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FLORIDA POLITICS
Since 2002, daily Florida political news and commentary

 

UPDATE: Every morning we review and individually digest Florida political news articles, editorials and punditry. Our sister site, FLA Politics was selected by Campaigns & Elections as one of only ten state blogs in the nation
"every political insider should be reading right now."

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Welcome To Florida Politics

Thanks for visiting. On a semi-daily basis we scan Florida's major daily newspapers for significant Florida political news and punditry. We also review the editorial pages and political columnists/pundits for Florida political commentary. The papers we review include: the Miami Herald, Sun-Sentinel, Palm Beach Post, Naples News, Sarasota Herald Tribune, St Pete Times, Tampa Tribune, Orlando Sentinel, the Daytona Beach News-Journal, Tallahassee Democrat, and, occasionally, the Florida Times Union; we also review the political news blogs associated with these newspapers.

For each story, column, article or editorial we deem significant, we post at least the headline and link to the piece; the linked headline always appears in quotes. We quote the headline for two reasons: first, to allow researchers looking for the cited piece to find it (if the link has expired) by searching for the original title/headline via a commercial research service. Second, quotation of the original headline permits readers to appreciate the spin from the original piece, as opposed to our spin.

Not that we don't provide spin; we do, and plenty of it. Our perspective appears in post headlines, the subtitles within the post (in bold), and the excerpts from the linked stories we select to quote; we also occasionally provide other links and commentary about certain stories. While our bias should be immediately apparent to any reader, we nevertheless attempt to link to every article, column or editorial about Florida politics in every major online Florida newspaper.

 

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Previous Articles by Derek Newton: Ten Things Fox on Line 1 Stem Cells are Intelligent Design Katrina Spin No Can't Win Perhaps the Most Important Race Senate Outlook The Nelson Thing Deep, Dark Secret Smart Boy Bringing Guns to a Knife Fight Playing to our Strength  

The Blog for Thursday, October 13, 2005

Intelligent Design

    It's coming:
    Many say Florida will be the next battleground for proponents of the creationism-in-disguise campaign flying under the banner of "intelligent design." Proponents contend that living beings are too complex to have evolved through the "accident" of evolution -- with the implication that life was sparked by the hand of the divine. They compare their crusade to other revolutions in science, like the discovery of gravity and the comprehension that the Earth moves around the sun. The reality is far different -- intelligent design meets few of the criteria required of a valid scientific theory.

    Florida's rigorous science standards would normally prohibit suppositions from gaining space in textbooks or classrooms. However, Florida officials plan to review standards for science education next year, to ensure they meet the requirements of the federal No Child Left Behind act. Cheri Pierson Yecke, recently appointed by Gov. Jeb Bush as commissioner of K-12 education, will oversee those efforts.

    Yecke's tenure in Minnesota, along with her writing and public statements, make it clear that she's an advocate for intelligent design. Neither she nor Bush are saying whether they intend to inject that conjecture into Florida classrooms -- raising concerns that intelligent design, or support for other unproven alternatives to evolution theory, will become part of Florida's science curriculum.

    The results would be counterproductive for students hoping to pursue a higher education and career in research, medical or technological fields. Colleges usually factor in the quality of a state's school system when considering students for admission. Weakening scientific-education standards would put Florida students at a competitive disadvantage to those from more rigorous states -- and could deter high-tech employers considering a move to the Sunshine State.
    "Don't fail students".

5:34 AM

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