The Atheist Mama

Yes, it has been nearly 4 years (!!!) since my last post.

But I’m still alive!!  I’m even kind of tempted to bring this blog back to life.  It’s definitely in desperate need of a complete overhaul…

Anyway, on January 7, 2011, we sent this letter to our son’s teacher and principal.  We did not get a response…  Thought I’d share.
(Names have been changed)

————————————
Mrs. *****,

Thank you for calling me this morning regarding my concerns about the discussion of the Epiphany.  I also appreciate that you informed me this morning after our son had already arrived at school that there would be a king cake brought into the classroom, and that you gave us an option to remove our son from the activity.  However, it is hardly fair that our son should be removed from an activity that has no business being in the classroom in the first place.  It would have been more appropriate to remove the activity from the classroom.

It’s also concerning to me that you asked our son if he was allowed to be included in the activity when he arrived at school this morning.  We hadn’t discussed the king cake with him before school because we were unaware that it was going to take place in the first place.  His difficulty with communication has made this situation even more difficult.  To be asked, in front of his peers, if he was allowed to participate in this activity was unfair to him and potentially humiliating.

You did tell me that you were unsure of what kind of “trinket” would be hidden in the cake.  However, when our son came home from school today, he informed us that there were two baby Jesus’ hidden in the cake.  He also informed us that there was further discussion of the “three kings.”  I was very surprised to hear this after notifying you yesterday that this topic was inappropriate and my further reiteration to you over the phone this morning that this topic was inappropriate.

Again, it is not possible to talk about baby Jesus or the wise men in a secular manner, and it is clearly not a topic that should be discussed in the classroom, just as it would not be a classroom topic to discuss Muhammad during Ramadan.  These are topics that have been purposefully precedented to not be discussed in a public school; these are topics that are discussed at Sunday school.  We reserve the right to enroll our children in the Sunday school of our choice, not yours.

We fully expect that there will be no more religious doctrine taught in our school and no more religious events planned for the classroom.

As the instructor in the classroom, it is our expectation that you will instruct on academic topics aligning with the curriculum.

As the authority figure in the classroom, it is our expectation that you will assert your authority to control the classroom when inappropriate discussions or behaviors occur — whether they are enacted by students, faculty, or guests.

Please don’t assume that we are intolerant of others’ beliefs.  We are actually very engaged with our children in educating them about the various active belief systems present in the world.  We simply feel it is not fair, especially by an academic institution, to discuss only one point of view on the subject.

We entrust that another situation such as this will not occur again.

Cassandra Cox

It’s a bitter-sweet morning for this central Ohioan voter.

I am ashamed to admit that I voted Straight Democrat. Why is this embarrassing to me? Well as most of you know, I’m not a Democrat - I’m a Libertarian. I was quite happy with my Libertarian choice for governer - Bill Pierce. But I didn’t feel comfortable with the overwhelming possibility that the Republicans would remain in control. So I voted democrat, all the way across the board. I feel that I wasn’t true to my beliefs, but I’m satisfied with the outcome.

I am happy to say that I voted “NO” on all Ohio issues, but disappointed in the fact that several of them passed. “Smoke Free Ohio” is one of those issues. Of course, I also voted no on “Smoke Less Ohio” as well. I just don’t support a smoking ban. Period. But apparently most Ohioans do support the idea of the government making yet another law. So it goes.

I was also disappointed in the fact that Ohioans voted to “Raise the Wage.” I’m not a supportive of a minimum wage hike. I don’t think that it can do anything but harm the economy. Small businesses have a hard enough time making ends meet. Now they’ll have to pay employees more, and as a result some of them may end up unemployed. A better idea would be to fix the heath insurance issues! Bring the price down so that people can afford it and employer can afford to help their employees pay for it. Anyway, this is a whole different post.

The only issue that I was unsure of how to vote for was Ohio’s Learn and Earn. Learn and Earn? Ha…
Let’s just call it what it is - Gambling in Ohio. Anyway, I voted no, but I tossed that one around a bit. I don’t like the idea of telling people whether they can gamble or not. But that’s not what this is about. I guess I would just rather they not do it here. There are plenty of places in this country that allow gambling. I have no problem with that. I enjoy it myself occasionally. But is it really necessary here?

I am cautiously optimistic. I really hope that “the change” all of our democratic candidates were talking up is something that we will see. They need to show the American people that they made the right choices!!

The Guitar Tablature Archive, OLGA.net, has been shut down to “ensure that composers and songwriters will continue to have incentive to create new music for generations to come.”

Read the letter that OLGA got from from the NMPA and the MPA -
pages 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 & 6

Apparently it’s copyright infringement to give access to freaking guitar tablature!! What. The. Hell? I mean, I’ve heard “Stairway to Heaven” more times then I can actually stand. But if my boys want to learn how to play the guitar when they get older, where will we find the music with shit like this going on??

Hat tip to /. and Bullemhead

And now for your entertainment…

Marilyn Manson - This is the New Shit

A few weeks ago, I paid a visit to The Libertarian Party’s offical website. I was pretty surprised when I saw the Apple iPod front and center on their index page. So I read a bit further and discovered that The Libertarian Party was giving away 2 Apple iPods to two lucky members of the Liberty Pledge Club (those would be the members that have given a monetary donation, of course). This raffle was to be held at the 2006 Libertarian National Convention (July 1-2).

I was amazed that The Libertarian Party would be supporting Apple by giving away a video iPod! I was sure that the fact that Apple supports and practices DRM was just overlooked. I was positive. So I decided that it was my duty to write a letter to Shane Cory (the Executive Director of the Libertarian National Committee) and Chris Thorman (the Development Coordinator).

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