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

Obama decides when you've had enough

The following should go down in the pantheon of Obama's idiotic, socialistic quotes - right along side his "spread the wealth around" nonsense that he stammered to Joe the Plumber.

Behold, as our Dear Leader tells us when enough salary is too much:



Does this standard apply to all the Wall Street bigwigs who have given hundreds of thousands if not millions of dollars to Obama's political campaigns? You know, the same bigwigs who Obama and his flunkies in the Congress are now bashing?

You know, I read recently that Obama made $5 million dollars last year. I have decided that this amount is beyond "enough"; it is too much. I think $3 million is enough. Give the remaining $2 million to me, Mr. President. It's only fair. C'mon, spread that wealth around!

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

The Supreme Court "crosses" the 9th Circuit

Good for the Supreme Court... five of the members, at least.

In 1934, some concerned citizens erected a 6-foot tall Latin cross on federal land in the Mojave desert in California as a monument to our soldiers who were killed in World War I.

This cross stood for decades, until 1999, when all of a sudden, someone couldn't accept a Christian cross standing on federal land. The mistaken notion of separation of church and state struck again as the mostly loony-toon 9th Circuit Court of Appeals declared that this cross sitting in the middle of the desert constituted an establishment of religion. Things got so absurd, appeals courts ordered that the cross be covered with a big wooden box!

To make a long story short, the idea of the establishment clause of the First Amendment was to prevent Congress from favoring one Christian denomination over another. Hence, Congress could not decide that the Methodist Church would be the official church of the United States and other religions - say, the Quakers - could not be compelled to support the Methodist Church with their tax dollars.

Last time I checked, allowing a cross that was planted by private citizens to sit on federal land does not meet the standard established by the First Amendment.

I am happy to say that five of the nine justices of the Supreme Court agreed with me on April 28th of this year. Chief Justice John Roberts, along with Justices Scalia, Thomas, Kennedy, and Alito agreed that the cross should stay. On the other side, Ginsburg, Breyer, the "wise Latina" Sotomayor, and Stevens - in his final "F-You" to our nation - voted to scrap the cross.

On a personal note, I think we need more monuments to our World War I veterans. Did you know that of all the battles our military has fought in our nation's history, the bloodiest battle of all took place during World War I?

Think of three famous battles, all of which lasted between one and two months, that our troops fought in World War II, and the casualties our troops suffered in them:

The Battle of Iwo Jima, which took place in February and March of 1945 claimed the lives of just under 7,000 U.S. Marines. The Battle of Okinawa, which was fought from April to July 1945, killed about 12,500 American soldiers, sailors, and Marines. The most costly battle of World War II for the United States was the Battle of the Bulge, fought in December 1944 and January 1945, in which 19,000 American soldiers were killed.

As horrible were the casualties in those three battles, they don't come close to matching the number of American deaths that were suffered from September to November 1918 in the Meuse-Argonne Offensive at the end of World War I. In that 47-day battle, an astounding 26,300 American soldiers were killed. Another 96,000 were wounded.

Our reasons for entering World War I may have been seriously misguided, but that shouldn't stop us from better recognizing the Meuse-Argonne Offensive and the 26,300 American soldiers who died fighting in it. I think that's worth a cross in the desert.

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

I think you only mean "dissent" with which you agree

On my blogroll, you will find a link to the Sacramento Area Peace Action, which is a website run by our local leftists/statists, where they let everyone know what kind of marches, workshops, and events are coming up on the calendar. I have used it as a valuable resource to know when the good rallies are coming so I can be there with camera at the ready.

I check the SAPA website tonight, and found this upcoming event:

Thursday, Apr 29, 7pm, Film: The People Speak. Narrated by acclaimed historian Howard Zinn and based on his best-selling books, this film shows the rich history of dissent in our country and explores why it is so relevant and urgent today. Mike Pach, candidate for the Davis Food Co-op Board of Directors, will introduce the film. 345 L Street, Davis.

Dissent in our country is relevant and urgent, you say? Why do I have a feeling that your warm and fuzzy regards for dissent don't carry over to the "relevant" and "urgent" dissent of the Tea Party members who have been marching for over a year now? How about it SAPA? Does the dissent of the Tea Partiers qualify as being part of our "rich history of dissent"?

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

What did they put in Gates's beer?

