We are honored to welcome Barbara Forrest as a guest front pager. She was a key expert witness in the landmark federal case Kitzmiller et al. v. Dover Area School District. Her testimony proved that "intelligent design" was nothing more than hastily dressed-up creationism -- the teaching of which had already been found to be unconstitutional. She is a member of the board of the National Center for Science Education -- FC

When Bobby Jindal ran for governor of Louisiana in 2003, his support for teaching creationism surfaced during the campaign. Since his defeat in that race and subsequent election to the U.S. House of Representatives, he has continued to tour the state, often speaking at churches. Last fall, he toured north Louisiana churches with Republican Religious Right operative David Barton, who promotes the myth that the United States was founded politically as a Christian nation. During his 2007 campaign for governor, Jindal has largely avoided public forums in which he might be asked unexpected questions, and the media either are unaware of or have avoided covering Jindal's activities with Barton. The Louisiana Democratic Party launched a series of ads regarding Jindal's religious views that have obscured the true issue: his alliance with the Religious Right. What follows is a letter I wrote to a local Louisiana newspaper in order to accurately inform the public about Jindal's creationism and alliance with Barton.

Aired last Wednesday and scheduled again for the 10PM to Midnight slot this evening, a segment entitled "God, Faith, and Hard Science" on CNN's Anderson Cooper 360 Degrees show featured Robert Boston of Americans United For The Separation of Church and State and Charmaine Yoest of the Family Research Council sparring over what should be included in the science curriculum of American public schools [ here's a transcript ] The segment has gotten fair play in the blogosphere, on PZ Meyers' Pharyngula and elsewhere, and I would like to highlight an aspect of what Dr. Yoest said that intrigues me. Now, I want to preface this by saying that I haven't been able to reach the Family Research Council to verify that Dr. Yoest was actually speaking as an official representative for the FRC... [ note : don't miss the Blogswarm Against Theocracy this April 6-9 ]

Last March 31, 2006, I covered the Christian right's war on public education and a Department of Education commissioned study that revealed public schools, if anything, outperform their private school counterparts. But, does Amway fortune heir Dick Devos care, or does he view institutions of public education, that Jefferson saw as integral to American Democracy, as obstacles in the way of a long range scheme to undermine democracy ? In a 2002 Heritage Institute address Devos, a leader in the war on public education who wants Intelligent Design in schools, is associated with Christian Reconstructionist views, and has been a significant funder of the "Council On National Policy" and served as the CNP's president in the late 1980's, outlined a "stealth strategy" for eliminating public schools. If DeVos succeeds in his jihad against public schools and American Democracy, maybe his brother-in-law Erik Prince, who owns Blackwater USA, the subject of a new expose by Jeremy Scahill and possibly the most powerful private mercenary army in the world, could help out with the ensuing anarchy... for a price, of course. (See Nation article on Blackwater, or full story for video with Jeremy Scahill )

'Christian Nation' Mythos Enters America's Public Schools, As 'Bible Curriculum' Reportedly in 382 School Districts [ note: see full story for Norris video ]

Martial arts maven Chuck Norris, legend has it, can defeat packs of savage wild animals, hordes of vicious, armed goons, and even onrushing Mack trucks with nothing more than his hands and feet. Now, Norris wants to kick secularism's ass - he wants the Bible back in public schools. But roundhouse kicks or even the "claw of death" are not especially useful for slipping a sectarian Bible course curriculum touting fake history into public schools. Stealthy, social tactics are needed. Will Chuck Norris become a Liar For Jesus ? We don't yet know but Norris has touted the work of the National Council On Bible Curriculum In Public Schools as it sneaks, in a slick wrapper of dubious and flat-out fraudulent takes on American history, its Christian nationalist Bible course curriculum into public schools, cities, and towns across America. Meet the The National Council On Bible Curriculum In Public Schools (NCBCPS), a stealth effort associated with the far right Council On National Policy and led by a woman who has said God has commanded her to bring the Bible back into public education.

Those who still doubt there are links between Southern Baptists and theocratic Christian Reconstructionists should look inside the front cover of the December 2004 issue of the Chalcedon Report. There the chief publishing house for Reconstructionist thought, Chalcedon, announces that it has published Bruce Shortt's book, The Harsh Truth About Public Schools. Bruce Shortt, along with T.C. Pinckney, leads the movement against public schools within the Southern Baptist Convention.

Ethics Daily quotes a leader of the movement to get Southern Baptists to leave public schools as saying,

"This year has actually been a breakthrough year."

His resolution to devise an "exit strategy" from public schools was replaced by a resolution for Baptists to, in effect, takeover the boards of education at public schools.

Reconstructionist thought has a special attraction for rural Americans.  A glance at R. J. Rushdoony's explanation of the biblical tithe in his Institutes for Biblical Religion reveals why.

Rural America subsists mostly on farming and ranching.  Every decade, for more than a generation, greater challenges have threatened the economic survival of those that live in these communities.  Every year the population of small towns decline as the elderly die, the young move to the cities to find work, and the rest live from one day to the next.  Foreclosures by banks for unpaid mortgages and by local governments for unpaid taxes have been commonplace.  Bad weather, bad luck and bad policies by civil bureaucrats have caused thousands of small farmers and ranchers to lose homesteads that have been in their families for generations.  Resentment is strong, conspiracy theories are rampant, and every possible scapegoat is actively pursued.

Ethics Daily has posted a free 20 page resource guide for advocacy and action in support of public schools.

This is a very good way to begin moving from Talk to Action on this issue of vital importance to democracy.

Below the fold is a section that I prepared for the guide on "Rights and Responsibilities" in regard to religion in the public schools.

The Baptist Center for Ethics has issued a Pastoral Letter Affirming Public Schools. It has been signed by scores of Baptist pastors and moderate Baptist denominational leaders.

Here's a quote from an article about the letter in today's Ethics Daily:

Years ago I was asked to participate in a panel discussion of Charles Haynes and Oliver Thomas' Finding Common Ground:  A First Amendment Guide to Religion and Public Education.  The book examines the controversies that are making public schools the frontline in America's culture wars and seeks to find some common ground on which to restore confidence in our schools.  Below are some of the remarks I made at that panel discussion.

In "The Manufactured Crisis: "Myths, Fraud, and the Attack on America's Public Schools" Dr. David Berliner and Bruce Biddle argued that ongoing criticism of America's public schools is baseless and partisan.  [read review of book in Christian Ethics Today]. A new study released January 2006, funded by the US Department of Education, by researchers at the University of Illinois at Champagne Urbana rebuts  claims on the alleged low performance of public schools [ click here for PDF of full report ]. Meanwhile, the ongoing assault on America's public schools comes from many quarters   [ see full story ]

Thomas Jefferson was convinced that democracy depended on a well-educated citizenry and he was right.  Our nation's founders rejected the rule of divinely ordained aristocratic elites.  We were to be governed by the common consent of the people.  That meant every citizen would need an education.

All of us need to be able to comprehend the issues and weigh the opinions necessary to render an informed decision whenever we are called upon to fulfill our civic duties.  The duties of free citizens are not responsibilities that anyone should take lightly.  They range from voting in elections, to holding public office, to serving on juries that make decisions over matters of life and death.