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"I learned that in extreme situations when human lives and dignity are at state, neutrality is a sin. It helps the killers, not the victims." Elie Wiesel, Holocaust Survivor who lost his family in the Holocaust - Nobel Prize Author
Socialism - Liberalism Quotation
"The American people will never knowingly adopt socialism, but under the name of liberalism they will adopt every fragment of the socialist program until one day America will be a socialist nation without ever knowing how it happened." – Norman Thomas
James O'Keefe has new investigative videos out: New Jersey Teachers Gone Wild, which he says was taped by "citizen journalists," some of them actors, inside a meeting of the New Jersey Education Association. The videos are said to be undercover audio and camera footage from the NJEA summer leadership conference at the New Brunswick Hilton, as well as a phone conversation with a school principal regarding an issue of race. See the videos below.
James O'Keefe
A spokesman for the New Jersey Education Association, Steve Baker, appears briefly in the video twice, says "the whole thing is a complete fabrication, built on lies." The most shocking thing to me is in the first video, you hear that in collective bargaining, the NJEA "fixed some of those things," they did not agree with, after the "bargaining" was closed. The speaker said Christie was not aware that the bargaining had been "fixed," [changed].
You hear a man say he was educated at Rutgers, could be a principal, and could F**k with the kids!
In the video, you hear this chant, among others:
"Let's have a whiskey and get a little misty. Join me now and slander Chris Christie"
A woman seen in the video (and identified as a teacher from Passaic) is playing a video game:
"That's why we're laughing here, we're playing video games on their dime."
Another woman who identifies hereself as a teacher from Passaic, says:
"It's really hard to fire a teacher."
"like you have to seriously be in a hallway F-ing somebody."
"...a tenured teacher would need to perform a sex act in a hallway in order to be fired."
You can also hear a chant, part of which is inaudible, but you clearly hear the group saying they will "kick Chris Christie in the toolbox."
If you have a child, or a grandchild, a niece or nephew in New Jersey schools, this has to make you both physically sick, as well as saddened that our schools employee teachers who are delighted knowing the taxpayer is funding their "play time," would call a child the "N" word, would illegally change an agreed upon contract, and use the "F" word in the same sentence with the word "kids."
These videos will be intensely scrutinized for editing and audio verification. It will be interesting to see how it shakes out, Governor Chris Christie said the videos are "distressing - and revealing - to say the least."
(James O'Keefe is one half of the Pimp and Prostitute videos which busted ACORN from shore to shore, along with Hannah Giles).
James O'Keefe - New Jersey Education Association (Video 1)
James O'Keefe - New Jersey Education Association (Video 2)
Content Scrapers: Until I can figure out what to do about your confiscation of my work for your own website, please be sure to give a link back as shown above.
This took my breath away. Marisol Valles Garcia, a 20-year-old criminology student has been named the Mayor of Guadalupe, a violent Mexican border town where a former Mayor was murdered in June.
Marisol Valles Garcia
Valles is in school in Ciudad Juarez, about 35 miles from Guadalupe. Along with the death of the town's mayor, police and security officers have been killed and some beheaded. Just last week in Guadalupe, a high-traffic crossing point for drugs into the U.S., eight were killed. The city is the second most violent city after Juarez according to this account.
When a local newspaper asked the student if she feared for her life, she had this to say (as translated by The Upshot): Afraid? Everyone is afraid and it's very natural. What motivates me here is that the project [to make the community safer] is very good and can do a lot for my town. I know that we are going to change and remove this.
I think of my son when he was 20 and can't begin to understand what Marisol's family must be feeling.
"The weapons we have are principles and values, which are the best weapons for prevention," she told CNN. "Our work will be pure prevention. We are not going to be doing anything else other than prevention." It's possible that she's just accepting the limitations of her post: She only has 13 officers, one police car, three rifles and one pistol at her disposal. But it does seem that she is intentionally bringing a new ethos to the department. "I'm not going after the 'malos' (bad ones); that's the federal police and soldiers' responsibility," she said. "We're going after the good ones, like children, parents, men and women who we have to organize so they don't fall prey to the temptation of crime, drugs and easy money."
"I took the risk because I want my son to live in a different community to the one we have today."
Hispanic children need early childhood care, and Obama has issued another of his infamous Executive Orders to get it for them, which will no doubt include the 5,197,190 (at least) children of illegals plugging up our schools and draining the funds that support those schools. FIVE MILLION! Real name: Education Excellence for Hispanics.
Hispanic Preschoolers
The Won warned schools: "if you're receiving tax dollars you better be able to deliver results for our children." The man is a bastion of deep thinking. I don't know how he contains himself. Oh yeah...he doesn't.
Hyperbole followed the warning; things like: brighter futures, hope deeper, climb higher, dream bigger. I guess Blacks in America have finally accepted that "Latinos make up the largest minority group in American schools?" Someone weight in here: is that a good thing?
