Where Are We Going?

The following was written by Mary Vogas and is the first in her series to discuss issues with the authoritarian membership of the Texas State Board of Education (SBOE).

It’s time to get involved  so our children will be taught sound science principles in the schools in Texas!  The countdown is in its final moments!  The Texas State Board of Education will be meeting in Austin on Nov. 18 - 21, 2008.  They will be looking at the science curriculum standards for Texas public schools.  The last time changes were made in the  science standards was a decade ago. 

The SBOE will be deciding if sound science will be replaced by political and religious beliefs.  That’s because some members of the SBOE are hung up on ideology that evolution is just about humans and apes.  But in biology, evolution refers to changes in the inherited traits of a population of organisms from one generation to the next.  The science community has spoken that biological evolution is a fact and has been proven.  There are over 100,000 published biological research studies that state that evolution is a fact.  Even Pope Benedict XVI has said that evolution can coexist with faith.  What has not been proven is how it occurs.  So the fact that evolution occurs has nothing to do with whether you believe that God created life on earth or not.  That is the “how” that science has not proven, and scientists do not suggest that they have.  If the SBOE rules that evolution is not a fact and classrooms around the state start teaching that erroneous concept, we will produce students indoctrinated with incorrect science principles!  It is a priority to some of the SBOE members to weaken teaching evolution as a fact.  We need to listen to professionals when updating our science curriculum, not lay people that use their own ideas to decide what Texas students will be taught!

The textbooks that would be forthcoming would be filled with wrong information!  And, as you know, the textbooks that Texas buys will be bought in many other parts of the country.  Texas could be  the cause of our whole nation going down the wrong path in science!  We are already lagging in comparison to other countries in science test scores; so think where we will be if these changes are made!

What happens in Texas will reshape what happens in the rest of the country.  So, get up and and get involved now before we have to wait another 10 years to undo the mess that will be upon us from the SBOE! 

Public testimony will be held on November 19. 
Register to testify.
Review the science standards on which you will be testifying.

The primary effort of this blog, with the help of John Dean, Robert Altemeyer, Shadia Drury, Philip Zimbardo and many others, has been about our close call with becoming a single-party state under the likes of Karl Rove, Dick Cheney, Newt Gingrich, Sarah Palin and other conservatives without conscience. This history has spanned almost 40 years and has been described relative to the Executive and Legislative branches of our federal government. It has been about a minority of the Republican Party that is strongly authoritarian; born-again white evangelicals lead by neocons that favor preemptive continuous war, fear mongering and rule by the unitary bully pulpit. It has been about what has happened and could have happened under the rule by this totalitarian minority.

Now that the nation has reached a major turning point, I will be taking this blog around that corner away from the “you’re on your own” me society toward a more empathetic society where a limited federal government empowers and protects its citizens from various abusive power brokers including big business and big government.

As we turn, I will do my best to explain why the authoritarians are who they are and what we can learn from them to replace their conservative infrastructure with a new progressive one. The conservatives have spent almost 40 years building this infrastructure and progressives have just laid a foundation for building theirs. Are we ready to build on this foundation?

“This [presidential] victory alone is not the change we seek - it is only the chance for us to make that change.” - President Elect Barack Obama, 11/4/08.

Jim normally provides the postings under Bad Deeds. Now, however, he is trying to prevent future bad deeds from the Texas State Board of Education:

Would you like to be part of a statewide grassroots network of mainstream Texans who believe all students deserve a 21st-century science education?

Here are two ways you can support sound science in the classroom:

1. Sign the Stand Up for Science petition and help spread the message that cynical politicians should stop promoting a phony conflict between science and faith.

2. Join the TFN Stand Up for Science Response Team. The Texas Freedom Network (TFN) will notify you how and when to take action to support sound science. There are opportunities to testify at a State Board of Education meeting, become a postcard captain, write a blog entry, and much, much more. You make a difference by reminding people that we can do best for our kids and honor the faith of all Texans by teaching sound science in science classrooms and leaving personal religious views to our families and churches.

Regards,

Jim

McCain Supporter Turns Away Children of Obama Supporters During Trick-or-Treat - Shirley Nagel of Grosse Pointe Farms, Michigan gave out treats Friday evening, but only to those who share her support of John McCain and running mate Sarah Palin. A sign posted outside Nagel’s house, about 12 miles west of Detroit, served notice to all trick-or-treaters. It read: “No handouts for Obama supporters, liars, tricksters or kids of supporters.” Nagel said that “Obama’s scary.” When asked about children who’d been turned away empty-handed and crying, she said: “Oh well. Everybody has a choice.”

