Remember

"If a nation expects to be ignorant and free... it expects what never was, and never will be." -Thomas Jefferson

Stop touching him!

I am very protective of my personal space. I often have students - especially female students, it seems - who have no compunction about standing mere inches from me when they want to talk to me. This sends me on a quick retreat away from them, and I have no problem telling them that they are invading my personal space and need to back away a bit.

With this in mind, I have great sympathy for investigative reporter Dan Noyes, who works for KGO-TV in San Francisco. Mr. Noyes had gone to a local hospital to get information on a scandal involving the alleged misuse of funds by administrators there. When Mr. Noyes tried to interview an administrator, a PR flack for the hospital named Mark Slavin quickly anointed himself as King Asshole of the Universe. You have GOT to watch this video. It made my teeth itch:



Now that you have watched it once, watch it again. Instead of becoming fixated on the touchmeister Slavin, watch the smug, self-satisfied smirk on the face of the administrator as her Man Friday runs interference to her apparent satisfaction.

I have to give credit to Mr. Noyes on his amazing restraint. Now, I hope he takes that video to the nearest police station and files battery and/or assault charges.

"If a nation expects to be ignorant and free... it expects what never was, and never will be." -Thomas Jefferson

The door is locked, the lights are off

Yesterday was my final day of the school year. Originally, my final day was supposed to be June 5th, but we got one of those coveted California furloughs, so May 27th it was.

Since I teach mostly 8th graders, I was on the team of teachers who worked the 8th grade promotion ceremony. There were so many things about this ceremony that appalled me, I thought they warranted mention.

The first thing that appalled me was the absence of what usually appalls me. After we took roll, the 8th grade teachers took their charge down to the bus area for transport to the site where the ceremony was taking place. The buses were still arriving, so we had approximately 250 excited 8th graders standing around with nothing to do. You can imagine what kind of horrible behavior issues can start popping up in a situation like this, but the crowd was really quite tame. I mentioned to one of my fellow teachers how pleasantly surprised I was at the tranquility of the students, and he explained it with quite a logical observation of his own.

He said, "Think about it; who is missing from this crowd? It's that 5-percent of the behavior problems and misfits who are on the no-go list. Think about who is on that list and what it would be like out here right now if those students were here."

He was so tragically correct. That has always been one of the most significant frustrations I have always experienced about teaching, and that is how a relatively tiny number of students can have such a negative impact on the lives of others and of the atmosphere of a school.

Once we arrived at the high school whose gym we were borrowing for the occasion, I was appalled by the students there. My middle school is run as a relatively tight ship where baseball caps and beanies are not allowed, along with many other distracting clothing items and accessories. No such rules either existed or were enforced at this high school. If the school wasn't rife with actual gang members, it was certainly crawling with a lot of wannabes: baseball caps with the flat bills cocked to one side, "stunna" sunglasses, gang color-inspired outfit ensembles, the works.

Once inside the gym where the ceremony took place, I was appalled by the absolutely boorish and embarrassing behavior by many of the parents present. I understand that it is exciting that your kid is leaving the 8th grade, but do you really think it's appropriate to blast an air horn inside a gymnasium when your kid's name is mentioned? Yes, an air horn - the kind that looks like an aerosol can with a funnel on top of it. I think of the parents as being old enough to know better, but then I have to remind myself that many of these parents are younger than I, even though I am only knocking on the door of 38.

Even with spending much of yesterday being appalled, I will freely admit that this group of 8th graders was one of the best-behaved in recent memory. Due to reasons I will get into later, I can almost guarantee that no such experience awaits me in August. In the meantime, I shall savor my summer!

"If a nation expects to be ignorant and free... it expects what never was, and never will be." -Thomas Jefferson

New York legislature has seen too many movies

Members of the legislature of the late, great state of New York apparently want to turn law enforcement in that state into a cinematic comedy.

I'm sure that at some time or another, you have seen one of those movies where someone shoots the gun out of the hand of the other guy? While New York's legislature hasn't gone that far, they aren't that far off.

From the New York Post:

City cops are livid over a legislative proposal that could handcuff the brave officers involved in life-and-death confrontations every day -- requiring them to shoot gun-wielding suspects in the arm or leg rather than shoot to kill, The Post has learned.

I know some politicians are often removed from reality, but this takes that notion to new heights, and it pains me to even have to go into detail on why what the NY Assembly wants to pass is such a ridiculous idea.

When a police officer is confronted with a life-or-death situation that requires him to use his firearm on another human being, by definition, he is using that firearm to kill the perpetrator. Guns are made to kill, not wound. If the perp lives, great; but in the end, the reason for the police officer to shoot at the perpetrator is to end a threat to the officer or to an innocent citizen, and the threat must be stopped as quickly and as safely as possible.