The Executive Order will be executed by reforming the "early childhood" care (day care) of Hispanic children. Illinois is the first state to require "bilingual education" to children who do not speak English, including children illegal residing in the U.S. So how's it working in Illinois:
But from Carpentersville to Champaign, local school districts are hurrying to comply with the requirements that come without additional funding, even as they brace for another year of dwindling reserves and funding delays.
“It seems as though this is just creating a problem unnecessarily,” said Superintendent Roger Prosise, of Diamond Lake School District 76, where nearly a quarter of the district’s 1,170 students are new to English.
Calling preschool the new front door to the school system, education experts say the change could help to narrow the academic divide.
I know...you're shaking your head at my ignorance, and asking if it is not far better for children here illegally to learn our language. Quoting Ann Coulter:
One million Mexicans across the border in Mexico think, 'if I can just get to America and get my kid educated, we will be legal.' See the video here.
Source for the number of children of illegal migrants in the U.S. is ImmigrationCounters. It's a great source. Take a look. We need a counter for Obama Executive Orders which are predicted to pile up as a Republican Congress denies the man his every desire.
Rashid Khalidi is the co-director of the new Columbia University Palestine Studies Center where he is the Edward Said Professor of Arab Studies. Columbia has had a Middle East Institute for over 50 years, but the new "center" for Palestine Studies is considered "the first of its kind."
Rashid Khalidi
You'll remember Khalidi:
1) recently raising funds for a Free Palestine/Support Hamas terror flotilla, named The Audacity of Hope, (named after Obama's book) in waters where Israel has the right to blockade any movement of weapons into Gaza,
3) celebrated Palestine and the audacity of Israel at a farewell party with Barack Obama and Bill Ayers for Khalidi. There were unconfirmed talks of a "toast" to something considered inappropriate regarding Israel with Obama present. Speculation was that the toast was perhaps to the "toasting"(as in "destruction") of Israel. The Los Angeles Times has the video, and refuses to release it.
Khalidi is a former advisor to, and spokesman for, Yassar Arafat and a former professor at the University of Chicago. Khalidi's wife Mona was the English language editor for the PLO press agency.
In 1985, Mr. Khalidi published an adulatory book on the PLO in which he personally thanked Yasser Arafat: "Permission to utilize the P.L.O. archives ... was generously given by the Chairman of the P.L.O. Executive Committee, Yasir Arafat. To him and to the dedicated individuals working in the office of the Chairman, the P.L.O. archive and the Palestine News Agency (WAFA), who extended every possible assistance to me on three trips to Tunis, I owe deep thanks."
Today, however, Mr. Khalidi distances himself from his past.
In truth, Mr. Khalidi is still spinning for the Palestinian leadership. For example, although the Palestinian Authority (PA) is ruled at the whim of a despotic Yasser Arafat, Mr. Khalidi argues the PA has an "elected leader." He asserts that Israel's government "refused to negotiate" with the PA when, in reality, Israel has formally negotiated with the PA since 1993.
Moreover, Mr. Khalidi would like us to believe that Israel has "violated every one of the seven agreements it signed with the PLO since that time." This is, of course, a transparent inversion of the truth. Source: Campus Watch
As Khalidi departed UC to takeover Columbia's Middle East studies, Obama's attendance at a 2003 farewell party, along with Bill Ayers and wife, Bernardine Dorn, and a crowd of mostly Palestinian-Americans is well-documented. According to Los Angeles Times writer Peter Wallsten claimed that the LA Times had a copy of the video. From the National Review:
At Khalidi’s 2003 farewell party, for example, a young Palestinian American recited a poem accusing the Israeli government of terrorism in its treatment of Palestinians and sharply criticizing U.S. support of Israel. If Palestinians cannot secure their own land, she said, “then you will never see a day of peace.”
One speaker likened “Zionist settlers on the West Bank” to Osama bin Laden, saying both had been “blinded by ideology.”
The same article says that state Senator Obama took a more measured response, suggesting that we just all get along.
As Columbia University begins the new study center, there is little said about the connection to Barack Obama or Bill Ayers or Obama's emotional commitment to the Islamic Palestine. Nevertheless, the L.A. Times article referenced above speaking of the farewell party for Khalidi, makes this argument:
But his presence at such events, as he worked to build a political base in Chicago, has led some Palestinian leaders to believe that he might deal differently with the Middle East than either of his opponents for the White House.
"I am confident that Barack Obama is more sympathetic to the position of ending the occupation than either of the other candidates," said Hussein Ibish, a senior fellow for the American Task Force on Palestine, referring to the Israeli presence in the West Bank and Gaza Strip that began after the 1967 war. More than his rivals for the White House, Ibish said, Obama sees a "moral imperative" in resolving the conflict and is most likely to apply pressure to both sides to make concessions.
