How To Tell Governments Apart

This has been posted in various forms elsewhere, but bear repeating. I had actually not seen the second half of this before. It's funny, but sadly true. Thanks to Spikymaxx at MyFoxDFW.com.

"DEMOCRAT You have two cows. Your neighbor has none. You feel guilty for being successful.

REPUBLICAN You have two cows. Your neighbor has none. So?

SOCIALIST You have two cows. The government takes one and gives it to your neighbor. You form a cooperative to tell him how to manage his cow.

COMMUNIST You have two cows. The government seizes both and provides you with milk. You wait in line for hours to get it. It is expensive and sour.

CAPITALISM, AMERICAN STYLE You have two cows. You sell one, buy a bull, and build a herd of cows.

BUREAUCRACY, AMERICAN STYLE You have two cows. Under the new farm program the government pays you to shoot one, milk the other, and then pours the milk down the drain.

AMERICAN CORPORATION You have two cows. You sell one, lease it back to yourself and do an IPO on the 2nd one. You force the two cows to produce the milk of four cows. You are surprised when one cow drops dead. You spin an announcement to the analysts stating you have down sized and are reducing expenses. Your stock goes up.

FRENCH CORPORATION You have two cows. You go on strike because you want three cows. You go to lunch and drink wine. Life is good.

JAPANESE CORPORATION You have two cows. You redesign them so they are one-tenth the size of an ordinary cow and produce twenty times the milk. They learn to travel on unbelievably crowded trains. Most are at the top of their class at cow school.

GERMAN CORPORATION You have two cows. You engineer them so they are all blond, drink lots of beer, give excellent quality milk, and run a hundred miles an hour. Unfortunately they also demand 13 weeks of vacation per year.

ITALIAN CORPORATION You have two cows but you don't know where they are. While ambling around, you see a beautiful woman. You break for lunch. Life is good.

RUSSIAN CORPORATION You have two cows. You have some vodka. You count them and learn you have five cows. You have some more vodka. You count them again and learn you have 42 cows. The Mafia shows up and takes over however many cows you really have.

TALIBAN CORPORATION You have all the cows in Afghanistan , which are two. You don't milk them because you cannot touch any creature's private parts. You get a $40 million grant from the US government to find alternatives to milk production but use the money to buy weapons.

IRAQI CORPORATION You have two cows. They go into hiding. They send radio tapes of their mooing.

POLISH CORPORATION You have two bulls. Employees are regularly maimed and killed attempting to milk them.

BELGIAN CORPORATION You have one cow. The cow is schizophrenic. Sometimes the cow thinks he's French, other times he's Flemish. The Flemish cow won't share with the French cow. The French cow wants control of the Flemish cow's milk. The cow asks permission to be cut in half. The cow dies happy.

FLORIDA CORPORATION You have a black cow and a brown cow. Everyone votes for the best looking one. Some of the people who actually like the brown one best accidentally vote for the black one. Some people vote for both. Some people vote for neither. Some people can't figure out how to vote at all. Finally, a bunch of guys from out-of-state tell you which one you think is the best-looking cow.

CALIFORNIA CORPORATION You have millions of cows. They make real California cheese. Only five speak English. Most are illegal. Arnold likes the ones with the big udders"

"Me-ism"-Why the Liberals Could Cause our Downfall

I think I will trademark the phrase. It refers to the modern phenomenon where many people think they are what my Mom used to call "the Bellybutton of the Universe." By that I mean, there are folks who think every condition of their waking and sleeping should meet their specific criteria of "good" even when that criteria is totally insane. I blame it to a certain extent on computers. It used to be that you logged on and the window looked the same every day. But then there came a time where people could change their window. They could personalize it-and so began the slippery slope. Now we can change our computer desktops, our cell phones even our charge cards to reflect the "real me". Is this a good thing or is this navel gazing taken to the extreme? I see this a great deal in schools. We get notes from countless students who all seem to have life threatening kidney conditions that require unlimited access to the bathroom. I am not making light of kidney conditions, but the number of kids with these types of access to hallways and out of the classroom are on the rise. What happened to self-control, or-horrors-going in the more than ample time between classes? There are similar issues with grades. First of all, deadlines mean nothing. If Johnny has a club soccer practice and tuba lessons, then we shouldn't expect him to do his homework-or so the conventional wisdom goes. And heaven help you if a student fails a class because it is never ever EVER their fault. It goes beyond the classroom. My kids work in a fast food restaurant. Grown people cannot give rational orders. And they quite frequently change their minds between the order and reception of the food. The result is the expectation that their every whim, no matter how outrageous or demanding, will be granted. My daughter quit her job recently after an event where a mother decided to pitch a fit because the fire laws forbade candles in the restaurant for her daughter's party. After bitching out my 22 year old and making two other servers cry, I have to wonder what this woman was trying to prove to her kids? Was she trying to prove that being a self-centered bully is the way to make it through life? I am thinking that is the case because we are raising a generation of children who have never been permitted to learn via experience. They are wrapped in virtual cotton, with parents hovering around them like putti surrounding a Renaissance creche. On a global scale we have things like Leo Dicaprio telling us how bad we are for not allowing Gore's message of obedience to the Kyoto Accord. While I think we should always seek more efficient and less destructive forms of industry, it would seem that in signing the accord, we would be the only ones in that position. Then there is the question of animal rights. Like it or not PETA, your unwillingness to allow domestic drilling for oil in ANWR has as much to do with this war we are in as anything else. It's easy to say "oh let's just not drive" but that is not reality. Heck, gas is over $3.00 a gallon and I still see folks sitting in the parking lots after school waiting for their kids with their engines running. And by the way, if we did all magically stop eating meat tomorrow, what would happen to cows, chickens and pigs? Are they so endearing that PETA members would willingly take a cow or two home to their Soho loft? Would Paris Hilton turn over her backyard to homeless chickens? Would Al Gore advocate pigs as a means of environmentally safe transportation? And by the way, the ethanol from corn that was crammed down our throats by Congress-it LOWERS fuel efficiency, it damages older cars and it forces the cost of corn-the main ingredient of livestock feed through the roof. And WHAT the hell did you expect to accomplish? Frankly, I don't know how anyone can look at one thing pushed through by liberals and still claim that they are a viable force. Oh sure, one might get elected, but mark my words, with a goofball Speaker of the House and an ultra liberal President, you will see riots, protests and possibly the biggest overturn of a Congress in history at the midterms. What will you do then?

