Heard via Yeah, Right, Whatever, (which is awesomely good, itself) - The Emperor Darth Misha, of the Anti-Idiotarian Rottweiler, has been proclaimed the Jack Bauer of the Internet. He won 81% of the vote on PoliPundit's poll. Go to the link to see what was involved in the selection.



Well deserved, Misha. I've always been fond of the Emperor since he added me to his Blogroll. He was the first really big blog to do so. Such a boost it gave to me!

Tags = Blogging

Finally!

It's official! Alito was sworn in today by the new Chief Jusstice, John Roberts.

Guess who wasn't a happy camper?



Here's the breakdown - where does your Senator stand?

Democrats Yes

Byrd, W.Va.; Conrad, N.D.; Johnson, S.D.; Nelson, Neb.

Democrats No

Akaka, Hawaii; Baucus, Mont.; Bayh, Ind.; Biden, Del.; Bingaman, N.M.; Boxer, Calif.; Cantwell, Wash.; Carper, Del.; Clinton, N.Y.; Dayton, Minn.; Dodd, Conn.; Dorgan, N.D.; Durbin, Ill.; Feingold, Wis.; Feinstein, Calif.; Harkin, Iowa; Inouye, Hawaii; Kennedy, Mass.; Kerry, Mass.; Kohl, Wis.; Landrieu, La.; Lautenberg, N.J.; Leahy, Vt.; Levin, Mich.; Lieberman, Conn.; Lincoln, Ark.; Menendez, N.J.; Mikulski, Md.; Murray, Wash.; Nelson, Fla.; Obama, Ill.; Pryor, Ark.; Reed, R.I.; Reid, Nev.; Rockefeller, W.Va.; Salazar, Colo.; Sarbanes, Md.; Schumer, N.Y.; Stabenow, Mich.; Wyden, Ore.

Republicans Yes

Alexander, Tenn.; Allard, Colo.; Allen, Va.; Bennett, Utah; Bond, Mo.; Brownback, Kan.; Bunning, Ky.; Burns, Mont.; Burr, N.C.; Chambliss, Ga.; Coburn, Okla.; Cochran, Miss.; Coleman, Minn.; Collins, Maine; Cornyn, Texas; Craig, Idaho; Crapo, Idaho; DeMint, S.C.; DeWine, Ohio; Dole, N.C.; Domenici, N.M.; Ensign, Nev.; Enzi, Wyo.; Frist, Tenn.; Graham, S.C.; Grassley, Iowa; Gregg, N.H.; Hagel, Neb.; Hatch, Utah; Hutchison, Texas; Inhofe, Okla.; Isakson, Ga.; Kyl, Ariz.; Lott, Miss.; Lugar, Ind.; Martinez, Fla.; McCain, Ariz.; McConnell, Ky.; Murkowski, Alaska; Roberts, Kan.; Santorum, Pa.; Sessions, Ala.; Shelby, Ala.; Smith, Ore.; Snowe, Maine; Specter, Pa.; Stevens, Alaska; Sununu, N.H.; Talent, Mo.; Thomas, Wyo.; Thune, S.D.; Vitter, La.; Voinovich, Ohio; Warner, Va.

Republicans No

Chafee, R.I.

Independents No

Jeffords, Vt.

How did Kerry spin that?

25 Democratic Senators joined our effort to filibuster the Alito nomination – that’s more votes to filibuster the Alito nomination than there were votes against Justice Roberts’ nomination itself just a few months ago.

A day later, 42 Senators voted against Alito’s nomination. That’s the highest number of votes against any Supreme Court nominee since Clarence Thomas in 1991.

OK, what did he REALLY say?

He departed by a back staircase and kept walking as reporters chased him and asked why he had decided to interrupt his trip to a world economic forum in Davos, Switzerland. "I knew ahead of time that if there was a filing" to end debate, "I would be back," Kerry said before entering his car.

Does anyone have ANY idea what that means?

You know, the more I see of Kerry, the more I am reminded of another failed politician from New England. He was said to have a "Lincoln-like" exterior, too.



Judge for yourself. I think they both resemble someone else rather well-known.



Tags = News and Politics

Immigration thoughts - Wednesday

I'm having a difficult time seeing this development as a good thing:

Mexico's National Human Rights Commission will print and distribute at least 70,000 maps showing immigrants the safest routes to cross the border into Arizona, officials said Tuesday.

Because, of course, the HORRIBLE, TOTALLY UNFORSEEN OUTCOME of dying while trying to evade the border patrol crossing the border to achieve a better life is the evil to be avoided. Not staying alive by staying in your own country, which, as we all know, is JUST NOT POSSIBLE.

Update: Since I started this post, the Mexican government has backed down on the map distribution. But, they still won't accept their responsibility to keep their people on their side of the river. Vicente, if you value US-Mexico relations, take note. We currently have more urgent problems than Mexican aliens invading our country. But, that won't be true forever. If you act now, you may keep your job. If not, it could be a bad thing.

The Senate has a chance to reduce the number of people dying.

The U.S. House of Representatives approved a bill in December that would add 700 miles of border fencing and make illegal immigration a felony. The bill is expected to reach the Senate next month.

Go to this link to the US Senate, and let your Senator know how you feel about the issue.

I agree that we need to do more to stop Mexicans from dying in the deserts. I just disagree how that sound be done.

BTW, Humane Borders, the group who came up with the original idea, is at this link. Do go and let them know how you feel about their activities, would you? Thanks ever so much.

UPDATE: Since I started this draft, the Mexican government has decided to stop distributing the maps. Not, unfortunately, because they realized that encouraging their citizens to evade the laws of a neighboring country was bad, but because the pro-"undocumented immigrants" crowd realized that what the aliens could find out from the map, so could US citizens protecting our borders vigilantes trying to oppress the poor downtrodden.

