Someone asked me recently what we decided to do about the skylights, so I thought maybe I should update my blog.
The skylights have been roofed over. It's dark in here with the lights out, but it's a small price to pay for a dry home.
We've had some major downpours lately. One night it rained so hard that it woke me up, and I patrolled the house checking for leaks. Nada, I can happily report.
Our roof is just too low of a pitch for skylights. We didn't even let the roofer try to caulk them. After thinking over his offer to do so, I thought about all the roofing goop I'd applied over the past few years, and what little success I'd had, and decided to just let him lay some rubber roofing and be done with it.
**lifts wine glass** Here's to no more leaks, no more roofing tar, and never having to be on the roof again unless I want to enjoy the view.
Saturday, June 21, 2008
You have GOT to be kidding me!
This story has me..well...speechless...spitting...sputtering...stuttering...staring at the pc and asking WTF?!
The suit alleges that he regularly discussed Christianity in his science class, even "teaching the meaning of Easter and Good Friday," and kept at least one and sometimes several Bibles in the room.
The investigation commissioned by the Mount Vernon school board and conducted by HR On Call, Inc., a human resources company, conducted interviews with Freshwater, faculty and students.
In the civil suit brought against Freshwater, the plaintiffs – the student, identified as James Doe, and his parents, identified as John and Jane Doe – allege that in December 2007, "Mr. Freshwater burned a cross in James Doe's arm using an electric device."
The burned area allegedly "resulted in an easily identifiable cross consisting of red welts with blistering, swelling and blanching in the surrounding area," according to the lawsuit.
"In addition, my superiors have ordered me to remove the Bible from the desk of my classroom. Because the Bible is personal, private property and the source of personal inner-strength in my own life the removal of it from my desk would be nothing short of infringement on my own deeply held, personal religious beliefs granted by God and guaranteed under the 'free-exercise clause' of the First Amendment to the United States Constitution," Freshwater wrote in a letter obtained by ABC News.
Neither Freshwater nor his attorney, Roger Weaver, returned calls placed by ABC News.
"With the exception of the science experiment, John Freshwater is teaching the beliefs and values that the majority of people in this community agree with. The only thing the On Call report found is evidence that Mr. Freshwater is a Christian."
Stephen Short, the district superintendent, who along with the principal is also named as a co-defendant, told ABC News that the school board began investigating "with the cross incident and other things followed after that."
He said he could not comment on details of the case because it was a pending legal matter. The board hired an independent company "to ensure the findings were properly vetted."
"The science experiment [the alleged burning of the student] took place in December, and the parents did not go to the police and didn't file a criminal complaint. It was not until April, when John Freshwater refused to remove his Bible, that the school board rapidly made the decision to accuse him of things and then go back and find evidence," he said.
"With the exception of the science experiment, John Freshwater is teaching the beliefs and values that the majority of people in this community agree with. The only thing the On Call report found is evidence that Mr. Freshwater is a Christian."
Stephen Short, the district superintendent, who along with the principal is also named as a co-defendant, told ABC News that the school board began investigating "with the cross incident and other things followed after that."
He said he could not comment on details of the case because it was a pending legal matter. The board hired an independent company "to ensure the findings were properly vetted."
The school board of a small central Ohio community voted Friday to fire a teacher accused of preaching his Christian beliefs despite staff complaints and burning the image of a cross on students' arms, according to the Associated Press.
Mount Vernon Middle School veteran science teacher John Freshwater has denies any wrongdoing, his attorney told the Mount Vernon News.
Freshwater also displayed the Ten Commandments in his classroom and taught creationism, according to an independent investigation launched after the parents of the student who was allegedly branded filed a lawsuit.
Freshwater also displayed the Ten Commandments in his classroom and taught creationism, according to an independent investigation launched after the parents of the student who was allegedly branded filed a lawsuit.
The suit alleges that he regularly discussed Christianity in his science class, even "teaching the meaning of Easter and Good Friday," and kept at least one and sometimes several Bibles in the room.
The investigation commissioned by the Mount Vernon school board and conducted by HR On Call, Inc., a human resources company, conducted interviews with Freshwater, faculty and students.
