Here is a list of the tone death senators that filled up the omnibus bill with earmarks with the number of requests.
Cochran (R-MS) 230
Wicker (R-MS) 199
Murray (D-WA) 172
Harkin (D-IA) 152
Reid (D-NV) 129
Menendez (D-NJ) 123
Feinstein (D-CA) 121
Lautenberg (D-NJ) 120
Lincoln (D-AR) 114
Inouye (D-HI) 113
Schumer (D-NY) 106
Johnson (D-SD) 105
Landrieu (D-LA) 104
Specter (D-PA) 103
Pryor (D-AR) 96
Levin (D-MI) 93
Stabenow (D-MI) 91
Boxer (D-CA) 90
Brown (D-OH) 87
Grassley (R-IA) 86
Bingaman (D-NM) 86
Durbin (D-IL) 86
Akaka (D-HI) 83
Wyden (D-OR) 83
Cardin (D-MD) 79
Merkley (D-OR) 79
Gillibrand (D-NY) 79
Bond (R-MO) 78
Bennett (R-UT) 76
Casey (D-PA) 76
Udall (D-NM) 73
Reed (D-RI) 70
Kerry (D-MA) 69
Cantwell (D-WA) 69
Hagan (D-NC) 69
Voinovich (R-OH) 68
Klobuchar (D-MN) 68
Rockefeller (D-WV) 67
Dodd (D-CT) 66 Yeah, wasting more of my money as he heads into a long overdue retirement.
Mikulski (D-MD) 65
Tester (D-MT) 65
Lieberman (ID-CT) 64
Hutchison (R-TX) 63
Baucus (D-MT) 62
Dorgan (D-ND) 60
Warner (D-VA) 60
Webb (D-VA) 58 These two belong to me. :(
Franken (D-MN) 58
Collins (R-ME) 57
Leahy (D-VT) 56
Murkowski (R-AK) 55 I guess she is taking over where Ted Stevens left off.
Whitehouse (D-RI) 55
Kohl (D-WI) 54
Conrad (D-ND) 52
Vitter (R-LA) 48
Cornyn (R-TX) 45
Snowe (R-ME) 44
Nelson (D-FL) 43
Chambliss (R-GA) 42
Crapo (R-ID) 41
Risch (R-ID) 41
Bennet (D-CO) 40
Brownback (R-KS) 39 I guess this is his way of being able to tout some sort of effectiveness when he runs for Governor. Careful, it just may backfire.
Carper (D-DE) 39
Burr (R-NC) 38
Begich (D-AK) 37
McConnell (R-KY) 35 I guess his vote to end earmarks doesn't include this session.
Roberts (R-KS) 35
Sanders (I-VT) 33
Shelby (R-AL) 32
Inhofe (R-OK) 32
Shaheen (D-NH) 32
Alexander (R-TN) 30
Udall (D-CO) 30
Lugar (R-IN) 29
Graham (R-SC) 27
Thune (R-SD) 26 Hmm, and he wants to run for president?
Isakson (R-GA) 24
Nelson (D-NE) 23
Sessions (R-AL) 21
Bunning (R-KY) 21
Ensign (R-NV) 20
Gregg (R-NH) 13
Barrasso (R-WY) 4
Enzi (R-WY) 3
Hatch (R-UT) 1
Bayh (D-IN) 1
Corker (R-TN) 1
Brown (R-MA) 1
For a breakdown on the individual programs you can go to a comprehensive list here.
Wednesday, December 15, 2010
The 111th Congress Final Piece of History
The lowest job approval rating in the history of the poll. They got a full 13%. Even the Los Angeles Times is asking how it is that high. The respondents who label themselves as democrats are the most approving (shocker) but even that is only at 16%.
Who exactly are these people and why haven't they taken their meds?
They are in the final phase of the destruction of America with a pork laden omnibus bill that has thousands of earmarks. This is a bill that needs to be done due to the fact that the government has no funding after Saturday. So, as usual, congress waits until the very last minute to pass important and necessary legislation and then puts all their own pet projects in it.
I see that the ghost of John Murtha is alive and well and still funding the airport built for one. Yes, we are still paying for the airport that virtually no one uses. Why? Seriously what could be the justification for this? Heaven only knows what else one might find in there.
We have people who were voted out lining their districts/states with tax payer funds that other members are completely unaware of. One final slap in the face to the voters that kicked their pork laden butts to the curb.
Is is any wonder that people of this country can't stand them?
Who exactly are these people and why haven't they taken their meds?
They are in the final phase of the destruction of America with a pork laden omnibus bill that has thousands of earmarks. This is a bill that needs to be done due to the fact that the government has no funding after Saturday. So, as usual, congress waits until the very last minute to pass important and necessary legislation and then puts all their own pet projects in it.
I see that the ghost of John Murtha is alive and well and still funding the airport built for one. Yes, we are still paying for the airport that virtually no one uses. Why? Seriously what could be the justification for this? Heaven only knows what else one might find in there.
We have people who were voted out lining their districts/states with tax payer funds that other members are completely unaware of. One final slap in the face to the voters that kicked their pork laden butts to the curb.
Is is any wonder that people of this country can't stand them?
Tuesday, December 14, 2010
Holder's Defense of Obamacare
Eric Holder and Kathleen Sebelius took to the Op-Ed pages of the Washington Post today to counter the ruling that Obamacare's mandate is unconstitutional. Not that this should surprise anyone, but they feel that Obamacare will eventually be called constitutional when all is said and done. What else are they supposed to say? What is interesting is not what they said, but how they said it. They trotted out the car insurance analogy that the left always seems to go to. Not that these pesky little facts should have to be pointed out again, but we will explain to you one more time just so you can be clear.
In the case of health care all you must do is breathe. There is no comparison between the two. But, my very favorite part of the piece was the perfunctory victim that they have trotted out yet again. This time her name is Gail O'Brien. Sadly, Ms. O'Brien has been diagnosed with an aggressive form of cancer and her job as a pre-school teacher doesn't offer insurance. She was delaying the timing of her chemotherapy because of the costs and her savings wouldn't last. A very sad story, indeed. According to the piece due to Obamacare, she is now able to obtain health insurance that will cover her treatments.
If you read the entire piece no where is the answer to the breakdown of the arguments that the judge yesterday very clearly laid out. This is the attorney that is in charge over the federal court system in this country and he can't articulate where in the constitution it says that congress has the right to force us to purchase something? I am no lawyer, but I will tell you that decision yesterday was very easy to understand and well-reasoned. I don't think it is too much to ask that the Attorney General do the same instead of the playing the emotion card and basically just say that it is for the common good. He of all people should understand that we are a nation of laws, not a nation of emotions. I also would like to ask if Holder is so sure that this will pass the muster with the high court, why is he so opposed to a quick ruling? Could it be so that the groundwork for the law will be harder to dismantle the longer this drags on?
Cross Posted at PotLuck
- There is no federal law requiring anyone to purchase car insurance.
- States require insurance for the damage you cause to someone else's vehicle, not what you do to your own.
- There is no requirement to purchase a car.
- If you do not drive on publicly funded roads, you do not need insurance. If you never remove your car from your property, it does not need to be insured.
In the case of health care all you must do is breathe. There is no comparison between the two. But, my very favorite part of the piece was the perfunctory victim that they have trotted out yet again. This time her name is Gail O'Brien. Sadly, Ms. O'Brien has been diagnosed with an aggressive form of cancer and her job as a pre-school teacher doesn't offer insurance. She was delaying the timing of her chemotherapy because of the costs and her savings wouldn't last. A very sad story, indeed. According to the piece due to Obamacare, she is now able to obtain health insurance that will cover her treatments.
I don't think you find people who will say that she shouldn't be treated and her life saved. But, read the sentence again carefully:
They themselves are admitting that she had enough money to purchase insurance before she was ill and chose not to. Which completely contradicts what they say later in the piece:In March, New Hampshire preschool teacher Gail O'Brien, who was unable to obtain health insurance through her employer, was diagnosed with an aggressive form of lymphoma. Her subsequent applications for health insurance were rejected because of her condition. With each round of chemotherapy costing $16,000, she delayed treatment because she knew her savings wouldn't last.
So the person that they are setting up of why the mandate is necessary is the person who causes the costs for people who carry insurance all the time to increase? It seems to me that she is not the best example to be highlighting. This woman took the chance of going without insurance and now is complaining that the costs are high for the medical care that she needs. Again, I am not saying that she shouldn't get care, but I don't think she has the right to complain about the risk she voluntarily took. I pay my health insurance bill every three months, even though I rarely use it. It isn't that I have so much money, but since I have had health problems in the past, I know how expensive the costs can be and I do it to protect myself. As my regular readers know, my insurance for the year 2011 has increased by more than 80% because the policy that I have used for the past five years is now illegal. So, because this woman took a risk my payments must go up?If we want to prevent insurers from denying coverage to people with preexisting conditions, it's essential that everyone have coverage. Imagine what would happen if everyone waited to buy car insurance until after they got in an accident. Premiums would skyrocket, coverage would be unaffordable, and responsible drivers would be priced out of the market.
