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2011 in Quotes: Potluck Nuttery II

December 31, 2011

As our review of what we heard from the right in 2011 comes to an end, here are some last random snippets of nuttiness and extremism. Read more quotes from the far right in 2011 here.

“Right now there are six true conservative Christians on the board, so we have to fight for two votes. In previous years, we had to fight for one vote to get a majority.”

- Barbara Cargill, shortly after her appointment as chair of the Texas State Board of Education, discussing the political landscape of the state board. Fellow Republicans who apparently didn’t meet Cargill’s definition of “conservative Christians” were – no surprise – offended. Houston Chronicle, July 18, 2011

“The latest rumor I hear, and I don’t know if this is true or not, is that he’s used about 25 different Social Security numbers … YouTubes are infallible.”

- Texas State Rep. Leo Berman, R-Tyler, casting doubts on President Obama’s citizenship and citing one of the Internet sources for his doubts. Texas Tribune, February 28, 2011

“Y’all as tempting as it may be, don’t shoot Obama. We need him to go down in history as the WORST president we’ve EVER had! #2012.”

— Lauren E. Pierce, the president of the College Republicans at the University of Texas at Austin, an intern for Americans for Prosperity-Texas and for Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst’s campaign for U.S. Senate, in a message posted on Twitter after Pennsylvania State Police arrested a 21-year-old Idaho man for allegedly firing a semi-automatic rifle at the White House. Texas Tribune, November 16, 2011

“My president’s black, he snorts a lot of crack. Holla. #2012 #Obama.”

- Cassie Wright, who replaced Lauren E. Pierce as president of the UT-Austin branch of the Texas College Republicans, in a Twitter message posted Sunday. Burnt Orange Report, December 19, 2011

“Make no mistake, the final responsibility is ours, and we are warriors. We will bend public education to our awe, or break it all to pieces.”

- Tennessee state Sen. Jim Summeville, a Tea Party Republican, demanding that his state’s legislature pass radical “reforms” targeting public education. NEA Today, April 19, 2011

“[P]lease look into protection for your family. An attempt on you could bring the republic down.”

- Television and radio commentator Glenn Beck, reading a letter he wrote to Sarah Palin after the shooting in Arizona that critically wounded U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, D-Ariz., and killed six others. The Hill, January 10, 2011

“All of these monsters (Hitler, Stalin) began by confiscating private arms, then literally soaking the earth with the blood of tens and tens of millions of their own people. Is there any wonder, then, why liberal, socialist, and communist-bent government officials are so bent on destroying America’s Second Amendment right? Now you know the truth.”

- Narration of a video created by Pastor Carl Gallups of Hickory Hammock Baptist Church in Milton, Fla., asserting in the wake of the attempted assassination of Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, D-Ariz., that gun control leads to genocide. Religion Dispatches, January 11, 2011

“Government does not improve our lives.”

- Texas Eagle Forum President Pat Carlson, explaining why drastic cuts to social services for poor people — even taking Texas out of the Medicaid system — would be fine with her. Texas Tribune, January 26, 2011

“When you talk about rabbis, understand that most — most people who are not Jewish don’t understand that there are the Orthodox rabbis, and then there are the reformed rabbis. Reformed rabbis are generally political in nature. It’s almost like Islam, radicalized Islam in a way, to where it is just — radicalized Islam is less about religion than it is about politics.”

- Glenn Beck, explaining the difference between Reform Judaism and Orthodox Judaism by equating the first with radicalized Islam. Media Matters for America, February 22, 2011 (audio clip from The Glenn Beck Program, Premiere Radio Networks, 2/22/2011)

“I’m not saying God is, you know, causing earthquakes. I’m not not saying that either. Whether you call it Gaia or whether you call it Jesus there’s a message being sent. And that is, ‘Hey, you know that stuff we’re doing? Not really working out real well. Maybe we should stop doing some of it.’ I’m just saying.”

