Test Run

https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2020/12/who-won-the-presidency-america.html 

Facebook post to be repeated here because of its importance.

Having declared since the days of Ronald Reagan Republican Party was trying to destroy democracy in America (yeah I know I keep repeating it, but it’s my way of saying I told you so now aren’t you sorry you were so mean to me 😉), I am stunned by the inability of people to realize how much danger we are in at this moment. Refusal to face awful reality can be deadly. In this case deadly to democracy and deadly to Americans, some of whom who have already been killed in the streets.

This article speaks about both sides, the eternal childish optimists and the hard cold rationalists who see through a glass clearly.

> “We’re being tested, and we’re failing. The next attempt to steal an election may involve a closer election and smarter lawsuits.<“

Trump is a miserable failure and he will be gone although his fanatic supporters will be still trying to destroy democracy in his name. However, to the GOP this was a dress rehearsal.

Cancel Culture?

In 1864, President Lincoln was not favored to win the upcoming election. He had the excuse of the Civil War to postpone it. He had a Congress that might very well have gone along with him, had he requested it.  Facing all of this, he nevertheless declared, "If the rebellion could force us to forego or postpone a national election, it might fairly claim to have already conquered and ruined us.”

When it was suggested to Franklin Delano Roosevelt that the 1942 election should be delayed due to the opening of World War II, he unequivocally stated that doing so would mean, “...we have become fascists ourselves...”.

2020, faced with slumping pull numbers, Donald Trump whined, “With Universal Mail-In Voting (not Absentee Voting, which is good), 2020 will be the most INACCURATE & FRAUDULENT Election in history. It will be a great embarrassment to the USA. Delay the Election until people can properly, securely and safely vote???”

The Civil War was not enough for a president (who, remember) was widely regarded as likely to lose the election, to cancel democracy.

World War II was not enough to convince another president that we should cancel democracy.

But Trump has slipped in popularity, and that’s reason enough for him to cancel democracy.

Ever watch Sesame Street with your kids? “One of these things just doesn’t belong here. One of these things just isn’t the same. Can you guess which thing just doesn’t belong here before the election begins?”

Seriously. Can you?

Stupid Is As Stupid Does

A conversation with my daughter.
It starts the cartoon showing a nurse In scrubs holding up a sign saying “science” as he blocks a car containing a woman holding up a sign saying “stuff I read on Facebook”.

Me:  Excellent

J:  🙂

Me:  Been saying it for decades. Like it or not reality is real. And it doesn’t care whether we like it or not. It’s just remains real.

J: I did read that 81% of Americans don’t support these protests.  Not sure where I read it.

Me:  Are you aware that the entire “grassroots movement” has been organized by three gun nut brothers?

Fox News is pushing it hard.

It is real fake news, deliberately orchestrated in order to undermine the democracy of the United States. Note how many of its supporters are “militia” members. That means a great many are “sovereign citizens” identified by the FBI as an anti-government terrorist movement.

J:  Yes, they are doomsday preppers.   

274 days until Inauguration Day. We better have a new president. Not that I ever liked Biden. But the alternative is unthinkable.

Me:  I’m no fan of Biden either. Obama was elected as an anti-establishment candidate. Obviously, he really was establishment, but he was regarded as a radical change. Trump was elected as an anti-establishment candidate who was regarded as exemplifying radical change. Which turned out to be correct. Biden is being presented as an establishment candidate — safe, secure, and bringing things back to the normal that we all hated and despised so much. Still, as you point out, he’s a lot better than the orange faced clown in his  yellow fright wig.

J:  A photo of a “Liberate” mob, well armed and angry. Captioned as follows:

I mean you have to admit that it’s hilarious that the people who have spent their entire lives stockpiling beans and ammo and publishing newsletters about preparing to shelter in place during  a global crisis are the ones having meltdowns because they can’t go to the cheesecake factory.

Told You so!

As sometimes happens I did not copy the link to the article in question. However as brief as it is I think the post is worth making anyway. Essentially the article was noting that extreme gun rights advocates believe that the rush on purchasing weapons is vindication that they were right all along and now everyone is aware of it.

