The Progressive Autodidact

Speak out on SOPA & PIPA

2012-01-18T00:07:00.000-05:00

The following is censored, in protest of SOPA and PIPA, proposed legislation that gives any corporation and the US government the power to censor the internet–bills that could pass THIS WEEK. To see the uncensored text, and to speak out against internet censorship, visit:http://americancensorship.org/posts/40087/uncensor

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█████ who ███████ the ███████████, who own the █████████ - ███████ and own YOU.

(Now I'd never compel you to sign anything you didn’t want to sign, so if you just want to know what this says, drop me a line at willinghamster@gmail.com and I’ll tell you – but you get the point – everyone should have access to the knowledge and information they seek…) .

Still Here! Still Progressive! Still Learning!

2011-12-22T11:12:00.000-05:00

I was just informed that this blog had been featured by a group somewhere recently, and I'm ashamed that I've fallen behind on my posting - and on the eve of an election year, no less! Mae Culpe! My deepest apologies!

It's just that IRL demands have competed for my time this year. Even a Progressive Homeschooler has to meet work deadlines, pay the bills and care for family. But the fact that PH is still on the radar somewhere has inspired me to freshen things up a bit - so welcome to the new and improved Progressive Autodidact!

It's hard to keep calling myself a Progressive Homeschooler when I'm not doing any homeschooling these days - but I'm certainly still and always learning, so "autodidact" seems to fit the bill quite nicely. I've also moved most of the civic education and engagement links to their own pages, to clear up the side bar clutter.

And I'd like to invite some guest bloggers to help me keep the progressive home fires burning! If you've got some social justice or civic engagement news, insights, thoughts or ideas you'd like to share with PA readers, please drop me a line at wilinghamster at gmail.com and pitch your contribution.

In the meantime, all the best to you and yours during this gallimaufry of holidays and peace and good will to all - It never hurts to keep wishing for that!

Photography is not a Crime!

2011-06-02T14:54:00.000-04:00

We Are All Florida

2011-05-05T15:33:00.000-04:00

“It’s easy to talk about – you know, down at the post office, at the bar – you know, we ought to do this thing,” Florida Senator JD Alexander, R- Lake Wales told his co-legislators in the Senate on Tuesday. “But when you start looking in people’s eyes and understand they are people who live and breathe just like us – I think you all need to think about it very carefully.”

Senator Alexander was talking about Florida’s heatedly debated immigration bill, SB 2040 , that drew immigration groups to Tallahassee by the busload, largely under the leadership of the Florida Immigrant Coalition , with the campaign, “We are Florida.”

Alexander, a citrus grower from Lake Wales originally tasked with leading the bill, came to his change of heart after taking the time to listen to the protesters. “Some members feel some of the lobbying activities are not wonderful, “Alexander told reporters. “Other perhaps are able to understand these are people just like everybody else.”

A watered down version of the bill passed the Senate, and still has to go to the House, but its days may be numbered, thanks to protesters and a Senator who can use his heart as well as his head. Kudos to Senator Alexander for thinking, listening, and taking the time to look in people’s eyes and see that, in fact, We Are All Florida.

Oil'd

2011-04-27T18:07:00.001-04:00

Brooklyn-based animator Chris Harmon shows us a numbers-driven infographic animation illustrating the exact scale of the spill by exploring what could’ve been done with the 205,000,000 (that’s million) gallons that poured into the Gulf.

Read more: http://www.brainpickings.org/index.php/2011/04/27/gulf-oil-spill-animated-infographic/#ixzz1KlPXNVfp Click on the link to see the video.

http://vimeo.com/22655744

Find Your Way - A Citizen's Guide to Making a Difference

2011-04-21T16:49:00.000-04:00

In just under two weeks, the Slotterbacks successfully led a campaign to stop "fracking," a type of gas drilling, in a Pennsylvania Park. Their focused methodology can be applied to a variety of environmental justice efforts. Check out Earth Justice's Citizen's Tip Guide to learn more.

Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill - One Year Later

2011-04-20T17:46:00.000-04:00

One year ago today the Deepwater Horizon off shore oil rig exploded in the Gulf of Mexico, killing 11 workers, injuring scores more and hemorrhaging 5 million barrels of oil that contaminated nearly 700 miles of coastline. (Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill by the Numbers).

Lest we completely forget, and think something like this won't happen again, know that 11 new deepwater and 49 shallow water drilling permits have been issued over the last year. (Offshore drilling: Slow comeback after BP ) . That's less than before the Deepwater Horizon accident, but CNN reports that "Most Americans support increased offshore drilling. According to a recent CNN poll, 69% are in favor of expanding the practice, up from 49% right after the spill. "

"The Only Chains that Exist are in Your Mind."

2011-04-19T10:48:00.000-04:00

"You were born free. You will live free. You will die free. [At least if you're in the Western Hemisphere...] You’re allowed to make a scene. You’re allowed to scream for joy. You’re allowed to complain. You’re allowed to cry. You’re allowed to love people. You’re allowed to hug people. …We’re starting to forget just how divine and special we are as human beings. Every single one of you is the only example of you that will ever exist. There’s not a single authority in this world…who can tell you how to behave at any time, any place or anywhere. You are free. You will live free. You will die free. The only chains that exist are in your mind. "

"Everything is Okay 1 (Corporate Property)" provides some good viewing, too. See more videos by the Love Police at http://www.youtube.com/user/cveitch

TED Talk - Dave Meslin: The Antidote to Apathy

2011-04-14T11:23:00.000-04:00

This recent TED Talk has relevance to ongoing discussions in FL about legislative issues and how to respond to them. If we want the most independent learning options possible, as free as they can be of others' control, then we have to be independent in the conduct of our learning choice - free of others'funding, and free of others' agendas. Being personally educated about legislation that may, or may not, affect us is hugely empowering and good for all learning choices and for maintaining the freedoms we enjoy. There are some obstacles that can discourage civic engagement, as Dave Meslin points out, but we can work together to dismantle them and retake a place in our own governance.

UTERUS!

2011-04-07T20:00:00.001-04:00

Creative Commons - Attribution-NonCommercial-NonDerivs license

Just thought I'd get in on the action. If you have no idea what I'm talking about, you probably don't live in Florida. Read on:

Democrat Chastised for Saying Uterus on House Floor (really!) and
The Uterati Strikes Back

The ACLU and others are playing along. Now you can incorporate your uterus (since businesses presumably face less regulation than women!) or join the Uterus Facebook page

Seriously, if Susannah Randolph (wife of the Congressman who shared her remark about incorporating her uterus to keep it safe from government oversight) really does start a U-PAC, I'm joining!

Save Our Shores Video Contest: No Offshore Drilling

2011-03-30T10:10:00.000-04:00

From the Save Our Shores website:

We need your help to stop offshore oil drilling from becoming a reality just 3 miles from Florida's beaches. To educate people about the destructive potential of offshore drilling and the potential consequences to Florida's marine environment and coastal economy, Save Our Shores! Florida (SOS!) is looking for video submissions in the following category:

A 30 second video that is usable as a TV public service announcement.

Two winning videos will be chosen. The winners' videos will be featured on the SOS! website, and will air on television stations across the state starting this summer.

Entries must be received by Earth Day, April 22, 2011. The contest winners will be notified via e-mail and announced to our Facebook group.

We are looking for videos that convey the urgency of preventing Florida's coastal areas from being opened to offshore oil and gas exploration and drilling.

Visit http://www.sosfla.org/2011/02/video-contest-no-offshore-drilling.html for details and to enter.

Earth Hour 2011 - Saturday, March 26, 8:30 PM

2011-03-26T12:01:00.000-04:00

Statement of the Attorney General on Litigation Involving the Defense of Marriage Act

2011-02-24T11:36:00.000-05:00

Department of Justice

Office of Public Affairs

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Wednesday, February 23, 2011

WASHINGTON – The Attorney General made the following statement today about the Department’s course of action in two lawsuits, Pedersen v. OPM and Windsor v. United States, challenging Section 3 of the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), which defines marriage for federal purposes as only between a man and a woman:

In the two years since this Administration took office, the Department of Justice has defended Section 3 of the Defense of Marriage Act on several occasions in federal court. Each of those cases evaluating Section 3 was considered in jurisdictions in which binding circuit court precedents hold that laws singling out people based on sexual orientation, as DOMA does, are constitutional if there is a rational basis for their enactment. While the President opposes DOMA and believes it should be repealed, the Department has defended it in court because we were able to advance reasonable arguments under that rational basis standard.

Section 3 of DOMA has now been challenged in the Second Circuit, however, which has no established or binding standard for how laws concerning sexual orientation should be treated. In these cases, the Administration faces for the first time the question of whether laws regarding sexual orientation are subject to the more permissive standard of review or whether a more rigorous standard, under which laws targeting minority groups with a history of discrimination are viewed with suspicion by the courts, should apply.

After careful consideration, including a review of my recommendation, the President has concluded that given a number of factors, including a documented history of discrimination, classifications based on sexual orientation should be subject to a more heightened standard of scrutiny. The President has also concluded that Section 3 of DOMA, as applied to legally married same-sex couples, fails to meet that standard and is therefore unconstitutional. Given that conclusion, the President has instructed the Department not to defend the statute in such cases. I fully concur with the President’s determination.

Consequently, the Department will not defend the constitutionality of Section 3 of DOMA as applied to same-sex married couples in the two cases filed in the Second Circuit. We will, however, remain parties to the cases and continue to represent the interests of the United States throughout the litigation. I have informed Members of Congress of this decision, so Members who wish to defend the statute may pursue that option. The Department will also work closely with the courts to ensure that Congress has a full and fair opportunity to participate in pending litigation.

Furthermore, pursuant to the President ’ s instructions, and upon further notification to Congress, I will instruct Department attorneys to advise courts in other pending DOMA litigation of the President's and my conclusions that a heightened standard should apply, that Section 3 is unconstitutional under that standard and that the Department will cease defense of Section 3.

The Department has a longstanding practice of defending the constitutionality of duly-enacted statutes if reasonable arguments can be made in their defense. At the same time, the Department in the past has declined to defend statutes despite the availability of professionally responsible arguments, in part because – as here – the Department does not consider every such argument to be a “reasonable” one. Moreover, the Department has declined to defend a statute in cases, like this one, where the President has concluded that the statute is unconstitutional.

Much of the legal landscape has changed in the 15 years since Congress passed DOMA. The Supreme Court has ruled that laws criminalizing homosexual conduct are unconstitutional. Congress has repealed the military’s Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell policy. Several lower courts have ruled DOMA itself to be unconstitutional.

Section 3 of DOMA will continue to remain in effect unless Congress repeals it or there is a final judicial finding that strikes it down, and the President has informed me that the Executive Branch will continue to enforce the law. But while both the wisdom and the legality of Section 3 of DOMA will continue to be the subject of both extensive litigation and public debate, this Administration will no longer assert its constitutionality in court.

Additional Information :

ACLU

Repeal DOMA

Windsor Vs. The United States

DOMA Watch

Enough is Enough!

2011-01-25T10:14:00.000-05:00

Take the Sufficiency Pledge - Enough for All:

Happy Life, Happy Planet, Just World - Sufficiency is the freedom to have enough, to do enough, to be enough, to care for ourselves and the world we share. - Global Sufficiency Network

VOTE!

2010-10-27T13:55:00.000-04:00

So I've been out of touch for a while - real life called, and writing deadlines and family. But it's election time (as if you couldn't tell from the onslaught of silly campaign ads), and time to get down to the business of separating fact from fiction (as much as possible) and trying to make some educated election decisions.

To that end, I've pulled my four favorite civic engagement resources to highlight here:

Project Vote Smart - by State: http://www.votesmart.org/mystate_summary.php
Open Congress: http://www.opencongress.org/
ACLU Congressional Scorecard: http://action.aclu.org/site/VoteCenter?page=voteList
Politifact: http://www.politifact.com/

Of the four, I prefer Project Vote Smart, with its clean, comprehensive profiles of candidates and issues, and considerable background reference links. You can also find a big collection of civic engagement and education links and resources on the menu bars to the left and right.

So good luck, and vote carefully out there!

PHS

High School Valedictorian Speaks out Against Education System

2010-08-08T18:09:00.000-04:00

"...This part of my life is over, and I want to make sure that no other child will have his or her potential suppressed by powers meant to exploit and control. We are human beings. We are thinkers, dreamers, explorers, artists, writers, engineers. We are anything we want to be – but only if we have an educational system that supports us rather than holds us down. A tree can grow, but only if its roots are given a healthy foundation.

"For those of you out there that must continue to sit in desks and yield to the authoritarian ideologies of instructors, do not be disheartened. You still have the opportunity to stand up, ask questions, be critical, and create your own perspective. Demand a setting that will provide you with intellectual capabilities that allow you to expand your mind instead of directing it. Demand that you be interested in class. Demand that the excuse, "You have to learn this for the test" is not good enough for you. Education is an excellent tool, if used properly, but focus more on learning rather than getting good grades." - Erica Goldson, Valedictorian, Coxsackie-Athens High School, New York

Full text of Erica Goldson's Valedictorian speech is here.

BP's oil now oozing out from Beach sand in Louisiana & more

2010-08-05T21:10:00.001-04:00

It ain't over - nor will it be as long as there are oil rigs in the Gulf of Mexico -

Pharyngula Fallacies

2010-08-04T12:10:00.001-04:00

Biologist PZ Myers, the voice behind the science blog, Pharyngula, may not be as evolved as he thinks he is, given his poorly developed opinion about homeschooling. In the aptly titled, "I am the wrong person to answer this email," Myers says, among other things:

"This is one of the big problems of homeschooling: for every good, science-oriented parent, there are dozens or hundreds who buy into the awful, horrible, no-good nonsense peddled by Ken Ham and other creationists."

He then asks," What can be done in the short term to protest damning choices like bringing Ham in to speak to a convention, and what can be done in the long run to get better quality science into homeschool programs? That last one will be a real challenge, given that my impression of the majority of homeschoolers is that they're doing it specifically to indoctrinate their kids in a specific conservative Christian ideology."

There are SO many places to go with this! I'll start with the obvious:

An opinion titled "I am the wrong person to answer this email," followed by a series of ignorant generalizations, is definitely a good way to support a thesis. Point made.

Weighing in like God over Sodom and Gomorrah with his observation that "for every good, science-oriented parent, there are dozens or hundreds who buy into the awful, horrible, no-good nonsense peddled by Ken Ham and other creationists," Myers overlooks the corollary that for every for every good, science-oriented *public-school* family, there are thousands more who buy into creationist nonsense, as well. And worse yet, many of them are on the school board! Witness Texas, for one.

Myers thinks homeschooling - the practice of free, unfettered access to knowledge of all kinds, at all times, for all types of children -- should be illegal, without taking into account the latest research being done on Free Choice Learning and Informal Education, to name just a couple of studies that explore large scale applications of the learning style home educators have practiced for decades. But more to Myers' point, there are more private schoolers than homeschoolers, and many of them attend religiously conservative institutions. Should private schools be illegal?

The fact is, however, that there are thousands of secular homeschoolers -- a lot in a practice that only numbers a couple of million, and above and beyond the secular homeschoolers are thousands more home educators who may hold religious views but teach at home for the sake of knowledge alone.

Check out:

Homeschooling Freethinkers
Secular Homeschool
UU Homeschoolers
The Denim Jumper
Atheist Homeschool (A Non Prophet Website)

"...what can be done in the long run to get better quality science into homeschool programs?," asks Myers. That last one will be a real challenge, given that my impression of the majority of homeschoolers is that they're doing it specifically to indoctrinate their kids in a specific conservative Christian ideology."

We've got better quality science than most public schools! We have the internet! We have opensource courseware from MIT and others. In Florida, we have Florida Virtual School - the state's online public school. And most of us have access to dual enrollment, where our high school aged children can take college classes.

So Myers is right on one thing - he's definitely the wrong person to answer the email to which he was responding. In fact, his response was quite creationist-like -- reactionary, incendiary and completely lacking in facts (as were several of the comments). If we were to apply the ten questions from Michael Shermer's Baloney Detection Kit to evaluate the value of his observations, he'd lose on all ten counts.

Oh -- and regarding the original question: "What can be done in the short term to protest damning choices like bringing Ham in to speak to a convention, and what can be done in the long run to get better quality science into homeschool programs?"

Absolutely nothing! Others could just as easily ask, "What can be done in the short term to protest damning choices like bringing PZ Myers in to speak to a convention, and what can be done in the long run to get better quality science opinions into homeschool programs?"

People are free to host whatever kind of conventions they want, inviting whomever the majority of their constituents want to hear. LIFE Fest 2010, in Florida, will feature a variety of secular education resources, workshops and information.

If secularists really want to solve the problem of poor science education in America, look in the mirror. Go write some curriculum for use in homeschools if you feel it's that big of an issue. Mentor a community based science, math or tech club that welcomes everyone. Since homeschoolers learn out in the community, work to support more community science!

And for the Phoenix homeschooler -- there are plenty of secular homeschooling resources in AZ. Check out UU Homeschoolers' Directory of Inclusive Groups . Several serve the Phoenix area.

In a later post,titled "Belief Can Be Dangerous", Myers comments on delusional belief systems that can be "used to justify horrific acts against others."

Acts like saying that the educational choices of others should be taken away because you don't believe in them, and can only cite generalized, unsubstantiated, fallacious arguments to support that contention? Delusional belief systems, whether they're religious, political or social, have always been used to justify horrific acts against others.

