Liberal Dogma: Do As I Say, Not As I Do

This is a personal observation based on years of dealing with people who say one thing, but do another. This type of behavior is far more prevalent in the more liberal individuals and businesses than conservative ones because of the hurdles and litmus tests required for the type of ideological purity demanded by the far Left. Although they claim to be open to differences, in reality some of the worst and most biased individuals and businesses are the biggest offenders when it comes to such ideas as free speech, honesty and fair treatment. Years ago I worked for a very chic, well known home products company. They regularly make it on local and national "best places to work" lists. I beg to differ. My experience was that they would add responsibilities without promised compensation. I also saw people who were in common terms "suck ups" who pandered to the political and personal biases of the people in charge on a social level get promoted over people who did the heavy lifting. And while this company likes to pat itself on the back, I still here stories of people hired to work there and expected to work off the clock, not take lunches and work on holidays where most other stores are closed. So we more onto a more personal view. My son worked for more than two and half years for a very well known store that catered to the skating crowd. He was, in fact, for two years running, in what was called "The 100K" in that they sold more than $100K in merchandise during the years. That's alot of tee shirts and jeans. My son was doing well and in October was asked to move "temporarily" to a store thirty miles from home. They promised him a promotion and a raise in January. So he worked his tail off. He even went in to do inventory right after his car was totaled in a driving rainstorm. He worked more than forty hours a week, took hours for people that couldn't work and even helped after not one but two break ins. He was the top salesperson. But he had a hotshot manager who had always been a top salesperson who just could not handle that she wasn't top sales. So she made up complaints, and despite the fact that his sales were helping the store make goal, fired him. Needless to say, in this economy, finding an entry level job is not easy. But what is grating is that when he talked to company brass at 100K in January, they were big on "we are a family, we care about our employees." Evidently not because the regional manager didn't even have the common courtesy to return calls and the rest of the managers he has worked with are mad as hell because they were counting on having him work as first assistant manager when they got stores. So to all those folks who shop at Zumiez, look carefully at what you buy. Because you aren't supporting a friendly, liberal, casual skating store, you are supporting a corporation monolith that thinks employees are disposible and customers are chumps.

Pray For Japan

I don't think we know the true toll yet taken on Japan by this tsunami. We watch the events as they unfold on the Internet and the news and the sense of disbelief is similar to the feelings I felt on 9/11. All I can say is that this earthquake and tsunami make Haiti look like a cakewalk. And by the way, this is the second serious quake on the Ring of Fire in a week. New Zealand was hit by a large serious quake in the past week. Now Japan. Who is next? I would be really uneasy living near those large faultlines in California. Also, for more information, you may want to look at this website:
http://www.usgs.gov/

I'm A Teacher and I Think Wisconsin Teachers are Wrong.

I teach in a right to work state. That means I am not represented by a union. Sure, you can join NEA/TSTA if you want, but it's the most expensive ticket to representation. Most teachers, regardless of political views, only join to get liability insurance. That's the bottom line. If I can get that for less from any of the other alphabet soup of organizations, then I will. That all being said, here's my take on the brouhaha in Madison.

I am appalled.

If you talk to any teacher, one of the first things that comes up is that kids just aren't very well behaved. Also, if you are really a trained professional, you know that modeling behavior is one of the best ways of teaching behavior. So by rioting, writing fake doctor's notes and more, these teachers are acting out just as badly as the more unruly segment of our student population. I suppose we should give many of the younger ones sort of a pass because they were raised in an era when adults tolerated snippy behavior as "cute." I didn't let my own kids watch The Simpsons, because I didn't find mimickry of Bart's behavior to be an attractive trait in a child. But other parents said I was staid. Now we have young adults who think aggression equates to assertiveness. Nothing could be farther from the truth. If you are assertive, you have the authority of facts to back you up. On the other hand, aggression is nothing more that bullying behavior and conjecture based on nothing but opinion. That is what we see in the streets of Madison.

I understand to a point. I am currently the only breadwinner at my house. As a classroom teacher it's not easy to make ends meet on a less than $50K income. But we do what we have to do. We sell things. We make do. We do without. And we do this as our parents and grandparents had to do during bad times. Unfortunately, the youngest teachers were raised in a period of time when self-esteem trumped achievement. Everyone wins a trophy. Nobody loses. And that's not reality. In the real world competition determines the winners. I bet the Chinese understand that. And I think many immigrants who come here for the very freedoms this current administration is trying to squelch understand as well. But these younger teacher do not understand. The think they are entitled to have everything it took their parents and grandparents decades to afford. For example, my mother didn't have her own new car until I was in high school. I didn't get a car for turning sixteen. My kids helped pay their way through school. These things may sound normal to you. If that is the case, I can almost guarantee you were either raised before 1980 or you were part of a military family.

These are the attitudes that fuel this debate in Madison. It's been shouted by Oprah, echoed by Obama and resonates with those who would much rather watch others work than work themselves. These are the folks who were never read "The Ant and the Grasshopper" or "The Little Red Hen" or "The Goose that Laid the Golden Egg" because those were seen as archaic stories written by dead white men. Instead these young teachers' heads were filled with politically affirming stories of downtrodden people deserving the best and getting it only when laws were changed or when action was taken by governments. Funny how none of these stories ever relied on actions by individuals to save the day. But socialist regimes rely on groupthink and group activities and those are the very things that condition smart kids to carry the rest. The result: well you see it on the streets of Madison.