When they’re like that, one is all you need (or can stand).

Regards,

Jim

Senator Obama made the following during his acceptance speech on August 28, 2008:

For over two decades, he’s [John McCain] subscribed to that old, discredited Republican philosophy - give more and more to those with the most and hope that prosperity trickles down to everyone else. In Washington, they call this the Ownership Society, but what it really means is - you’re on your own. Out of work? Tough luck. No health care? The market will fix it. Born into poverty? Pull yourself up by your own bootstraps - even if you don’t have boots. You’re on your own.

Here are some more ‘you’re-on-your-own’ examples:

• If you believe as the social conservative Republicans believe, John & Sarah will support you. If not, you’re on your own.
• If your a business man of any level of wealth, J&S will support cutting your taxes so you don’t have to support the infrastructure that helps their business succeed. If you’re unemployed, you’re on your own because you must have screwed up.
• If you are unborn, they support your life over all others. If you were raped, by anyone, and you think the rapist shouldn’t be a father or your own life is at risk and you have other children that need you, you’re on your own.
• If your company makes excessive profits and pays excessive executive salaries, you and the company should be given more tax breaks. If you have to pay an excessive amount of your income on high priced gasoline, you’re on your own.
• If you’re from a nation with resources that make our economy run and are suffering from a cruel dictator who might implement the next holocaust, J&S will send your children to dump the dictator, save you from evil and prevent some future imaginary 9/11. If you’re from a nation with nothing and those you love are being killed by fellow citizens, you’re on your own.
• If you can provide information about enemies of interest to them, J&S will protect you from prosecution for violation of our laws. If your name ends up on the terrorist watch list, you’re on your own.
• If a company sells patented drugs and it pays high fees to other companies for expensive television advertising, J&S will prevent access to generic drugs. If you need patented drugs and you don’t have health insurance, you’re on your own.
• If you use torture on our enemies because the enemy does, J&S approve and will protect you from prosecution. If you’re tortured, you’re not only on your own, you’re presumed guilty, so torture is OK.
• If you own a company and want to cut costs, J&S are OK with anything you do. If your place of work has has been shut down and your job has left the country, you’re on your own. If your employer doesn’t provide or no longer offers a retirement plan, you’re on your own. If your employer doesn’t provide or no longer offers paid sick leave, you’re on your own.
• If you have done a lousy job managing your large investment company, J&S will rescue you and your excessive unwarranted salary and benefits. If you were coned into a home loan from this same company, you’re on your own.
• If you do ‘right,’ as they define it, J&S will make sure you are free from persecution. If they redefine what is wrong or accuse you of a wrong, you’re on your own.
• If you’re a self starter or just born into a rich family that helps them get elected, J&S will help you any way they can. If you need some coaching and and might vote against them, you’re on your own.
• If you’re a born-again Christian with unquestioning respect for authority figures, welcome to the J&S fan club. If not, watch your step - you’re on your own.
• If you accepted another reassignment to a battle zone, they have a ribbon on the back of their truck to remember you by. If you’re suffering from post traumatic stress syndrome, you’re on your own.
• If you’re are arrested as an enemy combatant based on hearsay, you’re on your own.

It all comes down to this: If you don’t believe in, believe as and do as they do, you’re on your own.

The following was provided by:
Mary Vogas
Volunteer for the Ewing Campaign
281-482-5423 or 281-250-8204

Texas Secretary of State Hope Andrade has been asked to declare long-time State Board of Education member David Bradley ineligible to serve on the Board should he win reelection to the body November 4.

A formal letter (attached, with supporting documents) has been sent to Sec. Andrade by Houston attorney Chad Dunn. In it, he details the fact that Bradley has not lived in the district he represents – as required by state law – since at least 2000. (SBOE District 7 includes Galveston, Jefferson and Chambers Counties, a portion of Brazoria County, and a large portion of East and South Harris County.)

Bradley has alienated even his fellow Republicans with his extremist views. His Democratic challenger is Laura Ewing, a Friendswood educator who is running an aggressive campaign against the long-time incumbent who was first elected in 1996.

Ewing — who has been endorsed by the Houston Chronicle, Beaumont Enterprise and many others groups — is currently airing a hard-hitting television ad that calls for Bradley to be “expelled” from the School Board. The ad can be viewed at www.ewingfortexas.com.