Tags = Immigration

Weekend Carnival

Kevin W. at The Liberal Wrong - Wing has a chance for you to spout off about the wrongs of Liberals. My major complaint is how the Liberals have basically hijacked the Education Departments of most universities. The difference between my undergraduate years in the late 1980s and today is that, however annoying Education classes were then (mandatory attendance, Mickey Mouse assignments, tediously boring content), they are far more politically slanted today. I was lucky in my graduate education; my area of focus was on Technology. In general, my professors were more interested in the technology than in political indoctrination. However, there was one elective that nearly caused my circuits to blow.

I did get even - check out No Indoctrination; the college was Cleveland State. That site and Rate My Professor allow the unfairly put-upon to even the score.

The situation in some universities is so bad that some students expressing a conservative point of view have been dropped from programs. For details, check out this site.

Tags = Education

Google Image for China

I created the image below in response to the Michelle Malkin logo submissions activity. I seem to have lost some files for my better image editing programs, so I made it with the Windows Paint program.

 
 

It's the culture, not the politics

I found this essay on One Cosmos

our society has become a plague of adult children and childish adults--that is, prematurely sexualized children who are burdened with all kinds of inappropriate concerns, and childish adults who psychologically do not grow beyond the age of 21 or so, and never enter the realm of the truly adult.

Wow!

That's what I've been saying - it's an issue of those who are grown-up, vs. those who petulantly want everything, all at once - that is, those who are childish.



More below:

The modern conservative movement is not just trying to preserve the traditional male element, but the traditional separation of the various spheres in general--civilized vs. barbaric, animal vs, human, adult vs. child--while the Democratic party is the party of mannish women (e.g., Hillary Clinton, Gloria Allred), feminized men (e.g., Bill Clinton, John Kerry, Al Gore), adult children (Howard Dean, John Edwards, Ted Kennedy, Joe Biden, et al), and even animal humans (PETA members who believe that killing six million chickens is morally indistinguishable from murdering six million Jews, radical environmentalists, etc.). And it is almost impossible to engage in rational debate with the adult child, who has the cynicism of a world-weary grown up but the wisdom of a child, or with the male-female hybrid, who possesses an emotionalized reason that is easily hijacked by the passions. This is not so much a disagreement between the content of thought as its very form.

There's a lot more, so check it out.

Tags = Culture

Humans are part of the environment, too!

This is just plain wrong.

Asthma sufferers may not be able to buy nonprescription inhalers much longer because the devices contain propellants that harm the ozone layer.

An advisory panel voted 11-7 Tuesday to recommend that the Food and Drug Administration remove the "essential use" status that Primatene Mist and other similar nonprescription inhalers require to be sold, spokeswoman Laura Alvey said.

Final revocation of that status would mean a de facto ban on their sale.

First, much of the current research into the ozone layer is built on computer models. And, as anyone who understands computer modeling knows, a small change in the model can totally change the outcome of the simulation, which basically means that the research is - what's the word the French use? - MERDE!

How many people (for environmentalists, those are the bipedal animals) could be affected?

3 million Americans use Primatene Mist for mild or intermittent cases of asthma

That's MILD or INTERMITTENT - meaning, for the stupid (or those on the FDA advisory panel), that they aren't pumping the inhalers into them, 24/7, but using them as an inexpensive back-up for OCCASIONAL problems. Which, for someone who only has to resort to them a few times a year, means less destruction to the environment than a daily commute in your oversized vehicle. Which, by the way, is still legal.

Look, the inhalers' propellants primarily go into the user's respiratory system. When you use an inhaler, you inhale as you depress the pump. Then you hold the stuff in your lungs as long as you can stand it. By the time you finally exhale, I doubt that much CFC will be dispelled.

My daughter uses an OTC as a backup. She only needs to use it a few times a year, but it saves a trip to the emergency room. I've not used OTCs, as I've had access to an excellent drug plan since my diagnosis. But many asthmatics do use the OTCs, with few problems.

I'm not saying that the issue shouldn't be looked at, but until there is a viable, inexpensive alternative, don't ban the OTC asthma inhalers. With the incidence of asthma increasing, it just doesn't make sense.

Anyone want to fight this decision might also want to remind the FDA that a ban would disproportionately hurt blacks, since they have higher rates of asthma, and are less likely to have health insurance. Can we say RACIST?

I sent the FDA the following on their website:

I read of an FDA advisory committee's action to recommend removing the essential use status on OTC asthma inhalers. I strongly protest any such action. Many asthma sufferers use these OTCs, and they are a reasonable and inexpensive alternative and backup to prescription inhalers.

As blacks are disproportionately affected by asthma, they would also be more affected by what is a de facto ban. This would contribute to increased emergency room costs and days lost due to asthma attacks.

I urge your agency to rule against the advisory panel, and keep the OTC inhalers available.

Tags = Health and Wellness

Immigration thoughts - Wednesday

Remember the stories I found about skirmishes at the Mexican border with men wearing the uniforms of Mexican army troops? I couldn't verify the story, so I concluded it was NOT PROVEN.

Michelle Malkin has further information, and it looks as though the stories were true. Fox News has confirmation of the reports from Texas officials. Texas Governor Rick Perry has ordered an investigation. On the other side of the border, Mexico denies that its troops were involved, saying that the armed invaders were drug smugglers using Army uniforms and equipment.

What's ICE saying?

Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff has said reports of Mexican incursions into the United States were overblown and most were just mistakes.

R-i-i-i-g-h-t. Just a little ole mistake. That happens all the time.

What is ICE concerned about these days?

