Restore: January 20, 2009
For far too long it has been:
Ignore
Deplore
Abhor
Make war
Run into closed door
Poke the festering sore
Come back for more
Starting today it will be:
Restore
Implore
Soar
Feed the poor
Advocate for
Stop the war
Love galore
I found this....
Before the Bush administration becomes a memory--a putrid, festering boil of a memory--it's important to self-assess your level of patriotism. Please take the quiz below.
Homeland Security Self-ExaminationBy Ray LesserHomeland Security is the job of all patriotic Americans. Although the FBI, CIA and hundreds of other government agencies are spending millions of man-hours and billions of tax dollars trying their best to root out terrorism, Americans are still in danger. It is impossible for the Homeland Security Department to interrogate every single person in this country (and torture an occasional squealer) to sort out the good citizens from the evildoers.That's why we've created the following Homeland Security Self-Examination. There's no longer any need for invasive and expensive government agency procedures to determine whether or not you're a terrorist. Now, you can do it yourself (as required by sec. 2476, sub-paragraph B, of the USA Patriot Act).You may have thought all people who get infected by terrorism eventually die, either by blowing themselves up or rotting in a concentration camp in Guantanamo Bay. But early detection can help prevent terrorism. By taking this simple Homeland Security Self-Exam, you can find out if you are in danger of becoming a danger to yourself and others around you.The Homeland Security Department recommends that all Americans over the age of 12 examine their patriotism once a month. If a change should occur in your patriotism level let your local FBI agent know, so that you can receive free government monitoring.Homeland Security Self-Exam: 1) Every American should own, and know how to use a gun because: a. we may be called upon at any moment to fend off a jihad of foreign invaders.b. We may need to protect our valuables from millions of newly unemployed slum-dwellers.c. It's fun to shoot things.d. We may be called upon to overthrow a tyrannical leadership that has stolen an election and usurped our freedoms.2) Every American should be fingerprinted because; a. After all good Americans are fingerprinted, only the evil ones will be left to round up and lock away.b. It will prevent thieves from stealing my identity, and using it to rack up my Victoria's Secret credit card.c. If you're ever kidnapped by terrorists, it'll help the authorities find and identify your body.d. No American should ever be fingerprinted, unless they have been convicted of a felony.3) My religion is: a. Fundamentalist Christian awaiting the Rapture.b. Christian, with a major in business.c. Non-Christian, but seriously considering converting.d. None of the government's business.4) I fly the American Flag: a. on both sides of my SUV.b. In front of company headquarters.c. On three-day weekends.d. At half-staff to mourn for the death of our democracy.5) If I find that my neighbor, a subsidiary of a multi-national corporation, is stockpiling hazardous waste in their backyard I should: a. Ask the company to hide the waste by burying it, so that no terrorists can possibly attempt to use it for some evil plot.b. Contact the Environmental Protection Agency, which takes care of all environmental problems, so you don't have anything to worry about.c. Shut-up and mind my own business.d. Warn other neighbors and the media about the danger.6) I am most afraid of: a. Islamic Fundamentalists.b. An IRS audit.c. Getting SARS, smallpox, or anthrax without health insurance.d. The Republican Party.7) The Bill of Rights: a. Is no substitute for the Ten Commandments.b. Only applies to generous campaign contributors.c. Is worth sacrificing to protect my family from terrorists.d. Guarantees the rights of the people against the abuses of power by the Federal government.8) In regard to foreign countries, what should a patriot do?:a. Do unto others pre-emptively, before they do unto you.b. Through bribery, assassination, and subterfuge, install puppet governments that will allow us to extract all their natural resources.c. Bomb'em if they mess with us.d. Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.9) Most of my money is: a. Spent supporting people who believe in salvation.b. In oil and defense stocks.c. Spent on rent and groceries.d. In a glass jar on my dresser.10) When I shop I look to see: a. A Made-in-the-USA label.b. Where the designer section is.c. Where the security cameras are.d. Whether the goods were made by sweatshop labor.11) Every American deserves an equal opportunity to: a. Pray for forgiveness for their sins.b. Inherit all their family's wealth, free of taxes.c. Work hard and party hearty.d. Employment, regardless of race, color, weight, religion, gender, sexual orientation, or national origin.12) Have you ever been convicted of a crime?:a. No, Daddy arranged things with the judge.b. Yes, but I paid a substantial penalty to the SEC, so it's all been cleared up.c. Yes, but I didn't do it.d. Yes, for protesting in a "non-free-speech" zone.13) I would be proud to serve my President: a. As a missionary to the heathen hordes.b. By accepting multi-billion dollar contracts to rebuild any country he wants to bomb.c. By enlisting in the Marines, if it wasn't for my anal cysts.d. A subpoena to appear in court.Now total your points: Each a. = 1 point, b. = 2 points, c. = 3 points, d. = 1000 points.Your Patriotism Level: Less than 15: A Loyal American! (Report any suspicious activity in your neighborhood.)15-30: A Friend of The President (Get out your checkbook).30-39: Born in the USA (Watch more Fox News).Over 39: Terrorist or Terrorist sympathizer (You're either with us, or you're against us. Consider this your final warning.)
