The following post by Joe Deshotel is cross-posted from Burnt Orange Report. Deshotel is a BOR staff writer. His post notes two recent incidents — a dispute at a public school district and remarks by Texas Gov. Rick Perry in a conference call with pastors – that illustrate the continuing efforts by some to blur […]
church and state
El Paso Church Goes Political
Churches and religious organizations are absolutely prohibited from directly or indirectly participating in, or intervening in, any political campaign on behalf of (or in opposition to) any candidate for elective public office. The above is from the Internal Revenue Service’s Tax Guide for Churches and Religious Organizations. Pretty straight-forward. So how does that jibe with […]
New School Year, Same Old School Voucher Scheme. Plus, the Unabomber
This Friday we’ll be monitoring a state senate photo op committee hearing here in Austin on one of the longstanding pet causes for the far right: school vouchers. Yes, vouchers are back. Again. After failing to pass voucher legislation at each legislative session since 1995, the far right seems poised to try, try again next […]
Debbie Riddle Has An Idea
Social conservatives have long pointed to the constitutional bar on government-sponsored prayer in public schools as the source of many of society’s ills. Just last week, when a gunman opened fire in a crowded movie theater, some trotted out the “If only we had prayer in schools” argument as a solution for preventing such tragedies. […]
Cynthia Dunbar: Legislators Can’t Make Laws ‘Contrary to What God Has Said’
Former Texas State Board of Education (SBOE) member Cynthia Dunbar still seems determined to destroy the most important protection for religious freedom in America: the First Amendment. As a member of the Texas SBOE in 2010, Dunbar lead successful opposition to requiring that public school students in social studies classrooms learn how the First Amendment […]
