You already know about the Louisiana Creationism Repeal Bill Filed last week by Senator Karen Carter Peterson. It’s SB70, which would repeal the misnamed and misguided Louisiana Science Education Act (LSEA), Louisiana’s creationism law.
Today there’s some good news to be found at Zachary Kopplin’s website: 41 Nobel Laureates Call for a Repeal of the LSEA. You read that correctly. Nobel Prize winners, 41 of them. You can visit Zack’s site to read the entire letter and all of the signers’ names at its end, but here are some excerpts, with bold font added by us:
Dear Members of the Louisiana Legislature,
As Nobel Laureates in various scientific fields, we urge you to repeal the misnamed and misguided Louisiana Science Education Act (LSEA) of 2008. This law creates a pathway for creationism and other forms of non-scientific instruction to be taught in public school science classrooms.
Good, huh? Let’s read on:
Louisiana’s students deserve to be taught proper science rather than religion presented as science. Science offers testable, and therefore falsifiable, explanations for natural phenomena. Because it requires supernatural explanations of natural phenomena, creationism does not meet these standards.
We have no doubt that the Louisiana legislature will understand that. The letter continues:
Seventy-two Nobel Laureates addressed these issues in 1987 in an amicus brief in the Edwards vs. Aguillard U.S. Supreme Court case, which originated in Louisiana …
Right, Edwards v. Aguillard. But the legislature knew all about that in 2008 when the passed the existing anti-science law. They weren’t impressed by the US Supreme court and 72 Nobelists back then, so why should they care about 41 Nobelists now?
We’re skipping a lot, but here’s how the letter ends:
We strongly urge that the Louisiana Legislature repeal this misguided law. Louisiana students deserve an education that will allow them to compete with their peers across the country and the globe.
The list of signers then follows. It impresses your humble Curmudgeon, but it probably won’t change anyone’s mind in the Louisiana legislature. Maybe we’ll be pleasantly surprised.
Zack seems to be moving up in the world. He’s rubbing cyber shoulders with some impressive people.
Copyright © 2011. The Sensuous Curmudgeon. All rights reserved.
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The Sensuous Curmudgeon 
Can I guess that Brian Josephson isn’t one of them?
Good guess.
It’s my psychic abilities.
C’mon. Someone has to stand up to those experts!
Oh. Sorry. Don McLeroy said that. Apologies. 🙂
With all due respect to SC, but if you’re dropping in here to post a comment, please also pop over to Zack’s blog and drop a note to him. Work such as his must be encouraged.
You’re right, Gary. It’s done.
I can guess the reponse to this line, based on the fact that creo-nuts cant tell the difference between a THEORY as they define one and what the scientific community call a THEORY:
“Science offers testable, and therefore falsifiable, explanations for natural phenomena.”
Response: “FALSIFIABLE! SO you guys DO just make this **** up! I told yew I wasn’t no monkey’s son!!!!”