The Atheist Quiz

According to The Economist, 89% of Americans describe themselves as "religious" and 62% consider themselves "highly religious." As one of the most religious developed countries, six in ten adults say religion is very important in their lives and four in ten attend religious services weekly. ("The Religion Quiz," The Economist, September 28 2010)

So, a recent Pew Poll that showed a high level of public ignorance about basic religious precepts, is a bit of a shocker. The study of 3,400 Americans, conducted this spring by the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life, featured 32 "religious knowledge" questions ranging from "What is the first book in the Bible?" to "Is Ramadan the Islamic holy month, the Hindu festival of lights or a Jewish day of atonement?" ("U.S. Religious Knowledge Survey," The Pew Forum, Executive Summary, September 28 2010)

On average, Americans correctly answered 16 of the 32 religious knowledge questions on the survey. The highest-scoring groups were not evangelical Christians but religious minorities in America: Atheists and agnostics (20.9),  Jews (20.5) and Mormon (20.3). White evangelicals scored in the middle (17.6); white mainline Protestants (15.8) and white Catholics (16) were slightly lower, and black Protestants (13.4), Hispanic Catholics (11.6) and those who answered "nothing" in terms of religious practice scored the lowest.

The study also concluded, "When education and other demographic traits are held equal, whites score better than minorities on the survey’s religious knowledge questions, men score somewhat better than women, and people outside the South score better than Southerners. The oldest group in the population (age 65 and older) gets fewer questions right than other age groups. However, people 65 and older do about as well as people under age 50 on questions about the Bible and Christianity; they do less well on questions about other world religions." ("U.S. Religious Knowledge Survey," The Pew Forum, Executive Summary, September 28 2010)

For those of you who would like to take an online quiz, please use this link: http://features.pewforum.org/quiz/us-religious-knowledge/index.php

Now, Christians are taking quite a bit of abuse in the media for their performance on the Pew Poll. But, one must remember, various factors, other than religious affiliation (or lack of it) influence test scores. Still, I thought it might be interesting to develop a test that centered on questions pertinent to atheism. Here is the test I devised. Take it and score your paper. (The answers are at the end of the test- don't cheat even if you have no belief in a conscience.) You are also invited to leave your scores in the comments along with your religious preference. And, hey, join the blog too. You might enjoy an entry every now and then. Good luck!

  
The Atheism Quiz


1. ___ In a broad sense, Atheism is the rejection of belief in the existence of
a. God,  b. religion,  c. deities,  d. spirit.

2. ___  In the Far East, the belief that a contemplative life was not centered on the idea of gods began in 
 a. 6th century BCE,  b. 2nd century BCE,  c. 2nd century AD,  d. 4th century AD.

3.___ What was NOT supportive to the belief that a contemplative life was not centered on the idea of Gods?
a. Jainism,  b. Buddhism,  c. Taoism,  d. Sikhism.

4.___  America has a complex and enduring commitment to the acceptance of the concept that two or more religions with mutually exclusive truth claims are equally valid. This is known as religious

a. democracy,  b. pluralism,  c. coalition,  d. manifest destiny.
 
5. ___  The Pew Forum On Religion and Public Life found (2008) that the number of American people who say they are unaffiliated with any particular faith today is more than double the number who say they were not affiliated with any particular religion as children. That percentage is
a. 50.5%  b. 45.3%  c. 25.2%  d. 16.1%

6.___  Also known as apatheism, the concept in which individuals live as if there are no gods and explain natural phenomena without resorting to the divine is
a. monotheism,  b. deism,  c. pragmatic atheism,  d. atheistic dualism.

7.___ The newly elected president of American atheists is
a. George McWilliams,  b. Harley Porter,  c. John H. Bronson,  d. David Silverman.
 
8.___ The activist who believed organized Christianity relegated women to an unacceptable position in society, and in the 1890s wrote The Woman's Bible, which elucidated a feminist understanding of Biblical scripture and sought to correct the fundamental sexism was
a. Susan B. Anthony,  b. Sojourner Truth,  c. Lucretia Mott,  d. Elizabeth Cady Stanton.
 
9.___  A common principle that states that entities should not be multiplied beyond necessity and that, all other things equal, the simplest explanation for a phenomenon is the correct one. It is argued to imply that, in the absence of compelling reasons to believe in God, disbelief should be preferred. 
a. Pythagorean Theory,  b. Law of Absolutes,  c. Occam's Razor,  d. Hickam's Dictum.

10.___ Atheist Jerry Coyne raked Brown University cell biologist Ken Miller over the coals in The New Republic for Miller's claims that Christians can embrace science without apology. Coyne wrote the percentage of Americans with religious beliefs that "fall into the 'incompatible' (with science) category is
a. 90%."  b. 75%."  c. 50%."  d. 35%."
 
11.___ A common belief asserts the first known famous atheist was the ancient Greek thinker
a. Cicero,  b. Lucretius,  c. Diagoras,  d. Omar Khayyám.

12.___ The only epistemological idea (philosophy that investigates the origin, nature, methods, and limits of human knowledge) atheists agree on is that truth cannot be obtained through 
a. scientific investigation,  b. divine revelation or commandment,  c. human experience,  d. sensory detail.

13.___  In 1869, the word agnostic was coined with reference to the early Church movement Gnosticism by
a. Sir Arthur C. Clarke,  b. Thomas Henry Huxley,  c. W. Somerset Maugham,  d. Tom Wolfe.

14.___ The English term agnostic is derived from the Greek agnostos, which means
a. "scientific."  b. "inner understanding."  c. "after life,"  d. "to not know."
 
15.___ An agnostic believes human knowledge is limited to experience and God isa. beyond human ability to discover,  b. absolutely nonexistent,  c. within the human soul,  d. an alien life form. 

16. ___ The concept that government or other entities should exist separately from religion and/or religious beliefs is
a. rationalism,  b. theocracy,  c. pluralism,  d. secularism.

