It seems that like in many of our court cases justice move snail pace slow.
Also, the original lawsuit filed by the parents of the anonymous student which precipitated much of this outlandish, frivolous and insulting assault on Mr. Freshwater constitutional and first amendment rights of freedom of religion and freedom of expression is proceeding through the courts. So is Mr. Freshwater’s own countersuit against the anonymous complainants working its way through the court system. Those court cases could drag on a long time.
See my previous articles if you would like to become more informed about this most interesting and important case.
MOUNT VERNON, Ohio -- The Mount Vernon teacher who was accused of bringing the Bible into the classroom has filed a counterclaim to a pending lawsuit, NBC 4 reported.
John Freshwater claimed emotional distress, lost time from work and anxiety in his lawsuit. Plus, he wanted this case to be heard before a jury.
Accused of bringing the Bible to class, making inappropriate statements to students and causing physical injury to one student, the school will decide in October whether Freshwater will lose his job.
Here's where the case stood Friday:
Freshwater's counterclaim stated he's endured emotional distress, lost time from work and anxiety.
He also wants the federal case to be heard before a jury.
He faces a termination hearing scheduled for October 1st.
Stay tuned to NBC 4 and refresh nbc4i.com for more information on this developing story.
Fire Him For The Right Reasons
ReplyDeleteJohn Freshwater should remove the bible from his desk or he should be fired as incompetent and recalcitrant.
He claims removing the bible from his desk would "infringe upon his deeply held personal religious beliefs granted by god." However, to keep it there is an affront to clear thinking, rational persons everywhere.
Some reasons are:
1. It is an endorsement of a religion by a governmental entity which is a violation of the establishment clause of the first amendment of the U.S. constitution.
2. It is exclusionary and offensive to people of different faiths but especially people of no religious faith.
3. The bible has no place in a public school except maybe as a topic in a literature, social studies or comparative religions class.
4. By sitting on a teacher’s desk it is an inappropriate and tacit endorsement of a religion by not just a government agency but him as an authority figure.
5. It promotes a supernatural, magical worldview. It is a book of not much more than mythic storytelling with stories of:
a. Wizards and witches (Exodus 22:18 and Deuteronomy 18:11)
b. Demons and devils (Matthew 5:13)
c. Dragons (Deuteronomy 32:33, Jeremiah 51:37)
d. Unicorns (Isaiah 34:7, Psalms 22:21 and Numbers 23:22)
e. Half man, half goat "party animals" known as Satyrs (Isaiah 34:14)
Any teacher who cannot or will not understand the points above should not be teaching the public. A religious based school would be a great place for him to teach, but not a government funded institution. Freedom loving, free thinking people everywhere are counting on the administration of our public schools to do the right thing.
Thank You,
E
To Ed:
ReplyDeleteSince you repeated your comment, I'll repeat mine.
1. The first amendment only says that CONGRESS can make no law respecting the ESTABLISHMENT of religion. This only applies to congress, not a school or a school teacher. Having a Bible on one’s desk does not establish a religion.
2. I agree that it is “exclusionary and offensive” to some people, but there is no such thing as the right not to be offended. I do, however, agree that it is not right to use taxpayer’s money to promote a certain religious point of view. But when evolution and fornication education are taught in schools, this is “exclusionary and offensive” to true Christians and it promotes a belief that is contrary to what true Christians believe. It is just as wrong to force Christians to pay taxes to promote these beliefs. So what is the fair thing to do? If you take out everything that might offend someone, you are left with almost nothing but a very inefficient system. What not get the government out of education completely and let people decide for themselves how they want to educate their children? Leaving things up to the free market increases efficiency because competition is not stifled by a government monopoly.
5. There are people who call themselves wizards and witches even today. I believe by faith that demons are real. If you disagree, please provide scientific proof, if that is the basis for your objection. Dragons are the same thing as dinosaurs. There are animals that look like unicorns (but they have no wings and two horns). The Bible does not say how many horns it had and such an animal would look like a unicorn if viewed from side. The Bible does not say that a Satyr is a “half-man, half-goat”. The meaning of the Hebrew word is uncertain, used only twice in the Bible, and probably describes an ordinary goat in Isaiah 34:14 and it is an object of worship (devils) in Leviticus 17:7. In the latter case, this may be some sort of false (imaginary) god.
And I will repeat mine-
ReplyDeleteIT IS NOT OK for a student to attend a public school and come home with a burn mark on their arm!
Then to find out that a teacher has done things the state has said he shouldn't. ( 10 commandments, not following FCA rules and regulations etc)Then to find out that even thought he admitted those things earlier, now he is saying none of it happened.
THAT action is against my religion.