Standing With Conservative Bloggers Against Kimberlin

I'm rather averse to posting things when I have nothing to contribute to the story.  I try to avoid being part of the echo chamber.

That said, I'm going to just point you to some others who are covering the story of Brett Kimberlin and his campaign of intimidation against Stacy McCain and others in the conservative blogosphere because I think it's important that people know who this guy is and what he's doing.

Start here, with this post by Patterico.  It explains who Kimberlin is and how dangerous he is.

Michelle Malkin has an excellent post on this story, too.

Check Stacy McCain's site, too.  He's now in hiding because of this Kimberlin person.  Stacy's posts can fill in some of the big names that have funded Kimberlin.

Both of these sites have multiple links that you can follow.

Check also Memeorandum for the massive aggregation of stories about this.

And you might note that the mainstream media isn't covering this at all that I can tell.

Like I said, I don't want to be part of the echo chamber, but this is different.  When a man has to take his wife and kids and move out of his home in order to feel safe then something is definitely wrong.

I'm standing with conservative bloggers in outing this guy.

Where is the Common Sense?

The Shreveport Times has a front page story today on a controversy at Airline High School. Read the whole article, but the short version is that on August 31 of this year, members of the FCA (Fellowship of Christian Athletes) distributed (with administrative permission) approximately 1,200 Bibles to students who wanted them during the lunch hour. 

That seems to be about all of the facts we have here.  The rest is a lot of he said/she said stuff:  rumors of students being harassed, Bibles being thrown at students who didn't take them, and so on. There is no corroboration of this.

It appears that the person most offended is not even an Airline student; he's a "former student" who got a text message from someone who told him Bibles were being handed out.  He and another student demanded an investigation from the principal. 

The principal says:

"To this day, not one parent or student that has any affiliation with Airline has complained to my office, and everyone has said the FCA students were passing out material just like any other student organization may do."

Okay so what's the problem?  Why is this front page material?  There are folks in the "comments" section following the article reminding everyone of the separation of church and state and how "religion should not be in the schools!"

And so we've come to this.

There's even a Facebook page with 241 (as of this writing) "Likes" entitled Keep Religion Out of Airline. 

Why not just banish the FCA all together?  Why allow FCA to even exist? 

What of the national See You at the Pole day?  Get rid of that, too? Of course, See You at the Pole is not held during school hours and is entirely student generated.  I assume it is that the Bibles were handed out during school hours that has the anti-religion people so riled.

It's only a matter of time, I guess, before the ACLU jumps in.  In fact, that former student has already contacted them.

The kerfuffle at Airline High School is just an extension of what we've been seeing for years with this school or that one abolishing the pledge because it has the word "God" in it; abolishing prayer before graduations or athletic events, having "HolidayTrees" instead of Christmas trees, no nativity scenes in public squares, no more Ten Commandments at the courthouse, and who can forget the "Spring Spheres" last year?  Just last week a story broke about a CA teacher who docks students 25 points every time they say "Bless You" if someone sneezes.

It seems tolerance is good for everything except for Christians.  In attempting to avoid offending anyone, we've offended everyone. 

Where is the common sense?

Here's Your Sign!

The Burrs get to keep their sign!  Yahoo!!!!!!

The lawsuit against a Bossier City family over a sign supporting their son serving in Afghanistan has been settled.

Corey Burr deployed to Afghanistan in January.  The Burr family put a sign in their yard with his picture and the words "Our son defends our freedom."

Their story drew national attention in July, after the Gardens of Southgate subdivision's Homeowner's Association filed suit against the Burrs, demanding they remove the sign.  The Burrs refused.

As part of the settlement reached with the homeowners' association, the Burrs will be allowed to keep their sign up until their son returns home.  He is due back in March of 2012.  The family says the agreement also allows for a mail-in vote to be held to decide whether to allow military signs throughout the neighborhood.   The HoA's by-laws require 90% approval for changing any by-laws. 

Read the rest.

It's a win!

Silencing Dissent from The White House

Via Hot Air, this is an interesting post from the White House blog (emphasis mine) regarding dissent of the Porkulus bill:

First, we will expand the restriction on oral communications to cover all persons, not just federally registered lobbyists. For the first time, we will reach contacts not only by registered lobbyists but also by unregistered ones, as well as anyone else exerting influence on the process. We concluded this was necessary under the unique circumstances of the stimulus program.

Second, we will focus the restriction on oral communications to target the scenario where concerns about merit-based decision-making are greatest –after competitive grant applications are submitted and before awards are made. Once such applications are on file, the competition should be strictly on the merits. To that end, comments (unless initiated by an agency official) must be in writing and will be posted on the Internet for every American to see.

Third, we will continue to require immediate internet disclosure of all other communications with registered lobbyists. If registered lobbyists have conversations or meetings before an application is filed, a form must be completed and posted to each agency’s website documenting the contact.

Silencing dissent? Seriously? What country did I wake up in? What happened to the First Amendment? Go read Doug Ross - we're "As close to a dictatorship as this country has ever seen."

Do Teachers Have First Amendment Rights at Work?

I find myself getting sucked by into the political realm this morning. As a teacher, politics is sometimes a tricky area. My students often ask me who I am going to vote for and I never tell them. I always tell them, "Oh! I never discuss my politics!" Well, that's just not true - I guess I should say, "I never discuss my politics with students!" I've worked in both Caddo and Bossier parishes and in both we've had to sign an agreement basically stating that we will not "politic" on the job. No posters, no campaign buttons on clothing, no discussions about candidates we favor with students, etc. You get the picture. We're not civil service, but Steve is, and his rules are even more strict. He can't even put a bumper sticker on his private car or a yard sign up. I can at least do that.

In New York the teacher's union has filed suit against this rule under the position that it violates the First Amendment of the teachers. Teacher's unions are almost always for the Democratic candidate. This particular case started when the union wanted members to distribute materials for Obama and sent out an email with instructions on how to do this. Education Department officials soon became involved and now they are to the lawsuit.

I'm a firm believer in the Constitution and in the rights of the people, which does include free speech; but this is conflicting for me too because I don't think I should be pushing my views on impressionable students. I hate the way it happens in college; liberal professors have been brainwashing and indoctrinating students for years (I spent lots of time in college and have seen it.) College is a slightly different story - those students are considered adults. But high school?

Lots of my students have professed an allegiance for Obama and are wearing buttons. Their reasons? Their parents are for him. Other reasons revolve around race; I had one tell me "Because he's a brotha." My point is that many of them do not know why they support him, they just do. I'm sure there are the same examples on the Republican side, too.

In a history class or a civics class I think a teacher would HAVE to discuss this election and it would be very hard to not let your bias in. I'm not certain I could do it! And what about the idiot Florida teacher who wrote the acronym C.H.A.N.G.E. on the white board then wrote out the disgusting "meaning" for it? In a seventh grade classroom?! (He was suspended then moved to an Adult Ed. school.) I guess it is because of people like him that these rules about discussing politics at school must exist. Was that a violation of his free speech? Or can you fire someone for being an idiot?

If the New York union wins its suit and we eventually are all allowed, as teachers, to impose our views on students (and on each other) at work, where will it end? Will students feel intimidated because they don't like your candidate? Will idiot teachers penalize students for having different views? I have one student who refuses to stand for the Pledge each day. He says it makes no sense to pledge a flag and that the people who died for his right to pledge the flag make no difference to him. He said, "People have been dying since the beginning of time." This makes my blood boil but I have to let it go. I cannot make him stand.

Where does it end?