The Old Eighteen

"Women for John McCain"

I'm not sure what's funnier, this web site (which is a hilarious work of satire) or the fact that the McCain campaign is actually, I kid you not, running ads on the site.  If you like Betty Bowers or Whitehouse.org, then check this site out.

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(via First Door on the Left)

Ohio teacher fired for branding crosses on his students' arms

Seriously, what the hell is wrong with these people?

The school board of a small central Ohio community voted unanimously Friday to fire a teacher accused of preaching his Christian beliefs despite staff complaints and using a device to burn the image of a cross on students' arms.

School board members voted 5-0 to fire Mount Vernon Middle School science teacher John Freshwater. Board attorney David Millstone said Freshwater is entitled to a hearing to challenge the dismissal.

Freshwater denies wrongdoing and will request such a hearing, the teacher's attorney, Kelly Hamilton, told the Mount Vernon News.

[...] Freshwater used a science tool known as a high-frequency generator to burn images of a cross on students' arms in December, the report said. Freshwater told investigators he simply was trying to demonstrate the device on several students and described the images as an "X," not a cross. But pictures show a cross, the report said.

You know, I'm not a scientist or anything, but I'm guessing that there are a multitude of better ways for a teacher to demonstrate a science tool to his students than using it to burn their arms with a religious symbol.  And yet, amazingly, there are actually people out there speaking up for this idiot:

Freshwater's friend Dave Daubenmire defended him.

"With the exception of the cross-burning episode. ... I believe John Freshwater is teaching the values of the parents in the Mount Vernon school district," he told The Columbus Dispatch for a story published Friday.

Okay, hold on for just a second.  Maybe it's just me, but generally, when you're speaking up for someone and you have to begin your defense with the disclaimer "with the exception of the cross-burning episode," you're probably treading on thin ice intellectually.  And that's borne out by the fact that this guy has been an ongoing problem for the school district for years now:

But Lynda Weston, the district's director of teaching and learning, told investigators that she has dealt with complaints about Freshwater for much of her 11-year term at the district, the report said.

A former superintendent, Jeff Maley, said he tried to find another position for Freshwater but couldn't because he was certified only in science, the report said.

[...] Other findings show that Freshwater taught that carbon dating was unreliable to argue against evolution.

This is the rotten fruit being harvested from several decades of allowing dominionists to continue pushing the envelope in their efforts to undermine the constitutional separation of church and state.  These people already have a disproportionate amount of influence in our government at all levels, and if allowed to, they'll continue pushing until they've taken over everything, not just our schools.  We need to start pushing back.

Quote of the day

A new study has found that three million Irish men can trace their ancestry back to just one man. In his defense, the man said that he'd been drinking.

-- Conan O'Brien

One for the road

Emmylou Harris, Linda Rondstadt, and Dolly Parton: "Mr. Sandman"

Why we fight

Posted below are two more videos that caught my eye recently.  The first video is from the Rick Noriega campaign.  I'm not sure if it's meant as a campaign ad, and it looks like it's only being aired on YouTube at this point.  In the video, Noriega and a few of his fellow veterans call on John Cornyn to stop filming stupid promos of himself playing dress-up and pretending to be a cowboy, and to support the New GI Bill.  After you've watched the video, you can click here to sign a petition telling Senator Box Turtle to take his head out of his shell and change his vote:

The other video is an ad from Moveon.org directed at John McCain, that's getting airplay on MSNBC (or at least, that's where I saw it - I assume it's also beng aired on the other cable news channels, at the least).  This is a pretty simple but effective ad that sneaks up on you - it's a powerful illustration of what the stakes are in this election and why we're fighting to defeat McCain.  You can click here to make a contribution so this ad gets as much airplay as possible:

More people riding DART rail, but...

According to numbers released by DART yesterday, monthly ridership on light-rail and commuter trains was up in May from the previous year's totals for the second month in a row.  Commuters took 120,000 more rail trips overall last month than they did in May 2007, with most of that increase coming in light-rail.  So many people are riding the trains that seats are getting harder to come by, with passenger loads of up to 1.25 times the available number of seats being reported during peak hours.  The agency is spending $190 million to switch out all of its rail cars with larger cars that will have 25 more seats, along with bike racks and more standing room, but that process won't be complete for another 2 years, so light-rail riders might have a little more standing to do.

But while this may sound like good news for those of us who want to see more people taking public transportation and fewer cars on the roads churning out pollutants, the bigger picture for DART is a decidedly mixed bag.  Bus ridership was up only slightly in April and actually decreased last month.  And overall, bus and rail ridership combined in May was just 2 percent higher than the previous year, and actually lower than ridership totals for 2006 - this despite the fact that gas prices are at a record high level.  What gives?  Well, people may just be commuting less generally - the North Texas Regional Transportation Council has reported that Texans drove 4 percent fewer miles in March and 1 percent fewer miles in April.  So the stagnant numbers for bus ridership could be due partly to an increasingly sluggish economy.  But I don't think that's the whole story.