17.___ The country containing the largest measured percentage of people (80-85%) who identify themselves as atheist, agnostic, or non-believer in God  is 
a. Zimbabwe,  b. Turkey,  c. Thailand,  d. Sweden.

18.___  Any nonreligious "system of thought or action concerned with the interests or ideals of people … the intellectual and cultural movement … characterized by an emphasis on human interests rather than … religion is secular
a. pluralism."  b. humanism."  c. dogmatism."  d. deism." 

19.___  The belief that all values are baseless and that nothing can be known or communicated, often associated with extreme pessimism and a radical skepticism that condemns existence is
a. nihilism,  b. academicism,  c. despotism,  d. stoicism.
  
20.___ The founder of American Atheists who filed a lawsuit against the Baltimore City Public School System that eventually resulted in the removal of compulsory prayer from the public schools of the United States was
a. Linda T. Brown,  b. Brenda B. McColloch,  c. Clementine Black,  d. Madalyn M. O'Hair.

21.___ Modern atheism began with the
a. Industrial Age,  b. the Enlightenment,  c. Plessy v Ferguson case,  d. American civil rights movement.
 
22.___ A theory of ethics that implies that ethical sentences are neither true nor false, that is, they lack truth-values is known as
a. moral absolutism,  b. utilitarianism,  c. non-cognitivism,  d. egotism.
   
23.___ What famous Colonial American wrote Rights of Man, a major influence on the French Revolution and Age of Reason, an assault on revealed religion, which argued that man invented religion?
a. Thomas Jefferson,  b. Thomas Paine,  c. Benjamin Franklin,  d. John Adams

24.___ What country formally became atheistic in 1967, prohibiting all religious observance, closing all religious institutions, and persecuting believers, but changed the policy in 1991?
a. Albania,  b. Paraguay,  c. Syria,  d. South Africa.

25.___ According to CNN, New Atheists share a belief that religion should be
a. an individual choice,  b. against international statues,  c. countered, criticized and exposed,  d. unilaterally accepted yet separate from all government.

<sup>Answers:  1. c    2. a    3. d    4.  b   5. d    6. c    7. d    8. d    9. c    10. a   11. c    12. b   13. b   14. d    15.  a   16. d    17.  d   18. b
19. a   20. d   21. b    22. c    23. b    24. a    25. c    


BBC Series -- "Atheism: A Brief History Of  Disbelief "</sup>


 

Ancient Egyptians and Erotic Poetry

 "If I am not beside you, where will set your desire? If you do not embrace me and seize the moment, then whom will you embrace for your pleasure? But if you woo me to touch my breasts and my thighs..."

Did you ever wonder about the old folk and erotic sex? No, I'm not talking about the cavortings of Grandma and Grandpa or the increased activity of seniors thanks to Viagra. I'm talking about really old folk -- the ancient Egyptians. Sexuality in ancient Egypt was open and untainted by guilt. Sex was an important part of their lives - from birth to death and rebirth. In this ancient world, singles and married couples made love. And royalty made plenty of it: the pharaoh Ramses had 8 wives, over 100 concubines, hundreds of children, and all of that sex must have done him some good because he died at over 90 years of age. How do we know this? We have the papyrus and pictographs for proof.

  
Egyptian Women and Men

To the ancient Egyptians, the most attractive women tended to be the fertile ones. A woman who had children was seen to be more fortunate than ones without. Taking after Isis, the mother goddess of  Horus, Egyptian women strove to be intelligent, wise, mystical and mothers. Where her twin sister Nephthys was barren, Isis was fertile.

What was a beautiful, fertile woman to most ancient Egyptian men? In the Papyrus of Chester Beatty I, the writer is explicit, mentioning her beloved scent, her hair, her eyes and her buttocks. From the same papyrus, another romantic poem describes the object of his affection as being ""bright" of skin, her arm "more brilliant than gold," long-necked and "white-breasted," hair of "genuine lapis lazuli," (blue?) and fingers like lotus blooms. It also mentions her beautiful thighs and heavy buttocks. He also admired her swift walk, sweet voice and, an age old compliment from men, her ability to know when to stop talking. (Maggie Rutherford, "The Ancient Egyptian Concept of Beauty," www.touregypt.net)

In the Egyptian community, men had to prove their masculinity by fathering children, while the women had to be able to bear these sons and daughters. Being a mother meant being able to keep her marriage secure and to gain a better position in society.

Unmarried women, on the other hand, seemed to be free to choose partners as they so desired, and they enjoyed their love life to its fullest. Reports say ancient Egyptians invented a means of birth control by mixing a paste out of crocodile dung and forming it into a pessary, or vaginal insert. (Nacy Gibbs, Time, April 22 2010)

But, despite the presence of pleasure-seeking, unmarried women, adultery in Egypt was considered wrong. Women got the worst punishment for adultery - a man might just be forced into a divorce, but a woman could conceivably be killed for that crime. In The Tale of Two Brothers, the adulterous wife was found out, murdered and her body was thrown to the dogs.

The Egyptians loved their children and were not afraid to show it. But there were some advice to parents, written by scribes: "Do not prefer one of your children above the others; after all, you never know which one of them will be kind to you." (Caroline Seawright, "Ancient Egyptian Sexuality," Tour Egypt, 2010)

As it turns out, Ancient Egyptians even believed that sex was a strong part of the afterlife. So much that mummies were given prosthetic penises and nipples. The theory behind this was that these artificial parts would be re-animated in the afterlife. The Egyptians also believed in begetting children even after their death and installed fertility dolls in their graves with wide child bearing hips and paddle dolls that ended abruptly at a wide pubic area with tiny heads, arms and legs.

 ...Revel in pleasure while your life endures
And deck your head with myrrh. Be richly clad
In white and perfumed linen; like the gods
Anointed be; and never weary grow
In eager quest of what your heart desires -
Do as it prompts you...
-- Lay of the Harpist

Erotic Egyptians

The most erotically graphic work of Egyptian artistic writing is the so-called Turin Erotic Papyrus (Papyrus 55001), now in the Egyptian Museum in Turin, Italy. Painted in the Ramesside period (1292-1075 B.C.E.), the severely damaged papyrus has not been treated well by time and the elements. It consists of a continuous series of vignettes drawn on a papyrus scroll about 8.5 feet long and 10 inches high. The first third of the scroll (reading from right to left) shows animals and birds carrying out human tasks. The rest consists of explicit sex acts. 

