May 29, 2007
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Harry Potter Back in School
Harry Potter is back in school. A Superior Court Judge, Ronnie Batchelor, has ruled that Harry Potter books can stay in Gwinnett County school libraries.
Laura Mallory had tried to have the book banned because she felt it was an “attempt to indoctrinate children in witchcraft.” Here is the link: Link
But Superior Court Judge Ronnie Batchelor ruled in favor of the Georgia Board of Education. The Georgia Board of Education had supported the local school officials which included the book in the library.
I think you are probably thinking the same thing I am.
Do you think Superior Court Judge Ronnie Batchelor is a practicing Warlock?
Comments (100)
Woohoo for HP!
I learned a lot of English [from England] words reading Harry Potter.
Oh, Georgia.
YES he is I should be on my knees prayiong for his soul right now!!!
What ever my Mother tried telling me I was going to Hell for reading Harry Potter.
This woman would not let me watch the Smurfs because Papa Smurf was a WARLOC!
NO he is not.
But they did put a spell on him
Warlock literally means “truth-twister”. Male witches are simply called male witches, so no, not a practicing witch.
lol
people say philosophers are word-twisters, too. go figure!
You know, for as little of social interaction as I have, day by day I tend to get less fired up over this kind of foolishness.
Take this from an introvert, Harry Potter is not a pressing issue. I will stay in the northeast though, since I need to choose the community with the values I feel are mine, and these aint it.
Warlock… pshaw. Whatever.
This fight never made sense to me. Harry Potter adheres to archetype in the same way as The Lord of the Rings, The Chronicles of Narnia, and even Star Wars.
Give it a break!
Oh, definitely!
ha..or not..
I choose to not read harry potter though..
I never understood what was so great about Harry Potter. It just seems stupid to me.
Of course he is! Warlocks are everywhere.
This fight never made sense to me. Harry Potter adheres to archetype in the same way as The Lord of the Rings, The Chronicles of Narnia, and even Star Wars.
Give it a break!
Actually the Chronicles of Narnia is a Christian allegory.
that’s idiotic.
Well, of course she is. What else would explain her support of a popular children’s series?
That was a retarded fight anyway. Who gives a fuck if a badly written book series is back in the public library?
LMBO!!!!
While I am COMPLETELY AGAINST Harry Potter and will not let my children read it, won’t even allow it in my house… I highly doubt the judge ruled because he was a warlock. That’s too funny, Dan!
Could be, but he can’t be any worse than that judge that had a penis pump under his robes.
http://www.thesmokinggun.com/archive/0121051judge1.html
The proper word would be “wizard”. Yeah, maybe he’s got his wand hidden under his robe. :rolleyes:
I never understood the hysteria against Harry Potter. It’s a fantastic set of books, a hell of a good story, and it has a lot of kids (and adults) reading. How valuable is that? I see no danger in the books of turning anyone toward the occult – it’s a fantasy story. These geniuses on crusade sure do underestimate kids.
Harry Potter sucks……….
Ya know they have these in movies now???
Final Fant over HP anyday!
HP isnt very good.
and it makes real magic series look stupid.
seriously it should be band;
or rated R for Retarded.
If i want to give myself some pain; ill watch a HP movie or do something just as painful and stick my fingers into my eyes; same thing really.
HP sucks.
I would hope not. I wish concerned parents like these would just do what we did. Our children aren’t reading Harry Potter, but we’re making sure they read other books which are much better for them. We don’t waste a lot of energy trying to take the choice away from other parents; it’s a personal decision.
seriously it should be band;
or rated R for Retarded.
hahahahaha
That’s all.
yes because anything without jesus in it MUST be satanic. you don’t see other religions bitching about this book do you?
i’m so about to unsubscribe. this site has gone to the dogs.
let’s stack stones on top of him until he confesses.
Laura sounds like she has had a few bad run-ins with witches. Either that or she is one of those ridiculous controversy-monger parents that all of us hoped wouldn’t be ours when we were children…
YES!!!
witch. not warlock. i think warlock is for males.
I frankly hope the case gets laughed out of court. It’s just a fantasy novel, for pete sake!
Yes.
