The Honest Propagandist

NCAA 2007 Custom Covers

2006-07-27T22:42:00.000-07:00

A public service from your humble propagandist, for the people of the great state of Alabama, who HP knows are passionate about their football:

I went to this site to print out a custom cover for my copy, and I think you should show some school spirit and do likewise.

I'll even make it easy for you:

Alabama: 18 Covers, featuring Kenneth Darby, Ramzee Robinson, Juwan Simpson, John Parker Wilson, and Tyrone Prothro (Yes, they have Prothro's catch).

Auburn: 9 Covers, featuring Will Herring, Kenny Irons, or for those AU fans who want to go old school, Bo Jackson.

Unfortuntely, this site doesn't yet have any custom covers for UAB or Troy. If I find one, I'll let you Blazers and Trojans know.

Assorted Thoughts

2006-07-25T16:14:00.000-07:00

I agree, FoxNews. I'm not a huge fan of any of the cable news networks (I usually find the minimalist style of CNNHN most palatable), but I've been keeping up with the Olbermann/O'Reilly feud from afar. Long story short: O'Reilly's hit on a formula that works and has made him the most watched cable infotainment program in the nation, while Olbermann's show does little but remind us how much we miss the team of Olbermann and Dan Patrick on SportsCenter. Throw in a Nazi reference, and you've got an obsessed dude that should of stuck to what he was good at.

Gov. Riley will most likely be appointed the job to implement Alabama's new voter registration system after Secretary of State Nancy Worley wasn't able to get it done by the time she was allowed. The U.S. Justice Department sued her, and A.G. Troy King was required to defend her. What was his suggestion? "Uhm, yeah, I think Gov. Riley should do it, too." Oh, and by the way...she won her primary. This is only slightly less disturbing than the Larry Darby embarassment.

Cheers: The NAACP and President Bush

2006-07-20T22:39:00.000-07:00

Ok, George W. Bush finally spoke in front of the NAACP. After several "scheduling conflicts", he finally stood up in front of a group that has major issues with many of his policies. After growing a reputation for only speaking to groups of "friendlies", President Bush took a definite chance by scheduling this engagement.

NAACP chairman Julian Bond has expressed displeasure tonight on his Colbert Report appearance on his feelings that the President avoided the real issues that his coalition cares about...namely the war in Iraq and judicial appointments. Chairman Bond had been none too pleasant toward the President in comments at the convention before Bush's speech.

But Bush came anyway. And Chairman Bond, and more importantly, the audience, received him cordially.

No real questions were answered, no real solutions were offered. However, this appearance was a step (a small step, indeed, but a step) towards something we need much more of.

This "something" is politicians receiving their critics head-on, listening to their opinions, and then working to obtain the compromises which have, in the past. helped our country progress as a nation and as a society.

In a perfect world, President Bush would follow up his largely symbolic appearance with further, more meaningful dialogue with the NAACP and other groups who have been adverse to his policies. I'm none too optimistic about this actually happening, but we can dream. This isn't all the President's fault...he can't force a one day paradigm change. But this can be a stepping stone, if those in power on both sides choose to use it.

The Auburn Academic Scandal: The Students Get It

2006-07-19T21:41:00.000-07:00

Auburn University is an asset to the state of Alabama. Over the past few days, I've seen some Alabama fans express their potential delight at SACS coming in and jerking AU's accreditation. I've done my best to explain to them that such a measure (which, I assure you, won't happen) doesn't help anyone. It doesn't help Auburn, it doesn't help the University of Alabama, and it surely doesn't help the state of Alabama.

What do I want out of the story? Change. Change that assures that AU finally gets a president that doesn't have "interim" before his title. Change that assures SACS has no reason to ever put one of our two largest universities on probation. Change that assures that when AU scores well on the APR score, they did it the right way.

And based on this article, that is apparently what at least some Auburn students want as well.

Gay Marriage Amendment Fails in the U.S. House

2006-07-18T22:41:00.000-07:00

The U.S. House of Representatives voted down a proposal to move forward with a Constitutional amendment barring gay marriage. Not only would such an amendment be discriminatory, but would also be a move that anyone with any grasp of national politics would understand as being an exercise in futility. To amend our constitution to ban gay marriage, a winning vote in the House would have to be followed up by a 2/3rds majority vote in the Senate (which it most likely would not get) and a 3/4ths majority vote from the states (which it definitely wouldn't get). In short, the doomed process would be a massive waste of taxpayer money on something that, in the grand scheme of importance to our current society, is a political posturing non-issue.

I'm sorry to report that all seven of Alabama's representatives voted to go forward with this legislation. I understand why they did it; coming on the heels of the state referendum on the issue, there is no doubt that the vast majority of each representative's constituency wanted this attempt to pass. However, it would have still been good to see one of them stand up and say, "I respect the votes of the people of Alabama on their statewide gay marriage referendum, but this amendment is not for the best of our entire nation."

