Category Archives for education

Redefining ‘Religious Liberty’ into Nothing?

Religious-righters are twisting and redefining “religious liberty” so much that the term itself is in danger of becoming almost meaningless. Fortunately, a growing number of mainstream religious leaders from around the state are calling out the nonsense. The latest battleground: public subsidies (such as vouchers) for religious schools. The rabidly anti-gay, religious-right group Houston Area Pastor Council, which also goes by […]

Also posted in Dave Welch, Houston Area Pastor Council, religious freedom, Texas Pastor Council, TFNEF, vouchers | 4 Comments

Lt. Gov’s Advisory Panel Says Gov’s Pre-K Plans Will Lead Texas Kids to Godless Socialism

For another indication of just how much the paranoid, right-wing political fringe has become embedded in Texas government, check out what Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick’s “Grassroots Advisory Board” is up to. Today the panel of Tea Party activists released a letter criticizing Gov. Greg Abbott’s plans to expand pre-K programs in the state. Those programs, the advisory board insists, will undermine parental […]

Also posted in 2015 Texas Legislature, Dan Patrick, TFN | 15 Comments

This Week @ the Texas Legislature: Vouchers on Senate Floor

Call your senator TODAY in opposition to this reckless raid on funding for neighborhood public schools. Click here to find the name and phone number for your senator. Big moves behind the scenes tell us the Senate could take up a massive private school voucher bill this week. It’s critical that you call your senator […]

Also posted in 2015 Texas Legislature, TFN, vouchers | 9 Comments

Texas Isn’t the Only State Where the Right Is Pushing Indoctrination Instead of Education in Public Schools

Members of the Texas State Board of Education aren’t the only politicians pushing the national campaign to turn public schools into tools for indoctrinating students with right-wing ideology. A columnist for the South Florida Sun-Sentinel looks at how that campaign is unfolding in other states. In Florida, for example, lawmakers are pushing a bill that would require […]

Also posted in TFNEF | 2 Comments

When It Comes to Attacking Public Schools, Ohio Rep Has Nothing on Texas Pols

Folks in Ohio are upset after a Republican state legislator there criticized public education as a failure because, he says, it’s socialism. But he’s got nothing on the anti-public education fanatics we elect here in Texas. Ohio state Rep. Andrew Brenner wrote about public schools in a blog post on March 3 titled “Public education […]

Also posted in Cynthia Dunbar, Debbie Riddle, public education, TFNEF | 6 Comments

Told You So: Anti-CSCOPE Fanatics See a New Dragon to Slay

We already told you that the political activists who promoted the witch hunt that appears to have gutted the CSCOPE curriculum tool were already turning their attention to new targets. Well, check out this new post on the blog “Red Hot Conservative” written by Ginger Russell, one of the most vocal CSCOPE critics. What’s got […]

Also posted in CSCOPE, TFNEF | 40 Comments

Pflugerville Pastor Tells Congregants How God Wants Them to Vote in School Board Race

Who is behind efforts to toss out of office two Pflugerville Independent School District board members who support giving the domestic partners of district employees access to health insurance? Pflugerville is located in Travis County, and the school district includes parts of north Austin. Various religious-right groups and activists have criticized Pflugerville school board members […]

Also posted in LGBT issues, Texas Pastor Council, TFN | 13 Comments

TFN Endorses in School Board Election That Has Become a Referendum on Equality

The Texas Freedom Network has long insisted that educators should play an important role in making decisions concerning public schools. So it should be no surprise that today TFN is endorsing two candidates for the Pflugerville Independent School District Board of Trustees — Carol Fletcher and Mario Acosta — who together have 60 years of […]

Also posted in LGBT issues, TFN | 2 Comments

A Conservative Version of History

Texans are painfully aware by now (or should be) how the right revises history for political purposes. Even the conservative Thomas B. Fordham Institute, for example, has criticized right-wingers on the Texas State Board of Education for adopting new social studies curriculum standards that represent a “politicized distortion of history.” Now The New Yorker magazine […]

Also posted in TFNEF | 3 Comments

Heathen U

Rick Santorum just cannot help himself. Political pundits and strategists affiliated with his own party have been virtually screaming at him, telling him that if he wants any shot at winning in November he needs to quit the culture wars and stick to jobs, jobs, jobs. But, again, he just can’t help himself. On Thursday, […]

Also posted in 2012 Elections, Rick Santorum, TFN | 7 Comments