Putting the "Red" in Red Letter Christian

If you believe that Jesus is the Christ - that he is God's Son and your Savior - then you are a child of God. And all who love the Father love his children too. So you can find out how much you love God's children - your brothers and sisters in the Lord - by how much you love and obey God.

--1 John 5:1-2

This is a partial reading of the Bible passage that was read to my Presbyterian congregation last Sunday by our pastor in preparation for his sermon. What was said in that sermon saddened me immensly, as I witnessed the continuation of a political rift between myself and my church that leaves me with a heavy heart and some choices to ponder.

I have always realized that the Presbyterian church that I attend has a definite liberal bent. There is never a shortage of Obama bumper stickers in the parking lot, and the signature drives calling for the congregation to send a letter to our congresscritters, urging more money for poverty programs or a raise in the minimum wage, are always in the works.

The following is the relevant portion of my pastor's sermon. Read it, and then I have some concerns to articulate afterward:

...Recently, there has been another effort of sorts to refocus in on the love of Jesus Christ by Tony Campolo, who picks up on a theme developed in one of Anne Weems' books, Putting the Amazing Back in Grace, when she talks about her Red Letter Bible when she was growing up.

Do any of you have a Red Letter Bible? Some of you do. A Red Letter Bible is one that highlights all of Jesus' words in red.

Well, Tony Campolo, noted author and speaker, is ready to shed his evangelical label and replace it with a new one: Red Letter Christians. Campolo is calling for the launch of this new movement - Red Letter Christians - and introduces this idea in his new book, Red Letter Christians: A Citizen's Guide to Faith and Politics.

Jim Wallis, who writes the foreward for the book introduces the idea, saying,

"We affirm the authority of the whole Bible, not just the explicit sayings of Jesus often found highlighted in red. But we believe that the red letters of Jesus need to be focused in on again. We feel a calling together in this historical moment to bring back the distinctive message of Jesus for our time, for our world, and for the critical issues we face today."

Campolo elaborates the agenda by saying,

"Red Letter Christians embrace a broad range of social concerns, giving special attention to legislation that provides help for the poor, and hope fo rthe oppressed."

Declaring that there are more than 2,000 verses of scripture that call us to express love and justice for those who are poor and oppressed, he goes on the urge all camps of the Church to join him and to work together in this new movement.

"In reality," he says, "Conservatives and Liberals need each other. Conservatives maintain many lines that should never be crossed, while Liberals destroy many lines that should never have existed."

John Haberer, the editor of Outlook Magazine, declares that,

"Red Letter Christians are the new evangelicals. Might they also be the new Liberals, the new Conservatives, and the new Progressives?"

The new Presbyterians....?

In this sermon, my pastor mentioned two important names: Tony Campolo and Jim Wallis. Both of these men describe themselves as "Progressive" Christians; "progressive" meaning socialist. Tony Campolo was one of Bill Clinton's "spiritual advisors" during the Monica Lewinsky scandal, and Jim Wallis was the president of the Michigan State University chapter of the Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) in the late 1960s. The SDS was a radical socialist group that was purportedly formed in order to oppose U.S. involvement in the Vietnam War, but in reality, SDS was one of the many organizations that was born during the turbulent decade of the 1960s whose purpose was to remake America into a socialist paradise. The terrorist Weathermen group - Bill Ayers was a charter member - grew out of the SDS in 1969. In a nutshell, Red Letter Christians are trying to pervert the teachings of Jesus Christ in order to justify socialism, and that favorite term of leftists everywhere - social justice. If you have ever wondered what social justice is, I just read a good definition the other day. Justice is when you get what you deserve. Social justice is when you get what you demand.

If you read the New Testament, you will see that Jesus speaks extensively about helping the poor, the downtrodden, the sick, the oppressed. That is wonderful; we Christians take pride in helping those who need help. The problem is that Red Letter Christians believe that we Christians are called by Jesus to enlist the power of government to effect this assistance. Jesus actually admonishes us to help on an individual level with our own wealth, not to confiscate from one person in order to give to another (please reference Commandments 8 and 10). Red Letter Christians, including Tony Campolo, Jim Wallis, and apparently, my Pastor, believe that individual voluntary giving is not good enough. They believe that government should compel you to be charitible by confiscating your wealth and wages through increased taxation, and then redistributing that confiscated wealth as the government sees fit.

