Originally Posted By dshyates OMG, I don't really know what to say. I am truly speechless. <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/06/27/texas-republican-party-2012-platform-education_n_1632097.html" target="_blank">http://www.huffingtonpost.com/...097.html</a>
Originally Posted By Dabob2 From the link: "The position causing the most controversy, however, is the statement that they oppose the teaching of "higher order thinking skills" -- a curriculum which strives to encourage critical thinking -- arguing that it might challenge "student's fixed beliefs" and undermine "parental authority." It couldn't be clearer: the Texas GOP wants its future voters to have all the reasoning ability of children, believing what it told to them without questioning. Gee, I wonder why.
Originally Posted By Tikiduck Ignorance is bliss! If you bury your head in the sand and ignore reality, you too, can grow up to become a good Republican! I swear, Zombies have more on the ball, mentally, than these creeps.
Originally Posted By ecdc Now that is some creepy stuff. It's easy to mock it, make fun, and take more glee in yet again pointing out that the GOP has become a parody of an SNL parody. But let's stop for a moment; this is the kind of thing that's straight out of V for Vendetta. It's the kind of thing you see in 1984 and fascist regimes. I know I'm skirting Godwin's Law here, but isn't this the kind of thing we see in history, shake our heads, and ask, "How was what was happening not completely obvious to those people?" We wonder how people go along with their governments in ways that make them lose freedom and collapse in tyranny. This is how. That's not hyperbole; that's history.
Originally Posted By DyGDisney If parents don't want their children's fixed belief challenged or their parental authority undermined they can homeschool their kids. Heck, many already do. What will happen when these kids get to college? Are they going to outlaw "higher order thinking skills" there as well?
Originally Posted By Tikiduck I noticed Mitch McConnel's utter dismissal of 30 million uninsured citizens. Holy Christian Plutocracy, Batman! These people are devoid of compassion toward their fellow man. They practice belligerent nationalism and militarism. When I see these guys, these cold, warped men, I see the same icy stares that greeted us from some infamous notables of the past. As has been said, remember your history, because there are those in our midst who would gladly send us into a modern Dark Age.
Originally Posted By TomSawyer The Texas GOP is also calling for the repeal of the Voting Rights Act. <a href="http://baltimore.cbslocal.com/2012/07/02/mess-in-texas/" target="_blank">http://baltimore.cbslocal.com/...n-texas/</a>
Originally Posted By Dabob2 That one sort of gives up the game, doesn't it? What does the Voting Rights Act say, after all? It says that no state may abridge or deny the right to vote based on race. So why would anyone call for the repeal of that act? Unless they wanted to, you know, abridge or deny the right to vote based on race?
Originally Posted By TomSawyer The Texas GOP is worried about Latinos voting. At least it isn't blacks this time.
Originally Posted By fkurucz >>What will happen when these kids get to college? Are they going to outlaw "higher order thinking skills" there as well?<< That's what Fundy Colleges are for.
Originally Posted By SuperDry <<< The Texas GOP is worried about Latinos voting. >>> That is an interesting issue - especially in states like Texas that are currently solidly Red but have a large and growing Latino population. I was going to say that it's a problem entirely of their own making, but I don't think it's quite that simple. In 2005, when the noise machine discovered that Iraq and the War On Terror were becoming turn-off subjects, they had to come up with another named enemy. It's Totalitarian Propaganda 101: always have a named enemy that you can vilify. The "illegal immigrant" was handy to serve this role in that it already existed and didn't have to be manufactured. So, the target got re-directed to Immigration and volume turned back up to 11. But then, something expected happened: critical mass was reached, and a self-sustaining chain reaction got started. So, even when they tried to turn the volume way down on this subject, it was too late: it had already taken on a life of its own. And, it's a great topic in a lot of ways to use to rally the troops: it feeds on a fear that's as old as humanity, and doesn't take a lot of explaining to get people riled up. But there's one big problem: it alienates a growing sector of the electorate, and one that traditionally voted GOP in large numbers. It really doesn't matter if the latest right-wing outrage pisses off a bunch of "libs" - they weren't going to vote GOP anyway. But the illegal immigration issue is a totally different matter. I think this is one issue that may end up being the gift that keeps on giving to the GOP. I guess if you can't get them to forget how you vilified them, you can at least keep them from voting.
