From the NRO:
Democrats want more resources for the system, Republicans want to empower parents with more options. Yawn. Seeing this policy debate unfold is like watching a soap opera: you can step away for months or even years and when you return, the plot has barely moved an inch.
Evidently the intersection of the sets “progressives” and “homeschoolers” is assumed to be the null set:
Now there is a fertile new middle ground to be plowed in churches such as Saddleback, whose leaders like Warren eschew divisive partisan talk and political wedge issues. Instead, they “emphasize much less the notion of a vengeful, judgmental God,” said Mathew Schmalz, professor of religious studies at the College of the Holy Cross in Worcester, Mass.
The approach has proved successful in appealing to millions who want religious experiences that “emphasize the Bible and teachings of Jesus as a blueprint for living, a guide for living a full and healthy life,” he said. That has forged a new evangelical profile which “is becoming more diverse … interested in more socially progressive issues” such as poverty, illiteracy, the AIDS epidemic in Africa and the violence in Darfur.
Churches such as Saddleback now offer Christian families “a sense of community and Bible-based truth, but they apply it more flexibly,” Schmalz said. “They are people who are more upwardly mobile, urban professional types who don’t necessarily live within a traditional evangelical homeschooling world.”
It never ceases to amaze me how ingrained is that homeschooling=wingnut meme. HSLDA has done its work well.
Like I said– never ending idiocy:
Lack of prayer at meetings is offensive
I was saddened to read that you cannot pray in Jesus’ name in your commissioners’ meetings. When you allow an Imam to pray, will he or she be able to name Mohammed? When you have a Buddhist pray, can he or she not mention Buddha? To a Christian, Jesus is God and we can’t mention His name. Your anti-God vote in the name of political correctness is just plain wrong and every Christian should be offended.
Carol R. Price
Pinehurst
And on a related topic the editor promised (via email) that Sunday’s paper will include a whole page of “diatribes” against the school district, the mother who complained, the ACLU, and the newspaper over the school/Bibles issue. There will also be (at least) one in support of the 1st Amendment. You can guess who wrote that one.
A two-fer in the Fayetteville Observer today. Back-to-back idiocy:
A word about prayer
I have never sent a letter to the editor before now. I would like to say to all of the people from other countries who are coming to the United States of America and bringing all of their gods with them that I do not care under what name they pray — Allah or Buddha or Satan or a rock, which is their privilege. I am tired of them trying to tell me who I can pray to.
If you are offended when I am praying in the name of Jesus, then I have no problem with you taking a one-way ticket back to where you came from. As far as the City Council of Fayetteville being ashamed to pray in the name of Jesus, just let me say that I am ashamed to tell people that this is my hometown because its leaders have no guts to stand up for that name that gives them breath today.
This country was built and founded on that name of Jesus Christ my Lord and Savior. You cannot change that fact.
Mary Sue Edwards
StedmanAbout the Bible and public schools
This is concerning the banning of Bible distribution in Cumberland County elementary schools. It is a sad state of affairs when in this age of babies killing babies (a step beyond babies having babies), that our wonderful Constitution, which guarantees us the right to freely practice our religion, can be grossly misinterpreted to keep our precious children from public access to the words of our Lord Jesus Christ, who only has a pure and holy love for these little ones, whose angels are constantly beholding the face of the Father God in heaven (Matthew 18:10).
Jeers for such a perverse decision. It is certainly our prayer that all people will realize the need to accept God and His Word.
Lloyd Martin Jr.
Parkton
Well, I’m convinced. The US really is a Christian nation, even though the Constitution doesn’t mention Christ once and even though the Treaty of Tripoli, which was ratified by the Senate in 1797, states explicitly “…the government of the United States of America is not in any sense founded on the Christian Religion” and is, under the US Constitution, the “Supreme law of the land.” I’m saved!!!
Now all you heathens STFU. I’m heading over to our local school to force some of your kids to get religion, too.
Sometimes historically, a correction can presage a bear market, defined as a drop of at least 20 percent off the highs, as the initial 10 percent sparks another wave of selling.
At other times, it can spark a big rally, with investors using the lower levels of the market as an opportunity to switch back into stocks, particularly those that have been beaten down in the selloff.
So, sometimes it continues to go down and other times it goes up. And to think that they get paid for this.
I can’t fault the educrats here. It sounds like they wanted to do the right thing. Pretty weird that HEKs are excluded by law but that private schoolers can get in on an exception.
The parents ought to drop the “but what about all the taxes I pay” argument. It’s completely lame in the face of a state law.
