There have been some interesting stories about racing in various forms recently. First up, the sport of kings:
Dubai: Godolphin work mates Saeed Bin Surour and Mahmoud Al Zarouni are set to take on some of the best trainers on the planet as they bid to win today’s $10 million (Dh36.7 million) Dubai World Cup (Group 1), the richest and most highly anticipated race in the world.
That’ll buy a lot of oats. I also saw somewhere that the Duchess of Cornwall was scratched.
Next is a classic. The marathon, celebrating an event in ancient Greece where a dude ran 26.2 miles to deliver a very important message. Then died. How did they know it wasn’t 26.3 miles? One of the most recent marathon races was held in the Holy City, Jerusalem, for the first time.
It was also apparently the most heavily-armed marathon ever run. Kenyans won, placed, and showed, natch. But not without a bit of controversy:
Jerusalem’s first-ever marathon ended in amusing confusion on Friday, with a Kenyan runner, said to have taken a wrong turn, crossing the finish line for the half-marathon and still winning.
The Israeli team is not expected to finish until 2051.
Finally, we have:
Drag racing! The sport of queens.
If you are an Apple consumer, be aware they have pulled another pro-Christian app from their store. What was the apps crime? It dared to help people turn away from a homosexual lifestyle.
The above quotes are from an email I received from the Manhattan Declaration. The quote below is from their website.
Emphais mine
G’Morning all
Funny the thread is racing…………cause I’m out the door to go with son Arrrgh and carry his 11 sec Harley V-Rod to Navasota. Y’all have fun…………….
PUBLIC SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENT
Tonight between 8:30 and 9:30 is “Earth Hour”. Don’t forget to crank up every banned incandescent light in and around your house!
Pyro, your photo of the marathon in Israel shows one of the important differences between the Israelis and the Muslim societies. There are women running in this race, and they are not wrapped up like lepers. They look healthy, athletic, and equal.
Here’s some appalling information. A colleague (originally from India, been working in the US for 15 years, but I don’t know if he has become a citizen) asked me if I thought his mother who still lives in India could get Medicare and have her health care done in the US when she visits him. He was a bit taken aback by my incredulous response, to wit, “I hope not!” He said that he was pricing health insurance for her, finding it very expensive, and wondering why, since she is 65, she would not be eligible.
So I was looking into it last night and dammed if I didn’t find this:
“Many people are unaware that it is possible for older people who are not citizens to receive Medicare benefits. If you are a foreigner with permanent resident status, you may qualify for purchasing Medicare. You should have lived in the US continuously for the last five years and should be at least 65 years of age.
If you have not worked in the US and paid taxes, you will be required to pay Part A premium of Medicare which was $410 per month in 2007. Those who have lived in the US continuously for 5 years can apply for Part A Medicare during open enrollment. Benefits begin after the first premium is paid.
Resident Aliens are automatically enrolled in Part B Medicare along with Part A. The cost for this is $93.7 per month as of 2007. Medicare is much cheaper than private insurance.”
(emphasis added)
http://medicaresupplementinsurances.com/supplement-plans/medicare-for-non-citizen-parents/
I guess the only thing that might keep Mumbai Mama off the US taxpayer’s back, for the moment at least, is the fact that she doesn’t actually live here, and certainly hasn’t lived here continuously for 5 years. But I’m sure they could lie about it and Uncle Sugar would never find out.
Tedtam, from your # 77 yesterday, one of my favorite quotes comes from Calvin Coolidge, Persistance.
Mornin’ Gnag
“I don’t believe in MMGW but we should govern (and cripple the economy) like it exists anyway.”
Idiot.
#4 mharper42
They also make great soldiers.
#3 Hamous
My oldest kids where telling me about that yesterday as I was driving them home from school. My oldest, when questioned, did not mention any negative comments directed towards the U.S. regarding our “excessive” consumption of electricity, resources, etc. I had to tell them both that we are blessed to have all the modern conveniences that make life easier and nicer.
I LUV my
EditModify Button.#7
I guess the Governor attempted to insert both feet into his mouth… and he succeeded.
I am still trying to get used to Firefox 4.0 which I just installed this morning. They moved the refresh button towards the right side of the screen. I automatically move the cursor towards the left side and realize it is not there.
#7 Hammy
RIP Haley Barbour. Adios. Buh-bye.
#12 Texmo
I am trying to get used to Windows 7. They inexplicably moved the “Show desktop” icon (to clear the screen) from the far left to the far right. After 2 weeks so far, I haven’t retrained my reflex. Windows 7 — WASN’T my idea!
#9 Texmo – Conservation has always been important to me, probably because I was taught not to waste by family that made it through the Great Depression. It’s really not hard to do. “Earth Hour” is just another meaningless event in a long line of liberal meaningless events invented to assuage their liberal guilt and self-loathing. So I take the hour off in my full-time conservation mindset to splurge a little like they do every other day in the year.
Wisconsin Republicans decide to publish and be danged.
http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory?id=13227200
Daughter was a little bummed out after last night’s rehearsal for the wedding gig she’s doing this afternoon. She needed to stretch the piece by nearly a minute to cover the procession. I found several phrases that could be repeated at will, and then bowed out so she could pick the ones she liked best. She picked the same two that I would have, and practiced, practiced, practiced.
She’s nervous, but has invested enough practice that I figure she’ll do just fine.
The case is interesting in that it showcases the pettiness, nastiness, and cowardice of some of the more prominent political opinion bloggers and personalities, thier attempts to silence thier critics, and the willingness of thier friends to join in without fully examining the case.
Here’s what got Breitbart in trouble
After Huffpo was aquired by AOL, Arianne decided to give at least the appearance of impartiality and put Breitbart on thier popular Front Page where everybody who visits the site can see it without going any further.
Van Jones, who was ousted from his spot on the White House staff when it was revealed he was a Communist and a Truther had formed what amounts to a PAC didn’t like that.
Huffington originally stood by Breitbart, but then he said this in that interview with the Daily Caller.
Now, IMHO, the only person not telling the truth there is Jones when he called Breitbart a liar and a racist who targets prominent blacks and tries to keep them from political participation.
Arianna is freinds with both Breitbart and Jones. Breitbart helped her build Huffpo and there ar those who wouls say that it would not have become the succes it is without his help. But Arianna is more politically sympatico with Jones, so when her buddy came whining to her about the mean old Conservative, she gave credence to the accusations of liar and racist and banned Breitbart from the Front Page.
At least one of her Liberal writers has decided that principal is more important than politics.
The problem with politics is that those who steep themselves deeply in it and make it the purpose of thier being will sometimes set aside thier principals, thier humanity, and thier souls to get everybody to agree with them or punish those whom they see as a danger to that goal.
mharper #4;
I bet their kitchens area a mess with piles of unwashed dishes laying around.
#19 Darren
What is this, you want a sammich and a beer?
Obama’s DOJ is suing a small school district for denying a Muslim math teacher a 3-week leave to make her once-in-a-lifetime pilgrimage to Mecca during her school’s test-prep time. The basic details are here:
http://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2011/03/25/off_to_mecca_with_eric_holders_blessing_109339.html
bob #17;
Good luck to your daughter. Her performance can be nerve-wrecking, I’m sure. Thanks for keping us all updated on the event.
mharper;
BBQ chicken and some cherry Kool-Aid will do.
mharper;
I do admire your feminist consistancy. so many feminist activist our there don’t say a d*mn thing about the gross mistreatment of women in Muslim countries.
