Education under Attack by Educators

While reading a NY Times article (The 150 Year War, about the Civil War and that it's reason for being fought is still being fought today) there was a mention about Virginia school systems having a textbook with a 'gross inaccuracy' - that "thousands of blacks fought for the South".

I checked their source - roanoke.com - and it has the source as the textbook by Five Ponds Press, (the publisher of "Our Virginia: Past & Present"), which apparently has no business printing books. 

The publisher can't get pictures right either. "The publisher plans to replace a photo of a brown bear that is not native to Virginia. The photo and caption were found to be of a brown bear, instead of a black bear."

 "The book's author, Joy Masoff, defended her work to The Washington Post, saying she found the passage on the Internet."

ARE YOU KIDDING ME?????? This IDIOT woman found something on the internet, and without checking such an outrageous comment, decided it belonged in a School Textbook !!!!!

Now, some blacks DID fight for the Confederacy, but as I was taught in the 1960's, it was under duress and in "support roles" only as they were not trusted with rifles (umm, because they might shoot their white 'master' oppressors). 

But look at what you can find on the internet - (Christianity, or Islam) is the only true religion; white men are supreme over all life; Atlantis was a city with flying machines; China launched rockets over several thousand years ago; there are buildings on the Moon that NASA has 'blacked out' in photographs.

So, sure, you will find stupid stuff like "there were black battalions fighting under Stonewall Jackson". Stuff like that is on white supremacy sites, trying to claim that even the blacks knew that the whites were superior and therefore should be followed and obeyed. What a bunch of crap! Apparently, Joy Masoff uses such sites for her personal knowledge source - scary that any education company would hire someone like that.

This brings up other education worries, namely that the states California and Texas have, for decades, been given the de-facto role of determining what the rest of the country will be taught, and that Texas and other states are calling for "intelligent design" (another name for "creationism", or "God did it from nothingness") to be mandatorily taught in all schools. These people are trying to state that both "Intelligent design" and "Darwinism" are theories, and therefore should be given equal weight in thought.

Well, the many aspects and conclusions of Darwinism are theories; we look at fossils, make conclusions about what other fossil was its ancestor, and say "this is it". BUT when someone comes up with evidence that an earlier conclusion is wrong, changes to the thinking are made.

But with "intelligent design", there is no evidence to see, no trail to follow, and therefore no way to dispute or modify it's conclusion. It is simply someone saying "this is it, no questions allowed".

America is getting behind in education - there IS NO DISPUTING THAT. Schools that don't give homework because parents complain "my kid has not time to do homework because of all the other activities" the parent drags them to. Our kids are told they don't have to memorize multiplication tables. Schools worry more about how many computer they can get instead of being sure kids can read what is on the PC. Colleges graduate athletes because they don't want the public to know that they are only there to play football (or whatever) and really could not, upon graduation, even pass a qualification test to enter the school.

America is in a mess. Republicans (mainly) want to abolish the Dept. of Education, and want each local school district to decide what, and how, to teach. Yet we live in a Global Work Environment, and so need to have ALL kids learn the SAME stuff - there MUST BE A NATIONAL STANDARD FOR EDUCATION. Until we make education a National Imperative, we will fall further behind.

The WORLD has an "Extremist" Problem

In response to Mosque Controversy: Does America Have a Muslim Problem?

I posted there -

Not Just the USA, but the WORLD has a Muslim problem. Look at the many times Britain has either been attacked, or found some about to attack. AND they have groups actively (though "peacefully" for now) promoting imposing Sharia 'law' there. Scandinavian countries are having problems too. Plus Somalia, Yemen, and others being pushed around by radicals.

But it is NOT ALL Muslims. Just like the many times 'christians' started wars to impose their beliefs, and the many different countries imposing rule (Spanish or Portuguese over the Incas and Mayans, etc) or the Pope to push his religion around the world, some group has decided they are better than the rest and want to force others to go along, or die. SOME group will always try this - ‘today’ it is Muslim extremists. ‘Tomorrow’ it might be Baptists, skinheads, or Russia.

We DO need to be careful about generalizing - but Muslims too MUST start preaching, openly, AGAINST RADICALS in their midst, and against those on web sites, etc. MUSLIMS need to get in front of this problem, because the most effective way to effect change is always from INSIDE a group. From outside, all you get is oppression, or annihilation. Both of those harm the innocent. Including American patriots.

Catholic Bishop Convicted for Denial of Holocaust

Recently a PRIEST from Germany DENIED THE HOLOCAUST !!! It made news because, though he did an AP interview in a different European country (AND asked that it NOT be shown in Germany because of "Non-Denial" laws there) it was shown on TV, and on the internet, in Germany.

"The interview was conducted near Regensburg and was granted shortly before Williamson's excommunication was lifted by Pope Benedict XVI, along with that of three other bishops from the anti-modernization movement of the late Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre."

MY RESPONSE to the many comments made after the post - many also saying that either people were not mass-murdered, or that "we need an investigation" :

It is nearly 100% -- that every person who denies the Holocaust is also one who would do today if they could.

So if YOU want to kill millions, why deny that Nazis DID IT ??? The PICTURES ARE AVAILABLE, SURVIVORS (though very few now) ARE AVAILABLE (as is video of their stories).

