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HB 2467 - THE REPUBLICANS' ATTEMPT AT FORCING EVERYONE TO PROFESS A BELIEF IN GOD OR FOREGO THE ABILITY TO GRADUATE FROM A PUBLIC SCHOOL.

HB 2467 -  THE REPUBLICANS' ATTEMPT AT FORCING EVERYONE TO PROFESS A BELIEF IN GOD OR FOREGO THE ABILITY TO GRADUATE FROM A PUBLIC SCHOOL.

It seems that every day new laws are proposed to try and favor one party or another, without necessarily any regard for how the law may benefit or not the interested citizen.

Partisanship however rears its ugly head again with a new proposal from the state of Arizona called HB 2467, which would mandate, if approved, that each student enrolled in a public school recite and pledge to a principal of the school they attend the text of the oath prescribed in HB 2467 or forfeit their graduation. The oath's text follows below.

 "I, _________, DO SOLEMNLY SWEAR THAT I WILL SUPPORT AND DEFEND THE CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES AGAINST ALL ENEMIES, FOREIGN AND DOMESTIC, THAT I WILL BEAR TRUE FAITH AND ALLEGIANCE TO THE SAME; THAT I TAKE THIS OBLIGATION FREELY, WITHOUT ANY MENTAL RESERVATION OR PURPOSE OF EVASION; AND THAT I WILL WELL AND FAITHFULLY DISCHARGE THESE DUTIES; SO HELP ME GOD. "

This poses a very significant ethical question.  There are professions where a pledge is required, i.e., being a lawyer or a president.  But this is done to underscore the commitment of the person in such professions to behave in a moral manner.

Public school pupils however do not have a duty to commit to anything and should not, in order to be able to take advantage of the public school system.

What the Republican party is doing, in effect, is to find a way to de-fund education.  Even if this seems to be a circuitous approach, in the end, if the law is rejected, the party could point out that public schools are in a sense an 'atheist loving enterprise' and call for a restriction in funding.

The Republicans have been trying in the past decades to find a way to steer federal and local money to school that are either christian or private, and they seem to have not let go of the fight.

The most important point however, is that the Republicans would be, by passing this legislation, in fact be infringing on the right of the student to obtain a public education, something that is, to date, a compulsory right.

The law, if passed, would also be infringing in that 'sacred' right enshrined in the constitution, to a freedom of religion and religious expression, since the lack of belief in God is in itself a belief.

One of the legislation's co-writer, Representative T.J.Thorpe (R - Arizona), has promised to 're-write' the wording of the oath if it is not passed, so that it would garner a better chance at a vote in the next round.  However, such changes, if made, would not strike the 'requirement' portion of the oath, without the pronouncement of which the student would still be unable to graduate.

Adapted freely from the article of 1.31.13 in Patheos.com forum

BPH News Staff

Peter Vereshcagin - Stone Walls by the river Chusovoy

African Vultures at risk from poisoned carrion.

African vultures have always been known to fly long distances. They do so by taking advantage of their scavenging nature, which allows them to find food in the most disparate places.

This natural advantage however may now be turning against them.  Carrion in developed and agricultural land has now been found to be heavily contaminated.

Researchers have followed six African White-backed vultures for several months through gps collars and have developed a study from the data collected from the collars.

The vultures have been found to have a much wider range than previously thought, traveling up to 120 miles per day, even crossing state borders.  In doing so they have shown a predilection for agricultural lands, since state parks can be challenging due to the presence of their natural predators.

But the carrion in the cultured lands are often full of chemicals either given to the beasts in farming pens, or are contaminated with poison from people who deliberately try to poison predators.  The vultures then become hapless victims of the poisoned trap set for other animals or become victims to the toxicity of medicines used in the raising of farm animals.

Another disturbing trend is the use of carrion set up by tour guides to attract the birds for tourist viewing, according to the co-author of the study, Stephen Willis, of Durham University.

Although this promotes an aberration of the errant behavior of the birds, this gave an idea to the researchers on the possibility of creating vulture 'restaurants' that would lure the birds from more dangerous sites in the future, where they would be exposed to toxins.

The White-backed vulture is now an endangered species in Africa, and numbers are steadily declining, prompting researchers to think of new methods to educate farmers in finding solutions to the problem

BHP News Staff

Source: France 24 1.31.13

Vitamin D: not just a trend. Norse studies point to a discrete link between vitamin D deficiency and the current flu epidemic.

Vitamin D deficiency seems to have become the uberword of the year.  However, it is not just a trend.  Medical research not only has pointed out recently how the deficiency has become a pressing emergency, but how its occurrence has given rise to new medical findings.

One such discovery was made by Norse scientists very recently.  In the Netherlands, the flu epidemic has reached a level not seen in recent years.  Since the winter months are often when a vitamin D deficiency can start, the researchers focused on its possible links with the high incidence of flu cases.

Indeed the researchers found that as the level of vitamin D declines, the numbers of flu cases rises sharply.  More worryingly, the number of deaths are also tied to the vitamin deficiency, pointing to not only a higher risk of contraction, but also to a higher risk of mortality.

Prof. Johan Moan of Oslo university explained just how such decline in vitamin levels occur.  When the sun reaches its nadir, the ability to synthetize vit D drops drastically, and with it the ability for the human body to make use of its protective action.

If such studies are confirmed, they pose a daunting question, since the level of mortality can rise between 20 to 260 times what would be a normal mortality rate.  The university of Oslo furthermore compared their data with flu epidemic reporting in Sweden, Norway, USA, Singapore and Japan, by pegging the mortality rate to the intensity of UV radiation at the time.

BPH News Staff

Source: MNT/ 1.31.13

Zimbabwe's destiny: a decade on, the country is in a financial crisisthat has no equals.

Zimbabwian authorities have reported that after paying their public workers, they then realized that the state's bank coffers had a balance of circa 217 us dollars.

If that seems incredible, it is because it truly is. The same functionary interwieved by Al Jazeera told that some of the public employees had a fatter bank account than the state itself.

The disastrous policy by President Mugabe of mass expropriation has left the country bereft of economic resource ten years on. Inflation reached a peak of 231%, with obviously no relief in sight, although things have improved marginally since then.

This raises the specter of insufficient funds not only for public resources, but also for the much anticipated constitutional referendum, planned for next year.

The same functionary opined that the only solution now is to ask donors for cash, by approaching the international community, since the referendum would cost at least 104,000,000.00.

Strangely, the national budget is 3.8 billion, and the economic growth is higher than most developed nations at this time.

It is therefore obvious that mismanagement of funds is the culprit, coupled with the lack of foreign investment which disappeared after the disastrous expropriation of white-owned farms.

Staff BHP NEWS

source - Al Jazeera/ 1.31.13

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