The erotic section of the Turin papyrus comprises 12 successive vignettes. In each vignette a grotesquely aroused, unkempt man has sexual relations with an attractive young woman. The woman, while virtually naked, is decidedly more elegant than her partner. The sexual positions are varied and extremely vivid. One vignette goes so far as to place the woman in a chariot with the man standing on the ground behind it creating an especially improbable scene. (David O'Conner, "Eros in Egypt," Archaeology Odyssey, September-October 2001)

  
Erotic Love Poems

Some of the erotic poetry of the ancient Egyptians also survives. Through this literature, people can get a first-hand view of the erotic Egypt of antiquity. The love poems composed thousands of years ago provide an intimate glimpse of the lives of everyday ancient Egyptians. . 

Love songs and romantic poems had a favorable image of women. Semi-erotic, they showed women who expressed their own sexuality, showing that women desired men just as much as men desired women. References to sexual intercourse were freely written, showing Egypt's relaxed attitude towards sexual relationships. In one such poem (translated by Michael Fox), a young woman tells her lover:

My heart desires to go down to bathe myself before you,

That I may show you my beauty in a tunic of the finest royal linen...

I'll go down to the water with you, and come out to you carrying a red fish, which is just right in my fingers.

I'll set it before you, while looking upon your beauty.

O my hero, my brother [a term of endearment],

Come, look upon me!

The blue water lily was possibly also a symbol of sexuality - Dr Liz Williamson says that the flower "has a sort of Viagra effect." Women were wooed with the blue water lily. In certain erotic scenes from the Turin papyrus, women are shown wearing very little apart from the white lily as a headdress. ("Blue Lotus - Nymphaea Caerulea," enlightenedawareness.wetpaint.com)

The Egyptian idea of sexuality was identified with creation. Being a flower of creation, the flower became linked to human fertility and sexuality. The images of women holding the flower may be hinting at her ability to bear children or that she was sexually desirable, and images of men holding the flower may hint at his potency. It could also be a way to ensure that the person painted would be fertile - and sexy - in the afterlife.

And, thanks to recent chemical analysis by the Egyptian section of Manchester Museum, it appears there is a scientific reason for this link - the chemical make-up of this plant contains phosphodiesters, the active ingredients of Viagra. ("Honey For My Honey: Ancient Aphrodisiacs," Heritage Key, December 14 2009)

My one, the sister (term of endearment) without peer,                                                                             
The handsomest of all!

She looks like the rising morning star

At the start of a happy year.

Shining bright, fair of skin,

Lovely the look of her eyes,

Sweet the speech of her lips,

She has not a word too much.

Upright neck, shining breast,

Hair true lapis lazuli;

Arms surpassing gold,

Fingers like lotus buds.

Heavy thighs, narrow waist,

Her legs parade her beauty;

With graceful step she treads the ground,

Captures my heart by her movements.

She causes all men's necks

To turn about to see her;

Joy has he whom she embraces,

He is like the first of men!

When she steps outside she seems

Like that the Sun!

O my god, my lotus flower! . . .
It is lovely to go out and . . .
I love to go and bathe before you.
I allow you to see my beauty
in a dress of the finest linen,
drenched with fragrant unguent.
I go down into the water to be with you
and come up to you again with a red fish,
looking splendid on my fingers.
I place it before you . . .
Come! Look at me!
(IFAO 1266 + Cairo 25218, 7-11)

  
Ancient Egyptians expressed desire, passion, and longing in their poetry. Romance and sexuality went hand in hand in these writings.   

I wish I were her Nubian slave
who guards her steps.
Then I would be able to see the colour
of all her limbs!
I wish I were her laundryman,
just for a single month.
Then I would flourish by donning [her garment]
and be close to her body.
I would wash away the unguent from her clothes
and wipe my body in her dress . . .
I wish I were the signet ring
which guards her finger,
then I would see her desire every day.

(IFAO 1266 + Cairo 25218, 18-21)

Another poetic desire: 

I wish I were your mirror
so that you always looked at me.
I wish I were your garment
so that you would always wear me.
I wish I were the water that washes your body.
I wish I were the unguent, O Woman,
that I could anoint you.
And the band around your breasts,
and the beads around your neck.
I wish I were your sandal
that you would step on me!

(Papyrus Anakreon: K. Preisendanz, Anacreon.)

Ideals of beauty were worshiped by Egyptian men. Their effect on the male populace echoes the yearning so prevalent in modern society. A beautiful Egyptian earthly goddess could certainly turn the heads of adoring fellows.

She makes all men turn their necks
to look at her.
One looks at her passing by,
this one, the unique one. 

Here is another poem of adoration.

She is one girl, there is no one like her.
She is more beautiful than any other.
Look, she is a star goddess arising
at the beginning of a happy new year;
brilliantly white, bright skinned;
with beautiful eyes for looking,
with sweet lips for speaking;
she has not one phrase too many. . . .
(from Papyrus Chester Beatty I in Dublin, c. 1000 BC)

And this guy really really falls for the woman, even to the extent of elation while sacrificing his favorite beverage.

It will be for me a spell against the water
For I see my heart,
My beloved standing right before my face.
My arms open wide to embrace her
And my heart if joyful in my breast.
She will be to me like eternity
Her lips open wide as I kiss her

 And I am joyful even without beer.

Romance was certainly alive in Egyptian imagery and in devotion to never-ending love.


Sister without peer
For heaven makes your love
Like the advance of flames in straw,
And its longing like the downward swoop of a hawk.
George A. Barton, Archaeology and The Bible, 3rd Ed.


