'The Trouble with Textbooks' spells out flaws

'The Trouble with Textbooks' spells out flaws - USATODAY.com

The researchers say they found a politically active, vocal minority — especially within Middle East studies departments — that held strong anti-Israel positions. Many of the same professors holding what the researchers found were strong political biases are often tapped to review K-12 social studies, history and geography textbooks, which explain religious history, among other topics, to very young children, the institute says.

So authors Gary Tobin and Dennis Ybarra looked at 28 textbooks over nearly five years — finding what they call "glaring distortions and inaccuracies," many centered on the books' treatment of Israel, Judaism and Christianity. Aside from their findings on how religions are treated, their new book, The Trouble With Textbooks (Lexington Books, $21.95), which appeared on shelves this fall, in part explores problems with the textbook approval process.

Obama likely to name Hillary Clinton to Cabinet. But wait! Can he?

Obama likely to name Hillary Clinton to Cabinet. But wait! Can he?

"As pointed out by a number of bloggers in recent hours, including our eloquent friend Susan over at Wake Up America, there's a clause in the U.S. Constitution (Article One, Section Six) that prohibits senators (or representatives) from taking a civil office if the legislator has voted to increase the pay for that job.

'No Senator or Representative shall, during the Time for which he was elected, be appointed to any civil Office under the Authority of the United States which shall have been created, or the Emoluments whereof shall have been increased during such time; and no Person holding any Office under the United States, shall be a Member of either House during his Continuance in Office.'"

Ernest Benn

Politics is the art of looking for trouble, finding it whether it exists or not, diagnosing it incorrectly, and applying the wrong remedy.
- Ernest Benn

Words vs Deeds, Part 2: Obama Pledges Discipline

Discipline? That's a four-letter word to Democrats. They're not known for anything even approaching discipline, unless it involves being in lockstep when taxing the people.

Obama has already pledged far more that any "discipline" could ever begin to control. 1.4 TRILLION US dollars for the economic emergency alone, and he hasn't yet taken office.

So get real, Barry. You fooled a lot of people and got yourself elected, but don't rely on that stupidity to keep us all out of a depression.

Obama Pledges Discipline Even With Stimulus Outlays - WSJ.com:
"President-elect Barack Obama on Tuesday emphasized his commitment to fiscal responsibility, promising that his team would strip the federal budget of all unnecessary spending to help offset large outlays expected for his planned stimulus package.

But Mr. Obama didn't provide many specifics, and he gave little sense of how he would tackle entitlement programs like Medicare and Social Security. Few experts believe the budget deficit can be brought under control without trimming spending on these programs."

How Naive he is: Obama wants BlackBerry

So Obama really thinks, as leader of the free world, that he'll have time for his toys?

Work-life balance: Obama wants BlackBerry, kids who do chores - The Boston Globe: "In an interview aired yesterday on ABC, he said that he is negotiating with the Secret Service, lawyers, and White House staffers on how he can keep his BlackBerry, which he sees as essential to staying connected to the real world."

Clinton-Weather Underground Connection

The (former Weatherman) Ayers-Obama connection is well-told. However, there's another connection from the Clinton years, a really wild one:

The "ex-Weathermen" never really gave it up.

On October 20, 1981 -- long after the Weather Underground had ceased to exist -- former Underground member Kathy Boudin and her soon-to-be husband, David Gilbert, were accomplices in the robbery of a Brinks armored car in Nyack, New York. In the course of that heist, one Brinks guard and two Nyack police officers were murdered. Also involved in the robbery was Judith Clark, who had served a prison term for her participation in the "Days of Rage."

http://www.discoverthenetworks.org/groupProfile.asp?grpid=6808

In 1985, former Weather Underground members Susan Rosenberg (who also was implicated in the Nyack robbery) and Linda Evans were apprehended while transporting 740 pounds of explosives which they both acknowledged were slated for use in additional bombings. Rosenberg was sentenced to 58 years in prison, Evans 40...

There must have been some sort of political connection:

President Bill Clinton pardoned both women in January 2001.

http://www.discoverthenetworks.org/groupProfile.asp?grpid=6808

In 2005, Susan Rosenburg was hired by Hamilton College in NY to teach a writing course.

http://www.discoverthenetworks.org/individualProfile.asp?indid=1806

WTF?

Shoot Yourself In the Foot, Part 1: Bill Ayers

Today, I was discussing Bill Ayers's ability to succeed despite his being an unreformed political bomber in the late 1960's as part of the Weathermen group.

Ayers and the Weathermen were protesting the US government's actions in and around the world, citing the U.S. as "imperialist," lying to the world and mistreating its own citizens.

In opposition to Ayers' claims that his targets were "only buildings," the Weathermen were caught red-handed making nail bombs (why do you need nails if the bombs aren't anti-personnel?). One of these bombs went off while they were making it in their bomb factory in NYC, setting the building on fire and destroying it. In discussing details of the acts on the phone, Ayers was arrested. His prosecution fell through, however, when it was discovered that the wiretaps forming the core of the prosecution's case were gotten illegally, and therefore inadmissible as evidence. Ayers went free, to later become a college professor at the University of Chicago, where he is today. Ayers believes he and the Weathermen "did not go far enough." He remains unrepentant.

What occurs to me is that the very things Ayers and the Weathermen were against were the same things which saved him. No government hit squads came forward to kill him; no shadowy figures shuffled him off into the night, black bag over his head, never to be heard from again. Unless you are a political slug under a rock, you know that Ayers is still very much among us, very much the same person he was in the 1960s and 1970s.

I'm not sure what to label Ayers. It's certainly worth noting that for all his education and supposed intellect, he is unable to see that the US justice system worked - in his favor. Let's remember that J. Edgar Hoover was very much in charge of the FBI while Ayers was active as a bomber. Hoover's FBI was not your mother's FBI. No agent came forward to put out his lights, or to manufacture evidence against him. Ayers was treated above-board, with honesty, and in the light of day. Something that the Weathermen didn't afford their victims.

