Conservatives push their totalitarian excesses in the classroom

[Barb]

If it isn't approved in Texass, it isn't populated to any other public K-12 schools in the nation. That's a little charter that needs to be revoked. Educational standards are one thing, ideological BS is something else.

"Charter?"


"Revolked?"



What on earth are you talking about?

There is no legal compulsion for public schools outside Texas to "populate" their K-12 schools with ANYTHING approved in Texas.

Not a legal compulsion, but compelled nevertheless:
Revisionaries - Mariah Blake

As the state goes through the once-in-a-decade process of rewriting the standards for its textbooks, the faction is using its clout to infuse them with ultraconservative ideals. Among other things, they aim to rehabilitate Joseph McCarthy, bring global-warming denial into science class, and downplay the contributions of the civil rights movement.

Battles over textbooks are nothing new, especially in Texas, where bitter skirmishes regularly erupt over everything from sex education to phonics and new math. But never before has the board’s right wing wielded so much power over the writing of the state’s standards. And when it comes to textbooks, what happens in Texas rarely stays in Texas. The reasons for this are economic: Texas is the nation’s second-largest textbook market and one of the few biggies where the state picks what books schools can buy rather than leaving it up to the whims of local districts, which means publishers that get their books approved can count on millions of dollars in sales. As a result, the Lone Star State has outsized influence over the reading material used in classrooms nationwide, since publishers craft their standard textbooks based on the specs of the biggest buyers. As one senior industry executive told me, “Publishers will do whatever it takes to get on the Texas list.”

Until recently, Texas’s influence was balanced to some degree by the more-liberal pull of California, the nation’s largest textbook market. But its economy is in such shambles that California has put off buying new books until at least 2014. This means that McLeroy and his ultraconservative crew have unparalleled power to shape the textbooks that children around the country read for years to come.

The rest of the article is telling as well.

 

[Samson]

Until recently, Texas’s influence was balanced to some degree by the more-liberal pull of California, the nation’s largest textbook market. But its economy is in such shambles that California has put off buying new books until at least 2014. This means that McLeroy and his ultraconservative crew have unparalleled power to shape the textbooks that children around the country read for years to come.

The rest of the article is telling as well.

I'm astonished.

see I'm even gonna use a smilie to show you how astonished I am:



If anything is "telling" about the article, it is its admission that
1. Texas' economy is good
2. Texas is more conservative
3. Texas has the most influance in text book content

In contrast:

1. California's economy sucks
2. California is more liberal
3. California has less influance in text book content

The reason I'm astonished is that even with such obvious evidence (that YOU provided yourself) of the success of a more conservative state over a more liberal state, you continue to believe something's wrong with other states adopting the more successful model's text!

I suppose if we could find some bankrupt backwater that published texts, you'd leap at the chance to put them into the hands of your state's kids?

It seems what really is the problem is the successful workings of the free market.

 

[rdean]

The hard workers re sinking because the Democrats with their Socialist policies are placing too heavy a monkey on the backs of the hard workers. Just so they can garner votes from lazy people.

Who works harder? Takes a lot of hard work to become a "scientist". And what do those scientists do? Well, I mean besides medicine, engineering, agricultural, weapons for our armed forces, materials for everything from what we wear to what our houses are made out of.

And all of that hard work is 6% Republican? Yep, only 6%. And considering what Republicans think of education, it's probably work that had to be done over anyway. So who works harder? I would say in this case, it's a "slam dunk".

put up your link for the chart rdean.

care

It's a shame that Republicans have to depend so much on Democrats to take care of them. Sad, really.

And of course you think that means anything, bonehead? Science is limited by man's intellect. Get over yourself, fool.

Science is limited by man's intellect? What ever that means.

Public Praises Science; Scientists Fault Public, Media: Section 4: Scientists, Politics and Religion - Pew Research Center for the People & the Press

Public Praises Science; Scientists Fault Public, Media: Overview - Pew Research Center for the People & the Press

Fully 91% know that aspirin is an over-the-counter drug recommended to prevent heart attacks and 82% know that GPS technology relies on satellites. And topics covered in major news stories also are widely understood; 77% correctly identify earthquakes as a cause of tsunamis and 65% can identify CO2 as a gas linked to rising temperatures.

Slightly more than half (54%) knows that antibiotics do not kill viruses along with bacteria, and about the same percentage (52%) knows that what distinguishes stem cells from other cells is that they can develop into many different kinds of cells. And some high-school science knowledge is elusive for most Americans: Fewer than half (46%) know that electrons are smaller than atoms.

Previous Pew Research Center knowledge surveys have shown that young people are poorly informed about current events and politics. But this is not the case with science knowledge. In fact, those younger than 30 get higher scores on the knowledge test than do those 65 and older. Still, the best-informed people about science, according to the results of this quiz, are those 30 to 49.

 

[Bfgrn]

I got my bio info on Glen from the link in the OP.

Where did you get your info on Dunbar?

Nonetheless, your point is that if there is an idiot that you don't agree with, then you should believe an idiot you do agree with?



I'll rely on resources that have some training and a lot of experience about whatever the fuck they're talking about.

Cynthia Dunbar

A person with a definite right wing 'agenda'...

You remind me of a dog chasing it's tail...the facts of the Texas hearings have become public domain. Glenn W. Smith reported it...he is not involved in trying to rewrite American history...Dunbar IS...

It is a general popular error to suppose the loudest complainers for the public to be the most anxious for its welfare.
Edmund Burke

Well, I went to your linky and found that Dunbar is:

1. a practicing attorney
2. graduate of Regent University School of Law.
3. active in Texas politics
4. an author who has just released a new book entitled: "One Nation Under God".

The book takes a clear look at how the left is erasing what made this nation great and how far removed we, as Americans, have come from understanding the principles and philosophies that made us who we are.

Compared to Glen W. Smith, who has never held a public office, who has no degree, and has never studied law, and has never published, I think she's a much more credible source of information regarding what should or should not be included in text books.

Yes, I agree that her politics are "right wing." But, then Smith's politics are "left wing." His complaint about Dunbar is basically she hasn't the same POV that he has.

Clearly her POV is based on much experience and education, while his is based on being an "all-around good guy,” according to Daily Kos founder Markos Moulitsas.

You clearly have a mental disconnect here...WHAT is it you don't comprehend about comparing someone writing an op-ed piece about legislation vs. a person that is an integral and extreme radical member of only 15 members WRITING that legislation?

Pat Robertson's Regent University is a Theological School that gave us Monica Goodling.

If you barely scratch the surface of Dunbar's writings, it is crystal clear she has more than a right wing agenda. She has created an enemy within. All America's problems can be blamed on hated liberals. She even calls them communists...Do you honestly believe she would support any kind of balanced narrative of American history?

You right wingers make me sick. You are totally fucked in the head.