I guess the main reason to deny it is so when they do it, no one will believe it, and they won't have to face JUSTICE.

It is probably illegal to deny it in Germany for this reason - that given the chance, many would do it again.


I ALSO posted that the Priest should be excommunicated -- then I went back and saw that HE WAS (by Pope Paul II ?) but that the current pope lifted that order. (And people wonder why I hate religions -- they are two-faced, and prey on the ignorant)

The 'church' should be demanding that all services this week include comments that the Holocaust DID happen -- fat chance that will happen; looks like Pope Benedict wants to deny it too, if he lifted the order.

Making a case for "Life After Death" -- but false claims won't make it real

In CSM online version, 12/10/09  --- http://news.yahoo.com/s/csm/20091209/cm_csm/ydsouza

my letter to editor/CSM
Concerning Dinesh D'Souza, "Life After Death: The Evidence."  [His words are in italics]

First, you print an "opinion" piece by him, but it is more like a testimonial for his latest book. Opinion too? Yes, but really.... it is more of a ‘buy my book, make me rich” piece.

Second, he, like ALL religionists, twists facts, or uses only the part that might support his opinion, rather than using everything available to reach a valid conclusion.

So that I am not accused of taking comments ‘out of context’, below are excerpts and my comment.

He takes facts from several sources and mixes them together, then draws a conclusion. But since he didn’t keep the facts straight, the conclusion is false:
Alarmed by the obvious implication of near-death experiences, atheists have been laboring assiduously to explain them away. Today, the best atheist explanation is that near-death experiences are the result of a dying brain. When the brain irreversibly breaks down, psychologist Susan Blackmore contends, it generates special effects that closely track the near-death experience.
There are several problems with this theory but one fatal one is that many survivors of clinical death are now going to work, looking after their families, and functioning just fine. So much for an "irreversible" breakdown.

NO ONE claims that near-death experiences are the result of “irreversible” breakdown. Here he OUT RIGHT LIES. The actual claim is that it results from oxygen levels being so low that people are close to, or in the process of, passing out. Just as several things can cause “tunnel vision”, low oxygen being a major cause, so too can it cause “a white light” as the eyes shut down, or the brain shuts down. “Irreversible” is just that - death of at least part of the brain; any later recovery of the person is because other parts of the brain can take over some functions, as shown BY SCIENCE.

He further states:
I don't claim to prove my case beyond a reasonable doubt, but I do claim to prove it by a preponderance of the evidence.

Well, at least the statement is rational, though I doubt he really means it. And he has NO evidence, but merely claims to have it.

He further states:
"Is it good for me to believe?"  [His quotes, not mine]

For me, the clear answer is yes. If there is no life after death, we are like passengers on the Titanic: We can rearrange the deck chairs and turn up the music, but we are ultimately doomed. By contrast, if there is life after death, we can face death with serenity, viewing it is a gateway to another life. Also we have reason to hope that good will eventually be rewarded and evil held accountable. Moreover, recognizing that our terrestrial existence is part of a larger drama, we can forge a sense of lasting purpose in our lives. So not only is belief in an afterlife reasonable; it is also good for us.

He is making the case for “hey, what could it hurt?” or “let’s CLAIM to believe just to be on the safe side”. In other words, he ADVOCATES HYPOCRISY. He is clearly saying that you should attend church, and tell all your friends, and AT LEAST GIVE LIP SERVICE to “I Believe”, because IF there is an afterlife WITH GOD then you will be safe.

But that assumes that “God” would not know what is really in your heart - that you are doing it “just in case”. IF there is a god, and your bible tells you that making false claims is wrong, don't you think that you would be sent to ‘hell’ by your ‘god’ for false testimony? Face it, to claim all is OK is hypocrisy. (I had a co-worker claim to be a good Catholic, but daily he threatened to kill me, and said he would sleep fine afterwards. He even wanted me to attend his church so I could 'meet a nice girl'; I pointed out the hypocrisy - he said it was not, but soon after started down the hate road. Yea - typical christian.)

And he also try’s to put in some science by claiming that “Heaven” could be another dimension. Again, hypocrisy; Nothing in the bible, written by MEN with the “direction of God”, brings up alternate dimensions or anything even close to the concept. Here D'Souza is trying to trick non-believers and followers of science into “belief” by a ridiculous claim with no substance behind it.

His comment:
One of the direct implications of the Big Bang is that not only did the physical universe have a beginning, but space and time also had a beginning. Space and time are properties of our universe. This means that in realms beyond our universe, if such realms exist, there might be no space and no time. Suddenly the Christian idea of eternity is rendered intelligible.

Again, selecting various facts out of context to support an invalid conclusion. Science states that other dimensions will almost certainly (we have not been there so there is no proof) have different qualities, including the passage of time. Perhaps a what would feel like a week to us there could be 1,000 years here (much like the Einstein equation shows that moving fast will make your timeframe be different from a person on Earth), but to claim that might be ‘heaven’, in fact he practically outright states so, is again just stupid.

To cut this short -- if you think “God” wants a bunch of hypocrites who give lip service to “believing”, go with his “proof”. But don’t expect “God” to forgive you. If you want to go with the REAL EVIDENCE, then do like I do: accept that THIS is all there is, and look for your “rewards” here in this 'plain of existence', do good, follow the “Golden Rule”, and refuse false claims.