Texas GOP memo: It's Jewish conspiracy that Earth revolves around sun

Guest post by Glenn Smith.

It's not surprising that the Earth doesn't move for Warren Chisum, and maybe it's not surprising that he blames a Jewish conspiracy for it.

Still, it's enough to set the world a-spinning that the chairman of the House Appropriations Committee, the most powerful committee in the [Texas] House [of Representatives], distributed to legislators a memo pitching crazed wingers who believe the earth stands still -- doesn't spin on its axis or revolve around the Sun -- that Copernicus was part of a Jewish conspiracy to undermine the Old Testament. That would be the same Old Testament that was written by the folks Chisum's friends say are conspiring to undermine it.

Chisum has no problem believing that GOP interests revolve around the pocketbooks of its wealthy contributors. And that's why he wants to take dollars stolen from middle class Texans in higher tuition, double-taxed highways, underpaid teachers, sick kids and teachers and cut property taxes for those who own a lot of property -- businesses and the very, very wealthy.

Children with no health insurance, Texas families who can't afford state colleges, crumbling schools -- to Chisum they are about as important as Pluto, a heavenly body no longer even called a planet. I am not advised whether Chisum believes in other planets.

House Calendars has set the vote on Chisum's HB2 for Monday afternoon. The bill would strip about $6 billion from general revenue to fund a big hunk of a massive 2008-2009 property tax cut for the wealthy. (The rest of the $14 billion windfall for the wealthy comes from the puny business tax passed last year that has fallen way short of funding the property tax cut as promised.)

It's clear Chisum's god, Craddick, doesn't want to fiddle around with open and public debate about whether the Legislature ought to stop strangling of the middle class before it tightens its grip on our throats and transfers more middle class money to the rich.

Why fund public schools or keep colleges available to the middle class if they are filling our children's heads with damaging Kabbalistic fantasies? (Yes, Copernicus, Darwin et al are part of a Kabbalistic Conspiracy according to the fixed-earth crowd).

Gravity (Pft!), night and day (bah!), biological reproduction (ugh!). Who needs such immoral ideas corrupting our kids? No, spend the money on those with more visible signs of God's Blessing. The Elect. The ones with the money.

I hope Chisum has the decency to appropriate a little more for velcro, though. I'm worried about the gravity thing.

Capitol Annex has the full Earth Doesn't Move Memo here.