Yesterday in a 28-46 vote, the Utah House of Representatives voted to defeat a bill pushed by Republican Sen. Chris Buttars that would have required teachers to present alternatives to evolution, which is long form for the state sanctioned teaching of intelligent design.
As in Ohio earlier this month, where DefCon members sent 30,000 emails […]

It’s official, we have a new DefCon Logo! The new logo comes to us from Andy Otis. Andy works for Empax design in NYC. Obviously a lot of you put a great deal of effort into your entries, which clearly resulted in several dozen that were of very high qaulity. In the end we narrowed […]

The Washington Post has an interesting First Amendment quiz on their site. The quiz is part of this story, concerning tactics employed by schools to help students better understand civic responsibility and the constitution.

Not enough time has been spent focusing on Roy Moore on this page. Frederick Clarkson put together a thorough piece on Moore last October, but since then his name has rarely been referenced.
For those of you unaware, Moore was an Alabama judge, made famous for his defiance of Alabama law by refusing to remove […]

Good morning. Here’s a roundup of national stories covering Ohio’s seminal rejection of intelligent design yesterday:
NYTimes, USA Today, LATimes.
Enjoy!

Just in: the Ohio Board of Education just voted 11-4 to strip pro-intelligent design language from the state’s science standards.
What is most noteworthy is that just a month ago the same board denied the same motion 9-8. What happened in the interim? Two things:

Ohio Republican Gov. Taft came out opposed to intelligent design.
6,000 […]

The Ohio Board of Education should vote today on whether to strip language currently in the state’s science standards that allows for the teaching of intelligent design. While, until today, the issue recieved zero national attention, a DefCon press conference yesterday — with DefCon board members Patricia Princehouse and Lawrence Krauss, along with Ohio Board […]

Focus on the Family has come out in support of a republican sponsored bill in Colorado that would give same sex couples many of the rights enjoyed by married couples.
From the LA Times:
The bill’s author, Republican state Sen. Shawn Mitchell, does not support gay marriage or other arrangements, such as civil unions, that would […]

Today marks the 197th anniversary of Charles Darwin’s birth. We at DefCon have a whole bunch of activities you can take to celebrate the day (last but not least the Darwin Valentine).
Also see this story about Evolution Sunday events. More than 450 churches across the country are holding events to show their support for evolution, […]

An article in the LA Times yesterday highlights the concerted effort by a growing number of evangelicals to do all they can to accelerate the end times, including starting 5 million new churches. If you are unfamiliar with end times or rapture theology, read DefCon’s feature here.
According to one member of the Global Pastor Network, […]

On Tuesday, February 14, the Ohio Board of Education will vote on whether to strip language from the state’s science standards that allows for the teaching of intelligent design. The move has received an unexpected boost as Ohio Gov. Bob Taft recently came out against intelligent design, calling on the board to support evolution.
Taft, a […]

The Washington Post Magazine had a huge article on intelligent design yesterday. Certainly worth the read.
The article presents a great discussion of the conflict some see between Darwinism and religion.

Last month, in an interview on PBS’s “Religion & Ethics,” National Association of Evangelical’s Richard Cizik stated:
“We, as evangelical Christians, have a responsibility to God, who owns this property we call Earth. We don’t own it. We’re simply to be stewards of it. And if climate change is occurring, can we simply, with blinders on, […]

For those of you missed DefCon’s inaugural online chat with DefCon Advisory Board Members Erwin Chemerinsky and Kate Michelman, both of whom testified to the Senate Judiciary Committee during the Alito hearings, an archived copy is now available here.
Enjoy.