In the wingnut universe, everybody knows everybody else.Īnd they've all been very, very busy. “We are very close to putting God and prayer in public schools through chaplains,” the group wrote to its supporters in an email blast earlier this month about the Texas bill, along with a request for donations. The group has been pushing lawmakers to pass what they’ve labeled the “Chaplain’s Funding Bill.” She did not return a request for comment. Pickren also sits on the board of the National School Chaplain Association, according to its website.
Among the new State Board of Education members is Julie Pickren, a former trustee from the Houston area who was in Washington during the Jan. Republicans flipped a seat and candidates further to the right replaced more moderate ones. The State Board of Education also became more conservative after the last election cycle.
The bill to bring chaplains on campus, as well as the one to allow for Bible reading and prayer time during school, contain an unusual provision: School boards would have to vote on whether to approve such a plan within six months of the legislation passing. At the local level, school board elections are infused with highly partisan issues and big-money groups have attempted to “take over” some districts to make them more conservative. Bremerton School District in which the Court ruled that a high school football coach had a right to conduct postgame prayer meetings on the 50-yard line because, to deny him that right, would be to infringe on his "religious liberty." This Court approaches Pandora's steamer trunk with a crowbar. Bringing the Ten Commandments and prayer back to our public schools will enable our students to become better Texans,” said Patrick, a Republican who oversees the Senate.Īh, you say, but what about that pesky Establishment Clause in the First Amendment? The Bible-bangers in the Texas lege were emboldened by the carefully manufactured conservative majority on the Supreme Court and by its decision in Kennedy v. believe that you cannot change the culture of the country until you change the culture of mankind. Dan Patrick said in a statement that the bills represent “one step we can take to make sure that all Texans have the right to freely express their sincerely held religious beliefs. The moves are drawing concern about the separation of church and state. The two bills - along with others up for consideration - are a sign of how the Legislature could be inserting more religion into public education. From the Dallas Morning News: The Ten Commandments could be displayed in Texas public school classrooms and trustees could mandate districts grant students time for prayer and Bible reading under legislation approved by the Senate Thursday.
#PARK RIVER BIBLE CAMP INSTALL#
The latest is a bill that would install fundamentalist Christian "chaplains" in every classroom. The state legislature is well on its way to turning Texas public schools into Jesus Camps. Let's begin in Texas, the smallest barrel in which swim the biggest fish. To paraphrase the late Sam Phillips, this is where the soul of journalism goes to live. This week, Al.com picked up two Pulitzer Prizes- one for their coverage of a renegade local police department, and another one for the redoubtable Kyle Whitmire's columns exploring how the twisting of history perpetuated white supremacy and perverted politics in Alabama down through the years. (Permanent Musical Accompaniment To This Post)īeing our semi-regular weekly survey of what's goin' down in the several states where, as we know, the real work of governmentin' gets done, and where tuba players rehearse around the flagpole.īefore we begin our tour, we must send a shout-out to the gang at Al.com, whose coverage of the Yellowhammer State has been invaluable to our semi-regular weekly feature, and to the blog in general, since we opened this shebeen in 2011.
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