Bradley’s ineligibility stems from the fact he actually lives in Buna in Jasper County, where he claims a homestead exemption. His voter’s registration lists a Beaumont office as his residence, along with his wife and two adult children.

“David Bradley has either lied to officials in Jasper County or Jefferson County, but the indisputable fact is that he has knowingly filed a false government document with at least one official agency,” Ewing said.

This is not Bradley’s first brush with the law, as Ewing noted in her TV ad. He was indicted by a Travis County Grand Jury for violating the state’s Open Meetings Law, and more recently was investigated by a Jefferson County Grand Jury. He was forced to close at least one business for failure to pay taxes.

“It would be bad enough if Bradley were just lying about his legal residence, but his service on the Board has been deplorable,” Ewing said. “He has bullied fellow Board members and even bragged about “slapping teachers” who oppose his extremist politics.”

Ewing also noted that Bradley recently received a $5,000 contribution – almost a quarter of his campaign funds – from a New York City financial adviser. Coincidentally, Bradley has led the effort for an early review of a lucrative financial services contract now being provided to the SBOE by another firm.

“David Bradley has never been about doing the right thing for our children. He has such disdain for public schools that his own children were home-schooled,” Ewing said. “It’s time we elect someone less interested in taking care of his cronies and imposing his political will on our teachers.”

Ewing, of Friendswood, is a career educator with a master’s degree in educational leadership. She is the parent of of a public school educated student.

For further information, contact:
Laura Ewing, (281) 992-9674

Labels divide us and some of our fellow Americans are unknowingly using them to help bin Laden implement his plan to destroy us.

At the start of this conflict, bin Laden committed a horrendous crimial act and murdered almost 3,000 citizens of the world. He wanted to defeat us by collapsing our financial infrastructure centered around the World Trade Center.   But we came together and stopped him.  

But that didn’t last long.    A neocon agenda, that had been waiting in the background for years, was ready and available to change the world.

Our president took that agenda for his own and proceeded to lie us into a war for oil. He used various pretenses like protecting us from WMDs and later rescuing the citizens of Iraq from a cruel dictator.   He played enough of us and our Congress into a first ever preemptive battle with Iraq and a follow-on occupation that is costing tens of billions a month.   Add to these occupation costs the costs of bailing out our financial systems, Bush’s tax cuts for the rich and families loosing their homes, and what is the result? Our nation and economy are going bankrupt.

“So we are continuing this policy of bleeding America to the point of bankruptcy.” This statement was made in a video on October 30, 2004. The speaker was Osama bin Laden.

But that was then and, unfortunately, has mostly been forgotten. However, four years later, his wishes are unfolding before his eyes and he has done nothing.

And now, as we near the end of the 2008 election cycle, what else is happening and how does it fit into bin Laden’s plans?

We have hate speech and negative labels aimed at Senator Obama and his supporters by some McCain/Palin supporters.

How does bin Laden view these attacks of one group of Americans against another? Isn’t dividing your enemies forces another war tactic? Can you imagine how ecstatic bin Laden must be as he watches us fight amongst ourselves? This is all happening while the world watches and bin Laden does nothing - not even a video to tweek our collective noses. Absolutely nothing. A small group of our fellow Americans and their national candidates are doing the dividing for him.

Hate and labels divide.

We must unite or witness destruction from within while bin Laden smirks from afar.

Freddie Mac Secretly Paid Republican Consulting Firm $2 Million to Kill Regulations - Freddie Mac secretly paid a Republican consulting firm $2 million to kill legislation that would have regulated and trimmed the mortgage finance giant and its sister company, Fannie Mae, three years before the government took control to prevent their collapse. In the cross hairs of the campaign carried out by DCI of Washington were Republican senators and a regulatory overhaul bill sponsored by Sen. Chuck Hagel, R-Neb. DCI’s chief executive is Doug Goodyear, whom John McCain’s campaign later hired to manage the GOP convention in September. Freddie Mac’s payments to DCI began shortly after the Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee sent Hagel’s bill to the then GOP-run Senate on July 28, 2005. All GOP members of the committee supported it; all Democrats opposed it.

Representative Michele Bachmann Accuses Obama and Democrats of Being Anti-America - Republican Representative Michele Bachmann of Minnesota accused Obama and Democrats of being anti-America on Friday on MSNBC’s Hardball. She also said, “Let’s examine all congressmen to see who is pro-America or not pro-America.” (Is she suggesting we return to the McCarthy Un-American Activities witch-hunt hearing days? - JLV) The good news is that Bachmann’s Democratic foe in Minnesota raised nearly $500,000 (Update: Over $700,000 per TV report tonight) because of her remarks on Hardball Friday.

