"MODERATE" FLIP FLOPPER KASICH CONDEMNS MISSISSIPPI'S RELIGIOUS FREEDOM LAW: "WHAT THE [EXPLETIVE] ARE WE DOING?"~QUESTION: WHAT IS HE DOING?

KASICH: NOT TAKING SIDES MEANS HE'S JUST ANOTHER COWARDLY COMPROMISER;  

SUPPORTS AMNESTY FOR ILLEGALS, COMMON CORE & GAY RIGHTS IN NORTH CAROLINA & NOW MISSISSIPPI

"IN OUR STATE (OHIO), 

WE'RE NOT FACING THIS" (AMONG OTHERS)

HE WOULD AVOID "POLARIZATION" BETWEEN PEOPLE OF FAITH & GAYS

ANOTHER ARLEN SPECTER???

MORAL RELATIVIST FLIP FLOPS ON POLITICAL & MORAL ISSUES, WIVES & RELIGIONS. WHAT WOULD HE DO AS PRESIDENT?

QUOTE FROM WIKIPEDIA: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Kasich

"Kasich has been married twice. His first marriage was to Mary Lee Griffith from 1975 to 1980, and they had no children. Griffith has campaigned for Kasich since their divorce. Kasich and his current wife, Karen Waldbillig, a former public relations executive, were married in March 1997 and have twin daughters, Emma and Reese.

Kasich was raised a Catholic, but considers denominations irrelevant, and stated that "there's always going to be a part of me that considers myself a Catholic." He drifted away from his religion as an adult, but came to embrace an Anglican faith after both his parents were killed in a car crash by a drunk driver on August 20, 1987. Kasich has said he "doesn't find God in church" but does belong to the St. Augustine church in Westerville, Ohio, which is part of the Anglican Church in North America, a conservative church that broke off from the Episcopal Church."

KASICH CONDEMNS MISSISSIPPI'S 

RELIGIOUS FREEDOM LAW: 

"WHAT THE [EXPLETIVE] ARE WE DOING?" 

BY HEATHER CLARK

SEE: http://christiannews.net/2016/04/14/kasich-condemns-mississippis-religious-freedom-law-what-the-expletive-are-we-doing/;

republished below in full unedited for informational, educational, and research purposes:

NEW YORK — Republican presidential candidate John Kasich condemned Mississippi’s religious freedom law this week, just a day after telling reporters that he would not have signed North Carolina’s “bathroom bill” requiring residents to use the restroom that correlates with their biological gender in government buildings.

“I read about this thing they did in Mississippi, where apparently you can deny somebody service because they’re gay,” Kasich stated during a town hall event in New York, which was hosted by CNN. “What the H*ll are we doing in this country?”

“I mean, look, I may not appreciate a certain lifestyle or even approve of it, but it doesn’t mean I’ve got to go write a law and try to figure out how to have another wedge issue,” he said.



As previously reported, just last month, Kasich had backtracked remarks that some interpreted as suggesting that businesses should have to agree to forms of participation in events that conflict with their religious convictions.

“[I]f they ask you to participate in something you really don’t like, that’s a whole other issue. Okay? Another issue,” he said during the Fox presidential debate in Detroit on March 3. “If you go to a photographer to take pictures at your wedding and he says, ‘I’d rather not do it,’ find another photographer. Don’t sue them in court.”

Kasich said at that time that if people of faith are being forced to participate in something that conflicts with their convictions, then laws should be crafted to protect them—if necessary.

“At the end of the day, if somebody’s being pressured to participate in something that is against their deeply held religious beliefs, then we’re going to have to think about dealing with a law,” Kasich outlined. “But you know what? I’d rather people figure this out without having to put another law on the books and have more arguments in this country.”

Kasich’s previous “if you’re a cupcake maker and somebody wants a cupcake, make them a cupcake” remarks had drawn criticism, as some stated that he was making false assertions as no businesses are declining to serve homosexuals—that current legal battles are over personal participation in an event, not providing general service.

The Mississippi bill that Kasich condemned on Monday likewise refers only to forms of participation in marital events, and does not permit the refusal of service in general. It prohibits the government from punishing those who pass up particular events for religious reasons.

