The masses take it to the elephants and the asses

There was a different kind of feeling of "hope" and "change" in the air today as an estimated 7,000 people (I think it was more) converged around the west steps of the California State Capitol in order to express their displeasure over the bailouts, the stimulus spending, and the inflationary spending that goes with it, that President Obama and the Democrat-controlled Congress are attempting with our hard-earned tax money, and the future earnings of our great-grandchildren.

Today's rally in downtown Sacramento was one of hundreds of Tax Day Tea Parties being held in cities all across the country. From the banking and auto industry bailouts, to the trillions of taxpayer dollars being spent to "stimulate" the economy, the attendees of today's rally made their feelings known with a plethora of signs, flags, t-shirts, and harsh words for our elected officials, both state and federal.

Some of the more memorable signs included one that used the words used in the title to this post; another told the government that we are not their ATM. There were also a huge number of Revolutionary War-era flags, complete with rattlesnakes and the words "Don't Tread On Me."

I attended today's Tea Party with my parents and my two children in tow (my wife had to work today). We arrived at the Capitol about twenty minutes before the official 12pm start time, but there were already thousands of people who had beaten us to the punch. The mood in the crowd was good-natured, but with a definite air of anxiety and fear for the future. I suspect one of the reasons for this anxious mood - aside from the aforementioned government spending spree - was a report that was just released by the Department for Homeland Security, entitled Assessment - Rightwing Extremism: Current Economic and Political Climate Fueling Resurgence in Radicalization and Recruitment. This anger in the crowd over this DHS assessment was verbalized by the rally's MC, local talk host Eric Hogue, who challenged the head of DHS, Janet Napolitano, yelling to the enthusiastic crowd that if she wants to know where all these "right wing radicals" are, "We are right here!" I find it hard to believe that it was pure coincidence that this DHS report was released with full knowledge of the DHS director and presumably President Obama the day before the Tea Parties were scheduled to commence. This was a naked attempt to intimidate and demonize the Tea Party organizers and attendees.

Sacramento's Tax Day Tea Party was a rousing success. They had top-notch speakers, such as Eric Hogue, local radio hosts Jack Armstrong and Joe Getty, Fox News' Neil Cavuto, and national radio host Michael Reagan; they had good organization, with port-a-potties available, a jumbotron screen provided by Pajamas Media's PJTV, and sufficient room for the thousands of people in attendance to mill about; and most of all, the people who attended the Tea Party itself. I didn't see a bunch of the stereotypical "country club Republican" types that people on the left seem to think that people on the right tend to be. I saw thousands of the kind of people who make this country successful. If I didn't work for a living, I would attend many more rallies like this, but I can't... I work for a living. I think of the dedication that so many of these people showed by taking a day off work so they could come out and show their support for the future of the state of California, the future of our Republic, and the future for our children and their children. This rally reminded me that there are still people out there that can make this country great again. This will only happen if the enthusiasm we saw today and in cities across this nation continue through the upcoming election cycles where we must show our incumbent politicians that we want "Change" alright; but not the kind that Obama and his minions in Congress have in mind.

I end this, my 1,000th post by the way, with some pictures that I took at Sacramento's Tax Day Tea Party:

One of the "Don't Tread On Me" flags was carried by Yours Truly.

There were lots of tea bags and references to tea bags. C'mon, it was a Tea Party!

Down on the ground, it was difficult to manage a camera shot that conveys the enormity of the crowd. This was my best effort.

Luckily, a friend of mine who works at the Capitol got me the shot I was looking for.

My friend wasn't the only one looking down on the crowd from above. Big Brother was definitely watching us, both with binoculars and at least one official with a camera and telephoto lens.

A nice sampling of the many clever signs that were to be found at the Tea Party.


Patriotic flags were in abundance as well.

It was a beautiful day for a Tea Party!

For a three hour rally, my kids behaved wonderfully. They were truly intrigued by all the activity. Grandma was on hand for backup, just in case the Chanman Children decided to go on the rampage!

Good Day to You, Sir

He is Risen!

He is Risen indeed!

Don't forget April 15th

Tax Day Tea Party is coming up soon. This Wednesday, rallies and protests will be held in cities all across the fruited plain. Find out if there is one in your area.

My parents will be in town for a post-Easter visit, so they are excited to join me on the steps of the California State Capitol and express their displeasure over our government full of "Goodfellas."

I will have my camera in hand to record the afternoon's events.

Good Day to You, Sir

Totally random... but COOL!

I have always loved airplanes. Of course, I am most fascinated by the kind of airplanes that shoot stuff. Of that genre, my favorite is the A-10 Warthog. With all the sleek, swept-wing fastmovers that get all the glory, I love the simple toughness of the the A-10. Ever since the Gulf War of 1991, I have followed the life of the only Air Force jet in their arsenal that is solely dedicated to close air support for the troops on the ground. This lesson was learned from Vietnam when the Air Force tried to protect our troops by using supersonic aircraft that were built more for taking on other supersonic aircraft rather than trying to pick off infantry or armor on the terra firma. The Air Force (and the Navy) had the A-1 Skyraider, but while it was a wonderful aircraft, it was also a propellor driven aircraft, and technological advancements had begun to leave it behind by the Vietnam War got underway. That's where the A-10 came in. What sets the Warthog apart is this big old thing right here:

Say hello to the GAU-8/A 30mm cannon. In just one second, this thing can spit out 70 rounds of depleted uranium shells that will take out a tank, a truck, or even a building. The cannon's recoil is so substantial that it actually slows down the Warthog when fired. The best thing about this cannon is the sound it makes. It is an absolutely evil sound, but if it is aimed at you, you will never hear it, because the bullets will get there first. Just ask the Taliban fighters holed up in this hideout in Afghanistan. Watch the whole video, because there are two separate strafing passes:



I showed my son that video, and he said, "Daddy, that gun sounds like a toot!" I think I remember talk of retiring the A-10 after the end of Gulf War I. If that's true, I'm glad the Brass changed their minds!

Good Day to You, Sir

Let me fix that statement for you there, Padre

As these words are typed, I am sitting in the home of my wife's sister and her family in the Point Loma area of San Diego. The fam and I departed Sacramento after work on Friday, and after nine hours on Interstate 5 (I drove every one of those miles by the way), we arrived at our destination just after 1am Saturday morning.

We have spent an afternoon at the beach, and tomorrow, we will hit the world-famous San Diego Zoo, but this morning we all attended church at one of the Protestant denominations in the Point Loma area.

During the sermon, the pastor was talking about the anxiety that our society currently feels, what with the economy and all, and he found the space in the sermon to offer up this gratuitous paean to our Dear Leader:

"We have a president who is gifted with a non-anxious presence."

I beg to differ. When I watch or listen to President Obama speak, I see and hear nothing but anxiety. I see a man who stutters and "uhh's" his way through his speeches whenever he must diverge from the teleprompter and actually speak what I assume are his actual thoughts.

I see an American public and stock market that gets anxious every time Obama or his tax-cheating Treasury Secretary, Tim Geithner, say anything about their plans for our industry and economy.

I see a world that is anxious as people of the different countries attempt to figure out just what kind of resolve our wishy-washy commander in chief really has in standing up to the bullies and aggressors of the world.

Speaking of those bullies and aggressors, they seem to be the only ones who aren't anxious. The terrorist group Hamas seems to be perfectly content as Obama seems hell-bent on securing almost a billion of our tax dollars to rebuild Gaza. Of course, due to incompetence, mismanagement, and general derangement, Gaza was a pit before the Israelis bombed it earlier this year. Not that the billion would be spent toward rebuilding efforts anyway... too many rockets and strap-on bomb vests to buy.

