- Texas Ed Board Candidate Doubles Down on 'Pilgrims Were Communists' Claim
- More From Ed Board Candidate Spurlock: No Sex Ed, Kids 'Are Gonna Figure It Out on Their Own' Anyway
- Former Texas Ed Board Creationist Don McLeroy on Colbert Report Tonight
- Former Texas SBOE Member: Opposition to Teaching Creationism in Science Classrooms Is Like 'Pre-Holocaust Germany'
- Texas Ed Board Candidate Advocates Teaching Creationism in Science Classrooms
- Early Voting Begins in Texas: Vote in State Board of Education Races
Monthly Archives: September 2009
The War on Neil Armstrong
Once again, the Texas affiliate of the far-right group Focus on the Family is having trouble getting its facts straight. This week the group is criticizing “the media and Austin liberals” for “distorting” the debate over the State Board of Education’s revision of social studies curriculum standards for public schools. The group is urging that [...]
Posted in Peter Marshall, social studies
4 Comments
|
How to Take America to Extremism?
We told you a few weeks ago about the “How to Take America Back” conference, which this past weekend brought assorted conspiracy theorists, hate-mongers and lunatics on the far right to St. Louis from across the nation. (Phyllis Schlafly’s Eagle Forum was one of the event’s organizers.) On the agenda were workshops like “How to [...]
Posted in religious right
12 Comments
|
Money and Politics at the Texas SBOE, Part II
(Click here for Part I of this series.) The Texas Freedom Network and other observers have long been puzzled about why Rick Agosto, a San Antonio Democrat, has often sided with the State Board of Education’s far-right faction since his election in 2006. He has done so even when all other Democrats — and even [...]
Posted in Permanent School Fund, Rick Agosto, State Board of Education
6 Comments
|
Money and Politics at the Texas SBOE, Part I
Earlier this year the Texas House voted overwhelmingly to shift authority over the Permanent School Fund (PSF) from the State Board of Education to a panel of financial experts. Senate Republican leaders, however, let the measure die without even a hearing. Now they may have good reason to regret that decision. On Sunday the Dallas [...]
Sen. Shapleigh to SBOE: Skating on Thin Ice
Think Texas lawmakers forgot about the State Board of Education after this year’s legislative session came to a close on June 1? Don’t bet on it. Republican legislative leaders might have stopped efforts to reform the state board during the session, but the state board has done plenty since then to remind lawmakers why those [...]
Posted in social studies, State Board of Education
8 Comments
|
Legislative Heroes
The Texas Freedom Network was grateful for the strong efforts of Texas legislators who worked in Austin this year on critical issues such as responsible sex education, medical research and public education. We had some important victories and some disappointing setbacks. But along the way we worked with legislators who fearlessly championed mainstream values and [...]
Posted in sex education
Leave a comment
|
The Good Book Goes to School
Two years ago, the state of Texas passed a law encouraging — but NOT mandating — elective Bible courses in public schools. (TFN and other religious and civil liberties groups worked very hard to make sure this new law included a few common-sense safeguards that would prevent teachers from turning such courses into Sunday school [...]
Posted in Bible in schools
5 Comments
|
Checking Out the (Hate) Mail Bag
If you’re involved in politics, you get a lot of mail. Some of it is very supportive and encouraging. Other mail, not so much. We thought we’d share with you some of the hate mail the Texas Freedom Network gets. Some messages – such as the rusty saw blade we received by postal a while back [...]
Posted in hate mail
26 Comments
|
Feeding on Hate
The religious right is in full froth this week as some American Muslims prepare to gather in prayer in the nation’s capital on Friday. The stated objective of the “Our Time Has Come” gathering, according to organizers who hope 50,000 Muslims will take part, “is to invite the Muslim Communities and friends of Islam to [...]
Posted in religious right
10 Comments
|