Remember Cynthia Dunbar? She’s the creationist former member of the Texas State Board of Education who wrote a book in which she called public education “tyrannical,” unconstitutional and a “subtly deceptive tool of perversion.” Dunbar left the board at the end of 2010 and last we heard was teaching law at Jerry Falwell’s Liberty University. On Monday the folks at Fox & Friends invited Dunbar to talk about last week’s adoption of new science textbooks in Texas — in particular, the adoption of an environmental science textbook criticized by oil and gas industry advocates for its coverage of issues like hydraulic fracturing and climate change. As Media Matters reports, Dunbar bizarrely tied the textbook adoption to the Common Core standards and attacked it as an example of “socialized education”:
“This is what happens when you have socialized education pushing particular viewpoints within the classroom. I know Americans are concerned about socialized health care through Obamacare. I think they need to be equally concerned about socialized education through Obamacore.”
First, why would anyone still seek the opinion of a political extremist who viciously attacks the very public schools she was elected to manage? Answer: Fox News doesn’t give a flying flip about reality. Remember how that network grossly distorted the debate over social studies curriculum standards in Texas three years ago? The Texas Education Agency had to issue a press release calling out the lies Fox was telling its audience. The network even called TFN’s Kathy Miller a “textbook troublemaker” on the air. And Fox & Friends host Steve Doocy — who interviewed Dunbar on Monday — was one of the worse offenders during the social studies debate.
Second, it’s important to remember that Dunbar’s irrational hatred for President Obama is sugar for the Fox News audience. Consider that Dunbar has called Obama a Marxist who “sympathizes” with America’s enemies. So it should be no wonder that Fox & Friends brought her back for another bite at that apple, regardless of the lack of any connection between the adoption of science textbooks in Texas and the president.
Dunbar’s comments on Monday should remind everyone why it’s a very good thing she no longer sits on the State Board of Education and no longer helps direct the education of more than 5 million Texas public school students. But it’s a tragedy when Fox — or any other news outlet — continues to spoon-feed her poison to its audience.
God bless Cynthia Dunbar for telling the truth!!!
John Lofton, Recovering Republican
Director,The God And Government Project
Hi, John. Could you please expand on “Recovering Republican”? Do you have a health issue? If so I hope you are doing well.
Anyone who is or has been a Republican has “a health issue.” You bet…And becoming a Christian — being saved by God’s grace alone — is the only thing tht can totally heal one from Republicanism, from “politics” being your religion (false, of course.) Thanks for asking…..
John Lofton, Recovering Republican
Director,The God And Government Project
@ Joe Patterson. Perhaps Mr. Lofton’s condition would be covered under the affordable health care act. Ya never know.
@Day: Thanks for the post. Ms. Dunbar is what I’d call a real piece of work. Discouraging, to say the least, that she got elected to the SBOE.
You are just another Dominionist that wants the 1st Amendment abolished and the bible made into law. The core of the Christian faith is found in 2 Chronicles 15 13. Says a lot about a religion that needs to kill any that do not believe as they do.
” and the bible made into law.”
Psssssssst! God’s Word already IS law. Always has been; always will be. In fact, it is the highest law which judges all of man’s laws. If man’s laws are not in accord God’s Law then they are NOT “law.” That’s the teaching of the Bible, St. Augustine, Thomas Aquinas, Blackstone, and Martin Luther King Jr..
John Lofton, Recovering Republican
Director,The God And Government Project
Lofton. Nobody here is buying the chalcedony you are selling. I have already educated these people about Christian reconstructionism on numerous occasions. They know it is “swine dung,” and the word is getting around all over the country. Your stealth movement is getting exposed, and a growing number of people are wise to the “we are just so misunderstood” whine that you dominionists have developed as your strategic defense plan.
It’s all coming out into the open John. The real sons and daughters of Jesus Christ are going to take all of you down. Mark my word.
It is not a surprise that Fox has Dunbar back.
The network knows the mnidset of its’ viewers. They will put anything on air which conforms to their owner’s extreme right views of the World.
The almost universal level of ignorance of fact and reason from their viewers makes it easy for Fox to get a very large following.As Mark Twain noted, “Our Freedom allows us to be as ignorant as we wish.”
And no one here has yet refuted anything said or written by Dunbar. Disputation is NOT refutation.
John Lofton, Recovering Republican
Director,The God And Government Project
There’s no point in trying to refute an opinion that is based on little more than irrational rants, John. The science textbooks in Texas have nothing to do with the Common Core standards or the Obama administration (even if there were something wrong with textbooks that do). Moreover, the information in that environmental textbook is based on scientific evidence and facts — both of which often give Dunbar problems.
Dan. I would like to add that R.J. Rushdoony was a bad, bad, bad man who propagated enormous heresy against the universal church of Jesus Christ. Christian reconstructionism, dominionism, and theonomy are all theological whores of the worst kind.
I am not going to debate this here because I am the world’s worst debater and because discussing anything with a man like Lofton (one of Rushdoony’s mentees) would be like having a discussion with a fence post.
However, I do wish to say this. This nation will never voluntarily or under military force accept a government led by Christian reconstructionists who have appointed themselves as God’s true representatives on Earth. Human history is replete with morons who have followed this path, and the only fruit they generate are the deaths and suffering of millions of people. Jesus— YES!!! Pisstian reconstruction—NO!!!
You refute nothing Dunbar has said or written because you cannot. Thank you for confirming that. And, of course, nothing has been posted, or will be posted, that refutes anything Dr. Rushdoony said or wrote. Thank you for confirming that.
John Lofton, Recovering Republican
Director,The God And Government Project
“Nothing will be posted that refutes anything Dr. Rushdoony said or wrote”? Really? So there’s no refuting statements like these?
