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“Suffer The Little Children…”*

“Non-Religious Bible Classes”?  You’re Kidding, Right?

Got Gas?

Pensylvania Primary – A Local Day-Long Discussion As the Fun Unfolds

Racing for Answers (The Race Non-Issue)

What’s That I Smell?  (Limbaugh, Clinton & Fear – Oh, My!)

From Chicken Talk to Energy Observations -

I Carry A Gun Because A Cop Is Too Heavy

Divided We Fail

The Issue Finally Becomes An Issue

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I must admit, I’m a little shocked.  Is it really necessary to add “starvation and dehydration” to Tennessee’s current child abuse law.  Could there REALLY be any doubt in any jury’s or Judge’s mind that starving a child and allowing them to become dehydrated is abuse?

The answer, sadly, is yes.  As you will see in the story linked below, a teen in Lebanon was chained to his bed and starved, and the best charge they could come up with for his parents was aggravated child “neglect”, which resulted in 6 years in prison each.  The stepmother was released in less than 2 years.

Posted by Jody Lee
General
Comments (0)

Given that the Holy Bible is just that – Holy – and that it is the most important book that exists in the world, it has no place in the public school system.  Public schools are, in fact, probably the LAST place I want to see the Holy Bible – or any aspect of it – taught.

Witness State Senator Roy Herron, trying to gain support for the idea that non-religious Bible classes have a place in public school.

I am torn between screaming from frustration and screaming in laughter.  Maybe I’ll just sit here and roll my eyes instead.

(Read the story at http://www.tricities.com/tristate/tri/news.apx.-content-articles-TRI-2008-04-23-0023.html)

The State attorney general has put the seal of approval on Bible classes as long as they do not endorse any particular religion. 
(Roll eyes here).

Evidently they want to teach the Bible’s impact on literature, art and politics in these classes.  Actually, if THAT is all they want, those aspects of the Bible’s influence are already addressed in art class, English literature, and political science.  So a specific class that addresses the non-religious aspects of the Bible without endorsing Christianity (roll here) are not needed, in addition to being completely ridiculous.

So what is Herron trying to accomplish?  Is there really NOTHING else to work on in our public schools?  Really? (Big fat eye roll here)

Posted by Jody Lee
General
Comments (25)

They say it will hit $5 per gallon sometime this summer.  Now that’s a price that will impact EVERYONE. 
Until now, it has made a dent in the budget, but cutting a little here and there made up for it with only a minor hurt.

$5 a gallon isn’t minor.  Especially for folks like me who spend a lot of time on the road.  But a car is not something we can do without.  We may slow down on the highway to save gas (I have).  We can try to consolidate short trips from 3 or 4 into one.  (I have) We can carpool when possible (for many like myself, that just isn’t practical or, often, possible).  We might try coasting to a stop when reasonable and not punching the gas, but instead building speed gradually (I’m working on it.)

But these are minor actions that do not do a whole lot to help this major problem.  It’s like bailing water out of your sinking boat with a teaspoon.  It’s better than nothing, but not by much.

Posted by Jody Lee
General
Comments (7)

6:45 a.m.
The polls in PA open shortly and like everybody else, I am especially interested in the outcome.  Interested in the outcome of a normally ho-hum primary concerning a party of which I am not a member – who’d a-thunk?

Who will ultimately win the Democratic nomination for President is as much of interest to conservatives as to liberals, since McCain’s ultimate success in HIS bid depends on the outcome.  That, however, is the last point we conservatives agree upon.  There seems to be a heartfelt disagreement over whether Hillary or Obama – or either – will be beatable in November. 

They say a mere squeaker of win for Clinton today won’t be enough – that her win must be substantial in order to truly catch up to Obama.  Personally I think that is what will happen – that she’ll win in a fairly big way.  There it is.  I’ve made an official prediction.  Hate doing that.  Ah, well.

Obama has been shooting himself in the foot quite a bit lately.  I still do not think he grasps the importance of things like his association with Rev. Wright, or that little slip he made about we “bitter” conservatives holding our guns close and our God closer out of sheer anger and frustration.  (Geez, what WAS he thinking?) Even the little flag pin spat or refusing to say the pledge – he just doesn’t get it, that these things add up and ultimately DO matter.

He pooh-poohs things like this, saying it is the issues that matter, the issues that he wants to discuss, the issues, the issues, the isssues.

He doesn’t get that things like character and loyalty and honesty DO matter and ARE at issue, to liberals and conservatives alike.  Why would we trust our country and our futures to someone who does not rate those qualities as important?  I’m not saying Obama is a bad person.  I’m saying that the fact that he seems to want to brush off our concerns about the character of a potential President is disturbing.

I just saw Hillary’s newest television ad – ooh, scary.  She evoked images from Bin Laden to the bombing of Pearl Harbor, from 70s gas lines to creepy Cold War Russian leaders.  I’m kind of surprised she didn’t include a clip from the movie Carrie.  Fox News ran a clip of Hillary in the 2006 Senate race, when she called Republican scare tactics “disappointing”.  Whoops.
I’ll be checking in throughout the day as things unfold.  Hope you will as well…
jody lee

Posted by Jody Lee
General
Comments (6)

Obama’s much-lauded speech about race a couple weeks ago was well-received, to say the least, and left media pundits and politicians alike calling for the long-ignored issue of race relations to be brought back to the political table for discussion. 

Okay.  I’m game.  Racial prejudice is despicable and intolerable.  So let’s see where we stand. 

Specifically, what would you have us – the country, that is – do to improve race relations?  Again, specifically - -

While you are thinking, keep in mind that laws are in place that make discrimination in housing, in the workplace, and in service institutions illegal.  Should someone be on the receiving end of this illegal discrimination, there are a host of programs in place through which the discriminatee can obtain free legal representation. 

We have a myriad of government programs in place to assist persons who are not Caucasian in attaining grants for college.  Our learning institutions and work places are not simply encouraged, but required by the EEO to hire/admit a particular number of non-Caucasians. 

Posted by Jody Lee
General
Comments (4)