Environmentalism and Forgetfulness

This from an owner of a supposedly "green" car:
From this site
"The Aptera is a new, much discussed vehicle, a gas-electric hybrid, that the developers claim will get around 300 miles per gallon of gasoline. It will retail for about $30,000. However, it makes sense only for someone who wants to show off his (or her or transgendered) environmental bona fides. As a money saver, it doesn't.

For example, I bought my car (a Japanese compact) ten years ago, and it was one year old at the time. I paid $11,000, which The Inflation Calculator says is about $13,600 today. Gasoline currently sells for about $3 a gallon. If I were to fill up the tank weekly (in reality I fill up far less often), the cost would be about $1560 a year. The Aptera's yearly gas cost would be only about a tenth of that, or $156, for a savings of about $1400 a year.

However, the difference in price between the two cars is over $16,000, so if an Aptera had been available ten years ago, and I had bought it instead, I would still not have saved enough money from lower gasoline costs to make up the difference. Furthermore, you're going to have to replace the Aptera's batteries every 8 years (I think) at huge cost. And even further, despite my car's status as a small car, it's a lot more solid and probably safer than the Aptera, which looks pretty flimsy.

The Aptera's price would have to come down considerably to make it price competitive with most current cars, and you'd still have to get over an aversion to driving in a cramped tricycle."

A comment logged in response to this post:
"I look forward to the day when horseriding as a form of transport make a comeback. That whole cowboy chic is very appealing, Brokeback Mountain notwithstanding."

Reference note in a study about transportation in New York City at the eve of the 20th century:
"The Automobile Age by James J. Flink. MIT Press, Cambridge, Massachusetts, 1998:. Sanitation p.136: Horse manure responsible for the spread of diseases in New York City. Flies which fed on manure also spread disease. Dead horses blocked streets."

The conclusion-too many people are so shallow in their knowledge and so lemming-like in their behavior, that they will buy and use products just because they claim a "green" status. Since our educational system has relegated the study of history to a minor status, we have countless people who like to pretend the Old West or the Victorian Era was a romantic wonderful time. They discount the scourges of disease, death, and danger which were always part of any person's life. Back then, there were no guarantees of survival past infancy. There were no safety nets, no social programs and no taxes to pay for such things. But this is the key problem that I have with so many of those who like to call themselves environmentalists. They want civilization to take a giant step back and they are willing to use any means necessary to do so. They are so ignorant of the realities of life without things like air conditioning, heating, cars, and such that they think doing without would be a picnic. People will do what they can as long as it doesn't negatively impact their lifestyle. And while those folks in the chichi mansions on Cape Cod and Malibu are really good about telling us little folks how we should do without, I doubt very much they would limit their own very large carbon footprints to do the same.

A Sad Day

I was very sorry to hear that Fred Thompson withdrew from the campaign trail. What a sad thing that the only consistent conservative in this campaign was left out of the main campaign largely by a mainstream media that would rather choose for us by only showing some candidates and not all. As for me, I honestly don't know who to support. I know that after reading some very offensive and taunting posts spammed on the Thompson blog, that Ron Paul will NOT be in my short list. Right now, Mitt Romney is looking the most fitting. I honestly cannot stomach Mike Huckabee-I don't trust him. And Rudy Giuliani is simply not going to make much headway outside of his strongholds. As for McCain, he might as well be a weathervane because he, like Hillary Clinton, seems to move in whatever direction the wind blows. Perhaps this is what the media wants, a clear shot to get Barak Obama and his socialist elite friends in office to gut our republic and make us into just another cooperative like the EU. What a sad day. There is still no candidate out there that represents the vast middle of America. We are represented instead by radical ideologues. It's a shame.

Economic Fear And Loathing

There’s been a great deal of economic angst in the Asian markets today, which leads many investors to face tomorrow’s open of the market with fear and loathing. But rather than rail against what may happen, it would behoove us to consider WHY this has happened.

First, like it or not, the United States is largely the world’s greatest consumer. We have the extra cash lying around to purchase a multitude of products that used to be made domestically, but are now made much more cheaply overseas. This is problematic because while our desire for luxury items appears insatiable, there is a limit to all good things. Many corporations deliberately chose to move off-shore to take advantage of cheap labor. Levi’s clothing is just one example; there are more. Other nations actively seek via embargo, trade agreements and treaties to limit imports from the United States. The U.S. in turn does very little to limit the inflow of cheap merchandise. Manufacturers who are greedy or lackadaisical can and have ended up importing shoddy and even dangerous product to the American marketplace. There are those who say the implementation of embargoes would further isolate and limit the American economy. On the other hand, such measures would discourage off-shoring of manufacturing, keeping those jobs here and while growth would occur more slowly, it would become more stable.

Secondly, with the dollar being cheap, there are many many investors from Asia and Europe who have taken on the economic risk of buying American companies. I know this for a fact because I know someone in my family works for one of these companies. The parent corporation is in the U.K. And because the dollar is so cheap, they have also bought many of the competing companies in this same industry. If the domestic economy slows down, those loans to purchase these companies will come due in overseas banks causing a ripple effect to the recession. On a global scale, it is exactly what happened with sub-prime lending. You have borrowers who aren’t quite up to snuff in credit, so the lending institutions or banks charge a premium interest, but defer that for five to seven years based on the assumption or blind hope that the economy will boom and the borrower will make enough money to cover the interest and principle from profit. When the economy slows down, these borrowers are forced to either consolidate companies, take assets and sell them while shutting companies or borrow more money at higher interest,further limiting their capital to grow the company.