"Mark my word, if and when these preachers get control of the Republican party, and they're sure trying to do so, it's going to be a terrible damn problem. Frankly, these people frighten me. Politics and governing demand compromise. But these Christians believe they are acting in the name of God, so they can't and won't compromise. I know, I've tried to deal with them."
Barry Goldwater (R) – Late Senator & Father of the Conservative movement

 

[Samson]

Cynthia Dunbar

A person with a definite right wing 'agenda'...

You remind me of a dog chasing it's tail...the facts of the Texas hearings have become public domain. Glenn W. Smith reported it...he is not involved in trying to rewrite American history...Dunbar IS...

It is a general popular error to suppose the loudest complainers for the public to be the most anxious for its welfare.
Edmund Burke

Well, I went to your linky and found that Dunbar is:

1. a practicing attorney
2. graduate of Regent University School of Law.
3. active in Texas politics
4. an author who has just released a new book entitled: "One Nation Under God".

The book takes a clear look at how the left is erasing what made this nation great and how far removed we, as Americans, have come from understanding the principles and philosophies that made us who we are.

Compared to Glen W. Smith, who has never held a public office, who has no degree, and has never studied law, and has never published, I think she's a much more credible source of information regarding what should or should not be included in text books.

Yes, I agree that her politics are "right wing." But, then Smith's politics are "left wing." His complaint about Dunbar is basically she hasn't the same POV that he has.

Clearly her POV is based on much experience and education, while his is based on being an "all-around good guy,” according to Daily Kos founder Markos Moulitsas.

You clearly have a mental disconnect here...WHAT is it you don't comprehend about comparing someone writing an op-ed piece about legislation vs. a person that is an integral and extreme radical member of only 15 members WRITING that legislation?

You right wingers make me sick. You are totally fucked in the head.

Extraordinary.

A. I'm not "rightwinger." I believe in legal abortion. I believe in a much smaller military. I believe in evolution.

B. There is nothing I don't "comprehend about comparing" Smith and Dunbar. I did it.

C. "Extreme Radical" is YOUR OPINION. Having read the link you kindly provided, I see nothing terribly "Extreme Radical" about Dunbar. Her views represent a very large number of Americans.

D. Dunbar is only one of a 15 member board. Even if she was an "Extreme Radical," it is ridiculous to characterise the entire board, or the decisions of that board, based on ONE member. I daresay this is nohing less than the worst example of prejudice.

 

[rdean]

Until recently, Texas’s influence was balanced to some degree by the more-liberal pull of California, the nation’s largest textbook market. But its economy is in such shambles that California has put off buying new books until at least 2014. This means that McLeroy and his ultraconservative crew have unparalleled power to shape the textbooks that children around the country read for years to come.

The rest of the article is telling as well.

I'm astonished.

see I'm even gonna use a smilie to show you how astonished I am:



If anything is "telling" about the article, it is its admission that
1. Texas' economy is good
2. Texas is more conservative
3. Texas has the most influance in text book content

In contrast:

1. California's economy sucks
2. California is more liberal
3. California has less influance in text book content

The reason I'm astonished is that even with such obvious evidence (that YOU provided yourself) of the success of a more conservative state over a more liberal state, you continue to believe something's wrong with other states adopting the more successful model's text!

I suppose if we could find some bankrupt backwater that published texts, you'd leap at the chance to put them into the hands of your state's kids?

It seems what really is the problem is the successful workings of the free market.

Wow, you make things so "simple". one two three, one two three.

24,782,302 - pop of Texas

Top 5 crops of Texas:
Cotton
Greenhouse & Nursery
Corn
Wheat
Hay

Agriculture is the second largest industry in the state,
generating $80 billion for the economy annually.
Texas has 266,807 sq. miles of land or 172 million
acres, 130 million acres of which are in agricultural
production.

36,961,664 - pop of California

California Agriculture:

California produces more than 350 crops. Of
those, the following are commercially produced
only in California: almonds,
artichokes, figs, olives, persimmons,
pomegranates, prunes, raisins and walnuts.
California grows more than half of the
nation’s fruits, vegetables and nuts from less
than four percent of the nation’s farmland.
The second leading commodity, grapes,
account for $2.75 billion in cash receipts
annually.
California is the nation’s top agricultural state,
and has been for more than 50 years. Agriculture
generates approximately $31.8 billion a year,
more than any other state.
More than 92 percent of California farms are
family farms or partnerships.
The top 10 commodities include: milk and cream,
all grapes, nursery products, almonds, cattle and
calves, all lettuce, strawberries, all tomatoes, all
hay, and flowers.

Census 2000 data for Texas

Census 2000 data for California

Texas Net Revenue by Source - Fiscal 2009

California State Government, Revenue and Income Tax Data

I just don't see how the two states can be compared. California is a center of technology. Number one in so many things. Texas is big. But Texas certainly doesn't make the investments that California does nor does it have the diversity. I'm not saying one is better than the other, but they are very different.

 

[Bfgrn]

Well, I went to your linky and found that Dunbar is:

1. a practicing attorney
2. graduate of Regent University School of Law.
3. active in Texas politics
4. an author who has just released a new book entitled: "One Nation Under God".



Compared to Glen W. Smith, who has never held a public office, who has no degree, and has never studied law, and has never published, I think she's a much more credible source of information regarding what should or should not be included in text books.

Yes, I agree that her politics are "right wing." But, then Smith's politics are "left wing." His complaint about Dunbar is basically she hasn't the same POV that he has.

Clearly her POV is based on much experience and education, while his is based on being an "all-around good guy,” according to Daily Kos founder Markos Moulitsas.

You clearly have a mental disconnect here...WHAT is it you don't comprehend about comparing someone writing an op-ed piece about legislation vs. a person that is an integral and extreme radical member of only 15 members WRITING that legislation?

You right wingers make me sick. You are totally fucked in the head.

Extraordinary.

A. I'm not "rightwinger." I believe in legal abortion. I believe in a much smaller military. I believe in evolution.

B. There is nothing I don't "comprehend about comparing" Smith and Dunbar. I did it.

C. "Extreme Radical" is YOUR OPINION. Having read the link you kindly provided, I see nothing terribly "Extreme Radical" about Dunbar. Her views represent a very large number of Americans.

D. Dunbar is only one of a 15 member board. Even if she was an "Extreme Radical," it is ridiculous to characterise the entire board, or the decisions of that board, based on ONE member. I daresay this is nohing less than the worst example of prejudice.

I dare say you are a prime example of gross ignorance. Her views represent radical right Christians, a.k.a. Pat Robertson and Jerry Falwell. I don't care what you are for, if you are not against someone who espouses dogma that half the people in this country are evil communists and an enemy having influence over what our children learn, you are beyond ignorant...you are obtuse

 

[Samson]

The rest of the article is telling as well.

