|
Rush is now officially the titular head of the Texas Republican Party as well as the national Republican party!
|
Republicans Representing Collin Co. |
Florence Shapiro State Senator (TX 8th Senate Dist.) |
Craig Estes State Senator (TX 30th Senate Dist.) |
Brian McCall State Rep. (TX 66th House Dist.) |
Jerry Madden State Rep. (TX 67th House Dist.) |
Ken Paxton Texas State Rep. (TX 70th House Dist.) |
Jodie Laubenberg State Rep. (TX 70th House Dist.) |
Your Collin Co. Senate and House Dist. numbers can be found on your 2008 Orange Voter's Registration Card |
"Sunset review" is the process by which state agencies are reviewed every 12 years. If lawmakers do not pass bills to renew charters to keep agencies operating over the next 12 year period, they are automatically ordered to close down over the next year.The Republican controlled legislature did not manage to get to the business of "state agency sunset review," and so, did not renew the charter on these 5 agencies. These agencies are now automatically ordered to close down by Sept. 1, 2010, under the Texas "sunset law."
"...He is being attacked NOT for anything done wrong during his two years as chair of the SBOE but primarily because he is Christian!"Texans for Better Science Education contend that McLeroy is being attacked primarily [just] for being a Christian because;
As chairman of the State Board of Education, McLeroy advocates that Texas public school students should be taught "creation science" rather than biological evolution science. McLeroy is convinced that evolution taught uncritically to Texas students undermines the tenet of Christianity that people were created in the image of God.In March, after a year of fierce debate about how evolution should be taught (or not taught) in Texas public schools, the State Board of Education (SBOE) voted on and passed a final version of new science education standards that will guide the content of science discussion and textbooks for the next decade.
McLeroy advocates that the Texas education standard, as set by the SBOE, must require Texas educators to have a "critical discussion" on the “strengths and weaknesses of scientific theories" with public school students.
McLeroy advocates that the science disciplines of physics, geology, biology and the archaeological study of the fossil record, which all provide evidence the earth is 4.5 billion years old and that biological processes first appeared at least 3.9 billion years ago, must be critically challenged by Texas teachers.
McLeroy advocates that teachers must engage Texas students in a "critical discussion" that archaeological evidence in the fossil record does not support the idea of natural selection as an explanation of how organisms evolved on earth over millions of years.
McLeroy wants teachers to lead students to the believe that cells and the DNA code controlling their function is so complex that intelligent design by a creator and not evolution is the only answer that can be accepted. McLeroy further advocates that the alternative "intelligent design scientific theory" should be offered to Texas students by science teachers.
"Only a Theory" 2:19 | Barbara Forrest, Professor of Philosophy Southeastern Louisiana University - "When creationists try to dismiss evolution as 'only a theory,' they are misusing the word theory." |
Avoiding the Supernatural 1:41 | Nick Matzke, Public Information Project Director National Center for Science Education - "A conservative judge isn't going to just redefine science." |
Science and Religion 2:29 | Ken Miller, Biologist Brown University - "What science isn't very good at is answering questions [on] the meaning and purpose of things." |
On Isaac Newton 1:34 | |
A Solid Theory 1:18 | Kevin Padian, Paleontologist UC Berkeley - "I don't know where people get the idea that evolution is a theory in crisis." |
Natural Explanations 1:33 | Robert T. Pennock, Philosopher and Evolutionary Scientist Michigan State University - "You can't have gaps that you fill in by appeal to miracles." |
Science Is Not Dogmatic 2:02 | |
Science Tests Its Claims 1:12 | Eugenie Scott, Executive Director National Center for Science Education - "If you teach intelligent design as a science, you are confusing students about the nature of science." |
The Power of Science 1:23 | Neil Shubin, Paleontologist University of Chicago and the Field Museum - "Not every idea, no matter how beautiful, qualifies as science." |
|
|
SEN. JOHN KYL on PBS News Hour April 25, 2005: "For 214 years it has been the tradition of the Senate to approve judicial nominees by a majority vote. Many of our judges and, for example, Clarence Thomas, people might recall, was approved by either fifty-one or fifty-two votes as I recall. It has never been the rule that a candidate for judgeship that had majority support was denied the ability to be confirmed once before the Senate. It has never happened before. So we're not changing the rules in the middle of the game. We're restoring the 214-year tradition of the Senate because in the last two years Democrats have begun to use this filibuster."That Republican threat to eliminate the filibuster rule, of course, was in 2005 after Republicans increased their control of congress in the 2004 election. The threat worked - Senate Democrats did not filibuster Pres. Bushes judicial nominees and no longer voted against cloture, thus allowing Pres. Bush and Senate Republicans to confirm extreme right-wing lower court and supreme court judges, effectively eliminating Democrats from the "advise and consent" process.
