Stalked by a ghost

Pat Shipman, author of many fine books and articles on natural history, has published a nice piece in American Naturalist on intelligent design, arguing that it is time for scientists to defend against it:

I might have settled back into complacency had I not learned that students in the public high school in my town—a town dominated by a major university—can "opt out" of learning about evolution if their parents send a letter to the school. Allowing students to "opt out" of learning the basic facts and theories of biology is about as wise as allowing them to "opt out" of algebra or English: It constitutes malfeasance.

It's a good piece. Go read it. Then act now.