Federal Agents Execute Six Warrants Searching For Counterfeit Designer Furniture As California Antique Store Widens

Now, maybe they just failed to update their website recently. Heck, if I had to worry about the Mexican army shooting it out on my southern border, I might not bother gittin' online to add in the data until it was all over.

On the other hand, why is the national news media not jumping all over this? Well, some of the news outlets have featured stories, notably CNN. They are in line with the official ICE version - the invaders are NOT army, but criminals. However:

Drug traffickers often disguise themselves in military or public security uniforms to avoid capture, and Mexican police and soldiers have been known to join the drug trade.

Recent reports that Mexican army and police have crossed into the United States on an average of about 20 times a year have irked U.S. border states.

Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff downplayed the seriousness of the problem, noting that in many places the border is not clearly marked.

One of the main concerns for U.S. law enforcement officials are the "Zetas," a gang of deserters from an elite Mexican army military unit who have engaged in a bloody turf war for control of trafficking routes on the border. U.S. citizens have been caught in the resulting kidnappings and killings.

Frankly, if the men were former "elite" army members, I would think the Mexican government has a responsibility to deal with them. Allowing them to operate on the border might jepardize US-Mexican relations (as it SHOULD).


Tags = Immigration

Cassandra's back

I'm guessing the vacation did her a world of good. Her latest is priceless. Check it out.

Tags = Blogging

I'm back, but who knows for how long

The cable's fixed. But I may lose it again in the next week or so. I'm moving (date not certain, it depends on when the house can be closed on), so I may be without high-speed for a few days.

I'll try to keep a stiff upper lip.

Tags = Blogging

Sorry for the goofy formatting

The cable's down, no idea when it will be back. One way or another, I've have some access by this evening, even if dial-up. Expect another glitch sometime in the next week or two - I'll be closing on a house, and I anticipate another screw-up.

What is the future of politics?

**** I've corrected the formatting, spelling, and somewhat garbled syntax. *****

According to Judge Richard Posner of the Seventh Circuit, quoted in Judge Richard Posner of the Seventh Circuit, quoted by Michael Barone
(US News & World Report columnist)

:American democracy," writes Posner, "enables the adult population, at very little cost in time, money, or distraction from private pursuits commercial or otherwise, to punish at least the flagrant mistakes and misfeasances of officialdom, to assure an orderly succession of at least minimally competent officials, to generate feedback to the officials concerning the consequences of their policies, to prevent officials from (or punish them for) entirely ignoring the interests of the governed, and to prevent serious misalignments between government action and public opinion.

Barone finds Posner's point of view "too astringent", but, in fact, it's not entirely misleading.
It's certainly minimal and more than a little cynical, but accurate.

Hard as it is for most of the insiders to recognize, the average
American doesn't want to have to wade through densely written papers explaining, in tedious detail, the intricacies of policy initiatives or legislative bills. What we want, and I count myself as relatively average, is to keep government from taking a disproportionate amount of our money, have them step in during emergencies, and keep most of the world from being the wolf at our door. If they can do that and accomplish other feats, without costing us too much, well, all to the good. But we really prefer not to be too involved in foreign affairs - we really want other countries to use what the Founding Fathers called "self-determination" to govern themselves.

We tend to vote the way we do, for parties that promise to keep us from micro-managing other peoples. While we feel passionately about basic human rights, we draw the line closer than the liberals do - right to your own life, right to worship freely (we feel VERY strongly about that one), and ability to have some control over the government. We're not going to go to war over
whether all women can get an executive job, universal day care, or whether kids can have a free college education. While we would rather they let women vote, we're willing to keep our nose out of it. If their society is OK with disenfranchising the females, we may think they're uncivilized, but won't send in the troops.

Sorry I'm late with Immigration Wednesday

this is quite disturbing.

Chris Simcox, owner of the Tombstone (Ariz.) Tumbleweed newspaper, and head of one such border group. He's trying to get the word out; few are listening and, apparently, that includes anyone in Washington.

In an e-mail to select correspondents last month, Simcox said there was "another" shootout very similar to others that have occurred with increasingly frequency along remote areas of the Arizona border – areas known to be frequented by drug and alien smugglers and elements of Mexican "authorities" (which often has included federal troops and police) that escort them to the border.

"Details are basically the same; shots fired, assailants get away, drugs seized," he writes. "The [Mexican] soldiers we captured on tape have been seen laying down suppression fire during the drug dealers' dash back across the border – this is not hyperbole – our guys are being fired upon from the other side of the border and they will not return fire. …"

"A high-speed car chase ended with Bisbee police, Border Patrol agents and a detail of the United States Marines coming under automatic weapons fire near the U.S./Mexico border two miles west of Naco, Ariz., on Tuesday morning, Feb. 16," reported Simcox. "Federal Bureau of Investigation agent Susan Herskovits confirmed on Wednesday that the agency is involved in the investigation, because it involves an assault on federal law-enforcement agents and involves gunfire from across the international boundary with Mexico."

From SignOnSandiego, this report:

TIJUANA, Mexico – A ruthless drug gang is using a group of deserters from an elite Mexican army unit to carry out contract killings along the U.S. border, Mexico's top anti-narcotics investigator said.

The alliance pairs the Arellano Felix smuggling syndicate with the Zetas, a criminal group led by former members of a paratroop and intelligence battalion trained to fight drug traffickers.

* Alleged drug kingpin faces organized crime, money laundering charges

"For us, it's very dangerous," Jose Luis Santiago Vasconcelos, deputy attorney general for drug trafficking and organized crime, told reporters on Thursday.

The Arellano Felixes work the busy San Ysidro entry point between San Diego and this border town. U.S. and Mexican authorities estimate the gang moves one quarter of all the cocaine flowing across the U.S. border.

