The Loom: Dodos In Kansas

Randy Olson visited the Loom a few months ago in connection with his movie about our national fun and games with evolution and intelligent design, Flock of Dodos. He provoked a lot of discussion with his main point, that biologists were doing a poor job of reaching out to the public. Some skeptics wondered whether accepting Olson's argument would lead to dumbing science down and engaging in the same bogus PR as creationists. This morning Randy dropped me an email note to point out what he considers a depressing confirmation of his thesis.

Kansas--where the science standards have been softened up for the supernatural and are now considered the worst in the nation--is getting ready for their primaries in August. To support the board members who rewrote the standards, the Discovery Institute--which promotes Intelligent Design, a k a "the progeny of creationism"--has rolled out a big campaign, "Stand Up for Science, Stand Up for Kansas." They're all over the place in Kansas, apparently, with ads, meetings, and other activities. This all must cost some serious coin.