Another week, another batshit insane piece of legislation here in Kansasland. State Senator Mary Pilcher-Cook (of Shawnee, my childhood home and where my parents still live) has proposed a bill that will pretty much destroy sex ed, art, and literature in Kansas schools. Found two articles giving two different perspectives on the bill. http://cjonline.com/news/state/2014-02-18/senate-bill-targets-k-12-sex-education-materials http://www.hutchnews.com/opinion/editorials/article_163f7519-eff3-5fd4-a92e-ef6c12958179.html Essentially, if a teacher exposes students to "harmful" or "obscene" material, s/he can no longer use educational value as an excuse. Parents can sue over Huck Finn or an image of Michelangelo's David or a picture of genitalia in a sex ed class, and schools/teachers can't do anything about it. A lot of this is stemming from an incident a couple of months ago at my old middle school, Hocker Grove (7th and 8th grade, so 12-14-year-old kids). As part of the pre-packaged sex ed materials the school uses, there was a poster listing various ways people show affection for one another. Google "Hocker Grove poster" and have a few yucks. Another factor in the "outrage" comes from a controversial statue in the Overland Park Arboretum. This statue, by Chinese artist Yu Chang and titled "Accept or Reject," depicts a headless, disjointed woman, breasts hanging out of her shirt, taking a selfie. A group supporting Pilcher-Cook's bill are also lobbying to have this statue removed because it's "obscene" and apparently supports sexting. I'll admit that I was uncomfortable when I first saw the statue, but it's sort of the whole point, showing the disconnect and identity issues that come with today's "selfie" culture. If parents knew anything about how art worked, they could explain this to their children, but Kansas would rather strip art from the curriculum and just complain about boobies corrupting the poor children. Less thinking involved that way. As an addendum, to further highlight Pilcher-Cook's awfulness, she also proposed a bill to criminalize surrogate parenting.
She is one of the rightest and nuttiest of all of the right-wing nut jobs in the Kansas Senate. I used to play in a band with her husband so I'm acquainted with MP-C. Truly an terrible person.
Editing my original comment - oral and anal sex mentioned as options for kids practicing abstinence. I can see how parents might object. Junior high school too. I mean I don't care but in this case I get it.
I've known plenty of cons with wives who seemed to have a clue, but not the other way around. What kind of band was it, and how were you able to stand it? Skinhead? Country? Metal? Parrothead kinda stuff?
What's funny (or not) is that one of those isn't any better at preventing the spread of disease than normal sex. Of course, both alt options are pregnancy-free, but IMO STDs aren't the biggest concern- teen pregnancy is. And for that to slow, a lot of students have to be convinced (and able) to walk a thin line between not letting it happen to them and shaming their parent(s), because "it" is very likely the way they themsevles came to be.
60's and 70's covers. The music we grew up with. Bunch of geezers we are. Wifey wasn't in the band, thank god. She was too busy "governing".
My high school sex-ed teacher told us masturbation was fun. But that was high school, and it was California. Plus he was gay.
You know, sometimes people accuse you of being a pointy headed ivory tower academic who's out of touch with the real world. Posts like this make me think that maybe they've got a point.
I've just never met someone who's had an opinion on Styx. Good, bad, otherwise...they're just a band out there.
To be fair to Brummie, or to pile on, depending on your POV... I knew a guy, a professor of philosophy, Ph.D. from the University of Chicago, who claimed to have never heard a song by The Eagles.
Ha yes. As you might know, the kid is a UChicago double major, in Psych and Philosophy. He says the former look and act like normal kids. The latter, well even at Chicago you can pick them out. Odd birds those.
Lying Eyes Take It Easy One Of These Nights Good stuff. As big '70s pop bands go, though, give me Fleetwood Mac. Great stuff that.
Meh. That horrific acoustic version of Hotel California has the creakiest, most arthritic Spanish guitar solo its ever been my misfortune to see frat boys cry over. Ive seen better fingers on 16" softball first basemen. Try Little Feat.