Another installment in the apparently perpetual tale of stupidity that is Fayetteville:
Bible complaint is an overreaction
Geri Weaver’s child did not have to take the Bible (“Bibles in school infuriates mother,” Nov. 18). She did not have to let him keep it if that was her choice. How about the choice of the other children in the school?
In many cases, school is the only place some children might get a meal, see a role model or have a chance to get a Bible that they desire. Does she take and use that money that has “In God We Trust” written on it?
Carolyn Howell
Ayden
Yes, wanting to see that the schools uphold the law means that she shouldn’t use money. You just can’t argue with logic like that.
A new blog by COD. Definitely worth checking out. Where else are you going to learn about how to mod your DS so you can play pirated games? 🙂
He started off by expressing his gratitude to bloggers that support him (and others who give him the attention he deserves), explaining that if it wasn’t for the blogosphere, he wouldn’t be surging in the polls. “You are the wind beneath my wings,” he said.
15 yards and an automatic first down!
It’s all your fault for not spending enough money!
NEW YORK (Fortune) — The cash registers were ringing on Black Friday, but make no mistake: American consumers are jittery, and seem all but certain to push the U.S. economy into recession.
Yeah– those poor bankers and mortgage brokers who lent with abandon to anyone who claimed to have an income are totally blameless.
Rina has some very good answers to my stupid question.
Occasionally the FO get’s one completely right. Wednesday’s lead editorial was one of those times. The editor notes in an email that, as I predicted, the FO is getting lots of LttE demonizing the woman who complained.
Another SCHIP anecdote– this time a home educating family.
And they’re trying to dominate the LttE, too:
The federal government does not own our children. Yet we act as if it does by letting it decide when, how and what our children will learn. We have turned their futures over to lobbyists and bureaucrats.
I support giving educational control back to parents who know their children better than any politician in D.C. ever will.
The federal government has no constitutional authority to fund or control schools. Abolish the unconstitutional, wasteful Department of Education and return its functions to the states. By removing the federal subsidies that inflate costs, schools can be funded by local taxes, and parents and teachers can directly decide how to best allocate the resources.
Allow full-time elementary and secondary teachers a $3,000 yearly tax credit, thus easing their financial burden and encouraging good teachers to stay in an underpaid profession.
Many parents have already shown their desire to be free of federal control by either enrolling their children in private schools or homeschooling them. And students enrolled in these alternatives have consistently performed better and tested higher than those in state-run schools.
Who is the only presidential candidate to hold these thoughts? Ron Paul.
Jack MontroseFallon
A $3000 tax credit for educators makes no sense if the federal government is to have no role in the education process.
School choice is great. But this is not school choice:
That none of Wyoming’s schools are failing is good news. The voters of this state should pressure the legislators to reform Wyoming’s laws to enable more school choice. Universities and community colleges should be allowed to open charter schools. An independent state commission should be allowed to authorize independent, public charter schools. Home schoolers should be given access to state curriculum and textbooks.
And, BTW, the fact that none of Wyoming’s schools are is failing is simply evidence that the school officials have gamed the system.
UPDATE: I’ve changed “are” to “is” based on the notion that “none” in the sentence above means “not a single school.” YMMV.
A classic real world example of a “concern troll,” courtesy of the Fayetteville Observer which was played.
Liberals are shaming the Democratic Party
There are good Democrats and Republicans, but it is the left-wing liberals who are bringing chaos into everything.There is not a true Democrat running for president. The left-wing liberals have taken over the Democratic Party.
Liberals are for partial birth abortion, taking an innocent baby’s life through inhumane methods as they enter the world. How can anyone be a Christian and vote for people who have these types of morals? This is premeditated murder.
If any of these left-wing liberals win, Lord please help the USA because we will surely need it. Oh, I forgot; they are the ones trying to take God out of everything and sadly they are succeeding. No way would I trust any of these left-wing liberals.
There were 33 senators who voted against English being the official American language, consisting of 31 liberals, one independent and one Republican.
Four of the liberals are running for president: Mrs. Clinton, Mr. Obama, Mr. Biden and Mr. Dodd.
Barack Hussein Obama seems to have a problem with our Pledge of Allegiance. Where does his devotion or loyalty reside? What would we do if, as president, he could not pledge to keep our country safe?
It is sad when you have people in public office who won’t stand up for their country. We need to examine ourselves and see if this is what we truly want to represent us and our nation.
Butch Posey
Raeford
Butch Trent Posey of Raeford, NC is a registered Republican.
Blogging will resume when I get back to the broadband connection (tomorrow night).
The local ACLU didn’t even have time to file the lawsuit before the school district caved:
The Cumberland County school system will stop allowing outside groups to leave Bibles for elementary school students.