#8 dave
There’s few things hotter than heavily-armed Jewish Israeli soldier-type babes.
Howz that for irony? I hope all goes well for Hitchens. The medical procedure is somewhat remarkable.
Can Evangelical Doctor Help Save Life of Top Atheist Writer Christopher Hitchens?
#22 Thanks Darren. I know I prolly brag on her too much, but I’m really impressed that she picked such an ambitious goal, worked on it steadily, and learned to play the song completely by ear. I’m decent at playing by ear, but I don’t think I could have learned that tune as well or as quickly as she did.
Nothing makes a papa prouder than when his kid learns to do something better than he can. I’ll probably cry at the wedding, but not for the usual reason.
#25;
A freshly roasted chicken from SAM’S Club?
#24 Darren
Geez Darren, what have I ever said that causes you to call me a “feminist activist” ? I simply support equality for humans of all genders. And yes that includes gay and transgender. But no it does not include any type of marriage other than 1 man + 1 woman.
bob #27;
I would be too with my kids. Either last school year or the one before my oldest daughter’s reading teacher assigned the students a task that I found to be at least three years ahead of their level. I was quite impressed that she tackled her assignement (like you, with minimal help from me) and got an A in the end. Although the assignment did NOT help her love of reading, she felt good about accomplishing so much at one time.
mharper #29;
I didn’t though I can understand how my post can be read as if I did. I merey pointed out that you have feminist positions (meaning positions with a specific emphasis on the female gender) and, apart from you, there are feminist activists. You point out the inequality of women in Islamic nations, they don’t. You’re consistant, they are not.
Farrakhan-a-Rama: Obama Selected to Be First Jewish President, Defends Gaddafi & Dictatorship, Arrogant America Filled With Beasts (Content Warning)
Good guy, eh?
#31
Ok, huff has subsided.
I rejected feminism a long time ago. Feminism can be summarized:
1. Men and women are exactly the same.
2. But men are no damn good.
More and more, Illinois politicians need to hear it like it is. Good for Oberhelman.
Caterpillar CEO’s letter talks of leaving Illinois
mharper #33;
Well, at least feminists got it half right.
Which half??
I am off to get ready for a 50th anniversary party for parents of some old friends, check y’all later.
I’ve been frequently chatting with a lady on facebook for months now. We have a lot in common. She’s a single parent of a couple of kids, and we have very similar parenting styles. Hers are about 5 years younger than mine, so I know what she’s going through at that stage. We make each other laugh. A lot. We found that we had seen a lot of the same documentaries on Netflix, traded suggestions about others to watch, and then discussed them via messages the next day or so.
Last night we went out on a date (sort of.) We both watched her favorite comedy program, live on HBO, and discussed it in real time. We traded well over a hundred messages, and continued chatting for a couple of hours after the program ended. All that was missing was a good night kiss. (“xoxoxo” is a poor substitute for the real thing.)
I think I’ll ask her out again tonight.
You swave debbil.
As the article states:
The Constitution also states that the Gummint can’t interfere with the free expression of Religion, and since the school is run by the Gummint, there’s a bit of a “double whammy” on them if they prevent her from going, or punishes her if she goes.
Where SHE is wrong is here:
The outcome of the case will likely hinge on whether the school said “Not this year, but we’ll make every effort that you can do it next year.” or “No. Never. We’re never going to let you gon on hajj until it occurs during a vaction.” which the article points out is in 8 years. The article doesn’t mention any effort by the school at negotiation, so we don’t know exactly how they handled the situation.
Its an imperfect analogy, but the one that comes closest to something Christians can understand, but I’d sue the He!! out of anybody who told me I couldn’t get baptized for 8 years because it was inconvenient for them.
And I’d win.
It’s not even close. Getting baptized takes a couple of hours at most and the ceremony is almost invariably on a weekend day, typically Sunday. Depending on the age of the person and which particular brand of Christianity they practice, there may be numerous opportunities throughout a given year. This is not the case with the Roman Catholic Church, where baptisms of people older than about 7 only happen during the Easter Vigil late in the evening on Holy Saturday.
Asking for three weeks off during a time of year where her services are most in need constitutes a hardship for her employer. How many accountants take three weeks of vacation in March? How many retail sales people take three weeks of vacation in December? How many people in any industry take three weeks off during that industry’s busiest season? I’ll answer those questions in order:
none.
none.
none.
There’s a show desktop button?
I’ll be. Never heard of it.
I guess I’ll have to look for it.
What type of schedule does this school keep? If she wants to go on a pilgrimage during Ramadan, she could possibly do it during the next 2 years. Ramadan moves up about 2 weeks every year. Last year it started mid-August and this year it will start closer to the 1st of August. In ’13 it will start closer to July 1 and she should be back in time to prepare for the new academic school year.
I really do not see why this person can not wait another couple of years and avoid a conflict with the employer all together.
#41 On WinXP, its default location is the first icon next to the start button.
#39/40, I’m in full agreement with the employer on this one. “Reasonable accommodation” does not include lengthy time off when your services are needed. The employee is free to find another place to work if they don’t like the terms of employment.
Shannon, you can also simultaneously hit the Window button (with the flag) and the letter m. This will minimize all your open windows.
You’re right, as far as the mechanics go.
But one of the more common questions asked of those who are wavering on the decision as to whether or not to get baptised is:
What if you die tomorrow and you haven’t accepted Christ in your life?
Her religion tells here that if she is able to go on hajj and does not, then she has sinned and can’t go to heaven. Telling her to wait 8 years to fulfill a religious obligation is the same as telling me I have to wait to be baptized.
Any who have made arrangements with thier employer so that they can fulfill a religious obligation. A better question would be:
How many observant Jewiss accountants work from dusk Friday until sundown on Saturday during March?
And the answer to that would be “A few of them, most of them have a religious obligation that they must fulfill.”
And if thier employer told them they would be fired unless they workled on Saturday, they would be sued, and rightly so.
Again, any who have made arrangements with thier employers in order to fulfill a religious obligation. In eight years, there will likley be a number of Muslims who go on hajj in December who also work in retail.
Same answer as above. And those employers who tell observant Jews and Seventh Day Adventists that they have to work on Saturday or be fired will be in violation of the law and can be sued.
It’s the rectangular area at the far right end of the taskbar. It’s not labeled.
#45 sarge
Not being able to work one day a week is different from taking three solid weeks off.
I’m relying on the information given in the article:
I agree. Waiting a year or two is not onerous and if it was offered and rejected, then she is in the wrong. If the school rejected any such offer, they are in the wrong. Forcing her to wait 8 years, however, IS onerous IMHO. As I said, the article leaves out that bit of important information, which does make me wonder a bit about motive or bias.
The Principal behind the Right remains the same. What you’re saying now is that everyone has a right not to have thier religious freedom abridged as long as its for a day or two, after that, they lose their rights.
There are probably thousand of buttons I don’t utilize in XP.
But I’d give Hammie a hundred bucks to put a refresh button at the bottom of the Comments that I can use on my iPhone.
Bob,
Nope,…that’s your job.
#49 sarge
I never said such a thing. Besides, how many employers require their employees to work seven days per week?
It’s also a matter of priorities on the side of the employee, however. An employer hires someone to perform some set of tasks. If that employee can’t perform those tasks, then what?