During his sermon, my pastor added this admonishment,

...We are called to express love through obedience to God's commandments. Jesus' red-letter words in John's gospel boldly proclaim a new commandment that we must, of necessity, obey: That you love one another.

And by God, if you don't express that love to the satisfaction of the self-proclaimed Red Letter Christians, then they will collude with their new God - Government - in order to force you to demonstrate that love through compelled confiscation and redistribution of your hard-earned wealth and wages.

This brings me to a difficult decision. My wife grew up in this church. I have been attending this church ever since I met my wife. We were married in this church. My children were both baptized in this church. I am a deacon for this church and I play in the church's orchestra (clarinet). Our roots run deep.

In a situation like this, do you consider moving to a church whose beliefs are more in line with your own, or do you stay on board and attempt to act as a countering influence to keep the church more anchored toward the middle and not let it go off the left side of the deep end?

The individual members of my church are wonderful people, but the leftist politics of the church leadership often leave a bad taste in my mouth. When I think it through, I am more inclined to stick around witness not just for Jesus, but for common-sense political involvement as well. I think the leadership could use a dissenting voice.

Good Day to You, Sir

"Packing Heat"

That's how the news reporters described the potential trend, so I ginned myself up for another anti-gun diatribe from our local talking heads. Then they threw me for a loop.

First, rewind to this morning, when the pre-dawn darkness was awash with the sound of sirens about 4:30, waking up my wife and me. It was one of those times where you know something heavy is going down, because it seems like there were 50 different sirens all whining down the street at the same time. I had a busy day today, so I didn't have time to check up on what all the hubbub was about. When I got home, the first thing my wife said to me was, "Did you hear?" Just a mile or two from our house, up one of the major thoroughfares, a store owner had shot at two would-be burglars, killing one. The other accomplice tried to drag his perforated partner-in-crime across the parking lot before leaving the lifeless body behind and running for it. The surviving perp was arrested not too far away from the crime scene. The two criminals turned out to be brothers. Looks like they should have picked a safer bonding activity.

After I finished the season finale of 24 tonight (looks like Jack will survive for another season), I stuck around to watch the 10 o'clock news, and witnessed a refreshing surprise. After reporting the facts of the case, the street reporter then segued to a new but related story about how some shop owners in the same strip as the shooting were seriously considering arming themselves as a result of the rash of repeated burglaries and armed robberies that had taken place in the area during the last few months. The news reporters referred to this desire to arm one's self as "packing heat." When the news starts bandying about that cutesy little phrase, you usually know where this story is going on the bias-o-meter. However, the male talking head back in the studio ended the report with these words (I ran back the DVR and copied them word for word, just to make sure my ears were working):

And law enforcement officers say that if someone is on your property and you fear for your life, you have every right to defend and protect yourself in any way you see fit.

Wow! I am used to the standard boilerplate of If you feel your life is in danger, police officers urge you not to take matters into your own hands. They prefer that you call 911 instead and leave law enforcement to the professionals. You have probably heard something along those lines before if you have ever watched a news report about a self-defense shooting like this.

Of course, I have an idea of why the usual admonishment might not have been used at the end of this report, and that is the way the crime and act of self-defense went down in this case. You see, the store owner was inside his business and was on the phone with a 911 operator when the perps broke their way into the store. The 911 operator actually heard the shots fired over the phone. As you can see, calling 911 would have done nothing to help this store owner. He did the right thing and decided to risk being judged by twelve rather than carried by six.

Good Day to You, Sir, and nice shooting!

Spotted...

A bumper sticker while going north on Watt Avenue in Sacramento:

I LOVE YOU AMERICA,
But I think it's time that we see other people.