The real trick is being self-honest enough, and self-aware enough, to know when we've become victims of our own beliefs, which for secularists can often consist of the arrogant belief that we can't fall victim to delusional belief systems.

If we really want to improve the American appetite for sound science, we need to work together, at all levels, to make science accessible, exciting, interesting, and engaging, in schools and in our communities. Pitting secularists against one another, simply because of how we choose to learn, undermines the solid, common ground of good science and the goal of an informed and educated public that I think we all seek.

Letting the Sun Shine In with Sunshine Review

2010-07-28T15:18:00.001-04:00

http://sunshinereview.org

Here's a great resource for the civically minded: Sunshine Review -

Sunshine Review is a non-profit organization dedicated to state and local government transparency. The Sunshine Review wiki collects and shares transparency information and uses a "10-point Transparency Checklist" to evaluate the content of every state and more than 5,000 local government websites. Sunshine Review collaborates with individuals and organizations throughout America in the cause of an informed citizenry and an accountable government.
http://sunshinereview.org/

Fellow Sunshine State residents get some sunshine at : http://sunshinereview.org/index.php/Florida and can join the Florida Project for regular updated information.

Carl Safina on CNN: Oil catastrophe wasn't just an accident

2010-07-28T11:51:00.001-04:00

An editorial by Carl Safina:

(CNN) -- The blowout is stopped. The oil disaster that began with an explosion 100 days ago has not ended by any means. But we seem to be seeing a murky ending to the beginning of the crisis.

...No one knows whether the seafood and tourism and fisheries will be clean and healthy again next year or in a decade.

We should be willing to learn some lessons.

One is that this catastrophe wasn't just an accident. It was the result of reckless corner-cutting by the oil company and scandalously compromised oversight by the government. As U.S. Rep. Henry Waxman, D-California, observed, "BP appears to have made multiple decisions for economic reasons that increased the danger of a catastrophic well failure."

Visit http://edition.cnn.com/2010/OPINION/07/28/safina.oil.lessons/index.html?iref=24hours#fbid=22e7t8rcxto to read the entire article.

Peace through Music: The Voice Project

2010-07-26T14:14:00.000-04:00

Learn more about the Voice Project at http://voiceproject.org/

Speaking Out Made Easy!

2010-07-22T17:49:00.002-04:00

Annoyed by what happened during the so-called Special Session July ~~21st~~ 20th? Ticked off that you won't have a voice on the issue of continued drilling in the Gulf of Mexico? Insulted, offended, outraged by your legislators complete self-absorption and failure to remember they serve the people and not their own personal agendas? Want to do something?

Well, here's the list of all the representatives who voted against Floridians this week, along with their direct email addresses, so you don't have to go through that time consuming process of writing each representative, one at a time, through the online form at http://www.myfloridahouse.gov/

If you're among the outraged, why not drop your representative a line, if he or she is on the list, and let your representative know how you feel about being dismissed and having your tax dollars wasted on petty posturing? Better yet, why not drop them ALL a few lines?
________________

In correcting the date, it occurred to me that watching the July 20th Special Session might be instructive, and possibly provide a good muse for letter writers:

http://streams.leg.state.fl.us/archive/MBR/H_HSES_2010_07_20_8041.asx

And here's a list of the representatives supporting the Special Session: http://drop.io/fxph01t

Save Our Shores - Vote Out Dismissive Legislators!

2010-07-21T10:11:00.000-04:00

Save Our Shores, source of the picture at left, taken at the rally at the State capitol today that they led, provides not only a list of the 67 legislators who stood against Florida citizens, but identifies their districts and the counties they (are supposed) to serve.

Save Our Shores' assessment of the today's failed special session:

"We feel that the Florida Legislature wasted taxpayer time, money, and effort on political grandstanding, making the issue about the governor when it was really about the voters right to decide what is best for us and our beaches. Their attempt to punish the governor for internal partisan issues took precedence over their duty to represent the will of their constituents. Because of them, Big Oil has claimed yet another victory in the state of Florida."

How could our "representatives" look out upon the hundreds of people who traveled to Tallahassee , representing the thousands more whom they serve, and dismiss us so readily?

I suppose we shouldn't be surprised (and I'm not really - just really disappointed) - this is the same legislature that's completely eviscerated the PSC and attempted to wheedle amendment 7 onto the November ballot to neutralize amendments 5 & 6, among other things.

Both of these recent actions do essentially the same thing adjourning the special session did - they take power away from the people. It's time to take it back.

Florida Legislature Serves Big Oil, Not Florida Residents

2010-07-20T20:52:00.001-04:00

The Florida Audubon (and other outraged citizens and groups) reports on the travesty of a Special Session that wasn't held today:

Rather than consider the measure, the House decided it would rather not let the people vote. In a strategy described by some as "gavel and go," the House convened and a majority voted to adjourn without taking up the constitutional amendment resolution. See how your representative voted here (a "yes" vote was a vote to adjourn the session without considering the drilling ban amendment. "No" votes wanted the issue to be heard.) [I've also appended the list as a jpg at left]

The Florida Senate convened shortly before the House adjourned, discussed the issue briefly and also voted to adjourn without considering the matter. Senators including Paula Dockery (R-Lakeland), Mike Fasano (R-New Port Richey), and bill sponsor Alex Villalobos (R-Miami) dissented that the public deserved for them to vote on the constitutional amendment, even if it could not be placed on the ballot without House concurrence. Nevertheless, the Senate voted to adjourn without a vote on the drilling ban.

According to the Times Buzz, "The Florida Senate voted 18-16 to end Gov. Charlie Crist’s special session on oil drilling after a contentious debate that pitted Republicans against Republicans.

"Sen. Alex Villalobos, who filed the drilling ban bill, made a motion to end the Senate session after learning that the House had already adjoined. "I can’t prevail because they left," he said."

Speaking with respect to my own representative, I'm proud that Kevin Ambler , a Republican able to look beyond party lines for this vital issue, voted no, against adjourning.

House Speaker Larry Cretul's response to my letter (and no doubt countless other letter writers) urging him to please allow a vote to go through, rings more hollow and disingenuous now than it did when I first received it: "Your input is vitally important to me, and you can be sure my staff and I will take it to heart."

What heart? Larry Cretul's heart is self-serving, working only towards his own ambitions and personal agenda, and not the needs of state citizens he purports to serve.

I am angry! I have no plans to give up my voice on this issue, and I urge others to continue speaking out as well. The Legislature works for us, and in November, when incumbents are wooing their constituents, I'll be out there with a lot of other angry Floridians, helping voters remember how their representatives didn't trust them to make their own decisions about our shared future. Remember that as the tar balls keep washing up on the beach.

Tell Larry Cretul to Let Floridians Vote on Offshore Drilling!

2010-07-16T13:52:00.001-04:00

House Speaker Larry Cretul stands as a major threats to next week's Special Session efforts to put a ban on oil drilling in the Gulf of Mexico to the voters in November. In "Florida Legislature session on oil-drilling ban in jeopardy, " the Herald-Times reports:

House Speaker Larry Cretul, R-Ocala, called the drilling ban ``symbolic and perhaps even smoke and mirrors,'' and would not say whether he would let members vote.

``Whether it gets to the floor or not, who knows?'' Cretul said in an interview. ``I suspect we'll have a lot of lengthy debate about that.''

As speaker, Cretul has life-or-death control over legislation. In a memo to legislators, he said: ``You can expect your stay to be very short next week.''

Crist said the House would be ``stunningly short-sighted'' to thwart a referendum on offshore drilling, and he warned the House that some members would suffer politically in November as a result.

``Who in their right mind would argue that the people shouldn't have a right to vote on this?'' Crist asked. ``It's an unconscionable position.''

Read the complete story at : http://www.miamiherald.com/2010/07/16/1732883/special-session-on-oil-drilling.html#ixzz0truuvMYP

And if you feel you should have a voice in Florida's environmental and economic future, tell Mr. Cretul how you feel at http://www.myfloridahouse.gov/sections/Representatives/details.aspx?MemberId=4264&SessionId=42 or via the Save our Shores Petition

Gov. Crist calls special session on possible drilling ban - July 20-23

2010-07-10T23:35:00.001-04:00

As reported in KeysNet:

Gov. Charlie Crist said Thursday that he will call a special session of the Florida Legislature July 20 to 23 to consider a resolution to revise the state Constitution with a permanent oil-drilling ban in state waters.

"Recent events have conclusively shown the magnitude of damage oil spills can cause to ecosystems and communities in Florida," Crist said.

The BP Deepwater Horizon oil-spill disaster spurred many oil opponents in Florida to seek the amendment.

"The Gulf Oil disaster and its harmful consequences is a stark example of why Florida's leaders must protect our state by approving a constitutional ban on oil drilling in Florida jurisdictional waters," said Eric Draper, Audubon of Florida's executive director.
If approved, the constitutional amendment would be on the Nov. 2 ballot.

Sure, maybe it's just posturing for his Senate run, but it can turn to Florida's advantage. Even with the drilling moratorium overturned, sentiment is running strongly against oil drilling. A recent Pew Research Center poll reported growing opposition to offshore oil drilling:

"The survey finds further evidence that the disaster has undermined public support for increased offshore drilling for oil and gas in U.S. waters. Just 44% favor increased offshore drilling, down 10 points since early May and 19 points since February. A majority (52%) now opposes more offshore drilling."

And just this week, on the heels of the Obama administration's drilling moratorium being overturned yet again, the U.S.Department of the Interior pushed back:
"The department said it intends to issue a new moratorium and on Friday stood by its decision that the ban was necessary to ensure safety in the exploratory drilling.

"In a statement, the department noted the court recognized that U.S. Interior Secretary Ken Salazar can seek a stay on an emergency basis in the event that an operator seeks to resume deep-water drilling activity in the Gulf.

“We continue to believe that it is not appropriate to drill new deep-water wells in the Gulf until we can be assured that future drilling activity can be conducted in a safe and environmentally responsible manner,” the statement said."

If something at all good can come from the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, it may be that there has never been a better time than now to catch the offshore oil drilling ban wave. Now is our best chance to tell the Florida Legislature to give Floridians the opportunity to ban oil drilling in the Gulf of Mexico, Constitutionally and forever!

Contacts - write the Governor and your legislators directly!
Governor Crist: http://www.flgov.com/contact_governor
Locate and contact your Senator
Locate and contact your Representative

Others supporting drilling ban:
Repower America
Save Our Shores
Stop Offshore Drilling
Environment Florida
Protect Florida's Beaches
Energy Action Coalition
Ban New Offshore Drilling - The Petition Site
350.0rg - On Facebook as "1,000,000 Strong Against Off-shore Oil Drilling"
US Climate Action Network

Nestwatch.org Call for Data

2010-07-10T11:52:00.000-04:00

Birds passing through the Gulf region could carry contamination with them, creating an "oil shadow" of declines in bird reproduction hundreds of miles away from the coast. NestWatch accepts data for all North American birds. We are asking you to focus on these five backyard bird species and other migratory birds that may use the Gulf during some part of their annual cycle and could potentially be affected by the oil spill.

Visit Nestwatch.org to see how you can help.

BP Makes Me Sick

2010-07-09T11:40:00.000-04:00

Just Means reports on the BP Makes Me Sick Coaltion , "spearheading a Tea Party-style, "grassroots" political movement aimed at forcing BP to make clean-up workers wear respirators, so as to protect their health as they work along the Gulf Coast."

I think it's time for a GREEN Tea Party! The idea was mentioned at the St. Petersburg forum last month and with misleading media reports lauding BP being "ahead of schedule" with their relief wells (aren't they nearly three months behind schedule in avoiding the accident altogether?!) and the deepwater drilling moratorium struck down yet again, the BP Makes Me Sick Coalition may well speak for all of us.

Drop me a line if you're ready for a GREEN Tea Party movement!

Citizen scientists needed to track oil damage–by phone

2010-07-01T19:44:00.000-04:00

From Science for Citizens:

An important new citizen science project turned up in our database the other day—and it urgently needs volunteers.

MoGO, short for Mobile Gulf Observatory, is an iPhone app that enlists volunteers to record and report the damage of the Gulf Coast oil spill on the region’s wildlife and environment. It was created by researchers at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, who developed it several weeks ago in a hurry. They submitted it to our Project Finder in order to quickly spread the word and encourage people in the Gulf Coast region to download the free app and start using it.

MoGO enables iPhone users to photograph and geotag oil spill problems in a variety of categories: oiled, injured, and dead marine and coastal wildlife, including fish, birds, sea turtles, and marine mammals; tar balls on beaches; oil slicks on water; and oiled coastal habitats. Users can add brief descriptive notes to their photos before submitting them. For crisis situations that may demand immediate responses, MoGO offers users the option to connect to a wildlife rescue hotline.

Visit http://mogo.cs.umass.edu/ for more information.

Be Part of "One Day on Earth"

2010-06-28T19:49:00.001-04:00

One Day on Earth - Original Trailer from One Day On Earth on Vimeo.

Gulf Coast State Leaders Give up on Real Solutions, Throw Hands up in Prayer

2010-06-26T13:28:00.004-04:00

Sunday, June 27, is a Day of Prayer in Louisiana, Alabama,Texas and Florida, as our clueless government leaders feel compelled to spend public service time and our tax dollars addressing the oil spill with incantations rather than actual hard hitting, decisive action and legislation.

In a stunning nod to the Middle Ages, LA State Senator Robert Adley said, “Thus far the efforts made by mortals to try to solve the crisis have been to no avail. It is clearly time for a miracle for us."

The two page LA Senate Resolution that kicked things off last Sunday reads, in part:

WHEREAS, in times of great distress and need, we, the people of this land, have always turned to private, public, and corporate prayer; and

WHEREAS, a Statewide Day of Prayer provides each of us with a powerful opportunity to humble ourselves before our Almighty God; and WHEREAS, the citizens of Louisiana are urged to pray for a solution to this crisis, each according to his or her own faith, to pray for God's continued guidance and protection, and to join in the observance of a day of prayer, seeking God's blessings upon both our state and nation; and

WHEREAS, although there exists a great diversity of types of prayer, prayer is always about calling upon God, and prayers woven together through common effort can themselves become an awesome and powerful force; and

WHEREAS, a day of unified, intercessory prayer, by and for those people living throughout the regions around the Gulf of Mexico, to pray for an end to this environmental emergency, sparing us all from the destruction of both culture and livelihood; and

WHEREAS, untold millions of people, not only in regions surrounding the Gulf of Mexico, but throughout the world, will be affected by this event; a crisis that remains unaffected by the efforts of mortal man; and

WHEREAS, we now turn our attention and our prayers to the present circumstances and humble ourselves before Almighty God.

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Senate of Legislature of Louisiana does hereby urge the citizenry of the state and all people of faith throughout the United States and the world to give personal thanks, each according to his faith, for the blessings we have received, for God's continued guidance during these trying times, and for God's grace to bring an end to the devastation.

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Senate of Legislature of Louisiana calls upon the people of Louisiana to join each other and the entire community that is linked by the Gulf of Mexico in this unified expression of faith and hope.
The Governor of LA, in an even more long winded declaration, figured a second day of prayer wouldn’t hurt and proclaimed June 27 as a state day of prayer, as well. The Governors of Alabama and Texas followed suit.

Alabama Live pointed out, “The proclamation dodges the Constitutional prohibition over government attempting to establish religion by encouraging "individuals to pray on their own or with others, according to their own faith, in an expression of faith and hope."”

Not to be outdone, the Lt. Governor of Florida, Jeff Kottcamp, joined in as well, going so far as to invoke the name of Ronald Reagan in our Proclamation, along with Ben Franklin, Sam Adams, John Hancock, the entire Continental Congress and included some skewed history lessons. To his credit, Lt. Governor Kottcamp provides far more guidance in exactly what Florida’s citizenry should be imploring of God, crowning our government approved supplications with a request for “Divinely inspired solutions”. :

"Whereas, we find ourselves in the midst of the greatest man-made environmental disaster in our history; and

"Whereas, it is our heritage that as a people we have been taught not only to publicly acknowledge God for the many blessings bestowed on us but also that we are to turn to Him and seek His aid and assistance in times of distress and calamity; and

"Whereas, President Ronald Reagan affirmed not only that "Prayer is the mainspring of the American spirit, a fundamental tenet of our people since before the Republic was founded" but also that "Prayer is today as powerful a force in our Nation as it has ever been. We as a Nation should never forget this source of strength";

"Whereas, President Reagan reminded us that we "have always turned to prayer at times of crisis. We recall the moving story of George Washington kneeling in the snow at Valley Forge to ask for divine assistance when the fate of our fledgling Nation hung in the balance. And Abraham Lincoln tells us that on the eve of the Battle of Gettysburg, ‘I went into my room and got down on my knees in prayer.' Never before, he added, had he prayed ‘with as much earnestness"; and

"Whereas, President John Adams declared that "a deep sense and a due acknowledgment of the governing providence of a Supreme Being" is necessary "to the happiness of individuals and to the well-being of communities" and "that in circumstances of great urgency and seasons of imminent danger, earnest and particular supplications should be made to Him"; and

"Whereas, Benjamin Franklin recalled that "In the beginning of the contest with Great Britain when we were sensible of danger, we had daily prayer in this room for the Divine protection. Our prayers, sir, were heard, and they were graciously answered." Facing new difficulties, he queried, "And have we now forgotten that powerful Friend? Or do we imagine we no longer need His assistance?" He therefore recommended offering up "prayers imploring the assistance of Heaven"

"Whereas, John Hancock declared that not only was it "at all times our indispensable duty devoutly to acknowledge His superintending providence" but also that "especially in times of impending danger and public calamity…to implore His merciful interposition for our deliverance…humbly beseeching Him...to remove our present calamities";

"Whereas, Samuel Adams reminded citizens that "it being at all times our indispensable duty as a people devoutly to acknowledge the superintending Providence of God, [and] especially in times of public calamity to humble ourselves before Him, penitently confessing our sins and imploring His gracious interposition for our deliverance";

"Whereas, the Continental Congress declared that "in the hour of calamity and impending danger…we are peculiarly animated, with true penitence of heart, to prostrate ourselves before our great Creator and fervently to supplicate His gracious interposition for our deliverance"

"Now, Therefore, I, Jeff Kottkamp, Lieutenant Governor of the State of Florida, do herby call for a Day of Prayer on Sunday, June 27, 2010, urging citizens to pray for comfort for the families of those killed in the Deepwater Horizon initial blast; that God would crown with success efforts to stop the flow of oil in the Gulf; that He would interpose to mitigate further damage and strengthen the hands of cleanup crews; that He would sustain those whose livelihood is directly impacted by this tragedy; that He would preserve the health of citizens along the coastal regions; that He would comfort all citizens impacted by the oil spill, reminding us that He is a strong refuge in times of trouble; that He would guide and direct our civil leaders and provide them with wisdom and Divinely inspired solutions to the many complex problems associated with this disaster; and that He would prevent future recurrences of this oil spill."