Mexican officials said the Zetas were recruited by Osiel Cardenas, the reputed leader of the Gulf cartel, during the 1990s when their unit was posted to the border state of Tamaulipas. More than 100 killings and dozens of kidnappings are attributed to the deserters.

Clearly, there are some nervous people out there. What's not clear is that the Mexican government forces are involved. Frankly, I've looked and can't find credible sources out there, with the exception of WorldNetNews. The ones I do find seem to be a little conspiracy-minded and over-the-edge. If anyone has any personal information, or can find a reliable sources, I'm willing to listen. But I'm just not seeing it.

So, for now, I'm going to file this one under NOT PROVEN.

Tags = Immigration

So much to blog about, so little time

Where to start?

Apparently, I called for Alito too soon. No, it's not likely that he will be turned down, just that the Sore Loser Party Democrats want to reduce the time available for the Republicans to gloat. Not that they would, of course. But, just in case, the vote will be delayed a week.

In other news, the Supreme Court upheld the Oregon Physican-Assisted Suicide law. Of course, the line-up of yeas and nays was the usual - the Kelo crowd thinks it's peachy keen to take your house, why should we be surprised that they think it's cool to take your life?

KENNEDY, J., delivered the opinion of the Court, in which STEVENS, O’CONNOR, SOUTER, GINSBURG, and BREYER, JJ., joined. SCALIA, J., filed a dissenting opinion, in which ROBERTS, C. J., and THOMAS, J., joined.THOMAS, J., filed a dissenting opinion.

Brokeback Mountain won - oh, the surprise! Listen, it was a shoo-in the minute they mentioned GAY Cowboys! Not that there's a Gay Mafia in Hollywood, of course. No way.

Perhaps the movie really has artistic merit. I haven't seen it, so I really can't say. But I have the sneaking suspicion that it wouln't matter to many. The merits have little to do with their approval. It's all about the politics.

I'll save my comments about the border disputes for tomorrow.

Tags = Miscellaneous

Keeping the little lady happy

The fight to the death - I mean - the meaningless pause for the obligatory protest of the Supreme Court nominee - has ended. Alito will be confirmed. And the Democrats have paid the piper - I mean the Piperettes. From Mark Steyn, writing for the Sun Times

Big-time Democrats are out there dancing for dollars in a cause so obviously non-viable that their media buddies feel obliged to signal that it's merely a charade. Does that satisfy anybody? If you were one of the elderly feminists at NOW, would you take kindly to hearing that the Democrat bigshots don't believe any of this shtick, it's just a routine they have to go through to keep the little ladies happy?

Have you no dignity left, girls? It's clear that you have to real, ideologically committed allies in the Congress, just a bunch of toadies who are willing to bluster to keep the cash flowing.

Tags = News and Politics

Terrible way to wake up

I woke up with my cold appearing to be worse. It wasn't; I just forgot to take my decongestant before bed. Remedied now.

I fired up the portable real-time news updater (commonly called blogs), and found this interesting post via The Officers' Club

what happens when the EU does something that displeases the Muslim world again- this time with nukes pointed at them and a large pool of extremists that could be recruited for terror operations within their midst?

The EU’s playbook is that of liberalism, internationalism, and multilateralism. That works fine when there is an American armored division waiting around for somebody to get out of line- but when America disengages substantially from EURCOM, who will defend Europe? Not the Europeans.

Referred by Vodkapundit

I have a sinking feeling that they're right. And it will, unfortunately, take a near complete take-over of Western Europe to get much of the US to wake up and smell the Turkish coffee.

I read Churchill's "The Gathering Storm" again this summer. It doesn't read like history, it reads like news reports. The book was made into a not-bad movie (a surprise, given the politics of the leads - Vanessa Redgrave and Albert Finney). It didn't do that well at the box office.

Maybe they'll re-issue it once the collapse of Europe is imminent.

Tags = War

What's Arabic for "Chutzpah?"

In Glasgow, Scotland, a Catholic school is being pressured to be - well - more inclusive in its faith practices.

AN ISLAMIC campaign group has called for a Catholic primary school to be based on the Muslim faith.

The Campaign for Muslim Schools said 90 per cent of pupils at St Albert's Primary, in the Pollokshields area of Glasgow, are Muslim, yet children are having to take part in Catholic rituals like saying the Lord's Prayer and attending mass.

Osama Saeed, co-ordinator of the alliance of Glasgow's main mosques and Muslim organisations, said he could see no reason why the main faith of the school should not change.

I can, you peckerwood. Because the Catholics paid for it! (Gee, that reminds me of that moment when Reagan said "I paid for this microphone...")

He continues, saying

surely it should be possible for them to have one that is relevant to their own faith.

Sure, it's possible. Not a problem.

BUILD YOUR OWN SCHOOL, CHEAPSKATE!

Courtesy of J Rob's House of Opinions.

Tags = Stupid People

When you're right, you're right

Michael Yon has a copy of a letter sent by Barbara A. Mikulski (Dem, MD) and Jim DeMint (Rep, SC), urging

Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice to take immediate action and formally request that the Government of Lebanon arrest and extradite convicted killer Mohammed Ali Hamadi to the United States. Hamadi was serving a life sentence in Germany for the 1985 hijacking of a TWA jetliner and killing of U.S. Navy diver Robert Dean Stethem, 23, of Waldorf, Md. He was paroled after 19 years in December 2005, and is known to be hiding in Lebanon.

Fair's fair - I seldom agree with Mikulski, but this time, she deserves to be commended for being on the right side. Lebanon owes us - we've had good relations for a long time, and the Germans were wrong to release him. They did it so German kidnap victims would be released. I'm not supportive of cooperating with kidnappers - it's a sure way to decrease the safety of other citizens abroad. But, that seems to be the preferred tactic of the Euros - cringe, fold, and mutilate human dignity.