Finally, if you look back at the first examples, remember how many times the United Nations would slap the U.S. with one hand but hold out the other for payment of the majority of programs. How many times has the U.S. offered aid for hurricanes, tsunamis, earthquakes, famines and such without any sort of expectation of repayment? Think how some of those nations misused donated goods by filtering them through the black markets. Or note how others asked that our military personnel enter to deliver aid under the cover of darkness so that nobody would know the source of needed assistance. Our money is so welcome, so long as we don't show our faces.

We in the United States are being blamed for a failing global economy, while the rest of the world stands around wringing their hands waiting for someone to do something.They continuously raise prices on goods that are imported to us, restrict exports from us then worry that maybe we won't buy another flat screen TV for junior. They hold this odd expectation that even under the burden of too much regulation and what amounts to a plundering of our assets as an economic anchor, that we can simply pick up the pace and keep going. Everything has a limit. And an economy can only run hot so long before correction must occur. In addition, an economy is not a thing of concrete, it is fluid and runs on money as well as emotions. The stampede to recession has been orchestrated by the media just as it has been feared by overseas investors.

The entire scene can be explained by the story of the goose who laid the golden egg. The short version is that there was a farmer who had a goose who once a day laid a perfect golden egg. The farmer used the eggs to barter for things to improve his life. But that wasn’t enough. So he demanded that the goose lay more eggs. The goose tried to comply, laying as many golden eggs as it could. But even those numbers didn’t satisfy the greedy farmer. The farmer in fact believed the goose was holding out. So the farmer killed the goose, hoping to find golden eggs inside, but all he had left was a dead goose, end of story.

The U.S. is the goose. We have produced in spite of artificial limitations placed upon us by well-meaning but misguided ideologues who would rather see this nation fall into ruin than admit that we could use our own resources rather than extending our wealth to nations that otherwise would destroy us. But when the goose is no more, what happens? Where will those tribal chieftains sell their oil if the United States simply stops buying? Who will buy those expensive electronics from Asia, if nobody can afford the power to run them? Who will buy the glitzy sports shoes, the pricey toys, the bells, buzzers and gizmos, if America’s economy crumbles? We are constantly told how we are in a “global economy” yet when we go to such silly summits as the one held for eco-celebrities in the such South Pacific, it isn’t the other nations that must limit growth, but the United States. It isn’t the other citizens of the world who have to pay the freight, it’s Americans. And let me remind you, that for all the griping about American workers, we are still the most productive in the world-bar none. So when I hear that investors around the world are concerned about our economy, I rejoice, because maybe, just maybe they will get a clue that by cutting us off, they are slitting their own throats.

Knee Jerk Environmentalism

Part of the problem with the furor that is Global Warming is that it stampedes the true believers into some poorly thought out alternatives. For example, those swirly bulbs that are being pushed contain MERCURY. There have been some claims that they may cause skin problems in people with sensitivity. What sort of disposal systems have been set in place for discarding these bulbs? And before you answer, I want you to consider that if a mercury thermometer is dropped in a high school classroom, the Hazmat teams are called out due to toxicity. I also want you to consider the toxicity of the battery packs of hybrid cars. They are about six times as large, and because our battery efficiency isn't quite what it should be to produce these cars, they still contain LEAD-another toxic heavy metal. While these batteries "may" last six to ten years, what will happen to the environment when these aging batteries begin to fail? And in addition, with a potential cost of over $3000 to replace these batteries, what will happen to cars that are traded in and not refurbished? And before you answer, remember that in some cases governments are giving rebates on such cars. Here's the deal, we have people who are intellectual sheep. While there may be some issues in the environment we can help, there are just as many we cannot. And our environmental "leaders" aren't helping matters. They have blocked the building of nuclear power plants (safely used in Europe for many years), restricted the building of refineries-all the while mandating that corn based ethanol be used to extend the fuel even while reducing fuel efficiency by 15%, and refusing to allow America to explore for oil within our own borders-allowing Cuba to exploit offshore oil fields in American waters. Are they just trying to totally dismantle this nation by their blind allegiance to whatever measure sounds good on paper?

What's Wrong With Our Schools

Last night I finished grading exams. Sadly, one of the students who most needed to pass did not do so. There are several reasons why this occurred. As a student with learning issues, I did limit the number of potential answers for each question from five to three. I also provided all the classes with reviews and the answers to those reviews which went over all the material for the course. This student chose not to do the review and was really mad when I told her I had no more copies. I run off ten more copies of all papers than I have students. I have told them for awhile that when the papers are gone, they are gone. I gave her some options. She could get a copy of the review to copy in the library from another student. She could write down the words and go over them. Or she could have taken home a book and done her own review. She did none of these things. On top of that, she could have gotten ten extra credit points for a very small assignment that she had to get signed by her parents. She chose not to do that. She also simply did not do one entire part of the test, choosing instead to write notes to her friends. What could have been a marginally passing grade on the test of 72, instead was a 52. I am sure she will be upset, as will her parents, but for the wrong reason. The state of Texas gives few rights to teachers, but one of these is the sanctity of grades. Here is the dilemma. We have parents who have bought into the concept that if their children don't perform in class that it's not due to self-absorption or laziness, it's due to learning difficulties or the massively misapplied label of ADD. I have an ADD child so I know this exists in limited amounts. But there are far too many parents who would rather self diagnose and then get meds or a letter from their pediatrician that parents believe exonerates students from the full responsibility of the standard workload. That's a mistaken concept. Teachers do modify tests and assignments for these students, but the students STILL HAVE TO DO THE WORK. And that's a concept that too many parents and students do not get.

Below is a quote from a book I am reading by Dr. Maureen Stout. The title is The Feel-Good Curriculum:The Dumbing Down of American's Kids in the Name of Self-Esteem.

