Guess Who Takes The Heat In This Situation

Collin Peterson, the U.S. Representative for Minnesota’s 7th District since 1991, no doubt expected softball questions and happy glad-handing when he visited Evangelical Lutheran-affiliated Concordia College last week for an event sponsored by the Campus Democrats.

Kate Engstrom, a 20-year-old in the school’s College Republicans, had other ideas. With the help of an unidentified collaborator, Engstrom approached Peterson after the event and recorded as he spoke candidly and controversially about losing the endorsement of Minnesota Citizens Concerned for Life (MCCL).

Peterson bashed the group, calling MCCL “a bunch of extremists.”

So what is the uproar about? If you think it's about a congressman's intemperate tone and language, you'd be wrong.  It's about Engstrom's filming the encounter and posting the video on YouTube.

Engstrom’s adviser also told her that Concordia’s president had suggested that she could face disciplinary action from the school for her actions...

Concordia Director of Public Safety William MacDonald later called Engstrom to inform her that she wouldn’t face disciplinary action after all. According to Engstrom, though, MacDonald did say he thinks it’s wrong to upload unedited video on YouTube of a member of Congress speaking.

Engstrom alleges that MacDonald told her “It’s on your conscience.”

It's hard to know what to say when you read stories like this, the sadness is so all-encompassing.

Just Look At Our Deficit

Barbie-like, Obama tells Jay Leno that math is hard:

Leno asked the president a viewer’s question about what subjects he struggles with when he helps his daughters with homework.  ”Well, the math stuff I was fine with up until about seventh grade,” explained Obama. “But Malia is now a freshman in high school and — I’m pretty lost.”

Yes, this is the man the Left would have us believe is the smartest man ever to have been president.

I Got Your Flip-Flop Right Here

Ah, the Silly Season, and as the election gets closer, the season gets sillier.

The latest mud the Obama cultists are throwing up on the wall, hoping something will stick, is that Mitt Romney is a "flip-flopper".  This when they support a guy whose position on gay marriage conveniently changed just before control of the House of Representatives did?  I'm not buying it.

Some people euphemistically say that every promise the president makes (every. single. one.) comes with an expiration date.  I calls 'em as I sees 'em; the man lies, telling people whatever they want to hear, and then he does whatever it is that he wants to do anyway.

What are some of these lies, or, to be charitable, these promises with expiration dates?  Here's a list.  It includes such gems as:
-No universal mandate in health care legislation
-Televising the Obamacare negotiations on C-SPAN
-Raising taxes on those making under $250,000/yr
-Recess appointments
-Border security
-Closing Guantanamo Bay
-Trying terrorists in civilian US courts

The list goes on and on....

If you're satisfied with the last four years, if you think the United States is better off now than it was four years ago, if you think we'll be even better off four years from now if we continue the same policies of the past four years, then you should vote (again) for Barack Obama.  If you have more than two operational brain cells, though, you'll cast your vote for Mitt Romney.

Update:  You want to talk flip-flops?  I got a doozy right here:

Since these comments on the sequester represented a complete reversal of the position he took at the debate less than 24 hours earlier, it's easy to understand why the President's campaign initially wanted to keep them off the record.

If you go with the "expiration date" theory, his "will not happen" statement in the debate, referring to the upcoming sequester, lasted less than a day.  Amazing.

Agency Fee Rebate

Today I mailed off my letter to CTA requesting my agency fee rebate.

California is a so-called Fair Share state, which means I'm legally required to pay the local, state, and national teachers unions over $1000 a year for the "privilege" of (not) being represented by them.  Since no one is required to be a union member, though, I choose not to be--but I still have to pay them!  I'm entitled to a rebate, though, of that money that they don't spend on collective bargaining, as determined by an arbiter, and that comes out to over $300 each year.  By agreement we "agency fee payers" must request the rebate each year by November 15th; the $300 check is nice to get right before Christmas!

If you'd like to find out how to get such a rebate, please visit the web site of the California Teachers Empowerment Network, specifically this page.

I'm All For Dress Codes In School, But...

