(by NCSE Deputy Director Glenn Branch)

Dear Friends of NCSE,

Plenty of news from statehouses around the country, with antievolution
bills voted down or tabled in Oklahoma and New Mexico, but a new bill
in Tennessee.

(by NCSE Deputy Director Glenn Branch)

Dear Friends of NCSE,

A Darwin Day resolution is introduced in Congress. The documentary
Kansas vs. Darwin is freely available on-line for a limited time. In
Mount Vernon, Ohio, a controversy involving creationism promises to
continue to linger, with a complaint filed by John Freshwater. And the
sixth antievolution bill of 2011 makes its appearance, in Tennessee.

(by NCSE Deputy Director Glenn Branch)

Dear Friends of NCSE,

A creationist publisher's plans to submit "intelligent design"
material for approval in Texas are revealed. Plus the philosopher
Ernan McMullin is dead; the Hechinger Report addresses "The evolution
of teaching evolution"; NCSE launches a new multimedia page; and Bill
Nye "The Science Guy" affirms, "The main idea in all of biology is
evolution." And, of course, a further reminder about Darwin Day and
Evolution Weekend.

(by NCSE Deputy Director Glenn Branch)

Dear Friends of NCSE,

A new antievolution bill in New Mexico. Additionally, a preview of
David N. Reznick's The Origin Then and Now; a retreat by a creationist
textbook publisher in Texas; and a reminder about Darwin Day and
Evolution Weekend.

(by NCSE Deputy Director Glenn Branch)

Dear Friends of NCSE,

A column in Science deplores "a pervasive reluctance of teachers to
forthrightly explain evolutionary biology." Meanwhile, teachers in
Illinois add their voice for evolution, Darwin Day and Evolution
Weekend are approaching, and the publisher of creationist textbooks
indicates its plans to submit supplementary materials for state
approval in Texas.

(by NCSE Deputy Director Glenn Branch)

Dear Friends of NCSE,

Not one but two new antievolution bills in Oklahoma, a column by
NCSE's Steven Newton in the Christian Science Monitor, a settlement in
the Gaskell case, a new antievolution bill in Missouri, and two
criticisms of the proposed ark park in the newsletter of the Kentucky
Academy of Science.

(by NCSE Deputy Director Glenn Branch)

Dear Friends of NCSE,

The Mount Vernon, Ohio, science teacher accused of teaching
creationism was officially fired. Church & State reviews the
developments in the creationism/evolution controversy in the five
years since Kitzmiller. And a preview of In the Light of Evolution:
Essays from the Laboratory and Field.

(by NCSE Deputy Director Glenn Branch)

Dear Friends of NCSE,

A classic creationism/evolution debate from 1981 is now available.
Plus the first antievolution bill of the year surfaces in Kentucky,
and developments in a lawsuit involving a North Carolina teacher who
claims she was punished over evolution.

(by NCSE Deputy Director Glenn Branch)

Dear Friends of NCSE,

The latest twist for the proposal to build a creationist theme park.
Plus a free preview of Evolution: The Story of Life on Earth and
honors from Science for the Understanding Evolution website.

INROADS FOR THE ARK PARK?

The developers proposing to build a creationist theme park in northern
Kentucky are now asking the state to improve a highway interchange to
accommodate the park's expected visitors, according to the Louisville
Courier-Journal (December 23, 2010). A spokesperson for the state
Transportation Cabinet commented, "At this point, no commitments have

(by NCSE Deputy Director Glenn Branch)

Dear Friends of NCSE,

The latest about the plans to construct a creationist theme park in
northern Kentucky. Plus the Philadelphia Inquirer and the York
Dispatch both commemorate the fifth anniversary of the verdict in
Kitzmiller v. Dover, while Gallup releases the results of a new poll
on public attitudes toward evolution, and videos of the Evolution
Symposium at the National Association of Biology Teachers conference
for 2010 are now available on-line. And a reminder about the special
issue of Synthese on the creationism/evolution controversy, which is
freely available until December 31, 2010.