Rashid Khalidi often speaks of the revisionist history that lends support to Israel. Speaking of revisionist history - we haven't seen anything yet, as our college students traverse through the one-way street of Khalidi's Palestinian studies.
In 2008, Mentor high school student Sladjana Vidovic, 16, tied a rope around her neck and the other end to her bed post and jumped out of her bedroom window. Eric Mohat shot himself in the head in March 2007. He was also a student at Mentor High. Meredith Rezak, just 16 years old, died by a self-inflicted shotgun wound to the head after joining Mentor's Gay-Straight Alliance, just 3 weeks after here friend Eric Mohat died. Jennifer Eyring, a child with a learning disability, overdosed on her mother's anti-depression pills and died in 2006. It is believed each of these students were bullied.
Sladjana Vidovic
After Meredith Rezak, in 11th grade at Mentor committed suicide, a year later her 22-year-old brother, Justin, shot and killed himself. The remaining Rezak sibling, Matthew, died of a drug overdose in March 2010, at age 21.
The Eyring family and the Rezak family do not hold Mentor High responsible. The Vidovic and Mohat families have sued the school, but are asking for no monetary compensation.
Eric Mohat, 17, sat in a classroom and listened to a bully say out loud, "Why don't you go home and shoot yourself, no one will miss you."
Most of the harassment took place in math class and the teacher -- an athletic coach -- was accused of failing to protect the boy.
The father of a friend of Eric's, Dan Hughes, moved his son to another school, and said these students who died were "extremely bright," were "nerds" and were easy targets for bullies.
"What it boils down to is the football players, cheerleaders and kids with money have a different set of rules than everybody else," Hughes told ABCNews.com.
Eric Mohat
Throughout history, there have always been bullies at schools - probably at every school - everywhere. There are children who will suffer at the words and the fists of bullies, but suffering to the point of suicide...? Parents and school staff must do something about extreme bullying and parents must prepare their children to find the inner strength to get through it. We are the adults. What are we going to do about it - specifically when the school claims bullying is "not a problem." Read about Mentor's adoption of an "internationally known program - designed to prevent bullying" here. Read the entire story here.
In this video, you can see the male Middle School children from a Wellesley, Massachusetts Public School, standing after prostrating themselves in prayer to Allah. A mother was there, takes photos, and tells her story in the video. The Muslim American Society operates the mosque. There are connections to terrorism running all through the place. Wait till you hear about "wife beating." Source: TheBlaze.com
Wellesley Public School Students Pray to Allah (video)
A movement of illegals coming "out of the closet" and admitting they are illegal is on a roll. Power to the People - No one is illegal" is the mantra. Senator Harry Reid has introduced the Dream Act and making complete sense, attached it to the Defense Authorization Bill. The DREAM Act (Development, Relief, and Education for Alien Minors) which will pave the way to amnesty "for those who have graduated from high-school, have stayed out of trouble and plan to attend college or serve in the U.S. military for at least two years." See a video.
In the video at about 5 minutes in, a young woman tells a story of driving to school, without a driver's license, and parking in an area where she was not supposed to. She was called into the Principals office and instead of telling her not to park there, or calling her parents to come and move the car, they had the audacity to ask to see her driver's license. The girl had to admit she did not have one, because she was not eligible for one. Her mother came to the school "and in her broken English" told the school they if they talked to her daughter in that manner again, and made her daughter cry, she would sue them.
This twisted thinking flaunts illegality and apparently dares us to do something about it. My bet is on the illegals. This country is unwilling to uphold the Rule of Law.
The Carson-Gore Academy of Environmental Sciences is scheduled to receive 675 high school students on September 13th, 2010 in the Arlington Heights area of Los Angeles. But...the monument school named after Rachel Carson and Al Gore has been built on "toxic" dirt. The $75 million school "naming" committee chose "Carson-Gore" to first honor Rachel Carson, the killer of millions of African babies after successfully getting DDT banned almost world-wide, and the former Vice-President and author Al Gore, who has worked feverishly to murder the America economy and steal the wallets of all Americans through his "green" initiatives. After cleaning up the toxic dirt under the school, if that's possible, Gore and Carson will remain toxic to humans. Do we have any doubt that the teachers at this "academy" will be toxic to our children?
This LA Times article says construction workers worked "up to" the Labor Day weekend replacing the toxic dirt from two 3,800 square-foot plots - to a depth of 45 feet - enough to hold a four-story building. It is unclear whether the building has now been deemed safe. The school principal plans to install an organic food garden, but the seeds will not be sown in above-ground planters.
Before settling on honoring Gore, the school’s naming committee teased the idea of naming the school after a communist, but that idea was dropped after one member of the committee objected:
In the spring, a school-naming committee received six options, including Pete Seeger Community School. A representative from school board member Marguerite suggested that the folk singer’s “affiliation with the Communist Party among other factors, made that choice inappropriate, two in attendance recalled.
