As we noted yesterday, the creationists on the Texas State Board of Education may have been defeated in one part of their anti-science agenda, but they had a Plan B—they introduced ludicrous new last-minute amendments that question the “Big Bang” theory and the biological theory of common descent: Scientists: Board proposals undermine evolution teaching.

One board member who pushed for the change said that fossil records create scientific evidence against universal common descent — and students should be allowed to study the possibility.

“There are many, many gaps that don’t link species changing and evolving into another species, so we want our students to get all of the science, and we want them to have great, open discussions and learning to respect each other’s opinions,” said Barbara Cargill, R-The Woodlands, a former science teacher.

She scoffed at claims that social conservatives on the 15-member board were just trying to find another way to expose students to creationism — the belief that life, Earth and the universe were created by a supreme being.

“This isn’t about religion. I don’t know how many times we have to say it before people accept it,” she said. “It’s about science. We want to stick to the science.”

The most striking attribute of creationists is that so many of them are persistent, shameless liars. The agenda of activist creationists is purely religious, and it is absolutely obvious to any honest observer—yet they insist on lying about it and trying to cover it up.

Texas BOE Chairman Don McLeroy, a young earth creationist, has a website on which he has posted his “thoughts” on Intelligent Design, and if you don’t believe the creationists’ agenda is based on fundamental Christianity and a rabid hatred for science, read a little bit of his ignorant nonsense, laced with Biblical references and absurd pseudo-science. This is the guy who’s leading the charge in Texas. Who do they think they’re fooling when they claim it’s “not about religion?”

Speaking of liars, the creationists at the Discovery Institute are crowing over the new amendments:

“We view this as one step back, two steps forward,” said John West, a senior fellow at the Discovery Institute, a conservative think-tank based in Seattle that disputes the theory of evolution. “The board unfortunately failed to reinstate specific language requiring coverage of strengths and weaknesses of scientific theories. But, in the area of evolution, it significantly improved the standards by adopting a series of amendments to make sure that students have to analyze and evaluate the major parts of evolutionary theory.”

Also see:
Texas Education Chainsaw Massacre: Part 3 « The Sensuous Curmudgeon