The Texas House of Representatives started the 2013 session today the same way it ended 2011 — with state Rep. Joe Straus, R-San Antonio, as speaker. This represents the third session in a row in which far-right groups like Texas Eagle Forum and Liberty Institute/Texas Values along with Tea Party activists have failed to keep […]
TFN
Say What? Texas Lawmakers Go to a Private School to Talk about Public Education Reform
Perhaps the irony escaped them. Today Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst and Senate Education Committee Chairman Dan Patrick, R-Houston, held a press conference at a Catholic elementary school in Austin to talk about reforming public education. Now think about that a minute. Two of the most important elected leaders on education in the Texas Senate — […]
All Theories Welcome, No Scientific Evidence Needed
Remember during the 2011 Texas Legislature when state Rep. Bill Zedler, R-Arlington, proposed legislation that essentially validates academic fraud, then did himself no favors by defending the bill in an interview with Mother Jones? That was fun. And now, Round 2: Zedler is back, filing the exact same creationism bill ahead of the 2013 legislative […]
‘Dinosaurs and Denial’
That’s the headline to a piece by New York Times columnist Charles Blow. Blow suggests that confusing comments by U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Florida, about his thoughts on the age of Earth are just another example of modern American conservatism trapped in the grip of anti-intellectual zealots. Money quote: This anti-intellectualism is antediluvian. No wonder […]
The Consequences of the ‘War on Birth Control’ in Texas
Texas lawmakers in 2011, engaged in what one right-wing legislator openly called a “war on birth control,” cut $73 million from family planning services for poor and uninsured women. What are the consequences of that foolishness? From the Texas Tribune: “The latest Health and Human Services Commission projections being circulated among Texas lawmakers indicate that […]
