Gamaliel National Clergy Caucus Praises Obama

"And God spake all these words, saying, I am the Lord thy God, which have brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. Thou shalt have no other gods before me"- Exodus 20

Several months ago I wrote a post called The First Commandment in which I observed this about our society:

I am surprised at how far our society has strayed from this simple commandment. Most public schools teach students to worship reason and logic, and they teach students to not worship God. Schools are increasingly becoming anti-God, and are finding new ways to prevent students and staff from worshipping him in order to follow some perverted interpretation of the 1st Amendment.

Schools and the larger society are increasingly breaking this commandment, and that bothers me, because if you don't believe in God, and if you don't worship him and follow his rules, what is next? Worshipping false gods? The failure to follow the first commandment is a sign that our society is not going to follow the other commandments.

The failure of our society to follow the first amendment is now being seen. Breitbart has video of the Gamaliel National Clergy Caucus holding a New Orleans style funeral procession as they deliver a casket symbolizing the death of old ways of providing health care and pray for a new day for health care in America. The Gamaliel Foundation is the community organizing group that helped sponsor Barack Obama's initial work in Chicago. While praying and signing, these people appear to be singing "Hear our cry, Obama" and "Deliver us Obama".

The video can be seen here.

Combine this with the recent stories about school children singing hymns and songs praising Obama, and what we have here is clear evidence of a society that is no longer worshiping God but is beginning to worship false idols like people (Obama) or nature (environmentalism). I don't want to hop up on my preacher box, but if our society abandons God, don't you think we'd start to see some signs of that in our society, like rising unemployment, falling prosperity, and our national power being challenged abroad?

Exclusive: Rick Synder Blackmailed Young Supporters for Votes in Straw Poll on Mackinac Island

Several months ago I wrote in a post called Rick Snyder- Do Not Support that I didn't think people should support Rick Snyder in his race to be Governor of the state of Michigan because "he supports using human embryos to create stem cells for medical research, he promotes gay marriage, and that he supports race and gender preferences," because he donates his money to "socially progressive moderate candidates and John Dingell," and because he "is inexperienced." Click on the post above to see my sources.

I stand by those comments, but now have new reasons why I think people should not support Rick Synder for Governor of Michigan- because he paid college students to come to the Mackinac Policy Conference and then blackmailed them into voting for him in the straw poll.

The Detroit News reports today that Republican gubernatorial hopefuls Rick Snyder took first place in an exclusive Detroit News and WJR News/Talk 760 AM poll conducted this weekend at the Republican leadership conference on Mackinac Island. Out of 1244 votes cast, Snyder received 386, and his margin of victory over current Attorney General Mike Cox was 86 and over Oakland County Sheriff Micheal Bouchard was 88. That margin of victory was likely earned due to his underhanded and shady dealings with his paid help at the island.

This story is an exclusive and you won't read about it anywhere else on the web, but I heard the same story separately, unprompted, from over a dozen of Synder's own supporters on the Island, and then on the boat ride back to Mackinac City another dozen supporters verified the story when I asked them about it. And here is the story.

Synder paid his supporters to come up to Mackinac Island to support him and make it seem as if there was a groundswell of support for him in this state. Whereas most of the supporters for Cox, Bouchard, or even Congressman Pete Hoekstra were volunteers, Synder's were almost all paid supporters, who walked around the island trying to encourage people to vote for him in the straw poll. There was some sort of point system as well, where the more stuff they passed out the more points these young people would earn for some sort of prizes. This is bad, but is not the worse part.

But the worse part about Synder's behavior this weekend that was revealed to me was that Synder blackmailed his paid supporters into voting for him in the straw poll, threatening to kick them out of the street and out of their hotel rooms unless they voted for him.

Before these college and high school kids could get their room key after they had traveled up to Mackinac Island, they needed to show one of Synder's people a stamped and certified ballot that showed that they had voted for Synder. After these young people proved that they had voted for Synder in the straw poll, they would be allowed to have a room key and stay on the island. If they did not vote for him, they would be forced to purchase their own rooms at very high prices or sleep outside.

This was an organized underhand effort to win the straw poll through underhanded methods, and this type of behavior is deplorable, especially for a guy that is pretending to not be a typical politician and pretends to be above the usual partisan politics. This sort of behavior is underhanded, and was very demeaning and disrespectful to these young people who were just trying to earn a dollar.

These kids were disgusted with Michigan Governor-hopeful Rick Synder, and I am too- he should be ashamed of his behavior and how he treated these young people, and voters should not support his candidacy for office.

UPDATE: Although many people are trying to make me out to be some sort of slanderous extremist for my above post, I would just like to remind readers that I didn't go looking for this story- it found me. I'm just reporting what I was told separately by over a dozen Synder people. That's not to say though that my post totally captures Synder's behavior at the Mackinac Conference. In light of that, I would like to record some comments from Synder people who emailed me.

Apparently, the Rick for Michigan campaign did not pay its supporters to be there. The campaign covered the $100 registration for the conference and the $200/night hotel expenses, nothing more, nothing less. I'm not sure, but some of the other campaigns may also have done the same for their volunteers.

Synder's people did not treat everyone the same way with the voting. Some of his people received their hotel keys before they voted. They told us that we had to vote for Rick, but there were no threats to throw them out of the street if they voted the wrong way. The campaign relied on the honor system.

According to Synder's people, the point system that I described as being "bad" is actually an impressive use of technology. His website has more about it, and it does sound like an innovative way to use technology to track people and evaluate the performance of employees- but these were 'volunteers' and tracking people like sheep makes me a little leery of what view he has for the people of our great state.

UPDATE II: Via Red State comes this little interesting bit of information from The Oakland Press:

The following memo reached (Tim Skubick's) desk in which the Snyder folks look like their learned how to play politics in Chicago's Cook County which is notorious for questionable activity. In it Snyder supporters are advised that "you are in no way required to vote for any candidate, disclose or show your ballot to anyone."All nice and proper, with no gripes yet.

But read on: "However, in order to remain eligible for Rick for Michigan receptions, ferry's (to and from the island) and hotel room, you must show your ballot to Rick's official representative at the ballot box…." And just to make sure none of the volunteers for Ricky didn't miss the point, they were asked to sign a document that was blunt: "I have read and understand that by staying in a Rick for Michigan sponsored hotel room and traveling on a Rick for Michigan ferry is contingent upon voting for Rick Snyder in the straw poll."

All of you Synder people to wrote hate mail to me saying I made up the story and that Synder would never use people in such a manner- apology accepted.

UPDATE III: Although I did not support Snyder in the primary and feel he is not a solid conservative Republican, he will make a considerably better Governor than Granholm and a way way way better Governor than the communist angry special-interest controlled Virg 'Job Killer' Bernero. So, consider everything I have said in the correct light- as bad as Rick is, Virg is a thousand times worse.

Mackinac Conference- GOPAC

Yesterday at the Mackinac Republican Leadership Conference I went to a workshop called GOPAC- 15 Keys for a Candidate to Win in 2010, featuring David Avella. It was interesting, and for anyone out there thinking about running for office or helping someone run for office, there were some good pieces of advice.

One piece of advice for people running for office is to think about the difference between issues and vote-deciding issues, and then focus on vote-deciding issues. There are real issues out there- like 2nd amendment, water quality, etc- but what voters want to hear from you is where you stand on vote-deciding issues, like the economy and jobs.

Another piece of advice from David Avella is that candidates must be the ones who communicate the message and raise money. All other functions can be taken care of by others, but it is the candidate who must be the point person and the main focus for communicating the message of their campaign, and they must be the person who is raising money.

Realize that what voters are voting for on election day is you- your vision and your message. The reason why Obama won the last election is that voters liked his vision and his message, and they bought that, and now many would like a refund because the product doesn't measure up to what they were sold. But they did buy it, and if you run for office, you need to learn how to sell your message and vision to voters.

Another piece of advice was that to win elections you need to understand what makes your opponent vulnerable and then put a contrast in front of voters- point to where your opponent's record is out of line with his or her districts. This doesn't mean run a negative campaign, but if your Congressman works in a district that is heavy in manufacturing and voted for the cap-and-tax bill, then your Congressman needs to be hammered on that.