Read more about Rachel Carson who convinced environmentalists, and governments, that spraying with DDT to kill mosquito-borne diseases...the only effective preventative for malaria, was harmful when in fact, it was life-saving. Keep this in mind, a child dies of malaria every 30 seconds. If you survive it, it reoccurs all though-out the life-span. There is no cure. World-wide, there are 250 million new malaria cases, and 1 million die every year. The Natonal Institutes of Health in 2007 said, "the ban on DDT may have killed 20 million children." If you are worried about DDT and a connection to the eagle population, you'll find this interesting.
Aside from naming a school after Carson and Gore, what's up with a $75 million school in a state on the verge of bankruptcy with a governor begging the fed to bail him out?
Over 4,000 employees of the Department of Education received an email (presumably on government, taxpayer paid computers) encouraging them to attend Al Sharpton's rally at a high school football field at the same time Glenn Beck's Restore Honor rally was underway on Saturday. The email was from Arne Duncan, Obama's Education Secretary. There must have been a high degree of angst in the Sharpton entourage, knowing that Glenn Beck's crowd would dwarf his own knee-jerk reaction to Restore Honor - where Sharpton believed he could save MLK's I Have a Dream speech from all those hideous Caucasians...at the same time Dr. Martin Luther King's niece, Dr. Alveda King, was a featured speaker at Beck's event.
Barack Obama and Arne Duncan
The Washington Examiner was told about the email by a Department of Education employee who "felt uncomfortable" with the request.
Although the e-mail does not violate the Hatch Act, which forbids federal employees from participating in political campaigns, Education Department workers should feel uneasy, said David Boaz, executive vice president of the libertarian Cato Institute.
"It sends a signal that activity on behalf of one side of a political debate is expected within a department. It's highly inappropriate ... even in the absence of a direct threat," Boaz said. "If we think of a Bush cabinet official sending an e-mail to civil servants asking them to attend a Glenn Beck rally, there would be a lot of outrage over that."
Duncan spoke from the podium alongside Sharpton, saying education is "the civil rights issue of our generation," and "...we have to stop thinking of [poor-performing children] as other people's children." Translated: poor-performing children are the responsibility of the village - don't even think about blaming parents for their underachieving children.
Arizona Governor Jan Brewer signed into law a provision to ban all classes promoting ethnic solidarity, government overthrow and promoting one race over others in Arizona schools.
Jan Brewer
The law does not prohibit classes that are open to all students, so long as they do not promotie "ethnic resentment" or "solidarity." Phyllis Schlafly writing for Investors.com says:
Arizona's Superintendent of Public Instruction, Tom Horne, says the basic theme of the Mexican-American studies program is that Latino students "were and continue to be victims of a racist American society driven by the interests of middle- and upper-class whites."
Among the goals listed for the Mexican-American Studies are "social justice" and "Latino Critical Race Pedagogy." Pictures of the classroom showed the walls decorated with "heroes," such as Fidel Castro and Che Guevara.
Bill Clinton has gone rogue and endorsed Andrew Romanoff, the Democrat challenger to Colorado's Senator Michael Bennet. Romanoff has been in the news lately, as he says the White House offered him other jobs if he would drop his challenge to Bennet. Don't confuse these claims of White House bribes with Joe Sestak. Romanoff is the second claim of such illegal shenanigans.
Andrew Romanoff
This report says Romanoff is the first candidate Bill Clinton has endorsed since leaving the White House. While Clinton didn't endorse Senator Blanche Lincoln, he campaigned with her, and is credited with giving her a second chance to come up for air and face the Republican candidate in November.
A SurveyUSA poll taken this month suggested that Mr. Romanoff has an uphill battle against Mr. Bennet, who was appointed to his seat after Ken Salazar became Interior Secretary. Mr. Bennet registered 52 per cent support in the poll compared to just 36 per cent for Mr. Romanoff.
Andrew brings to this race both an extraordinary record of public service and an extraordinary capacity to lead. I believe that those assets, as well as his deep commitment to Colorado, give him the best chance to hold this seat in November," Mr. Clinton wrote. "I support Andrew Romanoff, and I hope you will too."
If Bill can pull this off, he and Hillary will seriously be considering another White House run in 2010. It is always about Bill, and going rogue for Bill Clinton is nothing new.
When President Ronald Reagan nominated Judge Robert Bork for the U.S. Supreme Court, one of the most offensive and dishonest assaults against a man by the U.S. Government was launched, and Ted Kennedy hurled the first and immediate lethal blows. Kennedy's successful telling of lies about Judge Bork from the floor of the U.S. Senate was wildly successful, and it was one of the most shameful days in the history of American government. Elena Kagan, Obama's Supreme Court Nominee, "loved" borking Bork. She considers the slanderous lies a demonstration of constitutional democracy. See the video below.