These are pictures of the young sailor, who was beaten, tortured, and shot by Hamadi. He died at 23. The navy named a warship after him, and gave him a Purple Heart and Bronze Star.

That isn't enough. Our government needs to extradite Hamadi, or add Lebanon to the list of governments that have chosen to support our enemies.

The ball's in Bush's court. He needs to do the right thing.

Tags = News and Politics

Almost 2 years

Just for fun, I checked out The Wayback Machine (named, I believe, for the cartoon machine that Peabody, a dog, and his boy, Sherman, used to travel back in time). I found one of my first posts, from my short career on Right We Are!. I'll reproduce it below:

Like the Pointer Sisters, I'm so excited!

I’m the new girl (Woman? Chick? Old Lady?) at Right We Are!. I’m still in a state of shock that Maripat accepted my offer to help. It’s a little like seeing A-Rod sitting on a park bench, off-handedly saying, “Wanna toss a ball around?” and hearing back, “Sure.” Panic time!

I’m a science teacher, formerly teaching in urban schools, currently unemployed, and completing my master’s in technology. I have 3 children and 2 grandchildren, and a husband who:

· Cooks most of the time
· Picks up after himself (most of the time)
· Does laundry
· Still rings my chimes

What more could you ask for?

I am another used-to-be liberal. I was born in 1951, so that makes me a Boomer. I was too cautious (OK, I was chicken) to participate in drugs or random sex, but I seldom questioned the Boomer orthodoxy, either social or political.

Then came 9-11.

Two of my children were in the service that day (Navy and Army National Guard). I was worried about their safety, but my view about military response was the same as it is today. The terrorists crossed the line, and I’m going to open a can.

What gets me hot? (Not hot sexy, but frothing at the mouth kind)

· Most teachers – willing to blame anyone for student failure other than themselves. And don’t get me started on educational theory.
· Women who believe that all men are awful, and all women are wonderful, and everything would be perfect if men could just be more like women.
· People who sneer at “Christian values”. It’s those values that led us to end slavery and child labor, provide for the helpless, treat women with dignity, etc. Show me the Wiccan or New-Ager who’s had that kind of impact.
· People who laughingly say “I can’t do math”. Maybe you can’t today, but you could learn.

That appeared on January 26, 2004. If not for Maripat's generousity in sharing her blog, I would probably still be blurking, and occasionally commenting. Instead, I've created 491 posts on this blog, as well a number on my Technology in Teaching blog.

If you also have the urge to start posting, drop me a line. If your interests and mine mesh, I can arrange for you to guest-blog sometimes. It's a nice way to break into the field.

Also looking for co-bloggers is Our World and Welcome to It. There's a link on the Blogroll.

Tags = Blogging

Link to it - Sign it, if you can

I found this appeal to right-of-center bloggers, asking for support to reform the lobbying system we currently have, in light of the Abramoff scandals. I, personally, consider it the intelligent, pre-emptive activity that may keep the Democrats from sweeping in during the next elections. Remember the Carter years? Remember double-digit inflation? Remember bumbling, inept foreign policy? That followed the public's disgust with the Watergate scandals (and, in case you don't remember it, other political scandals of the times).

Don't let it happen again. Visit, and either link or trackback to the site.Tags = News and Politics

To be an Arabic woman

I've been reading lately about the position of Arabic women in Middle Eastern cultures. I started thinking about an Arabic woman I knew, over 40 years ago, in Lakewood, OH.

Her name was Mrs. Nadar. If I ever knew her first name, I've forgotten. Then, children seldom knew adults they weren't related to by their first names - they were either Mr. and Mrs., or Mommy and Dad. Indeed, many children were puzzled when their teacher asked for their parents' first names. We just never thought of them that way.

Both she and her husband were from Egypt. They were Christians, and had spent their entire married life in America. Mr. Nadar worked, Mrs. Nadar did not. This wasn't unusual in the late 1950s and 1960s. The rare woman had a job outside of the house. Even without children, women didn't generally work.

But Mrs. Nadar was even more tied to her home than most women. She never left without her husband. It took several years, and patient coaxing on the part of her landlady, to make her comfortable with the notion of sitting on the downstairs front porch without a man present, in the company of her neighbors.

Mrs. Nadar was well-treated, by the standards of the times. In a working-class neighborhood, her furs and jewelry were the envy of the local ladies. Her husband was a quiet, gentle man, who also acted with the utmost courtesy towards a wife he openly cherished.

Mrs. Nadar originally was to have married another man. The betrothal was all but done, when Mr. Nadar laid eyes on her, and proceeded to out-bid her other suitor. He paid a substantial dowry for her, and considered that he got a bargain. Mrs. Nadar was a very pretty woman, modest, and a very good mother to their two girls.

But, all was not well in the Nadar household. Mrs. Nadar had failed to bring forth a living son. She regularly suffered miscarriages, 6, I believe, before her last pregnancy. Mr. Nadar would, I believe, have been content with the two girls they had produced. He glowed as he walked around the neighborhood with his plump, dark-haired beauties.

Not so Mr. Nadar's mother. Nothing would do but for Mrs. Nadar to have a BOY grandchild. With each new failure, her temper got shorter. We could her her scolding Mrs. Nadar for her "weakness" in again miscarrying.

Finally, the old crone had had enough. She laid the line in the sand. If Mrs. Nadar didn't give birth to a boy this time, she would send her back to the old country, and make her son divorce her.

Mrs. Nadar spent the entire pregnancy in a state of fear. She knew that old bat would do it, if she produced another girl. In vain did my mother try to convince her that the man determined the sex of the child.

Well, a small miracle happened. Elijah Nadar, called Billy Bounce by the family, was born. At last, Mrs. Nadar could relax, and not fear her mother-in-law's wrath.

