The Fordham Institute study, etc.

The sad fact is that I wouldn't have even known about The State of  State Science Standards 2012 if it hadn't been mentioned all too briefly on CBS' news radio network this morning. That being said, some reaction has already come trickling in from Texas, and the Houston Chronicle posted reactions ranging from the intelligent (Steven Schafersman of Texas Citizens for Science) to the incredibly vapid (Don McLeroy - yes, that Don McLeroy).

For argument's sake, my home state - Illinois - rated a D. Not good. Not good at all.

(Also on WTTFTG)

There's more than corn in Indiana - but not much more, apparently

In yet another example of what happens when state legislators choose to play the religious demagoguery card in order to curry votes, Indiana Senate Bill 89 made it out of committee despite the fact that it would probably be ruled unconstitutional by SCOTUS if the standards in play since Edwards v. Aguillard in 1987 are anything to go by.

(Also in WTTFTG)

Anti-science follies in state legislatures, 2011-12

A while ago, a post on the NCSE web site declared that in 2012 at least six bills opposed to the teaching of the theory of evolution (many of which also opposed even the mention of scientific research into anthropogenic global warming) had been prefiled or proposed by state legislators in states ranging from Indiana to Oklahoma. If you also take all of 2011 into account, this means that no less than 13 such bills have been proposed in a period of slightly over a year. Although the following information is available on the NCSE web site, I thought that it'd be instructive to list each bill and its sponsors over that period of time. The listings are according to date of filing or report, state, number of bill and sponsors of that bill (and their party affiliation and district in the legislative house they're seated in) in order.

2011

January 5th, Kentucky: House Bill 169: Tim Moore (R-26th)
January 13th, Missouri: House Bill 195; Andew Koenig (R-88th), 13 others
January 19th, Oklahoma: Senate Bill 554; Josh Brecheen (R-6th)
January 20th, Oklahoma: House Bill 1551; Sally Kern (R-84th)
February 1st, New Mexico: House Bill 302; Thomas A. Anderson (R-29th)
February 9th, Tennessee: House Bill 368; Bill Dunn (R-16th)
February 16th, Tennessee: Senate Bill 893: Bo Watson (R-11th) 
December 21st, New Hampshire; House Bill 1148; Jerry Bergevin (R-17th)
December 21st, New Hampshire: House Bill 1457; Gary Hopper (R-7th) and John Burt (R-7th)
December 29th, Indiana: Senate Bill 89; Dennis Kruse (R-14th)

2012

January 10th, Missouri: House Bill 1227; Rick Brattin (R-124th), 5 others
January 11th, Missouri: House Bill 1276: Andrew Koenig (R-88th), 13 others
January 20th, Oklahoma: Senate Bill 1742; Josh Brecheen (R-6th)

(Also available at WTTFTG)

State legislature anti-science follies

It's the beginning of another year and that means that a state legislator or two (and probably closer to you than you'd like) is courting the wingnut vote through proposing "education" bills that attack the theory of evolution, anthropogenic global warming or both. Unsurprisingly, new bills are being proposed in both Oklahoma and Missouri, but it seems that the best (read: worst) efforts of a like-minded panderer in Indiana may be going nowhere fast judging by the adverse publicity it's starting to pick up.

Cretins of the moment

Two for the price of one, this time: the "winners" are eternal crank Peter Duesberg and fundamentalist loudmouth Bryan Fischer for promotining Duesberg's old pile of HIV quackery for all the usual wrong reasons.