Cross Posted at PotLuck
Holder's DOJ in Action - Government Suing School System for time off for Haj Attendees
Safoorah Khan, a Muslim teacher, is getting help from the DOJ to sue her former employer; The Berkley School. What did they do? The denied her request for a three-week leave of absence to attend the Haj in Mecca, Saudi Arabia. In their infinite wisdom the DOJ has decided that has violated the civil rights act of 1964.
The Haj is a religious duty of all Muslims that can make it. It is four days of rituals that are performed in different locations around the cities of Mecca and Medina. Muslims from all over the world show up for this event to pray, throw stones, perform some rituals that include walking around a structure 7 times and perform an animal sacrifice. After these rituals are performed they then partake in Eid al-Adha, a three-day festival to mark performing the rituals.
She made the request for the leave shortly after becoming employed by the school system. She requested the leave in both 2007 and 2008. The school system declined her request on both occasions. Shortly after the second time she was denied she quit her job and filed a complaint with the EEOC. While I understand that The Haj is a religious practice, I still don't see how this is a violation of the civil rights act. In order for it to be violations of her civil rights the school board would have to regularly be giving other people leave in order to perform their religious practices and refusing hers on the basis of that religion.
Now, why exactly is she asking for three weeks off when the Haj is only four days? I understand that you need a few days for travelling to Saudi Arabia, but that is only a day each way. I believe that you need to arrive for the Haj a couple of days in advance. So, she needs one day to fly there, lets say two days to gather for the trip to Medina, four days to complete the Haj, another day to return to Riyadh and then fly home.
The Haj is a tenet of the Islamic faith, but that tenet only says that people who are able need to attend. The Haj also is done by the Islamic calendar that is different from what the west is used to as it is based on phases of the moon. Every year the Haj is earlier in the year than the previous year by about 25 days. At some point it will be done while school is out of session.
These types of things just make me crazy. This woman's civil rights were not violated. After three months of employment she requested a leave of three weeks. It is not a stretch to assume that most employers would deny this request regardless of the person's faith. If the request would be denied to a Christian or a person of another faith then how exactly is this a civil rights issue? Most other faiths don't require this type of ritual that would require a three-week leave from work, so they are not requesting leave. This woman isn't looking for equal protection under the law, she is looking for special treatment. Sadly, our Justice Department is just too happy to oblige. If the lawsuit is successful, she will get her job back as well as back pay, even though she voluntarily left her position.
Cross posted at PotLuck
The Haj is a religious duty of all Muslims that can make it. It is four days of rituals that are performed in different locations around the cities of Mecca and Medina. Muslims from all over the world show up for this event to pray, throw stones, perform some rituals that include walking around a structure 7 times and perform an animal sacrifice. After these rituals are performed they then partake in Eid al-Adha, a three-day festival to mark performing the rituals.
She made the request for the leave shortly after becoming employed by the school system. She requested the leave in both 2007 and 2008. The school system declined her request on both occasions. Shortly after the second time she was denied she quit her job and filed a complaint with the EEOC. While I understand that The Haj is a religious practice, I still don't see how this is a violation of the civil rights act. In order for it to be violations of her civil rights the school board would have to regularly be giving other people leave in order to perform their religious practices and refusing hers on the basis of that religion.
Now, why exactly is she asking for three weeks off when the Haj is only four days? I understand that you need a few days for travelling to Saudi Arabia, but that is only a day each way. I believe that you need to arrive for the Haj a couple of days in advance. So, she needs one day to fly there, lets say two days to gather for the trip to Medina, four days to complete the Haj, another day to return to Riyadh and then fly home.
The Haj is a tenet of the Islamic faith, but that tenet only says that people who are able need to attend. The Haj also is done by the Islamic calendar that is different from what the west is used to as it is based on phases of the moon. Every year the Haj is earlier in the year than the previous year by about 25 days. At some point it will be done while school is out of session.
These types of things just make me crazy. This woman's civil rights were not violated. After three months of employment she requested a leave of three weeks. It is not a stretch to assume that most employers would deny this request regardless of the person's faith. If the request would be denied to a Christian or a person of another faith then how exactly is this a civil rights issue? Most other faiths don't require this type of ritual that would require a three-week leave from work, so they are not requesting leave. This woman isn't looking for equal protection under the law, she is looking for special treatment. Sadly, our Justice Department is just too happy to oblige. If the lawsuit is successful, she will get her job back as well as back pay, even though she voluntarily left her position.
Cross posted at PotLuck
The View on the "Weeper of the House"
The ladies of The View are at it again. John Boehner is an emotional guy. I will admit that it does make me a little uncomfortable, but I also like the fact that a man is very emotional about the things he believes in. Joyless Behar, as usual, goes too far. She says that he had no empathy, which if you even watch the clip that they show he does have empathy. He was talking about school children having the opportunities to reach the American Dream.
I have never met the man, so I can't say what type of person he is. But, what I can say is that he is someone who worked his way up. He is a one of 11 children born to parents who didn't have a great deal of money. He took any job he could find in order to afford college. One of which was a night janitor, he is no stranger to hard work. He grew up a democrat from a democrat family. Once finishing college he started his own business and then saw from himself how government regulation and taxation sucks away the ability to hire and invest. In just a few short weeks he is going to be two heartbeats away from the presidency. If that is not something to be emotional about I don't know what is.
I have heard liberals say this is no different than how Hillary Clinton was treated when she cried before the New Hampshire primary. If memory serves it wasn't that she got emotional, what many questioned was the authenticity of the emotion that was questioned. Was she crying because she thought that America would "go backwards" if she didn't win or was she crying because she was watching her own dreams being shattered? I also seem to remember that she was behind in the polls before that press conference and then ended up winning the primary. So, obviously people didn't hold it against her, many think that it help soften her image as the ice queen.
I have never met the man, so I can't say what type of person he is. But, what I can say is that he is someone who worked his way up. He is a one of 11 children born to parents who didn't have a great deal of money. He took any job he could find in order to afford college. One of which was a night janitor, he is no stranger to hard work. He grew up a democrat from a democrat family. Once finishing college he started his own business and then saw from himself how government regulation and taxation sucks away the ability to hire and invest. In just a few short weeks he is going to be two heartbeats away from the presidency. If that is not something to be emotional about I don't know what is.
I have heard liberals say this is no different than how Hillary Clinton was treated when she cried before the New Hampshire primary. If memory serves it wasn't that she got emotional, what many questioned was the authenticity of the emotion that was questioned. Was she crying because she thought that America would "go backwards" if she didn't win or was she crying because she was watching her own dreams being shattered? I also seem to remember that she was behind in the polls before that press conference and then ended up winning the primary. So, obviously people didn't hold it against her, many think that it help soften her image as the ice queen.
Why Can't We Leave it up to the Parents? - Michelle Obama's Fight on Obesity
So the obesity issue comes down to school lunches? If that is true why are we then adding meals to the school programs instead of getting away from them? Now, I have not eaten a school lunch in decades and from what I remember they were not all that great. Matter of fact, I brought lunch. Hey, that's an idea!! We are slowly taking away parents responsibilities. We are feeding children three times a day at school. When do these kids spend time with their parents? I understand that many parents have to work long hours, but spending time with your kids is too important to grant to the state. All studies show that families that eat together on a regular basis raise children that are healthier, happier, and do better in school. We should be promoting families spending time together instead of saying that the government will take care of all your needs.
I am sick to death of hearing about how McDonalds is making our children fat. Young children don't go to McDonalds by themselves. Someone has to take them there. If a parent doesn't know that McDonalds should only be a once in a while treat, that is something that government can't take care of. You can't fix stupid.
I am sick to death of hearing about how McDonalds is making our children fat. Young children don't go to McDonalds by themselves. Someone has to take them there. If a parent doesn't know that McDonalds should only be a once in a while treat, that is something that government can't take care of. You can't fix stupid.
Tis The Season - Music Break Part 2
I hope that you will remember the people you may know that don't have family or loved ones nearby. Christmas can be a very lonely time of year for people who are older or alone. Invite them over for a cup of eggnog if you can. Spread the cheer!!!
We also need to remember all the people that just don't have the money to give their children expensive gifts, some can't afford to give any gifts at all; especially in this economy. Say a prayer for those who are alone or going without. I dropped off some Barbie dolls to Toys for Tots a few weeks ago. If you happen to have a little extra this holiday season, Toys for Tots is a great organization that gives directly to the needy.