Ayers is a lucky man to live in the U.S., where he is apparently free to not only advocate terrorism, but to act it out as long as he covers his tracks well enough. Most other countries around the world would have whacked him and been done with it. But the United States of America is a nation of laws, ones which even our government - to the contrary of Ayers's and the Weathermen's beliefs- holds dear.

When Pictures Annoy

See this picture of President-elect Obama? What's up with it? One doesn't even need to look closely. I'm referring to that wretched "Office of the President Elect [sic]" sign.

Grammar errors notwithstanding, Obama has on occasion said that he is not yet president, then dodged comment on pressing national matters. But that prominent sign implies that, yes, I am President.

I've been focusing lately on the disconnect between Obama's words and his deeds. It bears watching.

Words, and Deeds

ABC News: Obama Promotes Fiscal Restraint, Big Spending:

"President-elect Barack Obama wants to project fiscal restraint even as his economic team assembles a massive recovery package that could cost several hundred billion dollars."

What's your opinion of teachers?

My father's second career was as an elementary education teacher. I myself taught, but at university level. The similarity is that we both came away with the same opinion: that we have handed over over our future to the worst we have in society: teachers.

My experience in higher education is that those who teach are simply not very bright. If they were, they'd be successful in other, better-paying ventures. At least, they all acted as though they'd rather be elsewhere. (My personal anecdote du jour concerns a woman who was in my graduate program; she was the biggest pain in the arse, interrupted teachers constantly, had never worked in the field, and announced repeatedly that she was going into education.) The one thing that, to a man, at which these folks were good was playing the political game that is academia. That game is why I left education.

So if you read below, you will see the fruits of education's labor: people know absolutely nothing about the government which controls them, and the world in which they live. I am appalled, but not surprised. We all love to see late night TV's jokes and videos of people making fools of themselves, but the problem is so widespread as to threaten US security, because ignorant people affect the economy.

Now, I'm far from a Marxist, but Karl Marx had much to say about the means by which a government controls its people that was correct. Some of it involves state apparati such as schools; keeping people in the dark enables the government to feed them whatever they wish. It's because of this that we have the lawmakers that we have. People never demand better, because they don't know what "better" is. Therefore, there is no impetus for lawmakers to actually improve education. To do so would expose them, and threaten their gravy train.

To paraphrase a popular bumper sticker, if you don't know anything about America, thank a teacher.

US officials flunk test of American history, economics, civics - Yahoo! News:

WASHINGTON (AFP) – US elected officials scored abysmally on a test measuring their civic knowledge, with an average grade of just 44 percent, the group that organized the exam said Thursday.

Ordinary citizens did not fare much better, scoring just 49 percent correct on the 33 exam questions compiled by the Intercollegiate Studies Institute (ISI).

"It is disturbing enough that the general public failed ISI's civic literacy test, but when you consider the even more dismal scores of elected officials, you have to be concerned," said Josiah Bunting, chairman of the National Civic Literacy Board at ISI.

"How can political leaders make informed decisions if they don't understand the American experience?" he added.

The exam questions covered American history, the workings of the US government and economics.

Among the questions asked of some 2,500 people who were randomly selected to take the test, including "self-identified elected officials," was one which asked respondents to "name two countries that were our enemies during World War II."

Sixty-nine percent of respondents correctly identified Germany and Japan. Among the incorrect answers were Britain, China, Russia, Canada, Mexico and Spain.

Forty percent of respondents, meanwhile, incorrectly believed that the US president has the power to declare war, while 54 percent correctly answered that that power rests with Congress.

Asked about the electoral college, 20 percent of elected officials incorrectly said it was established to "supervise the first televised presidential debates."

In fact, the system of choosing the US president via an indirect electoral college vote dates back some 220 years, to the US Constitution.

The question that received the fewest correct responses, just 16 percent, tested respondents' basic understanding of economic principles, asking why "free markets typically secure more economic prosperity than government's centralized planning?"

Activities that dull Americans' civic knowledge include talking on the phone and watching movies or television -- even news shows and documentaries, ISI said.

Meanwhile, civic knowledge is enhanced by discussing public affairs, taking part in civic activities and reading about current events and history, the group said.

The Guantanamo Quandry

I was thinking about what do with the Guantanamo prisoners. Quite a conundrum; these were people caught on the battlefield trying to kill Americans with sworn allegiances to Al-Qaeda, who is sworn to eradicate America. They're POWs - sort of. They're terrorists in the war on Terror. We already know that many who have already been released go back to terrorist activities. They can't be released.

Further, Americans on the left are in an uproar over it. They seem to think Guantanamo should be closed entirely. This isn't a far-fetched possibility, either. Obama will probably close Guantanamo immediately after he is sworn in.

But as usual, I have a solution.

The folks on the left are quite adamant that the detainees be released. If you recall, they are also quite adamant that illegal aliens be allowed to live and do their thing in the US. So, why not just pack up Guantanamo and release all the terrorist detainees in San Francisco? Even better, release them in front of the homes of judges who issue orders that they be released. The Ninth Circuit will love that.

I like win-win situations, don't you?


FOXNews.com - Federal Judge Orders Release of 5 Terror Suspects Held at Guantanamo Bay Prison - Local News | News Articles | National News | US News:

"WASHINGTON — A federal judge ordered the release of five Algerian terror suspects held without charges at Guantanamo Bay prison for almost seven years.

In the first civilian court ruling for terror suspects challenging their detention, U.S. District Judge Richard J. Leon said Thursday that the five men could not be held indefinitely as enemy combatants."

So Much for History at Hopkins

How ironic that a group which uses it's own time and money to preserve history will get the cold shoulder from one of the most prestigious universities in the world.

A word to Hopkins: no matter what you think is correct, you can't change what happened through your politics.

