Insanity in Texas School System

So apparently the conservatives on the Texas school board are upset that the impression of the conservative agenda over the years has been downplayed or demonized in Texas school books. My family is from Texas and I have deep concerns with how the Texas educational system turned since Anne Richards was ousted by Bush. Now, while some may marginalize the importance of this situation by saying things like; "Well that is just the South, things have always been this way.." I want you to realize that Texas is the Nations largest buyer of books, and usually will shape some of the National curriculum just by the fact that these books are getting printed. Here is the majority of the NY Times article, the juicy bits in my mind;

Conservatives argue that the proposed curriculum, written by a panel of teachers, emphasizes the accomplishments of liberal politicians — like the New Deal and the Great Society — and gives less importance to efforts by conservatives like President Ronald Reagan to limit the size of government....

There have also been efforts among conservatives on the board to tweak the history of the civil rights movement. One amendment states that the movement created “unrealistic expectations of equal outcomes” among minorities. Another proposed change removes any reference to race, sex or religion in talking about how different groups have contributed to the national identity....

The amendments are also intended to emphasize the unalloyed superiority of the “free-enterprise system” over others and the desirability of limited government....

References to Ralph Nader and Ross Perot are proposed to be removed, while Stonewall Jackson, the Confederate general, is to be listed as a role model for effective leadership, and the ideas in Jefferson Davis’s inaugural address are to be laid side by side withAbraham Lincoln’s speeches.....

“To deny the Judeo-Christian values of our founding fathers is just a lie to our kids,” said Ken Mercer, a San Antonio Republican.....

The fact that these changes are even being considered confuses me; did these people not read the same books as me? The books that say, "All men are created equal" and that we must strive for that? Did they forget their own Judeo-Christian ethics? Since when was Texas so into the confederate idealization? So much about this makes me shake my head in confusion and sadness.

Minority board members, who have called for the inclusion of more blacks and Hispanics among the historical figures to be covered, lost one vote Wednesday when the Republican majority deleted from the list an archbishop from El Salvador. Oscar Romero was assassinated in 1980 for speaking out against the country's repressive government.

The board apparently decided Romero was not significant enough and while this selectivisation of history is nothing new, it is just disheartening. And while there was a back and forth between Fox News and the Education agency over this it is just another nail in the head that Texas is circling.

Take the case of Kesha Rogers, a few days ago on the third I published a link on my facebook to her site, her actual political website stating things like "the White House is controlled by Britain to shut down NASA" really crazy things. Of course now it is down but there are still remnants. Why is this significant? She won the Democratic Nominee for the House of Representatives...