on the DI’s motives, again, just look to the Wedge Document statement of purpose. Is fighting a culture war altrusistic? Why not assume so? Myself I have no doubt they believe they are doing this for the good of society and for the good of the United States of America. Torquemada believed all HE did was for the good of the church, the good of mankind as a whole and even for the good of the souls of those he brought to the stake in the Act of faith” (AKA “Auto da Fe”). Sincerity is an attriubute of character and behavior, and a passive virtue at best - deplorable in its absence, neutral in its presence.

Do the founders and members of The Discovery Institute want to being back the Spanish Inquisition? I expect not.
not.

But then … NOBODY expects the Spanish Inquisition!

As to FLOCK OF DODOS treating ID fairly - my take on that will have to wait on my having seen the film. Everyone else;’s take on that question should wait on THEIR having seen it as well (that is, after all, the EMPIRICAL way). In the meantime, people, go get yourselves each a copy of DARWIN’S DANGEROUS IDEA by Daniel Dennett. Garner some insight into WHY the Theory of Evolution is so deeply disturbing to our self-appointed guardians of culture, morality and state- and church-approved ethics.

In only one area I think they are making headway. Colleges across the country are always looking for topical subjects and this seems to be one appearing in seminars. Not to prove it but to use it more as a debating challenge and cultural experiment. It will be interesting to watch the evolution of the Discovery Institute over the next couple of years. Already they have admitted that evolution (lower case e-evolution) has occurred. But they are trying to question the EVOLUTION as in evolutionary theory. This is a big change on their part, but one that was expected because even with all their disagreements on the basic tenets of evolution, they were failing miserably. You can’t fight all the evidence and it looks like they are giving up that part of the fight. This just means they can focus their efforts on trashing evolutionary theory, and trashing does seem to be their main forte.

I also predict some future changes in their position. The Young Earth Creationalists seem to be decamping. I always thought the attempt to merge all the varying faces of Creationalism was a political idea rather than an ideological one. With Discovery backing off on the idea that there was no evolution and that does hit the YEC’s right in the heart. How can you claim the Earth is only a few thousand years old when the rest of your coalition is taking the longer view, the much longer view.

The real concern of the ID-iots is the culture war. For quick, easy reference, see the notorious “Wedge Document” which lays out The Discovery Institute’s purpose and goals. Their core position is lain out clearly on the first page.

”The proposition that human beings are created in the image of God is one of the bedrock principles on which Western civilization was built. Its influence can be detected in most, if not all, of the West’s greatest achievements, including representative democracy, human rights, free enterprise, and progress in the arts and sciences.

“Yet a little over a century ago, this cardinal idea came under wholesale attack by intellectuals drawing on the discoveries of modern science. Debunking the traditional conceptions of both God and man, thinkers such as Charles Darwin, Karl Marx, and Sigmund Freud portrayed humans not as moral and spiritual beings, but as animals or machines who inhabited a universe ruled by purely impersonal forces and whose behavior and very thoughts were dictated by the unbending forces of biology, chemistry, and environment. This materialistic conception of reality eventually infected virtually every area of our culture, from politics and economics to literature and art.

…

“Discovery Institute’s Center for the Renewal of Science and Culture seeks nothing less than the overthrow of materialism and its cultural legacies.”

Even from this alone, it should be clear what is really going on in this battle over placement of ID in the classrooms - a war over a faith-based initiative in social engineering.

This does raise one of my standard issues with ID. If it is science, what predictibility does it have? So far, I have sen none
Ted

And the evolutionary process in nature is not dependent on public opinion either, nor on the success of the ID public relations campaign against legitimate science. Nor is the Evolutionary Process dependent on the standing on of Evolution Theory nor its success in public placement nor its flaws or incompleteness.

The Evolutionary Process is like the Process of photosynthesis (and, for that matter, like gravity and the speed of light) - a fact of nature, an actual reality.

Whatever we as a society decide about the placement of Evolution Theory or the Intelligent Design fantasy in the science curriculum of our public schools, the Evolutionary Process goes on - inevitably, inescapably. Undeniably.

As Galileo said of another disputed reality … “E pur si muove!”

It still moves.

BTW, please don’t confuse “fairly” with “favorably”.