Originally Posted By SpokkerJones "That is an interesting issue - especially in states like Texas that are currently solidly Red but have a large and growing Latino population." Assuming that new Latino voters are automatically going to vote Democrat and are a detriment to efforts to keep the state red is racist in and of itself. So is the idea that voter ID proposals are also automatically opposed by Latinos. Having lived in predominantly Latino areas my entire life, I can tell you that many Latino voters automatically show their IDs at the voting booth only to be told, "No, that's okay, we don't need that." And then they put it away. It's common sense to show your ID, to prove who you are. I personally don't care one way or the other whether the voter ID laws exist, but such laws are not going to stop anybody who wants to vote and is eligible to vote from voting. There's one thing you're all forgetting, and yes, I am yelling and would proudly tell you off in person. LEGAL CITIZENS HAVE IDS. LEGAL LATINO CITIZENS HAVE IDS. TO SUGGEST OTHERWISE IS ACTUALLY MORE OFFENSIVE THAN ANYTHING THE GOP COULD SAY ABOUT VOTER ID LAWS. YOU THINK LATINOS ARE SO F'ING DUMB THAT THEY CAN'T FOLLOW SIMPLE INSTRUCTIONS TO GET AN ID. I'm not going to tell you to stop spouting your complete and utter BS because I believe in freedom of speech not just when it comes to government, but for myself. I defend your right to spout BS. But I'm calling you on your BS and I am completely unabashed in doing so.
Originally Posted By Goofyernmost I'm wondering how dumb an illegal is that they would even attempt to vote in an election such as this? Is there a more sure way to get deported then to take that chance? No, it's, once again, a typical reaction to a non-problem. Let's just scare the hell out of everyone with nonsense, so we can be seen as patriots. Bull! If you're basically in hiding you do not expose yourself to that type of a forum. I lived in Vermont most of my life, but when I moved to NC I got something that I never had all my life. A voter registration card to show when arriving at the poles. All I could think was, did I just board a time machine and I am now back in the 1800's? Hell, the chads on the ballets in Florida are more of a threat to elections then any number of "illegals" that might attempt to vote. The GOP seemed to be pretty agreeable to the chads if memory serves me correctly.
Originally Posted By SuperDry <<< It's common sense to show your ID, to prove who you are. I personally don't care one way or the other whether the voter ID laws exist, but such laws are not going to stop anybody who wants to vote and is eligible to vote from voting. >>> Uh, yes they will. It will stop people who a) want to vote, and b) are eligible to vote, yet c) don't have a valid ID. <<< LEGAL CITIZENS HAVE IDS. LEGAL LATINO CITIZENS HAVE IDS. >>> They are ELIGIBLE to have IDs. That doesn't mean that they do. Here in Texas, there are quite a few people that live in rural, poor areas where getting an ID is actually a substantial burden to them. This is especially true now that the state has closed many of the smaller driver license offices for budgetary reasons. In some cases, the closest office can be several counties away. If you live in a rural setting, don't have your own transportation, and otherwise live a life where ID is not needed on a regular basis, this alone can be a burden. Double that if you have a job that keeps you occupied during business hours, thus requiring an entire day of missed work and thus missed pay in order to make that trek. <<< TO SUGGEST OTHERWISE IS ACTUALLY MORE OFFENSIVE THAN ANYTHING THE GOP COULD SAY ABOUT VOTER ID LAWS. >>> Using all caps doesn't make your point any more true. There are quite a few eligible voters, both in rural and urban situations, that for a variety of reasons don't have valid ID. <<< YOU THINK LATINOS ARE SO F'ING DUMB THAT THEY CAN'T FOLLOW SIMPLE INSTRUCTIONS TO GET AN ID. >>> You're the only person that has mentioned "f'ing dumb."
Originally Posted By Goofyernmost I'm starting to get confused. The Health care bill is unconstitutional because it requires people to have health insurance even if they don't want it, but, it's OK to require people to have ID's on them? Perhaps a tattoo or an implanted chip would be the answer to insure that all Americans are what they say they are. Is that about right or am I just confused?
Originally Posted By SpokkerJones "You're the only person that has mentioned "f'ing dumb."" Just because you didn't call them spics doesn't mean you don't think they are, crying out for your benevolence and goodwill so you people can feel good about yourselves. You do more damage than you know.
Originally Posted By SpokkerJones I live in the type of place that your progressive policies screw up. I know it first hand. You can't even compromise. You can't even say, "Okay, we'll support voter ID as long as IDs are provided to low-income folks free of charge." Can't even do that. It's all or nothing.
