Texas Liveblagging 4: The Blaggening

Peter Johnston, parent, fmr. SBOE candidate, lawyer: Teach S&W. History of science shows that we aren't all objective. "Powers that be in science … resist change." Difficult to see outside the box. Maundering on Kuhn.

Dunbar: "Mrs. Scott." It's "Dr.," dammit. What's the deal with consensus? Those that are in power resist change.

John Huffner, math teacher: "What's wrong with telling the truth?" S&W sounds health to me. Education should be built on truth, not deception. "As a creationist, I don't want creationism taught in school." S&W protects teachers. S&W is like a warning label about the side effects of drugs. Origins vs. operations science.

Cargill: Do you get this in school? Don't gloss over it. Cold fusion. Soft tissue in dinos. Rambling.

Mercer: Is it just "weaknesses" that's the problem? Yeah. Scopes is awesome. We should present both sides.

Carl Young, local creationist: Weakness is awesome. Want to teach more about evolution. Eliminating "weakness" is a science stopper.

Ryan Valentine, TFN: Honor the hard work that got us good new standards. Discusses 2003 textbook fight, in which S&W was used to force changes that watered down biology texts. As sure as night follows day, S&W will lead to another fight. New standards don't block kids' freedom. Messing with them just hurts our kids' ability to go to college. PRESIDENT GOBAMA! sez science is important, so approve these standards.

Hardy: What's the value of the new language over S&W? Experts on the work group represents more pedagogically appropriate language, and also blocks bad interpretations of S&W. Listen to teachers and scientists.

Mercer: Why all the focus on S&W? Because it's at the center of science standards. Let's leave the work of the standards committee in place.

Leo: Are you here for yourself or for TFN? I'm here as a parent and as a TFN rep.

Chad Smith, software engineer: I like how things fit together. Cells are machines. So is DNA. Just like object oriented programming. Also interested in cosmology. He's an engineer, he doesn't understand how natural processes can do all this.

Mike Keas, Disco. fellow: I teach S&W. Attacks Genie, claims she opposes teaching science as process, which is bullshit. Claims she's making evolution an exception to normal practice. Again, BS. Threatens litigation.

Mercer: Did you know that we were emailed to have creationists knocked from writing panels?

Agosto: What's the diff. between hypothesis and theory? Hypothesis grows up to be a theory. NO!

Cargill: Why do people say evolution is fact? Three meanings of evolution. Change over time, fact. Common descent, not a fact. Mechanism, 700 Discoers disagree with that.

Dunbar: Is consensus the same as scientific method? Consensus is a product of science. More important to learn process. NCSE advocates censorship.

Leo: Is evolution a law? Not one passed by a legislature. Law is description. Theory explains it. Theories invoke unseen entities. All interrelated.

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