Why is Don McLeroy a racist?

It's not enough, now, for McLeroy and his Christian conservative cohort on the Texas State Board of Education to deny children the right to critical thinking by barring discussion of the First Amendment from social studies textbooks.

No, now they're into racism, too, denying that any Tejanos were killed at the Alamo.

"I cannot go back to my community and say I participated in perpetrating this fraud on the students of this state,” said board member Mavis Knight, D-Dallas, one of the four negative votes.

Yep, it's a fraud against history, a fraud against student education and more. A Texas high school diploma should probably be stamped with that word, the way things are going.

One of the ultraconservatives on the board claimed the Tejanos weren't "leaders" there:

Pat Hardy, R-Fort Worth, questioned the need for the requirement, noting that no Hispanics were considered leaders at the Alamo.

"They were just among the other people who died at the Alamo. It would be awkward to say that teachers and students should identify people who died at the Alamo," she said.

Really? A Texas city is named after Juan Seguin, but, he's not a "leader"? I guess the racial winners write history, eh? Jim Bowie married a Hispanic, became a Mexican citizen and converted to Catholicism, but Tejanos don't deserve to be considered as "leaders" because ... they were darker-skinned and Catholic? (Note: Most of the Anglo "leaders" did not do either one, though both were required by the Mexican government, thereby initiating the general Anglo-Texan disdain for the rule of law except when it suits one's own interest.)

Why does Don McLeroy hate the First Amendment?

Along with his theocratic compadres on the Texas State Board of Education? The seven social conservatives, joined by three more "moderate" GOPers on the board, blocked a provision that would have required high school social students students to learn about the First Amendment:

(Board member Mavis) Knight said all she was trying to do was encourage study of the First Amendment language that states: "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof."

Oh, no, we can't have Texas school children being taught analytical thinking.

And, of course, that's of a parcel with not just the SBOE, but fundamentalists in general.

After all, if "we" have all these fundamentals, concrete and inerrant, there's nothing to analyze. And, no need to question the "powers that be."

Unless, they're a bunch of libruls, let alone stinking godless communist real libruls.

Update, March 12: Now McLeroy and cohort are racists, too, denying that any Tejanos were killed at the Alamo.

McLeroy out from Texas SBOE!

I didn't blog about this last night, but, Don McLeroy lost his primary battle for the Texas State Board of Education to a much more mainstream Republican, Thomas Ratliff, son of former Lt. Gov. Bill Ratliff. (More on that name below.)

McLeroy was a former board chairman and the ramrod of the Religious Right on the SBOE. His loss, combined with other results from last night, seem to mean the SBOE may take a notch or two (though probably not much more than that) to the center next year.

So, we need to fight the current SBOE even more between now and then.

As for Bill Ratliff? If Jim Hightower had been less arrogant and presumptuous, and run a better campaign against Rick Perry for Ag Secretary in 1994, maybe Ratliff would have run for election to Lite Guv in 1998 and Texas would be a whole lot different.

Texas Senate rejects McLeroy

The Texas Senate, on a party line vote, got all Democrats to stand firm, thereby rejecting Don McLeroy to head the State Board of Education.

McLeroy, a strong opponent of evolution, and upholder of creationist principles, along the lines of "teach the controversy" (there is none within the peer-reviewed scientific world) was opposed for his divisiveness and contentiousness.

Here’s a backgrounder on final debate before the vote.