Ronald Reagan and Robert Bork
As Ted Kennedy walked to the microphone, he couldn't guess that that he would become known for this day - not as well known as for the unpunished murder of Mary Jo Kopechne on that night on Martha's Vineyard, but this day, and this attack on Robert Bork would become his "other" legacy - and he needed another legacy badly.
Kennedy told lie after lie about Robert Bork, and so the term "borking" became a new verb. These lies are what Elena Kagan refers to in the video below, the method of treatment of SCOTUS nominees she believes is the best thing to ever happen to a constitutional democracy. Kagan "loved" the Bork hearings - "they were great, they were educational...."
Judge Bork said there was not a line in Kennedy's senate floor speech about his nomination that was accurate. When Ted Kennedy died, The Economist said Bork was right but..."it worked." How astounding is it that a publication with the reputation of The Economist would blithely chuckle - "it worked?"
How appalling our government and the free press has become. America elected Barack Obama because they thought he was a good speaker, and, of course, Ted Kennedy was known as the Lion of the Senate and praised for his oratory skills. Obama now, and Kennedy then, were and are a pox on this nation.
As we try to survive this administration, there is one thing we must not forget: all constitutional democracies are not equal: Among constitutional democracies are Argentina, Brazil, Indonesia, South Africa and Turkey - not shining examples of real democracy.
With every candidate we consider in the November elections, we must determine just what a constitutional democracy means to him/her. Is his vision that of originalism, as was Bork's - holding to what the Founders agonized about, sacrificed for, and prayed over, or does it mean, silencing the Internet and radio to deny a voice to a political party you differ with, or growing the government and destroying the private sector and the life blood of America, redistributing wealth to deal the final death knell to private enterprise, and backing Massachusetts school's decision to distribute condoms to elementary students, and deny parents the right to do a gosh darned thing about it?
The thing is, the silence of the missing angry roar of the teachers and their union is deafening. This is happening in Provincetown, Massachusetts. Will Republicans think to ask Kagan her definition of a constitutional democracy? Does it include obliterating parental rights?
I want to see some borking coming out of the Republican side of the Senate. They can start now and not let up until they have shown every wart and pimple in Ms. Kagan's career. From what I've seen, there will be no reason for lies.
Linked by the Yakima Examiner, with a good article on Kagan, a video of Newt Gingrich on Kagan, and a wonderful quote from Bork: "The truth is that the judge who looks outside the constitution always looks inside himself and nowhere else."
Elena Kagan "loved" the borking of Robert Bork (video)
Nancy Pelosi was relentlessly heckled in a recent speech. The hecklers were members of her usually adoring choir. This time, her minions were unhappy with her. They wanted more state aid to fund her massive programs. It appears her own personal knight in shining armor, Barack Obama, has rushed to her aid and on Saturday (yes, on Saturday) asked Congress for a fast $50 BILLION for what he sees as "emergency aid." The emergency is placating Nancy Pelosi's voters. See a video below.
President Obama urged reluctant lawmakers Saturday to quickly approve nearly $50 Billion in emergency aid to state and local governments, saying the money is needed to avoid "massive layoffs of teachers, police and firefighters" and to support the still-fragile economic recovery.
In a letter to congressional leaders, Obama defended last year's huge economic stimulus package, saying it helped break the economy's free fall, but argued that more spending is urgent and unavoidable. "We must take these emergency measures," he wrote in an appeal aimed primarily at members of his own party.
Remember all those teacher and police jobs Obama's stimulus saved? Apparently, we are asked to save them again, because...the money was sent...but didn't save anything.
House Minority Leader, John Boehner (R-OH) said he was at the White House on Thursday and there was no mention of a $50 Billion bombshell hitting the American people. He also reminds that there is no budget out of the House this year.
But House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) argued the president wants to use money already approved in the stimulus act to fund struggling state budgets.
“The money that has already been appropriated in the Recovery Act, that has not been spent could be spent now,” Hoyer responded. “We can’t stimulate and depress at the same time.
If the money is already tagged and approved for state aid, why is Obama asking for it? Something smells like dead fish:
White House chief of staff Rahm Emmanuel has said that the administration wants to both cut spending and stimulate the economy in the coming months.
If Obama can accomplish this, with much of Congress up for re-election in November, then he is a wizard...or Congress is as more corrupt than we can begin to comprehend. But from a Democrat point-of-view, outraging moderate Democrats, Independents and Conservatives may be preferable to standing on principle against Unions. A note about the graphic above: without a Federal Budget, the CBO can hardly project debt or deficits on a downward path. Related information on Deficits and Debt at Seeking Alpha.