Homeland Security Self-Examination
By Ray Lesser
Homeland Security is the job of all patriotic Americans. Although the FBI, CIA and hundreds of other government agencies are spending millions of man-hours and billions of tax dollars trying their best to root out terrorism, Americans are still in danger. It is impossible for the Homeland Security Department to interrogate every single person in this country (and torture an occasional squealer) to sort out the good citizens from the evildoers.
That's why we've created the following Homeland Security Self-Examination. There's no longer any need for invasive and expensive government agency procedures to determine whether or not you're a terrorist. Now, you can do it yourself (as required by sec. 2476, sub-paragraph B, of the USA Patriot Act).
You may have thought all people who get infected by terrorism eventually die, either by blowing themselves up or rotting in a concentration camp in Guantanamo Bay. But early detection can help prevent terrorism. By taking this simple Homeland Security Self-Exam, you can find out if you are in danger of becoming a danger to yourself and others around you.
The Homeland Security Department recommends that all Americans over the age of 12 examine their patriotism once a month. If a change should occur in your patriotism level let your local FBI agent know, so that you can receive free government monitoring.
1) Every American should own, and know how to use a gun because: a. we may be called upon at any moment to fend off a jihad of foreign invaders.b. We may need to protect our valuables from millions of newly unemployed slum-dwellers.c. It's fun to shoot things.d. We may be called upon to overthrow a tyrannical leadership that has stolen an election and usurped our freedoms.
2) Every American should be fingerprinted because; a. After all good Americans are fingerprinted, only the evil ones will be left to round up and lock away.b. It will prevent thieves from stealing my identity, and using it to rack up my Victoria's Secret credit card.c. If you're ever kidnapped by terrorists, it'll help the authorities find and identify your body.d. No American should ever be fingerprinted, unless they have been convicted of a felony.
3) My religion is: a. Fundamentalist Christian awaiting the Rapture.b. Christian, with a major in business.c. Non-Christian, but seriously considering converting.d. None of the government's business.
4) I fly the American Flag: a. on both sides of my SUV.b. In front of company headquarters.c. On three-day weekends.d. At half-staff to mourn for the death of our democracy.
5) If I find that my neighbor, a subsidiary of a multi-national corporation, is stockpiling hazardous waste in their backyard I should: a. Ask the company to hide the waste by burying it, so that no terrorists can possibly attempt to use it for some evil plot.b. Contact the Environmental Protection Agency, which takes care of all environmental problems, so you don't have anything to worry about.c. Shut-up and mind my own business.d. Warn other neighbors and the media about the danger.
6) I am most afraid of: a. Islamic Fundamentalists.b. An IRS audit.c. Getting SARS, smallpox, or anthrax without health insurance.d. The Republican Party.
7) The Bill of Rights: a. Is no substitute for the Ten Commandments.b. Only applies to generous campaign contributors.c. Is worth sacrificing to protect my family from terrorists.d. Guarantees the rights of the people against the abuses of power by the Federal government.
8) In regard to foreign countries, what should a patriot do?:a. Do unto others pre-emptively, before they do unto you.b. Through bribery, assassination, and subterfuge, install puppet governments that will allow us to extract all their natural resources.c. Bomb'em if they mess with us.d. Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.
9) Most of my money is: a. Spent supporting people who believe in salvation.b. In oil and defense stocks.c. Spent on rent and groceries.d. In a glass jar on my dresser.
10) When I shop I look to see: a. A Made-in-the-USA label.b. Where the designer section is.c. Where the security cameras are.d. Whether the goods were made by sweatshop labor.
11) Every American deserves an equal opportunity to: a. Pray for forgiveness for their sins.b. Inherit all their family's wealth, free of taxes.c. Work hard and party hearty.d. Employment, regardless of race, color, weight, religion, gender, sexual orientation, or national origin.
12) Have you ever been convicted of a crime?:a. No, Daddy arranged things with the judge.b. Yes, but I paid a substantial penalty to the SEC, so it's all been cleared up.c. Yes, but I didn't do it.d. Yes, for protesting in a "non-free-speech" zone.
13) I would be proud to serve my President: a. As a missionary to the heathen hordes.b. By accepting multi-billion dollar contracts to rebuild any country he wants to bomb.c. By enlisting in the Marines, if it wasn't for my anal cysts.d. A subpoena to appear in court.
Now total your points: Each a. = 1 point, b. = 2 points, c. = 3 points, d. = 1000 points.
Your Patriotism Level: Less than 15: A Loyal American! (Report any suspicious activity in your neighborhood.)15-30: A Friend of The President (Get out your checkbook).30-39: Born in the USA (Watch more Fox News).Over 39: Terrorist or Terrorist sympathizer (You're either with us, or you're against us. Consider this your final warning.)
