Saturday, October 22, 2005

Intelligent Design -- and the lies keep on coming.


Oops ... busted:

Dover Area School District Supt. Richard Nilsen said he did not believe his high school principal when she wrote that a school board member wanted to require that creationism be taught equally alongside evolution.

So Nilsen would have no reason -- no reason at all -- to think that creationism could possibly be an issue in his school district. No reason whatsoever.

He also acknowledged in court that he attended a school board retreat a week earlier at which creationism was discussed.

Nope. No reason at all. Let's check that timeline again:

Because Nilsen thought then-Principal Trudy Peterman “exaggerated constantly,” he was skeptical when he read a memo from her about her concern, Nilsen testified Friday in U.S. Middle District Court.

During cross-examination, plaintiffs’ attorney Eric Rothschild asked if Peterman’s memo was written five days after the March 26, 2003, board retreat.

Nilsen agreed it had been.

Creationism? Never heard of it. And pay no attention to that retreat expense form. An explanation, Supt. Nilsen?

According to Nilsen’s own notes from the retreat, board member Alan Bonsell had listed “creationism” as a potential school board issue. Nilsen testified he could recall no details of the discussion and later said he had no memory of creationism ever being discussed in any setting.

Ah ... the Judith Miller defense. Very good. A classic.

AND THIS IS PRECIOUSSSSSS ...

[The Thomas More Law Center], which is representing [the Dover Area School District], agreed to work for the district for free, but [Thomas More's Richard] Thompson told [district solicitor Steve] Russell it would not cover the other side’s legal costs should the plaintiffs win the case and, as is the practice, try to recoup their legal expenses.

That's generally a good sign that one does not think highly of one's chances.

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