The police officer doesn't have time to take aim at a narrow, often flailing, target like an arm or a leg. He only has a split second to take aim at the center of a perpetrator's mass and keep pulling the trigger until that perpetrator is no longer a danger. Shooting at an arm or a leg provides no guarantee that the officer will actually hit his target, leaving the bullet to keep traveling down range until it runs into something else; an innocent bystander perhaps?

In another example of the NY Assembly apparently watching too many movies, what makes them think that a bullet wound to the arm or leg is less deadly? One of the most massive arteries in your body runs down each of your thighs - the femoral artery. Similarly, running down both your arms is the brachial artery.

When a bullet is fired at another human being, you have no idea what kind of damage is going to happen to the bullet's recipient. Limiting the police officer to shooting at a perpetrator's limbs is not only more dangerous to the officer or other people at the scene, it is no guarantee that it will be less deadly.

The intention of the Assembly is undoubtedly to save the life of the perpetrator, but the result of this bill would be to further endanger the lives of police officers and innocent citizens who might receive in the head, a bullet that was meant for a bad guy's arm.

"If a nation expects to be ignorant and free... it expects what never was, and never will be." -Thomas Jefferson

Pretty neat database... if you are from Sacramento

The Sacramento Bee has posted a database on their website that gives the high, low, and average temperature, along with the precipitation for that day, for any day between now and 1911. Just enter any day, month, and year, and you will find out what the weather was like on that day.

For instance, it was 98 degrees on the day I was born in 1972. Of course, I wasn't in Sacramento, but oh well.

"If a nation expects to be ignorant and free... it expects what never was, and never will be." -Thomas Jefferson

And who, pray tell, will pay for all this?

From USA Today:

Paychecks from private business shrank to their smallest share of personal income in U.S. history during the first quarter of this year, a USA TODAY analysis of government data finds.
At the same time, government-provided benefits — from Social Security, unemployment insurance, food stamps and other programs — rose to a record high during the first three months of 2010.

Those records reflect a long-term trend accelerated by the recession and the federal stimulus program to counteract the downturn. The result is a major shift in the source of personal income from private wages to government programs.

This is one of the biggest reasons for the rise of the Tea Parties: the steady increase of massive government spending at the expense of the productive people of this country. It can't last. It won't last.

"If a nation expects to be ignorant and free... it expects what never was, and never will be." -Thomas Jefferson

Going down, Sir?

Things just seem to be looking worse and worse for our Dear Leader. The latest Rasmussen numbers show Obama's strong disapproval rating at 43% and his strong approval rating at 25%. His overall disapproval rating is 55%, with his overall approval rating at 44%. Seems that any positive bump he received from the health care hoopla has smoothed out:


What say you about this, Droopy Dog?



"If a nation expects to be ignorant and free... it expects what never was, and never will be." -Thomas Jefferson

Obama's SEIU rent-a-thugs terrorize bank lawyer and his family

The purple-shirted members of the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) thought it would be a great idea to send busloads of 500 some odd purple-shirted members to the home of Greg Baer, a lawyer who works for Bank of America. The mob went right up to the doorstep of Baer's home, but he wasn't there. Baer's 14 year-old son was home alone however, and hid in the bathroom.

The SEIU was so proud of their tactics that the union invited precisely one member of the press: a reporter from the loony left-wing Huffington Post. They might have achieved their terror tactics with minimal news coverage but for one overlooked fact: Greg Baer's next-door-neighbor is CNN reporter Nina Easton. Ms. Easton was kind enough to write about her observations in this article.

Meanwhile, here is a news segment and debate about the SEIU's heinous actions:

Seeing as how President Obama and the SEIU are joined at the hip - recently retired president Andy Stern was a frequent White House visitor - do you think we are going to hear anything substantial from Obama regarding these thuggish tactics? Yeah, right.

"If a nation expects to be ignorant and free... it expects what never was, and never will be." -Thomas Jefferson

California Democrats introduce innovative way to solve the state's budget woes

Nah, I'm just kidding. They want to raise taxes. For the Dems, there is never any other solution but to raise taxes.

Democratic lawmakers in California unveiled a plan on Monday for nearly $5 billion of tax and fee increases to help fill the state government's $19.1 billion budget gap.

The plan by state Senate Democrats would raise $4.9 billion by raising California's vehicle registration fee, suspending corporate tax breaks scheduled to begin next year and boosting the state's tax on alcoholic beverages.
Democrats control both chambers of the state's legislature and have said they would seek new revenue to help plug the shortfall....

Lord forbid they should entertain the notion of cutting even a smidgen of the out-of-control spending that has plagued the not-so-Golden State for decades.

"If a nation expects to be ignorant and free... it expects what never was, and never will be." -Thomas Jefferson

California city councils may want to first read California immigration laws

In an orgy of self-congratulatory back-patting, the city councils of California's major metropolises either already have implemented, or are considering, a boycott of the state of Arizona in response to Arizona's passage of SB 1070, which enforces the federal immigration laws that the federal government refuses to enforce in that state.