Great! We'll just "let go and let God." All we have to do now is sit back and wait!

Now seriously, with the deaths of more than 1000 birds, 400+ turtles, and nearly 50 sea mammals currently attributed to the spill, and oil continuing to pour into the Gulf of Mexico at an estimated rate of 60,000 gallons a day – or the equivalent of one Exxon Valdez oil spill every four days – Tropical Storm Alex looming in the Gulf, and no end to this environmental nightmare in sight, prayer might seem the only option left to a helpless people. And for many, many people, prayer is indeed, a sustaining, comforting, meditative, spiritually and emotionally fulfilling act.

But prayer is not a 21st century solution to the crises we face as a society. We are not, in fact, a helpless people: We have able, inventive, resourceful minds and an array of sophisticated tools at our disposal. The psuedoscience of prayer is not one of them, nor should it be an act of local, state or federal government.

How many congressional man-hours went into crafting those official statements of prayer? How much did each proclamation and resolution cost in tax dollars? Surely, that time and money could have been better invested in taking a hard line stand against drilling the Gulf of Mexico, to ensure this never happens again, monitoring BP repair and clean up efforts, and bolstering coastal defenses against incoming oil.

It takes no thought at all to call for a day of prayer. It’s just a feel good statement, a bit of political smoke and mirrors. We don’t need any official proclamation urging people of faith to prayer. That’s not the job of government, but the realm of houses of worship. I don’t want my government urging me to pray, but keeping corporate greed in line, protecting our environment and investing in and supporting clean, renewable energy options for our future.

Pray on your own time, Senators and Governors! Here's the Progressive Homeschooler's Proclamation:

WHEREAS our representatives and congresspeople are paid to represent us politically, not guide us in prayer spiritually;

WHEREAS they are entrusted with upholding the U.S. Constitution and serving the public good,
NOW THEREFORE hear, acknowledge and support citizen calls for decisive action, declaring a moratorium on oil drilling in the Gulf of Mexico, and a permanent end to our suicidal dependence on oil, both foreign and domestic.

God can’t prevent future recurrences of oil spills. Only we can.THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Senate of the Legislature of Louisiana does hereby designate Sunday, June 20, 2010, as a Statewide Day of Prayer for Louisiana and for the population and region surrounding the Gulf of Mexico.

New Orleans Judge Blocks Drilling Moratorium

2010-06-23T12:09:00.000-04:00

In a 22-page opinion, the judge, Martin L. C. Feldman of United States District Court, issued a preliminary injunction against the enforcement of a late May order halting all offshore exploratory drilling in more than 500 feet of water. NY Times: Drilling Ban Blocked; U.S. Will Issue New Order

Citing "potential economic harm to businesses and workers" and the government's apparent inability to justify “a blanket, generic, indeed punitive, moratorium” on deep-water oil and gas drilling, federal judge, Martin Feldman, of the U.S. District Court in New Orleans, and an apparent stock-holder in the Deepwater Horizon firm, Transocean (2009 disclosure form), attempted to block the Obama administration's 6 month moratorium on oil drilling.

Evidently, the predicted cost of $2.2 billion to Florida's economy alone, as well as the loss of 39,000 jobs in the tourism and fisheries industry (Palm Beach Post), isn't justification enough, nor is the immeasurable cost to marine and wildlife habitats.

Interior Secretary Ken Salazar plans to issue a new order imposing a moratorium on deep-water drilling with additional information showing why it is necessary. The White House, according to press secretatry Robert Gibbs, “will immediately appeal” the judge’s ruling to a federal appeals court in New Orleans.

The Progressive Homeschooler concurs with MA Representative Edward J. Markey, who said,“This is another bad decision in a disaster riddled with bad decisions by the oil industry. The only thing worse than one oil spill disaster in the Gulf of Mexico would be two oil spill disasters. This judge’s decision flies in the face of mounting evidence that there are serious safety risks that must be examined with these 33 deep-water rigs before they start drilling again.”

The 57th Day - Time for Change

2010-06-16T18:17:00.000-04:00

On June 26, Hands Across the Sand will host a special Hands Across the Beach to say NO to offshore oil drilling. At the Gulf Oil Spill Community Forum , held at the Palladium in St. Petersburg, and hosted by the Florida Business Network for a Clean Energy Economy , yesterday - the 57th day of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill crisis -- nearly 1000 people came together for a standing room only opportunity to learn more about the Gulf of Mexico oil spill and to hear how they can be part of the long term solution to prevent this from ever happening again.

I join my voice with that of many many others, loudly and with emphasis, in calling for the end of oil drilling, and an end to our dependence on oil, foreign and domestic. Oil is a finite resource. So is our earth. Our health and well being, our livelihoods, in Florida and the Gulf states, and around the nation, depend on the health and well being of our environment. The short term and superficial gratification of cheap oil is not worth the long term economic, social and health costs associated by the degradation of our vital ecosystems. Oil production benefits only oil companies, and trickles down only peripherally to communities and individuals.

In contrast, changing our wasteful ways not only protects and preserves the environment we need to survive, but commensurately benefits families, small businesses, neighborhoods, communities and state economies in the long term. A healthy environment creates a healthy economy through a greater diversity of clean tech and renewable energy production jobs, provides ecotourism and improved and sustained recreational opportunities and all the jobs that go with them, enhances fisheries work and improves the long term outlook for human health.

It's time to do the hard thing, the right thing, and set specific targets for a sustainable future for ourselves, our children and their futures. It's time for Big Oil to stop polluting the future of our nation. Oil lobbyists do not speak for me or my family. I weep for the Gulf of Mexico, for the people of her shores, for the wildlife that was here long before any of us, for the livelihoods lost, for the white sands stained with the ink of greed and short sightedness.

It's time to carpool, walk, ride our bikes, and demand mass transit, renewable energy, and that serves all of us for the long term. Our livelihood is the environment that sustains us, not the oil that pollutes us.

It is time to change our ways.

Oil Spill and Volunteer Info

2010-05-31T12:27:00.000-04:00

From the Florida Master Naturalist program:
_______________________________________________

As the environmental catastrophe referred to as the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill continues to unfold in the Gulf, there may be need for our help. I know there is also great interest in the progress on containing the spill and the efforts to clean up the mess it leaves, which may eventually include shorelines in Florida.

I have waited to send this email to ensure I provide the best and most accurate information available.

For the most accurate and up-to-date information on the spill and containment efforts, please refer to the official website for the Deepwater Horizon Response at: http://www.deepwaterhorizonresponse.com/go/site/2931/

This website has a great deal of information, including daily updates.
To see an image of the approximate extent of the spread of the spill in the Gulf, as reported and prepared by USA Today, go to: http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/oil-spill-map.htm.

Volunteer assistance is needed and the official FLORIDA volunteer response website for the Deep Horizon Oil Spill is through the Governor’s Commission on Volunteerism and Community Service at: http://www.volunteerfloridadisaster.org/

There are many links for various volunteer activities on this website.

Note that a companion website: http://www.1-800-volunteer.org/1800Vol/volunteerflorida/viewEventDetails.do?eventId=31601

Specifies that:

“Volunteers will not be in direct contact with oil or oil-contaminated materials. Oil-contaminated materials will only be handled by trained, paid workers such as Qualified Community Responders (QCR) and not by volunteers. Oiled wildlife will only be handled by trained, contracted professionals. Even though volunteer opportunities with the oil spill are limited, volunteer opportunities in your local community are limitless. Many organizations need support and service now more than ever. The oil spill is bringing communities together, and your volunteer service strengthens local responding groups. Thank you for the time you give now, and the time you will continue to give after the oil spill.”

However, there may be a great deal of assistance needed doing other services, and I encourage you to register.

Additional ways to assist and report important information include:

Reporting oiled wildlife – the FLORIDA hotline to call to report oiled wildlife is: 1-866-557-1401

Reporting oil on the shoreline - the FLORIDA hotline to call to report oiled wildlife is: 1-877-272-8335 (1-877-2-SAVE-FL) or #DEP from your cell phone.

Two documents that provide useful information regarding oil spill reporting can be viewed (and printed) online at:

http://www.volunteerfloridadisaster.org/Deepwater/docs/OilSpillReportingGuide.pdf

http://www.volunteerfloridadisaster.org/Deepwater/docs/OilFactSheet.pdf

Let’s hope the latest efforts to contain the spill are successful and that Florida’s coastal environment is not severely damaged, but let’s also prepare to assist in the clean-up and associated actions to the extent we are able.
Sincerely,
Marty
Martin B. Main, PhD
Professor, Wildlife Ecology and Conservation
Program Leader, Florida Master Naturalist Program (http://www.masternaturalist.ifas.ufl.edu/)
University of Florida
SW Florida Research and Education Center
2685 State Road 29 North
Immokalee, FL 34142
ph: 239.658.3400 fax: 239.658.3469

The Texas Border Wall of Education

2010-05-24T20:40:00.002-04:00

The Texas School Board's recent morphing of the state's social studies standards into largely conservative moral standards isn't all that surprising in light of School Board member Cynthia Dunbar opening prayer (See The Abuse of Heavenly Prayer for Earthbound Politics) :

“Most gracious heavenly Father. We come before you today, and ask that you grant to us the ability not to be anxious for the future, wisdom and understanding for the day, and hearts of gratitude for our past. As we look to our past to guide us, let us reflect on the convictions of those who have gone before us. I believe that nobody can look to the history of our country without realizing that the Good Book and the spirit of the Savior have from the beginning been our guiding geniuses. Whether we look to the first charter of Virginia, or the charter of New England or the Charter of Massachusetts Bay, or the Fundamental Orders of Connecticut, the same objective is present: a Christian land governed by Christian principles.

"I believe the entire Bill of Rights came into being because of the knowledge our forefathers had of the Bible and their belief in it. Freedom of belief, of expression, of assembly, of petition, the dignity of the individual, the sanctity of the home, equal justice under the law, and the reservation of powers to the people. I like to believe we are living today in the spirit of the Christian religion. I like also to believe that as long as we do so, no great harm can come to our country. All this I pray in the name of my lord and savior, Jesus Christ.”

Apparently driven by a greater desire to impose sectarian moral authority than to inspire learning and spread knowledge, the new social studies standards in Texas are substandard by almost any scholarly measure, starting with the lack of historical understanding Dunbar's prayer reveals.

James Madison certainly didn't mince words regarding his view on the impact of Christianity on society. “During almost fifteen centuries has the legal establishment of Christianity been on trial. What have been its fruits? More or less in all places, pride and indolence in the Clergy, ignorance and servility in the laity, in both, superstition, bigotry and persecution." (Memorial and Remonstrance Against Religious Assessments June 20, 1785)

Madison’s original wording of the religious portion of the First Amendment read, “The civil rights of none shall be abridged on account of religious belief or worship, nor shall any national religion be established, nor shall the full and equal rights of conscience by in any manner, or on any pretext infringed.” (Congressional Register, I, 423-37 and Gazette of the US., 10 and 13 June 1789)

Thomas Jefferson's "1802 “Letter to the Danbury Baptist Association":

“…Believing with you that religion is a matter which lies solely between man and his god, that he owes account to none other for his faith or his worship, that the legitimate powers of government reach actions only, and not opinions, I contemplate with sovereign reverence that act of the whole American people which declared that their legislature should make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof, thus building a wall of separation between church and state. …”

is often given as the primary source for the establishment of the separation of church and state view. But Baptist minister Isaac Backus, declared even earlier, in 1773, that when “ church and state are separate, the effects are happy, and they do not at all interfere with each other: but where they have been confounded together, no tongue nor pen can fully describe the mischiefs that have ensued."

Undeterred by the facts of the matter, however, the Texas School Board's new social studies standards have gone on to remove the word "democratic" in descriptions of our society, replacing it with "constitutional republic". (In fact, the US is a both "federal republic" and a "constitutional representative democracy" (Q 76 at USConstitution.net). And diluted the impact of McCarthyism for high schoolers, who will now be required to "...describe how McCarthyism, the House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC), the arms race, and the space race increased Cold War tensions and how the later release of the Venona Papers confirmed suspicions of communist infiltration in U.S. government."

Citizenship studies now call for students to understand the concept of "American Exceptionalism", a subjective "truth" with roots in the belief of divine rights. References to natural law and natural rights have been replaced with "laws of nature and nature's God, unalienable rights." The slave trade has been relabeled the Atlantic Triangular Trade. Heck, proposed changes even call for CE (Common Era) and BCE (Before the Common Era), to be retroactively replaced with the more archaic and ethnocentric AD (Anno Dimini) and BC (Before Christ) .

Ironically, students are also being asked to be able to "identify bias in written, oral, and visual material." Hopefully, they can find it in the material they're being presented.
Saner and more academically inclined heads may prevail, though. A bill has been introduced in California that seeks to protect the nation's largest school system from the parochial Texas Board of Education.
In California Bill Takes Aim at New Texas Standards, the Answer Sheet's Valerie Strauss reports,

"...A new bill introduced in the state Senate by Sen. Leland Yee (D-San Francisco) seeks to ensure that none of the Texas standards are allowed to be used in California in any fashion.Under Yee’s bill, SB1451, the California Board of Education would be required to look out for any of the Texas content as part of its standard practice of reviewing public school textbooks. The board must then report any findings to the legislature and to the secretary of education. "

CA officials say they aren't overly worried about the effects of Texas-sized ignorance leaking west, but Strauss notes, "The intent of the bill is sound, but if in fact there is no chance of any spillover, Yee’s bill would serve only as a rebuke to the Texas board. That it deserves."

Maybe the message will filter over to Texas, through the giant firewall to knowledge they're installing there behind their border wall to protect them against immigrants, that the best way to celebrate freedom isn't to legislate a Celebrate Freedom Week into their social studies standards, but simply to educate freely and fully, every day of every week of the year!

HB 1143 - Ultrasound Amendment - No informed consent by voters

2010-04-30T17:47:00.000-04:00

This just slipped through the House:

"HB 1143 was originally filed as a bill titled "Health Care." It contains a mishmash of funding mandates related to a number of public institutions, including two reckless amendments that put the health and safety of Florida's women at risk. Filed late Tuesday night, both substantive policy-changing amendments restricting access to abortion were adopted, despite never being vetted through a substantive committee, nor being allowed for public comment."

The bill requires that a physician inform a woman seeking an abortion of the "probable gestational age of the fetus, verified by an ultrasound " made at the time of the procedure and paid for by the patient, whether or not she wants to look at it. The images must be "live" and not provided as evaluative results.

She must also be provided with a list of the various stages of fetal development.

It's late in the game, and it's unacceptable at any stage in this bill's development.

Read the full text of the bill

And visit Equality Florida to speak out!

Rusty Not Sharpest Crayon in Box: Limbaugh Spews Nonsense on Oil Spill

2010-04-30T11:16:00.001-04:00

Rusty Sharpe just ain’t – Rush Limbaugh, who got his start in radio with the aforementioned oxymoronic pseudo name, added to his growing and apparently endless collection of ignorant public statements by declaring of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, “The ocean will take care of this on its own if it was left alone and left out there. It’s natural. It’s as natural as the ocean water is.”

The man who “hated school from second grade on” and envied “the guy on the radio” he heard each morning because he “sounded like he was having so much fun. And I knew, when his program was over, he wasn't going to go to school” is the man who has gone on to give us such ignorant on-air gems as:

''This is no different than what happens at the Skull and Bones initiation...I'm talking about people having a good time, these people, you ever heard of emotional release? You ever heard of the need to blow some steam off? '' — on the Abu Ghraib prisoner abuse scandal

''Exercise freaks ... are the ones putting stress on the health care system.'' — June 12, 2009

''The only way to reduce the number of nuclear weapons is to use them. ''

''We're not sexists, we're chauvinists -- we're male chauvinist pigs, and we're happy to be because we think that's what men were destined to be. We think that's what women want. ''

And of course: “There's nothing good about drug use. We know it. It destroys individuals. It destroys families. Drug use destroys societies. Drug use, some might say, is destroying this country. And we have laws against selling drugs, pushing drugs, using drugs, importing drugs. And the laws are good because we know what happens to people in societies and neighborhoods, which become consumed by them. And so if people are violating the law by doing drugs, they ought to be accused and they ought to be convicted and they ought to be sent up.” --Rush Limbaugh TV show (10/5/95) ---

Whoops! - That was before his own misuse of prescription pain killers went public -- and unpunished - in 2003. But I digress…

Clearly, everyone’s entitled to an opinion, however ill-informed. But honestly – declaring a massive oil spill “as natural as the ocean water” is a stretch. Sure, crude oil is as organically sourced as sea water – but its “natural” place is almost seven miles below the surface.