“The state government shall not take any discriminatory action against a person wholly or partially on the basis that the person has provided or declined to provide … services, accommodations, facilities, goods, or privileges for a purpose related to the solemnization, formation, celebration, or recognition of any marriage, based upon or in a manner consistent with a sincerely held religious belief or moral conviction,” the Protecting Freedom of Conscience from Government Discrimination Act reads in part.

As previously reported, the bill also bans the government from punishing those whose policies require use of locker and restrooms consistent with their biological gender.

On Sunday, Kasich told CBS’ “Face the Nation” that he wouldn’t have signed North Carolina’s “bathroom bill” into law either.

“I believe that religious institutions ought to be protected and be able to be in a position of where they can live out their deeply held religious purposes. But when you get beyond that, it gets to be a tricky issue. And tricky is not the right word, but it can become a contentious issue,” he said.

“Why do we have to write a law every time we turn around in this country? Can’t we figure out just how to get along a little bit better and respect one another? I mean that’s where I think we ought to be. Everybody chill out. Get over it if you have a disagreement with somebody,” Kasich said. “Unless there’s something that pops up, I’m not inclined to sign anything.”

_______________________________________________________

John Kasich: Accept Men in Women’s Bathrooms, Boys Showering With Girls?

Published on Apr 15, 2016


John Kasich may be the most pro-amnesty Republican running for president, but now we learn he’s also pro something else: having men in women’s bathrooms and boys showering with girls. This is apparently the case as the Ohio governor recently stated he “‘wouldn’t have signed” the recent North Carolina “bathroom bill.” - http://www.thenewamerican.com/usnews/...

COMMON CORE TEACHER OUTSPOKEN OUTRAGE

PARENTS SHOULD REFUSE 

COMMON CORE TESTS 

FOR THEIR CHILDREN

The Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Pearson Tests

BY KATIE LAPHAM

SEE: https://criticalclassrooms.wordpress.com/2016/04/11/the-terrible-horrible-no-good-very-bad-pearson-tests/; republished below in full unedited for informational, educational, and research purposes:

Over the course of three consecutive days last week, students in grades 3-8 took Pearson’s New York State (NYS) Common Core English-language arts (ELA) tests.  As was the case in 2013, 2014 and 2015, the 2016 ELA tests were developmentally inappropriate, confusing and tricky.  Despite the New York State Education Department (NYSED)’s “adjustments” to the 2016 assessments, there was no improvement to the quality of the tests.

While I am barred from disclosing the reading passages and questions that appeared on the tests, in no way will I refrain from broadcasting to the world how outraged I continue to be – year after year – over New York’s oppressive testing regime.  Since 2013, when Pearson’s Common Core tests were first administered in New York state, I’ve been documenting this nightmare on my blog.

On 4/3/16, Lauren Cohen and I demonstrated at NYC councilman Danny Dromm’s rally in Jackson Heights, Queens. Dromm was informing parents of their right to opt-out of the NYS Common Core tests. As a member of the MORE caucus of the UFT, Lauren is running for VP of Elementary Schools in the upcoming UFT election. She truly puts children first.

Here are my thoughts on the 2016 ELA test.  I have focused on third grade because these students – aged eight and nine – are our youngest NYS Common Core test-takers.

1.) The 2016 Common Core ELA test was as absurdly long as it was in 2013, 2014 and 2015 despite the fact that it was shortened by just one reading passage and by a handful of multiple choice questions.

2016 Grade 3 Common Core English Language Arts Test

• Day One: 4 reading passages, 24 multiple-choice questions (Students darken the circles on Answer Sheet 1).
• Day Two: 3 reading passages (same as 2015), 7 multiple-choice questions (Students darken the circles on Answer Sheet 2), 2 short-response questions (Students write answers directly in Book 2.) 1 extended-response question (Students write answer directly in Book 2).
• Day Three: 3 reading passages (same as 2015), 5 short-response questions (Students write answers directly in Book 3) and 1 extended-response question (Students write answer directly in Book 3).

TOTALS: 10 reading passages, 31 multiple-choice questions, 7 short-response questions and 2 extended-response questions.

For the short-response questions, students typically write a paragraph-long response that must include at least two details from the passage. The extended-response question requires an essay-like written response: introduction, supporting evidence/details, conclusion. Where is the NYSED’s research that shows that this is an educationally sound testing program for a third grader? Seriously. Does anyone know how the NYSED justifies this? The length alone of these tests warrants our banging of pots and pans in city streets.

