Throwing Our Children Into the Enemy's Flames
In Cynthia Dunbar, the state of Texas has a witch-burning, rack-stretching seventeenth-century religious extremist sitting on its State Board of Education. Unfair Park reports that Dunbar has just published a book, "One Nation Under God: How the Left is Trying to Erase What Made Us Great." According to the Texas Freedom Network, in the book Dunbar calls public education a "tool of perversion." She says we are throwing our children "into the enemy's flames." She claims public schools are unconstitutional and a violation of Scripture. She wants to require any person desiring to govern to have a sincere appreciation for the Word of God.
Yikes!
Texas voters elected Dunbar to the State Board of Education. Charitably, let's hope that Texas voters didn't know what they were getting when they elected her in 2006. It's only a hope and maybe Texas voters are as extreme as Dunbar, but it's too depressing not to hold out hope. So, let's assume that she got elected because of voter apathy and ignorance. That a small percentage of dedicated religious extremists carried the day while most voters didn't know the State Board of Education or Cynthia Dunbar from Adam's off ox. Well, Cynthia Dunbar is making a name for herself now. Will it be enough to get her and her anti-American ideas tossed out in the next election in 2010? Let's hope so, for our children's sake.
P.S. Thanks to the Texas Freedom Network for their continuing effort to bring such travesties to the public's attention.
Give the Gift of Health for Christmas
Both the The Dallas Morning News Religion blog and the Opinion blog covered the story of Planned Parenthood of Indiana offering gift certificates for the holidays. Bruce Tomaso of the Religion blog posted the reaction of conservative agitator Michael Medved, but to Tomaso's credit, he later posted a second blog item with reader responses pointing out that Planned Parenthood offers physicals and other health services. That gift certificate could turn out to be the most valuable gift under the Christmas tree for some lucky recipient who has put off that checkup for far too long.
Michael Landauer, in the Opinion blog, showed his own attitude towards Planned Parenthood by calling the gift certificates "a deliberate and provocative attack on Christians." Newsflash to Landauer: it's not always about you. I Googled "health clinic gift certificates" and found numerous other examples of health clinics featuring gift certificates, including one that offered the sound advice that "good health is the greatest gift."
Paraphrasing a reader on the Religion blog, I offered this gift suggestion to Michael Landauer's friends: make a donation to Planned Parenthood in his name.
Landauer censored my comment, removing it from the blog. I guess I can scratch him off my Christmas list. Was I out of line? OK, I made him the butt of a joke, but what makes it a joke? It's that he's offended by Planned Parenthood and pap smears and pregnancy tests and contraception. Rather than seeing everyday health services as something people ought to be encouraged to utilize, he sees them as something offensive, or worse, sinful. That Landauer is so out of touch with the market Planned Parenthood serves is what is so funny and so sad at the same time. I guess it's the likes of Michael Landauer wielding his censor's pen that keeps me blogging here, beyond the reach of the easily offended.
Hutchison Is Running For Governor
It looks like Kay Bailey Hutchison's run for governor of Texas in 2010 is all but official. Rick Perry says, "Bring it on." Hutchison may or may not offer much in the way of real policy change. The Texas Republican Party platform has been leaning farther and farther right each time the party meets in state convention. I see Hutchison playing to those extremists to get the nomination rather than leading the charge to bring change to the GOP. But saying goodbye to Rick Perry would be cause for jubilation, so let's just say I remain cautiously optimistic about the coming battle royale in the Texas GOP.
On the other hand, the battle may turn out to be a flop. Wick Allison, in Frontburner, is reporting that GOP sources are telling him that Hutchison is already sewing up the big GOP donors and that Perry will drop out of the race after the upcoming legislative session.
Assuming then it's Kay, what's in store for Texas? Wayne Slater, in The Dallas Morning News Trailblazers blog, reports that Hutchison says her priorities are:
"low taxes, quality schools and universities, access to health care for our families, communities safe from crime and drugs, protection of private property rights, safe transportation and a government that listens and responds to them."Having education high on the list is good, but listing low taxes number one conflicts with most of the other priorities. Agreed, throwing money at problems is no guarantee of solving them, but taking money away isn't either. If one or the other has to give, I'd rather the low taxes pledge be sacrificed rather than education or health care or even improved regional public transportation. Hutchison will talk a good game on the campaign trail, but I expect I'll be disappointed with her performance in office.
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