Principals in the county’s 54 elementary schools received a memo Monday morning advising them to prohibit the distribution of Bibles or any other “proselytizing texts or materials.”
“The current state of the law … specifically limits this practice to high schools only and subject to several requirements,” wrote David Phillips, the school system’s attorney.
Phillips’ memo came after the mother of a fifth grader at E.E. Miller Elementary complained about a stack of New Testament Bibles that were left on a table in her son’s classroom Nov. 9. The Bibles, which had the imprint of the Gideons, a religious group that distributes the Bible, most notably in hotels.
The mother, Geri Weaver, filed a complaint with the American Civil Liberties Union of North Carolina. Other schools in the county also have made Bibles available.
I can’t wait to read the LttE criticizing the heathen atheist woman for standing up for her constitutional rights. I’d write one in support myself, but I just had one published a couple days ago. The policy is one every six weeks.
Over at Scott Somerville’s. I’m not quite sure what EVILUTION has to do with establishing paternity and Scott’s role in one or the other.
A very scientific poll. After you vote make sure to check the latest highly accurate super-scientific results. 🙂
Gladstone promotes italic cursive, which she says is the fastest, most natural, and most easily readable form of handwriting. It’s also the easiest and quickest to teach children, she says. She also claims it’s the fastest-growing way to teach handwriting: 7 percent of students are learning this method, compared with 1 percent ten years ago. For homeschoolers, that number is 1 in 3, she says.
Keyboarding (i.e., typing) is a much more useful skill. And since kids in college now routinely take notes on their laptops, who needs the slightly faster speed achievable by writing in cursive. Pecking away on a keyboard will always be faster than any kind of handwriting.
I don’t want to put another nickel in this loon’s pockets:
Weather Channel founder disputes global warming
The following are excerpts from a blog posted on Nov. 7 by John Coleman, the founder of The Weather Channel, who has more than 40 years of experience in the meteorology field.
“It is the greatest scam in history. Some dastardly scientists with environmental and political motives manipulated long term scientific data to create an illusion of rapid global warming.
“Their friends in government steered huge research grants their way to keep the movement going. Soon they claimed to be a consensus. Environmental extremists, notable politicians among them, then teamed up with movie, media and other liberal environmentalist journalists to create this wild ‘scientific’ scenario of the civilization-threatening environmental consequences from global warming unless we adhere to their radical agenda.
“I have read dozens of papers. I have talked to numerous scientists. I have studied. I have thought about it. I know I am correct. There is no runaway climate change. I am incensed by the incredible media glamour, the politically correct silliness and rude dismissal of counter arguments by the high priest of global warming.
“In time, a decade or two, the outrageous will be obvious. I strongly believe that in the next 20 years are as likely to see a cooling trend as they are to see a warming trend.”
The entire blog is posted at www.icecap.us
Gerald Fowler
Hope Mills
This should pretty much tell you how credible are the folks at ICECAP:
The CO2-induced global warming extinction hypothesis claims that as the world warms in response to the ongoing rise in the air’s CO2 content, many species of plants and animals will not be able to migrate either poleward in latitude or upward in elevation fast enough to avoid extinction as they try to escape the stress imposed by the rising temperature. With respect to plants, however, we have shown that as long as the atmosphere’s CO2 concentration rises in tandem with its temperature, most of them will not “feel the heat,” as their physiology will change in ways that make them better adapted to warmer conditions. Hence, although earth’s plants will likely spread poleward and upward at the cold-limited boundaries of their ranges in response to a warming-induced opportunity to do so, their heat-limited boundaries will probably remain pretty much as they are now or shift only slightly.
Consequently, in a world of rising atmospheric CO2 concentration, the ranges of most of earth’s plants will likely expand if the planet continues to warm, making plant extinctions even less likely than they are currently.
Animals should react much the same way. In response to concurrent increases in atmospheric temperature and CO2 concentration, they will likely migrate poleward and upward, where cold temperatures prevented them from going in the past, as they follow earth’s plants. Also as with earth’s plants, the heat-limited boundaries of their ranges should in many cases be little affected, as has been observed in several of the real-world studies that have been wrongly cited as providing evidence for impending species extinctions, or their entire ranges may simply shift with the rising temperature, as has been observed in many real-world studies of marine ecosystems.
To summarize, both theory and observation paint the same picture. A goodly portion of earth’s plants and animals should actually expand their ranges and gain a stronger foothold on the planet as the atmosphere’s temperature and CO2 concentration continue to rise. If the air’s CO2 content were suddenly to stop increasing, however, the biosphere could find itself facing a significant challenge, as the world’s plants would cease acquiring the extra physiological protection against heat stress that is afforded them by rising atmospheric CO2 concentrations. Consequently, the end result of curtailing anthropogenic CO2 emissions might well be just the opposite of what many people are hoping to accomplish by encouraging that policy, i.e., many species might actually be driven to extinction, rather than being saved from such a fate.
