TEXAS ALLOWS RELIGIOUS CONSERVATIVES TO REWRITE HISTORY
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Unbelievably the Texas Board of Education has ruled that they will allow the Religious right and other Conservatives to rewrite history. Here is the shocking story and make sure to follow the links:
A far-right faction of the Texas State Board of Education succeeded Friday in injecting conservative ideals into social studies, history and economics lessons that will be taught to millions of students for the next decade.
Teachers in Texas will be required to cover the Judeo-Christian influences of the nation’s Founding Fathers, but not highlight the philosophical rationale for the separation of church and state. Curriculum standards also will describe the U.S. government as a “constitutional republic,” rather than “democratic,” and students will be required to study the decline in value of the U.S. dollar, including the abandonment of the gold standard.
“We have been about conservatism versus liberalism,” said Democrat Mavis Knight of Dallas, explaining her vote against the standards. “We have manipulated strands to insert what we want it to be in the document, regardless as to whether or not it’s appropriate.”
Following three days of impassioned and acrimonious debate, the board gave preliminary approval to the new standards with a 10-5 party line vote. A final vote is expected in May, after a public comment period that could produce additional amendments and arguments.
Decisions by the board – made up of lawyers, a dentist and a weekly newspaper publisher among others – can affect textbook content nationwide because Texas is one of publishers’ biggest clients.
Ultraconservatives wielded their power over hundreds of subjects this week, introducing and rejecting amendments on everything from the civil rights movement to global politics. Hostilities flared and prompted a walkout Thursday by one of the board’s most prominent Democrats, Mary Helen Berlanga of Corpus Christi, who accused her colleagues of “whitewashing” curriculum standards.
Additional links: Think Progress; Texas Freedom Network
More on this tomorrow!
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Actually, Jesus wrote the constitution.Guess they don’t teach that in those liberal schools.
Pure insanity, and almost on the level of the medieval Catholic Church threatening and persecuting Galileo into recanting his correct belief that the earth circled the sun, and not the other way around! What is next from the religious far-right? That Jesus Himself wrote our Constitution? Puh-leeeeease!!!
My nephew learned about Moses as a “historical figure” in his public elemntary school last year. I’d say that’s a problem. No, this wasn’t in the context of any world religion discussion. Just history.
There are a lot of extremists on both sides of this issue. While, no, we clearly shouldn’t give a sanitized version of history, neither should we fall prey to the equally decadent process of political correctness. There isn’t (for instance) a damn thing wrong with talking about Nathan Hale.
Bee,
I just sat there for once with my mouth shut. I had no idea what to say. It was truly frightening. My kids are playing in the front yard this morning, happy abortion-knowledge free.
Sky Girl, there is something truly sick and twisted about teaching 7 year olds about abortion.
My Lil’Bee is 4. I figure she’s got plenty of time later on to learn about the world, right now her only job is to have a good time playing games and dressing up like a princess. She hears her dad and I talk about these issues to a certain extent (we’re careful what we say around her), so she’ll grow up knowing what we think.
I think the right wingnuts just try to indoctrinate their kids as early as possible to be little automatons who think and act just like mommy and daddy. Well, I’m not too impressed with the way most of those mommies and daddies act, and I can think of some stuff I do that I actually hope Lil’Bee doesn’t pick up on.
I’m not going to be very popular with the soccer mom set, I can see that coming already.
As the only liberal in the crowd at a 7-year-old soccer game last night, I realized why we are losing the philosphical war. Something came up about a kid asking about what “gays” means. ALL of the conservative parents had taught their kids about homosexuality. I haven’t even taught my kid much about sexuality. He knows gay people, but we don’t really talk about what adults of any sexual orientation do in the bedroom!
Then someone said that during the election, their child asked them why Obama wanted to kill babies. These 7-year-olds of conservative families know about abortion! My kid doesn’t know about abortion!
My kid knows we support liberal and progressive politicians because we believe in freedome of and from religion. We believe in treating everyone the same, regardless of their differences. We think everyone deserves to be able to go to the doctor. We had a great lesson about food pantries the oter day.
Sheesh! I’m going to have to step up my indoctrination on controvesial issues if I’m going to keep up. Don’t conservatives think any age deserves a little innocence? An I going to have to teach my 4-year-old about abortions now? Their kids already have opinions before my kids know what is going on!
Simples!
Your conservatives (should that be a capital C?) have spotted that Islam is tied to government and is currently spreading around the globe like a questionable virus so why not American Christianity?
Is America about to become a questionable vivus?
Oh dear. Some one find a cure!
Tee said If they did this to the inbred home school crowd…it may not be that bad…
LOL! Less competition for my kid…I’m being facetious, in case I get accused of sounding like a “got mine” republican!
Must be “great minds syndrome” at work tonight, i blogged this one on my home site. I’d cross-post here, but it’s just too long and difficult to move…I got long winded again…
Nice one Tee! Great post MM. My sister and I have been in astonished discussion all afternoon on this… it’s like ….NO! YOU”RE KIDDING! Not Possible! Ya know? Then again, its
Texas… y’all know? Hill…don’t yell! LOL
Oh, those conservatives. Why do they hate reality so much?
Wait – I know! Because reality tells them there were no WMD in Iraq, the tales in the Bible are false and laughable, Intelligent Design isn’t science, the U.S. constitution says to keep church and state separate, and their beloved ‘patriotic’ president Dubya did everything he could to avoid serving in the Vietnam War even though he supported it. Among many things.
If they did this to the inbred home school crowd…it may not be that bad…
Tee: ROFLMAO!! You make yet ANOTHER good point 🙂
Tee you make a valid point. Regardless it is still shocking and shocking makes news. A friend of mine who works at MSNBC said that is their mantra 🙂
Do we really expect anything else from these delirious people? They are haunted by Gods and Demons…they are waiting for Armageddon…they are psychotic…this is no surprise, in fact I expected it a lot sooner…