Am I asking the representatives to vote against their personal feelings on gay marriage as well? I don't think so. Even if one is personally against homosexual marriages, one can still recognize several truths which would make a constitutional amendment against the practice unwise. For one, an argument can be made (quite strongly, I believe) that such an amendment would effectively make homosexuals second class citizens. History has taught us that doing such is, almost without fail, later proven to be the poorest of practices. One can also take my earlier economic approach, as a common sense assessment of national sentiment toward the issue shows us that this amendment would be doomed from the beginning; even if it staggers off Capitol Hill, it is nearly impossible to realize a situation where thirty-eight states would pass the proposal.

Bush Offers Simple Solution to the Middle East Conflict

2006-07-17T12:46:00.000-07:00

Mr. Scrushy Goes To Nassau...

2006-07-16T19:15:00.000-07:00

Or not.

Good call, Judge Coody.

Red State Diaries and Politics in Alabama had it first.

Auburn Fan Compares Latest Scandal to 9/11/2001

2006-07-16T16:47:00.000-07:00

Posted without comment...

Link

Wait. No, I can't help myself. I have to comment.

If such a thought ever enters your mind, be you a fan of Tide, Tigers, Bulldogs, or the Akron Zips, go get help. Immediately.

Everyone drop what you're doing....

2006-07-15T23:53:00.000-07:00

and read this post from Wheeler at Alablawg.

The Onion = Satirical or clairvoyant?

Great Column on the Auburn Academic Fraud Scandal

2006-07-15T23:44:00.000-07:00

From Mark McCarter, a sports columnist for The Huntsville Times...

A sampling:

If you are an Auburn grad or fan, does this irritate you? You worked hard for your diploma. These guys haven't.

Is that fair? Does that cheapen the worth of your diploma?

Or do you accept it because it helps provide you great entertainment and pride on a dozen Saturdays in the fall?

Possible Expansion of Auburn's Problems

2006-07-15T14:35:00.000-07:00

Professor Jim Gundlach, who was instrumental in bringing the initial story to light, says a second department is also being investigated due to recent academic fraud allegations.

Second department under investigation

Saturday, July 15, 2006

JON SOLOMON
News staff writer

At least one other department at Auburn University is being investigated for academic irregularities among athletes, said Jim Gundlach, the sociology professor who accuses a colleague of providing easy grades to football players, among others.

Gundlach said Friday the university committee that is investigating his accusations know about the other
department. Auburn spokesman David Granger said the committee is aware of additional questions that have been raised and declined further comment.

Gundlach would not name the department publicly. He said the number of questionable cases involved ranks "nowhere near" the total he outlined to The New York Times about former classes instructed by professor Thomas P. Petee, the department's interim chair.

"Since it's not my department, I don't see it's my place to name the other," Gundlach said in a telephone interview from his home. "That's something the university and university committee needs to address. They know the other area and how to look at it. When I talked to them, I showed how I went through the data."

Gundlach has alleged that 18 football players from Auburn's 2004 undefeated team combined for 97 hours of "fake" directed-reading courses in their careers from Petee.

Petee denied to The Times showing favoritism and has since not responded to interview requests.

Interim Auburn President Ed Richardson has vowed the university will conduct a thorough investigation handled "directly and openly."

Where Do You Rate on the F-Scale?

2006-07-14T00:46:00.000-07:00

Ever been called a facist? Oh, haven't we all.

See if they were right:

The F-Scale Test

For what it's worth, I scored:

3.2 - You are disciplined but tolerant; a true American.

Oh, please, Mr. F-Scale Test...you're too kind.

The Jutice System: Enemy to Vacation Freedom

2006-07-13T21:16:00.000-07:00

I think that we can all agree that the "wide view" purpose of our justice system is to not only find and prosecute those who break the law, but is also in place to assure that those convicted of crimes are not denied the opportunity to flee the country for extended vacations before said felon's sentencing.

Oh, wait...maybe just Scrushy attorney Terry Butts thinks that:

"The government's filing shows a total lack of compassion to try to keep Richard Scrushy from taking a long planned family vacation."

We're sorry, Mr. Scrushy. If we knew that six federal convictions would have impeded on your travel plans, we would have never bothered bringing you to trial.

The government filing in question is an attempt by U.S. attorney Louis Franklin to keep Scrushy from leaving the country. Franklin cites that not only does Scrushy have access to gross amounts of money, but he and his lawyers have seemingly not accepted that he's a convicted felon:

In his filing Thursday, Franklin said Scrushy "has not accepted responsibility of his actions." As an example he quoted a statement Butts made at the end of the trial when he called the verdict "the worst miscarriage of justice since General Sherman burned Atlanta."

This analogy is only slightly less intellectually insulting than Fred Gray's (unsuccessful) attempt to invoke Dr. Martin Luther King's memory in his closing statements during Scrushy's trial.

If the recent motion is successful, we expect the Scrushy legal team to appeal, citing either the plight of the Native Americans removed from their homes during the 1800's or the Salem witch trials as their reasoning for a new hearing.

