Kansas DoE spokesman David Awbrey resigns

Posted 15 June 2006 by Nick Matzke

PT readers may recall Jack Krebs's post from May that recounted the behavior of Kansas State Department of Education Director of Communications David Awbrey at the Kansas City Press Club on May 4, 2006. To summarize, Krebs caught Awbrey asserting that evolution and science were just atheistic metaphysics, and, according to Awbrey, so were dinosaurs:

Anyone see the origin, anyone see the Big Bang, anyone see the dinosaurs? These are all metaphysical speculations by people who look at the same evidence and disagree with what they see.

Krebs later challenged Awbrey at the forum, and Awbrey denied these statements, but Krebs taped the whole thing and posted the quotes and recordings here on PT. Well, fast forward a month, and now Awbrey has resigned after only six months on the job. Coincidence? We report, you decide. Hat tip to Red State Rabble.

10 Comments

Grey Wolf · 15 June 2006

And good riddance.

How does someone with absolutely no education whatsoever get to be director of anything at a department of education? Democracy is good as far as it gets, but I think that a minimum test of competency should be in order.

Grey Wolf

wamba · 15 June 2006

Well, I vote for complete coincidence.

wamba · 15 June 2006

How does someone with absolutely no education whatsoever get to be director of anything at a department of education?

He pulled strings. He told them he was a close personal friend of George Deutsch.

Vyoma · 15 June 2006

Well, I vote for complete coincidence.
— wamba

I must disagree. I believe that there was an intelligent designer behind this turn of events. Note that his resignation doesn't involve the generation of any new information.

Sounder · 15 June 2006

Another dishonest hack bites the dust.

Flint · 15 June 2006

Does this resignation change anything practical? Or can we expect Kansas to continue along the same course until no sooner than the next elections? This doesn't sound like a particularly ideological decision, but rather that Awbrey didn't like the ambiance and wanted a quieter life. I can certain sympathize with that.

'Rev Dr' Lenny Flank · 15 June 2006

That's a good reason to give ID/creationists all the, uh, "ambiance" they can handle -- at every public appearence they make.

Heat, kitchen, and all that.

Corkscrew · 15 June 2006

Does this resignation change anything practical? Or can we expect Kansas to continue along the same course until no sooner than the next elections?

I think it's mostly symbolic, in an actions-have-consequences kind of way.

Shalini, BBWAD · 15 June 2006

The law of cause and effect. Truly.

Wheels · 16 June 2006

One down, arbitrarily large number to go.