We also need to remember all the people that just don't have the money to give their children expensive gifts, some can't afford to give any gifts at all; especially in this economy. Say a prayer for those who are alone or going without. I dropped off some Barbie dolls to Toys for Tots a few weeks ago. If you happen to have a little extra this holiday season, Toys for Tots is a great organization that gives directly to the needy.
Monday, December 13, 2010
Cuccinelli on Obamacare being Ruled Unconstitutional
I have a crush on this man. I have had the honor of meeting him on several occasions, and he is as nice in person as he seems. I will admit to the fact that when we were going through our nomination process during the state elections last year I didn't support him. I am big enough to admit when I am wrong. Great job AG Cuccinelli!
Quote of the Day - Mark Bauerlein Edition
"Millions of lazy, incurious, disruptive, unintelligent and nearly illiterate youngsters flood classrooms every day, and none of the popular and hugely expensive initiatives and ideas peddled by 'education mayors,' well-meaning foundations and professors of education will change them."Mark Bauerlein author of The Dumbest Generation.
I think it may be a little hard to dispute some of what he is saying. We have many children who can't read at grade level in both middle and high school. But, how did they get to high school without being able to read well? That is a huge problem if we are passing students along just to get rid of them and pass the problem onto someone else. Which I do believe happens, especially in the larger school systems that just don't have the resources to spend to help one child. We also have to look at parents who seem fairly disinterested in the fact that their child is falling behind. While this type of thinking was behind the failed No Child Left Behind program put into place by President Bush, but again, the government can't solve all problems. While I am not an educator, I personally believe that you must capture the child's imagination when they are young. Little kids are like sponges and naturally curious. You must give them the foundation that they can continue to build on as they grow older before the realization that education is actually work and not a game kicks in. It is just tragic that we have adults out there saying that the status quo in our public schools is acceptable, when it simply is not.
Obamacare Unconstitutional
The court has released its decision on the case brought by Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli. It didn't go well for the president's signature piece of legislation. The court took issue with every argument made by the government, and one by one, tore them down. This case was solely based on the individual mandate. Virginia has passed a law that no one can be federally mandated to purchase health insurance.
Much of the court ruling has to do with the word tax. A term that the Obama administration and all the dems had continued to say didn't exist with the law. During oral arguments of this case the justice department did admit that it is indeed a tax.
The judge basically has ruled that congress has overstepped it's constitutional authority. The judge goes into the cases that were sighted by the government in order to justify the individual mandate. The judge concluded that in all those cases there was activity. The mandate in this law has no activity, it therefore goes beyond the scope of constitutional framework that congress can act upon.
The most interesting part of this verdict is the fact that Virginia had a very tough burden. Law requires that the judge had to assume that the mandate was constitutional. Virginia then had to show how it was not. There of course if a great deal of legalese that I don't fully understand, but the judge has very specific examples of past decisions and how he came to his decision. Read it here
This is far from over and could potentially take another year before it reaches SCOTUS for a final decision.
Much of the court ruling has to do with the word tax. A term that the Obama administration and all the dems had continued to say didn't exist with the law. During oral arguments of this case the justice department did admit that it is indeed a tax.
The judge basically has ruled that congress has overstepped it's constitutional authority. The judge goes into the cases that were sighted by the government in order to justify the individual mandate. The judge concluded that in all those cases there was activity. The mandate in this law has no activity, it therefore goes beyond the scope of constitutional framework that congress can act upon.
The most interesting part of this verdict is the fact that Virginia had a very tough burden. Law requires that the judge had to assume that the mandate was constitutional. Virginia then had to show how it was not. There of course if a great deal of legalese that I don't fully understand, but the judge has very specific examples of past decisions and how he came to his decision. Read it here
This is far from over and could potentially take another year before it reaches SCOTUS for a final decision.
Sunday, December 12, 2010
10 Years Later - President Bush Wins
It has been 10 years since the Supreme Court ruled on Bush V. Gore. The case that made George W. Bush the 43rd president of the United States. Much has been made of this case and at the time many thought it was the Supreme Court that was deciding the election. Of course this isn't true, but it did cast a shadow over the Bush presidency that never really went away.
Now, I didn't vote for President Bush in 2000. At that time Virginia was solidly red as far as presidential elections went, so that freed me up to vote my conscience. I had issues that I couldn't get passed and didn't allow me to pull the lever for President Bush the first time around. To be honest I don't remember who I voted for, and it is possible that I just left that blank. I have done that before and I am sure that the occasion will arise that I will do it again.
So much of narrative of what happened during this election is completely false and has continued for the past ten years. The decision that really ended the election was a 7-2 decision not 5-4 that many people think that it was. The decision that really ended it was about Florida using different sets of standards in order to do the recounts. (Bush V. Palm Beach County Canvassing Board) Which clearly violates the constitution on the grounds of equal protection under the law. Vice President Gore and his legal team wanted to use different sets of standards depending on which county you lived in. He cherry picked heavily democratic counties for the recount and tried to change the rules on what constituted a legal vote. Federal law requires that the law for how a vote is to be counted must be in place before the election takes place. In Palm Beach County the law before the election was that "dimpled" chads couldn't be counted as a legal vote. Yet, Gore and his legal eagles somehow convinced the Florida Supreme Court that they could be; hence a protracted and illegal recount. One that still showed him as the loser. Unable to accept this decision, Gore kept pressing forward which then led to the 5-4 decision that most people remember.
Another big misconception was the job of Secretary of State Kathleen Harris. She followed the letter of the law, as much as many tried to make her out as some sort of evil character hell bent on illegally handing President Bush the presidency when he didn't deserve it. That simply is not the case. Florida law requires the timeline of when the vote must be certified and she followed it.
The final electoral vote count was 271 to 266. Florida counting as 25 of those. Another thing that many on the left seem to leave out of the equation is the small pesky little fact that Gore lost his home state of Tennessee, which has 11 votes. So, had Gore won his home state he would have Florida never would have mattered. It wasn't Florida that gave President Bush the win, it was Gore being unable to win his home state that cost him the presidency. Had Florida declared the state to Bush before Tennessee was announced it wouldn't have become the issue that it did. Florida was the last ditch attempt to hold on after the news that he lost his home state had been announced. Personally, I think if a candidate for president can't win his home state he doesn't deserve to be the title of President of the United States. The one thing that was very enjoyable to watch during that time was the left championing states rights. They certainly aren't interested in them now. The reality is that even when the AP sent people to do recounts after the election had been called even they found that Bush did indeed win the count in Florida by the narrowest of margins. As much as the left may detest this, President Bush won the presidency fair and square based on the electoral college.
Now, I didn't vote for President Bush in 2000. At that time Virginia was solidly red as far as presidential elections went, so that freed me up to vote my conscience. I had issues that I couldn't get passed and didn't allow me to pull the lever for President Bush the first time around. To be honest I don't remember who I voted for, and it is possible that I just left that blank. I have done that before and I am sure that the occasion will arise that I will do it again.
So much of narrative of what happened during this election is completely false and has continued for the past ten years. The decision that really ended the election was a 7-2 decision not 5-4 that many people think that it was. The decision that really ended it was about Florida using different sets of standards in order to do the recounts. (Bush V. Palm Beach County Canvassing Board) Which clearly violates the constitution on the grounds of equal protection under the law. Vice President Gore and his legal team wanted to use different sets of standards depending on which county you lived in. He cherry picked heavily democratic counties for the recount and tried to change the rules on what constituted a legal vote. Federal law requires that the law for how a vote is to be counted must be in place before the election takes place. In Palm Beach County the law before the election was that "dimpled" chads couldn't be counted as a legal vote. Yet, Gore and his legal eagles somehow convinced the Florida Supreme Court that they could be; hence a protracted and illegal recount. One that still showed him as the loser. Unable to accept this decision, Gore kept pressing forward which then led to the 5-4 decision that most people remember.
Another big misconception was the job of Secretary of State Kathleen Harris. She followed the letter of the law, as much as many tried to make her out as some sort of evil character hell bent on illegally handing President Bush the presidency when he didn't deserve it. That simply is not the case. Florida law requires the timeline of when the vote must be certified and she followed it.