What can you say about unions? Unions had their place. There's no doubt that appalling conditions of child labor and dangerous working situations were changed because of unions. But it is also true that unions are far more concerned in their own success over the success of the business in which the rank and file work. Unions destroyed American manufacturing, the auto industry being a prime example. Had GM been allowed to fail, union contracts would have had to be renegotiated. But Obama was indebted to union organization for votes, so he managed to create funds that bought out GM. And we will never see that money paid back. Card check, buyouts, exemption from the healthcare bill and countless other actions have been promoted by the White House and backed by muscle from such entities as SEIU and AFT. When you have the president calling out political activists to intervene in a state funding issue, that is invasive policy and demonstrates the absolute disdain this White House has for the states. In a larger measure this also tells us that Wisconsin is not the end of this fight but may be only the start. I know there is talk of Texas teachers gathering in Austin on March 12th. I do not know if I will be there or not. But I do know that I will not support unions in this state.

Education and Economic Freefall

A couple of years back, I predicted that the falling of the value of property would result in an economic downturn for cities and states. I don't like being right,but I told you so. Entities that survive on the revenue gleaned from taxes are naturally going to be hit and hit hard by this economy. No entity more so than the public education apparatus.

I am a teacher in a public school. I do not make a princely salary. In fact right now I am the only income at my home. That being said, my family is dealing with the downturn like most others. We are paying off the bills we can, making do with less and watching every penny. There are no vacations on the books. No lush parties being planned. We aren't remodeling. We are barely getting by. So it is with real wonder that I look at the way education dollars and bond issues are used.

Down the road in a town called Allen, they are building a sixty million dollar stadium for high school football. Yes, High School. I was raised in Texas and I understand that football and sports are trumps, but seriously is this what we want of the future? Do we really need more uninformed, overdeveloped drones? While sports have their places, it used to be such things were extracurricular, as in outside the curriculum. Now we have "classes" in cheerleading, football, drill team and marching band. The cost of supporting such programs have necessitated a highly mobilized parent base in booster clubs. Sadly those booster clubs, in their zeal to support, see nothing beyond the limits of the interests of their own children. So we end up with big fancy stadiums and no textbooks.

Then there is the electronic message. Politicians LOVE electronics and technology. By mandating support for such things they can look smart and supportive. But frankly having seen a couple of decades of students go through programs that feature technology I wonder if it isn't making them less inclined to learn. When given a task, unless specifically told not to, most student choose the first entry on Google or Wiki no matter how inane. These students duration at reading and their comprehension are marginal. The printed word is very different from the electronically generated one. I have to wonder if in our excitement to use technology we have made it harder for kids to learn or enjoy reading. Most adults that work on computers use glasses because of the eye strain. Perhaps our young children are having the same issues which they cannot voice because they don't know any different.

Then there is the issue of class size. In this regard it is all about the formula. If you have class A with a one:one student teacher ratio and class B with a one : thirty five student ratio and average them, it become a perfectly acceptable one : eighteen student teacher ratio. But that doesn't mean that the kids in the larger class will be getting anything near the time and attentio of the kid in the single student class. Then there are the various alphabetic issues. When you have a student with significant challenges, for which teacher must by law accommodate, you add to that teacher's responsibilities. Take the thirty five student class and from that class pick the kids who have 504's or IEP's or ESL issues or behavioral contracts and you make it where a small group within the larger class are demanding almost all the teacher's attention. I have seen this in action where a severely disabled student was put in an art class where when she didn't get attention, she would cut herself. This was a class of over thirty high school students including several gang members. There's no way the few kids who actually wanted that class got a positive experience. And this is increasingly the norm as the solution school districts are faced with is to throw disabled students into classes and hope to God the teachers can do something with them.

I am not sure what the future holds. Today my principal said that the district would reduce numbers through attrition. That might work for one year or maybe two. But down the road unless things turn around many districts will be facing reductions in force and more. I just wonder at what point superintendents will cut their pay.....

About That Global Warming....

It is 19 here in DFW. The Superbowl is this weekend and no doubt Jerry Jones sold the Dallas location as a sunny alternative to Maimi or Las Vegas. Jerry simply ignored the weather history of the area wherein our coldest days are usually in the January-February range. So all those northern visitors here and the ESPN open pavilion for broadcast and many others are learning that Texas can be deathly cold as well as really hot. There is ice beneath the snow, product of a thundersnow storm last night. Tonight's prediction is for 10 degrees-below zero with wind chill. It is the coldest it has been in 14 years. So Mr. Gore, please, no more guessing.

What's Wrong With The Schools

I teach high school (so you don't have too *rimshot*)
I teach in a fairly affluent suburban high school. Considering the demographics and the money, we should have an entire population of candidate for a Rhodes Scholarship.
But we don't.