North Korea doesn't seem too anxious, as that country's demented leadership just fired a rocket the other day and continue the desire to be a nuclear power.

Russia doesn't seem too anxious as, ever since Obama took office, they have ratcheted up the rhetoric. Never forget that the leader of Russia is still Putin, and that he spent the better part of his life working for the KGB.

I am noticing more and more a kind of self-assuaging attitude where the Obamabots out there keep saying over and over again that their Dear Leader is an oratorical genius, even though he more and more being shown to be good at reading stuff. When Obama speaks off the cuff, I don't feel calmed. I feel my anxiety building with his every word.

Good Day to You, Sir

Lies, damned lies, and statistics

The jig is up on an recently oft-repeated statistic that proves Mark Twain's famous quote to be correct.

Rather than reexplaining the entire history of the 90% of weapons statistic, read this article from Fox News. The headline should help sum it up for you:

The Myth of 90 Percent: Only a Small Fraction of Guns in Mexico Come From U.S.

Good Day to You, Sir

RIP Maurice Jarre

I love movies. I am fascinated by the whole process of making movies, and I am one of those people who actually sit in the theater when everyone else has cleared out so I can read the credits.

One aspect of movies to which I often pay attention is the movie's score. The score is the music that plays in the background during various scenes. If the scene is exciting, the score will be driving and fast-paced. If the scene is sad, the score will slow down and convey the seriousness of the moment.

Famous scores include the simple yet ominous two-notes of the Jaws theme and the inspiring brass of the Indiana Jones movies; both written by John Williams. Or who could forget the electronica-based scores of numerous movies from the early to mid-1980s, such as Chariots of Fire, Blade Runner, and The Bounty? I also cannot fail to mention the haunting boys choir vocals that set the mood for the Civil War movie, Glory. Oooh, one more: the Back to the Future score by Alan Silvestri. That one is a classic in my book.

There are some musical scorers who have stood the test of time and worked in the business so long that they had the opportunity to dabble in different styles of scores. Maurice Jarre is one of those people. He wrote the drum and brass-heavy score for Lawrence of Arabia, the depressing score for Doctor Zhivago, and the electronica-heavy score for Witness - the "Amish" movie with Harrison Ford.

Maurice Jarre died the other day. His work is what, from an early age, inspired me to begin paying attention in the first place to who wrote the music to all those movies. Check out a rundown of his life's work and see if there is a movie whose musical score might have moved you.

Good Day to You, Sir

All in the name of fairness

With his latest column, Charles Krauthammer does a wonderful job of explaining the motivation that drives President Obama. With this kind of opening paragraph, you just gotta read the rest!

Five minutes of explanation to James Madison, and he'll have a pretty good idea what a motorcar is (basically a steamboat on wheels; the internal combustion engine might take a few minutes more). Then try to explain to Madison how the Constitution he fathered allows the president to unilaterally guarantee the repair or replacement of every component of millions of such contraptions sold in the several states, and you will leave him slack-jawed....

Good Day to You, Sir

April Fools!

This week is a duty week for me. Every morning from 8:45 to 9:00, you will find me walking my post on the east side of the campus, chosen by me because of its dearth of students and quiet area.

However, just before the first bell rang, I noticed that things were not calm to the west on the other side of the quad. Students were converging on an area on the other side of a block of classrooms, and then I watched the principal and vice-principal walking there briskly with walkie-talkies in their hands. I didn't stick around to see what was happening because an all-call went out over the campus PA for teachers to immediately get their students into the classroom.

When it comes to middle schoolers, it doesn't take long to get the skinny on what happened. Seeing as how it is April Fools Day and all, a large group of students thought it would be funny to run around the campus together in order to get everyone else on campus to think there was a fight happening. So, the stampede was on. The problem is that once a stampede begins, it is very difficult to stop. The thundering herd ended up knocking down one of our Language Arts teachers and trampling her. When the principal and VP were walking briskly, they were walking to where the teacher was still down on the ground. I heard later that the teacher went to the hospital.

Wow! What a funny April Fools prank for these dipshits to pull. See me laughing? *sarcasm off*

What makes me additionally angry is that what I just told you above is really all I know, and what I do know, I found out second-hand from my students. All day long, we teachers never received a phone call, an email, or anything from administration letting us know what happened, or how the teacher is doing. After I got home from work, I kept waiting for a connect-ed message from the principal on my home phone, but one never came.

If I find out anything tomorrow that is worth adding to this post, I will add it. Otherwise, I will continue to be like a mushroom: kept in the dark, and fed a bunch of crap.

Good Day to You, Sir

Carnival of Education

I haven't linked to one of these in a while. Of course, I haven't been featured in quite a while. My post on the importance of securing a competent sub is posted there. Check it and rest of it out.

Good Day to You, Sir

Would you buy a car from this man?

Cal Worthington, eat your heart out! Our benevolent car salesman in chief has promised that he will personally guarantee that warranty on your GM or Chrysler automobile. The Age of Obama is reaching a level of ridiculous proportions.

It is my hope that the steps I am announcing today will go a long way towards answering many of the questions people may have about the future of GM and Chrysler. But just in case there are still nagging doubts, let me say it as plainly as I can -- if you buy a car from Chrysler or General Motors, you will be able to get your car serviced and repaired, just like always. Your warranty will be safe.

In fact, it will be safer than it's ever been. Because starting today, the United States government will stand behind your warranty.

A couple questions for our Dear Leader:

If the warranty is "safer than it's ever been" because the federal government will stand behind it, why shouldn't all auto warranties be backed by the federal government so they can be safer as well?

Where do you, the president, get the authority to unilaterally guarantee these warranties without any corresponding legislation from Congress?

Even better, where is the Constitutional authority for the federal government - president or congress - to guarantee these warranties or to bail out these automakers in the first place? I have rechecked Articles I and II of the Constitution. It ain't there.

Tell me again, what is that word that describes a society in which private businesses are not owned, but are controlled, by the national government? Oh Yeah! Fascism.

Good Day to You, Sir

Reminder to teachers: Don't get sick

Or in my case, don't let one of your children get sick. On Thursday night - well, extremely early Friday morning - my daughter threw up several times in her bed. My wife and I would get her cleaned up and back to sleep, and then 30 minutes later, we would both be running toward my daughter's room in response to that frantic crying that accompanies the gurgling retching sounds of a vomiting two year-old. Ah, parenthood!

It was my turn to stay home from work, so I put in for a substitute teacher for that Friday. I pulled together a simple lesson plan and then emailed it to the school secretary so she could give it to the sub.

This morning, I entered my classroom and began reading the note left by the sub. The first thing that struck me was that some classes that are usually very well-behaved were uncontrolled chaos, according to the sub. She also gave me lists - that's plural - of students that she kicked out of class. Some students' inclusion on these lists didn't surprise me, but the lists also included students who are absolute mice.

Then, it all started to make sense. I checked my email and saw one from my vice principal telling me to disregard anything the sub told me in her notes, and that the sub will not be invited back to our campus. It turns out she is an absolute loon. Campus supervisors visited the class several times, and they all confirmed that the sub had no control of the classroom, and she was being totally inconsistent with her attempts at discipline, treating a whisper as harshly as a scream. As I sat there, shaking my head at the VP's email, the teacher next door, who teaches Yearbook, told me that he had sent a Yearbook student of his to borrow a stapler from my classroom. When the student asked this sub for my stapler, the sub began yelling at him and sent him to the office! So she was even removing other teachers' assistants for crying out loud!

A student with a Hispanic surname in my 1st period class (this is an honors class) told me that the sub couldn't remember how to say some word in Spanish, so the sub asked this student to call her mother to find out the translation (the student doesn't speak Spanish). The other students in the class confirmed this.

