Four Southeastern Wisconsin public high schools and a public community college are planning to hold their graduations at a church. Brookfield East, Brookfield Central, Mukwonago High School, New Berlin Eisenhower High School and Waukesha Country Technical College are all planning on holding their graduation ceremonies at the Elmbrook Church in Brookfield Wisconsin. This clearly violates the rights of the students at these schools. The Elmbrook Church is a Christian church complete with a large crucifix and plenty of Jesus signs and banners. Public schools that are funded by our tax dollars cannot choose to endorse one religion over another. The Supreme Court has ruled on this several times. School officials have claimed that graduation is not mandatory and that if a family is offended they need not attend. We’re talking about graduation, one of the biggest milestones in a child’s life. “Not to attend” is not an acceptable option! This is so unfair and irresponsible that I implore everyone reading this to please write to these school districts and ask them to reconsider their choice of locations for their graduations. Our children deserve far better than this.
Below is the contact information for all of the school districts.

Elmbrook School District
Superintendent Matt Gibson
13780 Hope St.
Brookfield, WI 53005
Fax: 262-901-0056
Email: matt.gibson@elmbrookschools.org

Mukwonago School District
Superintendent Paul A. Strobel
423 Division St.
Mukwonago, WI 53149
Fax: 262-363-6272
Email: strobpa@mukwonago.k12.wi.us

New Berlin School District
District Administrator Dr. Paul Kreutzer
4333 S. Sunny Slope Rd.
New Berlin, WI 53151
Fax: 262-786-0512
Email: paul.kreutzer@nbexcellence.org

Waukesha County Technical College
President Dr. Barbara Prindiville
800 Main St.
Pewaukee, WI 53072
Fax: 262-691-5593
Email: bprindiville@wctc.edu

Today is the two hundredth anniversary of the birthdays of both Charles Darwin and Abraham Lincoln. Two men who changed the world in very important ways. Both men created sweeping paradigm shifts of values and knowledge that continues to affect us today.

Here in the United States Lincoln is looked at as the epitome of honesty and integrity – the very essence of what being and American is all about. He was the emancipator of an entire race. His words are quoted as much as, if not more, than any other president. However, Lincoln was also a non-Christian deist. In fact, he was more agnostic than anything. It was Lincoln that said,

“The Bible is not my book and Christianity is not my religion. I could never give assent to the long complicated statements of Christian dogma,” and “My earlier views of the unsoundness of the Christian scheme of salvation and the human origin of the scriptures, have become clearer and stronger with advancing years and I see no reason for thinking I shall ever change them.”

Whereas Lincoln was a man of little faith, Darwin actually studied religion at Cambridge to become a priest. He later changed his mind after his trip aboard the Beagle. Darwin gave the world a working mechanism to explain the diversity of life we have on Earth. But he did far more than that. Darwin got rid of the last process that theists could claim as belonging to a god. By explaining how life came to be, Darwin eliminated the need for a god altogether. Darwin’s shift in thinking was one of the most profound in all of history. All of the great deists and agnostics that came before him (including Jefferson, Adams, Paine, Franklin, Ingersoll, and even Lincoln) would have been atheists if they had read Origin of Species. Thomas Paine and Robert Ingersoll, in particular, made some of the most scathing and penetrating attacks on Christianity in all of literature. Yet they could not let go of the idea that there needed to be some type of “creator” for there to be life. Darwin eliminated that need.

We owe both these brave and brilliant men our admiration and gratitude. Happy Birthday!

Today President Obama announced the creation of a new faith-based office at his National Prayer Breakfast. The new office will be called the Office of Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships. Obama claimed that religions, as well as, the non-religious would be represented. It has also been rumored that he met with the Secular Coalition of America this morning too. However the SCA website does not have a favorable take on the news. I’m wondering if he presented his plan and the SCA opposed it. Obama claims that he is not endorsing any specific group or excluding any group either. But to give federal money to any religious organization is dangerous at best. Obama believes that by welcoming all religious groups, and non-religious groups, he is not breaking the First Amendment. Is it just me, or he sliding down a very slippery slope? So far Obama’s actions indicate that he is trying to unite EVERYONE. But some of us do not want to unite with hateful, divisive, prejudiced, uneducated bigots. Religion has no place in government, period! I acknowledge what he is trying to do, but I do not think I will be able to support it.