From today's Dallas Morning News:
There are Texas conservatives, and then there are people like Dr. Barney Maddox. The Cleburne urologist is running in the March 4 Republican primary to unseat Pat Hardy, a former Fort Worth teacher who sits on the State Board of Education. Ms. Hardy, a Southern Baptist who believes God created the universe, routinely votes to keep "creation science" out of the Texas public school curriculum. Dr. Maddox, on the other hand, calls evolution a myth and, as The News' Steve Blow reported, is putting out campaign literature claiming that textbooks are telling Texas schoolchildren that the 9/11 attacks were a U.S. conspiracy. Three cheers for Ms. Hardy for fighting the good fight, despite being badly outspent by Dr. Maddox.
That campaign flier reads, in part,
Barney Maddox believes social studies textbooks should devote more space to American presidents than Marilyn Monroe and that the vicious attack of 9-11 should be portrayed as an aggressive act by terrorists, not an American conspiracy.
Using the same scurrilous type of argument, I believe that a urologist should place his patients' well-being ahead of his gambling addiction, his alcoholism, and his multiple mistresses.
Maddox has not provided any examples of social studies textbooks which emphasize Marilyn Monroe over presidents, or that show 9-11 as an American conspiracy. For shame. He seems to be subscribing to the "if ya can't beat 'em, lie about 'em" Swift Boat style of campaigning.
A person who claims to care about kids' education should at least set a good example for them.
posted by Cheryl Shepherd-Adams
