Think airline pilots are all a bunch of jerks?

Think Again.

...Because we don’t just fly jets–we fly people. That, and the occasional special bear.

Read it. It might just make your day.

###

H/T EBM

Bible thumpers in the news

Christians forever insist upon the protection of their rights, while seemingly disregarding those of everyone else.

"Questioned by Engle, he said he gave tracts to “unsaved children” without asking their parents’ permission. 'My intention is to get them saved and to get them discipled,' Garisto said."

A United Airlines flight from Denver has landed safely in Washington, D.C., after its crew reported an emergency due to a passenger reportedly praying in an aisle.

Gotta wonder how much that took out of the military budget... and who will pay for it.

"The Boeing 757 jet had a military escort into Dulles, after the emergency declaration."

Let me see... where was it I read that line about state sponsored religions?

"...the borough and council have violated Tearpock-Martini’s civil rights by forcing her to support a religion and denying her the right to protest the actions of government. She seeks unspecified damages for each of five counts, including violation of her right to due process and freedom of speech."

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Teaching pseudo-science drives scientists away

Once again we see it in the news… evangelical xians attempting to foment their dominionistic dreams by foisting their myths on the children. The same thing keeps happening over and again… in Alabama, Georgia, Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, Missouri, Montana, New Hampshire, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Washington, West Virginia, and several other states. These are just those few that could be found with a quick key word search of the internet.

There is the ongoing battle for control of education here in Texas, and in June of 2001 the Republican led U.S. Senate tried to pass an anti-evolution measure as their first bill out of the box.

This one, like many of these unwise laws, will wind up in court. Knowing the myth peddlers as we do we can expect them to appeal any losses all the way to SCOTUS. The protagonist in this case is a 19-year-old former student from Baton rouge, and he will likely win his case. American youth will be the ones leading this country back from the fringes of a second dark age. Kids will be our vaccine against ignorance.

At the hearing, Zack Kopplin, a first-year student at Rice University who launched the repeal effort while a senior at Baton Rouge Magnet High School, told the committee that the law was hurting Louisiana's reputation. Kevin Carman, the dean of Louisiana State University's Department of Science, confirmed it, saying that two scientists he was trying to recruit to the university cited the law as their reason not to accept and one scientist already at LSU departed because of worries about the quality of his children's science education. "Teaching pseudo-science drives scientists away," Carman said.

Probably the leading, grass roots youth organizations engaged in the effort to keep pseudo-science and religious mumbo-jumbo out of public education is the Secular Students Alliance. If you’re a secular parent wishing to expose your children to positive role models, please check this group out. If you’re feeling philanthropic and looking for somewhere to donate a few bucks, the SSA will provide lasting reward.

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Tea Bag Obfuscation

"The late comedian George Carlin used to say America was built on a double standard: 'This country was founded by slave owners who wanted to be free.”

So observes Wall Street Journal writer Sam Favate in his piece Tennessee Tea Party Wants Schools to Be Nicer to Founding Fathers.

“Neglect and outright ill will have distorted the teaching of the history and character of the United States. We seek to compel the teaching of students in Tennessee the truth regarding the history of our nation and the nature of its government.”

So say the right wing activists pushing this change in textbook standards. Opponents to this silly revision correctly observe that this is simply an effort to veil the truth. In other words... another wingnut effort to indoctrinate the children with revisionist history.

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Exercising a Heckler's Veto...

...or the fear of loss of power?

"...do we want them to proceed ploddingly from one standardized test to the next, concerned only with dining on the reheated and prefabricated meals that schools put before them, never dabbling in anything that might offend or cause controversy or headlines? Of course, young people who explore and learn and engage and write on their own are independent in ways that might not please people whose power depends upon them acting like junior stenographers."

Ken makes some really fine observations in this story of a bright, skeptical 17-year-old, his treatment by some small-minded individuals, poor decisions by school administrators, and a society's loss of direction.

Pop on over to Popehat to read the rest of the article.