So today was a do-over. I had the students complete an almost identical assignment to the one that was supposed to be done on Friday. Many of the Friday assignments were not done because half of my classes were in the frickin' office. What pains me is that I am quite sure that there truly were some horribly misbehaving students. The problem is that since the sub poisoned the well, I can't take her word on who truly misbehaved.

So what is the lesson to be learned here? When you call for a sub, don't just let your sub be randomly picked by the district's system. Find out who the quality subs are, keep their ID numbers on file, and choose them when you call in (or go online) for your sub.

What's funny is that this sub was apparently so bad, that I got the feeling that my students were almost relieved that I was back in control of the classroom. Even my consistently worst behaving class (6th period) was quiet as could be as they completed today's assignment.

No worries; my two-week Easter Break begins this Saturday!

Good Day to You, Sir

Evil is good, and good is evil

I'm sure you have by now heard that four Oakland, California police officers were shot and killed by a career felon. What you may not know is that some people in Oakland think this is something worth celebrating:



So while those reprobates honor their scumbag, here are the images that should be remembered:

Sergeant Daniel Sakai

Sergeant Ervin Romans

Officer John Hege

Sergeant Mark Dunakin

Good Day to You, Sir

Has Dennis Prager seen the latest Indiana Jones movie?

After having Nazis as the bad guys in two of the first three Indiana Jones movies, how refreshing it was last year when the fourth installment of the cinematic franchise enlisted the Communist Soviets as the evil foils to the heroic archaeologist/professor.

I thought about this as I read Dennis Prager's latest column, where he gives seven reasons why Communism is not as universally despised as Nazism or Fascism, but it should be.

I got to hear Dennis Prager speak in person on Sunday night. His speech was every bit as enjoyable and cerebral as his radio show, to which I listen at every opportunity.

Good Day to You, Sir

This criminal doesn't get to have it his way

Florida is a "shall-issue" state, which means that if you want to carry a concealed firearm, it is up to the state to prove why you shouldn't, rather than the burden being put on you to prove why you should.

A criminal who tried to hold up a Burger King in Miami found out the hard way that there are citizens in the Sunshine State who have taken full advantage of their God-given right to defend themselves and others. My hat goes off to this heroic armed citizen!

Side note: Make sure to take notice of the purposely vague and misleading headline.

Good Day to You, Sir

Are you beginning to see a pattern here?

Public schools that accept federal money have to follow federal educational mandates or risk being closed down or having the entire staff fired under the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB).

Auto companies who receive bailout money can be told by the government how they will run their business and in some cases, what kind of cars they can make.

Financial institutions that have been bailed out by the government can have salary caps imposed, and bonuses canceled by the government.

And now, newspapers that are about to be bailed out by the government will not be allowed to endorse political candidates.

When will people learn that when you make government a partner in your enterprise, the government always becomes the controlling partner?

The whole situation reminds me of a scene in the wonderful mafia movie GoodFellas, where the mob boss, Paul Cicero, is made a partner in a local nightclub in which many of the wiseguys hang out on Friday and Saturday nights (Bad Language Alert!):

Now the guy's got Paulie as a partner. Any problems, he goes to Paulie. Trouble with the bill? He can go to Paulie. Trouble with the cops, deliveries, Tommy, he can call Paulie. But now the guy's gotta come up with Paulie's money every week no matter what. Business bad? Fuck you, pay me. Oh, you had a fire? Fuck you, pay me. Place got hit by lightning huh? Fuck you, pay me."

It's not a perfect analogy, but you get the idea. The tragedy is that in this day and age, comparing our government to the mafia isn't too far off base.

Good Day to You, Sir

Ladies and Gentlemen, the President of the United States of America

What an immature, insensitive jerk. Has the buyers' remorse set in yet?



Gallows humor? Our Dear Leader must not realize that gallows humor is supposed to be made by the man with the rope around his neck (the American taxpayer), not the executioner (the Obamessiah). Even that dependable lefty, Steve Kroft, appeared to be appalled. I look and listen to this pathetic excuse for a man and continue to be dumbfounded that he is actually our president.

I should have swallowed the blue pill!

Good Day to You, Sir

Is a free house enough, or are her 14 kids still screwed?

Try as I might to not jump on the bandwagon, I can no longer hold my tongue. I was on the treadmill at the gym last night, and there she was on CNN's Anderson Cooper, cavorting about town with a couple of her brood in tow and enjoying every moment of the lavish attention this pathetic woman so obviously craves.

We all have read, watched, or heard about Nadya Suleman, the California octuplet mom, and her fourteen children. Many view this story as a miracle of life, while others view it as an ignorant temptation by a woman who wanted a big family, and an unethical doctor in search of fame.

The truth of the matter is that this divorced, unemployed, disabled and unsupported mother, who is also a student under debt. And even though her critical, but ultimately enabling, father gave her a new $560,000+, 2,500+ square-foot house, Suleman is financially bankrupt and cannot afford her children. As a result, of Suleman’s inability to take care of her children, the government must take action, by using taxpayers’ money, to help these children survive this tragic state of affairs.

In an NBC interview by Ann Curry, Suleman claimed that she has no intention to live off of taxpayers’ money. She stated, “If I am, if it's food stamps, it's a temporary resource. And I was so reluctant. I very much so look forward to the day when I am not getting any kind of help with food stamps, which I believe will end when I graduate in about a year or year and a half.”

Sadly, Suleman’s statement is based on hope and not reality. According to U.S. Department of Agriculture, for a single mom to raise a child to age 18, she will minimally spend between $118,590 and $250,260. Do the math, and that means this single mother with little financial means would have to cough up somewhere between $1,660,260 and $3,503,640 if she wanted to raise these kids on her own without the help of Daddy Government (read: taxpayer).

So who is really at fault here? Is it the mother who simply wanted to have more children, or the doctor who knew the result of his research and simply did not consider the consequences of his actions?

Unfortunately, there is enough blame to go around with everybody involved in the very sad situation. Dr. Michael Kamrava, Suleman’s physician and an embryo implantation specialist, should have assumed the consequences of his actions and advised his patient not to progress with the procedure. The mother should have considered the wellbeing of her previous six children, and now, her eight children--not to mention the millions of dollars it will cost taxpayers.

It is just plain wrong that California’s hardworking taxpayers should be the ones footing the bill for these very bad decisions made by individuals that are working the system. Taxpayers deserve better than this, and need to know that their precious dollars are being spent wisely--not for individuals who make selfish choices for their own personal gratification and gain.

Where exactly we go from here is uncertain but it is clear we need to address these ethical issues in order to prevent more tragic situations like this one from occurring—which has both huge human and financial costs.

Good Day to You, Sir

Follow the sinking squiggly line

It's becoming almost comical: every time the stock market begins to make a rally, our illustrious Dear Leader and his minions in congress and the Federal Reserve seem to do everything they can to reverse that rally:

U.S. stock rally fades as investors assess Fed moves

Good Day to You, Sir

For the record

In the Obama administration, terrorist attacks are no longer to be called "terrorist attacks," at least not according to Janet Napolitano, Obama's new Director of Homeland Security. During an interview with German magazine Der Spiegel (that's The Mirror to you yokels who don't sprechen Deutsch):

SPIEGEL: Madame Secretary, in your first testimony to the US Congress as Homeland Security Secretary you never mentioned the word "terrorism." Does Islamist terrorism suddenly no longer pose a threat to your country?

NAPOLITANO: Of course it does. I presume there is always a threat from terrorism. In my speech, although I did not use the word "terrorism," I referred to "man-caused" disasters. That is perhaps only a nuance, but it demonstrates that we want to move away from the politics of fear toward a policy of being prepared for all risks that can occur.

