College Kids Taking It A Bit Too Far

I'm usually not impressed with college politics--you have a bunch of people who have been adults for a very short time taking themselves a bit more seriously than is merited, often with not the greatest outcomes. I've written about local American River College before, and here's what they're up to today:

The same student council that made headlines last year for supporting a ban on same-sex marriage is now conflicted over whether to sponsor a punk rock show at American River College.

Former student council member Chuck Stevens has been working for a year and a half on a vision: A punk show on the community college campus that would raise tens of thousands of dollars for scholarships and textbooks. He's hoping to book some big-name bands – including one called Flogging Molly.

"The bands I've mentioned will bring in a large revenue for us," Stevens said. "In budget crisis time, this is a perfect event for us to be having."

Student council member Viktor Choban thinks Stevens' plan will waste the student association's money and promote immoral behavior.

"In terms of business, it's not responsible," Choban said. "Plus, on top of that, I don't like the band. They curse, they swear, they drink on the stage. They're fine with drugs."

Up to a point, I can sympathize with Mr. Choban's opinion. If any student government money will be used for this concert, then it's reasonable to want the concert to reflect favorably on the school and the student body. Of course, reasonable people could disagree about what reflects favorably or unfavorably on the school, and that discussion is fine. But young Mr. Choban shows that he's not really interested in that discussion, but in something a bit more specific:

Choban said if there's going to be a show, he wants a Christian band.

"We need our students and young people of America to learn to be polite gentlemen," he said.

Dude.

Mr. Choban is doing here something that's typically leftie--he's trying to impose his own values on everyone else. I call out the lefties when they do it, and I'm going to call out this kid when he does it.

Where are the adults at that school, to show this young man what's appropriate and what's not?

Thursday Trivia

The answer to yesterday's question is:
Khartoum, Sudan.

Today's question is:
How many repetitions of “na” are there at the end of the Journey song Lovin', Touchin', Squeezin'?

Too Many Rookie Mistakes

It hasn't even been 2 months yet, and let's look at the how the President's doing:

1. After complaining about deficits in the Bush years, he signs one bill that makes President Bush look like a deficit hawk.

2. He's rude to the British Prime Minister, and he gets smacked down as an amateur by Putin/Medvedev. How's that so-called smart diplomacy going?

3. He picks a fight with--an entertainer? Dan Quayle tried that, and it didn't turn out so well for him.

Imagine, for a moment, if George Bush and his chief of staff had made coordinated and concerted attacks on Michael Moore, and suggested that the colorful left-wing fulminator — not Nancy Pelosi or Harry Reid — was the "true intellectual force" behind the Democratic party. Imagine the howls of protest. And, undoubtedly, the media would have focused on the propriety of a commander-in-chief and his advisers wasting time and political breath on an entertainer. And yet we have President Obama and his hammer, Rahm Emanuel, doing just that in a time of war and economic crisis, and the story is about... Republicans!

4. His political appointments are an embarrassment. Perhaps President Bush nominated a bunch of people who didn't pay taxes, but I don't remember that being the case.

Bottom line is, the man looks good. He speaks well. He's got cute kids. But he's not ready to be president.

Going To CEAFU Again

For the 3rd year in a row I'll be representing the California Teachers Empowerment Network at the Concerned Educators Against Forced Unionism conference in Washington, DC. You can read my tales from past conferences by typing CEAFU into the search box at the top of this page.

I always try to go a day early to get some DC sightseeing in. Two years ago I made it out to the Jefferson Memorial, which I'd never seen before. Last year, Congressman Lungren arranged for me to tour the Supreme Court and the Capitol. This year, now that renovations are complete, I'm looking forward to going to the Museum of American History. I'd also like to see the National Archives.

I just booked my flight. Sacramento to Denver to DC Reagan and back again--for $260!!! Yes, it's on an airline that is currently in Chapter 11, and a checked bag each way will add another $30 to the total, but that's still an amazing price.

I'm looking forward to the trip already!

Masters Degree in "The Beatles"

I'm not one who thinks that all degrees should be focused on a particular vocation or career; on the contrary, a well-rounded education has many benefits outside of the workplace. So I recognize that there are some, uh, novel degrees available out there.

But a master's degree in The Beatles? Definitely novel.

The city of Liverpool already has a Beatles museum and its airport is named after John Lennon. Now a local university says it rolling out a graduate program entirely devoted to the Fab Four.

Liverpool Hope University said Tuesday that its new master's program, "The Beatles, Popular Music and Society," would give students the opportunity to analyze music and culture through the band's work.