In its report, released Thursday, the company found Freshwater "did improperly use an electrostatic device on the student who filed the report" and had violated Ohio State standards by "teaching creationism and intelligent design."
According to On Call's report, Freshwater told investigators, "I teach evolution."
According to On Call's report, Freshwater told investigators, "I teach evolution."
Company investigators, however, concluded that "contrary to Mr. Freshwater's statement, the evidence indicates he has been teaching creationism and intelligent design and has been teaching the unreliability of carbon dating in support of opposition to evolution. He has passed out materials to students for the past several years challenging evolution and then collected the materials back from the students. He has done so in spite of specific directives not to teach creationism and intelligent design."
In the civil suit brought against Freshwater, the plaintiffs – the student, identified as James Doe, and his parents, identified as John and Jane Doe – allege that in December 2007, "Mr. Freshwater burned a cross in James Doe's arm using an electric device."
The burned area allegedly "resulted in an easily identifiable cross consisting of red welts with blistering, swelling and blanching in the surrounding area," according to the lawsuit.
No criminal charges have been filed in connection with the cross incident, school officials said.
On April 7, 2008, Freshwater received a letter from the school's principal, William D. White, ordering him to remove a Bible and other religious materials from his classroom.
On April 16, Freshwater wrote a letter in response, agreeing to remove the Ten Commandments from a collage, but he refused to remove his Bible.
On April 16, Freshwater wrote a letter in response, agreeing to remove the Ten Commandments from a collage, but he refused to remove his Bible.
"In addition, my superiors have ordered me to remove the Bible from the desk of my classroom. Because the Bible is personal, private property and the source of personal inner-strength in my own life the removal of it from my desk would be nothing short of infringement on my own deeply held, personal religious beliefs granted by God and guaranteed under the 'free-exercise clause' of the First Amendment to the United States Constitution," Freshwater wrote in a letter obtained by ABC News.
Neither Freshwater nor his attorney, Roger Weaver, returned calls placed by ABC News.
The teacher's friend, David Daubenmire, who was himself sued by the ACLU in 1999 for praying with the high school football team he coached, called the accusations against Freshwater a "witch hunt."
"The science experiment [the alleged burning of the student] took place in December, and the parents did not go to the police and didn't file a criminal complaint. It was not until April, when John Freshwater refused to remove his Bible, that the school board rapidly made the decision to accuse him of things and then go back and find evidence," he said.
"The science experiment [the alleged burning of the student] took place in December, and the parents did not go to the police and didn't file a criminal complaint. It was not until April, when John Freshwater refused to remove his Bible, that the school board rapidly made the decision to accuse him of things and then go back and find evidence," he said.
"With the exception of the science experiment, John Freshwater is teaching the beliefs and values that the majority of people in this community agree with. The only thing the On Call report found is evidence that Mr. Freshwater is a Christian."
Stephen Short, the district superintendent, who along with the principal is also named as a co-defendant, told ABC News that the school board began investigating "with the cross incident and other things followed after that."
He said he could not comment on details of the case because it was a pending legal matter. The board hired an independent company "to ensure the findings were properly vetted."
The teacher's friend, David Daubenmire, who was himself sued by the ACLU in 1999 for praying with the high school football team he coached, called the accusations against Freshwater a "witch hunt."
"The science experiment [the alleged burning of the student] took place in December, and the parents did not go to the police and didn't file a criminal complaint. It was not until April, when John Freshwater refused to remove his Bible, that the school board rapidly made the decision to accuse him of things and then go back and find evidence," he said.
"With the exception of the science experiment, John Freshwater is teaching the beliefs and values that the majority of people in this community agree with. The only thing the On Call report found is evidence that Mr. Freshwater is a Christian."
Stephen Short, the district superintendent, who along with the principal is also named as a co-defendant, told ABC News that the school board began investigating "with the cross incident and other things followed after that."
He said he could not comment on details of the case because it was a pending legal matter. The board hired an independent company "to ensure the findings were properly vetted."
School board members were scheduled to meet Friday afternoon to discuss the findings in On Call's report.