- Glenn Beck, on the earthquake and tsunami that hit Japan. Huffington Post, March 14, 2011 (Audio clip from The Glenn Beck Program)

“If you want to know why we can’t pass legislation in Texas, it’s because we have 37, no 36, Hispanics in the Legislature. All of the states that have passed legislation have a handful and I mean literally, some of them have NO Hispanic legislators, well, maybe 3 or 5 or something. So that’s, umm, part of our problem and we need to change those numbers. . . . So the problem is these Hispanic legislators . . . is that it’s too close to them and they, umm. . . simply cannot vote their conscience correctly.

- Tea Party speaker Rebecca Forest, complaining at a rally at the Texas Capitol about the difficulty in passing a bill barring so-called “sanctuary cities” (which don’t exist in Texas anyway). (Video also available at the link.) Reform Immigration for Texas Alliance, June 14, 2011.

Posted in culture wars, The Year in Quotes | 8 Comments »

2011 in Quotes: Potluck Nuttery I

December 30, 2011

As we continue our review at what we heard from the right in 2011, here are some random snippets of nuttiness and extremism. Read more quotes from the far right in 2011 here.

“If you are a socialist liberal and/or voted for the current campaigner in chief, please do not take this class. You have already proven that you cannot make a knowledgeable and prudent decision as under the law. If you are a non-Christian Arab or Muslim, I will not teach you the class with no shame; I am Crockett Keller, thank you and God bless America.”

- Crockett Keller, a store owner in Mason, Texas, in a radio ad offering a concealed handgun training course but not to anyone who is a supporter of President Obama or a Muslim. KVUE TV (Austin), October 27, 2011

“The flip side of Obama’s ‘empathy’ is apparent hatred and contempt for white people, traditional families, small business owners, evangelical Christians, conservatives, and everyone else that liberals call the ‘racist, heterosexist, nativist, Christianist, capitalist, homophobic power structure’ in America. In other words, what most of us call normal people.”

- Peter Morrison, right-wing culture warrior from Southeast Texas, trying to explain his (stunningly ignorant) understanding of civil rights history. TFN Insider, January 10, 2011

“Compromise is the companion of losers.”

- Family Research Council President Tony Perkins, arguing against the suggestion that appealing to social conservatives makes a candidate less viable in a presidential general election. The Hill, September 27, 2011

“The reason that we fought the Revolution in the 16th century was to get away from that kind of onerous crown, if you will.”

- Texas Gov. Rick Perry, saying the American Revolution took place two centuries before it actually did. ABC News, October 12, 2011

“I don’t have any idea.”

— Governor Rick Perry, a Republican presidential contender, on whether or not he believes President Obama was born in the United States. New York Times, October 23, 2011

“No; giving that size deduction to unmarried parents, defined as ‘individuals and their dependents,’ means rewarding bad behavior and is, by definition, outside the middle class. Regardless of income, you can’t be middle class without respecting middle-class values, the most important of which is marriage.”

- Eagle Forum founder Phyllis Schlafly, arguing that Gov. Rick Perry’s tax plan would undermine marriage. TFN Insider, November 2, 2011

“Oops.”

- Texas Gov. Rick Perry, at a Republican presidential candidate debate, forgetting the third of three federal agencies he would eliminate if elected in November. Quoted everywhere, including here. November 9, 2011

“I am the candidate Glenn Beck trusts to lead America back to prosperity.”

- Republican presidential contender Michele Bachmann, in an email to supporters touting Beck’s announcement that he would support the Minnesota congresswoman in the Republican presidential primaries. Roll Call, November 29, 2011

Posted in culture wars, The Year in Quotes | 2 Comments »

2011 in Quotes: Women’s Health

December 29, 2011

The right in 2011 continued to pursue a dangerous political agenda that undermines women’s health and reproductive rights. Even access to contraception has become a political battleground. Read more quotes from the far right in 2011 here.

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

- Texas state Rep. Wayne Christian, R-Center, discussing his support for a raft of legislation in Texas this year limiting access by women to reproductive health services. TFN Insider, May 29, 2011 (Video clip from Texas Tribune; full video here)

“We’ve had a lot of input from our constituents about the budget this time, about the number of cuts that we’re doing. So I’m going to have to draw the line at this point and say no more cuts.”

