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TheGreatSimba
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Topic: Historical Revisionism: Necessary or Wrong? Posted: 18-May-2010 at 14:17 |
Recently, the Texas' education board, which is controlled by Evangelical's and Conservatives, are attempting to introduce a new curriculum which would rewrite history. This will affect much of the United States as Texas is a major purchaser of text books. Some changes include the following: - a belief in America as a nation chosen by God as a beacon to the world
- free enterprise as the cornerstone of liberty and democracy.
- sidelining Thomas Jefferson, who favoured separation of church and state
- introducing a new focus on the "significant contributions" of
pro-slavery Confederate leaders during the civil war.
- The new curriculum asserts that "the right to keep and bear arms" is an
important element of a democratic society.
- Study of Sir Isaac Newton is dropped in favour of examining scientific
advances through military technology.
- There is also a suggestion that the anti-communist witch-hunt by Senator
Joseph McCarthy in the 1950s may have been justified.
- The education board has dropped references to the slave trade in favour
of calling it the more innocuous "Atlantic triangular trade"
- recasts the Israeli-Palestinian conflict as driven by Islamic
fundamentalism.
- amendments to the curriculum that portray the free enterprise system
(there is no mention of capitalism, deemed to be a tainted word) as a
cornerstone of liberty and argue that the government should have a
minimal role in the economy.
- One amendment requires that students be taught that economic prosperity
requires "minimal government intrusion and taxation".
- the teaching of creationism – euphemistically known as intelligent
design – in science classes.
- History students are now to be required to study documents, such as the
Mayflower Compact, which instil the idea of America being founded as a
Christian fundamentalist nation.
- One curriculum amendment describes the civil rights movement as creating
"unrealistic expectations of equal outcomes" among minorities
- Another seeks to place Martin Luther King and the violent Black Panther
movement as opposite sides of the same coin.
- Some figures have been sidelined because they are deemed to be socialist
or un-American.
- One of them is a children's author, Bill Martin, who wrote a popular
tale, Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See? Martin was purged from
the curriculum when he was confused with an author with a similar name
but a different book, Ethical Marxism.
Here is an article regarding the changes, and the people who are making them: http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/may/16/texas-schools-rewrites-us-history California has already began efforts to prevent their own curriculum from suffering: http://scienceblogs.com/pharyngula/2010/05/good_news_from_california.php My personal belief is that historical revisionism is unethical and wrong. I believe it is brainwashing and indoctrination and only harm can come from it. If the facts dont support it, then its not true! Thoughts?
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C. Isaurikon
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Posted: 18-May-2010 at 16:56 |
I think we should be able to offer alternative explanations of history, just as we should be able to offer alternative explanations on the nature of the universe. When the alternative explanation is offered up, it can then be debated. If it is a poor theory, it can be refuted; if it is good, we may have a useful new perspective.
To not allow historical revisionism means being a fascist, like the way they throw Holocaust deniers in jail in Europe.
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DreamWeaver
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Posted: 18-May-2010 at 17:06 |
You are confusing historical revisionism with the uses of historical revisionism.
Historical revisionism in and of itself is fine. It is neccessary. Historians must challenge previously held notions of the historical past, questions must be asked, and a more varied and greater understanding can be formed. Historical revisionism will create multiple explanations and view points of the past, all of which may be entirely valid, buit which collectively may allow us to understand the past better. If there was no historical revisionims perceptions and explanations of the past would remain the same, stagnate and minimal historical progress would be made. Concepts, especially in fields od things like gender history, frontier history, scientific history and global history which have increasingly to the fore in recent decades would not have occurred if there was no historical revisionism. Traditionalism must be challenged to help determine if its still valid or applicable.
Im not just saying this because Im revising traditional interprestation in my own works.
What is apparently happening in Texas shows how historical revisionism may be used, it is not historical revisionim itself. Conflicting historical theories that arise from rev isionism are and should be debated and discussed, this is the case in an academic forum. However what we see hear in Texas would be a case of a particular party enforcing its own views (those are the views of history that it deemd acceptable and correct) on others, with no or minimal alternative and debate.
Historical revisionism in and of itself is neither good nor bad. It is neither unethical nor wrong. The applications of historical revisionism are the actions of individuals, who have agendas, and who will use historical revisionism as a tool to help further that agenda. That agenda is what you should debate as being good or bad etc.
On a side note.......
