Zachary Roth | October 14, 2009, 10:11AM

Gov. Rick Perry (R-TX)

Things are looking worse and worse for Texas governor Rick Perry, accused of stifling a state panel's probe into that flawed arson investigation that may have led to the execution of an innocent man.

Sam Bassett, the former chair of the Texas Forensic Science Commission, has now told the Houston Chronicle that lawyers for Perry told him the case was inappropriate, and that the hiring of a nationally known fire expert was a "waste of state money."

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Topics: Cameron Todd Willingham, Craig Beyler, Death Penalty, Debra Medina, John Bradley, Kay Bailey Hutchison, Rick Perry, Sam Bassett, Texas, Texas Forensic Science Commission

Death Penalty

Texas Governor Stymieing Panel Probing Flawed Death Penalty Case?

Zachary Roth | October 2, 2009, 12:35PM

Gov. Rick Perry (R-TX)

Even by the standards of Texas's enthusiasm for state-sanctioned killing, this is pretty shocking...

A Texas scientific panel has been looking into possible missteps in a criminal investigation of a 1991 arson case which led to the execution of Cameron Todd Willingham. A recent New Yorker story about the case laid out compelling evidence that Willingham may well have been wrongly put to death.

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Topics: Cameron Todd Willingham, Craig Beyler, Death Penalty, Kay Bailey Hutchison, New Yorker, Rick Perry, Texas, Texas Forensic Science Commission, arson

Texas Textbook Hearings

TX Board Of Ed Member: Minorities Must Be Thankful To 'The Majority' For Giving Them Rights!

Justin Elliott | September 18, 2009, 6:52PM

Yesterday, we spent about four hours watching a spotty livestream of the ~~revival meeting~~ history textbook hearing by the State Board of Education down in Austin, Texas.

Those are the standards on which -- it can't be repeated enough -- publishers base their nationwide textbooks, and the ones that currently contain a clause requiring knowledge of Newt Gingrich.

Well, the board met for another four hours after lunch. Not much was said about Gingrich beyond that it was "not easy" to draft the clause, but it's worth checking out some highlight clips we pulled to see first-hand how the partisan and frankly ignorant worldviews of some of the board members influence the standards writing process.

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Topics: Barbara Cargill, Don McLeroy, Texas, Texas Textbook Hearings, Textbooks

Texas Textbook Hearings

'Expert' Barton Brings Religio-Historical Road Show To TX Board Of Ed Hearing

Justin Elliott | September 17, 2009, 2:56PM

From display by David Barton, Texas board of education hearing room

David Barton, who critics call a "Christian nationalist history revisionist," comes off more as smooth-talking history buff than fiery evangelist.

Among the panel of experts appointed to guide the Texas textbook standards writing process, Barton is probably the most committed right-wing activist. He served as vice-chair of the Texas GOP for many years. He was responsible for the uproar over deletion of a reference to Christmas that the chair of the board of education tried to tamp down first thing this morning.

And when his turn to speak came at the hearing on new history textbook standards in Austin today, Barton was the only expert to bring along a slideshow.

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Topics: David Barton, David Bradley, Texas, Texas Textbook Hearings, Textbooks

Texas Textbook Hearings

Evangelical Minister 'Expert' Spars With TX Board Of Ed Members About Inclusion Of Minorities

Justin Elliott | September 17, 2009, 1:34PM

Rev. Peter Marshall

The Rev. Peter Marshall is one of the "experts" appointed by the Texas State Board of Education who has come under fire for his lack of academic credentials and unapologetic right-wing Christian agenda.

Testifying today at the board of ed hearing on controversial new social studies standards, Marshall didn't disappoint. He got things started with a rousing 10-minute tour through a Christian-centric version of US history.

"It is obvious beyond contradiction that [the founders] structured American government on the natural rights of mankind, which they firmly believe were the gift of God," he said.

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Topics: Peter Marshall, Religion, Texas, Texas Textbook Hearings, Textbooks

Texas Textbook Hearings

Texas Education Board Chair Kicks Off Hearings: There Is No War On Christmas

Justin Elliott | September 17, 2009, 11:43AM

Board of Education Chair Gail Lowe

As we told you yesterday, the Texas State Board of Education is meeting in Austin today for the first public discussion of new history textbook standards, which include a controversial section that would require knowledge of Newt Gingrich, Phyllis Schlafly, et al.

Before the board turned to social studies, the hearing got to an odd start when an animated member of the public testifying about the importance of health education declared, "I'm 56 years old and I'm a virgin." The chair promptly warned her to stay on topic.

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Topics: David Barton, Peter Marshall, Texas, Texas Textbook Hearings, Textbooks

Textbooks

Right-Wing Ideologue 'Experts' Weigh In On Texas History Standards; Hearing Tomorrow

Justin Elliott | September 16, 2009, 1:59PM

Rev. Peter Marshall and his book, "The Light and the Glory for Children"

The circus down in Texas surrounding new history textbook standards continues.

Now, a panel of experts appointed by the GOP-controlled State Board of Education has released reviews of the proposed curriculum, which, as we noted recently, would require students to be conversant in Reaganomics and the heroes of movement conservatism.

The group of six experts is "extremely influential" in the curriculum writing process, says Dan Quinn of the Texas Freedom Network, which closely tracks the activist board of education. And they can be broken into two groups: mainstream academics and right-wing ideologues.

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Topics: Texas, Textbooks

David Bradley

Texan Critic Of Obama's 'Indoctrination' Speech Backs Actual Indoctrination In Textbooks

Justin Elliott | September 7, 2009, 5:46PM

Newt Gingrich and Phyllis Schlafly

Conservatives have spent the last week whipping themselves into a frenzy over President Obama's speech tomorrow in which he will indoctrinate the nation's schoolchildren using the instruments of mass media.

As it turns out, Obama's speech will be pretty anodyne. But one vocal critic of Obama's plans, has long been involved in an effort to actually indoctrinate students -- through the state-sanctioned textbooks they study all year.

Meet David Bradley, Republican member of the Texas State Board of Education from Beaumont.

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Topics: Barack Obama, David Bradley, Texas, Textbooks

Texas

Could Texas' Gingrich-Based High School History Curriculum Go National?

Justin Elliott | September 4, 2009, 9:02AM

Newt Gingrich and Phyllis Schlafly

While Republicans are busy gnashing their teeth over President Obama's imminent indoctrination of the nation's schoolchildren, there's an education story bubbling up in Texas that could have considerably more far-reaching consequences.

The GOP-controlled State Board of Education is working on a new set of statewide textbook standards for, among other subjects, U.S. History Studies Since Reconstruction. And it turns out what the board decides may end up having implications far beyond the Lone Star State.

The first draft of the standards, released at the end of July, is a doozy. It lays out a kind of Human Events version of U.S. history.