Aug 16, 2012
ALEC-Inspired Education Bill Helps Fund Loch Ness Monster Truthers In Louisiana
It’s not a myth — the Loch Ness Monster has turned up in, of all places, Louisiana. According to the New York Daily News, Louisiana’s Eternity Christian Academy is using a textbook that asserts the monster is not only real, but that its existence disproves evolution. What’s more, the school is eligible for taxpayer funded vouchers, thanks to a bill signed by Republican Gov. Bobby Jindal that strongly resembles model legislation drafted by the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC). The New York Daily News reported (emphasis added)
The startling claim about Nessie’s authenticity is made to bolster creationism within the textbook, the Scotsman newspaper reported Monday. The Loch Ness Monster is described as a type of dinosaur, and if dinosaurs and man co-exist, then presumably there would be holes in the scientific argument for evolution.
According to (ALEC Corporate member) Gannett Louisiana, the voucher plan was part of a Louisiana bill that allegedly mirrored model legislation written by ALEC, an influential conservative group that promotes model legislation favorable to its corporate funders through statehouses across the country. From Gannett (emphasis added):
Reading Gov. Bobby Jindal’s education legislation — passed by the state Legislature in House Bills 974 and 976 and Senate Bill 581 — is akin to reading model bills drafted by the American Legislative Exchange Council.
Whether ALEC, or any other such tax-exempt entity, does “too much lobbying” is a matter of annual scrutiny by the IRS.
Either way, ALEC has plenty of influence. Some say Jindal likely based his education legislation on models drafted by ALEC, which in August 2011 awarded Jindal the Thomas Jefferson Freedom Award for public service.
To read more of this article about racism, stupidity, and a waste of taxpayer money from Political Correction, a project of Media Matters, please click here.
