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.

Rove: "proud" USA used waterboarding

And I would be 'proud' to see him -- standing alongside Dick Cheney, of course -- executed as a war criminal. So I guess that makes us even.

In a BBC interview, Karl Rove, who was known as "Bush's brain", said he "was proud we used techniques that broke the will of these terrorists".

He said waterboarding, which simulates drowning, should not be considered torture.

In 2009, President Barack Obama banned waterboarding as a form of torture.

But the practice was sanctioned in written memos by Bush administration lawyers in August 2002, providing legal cover for its use.

"Should not be considered torture". Too late, it already is.

Last night, in an interview with Rachel Maddow, Nancy Pelosi said that the evidence against Bush administration officials had to be much more solid than it was and that, as a result, was the reason she took impeachment off the table ... but that she thinks there should always be accountability. I wonder if all the confessions coming out leave any impression on her.

Beyond that, the refusal by Obama's Justice Department to prosecute them -- or turn them over to be prosecuted by a world court -- despite their open boasts is one of the reasons why people like me have lost enthusiasm for this President.

Digressing for a moment to the issue of healthcare reform as analogy: like Ed Schultz, I have come around on the healthcare reform proposal, but I also believe that the criticism of Dennis Kucinich's principled stand against it is uncalled for, and a positively shitty thing to make a political play of (the deadline to file in Ohio has passed so Kucinich won't have a primary opponent.  More of this kind of crap from Markos is going to really piss me off).

But there is no room for compromise on torture. You can't say it's illegal and then turn away from your responsibility for enforcing the law because of perceived political fallout (see 'Clinton, impeachment').

Obama has already lost most of the vim the progressive left had for him so this shouldn't surprise or alarm anyone. The malaise threatens to wash over the November elections all the way down the ballot. The only question left is how broad it goes and how deep it reaches. And whether the Republicans can do something to screw up their advantage between now and then.

Massa insanity