Textbook Tantrum

The intended audience of the "Crying wolf --again" article in the Houston Chronicle would definitely be liberals or anybody that leans left.  The editorial was written on September 27, 2010, in the Houston Chronicle and no author is given.  The author is making a point of how ridiculous the debate on textbook content has become.  As far as the author's credibility, he doesn't give specific examples of what the arguments are about, but he does give just a general overview such as "the board has put publishers on notice with a resolution condemning 'gross pro-Islamic/anti-Christian distortions' in Social Studies textbooks".  I agree with what the author implies which is that rewriting or skewing history to fit your agenda is just wrong.  I also agree that It seems to be an attempt to capitalize on the current hostility toward Islam.  I'm not sure what the credentials of those voting on the board are.  Are any of them experts in social studies or history?  This article doesn't dive that deep into the issue.     Without specific examples, it is hard to sway those on the fence with this particular editorial to follow his beliefs.  I can only say that I believe the whole textbook debacle from the beginning was a joke.  I haven't done a lot of research into it.  I have seen the evening news and read a few articles.  It just looks to me like Christian conservatives trying to rewrite or skew history to make their beliefs and such look much more attractive to a younger audience as to build up their future support base and leaders to keep their cause alive.         

Austin grocer unhappy her store is in Perry ad

In Rick Perry's first television ad of the general election campaign season, he has used Business logos and storefronts without their permission.  Peg Mccoy of the Farm to Market store is very unhappy that she was never asked permission for use of her store or logo.  She asked the campaign to take down the ad, but the campaign has no plans to take the ad down.  The ad boasts about Texas being a "job-creating" powerhouse" and shows shots of McCoy's store and the Avenue Barbershop opening for the day.  Read about the story here.  See the actual ad here.

I applaud Ms. McCoy for standing up to the campaign.  She flat out states that she doesn't endorse Rick Perry.  I have a hard time siding with the campaign's statement that since the shots were filmed on a public sidewalk, it was all right to use the storefronts and logos without permission.  Whether people want to admit it or not, a shopper might consider not shopping at the stores in the ad simply because the shopper dislikes Perry, so it's good that the stores are coming out and disapproving the use of their stores in the ad.  It seems to me that Perry is being very arrogant in trying to take responsibility for the success of these businesses.