommodate some atrocious textbooks. The court dismissed all of the motions for summary judgment by the schools, and granted the UC system's request for partial summary judgment. A trial will sort out whether the decision not to give credit for courses was properly rooted in UC policy. Claims that the policy itself is biased were tossed out, along with a range of claimed violations of religious liberties.

While Mike does a great job catching an instance where Michael Behe's expert testimony on behalf of the schools is used against his own side, I can't believe he missed my favorite line in the ruling.:

There is no indication that it is the official position of UC to laugh at creationist statements or poke fun at "the Red States."

This was Judge Otero's response to the school group's claim:

Plaintiffs allege the following actions and beliefs symbolically disapprove of their religion: (1) "[UC] reviewers spoke sarcastically of 'our favorite, Bob Jones University Press,' and of 'our favorite books,' and laughed at a creationist statement." (2) "[UC reviewers] circulated an article about how 'the Red States, on the other hand, now have to cope with … 100% of all televangelists, Bob Jones University, and [things generally viewed as disfavorable, such as mosquitos]. A small price to pay for controlling the presidency."

As Judge Otero notes, "allegations (1) and (2) are not 'government conduct.' There is no indication that it is the official position of UC to laugh at creationist statements or poke fun at 'the Red States.'"

I note, on this day in particular, that the Regents of the University of California might consider such a policy. There is, after all, a great deal to laugh about in creationist statements.