an American in Texas
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Posts posted by an American in Texas
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The point is that this is a Republican newspaper in small town very Republican America. Aggieland, the heart of Texas, the Republican party core where they voted Bush/Kerry 70 to 30%.
Don't assume this is the decision of one editor.
The editors are part of the community and small town newspapers are dependent upon the good will of their community for their revenue. Picking a Democrat in that enviroment tells me a lot about the loss of Republican party influence.
Bryan/College Station, home of Texas A&M University, which is likely the most conservative university in the country.
Also home of the George H.W. Bush Presidential Library.
And probably (no stats on this one, going by my extensive connections there) home of the single largest concentration of young Republicans in the country.
Really, this is the ABSOLUTE LAST newspaper I'd expect to see endorsing Obama. Wowsa.
Leigh
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Evidently, Bern and I live on the Planet of Good Kids. We do keep a close eye on the offspring, but we don't have to resort to low-rent CIA-style tactics to accomplish that.
I do know whereof I speak here, you know. My two older daughters came through high school and college intact (yes, I do mean what you think I mean). I believe the best way to keep your kids safe is to actually TRANSMIT THE VALUES you want them to internalize. Trailing around after them with your handy-dandy spy kit is not going to accomplish that.
Leigh
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Most unlikely, at least for the first three. I'm speaking statistically here, particularly in regard to our respective IQs. As to the fourth, my mother taught me that is vulgar to discuss money with strangers.
But in any case, do you really associate your value as human being with your job title and salary? How sad.
Leigh
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And you know this how, exactly? I can assure you that this kind of thing doesn't go on in classrooms in Austin. If it were tried, the teacher would be urged to follow the law. If it continued, the offending teacher would be out on his or her ass.
Then again, Austin is a notoriously blue island in a red state. It is also peopled by many of deep religious faith, like me, who would prefer that our kids get their theology in church and from us.
Leigh
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Hmm. I still think you mean "pretentious poseur". But who am I to quibble with your diction?
And if your characterization is based on something other than the words I use, what is your objection? My opinions, which are no doubt fundamentally different from yours? (You should pardon the oblique pun . . .)
Leigh
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Paul has noticed this trend, I'm sure. Whenever we use words they don't understand, we suddenly become "pompous". Folks, if you can't understand my remarkably clear prose, the expression you're reaching for is "supercilious snob". Or maybe "pretentious poseur".
I'll bet it was that word "meretricious" that pushed this YAG over the edge. Sheesh, folks, don't you know how to use Google?
BRYAN is pompous. Paul and I are warm, witty, and do you the honor of assuming you're well-educated. After all, it's not our fault if you can't keep up.
(For the sarcasm-impaired, this whole post is slightly -- only slightly -- tongue-in-cheek.)
Leigh
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That's primarily up to the employer.
There should be no constitutional prohibition on a public school teacher's expression of religious opinion short of proselytizing or discriminatory treatment (and that sort of thing) because of the First Amendment (no law restricting the free expression of religion).
http://www.firstamendmentcenter.org/PDF/pa...idereligion.PDF
Gee, Bryan, that's oh-so-reassuring coming from you. After all, you're the guy who doesn't think P. was proselytizing. I doubt you'd think any speech that didn't include a Reading of the Gospel and an altar call could be called proselytizing -- and you might think even that would be okay as long as there were no choir singing "I Surrender All" in the background.
Leigh
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Oh, and I didn't bother to address the rest of Bryan's ridiculous post because it was just his usual B.S.
Leigh
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No, Bryan, you failed dismally at "proving" that P's letter wasn't taken from Barton. But in your world, where black is white (if you slice and dice it enough), apparently you think we're all dazzled by your brillance.
Too bad. You're self-deluded as well as willfully blind.
You're also an obnoxious little twerp. It really amazes me that, no matter how many times you get thoroughly thrashed, you come back declaring that you won. You're like some kind of bobble doll.
It's also apparently escaped your notice that your only allies are semi-literate and as dumb as bricks.
Everything about you is meretricious. Alas, not all fools are wise.