Dear President Bush, Thank you for doing so much to educate people regarding God's Law. I have learned a great deal from you, and try to share that knowledge with as many people as I can. For example, when someone tries to defend the homosexual lifestyle I simply remind them that Leviticus 18:22 clearly states it to be an abomination...end of debate. I do need some advice from you, however, regarding some other elements of God's Laws and how to follow them: 1. Leviticus 25:44 states that I may possess slaves, both male and female, provided they are purchased from neighboring nations. A friend of mine claims that this applies to Mexicans, but not Canadians. Can you clarify? Why can't I own Canadians? 2. I would like to sell my son into slavery, as sanctioned in Exodus 21:7. In this day and age, what do you think would be a fair price for him? 3. I know that I am allowed no contact with a woman while she is in her period of menstrual uncleanliness (Lev.15: 19-24). The problem is how do I tell? Should I just ask my wife first before I touch her?4. When I burn a bull on the altar as a sacrifice, I know it creates a pleasing odor for the Lord (Lev.1:9). The problem is my neighbors. They claim the odor is not pleasing to them. Should I smite them? 5. I have a neighbor who insists on working on the Sabbath. Exodus 35:2 clearly states he should be put to death. Am I morally obligated to kill him myself, or should I ask the police to do it? 6. A friend of mine feels that even though eating shellfish is an abomination (Lev. 11:10), it is a lesser abomination than homosexuality. I don't agree. Can you settle this? Are there “degrees” of abomination?7. Lev.21:20 states that I may not approach the altar of God if I have a defect in my sight. I have to admit that I wear reading glasses. Does my vision have to be 20/20, or is there some wiggle-room here? 8. Most of my male friends get their hair trimmed, including the hair around their temples, even though this is expressly forbidden by Lev. 19:27. How should they die? 9. I know from Lev. 11:6-8 that touching the skin of a dead pig makes me unclean, but may I still play football if I wear gloves? 10. My uncle has a farm. He violates Lev.19:19 by planting two different crops in the same field, as does his wife by wearing garments made of two different kinds of thread (cotton/polyester blend). He also tends to curse and blaspheme a lot. Is it really necessary that we go to all the trouble of getting the whole town together to stone them (Lev. 24:10-16)? Couldn't we just burn them to death at a private family affair, like we do with people who sleep with their in-laws (Lev. 20:14)?
11. One of the Ten Commandments is pretty clear about killing. Is that for people who do the actual killing, or for people who command others to kill, or both? I think you should personally look into this one, being that you’re the Commander Guy.I know you have studied these things extensively and thus enjoy considerable expertise in such matters, so I am confident you can help. Thank you again for reminding us that God's word is eternal and unchanging. Your faithful servant,Jeff Berland
I teach two class periods of learning support/study skills. Students qualify for this class for a myriad of reasons from being intentional non-learners to having true learning disabilities. Regardless of the cause, suffice it to say that every 7th and 8th grader in those two classes requires close attention and one-on-one remediation by me and my wonderful, hard working aide. We assist our students in every academic content: math, science, language arts, and social studies.
At our school the social studies staff has been providing lessons on world history. Our students have been immersed in the study of the fall of the Roman Empire, the middle ages, and the rise of the great civilizations throughout the entire world. Many of the individual lessons have focused of the geographical changes that occur with societal and cultural changes. As such, we have been assisting students in learning support class with the completion of the various map projects that are assigned in their social studies classes.
“Where’s Afghanistan?” one of my students asked. “I can’t find it anywhere.” Indeed I thought, it would appear as if Afghanistan no longer exists. After I directed the student to the correct page in the atlas, she asked an interesting question. “Didn’t we fight a war there once?” A 13 year old 8th grader can be forgiven for not being up to date on current foreign policy and even for lacking a certain knowledge related to world geography. But it would appear that the adults in our society—from our elected officials to our media to our ordinary citizens—have forgotten that this country exists.
Barack Obama and the U. S. military and NATO forces notwithstanding, it is apparent that a collective amnesia concerning this war torn country has set in. The Afghan War has supplanted the Korean War as the Forgotten War. We have been there for 7 years.
Much to the consternation of some of my fellow left leaning friends, I supported the invasion of Afghanistan. I remember the “smoke ‘em out…dead or alive” days in response to the attacks of 9/11. I remember the days when Osama bin Laden was world enemy #1, when the Taliban were “defeated” (Mission Accomplished?). And like most everything George W. Bush has touched, someone else must now come behind him to clean up his mess.
Of the many reasons I voted for Barack Obama, the Afghan War was near the top of the list. I like his policy of re-deployment of resources from the disaster known as the Iraq War. I like that he is focused on destroying Al-Qaida. I like that he understands the real threats to our national security. Now, back to my classroom….
I responded to my student. “Well, we’re still fighting a war in Afghanistan. It’s been tough and our soldiers have been doing their best”, I said.