Last piece of advice is that a party that ignores minorities will be a minority party. The Republican party can not afford to ignore minority groups- African Americans, Latinos, women, union workers, Ron Paul supporters- anyone who wants to promote life, liberty, and the protection of property needs to be welcomed with open arms into our party. Think big, and big results will follow.

I hope that these pieces of advice are helpful!

Mackinac Conference- Pundits and Pollsters

Every other year the Republican Party in Michigan meets up at Mackinac Island to talk about policy and leadership. This year over 2000 Republicans came to this beautiful island to improve their communication skills, talk about the most important issues facing our state and nation today, and evaluate potential candidates for office. It is an exciting event, and I am lucky to be there.

One workshop that I went to was called "Pundits and Pollsters," and was a panel discussion focusing on what the data from recent surveys and polls is saying and how Republicans can take advantage of it. I know that some people who read this blog are not Republicans and might think that this is just a cynical process, but this is what a republic is about- the people communicate and people interpret the results and try to do what the people want.

And the results are actually favorable to Republicans- the people are mad and are not going to take it any more. The people want change, but are very upset about the change that they voted for last year. The people want bipartisanship, real leadership, and a government that will make things better for the future- and although President Obama campaigned on these and many Congressman talked about these, in reality what they have given voters is more of what they didn't want and given them a more bitter, partisan, opaque government that is piling up debt and throwing personal insults at its opponents.

The panel had several great speakers on it- Dave Doyle, Ari Fleischer, John Fund, Alex Gage, Anne Hathaway, Frank Luntz, and Steve Mitchell.

Ari Fleisher had a good line- he emphasized how Republicans can also be the party of change- the kind of change that voters really want.

Alex Gage advanced the theory that Republicans lost the 2008 elections because they didn't turn out to vote, not because voters rejected their ideology and agenda, and his best line was "the question facing America remains the same as always- what is the proper role of government in our society"- and he predicted that voters are going to reject the Democrat's answer to that question next election.

Alex also pointed out the very real threat to Republicans of redistricting and reapportionment- with the Democrats controlling the Census Bureau and the Justice Department and determined to politicize the process, there is a very real possibility that districts drawn at the state level could establish permanent seats for Democrats and that Republicans could lose seats at every level of government. That is why it is so important to be active and vote at every level of government- your state Representatives and Senators draw those lines on the map, and if they are Democrat, Republicans will lose out.

Anne Hathaway pointed out that now is an opportunity in the Republican party for true leaders to step up and begin to become more active. The American public does not want Republicans or Democrats, but true leaders, and if that is you, the Republican party wants you and wants you to be active.

Steve Mitchell runs a research firm and has recently done a lot of polling about the upcoming election here in Michigan. According to his research, the data is pointing towards a Cox vs Cherry matchup for Governor of Michigan, with Cox winning big. For Secretary of State, the projection is Bishop vs Whitmer, with Bishop winning.

Keep your eye on my blog all weekend for updates from this conference.

Valueless Education

An education without any values is of no value to our students, and today in public schools across the nation, students are being subjected to an education that is increasingly without values.

In one of my classes, the students are learning about ancient civilizations, and someone asked me how ancient civilizations passed down knowledge. I talked to them about stories around the campfire, stories that not only would convey the history of a people, but also would convey the values on which that society was based. Learning about the hero's and gods of the past would teach students of the future how to act and behave and how to live as a people.

After I was done explaining this, I asked the student if he remembered any good tales or stories from camping trips, fishing trips, or campfires that he had been to. He got a wistful look on his face and said 'no'- this boy had grown up to be a man without ever hearing any stories about the past or hearing any fables that convey values. And if he isn't hearing about the values of the past, there is no possibility that he is reading about them in his textbooks at school- the textbooks that are used in class around the nation are sucked dry of anything controversial, including any talk about values or meaning.

The books and lessons that students receive have no values to them and lack meaning. They are simply facts, dates, people, and events, separated from any larger context and severed from any sort of connection to reality. Great men are not examples to follow or avoid- they are simply dead people from the past. Turning points in history are not to be analyzed and judged, but rather studied and dissected like a bug. Inventions and discoveries are not to be marveled at and inspire, but rather to memorized and filed away. The education that students are receiving is devoid of inspiration, honor, horror, surprise, shock, sadness, love, bravery, marvel, courage, or other values- it is simply information.

A society with a valueless education system and a country raised on textbooks and lessons without meaning is not going to be a successful country in the future.

Operation Catch Fish- THe Baghdad Anglers Club and Fly Fishing School

Last weekend my friends and I met for our annual fishing weekend on the Muskegon River, Michigan. The guys that go on this trip have to be some of the best Americans there are, and so every year I ask them to dig into their pockets a little bit and contribute something to a charity that I favor- The Baghdad Anglers Club and Fly Fishing School.

The Baghdad Angler's Club and School of Fly Fishing is an organized fishing group of our military men and women. It was started in 2005 as a way to motivate our troops in Iraq and have them try something new. The club provides fishing equipment for service members who want to step out of the battle for a bit and just focus on catching fish. The club also has begun sponsoring a tournament, which is yet another fun way for our service members to be rewarded for their service to our nation.

I know what you are thinking- fishing, in Iraq? Although it is a place where few would think to fish, there are rivers, streams, and ponds that have many varieties of excellent fish in them. The last tournament that the club held had soldiers fishing in the ponds that surrounded Saddam Hussein's former palaces, from which the winner of the tourney pulled out a nice sized carp.

This group reminds me that even in the bleakest conditions, the American spirit will find a way to manifest itself and bring light and life into even the darkest corners of the world. The brave men and women of our military are once again finding ways to bring humanity to their mission, and remember who they are in situations where it would be understandable for them to forget.

Ray Combs, who reported on Operation Catch Fish - Baghdad this year, understands how important things like this are:

I am struck by the power and community found in the primordial act of pulling a fish from water. Fishing seems like a simple, subtle thing, until I filmed it on the other side of the world in a former dictator's palace with a bunch of soldiers. I leave Iraq with the knowledge that fishing is so much more than simply baiting a hook and tossing in a line. It's a sport that inspires passion, courage, and camaraderie no matter where it's done.

If you love fishing, if you love our soldiers, and if you love America, you might want to think about giving to this club. I know that they are always looking for donations- mostly fly and spinning rods and line. Your fishing group, school group, or church group could gather together as little as $200 and help to bring a little more happiness and peace to our soldiers serving in the Middle East.

Obama's Top Fundraiser Going to Jail For Fraud

Pointing out media bias is like finding half-truths and partial-truths in an Obama speech, but even still, I think the media needs to be called out when they are covering up or hiding information for a purpose. Today, Hassan Nemazee was indicted for defrauding Bank of America, HSBC and Citigroup out of more than $US290 million in loan proceeds, US prosecutors said.

According to the AP, Nemazee is "a wealthy fundraiser for Hillary Rodham Clinton and other top Democrats". But according to News Digital Media, Nemazee is "a fund-raiser for Barack Obama" and in the last Presidential election supported Hillary Clinton's opponent, Barack Obama, by being listed as one of the top "bundlers" of contributions to Mr Obama's 2008 presidential campaign, according to OpenSecrets.org.

So, the President's top fundraiser is going to jail for fraud and his top organizing group ACORN should be sending many more to jail for intending to support an underage prostitution ring. The Presidnet's former friend Bill Ayers has been hidden away, and the President's former pastor has been thrown under the bus. Last election, I wondered how America could have elected Obama- increasingly the evidence is that he was elected using fraud, deception, and help from questionable friends.

I wonder though, why Larry Neumeister writing for the AP choose to not mention that Nemazee was a top fundraiser to President Obama, and instead wrote that he was a top fundraiser for Obama's main opponent, Hillary Clinton. It is shockingly easy to research Nemazee and find out who he donated money to, and yet, AP reporter Neumeister got it wrong- not because he didn't do his research, but because he wanted you the reader to arrive at a conclusion that he wanted you to arrive at.

Corruption and fraud was committed by a Democrat and the chief beneficiary was the President of the United States- and it wasn't a small sum either. To me, that is a story that shouldn't be reported wrongly and buried deep in the newspaper.