"...I started to remember other strange conversations with my colleagues. One of the more bizarre occurred at a faculty meeting at which we examined the results of a faculty survey on the purposes of public schooling. One faculty member responded that the schools should be like a womb for students. At first I thought his was a joke and, turning to my neighbor, was about to say what a good one that was when I stopped short. Rather than find this amusing, the group seemed to regard it as a profound statement regarding the public school, and all nodded grave agreement that schools should indeed be like a womb. You may well wonder what the meanst by that. Well, a womb is a warm, secure and insulated environment. The unborn child is protected and nourished until she is ready to face the world and, perhaps most important, no demands are made on her.
This is what professors of education believe school should be like: places in which children are insulated from the outside world and emotionally--not intellectually--nourished. We should expect nothing of them but give everything to them; they should be cared for, counseled, and analyze, and the whole school environment should center on their needs. Schools are no longer for learning essential skills or acquiring knowledge, but for cultivating what Daniel Goleman calls "emotional intelligence": the ability to get along with others, understand one's feelings and one's emotional hang-ups, and generally figure out how to deal with others effectively..."

First of all, the highlighted areas are my own, but I want to comments. Think how many K-3 schools refuse to use things such as rote learning or even numeric grades because of the fear of negative impact on students. Also, I want you to consider how many schools are actively controlling student activities such as meals. Think of how many schools will not allow peanut butter sandwiches for fear of a child having an allergic reaction. At some point, if this child NEVER has to account for what they put in their mouths, they will still have a reaction because they have never been taught NOT to eat the offending food. Instead other students have to do without to accommodate the needs of ONE STUDENT.

On a larger scale, how many programs within our schools are designed to conform to the needs of a few children over the needs of the majority of children? It's become a balancing act between parents who mean well, but who don't want to accept that their child isn't performing up to level, and administrators who fear parents' reactions when their child doesn't succeed. And while I can handle such issues in the classroom, more and more I am seeing kids who are not just tuned into their IPODS and computers all the time, but students who cannnot and will not read. I am going to make a prediction here.


My Prediction: Reading will become such a rarefied skill, that in many cases reading and writing will be given over to specialized technicians who are capable of these skills. Furthermore, the lack of true literacy will re-stratify the nature of our culture with those who are literate controlling the future and the fate of those who are not.

This is why it is very important to look at candidates for more than their views on the war or their political views. Anyone who accepts the concept of "it takes a village to raise a child" is also espousing the views of a nanny state mentality that wants to promote literacy only within those groups that support them. The idea is not to promote education, the idea is to usurp power.
Vote carefully.

They're Here.....

Now the word goes out that in order to support our highway and bridge infrastructure, we need a 40 cent PER GALLON surcharge that will be administered by the government. Do you have any idea how much in taxes we are currently paying?

"The Federal Tax of 18.4 cents per gallon is collected in all states in addition to any state or local taxes on gasoline sales.

Gasoline taxes are levied in various ways in different states. Some states, such as Louisiana, levy a flat rate per gallon. Others charge a tax similar to a sales tax in that it applies to the monetary amount of the gasoline sold. Other states allow local communities to levy gasoline taxes in addition to any state taxes that might be levied."-

Source: American Petroleum Institute 1/13/05

On top of that, we pay state taxes to the tune of approximately 20 cents per gallon. And you can add to that sales taxes which are 8.25% of the total sale in our area. Now I ask you, where IS that money going? And how much in total taxes are we talking about? The first column is oil company profits in BILLIONS. The second column is FEDERAL taxes and the third column is STATE taxes. The last column below is TOTAL TAXES, in BILLIONS. And that is just for the years from 1977 through 2004. Where has the money gone? And you can't just blame President Bush because there have been LOTS of hand in the till.

Total

$643.0

$533.0

$810.1

$1,343.1

State and Federal governments profit from this at the expense of taxpayers. The amount of revenues that are returned to states is not equal to the amount sent to Washington D.C. So where is the money going? Well, when you hear different candidates discuss their many "ideas" and when you have candidates who embrace the concept of de facto socialism by supporting programs that amount to a "nanny state" environment, you will find that money paid into such things as social security, fuel taxes, income taxes and the like, become nothing more than a piggy bank to fund the over 10,000 earmarks that were in the most recent budget. That is TEN THOUSAND special programs, which various Congressional reps have tried to sneak into the program. And then they have the unmitigated gall to ASK FOR MORE? Folks, you had better be paying attention. They ain't no such thing as a free lunch. You can ask for "free" healthcare and "free" subsidy of loans to unqualified buyers. You can punish banks for failing to fund bad loans and then you can swoop in and give BofA a sweetheart deal to restructure the debt, but it doesn't take away from that one bottom line fact-

THE MONEY HAS TO COME FROM SOMEWHERE.

And where that money for programs is coming from is straight from your pocket.

So go ahead, support all those lofty programs and feel good about yourself. Self-esteem is a good thing. But it won't pay the bills. It won't build the roads. It won't feed your kids. It's going to be hard to explain to Junior that he can't go to UT because there are too many people from other nations in front of him. It will be difficult to explain to little Susie that there won't be any more extras in life because all the money will be gone. The spiral of inflation will accelerate and what passes for a Middle Class lifestyle will become a tenuous attempt to avoid poverty. And the way things are shaping up, that is EXACTLY what the liberals in America plan to do.

More information is here:

http://www.senate.state.tx.us/SRC/pdf/trans.
pdf

PS. Texans, you may want to note that although we are still a "producer state" to the extent that environmental groups will let us drill, we are only getting 77 cents on the dollar back in the way of highway funding programs. Anyone who has driven on I35 or I75 in the past five years can testify to the fact that our highways are crowded and getting moreso. Add to that the recent announcement that DART is trying to get away with yet another building delay-Carrollton's corridor was delayed three times-that makes it pretty clear that we don't matter at all to some people in Washington. Look at the map and see who does matter and think about how their politics shape up.

Map Here.

Here's the REAL Conservative

There's a number of people, especially in the media, that want to have this political race turn into a cakewalk for liberals. One way that could happen is to have a quasi-conservative win the Republican nomination. Huckabee, McCain, Romney and Guiliani all have a history that is less than stellar in regard to the true conservatism of lower taxes, greater opportunity, national security and dismantling of the nanny net social structure that is gobbling more revenue than it creates. Here's just one example of how some candidates are choosing to hide their political history and run as quasi-conservatives. Look before you vote. And while you are looking, consider a TRUE CONSERVATIVE-Fred Thompson.
Story here.

