Presidential Politics

I'm not a single-issue voter. I do, though, have some points that are necessary, but not sufficient, for a politician to get my vote. In other words, I may not vote for that person if they agree with me on such a point, but I won't vote for him/her if he/she disagrees with me on such a point.

So, herewith, is my list of major presidential candidates and why I won't vote for them.

Democrats
Edwards--socialist, slimy/gross
Obama--socialist, either dumb or naive
Clinton--socialist, anger issues

Republicans
McCain--enemy of the 1st Amendment, anger issues
Huckabee--socialist

If either of those two Republicans are the party's candidate in November, I will cast a protest vote (California Republicans do that anyway) for a third party candidate or perhaps, for the first time in my adult life, not cast a vote for President.

Update: Here's a quote-of-the-day from Ace regarding supporters of a particular fringe candidate:

"If you dream it, you can do it" is a silly bit of twaddle told to eighth graders at "Be Somebody!" self-esteem rallies. Adults who consider themselves astute and savvy really ought not be indulging in such childish sloganeering.

As someone who's sick of hearing about people's self-esteem, I love that quote.

Hat tip to RightWingNation (see blogroll) for that link.

Losing Your Right To Vote

Democrats are going to keep pushing for "card checks" instead of private ballots for union elections. How can any American justify such a scheme?

Personal Update

I just got back from my 4th doctor visit this week. At least now I can stand, ever so tenuously, and walk, ever so gingerly. This is certainly an improvement over earlier this week. I've hurt my back before but it's never taken this long to heal, and I've never shown this little improvement over time.

Growing old sucks.

Using Math/Technology in the Real/Modern World

Kerplunk has a great post about some who believe untested computer models for global warming but who resent tested models from, say, actuaries.

If I were to mention the gist of the linked post in class, would lefties think I was "contributing to critical thinking skills" or "indoctrinating"? I wonder....

No, actually I don't wonder at all--I already know the answer!

Math vs. Multiculturalism

They both start with M, so maybe each is as important as the other.

Go see what Joanne has to say.

Another Reason Not To Support Socialized Medicine

We can't even figure out how to pay promised benefits for Medicare and Social Security yet, but many (mostly Democrats, but some RINOs as well) want to add socialized medicine to the list of government-provided benefits. Perhaps they should read this very short article from the Financial Times (registration required after a couple sentences):

The US is at risk of losing its top-notch triple-A credit rating within a decade unless it takes radical action to curb soaring healthcare and social security spending, Moody's, the credit rating agency, said yesterday.

Personally, I support small clinics in Wal*Mart and similar places--but some don't, probably because they then wouldn't have an excuse to foist more government control on us.

Making A Point With Budget Cuts

There are many state parks being considered for (temporary) closure due to budget cuts. Sadly, here in Sacramento some of the most interesting educational and historical sites are on the list.

The 48 parks (around the state) proposed for closure are scattered around the state and include redwood forests, a remote beach and numerous historic sites. Closing the sites would eliminate 136 positions, and help the parks department cut about 8.9 percent – or $13.3 million – from its general fund budget.

The parks would be put in caretaker mode, and reopened when the budget situation improves...

(In addition to Sutter's Fort): the historic Governor's Mansion at 16th and H streets, and the tiny State Indian Heritage Museum next to Sutter's Fort, where Swiss immigrant John Sutter established the first non-Indian settlement in the Central Valley at what is now 27th and L streets in bustling midtown.

Heck, my school district isn't big on field trips anyway.

Budget, Ax, Deficit--Yep, that's BAD

California's budget gap is estimated to be around $14 billion this year (for my UK readers, that's 14x10^9, not 14x10^12). California's budget is something over $100 billion, and education takes up about 50% of that budget. Trying to balance the budget, while leaving education alone, doesn't seem to pass the common sense test, does it?

Let me be clear--I'm not at all happy about having less money available with which to teach. For me that comes down to doing without the overhead projector when the bulb goes out, not being able to use worksheets or anything else that requires copying, perhaps even having my classroom cleaned every third night instead of every other night. All these and more add up to an environment for students that isn't anywhere near optimal, but I recognize that money doesn't grow on trees. Cuts have to be made somewhere, and it seems ridiculous not to look at the states single largest expenditure when doing so. It would, however, be nice if those cuts didn't affect the classroom, but I'm not going to hold my breath.

The LA Times thinks the governor's current budget proposals are just theatrics designed to make tax increases seem more palatable. I guess that's possible. To all the liberals out there crying for state-run health care--and that includes the governor on this issue--I have to say this: can you imagine the boat we'd be in if the state were paying for everyone's health care? There would have to be cuts, people would do without, children and old people would suffer, etc--those would be your howls, and you would have been the cause because you are the ones that want the state government to take on that additional burden. I firmly believe that government at all levels should learn to live within its current means before ever considering taking on new permanent financial requirements.

