‘Operation: Hidden Agenda’ an ethics teacher’s answer to U.S. military deck of Iraq’s most wanted

Santa Cruz Sentinel ^ | 6/23/03 | ROBYN MOORMEISTER

[freebilly]

This high school teacher doesn’t think the U.S. government is playing with a full deck.

So she’s printed up her own decks in an effort to prove it.

Available locally, the ‘‘Operation: Hidden Agenda" playing cards are Kathy Eder’s answer to the U.S. military’s distribution of its most wanted list card collection — the Bush administration’s unique and portable list of 55 wanted former Iraqi government officials.

Eder’s cards are a little different than George W.’s.

There are pictures of U.S. government officials, like the four of spades featuring Central Command Commander in Chief Tommy Franks, and quotes such as the one under his picture: "We don’t do body counts."

A grinning President George W. Bush graces the Ace of Spades card, accompanied by the caption "Dictator of the World."

Then there’s Eder’s favorite: the Ace of Clubs, or "Donald goes to Baghdad."

It’s a picture of U.S. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld and a synopsis of his 1983 trip to Baghdad as a special envoy to meet with Saddam Hussein and promote the contraction of a U.S.-sponsored pipeline:

"(The meeting) occurred the same day that the United States team confirmed that Saddam gassed Iranian troops," reads the card.

The back of every card shows Rumsfeld shaking Saddam’s hand during that visit.

Eder, who teaches the class ‘‘Morality and Social Justice’’ at Bellarmine, an all-boys Catholic high school in San Jose, says the idea for the cards came to her when her students insisted the war in Iraq was justified, but they couldn’t offer facts or reasons to back up their statements.

"This war was totally wrong and totally about greed," she said. "We were told lies the whole time."

The cards are a lesson in truth, she said.

"It became clear to me that I needed to do what I have always encouraged my students to do," Eder said, "use my life to try and make a difference in the lives of others."

She gathered information for her cards from The New York Times, the BBC, Mother Jones magazine, iraqbodycount.net, the San Jose Mercury News, the Washington Post and several other international news organizations and publications. Her sources are all cited on the cards.

The pictures are all courtesy of the U.S. Department of Defense Web site.

She said her cards reflect the teachings of Catholicism, that "no war is justified."

Former Santa Cruz County Supervisor and outspoken conservative Marilyn Liddicoat is not amused.

"This is very unpatriotic," Liddicoat said. "I think it is very hostile to America to do this."

Liddicoat, also a former chair on the Santa Cruz County Board of Education, said she thinks Eder should be fired for brainwashing students.

"When I served on the board 20 years ago I could see how kids were being brainwashed by very liberal teachers," Liddicoat said.

Eder’s cards and opinions, she said, have the potential to inspire acts of terrorism.

But Eder — who borrowed $8,000 from her credit card for 3,000 decks of cards — said she was simply called upon by God to tell "the truth," as she sees it.

Eder, who said she doesn’t fear losing her job, said her students don’t know about the cards because school has let out for the summer.

She is marketing the cards on her Web site, www.operationhiddenagenda.com, and they are on sale at Bookshop Santa Cruz.

Half of the proceeds from the cards, which sell for $9.95 per deck, will support veterans suffering from Desert Storm Syndrome, a medical condition suffered by Gulf War veterans characterized by headache, fatigue, fever, bleeding gums and skin rashes.

"I keep hearing that we should be supporting the troops," Eder said. "For me, this support also includes the troops who fought in Desert Storm."

[freebilly]

The cards are a lesson in truth, she said

Puke....

[A Simple Soldier]

"She said her cards reflect the teachings of Catholicism, that "no war is justified."

I am no theocratic scholar or particular expert on the cathecism, but this is a patently false interpretation of Catholic dogma.

[freebilly]

What do you expect from a teacher of ethics in Santa Cruz? That's usually a position reserved for a hooker, a transgendered pot farmer, or a Green Party activist named Mothlight who specialty is sitting in a redwood tree to protest corporate greed, blood for oil, meat-eating, and bathing....