As clean ritual robes to the flesh of Gods,
As fragrance of incense to one coming home
Hot from the smells of the street. It is like nipple-berries ripe in the hand,
Like the tang of grainmeal mingled with beer,
Like wine to the palate when taken with white bread.
While unhurried days come and go,
Let us turn to each other in quiet affection,
Walk in peace to the edge of old age.
And I shall be with you each unhurried day,
A woman given her wish: to see
For a lifetime the face of her lord.
translated by John L. Foster

And, honey was an often used sensual symbol. It contains boron, which stimulates the sex hormones in both males and females. Ancient Egyptians ate figs and honey in celebration of Ma'at -- the Goddess of truth, balance and order -- to remind themselves that truth is sweet.

Your love has penetrated all within me
Like honey plunged into water,
Like an odor which penetrates spices.

When her little sycamore begins to speak
The murmur of its leaves
Drips honey in the ear
Its fragrant words taste sweet
Her own hand, as soft and delicate as lotus.

from Love Songs of the New Kingdom

My beloved met me,
Took his pleasure of me, rejoiced as one with me.
The brother brought me into his house,
Laid me down on a fragrant honey-bed.
My precious sweet, lying by my heart,
One by one "tongue making", one by one,
My brother of fairest face did so fifty times, . . .

Man of my heart, my beloved man,
your allure is a sweet thing, as sweet as honey.
Man of my heart, my beloved man,
your allure is a sweet thing, as sweet as honey.
You have captivated me,
of my own free will I will come to you.
Man, let me flee with you—into the bedroom.
You have captivated me;
of my own free will I shall come to you.
Lad, let me flee with you—into the bedroom.
Man, let me do the sweetest things to you.
My precious sweet, let me bring you honey.
In the bedchamber dripping with honey
let us enjoy over and over your allure, the sweet thing.
Lad, let me do the sweetest things to you.
My precious sweet, let me bring you honey.

from The Song of Songs 

The following video clips contain sexual images. WARNING - view at your own discretion. This is a scholarly look at ancient Egypt and sexual practices. KAMA SUTRA OF HATHOR - Ancient Egypt. Images and content may not be suitable for youngsters.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qn89Uj61VaY&feature=player_embedded


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lDcN6YqLJsc&feature=player_embedded


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mm9EpS6KmYU&feature=player_embedded


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jyTA6Zz08F4&feature=player_embedded

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FZ0KsjdfeZY&feature=player_embedded

Education and the Obama Stance

Education on the merry-go-round -- everyone seems to know how to fix the problems with the American public school system, yet all their ideas have been hashed, adopted, dropped, re-hashed, re-adopted, and dropped again. Nothing under the fiery star is new. The mix of administrators, teachers, and students follow state mandates and produce mixed results. Hard fought improvements depend on money, leadership, and teachers in positive learning environments in which students and parents take great responsibility for their advancement.

September 27, President Obama made these points in his "tough love" message to students and teachers. He made the following points in his address. (Erica Werner, "Obama Presses For Longer School Years," Yahoo News - Associated Press, September 27 2010)

1. A sense of urgency for educational reform is needed because American students are falling behind their foreign counterparts, especially in math and science.


2. U.S. schools should increase the length of their school year. U.S. schools through high school now offer an average of 180 instruction days per year, compared to an average of 197 days for lower grades and 196 days for upper grades in countries with the best student achievement levels, including Japan, South Korea, Germany and New Zealand.


3. Teachers and their profession should be more highly honored — as in China and some other countries.


4. Teachers unions should not defend a status quo in which one-third of children are dropping out.


5. Teachers who are doing well should be identified. Teachers who are not doing well must have support and the training to do well. And, teachers who aren't doing a good job should quit or be released.

In the first place, where in the equation for success is the word parents? Not parents as passive participants in the educational process, but parents who are actively involved in classroom endeavors, not just in extracurricular activities: parents who take a big responsibility for their child's work and future.

As much as concerned parents involve themselves in grade school classes, their involvement fades (and even stops) as their child ages and enters high school. Some of this, of course, is due to the trust imparted for the child to self-manage and to use self-control with curriculum concerns. Unfortunately, this freedom of maturity with limited parental involvement does not produce positive results in many immature teens. They need extra guidance and even increased interest from parents.

Let's take just one of the countries that President Obama feels the need to use for comparison to U.S. educational systems -- Japan. These findings were compiled by a U.S. Department of Education study. (http://members.tripod.com/h_javora/jed7.htm).

1. Just 6 percent of all Japanese families are headed by a single parent.

2. A man's primary focus is the workplace, which often includes extensive work related socializing with male colleagues during the evening hours. In contrast, a woman's primary focus is her home and family, with particular attention to the rearing of children.

3. Another goal of early training is to instill in the child a deep sense of responsibility to the mother and family. This becomes an important factor in developing motivation for school achievement in Japan.

4. Early childhood training includes attention to manners and proper social behavior required outside of the home, but there is little actual exposure to group situations beyond the family until the preschool experience. The community's perception of a woman's success as a mother depends in large part on how well her children do in school.

5. Secondary school? The common pattern is that students can apply to only one public upper secondary school. (The entrance examinations of private high schools are usually available to anyone who wishes to apply, so a student can apply to both a public and a private institution concurrently.) Schools choose from among the applicants on the basis of their scores on the entrance examination and their lower secondary school record. The school record usually includes a description of the student's special activities, an evaluation of personality, work habits, and behavior, and the school attendance record.

Children who do not perform well academically, and their families, usually pay a heavy price in more ways than one. The youngsters end up in less prestigious high schools with all that foreshadows for future social status and career prospects, and many of the parents have to pay the higher costs of private education -- a further family burden for many parents whose children make up the lower third of the class academically 

The basic lesson regarding high school entrance is "work very hard in school or you will have to end up having to pay for private schooling just to get a diploma, or even worse, miss the chance for college altogether." But regardless of level of school achievement, cost, or prospects for post-secondary education, the great majority of students continue on to senior high school: those who do not succeed in gaining entry to a public or private high school for academic or economic reasons usually turn to public vocational schools. For those students not gaining admission to the lowest ranking vocational schools, the principal remaining alternatives are night school or employment.

