From: owner-roc-digest@lists.xmission.com (roc-digest) To: roc-digest@lists.xmission.com Subject: roc-digest V2 #247 Reply-To: roc-digest Sender: owner-roc-digest@lists.xmission.com Errors-To: owner-roc-digest@lists.xmission.com Precedence: bulk roc-digest Wednesday, June 23 1999 Volume 02 : Number 247 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Tue, 15 Jun 99 16:54:44 PST From: roc@xpresso.seaslug.org (Bill Vance) Subject: RAPTUS: [FW: Another hateful attack agains Christians] (fwd) On Jun 15, Barbara Kidd wrote: [-------------------- text of forwarded message follows --------------------] Has anyone heard of this site? A friend of mine sent it to me warning me that it's time to contact my congressmen. Has anyone checked into the validity of this stuff? http://www.traditionalvalues.org/juvenile.html Here is the first page for those who do not have access to the web. Barbie ************************************* URGENT!! ACTION NEEDED NOW!! URGE CONGRESS TO ADOPT THE SOUDER AMENDMENT!! Several weeks ago the Senate concluded work on its version of the Juvenile Crime Bill. Now, the House of Representatives is beginning to draft its version of the same bill (The Child Safety & Youth Violence Prevention Act of 1999). Since 1994, the Clinton/Gore Administration has been using funds that are authorized by this bill for the advancement of various liberal political causes. One of the most disturbing initiatives which this bill will authorize is a juvenile crime prevention program. Such a program may seem harmless and perhaps even profitable; however, the Clinton Administration, under the guise of juvenile crime prevention, has funneled these funds to programs that aggressively attack biblical Christianity. THE HOUSE JUVENILE CRIME PACKAGE The House Juvenile Crime Package authorizes funds for the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP). The Clinton/Gore Administration is spending these funds on programs that teach children that Christianity is the root of hate. These anti-Christian programs are introduced as juvenile crime prevention programs. Traditional Values Coalition has discovered that most of these "crime prevention" programs have a distinctively anti-Christian message. This is extremely dangerous since the purpose of these programs is "to change the mind, the heart and the habits of our people when they are young..." so "that societies can be changed." Many of these programs include grade school curricula and other community initiatives. In "Healing the Hate" (a curriculum designed for 5th-8th grade), a chapter entitled "Hate Crime Perpetrators; Why They Do It," contains the story of a former white supremacist: "As a youth I had gone to Baptist, Pentecostal and other churches, but had stopped being religious,...Instead, I became fascinated with history and the story of Adolf Hitler-who had risen from the gutter to world power. The Aryan nation, however considered itself the political arm of the Church of Jesus Christ Christian. Each Sunday morning I attended worship services and on Wednesday evening were Bible studies. For example, we read verses from the book of Genesis and concluded that there had been two creations-one for people of color and another for white people. We called this theology Christian Identity." "We read the book of Revelation and believed that the final battle of Armageddon would be a race war in the United States...white people were going to annihilate the forces of Lucifer and the Antichrist-blacks and other people of color and Jews. We believe that Aryan nations and Christian white people were going to rule the world." Nowhere in the curriculum are children provided a disclaimer telling them that Christians- Baptist, Pentecostals, and others abhor racism and believe it is immoral. MORE CONFLICT A joint publication by the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (Department of Justice) and the Safe and Drug Free Schools Program (Department of Education) entitled Conflict Resolution Education: A Guide to Implementing Programs in Schools, Youth-Serving Organizations, and Community and Juvenile Justice Settings is another curriculum that contains distinctly anti-Christian overtones. The goal of this manual is to achieve peace in our schools through "conflict resolution." According to the guide, culture is defined as: "That part of human interactions and experiences that determine how one feels, acts, and thinks. It is through one's culture that one establishes standards for judging right and wrong, for determining beauty and truth, and for judging oneself and others. Culture includes one's nationality, ethnicity, race, gender, sexual orientation, socioeconomic background, physical and mental ability, and age." *Notice: Religion is not even mentioned! In fact, throughout the entire curriculum religion and Christianity are never recognized as contributing aspect of our culture. Throughout this "conflict resolution" program children are taught that truth is not as important as the resolution of conflict and that all views, life-styles, beliefs, etc., are equally acceptable. The only unacceptable belief is one that is "intolerant." This teaching labels Christian beliefs