Representative James Clyburn: Obama is only criticized because of racism

It seems that the desperation strategy for the Democrats/Kleptocrats/Statists going into the 2012 election cycle is to paint all critics and criticism of President Obama as being racist.

This is no better clearly illustrated than by the verbal vomit uttered by Democrat Congressional Representative James Clyburn of South Carolina. In an interview with McClatchy News Service, Clyburn had this to say:

"You know, I'm 70 years old," he said. "And I can tell you; people don't like to deal with it, but the fact of the matter is, the president's problems are in large measure because of the color of his skin."

OK, I'll bite. Tell me Rep. Clyburn, how it is that Obama's approval rating could have gone from around 65-70% at the beginning of his presidency down to 45-50% now, without some of that disapproval coming from many of the people who voted for him? Are those people racist now, but were not racist in November, 2008? The same people who don't like Obama's politics (including me), don't like the politics of Bill Clinton or Jimmy Carter very much either (including me). I am white; am I a racist for not liking Clinton or Carter either? The whole premise of blaming criticism of Obama on racism is absolutely absurd, but you know how this story goes. If the charges are not answered, no matter how stupid the charges are, then the meme is cemented in people's minds. You cannot let these slimy lowlifes like Jim Clyburn control the narrative. Remember the concept of "The Big Lie"? The bigger it is, the more likely people are willing to believe it. Calling me, and others like me, a racist because I disagree with Obama is a pretty big lie, wouldn't you say? All the more reason to call people out when they accuse you of it.

Clyburn then delved into the birth certificate controversy in an attempt to prove that the people who insisted that Obama release his birth certificate were/are motivated by racism:

Clyburn suggested that the "birther" movement of Americans who say Obama wasn't born in the United States is fueled by racism.

"I don't know why anybody didn't ask for John McCain's" birth certificate, Clyburn said. "He wasn't even born in this country."

Is Clyburn trying to purposefully deceive the unknowing out there, or is he really that stupid that he doesn't know that McCain's birth status was investigated by the New York Times and a Senate hearing was ultimately held on the subject? In fact, a member of the Senate committee that found that John McCain was indeed a natural-born citizen was none other than Barack Obama; the same Barack Obama who took three years to finally release a PDF file of his long-form birth certificate only after countless pundits, lawsuits, authors, and millions of Americans urged him to do so.

Fight the "Big Lie" folks. Unfortunately, there are way too many people out there who are ready and willing to believe it. The least you can do is stand up for yourself.

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

Injured in the line of duty: Teacher Edition

I was slightly injured yesterday breaking up a fight between two male eighth graders. When it was all over, I had to report to the health office and turn in an incident report. I was once again left wondering if my actions were worth it.

It doesn't happen very often, but every couple of years I happen to be not only present when a fight breaks out, but close enough to the epicenter where I have time to take action before it is all over. This time, I was doing bus duty yesterday afternoon. The buses were all lined up on the blacktop behind the school and I was in the process of shepherding the students toward their respective lines. I happened to look to my right and saw two male students walking toward each other across the blacktop, their respective entourage and onlookers in tow behind them.

I and another male teacher began quickly moving in the direction of the impending ruckus, but I was still about 15 or 20 feet away when the fists between the two boys started flying. It was at this point that I froze for a split second as I assessed the situation. I took stock of the size of the two combatants, their level of violence, and the mood of the crowd surrounding them. During that split second of decision-making that I endure every couple years, I wonder to myself whether I should just stand there and let these two bozos beat each other black and blue, or should I risk my own health by getting in between the two combatants, flying fists and all.

In the end, I cannot in good conscience let two boys beat the hell out of each other while I stand there and watch, so I waited for them to momentarily disengage to spar a bit, and in that split second where there was space in between them, I pounced. It just so happened that the other male teacher who had descended upon the scene made his decision to intervene at the very moment I did. I ran in between the two boys and grabbed the one who was facing me. I clotheslined my right arm around his chest and let my forward momentum take him away from the fight. I then twisted my body so that I was directly behind him, and then I put both my arms around him, pinning his arms against his sides. The boy continued to lunge toward his nemesis, who had been similarly restrained by the other teacher. As I held on to this struggling boy for dear life, I could feel his heart beating a mile a minute. As he yelled at me to let go of him, I yelled back, "Are you going to try and fight him again? I won't let go until you promise not to continue this!"

