This Ain't Kansas, ToTo

The great drama of the explosion of the religious right is reaching its finale. However, as with most great opera, there are some nasty little episodes that have to play out before the denouement. It looks like Kansas won the privilege of having the first scene:

TOPEKA, Kan. - The Kansas school board's hearings on evolution weren't limited to how the theory should be taught in public schools. The board is considering redefining science itself. Advocates of "intelligent design" are pushing the board to reject a definition limiting science to natural explanations for what's observed in the world. (emphasis added)

Instead, they want to define it as "a systematic method of continuing investigation," without specifying what kind of answer is being sought. The definition would appear in the introduction to the state's science standards.

Now it seems to me that the time the Pope got involved in this dispute he eventually came to have egg on his face. Actually, its pretty funny:

Galileo's 'Dialogue on the Two World Systems' was supposed to present both points of view impartially. Instead, it came down clearly on the side of Copernicus' system with the Sun at the center. In it, Galileo made the Pope look foolish. It is never wise to make an enemy of someone in a position of power and influence! Galileo himself was convinced that this was the main reason for his problems.

Well, its not hard to make the Intelligent Designers look foolish. But, then, they have a powerful friend in Bush (sort of like that old hymn, "What A Friend I have in Jesus.")

Oh, by the way, don't tell the Astronauts that the Sun revolves around the Earth. They might take a wrong turn.

But this is getting a little foolish, don't you think? Here we are, at the pinnacle of scientific development, and they want to say the method is faulty? For crying out loud, Mr. Bush, the method brought you electricity, telephones, penicillin, heart transplants, insecticides, television and, your favorite, atomic bombs.

What's the problem?