ANWR

The issue of drilling for oil in the Alaska National Wildlife Reserve is coming up again. The opposition for it is based on the idea that it will hurt the Alaskan ecosystem and harm wildlife. If I recall correctly, these were exactly the same arguements that were made to oppose drilling for oil in other parts of Alaska and against building the Alaskan oil pipeline. So why don't we simply take an unbiased look at how the ecosystems and wildlife of those areas has been effected. I really don't know for sure, but I have the sense that the pipeline has actually helped increase the number of caribou. One thing that leads me to believe that the ecosystems have not been hurt, and if anything helped, is that the opponents of ANWR aren't bringing up any horror stories of the Alaskan wilderness being destroyed by these earlier efforts.

Slippery Slope to Hell

I am strongly opposed to gay marriage. I think it greatly damages the institution of marriage. I consider marriage to be one of the foundations of civilization. I think the rapid rise in the number of divorces (at about 50% presently) is one of the symptoms of the decline of our civilization. I have always argued that one of the reasons to oppose gay marriage is the precedent it will set for other prohibited marriages. ( I should note that I do support a system of civil union for both heterosexual and homosexual committed relationships) The supporters of gay marriage have always denied that it would set a precedent. Well, I am sad to say I have been proven right. As this article shows, there is already a case, Muth v. Frank, that is attempting to argue that incestuous marriages between consenting adults should be legal. They are using the exact same language that the arguments in the gay marriage cases use. How long do you think it's going to be before a polygamist uses the language to argue that polygamy should be legal and protected? I predict the very next time a polygamist is arrested.

We started down this slippery slope forty years ago with the two Connecticut
birth control cases that first created a "right" to privacy. Along the way we have coarsened society, killed millions of babies and begun the destruction of the institution of marriage. It's not too late to go back. I hope.

Monday Night Football

Yeah it's back! Boo...it's a typical boring preseason game.

Gender Selection

I have written several times about the problem of gender selection, but up to now I have been concerned with China and India. It is commonly believed that there are over 100 million missing women because of gender selective abortion. There are millions more men in those countries than women, because of the common practice of aborting female babies. I can't see how these millions of extra men won't lead to armed conflict in the future. The best result would be the conflict occuring between the two. Unfortunately I see them instead attacking Russia and Pakistan respectively. Or the two could collude and attack Australia. If the depopulation of Africa continues I predict both of them will claim lands in Africa.

Now, the practice is coming to America. While I don't expect the same degree of selective abortion, even one is morally repugnant. The only bright side is the prospect of watching the feminists argue in favor of a woman's right to abort their daughter simply because she is female.

Multiculturalism

Read this article, and then tell me all cultures are equal. Not only is this bastard trading his daughter for political gain, he is bribing his opponent openly to get out of the race. These cultures are still mired in the barbarism of the dark ages, they are NOT equal.

The Final Frontier Pt. 4

Discovery is scheduled to land tomorrow. Here's hoping all goes well and everyone is safe.

Update: The landing has been postponed 24 hours at 2:04 A.M. my time.

Air America

I haven't posted about the scandal at Air America on purpose. Frankly that bunch of political hacks isn't worth the attention. But the fact that the mainstream media isn't covering this is. Can you imagine the coverage if it had been a conservative taking illegal loans from a charity that serves children and the elderly, causing it to lose $10 million in government funding and nearly driving it into bankruptcy?

Tucker Carlson has a regular panelist on his show who has a slot on Air America. As far as I know he hasn't asked her yet about this scandal. Why not? This has just jumped to number 1 on the list of evidence of bias in the mainstream media.

Hiroshima

Yesterday was the 60th anniversary of the dropping of the atomic bomb on Hiroshima. I was pleasantly surprised that no one made that big a deal out of it other than the History Channel. Which is exactly the way it should be. We shouldn't be proud of dropping the bomb, but it was nothing to be ashamed of either.

Strange New World

The new school year has just started out at work. We lost all three of our administrators last year. (2 retired, one got a new job) This means that we are having to adapt to a whole new staff. (as an aside, we got a new District Superintendent halfway through last year, and the new prinicipal is his guy) So far so good. I'm the Social Studies Dept chair, and I'm finding it a much harder job than in years past. Part of it is the fact that I am the only 7th grade Social Studies with any experience and one of the positions is filled by a sub, so I have to provide extra support. I am not too thrilled with my teaching assignment either. I have 5 classes, all Social Studies. I am not ELL trained, but I have 2 ELL classes this year. One is level 4/5's which isn't too bad. There are 30 students in that class. The other is a sheltered group of level 3's. There are only 21 students in this class, and it can only have a max of 30. These kids are much harder though. Their English skills are somewhat limited. Plus they have been tracked together for years, so they have a practised routine set up. I have a class of 30 in which ten of them are leadership students. This class should be OK and it's my last period. The other two classes are "normal" kids. One of these classes has 37 students in it. Basically they are the kids that are left over when you pull out the AVID students (who tend to be much more motivated), the special ed students, the ELL students and the Leadership kids. So basically they turn into dumping grounds for the unmotivated and the discipline problems

The Final Frontier pt. 3

Who knew about America's shameful racial past when it came to our space program? Go to this site and watch the movie. I'm glad I did. Another window on America's past has been opened for the bright light of truth to shine in.


(This one is really funny guys!)

Banditos

When this happened 90 years ago, we sent units of the U.S. Army to the border and into Mexico to deal with Pancho Villa and the bandits. The forces were lead by Gen Pershing. The expedition was not entirely successful due to limitations placed on it by Washington D.C., but it did set a precedent that we should now follow. Only this time we should simply wipe out the drug cartels and smuggling operations, most of which operate openly in Northen Mexico.

John Bolton Appointment

It has been announced that President Bush will appoint John Bolton as ambassador to the United Nations in a recess appointment. Good for him. The Democrats have refused to allow an up or down vote in the Senate because they know he won't kiss the U.N's ass. It's time to get tough with the UN, and John Bolton will do that.

Visas? We doan need no stinkin visas! Pt 2

Well. This is been brewing for a long time. It is looking more and more like immigration is going to be a, if not the, key issue in 2008. It is interesting to note that the political leaders of the black community are more intersted in cutting deals with those in favor of illegal immigration than they are in representing the true views of those they are supposed to represent. Things have been getting uglier and uglier in California between Blacks and Hispanics, and it is driven by illegal immigration and the increasing militancy of those who seek to impose Atzlan on the US Southwest.

King Fahd has died

This has been a long time coming. Things could get interesting in Saudia Arabia. There are two distinct factions in the Saudi royal family. One is pro-western and the other is pro-radical Islam. Throw in a growing minority in favor of replacing the system with a constitutional monarchy and shake. This is a very important time for Saudi Arabia.

MTV's The 70's House

Oh my God! This show has instantly become my guilty pleasure. I caught it by accident surfing this morning. I miss the 70's. And the hostess Dawn? She's got a Dana Delaney thing going on.

Questionable content?