We should just burn him. No trial.
Yeeeeah go Harry Potter!
ugh. its a freaking FICTIONAL book. would these fucktarts give it a rest?
Your blog has somehow again managed to officially reach a new low.
I honestly don’t understand why people think that reading HP will turn their kids into satan-worshippers. Harry Potter books are about good vs. evil, and yeah, good comes out on top. It is the same with Lord of the Rings; there’s magic in these books too AND there are even evil wizards, just like in HP. But for some reason, about half the amount of people are against LotR.
The type of magic in Harry Potter is not the same as Wiccan, which I imagine is probably what the parents are trying to keep their children away from. If the parents would actually read them, they would know what they are trying to protect their kids from. HP contains lessons in friendship, loyalty, respecting your elders, and bravery. Yeah, let me tell you; I would want to keep that stuff out of my kid’s mind.
I can understand the woman’s concern. I read Harry Potter, but I wouldn’t let my kids read them at a young age, I would wait until they were old enough to be discerning. I do think this lady went about her cause in a childish manner though. If she doesn’t want her kids to read the books, then she shouldn’t let her kids read the books. Simple as that.
Psht duh. =P
no i think that this womans over the top objections are an indication that she as a witch resents j.k rowling writing out the secrets. but one more good reason on my list of reasons to never set foot in the south
Harry Potter isn’t even that interesting. It seems to me like this is just calling unnessisary attention to the very cause she’s against. If someone wants to read those books, they’ll just get them somewhere else.
Of course. ALL government officials are part of a satanic cult that ritualistically molests little boys. The only other non-government member is Michael Jackson
“Of course he is! Warlocks are everywhere.”
Of course they are! They are as numerous as the tiny elves that live in my shoe!
Yesterday I found out my teacher was a Warlock and our class took him and burned him at the stake!
she must be, all the evidence points in that direction
he…
Now, I’ve heard everything ! How ridiculous of that Judge. Harry is the best !
Yes, he absolutely must be!
No, not really.
Don’t you mean Lord Batchemort?
you really should post a picture of the judge so people can be on the lookout for this evil doer and have their fiery stakes ready just in case.
Yeah self-righteous idiot Christians need to get over Harry Potter, they’re just worried it will out sell the Bible one day. Haha.
Which will happen eventually
wow what a waste of court time and tax payers money
I like the idea of a hanging. I keep waiting on someone to claim that the judge turned them into a newt.
femalebassplayer, i might say the same of the bible, supposing that it DOES ban books such as harry potter.
but hey, to each their own.
LOL @ Warlock.
Perhaps they should ban the Bible because it might promote incest as well.
GEESH!
Seriously, Harry Potter is written about as well as family guy.
She looks like one of those very uptight, repressed Christians who is in need of a good smack down. And no, I don’t think the judge is a practicing Warlock. If he was, it might give reason for him to have been recused. But that’s neither here nor there. There are so many things to be fighting for/against in this world and Laura Mallory has choosen Harry Potter. Poor lady. I feel for her children. Long live Harry Potter!!
harry potter is not a bad book in any way. i have neve understood the fight against the “witchcraft” in harry potter. throughout the series, they never even mention bad spells.you could easily say the same thing about the wizard of oz.
I am just enjoying all the overly serious comments on this one.
Dan, you have an interesting way of thinking about things ;p
Although I am completely against the Harry Potter series (and yes, I’ve read them), I don’t think it was wise of her to go to court over it. If a teacher was making children read the book for an assignment, then that would be a completely different story. But since it was just in the library, I don’t think she should have done anything. At least in my opinion she shouldn’t have.
hahaha…this thing about banning harry potter because it supposedly promotes witchcraft is so stupid.
Absolutely.
you are kidding right????…..this was never meant to be taken seriously right?
No. That just means he’s sensible, unlike Laura Mallory. She really needs to get a hobby. Scrapbooking, maybe?
What happened here? The questions used to be so clever. Now it’s Paris Hilton, Harry Potter, Princess Diana.
How about something thought provoking for a change?
Clearly that woman needs to do some reading beyond her usual diet of religious propaganda. Harry Potter is a delightful work of fiction.
