Texas has always seemed from afar to be a tough place. There's dust and scorpions, all the plants have spikes on them, and dudes in leather pants eat testicles but are totally straight and could almost certainly beat me up/legally shoot me on their property. Sometimes it seems like Mad Max, sometimes it seems like Dune but with crystal meth and chewing tobacco instead of spice. It always seems like a place that would totally eat me alive, or turn me into a real man. It's pretty cool, but things aren't all hardy desert animals and faded denim campfires in the Lone Star State, there's actually been a degree of religious tension happening down there.

Now it might be shocking to think that the state that produced our president actually has a distinctly Christian streak running through it, but just take a gander at this article. Texas junior high principal Robin Lowe was ousted under parental and community pressure for allowing a group to give an "Islam 101" assembly at her school. I understand it can be hard for a Texas parent. Between illegal Mexicans stealing our jobs and illegal Muslims stealing our planes, you can't just rely on Star Wars to teach kids that swarthy, mustachioed men are absolutely not to be trusted. And when some teacher who may or MAY NOT partake of pork products is undercutting your lessons with an assembly that probably goes on and on about how great Arabic numerals are it can be hard to undo. But you can both educate about Islam and explain why it should be avoided at all costs AT THE SAME TIME. One Mr. Bill O'Reilly would never have been tempted without the influence of Arab falafels. Personally I make sure to remind my little ones about the MMM people that died on IX/XI because I don't need their disgusting, sensuous, sinfully curvy numbers. I also remind them that they can thank terrorist nations for inventing algebra. If X - 9/11 = 1 great nation, solve for X. The answer is USA.