about truth and sin as unacceptable. THE SOUDER AMENDMENT All of these anti-Christian programs are inadvertently being authorized under the House Juvenile Crime package. If this package succeeds unchanged then the Clinton/Gore Administration will be free to continue its practice of funneling federal dollars to attack Christianity. Representative Mark Souder (R-IN) will offer an amendment to the House Juvenile Crime Bill (The Child Safety & Youth Violence Prevention Act of 1999) to prohibit funds authorized by this bill from being used in programs that denigrate or undermine religious beliefs. This amendment is needed to stand against the open attack of Christianity within our nations schools and communities. ACTION NEEDED NOW!!! The House Juvenile Crime Package will be voted on as early as Wednesday, June 16, 1999. If the Souder Amendment is not approved with the bill then school children will be taught that Christians are perpetrators of hate. Please contact your U.S. Representative and ask them to protect America's children from government funded anti-Christian bigotry in the classroom and to vote for the Souder Amendment to HR 1501, The Child Safety and Violence Prevention Bill. Reach your U.S. Representative through our Website or call them through the Capitol Switchboard at (202) 224-3121. [------------------------- end of forwarded message ------------------------] - -- - ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ***** Blessings On Thee, Oh Israel! ***** - ----------------+----------+--------------------------+--------------------- An _EFFECTIVE_ | Insured | All matter is vibration. | Let he who hath no weapon in every | by COLT; | -- Max Plank | weapon sell his hand = Freedom | DIAL | In the beginning was the | garment and buy a on every side! | 1911-A1. | word. -- The Bible | sword.--Jesus Christ - ----------------+----------+--------------------------+--------------------- - - ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 16 Jun 99 20:33:08 PST From: roc@xpresso.seaslug.org (Bill Vance) Subject: CALL TOLL FREE NOW!! (fwd) On Jun 16, Neal M. Atkins wrote: [-------------------- text of forwarded message follows --------------------] >From frankhappy@my-deja.com Wed Jun 16 11:23:40 1999 Newsgroups: tx.guns Subject: Call Congress Today! Toll FREE! From: frankhappy@my-deja.com Date: Wed, 16 Jun 1999 16:23:40 GMT If you call 888-449-3511, you will be connected to the Capitol switchboard. You can ask for your Senator or Congressman/woman's office. For example, you can ask for Tom Delay's office and you will be connected. We want to call the Congressman because the Senate has already sold us out. The House is the last chance to stop the anti-gun bills. Make sure to call and tell them to vote NO to Lautenberg Amendment, No to ban on high Cap mags, NO to ban on gun shows. You can go to www.gunowners.org for more information on the proposed laws. Tell your friends to call and also fax. 888-449-3511. I know Texans will do their part but let your friends and relatives know. Call now because they will be voting on this very soon, maybe TODAY. Sent via Deja.com http://www.deja.com/ Share what you know. Learn what you don't. [------------------------- end of forwarded message ------------------------] - -- - ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ***** Blessings On Thee, Oh Israel! ***** - ----------------+----------+--------------------------+--------------------- An _EFFECTIVE_ | Insured | All matter is vibration. | Let he who hath no weapon in every | by COLT; | -- Max Plank | weapon sell his hand = Freedom | DIAL | In the beginning was the | garment and buy a on every side! | 1911-A1. | word. -- The Bible | sword.--Jesus Christ - ----------------+----------+--------------------------+--------------------- - - ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 16 Jun 99 20:35:45 PST From: roc@xpresso.seaslug.org (Bill Vance) Subject: [2ndamendmentnews] Anti Gun Legislation US House Votes Tomorrow! (fwd) On Jun 16, Weldon Clark wrote: [-------------------- text of forwarded message follows --------------------] From: Weldon Clark Anti Gun Legislation US House Votes Tomorrow! Call your congressperson at the following toll-free numbers US Capitol Switchboard 1-888-449-3511 1-800-449-3511 By Weldon Clark Oppose this anti-gun legislation! Mandatory background checks and REGISTRATION ON PRIVATE SALES at gun shows. (Registration is necessary for CONFISCATION.) Mandatory safety locks on all guns sold. Banning importation of self-defense clips that hold more than 10 rounds. Raising the legal age to purchase a firearm from a private individual to 21. Banning juvenile possession of certain semiautomatic rifles. ***************************** By Neal Knox June 16 Neal Knox Report - Late last night the Rules Committee completed the voting procedure on the Juvenile Justice bill, H.R. 1501, and the sidebar gun package. The Juvenile bill, with Henry Hyde's amendments focusing on the impact of cultural issues and taking some whacks at the entertainment industry, will be on the floor today. The gun provisions will be on the floor tomorrow, June 17, with the centerpiece being Rep. John Dingell's NRA-backed