Far From 1920's Fundamentalists

Michael Powell has another article evaluating the Kitzmiller v. Dover case. The title gives the gist- "No Easy Victory Ensues in Legal Battle Over Evolution" with the sub-title "Intelligent Design Theorists Far From 1920s Fundamentalists."

It contains this acknowledgement:

The small band of scientists who publicly support intelligent design are able debaters, and, as became clear when Behe took the stand, they do not sound remotely like William Jennings Bryan, the lawyer who eight decades ago in Tennessee invoked biblical authority to decry evolution.

Behe began by rattling off the names of prominent scientists, many of whom are not advocates of intelligent design, who questioned key aspects of evolutionary theory and noted that there is scant evidence for large mutational leaps. Then he read aloud from a paper written by an evolutionary biologist, whose theorizing was peppered with "maybe" and "might have" and "probably."

The article also notes:

It has been hailed as another Scopes "Monkey Trial," in which the forces of science would again vanquish those who would inject religion into the science classroom. But as the trial in U.S. District Court in Harrisburg reached a midpoint this week, victory has proven elusive.

What appears clear from this article is that even the mainstream media are beginning to see that as responsible journalists, they can no longer discuss every public debate or hearing or trial in terms of the social dynamics of the Scopes trial, or the mythology of Inherit the Wind. This trial and most of the current debates are miles different from that trial in so many ways. Powell does not mention the biggest difference: it is the pro-Darwin lobbyists who are trying to suppress and censor free inquiry, subvert a free marketplace of ideas and ban a book. The ID folks just want kids to hear all the relevant facts and arguments. In the Dover case, we are only talking about students hearing a one minute invitation to do additional, optional personal study on their own, outside of regular classroom time.