The Devil in Dover: An Insider's Story of Dogma v. Darwin in Small-town America
By Laurie Lebo
The New Press
238 Pages $ 24.95

In late 2005 national media eagerly flocked to the heretofore peaceful town of Dover, PA in what many journalists labeled a modern day Scopes Monkey Trial, officially known as Kitzmiller Vs Dover Area School District. Reporters came from DC, New York, LA, along with every nook and cranny of the US, not to mention Europe and Asia. But there was one who didn't have to travel to get this story; Laurie Lebo grew up in the area, her family owned the local Christian radio station, her childhood friends were pastors, teachers, and parents embroiled in what would become a bitter controversy turning neighbor against neighbor. When America's simmering culture clash erupted into a full blown firefight, she found herself smack dab between opposing forces fighting tooth and nail in a battle to the idealogical death. Lebo leverages that unique geographical perch with writing skills that can only be described as both gritty and brilliant. Not to mention at times refreshing, for instance:

I've thought of this notion of "fair and balanced" journalism and of how, somewhere along the line, we as journalists have gotten confused by a misguided notion of objectivity. It is our job to inform readers of the truth, not just regurgitate  lies, even if it means the stories are no longer "balanced." page 158  

This is not the usual recap of claims and counter claims, or courtroom details provided by one dimensional cookie cutter characters. The local evangelical community in Dover has been portrayed in some quarters as dishonest hicks gleefully rubbing the hands together and cackling at the thought of bringing down science. The author quickly dispatches that erroneous image; these are the kind of Christians who live by the Sermon on the Mount. They comfort the destitute and terminally ill, they volunteer long hours persuading local businesses to provide recently released felons with gainful employment; in one touching example, the author's own father literally gives a total stranger going through a tough time the brand new shoes off his feet.

Despite her roots and understandable affection for the opinions of friends and family, Lebo courageously exhibits the highest standards in intellectual honesty and journalistic ethos. She doesn't go easy on those who led Dover ISD residents into a bitterly divisive, legal maelstrom based on crack pot pseudoscience. Far from it. Part of the great appeal of this book is that those conflicts are woven into compelling personal narratives and observations from an author who is clearly conflicted on both a professional and emotional level. Rather than trying to hide that internal pain, the author lets it all hang out to the great benefit of her lucky readers. And that's what makes this book such an important read for residents of other close knits communities all over the nation that may be or are being drawn into this debate: the price paid by the local community goes far beyond the cost assessed on the school district (In the case of Dover it ended up costing local taxpayers a cool one-million dollars). Once friendly neighbors become enemies, relationships are tested to the breaking point. And in some cases, based on what's revealed in the book anyway, it sounds like those rifts may never be repaired, even long after the cameras and media celebrities have left for the next big story.

Readers who appreciate the science of evolution, or the lack thereof in Intelligent Design Creationism, will not be disappointed. Lebo wryly remarks at one point she's thankful the topic under scrutiny was not quantum physics, or she would have been hard pressed to adequately convey the scientific testimony. Nevertheless, she does her biology homework magnificently, breaking down even the more esoteric material with such proficiency it should inform those readers new to the evidence for evolution, and still delight the veteran molecular biologist. Same goes for the legal history and constitutional intricacies underpinning the issues at hand, all of which are every bit as interesting as they are far beyond the scope of this review.

In short, this is hands down the best book I've read about the landmark trial. I recommend it highly for anyone. But most especially for any local board members being courted by IDC proponents; whatever you do, before you bring this misery down on your constituents, pick up a copy of Laurie Lebo's The Devil in Dover, and read every last word of it.

Your one stop pundit shop.

Maureen Dowd keeps her streak alive as the biggest waste of column space in the country.

Frank Rich has fun with John McCain’s "fiscal ineptitude," saying that:

The best thing to happen to John McCain was for the three network anchors to leave him in the dust this week while they chase Barack Obama on his global Lollapalooza tour. Were voters forced to actually focus on Mr. McCain’s response to our spiraling economic crisis at home, the prospect of his ascension to the Oval Office could set off a panic that would make the IndyMac Bank bust in Pasadena look as merry as the Rose Bowl.

Jeffrey T. Kuhner objects to the White House decision to send a diplomat to Iran. He’d prefer we just bomb ‘em and get it over with.

Graham Allison on the other hand, cheers for this "flip-flop towards reality." No word on how much good it will do with six months left in office.

John Kass whines about the liberal media and their coverage of Barack Obama. And did you know that McCain was a P.O.W.?