2.) Now let’s move on to content.  The reading passages were excerpts and articles from authentic texts (magazines and books).  Pearson, the NYSED or Questar did a poor job of selecting and contextualizing the excerpts in the student test booklets.  How many students actually read the one-to-two sentence summaries that appeared at the beginning of the stories? One excerpt in particular contained numerous characters and settings and no clear story focus.  The vocabulary in the non-fiction passages was very technical and specific to topics largely unfamiliar to the average third grader.  In other words, the passages were not meaningful. Many students could not connect the text-to-self nor could they tap into prior knowledge to facilitate comprehension.

3.) The questions were confusing.  They were so sophisticated that it appeared incongruous to me to watch a third grader wiggle her tooth while simultaneously struggle to answer high school-level questions. How does one paragraph relate to another?, for example. Unfortunately, I can’t disclose more.  The multiple-choice answer choices were tricky, too. Students had to figure out the best answer among four answer choices, one of which was perfectly reasonable but not the best answer.  Here’s what P.S. 321’s principal,Elizabeth Phillips, wrote about the 2014 Common Core tests.  Her op-ed We Need to Talk About the Test appeared in The New York Times on April 9, 2014.  These same issues were evident on the third grade 2016 ELA test.

“In general terms, the tests were confusing, developmentally inappropriate and not well aligned with the Common Core standards. The questions were focused on small details in the passages, rather than on overall comprehension, and many were ambiguous. Children as young as 8 were asked several questions that required rereading four different paragraphs and then deciding which one of those paragraphs best connected to a fifth paragraph. There was a strong emphasis on questions addressing the structure rather than the meaning of the texts. There was also a striking lack of passages with an urban setting. And the tests were too long; none of us can figure out why we need to test for three days to determine how well a child reads and writes.”

4.) The reading levels of the passages were above “grade” level, whatever “grade” level means these days.  One passage was an article recommended for students in grades 6-8. Has the NYSED done any research on early childhood education? Defending the Early Years cites a Gesell Institute of Child Development report that says,

“…the average age at which children learn to read independently is 6.5 years. Some begin as early as four years and some not until age seven or later – and all of this falls within the normal range.”

Yet for the NYS Common Core ELA test, the NYSED expects all third graders to be able to decode and comprehend texts that are typically used with fourth, fifth and sixth graders?

5.) While in theory I prefer untimed tests to timed tests, the lack of a time limit is of little comfort to students who are subjected to developmentally inappropriate tests.  Read this heartbreaking account by a New York City teacher who blogs atpedagogyofthereformed.wordpress.com. Of a former student, this teacher writes,

“After 18 hours of testing over 3 days, she emerged from the classroom in a daze. I asked her if she was ok, and offered her a hug. She actually fell into my arms and burst into tears. I tried to cheer her up but my heart was breaking. She asked if she could read for a while in my room to calm down and then cried into her book for the next 15 minutes.”

Leonie Haimson, Executive Director of Class Size Matters, noted in a post on her blogNYC Public School Parents that this “…appears to violate the NY law passed in 2014 that limits state testing time to one percent of total instructional time.” Additionally, fellowChange the Stakes member, Rosalie Friend, pointed out that “without a set time limit, the tests no longer are standardized.  Therefore, one cannot draw ANY conclusions from the scores.” So this alone seems to invalidate these $44 million tests.

Collectively, we must stop this insanity.  I’ve been sounding the alarm on these tests since 2013, and the vast majority of educators I know agree with me.  I’m beyond fed-up that I have to continue to administer these assessments to my students.  It is unconscionable to me that Chancellor Fariña, in her 3/15/16 letter to NYC parents, wrote that these tests are “incredibly important” and a “valuable experience for our students.” It’s been nearly a month since I read those words and my jaw is still on the floor.

Parents – if you haven’t already refused the tests, you still have time to opt-out of the Common Core math tests, which will be administered on April 13, 14 and 15 of this week.

Teachers and administrators – the Common Core testing climate in New York state is too dire for you to remain quiet.  Speak up and encourage parents to opt-out.  Boycotting these tests is the only way to change course.