The legislative bodies of the California cities of Los Angeles, San Diego, San Francisco, and my very own Sacramento have all come forward with either condemnations and/or calls to boycott the state of Arizona over Arizona's law that addresses the issue of illegal immigration. Apparently, these city councils didn't think to check what California state law has to say on the same subject.

With a very large tip of my hat to fellow blogger Darren, of RightOnTheLeftCoast, I direct you to California Penal Code Section 834b. Read it and weep:

834b. (a) Every law enforcement agency in California shall fully
cooperate with the United States Immigration and Naturalization
Service regarding any person who is arrested if he or she is
suspected of being present in the United States in violation of
federal immigration laws.
(b) With respect to any such person who is arrested, and suspected
of being present in the United States in violation of federal
immigration laws, every law enforcement agency shall do the
following:
(1) Attempt to verify the legal status of such person as a citizen
of the United States, an alien lawfully admitted as a permanent
resident, an alien lawfully admitted for a temporary period of time
or as an alien who is present in the United States in violation of
immigration laws. The verification process may include, but shall not
be limited to, questioning the person regarding his or her date and
place of birth, and entry into the United States, and demanding
documentation to indicate his or her legal status.
(2) Notify the person of his or her apparent status as an alien
who is present in the United States in violation of federal
immigration laws and inform him or her that, apart from any criminal
justice proceedings, he or she must either obtain legal status or
leave the United States.
(3) Notify the Attorney General of California and the United
States Immigration and Naturalization Service of the apparent illegal
status and provide any additional information that may be requested
by any other public entity.
(c) Any legislative, administrative, or other action by a city,
county, or other legally authorized local governmental entity with
jurisdictional boundaries, or by a law enforcement agency, to prevent
or limit the cooperation required by subdivision (a) is expressly
prohibited.

I think it would be a great idea to send a copy of this law to the city councils of Los Angeles, San Diego, San Francisco, and Sacramento, along with a letter urging them to boycott not only the state of California, but also themselves, since they are a part of this state. And no, claiming sanctuary city status is not an out, for according to Penal Code section 834b(3)(c) above, no sanctuary cities are allowed to exist within California.

Start writing folks. I promise I will.

"If a nation expects to be ignorant and free... it expects what never was, and never will be." -Thomas Jefferson

Now, that's what I call efficiency in government!

In New Jersey, which has been seeing a mass exodus of the state's high income earners due to draconian taxes, the overspending New Jersey legislature decided to try to solve the state's budget woes by stupidly raising taxes on - what else? - the state's rich residents. These statists are such one-trick ponies: Tax and spend, tax and spend, tax and spend. Tax the rich, tax the rich, tax the rich.

New Jersey's Republican governor Chris Christie was going to have none of that. Watch this video, in which Governor Christie vetoes the legislation a mere two minutes after receiving it. What is really great is the brief and curt exchange at the end between the Democrat President of the New Jersey State Senate and Governor Christie.

Chris Christie is continuing to impress the hell out of me.

"If a nation expects to be ignorant and free... it expects what never was, and never will be." -Thomas Jefferson

Pray for me

I am going to be a bus chaperone for our 8th graders later today when we travel from Sacramento to Six Flags in Vallejo for the 8th grade trip. I am going to be stuck on a school bus for a total of about 3 to 4 hours with a bunch of rowdy 8th graders.

All I ask is that you put in a good word for me with the Big Guy. Is that too much to ask?

"If a nation expects to be ignorant and free... it expects what never was, and never will be." -Thomas Jefferson

The War in Afghanistan gets personal

My older brother is a Master Sergeant in the U.S. Air Force. He is a lifer who has been in the USAF since 1991. During those years, he has been sent to many foreign locales such as Great Britain, Egypt, the Azores, Bahrain, Iraq, and for the last few months, Afghanistan.

I never really worried about his safety in all the different places he has been stationed - even his stint in Iraq - but I must admit that I hesitated a bit when he told me he was being sent to Bagram Air Base in Afghanistan.

My fears turned out to be well founded. This morning, I woke up to read this email from my brother:

Had a bit of a rough night/morning over here. If you want to see the article, it’s on the internet Fox.com then go to world then Afghanistan…

I found the link on the Fox News website, and the opening paragraphs will sum it up for you:

KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — Insurgents launched a brazen pre-dawn assault Wednesday against the giant U.S.-run Bagram Air Field, killing an American contractor and wounding nine troops in the second Taliban strike at NATO forces in and around the capital in as many days.

Small groups of suicide bombers — some wearing uniforms that appeared to match those of U.S. or NATO forces — tried to storm the base's defenses, while others fired rockets, grenades and guns over the walls into the base, said Maj. Virginia McCabe, a spokeswoman for U.S. forces at Bagram.

