McLeroy Replaced by Dunbar? Meet the New Boss, Same as the Old Boss

After working so hard to oust Creationist and general promoter of ignorance Don McLeroy from the Board of Education Chair, now rumors come that Cynthia Dunbar is next up for Governor Rick Perry, who seems not to have understood the firestorm and national embarrassment McLeroy created for Texas. Perhaps part of the comprehension problem is slipshod reporting such as the article linked above which begins with a false statement about the McLeroy affair:

Critics who engineered the recent ouster of State Board of Education Chairman Don McLeroy, in part because of his strong religious beliefs, could end up with someone even more outspoken in her faith.

McLeroy was not ousted for his religious beliefs. He was ousted for his scientific ignorance, which he insisted on proving every time he opened his mouth. He allowed his religious convictions, and not science, to dictate his scientific positions. That makes him unqualified for the position he held, and made his long overdue ousting entirely appropriate.

Unfortunately, Dunbar is cut from the same cloth. Scientifically ignorant BOE Chair, meet BOE member who thinks public schools are "a subtly deceptive tool of perversion" and calls the establishment of public schools unconstitutional and "tyrannical."

David Bradley, another member of the lunatic fringe right, gives us a good sample of just how out of touch with reality these people are:

"It would certainly cause angst among the same members of the pagan left that rejected Don McLeroy because he was a man of faith,"

Pagans? Does the man even know what the word means? I challenge David Bradley to name a single pagan involved in the McLeroy affair? He's just making shit up that sounds scary to his ignorant constituents.

Luckily, we have Kathy Miller, president of the Texas Freedom Network, to add a little reality to this cluster fraud:

Perry’s appointment of Dunbar would send a statement "that the governor shares her shocking hostility toward public education...Just as bad, he would be siding with a faction of self-righteous politicians on the board who have made it crystal clear that they believe the only real Christians are the ones who agree with them. If the governor really decides that selling out our kids like this is a good re-election strategy, then this state has an even bigger problem than we thought."

Indeed it does, or has, for a long time. It just hasn't come to light until recently. But make no mistake, there is massive projection going on here. It is Perry, McLeroy, Bradley and Dunbar who are judging people based on their religious beliefs, not their critics. Supporters of sound science run the gamut of religious views. It's the science they care about. Pity we can't say the same for the likes of Dunbar, or Perry if he appoints her.

Surprise me Rick Perry. Make us Texans proud for a change, and nominate and education chair that (gasp) actually puts the children's education first, not their personal religious views.