I'm astonished.

see I'm even gonna use a smilie to show you how astonished I am:



If anything is "telling" about the article, it is its admission that
1. Texas' economy is good
2. Texas is more conservative
3. Texas has the most influance in text book content

In contrast:

1. California's economy sucks
2. California is more liberal
3. California has less influance in text book content

The reason I'm astonished is that even with such obvious evidence (that YOU provided yourself) of the success of a more conservative state over a more liberal state, you continue to believe something's wrong with other states adopting the more successful model's text!

I suppose if we could find some bankrupt backwater that published texts, you'd leap at the chance to put them into the hands of your state's kids?

It seems what really is the problem is the successful workings of the free market.

Wow, you make things so "simple". one two three, one two three.

24,782,302 - pop of Texas

Top 5 crops of Texas:
Cotton
Greenhouse & Nursery
Corn
Wheat
Hay

Agriculture is the second largest industry in the state,
generating $80 billion for the economy annually.
Texas has 266,807 sq. miles of land or 172 million
acres, 130 million acres of which are in agricultural
production.

36,961,664 - pop of California

California Agriculture:

California produces more than 350 crops. Of
those, the following are commercially produced
only in California: almonds,
artichokes, figs, olives, persimmons,
pomegranates, prunes, raisins and walnuts.
California grows more than half of the
nation’s fruits, vegetables and nuts from less
than four percent of the nation’s farmland.
The second leading commodity, grapes,
account for $2.75 billion in cash receipts
annually.
California is the nation’s top agricultural state,
and has been for more than 50 years. Agriculture
generates approximately $31.8 billion a year,
more than any other state.
More than 92 percent of California farms are
family farms or partnerships.
The top 10 commodities include: milk and cream,
all grapes, nursery products, almonds, cattle and
calves, all lettuce, strawberries, all tomatoes, all
hay, and flowers.

Census 2000 data for Texas

Census 2000 data for California

Texas Net Revenue by Source - Fiscal 2009

California State Government, Revenue and Income Tax Data

I just don't see how the two states can be compared. California is a center of technology. Number one in so many things. Texas is big. But Texas certainly doesn't make the investments that California does nor does it have the diversity. I'm not saying one is better than the other, but they are very different.

Well, I wasn't the one that began comparing Texas and California: Barb used this evidence to support her assertation, "Not a legal compulsion, but compelled nevertheless" from Revisionaries - Mariah Blake.

Until recently, Texas’s influence was balanced to some degree by the more-liberal pull of California, the nation’s largest textbook market. But its economy is in such shambles that California has put off buying new books until at least 2014. This means that McLeroy and his ultraconservative crew have unparalleled power to shape the textbooks that children around the country read for years to come.

Is your point that Texas would be more liberal if they grew more Artichokes?

That California wouldn't have an "economy in shambles" if they grew more cotton?

 

[Samson]

You clearly have a mental disconnect here...WHAT is it you don't comprehend about comparing someone writing an op-ed piece about legislation vs. a person that is an integral and extreme radical member of only 15 members WRITING that legislation?

You right wingers make me sick. You are totally fucked in the head.

Extraordinary.

A. I'm not "rightwinger." I believe in legal abortion. I believe in a much smaller military. I believe in evolution.

B. There is nothing I don't "comprehend about comparing" Smith and Dunbar. I did it.

C. "Extreme Radical" is YOUR OPINION. Having read the link you kindly provided, I see nothing terribly "Extreme Radical" about Dunbar. Her views represent a very large number of Americans.

D. Dunbar is only one of a 15 member board. Even if she was an "Extreme Radical," it is ridiculous to characterise the entire board, or the decisions of that board, based on ONE member. I daresay this is nohing less than the worst example of prejudice.

I dare say you are a prime example of gross ignorance. Her views represent radical right Christians, a.k.a. Pat Robertson and Jerry Falwell. I don't care what you are for, if you are not against someone who espouses dogma that half the people in this country are evil communists and an enemy having influence over what our children learn, you are beyond ignorant...you are obtuse

What do you call someone who accuses another of "espousing dogma that half the people in this country are evil communists and an enemy having influence over what our children learn" without offering a shread of evidence that Dunbar ever said anything of the sort?

It is your intolerance and prejudice that gives ammunition to the "radical right."

I suspect you are a Limbaugh Shill.

 

[Maple]

Conservatives Re-Write Declaration of Independence

The Civil Rights Movement created "unrealistic expectations of equal outcomes" among minorities, according to Texas conservatives trying to rewrite American history textbooks. They want students to learn that bit of undemocratic, phony history.

Imagine Thomas Jefferson opening the Declaration of Independence with, "We hold these truths to be self-evident, no one should have unrealistic expectations of human equality..."

The Texas State Board of Education, dominated by anti-evolution, authoritarian ideologues, has made news around the world for trying to rewrite history. They want Confederate President Jefferson Davis' words given equal treatment with President Abraham Lincoln's. Now there's an example of an unrealistic expectation of equality.

This is all taking place in the Texas textbook adoption process, a process that influences books studied by students around the country. Texas is big, and its schools order a lot of books. To keep costs down, textbook publishers push those books in other states.

...

I grew up in Texas. In the '60s conservatives were fond of teaching the dangers of Soviet communism. At the top of their list of abuses was the Soviet Union's rewriting of history and its ideological abuse of science. I happen to agree about these totalitarian excesses. But doesn't it sound familiar? There's no climate crisis, and Jefferson didn't mean it about the equality stuff. I guess it depends on who, exactly, is twisting science and history. That is just what conservatives once condemned as "situation ethics." Hypocrisy is a slippery slope.

Whole article...

Actually, they are not re-writing history they are just putting the history that has been removed from the text books by liberals back in there. I totally applaude them. You rock Texas.

 

[Bfgrn]

Extraordinary.

A. I'm not "rightwinger." I believe in legal abortion. I believe in a much smaller military. I believe in evolution.

B. There is nothing I don't "comprehend about comparing" Smith and Dunbar. I did it.

C. "Extreme Radical" is YOUR OPINION. Having read the link you kindly provided, I see nothing terribly "Extreme Radical" about Dunbar. Her views represent a very large number of Americans.

D. Dunbar is only one of a 15 member board. Even if she was an "Extreme Radical," it is ridiculous to characterise the entire board, or the decisions of that board, based on ONE member. I daresay this is nohing less than the worst example of prejudice.

I dare say you are a prime example of gross ignorance. Her views represent radical right Christians, a.k.a. Pat Robertson and Jerry Falwell. I don't care what you are for, if you are not against someone who espouses dogma that half the people in this country are evil communists and an enemy having influence over what our children learn, you are beyond ignorant...you are obtuse

What do you call someone who accuses another of "espousing dogma that half the people in this country are evil communists and an enemy having influence over what our children learn" without offering a shread of evidence that Dunbar ever said anything of the sort?

It is your intolerance and prejudice that gives ammunition to the "radical right."

I suspect you are a Limbaugh Shill.

You were too busy mind-numbingly researching someone unimportant...an op-ed author...


