As Carl Zimmer notes, the IDers are pouring huge amounts of money into Kansas in advance of the August primary elections for the state school board. Kansas has been a battleground since 1999. And as Zimmer also notes, the pro-science folks are getting no support at all from our side. I urge you all to support the Kansas Alliance for Education and Kansas Citizens for Science. Another good project to support is Jeremy Mohn's Stand Up for Real Science project, an answer to the DI's campaign. Jeremy is a biology teacher in Kansas fighting a battle against the incredibly well-funded Discovery Institute and IDNet. Give him a visit and help the cause.
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The Kansas Democratic Party has leveled a charge of voter intimidation and has filed a complaint with the Kansas Attorney General's office.
I just got a copy of this letter, sent by Tom Holland, the Democratic candidate for Kansas Governor, to the Kansas Chamber of Commerce:
A survey by a company that wants to build a casino resort in southeast Kansas fins support for more gambling:
The Kansas Democratic Party is curious to learn: "Why are you leaving the GOP?" The Kansas AG, Lieutenant Governor, a Kansas member of Congress and several Kansas state legislators all did it. What made you Flee the GOP?
I have a couple minor comments... first, just look at those web sites and compare them to the Discovery Institute's site. DI has a nice polished look (not considering content, of course), and these others could have been done in any freeware web editing tool in an afternoon. If the DI's other efforts are so much more refined than the good guys', then it's no surprise that science education is in such turmoil.
Also, aside from the Kansas Alliance for Education, I couldn't even find a link to contribute money. If these groups -- particularly Stand Up for Real Science -- need contributions from the public to further the cause of debunking "the controversy", they could at least have a paypal link on their front pages or some other blurb describing how one might contribute.
I don't think Jeremy Mohn is seeking contributions. He's just posting on the web information about the issues and his own analysis. But both the other two have links to making contributions. The Kansas Alliance enables you to donate via the hotlink "Contributions" via either US Mail and a check or on-line via PayPal. Kansas Citizens, however, invites supporters to join, and make a contribution via several levels of membership. One can join them only via US Mail. And KCFS also solicits active support or special skills that might be of use to them.