“Oh”, she said in the way middle schoolers can with a distracted indifference.
“When do you think it will end?”
“I don’t know,” was my response. “But I’m sure that Mr. Obama will do his best to end the war once he becomes president.”
Her face lit up. “I like him. I’m glad my mom and dad voted for Barack!”
She added, “He’s going to be good.”
A certain foundation was laid in order for Barack Obama's election to become a reality. That foundation was built on the backs of civil rights workers; by the risks they took, the hard work in which they were engaged, and the blood they shed. Going back to Harriet Tubman and Frederick Douglas--and before--through W.E.B. Dubois, Rosa Parks, Dr. King, and countless others known and unknown, our next president and all of us who support him stand on the shoulders of courage and dedication. Those who challenge the status quo know that power does not yield without a fight. The Bull Connors and George Wallaces of the world are just a few of the very public examples of what occurs when entrenched thought, attitudes, and world views are shoved off their pedestals of power.
Within my own family my wife and I have had to deal with these entrenched attitudes. I have heard the "uppity N****r" comments along with, "once a muslim, always a muslim." Additionally--and most recently--another member of my family couldn't wait to reveal to us the new information concerning Barack Obama found on the internet: it would appear that Mr. Obama has close ties to the Chicago mob and that our government will really be run within those levers of power in the Windy City. Insert papacy and Vatican for mob and Chicago and you have a recycling of the same types of prejudices that confronted President Kennedy. It would seem that old habits die hard.
Comments that reveal racial attitudes and paranoia aside, the obvious falsity of religious and criminal assertions are easily dealt with providing you live in the reality based world. These are simply expressions of bigotry by those who have found a more polite way to spew their invective. Muslim = terrorist = Arab. Mobster = gangster = gangsta...you can guess where this one goes. Racism isn't dead, it has found new ways to spread. Below I've included an article from the Associated Press. It would appear that we have much work to do. And please note that some of the following incidents occur far from the South.
Obama election spurs race crimes around countryBy JESSE WASHINGTON (AP National Writer)From Associated PressNovember 16, 2008 12:00 AM EST Cross burnings. Schoolchildren chanting "Assassinate Obama." Black figures hung from nooses. Racial epithets scrawled on homes and cars. Incidents around the country referring to President-elect Barack Obama are dampening the postelection glow of racial progress and harmony, highlighting the stubborn racism that remains in America. From California to Maine, police have documented a range of alleged crimes, from vandalism and vague threats to at least one physical attack. Insults and taunts have been delivered by adults, college students and second-graders. There have been "hundreds" of incidents since the election, many more than usual, said Mark Potok, director of the Intelligence Project at the Southern Poverty Law Center, which monitors hate crimes. One was in Snellville, Ga., where Denene Millner said a boy on the school bus told her 9-year-old daughter the day after the election: "I hope Obama gets assassinated." That night, someone trashed her sister-in-law's front lawn, mangled the Obama lawn signs, and left two pizza boxes filled with human feces outside the front door, Millner said. She described her emotions as a combination of anger and fear. "I can't say that every white person in Snellville is evil and anti-Obama and willing to desecrate my property because one or two idiots did it," said Millner, who is black. "But it definitely makes you look a little different at the people who you live with, and makes you wonder what they're capable of and what they're really thinking." Potok, who is white, said he believes there is "a large subset of white people in this country who feel that they are losing everything they know, that the country their forefathers built has somehow been stolen from them."Grant Griffin, a 46-year-old white Georgia native, expressed similar sentiments: "I believe our nation is ruined and has been for several decades and the election of Obama is merely the culmination of the change. "If you had real change it would involve all the members of (Obama's) church being deported," he said. Change in whatever form does not come easy, and a black president is "the most profound change in the field of race this country has experienced since the Civil War," said William Ferris, senior associate director of the Center for the Study of the American South at the University of North Carolina. "It's shaking the foundations on which the country has existed for centuries.""Someone once said racism is like cancer," Ferris said. "It's never totally wiped out, it's in remission. "If so, America's remission lasted until the morning of Nov. 5. The day after the vote hailed as a sign of a nation changed, black high school student Barbara Tyler of Marietta, Ga., said she heard hateful Obama comments from white students, and that teachers cut off discussion about Obama's victory. Tyler spoke at a press conference by the Georgia chapter of the NAACP calling for a town hall meeting to address complaints from across the state about hostility and resentment. Another student, from a Covington middle school, said he was suspended for wearing an Obama shirt to school Nov. 5 after the principal told students not to wear political paraphernalia. The student's mother, Eshe Riviears, said the principal told her: "Whether you like it or not, we're in the South, and there are a lot of people who are not happy with this decision." Other incidents include: -Four North Carolina State University students admitted writing anti-Obama comments in a tunnel designated for free speech expression, including one that