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Keep reading! You can find the PDF here via the Texas GOP Convention site. I had to track it down myself because it was so unbelievable; it seemed like Huff Po had fallen for a juvenile prank.

We affirm that the practice of homosexuality tears at the fabric of society and contributes to the breakdown of the family unit. Homosexual behavior is contrary to the fundamental, unchanging truths that have been ordained by God, recognized by our country’s founders, and shared by the majority of Texans.

Homosexuality must not be presented as an acceptable “alternative” lifestyle, in public policy, nor should “family” be redefined to include homosexual “couples.” We believe there should be no granting of special legal entitlements or creation of special status for homosexual behavior, regardless of state of origin. Additionally, we oppose any criminal or civil penalties against those who oppose homosexuality out of faith, conviction or belief in traditional values.

I just goes on

Voter Rights Act – We urge that the Voter Rights Act of 1965 codified and updated in 1973 be repealed and not reauthorized.

and on

We urge amendment of the Internal Revenue Code to allow a religious organization to address issues without fear of losing its tax-exempt status. We call for repeal of requirements that religious organizations send the government any personal information about their contributors.

and on

We support adoption of American English as the official language of Texas and of the United States.

It covers everything from banning red light cameras, opposing mandatory animal identification, and opposing Federal highways through Texas to rubbing salt in wounds like the restoration of plaques honoring the Confederate Widow’s Pension Fund to the Texas Supreme Court building. No wonder these people are so upset. They're beset on all sides by people who want to speak Spanish or burn American flags or say that gay bashing is bad or let African Americans and Hispanic Americans vote. You know, people who don't want to say "under god" in the pledge of allegiance, or who think that religious monuments shouldn't be erected on Federal land. Maybe they should feel under assault, people who think like they do are dying off because they just don't make bigots like they used to.

From the WSJ article:

Neither side is confident of victory. All members of the board have come under enormous pressure in recent months, especially three Republicans who support teaching evolution without references to "weaknesses." The state Republican Party passed a resolution urging the three to back Dr. McLeroy's preferred curriculum. A conservative activist group put out a news release suggesting all three were in the pocket of "militant Darwinists."

What is a "militant Darwinist"? "Evolve damn it! Or I'll blow your head off!"

No surprise that the Texas GOP is backing the creationist head of the school board. They've had creationist language in their party platform for years now:

Theories of Origin - We support objective teaching and equal treatment of strengths and weaknesses of scientific theories, including Intelligent Design. We believe theories of life origins and environmental theories should be taught as scientific theory, not scientific law. Teachers and students should be able to discuss the strengths and weaknesses of these theories openly and without fear of retribution or discrimination of any kind.

So sad to see the GOP become the modern day Know-Nothing Party.

Except for those in the government who want to make sure you keep your right to beat your children. They think you're the King of your fucking Castle.

We call for the abolition of the U. S. Department of Education and the prohibition of the transfer of any of its functions to any other federal agency.

The Party supports the termination of bilingual education programs to allow individuals to more quickly assimilate into and succeed in American society.

The Party supports the immediate adoption of American English as the official language of Texas and of the United States of America. While encouraging fluency in additional languages by all citizens, no governmental entity shall require any agency, contractor, business, or individual to publish public documents in a language other than English.

"By contrast, Rep. Ron Paul (R-TX) has introduced a bill, H.R.487, to repeal the Military Selective Service Act, permanently ending the draft. Cosponsors include two other Republicans and five Democrats."

I've always been a huge fan of Ron Paul, and if he was running for President, I'd be with him 100%.

My political philosophies are almost identical to those of Alan Keyes.

To view the details of the Texas Republican Party platform that he supports, view it here: RPT Platform 2004

-eventhorizon

As someone who might have chosen to be in the Republican Party, don't you think it might be helpful to be able to contact your delegate before they ratify the party platform or nominate their candidates? In Texas, the GOP ratified its state party platform containing the following planks:

• p.17: "The Party supports the termination of bilingual education programs..."
• p.15: "We call for the abolition of the U.S. Department of Education and the prohibition of the transfer of any of its functions to any other federal agency."
• p.10: Celebrating Traditional Marriage calls for a constitutional amendment to ban gay marriage, and opposes the legalization of "sodomy" ie homosexuality.
• p. 2 #18: "We oppose the Endangered Species Act."
• p.8, Christian Nation: "The Republican Party of Texas affirms the United States of America is a Christian Nation ..."

Upon finding out that you might agree or disagree with some of these elements, you probably would like to contact your national delegate to urge that person to listen to your input before the national party platform is finalized. The Indymedia list seems to be a valuable reference for doing so.