amendment requiring background checks on gun show buyers, but only allowing FBI a maximum of 24 hours to conduct a so-called "Instant Check." Rep. Dingell's proposal, co-sponsored by five other senior pro-gun Democrats defines a gun show as an event where at least 50 guns are offered for sale on at least 10 tables. That would exempt small flea markets and individuals who bring a personal gun to an event for trade or sale from having to perform background checks. Dingell's amendment, according to the summary I've seen, would prohibit any charge for conducting the background checks and require records of purchases by law- abiding citizens to be immediately destroyed -- essentially the provisions of the Smith Amendment passed 69-31 by the Senate last summer. The Democrat-sponsored Dingell package is expected to pass by drawing about 60 Democrat votes, since his sponsorship gives cover to a lot of wavering Democrats. But it also gives cover to a lot of wavering Republicans. Democrats are fuming that Rules Committee did not approve an up or down vote on the entire Senate-passed gun package. Judiciary Chairman Hyde is the sponsor of the main alternative to the Dingell Amendment, a package quite similar to the Lautenberg amendment that passed the Senate. Republican Hyde's amendment uses Lautenberg's "compromise" definition of "gun show," but allows three business days for FBI to conclude the checks -- which is how the Senate-passed bill reads. Because around 25 percent of "Instant Checks" are not immediately approved due to similarity of names and non- disqualifying arrests or outstanding warrants -- many of them for excessive traffic violations -- the three-working-day allowance would almost certainly eliminate a fourth of gun law sales, and many more if the FBI reduced its NICS manpower during weekends. Democrats are most angry over the fact that by taking the point on the "weaker" gun control proposal, the most senior member of the House, who is one of the most powerful Democrats in Congress, has denied President Clinton and anti-gun Democrats the planned centerpiece of next year's Congressional campaign. No longer can the anti-gun crowd and the news media condemn Republicans as being in the pocket of NRA, while gun owners are simultaneously condemning Republicans for having "caved in" on guns. That double-whammy would unquestionably have cost Republicans control of Congress -- and it could still happen due to the simmering anger of gun owners against Republicans. But a lot of gun owners are even angrier at NRA Executive Vice President Wayne LaPierre for giving Congress the green light for NICS checks on private sales at gun shows. -------------- Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott has taken a lot of justifiable heat for allowing all the gun amendments to be brought up on the Senate floor last month, and giving Vice President Al Gore the opportunity to cast the deciding vote for the Democrats' bill to "close the gun show loophole." Now Leader Lott is trying to worm off the griddle by claiming that Gore's vote will hurt his Presidential aspirations in many states. It may, but that doesn't absolve Lott for presiding over the gun law fiasco in the Senate -- which has seriously damaged Republican Senators with both pro- and anti-gunners. That kind of screw-up takes real skill. **************************** The way to protect your own rights is to protect the rights of others. You know our right to own and use firearms is under attack. This is an emergency. This list was created in a hurry. We receive e-mail addresses from various sources that represent the recipients as receptive to our timely, low-to- moderate volume gun-rights-related alerts (generally no more than weekly, never more than daily, depending on legislative and other circumstances). Occasionally recipients turn out to be not interested, and we remove them immediately with our sincere apology for any inconvenience. If your enrollment is in error, please send a blank e-mail back to me with the word "remove" as the subject. Please make sure I can see your e mail address. If you know anyone who would appreciate these alerts, please let us know and we'll enroll them on a trial basis. Feel free to forward these alerts. If you've received this as a forward and wish to subscribe please send a reply to me at wh.clark@cwix.com Cordially Yours, The 2ndAmendmentNews Team If ye love wealth better than liberty, the tranquility of servitude better than the animating contest of freedom, go home from us in peace. We ask not your counsels or arms. Crouch down and lick the hands which feed you. May your chains set lightly upon you, and may posterity forget that ye were our countrymen. -- Samuel Adams, speech at the Philadelphia State House, August 1, 1776. - ------------------------------------------------------------------------ How has ONElist changed your life? Share your story with us at http://www.onelist.com [------------------------- end of forwarded message ------------------------] - -- - ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ***** Blessings On Thee, Oh Israel! ***** - ----------------+----------+--------------------------+--------------------- An _EFFECTIVE_ | Insured | All matter is vibration. | Let he who hath no weapon in every | by COLT; | -- Max Plank | weapon sell his hand = Freedom | DIAL | In the beginning was the | garment and buy a on every side! | 1911-A1. | word. -- The Bible | sword.