Did she say "man-caused" disasters? Sigh, these Lefties are always about "nuance" aren't they?

Good Day to You, Sir

A fringe benefit of the sinking economy

Even the illegal aliens can't find work, so they are self-deporting. I received this email in my inbox at work yesterday. The names have been deleted.

Dear Staff,

Yesterday I spoke with ******'s mother who informed me that ****** will be disenrolling from school in a few weeks, and moving to Mexico. I asked Mom why and she said that her husband was recently laid off from work and cannot apply for unemployment because of his illegal status here in the United States, and the same goes for Mom. In addition, they cannot apply for any public assistance either. She told me that she told the children on Sunday that their beds will have to be sold because they need money for rent. Without going in too many details, ****** and her mother came to the US in order to be safe.

So basically, they have no money to survive on while they prepare to transition to Mexico where they have family.

I contacted the homeless liaison at the district to see what assistance he can provide the family until they leave, and [our principal] suggested I email the staff to see if anyone would like to make a monetary donation.


Very Truly Yours,

[the school secretary]

I have this student in class and she is a very well-behaved, considerate, and conscientous student. I hate to see her go. On the other hand, she is a victim of poor choices made by her parents. When they came here illegally, they must have known that something like this could happen. It's a shame they have to drag their daughter down with them.

Good Day to You, Sir

McClintock spanks the "Leftist Luddites"

I was forwarded the text of an outstanding and devastating (to the global warm-ongers) speech given by California congressional representative Tom McClintock. The occasion for the speech was the 2008 International Conference on Climate Change, held in New York City earlier this month by the Heartland Institute.

There were a couple things I especially enjoyed about McClintock's speech.

First was his sarcastic, flippant tone that he used in the delivery. Remember, I only read the text, I didn't hear him speak; yet the words he used deliciously dripped with amused contempt for these people - dubbed "Leftist Luddites" by McClintock - who want to reduce our standard of living and our life expectancy in the name of solving a crisis that does not even exist: man-made global warming. People on the left get apoplectic when you laugh at their misguided beliefs, which for them, border on the religious in their intensity. This is one of the reasons that after twenty years on the air, Rush Limbaugh still drives the left crazy. He laughs at them; he makes fun of them. McClintock does likewise in this speech.

Second, McClintock pointed out the absurd contradictions of what the Luddites want to do in order to combat our so-called climate crisis. Observe:

In fact, I had a friend who paid $45 for one of these “carbon offsets” for his Lincoln Navigator. By paying $45, this company sends him a very attractive 10-cent decal that certifies his SUV now has absolutely NO carbon footprint.
But then he discovered that Priuses, which do have a carbon footprint, get to use our diamond lanes for free, while his Lincoln Navigator – which for just $45 now has no carbon footprint whatsoever – has to sit in bumper to bumper traffic with all the rest of us carbon sinners...

{Snip}

These carbon offsets are supposed to be used for such activities as planting more trees to absorb carbon dioxide. After all, young trees absorb much more of this “greenhouse gas” than old trees.
But isn’t replacing old-growth timber with young-growth timber exactly what lumber companies used to do until Al Gore’s acolytes stopped them?
Trees are also very important to reducing energy demand – we’re told that to conserve electricity we need to plant lots of shade trees to shield our roofs from the sun so that we don’t use our air conditioners. We’re also all supposed to install solar panels on our roofs, although they don’t work so well in the shade from our trees...

{Snip}

In fact, there are only two ways of generating vast amounts of clean electricity for electric cars and trains: hydroelectricity and nuclear power. But there’s no faster way to send these Luddites into hysterics than to mention that inconvenient truth.
The politically correct replacement is solar energy. Solar energy is roughly 17 times more expensive than either nuclear power or hydroelectricity – meaning, of course around 17 times LESS electricity to run electric cars and trains.
Energy conservation, then, is the answer, which is why we’re required only to use energy efficient fluorescent lights rather than the warm and fuzzy incandescent bulbs. But wait – California has banned the disposal of fluorescent lights with your trash because of the extreme environmental hazard they pose in our landfills...

That is just a taste folks. Read the rest of Tom McClintock's speech right here.

Good Day to You, Sir

Nobody's perfect

But I was close! My score was 31/33 (93.94%).

My latest issue of EducationMatters, the monthly newsletter from the Association of American Educators had an article about the abysmal state of our country's civic knowledge., based on the results of a civics quiz taken by over 2,500 Americans. The most amusing part is that of the 33 questions on the quiz, people who self-identified as elected government officials did worse than the average citizen on 31 of those questions.

Take the quiz for yourself and see if you can best the average score of elected officials and perhaps the stellar score of yours truly.

By the way, on one of the answers I got wrong, I could argue that I shouldn't have.

Good Day to You, Sir

Time to bring back a fading tradition

Pocketknives. They used to be something that men were simply expected to carry. I remember receiving one from my Dad for Christmas one year, and as a kid, I carried one quite often. Somehow, over time, I stopped carrying one. After reading this column, I have reversed course, and have added a pocketknife to the small pile of items that I stuff into my pocket in the morning. Not only to pocketknives come in handy, but they can also save a life:

...There was a time when the average boy, and the man he became, carried a pocket knife as a matter of course. As we have become more urban and less rural, many citizens have lost touch with the need to carry a knife. You see these pacified, civilized, emasculated citizens tearing at vending machine packages of potato chips with their teeth or their car keys. That would be comical, if not a bit sad... except that the stakes are a lot higher than being unable to open a Christmas present or a bag of pretzels. In some cases, the lack of the most basic technology results in the death of a human being....

I have probably 8 to 10 pocketknives that I have acquired over the years, and until I read this article, they were collecting dust in my dresser drawer. No more.

Good Day to You, Sir

What are you doing on April 15th?

Wanna go to a Tea Party? So far, 115 cities have signed up to protest the out-of-control spending in which our government is engaging.

Go to TaxDayTeaParty.com, and see where your nearest protest will be held. Unfortunately, April 15th is a work day, so attending a protest won't be easy; but what the hell? Our salaries are being raped anyway.

I will be checking with "She Who Keeps the Calendar" to see if I can take a half day off.

Good Day to You, Sir

Not the right kind of stimulus, I guess

"You can't take a trip to Las Vegas or down to the Super Bowl on the taxpayers' dime...."

So said President Barack Obama back on February 10 of this year. His remarks were directed toward the CEOs of companies who made a devil's bargain and accepted the bailout money that was doled out by the Democrats earlier this year.

On a visceral level, Obama's comment initially seems reasonable: How dare a financially strapped company receive the lifeblood of the American taxpayer and then spend it on hotels and parties in Sin City?!

Upon more thoughtful deliberation, there are two problems with this line of thinking.

First, putting aside the fact that this writer does not believe that the taxpayers' money should be used for this sort of thing in the first place, the bottom line is that it has indeed been given to these companies, presumably with the goal of making them financially solvent again. One of the ways that companies stay profitable is to drum up business. This is done in a myriad of ways, to include, yes, wining and dining potential clients and customers in places like Las Vegas. Like it or not, that is how business gets done. To deny this marketing strategy to companies that have accepted federal bailout dollars is to ensure that they will not be competitive in the free market, and they will most likely fall further behind, thus wasting the sweat and toil of the taxpayers.

Second, I thought Obama and the congressional Democrats are trying to stimulate the economy by creating new jobs and saving existing ones. When these companies go to Vegas and spend hundreds of thousands, if not millions of dollars, who do you think benefits from that spending? The waiters and waitresses; the casino table workers; the event planners; the alcohol and food suppliers; the mechanic who repairs the vehicles of the alcohol and food suppliers; the list is endless.