Don't think this is unique to Hopkins, either; most universities (and I've worked at a couple of them) are so far left as to be considered extremist.

With this in the news, doesn't it make you wonder about 1), their commitment to diversity of ideas, and 2), the veracity of what they teach?

Hopkins balks at Confederate banner -- baltimoresun.com:

"Hopkins has informed the Maryland divisions of the United Daughters of the Confederacy and the Sons of Confederate Veterans that it will not rent space to them. The Jan. 17 event is scheduled for only a few days before the inauguration of the nation's first African-American president. The university received complaints after the march last January and says that it no longer wants to see the Confederate flag flying on campus."

The American voter turns left - or does he?

News organizations and editors and pundits, oh my! They're all touting the reasons why Obama won - that the economy has turned voters to the left, that incumbents were paying the price for whatever they've done, etc. I have a different take.

Surely, the Democrats didn't win on the facts. In 2006 voters gifted to the Dems the US Congress, and since then not one damned thing has been accomplished, other than blaming George Bush for what they could have done themselves. Democrats won across the board because voters are either too busy or too stupid or just plain too ignorant to know what's in their own best interests. So much so, that voters, 9 times out of 10, pick the wrong guy. They vote on emotion, because they don't know enough to vote with their brains.

There's a documentary out called Media Malpractice, in which people are interviewed who have just voted for Obama. Across the board, they can't even name one of his policies, nor can they name the top 2 Democrats - people in their own party. This kind of ignorance on the part of voters has many - including John Stossel, noted journalist for ABC news, thinking there should be some sort of voter qualification. I agree. But it surely won't be based on the public educational system. I digress, however...

The American voter really has no idea what's going on, therefore he votes with his gut, votes with the feelings put into him by the media. And we know how that's been for the last decade, at least.

I'd like to say that the media is largely responsible for the dumbing of the voter , but that's really not fair. People have to take responsibility for their own actions - a basic American tenet we may see disappear if the country does turn. The American in general is too busy maintaining his obesity, or buying the latest gadget, or mis-parenting his child. See, too busy to be concerned with less important things, like the government about which he will do nothing but complain.

We should ask for better, certainly from our politicians, but also demand a media free from ideology. Freedom depends on it. But first, we have to know enough to know when we're being fed a trough of swill.


Washington Times - Economy turns voters left, but may delay agenda

Breitbart.tv » ‘Media Malpractice’: Documentary Reveals How Little Obama Voters Knew About Issues

Napoleon

"Glory is fleeting, but obscurity is forever.
- Napoleon Bonaparte"

Murdoch to media: You dug yourself a huge hole

Murdoch to media: You dug yourself a huge hole | Coop's Corner - CNET News:

"With newspapers cutting back, and predictions of even worse times ahead, Rupert Murdoch said the profession may still have a bright future, if it can shake free of reporters and editors who he said have forfeited the trust and loyalty of their readers.

'My summary of the way some of the established media has responded to the Internet is this: It's not newspapers that might become obsolete. It's some of the editors, reporters, and proprietors who are forgetting a newspaper's most precious asset: the bond with its readers,' said Murdoch, the chairman and chief executive of News Corp. He made his remarks as part of a lecture series sponsored by the Australian Broadcast Corporation.

Murdoch, whose company's holdings also include MySpace and The Wall Street Journal, criticized what he described as a culture of 'complacency and condescension' in some newsrooms.

'The complacency stems from having enjoyed a monopoly--and now finding they have to compete for an audience they once took for granted. The condescension that many show their readers is an even bigger problem. It takes no special genius to point out that if you are contemptuous of your customers, you are going to have a hard time gettin"

Is Bailout Possible Without UAW Concessions?

ABC News: Is Bailout Possible Without UAW Concessions?:

"As the union joins GM, Ford and Chrysler in seeking emergency funds, it is also fighting to preserve jobs, wages and benefits for its members -- a position some observers say is untenable, given the industry's dire situation."

Al-Qaida No. 2 insults Obama with racial epithet

The Associated Press: Al-Qaida No. 2 insults Obama with racial epithet:

"CAIRO, Egypt (AP) — Al-Qaida's No. 2 leader used a racial epithet to insult Barack Obama in a message posted Wednesday, using a demeaning racial term implying that the president-elect is a black American who does the bidding of whites.

The message appeared chiefly aimed at persuading Muslims and Arabs that Obama does not represent a change in U.S. policies. Ayman al-Zawahri said in the message, which appeared on militant Web sites, that Obama is 'the direct opposite of honorable black Americans' like Malcolm X, the 1960s African-American rights leader.

In al-Qaida's first response to Obama's victory, al-Zawahri also called the president-elect — along with secretaries of state Colin Powell and Condoleezza Rice — 'house negroes.'"

UAW Blackmails Congress

Bailout Watch 218: Gettelfinger Blackmails Congress | The Truth About Cars:

(from the article): UAW President Ron Gettelfinger is joining Detroit’s two-day testimonial of shame in Washington DC today, and in case there was any suspense about what he would say, he leaked his notes to the Detroit News. The shameless audacity of his position shouldn’t come as a surprise, given his (and his organization’s) track record. Still, it might just take your breath away a little. Step one on the Gettelfinger formula for success, prove that the D3 are going under. Not hard. Step two, refuse to do anything about it. “We do not believe there is any justification for conditioning assistance to the Detroit-based auto companies on further deep cuts in wages and benefits for active and retired workers. We would also note that in the cases where the Treasury Department has acted to rescue financial institutions, it has only imposed restrictions on executive compensation. It has never mandated cuts in wages or benefits for rank-and-file workers and retirees. Thus, there is no basis for singling out the auto industry for different treatment,” says Gettelfinger in his prepared remarks. Step three? Blackmail, baby.