Dress codes should serve a reasonable purpose.  What's reasonable about not allowing boys to have ponytail-length hair?

Zachary Aufderheide has run afoul of his Ohio high school's dress code because of his desire to grow his hair long enough to donate it to Locks of Love, an organization that provides wigs to needy children who've lost their hair because of medical problems.

Zachary, 17, of Canton is about an inch away from the 10 inches of hair he needs to donate to the organization. Faced with an ultimatum, the Canton South High School junior decided to accept an in-school suspension rather than cut his ponytail...

According to the dress code in the Canton Local School District's student handbook, "Hair for male students shall be neat and clean and shall not be worn covering the eyes, in a ponytail, or extending beyond the bottom of the regular shirt collar."

If this 1960's rule stands, then girls should be forbidden to wear shorts/pants and be required to wear ankle-length skirts.

Do These People Really Want to Educate Children?

I ask in all seriousness--I just don't see how you can advocate for these policies and be serious about education:

1. Washington Post — French President François Hollande has said he will end homework as part of a series of reforms to overhaul the country’s education system. Reason? He doesn’t think it is fair that some kids get help from their parents at home while children who come from disadvantaged families don’t. It’s an issue that goes well beyond France, and has been part of the reason that some Americans oppose homework too.

2. Maryland Community News — “Elementary students’ honor roll status will soon be a thing of the past in Montgomery County (MD). Reason? Students will no longer see A, B, C, D or E, but rather ES for exceptional, P for proficient, I for in-progress, N for not-yet making progress or making minimal progress, or M for missing data. There will be no more traditional honor roll at schools.”

The mathematical term is least common denominator.

A Long Day At School Today

I was at school by 7:10 this morning, helping to administer the PSAT to a classroom full of (mostly) juniors.  That mission was accomplished before 11:30.

In a couple hours I "get" to go back to chaperone at our Homecoming Dance.  I'll be dismissed from that some time between 11 and 11:30 tonight.

Heckuva way to spend a Saturday!

Not Meeting The Needs of the Student

A friend of mine recently enrolled his 4th grader in his local public school (all identifying characteristics, including names and locations, are intentionally being left out).  The boy had been home-schooled for the last year while participating in a travel adventure that most of us could only dream of having--but my friend and his wife decided "Dustin" needed to socialize more with kids his own age.  They've stopped traveling for a year and enrolled Dustin in school, where he's excelling.

They recently had their first parent conference.  The only "negative" was that "Dustin" always wants to be first.  I had the same response as my friend did, "So?"  But back to the story.

My friend is a certifiable genius, and through his and his wife's tutelage "Dustin" has become quite advanced in math (for a 4th grader).  Their concern is that "Dustin" will not learn anything in math this year!  I told him to ask the teacher what options existed for "Dustin"--could she at least have him go to a different class (say, a 5th grade class?) for math so that he can continue to progress?

Her answer was that she could not.

Huh?  Are you freakin' kidding me?  What kind of school is that?

I'm not suggesting the teacher should prepare separate lessons just for "Dustin" (although I've seen that requested before!); but is it so much to ask that he be taught at his own level?  It's not like he needs to be in 5th grade, but he probably needs to be in 5th grade math.  How could that be impossible???

My friends will continue to work with "Dustin" so that his math improves.  What will happen in 5th grade?  Will the school refuse to put him in 6th grade math?

We in education don't do ourselves any favors when we do absolutely stupid things like this.

The Old Me Is Back!

I got the results of my most recent test in the master's course I'm taking in linear algebra.

When I got an 85% on the first test, and struggled to finish it in time, I feared that perhaps I'd have to fight both the material and the decades--that perhaps it had been so long since I'd been a math student that I would be unable to reprise the success of my undergraduate years.

The 106% on this most recent test makes me feel like I'm back in the game!  There is nothing I can't accomplish today!  Bring on that Middle East--I'm gonna kick ass and take names :-)

Update:  In my euphoria earlier I knew I was missing something but couldn't put my finger on exactly what, but now I've got it.  I can look my students in the eye again, knowing that I'm setting the example which they should follow.  I like feeling that way.  I used to feel that way when I was in the Army.

