Up North Progressive
Politics and commentary for Northern MichiganCanadian Limestone Producer Moving Forward Buying 10,000 Acres of Upper Peninsula Public Land
Sunday , 8, February 2015 DNR, Environment 19 Comments
The Michigan Department of Natural Resources announced yesterday they received a revised land purchase proposal from Canadian mining company Graymont Incorporated. The company wants to purchase more than 10,000 acres of public land in the Upper Peninsula to mine limestone in three locations. The proposal has only one change from the original one submitted – a raise in the amount of money paid to the state for each ton of limestone. The land being considered for sale is in Mackinac county near the town of Rexton.
The new offer of payment per ton is 30 cents. The original amount offered in their January 2015 proposal was 18.75 cents per ton. The mining company has also offered to set up an economic development fund for the local community to provide funds for schools, governments, and small business. Another proposal from Graymont under consideration would exchange land from the parcel Graymont wants to purchase with land from the Hiawatha National Forest. The entire operation would impact Chippewa, Luce and Mackinac counties.
The issue that has many people concerned is the 10,000 acres being considered is state forest land that doesn’t fall under any of the criteria the DNR set for selling public land, according to the Michigan Sierra Club. The 10,000 parcel is forest land with wetlands, trailways, and full of wildlife. The British Columbia-based company wants to utilize both open pit and underground mines in what is essentially premium forest land in Northern Michigan.
Another problem with the proposal is the Canadian company has given no numbers on how many jobs the quarry could potentially produce for the region, despite promises there would be good-paying, long-term jobs.
On January 15, six DNR division heads urged Keith Creagh, Director of the agency to reject Gravemont’s proposal. State Senator Tom Casperson of Escanaba has been supporting Graymont in their interest to buy the land. Casperson believes the state owns too much land and needs to sell it to private business.
Director Creagh will be holding a meeting on the proposals on February 12, but he won’t make a final decision on the proposals until March 19. The public has until then to voice their opinions on this sale, and voice concerns about the destruction of pristine state and federal-owned forest land in the Upper Peninsula. You can write to Keith Creagh by email at DNRGraymontProposalComments@michigan.gov or mail a comment to Customer Service Center, ATTN: Kerry Wieber, 8717 N. Roscommon Road, Roscommon, MI 48653. All comments will be accepted until March 19, when the final decision will be made. Please take the time to write or email the Michigan DNR and urge them not to allow this land deal to go through. We don’t need open pit mines destroying our forests and wetlands in Northern Michigan.
Michigan’s Winter Free Fishing Weekend Begins On St. Valentine’s Day
Saturday , 7, February 2015 DNR, Environment Leave a comment
The Michigan Department of Natural Resources holds two free fishing events during the year. The winter fishing event is next weekend and begins on Valentine’s Day – February 14 – and goes through Sunday, February 15.
Taking your sweetheart fishing in February may not be everyone’s idea of a romantic date, but it does offer the opportunity to spend time with family, friends, and maybe even a special someone as you take part in one of the things that makes Michigan great.
Fishing events are scheduled throughout the state. There will be fishing contests, fund raisers, festivals, or just a place open for fishermen to warm up inside before heading back outside for more fishing fun. Many of the events are based on the theme of introducing someone new to fishing. Children especially have less opportunities to fish than in the past. Next weekend is a great opportunity to give kids the chance to get outside and go fishing, and it’s free for everyone.
State fishing regulations still apply during the free fishing weekend. Free fishing applies for inland waters and the Great Lakes, all species of fish are allowed to be caught, and people from out of state can enjoy the free fishing weekend too.
If nothing else, you will be remembered for taking someone out on one of the most unusual Valentine’s Day dates ever.
Sherman Township’s NIMBY Wind Power Ordinance: We’d Rather Curse The Darkness
Saturday , 7, February 2015 Community, Environment 2 Comments
On February 3, 2014 the Sherman Township Planning Commission once again tabled a vote on a windmill ordinance drafted specifically to keep any wind turbine developers out of the township. Despite the required dimensions and distance between turbines being enough to lock out any company looking to buy the rights to put up wind turbines on land in Sherman Township, some people are still not satisfied it’s enough, and want to make sure not one wind turbine will ever be seen in the Osceola County township.