Some memorable quotes from the NYT Auburn article

2006-07-13T19:48:00.000-07:00

I'd like to hear from the Auburn graduates out there on this issue. As I said in my first post, this isn't good for anyone, and it is an issue that will, now that the article is out, will have to be addressed. If I'm an Auburn graduate that worked hard for my degree, I'm going to be upset by these quotes.

Once players arrive at Auburn, they tend to find themselves clustered in the same classes.

“When you’ve got more than five or six athletes in one class, you’re guaranteed to have fun,” said Robert Johnson, a tight end who left Auburn in 2003 and now plays for the Washington Redskins. “Class is guaranteed to not be as hard as the rest of your classes, especially if you’re winning.”

Mr. Heilman left Professor Petee in charge of the sociology department, something that stunned many around the university. That left the department divided, and it was what led Professor Gundlach to decide to retire after next year.

“Things have reached a point where we’re getting ready to produce more James Brooks incidents,” Professor Gundlach said. “It’s embarrassing.”

Has Auburn stepped in it?

2006-07-13T18:00:00.000-07:00

From the New York Times.

A graphic popped up on James Gundlach’s television during an Auburn football game in the fall of 2004, and he could not believe his eyes.

One of the university’s prominent football players was being honored as a scholar athlete for his work as a sociology major. Professor Gundlach, the director of the Auburn sociology department, had never had the player in class. He asked the two other full-time sociology professors about the player, and they could not recall having had him either.

So Professor Gundlach looked at the player’s academic files, which led him to the discovery that many Auburn athletes were receiving high grades from the same professor for sociology and criminology courses that required no attendance and little work.

Eighteen members of the 2004 Auburn football team, which went undefeated and finished No. 2 in the nation, took a combined 97 hours of the courses during their careers. The offerings resemble independent study and include core subjects like statistics, theory and methods, which normally require class instruction.

Uh oh.

As a graduate of the University of Alabama, I can't help but slightly enjoy the Tiger's new time in the spotlight a bit, but at the same time I recognize that this is not good for the state of Alabama. To have one of our two major universities riddled with the reputation as a "football factory" would certainly be a blow to the state.

Why? Well, Auburn (and Alabama) have both been ranked in the US News and World Report Top 50 Public Universities the last few years. But if some of the statistics used to obtain that rank (after reading the article, I would like to ask Carnell Williams the definition of "statistics", by the way) were skewed by a criminal justice professor teaching all manner of "independent study" classes to keep folks eligible for football season, what does it really mean?

Nothing.

It will be interesting to see how the Auburn administration handles this. Will they continue the insular, deflective, and micromanaged policies that brought Bobby Lowder under question by ESPN, or will they meet this problem head-on and fire who needs to be fired, suspend who needs to be suspended, and take real action to ensure that people don't laugh at the word "University" when it comes after the word "Auburn".

HP is not dead...

2006-07-10T13:51:00.000-07:00

He's just on vacation.

Regular posting will resume next week.

Aforementioned Promised Commentary: Supreme Court Death Penalty Decision

2006-06-27T17:05:00.000-07:00

First, let's examine the Supreme Court's decision that the death penalty should be applied (in Kansas, anyways) when the reasoning for it vs. life in prison are roughly equal.

Justice David Souter said in dissent, "We are thus in a period of new empirical argument about how 'death (capital punishment) is different,' " while referring to studies showing that people who have been sentenced to death in the past have turned out to be innocent later. His argument is that with this possibility in the air, we must seriously examine the moral risk we take every time we put a prisoner to death.

Justice Scalia, on the other hand, finds such studies a bit biased. "Those ideologically driven to ferret out and proclaim a mistaken modern execution have not a single verifiable case to point to, whereas it is easy as pie to identify plainly guilty murderers who have been set free," he said.

Justice Scalia has a point. There is no clear evidence of any verifiably innocent person who has been put to death by the state. However, excuse me if I find this logic a bit worrisome. Even if there is no clear evidence to the positive, that is, in itself, no guarentee that a mistake has not been made. Even worse, it is certainly not proof that no mistake will be made in the future.

Where do I personally stand on the death penalty? It is one of the issues that completely confuses me. I feel that in a perfect justice system, perfect justice would demand that those who commit certain heinous crimes should forfeit their lives for doing so. However, we have an imperfect justice system, with imperfect judges, lawyers, witnesses, and jurors. Perfect justice is a pipe dream. On the aggregate, I feel that the marginal loss we would suffer by the wrongful execution of a single person would outweigh the loss we suffer from locking a person away for the rest of their natural lives for the same crime. At least the latter has some element of reversibility.

However, the law in many states allow for capital punishment, and in this case the question was, "When we've got good reason for life in prison, and good reason for capital punishment, what should we do?" The Supreme Court decided that, with each being equal, we fire up the proverbial chair. Again, I believe we should err on the side of caution. I do not believe, deep down, that I want complete death penalty abolition. Some cases, in fact, are so blatantly obvious that I feel little moral hazard in the application of capital punishment. Some cases are so heinous in nature, with the question of guilt being so apparently NOT in question, that the chance of wrongful blame is nil. In murkier cases, however, caution must be practiced. Our society should stand for nothing less on a question that we simply cannot answer incorrectly, lest we forfeit the moral highground.

