Some good news this morning.

"The Ohio Board of Education voted 11 to 4 Tuesday to toss out a mandate that 10th-grade biology classes include critical analysis of evolution and an accompanying model lesson plan, dealing the intelligent design movement its second serious defeat in two months."

The Board revered its position out of fear of lawsuits following the recent Dover decision. The reaction from the Discovery Institute was wonderfully ironic:

"It's an outrageous slap in the face to the citizens of Ohio," said John G. West, associate director of the Center for Science and Culture at the [Discovery] institute, referring to several polls that show public support for criticism of evolution in science classes. "The effort to try to suppress ideas that you dislike, to use the government to suppress ideas you dislike, has a failed history," Mr. West said. "Do they really want to be on the side of the people who didn't want to let John Scopes talk or who tried to censor Galileo?"

No, they don't. They want to be on the side of those who aren't being sued. But it's a win for those who care about progress in open-minded, objective science.

Ohio Board Undoes Stand on Evolution - New York Times

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