Joan Vennochi is today’s designated columnist to write about Barack Obama’s ego. But with Krauthammer and Cantor using up so much of the good material over the past couple of days, Vennochi throws in an ode to John McCain's humility to fill her word quota. And did you know that McCain was a P.O.W.?

Lawrence J. Korb succinctly lays out why we need to get out of Iraq, and says that:

...when the president said "you know, of course, we're there at their invitation," Bush never envisioned them actually telling us to leave before his mission was accomplished. Just as he misjudged and mismanaged the situation going in, it is clear that he is equally clueless about when to get out and regain control of US policy.

Sophia A. Nelson looks at the media, Michelle Obama, and how black women are stereotyped in America:

It was supposed to be satire, but the caricature of Barack Obama and his wife that appeared on the cover of the New Yorker last week rightly caused a major flap. And among black professional women like me and many of my sisters in the Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority, who happened to be gathered last week in Washington for our 100th anniversary celebration, the mischaracterization of Michelle hit the rawest of nerves.

Welcome to our world.

"Could I mention the presence of my friend, Congressman Steve Pearce, who I believe will be joining me in the United States Senate?"  -  John McCain in New Mexico this week.

It just gets worse and worse for John McSame and the gop.
Full lineup and other goodies below...

This evening's Rescue Rangers are ybruti, Larsstephens (ably mentored by Patriot Daily), ezdidit, grog, and Avila, with watercarrier4diogenes scrounging around in the pockets of the Robes of Objectivity, looking for the Wand of 'Seriousness' (tm) Glennzilla.

Tonight's diaries cover a variety of interesting issues not covered by the 'traditional media' (tm Kos), and definitely show that not all our 'best writers' are offline and partyin' hardy at Netroots Nation this weekend:

• If you're feeling a little letdown tonight because you missed Netroots Nation, dopper0189 will make you laugh again with the snarkalicious The Liberal Democratic rapture is coming! BEWARE! (Avila)
• Blissing opens our eyes to the heartbreaking realities of native women and their struggles for justice at the NN Panel: Pretty Bird Woman House W/Video. (Larsstephens)
• The Field details the Obama campaign's plan to take the convention to the unregistered voters and beyond in Hildebrand: 3-Day "Massive" Voter Registration Drive for Labor Day Weekend. (Avila)
• mataliandy finds sustenance and chews the fat with other NN food writers in the Future of Food Panel at Netroots Nation. (Larsstephens)
• With a worthy retrospective and an outline of exhibits, lampwicke proposes the founding of The George W. Bush Presidential Disaster Museum. (ezdidit)
• dancewater has some new information on the condition of a seriously injured Iraqi girl receiving medical treatment here in the U.S. in Update on Rusul and her surgery. (Avila)
• DrSteveB prescribes remedies for a one-sided debate on health care legislation with the Single Payer to HCAN: We Will Not Not Be Listened To. (Larsstephens)
• Political theory junkies will love Cassiodorus's ongoing series Bad Pragmatism in Theory (pt.4): Gramsci vs. the Republicans. (grog)
• MadScientist muses on better days and the present day in The General Decline of Just About Everything. (Avila)
• In 1795, Thomas Paine wrote that "To take away this right [to vote] is to reduce a man to slavery." Karen Hedwig Backman reports more than two decades later that our votes are still vulnerable in Fixing Elections. (Avila)
• jimstaro wants Obama & McCain to come to a Fort Hood Town Hall Presidential Forum, with a challenge to the putative Democratic nominee: Yes or No, Up or Down, Barack. (ezdidit)
• Discussing Al Gore's recent proposal to end our reliance on fossil fuels for electricity generation in ten years, throughaglassdarkly presents Gore's Speech; Obama's Challenge. (ybruti)
• desmoinesdem has a point and makes it well: To fight global warming, we also need to rethink transportation. (ezdidit)
• Second-time diarist luvsathoroughbred describes Trolling for Votes: A Womano a Mano Debate with a colleague who despises Obama. After you read this, you'll find some comic relief in her first diary (about a dog for the next president): The K-9 Conundrum: An Open Letter of Advice to Sen. Obama. (ybruti)

jotter has High Impact Diaries - July 18, 2008 and carolita has Top Comments 7-19-08 -- Kaizen Edition.