UPDATE: Out of curiosity, I decided to search "Bush fundraiser Fraud" in yahoo. After looking through the first several pages of results, I saw nothing about Bush or McCain fundraisers being accused of fraud and yet see many stories about Obama or Clinton fundraisers being accused of fraud. It is almost as if the Democrats, who were yelling loudly about the culture of corruption and buying of votes, were in fact the corrupt ones who were buying votes.

Don't forget about former top Democratic fundraiser Norman Hsu, who pleaded guilty in federal court to charges he cheated investors out of at least $20 million in a massive Ponzi scheme, benefiting primarily Hillary Clinton. In fact, for some reason this story seemed bigger than the one I am writing about today, when somebody committed 10 times more fraud and was successful in helping elect President Obama. The media buried one story and promoted another.

UPDATE II: Some reader reminded me about another top Democratic fundraiser who supported Obama with money and votes- Antoin "Tony" Rezko, the Chicago real estate developer who helped launch Barack Obama's political career. He is also in jail right now for fraud. The evidence is starting to pile up.

UPDATE III: Not sure if anyone wants to do anything about this- if you do let me know- but Michigan Senator Carl Levin accepted campaign contributions from Nemazee. This contributions were probably fraudulent, and Levin should return or renounce this money. To contact him, click here.

Charges of Racism Flow Chart

Charges of racism are not a joking matter and are the kind of vile charge that should only be leveled on someone if you can clearly make a case that the reason why someone opposes something or supports something is because of the race of the person. If you were for something for many years, and then an African-American stood up and said it and you suddenly were against it, that's most likely be racism. If you were against something for many years, and then an African-American stood up and said it and you were still against it, that would not be racism. Racism is best seen in the contradictory and inconsistent policies of the Jim Crow era.

And yet, in spite of electing a President who has promised to raise our nation above the race debate, in spite of electing a President who many said would end racism, accusations of racism are skyrocketing and our nation is being divided even more bitterly along racial lines. It is almost as if the election of Obama represents the opposite of what he promised- the candidate who was elected promising less racial tensions has led to more. This should not be shocking- it is the same candidate who promised to be bipartisan and is the most partisan and who promised to bring change but who proposes ideas long since discarded and who has promised not to raise taxes but has raised taxes and who promised to not make raise above the rancor of Washington but makes the most personal attacks.

Racism is not a joking manner, but the way that the liberals in Congress are treating it, it is getting sadly and bitterly funny. As MISSOURAH.com put it "It’s pretty exhausting trying to keep track of what is legitimate criticism of President Obama and what is racial hatred. That’s why (he) developed this handy flow chart:"

Carbon Offset Purchase Kiosks Are Price Gouging

At the San Francisco California Airport, travelers can now purchase carbon offsets to make you feel less guilty about flying. You simply type in how long your flight is, and then the kiosk will calculate how big of a carbon footprint you will be making and match it to the cost of carbon credits, and then you can pay the price and feel less guilty about the flight. I'm not exactly sure where the money goes or what you are paying for, but some people are okay just paying money so they don't have to feel guilty any more.

The interesting thing is that although the government is ever-watchful of gas station owners who may charge too much, and the government has held many Congressional hearings about oil companies that make too much profit, but yet the government seems to be okay with and actually supportive of a carbon offset purchase kiosk that is charging 60 times the going rate for carbon offsets.

According to the Chicago Climate Exchange, carbon offsets are about 20 cents per ton, and yet the kiosk at the San Francisco Airport is charging $12.24 per ton. That's a big difference- I suppose that this amount is simply the waste and fraud and overhead that is so evil in healthcare companies and oil companies but is perfectly okay in a green machine?

To be perfectly honest, I don't understand this carbon offset shell game that the government is going to be creating and running. Democrats in the US Congress are trying to pass a cap-and-trade bill that will take our nation closer to a carbon offset market, and like most government run schemes, you can expect the system the liberals in government are creating to do accomplish very little and profit a few elite people with political connections.

Questions should be asked- who runs these carbon offset kiosks? Are they paying the same price for the space to set up their machines as the Coke vendors or other businesses at the airport? Is there similar government oversight that would caution consumers about buying nothing that is real at excessive prices? This is a government encouraged scam, and should not be tolerated.

Thanks to TigerHawk for first spotting this.

UPDATE: One of my valuable readers has informed me that the SFO charges 60 times the cost of purchasing a carbon offset because they take that 99% overhead that they charge and use that money to buy wind turbines, solar panels, and other green energy producing sources. I imagine that these are installed using union labor paid at the prevailing living wage, and that there needs to be extensive management costs associated with this whole enterprise. I imagine everyone connected with this has great health care and retirement, and assured jobs for life.

In short, rather than alluding to this carbon offset system being a government racket, I know shall point out that the reason why the government is charging 60x the cost of something is because they are price-gouging the customers and using that money to pad their own pockets in a government-endorsed extortion scheme. All the liberals who go hysterical over insurance companies having too much 'overhead' are more than willing to have considerably more for their own useless projects.

Thanks again for the emails, valuable readers. I agree- after more critical thought, this whole story stinks even more like corruption than it did at first glance.

Michigan Government Encouraging People to Not Have Children

One of the greatest freedoms and liberties that you have is deciding whether or not to have a child. This decision of whether or not to create life should be free from government intervention, and advertisements that run encouraging women to have as many children as possible are just as inappropriate as advertisements encouraging women not to have children.

But yet, that is what the cash-starved Michigan government is doing. Through a program called Plan First, run by the Department of Community Health, the Michigan government is actively encouraging women to not have children.

Under the guise of family planning, the Department of Community Health has been running radio commercials that encourage women not to have children by making it appear that children are a financial burden on people, and that before having kids, women should think twice. This is not what I have a problem about- before having children people should think twice, and children are expensive- but it is the tone of the advertisements that I dislike- the ads portray children as a mistake that our society could do without. I requested recordings of the commercials but was not given them, so you'll just have to take my word for it- these commercials that my tax money is paying for portray children in a bad light and attempt to make people not have children ever, regardless if they are ready for them or can afford them.

Children are not mistakes like Democrat President Obama said, and neither are 40% of the children born in our state 'unintended pregnancies' as the Governor Granholm called them- children are unexpected blessings, and the state should not be portraying children in such a manner.

According to the State of Michigan, the target of these commercials is women in their 30's and 40's who make 50,000-60,000- a group of women who should know whether or not they want a child without my taxpayer money telling them not to have one, and also can afford to have one without the state preaching at them how much of a burden children are.

Family planning services are fine- but what Plan First is doing and encouraging in this budget age where every dollar matters is not a good use of taxpayer money.

President Cleveland's Advise

President Grover Cleveland was a Democrat, and yet even he knew that though the people support the Government, the Government should not support chosen people. Recently I was reading the message that he sent to Congress after he vetoed a relief bill, and I was struck by his deep understanding of government and its proper role in our country.

The proper or correct role of government, he knew, was not to support chosen groups or individuals- federal aid to support chosen individuals or groups encourages the expectation of paternal care on the part of the Government- it changes the relationship that you have with the state from one where you are in charge of the state to one where the state is in charge of you. Further, having the government step in and provide goods and services to those people or groups it chooses to support weakens the overall sturdiness of our national character- rather than people striving to improve and be better, they sit and wait for the government to rescue them. Lastly, having the government step in and provide benefits, money, and support for chosen groups dissuades those kind and good people among us who would give charity and help out, weakening further the bonds of common brotherhood in our nation.

President Cleveland was a wise man- he knew that if the government stepped into to help out anyone who needed charity, society would be less off and not better off than it is. Providing healthcare to the poor, extending unemployment benefits, paying for college, running readings programs for Spanish-speaking citizens, and providing jobs to people is not the proper role of government. I understand the desire that people have to want to help- but using the power of the state in the end creates a worse society. And it isn't just that people are taxed so much that they can no longer give to charity- it is that they are told by the government that the government is taking care of it, so they no longer should help out and be kind to their fellow man.

No one, not even the most rabid conservatives, are doubting that times are tough right now. No one is arguing that things are good. This isn't about conservatives being greedy, or racist, or evil- it is about the proper role of government in society, and creating a happier, more prosperous, more free society.