[ame="http://www.amazon.com/Nation-Under-Cynthia-Noland-Dunbar/dp/0979322723"]"One Nation Under God"[/ame]

By Cynthia Dunbar

From the Back Cover
We Must Not Stand Silent...while the foundational truths that made this nation great are being eroded. America is in danger from elements within and outside her borders that undermine the principles, beliefs and core truths upon which she was founded. Political pundits, liberals and social interest groups are trying to skew our constitutional ground rules. We need a compass to guide us back to the path of destiny and greatness. America needs people who know the truth, speak the truth and stand for the truth. Unfortunately, many of us are simply not aware of the clear constitutional and biblical principles that initiated and governed the course of this union. So we sit quietly and idly by as our liberties and freedoms are removed one by one.

It's time to be armed with the information that will help us stand and speak out with conviction. This book was written to help you do just that!


Review
Credit where it's due: Cynthia Dunbar was smart enough to publish her loopy rant in such mind-numbing legalese, it's difficult to pull any single quote that really indicts her as the kooky theocrat she is. (Her cohort on the TX State Board of Education, Don McLeroy, is far more entertaining.) She does call public education a "subtly deceptive tool of perversion," and she equates sending children to public schools to, "throwing them into the enemy's flames even as the children of Israel threw their children to Moloch." And, despite the subtitle, much of her scorn is reserved not just for the Left but for moderates, who are "on the side of evil, and their fate is sure." But the book is really one long monument to far-far-right delusions and must be suffered through in its entirety to get the full effect.

One of the more breathtakingly stupid passages claims liberals are evil because they are on the "left", and conservatives are righteous because they are on the "right". It's just that simple--Ecclesiastes told her so.

The book is blessedly short but still not worth the read. I suspect even religious conservatives will be put off by Dunbar's self-righteousness. But everyone should take note: the TX State Board of Education on which Dunbar sits sets standards that influence textbooks throughout the US. So even though you don't have to read Dunbar's nonsensical ideas, your children might. Dunbar is up for re-election in 2010.

------------------------------------------------------------------------

In her book, One Nation Under God (Onward, 2008), Dunbar (on p. 100) calls public education a “subtly deceptive tool of perversion.” She charges that the establishment of public schools is unconstitutional and even “tyrannical” because it threatens the authority of families, granted by God through Scripture, to direct the instruction of their children (p. 103) Dunbar, who has home-schooled her children and sent them to private schools, bases that charge on her belief that “the underlying authority for our constitutional form of government stems directly from biblical precedents.” (p. xv)

"Even if you question the accuracy of my constitutional interpretation as proof of the inappropriateness of a state-created, tax-payer supported school system, still the Scriptures bear witness to such an institution’s lack of proper authority in the life of the Christian family,” Dunbar writes (p. 102).

Dunbar also offers a hint about why she helps govern a public education system she loathes.

“This battle for our nation’s children and who will control their education and training is crucial to our success for reclaiming our nation,” Dunbar writes (p. 100), after earlier condemning what she calls a secular society that resembles Nazi Germany just before the Holocaust. Those at risk today are “the devout, Bible-believing Christians,” she writes (p. 2).

Dunbar argues that the Founders created “an emphatically Christian government” (p. 18) and believed government should be guided by a “biblical litmus test.” (p. 47) She also endorses a “belief system” that would “require that any person desiring to govern have a sincere knowledge and appreciation for the Word of God in order to rightly govern.” (p. 17)

Dunbar sees public schools as a threat to that belief system: “Our children are, after all, our best and greatest assets, and we are throwing them into the enemy’s flames even as the children of Israel threw their children to Moloch.” (p. 101)
AustinChronicle.com

 

[Samson]

I dare say you are a prime example of gross ignorance. Her views represent radical right Christians, a.k.a. Pat Robertson and Jerry Falwell. I don't care what you are for, if you are not against someone who espouses dogma that half the people in this country are evil communists and an enemy having influence over what our children learn, you are beyond ignorant...you are obtuse

What do you call someone who accuses another of "espousing dogma that half the people in this country are evil communists and an enemy having influence over what our children learn" without offering a shread of evidence that Dunbar ever said anything of the sort?

It is your intolerance and prejudice that gives ammunition to the "radical right."

I suspect you are a Limbaugh Shill.

You were too busy mind-numbingly researching someone unimportant...an op-ed author...


[ame="http://www.amazon.com/Nation-Under-Cynthia-Noland-Dunbar/dp/0979322723"]"One Nation Under God"[/ame]

By Cynthia Dunbar

From the Back Cover
We Must Not Stand Silent...while the foundational truths that made this nation great are being eroded. America is in danger from elements within and outside her borders that undermine the principles, beliefs and core truths upon which she was founded. Political pundits, liberals and social interest groups are trying to skew our constitutional ground rules. We need a compass to guide us back to the path of destiny and greatness. America needs people who know the truth, speak the truth and stand for the truth. Unfortunately, many of us are simply not aware of the clear constitutional and biblical principles that initiated and governed the course of this union. So we sit quietly and idly by as our liberties and freedoms are removed one by one.

It's time to be armed with the information that will help us stand and speak out with conviction. This book was written to help you do just that!


Review
Credit where it's due: Cynthia Dunbar was smart enough to publish her loopy rant in such mind-numbing legalese, it's difficult to pull any single quote that really indicts her as the kooky theocrat she is. (Her cohort on the TX State Board of Education, Don McLeroy, is far more entertaining.) She does call public education a "subtly deceptive tool of perversion," and she equates sending children to public schools to, "throwing them into the enemy's flames even as the children of Israel threw their children to Moloch." And, despite the subtitle, much of her scorn is reserved not just for the Left but for moderates, who are "on the side of evil, and their fate is sure." But the book is really one long monument to far-far-right delusions and must be suffered through in its entirety to get the full effect.

One of the more breathtakingly stupid passages claims liberals are evil because they are on the "left", and conservatives are righteous because they are on the "right". It's just that simple--Ecclesiastes told her so.

The book is blessedly short but still not worth the read. I suspect even religious conservatives will be put off by Dunbar's self-righteousness. But everyone should take note: the TX State Board of Education on which Dunbar sits sets standards that influence textbooks throughout the US. So even though you don't have to read Dunbar's nonsensical ideas, your children might. Dunbar is up for re-election in 2010.

------------------------------------------------------------------------

In her book, One Nation Under God (Onward, 2008), Dunbar (on p. 100) calls public education a “subtly deceptive tool of perversion.” She charges that the establishment of public schools is unconstitutional and even “tyrannical” because it threatens the authority of families, granted by God through Scripture, to direct the instruction of their children (p. 103) Dunbar, who has home-schooled her children and sent them to private schools, bases that charge on her belief that “the underlying authority for our constitutional form of government stems directly from biblical precedents.” (p. xv)

"Even if you question the accuracy of my constitutional interpretation as proof of the inappropriateness of a state-created, tax-payer supported school system, still the Scriptures bear witness to such an institution’s lack of proper authority in the life of the Christian family,” Dunbar writes (p. 102).