The Japanese model of education has much different moorings from its American counterpart. Is it any wonder that the U.S. system would have to rely on major cultural changes outside of the education business  to follow a Japanese lead? Any comparison of the two educational systems seems fruitless without a conversion to Oriental standards of character and mores. Such a change is unrealistic. In fact, American parents would cringe at the suggestion of  converting to a Japanese lifestyle.

Time is the biggest obstacle to pushing educational achievement; however, few consider how the clutter of scheduling and demand for participation take their toll on U.S. students. In class today, teachers devote endless hours to review and study for competency examinations and for other well-meaning state mandates such as the Passport Program. The added responsibilities take time from other subject matter concerns.

Also, most students, by the time they enroll in high school, have enormous demands in terms of time from extracurricular groups, school-related activities, and sports. Administrations alter class time to accommodate these activities; teachers assign limited homework assignments knowing the scarcity of students' prep time; and extracurricular advisers demolish entire weekends of students' leisure time with numerous trips and competitions.

Stress runs high for both students and teachers as actual instruction time is cut. Already, the schools demand student participation during summer months for students who need remediation. In addition, many students often attend programs and camps of special academic and extracurricular interests in these months. Coaches also demand year-around training and skills development. And, during summer, many parents typically plan family vacations. Would merely adding days of instruction help guarantee increased intellectual development?

And, finally, schools do presently address the issue of "bad teachers." Here is the Ohio limited contract language:

1) limited contract: A teacher new to the district is employed on a limited contract for any fixed period of time up to five (5) years in duration. Limited contracts expire at the end of the specified term so long as the teacher has been evaluated in accordance with applicable requirements and is given written notice of non-renewal on or before April 30 of the year in which the contract expires. All supplemental contracts are limited contracts. Regardless of the length of a teacher's employment with a district, if the teacher has only a provisional license, the teacher may only have a limited contract.

So, without a continuing contract, teachers are liable to be non-renewed. Whose responsibility wanes if poor teachers remain on staff? The administration already has the power to terminate employment. Many times, poor teachers remain on staff because of the limited availability of replacement or because the administration fears legal action or because they haven't been fully evaluated.

Besides, most good teachers are made during the campaigns of their first few years of instruction, under fire and in the trenches. College grades and outstanding personalities are not always indicators of a good teacher, especially a beginning teacher. No one wants bad teachers in schools, yet too often they are shifted to positions with limited student contact.

Good teachers with proper materials for good instruction who teach in good learning environments where good students, good parents, and good administrators take active concerns for their own roles make excellent educational systems. Defining any one of those "good" components is very difficult. For example, complete this statement: "A good teacher is ...."

Each person has a personal definition of "good teacher" in mind, but that definition is bound to be limited in scope and, most likely, extremely vague. We have all had good teachers as well as bad teachers whose honest worth defies stated simplistic definitions and descriptions. Mr. President, you are guilty of needless appeals to reinvent the merry-go-round. Stand still long enough and you can grab for your desirable painted horse. Appropriately, the group Blood, Sweat, and Tears once sang: "The spinning wheel's got to go 'round."

Top Five Sweeps Week

Very Little News

It's Sweeps Week on the blog. You know what that means. In a shameful effort to boost blog membership, I am bringing out the big guns. That's right - lots of sex, violence, and weird news. Don't worry. This is actually very critical research to find the intellectual interests of the public -- that is, those people who spend at least ten minutes a day reading such things as blogs. I see I'm already at a disadvantage. Anyway, here are some top fives in various subject categories for your entertainment.

The Top Five Nasty Lawsuits

Thanks to the following site for the information in this section. ("Fifteen Strange Lawsuits,"www.all-top-10-lists.com) You may view more at  http://www.all-top-10-lists.com/15-strange-law-suites-bizzare-stupid-lawsuite-lists/2010/02/

1. While apparently trying to steal a soft drink from a vending machine in 1998, 19-year-old Kevin Mackle was rocking it dangerously. Suddenly, the weight shift was too hot to handle and the contraption fell on him. The man died following the accident. His relatives sued Coca-Cola Co., two other companies, and Bishop’s University in Lennoxville, Quebec (for about $660,000 US in damages and funeral costs) alleging that the machine was not secured and bore no warning signs.

2. 27-year-old man from Michigan was involved in a rear-end collision. Four years later, he sued the owners of the truck that was responsible for the accident. Having suffered minor injuries, he stated that from then on, his sexual relationship with his wife deteriorated, as he was unable to maintain their sex life. He claimed that he had been so affected by the crash that his personality had been forever changed. In fact, he maintained that the accident turned him into a homosexual. He left his wife, moved in with his parents, began hanging out in gay bars, and became a fervent reader of gay literature. He won his case and was awarded $200,000, while his wife received $25,000.

3. An inmate filed a $5 million lawsuit against himself (he claimed that he violated his own civil rights by getting arrested) — then asked the state to pay because he has no income in jail. He said, “I want to pay myself $5 million dollars, but ask the state to pay it on my behalf since I can’t work and am a ward of the state.” The judge was not impressed by his ingenuity, and dismissed the suit as frivolous.

4. A woman went to her friend’s house and asked for a haircut. Unhappy with her new look, she claimed her friend had willfully, intentionally and maliciously cut her hair without her consent … and sued him for $75,000.

5. A college student in Idaho decided to “moon” someone from his 4th story dorm room window. He lost his balance, fell out of his window, and injured himself in the fall. Now the student expects the University to take the fall — he is suing them for “not warning him of the dangers of living on the 4th floor."

The Top Five Nasty Deaths

Thanks to the website Wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List of unusual deaths for the information on these stories of untimely demise.

1941: Sherwood Anderson, writer, swallowed a toothpick at a party and then died of peritonitis.

1976: Keith Relf, former singer for British rhythm and blues band The Yardbirds, died while practicing his electric guitar. He was electrocuted because the amplifier was not properly grounded.


