Denise McCourt of the American Petroleum Institute was on the show today to talk about the need to drill for oil on American soil.
Interior designer Kat Powers joined the show to promote her TV special, "Holiday House of Kat," featuring creative ideas for decorating your home and making gifts during the holidays.
Local organizer Kate Donahue called in to talk about the Gorham schools' decision not to recite the Pledge of Allegiance in the schools.
Finally, activist Pat LaMarche was in the studio to talk about her volunteer efforts as a bell-ringer for the Salvation Army at the Maine Mall.
Ray talks about it all in the audio post below.
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18 comments:
While we are at it ,let's have the Maine flag on display too.
Achtung !children you must recite the pledge every day or we will not
allow you in our schools anymore.
Should the pledge be done before or after the prayer?
Patriotism doe not come out of forcing someone to recite a pledge of allegiance.
Ray if you want you can hang a flag in your kitchen and you and your kids can recite the pledge every morning. ( and maybe at dinner too. better yet go out to your front yard to do it so your neighbors can see you , then they will know you really love America.
As a real American you probably do that already right? or do you want the schools to do that for you along with religious training.
So now the Pledge is equal to religion in your mind?
This is America. These are American schools. You tell me what the harm is teaching a child to respect the flag and to be able to recite the pledge of allegiance?
As we all know, SCOTUS struck down a mandatory obligation to recite the pledge in the Jehovah Witness case back in the sixties, I think.
Do you have something against the American flag? Is there a good reason it should not be flown in the classrooms, as required by Maine law?
Is an American child really harmed by learning the pledge? IF so, how?
If they choose to not say the pledge, they do not have to. They will not be punished for it.
Just exactly what are we teaching our American children when we willfully fail to display the American flag in an American classroom? Are we teaching them that something is wrong with showing respect for a symbol of our nation?
No one said they should have to pray in class. I do not support mandatory prayer in the classroom. I do support the right of child to pray at school as they see fit without punishment.
You did follow the case in another state where the child was punished because they prayed before their meal? They were punished because the school told them they could not pray before their meal and they did anyway.
You don't support such discrimination, do you?
I am sure we agree that no one should be compelled to pray in class, but should a child be punished for doing so?
By the way, I know where you are going to go with this, so let me cut you off at the pass.
I wrote a column in support of Muslim children being given a prayer room at Deering High when they were doing double sessions because of Portland's rennovation work.
I am consistent, to a fault.
"This is America. These are American schools. You tell me what the harm is teaching a child to respect the flag and to be able to recite the pledge of allegiance"
Teach ? That's the problem with you guys. You don't want to teach. You want to mandate.
The problem is you don't teach respect by forcing someone to do something.
Dou you say the pledge every day at home. Come on Ray Do you and your family get up in the morning and hold your hand over your heart and say the pledge before breakfast or dinner or whenever?
Respect starts at home with kids and i suspect you can teach them to be proud to be an American without a forced pledge daily
Well do you?
"Do you have something against the American flag"?
This is what you guys always do.
I think you have something against what the flag stands for.
I have no problem with the flag being flown in classsrooms. It should be flown in all govt buildings, but forcing people to pledge it every day is a different thing.
As I asked Do you do it at home every day with your family. If not, i guess you do not love America ( by your standards)
"I wrote a column in support of Muslim children being given a prayer room at Deering High when they were doing double sessions because of Portland's rennovation work"
Wow Ray wrote a column.!!
Now you are a mind reader.
I did not bring up any other religions. If muslims need to say a prayer they can do it on their own time as well as christians.
Tell me Ray who do you know who has been "punished" for praying in school. And by praying I mean in a non disruptive way. Not asking the teacher to stop everything while I pray. I am sure kids and adults pray all the time at work or school and others around them do not even know it is happening. But for some reason your type needs to announce to the world every time they say a prayer.
Even Jesus said praying shoul;d be a personal thing and true believers do not have to wear it on their sleeve all the time.
I know i am treading on thin ice mentioning the big guy to you, but oh well. Fire away ,let me know that you know the bible front to back.
Bruce,
I am well aware of what the Bible says about prayer. I am personally not a public prayer because of the concern talked about in the Bible where men prayed in public, not for God's glory but for their own.
A child in Tennessee, I believe, was praying before lunch and reading the Bible at his lunch table. He was not disrupting anyone. Other kids were reading comic books.
The teacher told him he could not pray before his meal or read the Bible at the lunch table.
He objected and was punished for it.
He was not dis-respectful and was not trying to "recruit new members," just reading his Bible on his lunch time.