--Jesus Christ - ----------------+----------+--------------------------+--------------------- - - ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 17 Jun 99 10:05:14 PST From: roc@xpresso.seaslug.org (Bill Vance) Subject: Fw: RootsWeb Humor (fwd) Go Skippy!!! Hmmmm, must be "Crockodile Dundee", syndrome.....:-) On Jun 17, Kevin McGehee wrote: [-------------------- text of forwarded message follows --------------------] You're gonna laugh! Kevin McGehee Fairbanks/North Pole, AK mcgehee@mosquitonet.com http://www.mcgeheezone.com/ - ----- Original Message ----- From: Julie Case To: Sent: Wednesday, June 16, 1999 6:56 PM Subject: RootsWeb Review, Vol. 2, No. 24 [much snippage] * * * * * HUMOR. Thanks to Bob Tillman for this programming tale. AIR WARGAMES SIM -- URBAN LEGEND AUSTRALIAN STYLE This is supposedly a true story from a recent Defence Science Lectures Series, as related by the head of the Australian DSTO's Land Operations/Simulation division. They've been working on some really nifty virtual reality simulators, the case in point being to incorporate Armed Reconnaissance Helicopters into exercises (from the data fusion point of view). Most of the people they employ on this sort of thing are ex- (or future) computer game programmers. Anyway, as part of the reality parameters, they include things like trees and animals. For the Australian simulation they included kangaroos. In particular, they had to model kangaroo movements and reactions to helicopters (since hordes of disturbed kangaroos might well give away a helicopter's position). Being good little programmers, they just stole some code (which was originally used to model infantry detachments reactions under the same stimuli), and changed the mapped icon, the speed parameters, etc. The first time they've gone to demonstrate this to some visiting Americans, the hotshot pilots have decided to get "down and dirty" with the virtual kangaroos. So, they buzz them, and watch them scatter. The visiting Americans nod appreciatively -- then gape as the kangaroos duck around a hill, and launch about two dozen Stinger missiles at the hapless helicopter. Programmers look rather embarrassed at forgetting to remove *that* part of the infantry coding -- and Americans leave muttering comments about not wanting to mess with the Aussie wildlife. As an addendum, simulator pilots from that point onwards avoided kangaroos like the plague, just like they were meant to do in the first place. [------------------------- end of forwarded message ------------------------] - -- - ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ***** Blessings On Thee, Oh Israel! ***** - ----------------+----------+--------------------------+--------------------- An _EFFECTIVE_ | Insured | All matter is vibration. | Let he who hath no weapon in every | by COLT; | -- Max Plank | weapon sell his hand = Freedom | DIAL | In the beginning was the | garment and buy a on every side! | 1911-A1. | word. -- The Bible | sword.--Jesus Christ - ----------------+----------+--------------------------+--------------------- - - ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 20 Jun 1999 20:28:14 -0700 From: Chris Ferris Subject: Just One Man June 20, 1999 The Honorable William Jefferson Clinton The White House Washington, D.C. 20500 Dear Mr. President: Happy Father's Day, Mr. President. As you smirk and reflect back on the countless fathers' daughters whom you have violated amorally and disgracefully with impunity over the years, consider taking another moment to ponder the contents of this missive from an American father who has had his fill of your incessant ranting and raving about the failure of the U.S. Congress to buy off on the Clinton-Gore statist vision of ever more draconian gun control and of an eventually disarmed general populace. I am just one man, Mr. President. I am just one veteran of U.S. Army active duty service who recalls with pride the distinct honor and privilege of protecting and defending the Constitution of the United States. I am just one husband who adores and who respects his beloved wife. I am just one dad who loves his two beautiful daughters. I am just one faithful, devout Catholic Christian who trusts deeply in God and who is always a good neighbor and a good friend to those in distress or to those in need. I am just one responsible gun owner and, yes, Mr. President, you guessed it, I am just one proud member of the NRA. Neighborly. Responsible. Accountable. Yes, That is my NRA. Everything good and decent that you are not. Neighborly. Responsible. Accountable. Sorry about that, Sir. But that is the truth about the NRA. Back to the point. Again, I am just one man. Because I am just one man, you may conclude that hysterical freedom crushers such as Sarah Brady, Dick Gephardt, Patrick Kennedy, Carolyn McCarthy, Charles Schumer and you can intimidate me into running up the white flag, into shrugging my shoulders, into