Dunbar also offers a hint about why she helps govern a public education system she loathes.

“This battle for our nation’s children and who will control their education and training is crucial to our success for reclaiming our nation,” Dunbar writes (p. 100), after earlier condemning what she calls a secular society that resembles Nazi Germany just before the Holocaust. Those at risk today are “the devout, Bible-believing Christians,” she writes (p. 2).

Dunbar argues that the Founders created “an emphatically Christian government” (p. 18) and believed government should be guided by a “biblical litmus test.” (p. 47) She also endorses a “belief system” that would “require that any person desiring to govern have a sincere knowledge and appreciation for the Word of God in order to rightly govern.” (p. 17)

Dunbar sees public schools as a threat to that belief system: “Our children are, after all, our best and greatest assets, and we are throwing them into the enemy’s flames even as the children of Israel threw their children to Moloch.” (p. 101)
AustinChronicle.com

Impressive list of hearsay, ad hominum, and crappola.

You really need to stop filling your head with shit that other people tell you to believe that someone you've never read has written.

Nowhere is Dunbar quoted as saying: "half the people in this country are evil communists"

 

[Bfgrn]

What do you call someone who accuses another of "espousing dogma that half the people in this country are evil communists and an enemy having influence over what our children learn" without offering a shread of evidence that Dunbar ever said anything of the sort?

It is your intolerance and prejudice that gives ammunition to the "radical right."

I suspect you are a Limbaugh Shill.

You were too busy mind-numbingly researching someone unimportant...an op-ed author...


[ame="http://www.amazon.com/Nation-Under-Cynthia-Noland-Dunbar/dp/0979322723"]"One Nation Under God"[/ame]

By Cynthia Dunbar

From the Back Cover
We Must Not Stand Silent...while the foundational truths that made this nation great are being eroded. America is in danger from elements within and outside her borders that undermine the principles, beliefs and core truths upon which she was founded. Political pundits, liberals and social interest groups are trying to skew our constitutional ground rules. We need a compass to guide us back to the path of destiny and greatness. America needs people who know the truth, speak the truth and stand for the truth. Unfortunately, many of us are simply not aware of the clear constitutional and biblical principles that initiated and governed the course of this union. So we sit quietly and idly by as our liberties and freedoms are removed one by one.

It's time to be armed with the information that will help us stand and speak out with conviction. This book was written to help you do just that!


Review
Credit where it's due: Cynthia Dunbar was smart enough to publish her loopy rant in such mind-numbing legalese, it's difficult to pull any single quote that really indicts her as the kooky theocrat she is. (Her cohort on the TX State Board of Education, Don McLeroy, is far more entertaining.) She does call public education a "subtly deceptive tool of perversion," and she equates sending children to public schools to, "throwing them into the enemy's flames even as the children of Israel threw their children to Moloch." And, despite the subtitle, much of her scorn is reserved not just for the Left but for moderates, who are "on the side of evil, and their fate is sure." But the book is really one long monument to far-far-right delusions and must be suffered through in its entirety to get the full effect.

One of the more breathtakingly stupid passages claims liberals are evil because they are on the "left", and conservatives are righteous because they are on the "right". It's just that simple--Ecclesiastes told her so.

The book is blessedly short but still not worth the read. I suspect even religious conservatives will be put off by Dunbar's self-righteousness. But everyone should take note: the TX State Board of Education on which Dunbar sits sets standards that influence textbooks throughout the US. So even though you don't have to read Dunbar's nonsensical ideas, your children might. Dunbar is up for re-election in 2010.

------------------------------------------------------------------------

In her book, One Nation Under God (Onward, 2008), Dunbar (on p. 100) calls public education a “subtly deceptive tool of perversion.” She charges that the establishment of public schools is unconstitutional and even “tyrannical” because it threatens the authority of families, granted by God through Scripture, to direct the instruction of their children (p. 103) Dunbar, who has home-schooled her children and sent them to private schools, bases that charge on her belief that “the underlying authority for our constitutional form of government stems directly from biblical precedents.” (p. xv)

"Even if you question the accuracy of my constitutional interpretation as proof of the inappropriateness of a state-created, tax-payer supported school system, still the Scriptures bear witness to such an institution’s lack of proper authority in the life of the Christian family,” Dunbar writes (p. 102).

Dunbar also offers a hint about why she helps govern a public education system she loathes.

“This battle for our nation’s children and who will control their education and training is crucial to our success for reclaiming our nation,” Dunbar writes (p. 100), after earlier condemning what she calls a secular society that resembles Nazi Germany just before the Holocaust. Those at risk today are “the devout, Bible-believing Christians,” she writes (p. 2).

Dunbar argues that the Founders created “an emphatically Christian government” (p. 18) and believed government should be guided by a “biblical litmus test.” (p. 47) She also endorses a “belief system” that would “require that any person desiring to govern have a sincere knowledge and appreciation for the Word of God in order to rightly govern.” (p. 17)

Dunbar sees public schools as a threat to that belief system: “Our children are, after all, our best and greatest assets, and we are throwing them into the enemy’s flames even as the children of Israel threw their children to Moloch.” (p. 101)
AustinChronicle.com

Impressive list of hearsay, ad hominum, and crappola.

You really need to stop filling your head with shit that other people tell you to believe that someone you've never read has written.

Nowhere is Dunbar quoted as saying: "half the people in this country are evil communists"

WOW, a 'literal' moron...only direct quotes will penetrate your tiny little brain...

About half the people in America are liberal, and I was paraphrasing her beliefs...excuse me...

I posted excerpts from her book from 2 sources that read the book...the "quotation marks" designate direct quotes from her book...

Here is what is on the website I originally gave you...

About Me
I am also an author and have just released a new book entitled: "One Nation Under God". The book takes a clear look at how the left is erasing what made this nation great and how far removed we, as Americans, have come from understanding the principles and philosophies that made us who we are. It is not just the socialist-leaning left who are misinformed. Many, if not most, Americans fail to realize the socialistic, and even communistic, world views they possess because these views have become so inculcated into every area of our society, we no longer recognize them.

"One Nation Under God"
As conservative Americans, we must defend our nation not just solely on our religious belief but protect her historical and eternal identity. America is under attack by a new social and ideological war through humanistic special interest groups that have emerged on our soil.

One Nation Under God is an undeniable tool in the fight against the spiritual and political propaganda dispensed through media and special interest groups. Throughout the book, Cynthia Dunbar explains with the passion of a preacher and the clarity of an attorney how knowing and embracing our true identity is vital to our ability to defend Americas true purpose and vision.

One Nation Under God provides a clear vision and pushes a strategic plan to re-examine our founding principles and develop a new appreciation for law and civil society. Through her book and the Restor-a-Nation campaign, Conservatives throughout the States can begin to restore true hope by the following:

Recognize liberal propaganda
Rally with others in educating the community
Redefine Americas identity, purpose, and vision
Reclaim by translating and implementing those standards of law into civil society

This four-point strategy outlined for Americans within One Nation Under God provides the truth and clarity needed to return us to One Nation Under God. We can't play the game and win if we don't know how to expose their attack.”