He finally relented and I escorted him to the office. After I deposited him outside the VP's office door, that is when I noticed that something was amiss. I ran my tongue against the inside of my bottom lip and could feel a fresh contusion from which seeped the coppery taste of blood.

Sometime during the melee', when I had thrust myself between the two combatants, I had been hit in the mouth by a glancing blow from one of them; probably a forearm, probably from the boy I had ended up restraining.

I have been injured one other time while breaking up a fight. It was about five years ago, and of all things, it was between two girls. I stepped in between them, thinking that would stop it cold. Nuh uh. They simply began reaching around me to continue punching each other. They finally grappled, with me still in between them, and all three of us ended up hurtling toward the pavement. My right knee was the first thing to impact the ground. The two girls got up and began chasing each other while punching at the same time. I got up to pursue, but fell right back to ground with my injured knee. That was definitely the worse of two injuries I have now received breaking up fights, but it is still enough to give me pause before getting between two aggressive, irrational, flailing students.

However, standing by and doing nothing does not sit well with me either. Quite a dilemma.

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

I support free speech... except for those nasty conservatives!

I am becoming quite the fan of the folks at exposingleftists.com, who go around college campuses with a petition and a camera and show typical leftist hypocrisy in all its glory.

In this case, people gladly sign a petition that calls for the banning from airwaves of broadcasters like Glenn Beck and Rush Limbaugh. While these people are signing the petition, they are asked if they support free speech and the First Amendment. At this point, their words and their actions don't quite mesh.

Check it out:



Just think, in their hands lies our future.

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

Arnold "Schwarzenkennedy" now truly lives up to his nickname

I am proud to say that I did not vote for Arnold Schwarzenegger either time he ran for governor of California. I voted for former California State Senator and current California Congressional Representative Tom McClintock in 2003, and in 2006, I voted for the Libertarian candidate; I think his last name was Olivier. So why did I twice vote for someone other than the Republican Schwarzenegger? Because he wasn't a Republican, although he called himself one. I can call myself a Chinese jet pilot, but that doesn't make it so. Schwarzenegger was known for some rather left-of-center stances from the get-go, and he did nothing but go further left as his governorship went on. We conservatives didn't call him Arnold "Schwarzenkennedy" just because he married into that famous family; his politics fit in quite nicely as well. Now that we know about his extra child that he fathered with his maid, I would confidently contend that Arnold is now officially a true Kennedy!

And now that we know that the entire time he was governor, he was hiding a rather illicit part of his life from not only his family, but the voters, I have to wonder about something: Were any of Schwarzenegger's decisions as governor influenced by this delicate situation? What if someone who had his ear to the political landscape had knowledge of this "love child" and used the information to blackmail favors from the governor? Like for instance, what if a prison sentence for a convicted voluntary manslaughterer came up for review, and the governor inexplicably lopped off almost half of that 16-year sentence? What if that man slaughterer was the son of a former speaker of the California State Assembly?

Am I saying that is the reason Schwarzenegger commuted the sentence of Estaban Nunez, son of former Assembly Speaker Fabian Nunez? Of course not. However, when politicians do things of questionable morality that open them up to possible exploitation, blackmail, and extortion, then every act or decision that politician makes is open to suspicion.

Of course on the other hand, the Jesuit monk currently sitting in California's governor's seat is making some rather questionable decisions as well. What's his excuse?

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

A more simple and easy-to-understand reason why no Conservative/Republican should ever support Newt Gingrich for President

Forget Newt's reign as Speaker during the 1995 government shutdown for which he let the Republicans get the blame.

Forget Newt's abandonment of his cancer-stricken wife.

Forget Newt's criticism of Rep. Paul Ryan's economic plan.

Forget Newt's enthusiasm for socialized health care.

Here is all you need to see and hear to convince you to never support this RINO for president.

Remember this?



My work here is done.