Victoria Brehm and Harvey Langworthy of Tustin represent a group called Save Our Sherman. Brehm owns LadySlipper Publishing. Langworthy appears to have a claim on land that is involved with oil and gas drilling near Kalkaska. The group is determined to keep wind power out of their township. They were at the Tuesday night meeting, as they have been at every township meeting where wind turbines are on the meeting agenda, demanding not enough is being done with the ordinance to keep all wind turbines out. Save Our Sherman has a website full of links claiming there are health risks to living near wind turbines including wind turbine syndrome, headaches, lack of sleep and even livestock and wildlife dying just from being near them. The list of health risks are long, from the shadows cast over people’s homes to the vibrations affecting embryos in the womb. Declining wildlife populations, children can’t read – everything that can go wrong will go wrong if wind turbines are allowed in the township. There are also dramatic pictures of windmill turbines on fire, and a wall of shame page with addresses and phone numbers of planning commission and township board members they don’t like because they’re not doing enough to keep wind turbines out of Sherman Township.
A clue to what Save Our Sherman thinks would be a viable alternative to wind power for electricity can be found on their editorial page:
The $2.5 billion Michigan taxpayers have spent bringing wind energy to Michigan, frequently in places where the majority of residents don’t want it, could have built enough gas-fired generators to shut down half of Michigan’s dirtiest coal-fired utilities. Instead, we haven’t closed one because of wind turbines.
Renewable energy such as wind isn’t the answer to burning fossil fuels, the answer is burning even more fossil fuels. Mr. Langworthy’s oil and gas interest in Kalkaska doesn’t seem so out of place now, does it?
Save Our Sherman’s website contains many links purporting to be evidence proving there are too many health risks involved to allow wind turbines. Unfortunately, many of the links have nothing to do with wind turbines and health, and instead talk about general health issues instead. Has any research been done by reputable, qualified organizations that can shed some light on the health risks of wind turbines? Studies have been conducted by experts with the Massachusetts Department of Public Health, MIT, and the Chief Medical Officer of Health of Ontario, which published the following conclusion:
The following are the main conclusions of the review and consultation on the health impacts of wind turbines:
- While some people living near wind turbines report symptoms such as dizziness, headaches, and sleep disturbance, the scientific evidence available to date does not demonstrate a direct causal link between wind turbine noise and adverse health effects.
- The sound level from wind turbines at common residential setbacks is not sufficient to cause hearing impairment or other direct adverse health effects. However, some people might find it annoying. It has been suggested that annoyance may be a reaction to the characteristic “swishing” or fluctuating nature of wind turbine sound rather than to the intensity of sound.
- Low frequency sound and infrasound from current generation upwind model turbines are well below the pressure sound levels at which known health effects occur. Further, there is no scientific evidence to date that vibration from low frequency wind turbine noise causes adverse health effects.
- Community engagement at the outset of planning for wind turbines is important and may alleviate health concerns about wind farms.
- Concerns about fairness and equity may also influence attitudes towards wind farms and allegations about effects on health. These factors deserve greater attention in future developments.
How loud is it? Michigan Radio’s November 23rd, 2013 broadcast provides good information. They interviewed residents of Gratiot County, where a large wind farm was installed. The sound from the turbines about a quarter of a mile away is low, and for the people who live there it’s become background noise that can only be heard outside the house. Standing directly under the turbine is the only way to really hear what they sound like when they’re working. The people who agreed to allow the turbines on their property are paid for the use of their land.
Michigan must close several high-polluting coal-fired power plants by 2016 to be in compliance with the 2008 Clean, Renewable & Efficient Energy Act. Not only does coal pollute our state, it’s also economically irresponsible for Michigan to spend money to haul coal here from other parts of the country. Renewable energy sources such as wind and solar are viable alternatives that don’t fill our air with carbon emissions and contribute to global warming. Where Michiganians are going to get their electricity from in the next few years needs to be taken into consideration.