Suggesting that an oil spill “left alone and left out there” will resolve itself, suggests Limbaugh could have used some serious encouragement in the lifelong love of learning department when his loathing of grade school education became evident.

There are these things called “currents” that move things on the surface of the water in at least somewhat predictable patterns, usually and eventually to shore. Perhaps if Limbaugh’s lavish mansion were on a Panhandle beach instead of in Palm Beach – kinda like when drug use affects you personally – he might have a different take on things.

What the oil left alone and left out there will do is what the over 700 million gallons of waste oil entering our oceans every year does, and what the Persian Gulf oil spill of 1991 did when it dumped 240 million gallons of oil near the shores of Kuwait, and what the Exxon Valdez oil did in Alaska, and what it has done and will continue to do – quite naturally -- everywhere oil spills:

It causes shore erosion by saturating sand and gravel to the point where it can’t nurture or hold vegetation;
It’s toxic to coastal wildlife;
It interrupts the food chain, and poisons marine life;
It affects coastal fisheries and commercial fishing ($$$ lost Rusty);
It interferes with recreational water and shore use (more $$ lost– in a bottom line even a poor student like Limbaugh should understand, oil spills hurt the economy);
Coastal property values tank ($$$ again for the intellectually impaired Mr. Limbaugh)

If oil is so “natural” maybe Mr. Limbaugh would like some in his massive pool that he obviously doesn’t use very often. No need to clean it up; it’ll take care of itself on its own.

Wish that were the case for ignorant pundits like Limbaugh, but there doesn’t seem to be anything that can clean up the air pollution he keeps emitting.

Pray for the First Amendment!

2010-04-22T16:57:00.000-04:00

Economy and health care can't trump prayer in schools, or government dollars to churches, apparently (Prayer, religious funding bills find backing in House and Senate) :

"Under a measure sponsored by Wise, teachers would be allowed to pray with children, behavior long frowned upon by opponents who say mixing faith and public schools marginalizes some students. The legislation passed unanimously Tuesday in the Senate's Education PreK-12 Committee, with proponents defending it as a necessary protection of free speech. Versions of the bill (SB 1580/HB 31) have sailed through other committees in both the Senate and House.

"...If approved by three-fifths of the House and Senate, the bill (SJR 2550/HB 1399) would be one of many sweeping changes facing voters on the November ballot. It needs 60 percent of the vote to become law.

The bill amounts to "government-run religion," said Courtenay Strickland, director of public policy at the American Civil Liberties Union of Florida, which organized a news conference against the legislation at the Capitol earlier this week."

The bill is by no means universally loved in religious communities. Groups that have spoken out against the legislation include:

AJC (American Jewish Committee) - Dade/Broward, Palm Beach County, and West Coast Florida Offices, American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Florida, Americans United for Separation of Church and State, the Anti-Defamation League (ADL), Florida AFL-CIO, Florida Alliance for Retired Americans, Florida Alliance of Planned Parenthood Affiliates, Florida Education Association (FEA), Florida Public Interest Research Group (Florida PIRG), Florida PTA, the Interfaith Alliance, the League of Women Voters of Florida, NAACP National Voter Fund, National Congress of Black Women, National Council of Jewish Women (NCJW) - State of Florida Public Affairs Network, People for the American Way, Union for Reform Judaism, and Unitarian Universalist Legislative Ministry of Florida (UULMF). Individual clergy members have also voiced opposition to the measures.

Better than praying for the First Amendment -- speak out for it!

Up from Slavery - There's No Such Thing as a Gold Age of Lost Liberty

2010-04-09T16:09:00.000-04:00

A thoughtful essay on the "Golden Age of Liberty" school of thought, at Reason.com

Has there ever been a golden age of liberty? No, and there never will be. There will always be people who want to live their lives in peace, and there will always be people who want to exploit them or impose their own ideas on others. If we look at the long term—from a past that includes despotism, feudalism, absolutism, fascism, and communism—we’re clearly better off. When we look at our own country's history—contrasting 2010 with 1776 or 1910 or 1950 or whatever—the story is less clear. We suffer under a lot of regulations and restrictions that our ancestors didn’t face.

But in 1776 black Americans were held in chattel slavery, and married women had no legal existence except as agents of their husbands. In 1910 and even 1950, blacks still suffered under the legal bonds of Jim Crow—and we all faced confiscatory tax rates throughout the postwar period.

Read the entire article at http://reason.com/archives/2010/04/06/up-from-slavery/

RDF TV - Baloney Detection Kit - with Michael Shermer

2010-04-08T13:08:00.000-04:00

High School Sings Away Hate Group

2010-04-06T13:02:00.000-04:00

The highest result of education is tolerance. Helen Keller

Law Day Resources

2010-04-06T12:50:00.000-04:00

Law Day is sponsored by the American Bar Association and it is the largest National Celebration of the Rule of Law and the ideals of equality and justice under the Rule of Law. Law Day takes place every May 1st and is celebrated during that week.

Download the Law Day Planning Guide today and get involved. http://www.abanet.org/publiced/lawday/2010_ABA_LD_Guide.pdf

The Crisis of Philosophy

2010-04-05T10:39:00.000-04:00

In The Crisis of Philosophy, in Inside Higher Ed, Philosophy professor Jason Stanley, of Rutgers, observes:

"In the recently announced results of the new American Council of Learned Societies “New Faculty Fellows” program, 53 recent Ph.D.s in the humanities were awarded post-doctoral fellowships. None of the initial list of winners held a Ph.D. in philosophy. This is only the most recent insult to the oldest of disciplines."

Philosophy, Stanley says, has become disconnected from the Humanities, but argues that philosophy is as crucial as ever to understanding culture and society.

"...if the purpose of the humanities is to challenge preconceptions and basic beliefs, in the service of forming a better and more tolerant citizen of a diverse and globalized world," says Stanley, " the methods of the philosopher and the methods of the historian are equally necessary."

Check out the article at http://www.insidehighered.com/views/2010/04/05/stanley for a thought provoking look at contemporary philosophy.

Reflections on a Passover Bag O' Plagues

2010-04-02T23:28:00.001-04:00

It’s a holy weekend for both Christians and Jews. Many Jews are celebrating Passover, or Pesach, marking the exodus of the Jewish people from slavery in Egypt into their journey to their promised land. Annually noted by a Seder meal during which the Passover story is recited, it is a sacred celebration meant to serve as a reminder that a people now free were once slaves. Christians are celebrating Easter, marking the story of the resurrection of Jesus Christ following his crucifixion. These are both deep and meaningful stories, rich with the ritual, beauty and subtle complexities of our shared human history.

Therefore it came as something of a surprise when, at the grocery store this week, I came upon a little “Passover Bag of Plagues" hanging on an impulse item rack at the end of an aisle. “Teach children about the 10 plagues, as recounted in the Book of Exodus. Includes symbol of each plague,” says the bag. The bag contains a motley collection of plastic symbolism including fake blood, a frog, some animal finger puppets, insects, a cow mask (for the cattle plague), some “sticky hands with boils”, plastic ice cubes for hail, some sunglasses (for darkness) and a 9 piece puzzle to somehow represent the death of the firstborn. It cost $12, which was stunning in itself, but more surprising was the fact that there was only one left on the rack. A cursory search online showed that the Bag o’ Plagues is apparently quite in demand, ranging in price from $10 to nearly $20, and sold out at many online retailers.

My first reaction was to laugh. Like a prop for an improv routine, the “Bag o’ Plagues” is unintentionally funny. And, while not advertised, there appear to be two and maybe three extra plagues thrown in for free. Not only do you get the blood, boils, frogs, lice, wild beasts, hail, locusts, darkness, cattle deaths and the deaths of your firstborn (still wondering what’s on that puzzle), but there's a big "choking hazard" warning on the front, and since the whole thing's made in China, there's a good chance of lead or melamine poisoning, too. What child wouldn’t want to bring this to their Seder dinner?

My next reaction was one reflection. Browsing Oytoys – “Jewish Toys, Gifts, Crafts, Books, Music and More!” – revealed a plethora of Passover tshatshkes: A Bag of Passover Frogs, a Matzo ball cat toy, Four Questions Passover Finger puppets, a Passover Frog Hand Puppet with a cheerful “Happy Passover!" on the palm, an Inflatable Pharaoh Punching Bag (okay, that one’s kind of funny!).

But, like the Christian “Veggie Tales” that seek to “enhance the spiritual and moral fabric of society through creative media” by turning Biblical figures into talking vegetables with moral dilemmas, the Bag o’ Plagues, to my mind, trivializes and infantilizes the sacred.

These are not stories that speak to me personally, Passover and Easter. My faith requires adherence to neither as the historical threads of my moral fiber, as gospel, or for my eternal salvation. As a Unitarian Universalist, I find my meaning and purpose in an “eternal now” – the present that we live in and is renewed for us in every new present. But from an historical and literary perspective, the stories are beautiful and timeless and hold sacred significance for millions of people worldwide. In and of themselves, they are remarkable stories that enrich our shared human history.

They don’t need to be plasticized and animated. The “plagues” are meant to be horrible, not fun and games. How does a friendly little frog puppet help Jewish children understand the hardships faced by a people seeking freedom for an entire society? For that matter, how do children rationalize Easter Eggs as part of a holiday honoring the rebirth of Christ? (I never could – one reason I’m UU!)

Religions morph over time, of course, collecting, co-opting, absorbing, and transforming other traditions, which is how Easter eggs came to be part of the Christian Easter celebration in the first place. But what happens when the stories can’t stand on their own at all anymore, when stories meant to evoke remembrances of horror and sadness are simplified and trivialized to be told in a “fun” way? Are they still stories worth telling then?

Perhaps there’s no real danger of that. A Bag o’ Plagues may not sound the death knell for Passover, anymore than giant Easter Bunnies in the mall have ended Easter. But what will these sacred holidays look like in a hundred years? Will anyone remember what they really represented? Do we even know now their true historical and moral significance? Will it matter in the future? Does it matter in the Eternal Now?

I think it does. The sacred and the holy can serve as a balanced frame of reference for the ordinary and profane, even for those of us for whom these stories have no personal significance. Hopefully those for whom they do have personal significance will care enough to save the threads of their shared tapestries from commercial trivialization, and pass on to their children why they believe these stories are important and significant and worth preserving in their full and remarkable complexity. Like great literature and art, like beautiful music, these stories need no repackaging to be appreciated and understood. They just need to be heard and felt and shared.

If an old heretic like me can feel for Passover, surely it deserves better than a Bag o’ Plastic Plagues. Let the children ask the four questions:

Why is this night different from all other nights?

On all other nights we eat either leavened bread or matzah. Why do we eat only matzah tonight?

On all other nights we eat all kinds of herbs. Why do we eat only bitter herbs tonight?

On all other nights we do not dip our greens even once. Why do we dip our greens twice tonight?

And if it really matters, give them the answers that will help them understand the value of freedom and why all people deserve to be free, answers that have nothing to do with plastic toys, and everything to do with what makes life worth living, and stories worth telling, in the first place.

Is Earth Past the Tipping Point?

2010-03-26T11:04:00.000-04:00

http://environment.umn.edu/multimedia/video_bigquestion_boundaries.html

This video, from the University of Minnesota's Institute on Environment, coincides with "Boundaries for a Healthy Planet," IonE Director Jonathan Foley's cover story in Scientific American magazine's April 2010 issue.

Why Teaching is "Not Like Making Motorcars"

2010-03-24T11:59:00.002-04:00

Thanks to the Spotty Banana for highlighting this great piece, by Sir Ken Robinson. Learn more about the interview at CNN.

Watch Obama Sign Health Care Bill

2010-03-23T11:14:00.000-04:00

Watch Obama Sign Health Care Bill

Digging through the Rhetoric on the Health Care Bill

2010-03-23T10:37:00.000-04:00

There's a lot of rhetoric, on both sides of the health care bill issue (and completely disregarding the fact that there are far more than just two sides to the issue in the first place!), that effectively make the truth(s) of the matter difficult to discern. And frankly, as a left leaning common sensist, I believe the truth usually lies pretty firmly in the middle. So, short of tacking the full 2000 page document - although you certainly can if you'd like, at http://www.scribd.com/doc/21803801/H-R-3962-Affordable-Health-Care-for-America-Act-as-Introduced , there are some other good resources to help clarify things as much as they can be clarified:

The St. Petersburg Times "Politifact" website: http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/
How the New Health Care Bill Works, in How Stuff Works: http://blogs.howstuffworks.com/2009/11/09/how-the-new-health-care-bill-works/
Red Eye provides some good visual resources for understanding the bill: http://www.chicagonow.com/blogs/redeye/2010/03/health-care-reform-graphics-that-make-understanding-hr-3590-easier.html , of which the NY Times click-through view of the bill is particularly helpful: http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2010/03/21/us/health-care-reform.html

It's disappointing that the bill passed along such deeply divided party lines. Common sense and the law of averages says there are equally desireable and not so desireable aspects of the bill, and representatives truly serving their constituency -- not their lobbyists, not big business, not their personal bottom lines or their future political aspirations -- would have made the decision to support or not support the legislation based on the general value, or lack thereof, of the legislation with regard to the needs of the American people. If that had been the case, there should have been a broader representation of parties on both sides of the issue.

It's hard to trust people - Democrats, Republicans, Libertarians,Tea Partiers, [Insert Special Interest Here] - who put titles and party lines ahead of the greater good. Group ideology is no substitute for common sense and reason.

Hopefully, real health care reform that works for the most people will rise from the rubble of rhetoric.

Six Flags Friends Scholarships

2010-03-17T11:53:00.000-04:00

DoSomething.org has teamed up with Six Flags Friends to award college scholarships to young leaders who are taking action to make their community a better place. Scholarships will be awarded based on past, current and planned action in the community as well as the applicant’s passion, commitment and proven leadership skills.

How many: Six winners will receive a $1,500 college scholarships

Application deadline: April 30th

For more information go to www.dosomething.org/six-flags/scholarships

Questions? Email Amanda at grants@dosomething.org

About DoSomething.org: DoSomething.org is one of the largest organizations in the United States that helps young people rock causes they care about. A driving force in creating a culture of volunteerism, DoSomething.org is on track to activate two million young people in 2011. By leveraging the web, television, mobile, and pop culture, DoSomething.org inspires, empowers and celebrates a generation of doers: teenagers who recognize the need to do something, believe in their ability to get it done, and then take action. Plug in at http://www.dosomething.org/.

About Six Flags Friends: Six Flags Friends is a series of programs throughout the Six Flags family of parks that make a difference in communities by encouraging local involvement, supporting the mission of various non-profit organizations, and bringing the thrill of Six Flags to children and families across North America.

Florida Legislature In Session

2010-03-12T11:21:00.001-05:00

I'm a little late with my 2010 Session update, but there's no shortage of ways to try to keep up.

Here's the Senate Calendar and what's under consideration: http://www.leg.state.fl.us/data/committees/senate/meeting_packets/sc000001.pdf and the House Calendar: http://www.myfloridahouse.gov/SEctions/Bills/bills.aspx

Florida Capital News runs a Session Summary at http://www.floridacapitalnews.com/article/20100312/CAPITOLNEWS/3120327 that's worth keeping abreast of. RSS will be running in the right hand bar throughout the 2010 Session.

What's most important depends on who's issue is under consideration. On tap today: Casinos.

BOINC -Open-source software for volunteer computing and grid computing

2010-02-23T15:35:00.000-05:00

Volunteer computing is an exciting aspect of citizen science, utilizing the power of thousands of computers to speed scientific research across a variety of fields and studies. http://setiathome.ssl.berkeley.edu/ is one of the earliest uses of volunteer computing.

BOINC provides open-source software for volunteer computing and is used by many independent projects. Some are based at universities and research labs, others are run by companies and individuals. You can participate in several projects (ensuring that your computer will be kept busy even when one project has no work) and you can control how your computer's resources are divided among these projects.

Before participating in a project, BOINC recommends the following considerations:

•Does it clearly describe its goals, and are these goals important and beneficial?
•Do they have any published results? See A list of scientific publications of BOINC projects.
•Do you trust it to use proper security practices on its servers?
•Who owns the results of the computation? Will they be freely available to the public or will they belong to a for-profit business?

Visit http://boinc.berkeley.edu/projects.php to learn more.

Tiger Woods, Buddhism and Forgiveness

2010-02-20T10:27:00.001-05:00

During the recent Tiger Woods “event” (Tiger Woods Vows to Renew His Buddhist Faith)Fox news commentator Brit Hume called on Woods to “turn to the Christian faith and you can make a total recovery and make a great example to the world."

