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#1
12-06-2001, 02:17 PM
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I have many heroes.
They come from all walks of life, and from many different eras, and countries. There are two current ones in today's Philly Inquirer, as different as can be, but with some similarities and both great nonetheless. 1. John Timoney, http://inq.philly.com/content/inquir...PTIMONEY06.htm and 2. Chistopher Hitchens http://inq.philly.com/content/inquir...ne/HITCH06.htm. Timoney, who just resigned, was the Philadelphia Police commissioner since February 1998, when he was brought from NY City and appointed by Mayor Rendel (another hero who rescued Philadelphia from fiscal bankrupcy and is now running for Governor of PA) to help clean up the Philly police Departement widely viewed as among the most corrupt and incompetent in the nation, was a tough Irish cop, with charm and two advance degrees, who did a fantastic job, seemed to everywhere at once, whether it be on his bike patrolling the streets, in front of the TV camera or attending a black-tie event--the kind of guy who didnt put up with any crap from the bad guys--and Philly has many of them--but who could charm the socks off a leprechan when it was necessary, or admit mistakes when that was necessary too--as it was on occasion, like when his cops bought into Richard Mellon Scaiffe's man's phony tip to squelch dissent and raid the 'puppet warehouse' and wrongfully arrest and jain innocnet people during the GOP Convention. But you had the feeling that he could and would solve any problem that came his way in time--but alas, as he said once, the shelf life of a Police Commisioner was no more than a few years at best. He intends to commute from here to Ny City. There is something about Philly and this area that gets to you if you give it a chance. It must be the ghosts of the Founding Fathers and al lthat history and maybe Rocky too. Chris Hitchens is a writer-intellectual, from Britain, living in Washington DC, who in many ways is similar to Timoney, in his toughness, admission to being wrong on occasion, but correcting it(He was a Marxist at one time), but always willing to think things through again, tenacious about finding out who the bad guys really are--the right-wing Republicans, natch), but unafraid of also criticizing the left-wing democrats to get off their duffs and do the right thing to push the progressive agenda, and never afraid to tell the truth, no matter who might be offended. Read his two massive articles in Harper's on the Nixon-Kissinger cabal that got Nixon elected and extended the Vietnam war years, killiong some 30,000 additional Americans and perhapos millions of Vietnamese, and other Southeast Asians, calling Kissinger a War Criminal for that and for his giving the go-ahead to the CIA for Pinochet's thugs to assasinate President Allende, and which led to thousands of deaths and tortures--the latter BTW, for which Kissinger has now been served with U.S. legal papers not too long ago. Hitchens also likes George Orwell a lot, as I do. Orwell wrote some of the finest work of any writer of the 20th century, taking on the Communists in his famed '1984' and 'Animal Farm' but who also wrote a marvelous essay--some think the finest ever written--on the terrible effects of British colonialism, using India as an example. If Orwell was alive today he would be attacking every day the Right-wing Republicans, The Christian Right, fundamentalism, Big Business--they would be Big Brother--and the Bush Administration--not on the war on terrorism, which Bush has done an excellent job on--but on almost everything else. Maybe Chistopher Hitchens is George Orwell reincarnated? The again, maybe I am. 
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#2
12-06-2001, 02:55 PM
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When you are a V.I.P.W.O.M.W. (Very Interesting Person Who Occasionally Mispells Words) you get invited to things like this:
The Freethought Society of Greater Philadelphia (FSGP) cordially invites you to attend a special presentation at 7 PM sharp on Thursday, December 6, 2001, featuring: Dr. Andrew Petto (National Center for Science Education Editor) and Louise Doskow (Chair of the Freedom to Learn Network). The "Evidence Against Evolution" Strategy: Stealth Creations Ms. Doskow will discuss how right-wing extremists are trying to influence public education in Pennsylvania by taking control of school boards and forcing their religious beliefs into the public schools. Bringing "creation science" into the science classroom is just one example. Dr. Petto will discuss the importance of evolution education, and will describe "stealth tactics" currently being used to advance the agenda of those who seek to undercut church-state separation in the public schools. This event is free and open to the public. The door prize will be The Origin of Species by Charles Darwin. Please join us at: Luddington Library 5 South Bryn Mawr Avenue Bryn Mawr, PA 19010 *Call the library at (610) 525-1776 for directions, if needed. *Call FSGP at (610) 793-2737 for further information Any Phantastic Philly Pholks wanna attend?