Again: think of the ramifications for government-run health care whenever there is an economic downturn. These economic cycles, like so-called global warming, are cyclical; they will happen again. Think about what you're asking.

If you think it's ok to burden our children and their children with today's debts, more power to you--but that doesn't sound very "compassionate".

So when the CTA objects to the governor's even considering budget cuts in education (again, how can he not even consider cuts in 50% of the state budget?)--I wonder who will ask them what they think needs to be cut. Where should the state budget be trimmed in order even to attempt a balanced budget?

I think we all know what they'll say. "Tax increases." The liberals are nothing if not predictable.

Al Gore Is In Baghdad?

Read this story (or just the headline, if you like), and then search for Gore Effect.

A Little Press Bias

Here's the headline from CNNMoney.com:

Weakest holiday season in years

That's pretty alarming, isn't it? Things must be pretty bad. The economy's in the dumps.

As I read it--and perhaps I'm just inferring, and the headline writer didn't mean to imply--this year's holiday sales were worse than last year's. After all, it's the weakest holiday season in years.

But what do we read a few paragraphs into the story?

Perkins, who tracks same-store sales at 43 retail chains, said combined November-December sales rose 1.7 percent, their weakest gain since 2002.

In the overall retail sector, Thomson Financial, which also compares monthly results at 43 of the nation's largest retail chains based on analysts' estimates, said total December same-store sales rose just 0.5 percent compared to its revised estimate for a 0.7 percent gain...

Even though November same-store sales rose a much better 4 percent overall, the average of the two months taken together showed a 2.3 percent rise, which Thomson said is the slowest pace of growth since 2004 when sales for the two months combined also rose 2.3 percent.

The National Retail Federation, the industry's largest trade group, expects total sales for November and December combined rose 4 percent this past holiday season, which would mark the slowest pace of growth since 2002.

So it appears that holiday sales actually grew from 2006 levels, just not as robustly as some expected. That means retailers sold even more stuff.

The headline is clearly misleading. Could it be yet another example of press bias? And why would the press, specifically left-leaning CNN, want people to think the retail economy is worse than it actually is?

Hmm, I wonder.

School Pays $3,000 For Gender Discrimination Against Boy Cheerleader

I don't know where to begin with this story, so I'll just give you the tidbits and let you decide for yourself.

GLENDALE, Ky. -- Bobby Thorn wanted to be the only boy on his school's cheerleading squad, but that didn't happen.

The 13-year-old attends East Hardin Middle School in Glendale, but the controversial decision to cut him from the team expands beyond the district's boundaries.

Bobby's mother filed a discrimination claim with the Kentucky Commission on Human Rights two years ago, and now a settlement has been reached...

Despite his flips, his tryout was a flop. He didn't make the team.

“I was devastated,” he said.

So was Bobby's mother, Melissa Barner, who said she has sworn statements from other parents stating the coach admitted cutting Bobby because she didn't want a boy on her team.

Amazing.

Here's the part that disturbs me most.

In the settlement agreement, the school admits no wrongdoing but the commission has ordered mandatory training for the principal, teachers and coaches at the school.

Why not the secretaries and custodians, too? They had as much to do with this as the teachers did. And the woman who cut him isn't even the cheerleading coach anymore. Such mandatory "diversity training" (they're not calling it that, but you make the call) has always struck me as excessively punitive, counterproductive, wrong-headed, and sometimes even dangerous.

Carnival of Education

This week's installment is hosted by a union (gasp!) and includes my post on the CBEST.

This Year's Not Off To A Good Start

I type this post on the laptop while sitting in bed--at a time when I'm usually getting dressed for work.

I did something bad to my back this past weekend. I'm not sure exactly what, but yesterday walking was a pretty difficult proposition. This morning, standing is nigh impossible. I was able to struggle into my library and get online to request a substitute, and now I'm back in bed with the laptop and phone in case someone from school needs to know where something is.

Chiropractor appointment is this afternoon. I think I should call and try to get in earlier. After all, I'm just wasting gravity right now.

Good thing I bought this laptop a couple weeks ago, eh? And good thing I stay after school on Mondays to plan out each week's worth of lessons. If nothing else, my sub should be able to provide some semblance of normality in my absence.

Growing old sucks. I guess it beats the alternative, but still.

Maternity Leave For High School Students

Some in Denver are promoting this idea.

Teen mothers-to-be attending a Denver high school are asking for at least four weeks maternity leave, saying they don't want to be penalized for absences while healing and bonding with their new babies, The Denver Post reports.

Maybe, if you get pregnant in high school, and you want to take time off to bond with your child, you graduate a bit late. That's not punishment or penalizing, that's a natural result of actions you've taken. At the very least, if you want to take several weeks off school, you should go on a home/hospital-type program or perhaps online classes (assuming those programs exist in Colorado).