Driving the car was a sanctimonious looking female who had Obama voter written all over her. I wanted to yell to her to not let the door hit her ass on the way out. She proudly displays a bumper sticker dismissing the United States, yet she's still here, isn't she?

Good Day to You, Sir

Where was I? Better yet, where are you?

The most common rejoinder I get from people who opposed the Tea Parties held back on April 15th is the following:

Why are you only protesting now? Where were you for the last 8 years when Bush was running up record deficits?

Fair enough question. While people on the right didn't organize protests during Bush's spending spree, they certainly shouted from the rooftops that Bush was on a spending spree. They weren't happy about it at all. Then Obama came in and began making Bush's spending seem - shall I say - conservative by comparison. Had John McCain won the election and spent like Obama, or even Bush, these protests would have still happened.

Allahpundit over at HotAir.com (see blogroll) has a better question, and that is why were the same lefties who were so upset with Bush's spending spree not taking part in those Tea Parties? How upset were they? Check out this 30-second MoveOn.org ad from March '08:



So our children are going to have to pay off this dastardly $1 Trillion dollar debt from Bush? What kind of outrage does MoveOn.org feel about Obama's $3.6 Trillion dollar budget for fiscal year 2010 that is laden with gobs of earmarks, porkulus, and bad behavior-rewarding bailouts? I guess some debts are more evil than others, even when they are much smaller. So predictable.

Good Day to You, Sir

Their own worst enemies

Sometimes, you wonder what it takes to get through to them. Every year around this time, my 8th graders are studying the Civil War. After we finish all the lessons and take the test, my tradition is to spend the next few days showing the movie Glory, the 1989 masterpiece about the 54th Massachusetts Regiment that stars Matthew Broderick, Denzel Washington, and Morgan Freeman. Since Glory is rated R (in my opinion, it should be PG-13), I need to send home a permission letter for parents to sign and for the students to get back to me. If a student doesn't get the letter signed, or if the parent refuses to let the student watch the film (that rarely, if ever happens), I have to send the student(s) to another room to complete an alternate assignment.

The trick is that if too many students blow off turning in that letter, I can't show the movie because logistically, there aren't enough places for me to send all those students. Any more than five students and we have a serious problem. But there shouldn't be a problem right? Isn't every student capable of getting that letter turned in during the 3 days I give to get it done?

Last year, one of my three 8th grade periods didn't get to watch the movie because half of them didn't return the letter. I can't say I was surprised, as they were my class from hell that year.

Today, I just tallied up the letters turned in from my 3rd period 8th grade class, and I have 10 students who did not turn in the letter. The last couple days, I have been cajoling and reminding over and over to the point of absurdity that they need to turn the letter in no later than this Friday (today).

During all that reminding and cajoling, I have been getting sighs, rolling of the eyes, a bunch of "OK, we get it!", and the like. Apparently, too many of them did not get it, because there is nowhere for me to send 10 students. So guess what? No Glory for 3rd period.

Let's see how 7th and 8th periods do. To be continued....

Good Day to You, Sir

**UPDATE: 7th period will be watching the film, as only two students didn't turn in their permission letter. 8th period will not be watching the film, as 13 students did not turn in theirs. The two classes will be required to bring their textbooks next week and we will be working out of those while 7th period watches the film. I swear, nothing seems to matter to so many of these students.

A tale of two home invasions

On December 14, 2000, brothers Jonathan and Reginald Carr broke into a Wichita, Kansas townhouse in which five young people - three men and two women, all in their mid to late 20s - were staying. What happened next is often referred to as the "Wichita Horror" or "Wichita Massacre."

In the townhouse, the Carr brothers did unspeakable things to the five victims, and made the five victims do unspeakable things to each other. The victims did everything they were told to by the perps, and at no time did they try to resist. The night ended with the victims being driven to a snowy soccer field, lined up on their knees, and then each being shot execution-style with a bullet to the back of the head. The brothers then drove over the prostrate bodies with their vehicle. Incredibly, one of the female victims survived and ran over a mile - bleeding and naked - through the snowy darkness to a house and help. The female victim lived to testify against the Carr brothers. In 2002, they were convicted of the quadruple murder and sentenced to death.

