??????s

How many million words were printed to convey the tragic events of the
Nickel Mines school shooting? Was there one tiny reference to whether
the police handled things appropriately?
The two definitive naratives that emerged were the heroism of the
police and the forgiveness from the Amish. Both were portrayed as
beyound reproach. I believe the Amish and the non-Amish would be well
served by taking a second look and asking some hard questions. One
question the Amish need to answer is, since the police were willing to
risk their lives for them, is there anything important enough that is
worth putting our lives on the line for? If there is nothing, then the
Amish have become a ward of the State.
Nothing could be more detrimental to the authenticity of their faith.
Easy

Good Bye Cruel World

Harvey Yoder, the author of "The Happening", gave me a verbal
confirmation this morning that his portrayal of a "pounding on the
door, something heavy was being used, then the shooting started." was
accurate. He even went further than that in stating that, "the police
were breaking in, when the shooting started". The State Police
Commisioner Jeffery Miller has publicly denied this version of events.
So who is right? Does any one even care? I can't fathom that this
event wasn't horrendously mis-handled by the police. But when the
Amish are involved it just fucking doesn't matter. Create what ever
God damned reality you want, everyones a hero.
Easy

Glitterati

Amish protest state crackdown on midwife

Why are the Amish constantly asking for an exemption for one thing or another? The only way for the Amish to maintain there "separate and apart" status is if they remain inconspicuous. Showing up at the State Capital by the hundreds to petition for special privileges doesn't cut it.

Here they showed up to support a child molester. Like a friend of mine would say "real fucking cool, real fucking cool".

Here, their taxi drivers are running afoul of the law. You would think they would be a little more sensitive about our laws, considering how legalistic they are.

Here, they want to dump their sewage on their fields in spite of being asked not to. What can I say? Where the hell is their public relations guy?

Here, they're in an ongoing public relations debacle over building codes. My understanding of the situation is that they could very easily attain what they want by applying for a variance at the state level. If they want to be different, let them be different, but have them achieve it the way any one else would. If outside groups succeed in creating a privileged status for them, there's going to be hell to pay and the sonsofbitches that made it happen aren't going to be around when that debt is paid.

Oh, and just in case you thought it's not going to get worse

In terms of being a public relations disaster, none of the above have the perfect storm qualities of this. Check out the comments here, here, here, and here

AUNT TILLIE ROCKS

Found here

Unadulterated Amish expression is hard to come by. Enjoy!

Hmmmmmm

The Thursday presentation included a timeline of the Nickel Mines event, as
well as information regarding emergency medical response, criminal
investigation, handling the media, community concerns and lessons learned. The
workshop was developed for a law enforcement audience, and attendance was
restricted to include law enforcement officers and school administrators
only.

Lessons learned?

Restricted audience?

Are we being a bit cautious about where and when we'll talk about about this?

Hi de ho hi de hum

What's one more exemption?

Critics say Amish religious rights violated by upstate NY town

maybe

found here

Can the Amish be libertarians?

On the surface, my beliefs are obviously different than theirs. However,
after reading about the Amish, I know that we both understand that relying on
government is a dangerous and spiritually undermining way to live. In fact, I
might even call the Amish libertarians.

I'll have to think about this one. Mostly because it could be a useful comparison.