Posted on 06/29/2003 1:57:37 PM PDT by TankerKC
By ROBYN MOORMEISTER
Sentinel staff writer
This high school teacher doesn’t think the U.S. government is playing with a full deck.
So she’s printed up her own decks in an effort to prove it.
Available locally, the ‘‘Operation: Hidden Agenda" playing cards are Kathy Eder’s answer to the U.S. military’s distribution of its most wanted list card collection — the Bush administration’s unique and portable list of 55 wanted former Iraqi government officials.
Eder’s cards are a little different than George W.’s.
There are pictures of U.S. government officials, like the four of spades featuring Central Command Commander in Chief Tommy Franks, and quotes such as the one under his picture: "We don’t do body counts."
A grinning President George W. Bush graces the Ace of Spades card, accompanied by the caption "Dictator of the World."
Then there’s Eder’s favorite: the Ace of Clubs, or "Donald goes to Baghdad."
It’s a picture of U.S. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld and a synopsis of his 1983 trip to Baghdad as a special envoy to meet with Saddam Hussein and promote the contraction of a U.S.-sponsored pipeline:
"(The meeting) occurred the same day that the United States team confirmed that Saddam gassed Iranian troops," reads the card.
The back of every card shows Rumsfeld shaking Saddam’s hand during that visit.
Eder, who teaches the class ‘‘Morality and Social Justice’’ at Bellarmine, an all-boys Catholic high school in San Jose, says the idea for the cards came to her when her students insisted the war in Iraq was justified, but they couldn’t offer facts or reasons to back up their statements.
"This war was totally wrong and totally about greed," she said. "We were told lies the whole time."
The cards are a lesson in truth, she said.
"It became clear to me that I needed to do what I have always encouraged my students to do," Eder said, "use my life to try and make a difference in the lives of others."
She gathered information for her cards from The New York Times, the BBC, Mother Jones magazine, iraqbodycount.net, the San Jose Mercury News, the Washington Post and several other international news organizations and publications. Her sources are all cited on the cards.
The pictures are all courtesy of the U.S. Department of Defense Web site.
She said her cards reflect the teachings of Catholicism, that "no war is justified."
Former Santa Cruz County Supervisor and outspoken conservative Marilyn Liddicoat is not amused.
"This is very unpatriotic," Liddicoat said. "I think it is very hostile to America to do this."
Liddicoat, also a former chair on the Santa Cruz County Board of Education, said she thinks Eder should be fired for brainwashing students.
"When I served on the board 20 years ago I could see how kids were being brainwashed by very liberal teachers," Liddicoat said.
Eder’s cards and opinions, she said, have the potential to inspire acts of terrorism.
But Eder — who borrowed $8,000 from her credit card for 3,000 decks of cards — said she was simply called upon by God to tell "the truth," as she sees it.
Eder, who said she doesn’t fear losing her job, said her students don’t know about the cards because school has let out for the summer.
She is marketing the cards on her Web site, www.operationhiddenagenda.com, and they are on sale at Bookshop Santa Cruz.
Half of the proceeds from the cards, which sell for $9.95 per deck, will support veterans suffering from Desert Storm Syndrome, a medical condition suffered by Gulf War veterans characterized by headache, fatigue, fever, bleeding gums and skin rashes.
"I keep hearing that we should be supporting the troops," Eder said. "For me, this support also includes the troops who fought in Desert Storm."
Contact Robyn Moormeister at rmoormeister@santa-cruz.com
"This war was totally wrong and totally about greed," she said. "We were told lies the whole time."
The cards are a lesson in truth, she said."
The cards are a lesson in truth, she said.
This bears repeating:
A great deal of intelligence can be invested in ignorance when the need for illusion is deep – Saul Bellow
What got the ball rolling was the initial contact with the Archbishop at the time - a new feller to the area, name of George. His response was overwhelmingly encouraging and supportive of those of us calling for her ouster and no doubt fostered the Brothers expeditious involvement. Unfortunately we lost him to Chicago, where he's now a Cardinal. Great guy...
And just who were you to negotiate with in a TOTAL WAR situation where the Japanese fought maniacally to the death, and the Germans didn't dare broach the idea to der Fuhrer on pain of instant firing squad.
Take a valium, sparky. There's no doubt in my mind WW2 was a just war. I was merely pointing out the vagaries of the idea of a "just war" concept, especially how it is laid out by the Catholic Church.
Some people around here have a hard time with reading comprehension.
Huh? Let me guess--chocolate cures Gulf War Syndrome?
There seem to be a number of questionable ties and as I say, I don't see a description of how much money goes to which organization or what kind of oversight there is to make sure that the money doesn't go to fund antiWTO protests.
Seems like a lot of front organizations, some are communist (like antiwar.com), and some are at least anticapitalist.
Even the Catholic group linked to antiwar.com.
I wasn't doing this to clear the way for people wanting to buy the cards, I just wanted to reveal where the money was going.
And some people have a hard time being civil...and writing with precision and clarity. :-)
Nothing, that is hopeless.
It would, however, help your paucity of understanding.
She said some forum-maybe FR- was personally attacking her in it's 70 posts.
David Gold said Free Republic can get ``rough and tumble'' at times.
Disagreeing with her is a "personal attack". Did you listen to the entire interview? How'd it go? She come off as a real idiot in Medved's show.
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