Leigh
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Jeez, Bryan, we've been over this many times. Those on both sides have listened to the entire exchange. I know I did. We heard proselytizing. As I may have mentioned before, I was brought up in a Southern Baptist church. I certainly recognize preachin' when I hear it.
The denial is not on the tape, as you very well know. It comes from Matthew's testimony. I believe him. You don't. I believe Matthew because he has been the more credible witness. And if P. has denied it, I'm not aware of it. And by the way, I don't think you're close-minded. I think you're willfully blind.
(as a moron) That would be correct.
You've certainly attempted to demonstrate some problem with context -- ad nauseum, in fact. You've failed miserably.
(This was in response to my assertion that I don't tolerate bad theology, scientific quackery, and fake history.)
It doesn't take a rocket scientist to realize that someone who says dinosaurs were on the Ark is full of crap. P.'s later letter to the editor was full of fake history, courtesy of that crackpot David Barton. And his take on hell is very bad theology indeed, as we exhaustively explored on another thread.
So yes, I can recognize those evils when I see them. Just as I can recognize your sophistry, no matter how much you roll your eyes.
Leigh
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I think Mr. P should be given an award for his teaching abilities and moral courage to stand up against all the atheists who mistakenly think "separation of church and state" means anything more than the federal government establishing a federal religion.I hardly think the founders of the constitution meant to forbid a christmas tree in a park or a cross on a hill. Stand strong, Mr.P, you have many supporters and backers. Don't let the Loony Lefties get you down, you're on the right side of this issue. God bless you.
Some people will NEVER get it. This guy taught fundamentalist Christian doctrine in a public school classroom. That is AGAINST THE LAW. (And Bryan, your sophistry aside, anybody who listens to that tape can clearly hear the teacher proselytizing.)
He then LIED about it. THAT IS IMMORAL.
I am absolutely flabbergasted by the morons who continue to defend the indefensible.
And by the way, it's not just "atheists" who are opposed to these actions. Christians are too. There is no way I'd let any of my children's teachers get away with spouting a mixture of bad theology, scientific quackery, and false history in the classroom.
Leigh
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Always the optimist, Proud American. But I'm afraid in this case you're quite wrong; 2dim and Patrat are beyond help. Their minds ossified some time ago . . . witness the resurgence of this "Kool-aid alert" nonsense.
You and I can learn something at the PAW site. But 2dim? No, I don't think so. His learning curve has flatlined.
Leigh
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Tomorrow morning, October 10, Dr. Kenneth Miller of Brown University is scheduled to present a program in assembly to Kearny High School students on evolutionary biology. . . .
In late November or early December, Rev. Barry Lynn, Executive Director of Americans United for Separation of Church and State, will present a second assembly, this one on church-state separation. . .
Finally, in Febuary Dr. Charles Liu of the Hayden Planetarium in New York and an associate of Neil deGrasse Tyson, will present a third assembly on cosmology and general science.
Wowza. I would love to see these presentations. I am a great admirer of Ken Miller (Finding Darwin's God). I got to see Barry Lynn last spring at the University of Texas; he's great.
Congratulations on the all-star team coming to Kearny. Congratulations also to Matthew on his speaking engagement with the ADL.
Leigh
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It is not obvious only to me. It is obvious to anyone who looks objectively at the facts. It's like a guy who watches two football games every Sunday afternoon: I don't need to wait until next Sunday to know where he's going to be.
Bern, Keith and Strife, how about it: is it obvious only to me?
It's obvious to any rational person. On your side is all the evidence:
1) the tapes; obvious preaching in class
2) past experience w/ P; testimony that he'd been doing this for years; Matthew was aware of this
3) P's response in the meeting w/ the principal; flat-out lying
4) P's response since this became public; more preaching and an assertion he had the right to preach (this is a lie, of course, but he copied that lie from David Barton)
Give what DID happen, it's really hard to argue that Matthew's approach was not reasonable. That doesn't seem to be stopping some of the Kearney folks, but nobody with any sense is taking them seriously.
Leigh
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In World War II, almost everyone had a direct interest in that war in that so many of them had previously come from one of those European countries in danger and many others with relatives still there. The same cannot be said today, except for the few now coming over for the Mid East. Everyone knows you are a bleeding Democrat and have tried to make this forum your political campaign, but there have been true acts of patriotism after WW II, even in the Korean and Vietnam wars and both those were also about oil as well.