said: "Let's shoot that (N-word) in the head." Obama has received more threats than any other president-elect, authorities say. -At Standish, Maine, a sign inside the Oak Hill General Store read: "Osama Obama Shotgun Pool." Customers could sign up to bet $1 on a date when Obama would be killed. "Stabbing, shooting, roadside bombs, they all count," the sign said. At the bottom of the marker board was written "Let's hope someone wins." -Racist graffiti was found in places including New York's Long Island, where two dozen cars were spray-painted; Kilgore, Texas, where the local high school and skate park were defaced; and the Los Angeles area, where swastikas, racial slurs and "Go Back To Africa" were spray painted on sidewalks, houses and cars. -Second- and third-grade students on a school bus in Rexburg, Idaho, chanted "assassinate Obama," a district official said. -University of Alabama professor Marsha L. Houston said a poster of the Obama family was ripped off her office door. A replacement poster was defaced with a death threat and a racial slur. "It seems the election brought the racist rats out of the woodwork," Houston said. -Black figures were hanged by nooses from trees on Mount Desert Island, Maine, the Bangor Daily News reported. The president of Baylor University in Waco, Texas said a rope found hanging from a campus tree was apparently an abandoned swing and not a noose. -Crosses were burned in yards of Obama supporters in Hardwick, N.J., and Apolacan Township, Pa. -A black teenager in New York City said he was attacked with a bat on election night by four white men who shouted 'Obama.' -In the Pittsburgh suburb of Forest Hills, a black man said he found a note with a racial slur on his car windshield, saying "now that you voted for Obama, just watch out for your house." Emotions are often raw after a hard-fought political campaign, but now those on the losing side have an easy target for their anger. "The principle is very simple," said BJ Gallagher, a sociologist and co-author of the diversity book "A Peacock in the Land of Penguins." "If I can't hurt the person I'm angry at, then I'll vent my anger on a substitute, i.e., someone of the same race." "We saw the same thing happen after the 9-11 attacks, as a wave of anti-Muslim violence swept the country. We saw it happen after the Rodney King verdict, when Los Angeles blacks erupted in rage at the injustice perpetrated by 'the white man.'" "It's as stupid and ineffectual as kicking your dog when you've had a bad day at the office," Gallagher said. "But it happens a lot."
Obama election spurs race crimes around country
By JESSE WASHINGTON (AP National Writer)
From Associated PressNovember 16, 2008 12:00 AM EST
Cross burnings. Schoolchildren chanting "Assassinate Obama." Black figures hung from nooses. Racial epithets scrawled on homes and cars. Incidents around the country referring to President-elect Barack Obama are dampening the postelection glow of racial progress and harmony, highlighting the stubborn racism that remains in America.
From California to Maine, police have documented a range of alleged crimes, from vandalism and vague threats to at least one physical attack. Insults and taunts have been delivered by adults, college students and second-graders. There have been "hundreds" of incidents since the election, many more than usual, said Mark Potok, director of the Intelligence Project at the Southern Poverty Law Center, which monitors hate crimes.
One was in Snellville, Ga., where Denene Millner said a boy on the school bus told her 9-year-old daughter the day after the election: "I hope Obama gets assassinated." That night, someone trashed her sister-in-law's front lawn, mangled the Obama lawn signs, and left two pizza boxes filled with human feces outside the front door, Millner said. She described her emotions as a combination of anger and fear. "I can't say that every white person in Snellville is evil and anti-Obama and willing to desecrate my property because one or two idiots did it," said Millner, who is black. "But it definitely makes you look a little different at the people who you live with, and makes you wonder what they're capable of and what they're really thinking." Potok, who is white, said he believes there is "a large subset of white people in this country who feel that they are losing everything they know, that the country their forefathers built has somehow been stolen from them."
Grant Griffin, a 46-year-old white Georgia native, expressed similar sentiments: "I believe our nation is ruined and has been for several decades and the election of Obama is merely the culmination of the change. "If you had real change it would involve all the members of (Obama's) church being deported," he said. Change in whatever form does not come easy, and a black president is "the most profound change in the field of race this country has experienced since the Civil War," said William Ferris, senior associate director of the Center for the Study of the American South at the University of North Carolina. "It's shaking the foundations on which the country has existed for centuries."
"Someone once said racism is like cancer," Ferris said. "It's never totally wiped out, it's in remission. "If so, America's remission lasted until the morning of Nov. 5. The day after the vote hailed as a sign of a nation changed, black high school student Barbara Tyler of Marietta, Ga., said she heard hateful Obama comments from white students, and that teachers cut off discussion about Obama's victory. Tyler spoke at a press conference by the Georgia chapter of the NAACP calling for a town hall meeting to address complaints from across the state about hostility and resentment. Another student, from a Covington middle school, said he was suspended for wearing an Obama shirt to school Nov. 5 after the principal told students not to wear political paraphernalia. The student's mother, Eshe Riviears, said the principal told her: "Whether you like it or not, we're in the South, and there are a lot of people who are not happy with this decision."