1991: Edward Juchniewicz, a 76-year-old man, was killed when the ambulance stretcher he was strapped to rolled down a grade and overturned. The ambulance attendants, while speaking to a doctor's staff, had left the stretcher unattended.

1996: Sharon Lopatka, an Internet entrepreneur from Maryland, allegedly solicited a man via the Internet to torture and kill her for the purpose of sexual gratification. Her killer, Robert Fredrick Glass, was convicted of voluntary manslaughter for the homicide.

2006: Sean Caselli, a 22-year-old New Milford, Connecticut man, was struck with pieces of shrapnel in the neck and chest after an empty keg that had been thrown into a fire exploded at a party.

The Top Five Nasty Pick-up Lines

1. "Pardon me, but does this smell like chloroform to you?"

2. "Why don't we go back to my place and do all the things I'm going to tell my friends we did anyway?"

3. "You're the spitting image of my dead girlfriend."

4. "I've had quite a bit to drink, and you're beginning to look pretty good."

5. "Didn't anyone tell you that you wanted to sleep with me? I thought you knew..."

The Top Five Dirty Divorce Tricks

1. This trick is very common. Either the husband or wife takes money out of a joint bank account and puts it somewhere safe where the other party can not access it.

2. Some people have been known to go out the day before the settlement hearing and use their spouse's credit card to purchase all kinds of items that they might need when building up their new life.

3. Even though it is a very serious crime to make false accusations of such events, cruel spouses sometimes make claims that their spouse abused them and/or their children.

4. If one party in the divorce has moved out of the family home and is the primary source of income for the family, he/she should refuse to pay any household bills or send any support until forced to do so by the court. This is one of the steps in a routine called "Starve Out The Other Spouse."

5. A party should refuse to speak with a spouse about anything, including arrangements for him/her to have parenting time with children. This falls into the category of a tactic used by some lawyers to create conflict, create issues that don't need to exist, increase legal fees, and wear the other side down.

The Top Five Nastiest Pitches In Baseball

1. The splitter by Bruce Sutter:  Bruce's success to learning this pitch originated in the Cubs' minor league system after having blown out his elbow. "After he threw it, his fastball looked like it was coming 100 mph,'' Gary Matthews said. "He could throw it for a ball, he could throw it for a strike. It was such a devastating pitch. If you stayed off of it, he'd get a called strike. If you swung, you would miss. He perfected something, [it was] something new on the scene."

"If it wasn't for that pitch, Bruce Sutter would be tending bar in Mount Joy, Pa.,'' Mike Krukow, Giant's broadcaster said. "A lot of guys tried to throw that pitch, but no one threw it better than Bruce. No one.''

2. The curve ball by Sandy Koufax:  Sandy's curve would break straight down, forcing hitters to beat it into the ground. His numbers seem almost unbelievable by today's standards, with three of his last four seasons yielding at least 25 victories, together with three Cy Young Awards- in a time when only one was given out in all of baseball..

3. The cut fastball by Mariano Rivera:  Rivera's cutter breaks so hard to the left that it routinely breaks the bats of left-handed hitters. In 2004, ESPN.com ranked his cutter as the best "out pitch" in baseball. Buster Olney, Moneyball author, described his cut fastball as "the most dominant pitch of a generation"  .

4. The slider by Steve Carlton: Steve's slider was one of the most unhittable pitches in history. It broke sharply down and in and, if the batter got the bat on it at all, he'd probably ground it foul.

5. The knuckleball by Hoyt Wilhelm:  Hoyt had only 778 walks in more than 2,000 innings. He is also one of the oldest players to have pitched in the major leagues; his final appearance was 16 days short of his 50th birthday. "He knew where it was going when he threw it, but when he got two strikes on you, he'd break out one that even he didn't know where it was going." - Brooks Robinson.

The Top Five Funny/Nasty Video Clips

1. Boobies and Kittens

Boobies and Kittens - watch more funny videos

2. Printer Paper Commercial

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vb9KeQ6HdiM

3. Miss America Wardrobe Malfunction

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wqNz61-jneo

4. Miss Teen U.S.A.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WALIARHHLII

5. How To Get Rid of a One Night Stand

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2ojDQ4s5Tn8

Big Money For College Football

Top division college football players: Are they playing for their schools or are they playing for money? Before you answer this question, consider the huge controversy that exists concerning the influence of corporations upon conferences, universities, coaches, players, and even fans. Just who represents the various components of a major college football program and how are they presently protecting those they represent? It is time to answer, not ignore, such vexing questions.

John V. Lombardi professed, "Throughout the history of intercollegiate sports in America, nothing has caused college sports more trouble than maintaining this construct of the amateur student-athlete. Payments under the table, bribes for recruiting, gambling schemes, secret professional contracts, payments from agents, and an endless litany of other abuses have nibbled at the edges of the amateur student-athlete, each effort captured in some form of NCAA legislation or definition to hold off the contamination of professionalism." (John V. Lombardi, "The Amateur Challenge of College Sports," www.insidehighered.com, August 10 2008)

Michael Rosenberg, writer for Sports Illustrated said, "The great irony of college football is that it is so steeped in Americana, yet is totally un-American. As revenues go up and players work harder, they are ineligible for a raise. (Michael Rosenberg, Viewpoint: "Change Is Long Overdue: College Football Players Should Be Paid," Sports Illustrated, August 26 2010) Considering their great revenue-generating capabilities, gifted college football players should be compensated, shouldn't they?

And, now colleges are not even trying to hide the fact that everything is for sale: conference affiliations, rivalries, game times, luxury suites, buildings, EVERYTHING. Why not pay the athletes for the return they give the universities? Rosenberg had a conversation a few years ago with Myles Brand, NCAA president at the time, that went like this:

Brand: "They can't be paid."
Rosenberg: "Why?"
Brand: "Because they're amateurs."
Rosenberg: "What makes them amateurs?"
Brand: "Well, they can't be paid."
Rosenberg: "Why not?"
Brand: "Because they're amateurs."
Rosenberg: Who decided they are amateurs?
Brand: "We did."
Rosenberg: "Why?"
Brand: "Because we don't pay them."