Our Founding Fathers knew this, and President Cleveland knew this as well- that the Constitution was put together with much thought and care by decent men and that it is not the power and duty of the Government to be extend to relief to individuals who are suffering. This is something that is properly related to the public service or benefit. We should steadily resist as a nation any tendency to disregard the limited mission of this power and duty. And it is important that we teach people why we are resisting this tendency- not out of any bad will, but out of understanding, trust, faith, and kindness.

I believe in America still. The friendliness and charity of our countrymen can always be relied upon to relieve their fellow-citizens in misfortune. This has been repeatedly demonstrated in our times- after hurricanes or terrorist attacks, the American people have stepped up and done more and better than our government could to help people. We need to once again unleash the American people and let them achieve their full measure- and resist the tendency to have government step in and do this instead of them.

Tear Down that Poster- It has Christianity on It

Today Mr. Liberal Teacher came into my classroom again. He looked around and then said to me, "Something bothered me from talking to you yesterday, and I didn't want to go another day without talking about it."

My eyes brightened. Perhaps he had come in to apologize for his 'there is no debate and no games to play- it is my way or you shall be destroyed' position he took yesterday. But I was not that lucky.

"I noticed that you have a poster up at the back of your room," he said and waved to a poster that I had recently put up. I've taught World History for several years, but this year I decided to put up more material related to this class, and had hung up a long poster in the back of the room. It was about eye-height, 10 ft long, 2 feet high, and had on it a tree with various branches on it that represented the history of time from the beginning to today and was filled in with various details from the history of the world.

"You need to take that poster down," he said. "It has religious themes on it, and religion is not allowed in schools. Being a government teacher, you should know that the first amendment forbids anything religious from being in schools."

I was shocked, and looked at the poster in question. Along with branches and strands describing the history of technology, the rise and fall of empires, and the lives of important people, there was a small section at the top of the poster that traced the lives of early biblical persons. Many students were fascinated by looking at where in the history of the world the early biblical persons may have fallen. This portion of the poster was short- a foot or so in length- and small- 4 inches at the top- and was separated from the history portion by a thick line. I didn't understand how this could be offensive.

"It has Biblical history on it," Mr. Liberal Teacher he explained, "And the courts have been clear that the Bible has no place in the education of our youth today, and that Christianity and its ideas should not be found in schools."

Stunned, I thought about arguing with him- but in a way, he is correct- our government and courts are increasingly openly hostile to Christianity, preferring to favor the religion of the Green God or the worship of celebrities. Probably I could keep the poster up and win a lawsuit, but I'd have to pay for that lawsuit from my own pocket, deal with it, have to fend off the publicity, and may not be employed any more with the various government agencies I deal with. He might have been wrong, but he was right about Christianity being driven from our schools.

In the end, I took the poster down- in a society increasingly based on connections and vicious attacks, for now it was easier for me to back down and take the poster down rather than fight to keep it up. I'm going to make biblical history a handout instead, and put it in terms of exploring history, and instead of just seeing the poster, I will now teach what was on it directly to the students. I guess Mr. Liberal Teacher won this round, but I hope to still win the war.

There is No Debate with the Left- My Confrontation with Mr. Liberal History Teacher

There is no debate with the left- there is submission or opposition which must be submitted. This fact is not just in evidence when our leftist President speaks- Obama in his infamous health care speech said that there is no debate and that he will not tolerate any discussion on the issues. But it isn't just the President- I think this is an inherent feature of a leftist liberal Democrat- that there is no debate with them, and this reminded me of a recent run in I had with another teacher.

As you are aware, I'm a teacher at a secondary school near Detroit. In my social studies department, which is quite large, we have many teachers, most of them liberals and one or two conservative. Last week I was talking to another teacher, who considers himself to be the guru of history and who's style of teaching is to let students bathe in his brilliance, and we were talking about methods of teaching history.

So I said to this liberal teacher- "So what method of history do you focus on when you teach? Do you subscribe to the regressive model, where the past was a romantic perfect world and we have fallen? Or do you subscribe to the progressive model, where in the past man was less evolved and intelligent but as we progress in the future man gets better? Or are you perhaps a fan of the Great Man Theory, where history is shaped by great individuals?"

To be perfectly honest, I already knew what sort of method Mr. Liberal History Teacher taught in his classroom- he believed that history was a conflict, and out of these conflicts man moves forward. Typically in his class he would present a conflict, talk about the response to the conflict, and then teach about how the tension between the two was resolved. The key conflicts that he focused on was the conflict between classes. He also likes to focus in his classes on how the minority groups dominate or exploit the working class and the importance of revolution. In a nutshell, he is a Marxist. I already knew this, but he answer as to what sort of method he taught in surprised me.

"There are no different methods of teaching history," the liberal teacher said, "There is no politics in history- the only possible way that history can be taught is as the progress of the workers against capitalism. You can not teach about wars. Do not teach about religion. You are not to teach about free market economics. There can be no debate on this if you are to teach history."

This surprised me, so I said "That sounds to me like a method of teaching history, one that is kind of political in nature."

"It is not political in any way- it is the way that history is to be taught. There is to be no debate on this, and no discussion on this. The only way that history can really be taught is this way- if you do teach about wars, religion, economics, freedom, liberty, property rights, or other concepts like that, you are politicizing the issue. Don't make history a political game- teach it like I do," he said- which meant teach it like a Marxist.

It was the way he said this that bothered me. I switched the subject and moved past it, but it took him a while to let go of his belief that there was only one way to teach history, the Marxist way, and that any debate or discussion about methods was wrong and a game that I was playing to score political points. Then when I watched Obama's speech on healthcare and heard him accuse Republicans of playing games and say that there was to be no debate on the issue, and it hit me- for liberals there can be no discussion or debate on issues, only submission to them.

Liberals want you to submit to their authority. Sadly, liberal teachers believe this is their job- to stop debate and discussion and use their classrooms to make you submit to their authority and buy their version of events in the world. In my classroom, there is intelligent discussion, lively debate, questions posed and asked, and different views and methods presented. It is a lively room, where a conservative teacher teaches students how to think, read, write, and do well in life and on tests. In his classroom, there is one view presented, and students are driven to subscribe to that view by a liberal teacher who teaches students to submit and grovel before his brilliance.

This is what is happening in schools today, in little ways and big ways, and although it might scare you, it is important for you to hear stories like this from a teacher like me, who battles every day in the trenches to advance the principles of liberty and freedom.

My 9/11 Lesson

One of my readers emailed me to ask me what I do as a teacher on 9/11, and I responded to him, but I should have let you all know what I do on 9/11. I know that there are some teachers who read my blog, and might be interested in my lesson for that day. Here is what I do as a teacher, every year on September 11.

First, as a teacher you will need to lay out why it is important for students to remember what happened in 9/11/01. It is a teachable moment, so does have educational value, especially for social studies classes. Our nation changed on that day- there is a pre-9/11 mentality and a post-9/11 mentality, and post-9/11 our nation is proactive about our security by passing legislation, engaging in wars, and having more aggressive interrogation techniques. Our nation changed that day because we lost so many people, people who might have cured cancer or invented the flying car, and because the terrorists hit us so hard in our homeland, destroying our innocence and naive beliefs that they couldn't do that.

Next, review what happened for those students who are not fully aware of all the details. Make sure that your review is short - who did it, what they did, the number of deaths, the impact of those deaths, the impact on the US, and the lasting impact on the US. Also address at this time the heroes of 9/11- the leadership of Mayor Giuliani, the firemen and police, and the average people who were also heroes.

Also at this time, address conspiracy theories and 'truthers,' and dispel those myths in no uncertain terms. Don't go into the myths and do not leave any doubt in students minds that these conspiracy myths and 'truthers' are wrong- they dishonor the deaths of those who died, they dishonor those who worked hard to stop something like this for happening again, and they dishonor you by insulting your intelligence. Students need to in the future confront 'truthers' the same way that they would confront a Holocaust denier. This introduction portion should take no more than 5 minutes.

