The Texas Re-education System

This past week, the education board down in Texas decided to revise their text books in order to make them better reflect their conservative values. These revisions included the dropping of certain historical topics and the substitutions of others. According to an article in the Seattle Times, some choice changes included limiting discussion of Thomas Jefferson because of his secular views and giving greater attention to the views of the Confederacy. Other revisions include replacing the Martin Luther King holiday with Veterans' Day in terms of holidays first graders are taught about. The board rejected suggestions to include mention of Hispanics who died fighting Texas at the Alamo.

My Gut Reaction: Universities are going to have to start requiring remedial courses for any students coming from Texas public schools.

Analysis: The driving figure behind these changes is Don McLeroy, a Christian conservative who wants to edit learning materials to reflect his own Judeo-Christian vision. His goal is to teach students that America was founded on Christian values, ignoring the deistic and secular values of many founding father such as Jefferson. As part of this approach, textbooks will be required to play up clashes between the United States and Islamic countries, depicting these conflicts as battles between Christianity and Islam. McLeroy-a dentist with no educational experience-proudly states he bases his textbook choices on how they discuss Christianity and Israel. One of his most famous quotes is "Someone needs to stand up to these experts!"

Part of this effort will include increased emphasis on conservative figures such as Phyllis Schlafly, the Heritage Foundation, and Ronald Reagan. While historians such as Eric Foner agree that students should be taught about the conservative movement as one of the major influences on modern history, one wonders whether such a biased curriculum will be accurate. For example, can someone like Don McLeroy be expected to approve textbooks that mention Reagan's role in supporting death squads in Central America, his support of the Afghan groups that grew into the Taliban, the increased rates of homelessness under his government, and the role of economic deregulation started under Reagan that culminated in our current economic crisis?

The effects of this decision are not limited to Texas. Because it is such a large state and market for textbooks, future textbook revisions for the entire nation will inevitably reflect Texas's rules. To make matters worse, California, which usually acts as a counterbalance to Texas due to its more liberal requirements, has put off all new textbook orders until 2014 due to its financial crisis.

Given that the effects of this decision could extend well past the borders of Texas, it is only appropriate that it should be met with a national response. First and foremost, this decision makes a case for national standards for textbooks, in order to prevent fanatics in one state from derailing the educational system. The interaction of different states in determining what goes into text books would prevent one ideology from totally dominating.

Atheists and Agnostics in the White House!

Representatives from the Center for Inquiry and the Council for Secular Humanism participated today in a conference at the White House. As the Center for Inquiry reports, the topics that were discussed with White House officials included preventing religiously motivated abuse of children and ending the preaching of evangelical Christianity in the military, including discrimination against non-Evangelicals.

My Take: It's about frakking time!

Analysis: For too long, secular humanists of all stripes have been denied a prominent place in the American public sphere. Even though some of the Founding Fathers were deists rather than Christians, Christians of various stripes have tried to assume a monopoly on American public discourse. Christians have portrayed arguments and lines of thinking that challenge or reject the commonly held Christian views as a threat to American society.

Luckily, under the Obama administration, there seems to be at least a willingness to listen to explicitly secular viewpoints. Although President Obama has continued some policies that secularists disapprove of, such as the funding of church organizations by the government, there is a greater openness to secularism on the whole. Progess comes in slow steps.

The Future of Republicanism

Andrew Sullivan has a post about a particularly comic young Republican named Ryan Sorba. Sorba's specialty is mixing psuedo-intellectual blather with threats of physical violence against those who disagree with him. He apparently made a big splash at CPAC. Read more here.

A Note to Bishop Tobin: Back Off

This weekend, there unfolded yet another example of interference by the Catholic hierarchy in the political affairs of the United States. This time, the culprit is Bishop Thomas Tobin of Providence, Rhode Island, who is trying to get Rep. Patrick Kennedy, son of Sen. Ted Kennedy, to endorse abortion restrictions in the health care bill. Apparently, as early as 2007, Bishop Tobin attempted to intimidate Rep. Kennedy by asking him to refrain from Communion.

My Gut Reaction: Apparently, Tobin and his fellow bishops believe that major political issues in this country should be settled through the distribution of pieces of tasteless, unleavened bread to our politicians.

Analysis: This type of interference in our political system by the bishops has to stop. They have gone from merely expressing opinions to actively trying to push around politicians through religious means. If the Church wants to be such a force in civil society, perhaps it could do us the favor of contributing to said society-through the payment of taxes.

