Dover judge says ID is creationism

Judge Jones has ruled in favour of the plaintiffs - that is, in favour of the parents who objected to teaching ID or disclaiming evolution in textbooks - without qualification. It is creationism in disguise, supported by a lie, and should not be taught in science class. It will take me a while to digest this, so I recommend you go to Panda's Thumb, Dispatches from the Culture Wars, or Pharyngula for comment.

The [Lack of ] Discovery Institute is already spinning:

Apparently Judge Jones has forgotten what Justice Jackson said in the flag salute case:

"If there is any fixed star in our constitutional constellation, it is that no official, high or petty, can prescribe what shall be orthodox in politics, nationalism, religion, or other matters of opinion." West Virginia Bd. of Ed. v. Barnette, 319 U.S. 624, 642, 63 S.Ct. 1178, 87 L.Ed. 1628 (1943)

Although there was some fascinating testimony by ID scientists such as Michael Behe and Scott Minnich, and many interesting aspects to the case, Discovery Institute and many other supporters of Intelligent Design saw this as a poor test case for ID and predict that this will be just the first court case on the Intelligent Design, not the last.

This is, of course, a political fight. To them the law is just a tool to impose their own political influence. A loss here has no substantive implication, like, for example, ID is a load of religious dogma, but is only a temporary setback. So disparage the judge, call him an "activist" judge (which we know is code for "fails to get with the program" in right-speak), and keep the faithful hopeful. After all, gotta keep those donations rolling in.