At the time, my mother was a little amused by the situation. I doubt she really believed that Mr. Nadar would let his wife be sent home in disgrace for something not her fault. I'm not so sure. Picture the same circumstances, but the husband and father not so well educated, not so loving and patient. Would there have been beatings, abuse, and terror? The cultures of Western and Middle Eastern families are very different, even today.

Tags = Culture

Why they hate Bush

Via Betsy's Page, a NC blogging teacher, I found The Anchoress' son's intriguing theory about why Bush-haters hate Bush

Bush is not following the narrative. He was supposed to be a semi-harmless goofball the press and the Dems could run a few circles around before being defeated in 2004. Instead, 9/11 turned him into a president with strong ideas and stubborn resolve. He couldn’t be moved or swayed, not by editorial boards, not by marching millions, and..and…the 2002 election went his way! And his poll numbers wouldn’t go down, dammit, they just wouldn’t go down!

I think the kid may have something!

Think about it - when do the conservative-bashers hate conservatives LEAST? When they can airily dismiss them:

• Pat Buchanan - they aren't as vicious about him as they have been of either Bush or Reagan. He's clearly over the edge, and has little influence. They can lightly bash him, but reserve the real venom for the more successful, and, hence, more threatening conservatives.
  
• Reagan's enemies were relatively nice to him toward the end, because his Alzheimer's made him less of a threat. They were far more vicious when he had the power to change things.
  
• John Paul II, once his infirmity made him less able to travel and bring his persuasive presence to discuss issues and confront tyrants. Those who opposed him dismissed his message, and implied that his illness had affected the functioning of his brain.

They keep calling Bush the "frat boy" - although many presidents have joined fraternities.

• Fraternities have produced 48% of all US presidents.
  
• Fraternities have produced 42% of US senators.
  
• Fraternities have produced 30% of US Congressmen.
  
• Fraternities have produced 40% of Supreme Court justices.

Also members of Bush's fraternity, Delta Kappa Epsilon

• George H. Bush (41)
  
• Both Roosevelts
  
• Liberal icon Dean Acheson

President John F. Kennedy was Phi Kappa Theta - from what I can tell, it was one of the few at that time that accepted Catholics. He also joined, while at Harvard, what sometimes is termed "an antiwar group" - the America First Committee,

AFC advocated four basic principles:

1. The United States must build an impregnable defense for America.

2. No foreign power, nor group of powers, can successfully attack a prepared America.

3. American democracy can be preserved only by keeping out of the European war.

4. "Aid short of war" weakens national defense at home and threatens to involve America in war abroad.

Sound familiar? That was the group that aviator Charles Lindbergh was associated with. In his later speeches before the group, he indicated pro-Nazis sympathies. Some of their members may have actually supported the Nazis, but they were few. The Committee's viewpoint was relatively popular with some of the Anglophile upper classes, among them Joseph Kennedy, Sr., who had served as Ambassador to England. The Commitee disbanded right after Pearl Harbor was bombed. (Good timing!) While many were strong anti-Communists, the bulk of the membership was out of leftist-leaning elite Chicago. It never captured the grass-roots, and remained a safe way to bash Roosevelt over foreign policy. Not unlike today's anti-war left.

Lest we forget what over-zealous pacifism can lead to (from Scott Simon:

In 1933 the Oxford Student Union conducted a famous debate over whether it was moral for Britons to fight for king and country. The exquisite intellects of that leading university reviewed the many ways in which British colonialism exploited and oppressed the world. They cited the ways in which vengeful demands made of Germany in the wake of World War I had helped to kindle nationalism and fascism. They saw no moral difference between Western colonialism and world fascism. The Oxford Union ended that debate with this famous proclamation: "Resolved, that we will in no circumstances fight for king and country."

Von Ribbentrop sent back the good news to Germany's new chancellor, Hitler: The West will not fight for its own survival. Its finest minds will justify a silent surrender.

In short, the best-educated young people of their time could not tell the difference between the deficiencies of their own nation, in which liberty and democracy were cornerstones, and a dictatorship founded on racism, tyranny and fear.

Tags = Bush and News and Politics

Let's drag the Alito hearings out!

Having no access to TV at the moment, I've been reading about the Alito hearings. From what I've read, the Democratic senators are on a recruitment binge for the Republican party, as they've not exactly been covering themselves with glory. In fact, it's been a God-send for the Republican's future media productions - all they have to do in the next election is to show the Senators bumbling around, trying to find a lost point. It should ensure that Republicans sweep the next election.

I propose that we find a way to keep them busy for another week or so. Let's start rumors about the candidate's background, and let them run themselves ragged trying to find confirmation. Let them stall on the confirmation, and give the Republicans more fodder.

Aw, c'mon. It should be FUN!

Tags = News and Politics

Immigration thoughts - Wednesday

I had originally created this post as a draft, but neglected to change the date when I posted. I've corrected that.

FrontPage Magazine has done its usual excellent job in covering a little-known aspect of the illegal alien influx - they have been committing an inordinate amount of crimes:

· New York State spends $270 million annually in criminal justice costs for aliens. It costs Illinois $40 million a year to incarcerate criminal aliens.

· In Los Angeles, roughly 95% of outstanding homicide warrants (1,200 to 1,500) are for illegal aliens, as are up to two-thirds of all felony warrants.

· A decade ago, a study by the California Department of Justice estimated that 60% of the state’s notorious 18th Street Gang (responsible for an assault or robbery every day in LA County) is comprised of those whose first crime was entering the country.

Aside from the direct costs of losing jobs to illegals, paying extra for them to abuse the medical services they are NOT entitled to, and increasing the cost of education for many parts of the country that simply can't afford to provide the service, the above examples show the more indirect costs of letting aliens flood the country.

