What's the deal with Texas?

I have a certain amount of admiration for the state of Texas. Sure it is very tied to Dubya in my mind which is a strike against it, and a lot of people who come from there are cocky jerks, but it has so much cultural significance. Its major cities, its icons, the wild west, etc. Also, The Economist had a great article about how Texas is thriving in these hard economic times when compared to the rest of the country, and especially when compared to that other great iconic American state: California. Only subscribers can read the article, but a good summary is here.

But..........

There are still "what the heck?" moments that show massive amounts of ignorance. The Texas School Board has been a treasure trove of these lately with their war on textbooks. Here's their latest effort to dilute history:

http://www.salon.com/news/islam/?story=/politics/war_room/2010/09/17/texas_school_textbooks_muslim