Donald H. Yee, a pro agent stated, "Yet, I suspect that virtually everyone in our industry -- players, coaches, administrators, boosters, agents and fans -- shed our naivete a long time ago. We know that the sole focus for many star college players is getting ready for pro ball, that coaches are looking for financial security on the backs of teenagers and that boosters enjoy the ego stroke that comes with virtually owning a piece of a team. There isn't anything inherently wrong with these goals, but there isn't anything "amateur" about the process, either." (Donald H. Yee, "A Pro Agent's Case For Paying College Football Players," The Washington Post, August 22, 2010)

The truth of his statements ring true. These college athletes receive one year scholarships, renewable at the head coach's discretion. This is not technically a full-time job with benefits, but it is certainly not old-fashioned amateurism. Doesn't the NCAA's present legislated view of amateurism lack intellectual integrity?

And, as far as NCAA rule violations, some are minor and some are much more serious. Some athletes take money from agents, marketers or others simply because they are hungry (the scholarship is not always enough to buy food). Agendas for violations can be malicious or simply misdirected attempts of good faith such as simple handouts.

Consider the real reason behind the following cloaked dealings. When the Pacific-10 Conference's lured teams from the Mountain West and Big 12 conferences, the realignment had nothing to do with education or amateur sports. Neither did it have anything to do with tradition or football. It had everything to do with money.

Yee reported, "Saddled with expiring television contracts, the Pac-10 wanted to get bigger so it could command larger contracts in its next round of negotiating and possibly launch its own TV network. With the addition of the University of Utah and the University of Colorado, the Pac-10's revenues will grow. Its coaches will make more money, and its players will get bigger and shinier facilities, fancier menus, cushier dorms, more stylish travel arrangements and other perks." ("A Pro Agent's Case For Paying College Football Players," The Washington Post, August 22, 2010)  

Concerning the welfare of players, who was really damaged in the Reggie Bush fiasco? In Bush's case, the NCAA concluded that USC demonstrated a "lack of institutional control" over its football program. Bush's lavish gifts from a sports marketer effectively made him "a pro in college" and the university knew it. For their part, the team received a two-year postseason ban, lost 30 scholarships over three seasons and vacated its victories from the period when Bush was deemed to have been ineligible -- including the 2004 national championship season.

As Yee lamented, "Bush is long gone, now an NFL millionaire. His former USC head coach, Pete Carroll, is long gone, also now an NFL millionaire. Many of the assistant coaches who were there at the time are gone as well, and also became millionaires (e.g. University of Washington head coach Steve Sarkisian). Some left and then came back as millionaires (e.g. new head coach Lane Kiffin). Left to suffer the penalties are the current players, many of whom were in middle school or high school when Bush played." ("A Pro Agent's Case For Paying College Football Players," The Washington Post, August 22, 2010)

A Solution   

Why not simply fix the mess? Wouldn't honesty in college football be a better policy? The sport is a big business that generates huge, untold revenues. Yee suggests a new market-driven reform in ten major steps. All credit for this content is goes to Mr. Yee. The full article is available at  http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/08/19/AR2010081904202.html

1. All of the major football-playing universities should lease the rights to operate a commercial football program on behalf of the university to an independent, outside company.

Leases would be open for bidding. The university and the company winning the contract would share net profits at a negotiated level.  A new business structure for marketing would exist with opportunities for greater revenue, and universities without marketers would simply drop football and allocate money to the real objective -- educating students. 

2. Each university's football corporation could create leagues, whether long- or short-term, with other corporations.

A group of conferences has already formed the BCS, or Bowl Championship Series and has decided to exclude other conferences.This would further take away from loyalties to geography, fan tradition, and traditions. Or, the football corporations could decide to avoid joining a league, simply scheduling games as a free agent. Again, this is hardly novel -- Notre Dame has done it for years.

3. All of the players would be paid a salary, whatever the market would bear.
 
With not scholarships, just as in the pros, players would be paid based on their perceived value to their program. Outstanding high school players would be allowed to experience the fruits of American capitalism just like great college players entering the NFL. Companies would be free to recruit any player with anything they want. The players would pay income taxes; the football corporations would pay Social Security taxes; 401(k) plans could be established. .


4. The corporations could offer a range of educational opportunities.

Academically gifted players could take college classes while vocational-minded players take specialty classes thus eliminating the chance at admission because the university made an exception for an academically less qualified athlete. Or, the athlete could simply concentrate on football, sans college.

5. The NCAA can be eliminated, at least as it relates to football.

The NCAA itself states that it does not have subpoena power, which is one way of admitting that enforcement of its rules is difficult

6. Universities could scrap much of their athletic administrations, just as Vanderbilt University has done.

The chief executive would make decisions, and her mandate would be to ensure that the operation was self-sufficient -- no student fees (or taxpayer dollars, in the case of a public university) would be used to subsidize the football program or facilities. Any profits flowing back to the university could go directly to support the general student body and faculty.

7. Congress and state legislatures wouldn't have to waste time investigating or discussing the regulation of college football.
  

8. Coaches could focus strictly on coaching.  

Players would be employees of the corporation so they could take money from agents or marketers because their amateurism wouldn't be at stake.  

9. Universities could focus on their core mission of educating students.

University presidents wouldn't have to waste their time monitoring a football program, and they wouldn't have to attend any more NCAA functions.

10. Finally, this system would end the tiresome sports media discussions of whether this player or that player was paid.

Donald H. Yee is a lawyer and partner with Yee & Dubin Sports, a Los Angeles sports-management firm that represents professional athletes and coaches, including New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady and New Orleans Saints head coach Sean Payto  http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/08/19/AR2010081904202.html

When the Moon Hits Your Eye... That's Moirae

Fate controls the two most profoundly dramatic, important moments of your life. Your birth and your death mark the span of your life but both occur outside of your control. The life of each individual is sandwiched between these bookends of inescapable destiny. Even though people may choose and follow different courses of action in their lifespans, the roads may lead to the same Divine fore-ordained end. Whether a person's "number came up" or "the bullet had his name on it," people invariably acknowledge a sense of destiny or fate. 

