[Vision2020] Blahg Update

Tue Mar 16 15:45:33 PDT 2010

This is way old news, but it relates to the discussion in this thread
nonetheless.

On Dale Courtney's right-mind.us in the post shown below, the
implication was made that I was paranoid and intolerant, given my analysis
on Vision2020, April 28, 2005, regarding the MSD school levy vote and the
impact of "fundamentalist Christians" in Moscow on the outcome.  Courtney's
response appears to suggest I was only referencing the members of his
church, Christ Church, when I mentioned the impact of
fundamentalist Christians on the levy vote.  There are numerous local
churches, depending on the definition of "fundamentalist Christian," to whom
my comments could apply.

I just read totally through my post referenced by Courtney, and Christ
Church is not named.  Many anti-school levy votes could have come from
fundamentalist Christians in numerous churches, who have a religious
objection (or other objections) to funding tax supported government
schools.  And my comments in the post in question mention numerous factors
that could have influenced the school levy vote, from the price of gas and U
of I layoffs, to Republican and/or anti-tax advocates, who might be
atheists, for that matter.  Also, my post closes with discussion of the
"broader financial/tax issues involved," then mentions Noam Chomsky's
lecture at WSU regarding how some of his comments relate to the politics
of funding of education in the US.  My closing comments do not even mention
religion, much less Christianity.

The comment Courtney made that I was "demonizing" Christ Church regarding
the school levy vote has no basis in fact in my post.  There is no content
in my post that is "demonizing" any specific church, or demonizing any group
(well, maybe the quote about those who "polish the boots of the
wealthy" could be viewed as an attack against those who serve the special
interests of the rich).

My analysis was an attempt to accurately describe the ideologies of
significant voting groups in the Moscow area, and social/economic/political
factors involved. I only speculated that fundamentalist Christian voters
"might" have been the critical voting group in influencing the outcome.  To
not mention that fundamentalist Christians are a significant voting group is
to not face the facts of the composition of the electorate.

My post in total is given first below, then followed by Courtney's response:

http://mailman.fsr.com/pipermail/vision2020/2005-April/016645.html

All:

Much of the opposition (or at least a number of voters that if they had
voted
for the levy instead of against, it might have passed) to the bond/levy came

from very motivated fundamentalist Christians in Moscow who, in the final
analysis, would oppose the bond/levy regardless of how perfect it was in
planning,
financing, etc. They oppose all tax supported public education.   And of
course there are a very large number of Republican and/or anti-tax advocates
in
Moscow who easily can swing against a raise in their property taxes, again,
even
if all of the objections to the levy/bond were blatant nonsense.   All
anti-tax advocates need is a threat to their income status, like the surge
in gas
prices, to make them vote down a bond/levy for schools.  And even moderates
who
want to support public education might balk when they are being squeezed by
worries about rising fuel costs and doubts about the U of I's future status
as
Moscow's main employer.

I think this levy would have failed if Roberta, Janice and Jim Prall had
spent the past two months sitting on the beach in the Caribbean!

I would be curious to discover what the levy vote would have been if gas had

dropped to $1.50 a gallon instead of going up to $2.50 a gallon, and the U
of
I was hiring more employees rather than firing them.   I suspect these two
variables alone would have altered the percentage breakdown of the vote,
though
the levy might still have failed.

Mark Solomon's post on the broader financial/tax issues involved gets us
clos
er to the truth of the overall agenda involved in our society in the attack
on
tax supported education, both higher education and public K-12 schools.

For a deeper look, consider Chomsky's recent lecture at WSU, available on
the
web here:

http://experience.wsu.edu/Default.asp?s=no

I don't know for sure if the question and answer session after Chomsky's
lecture is also included in this online version of his WSU lecture on the
WSU
website, but his comments during the question and answer session regarding
those
who "polish the boots of the wealthy" are relevant when considering the
broader
agenda in the attack on tax supported education in the USA.

Ted Moffett
------------------------------
http://right-mind.us/blogs/blog_0/archive/2005/04/28/3462.aspx
  The Fundamentalist Block?

My, my, my. How paranoia feeds intolerance.

Ted Moffit Moffett writes:

Much of the opposition (or at least a number of voters that if they had
voted for the levy instead of against, it might have passed) to the
bond/levy came from very motivated fundamentalist Christians in Moscow who,
in the final analysis, would oppose the bond/levy regardless of how perfect
it was in planning, financing, etc.

Let's take the actual numbers from the election:

   - For: 2,457 -- 44.2%
   - Against: 3,102 -- 55.8%

Let's assume all 500 Christ Church adults turned out and voted against this
levy to give those numbers above.

Let's try Ted's rational: instead, each and every CC member both turned out
to vote *and* voted *for* the levy. That would flip the numbers by 500 in
the opposite directions:

   - For: 2,957 -- 53%
   - Against: 2,602 -- 47%

Uh, Ted, that still falls *far* short of the 66.7% needed to pass.

Nice trying to demonize Christ Church (again) and making this an “us against
them” matter. What's next? Arm bands?

No, it was the overwhelming consensus of the residents that this was a
wrong-headed levy. And while it stinks to lose, it doesn't help your
position to demonize a group of people at your expense. You lost. Get over
it and move on.
Published Thursday, April 28, 2005 11:22 AM by
Right-Mind<http://right-mind.us/members/dmcourtn.aspx>
--------------------------------------------
Vision2020 Post: Ted Moffett
On Tue, Mar 16, 2010 at 11:07 AM, Tom Hansen <thansen at moscow.com> wrote:

> Joe and g -
>
> Let's examine this from yet another, more appropriate angle.
>
> Mr. Courtney has been trashing public and private individuals at extreme
> length, applying his own brand of immature profane sarcasm.
>
> Don't dish it out if you can't take it!  OK, dc?
>
> Sidebar to dale:  Don't send a go-fer to do your bidding.  Stand on your
> own two feet for once.
>
> FYI, dc:  Rep. Shirley Ringo has filed for re-election . . .
>
> http://www.sos.idaho.gov/ELECT/candidat/2010_primary_candidates.pdf
>
> How soon can we expect your retraction that you promised?
>
> Tom Hansen
> Moscow, Idaho
>
> “I’ll just speak for our church, in Christ Church. If I found out that a
> member of our church or a church officer was lying to non-believers in the
> community, as a way to get by or protect themself or protect his
> reputation, yes, he’d be disciplined.”
>
> - Doug Wilson (January 31, 2007)
> http://www.tomandrodna.com/protest/Doug_Wilson_Liers_013107.mp3
>
>
>
>
>
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