Well Amy, what did you think of this then?

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/06/10/remington-reimer-valedictorian-texas_n_3416113.html

She should be charged with child abuse.

I love how she tries to blackmail him with Christmas presents. The child looks to be around sixteen, not six.

Belief in God through force and the promise of presents... nice. That's EXACTLY what Jesus wanted, lady.

I had a therapist that went crazy when I said I didn't believe in God.

"Well then PPen what do you believe in?"

Me: "Nothing"

"So you think life has no meaning"

"I think there is no God looking out for an individual person anymore than there is a God looking out for an individual ant. "

Her mind almost exploded. She got really offended. I mean REALLY offended.

So you support censorship as long as it's your ox that is getting gored?

The valedictorian earned the right to make his speech. I have the right to ignore it. This differs from bringing in some speaker with whom I disagree, how? At least I'm not paying the valedictorian.

There are a-holes among every flavor of believer (and non-believer).

I'm happy that the a-holes who share my religion scream about boycotting Christmas instead of, say, getting the clan together to behead the apostate.

I disagree that the valedictorian is representing the school. He is the school valedictorian because he made the best grades; he represents himself, not the school.

As such, he can say anything he damn well pleases. If the school doesn't like it, then they need to do away with valedictorian speeches.

There are public morals and etiquette for public institutions.

A valedictorian represents the best of the school, as such he has to follow said protocol. The school is giving them permission to talk on public property, in order to represent the graduating class

I'm sure bad mouthing how terrible all the teachers were wouldn't be allowed either. Or saying how dumb the taxpayers are. Or talk about abortions etc.

If that's what he wants to say, then there's a saying about letting people have enough rope.

The school does not pay him; therefore he is not a representative.

You can tell this is how the bitch handles every situation. Notice the father silently sits there afraid to speak a word. She is very abusive, and hopefully this goes viral enough to publicly shame her.

It's ironic also these people who insist on flouting their religion, usually Chrisstians in our part of the world, when in the Gospel of Mathew Jesus specifically says that prayer should be a most private event, between only you and God.

5 “And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full. 6 But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you. 7 And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words. 8 Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him.

Mathew 6:5-8

"Well then PPen what do you believe in?"

Me: "Nothing"

"So you think life has no meaning."

Like there has to be a god for your life to have meaning. Like you have to be born with "meaning" (whatever that is) stapled to your upper-left-hand corner, like a name tag, put there by an invisible man who lives in the sky.

What a terrifying idea it seems to be for some people, that they might have to get off their own asses, take some initiative, and assign (and for that matter, define) meaning for their own lives.

"I don't eat mutton."

"Oh, so you're a vegetarian."

A valedictorian represents the best of the school, as such he has to follow said protocol. The school is giving them permission to talk on public property, in order to represent the graduating class.

And that's still prior restraint of speech, by a government entity.

Which part of And Congress shall make no law...abridging the freedom of speech do you/the school board/the city/the county/the state/the Feds need me to explain? and per the 14th Amendment, this is an incorporated right, and thus applies to every governmental entity.

Now, if the school board were to say "no valedictorian speeches, we'll bring in paid speechifiers", I'm ok with that. But submitting your speech to be vetted? no, no, no.

That's something communist nations do.

Government-run schools are something communist nations do, IRA, which is the real problem.

Really? I so did not know that England, Scotland, France, Spain, Sweden, etc. were communist countries.

I didn't say they were. Many non-communist countries embrace communist practices. The income tax is another example.

Here you go, Patrick - the list of the 10 planks of communism. I'm not saying anything about which countries are or aren't. That would be hard to do, as I think at least one of the things on this list exists in every country.

1. Abolition of private property in land and application of all rents of land to public purpose.

2. A heavy progressive or graduated income tax.

3. Abolition of all rights of inheritance.

4. Confiscation of the property of all emigrants and rebels.

5. Centralization of credit in the hands of the state, by means of a national bank with state capital and an exclusive monopoly.

6. Centralization of the means of communication and transportation in the hands of the state.

7. Extension of factories and instruments of production owned by the state; the bringing into cultivation of waste lands, and the improvement of the soil generally in accordance with a common plan.

8. Equal obligation of all to work. Establishment of Industrial armies, especially for agriculture.

9. Combination of agriculture with manufacturing industries; gradual abolition of the distinction between town and country by a more equable distribution of the population over the country.