If I hire you as a tax accountant and you want to take three weeks of vacation in March to fulfill your religious obligation to worship mother gaia as she awakens from her winter slumber, that puts me in a bit of a pickle, no? I need the help of a tax accountant to satisfy my customers’ (they’re the ones who pay your salary, remember) needs, but my tax accountant is off watching flowers bloom and bears wake up from hibernation. Meanwhile, I now have to hire a replacement, train them on my business and its practices, and get him introduced to my customers’ businesses, all representing extra costs on my business.
It is your right to go off to watch flowers bloom and baby deer being born and whatever else gaia worshipers do; there is nothing preventing you from doing so. Why is it my duty to incur extra expenses due to your actions? Why is it not your duty to find a job or career that is more in line with your religious beliefs?
What if she were a butcher and converted to Islam or Judaism and her employer decided he wanted to exploit a new burgeoning market in pork products? What if he doesn’t have the facilities to separate the pork-related activities from the beef-related? It is his duty to ensure that these workers only work on the much-diminished beef activities, yet pay them the same salary for much less work?
n.b. Since when do teachers have any vacation during the school year? It’s very understood here at least, that the only time off teachers get is regularly-scheduled vacation/holiday time (summer, spring break, etc.) or sick days. It is very unusual for them to take more than a day or two during the school year beyond this.
Acting Sergeant Dipprasad Pun is studlier than all of you people put together.
#50 Fanboy – You mean there’s not an app for that??? I’d think the “greatest OS in the world” would have a handy refresh button.
You effectively said so when you agreed that observant Jewish accountants have the right to refuse to work Friday nights and Saturdays during tax season, but Muslims do not because thier religious obligation requires three weeks.
The Law says that if you knew that when you hired them, its your problem and you don’t have the right to fire or discipline them.
If they are Jewish tax accountants, you let them stay home after dusk on Friday and Saturday, even if its tax season when that extra 20 hours poer week would help you out a great deal.
What if she were a Catholic nurse who worked in a hospital that suddenly decided to take advantage of a burgeoning market in abortions?
Again, the principal is the same–
And you’re providing examples that go far beyond what’s in the article, and none of them involve an employee of a government entity.
Looking into this further, we do find that she asked twice and was refused both times, and that she was asking for unpaid leave rather than paid vacation. The fact that she would not have been paid would have meant that the school could have hired a part time replacement for her without any added expense.
It also indicates that the school did not make any kind of counter offer to allow her to do it the following year after it had had more time to make arrangements.
It’s not just the Jewish Israeli-type female soldiers who are hot.
#55 sarge
The nurses should first ask that they not be asked to assist in abortions or that they be transferred to other departments where that particular moral hazard is not present. Failing that, they should seek other employment.
See how easy it can be?
On the other hand:
Sounds like the schools and the union had already considered such a request and came to an agreement. Both sides should be bound by that agreement, whatever it may be.
If it goes against the schools, then your position would be correct. If it goes against her, then maybe she should take some personal responsibility and not put her salvation (such as it may be) at risk by working in a place that she knows would not be compatible with her beliefs.
One other thing that makes the school’s case a bit weak IMO is that they denied her request on the grounds that the unpaid leavbe was not related to her professional duties as an employee.
Which establishes the principal that they don’t have a problem with people taking unpaid leave during the period in question. They’re not necessarily against it, as long as they agree with the reason.
In other words, some other teacher of equal value to the school’s performance could make a request for three weeks unpaid leave during that same period and if they made the case that it was somehow related to thier professional duties as an employee, the school would find a replacement for the teacher for that period.
Nope. I looked. The way to refresh is to tiouch the bar at the top of the Safari page and refresh there. You then have to scroll all the way down to the end of the comments.
I even tried some of the other browsers available on an iPhone. Same story there.
That’s the criteria used by every single commercial company I’ve ever worked for.
What’s the agreement with the union say?
See how easy it wasn’t?
Sorry Sarge, but you’re wrong. She knew (or should have) what the school schedule was when she applied for the position. What idiot would apply for a full time job and then turn around a few months later ask for 3 weeks off.
Possibly, although the article seems to imply that there wasn’t another math teacher available. Nevertheless, no substitute teacher is going to do as good a job as the regular teacher. He/She doesn’t know the students, the school, or the curriculum as well.
I spent some time a while back working with a devout 7th Day Adventist. He made bloody sure that our employer knew that his Sabbath was from Friday evening until Saturday evening, BEFORE he was hired. If your teacher had exercised the same courtesy we wouldn’t be having this discussion.
Good afternoon Hamsters. A more coherent and balanced account that the AP/ABC version of yesterday’s happenings in Wisconsin’s rewrite of public employee unions collective bargaining status is this “Collective bargaining law published despite restraining order” from the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
Sounds like they had an agreement beforehand. The hospital’s in the wrong.
Easy.
#53 wagonbuner Of course he Studly, he’s a Gurkha Soldier.
My Daddy served in the Burma/China/India Theater in WW II and he said that these guys were BAD A$$. They would sneak into a Japanese tent in the middle of the night and remove the occupant’s head then sneak out. None of the rest of the Japanese would know what happend until the next morning.
I have a great Gurkha Knife that he brought back. It’s about 18″ long and is real heavy, yhr blade is about 3/8″ thick at the top and tapers down to a razor sharp edge.
So.
It will be easy to prove that there actually was no “undo burden” as the school has asgreements in place that provide for the circumstance of a teacher taking an unpiad leave for a period of time during which this testing is occuring, and don’t mind (under the right circumstances) using a substitute teacher, even if they aren’t as good as the full time teacher.
Thier case would be stronger had they had an agreement in place that said “Under no circumstances will teachers be able to take unpaid leave during this period.”
So Mr School Board President, if Ms Kahn wanted to take three weeks leave to attend a seminar on calculus at MIT and you’d have no problem with finding a replacement, is that true?
The town in question is a suburb of Chicago.
Mr. School Board President. KI hold here in my hand a list of all of the substitute math teachers in the greater Chicago area. You tell me that you would consult this list to find a replacement for Ms Kahn under the right circumstances, but if it was for religious purposes, you couldn’t be bothered, isn’t that right?
#64 did not include the link despite my best efforts and it having said your comment has been updated, and the link worked there. When I couldn’t find it the second try a note directed me to some gibberish about unlocking some feature to allow it.
So it is http://www.jsonline.com/news/statepolitics/118677754.html
Also see badgerblogger.com
In that case, the teacher would be better able to teach math on her return, no?
What does the agreement say? Khan admitted she could provide no professional development justification, so it looks like she’s in the wrong and the schools are in the right. She might have a better case if there were no unions involved. Wow. Who’d have thought?
It doesn’t matter.
Because the Law says:
The school has already agreed that the teachers absence during this period does not present “undue hardship.” They would have been able to prove that if the agreement said “under no circumstances” but they have already agreed, in principal, that there is no undue hardship—-replacement teachers can be found to take a teachers place if absent for certain reasons, and they don’t have a problem with it.
In essence, Burner, because the school has that agreement in place, they now have to prove that the undue burden was being placed on the school because of the religious nature of the request.
Because they have already said they are willing to take on the burden because of the nature of other requests.
Its a loser for them.
And, IMHO, a winner for the Constitution.
54
Hell, I don’t know.
I don’t have the patience to look.
All I know is I’m tired of scrolling back to the top thru 100 comments just to refresh the comments. I’m scared I’m gonna wear a hole in the front of this phone
bob;
Be sure to put the joint down before you smooch.