Governor Scott Walker Backpedals On Gutting The “Wisconsin Idea”
Wednesday , 4, February 2015 Presidential Primary 2016 2 Comments
In his bid to cut $300 million from the University of Wisconsin’s budget, Scott Walker also attempted to change the mission statement of the university. The mission statement, known as the “Wisconsin Idea” has been a cornerstone of the University since 1904 and defines the entire purpose of receiving an education at UW.
The mission of this system is to develop human resources; to discover and disseminate knowledge; to extend knowledge and its application beyond the boundaries of its campuses; and finally, to serve and stimulate society by developing in students heightened intellectual, cultural, and humane sensitivities, scientific, professional, and technological expertise, and a sense of value and purpose. Inherent in this mission are methods of instruction, research, extended education, and public service designed to educate people and improve the human condition. Basic to every purpose of the system is the search for truth.
The University of Wisconsin has always taught students that the education they receive is not only for the betterment of the individual, but for the betterment of the state through applying that education into doing the most good for the most people. The Wisconsin Idea was adopted and implemented at UW at a time when progressive ideals were spreading across the nation. It is still the foundation of the university today.
Scott Walker, or someone else working for the governor decided to edit the mission statement of UW, removing every part that related to the Wisconsin Idea. The new revised mission system statement read:
The mission of the system is to develop human resources to meet the state’s workforce needs, to discover and disseminate knowledge, and to develop in students heightened intellectual, cultural, and humane sensitivities, scientific, professional and technological expertise, and a sense of purpose.
University officials were quick to denounce the changes. Ray Cross, president of the University of Wisconsin said that the Wisconsin Idea was written into the DNA of the university. Chancellor Rebecca Blank assured the university that the Wisconsin Idea would always remain a permanent philosophy of UW.
The public reaction was enough for the governor to tweet in the late afternoon that the changes to the missions statement were a “drafting error” and the Wisconsin Idea would remain a part of the University’s mission statement. Whether it was intentional for Scott Walker to remove the progressive philosophy of the university and change it from an institution promoting public service to a job training school was really a drafting error, the final stricken sentence of the statement is a testament to Scott Walker’s time as governor: Basic to every purpose of the system is the search for truth.
Until Tuesday Author Luis Carlos Montalvan Will Be In Remus On Monday, February 9
Wednesday , 4, February 2015 Community Leave a commentNew York Times Bestseller Luis Carlos Montalvan, author of Until Tuesday will be at the Wheatland Township Hall in Remus on Monday, February 9, 2015. The event is free to the public. Copies of his book will be available for sale and signing. The event begins at 6 o’clock p.m.
Montalvan is a retired army captain who served in Iraq. While there he was injured on duty and returned home to recover. Tuesday, his service dog, helped with his therapy and became more than a dog who worked for Montalvan, but a close friend.
The opportunity to meet an author always offers personal insight into a book and makes reading it even more memorable. Come out to meet the author, have your copy of his book autographed and support the Wheatland Township Library.
On Friday, January 30, Baldwin Public Schools notified parents that a student at the elementary school showed symptoms of measles. The student has been tested and results should be known this week. A rise in preventable diseases has appeared in Northern Michigan since last autumn.
Measles appeared in Leelanau county late last autumn, but the few cases were isolated and no new cases appeared. The possible case in Lake County is an isolated case so far. Measles has the nation concerned after an outbreak occurred at Disneyland. The disease spread to other parts of the country and has health department officials working to stop the outbreaks before they become widespread.
Whooping cough has been in Northern Michigan since last autumn when an outbreak in Grand Traverse County forced for-profit charter school Grand Traverse Academy to close for an entire week. Whooping cough so far has spread out from Grand Traverse as far as Mecosta County, where one case of the disease appeared in Brookside Elementary School in Big Rapids.