The final electoral vote count was 271 to 266. Florida counting as 25 of those. Another thing that many on the left seem to leave out of the equation is the small pesky little fact that Gore lost his home state of Tennessee, which has 11 votes. So, had Gore won his home state he would have Florida never would have mattered. It wasn't Florida that gave President Bush the win, it was Gore being unable to win his home state that cost him the presidency. Had Florida declared the state to Bush before Tennessee was announced it wouldn't have become the issue that it did. Florida was the last ditch attempt to hold on after the news that he lost his home state had been announced. Personally, I think if a candidate for president can't win his home state he doesn't deserve to be the title of President of the United States. The one thing that was very enjoyable to watch during that time was the left championing states rights. They certainly aren't interested in them now. The reality is that even when the AP sent people to do recounts after the election had been called even they found that Bush did indeed win the count in Florida by the narrowest of margins. As much as the left may detest this, President Bush won the presidency fair and square based on the electoral college.
Hummus and Hamas
Yet another disturbing story about what is going on at our college campuses. The hummus in question is actually made by company owned by Pepsi.
Here is a forum that was conducted on campus in regards to hummus brouhaha. My question is what about Hamas saying that only the destruction of Israel will be good enough don't these kids understand? They are not interested in peace. If they were, they would stop lobbing rockets at innocent people.
Here is a forum that was conducted on campus in regards to hummus brouhaha. My question is what about Hamas saying that only the destruction of Israel will be good enough don't these kids understand? They are not interested in peace. If they were, they would stop lobbing rockets at innocent people.
Saturday, December 11, 2010
Is he Sorry Now? - Madoff's Son Commits Suicide
Bernie Madoff's eldest son, Mark hanged himself today. The suicide came two years to the day that his father was arrested. Both of Madoff's sons have been investigated and many think that they had to have known what was going on with their father's ponzi scheme that bilked billions from people. Even though it is the the two sons that turned him into authorities.
Authorities said today that no charges were due to filed against the younger Madoff. So, it is impossible to say what has caused him to go this far. There was apparently a great deal of pressure on him:
The only thing that keeps going through my head is this when Bernie will have his "Come to Jesus" moment? He has destroyed people's lives and his son is just the latest victim. But, the biggest victims will be his two young grandchildren who will now grow up without their father.
"Madoff has never shown any remorse Somehow, I don't see even this doing anything to affect this sociopath.
Authorities said today that no charges were due to filed against the younger Madoff. So, it is impossible to say what has caused him to go this far. There was apparently a great deal of pressure on him:
Nikolay Reva, a 28-year-old salesman in the Prada boutique on same block, said that Mark and his wife would come in with their children to shop, both before and after the scandal broke two years ago.The younger Madoff apparently had sent some strange emails to his wife, who happened to be in Florida with their eldest child. His wife was worried enough to contact a family member to check on him and he was found hanging from a dog leash. His two year old son slept in the next room and was unharmed. It is terrible that he would do something like that with his child in the house.
Mark "was very sweet, respectful, friendly," said Reva. "But after his father's arrest, you could see the person diminishing slowly, you could see something started to happen physically, and he wasn't as talkative."
The only thing that keeps going through my head is this when Bernie will have his "Come to Jesus" moment? He has destroyed people's lives and his son is just the latest victim. But, the biggest victims will be his two young grandchildren who will now grow up without their father.
"Madoff has never shown any remorse Somehow, I don't see even this doing anything to affect this sociopath.
This is a terrible and unnecessary tragedy," Madoff's lawyer, Martin Flumenbaum said in a written statement. "Mark was an innocent victim of his father's monstrous crime who succumbed to two years of unrelenting pressure from false accusations and innuendo."
Quote of the Day - Anthony Hager Edition
For a known Regressive jurist to coddle convicted murderers and side with the Ninth "Circus" is completely predictable. Understandable, no, but completely predictable. But to question the safety of a lethal drug? Maybe I'm unclear on the concept. It just seems logical that a drug administered to fulfill a condemned prisoner's death sentence would be, by necessity, unsafe. If the drug were safe, it would have difficulty achieving its stated purpose, now wouldn't it? God help us, what has happened to our brains! Educated jurists speculating on whether or not lethal drugs are safe for their intended use is a sure sign our system has abandoned all sanity and common sense.
Anthony Hager on Elana Kagen's first SCOTUS decision. The court was hearing a case on the safety of a lethal injection drug. How exactly did this court case make it to the Supreme Court? Seriously, a lethal injection drug is unsafe? Uh, yeah, it is meant to kill you, of course it is unsafe.
I am not an advocate for the death penalty, matter of fact I strongly oppose it. That being said, what a complete waste of resources to bring this to the high court.
You can read full article here.
The Slippery Slope of Liberalism
David Epstein, Columbia political science professor and HuffPo blogger, was arrested on Thursday and charged with incest for having a "consensual" relationship with his 24 year old daughter. I am not going to get into the horror of the relationship. What I find interesting about this story are the comments that were left on the Columbia Spectator, the University's paper.
Some of these people are truly sick individuals. There are some that are saying that this man shouldn't have been arrested because the relationship was consensual. OK, it is not possible to consent to having sex with a parent, regardless of how old you are. The power structure in that relationship makes it impossible. Others are questioning why the daughter has also not been charged.
In some ways you can describe one of the many differences between conservatives and progressives is that I look at things as black and white, and progressives only see gray. No matter where you fall on the spectrum it would seem pretty easy to realize that having a three year sexual relationship with your child is wrong and sick.
While this seems like a stretch to equate these two things, but for me it is the slippery slope. Apparently, this man feels like this relationship was perfectly fine. Some of the commenters also seem to feel the same way. So, this is one of reasons that I am against gay marriage. If we go by the the progressive view of "if they are in love" they should be able to marry. Does this father also have the right to marry his daughter? Do we also allow people to have multiple wives? There is even a TV show on that a man who has three or four wives. They live together as one big happy family. While he is only legally married to one of them, he feels that this is perfectly fine.
This is one area that really isn't gray. People can have all types of beliefs, that doesn't mean that society has to accept them. There are times that things are black and white, cases of incest being one. We keep moving the goal post on what is acceptable and what is not acceptable in a civil society. Political correctness is making it very difficult to just stand up and say this is wrong, and this is wrong! What kind of society do we have if college-aged students, who obviously are bright, are accepting that this type of relationship is just a life choice?
H/T to Other McCain
Crossposted at PotLuck
Some of these people are truly sick individuals. There are some that are saying that this man shouldn't have been arrested because the relationship was consensual. OK, it is not possible to consent to having sex with a parent, regardless of how old you are. The power structure in that relationship makes it impossible. Others are questioning why the daughter has also not been charged.
In some ways you can describe one of the many differences between conservatives and progressives is that I look at things as black and white, and progressives only see gray. No matter where you fall on the spectrum it would seem pretty easy to realize that having a three year sexual relationship with your child is wrong and sick.
While this seems like a stretch to equate these two things, but for me it is the slippery slope. Apparently, this man feels like this relationship was perfectly fine. Some of the commenters also seem to feel the same way. So, this is one of reasons that I am against gay marriage. If we go by the the progressive view of "if they are in love" they should be able to marry. Does this father also have the right to marry his daughter? Do we also allow people to have multiple wives? There is even a TV show on that a man who has three or four wives. They live together as one big happy family. While he is only legally married to one of them, he feels that this is perfectly fine.
This is one area that really isn't gray. People can have all types of beliefs, that doesn't mean that society has to accept them. There are times that things are black and white, cases of incest being one. We keep moving the goal post on what is acceptable and what is not acceptable in a civil society. Political correctness is making it very difficult to just stand up and say this is wrong, and this is wrong! What kind of society do we have if college-aged students, who obviously are bright, are accepting that this type of relationship is just a life choice?
H/T to Other McCain
Crossposted at PotLuck
Friday, December 10, 2010
Thursday, December 9, 2010
Quote of the Day - Alan Sorkin Edition
I eat meat, chicken and fish, have shoes and furniture made of leather, and PETA is not ever going to put me on the cover of their brochure and for these reasons Palin thinks it’s hypocritical of me to find what she did heart-stoppingly disgusting. I don’t think it is, and here’s why.Umm, I know what visceral means. Now, I didn't watch the episode in question, but I have this feeling she wasn't dancing. She shot one animal that her family will then eat. Instead of going to the grocery store and pretending that the animal didn't have to be killed by someone, she took care of it herself. I wouldn't hunt either, but I do understand that for some people it is necessary. There are many people in this country that live in very rural areas and hunting is the way the feed themselves. They don't have the luxury of going to the local Whole Foods to buy their organic chickens. They actually have to do the work and raise them themselves.
Like 95% of the people I know, I don’t have a visceral (look it up) problem eating meat or wearing a belt. But like absolutely everybody I know, I don’t relish the idea of torturing animals. I don’t enjoy the fact that they’re dead and I certainly don’t want to volunteer to be the one to kill them and if I were picked to be the one to kill them in some kind of Lottery-from-Hell, I wouldn’t do a little dance of joy while I was slicing the animal apart.