Giving new mothers "unexcused absences" for staying home with newborns seems ridiculous--"health" reasons, similar to an extended illness, would seem more reasonable. But the solution isn't to build in more time for the girls to miss school, but to explore alternatives (I listed three above) that allow them to be good mothers and good students. How can you miss a fourth of a semester and still learn what you should? This attitude treats a high school diploma as a commodity that's owed rather than as an accomplishment to be earned.

I've taught mothers--both were 8th graders. One was a diligent student who wanted to do her best so she could have a shot at raising her child well (I don't know where dad was). The other spent her time at school telling the other girls how best to perform oral sex so as to satisfy their boyfriends (her own mother worked nights so she could raise the grandchild while the mother/student was at school). The point here is there's a good way and a bad way to deal with being such a young parent--one way is to work hard, the other is to treat the situation as one in which everyone can owe you. Guess which one I support.

And it isn't giving a girl a pass on her education because she got pregnant.

Here We Go Again

For the life of me I can't imagine what this teacher was thinking. Exchanging naked pictures with a 14-year-old boy? "Ew" and "gross" don't quite capture the moment, do they?

School Districts' Challenging NCLB

The Volokh Conspiracy has information on a 6th Circuit ruling in favor of school districts.

Middle School Is Da Bomb!

From Florida:

ORLANDO, Fla. -- Residents near a local middle school said they find it hard to believe that no one knew about the World War II bombing range the school was built on.

The Army Corps of Engineers detonated 400 pounds of explosives found on the school property on Saturday.

"We were able to explode and render safe 49 23-pound bombs," Mike Fulford of the Army Corps Of Engineers said.

Lots of video at the link above.

Operation Arkansas and the Little Rock 9

I'm conflicted about Eisenhower's sending the 101st Airborne to Little Rock to enforce racial integration at Little Rock Central High School. I'm hard-pressed to find a legal justification for sending the army into US cities, barring natural disaster, of course. Is "the ends justify the means" the only legitimate justification here?

I don't object to the outcome. Far from it--it would have been better for all concerned if this response had never, ever, been needed in the first place. But using the army to enforce the law? I'm going to paraphrase/steal the following from a tv show I watch:

The military is used to fight the enemies of the state. Police are used to protect the citizens of the state. When the military is used as a police force, it's very easy for citizens to become the enemies of the state. That leads to tyranny.

Was the army the only federal force big enough to take on the forces arrayed in Arkansas? Was this potential tyranny justified by the tyranny already in place, that which kept black students from attending the local high school?

What a mess.

To commemorate 50 years of integration, the army has a slideshow of what was called Operation Arkansas. It's fairly innocuous, and doesn't show the same pictures of hatred that we've all seen in history books and documentaries. What caught my eye, though, was the title of slide #11 (see update below--Darren), evidence of the potential for tyranny of which I spoke.

I'm glad this is America, where it's only potential.

Update, 1/8/08: I was directed to the Eisenhower Archives, and reading the documents there one gets a sense of what it must have been like in those turbulent days.

The legal justification can be found in the document called Press Release Proclamation 3204. Page 2 shows the relevant law citations. (Other sources indicate these laws were passed in 1861, another turbulent time in American history.)

The moral justification can be found in the document called Telegraph Mann To President 9 24 57.

Based only on reading Mayor Mann's telegraphs to President Eisenhower, I've come to the conclusion that the mayor was a brave and noble man. President Eisenhower's correspondence shows great poise and wisdom. We are lucky to have had such men in that time.

The communication between "the parents of nine Negro children enrolled at Little Rock Central High School" and the President should be enough to renew anyone's faith in our system of laws and governance.

Update, 1/19/09: It looks like the documents linked above can now be found here.

Update, 3/13/18:  Whether I got it wrong back then or if the slides have somehow been renumbered, I don't know, but slide #10 in the Army slideshow is the one that caused me worry.  It showed a battle plan for the Battle of Little Rock.  I'm thankful it didn't need to be implemented.

It's That Time Of Year Again...

...the time when break is over and school kicks back into gear. We have one more week, then finals.

While I have pretty much already taught all the academic material I'm going to teach this semester, there is still one more lesson for me to teach--I have to give out 'thank you' notes to those students who gave me Christmas gifts. I refer you to this post from two years ago.

Democrat Candidates and the Surge

I didn't watch the debates last night--couldn't care less, really, as I know who I support and who I don't. Everything I've read today, though, says Gibson was a good moderator.

I enjoyed this one post on the topic, though:

Democratic Candidates Squirm to the Iraqi Surge Dance

You've got to love the way that question was phrased.
ABC News commentator Charles Gibson gave the Democratic presidential candidates a thorough tongue lashing over their (wrong) stands on the Iraq War and in particular on their continual insistence that the troop surge had not worked. ABC started the segment with a video clip showing the remarkable success of the Bush troop surge.

The democrats still couldn't admit it even though the facts were just laid out in front of them.

I must admit, the video was pretty damning.