10. Free education for all children in government schools. Abolition of children's factory labor in its present form. Combination of education with industrial production, etc. etc.

Thanks, Pirate. Regarding education, I would say that there ought to be at least some government involvement, otherwise if the learning isn't standardized, and consequently will not compete with the rest of the world.

We need to have certain standards, least we get such wonderful concepts like "intelligent design" taught in our schools.

Thanks, Pirate. Regarding education, I would say that there ought to be at least some government involvement, otherwise if the learning isn't standardized, and consequently will not compete with the rest of the world. -- Patrick at June 11, 2013 5:05 PM

I can see government involvement at a state level, but not higher than that.

The individual states were supposed to be their own laboratories of what worked best and not beholden to a federal standard. BTW have you heard about the Common Core standards that would have kids wearing/using biometric sensors?

Patrick, we need the government to make us competitive with the rest of the world?

If we got our government out of the way (their stellar data collection abilities aside), maybe we would be setting the standards for the rest of the world?

Is there such a thing as a country that has petri dishes of various approaches, each competing with each other?

Though you do make a point about the nutty thumpers. Ye gads. But you're always going to have morons, wherever you go.

Oh, and another thing, learning doesn't have to be standardized to compete with the rest of the world!

In fact, non-standardization of learning can provide a distinct advantage.

Pirate Jo, in a word, BULLSHIT!

We've already seen what happens when learning is not standardized. We have things like the Bible being taught in school, and that the world was created by "intelligent design." Which shows that, no, individual states cannot be trusted to make our educational system competitive.

We've already seen what happens when learning is not standardized. We have things like the Bible being taught in school, and that the world was created by "intelligent design." Which shows that, no, individual states cannot be trusted to make our educational system competitive. -- Patrick at June 11, 2013 7:16 PM

I can't disagree that teaching ID is questionable. But here is the real question, do you really care if your plumber believes in ID or Darwin when he's fixing your leak in your basement?

Just like do you care if your electrician thinks a seven round magazine limit in New York matters when he is putting in a 240 socket for your dryer?

Now going to a college to be a doctor and thinking scourges of god cause disease and not bacteria or viruses is a questionable issue.

"I can't disagree that teaching ID is questionable. But here is the real question, do you really care if your plumber believes in ID or Darwin when he's fixing your leak in your basement?"

One of our best electrical engineers (yes, engineers) is a hardcore "the earth is only a few thousand years old" nut. I have known dozens of these types throughout my entire life and my answer to your question is....no, it doesn't bother me at all. That engineer is intelligent, coherent, detail and job oriented. He will tell you his beliefs and even ask if you are interested in learning more about his Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. If you tell him your not interested that's it and he leaves you be. What is important to me is that he does his job well and gets his projects completed under budget and on time. He was HOME SCHOOLED. He went to college and graduated with a high grade point average in a highly technical degree program. He is not unusual and the idea that because someone is a creationist precludes them from being successful in the modern world is ridiculous and, frankly, bigoted.

A incredible bias has developed in the country against people who can actually do things with their brain engaged with their hands, and their eyes.

The ivory towel intellectual who thinks all will be well with the world if we just put the right words on paper and vote on them, is well on his way to freezing in the dark, if the engineers, plumbers and electricians decide they have had enough of working for peanuts, while the chattering classes wring their hands over carbon credits.

My spelling has improved with the iPad, but it also corrects me in ways I had never imagined or intended.

Seriously though, we have a whole class of people in this country who can no longer distinguish between a symbolic act and a real action. I.e. marching around in a pink ribbon, does not cure breast cancer. Etc. etc. divesting in companies that produce energy does not shame them into producing less of it nor does it do the portfolio any good. And education is not some universal good to be pursued for it's own sake.

Standardizing education for it's own sake does nothing but consolidate power with the unions, and the government, while offering people less of a choice.

If you tell him your not interested that's it and he leaves you be. -- causticf at June 12, 2013 4:43 AM

That is the way you convert people, not by shoving it into someone's face.

Standardizing education for it's own sake does nothing but consolidate power with the unions, and the government, while offering people less of a choice. -- Isab at June 12, 2013 3:23 PM

I'll give this about a +88. It depends on the level of government. And at what level that the free market impinges on the education choices.