Molly Ivins: Hang In, and Raise Hell. --Corrupt politicians think we're morons -

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" Zepp " <zepp

Wed, 11 Jan 2006 07:40:30 -0800

[Zepps_News] Molly: hang in, and raise hell

 

 

 

 

 

Molly Ivins: Hang In, and Raise Hell

 

--Corrupt politicians think we're morons -- time to strike back

 

 

 

 

Molly Ivins, Creators Syndicate, January 10, 2006

 

http://www.workingforchange.com/article.cfm?itemid=20192

 

AUSTIN, Texas -- The governor of Texas is despicable. Of all the crass

pandering, of all the gross political kowtowing to ignorance, we

haven't seen anything this rank from Gov. Goodhair since, gee, last fall.

 

Then, he was trying to draw attention away from his spectacular

failure on public schools by convincing Texans that gay marriage was a

horrible threat to us all. Now, he's trying to disguise the fact that

the schools are in freefall by proposing we teach creationism in

biology classes.

 

The funding of the whole school system is so unfair it has been

declared unconstitutional by the Texas Supreme Court. All last year,

Perry haplessly called special session after special session, trying

to fix the problem, and couldn't get anywhere -- not an iota, not a

scintilla of leadership.

 

Instead of facing the grave crisis that may yet result in the schools

being closed down, Perry has blithely gone off on creationism -- teach

the little perishers the Earth is 6,000 years old, that people lived

at the same time as dinosaurs and who cares if the school building is

falling apart?

 

Perry faced a potential primary challenge from State Comptroller Carol

Keaton Strayhorn. The Texas Republican Party is now so completely

dominated by the Christian right, however, that a relative moderate

like Strayhorn has no chance against Perry, who has been assiduously

kissing the feet, to say the least, of the most extreme elements of

the party.

 

So Strayhorn announced she would seek election as an independent, and

Perry played the creationism card. Gee, let's all have a big

discussion about gays, creationism and covenant marriage -- that'll

solve the state's staggering problems with schools and health care.

 

In case you missed it, the court decision everyone has been waiting

for on teaching creationism in the schools came out on Dec. 20, and it

explains, quite clearly, why creationism cannot be taught as science

in this country. Because it isn't science, it's religion.

 

The decision in the Dover, Pa., school board case by Judge John Jones

III, a Republican and Bush appointee, is well worth reading. It

annihilates the case for teaching creationism. Calling creationism

" intelligent design " changes nothing and is disingenuous to the point

of being painful. Perry emphasized the equally disingenuous notion

that there is " controversy " about evolution, supposedly two sides

equally worth considering, so we should " teach the controversy. " His

spokesperson, Kathy Walt, actually said teaching different theories is

part of " developing students' critical thinking skills. " That's pathetic.

 

One hears evolution dismissed as " just a theory, " as though all of

science weren't based on theory and eternally subject to new evidence

to the contrary. In science, gravity is " just a theory " -- and if you

ever drop something and it falls up, they'll reconsider the whole

theory for you. That's just how " theoretical " evolution is --

constantly subject to evidence and proof. But creationism cannot be

tested and proved against evidence using the scientific method -- that

is why it is not science, it is faith.

 

Meanwhile, it's heartening to note that political nincompoopery is not

limited to Texas. A couple of recent quotes out of Washington, D.C.,

cause the jaw to drop. Our very own Tom DeLay, upon announcing he

would quit as majority leader, said: " During my time in Congress, I

have always acted in an ethical manner, within the rules of our body

and the law of our land. I am fully confident time will bear this

out. " Good grief, the man was sanctioned three times by the House

ethics committee last year alone.

 

Equally stupefying is the attempted emergence of Newt Gingrich, of all

people, as an arbiter of ethics. Gingrich has been going about the

media, holding forth on the shortcomings of today's Republicans. Let's

see, that would be the same Newt Gingrich who originally started using

the lobby as an arm of the Republican Party, right? Same Gingrich had

the distinction of being the only House speaker to be reprimanded by

his colleagues for ethical wrongdoing? Same Gingrich who was accused

of misusing nonprofit organizations for political purposes, personally

benefiting from political contributions, cutting a sleazy book deal

and giving false statements to ethics investigators? Same Gingrich who

was fined $300,000 for said lying? I thought it was that Gingrich.

 

They must really think we're morons.

 

On the general subject of political corruption, do not fall into the

fatal error of cynicism. You do your country a great disservice by

saying things like: " Eh, they're all crooks. Nothing anyone can do

about it. Money will always find a way. "

 

The answer is perpetual reform. Fix it, and if corruption comes back

again, you just whack back at it again. The system as it is encourages

corruption and must be changed. Public campaign financing is the best

answer in the long-term -- all this " lobby reform " talk is hopelessly

inadequate. Hang in, and raise hell -- this is a heaven-sent

opportunity to clean it up. Don't blow the chance with cheap cynicism.

Read more in the Molly Ivins archive .

 

--Molly Ivins is the former editor of the liberal monthly The Texas

Observer. She is the bestselling author of several books including

" Who Let the Dogs In? "

 

--

 

" Now, by the way, any time you hear the United States government

talking about wiretap, it requires -- a wiretap requires a court

order. Nothing has changed, by the way. When we're talking about

chasing down terrorists, we're talking about getting a court order

before we do so "

-George W. Bush, April 20, 2004

 

 

 

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