The Howell Public School Board of Education snubbed rightwing extremism by appointing a board member who has been openly critical of the anti-gay hate group known as the “Love” PAC - (Livingston Organization for Values in Education).
The board chose Dean Miller to fill the vacancy left by the resignation of long-time board member Jeanne Clum. According to the Livingston County Daily Press & Argus, Miller posted on various local blogs, especially the one operated by the newspaper and board member and LOVE member Wendy Day, using the screen name Puppet Watcher. He was also critical of Vicki Fyke, the leader of the hate group and the former advisor of the Livingston County Teen Age Republicans.
Miller was appointed over nine other applicants using a point system, including LOVE candidate Bill Harvey, who was rejected by voters in the school board election in May.
The “LOVE” group sprang up in the spring of 2005 in response to a diversity flag they mistakenly claimed was a gay pride flag. The group really made national headlines and brought negative attention to Livingston County last year when it launched an ill-fated attempt to ban from the Howell High School curriculum the books “The Freedom Writers Diary: How a Teacher and 150 Teens Used Writing to Change Themselves and the World Around Them,” Nobel Prize winning author Toni Morrison's first novel, "The Bluest Eye," and an acclaimed memoir written by Richard Wright in 1945, "Black Boy, " as well as the classic Kurt Vonnegut novel "Slaughterhouse Five.”
The fiasco even caused the FBI to investigate briefly before the backlash forced the group to go underground.
Miller said he will stop posting online, but he is more than welcome to post here under any name he chooses to use. It has not stopped Day from posting on her blog; although it is mostly just posting entire newspaper articles that reflect negatively on public school teachers.
Miller has also been clear in telling people he will fight the “Love” agenda, and as the last election proved, the community feels the same way.
"What it means," Miller explained, "is (cancer) gets into any system and it starts to eat it from the inside. That's what (Day) is doing. She's the LOVE member that got on the board. ... She's eating the system from the inside because she's trying to push the LOVE agenda."
Congratulations Mr. Miller.
2 comments:
You have Bill Miller as the keyword. I think you meant Dean Miller. Bill Miller is or was a teacher at Brighton. Different guy.
As far as Dean Miller goes, I'd rather see an independent voice there than either a LOVE backer or anti-LOVE backer. Right now budget's the big issue. This appointments is going to prolong the conflict for years and years. It's now a personal war vendetta, and all sides lose.
You are correct. Thank you for pointing that out. I don’t see Mr. Miller as not being an independent voice. Bloggers and people who post on blogs – and I am probably more guilty as most – tend to be a little over the top, partisan and confrontational, but I really believe this is a repugnant, extremist group.
Post a Comment