Inherit the Wind

"Inherit the Wind" was a play and movie about the 1925 Scopes trial, which was the first attempt in this country to deny the theory of evolution in the courts. Next week, the court in Harrisburg will see another attempt. I doubt that this one will be made into a movie. The attorneys could not compare in fame and theatricality to Clarence Darrow and William Jennings Bryan, the attorneys in the Scopes trial.

The 2005 attempt to deny the theory of evolution is being brought by the parents of 9th grade students in the Dover, PA schools. As you'd expect, they are being aided by the ACLU, that bugbear of ultra-conservatives. The case involves the requirement by the local school board that each biology class is read a statement that "The theory (of evolution) is not a fact...Intelligent Design (note the capitalization) is an explanation of the origin of life that differs from Darwin's view".

Here's a suggestion from an August posting of mine:

Daniel Dennett, who teaches philosophy at Tufts, suggests in today's NY Times that the Discovery Institute, the large backer of intelligent design, publish a peer-reviewed journal in which the 'theory' of intelligent design can be explained and argued over as most scientific theories are.

Not a bad idea.