The teacher was afraid that his reading the Bible might upset other children and that is why he was told he could not.
The story made national news a couple of years ago. I am surprised you did not read about it.
I have already said here and this morning that children should not be mandated to say the pledge (on top of that, SCOTUS said they could not be mandated) but offering the pledge each morning, who is harmed by such an action.
By the way, children can stand respectfully with out saying the pledge. It is a good lesson in respect for others.
This is America. In America, we have a pledge of allegiance. No one is forced to say it, but it should be offered.
The pledge means something. It teaches children something about our nation.
I realize that in American schools, if we can't teach about Jim Crow, slavery, how Reagan caused AIDS and so on, then we are now allowed to teach about America, but this is still a great country, a place to be proud of, even if we have an imperfect history.
Again, why are children harmed by being offered the chance to say the pledge together each day, without mandating anyone saying it?
"A child in Tennessee, I believe, was praying before lunch and reading the Bible at his lunch table. He was not disrupting anyone. Other kids were reading comic books."
Yes I heard and read about this incident. I believe the teacher was wrong, but you and i are only seeing what the press reported, so we can not really make an intelligent judgement on this particular incident
I asked if you knew anyone who was punished or prohibited from such activity.not if you had heard a news story from some other state.
Anyway i was shocked this morning. I turned to your show on the tube at the beginning before i switched to Morning Joe and I was expecting to see you and Ted start your show off with the pledge of allegiance. Not to be I guess.
What a great opportunity you have to spread the respect for the flag and our country. Each day you could ask your listeners and viewers to join in with you.
I guess you only want school children to do this, not adults.
So to answer my previous question. Do you recite it at home with your family? or do you "offer" it at least each day/
BTW
It was Maryland 2006 and the school was sued by a civil rights group.
A happy ending.
According to No child left behind, bible reading outside of class instructional time as well as praying is allowed.
"seventh-
grader Amber Mangum was
approached by a Dwight D.
Eisenhower Middle School
employee while reading a Bible
in the school cafeteria during her
lunch period. Despite the
school’s policy stating otherwise, the
school employee informed Amber that
her reading of the Bible was in violation
of the school’s policy and warned her
that she would face disciplinary action
should she be caught reading the Bible
at school again. In filing a First
Amendment lawsuit against the school
district, TRI attorneys pointed out that
according to the U.S. Department of
Education’s 2003 guidelines under the
No Child Left Behind Act, students
have the right to read Bibles or any
other religious scripture during noninstructional
time."
As you mentioned this morning. The truth is elusive and noone knows what it is any more.
If someone read your version of this story and believed it. they would have a different picture of the outcome of the event.
keep pushing for the "truth" ray
i know you have a chance of finding it soem day
Bruce,
What I said was the way it occured. I was completely factual. You had to follow the case as it occured, not read some account after the fact.
Unlike many, I do not simply accept what the drive-by media says. When I think something does not make sense, I call and ask.
Bet you never heard of the Lexington Mass case either.
You did not like it because I could point out a specific situation.
The child was reading their Bible at lunch. They were told not to and the child was punished for it.
The lawyers got involved and the child was proven correct in its actions.
Too bad you simply cannot accept things the way they really are, instead of the "we ain't gonna be oppressed by da man" stuff.
No, we do not say the pledge everyday at home.
You have still refused to answer my question. I know why. There is no answer you can give that resides in common sense.
How is a child harmed by being offered the ability to say the pledge of allegiance in class each day, not compelled to, but offered the chance each morning before school starts?
Since you are against this idea, do you think they should ban it at Council meetings? Most start with the pledge?
How is a child harmed by being offered the ability to say the pledge of allegiance in class each day, not compelled to, but offered the chance each morning before school starts?
I suppose you never heard the phrase peer pressure
Teacher. Ok children everyone can say the pledge today with me, only if they want to. Johnny you don't want to how come? It's ok kids Johnny is not like the rest of us. he is entitled to his opinions though so don't bug him about it ok?
If a teacher kept offering your child the opportunity to do the same thing day after day and it was something you didn't want the child to do, wouldn't you ask the teacher to desist and stop putting pressure on the child in front of all his or her peers?
Ray , why don't you say it at home?
Do you have something against our
American Flag I always figured you for the type of parent who would not want the schools to usurp your reponsibility.
Ray said
Too bad you simply cannot accept things the way they really are, instead of the "we ain't gonna be oppressed by da man" stuff.
Are you referring to something racial here with "da man "language, You certainly are not quoting me. This year it sems you are making a lot of comments like that. Being from away I guess it is hard to get away from it.
