Merry Xmas

Some would have you believe that there's a war on Christmas. I think that's silly.

Since Dec. 25th was made a legal federal holiday called Christmas Day in the U.S., it has become a secular holiday. Otherwise it would be a violation of the Bill of Rights' First Amendment "provision respecting an establishment of religion."

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.

If the proponents of the war are trying to get the government to mandate religious connotations to the day, they will run afoul of this amendment.

Christmas is not only a religious occasion for those who want to observe it for religious reasons, it is a day that anyone can use for whatever purpose they choose.

I don't think Muslims, Hindus, Buddhists, agnostics, atheists or anyone wants to get rid of Xmas.

It's a tempest in a teapot.

Upgrade Texas Public Education

As recent developments in the English Language Arts and Science curricula have shown, ultra-conservative elements of the Texas State Board of Education (SBOE) are about to try and screw over the Texas Social Studies standards which are due their 10-year update in 2010.

We are at a critical juncture in this process since over half of the SBOE seats are up for (re)election in 2010.

I urge anyone willing to stand up for good education in Texas and eligible to run for election in SBOE District 3, 5, 9, or 10 to help unseat some of these folks and help bring sanity back into education process in Texas. Otherwise, be sure to vote for the good guys on election day.

The districts up for (re)election in 2010 are:

District   Incumbent
1          Rene Nunez
3          Rick Agosto
4          Lawrence Allen
5          Ken Mercer
9          Don McLeroy
10         Cynthia Dunbar
12         Geraldine Miller
15         Bob Craig

Enter your Zip code at Who Represents Me to see what district you are in and who your current SBOE member is.

To be on the ballot you must file an application for a place on the ballot with your respective party by Jan. 4, 2010, and pay a filing fee. The primary election will be on March 2, 2010, the general election will be in November 2, 2010. Write-in candidates have until August, 2010 to file.

For more details on the election process, go here: http://www.sos.state.tx.us/elections/candidates/guide/index.shtml