Reason number 87,457 why I hate this country:
ATLANTA, Georgia (CNN) -- A federal judge in Atlanta, Georgia, has ruled that a suburban county school district's textbook stickers referring to evolution as "a theory not a fact" are unconstitutional.
The stickers read, "This textbook contains material on evolution. Evolution is a theory, not a fact, regarding the origin of living things. This material should be approached with an open mind, studied carefully and critically considered."
The disclaimers were put in the books by school officials in 2002.
"Due to the manner in which the sticker refers to evolution as a theory, the sticker also has the effect of undermining evolution education to the benefit of those Cobb County citizens who would prefer that students maintain their religious beliefs regarding the origin of life," Cooper wrote in his ruling.
"By adopting this specific language, even if at the direction of counsel, the Cobb County School Board appears to have sided with these religiously motivated individuals."
The sticker, he said, sends "a message that the school board agrees with the beliefs of Christian fundamentalists and creationists."
Michael Manely, an attorney for the parents, argued during the trial, according to a report from The Associated Press. "They are promoting religious dogma to all students."
Lawyers for Cobb County, however, argued in court that the school board had made a good-faith effort to address questions that inevitably arise during the teaching of evolution.
"Science and religion are related and they're not mutually exclusive," school district attorney Linwood Gunn said in an AP report. "This sticker was an effort to get past that conflict and to teach good science."
According to the AP, the schools placed the stickers after more than 2,000 parents complained the textbooks presented evolution as fact, without mentioning rival ideas about the beginnings of life.
Ok, so 2,000 parents complained that SCIENCE textbooks didn't mention anything about Creationism and the Bible? Well, there's a good reason for that, you fuckin' redneck bible thumpers: Religion isn't science!!!! If any of them can provide scientific evidence that God created the earth in seven days, I'll be more than happy to listen. Until then, let the scientists worry about science, and you can go back to believing in Santa Clause and burring your nose in that fantastic piece of fiction you refer to as �The Good Book�. Just because your parents and teachers were too ignorant to teach you anything about science doesn�t mean you need to force that same archaic mindset on your kids. Evolution has mountains of evidence backing it up. Creationism does not. So when you�re teaching children about science and the scientific method- which is responsible for 99% of the knowledge we�ve gained in the past 500 years- its usually a good idea to leave fairytales and unsubstantiated gossip out of the classroom�.after all, that is what Sunday school is for.
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