Good luck on your next date. Behave yourselves!
That’s NOT the way to make others holy.
Shannon;
No fair. I don’t have a phone which I can use to blog. Is there a government program where I can get one?
Its not them I’d be worried about.
60 WB
Thanks for the tip. At least now I only have to scroll in one direction.
Just FYI, there’s on ongoing war on a separate background thread involving iPhone vs. Offbrand phone users.
The offbranders outnumber the rest of us. But that’s okay. We run the world and they will eventually be assimilated.
Happy 80th birthday, Mr. Spock. You’ve lived long, and prospered. But you will never live this one down.
Seems like Steve would have designed a refresh button into his wonderful OS. No matter, Hamous to the rescue!
Tested it out on my iPod Touch. Looks like it works. There’s a nice little toolbar at the bottom of the browser. It would be a perfect place for a refresh button.
Y’all are gonna be too busy scrolling down to the bottoms of pages to run anything.
In a Wikileaks type happening, there has been a leak of some of the topics that Obummer might be covering in his Monday night press conference. Here is a “Top Ten” list of the topics of major concern to the Obummer Administration:
1) That the actions taken in Libya were not his own but that of his “teleprompter”.
2) That he will be adopting Moochelle’s diet so that he can “bulk” up to be able to play more competitive basketball.
3) That there will be no questions taken today and no press conference anytime soon because his “teleprompter” will be in the shop getting an upgrade.
4) That he wants to apologize to his Muslim brothers because some had to give up their lives so that others can “dictate”.
5) That he will be releasing his and his families future vacation schedule for the rest of his one and only term.
6) That he will be using executive order to allow him to refile his Men’s and Women’s NCAA Final Four brackets.
7) That one of his top priorities in the remainder of his term in office is to improve his golf scores.
8 ) That he will propose the cancellation of the 2012 elections as a big budget savings cut.
9) That having given up cigarettes, he will be taking up the pipe to look more dignified.
10) That he will be talking to the PGA about some form of “affirmative action” to help Tiger win any golf tournament.
As usual, feel free to add to my list if there is some topic I might have left off.
Daughter rocked at the wedding today. It is said that a performance is rarely as good as your best practice. I heard only two flubs, but she recovered so well that you’d have to be as familiar with the piece as I am to notice.
I figure she’ll be getting some offers to play at future wedding gigs.
That is one ugly-a$$ed button you got there, buddy.
“Does this refresh make my button look big?”
From my Droid I refresh by Menu… Refresh from any page, including this one. Not dissing you iPhony peeps. Just sayin’.
If it were a computer, I’d be tempted to run Droid. But, primarily it’s a phone and I need it to work, so I don’t want to have to worry about some 13 year old pizza faced kid in Moscow screwing with it.
On any computers I own that don’t need to be virtually 100% compatible with work, I run Ubuntu.
Man, can’t please anyone in this joint.
Gimmee an edit button!
Where’s my edit button!
Gimmee comment ratings!
Comment ratings suck!
Gimmee a refresh button!
That refresh button is ugly!
And another thing. Make sure everyone here agrees with me all the time. That will be all. For now.
Man. Someone’s went and turned hisself into a big ol’ whiney butt.
#88 Hams — What happened to the links to the 10 most recent comments??
Amazon’s having a sale on Fantasy & Science Fiction movies for you fans of that genre.
I see I stirred up a
warkinetic military operation between Sarge & Pyro with that DOJ/Mecca story.To me, the money shot in that story is:
I read several different articles about the case. Some of the elements various commenters thought were weighty: She had been employed less than a year when she asked for the 3-week unpaid leave. This is a very small district and they didn’t have a suitable substitute to run the math lab during test prep time. To me, it showed she didn’t really care much about her job or the students.
#91 mh42
Careful. You’ll make him cry.
#44 Texmo
I didn’t know about that one, but it doesn’t seem to have a reverse-action. With the Show Desktop icon, you press it once to minimize all open windows, press it again to restore them all.
#93 mh42
Well, that and if one were to choose between one’s mortal soul and one’s job, I would hope that one would choose one’s mortal soul.
Aside from what appears in the CBA between the schools and the teachers union, I personally think it takes some bowling-size iron cojones (figuratively speaking) clanking around to up and ask for three weeks off before you’ve been employed somewhere for less than six months.
But that’s just me.
In Windows 7, if you just hover over the “show desktop” area, it makes your windows transparent, showing an outline of their borders, until you move away.
Someone told me that in Microsoft Office applications (I would imagine that includes others as well), you can perform any action four different ways.
#97 Pyro
Naw, I am running in Classic Mode. I turned off that “glass” crap or whatever it’s called within 10 minutes of making the Win-7 laptop my daily PC.
#98 mh42
luddite
100
The always entertaining Hans Rosling explains why the washing machine was the greatest invention of the industrial age.
The year I was born, 1952, my grandparents in Bellville got their first washing machine and my grandmother was able to throw out the big steel tubs they had used to boil water and hand scrub the laundry. It wasn’t until I was about 7 or 8 years old that they got a gas line run to the outbuilding, the washhouse, so she could have a dryer.
Previously, for decades, my grandmother had 2 large, strong, local black women come over on Saturday morning and help her do all the family laundry by hand, to be dried on the clotheslines all weekend. It was grueling, tough, all day affair. If the weather didn’t cooperate, life was completely interrupted at the Clarke hacienda.
Fortunately. even after the arrival of a gas dryer, she still insisted on hanging out all the bed linens on the huge drying lines in the backyard. One of my best memories was climbing into bed at my grandparents’ house on the hill after a hot bath and smelling the cool, sun-drenched, clean sheets on a summer night in the 1950s.
When you do the Windows button-m in Ubuntu it does some really freaky color change to your desktop.
Oh wow, man.
Hey Hammy, that Refresh button at the bottom of the current open thread, here’s what it does in Win-7: takes me to the top of the thread.
I’ll stick with the manual refresh in IE [f5]…
#96 Pyro
Doncha get the feeling that Safoora Khan chose her religion over her job but then thought, Well why not screw the infidels while I’m at it?
One of my worst memories from the same house is using bath towels that felt like sandpaper for the same reason.
Thanks, Mom, for not hanging the towels on the line like your mother did.
Oh and thanks for the refresh button hammie. Works perfectly for the evil iPhone. I’ll bring the hundred to that raunchy, lovely bar where we last met. Dan Electro’s!!!
This morning started out at 6, as usual feeding Mariposa and then out to feed the mares, bringing in the paper on the way back. Spouse was in the kitchen getting juice glasses out of the cupboard next to the fridge. I finished sorting the news sections from the freestanding ads and put the newsy parts on the kitchen table, and as I turned toward the fridge, spouse uttered words rarely heard in polite company, accompanied by a sloshing sound. A micro-Spindletop had sprung forth from the orange juice jug when spouse shook it. Umm, the cap was not closed tight.
His PJs were soaked top to bottom, a generous puddle at his feet, spatters on the cupboards left and right and counter below, on the fridge, on the floor a ways behind the main impact. Kitchen floor had been washed yesterday, of course. A decent respect for his plight required not saying much other than a caution not to move until I could clean up the spill around Ground Zero. Do you know how sticky orange juice can be? When a slight film of it’s stuck on the bottoms of your shoes it makes this tacky noise with every step, even when you think you’ve washed it off. Trouble is you step on an impossible to see, not quite cleaned spot, and the tacky noise tells you about it. Plus you track it out onto clean places with each tacky step to get more paper towels or wet ones at the sink.