Fast forward to May 4, 2009 in College Park, Georgia. A birthday party with 10 participants was going on in an apartment yesterday. Two masked men broke into the apartment and began robbing everyone. The perps then separated the men from the women with the intention of raping the women, and the perps were also overhead talking about possible plans to murder everyone. Instead of complying, one partygoer pulled a gun from his backpack and used it on the perps, killing one and causing the other to flee from the apartment. None of the partygoers were killed or injured.

Such similar crimes, but such different outcomes. I'm sure my ham-handed description of the events of the two crimes easily leads you to the differentiating factor in the two outcomes: In the Kansas crime, the victims were unarmed and complied with their attackers' demands, which led to the victims being murdered. In the Georgia incident, one of the victims was armed, and used that firearm to defend his own life and the lives of others. This led to one of the perps being killed and the other running away, with his capture apparently imminent. I'm sure you can appreciate the difference in these two outcomes.

Perhaps if more law-abiding citizens carried guns and were not deterred from doing so by our control-freakish local, state, and federal governments, the Carr Brothers and the Calvin Lavants of this world would decide not to attempt crimes like this in the first place.

Good Day to You, Sir

Safe for another 18 months!

I had jury duty today. It sucked. I would have rather been at work.

Like clockwork, I get a jury summons about every other year. Most of the time, I call in every day and they end up never needing me to come in. There was the one time about nine years ago when I was put on a jury for a child molestation case - I was actually the foreman! - but for the most part, I never see the courthouse door.

Today was the worst experience of all. I saw the courthouse door alright, but I never saw the inside of a courtroom. I sat in the juror pen from 8am to 4pm and my name was never called. The only good thing about today was that I got an almost two-hour lunch, and I got to read quite a bit of Ann Coulter and A Patriot's History of the United States.

The other excitement came about an hour into my marathon of sitting. Some people came out of a courtroom down the hall, yelling and screaming at each other. The yelling overlapped quite a bit, but I caught this much (Warning: Bad Language Alert):

"Fuck you nigga! Fuck you and your whole family, nigga!"

Some people have no shame. The use of that infernal word made me chuckle as I recalled how my black students often tell me that it's OK for them to use it because they mean it as a term of endearment. It didn't sound very endearing to me.

Next time I get jury duty, I hope to at least get into a courtroom so I can at least have a little bit of variety during an otherwise very long and monotonous day - family squabbles notwithstanding.

Good Day to You, Sir

The Sacramento Citizen

This city used to be a two-newspaper town. From 1851 to 1994, There was the Sacramento Bee and the Sacramento Union. The Union was known as the more conservative of the two papers, and when it folded, we were left with the mostly leftist Bee.

A couple of years ago, an attempt was made to bring the Union back, both as an online newspaper, and also a weekly freebie that you could pick up at newspaper racks around the city. They made a good go of it, and I know I enjoyed my weekly issue of the Union, but in the end, they just couldn't turn a profit, and they suspended publication a couple of months ago.

Now, another attempt is being made to provide an alternative voice in Sacramento. It is an online publication called the Sacramento Citizen. The Citizen will provide a platform for the views of some of our local conservative radio personalities, writers, and bloggers. I have submitted a piece as an education columnist - here's hoping it gets picked up. Regardless of that, I encourage my local readers, or anyone else who wants to know what is going on in Ground Zero for California politics, to check in on the Citizen. Remember the old refrain: As California goes, so eventually goes the rest of the nation. When California "goes," it usually happens with legislation passed here in our state capital.

Good Day to You, Sir

Spotted

This afternoon, on the way to Home Depot, I saw a car in front of me with multiple bumper stickers. Among them were these two:

My kids think I'm an ATM!

and

Obama '08

If I had the opportunity to pull alongside the driver, I would have yelled, "Obama thinks you're an ATM too!"

Good Day to You, Sir

The Test-o-rama is underway!