For future discussion, I ask this question: Does the death penalty offer any quality deterrence? I believe empirical evidence gives us a resounding "no" to this question. Danny at Doc's Political Parlor made this outstanding point on the subject in a post regarding a recent editorial from Alabama Attorney General Troy King. King stated, "When a killer chooses to kill - even knowing that he will pay with his life - it is proof positive that the liberal prevention program approach will not work." First of all, thank you, AG King, for showing us yet another thing to blame on the liberals. What would we do without them? Why, we'd have to actually look for the REAL causations of complicated issues instead of turning to good old fashioned scare tactics.

Second of all, we'll move to Danny's point. He remarks, "Well, actually, when a killer chooses to kill even knowing that he will pay with his life, it's proof positive that capital punishment is no deterrent for him. He repudiates one of the strongest arguments for the death penalty when he says that a killer chooses to kill even knowing that he will pay with his life."

Indeed.

Supreme Court links from The Seattle Times. Check out Doc's Political Parlor at the link above, or Danny's exact referenced post here.

Humorous Google Search

2006-06-26T22:01:00.000-07:00

If you will look at the lower right side of this page, you'll see a little square with a little planet-looking thing in it. If you click on it, you can see my website stats...who visits, where they're from, what browser they're using, and who referred them here.

If they came via a search engine, it tells us what they searched for in the first place before clicking the link to see what your humble Propagandist had to say about said search.

I got a hit yesterday from this Google search: "is it wrong for christians to engage in motorcycle racing".

Now, I haven't made a post on this question, but my purpose here is to serve the people...so I will now make a definitive ruling on this issue:

Yes, it is wrong for Christians to engage in motorcycle racing...but only if, while they're motorcycle racing, they are not loving their fellow man, are worshipping a gold statue of Jeremy McGrath, or are planning to not pay taxes on their motorcyle race winnings (Give to Caesar what is Caesar's, you know).

Oh, and if they're planning on trying to buy alcohol on Sunday in Lowndes County before noon, of course.

Supreme Court Decision Updates

2006-06-26T21:51:00.000-07:00

In a victory for liberty, the Supreme Court decided that the Vermont campaign contribution limit law should be no more.

"Our examination of the record convinces us that, from a constitutional perspective, Act 64's contribution limits are too restrictive," Breyer writes. "We reach this conclusion based not merely on the low dollar amounts of the limits themselves, but also on the statute's effect on political parties and on volunteer activity in Vermont elections."

Indeed. This decision is a victory for free speech, I sincerely believe. I am simply uncomfortable with the precedent that would be set by allowing states to impunge in any way the rights of the people to donate whatever dollar amount to whichever political candidate which they see fit.

The court also ruled that in cases where the reasons for the death penalty vs. life in prison are equal, the death penalty should be enforced. More on this later....

Edit: The court also ruled, in a 5-4 decision, that those accused of a crime are entitled to a new trial if their choice of attorney is wrongfully blocked. More on this later, as well.

Major Supreme Court cases upcoming...

2006-06-24T13:53:00.000-07:00

There are some major decisions upcoming soon from the U.S. Supreme Court. My brief opinions are in parentheses.

Will Tom DeLay's redistricting gerrymander stick (Hopefully not. Democracy isn't about who can draw the most creative lines on a map)?

How much of the Guantanamo Bay's terrorist/militant prison is allowed under American law? Was the holding of the prisoners an example of the executive overstepping his authority (I fully expect some Guantanamo policies to be upheld while others are struck down. Even if its ruled legal, we can do better. We can convict these people or let the;m go. For many, they have done things that deserve conviction. So why aren't we prosecuting? Try these people or set an example)?

Can Vermont limit the rights of their citizens to donate money to political campaigns (I am ignorant of their law, but I am generally loathe to tell Americans what they can or can't do with their own earned money)?

A schizophrenic Arizona teen killed a police officer. Can the Arizona insanity defense get him off (Ignorant of theis specific law as well. Hopefully, if it is upheld, it gives the state a choice of incarceration in a prison [if not insane] and incarceration in a mental health facility...no get out of jail free card...but I probably assume too much for my admitted lack of knowledge)?

Some prisons take away newspaper/magazine privelages from inmates that give the guards problems. Is this cruel and unusual punishment (Worse is done in elementary schools daily. Want your newspaper? Don't cause problems)?

Former UA Booster's Death Ruled Accidental

2006-06-22T11:36:00.000-07:00

For those of us who follow Alabama football, the name "Logan Young" has been one that we've been loathe to hear after the NCAA shenanigans. However, it was still tragic to hear that Mr. Young mysteriously died from head injuries in his Memphis home earlier this year.

After much speculation, the death has been ruled an accident.

Random Thoughts...

