Texas Freedom Network

Sex Ed the Texas Way

Dallas wants to close the book on abstinence-only education. Texas keeps getting in the way.

University of Texas Scientists Plead with Lawmakers to Please Kill Intelligent Design Bill

State Representative Bill Zedler's legislative career can be summed up as a quixotic attempt to foist his puritanical worldview onto the state's 26 million residents. Backdoor abortion bans, stripper licensing, Sharia law bans, making life unnecessarily difficult for gay college kids. Whatever your ... More >>

Here Are All The Reasons Why Texas Teenagers Can't Seem to Stop Getting Pregnant

Congratulations, Texas! After a lot of hard work and many long nights, we're number one in the nation for repeat teen births. According to the Centers for Disease Control, which released a new report on April 2, in 2010, 22 percent of Texas teenagers aged 15-19 who gave birth were delivering their ... More >>

Poll: Majority of Texans Favor Both "Fetal Pain" Proposal and Abortion Rights

Yesterday, Collin County state Representative Jodie Laubenberg filed a bill that would ban all abortions after 20 weeks, calling it the "Preborn Pain Act." The bill is premised on deeply questionable science which claims that fetuses can feel pain at that point in a pregnancy, and ignores a heap of ... More >>

State Rep.'s Anti-Sharia Proposal Could Target All Religions, Not Just Islam. Progress!

The House State Affairs Committee was scheduled today to consider Rep. Dan Flynn's proposal to ban "religious or cultural law" from Texas courts. Rep. Flynn apparently withdrew his proposal, HJR 43, from committee consideration at the last second, but it's still worth a look. As the Texas Freedom N ... More >>

Texas Freedom Network Poll: Most Texans Support Birth Control and Family Planning

Texas Freedom Network has a lot to be irritated about lately. TFN is a left-leaning advocacy group focusing on things like civil liberties, church-state separation and not wasting classroom hours teaching Texas schoolchildren that the Rapture is a rock-solid scientific inevitability. As you might ... More >>

Texas Reps. Say Planned Parenthood Recruits Schoolkids, Aim to End Its Sex Ed Effort

Texas parents beware: your children are being "imperiled" by "abortion peddlers" who want to teach them "sex education." No. No, they're not. Although at some point someone might want to teach them to put a condom on a banana, and conservative lawmakers, predictably, want to make damn sure that per ... More >>

The Texas Board of Ed Chair is Upset Schools Aren't Teaching Evolution "Alternatives"

In 2009, science-respecting members of the State Board of Education succeeded in scrubbing the state's science curriculum standards of a requirement to discuss the "weaknesses" of evolution, which would have opened the gates to less scientific theories, namely intelligent design and creationism. But ... More >>

The Right Predicts that Lifting Gay Ban Will Turn Boy Scouts into Horny Gay Molestees

The board of Irving-based Boy Scouts of America won't discuss a possible end to its longstanding ban on gays until next week, but the news that it's up for discussion has been condemned as another step in the nation's march toward moral ruin. The pronouncements, many of which have been chronicled b ... More >>

Texas Public Schools are Still Teaching Ridiculous Things About the Bible

Six years ago, SMU religious studies professor Mark Chancey teamed with the Texas Freedom Network to produce a report on the Bible classes that were proliferating in the state's public school classrooms. Chancey's not-very-surprising finding was that these classes were not so much even-handed, acad ... More >>

Cathie Adams, Dallasite and Former Chair of the Texas Republican Party, Says "Obama Fried His Brain on Drugs"

Cathie Adams served for less than a year as chair of the Texas Republican Party before being unseated in 2010, but she's long been a fixture on Texas' right wing, particularly as a leader of the virulently anti-abortion Texas Eagle Forum. It was in that role that Adams spoke alongside now-Senator T ... More >>

David Barton's Libyan Fever Dream: Obama Was Complicit In U.S. Ambassador's Murder

Today, in The State of American Discourse, I present to you David Barton, religious ideologue, fantastical historian and weeping boil on the hide of Texas. No, he is not an entirely fringe crank. Barton is the former vice chair of the Texas Republican Party. He recently helped draft the ridiculous a ... More >>

Dallas Senator John Carona Declares Support for Gay Rights, Gets Pilloried By GOP

If you were to put money on which Republican politician in Texas would publicly express support for gay rights, John Carona, the state senator from Dallas, would be a good bet. He's always been about as pragmatic as Texas Republican come. But it was still a surprise when, earlier this week, he told ... More >>

Republicans Begin Renewed Push For School Vouchers

State Senator Dan Patrick, a Houston Republican, fired something of a warning shot two weeks ago when he announced a renewed push for school choice, both in the form of vouchers and expanded charter offerings. "To me, school choice is the photo ID bill of this session," Patrick told the Houston Chr ... More >>

Revisionist Historian David Barton's Book Yanked For Inaccuracies. Will He Still Choose Texas' Social Studies Textbooks?

