"Academic Freedom" and Evolution

Education Weekly has an article (registration required, confound them!) on the launch of "academic freedom" bills around the country. The article states:

Recent state legislative proposals, introduced not just in Michigan, but also in Alabama, Florida, Louisiana, and Missouri, make no mention of creationism or intelligent design. In fact, each of them specifies that they are not promoting religious doctrine.

Instead, they describe evolution as controversial or subject to doubt. A number of them, including Rep. [John] Moolenaar’s bill, advocate allowing teachers to discuss “scientific strengths” and “scientific weaknesses” of scientific theories, though they do not define what constitutes a legitimate scientific analysis. The Michigan lawmaker’s proposal also identifies humans’ role in climate change and human cloning as science topics that “can cause controversy.”

As if that were not bad enough, the article goes on thus:

The state proposals include language similar or virtually identical to model academic-freedom legislation supported by the Discovery Institute, a pro-intelligent-design organization based in Seattle. A Web site, www.academicfreedompetition.com, presents the legislation and an online petition in support of those efforts.

That site also promotes a pro-intelligent-design film now playing in theaters, “Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed,” narrated by the actor Ben Stein. ("Coming Soon: Movie Backs ‘Intelligent Design’," Feb. 27, 2008.)

This whole process is deceitful and smacks of desperation. They don't like evolution (despite knowing little to nothing about it in many cases)and they feel that this is the best way to get in the back door because the front door is blocked, for good reason.