Exact details of Gettelfinger’s threats to congress have been partially paraphrased by the DetN, but the message is clear. “The liquidation of the Detroit-based auto companies would have devastating consequences for millions of retirees, Gettelfinger’s remarks said. A failure of the pension plans of the automakers could require immediate government intervention and a shifting of those responsibilities to the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corp, or PBGC. To ‘prevent the collapse of the PBGC, which would jeopardize the retirement security of millions of workers and retirees, the federal government would have to provide a huge bailout for the pension guarantee program. Furthermore, under existing law, the federal government would be liable for a 65 percent tax credit to cover the health care costs of pre-Medicare auto retirees costing about $3 billion per year.’” In other words, Gettelfinger seems to think he’s got congress by the short hairs, and he clearly doesn’t mind giving them a gentle shake.

What he hell is he doing?

Washington Times - Obama sets sights on overhaul of football's BCS playoffs

As if there weren't enough troubles for the feds, Obama has to step his foot in this one - something not relevant to the vast majority of citizens.

Clinton 2.0?

Harry On China: Could the Economic bust in the US be a good thing in the long run?

Harry On China: Could the Economic bust in the US be a good thing in the long run?

Melanin Politics

Countries foreign to the US have often criticized the US for our supposed "treatment" of minorities, particularly in politics. These include the UK, France and Germany, our main European allies, who themselves have large ethnic populations.

How is it, then, that none of them have ever had presidents or prime ministers that were anything other than Caucasian?

"Pot, you're black," said the kettel.

Quotes Relevant to our Last Election

"So this is how liberty dies. With thunderous applause.
- George Lucas

A wise man will make more opportunities than he finds.
- Sir Francis Bacon"

The American Voter

"To be stupid, selfish, and have good health are three requirements for happiness, though if stupidity is lacking, all is lost.
- Gustave Flaubert

So Much for Tolerance from the Left of Differing Views

Rabble.

FOXNews.com - Cross-Bearing Woman Says She Was Attacked by Gay Marriage Supporters, May Press Charges - Local News | News Articles | National News | US News

MSNBC Retracts False Palin Story; Others Duped - FOXNews.com Elections

MSNBC, Obama's on-air "partner," made a false and derogatory claim about Sarah Palin, and claims it was the "victim" of a hoax. Hmmm....

The job of a news agency is to report events of consequence truthfully and accurately; in my mind, no news agency can be the victim of a hoax, because of the checks that must be in place. In all my journalism classes and experience, the overarching thing stressed is to get confirmation; to make sure the story is true before moving with it. MSNBC has shown itself to be nothing but a bunch of pikers - rank amateurs - in journalism.

This comes on the heels of Chris Matthews saying that his job as a journalist was to help Obama succeed; I kid you not.

Here is further proof that MSNBC cannot be taken seriously as a news entity.


MSNBC Retracts False Palin Story; Others Duped - FOXNews.com Elections:

"NEW YORK -- MSNBC was the victim of a hoax when it reported that an adviser to John McCain had identified himself as the source of an embarrassing story about former vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin, the network said Wednesday.

David Shuster, an anchor for the cable news network, said on air Monday that Martin Eisenstadt, a McCain policy adviser, had come forth and identified himself as the source of a FOX News Channel story saying Palin had mistakenly believed Africa was a country instead of a continent.

Eisenstadt identifies himself on a blog as a senior fellow at the Harding Institute for Freedom and Democracy. Yet neither he nor the institute exist; each is part of a hoax dreamed up by a filmmaker named Eitan Gorlin and his partner, Dan Mirvish, the New York Times reported Wednesday."

Out of the Mouths of...

The United States is a nation of laws: badly written and randomly enforced.
- Frank Zappa

Open Letter to Congress: Had it with money-grubbing barstards

Sirs:

At first I was in favor of the $700B bailout of Wall St. But now no more. ABC is reporting that these same companies who are to be assisted by federal money are planning to give out $11B in bonuses to the same people who caused the crisis. That's not right.

http://abcnews.go.com/Business/Economy/story?id=6230878&page=1

There are 3 things I would like to see happen to the bailout money:

1. NO bailout for the auto industries, unless it involves a complete suspension of the contracts concerning labor. The UAW is single-handedly responsible for the bankruptcy of this entire industry. It's time the workers were paid what they're worth, which is approximately half of what they get. If they don't want that, I can think of 12 million illegal aliens who will happily do the work.
2. The Wall St bailout - for which the 700B was originally intended, must be rescinded. If they have enough money to give out bonuses, then they have enough to rescue themselves. And if they don't, then so be it. Americans will have to hunker down and wait until the storm passes. Yes, it will be bad, but we have no other way to learn. Perhaps we're too far away from the Great Depression to really feel what it was like.
3. Now, even cities which have mismanaged their own tax revenue are trying to get their claws into the bailout money. The money was never intended for that, and repercussions should be swift and severe, but local, for the politicians responsible for those problems. Philadelphia comes to mind. Philly elected that idiot of a mayor; they should deal with him, not the country. No taxation without representation?

In sum, I urge you to withdraw the entire $700B package immediately, and rescue no one.

So, the Media's Not in the Tank?

Here's Chris "Obama gives me a tingle up my leg" Matthews in his own words:

CJR: Chris Matthews: "My Job Is to Help This Country":

"MATTHEWS: You know what? I want to do everything I can to make this thing work, this new presidency work.
SCARBOROUGH: Is that your job? You just talked about your being a journalist.
MATTHEWS: Yeah, that’s my job. My job is to help this country.
SCARBOROUGH: So your job as a journalist is to make this presidency work?
MATTHEWS: To make this work successfully, because this country needs a successful presidency, more than anything right now….
BRZEZINSKI: Well, I’m a little confused about what the job is here, because of course we all want things to work, but I’m not sure it’s our job. Rick Stengel, in terms of, when someone is—
MATTHEWS: How can you not root for the success of a new president?
BRZEZINSKI: You know what? I just think, well, it’s going to be important to ask questions.
SCARBOROUGH: As Americans, Chris Matthews, we are all rooting for the success of Barack Obama. America is at a perilous time. But you just talked about being a journalist, and your job as a journalist is not to question motives—and then, two seconds later, you said your job was to make this presidency a success. We’re just—that’s curious."