It's Going To Be a Bumpy Year

I am a Fred Thompson supporter. I think he's the only candidate in the race who plans on using the Constitution as the basis for his presidency. I have been leery of most of the other Republicans. McCain is too old, Romney too wooden and stiff, Giuliani is too jokey and insincere, and Ron Paul is just weird. Thompson is all we have ....
But things are starting to get contentious as shown in this video

"Honor" Killings

We had a tragic double murder in our area this week. Two teenaged girls were believe to be killed by their father, a native of Egypt. He was upset that they were becoming "too American", that they wanted to date American boys and their bullet riddled bodies were found in his taxi at DFW airport. A candlelight vigil was held last night, which the girls' mother and brother attended. They are in hiding because the man who did this is running from the police. What was an area wide manhunt has now gone nationwide and will probably extend past our borders. And in our diverse upscale suburban community, this isn't the first recognized death of a woman by her husband based upon what amounts to tribal beliefs. A few years ago, a woman from Pakistan was burned to death and her husband caught trying to leave the country. We like to encourage diversity and support those who peacefully reside here. But there has been a change. Suddenly people don't want to assimilate, they simply want to export their brand of living here-never mind that that was the roadblock to success "back home" Why is this happening? Because within a small backward segment of humanity, there are people who think that women and children are owned and that the patriarchal legend of controlling every member of the family holds true in the 21st century. I have no doubt that he is being harbored by relatives or friends that hold similar sympathetic views. That is what is common in this situation. The murderer is a member of the family, the family will not turn him over to police. In a recent honor killing in Canada, there were a great number of public statements from the mosques of that area saying that this was NOT a feature of Islam. I agree in as far as that goes. But tribal beliefs, now being exported to other countries, is being tacitly supported by the silence of these religious communities. We are not privy to their worship, nor do they welcome us in any way that seems open or aboveboard. How long are we going to continue to allow these barbarians to exact what amounts to sharia law within our own nation. If executing a criminal who has done serious harm to others is wrong according to the ACLU and other groups, why is the silence so deafening in regards to the untimely deaths of women at the hands of their husbands?

I am not a huge supporter of Amnesty International or the UN. However, there is one area in which I believe they are right. Honor killings, bride burnings and other types of attacks largely against women are a serious side effect of illiteracy and ignorance. The reason that I am bringing this up is that I believe the tragic murder of two young women is directly related to patriarchal belief that women and children are chattel to be bartered and should be restricted and treated as such. When this type of cultural overlay runs up against modern freedom as practiced in the western world, there are going to be those who resist. This isn’t the first time we have had such an instance. There was a bride burning in Carrollton not so many years ago. And there is speculation that retaliation against women in arranged marriages is largely underreported due to fear or retaliation, lack of trust for authorities and little means of escape from what should be labeled as an abusive situation. Please note, this isn’t a byproduct of Islam, although many like to put it in those terms. Instead it’s a cultural phenomenon that has been perpetuated by tribal beliefs that supersede the structure of national laws. Although widely condemned, such honor killings as well as forced suicides are not unheard of in many parts of the world, most notably Asia and India. The movement of people to new lands has exported this barbaric system around the world. I wonder if police departments would look further into some disappearances, some redacted accusations and some “accidents” resulting in the death of a woman or child, if they wouldn’t find suspicious circumstances anticipating such a sad end. Here’s what I found in a short research. You can find more detailed and still sadder stories. I just wonder if we witnessed another such instance in Lewisville this past week.

“ As of 2004, honor killings have occurred within parts of various countries, such as Albania, Brazil, Canada, Denmark, Ecuador, Germany, India, Iraq, Israel (within the Arab, Druze and Bedouin communities)[8], Italy, the Palestinian territories, Saudi Arabia, Sweden, Uganda, and the United States.[citation needed]

According to the UN:

"The report of the Special Rapporteur ... concerning cultural practices in the family that are violent towards women (E/CN.4/2002/83), indicated that honour killings had been reported in Egypt, the Islamic Republic of Iran, Jordan, Lebanon, Morocco, Pakistan, the Syrian Arab Republic, Turkey, Yemen, and other Mediterranean and Persian Gulf countries, and that they had also taken place in such countries as France, Germany and the United Kingdom, within migrant communities." [9]

Sharif Kanaana, professor of anthropology at Birzeit University states that honor killing is:

“A complicated issue that cuts deep into the history of Arab society. .. What the men of the family, clan, or tribe seek control of in a patrilineal society is reproductive power. Women for the tribe were considered a factory for making men. The honor killing is not a means to control sexual power or behavior. What's behind it is the issue of fertility, or reproductive power.[2]

An Amnesty International statement adds:

“The regime of honour is unforgiving: women on whom suspicion has fallen are not given an opportunity to defend themselves, and family members have no socially acceptable alternative but to remove the stain on their honour by attacking the woman.[13]

Islamic religious authorities prohibit extra-legal punishments such as honor killings, since they consider the practice to be a cultural issue.[15] They believe that since certain pre-Islamic cultures have influence over a number of Muslims, murderers of females use Islam to justify honor killing, but claim there is no support for the act in the religion itself. The death penalty cannot always be applied in the Sharia as murders are a type of "qisas" ("retaliation") crime 2-178. This means that the deceased's family should be offered the choice of capital punishment or "diyya" ("blood money") and no execution can take place without them opting for death. Because a relative(s) is usually responsible for the honor killing, it is unlikely that the deceased's family will punish one of their own for the crime.[16] However other punishments can be legislated and the murderer cannot pardon himself.[17]"

Those Who Do Not Learn History....

The story that is linked in the headline is one that interests me because it states some ideas that I have expressed in my classroom and to family and friends. There are those in our society who like the idea that history is dead. They see no reason to learn history, to know history or to take away any lessons from history. I think that's a huge mistake.