Remember Henry Louis Gates? He was the Harvard professor of African-American Studies who went off the deep end when two Cambridge, Massachusetts police officers detained him on suspicion of burglary when he attempted to break into his own house. Later, President Obama shot his mouth off about the incident, opining that the Cambridge police officers had "acted stupidly." All of this led to the famous "beer summit" held at the White House that featured Gates, the arresting officer, Obama, and Crazy Joe Biden.

Although my opinion of Henry Louis Gates is rather low on many matters, I have to give credit where credit is due when I say that he wrote one hell of an effective op-ed for the New York Times last week. Gates took on some of the myths and misunderstandings used by proponents of slavery reparations for today's black Americans.

Gates mentioned many of the same pieces of misinformation that I address with my students every year. Both the 7th grade World History and 8th grade U.S. History standards I teach address the issue of slavery, and many of my students are always shocked to find out that slavery wasn't just a white/black phenomenon, nor was its practice limited to just the United States. Many of these students are floored to discover that the vast majority of African slaves who were sent to the New World were first purchased from African slave owners. The European slave traders were merely buying Africans who had already been enslaved by their fellow Africans.

Gates addresses this and other pertinent points in his excellent piece. Here are just a few gems:

For centuries, Europeans in Africa kept close to their military and trading posts on the coast. Exploration of the interior, home to the bulk of Africans sold into bondage at the height of the slave trade, came only during the colonial conquests, which is why Henry Morton Stanley’s pursuit of Dr. David Livingstone in 1871 made for such compelling press: he was going where no (white) man had gone before...

Advocates of reparations for the descendants of those slaves generally ignore this untidy problem of the significant role that Africans played in the trade, choosing to believe the romanticized version that our ancestors were all kidnapped unawares by evil white men, like Kunta Kinte was in “Roots.” The truth, however, is much more complex: slavery was a business, highly organized and lucrative for European buyers and African sellers alike...

To be sure, the African role in the slave trade was greatly reduced after 1807, when abolitionists, first in Britain and then, a year later, in the United States, succeeded in banning the importation of slaves. Meanwhile, slaves continued to be bought and sold within the United States, and slavery as an institution would not be abolished until 1865. But the culpability of American plantation owners neither erases nor supplants that of the African slavers. In recent years, some African leaders have become more comfortable discussing this complicated past than African-Americans tend to be....

I highly suggest you read the whole of this informative and important column. There was, however, one position taken by Gates with which I disagreed. Right near the end, he wrote the following:

Fortunately, in President Obama, the child of an African and an American, we finally have a leader who is uniquely positioned to bridge the great reparations divide. He is uniquely placed to publicly attribute responsibility and culpability where they truly belong, to white people and black people, on both sides of the Atlantic, complicit alike in one of the greatest evils in the history of civilization. And reaching that understanding is a vital precursor to any just and lasting agreement on the divisive issue of slavery reparations.

What is humorous about that is that Obama's white side of the family had the last name of Dunham. With an old-school British name like that, it is highly plausible that this side of his family could have slave owners in its past. Meanwhile, the African side of his family comes from Kenya, which is in East Africa. American slaves were from West Africa. This adoption by Americans of African descent of East African cultural features such as the Swahili language and the east African-influenced pseudo-holiday Kwanzaa never made sense to me. It would be like someone of French ancestry adopting aspects of Lithuanian culture as part of his heritage - after all, both countries are from the same continent!

It would have been so easy for a man of Gates's stature and ideology to take the easy way out and put all the blame on the European contribution to the trans-Atlantic slave trade. Instead, he stuck to his academic integrity and called it like it is. For this, Professor Gates has my respect regarding this matter.

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

And now a word from our "post-racial" president

I swear, this man is making me more queasy by the day. Our Dear Leader, Barack Obama, has put out the clarion call for the racial minorities who elected him in 2008 to get off their duffs and come back to the polls for the 2010 mid-terms. What does that say about your constituency when you have to beg to them to not vote just once?

Now don't get me wrong, if minority voters want to vote for Barack Obama based on the color of his skin, that's their perogative - misguided though it is. However, I must ask you: What if a white politician sat there and asked his white constitutents to head back to the polls and pull the lever for his policies? Ya think some people might have a problem with that? Which is why no white politician would have made such a racially naked request in the first place. Ah, but our illustrious president has no problem going on YouTube and displaying his racial cynicism for everyone to see. Watch the entire 2 minute and 42 second video if you need something to make you drowsy, but please listen for the money quote at 1:58.