"If the facts dont support it, then its not true!" Actually facts are meaningless, perception is reality, if people want it to be true then it is true, facts can change.
eg. 17th Century medicine viewed women as inverted in properly made males. a 17th Century medical fact.
............................but this is a seperate can of worms best left for another day.
On with the historical reisionism debate.
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DreamWeaver
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Posted: 18-May-2010 at 17:08 |
"To not allow historical revisionism means being a fascist, like the way they throw Holocaust deniers in jail in Europe."
Only some European Countries (like Germany and Austria oddly enough).
Also the argument for the holocaust not happening is very weak.
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C. Isaurikon
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Posted: 18-May-2010 at 17:26 |
Originally posted by DreamWeaver
"To not allow historical revisionism means being a fascist, like the way they throw Holocaust deniers in jail in Europe."
Only some European Countries (like Germany and Austria oddly enough).
Also the argument for the holocaust not happening is very weak.
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True true, and I don't deny the Holocaust personally. But using Hitler's methods (throwing people in jail for not agreeing with you on academic points) seems to me to be a poor way of recovering from his acts.
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TheGreatSimba
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Posted: 18-May-2010 at 22:20 |
Yes, there are two types of historical revisionism. The one I am referring to is political historical revisionism, not rewriting history because new evidence has been found or a new interpretation, but rewriting history not based on facts, but a political agenda, like what we see in Texas or totalitarian regimes.
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DreamWeaver
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Posted: 19-May-2010 at 04:27 |
In which case yes, it is wromg. There must always be a forum for deabte and the possibility left open for other ideas and interpretations.
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TheGreatSimba
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Posted: 19-May-2010 at 11:39 |
Yes, it is wrong, but a small group of Conservatives want to dictate what a large chunk of students in America are learning. They are pushing their own propaganda in order to brain wash this countries youth, and THE BIGGEST problem is that they have the support of Conservatives for doing this.
Historical revisionism, in my opinion, is a big part of turning a democratic nation in a totalitarian one. We see that in all dictatorships.
In Iran for example, they barely talk about Iran's pre-Islamic past (they are trying to cut that out of the curriculum) and they are also cutting all "secular" subjects out too, such as philosophy for example.
Its ridiculous and as history lovers, is there anything we can do?
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opuslola
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Posted: 19-May-2010 at 12:58 |
"California has already began efforts to prevent their own curriculum from suffering:
http://scienceblogs.com/pharyngula/2010/05/good_news_from_california.php
I can't wait to see what the new California text books look like? I'd bet the Black Panthers get more coverage than any group other than the Klu Klux Klan?
It will probably be good for a laugh! And,then a cry?
Poor California!
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http://www.quotationspage.com/subjects/history/
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TheGreatSimba
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Posted: 22-May-2010 at 13:48 |
1. Many of the proposed changes come from Don McLeroy, a creationist,
former school board member, and dentist from Bryan, Texas. One of his
gems: students must learn to "evaluate efforts by global organizations
to undermine U.S. sovereignty." To clarify, he's referring to the United
Nations, not Goldman Sachs.
2. You've got to give McLeroy credit for long-term
thinking, though. He also expects students to be able to "discuss
alternatives regarding long-term entitlements such as Social Security
and Medicare, given the decreasing worker-to-retiree ratio." Presumably
the favored alternatives will not include national health care or
raising taxes.
3. Religion, of course, makes its way into the curriculum.
McLeroy wants students to "contrast the Founders' intent relative to the
wording of the First Amendment's Establishment Clause and Free Exercise
Clause, with the popular term, 'Separation of Church and State.'" It's a
veiled way of asserting that America is, indeed, a Christian nation.
4. Currently, Texan students are expected to learn about
"the impact of muckrakers and reform leaders" such as Upton Sinclair and
W.E.B. DuBois. McLeroy instead wants students to "contrast the tone" of
such people "versus the optimism of immigrants including Jean Pierre
Godet as told in Thomas Kinkade's The Spirit of America."
Kinkade is the schlocky, sentimental painter popular in malls
everywhere.
5. McLeroy also wants to clear the name of Joseph McCarthy.
In sections of history books that deal with McCarthyism and the House
Un-American Activities Committee, McLeroy wants to emphasize first and
foremost "the extent and danger of Soviet agent infiltration of the U.S.
government as revealed in Alger Hiss' guilt and confirmed later by the
Venona Papers."