Other incidents include:
-Four North Carolina State University students admitted writing anti-Obama comments in a tunnel designated for free speech expression, including one that said: "Let's shoot that (N-word) in the head." Obama has received more threats than any other president-elect, authorities say.
-At Standish, Maine, a sign inside the Oak Hill General Store read: "Osama Obama Shotgun Pool." Customers could sign up to bet $1 on a date when Obama would be killed. "Stabbing, shooting, roadside bombs, they all count," the sign said. At the bottom of the marker board was written "Let's hope someone wins."
-Racist graffiti was found in places including New York's Long Island, where two dozen cars were spray-painted; Kilgore, Texas, where the local high school and skate park were defaced; and the Los Angeles area, where swastikas, racial slurs and "Go Back To Africa" were spray painted on sidewalks, houses and cars.
-Second- and third-grade students on a school bus in Rexburg, Idaho, chanted "assassinate Obama," a district official said.
-University of Alabama professor Marsha L. Houston said a poster of the Obama family was ripped off her office door. A replacement poster was defaced with a death threat and a racial slur. "It seems the election brought the racist rats out of the woodwork," Houston said.
-Black figures were hanged by nooses from trees on Mount Desert Island, Maine, the Bangor Daily News reported. The president of Baylor University in Waco, Texas said a rope found hanging from a campus tree was apparently an abandoned swing and not a noose.
-Crosses were burned in yards of Obama supporters in Hardwick, N.J., and Apolacan Township, Pa.
-A black teenager in New York City said he was attacked with a bat on election night by four white men who shouted 'Obama.'
-In the Pittsburgh suburb of Forest Hills, a black man said he found a note with a racial slur on his car windshield, saying "now that you voted for Obama, just watch out for your house."
Emotions are often raw after a hard-fought political campaign, but now those on the losing side have an easy target for their anger. "The principle is very simple," said BJ Gallagher, a sociologist and co-author of the diversity book "A Peacock in the Land of Penguins."
"If I can't hurt the person I'm angry at, then I'll vent my anger on a substitute, i.e., someone of the same race."
"We saw the same thing happen after the 9-11 attacks, as a wave of anti-Muslim violence swept the country. We saw it happen after the Rodney King verdict, when Los Angeles blacks erupted in rage at the injustice perpetrated by 'the white man.'"
"It's as stupid and ineffectual as kicking your dog when you've had a bad day at the office," Gallagher said. "But it happens a lot."
Here's my attempt at satire. I wrote this about a week before the election.
The Creeping Menace
I admire John McCain. His exemplary service to our country and the sacrifices he endured speak volumes to his dedication to our most deeply held values and principles. He continues to uphold that sense of duty and honor with his long and distinguished career as a public servant in the United States Congress. He deserves our consideration when he speaks. So when he finally exposed the truth about Barack Obama, I paid attention and came to the obvious conclusion that I believe millions of Americans have made. Obama is a crypto-Marxist who wants to use the power of the Federal government to obtain control of the global capitalist system in order to convert the masses into cowering, Godless automatons that rely upon the measured handouts of a Nanny State. He is filling his empty suit with Marxist-Leninist-Socialist philosophies and policies so that he may unleash them upon us once he seizes control of the White House. From each according to their abilities, to each according to their needs…spread the wealth indeed!
Webster’s Dictionary defines socialism as such: any of various economic and political theories advocating collective or governmental ownership and administration of the means of production and distribution of goods. Further, Webster’s definition for state socialism is as follows: an economic system with limited socialist characteristics that is effected by gradual state action and typically includes public ownership of major industries and remedial measures to benefit the working class. Mr. Obama can run from these definitions, but he can’t hide as Senator McCain has rightfully called him out.
This great danger of socialism—this malignant cancer—cannot be allowed in a country that values personal freedom and opportunity as bedrock principles. We must stand as one to reject these bankrupt philosophies and purge them from our great society. We must reject the notion that Marxists such as Vladimir Lenin, Mao Tse-tung, Hugo Chavez, Fidel Castro, and all those limp-wristed French—before they got it right and elected Nikolas Sarkozy—have any value in establishing what we Americans self-determine. However, the supreme threat to our free market system can be found in the flag pin wearing, wine sipping, arugula chomping elites of Barack (Hussein) Obama, Bill Clinton, and their ilk. Smooth presentations notwithstanding, the real danger of the Obama multitude lies with the fact that too many American politicians have unwittingly taken part in this slow and steady encroachment of socialism. Obama is simply the latest. The real value provided by Mr. McCain is found in the fact that he has blown the lid off this menace and I listened. I took his words and made a closer examination of how socialism has crept into American society.