 

[Samson]

You were too busy mind-numbingly researching someone unimportant...an op-ed author...


"One Nation Under God"

By Cynthia Dunbar

From the Back Cover
We Must Not Stand Silent...while the foundational truths that made this nation great are being eroded. America is in danger from elements within and outside her borders that undermine the principles, beliefs and core truths upon which she was founded. Political pundits, liberals and social interest groups are trying to skew our constitutional ground rules. We need a compass to guide us back to the path of destiny and greatness. America needs people who know the truth, speak the truth and stand for the truth. Unfortunately, many of us are simply not aware of the clear constitutional and biblical principles that initiated and governed the course of this union. So we sit quietly and idly by as our liberties and freedoms are removed one by one.

It's time to be armed with the information that will help us stand and speak out with conviction. This book was written to help you do just that!


Review
Credit where it's due: Cynthia Dunbar was smart enough to publish her loopy rant in such mind-numbing legalese, it's difficult to pull any single quote that really indicts her as the kooky theocrat she is. (Her cohort on the TX State Board of Education, Don McLeroy, is far more entertaining.) She does call public education a "subtly deceptive tool of perversion," and she equates sending children to public schools to, "throwing them into the enemy's flames even as the children of Israel threw their children to Moloch." And, despite the subtitle, much of her scorn is reserved not just for the Left but for moderates, who are "on the side of evil, and their fate is sure." But the book is really one long monument to far-far-right delusions and must be suffered through in its entirety to get the full effect.

One of the more breathtakingly stupid passages claims liberals are evil because they are on the "left", and conservatives are righteous because they are on the "right". It's just that simple--Ecclesiastes told her so.

The book is blessedly short but still not worth the read. I suspect even religious conservatives will be put off by Dunbar's self-righteousness. But everyone should take note: the TX State Board of Education on which Dunbar sits sets standards that influence textbooks throughout the US. So even though you don't have to read Dunbar's nonsensical ideas, your children might. Dunbar is up for re-election in 2010.

------------------------------------------------------------------------

In her book, One Nation Under God (Onward, 2008), Dunbar (on p. 100) calls public education a “subtly deceptive tool of perversion.” She charges that the establishment of public schools is unconstitutional and even “tyrannical” because it threatens the authority of families, granted by God through Scripture, to direct the instruction of their children (p. 103) Dunbar, who has home-schooled her children and sent them to private schools, bases that charge on her belief that “the underlying authority for our constitutional form of government stems directly from biblical precedents.” (p. xv)

"Even if you question the accuracy of my constitutional interpretation as proof of the inappropriateness of a state-created, tax-payer supported school system, still the Scriptures bear witness to such an institution’s lack of proper authority in the life of the Christian family,” Dunbar writes (p. 102).

Dunbar also offers a hint about why she helps govern a public education system she loathes.

“This battle for our nation’s children and who will control their education and training is crucial to our success for reclaiming our nation,” Dunbar writes (p. 100), after earlier condemning what she calls a secular society that resembles Nazi Germany just before the Holocaust. Those at risk today are “the devout, Bible-believing Christians,” she writes (p. 2).

Dunbar argues that the Founders created “an emphatically Christian government” (p. 18) and believed government should be guided by a “biblical litmus test.” (p. 47) She also endorses a “belief system” that would “require that any person desiring to govern have a sincere knowledge and appreciation for the Word of God in order to rightly govern.” (p. 17)

Dunbar sees public schools as a threat to that belief system: “Our children are, after all, our best and greatest assets, and we are throwing them into the enemy’s flames even as the children of Israel threw their children to Moloch.” (p. 101)
AustinChronicle.com

Impressive list of hearsay, ad hominum, and crappola.

You really need to stop filling your head with shit that other people tell you to believe that someone you've never read has written.

Nowhere is Dunbar quoted as saying: "half the people in this country are evil communists"

WOW, a 'literal' moron...only direct quotes will penetrate your tiny little brain...

About half the people in America are liberal, and I was paraphrasing her beliefs...excuse me...

I posted excerpts from her book from 2 sources that read the book...the "quotation marks" designate direct quotes from her book...

Here is what is on the website I originally gave you...

About Me
1. how the left is erasing what made this nation great
2. socialistic, and even communistic, world views they possess
3. America is under attack by a new social and ideological war through humanistic special interest groups that have emerged on our soil.
4. We can't play the game and win if we don't know how to expose their attack.”

About half the people in the USA are liberal???

Hmmmmm.......ok, I suppose I'll take your word on that, although I'd put it more at 25%

Anyway, I never said Dunbar wasn't conservative, but I don't think writing a book that parrots Limbaugh is "Extreme." There are LOTS of Lemmings of Limbaugh.

 

[Bfgrn]

Impressive list of hearsay, ad hominum, and crappola.

You really need to stop filling your head with shit that other people tell you to believe that someone you've never read has written.

Nowhere is Dunbar quoted as saying: "half the people in this country are evil communists"

WOW, a 'literal' moron...only direct quotes will penetrate your tiny little brain...

About half the people in America are liberal, and I was paraphrasing her beliefs...excuse me...

I posted excerpts from her book from 2 sources that read the book...the "quotation marks" designate direct quotes from her book...

Here is what is on the website I originally gave you...

About Me
1. how the left is erasing what made this nation great
2. socialistic, and even communistic, world views they possess
3. America is under attack by a new social and ideological war through humanistic special interest groups that have emerged on our soil.
4. We can't play the game and win if we don't know how to expose their attack.”

About half the people in the USA are liberal???

Hmmmmm.......ok, I suppose I'll take your word on that, although I'd put it more at 25%

Anyway, I never said Dunbar wasn't conservative, but I don't think writing a book that parrots Limbaugh is "Extreme." There are LOTS of Lemmings of Limbaugh.

You're right about liberals at 25% ...I was thinking Democrats/Republicans.

Limbaugh is a bag of assholes, but he doesn't have any power to set policies that effect future generations. Someone with as polarized a view as Dunbar from the right OR the left should not be in that position. It's important children are exposed to knowledge, not indoctrination.

The separation of Church and State has been preserved since our founding..for good reason.

If you don't believe the Christian right are a threat, I suggest you read what Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Chris Hedges has to say...

Chris Hedges Article


Equality, rightly understood as our founding fathers understood it, leads to liberty and to the emancipation of creative differences; wrongly understood, as it has been so tragically in our time, it leads first to conformity and then to despotism.
Barry Goldwater (R) – Late Senator & Father of the Conservative movement

 

[Samson]

WOW, a 'literal' moron...only direct quotes will penetrate your tiny little brain...

About half the people in America are liberal, and I was paraphrasing her beliefs...excuse me...

