Separation Of Church And State, Secularist Style

"When you put on your Jesus glasses," Dr. James Corbett told the students in his Advanced Placement European history class at Capistrano Valley High School, "you can't see the truth."

The doc also shared with his class that he just doesn't think much of believers ... any believers:

... Conservatives don't want women to avoid pregnancies. That's interfering with God's work. You got to stay pregnant, barefoot and in the kitchen to have babies until your body collapses. All over the world, doesn't matter where you go, conservatives want control over women's reproductive capacity. Everywhere in the world, from conservative Christians in this country to, um, Muslim fundamentalists in Afghanistan. It's the same. It's stunning how vitally interested they are in controlling women.

In fact, he thinks religion draws a society down:

People ... in the industrialized world the people least likely to go to church are the Swedes. The people in the industrialized world most likely to go to church are the Americans. America has the highest crime rate of all the industrialized nations and Sweden has the lowest. The next time someone [like your parents] tells you religion is connected with morality, you might want to ask them about that.

The US does, in fact, have the highest crime rate -- a function of excellent and transparent record keeping as much as anything else. But if Corbett were to look at crime rater per capita -- the stat that matters, since he's talking about individuals' relationships with God here -- he'd' find that many much more secular industrialized nations, Finland, Denmark and the UK, all have higher crime rates.

Godless Sweden's rate is lower, but it has a higher per capita adult suicide rate than religious America. Corbett didn't share that with his students.

Moving on through this fascinating review of European history, we find the doc saying this:

I love Rush Limbaugh. A fat, pain in the ass liar. And boy is he a liar. Unbelievable.

And this important analysis of European history:

U.S. regulators -- U.S. regulators say they added new warnings about the potential risks of sudden hearing loss among men who are using Viagra, Cialis or Levitra. So what they've been telling you for all these years, that you'll go blind, isn't true. ... So you know, you know, so if you run into somebody who is, you know, deaf and whose pants felt stiff, he's probably using the drug. They're happy, but they're deaf.

In the same class, after denouncing the Boy Scouts for being "in their own mind a homophobic and racist organization," he said:

It's simple. It's called separation of church and state.

In his mind, there is no religion called "Secularism," but it's evident by his comments that there is, and he is a devout believer in that faith. One of the students in his class, Chad Farnan, has filed a lawsuit with the assistance of the Christian legal group Advocates for Faith and Freedom. Read the full complaint here.

Farnan liked Corbett's class at first, then, according to yesterday's OC Reg, he became more and more uncomfortable, and gave a recording of one of Corbett's classroom rants to his mother. All quotes in this story are from that one tape, from one class.

This isn't the first time Corbett's gotten in trouble for his views, according to the Reg:

Corbett has been involved in at least two prior court cases as a Capistrano Valley High teacher. In 1993, he was named in a lawsuit brought by colleague John Peloza, a biology teacher who challenged Capistrano Unified's mandate to teach evolutionary theory.

Corbett was listed in the suit as one of the defendants with a "class-based animus against practicing Christians" who attempted to "force" Peloza to teach evolution through "harassment and intimidation." A trial court and an appeals court ruled against Peloza, although the appeals court said the complaint was "not entirely frivolous" and awarded attorney fees to Peloza.

Despite this, Corbett is still teaching, and Capistrano Valley High principal Tom Ressler hasn't commented on his teacher's latest transgression yet, except to say that 33 percent of Corbett's students flunked the state's Advanced Placement exam. (Actually, he said 66 percent passed, but I thought I'd emphasize that Corbett is a lousy teacher, too, not just a bigot.)

Were a teacher to lead his students in prayer, you can bet that Corbett would be at the front of the crazed pack, calling for that teacher's "fat, pain in the ass" head. Were a teacher to attempt to teach the true history of Communist violence and abuse, or the terrorist acts of the Palestinians, you can bet that Corbett would be the loudest voice crying "Foul!" (or something more profane).

Yet he feel free to encourage kids to have premarital sex and to not trust their parents ...

So you know, some parents are objecting, saying [handing out birth control pills is] taking too much power away from the parents. Parents are pretty irresponsible. And so is the Bush administration with its abstinence policy. Spending billions of dollars [!!] on something they know doesn't work, wonderful. Wonderful. Idiotic.

... to not trust America, and above all, to not be a fool who believes in God.

And we pay him to do this, and if the school district -- the school district my taxes go to, as a matter of fact -- doesn't fire him, we will pay for his defense.

Update: Here's a follow-up article on the spirited debate the first article on Corbett generated.

Secularists Place Their Faith In Corbett

The tale of Dr. James Corbett and his frothings against Christians and Conservatives before his high school Advanced Placement classes is big news -- it's now up to 398,000 hits on Google's blog search engine. And as you can imagine, those who believe in Secularism but are rabidly anti-religion nonetheless, have a lot to say.

