More fun from the Times today (in case you, and by you i mean the no one that reads this blog):

Two stories--one, the removal of the Ten Commandments stone from the courthouse. i think the weirdest thing about this particular story is the actual content of the commandments themselves. the first four are all self-reflexive--graven image, the sabbath, no other god but me etc. I sometimes think that too many people allow themselves to believe that the ten commandments are all actual legal stuff, and forget that they are also some really pernicious narcissistic bullshit that deserves nothing but the scorn of any intelligent person. thou shalt not kill is a good idea, sure, but it is also something called COMMON SENSE, and can easily be detached from the rest of the commandments, indeed can be detached from the realm of religion (which has done quite a bit of killing in its time, oh yes) and put into the realm of...law. listening to the sadly deluded and sick individuals who are defending judge moore suggests we are getting closer to civil war than many would want to believe in this country. oh, and did i mention that 300 of our fine representatives felt it was necessary to effectively support Judge Moore? sigh. No talent ass clowns, every one.

on the same page (and it's all about juxtapositions this week) we have the continuing debacle of the Houston school system, where all statistics were inflated regarding graduation rates, college rates etc. All done in the name of getting fundie Christian asshole Rod Paige the job of secretary of education under faux fundie born again president george bush. well, that worked, he's there now, spewing forth religiosity from his "pulpit" as sec of ed, a position which oversees public schools, ostensibly the home of the separation of church and state. double sigh. it turns out that everything that paige claimed about the school system he ran was false. it was and remains a disaster where kids are learning nothing. quote of the day:

"Ashleigh Blackmon, a graduate of Yates in 2002, said she did not for a moment believe all her classmates were planning on college but was not sure her school's claims did any harm.

"It doesn't mean anything, because who cares?" she said, and then paused. "But it could mean they lie about a lot more of other things."

No shit, Ashleigh, they sure could.