No insurgents made it inside the base, but blasts and gunbattles raged for eight hours as U.S. soldiers hunted the attackers down in the surrounding fields north of Kabul, she said....

My brother was thankfully not one of the casualties, but having his air base attacked by suicide bombers in an eight-hour firefight is worrisome enough. This is not the first time that something like this has happened at Bagram. That is the same location where suicide bombers killed over a dozen people while then-Vice President Cheney was visiting there.

I am looking forward to later this summer when my brother can return home to his wife and two children.

"If a nation expects to be ignorant and free... it expects what never was, and never will be." -Thomas Jefferson

To all you Milton Friedman fans out there

I came across this website which provides all the episodes of Friedman's seminal economics series Free to Choose.

Happy viewing!

"If a nation expects to be ignorant and free... it expects what never was, and never will be." -Thomas Jefferson

"If you like your health care plan, you will be able to keep your health care plan"

Remember those words, uttered over and over again by rote, from our Dear Leader? As just one example, here is a full quote on this subject from President Obama in a speech he gave on June 15, 2009 when the debate over the Health Control Law was beginning to heat up:

“[N]o matter how we reform health care, we will keep this promise: If you like your doctor, you will be able to keep your doctor. Period. If you like your health care plan, you will be able to keep your health care plan. Period. No one will take it away. No matter what. My view is that health care reform should be guided by a simple principle: fix what’s broken and build on what works.”

The whole time that Obama was slinging this hash, pundits and policy makers on the conservative side of the aisle were yelling at the top of their lungs that Obama could only make this claim if one did not take into account the change in behavior that the new law would effect among doctors and health care providers once implemented. Statist busybodies have never been good at either comprehending or caring about the impact that their harebrained legislative schemes can have on the behavior of the people out there who are directly or even indirectly affected by such legislation.

The classic example of this is the belief that raising taxes will continue to bring in more and more revenue rather than reduce revenue by pushing people to find ways to hide or reduce the income that they have to declare.

Now, it appears the conservative punditry has been proven correct in their denunciations of Obama's insistence that his (and the Dem-controlled Congress') beloved Health Control law will not affect the access that people have to their preferred doctor or health insurance plan.

Dr. Scott Gottlieb lays all this out in a column for the Wall Street Journal. Give it a read.

"If a nation expects to be ignorant and free... it expects what never was, and never will be." -Thomas Jefferson

My age is showing again

Leave it to my middle school students to remind me of how times have changed.

This week, I am showing my 7th graders the wonderful 1995 film Apollo 13 with Tom Hanks, Gary Sinise, Ed Harris, Kevin Bacon, and Bill Paxton. I always end the year with this film as my 7th graders have just finished learning about the Age of Exploration, and it is fun to compare the mystery and danger of space travel to the experiences of the European explorers as they set sail across the vast, unknown oceans.

During the scene where everyone at Mission Control in Houston is giving the Go-No Go for launch, there are quite a few people sitting at their work stations smoking cigarettes.

One of my astonished students asked me, "Mr. Chandler, can they smoke in there like that?"

Do remember, we live in California, and it is no longer 1970.

"If a nation expects to be ignorant and free... it expects what never was, and never will be." -Thomas Jefferson

30 Years ago today. Wow!

I was 7 years old, going on 8, when Mount St. Helens erupted, but I clearly remember watching the coverage on the news. Has it really been 30 years?

"If a nation expects to be ignorant and free... it expects what never was, and never will be." -Thomas Jefferson

It's good to be the President's auntie

Days before the 2008 presidential election, word got out that Barack Obama's Kenyan Auntie Zeituni Onyango was living illegally in the United States; south Boston to be exact.

Auntie Zeituni had been fighting a deportation order since 2004, and now she has been granted asylum in the United States by a U.S. immigration court. I'm sure the influence of the President of the United States had nothing to do with the judge's decision to let the illegal alien auntie to stay in this country. One of Auntie Zeituni's neighbors had this to say about it:

“It’s obvious her nephew helped,” said neighbor Marion Swain. “She’s a very nice person - very well spoken. That’s life.”

Meanwhile, President Obama continues to denigrate Arizona for trying to curb the illegal aliens that are overwhelming that state.

"If a nation expects to be ignorant and free... it expects what never was, and never will be." -Thomas Jefferson

Go get 'em Governor!

The more I read, hear, and see about New Jersey's Republican governor, Chris Christie, the more I'm impressed. Here is an example of what I speak. The embed code wasn't working, so click here for the link to a video of Christie answering a reporter's asinine question. I wish more politicians spoke like this.

"If a nation expects to be ignorant and free... it expects what never was, and never will be." -Thomas Jefferson

Best. Political. Ad. Ever.

Out of Pennsylvania comes a political ad in support of Republican Tim Burns, who is fighting to gain the seat previously occupied by the late corruptocrat Representative John Murtha.