My entry for 100 Words or Les Nessman was denied because of questionable content. I will post my original entry below, and then the changes I made to make it "safer". It was still denied. Perhaps someone could tell me what is so questionable about the entry? The prompt was the word "chef".

Damn. "Bonding night". That meant no poker or baseball for me. Instead I'd have to watch something she would enjoy also. At least it meant I'd get some sex out of it. We started flipping through the channels, but couldn't agree on anything. Finally we came to the Food channel. "Let's try this," she said. The commercial ended, and Iron Chef America began. OK, I could deal with this, at least it was competitive. "Tonight on Iron Chef the secret ingredient is...... eyeballs!" She ran from the room retching. Thanks Fear Factor, for ruining TV and my love life.

I removed the word "Damn" from the front of the post, and replaced "sex" with "bedroom action" and it was still rejected.

UPDATE:
OK. It turns out "poker" is the hang up. I put "damn" back up front, took out "bedroom" and changed "poker or" to "Friday Night" and the story posted.

100 Words or Les Nessman

Oops. My entry for yesterday was late. I was so damn tired after my second day back at work that I feel asleep when I got home. Then some friends called and nagged me to go out for a night of dancing and drink. So I didn't submit my entry until this morning. I think it was one of my better ones also...I can easily see it extended into a short story or novella. Who are the clan, and why are they exiled from Earth?

My Female Robot......

Those darn Japanese. look at what they have invented now. How long do you think it's going to be until someone crosses this with a real doll? Civilization is doomed! There are going to be generations of boys who will never leave the house again.

I know I'm not the only one who thought of the credit card commercial when they were reading this article....

Alanis Morissette

I was never a big fan of Alanis. I found Jagged Little Pill to be strident and her personality turned me off also. Well I'm watching VH1 right now and I'm amazed. Either she has grown up in the past ten years, or I have changed. She has a new look that I find very attractive, and a much mellower personality apparently. She has done a new acoustic version of Jagged Little Pill that I much prefer. I'm still not likely to go out and buy it. This newer version proves that she does have a very good voice, and is one of the few singers who doesn't need all the machines to sound pleasant. Kudos, I have to give credit where credit is due.

The Final Frontier pt. 2

I just watched the live launch of shuttle Discovery. Great Launch. The new camera mounted on the fuel tank gave some great shots. Good luck and may your God be with you.

Visas? We Doan Need No Stinkin Visas!

If an American citizen legally moves to Mexico, they are not allowed to own any land. It is literally against the law. However if a Mexican illegally comes to the US, we'll give them a loan to buy a house. Any and all banks engaged in this practice must be punished economically. American citizens must pull their money out of these banks, switch their loans to a new bank, and otherwise refuse to do any business with these banks.

The Final Frontier

An official from NASA has just come on TV and announced that the shuttles will be retired in 2010. Now there is nothing wrong with that in and of itself. The shuttles were an expensive and dangerous compromise, trying to be a jack of all trades, and not expert at anything. However, there has to be a follow on of some sort, and I haven't heard of any. There have been persistent rumors of an Air Force operated space plane called the Aurora. This plane supposedly flies into space and lands like a plane. Given the fact that the SR-71 technically flew into space, and the success of a private space plane this year, I find it entirely plausible that the military has a manned vehicle capable of flying into space. If not, they must develop one. The U.S. has no traditional rockets capable of flying men into space, and I don't believe the French Arianne is capable of manned flight either. This would leave manned flight capabilities in the hands of the Russians with their Proton rockets, and the Chinese who are currently developing a rocket based manned space flight capability. For reasons of national security, national presitige and economic reasons, we cannot allow this to happen. We must explore and exploit space, it is our future. If we can operate and maintain a scientific outpost in Antartic, we can do the same on the Moon. If our government does drop the ball, then it is vital that NASA and the government get out of the way, and allow private interests to begin to travel into space and begin to develop an infrastructure.

100 Words or Les Nessman Pt. 2

So far I've managed to submit a story for each prompt. (one was an essay and not fiction, but then I've submitted two for some of them) Some of the prompts have been brutal. Some of my entries have been total crap. One or two of them have been pretty good I think. I know I'm one of a very few besides the featured authors to submit an entry each day.

Strike of the Left Wing Moonbats Pt. 2

Anita Hill has slid from beneath whatever rock she was hiding under in order to put her two cents in on Judge Roberts' nomination. Guess what, she's opposed to it. There is talk that when Chief Justice Rehnquist retires, President Bush will nominate Justice Thomas to replace him. I certainly hope so. I would love to see Prof. Hill and the Democrats try to resurrect the accusations she made when Justice Thomas was first nominated to the Supreme Court. I dare you (and the Democrats) to compare the allegations (and the Democratic reaction to them) made against Justice Thomas in 1991 to the allegations (and the Democratic reaction to them) made against President Clinton in 1994. The allegations made against President Clinton were much more credible than the ones against Justice Thomas. The allegations against President Clinton had contemporanous confirmation, came from multiple women, and were much more serious than those against Justice Thomas. Not one allegation against Justice Thomas was proven true, and President Clinton was forced to admit to not only having adulterous sex in the Oval office with an intern (much more serious legally than sexually harassment) , he had to admit to lying it about it under oath. However the feminists and leftists reacted completely differently. Plus, Paula Jones was willing to go to court to prove her allegations, and Prof. Hill attempted to anonymously smear Justice Thomas. So bring it on Anita, I'd love for you to lead the fight against President Bush's nominees.

Blog Roll

I'm too stupid to figure out how to do this the right way (on the side) but here is a list of blogs I read every day: The Corner Day by Day Michelle Malkin Hog on Ice Gut Rumbles Right Wing News Captain's Corner Roger L. Simon a small victory RedsugarMuse Kirbside Musings (my brother's blog) The Immigration Blog 100 Words or Les Nessman

Strike of the Left Wing Moonbats

Greenpeace has produced a new ad that apparently is for use in the UK. In the ad PM Tony Blair is a prostitute that is picked up by Pres. Bush, taken to a motel, and performs oral sex on the president. At the "climax" of the ad, PM Blair is covered with oil.

Way to go. This certainly raises the level of discourse.

Mr. Kirby (My current screensaver)

This is one of my toons in City of Heroes. It's my screensaver. This is supposed to represent me. (it's pretty close facially)

Different Worlds

I just had a conversation with a hard core Democrat. Now, I am by no means a hard core Republican. In fact if there was a viable alternate, I wouldn't be one. I am a classical liberal (way different from a modern liberal) I am more of a Federalist, or a Whig. I am however adamantly opposed to the modern Democratic party and what they stand for. What amazes me is how the right and the left live in totally different worlds. There is no objective truth any longer. (partly because of the left's insistence that objective truth does not exist) When you can no longer agree on the facts, rational discourse can no longer occur.

I am becoming increasingly fearful about the future of our republic.

Supreme Court nomination

Let the games begin!

Pres. Bush has nominated John Roberts.

At first glance this looks like a great pick. But I predict this one is going to get ugly, almost as ugly as the Bork and Thomas hearings.

