Sen. Dan Patrick Admits He Hasn't Read CSCOPE Lessons He Wants to Ban Teachers from Using

This very short clip from last weekend’s debate between State Board of Education Vice Chairman Thomas Ratliff, R-Mount Pleasant, and state Sen. Dan Patrick, R-Houston, highlights how the manufactured “controversy” over CSCOPE eventually oozed out of the right-wing fever swamps. Tea party and other political activists (including a for-profit political consulting company) have absurdly claimed that the […]

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Poopgate: Texas DPS Docs Show No Evidence Activists Brought Feces, Urine to the Capitol

The Texas Department of Public Safety has finally released documents, requested by various media outlets, regarding claims by DPS officials, politicians and religious-right activists that demonstrators brought jars of feces and urine to the Capitol in July to protest extreme anti-abortion legislation. The Texas Observer reports: What the documents show is that DPS collected and shared […]

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The Hateful, Cynical Campaign Against San Antonio's Nondiscrimination Ordinance

This past week it became clear just how hateful and cynical the campaign to defeat a proposed San Antonio nondiscrimination ordinance has become. The ordinance would add LGBT people and veterans to existing city nondiscrimination protections in employment, housing and public accommodations. The City Council is planning to vote on the proposed nondiscrimination ordinance on September 5. […]

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Rejecting Science, Race-Baiting and 'Screams from the Pit of Hell'

Our friends at Right Wing Watch have noted a lot of crazy coming out of Texas recently. Here are a few choice examples: On Wednesday Right Wing Watch posted video of self-styled “historian” David Barton pretending to know something about science. The head of Texas-based WallBuilders actually reveals that his knowledge of science is about as pitiful as his […]

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Religious Groups Call for an End to the Ban on Electioneering from the Pulpit

In what must thrill the hearts of zealots like David Barton who have spent their careers trying to drag houses of worship into partisan politics, the Washington Post reports: Even as polls show Americans broadly oppose electioneering from the pulpit, a new report by a group of faith leaders working closely with Capitol Hill argues for […]

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