> James Moore September 4, 2009 03:09 PM

> The Lies of Texas Are Upon You

> A friend called to talk about his daughter being caught in the middle
> of one of the kinds of controversies that only happen in Texas. His
> daughter's teacher had sent an email that her school was not going to
> show the president's national address to students in their school. My
> buddy Marcus is African-American and Native American, holds two
> degrees, and does not very well countenance stupidity and hypocrisy.

> "It's not exactly a political speech. He's going to tell kids to work
> hard and stay in school and get a good education, and take personal
> responsibility for their actions."

> "Of course not," I conceded, "But Obama is a democrat and African-
> American and this is Texas."

> "Yeah, well, I'm going to get Mia from class and bring her home to
> watch the speech and then take her back. This is garbage."

> Actually, it is more like intellectual pus, a kind of deadly ooze that
> keeps infecting our national discourse. We tell people not to mess
> with Texas but that's because we reserve the right to mess it up
> ourselves.

> This latest hypocrisy, though, is almost beyond imagining....

> During the campaigns and administrations of both Presidents Bush and
> Ronald Reagan, speeches and public appearances were almost mandatory
> for students and the religion of those leaders was forced on the
> crowds gathered in the taxpayer built gymnasiums. I cannot count the
> times that I attended political rallies as a journalist during school
> hours where students were told to leave class and come provide a crowd
> for the Republican candidates...

> In Texas, we see this as a positive attribute, taking kids out of
> classes for candidate rallies and force feeding them the candidate's
> religion. Hell, we're doing even better than that in our school
> system. A number of boards of education have voted to begin teaching
> the bible in public schools. A statement from a school board in
> Central Texas indicated that the class will be optional and will teach
> the bible as "an historical document."

> I think the constitution is as clear on this matter as it is on the
> right to keep and bear arms. Church and state are to be separated. No
> damned religion of any kind or any of its texts should be taught in
> public schools.

> But this is Texas and the long, proud march backwards presses on;
> except we may soon begin dragging the nation with us into the 18th
> century.

> While the rest of the world has acknowledged science, our textbook
> committee has to debate creationism and intelligent design and
> including religious faith in science books. When science rears its
> little head we have the bludgeons to whack it back into a hidey-hole,
> and when politics moves away from progressive, free-thinking,
> historical analysis, we teach the Rovian Revisionism of great events
> and personalities.

> http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jim-moo...