The Coathanger Amendment

The 2009 Health Care Reform Bill recently passed by Congress contained a rather interesting rider courtesy of Michigan Congressman Bart Stupak. Rep. Stupak attached and successfully passed an amendment to the bill which bars any form of federal funding for abortion through the health care funds. It would not only bar direct funding for abortion, but also any affordability payment to an insurance company that covers abortion.

My Gut Reaction: The DailyKos was right when they termed this amendment "The Coathanger Amendment."

Analysis: This amendment seeks to limit indirectly the rights of women to obtain abortion, and not simply those who apply to the government for assistance. By denying insurance companies eligibility for affordability funds if they cover abortion, essentially creating an incentive not to cover it.

The potential stakes of this issue become apparent when one reads this account of a woman who had to have an abortion twelve weeks into her pregnancy after the fetus died. Had the fetus not been aborted, she would have faced a serious risk of infection or sepsis. Luckily, her insurance company covered abortion. That might not be the case if the government starts providing incentives for companies to not cover abortion.

What is particularly galling about this legislation is that religious leaders, particularly from the Roman Catholic Church, seem to have played a major role in drafting the amendment. The Suburban Guerilla blog reports that the congressmen who drafted the amendment were in talks with representatives of the Catholic Church. (Yet another reason to revoke the Church's tax exempt status.)

Luckily, there is a movement fighting against this amendment. Forty House Democrats have already pledged to vote against any final bill that contains the amendment. Furthermore, there is an online movement to create a new meaning for the word "Stupak," referring to sepsis generated by back alley abortion. You can vote for this new meaning on the Urban Dictionary by clicking here. You may also wish to do searches on Yahoo! under "sepsis stupak" in an effort to get it on their top ten searches list.

A Quote that Summarizes the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict and the Way Forward

From Bradley Burston of Ha'aretz:

"The fears of Israelis are real. The grievances of the Palestinians are just. If both peoples have one trait in common, it is that they cannot be bludgeoned, bribed, or sweet-talked into supporting a policy which favors only one side."

I've Heard of Imperialism Being Wedded to Commerce, But Imperialism Wedded to Sports?

Apparently, next week's Fox NFL pre-game show will be held in Afghanistan, so that the brutality of combat can be melded with the action of sports.

A Bit of Advice from One of Our Israeli Brethren

An article by the Ha'aretz writer Gideon Levy, republished by the Common Dreams website, contains some interesting advice for the United States government. Levy argues that the Obama Administration needs to take a tougher diplomatic line with the Israeli government, suggesting the use of sanctions to end the growth of settlements.

My Gut Reaction: It's kind of pathetic that we need an Israeli commentator to tell us this.

Analysis: As Levy writes, the United States does not allow itself to be treated with the same level of contempt and disregard by any nation other than Israel without serious repercussions. In many cases, the result is the threat of sanctions and or warfare. Even in the cases of close allies along the lines of Israel, such as France or Germany, the reaction tends to be one of dismissal.

Perhaps the greatest indicator of the level of deference our nation gives to Israel is Levy's mention of opinion polls in Israel showing President Obama having an approval rating of only 6 to 10 percent. If any other country were publishing approval polls about our leader, the typical American patriot would be frenzied with insulted anger. In the case of Israel, however, this is passed over in silence.

Of course, Gideon Levy should not be taken to represent the mainstream of Israeli opinion. Indeed, he has been called the most radical commentator in Israel. Nevertheless, his opinion is worth considering, particularly as it comes from an outsider looking in.

Good Quote from David Brancaccio on the Rachel Maddow Show

On Americans:

"One thing they're not good at is thinking about the future."

If You Thought the Fundies Were Crazy Before...

Pat Robertson's Christian Broadcasting Network has sent parents an urgent warning on their children's Halloween candy. As Americans United for the Separation of Church and State reports, CBN columnist Kimberly Daniels has written an online column claiming that Halloween candy may have been contaminated with demons by witches.

My Gut Reaction: As my father puts it, the Taliban has nothing on Pat Robertson, except for the gnarly beards.

Analysis: Pat Robertson has gone on for a while about Halloween, which he sees as having Satanic associations, and even calls a "festival of the devil." (Hmmm...I wonder what he thinks of the so-called hell houses where evangelicals depict the horrors of ungodliness and hell to try to convert people.)

Daniels's column, however, seems to go to far, even for CBN. When I went to their website in order to link to it, I found the article itself had mysteriously vanished. Perhaps it proved too embarrassing even for these fanatics.

