Bush does it again…and even a Rightwing Nuthouse can see the problem.

This is not to say that the President shouldn’t have the right to name whomever he damn well pleases to any position he sees fit. It’s just that this appointment of Paul Bonicelli to be Deputy Director of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), which is in charge of all programs to promote democracy and good governance overseas is a true and total embarrassment:

Bonicelli is dean of academic affairs at Patrick Henry College (PHC) in Purcellville, Virginia, whose motto is: “For Christ and Liberty”. This ultra-fundamentalist institution requires its students and faculty to sign a “statement of faith” declaring that they believe “Jesus Christ, born of a virgin, is God come in the flesh”, “Jesus Christ literally rose bodily from the dead”, and Hell is a place where “all who die outside of Christ shall be confined in conscious torment for eternity”.

That’s not all. Patrick Henry College also requires its “science” professors to sign a statement saying they believe in the literal interpretation of the Bible that says the world was created in 6 days. Here is the school’s own statement:

‘Creation. Any biology, Bible or other courses at PHC dealing with creation will teach creation from the understanding of Scripture that God’s creative work, as described in Genesis 1:1–31, was completed in six twenty–four hour days. All faculty for such courses will be chosen on the basis of their personal adherence to this view. PHC expects its faculty in these courses, as in all courses, to expose students to alternate theories and the data, if any, which support those theories. In this context, PHC in particular expects its biology faculty to provide a full exposition of the claims of the theory of Darwinian evolution, intelligent design and other major theories while, in the end, teach creation as both biblically true and as the best fit to observed data.’

That last bit is utterly loony, but it's real: it's on their "Biblical Worldview" page.

At least the damage is somewhat limited, since PHC does not offer any degrees in biology (although they do offer a degree in government—that's scary), and only has one faculty member in biology. They've also been denied accreditation by the American Academy for Liberal Education, and have gone shopping for some other accrediting institution that will let them slide by with poor science teaching. Here's a nice whine about it:

"AALE was wrong on two counts," Farris continued. "First, they are wrong in their conclusion that we do not teach about evolution. We do. But, honest science shows that it is simply an untenable theory. They were also wrong when they assert that believing and teaching creationism inhibits the acquisition of basic knowledge. Look at the facts carefully and it becomes apparent that the problem is not what our students know, rather it is about what our faculty and students believe."

No, the problem is what your science faculty teach. The claim that evolution is an "untenable theory" is false, as is plainly shown by the success of the theory in biological research. What's the point of accreditation if it can't set standards for what should be taught in the classroom, and if demonstrable utility and progress aren't to be defining criteria?

The AALE also states that the denial wasn't entirely on the basis of teaching creationism.

The academy's April 30 rejection letter to the school explained that the decision to deny accreditation was based on a determination that the school didn't meet the definition of liberal education, which includes standards on "liberty of thought and freedom of speech," along with other general education and curriculum standards.

According to Jeffrey Wallin, the academy's president, the denial was not based on the fact that the school teaches creationism.

"We have religious schools that are members of our organization that teach creationism, but they teach it in the theology department; they don't teach it in the science department," said Wallin.

Also, said Wallin, the school's statement of principles was inconsistent with openness in intellectual inquiry because it says, "you can teach anything you want in biology, as long as you agree that, as the Bible says, the world was created in six 24-hour days.

Another of the school's statements of belief, that only federalist, bicameral constitutions are acceptable to God, "would mean that parliamentary systems aren't," said Wallin. That "seemed a little narrow."

"If you set out ahead of time and say, 'by the way here are all the answers and none of the others are acceptable,' that's a problem," Wallin explained.

(via Politburo Diktat)