The Internal Revenue Service
Created by the Revenue Act of 1862, Abraham Lincoln and Congress instituted the office of the Commissioner of Internal Revenue in order to finance the Civil War. This was a major shift from the then conventional collection of external revenue through duties and tariffs. After the conclusion of the War, the system for spreading the wealth was retained and is now deeply entrenched within the Department of the Treasury. This is clearly the tool used by those Socialists and Communists well veiled inside our government. When you think about, Joseph McCarthy was on to something. Most surprising of all was a discovery I made when reading the works of Adam Smith. Smith invented the concept of the “invisible hand” and is generally credited as the godfather of the modern free-enterprise system. In The Wealth of Nations, he wrote,
The necessaries of life occasion the great expense of the poor. They find it difficult to get food, and the greater part of their little revenue is spent in getting it. The luxuries and vanities of life occasion the principal expense of the rich, and a magnificent house embellishes and sets off to the best advantage all the other luxuries and vanities which they possess. A tax upon house-rents, therefore, would in general fall heaviest upon the rich; and in this sort of inequality there would not, perhaps, be anything very unreasonable. It is not very unreasonable that the rich should contribute to the public expense, not only in proportion to their revenue, but something more than in that proportion. (Book Five: Of the Revenue of the Sovereign or Commonwealth. CHAPTER II: Of the Sources of the General or Public Revenue of the Society. ARTICLE I: Taxes upon the Rent of House.)
Wow! Right there it is clear that Smith would favor what the IRS has become. Were he alive today he would surely side with the Soak-The-Rich-And-Spread-The-Wealth Horde. He would have made a great running mate for Comrade Obama and would have served well as the Generalissimo in the class war that Obama is surely planning.
The Great Collective
Theodore Roosevelt was our first president to forcefully advocate for a system of public land ownership. Others had called for this before him as they expressed their pinko ideals. They couched their ideology in soothing terms and used the natural beauty of our landscape to fool the unwitting masses into conserving vast tracts of territory. Slowly but surely our government snatched up prime real estate in what history will undoubtedly judge as the largest land grab ever. Collective ownership of natural resources is a signature indicator of a socialist form of governance (see definitions above). Oh sure, Yosemite, Cape Cod, Mt. Rainier, Acadia, Yellowstone, and the vast expanses of other public lands are beautiful. But good looks won’t make you money…unless you’re Cindy Crawford. All those idle acres found in the Alaska National Wildlife Refuse (ANWR) could be put to better use if there were not under control of the Socialist Cadre. It’s not like there are thousands of tourists flocking there to witness its “pristine” majesty. Ever see a pack of wolves kill a caribou? It’s not pretty. Vast reserves of energy and minerals could boost our economy and the profits of deserving Capitalists in what would undoubtedly be the greatest trickle-down venture in history. And once we’re done extracting the abundance contained in ANWR, it would return to its natural state in a few hundred years. That’s like two seconds in geologic time. Besides, no one goes there anyway, remember?
Brother, Can You Spare A Few Billion Dimes?
Once I got wind of the looming Wall Street “bailout”, I immediately wrote to my representatives in Congress voicing my strong opposition to any of my hard earned money being redistributed to millionaires. Now Henry Paulson (former Goldman-Sachs executive—see the connection?) is directing one of the largest centrally controlled government plans ever. Josef Stalin would be jealous. The magic of the free market lies in the fact that it contains natural consequences for those who make poor decisions and confers huge rewards for success. Those who ran their companies into the ground should pay, and not with our money. When George W. Bush talked of an ownership society, little did we know that he was referring to the nationalization banking assets. Franklin Roosevelt has nothing on Mr. Bush.
Socialist Security
Speaking of FDR, we all know what he did to ruin our country. With the establishment of the Social(ist) Security Administration (SSA), he allowed millions of widows, disabled, and elders to sit in their chairs and collect redistributed wealth without having to do much more than walk to their mailboxes. This, along with the other Communist, spread the wealth programs of the “New Deal” have taken us down a path of anti-capitalist dependence on Big Government. Of all the clear and present dangers to our system, the menace of the SSA is the easiest to deal with. When I get old, I’m going to do one simple thing to my Socialist Security check: I’m going to shred it. Now that’s being a maverick!
The Restoration of America
Senator McCain is doing what’s right. Along with Representative Bachmann (R-Minn.), he is calling on all good Americans to continue the important work of Joe (McCarthy) the Senator. Now more than ever, we must root out the evils of Marxist-Leninist Communism-Socialism. We must work together and restore America to the greatness that she once had, before the Revenue Act 1862. It is my hope that we keep the flame of freedom burning. Please educate your fellow Americans about the dangers that we would face under an Obama “Presidency”. Ask your representatives in Congress if they hold anti-American feelings and vote accordingly. And come this Thanksgiving when your Commie Pinko uncle asks you to pass the gravy, refuse to do so. He’s already had enough.
The 2008 election saw the defeat of the incumbent Superintendent of Public Instruction in the state of Washington. Randy Dorn won a close election campaigning against our state's standardized test, the WASL (Washington assessment of student learning). Mr. Dorn--an experienced educator--understands the ground swell of anti-WASL sentiment well. I voted for Dorn, but I beleive that he has misread the energy in opposition to the WASL. He has pledged to do away with the test, which measures the achievement of 3rd through 8th graders and 10th graders in the areas of reading, writing, math, and science. I believe that to do so would be akin to throwing the baby out with the bath water.