Then again, Daniels may be on to something. As one of my friends who has children pointed out, there are at least two demons in every piece of chocolate Halloween candy: corn syrup and caffeine.

Going Broke

Browsing through Amazon.com yesterday, I happened to notice an advertisement for Sarah Palin's new book, Going Rogue. The price has already been cut by twenty dollars.

Randall Terry: God's Gift to the Pro-Choice Movement

Randall Terry, Operation Rescue founder and patron saint of the anti-abortion movement, has done yet another service for us pro-choicers. He is calling for the burning in effigy of Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid because he seems to think health care reform is a conspiracy to kill all the babies in America.

The blogger and commenters at the blog linked above are all trying to dissociate themselves and the anti-abortion movement from Terry's actions, but I think he is the movement's perfect mascot. Fanatical, misogynistic, a hypocrite (he promotes family values but is not on speaking terms with many of his children)-he basically sums up all the winning qualities of the anti-abortion movement.

The Coward's Bludgeon

In a comment on the blog Victim's Voice, run by Stephen Flatlow, a commentor calling herself Shana Maydel has accused me of anti-semitism. My post, which criticized the activities of organizations such as the ADL and AIPAC for being uncritically supportive of Israel. To Maydel, this comment was apparently tantamount to alleging that Jews control the government and the media, something which I do not believe.

My Gut Reaction: Shana Maydel (whomever she may be) is a childish coward.

Analysis: Maydel's rather incoherent rant raises several issues. First, her unsubstantiated use of the term anti-semite cheapens the meaning of the term, effectively reducing it to a code word for anyone who disagrees with her in regard to the state of Israel. This dilutes the actual impact of the term, and makes it less likely that actual incidents of anti-semitism will be taken seriously in the future. (Essentially the boy who cried wolf effect.)

Second, Maydel hurls smears at the organization my comment originally defended CAIR, effectively calling it a front for Hamas. However, these charges have been debunked by Michael Rolince, a former FBI agent and counter terrorism expert who concludes there are no hard facts backing the accusations. (Hmmm...perhaps Ms. Maydel's next act should be to expose the FBI as an anti-semetic front group.)

Dare We Hope...

According to a news posting on the Carnal Nation website, the fanatical anti-abortion organization Operation Rescue may be on its last legs. The organization sent a message to its supporters recently saying that it is severely lacking in funds. The funding shortage may be partially due to the murder of Dr. George Tiller, in which the organization is indirectly implicated.

My Gut Reaction: If it's true, Hallelujah!

Analysis: The Tiller murder has undoubtedly played a major role in the organization's rapid reversal of fortune. The organization had a long history of harrassing Dr. Tiller and clinic workers. Furthermore, Dr. Tiller's probable assassin, Scott Roeder, had been in contact with Operation Rescue policy adviser Cheryl Sullenger, who herself did two years in prison for trying to bomb an abortion clinic.

However, as Chris Hall points out, this was not the only issue facing Operation Rescue. The organization had lost its tax exempt status due to activities during the 2004 presidential campaign.

Here We Go Again...

The usual one man gang of panic-mongers is at it again. Stephen Flatlow of the Victim's Voice Blog is in his usual state of borderline paranoia at the recent set of terror arrests. He is so worked up that he takes issue with anyone raising questions about what is happening, including a few snipes at the Muslim advocacy group CAIR (Council for American Islamic Relations) for pointing at that this was another group of bumbling idiots who had to be entrapped into doing something. He argues that they will defend anyone just because they are Muslim.

My Gut Reaction: Pot. Kettle. Black. (With apologies to Richard Dawkins.)

Analysis: Although Flatlow attempts to contrast the Muslim advocacy groups with Jewish advocacy groups, it would seem that many of these Jewish advocacy groups are guilty of the very things he accuses CAIR of. Anyone who follows Middle Eastern news regularly cannot help but be aware of the uncritical support given to Israel given by American Jewish advocacy groups such as AIPAC and the Anti-Defamation League. Leaders of these groups such as Abraham Foxman justify virtually any Israeli action, without reflection on its brutality, largely on the basis of shared religion.

9 / 11 Reconsidered

Eight years after September 11, 2001, I feel the time has come to reconsider that date's place in history. In our memory, it has gained a significance far beyond what it actually has, out of proportion to the number of people that died and the overall effects on the world.

