Texans!

[telophase]

There's a vacancy on the State Board of Education. I would highly encourage you, if you share many of my opinions in the matter, to send a message to the governor that you support appointing a candidate who is scientifically literate and committed to the education of children over political machinations. Article on the current wrangling.

USAians who are not Texans, why should you be interested? Because Texas is so huge, it is one of the states whose textbook picks drive the textbooks available in the rest of the US - it's such a big market that the publishers craft their books to its standards. So: Texas votes against having evolution in its textbooks? Congratulations: it's out of all of your books, too.



This has been a momentary lapse of apathy. Back to your normally-scheduled ennui.

Comments

[txtriffidranch.livejournal.com]

If we had a governor other than Rick Perry, I'd have hopes of this making a difference. Instead, I'm going for the state legislators. At least one of them has to have a picture of him with John Cornyn's favorite box turtle that can be used for blackmail.

[telophase.livejournal.com]

Yeah, it's pretty much a drop in the bucket of FAIL we're dealing with, but at least I made my opinion known.

[ukoku.livejournal.com]

Texas scares the shit out of me sometimes. Ignorance abounds in some of these fine United States.

[weirdquark]

..Yeah, we who are moving to Texas at the end of the month will be sending him a note. (Is there any sort of deadline for when the governor will be making decisions? Moving = no time, so if this can wait a few weeks, it's more likely to happen.)

[txtriffidranch.livejournal.com]

Sadly, the only way that any such comment would move Perry's incredibly dense head would be if his decision somehow affected high school football. To steal from a comment read decades back about Arkansas, if he screwed up high school and college ball, Jehovah Himself couldn't save Perry from popular wrath.

[telophase.livejournal.com]

As txtriffidranch mentiones above, you might want to find out who your state rep is (http://www.house.state.tx.us/members/welcome.php) and send him or her the same message. I'm not sure what the deadline is, though.

ETA: Also, state senator (http://www.senate.state.tx.us/75r/Senate/Members.htm#FYI).

[darksumomo.livejournal.com]

I am not optimistic. After all Perry is someone who was cozying up to secessionists to improve his chances of staving off a challenge from Kay Bailey Hutchinson in the GOP primary. I'm rooting for the Senator in that one.

Worse yet, Texas might go from the frying pan into the fire regarding the school board, if the following story in the Houston Chronicle is to be believed.

Talk of Dunbar's potential role draws cheers, jeers (http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/headline/metro/6514838.html)
By GARY SCHARRER
SAN ANTONIO EXPRESS-NEWS

AUSTIN — Critics who engineered the recent ouster of State Board of Education Chairman Don McLeroy, in part because of his strong religious beliefs, could end up with someone even more outspoken in her faith.

Cynthia Dunbar, R-Richmond, who advocated more Christianity in the public square last year with the publication of her book, One Nation Under God, is among those that Gov. Rick Perry is considering to lead the State Board of Education, some of her colleagues say.

Critics are gasping and allies are cheering over speculation that Dunbar, a lawyer, could win a promotion to the leadership spot.

“It would certainly cause angst among the same members of the pagan left that rejected Don McLeroy because he was a man of faith,” said David Bradley, R-Beaumont, one of the seven socially conservative members on the 15-person board.

Perry’s office declined to comment until “a final decision is made.”

“I have heard that Cynthia Dunbar is the one that the governor seems to be considering,” board member Patricia Hardy, R-Fort Worth, said. “Cynthia is very bright, and she is very articulate. She is a quick study. ... I find her with a good sense of humor. I like her.”

But Hardy fears that Dunbar’s appointment would heighten tension and draw more negative attention for the board. “She has been so outspoken that she will draw the ire of a great number of people and will give the board just the kind of publicity that we don’t need,” Hardy said.

This is the kind of story that belongs in dark_christian. Also, I can diary about this in Daily Kos. I cover science there, including science education, and so this story would be right up my alley.

[chomiji]

If you happen to be in District 10, you can vote for this person. Full disclosure: I have known him since I was 11 (he was 9) and he is our daughter's godfather. He's also a great human being. And finally, I am not a Texas resident, and so I probably shouldn't be meddling in some other state's politics. Sorry!

[darksumomo.livejournal.com]

Someone beat me to mentioning it on Daily Kos.

A Dangerous Mind To Lead Texas Schools? (http://www.dailykos.com/story/2009/7/9/751591/-A-Dangerous-Mind-To-Lead-Texas-Schools)

[darksumomo.livejournal.com]

Found another post about Madame DumbDunbar.

From Kiss My Big Blue Butt (http://www.kissmybigbluebutt.com/#July_6) a blog about Texas politics.

"Cynthia Dunbar is not a woman of faith - she is a woman of disturbed."