Holy cow! I don't even know where to start. There seem to be two separate issues here. One, that the teacher burned a student. And two, that the teacher was teaching creationism, and, as mentioned in the other news articles (you can google it), that gays are evil, etc.
The easiest issue to deal with would be the teaching of subject matter not approved by the school board.
The main issue should be that the man burned a student!
The article says no police report was filed on the burning. Why the hell not?!!
You know, it's irrelevant that the image was a cross. I don't care if it was a swastika, 666, or a happy face that said 'have a nice day'. The. Teacher. Burned. A. Student.
How the hell is that teacher even still in one piece? Had that been one of my kids, sure, there'd have been a police report, and I'd probably be doing time for taking that man's 'electrostatic device' and shoving it so far up his bum that his tongue was burned.
And to beat it all, the moron has the nerve to claim the branding incident was a 'science experiment'. What theory was he trying to prove?
To think this whole thing happened not too far from me. Sheesh!
And people still have the gall to ask why I homeschool? The answer, from this day forward, will be, "To keep myself out of prison."
Thursday, June 12, 2008
Organic Panic
I've always had an organic garden. Always. But this year, I'm tempted to stray from my organic ways and declare chemical warfare on the garden slugs.
I've never seen slugs this bad before. I think the prolific slug population is due to a few things:
1) the very wet weather we have had
2) the use of landscape fabric, which gives the little buggers a lovely hiding place
The landscape fabric is also a first for me. I didn't have much choice because the weeds are coming up like crazy this year, also due to the wet weather. And of course partly my fault because I didn't manage to get the garden properly 'put to bed' last fall. Chalk that up to Big Sis' repeated ER and Dr. visits, the tornado, etc etc etc.
I've tried beer, diatomaceous earth, hand picking (there are always more ready to take up where their friends left off), etc. I'm out of ideas. I am seriously considering heading to Lowe's for a big bag of slug death.
The slimy little beyotches have already destroyed about half of my bean seedlings.
Death to slugs!!!
I've never seen slugs this bad before. I think the prolific slug population is due to a few things:
1) the very wet weather we have had
2) the use of landscape fabric, which gives the little buggers a lovely hiding place
The landscape fabric is also a first for me. I didn't have much choice because the weeds are coming up like crazy this year, also due to the wet weather. And of course partly my fault because I didn't manage to get the garden properly 'put to bed' last fall. Chalk that up to Big Sis' repeated ER and Dr. visits, the tornado, etc etc etc.
I've tried beer, diatomaceous earth, hand picking (there are always more ready to take up where their friends left off), etc. I'm out of ideas. I am seriously considering heading to Lowe's for a big bag of slug death.
The slimy little beyotches have already destroyed about half of my bean seedlings.
Death to slugs!!!
Tuesday, June 10, 2008
Gay Sex? Oh The Horror! *snark*
I heard about this on the radio and I just had to look it up because the whole story screams, "Blog Fodder!!!".
Eleven Year Old Exposed To Gay Porn At Barnes and Noble
On June 5th, my eleven year old son joined me in a visit to our local Barnes and Noble Bookstore in Collierville, TN. I was horrified at what my son saw. Open on a table was a very large, full-color, picture book displaying a man in full frontal nudity. The cover was two men kissing with the title GAY SEX. Here is a link to the book. Warning. This book was filled with full-color pictures of gay men doing what they do...Yes, it was that graphic.
The above paragraph is from the linked article. On the radio interview, Mad Dad says he immediately took the book to management and, well, made a huge to-do over it. Seems to me that the reasonable response would've been to simply close the book and go on with your day. Let the little boy that was 'exposed to gay porn' ask questions as he saw fit. Perhaps he didn't even notice the book until the dad made such a huge spectacle of storming off with it.
*ETA: I just realized that the article quote says the picture was of a naked man. The radio interview led the listener to believe that the picture the book was open to was of full on gay sex. Looks like Mad Dad spent a few minutes perusing the book before confronting management, huh? What's the big deal with a naked man? Little 11yo Jr should already know what a penis looks like, right?
I believe some homosexual or child predator was trolling and using the book to find a date or victim.