2006-06-20T20:44:00.000-07:00

The city of Birmingham still has no 2007 budget after Mayor Bernard Kincaid ruled the budget proposal, which had been approved by 8 councilmembers (with one abstaining), as unacceptable. HP thinks Mayor Kincaid should just let them spend as much as they want...going into huge deficits never hurt anyone. In fact, that's good for the economy. It must, or our current federal government would have stopped doing it, right?

Birmingham-Southern has started the process of moving to the NCAA's Division III and will now have a football team. Two questions: are they going to play in Legion Field, and if they do, will they put more tails in the seats than UAB? [Braces for inevitable nasty emails from UAB graduate friends]

Hey kiddies, are you too young to sign up for the Army, but want in on the fun of international warfare? Now you can defend the homeland with a new Battlefront 2 Expansion that will allow you to stop the march on Washington by the "Middle Eastern Coalition". Now, I'm not a renegade "Nuke Em' All" type of guy...but is there any doubt that an actual invasion of Washington, D.C. would result in the rapid obseletion of most of the world's globes due to "artificial re-structuring" of members of said coalition?

According to recent restaurant ratings a local Waffle House employee was deemed guilty of "handling clean utensils while smoking". 5 point deduction...ouch. Come on, Mr. Inspector, it's just not the Waffle House if your cook isn't puffing on a Newport while he's scattering, smothering, and covering.

I have a dream...

2006-06-16T19:14:00.000-07:00

In the closing arguments of the most recent Richard Scrushy corruption trial, Scrushy attorney Fred Gray recounted the words of his former client, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

With his voice rising to a crescendo, Gray gave the final words from the defendants in this now seven-weeks-long public corruption trial. He implored federal jurors to "fulfill Dr. King's dream and fulfill that old song!"

"Free at last! Free at last! Thank God Almighty we're Free at last!" Gray sang out.

Now, I have no idea if Richard Scrushy is guilty or innocent. I haven't been in the court room, I haven't seen the evidence, I haven't heard the arguments. But please forgive me if I don't find Mr. Scrushy's plight to be grossly insignificant compared to the struggles that Dr. King faced, as well as some of the struggles that those that Dr. King fought for still face today.

Mr. Scrushy is charged with setting up a half million dollars of donations in return for a place for HealthSouth on a state hospital planning board. He is fighting for the liberty of one person: Richard Scrushy.

Dr. King, on the other hand, fought for the liberty of millions. Millions that had been discriminated against in the past, millions that were being discriminated against in the present, and millions more that would be discriminated against in the future if this country, and this state, refused to change.

If Mr. Scrushy did what the prosecutors say he did, I hope he goes to jail. If he did not, I hope he walks free from the courtroom. Yet at no point, no matter what the verdict, will I mistake Richard Scrushy for Martin Luther King, Jr.

And that has nothing to do with the color of their skin, but rather with the content of their character.

Let he who is without sin....

2006-06-16T19:10:00.000-07:00

Wheeler from Alablawg has more on the Southern Baptist Convention tidbit mentioned below. Read it here.

Southern Baptists Say Yes To Parental Responsibility

2006-06-14T22:33:00.000-07:00

If one is born and raised in the state of Alabama, one will surely, at one time or another, feel some influence in life and culture from the Southern Baptist church. It is simply the dominant religious sect in this state, the margin of victory isn't even close. I was raised, and remain, a non-Baptist churchgoer; however, having attended Baptist services at times throughout by life I have noted the influence this denomination has had on the ideas and beliefs not only of its members, but of members of other Protestant denominations as well. They've influenced our state politics...not always, in my opinion, for the best. They've influenced our sense of morality...again, not always for the best. Yet along with these shortcomings they've also contributed positive attributes to our state personality. If you have ever wanted to know more about the Baptist phenomenon of Alabama, I highly recommend what is the definitive work on the subject by Auburn professor (bless him, Father, for he knows not what he does) Wayne Flynt (well, it's by the University of Alabama press...so maybe he does know better). I believe Baptists and non-Baptists alike will find it meticulously researched and extraordinarily fair.

With this sure influence in mind, I always perk an ear towards the Southern Baptist Convention when they meet to determine what position the church will officially take on their current matters of interest. At this year's meeting in Greenesboro, North Carolina, the SBC pondered an initative from Roger Moran (of Missouri) and author Bruce Shortt (of Texas... best known for his book, The Harsh Truth About Public Schools) that proposed a mass exodous of Southern Baptist children from public schools. Their destination? Homeschooling or private Christian schools.

Why the qualms with public schools? Among other things, Moran and Shortt are concerned with the lack of science curriculums that include intelligent design components and the alleged entry of "teaching the homosexual lifestyle is acceptable" into the young ones' studies.