Now if only Justices Stevens and Ginsburg would retire, we could have some real fun.

Betty Nguyen

I have been on a very weird sleep cycle lately. One of the unexpected benifits of this was my introduction to Betty Nguyen. She is by the far the best thing CNN has going for it right now. I actually watch CNN when she is the anchor. Of course, that is usually at 3:00 A.M. my time.

Kill me Now Pt 2 (The return of Ebonics?)

This is unbelievable. When will we learn? Here are some comments I left on a blog talking about this issue.

1) I am a graduate of Cal State San Bernardino (CSUSB) and I got my teaching credential from CSUSB. This type of thinking is typical of the Sociology and Education professors there. I was once forced to pay for and attend an Anti Defamation League conference on multiculturalism in order to pass an Education class there. I currently live in San Bernardino, and will certainly remember this program when the School board elections come around again.
2) I teach 7th Grade Social Studies in a neighboring school district. The curriculum for 7th grade Social studies is comparative cultures. I have had parents complain that I do not teach Black History. When I inform them that I do not teach U.S. History, but do teach about West Africa as part of my curriculum, they are unsatisfied. Because I do not tolerate misbehavior, and fail students for not doing their homework, I am constantly accused of being racist. (Despite the fact that my two closest friends, both fellow teachers, are Black men married to White women) I dread the day my district tries to force me to teach a similar curriculum as the one in San Bernardino.

Look, we all can agree that there is a problem with the success of Black students in school. But it is my experience that this is a function of low expectations (from parents primarily), chronic misbehavior and a lack of effort. All of this stems from poor or lack of parenting. My Black students who have caring involved parents do very well in school. This year I had three Black students get straight As. One of them currently has a 4.0 GPA for both 6th and 7th grade. One of the things these three students had in common were caring, concerned and involved parents.

I stand by my previous assertion: 90% of the problems in Education can be traced back to parents.

Kill me now

KY body massage and personal lubricant!!!! We are now advertising KY jelly on TV? I'm not talking about cable, this was CBS. The mere fact that KY has an advertising budget big enough to buy commercial time on broadcast TV is staggering. I am way too old.

Dominance

We have two superb athletes dominating their respective sports today, both serving as symbols of America's greatness.

We have Lance Armstrong dominating the Tour de France for the seventh time in a row. No one else in the history of bicycling has dominated this premier event so well for so long. When you reflect that it comes after his diagnosis with testicular cancer that spread to his brain and lungs, it just becomes all the more special. Lance symbolizes the grit and pluck of America, the unwillingness to give up, the comeback against seemingly insurmountable odds.

We also have Tiger Woods. The multi-racial (but predominantly black) golfer dominating a sport that has always been a rich, white man's sport. He is a symbol of the fact that in America it is what you do, not who you are that is important. He also is a symbol of the melting pot (I hate the salad bowl analogy) of America.

Best of all, the two of them are doing what they do in Europe today, Lance in France and Tiger in the United Kingdom. They are among the best advertisements we have for America.

Bastille Day

Today is Bastille Day, the day the French celebrate their revolution.

I think it is very telling that Americans celebrate their revolution on the day they declared their independence by writing a letter to their former King. The French celebrate their independence on the day they set a bunch of prisoners lose from a prison.

Border Issues

I firmly believe that illegal immigration is the biggest problem facing our country today, bigger even than terrorism because of it's long term implications and threats. I am with O'Reilly on this one, the National Guard should be stationed on the border. Our local police should be arresting and deporting illegal aliens.

Now comes word that Mexico refuses to make improvements to border security unless we make concessions on illegal immigration. OK, you want to play hardball? Let's seal the border and start the deportations.

Many people make the claim that the only way to deal with illegal immigration is to help Mexico improve their economy. Mexico is not interested in improving their economy, and won't do so. Mexico is run by an elite ruling class that controls all of the political and economic power. This elite class is made up of wealthy families that have always controlled Mexico. They are doing fine in the current economic system and have no interest in creating rivals. They don't have to worry about revolution, because they send their poor across the border to the US. Plus they get the added bonus of the billions of dollars sent back to Mexico to help prop up the economy. If we ever want to change Mexico, we have to send the poor back, and let them suffer until they get pissed off enough to get rid of their ruling elite.

Gahrie?

My name is Gary Kirby, but I have chosen the nom-de-plume of Gahrie. Some people have asked me why.

Three years ago I did a google search on my name and the first reference to me was on the first page. There were several other Gary Kirby's out there.

Earlier this year I did a second google search. I looked through 60 pages and there was not one reference to me. Bummer. When I do a google search of my nom-de-plume, all the references are to me, except for one hit in Korean. (I presume, that one might be about me also)

Now I was under the impression that the name Gary Kirby was not all that common. The only other one I knew was my father. I was wrong. There are tons of Gary Kirbys out there, including an Irish Rugby player, a university student government president, a writer and a chemical engineer. I believe I'm not even the only Gary Kirby who is a teacher.

Gahrie is my last plea for individualism.

Supreme Court

Well now there are rumors that Chief Justice Rehnquist will retire today or early next week. This will create perhaps two more confirmations. (one for his role as Chief Justice and one for his spot on the Court) I strongly support Justice Thomas as the next Chief Justice.

What is more exciting is the rumors that Justice Stevens is talking about retiring. I find this hard to believe. There is no way he wants to let Pres. Bush replace him. However, he is 85 years old.

Imagine the horror of the left if Justice Stevens does retire and Justice Ginsburg dies (she has cancer) during Pres. Bush's term.

Some of the left wing wackos like Sen. Kennedy and the NOW gang might actually stroke out!

Bad luck charm

Well my streak of being a bad luck charm continued last night. The last ten Major League baseball games I have attended has seen the team I was rooting for lose. It's getting so bad, the Dodgers are considering paying me not to attend their games.

I went to an Angels game last night. The Angels are leading their division, had their 11 game winner ace pitching, at home where they have one of the best home game records in baseball; against the bottom dwelling Mariners, with a pitcher who has an ERA of 5.44 and an awful road record.

So of course the Angels lose 10-2.

I will say this though, the money spent renovating Anaheim stadium was well spent. The ballpark was clean, the staff pleasant and helpful, and the field was beautiful. Access on and off the freeway was relatively smooth. There were screens everywhere, and lots of activities to make it fun and exciting for families. I was very impressed.

The last time I had been to an Angels game it was still a dual baseball/football stadium. The expererience compared badly to a Dodger game. After last night, I have to say the Dodgers have serious competition for best ballpark in SoCal now. I still don't think they should tear down Dodger stadium and build a new park, but they can't sit back and rest on their laurels anymore.

Bombings in London

Like all right thinking people I heartily condemn the bombings. If there is a hell, there is a place waiting for those who did this.

Unfortunately, these attacks are nothing new for London. They've been dealing with terrorist bombs from the IRA for decades. Things will be back to normal by Monday.

The terrorists miscalculated here, the UK is nothing like cowardly Spain.

