In our review of the new science series Cosmos, we noted that the program didn't shy away from diving into scientific ideas that many in the US find uncomfortable. Apparently, local Fox affiliate KOKH found a creative way to protect the minds of its viewers: run a news promo over the bits about evolution. Naturally, the butchery ended up on YouTube the very next day.

The station has since stated that the running of the promo was an accident and that it will re-air the episode in its entirety on Saturday night.

But elsewhere in KOKH's home town of Oklahoma City, people really are trying to alter how evolution is presented—in the public schools' science classrooms. The state House of Representatives has just passed a bill that would keep any school authorities from punishing a teacher for doing, well, anything when it comes to students' understanding of scientific theories, essentially inviting them to bring in non-scientific material in order to attack evolution.

In fact, "biological evolution, the chemical origins of life, global warming, and human cloning" were all mentioned as likely subjects where teachers should be protected in the original bill, but they were stripped out in later versions. The bill also explicitly disavows that any of this is religiously motivated. However, the language of the bill (and many others introduced in recent years) is taken from a template provided by The Discovery Institute, an overtly religious think tank that promotes intelligent design.

(Incidentally, the Discovery Institute blogging staff is having a collective fit over Cosmos, with a half-dozen entries on the topic and one Discovery Senior Fellow even suggesting the film Case for a Creator as a "cure" for the new series.)

So far, only two states have passed this sort of "teach the controversy" legislation (Tennessee and Louisiana). But there are some signs of progress. In 2014, some Louisiana legislators are currently attempting to repeal a law that requires a balanced treatment of evolution and creationism; the law was declared unconstitutional by the US Supreme Court in 1987.