6. Some of the changes aren't political; they're just
random. Thanks to a successful lobbying effort by a Republican from
suburban Houston, Texas textbooks will now include a reference to 1920s
singer and composer Julius Bledsoe. "How could any of us forget his
rendition of 'Old Man River' in Showboat?" Cargill said.
7. Doublespeak alert! There's no longer such a thing as
U.S. "imperialism"—it's "U.S. expansionism." It's only imperialism when
the Europeans do it, naturally. And when the Soviets did it, it was
"aggression."
8. A new history requirement for high schoolers:
understanding "the conservative resurgence of the 1980s and 1990s,"
including the role of the Heritage Foundation, the Moral Majority, and
the NRA. Sounds like a wild afternoon!
9. A meta-lesson: never miss an opportunity to stick it to a
Democratic president. A section on "political scandals" including
Teapot Dome and Watergate, now includes "Bill Clinton's impeachment."
10. A new addition to world history: "Explain how Arab
rejection of the State of Israel has led to ongoing conflict." Now
that's not at all a loaded statement, is it?
http://www.newsweek.com/id/238322?digg=1 -------------------------------------------------------------
On top of that, these crazies insisted on putting Barack Obama in history books as "Barack Hussein Obama".
I dont know about you guys, but what other presidents middle name were in our history text books? I dont know a single presidents middle name unless it was required to distinguish them from another (i.e G. H.W Bush and George W. Bush). Hm...I wonder why his name and race are such important issues for these Republicans...actually, I already know why, theres not much to wonder about. Also, the Republicans are promoting the notion that the United States is a Christian nation and that the constitution does not separate the Church from the State. Furthermore, they are removing all references to the United States being a democratic country.
-------------------------------------------------------------- Why do we have Christian fundamentalist nut jobs deciding what are children are learning? Should experts be in charge of this? Oh wait, according to the guy leading this thing "someone needs to stand up to the experts".... This is what America has come to...anti-intellectualism.
Edited by TheGreatSimba - 22-May-2010 at 14:12
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DreamWeaver
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Posted: 22-May-2010 at 18:10 |
Intellectualism........dirty word.......cant have that now.......too elitist.........might offend somebody.
(irony)
Edited by DreamWeaver - 22-May-2010 at 18:11
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TheGreatSimba
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Posted: 22-May-2010 at 18:34 |
Is US news big in the UK? Are people there aware of whats going on here in terms of the Texas issue, the Airzona issue, the Tea Party, etc...?
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opuslola
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Posted: 22-May-2010 at 19:21 |
My guess, is that most Europeans are worried if they will have a retirement in the next ten years? Yawn!
That is, except for those revolutionary progressives!
They all want a "one government world!"
Regards,
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http://www.quotationspage.com/subjects/history/
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DreamWeaver
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Posted: 23-May-2010 at 06:20 |
Yes....and at the sametime no. Obviously I can only give my thoughts on a UK based perspective, which for one is easier due to a minimal language barrier.
We are generally interested in US news, largely the politcal aspect, for the obvious reasons. Periodically something, such as this Texas malarky, will crop up, generally not on headline front page stuff, but somewhere in the middle of certain news papers and the depths of the bbc news website. Often with the appropriate criticims or praise.
Edited by DreamWeaver - 23-May-2010 at 07:11
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opuslola
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Posted: 25-May-2010 at 14:29 |
Your last words from above;
"Often with the appropriate criticims or praise."
Just how "oft" is the "praise?"
Just give us some examples of "praise?"
No, Europeans, in general, and I have travelled extensively across Europe, and I am in contact on a regular basis with Europeans in my own area of the world!, do not give America much chance in a "true/false" test with the average European!
We are considered but a "dumbed down" version of Europe!
Dumb, because we have tried to resist "Socialism!", as a major part of it! That means, to most Europeans that we are mostly "stupid!"
Perhaps we are? But, if instead, we are not, then events will tell us all the truth!
Think "M.E.D?" (Mutually (assured) Economic Distruction!"
See the new "Telegraph" headline! (London of course!)
Regards,
Edited by opuslola - 25-May-2010 at 14:31
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http://www.quotationspage.com/subjects/history/
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opuslola
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Posted: 25-May-2010 at 14:42 |
And, please TGS, only respond to me in easy to understand "Dick and Jane" language?
All of those big words you bandy about, oft confuse and sometimes startle me?
So, follow the correct outline, that is "KISS!"
And, I mean that in a loving way! Love you guy!
