Schools Should Teach ‘Intelligent Design,’ Bush Says

THE HOUSTON CHRONICLE, Aug. 3 — Public-school students should learn the theory of intelligent design along with the theory of evolution when discussing the creation of life, President Bush told reporters Aug. 1. However, he said, it's not a federal matter.

“I think that part of education is to expose people to different schools of thought,” he said, saying the decision should be up to local school districts. “You're asking me whether or not people ought to be exposed to different ideas, and the answer is Yes.”

Bush has held his opinion since his days as Texas governor, the Houston Chronicle reported. Running for president in 1999, he said schoolchildren “ought to be exposed to different theories about how the world started.”

The intelligent-design theory views life as too complex to have been created by evolution, implying a higher power must have had a hand in it.

Bush has not said whether he personally believes in one theory over another.

New Gibson Movie to Begin Shooting in October

NEWSMAX.COM, Aug. 2 — Hollywood gave Mel Gibson and his The Passion of the Christ the cold shoulder, from financing to distribution to the Academy Awards. The film ended up as one of 2004's top hits, grossing more than $370 million.

This time around, things are different for Gibson.

The writer-director plans to begin shooting Apocalypto — a Greek word meaning an unveiling or a new beginning — in October. When he offered it for domestic distribution to major movie studios, his production company got an enthusiastic response, NewsMax.com reported. The Walt Disney Co. won the bidding for the right to distribute the film in the United States.

Like The Passion of the Christ, characters in the movie will speak an ancient dialect — Mayan. Gibson is writing, producing and directing the film — set 500 years ago in Central America, according to the Associated Press — but has no plans to star in it. The cast features unknown actors native to the area of Mexico where it is being filmed, the wire service reported, and the plot is being kept under wraps.

Playing the ‘Catholic Card'?

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS, July 27 — If confirmed, John Roberts would be the fourth Catholic on the U.S. Supreme Court — an all-time high, the Associated Press noted — causing many to speculate how religion will affect the court's decisions.

If history is any indication, however, it won't be much of a factor. Two Catholics currently on the court, Justices Antonin Scalia and Clarence Thomas, are against abortion, the wire service reported. The third, Anthony Kennedy, sided with the 5-4 majority in a 1992 ruling reaffirming Roe v. Wade.

One Roberts opponent said President Bush was “playing the Catholic card” by nominating Roberts.

“Bush is betting he's bought himself some insulation — any opposition to Roberts, particularly because of his anti-abortion record, will likely be countered with accusations of anti-Catholicism,” said Adele Stan in the online edition of the magazine The American Prospect.

However, the Associated Press reported, Robert Destro of The Catholic University of America Columbus School of Law said he'd be surprised if religion came up overtly during confirmation hearings because the Constitution states that “no religious test shall ever be required as a qualification to any office.”