On today's Drudge, there is linked an article from the Las Vegas Review-Journal that brings up my latter point. In the last 90 days, over 340 events have been cancelled, costing the city an estimated $131.6 million. The article suggests that the mayor of Las Vegas should send Obama the bill for this loss of income.

As misguided as Obama's stimulus plan is, if it is to be forced upon the American taxpayer, perhaps it would be a good idea if our Dear Leader didn't sabotage our economy's attempted recovery by opening the gaffe-prone hole under his nose.

Good Day to You, Sir

Give it a rest, 24

They did it again. This time, it was the actress who plays the president, Cherry Jones, who did a PSA during 24 tonight, informing us that while "the events on 24 may be fiction, climate change is not."

So go to Fox.com everyone, and find out what you can do to reduce your carbon footprint in an effort to solve the problem of global warming. At least she also uttered "global warming" and not just "climate change."

These Hollywood types are such cause junkies; and to make matters worse, their causes are usually a bunch of misdirected hokum.

Good Day to You, Sir

Jason Mattera strikes again!

Jason Mattera of Young America's Foundation and Hot Air (see blogroll) has done a wonderful recurring series of ambush interviews where he corners these Congresscritters where they live and then asks them the questions that the lamestream media should be asking, but don't.

Past targets have included John Kerry, Teddy Kennedy, Jack Murtha, and "Dollar Bill" Jefferson. The latest object of Mattera's ire is that pathetic Kleptocrat Charles Rangel (D-NY). Feel the arrogance of this POS as he waves off Mattera with profanity. Actually Congressman, it is my "Goddamn business"!



Right there is the attitude of too many Congresscritters out there in DC Land. They have apparently forgotten that they work for the American People, not the other way around.

Good Day to You, Sir

Commies to the left of me, Nazis to the right...

Or is it that simple? A friend of mine forwarded me a ten-minute video that explains the various major forms of government, and it turns the whole left-right paradigm on its head, along with verifying what I have been saying for years: Democracy sucks!

Good Day to You, Sir

Oprah's non-judgemental homeless whitewash

I am a little late with this post, as the Oprah episode in question aired back on February 25th, but my lovely bride has quite a stack of unviewed episodes of Oprah on the DVR, so she got around to watching that particular episode just the other day.

I happened to be in the living room that afternoon when my wife sat down to watch Oprah - I usually retire to the office and do some blogging - but what was unique about this particular episode was that it was shot in my city of residence, Sacramento. Oprah had her investigative reporter, Lisa Ling (who is from Sacramento) do a story on the newly homeless here in the capital city. These newly homeless apparently had homes until the recent downturn with the economy. Not surprisingly, Oprah and her producers tried their best to make these Sacramentans look as sympathetic as possible, but I thought that "pathetic" was a more fitting adjective.

One family in particular caught my attention. Favor and Ryan Whitesides and their three children became homeless last year when the bank foreclosed upon their house due to the Whitesides' inability to make their payments. Now, Favor and the three kids walk the streets in an unsavory section of Sacramento because it is near the Loaves and Fishes homeless shelter where they spend their nights and the kids attend school.

I'm sure that if Oprah could have left it at that, she would have, because with each new piece of information about this family, my B***S*** detector began to go into overdrive. First, it was revealed that only the wife and the three kids, ages 13, 11, and 9, have to walk the streets and sleep in shelters with their worldly possessions in garbage bags. The husband lives in an apartment with friends. Way to live up to your husbandly and fatherly duties there, Ryan.

Next, it was revealed that the Whitesides had an adjustable rate mortgage. Disagree with me if you wish, but unless you have some damn unique circumstances, the necessity of an ARM means you shouldn't even be buying a house in the first place.

Next, it was revealed that until they lost their jobs, Favor was a home care provider, and Ryan did clerical work; both of these jobs are minimum wage or just over. But it gets better: in addition to losing their house, they also had to get rid of their... Lincoln Navigator.

Are you starting to get the picture?

But the Whitesides weren't done. At one point, Favor was being interviewed by Oprah's crew inside a homeless shelter. There is Favor, sitting on a couch in a lobby, telling her woe-is-me tale of poverty and homelessness - her brood sitting around her to remind us all that there are deprived children involved here. And what is Favor's 13 year-old daughter doing during this interview? She is sitting next to her mother, texting on a cell phone!

I am sure that there really are some hard-luck cases out there where people truly did the right thing but have still ended up in financial and residential straits. However, I must agree with radio host Neal Boortz, who often says that the reason the rich get richer and the poor get poorer is because the rich keep making wise choices that make them richer, and the poor keep making unwise choices that make them poorer.

Too bad Oprah, Lisa Ling, and the rest of the Oprah crew were too cowardly to question any of the unwise choices of the family that they hoisted up as the poster children of homelessness in Sacramento.

Good Day to You, Sir

Thanks for bursting my bubble, 24!

One of my few guilty pleasures of the fictional variety on television is 24.

There I was tonight, shaking with anticipation as terrorists are on the way to put the White House under siege, and Jack Bauer is - ahem - interrogating a suspect with a taser gun that Bauer had lifted off of a White House guard he pummeled.

Then cut to commercial, and what do I see? A PSA with Kiefer Sutherland telling us all about how the production staff at 24 has instituted changes in order to make their productions more "green" in an effort to combat "climate change." Oh, gag me harshly.

I clucked my tongue a bit when they cast that disgusting America-hating hag, Jeanene Garofalo, as an FBI office drone. But when you cut from Kiefer Sutherland acting like a deliciously sociopathic badass to him practically wimpering before the camera about so-called climate change, it seriously messes with my ability to suspend disbelief.

Isn't that what watching fiction is all about?

Good Day to You, Sir

Ah, I am not as lame as you thought

Friday is often test day in the Chanman classroom. As I was briefing my 7th period 8th graders with their instructions for the test, I imparted some last-minute piece of obscure historical information in order to further explain something about the War of 1812 that the students kept not getting. Do I remember what the obscure info was? Nope.

I must have impressed the students, because I got the question I sometimes get from my students: How do you know all this stuff? My standard answer is that I'm a history teacher; I have to know this stuff. Some students then decided to put me to the test by asking me about the Presidents, such as who was the 19th president? Rutherford B. Hayes; who was the 23rd president? Benjamin Harrison, and so on. In fairness, they picked the wrong topic, because I have had the chronological order of presidents memorized since the fifth grade. After discovering they weren't going to stump me with the presidents, someone got cute and said, "What year did Mac Dre die?"

"2002," I said - eyes began to widen.

"How about Tupac?" said another student.

"1996," I said - murmurs of amazement began to ripple through the classroom.

"What about Biggie Smalls?" said another student.

"1997," I said - Now the murmurs became a cacophany of "No way!"

"How about Aaliyah?" said another student.

I said, "This is the last one and then we have to get the test started... she died in 2001."

Of course before we could start the test, my students wanted to know how I, a lame-o 36 year-old white guy who doesn't wear saggy pants and sometimes listens to Elton John during the last few minutes of class and who was their age in 1986 (they didn't say all that, but you can bet they were thinking it), could possibly know this critical information about their favorite thuggish hip-hop artists.

I told them, "How else? I read."

Good Day to You, Sir

Whopper of the speech

In Barack Obama's speech before the joint session of Congress the other night, the quote that was easily the most absurd of the night was this little ditty:

"My budget does not attempt to solve every problem or address every issue. It reflects the stark reality of what we've inherited - a trillion dollar deficit, a financial crisis, and a costly recession."