- Texas state Rep. Sid Miller, R-Stephenville, making a joke in his argument against an amendment to a bill requiring women seeking an abortion to undergo a sonogram and a doctor to describe the image of the fetus to the woman. The amendment would have allowed a woman who decided against an abortion, after getting the required sonogram, to seek a court order mandating a vasectomy on the unmarried man who got her pregnant. El Paso Times, March 4, 2011

“Well, I’m not so sure. Here I am in the middle of the debate and I’m not so sure. I’ve been told that 98 percent of the services they offer to pregnant women are abortion-related services. I’m not sure, but I think we ought to find out.

[...]

I actually went on Planned Parenthood’s website yesterday to try and see if I could get some good info, and I came up empty.”

— Texas Senator John Cornyn, doubling down on a Senate colleague’s absurd exaggeration of how much of Planned Parenthood’s work is abortion-related. American Independent, April 18, 2011

“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.”

— Texas state Sen. Dan Patrick, R-Houston, at the signing of the abortion sonogram bill, responding to remarks by someone in the audience talking about women who have abortions being guilty of killing their children. Texas Tribune, May 24, 2011

“One of the things I will talk about, that no president has talked about before, is I think the dangers of contraception in this country. It’s not okay. It’s a license to do things in a sexual realm that is counter to how things are supposed to be.”

— Former Pennsylvania Senator Rick Santorum, on his pledge to repeal all federal funding for contraception were he elected president. Think Progress, October 19, 2011

Posted in abortion, contraception, Reproductive health, The Year in Quotes | Leave a Comment »

Never Have Sex!

December 29, 2011

The Houston Chronicle has an article about the Texas Freedom Network Education Fund study showing that more school districts in the state are finally adding information about contraception to sex education classes. But here’s what a representative of the abstinence-only lobby told the newspaper about what schools should be telling teens when it comes to sexuality and health:

“We tell them what we know: They should never do it.”

The solution is just to tell teens “never have sex”? The vast majority of people will have sex at some point in their lives. But never mind that — just what does he think Texas schools have been doing anyway? For decades the vast majority have been simply telling teens to abstain. In fact, Texas has received more federal abstinence-0nly funding than any other state — and it still has one of the highest teen birthrates in the nation.

Pro-ignorance, abstinence-only activists want all of us to bury our heads in the sand. But Texas parents know we have to change course — 80 percent of likely voters in the state support teaching teens about contraception along with the importance of abstinence. So TFN will keep working to ensure that even more Texas students have access to the medically accurate information they need to protect their health and their future. Just click here and we’ll tell you how you can help in your own community.

Posted in sex education | 2 Comments »

2011 in Quotes: Bashing Gays

December 28, 2011

Promoting fear and discrimination against gay people has long been a key political tactic on the right, and you can see in these quotes how that didn’t change much in 2011. At least overseas, that rhetoric perhaps fueled deadly anti-gay violence. Read other quotes from the far right in 2011 here.

“Promoting special rights for gays in foreign countries is not in America’s interests and not worth a dime of taxpayers’ money.”

- Texas Gov. Rick Perry, criticizing a new Obama administration policy to defend the human rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people who are imprisoned, brutalized and murdered in some countries. ABC News, December 6, 2011

“I’m not ashamed to admit that I’m a Christian. But you don’t need to be in the pew every Sunday to know that there’s something wrong in this country when gays can serve openly in the military, but our kids can’t openly celebrate Christmas or pray in school.

As President, I’ll end Obama’s war on religion, and I’ll fight against liberal attacks on our religious heritage. Faith made America strong. It can make her strong again. I’m Rick Perry and I approve this message.”

- Gov. Perry, speaking in one of his presidential campaign ads in Iowa. Talking Points Memo, December 7, 2011

“Some of our friends have criticized FRC’s decision by drawing the scriptural parallel of Jesus eating with sinners. But this isn’t Jesus eating with sinners — it’s Jesus partnering with them to open a restaurant!”

