I promise (for my own sake and to those few who actually read this), I won't spend every waking moment on politics and how much Bush needs to go, but it is terribly important people open their eyes. Not just to Bush, but to fundamental religious fanatics. They need to go (hmmm, was there a another set of fundamentalist religious fanatics that caused us some problems in September 2001??) maybe all fundamentalists fanatics are bad?
Why of course we have the right to practice any type of religion or none at all, we also have the freedom NOT to be dominated by them in our government. Leaders can be religious, they just cannot preach or lead with ONLY their religious beliefs.
I have been reading some different articles and speeches (and I do try to read from several sources to avoid too much bias) and have a few things to say on a couple issues that are important to me, and, will be several of many reasons why I will not be voting Republican.
Take education. I am a teacher, and granted, I do not know all there is to know about education issues, but working in classroom and teaching about politics has taught me a thing or two.
Bush, and both Republicans and Democrats passed No Child Left Behind (well, with a goddamn title like that, who is going to vote AGAINST it???). It promises to raise standards and test students.
HOWEVER: Money to schools is drastically short of what is needed, even IF one agrees with excessive testing that is often not connected with the content and is not measuring the whole child's growth and development, usually are not culturally sensitive or sensitive to students with special needs. NCLB increased school funding, but shy by $5.4B. (Jan 2004) Bush said: Teaching to the Test is good, if testing basics. (Feb 2001) I don't even know where to begin here. Hmmm, if the test is 2 + 2 = _? and all we teach them is, "hey kids, 4. Now there's a good number. It takes 2+2 or 1+1+1+1 to get 4. Just remember 4 kids... " I realize that might be a bit dramatic, but hey, its math and its the basics. Get a friggen clue.
Bush has also said that he has a commitment to local control. (Jan 2001) Now how in the hell can states or local districts have local control when the President institutes a federal law that calls for the most massive intrusion into state/local curriculum and pedagogy in history? I don't get it... somebody teach me.
Poor kids can’t read; now is the time to teach them. (Aug 2000)
I can't even begin to touch this one...
Teach values and moral responsibility in schools. (Apr 1998)
I wonder what values these are? Gays are bad, women should stay home and raise babies, abstinence is the ONLY way, a little violation of our privacy is okay, we need to flush out the terrorists!
I agree that respect and responsibility are important for young people to have, but that word "moral" is too often clouded by some extreme religious fanatic... morals and religion are different. Ten Commandments OK in schools for “inherent values”. (Jan 2000)
Again, these values belong to whom? Christians… Never mind the muslims, jews, atheists, Buddhists or ANY OTHER religion that doesn’t hold the 10 Commandments as “inherent values”. I don’t need a fricken piece of paper telling me not to kill… ugh.
Bush calls for constitutional amendment to ban gay marriage. (Feb 2004)
Because the sanctity of marriage is being honoured so much by “Who wants to marry my dad” reality shows and world’s highest divorce rates…hmmm, lets STOP two people from entering into a committed loving relationship and hope they live promiscuous sexual lives and maybe increase the number of one person households (also the highest in the US)
Protect marriage against activist judges. (Sep 2004)
Well, lets see here, the judges are activists if they value the word EQUALITY in the Constitution, but they are not activists when they intervene in an election by the people, they are activist when they honor a women’s life and privacy, but not activists when they take away the civil rights a person accused of crime? The only time a judge is “legislating” from the bench is when the decisions don’t sit well with one’s own views. They all use the same damn document—left up to interpretation. It’s like that thing, what’s it called? The Bible? How come those Protestants and Catholics couldn’t agree on that? Hmm, what happened in the 1500’s, a bit of a schism? 2 groups who both think they are right. There’s a problem there… and just go back further, Abraham… hmm, Jews, Christians and Muslims all derived from the same story, and yet each one thinks they are right!
Education, housing, and hiring must be equal for all. (May 2004)
Here here, lets see it! There’s that equal word, hmmm, I wonder when it will be applied universally?
- Tolerance & equal rights, not gay marriage & special rights. (Oct 2000)
- No gay adoptions; but listens to gay GOP group. (Apr 2000)
- Against gay marriage, but leave it to the states. (Feb 2000)
- No gays in Boy Scouts. (Aug 1999)
- Hate-crime rules don’t apply to gays. (Jul 1999)
Are you seeing a common theme here? I think these types of policies and rhetoric FAILED, the first time, when it was called the Civil Rights Movement.
Remember some of these:
Intermarriage The marriage of a person of Caucasian blood with a Negro, Mongolian, Malay, or Hindu shall be null and void. Arizona
Intermarriage All marriages between a white person and a negro, or between a white person and a person of negro descent to the fourth generation inclusive, are hereby forever prohibited. Florida
Cohabitation Any negro man and white woman, or any white man and negro woman, who are not married to each other, who shall habitually live in and occupy in the nighttime the same room shall each be punished by imprisonment not exceeding twelve (12) months, or by fine not exceeding five hundred ($500.00) dollars. Florida
Education The schools for white children and the schools for negro children shall be conducted separately. Florida
Juvenile Delinquents There shall be separate buildings, not nearer than one fourth mile to each other, one for white boys and one for negro boys. White boys and negro boys shall not, in any manner, be associated together or worked together. Florida
Mental Hospitals The Board of Control shall see that proper and distinct apartments are arranged for said patients, so that in no case shall Negroes and white persons be together. Georgia
Intermarriage It shall be unlawful for a white person to marry anyone except a white person. Any marriage in violation of this section shall be void. Georgia
Barbers No colored barber shall serve as a barber [to] white women or girls. Georgia
Burial The officer in charge shall not bury, or allow to be buried, any colored persons upon ground set apart or used for the burial of white persons. Georgia
Restaurants All persons licensed to conduct a restaurant, shall serve either white people exclusively or colored people exclusively and shall not sell to the two races within the same room or serve the two races anywhere under the same license. Georgia
I will be curious to see how this people's "values and morals" will be viewed in history books.
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