Google Earth

Google has released a cool new application called Google Earth. It's a free download, and really fun. (Especially if your mouse has a wheel on it...the zoom function is unreal!) The amount of definition you can get is eerie. And if this is what is available for free, just imagine what the government can do. They probably can read your newspaper over your shoulder from orbit.

Doonesbury

Does anybody think this strip is funny anymore? My politics have always been approximately 180 degrees from Trudeau, but I used to read his strips because they were at least funny. But they aren't funny anymore. Trudeau has fallen into the same rabbit hole that Al Franken did. They have become strident, politicized and hysterical. They simply can't believe that their guys keep losing, and the frustration just fuels their hate. What I find hard to believe is that some smart liberal, or hell even moderate, Democrat hasn't gone up to Trudeau, Franken and Moore and told them to just shut the hell up, they aren't helping anybody. Does anybody believe that any of those three are attracting new converts and winning votes for the Democrats? And by the way, where is the conservative strip to balance out Doonesbury on the comics page? Day by Day by Chris Muir would be a good start.

Happy 4th of July

Happy Fourth of July!! And for all of those leftists out there who like to say that the Declaration of Independence has no meaning, and is just dicta, take note of the fact that we celebrate our Nation's birthday as the signing of the Declaration, not the ratification of the Constitution.

The Declaration stakes our claim to Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness. Three notes. 1) Life comes first, because without the Right to life, no other Rights matter. One day, we will wake up and realize the horror of what abortion on demand is. Science has thrown the evidence of the crime in our faces. The unborn child is a human life, and becomes a human life far earlier than most people are willing to acknowledge. 2) It says the pursuit of happiness, not happiness. There is no right to be happy. 3) Also note the change from Locke's Life, Liberty and Property. This is no mistake. The change was made on purpose, to keep from giving the institution of slavery any legitimization, or provide slave owners with any argument to support the institution. In fact Jefferson's original version of the Declaration cites the impostiion of slavery in the colonies as one of the reasons for independence.

Tour de France

The Tour started yesterday, and Lance was his normal dominating self. He has already announced that this will be his last. Here's hoping he gets his 7 in a row.

This is just sad

This is disgusting and sad, not cute. In fact, it's a form of child abuse. Somebody has poisoned their child to hate the president of the United States. It's simple brainwashing, there is no way that a 12 year old could come to those conclusions on their own. But it is not unique. I teach 7th grade Social Studies and have to endure similar reactions once or twice a year when one of my students asks me who I voted for, or if I support the president. I work in a lower socio-economic community (in fact we have a large population of illegals and children of illegals) and almost all of the students groan and complain when they hear I am a Republican. When I challenge them to come up with a rational and logical reason to dislike or disapprove of President Bush they are unable to do so. All they know is that popular culture and most (but not all) of their parents dslike him.

I would not allow my niece or nephew to talk about the president this way in front of me, even President Clinton.

July 6, 2005
After reading some more of this author's entries on the Huffington Post site, it appears this might be satirical. All I can say, is I hope so.

Finally!

Justice Sandra Day O'Connor has announced she is retiring!!! Finally!! She was one of the many Republican disappointments on the Supreme Court.

By all accounts she was a great person, and a superb lawyer. However as a Justice, she sucked. She was inconsistent to say the least. She had the unfortunate habit of believing that she knew what the Constitution said better than the men who actually wrote the document. I won't be sorry to see her go.

Republicans have had awful luck in appointing Supreme Court Justices. ( See Souter and Kennedy on the current Court.) So many of them get on the Court and turn into liberal activists. Pres. Bush needs to name a true Conservative and originalist in the tradition of Scalia and Thomas. If the Democrats kill the nomination, he needs to keep naming them until one gets on. I personally oppose Alberto Gonzales. If he wasn't so old, I would re-nominate Judge Bork myself.

Man, this could be an ugly summer, especially if Justice Rehnquist also steps down, and Justice Stevens in 85, he could die or retire at any time. (although I'm sure Stevens is going to try and last until the next election to try and give a Democrat a chance to replace him.) If Rehnquist steps down, he'll add two confirmation fights, one to replace him as Chief Justice ( I predict Justice Thomas) and one to replace him on the Court.

South Park

Tonight is another classic one. The kids are on a baseball team, but only because their parents force them to play, they'd rather be playing video games.

The whole episode revolves around both teams trying to lose each game so they don't have to play anymore, while Stan's father gets in a fight each game in the stands.

South Park is much funnier, more consistently than Team America was. I just wish my students weren't able to watch it.

Supreme Court Outrage

I cannot express how upset and disappointed I am right now. The 5-4 decision today is one of the most outrageous rulings the Court has ever made. The Supreme Court has just handed the government the right to confiscate your private land for practically any reason they see fit. If that is not tyranny what is? The Supreme Court has now put significant restrictions to our Rights of Life, Liberty and Property. At this point I am truly beginning to lean towards the Jefferson quote about the tree of liberty and the blood of revolution. This is an outrage that cannot stand! Americans of every ideology and social status have got to protest this travesty and retrieve our Rights from these judicial tyrants.

Kerry 180's

The Powerline blog has posted pictures of Sen. Kerry's signed 180 forms. After quickly looking at them, I immediately see a glaring problem. The forms have separate spaces to authorize the release of active duty, Reserve and National Guard service. All three only authorize the release of active duty records.

My biggest questions about Kerry's service are about events that happened or would have happened during his reserves service. For instance, was there any discipline for his meetings in Paris when he consorted with the enemy? Was he given a dishonorable, or other than honorable discharge? (Which would have occurred while he was in the reserves.)

I think this is yet another example of Kerry attempting to lie by not telling the whole truth.

Coca Cola Zero

I just discovered this new flavor of Coke this weekend. It has the same stats as Diet Coke, and from a quick glance, pretty much the same ingredients. However the taste in my opinion is far superior.

The interesting thing is that the company apparently learned it's lesson from the whole Coke/Coke Classic fiasco when they originally discontinued the classic Coke formula and replaced it with one that tasted pretty much like Pepsi. There was a huge outcry, and they responded by bringing back the original formula as Coke Classic and selling it alongside the new Coke. The public voted with their pocketbook, and eventually the new formula was discontinued. (as a side note, it would be interesting to find out if this was the same time that they replaced the sugar in Coke with fructose. That change had to have some effect on the taste)

By the way have you checked out the soda aisle lately? Let's just look at the different flavors of Coke in my local supermarket:

Coke, caffiene free Coke, Diet Coke, caffiene free Diet Coke, Vanilla Coke, (is there a diet Vanilla Coke) Cherry Coke, diet Cherry Coke, Coke with lemon, diet Coke with lemon, Coke with lime and diet Coke with lime. This doesn't include all the other brand names affiliated with the Coca-Cola company.

Happy Father's Day

Happy Father's Day out there to all of you fathers. In this age of single parent families, you are more important than ever.