Yeah, that makes sense. I can just see a guy flashing the book at other guys and asking, "wanna?". *rolls eyes* And one would think that a child predator would be more interested in the kiddie stuff than pictures of two grown men.
The assistant manager told me a young boy had been sexually assaulted in the bathroom at this store and the man was never caught. She also said they had found a gun on the counter in the bathroom on another occasion.
Amazing how quickly the whole drama becomes rife with urban legend.
After sharing these disturbing stories with me, the assistant manger walked me to where the book was normally kept. Was it behind a counter? No, it was on the top shelf of a bookcase that any 13 year old could reach. Welcome to the 21st Century where being gay is mainstream and celebrated as normal in a family bookstore. Click the link at the bottom of this article and listen to my national radio program to find out what I am going to do.
I have to say it again...Oh, the horror! *bangs head on desk* Good thing we have a bunch of bigoted jerks to protect us from the ebil gays.
I returned to the Barnes and Noble the next day to document the placement of their pornographic books. I have three places where books that included pictures of either homosexual porn or heterosexual porn were placed throughout their bookshelves. One section of books was low enough that my five year old could have pulled them from the shelf.
Ok..number one..why do they always go back? Morbid curiosity? If it's so disgusting to them, why go look for more books? And..number two...who lets their five year old run loose in Barnes and Noble, or any other store? If you do, then your little hooligan taking a peek at some books full of nakey people should be less of a worry than them being abducted by a Jeffrey Dahmer sort.
The article goes on about how we need a bunch of righteous idiots to protect us. Thankfully, the response I've seen from Barnes and Noble amounts to a big eye roll. *Pats B&N on the back*
I knew all about gays, incest, and hate by the time I was 11. I learned it in church, reading that oft touted Good Book. I guess if B&N need to keep all the smut locked safely away, they'd better start with the Bible, and don't forget any anatomy books, or the kid's books that explain puberty.
I am seriously sick to death of the 'righteous' claiming some superiority over the rest of the world, believing we should all live by their rules. Which, when you think about it, means be a big fat hypocrite and have your gay sex in secret. *cough*TedHaggard*cough*
ARGH! I need to go clean something.
Eleven Year Old Exposed To Gay Porn At Barnes and Noble
On June 5th, my eleven year old son joined me in a visit to our local Barnes and Noble Bookstore in Collierville, TN. I was horrified at what my son saw. Open on a table was a very large, full-color, picture book displaying a man in full frontal nudity. The cover was two men kissing with the title GAY SEX. Here is a link to the book. Warning. This book was filled with full-color pictures of gay men doing what they do...Yes, it was that graphic.
The above paragraph is from the linked article. On the radio interview, Mad Dad says he immediately took the book to management and, well, made a huge to-do over it. Seems to me that the reasonable response would've been to simply close the book and go on with your day. Let the little boy that was 'exposed to gay porn' ask questions as he saw fit. Perhaps he didn't even notice the book until the dad made such a huge spectacle of storming off with it.
*ETA: I just realized that the article quote says the picture was of a naked man. The radio interview led the listener to believe that the picture the book was open to was of full on gay sex. Looks like Mad Dad spent a few minutes perusing the book before confronting management, huh? What's the big deal with a naked man? Little 11yo Jr should already know what a penis looks like, right?
I believe some homosexual or child predator was trolling and using the book to find a date or victim.
Yeah, that makes sense. I can just see a guy flashing the book at other guys and asking, "wanna?". *rolls eyes* And one would think that a child predator would be more interested in the kiddie stuff than pictures of two grown men.
The assistant manager told me a young boy had been sexually assaulted in the bathroom at this store and the man was never caught. She also said they had found a gun on the counter in the bathroom on another occasion.
Amazing how quickly the whole drama becomes rife with urban legend.
After sharing these disturbing stories with me, the assistant manger walked me to where the book was normally kept. Was it behind a counter? No, it was on the top shelf of a bookcase that any 13 year old could reach. Welcome to the 21st Century where being gay is mainstream and celebrated as normal in a family bookstore. Click the link at the bottom of this article and listen to my national radio program to find out what I am going to do.