As any regular DART rider knows (and I happen to be one), riding the bus in this area is a huge hassle.  In some neighborhoods, you have to walk a few blocks just to get to (or from) the nearest bus stop - and in the middle of a Dallas summer, that by itself can take a lot out of a person.  Then, once you get to the bus stop, you might have to wait a while: for some routes, especially during peak hours, you might have to wait an hour, or even longer, between buses.  And if you have to transfer to another bus, you're probably going to be in for another extended waiting period at your next bus stop.  All told, it can take forever for some riders to get from point A to point B.  When I lived in Oak Cliff, my commute to/from work was nearly two hours long - and I had to do it twice a day.  Factor in the nuisances that regularly go along with riding the bus - drivers who don't show up on time, broken-down air conditioners, having to sit next to people who smell like piss-soaked gym socks, or the occasional crazy person having a two-way conversation with somebody that the rest of us can't see - and it's not hard to see why so many people might be disinclined to ride the bus.

DART has invested a lot of money in making it more convenient for rich white people in the suburbs to park their cars at the train station, and take the rail into town and back.  And that's all fine and good, because I'm sure that it makes a difference in the number of cars on the road and the amount of driving that they do.  But the agency needs to do a much better job of making it easier for people to ride the bus to and from their rail stations, and making it easier for those of us who go from bus to bus without ever stepping foot on a train.  They could do this by expanding their service area, increasing the number of bus routes, and decreasing the wait time between buses.  I personally know at least a few people who would be more open to the idea of riding the bus if it weren't such a time-consuming pain in the ass to do so.  Of course, it wouldn't hurt if they could hire a few more bus drivers who aren't surly pricks, too, but at this point we should probably just take what we can get.  People in this area aren't going to start taking DART seriously as a transportation option until DART starts taking the needs and desires of its current and potential riders into consideration.  And this is probably equally true of other public transportation agencies in Texas, and throughout this part of the country.  If you build it, they will ride...

Obama's first general election ad hits the airwaves

Here's a look at Barack Obama's first ad of the general election.  The ad is slated to run in 18 states: Alaska, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Iowa, Indiana, Michigan, Missouri, Montana, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Mexico, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, and Virginia.  Most of these are swing states, but a couple of them aren't (or at least aren't widely considered as such), and 14 of these states went for Bush in 2004.  There are a lot of good things to take from this: first, Obama is getting off to an early start, attempting to define himself as a candidate before McCain unleashes his 527's.  Also, he's indicating that he intends to be aggressive in going after red states, not just falling back on the states that we always win and hoping to land a few big swing states.  The fact that he has a realistic chance of taking every one of these states is a testament to the wisdom and success of the 50-state strategy.  Four years ago, it would have been laughable to think that we could take states like North Carolina, Georgia, or Virginia.  Not now.

Obama also appears to be continuing a strategy that served his so well during the primaries, targeting small states where his money will go farther.  Individually, there aren't a lot of electoral votes in states like Alaska, Montana, or North Dakota, but if he's able to pick off a few of these states without spending a whole lot of money, together these states could make a big difference on election night.  If nothing else, he's going to force McCain and the Republicans to spend money in states that they formerly considered safe.  And it could also help Democrats in down-ballot races by boosting voter turnout.

Unfortunately, Texas isn't in this list of states.  Not yet, anyway - and that makes sense to a certain extent.  Texas is a media-rich state, so it's understandable that the Obama campaign might want to be a little careful about spending money down here given the state's reputation as one of the reddest of red states.  But I'd like to think that Obama isn't going to just concede Texas without a fight, not when some of the polls show him within striking distance of McCain down here.  And especially not with a potentially competitive Senate race on the ballot, and a number of other down-ballot races where a little help from Obama and the national party could win us a few extra seats.

Quote of the day

George Bush can speak perfectly well, just not when he's being caring or compassionate or concerned about human beings. That's when he stutters and says shit like "Hey it's hard to put food on your family." Which he actually said, he said it's hard to put food on your family. Do you know why he said that? 'Cause he could give a fuck how hard it is for you to put food on the table for your family. But you know when he gets really downright poetic and articulate and focused is when he's talking about war and death and murder and retribution. All of a sudden he's Dylan Thomas.

-- Patton Oswalt

One for the road

Norah Jones: "Lonestar"

Separated at birth?

One of the individuals pictured above is a foul, hideous monster with no soul, and the other one is the Cryptkeeper.  Can you guess which is which?  Hint: the Cryptkeeper is not the one who got caught stealing Percocet and Vicodin from her own charity.

Laura Bush may have her flaws, but she at least has the decency not to participate in the right-wing attempts at sliming Michelle Obama.  Don't fuck with Michelle, Cindy.