surrendering to your incessant assaults on the Bill of Rights, into concluding that protecting the Second Amendment is a lost cause. After all, I am just one man. Pay close attention here, Mr. President. Never underestimate the courage, the tenacity, the willpower and the perseverance of just one honorable man whose freedom is threatened by unprincipled liberal elites. Just last weekend, I was driving back home to New Hampshire on The Maine Turnpike in my four wheel drive pick up truck. My precious twelve year old daughter Kimberley was sleeping next to me in the passenger seat. I wished her sweet dreams as I smiled and marveled that God had been so gracious as to give such a beautiful child to my wife and to me. I looked forward to watching her grow, live and learn, guided with care by a devoted mom and dad and not by a village of meddling, if well intentioned Clintonistas. I hoped that she was dreaming of a future full of love, of promise and of prosperity. And perhaps of a moral teenage boy friend? Of course. Every dad's hope. Maybe even yours? As Kimberley slept, I marveled that you and your gun controlling and banning posse would want me to be unarmed and unable to protect her as I traveled on America's highways. I marveled that Carolyn McCarthy, whose husband and son were shot by a racist madman as Long Island Railroad riders disarmed by the State of New York's gun control laws were unable to stop the horrific crime in progress, would not want me to be armed and thus to be able to save my daughter from savage criminals. An armed American dad saving the life of an innocent, unarmed daughter threatened by violent criminals? What a novel concept! That just one man could prevent a violent crime in progress and save the life of an innocent victim? Wow. It's not exactly rocket science, is it, Mr. President? But, then again, trusting armed dads to protect vulnerable daughters just doesn't fit in with your Clinton-Gore agenda, where individual rights are viewed as dangerous anachronisms. In Clinton-Gore America, Americans just cannot be trusted. Nosiree. Not even when an American gentleman, armed and trained, merely wants to be able, in extremis, to save his wife or daughter or other innocents from a wolf pack of wilding gang-bangers. And don't say that such terrifying scenarios do not occur. Because they do. You know it. And America knows it. A good American being lawfully armed while out on the road? Why, no, no, no! Your noisy gaggle of Clinton-Gore gun-and-freedom haters would insist that I remain unarmed while driving, for instance, through New York and New Jersey, where predatory car-jackers or vicious gang-bangers might choose to assault, rape or slay my daughter and to kill me if my truck were to break down in a remote area of highway unpatrolled routinely by state police. Would you deem criminals' victimization of Kimberley and me as an "acceptable consequence" of disarming me, her devoted dad? Sir, I really wish to know your answer to that thoughtful question, if you have the fortitude to admit your absolute moral failing in deciding to embolden violent criminals by disarming responsible Americans. I will await your answer, in writing. And do not bother to have a twenty-something yuppie staffer "auto-pen" some Joe Lockhart-approved, generic response. Consider sending me a reflective, hand-written note. I would appreciate the courtesy of receiving from you such a personal reply to a legitimate query. After all, I am both a loyal American citizen and your employer who writes your performance review. I am just one man, Mr. President, but I am just one man who will never yield my right to keep and bear arms in reasoned, lawful defense of my loved ones, my friends and my neighbors, my fellow Americans and myself. These observations of just one man may mean nothing to wealthy liberal elites at your gun control power lunches where faith, family and freedom are mocked and where honor is neither present nor appreciated. But these observations will certainly resonate in the minds, hearts and souls of Americans who trust in each other. And that accounts for the vast majority of us. I am just one man. But around this great nation of ours, millions of other principled men and women to whom liberty is sacred and to whom freedom is forever are surely experiencing the same feelings as I am as we watch you viciously attack the Bill of Rights in an all out assault on the very foundation of our Republic. Yes, Sir, I am just one man, however, I will be joined not just by one other man and not just by one other woman, but by millions upon millions of concerned, caring American citizens in making a conscious decision never to yield our Second Amendment freedoms. Never. Sir, there will be no compromise. I repeat, no compromise at all.. There will be no back room deals. There will be no sell outs. Because our Second Amendment freedoms are here to stay. Permanently. You can count on that. We will give no ground. None whatsoever. And, moreover, we intend to take back politically precious freedoms stolen from us since 1993 during your reign of error. Get used to it, Sir. And get over it. Because we, not you, are going to prevail. And