I think this ad was brilliant. It features Obama having his own stupid utterances used against him, and best of all, it shows a wild-eyed Nancy Pelosi that doesn't seem too far off from the bizarre being that she really is.



"If a nation expects to be ignorant and free... it expects what never was, and never will be." -Thomas Jefferson

Religion has nothing to do with it, of course

When Nidal Hasan killed 13 soldiers and wounded 32 at Fort Hood, the multi-culties on the Left tried to blame it on pre-traumatic stress disorder. Religion had little or nothing to do with it.

When the Times Square (almost) Bomber was captured, and it turned out he was a Taliban-trained Muslim, the multi-culties on the Left tried to blame his actions on the fact that his house was in foreclosure and he had not been able to grasp the American Dream. Religion, however, had little or nothing to do with it.

Now, we find out that the Cross Memorial in the Mojave Desert, which was just recently saved by a slim majority on the Supreme Court, has been removed from its perch and stolen.

On what kind of perpetrator does the Media (and a government spokesmouth) blame for this deed? Scrap metal thieves! (The hatred of) Religion has little or nothing to do with it.

See a pattern?

"If a nation expects to be ignorant and free... it expects what never was, and never will be." -Thomas Jefferson

The creepiest two words I have heard uttered lately

David Horowitz gave a talk yesterday (5/10/10) at UC San Diego. As is customary, after his speech, he did a Q&A session with the audience. During the Q&A, Horowitz had an exchange with a female member of the campus Muslim Student Association (MSA) that I found absolutely extraordinary.

Horowitz asked the student a very simple question, and after some hemming and hawing, received a very simple two-word answer that sent a chill down my spine.

To get a feel for the entire exchange, I recommend watching the whole video. But if you want to cut to the chase, skip to exactly 2:30 and watch the final minute or so:



"If a nation expects to be ignorant and free... it expects what never was, and never will be." -Thomas Jefferson

I'll be darned: Poizner is closing in on Whitman

Once upon a time, the Republican nomination for California governor was all but wrapped up. Back in early March of this year, a Field poll conducted among likely California Republican voters showed Meg Whitman with a seemingly insurmountable 63%-14% lead over challenger Steve Poizner.

In just two short months, Whitman's lead has dwindled down to a near dead heat, according to a SurveyUSA poll conducted just this last week, with Whitman holding a narrow 39%-37% lead among likely voters. So what could have caused a near-50% swing? I think more and more, even considering all of Steve Poizner's many faults, Meg Whitman is looking more and more like an Arnie clone. I think the last thing that California's Republican voters want is another squishy Republican in the state's Capitol, and that is exactly what Meg Whitman would be.

Don't get me wrong, Steve Poizner has been known to change his political positions on big issues like Abortion (from pro-abortion to pro-life), but just considering my personal feelings on the matter, I can think of two things that have improved the idea of Poizner in my own eyes, and I am confident that many other Republicans in California feel the same way.

First is the McClintock factor. California congressional representative Tom McClintock is a highly respected figure in conservative California politics. He recently and very publicly endorsed Steve Poizner. As a conservative voter, this endorsement carries a lot more weight than the endorsement that Whitman received from former California governor Pete Wilson.

The second factor would be the differing reactions from the two candidates to SB 1070, the illegal alien law recently passed in Arizona. Whitman opposes it, Poizner embraces it (even though he has only given it lukewarm support). I would say this kind of helps you decide which way the political winds are blowing.

The bottom line is that I really cannot stand either Whitman or Poizner. Each is a moderate to liberal Republican who seems to change positions based on which audience they are addressing. Whichever candidate ends up being the Republican nominee will be disappointing.

That being said, the idea of Edmund G. "Jerry Moonbeam" Brown, Jr. once again becoming our state's governor is enough to make me wretch. The pragmatist in me realizes that the only hope of defeating this loop-de-loop is to once again settle for an extremely imperfect Republican nominee; in this case, either Whitman or Poizner. If it is Poizner who is proving to be the more conservative candidate of the two, then I will be glad (albeit reluctant) to put my support behind Poizner if that means Jerry Brown does not become our governor (again).

Please God, not Jerry Brown.

"If a nation expects to be ignorant and free... it expects what never was, and never will be." -Thomas Jefferson

Fan makes Los Suns look like Los Morons

You have probably heard of that idiotic publicity stunt where, in a show of solidarity with the forces in Arizona who oppose the new illegal immigration law, the Phoenix Suns NBA team wore jerseys for Game 2 in their playoff series that were emblazoned with "Los Suns" instead of the usual "Suns."

Of course, there are a couple of things that are hilariously wrong with this whole stunt. If you are going to go all the way with this Spanish thing, the jerseys should have said "Los Soles." Simply putting "Los" in front of a word doesn't make it Spanish.