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http://www.quotationspage.com/subjects/history/
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TheGreatSimba
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Posted: 25-May-2010 at 16:43 |
- The Texas Board of Education wants to refer to the slave trade as the
"Atlantic triangular trade".
- Capitalism can only be referred to as "free enterprise system"
- The board has diminished Thomas Jefferson's role in history because of
his belief in the separation of church and state.
- Students also are required to learn that America's founding documents
were influenced by various intellectual traditions, "especially biblical
law," and principles laid down by Moses.
- The board approved dropping references to a landmark court case that
barred schools from segregating Mexican American students.
- Joseph McCarthy's campaign against suspected communists is now to be
toned down.
- The amendments also cast the United Nations in a critical light, with
students asked to evaluate whether the UN and its committees undermine
US sovereignty - a tune for conservatives.
- they [, the Conservative Christian Fundementalists,] specifically did not want to include President George W. Bush's
controversial 2000 election outcome nor the election of the first
African American President Barack Obama.
- On the other hand, the board added positive references to the Moral
Majority, the National Rifle Association and the GOP's Contract with
America.
More than 1,200 historians and college faculty members from across the
nation have signed a petition calling the standards academically shoddy.
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I use CAPS for emphasis, not yelling. Just don't want to have to click the bold button every time.
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DreamWeaver
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Posted: 26-May-2010 at 05:39 |
Just how "oft" is the "praise?"
That really depends on what newspaper you're reading.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DGscoaUWW2M
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TheGreatSimba
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Posted: 27-May-2010 at 17:28 |
What U.S. History Would Look Like If It Were Written
By Texas and Arizona
Here what U.S. history would look like, as
outlined in the guidelines offered by Arizona and Texas. Welcome to Tea
Party, USA.
May 20, 2010 |
History is one part truth. History is also one
part fable. It is a site of political contestation and struggle. As the
state of Arizona (with its rules banning
"Ethnic Studies") and the state of Texas (reimaging
its U.S. history curriculum to conform with the Tea Party and
Christian Nationalist perspective) have both embraced a more
"conservative" view of history, it only seems fair and reasonable to
take their efforts at face value.
Theirs is not an assault on academic freedom. No, it is an
effort to diversify and make more inclusive and "American" the
curriculum taught to our children. Many, on both
sides of the political divide, have treated these new guidelines
with much derision and complaint. I suggest that the best way to
understand the teaching of history as imagined by this brave new world
is to work through the reality it offers. To that end, I present U.S.
history as outlined in the politically correct guidelines offered by
Arizona and Texas. Sometimes the old is indeed the new... welcome
my friends to Tea Party USA.
The Essential Dates and Events of U.S. History as Approved by the
States of Arizona and Texas
1607-- Jamestown founded.
Capitalism, which can trace its roots to the Bible, is now firmly rooted
in the New World.
1660-1800--Triangular
Atlantic trade continues to bring wealth and prosperity to
America while giving opportunities to new immigrants.
1776--War for Independence
against the tyrannical, evil British empire. Colonists suffer oppression
that is unprecedented in human history. Minutemen singlehandedly defeat
the evil British Empire in 1783.
1788--The United States
Constitution is signed as a document to stand for all time, inspired by
God, and never to be changed.
1803-1848--America continues
to expand westward into empty territories. American settlers make the
land bloom with the help of friendly Indian tribes.
1823--America guarantees the
freedom of all countries and people in the Western Hemisphere with the
adoption of the Monroe Doctrine.
1848--Mexico, in an act of
friendship following their humiliation at the Alamo by the great
Republic of Texas, gives their territories to the United States.
1860s-1900s--The Gilded Age
of prosperity. American capitalism provides opportunities for all
people to grow wealthy, secure, and happy. Liberals and Progressives
begin working against American freedom and capitalism by forming
unions, demanding unfair compensation from their employers, limiting
the rights of children to work in factories, and imposing restrictive
regulations for the "safety" of employees. Many brave men die fighting
Communist influenced unions as they riot in America's cities.
1861-1865--Civil War fought
because of an overreaching, tyrannical federal government and its desire
to limit the freedoms of all Americans. 620,000 people die including
many brave and noble black Americans who fought on the side of the
Confederacy. Northerners and Southerners eventually find common ground
through Redemption and move forward as brothers and sisters in the USA.
1865-1870s--Democratic
terrorists called the Ku Klux Klan begin a reign of terror in the South
until brave Republicans defeat them.