Woods, who has handled the public outfall of his personal disgrace with as much dignity as a public figure can, seems to have a better idea, vowing instead to return to his own faith: "I owe it to my family to become a better person, to become a better man,'' Woods said. "… Part of following this path is Buddhism, which my mother taught me at a young age. … Buddhism teaches that craving for things outside ourselves causes an unhappy and pointless search for security. It teaches me to stop following every impulse and to learn restraint. Obviously, I lost track of what I was taught.''

The list of those of Christian faith who haven’t been good, let alone great, examples to the world is far higher than those of Buddhists who’ve publicly fallen (Check out Gallery of the Fallen, at BeliefNet). They include:

The famous “Father Cutie,” Father Alberto Cutié Cuban-American leader of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Miami, who quite publicly broke his vows of celibacy.
Ted Haggard, pastor New Life Church in Colorado Springs who was a far better example of vice than virtue, buying methamphetamines from a gay prostitute who claimed they’d had a three year relationship. The church then added insult to religious injury by trying to pay off into silence a young male church member who’d had a relationship with Haggard, as well.
There’s Assemblies of God minister, Jim Bakker, of course, who funded an extravagant lifestyle from the pledges of those asked to dig deep for God, and who was sentenced to 45 years in prison as a result.
And Jimmy Swaggart, who had a penchant for prostitutes.

Catholic sex scandals have become unfortunate water cooler jokes and there are plenty of avowed Christians in politics who have taken very public tumbles. Sure, there have been publicly scandalous Jews, like Bernie Madoff, and even the occasional Buddhist, like Richard Baker of the San Francisco Zen Center back in 1970s. But the list of Christian offenders is glaringly large, and Hume’s contention that Buddhism doesn’t offer “the same kind of forgiveness and redemption”, while technically correct, misses the mark about the value of Buddhist “salvation.”

In Buddhism and Forgiveness, Father Joseph O’Leary notes, "Biblical salvation is atonement for evils that have already occurred; but Buddhist salvation is more an effort to prevent the evils from arising in the first place. When they have already arisen, it calmly proceeds to dismantle them by going back to their roots.”

Anh Huong, in a wonderful article titled “The Power of Forgiveness: Forgiveness and Buddhism” (PDF) further notes that in Buddhism, “The question is not “to forgive” or “not to forgive.” This question will not help us find a breakthrough in our habit of dualistic thinking: oneself vs. the others, good vs, evil, right vs. wrong. A more helpful question would be, “How can I better understand myself and the other person?” Dualistic thinking is misleading. It can encourage a belief that good and evil are enemies and that good needs always to be fighting evil. This kind of theology causes a lot of suffering and destruction.”

There certainly seems to be plenty of evidence of that in Christianity, with the notion of things like an “axis of evil,” or the old “if you’re not for us, you’re against us” schools of thought.

Tiger Woods’ indiscretions are no business of mine. He’s just a man who’s a golfer. And however a good a golfer he may be , he’s first and foremost, just a man, heir to all the human errors and failures we all share. His moral shortcomings are between him and his family, and the fact that he had to make some sort of public “apology” to complete strangers says more about our silly bread and circuses world than about him.

I wish him the same luck in overcoming himself as I do all of us; let he who is without sin cast the first stone, and all that. Woods will, no doubt, rise above his failures and move beyond his unfortunately public disgrace. But we might all do well to examine the foundations of his Buddhist roots, to find a gentler, more reasoned approach to life on earth.

Writes, Houng, “… The practice of forgiveness is the practice of understanding and compassion. Understanding is the substance of true love and true compassion. If love is in our heart, every thought, word, and action can bring about a miracle.”

Here’s to global understanding and compassion, wherever we may find it.

Global Weirding

2010-02-19T14:41:00.001-05:00

Who better to illustrate "Global Weirding" than Tiny Tim, warbling cheerfully apocalyptic to a group of apparently accepting children in this mid-1960s video, proving that climate change is, indeed historic. ("The ice caps are melting, oh ho ho ho! All the world is drowning, oh ho ho ho ho. The ice caps are melting, The tide is rushing in. All the world is drowning, To wash away the sin." )

_______________________________

Thomas Friedman waxes a bit more reasonable in his New York Times OpEd "Global Weirding," highlighting four points he feels everyone interested in climate change, regardless of personal views about the details, should consider:

1) As global temperatures rise and the climate changes, the weather gets weird - not just hot.
2) Historically, the climate has always warmed and cooled slowly; the current debate is about the extent to which human activity affects the natural trends.
3) Taking action is simply saying: "...Let’s buy some insurance — by investing in renewable energy, energy efficiency and mass transit — because this insurance will also actually make us richer and more secure.”
4) Because of ever growing populations, the next global industry will necessarily be renewable energy and developing sufficient resources to support large societies, so it only makes sense to explore those fields.

Friedman cites physicist Joseph Romm as the leading climate writer, who lists the best scientific papers on every aspect of climate change at his website Climate Progress.

In a recent post, Romm proclaims, "One of the reasons for the dreadful climate coverage is the media’s refusal to draw a distinction between what scientists say based on actual observations and analysis in the peer-reviewed literature and what anti-science disinformers say based on their total lack of knowledge of the science and general willingness to misrepresent the facts or make stuff up."

We could all make better decisions if those we rely upon for information would stop substituting the volume of sensationalism for the substance of facts. We don't need the black and white and usually inaccurate absolutes that divide us in politics or science, but the facts of the matter, which may not easily fall into distinct categories of "truth," but rather, like life itself, often range into the gray areas that require the maturity of thoughtful discussion and reasoned decision-making.

The tide of misinformation and ignorance rushing in will surely drown us before climate change does.

Flying through the seaweed,

what strange things I see below.
Cars are waiting,
Windshields wiping,
Nowhere left to go! Oh!

Cards of Care for Haiti Project Launched

2010-02-05T13:52:00.002-05:00

Volunteer USA Foundation, in partnership with the National Disaster Recovery Fund, invites students throughout Florida to send pictures and cards of love and inspiration to children and families affected by the recent earthquakes in Haiti. Anyone wishing to participate can send cards to Volunteer USA Foundation – Cards of Care for Haiti, 5970 SW 1st Lane, Ocala, FL 34474, and should include their name and contact information.

Free lesson plans are also available to help teachers use the earthquake and other real-life disasters as examples of how Americans assist with humanitarian and recovery efforts and to provide a platform to discuss the need for all families to develop and practice personal disaster plans. For more information about the project or to learn about disaster preparedness for families and schools, visit http://www.nationaldisasterrecoveryfund.org or http://www.volunteerusafoundation.org.

2010 Sunshine Week

2010-02-05T13:41:00.002-05:00

Governor Charlie Crist invites all Florida students in grades nine through 12 to participate in the 2010 Sunshine Week essay contest. Sunshine Week is observed March 14-20, 2010, and celebrates Florida’s laws dedicated to making state and local government more accessible to the public. Essays should be no longer than 500 words and must explain the importance of one or more of the civil liberties found in the First Amendment and how Florida’s open government laws protect those liberties. For complete information about the Sunshine Week essay contest, visit http://www.FLGov.com/og_home. The deadline to submit an essay by either e-mail or mail is 5:00 p.m. EST on Thursday, Feb. 18, 2010.

State of the Union, State of Mind

2010-01-28T10:33:00.000-05:00

The President said a lot of things last night, in his State of the Union Address. Most of his speech was oratorically brilliant; some of it was tripe, as Politifact pointed out. But it was delivered intelligently, thoughtfully, artfully and with heart -- all the things that have been missing in American Executive office discourse for many years. It offered food for thought, opportunity for dialog, and the hopeful suggestion of progress in positive, supra-partisan measures.

Will a spending freeze occur in 2011? Can Congress restore the people's voice where the Supreme Court gave it to over to big business, extending First Amendment rights to corporations in Citizens United vs. FEC ? Can Obama successfully repeal "Don't Ask, Don't Tell", an ambiguous law if ever there was one? Can we successfully double our exports?

All that and more remains to be seen. But Obama did touch on the heart of the issue of American mistrust and doubt in our leadership:

"....what frustrates the American people is a Washington where every day is Election Day. We can't wage a perpetual campaign where the only goal is to see who can get the most embarrassing headlines about the other side -– a belief that if you lose, I win. Neither party should delay or obstruct every single bill just because they can. The confirmation of -- I'm speaking to both parties now. The confirmation of well-qualified public servants shouldn't be held hostage to the pet projects or grudges of a few individual senators.

"To Democrats, I would remind you that we still have the largest majority in decades, and the people expect us to solve problems, not run for the hills. And if the Republican leadership is going to insist that 60 votes in the Senate are required to do any business at all in this town -- a supermajority -- then the responsibility to govern is now yours as well. Just saying no to everything may be good short-term politics, but it's not leadership. We were sent here to serve our citizens, not our ambitions. So let's show the American people that we can do it together.

"So let's put aside the schoolyard taunts about who's tough. Let's reject the false choice between protecting our people and upholding our values. Let's leave behind the fear and division, and do what it takes to defend our nation and forge a more hopeful future -- for America and for the world. "

We were sent here to serve our citizens, not our ambitions.

I think we have to do our part, too. We need to continually remind our representatives and senators who they serve, who they represent -- It is US, not their ambitions, or private agendas, or their retirement funds, or their corporate bottom line. They are there on OUR behalf.

Let's reject the false choice between protecting our people and upholding our values.

And it is within our ability to, it is, in fact, our own responsibility, not to buy into the false choices set before us by those who would manipulate us. We can choose as easily as Congress to rise above partisanship and stay focused on doing what it takes to meet our common needs, and serve our common good.

We can't do anything individually, perhaps, about wars, and foreign trade, and corporate greed. But we can do everything about using our voices together to serve common goals as Americans: Clean air and water, safe neighborhoods, caring communities that cherish and value our oldest and youngest citizens, and tend to our sick and broken.

If we want Congress to work together, so must we. If we want our voices to be heard, then we must use them.

Top Ten Evolution/Creationism Stories of the Year

2010-01-05T14:39:00.000-05:00

From Newswise, a look at the state of science education in 2009:

Newswise — Evolution fared well in 2009. The world celebrated the 200th anniversary of Darwin's birth and the 150th of the publication of his On the Origin of Species. Thousands of events, conferences, speeches, parties, magazine stories, blog postings, and other commemorations were held in his honor. Darwin even got the Hollywood treatment, with the premiere of "Creation," a moving (yet accurate) film portrayal of Darwin's married life, starring Paul Bettany and Jennifer Connelly.

One creationist's wobbly campaign to distribute free copies of a "special" edition of the Origin on college campuses was successfully counteracted by the NCSE and by local science groups, educators, students, and journalists across the U.S. and Canada. (The "special" part was a laughably misleading 54-page introduction by creationist Ray Comfort, who claimed, among other things, that Darwin was responsible for Hitler.)

On the legislative front, antievolution "academic freedom" bills were proposed and shot down in half a dozen states.

But it wasn't all good news. The Louisiana Science Education Act, which opens the door to creationism in the science classroom, was signed into law in late 2008--and in 2009, the state board of education adopted policies implementing the law that propped the door open. ...

See the top ten stories at http://www.newswise.com/articles/view/559966/?sc=dwtp

The Effectiveness of Nonviolent Civic Action Essay Contest

2010-01-05T14:29:00.000-05:00

High school students in grades nine through 12 are encouraged to submit an entry
for the Effectiveness of Nonviolent Civic Action essay contest sponsored by the
National Institute of Peace. Essays must be no longer than 1,500 words and
consist of three sections which lay out and develop a position in response to
the essay contest question. Each student must have a contest coordinator who can
review their essay and act as the key contact between the participant and the
Institute. One national award totaling $10,000 will be conferred as well as two
other national awards worth $2,500 and $5,000 respectively, in addition to 53
state awards each worth $1,000.

The deadline for submitting an essay is Feb. 2,
2010. For more information, including the essay question, comprehensive
guidelines and submission requirements visit www.usip.org/npec. A study guide
can also be found at www.usip.org/npec/sg10.pdf (PDF).

A Message for 2010 - From the Lost Generation

2009-12-30T09:36:00.001-05:00

This video was actually made in 2007, but seems to speak nicely to a new decade. Happy New Year! PHF

Enjoy a Symphony of Science

2009-11-08T19:57:00.000-05:00

Visit www.symphonyofscience.com for more information and more joyful science!

"I Am What I Learn" Video Contest

2009-09-08T10:16:00.001-04:00

To further encourage student engagement, the U.S. Department of Education is launching the "I Am What I Learn" video contest. On September 8, we will invite students to respond to the president's challenge by creating videos, up to two minutes in length, describing the steps they will take to improve their education and the role education will play in fulfilling their dreams.

We invite all students age 13 and older to create and upload their videos to YouTube by October 8. Submissions can be in the form of video blogs, public service announcements (PSAs), music videos, or documentaries. Students are encouraged to have fun and be creative with this project! The general public will then vote on their favorites to determine the top 20 finalists. These 20 videos will be reviewed by a panel of judges including U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan. The panel will choose three winners, each of whom will receive a $1,000 cash prize.

Starting this Friday, you can visit www.ed.gov/iamwhatilearn to find out more.

Read the full text of his speech at http://www.whitehouse.gov/MediaResources/PreparedSchoolRemarks/

Watch webcast: http://my.barackobama.com/page/content/aug20forumlive/

President Barack Obama's Public School's Address: ..."Set your own goals for your education – and to do everything you can to meet them."

2009-09-08T09:43:00.000-04:00

Text of President Barack Obama's planned public schools address:

Arlington, Virginia
September 8, 2009

Hello everyone – how’s everybody doing today? I’m here with students at Wakefield High School in Arlington, Virginia. And we’ve got students tuning in from all across America, kindergarten through twelfth grade. I’m glad you all could join us today.

I know that for many of you, today is the first day of school. And for those of you in kindergarten, or starting middle or high school, it’s your first day in a new school, so it’s understandable if you’re a little nervous. I imagine there are some seniors out there who are feeling pretty good right now, with just one more year to go. And no matter what grade you’re in, some of you are probably wishing it were still summer, and you could’ve stayed in bed just a little longer this morning.

I know that feeling. When I was young, my family lived in Indonesia for a few years, and my mother didn’t have the money to send me where all the American kids went to school. So she decided to teach me extra lessons herself, Monday through Friday – at 4:30 in the morning.

Now I wasn’t too happy about getting up that early. A lot of times, I’d fall asleep right there at the kitchen table. But whenever I’d complain, my mother would just give me one of those looks and say, "This is no picnic for me either, buster."

So I know some of you are still adjusting to being back at school. But I’m here today because I have something important to discuss with you. I’m here because I want to talk with you about your education and what’s expected of all of you in this new school year.

Now I’ve given a lot of speeches about education. And I’ve talked a lot about responsibility.

I’ve talked about your teachers’ responsibility for inspiring you, and pushing you to learn.

I’ve talked about your parents’ responsibility for making sure you stay on track, and get your homework done, and don’t spend every waking hour in front of the TV or with that Xbox.

I’ve talked a lot about your government’s responsibility for setting high standards, supporting teachers and principals, and turning around schools that aren’t working where students aren’t getting the opportunities they deserve.

But at the end of the day, we can have the most dedicated teachers, the most supportive parents, and the best schools in the world – and none of it will matter unless all of you fulfill your responsibilities. Unless you show up to those schools; pay attention to those teachers; listen to your parents, grandparents and other adults; and put in the hard work it takes to succeed.

And that’s what I want to focus on today: the responsibility each of you has for your education. I want to start with the responsibility you have to yourself.

Every single one of you has something you’re good at. Every single one of you has something to offer. And you have a responsibility to yourself to discover what that is. That’s the opportunity an education can provide.

Maybe you could be a good writer – maybe even good enough to write a book or articles in a newspaper – but you might not know it until you write a paper for your English class. Maybe you could be an innovator or an inventor – maybe even good enough to come up with the next iPhone or a new medicine or vaccine – but you might not know it until you do a project for your science class. Maybe you could be a mayor or a Senator or a Supreme Court Justice, but you might not know that until you join student government or the debate team.

And no matter what you want to do with your life – I guarantee that you’ll need an education to do it. You want to be a doctor, or a teacher, or a police officer? You want to be a nurse or an architect, a lawyer or a member of our military? You’re going to need a good education for every single one of those careers. You can’t drop out of school and just drop into a good job. You’ve got to work for it and train for it and learn for it.

And this isn’t just important for your own life and your own future. What you make of your education will decide nothing less than the future of this country. What you’re learning in school today will determine whether we as a nation can meet our greatest challenges in the future.

You’ll need the knowledge and problem-solving skills you learn in science and math to cure diseases like cancer and AIDS, and to develop new energy technologies and protect our environment. You’ll need the insights and critical thinking skills you gain in history and social studies to fight poverty and homelessness, crime and discrimination, and make our nation more fair and more free. You’ll need the creativity and ingenuity you develop in all your classes to build new companies that will create new jobs and boost our economy.

We need every single one of you to develop your talents, skills and intellect so you can help solve our most difficult problems. If you don’t do that – if you quit on school – you’re not just quitting on yourself, you’re quitting on your country.

Now I know it’s not always easy to do well in school. I know a lot of you have challenges in your lives right now that can make it hard to focus on your schoolwork.

I get it. I know what that’s like. My father left my family when I was two years old, and I was raised by a single mother who struggled at times to pay the bills and wasn’t always able to give us things the other kids had. There were times when I missed having a father in my life. There were times when I was lonely and felt like I didn’t fit in.