And if for you, Paul LaClair, the Pledge of Allegiance is like dessert, I can only wonder what you have for dinner? There are many hard working Americans who have worked and fought for the good of this country. It is people like your son why America has lost its ethics in the eyes of the rest of the world. Ask yourself this: “What have you done for your country?” I am sure the honest answer wouldn’t surprise most of us. When I do say the Pledge of Allegiance I do it for my country. I am not trying to be a standout and sit down, or be a showoff, and if meaning that sitting down on Matthew’s lazy ass in your words makes him a better citizen, then you can take that along with your lawyer rhetoric and find some hole to crawl under. But I am not going to. So my wish for you, your son and your family that when all American people, standing as one under the American flag, symbolizing one nation, with liberty and justice for all, that those rights do not apply to you, or your son, or family. After all what would a lawyer like you know about liberty and justice?
Contemptible. Un-American. Fool.
What the LeClairs have done for our country is to revere and protect its most sacred principles -- those to be found in the Constitution.
How can you have the unmitigated gall to claim that your mindless recitation of 32 words compares to their actions in any way?
Your last two sentences clearly demonstrate that you haven't a clue what it means to be an American.
Leigh Williams
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What will the loons do when Hillary is president and the troops are still in Iraq. This was the mistake of the century our going into Iraq. We should only have been in afganistan hunting for binladen. This is a major screw up, big time. We are screwed. But remember this, the loons on the left can't help us and they will only hurt this great nation.
Okay, let's try this out. The Left loonies are going to top these "achievements":
dragging us into a quagmire of a war by lying to us
passing tax breaks that have widened the gap between rich and poor
dismantling major pieces of the Constitution to promote an imperial presidency
tolerating and sometimes even sponsored the worst corruption since Teapot Dome
ruining our reputation for integrity throughout the world
We'd better get busy, my fellow liberals -- these five are just those I had top-of-mind, and it's a very incomplete list. It will take all of us working at breakneck speed to match the Rethuglicans' record over the last two terms.
Leigh
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Thanks to typical government incompetence, I was surprised a week ago to have deployment orders delivered to me. For some reason I was listed as Inactive Reserve instead of Discharged. So I took my Discharge paperwork to the appropriate authorities. Unfortunately, the amount of red tape means that I have to report to readiness training until the paperwork catches up.
So, see ya.
I'm taking my paperwork with me, so hopefully I'll only be gone a few days.
My prayers go with you, Autonomous. We are deeply grateful for your willingness to serve.
I am glad to see the loud outcry against "Conservative Mommy" -- and of course, Patrat has chimed in with his usual contemptible drivel. Boo S**ks to you two creeps.
But all the best to you, Autonomous.
Leigh
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Having read some of Paul's rambling left wing diatribes, he's on something, Kool-aid or whatever.
Paul doesn't ramble. You may not agree with what he says, but it's always cogent and to the point.
Then again, some people probably have trouble comprehending an argument that takes more than one or two sentences and doesn't contain the words Kool-aid or "loony left". So when your eyes glaze over on the fourth sentence, I guess to you it might seem as though he's rambling.
Leigh
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... and once again Leigh has made an assertion about reality that she hasn't a prayer of backing up with anything other than either imagined evidence or logical fallacies.
Right. What do you care if LaClair lays it on thick while making his point, so long as you agree with his point?
Way to prove my point, Bryan.
Let's put this in context. The original idea was that, if someone posts that "3 + 4 = 9", those who post in reply that in fact "3 + 4 = 7" are not in some conspiracy, but are simply pointing out a factual error.
Your reply was "The "reality" of math is disputed in philosophical (logical) circles."
Apparently "3 + 4 = 7" is "imagined evidence" or a "logical fallacy" to you.
We've watched you slice and dice trivial or tangential points for months now, usually based on this whole "logic" thing you've got going -- and usually while you're arguing that black equals white. Logic is the servant of reason, Bryan, not an excuse to opt out of reality. Come back down to earth, bud. 3+4 DOES equal 7 in the decimal-math, reality-based community.
