THE TEXAS TALIBAN
By Daniel Czitrom, Special to CNN
As a co-author of an American history textbook that was effectively banned in Texas eight years ago, I get a strong feeling of déjà vu all over again as I follow the state's latest curricular wars. Historians and teachers have reason to be deeply concerned over the latest actions taken by the Texas Board of Education regarding social studies curriculum standards.
The board has moved aggressively to put its hard-right conservative stamp on what students need to learn about the American past. Among the changes made by the board was the elimination of Thomas Jefferson from a list of thinkers who had inspired revolutions around the world. Conservatives object to Jefferson's support for a clear separation of church and state.
THE JERSEY SHORE
You think the Jersey Shore TV Reality crew has a bunch of nuts. They rewrote decency and ambition, good taste and morality. Ironically, so does the TEXAS SCHOOL BOARD also known as the "TEXAS TALIBAN", who recently rewrote history based on their strict religious beliefs basically enforcing their viewpoint on others. This is against the basic tenet of Church and State.
Nine members of that board, recently were elected in a landslide, had bused the churchgoers in to vote them in, and are "Bablically Declined". It affects us all as many states follow the Texas school board guidelines and that means a generation of children getting indoctrinated in creationism with books that play down science and upscale creationism.
Pathetic, I have witnessed in a middle school here, the 1000 page book devoted to the Social studies with only six of those pages about WWII. Half the kids could not name who the enemy or the AXIS powers were. We learn from the past to help plan the future….no wonder we are in a mess. I guess the past and the sacrifices don’t count anymore. Maybe this explains the dumbing down of the American students in Math and Science levels in the world. However they do text well.
The problem is many states too poor and lazy to get their own school book board, go with Texas decisions on the subject. Great news, this leads to those districts with more secular schools and a further deterioration of the school system.
Your kid will be exposed to ADAM and EVE and a snake instead of the proven theory that Amino Acids triggered by water vapor from asteroids landing on the molten mass called earth containing a catalyst that created the first cells on earth. And the earth, and the other planets rotate around a sun and thus in a moment in the spirit, God decided earth was good and the home resales on Venus weren't that good, and the golf courses on MARS had too may sand traps so he stuck with earth. What do these idiots really think? It goes beyond me.
MIRACLE BANNING
This Good Book Club bans miracles other than their own. Lest us not forget, enough strange miracles, to teach Harry Potter a lesson or two. Harry never parted water, sought plagues, turned people into salt, or did the Zippo lighting fluid burning bush trick.
Harry potter did his miracles (and notice no mortals were wounded in the course of Potter events), without large rods, no big staffs, just a small 12" Merlin Inspired Deluxe Leather Bound wizard stick made from cocobolo wood. Available on line.
And for those on a budget with smaller wizards in your house, just liberate some chopsticks from your local Chinese restaurant, some spray paint, and when the paint is still wet, just sprinkle some sparkles on theme.
Hint: Use Chinese chopsticks, 9 inches long vs. Japanese chopsticks 7.5 inches, shorter and too pointy. INFO: From Culinary hints by www.aljacobskitchen.com
Potter did other strange stuff. Thats called fantasy. I find that pretty amazing since the loyal readers of this Good Book Club often call the Potter books blasphemy and out of the box. Thats just it. Who's box? Not mine. The Good book has a lot of fantasy. The Potter books taught kids to read. The greatest incentive to reading than the school board ever dreamed up. The difference, Potter was real fantasy, the religious right promotes fake fantasy. More than the good book did. It got them excited about reading. The Good Book sometimes scares kids....
HOLLYWOOD and the BIBLE
And the stories come alive by Hollywood Standards. I often recall the scene where Charlton Heston, playing a gray haired MOSES, parting the Red Sea, and in his deep bass voice bellowing , "Let my people go", just before he flooded their basements, polluted the water, and encouraged the roaches and frogs to proliferate.
And in the same movie, Yul Brynner, playing RAMSES, with that stare, his three quarter magnificent profile quoting the memorable line, "So it shall be written, so it shall be done". And the court scribe yelled back, "Hold that thought chief, I just ran out of ink! Gotta go find a squid.!".
SAMSON and DELILIA 
And how can you forget Delilah (Hedy Lamarr) stroking the Black Olive Oil laden hair of Samson (Victor Mature) and screaming "yuck, you smell like a day old salad, don't you have hair spray”?
Sounds like Washington, great hair, lots of stale acting and day old salad oil. So we have to put the whole thing in perspective and that is: Acts not parables, Deeds not showmanship and fact, not fiction. Thats the lesson the bible should be teaching.
My goal is to make you think and question. To make you go up, not down. Critical, with a sharp tongue and a bit of humor, thats just me. I write because it keeps me sane. It's my medicine.
Others may grab a AK-47 Kalashnikov, some grab a bottle, I grab two fingers to ward off anxiety, frustration and a deep sense of loss, I do miss my soul mate, my wife of thirty one heavenly years, she was my medicine and my life, now freedom of expression, as she wished it, took her place. She was my best fan. Like I said I am not a sophisticated writer, I am proud to be a Brooklyn wise guy with a sense of humor, thats who I am. This is about what I think.