Editor’s Note by Ben Pollock, Local 965 vice president<\/p>\n\n\n\n
News item<\/strong>: “U of A Rolls Out Ten Commandments Displays<\/a>,” Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette<\/em>, Oct. 16, 2025, also reported by various local, state and regional news media.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Honoring David Letterman’s Top Ten Lists, which was a near-nightly bit on his talk shows.<\/p>\n\n\n\n (DRUMROLL:)<\/p>\n\n\n\n 10. Which Ten Commandments to post? We have both Exodus 20:2\u201317 and Deuteronomy 5:6\u201321, with their slight but significant differences compared for millenia.<\/p>\n\n\n\n 9. The donor did not bestow another 500 posters showing the U.S. and Arkansas flags below “In God We Trust, also mandated by this state law, Act 573 of 2025 (PDF)<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n 8. Sets up the University of Arkansas to be mocked by true-blue, old-fashioned conservatives across the country who still hold the Constitution dear.<\/p>\n\n\n\n 7. Every major religion and many smaller ones have precepts similar to Jews’ and Christians’ Big Ten’s do’s and don’ts. Well, sabbath days aren’t in every major religion, but after that, we all agree about respecting elders, not murdering, stealing, coveting and so on.<\/p>\n\n\n\n 6. The 10th Commandment in the Exodus 20:17 version warns against coveting “thy neighbor’s ass,” killing the party-hardy mood of students seeing the poster on their way on their way to Dickson Street. (Our donated translation does not list “ass.”)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n 5. The 10th Commandment’s list of what not to covet leaves out inflatable Halloween costumes of fanciful animals. That was another chance for other critters after Genesis 1:24-25 so, God, why no vinyl unicorns in the Bible?<\/p>\n\n\n\n 4. Before the 20-teens and 20-twenties where any U.S. law is being sanded down, any judge would have ruled this mass posting in a public land-grant university a blatant blast against the First Amendment’s first commandments, “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof. …”<\/p>\n\n\n\n 3. University administration would save a fair amount of time, a lot of money and some embarrassment by awaiting the ruling in the federal lawsuit Stinson v. Fayetteville School District No. 1<\/a>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n 2. The donation and the law it sailed under is an affront to concepts of separation of church and state, plurality, diversity, equity, inclusivity, not to mention the rotting of the metaphors of America as a melting pot, tapestry or big ol\u2019 stew.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Finally, here’s the No. 1 reason the University of Arkansas doesn’t need to find places on campus to nail 500 copies of one translation of the Ten Commandments:<\/p>\n\n\n\n 1. What Razorback student wants ANOTHER reading assignment?<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n \u00a92025 Ben S. Pollock<\/p>\n\n\n\n This column, slightly shorter, first was published Oct. 21, 2025, in the October 2025 newsletter<\/a> of UA-Fayetteville Education Association \/ Local 965<\/a>, of which Ben Pollock is vice president.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Top Ten Reasons the University of Arkansas Doesn’t Need to Find Places on Campus to Nail 500 Copies of One Translation of the Ten Commandments Editor’s Note by Ben Pollock, Local 965 vice president News item: “U of A Rolls Out Ten Commandments Displays,” Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, Oct. 16, 2025, also reported by various local, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":8198,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-8189","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news-spin"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/benpollock.com\/brick\/wp-content\/uploads\/our-ten-commandments.jpeg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":8288,"url":"https:\/\/benpollock.com\/brick\/2026\/01\/seven-deadlies\/","url_meta":{"origin":8189,"position":0},"title":"Go and Din Some More","author":"Ben S. Pollock","date":"January 21, 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"For a year, most Ivy League schools plus a few public universities like Virginia have been pressured directly by the Trump administration. For the University of Arkansas, Trump's impact has been serious but less direct - mainly threats of federal budget cuts to research, scholarship and other grants, and also\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "News, Spin"","block_context":{"text":"News, Spin","link":"https:\/\/benpollock.com\/brick\/category\/news-spin\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Following a march through the University of Arkansas campus Tuesday, Jan. 20, 2026, UA Law students and supporters gathered for a rally.","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/benpollock.com\/brick\/wp-content\/uploads\/UA-Law-students-rally-012026.jpeg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/benpollock.com\/brick\/wp-content\/uploads\/UA-Law-students-rally-012026.jpeg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/benpollock.com\/brick\/wp-content\/uploads\/UA-Law-students-rally-012026.jpeg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/benpollock.com\/brick\/wp-content\/uploads\/UA-Law-students-rally-012026.jpeg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/benpollock.com\/brick\/wp-content\/uploads\/UA-Law-students-rally-012026.jpeg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/benpollock.com\/brick\/wp-content\/uploads\/UA-Law-students-rally-012026.jpeg?resize=1400%2C800&ssl=1 4x"},"classes":[]},{"id":8334,"url":"https:\/\/benpollock.com\/brick\/2026\/03\/rebels-causes\/","url_meta":{"origin":8189,"position":1},"title":"Rebel with a Load of Causes","author":"Ben S. Pollock","date":"March 24, 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"An Editor\u2019s Note For all my love of words, I'm lousy at protest signs. Six maybe eight words is perfect. Pickets are a lot like billboards. You're driving by, so highway ads need to be sparse for comprehension. That's the same with demonstrations, where picketers stand on a sidewalk as\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "News, Spin"","block_context":{"text":"News, Spin","link":"https:\/\/benpollock.com\/brick\/category\/news-spin\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Marlon Brando's character Johnny rode a 1950 Triumph 6T 650cc Thunderbird motorcycle, like this, in 1953's \"The Wild One.