pass that same message clearly both to Gore and to Bradley and to their shills in Congress. And with regard to your recent caterwauling about gun control and intimating that freedom's defenders do not care about "the children", to paraphrase country music diva Shania Twain, "That don't impress me much!" But, then again, I am just one man ... just one man whose opinions may be shared by millions upon millions of others. But, then again, Sir, just one man may be just the answer to counter the hysteria of just one Bill Clinton, who may be just one President, but who has proven to be, in reality, hardly a man in any sense of the word. That is the lasting legacy of a habitual liar. And habitual lying is your decision and your way of life, and yours alone. In closing, thank you, Mr. President, for taking the time to review this correspondence. Please give appropriate consideration to my expressed viewpoints as you contemplate whether or not you should rethink your decision to fear freedom and to distrust your fellow Americans who still believe 100% in duty, honor, country and the Second Amendment that you despise and fear so irrationally. I look forward to hearing back from you at your convenience. Until then, may God safeguard you and your loved ones as you continue in your critical role as the leader of the U.S.A. Sincerely, Christopher C. Ferris (street address deleted) Nashua NH ferriscc@mainstream.net - - ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 21 Jun 99 05:13:47 PST From: roc@xpresso.seaslug.org (Bill Vance) Subject: Humor Arthur Davidson, (the Harley guy), dies and goes to Heaven. He meets Saint Peter at the gate, and Peter says, "Well, you've been a pretty good guy, and your motorcycles have changed the world, so as a a reward, you get to hang out with anyone in Heaven you want." Arthur says, "Hmmm, I think I want to hang out with God", so Saint Peter takes him in and introduces him. Arthur says, "Say aren't you the guy who invented women?" God replies, "Why, yes I am, what about it?" Arthur says, "Well, I just thought I'd mention that there are some major design flaws: There's too much front protrusion, they chatter at high speed, the rear ends too wobbly, and the intake is too close to the exhaust." God says, "Just a second", walks over to the Celestial Super Computer, types in a few keystrokes, and a moment later, out comes a printout. God takes a look, and says, "Well, Arthur, I may have made some design flaws, but according to this, there's a whole lot more men riding my invention then there are yours." :-) - -- - ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ***** Blessings On Thee, Oh Israel! ***** - ----------------+----------+--------------------------+--------------------- An _EFFECTIVE_ | Insured | All matter is vibration. | Let he who hath no weapon in every | by COLT; | -- Max Plank | weapon sell his hand = Freedom | DIAL | In the beginning was the | garment and buy a on every side! | 1911-A1. | word. -- The Bible | sword.--Jesus Christ - ----------------+----------+--------------------------+--------------------- - - ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 22 Jun 99 20:48:30 PST From: roc@xpresso.seaslug.org (Bill Vance) Subject: Fw: EIA Communique - 6/22 (fwd) On Jun 22, Kevin McGehee wrote: [-------------------- text of forwarded message follows --------------------] - ----- Original Message ----- From: To: Sent: Tuesday, June 22, 1999 1:10 PM Subject: EIA Communique - 6/22 The Education Intelligence Agency COMMUNIQU=C9 - June 22, 1999 Now on the Web at http://members.aol.com/educintel/eia + EIA is often accused of being overly critical of teachers' unions and = not providing balance. Well, here's your balance: http://www.edweek.org/ew/current/41chase.h18 It's Education Week's lengthy valentine to National Education Association President Bob Chase, an admittedly nice man who is depicted a= s a visionary, working to drag the NEA staff and the state leadership into th= e 21st century. NEA has already posted a link to the story on its web page. Feel the love. Then come back here for the news. + From the EIA archives: Back when Bob Chase first ran for the NEA presidency in 1996, his campaign literature explained his position on mer= ger between NEA and AFT. "Bob supports a merger between the NEA and the AFT,"= it read, "as long as the merged organization respects the core principles up= on which NEA is based. These core principles... include such items as significant ethnic-minority participation in its governance, structure, a= nd organization; democratic decision-making procedures, including secret bal= lot votes on key issues; and term limits for officers." The Principles of Unity, for which Chase campaigned tirelessly, removed NEA's detailed minority guarantees, granted more decision-making authority to an executive council, largely did away with secret ballot vo= tes, and arranged for a vote by which term limits could be eliminated. + In a move with national ramifications, the AFT-affiliated Austin Federation of Teachers will merge with the NEA-affiliated Austin Associat= ion of Teachers. It will be the first local merger in Texas, and the first in= a state which