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Religion & Law

: Thoughts in a Haystack

First Annual Ferric Patella Award1

By John Pieret

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John Freshwater is (but, hopefully, not for long) a middle-school science teacher in Mount Vernon, Ohio, who I've written about before. He is in the process of being fired by the school board for, among other things², teaching creationism/Intelligent Design in his classes.

Richard B. Hoppe of the Panda's Thumb has been attending the proceedings and reporting on events.

But this local news report, concerning the cross examination by Freshwater's attorney, Kelly Hamilton, of Mount Vernon High School Science Department chairman Richard Cunningham, caught my eye:

"Do you have any empirical evidence that John freshwater taught creationism or intelligent design?" Hamilton asked.

Empirical evidence? Suddenly Freshwater appeals to empirical evidence?

Well, we're not going to take the bait. Teacher qualifications are not a mechanistic standard and it's not the school board's task to match your pathetic level of detail in telling legalistic stories³.
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¹ Name blatantly stolen from the Honorable Keeper of Chez Watt.

² Minor things like using a scientific instrument to mark his students with a Christian cross.

³ Argument courtesy of William Dembski.
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Full post as published by Thoughts in a Haystack on November 01, 2008 (boomark / email).