Another party in the White House and Sir Paul McCartney was the star, but on this evening "Sir" did not fit his rude and inane behavior. The Obama's presented McCartney with the Gershwin Prize for Popular Song. The whole scene is just too delicious: The Obamas surrounded by, and being serenaded by, some of the biggest names in the music industry - no captain's of industry, of course - none of those in the Obama White House. No one there really making the country run. No one there creating jobs. No one there manufacturing anything tangible. Perhaps no one there with an over-sized I.Q. but the Obama mystique was as thick as an oil spill.
George W. Bush
Adding to the mystique, Michelle wore a dress in silksatin silk (the pool reporter wasn't certain, but it looks like silk to me) charmeuse in a shade of "blush, with a jeweled belt, and here it is - the chicest touch: as The First Lady "sat, a pink petticoat peeked out. The adoration was palpable, and McCartney was soon to show his rear-end, and his I.Q. See two videos below.
After the last eight years, it's great to have a President who knows what a library is
In the video, Jerry Seinfeld is standing in the White House right next to McCartney. Anyone know why the taxpayers should be wining and dining Jerry Seinfield? Stevie Wonder was there...again. Faith Hill (she's a Liberal folks), Elvis Costello and Emmy Lou Harris were there. The bright spot of the evening (because it is always about the Obama's) was Paul serenading Michelle with "Mee-shelll."
Rep. John Boehner (R-OH) replied about the G.W. comment:
Like millions of other Americans, I have always had a good impression of Paul McCartney and thought of him as a classy guy, but I was surprised and disappointed by the lack of grace and respect he displayed at the White House. I hope he'll apologize to the American people for his conduct which demeaned him, the White House and President Obama.
McCartney is the third recipient of the Gershwin Prize. Hailing from England and having earned no university degrees of his own, the Beatle may not know W. as the first American president to earn a master's degree in business administration. (The fact the MBA is from Harvard really irks the left.) Not to mention Bush is married to a librarian.
G.W. was the first and only President to hold an MBA. He also received a BA in History from Yale. Lord knows, we could use some knowledge of business and true history in the White House.
Having attended Harvard Business School at the same time as the President, graduating from the two—year program a year after he did, and then serving on its faculty after a year's interval spent writing a PhD thesis, I am intimately familiar with the rigors of the program at the time, and the minuscule degree of slack cut for even the most well—connected students, when their performance did not make the grade.
There is simply no way on earth that the son of the then—Ambassador to China (technically, head of the Beijing Liaison Office), or anyone else, could have coasted through Harvard Business School with a 'gentleman's C.' I never, ever heard of a case of an incompetent student being allowed to graduate, simply because a certain family was prominent. On the contrary, I did hear stories of well—born students having to leave prior to graduation. The academic standards were a point of considerable pride.
Hopeful Liberals can only estimate Barack Obama's intelligence "quotient," his SAT, LSAT score and his college GPA. We hear a lot of very high numbers, making Liberals go all misty-eyed and weak-kneed at thought of the capabilities of his pristine half-African brain...but there nothing - not one single thing to base it on. It's all myth, as are his policies, which have yielded nothing for this country. All of his records - that's ALL of his records, are hidden from the public. An inquiring mind would wonder why. If they were stellar, they would not be hidden. But that doesn't stop Progressives from telling us that Obama would be a member of MENSA if he provided the pertinent records and surely his IQ is in the 130 to 145 range. It's all myth.
They don't stop there. There is no information on Michelle's scores either, but this website, which writes for our gullible children, says "it is safe to say that she is just as smart as her husband." Personally, I have no doubt of that. I "doubt" plenty, but do not doubt that the two share similar brains - but don't forget, Barack gets the benefit of "the other side of Valerie Jarrett's brain (his Senior Adviser).
Obama received a J.D. from Harvard Law. He surrendered his law license. His hometown paper, the Chicago Tribune, says as a civil rights lawyer, Obama was the "strong, silent type."
A review of the cases Obama worked on during his brief legal career shows he played the "strong, silent type" in court, introducing himself and his client, then stepping aside to let other lawyers do the talking.
Transcripts show that at court hearings, Obama identified himself, then let [Paul] Mollica begin speaking. Maria Valdez of the Mexican-American Legal Defense and Education Fund sometimes spoke. The U.S. Justice Department joined in.
Letting the heavy-hitters at the Justice Department make the arguments appears to have been a sound strategy -- Obama's side won, even without him talking.
Odd, because the man hasn't shut-up since the day he won the presidential nomination.
"I was one of the better writers [Obama said]. I ended up doing the more cerebral writing, less trial work," Obama added. "That's actually something I regret -- not doing more trial work."
"He wrote lots of substantial memos, but he didn't try any cases," said Judson Miner, a partner in the firm who was Obama's boss.