Furthermore, the effects on our already stressed medical system is enormous:

In California, 84 hospitals have closed their doors due to the drain of being forced to treat uninsured illegals.

According to a new study by the University of South Florida, emergency rooms in the state will soon be following the lead of California hospitals. More than half of all ER patients in Florida are uninsured -- most of them illegal.

An example of the problem is illustrated in the story below from 2004:

A 28-year-old man already facing charges in two September home invasions has been accused of another “hot prowl” incident in August.

Since March, police said that at least four men — possibly more —have been breaking into the homes of about a dozen sleeping women. Women are sexually assaulted or awakened by a man touching them. Authorities call these incidents “hot prowls” because the suspects strike knowing the homes are occupied.

Omero Rojas-Penalosa, 28, an illegal immigrant from Mexico, on Tuesday was arrested on additional charges accusing him of burglary and open and gross lewdness in an Aug. 6 incident with one of his neighbors, according to police. He lives with his parents in the 500 block of Grand Canyon Boulevard.

Wait a minute, he lives with his parents? So, are they illegal, too? Has anyone in the Department of Home Security done anything about this?
Tags = [tagname]

Pity there wasn't an opening in He((

Because of my origin in Cleveland, I've long been watching the Iman Fazwa Damra deportation proceedings. Although he lost his residency some time ago, he's been delaying leaving. However, the end may be in sight:

After Damra’s first choice, Canada, rejected his request, the imam reached an agreement with the U.S. government to relocate to Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Sudan, Egypt or the Palestinian territories, said a spokesman for the Justice Department’s Executive Office for Immigration Review.

Damra, 44, of Strongsville, will remain in a Michigan jail until his deportation is resolved, which could take weeks or months, said Matt Albence, deputy special agent for the Bureau of Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

Damra’s deportation agreement eliminated the need for a hearing before a judge in immigration court in Detroit scheduled for next week. His friends and supporters expressed regret and sympathy for the leader of Ohio’s largest mosque, located in Parma.

His family and friends say that he is anxious to "put it all behind him". Yeah, I'll bet he is - after he did his demented best to inflame the Islamic population of Cleveland (a very sizable group) into joining his jihad, he finally will have to leave.

Kudos to Canada for rejecting his bid to emigrate - I didn't think they've have the stones.

Tags = News and Politics

Just a quick update

While I was visiting Cleveland, I noticed something new - almost all the TVs in bars were turned exclusively to sports or movie channels. Even during the evening broadcast time, they didn't turn to the news.

That's a real change. I can't remember a time when the patrons didn't watch the news. Think it may have anything to do with the MSM's decline in trust?

Naw, I'm sure it's just a strange coincidence.

Tags = Blogging

My new coatrack

I found this coatrack at the church bazaar this Christmas. It struck me as the PERFECT item for 2 science teachers to have in their home. So, even though I was down to 1 last check, I bought it. 
 

Weather thoughts

I'm hard at work on my grading tonight - the grades are due to be entered tomorrow. When I took a short snack break tonight, I went outside to get a Diet Coke from my car trunk.

As I was walking back in the 57 degree weather (eat your hearts out, Cleveland), it occurred to me that I was taking the can inside (in January) to cool it off. Normally, I would be taking the case inside, so it didn't freeze and ruin the trunk.

South Carolina really is different from the North Coast (as Clevelanders like to call it).

Tags = Weather

I should have finished my grading

I hung around too long - if I'd done the grading, as I should have, I wouldn't need to get this off my chest.

I found this unbelievable piece of - well - BLATHERING via Fausta's Blog: The Bad Hair Blog. As I read it, I knew that I would have to answer it, or face heartburn from the experience. I'm going to take it a section at a time. The writer is Jane Smiley. I'm having a hard time believing that she hasn't been institutionalized - her thought processes rival those dear, deluded folks who wear tinfoil hats and mutter about being "probed". Can't imagine that? Read on:

I clearly remember back in 2000, when Bush cheated to
"win" the Presidential election with the help of Justices Scalia and Thomas, who dishonored themselves in perpetuity by voting to stop the Florida recount, the Republicans gloated and gloried in the "win". They acted like a nasty Little League team, who wins on a technicality and then goes on to rub the faces of the other team in the dirt, as if winning at the cost of the integrity of the game were actually a thing worth celebrating. Clearly, the Republicans had learned their sportsmanship on the football fields of America's colleges and universities, by observing the hiring practices of successful coaches, the educational careers of cheating athletes, and the fund-raising efforts of testosterone-poisoned alumni. It was not how you play the game, but whether you win or lose! What a terrific model of traditional values that is! The Bush team thereafter went on to exemplify "winning through intimidation"-- "You're with us or against us." "If you disagree with the President, you are supporting the terrorists". Blah blah blah--we know the whole litany, and it is nauseating. We also know where it came from--the corporate boardroom as well as the athletic stadium and the middle school and the frat house, where bullies are king and "the common good" is a joke. By 2004, the Republicans had refined their election stealing techniques, and anyway, they were benefiting from continued disbelief on the part of the Democrats, who didn't seem to be able to imagine that the Republicans could be so brazen as to do it again, even though when Texas redistricting came up, Tom Delay gave them a taste of the corruption in store. What does it matter, the Republicans seemed to be saying in 2004, fair elections? The whole idea was a joke to them and they hardly bothered to conceal their thousands of little cheats and obstacles to an honest vote.

Where can I start?