"There have been over 8,000 books about the Beatles but there has never been serious academic study and that is what we are going to address," said Mike Brocken, who is directing the program at the university, which is in the band's hometown in northwestern England.

Wednesday Trivia

The answer to yesterday's question is:
The Inca.

Today's question is:
The White Nile, which originates in Rwanda, and the Blue Nile, which originates in Ethiopia, merge to form the Nile River near which African capital?

I Love This Guy

Is This Reasonable, Or Petty?

I understand saving a few bucks, but what do you think of this?

Beside her desk in the rear corner sit a refrigerator and microwave that give her easy access to Lean Cuisines, water and the four colas she often drinks to make it through the day.

Schara, like some of her colleagues at Roosevelt and other schools, depends on having easy access to food and snacks since she can't leave students unattended and the teachers lounge is at least a five-minute walk from her bungalow.

But as part of a new energy policy in the Glendale Unified School District, teachers must remove most personal appliances from their classrooms.

The rule was approved as part of a broader energy policy last summer, and district officials say cutting those appliances will save $60,000 per year. The wider program has saved $2 million, the district said...

The Jurupa Unified School District recently instituted an annual fee policy that will go into effect next year: $40 for refrigerators, $10 for microwaves and $10 for coffee makers.

The Val Verde district has banned the appliances outright.

I'm not one of these teachers, but I know teachers like this:

"I teach bell to bell, I'm flying bell to bell, every day," said Pat Rabe, a math teacher at Crescenta Valley High School. "And when we don't have access to these things immediately, we don't eat"....

Like others, Rabe often spends lunch doing extra work with students in her classroom but wonders if the ban will put an end to that.

"The students ultimately are going to lose," she said. "Because a lot of times if I have to choose between eating and helping a student . . . I'm going to choose to eat."

It seems pretty penny-ante to me, unless we're talking about something like a full-size frig to hold a couple of soft drinks.

Obama's Smooth, But...

...entirely predictable.

Tactic #1: “The administration is focusing now on rule number 12 of Alinsky’s Rules for Radicals: Pick the target, freeze it, personalize it, and polarize it.”

Tactic #2:

1. Talk about how there are "those who say" and then say what they say.

2. Explain how you considered the possibility that they were right, but decided in the end, they weren't.

3. So you come off as entirely reasonable and they come off as the loutish pricks you always intended them to be.

Seen any of this in the past several weeks?

Perhaps he'll regret it, eventually.

What About Teachers Unions?

Nancy at Teacher in a Strange Land has a 20 Questions For Eductators post, and one of the questions is What about unions?

What about unions? Essential but usually unimaginative. To have such power and resources, then regularly squander them on petty, predictable scripts. I see hopeful glimmers that Next Gen teachers will change that.

I wouldn't call them essential; perhaps "sometimes useful" would be more accurate. Of course, that utility declines the further you get from the individual member (e.g., the state and national unions). With the exception of that one word, though, her answer is a welcome one.

Buyer's Remorse

Some people, even those on the left, are starting to come to their senses about President Obama.

Brooks, and others, were just so excited at the idea of a black President — or, more specifically, at the idea of themselves, voting for a black President — that they suspended all critical faculties. Now it’s buyer’s remorse. We’ll be seeing more of that.

Tuesday Trivia

The answer to yesterday's question is:
the $10 bill. I understand that "currency" does, in some circles, include coins, but I used it in its general meaning of paper money. I also used "current", by which I meant only those bills produced and used today. In the past there were $500, $1,000, $5,000, $10,000, $50,000, and $100,000 bills, but only those up to $100 are used today. Additionally, all US coins ever produced (except, perhaps, for trade dollars) are still legal tender, so the half-cent answer would be considered correct if I hadn't been talking only about paper money.

Hamilton and Franklin, on the $10 and $100 bills, were not Presidents.

Today's question is:
Which pre-Columbian civilization built Machu Picchu?

Looks Like I'm Going To West Point!

That's the message I just received from a former student of mine. He got his letter of assurance today. I'm so very proud of him, and I know what he's in for.

This doesn't happen often, but I'm at a loss to explain the waves of emotion that sweep over me when I think about the full impact of his email. Maybe the words don't exist to explain it at all.

So I'll sit here and metaphorically let the wind and the lights and the sounds and the smells and the memories and the energy rush past me, and if I can touch any of it I'll try to share it with you.

He'll experience it all firsthand.

I Hadn't Heard Of This One Before

Tomorrow is Square Root Day!

Dust off the slide rules and recharge the calculators. Square Root Day is upon us.

The math-buffs' holiday, which only occurs nine times each century, falls on Tuesday — 3/3/09 (for the mathematically challenged, three is the square root of nine).