Spouse squished off to change clothes, and I grabbed handfuls of paper towels to wipe up the mess. Then got paper towels wet to wash the sticky away. That was not successful. Got out the mop, still damp from yesterday, and washed the floor twice. That worked–I think. Then wiped the cupboards, fridge, counter several times. Success was taking a step without the tacky noise resulting. PJs went straight into the washing machine with more laundry.
The OJ jug is snug on the fridge shelf, its cap down tight. Will check the cap tomorrow morning–just to be sure.
G’night all.
106 Continuing the conversation about our grandmother’s house…the master bedroom closet was about three and a half or four feet wide. Period. Just enough room for Grandaddy’s three white work shirts and three pairs of work slacks. And her three or four school teacher dresses.
Amazing.
You’re the best, Ms. Adee
#109 Shannon
My maternal grandparents lived in a big old Victorian house in a tiny Texas town called Sylvester. There were no closets at all. The adults stored their clothing in armoires or whatever you call those freestanding storage units. My mother talked about growing up in the children’s rooms upstairs. Most of their clothes were folded and kept in baskets, but the girls’ best dresses that wrinkled easily were hung on hooks on the bedroom wall.
My favorite thing visiting that house as a child was a dormer window that opened out from the attic, giving access to the roof of a 2-story house. As they say, what was I thinking??
#106 Shannon
I wasn’t going to mention how you were always whining about something.
Not that I would have any knowledge of such a thing, but the lid on the OJ was probably left unsecured by some guy that took a giant swig when no one else was looking.
112
I’m a really classy guy, so I won’t tell anyone here that Tommy Smothers stole his whole “Mom loved you best” schtick from you, baby.
I remember the good ole days when I could just cruise down to the Sears parts depot on FM 517 and pick up pretty much anything I needed to get a broken washer or dryer working again. They stopped doing that some years ago. Now, it doesn’t matter if it’s on the shelf in the back or not. They place an order and it is shipped to you. I fully understand why they do this (my employer does it too) but I still miss that convenience.
The door switch for the dryer will arrive Thursday or Friday. Their website isn’t bad, but I also dislike the fact that they no longer include the wiring diagrams with the appliance. I could have paid for expedited shipping, the cost of which exceeded the price of the switch, and got it Tuesday.
Yes, I simply dummied out the wiring behind the switch. It’s kinda cool to start the dryer while your tossing the clothes into it.
Hammie
Remember the famous Meg Ryan diner scene in the movie “Sleepless in Seattle”?
That’s how I feel about the new Refresh button.
#113 Shannon, That’s a reasonable speculation. Or mayhap he got distracted and didn’t secure the lid yesterday morning when he poured the OJ and put the jug back in the fridge.
Then there is this mysterious, sporadic affliction seemingly sex-linked to males that involves inability to completely close things like drawers, doors, maybe extending to lids and caps.
If I had remembered to close the lid (and put the seat back down) more often, I might still be married.
We called ‘em chiffarobes.
I think it was in “When Harry Met Sally” but I understand and I’m glad you like it.
117 Adee
Nah, you’re imagining things. I have this one drawer in the bathroom she keeps complaining about. And I know darned good and well she opens it after I leave in the mornIng just to mess with me.
#54 RE: #50 – ROFLMAOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
*fan-boy* indeed!
p.s. Hey Fanboy received your latest email – I’m still wiping the tears of abject mirth!
Harry/Sally. Of course.
Aw crap. Now Whiskerfish shows up. Texpat mist have decided he needed reinforcements. That’s okay. I can handle ‘em.
Shannon #121, Nope, it’s surely the house ghost. That’s it, the house ghost.
I keep hearing a lot of liberals, democrats, union thugs, (and some moderate republicans as well) and the like carrying on and whining about proposed cuts to this program or that program that may or may not affect their own district or their power base or whatever. Others are talking about raising fees for this and that to replace lost revenues from other sources due to economic conditions or whatever. I find all of this very discouraging because it appears that our representatives have still not gotten the message. It’s not just about cutting spending or reducing the tax burden – it’s about getting the government out of our hair, getting rid of programs and bureaucracies,and scaling back everything except essential services. The Department of Energy and the Department of Education come to mind. How about Commerce for another. No more college loans until the outstanding ones are collected. No government involvement in housing markets and loans. Congressional budgets slashed to the bone, retirement funds eliminated, no perks – force them to be bribed by the lobbyists, then put them in jail when they are discovered. Give the members of the CBC $10 million each annually on condition that they don’t ever show up in Washington. Those are just a start.
It is said that a cat always lands on his feet. It is also said that a dropped piece always lands with the buttered side down. So if I strap a piece of toast to my cat’s back, buttered side up, and then he jumps off the table, what would happen?
Bob:
Perpetual motion!
mharper42 and Hambone
We called ‘em chiffarobes.
G’Sunday Morning all
He freezes in mid air. That’s the way they show all those animals frozen in the TV commercials.
TT and others using Firefox 4:
I too didn’t like the button locations and thought I would have to adapt.
This morning I discovered that if you right click on a blank area of the task bar and choose “Customize.” Drag separators to both sides of the buttons and you can relocate them. After relocation drag the separators back to the customize drop down. Job finished!
The legal problems for the school district are these:
1. The reason they gave for not giving her the leave was that it did not contribute to career developement as outlined in an agreement they had with the Union. They said nothing about how long she had worked there, rendering that legal question moot. It might work well for public opinion, but the court generally ignores public opinion. It is likely that the agreement with the Union does not include any caveats for time served when requesting leaves of absence.
2. The law requires that employees be given time off for religious observances, provided it does not impose “undue hardship” on the employer or other employees. The school had already said that she would have been given time off had she wanted it for career developement, demonstrating that, in principal, the hardship was one they could endure IF they benefitted from it (getting a better teacher). Not getting a better teacher is not an “undue hardship” because they were perfectly happy with the teacher they already had, and since the time off would not make her any less proficient, no hardship would come from the time off as far as career developement is concerned.
3. They did not give “undue hardship” as a reason for not allowing her to go. They said that they couldn’t do it because it wasn’t according to the agreement they had with the Union, which did not mention Religious observance, only “career developement.” The school did not claim undue hardship until after she had resigned and registered a complaint with the EEOC. This is an indication that they only came up with that reason after they got in trouble and can’t defend on the basis of the original reason given.
4. The time off request was for unpaid leave, so there would be no financial hardship to the school. Therefore, the only thing that the school can use to demonstrate hardship would be the claim an inability to find a substitute teacher. Here is where Berkeley, Ill is located, and a description of the location, and transportation availability.
The cliam that it is a small town without access to teachers is ludicrous, and is going to be pathetically easy to demonstrate in court, especially if the jury is picked from residents of the Metropolitan Chicago area who will use those same Interstates and rail lines to get to the courthouse to hear the case. Needville is a small town of similar size 10 miles south of Richmond. They’d have no problem finding a substitute teacher somewhere in Fort Bend or western Harris County, and there isn’t even an Interstate or commuter rail system that goes through it.
Furthermore, the last cencus showed that 25.6% of the population of 5,245 is under 18, which translates to approximately 1300 children living in the town. That would mean that if evenly divided and ALL of them went to school, there’s only about 100 students at each class level from Kindergarten to Senior year in High School. If you took out those who are under 6 years old and those going to private schools, the number is probably a lot less. Hardship would be easier to prove if it were a large class size. Its not the determining factor, just another one that’s going to be piled onto the school’s already weak case.
