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; Jefferson was one of the strongest advocates among the founding fathers 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. What’s happening in Texas is a genuine outrage; it’s a frightening example of what happens when religious fanatics get into positions of power.