What a wonderful, wonderful day it was! We began state testing on this beautiful Wednesday, and I couldn't not have had a more relaxing experience. For the first time in the five years I have taught at my school, the administration finally got it right.

In years past, the testing was spread out over a week and a half, with the students testing for two hours, and then going through their class schedule for the rest of the school day. The periods were shorter (they are 41 minutes on a regular day!), and since they had already tested, I couldn't give a quiz or test on anything I taught during that week and a half. The students were also quite ill-behaved during these abbreviated classes, both because they knew there was no quiz on the horizon, and because they were burned out from the whole testing schedule in the first place.

But this year... ahhhh, Heaven! We test Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday of this week. The teachers administer the tests to their first period classes from 9am to 1:10pm, with a 10 minute break at 11:30. The students eat lunch from 1:10 to 1:40, and then they GO HOME! I have been beating my head against the wall at staff meetings for the last five years suggesting that this is what should be done during state testing, and they have finally taken my advice. Well, I'm sure they don't remember that it's me who has been yelling from the rooftops, but my desires became policy just the same!

So tomorrow, I shall go to work, hand out the test booklets and bubbly answer sheets, and then enjoy the silence.

Good Day to You, Sir

Just imagine if Bush had done it?

Not that I have any love for most recent ex-president, but the overall silence of the leftstream media is hypocritically deafening on the story of one of Obama's 747s being used for a low-flying photo-op over New York City that scared the hell out of the residents.

At 3:30pm, I just checked the homepages of MSNBC, ABC, CBS, USAToday, and CNN, and the only thing I could find was a itty-bitty thumbnail link to the story on CNN. Other than that? Bupkiss. Conversely, the story is still a front-page matter on the website for Fox News.

I know what a Lefty's immediate reaction would be on that one, and that would be to scream about how that is more evidence of the conservative bias of Fox News, to which I would say, no, that is evidence that Fox News is living up to its responsibility as a news organization. The bias is on the other sites with the fact that any story about the fly-over is wiped clean from the other news organizations.

So what were the New Yorkers so scared of? Check this out:



Good Day to You, Sir

Psalm 66:6?

In honor of President Obama's first one hundred days in office, a friend of mine named Mike Nevin penned what he called "The Psalm of O." He left it in my comments section, but I considered it too clever not to post it here. Enjoy:

Psalm of O
A psalm of some of the American People.

1 Obama is our shepherd, we shall not be in want.

2 He makes us lie down in Green homes, he leads us beside clean waters,

3 he restores my job. He guides me in paths of progressiveness for his name's sake.

4 Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of conservatism, I will fear no republican evil, for he is with me; his rhetoric and informality, they comfort me.

5 He will prepare a tax relief plan before me in the presence of the upper class. He anoints my health care plan with benefits; my bank account overflows.

6 Surely hope and change will follow me all the days of my life, and he will dwell in the Whitehouse forever.

Parody written by Mike Nevin.

Thank you, Mike!

Good Day to You, Sir

**Update: After I quickly realized that there really is a Psalm 66:6, I looked it up out of curiosity and was amused by what I found. Here is the actual passage:

He turned the sea into dry land, they passed through the waters on foot - come, let us rejoice in him.

What instantly came to my mind was the passage from Obama's speech the night that he clinched the Democrat nomination:

“[G]enerations from now, we will be able to look back and tell our children that this was the moment when... the rise of the oceans began to slow and our planet began to heal...."

Pure coincidence of course, but amusing just the same.

Good Day to You, Sir

"We civilized freedom 'til no one was free..."

Those brilliant lyrics came from a rather goofy 1969 movie musical called Paint Your Wagon. How goofy? Those lyrics were sung by tough-guy actor Lee Marvin; Clint Eastwood sang in that movie as well!