There's a great deal of second guessing on why not, but I think the problems with our schools are wide and deep. They range from clueless parents to academic structures to the very halls of government that demand so much for so little. So let's take a look at each level.

First there are the parents. Most parents want the best for their children. It used to be that meant a strong family, a good character and a solid foundation of knowledge. Now it's an IPhone. Or a car. Or a vacation with their friends in a tropic resort. I have to seriously wonder about the mental abilities of parents who are either so naive or so needy that they allow their children to stay in hotel rooms with their friends after prom or provide "a safe place to drink" by supplying liquor for high school parties. Do they honestly believe that because these are the events they know about that nothing else is going on? I promise you, these kids talk. They think teachers and administrators don't hear their little references to various activities. It used to be we would pick up notes. I remember a particularly specific and graphic note written by one of our cheerleaders.

But then again, kids have always hidden things from parents. I don't recall parents weren't so willing to be ignorant. Mine certainly weren't. The fear of being caught was one of the main reasons I never smoked pot. But these I can leave messages regarding a student on the phone only to find it was never recieved. Sometimes it takes going throught five or six different phone numbers to even find one that works. One time a number I called was for a recreation center fifty miles away. I can even send emails only to have them erased. Here's the problem. Teachers can't tell a parent their kid is in trouble without risking their job. I have had kids that reeked of pot. I have had kids hungover. I have also had kids seriously ill and one girl who I fear was having a miscarriage. In all these cases I can refer them to the nurse and hope the parent gets a clue. Too many times they don't because they don't want to. And they don't want to because it interferes with the dramarama going on in their own lives. Is it any wonder the kids consider school a low tier interest?

Let's talk about school boards locally and at the state level. School boards are comprised of politicians. No matter how low level or innocuous they seem, they all have their hands in the same political pie. That means that even when actions are seriously destructive to the learning environment, school boards will opt over what is popular over what is right. That is why in my district, only core classes count towards GPA. That means even AP students from the Gifted programs can dog it on a class making just enough to get credit. This instructs them how to slack off. And why is this so? Because one time a kid who happened to be in band got valedictorian over some kid who was in golf. Seriously, that's the reason. Never mind that both kids were AP students and both took plenty of rigorous courses, but because one mom with an axe to grind dragged it out to her buddy on the school board, this policy remains to the detriment of electives teachers throughout the district. This is just MY district. Other districts have loopy policies as well because the schools are run by politicians. And politicians like holding onto power. Some of the most contentious races I have seen were over school board seats. So locally and statewide schools end up with the type of boneheaded results over textbooks, staffing and more that create technology filled ghettos of ignorance wherein kids use expensive computers to plagiarize from Wikipedia or Google. This is why programs exist to suss out such actions, but the kids and their parents, who really care about the grades over the content seem to think this is just fine. This is what passes for education these days.

And finally, let's look at federal mandates. Federal mandates happened because it was seen as a way to impose specific social attitudes on children. Now who is going to say no to a kid? But what has happened is that programs are now driving the costs of education through the roof. Free lunches on the surface looked like a good thing. But I have seen the amount of waste. And it's curious how kids who don't have money for lunch have money to buy energy drinks and candy on the way to school. After school daycare sounded good, until it became a situation where the truly needy were kicked out if they didn't fulfill some mandated demographic. Then there are the special programs. Special education via the Americans with Disabilities Act has taken schools to the brink of extinction. What used to be services for kids who had hearing, reading or vision problems is now almost a medical facility with teachers. In one part of my building there are five students who have two teachers, two aides, a kitchen, a living room area, a training therapy area and a car for transportation to other services during the day. In another part of my building there are over 40 students in a math class. On paper federal officials will say this is fine and that nobody suffers. But you have to pity the kid who will someday work in the real world who never got the advantages of attention, time or one to one instruction due to the limitations of sheer numbers. Then there is ESL. ESL has become a catch all for our growing undocumented population. They are transient. They are frequently truant. They are a drag on the test scores and their parents, even when contacted in their language, do not seem overly concerned about their childrens' lack of success. In the lower grades free school is treated like daycare. In the upper grades it becomes a source of gang building which accounts for regular attendance zone changes at this level. What is sad is that many of these students have been in ESL programs since Pre K and even twelve years later do not read, nor write, nor speak, English. Yet according to federal guidelines we must provide them with millions of dollars worth of small classes, extra help, special teachers.

At a time when most states are pushing for cuts in education, there are some clear candidates for trimming. Sadly, they won't cut administration or oversight programs. They won't remove cheerleading or athletics from the list of classes making them extracurricular. Instead they will keep racheting up the class numbers driving experienced teachers into retirement. After all, younger teachers are cheaper. I am sure that's the way to improve education.