Buying Congress

The honest politician is one who, when he is bought, stays bought.
~ U.S. Senator Simon Cameron (1862)

Interesting: UN and Zionism

TheFreeDictionary

"The UN General Assembly's Resolution 3379 equated the philosophy of Zionism, which is concerned with the support and development of the State of Israel as a Jewish homeland, with racism. The resolution was revoked in 1991, but majority votes of various UN agencies continued to assert that 'Zionism is racism.' Further complicating the matter was the fact that it was the UN's 1947 Partition Plan that first led to the establishment of the State of Israel"

Post–Racial Preference America by Ken Blackwell on National Review Online

Post–Racial Preference America by Ken Blackwell on National Review Online:

"Racial preferences harm minorities. Quotas — the purest form of racial preference — often disadvantage the very people they are intended to help. They are originally intended as floors. If a school has a 20-percent African-American quota, then the school must have at least 20 percent. But studies show that the floor eventually becomes a ceiling. When the mandate is 20 percent, then institutions do not go above that number. Such institutions end up targeting that number, taking the best-qualified applicants from that minority pool, rejecting the rest. A 20-percent quota may secure 20 percent, but it bars the possibility of 30 percent, 40 percent or 50 percent, even if there are enough superbly qualified applicants from that group to merit 50 percent of the available positions.

So not only are such preferential measures unconstitutional, they are also harmful. It bears out the wisdom of our constitutional scheme that this country must throw open the doors of opportunity to all, and not prefer one over another.

This will be a challenge for President-elect Obama when he nominates Supreme Court justices. He has promised to nominate liberal judges such as Ruth Bader Ginsburg, who has voted to uphold every racial-preference program reaching the Supreme Court. But the fact that he won the presidency and will now hold the power to appoint Supreme Court justices demonstrates that racial preferences are unnecessary.

Many challenges await President-elect Obama. One of those challenges will be how to represent the change Americans want when it comes to ending racial preferences.

— Ken Blackwell, a former Ohio secretary of state, is a senior fellow at the American Civil Rights Union.

Is One Known by Those Who Praise Him?

Ayers. Jeremiah Johnson. Farrakhan. Quite a triumvirate.

ABC News: Farrakhan Says Obama Draws a 'Oneness of Spirit':

"Farrakhan, who said Obama draws a 'oneness of spirit' from all people, admitted he stayed quiet about his support for Obama during the past few months out of fear his words would harm the Illinois senator's bid for the White House."

They're all Crooked

ABC News: Emanuel Was Director Of Freddie Mac During Scandal:

"President-elect Barack Obama's newly appointed chief of staff, Rahm Emanuel, served on the board of directors of the federal mortgage firm Freddie Mac at a time when scandal was brewing at the troubled agency and the board failed to spot 'red flags,' according to government reports reviewed by ABCNews.com.

According to a complaint later filed by the Securities and Exchange Commission, Freddie Mac, known formally as the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation, misreported profits by billions of dollars in order to deceive investors between the years 2000 and 2002."

Editorial: Why the GM/Cerberus/Chrysler Bailout is bad for taxpayers and doomed to fail without the benefits of a Chapter 11 filing for both Chrysler and GM | The Truth About Cars

Editorial: Why the GM/Cerberus/Chrysler Bailout is bad for taxpayers and doomed to fail without the benefits of a Chapter 11 filing for both Chrysler and GM | The Truth About Cars:

"GM, GMAC and Chrysler are not credit worthy and are unable to borrow money on any basis, secured or unsecured."

Which means, of course, that the democrats will lend money to them.

Change is in the Eye of the Beholder

ABC News: Obama Mines Clinton Staff to Fill First Staff Jobs:

"Obama Mines Clinton Staff to Fill First Staff Jobs
After Only Two Appointments, Republicans Question Obama's Commitment to Change"

"Concierge care" a Prelude to the Coming Socialization of Medicine?

This is but one sad story of a physician taking the path away from treating traditionally-insured patients, and opting instead to beef up their income with patient-paid premiums for "personalized" care. I thought all doctors gave personalized health care, but maybe that's just me.

So are low insurance reimbursements driving doctors to this, or is it greed? Whichever, it looks to be a trend that is here to stay if medical care is in some way administered by the US government. If one looks to Canada and Britain, he will see examples of how well this works: inordinate waits (on the order of months for what is considered emergent care here, unless one is a member of a plan that guarantees faster access to a better doctor).

If one wants to stratify healthcare by class and income, making it nationalized is a hell of a good way to do it. And then the taxpayer can bail that out, too, since that seems to be the political trend these days.

Local doctors opting for concierge care:

"Dayhoff’s doctor is part of a trend of family physicians opting for personalized care, also called boutique, concierge or retainer health care.

Primary-care physicians facing low insurance reimbursement rates are forced to see thousands of patients a year to cover costs, doctors say. This overload is pushing many out of state, where reimbursement rates are higher, into specialties that pay better, or into personalized health care."

Is Big Business Responsible for Nothing?

I had high hopes for Obama, I really did. The racial thing getting tamed, having new ideas, it looked like it might be good after all. I am afraid my Hope was premature: here we go, another billion-dollar bailout for huge American business.

I'm all for keeping our guys going, but the core of this is that the taxpayers will be responsible for the negotiated deals of the UAW. Pelosi started talking that way today. I am adamantly opposed to giving money to the UAW via a bailout to the automakers.

I haven't yet decided what should happen concerning aid to the auto makers, but I know it doesn't involve taxpayers being responsible for backing bad deals. Particularly, those with the UAW (they are are their own sort of robber-baron after all), aren't part of it.