As lightweight of a film as Paint Your Wagon was, this line about civilizing freedom out of existence has a lot of truth to it. In that vein, Professor Walter Williams wrote a wonderful column this week about what happens when laws replace common customs and courtesy as the civilizing force in society. For example:

Behavior accepted as the norm today would have been seen as despicable yesteryear. There are television debt relief advertisements that promise to help debtors to pay back only half of what they owe. Foul language is spoken by children in front of and sometimes to teachers and other adults. When I was a youngster, it was unthinkable to use foul language to an adult; it would have meant a smack across the face. Back then, parents and teachers didn't have child-raising "experts" to tell them that "time out" is a means of discipline. Baby showers are held for unwed mothers. Yesteryear, such an acceptance of illegitimacy would have been unthinkable....

Amen!

Good Day to You, Sir

He's just a man, folks

I know you Obamabots out there really like your guy, but do us all a favor and stop comparing him to Jesus Christ or any other kind of saint, and please stop creating photos and paintings to convey that impression. I guess the whole church and state thing to which the lefties cling goes out the window when their Obamessiah is involved.

Good Day to You, Sir

You Global Warming cultists make me chuckle

How convinced is former vice president Al Gore (the Goracle) that anthropogenic global warming is for real and that it is catastrophic? How about the fact that he refuses to debate any of the so-called global warming "deniers" out there who, if they were actually given a chance to address some of Gore's hot air to his face, would make Gore the gasbag look like a blooming idiot.

The latest example? Lord Christopher Monckton, one of the best known "deniers" out there, was invited by our congress to testify at the same hearing as Al Gore on Capitol Hill. However, when zero-hour arrived, Gore "chickened out" in the words of Monckton, and refused to appear unless Monckton didn't. So, guess who got to appear before congress, and guess who was shut out of the proceedings?

If you members of the Church of Global Warming are so sure of your faith, then why do you refuse to debate and simply shut down and insult anyone who disagrees with you?

Pathetic.

Good Day to You, Sir

"Leave, office, now!"

I wrote my first referral today that I have had to write in quite a while. I kicked the student out of class, and also suspended him from my class for tomorrow as well. I'm sure you are wondering what the student did to incur my wrath; allow me to share it with you.

First, I must anonymously introduce you to... oh heck, I could think up some fake name, but I won't. Let's just call him "Missing Filter," as in he is missing a filter between his brain and his mouth, which means he often just blurts out any little old thought that somehow manages to form in that thick skull of his. Of course, "Missing Filter" is a bit long of a name to keep typing over and over, so let's just call him MF for short. Now, MF's ancestry is half-black, but before your knee starts jerking and you begin asking me what that has to do with anything, just bear with me. It makes his moronic utterances that much more astounding.

My 8th graders are currently learning about the major events leading up to the Civil War. On Monday and Tuesday, they learned about the world of slavery in the South. Yesterday, they learned about the three compromises: the Missouri Compromise of 1820, the Compromise of 1850, and the Kansas-Nebraska Act of 1854. Today, we discussed the other major landmark events of the 1850s that made the Civil War inevitable, such as "Bleeding Kansas", John Brown's raid on Harpers Ferry, the formation of the Republican Party and Lincoln's run for the senate and then the presidency, Brooks beating down Sumner, and of course, the Dred Scott decision of 1857. It was this last item that led to one of the most incredibly stupid displays of behavior that I have seen in my six years of teaching.

When I do lectures, I always accompany the displayed notes on the overhead screen with a Power Point presentation that I run from my computer monitor to my television. The Power Point never has any text, just images. When we got to the Dred Scott case in the notes, I brought up an image of a famous portrait of the famous slave, Dred Scott. In fact, here it is:

As soon as the image appeared on the TV screen, I heard and watched MF make a monkey sound: Ooooh, Ooooh, Ooooh, Ahhh, Ahhh, Ahhh. I was speechless. All I could do was look at MF with a countenance that was one part incredulity and another part pure shock, along with my palms outstretched away from my sides and turned upward. "What?" MF sarcastically responded, "He looks like a monkey."