Gun nuts are rejoicing! It seems the entire population of America has turned into gun nuts! Or have we?

>“People are waking up, saying, ‘Wait a minute, what do you mean I need a gun?’ All of a sudden they're realizing that this affects them.”<

Actually, I don’t believe we are. Sorry to disappoint, you but most of us are not panic stricken, terrified little children afraid of the boogie man like you.  We are panic stricken, terrified little children afraid of not having enough toilet paper.  I’d be very surprised if the vast majority of people buying guns in a panic are not people who already have a full hoard of weaponry.

I’m not the only one taking this position.  >Rob Morse agrees. “I think in six months, we'll be able to buy a lot of secondhand guns cheap.”<

Also, I expect people will probably be giving away toilet paper because they would like to put the car back in the garage.

What? Me Worry?

https://www.c-span.org/video/?c4856339/voters-100000000-project

Nearly 100 million eligible voters did not vote in the last presidential election!  100 million!  No wonder democracy is dying in America.  It is dying of neglect.

“Just because you do not take an interest in politics doesn't mean politics won't take an interest in you."  — Pericles, unconfirmed.

What he definitely did say:

“We do not say that a man who takes no interest in politics is a man who minds his own business; we say that he has no business here at all.”

(Pericles commenting the participation of Athenian citizens in politics, as quoted in Models of Democracy (2006) by David Held, Stanford University Press, p. 14. Book II, chapter 40.)

If you can’t bother to vote, either you don’t belong in America, or America no longer deserves to exist.

The American revolution was not anti taxes (according to none other than George Washington), it was a rebellion against being governed without representation. Many have died to protect that concept since the 1770s.The majority of potential American voters today are clearly declaring that those deaths were in vain and that the American Revolution was pointless.

Or to put it another way,   “Bad men need nothing more to compass their ends, than that good men should look on and do nothing.” — John Stuart Mill, 1867.

The New Normal

  From a Facebook post from a friend.

https://www.baltimoresun.com/opinion/op-ed/bs-airport-inhumanity-20170206-story.html

C:  [The men and women who reportedly handcuffed small children and the elderly, separated a child from his mother and held others without food for 20 hours, are undoubtedly "ordinary" people. What I mean by that, is that these are, in normal circumstances, people who likely treat their neighbors and co-workers with kindness and do not intentionally seek to harm others. That is chilling, as it is a reminder that authoritarians have no trouble finding the people they need to carry out their acts of cruelty. They do not need special monsters; they can issue orders to otherwise unexceptional people who will carry them out dutifully.]

Slavery. Trail of Tears. Wounded Knee. Jim Crow laws. The KKK. The Chinese Exclusion Act. Japanese-American Internment. Segregation. Our history is full of examples of how deadly and racist we can become when White Supremacists are in charge. Now we have children being separated from their parents. Detained immigrants dying in our care. And a White Nationalist who would be king. We need to take back our country from White Nationalists. It's 2020 - Vote Blue!

Me:  A problem I have discussed quite often.  The problem of the so-called Good Germans.  The problem was discussed many times after World War II. How could good decent people do horrible, unspeakable, indecent things? How could Good Germans commit atrocities?  

There many answers. The most basic ones are fitting social expectations, obeying the law (even if the law itself is horrible and evil), just doing your job, trusting authority, and being afraid to be the one who stands up.

And then there  are true believers. Those who are convinced if their own moral righteousness, superiority, and the absolute unquestionable perfection of their beliefs. Always remember what was said by Voltaire: “Those Who Can Make You Believe Absurdities, Can Make You Commit Atrocities”.

Duty, Honor, Country

https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2020/02/us-military-not-ready-constitutional-crisis/606367/

My very brief comment on an extremely important editorial.

A powerful declaration of loyalty and duty.  In a time when Trump supporters are calling for a military overthrow of the United States and military tribunals to mass convict political enemies, this is a critical read for all Americans. I do disagree with the author on a few points, but especially on this one:

> But with the benefit of hindsight, though I still find the torture memo appalling, I can at least acknowledge that the Bush administration cared enough about the law to offer the pretense of legality. <

Yes, I do wish you had been trained a little more in both the Constitution and the history of governments that do evil. Both Stalinist Russia and Nazi Germany cared enough about the law to offer the pretense of the legality for all of their atrocities and mass murders. The question becomes, did they really care about the law or do they just want to cover their crimes against humanity with a pretense of legality?

