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Christine O’Donnell, Tea Party candidate for the Senate seat in Delaware, doesn’t know that the separation of church and state is written into the Constitution. A lot of people might not know that the separation of Church and State is part of the first amendment, thinking it’s more about speech than God. But a lot of people aren’t running for the US Senate. Christine O’Donnell is. Continue reading »
Christine O'Donnell is, sadly, not alone
Delaware GOP senate nominee, Christine O’Donnell, has shocked us once again, this time with her disbelief that the separation of church and state is guaranteed by the First Amendment. Her opponent, Chris Coons schooled her live in a debate, where the incredulous O’Donnell came to terms with the facts.
The rest of us learned something too, today. O’Donnell’s bold display of ignorance regarding some of the core values that make Americans American finally revealed why so many in the U.S. think we should be allowed to pray and teach creationism at public schools. It’s unconstitutional, but they never, ever knew!
American education has been the cause of hand-wringing over the decades. O’Donnell is the product of that education, writ large. In fairness, the fact that her Democratic opponent couldn’t name the other freedoms guaranteed by the First Amendment should also be of concern. (Even older boys’ education is lagging?)
One could be forgiven for not knowing the details of the 9th Amendment, but Christ!, we’re talking about the First Amendment. The constitutional provision behind the classic kid rejoinder, “Hey, man, it’s a free country.” Continue reading »
What do you mean separation of church and state?!
In a shocking exchange today, Republican candidate for Senate, Christine O’Donnell of Delaware, “questioned whether the U.S. Constitution calls for a separation of church and state, appearing to disagree or not know that the First Amendment bars the government from establishing religion,” the AP reports.
In a debate in front of legal scholars and law students at Widener University Law School, O’Donnell’s opponent Chris Coons said, “private and parochial schools are free to teach creationism but that religious doctrine doesn’t belong in our public schools.” (Something I’ve mentioned here on Strollerderby once or twice.)
O’Donnell’s reply? ”Where in the Constitution is the separation of church and state?” Coons responded that the First Amendment bars Congress from making laws respecting the establishment of religion, and O’Donnell responded, “You’re telling me that’s in the First Amendment?” to a gasp from the well-informed crowd. Continue reading »
According to a 2-1 decision by the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, God is not religious. At least, not when teachers instruct children that ours is a nation “under God” on a daily basis. All across the state of California, schoolchildren line up every morning to profess their allegiance to the flag and the country “for which it stands”. In 1954, however, the official pledge was changed to include the phrase “under God.” A belief in God was a “characteristic and definitive factor in the American way of life,” claimed Reverend George Docherty in a sermon that spurred President Eisenhower to action to have the pledge modified.
Is it a fashion statement? An invitation to debate? Or just one of those things kids (and by kids, I mean anyone under 30) do to differentiate themselves from those who came before? Friedrich Nietzsche first wrote that “God is Dead” more than 125 years ago and I’m sure it stirred up some controversy back then. Fast forward to modern day Washington State and the sentiment is once again causing a stir — this time over a high school yearbook photo.
A week after a teacher was suspended for posting a vague complaint about an unidentified student on her Facebook page, a student from another school is given a pass for posting a specific complaint about a teacher on hers.
Katie Evans is no longer enrolled at Pembrook Pines Charter High School in Florida, but in 2007 she was a senior there and unhappy with one of her teachers. She set up a Facebook page to vent about “the worst teacher I’ve ever met.” If she expected sympathy from her fellow students, she didn’t get it. Instead, she was attacked by students who actually liked the teacher. Evans responded by taking the page down a few days later.
But Evans’ classmates weren’t the only ones who had a problem with her Facebook complaining. After school principal Peter Bayer got wind of it, he did more than disagree — he took advantage of his position of power and punished the honors student. Despite the fact that the page had long been removed, Bayer pulled Evans from her Advanced Placement classes and suspended her for three days. Continue reading »
Despite the fact that virtually every professional organization agrees with the American Psychological Association when they say “efforts to change sexual orientation are unlikely to be successful and involve some risk of harm, contrary to the claims of SOCE practitioners and advocates,” high school students in the Montgomery County Public Schools in Maryland were given information from the group Parents and Friends of Ex-Gays and Gays last week, claiming that sexual orientation is merely a choice. And a bad one at that.
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