# Texas Board of Education meeting -- Jesus Christ, why do we have to listen to these clowns? **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [May 21, 2010, 4:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/texas-board-of-education-meeting-jesus-christ-why-do-we-have-to-listen-to-these-clowns/540275 "2010-05-21T16:49:52Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![LouisB](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/dfb087/32.png) [@LouisB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LouisB)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2010, 8:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/texas-board-of-education-meeting-jesus-christ-why-do-we-have-to-listen-to-these-clowns/540275/21 "2010-05-21T20:41:19Z")
> [@elucidator](#): > > Got friends and cousins who are Texas lefties, and my admiration for them knows no bounds. Change is coming to Texas. Texas is the Saudi Arabia of America, money, power, and a fanatical brand of capitalist _wahabbism_ is burrowed deep into the fabric, and digging it out takes courage, tenacity, and a willful ignorance of the odds against. Happily, Texans specialize in those qualities. Change is coming, and the Pillars of Heaven will get a good hard shaking. > > Molly is drinking bourbon with Mark Twain today, having a good laugh. Rest well, good and faithful servant. We _won’t_ rest, we promise. I left Texas in 1963 and have been grateful for the chance ever since. From what I read, I doubt Texas will ever change but I hope your cousins prove me wrong. Tell them to hurry, though, because I’m an old guy now and I don’t have a lot of time left. ---
**Author:** ![Ike\_Witt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ike_witt/32/283_2.png) [@Ike\_Witt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ike_Witt)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2010, 9:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/texas-board-of-education-meeting-jesus-christ-why-do-we-have-to-listen-to-these-clowns/540275/22 "2010-05-21T21:42:00Z")
> [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](#): > > How can anybody stand to live in that state? Ironically posted by somebody from Minnesota… ---
**Author:** ![kidneyfailure](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/9f8e36/32.png) [@kidneyfailure](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kidneyfailure)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2010, 1:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/texas-board-of-education-meeting-jesus-christ-why-do-we-have-to-listen-to-these-clowns/540275/23 "2010-05-22T01:15:36Z")
_That came a while after Rick Agosto, D-San Antonio — admittedly “a little toasty” — had told board conservatives they could stick Confederate President Jefferson Davis’s inaugural address “where the sun don’t shine.”_ Heh heh, that was awesome. ---
**Author:** ![SteveG1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bb73d2/32.png) [@SteveG1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SteveG1)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2010, 1:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/texas-board-of-education-meeting-jesus-christ-why-do-we-have-to-listen-to-these-clowns/540275/24 "2010-05-22T01:19:45Z")
> [@kayaker](#): > > If the tequila is too much, hows about a few serapes then? (tryin to save face) I’ll trade for one bottle of Corona or Dos Equis. I’m easy 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![SteveG1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bb73d2/32.png) [@SteveG1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SteveG1)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2010, 1:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/texas-board-of-education-meeting-jesus-christ-why-do-we-have-to-listen-to-these-clowns/540275/25 "2010-05-22T01:21:48Z")
> [@Frank](#): > > We have to be careful; is it a Mexican poncho or a Sears poncho? OMG. This post, with THAT name, was just too perfect 😃 ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2010, 2:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/texas-board-of-education-meeting-jesus-christ-why-do-we-have-to-listen-to-these-clowns/540275/26 "2010-05-22T02:06:44Z")
Certainly don’t condone this, but can’t get all worked about it. It really just means that kids will be taught a slightly different set of facts that they will soon forget instead of being taught to old set of facts that they used to forget. Plus, with the internet these days, anyone with half a brain and an interest in learning won’t rely on their textbooks anyway. But I have to wonder if they’re going too far this time, and the other states won’t accept the changes. ---
**Author:** ![Lamar\_Mundane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/85f322/32.png) [@Lamar\_Mundane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lamar_Mundane)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2010, 3:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/texas-board-of-education-meeting-jesus-christ-why-do-we-have-to-listen-to-these-clowns/540275/27 "2010-05-22T03:30:23Z")
[Here’s how they started the meeting today.](http://www.fark.com/cgi/vidplayer.pl?IDLink=5329299) Lord help us. ---