The court will only look at the facts, and then only those that apply directly to the reasons the school gave her for why she was denied the time off. It does appear that neither side entered into any negotiation to postpone the hajj until the school had more time to prepare, but since they did not give “undue hardship” as a reason, and since the “career developement” excuse is in effect a “No. Not Ever.” answer to the request, any other reason is rendered moot and, IMHO, will likely not be examined by the court.
The school will lose this case. They should settle out of court before they cost the taxpayers of Berkeley, Ill any more money. It doesn’t matter to the Law, not should it, that the time off was for a Muslim religious observance. Here’s what my copy of the Constitution says about that:
Re: the “drag racing” pic:
I ‘m pretty sure the guy/gal second from right with the wine red hair is HeadShaker.
#126 EG
I like the way you think at 2 in the morning…
#129 SD
I’ve heard them called wardrobes too. But because that word also applies to the contents of the thing, it’s confusing so I don’t like to use it.
#133 Lawrence
Which one is you?
bob #127;
DON’T DO IT, BOB! You risk rupturing the very fabric of space and time. Strapping buttered toast to the back of a cat and throwing the cat is more dangerous than crossing the streams.
*** REPORTER CONFINED IN CLOSET DURING VEEP’S FUNDRAISER ***
#138 Darren, I saw that yesterday, I guess it’s just more of that transparency stuff.
IWHarper69 – I’m the one in “black face”, leading the race, of course!
If the Geraldine Ferraro VP nomination was such a great step for women and their movement as the liberal media would lead you to think, then wouldn’t Sarah Palin’s be further help to the movement? Could the reason be is that Ferraro was a ultra left wing liberal and Palin is not? Or could it be that the Mondale/Ferraro ticket only won one state and it wasn’t hers? And why is the NOW movement going nowhere, could it be their requirements be that a person should first be a ultra left wing Dummycrat and secondly, a woman. Don’t look to your ultra left wing liberal media to tell you the truth, you already know it!!!!
- Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn, Harvard Commencement, 1978
When the normal course of human events in a free society becomes increasingly sclerotic as each civil agreement becomes a forum for dueling rights, real and imagined, then such a society slowly grinds itself into dust. As Solzhenitsyn observes, when the letter of the law becomes the ultimate arbiter of civil conduct at the expense of common sense, common decency and thoughtfulness, those things whither and die from a collective lack of respect.
- Alexis de Tocqueville
If an employee accepts a job and then within the first year demands, without notifying the employer before acceptance, she needs three weeks for a personal, religious ritual, she is being rude and inconsiderate of her employer. Contractual law cannot and does not attempt to address this, but that does not render those things unimportant. It merely illustrates the inadequacy of the legal system to govern every aspect of human behavior.
If this woman had been hired by me and conducted herself in this manner, I would fire her. I am the employer and gave her a job. She has no right to the job, but she does have a right to practice her religion in whatever way pleases her. Furthermore, the judgment of what constitutes an undue burden is mine alone to make. I run the company and take the responsibility for its success or failure and would reject out of hand anyone assuming to tell me what is an acceptable hardship for my organization.
The inconsiderate and selfish actions of the employee are sufficient grounds for me to end her employment. If she felt no more obligation than that to her fellow employees, customers (students) or gratitude for getting a job in this economic climate, she would not be welcome in my organization.
I like these kinds of “flashmob” performances.
My favorite is still Food Court Musical.
Good morning Hamsters. Semi-mugly 70 this morning at 6, gloomy overcast with not a drop of rain, improving to merely overcast by 10. The forecast mentions a 20% chance of rain, but I don’t believe it today. More leaves unfolding on the red oaks and live oaks, more pollen dusting everything once more, and Spring is with us again in all her finery. The resilient oxalis that were dead above ground a few weeks ago are revived and in full bloom, their deep magenta leaves and delicate pink flowers a happy contrast to the yet-faithful pansies still smiling though nearing the end of their reign if this heat keeps up much longer. Thoughts turn to replacing them with summer bloomers when they bow out at last.
Lord Cardinal inspected the front proch this moring, and Mariposa pounced on the windowsill inside to track him with great interest. She might have startled him, as he flew off to one side and headed for the ligustrum beside the porch that seems to be a favorite resting place for him and his lady. Carolina wrens are back making nests in flower pots and hanging baskets, many of which will never see eggs. These pesky birds take over a yard or patio, small and loud they are, and move in wherever they please. They do not discourage easily. But they are smart enough to be wary of mockingbirds.
Breakfast OJ was served without incident this morning.
And had the school given that as a reason for refusal of the request, or had fired her for cause (which is arguable in this case as there was a Union agreement in place), they would not be facing a lawsuit by a woman with a free lawyer who can draw on the resources of the US Government.
Question:
Why did they accept her resignation?
My Blackberry isn’t working. It’s frozen.
#144 Adee
That’s OK, I made up for your lack of an incident by knocking over my *huge* Sunday morning coffee cup onto the breakfast table. Missed the computer but drenched a lot of paperwork and all my calendars and appointment book. Everything is still drying out to a nice cafe-au-lait shade under a fan. At least I don’t sugar my coffee so nothing dried sticky.
#145 Sarge
Question: Why would they want her back?
Because their defense is that mere weeks before she tendered it, she was deemed so indispensible and finding even a temporary replacement for her was so impossible that they would not even discuss unpiad leave for any reason other than career developement, or m aking arrangements for it to be done in the next school year.
Yet her permanent absence created an even greater hardship, which they willingly accepted without any attempt at negotiation for retention. The test schedule did not change and teachers would be just as hard to find, especially full time teachers in the middle of a school year, and any replacement would be just as unable to do her job if they had replaced her temporarily.
To be fair here, she was hired in 2007 for the 2007-2008 school year, made the request in August of 2008 after completing her first school year, for time off in December, which is in the 2008-2009 school year.
She did not, as is being intimated here, make her request almost immediately after being hired.
This is not exactly what I’d call a logical question.
Did they have a choice?
No one here suggested that. The news stated she had been on the job 9 mos. when she requested the unpaid leave. Most jobs don’t give you any time off until you’ve worked for a year.
Sarge:
The article says she was hired in November 2007 – I suspect because the math teacher she replaced had left. After finishing the 2007-2008 year she made the request – after being hired for the 2008 – 2009 year. One wonders what would have happened if she had informed the school district in June that she was going to take the month of December off. I strongly suspect that they would have found another teacher.
The permanent loss of a teacher is not at all the same thing as a temporary absence. If a teacher leaves the school can look for another full time employee. If a teacher decides to go away for a few weeks then the school is faced with the need to try to temporarily fill in a hole. It is not the same thing at all!!! Finding a qualified substitute can be difficult at best, and students always suffer. If the absence comes right before a state test the problem is exacerbated. Then add in the fact that she was the ONLY math teacher in the school.
Perhaps the school did a poor job of stating its position. And perhaps the law will eventually support the teacher’s position. “The law is an ass.” Nevertheless her actions were indeed “inconsiderate and selfish”. She was a poor role model for the children she is supposed to want to teach. And, frankly, she was (and is) a poor poor example for us of her faith
Sarge, may I ask what is the source of your recent, and I would describe it as extreme, pro-Islamic stance on everything? It seems to date from right around the time of your baptism. Is there a connection? If this is too personal, I’m sure you’ll let me know.
