According to the Daily Gut, the folks at PEER (Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility) issued a press release claiming that the rangers at the Grand Canyon weren’t allowed to tell visitors the geological age of the canyon due to pressure from Bush administration members who are fearful of insulting creationists.

This press release sparked Gary Trudeau’s imagination, and he put the rumor into a comic strip.  The problem?  The rumor isn’t true.  A quick session with Google shows the National Park Service reporting the geological age of the Grand Canyon on their website.  And just to add a little bit of personal experience into the mix, I’ve been to the Grand Canyon twice during these years of the Bush administration and while I never asked any rangers specifically about the geological age of the canyon I did see it mentioned on plenty of park brochures and informational signs.  It was even in a documentary film we watched in one of the visitor’s centers.

Which means that both PEER and Trudeau are spreading a lie.  A pathetic one, to boot.

Update:

PEER has changed their press release just to focus on some book about creationism sold at Grand Canyon gift shops.  The original press release which was the genesis of this post is here, via Google Cache.