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Lies, Inc.: The Pledge Exposes The Failure of Government Schools
Mercurial Times ^ | 07/01/02 | Sean Finnegan

Posted on 07/01/2002 4:06:51 PM PDT by nunya bidness

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To: nunya bidness
Outstanding ... can't wait to pass this around.
21 posted on 07/02/2002 7:12:41 PM PDT by Askel5
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To: AnnaZ
However, the greater danger I see arises from the mandatory detachment/obsolescence of a Higher Being at all levels of public life, in other words a State Religion of Secular Humanism, which will lead to, ultimately, the loss of the Predicate Author/Authority of Liberty.

God doesn't need the state. Do you need God in school?

And what is this danger you speak of?

22 posted on 07/02/2002 8:14:29 PM PDT by nunya bidness
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To: nunya bidness
Just coming back as I link it elsewhere .... particularly like the inclusion of that "near-famous" cat Gramsci.

Funny story ... my poor cousin who got brainwashed by the liberation theology set at Boston College once cited a guy named "Anthony Gramsci" she'd learned about in her class on Capitalism to buttress her argument on economics during after-supper discussion one night.

23 posted on 07/02/2002 8:34:06 PM PDT by Askel5
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The reason for the addition of the words “under God” is where the debate begins

Thanks to Knights (of Columbus), nation is 'under God' (The Knights' Role in Adding 'under God')

24 posted on 07/02/2002 8:35:17 PM PDT by Askel5
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To: Askel5
Gramsci did more to make Marxism an American ideal than Marx or Stalin could have ever hoped.

See the word hegemony.

25 posted on 07/02/2002 8:39:22 PM PDT by nunya bidness
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To: Texasforever; nunya bidness; Demidog
This is a great article on the history of public education. I will bookmark it. Now, as for homeschooling. How far does that go? K-12?

HomeSchooling goes K-12; in addition, most homeschooling courses are sufficiently flexible to easily allow "dropping into" a Religious or Private School and/or "dropping out" into Homeschooling therefrom (I speak from familial, albeit not personal, experience). Homeschooling courses do not, however, usually integrate as easily with Publik Skooling... too much "culture shock" and disparity in Educational Quality.

If so that is feasable but many parents do not have the education themselves for home schooling much less the time or devotion to do it.

Combined Federal, State, and Local spending on Publik Skooling amounts to over $7,000 per-child, per-year... and with the passage of the Kennedy/BushJunior "education" bill, expect the pig-trough to get even fatter.

Just return that money directly to the parents via the abolition of the Property, Sales, and Income Taxes which support Publik Skooling. If you want to do so in a manner which "helps" the poor, you can abolish the Sales Taxes first... oh, and abolish State Lotteries also, which amount to a "tax" on the Poor to subsidize Middle Class schools.

A fairly-high-grade (substantially better than Publik Skool, anyway) Private Religious Academy education in a Classical format (Greek, Latin, Logic and Rhetoric included in the basic curriculum) can be had for 60-70% the cost of Publik Skooling... $350 to $400 per month -- again, I speak from familial experience on the matter. Just give Parents back their money; those that have the time and ability to Home-School may keep the cash, those who lack the time and ability to Home-School may spend less money on a better Private/Religious product.

That being said, there is a real need for competition with the public school system and that will come only with some type of voucher system. Absent that there needs to be the political will to shut down schools that serve as indoctrination centers and warehouses.

Yes, the Political Will is grossly lacking at this time.

26 posted on 07/03/2002 6:36:19 PM PDT by OrthodoxPresbyterian
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To: OrthodoxPresbyterian
Does that mean you agree?
27 posted on 07/03/2002 6:44:51 PM PDT by nunya bidness
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To: nunya bidness
Does that mean you agree?

Actually, I think it means that it is time for a new RazorMouth article....

Muwa-hahahaha....

28 posted on 07/03/2002 7:17:58 PM PDT by OrthodoxPresbyterian
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To: AnnaZ
Do you think that if the word God is banned, the government will suddenly get less good at teaching or representing God's law?