NPR ran a story on Wednesday about David Barton, the Aledo-based pseudo-historian who has built a career arguing that America was established on Christian principles. It found that his claims aren't particularly hard to debunk. For one, Barton has only a bachelor's in Christian education from Oral R ... More >>

Did George Clayton Lose His SBOE Seat Because He's Sane, Gay, or Had No Money?

Two years ago, when George Clayton announced that he was seeking to represent Dallas and Collin countie on the State Board of Education, the first question was, "Who?" It soon became clear that Clayton was, on the surface at least, a mild-mannered administrator at North Dallas High School who believ ... More >>

Latest Texas Education News Proves: Reproduction is Way Overrated

So much happening on the education front these days. Earlier this week, Mayor Mike Rawlings broke with tradition and endorsed candidates for Dallas Independent School District's board. Not in his capacity as mayor, of course. That would be against the city's ethics rules. No, this was just good ol' ... More >>

State Board of Education Candidate: Pilgrims Were Communists, And That's Why They Died

Allow us to introduce Gail Spurlock, a Republican from Richardson seeking her party's nom for the State Board of Education seat. She has some interesting things to say about history in this interview with the North Texas Council, a group "concerned with the direction our country is taking with regar ... More >>

Survey Says Texas Schools Are Now a Little Less Awful at Teaching Students Sex Education

​Just three years ago, 94 percent of the state's school districts told their kiddos: Just say no to sex. And that was that when it came to sex ed -- abstinence only and nothing but, which was working out real well considering that Texas's teen-pregnancy rate was the third-highest in all the land. ... More >>

And Now a Look at a Former Board of Ed "Expert's" Revisionist History Textbook

​David Barton -- founder of Wallbuilders, former State Board of Education "social studies expert" and member of the Religious Right coalition that prodded Gov. Rick Perry to join the insufficiently Christian Republican field -- isn't exactly what you'd call a rigorous academic. What you might ... More >>

At the Last Minute, Texas Spikes Federal Sex Education Funding ... Again

Condoms, birth control -- who needs 'em? Just don't have sex, Texas says to its horny teens. Just hobble that unbridled desire coupled with a limited understanding of consequences and say 'No, I'm saving myself for marriage.' That's pretty much the message, maybe paired with an infographic demonstr ... More >>

New Texas Education Law Could Help Render Board of Ed Culture Wars Obsolete

The State Board tried to save McCarthy's legacy, and this is how we treat them?​The jury's still out, but the fact fetishists at the Texas Freedom Network seem to think that the recently enacted Senate Bill 6 may help neuter the historically science-averse state Board of Education. The law pr ... More >>

Top 100 Reasons Texas Is Twice as Awesome as Any Other State

Merritt MartinOh, you can damn well bet this is on the list.​By now most of you dear readers are well aware of the Gawker-produced list of the 50 Worst States In America. Gawker placed their home base at 50, and the Lone Star State at 13. Sure sure, our placement could be worse, but instead of ... More >>

Gov. Perry: We Teach Creationism in Texas Public Schools. The Rest of Texas: No, We Don't.

Perry: See, this hair doesn't just happen!​How does one explain the follicle-by-follicle perfection of Gov. Rick Perry's imperturbable man-mane? Where does his mega-watt smile and its rows of pearly whites come from? Braces? No, silly. They come from God. God spoke, and Perry was born a man of ... More >>

Science Wins In Evolution Denier's Campaign To Scrub Evolution From Texas Textbooks

​In July we told you about Dr. David Shorrman, author of The Exchange of Truth: Liberating the World From the Lie of Evolution and a member of the state biology panel making recommendations to the Texas Board of Education. Turns out, Shorrman (pictured to the right) was riding in the vanguard ... More >>

How an Evolution Denier Shaped Texas Board of Ed's Science-Book Decisions Yesterday

​The State Board of Education met yesterday to debate which supplemental materials the state should use to update its outdated science textbooks. To make things easier, before the meeting, the board's choices were narrowed down by allegedly reliable panels of stakeholders. But when it came t ... More >>

Viva la Evolution: The Creationists Return to Austin

Just when you thought it was safe to go back into the classroom, SBOE returns.