The outbreak in preventable diseases in the United States fueled the debate recently over immunizations for children. Diseases that no one has seen in 50 years are back, largely due to the current anti-immunization movement. People believe that vaccinations are causing autism, a notion that has been disproved, yet still persists with the anti-vaccination movement. Politicians looking to for face time with cable news have been making statements about whether parents should vaccinate their children or not.
Chris Christie and Rand Paul have both publicly stated that parents should have the choice whether to vaccinate their children, and in Rand Paul’s case, believes that vaccinations can cause mental disorders. It’s important to remember that Rand Paul’s opthalmology license came from a licensing board that was made up of himself, his wife, and his father in law.
The problem we’re facing now in the United States is there are enough people who believe vaccinating their kids is harmful despite the evidence proving the opposite, that they are more afraid of protecting their children from getting sick over an unproven rumor of mental illness. Viruses that are 100% preventable are spreading, and the children who are not vaccinated get sick first. Nearly 20% of Grand Traverse Academy’s student body have immunization waivers in their records. The children without immunizations put everyone else at risk of catching the disease, and it spreads.
The people now insisting vaccinations are bad were the same people only months ago in a terror that Ebola was going to trigger the zombie apocalypse. Ebola was never a threat, but diseases like whooping cough and measles are potentially life threatening. This is why vaccinations were developed for these diseases, and those vaccinations successfully keep us safe – but it only works when everyone is vaccinated. It is the responsibility of every parent to keep their children safe, but it also important to ensure the safety of society. Fortunately, in Michigan, the rules for waiving immunizations for children before entering school was changed, making it much harder for negligent parents to put their children and everyone else in their community at risk. It’s irresponsible and unconscionable that measles and whooping cough are diseases we have to worry about again.
Scottville Planning Commission Needs Commissioners
Monday , 2, February 2015 Community Leave a comment
The Scottville Planning Commission has not had meetings recently due to needing to fill two openings. Without the two members, they are unable to form a quorum. The planning commission meets at least monthly to make decisions over land use in the city.
One of the openings on the commission must be a resident of the City of Scottville. If you live in Scottville and are interested in serving on the commission, call (231) 757-4729 and talk to Amy Williams, the City Manager. You may also email Amy Williams at citymanager@cityofscottville.org
Groups Urging A No Vote On The May 5 Tax Increase Are All Over The Political Map
Monday , 2, February 2015 Community, Nerd Problems 3 Comments
In a matter of weeks Michigan will have the opportunity to vote on a sales tax hike, the first one the state has faced in twenty years. Governor Snyder proposed this tax hike from 6% to 7% as a way to fix Michigan’s post-apocalyptic infrastructure, and pretend to put more money back into public schools. Like the use tax ballot proposal Michiganians voted on and passed last August, the amendment will trigger a slew of other bills waiting for the people of Michigan to change the state constitution so they can be passed and signed by the state legislature and governor. This is the first clue that the people of Michigan need to pay attention.
A group of Republicans late last week launched a group to fight against the May 5 vote. The Coalition Against Higher Taxes and Special Interest Deals will work to inform the public that a NO vote is the right choice to make on the ballot proposal in May. The main issue they have is the proposal will allow an increase to the Earned Income Credit, a tax credit Snyder cut in 2011 with a host of other tax credits middle class and working families lost. Faith and Freedom Coalition member and former congressional district candidate Paul Mitchell is one of the leaders of this group.
Another group urging voters to say no to the sales tax increase is Protect Michigan Taxpayers. This group is led by Keith Allard of the Grand Rapids Taxpayers Association, and has affiliation with tea party groups in West Michigan. Americans For Prosperity, the Koch Brothers funded front group for the tea party will also likely campaign against it.
The Green Party has also come out against the May 5 ballot proposal, citing that the changes to the state constitution this ballot measure will make seems to have the purpose of of blurring the definition of what types of education the new school funds can be used to fund. Something that would not require an expansion if the revenues from the new tax were meant to fund education as it is currently stated.
So far, the only people who seem in favor of the tax hike are CEOs and friends of Snyder. School Superintendents also believe the tax hike will fix the issue of school funding. Michigan Citizens For Better Roads and Schools is one group taking up the mantle of being in favor of the sales take increase.
