Texas isn't greatly representative of the US as a whole - much though Guardian readers (Whose resemblence to stereotyped caricature isn't greatly representative of the UK as a whole) might like to think otherwise.
However, I am reminded of the great Bill Hicks being accosted and threatened by a couple of inbred rednecks after he'd given Good Ole Southern Christianity a dissing in a show.
"We're Christians, and we don't like what your saying about our religion!"
"You're Christians?" asked Hicks.
"Yes we are!"
"You'd better forgive me then."

yeah, but in what other country on earth would you get something like this..?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GV2F64_zehI

The point being that Texas is such a massive buyer of educational textbooks, that the publishers will cater to their needs, producing textbooks that will be used throughout the US.

There is no impartial journalism. Now die from frostbite.

1

Another question, are you posting this to somehow feel better about British Petroleum taking a big oily dump on the gulf? I mean why bring this up at all on a messenger forum? Maybe a part of you is saying. "See they're all a bunch of ignorant hillbillies so it's okay" I just don't get it man, why bring it up in the first place?

Well my question was why should he care about how the people of Texas choose to educate their children. I did speculate based on the assumption that he was a British subject that he might on a unconcious (sp. it's late here) level be trying to deflect some shared sense of guilt because a company whose name includes what I thought was his country did something bad by pointing out the foibles of Texans. It seamed a possible explanation. And another thing why do you (bigusdikus) even feel the need to ask if I'm a racist? I don't recall saying anything racist. In fact I belive it's wrong to hate people on the basis of race when there are so many perfectly good reasons to hate people on strictly individual basis.

Some of my best friends are black.
Or should that be "Jewish"?

Libel.
Where's Maurycy when you need him?

"Very American? A cultural stereotype pr'haps? Are you a closet raciallist. I hope not, racist remarks of anytype are not permitted on this forum and at the very least, be explained, as one would not want to percieve the poster 'Pornomike' as a racist."


The American Race? Never heard of it mate. You cant call someone a racist for having a pop at, or being derogatory towards the population of a country as a whole (especially one as racialy diverse as the USA).

"somehow feel better about British Petroleum taking a big oily dump on the gulf? "

Lets not forget that the personel and equipment that fcuked it up are American (Transocean LTD). Admittedly under contract to BP.

Pie? Count me in man!

Going back to Mikes post...

"The point being that Texas is such a massive buyer of educational textbooks, that the publishers will cater to their needs, producing textbooks that will be used throughout the US. "

Exactly, dont you think its dangerous for one of the worlds biggest countries to re-write history for their children to learn? Its called indoctrination.


"why not just throw everybody's bullshit into the market and hope the kids will be smart enough to read on their own. "


Because most kids aint smart enough, and what they get taught in school (if anything) will realy influence and cloud their judgement.



"The new curriculum asserts that "the right to keep and bear arms" is an important element of a democratic society. Study of Sir Isaac Newton is dropped in favour of examining scientific advances through military technology.

There is also a suggestion that the anti-communist witch-hunt by Senator Joseph McCarthy in the 1950s may have been justified.

The education board has dropped references to the slave trade in favour of calling it the more innocuous "Atlantic triangular trade", and recasts the Israeli-Palestinian conflict as driven by Islamic fundamentalism."


Interesting stuff...
and some Americans think:


""They're very smooth at excluding the contributions of minorities into the curriculum. It is as if they want to render minority groups totally invisible. I think it's racist. I really do."



Whats the big picture here?

Wel,l JP I wasn't defending the Texas curriculum even tho I may agree with bits of it other bits just suck. I was trying to defend the right of the people of Texas through their elected and aponited representatiives to detirmine how their children are educated and also pointing out that there is very strong anti-white male bias in American education for example most kids leaving high school get the impression that the slave trade was all whities doing ignoring the fact that there was a North African slave market long before any honkies showed up. Organized education has almost alway been about indoctrination whoever's in power sets the tone and twists the facts to suit their own agenda. I could go on but I'm gonna go clean my guns and have a slice of pie. Sorry about the spelling errors I'm too lazy to go back and fix them

"Pies rock! God bless America. Hey Mike, can you beat that? Can you beat pies? Can you?"
Quiche!

@JP, I have a fairly open mind. I was trying to state fact.
@pornomike, I can't take an insult seriously from anyone who thinks quiche beats pies.

"My point being that most history texts are so biased in the other direction that this is kind of refreshing. Keep in mind the other big buyer of text books is California and they lean on the white European males are the cause of all evil side of things. "

Err. Kirk, seems like you are buying into the whole 'poor me, I'm a down-trodden middle-aged white man, oppressed by the evil forces of political correctness' rhetorical device, which is a massive canard, propagated by reactionaries all over Europe and North America.

Of course history is written by the victors, but even though subjectivity is impossible (by definition) to eliminate from historical analysis, strenuous attempts to be as objective as possible are part of writing good history.

I havn't read anything above but fuck, I enjoyed NYC when I visited there 10 years ago, skated Brooklyn banks, saw the twin towers, met the Zoo York skate team sessioning Times Square three stairs - Zared Basset ripped. Drank Old E by the gallon - nothin like an old E hangover, and saw the Dwarves play the Continental.

I like NYC, but I wouldn't live there, I'd go to either somewhere in Oregon, or Southern Cali.

I'm with sleepy this is getting a tad well, silly and I bear some responsibility for that. Sorry.
Bill said:
Err. Kirk, seems like you are buying into the whole 'poor me, I'm a down-trodden middle-aged white man, oppressed by the evil forces of political correctness' rhetorical device, which is a massive canard, propagated by reactionaries all over Europe and North America.
Back
The reason that rhetorical device has such an appeal is because there is a small grain of truth to it. As far as having any kind of ethnic identity white people seam to have two options. The first being guilt ridden and self-hating, the second being some sort of neo-nazi dipshit. I'd like some middle ground accepting that we've done some really awful things as a group while realizing that so has every other group and still being able to take some pride in the good stuff we acheived and even a little smidge of pride that we were able to do all the bad stuff on a grander scale then anyone before. Now getting back to the topic of educating kids that should be as fact based as possible in the early years and when it gets time to go more indepth there should exposure to full range of opinion or inturpretation of events. Hopefully by this the kids should have the tools to form they're own opinions.
from sleepy:
"I did speculate based on the assumption that he was a British subject"

bad assumption, he's scandinavian.
Me: Again I'm sorry. I can't say it enough. I owe the man at least a beer or two even if he did call me a cunt.
Sleepy Again:
"my question was why should he care about how the people of Texas choose to educate their children."

why shouldn't he? the culture of the US affects other countries in ways beyond that of any other nation. what happens there matters here more than our matters bother you if you understand me?
Me: I get that part. A bigger thing for me was why post it here? To take an issue I feel strongly on, I wouldn't post an article on U.K. gun laws on an American courier forum. If the topic came up I'd express my opinion but I wouldn't start it. That and with the title and all it had this rather insulting quality. As the son of a Texan who can trace his Texas roots back to the republic of, I felt this weird need to defend Texas. On a matter of Education, no lees. What the fuck is wrong with me? Anyway, anyone tried that 3-spd fixed cog Sturmy-Archer hub yet?

Zero, never said it was right. There are bits I approve of with my libertarian leanings, small bits* but some other bits are just fucked. I'm just saying it's an internal matter of a soverign state. If I lived there I'd be a lot more involved in the matter.
*I'm not what small bits to prevent another tangent on this trainwreck of a thread

er, yeah, anyway Mike - er...what was your point?

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/us_and_canada/10141121.stm