A Montgomery County Middle School teacher had a 13-year-old girl escorted from the classroom after she refused to say the Pledge of Allegiance in clear violation of federal law.
Since 1943, it has been clear that children cannot be forced to say the pledge.
The school has apologized, but I am equally concerned about a position taken with the parents that has not been denounced by the school: that the school would refuse to meet with the parents if they brought an attorney. The family said that the school was adamant that, if a lawyer was present, they would not agree to a meeting. It is an outrageous policy designed to force people to forego legal counsel and I would like to know the legal and policy basis for such a rule.
For the full story, click here.
They might talk about me but they write and sing songs about you.
Sorry 30 I stepped away for a bit. My Mom in Law is good I’m in freezing Florida, you know where 200 manatees have died in the last thirty days because they can’t take the global warming. I think they will be glad to hear that January was the hottest month on record according to the satellite measurements. Febuary will be the second.
Slarti:
Evil is hard to define. Some people are crazy and do evil things but then so do sane people. Look at the Nazi’s, they weren’t crazy in a clinical sense. They were actually pretty lame, just really average people. They say Albert Spere was the one of the smartest and supposedly he only had an IQ of about 126. I doubt any had a truly original thought.
They got caught up in group think.
Slarti,
That is a very good question. My personal belief is that most people learn to manipulate the world around them, through reinforcement, to suit their own needs. Hence, if someone is consistently reinforced for ” evil ” type behaviours they learn to use these behaviours throughout life to get what they want. For some children, the only type of reinforcement they receive is for negative behaviour ( ie, a child creates a piece of artwork that gets ignored by their parent(s), but receives punishment for getting a suspension at school for hitting a classmate ). In this scenerio, it would obviously take years of consistent reinforcement for inappropriate/unacceptable behaviours and little or no reinforcement for appropriate/acceptable behaviours to shape an ” evil ” personality.
That being said, there is also no doubt that certain mental illnesses can cause ” evil ” behaviours because of the symptoms that they produce. A person diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia who ” hears ” voices telling him/her that he/she is being persecuted by the world may act out in ” evil ” ways to protect him/herself.
So to answer your question, in terms of what I believe, I would say it is a little of both depending on an individuals background.
AY,
I grew up on Red Leaf Lane, near the Meijer’s at the corner of Coolidge and Lake Lansing roads in the northwest corner of town.
Canadian Eh,
Is evil learned or genetic?
AY,
Fluent in wicked are you?
Canadian Eh,
You are talking my language.
You know BD, I hear they say that compassion is associated with higher intelligences.
Might be time to revisit that theory, huh?
AY,
Truth be known I haven’t an evil bone in my body….although wicked has been known to escape me at times!
Bdaman,
And you don’t forget that I was speaking to you. Do you feel paranoid? Feel like people are talking about you? Well, FYI, they do.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZBbAZVw3_7A&hl=en_US&fs=1&]
And hey, that couple that burned alive in their home…hell, what do they have to complain about?
Least they were warm.
Course like these brilliant scholars pointed out to me on the day of the storm, its just a “little snow”, …so…..someone tell that freakin crybaby with the paraplegic to quit cryin over a little snow and suck it up. Sheesh.
You’d think freezing to death was difficult or something.
Just like goin to sleep…..after the pain dies down.
Canadian Eh,
If ya feel the need to be just a tad wicked come on down. If pure evil, I have an exwife, I know what a woman scorned is like. That is evil.
Buffalo by the way I heard was hit pretty hard. Did you see this from yesterday?
“Thousands still lack power after Northeast storm
By NORMA LOVE, Associated Press Writers Norma Love, Associated Press Writers – 22 mins ago
CONCORD, N.H. – Frustration turned to resignation Saturday for hundreds of thousands of people in the Northeast struggling to survive another day waiting for utility crews to restore electricity after powerful storms socked the region with heavy snow, rain and hurricane-force winds.
The region was left to deal with the fallout of gusting winds that created near-blizzard conditions this week in what was the third strong storm this month for some areas. Parts of New York got more than 2 feet of snow while some areas of coastal New England were drenched with flooding rains.
One man was killed by a falling snow-laden tree branch in Central Park in New York City, and two people in Candia, N.H., died in a house fire caused by improperly using a propane heater to stay warm, fire officials said.
The highest wind reported from the storm was 91 mph off the coast of Portsmouth, N.H. — well above hurricane force of 74 mph. Gusts also hit 60 mph or more from the mountains of West Virginia to New York’s Long Island and Massachusetts.
Frustration was beginning to show on Charlotte Letteney’s face Saturday at Concord High School, one of 24 shelters in New Hampshire. Letteney, 64, of Allenstown, arrived Friday night with her 66-year-old husband, who is a paraplegic, two granddaughters, her grandson-in-law and 6-month-old great-grandson.
The family left their mobile home when the temperature dropped to 46 degrees and Letteney’s hands had gone numb, leaving behind four parrots in covered cages and a couple of days’ worth of food for their dog, Bosco. They have no car — a city van brought them to the shelter — and no way to get home to feed the animals or to let the dog out”
SLARTI,
Where did you live in EL? I have some properties in Lansing, the Twp and Delta.
SLARTI,
No I don’t mind your asking. I’m in the DC area. You?
I worry about my Mother in law, she’s alone in Buffalo. She’s been coupe’d up for three days. Glad to hear the house is O.K. What state are you in if you don’t mind my asking.
You know these progressive and liberal lawyers are so much smarter and soofistykated than us poor ole blue collar bumpkins…with our whiny concerns and such.
Fortunately they’re here for the rest us to lead the way to moral superiority.
Doing fine BDA, thanks for asking. Lost part of the garage roof, no damage to the house. Oh well, that’s what’s insurance for, to be sure.
I’m just glad I’m not among those in New York, NE, WV and elsewhere currently huddled in their homes sans electricity trying to keep warm. So far one husband and wife in NE burned to death in their homes from a portable heater, not to mention the man in Central Park who was crushed to death by a tree branch weighed down by the snow. Lot of damage being done out there right now, and our thoughts and prayers are with those families this evening, as I sit in my well warmed, well lit home practically oblivious to their condition.
But then again, what’s that someone said in here? “People die every day”, and “its only a little snow”.
So why should we care, right?