[Angelus Errare]

She apparently missed that whole section of the Catechism entitled "Just War." Along with the sections on human sexuality, euthanasia, abortion, and other prevalent social issues no doubt.

[Russian Sage]

Try putting abortionists on those cards and see what happens to you...

[freebilly]

"I teach Ethics;
therefore, I don't need any."

[freebilly]

Try putting abortionists on those cards and see what happens to you...

Sigh..., when will you learn that Ethics has nothing to do with Morality....

[okie01]

...the idea for the cards came to her when her students insisted the war in Iraq was justified, but they couldn’t offer facts or reasons to back up their statements.

So, the ethics teacher responds with...

"This war was totally wrong and totally about greed," she said. "We were told lies the whole time."

In effect, the teacher of a course entitled "Morality and Social Justice" gets in bed with the Saddam Hussein regime solely because of her political hatred for George W. Bush!

There is, indeed, a lesson here...

[freebilly]

...the idea for the cards came to her when her students insisted the war in Iraq was justified, but they couldn’t offer facts or reasons to back up their statements. "This war was totally wrong and totally about greed," she said. "We were told lies the whole time."

She doesn't offer any facts or reasons to back up her statements. I'm amazed that she's was overlooked by Bill Clinton as a appointee for some horse@ss political position.

Plus, she's ugly enough to have been one of BJ's girlfriends, too....

[okie01]

Plus, she's ugly enough to have been one of BJ's girlfriends, too....

Ugly. And stupid. Not a winning combination...

[DeepDish]

"She gathered information for her cards from The New York Times, the BBC, Mother Jones magazine, iraqbodycount.net, the San Jose Mercury News, the Washington Post..."

She knows that everything on her cards is the truth. Jayson Blair and Howell
Raines told her it was the truth. How could any thinking American believe
otherwise.

I don't know who to feel sorry for, the kids in her classes or the
parents who bust their humps to pay for the tuition only to find they're paying
for what is free in the public school system.

[freebilly]

"She gathered information for her cards from The New York Times, the BBC, Mother Jones magazine, iraqbodycount.net, the San Jose Mercury News, the Washington Post..."

I'm surprised she didn't mention Al Jazeera....

[Jacob Kell]

Someoen should tell her about Charles Martel. if it wasn't for him, the dummy would probably be speaking Arabic and worshipping Allah. Want to bet that she really doesn't know squat about the Bible or Catholic belief?

[CyberAnt]

Time to start calling the School Board and complaining.

[manda1623]

But in the view of my own life, I am wise to fight for the life I find most pleasant."

Well, really to anyone who doesn't understand that what makes this country so great is that exact ability to disagree with those in power. If this teacher thinks that we've been lied to and speaks out against the majority of US citizens who have been convinced into patriotism, why should she be ridiculed for practicing a classic American trait--dissention?
It doesn't matter really whether or not you agree with someone else's viewpoint, as long as you realize that if you want to have your own viewpoint, you've got to let them have THEIRS.
Once we punish and ostracize someone for expressing an opinion, no matter how unpopular, part of our own rights go down the toilet too.
That should be a mature opinion for ANYONE to have.

[Desdemona]

ping

[Lockbar]

"But Eder — who borrowed $8,000 from her credit card for 3,000 decks of cards — said she was simply called upon by God to tell "the truth," as she sees it."

She is a moron, and god has nothing to do with any of this. Fly her to Iraq and bury her alive in a mass grave with thousands of blind-folded skeletons.

[CholeraJoe]

She said her cards reflect the teachings of Catholicism, that "no war is justified."

Cortez and Pizarro were Catholic. Oh I'm sorry, that wasn't war. It was Genocide against natives in the Americas.

[nickcarraway]

Already posted here: ‘Operation: Hidden Agenda’ an ethics teacher’s answer to U.S. military deck of Iraq’s most wanted

This teacher was on KSFO's David Gold show this weekend. A Freeper called in, and David recommended she tell her students to check ouy Free Republic.

[nickcarraway]

Bellarmine is not in Santa Cruz. It's in San Jose.