I posted excerpts from her book from 2 sources that read the book...the "quotation marks" designate direct quotes from her book...

Here is what is on the website I originally gave you...

About Me
1. how the left is erasing what made this nation great
2. socialistic, and even communistic, world views they possess
3. America is under attack by a new social and ideological war through humanistic special interest groups that have emerged on our soil.
4. We can't play the game and win if we don't know how to expose their attack.”

About half the people in the USA are liberal???

Hmmmmm.......ok, I suppose I'll take your word on that, although I'd put it more at 25%

Anyway, I never said Dunbar wasn't conservative, but I don't think writing a book that parrots Limbaugh is "Extreme." There are LOTS of Lemmings of Limbaugh.

You're right about liberals at 25% ...I was thinking Democrats/Republicans.

Limbaugh is a bag of assholes, but he doesn't have any power to set policies that effect future generations. Someone with as polarized a view as Dunbar from the right OR the left should not be in that position. It's important children are exposed to knowledge, not indoctrination.

The separation of Church and State has been preserved since our founding..for good reason.

If you don't believe the Christian right are a threat, I suggest you read what Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Chris Hedges has to say...

Chris Hedges Article

I absolutely agree that the "Christian Right" could be a threat.

And the purpose for having a board of 15 people is so different POV can be voiced. There is no evidence that Dunbar's POV is more than 1/15. But what I find astonishing is the willingness of pundants to take Dunbar's POV and "paint" the entire Text-book Committee the same color. They do themselves a disservice because it is alarmist: e.g. The Boy That Cried Wolf.

Eventually, there will be a REAL threat from the Christian Right, and it will be ignored by an increasingly apathetic public as one more hysterical reaction.

 

[Foxfyre]

PRINCETON, NJ -- Thus far in 2009, 40% of Americans interviewed in national Gallup Poll surveys describe their political views as conservative, 35% as moderate, and 21% as liberal. This represents a slight increase for conservatism in the U.S. since 2008, returning it to a level last seen in 2004. The 21% calling themselves liberal is in line with findings throughout this decade, but is up from the 1990s. . . . .

. . . .These annual figures are based on multiple national Gallup surveys conducted each year, in some cases encompassing more than 40,000 interviews. The 2009 data are based on 10 separate surveys conducted from January through May. Thus, the margins of error around each year's figures are quite small, and changes of only two percentage points are statistically significant.

To measure political ideology, Gallup asks Americans to say whether their political views are very conservative, conservative, moderate, liberal, or very liberal. As has been the case each year since 1992, very few Americans define themselves at the extremes of the political spectrum. Just 9% call themselves "very conservative" and 5% "very liberal." The vast majority of self-described liberals and conservatives identify with the unmodified form of their chosen label. . . .
?Conservatives? Are Single-Largest Ideological Group

Now with demographics like these, how can one say that if we go by personal ideology, HALF the stuff in our text books should be the liberal point of view?

This country has never had a high percentage of liberals, let alone half the population being liberal. To be accurate, our textbooks must show a history and culture that is moderate or tilts right of center.

I hope the Texas conservatives stick to their guns.

 

[Bfgrn]

About half the people in the USA are liberal???

Hmmmmm.......ok, I suppose I'll take your word on that, although I'd put it more at 25%

Anyway, I never said Dunbar wasn't conservative, but I don't think writing a book that parrots Limbaugh is "Extreme." There are LOTS of Lemmings of Limbaugh.

You're right about liberals at 25% ...I was thinking Democrats/Republicans.

Limbaugh is a bag of assholes, but he doesn't have any power to set policies that effect future generations. Someone with as polarized a view as Dunbar from the right OR the left should not be in that position. It's important children are exposed to knowledge, not indoctrination.

The separation of Church and State has been preserved since our founding..for good reason.

If you don't believe the Christian right are a threat, I suggest you read what Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Chris Hedges has to say...

Chris Hedges Article

I absolutely agree that the "Christian Right" could be a threat.

And the purpose for having a board of 15 people is so different POV can be voiced. There is no evidence that Dunbar's POV is more than 1/15. But what I find astonishing is the willingness of pundants to take Dunbar's POV and "paint" the entire Text-book Committee the same color. They do themselves a disservice because it is alarmist: e.g. The Boy That Cried Wolf.

Eventually, there will be a REAL threat from the Christian Right, and it will be ignored by an increasingly apathetic public as one more hysterical reaction.

You are not keeping up with the news...

March 12, 2010
Texas Conservatives Win Curriculum Change
By JAMES C. McKINLEY Jr.

AUSTIN, Tex. — After three days of turbulent meetings, the Texas Board of Education on Friday approved a social studies curriculum that will put a conservative stamp on history and economics textbooks, stressing the superiority of American capitalism, questioning the Founding Fathers’ commitment to a purely secular government and presenting Republican political philosophies in a more positive light.

The vote was 10 to 5 along party lines, with all the Republicans on the board voting for it.

The board, whose members are elected, has influence beyond Texas because the state is one of the largest buyers of textbooks. In the digital age, however, that influence has diminished as technological advances have made it possible for publishers to tailor books to individual states.

In recent years, board members have been locked in an ideological battle between a bloc of conservatives who question Darwin’s theory of evolution and believe the Founding Fathers were guided by Christian principles, and a handful of Democrats and moderate Republicans who have fought to preserve the teaching of Darwinism and the separation of church and state.

Since January, Republicans on the board have passed more than 100 amendments to the 120-page curriculum standards affecting history, sociology and economics courses from elementary to high school. The standards were proposed by a panel of teachers.


I suggest you check out Chris Hedges' article. Besides a Pulitzer Prize, Chris has a master’s degree in theology from Harvard University and is the son of a Presbyterian minister. The article was written in 2004. Read the section DOMINIONISTS AND RECONSTRUCTIONISTS, it mentions Regent University (Dunbar)

Pat Robertson, who changed the name of his university to Regent University, says he is training his students to rule when the Christian regents take power, part of the reign leading to the return of Christ. Robertson resigned as the head of the Christian Coalition when Bush took office, a sign many took to signal the ascendancy of the first regent. This battle is not rhetorical but one that followers are told will ultimately involve violence. And the enemy is clearly defined and marked for destruction.

"Secular Humanists," the popular Christian Right theologian Francis Schaeffer wrote in one of numerous diatribes, "are the greatest threat to Christianity the world has ever known."

 

[Samson]

You're right about liberals at 25% ...I was thinking Democrats/Republicans.

Limbaugh is a bag of assholes, but he doesn't have any power to set policies that effect future generations. Someone with as polarized a view as Dunbar from the right OR the left should not be in that position. It's important children are exposed to knowledge, not indoctrination.

The separation of Church and State has been preserved since our founding..for good reason.

If you don't believe the Christian right are a threat, I suggest you read what Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Chris Hedges has to say...

Chris Hedges Article

I absolutely agree that the "Christian Right" could be a threat.

