David Barton might be a popular speaker in conservative circles and considered a “historian” and “constitutional expert” by politico-entertainers like Glenn Beck and politicians like Texas Gov. Rick Perry and former U.S. House Speaker Newt Gingrich. But a scholar’s new review of Barton’s American history textbook (yes, he has one) exposes the Texan’s simplistic, selective […]
David Barton
Is David Barton Telling the Truth?
That’s one of the questions at issue in Barton’s lawsuit. Barton is charging W.S. Smith, a writer for the Fort Worth Atheism Examiner, with defamation for labeling Barton a “liar” in a story published on the Examiner website last year. But part of establishing a legitimate libel claim is, of course, demonstrating that the claim […]
A Lynch Mob Strategy
Lynch mobs don’t care about facts. And lynch mobs made up of politicians and pressure groups really, really don’t care about facts. What they care about is manufacturing rage to advance political agendas. And that brings us to the story of a gay teacher and one of his students in a Fort Worth high school. […]
Brandeis to Barton: Stop Being a Coward
Since David Barton probably won’t take correction from TFN’s press release, perhaps he’ll listen to celebrated Supreme Court Justice Louis Brandeis. In his oft-cited concurrence in the Whitney v. California decision, Brandeis points out what the Founding Fathers — whom Barton loves so much — thought about trying to “enforce silence” on speech you don’t […]
Barton Tries to Suppress Free Speech
The Texas Freedom Network today released the following statement in regards to a lawsuit filed by David Barton against two former Texas State Board of Education candidates and an Internet writer. Prominent Texas Republican Targets Critics with Lawsuit FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Sept. 20, 2011 A libel and defamation lawsuit filed against two former Texas State […]