1906--Using the Antiquities
Act, Theodore Roosevelt establishes the National Park System. In one
bold stroke Roosevelt establishes Socialist policies that steal land
from the American people.
1913--More Socialism and
class warfare ushered into the U.S. with the federal income tax system.
1917--America enters and wins
World War 1 singlehandedly because the French are cowards.
1929--Great Depression
begins. Tens of millions unemployed because of FDR's failed economic
policies. His New Deal introduces the nanny state, prolongs America's
economic collapse, and weakens the economy until Ronald Reagan renews
America.
1941--Patriotic Japanese
Americans volunteer to place themselves in gated communities so that
America will be safe from Imperial Japan.
1941-1945--America
enters and wins World War 2 singlehandedly because the French are
cowards. Out of necessity, the United States drops atomic bombs on
Japan.
1945-1965--A high point in U.S.
history, as freedom and prosperity reign over all Americans.
1950--Senator Joseph McCarthy
fearlessly highlights how America is infiltrated by communists from
Russia and China. Big Hollywood and the liberal establishment are
brought to their knees by his brave efforts.
1954--Brown v. Board of
Education removes the parental right to send children to the schools of
their choice and with the company they desire. A dangerous and
unconstitutional era of activist Supreme Court decisions begins.
1955-1968--George Wallace
and Martin Luther King Jr. lead a Civil Rights Movement to ensure that
all Americans are judged by "the content of their character and not the
color of their skin."
1968--The cinematic classic The Green Berets starring John Wayne, America's
greatest actor, debuts.
1971--America largely
withdraws from Vietnam on the cusp of victory because it was weakened
by The Gays, The Women's Movement, and "The Counter-culture." The
French are cowards whose failure forced the U.S. to intervene in
Indochina.
1973--Roe vs. Wade, the worst
legal decision in United States history is decided.
1974--Nixon
forced to resign by liberal conspiracy.
1980--Ronald Reagan,
America's greatest president, restores American providence by ushering
in a new era of economic
prosperity, cutting the federal budget, and corrects the unfair
federal tax code in order that the hard work of the richest Americans
is justly rewarded.
1989--The
Berlin Wall falls. Ronald Reagan wins
the Cold War singlehandedly.
1992-2000--Democrat president
Bill Clinton in office. His reckless personal behavior and
irresponsible foreign policy choices weaken America internationally.
The U.S. economy is almost destroyed by his tax policies. His wife
Hillary Clinton furthers the march towards Socialism by advocating for
free public health care and to destroy the insurance companies that
drive us economic growth.
2000--George Bush elected in a
landslide.
2001--Terrorists attack
America on September 11th. Because of Bill Clinton's policies, a
weakened border, a lax immigration policy, rampant multiculturalism,
and the Democrats' weakening of the military, America is left open to
attack.
2003--Dr. King's vision is
finally made real. In a landmark
decision, the Supreme Court strikes down the reverse
discrimination policies of the University of Michigan. Freedom rings
across the land.
2003--The
country of Iraq, a rogue state, part of the Axis of Evil, and led by
the dictator Saddam Hussein--a co-conspirator in the 9-11 attacks--is
liberated by President George Bush.
2008--Barack Obama is
elected. America is in a Constitutional crisis as Obama is unable to
prove that he is a U.S. citizen.
2008-the present. Brave Americans begin joining Tea Parties
and 9-12 freedom groups. Millions
of their members march on Washington DC.. Freedom fighter, James David
Manning, places Obama
on trial in absentia for treason
and sedition.
2008--Sarah
Palin, mother, governor, author, actress, comedienne and role-model
begins here meteoric rise to political stardom. She ushers in an era of
robust, common sense approaches to political problems tempered by real
American values.
2010--Barack
Obama remains President although his rule is illegitimate. Brave
patriots such as Glenn Beck and Rush Limbaugh continue to lead the
people's resistance against his tyrannical rule. |
http://www.alternet.org/story/146945/what_u.s._history_would_look_like_if_it_were_written_by_texas_and_arizona?page=entire
I felt this was relevant, and funny. The sad thing is, many Americans actually believe some/most/all of the above!
Edited by TheGreatSimba - 27-May-2010 at 17:28
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I use CAPS for emphasis, not yelling. Just don't want to have to click the bold button every time.
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TheGreatSimba
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Posted: 29-May-2010 at 07:54 |
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I use CAPS for emphasis, not yelling. Just don't want to have to click the bold button every time.
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