Banned in the USA

The force-feeding of Al Gore into the youth may be a done deal in Scotland. But there is still one place where they can take our lives, but they can't take our freedom (to not see "An Inconvenient Truth"). That would be the ironically named Federal Way, Washington.

The movie - An Inconvenient Truth - will not be shown in Federal Way schools until further notice, the school board decided last week.

Due to several inquiries from concerned parents, the board opted to prevent the film being shown at schools until further review. At least one middle school had to cancel a viewing scheduled for last week.

The concern, said school board vice president Dave Larson, was that the film offered no opposing viewpoints. Some of the views expressed in the film regarding global warming are controversial, Larson said.

The extreme views expressed in "An Inconvenient Truth" aren't necessarily banned from the classroom, but it is important to also teach opposing viewpoints, Larson said. In fact, extreme views and their opposition are encouraged in classrooms, as they often inspire thought among students, he said. "It's the marketplace of ideas that make our country great," he said.

Hard to argue with that. Keeping a rabid political partisan's advocacy movie out of the public schools seems like common sense. I'm sure they can find something to spend that time on instead. Maybe something that would actually contribute to improving basic competencies, test scores, graduation rates?

But so far this little school district in Washington is the only one known to have taken this eminently reasonable stance. And such insubordination will not be tolerated. The pressure on the schools to show this movie, as science, is immense, as shown by such experts as comedian Larry David's wife:

The film's co-producer, self-described "global warming activist" Laurie David, did not hide her vexation over the decision. "I am shocked that a school district would come to this decision. There is no opposing view to science which is fact, and the facts are clear that global warming is here, now," she said from Los Angeles.

You will be assimilated, resistance is futile!

Thankfully, a Scotland-like systematic indoctrination was narrowly averted, right here in the USA, at least for now:

In December, the National Science Teachers Association declined Mrs. David's offer to distribute the film for free to 50,000 classrooms; she responded with a Washington Post op-ed accusing the organization of taking donations from Exxon Mobil Corp., Shell and the American Petroleum Institute. "It's bad enough when a company tries to peddle junk science to a bunch of grown-ups. But, like a tobacco company using cartoons to peddle cigarettes, Exxon Mobil is going after our kids, too," Mrs. David wrote.

Who's peddling the cartoon camel here? The ones creating a slick Hollywood production and trying to smuggle it in the backdoor of the schools or the people opposing it?

And it's not like the children won't have a chance to see this movie if they're not forced to at school. Even in Federal Way, WA, when one branch of the government uses common sense restraint, there's another branch of the government ready to rush in and fill the breach:

The Federal Way Regional Library will host a free public screening of the movie "An Inconvenient Truth" from 6 to 8 p.m. Jan. 21 at 34200 First Way S.

For at least trying to do the right thing, I hope the folks in Washington state haven't made themselves a target. Ominously, I see Al Gore has recrossed the Atlantic and is headed due West, right at little Federal Way. From last night, in a neighboring state:

Boise, Idaho -- A sold-out crowd filled the Taco Bell Arena Monday night to hear former Vice President Al Gore speak about global warming.

He says confronting the threat of global warming is a moral issue, not a political one, and that we need to all work together to protect our environment.

Al Gore appearing at Taco Bell Arena. It invokes the same kind of excitement and reverence as Walter Mondale speaking at Cheez Whiz Field. Or Josh Grobin in concert at Dunkin' Donuts Center.

OK, that last one is actually happening.