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

CTA/SEIU members make fools of themselves at the California State Capitol

The "California State of Emergency" activities planned by the California Teachers Association (CTA) took place all week at the California State Capitol in Sacramento, with several dozen CTA members even being arrested for trespassing after refusing to leave the Capitol after closing hours.

Another teacher I want to see arrested is the dunce who made and carried this misspelled sign and put it out there for all the world to see. The sign had the same thing written on both sides, and the word "Crisis" was misspelled on both sides!

All the week's events, however, were just filler for the big event to come, and that was yesterday's rally on the south steps of the Capitol. Thousands of union members arrived to demand that the California legislature and Governor Brown raise taxes on Californians so that teachers can keep their jobs.

This is all great stuff, right? Wrong! And remember, I am a California public school teacher.

As it is, approximately 40% of all tax revenues in California currently go toward our bloated education system, and over the past seven years, education budgets have seen a healthy net increase, to the tune of just under 26% between 2003 and 2009. Ask a typical CTA member however, and they will swear that there is no money for education in California. To that I say, there is plenty of money alright, they are just horrifically mis-spending it on things like increased administrator salaries and Taj Mahal high schools that cost over a half-billion dollars. How many teacher jobs might that money have saved?

Let's take a look at some of the attendees of yesterday's rally.

The majority of the attendees were CTA members and members of the Service Employees International Union (SEIU). Then of course, there were also the school students who were brought to the Capitol as human shields for the wage and benefit demands of the teachers. Seeing these gullible, ignorant students being used as props by these petulant childish teachers frankly creeped me out:

If you weren't aware, the song they were singing - "Solidarity Forever" - is a radical piece of fluff that was written for the far-left International Workers of the World (IWW, or "Wobblies" as they are known). The song was later made even more famous by communist singer/songwriter, and long-time Stalinist, Pete Seeger.

As a matter of fact, there was quite a bit of eyelash batting at the idea of socialism and communism at this shindig. First, I was handed this flyer:

Then, a few steps later, I looked up and saw this:



Well, Hola Che! Fancy seeing you here! Not surprising, though.

Adding to the partisan flavor of the rally, there were scenes like this:

And this:

Then we had the "Education is a Right!" crowd:



Sorry folks; it isn't a right, no matter how much you may want it to be. Education can only be provided by taking time and money from someone else. You have the right to seek education, but you do not have the right to have it provided for you by the taxpayer.

There weren't just teachers at this rally. Very soon after I arrived, I found my first SEIU member:

And where there is one, there are many more. The thugs of the Purple Ocean always travel together in packs:

I couldn't stay long, as the batteries on my FLIP Camera were failing me (oops.), and I had a dinner date scheduled with my wife (Cafe Bernardo at 28th and Capitol is always a hit!). As I was getting ready to head out, that is when I heard it: the pounding feet, the wimpy voices, the indecipherable chant. OH NO! IT'S CORNY STREET THEATER!!!



I think they are saying, "We left our classrooms and came to the Capitol to make sure our students aren't left behind...." The first lesson on chants is that you don't make them too verbose. I give these teachers an F.

As I headed back toward my car, I turned and took a long shot of the event:

Most of the people there seemed nice enough. I'm sure they believed in their cause; the question I was left with was what that cause was. While they were quick to push the kids out in front of them and say it was all for them, it was quite easy to tell that these teachers were here to save their own skin, and not the skin of their students. And that's fine, the CTA is a labor union. The job of a labor union is maximize the number of employees in its profession, and get for them the highest pay and benefits possible. But see, the CTA didn't do that. They couch it as being all about "the kids."

The amusing part is that the whole reason for this event had already been solved by the time it happened. An unexpected $2.5 billion dollar rise in incoming tax revenues enabled the Republican minority in the state legislature to offer a budget that fully funded Prop 98, which mandates a certain percentage of the state budget go toward education. Of course, the Republican-hating attendees of this rally didn't want to hear that. I'm sure the thought of the Republican Party saving their bacon is a horror they wish not to contemplate. But then, that wasn't the main motivation for this whole affair in the first place. This sign gives a better summation:

I give this teacher an A for honesty.

