Plea for help
Offline We're sinking in the UK under the weight of a couple of *very* rich loons including, but not limited to, Sir Peter Vardy. I've emailed a plea for help but I just got an automated response.
I know you peeps are primarily US-based but I could use some support, if it's only MORAL suppport as I'm getting pretty depressed by the way people like Vardy and him in particular at this junction are steamrollering over my rights to be heard democratically. Oh sure, my website is still up but in spite of cries of protest, he forges ahead with his crazy ideas with the full support of my government.
Frankly folks, I feel very, very lonely. I could use some friends right now - particularly as I'm in the grips of religion-induced depression. (I'm depressed because I can't seem to punch a hole in it!)
Marc
Thought for the week. Got to your local church, sit in the back for a while and right in the middle of prayer, run out waving your hands and screaming, "HELP! The Stupid has me!"
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I wouldn't worry about it.
Blair's only in for less than a year.
Gordon Brown will sort out this 'Academy' nonsense!
I wish! Blair's out and Gordo is likely to be just as bad. Worse still the tories also support the Academy nonsense (and it is nonsense, you're spot on there). What worries me is the way that loonies like Vardy are allowed to promote this bullshit without any real checks.
I heard Blair's famous quote again today: "Education, Education, Education!" and what I read into that is: "Prostelysing, Prostelysing, Prostelysing!" because that's what Vardy is up to. He spat his dummy out recently because no one was worthy of his 50M Venture fund. I would dearly love to know what he considers worthy of his money... I rather expect the interest rate was too high for most businesses.
Thought for the week. Got to your local church, sit in the back for a while and right in the middle of prayer, run out waving your hands and screaming, "HELP! The Stupid has me!"
Welcome marcdraco!
You'll find several members on the forums are from the U.K.
When you get a minute, we'd love for you to hop over to General Conversation, Introductions, and Humor and introduce yourself.
Again, welcome!
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Welcome Marc.
Imagine how we feel with the asshat for a president we have. Bush has never hesitated to steamroll over our rights.
Thank you both for that. I'm on "1-finger mode" right now as it's 2am nearly I and don't want to wake the house! This keyboard is a bit loud at full tilt! I'll pop over and say hi later.
Thanks again.
Marc
Thought for the week. Got to your local church, sit in the back for a while and right in the middle of prayer, run out waving your hands and screaming, "HELP! The Stupid has me!"
The New Humanist Magazine seemed to think that Brown didn't like these academies at all. We'll see how it goes. When I move back to Leicester I'll be joining the secular society. They'll be clued in on Britains religious politics.
The Academy programme is bigger than any politician or primeminister. It's a juggernaut of untested (and badly planned) experiments that are dividing education into a two-class system. Loonies are only part of it.
Thought for the week. Got to your local church, sit in the back for a while and right in the middle of prayer, run out waving your hands and screaming, "HELP! The Stupid has me!"
I agree about the Academy system: It's just a way of reintroducing the old Grammar Schools and Technical Colleges by the back door. Vardy's patronage and rather obvious Christian agenda is merely symptomatic of this - the government will take money from anyone who will help them boost the national academic results.
Vardy professes that he is doing this for the underpriveliged kids to give them a sound foundation in life. Of course this is bollocks: At one of his three (or is it four?) schools - Kings Academy in Middlesborough - the number of children eligible for free school meals (a key indicator of poverty) has dropped by 100. That bastard's staff are cherry picking, make no mistake.
I used to be a staunch Labour voter but now I feel like the creatures at the end of Animal Farm - I'm looking at the Tories and Labour and not seeing any difference between them.
Of course, Vardy's academies are a fairly minor problem compared to the state funded Catholic schools although, in fairness, they know better than to undertake religious instruction outside the RE class.
Freedom of religious belief is an inalienable right. Stuffing that belief down other people's throats is not.
What's the problem with Catholic Schools?
The one I went to was like any other school except:
a) RE was compulsory
b) There were school masses on certain days
Because there was no protelyzing or screwing of the syllabus, I don't see a problem. I can't remember the program I saw it on (perhaps the God Delusion?) but it showed Muslim and Jewish sectarian schools, where they were also teaching literal creation. Although closing these schools would be a step too far, I think that we should atleast enforce some requirements on what should be taught. For starters, science should be taught in science classrooms!
Since I live almost next door to King's Academy, you can imagine my position - my eldest has to go to an alternative comp to miss the DAILY act of worship including tutor prayers!
Underpriviledged my arse. Most kids there are from the upper classes of the town; and Vardy knows it.
Thought for the week. Got to your local church, sit in the back for a while and right in the middle of prayer, run out waving your hands and screaming, "HELP! The Stupid has me!"
In general nothing, I'm just a bit twitchy about the potential for an evangelist to get deep down and dirty there.
Freedom of religious belief is an inalienable right. Stuffing that belief down other people's throats is not.
Hi marcdraco. I can certainly empathize. When this started to happen to the United States 30 years ago, I was just a kid and my family was quite easily snookered into joining the fundamentalist camp. I was raised fundy and it sucked the big one.
As was already pointed out, we have a lot of folks from the UK. Maybe it's time for RRS U.K. edition?
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That's twice this editor ate my comment!
OK. RRS-UK! Great idea. How do we start one and where do I sign up?
Thought for the week. Got to your local church, sit in the back for a while and right in the middle of prayer, run out waving your hands and screaming, "HELP! The Stupid has me!"
Here is an example of how an RRS Chapter gets started.
And here.
And here.
And here.
British and alarmed with the way religion appears to be taking hold of us . My Dawson's Creek generation are going Neocon at a near viral rate, so here, have my moral support.