Last June, just before Gov. Greg Abbott appointed Donna Bahorich, R-Houston, as the new chair of the State Board of Education, outgoing chairwoman Barbara Cargill, R-The Woodlands, tried to get the SBOE more authority. Today the Texas Attorney General’s Office slapped down that power grab. Attorney General Ken Paxton’s office released a formal opinion saying […]
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Sen. Cruz Shades the Truth about Anti-Contraception Fanatics
“Now listen, I have been a conservative my entire life. I have never met anybody, any conservative who wants to ban contraceptives.” That’s Texas Sen. Ted Cruz again, complaining about people who point out Republicans and other conservatives who want to make it harder for women to get access to birth control. But Sen. Cruz either doesn’t […]
Ted Cruz’s History with Anti-Abortion Extremists
Texas Sen. Ted Cruz has insisted that the vile rhetoric of anti-abortion extremists played no role in the mass shooting at a Planned Parenthood clinic in Colorado. In fact, speaking at an event for his presidential campaign on Sunday in Iowa, Cruz bizarrely characterized the alleged gunman as a “transgendered leftist activist.” But it’s important to know that Cruz has closely […]
Fact-Checking Barbara Cargill
Barbara Cargill, the creationist former chair of the Texas State Board of Education (SBOE), sent supporters an email today announcing her 2016 bid for re-election to the 15-member body. The Republican from The Woodlands near Houston has been one of the leading right-wing culture warriors on the board, helping to politicize the state’s curriculum standards and trying to […]
Katz: Using Religion to Discriminate Is Wrong. Let’s Do Something About It
By Rabbi Neal Katz As a rabbi, my faith is supremely important in my life. That’s why it’s painful for me to see religion used as a tool to harm or discriminate. But it happens. And sadly here in Texas, some of our state leaders are even encouraging this misuse of religion. Today, I’m happy […]