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

A deserving suspension courtesy of the Eye in the Sky

On principle, I am opposed to laws such as those that ban smoking in private establishments... even though I love frequenting a restaurant or bar without coming home smelling like an ashtray.

I am also opposed to the idea of cameras watching us all hours of the day, everywhere we go. I don't like how our younger generation, especially, is growing up in a world where they are accustomed to accepting this situation as normal.

On the other hand, when behavior in our society takes a sharp turn downward, as it has done in the last several decades, measures must be taken. It comes back to the old adage that when we can't control ourselves, others must do it for us. When this happens, I am glad there was a camera in our school hallway to back me up when I caught a student doing something she should not have, and she probably would have gotten away with it were it not for the fact that we got it on video.

First of all, important to this story is the fact that my classroom door has a narrow window in it that is about 8 inches wide and about 2 feet tall. It is situated right above the doorknob. Because students passing in the hallway can look right in to my classroom as they walk by, I have blocked off the bottom portion of the window by taping some construction paper over it. The top half of the window is still unobstructed. At 6 feet 2 inches tall, I can look over the construction paper and through the window, but your average middle schooler cannot.

During second period yesterday, I was giving my lesson at the front of the classroom and just happened to look to my right toward the classroom door. I don't know what prompted me to do so; maybe I picked up some of my students subtly looking towards the door? When I looked at the door, I saw an arm visible outside the unobstructed portion of the window, and the hand attached to the arm had its middle finger extended toward the class and me. Whoever this person was, he or she was standing outside my classroom door flipping us all the bird.

As soon as I saw this, I sprinted to my classroom door and flung it open. I quickly looked left; I saw nothing. I quickly looked to the right, and saw something; movement, a shadow. I moved toward the classroom next door to mine to just see a student entering that classroom. The student turned out to be "Mariah," who I have in another period later in the day, and she is often quite disrespectful and disruptive.

I entered the other classroom and told Mariah to come back outside with me. With a sheepish grin on her face, she immediately began saying, "I didn't do anything, oh my Gawwwd!" Once out in the hallway, I asked her what the heck she was thinking, and she again said she didn't do anything. I told her fine, if she didn't do anything, then she had to see who the person was who was standing in my doorway flipping off my class through the window. She said, "I don't know, I didn't do anything."

Fine, whatever. I took Mariah into my classroom, wrote her a pass to the Vice Principal and sent her on her way. As she walked out, she said to herself, "There goes graduation." I then phoned the VP and told him Mariah was on her way to him and why. The VP asked me, "How long ago did this happen." I told him that about two minutes had passed. He then said, "I'll check the hallway cameras and see exactly what happened."

Right after 2nd period ended, I logged onto PowerSchool and checked Mariah's referral log report. The VP had suspended her, and here was the reason why:

Mariah is suspended for violating education code 48900k-Disruption of school activities. As she was sent back to class she walked by a teacher's classroom and flipped him off through window. This was also seen on the school cameras. She will return 5-16-11. Parent was notified.

So, it turns out that she did do something, oh my Gawwwwwd! And the cameras confirmed it. My question is, what if we didn't have cameras? Would she have gotten away with it? Would it have been her word versus a teacher's, even though I am a teacher with an exemplary record and she is a repeat offender? Would I have had to endure a whole bunch of meetings where her parent(s) would have sat across from me and tell me that their daughter would never do such a thing and that I am just a racist teacher who is out to get her?

The camera shut down all those possibilities, and showed that Mariah did exactly what I said she did. And now because of that little stunt, and the two-day (too short in my opinion) suspension from school that goes with it, Mariah is now barred from walking at 8th grade graduation in two weeks. I would like to think she will learn something from this incident, but I have a bad feeling that it will just make her feel like that much more of a victim who has been wronged. Not a productive way to go through life.

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

Blogger where art thou?

Just had to vent: Blogger, the site that hosts this, and millions of other blogs, had been down for almost 24 hours. Now that it is back online, my most recent post on what it takes to be a Navy SEAL has disappeared.

They must have had a heck of a crash.

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

What makes a Navy SEAL... and what doesn't

The U.S. Navy SEALs have been getting quite a bit of publicity lately in the wake of the Osama bin Laden affair (You know: the one where there are no photos of the body that has conveniently been thrown in the ocean).