Wackjob!

I don't mind advertising something like this, because it's so far into Wackadoo-land that anyone who falls for it isn't worth saving, anyway.  I watch it purely for the comedy.

What prompts people to think this way?

Tonight's Presidential Debate

At least Obama showed up tonight.  Of course, he had to, given his prior performance.

Romney didn't do as well this time as he did last time, but then again when you blow someone away it's nigh impossible to do as well the next time.  Obama was much more in his element than he was last time.

Romney whiffed on the Benghazi issue.  Crowley, of course, took a bullet for the president in that exchange, but Romney still didn't do as well as he should have.

By and large, the questions were pathetic. 

On style it was fairly even, I might even give the president a slight edge.  On substance I thought both of them were pretty bad, perhaps giving a slight edge to Romney.  Obama kept talking about what he'd do if he wins the election, as if he hadn't already been president for almost 4 years.

A wash.  I'm sure the commentariat will give it to the president, but it certainly wasn't anywhere close to the lopsided event from two weeks ago. 

Bringing Everyone to the Lowest Level Is Not Progress

What sickness is it that causes people to think this way?

François Hollande has a bold new plan to tackle social injustice and inequality in France: ban homework. Introducing his proposals for education reform last week at the Sorbonne, the French president declared that work "must be done in the [school] facility rather than in the home if we want to support the children and re-establish equality."

Coming soon to a high school near you.

Funny Email From the University

Regular readers of this blog know that I've recently started an online master's degree program at the University of Idaho (still no results from last Friday's test!). Today I got an email from the university, an email I must admit I never imagined I'd receive and one that made me snicker in an "aw, shucks" sorta way:

(Moscow Campus) A moose has been spotted near Taylor Avenue. Be cautious and give the animal proper space.

Moose Courtesy
* Never feed moose.
* Give moose at least 50 feet. If it doesn't yield as you  approach, give it the right of way. (Either retreat or walk way around.)
* If its ears lay back or its hackles (the hairs on its hump) rise, it's angry or afraid and may charge; back off pronto.
* Moose kick with their front as well as hind feet.
* Don't corner moose into fences or houses.
* If a moose charges, get behind a tree. You can run around the trunk faster than the gangly creature.
* Never get between a cow and her calf.

We have mountain lions near my school here along the American River in Sacramento but never get emails about them.  The only emails we ever get here at school concern rattlesnakes.

If You're Surprised, Raise Your Hand

From Joanne:

To prove a union contract is no barrier to school success, the United Federation of Teachers opened its own UFT Charter School in Brooklyn in 2005, notes Gotham Schools. After seven years of turmoil, the union-run K-9 school may be closed for low performance.

See, they foolishly thought that the problem is administration and that the answer is union.  What some might now have figured out is that a union environment can only be maintained as long as there's an us vs. them situation.  When "us" (the union) becomes "them" (management/administration) the whole idea breaks apart because of the fundamental requirement of unions, which is conflict.

Perhaps they are now sadder, but wiser, knowing this.

On a tangential note, this can't bode well for the anti-voucher movement, can it?

Where Was Caesar Stabbed?

When in Rome this past July, I was curious about where Caesar was stabbed.  Most know he was stabbed in "the Senate", but most visitors probably think that's the Curia in the Roman Forum.  Those who've delved a little more deeply into the subject know that, at the time, the Senate had been meeting in the Theater of Pompey, perhaps a 20 minute walk from the Forum.  How do I know it was 20 minutes away?  Because my hotel was right around the corner from the Largo Argentina, the only area of remains left in the vicinity of the Theater of Pompey.  It took us 20 minutes or so to walk to the Forum from there :-)

I took pictures of the signs that were there; note the mention of Caesar in the first one:

 We determined, based on this picture, that Caesar was probably murdered on the spot under the building behind the buses in this picture:

 Other pictures of Largo Argentina:

Turns out that my travel companion and I weren't the only ones interested in this, as some archeologists now think they've identified the spot.  I wonder how close I was!