Enjoy and please promote your own favorite diaries in this open thread (even if you're the author! Here's where that's actually appreciated). And, of course, since it's an open thread, PLAY NICE, OK? 8^)

Remember all those silly foreign affairs positions held by Barack Obama?  You know, like meeting directly with our enemies, which showed that Obama was naive and inexperienced?  Like setting a timetable for Iraq which was not important but on the other hand could lead to chaos and genocide?  

Over the last couple of weeks, conservative Andrew Sullivan notes that the lines between Obama's positions and those of McCain and Bush are starting "to blur."  Only, that blur seems to be moving in a particular direction.  

Iran

Obama has famously argued that the US should deal directly with the mullahs, negotiate the nuclear question and have talks without the precondition that Tehran suspend uranium enrichment. This was a clear and vital difference, we were told only a short time ago, between a reckless, appeasing Obama and the resolute, Churchillian Bushies.

And yet last week Bush authorised William Burns, a high-level State Department official, to attend talks with Tehran’s representatives on the Iranian nuclear question.

Iraq

Obama’s position has long been that troops should be withdrawn expeditiously but with care, and that the US military should shift its emphasis towards Afghanistan and Pakistan. And, lo and behold, last week we were also told that Bush was considering accelerating the exit of Iraq troops to beef up the Afghan mission.

For good measure, McCain also gave a speech backing what he calls a "surge" in Afghanistan, with more troops and a counterinsurgency strategy in the style of General David Petraeus, the commander of US forces.

And that's before McCain has made any response to Iraqi President Maliki's agreement with Obama's timeline.  Sullivan notes that the candidates are now sounding an awful lot alike, and that they're having trouble "putting blue sky" between their positions.

One thing he doesn't make clear: the lack of sky is because McCain and Bush have adopted more and more of Obama's "naive" positions rather than his bowing to their towering experience.

Blurry.  It's all so blurry.  Sure, Obama has a timeline, but now Bush has a "horizon," and by tomorrow McCain will probably have a purview, or a vision, or a vista.  It's all the same.  Right?

Barack Obama in Kuwait:

With today's news that Iraq's Prime Minister Maliki agrees with Barack Obama's plan to withdraw U.S. troops from Iraq within 16 months, the McCain campaign has so far failed to comment on the story. But McCain did have something to say about it in 2004:

QUESTION: Let me give you a hypothetical, senator. What would or should we do if, in the post-June 30th period, a so-called sovereign Iraqi government asks us to leave, even if we are unhappy about the security situation there? I understand it's a hypothetical, but it's at least possible.

McCAIN: Well, if that scenario evolves, then I think it's obvious that we would have to leave because— if it was an elected government of Iraq— and we've been asked to leave other places in the world. If it were an extremist government, then I think we would have other challenges, but I don't see how we could stay when our whole emphasis and policy has been based on turning the Iraqi government over to the Iraqi
people.

Prepare yourself for spinning of Linda Blair-like proportions.

[From the diaries - BarbinMD]

Stupid is as stupid does.

The White House this afternoon accidentally sent to its extensive distribution list a Reuters story headlined "Iraqi PM backs Obama troop exit plan - magazine."

The story relayed how Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki told the German magazine Der Spiegel that "he supported prospective U.S. Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama's proposal that U.S. troops should leave Iraq within 16 months ... ‘U.S. presidential candidate Barack Obama talks about 16 months. That, we think, would be the right timeframe for a withdrawal, with the possibility of slight changes,'" the prime minister said.

The White House employee had intended to send the article to an internal distribution list, ABC News' Martha Raddatz reports, but hit the wrong button.

My take: The WH was obviously freaking out after the announcement that al-Maliki supports Obama's plan, and of course was planning to email this around internally get some some advice from advisers and get their talking points together. This also ensures additional coverage of this issue. The Obama camp of course has already pounced on this:

The national security adviser to the Obama campaign, Susan Rice, said the senator welcomed Maliki's support.

"This presents an important opportunity to transition to Iraqi responsibility, while restoring our military and increasing our commitment to finish the fight in Afghanistan," Rice said in a statement Saturday.

This is just starting to hit the media; unlike McCain leaking Obama's travel schedule, this is just too big to ignore. The implications are huge, when you consider what would have happened had the opposite occurred:

To really understand the importance of Maliki's comments, you need to consider their opposite. Imagine if Maliki had walked in front of the cameras and said, "at this stage, a timetable for withdrawal is unrealistic, and we hope our American friends will not bow to domestic political pressures and be hasty in leaving Iraq just as the country improves." It would be a transformative moment in this election. John McCain would talk of nothing else. The cable shows would talk of nothing else. Magazines would run thousands of covers about "Obama's Iraq Problem." Obama would probably lose the race.