McCain Campaign Hits Up Russian Envoy for Cash - Russia’s permanent mission to the UN has received a letter from U.S. Republican presidential candidate John McCain asking for $5,000 in financial support of his election campaign, the mission said in a statement on Monday. “We have received a letter from Senator John McCain with a request for a financial donation to his presidential election campaign. In this respect we have to reiterate that neither Russia’s permanent mission to the UN nor the Russian government or its officials finance political activities in foreign countries,” the statement said. According to Ruslan Bakhtin, press secretary of the Russian mission, the letter was dated September 29 and was signed by McCain.

Obama’s False Medicare Claim - In a TV ad and in speeches, Obama is making bogus claims that McCain plans to cut $880 billion from Medicare spending and to reduce benefits. A TV spot says McCain’s plan requires “cuts in benefits, eligibility or both.” Obama said in a speech that McCain plans “cuts” that would force seniors to “pay more for your drugs, receive fewer services, and get lower quality care.” These claims are false, and based on a single newspaper report that says no such thing. McCain’s policy director states unequivocally that no benefit cuts are envisioned. McCain does propose substantial “savings” through such means as cutting fraud, increased use of information technology in medicine and better handling of expensive chronic diseases.

McCain Supporters Heckle Early Voters, Call Them ‘Cheaters’ - At the polling site was a group of loud and angry protesters who shouted and mocked the voters as they walked in. People were shouting about Obama’s acknowledged cocaine use as a young man, abortion and one man used the word “terrorist.” They also were complaining that Sundays are for church, not voting. Most voters in line ignored the hecklers but a few heckled back. One voter said she was deeply saddened to see people protesting the most fundamental right of democracy.

Obama Supporters’ Tires Slashed In North Carolina - Someone slashed the tires of at least 30 vehicles parked outside the Crown Coliseum on Sunday during a rally for Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama, authorities said. Sheriff’s deputies are investigating. The tires were cut while people were inside the Crown Coliseum listening to speeches, said Maj. E. Wright of the Cumberland County Sheriff’s Office. The slashed tires left several women, including a single mother and a toddler, stranded and upset.

Palin Condemns Robocalls Yesterday, Then Makes Robocalls Today - Sarah Palin may have condemned robocalls yesterday as intrusive and a drain on people’s attention spans, but that didn’t stop her from recording her own robocall on behalf of the McCain campaign. McCain’s Robocalls Have Parents Worried About Their Kids; Palin Criticizes Tactic

How Palin Was Chosen as the Republican VP Candidate - In February, 2007, Adam Brickley gave himself a mission: he began searching for a running mate for McCain who could halt the momentum of the Democrats. Brickley began by “randomly searching Wikipedia and election sites for Republican women.” Though he generally opposes affirmative action, gender drove his choice. “People were talking about Hillary at the time,” he recalled. … Brickley registered a Web site—palinforvp.blogspot.com—which began getting attention in the conservative blogosphere. … Brickley said that “the hand of God” played a role in choosing Palin: “The longer I worked on it the less I felt I was driving it. Something else was at work.” (George W. Bush thought he was told by God to run for President, and look how well that worked out. - JLV) Next, Palin was promoted by ultra-conservative Bill Kristol. (Kristol has been wrong on nearly every thing he has said for years, so that explains a lot. - JLV)

Voter Registration Fraud Investigation Leads to Arrest - Mark Anthony Jacoby, who owns the firm known as Young Political Majors (YPM), was arrested after allegedly registering himself to vote, once in 2006 and again in 2007, at an address where did not live. An investigation by the Secretary of State’s Election Fraud Investigation Unit revealed that Jacoby twice registered to vote at the address of a childhood home in Los Angeles although he no longer lived there. This arrest comes on the heels of recent media coverage of YPM’s fraudulent tactics sometimes known as “slamming” - where voters are duped into changing their party registrations, or where their registration is simply changed by YPM without the voter’s knowledge: The Times randomly interviewed 46 of the hundreds of voters whose election records show they were recently re-registered as Republicans by YPM, and 37 of them — more than 80% — said that they were misled into making the change or that it was done without their knowledge.