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#4
12-07-2001, 01:13 PM
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Cool meeting--all about the major effort creationists have been making in PA school systems--helped by a couple of state reps who are fundamentalist graduates from that paragon of tolerance and scientiic thinking, Bob Jones University. Lots of neat scientists with PHds and very brainy people going after these reprobates form the Scopes Trial.
Also helped by the good ole boy right wing network, natch--RMS, PR, JF, and many GOP political operatives. Here is JF: "I really believe that the pagans, and the abortionists, and the feminists, and the gays and the lesbians who are actively trying to make that an alternate lifestye...I point the finger in their face and say 'you helped this happen."' ---Jerry Falwell, speaking about the September 11 terrorist attacks, The 700 Club I also use the finger a lot but it isnt my index finger and is often pointing more or less towards the heavens. "I know this is painful for the ladies to hear, but if you get married, you have accepted the headship of a man, your husband. Christ is the head of the household and the husband and the husband is the head of the wife, and that is the way it is, period." -Quote from a Pat Robertson newsletter Pat, hope you got some recruits over there amongst the Taliban before they get wiped out. Maybe you should go back to China and that deal you cut with their leader that effectively eliminated all other religious groups--hegemony the Chinese govt used to call it about us. I see that Pat just resigned as head of the religious/political/moneymaker, the Christian Coalition, an organization he founded. If you think the CC has reformed--gotten religion so to speak--better think again. Based on what I heard about their troops and creationism and homeschooling, the charter schools here in PA, and the Bigtime Edison school project here in Philly--characterized as a pyramid scheme last night and one that has resulted in terrible schools in San Francisco and in other places, taking the best students and lots of dough from the public schools, while leaving the rest of the students to poorly funded public schools (why that sounds just like HMOS for many years cherry picking folks in good health leaving the rest to overburdened public providers). When is the Attorney General of the United States gonan go after our religious fundamentalists in addition to Islams? Oops, I almost forgot...
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#6
12-07-2001, 05:35 PM
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Quote:
Andy, I know this is pretty much public knowledge, but for a (supposed) genius you sure do say some moronic things. (Pope=Catholic?) Homeschooling is a growing movement not just among the Christian Right. Just because Bob Jones University Press is a publisher of some home-schooling curricula doesn't mean every homeschooler is a member of "God's Army". Here are a few links: Day 1 Day 2 Day 3 For each link, page down (or do a word search) to the part about Homeschooling and listen to the reports. Hey, LIBERAL NPR gives homeschooling a thumbs-up in three parts! So watch it, Andy. If you continue to throw darts in your condition, you're likely to miss a few times. 
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#8
12-10-2001, 08:41 AM
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Regarding the Edison school issue, there is a serious problem that has somehow escaped scrutiny. The state hired Edison to analyze and make recomendations regarding the Philly school system. There is a major conflict of interest since they will gain by recommending privitization regardless of the ideal solution.
The problem in Philly is combination of white flight and the states school funding mechanism. It is obscene that the degenerates in Radnor can spend 12,000 per student while Philly studends squeak by on under 6,000. It's clear any solution must be regional or statewide to work.
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#9
12-10-2001, 09:28 AM
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Jack:
Good post---also the lack of federal funding for public schools and major cities (which are where many democrats reside, is a huge problem--as is the bad, unfair to the poor--property tax system--see today's Philly inquirer. If Philly is not careful they will have the equivalent to what happened in CA with the energy crisis.
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