January | 2011 | TFN Insider

Monthly Archives: January 2011

Important Texas Ed Board Meeting Today

The Texas State Board of Education‘s first meeting of 2011 begins at 1 p.m. this afternoon in Austin with five new board members. Two members of the board’s far-right faction over the past four years — Don McLeroy, R-College Station, and Cynthia Dunbar, R-Richmond — are not returning to the board. On the board’s agenda [...]

Posted in State Board of Education | 1 Comment |


Christian Coalition/Republican Party?

The Christian Coalition of American sent out an e-mail blast today demanding that Congress repeal last year’s landmark health care reform bill. The e-mail decries the “government takeover of our nation’s health care system” and includes a list of claims about the terrible things the bill would do: fund abortions, limit doctor choice, cause health [...]

Posted in health care, religious right | 7 Comments |


David Barton and Anti-Muslim Bigotry

Well, there David Barton goes again, promoting prejudice against Muslim Americans. The topic of Barton’s Internet radio program on Wednesday: “Los Angeles Resolutions Are Being Passed Giving Muslims Special Favor.” Seriously, David? In December the Los Angeles City Council passed a resolution to “oppose Islamaphobia and repudiate random acts of violence against Muslim Americans.” The [...]

Posted in David Barton, Islam | 6 Comments |


Encouraging Signs at Texas Ed Board

For Texans concerned by the State Board of Education‘s efforts to politicize public school classrooms over the past four years, 2011 has begun with encouraging signs. Four of six far-right candidates, including incumbent Don McLeroy, R-College Station, lost their election races last year. That alone will affect the balance of power between the board’s once-dominant [...]

Posted in State Board of Education | 2 Comments |


‘The Willingness to Die’

Think the tea party is going to tone down its violent rhetoric in the wake of the horrific shooting that left six innocent people dead in Arizona last weekend? Think the religious right is willing to let lawmakers focus on critical fiscal issues in these tough economic times? Think the far right has recognized the [...]

Posted in religious right, tea party, Texas politics, Uncategorized | 23 Comments |


Far Right Fails in GOP Speaker Vote

A large majority of Republicans in the Texas House have rejected demands by far-right groups by indicating that they will support the re-election of Joe Straus, R-San Antonio, as House speaker. The vote in the Republican House caucus represents a major defeat for far-right pressure groups like Texas Eagle Forum and Liberty Institute (the Texas [...]

Posted in Joe Straus, Texas Legislature | 4 Comments |


Race-Baiting E-mails

One of the state’s right-wing extremists who has been among the most vocal in demanding the replacement of Joe Straus, R-San Antonio, as speaker of the Texas House appears to have a stunningly ignorant understanding of civil rights history. In a new e-mail commentary about the speaker’s race on Friday, Peter Morrison insists that the [...]

Posted in Joe Straus, Peter Morrison, Texas Legislature | 4 Comments |


Chilling Times

The shooting this morning of an Arizona congresswoman (who at this writing is in critical condition) is a chilling moment in American history. It appears that six people were killed, including a young child and a federal judge. Some have already noted that Democratic Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords was featured last year in a map created [...]

Posted in abortion, extremism, health care | 5 Comments |


TX, GOP Groups Ask: Should Texas Secede?

Texas Eagle Forum and the Denton County Republican Party are promoting a conference this month that will ask attendees whether Texas should secede from the United States. The Blackstone Blitz Workshop on the Constitution is set for Jan. 15 at a Baptist church in Lewisville just outside Dallas. Among the topics: * How can we [...]

Posted in Blackstone Institute, Republican Party of Texas, Texas Eagle Forum | 19 Comments |


Backlash Against the Right in Speaker Fight?

The fight among Texas Republicans over who should be speaker of the state House of Representatives is getting hotter. We suggested on Tuesday that over-the-top efforts by far-right pressure groups and their extremist supporters to replace Speaker Joe Straus, R-San Antonio, may well alienate other Republicans. That point was made clearer in a letter from [...]

Posted in David Barton, Donna Garner, Joe Straus, Texas Legislature | Leave a comment |