Nevertheless, the training that goes into making a SEAL is the toughest military training in the world.I came across this rather interesting article that ran in the Wall Street Journal that was written by a former Navy SEAL. The writer did a nice job of summing up who makes it through this training and who typically doesn't:

What kind of man makes it through Hell Week? That's hard to say. But I do know—generally—who won't make it. There are a dozen types that fail: the weight-lifting meatheads who think that the size of their biceps is an indication of their strength, the kids covered in tattoos announcing to the world how tough they are, the preening leaders who don't want to get dirty, and the look-at-me former athletes who have always been told they are stars but have never have been pushed beyond the envelope of their talent to the core of their character. In short, those who fail are the ones who focus on show. The vicious beauty of Hell Week is that you either survive or fail, you endure or you quit, you do—or you do not.

Some men who seemed impossibly weak at the beginning of SEAL training—men who puked on runs and had trouble with pull-ups—made it. Some men who were skinny and short and whose teeth chattered just looking at the ocean also made it. Some men who were visibly afraid, sometimes to the point of shaking, made it too.

Almost all the men who survived possessed one common quality. Even in great pain, faced with the test of their lives, they had the ability to step outside of their own pain, put aside their own fear and ask: How can I help the guy next to me? They had more than the "fist" of courage and physical strength. They also had a heart large enough to think about others, to dedicate themselves to a higher purpose.

I remember reading an entire book on SEAL training, and just reading the detailed description of Hell Week left me feeling exhausted. The hardships of Army basic training and advanced individual training were enough for me. Hell Week during SEAL training would do me in right quick, as I get quite punchy and admittedly a little panicky when I am forcefully deprived of sleep. Believe me, there were times during my years in the Army when I caught very few Zzzz's, but it was nothing like Hell Week, where you maybe get 2 hours total over a five day period. Kudos to the hard-charging men out there who are willing to put themselves through the kind of punishment that is SEAL training.

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

Watch a slimy class-action lawyer have a meltdown

This is video gold right here folks! John Stossel brought on a walking cliche' of class-action lawyer named Al Pires to ask him about the alleged massive fraud going on with the Pigford case in which some black farmers were truly discriminated against by the USDA in getting loans, but tens of thousands of others have signed up to receive $50,000, even though they never farmed.

Al Pires didn't much like being called out on this by Stossel, and he especially didn't like it when Andrew Breibart was brought on to make specific allegations including names and dates.

What was Pires' response? Ridicule, name-calling, and flat out lying. It was really embarrassing to watch. Therefore, I think you should watch Stossel and Breitbart take down this slimeball. It is 11 minutes of pure bliss:



For a lawyer, this guy doesn't argue very well, does he?

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

First 2012 Republican debate has a "surprise" winner

I put "surprise" in quotes because if you know anything about the man who overwhelmingly carried the debate last night, you wouldn't be surprised. I have been excited about this man's candidacy since the moment he announced.

Watch this short video of pollster Frank Luntz - who has never seen this overwhelming of a reaction in all the focus group polling he has ever done - as his focus group of South Carolina Republicans show how racist they are with their pick of the winner:



What? How could they have picked him? I thought people who don't support Obama only do so because he is black! How can this be? /sarc

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

Obama won't release Osama death photo

Our Dear Leader says that releasing any photos of a dead Osama bin Laden would be "an incitement to additional violence."

Ah, I see. OK.

Releasing some other photos however, didn't seem to bother the conscience of our delicate president. Remember this from early 2009?

Barack Obama to release up to 2,000 photographs of prisoner abuse

President Barack Obama is to release up to 2,000 photographs of alleged abuse at American prisons in Iraq and Afghanistan in a move which will reignite the scandal surrounding Abu Ghraib prison in 2004...

This man is a disgrace.

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

Beware the bounce

The chattering hens on The View said in the wake of Osama bin Laden being killed that they might as well not even hold the 2012 election, because after taking down bin Laden, Obama guaranteed his reelection then and there.

Not so fast. I guess one of the easier things about being a leftist is that history always begins today. How quickly these ladies forget that high approval ratings now, can mean jack-diddly a year later.