9/11 is not part of history- it is a part of these students' present. It affects their lives, their world, and their government. These students are becoming adults and joining the world as educated people, and in order to join it fully, they need to experience what 9/11 was in order to fully understand it. It is important for students, especially those who were too young to remember, to feel that day. They need to feel what our nation felt on that day- they need to face the emotions and see the sights that we all saw, so that they can fully be a part of this world we live in today. This event has to be personal to them, an emotion that they feel, just like we all did. It can't just be worksheets and videos'- the teacher needs to have them discuss their feelings before and after the event.

For the next 5-10 minutes, discuss with students what they remember from that day and get them thinking about where they were, what they were doing, and how it impacted them. Try to encourage them to remember not just the events of the day but the emotions and feelings that they felt. For older students, they might still remember a bit of this, but the younger students might only remember vague impressions. That's okay- after today's lesson, they will remember it better.

Before showing the video, make sure that you ask students if they had any family members who worked in New York City during these events or lost anyone on 9/11. These students can leave if they become too emotional or if they feel they can't handle the lesson. Tell all the students that it okay to be moved by this video, and that if they feel moved to tears, they can step out of the room. All they have to do is say they have to use the restroom or something- if they really have to use the restroom, they can say that too- and the class won't know if they are leaving because they have to use the restroom or because they have to cry. Students need to feel safe and that it is okay to express emotions- many people openly weeped on 9/11 and there is nothing at all wrong with that.

Next, show the video. The video that I show is In Memoriam - New York City, 9/11/01 (2002). I choose this video because it does not have political commentary, it does not sugarcoat the events, it does not try to soften the events, and it is not edited for language or violence. It is the best video I found that simply shows the attacks on New York City, over and over again, from different angles, with pictures and video both mixed in. There are several interviews that are heart-breaking, but not too many of these to overwhelm the pictures from the attacks themselves. This video is disturbing- as was 9/11 itself. The video is bursting with tenacious and inspiring humanity- as was 9/11 itself. And the video provides an appropriate balance too, as it is narrated by the wisdom of New York City's then-mayor Rudolph Giuliani. This video in particular makes it virtually impossible to forget the 3,047 lives lost to terrorist brutality. This is not a journalistic endeavor, but a potent visual reminder that 9/11 was a day of unity, transcending the horrors witnessed here.

For a 60 minute class, only show about 30 minutes, or up to the part where they begin to look for survivors, and then down the volume and tell the students that they only found 11 people in rubble. For a 90 minute class, show the whole video, and afterwards just let the room remain silent for a minute or two before you begin the next portion of this lesson.

For the last part of this 9/11 lesson, you as a teacher will need to spend about 10 minutes asking students how they feel. First ask them if this was how they remembered it- if their memories or what they have seen since matches with the feelings that they have right now. Most students will be shocked and stunned by what they just saw- you will need to gently ask students or call on a couple that look like they are not too shaken and can get out an answer.

Then ask the students to try to describe some of the feelings that they have now. Explore these feelings and ask students to try to verbalize what they are feeling. Do they feel shock? Are they sad? A lot of students may feel angry, or be scared, or full of pride about the heroes, or determined, or confused, or feel like they want to help, like they want to lash out, like they want to do something to stop it from happening again. All of these feelings are okay- validate these students and let them know that it okay to feel these ways, since this was how we felt as a nation.

After each feeling is talked about and explored, follow up with the students and ask them what possible policy responses there might be to those emotions- ask them how they can translate their feelings into action and rise above the situation without losing sight of it. This part of the lesson is a great time to teach- spend a minute after each feeling talking about how America felt that same way and what we as a nation did and are doing about that emotion. This will help the students to understand why our nation responded the way we did to this event.

America was angry and wanted to punish those who attacked our nation- and not only those people directly involved, but those people who cheered when we were hurt so bad, those nations who supported terrorism or encouraged it, those peoples who helped those who attacked us. That's why we started the War on Terror, that is why we are in Iraq and Afghanistan, and after seeing the video, students will understand better these things. America was scared, and is still scared, and that is why the Patriot Act was passed and security procedures were stepped up, and we should still be scared as a nation and vigilant about our security. America felt like it wanted to do something, anything to help, and that is why this day to many becomes a day of service, and students can help out even today by giving blood or donating items to our troops. America felt like it had to do something to prevent this from happening again, and part of that is the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, and if students want to help this effort, they can join the military or the CIA or the FBI. America was confused, and that is why we are making more of an effort to understand what may have motivated these people to do this to us, and students need to learn about other cultures and try to understand them better. America was sad, and are still sad today, and students can attend local vigils and remembrances around the area and express their sadness.

Validate the students emotions and then connect them to what we did as a nation and what the students can do now. When students are out of emotions and you have made all your teaching points, walk away from the students and just let them talk among themselves for the last couple minutes of class. Students will recover from their shock and gather themselves again before going back out into the world. Many will remember this lesson for a long time to come.

This is the lesson plan that I have for 9/11. Feel free to use it in your classrooms.

Support Joe Wilson

According to yahoo news, Joe Wilson is a liar, and even though he apologized, he needs to be defeated because his outburst was historically bad. If you really followed politics in our nation, you would know that it isn't that big of a deal, and he apologized for it, so that should put it to rest unless you are vindictive and bitter. And calling him a liar in a smear piece probably is not the best way to show that you shouldn't call people liars.

Yahoo news was helpful enough to link in their article to a website run by the kooks at Daily Kos where they are trying to raise money to defeat Joe Wilson's re-election bid. That website is here. You can see that the kook readers of the Kos have transferred almost $200K of taxpayer money to Wilson's opponent in the next election- that's a lot of money to give simply because a guy had a temporary outburst of passion that he soon apologized for.

I guess it's easier for liberals and Democrats to attack a person and get rid of them, however you do it, then it is to address their points and listen to their arguments and respond to them in a logical and consistent manner. I for one refuse to let the left attack people and vilify them simply because they disagree with Obama.

So I ask you to support Joe Wilson. Send him whatever you can send him to help him in his bid to remain a passionate Representative in the United States Congress. His website is temporarily down, but the address is http://www.joewilson.house.gov/.

UPDATE: Mark Levin is on the same track as me, and he has made it easy to support Wilson by putting a link on his site for donations to Joe Wilson's campaign fund. Thanks Knox. Both links are shown below:
Mark Levin's site: http://www.marklevinshow.com/home.asp
Site for contributions: https://www.completecampaigns.com/public.asp?name=Wilson&page=2

Simplifying the Healthcare Debate Again

It appears that the liberals and the media have decided to rally around the dignity of the office of the President of the United States, who was deeply offended when some Congressmen couldn't control the shout of 'you lie' when Obama lied during his speech. This is typcial hypocrite liberal stuff- they shouted and booed during Bush's 2005 State of the Union speech. And to be honest, it isn't that big of a deal anyways- Republicans would hiss for Clinton, Democrats would heckle Reagan, and once in our history, that was democracy. Now, dissent has been deemed a game that is played by liars and deceivers, and it Obama says his administration will no longer tolerate any dissent.

Well, I dissent. Obama is a liar- he does not tell truths, and it is time to simplify the situation. When things get complicated, it is time to simplify. The government says that there is a problem with insurance. Insurance is a system where people pay money into the system, and if something bad happens,they can take out of the system. Insurance works because most people will pay more in to the system than they take out, thus providing money for those who draw more heavily on the system due to something bad happening.

The way to make a profit in the insurance business is to properly identify risk- who is going to pay more in, who is going to take more out- but also to attract customers and keep customers. If a policy drops people when they are ill, others will hear about this and drop that policy and that policy will no longer attract customers. So there is an incentive for companies to not be too focused on just risk.

There will be some people though who do not want to pay in to the system, and then when they get sick will want to draw out of the system. That is not fair to everyone else who is playing by the rules. These people are uninsurable because of pre-existing conditions, with the condition being that they did not get insurance when they were well. I feel badly for them, but they made their own choices in this world, and society should not reward people for making bad choices.

Some people are too poor to afford insurance. Either their company does not offer it to them because their company can not afford to employ them and offer it, or because they do not have a job. That's tough. The great thing about America though is that we have people who are willing to help out these people out of the goodness of their hearts,through charities and private initiatives. This does not solve the problem, but it is a good start.