Remember, as a candidate for the presidency, Obama was the one who promised he would heal our divisions and bring us together. Now he is openly attempting to divide us along racial and gender lines. Yet another campaign promise dead and buried. Of course, looking at recent approval poll numbers, it isn't the loss of the votes of racial minorities that Obama should be worried about. He should be worrying about the loss of white independents who voted for him in 2008, and have left him in droves since then, while making numerous indications that they will punish the Dems in congress come November. Like I said recently, I can't wait until the evening of November 2, 2010! No matter what happens, it will be memorable.

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

If you enjoyed 1994, you're gonna LOVE 2010

Remember the voter anger in 1994 that kicked the Democrats out of their leadership positions in both house of Congress? Daniel Henninger of the Wall Street Journal uses Pew research data to show just how angry the situation is now. You really need to read his whole article, but here is just a taste:

Here's the Pew blowout data:

In 1994 when the Democrats lost over 50 House seats at mid-term, the party's favorable rating was 62%, and for the Congress they controlled it was 53%. They still got killed. Now the party's favorable is 38% and Congress's approval is 25%. The Republicans' numbers are low, too, but they're not in charge.

I cannot wait to see what happens on November 2, 2010. No matter which ideology comes out on top, it is going to be a night to remember!

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

Happy Earth Day, everyone!

Please, please watch this minute-and-half clip all the way to its primal conclusion.



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

About those "racist" Tea Parties

Let's see what some of the attendees of last week's Tea Party in Washington D.C. had to say about the supposed racism that many on the left insist is part and parcel of the Tea Party movement. God Bless these people for following their principles and not being afraid to speak out. They have my utmost respect.



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

Guess what else causes global warming?

I checked my calendar; it's not April Fools Day. I checked the link; it's not a fake, funny news story from The Onion. This is the actual headline from a column in last Sunday's Los Angeles Times:

Why cleaner air could speed global warming

From what I can tell, they are dead serious folks. After decades of hand-wringing about our dirty air and smokestacks belching filth into our atmosphere, we are now told that we apparently need to bring all that back in the name of stopping the (non-existent) threat of human-caused global warming:

Cleaner air, one of the signature achievements of the U.S. environmental movement, is certainly worth celebrating. Scientists estimate that the U.S. Clean Air Act has cut a major air pollutant called sulfate aerosols, for example, by 30% to 50% since the 1980s, helping greatly reduce cases of asthma and other respiratory problems.

But even as industrialized and developing nations alike steadily reduce aerosol pollution -- caused primarily by burning coal -- climate scientists are beginning to understand just how much these tiny particles have helped keep the planet cool. A silent benefit of sulfates, in fact, is that they've been helpfully blocking sunlight from striking the Earth for many decades, by brightening clouds and expanding their coverage. Emerging science suggests that their underappreciated impact has been incredible....

Good God in Heaven, I think these global warming cultists are truly beginning to lose their already tenuous grip on reality. This is especially apparent when you read further into the column and find out what the author proposes be done:

In the face of severe climate risks, credible scientists are beginning to study geo-engineering -- tinkering with global systems to reduce warming directly. One scheme is to spew sulfates or other sun-blocking particles miles high in the stratosphere. If it worked, it would mimic the natural cooling effect of volcanoes, replacing the near-surface sulfate mask with a much higher one. But the possible side effects could be dire, including damage to the ozone layer. The potential geopolitical implications, like wars over the thermostat, could be devastating as well.

As a wag at the Newsbusters website (see my blogroll) so aptly put it, we have now reached the apex of "heads I win, tails you lose" global warming alarmism.

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

Please Babs, keep talking

Barbara "Call me Senator, don't call me Ma'am" Boxer has got to be the dumbest member of the U.S. Senate, if not the entire Congress.

When you are running for reelection in what is shaping up to be a tight race, perhaps you should not use your opponents as an example of what one should aspire to be.

Or... keep doing that. Whatever it takes for you to lose, just keep doing it... Ma'am.

Bonus question: What is with that weird giggle at the end of almost all of her sentences?

Extra Bonus question: Who are all these nitwits in the adoring crowd who would actually raise a Boxer sign and enthusiastically cheer this sorry excuse for a senator?

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

WaPo columnist attends D.C. Tea Party

He not only survived the experience, he actually came away with about as positive an attitude as a left-wing columnist from a left-wing newspaper is going to have:

I went to the "tea party" rally at the Washington Monument on Thursday to check out just how reactionary and potentially violent the movement truly was.

Answer: Not very.

Based on what I saw and heard, tea party members are not seething, ready-to-explode racists, as some liberal commentators have caricatured them.