"These days are like calendar comets, you wait and wait and wait for them, then they brighten up your day — and poof — they're gone," said Ron Gordon, a Redwood City teacher who started a contest meant to get people excited about the event.

The winner gets, of course, $339 for having the biggest Square Root Day event.

Gordon's daughter even set up a Facebook page — one of a half-dozen or so dedicated to the holiday — and hundreds of people had signed up with plans to celebrate in some way. Celebrations are as varied: Some cut root vegetables into squares, others make food in the shape of a square root symbol.

The last such day was five years ago, Feb. 2, 2004, which coincided with Groundhog Day. The next is seven years away, on April 4, 2016.

A reason to look forward to going to work tomorrow :-)

Snow Day at Annapolis

One of my midshipmen sent me some pictures from the Naval Academy. Classes were canceled today because of a "snow day" (wussies!) and he gave me permission to post this picture of the chapel. So much for that global warming conference just down the road in DC, eh?



Bonus trivia question: whose crypt is located in the chapel?

Right and Wrong vs. Good and Evil

I've said it before and I'll say it again:

We on the right think we're right. The left thinks they're righteous.
We on the right think they're wrong. They think we're evil.

President Obama sure seems to be playing along with that line of reasoning:

Obama has an obsessive need to find enemies against whom to campaign. When Obama's presidency is over, hopefully in four years (but likely eight years) there will be two sets of psychologists: Those who provide therapy to the American population which has seen its life savings and economic system destroyed, and those who analyze the psychosis of the Demonizer-in-Chief...

Other presidents have been accused of using "enemies" as a political rallying point. Almost invariably, however, these enemies have been foreign (the "evil empire" and "axis of evil"). Obama is the first president "in my adult life" to set American against American, to create enemies at home as a political rallying point, to create a climate in which law-abiding American citizens are singled out as being worthy of attack.

Yep, Barack has met the enemy, and he is us.

CTA and Other Unions Could Cause Trouble For The State Budget

From today's major Sacramento newspaper, which I understand may be looking for a buyer:

Labor unions that blasted a state budget deal for its constitutional spending limit have gone quiet as the state gears up for a May 19 election asking voters to ratify the agreement.

Campaign veterans believe Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and legislative leaders can only succeed in persuading voters to pass six budget-related ballot measures if unions remain on the sidelines.

Labor groups will hold internal meetings over the next month to decide how to proceed.

Well, if you didn't believe me before when I told you how much sway unions have in this state, you might now. How did it get this way? It's not like California was ever a large steel state, car state, etc. Why are unions so strong here? But I digress.

The most controversial ballot measure this year is Proposition 1A, which establishes a cap on future state spending based on a trend line over the previous decade.

Public employee labor unions fear the measure would mean less money for government jobs, yet the cap was essential to winning Republican support for the budget package...

Lawmakers and Schwarzenegger crafted the budget deal to win support from education groups. They placed Proposition 1B on the ballot to specify that the state would pay schools $9.3 billion beginning in 2011-12. They tied the measure to Proposition 1A, partly to discourage teachers unions from opposing the spending limit.

CTA President David Sanchez said that his group has taken an interim support position on Proposition 1B, but that it will take positions on all the measures at a state council meeting next month.

"We're going to be having a campaign to encourage electorate support for repayment back to schools," Sanchez said.

*sigh*

Monday Trivia

The answer to yesterday's question is:
Challenger Deep, located in the Mariana Trench. Lots of correct (and partially correct) answers!

Today's question is:
Which denomination of current US currency is the smallest one not to show a US president?

Shameful Tactic of the Left

What, besides the chilling specter of violence, does the left hope to achieve by publishing the names and addresses of those with whom it disagrees? Is that a not-so-subtle threat, what some might call bullying?

A Memphis newspaper has posted a searchable database of Tennesseans with permits to carry concealed handguns, upsetting firearms owners and igniting a debate on whether such information should be available to the public.

Why?

What about here in California, where the names and addresses of those who supported Proposition 8 (overturning court-ordered gay marriage) were published?

If you try to justify these (because you're a leftie), would you also justify publishing the names/addresses of law enforcement officials, or of teachers, or of union leaders?

This tactic is shameful, and would be called so by anyone with any decency.

The Illogic Of Lefties

Can we question at least this one guy's patriotism?

So I repeat - damn right I wanted the Iraq war to fail.

Not because I hate our country or hate the troops but for the exact opposite reason - because I love my country and I value the lives of the people sworn to protect it. If you opposed the war, I bet you feel the same way.

Ranks right up there with the mythical "We had to destroy the village in order to save it."