Domestic Policy

Much like yesterday's post on our so-called smart diplomacy--which turns out to be about as smart as the president is--I had planned on doing a post on Obama's domestic policy failures, which are legion.  Rather than spending my time fisking, though, a couple of sentences I read here pretty much sum up the domestic policy reasons that clarify why the man shouldn't be reelected:

Obama didn’t inherit a bad economy, he applied for the job of fixing it. He literally begged to get his hands on it so he could fix it. He ran a competitive campaign to get the job of fixing it and shouted about how bad of a condition it was in. Now he twists it so that it sounds like it was something dumped on him he didn’t really want. He has gone from bragging that only he could fix it, to whining that it was worse than he expected. Why is it that no one calls him out on this? I haven’t heard even the most conservative of pundits call him on this.

Maybe they're not calling him on on this because they're too busy standing on the side of the road, sipping Slurpees, and laughing at the village idiot.

And allow me to be blunt--he is an idiot.  I have seen not a single shred of evidence to the contrary.

Opposing Stories

The fact that this won't make the Church of Global Warming adherents happy makes me--well, not ecstatic, but pretty giggly:

The world stopped getting warmer almost 16 years ago, according to new data released last week.

The figures, which have triggered debate among climate scientists, reveal that from the beginning of 1997 until August 2012, there was no discernible rise in aggregate global temperatures.

This means that the ‘plateau’ or ‘pause’ in global warming has now lasted for about the same time as the previous period when temperatures rose, 1980 to 1996. Before that, temperatures had been stable or declining for about 40 years.

Mother Gaia doesn't give a crap if you dance around her trees or not.

Sadly, though, we in California are still in the fast lane to Crazytown:

Such audits will be crucial as California embarks on its grand experiment in reining in climate change. On Jan. 1, it will become the first state in the nation to charge industries across the economy for the greenhouse gases they emit. Under the system, known as “cap and trade,” the state will set an overall ceiling on those emissions and assign allowable emission amounts for individual polluters. A portion of these so-called allowances will be allocated to utilities, manufacturers and others; the remainder will be auctioned off.

Over time, the number of allowances issued by the state will be reduced, which should force a reduction in emissions....

Should force a reduction in businesses and jobs, too.

The outsize goals of California’s new law, known as A.B. 32, are to lower California’s emissions to what they were in 1990 by 2020 — a reduction of roughly 30 percent — and, more broadly, to show that the system works and can be replicated.

The risks for California are enormous. Opponents and supporters alike worry that the program could hurt the state’s fragile economy by driving out refineries, cement makers, glass factories and other businesses. Some are concerned that companies will find a way to outmaneuver the system, causing the state to fall short of its emission reduction targets.

“The worst possible thing to happen is if it fails,” said Robert N. Stavins, a Harvard economist.

How could that possibly happen? We've sprinkled enough pixie dust and unicorn crap, everything will be fine. Just fine.

Liberals are killing this state.

Photo Book

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Smart Diplomacy

Is there anywhere in the realm of foreign policy--and I remind you, Smilin' Joe Biden was added to the presidential ticket in 2008 to give the ticket some foreign policy bona fides--is there anywhere in which the Obama Administration can be said to have done a good job?

How about that Russia reset?

The so-called Nunn-Lugar Cooperative Threat Reduction program, which had been renewed twice by the U.S. and Russia, was a major post-Cold War success.

It led to the deactivation of more than 7,650 strategic warheads from the old Soviet Union, and seemed to put the former USSR onto a far more peaceful path. It helped seal President Reagan's hard-won U.S. victory in the Cold War against its former foe.

But after four years of Obama's weak stewardship of our nation's national security, the Russians are saying "nyet" to renewing the deal in 2013. It's easy to see why.

Everywhere they look, they see U.S. weakness and a failure to respond to overt provocations by others.

They see world affairs as the U.S. retreats from previous strong alliances, such as those with Britain and Israel, and ignores or downplays others, including our ties with Japan.