**Author:** ![Snarky\_Kong](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a183cd/32.png) [@Snarky\_Kong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snarky_Kong)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2010, 3:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/texas-board-of-education-meeting-jesus-christ-why-do-we-have-to-listen-to-these-clowns/540275/28 "2010-05-22T03:51:08Z")
> [@John\_Mace](#): > > Certainly don’t condone this, but can’t get all worked about it. It really just means that kids will be taught a slightly different set of facts that they will soon forget instead of being taught to old set of facts that they used to forget. Plus, with the internet these days, anyone with half a brain and an interest in learning won’t rely on their textbooks anyway. > > But I have to wonder if they’re going too far this time, and the other states won’t accept the changes. Why not just disband schools then? They’d save a fuckload of money. ---
**Author:** ![Chicagojeff](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/b19c9b/32.png) [@Chicagojeff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chicagojeff)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2010, 4:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/texas-board-of-education-meeting-jesus-christ-why-do-we-have-to-listen-to-these-clowns/540275/29 "2010-05-22T04:28:59Z")
> [@John\_Mace](#): > > Certainly don’t condone this, but can’t get all worked about it. It really just means that kids will be taught a slightly different set of facts that they will soon forget instead of being taught to old set of facts that they used to forget. Plus, with the internet these days, anyone with half a brain and an interest in learning won’t rely on their textbooks anyway. > > But I have to wonder if they’re going too far this time, and the other states won’t accept the changes. Come on John.. i understand every conservative is hardly represented in this.. but instead of jesus.. let’s ask.. What Would Bill Buckley do?? ---
**Author:** ![Try2B\_Comprehensive](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/try2b_comprehensive/32/65_2.png) [@Try2B\_Comprehensive](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Try2B_Comprehensive)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2010, 4:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/texas-board-of-education-meeting-jesus-christ-why-do-we-have-to-listen-to-these-clowns/540275/30 "2010-05-22T04:39:04Z")
Look, just let 'em do it. Remember all those ‘this is your brain on drugs!’ commercials? Every kid mocked them. This will only teach them the weaknesses of the conservative position. ---
**Author:** ![joebuck20](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/74df32/32.png) [@joebuck20](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/joebuck20)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2010, 4:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/texas-board-of-education-meeting-jesus-christ-why-do-we-have-to-listen-to-these-clowns/540275/31 "2010-05-22T04:45:11Z")
> [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](#): > > How can anybody stand to live in that state? Well, the people there are awfully nice and they have great food. It’s just too bad the politics suck (I lived there for a few years after college). Anyway as Bridgett Burke said above, one of the problems is that nobody really pays much to attention to what the school board is doing until, as is the case here, they start acting like assholes. Quick, name me one member on your state’s school board (or equivalent thereof) without Googling it. Anybody? I certainly can’t. Elections for these things are generally pretty low profile and unless the board goes out of its way to do something controversial most people don’t pay much attention to it. This situation in Texas is something that was years in the making, as people just voted for whoever the Republican candidate on the ballot for school board was without knowing much, if anything, about them. It was just another downpage race that they punched the chads for simply for the sake of completing their ballots. ---
**Author:** ![madmonk28](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madmonk28/32/20811_2.png) [@madmonk28](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madmonk28)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2010, 1:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/texas-board-of-education-meeting-jesus-christ-why-do-we-have-to-listen-to-these-clowns/540275/32 "2010-05-22T13:13:14Z")
Texans are proud of where they are from and I can never understand why. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2010, 1:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/texas-board-of-education-meeting-jesus-christ-why-do-we-have-to-listen-to-these-clowns/540275/33 "2010-05-22T13:53:18Z")
> [@Snarky\_Kong](#): > > Why not just disband schools then? They’d save a fuckload of money. Well, kids do learn a little math, how to spell (badly), how to read, and what the holidays are. Maybe some science and that there was a Revolutionary and Civil War. Beyond that, I’m really not sure how important the other stuff is in their daily lives-- which is why so many people don’t remember much of it. Whether or not they are taught that Obama is Barack Obama or Barack Hussein Obama is hardly a crisis in education. Again, I’m not condoning this, and I don’t particularly like it. Whether it will have any significant effect on the overall education our kids end up getting is debatable. I don’t think it’s going to change their ability to read, do math, or know a little about science. The far more important thing that determines the quality of education is the quality of teaches and the involvement of parents. Of all the things these kids will be exposed to over 12 years of schooling, what percent of these things are we talking about changing? ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2010, 2:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/texas-board-of-education-meeting-jesus-christ-why-do-we-have-to-listen-to-these-clowns/540275/34 "2010-05-22T14:58:17Z")
