Archive for May, 2011

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TX Special Session: Public Education at Risk

May 31, 2011

*UPDATE: Moments after TFN posted this entry on Tuesday afternoon, Rep. Sid Miller, R-Stephenville, filed a massive private school voucher proposal, which goes by the Orwellian title of “taxpayer savings grants.” The bill number is HB 33 in the newly reordered nomenclature of the special legislative session, but it is not a new idea. It is the same voucher scheme that Miller and host of conservative groups tried to sneak into the budget in the closing days of the regular session.

The Texas Legislature began a special session this morning, the day after the regular session ended without the passage of several key pieces of legislation. That failed legislation included several bills involving public education. Gov. Rick Perry has asked the Legislature to focus on measures that will “allow school districts to operate more efficiently,” which means this special session could be critical to the future of public education in Texas. In addition to imposing billions of dollars in budget cuts on public schools, the far right could use the special session to advance a number of its long-standing goals – establishing a private school voucher scheme in Texas and expanding the State Board of Education’s authority over curriculum and textbooks. We saw attempts to do both during the regular legislative session.

It’s critical that supporters of public education stay engaged during this special session. You can help the Texas Freedom Network support strong public schools in three ways:

We will have a more detailed legislative wrap up on all of TFN’s issues in the coming days.

Posted in public education, Texas Legislature, vouchers | 3 Comments »

Fool Me Once, Fool Me Twice

May 31, 2011

We all had a good chuckle earlier this month with the doomsday that wasn’t, predicted for a third time in his career by radio evangelist Harold Camping.

Last Monday night, in his first public comments since his prediction didn’t come true, Camping doubled-down and now says he’s still correct about his prediction, except he was off by five months. Judgement Day — or Rapture — did happen on Saturday (albeit quietly) and the world is still on schedule for destruction on Oct. 21, he says.

While we’re all likely to have another round of fun with this a few months from now, we’re also finding out that these kinds of misguided and irresponsible predictions have very real consequences. Some aren’t funny at all.

(more…)

Posted in religious right | 7 Comments »

If You Can’t Join ‘Em, Beat ‘Em?

May 30, 2011

So that’s what he meant by “equal.”

Remember earlier in the Texas Legislative session when state Rep. Wayne Christian, R-Center, offered a budget amendment that required state colleges and universities that fund campus gender and sexuality centers (which on the University of Texas and Texas A&M campuses serve women and LGBTQA communities) to spend an equal amount of funding on centers for family and traditional values (whatever those are)? Rep. Christian claimed he wasn’t trying to limit a university’s right to have gender and sexuality centers. Here’s what he told the Texas Independent:

“I know its being posted as I am against, against, against these centers. No, I am just concerned that the full scope of our student society should be represented at our institutions of learning. My bill did not say ‘don’t do anything’ it just said ‘add to it’ in order to get the full scope of the traditional lifestyle. I understand how it is being taken, but it’s not doing away with anything, it’s just saying ‘add things.’”

Yeah, about that.

(more…)

Posted in LGBT issues, Wayne Christian | 4 Comments »

‘Of Course It’s a War on Birth Control’

May 29, 2011

Wayne Christian lets the truth slip in an interview with the Texas Tribune:

Of course it’s a war on birth control, abortion, everything — that’s what family planning is supposed to be about.

This wasn’t a momentary slip of the tongue. Christian is just saying out loud what many Texas lawmakers believe — and many more supported with their votes this session. The ideology underlying all the attacks on abortion and Planned Parenthood is fundamentally anti-birth control and anti-family planning. And as so many others have pointed out, it is ultimately self-defeating, as depriving Texas women of birth control is one sure-fire way to increase the number of abortions in this state.

Posted in abortion, contraception, Wayne Christian | 14 Comments »

The Week in Quotes (May 22 – 28)

May 28, 2011

Here are some of the week’s most notable quotes culled from news reports from across Texas, and beyond.

(more…)

Posted in The Week in Quotes | 1 Comment »

Dan Patrick: God’s Lawgiver for U.S. Senate

May 27, 2011

Earlier this morning, state Sen. Dan Patrick, R-Houston, paid a visit to his conservative talk-radio pal Laura Ingraham and announced on her nationally syndicated program that he’s forming an exploratory committee in preparation for a run at the U.S. Senate seat being vacated by fellow Republican Kay Bailey Hutchison.

Since joining the Texas Senate in 2007, Patrick has made a name for himself as one of the most conservative politicians in the Texas Legislature — and a favorite of the religious right .