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oh... my... gawd!

Reason #4,929 why no rational human being should ever vote for Rick "Guv. Goodhair" Perry.

Consider if you will that these words are spoken by a man who has become a millionaire over two decades of "public service," and currently lives in a rented mansion costing the bankrupt citizens of his state $6,000 just for rent. The roughly $4,000 monthly utility bills, upkeep for the heated pool, Neiman Marcus custom window coverings, subscription to Wine Monthly, and $1,000 emergency repair for the filtered ice machine are all extra.

...and here are a few of the previous 4,928 reasons not to vote for this charlatan.

He was like the invisible man, Dallas Morning News

Teacher Retirement Fund scandal, leaked memo

The Texas Youth Commission coverup, The Texas Observer, Hidden in Plain Sight

Selling State Government, or how Goodhair uses the "Emerging Technology Fund" as bait to lure political contributions...the Burn Orange Report

The list goes ON, and ON and ON, and ON, and ON and ON.

###

H/T Juanita

Education in Texas: A Fairy Tale

Quote from Texas Governor Rick Perry, from a recent interview in the San Angelo Standard Times.

"I am a firm believer in intelligent design as a matter of faith and intellect, and I believe it should be presented in schools alongside the theories of evolution. The State Board of Education has been charged with the task of adopting curriculum requirements for Texas public schools and recently adopted guidelines that call for the examination of all sides of a scientific theory, which will encourage critical thinking in our students, an essential learning skill."

H/T

This is not conservatism. Neither Dwight Eisenhower, Barry Goldwater, nor even Ronald Reagan or Gerald Ford would recognize what the Grand Old Party has become. This is radical extremism cloaked in Republican clothing, practicing scientific denialism and historical revisionism on a grand scale, and this is the reason the Republican party has lost me... probably for good.

Teach your parents well

A week ago or so, in one of our trademark rambling, scatter-shooting conversations, my good friend J suddenly thought of the lyrics to one of the lesser-known show songs of the 50’s. J is a few years older than me, and has an amazing memory for such trivia.

The show was South Pacific, the 1958 romantic comedy staring Mitzi Gaynor. South Pacific gave us several memorable tunes, but this particular ditty didn't catch on. Considering the atmosphere of the day, that is unsurprising. Until J brought it up, I had never heard of it.

You’ve got to be taught to hate and fear
You’ve got to be taught from year to year
It’s got to be drummed in your dear little ear
You’ve got to be carefully taught

You’ve got to be taught to be afraid
Of people whose eyes are oddly made
And people whose skin is a different shade
You’ve got to be carefully taught

You’ve got to be taught before it’s too late
Before you are six or seven or eight,
To hate all the people your relatives hate
You’ve got to be carefully taught
You’ve got to be carefully taught

Amazingly true, isn’t it? And again, it makes me think of the nutty, religious right members of the Texas State Board of Education, and that group’s efforts to skew the curriculum to their dominionist ends. South Pacific. Lost in time but remembered by my very wise friend. Here is one of the official trailers from the original film version of South Pacific. Note all the familiar songs, but not this particular tune.




UPDATE: The Misfit found a You Tube of the song.




Thanks, Misfit.
~~

Texas Governor's Race

Bill White, the Democrat challenging incumbent Texas Governor Rick Perry, has found a sore spot to pick.

It’s almost May, which means that the Texas State Board of Education (SBOE) is near to finalizing the laughable social studies curriculum revision for Texas public schools.  Just about everybody has weighed in on this potential debacle, and now Bill White is leveling his guns. Rick Perry, you see, appointed the clown leading this circus.

White was in Austin Saturday speaking to teachers at the Association of Texas Professional Educators convention. Speaking broadly on some of the education challenges facing Texas, White told a packed room what he plans to do to make sure students are better prepared to enter the workforce. He also talked about what he calls a flawed testing system, challenges with the student-to-teacher ratio and how many Texans are being priced out of higher education.

