Banned in Texas. Maybe they think I'm a Russian Bear.
The Texas State Board of Education has done it again. They've banned the children's book Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See?
Board member Pat Hardy made the motion, citing that the author, Bill Martin, had written a book for adults that contained "very strong critiques of capitalism and the American system."
That would be the book called Ethical Marxism: The Categorical Imperative of Liberation.
The trouble is, the Bill Martin who wrote the Brown Bear series, is not the same Bill Martin who the Marxism treatise. That Bill Martin is a philosophy professor at DePaul University in Chicago. He wrote his book in 2008.
The other Bill Martin, who never wrote anything political unless you count a book that taught kids how to say the Pledge of Allegiance, couldn't possible have written a book in 2008 since he died in 2004.
Ms. Hardy said she was trusting the research of another board member, Terri Leo, who sent her an e-mail alerting Hardy to the Brown Bear listing on the Borders.com website as having been written by the same author of Ethical Marxism. Leo's e-mail also said she hadn't read the college professor's book. According to the Dallas Morning News, Hardy assessed Leo's e-mail saying, "She said that that was what he wrote, and I said: 'It's a good enough reason for me to get rid of someone.'"
Imagine that. Someone this incapable of independent analysis sits on a school board that determines curriculum. If I send her an e-mail telling her the sky is green, will that be good enough for inclusion? It's surprising, considering Hardy's stance against gutting scienct textbooks in order to teach creationism in Texas.
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Pat Hardy
Terri Leo
Even more idiotic:
A fear that some college professor would write "very strong critiques of capitalism and the American system." Isn't the freedom to criticize America one of the things that makes it so great? You'd think even the Tea Party wouldn't disagree with that, or they'd have been shut up already. And yet, Hardy's stance against gutting science textbooks in Texas has made her a target of the Texas Tea Party movement because she's a "moderate Republican." Who said McCarthyism is dead?
Texas: Land of cowards. Frightened by ideas. Is that it?
It's almost difficult to sort out the most idiotic part of this story, but the most frightening thing about it is that Brown Bear was being considered for third graders. It's a 12-page book about recognizing colors and animals. A 2-year-old can read that book. Perhaps a book with sentences might be apropos for third graders?
Subversive lecture Texas Bd of Ed warns all students to avoid
Note insidious hidden message contained in text!
Attention Texas: Do not read this book!
Might cause critical thinking
Comments
They ban books in Texas? Do they have internet there?
Right like the left never seeks to stifle opinions or books that don't meet/agree with their agendas.
And to think we were all wound in a knot about that Mesquite kid's hair and his idiot parents. Clearly, we have much, much larger problems within the educational system.
The Bell Curve says: Right like the left never seeks to stifle opinions or books that don't meet/agree with their agendas.
Oh shut UP! Why is it that when something happens, you get a two year old who says, "Well YOU do it too!"
So you're saying you'd vote to ban the book because two wrongs make a right? Idiot!
Nope we don't care about difference of opinion "Torquie" matta of fact we encourage it, I'm just pointing out the hypocrisy of the LEFT. IDIOT.
All books are created equal and some more than others. hehe
Pointing out, "Well you do it too," is just not an argument here because it's not germane to the story in Texas, so on that point, I agree with Torquemada. Making that observation isn't very useful in trying to resolve the true idiocy --the one occurring in Texas. Let's stick with that and avoid the name calling on both sides, if you don't mind. And, if you still feel compelled to cite some sort of book-banning issue perpetrated by the left that is not in accordance with our laws, please cite a specific example and a link if you could. That would be of help everybody.
I know that "Beer" dude Brucie and he's cool that Torquie guy drew first blood by calling him an "idiot" first. Good ole BBB will be the first to tell you he ain't the sharpest pencil in the drawer but sometimes he gets whiskey bent and hell-bound. Is that there book come in Spanish.:)
The Mad Mothers against Conservative books tried to get a book removed from Amazon. It was a few years ago called Help me Mommy, there are liberals under my bed!
It was a big seller.
Just goes to show, we need to be SURE of which book and author we're banning ...
Texas and South Carolina are very entertaining as long as you don't live there.
Even more idiotic is that you don't have someone to proof read this garbage.
"not the same Bill Martin who the Marxism treatise."
"couldn't possible have written"
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