Let's start with a post at The Seven Solitudes called, ahem, Dr. James Corbett is an American Hero:

It isn’t enough that the school system is still a breeding ground for religious indoctrination, and non-believers and other people who would rather teach their kids at home about religion have been ostracized and having failed previous attempts to bring these lawsuits to the courts, this Fascist Law Firm decides to copy the work of organizations like the ACLU. In these previous cases we, the secular taxpayers, have been found to not have standing. Our only victory was erasing mandatory prayer from school and the occasional Lemon Test success, but Christian proselytizing from the podium is not a phantom. If this brings about the demise of teacher’s personal freedoms of ranting about religion from either way… it is a victory for us.

What school district does this guy go to? Is he a time-traveler or something, perhaps confusing 2007 with 1907? I wasn't aware that Secularist home-schooling was a trend, and haven't heard of any public school districts that were forcing Christianity into, instead of out of, the schools.

Admittedly, Capo Unified, my district and Dr. Corbett's, isn't utterly devoid of Christianity. When Incredible Daughter #1 was in Jr. High chorus, they sang (beautifully) medieval vocal pieces with religious themes, and we even had an entirely voluntary parent-student Hallelujah Chorus one year. She also got a good grade on a paper on Abraham's travels for an ancient history class.

This seems to me appropriate in all ways because no one can deny the power of the church in the formation of our musical heritage, and the Abraham paper was a research exercise whether one were to agree the source material was historical or not.

What is wrong with Seven Solitudes, and indeed most of these posts, is that they don't want "Christian proselytizing" in the schools, but very clearly are comfortable with Secularist proselytizing, whether Christians are made uncomfortable or not.

A blog with the uncondensed name of Esoteric Dissertations of a One Track Mind fisked my most recent post on Corbett in a post called On the Religious Reaction to Dr. Corbett. The writer makes such universal statements like:

First, I find it rather inarguable that religious conservatives want to control women’s reproductive capacity.

I find this extremely funny, given the "anti-breeder" pressure that the Left slams parents with. Who, in fact, wishes to control women's reproductive capacity? He thinks conservative men dictate to their women, "Thou shalt calve," whereas in Christian circles the number of children is a decision husband and wife come to through discussion and prayer.

To compare fundamental Islamic childbirthing trends to Christian trends is silly because in dirt-poor Islamic countries, where humans and animals are the main means of production, the economics of child-bearing are entirely different.

Over at the "revolutionary" blog (Why would we want a revolution? So we could have what sort of system instead?) Blogging the Collapse, there's a post called Heroes and Zeros. Guess which one the blogger thinks Corbett is?

As you’ve seen, I have a general revulsion for all gods, prophets, angels, and higher powers in general. The wisdom that I would like to see kids arrive at through education is that there is no such thing as a cosmic hierarchy (which makes other hierarchies, such as corporate or governmental hierarchies, all the more meaningless); and that the universe doesn’t work through power or control.

How does he know this, if not by faith? Where is it written that there is no higher power in the universe?

I've saved the worst and the funniest for last because there is nothing sillier than a hater of intolerance being intolerant. Here's Dr. Naysay's Nay of the Day, Chad Farnan is a Douche and his Parents are Evil:

This piece of Orange County s*** hails from San Juan Capistrano and attends Capistrano Valley High School where he is enrolled in Dr. James Corbett's Advanced Placement European History class.

Recently this little f***ing twit and his parents filed a FEDERAL lawsuit claiming that Dr. Corbett violated his Constitutional Rights. How does a High School history teacher pull off such a feat you might ask?

By allegedly making statements that Mr. Farnan (and his evil parents) feel "make religious students feel like second class citizens."

I think Dr. Naysay makes a pretty darn good case for why morality and values ought to be taught more in school, because the Judeo-Christian tradition certainly teaches a greater deal of brotherly love, understanding and compassion than Dr. Naysay has picked up along his troubled way.

In closing, let's go back to the top post and the allegation that "the school system is still a breeding ground for religious indoctrination." In case you haven't been keeping up on your reading of The Bismark Tribune over the Christmas holidays, I offer this:

A Simle Middle School teacher has been suspended without pay after parents complained about a video he showed in a class.

Superintendent Paul Johnson outlined the investigation and discipline at the Bismarck School Board meeting Monday.

Teacher Michael Nider will be on unpaid leave starting today until Jan. 1. He showed a video called "A Letter from Hell" that he had found on Godtube.com in his fourth period eighth-grade health class Wednesday. It was not shown in any other classes.

In addition to the unpaid leave, Nider also must take a sensitivity training class by May 30. A letter of reprimand is part of his personnel file, and if he violates the school policy again, he will be fired. A new teacher will be assigned to the fourth period eighth-grade health class.

This is the first time in the four years Nider has taught with the district that he has been disciplined, and he has had good evaluations. He has taught 20 years prior to coming to the Bismarck district. Two messages were left Monday night on an answering machine at Nider's home. He did not attend Monday night's meeting.

Parents Steve and Hannah Balaban heard about the video from their daughter, who was in Nider's class. They sent a letter of complaint to the teacher, principal, school board, superintendent and other community members, because of their concerns about its religious content.