“The false witness borne during World War II with respect to Germany (i.e., the death camps) is especially notable and revealing…. the number of Jews who died after deportation is approximately 1,200,000 … very many of these people died of epidemics.”
“Selective breeding in Christian countries has led to … the progressive elimination of defective persons.”
“All men are NOT created equal before God.”
“The move from Africa to America was a vast increase of freedom for the Negro, materially and spiritually.”
Lazy slaves were “an albatross that hung the South, that bled it.”
“Some people are by nature slaves and will always be so.”
http://www.patheos.com/blogs/unreasonablefaith/2009/05/r-j-rushdoony-reconstructionist-and-racist-bigot/
Dan: Thanks for posting that. Since you provided a link, it might be considered unassailable. My, My … what charming people John & Dr. R must be….
To simply post out-of-context statements does not refute them or prove that they are false.
John Lofton, Recovering Republican
Director,The God And Government Project
Actually, John, you’re right about out-of-context quotes. We see that happen all the time. (Folks on your side are very good at it.) But tell me: what context might justify or even excuse a statement that denies or minimizes the Nazis’ systematic murder of Jews? Or the claim that slavery was a benefit for the enslaved Africans brought to America? In fact, it would be illuminating to see what context could possibly justify any of the quotes listed. Please educate us.
Rhetorical questions to me also do not refute or prove false anything Dr. Rushdoony every said or wrote. If you are intellectually honest you will post the things said or written by him and then you will demonstrate how he was wrong. John Lofton
No one here is interested in debating a fence post or someone committed to the memory of a an evil man like Rushdoony. The very breathe of “Christan” reconstructionism smells of death and the dead men’s bones that reside in those who believe in that hateful tripe.
Dan. I am going to formally request that you block this poster from further posting on TFN Insider. Thanks.
In other words — as I suspected — you are unable to refute anything said or written by Dr. Rushdoony. Thank you.
John Lofton, Recovering Republican
Director,The God And Government Project
History refutes it, John. Clearly and emphatically. Don’t expect us to do your homework for you. And with that, you’re done here.
I don’t give a crap about refutation John. Facts are not up for debate. The scientists at Oak Ridge National Laboratory know that anthropogenic activity is the cause of global warming. They are good and wise people, many of them Christians, and they seek truth honestly. Anthropogenic global warming is fact in the scientific community, and it is going to stay that way—and we are going to teach it to our children as the fact that it is.
I can tell that you need the video John Lofton—so here it is for both you and Cynthia:
Data, data, data! Want REAL evidence that refutes Dunbar’s claims?? Go here:
http://www.esrl.noaa.gov/gmd/ccgg/trends/
and here:
Arrhenius, Svante, 1896: On the Influence of Carbonic Acid in the Air upon the Temperature of the Ground. Philosophical Magazine and Journal of Science. Series 5, Volume 41, 237-276.
Fomichev, V.I, Ogibalov, V.P., and S.R. Beagley, 2004: Solar heating by the near-IR CO2 bands in the mesosphere. Geophysical Research Letters, Vol. 31.
Forster, P., V. Ramaswamy, P. Artaxo, T. Berntsen, R. Betts, D.W. Fahey, J. Haywood, J. Lean, D.C. Lowe, G. Myhre, J. Nganga, R. Prinn,G. Raga, M. Schulz and R. Van Dorland, 2007: Changes in Atmospheric Constituents and in Radiative Forcing. In: Climate Change 2007: The Physical Science Basis. Contribution of Working Group I to the Fourth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change [Solomon, S., D. Qin, M. Manning, Z. Chen, M. Marquis, K.B. Averyt, M.Tignor and H.L. Miller (eds.)]. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, United Kingdom and New York, NY, USA
Le Treut, H., R. Somerville, U. Cubasch, Y. Ding, C. Mauritzen, A. Mokssit, T. Peterson and M. Prather, 2007: Historical Overview of Climate Change. In: Climate Change 2007: The Physical Science Basis. Contribution of Working Group I to the Fourth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. [Solomon, S., D. Qin, M. Manning, Z. Chen, M. Marquis, K.B. Averyt, M. Tignor and H.L. Miller (eds.)]. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, United Kingdom and New York, NY, USA.
Happy Thanksgiving to the employees and volunteers at TFN and all of you other wonderful people out in Texas. This is a Christian religious holiday for our family when we give thanks for all of the blessings bestowed on us over this past year. I am thankful to Jesus for the fact that he is no longer tolerating the antics of the right wing extremists on the Texas SBOE.
Of course, I cannot speak for Jesus. However, if I had invented “evolution” as part of my creative package (as He did), I would be pretty ticked off if a bunch of my so-called “followers” were running around proclaiming that the things I had created are a “lie.” Therefore, on this Thanksgiving Day, I would recommend that said members of the Texas SBOE fall down on their knees and ask Jesus to forgive them for accusing him of being the father of a lie over the past 5 years and sending that message out to the people of Texas and the nation for the same span of time. All they really succeeded in doing was to make the Christian faith look silly and unpalatable to millions of Americans.
I wish Cynthia Dunbar had taken some time to define what she means by the term “socialized education.” When that rakes across my ear drums it means about as much as “congested pocket knife.” I sit there and marvel at it, but it means nothing that is very clear to me. I feel sure that the people listening to the broadcast heard it and said, “What?????” Anyone here have any hypotheses as to what her term means?
Very simple, Charles. Cynthia Dunbar opened her mouth and proved what many think and know: She is a fool.
Does she not know what the words “socialized” and “education” mean?
All public schools are, by definition, socialized education. Even private schools are another form of socialized education.