And there must be some credence to this because every successful military academy includes a history of war and battles that includes studying the tactics of the ancient Romans, the medieval Turks and the modern Japanese. What bothers me is that in the general population we have children and ADULTS that do not know their own nation's history, nor do they have anything other than a shallow grasp of the history of man. These same people can quote chapter and verse on the latest showing of "Heroes" or tell you the entire genealogy of the kids in "Gossip Girl", but they have no knowledge or interest in obtaining knowledge about the measures that created our modern society.

Texan of the Year?

The Dallas Morning News, a BELO publication, has decided to select the Illegal Immigrant as the Texan of the Year. Now maybe I am just naive, but it seems that someone who is here illegally isn't really a part of the fabric of the society. I am tired of the naivete that fuels this politically correct rhetoric and I think we should all DEMAND that the candidates address this issue. If you think this doesn't impact you, let me clue you into a few facts.
-Illegal immigrants use public health facilities, often giving bogus names for services. This means that if they use false ID, the people with the real identity end up having to deal with the mess. In a 20/20 episode last year, people who crossed the border were bombarded with offers for fraudulent documentation before they had even left sight of the border.
-The average live birth costs $7K. Dallas' Parkland Hospital has the highest live birth rate in the country with upwards of 70% being to women who are undocumented. How many of those bills do you think get paid? And if the users don't pay, who do you think gets stuck with the bill? (Hint: Taxpayers)
-City and county taxes pay for infrastructure, education and services based on the total number of residents in existing housing. When you have older properties managed by absentee landlords, you end up with multiple families living in single family homes. So the rate for supporting things like police, streets, water and schools are divvied up where they actually pay less per person than the other residents. Add to that the fact that having multiple families in single family homes drives down home values making taxes rise just to cover current expenditures. Now add to that the fact that these are often in older communities where retirees count on their home as their main asset. Can you imagine the double heartbreak of seeing sinking values and rising taxes?
-Security is perhaps the most serious issue. In state public schools every teacher, every volunteer is required to have a criminal background check. Yet school districts seek to save money by contracting services for food, tranportation and maintenance. The service companies allegedly do checks, but who is monitoring this? And even if they do checks, I have heard many of the hired staff at my school discussing how they avoid being caught by ICE. This isn't secure or safe.

In short, this is an issue that the candidates want to go away. Tancredo is out, but I still have hopes for Thompson, who seems to be the only guy interested in holding people to some standards. Mark my words, there are going to be activists pushing for illegals to vote simply because they are here.

Primary Season: Strange Days Indeed

Part of the primary process is the winnowing of many candidates down to a few. This is becoming a truly odd primary for several reasons. First of all, Iowa and New Hampshire, for all their small town charm, no longer represent the vast middle American political spectrum. Back in the day when we were largely a rural economy with manufacturing centers, the combination of having largely rural Iowa and New Hampshire primaries calling the shots made sense. In a period when most of us live in or around large cities, the views of these small and most homogenous states don't reflect the concerns that hound most of us. What does an Iowa farmer know about the influx of illegal immigration on the economy of border states? What does a New Hampshire resident understand about the increasing need for improved infrastructure throughout regions that would swallow their small state in size? We are a federation of states, each supposedly with our own needs but with fair representation, allegedly, in Congress. So why then do we continue to put such blind faith in the caucus process in states that have so very little to do with the larger problems of urban centers that are remote to them? A better case could be made for having California or Florida as the first primary because at least there the mix of voters would better represent the nation as a whole. Instead what will happen is that candidates will gather and attempt to appease the voters in these two small states. In doing so, they will address things like education, healthcare and social justice-all areas in which these two states express a great deal of interest. Very little will be said regarding the war, taxation, spending or the other bugaboos that haunt states later in the primary season. After these first primaries, it is expected that candidate will drop out. I have my own ideas about that. As I see it, Obama wins Iowa and Clinton wins New Hampshire. The Republicans are a toss-up, with Giuliani being the compormise candidate. I am kind of curious if someone like Thompson might make it a floor fight OR possibly break from the party and run as an independent. Wouldn't it be interesting to see Thompson/Leiberman ticket? Now that would tick off both major parties, but at the same time could throw the election to Congress. I don't think that's a hot potato they want to handle because the ensuing political fallout will make Gore's hissy fit look like a hiccup. Strange days indeed.

New Democrat Legislation Proposed

Sorry-I couldn't pass up the opportunity. This clears up so many questions about a great deal that is going on in our society. I got it from an email, I don't know the original source, sorry.

New Democratic Legislation Proposed

"The Americans With No Abilities Act (AWNAA)

WASHINGTON, DC - Congress is considering sweeping legislation which will provide new benefits for many Americans. The Americans with No Abilities Act (AWNAA) is being hailed as a major legislative goal by advocates of the millions of Americans who lack any real skills or ambition.

"Roughly 50 percent of Americans do not possess the competence and drive necessary to carve out a meaningful role for themselves in society," said California Senator Barbara Boxer. "We can no longer stand by and allow People of Inability to be ridiculed and passed over. With this legislation, employers will no longer be able to grant special favors to a small group of workers, simply because they have some idea of what they are doing."

In a Capitol Hill press conference, House Majority Leader Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid pointed to the success of the U.S. Postal Service, which has a long-standing policy of providing opportunity without regard to performance. Approximately 74 percent of postal employees lack any job skills, making this agency the single largest U.S. employer of Persons of Inability.

Private-sector industries with good records of nondiscrimination against the inept include retail sales (72%), the airline industry(68%), and home improvement"warehouse" stores (65%). At the state government level, the Department of Motor Vehicles also has agreat record of hiring Persons of Inability (63%).

Under the Americans With No Abilities Act, more than 25 million "middle man" positions will be created, with important-sounding titles but little real responsibility, thus providing an illusory sense of purpose and performance.

