And Now, Like the Galapagos Turtles, We Wait...

Thought we'de check in over in Dover PA - a lot has happened since closing arguments were given in the first intelligent design trial. If you remember, the 9 member school board had instituting the teaching of I.D. in biology, with a short statement read before any discussion of evolution. Parents of eleven students brought the school district to court for teaching religion in the classroom. The trial featured many expert witnesses and included the original text of the supposed religion-free statement, which used the word God several times. The six-week tial came to an end November 4th, but that was when it got truly interesting.

In last week's election, the voters spoke - replacing 8 of the 9 members of the school board with candidates who ran specifically on an anti-I.D. platform. Then Pat Robertson spoke, and the best way to show what an utter idiot and asshole he is is to print his words verbatim: "I’d like to say to the good citizens of Dover: If there is a disaster in your area, don’t turn to God, you just rejected him from your city." He told them that "God is tolerant and loving, but we can't keep sticking our finger in his eye forever." Robertson said. "If they have future problems in Dover, I recommend they call on Charles Darwin. Maybe he can help them." So wait, God is tolerant and loving... but apparentally, you are not. This is the same man who called for the assassination of Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, suggested that the State Department be blown up with a nuclear device, and said that feminism encourages women to "kill their children, practice witchcraft, destroy capitalism and become lesbians."

Monday night was the final meeting of the LAME-DUCK school board in Dover, PA. Newly-elected members looked on without a voice as the departing board discussed air-conditioning units. But one of the new members did have a response to Robertson, saying “What he said was extremely irresponsible, but you have to consider the source,” said Judy McIlvaine, one of the eight recently elected board members, whose tenure will begin next month. “I think our community is sensible enough not to take him too seriously.” Even the local religious leaders are shrugging off 700 Club leader's posturing. A pastor at Salem Lutheran Church in Dover, said he wasn't surprised to hear that sentiment from Robertson, whom he called a "war monger" who is out of touch with mainstream Christians. But the best response, of course, came from a student. Seventeen-year-old Meghan Hilbert, a junior at Dover High School and one of two student representatives to the board, said Robertson’s remarks pissed her off. “I think it’s morally wrong for him to say when God’s going to help someone and when he’s not. I don’t believe anything he says,” she added. “He owes Dover a big apology, especially our churches.” SO THERE! For me, I can't understand why this person is still on the air... Let's look at it the other way, if there was someone in another country, like lets say, Venezuala, calling for the assassination of our president... I don't think that person would be on television for that much longer.

Anyway, the final battle on I.D. for this particular incarnation of the school board was rather unexciting. One of the out-going ousted members, David Napiersky, proposed dropping the school's policy on Intelligent Design in light of last week’s election. He said, “it would be good of us to recognize the voters have spoken and now we can serve them by not wasting anymore resources on the lawsuit.” He offered paying the plaitiffs $1. No one on the current board seconded the opinion and board president Sheila Harkins quickly pronounced it dead. After the meeting he reiterated his comments, saying that although he personally agrees with I.D., he could see that it didn't serve the public interest to continue the debate when the new school board would obviously overturn the policy anyway, saying "We can’t defend it. It’s gone."

It is quite possible that he was encouraged to push this tactic by the Discovery Institute, a pro-I.D. 'think' tank (sorry I have to put quotes around think if they are going to be 'thinking' about I.D.). Knowing full well that the case for the Dover School Board looks pretty bad, the forces of creationism don't want to give evolution such an easy victory in court, and have to appeal a case that would be hard to win in front of the supreme court... for a decisive take on evolution in the classroom. New members of the school board, on the other hand, seem very confident in the case, saying they were looking forward to hearing what the judge had to say.

Judge John E. Jones III said he hopes to reach a decision by the end of the year in the non-jury trial. It is ironic, as the attorney for the Plaitiff pointed out in court that the story of Kitzmiller v. Dover played out, ironically, in a state founded on the principles of religious liberty. For now, we will just have to be satisfied that in the court of public opinion, and in the minds of voters, Intelligent Design has been dealt a crushing blow.

FOR MY EARLIER PIECE on the Dover Trial (and the wonderful comment posted on it, please click here.