Mirror, Mirror

https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2019/10/jojo-rabbit-mocks-maga-extremism

Worth reading, and don’t miss the embedded “public service announcement”. > “Trumpism has broken taboos of civility, of respect, and of decency, and therefore bigots feel they are empowered, legitimized,” he said. “The 200 neo-Nazis in Charlottesville were not created by Trump. They were there before. All he did was make it possible for them to have the arrogance or the chutzpah to surface. They feel this is a time when it’s okay...” <

During the days of the Bush administration (Junior, that is) we legitimized torture and other crimes against humanity. We made them quasi legal official actions taken by our government. No one seems to remember this these days, but at the time this was an extremely controversial issue. I was making the same point as this movie back then.
I referred to those Bush supporters as the good Germans of the US. Those decent ordinary folks who nevertheless supported Hitler and his atrocities. This despicable action by otherwise moral people has always been regarded as a great mysterious puzzle, but it really isn’t and never has been. It’s just people accepting that their government is their country and they must be loyal to it. Accepting that their society is their home and they must go along with its norms.

The question really isn’t why so many Germans passively went along, the question is why so many were able to resist the urge is to conform, to fit in, to meet the expectations of daily life.

Back in the Bush days I was saying if you ever ask yourself how good good Germans went along with Nazi horrors, then first ask yourself if you supported torture when Bush was legitimizing it. If the answer is yes then the answer to your question about how did good Germans go along with these monstrosities is: Look in the mirror. The face you see is the face of a good German.

This is so true today as well. The crimes and the betrayals of Trump and his administration have been open and clear. He really has made no attempt to hide them. All he does is say well yeah but what about those other guys? Yeah I am a crook but so are other people like (fill in the blank with whatever political personality you don’t like).

Do you believe Q anon? Do you think everyone’s picking on poor, pitiful, glorious, holy Trump? Do you justify his crimes and his betrayals? Do you think he’s the victim of a great conspiracy? Then look in the mirror. The face staring back at you is that of a good German.

I want to end by emphasizing once again that Trump is no Hitler. He’s not even a Mussolini. Instead, he is the bad apple in the barrel who is spreading his rot throughout our entire governmental and social system. He’s no Hitler, but he’s laying the groundwork for one.

The Truth Shall Make Ye Fret

America was founded as a Christian nation? John Adams said, "It was the general opinion of ancient nations, that the divinity alone was adequate to the important office of getting laws to men…"

So far, so good for the belief.

Later he went on to say that the united American states, "…have exhibited, perhaps, the first example of governments directed on the simple principles of nature."

Uh oh!

Later in the same work he added, "It will never be pretended that any person employed in that service had any interviews with the gods, or or in any degree under the inspiration of heaven, anymore than those of work up on ships or houses, or laboring in merchandise were agriculture: it will be forever acknowledged these governments were contrived merely by the use of reason and the senses."

So says one of the most important Founding Fathers. No religion need apply in America. Love it or hate it, this is the fact: America was intended to be a totally secular nation and its government was intended to have no relationship to God whatsoever.

Quotes taken from John Adams three volume Defense of the Constitutions of Government of the United States of America published in 1787.

Note: Adams got one thing wrong. Many people are certainly pretending that their fantasies are real are refusing to acknowledge reality.

A La Carte

Been a busy couple of days, So I'm lumping together some of my Facebook responses to make a single post here.

In response to a left-wing group posting the video snippet that declared that Sean Hannity had raged about those Republicans who refuse to support Trump, I responded:

Point 1: that's the calmest rage I've ever heard. Foolish exaggeration is the Republicans' territory. Democrats please don't wander into that room or I will be compelled to start jumping on you with both feet just like I do on the Republicans.