Why continue to disarm after losing a cold war if your enemy is already busy disarming itself?

Nope, not there. How about the Libya debacle?

Coming to the defense of the nation's intelligence community after Vice President Joe Biden blamed bad intel for the administration's false explanation of what led to the killings of the U.S. ambassador to Libya, the former CIA director and second-ever Homeland Security Department secretary said the White House is to blame.

Former CIA Director Michael Hayden and former Secretary of Homeland Security Michael Chertoff said the White House didn't listen to the intelligence community leading up to the September 11 attack on the U.S. facility in Libya and inaction led to the deaths of U.S. officials in Benghazi.

Not there, either. How about Turkey?

Nonetheless, the administration’s blandishments and encouragements, and later its reproaches and betrayals, have pushed Turkey out on a ledge, apparently alone. If some are gloating that a boastful Erdogan is finally getting his comeuppance with his troubles on the Syrian border, the fact is that the administration has let an ally, albeit a troublesome one, expose its weaknesses, a posture dangerous both to itself and American interests.

Nope, nothing there on the Syrian border.  How's Afghanistan, the "good war" that Obama supposedly supported, doing these days?

In his first year in office, Mr. Obama’s thinking about what he once called “a war of necessity” began to radically change. He concluded that the Bush-era dream of remaking Afghanistan was a fantasy, and that the far greater threat to the United States was an unstable, nuclear-armed Pakistan. So he narrowed the goals in Afghanistan, and narrowed them again, until he could make the case that America had achieved limited objectives in a war that was, in any traditional sense, unwinnable.

In June 2011, a month after United States special forces killed Osama bin Laden in Pakistan, Mr. Obama declared that America had largely achieved its goals in Afghanistan, setting in motion an aggressive timetable for the withdrawal of troops by 2014. In a major milestone, on Feb. 1, 2012, Defense Secretary Leon E. Panetta said that American forces would step back from a combat role there as early as mid-2013, more than a year before all American troops were scheduled to come home.

A milestone was reached in August 2012, when the United States military reached 2,000 dead in Afghanistan, based on an analysis by The New York Times of Department of Defense records.

Another milestone was reached in September, when the American military completed the withdrawal of the 33,000 troops deployed in the “surge’' ordered by Mr. Obama in late 2009. Another 86,000 troops remain.

Some Afghan officials hailed the move as proof that they were ready to take over their country’s security, but more worried voices were raised in the heartland of the surge, in Kandahar and Helmand Provinces in the south and southwest where the 2010 influx of Marines and Army soldiers largely subdued the Taliban on their home turf. Post-surge, the capital cities of those provinces are more peaceful than they have been in many years, and the Taliban operate only clandestinely in the rural areas. But operate, they still do.

As the surge ended, American officials acknowledged that they have all but written off what was once one of the cornerstones of their strategy to end the war here: battering the Taliban into a peace deal.

The once ambitious American plans for ending the war were replaced by the far more modest goal of setting the stage for the Afghans to work out a deal among themselves in the years after most Western forces depart, and to ensure Pakistan is on board with any eventual settlement. Military and diplomatic officials said that despite attempts to engage directly with Taliban leaders, they now expect that any significant progress will come only after 2014, once the bulk of NATO troops have left.

"Vietnamization" is failing again.

Do our enemies fear us?  Do our allies trust us?  Do the undecideds of the world "like" us more than they did four years ago?

I'm still looking for a success.  In almost four years I'm sure there's got to be one, if for no other reason than the Stopped Clock Principle.

There's a "foreign policy" presidential debate coming up, maybe I'll learn of some successes then.

Master's Degree Update

Today I took my 2nd of 3 tests.  The "review this" list contained a lot of information that wasn't tested, but I spent the whole week learning it anyway!  I have a pretty good feeling about this one; of course, I had a pretty good feeling about the first one, too, and look how that turned out.  Still, I'm optimistic as to my performance on this test.

Two more homework packets, one more test, and then the final exam.

And then I'm 10% of the way done with my master's degree.