ABCD

I just noticed another search to get to my site, “Cynthia Dunbar.” Also, I was searching, please don’t ask, I search for anything and everything, and came across, an article by LISA FALKENBERG, just love her! on our infamous friend about her book. I wish, and one of the main reasons I blog about Texas Education, more and more and more people would see the leaders (and I use that term loosely) that they have elected to run our “government schools”:

“Public education is tyrannical, unconstitutional and the Satan-following Left’s “subtly deceptive tool of perversion.” And parents who surrender their children to government-run schools are “throwing them into the enemy’s flames even as the children of Israel threw their children to Moloch.”

These aren’t the beliefs of just any right-wing Christian zealot — no offense to the right wing or to Christians in general — but one who was elected by Texas voters to help shape the curriculum for all of Texas’ 4.5 million public schoolchildren.

Oh kay! Isn’t this a conflict of interest? Wouldn’t the reason she is on the board is to undermine public schools? Isn’t there anything we can do to get her off since the people don’t know what the heck they are doing? This is appalling, decitful, and downright unethical. I think when she runs next time I’m going to run the ABCD campaign…Anything But Cynthia Dunbar! Kinda catchy, eh?  Worse yet;

In a piece for Christianworldviewnetwork.com, Dunbar wrote that Obama, the terrorist sympathizer, would bring tyranny to America by declaring martial law after his accomplices attack our soil.

The commentary, condemned by conservatives and progressives alike, was quickly removed from the Web site.

But her book is available at Amazon.com for anyone to read, even a tool-of-Satan, mainstream media columnist like me.
[…]

Obama as Hitler?

The Founding Fathers created “an emphatically Christian government” and, thus, every person who wants to govern in this country should have “sincere knowledge and appreciation for the Word of God.”

Dunbar argues that America’s declining, immoral society is in need of Christian soldiers who will rise up to save it. At one point, she proclaims that the similarities between our society and that of “pre-Holocaust” Nazi Germany are “striking.”

She lists the similarities, and then comes to the leadership component.

“Well, I guess that is the one missing ingredient,” she writes. “After all, we certainly lack a charismatic, driven leader with a hidden agenda, a leader who comes out of nowhere who seems to command the awe and allegiance of many. Or are we?”

This elected state official seems to be suggesting our newly elected president could be the next Adolf Hitler.

Lisa sums it up rather nicely: “Whether it’s about reading, evolution or a far-right version of Bible curriculum she and other board members are pushing, Cynthia Dunbar is touching every public schoolchild in Texas.”

Oh but there’s more on Dunbar (I can’t with all conscious put a Ms. in front of her name) Steve Blow at the Dallas News wants to nominate Little Miss Sunshine 2008 Texan of the Year. I’m pretty sure he is using sarcasm, you think? She can stir up hornets nests like no other.

Taking down America is one thing, but our Official State Cassandra sees conspiracies lurking right here in Texas classrooms, too.

As a member of the State Board of Education, she pledges “to fight for parental control over hidden socialistic, humanistic agendas.”

In fact, she calls public education itself a “subtly deceptive tool of perversion.” (Her kids have been home-schooled and attended private school.)

I lalso found someone who blogs about our own Little Miss Sunshine 2008 Texan of the Year (hey, that just might stick.)  Justorb has a few choice words here and here to say about her. But, then with someone as crazy as CD, you could throw a rock and probably hit someone who would have a few choice words to say about her.  So, how the heck do these people keep getting elected when they can even pi$$ off some of their own kind because they are so far off the planet?

And it’s certainly people like her that make me ashamed to put Texas behind my name. She is an honest to goodness…wow, I can’t even think of a word that truly describes this loon.

The Election: Glimmers of Hope Light the Way for Hard Work Ahead

A note from the Texas Freedom Network:

Tuesday’s elections were a sharp rebuke at the national level to the religious right’s extremism. Even in Texas, a number of foot soldiers for the religious right went down to defeat, including state Rep. Bill Zedler, R-Arlington. In a critical State Board of Election (SBOE) race in southeast Texas, Republican incumbent David Bradley — a ringleader of the far-right faction that controls the board — had to fight hard to keep his seat against a stout challenge from Democrat Laura Ewing, a strong advocate of public education and religious freedom. In addition, two-thirds of candidates endorsed by the Texas Freedom Network won their races.

Despite that progress, however, the election results show that much hard work lies ahead. And we need your help!

It appears that the religious right has retained its smothering influence over public policy in the state. We anticipate hard battles over public education, promising stem cell research and other critical, mainstream issues in the 2009 Legislature. Just as important is that far-right extremists who oppose teaching about evolution, promote failed “abstinence-only-until-marriage” policies on sex education and censor our schoolchildren’s textbooks still control the State Board of Education.