Mandatory non-performance-based raises and promotions will be given,to guarantee upward mobility for even the most unremarkable employees. The legislation provides substantial tax breaks to corporations that promote a significant number of Persons of Inability into middle-management positions, and gives a tax credit to small and medium-sized businesses that agree to hire one clueless worker for every two talented hires.

Finally, the AWNA Act contains tough new measures to make it more difficult to discriminate against the Non-abled-banning, for example,discriminatory interview questions such as "Do you have any skills or experience which relate to this job?"

"As a Non-abled person , I can't be expected to keep up with people who have something going for them," said Mary Lou Gertz, who lost her position as a lug-nut twister at the GM plant in Flint, Michigan, due to her lack of any discernible job skills. "This new law should really help people like me." With the passage of this bill, Gertz and millions of other untalented citizens will finally see a light at the end of the tunnel.

Said Senator Ted Kennedy: "As a Senator With No Abilities, I believe the same privileges that elected officials enjoy ought to be extended to every American with no abilities. It is our duty as lawmakers to provide each and every American citizen, regardless of his or her adequacy, with some sort of space to take up in this great nation."

The Twelve Days of Christmas, Explained

While we celebrate Christmas, Kwanzaa, Hanukah, Eid, Solstice and other winter holidays, I think it would be good to remember that religious tolerance-the freedom to worship publicly as one chose without persecution-is a fairly revolutionary concept and one of the cornerstones of our Constitution. Our nation, by and large, was founded by and for people who sought exactly this type of freedom.

While on the surface, "Twelve Days of Christmas" appears to be a child's counting rhyme, its meaning is far more serious. Starting with Henry VIII's separation of the Church of England from the Catholic Church in Rome, Catholics faced increasing scrutiny and persecution in England. Many were arrested, tried, and some even executed under laws that forbade Catholics from writing, teaching or practicing their faith. "Priest Holes" can still be found in older estates where ancestor hid clerics and the faithful from arrest. Children and adults could be taken and it was a dark time for many. The hardest problem was teaching children their religious lessons without endangering the adults or children involved. Codes were employed set in rhymes and set to a popular tunes of the day-so popular that the seemingly nonsensical lyrics were heard in pubs, the palace and in public without any knowledge of the real meanings!

Here are some of the "codes" as explained-
-Twelve is the number of days between Christmas and Epiphany.
At that time every Christian child was taught that pure love only came from God-so this "true love" was the ultimate Gift.
-A mother partridge lures enemies away from her next at her own peril-sacrificing her own life as did Christ for us.
-Two turtle doves stood for the Old and New Testaments.
-Three French hens were something that would be found in a rich or royal household-a meal fit for a king and represented the Three Gifts of the Magi-gold, frankincense and myrrh.
-Four calling birds represented the Four authors of the Gospels that "call out" the story of Christ. So Matthew, Mark, Luke and John became the "calling birds" of the song.
-Five gold rings tell of the first five books of the Bible-known as the Pentateuch or Torah-also known as the Law of Moses.
-Six geese a-laying might sound funny, but eggs were the symbols of new life and creation, six being the number of "days" in creation and so the laying of the geese was representative of God moving his hand in creation from the void.
-Seven swans a swimming speak directly of the seven spiritual gifts or gifts of the Holy Spirit mentioned in St. Paul's writings. Prophesy, service, teaching, encouraging, giving, leadership and mercy were qualities that Catholic children were taught would move easily through their lives if they walked with God.
-Eight maids a milking represented the common man and the number was significant in that it stood for the Beatitudes.
-Nine ladies dancing were the graceful embodiments of the gifts of the Spirit-love, joy,peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.
-Ten lords a leaping were the Ten Commandments. Lords were supposed to be just and honorable-servants of the law.
-Eleven pipers piping were representative of the eleven faithful apostles-remember, Judas betrayed Christ.
-Twelve drummers drumming was a reminder of the "Apostles' Creed" which contained a dozen different elements that were meant to be part of a Catholic's daily walk with God.

PS. I guess I should explain a few of the linked illustrations. Some are serious, some are funny. The Nine Ladies is a rock formation that evidently has a large number of supporters, but I had never heard of it before I googled it for the photo. And the one for Four Calling Birds, was just funny, admit it.

Have a Merry Christmas and leave a prayer on your pillow for those who are hurting, lonely or in pain. And if you use the "free giftwrap" at bookstores, donate something. I went to Borders at two and the ladies for the Lewisville Animal Rescue had been there for awhile wrapping and hardly anyone donated. C'mon, it's Christmas. Or as my mom always says "it's jewels on your crown in heaven...."

Remember What It's All About

I just wanted to take a minute to remind people that life is so very fragile. That fact is being brought home to some kids in our area on a daily basis. It's a lesson that is hard to learn because teenagers think they are invincible. Believe me, they are not. Watch the news and see how many YOUNG kids are dying far too early. We aren't supposed to outlive our own children. That's not the way life is meant to work. Yet it seems that today life is cheap on so many levels. It has to end.

With that in mind-it's time for adults to step in and BE ADULTS.
Stop using your kids to fight with your exes, stop putting kids in the middle and stop the relentless self-indulgence and put your kids first. I am tired of hearing stories of mommy's new BMW paired with the stories of how sick kids aren't permitted to get sick because adults make the decision to buy gadgets rather than health insurance. (And yes, this is a true story....and sadly there are many more....) Stop being so self-centered, your kids are suffering.

For all of our arguing and dissension, the words we write or speak to someone today, may be the last words we speak to them at all. Try listening rather than planning the next words that come out of your mouth. Give up the witty repartee and the sarcastic riposte for meaningful conversation. Say things with conviction and follow through with your promises. And pay attention to other people. As my mother told me "you are not the bellybutton of the universe." With that in mind, be kinder, be gentler. Be cognizant that during this time of year, there are people who suffer in silence. A kind word, a giving gesture, a phone call for no reason, could make a difference. While we should consider these things every day, I think our lives have become so frantic with connectivity and gadgets, we sometimes forget what is truly important. Take a moment, reach out and make your little corner of the world just a little bit sweeter.

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Oh Christmas Tree!