Yes, that can be such a bother to inherit a trillion dollar deficit, Mr. President. Say, what is your proposal to address this "stark reality"? Oh yeah, it is to saddle us with yet another trillion-dollar deficit, and according to the spending you plan for the future, your are just getting warmed up.

As this train-wreck of an administration continues its swath, I am tempted to chuck my sign-off of "Good Day to You, Sir" and go with "We Are So Screwed" instead.

Good Day to You, Sir

Hollywood vs. Reality from someone who was there

I have a friend/neighbor who works with the Republicans at the State Capitol here in our state's capital. Back on February 11, he invited me to attend a presentation/discussion about the film Frost/Nixon that was held after hours at the Capitol in the office of the Leader of the Senate Republicans. The featured speaker was a man named Ken Khachigian, who has been described as a "lion" of California GOP politics. He served as Nixon's Deputy Special Assistant, and also served as Ronald Reagan's head speechwriter. If you read The Reagan Diaries, Mr. Khachigian is mentioned several times, almost always in the vein of Met with Ken Khachigian today to talk about the convention/acceptance/upcoming speech or Had dinner with Ken Khachigian and his wife this evening.

So if you look back through many of Reagan's famous speeches, including the ones he gave at the 1980 and 1984 Republican conventions, those were Ken Khachigian's words. Here is a photo of Mr. Khachigian with President Reagan that I found on Khachigian's Wikipedia entry:

Even after Richard Nixon left office, Mr. Khachigian stayed on board as an advisor, and attended the actual series of interviews in 1977 between Nixon and David Frost, having been Nixon's head researcher for the interviews beforehand.

Mr. Khachigian requested that his presentation and any questions and answers afterward remain off the record, and I will of course honor that. I can tell you that Mr. Khachigian took us through the events leading up to the Frost/Nixon interviews, and told us what was accurate and not-so-accurate about the events depicted in the film, and the play that preceded it. It was an enjoyable and unique experience for me to have the opportunity to attend this function while surrounded by several state senators and assemblymembers. I just sat back and took it all in.

After the event ended, the cameras came out. Here is the result:

From left to right: Yours Truly, Ken Khachigian, and my friend/neighbor

You can tell which one of these three gentlemen doesn't work in politics; I'm the one not wearing the ubiquitous dark power suit.

Good Day to You, Sir

Bias against masculinity can be so unmasculine

In addition to teaching, my wife does editing projects for a to-remain-unnamed textbook company. She edits and sometimes creates questions for tests. For some projects where my wife is tasked with creating questions, she is required to come up with a theme that involves a fake website, bibliography, and labeled schematic drawing, with a series of questions based on the information found therein. For instance, she once created one of these with sharks being the theme. She came up with a list of fake websites about sharks, a bibliography of imaginary books that were all about sharks, and a drawing of a shark with its major body parts highlighted and labeled.

Recently, my wife was tasked with creating another of these test-taking themes. She was tired of animals, so she came up with the idea of basing it on military vehicles. Same thing: list of military vehicle websites and books, and a labeled drawing of a tank that points out the turret, tracks, hatch, main gun, etc. After completing the theme, my wife got an uneasy feeling about the acceptability of her creation, and checked with her editor just in case. Sure enough, her editor nixed the idea of using military vehicles, because they can't "depict guns" or show any "bias." OK, I get the whole showing guns thing - I don't agree with it, but I get it. But what exactly did the editor mean by "bias"? Bias toward boys instead of girls, since the theme was military in nature? Bias toward our country because the military vehicles were American? In both cases, what is wrong with that?

I am becoming very weary of the bias that many people have against anything masculine. Being the father of a son who is approaching the age of five, opportunities for me to experience this bias abound. For instance, I was in the military and I like guns; I own a few, and I shoot them when the opportunity arises. Naturally, my son is therefore fascinated by the military and guns as well. In today's culture, that simple statement I just made would cause many people to get the vapors and be shocked at the fact that my four-year-old son would be exposed to such horrible things. That's a crying shame, because once upon a time, the way I raise my son was nothing unusual. In some parts of the country, it still isn't. However, the overall culture of our country is one that frowns upon certain expressions of masculinity, and often seeks to extinguish it. Not allowing the depiction of a tank on a test is a prime example.

Pundits and authors are taking notice of this trend. Not long ago, columnist Ilana Mercer lamented that there are not more "Sully" Sullenbergers out there; referencing the take-charge manliness of the pilot who successfully crash-landed his airliner into the Hudson River and saved every soul on board. Said Mercer:

...Missed by the perennial purveyors of pop culture and political correctness was a story about the value of an endangered, and vital, virtue: manliness.

Witnessed in that cockpit was old-fashioned manliness. The feminization and regulation of American society over the last 20 to 30 years has meant that life-saving manliness is increasingly confined to corners where women are less likely to encroach: like the cockpit....

This "feminization" of our culture has been ongoing since the late 1960s when women became more militant, and the ideal man became more "sensitive." This change in the outlook of what makes a man became especially apparent at the movie theater. To the dustbin went the masculine actors like William Holden, Robert Ryan, and John Wayne. Instead, the ideal male leads started going to wimpier, more sensitive fellas like Dustin Hoffman and Warren Beatty. If the masculine actors were still used, it was often in telling roles like Holden and Ryan in "The Wild Bunch" or John Wayne in "The Shootist" where they played men past their prime who were hanging on to a way of life that was no longer tenable. In the case of Clint Eastwood in 1971's "Dirty Harry", the whole point of the movie was that his masculine character was no longer the norm, and that he was hopelessly out synch with the rest of his more sensitive San Francisco police department.

In our world today, we need look no further than the Oval Office for an example of what is considered the ideal man. I mean, seriously, can you think of many men who are less manly than Barack Obama? For another prime example, check out Obama's press secretary, Robert Gibbs. To me, he is the epitome of the pasty-faced anti-male persona that permeates our society:



In his book Tender Warrior, author and minister Stu Weber talks about masculinity and what it is that makes a man. He identifies four pillars: King, Warrior, Mentor, and Friend. In today's society, Weber recognizes that only some of these pillars are still respected:

Unfortunately, the King and Warrior qualities of manhood are suspect today. Of the four pillars, they are the most tarnished and eroded in our culture. Few object to a man being a mentor or a friend. Many resist the King and the Warrior. Authority and strength seem to be questionable virtues in our day. But we miss them in this turbulent, rootless culture of ours. Oh, how we miss them! Without them, we are hollow men. We are men without chests.

It's a sad time in this country when boys cannot act like boys without looks of concern from the general public who are uncomfortable with outward displays of masculinity. On the other hand, to a certain degree, I don't totally blame the general public's attitude. If you further read Weber's book, he speaks of keeping your commitments as being one of the ultimate signs of masculinity. A father walking out on his children and leaving those children to be raised without a father is a definite violation of the commitments of which Mr. Weber speaks. These fatherless children are often left to develop on their own or with their friends - who are also often fatherless - a twisted and grotesque form of what they believe to be masculinity, which menaces society rather than protects it.

These social pathologies aside, we must change course in this country in how we treat our young males. Instead of guiding and channeling their natural aggressive tendencies into something positive, too often these tendencies are treated as some sort of disease that must be purged from our midst. This must stop.

Good Day to You, Sir

I got your conversation right here

Attorney General Eric Holder has declared that we are a nation of cowards when it comes to discussing race. Watch Pat Buchanan and Michael Eric Dyson take Holder up on his challenge:



Take that, Eric Holder!