May this video of these principled MORE teachers inspire you.

From left to right: NYC teachers Lauren Cohen, Kristin Taylor and Jia Lee spoke critically of the NYS Common Core tests to NBC 4 New York. Screenshot courtesy of NYC teacher and UFT chapter leader Arthur Goldstein who blogs at nyceducator.com.

For more information, please visit:

NYC Opt Out

NYS Allies for Public Education

Defending the Early Years

Network for Public Education 

pedagogyofthereformed

NORTH CAROLINA GOVERNOR SIGNS EXECUTIVE ORDER TO APPEASE LGBT COMMUNITY & CRITICS

6 OF ONE; 1/2 DOZEN OF THE OTHER

IS THAT "THE NORTH CAROLINA WAY"?: 

SECULAR HUMANISM SKIRTS AROUND 

MORAL DEPRAVITY & PERVERSION; 

JUST LIKE IT SKIRTS AROUND ABORTION 

PRIVACY IN PUBLIC RESTROOMS & EQUALITY IN BUSINESS RESTROOMS ADDS MORE CONFUSION & CONTRIBUTES TO MORAL RELATIVISM & LOSS OF NATURAL RIGHTS 

FOR EMPLOYEES

COMPROMIZER JETTISONS MORALS, COWARDLY ATTEMPTS TO APPEASE GAYS (WHO WON'T BE APPEASED UNTIL THEY HAVE THEIR WAY COMPLETELY, I.E., DESTROYING CONSTITUTIONAL RIGHTS)

N.C. Governor Signs Executive Order to Appease LGBT Community and Other Critics

BY RAVEN CLABOUGH

SEE: http://www.thenewamerican.com/usnews/politics/item/22970-nc-governor-signs-executive-order-to-appease-lgbt-community-and-other-critics; republished below in full unedited for informational, educational, and research purposes:

On Tuesday, North Carolina Governor Pat McCrory (shown) caved to pressure from big businesses and the LGBT community and signed an executive order to change the state’s recently passed LGBT law that barred local governments from extending protections to gay and transgender individuals and mandated that individuals use bathrooms based on the biological sex that appears on their birth certificates. Unfortunately for the governor, the order failed to appease the law's critics and has provoked criticism from the law's supporters. 

“I have come to the conclusion that there is a great deal of misinformation, misinterpretation, confusion, a lot of passion and frankly, selective outrage and hypocrisy, especially against the great state of North Carolina,” McCrory said in a statement. “Based upon this feedback, I am taking action to affirm and improve the state’s commitment to privacy and equality.”

House Bill 2 was introduced in response to a Charlotte City Council ordinance that allowed transgender people to use a bathroom based on the gender with which they identify. The bill revoked that measure and prevented the introduction of new LGBT ordinances in the state, Newsweek explains. The bill was signed in late March, sparking outcry from numerous groups that claimed the bill amounted to discrimination.

In an effort to address concerns raised by critics, McCrory’s executive order establishes protections for state employees against discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity, and calls on legislators to reinstate the right to sue for discrimination. The executive order does not, however, address the provision that requires people to use the bathroom based on the gender with which they are born, though the bathroom provision is considered by critics to be the most controversial portion of the law.

McCrory said in his video announcement that his executive order “maintains common sense gender-specific restroom and locker facilities in government buildings and in our schools,” but said that private businesses could continue to set their own rules for bathrooms and locker rooms.

McCrory’s executive order follows announcements by Deutsche Bank and PayPal Holdings that the companies would not expand operations within the state. The Washington Post reports that PayPal announced last week it would forego plans to open a new facility in Charlotte as a result of the law, and Duetsche Bank said on Tuesday it would stop its plans to expand in the state, citing the law as the reason. “We take our commitment to building inclusive work environments seriously,” John Cryan, co-chief executive of Deutsche Bank, said in a statement Tuesday.

The Post notes that other major companies such as Apple, Google, and American Airlines have spoken out against the law, and reports that the law could “potentially cost the state major events like the next NBA All-Star game, currently scheduled to be held in Charlotte.”

But the law has supporters as well. WRAL reports that demonstrators stood outside of the State Capitol on Monday “praying and waving signs of support for the governor.”

