SGU Episode 4

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SGU Episode 4
15th Jun 2005
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SGU 3                      SGU 5
Skeptical Rogues
S: Steven Novella
B: Bob Novella
E: Evan Bernstein
P: Perry DeAngelis
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Introduction

S: Hello, and welcome to the Skeptics Guide To the Universe. This is your host Steven Novella. Today is June 15th, 2005. With me this week are Perry D'Angelis,

P: Y'ello!

S: Evan Bernstein,

E: Hello everyone

S: and Robert Novella

R: Good evening, everyone.

News Items

Kansas School Board Follow-Up (0:21)

S: First a little follow-up on our favourite story in the news this month, the evolution debate in Kansas; the board still has yet to make a final decision, but they are, umm, fighting with each other. The three moderate members of the board lashed out against the conservative members who are proposing the changes to the science standards. You might remember in 1999, I believe it was, Kansas had voted to remove evolution from the, the uh science standards in that state. The 2000 elections saw some of the conservative, more conservative members removed, and the new board reinstated the evolution friendly standards. In 2004, however, the conservatives again, uh, seized a majority of the Kansas school boards, and now they are considering once again, either watering down treatment of evolution in the science standards or forcing criticism of evolution. Some say they are entertaining introducing Intelligent Design, which is a form of creationism into the standards. What's interesting, uh, in the past week is that is that the board members themselves are now fighting, uh, pretty diligently amongst themselves. One member, Bill Wagman, one of the more moderate members, he told the three most conservative members, the ones who are proposing the changes, that they were all dupes of Intelligent Design advocates. He said that Intelligent Design was based upon absolute and total fraud.

P: Sounds like a bright guy

S: Sounds like a bright guy. Unfortunately, he and his are in the minority. Connie Waras who was the most outspoken of the conservative members, criticized the moderate members for not attending the meetings when the Intelligent Design proponents were giving their testimony. She said "Had you attended, you would have been informed," Waras said, "You would be sitting here as informed individuals and not arrogantly calling us all dupes." Well, I actually doubt that. If they had bothered to sit through it they would be all the more flabbergasted at their fellow board members. So this is a story we will be following, um

P: You know, I wonder, the article uses the terms 'Conservative' and 'Moderate', I, uh, it says in 2004 the conservatives are able to take over after the election. I wonder if that comes down on party lines -- of the two national parties. I wonder if the term conservative, in this instance, is used you, uhh, you know, to mean republican and moderate to mean...

S: I'm not sure. I mean clearly, socially conservative vs. socially moderate but I don't know if, um, [inaudible due to P] republican or democratic lines.

P: Perhaps I'll try to find that out

S: So they, they did not yet make a decision, their decision will be put off until August

E: Well, does that help, uh does that, uh help the cause or does that hinder the cause?

S: I think, I don't know, I think that if it stays in the news cycle and, uh, criticism remains focused on the board, that will work to our advantage. If the, if the story fades into the background and the board does not feel that public attention is being paid to them that they may feel, you know, more bold about watering down evolution standards, so we'll see.

P: If I had to guess, I would say that the, it gonna stay, uh, more in the news then not.

S: Probably

P: If I had to guess I think there's gonna be more focus on it.

S: Depends on what else is happening in the news, I guess, over the summer.

P: Certainly that's true, but I mean, almost every week there's something in the Associated Press about it.

S: But it's, apparently the uh, the anti-evolution board members have a 6 to 4 majority so, unless considerable pressure is brought to bear they will probably be voting that way.

Science or Fiction (2:23)

S: So it's time again for our "Science of Fiction" segment. Last week was the first installment

References