You can do three things right now to help the Texas Freedom Network win the battle for mainstream values like strong public schools, religious freedom and civil liberties.

1) Donate to the Texas Freedom Network and help fund our critical work to counter the threat that the religious right poses to the values we all share. You can make a one-time gift  by clicking here or click here to become a TFN Freedom Fighter by signing up for a regular monthly donation of any size.

2) Click here to sign up for a TFN Rapid Response Team. TFN will keep team members updated on critical issues and how they can take direct action to make a difference at the Legislature and the SBOE.

3) Click here to sign on to the Stand Up for Science petition and campaign. Our campaign opposes efforts by the SBOE’s far-right faction to water down instruction on evolution and undermine the science education of Texas schoolchildren. Our kids deserve a 21st-century science education in their public school classrooms.

Secretary of State Asked To Declare Candidate Ineligible

Laura Ewing for State Board of Education

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 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 http://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 or Laura Ewing for SBOE

State Board of Education Member Bullies Teachers and Other Board Members

Wow, this says a lot. I just hope enough people see it to vote in someone who can help our kids and NOT someone who bullies and literally mistreats our teachers.

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, 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!  http://ewingfortexas.com/

Read the story – http://www.theexaminer.com/npps/story.cfm?ID=2707

SBOE heats up again

Teachers: Keep religion, science separate as noted in theeagle.com report:

As state officials prepared to examine the way science is taught in Texas classrooms, area teachers said this week that teaching the weaknesses of the theory of evolution should be part of the curriculum — but not if it means teaching religion.

The State Board of Education is to meet this week to discuss revising the science curriculum. Whether to teach the “strengths and weaknesses” of scientific theories has been a topic of debate for months.

Opponents call the phrase an underhanded way for creationists to cast doubt on evolution.

Don McLeroy, a creationist and the chairman of the state board, said he would make it a priority to keep the phrase in the state science curriculum.

What is scary to me, and I’m not alone on this, is McLeroy, his own website screams conservative ism!

A Little Clear Thinking About Texas Public Schools
A Conservative Look Inside the Texas Public School System Don McLeroy, Member, Texas State Board of Education

He sure has a crappy website, I hate frames! More from theeagle.com on McLeroy. Man, this guy is scary to the nth degree. Some of his scarier “quotes:”

He says he looks to the Bible, which he sees as inerrant and therefore a plumb line for all decisions in life.

“I just love the Bible. I love studying the Bible,” said McLeroy, who has taught Sunday school at Grace Bible Church for the past 22 years. “It definitely impacts my whole outlook. It impacts all of my life.”

He says the Bible impacts his whole outlook, but then he also says,

McLeroy and his faith in God are inseparable, he said, but he arrives at his beliefs about education through careful thought and study.

McLeroy acknowledges that he arrived at his beliefs about education through his religion but denies that his faith is the motivation for his actions on the board.

And, he said, politics in education is not a bad thing because it creates debate, which involves more people in their children’s education.

“I’m just glad we can politicize education because if not, we’d have some bureaucrat deciding everything,” he said. “That would be much worse.”
[…]

One issue that McLeroy said would inevitably surface is a phrase that requires the teaching of “strengths and weaknesses” of scientific theories. Some want it removed. He’s determined to keep it in.

McLeroy said the “strengths and weaknesses” debate over evolution has derailed the discussion about real issues.

His religious views, he said, would not affect the decisions he makes on the science curriculum.

“It’s not based on personal beliefs,” he said. “It’s based on the evidence, not on my religious beliefs. … Science should be neutral. I think that’s the key.”

Holy crap batman! He doesn’t want some bureaucrat deciding everything. Now if that ain’t the pot calling the kettle black, I don’t know what is.

He plans to run for re-election when his term expires because, he said, he hasn’t accomplished his main goal.

“I want public schools to be one of the best choices parents can make for their children,” he said.

He uses the word choices here, ummm, are you thinking what I’m thinking? This is where I’d like to see someone, anyone with something on the ball to go up against this guy, and pronto! Start thinking about it now, get your ducks in a row and go for it.

It just seems that if you are fighting with the teachers, something’s wrong with this picture. Who better to know what to teach then…well, teachers, eh?

More on this controversy a Commentary by Steven Schafersman, Ph.D. Texas Citizens for Science

Based on how things went recently with the English revision (not good, I must say,) looks like things are going to heat up even more with the science mess. Bradley, who is up for re-election (take note,) has some wise things to say concerning this issue:

Bradley and the board majority faulted English teachers for forcing too much of their own ideas into a proposal the board had tentatively approved two months earlier. That’s why board members had to salvage a final document with a last-hour cut and paste job, he said.

“I don’t think this will happen again because they got spanked,” Bradley said. “Science teachers should work with the board on their process and not try to do an end run around this elected body and steal the process.”