To many Americans, 9 / 11 has become an epochal moment, a day of terror and atrocity that is beyond anything they have experienced. It is, in effect, the blackest day the world has ever seen. The only problem is, it was not.

Yes, the terrorist attacks that took place that morning were horrific and beyond the pale of experience of most Americans. Yes, the suffering of the victims' families must be awful. But 9 / 11 is not the only tragedy in human history, or in American history.

If we limit our glance merely to the twentieth century, we are faced with the Armenian genocide, the First World War, the Second World War, the Holocaust, the Palestinian Nakba, the Vietnam War, Pol Pot's Kampuchea, and numerous other historical events have killed far more people. What makes 9 / 11 so special is that it happened to us. It was a matter of location, not magnitude.

People said it would change everything. However, for most Americans, life has gone back to normal. Even in New York, the site of the attacks, things have gone back to pretty much the way they were. As an article in today's New York Times illustrates, even though many New Yorkers thought that the city would never recover, the city has suffered only minimal changes. Businesses have remained where they were, the city itself has not degenerated into a security state, and the population has not fled.

One might argue that 9 / 11 has changed everything. He or she might point to the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, or the sweeping anti-terror laws that were passed afterwards. However, these changes were not merely results of the attacks themselves. They were outgrowths of our panic, and unwillingness to think before we acted.

President Obama's Speech Last Night

The behavior of congressional and Senate Republicans during last night's prime time speech by President Obama was genuinely embarrassing. From the idiot from South Carolina to Republican senators leaving early to "avoid the rush," the Republicans fully humiliated themselves, acting like small children.

My Gut Reaction: President Obama should have laid down the law.

Analysis: President Obama should not have taken that crap lying down. Upon Rep. Wilson's outburst, President Obama should have told the Republicans point blank to "Shut up!" or get out of the hall. He might also have considered personally mocking a few of them on national television. Spare the rod, spoil the ideologues.

Quit Hating on Jimmy

As Ben Smith reports on his Politico blog, some Jewish Democrats, although certainly not all, are taking offense at Jimmy Carter's willingness to make even a mild critique of Israeli policy. Elliot Abrams, an Iran-Contra indictee, and Ira Forman, executive director of the National Jewish Democratic Council whine about the former President's willingness to point out how big a contribution Israeli settlements have made to continuing the conflict in that region.

My Gut Reaction: Oh, boo-hoo...

Analysis: If one takes even a brief look at their website, it becomes clear what the NJDC is trying to do. As part of their "Stop the Smears" campaign, they are doing their best to present President Obama as Israel's best friend possible. Any comments, however legitimate, that might lead some to doubt the Democratic Party's support for Israel will be condemned, no matter how well-thought out they are.

However, these criticisms ignore the genuine moral claims of Palestinians in the face of Israeli settlers. Furthermore, they ignore the fact that, as a major source of funding for the Israeli government, we have the most control over what they do, and hold responsibility for their actions in the face of the Arab world. If we seek to be taken seriously as peacemakers, we must rein in the Israelis' actions.

Funny but True

How to Offend A Catholic

1. Tell them you used to be a Catholic, but are no longer.

2. Explain to them why you are no longer a Catholic.

3. Explain to them why a full grown woman might have more rights than a zygote.\

4. Discuss why you might be reluctant to send children to schools with track records of protecting pedophiles.

5. Suggest that the Church's limits on debate in Catholic colleges are actually a stifling of intellectual freedom.

6. Point out how idiotic the idea of papal infallibility is.

7. Point out the Church's adaptation of pagan saints and rituals.

8. Discuss the Church's history of violent intolerance.

9. Discuss the Church's collaboration with Fascist leaders such as Mussolini and Francisco Franco.

10. Point out the Church's indirect responsibility for violence and intolerance against homosexuals.

11. Point out various revisions the Church has made to its own doctrine.

12. Note that Catholic charities are not the only way to help the poor.

13. Point out how Catholic schools are in many respects indoctrination centers meant to brainwash children.

14. Discuss how the American Catholic Church is increasingly dependent on immigrants to keep its numbers up.

15. Mention all the former Catholics you keep meeting at Unitarian Churches.

16. Counter their arguments about how the longevity of the Church proves it's right by noting that Buddhism is older.

17. Note how all the best Catholic politicians are not particularly devout Catholics.

18. Discuss how the majority Catholic countries in Europe are largely secular.

19. Mention the Church's genocidal policies on AIDS in Africa.

20. Laugh at them when they post absurdist YouTube videos comparing President Obama to Hitler.