- Tony Perkins, president of the far-right Family Research Council, referring to the inclusion of gay people at the 2011 Conservative Political Action Conference. Politics Daily, January 6, 2011

“They (American evangelicals) didn’t know that when you speak about destroying the family to Africans, the response is a genocide. The moment you speak about the family, you speak about the tribe, you speak about the future. Africans will fight to the death. When you speak like that, you invite the wrath.”

– Rev. Kapya Kaoma, a Zambian who attended antigay meetings held by American evangelical Christians in Uganda, discussing the horrible consequences of such talk. Last week one of Uganda’s most prominent gay rights advocates was attacked in his home and beaten to death with a hammer. New York Times, January 29, 2011

“I’m not sure that’s who you want as mayor. If they’re indecisive about who they are, are they indecisive about other issues?”

- David Grisham, a candidate for Amarillo mayor and an outspoken pastor and director of Repent Amarillo, a religious, fundamentalist group, on his transgender opponent, Sandra Dunn. Grisham previously called for a boycott of Houston after the election of a gay mayor, Annise Parker. Amarillo Globe-News, February 25, 2011

“Liberty is not the ability to do whatever hedonistic ideas you have. Whoever’s defining the terms is going to win the argument

. . .

There are a lot of gay staffers in Congress. They work all hours and they don’t have family lives, but they do have veto power.”

- Former Texas State Board of Education member Cynthia Dunbar, arguing (in separate quotes) that anti-gay Christians must change the language the public uses when talking about homosexuality and that the debate over civil rights for gay people. Religious-right activists at the strategy session decided that Christians should use words like “sodomy” and “unnatural vice” instead of “gay” when discussing homosexuality. American Independent, April 10, 2011

“In 5,000 years of recorded human history… neither in the east or in the west… has any society ever defined marriage as anything other than between men and women. Not one in 5,000 years of recorded human history. That’s an astounding fact and it isn’t until the last 12 years or so that we have seen for the first time in recorded human history marriage defined as anything other than between men and between women.”

- Congresswoman Michele Bachmann, speaking during an installment of the Iowa Family Leader’s presidential lecture series. Politico, April 11, 2011

Posted in LGBT issues, The Year in Quotes | 4 Comments »

2011 in Quotes: Islamophobia

December 27, 2011

The anti-Muslim rhetoric grew even more vicious in 2011. Today we look at the Islamophobia and other stunning ignorance demonstrated in quotes from the far right over the past year. Read other quotes from the far right in 2011 here.

[It is] the most likely and perhaps only community in America who will stand up to and ultimately help ensure the defeat of this seditious totalitarian political program.”

– Right-wing honcho Frank Gaffney, warning that Muslims are now trying to take over American conservativism by, in part, infiltrating the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC), the annual gathering of conservative political activists set. Salon, January 5, 2011

“Islam has no fundamental First Amendment claims, for the simple reason that it was not written to protect the religion of Islam. Islam is entitled only to the religious liberty we extend to it out of courtesy. While there certainly ought to be a presumption of religious liberty for non-Christian religious traditions in America, the Founders were not writing a suicide pact when they wrote the First Amendment.”

- Bryan Fischer, the director of issues analysis for the religious-right group American Family Association, making every freedom-loving American thankful that Fischer’s blog and organization don’t have the force of law. Renew America, March 24, 2011

“I don’t have my file in front of me.”

“I’m not in my office to look them up.”

- Two comments from state legislators — the first in Alabama, the second in Nebraska — when asked to define “Sharia” or to identify any cases in which Sharia law has been used in a troubling way in American courts. Despite their ignorance on the issue, both lawmakers had proposed bills barring the nonexistent threat of Islamic law in the United States. Salon, April 7, 2011

“I don’t know Dearborn, Michigan, but I heard it on the radio. Isn’t that true?”

- Texas state Rep. Leo Berman, R-Tyler, admitting he doesn’t know much about Dearborn, Mich., but insisting it is already under Sharia law. Think Progress, April 13, 2011

Posted in Islam, The Year in Quotes | 1 Comment »

2011 in Quotes: The War on Science

December 26, 2011

The assault on science and science education continued throughout 2011. Today’s review of quotes from the past year shows that evolution and climate change were major targets in the right’s war on science, especially in Texas. Read other quotes from the far right in 2011 here.

