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

Santa Cruz Sentinel ^ | June 23, 2003 | ROBYN MOORMEISTER

[TankerKC]

By ROBYN MOORMEISTER

Sentinel staff writer

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."

Contact Robyn Moormeister at rmoormeister@santa-cruz.com

[TomB]

Her initial position on Medved was that no war since WWII has been just. Her justification for saying this was circular.

Actually, WWII was very far from being just in the "Just War" concept. One of the basic tenets it violated was that unconditional surrender was the only stated outcome for the allies. You must be willing to negotiate terms to qualify for a just war.

I think the first Gulf War was a good example of a just war.

[optimistically_conservative]

A sample of her work:

[TomGuy]

Technical Contact, Zone Contact:
Register.Com
Domain Registrar
575 8th Avenue - 11th Floor
New York, NY 10018

Why is the domain name registrar in New York rather than in California.

---

Register.com, located in NY, is the service used to register this particular domain name. Register.com may also be hosting the website. Entrepeneurship.

[TomGuy]

Reminds me of Pelosi: We could have found a cheaper way to pull down that statue.

[They don't have a clue about the world.]

[cyncooper]

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

Seems the kid's get it..

And I'm willing to bet the students DID offer "facts or reasons to back up their statements".

[cyncooper]

As long as she doesn't pollute her class room, she should be free to do this.

Well, according to this story, she created the cards to aid in her classroom instruction, as she sees it.

As others have pointed out, it's a private school, but we are certainly free to mock her and point out the fallibility of her position.

[optimistically_conservative]

Great analogy! I used to get very frustrated when libs said and did things that were antithetical to a safe and successful America.

Of course, it seems that the ramifications of their anti-American positions have been bourne out to a significant majority of citizens since 2001 - and now consistently work against them.

At this point, I encourage such stupidity so it can be disseminated, discussed and held up as why RATs pose a threat to our society.

Now, it would be helpful if Pubs would act more conservatively in matters such as fiscal and immigration policy.

[Jeff Gordon]

Why is the domain name registrar in New York rather than in California.

That is the "technical contact." The technical contact goes to the people who host her web site. In this case, that is ipowerweb.netb(which is a very low cost IPP (Internet Presence Provider)).

[freekitty]

I didn't know this teacher had a lock on the truth.

[Radix]

You are posting private information out here?

You might have just posted the e-mail. I think that that is abominable. You may not care for her opinions or methods, but posting that info is over the top in my opinion. I understand that anyone can get it, but you had to post it. Outrageous.

How would you like your personal information posted out here for any lunatic to find?

[Ragtime Cowgirl]

Our best and brightest are not at Harvard
Jewish World Review ^ | May 30, 2003 | Jack Kelly

"The college professors and students at prestigious universities who protested the war in Iraq imagine themselves to be America's best and brightest. They're not. America's best are those who are wearing the uniform of their country. We should be as proud of them as we are grateful to them. - Jack Kelly"

Silent No Longer: Iraqi People Reveal the Past
American Forces Press Service ^ | June 26, 2003 | Linda D. Kozaryn

Tales of Saddam's Brutality
[lengthy, graphic, White House websight]

[TomGuy]

You are posting private information out here?

It is public information. Anyone who registers a website is required to give personal information (name, address, etc.). Once one signs up for a website, that information becomes public.

All you have to do is run that, or any other website, through whois.com and you will see who owns that domain name.

[Also, try typing your OWN name into a major searching engine. You might be surprised how much of YOUR OWN personal information is available on the web.]

I understand that anyone can get it, but you had to post it. Outrageous.

Sorry if you don't like it. That's life. The information is not private.

[BenLurkin]

She is not patriotic, in my opinion.

[Radix]

Well, I do not think much of this woman or her opinions. She does have the "right" to hold them. If she is set on indoctrinating her students with her BS then that issue should be addressed by the Administrators of her school.

As to the matter of something not being private.

Are you contending that because our privacy is constantly being violated and ignored by the Government and big Businesses that it is therefore OK for everyone to just ignore the privacy of others?

Personally, I would not have publicly posted information of a personal nature (such as home address and phone number) no matter how much I disagreed with someone on an issue.

I suppose that you might think that it is OK to be the very last person to do the Right thing. On the other hand we may just disagree. I will assume that that is the case.

We disagree.

[concerned about politics]

Liberals go insane when out of power. Time to push them all over the edge. Donate big to the Republican party - just for fun.

[gaspar]

The Jesuits would be proud of this broad, and the way things are going in the Church they might soon give her entree.

By the way, wasn't it Bellarmine who delivered the letter of church condemnation to Galileo?

[concerned about politics]

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.

But their real origin is the Marxist handbook, of course.

[concerned about politics]

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

Well....DUH! There should already be a vacancy by now! Those cards from the Bush Administration are for dead or alive ! This kook is advocating assination of our own leaders, and could be trying to get the students brainwashed enough to do it.

[Mark17]

an ethics teacher

An ethics teacher? Isn't that the quintessential oxymoron?

[MaxPlus305]

Well....DUH! There should already be a vacancy by now! Those cards from the Bush Administration are for dead or alive ! This kook is advocating assination of our own leaders, and could be trying to get the students brainwashed enough to do it.

Just like those Hillary cards are advocating her assassination? Calm down just a bit...