Gitmo

I have one question for all of the MSM covering this issue: Why aren't you mentioning the 18 terrorists confirmed to have been released from Gitmo and then later killed or recaptured in battle in Afghanistan and Iraq?

These terrorists are not entitled to the protections of the Geneva Convention.

1) They do not wear uniforms.

2) They do not represent a signatory to the convention.

3) And most importantly, they do not extend the protections of the convention to American soldiers.

I have another question for the leftwing wackos comparing American soldiers to NAZIs, Stalin and PolPot: Where was the outrage and condemnation when the North Vietnamese were daily violating the conventions in regards to captured Americans?

Last Day of School.

Today was our last day with the kids. I'm really glad to see this bunch go. Even the good kids got to be annoying after having them for a calendar year. My kids from last year were leaving and getting ready to go to high school. Now that was a great bunch of kids. They were smart, funny, hard working and cooperative. I'll really miss that group.

If I can get a group like that every five years, it's worth the daily struggle with the other ones. I have to struggle more than most, because I teach Social Studies, and the kids just refuse to understand why it is so important.

Hopefully in three or four years I can move up into the high school and teach Government, which is my passion and my credential.

Michael Jackson

Well he was aquitted. Even of the stuff everyone knows he did, giving alcohol to kids.

The sad thing is, this isn't over. He's going to do it again. People with his sickness never stop. If his handlers are smart, he will be taking lots of discreet trips to Asia in the future.

One day he will get caught again, or one of his handlers will be broke and need the dough, and the truth will come out.

It would have been better for everyone if he had died in a plane crash in 1984.

Earthquake!!!

Nothing major, but visible and audible shaking. Felt pretty close by. Sometimes I worry about living a mile from the San Andreas Fault, but most of the time I just ignore it. Now the questions, was this a precursor, and how big will the aftershocks be?

At least you can usually see a tornado coming.

UGH

I turn 40 in about 3 hours. UGH.

Normandy Invasion

Today is the anniversary of the D-Day landings at Normandy. I've been there, and walked along the beaches, and the countryside. Unimaginable sacrifices were made by British, American and yes even Canadian men on those fateful days.

Could you imagine the outcry if a modern war resulted in a tenth of the casulaties that resulted in the first week of that battle?

The American people could endure the pain, but the media would have conniption fits.

100 words or Les Nessman

Well I've found a new toy. It is a site where you get a new writing prompt each day, and you have to come up with a story of exactly 100 words. I really enjoy this type of thing. The site is here. I've already submitted two stories, neither one on top of my game, but I need to work my way into it.

French reject European Constitution

(Man this hurts..............)

The French actually did the right thing this week. (it burns, it burns....) Take that Chirac!

When the French people can see through the BS and reject the draft Constitution, you know it has to be bad.

I just can't see Great Britian, France and Germany cooperating in the same political entity for very long. Hell, I still have trouble believing that France and Britian cooperated long enough to build the Chunnel.

Indy 500

This was actually a good race this year. Sometimes it's a little boring, but not this one.

Danica has to be bummed. She made three mistakes the whole weekend as a rookie, and all three counted. The first one was on qualification day. On the first turn of the first lap of qualification, she made a small tweak that most of us would have missed, and it cost her the pole. Still fourth as a rookie is impressive. The second was during the first pit stop in the race when she stalled the car. That hurt, but she recovered very well and moved back up through the field. Veteran drivers stall the car all the time. The third was a rookie mistake all the way when she spun the car on a restart. However she got really lucky on two counts, and not only was able to stay in the race, but came out of it with a chance to win because of being on a different pit rotation than the rest of the field. Hell, 4 or 5 more laps of yellow and she probably wins the race. Still fourth again for a rookie is nothing to sneeze at. She has proved that she belongs. I predict that she wins a race before the end of the season.

Thanks to all the Veterans

I would like to take a moment to pause, reflect and thank all the veterans for all the sacrifices they and their families have made for our country. I appreciate them 365 days a year, but this weekend has been set aside for them, and they deserve it. I am a military brat, and my father served in Vietnam. I know the sacrifices both my parents made and I am proud of them.

The Incredibles

I saw the movie for the first time today. In a word it was incredible.

I can't believe what they are doing with animation today. Combine that with a well written movie and incredible voice acting?

It deserved a grammy for best picture.

Revelations

OOOOOH...they are going to catch hell for that one. They killed a poor defencless bunny rabbit on TV. I can hear the PETA idiots screaming already........

Oops again

Wow..missed another month.

Let's see. Work is going OK, but is tedious. City of Heroes is still addictive. I plan on running for school board next year. That's about it.

Oh..Happy Mother's Day everyone.

Next Pope

I made this prediction to my friends last Friday, but I record it here for posterity. The next Pope will be African.

West Wing

OK, it's been obvious that Santos (Jimmy Smits) would be the next president all season. He's the one who has been featured in all the promos. Plus there is no way the writers of this show would have a Republican win the election. Having McGarry as VP was a surprise though. A smart way of keeping John Spencer on the show. Let's see, predictions: 1) Josh (Bradley Whitford) becomes chief of staff. This means C.J. (Allison Janney) is probably off the show as a regular. I can't see her character in any role. 2) Donna (Janel Moloney) gets Josh's old job. 3) Will Bailey (Joshua Malina) gets Toby's (Richard Schiff) old job. Toby gets written off the show. That's the reason for the whole shuttle leak plot line, to provide his reason for leaving. (in a surprise move, the plot line could provide Janney's reason for leaving) Possible re-occurring guest star role for Schiff. 4) Charlie (Dulé Hill), Kate (Mary McCormack) and Annabeth (Kristin Chenoweth) all stay on in supporting roles.

oops

Wow..missed a whole month there.

Bad blogger...no soup for you.

Eleanor Clift

I just saw this old hag being interviewed on Fox about the Italien hostage that was freed, and the idea that Italy could possibly have paid a ransome for her. In every single answer the harpy either slammed the republican party or the United States.

I thought this relic had outworn her welcome with her strident defense of Pres. Clinton when he disgraced himself in the Oval Office. I welcomed the fact that she wasn't on TV anymore. Unfortunately it appears she has been "rehabilitated".

OK, I can see CNN and MSNBC using her...but Fox? Come on surely they can do better.

Illegal Immigration

I was watching Lou Dobbs early this morning, and he did a show on illegal immigration. He's one of the few mainstream jouralists who is openly anti-illegal immigrant. One of the stories was about a group of people called the Minutemen who are going to patrol the Arizona/Mexico border. At the end of the show Lou ran some e-mails he had received. One was from a person ranting against the Minutemen. In the course of the rant, he predicted that the Minutemen would hassle the illegal immigrants and commit various other crimes against them. He then ranted about how the Minutemen should then be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.

Hello?

What the hell about the illegal immigrants? If we were prosecuting them for breaking the law, and shipping their asses back to Mexico, we wouldn't need the Minutemen to patrol the border in the first place. See that's the crux of the problem. The left wing wackos don't understand that crossing the border illegally is a crime, and illegal immigrants are criminals by definition. If we could all just agree on that basic fact, we could easily deal with illegal immigrants.