What a putz.
Michelle Rhee's Students First
Michelle Rhee has decided on her next move. She has decided to start a non-proft grassroots organization that will work towards reforming the education system in this country in order to give access to a quality education for every American child, regardless of socio-economic position or race.
The Mission Statement
Our mission is to build a national movement to defend the interests of children in public education and pursue transformative reform, so that America has the best education system in the world.
America's schools are failing our kids. On this point, the data is clear. While some people blame the kids, or simply want to throw more money at the problem, we know that real change requires a better system — one that puts students' needs before those of special interests or wasteful bureaucracies.
To succeed in our mission, we're working with parents, teachers, administrators, and citizens across the country to ensure great teachers, access to great schools, and effective use of public dollars. Together, we'll demand that legislators, courts, district administrators, and school boards create and enforce policies that put students first. We'll make sure politicians and administrators recognize and reward excellent teachers, give novice teachers the training they need, and quickly improve or remove ineffective educators. We'll work to ensure that every family has a number of options for excellent schools to attend, so that getting into a great school becomes a matter of fact, not luck. And we'll make sure all Americans understand that our schools are not only an anchor for our communities, but an absolute gateway to our national prosperity and competitive standing in the world economy.
We Believe: Great teachers can make a tremendous difference for students of every background; all children deserve outstanding teachers.
Once inside the school, a great teacher is the single most important factor in a child's education. While there are many factors that influence a student's ability to learn, a great teacher can help any student overcome those barriers and realize their full potential. For this reason, we're doing everything we can to make sure teachers are supported and all schools are able to hire and retain the best teachers possible.
We Believe: Attending a great school should be a matter of fact, not luck; every family should be able to choose an excellent school.
In cities across America, parents are unable to enroll their kids in the best public schools — there just aren't enough seats. We're working to make sure all families have a range of high quality schools to choose from, because our kids shouldn't have to rely on a lottery or a certain Zip code to get a great education.
We Believe: Public dollars belong where they make the biggest difference—on effective instructional programs; we must fight ineffective practices and bureaucracy.
Schools need smart spending — not more money. Tax dollars should go toward programs that help our kids, ensure their long-term success, accurately evaluate teacher performance, and produce results — not layers or bureaucracy that only serve to protect the needs of special interests.
We Believe: Parent and family involvement is key to increased student achievement, but the entire community must be engaged in the effort to improve our schools.
Parental engagement is critical to ensuring student success, so we'll work to get all families more involved in their schools. But lasting reform requires that whole communities get involved in the fight for better schools. Without a widespread, concerted movement that engages all sectors of society, our country will continue to fall further and further behind the rest of the world.
If you agree with our mission, and want to help transform education in your community and throughout America, join us.
I don't think that Michelle Rhee is the end all of education reform, but she has passion and out of the box thinking, and it is a start.
The Mission Statement
Our mission is to build a national movement to defend the interests of children in public education and pursue transformative reform, so that America has the best education system in the world.
America's schools are failing our kids. On this point, the data is clear. While some people blame the kids, or simply want to throw more money at the problem, we know that real change requires a better system — one that puts students' needs before those of special interests or wasteful bureaucracies.
To succeed in our mission, we're working with parents, teachers, administrators, and citizens across the country to ensure great teachers, access to great schools, and effective use of public dollars. Together, we'll demand that legislators, courts, district administrators, and school boards create and enforce policies that put students first. We'll make sure politicians and administrators recognize and reward excellent teachers, give novice teachers the training they need, and quickly improve or remove ineffective educators. We'll work to ensure that every family has a number of options for excellent schools to attend, so that getting into a great school becomes a matter of fact, not luck. And we'll make sure all Americans understand that our schools are not only an anchor for our communities, but an absolute gateway to our national prosperity and competitive standing in the world economy.
We Believe: Great teachers can make a tremendous difference for students of every background; all children deserve outstanding teachers.
Once inside the school, a great teacher is the single most important factor in a child's education. While there are many factors that influence a student's ability to learn, a great teacher can help any student overcome those barriers and realize their full potential. For this reason, we're doing everything we can to make sure teachers are supported and all schools are able to hire and retain the best teachers possible.
We Believe: Attending a great school should be a matter of fact, not luck; every family should be able to choose an excellent school.
In cities across America, parents are unable to enroll their kids in the best public schools — there just aren't enough seats. We're working to make sure all families have a range of high quality schools to choose from, because our kids shouldn't have to rely on a lottery or a certain Zip code to get a great education.
We Believe: Public dollars belong where they make the biggest difference—on effective instructional programs; we must fight ineffective practices and bureaucracy.
Schools need smart spending — not more money. Tax dollars should go toward programs that help our kids, ensure their long-term success, accurately evaluate teacher performance, and produce results — not layers or bureaucracy that only serve to protect the needs of special interests.
We Believe: Parent and family involvement is key to increased student achievement, but the entire community must be engaged in the effort to improve our schools.
Parental engagement is critical to ensuring student success, so we'll work to get all families more involved in their schools. But lasting reform requires that whole communities get involved in the fight for better schools. Without a widespread, concerted movement that engages all sectors of society, our country will continue to fall further and further behind the rest of the world.
If you agree with our mission, and want to help transform education in your community and throughout America, join us.
I don't think that Michelle Rhee is the end all of education reform, but she has passion and out of the box thinking, and it is a start.
Wednesday, December 8, 2010
Is the Tide Turning?
Education is a topic that I feel very passionately about. Regardless of where you fall on the political spectrum or age group you fall into, this is something that needs to matter to every American. We cannot stay competitive on the world stage if we are raising a generation of idiots.
Some of our school systems are more interested in the coddling of our young than they are in educating them. Part of the educational system in this country needs to concentrate on preparing these kids for the real world. I recently posted on one of my local schools that put a system into place that disallowed failing grades. The school didn't even bother to inform the parents of this until the end of October. A full two months after the school year started. An update to that post is that the parents were outraged to the point that the school has backed down and gotten rid of that program.
Some of our schools that are the worst are the ones in the inner cities. These particular schools are teaching some of America's poorest and neediest. All children deserve a good education, but it is of particular importance to teach these children. A good education is the only way out of the life of poverty that many of them face, some of these kids from generational poverty and public assistance. Sadly, many of these kids see gangs and drug dealing as the only way out. It doesn't need to be this way.
I came across two articles from poorer school systems in California where real questions are being asked about why the schools are failing our young. The first article is about the public school system in Compton. Compton is one of our poorest neighborhoods. Violence is commonplace and it is a life that is very difficult to get out of. A new law in California allows parents to force the school system to make the necessary changes to improve the school system. The parents of McKinley Elementary School have gotten the required signatures to force the school system to become a privately run Charter School. The Parent Trigger Law allows parents to band together and force the lowest performing schools to make this change.
One of the meme's that you hear so often is that there is not enough parental involvement in our schools. While I do believe this to be the case in some instances, obviously these parents are involved and want to see their children and grandchildren to get the education that they deserve.
The Mayor of Los Angeles, Antonio Villaraigosa, wrote an OP-ED piece on Huffington Post requesting that Teacher's Unions get on board for school reform. A full 25% of students in the Los Angeles school system fail to graduate. A number that no one can feel is acceptable. The vast majority of the drop-outs become a drag on the finances of the rest of the country. Many will spend time in jail and others will end up on public assistance in order to survive. Villaraigosa is no right-wing conservative; he is a democrat and strongly supports unions. Matter of fact he was once a union organizer and a former school teacher. It will be very difficult to paint him as someone who is just against unions.
It is a major problem when the unions stick by teachers who are just not performing. In the real world, when your performance is not up to par, you lose your job. There is no reason that teachers should be treated any differently than the rest of us. Especially when you consider what is at stake when they are incapable of doing their jobs. Sadly, they don't see that they lose all creditability when the fight to keep poor teachers. The leadership also falsely claims that reformers are trying to attack all teachers, when that simply is not the case. It is simply the leadership of the unions who keep standing in the way of the real reforms that are necessary in order to right this ship.
Al Sharpton has called education "the civil rights issue" of the day. What I find so hypocritical of him is that he is unwilling to work with the right on this fight as it is in his DNA to stick up for the union employees. There are individual tea parties around the country that are taking up education reform as an issue that they are going to pour energy into in order to obtain awareness. A Tea Party in Arizona rented out theatres in order to air "Waiting for Superman". The hope was to galvanize the community to start pressuring the school boards to make the necessary improvements.
The amount of money that we spend on education in this country we should be getting much more than the lackluster results that we are currently experiencing. The country's resources are limited, so we need to spend our money wisely. There is no one magic answer to the problems our school systems face. The problems differ depending on the individual community. It is time that we start thinking outside of the box and allow individuals to make the fixes that best fit their particular needs instead of forcing these one size fits all answers that have been failing our kids for more than 40 years.