The UAW wants assurances of healthcare and retirements that they negotiated though collective bargaining with the automakers. Well, didn't Obama promise universal health care? Maybe this is a golden time to give it to the UAW and see how they like government-administerd healthcare. That would serve 'em right, too.

One more step toward socialism, and Obama hasn't even been sworn in.

The Big Three Meet With Pelosi

November 06, 2008 5:36 PM

ABC News’ Jonathan Karl reports: The CEOs for the Big Three automakers –- General Motors, Ford and Chrysler -- and the head of the United Auto Workers union met with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and the Democratic leadership this evening. Their message, apparently, was a blunt one: We need help and it can’t wait until next year.

"We need an infusion [of cash] now," a senior auto executive told me today.

Auto Maker Aid May Come With Strings - WSJ.com:

"Democratic leaders face a delicate situation. Chrysler LLC, owned by hedge fund Cerberus Capital Management LP, and GM are looking for government money to underwrite a proposed merger that could result in the loss of thousands of jobs held by members of the United Auto Workers union -- who just helped to deliver Michigan for President-elect Barack Obama. The UAW is warning Democrats against using government money to underwrite union layoffs.

Mr. Obama during the campaign expressed support for giving more federal aid to the unionized auto makers.

The UAW is backing a plan to have the government put money into trusts the auto makers and the UAW established to pay for UAW retiree health care."

'Gay' Pledge Cards Given to Kindergartners

FOXNews.com - School Clams Up on 'Gay' Pledge Cards Given to Kindergartners - Local News | News Articles | National News | US News:

"A California school system refuses to say what action, if any, it will take after it received complaints about a kindergarten teacher who encouraged her students to sign 'pledge cards' in support of gays."

optimism

"The place where optimism most flourishes is the lunatic asylum.
- Havelock Ellis"

Life After the Election: Media Fallout

Honest Harry by Myrna Blyth on National Review Online:

"Three cheers for my old pal Harry Evans. Over the weekend Sir Harry, the esteemed former editor of the London Times and the London Sunday Times, handed out some rare truth through the Guardian, one of Britain’s most liberal newspapers. In an oped piece, Evans, the husband of media queen Tina Brown, was surprisingly fair and balanced about the unfair and unbalanced press coverage of the campaign.

He complains that the American media “long ago elected the star graduate of Chicago's Democratic machine, Barack Obama.” The coverage, he writes, should be troubling to anyone old-fashioned enough to care about standards in journalism. “Forget the old notions of objectivity, fairness, thoroughness, and so on . . . the coverage has been slavishly on the side of ‘the one.’”"

Life after the Election: Catholics probe aid directed to ACORN

Washington Times - Catholics probe aid directed to ACORN:

"The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops has hired forensic accounting specialists to investigate more than $1 million in church funding to voter-registration group ACORN, fearing the money may have been spent in partisan or fraudulent ways that could jeopardize the church's tax-exempt status."

Well, Then...

Obama wins.

It was interesting to read around the blogosphere how the happy libs were dancing - and rubbing the conservatives face in it. Most telling, I thought, was one person's comment: "Suck it up, hicks!" Very nice. I hope he says that to the next plumber he pays to plunge his toilet.

I am very interested to see what transpires in the Obama administration. I seriously doubt any noticeable change will occur, given that he has already surrounded himself with the "usual suspects." I hope he stays out of trying to "govern" the monetary system. At least Clinton was smart enough to stay away from Wall Street.

My fears involve recollections of "justice" served out by the last Democratic administration: Waco TX, Elian Gonzales, Randy Weaver, Somalia, Lewinsky, failures to act concerning the 1993 WTC bombing and the USS Cole. The first three involved waging war directly on American citizens; the last two led directly to 9/11/2001, allowing Muslim terrorists to get away with it.

We take for granted the safety afforded by the Bush administration, supplanting gratitude with complaints about perceived inhibition of rights. The burden is now on Obama's shoulders, and it will be very interesting to see what changes in that regard, while maintaining the same level of safety for American citizens on American soil.

The most notable thing in this election is proof that racism is functionally dead; one of any race can think whatever he wants, but it's clear that it does not affect the performance of whites.

So let's move America beyond Affirmative Action and get to work.

Change, indeed!

Peggy Joseph Thinks She Won't Need To Worry About Paying For Her Gas And Mortgage Under Barack Obama

YouTube - Peggy Joseph Thinks She Won't Need To Worry About Paying For Her Gas And Mortgage Under Barack Obama

Blacks Intimidating Voters in Philly

Remember the brownshirts? Get used to the New America under Obama.



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=neGbKHyGuHU&eurl=http://www.weeklystandard.com/weblogs/TWSFP/2008/11/black_panther_civilian_securit.asp

Vote!

I'll come right to the point: If you're voting for Obama, you can stay home. The media has announced they have enough voters already. You can just hang around and wait for the party.

If you're voting for McCain, then get out and vote! They need voters. Maybe some of you Obama supporters can vote for McCain; Obama says he likes the idea of redistribution, so in all fairness, redistribution of the vote would even things out. Social justice demands it. That's logical.

Right?

pros and cons

"If pro is the opposite of con, then isn't progress the opposite of congress? "
~ Keith Avery

Troopergate report clears Palin

"Troopergate investigator finds Alaska governor broke no laws"

Troopergate report clears Palin - Decision '08- msnbc.com:

Get him Coffee!

An Indian walks into a cafe with a shotgun in one hand pulling a male buffalo with the other. He says to the waiter: "Want coffee."

The waiter says, "Sure, Chief. Coming right up." He gets the Indian a tall mug of coffee.

The Indian drinks the coffee down in one gulp, turns and blasts the buffalo with the shotgun, causing parts of the animal to splatter everywhere and then just walks out.

The next morning the Indian returns. He has his shotgun in one hand, pulling another male buffalo with the other. He walks up to the counter and says to the waiter, "Want coffee."