In the 2011 legislative session, he successfully pushed for the so-called sonogram bill, legislation that requires women seeking an abortion to undergo a sonogram before they can go ahead with the procedure. When the bill was signed into law this week, Patrick said women who have had abortions can find forgiveness in the “blood of Jesus Christ.” Such a statement is not out of character for a legislator who is not shy about using faith to achieve political goals and vilify opponents on the floor of the Texas Senate or on his radio talk show.

TFN has been keeping an eye on Patrick since his arrival on the state political scene, predicting in our 2007 report “God’s Lawgivers? Carrying the Water for the Religious Right in Texas Government” that he would make waves with his big ego and strident talk-radio style. (I mean, the man titled his 2002 book The Second Most Important Book You’ll Ever Read. He’s long had a grandiose opinion of himself.) We think our 2007 profile of Patrick holds up pretty well. You can read it for yourself here (pdf). See if you think Sen. Patrick’s schtick will play well in a statewide election.

Posted in Dan Patrick, religious right | 16 Comments »

No Mo’ Lowe?

May 26, 2011

It looks likely that Gail Lowe, who presided over the Texas State Board of Education‘s social studies curriculum debacle last year, has only days left in her tenure as board chair. From the Houston Chronicle:

Gov. Rick Perry’s appointments of John Bradley as head of the Forensic Science Commission and Gaile Lowe as State Board of Education chair are officially toast, Senate Nominations Chairman Bob Deuell, R-Greenville said.

“They’re sine die with the rest of us — except they won’t have to come back for a special session,” Deuell said Wednesday after submitting his last round of Perry appointees for Senate consideration.

That’s two strikes for Gov. Perry, whose last two appointments to chair the state board have been so politically extreme that the Senate has refused to confirm them. The governor appointed Lowe in 2009 to replace his previous appointee, Don McLeroy, R-College Station. McLeroy failed to win Senate confirmation as board chair after he led efforts to dumb down the public school science curriculum with anti-evolution dogma.

Supporters of Lowe and McLeroy claim that the two have been victims of Senate politics. That’s nonsense, of course. Truth is, both have been victims of their own obsession with pushing personal and political agendas in public school classrooms.

Barring an unlikely, last-minute Senate reprieve for Lowe, Gov. Perry must appoint a new chair. Will that be a third strike? Or will he finally appoint someone who puts the education of Texas schoolchildren ahead of politics? It’s possible that we won’t know the answer to that until July, when the state board is scheduled to meet next.

Posted in Don McLeroy, Gail Lowe, State Board of Education | 4 Comments »

A Real Scholar’s Take on David Barton

May 25, 2011

Kudos to Jon Stewart for following up.

The host of “The Daily Show” recently invited Richard Beeman, a constitutional scholar and history professor at the University of Pennsylvania, to respond to claims by phony historian David Barton made on the same show earlier this month.

To his credit, Stewart begins the Beeman interview by admitting he felt a little bit beaten up by Barton, who at times talked circles around Stewart. Hey, Barton may not always tell the truth, but like all good propagandists, he’s good with words. He’s still not a historian, though.

Regardless of how you feel about Barton, pretend for a few moments that he doesn’t exist. Because Barton aside, the interview with Beeman is a fascinating conversation about constitutional history, what the Constitution actually says, and what our nation’s founders actually intended with respect to religion.

Enjoy.

Richard Beeman on “The Daily Show,” part 1.
Richard Beeman on “The Daily Show,” part 2.

(H/T: Ed Brayton)

Posted in David Barton | 12 Comments »

Anti-Bullying Bill: On to the Governor

May 24, 2011

We are happy to report that the Texas House tonight gave final passage to House Bill 1942, which requires public school districts to adopt policies to protect students from bullying. Religious-right groups had opposed the bill’s passage. Here are some highlights from HB 1942:

  • The bill defines bullying in Chaper 37 (Discipline) of the Texas Education Code,
  • It updates the definition of bullying to include that through electronic means (cyberbullying),
  • It provides for the transfer of the student who engages in bullying. Currently, only the target of bullying may be transferred.
  • It allows staff development to include training on preventing, identifying, responding to, and reporting incidents of bullying.
  • It mandates that each board of trustees of each school district adopt a policy, including any necessary procedures, to address the prevention, investigation and reporting of incidents of bullying.

The bill now goes to Gov. Rick Perry for his signature.

Posted in bullying, LGBT issues | 1 Comment »

Dan Patrick on Abortion: ‘It’s a God Issue’

May 24, 2011

State Sen. Dan Patrick, R-Houston, had the following to say today as Texas Gov. Rick Perry signed into law his bill requiring women seeking an abortion to have a sonogram of the fetus at least 24 hours before the procedure. Sen. Patrick was responding to remarks by someone in the audience talking about women who have abortions being guilty of killing their children. Patrick said:

“The good news is through the blood of Jesus Christ he forgives, and women who have aborted children need to know that message … I believe this can be the beginning of the end of 75,000 abortions we have every year in Texas.”

