Correcting the Texas "Anti-Freedom" Network

Last week I had the opportunity to participate in the Texas Tribune's College Civics Fair at Texas Tech University. The fair is designed to expose students to different groups that encourage civic participation, so they invited Americans for Prosperity to host a booth.

I manned a booth directly across the aisle (no pun intended) from two organizations which hold vastly different views from AFP - The Sierra Club, and the Texas (anti) Freedom Network.

The Sierra Club representative seemed happy to spend his time ignoring passers-by while typing away at his laptop and talking on his phone. All I can say is - "PHEW!" 

In Texas, one of the big efforts of the Sierra Club is to push the Texas Commission of Environmental Quality to adopt the "greenhouse gas" standards of the EPA. Of course, we know better -- the EPA is operating outside of its authority on this issue and has based its regulations on highly suspect global warming "science." Thankfully, we have elected leaders in Texas who are fighting the EPA's overreach!

The TFN representative was totally engaged. He called out after students, urging them to sign the "Health Care Education Petition." Sounds nice, but the TFN rep explained further that the petition is designed to push for "comprehensive sex education" in all grade levels in Texas. Do 1st graders really need to learn about condoms and STD's at the same time they learn their ABC's?

Hmmm... One thing you can count on from the TFN is that they LOVE to be disengenuous. They claim to be a "mainstream voice to counter the religious right" but their ideas line up with the radical fringe left. Most Americans consider themselves to be right-of-center, and a majority of Americans still subscribe to a religious faith.

The TFN rep went on to loudly criticize the Texas State Board of Education as "right-wing wackos" who "operate in the dark" pushing their "conservative political agenda." He brought up the example that's been widely circulated by those on the left, that the SBOE "eliminated Thomas Jefferson from Texas curriculum."

I could not sit silent while the TFN rep served up these lies. I stood up and asked whether TFN truly believes that Thomas Jefferson was stripped out of the entire curriculum, and to my surprise, the TFN rep said "No." He said TFN acknowledges that Jefferson was only removed from one section discussing Enlightenment Thinkers in the 5th grade curriculum, and no where else. He went on to say that "Bill White capitalized on that issue" by sending out deceptive press releases and saying Thomas Jefferson was completely taken out of the curriculum.

The honesty was short-lived as the TFN guy incorrectly characterized the SBOE as a "partisan elected  body that operates in the dark." He acted as if having an "elected" board was a bad thing, saying that voters usually vote down ballot and are really ignorant of who they elect to the SBOE. Typical left-wing answer -- the voters are too stupid to make decisions for themselves.

He also mischaracterized the way the SBOE works -- they operate under the same rules for transparency as every government entity, holding public meetings and inviting public testimony. Hundreds of informed voters spoke at the past two SBOE meetings to give input on what should or shouldn't be included in the Social Studies curriculum, and they were heard!

The TFN would rather strip away our right to choose representatives on the SBOE and have partisan elected officials appoint board members. Clearly, "Freedom" is a misnomer for this group!