The waiter says "Whoa, Tonto! We're still cleaning up your mess from yesterday. What was all that about, anyway?"

The Indian smiles and proudly says,
"Training for position in United States Congress: Come in, drink coffee, shoot the bull, leave mess for others to clean up, disappear for rest of day."

Jefferson

'A government big enough to give you everything you want, is big enough to take away everything you have.' Thomas Jefferson

Will you ever trust the Media Again?

After the media's treatment of McCain vs Obama, can you ever trust them again?

I say this no matter whom you supported; when impartiality mattered most to give citizens the most accurate information, the mainstream media chose sides and did its best to influence what was supposed to be a fair election in the oldest democracy in the world.

Do you care? Can you trust the major networks on other matters of national importance to be fair? Is it OK for the media to "evolve" past its basic reporting capacity, to become entirely partisan analysis and commentary? If so, where will you get your accurate information?

Quotes from the Campaign

Barack Obama:

I opposed the Defense of Marriage Act in 1996. It should be repealed and I will vote for its repeal on the Senate floor. I will also oppose any proposal to amend the U.S. Constitution to ban gays and lesbians from marrying.

We need somebody who's got the heart, the empathy, to recognize what it's like to be a young teenage mom, the empathy to understand what it's like to be poor or African-American or gay or disabled or old - and that's the criterion by which I'll be selecting my judges.
Barack Obama

Issues are never simple. One thing I'm proud of is that very rarely will you hear me simplify the issues.
Barack Obama

It's not surprising, then, they get bitter, they cling to guns or religion or antipathy to people who aren't like them or anti-immigrant sentiment or anti-trade sentiment as a way to explain their frustrations.
Barack Obama

We need to steer clear of this poverty of ambition, where people want to drive fancy cars and wear nice clothes and live in nice apartments but don't want to work hard to accomplish these things. Everyone should try to realize their full potential.
Barack Obama

John Kerry believes in an America where hard work is rewarded.
Barack Obama

This is the moment when we must build on the wealth that open markets have created, and share its benefits more equitably. Trade has been a cornerstone of our growth and global development. But we will not be able to sustain this growth if it favors the few, and not the many.
Barack Obama

We can't drive our SUVs and eat as much as we want and keep our homes on 72 degrees at all times... and then just expect that other countries are going to say OK. That's not leadership. That's not going to happen.
Barack Obama

I know my country has not perfected itself. At times, we've struggled to keep the promise of liberty and equality for all of our people. We've made our share of mistakes, and there are times when our actions around the world have not lived up to our best intentions.
Barack Obama

Obama says he admired McCain when he ran a clean campaign

John McCain:

"I've served my country since I was 17 years old and spent five years longing for her shores. I came home dedicated to a cause greater than my own. Don't hope for a stronger America. Vote for one. Join me."

What to Make of America

I'm not sure what to make of America anymore. It's still the greatest country in the world - but why? Is it because of what should be - ideals - or is it just because we have more money than anyone else?

What has me in this funk is the 2008 presidential election. Not because of the way it's going, but because of WHY it's going the way it is. Hatred. Division. And not a bridge in sight. People on the left - who used to be reasonable, olive-branch-carrying folks, are now just sullen and mean and out to punish those on the right. They seem to want revenge over what they feel is a personal sleight over Bush II winning in 2 elections.

So the left moves forward to elect it's candidate, but Obama is not someone who would even be considered third rate 20 years ago. He has too much baggage. Not the skin color - being a minority has been a plus for the left. It's his associations - including his wife, who's said many disparaging things about America in her adult lifetime, as well as even during the campaign.

But in the past, even those on the left were patriots, envisioning a different society yet still embracing the ideals that made America great. No more. The left's selection - Obama - has made a choice of personal associations that means he has very different core view of America - a view that changes the fundamentals of America - where tolerance, individuality, and hard work that means rewards for the one who worked (the protestant work ethic) are revered and protected. It's been our history since Plymouth and the Pilgrims. It's a place where the government feared the people, not the other way around.

The left seems poised against this. They're certainly not tolerant, they like the "collective" more than the individual (except where it suits them), and rewards for individual effort should be redistributed to those who accomplished less. Further, the left looks to demonize folks who do well, in much that same manner as was done by the National Socialists in Germany in the 1930s. The left finds an ally in folks who - for whatever reason, be it bad luck, lack of intelligence or laziness - have done poorly for themselves. The class struggle outlined by Karl Marx gets recast to the benefit of the American left; however, make no doubt, Marxist it is.

Everyone wants success, but should success be guaranteed? It is a question of equality: America has tried to ensure an equality of opportunity. But the left wants to ensure an equality of outcome.

How do they do this? The left likes class warfare; it benefits them by giving them power. Through politics, the kind of massive social shift they envision won't be done as it should be - over long periods of time through the natural development of a society. Doing it faster has us calling it "social engineering," but whatever we call it, people have lost control of their own lives. It's a coup d’état.

But there is a very basic disconnect: what the people want, versus what they get. And here we go with politicians.

Politicians have, since forever, gotten a bad rap. Rightly so, because the modern politician does what he must to get into elected office. But the disconnect is complete when the people who put them there fail to monitor their progress and performance. How else could the multitudes of corrupt lawmakers remain where they are? I'd like to say people are stupid, but I think it's more laziness. Whatever the reason, there is a complete breakage between the people who make up American society and the lawmakers elected to do the people's business.

I can't stress this enough, because I think this is the core problem. Let me put it a different way: there is now the Political Class, and the Rest of Us. Politics is basically nonsense; human-generated compromises to "problems" that could be easily resolved by leaving things alone. It was Clinton's success with the economy - he stayed out of the way.

It's different in the 2000's. Politicians get involved in things, with all manner of unintended consequences that they could not foresee because, honestly, they're just too dumb. Most everyday people could figure out what to do just fine, but the politician - he's not so interested in results, unless it involves pleasing everyone and getting reelected. There's the rub: with self-interest at heart, the politician is incapable of commanding a solution.