So tomorrow you have another chance to start your show with the pledge. Unless you have something against our American flag.Who knows, could be a ratings bonanza for you.
"Since you are against this idea, do you think they should ban it at Council meetings? Most start with the pledge?"
As you can guess I decline the opportunity. Had one this morning at a county commissioners meeting.
And when I chair planning board meetings I do not ask my fellow members to do that. I know that they are all Americans and do not have to show me.
But I am not a young kid who worries about what his fellow classmates think.
I find it hard to believe that you cannot see that. But on the other hand I should not be surprised.
There is nothing wrong with asking the children to stand and say the pledge. If they decline, it is a good opportunity to teach about mutual respect and simply stand out of respect for others.
If a child does not say the pledge, the other kids would not even know.
If a child chose not to stand up, then that would be obvious, but that is a teaching moment. The child would not be compelled to say the pledge but the child should be taught that they should respect the beliefs of others.
The "da man" is not a racial thing. I am not a racist.
I wonder about you though. You assume that people from down south all think the same and believe the same stuff.
I realize in the liberal world, lock-step thinking is not only acceptable, but demanded, but us conservatives, we like to think for ourselves. Of course, that is why we continue to lose elections, but that is another story.
The "da man" reference was about fighting the man, not about race.
I guess when you look for evil intent in everything, it is not hard for you to believe you found.
Must be an awful way to live though, always believing the worst about your fellow man.
Here, try my way. I believe the best about everybody until they give me a reason not to. Consequently, I have a happy life.
You might like that approach ... but then again, maybe not.
"If a child does not say the pledge, the other kids would not even know."
Sure Ray
I have no problem with and even believe that our flag should be flown at govt owned buildings, as our state flag should be flown at state and municiple buildings
Ijust don't believe that standing up and reciting the pledge should be a part of the school day in any organized way.
I also believe that making the flag into articles of clothing trivializes the importance of the symbol that it is. The should be a law against that if they pass a law against desecration too.
You also said
If a child chose not to stand up, then that would be obvious, but that is a teaching moment. The child would not be compelled to say the pledge but the child should be taught that they should respect the beliefs of others.
So a child must stand because someone else wants to say the pledge.
I guess he would have to bow his head while others pray, if that were the case too. Not that it is.
"Da man" is not a phrase i hear much in Maine. The man" yes
I have never heard my friends in Kentucky use that phrase.
What was it Nixon said "I am not..
This is not about the south or north . I am sure not all people in the South think the way you do about many things.
You let us know how you think every day.
I missed the show opening this morning. Did you lead Ted in the pledge?
Ray, I have a happpy life too and I look for the best in everyone but you keep coming up with things that make me think otherwise about you.
But hey "You da man"
BTW
I did not mention the "South" in my remarks about your "da man " comment. i said "from away". which you are and as I said that comment is not one I hear much in maine.
Don't try to drag the good people of our southern states down with you and your ideas.
As I tell my children, it is not important what others think about you. It is only important what you think about yourself.
In my opinion, you look for the worst in people. That is based on what you have written about me here. Maybe that is not the case, but you seem to apply ill motives to my comments, never seeing the humor.
Maybe I am wrong. Maybe you are just especially sensitive about things, especially in tune with the sensitivities of others.
The truth is, it is not important what you think about me or what you believe I believe.
It is only important that I know what I believe.
I have always assumed most people feel that way about themselves. Unfortunately, I am learning that is not the case. Many, far too many, place their self-esteem in the hands of others.
So you can think I am a racist all you want. You can even tell others, I am okay with that.
I know that I am not and that is all that really matters.
By the way, "da man" is a sports thing. I realize following sports is probably a pursuit beneath your intellect, but for us regular folks, sports is an outlet and "You da man" is a sports phrase.
Happy Hollidays
Depends on what you call a "sport"
I have never heard that in skiing.
Why are you trying to pass off opressed by da man as a sports thing? You did say opressed right?
I especially like the way you say "Yes we can" every day. I know you mean it from your warm heart.
You also said
"So you can think I am a racist all you want. You can even tell others, I am okay with that".
Actually your name does not come up much. I just enjoy sparring with you on your blogosphere here.
Looking back over your blog you will find that you have defended yourself before and not from me
"By the way, "da man" is a sports thing. I realize following sports is probably a pursuit beneath your intellect, but for us regular folks, sports is an outlet and "You da man" is a sports phrase."
Ray
Amazing these lines you come up with.
You must be a true sports man or is that a sports fan? There are those that participate in some sports and those that watch a lot of ball from the couch. I would guess you for the latter.
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