Some are extremists and bigots, sure. The crowd was almost entirely white. I differ strenuously with the protesters on about 95 percent of the issues.

Nevertheless, on the whole, they struck me as passionate conservatives dedicated to working within the system rather than dangerous militia types or a revival of the Ku Klux Klan....

So, even though this Robert McCartney couldn't get through his piece without mentioning the whiteness of the crowd, he at least didn't go off the deep end with his description of the Tea Party that was held in Washington D.C. on Tax Day.

I was just wondering: if the supposed racism of a crowd is determined by which skin color overwhelmingly attends it, then I wonder if the same people who think the Tea Partiers are racists think the same thing about the so-called Million Man March that was held in D.C. about 15 years ago? Funny, I remember nothing but positive press coverage of that event at the time.

However, I will take a mark in the win column, and the more fair and balanced coverage this Washington Post columnist gave the D.C. Tea Party provides that mark.

It's a start, and certainly a refutation of the vicious craziness coming out of the mouths of the left-wing punditry on places like MSNBC.

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

Do they have nothing better to do?

What is it with Congress and their weird obsession with Major League Baseball?

First, there were the hearings that Congress held regarding the use of steroids by MLB players. Now, wacko representative Henry Waxman (Democrat, naturally), who hails from my own dear state of California, wants to take on something of even more pressing concern than steroids.

After doing some sniffing around with those big ol' nostrils of his, Waxman has decided that it is of utmost importance that the use of chewing tobacco be banned in Major League Baseball. I kid you not:

Major League Baseball and the players’ union should “take action to end the use of smokeless tobacco by big league players,” said Representative Henry Waxman, chairman of the House Committee on Energy and Commerce, at the start of a hearing today.

Aside from the fact that this is none of the business of Congress, even if it was, does not the U.S. Congress have more important matters to address? And if they actually have time to deal with an issue like this, then I think it is time to turn Congress into a part-time legislature. Seriously.

What is it Will Rodgers said? "No man's life, liberty or fortune is safe while our legislature is in session."

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

I have my own children, thank you very much

One of the beliefs that is harbored by many non-teachers and certainly too many actual teachers is that we teachers must sacrifice all for our students.

You have probably seen those "Hero Teacher" movies where the selfless teacher goes into that inner-city school and saves the students however that teacher (usually a she) can manage. The teacher becomes a de facto parent, making visits to students' homes and tutoring the student on the teachers own time; the teacher reaches into her pocketbook and takes her students on field trips in order to give those students experiences that they would otherwise never have; the teacher dedicates her time and energy to her students to the point where her marriage deteriorates and eventually terminates.

And of course, we are constantly hearing from teachers who complain (or brag) about the hundreds of dollars that they spend out of their own pocket to buy supplies for their classroom that the district can't or won't provide.

What doesn't help in changing these entrenched opinions is when the education establishment itself calls for a continuation of this unrealistic altruism that is expected of teachers.

As I am not a member of the National Education Association/California Teachers Association, I instead belong to the Association of American Educators (AAE). The AAE sends me a monthly professional journal called Education Matters. I usually enjoy the articles in this journal, but every once in a while, our opinions clash. The front page article of the April 2010 issue provided one of these occasions.

The title of the article is rather intriguing: Teaching as Leadership: 6 traits of highly effective teachers. It was written by Jamie Davies O'Leary, who worked for a program called Teach For America (TFA).

While I certainly agreed with some of the writer's ideas of what makes an effective teacher, she lost me with trait #2:

Invest in students and their families. Teach For America doesn't have a monopoly on this; however, TFA may be unique in the extent to which its teachers will do nearly anything (dye their hair, shave their heads, pay for field trips out of their pockets) to motivate their pupils to learn.

I will even stipulate that I would be willing to dye my hair, and I already shave my head, but pay for a field trip out my own pocket? Not on your life!

What people sometimes forget is that the kids I teach are not my kids. In fact, I never refer to the kids I teach as "my kids." I make it a point to always refer to them as "my students." I already have kids; two of them. I am not going to take money from their mouths or their college funds in order to pay for a field trip for a bunch of my students who have their own parents or adult guardians at home who have their own responsibility to provide those experiences to their own kids.

I already know what some of you are thinking: "Oh, but some of these children come from deprived homes where they will never get the chance to have so many of these life-enriching experiences unless you, the teacher, provide them."