Say Good Bye to Middle Class

I am a teacher. Most people would categorize that profession as middle class along with police officers, fire fighters, nurses, managers, etc. I am the only wage earner thanks to the economy which despite all the liberal pundits claims is no better than it was two years ago. Looking at my paystub, it has become obvious that the combined weight of taxes, medicare taxes, insurance and what is laughably referred to as my retirement fund, is taking more than a quarter of my income. The cost of insurance alone has been driven up by making those of us saps who pay for insurance responsible for the higher costs of giving away "free" healthcare to anyone who qualifies. Note: Qualifying doesn't mean legally qualified, but it means you have the right connections to complain your way into services for free. Compare that to my Mom, who now has no money thanks to buyouts by Merrill Lynch to BofA and others. And what about that nice cushy golden parachute they gave as a parting gift to their former CEO? It looks like short of turning Mom out on the street, she will end up in our small home. It's a house that has no safeguards or amenities for the aged. It's falling apart. And there's not one thin dime to fix it. I am pretty sure that despite all the labeling, I am no longer middle class. I am poor. And at 54, that's a pretty solemn observation.

Have a Very PC Winter Holiday

Once again, those steeped in political correctness attempt to make amends for actions that offend almost nobody. In Philly, the world"Christmas" is to be obliterated from the arch of a traditional holiday fair. It's ludicrous, especially in context that this was supposed to be a replica of a German village. Why is it that so many people who claim to embrace Freedom of Religion, seems to be so hellbent on denying that freedom to others.

It's like television. There are shows I hate-mostly reality shows and celebrity gossip shows-and shows I love. I don't want the other shows taken off the air, I just don't watch them. I don't want anyone else deprived of their worship and in schools and government we are urged to respect the rights of those who are out during feasts such as Ramadan, Eid, Yom Kippur, Chinese New Year and heaven knows what else. But where are the champions for those who want to express their Christian views?

I their wacky goony PCness, government entities large and small seem to be more reminiscent of hooting owls that turn their heads hooting angrily should anyone dare to disturb the status quo. They issue mandates banning this nativity scene, that Christmas sign and issue orders to respond "happy holiday" in an attempt to offend no one. Seriously, what kind of person is offended by good wishes even if it is in the context of someone's faith? I grew up in an area where there were three large synagogues. On Friday I would offer our neighbors a cheerful "Good Sabbath" just as they would wish my family a "Happy Easter" during the Paschal Feast. Freedom of religion doesn't mean freedom FROM religion. Frankly the forces of the Left who continue to play religion's gadflies end up alienating far more people than they attract. I won't wish them Merry Christmas if they can't handle it. But I wonder what kind of person would rather hear nothing than accept a wish of good will.

In that regard, I offer a recap of this column by
Kathleen Vallee Stein / December 16, 2009 Monrovia, Calif.
http://www.csmonitor.com/Commentary/Opinion/2009/1216/Is-it-OK-to-wish-Jews-a-Merry-Christmas

Like most Jews, I don’t take offense when someone wishes me a Merry Christmas. I take it in the spirit in which the salutation is intended: a generic greeting that doesn’t hold deep religious meaning. I put it up there with “Have a nice day.”

It’s a dark time of year and for me the lights, decorations, illuminated trees, and greetings of Christmas cheer are an attempt to lighten things up, that’s all. On a deeper level, the wish of a Merry Christmas means: Let’s get through the dark winter months until the sun comes back again.

In recent years, people tend to get nervous about offending the religious sensitivity of others. Especially at Christmas. Debates circulate about putting Christmas trees or manger scenes on public land. Some attempt to mitigate the issue by saying “Happy Holidays” rather than “Merry Christmas.”

But I have never met a Jewish person who felt seriously insulted by a holiday greeting; we understand the tsunami of Christmas and go with the flow.

Sure, there are religious decorations among the Santa-and-his-reindeer displays and inflated plastic snowmen. The crèche scenes remind Christians of the real purpose of the holiday. For the rest of us, the lights and decorations are pretty to look at.

My husband and I drive around and look at Christmas lights every year. It doesn’t move us to convert to Christianity or question our Jewish faith. It’s pretty clear to us that Christmas decorations are put out on lawns, strung along gutters, and sometimes placed on rooftops, to decorate the house, not to proselytize or move someone to religious rapture.

The most important Jewish holidays do not have any fictional characters to go along with them like Santa Claus and the Easter Bunny. They are deeply moving and meaningful to Jews, but there isn’t any bling.

On Yom Kippur, the most solemn day of the year, we fast, not feast. We sit in the synagogue the entire day and break the fast after sundown. It is spiritually rigorous and a time for self-reflection.

Since we don’t have any fun stuff to augment our holy day, we vicariously enjoy Christmas cheer, but it does not undermine our beliefs. After all, Judaism is the foundation of Christianity and both faiths share many values.

In recent years retailers have been catching on and now sell us deprived Jews some goodies for Hanukkah. Although the holiday is not the most important one on the Jewish calendar, some fun traditions have grown up around it and the accouterments are a retailer’s dream.

I have Hanukkah-themed guest towels in my bathroom that are embroidered with dreidels and menorahs. I even succumbed to the charm of a string of Hanukkah lights to hang in the window.

I live far-flung from the areas of California where a Jewish family seems to live on every block, but even the grocery stores out here have small displays with Hanukkah merchandise in an attempt to be respectful or to capitalize on our holiday. It’s quite funny actually: It seems as if no one in the store knows exactly when Hanukkah is, so they put things out during Christmas and hope for the best.