Cross posted at PotLuck
Some of our school systems are more interested in the coddling of our young than they are in educating them. Part of the educational system in this country needs to concentrate on preparing these kids for the real world. I recently posted on one of my local schools that put a system into place that disallowed failing grades. The school didn't even bother to inform the parents of this until the end of October. A full two months after the school year started. An update to that post is that the parents were outraged to the point that the school has backed down and gotten rid of that program.
Some of our schools that are the worst are the ones in the inner cities. These particular schools are teaching some of America's poorest and neediest. All children deserve a good education, but it is of particular importance to teach these children. A good education is the only way out of the life of poverty that many of them face, some of these kids from generational poverty and public assistance. Sadly, many of these kids see gangs and drug dealing as the only way out. It doesn't need to be this way.
I came across two articles from poorer school systems in California where real questions are being asked about why the schools are failing our young. The first article is about the public school system in Compton. Compton is one of our poorest neighborhoods. Violence is commonplace and it is a life that is very difficult to get out of. A new law in California allows parents to force the school system to make the necessary changes to improve the school system. The parents of McKinley Elementary School have gotten the required signatures to force the school system to become a privately run Charter School. The Parent Trigger Law allows parents to band together and force the lowest performing schools to make this change.
One of the meme's that you hear so often is that there is not enough parental involvement in our schools. While I do believe this to be the case in some instances, obviously these parents are involved and want to see their children and grandchildren to get the education that they deserve.
Ismenia Guzman frets that her 6-year-old daughter is at least a year behind in reading. Victor Barela is worried that his fifth-grade grandson still doesn't know his multiplication and division tables. And Shemika Murphy is determined that her younger daughter get a better education than her older one, who seemed to be doing well in elementary school only to bring home Ds and Fs in middle school.
The Mayor of Los Angeles, Antonio Villaraigosa, wrote an OP-ED piece on Huffington Post requesting that Teacher's Unions get on board for school reform. A full 25% of students in the Los Angeles school system fail to graduate. A number that no one can feel is acceptable. The vast majority of the drop-outs become a drag on the finances of the rest of the country. Many will spend time in jail and others will end up on public assistance in order to survive. Villaraigosa is no right-wing conservative; he is a democrat and strongly supports unions. Matter of fact he was once a union organizer and a former school teacher. It will be very difficult to paint him as someone who is just against unions.
Along the way, there has been one, unwavering roadblock to reform: teacher union leadership.
When we fought to change the seniority-based layoff system that was disproportionately hurting our neediest students, the teachers union fought back.
When we fought to empower parents to turn around failing schools and bring in outside school operators with proven records of success, the teachers union fought back.
And now, while we try to measure teacher effectiveness in order to reward the best teachers and replace the tiny portion who aren't helping our kids learn, the teachers union fights back.
It is a major problem when the unions stick by teachers who are just not performing. In the real world, when your performance is not up to par, you lose your job. There is no reason that teachers should be treated any differently than the rest of us. Especially when you consider what is at stake when they are incapable of doing their jobs. Sadly, they don't see that they lose all creditability when the fight to keep poor teachers. The leadership also falsely claims that reformers are trying to attack all teachers, when that simply is not the case. It is simply the leadership of the unions who keep standing in the way of the real reforms that are necessary in order to right this ship.
Al Sharpton has called education "the civil rights issue" of the day. What I find so hypocritical of him is that he is unwilling to work with the right on this fight as it is in his DNA to stick up for the union employees. There are individual tea parties around the country that are taking up education reform as an issue that they are going to pour energy into in order to obtain awareness. A Tea Party in Arizona rented out theatres in order to air "Waiting for Superman". The hope was to galvanize the community to start pressuring the school boards to make the necessary improvements.
The amount of money that we spend on education in this country we should be getting much more than the lackluster results that we are currently experiencing. The country's resources are limited, so we need to spend our money wisely. There is no one magic answer to the problems our school systems face. The problems differ depending on the individual community. It is time that we start thinking outside of the box and allow individuals to make the fixes that best fit their particular needs instead of forcing these one size fits all answers that have been failing our kids for more than 40 years.
Cross posted at PotLuck
The Average American?
Every three years The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development conducts testing on 15 year olds from 34 different countries. The results of the U.S. is nothing less than disappointing.
The Department of Education spends $70B per year. What exactly are we getting for that? It is time that we admit that our current system is just not working and we look at different way of thinking in order to tackle this problem, because a problem it is. Our poor educational system affects both national and economic security for future generations of our country.
We keep thinking that simply throwing money at the problem is the answer, when clearly it is not. We have recently added dinner programs to some of our public schools. This after we have been feeding breakfast to these students as well. The rationale behind adding the breakfast was that students who are not eating well don't learn as well. While that may very well be true, it obviously has not had the desired effect. Our scores are not going up.
The one size fits all program of No Child Left Behind has not worked, and President Obama has come out with a new program, Race to the Top. At least with Race to the Top the government is allowing the individual states to make more of the decisions, but it is still being federally focused instead of locally focused.
There are some administrators in the state of New Jersey that get higher salaries than the governor. That is not an effective way to use the limited funds. The majority of the money should be going to improve the classroom instead of paying for high salaries and a lifetime of benefits that the average person does not have. We have done nothing to make easier to get rid of the teachers that are no longer performing up to par. While it is true that the vast majority of teachers are dedicated and do a very good job, it should be every teacher. We entrust our children's future to the staff at a public school and if they are not up to the job, then they need to find a new line of work.
The time has come that left admit that high-flying rhetoric is not only failing our children, but is endangering the future of our country. We can longer accept the fact that students in major urban areas don't deserve the same education as the students in suburban areas. One needs to look no further than the cities of Chicago and Washington, DC. Both school systems spend large amounts of money per pupil and continue to have lower than average scores and graduation rates. Since, on a whole, our school system is only average, think of how bad the schools in these two cities are.
If we continue to fail our children in this way, how will we stay competitive on the world stage? How will we have enough educated people to perform such tasks as national security? This is road that we no longer can afford to continue going down. We need to look into using more charter schools and more voucher programs. We can't continue to wait for the failing schools to improve. That obviously is not happening.
Cross posted at Potluck
The U.S. scores of 500 in reading and 502 in science, on a 1,000-point scale, were about the organization's average, according to the report. The U.S. math score of 487 was below the average of 496.
The Department of Education spends $70B per year. What exactly are we getting for that? It is time that we admit that our current system is just not working and we look at different way of thinking in order to tackle this problem, because a problem it is. Our poor educational system affects both national and economic security for future generations of our country.
We keep thinking that simply throwing money at the problem is the answer, when clearly it is not. We have recently added dinner programs to some of our public schools. This after we have been feeding breakfast to these students as well. The rationale behind adding the breakfast was that students who are not eating well don't learn as well. While that may very well be true, it obviously has not had the desired effect. Our scores are not going up.
The one size fits all program of No Child Left Behind has not worked, and President Obama has come out with a new program, Race to the Top. At least with Race to the Top the government is allowing the individual states to make more of the decisions, but it is still being federally focused instead of locally focused.
There are some administrators in the state of New Jersey that get higher salaries than the governor. That is not an effective way to use the limited funds. The majority of the money should be going to improve the classroom instead of paying for high salaries and a lifetime of benefits that the average person does not have. We have done nothing to make easier to get rid of the teachers that are no longer performing up to par. While it is true that the vast majority of teachers are dedicated and do a very good job, it should be every teacher. We entrust our children's future to the staff at a public school and if they are not up to the job, then they need to find a new line of work.
The time has come that left admit that high-flying rhetoric is not only failing our children, but is endangering the future of our country. We can longer accept the fact that students in major urban areas don't deserve the same education as the students in suburban areas. One needs to look no further than the cities of Chicago and Washington, DC. Both school systems spend large amounts of money per pupil and continue to have lower than average scores and graduation rates. Since, on a whole, our school system is only average, think of how bad the schools in these two cities are.
If we continue to fail our children in this way, how will we stay competitive on the world stage? How will we have enough educated people to perform such tasks as national security? This is road that we no longer can afford to continue going down. We need to look into using more charter schools and more voucher programs. We can't continue to wait for the failing schools to improve. That obviously is not happening.
For me, it's a massive wake-up call," Education Secretary Arne Duncan said Monday. "Have we ever been satisfied as Americans being average in anything? Is that our aspiration? Our goal should be absolutely to lead the world in education."Time will tell what steps Arne Duncan will take now that he has his "wake up call".