My personal feelings on the intelligent design discussion are, I have been told, a cop out. I feel that science books should have no obligation to teach intelligent design for the simple reason that intelligent design isn't scientific; it is simply a matter of faith. In my opinion, science and religion are not battling one another constantly. They are, instead, two completely separate sets of constructs that operate independent of one another. If you will indulge me one more book recommendation, this argument is exquisitely laid out in Stephen Jay Gould's Rocks of Ages (surely a must-read for anyone troubled by the notion of combining scientific truths in a worldview that also includes religious beliefs). As science and religion is separate, it is folly to force one upon the other. We cannot, and I dare say will not ever be able to prove intelligent design in a laboratory. Isn't this why we are told, "Blessed are those who have not seen, and yet have believed," (John 20:19)? Is this a cop out? That is for you to decide, but I will rest my case with Dr. Gould and stick with it.

As for the notion that the homosexual lifestyle is being taught as acceptable, I have my doubts. I do have strong suspicions that many children are taught that some people do live such lifestyles, and doing so does not condemn them to be scorned. If this optimistic guess is correct, may it long continue, and extend to other groups so that children are taught understanding over condemnation. It is not the place for the schools to teach a child right from wrong. It is not for for the school to teach the child what lifestyle is or is not acceptable. That responsibility falls upon one's parents...and this point is exactly what the SBC wisely concluded.

Mr. Moran said at the convention, ""We are commanded biblically to train our children in the nurture of the Lord." I couldn't agree more, Mr. Moran. You have received that command. It has fallen upon you, not the teachers, to instruct your children on subjects of morality. The rights granted to you by our Constitution shall protect you in your attempt to raise your children according to the religious beliefs that you see fit.

In Moran's defense, he is not arguing for the schools to change. Instead, he is proposing that Southern Baptist families cut bait and flee from the public schools that don't teach what they want to be taught. Although I find this (and I can't believe I'm saying this) more intellectually honest than demanding public schools to teach theistically biased curricula, the SBC setting such a mandate would be a burden on many Baptist families that cannot afford to privately educate their children. The families would be forced with a burdensome choice: place their families in dire financial straits, or face the stigma of ignoring the request of the church. Thankfully, the SBC deemed it unnecessary to impose such a choice, and instead encouraged families to get more involved with their childrens' educations in other ways.

I must admit some bias on this issue: I have never cracked a book in an institution of learning that was not publically funded. I feel that the plethora of personalities, opinions, and worldviews that I encountered during my personal public school experiences have helped to shape me into a more understanding (yet still glaringly impefect) individual. Yet I readily admit that many acquaintances of completely private educational backgrounds have proved, in my eyes, greater in such areas as I. The common thread in those, public or private school alumni either, which possess qualities of morality and understanding was not woven in the classroom; rather, it was delicately threaded in day to day living by family, mentors, and friends. I again applaud the SBC for not setting a mandate for how each of these threads must be strictly created.

I apologize for the length of this piece, and therefore will cut myself short in discussion of another issue on the SBC's plate at this year's meeting...a piece which I find substantially less enlightened than the aforementioend issue:

Also Wednesday, the SBC unofficially barred members who drink alcohol from serving as trustees or members of any SBC entity.

Abuse alcohol? No. Use alcohol. Period. With my promise to be brief in mind, I ask only two questions of this decision...please comment with your answers:

1) Could Jesus be a Baptist trustee? Wine at the Last Supper, the miracle at Cana, etc.
2) Does this exclude the use of whiskey and honey as a cough suppressant? This is surely the greatest of all Southern remedies.

Well, we're not exactly known for progressive politics, but....

2006-06-13T22:01:00.000-07:00

Your loyal Propagandist and Ms. Propagandist have decided to go and search out the best Alabama has to offer. Yes, we're going to do a little tour of the state with the Alabama Department of Tourism's 100 Places To Eat In Alabama Before You Die as our guide.

Having already frequented several of the attractions (how anyone can outdo one of Gus's specials at Pete's, I know not), I'm anxious to see if many of the establishments can live up to their lofty expectations.

Yeah, I know, this has nothing to do with politics. If that's all we thought about, we would all surely go crazy.

Candidate Dead of Apparent Suicide

2006-06-13T21:27:00.000-07:00

Horrible story here, folks...Steven Turner, career firefighter and runoff candidate for the Alabama House, was found dead from an apparently self-inflicted gunshot wound.

A story on Turner, from happier times, is here.

Darby and Moore: Too Little and Too Much

2006-06-09T14:27:00.000-07:00

The Huntsville Times has two separate stories online regarding Larry Darby and Roy Moore, and their points can be summed up in one simple statement: Alabamians didn't have enough, and Moore had too much.

Alabamians didn't have enough information about Darby to know what ridiculous ideals he stands for. A fine argument could be made that the information was there, and that voters simply didn't take the initiative to do their research. While this is absolutely true, most casual election followers would probably assume that a candidate with such a looney platform would be the talk of all the news stations and newspapers in the state. Although there was some scattered reporting on his white supremecist rhetoric, no one exactly blew the doors off with coverage. I suppose many agreed with Darby's opponent; DA Tyson said multiple times that he didn't consider Darby a serious candidate. However, in the end, we can't blame the mass media for the electorate's lack of research. Personally, I'll take some of the blame for not telling more people voting in the Democratic Primary about avoiding Darby, and will remember this instance if, God forbid, a similar situation ever presents itself again.

