I hate to agree with religious folks, but . . .

This story in today's NY Times is about whether a church in the Bronx should be allowed to hold services in a public school. The issue will soon be decided by NY's supreme court.

The church began in a halfway house. When it outgrew the facility, it applied to hold meetings and services at a nearby public school. There are 48 members in this church.

Airhead religious wingnuts

No more church/state separation?

There's an AP story tonight on public schools that offer bible classes (!!!) to students. Remember that tired old nonsense about separation of church and state? Apparently it's not too important any more.

The great thing is that the brain-dead schools that offered these classes are canceling them because of the economy. Hooray! Anyway, the reason I'm writing about it is to share two funny excerpts:

"Some parents say they wish their districts had the Bible classes because children need to know how influential the text has been on literature and pop culture."

Huge effects on pop culture. It's odd how I can't even think of one. This was followed by a quote from a Christian wingnut parent:

"Whether you believe in God or not, it's still the word of God and kids need to have that experience."

Like I said the other day, these people haven't taken their brains out for a test drive, never mind used them on a regular basis. It's like they have cotton-candy inside their skulls. Phew.

Sensible article in LA Times

God at the Head of the Class is a nice, normal, accurate article in the LA Times today. It briefly recounts the case of a teacher who tried to proselytize his students in a public school, and the decision that came down as a result of his actions.

The reason I point to this article is that you rarely see such clarity in a major newspaper. Kudos to the LA Times. It's not so hard to say: religion doesn't belong in public schools. See how easy that is?

Erasing gay people from reality

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — A bill passed Friday by the Tennessee Senate would forbid public school teachers and students in grades kindergarten through eight from discussing the fact that some people are gay. (Times link to story.)

Poof(ter)! We're gone. Well, that certainly takes care of the issue. Oh, excuse me; I wasn't supposed to mention (the issue).