So global warming, which isn’t occurring, is actually a good thing. If it were occurring. Which it isn’t.
Another Life in Fayetteville moment:
Homeowners already support county services
The headline, “Defeat of tax issues may cost taxpayers” on Nov. 8, Page 1B, was erroneous. It should have said “will cost homeowners” instead.
Pitiful voter turnout can be blamed for this: if every homeowner had voted to approve the minuscule tax that was proposed, we would not only have had record numbers at the polls, but also would have safeguarded one of our highest expenditures.
It is apparent from recent interviews of deliberately uninformed citizens that all they can spout is “no more taxes.” Property owners realize this is a short-sighted view, will cause property taxes to increase, and cause cuts in social services that we’ll have to pay more for, but rarely use.
How many homeowners are on Medicaid? I bet most of the voters who defeated this tax are not homeowners, but are beneficiaries of a multitude of free or low-cost services.
If the thousands of shoppers at Cross Creek Mall on a recent Saturday were any indication, an additional 25 cents on a $100 purchase would not have posed a hardship for any of them. If one can afford the latest designer footwear, cell phone/camera/iPod gadget, one should not oppose paying an extra quarter for them. I would surmise that most of them or their parents are the recipients of various social services (including free or reduced school lunches and Medicaid).
It is unfortunate that an uninformed minority of citizens has once again dictated what the majority will be forced to do.
Lisa M. Sheridan
Fayetteville
I voted no, of course.
I mean the legal case, although the title is equally apt for the official who green-lighted this:
The mother of a fifth-grader at E.E. Miller Elementary School has filed a complaint with the American Civil Liberties Union after a stack of Bibles were made available to students in her son’s classroom.
Geri Weaver said she does not know whether a school employee or outside group placed the red New Testament Bibles on the table. The books have the imprint of the Gideons, a religious group best known for placing Bibles in hotel rooms.
The teacher did not encourage students to take the Bibles or comment on them, except to say that they were available for anyone who wanted one, Weaver said.
Sadly, the family will now likely face harassment from the “good Christians” in our community.
The anti-vaccine crackpots have absolutely no credibility. They do their cause no good with stupid statements like this:
“State Attorney General Glenn F. Ivey has announced he is willing to criminalize parents if they don’t bring them to the courthouse to have them injected, on the spot, with vaccines that contain methyl mercury — a highly toxic nerve chemical that causes brain damage and is linked to autism. The action is backed by Circuit Judge William D. Missouri, Circuit Judge C. Philip Nichols Jr., and the chairman of the Prince George school board, R. Owen Johnson Jr.
The parents are refusing to vaccinate their kids for chicken pox and Hep B. According to the FDA neither of those vaccines contain thimerosal (and, of course, no vaccine EVER contained the extremely toxic methyl mercury).
Why the obsession over the German homeschoolers?
1-9 Notre Dame vs. 1-9 Duke. It looks like N.D. will gain their second victory. I’m sure NBC is thrilled with their contract.
And this is why I remain leery of voucher proposals:
The bitterness and misinformation on both sides of the voucher debate lacked integrity and were a disservice to all voters.
Through all of the pre-election noise I never heard either side address how vouchers would help or hurt those who choose to home school their children. I don’t see home schooling in the future for my own children, yet I have seen the amazing results of those who have chosen this option. If vouchers ever are provided to private schools, then should not they also be provided to home schools?
Val Gardner
Bountiful
BIG WEEK FOR KEVIN
Last week was a busy one for my grandson Kevin Adams, a handsome 6-footer.
He got his driver’s license on Friday and on Saturday his Homeschool Football League team in Raleigh won the league championship.
Kevin, along with James Kinder of Angier, both played for the Varsity Warriors.
Justin Hartman of Buies Creek played for the Junior Varsity Warriors which also won their league title.
The Homeschool Football League offers flag football in the fall and spring, and contact fall football opportunities for boys in the Raleigh and Greensboro areas.
You gotta love GoogleNews. How else would we keep up with the comings and goings of the Dunn Daily Record’s columnist’s grandson? 🙂
BTW, “Angier” is pronounced “An’ jur.”
“Am I going to have to make the option of putting my kids in home school?” asked Lake Camanche area resident Paula Poe.
I’m betting that it’s a misquote and she really said “take.”