Cross posted at Potluck
30 Years Ago Today we said Goodbye to John Lennon
It was 30 years ago today that the world lost John Lennon. To be honest I have never been a huge Beatles fan, but I do love Let it Be.
And of course Imagine - while I don't agree with the communist/socialist aspect, but world peace would be nice.
And of course Imagine - while I don't agree with the communist/socialist aspect, but world peace would be nice.
Tuesday, December 7, 2010
Rest In Peace Elizabeth Edwards
Earlier this morning Elizabeth Edwards lost her long battle with breast cancer. Her cancer returned during her husbands second failed attempt for president.
She and John separated after the public admission that he fathered a child with his mistress Reille Hunter. Elizabeth handled herself with grace and dignity after all her husband's dirty laundry was aired. She also experienced one of the worst experiences a person can; the death of a child. Her first born son, Wade was killed in a car accident at the tender age of 16.
She and John separated after the public admission that he fathered a child with his mistress Reille Hunter. Elizabeth handled herself with grace and dignity after all her husband's dirty laundry was aired. She also experienced one of the worst experiences a person can; the death of a child. Her first born son, Wade was killed in a car accident at the tender age of 16. She leaves behind three other children, the youngest being only 11.
Apparently, John Edwards did the decent thing and was with his wife and their three children at her bedside at the end.
Rest in Peace Elizabeth, and may God watch over your children in their time of grief.
Let it Be
Apparently the makers of this video mislead the stars that appear, some are now saying that they were told it was going to be used for charity instead of a promo for Norwegian TV show.
It is still a great video.
It is still a great video.
A Look into the Views of the Muslim World
An interesting new poll has been released regarding the views of the Muslim world. It is a mixed bag from a western point of view.
In some countries the people who consider themselves reformers are a much larger margin than the fundmentalists.
What becomes confusing, if not downright scary are the below numbers:
•At least three-quarters of Muslims in Egypt and Pakistan say they would favor making each of the following the law in their countries: stoning people who commit adultery, whippings and cutting off of hands for crimes like theft and robbery and the death penalty for those who leave the Muslim religion. Majorities of Muslims in Jordan and Nigeria also favor these harsh punishments.
It is hard to reconcile that Pakistani's in larger numbers think they are moderates/reformers yet still want stoning and whipping. The numbers in Egypt are a little easier to see due to the larger numbers of fundementalists.
Some very good news is that al Qaeda is losing ground:
Only in Nigeria is there a majority that favors bin Laden. But, Hamas and Hezbollah are more popular in other areas of the Muslim world.
And finally, the role of Islam in government:
To see the entire poll go here
In some countries the people who consider themselves reformers are a much larger margin than the fundmentalists.
•At least three-quarters of Muslims in Egypt and Pakistan say they would favor making each of the following the law in their countries: stoning people who commit adultery, whippings and cutting off of hands for crimes like theft and robbery and the death penalty for those who leave the Muslim religion. Majorities of Muslims in Jordan and Nigeria also favor these harsh punishments.
It is hard to reconcile that Pakistani's in larger numbers think they are moderates/reformers yet still want stoning and whipping. The numbers in Egypt are a little easier to see due to the larger numbers of fundementalists.
Some very good news is that al Qaeda is losing ground:
And finally, the role of Islam in government:
To see the entire poll go here
Monday, December 6, 2010
Was it all a Heist?
That's the question that Jim Geraghty is asking about Christine O'Donnell failed senate campaign. It seems that she has almost $1 million left over in her campaign coffers. A campaign spokesman has said that this was advised by legal counsel in case funds would be needed for legal challenges. Sadly, many elections incur legal costs after election day for recounts and charges of voter fraud.
But, this isn't what the legal costs would have been for. O'Donnell had two investigations filed against her; one from the State GOP and one from CREW. Both of which were filed very early on. The state party filed before the primary and CREW filed shortly after her primary win.
It is no secret that I questioned the honesty and integrity of Christine O'Donnell and reading this has done nothing to change my mind. While I am no fan of either Senator-Elect Coons or of Congressman Castle, I still felt that people rallying around a candidate that seems to have a Clintonian relationship with the truth was not the best of ideas.
The money will be allowed to stay in that account in case she decides to run for political office again. The real issue than becomes that once she declares her candidacy for another public office that money can be used to generate a monthly salary for herself. This is something that she had been doing in the past. Her federal income tax return shows that in 2009 she made an income of $5800. How does one live off of that? The law states that she will be able to collect an income of either the amount of her last year's income or the income of the office that she is seeking. Her salary will be much higher in 2010 as she just recently signed a book deal.
I have no problem with the fact that she is planning on writing a book and using her experience as running for senate to make some money. That is the way a capitalist system works. My issue is that her history is one that deserves more scrutiny than it received by grassroots activists. The Tea Party and Sarah Palin rallied around a woman without doing the due diligence into her history.
The grassroots movement needs to be more careful which candidates that they are raising the banner for. While it is true that many involved in the tea party are new to politics, that doesn't mean that doing some background checks on potential candidates is something that should be ignored. Backing candidates that have questionable personal histories is not something that this movement can afford to keep doing if it wants to move forward.
There is no way to know at this time what O'Donnell plans on doing with these funds, but if she does choose to run again in two years, these questions should be raised before the tea party rallies around her once again. If we are saying to Washington that we want them to act more responsibly, then we need to thoroughly vet who were are attempting to send in to replace them. Otherwise we are just continuing the cycle instead of turning the tide to a more honest and transparent government.
But, this isn't what the legal costs would have been for. O'Donnell had two investigations filed against her; one from the State GOP and one from CREW. Both of which were filed very early on. The state party filed before the primary and CREW filed shortly after her primary win.
It is no secret that I questioned the honesty and integrity of Christine O'Donnell and reading this has done nothing to change my mind. While I am no fan of either Senator-Elect Coons or of Congressman Castle, I still felt that people rallying around a candidate that seems to have a Clintonian relationship with the truth was not the best of ideas.
The money will be allowed to stay in that account in case she decides to run for political office again. The real issue than becomes that once she declares her candidacy for another public office that money can be used to generate a monthly salary for herself. This is something that she had been doing in the past. Her federal income tax return shows that in 2009 she made an income of $5800. How does one live off of that? The law states that she will be able to collect an income of either the amount of her last year's income or the income of the office that she is seeking. Her salary will be much higher in 2010 as she just recently signed a book deal.
I have no problem with the fact that she is planning on writing a book and using her experience as running for senate to make some money. That is the way a capitalist system works. My issue is that her history is one that deserves more scrutiny than it received by grassroots activists. The Tea Party and Sarah Palin rallied around a woman without doing the due diligence into her history.
The grassroots movement needs to be more careful which candidates that they are raising the banner for. While it is true that many involved in the tea party are new to politics, that doesn't mean that doing some background checks on potential candidates is something that should be ignored. Backing candidates that have questionable personal histories is not something that this movement can afford to keep doing if it wants to move forward.
There is no way to know at this time what O'Donnell plans on doing with these funds, but if she does choose to run again in two years, these questions should be raised before the tea party rallies around her once again. If we are saying to Washington that we want them to act more responsibly, then we need to thoroughly vet who were are attempting to send in to replace them. Otherwise we are just continuing the cycle instead of turning the tide to a more honest and transparent government.
Sunday, December 5, 2010
WaPo's Take on Fair Game
The Washington Post has gone as far to use it's editorial page to take to task the recently released Fair Game, the story of Joe and Valerie Plame Wilson. The movie is based on the separate autobiographies of each. WaPo has gone as far as to call the movie Hollywood Myth Making.
The movie keeps up the pretense that it was President Bush and his administration that caused the problems that incurred after the outing of Plame's work with the CIA. This simply isn't the case, it is very well known that Richard Armitage, an employee of the State Department, that was the source used by the late Robert Novak. The movie uses actual footage of the players in the Bush administration to prove it's point.
While I am not going to diminish what happened to the Wilson family after that article was written, it seems that the Wilson's still take no responsibility for their part in it. The reason it became the talk of the day is because Wilson himself made it a mega media item. At the beginning Wilson had no way of knowing that the leaker had the same view of the war on Iraq that he had.
What is very sad about this type of movie making is that this will become the belief of many people. All too often we find that people will watch a movie that is "based on the true story" and do no further research on the subject. The movie allows viewers to still see Scooter Libby as the bad guy instead of the fall guy that is reality.
While this doesn't really come as a surprise since many myths still exist on the war in Iraq. The meme still exists that Bush lied his way into the war. Most of that narrative is just about covering your ass by politico's on the left that not only voted to allow the use of force but also made public statements that Saddam had weapons of mass destruction. They further this by misleading people to believe that it was well-known that WMD didn't exist. The reality is not that other countries believed that weapons didn't exist, they felt that Saddam was "contained", whatever that meant.