So, let's go back now to this complicated situation, focusing mostly on the President's speech last night and the magical bill that he is proposing. Evaluate what he said. Is he taking a simple situation and making it more complicated, rewarding bad decisions, and having an inefficient/corrupt government seize actions that private compassionate individuals could do? Or is he finally once and for all of time going to fix the system, period? I think the answer is quite simple to this complicated question.

Reactions to Obama's Speech

To be honest, I have a lot of objections to the recent speech that Demagoguer Propagandar Obama gave tonight on healthcare. For example, I felt that there was a lot of I "people bring up legitimate concerns, I wave my wand and they are gone now" (I quote loosely from his speech)and "if I say it is this way, then it is that way." In the real world, it really doesn't work like that- saying something is a lie does not make it a lie, and saying that something is wrong does not make it wrong.

Another objection that I have with Obama's speech was that I felt he was disingenuous- he said the left was out of line and characterized their views fairly, and then said the right was out of line and characterized their views unfairly. The guy is great at going after strawmen arguments- he brings up points and views that people don't believe and then pretends that his opposition believes them, and then feebly knocks them over. "Look, er, people say that I am trying to build monkeys in a lab, but I'm not, so you should all support my healthcare"- arguments like that don't convince me about anything. Practically every layer of his speech is dripping in half-truths and tortured logic and false assumptions.

Another objection that I have to his speech is when he said at the end that he will call out people like me who don't like his plan and go after them. I say bring it on- come get me Obama- I'm an American and I am proud of my nation and will fight for it, even if you and your thugs don't like it. I'm trying to remember Bush saying that he would personally make it his mission to attack every liberal in this nation, and I can't recall it- yet my President says he is coming after me? Bring it.

In particular, one issue that I have with Obama's magical bill that doesn't exist yet is that it attacks the core principles on which our nation is built. In particular, it goes after federalism. Each individual state in the union has over dozens of years built many laws about the type of healthcare that they want offered in their state. Thousands, if not more, of intelligent people have put together these laws. And now the national government is going to come along and offer a healthcare plan that may or may not conform with every single state's laws and these states are going to accept it? It was exactly this kind of arbitrary distant bureaucratic autocratic government that our nation had a revolution to get away from, and now these Democrats in Congress and in the White House are ruling in the same manner.

Down with King Obama! Don't treat on me! Revolution!

UPDATE: In my first draft of this 'reaction' piece, I said I was inspired by Obama's speech to run for Congress. Now that I've cooled off a bit, I will say that I have contacted my local Republican party to inquire about the process that one goes through to run for Congress, but I'm not really sure that I want to be a Congressman right now- I have 5 little kids, all under 10, and don't want to be away from them. Still though, you can put this in writing- I've got time, and I'll donate 20 hours a week for 4 months of the summer next year to anyone who wants to knock off Gary Peters if he supports Obama's bill. And if no one good runs against him, I guess I will.

Capitalism After the Crisis

Today I read a great article in National Affairs called "Capitalism After the Crisis." It discusses what is happening to the idea of capitalism after the recent economic crisis, and makes some very important points. One of the most important ideas is that the idea of capitalism is dying today, but not because of it's failures, but instead because we are turning away from capitalism:

When the government is small and relatively weak, the way to make money is to start a successful private-sector business. But the larger the size and scope of government spending, the easier it is to make money by diverting public resources. Starting a business is difficult and involves a lot of risk — but getting a government favor or contract is easier, and a much safer bet. And so in nations with large and powerful governments, the state tends to find itself at the heart of the economic system, even if that system is relatively capitalist. This tends to confound politics and economics, both in practice and in public perceptions: The larger the share of capitalists who acquire their wealth thanks to their political connections, the greater the perception that capitalism is unfair and corrupt.

Under Democratic-control and influence, America is increasingly becoming less a company where your fortunes are defined by what you do, and is increasingly becoming a nation of who you know- who your political connections are, who is giving you grants of taxpayer money, who your parents are, etc. If you have a million dollars now, the best way to turn it into two million is not to work harder and develop a better product- it is to lobby government to have government help protect your product from competition, or to give you a government contract, or to help you in some other way. Our nation is becoming corrupt under Democrats and corruptible Republicans.

Think about what is going on today, especially in the debates regarding healthcare and energy. Supporters of government control of these areas of the economy talk about all the failures of these 'private capitalist systems'- but over the past decades, energy production and healthcare have become amoung the most non-private non-capitalist systems in our economy. The soda-pop market or movie business does not have the same problems as transportation, energy, healthcare, etc- and the difference is not that these problem areas are more capitalist, it is that they are less capitalist.

The problem with healthcare is not not enough government, it is too much government. The problem with energy is not not enough government, it is too much government. The problem with transportation is not not enough government, it is too much government. The problem with education is not not enough government, it is too much government.

The sad thing is, America might have turned the corner towards statism and corruption, and what once made us exceptional may have been lost forever:

Once economic and political systems are built to reward relationships instead of efficiency, it is very difficult to reform them, since the people in power are the ones who would lose most in the change.

One way to possibly make America exceptional again is to remember how we got here. When your children read stories or watch movies, what sort do they read or watch?

The image many Americans have of capitalism is therefore that of Horatio Alger's rags-to-riches-via-hard-work stories, which have come to define the American Dream. By contrast, in most of the rest of the world, Horatio Alger is unknown — and the image of social mobility is dominated by Cinderella or Evita stories: fantasies more than plausible dreams.

Are your children taught to win the government lottery? To win riches by being a professional athlete? To go to Hollywood and star in movies? To marry someone rich? Or are you teaching your children that the way to success in life is hard work and a good attitude? And is our society still reinforcing those teachings by rewarding hard work and a good attitude more so than luck and connections?

Read the whole article- I'm only pulling from a tiny portion of it, but the whole thing is indeed a good read.

Advice to Parents on How to Build Better Children

Most teachers only teach students one side of issues, and most teachers are liberal, so the simple fact is that most of your students will only ever learn in school the liberal view on important issues like global warming, healthcare, teacher pay, the role of government, wars (like Iraq or Vietnam), multiculturalism, homosexuality, or thousands of other issues that are important in today's society. If you have a child going through school, either first grade or college, they are going to be forced to read books, watch movies, and listen to lectures that by sheer volume of information and time will wear down your student's resistance to liberal views and weaken their innate human yearning for freedom and liberty.

So, what do you do about it? Combating each issue one at a time is probably not the best solution. There are books, movies, and media out there for students that could help educate them on conservative views, and by all means encourage your child to explore these and bring balance to their education. But again, the sheer volume of liberalism that is going to be thrown at them through all of their education is going to mean that your child will have to read a heck of a lot to achieve some sort of balance in their education.

And don't look to conservative teachers like me to provide balance. My classroom is balanced, which means I provide both liberal and conservative views, and challenge students to think and arrive at their own conclusions. I play devils-advocate and try hard to achieve a balance in my classroom, and so do many other conservative teachers. They are not going to balance with their balanced classrooms all the unbalanced liberal teachers filling your children's heads.

Liberal teachers believe in their hearts that children already know the conservative arguments, they feel that the conservative view is being presented at home, that parents are teaching their children that global warming is not man-made, that gun-ownership is a protected right, that it is okay to be heterosexual, that religion is a good thing and worshipping God is okay, that sometimes you do need to fight back against bad guys, etc. Liberal teachers expect you to be spending all your time with your child teaching these views, showing them movies, talking to them, reading to them, etc. And so they seek to bring 'balance' to the student's home life by only presenting progressive liberal views of the world.

But you're not spending all your time indoctrinating your children, are you? And to be perfectly honest, you are not as good at indoctrination as a teacher is- we get Master degrees in indoctrination or teaching or something. And we get resources that you might not get- video's like An Inconvenient Truth, books like Johnny Has Two Daddy's, or speakers like the guy who said it was okay to have sex before marriage.

So, what do you do? My advice to parents on how to build better children, the kind that can withstand all of the liberal indoctrination that is thrown at them and grow up to be strong healthy happy people is to always ask questions. Get your kids thinking. If they make a statement or reflect back some liberal teacher's belief, question it. These kids want to question authority, and they are more likely to question you before they question their teachers, so don't preach at them- instead, ask them how, why, what, or when?

