Yesterday in Texas, the State Board of Education, packed with Republican creationists and “social conservatives” by Governor Rick Perry, voted to take Texas schoolchildren back into the Dark Ages.

Kids in Texas public schools will no longer be taught about one of the greatest political philosophers in American history, Thomas Jefferson. That’s right. They removed Thomas Jefferson from the curriculum — replacing him with religious right icon John Calvin. There’s no mystery about why they did this, either; among the founding fathers, Jefferson was one of the strongest advocates for the separation of church and state, and that’s exactly what these cretins are trying to reverse.

And the removal of Jefferson is not all, not by a long shot. Also thrown down the memory hole: the Enlightenment.

What’s going on in Texas is a genuine outrage; a frightening example of what happens when religious fanatics get into positions of power.

Texas Freedom Network live-blogged the hearings, in horror: Blogging the Social Studies Debate IV.

The latest update:

12:38 – Let the word go out here: The Texas State Board of Education today refused to require that students learn that the Constitution prevents the U.S. government from promoting one religion over all others. They voted to lie to students by omission.