Governor McCrory hoped that his executive order would appease the law’s opponents, while maintaining the support of the law’s supporters. “Simply put, I have listened to the people of North Carolina, and the people of North Carolina are entitled to both privacy and equality,” McCrory said. “We can and we must achieve both of these goals.”

But despite McCrory’s efforts to assuage the law’s critics, the executive order has received mixed responses.

The Charlotte Chamber of Commerce praised McCrory’s order as one that presents North Carolina as a place “that promote diversity, inclusiveness and equality.” “We applaud the governor’s actions today which demonstrate that North Carolina is an open and welcoming state,” the Charlotte Chamber of Commerce said in a statement. “We strongly encourage the leadership and members of the General Assembly to take quick action to the governor’s call to ensure citizens have the right to pursue claims of discrimination at the state level.” But organizations such as the American Civil Liberties Union claim that the executive order did not go far enough because it left intact the bathroom provision.

“Gov. McCrory’s actions today are a poor effort to save face after his sweeping attacks on the LGBT community, and they fall far short of correcting the damage done when he signed into law the harmful House Bill 2, which stigmatizes and mandates discrimination against gay and transgender people,” Sarah Preston, acting executive director of the ACLU of North Carolina, said in a statement.

The ACLU, along with various other organizations, has filed a lawsuit against North Carolina’s law, claiming it is discrimination. The ACLU stated McCrory’s executive order has no effect on their lawsuit and they will continue to move forward.

And supporters of the bill contend that McCrory’s executive order amounts to nothing more than a “cave-in,” as it adheres to misunderstandings about the law and its intent.

State Representative Tim Moore (R), speaker of the North Carolina House of Representatives, contends that the legislation has “been unfairly reported and maligned by political activists.” “Governor McCrory’s executive order affirms the importance of the actions the General Assembly took in passing the Bathroom Bill to protect North Carolina citizens from extremists’ efforts to undermine civility and normalcy in our everyday lives,” Moore said in a statement.

Meanwhile, the Democratic North Carolina attorney general, Roy Cooper, who is running against McCrory for governor, used McCrory’s executive order for his political advantage. “Governor McCrory’s executive order is a day late and a veto short," Cooper said in a statement. "I’m glad Governor McCrory has finally acknowledged the great damage his legislation has done, but he needs to do much more."

_______________________________________________________

North Carolina Governor Issues Executive Order to Clear Up Confusion About ‘Bathroom Bill’

BY HEATHER CLARK

SEE: http://christiannews.net/2016/04/14/north-carolina-governor-issues-executive-order-to-clear-up-confusion-about-bathroom-bill/;

republished below in full unedited for informational, educational, and research purposes:

RALEIGH, N.C. — The governor of North Carolina issued an executive order on Tuesday to help clear up what he believes is confusion and misinformation about a recently passed state law that annulled a controversial “bathroom bill” in Charlotte and banned other cities from passing similar ordinances.

“I have come to the conclusion that there is a great deal of misinformation, misinterpretation, confusion, a lot of passion and frankly, selective outrage and hypocrisy, especially against the great state of North Carolina,” Gov. Pat McCrory said in a statement. “Based upon this feedback, I am taking action to affirm and improve the state’s commitment to privacy and equality.”

The executive order declares that businesses can enact their own policies surrounding restroom and locker room use, and that businesses and local municipalities can establish their own non-discrimination policies surrounding the employment of homosexual and transgender persons.



McCrory also called for lawmakers to send a bill to his desk that would reinstate the ability to sue for employment discrimination.

“I will immediately seek legislation in the upcoming short session to reinstate the right to sue for discrimination in North Carolina state courts,” he said. “Simply put, I have listened to the people of North Carolina, and the people of North Carolina are entitled to both privacy and equality. We can and we must achieve both of these goals.”

As previously reported, last month, North Carolina lawmakers passed the Public Facilities Privacy and Security Act after the Charlotte City Council voted to expand the city’s non-discrimination ordinance to add provisions for homosexuals and those who identify as the opposite sex—including in regard to restroom and locker room use.

“Public agencies shall require every multiple occupancy bathroom or changing facility to be designated for and only used by persons based on their biological sex,” the legislation reads in part. “Local boards of education shall require every multiple occupancy bathroom or changing facility that is designated for student use to be designated for and used only by students based on their biological sex.”

