This is not a map of America's republican population, it's a map of America's high school graduation rate, with the higher rates in yellow and the lower rates in red.
Sadly, this is not snark. I apologize to the intelligent people of Texas who see through the Republican party and their willful ignorance, but dear God this is ridiculous. Dear Texas, this is why all of the other states are laughing at you.
The Texas GOP has released their party platform, and holy hell it is a disaster. End social security and give it to Wall Street? Check. Hating us some gays and some sinful women-folk? Check? This kind of stuff I expect from know-nothing Republicans, but opposing the teaching of critical thinking skills in schools?
Who needs critical thinking skills when you have got Fox News and Rush Limbaugh to tell you what to think?
Celebrating stupidity. Or as Bill Maher calls it, "Fuck you, knowing things!"
Just check it out . . .
Knowledge-Based Education – We oppose the teaching of Higher Order Thinking Skills (HOTS) (values clarification), critical thinking skills and similar programs that are simply a relabeling of Outcome-Based Education (OBE) (mastery learning) which focus on behavior modification and have the purpose of challenging the student’s fixed beliefs and undermining parental authority.
Now, I am no education expert, so maybe I don't know what kind of ACORN style horror HOTS is, but the crazy doesn't stop there. The Republican Party of Texas supports corporal punishment in schools, or, as it's known in the 21st century,
beating children. Thinking critically? That's a paddling.
Learning about pollution and the effect pollution has on the environment? Is that a paddling too?
Controversial Theories – We support objective teaching and equal treatment of all sides of scientific theories. We believe theories such as life origins and environmental change should be taught as challengeable scientific theories subject to change as new data is produced. Teachers and students should be able to discuss the strengths and weaknesses of these theories openly and without fear of retribution or discrimination of any kind.
Who needs science? That might be "challenging the student’s fixed beliefs and undermining parental authority" which is otherwise known as "Stupid shit my dad says."
Apparently, stupid shit my dad says because he heard it on Fox gets to debate facts from reality which is known to have a liberal bias in Texas education. I would joke about comparing sending your kid to school in Texas as a form of child abuse but the idiot Texas GOP one upped me and support some child abuse in their platform! And this is just the education section of the Texas GOP platform.
More below the fold. Warning. The stupid, it burns, and the goggles, they do nothing.
As a political nerd I love it when political parties list their platforms, because it is really a big list of what they say they are going to do if they get elected. And when you look at the Texas GOP list of things they want to do you realize these people are fucking nuts.
Affirmative Action - Inasmuch as the Civil Rights Movement argued against using race as a factor in American life, affirmative action reintroduces race as a divisive force in American life. The Republican Party of Texas believes in equal opportunity for all citizens without regard to race or gender. To that end, we oppose affirmative action.
Reparations - We oppose any form of reparation.
Reparations? Right below Affirmative Action? This is what happens when you celebrate stupidity. Only a party running still running on the Lee Atwater Southern Strategy would even mention reparations. Tipping your hand much, guys?
Or how about this?
The Republican Party established and will continue to uphold the gold standard and will oppose any measure which will undermine the government’s credit or impair the integrity of our national currency. Relief by currency inflation is unsound in principle and dishonest in results. The dollar is impregnable in the marts of the world today and must remain so. An ailing body cannot be cured by quack remedies. This is no time to experiment upon the body politic or financial.
Source: Republican Party Platform of 1932
June 14, 1932
Bold text added by the writer from 2012
Read this again
An ailing body cannot be cured by quack remedies.
Really Texas Republicans? After George W. Bush and Rick Perry, you are quoting 1932 and telling us "An ailing body cannot be cured by quack remedies." You are telling us not to teach critical thinking skills and you are moaning about quack remedies? Bill Maher had an observation, that the Republican base has become so stupid they don't understand their own coded language anymore, and thus the GOP shills have to spell it out for them more because they have been so dumbed down they don't understand nuance anymore. So dear Texas Republicans, let me spell it out for you, you are fucking stupid, Fox News has destroyed your ability to know things, and you have become a caricature of the worst sort of stupid we have in America, Arizona Republicans may have you on racially stupidity, but for the kind of slapstick step on a rake everytime kind of stupidity that consistently makes the other 49 states cringe on a daily basis you meatheads really take the cake. Texas, where all you have to do is put on a cowboy hat and shout YEEHAW in front of a camera and Republicans will vote for you for President. I'm amazed Mitt Romney hasn't done this yet. Of course they don't want to teach students critical thinking skills in Texas, that would ruin the Republican party!
Texas Republicans are declaring war on critical thinking. It's Un-American because of the constitution and god and stuff. Let's face it, stupid people don't read books, though they may write them sometimes. Stupid people don't write poetry. Stupid people don't challenge authority. Stupid people watch Fox News.
Rant off
(My apologies to sensible people in Texas and around the world who have to suffer these idiots who call themselves Texas Republicans)
The floor is now yours . . . .
You can follow me on Twitter @JesseLaGreca