After Bush's eight years in office, Republican-appointed majorities firmly control the outcomes in 10 of these courts, compared with seven after President Bill Clinton's tenure. They also now share equal representation with Democratic appointees on two additional courts.That's out of a total of 13 judicial circuits (12 regular regional circuits plus the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, which hears special national cases). In 2001, the political breakdown of the nation's appeals court was about even, with 77 judges appointed by Democrats, 74 by Republicans and 27 vacancies. The current breakdown is 66 Democrats, 102 Republicans and 11 vacancies.
In a 5-to-4 ruling, the court overturned its 1986 opinion in a Michigan case, which forbade the police from interrogating a defendant once he invoked his right to counsel at an arraignment or a similar proceeding.
That 1986 ruling has not only proved “unworkable,” Justice Antonin Scalia wrote for the majority, but its “marginal benefits are dwarfed by its substantial costs” in that some guilty defendants go free. Justice Scalia was joined by Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. and Justices Anthony M. Kennedy, Clarence Thomas and Samuel A. Alito Jr.
However, "In an angry dissent, Justice John Paul Stevens, who wrote the 1986 decision, said that contrary to the majority’s assertion, that decision protected 'a fundamental right that the court now dishonors.'”
|
|
|
Yours, very sincerely and respectfully,
A. Lincoln
|
Oh, and by the way, you've no doubt heard that the Republican National Committee just voted to recognize "that the Democratic Party is dedicated to restructuring American society along socialist ideals." Denton Municipal Electric, the City of Denton's "government owned" electric utility, is a classic example of a socialist government in practice. Last time I checked, Denton was still a very Republican city in a very Republican county. Read Glenn Melancon's "Socialist Ghosts" posting in this blog.
The American Civil Liberties Union of Texas has launched an investigation into the distribution of religious materials in the Frisco ISD as well as the Marshall, Plano, Westwood (Palestine), Wichita Falls and Wylie (Abilene) districts. This follows the Bible hand-out by Gideons International at Frisco secondary schools last week.Is the ACLU of Texas' going far enough in its investigation? Religious instruction in Texas public schools is not limited to school districts allowing organizations to "offer" Bibles to student in the schools.
Lisa Graybill, the ACLU of Texas' legal director said, "What we are looking at is excessive entanglement and coercion. . . When a school invites them into the classroom and allows them to walk down the aisles, they are endorsing rather than just making the material available."
"Far too often in Texas, public schools betray the trust of families by forcing religious instruction with which they may not agree on students in their sexuality education. According to materials returned for this report, 9.5 percent of Texas secondary school districts include inappropriate religious content in their sexuality education instruction.See previous posting: Obama's 2010 Budget Eliminates Federal Funding For Abstinence-Only Sex Ed
Consider a handout used by one district entitled: “Things to look for in a mate.”How they relate to God (page 44 of the full report)Another district turned over a series of what appear to be student handouts that lay out a scriptural case for abstinence from sexual activity. (page 41-42 of the full report)
- Is Jesus their first love?
- Trying to impress people or serve God?
Question: “What does the Bible say about sex before marriage / premarital sex?”
Answer: Along with all other kinds of sexual immorality, sex before marriage / premarital sex is repeatedly condemned in Scripture (Acts 15:20; Romans 1:29; 1 Corinthians 5:1; 6:13,18; 7:2; 10:8; 2 Corinthians 12:21; Galatians 5:19; Ephesians 5:3; Colossians 3:5; 1 Thessalonians 4:3; Jude 7).
Take Action: Ask your state Representative in the House to vote NO on SB 283. Click Here to find your State Representative's contact information.Original Posting Wednesday May 20, 2009: State Rep. Betty Brown, R-Terrell, who remarked, "Asians should change their names to make them ‘easier for American [election workers] to deal with," as the House Election Committee heard public comment on the bill earlier this session, had planned to hold a midday press conference Wednesday. Brown plans to try to amend SB 362, as soon as it is called to the House floor, to make photo identification at the polls an absolute requirement.
|
Requiring voters to present a government-issued photo ID to vote is a flawed solution to a made-up problem. Republican Attorney General Greg Abbott spent $1.4 million in a two year investigation attempting to locate voter ID fraud and failed to identify anything more than 26 cases where people forgot to sign and address the absentee ballot envelope.It is notable that only 71 of the 76 House Republicans recently signed a "statement of principles" letter calling for the restrictive photo ID measure. To date, most of the 74 House Democrats oppose a restrictive voter photo ID requirement, but Rep. Joe Heflin, a Democrat on the House elections committee who voted for the voter Id bill in committee, has reportedly said he is leaning toward supporting a photo ID law. Rep. David Farabee's (D-Wichita Falls) has also comment that he could support a voter ID bill that had a phase-in period.