Point 2: Sean Hannity is not upset that people refuse to blindly follow Trump. Sean Hannity is upset because he just learned that if you pander you must go along with whatever the crowd commands. You don't get to lead. Panderer and leader are mutually exclusive concepts. Sean Hannity is upset that Sean Hannity can't issue orders and be obeyed. He thought he was making public opinion. He just realized that he's been caught in a riptide.

He don't like that.

XXXXXXXXXX

in response to a post taking apart the arguments of gun worshiper John R. Lott, Jr.
(author of More Guns, Less Crime: Understanding Crime and Gun Control Laws), I posted:

A careful analysis of the easily falsifiable claims of one of the leading gun advocates in this nation. Everyone should read it. Conservatives and Republicans won't. This is because this is a set of facts which contradict their emotionally satisfying superstitious belief system. Those who advocate thoughtful gun control should read it because then they will know how to answer those who refuse to let facts interfere with their emotionally satisfying superstitious belief system.

XXXXXXXXXX

In support of my friend, Charles in his dialogue with a conservative extremist after that individual condemned him for joining Alice in Wonderland, I posted:

I find it a delightful irony that those most divorced from reality and most insistent upon living in an alternate universe are those who most often accuse realists of being deluded.
Ask any UFO nut. He will decry your incredible stupidity and foolishness for not realizing that the aliens have been running the earth for centuries perhaps even millennia.
Hollow earth? Bigfoots? (Bigfeets? Bigfeet?). Hillary Clinton as super villain mass murderer par excellence?
What a fool you are, if you ignore the obvious facts!
I repeat an earlier post I made today:

“The problem with the world is that the intelligent people are full of doubts, while the stupid ones are full of confidence.”
Charles Bukowski

XXXXXXXXXX

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-3768070/The-equation-transform-physics-Researchers-say-ER-EPR-quantum-mechanics-fits-theory-general-relativity.html

Two points: First, from what I read here there does seem to be a difference between a wormhole and quantum entanglement. Both ignore or at least dispense with the space part of the continuum. OK. But quantum entanglement does not permit one particle to change instantaneously in the future or in the past in response to a change made to its partner particle in the present (unless that explains the spooky action at a distance). Wormholes are time machines as much as they are transportation machines. That would seem to be a profound difference between a wormhole and quantum entanglement.

Second, I'm not sure why The author included the video "explanation" of the theory by the theorist. Undoubtedly it makes things crystal-clear to those who understand advanced mathematics. Since I have trouble with high school level geometry and algebra, he might as well have been speaking Mandarin or perhaps even Sanskrit. I expect anyone who viewed the article would be unlikely to be familiar with such advanced mathematics and so I wonder why it was included.

Which brings me to my own question regarding spooky action at a distance. Bobby, I assume you will be seeking a position at a University now that you have your PhD. I also assume you will make friends with everyone in sight as you usually do. If one of those people deals with quantum theory maybe you could ask him a question that's been bothering me. If we have multiple dimensions in excess of the four currently known and which are curled up into a very tiny state, is it not possible that the information which seemingly travels faster than light in a quantum entanglement situation is in fact traveling through one or more of those dimensions? Information traveling at the speed of light across such a tiny dimension would seem instantaneously transmitted

I assume this will result in an amused chuckle from said quantum physicist. That's OK. I don't deny my ignorance of quantum physics. I would just like to know why I'm wrong.

No Blanks Allowed

From a July Facebook discussion which I seem to have forgotten to post here:

I posted a pic asking why baking a cake is participating in a wedding but selling a gun is not, participating in crime. And added, "just think about it." The following dialogue resulted.

My friend:  Here's two differences Jim. .. 1. when a couple comes into a bakery for a wedding cake you know what the outcome will be. When someone comes into a gum shop for a gun you only know they'll be target shooting but nothing else- 99.9/100 will be legit. Street drugs-100/100 illicit&and 10/100 deadly. Car dealer - far more deaths than by guns. Abortion clinic -50/100 lethal. 

2. If you don't like one stores beer you go down the street for the good stuff. If u don't like service art one restaurant you find another. If you don't like the attitude at one bakery you go somewhat else. It's the American way . Right?