So it is with political people: They're more interested in pleasing their own interests, whether it be their misguided conscience, or their fat wallet.

And then there's the Rest of Us.

What can be done? You tell me. I have called for voting every incumbent out, no matter what. And now I think that politicians should be voted out every term - fresh blood and new ideas coming in every election. Political entrenchment is a bad thing. It leads to the very status quo against which the left always rails. But given the way they vote, they seem to want it as badly as the right does. Example: Ted Kennedy; name a more entrenched politician than he.

Please leave comments. I'm really at a loss as to how to fix this, if no one in the rank and file will get on board and actually DO something.

Should we all just shut our pieholes and eat what we're being fed?

In Maryland: Giving the Governor more Money

We're talking slot machines here. It's been at the forefront of Maryland politics for close to a decade. The Democratically controlled legislature has adamantly opposed slot machines, despite former Governor Robert Ehrlich virtually begging them to let the item come up for referendum. In Maryland, Democratic lawmakers like to retain control, so nothing ever comes up for referendum. So slots went down in flames for the Republican governor.

Enter Martin O'Malley, the latest Democratic wunderkind, who after only one year in office developed a breathtakingly low approval rating. In addition, The Cato Institute found him to be the worst governor in the Union, due mostly to his tax increases with nothing to show for it. Steve Hanke, Hopkins Professor of Economics, wrote:

Gov. Martin O'Malley called Maryland's lawmakers back to Annapolis late last year for a special session of the General Assembly. The assembled pulled off one of the greatest tax heists in history.

After some hand-wringing and cosmetic attempts to rein in surging state spending, Gov. O'Malley and the leaders of the Senate and House of Delegates got down to the real business at hand — tax increases, big ones.

Tax increases always lead to a decline in tax revenue, so with revenue down significantly and another looming budget deficit, O'Malley has now gone asking for slots. Lo and behold, the leaders in the legislature reversed themselves, and are suddenly in favor not just of the referendum, but now of slots, too!

Because O'Malley's fiscal discipline is like a 5-year-old with ADHD, I am NOT in favor of giving him access to any more money to blow. He'll have to balance his budget the old-fashioned way - like his Republican predecessor (and the Democratic ones, too).

The problem with O'Malley is that he's punitive. He'll no doubt cut services to the taxpayers, and blame it on the "previous administration." That only works in the first few months of your term, there, Marty.

Anyway, Vote NO to Question 2 on the ballot.

In Maryland: Early voting up for a vote -- baltimoresun.com

Early voting is such a bad idea, if for no other reason than it doesn't require the voter to pay attention to the full length of the campaign. That's important to voter education. But dropping the requirement for ID at polling places would move Maryland into Chicago voting territory - vote early, vote often!

So Vote NO on question 1.

Early voting up for a vote -- baltimoresun.com:

"Republicans worry that the initiative could invite voter fraud because it doesn't require voters to show identification at the polls and it could allow early voters to cast ballots anywhere in the state. They say the Democratic-controlled General Assembly could pack favorable parts of the state with early voting centers while neglecting heavily Republican areas."

Obama's Illegal Immigrant Family

Let's see, not only is his aunt in the country illegally, but she's living in public housing while Obama enjoys a million-dollar-plus house.

Obama's aunt attended his swearing in as a US senator 2 years ago. However, she was ordered to leave the country 4 years ago by a judge. Meaning, an illegal immigrant relative attended the swearing-in of a US Senator, with no objection by anyone, including that Senator, Barack Obama. This is outrageous; American laws not followed at the swearing-in of a high elected US federal official.

Further, black Democratic Representative John Conyers is demanding to know from Homeland Security if the information was "leaked" to the press to damage Obama's election chances.

http://www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/11/01/obama.aunt/index.html?eref=rss_politics
Democratic U.S. Rep. John Conyers of Michigan fired off a letter asking Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff to investigate whether someone leaked the information to the media in an effort to damage Obama.

There are many huge issues here that are very telling of Obama's positions, politically and personally, none of which are moral:

1. First, he has family in the country illegally, in violation of a judge's direct order over 4 years ago.
   
2. Second, we find the aunt of a sitting US Senator living in public housing, meaning she has limited funds. Obama shares nothing.
   
3. Third, Obama and his wife are both wealthy lawyers; why are they not seeing to her needs, both financially and legally?
   
4. Fourth, can Obama be trusted on immigration issues?
5. Fifth, can Obama and his minions be trusted to follow the law? Will laws be bent or broken to suit?
6. Does the truth not matter to the democrats, as Rep. Conyers seems clearly more interested in Obama winning than the truth of the matter. Clearly, his game is suppression and retaliation.
   

The questions to ask: would you allow this to happen to your aunt? Then, do you want the same thing to happen to your country? What about Conyers and the Dems - should public information, particularly that relevant to the public's choice of a presidential candidate, be hushed?

And if the Obamas treat his aunt that way, what do you think he'll do to you?

Obama says he didn't know aunt's illegal status - Yahoo! News:

"The Associated Press found that Obama's aunt had been instructed to leave the country four years ago by an immigration judge who rejected her request for asylum from her native Kenya. The woman, Zeituni Onyango (zay-TUHN on-YANG-oh), is living in public housing in Boston and is the half-sister of Obama's late father."

Obama 's Aunt in the US Illegally

Obama 's Aunt in the US Illegally

ABC News: Obama Says He Didn't Know Aunt's Illegal Status:

"Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama said Saturday he didn't know his aunt was living in the United States illegally and believes that laws covering the situation should be followed.

The Associated Press found that Obama's aunt had been instructed to leave the country four years ago by an immigration judge who rejected her request for asylum from her native Kenya. The woman, Zeituni Onyango (zay-TUHN on-YANG-oh), is living in public housing in Boston and is the half-sister of Obama's late father."