Yet, today, who professes a real belief in destiny?  Fate is seldom mentioned in intellectual discussions of belief because many think to do so would show shallow, non-critical thinking. Still, even the Christian gospels are filled with allusions to destiny. As Jesus, himself, hung upon the cross, he realized that He had to accept his fate. If not, He would have been selfish and irresponsible in rejecting the will of God, the Father.

The Moirae

The ancients believed the moon had three important phases, associated with three personalities that resemble their understanding of the three sisters of the Moirae:

1. New Moon, the Maiden-goddess of the spring, the first period of the year when the crops appear from the soil and weave their welcome patterns into the air. 

2. Full Moon, the Nymph-goddess of the summer, the second period, which allows the measure of the harvest, and 

3. Old Moon, the Crone-goddess (a hag marginalized by her exclusion from the reproductive cycle) of autumn, the last period before life subsides into the winter season.

Akin to the moon phases, the Greeks gave birth to three goddesses. In Greek mythology, the Moirae (Μοῖραι – the "apportioners", often called The Fates) were the white-robed personifications of destiny who controlled the metaphorical thread of life in the unique tapestry of every mortal from birth to death. As the eldest goddesses in ancient mythology, the Morirae spun out the thread of a person's life, followed his steps, and directed the consequences of his actions according to the counsel of the gods.

The Moirae were typically described as three ugly old women or hags, sometimes lame. Severe, inflexible and stern, they were viewed as independent spinsters inspiring fear rather than matrimony  The Greeks variously claimed that they were the daughters of Zeus and the Titanness Themis or of primordial beings like Nyx (goddess of the night), Chaos (goddess of invisible air and gloomy mist), or Ananke (goddess of necessity).

The Moirae were described as the following Fates:

Klotho - the spinner, who spun the thread of a person's life from cosmic forces. This made her responsible for birth, which in effect controlled people's lives. This control she had over people's lives didn't only enable her to choose who was born, but she also decided when certain gods or mortals were to be saved or put to death. She carried a spindle with the thread of life or a roll (the book of fate).

Lakhesis - the apportioner of lots, who was often portrayed as a matronly woman who measured the thread of life allotted to each person (time for life) and assigned each a destiny.With her measuring staff, she pointed to the horoscope on a globe.

Atropos- the inevitable cutter of the thread of life or "she who cannot be turned" (Thus, the word atrophy - decay of organic material.)The smallest in stature but the most terrible, she chose the manner of each person's death; and when their time was come, she cut their life-thread with "her abhorred shears." She possessed a scroll, a wax tablet, a sundial, a pair of scales, and a cutting instrument.

The Moirae were supposed to appear three nights after a child's birth to determine the course of its life. But, some sources claim the Greeks believed the Moirae appeared at the family hearth on the seventh day with the ancient Greek custom of waiting seven days after birth to decide whether to accept the infant into the Gens (race or family of origin) and to give it a name.

Sometimes the Moirae could be influenced but usually the course of destiny that they spun was irrevocable.  The Moirae were independent in this sense. At the helm of necessity, they directed fate and watched that the fate assigned to every being by eternal laws might take its course without obstruction. Even Zeus, the Father of gods and men, as well as the other gods and mortals had to submit to the Moirae. In the matter of fate, all gods were their underlings. 

However, the fate determined by the Moirae was not an inflexible fate; Zeus, if he chose, had the power of saving even those who were already on the point of being seized by their fate. The Fates did not abruptly interfere in human affairs but availed themselves of intermediate causes, and determined the lot of mortals not absolutely, but only conditionally. Even man himself, in his freedom was allowed to exercise a certain influence upon them.

For example, when Atropos cut the thread of King Admetus, who happened to be Apollo's friend, Apollo begged the Fates to undo their work. It was not in their power to do so, but they promised that if someone took Admetus' place in the gloomy world of Hades' domain, he would live. The king's wife, Alcestis, said she would take his place. But Hercules, who happened to be Admetus' guest, rescued her from the Underworld, and Admetus and Alcetis were reunited. This was a "twist of fate" or an example of someone actually "cheating fate."

Despite their forbidding reputation, the Moirae would be worshipped as goddesses. Brides in Athens offered them locks of hair and women swore by them. They may have originated as birth-goddesses and only later acquired their reputation as the agents of destiny.

Fate certainly influences your life and the way you live it. Someone born with a disability is very unlikely to become a champion of a physical sport. Yet, to squander the gift of free will limits your opportunities and dulls your consciousness. Aren't humans free with respect to much that holds them in bondage, yet bound by what governs their human kingdom? Destiny, in its very development, is still dependent on the action of your movements on the thread of life. To shape your life, a fateful gift from God, you must practice free will.


Free will helps control your course in life and without practicing it, you are left to deal exclusively with fate. Studying Klotho and Atropos as ancient Greek agents of fate helps you understand the concepts over which you have no control -- you were born and will die without personal input. Yet, maybe the Greeks were saying that Lakhesis apportions your life in a design woven with distinct flexibility.


So, the thread of life has been created, and the cut of the thread is inevitable. Maybe the accurate measurement of a life is not determined by the length of the strand but by the quality of the fabric.

Invictus by William Ernest Henley

Out of the night that covers me,
Black as the pit from pole to pole,
I thank whatever gods may be
For my unconquerable soul.
In the fell clutch of circumstance
I have not winced nor cried aloud.
Under the bludgeonings of chance
My head is bloody, but unbowed.
Beyond this place of wrath and tears
Looms but the Horror of the shade,
And yet the menace of the years
Finds and shall find me unafraid.
It matters not how strait the gate,
How charged with punishments the scroll,
I am the master of my fate:
I am the captain of my soul.