When your children come home and tell you that sprawl is bad, ask them what sprawl is, why it is bad, what makes it bad, if their house in suburbs with the big lawn is sprawl, etc. If your child comes home and says that he doesn't think he wants to go to church any more, ask him what he thinks God thinks about that, where does he think he is going to get his morals and views from now, etc. If your child says that you need to not support the troops because our soldiers are killing innocent people around the world, ask them what makes a person bad and what makes a person good and which ones our troops are, ask them questions.

Teach your children to think critically. Teach them to question authority. Teach them to boldly believe and boldly trust in themselves. And encourage your students to seek information from everywhere and get all sides of the story before making judgements. And they will be better people because of this.

Updating The View from Michigan

In one of the first posts on that I wrote on this blog, I wrote:

Here in Michigan, we've had quite a bit of experience with liberal Democrats, and can see the fruits of their labor... They remind me a lot of Obama, and if Obama becomes President, the rest of the nation is going to quickly look like Michigan- unemployed, dropping in GDP, low population growth, unhappy, fat, with poor schools, crumbling roads and bridges, and higher taxes.

Sadly, this is now coming true, and the harder Democrats work and the more legislation they pass following their ideas, the worse the situation gets nationally. If we ever do recover economically, it will be in spite of Democrats, not because of them. The real reason though why I write today is not to beat the drum against Democrats, but instead to draw attention to Michigan in particular. In that first post I also wrote:

Last year, the state government spending grew by 4%, while our economy fell apart. Tax money fell. So Michigan jammed through the largest tax increase in 20 years. Result? Economy fell harder, resulting in lower tax money. Response? More taxes! Result? This time the government had 'extra' money to 'balance' the (4% larger) budget. Result? More government spending!

Last year the government had 'extra money' that they got from their tax increases, so they increased spending. This year, the state is looking at a $2.7 billion shortfall. That 'extra money' could have come in handy now, more so than whatever the government blew it on last year.

So what do you suppose the 'solution' that Democrats are going to propose will be now that they don't have enough money to pay for all their special-interest projects? Cut spending? I doubt it- I personally contacted my state senator with suggestions on things to cut from the budget and in reply she laughed at me and told me to get a life. When I contacted the governor and suggested budget items to cut, her reply was that it was tough to cut even $1000 out of the budget- if that is her mentality, do you really think we will have 2.7 billion in cuts?

No, the story is going to follow the same story is usually does when Democrats are in charge- tax increases, borrowing of money, expansions of fees, lessening of services, and maybe some cuts to roads, police, and schools. You read it here first.

The Detroit News has a great editorial that goes along this line of thinking- I suggest you check it out. It is called Remember 2007? Budget talks follow same course that led to tax hike, no reforms two years ago.

Obama Punishes Honduras

Via the BBC comes word that Democratic President Barack Obama has ordered his executive officials to cut off all non-humanitarian aid to this poor nation, and is sending out signals that it may not officially recognize the result from Honduras's upcoming presidential election. In case you don't remember, recently Honduras democratically and lawfully removed its President, who was attempting to illegally remain in power and was actively fermenting a revolt that would have given him near-dictatorial power, much like his friend Hugo Chavez. Honduras's Supreme Court and Congress declined to cooperate, removed him, replaced him, and sent him on his way. They supported constitutional government. They were the good guys. I've written an earlier post on this (Obama on Honduras: More Evidence of a Bad President) that has a great summary link for the situation in Honduras.

But Obama's foreign policy punishes the good guys and attacks our friends in an attempt to curry favor with our enemies and bad guys around the world. Obama's foreign policy is to punish a nation that is attempting to be more democratic and follow the law, and reward nations like Cuba and Venezuela that support dictatorships and do not support the rule of law. As I wrote earlier-

I've hammered Obama about his domestic policy, where it appears as if he is trying to destroy the United States for no reason at all. Let's not forget Obama's foreign policy though, where he is attempting to hurt our best friends (British, Israel, Georgia) while attempting to give everything to our worst enemies. Not to make this oversimplify or black and white, but Obama appears to be helping the bad guys. That's why he is a bad President.

Much like citizens do at the townhall and tea party rally's, if you support Honduras, you should take action. Powerlineblog has provided some important information to do this. We can urge the State Department not designate the removal of the former Honduran president from office as a military coup- contact information for the US State Department is here. We can also support express support for the constitutional government of Honduras by contacting the Embassy of Honduras in the United States. Its address is 3007 Tilden St. NW, #4M, Washington, DC 20008-3008. You can contact it at: (202) 966-7702 (telephone), (202) 966-9751 (fax), and embajadadehondurasdc@yahoo.com (email).

Fox Deceives, but Some Believe???

A while back I wrote in Liberals See Evil Plots Around Every Corner that most liberals today identify the problems facing our society as conspiracies perpetrated by some group of evil people. To a good number of liberals, the problems with healthcare, the economy, the environment, etc are caused by some evil group of people. The name has changed with history- right now it is 'tea baggers,' but in the past it has been Big Oil, Big Business, Wall Street, the Jews, etc. The point is that when you press these liberals, inevitably they see an evil plot around every corner.

Many people I confronted at the latest healthcare townhall that I went to (see post Report from Peters Townhall Sept 09) would confront me personally and accuse me as being part of 'the plot'- they would say that I was paid by the Republican Party, that I was astroturfing, that I was a tool of insurance companies, etc. They couldn't understand that perhaps I was just rejecting their policies and ideas as wrong- instead they tried to attack me, as if discrediting me would discredit my logical, principled arguments.

The modern day Democratic Party, especially the far left version that people are actually putting in power when the vote Democrat, has an ideology- I discussed this before in The Religion of the Democrats. If you really want to understand why Democrats always see evil plots around every corner, I suggest you read that post.

If you don't believe me, here is one of the signs that I saw at the rally- there were a couple like this one, but I think it is a good piece of evidence to support my claim that liberals see evil plots around every corner and that they are following a religion. The sign reads "Fox Deceives, but Some Believe":

Report from Peters Townhall Sept 09

Today was Democratic Congressman Gary Peter's first and only townhall event. It was held at a local high school in West Bloomfield, MI, and I heard about it from various groups that are out there- some Republican, some independent, some just friends. The event was from 6 to 8, but these groups encouraged people to show up early at 5 in order to get a seat. Oakland Politics notes that on the day of the event the Democratic Party sent out an email to its supporters and interest groups telling them to arrive at 4, and as it turns out, that was a good move by them.

There were probably over two thousand people at the townhall, but the first couple hundred were pretty much all supporters of the Obamacare bill- they all had the same signs with the same colors and same handwriting. Only the first 800 got in to talk to Peters, and that group was about 50/50 between supporters and oppenents of the Democratic healthcare reform proposals. The remaining 1000+ was about 4:1 against, and I was in that group, even though I showed up at 4:30 to talk to my Congressman for a 6:00 event.

As I understand it, the people inside could submit questions that Peters answer, and that the questions that he answers were balanced between those in favor of Obamacare and those opposed to it. Most of the people leaving told me that Peters gave the impression that this was a complicated issue best left to government experts to figure out. Those outside were left to just talk, mingle, and educate one another.

For this first post, I'm just going to put up some pictures and a video I shot from the event. I was there until the police told us to go home at about 8:30 pm.

First, here is the video that I shot from my camera phone. You can make out flags, posters, and lots of people there. This was shot after some people had been there for 3 hours already. The chanting is "kill the bill" and the background noise are the many discussions and arguments between supporters and opponents of national socialized medicine.



Later the crowd started to chant "Bring Peters Out"- many constituents there waited hours to talk to their own Congressman, but he snuck in and out of the townhall using back entrances and policy cover.

Here is a crowd shot- this is the group outside of the school, the people who didn't get in to talk to their Congressman:

Look at this group- is this an angry mob of hateful racist people, as some liberals liken these groups to be? No- this is America- waving flags, loving liberty and freedom, and opposing Obama's government takeover of healthcare.
I've got more pictures- I will update a little later showing you some of the for and against posters, and also record some of my thoughts and impressions, as I frequently engaged supporters of Obamacare in debate and discussion. Enjoy for now!