Just ask George H.W. Bush. In March 1991, after an overwhelming U.S. victory in the Persian Gulf War, President Bush enjoyed an approval rating pegged at right around 90%. By November 1992, George H.W. Bush received only 38% of the popular vote and lost his reelection bid to Billy Jeff Clinton. This is because GHW Bush may have had his shining moment during the Gulf War, but too many other issues, such as going back on his "read my lips" no-tax pledge, sank him in the end.

I haven't studiously checked to see what kind of bounce in the polls Obama has received in the wake of bin Laden's killing, but from what I have read, it isn't much. Whatever bounce he does receive, keep in mind that just a few days ago, his poll numbers were not dropping like a rock because he had not yet found Osama bin Laden. Gas prices still stink and are getting stinkier, unemployment is still tragically high, ObamaCare is still wildly unpopular, and Obama seems to be fulfilling his promise to make sure that "electricity rates will necessarily skyrocket."

Put all that together, and I can easily surmise that by November 2012, Osama bin Laden will be way off people's radar screens, but the hits to their pocketbook - courtesy of our fascist-leaning president - will not be.

On the other hand, the Republicans need to field a candidate who can actually win. Good luck with that one.

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

What does Nancy Pelosi think about taking out Osama bin Laden?

Well, I guess that depends on who the President of the United States happens to be at the time. I saw this incredible piece of juxtaposition on the website of Commentary Magazine, and I had to run it here, because this woman has some chutzpah.

Here is what Nancy Pelosi said during a press conference on September 7, 2006:

[E]ven if [Osama bin Laden] is caught tomorrow, it is five years too late. He has done more damage the longer he has been out there. But, in fact, the damage that he has done . . . is done. And even to capture him now I don’t think makes us any safer.

Hmm, let's take a look at what Pelosi said just the other day in the aftermath of Osama's killing, and with her fellow Democrat Obama at the helm:

The death of Osama bin Laden marks the most significant development in our fight against al-Qaida. . . . I salute President Obama, his national security team, Director Panetta, our men and women in the intelligence community and military, and other nations who supported this effort for their leadership in achieving this major accomplishment. . . . [T]he death of Osama bin Laden is historic. . . .

And then the little two-faced backstabber called former-President Bush and congratulated him on his role in getting bin Laden:

Pelosi said she thought Bush appreciated the call.

“I wanted him to know the appreciation that many of us have in a bipartisan way ... that his role was important," she said.

The woman is just unbelievable. How can she stand to look at herself in the mirror?

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

American women are giving it the old college try

In the United States, there are now more women attaining college degrees than men.

According to figures from the Associated Press, American women hold 10.6 million Masters Degrees to the mens' 10.5 million. For Bachelors Degrees, it stands at women: 20.1 million versus men: 18.7 million.

With that in mind, the hysteric questions always seem to immediately get thrown out there, asking why women make less than men if women are going to college more, receiving, on average, 77 cents for every one dollar earned by a man.

The important piece of the puzzle that the article does not address however is what those degrees are in. Reason Magazine has a wonderfully succinct article that fills in the holes and explains why men earn more average pay than women.

For instance:

But read more, and you learn things that don't get much notice on Equal Pay Day. As the report acknowledges, women with college degrees tend to go into fields like education, psychology and the humanities, which typically pay less than the sectors preferred by men, such as engineering, math and business. They are also more likely than men to work for nonprofit groups and local governments, which do not offer salaries that Alex Rodriguez would envy.

As they get older, many women elect to work less so they can spend time with their children. A decade after graduation, 39 percent of women are out of the work force or working part time -- compared with only 3 percent of men. When these mothers return to full-time jobs, they naturally earn less than they would have if they had never left.

My wife is a prime example of this. She is an elementary school teacher, and has been employed in that capacity since 1995. However, she does not get paid for that many years of teaching because she took a few years off to stay home with our children during their infant and toddler years. I, on the other hand, haven't taught as many years as she, but I continue to accrue seniority at an unbroken pace because I never took any years off after our kids were born.

In the meantime, the males of this country need to get their act together and start going to college again.

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