I'll make the following deal with Mexico or anyone willing immediately.

1) The U.S. will adopt the exact same policies and procedures with regard to border security on it's southern border as Mexico does on it's southern border.

2) The U.S. will adopt the same exact policies as regards translations and accomodations for people who don't speak English as Mexico provides for those who don't speak Spanish.

3) The U.S. will extend the same rights to own property to non-citizens as Mexico does.

4) The U.S. will provide the same amount of social welfare to non-citizens as Mexico does.

Any takers?

Dragon's Blood

I just finished reading the Dragon's Blood. Hmmm.

Well the first 5/6 ths of the book was very enjoyable. There were no jarring inconsistencies in style between the author (Todd McCaffrey) and his mother (Anne McCaffrey) who wrote all but one of the other books in the Pern universe. (Dragon's Kin, the previous book in the universe is credited to both of them) However.... the last 1/6th of the book seemed like it was rushed. The whole pace of the book changed, and not for the better. For instance, one of the ongoing subplots (Tullea's bad attitude) was essential thrown away in a two sentence resolution. It could have easily occupied 100 or more pages. In fact, I could see her story being told in a companion novel, similar to what his mother did with the Moreta/Nerilka books. At the very least the book should have been broken into two books or even three like The Harper Hall Trilogy. I don't know if he came up against a publishing deadline, and had to rush to finish the story; or a page count limit, and had to condense the story. But it was a shame. I'll still re-read the book at some point, and buy the next Pern novel he writes, but this was his first strike.

Martina & Pat

I'm watching CMT right now. There is a concert on with Pat Benatar and Martina McBride. They're singing each other's songs and obviously enjoying themselves. This is what music should be about.

It's funny because they actually look a little bit alike and apparently Martina used to be in a cover band singing Benatar songs.

Sometimes it pays off to channel surf.

Kelly Clarkson

So has she decided to turn hard rock/punk or what? Her new song actually sounded better on SNL tonight than it did in the music video.

She actually has a voice suited for the harder edged songs if that is the way she wants to go. It'll be interesting to see which way she goes.....punk queeen or pop goddess.

British Royals

OK, IMHO Charles just drove the nail in his own coffin. His marriage to Camilia will end any chances he has of becoming king. I hearby predict that Queen Elizabeth will skip Charles and name his son as her successor.

Work

We have a big district test in Social Studies coming up, and I'm working my butt off trying to get the students ready for it. The problem is, very few of them give a damn. In a class of 36, I'm failing 30 students, because they won't turn in any homework. And so few of their parents give a damn either. The problem with public education isn't a lack of money or poor teachers. It's lazy students and apathetic parents.

There's very little self satisfaction to be had throwing pearls before swine.

MUD FIGHT!!!

OK. Two women were mud wrestling (in their underwear) in Iraq. All of a sudden this is a scandal? Why?

We tell women they are equal, and place them in high stress environments like frontline military units, then get all prissy when they blow off some steam?

That is the way soldiers behave. That is the way soldiers have always behaved. Historically it's been much, much worse. We are not so far removed from the days of habitual rape and pillage.

What the hell is the big deal? And why is everyone acting surprised and outraged?

Superbowl Halftime

Sir McCartney wasn't bad. But I much prefer G'n'R's version of "Live and Let Die". I didn't see anything that should get anyone too upset. Too bad the game sucks so bad though.

SoTU

Good speech, not great.

I am way behind the idea of spreading freedom and representative government around the world, by force if necessary. I believe we have a moral responsibility to free people from brutal dictators if possible. We should be (and hopefully are) actively working to topple the regimes in North Korea and Cuba. We should also be supporting "insurrections" in Syria, Iran, China and other less brutal but still repressive regimes.

I personally would abolish Social Security, but at the very least it has to be reformed. Five years ago, during the Clinton administration even the Democrats were willing to admit this. It's only now that a Republican is trying to fix it you hear the cries about there being nothing wrong with the program.

The Democratic response highlighted everything that is wrong with the Democratic party. It was all about being against Pres. Bush and his ideas, with nothing positive to contribute. Sen Reid showed himself to be a shameless hypocrite and Rep. Pelosi was a shrill hack. If this is the best they can come up with, the Republicans are a shoe in in 2008.

Hiatus

Sorry. Had a bad week. Very little sleep. Not much coherent thinking. Then there was a special badge available for a limited time in CoH. That took the whole weekend. No time left for petty stuff like the Iraqi elections. By the way congratulations to them.

Roe V Wade

Today was the 32nd anniversary of Roe V Wade. For 32 years now we have been putting up with one of the worst US Supreme Court decisions ever. And to top it off, it doesn't even do what the Pro-Choicers think it does. Roe does not grant an absolute right to abortion.

1) The decision relies on a right to privacy supposedly guaranteed by the US Constitution. The word privacy doesn't even appear in the constitution. The idea of a constitutional right to privacy never even appears until a Supreme Court case in 1965. ( or in other words it was invented by the same Court that decided Roe) Roe was a bad decision built upon a bad decision.

2) The Court claimed that there is a penumbra (or shadowy outline) around the Bill of Rights that some how bestows a right to privacy. However this right seems to be very limited in scope. In fact it seems to deal almost exclusively with sexual matters. It grants rights to contraception, abortion, sodomy, homosexuality and sex toys, but apparently nothing else. As far as I can tell the right to privacy has never been cited in a case dealing with anything but sex.

3) The Founding Fathers literally spent months parsing and arguing about the exact wording of our Constitution and Bill of Rights. For instance the word "slave" never appears in the Constitution. They deliberately used the term "other peoples" so that no one could argue later that the Constitution institutionalized slavery. Surely if they intended for there to be a right to privacy they would have said so.

4) Abortion was illegal, and considered to be murder when the Constitution was written. Surely if the Founders had intended to create a right to abortion they would have done so explicitly, instead of waiting for someone nearly 200 years later to "discover" it.

5) After creating this right to privacy, the Justices immediately limit it. The decision divides pregnancy into the three trimesters. In the first trimester they said that there is an almost unlimited right to an abortion. In the second trimester they acknowledge the fact that some fetuses will be viable, and says that there are competing interests (the woman's right to privacy and the government's interest in protecting innocent life) that must be weighed. However it is clear that some limitations on the right to abortion can be made in the second trimester. In the third trimester, Roe acknowledges that the government has significant interests that might out weigh those of the mother.

6) Further decisions after Roe have expanded the right to abortion so much that the governmental interests in Roe are all but extinct. The worst of these is the "health and welfare" clause. This is used to justify all abortions, including those of nine month fetuses. Every limitation of abortion passed by a legislature, including parental notification, has been overturned based on this clause.

7) As medical science has improved, making fetuses viable earlier and earlier in pregnancy, the justifications in Roe look more and more flimsy.

8) Despite what you hear from the radical left, even when Roe is finally overturned, it will not make abortion illegal. It will simply return the issue to the States. Each State will then be allowed to make abortion legal or illegal, just like they did for almost 200 years.

