This month marks the 46th anniversary of President Kennedy's assassination in Dallas. We all remember that the assassin was a deranged, dysfunctional radical. But many -- especially, of course, those of us born afterward -- might not remember the hate and extremism that framed President Kennedy's trip to Texas that November. Mark Warren, writing for Esquire, recalls it. And he worries about similarities to today: "As I am from Texas, home over the years to some of the most wonderful and ridiculous members of congress, sometimes situated in the same person, I thought of my home delegation, and in my mind formed the image of the skinhead reprobate from Tyler, Louie Gohmert. Characterized chiefly by the blankness behind his eyes, Gohmert has the face of a hooligan and the politesse to match. Stinking of contempt, no greater reactionary is to be found in the Congress today. And certainly it is people like him who have abetted the toxic atmosphere that holds in our current politics. He has screamed that the president is a 'socialist!' perhaps louder and longer than anyone else in his caucus (which is quite a distinction), he is a birther who believes that…… Read More

Wow. Just, well … wow.

It seems that some folks are now driving around with bumper stickers that read, “Pray for Obama: Psalm 109:8.” What does that Bible verse say?

“Let his days be few; and let another take his office.”

And what does that mean? The verse that immediately follows clears up any ambiguity:

“Let his children be fatherless, and his wife a widow.”

So now we have extremists using Bible verses to pray that God will kill the president of the United States. Of course, it would be absurd and offensive to suggest that all Christians agree with such sentiments. Almost certainly, nearly all would be appalled to learn about this. But some folks — like the Rev. Peter Marshall — don’t seem to have a problem suggesting that all Muslims be treated as potential criminals because of the actions of a few (or one).… Read More

We told you things would get worse. Sadly, we were right. Peter Morrison is one of a number of right-wing extremists Texas State Board of Education members have placed on social studies curriculum committees. We have noted Morrison's nativist and anti-government screeds in the past. Now he is using this month's mass murder at Fort Hood as an excuse for a shocking, full-throated, xenophobic rant. From Tuesday's installment of the "Peter Morrison Report" e-newsletter: "The Fort Hood massacre was the predictable result of decades of massive immigration from third world countries, affirmative action, enforcement of political correctness and 'celebration' of diversity and multiculturalism. All of these policies would be bad enough on their own, but when combined they result in a prescription for disaster, on both a small and large scale." Morrison also bizarrely uses this horrible event to portray President Obama as a bigot:…… Read More

The flap over President Obama’s speech to students on Tuesday has exposed quite a bit of hypocrisy from the far right. Media Matters notes one big batch of hypocrisy from Texas State Board of Education member Barbara Cargill, R-The Woodlands.

“On NPR’s All Things Considered, host Noah Adams, introducing a report on President Obama’s September 8 speech to schoolchildren, stated that ‘some parents and conservatives … called it a political intrusion into the school day.’ But NPR did not note that one of the conservatives quoted in the report, Texas State Board of Education member Barbara Cargill, has repeatedly engaged in political intrusions into the Texas school system, seeking — sometimes successfully — to change Texas schools’ curriculum to fit her conservative ideology.”

Cargill protested to NPR that the Obama administation had bypassed state and local school boards by sending notices of the speech directly to schools. She said that put schools in a difficult position, forcing them to anger some parents if they let students hear the speech and others if they didn’t. She also worried about students:

“If they (parents) opt their children out, they’re going to feel ostracized. They’re going to… Read More

Texas Eagle Forum's Cathie Adams shows once again how extreme and unhinged the far right has become. In an e-mail to far-right activists sent out late Saturday night, Ms. Adams -- who is also a Republican National Committeewoman and has endorsed Gov. Rick Perry for re-election next year -- compares President Obama to Adolf Hitler and twists the purpose of his planned speech to students about the importance of staying in school and getting a good education: "(The president) has NO AUTHORITY to intrude into our children's classrooms and simultaneously address every child in every state. If parents want their children to view the president, then they have ample opportunities at home without taking time away from their studies. This is eerily like Hitler's youth movement. . . . IF your child's school is allowing this intrusion, then you can either ask that your child be sent to study hall during the showing AND that NO study guide be used to ask your child to "serve the president." Or you can ask that your child be granted an excused absence from school. . . . " That's just shameful. One need not be a supporter of President Obama to agree that…… Read More