If I Were On the Texas SBOE

By now, you are likely well aware of the brouhaha triggered by the Texas State Board of Education's proposed standards for the teaching of history and social studies to Texas schoolchildren. Everyone has weighed in on the subject. Today, The Dallas Morning News' Jacquielynn Floyd calls the SBOE a "whacked-out troop of underqualified ideologues ... [who] make us look like a bunch o' goobers in the eyes of the whole nation." Speaking of whacked-out ideologues, conservative talk radio host Mark Davis, in the guise of the "Textbook Ref", tells us how he personally would referee the disputes.

So, at risk of belaboring a point, after the jump I weigh in on how I would have behaved if I were on the SBOE.

Repeat Tweets: A Bake Sale for Science

Repeat tweets from July, 2012:

• 2012 07 01 - "Bake sales can't fund the exploration of space" http://t.co/T5cFajnz
  
• 2012 07 03 - My theory why Texas GOP is on record against teaching "critical thinking skills." They mistake critical for faultfinding, not analytical.
  
• 2012 07 04 - Mark's Stylebook: Be careful this year sorting the photos that accompany your stories. Don't confuse Higgs boson tracks with fireworks pics.
  
• 2012 07 05 - Organizers of petition drive to force referendum on direct election of Richardson's mayor claim to have the signatures needed. Submit today.
  
• 2012 07 06 - Texas. Dead last in adults with HS diploma. Now, dead last in health care. You get what you pay for. http://t.co/SfvhoZj7
  
• 2012 07 06 - Richardson Public Library's new long-range plan includes the goal "Continue to dream and plan for the future." Dreaming is good.
  
• 2012 07 06 - Kudos to David Morgan, new City of Richardson Deputy City Manager and winner of the Eddie Munster lookalike contest. http://t.co/J9Lt4zh3
  

After the jump, more repeat tweets.

Races I've Been Watching

It's primary election night in Texas. I've been watching a few races. The polls are still open, but some of the results appear clear already.

After the jump, my last prognostications before the results are announced.

Repeat Tweets: Nasi Mexi-Goreng

Repeat tweets from April, 2018:

• Apr 1 2018: The closest these Texans came to having a traditional Easter dinner in Jakarta was having quesadillas and something called Nasi Mexi-Goreng.
• Apr 3 2018: Roman J. Israel, Esq. (2017): Aging civil rights lawyer has trouble fitting into modern legal system. Vehicle for Denzel Washington and he is superb, but character overwhelms story. C+
• Apr 4 2018: Justice League (2017): Only as much plot as needed to give each superhero his or her time in front of the camera. With wisecracks. I guess the Flash stands out as most interesting character but that isn't saying much. C-
• Apr 5 2018: Coco (2017): Oscar for animated feature. Boy travels to land of the dead in search of his gg-grandfather. Sweet tale about power of music and family. More music please. B-

After the jump, more repeat tweets.

Repeat Tweets: Can You Say "Pander"?

Repeat tweets from January, 2016:

• Jan 1 2016: RT @CarlyFiorina: "Love my alma mater, but rooting for a Hawkeyes win today. #RoseBowl" Can you say "pander?"
  
• Jan 2 2016: RT @GroverNorquist: "To understand what Obama wants in our future...Watch the Star Wars movies and imagine that only the storm troopers have guns." Did he just equate the US military and American police to Star Wars storm troopers? Despicable.
  
• Jan 2 2016: RT @justinc: "Idea: never go for two." Neither team went for two without being required to. Oregon should have gone for two to win but didn't and lost.
  

After the jump, more repeat tweets.

State Board of Education Recommendations

The Dallas Morning News has made its recommendations for the State Board of Education (SBOE) District 9 and 12 races in the GOP primary. The SBOE is an elected 15 member board responsible for setting curriculum standards for Texas public schools. The three Rs. 1492 and 1776. Ho hum, right? Not if you care about Texas kids. Unless you've spent the last decade living on Pluto (not a planet anymore, by the way), you know that the SBOE has become the front line in the culture war over evolution, climate change, religion, everything from the Indian Wars to the Indian festival of lights, Diwali. (By the way, the argument over Diwali taught me that there are over 50,000 Hindus in north Texas. I didn't know that. Maybe my education, which didn't include Diwali, was deficient.)

After the jump, why one DMN recommendation is merely OK and the other patently obvious.

Twitter Tracks: Football, Marching Bands and More

Twitter tracks from November, 2010:

• 2010 11 01 - Lots of people interested in finding out about George M. Clayton. Too late, I'm afraid. Schoolchildren could have used you last March.
• 2010 11 01 - Northwestern’s opinion of getting picked for the Jan 1 Dallas Football Classic bowl game. "Lord have mercy; please, no!" http://goo.gl/64zv
• 2010 11 01 - Rally To Restore Sanity is already paying dividends: Headline: "Keith Olbermann Suspends 'Worst Person' Segment" http://goo.gl/rY0o
• 2010 11 02 - Today's the day. UIL State marching contest. Representing DFW ... "Berkner. Duncanville. Bell. Marcus. All are giants." http://goo.gl/Q5u1
• 2010 11 02 - The forecast is for conditions to be cold, wet and inhospitable to man or beast. The weather ain't so good, either.
• 2010 11 02 - Berkner's Mighty Ram Band has qualified for tonight's Finals competition at UIL State marching contest in San Antonio. "Blow my face off."
• 2010 11 03 - Kudos to Marcus (1), Bell (2), Duncanville (3), Coppell (5), Hebron (6), Berkner (8) for representing DFW well at UIL State marching contest
• 2010 11 03 - "The only surprise election night was that [Texas Gov. Rick Perry] didn't give his acceptance speech in Iowa." -- Glenn Smith.
• 2010 11 03 - Likely? How about definitely? Headline: "Huge GOP majority in Texas House likely dooms transportation funding increase." http://goo.gl/jekLj
• 2010 11 04 - @DalArtsDistrict and @WalkableDFW are talking. That's something at least. Right?

After the jump, more Twitter tracks.