Congressman Jeb Hensarling spams my vanity domain regularly, even after being told I don't want any "updates."

I've also regularly been targeted by various Texas Republican mailing lists, despite past assurances I've been removed from their lists.

I'm an independent that often votes for Democrats, and this just bolsters my opinion that many Republicans, at least in Texas, don't care about individuals' wishes, just want votes. I don't care if they want to litter my postal mailbox, except for the environmental impact of all that trash, but email costs me a lot more to read than for them to send, even when I'm filtering. They're the majority party down here - can't they just leave me alone?

> the moment Republicans are closer to the center than
> Democrats.

There's no reason to think that.

With the Republicans completely controlling the government (President, Congress, Supreme Court), I think we finally have a pretty good understanding of what a Republican's wet dream looks like. PATRIOT Act. Bush Doctrine. Pre-emptive War. Elimination of checks and balances. Media consolidation. Out of control budget deficits. War profiteering. Destroying the environment. Dissent is the same as treason. Few of the items fit into the classic American ideal, without a heavy lacquer to make it palatable to Americans as a whole.

Look at the way Bush campaigned in 2000. He basically campaigned as a Democrat (promotion of unity and humility in foreign affairs, of providing social services to the people who need it most). The problem is, when he got into office, he governed like a right-wing nut case. A pro-war, pliant mainstream press has done a great job at helping Bush maintain this image.

The truth is, the Democratic Party is as boringly middle of the road mainstream as one can get. I looked at the recently published Texas Democratic Party state platform. It's a dry, admittedly-dull reiteration of classic American values. Equal rights for all. Healthcare for all. Better public schools. Limits on taxes. Promotion of social security. These are things that a majority of Americans approve.

Then you look at the Texas Republican Party platform they recently passed. Holy crap! America is a Christian nation and the 10 commandments should be posted on government grounds. Biblical creationism should be taught in public schools. The EPA should be abolished. People's voter registration should expire every four years. All bilingual education programs should be terminated. No-fault divorce laws should be rescinded. Environmental concerns should never be considered when determining speed limits.

I'm not going to argue here here that what the Republican Party is for is wrong. That would take too long. But one should take a look at both party platforms and determine which party is in the mainstream of American values.

Video on demand won't replace DVDs for the same reason that proprietary (and possibly all) e-books won't replace regular books.

In a similar way in which a regular book gives me the security of knowing that I don't have to worry if the company that published it goes belly up, if I buy the DVD, I own it (for my own use, of course). I can watch it when I want. I can watch it on an airplane, I can take it with me on business trips overseas. It's going to be a long, long time before everyone in coach can watch "on demand" flicks on an airplane.

When you have a DVD, you're not dependent on the whim of a company. Consider shows like The Family Guy or Futurama where Fox never gave them a fair chance, then pulled the plug. They treated these shows like shit the first time; what possible reason do I have to believe that they're be treated any better "on demand?"

What about British shows like I'm Alan Partridge, Good Neighbors, or Father Ted? At best, I can watch them on BBC America or PBS, but unless I buy the DVD (or VHS, or whatever comes next), what are the chances that I *know* I'll be able to see these shows, when I want, here in the USA?

Then there's the content itself. What happens when the company that owns the rights to these shows goes out of business? What happens if a bunch of Jeezoids decided to buy the rights to something just to kill it (for the chillllldren, of course)? Or what if they just decide that something is insensitive and cut it. Jesus, what if they alter the original: Colorizing it or adding those fucking "informational" popups like they do when they show Double Indemnity on the Lifetime network?

What happens when some soulless bean counter decides that since I'm the only one who wants to watch Seriously Dude, Where's My Car?, they should just save the server space and dump it? You already see this sort of thing in video stores, when they decide how many foreign films can fit in that little section. The Internet Movie Database lists 268,836 movies released theatrically, 35,200 made-for-TV movies, 23,625, TV series, 21,420 direct-to-video movies, and 3,081 mini series. How many of these are going to make the cut? Which do you think will come first, some of those films, or "on demand" sports, so folks can have "Classic Games of when the Red Sox blew the World Series" nights?

Finally, why should I keep paying for the content through a subscription or a download fee each time? Compare the price of DVDs with rentals and pay-per-view -- if I think I might watch it three times in the rest of my life (or I might want to loan it to a friend) why not buy it outright for the extra ten bucks?

Why is anybody surprised? This is all part of eliminating the over-regulation of business the Republicans have been talking about. Here are a couple of quotes from Texas GOP:

â¦high taxes, runaway government spending, and over-regulation of business and farming punish initiative and stifle economic growth.