Irving Berlin (a Jew) wrote a beloved Christmas song, “White Christmas.” Mel Tormé (a Jew) wrote the charming lyrics “Chestnuts roasting on an open fire/ Jack Frost nipping at your nose,” from “The Christmas Song.”

And then there are the Christmas albums featuring Barry Manilow and Barbra Streisand, just to mention a couple more great Jewish names. When it comes to popular music, Jews have contributed plenty to the joy of the Christmas season.

I say to Christians and others who celebrate Christmas, don’t worry about your Jewish friends and acquaintances, we are just fine. The overwhelming majority of us will respond with a cheery “Merry Christmas” back at you.

To quote the end of Mr. Tormé’s “The Christmas Song:” “And so I’m offering a simple phrase/ To kids from one to 92/ Although it’s been said many times/ Many ways, Merry Christmas to you.”

Oh, and “Happy Hanukkah,” too.

Kathleen Vallee Stein is a freelance writer.

Why I Hate Insurance Companies

My son was hit by a drunk driver last week.
Luckily, he wasn't seriously hurt. Looking at the wreckage, that in itself is amazing. So I am thankful for that. What I am angry about is the reaction of the drunk's insurance company-one whose name you know. Their spokesperson is a woman named Flo. The story begins as my son is heading back from the Subaru dealership where he had just purchased a new air intake for the Impreza WRX he had bought two months earlier. It was not a new car by any means, but the interior looked like new and the few dings on the doors were largely cosmetic ones that he planned to have repaired down the road. While driving along a rather large street a man in a 2009 Jaguar ran a light at a left turn hitting a Mustang in the inside lane and then my son. Both the Mustang and my son's car were totaled. While my son was in the ambulance being looked at by EMT's, the guy in the Jag ran. He was caught down the road and failed the field sobriety test. So you would think that seeing he was drunk, he ran and he was arrested that this specific insurance company would want to settle quickly. And they did settle with the guy in the Mustang who had comprehensive. But this is a 21 year old and comprehensive insurance is costly. So they are trying to screw him over by offering less than half of what it will take to replace his used car. He wasn't expecting a new car. His request was to have enough to replace the cute little blue WRX that he had lusted after since sixth grade. But the insurance company tried to snow him with alleged comparable cars for sale in the area. Never mind that we had been on every single general and specific auto site for the American southwest seeking comparable pricing. So they think they will simply allow him to dangler on the vine. The problem is, he started a new job this week which is farther away. He was borrowing a car, but it has problems. My own car is currently in the shop for radiator problems and his dad needs his car for business. So my son is in the position of being forced to take a lowball offer or lose his job. This is a travesty. The drunk guy lives in a very nice house, is 63 years old and a stockbroker. He could probably write a personal check to cover this and everyone would be happy. Instead his jerky insurance company is pushing us to sue. They even yelled at my son "Nobody is going to take this case! You better settle or your will lose even this." which tells me they are playing defense. The guy that hit him was drunk, the drunk ran, he was arrested. Therefore, the ball is in his court. As much as I hate to do it, we will be talking to lawyers this week. This is why lawyers continue to get rich and why average folks despise insurance companies.

losing light (animated music video)

Gnarls Barkley - Crazy

The Dot and the Line: A Romance in Lower Mathematics

The Need for ID: The Ultimate Irony

It's the second day of school
There is a kindergartner still at school 20 minutes after the noon dismissal.
Other students are coming in.
So when a man says he's here to pick up the kid, do you simply turn the child over to him?
There's more to the story. This particular school is in a mainly Hispanic area of Dallas. Many of the people in the area participated in a variety of marches and protests regarding things like requiring identification to vote, to live in an apartment in Farmers Branch TX and even traveled to Arizona to protest their law. What was that law again? Oh yes, the law was that people had to give law enforcement officers valid identification during the investigation of a crime or a traffic stop. People, including the president, are so up in arms over this law that the Attorney General is suing Arizona, despite the fact that many other states have similar laws on the books.

But back to Maple Lawn Elementary. You have a largely Hispanic parent population AND staff. The prevailing attitude is that asking for identification is "bad." So you don't require it. Instead you have this kind of laissez faire system where parents or other adults wander in, pick up random kids and then go. There's no list of acceptable rides home-banning non-custodial parents or vindictive exes from taking the children. There's no check of identification to ascertain that this person is who he or she claims. In short, it's a seriously delinquent system that was imposed because of a politically correct attitude that puts children in danger. Luckily this time, it was (supposedly) a case of mistaken identity. But the bottom line is this-in this modern society having valid identification is NOT optional. You must use it for writing checks, banking, loans, school access and to pick up your child at most daycare centers.

This is the same mentality that made Army officers hesitate to turn in one of their own that seemed a bit off and was embracing a jihadist attitude. That ended in treachery at Fort Hood when people DIED because someone was so very very afraid of causing offense. Of course there is also the side story that offense can often lead to expensive lawsuits. At some point we have to reel in the lawyers and stop tiptoeing around issues based on something as vaporous as hurting someone's feelings. PC attitudes are going to get people killed. This time we got lucky.

