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Monthly Archives: May 2011

Texas SBOE Redistricting Map Now Law

Yesterday Texas Gov. Rick Perry allowed a new redistricting map for the State Board of Education to become law without his signature — and far-right activists are enraged. The Legislature is trying to “destroy the conservatives” on the state board, one right-wing blogger has bizarrely shrieked. Board conservatives are being “targeted for extinction,” right-wing gadfly [...]

Posted in State Board of Education | 2 Comments |


David Barton: Expert on Black History?

A Huffington Post article reveals that tax records filed by David Barton’s Texas-based organization, WallBuilders Presentations, suggest that the religious right’s favorite propagandist is an expert in African-American history. From the article: In filings with the Internal Revenue Service, Barton’s nonprofit, Wallbuilder Presentations, Inc., justified its tax-exempt status by highlighting among its “accomplishments” a video [...]

Posted in civil and equal rights, David Barton | 5 Comments |


Budget ‘Mess’ Delays Texas House Action

The Texas House of Representatives has now delayed consideration of important fiscal legislation until Thursday morning — action that also delays consideration of possible amendments on private school vouchers and sex education. The reason for the delay, apparently, is deep disagreement between the House and Senate on budget matters and among Republicans over hundreds of [...]

Posted in Texas Legislature | Leave a comment |


Texas House Could Vote on Sex Ed Today

Today responsible, evidence-based sex education could get a vote on the floor of the Texas House of Representatives. State Rep. Joaquin Castro, D-San Antonio, has filed his Education Works! bill, HB 1624, as an amendment to important fiscal legislation pending in the House. The amendment, which the Texas Freedom Network supports, would direct school districts [...]

Posted in sex education | 5 Comments |


Voucher Lobby Targets Texas Public Schools

Update: The voucher amendment was authored by state Rep. Sid Miller, R-Stephenville, and will be offered as part of Senate Bill 1811. The text of the amendment can be found here. *** We have just learned that voucher advocates plan to seek a vote in the Texas House of Representatives tomorrow (Wednesday, May 18) on [...]

Posted in public education, vouchers | 4 Comments |


The More You Know

Mike Huckabee is after your children! No, really, he is. The former Arkansas governor, who until last Saturday toyed with the idea of another run at the White House, has come out with a cartoon retelling of America’s history, available on DVD (and for $9.95 for the first episode). Below is a preview from the [...]

Posted in Mike Huckabee, religious right | 5 Comments |


When Extremists Collide

It’s fascinating to watch religious-right extremists turn on each other. We saw that last week, when Christian J. Pinto of the Christian-right website Noise of Thunder Radio suggested that phony historian David Barton — the minister of propaganda for the religious right — is actually a liberal. What brought about Pinto’s attack on Barton’s conservative [...]

Posted in Christian J. Pinto, David Barton | 8 Comments |


The Week in Quotes (May 8 – 14)

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

Posted in The Week in Quotes | Leave a comment |


Creationists Appointed to Science Review Panels

The Texas Education Agency just released the full list of members serving on the science review panels that will evaluate instructional materials submitted for approval by the State Board of Education (SBOE). As TFN predicted earlier this spring, the review panel for biology includes a number of individuals with a history of promoting intelligent design/creationism [...]

Posted in Barbara Cargill, creationism, evolution, Gail Lowe, intelligent design, Science adoption (2011), science and religion, State Board of Education, Terri Leo | 26 Comments |


Anti-Sharia Proposal Quietly Advances

After languishing in the House Calendars committee for several weeks — and looking as if the clock might run out on this ill-considered bill — Rep. Leo Berman’s anti-Sharia law measure (HB 911) made a surprise appearance on the House floor on Monday.

Posted in Islam, Leo Berman | 14 Comments |