So I wasn’t always as focused as I should have been. I did some things I’m not proud of, and got in more trouble than I should have. And my life could have easily taken a turn for the worse.

But I was fortunate. I got a lot of second chances and had the opportunity to go to college, and law school, and follow my dreams. My wife, our First Lady Michelle Obama, has a similar story. Neither of her parents had gone to college, and they didn’t have much. But they worked hard, and she worked hard, so that she could go to the best schools in this country.

Some of you might not have those advantages. Maybe you don’t have adults in your life who give you the support that you need. Maybe someone in your family has lost their job, and there’s not enough money to go around. Maybe you live in a neighborhood where you don’t feel safe, or have friends who are pressuring you to do things you know aren’t right.

But at the end of the day, the circumstances of your life – what you look like, where you come from, how much money you have, what you’ve got going on at home – that’s no excuse for neglecting your homework or having a bad attitude. That’s no excuse for talking back to your teacher, or cutting class, or dropping out of school. That’s no excuse for not trying.

Where you are right now doesn’t have to determine where you’ll end up. No one’s written your destiny for you. Here in America, you write your own destiny. You make your own future.

That’s what young people like you are doing every day, all across America.

Young people like Jazmin Perez, from Roma, Texas. Jazmin didn’t speak English when she first started school. Hardly anyone in her hometown went to college, and neither of her parents had gone either. But she worked hard, earned good grades, got a scholarship to Brown University, and is now in graduate school, studying public health, on her way to being Dr. Jazmin Perez.

I’m thinking about Andoni Schultz, from Los Altos, California, who’s fought brain cancer since he was three. He’s endured all sorts of treatments and surgeries, one of which affected his memory, so it took him much longer – hundreds of extra hours – to do his schoolwork. But he never fell behind, and he’s headed to college this fall.

And then there’s Shantell Steve, from my hometown of Chicago, Illinois. Even when bouncing from foster home to foster home in the toughest neighborhoods, she managed to get a job at a local health center; start a program to keep young people out of gangs; and she’s on track to graduate high school with honors and go on to college.

Jazmin, Andoni and Shantell aren’t any different from any of you. They faced challenges in their lives just like you do. But they refused to give up. They chose to take responsibility for their education and set goals for themselves. And I expect all of you to do the same.

That’s why today, I’m calling on each of you to set your own goals for your education – and to do everything you can to meet them. Your goal can be something as simple as doing all your homework, paying attention in class, or spending time each day reading a book. Maybe you’ll decide to get involved in an extracurricular activity, or volunteer in your community. Maybe you’ll decide to stand up for kids who are being teased or bullied because of who they are or how they look, because you believe, like I do, that all kids deserve a safe environment to study and learn. Maybe you’ll decide to take better care of yourself so you can be more ready to learn. And along those lines, I hope you’ll all wash your hands a lot, and stay home from school when you don’t feel well, so we can keep people from getting the flu this fall and winter.

Whatever you resolve to do, I want you to commit to it. I want you to really work at it.

I know that sometimes, you get the sense from TV that you can be rich and successful without any hard work -- that your ticket to success is through rapping or basketball or being a reality TV star, when chances are, you’re not going to be any of those things.

But the truth is, being successful is hard. You won’t love every subject you study. You won’t click with every teacher. Not every homework assignment will seem completely relevant to your life right this minute. And you won’t necessarily succeed at everything the first time you try.

That’s OK. Some of the most successful people in the world are the ones who’ve had the most failures. JK Rowling’s first Harry Potter book was rejected twelve times before it was finally published. Michael Jordan was cut from his high school basketball team, and he lost hundreds of games and missed thousands of shots during his career. But he once said, "I have failed over and over and over again in my life. And that is why I succeed."

These people succeeded because they understand that you can’t let your failures define you – you have to let them teach you. You have to let them show you what to do differently next time. If you get in trouble, that doesn’t mean you’re a troublemaker, it means you need to try harder to behave. If you get a bad grade, that doesn’t mean you’re stupid, it just means you need to spend more time studying.

No one’s born being good at things, you become good at things through hard work. You’re not a varsity athlete the first time you play a new sport. You don’t hit every note the first time you sing a song. You’ve got to practice. It’s the same with your schoolwork. You might have to do a math problem a few times before you get it right, or read something a few times before you understand it, or do a few drafts of a paper before it’s good enough to hand in.

Don’t be afraid to ask questions. Don’t be afraid to ask for help when you need it. I do that every day. Asking for help isn’t a sign of weakness, it’s a sign of strength. It shows you have the courage to admit when you don’t know something, and to learn something new. So find an adult you trust – a parent, grandparent or teacher; a coach or counselor – and ask them to help you stay on track to meet your goals.

And even when you’re struggling, even when you’re discouraged, and you feel like other people have given up on you – don’t ever give up on yourself. Because when you give up on yourself, you give up on your country.

The story of America isn’t about people who quit when things got tough. It’s about people who kept going, who tried harder, who loved their country too much to do anything less than their best.

It’s the story of students who sat where you sit 250 years ago, and went on to wage a revolution and found this nation. Students who sat where you sit 75 years ago who overcame a Depression and won a world war; who fought for civil rights and put a man on the moon. Students who sat where you sit 20 years ago who founded Google, Twitter and Facebook and changed the way we communicate with each other.

So today, I want to ask you, what’s your contribution going to be? What problems are you going to solve? What discoveries will you make? What will a president who comes here in twenty or fifty or one hundred years say about what all of you did for this country?

Your families, your teachers, and I are doing everything we can to make sure you have the education you need to answer these questions. I’m working hard to fix up your classrooms and get you the books, equipment and computers you need to learn. But you’ve got to do your part too. So I expect you to get serious this year. I expect you to put your best effort into everything you do. I expect great things from each of you. So don’t let us down – don’t let your family or your country or yourself down. Make us all proud. I know you can do it.

Thank you, God bless you, and God bless America.

______________________

From: http://www.whitehouse.gov/MediaResources/PreparedSchoolRemarks/

Foundational Lies

2009-07-21T09:00:00.004-04:00

The Community Issues Council, a group of one, promoting "Christian Citizenship Action in Tampa Bay," recently teamed with a local businessman who ponied up $50,000 to publicly lobby for an American government the dynamic duo believe was intended "only for people who are moral and religious" and to combat the "separation lie." (Christian Group's Billboards Denounce Separation of Church,State)

Among the many holes in this tattered and torn bid for a "return to our Christian roots," is the implication that "religious" people are always "Christian" people. Another is the admittedly blatant misquoting of historical figures like George Washington, to whom one billboard attributes the statement, "It is impossible to rightly govern the world without God and the Bible."

Terry Kemple, the CICs president and sole employee, admits Washington never said that, but asserts, "...if you look at Washington's quotes, including his farewell address, about the place of religion in the political sphere, there's no question he could have said those exact words."

Sorry, Mr. Kemple, there's great question that he would have said those exact words.

What Washington actually said (George Washington's Farewell Address) was:

"Of all the dispositions and habits, which lead to political prosperity, Religion and Morality are indispensable supports. In vain would that man claim the tribute of Patriotism, who should labor to subvert these great pillars of human happiness, these firmest props of the duties of Men and Citizens. The mere Politician, equally with the pious man, ought to respect and to cherish them. A volume could not trace all their connexions with private and public felicity. Let it simply be asked, Where is the security for property, for reputation, for life, if the sense of religious obligation desert the oaths, which are the instruments of investigation in Courts of Justice? And let us with caution indulge the supposition, that morality can be maintained without religion. Whatever may be conceded to the influence of refined education on minds of peculiar structure, reason and experience both forbid us to expect, that national morality can prevail in exclusion of religious principle. "

Lying about what someone - especially a president -- said seems an odd way to frame the value of the "Christian nation" argument, not to mention adirect violation of a principle Christian commandment against bearing false witness.

For the record, George Washington also said:

"...If I could now conceive that the general government might ever be so administered as to render the liberty of conscience insecure, I beg you will be persuaded, that no one would be more zealous than myself to establish effectual barriers against the horrors of spiritual tyranny, and every species of religious persecution. ...For you, doubtless, remember that I have often expressed my sentiment, that every man, conducting himself as a good citizen, and being accountable to God alone for his religious opinions, ought to be protected in worshipping the Deity according to the dictates of his own conscience. (emphasis mine)

-- George Washington, letter to the United Baptist Chamber of Virginia, May 1789, in Anson Phelps Stokes, Church and State in the United States, Vol 1. p. 495, quoted from Albert J Menendez and Edd Doerr, The Great Quotations on Religious Freedom

Actually, a true understanding and appreciation of the character of our founders, the vision with which they led, and the facts of both Christian and American history, should evoke outrage in any reading these simplistic and ignorant attempts to derail 230 years of social and scientific progress.

In 1783, as he was stepping down from office, Washington sent the equivalent of a "memo" to the states (The foundation of "our empire was not laid in the gloomy age of ignorance and superstition") . In it, he said:

There are four things, which I humbly conceive, are essential to the well being, I may even venture to say, to the existence of the United States as an Independent Power:

1st. An indissoluble Union of the States under one Federal Head.

2dly. A Sacred regard to Public Justice.

3dly. The adoption of a proper Peace Establishment, and

4thly. The prevalence of that pacific and friendly Disposition, among the People of the United States, which will induce them to forget their local prejudices and policies, to make those mutual concessions which are requisite to the general prosperity, and in some instances, to sacrifice their individual advantages to the interest of the Community.

These are the Pillars on which the glorious Fabrick of our Independency and National Character must be supported; Liberty is the Basis, and whoever would dare to sap the foundation, or overturn the Structure, under whatever specious pretexts he may attempt it, will merit the bitterest execration, and the severest punishment which can be inflicted by his injured Country.

"Liberty is the Basis," Mr. Kemple. The lies that should be combatted are the ones you're propogating across Hillsborough and Pinellas, lies that Christians, Jews, Muslims, Hindus, Buddhists, Taoists, Wiccans, the churched and the unchurched, believers and unbelievers alike prove wrong everyday, as they work and live together to build one nation from many faiths and philosophies.

The $50,000 would have been better spent sheltering the homeless, or feeding the hungry, or buying medical care for those without it.

Local FL Governments Sue Over SB 360

2009-07-14T10:00:00.004-04:00

Gov. Crist appears richly rewarded for selling us out with SB 260, the so-called Community Renewal Act, reports St. Petersburg Times columnist Howard Troxler in "Crist Signs Bad Growth Bill, Is Punished with $4.3 million in Campaign Contributions" That's more than ten times what his Republican opponent, Marc Rubio, has raised for his Senate run.

"Like young Anakin Skywalker, " Troxler muses, "Crist has learned that the Dark Side has its rewards. He should start dressing in black and breathing heavily."

The Force may be with us though. Eight local governments, including Weston and Deerfield Beach, filed suit in Leon County Circuit Court in Tallahassee to block the law (Cities sue to block lawmakers' growth management repeal), saying it's an unfunded mandate on local governments.

The suit hinges on two major points:

(1) The law is in violation of a state Constitutional law requiring "single subject" laws, since it includes language about affordable housing and the regulation of security cameras.

(2) It forces forces Florida cities and counties to spend money they don't have, and that the Legislature won't given them, to comply with the new law, creating an unConstitutional "unfundated mandate."

Wonder if Crist has to give his nearly half billion back if the lawsuit is successful?

Huffington Post Stuff and Homeschool Nonsense

2009-07-13T14:33:00.003-04:00

So what's up with the snide little aside in this article from the Huffington Post reporting on Texas Governor Rick Perry's pick of Gail Lowe, an "outspoken creationist" to head up the Texas Board of Education?

"It was actually the less controversial choice. Cynthia Dunbar, reportedly under consideration for the post, believed government should be guided by a "biblical litmus test" and thought public education was a "subtly deceptive tool of perversion." (She home-schooled her own children.) She has also endorsed conspiracy theories suggesting President Obama is not a natural-born citizen." (emphasis mine)

Yeah, choosing a pseudoscience expert to head up a state school board isn't the most confidence inducing move in Texas' already beleaguered education system, but what has the whispered undertones of "she homeschooled her own children" got to do with anything?

I take issue with the choice to homeschool being equated with ignorance, conspiracy theories, and creation science .

Good grief!

Give 'em your .02 here: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/07/12/gail-lowe-perry-picks-cre_n_230167.html

Unregulated Growth is HERE

2009-06-15T09:20:00.004-04:00

I'm slow to update, but most people already know Gov. Crist signed SB 360, opening Florida to unregulated growth and all its commensurate problems. I would hope he signed off on his Senate hopes, too, unless the price for selling his soul, and our childrens' future, to Big Development is pays off politically, which it may - although we can, and should, work vigorously for more promising leadership.

Check out Howard Troxler's column in the St. (Crist Signs Growth Bill, Sells Florida Down River) to see who voted for and against the bill, and the Sunshine State's future.

Unregulated Growth looms in SB 360

2009-05-26T18:09:00.006-04:00

Columnist Howard Troxler, of the St. Petersburg Times, writes in an open letter to Governor Crist:

______________

Dear Governor,

So, how's it going? I bet this time of year, everybody wants to tell you which bills passed by the Legislature you should approve or veto.

Forgive me for adding to all the noise. Still, you really should veto Senate Bill 360, the so-called "growth management" bill.

I know a lot of people want you to sign it and I know their reasons.

The stated goals are good. Help get Florida moving again. "Fill in" our urban areas with new construction.

But, hiding behind those goals, this bill goes way too far. It guts the Growth Management Act of 1985. It basically repeals that law.

Is that your legacy?

___________________________

Do any of us want that to be our legacy?

In Smart Growth News, 1000 Friends of Florida says, "

'While this bill contains important and well-intentioned growth management concepts, we believe it falls far short of the goal of encouraging more and better new growth in already developed areas,'' the 1000 Friends president continued, pointing out that more sprawl means more traffic congestion, ''which already contributes almost 40 percent'' of greenhouse gas emissions statewide.

Specifically, according to the Friends:

The bill’s definition of “dense urban land area” promotes unchecked and inappropriate urban development in vast tracts of fringe and rural lands
It automatically qualifies 245 cities and the entire territory of eight of our largest counties for transportation concurrency exemptions and Development of Regional Impact (DRI) exemptions.
It runs counter to Gov. Crist’s goals to address climate change.
Instead of being an economic stimulus strategy as proponents argue, it would allow massive new development to the already over-allocated and over-approved development already in existence in our state.

You can read the full text of SB 360 here (PDF)

And give voice to your concerns at the 1000 Friends of Florida website or at Audubon of Florida, among others.

Parental Rights Amendment back as HJ Resolution 42

2009-04-03T14:49:00.008-04:00

Right on the heels of news that Sen. Arlen Specter, of PA, is introducing his flat tax bill for a second time (Specter Swings to the Right to Save Senate Seat), while also being lobbied to get behind a parental rights amendment to the Constitution, comes a Home School Legal Defense (HSLDA) note "introducing HJ Resolution 42: the aforementioned Parental Rights Amendment, and urging homechoolers to support it.

Of course supporting or not supporting this amendment is a personal decision, but it’s advised that those who *don't* support it speak out to their congressfolk as well. Many argue that the

amendment is superfluous, since parental rights are already protected by the Constitution, and potentially rights limiting because it opens the door to more narrowly defining "parents" and "families".Additionally, the threat of international law at this level superseding federal law is an empty, and fear mongering one.

You can learn more about the Parental Rights Amendment and related issues at http://www.learningis4everyone.org/content/view/24/42/1/2/

Follow actions and commentary at Open Congress: http://www.opencongress.org/bill/111-hj42/show

See also: NHELDs Warning to Parents :http://www.nheld.com/BTN67.htm

Earth Hour 2009 - Saturday, March 28, 8:30pm

2009-03-28T11:54:00.002-04:00

Go Green by going dark -- or at least dim!
__________________________________________

From Earth Hour US: http://www.earthhourus.org

* Earth Hour is World Wildlife Fund's global initiative where individuals, businesses and governments turn off their lights for one hour to show their support for action on climate change.
* Earth Hour is a symbolic event designed to engage people from all walks of life in the climate change discussion to send a strong message to our political leaders that we want them to take meaningful action on climate change.
* The largest climate event in history where millions of people around the world will unite by turning off their lights for one hour, Earth Hour, to demand action on the climate crisis.

-->When is Earth Hour?

* Earth Hour 2009 takes place on Saturday, March 28, 2009 at 8:30 pm–local time.
* Just like New Years Eve, Earth Hour will travel from time zone to time zone starting at 8:30pm in New Zealand.

What do we hope to accomplish through Earth Hour 2009?

* Through Earth Hour, WWF hopes to create political momentum for enacting national climate legislation and a global climate treaty.
* Through Earth Hour, WWF will continue to educate and raise awareness about the climate crisis and offer ideas and solutions that people can merge into their daily lives.
* Through Earth Hour, WWF aims to unify people's voices from around the world who are demanding action form our elected officials to solve the climate crisis.

-->What does a pledge to turn out your lights involve and commit me to?

Participating in Earth Hour is easy. All you have to do is sign up at www.EarthHourUS.org, tell your friends / co-workers about it and then turn off all of your non-essential lighting on March 28th at 8:30pm. Through signing up you are not committing to anything specific. Rather you are agreeing that strong action needs to be taken to find a solution to the climate crisis.

-->Who can participate in Earth Hour?

Anyone. Earth Hour is an inclusive event and everyone is invited to participate. WWF will provide tools online to enable any town, community, school, individual or organization to be part of the event.