Pointing at the state’s high dropout rate, White said "I'll be active in leadership, in bringing kids back to school. There's many strategies to do it, not just one solution. We need to start early with early childhood educations that work, prepare young people for the classroom. They've proved to be a high return on investment."

The main focus of the talk, however, took aim at recent amendments the State Board of Education made to social studies curriculum standards; amendments written by the overwhelmingly right wing and creationist members of the board.

In a 10-5 vote on March 12, the SBOE gave preliminary approval to the new standards, even though they were opposed by leading experts in the field and by reasonable people everywhere. They are changes dictated by politics and ideology rather than truth or educational interests.

Speaking to this, White said that a line needs to be drawn between what politicians want, and those who make front-line decisions on education. "The amendment process injected politics into our school books and classrooms," White has said, and that was "a step in the wrong direction."

White called on Gov. Rick Perry to urge the SBOE chair to send the amendments back to the original curriculum review teams, a move already laughed off by Perry.

White wants to be sure Texans are well equipped to enter the workforce, something that will be crippled if our educational standards are less than world class. Because Texas is one of the largest purchasers of textbooks nationally, the curriculum changes could resonate across the country. The debate has already garnered national attention with other states already making moves to limit the damage.

White called on Perry today to ask lame duck SBOE chair McLeroy to delay the vote until newly elected board members are in office. This would be a wise and reasonable move, which is exactly why Perry will likely reject it.

Some of the flat-earthers on the board were defeated in recent primary elections, and one has voluntarily decided against seeking reelection. Delaying the vote until a new board is seated would likely cause the amendments to fail. White recognizes this, and likely so does Perry.

"Texas voters have voted against those who are extreme and hyper-political," said White campaign spokesperson Katy Bacon. "If Rick Perry won't show some leadership about the process, he should at least respect Texans who've said they don't want the current, controversial SBOE making decisions about their children's future."

It isn’t just the Democratic challenger who recognizes McLeroy for the nutjob he is.  McLeroy has engaged in such extreme antics that the Texas Senate refused to confirm him in 2009, the second time Perry appointed him, and he was defeated in the spring primary election. 


This isn’t a new windmill for White. Nearly a month ago he called on Perry to ask McLeroy to send amendments back to the original curriculum review teams. Perry responded, saying of the SBOE that he was not going to "try to outsmart them."

Think about that one for a moment…

Since White started making his comments about having the revised standards sent back to expert review teams, the Texas Council for the Social Studies and the Texas Social Studies Supervisors Association have weighed in saying, "state education standards should be balanced and neutral and not reflective of political viewpoints."

The Chair of the SBOE is appointed by the Governor. The 15-member board is elected to represent districts. The Board currently is dominated by Christian, creationist extremists who were elected in part because of the gerrymandering back in 2001.

More importantly though, they were elected because the religious right targeted the SBOE as a priority, knowing that the way to increase their ranks was to be found in the creative revisionism of curriculum standard, such as we see now.

Much of this happened while reasonable Texans were not looking. It was a conspiracy, and we slept through it. We’re awake now and recognize that we have to put all our efforts into reversing the damage. The Governor’s race is important, and so is the 2012 election when the entire 15-member SBOE is up for election. We must stay focused on that.

~~

Revisionism refuted

On Wednesday, March 24th, The Texas Freedom Network posted a fine essay on their online publication, the TFN Insider, completely refuting the Texas State Board of Education’s ill advised efforts to repeal recorded history in favor of their Christian revisionism.

In case you’ve missed it, the TxSBOE has recently issued social studies curriculum standards in which they amputated Thomas Jefferson in favor of Thomas Aquinas, John Calvin and Sir. William Blackstone, on the grounds that the Jeffersonian argument for separation of church and state was “misplaced” in the standard.

The original standard read:

“explain the impact of Enlightenment ideas from John Locke, Thomas Hobbes, Voltaire, Charles de Montesquieu, Jean Jacques Rousseau, and Thomas Jefferson on political revolutions from 1750 to the present.”