Me:  What if there isn't another bakery in town?  A public business must serve the pubIc.  A cake is a cake.  Attending or actively participating in a wedding is different from selling a cake or dress or tux.  If you feel so compelled to deny service to those with whom you disagree, withdraw from public business.  Your license requires you to serve the public.

Could a Catholic refuse to serve remarried customers?  All religions need to be treated fairly, with respect,  without the privilege of setting special rules for public business.  Being denied a cake is being told you are  unworthy.  It is insulting and brings a sense of shame.  No one would be shamed at asking for a cake or tux for their wedding.

Think how it would feel to be told your kind aren't served here, go somewhere else.  In some Southern towns it is entirely possible there would be nowhere else to go.  But so what? No one should be told by a public serving, government licensed business, you aren't good enough to buy my product.  It is a form of bullying.

All I ask is that everyone be treated the same.  If you choose a public business, then you have chosen to serve the public. If you don't want to serve the public, don't open a public business.  There are many alternatives.

A Jewish delicatessen can't be forced to serve pork, but it also can't refuse to serve Christians or Muslims what it has on the menu.  So your rights are also protected by my stance.

The same rules for everyone.  No special rules for special people or religions.

the Götterdämmerung Cometh

http://www.iflscience.com/editors-blog/welcome-bible-belt-mam-louisiana-teachers-are-using-book-genesis-science-classes

In response to this, I posted:

These are the same people who destroyed the power and grandeur of the medieval Islamic culture by turning it away from science and forcing it to submit to fundamentalist religion and its allies, superstition and delusion.  The current Islamic belief that the Crusades were the cause of the downfall is baseless.  The culture committed suicide by fundamentalism.

We may yet go down the same path, though I believe that the anti reality, anti science crowd has lost the culture wars and is now at the same stage as Fascist Japan was when a growing sense of inevitable defeat lead to the utter desperation of kamikaze attacks and training little children to blow themselves up to kill invading American soldiers in the blast.

To Americans, the Japanese fascists appeared so determined that some of us began despair.  But the victory was coming. The  kamikaze attacks were effective in spreading fear and a sense of hopelessness among Americans, yet the very same fanaticism contributed to the belief that the use of atomic bombs was not only justified, but necessary to save both American and Japanese lives.  I am convinced that while gerrymandering and voter suppression by Republicans may delay the downfall of their fanatic obsession, they will also make that Götterdämmerung more complete.

Books to read:  Downfall, Hirohito and the Making of Modern Japan, What Went Wrong, and The Demon Haunted World

Blessed Are The Liars, For They Shall.....Something Or Other

http://blog.alliancedefendingfreedom.org/2015/04/02/whats-the-difference-between-federal-and-state-rfras-and-other-questions-answered/

What amazing obsfucation and disinformation in this article!  It opens with:

Q: Yes or no – RFRAs have only been used to deny service to LGBT people, and just like Jim Crow laws, they could allow people to deny service because of their “sincerely held religious belief.”

First, note that the subject has been changed. The topic is the state RFRAs, especially the Indiana version,  but instantly we are debating all RFRAs.  This is nothing but a straw man and a lie.  I have heard no one, I emphasize, NO ONE saying such a thing.  On the contrary, I have heard opponent after opponent of the state laws defend the federal law.  

There is little point in going further. The supporters of this law will not listen to anything but their own disinformation propaganda and distortions like this article and the rest of us already know the Liars for Christ will not hesitate to continue to lie.  After all, Jesus loves liars.

If you can control your temper, you might want to read the rest of this disinformation.  This will prepare you to counter the deceptions supporters will throw up in a conversation (pun intended), just remember the rules of elemental logic and look for the changes of subject, the outright lies, the emotionally loaded terms, the forced choice/false dichotomies...well, you know the tools used by propagandists.

PS,  I conform with reality and only use value loaded terms when I can make them stick.

PPS,  In my sincere religious belief, deceiving in the Name of God is taking the Lord's Name in vain.

War? What War? I Ain't Seen No War!

I posted the following on response to the right wing's hysteria over the imagined war on Christians.

A new poll indicates this kind of extremism is causing a backlash.  It reports that Evangelicals are losing popularity as LGBTs gain it.  In fact, the results indicate LGBTs are more popular in America than are Evangelicals.