Leigh
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You would be happy living in Colorado, it's a haven for secular loonys.
WRONGO as usual, 2dim. Colorado is, on the contrary, a conservative state that is well-known as a center for conservative Christianity. Focus on the Family, the National Day of Prayer Task Force, and more than 100 other evangelical Christian organizations are headquartered there.
In fact, Colorado Springs is sometimes called the "Vatican of evangelical Christianity".
Leigh
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Once again Bryan conclusively demonstrates that he lives in a world of "logic" completely divorced from reality.
Sad to see a mind so wasted on trivialities.
Leigh
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Unlike Kool-aid drinking wingnut wacko God-botherers? I think not...
http://forums.kearnyontheweb.com/index.php...indpost&p=60362
The sad fact is, every time I directly challenge you morons you NEVER answer. You're obviously both 2dumb4me. So go ahead-refuse to acknowledge that you were wrong. Prove how manly you are by refusing to apologize-again. Make some idiotic, asinine comment to show everyone that you can't bother to think about what you say.
Moron.
PatRat HAS no thoughts, only slogans he's picked up from some wingnut web site, or maybe Faux News.
Haven't you noticed that he never posts anything substantive? He thinks throwing out the word Koolaid counts as witty repartee.
You're engaging in a battle of wits with an unarmed opponent, Autonomous. He's incapable of offering a reasoned response; he's just a wingnut robot with a (very limited) pre-programmed litany of canned phrases.
And, you know, I've just realized that we may be the victims of an evil Turing test!
Leigh
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Being sympathetic to the ignorance of the LoonyLeft, I offer the following;
Put "Ann Coulter.com" in your favorite list and read every issue carefully.
Hopefully, before too long you'll notice an awakening in your brain, you will
begin to process information clearly and lose your taste for Kool-aid. Good luck !
No serious person pays any attention to Coulter, other than to deplore her complete lack of integrity.
I've only read the chapter on evolution in Godless. She's clueless about biology, but she certainly knows how to push the anti-science crowd's buttons.
She's a media whore, pure and simple. Sadly, I'm not surprised that PatRat thinks she's a towering intellect. He's certainly a member of her target demographic -- ignorant, arrogant, and ripe for manipulation.
Leigh
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"This a secular country" ?? Another atheist fantasy. 80% of the U.S. is Christian. Our money is printed and engraved with "In God We Trust". The Supreme Court displays the Ten Commandments. In court you put your hand on a bible and swear to tell the truth "so help you God". Millions of Nativity Scenes are displayed throughout the country at Christmas. "White Christmas" is the best selling song of all time. The President of the U.S. is a Christian who attends church regularly. The U.S. Congress recesses over Christmas. The Speaker of the House is Christian and attends church regularly. But don't feel bad, you have Paul and Matthew on your side.
As usual, 2dim's view of things is so simplistic as to be utterly wrong.
It's true that about 80% of Americans self-identify as Christian. BUT, of all Americans
40% are Christian evangelicals
22% are Catholics
16% are mainline Christians
There is a wide variety of doctrine and political belief here. It's safe to say that the kind of Protestant fundamentalism being taught in Mr. P's classroom is NOT a majority view . . . the Catholics and the mainline Protestants are VERY unlikely to be on board with the theology, much less the proselytizing in the public schools.
I assure you, I'm a Christian and most certainly do NOT align with 2dim and his ilk.
A more nuanced view of the wide variety of opinions held by Christians, both theological and political, can be found at the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life, pewforum.org.
Leigh
NY Slimes demise
in Kearny
Posted
Unfortunately for you, a lot of people do care about this particular case of putting lipstick on a pig. $150,000 is a hell of a lot of money to spend on clothes, hairdo's, and such. It's typical Rethug wild excess; I doubt anybody would have said much of anything if they'd spent, say, $15,000 dollars . . . or avoided having Willow photographed with the Fendi bag (or whatever it was outrageously expensive brand it was; not my field of expertise).
We could only wish they'd spent a few dollars on prettying up her intellect as much as they did her exterior. That poor woman is beyond ignorant
Leigh