Hate You Can Believe In: ACORN Deluged with Threatening and Racist Voicemails and Emails - After McCain outrageously claimed before a national audience on Wednesday night that ACORN was “maybe perpetrating one of the greatest frauds in voter history in this country, maybe destroying the fabric of democracy,” the group came under attack, literally. In the following days, ACORN’s Boston and Seattle offices were vandalized and at least one employee received a death threat. And for nearly two weeks, ACORN offices across the nation have been subjected to an onslaught of racist and threatening voicemails and emails. You can get samples of the ugliness (if you must) at the link.

Thousands of Voters ‘Incorrectly’ Purged From Voter Rolls Across Nation - Officials in Wisconsin admit that their database is wrong one out of five times when it flags voters, sometimes for data discrepancies as small as a middle initial or a typo in a birth date. When the six members of the state elections board — all retired judges — ran their registrations through the system, four were incorrectly rejected because of mismatches.

Regards,

Jim
Will you listen to your hopes or your fears?

The most important race in Texas for our students’ education is in State Board of Education District 7 between David Bradley and Laura Ewing. David Bradley is the incumbent. Mr. Bradley is in insurance for a business while Ewing is a career educator in the public schools. Mr. Bradley is trying to further his ideological agenda while Laura Ewing wants to improve schools in Texas.

As reported in The Examiner Online, Bradley ignored three years of work by teachers and experts on a new language arts curriculum. He proposed instead that the board adopt a different curriculum patched together overnight by social conservatives and slipped under hotel room doors the morning of the vote. Teachers and curriculum experts said the substitute was far too rigid, outdated and poorly organized, but the Bradley faction had the numbers and the motion passed. Bradley later bragged in the press that he had “spanked” the teachers.

“It was demeaning, degrading and demoralizing,” said Alana Morris, past president of the Texas Council of Teachers of English Language Arts. “Bradley was just like a playground bully with anyone who disagreed with him. He was condescending and even turned his back on teachers who were speaking.”

Now information has surfaced about Mr. Bradley becoming physical with Cynthia A. Thornton, former District 10 representative on the SBOE. She described her encounters with Bradley for The Examiner. “As I went to the restroom and walked around his chair, he actually grabbed me and told me to keep my G.D. mouth shut,” she exclaimed. After a second unpleasant encounter, a uniformed officer of the Capitol Police was always present when the board was in session.

Recently, Bradley addressed the Jefferson County Republican Women’s luncheon with the charge that Ewing wants to put a Muslim curriculum in our public schools. His “proof?” Ewing participated in a study group that traveled to north and east Africa and India to study Islamic history and culture. The trip was sanctioned by Gov. Rick Perry because it is a “state of Texas requirement that sixth-grade world cultures classes as well as high school level world geography and world history classes teach about the impact of Christian, Jewish and Islamic religions and culture on contemporary society.” Bradley tried to further prove his allegation by waving a photo of a group that includes Ewing posing in front of the Taj Mahal, a far cry from the implied suggestion that Ewing wants to turn your neighborhood elementary school into a madrassa.

This is the last straw! We have got to stop this man from dictating his personal agenda to students across Texas. Vote Ewing for SBOE!

Laura Ewing Campaign
Netroots Outreach
Respond  to Mary Vogas

I’m only $130.00 away from my Grassroots Finance Committee commitment to Senator Obama’s presidential campaign. Since, I’m matching contributions dollar-for-dollar, I only need contributions totaling $65.00. Please watch the videos below and consider making a small contribution toward that $65.00.

Big Hit Buda made this short film and provides concrete reasons why people should vote for Obama. (This video: “ELECT OBAMA (remix)” was filmed at the V.P. announcement rally in Springfield, IL and at several locations throughout Chicago. )

Here are some quotes from the next video:

Something is stirring. It’s about you. Enough of the politics of the past. A new politics for a new time. We cannot walk alone. … march into the future.

Help bring empathy back to our national government.   You may not see much difference between McCain and Obama, but there is.   Here is a quote for Obama’s nomination acceptance speech that demonstrates the difference:

For over two decades, he’s [John McCain] subscribed to that old, discredited Republican philosophy - give more and more to those with the most and hope that prosperity trickles down to everyone else. In Washington, they call this the Ownership Society, but what it really means is - you’re on your own. Out of work? Tough luck. No health care? The market will fix it. Born into poverty? Pull yourself up by your own bootstraps - even if you don’t have boots. You’re on your own.

Contribute to support empathy by October 24, 2008.   I will match your contribution, dollar for dollar.  

My thanks to those who have have gotten me so close to my goal and for those that will help me reach or even exceed my goal.