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Maine Dept. of Education refutes claims made by Robin Wirthlin

by: Gerald Weinand

Wed Sep 23, 2009 at 13:40:54 PM EDT

In a fundraising email that accompanied the release of the new ad from Stand for Marriage Maine (S4MM), the group leading the people's veto, Marc Mutty points to this video in which the Wirthlin's expand on their views:

This video was also used by opponents of equal marriage in California.

In it, Robin Wirthlin says:

Lexington Public Schools has come out with a new curriculum where they will teach about homosexuality and gay marriage in every topic: in math, in reading, in social studies, in spelling. There will be terms and concepts of homosexuality promoted in every subject, at every level - from Kindergarten on up.
Parents will have no right to object, and schools will roll this forth whether they like it or not.

I contacted the Maine Department of Education for a comment regarding this, and Communications Director David Connerty-Marin, sent this reply:

I cannot comment on Massachusetts education law or decisions made by local school districts in Massachusetts. Here in Maine, our Learning Results standards and education regulations make no reference to the teaching of marriage in any way. So a change in Maine's laws or definition of marriage places no requirements on local districts regarding whether or how they teach about marriage. Such curriculum decisions are strictly local. Before or after passage of the gay marriage law a district could choose to teach about marriage or not, and to teach about it in any way it deemed appropriate. It simply is not governed by state education law.

Connerty-Marin goes on to add, "The ad is entirely misleading."

Indeed.

Gerald Weinand :: Maine Dept. of Education refutes claims made by Robin Wirthlin

Tags: Same-sex Marriage, LD 1020, NO on 1/Protect Equality, Stand for Marriage Maine, Frank Schubert, Prop 8, Rob and Robin Wirthlin, (All Tags)

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Maine Dept. of Education refutes claims made by Robin Wirthlin | 5 comments

Way to go, Gerald! (0.00 / 0)

It's 5:45 p.m. Wed. A few minutes ago, Channel 13 ran a piece about that ad. They ran the ad (edited, of course), then ran a statement -- no film, just text and voice-over -- from Jesse Connolly. The same old "she said, he said" that passes for "balanced" journalism these days.

Now I'd already read this post. So I was aghast, livid, and filled with loathing that these professional "journalists" were too lazy and/or incompetent to do what some blogger from Rockland did -- i.e., call someone who might be able to address the issue from a knowledgeable and truly impartial standpoint.

Now it's about 6:15. While I was writing the last graf, the wife called. "Story about that ad on channel 8," he/she said. I went downstairs and it was the same thing, this time with film of Marc Mutty and Connolly going back and forth. A lot of heat with absolutely no light. And no attempt whatsoever to determine whether there is any objective Truth to be found.

Every day I become more impressed by and enamored of DB. Your throw a lot of stuff up here -- it's hard to keep up. (One reason that I've never been a fan of Kos is that, although I agree with most of what is posted, it's just too overwhelming to try to keep up.)

But items like this -- that is, that of all the so-called "media" you seem to be the only one to attempt to dig into the truth of the Wirthlin ad rather than grab for a predictable response from one of the usual suspects -- has made this a "must check daily" site for me.

(Love the music videos too.)

Keep the faith, Gerald, and keep spreading it gently.

by: chickpea @ Wed Sep 23, 2009 at 17:27:43 PM CDT

by: you @ soon

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I second that.... n/t (0.00 / 0)

When asked what he thought of western civilization, Gandhi replied, "I think it would be a good idea."

by: KayStreet @ Wed Sep 23, 2009 at 19:14:13 PM CDT

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by: you @ soon

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Susan Sharon has this excellent (0.00 / 0)

piece on MPBN this evening, critics question yes on one ad claims. In just under four mintues she packs in an amazing amount of information, in a way that is a narrative - easy to follow and understand.

Except for the very rare expose, local television just isn't goig to provide such an in depth piece.

But we can help it gain more exposure: email it to friends, post if on your facebook page, tweet about it, etc.

by: Gerald Weinand @ Wed Sep 23, 2009 at 19:33:57 PM CDT

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by: you @ soon

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MPBN had this at noon, also (0.00 / 0)

I think it was a shorter piece, but had the essential information. I'm going to watch Channel 13 at 11:00 and email them if they don't present more factual info.

Gerald, your headline for this story is a bit garbled (although you get an "A" for content)!

by: marisol @ Wed Sep 23, 2009 at 21:43:07 PM CDT

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