Here’s video from the Texas Tribune:

Sen. Patrick also told listeners just before that comment:

“Standing for life isn’t a partisan issue. It’s a God issue.”

The Dallas Morning News has more here about Sen. Patrick’s comments.

Patrick made similar comments earlier in the legislative session when the sonogram bill was debated on the Senate floor.

Here’s video from earlier in the session:

Posted in abortion, Dan Patrick | 12 Comments »

Anti-Sharia Law Measure Back from the Dead

May 24, 2011

I’ll say this for Rep. Leo Berman, R-Tyler — the man is persistent. Like a weed is persistent.

His one-man crusade to pass a law “protecting” Texas from Sharia law — a threat that apparently exists only in his mind, and possibly on talk radio — has officially become a zombie tale. This is the bill that just won’t die. First, he passed HB 911 out of a House committee, only to see it die in the House Calendars Committee without a hearing on the House floor. Then he amended it onto the governor’s emergency tort reform legislation (with the help of Rep. Harvey Hilderbran, R-Kerrville) last week. But that bill (HB 274) was given an overhaul in the Senate State Affairs Committee over the weekend, and Berman’s amendment was stripped out of the bill.

Undeterred, Berman was back on the House floor last night, pushing to add his anti-foreign law language as an amendment to yet another bill (SB 1717). And as with his previous attempt, the words “Sharia law” or “Islam” were never mentioned during the brief discussion in the House. The amendment passed without a word of dissent — or even a record vote.

Since Berman’s amendment was one of several significant changes the House made to this bill, it will likely be assigned to a conference committee to resolve the differences. We’ll be watching to see if this language finally passes into law, or if this is strike three for Berman.

Posted in Islam, Leo Berman | 7 Comments »

Texas Senate OKs Anti-Bullying Bill

May 23, 2011

The Texas Senate today passed House Bill 1942 unanimously, yet another step toward protecting children from bullying in the state’s public schools. Because a Senate committee made a technical change to the bill, the bill must go back to the House for approval before heading to Gov. Rick Perry for his signature.

The Texas Freedom Network strongly supports passage of HB 1942. Religious-right groups oppose the bill, claiming that it will promote homosexuality. Texas Eagle Forum has even bizarrely argued that the bill isn’t necessary because, the group claims, gay and lesbian students aren’t bullied as much as other students are for reasons other than their actual or perceived sexual orientation. The bill, which doesn’t mention sexual orientation, would require public school districts to adopt policies designed to prevent, investigate and report bullying that targets any student.

TFN Insider will keep you updated on the progress of HB 1942 when it gets back to the House.

Posted in bullying, LGBT issues | 1 Comment »

Deconstructing David Barton

May 23, 2011

David Barton‘s much talked about appearance on “The Daily Show” with Jon Stewart is not going away, with lots of keystrokes and time being devoted to analyzing the faux historian’s comments and assertions.

One of those doing some analyzing is Prof. John Fea.

Prof. Fea’s analysis is particularly interesting because of his own résumé. Fea is a historian who teaches at a Christian institution — Messiah College in Pennsylvania. He is the kind of guy Barton might want analyzing his historical “facts,” someone who might be more likely to be receptive to Barton’s views and his propensity to peddle a sectarian slant on history. That is, if only Fea were a dishonest historian. Except, the Messiah College professor is not.

In a seven-part series, Fea methodically takes apart Barton’s “Daily Show” appearance.

Apologists for Barton often try to discredit his critics by claiming they’re just a bunch of godless interest groups or elitist liberal academics. Well, here you go.

Fea’s series on Barton is available on his blog:

Part 1
Part 2
Part 3
Part 4
Part 5
Part 6
Part 7

By the way, Prof. Fea has a new book on the topic of religion and America: Was America Founded As a Christian Nation? A Historical Introduction.

Posted in church and state, David Barton, John Fea | 1 Comment »

Catching Up with Cynthia Dunbar

May 23, 2011

When former State Board of Education member — and perennial TFN nemesis– Cynthia Noland Dunbar left the board last December after declining to run for a second term, some wondered if she was withdrawing from the culture wars, which she repeatedly stoked during her tenure on the board. She has been notably (and thankfully) absent from the Texas political scene this spring, so we were curious about what she was up to these days.

Turns out, she didn’t retire — she just took her act on the road. (more…)

Posted in Cynthia Dunbar | 13 Comments »

The Week in Quotes (May 15 – 21)

May 21, 2011

Here are some of the week’s most notable quotes culled from news reports from across Texas, and beyond.

(more…)

Posted in The Week in Quotes, Uncategorized | 3 Comments »

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