I don't know if Greenberg Quinlan Rosner Research is reliable, but these results are reported on an ultrareligious Christian website which opposes  marriage equality:  http://www.christianpost.com/news/gay-people-more-popular-than-evangelicals-says-poll-from-lgbt-activist-group-117028/

I must add that, as a Christian, I haven't detected anyone waging war on me.  You'd think I would have noticed that sort of thing.  I wonder what's wrong with me.

Props

Agitprop is agitation propaganda, designed to enrage and frighten people into illogical and even self destructive behaviors.  Disinformation is false data intended to delude and mislead people.  These are the only items available on Fox News and other "conservative" sites.  I am reminded of the "news" once produced by the Soviet party organ called Pravda.  Pravda, by the way, means "truth".

My Right To Take Away Your Rights

During a discussion with friends on the issue of the religious right to discriminate, I posted:

The Religious Right has a point in that early American colonies, especially those of the Pilgrims, were solidly based upon the right to jail, whip, imprison and otherwise suppress all who did not believe exactly as they did.  Even minor doctrinal differences could result in brutal punishment.  The  Religious Right wants that "freedom" back.

Today, they are desperately  employing every tool they have and are burning up all their resources to try to turn the tide.  They have lost the cultural wars and know it.  These seeming victories are their swan song which makes them ever more unpopular as they try to regain their former position.  Gay rights were once unthinkable, but are now the norm.  They are in exactly the same position as the segregationists were in the 1960's.  They seemed to to be winning, but only on the surface.

Think about the 80's.  The ultra religious were crowing about how they had taken over government.  Today all they do is howl about how America has betrayed them.  

"You Can Discriminate As Long As You Don't Discriminate"

Updates on Indiana's "You Can Discriminate As Long As You Don't Discriminate" law:

Consider the first reported application of the law:

http://washingtonpost.com.co/marcus-bachmann-refused-service-in-indiana-store-owner-assumed-he-was-gay/. A store owner refused to serve Michelle Bachman's husband because he looked gay to her.

-- Holtz began to suspect that Bachmann was “perhaps a homosexual man”, and because it is now within her rights to refuse service based on religious beliefs, informed Bachmann she would be unable to serve him, and asked him to leave. --

So that's only one woman's interpretation?  Read on.

In spite of denials that the law intended to legalize discrimination, the groups who helped write the law and who stood beside the Governor when he signed it, openly declare that discrimination is the ONLY purpose of the law.

(The following lengthy quote is from http://thinkprogress.org/lgbt/2015/03/31/3640801/conservatives-indiana-discrimination/)

-- At the forefront of the conservative reaction is Micah Clark, who serves as executive director of the American Family Association of Indiana and who stood right behind Pence as he signed the bill. Speaking Monday to Tim Wildmon, head of the national American Family Association, Clark explained that conservatives should oppose any effort to clarify that the law does not legalize discrimination. “That could totally destroy this bill,” he explained.

Clark has been publicly advocating for the bill as a means for allowing anti-LGBT discrimination since December, long before the legislation was even drafted. This directly contradicts the claims made Monday by House Speaker Brian Bosma (R) and Senate President Pro Tem David Long (R) that the legislation never had anything to do with discrimination.

Eric Miller, Executive Director of Advance America, is another anti-LGBT activist who stood by Pence as he signed the bill. Advance America praised Pence for signing the bill last week, openly stating that it would allow wedding vendors to refuse to serve same-sex couples and allow Christian businesses to refuse transgender people access to restrooms. Miller was quoted as saying, “It is vitally important to protect religious freedom in Indiana. It’s the right thing to do. It was therefore important to pass Senate Bill 101 in 2015 in order to help protect churches, Christian businesses and individuals from those who want to punish them because of their Biblical beliefs!” Pence and Miller, it turns out, go way back.