What this all means is that instead of doing what the people of Michigan pay them to do, the state government in Lansing kicked the can down the road and decided it was easier for the voters in Michigan to do their job for them. If people are dismayed by the turnout for November, the May 5 vote will likely be even more of a disappointment.
Deranged Michigan Woman Spews Hate-Filled Vitriol At Lawful Religious Rally In Texas
Friday , 30, January 2015 Community, Tea Party, Tealiban Leave a commentChristine Weick of Jenison has made a career out of traveling all over the country screaming bigotry and hatred at people who have never done a thing to her – Islam, LGBT, energy drinks – all are equally worthy of her kvetching the truth at them whether they want to listen to her diatribe or not.
Weick is infamous for disrupting a service at the National Cathedral last November because they dared allow Muslims to pray there. She spent Mother’s Day last May standing on a street corner in Grandville holding a gay-bashing sign. The local news station showed up to interview her just in time to film a woman throwing a slushie at her.
What happened in Texas on January 29 was more of the same. She’s really proud of herself for yanking the microphone out of a woman’s hand and screeching about how the ‘Lord Jesus Christ died for you!’ and being first to speak so God was invoked there before Allah. Christianity and Islam share origins, but you can’t convince a frothing at the mouth rabid radical fanatic Christian of anything. In her own words, she describes what happened in Texas yesterday.
Coming back from two Muslim conferences in Garland and Houston, Texas, I learned about yet another event planned only a week and a half later in Austin, the Capitol. I felt like Texas was another target in the sight of the Muslim agenda. After meeting many fellow Christian believers and Patriots I quickly signed on to the event in Austin. I teamed up with my new friend Liz and headed to the Capitol.
The Muslims were beginning to arrive, by the busload. They had planned to bus in as many as would attend, from all over Texas. We were obviously outnumbered and that alone made a statement for the news media who were also gathering to record the event. Our group of “standers” probably numbered about 50. The Muslims bragged they had hundreds.
I stood with my sign in the area designated for us with the other “standers”. I really had no intention of speaking at all when I arrived. But when I had seen the podium and open microphone… well maybe I would!
Someone near me agreed to hold my sign and I walked past the officers and went towards the Capitol steps and ‘mingled in’. I removed my cap that said “Israel” in colorful letters – it just wouldn’t blend very well, obviously.The media was setting up the cameras facing the podium and the steps. My friend Liz found me and I told her what I planned to do. I asked her to tell the group to pray for me and also gave her my keys to my SUV. I instructed her to take care of my vehicle in case I was arrested. Then I prayed.
A woman began her speech and commented on how wonderful it was for the SEVENTH annual event for Muslim Capitol Day. She mentioned her affiliation with CAIR, and that alone should anger every American! That’s when I approached the podium.
I grabbed the mic with both hands. And said, “I proclaim the name of the Lord Jesus Christ over the Capitol of Texas! I stand against Islam and the false prophet Mohammad! Islam will never dominate the United States and by the grace of God it will not dominate Texas!” Two Muslims tried to remove me, but I held on to the mic tightly – I nearly toppled over the podium! I intended to finish what I started to say.
The small group that I left holding their signs, erupted in cheers! They were not silent anymore! They continued to heckle the speakers at everything that was said by them. I was allowed to join them after my speech, no arrest, no problems at all with security. I actually think the officers enjoyed the American spirit coming from a passionate small group of ‘standers’.
The irony I find in all of this is that the Capitol would not offer a podium or microphone to the Muslims, so they provided their own. Well, I honored my Lord Jesus Christ by using their own equipment!
We made a difference! The Lord was honored first! Allah was knocked off his block! Praise God!
Rise up Christians. Rise up Americans. Rise up for GOD and COUNTRY!
And to really send it home, they honored the Lord even more by standing there screaming at the assembled Muslims who went on with their program, ignoring the screeching fanatics who were heckling the group and trying to deny them their first amendment rights.