Good Day to You, Sir

Concessions are made, but the end result sucks

California finally has a budget! As if Californians are not already overcharged enough by our free-spending legislature, we will now have to pay even more of our hard-earned dollars if we want to continue living in the late, great state of California. The bright side, if there is one, is that had a single Republican state senator named Abel Maldonado not dug in his heels and held his ground, the budget that was passed would have not just been bad, it would have been calamitous. The not-so-bright side is that Maldonado didn't dig in his heels nearly enough.

Gone from the final bill was a 12 cent hike of the state gasoline tax on what are already the highest average gas prices in the nation. At one point, this gas tax was seemingly a done deal. Also gone was what was essentially a 5% increase of state income tax liability on what are already the highest state income taxes in the nation. Of course, instead we now have a 0.25% increase in the state income tax. Keep in mind, these increases are being imposed on an already overtaxed and overpriced state.

While these concessions by the Democrats are good news, the fact still remains that this budget includes increases on our state taxes, and not mentioned in the attached article is any news about the proposed doubling of vehicle license registration fees. I will be interested to find out if that passed as part of this budget deal.

I think what made me most angry about this whole budget ordeal was the statement made by President Pro Tem of the state senate, Darrell Steinberg, a Democrat from the Sacramento area. Duing an impassioned speech on the senate floor, Steinberg said to his Republican colleagues,

"I wish to God, that you could deviate just a little bit, just a little bit, from your philosophy, just a little bit, from the endless mantra of no new revenue, no new revenue ever, and be a participant and partner with us in solving this problem."

No, Senator Steinberg, how about you deviate just a little bit, just a little bit, from your philosophy, which, like a broken record, always includes tax and spend, tax and spend, tax and spend. And don't you love how Steinberg uses the crafty little word "revenue" instead of "taxes." That's putting the cart before the horse. Revenue is what a government receives as a result of taxes that are paid. Using the economic theory endorsed and successfully instituted by Presidents Kennedy, Reagan, and Bush II, lowering taxes actually leads to increased revenues. Apparently, there are still plenty of politicians - most on the Democrat side of the aisle - who have yet to learn this lesson. Nice try with trying to sell this boondoggle of a budget with your semantic trickery Senator Steinberg, but I'm not buying it.

While I am happy that not everything that our state legislature wanted to do to us came to fruition, the fact remains that we got royally screwed. I liken this to being mugged and then being relieved that the criminal only got away with my wallet and let me keep my cell phone. The bottom line is that I still got robbed.

Good Day to You, Sir

I think Holder wants a one-sided conversation

Our illustrious Attorney General, Eric Holder, thinks we Americans are "cowardly" for being hesitant to talk about race in this country. I see a couple problems with this statement. First, I have the sneaking suspicion that Holder would like any conversations about race to occur in the paradigm of "black=victim, white=victimizer" and leave it at that. Second, and on a related note, how is our country supposed to talk about race when any white person who is the least bit critical about anything a minority does would immediately be labeled as a racist? Those conditions do not make for a useful dialogue.

For instance, what would some people instantly think of me if I said the following clip (which, coincidentally, happened today) shows a symptom of a decades-long culture of fatherlessness and glorification of crime and nihilism in the black community?



On a side note, this clip also shows how utterly absurd the whole sagging pants thing can be. I saw at least two combatants have to take a time-out from the melee so they could pull up their damn pants.

Good Day to You, Sir

A happy day

Two U.S. Border Patrol agents whose sentences were commuted by former President Bush after spending two years in prison for shooting a Mexican drug dealer were released from prison today.

Ignacio Ramos and Jose Compean will have to spend another month on house arrest, but being home with their families should be quite a consolation for that inconvenience.

President Bush was given a lot of flak by supporters of Ramos and Compean for only commuting their sentences and not giving them an outright pardon. There was a method to Bush's madness: the two men did not ask for a pardon. In an interview with radio talk host Mike Gallagher that took place just a day or two after the commutation was announced, I listened to the wife of one of the agents (I can't remember which) tell Gallagher and his audience that to receive a pardon, you have to sign document admitting guilt to your crime. Since Ramos and Compean both maintain they did nothing wrong, they refused to ask for a pardon if that meant admitting guilt. With a commutation, the two men are free to continue pursuing their case in an effort to be fully exonerated.

The man who Ramos and Compean shot (in the ass, by the way) was in the process of transporting 750 pounds of marijuana across our border. During the agents' trial, the drug dealer was given immunity by the U.S. attorney so he could testify against the agents. While the trial was going on and while the scumbag had immunity, he was caught yet again transporting hundreds of pounds of marijuana across our border. Boy, there's a reliable witness!

Thank God for President Bush seeing the light on his last day in office and signing the commutations for Ramos and Compean. Were his feet not held to the fire by many politicians, talk radio hosts, family members, and citizens, I am confident that Bush would have allowed those two men to rot in prison.

Good Day to You, Sir

The Left finally states the obvious

Last week's cover of Newsweek was refreshingly candid. With the red hand of the Republicans and the blue hand of the Democrats shaking on it (and don't get me started on this red = Republican, blue = Democrat business), the cover matter-of-factly declares "We Are All Socialists Now". Speak for yourself, Newsweek!

It's funny, during the Joe the Plumber phase of the presidential campaign, the lefties and the lamestream media did nothing but scoff at conservative and Republican assertions that Obama and a Democrat-controlled congress were going to impose socialism on the United States. The media either denied it, or simply retorted that President Bush had already started us down that road (I have to admit, I agree with that last assertion).

However, once Obama was safely ensconced in the Oval Office, only then did Newsweek have no problem blaring to the world that what Obama and the congress are imposing on us is blatant socialism. I was intrigued by the whole "hands shaking" imagery to symbolize socialism, because I knew I had seen it someplace before. Then it struck me. There is a group called the Democratic Socialists of America. I have even linked to their pathetic, freedom-hating, confiscation-loving website. Here is the top banner of their site:


Below the cute little peace flower is that familiar shaking of hands. Also on their homepage is a similar image that is on their donation button:

Newsweek had obviously done their homework when they designed their cover. Then again, since it's safe to bet that many of the Newsweek staff presumably belong to DSA, they didn't have to think very hard about what to put on their cover.

Good Day to You, Sir

Oh, how I miss Ronald Reagan

Listen to the humble wisdom of a true conservative president as his statements are juxtaposed with those of our megalomaniac-in-chief who currently occupies the Oval Office. The difference is astounding.



Good Day to You, Sir

Happy reading!

Watch a Georgia congressman introduce you to the hard, cold reality of what a congressional bill looks like, especially when that bill is the Porkulus.



Good Day to You, Sir

Where have you gone, David Farragut?

One of my favorite lessons to teach my 7th and 8th graders is when I tell them about 19th century American admiral, David Farragut, who served in the U.S. Navy from the War of 1812 through the Civil War. My students, who are between the ages of 12 and 14, are amazed when I tell them that Farragut was given his first command of a ship at the age of 12. Imagine that; he was responsible for an entire ship and was giving commands to dozens of men, all at the age of 12. How far we have fallen.

Several days ago, Drudge carried a story about some Massachusetts middle school boys who have gotten into legal trouble for using their cell phones to spread around a photo of the half-naked girlfriend of the one of the boys involved. Now, in stereotypical U.S.A-circa-2009 fashion, a parent has come forward to defend his son's atrocious behavior:

"What they did, yes, it was wrong. But did they really know it was wrong? No. They're 13-year-old kids," said [Brian]Hunt.

Unlike the boy's Internet activity, Hunt admitted he never monitored his son's cell phone because, "he's a good kid."

"And, like I said, and I'll say it over and over again, these are 13-year-old boys, and I want everybody out there to remember when they were 13," said Hunt....

