If you don’t yet know who Mary Lou Bruner is, you can read all about her in what we posted yesterday: Mary Lou Countdown — 16 Days To Go.
Briefly, she’s one of two candidates in a runoff election to be held on 24 May which will choose the Republican candidate for a seat on the Texas State Board of Education (SBOE). Until 2010, that seat had been occupied by Don McLeroy, the creationist dentist.
Although we’ve been paying a lot of attention to Mary Lou, we’ve done little more than mention her opponent — Keven Ellis, a chiropractor. Who is he, and how does he differ from Mary Lou?
Information has been scarce, but today in the Longview News-Journal of Longview, Texas, we read SBOE candidate Ellis would seek expert advice on textbooks. The newspaper has a comments feature. Most of the story is boring, but a wee bit is of interest to us. Here are some excerpts, with bold font added by us:
[Ellis] and Bruner hope to succeed Mount Pleasant Republican Thomas Ratliff as the District 9 representative. Ratliff, who did not seek re-election, has played a lead role in steering the State Board of Education more toward a centrist position. “He’s a lightning rod,” Ellis said of Ratliff, a kinder description than Bruner uses for Ratliff, whom she said has steered the board into socialism and communism.
Ratliff, you may recall, defeated McLeroy for that seat. Ellis only says Ratliff is a “lightning rod,” and Mary Lou is, well, a bit more extreme in her claims. That’s what Ratliff gets for defeating the creationist dentist. Okay, on with the story:
Though neither Republican will be on the board when it discusses science curriculum this coming summer, Ellis weighed in on the debate. “Students should discuss the strengths and weaknesses of evolution,” he said, after noting the U.S. Supreme Court struck down creationism, the theory that a sentient being created the universe, as a government endorsement of religion when taught in public schools.
BWAHAHAHAHAHA! Teaching the “strengths and weaknesses of evolution” is creationist code for attacking evolution in the classroom. The chiropractor isn’t very different from Mary Lou. A bit more restrained in how he says things, perhaps, but he’s also a creationist.
That same newspaper has a companion story about Mary Lou: SBOE candidate Bruner says curriculum should return to basics. That one is more interesting. It says:
Bruner, 69, said a public education should focus more on instilling conservative values and basic education — the three Rs. She disagreed with today’s emphasis on science, technology, engineering and mathematics, called STEM, especially in early grades.
BWAHAHAHAHAHA! Let’s read on:
She said Wednesday she doesn’t have much respect for retiring incumbent District 9 representative Thomas Ratliff.
That’s because before Ratliff defeated him, the creationist dentist had been running the show. The newspaper quotes Mary Lou:
“(Ratliff) has tried to move it to the left,” she said, adding that the board needs to return to its pre-Ratliff philosophy. “It sure does. I believe he is taking us in the direction of socialism and communism.”
BWAHAHAHAHAHA! Evolution is communism! Here’s another quote from Mary Lou:
“The United States of America was based on biblical principles, and we can’t deny that. And we should teach it, and children shouldn’t be ashamed that the United States of America is built on those principles.”
No, Mary Lou. The Massachusetts colony was based on biblical principles, and they gave us the Salem witch trials. We’ve discussed all that in Is America a “Christian Nation”?
Here’s one last quote from Mary Lou, in which she agrees with her Republican opponent:
“At the very least, we need to be able to teach the weaknesses of evolution as well as the strengths,” she said.
So there you are, dear reader. The primary election is now only 15 days away. Stay tuned to this blog!
Copyright © 2016. The Sensuous Curmudgeon. All rights reserved.
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The Sensuous Curmudgeon 
In other words, we should be teaching students what to think, not how to think. It is clear Mary Lou never learned how.
“Governors of surrounding states have requested that FEMA declare their respective states disaster areas so that they can get matching federal funds for the needed levees to keep the Wave of Stupidity from spreading. Said Oklahoma governor Mary Fallin, ‘We’re being swamped by this tsunami of stupid, and it’s all coming from Texas. We need help to stop it. It’s going to inundate us very quickly unless we take drastic steps now.’ Residents have been seen packing for the upcoming mass exodus from Texas, assuming that Mary Lou is elected.”
I’ve read this whole thing about “strengths and weaknesses” of evolution so many times I’m pretty numb to it. But it has occurred to me to wonder this: Let’s put a creationist in front of a class teaching the S&Ws. I can easily craft the “weaknesses” as no transitional fossils, millions of years, against God, blah blah blah. But what “strengths” would a creationist enumerate? What would Ken Ham say is a strength of evolution?
Yeah, Mary Lou, schools in Texas should ignore science, technology, engineering and mathematics, and hasten its decline into third world status. Question for Mary: what is the proportion of post doctoral scientists at Baylor who come from countries where they actually learn your dreaded STEM subjects?
GreenPoisonFrog wonders
It has all the mighty soul-duping powers of Satan himself!!!
Which biblical principles? The ones which commanded the slaughter of the Amalekites, for instance?
In any case this is irrelevant. Thomas Jefferson, author of the Declaration of Independence, was far enough from being a True Christian™ to be branded an atheist by some people during his lifetime, and went so far as to produce a version of the New Testament with all the miracles excised (though he dared not try to have it published, and it was not until after his death). And George Washington, no socialist or Communist, made plain that he did not consider the U.S. government to be “founded upon the Christian religion.”
So add history to STEM in the list of things beyond Mary Lou’s understanding.
I think Mary Lou’s three “R’s” are probably different that the usual slang for reading, writing, and arithmetic. I’m guessing Religion, Reagan, and Rightwing ideology. Reason sure ain’t one of them.
I am quite sure no one would want Mary Lou teaching STEM concepts to her students. Can you imagine? Why is the sky blue? Blue is God’s favorite color. Why is the earth a sphere? So it will fit nicely into God’s hands.
Gary, when it comes to waves of stupidity, I think it’s fair to say Oklahoma will give Texas as good as it gets. Plus, Kansas has Oklahoma’s back. Not even the fountainhead of stupidity that is Texas can withstand those two for long.
Ugh, I’m so tired of these people. I attended every grade but 1 in Texas public schools, and we NEVER dealt with this bull[bleep]. Seriously, none of this was an issue 20+ years ago.
As for STEM – it’s the reason these [bleep]ers have cell phones, and computers to write this [bleep] on, cars, bridges, MRI’s and X-rays and vaccines and antibiotics and on and on and on. They can live in the 10th century if they want – the rest of us want to know how the hell to get off this planet when these ancient ideas turn it into a blazing, waterless hellscape.