Monday, July 23, 2012

Stephen Colbert addresses the attempt by the Texas GOP to remove critical thinking from their education system.

This is a story that got buried last week under an avalanche of breaking news items, but I think it is definitely something that we need to take another look at.

Colbert mines this for comedic effect, but make no mistake this is a VERY serious issue. Personally I think that THIS is a real look into the minds of the people who responsible for making political policy within the GOP, and NOT just in Texas.

These people would absolutely LOVE to find a way to do away with any critical thinking whatsoever, and turn the country into a nation of barely literate sycophants, brought up to trust in those in positions of power, and who vote the way their parents, and clergy tell them they must.

And don't think that the critical thinking portion was the only part that was an attack on education. This courtesy of NJ.com 

The 22-page platform also includes other gems: abstinence-only sex ed, faith-based drug rehab, “alternate theories” to evolution and climate change in science classes — it’s a “greatest hits” list of head-in-the-sand education classics. 

For what it’s worth, Chris Elam, the Texas GOP’s communications director, said including the words “critical thinking” was a mistake — but since the party membership already voted, it’s too late to change.

Do we REALLY believe they want to change it? If they are not forced to that is? Yeah, me neither.

11 comments:

  1. Anonymous5:21 AM

    The kids is stupid. Sorry, I meant the kid's is stupid. I forgot the apostrophe. USA #1!1

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  2. Anonymous5:36 AM

    My granny taught me that negroes were cursed with black skin because her preacher said it was in the bible. Its proven. ;)

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    1. Anonymous5:50 AM

      Jesus was probably dark-skinned too...love to ask that pastor why God cursed his son.
      And Texas, next time it comes up, just go ahead and secede. See how you do with NO help from the rest of us. I dare you.

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  3. "critical thinking" to us is "godless blasphemy" to the Thumpers.

    Why do we need science, math beyond the timeses and guzintas, philosophy, non-religious art, literature, even advanced medicine, when the bible tells us everything we need to know and Jeebus takes care of everything else?

    This truly IS the American Taliban at work. The country they envision for us looks more like rural Afghanistan than what we thought America was supposed to be.

    Let's get our president re-elected first and then try to figure out a way to oppose these new xtian crusaders.

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    1. Anonymous8:29 AM

      Beldar, to repeat myself, it is not enough to re-elect our president, we must vote straight-line progressive democratic tickets from the local and state to the federal level. We must also check out past decisions of candidates for judgeship in order to ascertain their willingness and capacity to come to objective conclusions.

      Not an easy job, but it can be done.

      Critical thinking will hopefully keep us from the Fast Forward into the Dark Ages mentality of the regressives.

      fromthediagonal

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    2. diagonal -
      Everything you say has merit. (disclaimer: I've never voted for a GOP presidential candidate, but I'm fundamentally opposed to party-line voting. Plenty of incompetent, corrupt Dems out there, also, too)

      At a practical level, tho, a near-future federal government dominated by a severe conservative president, Congress and Supreme Court is an obstacle too tall to overcome. President Obama represents the only realistic defense against that outcome, at the moment.

      It may already be too late. Over thousands of years of history, the power of religious intolerance, ignorance, demagoguery and fear over critical thinking has a pretty solid record of supremacy. I want to be wrong about this.

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  4. Anonymous8:10 AM

    Many of us Texans hate the way the state looks to others and we cannot stand Perry I'm quite sure most people don't want to secede. If Perry gets reelected, I honestly think I will move and I am a fifth generation Texan.

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  5. I have been reading the book 'As Texas Goes' by Gail Collins. It deals with the influence of Texas on the rest of the nation. It is a very interesting and well written book. We all need to be concerned about the actions of these idiots.

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  6. Anonymous9:33 AM

    Beldar, I totally agree with your comments @9:04.

    Voting mindlessly straight-line is not ever a good idea, but we are so far down that road to being dominated by fanatics that I will vote for a damn Blue Dog democrat over a raging wingnut regressive, which at this time seems the only kind of GOPOOPers. (Cue in Michele Bachman and Louie Gohmert and whothehell else in the next five minutes.)

    Furthermore, your last paragraph absolutely mirrors my thoughts, except I would add "sordid" to "a solid" record of supremacy.

    fromthediagonal

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    1. Anonymous10:31 AM

      Although I have found myself becoming more and more liberal as I age, I have in the past voted on occasion for sensible, moderate, experienced Republicans over incompetent Democrats.

      Unfortunately, all of the sensible, moderate and experienced Republicans have been drummed out of the party by the radical rightwingers, and an incompetent Dem is usually by far the lesser of two evils.

      The GOP primary system in this country has become so perverted and twisted that it usually spits out the absolute worst candidate instead of the best, and then pushes them even further to the right for the general election, thereby giving the rest of us little choice even if we don't like the Democratic candidate. More and more I find myself voting straight Dem because the other choice is so completely unacceptable.

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  7. Anonymous10:20 AM

    so what keeps the republican party in texas from fixing their mistake? do they have to wait until the next meeting and take a vote? is it being considered?

    i find the whole thing beyond ridiculous. why don't they just say that thinking is evil and be done with it.

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