How about the fact that the 2000 election wasn't stolen. The reason for the prolonged vote counting, including changing the rules every time Gore STILL came out the loser in the count, was that the party lunatics clearly couldn't believe that the "little people" hadn't bought their hysterical propaganda about class war. The Republicans patiently waited for the Democratic Party to come to their senses, but to no avail. Every time Gore lost (you'd think he'd have gotten used to it), he took it to a higher court. Finally, in the Supreme Court, they re-affirmed what the Florida constitution said - the state of Florida had the right to set the standards. And, under those standards, Gore lost.

Let's not even discuss re-districting - I lived for many years in Cleveland, where the famous Pac-Man district was a running joke - and, BTW, the district had been designed by Democrats to benefit their party.

I was willing to admit that maybe some people didn't see these issues in quite the black and white way that I did. The conservative caste of mind is different from the liberal caste of mind, and much of what we believe is dictated by temperament.

I agree - we're sane, they're not. But, let's continue:

Conservatives, though, don't really mind doing harm to others, even murder, especially if they add the phrase, "for your own good." After all, people get harmed all the time--the world, to a natural conservative, is a harmful place and a vale of tears. To a conservative, the greatest crime is betrayal of the tribe, and if worst comes to worst, better that those outside the tribe (often not even defined as human) come to grief (get injured, get raped, lose everything, get killed, let's be honest) in preference to oneself or one's allies. To a true conservative, it doesn't matter that Jesus's number one rule was to do unto others as you would have them do unto you--they somehow read this as do unto others before they do unto you. Conservatives, I think, have a stronger flight/fight response than liberals. They are both more fearful and more aggressive. It shows in their religion (God is someone to fear), it shows in their child-rearing techniques (beatings,whippings, spankings are to be administered, not avoided), it shows in their attitude toward marriage and sexuality (conforming to one's own strict moral standards isn't enough--others must conform, also, or the whole society is in danger). To the conservative mind, harm may be justifiably done to others who do not conform.

Dear Ms. Smiley - I am a peace-loving person, who doesn't even own a gun (not a philosophical decision - I'm a volatile person, and don't entirely trust my mood swings). I didn't spank my children. They weren't allowed toy guns. Imagine my shock when 2 of the three joined the service. And, finally got to blast away with those forbidden guns.

Like most conservatives, I generally let others alone. If they want to wear wacky clothes, or run a non-traditional household, or practice odd religions, hey, I'm OK with that. Just don't try to impose your values on me or mine. In other words, keep it out of my house and yard, and I'm jiggy with that (I had to include the "j" word - my kids HATE that).

Jane, I hate to tell you, conservatives come in all stripes and colors. Some are semi-libertarian. Some are, indeed, passionately straight-laced and uptight. Some are pot-smokers. Some, like myself, never touched the stuff. Some are, as you said, religious. Even Fundamentalists. Others, like myself, Catholic. But many are agnostic, or even atheists.

You can't categorize people according to your prejudices. While some may fit some aspects, others don't. And even those who fit into your rigid categorization might surprise you with unexpected opinions, hobbies, manners, customs, and beliefs. It's hard to believe that you're not a kid - you seem to have the knack of sweeping generalization and passionate certainty, coupled with fastidious disdain for the motivations of those who don't agree with every one of your beliefs. It's a quality often seen in the young and callow. Generally, time teaches most of us that the world won't fit neatly in our philosophical pigeonholes.

But your insistence on labeling (or should I say, PROFILING?) conservatives indicates you aren't capable of understanding nuances. You are, I hate to point out, a bigot. Someone who lumps a group into an amorphous, fungible mass with identical characteristics.

Tags = Stupid People

Protectionism - why it's not worth it

I'm not a big fan of saving dying industries; it's both expensive and futile. Sure, it helps to have widely dispersed sources of raw materials and basic supplies like steel and computer chips. That's just common sense.

But to protect an industry is to gamble that your long-term interests are better served by bucking the established market, which says that this industry is a bad bet, at least as currently incarnated. That's also the thesis of Tim Harford, who wrote the book The Undercover Economist: Exposing why the rich are rich, the poor are poor, and why you can never buy a decent used car and is interviewed in TCS Daily - The Undercover Economist

you can point to a town where people are people are put out of work because what they did has now been shipped off to China. And the suffering is very real. But so was the suffering of secretaries who typed when they were all put out of business by Microsoft Word. We don’t look back and say, if only Word Perfect had never been invented. All those girls would still be down in the typing pool typing away. They would still have those jobs.

Those jobs have been lost. Well yes those jobs have been lost. But we don’t mourn the passing of those jobs even though the day when they got their unemployment slips was a painful day for them. And some people maybe never recovered. But a lot of people would have retrained, got better jobs. And certainly as a whole America was better off from not having erected high barriers against Microsoft.

Folks, I was one of those typists. While many of my peers were complaining that the new machines were too difficult to learn, they didn't have the time to go back to school, and, anyway, they could never use them to do their job, I was making a small killing working free-lance, coming in a top rates as the resident expert on word processing, computers, desktop publishing, whatever they'd pay me to do. I eventually had a good relationship with a few temp agencies, who trusted me to be able to walk into a company with a program I'd never seen, and get myself up and running within an hour - or less. After you get to know a few programs, it's kind of easy. They all have similar logic in their make-up, and it just takes a brave soul (like me) who isn't afraid to make mistakes in the process. The biggest problem was usually the printer - they never seemed to keep the manual nearby, and in the old days, you sometimes had to fiddle with the DIP switches (ask grandpa what they were).

I've had a few jobs by now. Some I liked, some I didn't. And, sure, I've missed out on a few things - long-term relationships at work, sometimes benefits, paid vacations. But I've also seen friends and family dropped by companies after years of service, no pension or reduced pension, and no confidence they'll ever work again. And no idea how to find work, it had been so long. There are some advantages to living on the edge - you're ready to saddle up and ride out of town, looking for the next meal - or job. All I need is the black hat and a cigar.



Tags = Technology