Mr. Moore (Judge Moore? No, Junior, he was fired from that) on the other had had too much religion. Too much religion? In Alabama? Home of the no-beer-sales-from-draft-on-Sunday-if-you're-left-handed? Apparently so:

Moore and his slate got hit with "the Pharisee effect," said Larry Powell, a longtime pollster who had correctly predicted the outcome of Tuesday's primary.

Powell said many voters became tired of Moore constantly talking about religion and began to suspect he was using the issue for his own advancement.

You're kidding. Really?

Another beauty of a quote from the article...this time from J. Holland, Moore's campaign spokesman:

"I don't believe for a minute there was a Roy Moore slate," he said. "We were running our own campaign."

Forgive my judgemental nature, Mr. Holland, but I think you just bore false witness. Either that, or the mother of all coincidences occurred as three more judges decided to join forces with Moore's right-hand-man to fight the good fight for nullification.

In reality, the people of Alabama stood up and said no to demogogary, and that's not something that we could always brag about. The nation was waiting to laugh at us with this election, and instead we showed that the joke was on Moore and the Roy Moore Slate.

Larry Darby: Alabama Hero

2006-06-08T14:41:00.000-07:00

Like Wheeler at Alablawg, I figured that 162,999 of Larry Darby's votes came from folks that had no idea what he stands for.

As bad as that is, it's not as bad as this comment from a reader at Concurring Opinions:

I voted for Mr. Darby. Despite the various attempts to explain away his remarkable achievement, the fact remains that he was the only candidate who offered solutions to serious problems. The independent minded Democratic voters saw through the Jewish-Marxist claptrap of the major newspapers and the corrupt Democratic party leadership, all of whom worked right up to election night to dissuade voters from voting for Darby's pro-Alabama platform. His campaign was not about the "holyhoax", that was an issue invented by the Jewish Associated Press.

Posted by: Jane Green at June 8, 2006 05:27 AM

I have tried to intellectually analyze this comment for about twenty minutes, now...and here's what I've come up with: holy freakin' crap.

'Cause he had a bad day.....

2006-06-08T09:46:00.000-07:00

If it hasn't been done yet, kudos to the first media outlet that prepares a Zarqawi photo montage set to Daniel Powter's "Bad Day" of American Idol fame.

Ding, dong, Zarqawi's dead

2006-06-08T09:32:00.000-07:00

Some brief thoughts on this happening...as always, this analysis will focus not on the coulda, woulda, shoulda aspect of the war discussion (although there is always valid points there to ponder), but rather will look at what we have in the present and how the day's events affects the success of that situation.

Zarqawi's death is huge from a (forgive me) propaganda perspective. Make no mistake: the war on terror is a propaganda war. Insurgents in Iraq stage more attacks in areas where media are close by to spread the news, while here at home there is a constant battle in the media to keep waning support for the war effort up. Most importantly of all, Zarqawi's death re-sends the message that we want to send: we will get you (now, let's catch bin Laden so we don't send mixed signals).
Zarqawi's death is also huge from a strategic perspective. Intimately involved with the logistics of the insurgency, taking out Zarqawi is akin to taking one of the CPU's out of the "insurgency computer". Does this stop the insurgency? Absolutely not. Does it hurt them? I see no possible way it doesn't.
Zarqawi's death is a chance to build on a little success. At this point, our main goal should be stability to the point where the security of the nation can be 100% returned to the Iraqi people. However, remembering our "mental war" again, we know that leaving after months and months of negative publicity is going to scream "cutting and running". Would this be correct? Well, no, but perceptions rarely are. Hopefully today's occurance can serve as a springboard to future successes in Iraq that can form a (relatively) positive environment to leave to the Iraqi government. I type this last point out of extreme optimism, to say the least.

Evil Lowndes County voters deliver county to Satan

2006-06-07T19:19:00.000-07:00

Well, it was 6/6/06.

While the rest of the state let the world know that we still don't quite have a firm grasp on equality, the good people of Lowndes County made another step towards taking us out of the 1910's and away from our state's illustrious "Blue Laws"...sort of.

Blue laws, you ask, my progressive friend? Remnants of days gone by, I tell you, when folks like Roy Moore actually got elected, and Thomas Jefferson turned over and over in his grave as law after law went on the books to restrict liberty in the name of fundamentalist morality.

Example? From the Code of Alabama, Section 13A-12-1, Certain Acts Prohibited on Sunday:

Any person who compels his child, apprentice or servant to perform any labor on Sunday, except the customary domestic duties of daily necessity or comfort, or works of charity or who engages in shooting, hunting, gaming, card playing or racing on that day, or who, being a merchant or shopkeeper, druggist excepted, keeps open store on Sunday, shall be fined not less than $10.00 nor more than $100.00, and may also be imprisoned in the county jail, or sentenced to hard labor for the county, for not more than three months.