Shame on you Mr. Hunt for expecting so little of young men who are so old. I teach 13 year-old boys for a living; believe me, they know the difference between right and wrong. I continue to be appalled at how little we tend to hold young people accountable for their actions. And the problem is that what is considered to be a "young person" continues to creep upward.

Good Day to You, Sir

Didn't you hear?

A store locking up its condom display in order to thwart shoplifters is racist.

A group of Boston community activists are protesting what they claim is a discriminatory move to lock up condoms in a Dorchester CVS pharmacy.

The delegation of Boston civil rights leaders, health advocates and community members claims the Rhode Island-based pharmacy chain has a practice of locking up condoms at the CVS pharmacy on 778 Dudley St. and in other communities of color all over the country. (Emphasis mine)

Good Day to You, Sir

"We've lost two people in my family because you dickheads won't cut trees down"

Environmentalism kills.

Good Day to You, Sir

Creeeepy!

While watching this video, pay special attention to the blondish middle-aged lady in the white dress who stands up on the left side of the screen. Sick, sick, sick. Obama is just a man, people! He is not a God!

Good Day to You, Sir

Teaching: the "Chicago Way"

As a teacher, I will admit that I am naturally inclined to be suspicious about news stories like this one, but after reading it, one must admit that there is quite a bit of fire with that smoke.

It seems that quite a few teachers in Chicago have developed a habit of physically abusing their students; hundreds of teachers, actually.

...An exclusive CBS 2 investigation discovered Treveon Martin is one of at least 818 Chicago Public School students, since 2003, to allege being battered by a teacher or an aide, coach, security guard, or even a principal. In most of those cases - 568 of them - Chicago Public School investigators determined the children were telling the truth....

What makes this even more intriguing is that most of these abuse cases happened during the administration Chicago Schools Superintendent, Arne Duncan. And just who is he? Why, he is Obama's pick to head the Department of Education!

..."Any founded allegation where an adult is hitting a child, hitting a student - they're going to be gone," Duncan said.

But that's not what happened under Duncan's watch. Of the 568 verified cases, only 24 led to termination. Records show one teacher who quote "battered students for several years" was simply given a "warning" by the Board of Education....

Even with the number of cases of student abuse accusations, I would still like to see more information on the specifics of these cases. Did a teacher defending himself from an attacking student count as abuse toward that student? Either way, do you think the media would care were it not Barack Obama's appointee heading the Department of Education? I do have to wonder if we will the reputation of yet another Obama nominee go south?

Good Day to You, Sir

Our President is an absolute embarrassment

I know this video is making the rounds, but I felt like I had to post it anyway. President Obama held a town hall meeting in Fort Myers, Florida the other day, and what I saw made me cringe. The most cringeworthy segment came right at the end when Julio made his appearance. If you are wondering why Julio has worked at McDonalds for the last four years and can't seem to find another job, just watch the video if you haven't seen it already.



You could say to yourself that this shouldn't reflect poorly upon Obama; after all, it was Julio who was making an absolute fool of himself. However, you must realize that the people who speak at these town hall meetings are often screened beforehand, especially for a president who I have noticed will call on certain reporters at press conferences even before the reporters have raised their hands to ask a question.

Good Day to You, Sir

I'm hungry all of a sudden

Big tip of the hat to Michelle Malkin (see blogroll) for turning me on to a new website. It's called This is Why You're Fat, and it invites readers to email pictures of some of their favorite guilty culinary pleasures. I am not going to copy and paste any pictures; you need to go there yourself. I will describe my favorite which caused me to make that tongue-wagging gutteral noise that Homer Simpson makes when he sees something he likes. Try this one at your next meal:

The Hamdog

A hot dog wrapped in a beef patty that’s deep fried, covered with chili, cheese, onions, served on a hoagie bun topped with two fistfuls of fries and a fried egg.

Sweet Lord in Heaven, that sounds lovely. And it looks lovely too; go check it out!

Good Day to You, Sir

AP factchecks Obama, tough question gets booed

Our Dear Leader gave a painful-to-watch town hall meeting in Indiana today where he stood up in front of God and everybody and told whopper after whopper. The most surprising thing to me is that the rundown of his whoppers was provided by an article from the Associated Press, which is usually in the tank for our benevolent Messiah. An example from the article:

OBAMA: "I've appointed hundreds of people, all of whom are outstanding Americans who are doing a great job. There are a couple who had problems before they came into my administration, in terms of their taxes. ... I made a mistake ... I don't want to send the signal that there are two sets of rules."

He added: "Everybody will acknowledge that we have set up the highest standard ever for lobbyists not working in the administration."

THE FACTS: Two of his appointees, former Senate Democratic leader Tom Daschle for secretary of health and human services and Nancy Killefer as his chief compliance officer, dropped out after reports they had not paid a portion of their taxes.

Obama previously acknowledged he "screwed up" in making it seem to Americans that there is one set of tax compliance rules for VIPs and another set for everyone else. Yet his choice for treasury secretary, Timothy Geithner, hung in and achieved the post despite having belatedly paid $34,000 to the IRS, an agency Geithner now oversees.

That could leave the perception that there is one set of rules for Geithner and another set for everyone else...

The other painful part of the town hall meeting was watching softball question after softball question being tossed to him by members of the audience. I can see why that is when Obama was finally given a question with some teeth. A woman named Tara had the, ahem, audacity to ask Obama about the tax troubles of his cabinet nominees. What did Tara get for her trouble? Try a rousing hiss of booing from the Messiah-adoring audience. Hey man, I thought dissent was patriotic. Shouldn't they have been cheering Tara for speaking truth to power?

Hypocrites.

Good Day to You, Sir

He can always get a job in Obama's cabinet

Prosecutors: Jail ex-D.C. mayor Barry over taxes

WASHINGTON (AP) - Prosecutors asked a federal judge Monday to send former Washington mayor Marion Barry to jail for failing to file his tax returns for the eighth time in nine years....

Barry has been the gift that keeps on giving for over twenty years now.

Good Day to You, Sir

A racial firestorm

Many people remember the downfall of Al Campanis, general manager of the Los Angeles Dodgers who lost his job after stating in an April 6, 1987 Nightline interview, "Blacks may not have some of the necessities to be, let's say, a field manager, or, perhaps, a general manager." Even though Campanis was a good friend of Jackie Robinson, he was fired and was vilified for years as yet another racist white person in a position of power, sticking it to the black man.

I bring up Campanis's statement so it can be juxtaposed with this one:

“We don’t do as well on these multiple-choice tests,” said Capt. Otis Jordan, president of the Houston Black Firefighters Association... “I compare fighting a fire, riding an apparatus, to playing football. Your best athlete might not be the straight-A student.”

This statement was made in response to a lawsuit that has been filed in Houston, Texas by seven black firefighters against that city's fire department. The lawsuit contends that the department's 100-question multiple choice Captain's promotion exam is racially biased. How exactly a test like this can be racially biased, I am not sure, but biased is what these seven black firefighters claim it to be.

Apparently, the fact that the test is multiple-choice is too much for black people to handle. Hey, don't snarl at me for saying such a thing. Otis Jordan said it; just reread the quote above. What will always amaze me is how minorities are all too willing to denigrate themselves and their race, such as with statements and lawsuits like these, and also through the constant push for so-called affirmative action and other forms of quotas. How ironic that I, as a "typical white person" (to borrow the phrase from Barack Obama), have more faith in the abilities of these firefighters than they do.

Yes, yes, I know what comes next in this common dialogue: But minorities can't make it in the "white man's world" without certain programs and protections to give them a leg up. Yeah, I understand that point. I mean, after all, a minority has yet to even be elected presid... never mind.

Good Day to You, Sir