Additionally, I don't know if anyone else in the media or blogosphere has caught this angle, but why did the Suns pick the Spanish language in order to protest the Arizona law? Isn't that profiling? If the whole reason for opposing the law is that it supposedly allows police officers to profile suspected illegal aliens based on the way they look or speak, why would "Los Suns" do the same thing by automatically assuming that only people who speak Spanish could be illegal aliens?

At the Game 2 where "Los Suns" wore their los jerseys, a creative fan arrived at the game wearing a t-shirt that said "Viva Los 1070." SB 1070 is the name of the law in question. Can you believe security staff at the arena tried to make the man either take off his shirt or turn it inside out? Why weren't the security staff on the floor of the arena making "Los Suns" players turn their jerseys inside out?

Luckily, cooler (and bad PR-aware) heads prevailed. The president of "Los Suns" gave the fan 4 tickets to the next ten "Los Suns" games. It's the least the president could do, seeing as how his security staff had profiled this fan.

"If a nation expects to be ignorant and free... it expects what never was, and never will be." -Thomas Jefferson

Congratulations Californians: You pay this guy's salary!

Go ahead and waste four minutes of your life as you watch this UCLA "professor" prove himself to be a cliched cartoon character. He hits all the benchmarks:

1. Denunciation of imperialism (I am wagering that Soviet/Communist imperialism didn't bother him).
2. Denunciation of capitalism.
3. Racist description of "frail, racist, white people," then immediately expressing...
4. Reverence of his race "Viva la Raza!"
5. Reverence for Fidel Castro
6. Reverence for Hugo Chavez
7. Reverence for Che Guevara
8. His belief that California is actually still part of Mexico
9. His call for "Revolution!"
10. His oh-so-hip prof pony tail

Did I miss anything? Then watch the video:

And to think that this guy shapes young minds at one of California's flagship UC campuses! Of course, he has no problem accepting his monthly paycheck that is paid for by all those imperialist, capitalist, racist white taxpayers out there, who are occupying his land.

"If a nation expects to be ignorant and free... it expects what never was, and never will be." -Thomas Jefferson

Further proof that Babs Boxer really is a dolt

Radio host Hugh Hewitt often makes the assertion that California Senator Barbara (Call me Senator, don't call me Ma'am) Boxer is dumb as a brick, and is probably the stupidest member of the U.S. Senate. Based on what I have heard come out of the mouth of that woman, I have always been inclined to wholeheartedly agree with Mr. Hewitt.

Now, the far-left leaning Los Angeles Times has helped to quash the notion that pointing out Boxer's low mental octane is merely an exercise in partisan politics.

The Times editorial board is refusing to endorse Boxer for reelection because,

On the Democratic side, we find that we're no fans of incumbent Barbara Boxer. She displays less intellectual firepower or leadership than she could.

When the L.A. Times is agreeing that Boxer lacks "intellectual firepower," that's saying something. Now granted, the Times has also refused to endorse anyone else in any of the other state political races, but that does not detract from the fact that they saw fit to point out Boxer's intellectual deficiencies.

Too bad that Boxer lacks the "intellectual firepower" to realize that she has no business being in the United States Senate, and even worse that too many California voters lack the intellectual firepower to come to the same conclusion.

"If a nation expects to be ignorant and free... it expects what never was, and never will be." -Thomas Jefferson

Profiling is bad, unless...

The Media Research Center makes a very succinct and important point with this video:



Not to mention, a Daily Kos poll was conducted before the naturalized Pakistani Muslim suspect was apprehended, where 62% of respondents thought the perp in the Times Square (almost) bombing would be either a Tea Party member (32%) or a "militia wackjob" (30%). Percentage of respondents who thought the perp would be a Muslim? Try 9%. Shocking!

"If a nation expects to be ignorant and free... it expects what never was, and never will be." -Thomas Jefferson

The Star Wars Trilogy in two minutes

WOW! If you are a Star Wars fan like I am (a fan of the first three movies, that is) you will very much appreciate this summary that was amazingly done with Star Wars LEGO sets and pieces.

Whoever made this had way too much time, and waaaaaay too many LEGOs on their hands:

"If a nation expects to be ignorant and free... it expects what never was, and never will be." -Thomas Jefferson

The Census Man Cometh

Two months ago, I mentioned on this blog that my family's census form had arrived in the mail. Even though there were dozens of questions on the form - most of them pertaining to race and ethnicity - I simply filled out the constitutional portion of the form, which was question #1: the question that asked how many people live in our home.

When I got home from work today, there was a "We missed you" card from the U.S. Census Bureau that was stuck through our front doorknob. A Census taker named Scott had left the card that included his phone number and the information that he could be reached between 9am and 9pm. I made a mental note to give him a call after we got home from my son's tee-ball game.

We got home from the game at around 6:45pm, and had just started the bath, when there was a knock on the door. I guess Scott couldn't wait for my call.

