This and that from here and there

I had to chuckle when I saw a Tom Tole political cartoon reproduced in the June 4 Oregonian. Sort of a "what's next" if the religious right manages to undermine the teaching of science.

Teacher standing in front of class, on the board are the words: "History class. The United States was made in six days"
Teacher is saying: "Franklin Roosevelt is only a theory..."
Footer: "... which the courts may soon prove never happened."

You can see the cartoon on the Washington Post website, but you may need to sign up for a free login.

A well-written editorial in the June 4 Virginian-Pilot. "Evolution deserves confident teaching" notes that Virginia is NOT one of the 21 states where the teaching of evolution is under attack, but the proponents of creationism and intelligent design are active and are causing educators to be more cautious.

I'm always glad to see pieces like this coming from the so-called Bible Belt, making it clear that there is no monolithic point of view based on geography. Real Southerners do understand the difference between science and religion.

Meanwhile, clear on the other side of the continent and way, way up north, the June 5 Anchorage Daily news reports that "Alaska's science ed standards get an F" largely because of the way evolution is marginalized in state science standards.