UPDATE I: As some of you might have picked up on from my earlier posts about going to protests, I enjoy talking to supporters of Obamacare. My hope is that through discussion and conversation, I can introduce doubt into their belief system and put that little bug of freedom and liberty in their brains and hearts. Some people who support Obama are too far gone to even try- one guy told me to go back to torturing innocent people and invading law-abiding countries- I assume that he was referring to the enhanced interrogation techniques of terrorists and the War on Iraq, but regardless, he is too far gone down the path for me to talk to.

One of the frequent arguments that liberals trotted out was that healthcare was a right. I've already blogged about my thoughts on this, and tried to bring them up to Obamacare supporters- that healthcare is not a right. Several told me that my ideas about rights were outdated and no longer correct- that rights come from government and are the same thing as entitlements. That they believe this makes me sad.

Another argument that was frequently advanced (and the good thing about liberals is that they are all working off of the same playbook and always fall back on the same talking points) was that people accept fire departments, and police, and schools, and libraries, so why not give the government the power over healthcare too? I responded by saying that those were given to local and state government, not national government, and they said that didn't matter, that the federal government now runs everything, as it should- they openly laughed at the principle of federalism. I asked where does it stop then- what do we not give to the government? The supporters of Obamacare said 'somewhere', but I got the feeling that they would be willing to give the government the power over every aspect of your life.

See, this is not a debate about healthcare- this is a debate about the very nature of government- when pressed, liberals fall back on their belief system in government control, and the details no longer matter any more.

UPDATE II: Here are some pictures of some of the posters of those who oppose Obamacare. Notice how almost all are homemade, and they each advance a different and unique argument against national socialized control of healthcare.

The poster in this picture says "Give me Liberty, Not Debt":

The poster in this picture says "Congress is the problem":

This gentleman's sign says "Question Boldly, Demand Answers"- always good advice when the government is trying to nationalized 1/4 of the economy- it's surprising that people were shouting at him and one guy in all black even gave him the finger:


UPDATE III: Anyone who was at this event noticed right away that it was heavily astroturfed by liberal Democrats supporting Obamacare. There were two varieties of posters that they carried. The first that I will show you a picture of was paid for by Health Care for America NOW! This interest group looks like a group that the President of the United States is actively supporting (at least its website claims this), and kind of looks like a Moveon.org/George-Sorus funded clone. Here is the sign they provided for this event- there were about 50 like this- it says "Standing Together for Health Insurance Reform":

The other major variety of sign that was found at this healthcare rally is seen below. There were over 30 of these signs that I counted, and they were all carried by a group standing near the front of the line to get in. They all were on the same posterboard material, the same handwriting in the same colors, and all parroting similar messages. I asked one of the people carrying the sign where he got it- he said he made it himself. I asked if he made all the rest- he said that each one was made my the individual carrying it. I didn't call him a liar then because I wanted to be polite, but I'll say it now- he was an astroturfing liar, as you can see by this picture. No signs were allowed in the townhall, and so here is the pile of them outside. The slogans on these signs say "Equal Care 4 All," "Rich Grannies for Healthcare Reform Now," "Hate Kills and Care Cures," "Republicans Lie," etc.:

Thanks to the Detroit News, I figured out who produced all of these signs. According to the article in the newspaper, these signs were produced by a lady named Karen MacKenzie. According to Open Secrets, she lives in Northville, which is not part of Peter's district. Tsk-tsk- the invite said 'constituents only', Ms. MacKenzie. Oh, I also notice that she is married to an activist judge in Oakland County who is chair of the local Sierra Club. This information was pulled off later versions of the Detroit News story.

Also, speaking about the MSM, they got it all wrong as always. The Detroit News says "about 200 who weren't allowed into the full auditorium milled around outside during the forum"- as you can see from the video and pictures, there was well over 200 people- I estimate that about 800 people didn't get in, and 3 hours after they didn't get in, there was still over 200 people outside. And they weren't 'milling around' any more than our patriot forefathers 'milled around' during their civic protests. Thank you MSM for slighting and miscounting all of those who showed up for this event but couldn't get in.

UPDATE IV: Welcome readers of Pundit & Pundette, Gateway Pundit, Right Michigan, Motor City Times, Vox Popoli, The Other Club, Critical Narrative, and The Blog Prof. This post is simply a journalism-style post- be sure to enjoy while you are here my other posts on education, the environment, and other political issues.

UPDATE V: Here is another picture of an Obamacare supporter. I've talked to this lady previously- see my post The People vs a Person for more on that encounter, but this time I simply took a picture of her with her sign. It reads "Dems Won, GOP Lost, Healthcare NOW." When I asked her what her sign meant, she said that once the Democrats won control of Congress and the President, it gave them the authority to pass any laws that they wanted, without regard to the Constitution or minority rights. I informed her that 'we won and now can do whatever we want to you' is the justification for dictators and bad guys- she said she didn't care, that's the logic she wanted to use. Understand this- the loudest liberal supporters of Obamacare on the front lines of this debate are not really even hiding their support for a fascist dictatorship. Are you hiding your opposition to it? Here is the sign:

Liberal Teachers To Students- Play God

The government takeover of healthcare might be beaten back this time, but there is a strong possibility that there will come a time when the progressives win the battle. The reason why I advance this depressing thought is because the progressives have taken over the public schools, and they are educating your children, not you. Here is an example of what goes on in a typical social studies class, time after time, year after year.

A frequent activity that teachers have students engage in is to have students from social studies to elementary school to high school pretend that they are a government entity or official and give them control over the world to do anything that they want, without any consequences at all.

Now, not every student will grow up to be a government dictator, but what they are actually learning from this activity is that it is okay and normal for the government to just do things, without a thought to the consequences. The students are taught that it is good to tell businesses what to do, that it is the role and job of government to control private citizens and dictate what their rights are, and that is it okay for government to decide how other people should live their lives. Students are taught these things- teachers issue directions to students and actively encourage them to pretend to rule the world.

What did you expect would happen in schools run and staffed by liberals? They think that it is okay for the government to control others and legislate rights, and so the liberal teacher teaches students that this is an okay thing to do.

The worst part is when these liberal teachers get a young student who has either learned about conservative values or instinctively recognizes the human yearning for freedom and liberty. These 'trouble-maker' students question the assignment. They question the authority of the teacher, and question the direction these teachers are taking the class, and openly foment insubordination by simply voicing their recognition of the liberal teacher's attempt to pollute the minds of their students with propaganda and dreams of dictatorship.

I've seen it. Once, when I was doing my state-mandated observation, I saw a a fifth grader slapped down (verbally) by a teacher. He was given an assignment to design laws that protect the sea turtle. While other students were busy writing ways to seize private property, stop economic growth, and limit rights and freedoms of people, this student raised his hand and said he really didn't think that sea turtles needed any more help. This was a good point- something that could be debated for the benefit of the whole class- but instead, the liberal teacher simply told the student to toe the line and submit to authority and pretend to be a dictator like the other young students.

A sixth grade class I observed had students design ways to combat “sprawl," and a seventh grade class spent some time designing schemes to combat “global warming.”

I once observed an eight grade class spend several days discussing how government can combat unemployment. The plans which were analyzed and discussed where chosen by the teacher, and students read news stories and articles about the successes of these various plans. The plans which were discusses were either schemes of wealth redistribution or government-provided jobs. A constant theme of the discussion was that businesses were evil, that earning profits was evil, and that attempts to establish efficiency in business by letting go inefficient or unproductive employees was evil. This teacher believed that the purpose of a business was to provide a job, regardless or production or profit entailed from this.

This is what is going on in education. Think about this when you send your children back to school this week.

UPDATE I: Welcome readers of Pundit & Pundette. If you enjoyed this post, you'll also enjoy Opening Day Message: Viciously Attack Conservatives, Bloomfield Hills Schools Sticking with Leftist Curriculum, Breakroom Conversations with Teachers, Obama Administration to Bribe States to Impose Liberal UN Agenda in Schools, or Students Accept Majority Tyranny. Be sure to check back often for more stories from the battleground of education!