“The controversy over science standards was actually the result of an attempted hijacking of science for ideological purposes by evolutionists. Their agenda was much more about worldviews than biology. The standards reflect real science and challenge students to study some of evolution’s most glaring weaknesses in explaining the fossil record and the complexity of the cell.”

- Don McLeroy, former Texas State Board of Education member, writing in an op-ed column about the board’s record over the past several years. Austin American-Statesman, January 1, 2011

“If your theory’s right, all these species would get together and form a new species, then where is the cat-dog or the rat-cat, whatever it be. They don’t come together. Cats go with cats, and dogs go with dogs.”

- Ken Mercer, member of the Texas State Board of Education, in another installment of his argument that evolution is bad science because there are no cat-dog and rat-cat hybrids. TFN Insider, October 28, 2011

“Evolutionists will go ‘Oh, it just happened by chance.’ Today we know that’s false. Today we know that even a single-celled organism is hugely complex. When was the last time we’ve seen someone go into a windstorm or a tornado or any other kind of natural disaster, and say ‘Guess what? That windstorm just created a watch.’”

- Texas state Rep. Bill Zedler, R-Arlington, responding to a question about whether or not he is a creationist. Zedler proposed legislation to bar “discrimination” against college faculty and students who promote creationism. It failed to pass. Mother Jones, March 21, 2011

“Are you kidding me, Earth Day in the schools? We’ve got to save the Earth? I mean, that’s like a tick . . . trying to save a whole heard of cattle. I mean, ticks go along for the ride, they don’t manage the cattle, they don’t tell them where to go. And that’s our arrogance in thinking that we can do something to save the planet and control where the planet goes. You know, we’re just along for the ride and we’re insignificant peons on this thing.”

- David Barton, president of the religious-right group WallBuilders, on human attempts to slow climate change. RightWingWatch, April 26, 2011

“As far as the Founding Fathers were concerned, they’d already had the entire debate over creation and evolution, and you get Thomas Paine, who is the least religious Founding Father, saying you’ve got to teach Creation science in the classroom. Scientific method demands that!”

- David Barton, the religious right’s favorite fake historian, on the Founding Fathers and their opinions on teaching evolution and creationism/intelligent design. Mother Jones, June 9, 2011

“I hear your mom was asking about evolution and, you know, it’s a theory that’s out there. It’s got some gaps in it, but in Texas we teach both creationism and evolution in our public schools. Because I figure you’re smart enough to figure out which one is right.”

- Texas Gov. Rick Perry, talking to a young boy in New Hampshire during a presidential campaign stop. National Public Radio, August 18, 2011

“I think what you’re advocating for is censorship on the part of government. So the government would prohibit intelligent design from even the possibility of being taught in questioning the issue of evolution. And if you look at scientists there is not a unanimity of agreement on the origins of life. … Why would we forestall any particular theory? Because I don’t think that even evolutionists, by and large, would say that this is proven fact. They say that this is a theory, as well as intelligent design. So I think the best thing to do is to let all scientific facts on the table, and let students decide.”

- Republican presidential hopeful Michele Bachmann, at an Iowa forum where she explained her views on teaching creationism in public schools. Think Progress, November 30, 2011

“I do believe that the issue of global warming has been politicized. I think there are a substantial number of scientists who have manipulated data so that they will have dollars rolling into their projects. I think we’re seeing it almost weekly or even daily, scientists who are coming forward and questioning the original idea that man-made global warming is what is causing the climate to change.”

- Gov. Rick Perry, again in New Hampshire on the Republican presidential campaign trail, making a claim that was a contender for Politifact’s “Lie of the Year.” Politifact Texas, Austin American-Statesman, December 5, 2011

Posted in climate change, creationism, evolution, intelligent design, science, science and religion, The Year in Quotes | 3 Comments »

2011 in Quotes: Religious Freedom

December 24, 2011

With 2011 winding down, it’s time for our annual review of what we heard from the far right over the past year. Following are quotes that demonstrate a fundamental lack of respect — from elected officials and candidates for public office to other right-wing ideologues — for the faith and religious freedom of all Americans. You can read quotes from 2010 and 2009 here.

