Friday, May 24th, 2013

Texas Gov. Rick Perry speaks from the Governor's Mansion on May 6, 2013, against proposed changes to allow gays into the Boy Scouts of America; his video appearance was part of the Family Research Council’s “Stand With Scouts Sunday” webcast.

Rick Perry, Sam Houston, slavery--and the Boy Scouts

Rick Perry, exhorting the Boy Scouts to continue excluding gays, analogized to Sam Houston and slavery on the eve of the Civil War. We wondered about that.

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The Latest from PolitiFact Texas

A scorecard separating fact from fiction

"We have one charter school that for seven years has been rated unacceptable."

Says only 25 percent of Texas high school students graduate prepared for college or careers.

Says Sam Houston opposed slavery and as governor said Texas should not leave the union over slavery.

Says it's "estimated that 300 babies a year are sent home from the hospital with an unrecognized congenital heart defect; it is the most common birth defect in America."                   

Says Texas high school graduates must pass Algebra II to be eligible for automatic admission to state's public universities.

Says that according to a report, "the tech sector now drives more than one-quarter of Austin’s economy."

Says nearly 1 million people are "coming to town" in the next 20 years.

Says "we" have put more boots on the U.S.-Mexico border "than at any time in our history, and illegal crossings are down by nearly 80 percent from their peak in 2000."

Says he has sued the Obama administration 25 times.

"The economy added more jobs during four years under Obama than it did in the entire eight years under George W. Bush."  

"Over the last 10 years, Texas created 33 percent of the net new jobs nationwide."

Says Texas leads the nation in fatal industrial accidents.

Says that under Rick Perry’s plan, "Texas has cut funding for public schools by 25%."

Says only about 250 Texans have been killed in action since 9/11.

Says state’s mandated tests come from an English company.

Says proponents of a bond package for the Austin school district say the district has the second-lowest bond tax rate "among the Central Texas area school districts."

Says opponents of proposed Austin school district bonds say the district’s "debt load doubles with these new bonds."

"Science has not shown greenhouse gases to be a problem."

Says the fertilizer plant that exploded in West, Texas,"had not been inspected by the state of Texas since 2006."

Says new Medicare billing guidelines "have nine codes for (injuries by) turkeys."

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Every day, reporters and researchers from the American-Statesman examine statements by Texas elected officials and candidates and anyone else who speaks up on matters of public importance. We research their statements and then rate the accuracy on our Truth-O-Meter:

TRUE – The statement is accurate and there’s nothing significant missing.

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HALF TRUE – The statement is partially accurate but leaves out important details or takes things out of context.

MOSTLY FALSE – The statement contains an element of truth but ignores critical facts that would give a different impression.

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