Regardless of where you fall on our intervention in Iraq the facts are the facts. I personally never had a strong opinion on the war. I could see both sides. Saddam was a very bad man who ruled his people with an iron fist, but so are many other dictators around the world. So, why take out him and leave others? We had a chance after the first gulf war to help the Iraqi people stage an uprising that could have led to a coup. The first President Bush balked and walked away and many were killed because of his inaction. If we were unwilling then, why do it now? That was one of the things that went into thought process during the lead up to the war. But, if a democracy can take hold in that part of the world, we will all be safer.
While I have a great deal of sympathy for the disruption that Novak's column caused the Wilson's lives, I don't think that allows them to rewrite history. I applaud WAPO for taking that head on. Sadly, if the comments at the end of the article are any indication it won't change the views of those on the left. But, for journalistic integrity those falsehoods had to be confronted. No matter how inconvenient it is for the left, the reality is that Saddam wanted the world to be believe that he had weapons. What we all should be up in arms about is why our intelligence is not better.
Cross posted at PotLuck
The movie keeps up the pretense that it was President Bush and his administration that caused the problems that incurred after the outing of Plame's work with the CIA. This simply isn't the case, it is very well known that Richard Armitage, an employee of the State Department, that was the source used by the late Robert Novak. The movie uses actual footage of the players in the Bush administration to prove it's point.
While I am not going to diminish what happened to the Wilson family after that article was written, it seems that the Wilson's still take no responsibility for their part in it. The reason it became the talk of the day is because Wilson himself made it a mega media item. At the beginning Wilson had no way of knowing that the leaker had the same view of the war on Iraq that he had.
What is very sad about this type of movie making is that this will become the belief of many people. All too often we find that people will watch a movie that is "based on the true story" and do no further research on the subject. The movie allows viewers to still see Scooter Libby as the bad guy instead of the fall guy that is reality.
While this doesn't really come as a surprise since many myths still exist on the war in Iraq. The meme still exists that Bush lied his way into the war. Most of that narrative is just about covering your ass by politico's on the left that not only voted to allow the use of force but also made public statements that Saddam had weapons of mass destruction. They further this by misleading people to believe that it was well-known that WMD didn't exist. The reality is not that other countries believed that weapons didn't exist, they felt that Saddam was "contained", whatever that meant.
Regardless of where you fall on our intervention in Iraq the facts are the facts. I personally never had a strong opinion on the war. I could see both sides. Saddam was a very bad man who ruled his people with an iron fist, but so are many other dictators around the world. So, why take out him and leave others? We had a chance after the first gulf war to help the Iraqi people stage an uprising that could have led to a coup. The first President Bush balked and walked away and many were killed because of his inaction. If we were unwilling then, why do it now? That was one of the things that went into thought process during the lead up to the war. But, if a democracy can take hold in that part of the world, we will all be safer.
While I have a great deal of sympathy for the disruption that Novak's column caused the Wilson's lives, I don't think that allows them to rewrite history. I applaud WAPO for taking that head on. Sadly, if the comments at the end of the article are any indication it won't change the views of those on the left. But, for journalistic integrity those falsehoods had to be confronted. No matter how inconvenient it is for the left, the reality is that Saddam wanted the world to be believe that he had weapons. What we all should be up in arms about is why our intelligence is not better.
Cross posted at PotLuck
It Should be About the Children - Chris Christie on School Administrators
This is another man that I just love. His a straight shooter and says it like it is.
If you want to see the whole speech go here. It is close to an hour long, but good.
If you want to see the whole speech go here. It is close to an hour long, but good.
Congressman-elect West in all his awesomeness
Love him. He hits on the congressional black caucus; which he will be joining, the economy, taxes, don't ask don't tell, and supporting our soldiers in the battlefield and the rules of engagement.
H/T Newsmax
H/T Newsmax
Saturday, December 4, 2010
Strong Conservative Female Voices
Jill over at Pundit and Pundette has honored me by asking me to be a contributors over at Potluck Bloggers. Just some ladies trying to make sense out of the world and speaking out on conservative values. We won't always agree, but it will be lively.
Here are the bloggers that will be also be chiming in:
Adrienne's Corner
And So it Goes in Shreveport
Backyard Conservative
Bread Upon Waters
Carol's Closet
Chocolate for your Brain
Coffee Milk Conservative
Fuzzy Logic
just a conservative girl
Nice Deb
No Sheeples Here
Obi's Sister
Politicaljunkie Mom
Pundit & Pundette
Retriever
Ruby Slippers
Shout First, Ask Questions Later
Zilla of the Resistance
The blog is set up to be very interactive, so please drop by and say hello. We would love to have you.
Here are the bloggers that will be also be chiming in:
Adrienne's Corner
And So it Goes in Shreveport
Backyard Conservative
Bread Upon Waters
Carol's Closet
Chocolate for your Brain
Coffee Milk Conservative
Fuzzy Logic
just a conservative girl
Nice Deb
No Sheeples Here
Obi's Sister
Politicaljunkie Mom
Pundit & Pundette
Retriever
Ruby Slippers
Shout First, Ask Questions Later
Zilla of the Resistance
The blog is set up to be very interactive, so please drop by and say hello. We would love to have you.
Friday, December 3, 2010
When it Rains it Pours
I wrote several months back regarding some friends who are going through a very difficult time financially due to lay offs and a housing market that is not allowing them to sell their home. Just when it seems like they are getting back on their feet something else happens.
They have a $1800 car repair now. They sold their second car a few months back, so this is the only car that they have left. There is no way that they can't get the car repaired. They are still living with friends while renting out their house. Things are going much better, but this is a very unexpected and unwelcomed development. Especially so close to Christmas.
If there is anyway that you can find it in your hearts to help out these good people, it would be greatly appreciated.
I also would like to thank again the people who helped in the past. I sent everyone an email of gratitude, but it seems like a thank you isn't enough.
There is a paypal account in the upper right corner.
God Bless.
They have a $1800 car repair now. They sold their second car a few months back, so this is the only car that they have left. There is no way that they can't get the car repaired. They are still living with friends while renting out their house. Things are going much better, but this is a very unexpected and unwelcomed development. Especially so close to Christmas.
If there is anyway that you can find it in your hearts to help out these good people, it would be greatly appreciated.
I also would like to thank again the people who helped in the past. I sent everyone an email of gratitude, but it seems like a thank you isn't enough.
There is a paypal account in the upper right corner.
God Bless.
Quote of the Day - Helen Thomas Edition
"We are owned by propagandists against the Arabs. There's no question about that. Congress, the White House, and Hollywood, Wall Street, are owned by the Zionists. No question in my opinion. They put their money where there mouth is…We're being pushed into a wrong direction in every way."
Well, it seems that she is at it again. This is exactly the type of propaganda that was used in the lead up to the Holocaust. She was speaking at an anti-bias seminar in Detroit.
"I can call a president of the United States anything in the book but I can't touch Israel, which has Jewish-only roads in the West Bank, no American would tolerate that -- white-only roads."Does she not see that we don't have people sending bombs into our cities. While I will agree that some will defend Israel in any circumstances. No one is right 100% of the time, but she is totally overlooking one fact; Israel has had no problems with Jordan or Egypt since signing peace agreements. This proves that if you leave them alone to live in peace, they will return the favor.
It seems that Helen Thomas, like Whoopi Goldberg, is just ignoring the latest FBI report on bias crimes in America. If you are Jewish you are more likely to be a victim of a hate crime. Once upon a time in Malmo, Sweden there existed a lively Jewish community. That community no longer exists due to the excessive hate crimes committed by Muslims. While I don't believe that all Muslims are terrorists, the vast majority are anti-semitic. For far too many middle eastern people the State of Israel is wrongly considered to be the root of all problems. The hatred of Jews is taught to children at very young ages. Until that stops, the problems towards Israel will never stop. There can be no peace until the Muslims practice what they preach about tolerance.
Thursday, December 2, 2010
Quote of the Day - Pete King Edition
 |
| Why yes, this is the equivalent of life in prison. |
“I don’t believe the findings warrant the censure. Censure is a very extreme penalty. If expulsion is [like] the death penalty, censure is life in prison.”Congressman Pete King on Charlie Rangel's Censure
Censure is like life in prison. It took a total about two minutes of standing in the well while Nancy Pelosi read a very short statement and it recommended that he pay his back taxes.
Recommended that he pay his back taxes? Wouldn't I be in jail if I hadn't paid mine? I am pretty sure that Wesley Snipes would say yes.
I don't know King's voting record very well and he seems to be quite tough on terrorism, but at least on this issue he is jackass. It truly is a club, regardless of party.
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