\"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/benpollock.com\/brick\/wp-content\/uploads\/Triumph-6T-650cc-Thunderbird-1950-16x9-640x360-1.jpeg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/benpollock.com\/brick\/wp-content\/uploads\/Triumph-6T-650cc-Thunderbird-1950-16x9-640x360-1.jpeg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/benpollock.com\/brick\/wp-content\/uploads\/Triumph-6T-650cc-Thunderbird-1950-16x9-640x360-1.jpeg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":1037,"url":"https:\/\/benpollock.com\/brick\/2009\/03\/row-your-boat-ashore\/","url_meta":{"origin":8189,"position":2},"title":"Row Your Boat Ashore","author":"Ben S. Pollock","date":"March 20, 2009","format":false,"excerpt":"I'm vacationing in Lebanon, using this time to get up to speed on Facebook. How's Arkansas treating you? Let me know when you can. Bye, Michael\" This came last August. I had just joined Facebook as well. After seven months, I figured out a reply. I delayed writing for two\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Life Lessons"","block_context":{"text":"Life Lessons","link":"https:\/\/benpollock.com\/brick\/category\/life-lessons\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":6314,"url":"https:\/\/benpollock.com\/brick\/2019\/03\/truth-in-arkansas-stars\/","url_meta":{"origin":8189,"position":3},"title":"Truth in the Stars","author":"Ben S. Pollock","date":"March 30, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"The symbolism of the four blue stars on Arkansas flag is explained. It\u2019s been embarrassing. The state flag of Arkansas includes an explicit reference to the Confederacy. The\u00a0overall design\u00a0can be seen as having similarities to the Confederate battle flag of the American Civil War. The early 20th-century legislation establishing the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "News, Spin"","block_context":{"text":"News, Spin","link":"https:\/\/benpollock.com\/brick\/category\/news-spin\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Four blue stars on Arkansas flag defined","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/benpollock.com\/brick\/wp-content\/uploads\/Flag-of-Arkansas-1280x853-annotated-1.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/benpollock.com\/brick\/wp-content\/uploads\/Flag-of-Arkansas-1280x853-annotated-1.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/benpollock.com\/brick\/wp-content\/uploads\/Flag-of-Arkansas-1280x853-annotated-1.png?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/benpollock.com\/brick\/wp-content\/uploads\/Flag-of-Arkansas-1280x853-annotated-1.png?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/benpollock.com\/brick\/wp-content\/uploads\/Flag-of-Arkansas-1280x853-annotated-1.png?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":36,"url":"https:\/\/benpollock.com\/brick\/2003\/12\/blair-flare-fair\/","url_meta":{"origin":8189,"position":4},"title":"Blair flare fair","author":"Ben S. Pollock","date":"December 22, 2003","format":false,"excerpt":"Copyright 2003 Ben S. Pollock Monday, Dec. 22, 2003. Let's look at plagiarism, one of journalism's big topics in 2003, culminating in the revelations around Jayson Blair. Plain definition is that plagiarism is thievery, the taking of others' words, phrases, sentences and paragraphs -- the ideas of others -- as\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "The Course of Words"","block_context":{"text":"The Course of Words","link":"https:\/\/benpollock.com\/brick\/category\/course-of-words\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":7637,"url":"https:\/\/benpollock.com\/brick\/2023\/08\/reason-542-to-join-local-965-of-aea-nea\/","url_meta":{"origin":8189,"position":5},"title":"Reason 542 to Join Local 965 of AEA\/NEA","author":"Ben S. Pollock","date":"August 23, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"An Editor's Note Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders last spring signed into law Arkansas Act 542 of 2023, the Given Name Act. Its full title is \"An Act to Create the Given Name Act; to Protect Faculty Members, Teachers, and Employees of Public Schools and State-supported Institutions of Higher Education from\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "News, Spin"","block_context":{"text":"News, Spin","link":"https:\/\/benpollock.com\/brick\/category\/news-spin\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"The top of Arkansas Act 542 of 2023","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/benpollock.com\/brick\/wp-content\/uploads\/ACT542-first-page.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/benpollock.com\/brick\/wp-content\/uploads\/ACT542-first-page.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/benpollock.com\/brick\/wp-content\/uploads\/ACT542-first-page.png?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/benpollock.com\/brick\/wp-content\/uploads\/ACT542-first-page.png?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/benpollock.com\/brick\/wp-content\/uploads\/ACT542-first-page.png?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/benpollock.com\/brick\/wp-content\/uploads\/ACT542-first-page.png?resize=1400%2C800&ssl=1 4x"},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/benpollock.com\/brick\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8189","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/benpollock.com\/brick\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/benpollock.com\/brick\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/benpollock.com\/brick\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/benpollock.com\/brick\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=8189"}],"version-history":[{"count":13,"href":"https:\/\/benpollock.com\/brick\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8189\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":8211,"href":"https:\/\/benpollock.com\/brick\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8189\/revisions\/8211"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/benpollock.com\/brick\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/8198"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/benpollock.com\/brick\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8189"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/benpollock.com\/brick\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=8189"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/benpollock.com\/brick\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=8189"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
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