Ouch. Two readers took me to task yesterday for a post I put up last Friday not buying into the Chicken Little global warming scare:
Come on Mario, you’re not really dumb enough to believe that global warming means that every day will be warm do you? This is the stupidest meme that the GOP ever came up with. The day-to-day weather effect of global warming is a higher incidence in extreme weather and climate scientists have never claimed otherwise.
I think this display of scientific ignorance is made all the more alarming that he is home schooling.
As I understand it most of the home schooling crowd is doing so specifically to keep their kids from being exposed to scientific theories they don’t agree with.
They sure do crank out spelling bee champions(who have no social skills whatsoever)though!
Ok, first let me say that I believe that the world has been getting progressively warmer since the last Ice Age, and it has nothing to do with carbon footprints of SUVs. Nor will the implementation of a new fee (read:tax) system by 11 Western States in the form of an ill conceived cap and trade system save polar bears in Alaska.
Now, that I got that off my chest I can deal with the hurtful part of the posts. Namely, attacking my parenting abilities – low blow folks. There’s a lot that I’ve gotten wrong in this life so far, but I think that’s what department in which I’m doing okay.
But, this is not all bad. There is some humor to be found in these attacks. First, let me set the record straight on two counts. My own kids are not home schooled in the truest sense of the word. My youngest attends Family School and my oldest will start going there next year for Middle School. Surprise, surprise, Family School is an APS Charter school. The second thing is that I don’t credit for meeting the parental committment to this education partnership. That credit belongs to my wife.
Now, with that cleared up, let me state that’s not what actually has me grinning. No, I’ve saved that for last. You see the problem with personally attacking me is that you run risk of looking like a total fool. Criticize my positions. That’s fair game. Actually, it’s encouraged. However, ad hominem attacks just make you look foolish.
For example… the comments were left as a response to the fact that my kids and several of their home schooling friends (some truly home schooled) went up to Santa Fe to serve as legislative pages for the day. But, as luck would have it, it was the second time this legislative session that my older son, a fifth grader at San Antonito Elementary (an APS school), had reason to go up to the Roundhouse.
His first trip, a couple of weeks earlier was for a rather special occasion. Wait for it…. See, every fifth grader in the school was invited to come up to the Legislature. Wait, it’s coming…. They were invited up to be honored. Are you ready?… Honored for the fact that as fourth graders the year before, they scored the highest in state on the standardized science tests.
Now, don’t you feel foolish?