Republican maneuvering has every appearance of a disparate scheme devised to stack the deck in favor of Republicans in the 2010 legislative elections. Republicans are anxious to maintain control of the Texas House and Senate to give them the upper hand in the federal and state redistricting decisions that the Legislature is scheduled to make in 2011 following the 2010 U.S. census.The Texas photo Voter ID bill is part of the Republican agenda to keep Republicans in office by suppressing the vote of groups that tend to vote Democratic. In the 10 states that have already passed voter picture ID laws, voter participation is down about 3 percent. However, black and Hispanic voter participation is down more than 10 percent in those states. The success of Democratic voter registration drives among these Texas groups in 2008 threatens to tip the balance of power away from Republican candidates in future elections. As the tide of Democratic voters continues to grow across Texas, voter ID legislation would be an effective way for Republicans to hold back the tide.
Bioscience is big business in Texas. And it's growing at a rapid clip. A study last week said the life sciences industry injected 75-billion dollars into the state's economy last year and supported well over 200 thousand jobs. But a new national report comparing science education in public schools across the country puts Texas near the bottom of the pack. The state-by-state study of bio-science education in America, referencing data from the U.S. Department of Education, shows Texas ranked 41st on science and biology scores.Texas Freedom Network:
Breaking: McLeroy Nomination Moves!
In a surprise meeting on the Senate floor, the Senate Nominations Committee in Austin has just approved the appointment of Don McLeroy as chairman of the Texas State Board of Education. It appears that McLeroy’s supporters plan to bring his confirmation to the full Senate early next week. Confirmation will require a two-thirds vote.
Committee Chairman Mike Jackson, R-La Porte, had said he would not bring up McLeroy’s confirmation for a vote in committee unless he thought there were enough votes to get it in the full Senate. We don’t know at this point whether opposition from nearly all Democrats and some Republicans has softened, but the signs are alarming.
If you haven’t done so already, it’s critical that you contact your senator and tell him or her that you oppose McLeroy’s confirmation. You can find the name and contact information for your senator here.
Texas Freedom Network President Kathy Miller has released the following statement:“If the Texas Senate genuinely cares about quality public education, they will reject as state board chairman a man who apparently agrees that parents who want to teach their kids about evolution are monsters. And we’ll see whether senators really want a chairman who presides over a board that is so focused on ‘culture war’ battles that it has made Texas look like an educational backwater to the rest of the country.”Gov. Perry appointed McLeroy board chairman in July 2007. Since then, the board has turned debates over language arts and science curriculum standards in “culture war” battlegrounds. Chairman McLeroy has also endorsed a book that says parents who want to teach children about evolution are “monsters” and calls clergy who see no conflict between faith and science “morons.” This spring McLeroy led other creationists on the state board in adopting new science curriculum standards that call the scientific consensus on evolution into question and no longer include references to scientific estimates of the age of the universe.
Tx Sen. John Cornyn, Chairman of the National Republican Senatorial Committee, has speculated in the last week that Senate colleague Kay Bailey Hutchison would quit the Senate in the fall to focus on a run for governor. Cornyn said this morning that replacing her with a Republican will require "a real race" and "certainly not a walk."The problem is nobody, with the possible exception of Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison, knows for sure when or if she will vacate her Senate seat to run against incumbent Gov. Rick Perry for the Governor's Mansion."Texas is marginally a red state, but not a slam dunk," Cornyn said at a breakfast with reporters this morning. "There are strong candidates on the Democratic side, people like Bill White, the mayor of Houston, people like John Sharp, who are running and running hard."
Teenagers who receive abstinence-only sex education and pledge to remain virgins until marriage are just as likely to have premarital sex as those who do not promise abstinence and are significantly less likely to use condoms and other forms of birth control when they do, according to a large federal survey released last month.Take Action: Ask your state Representative in the House to support amendments that Reps. Castro and Villarreal will offer during the debate on SB 283. Click Here to find your State Representative's contact information.