Distortion Historian David Barton encroaching into Oklahoma curriculum

complete story here: http://www.okgazette.com/oklahoma/article-13561-shaping-social-studies.html

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Barton’s background

At press time, Barton had not returned calls seeking comment for this story, and he did not attend the committee’s most recent meeting on Nov. 9, although he has attended previous meetings.

Barton is often cited and promoted by high-profile conservative personalities such as Glenn Beck and Mike Huckabee. He has stated that separation of church and state is “a myth,” sits on the board of directors for the Providence Foundation, an organization with the mission to “train and network leaders to transform their culture for Christ.”

Barton, who served as vice chair of the Texas Republican Party, has been characterized in the past as a “biased amateur who cherry-picks quotes from history and the Bible,” according to one 2011 New York Times profile. He also was involved in the Texas school curriculum controversy in 2010, where he and others worked to purge important civil rights leaders such as César Chávez and Thurgood Marshall, as well as downplay the role of Martin Luther King Jr.

“Only majorities can expand political rights in America’s constitutional society,” Barton has reportedly said.

Department of Education spokesman Damon Gardenhire said Barresi reached out to educators and others to be part of the committee, and to Barton because of her respect for him.

“Barresi asked David Barton to participate because he has been dedicated to the pursuit of history and the lessons we can learn from it. The many participants in the 65-member committee offer a range of backgrounds to round out their work,” he said.

20 Founding Father quotes against America being a Christian Nation

graphic credit: google.com

Moderator's note: Readers will remember hearing of the association of Roger Barton and GOPer Rep Sally Kern with a group named Wall Builders. (http://www.wallbuilders.com/) Mr. Barton's historical specialty is inventing quotes from America's early politicians and writers but when questioned as to the authenticity of the quotes we find the quotes are apocryphal or taken out of context.

Dr. Bruce Prescott, a recent national board member of AU, has an article on his Mainstream Baptist website outlining the deception Mr. Barton is noted for using.

Separation of religious internecine dogma from our American political process improves the quality of government.

One example is the intrusion of religion in the medical offices of the doctors of pregnant women. The legislatures of Oklahoma and some other states have begun practicing ob/gyn medicine without a license by requiring pregnant women considering abortion to submit to invasive procedures and misleading information that no reputable doctor would permit.

One technique the religious anti-choicers are using is the attempt to pass "personhood" amendments declaring a fertilized egg a fully-qualified citizen. Even Mississippi, a deeply conservative state, recently gave a determined NO vote to this anti-human intent to take away the right of privacy from pregnant women. The same attempt has failed twice in Colorado.

Below is an excerpt, with link, that provides some authentic quotes from the Framers of America's founding documents and speeches.

clip The separation of church and state is an issue that those in Washington debate just like co-workers do around the water-cooler or families around the dinner table. How much religion, if any, should be involved in government? When the 2nd "red scare" happened in the late 1940s until the late 1950s, Americans were scared that communism would overtake the country. The greatest example of this was Republican Senator, Joseph McCarthy of Wisconsin, who drove home the paranoia that not only would communism take over the United States, but that many Americans were communist themselves. Of course this all proved to be false and forever known as "McCarthyism." One of the ways the government wanted to show that they were somehow above communism was their love for god. "In god we trust" was added to all paper currency in 1957 as well as adding "Under God" to the Pledge of Allegiance in 1954.

Today, many conservative politicians and Christians around the country claim that the United States was founded as a "Christian Nation." These claims, however, are not based on factual information. While many of the Founding Fathers were Christians, others were not. Some believed in God, but held no religious preference and others had no belief in anything supernatural. Here are twenty quotes from the Founding Fathers and other great Americans that show that the United States was not founded as a "Christian Nation."

Continue reading on Examiner.com 20 Founding Father quotes against America being a Christian Nation - Orlando liberal | Examiner.com http://www.examiner.com/liberal-in-orlando/20-founding-father-quotes-against-america-being-a-christian-nation?mid=52#ixzz1dhhqjR2R

Halting Harassment: Public School Efforts To Protect Students Run Into Religious Right Bullies

clip  --  Dan Savage, a syndicated sex-advice columnist who runs a campaign aimed to help gay teens, also blasted the Michigan law.

“It’s a law that specifically empowers students, teachers, administrators [and] principals to bully LGBT kids if they can point to a moral justification,” Savage told ABC News.com. “You have a right to your own religious beliefs. You don’t have a right to inflict your private moral judgments on those people in a place where you are a public servant and an employee of the state…. Michigan should be ashamed of itself.”

read more at:  http://www.au.org/blogs/wall-of-separation/halting-harassment-public-school-efforts-to-protect-students-run-into