It's been my job, and my pleasure, to decorate the Christmas tree since I was six or seven. There's something comforting about selecting an ornament, recalling its history and putting it in a place of honor. There have been years that it was painful, such as the year after my Dad's death, and years when it was joyous, such as my childrens' first Christmases. When I was small, during the holiday season, I would lie under the Christmas tree looking up through the branches at the lights and dreaming of the things all children hold dear. I remember the smells of fresh pine and bayberry candles, fudge-the real deal beaten with a wooden spoon, cooling on a plate and beating fondant unto a white mass of gooey sweetness. There have been years of sadness as well, but it's the sadness that carves out space for more joy.

We've made concessions over the years. We used to go to East Texas and cut down trees with the kids, but they have moved away to school and none of us really have time to spare for an entire weekend trip, although I wish we did. We also have a fake tree because frankly, the scenes I have seen of tree fires have scared me to death! One concession I haven't made is on ornaments. Ours is not a designer tree, which chichi matching ornaments and just so garland and white lights. Sorry. Ours is a hodge podge of handmade and collected ornaments-most of which that I can't bear to give away. There are the collected ornaments that my kids have gotten every year. We have alot of cars and puppies and angels on our tree. There are also handmade ornaments from when our kids were small. I just can't give away or toss out the lovingly made wooden clothespin reindeer or the trees trimmed with glitter. And then there's the star. The first Christmas we were married, there just wasn't money for a tree. So we found one on Christmas Eve that a company threw out at the end of the day. We bought cheap ornaments at Pier One and I illustrated a star for the top. We still use the star. It's ragged and torn, but like every other ornament it holds our memories, good, bad and all the areas in between.

So how do you decorate your tree? It's really a very individual task. I use tiny ribbons to tie on the ornaments because I hate those nasty wire hooks. Here are some more questions-
-Star or Angel on top of the tree?
-White lights or multicolored?
-Constantly glowing lights or blinking?
-Different color ornaments or the same?
-Garland or icicles?
-Lights going around the tree or up and down?

Tag, You're Out....The Sad Lives of Kids, Recess and Obsessive Adults

What is wrong with people? Earlier this year, I wrote a blog on whether we were a motherland or a fatherland? I repeat the question. What is going on here? It seems as if today's parents want guarantees that their child will be healthy, strong, smart, talented and rich. Life simply doesn't work like that. In earlier generations, people learned to worked BEYOND their capacities. They overcame shortfalls and learned to work around obstacles. Today we have a generation of parent who want their children hermetically sealed. Every surface is supposed to be germfree and every show is supposed to be educational. Is it any wonder that the phenomenon of childhood obesity and depression is growing? It appears that there is a virulent segment of the population that despises competition at any level. These are the same folks who wanted to get rid of juried art shows and simply give the scholarships based on a drawing. C'mon. At some point we have to be willing to say that there are some people that are basically better at some skills than others.

Perhaps the problems lie in our education system. Right now, I can walk down to a Bridging class where the majority of the students read one a third grade level or lower, and ask them what they will do upon graduation, and ALL of them will say they are going to college. I am not saying having aspirations beyond your skills is a bad thing, but we have to get over the idea that every kid who walks across the stage in May is entitled to go to college. Likewise, we need to get over the idea that a college degree qualifies someone for a job. Believe me, there are many people with degrees in my circle of acquaintances that are unfit for many jobs. And at what point did it get to be shameful to work with one's hands? I admire the man who can fix my air conditioner or car. We rely on the expertise of electricians, plumbers and carpenters. Yet seldom will you hear these jobs in the same breath with the aspirations of a high school student.

Something needs to change. We need to get away from elitist specialization and back to the basics of learning, living and loving. Perhaps it's our attachment to the internet, perhaps it's our shallow worship of all things celebrity, but whatever the cause, we must change direction soon. If not for our sake, or our kids sake, then for the kids down the road that will have to deal with the mess these approaches leave behind.

As Ye Sow, So Shall Ye Reap???

Here's just a smattering of today's dismal financial news. It sent the stock market plummeting. But what caused these shortfalls? In most cases it was a situation in which banks, trying to outdo their competitors for future profit on balloon mortgages, qualified people for huge amounts of money. In many cases, these were people that really should not have been lent money due to poor credit history, unstable income and other factors. But banks are notoriously blind when it comes to seeing huge profits down the road. They speculated that the realty market would continue it's ridiculous upward spiral, without thinking about the tenuous financial bridges they were building. While you are pondering this situation, take a look HERE. This is a link for banks that accept matricula consulare for issuing accounts and loans. While such things as domestic drivers' licenses and social security numbers are verifiable, matricula consulare is issued to those who do not have "green cards" and the conventional documentation that would permit such banking transactions. Now, I am not saying this is the only problem with our banking system, but playing fast and loose with money is what caused a little problem locally known in Dallas as the Savings And Loan Fiasco. Read and consider that many of the proponents of less restrictions on illegal immigrants have come largely from the construction industry and their kissing cousins in real estate and banking. And then, ask yourself if this is a "real" drop, or one that was largely caused by a singular lack of clarity and legality on the part of certain greedy bank groups. Do you like having to pay higher interest to fund loans that are given out like cheap candy on Halloween? Speak up-the banks can't hear you.....

• Citigroup, the biggest bank in the US, reported a 57% drop in third-quarter earnings from a year earlier, due in no small part to bad mortgages;
  
• Bank of America, the second-largest US bank, just reported a 32% drop in earnings, led by a loss of $527 million in revenues at its structured products division;
  
• J.P.Morgan, the third biggest bank in the US, has marked down $186 million in bad mortgages plus $339 million in debt-derivatives for June-Sept.;
  
• National City Corp. of Cleveland – the ninth-largest bank in the US according to Reuters – now projects mortgage-book losses of $160 million for Q3, "the high end of its previous forecast";
  
• The leading US savings and loan, Wamu, says it expects a 75% drop in profits, with a new set-aside of almost $1 billion to cover bad debts and a hit of $410 million to its current lending portfolio;