Alabama

No sooner that I posted the current status of anti-evolution legislation that Glenn Branch posted on a new “academic freedom” bill in Alabama. HB 300 is sponsored by Republican (seeing a trend here?) David Grimes and has been sent to committee. Unsurprisingly, it’s the same old DI boilerplate that is popping up everywhere.

So the field of play for 2009 now looks like:

  • Mississippi - disclaimer - dead in committee
  • New Mexico - “strengths and weaknesses” - in committee
  • Iowa - “academic freedom” - in committee
  • Oklahoma - “strengths and weaknesses” - in committee
  • Alabama - “academic freedom” - in committee.
  • Texas - "strengths and weaknesses" - at state board

More like this

I had received the news that Oklahoma SB 320 died in committee whilst at the Will Rogers airport heading home. I tried to post some details using my phone but that clearly didn't work. In the comments section Vic provides the details. This means the state of the nation currently is: Mississippi -…
The NCSE is reporting that the Mississippi Disclaimer Bill has died in committee, leaving Alabama as the only state with a disclaimer on biology textbooks. Apparently the bill’s sponsor, Gary Chism (R-Distinct 37) is considering “drafting another bill next year supporting the teaching of the…
No sooner than Oklahoma’s SB 320 gets axed than we find out about another “academic freedom”/”strengths and weaknesses” bill. This time it’s Missouri HB 656 introduced on Feb 10th. As NCSE reports, Robert Wayne Cooper (R-District 155), the chief sponsor, has a history of wasting time…
The DI-inspired "Academic Freedom/Strengths & Weaknesses" bill that was in committee in New Mexico has failed to get a hearing before close of session and has thus expired. Dave Thomas has more over at PT. The state of play for 2009 must be depressing for the DI Mississippi - dead in committee…

I'd like to see a black "X" in Mississippi (and hopefully other states as the bills fail).

Why did we fight to keep the South again?

(Oh, right; the port of New Orleans.)

Florida is in play again, too:

State Sen. Stephen Wise, a Jacksonville [Florida] Republican, said he plans to introduce a bill to require teachers who teach evolution to also discuss the idea of intelligent design.

If this one passes (and Rep. Alan Hays, the sponsor of the the "critical analysis" bill in the House last year says it's likely to pass this time in a close vote), get ready for Dover II.

The one in Florida is particularly nasty, in that it doesn't merely 'allows' the teaching of nonsense, but REQUIRES it.