[ExI] VP for Creationism

[Damien Broderick]

Fun times for science (but then what's new--didn't Bush say the same thing?):

<http://scienceblogs.com/afarensis/2006/10/27/intelligent_design_and_the_ala/>

The volatile issue of teaching creation science in public schools 
popped up in the Alaska governor's race this week when Republican 
Sarah Palin said she thinks creationism should be taught alongside 
evolution in the state's public classrooms.

Palin was answering a question from the moderator near the conclusion 
of Wednesday night's televised debate on KAKM Channel 7 when she 
said, 'Teach both. You know, don't be afraid of information. Healthy 
debate is so important, and it's so valuable in our schools. I am a 
proponent of teaching both.'

The 
<http://www.adn.com/news/politics/elections/story/8347904p-8243554c.html>Anchorage 
Daily News has more:
In an interview Thursday, Palin said she meant only to say that 
discussion of alternative views should be allowed to arise in Alaska 
classrooms:

"I don't think there should be a prohibition against debate if it 
comes up in class. It doesn't have to be part of the curriculum."

She added that, if elected, she would not push the state Board of 
Education to add such creation-based alternatives to the state's 
required curriculum.

Members of the state school board, which sets minimum requirements, 
are appointed by the governor and confirmed by the Legislature.

"I won't have religion as a litmus test, or anybody's personal 
opinion on evolution or creationism," Palin said.

*snip*
Palin said she thought there was value in discussing alternatives.

"It's OK to let kids know that there are theories out there," she 
said in the interview. "They gain information just by being in a discussion."

That was how she was brought up, she said. Her father was a public 
school science teacher.

"My dad did talk a lot about his theories of evolution," she said. 
"He would show us fossils and say, 'How old do you think these are?' "

Asked for her personal views on evolution, Palin said, "I believe we 
have a creator."

She would not say whether her belief also allowed her to accept the 
theory of evolution as fact.

"I'm not going to pretend I know how all this came to be," she said.