And the purpose for having a board of 15 people is so different POV can be voiced. There is no evidence that Dunbar's POV is more than 1/15. But what I find astonishing is the willingness of pundants to take Dunbar's POV and "paint" the entire Text-book Committee the same color. They do themselves a disservice because it is alarmist: e.g. The Boy That Cried Wolf.

Eventually, there will be a REAL threat from the Christian Right, and it will be ignored by an increasingly apathetic public as one more hysterical reaction.

You are not keeping up with the news...

March 12, 2010
Texas Conservatives Win Curriculum Change
By JAMES C. McKINLEY Jr.

AUSTIN, Tex. — After three days of turbulent meetings, the Texas Board of Education on Friday approved a social studies curriculum that will put a conservative stamp on history and economics textbooks, stressing the superiority of American capitalism, questioning the Founding Fathers’ commitment to a purely secular government and presenting Republican political philosophies in a more positive light.

The vote was 10 to 5 along party lines, with all the Republicans on the board voting for it.

The board, whose members are elected, has influence beyond Texas because the state is one of the largest buyers of textbooks. In the digital age, however, that influence has diminished as technological advances have made it possible for publishers to tailor books to individual states.

In recent years, board members have been locked in an ideological battle between a bloc of conservatives who question Darwin’s theory of evolution and believe the Founding Fathers were guided by Christian principles, and a handful of Democrats and moderate Republicans who have fought to preserve the teaching of Darwinism and the separation of church and state.

Since January, Republicans on the board have passed more than 100 amendments to the 120-page curriculum standards affecting history, sociology and economics courses from elementary to high school. The standards were proposed by a panel of teachers.


I suggest you check out Chris Hedges' article. Besides a Pulitzer Prize, Chris has a master’s degree in theology from Harvard University and is the son of a Presbyterian minister. The article was written in 2004. Read the section DOMINIONISTS AND RECONSTRUCTIONISTS, it mentions Regent University (Dunbar)

Pat Robertson, who changed the name of his university to Regent University, says he is training his students to rule when the Christian regents take power, part of the reign leading to the return of Christ. Robertson resigned as the head of the Christian Coalition when Bush took office, a sign many took to signal the ascendancy of the first regent. This battle is not rhetorical but one that followers are told will ultimately involve violence. And the enemy is clearly defined and marked for destruction.

"Secular Humanists," the popular Christian Right theologian Francis Schaeffer wrote in one of numerous diatribes, "are the greatest threat to Christianity the world has ever known."

OK, so a conservative ELECTED board members in a state that is NOT an Economic Basket Case (contrast CA and NY) chooses a conservative curriculum for the conservative state.

This is a State's Right.

CA and NY can certainly choose their own text, and do it relatively economically, based on your article (which, btw, thanks for posting):

The board, whose members are elected, has influence beyond Texas because the state is one of the largest buyers of textbooks. In the digital age, however, that influence has diminished as technological advances have made it possible for publishers to tailor books to individual states.

The sky is not falling.

 

[Bfgrn]

I absolutely agree that the "Christian Right" could be a threat.

And the purpose for having a board of 15 people is so different POV can be voiced. There is no evidence that Dunbar's POV is more than 1/15. But what I find astonishing is the willingness of pundants to take Dunbar's POV and "paint" the entire Text-book Committee the same color. They do themselves a disservice because it is alarmist: e.g. The Boy That Cried Wolf.

Eventually, there will be a REAL threat from the Christian Right, and it will be ignored by an increasingly apathetic public as one more hysterical reaction.

You are not keeping up with the news...

March 12, 2010
Texas Conservatives Win Curriculum Change
By JAMES C. McKINLEY Jr.

AUSTIN, Tex. — After three days of turbulent meetings, the Texas Board of Education on Friday approved a social studies curriculum that will put a conservative stamp on history and economics textbooks, stressing the superiority of American capitalism, questioning the Founding Fathers’ commitment to a purely secular government and presenting Republican political philosophies in a more positive light.

The vote was 10 to 5 along party lines, with all the Republicans on the board voting for it.

The board, whose members are elected, has influence beyond Texas because the state is one of the largest buyers of textbooks. In the digital age, however, that influence has diminished as technological advances have made it possible for publishers to tailor books to individual states.

In recent years, board members have been locked in an ideological battle between a bloc of conservatives who question Darwin’s theory of evolution and believe the Founding Fathers were guided by Christian principles, and a handful of Democrats and moderate Republicans who have fought to preserve the teaching of Darwinism and the separation of church and state.

Since January, Republicans on the board have passed more than 100 amendments to the 120-page curriculum standards affecting history, sociology and economics courses from elementary to high school. The standards were proposed by a panel of teachers.


I suggest you check out Chris Hedges' article. Besides a Pulitzer Prize, Chris has a master’s degree in theology from Harvard University and is the son of a Presbyterian minister. The article was written in 2004. Read the section DOMINIONISTS AND RECONSTRUCTIONISTS, it mentions Regent University (Dunbar)

Pat Robertson, who changed the name of his university to Regent University, says he is training his students to rule when the Christian regents take power, part of the reign leading to the return of Christ. Robertson resigned as the head of the Christian Coalition when Bush took office, a sign many took to signal the ascendancy of the first regent. This battle is not rhetorical but one that followers are told will ultimately involve violence. And the enemy is clearly defined and marked for destruction.

"Secular Humanists," the popular Christian Right theologian Francis Schaeffer wrote in one of numerous diatribes, "are the greatest threat to Christianity the world has ever known."

OK, so a conservative ELECTED board members in a state that is NOT an Economic Basket Case (contrast CA and NY) chooses a conservative curriculum for the conservative state.

This is a State's Right.

CA and NY can certainly choose their own text, and do it relatively economically, based on your article (which, btw, thanks for posting):

The board, whose members are elected, has influence beyond Texas because the state is one of the largest buyers of textbooks. In the digital age, however, that influence has diminished as technological advances have made it possible for publishers to tailor books to individual states.

The sky is not falling.

Well...let's address a few things you said...

Eventually, there will be a REAL threat from the Christian Right, and it will be ignored by an increasingly apathetic public as one more hysterical reaction.

The sky is not falling.

Do you believe in skies falling? As in everything in life, there are few sudden epiphanies. The sky doesn't just fall, first clouds roll in, it gets darker, colder, stormy and the epiphany occurs when it is too late.

You 'say' 'Eventually, there will be a REAL threat from the Christian Right, and it will be ignored...'

Well Sampson...that's just what YOU did...

So I should take solace that only one of the 50 states will be indoctrinating children...how comforting...

Whether you call yourself liberal, conservative or anywhere in between, we were all taught as a child, NOT the difference between right and left, but the difference between right and wrong...

ANY school textbook that rewrites the truth and ignores or dismisses the vast contribution of Thomas Jefferson to our republic is WRONG...

The sky is not falling, it's just a little overcast today...so go about your business in bliss