One day we will wake up to the horror of what we have done. Abortion as birth control is monstrous and inhumane. Our descendents will look back at us with the same shame and condemnation that we look back with at our ancestors and their institutions of slavery and discrimination. The first step is to appoint to the Court Justices that interpret the Constitution rather than re-write it. Here's hoping that our current president does a better job of this than his father did.

Insomnia

Insomnia sucks. I've been getting about 5 hours a night, but only at about 2 hours at a time. I get tired in the afternoon, but it doesn't matter if I take a nap or not..I still don't get sound sleep that night.

Oh well. It's Friday.

Holy Trinity

I spent an hour after working trying to explain the concept of the trinity to a friend of mine who is a Jehovah's Witness. At one point I used an analogy of a man traveling through time to meet an earlier version of himself, and then a third version showing up. By the end of the conversation I had almost convinced myself, let alone him.

In conclusion there is the father, Jehovah..big "G" God. Next there is an aspect of himself he created called the Holy Ghost. This he uses to converse with mortal man. Third there is Jesus, an aspect of himself created to fulfill the Mosiac covenant, redeem mankind and create the new covenant.

Like the time traveller meeting two earlier versions of himself, all three are at once individuals and at the same time one being. It's an inexact analogy, but it suffices.

Pres. Jeb Bush?

I have always thought Jeb was the best of the bunch. At one time it was generally acknowledged that he would be the second Bush to run for president. For whatever reason, George ran first and won. Now many people are saying that Jeb can never be elected, because Americans will reject a dynasty. I sure hope that that is not true, because I certainly approve of Jeb much more than his father or brother. I'm glad to see that I am not the only one. (link)

I am on record as desiring a Condi/Hillary match up, but maybe a Jeb/Hillary match up would be just as good.

And until he went to Mexico and pandered to the hispanic vote, I was a big fan of George S. Bush (Jeb's son) also. Hopefully he was just being young and foolish.

Say what you will about the Bush family, at least they didn't make their first fortune as drug smugglers, and then game the stock market in ways that are now illegal like the Democratic dynasty the Kennedys did.

Ask me to tell you the real story behind John and the PT109 incident someday.

Medium

OK. The verdict is in. NBC has created yet another late night program I enjoy. And just at the right time also, because I'm starting to get bored with ER. (although last week's episode was pretty good) So let's see I watch West Wing (NBC), the three Law & Orders (NBC), the occasional ER (NBC), The Great Race (CBS) and now Medium (NBC).

A long time ago I noticed that I couldn't stand the news casts of CBS and ABC, and I only watch local news on NBC and Fox. I knew people who only watched news on the ABC affilate or the CBS affiliate at the time. I have always wondered if there is a reason why people tend to favor one or the other and why. I know it doesn't have to do with the newscasters, because they frequently migrate among the stations, and at least one of them has been on all three local network affilates and at least one of the independents.

Whatever the reason, I am clearly an NBC type of guy.

TANG/Swift Boat Vets

CBS gets a story from someone generally acknowledged to be a nutcase about President Bush's Texas Air National Guard service. Do they investigate or denigrate publically the source? No. Do they investigate the story? Kinda. Do they run the story? You betcha, and they use easily identified forgeries to do so.

CBS gets a story from a bunch of decorated Vietnam heroes about Senator Kerry's Vietnam service. Do they investigate or publically denigrate the source? You betcha, they do both. Do they investigate the story? Not really. To this day Sen. Kerry has not released all of his military records like Pres. Bush did. Do they run the story? Briefly, only after the story has spread through out the internet, and spend most of the time attacking the Swift Boat Vets.

And we are expected to believe there is no bias?

Social Security

OK first of all it's not a retirement program, it's an insurance program. It's full name is Social Security Insurance (SSI). It's not meant to be the source of your retirement income. It was designed to provide for those people who lived longer than their money held out in retirement. When it was instituted, you were still expected to provide for your own retirement. Now most people expect SSI to pay for their retirement.

When it was begun less than 10% of the population lived long enough to collect SSI. The retirement age would have to be raised into the mid 80's at least for it to reflect the same expectations as when it was instituted. And the people who did collect SSI usually collected it for a very short time. Today people collect SSI for 20, 30 and even 40 years. And as medical science advances, life expectancies keep increasing. When SSI was instituted, SSI taxes were very low. By the time I retire (I turn 40 this year) only two or three people will be paying into the program for every person collecting. How high are their taxes going to have to be to support the program?

SSI is a pass through program. There is no money there, just a lot of useless IOUs. All of the money put into the system is immediately paid out in benefits. Any money left over is raided by Congress. SSI has no assists beyond its power to tax the American worker.

If you are reading this and you are under 60, I hope to hell you are planning for your own retirement. If you are in your 20's, start NOW. Start putting 10% of your income into a money market or at least an annuity. It'll be tough, but if you do you will be able to retire in comfort. If you don't, start developing a taste for cat food.

USC Football

Matt Leinart has decided to return to USC. (link)

That's great news. It's not everyday that you get a chance to win three national championships in a row, or two Heisman trophies. (only one person has won two) USC is immediately the pre-season #1, and a favorite to win the national championship in 2006. He will still get a chance to play in the NFL after next year, and he would never get this opportunity again.

Fight on!!!

Law and Order

One of the things I like about Law and Order is the regular turnover of the actors on it. It accentuates the writing and characterization as the true stars.

Tonight the Asst. D.A. called Serena had her last episode. Everything was fine until the last minute. Fred Thompson's character had just fired her, and then they drop a bombshell, and have her ask if it is because she is a lesbian.

AFAIK her sexuality had never been a part of the show for the entirety of her run, so why did they feel the need to interject it that way in literally the last moments her character was on the show? It was jarring and unnecessary. Man I hate when shows I enjoy do stupid things like that.

Randy Moss Pt. 2

I have just learned of a tradition that the Packer fans have of mooning the visiting players' buses. That puts Randy's actions this week in a different light. He was just giving back to the Packer fans what they give out in a sense of playfullness. It would have helped defuse the situation if Randy had mentioned this at the time. Instead he was beligerent and profane. I still think he is a jerk but he gets a pass on this one.

Waterlogged

It has rained so much here in SoCal that the earthworms are crawling out of the lawn and onto my sidewalk. I know this happens in other places, but I have been living in this area since 1987, and this is the first time I have ever seen it happen here. Well so much for our drought.

Randy Moss

I sure hope no kids are using him as a role model. Unfortunately they probably are.

First he shows us what teamwork is all about by walking off the field while the rest of his team is still trying to win a game.

Then today he shows us how to react to a touchdown, by pretending to pull down his pants and moon the crowd.

Thanks Randy, you're a real class act.

Just caught his post game interview. Definitely reinforced my opinion of him with his atitude and by deliberately using profanity on live television. Hell, it was so bad even J.B. criticized him, and J.B. has always stood up for Randy and Terrell whenever they acted stupid.