Yes, Virginia. I'ts all still on the books. We did make sure that we could still (thankfully) go to Talladega twice a year, as the section later states:

It shall also be lawful to engage in motorcycle and automobile racing on Sunday, whether admission is charged or not; except, that this proviso shall not be construed to prevent any municipality from passing ordinances prohibiting such racing on Sunday.

Well, at least we have our priorities straight.

Arguably the most famous of our Blue Laws, and the ones that have been biting the dust, bit by bit, at every election, are the city and county laws against the sale of alcohol on Sundays. Change, as it often comes in Alabama, has been slow. Some have granted the right to sell to certain establishments, and the success of this will probably lead to wider legalization. Some counties are still hanging on to dreams of the 18th Amendment by staying dry. Lowndes County took about 99/100ths of a step toward Blue Law freedom on Tuesday as voters decided to allow alcohol sales after 12PM on Sundays. I say 99/100ths of a step, because I know someone out there in Fort Deposit would like to be able to make a beer run on 9AM on Sunday morning.

And now, some quotes on the issue from the Montgomery Advertiser, posted without comment:

"It doesn't make much sense to let our tax dollars flow into counties that allow beer sales on Sundays," said James Mallett of Lowndesboro, who voted in favor of the issue. We need to keep our money at home.

Michael Harrell of Hayneville said he and three other members of his family voted against Sunday alcohol sales. He cited religion.

"It's not right, said Harrell. "My family is against it, and we all went to the
polls today to do what we could to defeat it."

Hey, I didn't learn this in civil procedure!

2006-06-07T17:33:00.000-07:00

Who needs a mediator when you have Paper, Rock, Scissors?

Ann Coulter: American Hero

2006-06-07T10:38:00.000-07:00

When she's not blasting 9/11 widows that disagree with her political philosophy, Ann Coulter finds time to grace us with yet another brilliant book: this time it's Godless: The Church of Liberalism, the followup to the equally emotionally titled Treason (itself a followup to Slander...do I see a pattern here?).

Buy her book, and you'll get such nuggets of wisdom as this ditty, where she blasts 9/11 widows IN her book. She can really multitask:

"And by the way, how do we know their husbands weren't planning to divorce these harpies? Now that their shelf life is dwindling, they'd better hurry up and appear in Playboy. . ."

Now, Ann Coulter is a smart woman. As a graduate of the University of Michigan School of Law, I must assume that she posseses above average logic skills. Therefore, I'll chalk up the above quoted logical fallacy to what I believe is Ms. Coulter's principle aim...taking advantage of lockstep social conservatives who want to be told how morally inferior all that disagree with them are.

HP: Saving the state of Alabama valuable tax dollars

2006-06-07T10:27:00.000-07:00

Yes friends, your humble Propagandist has figured out a way to save yet more of your tax dollars. How? Why, by doing away with elections for Attorney General, of course.

In the future, we will simply ask each candidate how many thousand felons they've sent to prison. The one with the highest total wins! Won't this be fun?

Troy King: "They want to see their children protected. They're proud to have an advocate and a fighter for victims and law enforcement."

John Tyson, Jr.: "We've delivered more than 25,000 felony convictions. I've been on more than 500 homicide scenes, and we've delivered more than 400 convictions of people who have committed crimes against our children."

By my new system, Tyson would win in a blowout. AG King, you have to be more specific in exactly how many folks you put in prison to protect our children.

Now, we can use the money we saved on the AG election for some truly important things...like another ballot amendment to pass a law that has already been passed.

These quotes were from The Mobile Register.

Now that Roy Moore Lost....

2006-06-06T23:09:00.000-07:00

Does he still own the copywrite on the Ten Commandment s?

Kudos to the outstanding Red State Diaries for reminding us of this link in their primary endorsement.

We have 160,000 Alabama voters who need to do more research

2006-06-06T22:25:00.000-07:00

With just a handful of precincts still out there, Larry Darby, Democratic candidate for attorney general, stands with 160,114 votes...about forty thousand less than his opponent, now official nominee John Tyson.

Now, let's forget that John Tyson has had a sterling record as Mobile County District Attorney, a job that he has used to oust corruption in both the sherriff's office and the school board. Let's forget that he is bringing some new answers to the problem with youngful offenders. Let's forget that he has an actual coherent message.

Let's just look at what Larry Darby brings to the table. He is an admitted Holocaust denier. He says he wants to reawaken white racial awareness. He has been decried by Joe Turnham, the Alabama Democratic Party Chairman.

And yet, he garnered, so far, 43% of the vote in this statewide primary.

I refuse to believe that 43% of the Democratic voters in the state of Alabama agree with his ridiculous ideas, so I must assume that many people who voted for him were simply unaware of what he stands for. State elections outside battles for governor, lieutenant governor, and surpreme court rarely garner major attention, and many voters rarely attempt to do independent research to see what the candidates actually stand for.

I wonder how many churchgoers voted for Darby, who is general counsel and former president of the Atheist Law Center, simply because his name came before Tyson's on the ballot.