I’ve had teachers that really sucked at the job, and I’ve had a few like this guy.
If practicing ones religious beliefs is more important than practicing ones profession, perhaps a change of professions is in order.
Many people, too many people, believe basic, heavy and relatively simple manufacturing processes moving overseas is somehow a bad thing. I strongly suspect those folks never had to work in one of those plants as I did when I was young. Hot, dirty, grueling, repetitive, back-breaking work that wore down your psyche. In my experiences, I met a number of fellow employees who were much too smart and under-utilized in these facilities and whose talents and creativity were wasted.
The following extended Corning commercial depicts precisely the reasons why America will continue to outpace the rest of the world and why we are better off devoting our resources to the future rather than squandering our talents on old, industrial age efforts.
It just does not get any cooler than this…
I know this isn’t representative of the majority of tea partiers, at least, I hope it’s not.
SecDef Gates admits that Libya was not a direct or imminent threat to the US prior to the start of Barack’s Excellent Expeditionary Adventure.
A case could be made that Syria and Mexico are much more imminent and direct threats to the US right now as well as severe humanitarian problems.
You people are not participating in Earth Hour enough. Now get with the program.
#146 bob
Doncha’ just love the dry British Humor.
I’m bored. I think I’ll go to Wal*Mart and toss boxes of condoms into random peoples carts when they aren’t looking.
#158 WB
LOL.
Did you notice after 12 comments on that Canadian TV site, 11 of which were mocking “Earth Hour”, they closed the comments for that post ?
Employers always have a choice when an employee resigns. There have been everal instances in my career where I submitted my resignation only to have the employer make me an offer to get me to stay. My experience is that the more indispensible I was to the operation and the more difficult I was to be replaced, the better that offer was. I once got a 45% increase in salary, a promotion, and an offer of a trip to Mexico to set up a satellite drafting office in order to get me to stay on.
Actually, Texpat said pretty much exactly that in his #142 above.
Employment contracts for teachers run for 9 months. That means that 9 months of employment is one year of service for a teacher. She had completeld her first employment contract before requesting unpaid leave.
Does this school have a history of running math theachers off at the beginning of the school year? Could it be that they lack compassion and are insensitive to thier employees to the extent that they created an atmosphere that would cause an employee to make a choice between thier religion and their job? Might be worth talking to at least the teacher she replaced, if not others.
One generally does not make requests for time off until they are hired. If the employer does not ask before hiring, the fault is thiers. If she had told them that she wanted time off for a religious observance and she was not hired as a result, the same Constitutional issue would be in play. The request was made at the time such requests are normally made: before the beginning of classes.
The difference is subtle at best, and the point is moot as demostrated by the fact that the town of Berekely is more like Hedwig Village than it is like Bumfizzle, South Dakota. Its an affluent beddroom community for a major metropolitan area, not an isolated small town in the hinterland.
She was the only math lab instructor, not the only math teacher.
If we’re going to argue this on the basis of what is right versus what is legal, allow me to suggest that the following would have been the right thing to do:
Ms. Khan, we have reviewed your request for three weeks unpaid leave for the purposes of performing a religious obligation. We are aware that as a government entity we have a higher obligation to adhere to the Relisious freedoms expressed in the Constitution, but we find that the timing of this request and the length of absence will place undue hardship for this school. We are sensitive to you and your religion and would like to offer you approval of a two week unpaid leave during the next school year to allow us ample opportunity to plan for your absence.
As far as this issue is concerned, it has nothing to do with the fact that she is a Muslim. This is a Constitutional issue for me, nothing more. It matters not to me which religion it is, only that a religion is involved. The only time I have argued for putting restrictions on the exercise of religious practices in the manner in which I am now was those practiced by the Yearning for Zion cult which claimed the religious freedom to marry girls under the age of 14 and have multiple wives. I’m against that for the same reason I would be against allowing the religious practices of religions that advocate human or animal sacrifice.
And this is nothing new for me. Squawkbox and others will tell you about the position I took regarding the conduct of the war in Iraq where I took a lot of heat for advocating against bombing thier cities to dust in favor of one that expressed sensitivity to the religion and culture of the people so as to get them on our side and not become like our enemy. That was the approach taken by General Petreaus, and it was ultimately successful.
This is truly an issue for me that leans more towards winning the war against militant extremist Muslims. Its advocacy of a strategy and tactics in a war that will be successful in achiveing victory, even though it doesn’t satisfy my emotional reaction. You can fight smart, or you can fight stupid, those are the only real choices we get in warfare. Making enemies of all the Muslims on the planet will surely end in our defeat. We should at least make the fence sitters stay on the fence instead of pushing them off of it and into the camp of the real bad guys.
I’ve argued vehemently against the Victory Mosque in NYC because I recognize the propaganda value and historical significance of such an edifice.
I am not pro-Islamic. I am pro-American victory and anti-anything that keeps us from achieving it.
But, I’ve also recently become more sensitive to certain Christian beleifs and principles as well. The one that comes closest to this issue is Jesus’ teaching we must have compassion for those outside the Faith because without that compassion we cannot bring them into it. Those outside the Faith are like sheep without a shepard. Our choice then becomes are we to protect them from the wolves, or are we to become like the wolves ourselves?
You might say that Jesus gave us a lesson on how to win a war.
Perhaps we live in a country with a Constitution that makes it so that we don’t have to make that choice.
#162 So they had a choice to give her a raise in hopes that she would withdraw her demand for time off, or meet her demands to the detriment of the mission of school. That doesn’t sound like much of a choice to me.
I’m glad you got your raise. I’ve known folks that threatened resignation because they didn’t feel that they were getting paid enough. The boss told them to hit the road.
I’ve said what the right thing to do would have been. Its in italics at the end of the post.
I imagine it was because they weren’t as indispensible and irreplaceable as the Berekely School Board claimed Ms. Khan was.
It’s 4:20. Do you know where my stash is?
Andrew Breitbart spoke in Houston at the True the Vote conference yesterday.
Here is a link to the True the Vote Livestream video page.
Sarge:
So, it’s up to the hiring party to anticipate any issues that might arise and ask about them? What a truly unionesque point of view. And how, pray tell, could they ask her if her particular religious beliefs required that she take a three week vacation in the middle of the school year when employers are forbidden from asking about an employee’s religion?
Spoken like someone who doesn’t understand the educational world.
Please define the difference for us. How do you know that a math lab instructor is not MORE important? Do you know how difficult it is to get math teachers?
How do you know that they didn’t say exactly that?
My (and Texpat’s) point still stands unanswered – she was a selfish self-centered brat who wanted special treatment. And, when she didn’t get it she ran, whining, to Big Brother who will now proceed to extract more taxpayers money and give it to someone who absolutely doesn’t deserve it.
This has nothing to do with freedom of religion. This has everything to do with another whiny brat claiming “minority” status and using it to get special treatment.
My online gal pal and I are about to watch another live show together and discuss it. I kinda like dates that I don’t have to get dressed
upfor.The refresh link works pretty good unless I’m in horizontal (landscape), in which case it leaves me at the top of the page.
Ya’ know the one thing that I like about the left-wing nut-balls is that really believe in the First Amendment, Freedom of Speech, doncha’ know; Media Matters’ war against Fox.
#169 FA
Extremely well stated/summarized.
Speaking as a guy who tried to fire someone after hiring them, that is exactly what the told me at TEC. Your complaint is with the system, not me.