No definetely not. I don’t why the heck people are in an uproar over these books anyways. Listen, people, it’s fiction!! It’s not real!! Geez, these stupid books are not going to turn anyone into witches!!! Why are people trying to ban these books and ruin it for everyone? How about you do this, if you don’t like them, don’t read them!
Oh and I guess everyone that reads and supports them obviously worships the Devil, right?
I’m just sick of people like her and the pope trying to ban books just because they don’t like them.
STUPID.
My parents pulled this rediculous crap on me as a kid. I was in the same boat with someone else who commented- wasn’t allowed to watch the Smurfs b/c they were magic and ‘of the devil’. It’s just so so ignorant.
Yes the Chronicles of Narnia are based in Christianity, but they still adhere to fairy tale archetypes. As a matter of fact, I wasn’t allowed to read those either as a child, goes to show how completely ignorant my parents were on these issues.
I remember my dad yelling at me and making me feel so guilty for some stupid book I had checked out of my school library as a kid. You know what the end result is? I ran as far and as fast as I could from him and his religion. You can’t have that much control over other people, even your own kids. All you’ll do is push them away. If what you’re selling really is the truth, then let it speak for itself. Leave everyone else and their stupid fairy tales the heck alone.
No, but I’m excited that my county is not too completely stupid.
You make me laugh. Kudos, Mr. Theologian.
Harry Potter? Fiction.
How practitioners define magic sounds very different from Harry Potter stuff, How does ”the art of changing consciousness at will” or “The science and art of causing change to occur in conformity with the will” sound as definitions of magic?
Makes sense. Even Einstein said “We can’t solve problems by using the same kind of thinking we used when we created them.”
Key ingredients are focus, clarity, knowledge, purpose, and will. Oooh, spooky. (Sarcasm.)
Quite different from the demonized, Hollywood, or fictional portrayals. Of course, one can pull the false dilemma (an actual logic error) and claim that either it’s Godly (like Chick Tracts, eh) or it’s….Satanic and never you mind that Satan doesn’t even exist in many other theologies.
Book bannings and book burnings are ridiculous. Everytime they go at it, sales/interest in the books rises.
Well, I can’t say if he’s into witchcraft or not because I don’t know him personally. However, I do agree with Laura Mallory.
She looks it.
Hah, I thought it was funny, because when I was in elementary, I requested buying ‘The series of Unfortunate Events’, and she rufed because they where two long.
Harry potter was in the library and three times and large.
Yes. As am I.
TAKE THAT, LAURA MALLORY!
You know Harry Potter is the glamorized bullshit side of witchcraft in which no one actually can really harness that much power. If witchcraft could be that amazing I’m pretty sure everyone would be flying around on broomsticks with wands.
I have only one comment for you, Dan, and it’s a correction on your post… Take it from a Pagan…
‘Witch’ is a unisex word.
‘Warlock’ does not mean male practitioner of witchcraft, it literally means something like ‘oathbreaker,’ and is an awful insult to say to any Witch/Pagan.
YES. LET’S BURN HIM!
HA HA HA HAHA
HA HA HAHA HAHA
HA HA HA HA HAHA
HA HA HA HA HAHA
HA HA HA HA HA HAHA
HA HA HA HAHA HAH HAHA HAHA
HA HA HA HA
HA HA HA HA HAHA
HA HA HA HA HAHA
thats funny – obviously he IS!!! ha ha
Daniel (doubledb)
HA HA HA HAHA
HA HA HAHA HAHA
HA HA HA HA HAHA
HA HA HA HA HAHA
HA HA HA HA HA HAHA
HA HA HA HAHA HAH HAHA HAHA
HA HA HA HA
HA HA HA HA HAHA
HA HA HA HA HAHA
thats funny – obviously he IS!!! ha ha
Daniel (doubledb)
OH NEVERMIND IT WONT WORK… THE “ha”‘S WERE SUPPOSED TO MAKE A BIG “HA !” – but it wont work
oh well,
Daniel (doubledb)
no. Just because someone likes Harry Potter or allows it doesn’t make them evil.
I haven’t heard the term “warlock” in ages. I always figured it was just “wizard”.