The WASL is a major departure from the traditional multiple-choice-fill-in-the-bubble-numb-your-brain tests of my childhood. For many of the responses the WASL requires the student to indicate how the individual arrives at an answer. In other words, the test is an effective measure of critical thinking skills. In spite of the deep well of animosity in relation to the test, many--if not all--educators find the test's results meaningful and useful. Teachers use the assessment to gauge an individual's progress toward state and district academic standards.
When I talk to parents and colleagues about the WASL, we usually get to the point about the generally negative feelings about the test. What most parents and teahcers dislike about WASL is not the test itself but how the test is used. It is the singular tool that measures AYP (adequate yearly progress) as a requirement of No Child Left Behind (NCLB). Also, in the state of Washington passing the WASL in 10th grade is one of the many requirements of graduation from high school.
One test creates (in some cases) monumental pressure that in turn has some intentional, and unintentional consequences. Valuable curriculum is pushed aside in favor of instruction that assists student growth as measured by the WASL. And if you have ever been in a Washington school in the spring time, you would see the stressful reactions of all involved. I have seen students shut down due to their reactions to the test. These are capable, intelligent students whose feelings of inadequacy are highlighted and exposed.
If we can make the WASL one of the many measures that educators use to assess student growth and progress, then I believe that our state may see other measures--such as drop-out rates--improve. What do you think, Superintendent-elect Dorn?
Veteran's Day is special in my family. My patriotic father would hoist his flag and provide lessons on love of country, honor, duty, and community, among other things. Growing up this was against the backdrop of the Vietnam War. And while he was opposed to that war, he always reminded me that true patriotism was not bound to feelings or opinions on particular issues or leaders. Love of country--like the love of a family member--is unconditional. The desire to do better, to strive to be at your best, to recognize and accept the successes and failures, the strengths and weaknesses, is at the core of my love of America.
Thank you to the following individuals in my family who have served our country with honor and distinction in the armed forces.
Dad, Uncle Jack, and Uncle John have left this world, but their lessons remain with their families. They taught by example, providing simple lessons here and there. Dad taught me to respect and honor those who serve in unform and that to serve your community was the highest calling of a citizen in a democracy. Uncle Jack taught me to make peace with your enemies, and how to wiggle my ears! Uncle John taught me grace, and along with my other elders, discipline. He cut an impressive swath in that Marine Corp dress uniform. Pat continues to serve his family and community with honor, dedication, and humor. He volunteers his valuable time for various causes and events, all in the effort to improve the lives of those around him.
Every day when I lead my students in the Pledge of Allegiance, I think of these men and the millions of men and women who have served in our name. Thank you for your dedication and sense of honor and duty. When I raised my flag this morning, I had my son at my side. I am carrying on my father's tradition of instilling a sense of patriotism and gratitude for our country.
Happy Veteran's Day
Greetings
I am so grateful to be a part of this...something larger than any one individual...a true sum of the parts. The election of Mr. Obama is truly historic, but it will be our collective energy and effort that will make his presidency transformative.
I am sure I feel the same as many of you. Our country is waking up in order to fully realize its potential. I see more smiles, more kindness, and a real attempt at making connections with others. Even my more conservative colleagues are admitting that the Obama administration can take our beloved America in the right direction.
I am entering my 20th year working directly with youth, the last 13 in a public school setting. Never have I seen students be more interested and involved...and knowledgeable! Working with middle school students on a daily basis regenerates my sense of optimism and faith. Never have I seen young people believe in the possibility of their futures. I have witnessed an amazing transformation in a very short period of time.
In my classroom I have individuals who represent the entirety of our society. The discussions of race, gender, religion, class, and politics have been open and respectful. And with my guidance the disagreements have been instructive. The youth are listening to each other and realizing that the need to get along is vital if they are to inherit a vibrant society and democracy. In a very real way, the youth of America are showing us the way.
I will be providing a first person perspective on life in a public school classroom. I teach special education in a middle school in Lacey, WA. My primary charge is to instruct, mentor, and guide students who have been struggling in school due to their classroom behaviors. My students are labeled with various terms: health impared, emotional and behavioral disordered, conduct disordered, oppositionally defiant, "those kids". Beneath it all are wonderful human beings who present challenges to their teachers and families. But when the day is done and I leave my building I know that they have grown some each day and that they know there are many people in this world who care about their lives.
Federal education policy in the form of No Child Left Behind has done little to improve the state of public education. Lack of funding and an evaluation process divorced from reality are just two factors that leave teachers short of resources and short of breath. School improvements are due mainly to the hard work and dedication of the teachers in the trenches. What I see on a daily basis is true heroism as educators do all they can with ever tightening budgets and ever expanding mandates. Ask yourself one important question: Why did Senator Ted Kennedy feel the need to apologize for No Child Left Behind on the occasion of its one year anniversary?