> [@madmonk28](#): > > Texans are proud of where they are from and I can never understand why. I can. Texas is a great state. It just has a high fuckwit/sane ratio, like most of the South. (Don’t give me any shit about that. It was a Confederate state, therefore it gets tarred with the “South” moniker.) But things are changing, albeit slowly. ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2010, 3:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/texas-board-of-education-meeting-jesus-christ-why-do-we-have-to-listen-to-these-clowns/540275/35 "2010-05-22T15:25:48Z")
> [@silenus](#): > > …(Don’t give me any shit about that. It was a Confederate state, therefore it gets tarred with the “South” moniker.) … Well, go ahead and reason with them, if you got nothing better to do. ---
**Author:** ![Euphonious\_Polemic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/euphonious_polemic/32/3002_2.png) [@Euphonious\_Polemic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Euphonious_Polemic)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2010, 3:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/texas-board-of-education-meeting-jesus-christ-why-do-we-have-to-listen-to-these-clowns/540275/36 "2010-05-22T15:29:41Z")
> [@John\_Mace](#): > > Of all the things these kids will be exposed to over 12 years of schooling, what percent of these things are we talking about changing? They changed the reason for the civil war, and I didn’t worry because that’s just old history. They changed the science books to remove evolution, and I didn’t worry because kids will figure it out anyway They changed the fact that McCarthy made stuff up and destroyed people’s careers for his own political gain and i didn’t worry because I’m not a communist. Just how much do you propose to let the school board fanatics get away with? ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2010, 3:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/texas-board-of-education-meeting-jesus-christ-why-do-we-have-to-listen-to-these-clowns/540275/37 "2010-05-22T15:36:03Z")
> [@Euphonious\_Polemic](#): > > They changed the reason for the civil war, and I didn’t worry because that’s just old history. I don’t believe this is true, but I’m open to changing my mind if you can show me that they did this. The article says they re-ordered the causes, plural. > [@](#): > > They changed the science books to remove evolution, and I didn’t worry because kids will figure it out anyway I don’t believe they did this, but I’m open to changing my mind if you can show me that they did this. > [@](#): > > They changed the fact that McCarthy made stuff up and destroyed people’s careers for his own political gain and i didn’t worry because I’m not a communist. Possible, however I’m not even sure this is correct. > [@](#): > > Just how much do you propose to let the school board fanatics get away with? You’ve noted 3 things, of which 1 might be almost correct. So, I guess I’m still not all that worried. ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2010, 3:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/texas-board-of-education-meeting-jesus-christ-why-do-we-have-to-listen-to-these-clowns/540275/38 "2010-05-22T15:36:28Z")
> [@](#): > > In the first place God made idiots. This was for practice. Then he made School Boards - Mark Twain ---
**Author:** ![Euphonious\_Polemic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/euphonious_polemic/32/3002_2.png) [@Euphonious\_Polemic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Euphonious_Polemic)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2010, 3:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/texas-board-of-education-meeting-jesus-christ-why-do-we-have-to-listen-to-these-clowns/540275/39 "2010-05-22T15:43:27Z")
> [@John\_Mace](#): > > You’ve noted 3 things, of which 1 might be almost correct. So, I guess I’m still not all that worried. So is your argument that the eduction that kids receive is shit anyway, and they don’t remember much of what they’re taught, so it really does not matter what kind of crap is put in the textbooks? ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2010, 3:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/texas-board-of-education-meeting-jesus-christ-why-do-we-have-to-listen-to-these-clowns/540275/40 "2010-05-22T15:43:40Z")
> [@John\_Mace](#): > > Plus, with the internet these days, anyone with half a brain and an interest in learning won’t rely on their textbooks anyway. You must not spend much time on the Internet. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/texas-board-of-education-meeting-jesus-christ-why-do-we-have-to-listen-to-these-clowns/540275.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/texas-board-of-education-meeting-jesus-christ-why-do-we-have-to-listen-to-these-clowns/540275.md?page=3)