To that I say: Not my problem. Regarding those 180+ students that I teach every day; I am not their parent, and I am not their friend. I am their teacher. Teaching is a job. I go to my job, I perform it, and I go home to my family. And make no mistake, my family comes first. Isn't that the way it is supposed to be? And if the parent(s) or legal guardians of some of the students I teach choose not to put their family first, it sucks, but there isn't anything I can do about it, except to do my utmost to provide the most informative and quality classroom lessons I can. And when the end-of-day bell rings, the students go home, and they are no longer my legal or moral responsibility.

There are teachers at my school who I believe to be overinvolved in the lives of their students. They let the students come in their classrooms every day to eat lunch; they give their students rides home; they regularly attend their students' sports and band events.

I am not one of those teachers, and I absolutely refuse to feel guilty about it for even one second. I believe that not only can a teacher be effective without "investing" in the lives of his students and their families, it is actually imperative that a teacher maintain a professional distance from his students and their families, and leave parenting of the students to the parents.

Even though many teachers entered the teaching profession with expectations of saving the world, further investigation will show that that particular endeavor is not in the job description.

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

What ended the Great Depression?

I can tell you what didn't: The policies of Franklin Roosevelt. His New Deal disaster ensured that the Depression would just keep on going.

In an informative and refreshing article from the Wall Street Journal, history professor Burton Folsom has provided some valuable information on what exactly ended the Great Depression, and never mind the New Deal, Folsom even discounts the impact of World War II. I find this interesting, because I had been told my whole life that it was World War II that finally got us out of the Depression, but that never made any sense to me, because wasn't most of the economic activity from the war being funded with taxpayer money, just like the New Deal programs were funded by the taxpayer as well?

Folsom's article finally gives a clear cut answer: It wasn't World War II that got us out of the Depression; it was the decision of Congress not to return to the New Deal policies once the War had ended:

Congress—both chambers with Democratic majorities—responded by just saying "no." No to the whole New Deal revival: no federal program for health care, no full-employment act, only limited federal housing, and no increase in minimum wage or Social Security benefits.

Instead, Congress reduced taxes. Income tax rates were cut across the board. FDR's top marginal rate, 94% on all income over $200,000, was cut to 86.45%. The lowest rate was cut to 19% from 23%, and with a change in the amount of income exempt from taxation an estimated 12 million Americans were eliminated from the tax rolls entirely....

For the whole story, read the rest of the article. You won't be sorry.

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

Care to take a ride on a time machine?

Check out the city of San Francisco circa 1905 or 1906 - not long before the Great Quake. This is absolutely amazing footage was taken from an early camera mounted on the front of a cable car as it ambled up Market Street toward the Ferry Building.



The historian in me is drooling right now!

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

Chanman gets a name change

In the almost five years I have been operating this blog, I have been posting under the name "Chanman" since day one. As much as it pains me to break tradition and also somewhat compromise my anonymity, I have found it necessary to begin posting under a new name.

This came about when I was recently invited by our local fishwrap, the Sacramento Bee, to become a partner in their new feature called Sacramento Connect. The Online department of the Bee was trying to think of new ways to connect their readers to further content on news stories and decided to enlist the help of local blogs to make it happen. Buckhorn Road was invited to be one of those initial blogs. The catch is that the Bee is uncomfortable with my posting under a completely anonymous name, especially since my content can be rather... controversial... at times.

After a little negotiation, we compromised that I don't have to use my full name, and I don't have to provide the name of the school at which I teach. I can live with that. My main concern is that I know my students Google me - they have told me as much. I figured that as long as I don't post under my full first and last name, then the chances of my students easily connecting me to this blog are much more slim. And if they do make the connection? What're ya gonna do? I never use the students' real names, I never mention the name of my school, and I have tenure.

Hence, Chanman is dead, long live W.R. Chandler.

This isn't unheard of. I remember when I first started reading Powerline blog (see blogroll on left), the posts were written by Big Trunk, Deacon, some other nonsensical nom de plume. Later, after these guys started becoming more well known and began guest hosting for Hugh Hewitt and what not, we learned that their names were John Hinderaker, Scott Johnson, and Paul Mirengoff. They have since dropped their old names entirely.

And while I'm at it, I figured that this would be a logical time to change my sign off as well. There is a quote from Thomas Jefferson that has always been a favorite of mine; I have it posted in my classroom. So from here on out, W.R. Chandler will sign off with:

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

Buckhorn Road finally discovers YouTube

After owning my Flip camera for almost two years, I finally figure out that it is compatible with YouTube. Don't be frightened; it's only me:



Good Day to You, Sir