That was before Christian conservative boardmember Cynthia Dunbar, of the Houston area, convinced the board to alter the standard just a bit.

“explain the impact of the writings of John Locke, Thomas Hobbes, Voltaire, Charles de Montesquieu, Jean Jacques Rousseau, Thomas Aquinas, John Calvin and Sir William Blackstone.”

The TxSBOE has sought no guidance from real historians, insisting instead that their own opinions are factual. TxSBOE Chairperson Gail Lowe, another Christian conservative from the Texas Hill Country town of Lampasas, said this about the earlier standard and the reason for the change: “This was inappropriate placement of Jefferson’s name. Jefferson was not himself an Enlightenment philosopher, although he was heavily influenced by the writings of these individuals.”

Jefferson not an enlightenment philosopher… hmmm…

So, since the Board was wont to seek the professional help they so desperately need, the TFN did it for them, posing the question of Jefferson’s enlightened status to an expert in colonial American history, SMU professor Dr. Edward Countryman. Dr. Countryman, who doesn’t have a dog in the hunt other than to care about truth in educational standards, completely strips the hide off of the revisionist’s argument.

Whether this intervention will manage to sway the Board or not is unknown, but perhaps the TFN’s efforts will help enlighten some of the more astute Texans on the efforts of a small, inbred tribe of cultists, and the damage revisionism will inevitably cause to our school kids. It does not matter if you are godded or godless, you should recognize the necessity of accuracy in curriculum standards.

Please read Dr. Countryman’s full reply, then please link to the TFN.

Help spread the word.

~~

Texas' education standards cause nationwide alarm

There are several news stories and opinion pieces published recently from around the country, indicating a real level of concern over the proposed, soon to become real, schoolbook standards in Texas.

Educators and legislators across the nation are baffled by the glaring inaccuracies proposed, and apparently accepted by the SBOE. The concern is such that one California legislator has proposed a bill that would keep those standards out of California schools.

Others are just laughing, saying Texans are proud of their ignorance.

The Texas State Board of Education is top-heavy with young-earth creationists who would rewrite history and science to fit an ignorant and myopic worldview.

Regardless of how it seems, not all Texans are that ignorant. These idiopathic zealots on the Board deny documented, verifiable evidence and force their own ignorance upon the rest of us.

Still, reasonable Texans seem powerless to stop the malignant devolvement from within, but there could be hope from outside the state. If enough school systems and state boards refused to buy books containing the Texas brand of revisionism, the publishers might be forced to print alternate versions of the same book to suit different markets. That would be costly.

Another possible solution would be for textbook publishers simply to reject the TxSBOE’s standards, simply refusing to print texts meeting the obviously inaccurate standards.

…but I guess we can figure that won’t happen.

So what do we do? As a first step we can all join Just Educate, a grassroots effort being pushed by the Texas Freedom Network with the goal of persuading politicians in Texas the future of our kids is being compromised by the politicized nature of SBOE actions, and to ensure that sound scholarship, not personal agenda, guides Texas public school curriculum.

Reasonable Texans are tired of our state being the laughingstock of the world.

~~

Santa Claus Will Take You to Hell???

This seasons greeting brought to you by the good folks of the Westboro Baptist Church, Topeka, Kansas.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1iX5QOUaQLQ

Teach your children well….

Children Will be Children...

"Although small children have taboos against stepping on ants because such actions are said to bring on rain, there has never seemed to be a taboo against pulling off the legs or wings of flies. Most children eventually outgrow this behavior. Those who do not either come to a bad end or become biologists"

To Know a Fly, Vincent Dethier, 1962, p. 2

In their early years children are knowledge junkies, questioning everything in their view, though exhibiting little skepticism. Most never learn to distinguish between inquisitiveness and credulity. Those who do either come to a bad end or become professional skeptics

Why People Believe Weird Things: Pseudoscience, Superstition, and Other Confusions of Our Time, Michael Shermer, 1997, W. H. Freeman.
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