Unbelievable

I just saw something fairly funny in an ironic sort of way. Chris Matthews was interviewing Al Franken about Rush Limbaugh and his success. And both of them sat there straight faced talking about how Rush's success is due to his bloviating and catering to the anger of his listeners. Now I'm no dittohead, but I am I the only one who sees the irony here? These two are the poster children for anger and bloviating!

Matthews at one time was a very good interviewer and commentator before he let his anger consume him, and Franken apparently was funny at one time before he went over the edge. Now these two are marginalized caricatures of their former selves. I bet both of them read the Democratc Underground, and consider it a valuable source for material.

NFL Playoffs

I used to be a rabid football fan. I was a fan of the Rams from the first time I understood what football was. And I became a fan of the Rams when I lived overseas in England, so it wasn't like it was a hometown type of thing. (my brother is a fan of the Steelers)

The first disappointment for me was the death of Carrol resembling, and the theft of the Rams from the resembling family by Georgia Frontiere. Then she moves them back to St. Louis so she can be a large fish in a small pond, instead of the small fish in a large pond she was out here. I sincerely wish she would be hit by a bus.

My second favorite team was the Raiders, so you can understand how happy I was when they moved to L.A.. Then Al Davis ruined Marcus Allen's career and took the team back up north. I hope he gets hit by the same bus that takes out Frontiere.

Then I became a fan of fantasy football. Now I spend the season rooting for specific players, and don't really care about the teams. It just so happened this year that I had Marc Bulger, Torry Holt and Jeff Wilkins and they won me my ESPN league. So I was able to enjoy the Rams games most of the time.

The playoffs started today, and I watched the Rams-Seahawk game. It was just like old times. I really enjoyed the game, and rooted for the Rams shamelessly.

It kind of felt like meeting up with your old high school flame and hooking up with her. ( I imagine)

I hope the Jets-Chargers game is as much fun.

Earthquakes

We just had two earthquakes. The first was pretty minor, but the second was fairly significant...as I live practically on top of the San Andreas fault, that can be worriesome. If this was not a local quake it must have been pretty big for it to feel the way it felt here.

The L.A. news channels aren't reacting so it was probably local. I wonder how long the aftershocks will last.

National Champs

USC wins! That's two national championships (one outright this year and one split last year) in a row and a real chance for three next year. USC has 16 players returning out of their 22 starters. Their best running back and Heisman trophy finalist Bush was only a sophomore, so he'll be back. Their second best running back White was a sophomore, he'll be back. Their best receiver Smith was a sophomore, so he will be back, and their Heisman winning quarterback Leinart was only a junior, so he might be back.

Fight on!

Republic Vs Democracy

One of my biggest annoyances is that everyone refers to our country as a democracy. It's not, it's a republic, and it's an important distinction. In fact I believe our country has become too democratic and moved too far away from the republican ideals that formed our nation. The best example is the 17th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. This amendment changed the way in which U.S. Senators were elected. Prior to the amendment the Senators were chosen by the States, after it they were elected by popular vote. If I was ever elected president, my first move would be to introduce an amendment to repeal the 17th Amendment.

Walter Williams is disturbed by the evolution of our nation from a republic towards a democracy also. (link)

Back to Work

I went back to work today after two weeks off. It was a little scary at first. When the alarm went off, I turned it off and rolled back over. It was 30 seconds are so before I sat up in bed and realized what I had done. That was extremely close.

It actually felt a little good to be back. I really enjoy teaching when I get the chance, it's just all of the paper pushing and discipline problems that get me down. I don't think I am really cut out to teach 7th graders, they're way too squirrely for me. I am putting in for a transfer to the new high school that is opening next year. Government is my passion, and I can't wait until I get to teach it again.

Oh well, I'm teaching West Africa now. Can't wait for all of the Niger/nigger jokes.

California Liberals Run Amok

Because the California legislature is dominated by leftwing liberal wackos we have the worst State government in the country.

Take this newest example. Children between the ages of 14 and 18 now need parental permission to use a tanning booth. (link) But you can get an abortion without your parent's knowledge, let alone permission.

If I ever have children, the first thing I'm doing is moving out of the State.

Fantasy Football Pt 3

Well I am out of contention in my college bowl game pool, but I won my ESPN league! Man this is sweet, considering all the grief I took when I tried to draft Boston and Boldin when they were on injured reserve.

Dead Pool 2005

My picks for the DeadPool 2005:

1) Pope John Paul II - the Pope
Surely they can't keep this guy going much longer can they?

2) Margaret Thatcher - former British PM
Sadly, she's not looking too good

3) Gerald Ford - former President of the US
Ex presidents get good medical care, but he's starting to press the odds

4) Bill Clinton - former US President
You don't actually think he's going to listen to his doctors do you?

5) Bob Dylan - singer
He's on his farewell tour

6) Elizabeth Taylor - actress
The shock of Michael's conviction will do her in

7) Jerry Orbach - actor (replaced with Arthur C. Clarke)
Jerry just needed to hold on 3 more days...Clarke lives in Sri Lanka and is old..Sri Lanka is not going to be the most healthy place to live next year

8) Eddie Albert - actor
Old very old

9) Nancy Reagan - former first lady
Nothing to live for now that Ronnie is gone. Will die of a broken heart

10) Robert Downey Jr - actor
Can you say overdose?

11) AL Davis - owner Oakland Raiders
Wishful thinking here...I'll never forgive him for ruining Marcus Allen's career

12) Nick Nolte - actor
Overdose or drunk driving

13) Robert Byrd - US Senator
old, very old

14) Ray Bradbury - Sci Fi writer & inventor
old..it'd be a shame though

15) Kim Jong Il - dictator of North Korea
I just hope he's not already dead.......

Gay Bar

OK. The lyrics suck. But the lyrics of most modern songs suck. Get past that. Listen to the music. I love the music to this song. The guitar riffs just hit that spot. Everytime I listen to that song my toes start tapping. Pretty song my head starts banging. Seriously...if this was a real song, with real lyrics it would instantly jump to the top of my favorite list. If you haven't hit the link yet, go now. I mean it. Chances are I'll be listening to it also.

W.E.B. Griffin

I have just finished reading Griffin's newest book By Order of the President. It was everything I expect from a Griffin book, and an enjoyable read.

I have read most of Mr. Griffin's books. I have read the Honor Bound series, the Brotherhood of War series, the Corps series and the Men at War series. (the only stuff of his I don't read is the cop stuff, the Badge of Honor series)

I have noticed a couple of patterns that run through the works. The first is that the protangonist is always wealthy, and very successful with women. The second is that there is an estrangement between the protangonist and a normal family life, usually through death.

There is usually a tie to Germany, specifically to a city called Marburg. In the later works there is also a tendency to associate the protangonist with a Latino background.

As I said I do enjoy his books , and in fact have read most of them a half dozen times. I do wish he would hire a better copy editor, and if and when his books are reprinted he would go back and make some minor continuity changes to correct some inconsistencies. They're distracting if you are actually paying attention.