If Buyouts Were Fine for Teachers, Says Local Lawmaker, Why Not Offer to Students Too?

State Rep. Sid Miller​Last night in Austin, state Rep. Sid Miller laid out a novel solution for Texas's troubled school budget: the Taxpayer Savings Grants Program, a reward of nearly $5,000 for any parents who'll do us all a solid and take their kids out of public school. Under Miller's plan, par ... More >>

Before State Board of Ed Debate, Cynthia Dunbar Obliterates Church and State Division

Surely you're aware that down in Austin at this very moment, the State Board of Education is getting ready to vote on changes to the social studies curriculum taught in public schools. And if a few members of the SBOE get their way (S'up, Cynthia Dunbar? How's it hangin', Don McLeroy?), say adios to ... More >>

Grading on a Curve, or: How Old Do Those State Board of Education Candidates Think the Earth Is, Anyway? Let's Ask!

State Board of Education candidate Thomas Ratliff (and family), who thinks the earth is plenty old​Well, who knew? The eyes of Texas have been focused on the GOP primary race between Governor Rick Perry and challenger Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison as the ultimate throwdown between far right and ... More >>

Buzz Gives '09 a One-Fingered Wave Goodbye

For Now, at Least, Evolution Rules the Day at State Board of Education Hearing

Explosm!Several neighbors and friends of the show attended yesterday's public hearing of the Texas State Board of Education down in Austin in advance of today's evolution vs. creationism vote -- which ended in a 7-7 draw, meaning the board will not add, at the moment, language that requires public s ... More >>

Natural Selection Only a "Figure of Speech," Says State Education Board Chair

Don McLeroyDon McLeroy, a Republican dentist from Bryan, is the chair of the Texas State Board of Education. He's also a book critic: Over the weekend, an indie book publisher posted his recommendation of Robert Bowie Johnson Jr.'s new book Sowing Atheism: The National Academy Of Sciences' Sinister ... More >>

Buzz: Sex Ed in Texas Gets an "F"

Sex "Education" Has Failed Texas Students, Says Texas State University Study

Abstinence-only sex education doesn't work. You know it. Bristol Palin knows it. Shoot, anyone who has ever been or met a teenager knows that telling them to "just say no" is the best and possibly only way to get them to says yes, yes, YES!Still, it's nice that the folks at the Texas Freedom Network ... More >>

Cynthia Dunbar's Gone From Crazy Online Essays to Actual Book Writin'

Texas State Board of Education member Mavis Knight, a Democrat whose District 13 includes part of Dallas and Tarrant Counties, had no idea till reached by Unfair Park this afternoon that her fellow board member Cynthia Dunbar has published a book. But, sure enough, there it is on Amazon: One Nation ... More >>

Prof to Creationists: Don't Mess With Texas Science Education

Barbara Forrest, speaking at SMU last week In keeping with the spirit of Monday's item concerning the release of the study Evolution, Creationism & Public Schools: Surveying What Texas Scientists Think about Educating Our Kids in the 21st Century, last week SMU hosted a speech by Barbara Forrest, ... More >>

It's Science: Ninety-Nine Percent of Texas Science Professors Surveyed Don't Believe in Intelligent Design

Moments ago, the Texas Freedom Network posted to its Web site a study conducted by Dr. Raymond Eve, a professor of sociology and anthropology at the University of Texas at Arlington, titled Evolution, Creationism & Public Schools: Surveying What Texas Scientists Think about Educating Our Kids in the ... More >>

Battle Against Teaching Evolution in Texas Begins

Should creationism win out, textbooks throughout the country–not just Texas–will challenge the theory of evolution in science curricula

Free Man Walking|Stuffed Stuertz|Back Off a Bit|We Are Devo

Hey, Mark, for God's sake—just give us the time. Accurately, please.

Evolution Sunday Especially Important in Texas

Licensed to Speak

Run from any political group with "freedom" or "liberty" in its name

Right Hand of God

Two Texas leaders of the extreme Religious Right get ready to flex their political muscle

They Blinded Buzz with Science

The Texas Freedom Network keeps a watch on the state's textbooks

Highwaymen

San Antonio conservatives and a professional road warrior try to hijack a DART rail election

Maverick rides again

Democratic media whiz Mark McKinnon left partisan politics behind until George W. Bush swept him off his feet

Buzz

GOP to gays: Butt out

Texas' Log Cabin Republicans find themselves the ultimate outsiders--vilified by both the GOP and fellow gays

Events for the week