Lehigh Professor Testifies for Intelligent Design in Kitzmiller Case

Michael Behe, A biochemistry professor and leading advocates of intelligent design testified in a Pennsylvania federal court that the theory does not advance any religious belief, qualifies as science, and has a place in biology classes. In his testimony earlier this week, Behe said that intelligent design is a scientific theory that argues that some aspects of nature are so complex that the evidence points to an intelligent agent that designed them. He said the theory is based on physical, empirical, observable evidence from nature, as well as logical inferences, and not necessarily on religious belief.

The Kitzmiller case has continued to make national and international news.

New Workers' Compensation Office of Adjudication Site

The Workers' Compensation Office of Adjudication has created its own web page containing links to materials for adjudication. There is material including directions to hearing locations, and the relatively new policy wherein the Bureau will provide an interpreter without cost.

Thanks to the online Pennsylvania Workers' Compensation Journal for a heads up on the new site. Check out the PWCJ site for up to date Workers' Compensation information as well, an excellent source in itself.

Meeting Tonight on Contaminated Wells

Tonight residents of Scott, Abington and North and South Abington Townships will have the opportunity to voice their concerns over the contaminated well water that has been discovered in residential areas over one mile from the Ivy Industrial Park.

The meeting will be held tonight at Lakeland High School from 5-8 and will be broken into hourly blocks. State environmental officials are expected to present a map detailing the exact areas in which water was found to be contaminated. Residents will also have the opportunity to meet privately with health experts about any medical concerns related to the contaminated drinking water.

Bob Casey bypasses Santorum in Fundraising

Democratic PA Senate Candidate Bob Casey bypassed Republican incumbent Rick Santorum in fundraising during a three month quarter that ended today. Casey raised over $2 million dollars to Santorum's $1.7 million. While Santorum still has an overall funding advantage in the race, Casey's victory in late quarter fundraising is symbolic of his campaign's momentum. According to a Connecticut-based Quinnipiac University poll completed yesterday, Santorum is lagging a substantial 18 points behind Casey. The race, which threatens to unseat the Senate's #3 Republican is already becoming one of the most carefully watched in the country.

To learn more about Scranton native Bob Casey visit his homepage here.

Kitzmiller v. Dover Area School District Receives International Media Attention

Journalists across the US, and even the globe, have given an enormous amount of attention to the Dover, PA lawsuit Kitzmiller v. Dover Area School District. The lawsuit, which pits 11 parents against the Dover school board which introduced the theory of "Intelligent Design" into its curriculum last year, is being portrayed as the sequel to the famous Scopes "Monkey" Trial of 1925. Indeed a Chicago Tribune headline proclaimed "Intelligent Design Duels Darwin In 'Scopes II.'"

In fact, the Dover case probably bears more resemblance to the 1981 trial of McLean v. Arkansas in which the Federal Government first struck down the practice of teaching Creationism not solely, but alongside scientific evolution (as noted by The New Republic here). Like in McLean the debate in Kitzmiller rests on weather or not it is fair to call Intelligent Design a scientific theory. If it is decided that ID does not meet the rigor and objectivity required by that criteria, and that the school board has acted under "clearly religious motivations" then ID will be found to be "theology in disguise" and ruled unconstitutional as a violation of the separation between church and state.

The plaintiffs attorneys, including representation hailing from the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), Americans United for Separation of Church and State, and the law firm Pepper Hamilton, have assembled an impressive collection of experts from academia to make the case that ID does not make the cut as a scientific theory. They have also pointed to other actions of the Dover School Board to try to show religious intent (such as previously attempting to introduce the teaching of traditional Creation Science, struck down by McLean).

The Defendants, represented by Richard Thompson from the Thomas More Law Center of Ann Arbor, Michigan, have based their strategy on the argument that the school board was acting with a legitimate secular purpose: introducing pupils to alternative points of view, of which evolution is only one.

The Kitzmiller case has been called the most important evolution case is more than two decades, and will be decided by Judge John E. Jones III. You can read more about the Kitzmiller case online at any of these sites:

"Trial and Error" at The New Republic

"Evolution Trial Delves into Topics of Faith" at NEPA News

"Life is Like a Cup of Tea" at the London based Economist

"Debate Over Statement Perplexes Students" at the York Daily Record