Thursday, January 25, 2007

Run, Al, Run. We need you.

Here is the latest Rolling Stone Cover story.

We did it!! The Federal Way School Board lifted the ban on Gore's film

Thanks for all your emails to the Federal Way School Board. Now the students will get the facts. Here is the story.


Board lifts ban on Gore's film
The Associated Press


FEDERAL WAY - The Federal Way School Board has lifted its two-week moratorium on the global-warming documentary "An Inconvenient Truth," and members of a Yakima high school after-school club await a decision from school officials on whether they can show the film.

The film scored two Oscar nominations this week - for best documentary feature and best original song.

Dozens of people showed up at a Tuesday night school board meeting here, many disapproving and others supporting the district's temporary moratorium that began Jan. 9.

Many people said they were concerned about the board's view that the film was controversial and thus subject to district policy on such films.

"One concern I have is, 'What is considered controversial?' " said Tisa Kosbab, a parent.

Paul Levy, a Federal Way resident, told the board there was nothing controversial about the film.

"There is no scientific controversy," Levy said about the idea that humans cause global warming. It was "a controversy created by nonprofessionals creating a smoke screen."

The discussion soon grew into a broader debate about fact and fiction and politics in the classroom.

"We're looking for education, not indoctrination," said Bill Pirkle, a Federal Way resident.

School board members had imposed the temporary moratorium on showings of the film as they awaited a report from the district superintendent on whether teachers were following district policies that require them to get films approved by their principals and, in the case of controversial materials, point out bias and present an opposing view.

Teachers at three high schools had shown parts of the film with other points of view, but did not get written approval from principals beforehand, district Superintendent Tom Murphy told the board Tuesday night.

The controversy began after the district distributed a newsletter that notified teachers about free copies of the film for use in classrooms. Some parents complained.

In Yakima, members of Eisenhower High School's Environmental Club had planned last week to show the film after school, but the school's principal put the brakes on the screening when she heard about the plans.

"This is not how we handle supplemental materials," Principal Stacey Locke said.

School board policy requires that the instructional materials committee - made up of school administrators, teachers and parents - review the film, "and if there is another side, have that presented," said Jack Irion, deputy superintendent of Yakima Public Schools.

After the committee makes its recommendation, Locke will make the final decision.

The story is from the 1/25/07 issue of the Olympian.

http://www.theolympian.com/120/story/62232.html

Friday, January 19, 2007

Sleaziest person of the year award for 2007

The year is young but here are some candidates so far: Ted Nugent, George Bush, Dick Cheney, "Condasleeza" Rice, Rick Perry, Britney Spears, Alberto Gonzalez, Rick Santorum.

This is just a start, as the year progresses the list will get longer.

Express your opinion!

Friday, January 12, 2007

Email Campaign opposing Federal Way Board of Education's decision regarding Al Gore's, "An Inconvenient Truth"

Email the board and let the know what you think.

All of their addresses can be found here

http://www.fwps.org/info/board/

Federal Way Board of Education denies students of a quality education.

Gore's 'Truth' restricted at schools
The Associated Press
FEDERAL WAY - The school board in this suburb south of Seattle has restricted showings of Al Gore's movie on global warming, including requiring that it be balanced with an adequate opposing viewpoint.

The board also required Superintendent Tom Murphy to approve when the former vice president's film, "An Inconvenient Truth," can be presented.
The decision was sparked by complaints from parents who said their child was taking the film as fact after viewing it at school.
"Condoms don't belong in school, and neither does Al Gore. He's not a schoolteacher," said Frosty Hardison, a parent of seven who doesn't want the film shown at all.
"The information that's being presented is a very cockeyed view of what the truth is," Hardison told the Seattle Post-Intelligencer. "The Bible says that in the end times everything will burn up, but that perspective isn't in the DVD."
Board President Ed Barney told The News Tribune of Tacoma on Wednesday that he'd received about a half-dozen complaints from parents.
"We have to ensure that our schools are not being used to politically indoctrinate anyone," said board member Dave Larson, who with Barney and board member Charlie Hoff voted Tuesday for the requirements.
None has seen the movie. District policy, however, requires that an opposing view be aired whenever a controversial issue is examined in school.
"I am shocked that a school district would come to this decision," the movie's co-producer, Laurie David, said in a prepared statement. "There is no opposing view to science, which is fact, and the facts are clear that global warming is here, now."
Gore's documentary has received approval from some of the nation's top climate scientists for its accuracy.
In it, he presents scientists' findings on the catastrophic dangers of climate change.
Federal researchers with the National Academy of Sciences have said the planet's temperature has climbed to levels not seen in thousands of years, and has begun to affect plants and animals.
But Larson offered two opposing articles, including one by author John Stossel that said many scientists discredit global warming predictions. He also cited NASA and NOAA Web sites referring to debate and disagreement over climate change.
The film also has been denied a showing at Tacoma's Remann Hall, a high school for juvenile offenders, where Principal Rue Palmer denied a teacher's request.
The film hasn't been approved by the Tacoma district's curriculum committee. The school also focuses on core subjects and doesn't generally show films, explained Patti Holmgren, Tacoma School District spokeswoman.
The National Science Teachers Association turned down an offer from the film's producers for 50,000 free DVDs for classroom use. The association said it didn't want to be seen as politically endorsing the film or open itself to requests from other special interests.