Archive for the ‘education?’ Category
15 July, 2010
How’s that for an inflammatory title? I think I can support it, though.
Democracy is the philosophy which holds the United States of America together. The rules apply to all. We all pay taxes1, taxes which we, through our elected representatives, have agreed to pay as an admission fee for a civilized country. We all obey the same laws, laws which we, through our elected representatives, have agreed to obey to make our lives safer. Yet one of our major political parties, the Grand Old Party, the Republican Party, is attempting to short circuit this grand experiment in self-government.
Democracy cannot be enforced at the point of a bayonet2. It is a social and governmental compact to which we, as citizens and residents, have agreed. The idea that all men are created equal, that there are certain inalienable rights which apply to all, requires fealty to the idea that we all must follow the same rules, tolerate the same red tape, stand in the same lines. We expect there to be no special privileges such as the hochadel of the 1600s enjoyed, such as the lords of England enjoyed, such as the party members of the USSR enjoyed.
But democracy also requires three basic conditions — literacy, free time, and wealth. And, since the Reagan Revolution of the early 1980s, what has been under attack by the new conservatives? Education and middle class wealth, and the free time that wealth created. Read the rest of this entry ?
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Posted in Authoritarianism, conservatives, creationism, economy, education?, god, GOP, rant, regulation, school, science, taxation, taxes, vacation | 12 Comments »
12 September, 2009
Oddly (and this is from Ed Brayton’s Dispatches from the Culture Wars), kids from Breckinridge High School, in Kentucky, do not need parental permission to be taken to a Baptist revival by their football coach. The kids did need a signed permission slip from their parents to listen to Barrack Obama’s education pep talk! Read the rest of this entry ?
Posted in Authoritarianism, batshit crazy, Church and State, conservatives, education?, GOP, hypocrisy, idiots, Palin, teabagging | 3 Comments »
9 September, 2009
I guess I am just not jaded enough. I can still be surprised. Case in point? The state of Kentucky. I really am beginning to wonder about Kentucky. There seems to be a veritable plethora of stupid seeping out of the state.
I, like every other civil servant, make a sacrifice. Any time that I am in uniform, or on duty, my freedom of speech and of action is limited. I must, while in contact with the public, avoid certain topics and actions. If I were to make public statements about politics or religion, while in either work status or in my government uniform, it would be very easy for a member of the public to interpret my personal views as an official stance of the government of the United States of America. It really does not matter if a person is an employee of a state, federal, county, local or city government, their freedom of speech is similarly constrained while on duty. Read the rest of this entry ?
Posted in born again, Christianity, Church and State, crime, education?, god, Predators, proselytizing, rant, religion, Religious Abuse, school | 10 Comments »
2 September, 2009
I suspect that all of us have relatives or friends who have bought into the fear and loathing , lies and deceit, and the dishonesty and vitriol of the radical political and religious right. And I suspect that many of you get emails with the latest absurd meme being pushed by Beck, Limbaugh, Hannity, Dobbs, Coulter, Drudge,or any of sundry other right-wing talking heads.
Today, I got one dropped into my family email. I had already thoroughly trashed the sender when I noticed that a DailyKos bloggerby the name of Jed Lewison had gotten virtually the same email. Which means that many of you may have gotten it. And your average right-wing teabagging NOMer has probably gotten it and passed it on a hundred times by now. I swear that a right-wing meme can sweep the country before the truth can even get its pants on (sorry, Sam Clemens). Read the rest of this entry ?
Posted in batshit crazy, conservatives, education?, GOP, idiots, rant, school | 10 Comments »
12 August, 2009
A Western Florida high school is learning an important lesson. Well, the principal (Frank Lay) and the athletic director (Robert Freeman) are learning a lesson. And it is a lesson with which certain Christianist dominionist fundamentalists have a great deal of trouble.
For the past 20 or so years, (from Americans United)
under Lay’s leadership, Pace High School became known as “the Baptist Academy.” Teachers and staff delivered prayers and invited students or outside leaders to lead prayers during school activities. Teachers read from the Bible and discussed church attendance with students. Students were encouraged to attend religious clubs and incorporate religion into their schoolwork. Read the rest of this entry ?
Posted in batshit crazy, Christianity, Church and State, education?, god, lawsuits, proselytizing, religion, Religious Abuse, school | 55 Comments »
30 June, 2009
Today, (((Wife))), (((Boy))), (((Girl))) and I went for a drive. We meandered up the back roads of the Pocono Mountains, traveled West to Binghamton, and then down through the Endless Mountains and the Back Mountain back to Wilkes-Barre. We managed to stay off the main roads. It was nice.
I did, however, see a sign for a church up in Laceyville, PA. And the name of the church brought an instant reaction from me. Read the rest of this entry ?
Posted in (((Humour))), abstinence-only education, Christianity, Church Signs, education?, history, humor, Me, religion | 17 Comments »
11 May, 2009
Over the past year, I have been a frequent critic of Abstinence-Only-Sex Education. The main reason? it does not work.
Don’t get me wrong. Abstinence does prevent pregnancy and can limit the spread of sexually-transmitted-diseases Read the rest of this entry ?
Posted in 2008 election, Abstinence, abstinence-only education, Church and State, education?, faith, health care, sex, sex education, sexually transmitted disease | 10 Comments »
2 April, 2009
Obstructionism for Dummies. Like they need it.
Read the rest of this entry ?
Posted in (((Humour))), 2008 election, 2012 Election, abstinence-only education, anti-semitism, Army, Authoritarianism, Bible, born again, Christianity, Chuck Norris, Church and State, creationism, denialism, depression, economy, education?, Energy, faith, flip flop, gay marriage, gay rights, George W. Bush, GLBT, god, graphics, humor, idiots, Iraq, Jindal, McCain, National Rifle Association, NRA, Palin, Politics, Predators, prostitution, religion, Religious Abuse, scary, sex, sex education, sexism, sexually transmitted disease, terrorism | 7 Comments »
25 March, 2009
Pete Seeger has little toleration for fools. And, from his writings and his songs, his definition of fools includes those who feel that any problem, any war, any idea, can succeed if we only have enough determination. One of the best was one called “Waist Deep in the Big Muddy,” an anti-Vietnam War song as appropriate today as it was 45 years ago. The most powerful verse?
Well, I’m not going to point any moral;
I’ll leave that for yourself
Maybe you’re still walking, you’re still talking
You’d like to keep your health.
But every time I read the papers
That old feeling comes on;
We’re — waist deep in the Big Muddy
And the big fool says to push on.
Read the rest of this entry ?
Posted in Abstinence, abstinence-only education, Authoritarianism, Church and State, education?, health care, Politics, Predators, religion, Religious Abuse, school, science, sex, sex education, sexually transmitted disease | 27 Comments »
(((Billy))) The Atheist 