My body language continued in its frozen position, except my eyes grew much wider, and one of my outstretched palms turned into a fist with a pointed index finger that showed the way to the classroom door, and in my anger, I was only able to muster three words: "Leave, office, now!" MF gathered his things, and off he went to the office. When he was gone, there was an uncomfortable silence in the classroom, as many of the students were as shocked as I was at what MF had just said. The funny thing, is we all just kind of gave a half-chuckle and then moved on with the lesson. We were all so used to MF saying such inappropriate things, that we chose not to dwell on it.

Just another day in the classroom.

Good Day to You, Sir

Ten years ago

It's amazing to me that the Columbine High School massacre was ten years ago today. How could ten years have already zoomed by? Heck, I was still six months away from meeting my wife.

I caught the second half of a History Channel special on the massacre, and the one thing that stood out to me upon revisiting that horrible day was the - and I don't use this term lightly - cowardly demeanor of the police on scene.

It is a common procedure that when there is a hostage situation in a building, the police hang back and negotiate. But once shooting of hostages begins, that's when the police go in. At Columbine, there was no hostage situation; the bad guys proceeded directly to the shooting part. For three hours, the police did not enter that building, even though they were mere yards away from the windows of the school library where most of the killings took place. The police could hear the shooters methodically dispatching their victims. In the aftermath, the police had every excuse in the book: We didn't know how many shooters there were, there were explosive devices, so on and so forth. Sorry, but police get paid to put their lives on the line, and this was one of those moments where it was clearly necessary. For God's sake, even after the two murderers had killed themselves, the police didn't enter the building for another hour, and didn't reach the library where the police knew the killing was taking place until three and a half hours after the killers had offed themselves.

I went on YouTube to try to find some kind of tribute to the victims to honor them on this sad day, but I had trouble finding a tribute that didn't mention the names of the two subhumans who perpetrated this horrific crime. Heck some misguided souls even posted victim tributes that showed photos of the two killers as if they were fellow victims. As for me, I hope they are rotting in Hell. Thankfully, I finally found what I was looking for. Here are the people who should be remembered on this day:



Good Day to You, Sir

Just performing a public service, folks

So it seems that CNN is none too happy about the negative reaction to their reporter in Chicago and her little confrontational hissy-fit at that city's Tax Day Tea Party last Wednesday. So unhappy are they, that they are attempting to toss it down the memory hole. It seems that after CNN reporter Susan Roesgen confronted, rather than interviewed, a Tea Party attendee, the camera kept rolling after Roesgen cut her losses and sent it back to the studio. The blog Founding Bloggers has posted the footage, which shows the crowd verbally turning on Roesgen, and CNN has been trying to get that footage dropped from YouTube by claiming copyright violation. Good Luck. Fellow bloggers who have re-posted the footage are urging all of us to take what one blogger described as the "I am Spartacus" approach, and post this video so many places, that CNN will never be able to keep up. The video below will replay the initial interview/confrontation, then will cut to what happened after. By all means, enjoy!



Good Day to You, Sir

This is a test, this is only a test

This is a test post. I just tried to sign in, and I was informed that my blog was locked out for 20 days as a possible spam blog. I tried again and I got in, but I'm still wondering if everything is working OK.

What a pisser!

UPDATE: I just asked for a review (as instructed) and entered one of those crazy nonsensical code words, and I received the following message:

Blogger's spam-prevention robots have detected that your blog has characteristics of a spam blog. (What's a spam blog?) Since you're an actual person reading this, your blog is probably not a spam blog. Automated spam detection is inherently fuzzy, and we sincerely apologize for this false positive.

We received your unlock request on April 21, 2009. On behalf of the robots, we apologize for locking your non-spam blog. Please be patient while we take a look at your blog and verify that it is not spam.

Find out more about how Blogger is fighting spam blogs.

Give me a frickin' heart attack, why don't you??!! "False positive" they say? Good thing they weren't diagnosing a disease!

Good Day to You, Sir

Do you think the lefties were intimidated by today's Tea Parties?

Check out this paragon of objectivity as she gauges the vibe at a Chicago Tea Party.



If CNN doesn't fire this wench, or at least reassign her to the file room, they lose any shred of credibility they may have left.

Good Day to You, Sir

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