I know a fair amount of people who don’t like the HP books or don’t want to read them. Whatevz, their choice. I’m sure they love some books that I think completely blow (like C.S. Lewis books. God, he is a shitty writer…). But what this lady is doing is just lame. So fine, don’t read the fucking book. But don’t prohibit others from doing the same. I’m sure she would go up in fits if people tried to ban the Bible because they thought it promoted genocide, violence, or incest. What a hypocrite.
Warlock is a funny word. War. Lock. Locking up a war. Hah.
PS. What the hell is up with people commenting you and saying they are going to unsubscribe? If you want to unsubscribe, then do it–don’t make a big 5 year old deal of it. As if Dan will stop posting because one or two people who (GASP) don’t like what he is posting on HIS PERSONAL SITE are going to stop reading it. Don’t give yourself that much credit.
Lame.
I think Laura Mallory needs to not take fictional literature so seriously.
Nah… He just likes books with bad grammar and poor style.
Oy.
How silly…..of course he’s a cross-dressing, superior court witch. Duh.
On another topic. Have you ever noticed how many times bloggers include the word penis in their response? …and 9 times out of 10 it’s a male response. Look into that one for me will ya….
he no longer practices or goes to meetings, but he has an active membership card
and a penis
There are no such things as warlocks, dear.
Trust me — I was Pagan and into Witchcraft for two years before I became a Christian.
And I hate stories like these. I could go into a huge rant about it — you know, get on my soap box and everything but I won’t. But stories like these just piss me off. It’s a freaking BOOK for crying outloud and I’m sure over a majority of the people aren’t like, “Hm, I wonder if I get into witchcraft, if I can really cast spells.” I mean, honestly? Half the people out there are still wondering [insert name here] and [insert other name here] are really dead! (Don’t want to spoil anything, rofl.)
Hell, I’m still wondering if they are really dead!
You all are being way too rough on this women and her noble crusade.
You can’t understand how impressionable kids are and how important it is to keep stuff like this away from them.
I remember when I was in middle school I read Watership Down and spent the next six months trying to become a rabbit.
But seriously folks…
I think libraries should ban more books. Ban Shakespear. Ban the Bible. Ban Twain. Ban them all.
The easiest way to get a teenager to do something is tell them they can’t.
HP strikes once again! Schwoot! ^_^
i think the woman is an idiot.
HP doe not indoctrinate children in witchcraft. I know, I’ve read youth literature that focuses on the occult. Witches Night Out by Silver RavenClaw makes it look like the newest trend. There were others that I read when I was younger, but I tossed them years ago after I outgrew the phase.
I think Laura Mallory is a fuckwit. I mean, come one! Harry Potter indoctorinating children into wizardry?
I challenge someone to come up with something more stupid sounding
what an interesting article! Maybe Judge Ronnie Batchelor IS a Warlock! aahahah just kidding. in my opinion, harry potter is too good to be banned from libraries. im still waiting for the final volume to come out! XD
Witchcraft is actually a great religion. Their goddess does not and never has approved of murder and is fine with other religions. They have a rule ‘an it harm none do as ye will.’ They believe in a threefold law of karma and everything they do is to help, not harm. And witchcraft is nothing like the Harry Potter books make it seem.
hahaha… i love those books. who would ban them?
Good on the judge for making sense instead of siding with one mother’s mania of witchcraft.
’nuff said…
Oh boo hoo. The people who won’t let their children read the books because of “religion” and “Jesus” and the “fear of witchcraft and wizardry” are just ridiculous. It’s fiction. No more, no less. Get the hell over it.
As for the question, Ronnie could very well be a warlock. And I dearly hope he is.
I infact love Harry Potter.
Who would want to bet that this Laura Mallory has never even read a book herself?
ugh. Closed minds.
^ and I meant a Harry Potter book. Just to get that straight
It’s ridiculous.
The Harry Potter books are arguably Christian in the ideas they express; the symbolism is certainly there. Even if it weren’t, since when is witchcraft illegal?
And why is it magic is okay in Tolkien stuff but not Rowling? Double standard ftl.
And I’m going to guess no on his status as a warlock.