Creeping Liberalism

I admit it. I have watched Extreme Home Makeovers for a long time. I like shows where they take things that are broken or tattered and fix them. As the seasons have gone on, there have been serious undercurrents regarding past recipients of these over the top custom homes. I had wondered how a bigger house would translate into higher energy bills and property taxes for the willing recipients, but evidently that wasn't a consideration. I had also wondered why rather than salvaging some materials, the show resorted to increasingly elaborate ways of demolishing the existing, and evidently deficient, homes. Not content with bulldozers, the show has been exploding the houses leaving little to be salvaged. I also have an issue over what I see as over-specialized and highly limited spaces for children. That racecar bed or that princess castle has a limited desirability. Wouldn't it make more sense to do something that would allow for flexibility? I mean, I understand wanting to make the spaces special and I admit that I spent an entire night painting my own daughter's room pink for her fifth birthday, but you can make decisions that are adaptable for later use and more practical. That seems to be the sum total of my doubts, these houses, while they are superficially beautiful and wonderfully furnished, are sometimes more of an albatross than a swan.

So, I did some research and found these following stories. It's not all of the families that received the houses who are subject to these stories, but there are enough issues that I have to wonder if the producers of this show are paying attention to the aftermath. In one case, a California family took in five orphaned brothers to get a new nine bedroom house and then systematically moved the boys out. In another case the family took out a second mortgage of $450K and then lost the house for failure to pay. If you read in the comments, it is alarming how people who are given a luxury home that most of us will never be able to afford, and have their old mortgage paid off and have their medical bills paid and have college paid for all their children would somehow be able to manage things better.

http://www.therealestatebloggers.com/%20/real-estate-fraud/ge...
(read the comments....astounding)
http://www.arizonahousingbubble.com/2007/what-happens-to-thos...
(you will have to scroll down for this one)
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/8973501/
http://mikecandoit.com/real-estate/extreme-makeover-house-goi...
http://www.azcentral.com/style/hfe/decor/articles/2009/10/03/...
http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/pardonourdust/2008/06/for-sal...

Please. take a look at these stories. You will find people compelled by greed to pretend they would offer children a home in order to get a new house. You will find people who absolutely could not handle money. You will also find out that the size of these houses pose a huge hurdles in terms of maintenance that was not anticipated by the producers or the recipients. The only thing that mattered was building the house.

At this point, you may be wondering about the title of this blog. I think this show demonstrates how well meaning liberal policies in government can be as much of a disability as a bonus. I am sure that the producers of this show are well meaning. They really want to help these needy people. But instead of giving them practical solutions and skills, the show makes the mistake of giving these families everything and not asking if there were skills in place to maintain them. Is this not what our government is aiming to do with every additional program down the line? By simply turning over money or grants or goods to people without making sure that they understand how to effectively use them in many ways is worse than doing nothing.

I think this gets at the core of the anger demonstrated by conservatives. There is no more giving nation than the United States. We gave billions in aid to Aceh after the devastating tsunami. We have given and are giving more to African nations than any other nation in the world. And that goes for nations like Somolia who are actively seeking to destroy us. There are countless charities that go around the world to make it a better place. When a crisis occurs, the US is where they turn for help. Many of the people who donate and work with charities do so on the groundroots level via local charities and churches. I know many who contribute time and money who are conservative. They don't want their names in lights, but they also don't like it that their contributions are ignored. The solution for many of our problems will not and cannot a liberal solution, nor will it be a conservative solution. But it must be pragmatic and practical. Right now what the administration is offering is the same as Extreme Home Makeover-all the goodies with no strings attached. Unfortunately, there are always strings attached.

Update: Mexican Zetas Drug Cartels Invade US Territory in Laredo?

Update: Mexican Zetas Drug Cartels Invade US Territory in Laredo?

Another Excuse For Honor Killings

Please, tell me again about Islam-the religion of peace. Tell me how women are free, even though they can be stoned to death based on nothing more than rumors. Tell me how high minded Islam is in regard to children, that can be used as shields, bartered for trade or killed outright for any infringment of parental authority regardless of the law of the land.

Now tell me that Canada is not complicit in allowing this to happen. Tell me that allowing the women who murdered her own daughter somehow deserves freedom of house arrest while her daughter lies dead in her grave. This is political correctness gone mad. To allow this based on the previous sufferings of the mother is to give tacit approval to sharia law and by association to a host of abusive family behaviors just because Canadian courts are too cowed by the implied threat of someone being mad at them.

Shame on you Canada, shame.

"(CTV News Calgary) — Lawyers for a Calgary woman who killed her 14-year-old daughter during a fight say she shouldn’t go to prison.

A judge is hearing sentencing arguments in the case of Aset Magomadova.

She was convicted of manslaughter for strangling her daughter Aminat in 2007 with a scarf.

During her trial, Magomadova testified that Aminat attacked her with a chair and threatened her with a knife.

The teen had a history of drug abuse.

Prosecutors say Magomadova should spend 12 years in prison.

Much of the focus of the hearing is on the trauma Magomadova suffered during the Chechen War.

A psychologist is on the stand Wednesday talking about Magomadova’s mental state.

The 39-year-old refugee’s husband was killed by a bomb in Chechnya.