A search of all the cases in Cook County Circuit Court in which Obama made an appearance since he graduated from Harvard in 1991 shows: Zero.
His practice was confined mainly to federal court in Chicago, where he made formal appearances in only five district court cases and another five in cases before the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals -- a total of 10 cases in his legal career.
Obama sued on behalf of ACORN for Motor-Voter registration. For this, he is idolized today:
Transcripts show that at court hearings, Obama identified himself, then let [Paul] Mollica begin speaking. Maria Valdez of the Mexican-American Legal Defense and Education Fund sometimes spoke. The U.S. Justice Department joined in.
Letting the heavy-hitters at the Justice Department make the arguments appears to have been a sound strategy -- Obama's side won, even without him talking.
Among Bush's finest attributes - he is not a lawyer. Among Obama's finest attributes, he's tall. Among McCartney's finest attribute: Penning Let it Be.
Alia Sabur is a certified genius and at 18 years old broke a 300-year-old record to be the youngest-ever college professor. She has an idea for plugging the damn hole (the damn oil spill), and since I'm not a genius, I can't judge whether it will work or not...but it sounds reasonable.
Alia Sabur
Sabur's plan is surround a pipe with deflated auto tires, then insert the pipe and tires into the leaking rise, then inflate the wheels to form a seal. Can James Cameron top that? He's an "underwater filming and remote vehicle" genius, so the Feds want to "brainstorm" with him.
The tires might not be able to fully inflate inside the pipe, but the resulting seal would be able to stem the flow of oil and redirect it into a new pipe, she said. A valve in the pipe could be closed to block the oil or open to allow it to flow, presumably to a ship on the surface.
Alia Sabur is finishing her Doctorate in engineering in Philadelphia at Drexel University. Sabur said what makes her idea different is her solution is designed to go inside the pipe, rather than over it or around it. Sabur began reading novels at the age of 2 and by age 11 she was playing clarinet with the Rockland Symphony Orchestra.
Maybe the Administration will give this a try (hey, they're in charge, remember?). Alia looks nothing like Sarah Palin, but maybe a little like Nancy Pelosi (no offense to Ms. Sabur - they just have similar hair styles).
Two amazing videos I'll point you to from Obama's commencement speech at the University of Michigan. In the first, he quotes deceased Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan saying: "Everyone is entitled to his own opinions, but not his own facts. Nevermind that he also said this week that he measures the progress of our economy by "a different pulse," or as my hubby says, "his own secret recipe."
The White House Reads HuffPo
Then he calls for the citizenry to be better informed by seeking "hard evidence" rather than "assertions," yet he gauges our economy by "a different pulse." And to cap it off, he suggests reading the Wall Street Journal AND The Huffington Post for the "hard evidence." View that video here.
In the second video, Obama tells the graduating students that GOVERNMENT provides "life saving research," and "tantalizing economic growth," ( I think he said "tantalizing)."Leaves me speechless. We the People provide life saving research, not the government. And our economic growth is certainly not tantalizing.
Then listen as he talks about the dangers of too little government, and cites the example of the "lack of accountability on Wall Street, which nearly led to the collapse of our entire economy." Oddly, he doesn't mention Barney, or Chris or Freddie or Fannie - government all, which had everything to do with this country's financial meltdown. View the video here.
One thing Obama voters sadly didn't think about, was the damage this man could do when given a microphone, a teleprompter, a biased media, and a few retiring Supreme Court Justices.
There is never enough money for our schools, in any school district anywhere in the U.S., and hasn't been for at least 45 years. One reason might be the way unions spend, and spend and spend. For example, The American Federation of Teachers funded ACORN after the 'pimp and prostitute' videos hit, when there was not a smidgeon of doubt about the non-existent integrity of Obama's favorite community organizers, the egregious and corrupt ACORN.
A good starting point would be with the $352,510 The American Federation of Teachers (AFT) funneled to ACORN in 2009 just as the organization's employees were caught on videotape describing to uncover investigators how they can arrange for legal loans, set up brothels, advance child prostitution and human trafficking.
"It looks like the AFT essentially outsourced ACORN to do the union organizing work," Nathan Mehrens, a counsel to Americans for Limited Government (ALG). "This is incredibly ironic given that many unions consider outsourcing evil and almost criminal. It might also be worth asking a rhetorical question of why does the union need to outsource work to shady operatives? If the union's services were so desirable then the teachers would be beating a path to their door and not the other way around."
AFT Chicago Protests Privatization of Schools in Detroit and St. Louis
In fact, U.S. Labor Department financial disclosure forms show that the teachers unions as whole have contributed over $1.3 million to ACORN and its affiliates for political activities and representational activities, since 2005. Some of the larger donations include $100,000 from the National Education Association in 2008 and $200,000 in 2007 for political activities. The Teachers AFL-CIO Local Union 2 contributed $406,730 in 2008, $457,778 in 2007, and $346,300 in 2006 for representational activities.
