PBS will show the story of the Texas State School Board's assault on facts...

...The process for creating Texas' educational standards is mostly a sound one. A panel of educators and subject experts, often drawn from the academic community, decided which subjects are most relevant and what students should know about them. The standards are then handed over to the board for approval. But the soundness ends there. The board, which may not (and in many cases, does not) have expertise in these subject areas, is allowed to delete, edit, or replace any of the standards recommended by the experts.

And oh boy, do some of them relish the chance. You can see how much respect then-Board Chairman Don McLeroy has for expertise in the video clip..., where he wonders why none of them support his tortured misrepresentation of Steven J. Gould.

McLeroy, a young-Earth creationist who thinks the world is 6,000 years old, is one of the center points of The Revisionaries, which opens with him being grilled in the state capital. He was nominated by Texas governor Rick Perry for another term as Chair at a time when, as one of his questioners notes, there were 11 bills under consideration to strip him of his existing powers. Yet somehow, he came within two votes of being approved.

The movie follows the testimony and actions of the board as it tears through—and in some cases, tears up—the science and history standards that were forwarded to them...

...The Revisionaries will be appearing on PBS' "Independent Lens" this week. You can find out more details at the PBS site.