Indeed.

Update: I just had to relay this post on what the al-Maliki statement means for McCain (per Ambinder):

Via e-mail, a prominent Republican strategist who occasionally provides advice to the McCain campaign said, simply, "We're fucked." No response yet from the McCain campaign, although here's what McCain said the last time Maliki mentioned withdrawal: "Since we are succeeding, then I am convinced, as I have said before, we can withdraw and withdraw with honor, not according to a set timetable. And I’m confident that is what Prime Minister Maliki is talking about, since he has told me that for many meetings we’'ve had."

DIGG IT UP!!

• Al Gore dropped in at Netroots Nation today. Speaker of the House Pelosi was overheard saying:

  Isn’t it exciting that he’s here?

  For those in attendance, my guess is, yes.

• Barack Obama arrived in Afghanistan today, the first stop on his tour of Europe and the Middle East.
• Now that 13 U.S. soldiers in Iraq have been electrocuted because of shoddy workmanship by KBR, five Democratic Senators are asking for an independent review of the work. The first question should be, why was KBR inspecting their own work given their miserable record of service in Iraq.
• George Bush continues his fundraising efforts for GOP candidates behind closed doors since no one wants to be seen with him in public.
• And speaking of “the Decider,”

  Felons are asking President Bush for pardons and commutations at historic levels as he nears his final months in office...

  It’s not clear how many of them are former officials with the administration.

• John Cole reviews Michael Gerson’s latest Washington Post op-ed:

  Got it? Environmental activists are to blame for not working enough with the people who oppose them, denounce them, mock them, work openly to sabotage their efforts, and have created a cottage industry creating and spreading pseudo-scientific babble.

  What twisted bastard at the Washington Post reviews these op-eds and thinks they are worth printing? What kind of jackass believes the real problem regarding the environment is the environmental movement, and not James Inhofe. This is like blaming doctors for not being willing enough to work with the tobacco industry to prevent cancer.

  Good question.

• And finally, Al Gore has been upstaged! An actual presidential candidate has shown at Netroots Nation. Yes, folks, it's true:  Bob Barr is in the house, and is watching Markos, brownsox, DavidNYC, James L and Jonathan Singer talk horse races.  Note Steve Singiser and Democratic Luntz behind the good gentleman from Georgia.
  -Trapper John

John McCain still hasn't given up on his idea of a gas-tax "holiday:

The Republican told an estimated 1,200 people at Union Station that suspending the federal tax on gasoline and diesel fuel would help put millions of dollars into the hands of businesses and lower-income Americans.

And he's still the only one who thinks it's a good idea:

The political vision of a summer gas tax holiday died a quick death in Congress, losing to a view that federal excise taxes on gasoline and diesel fuel will have to go up if they go anywhere.  [...]

Depriving the 52-year-old Highway Trust Fund of $9 billion at a time when it is heading into the red doomed the notion of a gas tax holiday in Congress.

The chairman of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, Rep. James Oberstar, and the chairman of the highway subcommittee, Rep. Peter DeFazio, presented fellow lawmakers with a list of how many jobs and how much money each state would lose. It ranged from $30 million and 1,000 jobs in Vermont to $664 million and 23,000 jobs in California.

But still McCain presses on. Never mind that "only about $27 billion in federal money will be available next year to states and local governments for new infrastructure investment even though the current highway act calls for spending $41 billion a year," McCain thinks he's latched onto something that will resonate with the public, so damn the consequences.

Naturally, in leaving McCain's campaign, Phil Gramm had to blame Democrats. He's such a victim.

It is clear to me that Democrats want to attack me rather than debate Senator McCain on important economic issues facing the country," Mr. Gramm said in a statement issued by the campaign. "That kind of distraction hurts not only Senator McCain’s ability to present concrete programs to deal with the country’s problems, it hurts the country."

Mr. Gramm, a multimillionaire banker, has been under fire since last week, when he dismissed concerns about the troubled economy by referring to "a mental recession." He also said the United States had become "a nation of whiners," a remark providing fodder for Democrats to portray Republicans as out of touch with the concerns of ordinary Americans.

The Obama campaign declined to apologize for thinking the economic issues needing discussion are not purely psychological.

"The question for John McCain isn’t whether Phil Gramm will continue as chairman of his campaign, but whether he will continue to keep the economic plan that Gramm authored and that represents a continuation of the polices that have failed American families for the last eight years," said Hari Sevugan, a spokesman for the campaign of Senator Barack Obama.