One does not have to be familiar with the educational world in order to understand the Constitution.
I was merely correcting your statement that she was the only math teacher in the school. She was not.
Because of what they did say. They told her she could not take any unpaid leave unless it was for career developement. Twice. Their meaning cannot be questioned or misconstrued. They said so once, and then reaffirmed it a second time. That was the only reason they gave until the government sued them.
Self centered brats have Constitutional rights too, and the treatment she requested is in keeping with the law and the Consititution. The only difference between her request and the aloowances made to other religions regarding unpiad time off is the length of time requested.
That may well be, but it is the response of the School Board that made it a Constitutional issue. Had they treated it as such and covered their azz the way they should have instead of treating a request for religious observance as if it were tantamount to a request to go visit Gramma, the taxpayers of Berkeley and those of the US would not be burdened with the cost of this action.
#142 Texpat, #169 fat albert, and mharper #173 Ditto’s
#174 sarge
So if I just have to take some time off, but my employer doesn’t want me to, I can make up a religion, claim I need to make a pilgrimage, and I’m set?
I work at Macy’s. It’s December and I really want to go skiing, but it’s prime shopping season and everyone is being asked to work overtime and I’m burned out and there’s some really sweet powder in the Tahoe Basin. I can now become a Reformed Western Druid. This requires me to go on a pilgrimage to worship/commune with the Ponderosa Pines in the Sierra Nevada Mountains, where they are prevalent. My new-found faith’s teachings tell me that this pilgrimage must be performed at the time of the Winter Solstice.
From what you’ve been saying, I should be able to do this with no ramifications whatsoever.
Sarge,
Well said today sir!
Simple
Sarge, I was just about to comment that you seem to be The Lone Ranger on the DOJ/Mecca case, but then here came Simple to be your sidekick Tonto, so I shall (almost) refrain.
mharper,
Sarge and I have hurled no small amount of barbs at each other over the years. We have disagreed on many things and frankly I have never gotten the better of him in argument.
In this instance, I believe he is right; furthermore he is taking a position that I think Dr Franklin and Thomas Jefferson would have no problem understanding.
Simple
Here’s the thing guys:
You might see this as a spoiled brat looking for special treatment.
I see the faceless, nameless, Liberal Yankee bureaucrats treating a religion with the same disdain, lack of sensitivity, and lack of respect they usually reserve for Christians. I see the same atttitude that leads them to tell thier students that they can’t wear red and green clothing or exchange Christmas cards and gifts before they go to Winter Break.
The only difference I see is that they are doing it to a religion that is not mine.
Don’t be obtuse. The law is quite clear on this and it protects the employer from just such bogus applications, just as it protects employees from the unfair actions of the employer.
The documents they were responsible for writing or inspiring are indeed where I get my inspiration and understanding of this issue.
I do thank you for that, my fellow Sergeant. I suspect such is likely the case with others not as willing to make that admission as you are who have taken other avenues to avoid discussions with me.
You’re wrong on many things, but right on matters of Honor, which in most cases is more important, and for that you have my respect.
Please elucidate, kind sir.
How does one distinguish between “legitimate” claims and those that are not deserving of such treatment.
This Khan woman in (where is it, Illinois ?) is nothing but a pawn in the lawfare initiative being mounted against our society by the CAIRs and ISNAs of the world. It is telling they chose to assault a school district rather than a private company though. That is, I am sure, in the hopper. She is nothing but a shill for the Islamic fascists sworn to the destruction of our nation.
Anyone who believes this case could represent any sort of constitutional vindication or victory is, in fact and in full dress, a reeling and blithering idiot.
If they can prove that you defrauded them, they can sue the ski pants off you.
Come December, when folks here are recounting the latest outrage perpetrated by schools in their “War on Christmas” I do beleive I will be one of the few here who will be able to be outraged with some kind of consistency.
Whether or not CAIR is behind this doesn’t really matter to me in this case. I will be happy to know that some Liberal NEA type has been whacked on the pee pee because they disrespected a religion, and will set a precedent that can be used when they do the same kind of thing to Christians.
OK, Is it just me or have we finaly arrived in “Bizarro World”?
And I guess this means that for you, this is really more about preserving the Republic from the onslaught of muslim hordes and not about a spoiled brat trying to get special treatment.
No. It’s pretty much about a brat who thinks she’s special.
If she wanted a day or two off to go do some Muslim thing, I would have no real problem with it.
Three weeks is a bit excessive.
I agree. But she was not given the choice. It isn’t like she wants it every year. She wnted to do it once before she died. I’d allow at least a week, if not two.
Remember, this is the country that gives pregnant women three months after the birth of her child to get back to work. This lady wants a couple weeks to travel half way around the world, the come back and do her job without ever asking again.
#184 Sarge
This is your appeal to grand constitutional principle and majestic judicial integrity ?
So, your motive is actually justification for some hypothetical argumentative victory in an imagined future ?
How gauche and superficial.
My G-d, man, what a pathetic and petty little man you are.
Texpat, that Corning ad is spellbinding. I had seen only part of it on air several weeks ago.
Thank you for the Andrew Breitbart speech from yesterday. Now there is one smart cookie, and I’m glad he’s on our side. I bet he gives the libs nightmares just wondering what he’s up to next.
Merely pointing to fact while at the same time avoiding the kind of adhominem attack that accompanies an inability to win an argument with fact and logic.
I know, I know. I’m an ignent peasant of no consequence and I’m unfit to compete in the arena with the high and exalted, but there it is.
#190 Adee
You are most welcome. Glad to be of service.
Gee, I get home from another online date and you folks are still going wild over trivia. I’d rather have spent the night with her than partake of that debate (duh.)
Meanwhile, the
kidsyoung adults are playing beer pong downstairs. I should prolly check up on them.Well, get off you’re lazy azz then !
No one has the right to time off, even weekends or overtime. Period.
oppressor
Tim! Where you been? We needed your input this weekend!
Sarge, I think it’s quite a stretch to equate that school administrations’s denial of 3 wks of unpaid leave at a crucial time, with schools in general seeking to suppress Christmas themes or activities on the school property. I can see only the thinnest commonality.
Seeing an opportunity, she
hit 200.
Night all.
dangit. That wasn’t fair, I was watching the Brietbart thing.
We had a busy weekend, we were invited to a tradeshow crawfish boil thing in The Woodlands yesterday and last night we a very small sponser in a booth at the Associated Contractors annual cookoff at the Farm and Ranch Club near Bear Creek Park and stayed in a hotel nearby. A good time with many people we do work for/have worked with over the years in the construction equipment biz.
Nothing in the Constitution guarantees you the right to a job where your employer must allow you take off for religious pilgrimages, I don’t care what religion you are. There are Christians that
havechoose to work on the most holy of days for us because that’s what their employers require. I can’t believe this debate even got started, much less continued on for three days.BTW Sarge, the Hajj typically takes 5, possibly 6 days to perform. Add on 2 days each way to travel and you are looking at 10 – 11 days max. Less than 2 weeks. So, why does our subject, the devout Math Instructor need 3 whole weeks??? Perhaps if she’d been more honest with her employers and asked for a more reasonable amount of time………
Here’s a series of handy charts explaining radiation doses from various sources and how much risk you generally expose yourself to by eating bananas. The banana formula is actually pretty handy.
http://xkcd.com/radiation/
Check out the Banana Equivalent Dose here:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Banana_equivalent_dose