Links and Thoughts on Thursday Morning

This morning, I'm on the edge of my seat, and feeling an impending sense of dread about today's Supreme Court ruling. It's unfortunate not to have confidence that they will rule based on the law and the constitution.

At any rate, you may be interested to know that in 1798, Congress passed a mandate for health care coverage. The framers of the constitution, including Thomas Jefferson, were for it. The American Constitution Society points out that 100 scholars say that the constitutionality of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act is unambiguous.

Two teen lesbians were shot in the head in Portland, Texas, killing one and severely injuring the other. Nothing is known about a motive or suspect.

The differences between the Texas Democratic Party and the Republican Party of Texas could not be more stark, when you look at their platforms. If you want to see social darwinism at work, look at the Republican Platform and search for "Education". My personal favorite (and it's hard to pick just one):

Knowledge-Based Education – We oppose the teaching of Higher Order Thinking Skills (HOTS) (values clarification), critical thinking skills and similar programs that are simply a relabeling of Outcome-Based Education (OBE) (mastery learning) which focus on behavior modification and have the purpose of challenging the student’s fixed beliefs and undermining parental authority.

Texas Democrats strongly support the Texas Constitution’s recognition that a free, quality public education is “essential to the preservation of the liberties and rights of the people.”
Texas Democrats believe a world class education system is a moral imperative and an economic necessity that requires parents, educators and community leaders to work together to provide our children the skills needed to compete and succeed in a global economy.

Texas Democrats believe all children should have access to an exemplary educational program that values and encourages critical thinking and creativity, not the “drill and kill” teach-­‐to-­‐the-­‐test policy Republicans have forced on students and teachers.