-->Why is Earth Hour at 8:30pm this year instead of 8pm?

As the campaign has grown from one city in one country to a truly global campaign, the time has been moved to allow the maximum number of cities around the world to be suitably dark for the lights out campaign to have a greater visual impact. Earth Hour is held around the spring equinox, which ensures nearly equal sunset times in both the northern and southern hemispheres.

-->Do I have to turn off all of my electricity for Earth Hour?

Not at all. Through Earth Hour we are asking people to turn off all non-essential lighting. Emergency lighting, televisions and computers can stay on for the hour. The main point of Earth Hour is to unite people, companies and governments around the world through the symbolic flip of a switch. Earth Hour in itself will not lower our carbon footprint, rather it sends a signal to those in a place of power that we as individuals and communities demand action.

The decision on which lights to turn off can be made individually, but usually consists of overhead lights in rooms (whether it is your house or a business), outdoor lighting that does not impact safety, computers, decorative lights, neon signs for advertising, televisions, desk lamps, etc.

Visit www.EarthHourUS.org for more information.

Evolution: Education and Outreach journal celebrates Darwin throughout 2009

2009-02-10T15:52:00.002-05:00

The latest issue of Evolution: Education and Outreach — the new journal aspiring to promote accurate understanding and comprehensive teaching of evolutionary theory for a wide audience — is now available on-line, free:

http://www.springerlink.com/content/120878/

From the press release:

"Throughout 2009, the journal will celebrate the life and work of Charles Darwin.

Featured accordingly in the latest issue are articles on Darwin: "Why Darwin," "Artificial Selection and Domestication: Modern Lessons from Darwin's Enduring Analogy," "Charles Darwin and Human Evolution," "Experimenting with Transmutation: Darwin, the Beagle, and Evolution,"
"Darwin's 'Extreme' Imperfection," and "The 'Popular Press' Responds to Charles Darwin, The Origin of Species and His Other Works." Studies of teaching and learning are presented as well: "Assessment of Biology Majors' Versus Nonmajors' Views on Evolution, Creationism, and
Intelligent Design," "Educational Malpractice: The Impact of Including Creationism in High School Biology Courses," "Teaching Evolution in Primary Schools: An Example in French Classroom," and the late Michael E. N. Majerus's "Industrial Melanism in the Peppered Moth, Biston betularia: An Excellent Teaching Example of Darwinian Evolution in Action." There are also reviews of Michael Shermer's Why Darwin Matters and Rob DeSalle and Ian Tattersall's Human Origins."

And much more.

Clarity on HSLDA Warning about David Ogden

2009-02-06T13:44:00.004-05:00

The Home School Legal Defense Association (HSLDA) has sent out a warning missive, advising "members and friends" to oppose the nomination of David Ogden as US deputy attorney general.

HSLDA points out that Ogden's position is the "second highest" in the Justice Department, suggesting much but clarifying little. To best understand what, if any threat, Ogden might pose, it's important to understand the issues at hand with respect to the office in question. According to the US Department of Justice:

“The Deputy Attorney General advises and assists the Attorney General in formulating and implementing Departmental policies and programs and in providing overall supervision and direction to all organizational units of the Department. The Deputy Attorney General is authorized to exercise all the power and authority of the Attorney General, except where such power or authority is prohibited by law from delegation or has been delegated to another official. In the absence of the Attorney General, the Deputy Attorney General acts as the Attorney General.”

He is not of, and by himself, a threat because of his beliefs and past practices. Yet HSLDA "urges all of its members to immediately telephone both U.S. senators from your state to oppose the nomination of David Ogden" largely based on "his belief that the rules found in the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child are already binding on the United States under the doctrines of international law."

Ogden's beliefs regarding international law and its applications domestically may certainly an issue, but to hinge rejection of his nomination on how that might, remotely, affect homeschooling in the US is short sighted and misguided.

HSLDA sites Ogden's ruling In the Supreme Court case of Roper v. Simmons, 543 U.S. 551 (2005), where Ogden argued that the rules banning the juvenile death penalty contained in the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child were customary norms of international law “binding on all states.” They refer readers to an HSLDA Michael Farris article from 2007

Actually, a more critical examination of the Roper case can be found at the Heritage Foundation . HSLDA quoting HSLDA does not a case make.

HSLDA goes on to say, "This means that Ogden believes that the legal rules contained in the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child are already binding on the United States, even though this treaty has never been sent to the U.S. Senate for ratification.

"Homeschoolers have long understood the dangers of this international treaty, which contains the core principle that the government may decide what it believes is best for each child without any proof of wrongdoing by the child’s parents. Ogden promoted the use of this UN treaty in the Supreme Court to reach the conclusion that America’s courts have the power to overrule state law, using international law as their guidepost for constitutional interpretation. Unfortunately, he was successful in doing so in the Roper case."

And homeschoolers have long been led astray by HSLDA on this issue. Please visit LIFEs National Homeschool Issues Quick Links page for more comprehensive reading on this issue.

HSLDA further contends, "If this weren’t enough, Ogden has a history of representing Playboy and other purveyors of pornography in high-profile legal cases. He also challenged the legality of using filters on library computers to protect children from seeing pornography. It would be hard to imagine how Ogdenwould faithfully enforce the nation's pornography laws if he is placed in this position at the Justice Department."

Plenty of conjecture here. We challenge the implications of legislating morality.

And then, HSLDA has the audacity to conclude, "The United States Senate needs to understand right now that the American public will not countenance the idea of the nation being led by people who believe that international law trumps American law."

HSLDA perhaps should understand right now that it no more speaks for "the American public" than it does for all homeschoolers.

If you do decide to oppose Ogden's nomination, please do so on the basis of common sense, and informed reason, not based on hyper-reaction to HSLDA scare tactics.

For more information on David Ogden, please read:

Christian right challenges Obama's Justice picks

http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5iVg2jiaBA1jwVfCdsisXI0FbZD0AD965IPMG0

Who Runs Gov at

http://www.whorunsgov.com/index.php?title=Profiles/David_Ogden&highlight=David+Ogden

And for perspective on the impact of past attorney generals and the office, learn about the history and rulings of previous attorney general, Michael Mukasey: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Mukasey

‘Discrimination Through the Eyes of Our Youth’ Florida High School Public Service Announcement (PSA) Contest

2008-12-17T10:38:00.002-05:00

Visit:

http://fchr.state.fl.us/outreach/40th_anniversary_psa_contest

for full details and entry form

Next year as part of our 40th anniversary celebration, the Florida Commission on Human RelationsFlorida. We are asking students to create and record a video PSA regarding human and civil rights and what that means to them. Topics that can be covered include color, race, age, sex, disability, national origin, religion, and familial or marital status. All of the contest information is available at http://fchr.state.fl.us/outreach/40th_anniversary_psa_contest.
will be hosting a PSA contest for high school students (grades 9-12) in

‘Discrimination Through the Eyes of Our Youth’

Florida High School Public Service Announcement (PSA) Contest

Official Contest Rules

1. All entries must be original works created by students. Adults and media professionals may only provide encouragement, advice and guidance.

2. PSAs must cover one of the following areas: color, race, age, sex, disability, national origin, religion, familial status, marital status, hate crimes, human trafficking, bullying and sexual orientation. Students can incorporate personal experiences to show how these issues affect young people.

3. PSAs shall not be political in any way, and shall not include endorsements for a candidate, political party or issues. PSAs cannot lobby for or against, endorse or propose federal, state and/or local legislation or constitutional amendments.

4. The sponsoring teacher must submit the Entry Form, which will contain the proposed summary of the PSA and required signatures, to the Florida Commission on Human Relations on or before January 31, 2009. Commission staff will send approval messages within 3 weeks of receiving the entry form. To expedite the process, entry forms can be scanned and emailed to contest@fchr.state.fl.us. All original copies must be received by the Commission via postal mail.

5. Any copyrighted materials, materials containing a trademark or service mark or non-student work must include a release that gives the Florida Commission on Human Relations permission to use the information contained in the PSA without charge or liability of any nature or type.

6. Music, artwork, lyrics and other materials used in the PSA must be original or include authorization for its use form the holder of any trademark, service mark or copyright.

7. Students may work in groups of no more than five individuals, excluding actors, artists, or musicians.

8. All individuals participating in the contest (including actors, artists, and musicians) must sign and complete a release form that must be submitted with the final PSA.

9. Students may submit up to three PSA entries.

10. PSAs must be 25 seconds in duration from first visual/sound to finish and must include a copy of the script.

11. Entries should be submitted in DVD in .avi, .mov, or .DV format (.DV format is preferred). Each DVD must have a label that includes student names, school name, district, grade, and date(s) of production. Each DVD must include only one entry. If there is any problem with this required format, please let the Commission know.

12. Completed entries must be approved and submitted by school officials. All entries and required forms must be received by the Florida Commission on Human Relations by May 1, 2009.

13. Awards will be given to district winners in the 9th/10th and 11th/12th grade categories (a total of eight winners). A list of winners will be posted to the Florida Commission on Human Relations’ website.

14. Entries will not be returned and may be used by the Florida Commission on Human Relations for public education and promotion.

15. The Commission will include the FCHR logo and website information on the winning PSAs after the winners have been announced.

"My Political Notebook" on OpenCongress

2008-11-19T15:06:00.002-05:00

Congress is back in session. Lots of stuff is happening, giving you lots of opportunities to weigh in on everything from auto company bail outs to taxes. Now Open Congress offers "My Political Notebook:

It's a new way to save and share your favorite political content, from OpenCongress and
around the web.

"My Political Notebook" allows you to create a personal page of everything you're following in politics: news articles, blog posts, web videos, important files, and more. You can add content with one click using a handy bookmarklet for your web browser, or directly from pages on OpenCongress.

For example, one of the biggest issues in the news is whether Congress will include a bailout of the Big Three Automakers in a new economic stimulus package. "My Political Notebook" gives you a way to collect the best info about this developing story in one place, add your own notes & tags, and share it all with your friends.

To read more about "My Political Notebook", visit our blog announcement today ::

http://www.opencongress.org/articles/view/753

To jump right in and see it in action, check out the notebook of our lead blogger, Donny Shaw ::

http://www.opencongress.org/users/donnyshaw/profile/political_notebook

Finally, our friends Jay & Ryanne of RyanIsHungry.com recently made a great video tutorial on how to use OpenCongress to track all the bills and issues you care about ::

http://www.opencongress.org/about/screencast

Record Voter Turn Out in Florida

2008-11-05T10:58:00.005-05:00

According to the Florida Department of State Division of Elections, over 70% of Florida voters cast votes in this election -- that's 8,045,660 people!

It was a close call for president, with Obama winning just over 50% of the vote.

With respect to the state constitutional amendments on the ballot, results are as follows:

Defeated:
Amendment 1, calling for the removal of a law banning ownership of property by alien residents - 52% voted it down
Amendment 8, asking for approval to seek authorization from voters to increase sales tax to support community colleges - rejected by 56% of voters

Passed:
Amendment 2, the "gay marriage ban" amendment - passed by a 62% vote
Amendment 3, exempting homes from increased property value assessment due to changes made for safety and sustainability - approved by 60% of voters
Amendment 4, creating a new "conservation" land use classification to exempt property owners from taxes - by 68% of voters
Amendment 6, giving waterfront businesses a tax break for maritime use - approved by 70% of voters

Full election coverage at St. Petersburg Times

Barack Obama gives his victory speech in Chicago

2008-11-05T10:40:00.001-05:00

Homeschooling and the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child

2008-11-04T16:44:00.004-05:00

With respect to the currently (re)circulating UN Convention on the Rights of the Child contention that, if the Democratic Senator -- who is rumored to be unsupportive of homeschooling in the first place -- is elected, the first thing he will do is sign it and we’ll loose our right to homeschool, please consider the following:

Barack Obama does support home education:

http://progressivehomeschoolersofflorida.blogspot.com/2008/10/homeschooling-and-\
2008-election.html

and

BOTH Barack Obama and John McCain support the UNCRC:

http://debate.waldenu.edu/video/question-12/

Facts to consider about the effects of UNCRC on homeschooling:

Homeschooling has been illegal in Germany since before they signed the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child and not as a result of the treaty: http://www.homeedmag.com/blogs/newscomm/?p=590

Reflections on the UNCRC from a homeschooler in Canada, a country which signed the treaty years ago:

http://freethinkinghomeschool.blogspot.com/2008/02/un-convention-on-rights-of-child-threat.html

and from Australia…

Myths and facts concerning the Convention on the Rights of the Child in Australia

http://www.austlii.edu.au/au/journals/AJHR/1999/28.html

Obama and Homeschooling

2008-11-03T10:33:00.007-05:00

Angela M., a South Florida homeschooler, forwarded this along with permission to share it here:

__________________

In response to the “Candidates Views on Homeschooling” email that has been circulating, I just wanted to add what was missing from the analysis. If you actually go to Vote USA [which works to connect voters with candidates], there was plenty on the site that McCain had no response to, and neither of the candidates answered every question, it was not just those two that Obama did not answer.

Under parental involvement, Obama specifically says, “But there is no program and no policy that can substitute for a parent who is involved in their child's education from day one.” and, “Responsibility for our children's education has to start at home. We have to set high standards for them, and spend time with them, and love them. We have to hold ourselves accountable."

He also says in his general education statement that his "comprehensive plan to provide a world-class education for all Americans will... Empower parents to raise healthy and successful children by taking a greater role in their child's education at home and at school.”

Many of McCain’s responses were taken from his McCain for President website dated back to 1999.

I also wanted to share what I believe to be vital information for anyone out there that is trying to discredit Obama for being against homeschooling. The following information was received directly from Obama’s Campaign Office. All you have to do is ask.

------ Forwarded Message
Date: Fri, 31 Oct 2008 15:04:06 -0500
Subject: Obama Campaign on Homeschooling

Hi Angela,

It was very nice to meet you today, and I really appreciate you coming in for more information. Here is what I have regarding homeschooling so far.

Issue of Homeschooling

Barack Obama and Joe Biden are firmly dedicated to reforming our education system so that children of all ages, socio-economic status, etc. have the opportunity to receive a world class education all the way from pre-school through college, not only making education affordable and accessible to all but also by rewarding expert, accomplished teachers for taking on challenging assignments and helping children succeed, raising education and performance standards, and eliminating/reforming programs that are not working.

A significant element of Barack Obama’s education plan is to Empower parents to raise healthy and successful children by taking a greater role in their child’s education at home and at school. As Obama stated during his convention speech this year, “We must also admit that programs alone can't replace parents, that government can't turn off the television and make a child do her homework, that fathers must take more responsibility to provide love and guidance to their children.”

While Barack Obama has never specifically discussed the issue of homeschooling in his speeches, debates ,etc. (because the majority of Americans send their kids to public or private schools) I can assure you that he is 100% supportive of parents who choose to school their kids at home and encourages all parents to take a proactive role in their children’s education.

Thanks for your support!

Best,
Claire Lehman

Field Organizer - Central Boca

Barack Obama - Florida Campaign for Change

http://my.barackobama.com/page/content/flhome

clehman@floridaforchange.com

------ End of Forwarded Message

I also wanted to add two quotes from Obama’s book, “The Audacity of Hope” - the first of which talks specifically about homeschooling...

In his chapter on Family, he outlines many policy ideas to help parents meet the family-work balance and provide flexibility to parents’ schedules so that they can spend more time with their children.

“Of course,” he says on page 344, “none of these policies need discourage families from deciding to keep a parent at home, regardless of the financial sacrifices. For some families, that may mean doing without certain material comforts. For others, it may mean homeschooling or a move to a community where the cost of living is lower. For some families, it may be the father who stays at home – although for most families it will still be the mother who serves as the primary caregiver. Whatever the case may be, such decisions should be honored.”

He goes on to say “our modern culture sometimes fails to fully appreciate the extraordinary emotional and financial contributions – the sacrifices and just plain hard work – of the stay-at-home mom.”

In his chapter on Opportunity, he says on page 159 that we should be guided by “Lincoln’s simple maxim: that we will do collectively, through our government, only those things that we cannot do as well or at all individually and privately. In other words, we should be guided by what works.”

Homeschooling works, and has been proven to work.

Obama wants to help families spend more time with their children, and if homeschooling is their choice, and it works, then I have no doubt that he will support the growing movement of well-educated homeschooled youth around the nation. Sometimes you just have to look further to get the right facts, and know that you won’t always get a fair representation of the candidates’ views from organizations that obviously have an opinion.

Thank you.

Angela M

Homeschooling and the 2008 Election

2008-10-31T16:52:00.005-04:00

I want to address some contentions that I think are erroneous and misleading that are currently making the rounds of homeschool communities; and that’s namely that whoever wins the presidential election will determine whether we get to continue homeschooling.

To put it mildly, I think that’s stuff and nonsense. Our nation is confronted with an economic crisis the likes of which we haven’t seen in nearly 80 years, health care issues, foreign policy issues, wars on at least two fronts, and climate change issues. I can pretty much guarantee you that the first thing any incoming president does will NOT have anything to do with homeschooling or the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child.

There’s a lot more at stake in this election than homeschooling, which isn’t an issue on anyone’s platform. I think we should all be more concerned with national issues of economy, health care and foreign policy than the states issues of homeschooling right now.

Whoever you vote for, whatever you vote for, please make your vote an intelligent and informed one, based on facts and not fear mongering conjecture. Homeschooling is alive and well and thriving in America, influencing educational choices nationwide, inspiring innovation in pubic and private education that will not be reversed, and neither John McCain nor Barack Obama will significantly affect it one way or another.

