Funnies Extra

The Texas Textbook Massacre

Mustering outrage on this is easy.

Friday morning the Texas Board of Education voted to approve changing the state's social studies curriculum to make it more closely reflect the views of God's Own Party. Among the changes are:

• Replacing the heathen, Thomas Jefferson, with theologian John Calvin;
• Tearing down the wall between church and state;
• Rejecting "capitalism" in favor of the "free-enterprise system"; and
• Prohibiting discussion of "transvestites, transsexuals and who knows what else."

Given Texas' influence on the national textbook market, you're probably better off home-schooling your kids. Or not.

Kuffner compiled linkage to those who covered the hearings as they happened, including the exemplary Texas Freedom Network and Think Progress. April Castro at the AP, Blue Texan at firedoglake, and Gary Scharrer at the Houston Chronicle's Austin bureau add more. I just have one question: if the conservatives would rather home-school or use public education vouchers to privatize their children's education, why do they also insist on indoctrinating the remaining public education students? Is it a mission from God? A small portion of their quest for world domination? Because they can't help themselves?

Where is that good ol' libertarian "leave us alone" mantra when it comes to public school textbooks?

Sunday Funnies

Theodore Olbermann 1929 - 2010

My father died, in the city of his birth, New York, at 3:50 EST this afternoon.

Though the financial constraints of his youth made college infeasible, he accomplished the near-impossible, becoming an architect licensed in 40 states. Much of his work was commercial, for a series of shoe store chains and department stores. There was a time in the 1970's when nearly all of the Baskin-Robbins outlets in the country had been built to his design, and under his direction. Through much of my youth and my early adult life, it was almost impossible to be anywhere in this country and not be a short drive to one of "his" stores.

My Dad was predeceased last year by my mother, Marie, his wife of nearly 60 years. He died peacefully after a long fight against the complications that ensued after successful colon surgery last September at the New York Presbyterian-Weill Cornell Medical Center. My sister Jenna and I were at his side, and I was reading him his favorite James Thurber short stories, as he left us.

More. RIP Ted Olbermann and deepest condolences to Keith.