She was badly wounded during the Chechen war.

When she came here in 2003, her children had a tough time adjusting to life in Canada.

Aminat got in trouble with the law and drugs.

But prosecutors point out that Magomadova showed no remorse or even regret for her daughter’s death.

They say she sees herself as the victim.

Doctor Patrick Baillie says Magomadova suffered from post traumatic stress disorder."

THERE IS NO EXCUSE.

How Come We Didn't Hear About This in 2008?

It seems something strange is happening in regards to the DNC. Suddenly all those claims that voter fraud occurred are starting to take on lives of their own. I witnessed voter intimidation as Obama supporters surged into a caucus and took over the meeting. Whereas the Texas polling was fairly close, former Clinton strongholds were suddenly tipping for Obama. Now a documentary has come out. And it's by a Democrat who is appalled at what is happening to polling places and voters in the name of controlling power. To keep up, just this week it was released that felons who may not have had the permission to vote, votes for Al Franken, putting him in office. And then the Big One, Obama campaigns strongarmed many precincts in many states into submission. There are some big questions to be answered and the Clinton campaign tried to get the media to pay attention, but they were too busy with the coronation of Obama. Right now I see Hilary sitting back and watching it all unfold. It doesn't hurt that her old hunting buddy James Carville is polling negatives for teh DNC right. In short, there is trouble in DNC paradise.
http://www.noquarterusa.net/blog/2008/05/04/texas-caucus-fraud/
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EGZFgMNM-UU
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BXNqFQmGxDU
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o4XFvq5XMk8
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cnclKiHwatw

Did Obama Steal the Primary

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ccbd4DbpS4c&feature=player_embedded

On Impeachment: A Serious Discussion

In browsing through Half Price Books Political Section, I came across the book entitled "The Genuis of Impeachment: The Founders' Cure for Royalism" by John Nichols. Written during the GWB years, and including a forward by Gore Vidal, well known radical Leftist, I expected it to be more or less a diatribe against the Bush Administration. To an extent, it was. But there were also quotes from Founders and previous elected officials and presidents that apply in depth to this administration. The application to current events has as much to do with time as with people. Many of those who are currently rallying to protect this administration from impeachment are the same folks who as young congressmen and women were actively involved in The Impeachment in the form of the Nixon presidency and resignation. Because so many of them are still in office, they tend to believe that their party holds some sort of moral supremacy simply based on their partisanship. Read some of the comments below and ask yourself if it doesn't make you stop and go hmmmmm.......My comments are in blue

"Every government degenerates when trusted to the rulers of the people alone."--Thomas Jefferson
We are increasingly approaching a day when common decisions by free individuals will be taken out of their hands. We have already seen the subjugation of a large part of the population via the vehicles of public assistance. Assistance means help, but what help is it when in order to recieve money you must jettison marriage and male parents leaving broken families in the wake. This is the legacy of public assistance and it's result is generational poverty with the offshoots of crime, illegitimacy, addiction and death.

"No point is of more importance than that the right of impeachment shall be continued. Shall any man be above Justice?"--George Mason, Father of the Bill of Rights addressing the Constitutional Convention 1787
Consider for a moment that the use of a crisis, any crisis, to leverage partisan legislation has already been disingenuously used by the current administration. They have breeched the trust of the people through hiding the true costs and the mechanisms and agencies used to enforce their agenda. The healthcare bill would be one example, but the positioning for Immigration is also one that allows citizens to be imperiled while the adminsitration uses incipient danger to push their cause in a panic mode. No legislation should be compelled by such extortive methods.

"If the impeachment provision in the Constitution of the United States will not reach the offenses charged here, then perhaps that eighteenth century document should be abandoned to a twentieth century paper shredder."--Barbara Jordan in reference to the Nixon impeachment
We currently have a candidate for the Supreme Court that is of the school of thought that the Constitution is a "living document" and that it must conform to the fluidity of political thought. By that light, we no longer have structure in government, but instead have a type of magic carpet mentality that would allow for fluidity in the face of the rule of law. This is the type of situational ethics that allows for illegal immigrants to work, receive services and live in this nation without contibuting in the same way citizens are expected to respond.

"Some say this is a sad day in American history. I think it could perhaps be one of our brightest days. It could be really a test of the strength of our Constitution, because what I think it means to most Americans is that when any president violates his sacred oath of office, the people are not left helpless." --Con. Charles Rangel
I wonder if Charles Rangel now would echo those words, of if he simply wrapped himself in the Constitution when it suited his purposes.

"I am fully aware that many American people consider that the president is being attached by sinister forces in this country, by the left-wing press or by the Democrats, and I can assure this gentleman that it matters not to me his party or his position. He is subject to the rule of law and to justice, and in my role under my oath he will get it, be he president or be he pauper."--James Mann, referencing the Nixon impeachment
Note that President Obama has banished Fox News and repeatedly complained about unfair treatment any time his actions are called into question. This type of childish behavior calls into question whether citizens are even allowed to question the actions of the administration. Indeed, in the more liberal media circles, such doubting would be hooted down with cries labeling you as racist or rednecked or simply stupid. This is the type of treatment that groups such as Tea Partyers, Sarah Palin Supporters and others have recieved regularly. The fact that a wealthy background supporter funds groups organized to disrupt, brings into question the propriety of having such a person regularly giving input to national issue.