Let's review, class:

• Nider has a 20-year-plus teaching record without complaint. This is the third time Corbett's radical Secularism has caused trouble at Capo Unified.
• Nider showed one film in one class. Corbett routinely blasts Christians and their beliefs in his classes and has for years.
• Nider was suspended without pay. Corbett is still teaching with pay.
• Nider has to take sensitivity training, has a letter in his file, and will be fired if anything like this happens again. While it's early in the process still, no such action has been taken against Corbett.
• The action against Nider was taken because one set of parents called to complain. Corbett continued to teach following many such complaints, including parents pulling their children from his class.
  

Again, the model that should be followed is that the teacher in a class like AP European history should, as Corbett did, encourage their students to think hard on provocative questions, but he should do so by asking pointed questions from all points of view, so his students have no idea what his personal beliefs are.

These beliefs should not be a factor. Students should learn from a teacher's character and qualities, not his political diatribes.

Update: The Capo Unified School District apparently feels the same way, according to this OC Register editorial summarizing its policies:

It shouldn't take a lawsuit to force a public school system to consider whether a teacher lives up to district policy, which requires that staff neither promote a religious viewpoint nor "interfere with the philosophical/religious development of each student in whatever tradition the student embraces." According to a Register report, district policy also calls on teachers "to ensure that all sides of a controversial issue are impartially presented with accurate and appropriate factual information."

I don't advocate that Corbett be fired, only that he be forced to follow these policies, and that the District itself develop a method for seeing that the protocols are followed. If Corbett isn't comfortable with that, then he doesn't have to continue taking a publicly funded paycheck.

Racial Profiling Needs Assessment

This quiz was passed along to me by a co-worker. Be sure to share it with anyone you know at the ACLU or CAIR.

1. In 1968, Bobby Kennedy was shot and killed by
a. Superman
b. Jay Leno
c. Harry Potter
d. a Muslim male extremist between the age of 17 and 40

2. In 1972 at the Munich Olympics, athletes were kidnapped and massacred by
a. Olga Corbett
b. Sitting Bull
c. Arnold Schwarzenegger
d. Muslim male extremists mostly between the ages of 17 and 40

3. In 1979, the US embassy in Iran was taken over by
a. Lost Norwegians
b. Elvis
c. A tour bus full of 80-year-old women
d. Muslim male extremists mostly between the ages of 17 and 40

4. During the 1980's a number of Americans were kidnapped in Lebanon by
a. John Dillinger
b. The King of Sweden
c. The Boy Scouts
d. Muslim male extremists mostly between the ages of 17 and 40

5. In 1983, the US Marine barracks in Beirut was blown up by
a. A pizza delivery boy
b. Pee Wee Herman
c. Geraldo Rivera
d. Muslim male extremists mostly between the ages of 17 and 40

6. In 1985 the cruise ship Achille Lauro was hijacked and a 70 year old American passenger was murdered and thrown overboard in his wheelchair by
a. The Smurfs
b. Davy Jones
c. The Little Mermaid
d. Muslim male extremists mostly between the ages of 17 and 40

7. In 1985 TWA flight 847 was hijacked at Athens, and a US Navy diver trying to rescue passengers was murdered by
a. Captain Kidd
b. Charles Lindberg
c. Mother Teresa
d. Muslim male extremists mostly between the ages of 17 and 40

8. In 1988, Pan Am Flight 103 was bombed by
a. Scooby Doo
b. The Tooth Fairy
c. Butch Cassidy and The Sundance Kid
d. Muslim male extremists mostly between the ages of 17 and 40

9. In 1993 the World Trade Center was bombed the first time by
a. Richard Simmons
b. Grandma Moses
c. Michael Jordan
d. Muslim male extremists mostly between the ages of 17 and 40

10. In 1998, the US embassies in Kenya and Tanzania were bombed by:
a. Mr. Rogers
b. Hillary Clinton, to distract attention from Wild Bill' s women problems
c. The World Wrestling Federation
d. Muslim male extremists mostly between the ages of 17 and 40

11. On 9/11/01, four airliners were hijacked; two were used as missiles to take out the World Trade Centers and of the remaining two, one crashed into the US Pentagon and the other was diverted and crashed by the passengers. Thousands of people were killed by
a. Bugs Bunny, Wiley E. Coyote, Daffy Duck and Elmer Fudd
b. The Supreme Court of Florida
c. Mr. Bean
d. Muslim male extremists mostly between the ages of 17 and 40

12. In 2002 the United States fought a war in Afghanistan against:
a. Enron
b. The Lutheran Church
c. The NFL
d. Muslim male extremists mostly between the ages of 17 and 40

13. In 2002 reporter Daniel Pearl was kidnapped and murdered by:
a. Bonnie and Clyde
b. Captain Kangaroo
c. Billy Graham
d. Muslim male extremists mostly between the ages of 17 and 40

14. Today in Iraq, our soldiers are threatened by insurgents who are:
a. The Swiss Guard
b. Life guards from Australia
c. Parisian fashion designers
d. Muslim male extremists mostly between the ages of 17 and 40