“One nation under God, there is no separation.”

- The chorus from a song performed at a religious-right gala that drew right-wing politicians like former U.S. House Majority Leader Tom DeLay, R-Sugar Land, and U.S. Rep. Louie Gohmert, R-Tyler, to the East Texas town of Lufkin. Talk to Action, April 12, 2011

“There may be some people here today who do not have living within them the Holy Spirit. But if you have been adopted in God’s family like I have, and like you have if you’re a Christian and if you’re saved, and the Holy Spirit lives within you just like the Holy Spirit lives within me, then you know what that makes? It makes you and me brothers. And it makes you and me brother and sister…. Now I will have to say that, if we don’t have the same daddy, we’re not brothers and sisters. So anybody here today who has not accepted Jesus Christ as their savior, I’m telling you, you’re not my brother and you’re not my sister, and I want to be your brother.”

- Governor-elect Robert Bentley of Alabama, speaking at a Montgomery (Ala.) church at an event commemorating Martin Luther King’s birthday. Birmingham News, January 17, 2011

“All law is legislated morality. The only question is whose morality. Because morality is based on faith, there is no such thing as religious neutrality in law or morality. . . . Ultimately, there are only two views: Either God is the final authority, and we acknowledge His unchanging standards of behavior. Or man is the final authority, and standards of behavior change at the whim of individuals or societies.”

- From a poster Richland County (Ohio) Common Pleas Court Judge James Deweese put up in his courtroom along with the Ten Commandments. A federal appeals court has ruled that the poster violates the First Amendment rights of lawyers and litigants appearing before him. Politics Daily, February 2, 2011

“I have two grandchildren — Maggie is 11, Robert is 9. I am convinced that if we do not decisively win the struggle over the nature of America, by the time they’re my age they will be in a secular atheist country, potentially one dominated by radical Islamists and with no understanding of what it once meant to be an American.”

- Former Republican U.S. House Speaker Newt Gingrich, courting evangelical voters in Texas as he prepares for a likely bid for his party’s presidential nomination. Politico, March 27, 2011

“It’s not just Jews or Muslims. It’s anybody that rejects the free gift of salvation through Christ. The Bible teaches there’s heaven and hell. Those who believe go to heaven. Those who don’t go to hell.”

- Tim Wildmon, president of the American Family Association, defending his group and its sponsorship of “The Response,” a Christian prayer event hosted by Texas Gov. Rick Perry in Houston in August. Texas Tribune, June 7, 2011

“A lot of people want to criticize what we’re doing, as if we’re somehow being exclusive of other faiths. But anyone who comes to this solemn assembly regardless of their faith tradition or background, will feel the love, grace, and warmth of Jesus Christ in that assembly hall, in that arena. And that’s what we want to convey, that there’s acceptance and that there’s love and that there’s hope if people will seek out the living Christ. And that’s the message we want to spread on August 6th.

- Eric Bearse, event spokesman for the hate group American Family Association and former speech writer for Gov. Rick Perry, saying that although “The Response” in August was intended as a Christian service, it would be open to all faiths and traditions. American Independent, June 14, 2011

“This is exactly what the founders wanted, what you see here today. … Our founders believed that our public policy should be aligned with the laws of nature and the laws of God. … Marriage is one of those things. Marriage is between one man and one woman, and we tamper with that at our peril.”

- Bryan Fischer of the American Family Association, in comments to a reporter during Gov. Perry’s August prayer and fasting rally the AFA helped organize in Houston. San Antonio Current, August 10, 2011

“My argument all along has been that the purpose of the First Amendment is to protect the free exercise of the Christian religion.”

— The American Family Association’s Bryan Fischer, asserting that the First Amendment does not apply to Mormons. RightWingWatch, September 29, 2011

“A lot of the evangelicals believe God would give us four more years of Obama just for the opportunity to expose the cult of Mormon … There’s a thousand pastors ready to do that.”