"To announce that there must be no criticism of the president, or that we are to stand by the president, right or wrong is not only unpatriotic ans servile, but it is morally treasonable to the American People."---President Theodore RooseveltTreasonable.
That's an interesting term. So if the compliant media, in failing to allow criticism and indeed in framing public addresses such as the one in Grand Isle, LA in such a light that favors the White House and President Obama, is shielding the president from criticism, are they committing treason? And if they are getting suggestions for stories or angles that flatter the White House, are they in fact abdicating their roles as members of a "free press?

"I do not believe that our people can tolerate the formation of a presidential precedent which would permit any occupant of the White House to exercise his untrammeled discreation to take over the industry, communications system or other forms of private interprise in the name of "emergency." --George Bender, Republican of Ohio in reference to Truman's takeover of the steel industry, 1952
Note how many industrial bases have been taken over by this president in power. Automaking, banking, mortgage loans, medical services, drug manufacturing and more. If we are truly a free enterprise economy, those corporations that did bad things would fail. Instead we propped them up and at a great cost to this generation and future ones in the form of taxes. This would seem to grossly overstep the powers of the Chief Executive's office and be almost a type of coercion for compliance within political circles as in a "don't rock the boat" type message.

"The powers of impeachment is the Constitution's paramount power of self-preservation."--Robert McClory, Republican of Illinois, 1974
Once again, the collusion of partisan ideals between Legislative and Executive Branches of government leave the Judiciary as the only possibility of recourse or dissent. Stacking the court with partisans that accept situational ethics over Constitutional rule of law will permit egregious actions in absolute defiance to the will of the people. It is dangerous.

"When the Chief Executive of the country starts to investigate private citizens who criticize his policies or authorizes subordinates to do such things,then I think the rattle of the chains that would bind up our constitutional freedoms can be heard, and it is against this rattle that we should awake and say no."--Con. William Cohen, Maine, in regards to the Nixon impeachment
There have been repeated suggestions that President Obama might be given the power to control the Internet. Already the ability to oppose the government in the media is being attacked via the misnamed "Fairness Act" that would impose programming limitations intending to drive largely conservative Talk Radio off the air. There are also actions in play to subsidize failing newspapers. How objective do you believe these news outlets would be when the government controls what they receive. One of the first actions taken by usurpers and tyrants is to control the media. When we have these messages being accepted by members of one party, everyone should be concerned. Absolute power corrupts absolutely.

" ..For Barr, it had never been about sex with interns. He had become enraged at a much earlier stage in the Clitnon presidency, after it was revealed that White House staffers had obtained confidential files on Republican officials, apparently for political purposes...'Initially, primarily watching the way the people in the White House operate, it rasied some very serious questions in my mind. They didn't seem to care at all what the law allowed then to do or prohibited them from doing.....'What bothers me most is the abuse of power'...'The Constitution provides a mechanism, a political tool for a political offense.In our system of government, the only vehicle we have to remove somebody from office, if they abuse their office, is impeachment."--quote from book by John Nichols, referencing Con. Bob Barr, Georgia, on the impeachment of President Clinton, 1997
It's ironic that political history parallels sports history. When SMU was given the Death Penalty by the NCAA, the devastation of their athletic programs made the NCAA hesitant to give such a penalty to larger players in places like Alabama, Nebraska, Oklahoma for fear of similar total meltdowns. After the impeachment of Nixon and his resignation in disgrace, many in Congress were reluctant to approach the idea of impeachment even though many of the crimes noted were just as bad or worse in the Clinton White House. Such reticence continues although within the general population outside the Beltway, people are repeatedly asking why this adminsitration continues to behave in such highly partisan and destructive ways. The punishment of Red States through dismissal of their claims or dithering, as witnessed with the Oil Spill, is causing many to fear that this has become yet another Imperial Presidency where there is retribution and revenge exacted for failure to comply with their agenda.
"Our country is in danger, but not to be despaired of. Our enemies are numerous and powerful; but we have many firends, detemining to be free and heaven adn earth witll aid the resolution. On you depends the fortunes of America. You are to decide the important question, on which rests the happiness and liberty of millions yet unborn. Acti worthy of yourselves."--Joseph Warrne, Boston Massacre Oration, 1775
And, I would add, Remember in November.

University of Illinois Instructor Fired Over Catholic Beliefs

The following story deals with intellectual narrowing of our universities. A Catholic professor, teaching a course on Catholicism is anonymously accused of hatespeech for daring to claim that he conforms to the belief that homosexuality is flawed. The University of Illinois is no long a true university as it only allows for the limited expression as defined by the politically correct and the politically leftist mentality. This is wrong. It smacks of the turning over of those that failed to adhere to the Communist Party Line during the bad old days of the USSR. What next? Pogroms? At what point are Americans going to be allowed to truly have freedom of speech, freedom of thought. This is appalling. University of Illinois should be ASHAMED.
University of Illinois Instructor Fired Over Catholic Beliefs