How could they get any WORSE? Let them call it secular humanism. At least there'll be no question that they're immoral cretins and they won't give Christianity a bad name.

29 posted on 07/03/2002 7:22:28 PM PDT by Demidog
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To: nunya bidness
"But what’s missing from the pontificating on both sides is the most obvious concern - not the separation or unification of church and state, but the total monopoly on education at the hands of a central government."

You nailed it brother, from another direction of course. Most of the "right" are busy obsessing over the removal of the words "under God" from the pledge, which is (of course) the main issue here. However, in this piece you have attacked this whole subject from a different angle. What has been missing in previous opinion columns is this extensive background. The "how" of how we got to where we are today, with a court that would dare eject the name of our Creator. Each day I wake up surprised that we, as a nation, have fallen so far since our break from king George a mere two hundred and twenty six years ago.

Great research man. I was totally unaware of the origin of the public school system.

Sheesh. You belong in syndication.

30 posted on 07/03/2002 7:24:14 PM PDT by Inspector Harry Callahan
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To: Texasforever
"That being said, there is a real need for competition with the public school system and that will come only with some type of voucher system."

I disagree. You are basically giving Uncle Sham permission to seize your money, then give you a few coupons in return with the understanding that if you qualify (Lord only knows what THAT would entail) you can send your children to a private school - which in turn would become subject (since they're taking coupons from Uncle Sham) to any kind of rules (like this revised Pledge) that Uncle Sham may decide to pass.

So in reality, you would end up with more of the same. No thanks.

31 posted on 07/03/2002 7:31:15 PM PDT by Inspector Harry Callahan
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To: Inspector Harry Callahan
Thanks.
32 posted on 07/03/2002 7:39:56 PM PDT by nunya bidness
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To: Inspector Harry Callahan
Uncle Sham

I love that phrase and it is so appropriate. Thanks, I'll be using it from now on anytime I can.

33 posted on 07/04/2002 2:33:12 AM PDT by ridensm
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To: nunya bidness

God doesn't need the state. Do you need God in school?

And what is this danger you speak of?

The inclusion of a Deistic philosophy in this country's founding was not, as had constantly been the case in the past with state/religion co-ops, to control the masses, but to control the government.

Our Liberty here is predicated on its pre-existing the formation of our government, that it is given to us by our (unnamed) Creator. By effectively shutting out even the slightest mention of a Higher Authority than the State from "acceptable discourse", we make possible the day we effectively deny the basis for our freedom, for our self-government.

34 posted on 07/09/2002 1:17:47 PM PDT by AnnaZ
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To: AnnaZ
By effectively shutting out even the slightest mention of a Higher Authority than the State from "acceptable discourse", we make possible the day we effectively deny the basis for our freedom, for our self-government.

Anna, you're soaking in it. That was my point.

35 posted on 07/10/2002 9:56:58 PM PDT by nunya bidness
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To: Anthem
Endnotes are at the end of the essay. Let me know if you have trouble finding them.
36 posted on 07/10/2002 10:37:53 PM PDT by nunya bidness
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To: nunya bidness
Maybe I did miss your point... that the pledge is the least of our worries? Or just purely symbolic of allllll the rot beneath?
 
I do not believe in blanket fedgov schools for the nation. Not at all. I think it's a State issue. But I just don't see them going anywhere, anytime soon. And they will only get worse. But at least they might get emptier -- which is the sliver of hope I hold onto. Perhaps they'll get emptier faster, on a pace with the increasing emptiness of the educational fare.
 
The "rescued" students will, of course, have to deal with the publik skool products later on. (As will we, when we're too old and creaky to do a damn thing about it, LOL!)

37 posted on 07/11/2002 7:32:16 AM PDT by AnnaZ
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To: Texasforever
1. Many people should not be parents.
2. I am not responsible for seeing that your children get educated.
3. Ultimately you are responsible for your own education.

Abolish Government schools and provide no assistance to loafers.
38 posted on 07/11/2002 7:43:06 AM PDT by Khepera
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