He went through the pleasantries and introductions and then informed me that the Census Bureau had not received the form they had mailed me, and he was doing a follow-up. This caught me by surprise and I told him that I did indeed mail it to them. Scott gave me an "oh well" kind of shrug, got his pen and clipboard ready, and then told me that he had some questions to ask and it would only take a few minutes.

My answer was, "There are four people who live here."

Scott looked pleased and said, "Ah, that is actually the first question. Thank you."

He did a quick notation on his clipboard, and then told me that he needed to ask me the rest of the survey questions.

I said, "No, that won't be necessary. All you need to know is that there are four people living in this house." Then I pulled out the magic words. "The Constitution calls for an enumeration, and I have just fulfilled that requirement. The other questions won't be necessary."

Scott gave me the kind of knowing look that begins with the chin raised upward and a soft "ah" sound emanating from a slightly agape mouth, and then transitions to a deep nod with eyes closed and lips pursed.

Scott then thanked me for my time and walked away.

I didn't know quite what to expect with this encounter that I knew was coming sooner or later. For all I knew, Scott was going to start throwing federal law codes and court decisions at me. Who knows, maybe in a couple more days, Scott's supervisor will come knocking on our door for another go-around?

If that happens, I'll invite him in for some fava beans and nice Chianti.

"If a nation expects to be ignorant and free... it expects what never was, and never will be." -Thomas Jefferson

So, what are those racist Republicans up to?

SCROLL FOR UPDATE:

How about fielding a record number of black congressional candidates? The most, in fact, since Reconstruction in the 1870s.

What is especially sweet is that the article that describes this situation is from none other than the Conservative/Republican-hating New York Times.

There are occasions when I can't get NYT articles to come up on the screen, so just in case you are in the same boat, here is the meat of the article:

...But now black Republicans are running across the country — from a largely white swath of beach communities in Florida to the suburbs of Phoenix, where an African-American candidate has raised more money than all but two of his nine (white) Republican competitors in the primary.

Party officials and the candidates themselves acknowledge that they still have uphill fights in both the primaries and the general elections, but they say that black Republicans are running with a confidence they have never had before. They credit the marriage of two factors: dissatisfaction with the Obama administration, and the proof, as provided by Mr. Obama, that blacks can get elected....

And who said nothing positive came out of the election of our Dear Leader? Heh, heh.

UPDATE:

Nepotism monkey Luke Russert (son of the departed Tim Russert) provided a hilarious little snippet in which he expresses deep-felt surprise that many of these black Republican candidates would actually proposition that bastion of bigotry, the Tea Party, for support. Listen to Russert's voice break in high-pitched surprise as he utters the word "Tea" in "Tea Party." These statist media clowns are so frickin' clueless.

I tried to embed the video, but there is something wrong with the embed code. Here is a link to the video, which is 26 seconds in length.

"If a nation expects to be ignorant and free... it expects what never was, and never will be." -Thomas Jefferson

And this is a bad thing because...?

Here's a headline for you from CBS News online:

Immigrant Families Leave Arizona, Fearing Law

You can tell from the outset that the headline and the tone of the article are both plying for your sympathy. Read on and see if you can stay sympathetic.

First, notice that the headline simply refers to "Immigrant Families" rather than what it should really say: "Illegal Immigrant Families."

One sleight-of-hand trick the statists love to do is to blur or abolish the distinction between legal immigration and illegal immigration; especially when they refer to people like me as anti-immigrant because I don't want people from other countries entering our country illegally. I'm not anti-immigrant, I'm anti-illegal immigrant. There is quite a difference between the two, although even in the case of legal immigrants, I think they should be able to show financial self-sufficiency and willingness to assimilate into the predominant language and culture of our country.

Moving past the headline, let's get into the article itself. I have to tell you, there is so much quotable crap, I have to fight the urge to post the entire text. Instead, I will point out just two paragraphs that made me chuckle.

First there is this:

On a dusty block in Phoenix, 15 years of the Quintana family's possessions are for sale.

Manuela Quintana said that they decided to leave when the Arizona governor signed the new immigration law.

For years, their family thrived with jobs in restaurants and construction, reports CBS News correspondent Kelly Cobiella. Their 10 children were born here and are U.S. citizens. Both she and her husband are undocumented, and currently unemployed.

OK everyone, let's give a big group AWWWWWWW. Leaving aside the fact that they are "undocumented" (that would be "here illegally), you will notice that they have 10 children and are both unemployed. I wonder who is paying their bills and their health care and is putting food in their kids' mouths? Well, Quintana family, it looks like its about time for mom and dad and the 10 brood to go live in the home country. While you are back in Mexico, you are more than welcome to apply for citizenship in the United States, just like many other honorable people are doing, and legally, I might add.

Next quotable crap:

Manuela knows she broke the law when she came here 15 years ago. But she doesn’t see herself as a criminal.

"A criminal is someone who kills," she said in Spanish. "I just want to work."