largely opposed the NEA-AFT merger last year. Texas' status a= s a right-to-work state appears to be a contributing factor to the Austin mer= ger, coupled with the dominance of the independent Association of Texas Professional Educators, the largest teachers' organization in the state. Texas is home to four major teacher groups, each with an affiliate in Aus= tin. AAT represents 1,100 employees and AFT about 2,000. ATPE's Austin affilia= te has 1,500 members, while the Texas Classroom Teachers Association has ano= ther 265. Reaction to the merger in Texas was mixed. Members of NEA's state affiliate, the Texas State Teachers Association, would not talk to EIA on= the record, but the prevailing sentiment was one of caution -- a fear that th= e Austin merger is the opening salvo in a campaign to create a critical mas= s for state merger, or additional votes for national merger. Members of the Texas Federation of Teachers were more willing to talk, and generally found the merger to be a positive step. "Now, Austin teachers will have money to spend working on education issues, rather tha= n organization attacks," said Harley B. Hiscox, president of the Dallas AFT. "Most unfortunately, in Dallas, we will have to continue living with the NEA-ATPE acrimony. However, we intend to continue to push for unity." Dr. Adrienne Segal, former president of the Austin Federation of Teachers, agreed. "The only way we will get anywhere here is through numbers," she said. "So I highly commend the two unions for putting their differences aside and coming to this agreement." + If you read virtually any newspaper over the weekend, you know that a = new American Federation of Teachers study reveals that teachers are underpaid. Whether they are or not is immaterial to this question: Is it news? If th= e United Auto Workers released a study concluding that auto workers were underpaid, how much press would it receive? + EIA highly recommends two recent education articles. The first appears= in the June 1999 issue of Washington Monthly. Written by Robert Worth, it is entitled "The Scandal of Special Ed." The sub-head -- "It wastes money an= d hurts the poor" -- is amply supported by the text. The second appears in = the July 1999 issue of Reason. Written by Texas schoolteacher Jerry Jesness, = it is entitled "Why Johnny Can't Fail." Jesness recounts his own experiences with social promotion, floating standards, and a system that chooses form over substance every time. A must-read. + Last week, New York City high school student Nicole Scuderi apologized= to her classmates for using a quote from Mein Kampf in the yearbook ("The ve= ry first essential for success is a perpetually constant and regular employm= ent of violence.") Parents demanded action from the school's principal, with = one parent claiming that "these kinds of hate statements can lead to, e.g. Columbine, Paducah, Jonesboro, etc." In Pennsylvania last week, Harrisburg School District Superintendent Lucian Yates III said this of Gov. Ridge's proposed school voucher plan: = "All I can say is it will be a sad day for the young people to have to live un= der such a Hitlerian regime." After being criticized by state legislators for his remarks, Yates defended the comparison: "It was Hitler who had little regard for experts= in any field. He regularly ignored the advice of his generals and followed h= is own judgment. His often-repeated quote was, 'have no pity, act brutally.'= " Question: Who showed more maturity? + Thwarted in their efforts to require collective bargaining for all of = the state's charter schools, California's teachers' unions have set their eye= s on another unrepresented group -- employees at campuses of the University of California and California State University systems. New legislation would require 74,000 university employees to pay agency fees to the unions that represent the other 19,000 employees in the system. The bill passed the s= tate Senate and is awaiting approval in the Assembly. The bill also mandates a four-year period before a vote to rescind the fees would be allowed. The four-year delay is a very clever stratagem. Current members would be so vastly outnumbered by the new fee-payers that fee-payers could join= the union, vote to rescind the fees, then resign. Four years would give the unions time to turn those fee-payers into supporters. + Vincent Marolla, for 27 years the treasurer of the Yonkers Federation = of Teachers, was arrested and charged with second-degree grand larceny for embezzling $215,000. Marolla is accused of using union dues for personal expenses and items. If convicted, he could be sentenced to 5 to 15 years = in prison. + Quote of the Week #1: "A union in which members go their own ways on issues is no union at all. Belonging to a union is recognizing that one's ability to earn one's living and one's chances of being protected from arbitrary treatment on the job are almost certainly improved by acting together with one's colleagues than by going it alone and making a privat= e deal with an often willing management. There is a small price to be paid, however, and it's not union dues. It's the need of union members to put t= he