Toby Gerhart is a white boy who has no business trying to play pro ball as a running back. After all, he's...white...
Toby Gerhart
One team I interviewed with asked me about being a white running back," Gerhart says. "they asked if it made me feel entitled, or like I felt I was a poster child for white running backs. I said, 'No, I'm just out there playing ball. I don't think about that.' I didn't really know what to day."
Here's the real story:
One longtime NFL scout insisted that Gerhart's skin color will likely prevent the Pac-10's offensive player of the year from being drafted in Thursday's first round.
"He'll be a great second-round pickup for somebody, but I guarantee you if he was the exact same guy -- but he was black -- he'd go in the first round for sure," the scout said...."doesn't have blazing speed but he's strong and powerful and versatile."
Gerhart lost the Heisman to Alabama's Mark Ingram in the closest Heisman vote in history.
When they look at Gerhart's numbers from the NFL scouting combine, they see that he ran a 4.50-second 40-yard dash and registered a 38-inch vertical leap, both impressive numbers for a player his size.
Yet they also see a white guy trying to make it in the league as a feature back, something that has become increasingly rare in this era.
I haven't said much about Michael Steele and the oddities that keep popping up associated with his chairmanship of the Republican National Committee, but...now...I think he must step down. Steele has told a group DePaul University students that African Americans "don't have a reason" to vote for Republicans. Then he opined that some whites are afraid to be in the same room with him. It is time for Steele to move on.
Michael Steele
One of the easiest questions to answer, if you understand and believe in conservatism, is what the Republican party has to offer to students at DePaul University or any other university.
How about offering "opportunity," and "freedom" and "lower taxes" and "smaller government," as opposed to "a mortgage that you didn't have to qualify for and afford to pay each month." Steele, a self-described "Lincoln conservative," is a fine example of a very important principle: the color of your skin does not matter in the Republican party. This is has been proven over and over if you look at the political and cabinet appointments of George W. Bush.
I want to hear from Steele what the Democrat party has done for DePaul students.
Steele has found a way to rise to the top through the Republican party, but the man is not a believer in conservative principles. He must go. Now.
Charlie Crist may have tried to politically blackmail Jeb Bush's wallet, but like everything else Crist tries to do these days, it didn't work. In the same fallout, Crist's political mentor, former Senator Connie Mack (R-FL) resigned as Crist's campaign manager. Both Bush and Mack supported the education reform bill passed by the Florida legislature. Crist supported it before he didn't. Now he has vetoed the bill and is becoming a party-of-one.
Charlie Crist Jeb Bush
Crist wouldn't recognize 'principle' if it was tri-colored and perched on his desk corner. The Florida State Legislature just passed a school reform bill that ends teacher tenure and begins a program of 'merit pay' for achievement. Crist has said no other issue has put as much pressure on him as this bill. Governor Crist has vetoed his own party's bill.
His campaign manager, former senator, Connie Mack, resigned his position after Crist's veto, saying the veto was "unsupportable and wrong."
Following Mack's resignation as Crist's campaign chair, Republican endorsers from inside the state government have also begun to drop off the Crist bandwagon, leaving Crist increasingly isolated in his GOP Senate primary fight with Marco Rubio.
Connie Mack Marco Rubio
Note to RINO National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC) "picker," Senator John Cornyn - you can safely drop your Committee's support of Crist now, dontcha know? Move our monies and support to Marco Rubio. Senator John Cornyn says he is "honor-bound" to continue backing Crist. Well, I don't think so.
Former Florida Governor, Jeb Bush supported the education reform bill. He has not endorsed his successor, Charlie Crist. Maybe Charlie thought by waiting to the very, very last minute to veto or sign, Bush might endorse him in exchange for his signature. Didn't happen. Political blackmail didn't work.
Teachers and their unions do not like the bill. Crist's own father was a school administrator and he has sisters that were public school teachers. Is it such a radical idea that teachers be rewarded for their successes? A union environment, or a government worker doesn't understand that theory, but the rest of us do.
"My dad used to be chairman of the school board," said Crist, who was
once the education commissioner. "Two of my three sisters have been public school teachers .
. . I am hearing a lot about it everywhere. They're making very good
suggestions from the heart."
"He encouraged me to sign the bill," Crist said. "Shocking. God bless him."
How dismissive and patronizing is that?
Crist seems to think it's good politics to hint that Bush is trying to feather his own nest through his foundation for educational policy reform, the Bush Foundation for Florida's Future. Crist wants us to believe this is about padding Jeb Bush's wallet. What if it's about children learning more?
I doubt there is a single school district believing they have adequate funding for their school district. It never ends. It is never enough. I stumped my neighborhood streets to raise money for schools - years of doing so, bond issues, fundraisers...it is never enough.
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