A criminal is someone who kills? That is your rationalization? I'm sure that your reason for being in the United States really is just to work. There are countless people who want to be here just to work. What about all the people who have stayed in their home country, applied for legal immigration to the United States, and have been patient and made the sacrifice to come here within the parameters of federal immigration law? What about them?

For these illegal aliens to jump the line like they have, they are flipping the bird to all those who are following the law.

Back to Mexico with you, and I am happy to hear that this new Arizona law gave you the necessary push.

"If a nation expects to be ignorant and free... it expects what never was, and never will be." -Thomas Jefferson

Who really tried to bomb Times Square?

According to New York City mayor Michael (The Moron) Bloomberg, it was most likely a Tea Party member:

What I want to know is if he truly believed it was someone who didn't like the health control bill, or did he just not want to be culturally insensitive and say that it was most likely a Muslim? Either way, it was an idiotic answer.

"If a nation expects to be ignorant and free... it expects what never was, and never will be." -Thomas Jefferson

This is why I usually eat lunch in my classroom

I just returned from the teacher lunch room. My wife went to the big warehouse store this weekend and came back with a very tasty microwaveable meal that I just consumed for my lunch. The fact that you need a microwave to cook it means that I had to make my way to the teacher break room in order to cook it. Since I was there, I sat down to eat it as well.

There were several of us teachers sitting around talking, including one female teacher who walked in limping with gauze wrapped around both her feet. She is one of two teachers at my school who is a big time Chicano/Chicana/MEChA/Aztlan/Pro-illegal alien activist. She burned her feet dancing on hot parking lot asphalt while performing as part of an Aztec dance troupe to which she belongs. Apparently, her troupe performed at a car show this weekend, and the 80-degree weather was beating down on the asphalt with a sufficient intensity that it would sear bare feet.

After this teacher finished explaining how she hurt her feet, that's when she continued her comments which made me have to both bite my tongue and stop the regurgitation of my delicious microwaved lunch. She said, and I have to paraphrase just a little bit, "As bad as my feet are, at least I burned them in the way I did instead of while crossing the hot sand of the Arizona desert like the refugees who are risking their lives to come here and seek a better life." I was so immediately flustered at that statement, that I didn't quite catch the whole of her next comment in which I did listen to her refer to the United States as, "this racist country."

She and two other sympathetic teachers began commiserating about the Arizona law and the unfairness of the treatment of illegal aliens in general, with another teacher asking why people are opposed to illegal immigration in the first place: "What does it matter? How does it affect you if someone comes into this country?"

So, once again, I found myself in a quandry. On the one hand, I so wanted to make a counter-argument to this drivel they were saying, but at the same time, I just want to eat my lunch in peace without getting into a political debate with a group of people who are most likely not going to change their mind during a few-minutes-long argument in the lunch room. At the same time, they have no problem announcing their opinions to the room; why should I feel intimidated in announcing mine? This is one of the pitfalls of being a political conservative in a profession that is dominated by leftists/statists. I have to work with these people, and it's a lot harder when there is bad blood between me and what is I am sure most of the faculty. Let's just say there are quite a few Obama bumper stickers in the faculty parking lot.

Every time I run into a situation like this, I kick myself afterward for not saying anything, while also running through my mind the two sides of the situation I just described, whereby I realize that speaking my mind would totally change the nature of the civil relationship I maintain with many of my fellow teachers who work outside my department. By my nature, I have a somewhat go-along-to-get-along personality, where I would rather maintain civil relations with someone than take them to task for their misinformed and misguided idiocy.

After all, there were so many things I wanted to say. I wanted to ask the female teacher about the tough immigration laws of the Mexico she loves so much, and the rape, beatings, and extortion that illegal immigrants from central America suffer at the hands of Mexican authorities. I wanted to ask her why she thinks it's fair that illegal immigrants should go to the head of the line while applicants for legal immigration into our country get the shaft. I wanted to take her to task on the ridiculous notion that our country is "racist" by asking her about the billions of dollars we have sent to earthquake victims in Haiti, tsunami victims in Indonesia, AIDS victims in Africa, and, hell, the bailout of Mexico's banks back in the 1990s, along with the thousands of military lives and trillions of dollars in treasure that our country has spent in the liberation of oppressed peoples throughout the world. I also wanted to ask her why so many of these illegal aliens are risking their lives to get into this "racist" country. One of the other teachers was also spouting off about how horrible it was that Arizona doesn't have a minimum wage law. I wanted to ask him how he justifies defending the minimum wage when every study done on the subject finds that these laws increase unemployment and tend to hurt the very unskilled workers the laws supposedly try to help - especially black teenagers. So many things I wanted to say, but that would have ruined the quiet lunch I was enjoying, and the civil relationships I maintain with all of these teachers.

It's a tough situation.

"If a nation expects to be ignorant and free... it expects what never was, and never will be." -Thomas Jefferson