And if at any point, there is any threat coming from the national level with respect to how you homeschool, I can guarantee you it won’t come from the White House, but from wolves in sheeps' clothing like HSLDA and other special interests with private agendas masquerading as homeschool saviors.

Protect your right to homeschool by supporting everyone’s rights to live, worship and learn in ways best for their families. Vote with common sense and intelligence, not fear.

Terri Willingham
Progressive Homeschoolers of Florida
http://ProgressiveHomeschoolersofFlorida.blogspot.com

I Can't Let the Election Unravel...Not This Time

2008-10-29T08:09:00.002-04:00

What to do if you're challenged at the polls - From GoodVote.org:

When you go to vote, do you know what to do if someone tells you you're not on the list or there's a problem with your voter registration?

1. Don't just walk away. This is the most important thing.

2. Only as a last resort should you accept a provisional ballot.

3. Call 866-OUR-VOTE (866-697-8683) or go to 866OURVOTE.org if you have questions or need help. A trained team of advisors is available to resolve problems.

Over 10,000 lawyers are dispatched to the polling places on Election Day to help assure that the 2008 election reflects the will of the American people.

"I can't watch this election unravel over corruption, not this time."

PS: You can also call CNN's voter hotline at 1-800-462-6608.

HSLDA Intrudes on Florida Matters, and Personal Freedom

2008-10-20T16:21:00.006-04:00

Heads up Florida homeschoolers -- HSLDA is trying to "help" us again. According to a recent Home School Legal Defense Association email alert:

"..parental rights are based on "Western civilization concepts of the family." When those concepts are no longer the legal definition of the family in this nation, then the foundation upon which parental rights are based is completely removed. Therefore, HSLDA will continue to fight against same-sex marriage. Same-sex marriage attacks the traditions of the family in Western civilization. This is an attack on parental rights. This is a battle the homeschooling movement cannot afford to lose."

One has to wonder if parental rights in the Eastern Hemisphere are also based on "Western civilization concepts of the family." What the heck does that even mean? Well, HSLDA says it stems from the 2000 Supreme Court case, Troxel v. Granville , in which the Supreme Court worded a portion of its ruling, "Our jurisprudence historically has reflected Western civilization concepts of the family as a unit with broad parental authority over minor children. Our cases have consistently followed that course."

The case had nothing whatsoever to do with same sex marriage, but involved a visitation rights dispute. The bottom line in the case was actually the court's recognition of the "fundamental right of parents to direct their children’s upbringing."

Nowhere in this case is there any apparent reference to the gender of parents, or its affects on those rights one way or another. Further, HSLDA seems to think same sex marriage somehow "attacks" the "traditions of the family in Western civilization" and parental rights, and declares "This is a battle the homeschooling movement cannot afford to lose."

The battle we really can't afford to loose is the one against rights limiting fear mongers like HSLDA:

who would use a constitution to take away rights instead of preserving them;
who feel it's acceptable to legislate personal matters of the heart and mind;
who would rule by fear, misinformation and intimidation to forward their own narrow agenda;
who use homeschoolers and homeschooling for their own personal gains.

Same sex marriage is not a homeschooling issue. It will not affect homeschooling one way or another. We cannot preserve our own rights to lead the lives we desire -- to marry or live with whom we wish, to direct the education of our children, to live the lifestyles we choose -- by taking away the rights of others to do the same.

Vote NO on 2 and tell HSLDA to keep its own house in order and stay out of yours.

PHF

Students "elect" Obama President in Scholastic Poll

2008-10-17T17:23:00.001-04:00

Political handicappers take note: If you need a fresh, new demographic to help predict the outcome of the Nov. 4 presidential election, ask non-voters younger than 18.It turns out students in pre-kindergarten through 12th grade have been on the right side of history in 15 of the past 17 presidential elections.This year, they're going with Obama.

In a large straw poll taken every four years, the readers of Scholastic magazines spent weeks filling in presidential ballots, snipping them out and turning them in.

Today the results are official:

• 57% chose Democratic Sen. Barack Obama.

• 39% chose Republican Sen. John McCain.

The student voters — about 250,000 this year — have an 88% prediction rate. Only twice since 1940 have their results been at odds with the nation's: in 1948, when Harry Truman defeated Thomas Dewey, and in 1960, when John F. Kennedy beat Richard Nixon. (To students' credit, their balloting closed before the televised Nixon-Kennedy debates that historians consider a game-changer.)

Complete story in USA Today:

http://www.usatoday.com/news/education/2008-10-14-obama-scholastic-poll_N.htm

Wiki Candidate '08

2008-10-09T14:08:00.001-04:00

An entertaining, illuminating and somewhat educational idea...

WikiCandidate
http://www.wikicandidate08.com/

First and foremost, WikiCandidate is intended to be a fun site and a vibrant online community. It is also a research project run by graduate students in the Department of Communication of Cornell University. The following is intended to give you an introduction to the site.

...Creating WikiCandidate is a great way to voice your opinion and discuss issues relevant to U.S. politics and the current presidential election. You may be a political activist, a writer, an artist, a student; you may be young or old, a US citizen or an international, of any gender, religion, or political affiliation. If you think that the US presidential election is going to impact your life, WikiCandidate is an outlet for your ideas.

WikiCandidate is also a growing community. The site is a place to socialize with peers, to strengthen the ties of an online or offline group, and to meet and interact with exciting people who share your interests in politics, technology, or both. Feel free to invite friends and spread the word. You can form coalitions of like-minded people to work out positions and provide further support for your views and opinions. If you're a blogger or a YouTuber, you're welcome to create content on other sites and link it to WikiCandidate08.com, or add your blog to WikiCandidate's blogroll. If you're an artist and would like to create materials or merch related to the WikiCandidate campaign, there is a space for you to link it to this site.

WikiCandidate is intended to be an innovative way for you to get involved in the political discussion and meet new people.

Part of the fictional candidates biography:
DeWiki III was home-schooled for the majority of his early life by the family governess Anna Karnegie (also his father’s mistress) who taught the young Julian and his siblings reading, writing, mathematics, languages (Spanish, French, Japanese, and an Eskimo dialect), music (piano, viola and accordion), art and cookery.

Introduction to PeaceJam's Global Call to Action

2008-10-06T09:23:00.002-04:00

PeaceJam , Penguin Young Readers Group , and the Pearson Foundation have announced a new initiative, the PeaceJam Global Call to Action Challenge. The challenge offers young activists everywhere the chance to work directly with a Nobel Laureate in their own school. The Global Call to Action Challenge is an extension of the newly-published Penguin Young Readers book, "PeaceJam: A Billion Simple Acts of Peace." Through PeaceJam's Global Call to Action, Nobel Laureates such as the Dalai Lama, Archbishop Desmond Tutu, and Rigoberta Menchu Tum are asking young people around the world to commit themselves to creating a billion community-serving projects in the next decade.

About Peace Jam:
Ten leading Nobel Peace Laureates (The Dalai Lama, Archbishop Desmond Tutu, President Oscar Arias, Jody Williams, Shirin Ebadi, Prime Minister José-Ramos Horta, Rigoberta Menchú Tum, Máiread Corrigan Maguire, Adolfo Pérez Esquivel, and Betty Williams) launched the PeaceJam Foundations Global Call to Action with the youth of the world on September 15th, 2006 as a part of PeaceJam's 10th Anniversary Celebration. This is a decade-long, worldwide campaign, and we invite all of the people of the world to join this global effort.

World Habitat Day

2008-10-06T09:11:00.003-04:00

From Habitat for Humanity:

As part of our mission to make housing a matter of conscience and action, Habitat for Humanity will raise its voice to support World Habitat Day on Monday, October 6, 2008.

This year, Habitat for Humanity is demonstrating support of World Habitat Day by shining the spotlight on the lack of secure tenure for the world’s poor.

World Habitat Day, an annual event created by the United Nations, falls on the first Monday in October and unites people of goodwill and organizations around the cause of housing to remind the world of its collective responsibility for the future of the human habitat.

For the more than 1.6 billion people suffering from some sort of shelter deprivation in the world, that future is bleak. Without access to adequate shelter, clean water or sanitation, upwards of 10 million people die each year from preventable diseases. Many of them are infants. In some parts of the world, entire families face forced eviction from property or land they own.

Urbanization continues at a rapid rate, with half of humanity now living in towns and cities. Today, one-third of the current urban population—a staggering 1 billion people—live in slums. By 2030, estimates are that two-thirds of the world’s population will be urban dwellers, exponentially increasing the number of people living in slums if action is not taken to provide decent and affordable housing.

Learn more at

http://www.habitat.org/gov/take_action/world_habitat_day.aspx

Kids Voting Tampa Bay '08

2008-10-01T09:58:00.004-04:00

To find a Kids Voting Chapter in your part of Florida, visit
http://www.kidsvotingusa.org/page9624.cfm#southeast
___________________________________

Help Make Democracy Possible! The 2008 Presidential Election is around the corner, less than two months away, and we need hundreds of volunteers to help make democracy possible for the next generation of voters.

Kids Voting Tampa Bay (KVTB) is a non-partisan organization that promotes civic responsibility and voter participation through educating Tampa Bay’s youth about the significance of being an educated and engaged citizen. By combining civic learning in the classroom with an authentic voting experience that reflects the adult process we are teaching the importance of voting to sustain our representative democracy. We are partnered with area Supervisors of Elections to host an authentic voting experience every election cycle. The success of the practice election depends on our volunteers; your participation will make a difference in the community.

KVTB is a national affiliate of Kids Voting USA. We were introduced to the Tampa area for the 2004 Presidential Election in Pasco County, and had over 15,000 students cast their ballot. Then in conjunction with the 2006 Gubernatorial Election, KVTB expanded to cover Citrus, Hernando, Hillsborough, Pasco and Pinellas counties. We were excited as the ballots rolled in on Election night 2006 where over 150,000 students vote! This year however, our sights are set to reach an even higher number yet and we need your help!

Election Information: We will need volunteers to staff our “super precincts”, or precincts designated by Supervisors of Elections offices as KV voting sites, on Election Day Tuesday, November 4th, 2008 and at different voting locations for the two Saturday’s leading up to the Election (Oct. 25th and Nov. 1st). On Election Day, precincts will be open from 2pm – 7pm. Early voting precincts (designated on the form by EV) will be open the full eight hours, and shifts will be 4 hours long.

Volunteers Positions Needed!

Precinct Captains: In charge of Adopted Precinct, must attend one hour volunteer training session, responsible for coordinating volunteers at their precinct open to close, set-up/take-down of their precinct, and for delivering precinct supplies (AND BALLOTS) to county Headquarters at the closing of the polls.

Rovers: A Rover will be in charge of roaming between designated KV Super Precincts and County Headquarters throughout Election Day replenishing supplies and collecting ballots. Requires reliable transportation.

Headquarter Tabulators: Tabulators will be stationed at each county's HQ. They will pick up dropped off election supplies from Rovers, and drivers delivering them after the closing of the polls on Election Day. Tabulators will run dropped off ballots through the tabulation machines

Early Voting Poll Workers: Poll workers are needed to work the two Saturday’s leading up to the Election. Poll volunteers will work 4-hour shifts. An entire early voting location may also be adopted; the same responsibilities will apply as Election Day adoptions.

It Simple…

1. Decide how you would like to help

2. Choose a KV precinct or headquarters to adopt/work (precincts assigned on first come basis)

3. Complete the necessary forms

4. Attend a mandatory 1-hour volunteer training session (Precinct captains)

5. Staff your precinct with volunteers

Return completed forms to: Or Fax to:

Erica Petramala 888-319-0327

Kids Voting Tampa Bay

15365 Cortez Blvd

Brooksville, FL 34613

Visit us on the web www.kvtb.org for related information and forms.

Senate Passes Protect Our Children Act

2008-09-29T16:31:00.002-04:00

The Protect Our Children Act, introduced by Sen. Joe Biden, D-Del., made it through the Senate. Separate bills authored by Sens. John McCain and Hillary Clinton were folded into the legislation, which authorizes more than $320 million for the Justice Department over the next five years for, among other things, the Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force.

Read the entire bill at http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery/z?d110:s.1738

More information at the National Association to Protect Children: http://www.protect.org/

Living in the post-protest age

2008-09-29T11:09:00.001-04:00

A thought provoking piece that ran in the St. Petersburg Times this weekend:

Living in the Post Protest Age:
Read complete story in http://www.tampabay.com/features/humaninterest/article828808.ece

The stock market has gone nuts, and the federal government is treating Wall Street with experimental cures that will cost nearly $1-trillion. An unpopular foreign war, now in its sixth year, has resulted in more than 4,100 American deaths. For the first time in history, the presidential campaign includes an African-American candidate for president and a Republican female candidate for vice president.

Taken together, these data points give this moment in American history a once-in-a-great-while feel of Something Large. But if this is truly a pivot in time, its most peculiar feature may be how un-peculiar it feels. For all the social and political upheaval, for all the banner headlines and for all the bipartisan calls for change, there is plenty of unease — but a very notable lack of unrest.

It's as though the gods of turmoil threw a party and nobody came. When was the last time you saw a street protest? Or a burning effigy? Or a teach-in? Or a boycott? It's kind of odd: We have the sense that this is an emergency, but open the window and give a listen. There aren't any sirens.

How come?

The Mothers Election Guide

2008-09-26T14:18:00.001-04:00

MOTHERS Election Guide NOW AVAILABLE!

We strongly believe it is so important that you make your voice heard by voting in this election. We also realize that deciding which candidates should get your vote can be challenging.

We decided to make it easier for you to get the information you need. And with deadlines approaching for voter registration, we wanted to get it out to you NOW.

You can now access the MOTHERS Election Guide, a simple and comprehensive guide to how to find everything you need to make informed decisions on Election Day.

This guide provides you with information on:

why your vote is important
how to register and when the deadline for registation is for your state
how to find your legislators and candidates running in your state and district
how to learn more about those candidates so you can make an informed decision
what issues affect families
how to find information on the presidential candidates' policies
and, finally, how to get to the facts and cut through all the hype and misleading statements.

It is non-partisan and designed to empower you in making choices that will work for you and your family.

Visit https://www.mothersoughttohaveequalrights.org/election-2008-vote-mothers.html for more information and resources.

Reverse Trick or Treat - Have A Fair Trade Halloween

2008-09-25T15:46:00.001-04:00

A neat Fair Trade effort -- combined with Trick or Treat for UNICEF and you've got a great community service project!
______________________________

This Year it's Time to Reverse Trick-or-Treat!

On Halloween night, young people across the US and Canada will unite to:

END poverty among cocoa farmers

END abusive child labor in the cocoa industry

PROMOTE Fair Trade

PROTECT the environment

by giving Fair Trade chocolate back to adults…while Trick-or-Treating door-to-door in their communities on Halloween! Each piece of chocolate bears a card with information about social and environmental justice issues in the cocoa industry and how buying Fair Trade certified chocolate provides a solution. Parents of last year's youngest participants raved about how Reverse Trick-or-Treating transforms Halloween into a meaningful event when youth activists give back to their neighbors and to cocoa growing communities.

This year Americans for Informed Democracy is partnering with Global Exchange and others to increase our impact! Join us, and together, we will reach nearly a quarter million households this year!

Costumes optional…having fun while making a difference guaranteed!

Reverse Trick-or-Treating kits are FREE

Thanks to the generous donations of Fair Trade chocolate companies

Equal Exchange, Alter Eco, Theo Chocolates, and La Siembra (in Canada).

Participate as an individual or organize your classroom, school, congregation, youth group or social justice organization to participate by distributing multiple kits to participants!

DEADLINE TO REQUEST KITS:

Groups (schools, congregations, youth groups, etc): October 1

Individuals: October 13

Order yours TODAY! Last year, we ran out before the deadline, so hurry!

Visit www.reversetrickortreating.org for more information!

Willing to volunteer to be trailed by a print, radio, or television reporter while Reverse Trick-or-Treating? Send an email to Sarah@aidemocracy.org or fairtrade@globalexchange.org, with "RTT media volunteer" in the subject line.

Receive a very special prize! Post a photo or video of Reverse Trick-or-Treating at www.5actions.org and http://www.youtube.com/group/revtrickortreat08. Then, email fairtrade@globalexchange.org with your mailing address to let us know you did so by November 15! Our favorite 50 postings will receive a limited edition lapel pin designed by renowned artist Shepard Fairey's Studio Number One, thanks to the partnership between Global Exchange and Battle in Seattle (www.battleinseattlemovie.com), the feature film about the 1999 WTO Seattle protests…in theatres NOW!

Reverse Trick-or-Treating is an initiative of Global Exchange and is a collaborative effort of countless children, youth, and adults supported by nonprofit organizations including Americans for Informed Democracy, Green America (formerly Coop America), International Labor Rights Forum, Slow Food, Unitarian Universalist Service Committee, United Students for Fair Trade, and many others.

Please forward this email broadly! The more the merrier! Let's spread the Fair Trade love!

Sincerely,

Sarah Frazer
Global Development Campaign Coordinator/CARE Fellow
Americans for Informed Democracy
701 Cathedral Street, Suite L3
Baltimore, MD 21201
Phone: 410-962-8773
Fax: 410-962-8771
Email: sarah@aidemocracy.org
www.aidemocracy.org

Awareness. Advocacy. Action.
Leaders of tomorrow creating change today.