This will certainly test John McCain's famous temper:

Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki told a German magazine he supported prospective U.S. Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama's proposal that U.S. troops should leave Iraq within 16 months.

"U.S. presidential candidate Barack Obama talks about 16 months. That, we think, would be the right timeframe for a withdrawal, with the possibility of slight changes."

Asked if he supported Obama's ideas more than those of John McCain, Republican presidential hopeful, Maliki said he did not want to recommend who people should vote for.

"Whoever is thinking about the shorter term is closer to reality. Artificially extending the stay of U.S. troops would cause problems."

Will McCain accuse Maliki of making decisions before visiting Iraq and knowing the facts on the ground?

See karpaty lviv's diary for more discussion.

You can watch the question & answer session with Speaker Nancy Pelosi at Netroots Nation here. She was warmly welcomed when she came on stage at 9:15, and began with a short address before taking questions sent in by bloggers in advance.

The first question was about "inherent contempt": Why hasn't Congress used its power of inherent contempt to jail current and former members of the Bush administration who have ignored Congressional subpoenas? The Speaker talked instead about the failure of the Justice Department to pursue the complaint that the House has sent DOJ. Asked a second time about inherent contempt, and specifically when the House would "put [Karl Rove] into that little cell down in the basement", Speaker Pelosi responded that committee chairs have said they will take care of the matter. Congressman John Conyers, she said, asked her to leave it to him.

The next subject was the FISA bill. Speaker Pelosi said that Democrats will revisit the issue in the next Congress with a larger majority, and try to undo the damage done by the recent law. She shifted the blame for the FISA fiasco to the Senate for sending the House a bad bill. "We had no options," she said. The bill actually enacted was sent to the Senate by the House, however, not the reverse.

On the first two, very large issues, not an auspicious start. We're now moving on to less controversial issues, and the audience is reacting more favorably to Speaker Pelosi's answers.

Join in with this live blog.

Update [2008-7-19 11:22:47 by smintheus]: Rumors have been swirling that Al Gore would come to Netroots Nation to address us. He just appeared on stage to ask Nancy Pelosi about energy policy.

Talking to candidates and staffers at Netroots Nation, you can't possibly miss the sense of optimism. And we as Democrats should be optimistic -- there are races out there that you would never have predicted to be competitive, but here we are, looking at possible victory.

But there's something else, too. Even as longshot races are looking good, people on top-tier races know they can't take anything for granted. In her Senate race in New Hampshire, Jeanne Shaheen has had consistent leads in polling for months now. But when I talked to her daughter Molly (who is blogging her mother's race), she emphasized that they know they have a fight. They know that, in a rematch of the race that saw the blatant lawbreaking of phone jamming in 2002, they face an opponent who will go somewhere below dirty. So no matter what the polls say, the Shaheen team knows they need to keep fighting every day for this victory.

Talking to Orange to Blue candidate Dan Seals I got the same message: It's not just that he knows he's facing a tough race. It's that he doesn't want to see Democrats screw up. Seals clearly feels the optimism of the year, but also the sense of urgency that this election is so important for the future of the country and the world. The stakes are too high to give anything less than the best.

We can't take anything for granted. And we're lucky to have great candidates who know that and are putting in the hard work to win it.

Race tracker wiki: NH-Sen IL-10

Your one stop pundit shop.

Rep. Eric Cantor (R-VA) took his talking points on Barack Obama straight from yesterday’s column by Charles Krauthammer. Seriously, Rep. Cantor, if you don’t have an original thought to share, than at least have the courtesy to cite your source.

Deborah Howell thinks that the Washington Post’s political coverage could be better. So does everyone else.

James K. Robinson rebuts a previous op-ed that had Leonard Boyle, the director of the federal Terrorist Screening Center, defending the terrorist watch list.

Dan Ariely thinks that we should stop obsessing over the price of gas and think about how much more we’re paying for other necessities.

While we concentrate our anger on gas prices, we are ignoring increases in electricity, food and health insurance — expenses that might actually have a greater effect on our budgets.

Joel Stein provides a guide on how to make jokes about Obama. Unfortunately (or fortunately, depending on how you look at it), they’re all pretty lame.

Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) gets straight to the point:

There is no quick fix to $4.50-a-gallon gas, no way to provide instant relief to consumers we know are hurting. Yet President Bush and others continue to push the false promise of offshore oil drilling.