...who, though not shy about imposing their religious practices on others, were very well educated and scientifically sophisticated for their time. Re: the Salem witch trials: Though the testimony sounds superstitious, the basis for the actual charges had more to do with a long-standing fight about property between the people of Salem Village and the outlying community. If you were convicted of witchcraft, your property was forfeit. Hmm... rather like what happens to people accused of drug possession in some states today...

I don't live in Dover, PA, but I can drive there easily. We already had this fight where I live, many years ago, and the opponents of science lost most of it. (When one of my younger girls got the science books stamped with the "Evolution is only a theory" message, I sent back a note concerning the defacement on pages X and Y, and put blank white stickers over the message. The administrators never said a word. Those books have since been superceded and replaced, without the stamps.) I expect we will have this fight again, but not this year. They are not finished.

Although the incident in PA is only one school district, the incident in Kansas involves the board of education for the entire state. I would not consider that to be inconsequential, especially if I lived in Kansas. If they win, I will be most interested to see how that affects the ability of students from Kansan public schools to be admitted to science programs in some of our more well-known universities.