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.