The Act had been presented after the Charlotte City Council voted 7-4 last month to expand the city’s non-discrimination ordinance to add provisions for homosexuals and those who identify as the opposite sex—including in regard to restroom and locker room use.

McCrory promptly signed the Public Facilities Act into law on the same day of its passage, and later released a fact sheet to clarify what he believed were misunderstandings about the content of the ordinance.

“Businesses are not limited by this bill. Private individuals, companies and universities can adopt new or keep existing nondiscrimination policies,” it read in part. “[I]f a privately-owned sporting facility wants to allow attendees of sporting events to use the restroom of their choice, or install unisex bathrooms, they can. The law neither requires nor prohibits them from doing so.”

“This law simply says people must use the bathroom of the sex listed on their birth certificate. Anyone who has undergone a sex change can change their sex on their birth certificate,” the fact sheet also advised.

Homosexual and transgender advocacy groups state that they are unsatisfied with McCrory’s executive order because it did not revoke the requirement that residents must use the restroom and locker room consistent with their birth gender at schools and public agencies.

“The governor’s action is an insufficient response to a terrible, misguided law that continues to harm LGBT people on a daily basis,” Sarah Warbelow, legal director at the Human Rights Campaign, told the Associate Press. “It’s absurd that he’ll protect people from being fired but will prohibit them from using the employee restroom consistent with their gender identity.”

Others have stood behind the law as a sensible move to protect the privacy and decency of residents.

“It is just common sense that men should not go into the women’s restrooms,” Tami Fitzgerald, the executive director of the North Carolina Values Coalition, told reporters. “It’s ridiculous to have such an uproar.”

McDONALD’S PROMOTING MORAL RELATIVISM & TOLERANCE~OUTRAGE IN TAIWAN

VIDEO OF BOY "COMING OUT" TO HIS FATHER IN MCDONALD'S TAIWAN

SEE: http://www.thechristianmail.com/2016/03/mcdonalds-ad-featuring-son-coming-out-as-gay-blasted-for-polluting-young-minds-by-religious-groups/

BUILDING MONUMENTS TO TOLERANCE 
IN JERUSALEM

McDONALD’S PROMOTING MORAL RELATIVISM & TOLERANCE

BY DAVID CLOUD 

SEE: http://www.wayoflife.org/friday_church_news/17_16.php;

republished below in full unedited for informational, educational, and research purposes:

McDONALD’S PROMOTING MORAL RELATIVISM/TOLERANCE (Friday Church News Notes, April 15, 2016, www.wayoflife.org, fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) - 

McDonald’s has joined the frenzy by major international corporations to promote acceptance of homosexuality. An ad in Taiwan features a boy “coming out” to his father in a McDonald’s restaurant. When the boy writes “I like boys” on a McCafe coffee cup and slides it across the table, the father initially seems upset and walks away, but he quickly returns and writes on his own cup. “I accept that you like boys.” “Music swells and the boy cries tears of joy. The spot closes with the tag, ‘Let there be more warmth in conversation’” (“McDonald’s Ad,” Fox News, Mar. 10, 2016). The fundamental theme is non-judgmentalism, tolerance, and moral relativism, which is a major doctrine of the New Age. Those who resist the doctrine are considered enemies of man’s evolution and of world peace. “Love” and oneness and unity must prevail, while “intolerance” must be rejected. This is a major theme in Israel today as witnessed by the Tolerance Monument in Jerusalem. The sculpture is a broken column with the two halves held together by an olive tree. The explanation says, “Between the branches of the olive tree a new seed is sprouting, a golden grain of tolerance.” It was reported in February of this year that Jerusalem’s Zion Square is being renamed Tolerance Square in memory of Shira Banki, a 16-year-old stabbed to death during the 2015 Gay Pride parade. Jerusalem Mayor Nir Barkat says the redesigned space “will be used as a place of tolerance and meeting, a place that will exemplify the values and beliefs of Banki” (“Zion Square to be memorial,” Times of Israel, Feb. 15, 2016). A new $100 million Museum of Tolerance is also being constructed in Jerusalem. (For more about the New Age emphasis on tolerance see The New Age Tower of Babel, available in print and eBook formats from www.wayoflife.org.)