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The Richard Sternberg affair
As managing editor of Proceedings of the Biological Society of Washington, a peer-reviewed journal, Richard Sternberg decided in 2004 to publish an article reported to make the case for intelligent design. The article was written by Stephen C. Meyer of the Discovery Institute, an organization promoting intelligent design theories, and was titled The origin of biological information and the higher taxonomic categories, Richard Sternberg states that he had the article peer-reviewed by three other relevent scientists in evolutionary and molecular biology who were "teaching at well-known institutions." According to Sternberg, "the reviewers provided substantial criticism and feedback to Dr. Meyer, who then made significant changes to the paper in response."

Within hours of publication, senior scientists at the Smithsonian Institution -- which has helped fund and run the journal -- lashed out at Sternberg as a "shoddy scientist" and a "closet Bible thumper." Controversy arose over the publication of the article, as Meyer was a proponent of intelligent design. Some argue that in order to be scientifically credible, a theory must first be published in a peer reviewed scientific journal. Meyer's theories on intelligent design had not previously been published in a peer reviewed journal. Many who support evolution-only argue that Meyer, as an I.D. researcher, engages in pseudoscience. Concern among biologists irrupted that Richard Sternberg had allowed an article by a proponent of pseduoscience to be published.

The journal's publisher, the Council of the Biological Society of Washington, stated that Richard Sternberg went outside the usual review procedures to allow Meyer's article to be published in his last issue as editor. On 7 September, the Society released a statement repudiating the article: The paper by Stephen C. Meyer, "The origin of biological information and the higher taxonomic categories," in vol. 117, no. 2, pp. 213-239 of the Proceedings of the Biological Society of Washington, was published at the discretion of the former editor, Richard v. Sternberg. Contrary to typical editorial practices, the paper was published without review by any associate editor; Sternberg handled the entire review process. The Council, which includes officers, elected councilors, and past presidents, and the associate editors would have deemed the paper inappropriate for the pages of the Proceedings because the subject matter represents such a significant departure from the nearly purely systematic content for which this journal has been known throughout its 122-year history. The same statement vowed that proper review procedures would be followed in the future and endorsed a resolution published by the American Association for the Advancement of Science. Richard Sternberg states that he was pressured to disclosed the identities of the traditionally anonymous peer reviewers.

According to a staff report prepared for U.S. Representative Mark Souder, other retaliations ensued. The United States Office of Special Counsel concluded in a report obtained by three media outlets that Sternberg was subjected to a hostile work environment and demotion at the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of Natural History (NMNH). However, the U.S. Office of Special Counsel had no jurisidction because Richard Sternberg's salary was not paid by the Smithsonian, and the investigation was concluded without a fuller response from the Smithsonian. Richard Sternberg also states that he was subjected to efforts to have him fired, and to have his political and religious beliefs investigated. Eugenie Scott, Executive Director of the National Center for Science Education, a think tank that promotes the teaching of evolution, insists that Smithsonian scientists had no choice but to explore Sternberg's religious beliefs. Robert Sternberg states publically:

I'm not an evangelical, I'm not a fundamentalist, I'm not a young earth creationist, I'm not a theistic evolutionist.

Richard Sternberg is a Fellow of the International Society for Complexity, Information and Design, a group closely associated with the Discovery Institute and dedicated to promoting intelligent design However, Dr. Sternberg is very skeptical of creationist beliefs, and defended his work with another pariah, the Baraminology Study Group, as a "friendly but critical outsider."

U.S. Representative Mark Souder, like President George Bush, supports the teaching of intelligent design alongside evolution. The teaching of intelligent design in the public schools was ruled unconstitutional in Kitzmiller v. Dover Area School District. A small number of scientists argue for intelligent design, saying evolutionary theory contains too many gaps and mysteries, and cannot account for the origin of life. University professors and scientists who subscribe to intelligent design are often subjected to public humiliation and pressure.

The United States Office of Special Counsel is also the subject of controversy and investigation involving matters unrelated to the Richard Sternberg affair.

Meyer's article contained no Intelligent Design theories, nor any content directly related to Intelligent Design. It was in fact a review article about the Cambrian Explosion, an area of study in Palaeontology, a field wholly unrelated to the journal's subject matter (Taxonomy), or to Sternberg's (molecular evolution and systems science), Meyer's (Philosophy of Science) or the purported reviewers' fields of expertise. Meyer's article mentioned Intelligent Design once, in its conclusion.