Instead of looking to Washington, we’ll look at how the rest of the world is viewing us today.It’s election day in Kansas, after all, which means we’re at the next turn in the state’s evolution debate. And the eyes of the nation are upon us.The New York Times reports: “God and Charles Darwin are not on the primary ballot in Kansas on Tuesday, but once again a contentious schools election has religion and science at odds in a state that has restaged a three-quarter-century battle over the teaching of evolution. ….”The Kansas election is being watched closely by both sides in the national debate over the teaching of evolution. In the past several years, pitched battles have been waged between the scientific establishment and proponents of what is called intelligent design, which holds that nature alone cannot explain life’s origin and complexity. …”A defeat for the conservative majority in Kansas on Tuesday could be further evidence of the fading fortunes of the intelligent design movement, while a victory would preserve an important stronghold in Kansas. …”Last year’s changes in the science standards followed an increasingly bitter seesawing of power on the education board that began in 1998 when conservatives won a majority. They made the first changes to the standards the next year, which in turn were reversed after moderates won back control in 2000. The 2002 elections left the board split 5-5, and in 2004 the conservatives won again, instituting their major standards revisions in November 2005.”The Washington Post adds: “Evolution’s defenders, working to defeat Kansas Board of Education members who oppose modern Darwinian theory, are challenging three incumbent Republican conservatives and the political heir to a fourth in Tuesday’s primary.”A shift of two seats to moderate Republicans — or to Democrats — in November almost certainly would lead to a reversal of state science standards celebrated by many religious conservatives and reviled by the scientific establishment.”With turnout expected to be low, neither side is making confident predictions about the state’s latest skirmish at the intersection of science, religion and politics. The board’s majority shifted to the moderate side in 2000 only to swing back in 2004.”The Post article details how non-Kansans on both sides of the issue have tried to influence the election:”The Discovery Institute, a Seattle think tank best known for backing ‘intelligent design,’ the idea that a creator plays a central role in natural development, is running radio advertisements in support of the standards. … The editor of Scientific American, John Rennie — who has described the board’s conservatives as ‘six dimwits’ — posted on a blog to urge Kansas voters to defeat board members ‘who have inflicted embarrassing creationist nonsense on your home’s science curriculum standards.'”How to contact As always, you can find information to contact members of the Kansas congressional delegation here.