So why is this woman appearing all over the country talking about Satan in energy drinks and assaulting people trying to pray? What other reason could there be than she’s selling a book. Explain This! is 188 pages of incoherent, typo-ridden rambling about the Book of Revelation. 41 reviews of the book so far describe it as, “poor grasp of the scripture” and “naive” and “terrible writing and terrible message!” and “born again bigot” and “seriously?” With a two star rating it’s not hard to imagine why people ask if the book was written as part of an elaborate joke.
Christine Weick sadly takes herself seriously. Just today, in the wake of her national exposure for assaulting a woman attempting to pray she threw down the gauntlet to Franklin Graham, demanding he take over a Mosque and lead a Christian prayer in it. As much as she vents about Muslims being fair to Christians, I have yet to see any Muslims protesting Christians holding public prayer events, Muslims breaking into a private Christian service trying to disrupt it, or Muslims screaming “Jesus is dead” or “Jesus is a false god” at Christians minding their own business. Christine Weick gives Christianity a bad name. Look out Westboro Baptist Church, you have some competition in a one-woman freak show. Perhaps the Up North Progressive could offer a verse for you to meditate upon between Hate-O-Thon events: Ephesians 4:32
The Hypocrisy of Hillsdale College’s Charter School Model
Wednesday , 28, January 2015 Section 16, Tea Party 56 Comments
There is good news for the students and parents of Brighton Public Schools and the taxpayers of Michigan. The Brighton Public School Board voted not to charter Pasquale Battaglia’s American Classical Academy on January 26. This is after many people voiced their objection to a charter school opening in their community that would take students and money away from the public schools and hands it to the for-profit charter school’s management company. Another issue was Battaglia’s blatant racism, religious bigotry, and tea party rhetoric plastered all over social media. The level of vitriol aimed at the President of the United States and First Lady, anyone who practiced a religion other than fundamentalist Christianity, and his intensity toward people of color were shocking and spoke loudly of someone unfit to educate children. Another obvious problem with the Lindbom Classical Academy was the possibility it would be a religious school illegally funded with taxpayer money. It indeed appeared on Twitter that was the intention of Battaglia all along. As the day drew closer for the Brighton Public Schools Board to make their final decision, the rhetoric changed.
On January 24, 2015, Pasquale “Pat” Battaglia argued on Twitter that his charter school in Brighton wouldn’t be religious.
@Jeanabella @THERKTMAN @LeMarquand EXACTLY! As a “PUBLIC SCHOOL” Lindbom Classical Academy would abide by the laws of the State of MI.
— Pasquale Battaglia (@BattagliaPat) January 24, 2015
Two days later, the Livingston Daily Press & Argus published an opinion column written by Battaglia’s partner, Richard Streetman, claiming that the charter school he and Battaglia wanted to open wouldn’t be religious because that’s against state and federal law. Richard Streetman is right; it is against the law to use public taxpayer funds to pay for a school that teaches religion. In the article, he writes:
Those of us on the development team share the goal of the Charter School Initiative of Hillsdale College “to train the minds and improve the hearts of young people through a rigorous, classical education in the liberal arts and sciences, with instruction in the principles of moral character and civic virtue.”
Streetman quotes the mission statement of Hillsdale Academy. Sounds pretty good; liberal arts and sciences, moral character, and civic virtue. It seems odd that a school that preaches about not taking any federal or state money to run their institution would be helping charter schools open because they take national and state revenues to operate. Is Streetman telling the truth that Lindbom Classical Academy wouldn’t have run as a private Christian school like Hillsdale Academy?
The best way to find out is to go to the source. Hillsdale College offers the Barney Charter School Initiative as an “outreach project” to open charter schools based on the Hillsdale College model. In their introduction, they state:
To advance the founding of classical charter schools, Hillsdale College works with school founding groups of parents and local citizens who care deeply about education, who plan to apply for a charter, and who are interested in an association with Hillsdale. As a relationship forms with a group, Hillsdale will assist in creating and implementing the school’s academic program. Drawing upon the experience of our College’s faculty members who have led classical schools, and an education department uniquely devoted to classical liberal arts learning, these new schools will promote a liberal and civic education in America’s public schools.