- Remarks by Craig Bergman that prompted his resignation as Iowa political director for Newt Gingrich’s presidential campaign. Los Angeles Times, December 14, 2011

Posted in religious freedom, The Year in Quotes | 6 Comments »

SBOE Candidate: Carlos “Charlie” Garza

December 22, 2011

Because of redistricting, all 15 seats on the Texas State Board of Education will be up for grabs in the November 2012 elections. The results of those elections will determine whether the religious right’s corrosive influence over public education will weaken or grow as the board considers what the next generation of public school students in Texas will learn about sex education, social studies, science and other subjects. We plan to publish on TFN Insider candidate announcements for a seat on the SBOE. We will publish announcements in no particular order, and their publication does not constitute any sort of endorsement by TFN. We will redact requests for contributions or mentions of fundraising events from the announcements, but we will provide links to the candidates’ websites (if available).

Carlos “Charlie” Garza, District 1, R-El Paso
(Incumbent)

On Dec. 12, District 1 incumbent Carlos “Charlie” Garza filed to run for re-election. Garza was first elected to the board when he defeated Democratic incumbent Rene Nuñez in 2010. Garza’s website is carloscharliegarza.com.

Education changes lives! I know this first hand as a migrant farm worker of extreme poverty with illiterate first generation Hispanic parents. Texas public schools provided me the requisite skills to pursue doctoral studies at The George Washington University a premier tier I institution. As an educator and leader I serve the children and community. My goal is to remove obstacles that research suggests harm children of poverty, who are language deficient and are struggling to succeed academically. My goal is to instill in our children how great America is and all we have to do is work hard, believe, dream and then we will achieve.

As an SBOE member I have maintained an open door policy, been a responsive servant leader, who is visible and active in school and community events. SBOE’s goal should be simple “to organize and lead schools so all children are able to perform at the highest levels possible.” This is our greatest commandment. I enjoy engaging in conversations with parents about how to improve learning and the learning enviroment for students.

(more…)

Posted in 2012 Texas SBOE elections, Charlie Garza | 3 Comments »

SBOE Candidate: Ruben Cortez Jr.

December 22, 2011

Ruben Cortez, Jr., District 2, D-Brownsville
(Current District 2 Board Member: Mary Helen Berlanga, D-Corpus Christi)

On Dec. 2, former Brownsville Independent School District trustee Ruben Cortez, Jr., filed his candidacy for the District 2. The District 2 seat is currently held by Mary Helen Berlanga, but she has announced she will not seek re-election. Cortez’s website is rubencortezjr.com.

Ruben Cortez, Jr. formally declared his candidacy for State Board of Education today, filing for the position of State Board of Education, District 2.

Cortez, a former trustee of the Brownsville Independent School District, is a strong advocate for keeping politics out of the classroom and providing all children their fundamental right to receive a quality education.

“When it comes to educating our children we can not compromise on their future. The best way to ensure our children’s future and prosperity is through education,” said Cortez, “Education is priority one.”

“The complexity of education begins with the criteria approved by the State Board of Education when determining the standards and curriculum for our school systems,” Cortez continued. “I believe in a common sense approach. We must keep politics out of the classroom and this includes textbooks. I will stand strong against those who would rather see politics dictate the educational standards and curriculum of the State of Texas. I am prepared to take the fight to those who oppose impartial oversight,” affirmed Cortez.

“I firmly believe public education must serve all children and we, as a society, must recognize the benefits public education gives back to society. With diminishing funding for education we will see “At Risk” children fall through the bureaucratic cracks, further erosion in the graduation rate—Texas ranks 43rd in the country. The educational resources required to meet the demands of special needs children will become a casualty of recent educational budget cuts,” stated Cortez.

(more…)

Posted in 2012 Texas SBOE elections, Ruben Cortez Jr | 3 Comments »

The Right’s ‘Plastic Indignation’ over Christmas

December 21, 2011

We’re not the only ones, of course, who see through the political manipulation behind the right’s phony “war on Christmas” hysteria. John Young, former head of the editorial page at the Waco Tribune-Herald, offers his take on the “plastic indignation” over “Happy Holidays” and other alleged anti-Christmas outrages:

Outraged over a holiday greeting? Get real. Real Christians can find real outrages out there on the windblown streets, in the soup kitchens, in prisons, in struggling-to-get-by nursing homes, where Medicaid reimbursement rates are life-and-death matters.