welfare of the membership foremost in their minds, to participate activel= y in the work of their organization and to support the democratically determin= ed policies of the union even if they were on the losing side of the vote." = - -- Plainview-Old Bethpage Congress of Teachers President Morty Rosenfeld. + Quote of the Week #2: "I don't think you can make a good teacher by providing more money to them. It's more complicated than that." -- Mike Kilbourn, Orange County (CA) Department of Education. # # # The Education Intelligence Agency conducts public education research, analysis and investigations. Director: Mike Antonucci. Ph: 916-422-4373. = Fax: 916-392-1482. E-Mail: EducIntel@aol.com [------------------------- end of forwarded message ------------------------] - -- - ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ***** Blessings On Thee, Oh Israel! ***** - ----------------+----------+--------------------------+--------------------- An _EFFECTIVE_ | Insured | All matter is vibration. | Let he who hath no weapon in every | by COLT; | -- Max Plank | weapon sell his hand = Freedom | DIAL | In the beginning was the | garment and buy a on every side! | 1911-A1. | word. -- The Bible | sword.--Jesus Christ - ----------------+----------+--------------------------+--------------------- - - ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 23 Jun 1999 16:39:34 -0400 (EDT) From: John Curtis Subject: David Horowitz article on Clinton, China Title of the article is "The Manchurian Candidate". There is not much new here (for afficianado's of Clinton's dark side), but it is refreshing to see campaign contributions, the Riady's, "The Year of the Rat", Jackson Stephans, etc. all tied together in one article. A mainstream article, at that. http://www.salon1999.com/news/col/horo/1999/06/21/manchurian/index.html ciao, jcurtis - - ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 23 Jun 99 21:34:19 PST From: roc@xpresso.seaslug.org (Bill Vance) Subject: Rosie O'Donnell Call-In 1-800-RINGING (fwd) On Jun 23, David Wisniewski wrote: [-------------------- text of forwarded message follows --------------------] It seems that the Bell Campaign is teaming up with Rosie O'Donnell, in a effort to boost Rosie's ratings and promote gun control. On Thursday, June 24, call 1-800-RINGING and tell them how you feel. From: http://www.jointogether.org/sa/action/advancing_policy/alerts/reader.jtml?Object_ID=259199 Dear friends and colleagues: When Congress failed last week to close the gun show loophole, it proved that the NRA is still writing our nation's gun policy. The gun lobby is so entrenched in Washington that it will take a national citizen's movement to break the gridlock that is contributing to 93 deaths everyday. The Bell Campaign is a national, grassroots organization created by survivors of gun trauma to mobilize the majority of Americans who support stronger gun laws. One of our founders, Mary Leigh Blek, will appear as a guest on Rosie O'Donnell this Thursday, June 24, 1999. Mary Leigh's son, Matthew, was killed with a handgun during an attempted robbery in June 1994. During her appearance on Rosie, Mary Leigh will invite viewers to help prevent gun death and injury, and support victims of gun trauma by joining The Bell Campaign. She will give out our toll-free number, 1-800-RINGING (1-800-764-4464) and web address: http://www.bellcampaign.org If you have 5 minutes: It is important that Rosie hear from you. We know that she will get blasted by pro-gun people for showcasing The Bell Campaign. Please send Rosie an e-mail thanking her for informing her audience about ways they can help to stop the gun epidemic. You can e-mail Rosie's through her web site by clicking here. http://rosieo.warnerbros.com/cmp/mail.htm If you have a little more time: Invite some friends over to watch Rosie on Thursday, June 24. Call your local newspaper, radio or TV station (especially ABC) and tell them that you are having a 'Rosie watching party' to show your support for stronger gun laws. It is critical that the momentum started by the Columbine shootings changes how our nation deals with gun policy. The single most important lesson of the recent events in Congress is that meaningful gun policy change will not happen until ordinary citizens hold elected officials accountable for their votes. You can do that by joining The Bell Campaign. - -- David Wisniewski RKBA & Official Kmart/Rosie O'Donnell Protest Page davidwiz@erols.com http://rosie.acmecity.com/happy/365 [------------------------- end of forwarded message ------------------------] - -- - ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ***** Blessings On Thee, Oh Israel! ***** - ----------------+----------+--------------------------+--------------------- An _EFFECTIVE_ | Insured | All matter is vibration. | Let he who hath no weapon in every | by COLT; | -- Max Plank | weapon sell his hand = Freedom | DIAL | In the beginning was the | garment and buy a on every side! | 1911-A1. | word. -- The Bible | sword.--Jesus Christ - ----------------+----------+--------------------------+--------------------- - - ------------------------------ End of roc-digest V2 #247 *************************