I have to say it again...Oh, the horror! *bangs head on desk* Good thing we have a bunch of bigoted jerks to protect us from the ebil gays.
I returned to the Barnes and Noble the next day to document the placement of their pornographic books. I have three places where books that included pictures of either homosexual porn or heterosexual porn were placed throughout their bookshelves. One section of books was low enough that my five year old could have pulled them from the shelf.
Ok..number one..why do they always go back? Morbid curiosity? If it's so disgusting to them, why go look for more books? And..number two...who lets their five year old run loose in Barnes and Noble, or any other store? If you do, then your little hooligan taking a peek at some books full of nakey people should be less of a worry than them being abducted by a Jeffrey Dahmer sort.
The article goes on about how we need a bunch of righteous idiots to protect us. Thankfully, the response I've seen from Barnes and Noble amounts to a big eye roll. *Pats B&N on the back*
I knew all about gays, incest, and hate by the time I was 11. I learned it in church, reading that oft touted Good Book. I guess if B&N need to keep all the smut locked safely away, they'd better start with the Bible, and don't forget any anatomy books, or the kid's books that explain puberty.
I am seriously sick to death of the 'righteous' claiming some superiority over the rest of the world, believing we should all live by their rules. Which, when you think about it, means be a big fat hypocrite and have your gay sex in secret. *cough*TedHaggard*cough*
ARGH! I need to go clean something.
Tuesday, June 3, 2008
Dark Water
The roofer called me back, and suggested we roof over the skylights. Yikes. I like my skylights. And yet, the chances of fixing them so that they won't leak aren't very good, so we're considering it. He will be out this week, if the rain ever stops, to super caulk them and see if that helps. If not, we're roofing over them. *sigh*
Pros for roofing over the skylights: 1) No leaks!! 2) The indoor part is recessed into the ceiling, and has fluorescent light fixtures, so we can work with that.
Cons: 1) Wah!! No skylights!
Of course, he can't do anything until the rain stops, so in the meantime, my life is like a scene from the movie Dark Water.
Pros for roofing over the skylights: 1) No leaks!! 2) The indoor part is recessed into the ceiling, and has fluorescent light fixtures, so we can work with that.
Cons: 1) Wah!! No skylights!
Of course, he can't do anything until the rain stops, so in the meantime, my life is like a scene from the movie Dark Water.
Monday, June 2, 2008
Oh For The Love Of....
***grumbles***
Remember my *new roof happy dance*? Apparently, it was really a rain dance. And rain it did. In. My. House.
We had a huge storm the other night. It rained really hard. In. My. House.
The roofer said he thought maybe our skylights would leak, but I still can't figure out exactly where the water got in. We have these..um..very unusual skylights. Corrugated fiberglass. Yeah, no kidding.
The bummer is that, because of the opening size, they can't be replaced with 'real' skylights without either special ordering something extremely expensive, boxing in most of the skylight 'hole', or putting two skylights in each opening. We're thinking of going with Tuftex and doing something similar, but better, than what is there now. I'd like to have clear skylights instead of the translucent green we have now, anyway.
In the meantime, I'm still waiting for the roofer to call me back. I know I'm impatient about things, so I'm trying to be patient and give the guy time to return my call.
I think I will go sharpen my chainsaw, just in case.
Remember my *new roof happy dance*? Apparently, it was really a rain dance. And rain it did. In. My. House.
We had a huge storm the other night. It rained really hard. In. My. House.
The roofer said he thought maybe our skylights would leak, but I still can't figure out exactly where the water got in. We have these..um..very unusual skylights. Corrugated fiberglass. Yeah, no kidding.
The bummer is that, because of the opening size, they can't be replaced with 'real' skylights without either special ordering something extremely expensive, boxing in most of the skylight 'hole', or putting two skylights in each opening. We're thinking of going with Tuftex and doing something similar, but better, than what is there now. I'd like to have clear skylights instead of the translucent green we have now, anyway.
In the meantime, I'm still waiting for the roofer to call me back. I know I'm impatient about things, so I'm trying to be patient and give the guy time to return my call.
I think I will go sharpen my chainsaw, just in case.
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