So yes, these are supposed to be charter schools teaching classical education per the Hillsdale College model, and this model is used at Hillsdale Academy. Hillsdale Academy is a K-12 private school on the Hillsdale College campus. Per the college’s strict rule of not taking any federal or state revenues to operate their school, it is private, and parents pay tuition for their children to attend. Private schools offering religious education as part of their curriculum are legal. The issue here is the college is working to spread this model to charter schools. The following section gives more detail about the educational philosophy of Hillsdale College and Academy and the charter schools Hillsdale College wants to assist with opening nationwide:
To understand the purpose and direction of our work with charter schools, we must first revisit the mission of Hillsdale College. Since 1844, our mission has been “to furnish all persons who wish, irrespective of nationality, color, or sex, a literary and scientific education” outstanding among American colleges, “and to combine with this such moral and social instruction as will best develop the minds and improve the hearts of its pupils. The College considers itself a trustee of modern man’s intellectual and spiritual inheritance from the Judeo-Christian faith and Greco-Roman culture, a heritage finding its clearest expression in the American experiment of self-government under law. By training the young in the liberal arts, Hillsdale College prepares students to become leaders worthy of that legacy.”
This mission has led us to consider how we can lead in the effort to recover our public schools from the tide of a hundred years of progressivism that has corrupted our nation’s original faithfulness to the previous 24 centuries of teaching the young the liberal arts in the West. The public school is arguably among the most important battlegrounds in our war to reclaim our country from forces that have drawn so many away from first principles. Almost 90 percent of our nation’s youth attend public schools, and there is no question that public education across America is in trouble. To abandon the majority of our children to bad education is unconscionable.
Hillsdale College’s mission is to save America from its terrible, progressive, secular education system that isn’t teaching children proper Judeo-Christian values. This charter school initiative is beginning to sound a lot less secular.
Hillsdale College wants to make it so easy for people to start their Christian classical academy. They even provide reference guides that outline their K-12 school model, what sources are used for the curriculum (Including the Bible), and even describe how to start the school day. Once a week, the school holds a weekly prayer and sermon.
The College Chaplain attends the opening ceremony and offers a nondenominational
prayer, followed by a short reading from the Bible. Either he or the headmaster then offers a sermon or
leads a brief discussion that elicits a significant point from the shared passage. These sessions promote the spiritual development of the students within the faith traditions of our Judeo-Christian heritage.
Prayers are also given at lunchtime when both staff and students eat together. In addition, there is a section explicitly describing religious instruction that is part of the Hillsdale model.
Hillsdale College’s Judeo-Christian tradition broadly guides the course of study and instruction at Hillsdale Academy. The Academy offers instruction based upon traditional, nondenominational biblical beliefs, principles and virtues that seek to develop those qualities of life characteristic of man’s understanding of his relationship to his Creator and his place in the world. A weekly service conducted by the College Chaplain and the headmaster addresses the spiritual needs of the Academy’s students through Scripture, a homily, prayer and song. Parents are encouraged to participate in these services.
Hillsdale Academy is a Christian school. Unfortunately for Pasquale Battaglia and Richard Streetman, to open a school following Hillsdale College’s model is a violation of state and federal law. They’re not the only ones trying and failing to open one of these schools in Michigan. In Traverse City, Jane Rodda Breederland wants to open a Hillsdale College charter school this year. Like her Livingston County counterparts, she’s just as clueless about education and as free about expressing her narrow-minded views online.
If Battaglia and Streetman want to open Lindbom Classical Academy as a private school and charge tuition so they can teach the same bigotry and racism to impressionable young children that Battaglia espouses on social media, let them do it. The taxpayers of Michigan should not have to pay for it, and Hillsdale College has an agenda to undermine public education in this country. Michigan and other states need to look at this college and whether their initiative to open for-profit charter schools puts them within the purview of violating their policy of never touching the state’s dirty public money.