Monday, September 24, 2007

Republican Senator At Center Of D.C. Madam Scandal Earmarks $100K For Christian Anti-Darwin Group

Via The Times Picayune:

Sen. David Vitter, R-La., earmarked $100,000 in a spending bill for a Louisiana Christian group that has challenged the teaching of Darwinian evolution in the public school system and to which he has political ties.

The money is included in the labor, health and education financing bill for fiscal 2008 and specifies payment to the Louisiana Family Forum “to develop a plan to promote better science education.”

The earmark appears to be the latest salvo in a decades-long battle over science education in Louisiana, in which some Christian groups have opposed the teaching of evolution and, more recently, have pushed to have it prominently labeled as a theory with other alternatives presented. Educators and others have decried the movement as a backdoor effort to inject religious teachings into the classroom.

The nonprofit Louisiana Family Forum, launched in Baton Rouge in 1999 by former state Rep. Tony Perkins, has in recent years taken the lead in promoting “origins science,” which includes the possibility of divine intervention in the creation of the universe. [Perkins, btw, is tied to former KKK Wizard David Duke. He paid Duke $82K for his mailing list.]

The group’s stated mission is to “persuasively present biblical principles in the centers of influence on issues affecting the family through research, communication and networking.” Until recently, its Web site contained a “battle plan to combat evolution,” which called the theory a “dangerous” concept that “has no place in the classroom.” The document was removed after a reporter’s inquiry. Read full article here…

Logan Murphy, Crooks and Liars: The Republican senator may have the support of the majority of his hypocritical party, but he isn’t out of the woods yet. Please contact your Senators and tell them to say no to Vitter’s intentional violation of the separation between Church and State and demand the earmark be removed from the bill.

KatRose, Pam's House Blend: "I think that, given that the Dems have no backbone whatsoever when it comes to standing up to the Iraq War lies, it is our duty to force them to make a stand on this (illegal contribution to anti-constitutionist nutcases) piece of pork. They ran on ethics in '06; they implicitly stand for science over ChristoBush mythology - so they damn well better be willing to not simply cut this tumor from the bill but also make a spectacle of it - and this clown's psycho-hypocritical 'morals' - in the process."

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