On the national stage, conservatives are similarly defending the RFRA and arguing it needs no fixing. Andrew Walker, Director of Policy Studies for the Southern Baptist Convention’s Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission, perhaps best summed up the distortion conservatives are using to argue that it’s not discriminatory:

A wedding vendor who chooses not to service a same-sex wedding is not discriminating against a person’s being. Instead, the vendor believes that material cooperation in a particular event encroaches on his conscience… To give relief to a particular wedding vendor who feels uncomfortable servicing a gay wedding isn’t in any way comparable to state-sponsored discrimination… To require a wedding vendor to service a same-sex wedding is not eliminating discrimination against the gay couple. It’s coercing the wedding vendor. --

This sayeth the writers and supporters of the bill.  Governor Pence, someone's telling lies

On 3/31, Governor Pence stated he would work with the legislature to modify the law to,"make it clear that" the law did not allow a business to refuse service.  However, Tony 

Cook of the Indianapolis Star reports that legislators are having mixed responses to this, a few feeling that outright repeal is preferable.

Tinkering With Rights And Authority

I sharply disagree with this editorial. The Tinker decision, in which --...the Supreme Court proclaimed that schoolchildren don't “shed their constitutional rights to freedom of speech or expression at the schoolhouse gate.”-- is a poor one.  Schools (k-12) are dedicated to education. While discussions of current events are critical to fulfilling that function, political protest can be profoundly disruptive.  The learning environment requires  mutual effort and cooperative interactions, while protest is defined as disruptive and conflict oriented.

Furthermore, the authority of the school is undermined by the Tinker decision.  If we insist that free speech rights can not be limited for students, how can the school limit vulgarity or defiance?  Why can a student not wear pornographic images?  Why must a student be silent while the teacher lectures?

Of course students do not lose their rights at the classroom door, but the nature of the educational experience does limit those rights under the special circumstance of attending classes.

The issue of the classic concept of schools acting in loco parentis, that is as a parent in the absence of the actual parents, has been deeply eroded, but surely some level of authority must exist if schools are to function.

Court ruling shows hazy high school freedom
http://lat.ms/1Dnd8Wg

Egypt -- A Thought Experiment

Just a few thoughts on continuing revolution in Egypt. It's been noted and debated that while Morsi was democratically elected, he has acted in a very authoritarian manner. The question then becomes, is it appropriate to remove him by main force or wait and return to the ballot box in three years? I find it very interesting that people who have similar positions regarding democracy and freedom have taken opposite stances on this particular issue.  Some insist that if Egypt is to be be a successful democracy, the world must be patient and wait for the next election to address these issues.  Others, normally in close agreement with this first group, say that Morsi has forced the issue and left the Egyptian people with little choice except to rebel.

The issue is very complex.  On the one hand, it is been stated that the real test of the success of the American Revolution was the first transfer of power from one political party to the next through peaceful elections rather than armed rebellion.  On the other hand, in spite of some very difficult times, the conflicting American political parties were united in their dedication to the concept of democracy.  Morsi's party, the Muslim Brotherhood, has demonstrated that it is not.

I don't intend to get into the jumble of complex issues here, I just want to propose a simple thought experiment.  Assume we are in an alternate universe just after the American Revolution and the first elections under the Constitution. We are Patriots. We have fought long and hard for our freedom and have elected Washington to be our first president. But all our hope and joy begin to evaporate.  Now that he is in power, Washington has declared that he has the right to alter the Constitution if he so wishes. He adds that he is virtually above any limitation imposed by the courts, thus negating the concept of the balance of powers.  

Finally, and perhaps most disturbing, he has declared that, as a loyal member of the Masonic Order, he will take action to ensure that America will now and forever after be a Masonic nation.  Masonic Law will be American Law and the Masonic Order will be the official and privileged religion of the nation.  Other religions may, or may not, be tolerated.

As a Patriot, what do you do? Do you wait for the next elections knowing that during those few years Washington will do all he  can to adjust the Constitution to ensure that his party and his faith will rule forever? Or do you take action now by turning back to the Continental Army to continue the revolution? It's an interesting question, isn't it?

While you are thinking about it, remember that under both the Articles of Confederation and the Constitution, former Patriot soldiers did mount rebellions against their new government. I'm referring, of course, to Shays' Rebellion and the Whiskey Rebellion.

P