When right-wing activist Peter Morrison promoted (unsuccessful) efforts to have state Rep. Joe Straus, R-San Antonio, removed as speaker of the Texas House in late 2010 and early 2011, he noted that other speaker candidates were “Christians and true conservatives.” Straus is Jewish, which Morrison made sure readers of his anti-Straus emails knew. Morrison, who […]
TFNEF
Defeated Lawmaker Promotes Creationist for Texas Education Commissioner
It’s bad enough that the State Board of Education has become a heavily politicized, dysfunctional embarrassment for Texas. Now religious-righters want control of the Texas Education Agency as well. State Rep. Wayne Christian, R-Center, wants Gov. Rick Perry to appoint SBOE member Charlie Garza, R-El Paso, as the state’s education commissioner and head of TEA. […]
Texan Faces Anti-Muslim Civil Rights Charge
He’s too old to have been in school when the Texas State Board of Education passed its 2010 resolution attacking Islam and falsely claiming that history textbooks have an anti-Christian and pro-Muslim bias. But a 24-year-old Texas man has been charged with violating the civil rights of members of a Tennessee mosque. Talking Points Memo […]
An Anti-Gay Voice from the (Recent) Past at the Southern Baptist Convention
When Southern Baptists reaffirmed their hostility to equal rights for gay and lesbian Americans this week in New Orleans, a leading anti-gay voice there was a Texas pastor who has promoted Texas Gov. Rick Perry to conservative evangelicals in the past. Southern Baptists meeting at their denomination’s annual convention overwhelmingly passed a resolution attacking marriage […]
South Carolina Governor Vetoes HPV Vaccine Bill
South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley has vetoed a bill that would have provided the HPV vaccine free to the state’s seventh-graders after opponents said the measure would sexualize girls at a young age. South Carolina lawmakers had passed the bill by large bipartisan majorities in the state House and Senate. Moreover, Haley had co-sponsored a […]