Name your phony spiritual concern — that school pageants are too secular today, that local governments seek to treat the holidays in pluralistic ways. The same applies to retailers. They have Jews celebrating Hanukkah this month, as well as with adherents of Kwanzaa, and non-Christians of many stripes who just like the pretty lights and are in the mood for egg nog. They are customers. They are Americans. A business, or a nation, or a school district or city hall that doesn’t serve all of these people is running a fool’s errand.

Some Americans don’t get the whole secular nature of the American experience and never will. This nation was born as a refuge from sectarianism. Its First Amendment protections against the latter have made it the most religion-friendly construct in the history of self-governance.

Yet you have Rick Perry telling Iowa voters that “war” is being waged against Christians. Talk about plastic indignation.

I lived in Texas for a long time — Perry’s neck of the North American woods. To say that Christians, particularly the conservative, evangelical, Republican kind, are oppressed is to insinuate that the Dallas Cowboys play in a cardboard shack.

What Perry really says with this “war on Christianity” pitch to Republicans is that he doesn’t buy the notion that government should be neutral regarding faith. He thinks its job is to exalt and advertise a majority’s piety.

Read the whole thing here. And if you’ve been missing Young’s insightful columns since he left Waco, now you know where to find him.

Posted in war on Christmas nonsense | 5 Comments »

SBOE Candidate: Traci Jensen

December 21, 2011

Traci Jensen, District 6, D-Houston
(Current District 6 Board Member: Terri Leo, R-Spring)

Traci Jensen is a former classroom teacher who has also taught at the University of Houston. Current District 6 board member Terri Leo is not seeking re-election to her seat. Jensen’s website is jensen4stateboard.com. The following is from the “Platform” section of her website:

We have a unique opportunity this election to shift this board’s negative culture. I would listen to real scientists, true historians, and current educators. Parents and community leaders from all backgrounds understand the broader educational goals of public education and need to be heard. Texas needs a balanced board that understands the real world and the wonderfully diverse population it serves. I am an educator that understands the complexities of teaching. As we sit here 60% of our student population is considered economically disadvantaged. The research shows that although a good teacher is a piece of the puzzle, poverty, quality of home life, the influence of community and a strong relevant curriculum plays a vital role in the overall success of any student.

If elected, I would give more weight to the College and Career Readiness Standards so that all students are given the opportunity to develop critical thinking skills beginning in Kindergarten. In our urban and our rural schools the current flawed curriculum alone is simply not enough to compete in a global community.

If elected, I would put an end to the culture wars perpetuated by the current board. I would focus on what is best for all of Texas’ children by supporting our teachers and believing in our public schools. We need to put integrity back in the board and honor our promises. Vote the board into a new direction!

Posted in 2012 Texas SBOE elections, Traci Jensen | 33 Comments »

SBOE Candidate: Tom Maynard

December 21, 2011

Tom Maynard, District 12, R-Florence
(Current District 10 Board Member: Marsha Farney, R-Georgetown)

Tom Maynard, executive director of the Texas Future Farmers of America and a former Florence school board member, announced via press release (h/t Quorum Report) on Dec. 14 that he intends to seek the District 12 seat. Current District 12 board member Marsha Farney will not run for reelection and is instead running for the Texas House of Representatives. Maynard’s website is maynardfortexas.com.

Tom Maynard announced today that he has filed in the Republican Primary for the State Board of Education District 10, which is being vacated by Marsha Farney.

“I will bring my experience as a parent, taxpayer, teacher, school board trustee and non-‐profit executive to the State Board of Education,” said Maynard. “I will fight for local control of education, respect the role of parents and families, demand fiscal accountability and efficiency, and defend our conservative values.”
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Posted in 2012 Texas SBOE elections, Tom Maynard | 4 Comments »