Try this:
Search Google for “cobranchi” and then check out the sponsored link to the right. You might want to click that link one or two (thousand) times just to make sure it works properly. 🙂
When I wrote this post less than a week ago, the cheerleaders on CNBC were touting the fact the the Nasdaq Composite was still 200 points above its 200-day moving average as proof that “all will be well in the garden.” Here’s yesterday’s closing chart.
Not looking so hot, is it?
Americans should get more exercise. Absolutely. Advising us to walk a half-hour per day instead of driving the car in order to reduce global warming is silly. A half-hour walk is about 1.5 miles. If we’re to walk in lieu of driving that means our destination is only 0.75 miles away. How many Americans have a commute of less than a mile?
The New Voices contest is open to middle school and high school students worldwide. Those students may be in public school, private school or even home schooled.
Just some quick entertainment from my old stomping grounds. Homeschooling gets mentioned in passing.
This popped up in my GoogleNews sweep of homeschooling stuff:
Writes Izzy Lyman: “Just returned from the Ron Paul Revolution in Philly. You’ve probably heard there were a gazillion people there. And what an eclectic group it was – veterans, homeschoolers, Republicans, Libertarians, Democrats, anarchists, and a guy wearing a ‘Vendetta mask.’ :>)
“The crowd was orderly and enthusiastic during Ron Paul’s 45-minute speech. Who knew that a presentation about non-interventionist foreign policy and economics could be so riveting? I appreciated how Mr. Constitution didn’t spend any time slighting the other candidates and simply made the case for truth, justice, and the American Way.
“Afterwards a throng of young people waited for Doc Paul backstage and patiently watched while he talked to the media.”
Hey, Izzy, you might want to tone down the “anarchist” bit. Those guys don’t have the best rep.
The Anti-Gay Fundamentalist Christian North Carolinians for Home Education (AGFCNCHE)
The fine folks [/snark] who run NCHE evidently can’t read their own mission statement, conveniently printed at the top of the eLert:
NCHE-Brief : Legislative Alert: House Passes Federal ‘Employment Non Discrimination Act,’ Calls Needed to Senate
The mission of NCHE is to:
– PROTECT the freedom to educate children at home
– PROMOTE home education as an excellent educational alternative
– PROVIDE encouragement and support to homeschool familiesMember Supported by Homeschoolers like YOU!
Over 20 Years of Service to the Homeschoolers of North Carolinahttp://nche.com – Office Phone:(919) 790-1100
Dear Members,
We would like to encourage you to contact your US Senators (Elizabeth Dole and Richard Burr)
and ask them to vote against the Employment Non-Discrimination Act of 2007.
As outlined below, this bill would set in place a dangerous precedent in it’s effect on even
Christian Non-profit organizations. A vote on this is expected within the next week.Ernie Hodges
President
November 9, 2007
Romney is just pandering to the fundies, so his call for a tax credit for homeschooling might make political sense. But how does Paul square his call for a $5000 per HEK tax credit with his strict constructionist worldview? The federal government’s annual share of K-12 education amounts to approximately $900 per g-schooler. Where’s the other $4100 come from?
So Paul is endorsing an income redistribution from all federal taxpayers to us and our brethren with kids in the private schools. Seems like a bit of a disconnect to me.
I’m pretty sure Ross would fail to qualify under the IQ proviso:
Would ad produce any qualified applicants?
If the American people were to advertise for a person to serve in Congress, the ad would probably read something like this: Needed, a person, male or female, who will serve the American people, protect American jobs, secure our borders, create a health plan for Americans, allow no amnesty for illegal immigrants. Must have an IQ if applying and must understand that the job is only a four-year term. Good luck.Ron Ross
Hope Mills
Diana North Mary Nix at HEM points to a Valerie Bonham Moon post at HEM about Ron Paul’s tax credit for homeschoolers bill. I’ll eat my 10-gallon hat if this bill sees the light of day in the 110th. Paul is a Republican candidate for President. The Democrat-controlled House is not going to do a thing to help him.
Nothing to see here. Move along. Move along.
Pharyngula lost out to a Global Warming Denial blog.
Out of 10. Woohoo! 🙂
Scripture doesn’t support global warming
I have read the Bible from Genesis to Revelation many times and I have concordances and commentaries that I study and I could not find the scripture that Bobbie Duke alluded to (“A hot topic and religion,” Oct. 24).
However, I did find a scripture, Genesis 8:22, that states “While the earth remaineth, seedtime and harvest, and cold and heat, and summer and winter, and day and night shall not cease.”
Bennie Bryan
Elizabethtown
Fayetteville, where stupid theological arguments apparently never die.
If you have some of these toys get rid of them immediately. GHB is nothing to mess around with.
