Getting Your Money's Worth?

Considering the exorbitant cost of public school education ($8,000 - $12,000 PER STUDENT in most areas), if education was truly the main goal, you would expect them to be turning out a generation of geniuses.

But from casual observation, you've probably figured out otherwise.

It is worse than you think. Consider this from YahooNews:

One in three U.S. high school students say the press ought to be more restricted, and even more say the government should approve newspaper stories before readers see them, according to a survey being released today.
The survey of 112,003 students finds that 36% believe newspapers should get "government approval" of stories before publishing; 51% say they should be able to publish freely; 13% have no opinion.

I'm not sure what's more frightening; the 36% that think the press should need government approval or the 13% with no opinion.
That means 49% of the high school students surveyed have absolutely NO CONCEPT of the First Amendment of the Constitution!

Public school is succeding in its goals of dumbing down our kids, squashing all creativity and independent thought and creating a generation of worker drones for government. After all, how can you defend something you don't even know exists?

The Case for Isolationism

Had we stayed home during WW2, we wouldn't have French President Jacques Chirac resurrecting his proposal for a global tax to help fight AIDS.

They would be making Mercedes-Benz instead of Citroen.

They would have good beer instead of that putrid wine.

NEWS FLASH!!! Cure for AIDS: Keep the pee-pee out of the poo-poo.

Hillary Is a Liar (Again)

I was reading this story on Newsday, in which the Lizard Queen attempts to blame George Bush for a recent increase in abortions that are supposedly taking place.
Having some free time today, I decided to do what the reporter should have, and did a little fact-checking and some quick math.
Shame-shame, Hillary.

"The abortion rate fell by one-quarter between 1990 and 1995, the steepest decline since Roe was decided in 1973," Clinton told the 28th annual conference of the Family Planning Advocates of New York State.

According to statistics provided by the Alan Guttmacher Institute, in 1990 there were approximately 1,608,600 abortions performed. In 1995 there were 1,359,690. This works out to be a reduction of about 17%. Not nearly the "one quarter" Hillary claims. Looks like she over estimated by about 50%. Oops.

"The rate fell another 11 percent between 1994 and 2000."

Here's an interesting statistical deception. After quoting the statistics for a given period (1990 - 1995), we move forward in time to give another number, yet the second period (1994 - 2000) begins in the middle of the first period!!
What kind of statistical method is that?!? (I'll answer my own question...its designed to make her look good, because nowhere else but here will you find this analysis. The media will just regurgitate the numbers.)

"But unfortunately in the last few years, while we are engaged in ideological debate instead of one that uses facts and evidence and common sense, the rate of abortion is on the rise in some states," she said. "In the (first) three years since President Bush took office, eight states have seen an increase in abortion rates and four saw a decrease."

Facts and evidence,huh? Well, the facts are, I could find no evidence to support these allegations by Hillary. No where on the web could I find abortion statistics extending beyond 2000, including government web sites.
Maybe she learned this in one of her conversations with the ghost of Eleanor Roosevelt.

The Insane Are Running the Asylum

WND reports on a prisoner sueing the state of Wisconsin for a sex change operation.

A Wisconsin prisoner, serving 123 years for multiple armed robberies and stabbing another inmate, is suing the state, demanding it provide him with surgery needed to complete a sex change.

Scott Konitzer, who now uses the name Donna Dawn Konitzer after developing some characteristics as a result of state-paid hormone therapy is suing prison officials in federal court for not completing the process.

The Department of Corrections has been providing Konitzer, 40, with hormone therapy to stimulate female development since 1999 but will not permit genital surgery, according to a report in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.

Konitzer says a prison doctor told him the surgery would follow the hormone treatments, and the refusal to follow through violates the Eighth Amendment protection against cruel and unusual punishment. However, department policy prohibits the surgery.

Konitzer has been diagnosed with "gender identity disorder," a strong and persistent discomfort with birth gender and a desire to live as the opposite sex.

The surgery necessary to complete the sex change can cost from $10,000 to $20,000.

Are we out of our collective freaking minds?!!?

I can't figure out who the biggest lunatic is in this story. Is it the crazed shrinks who came up with "Gender Identity Disorder"? The nut who wants his anatomy cut off? The attorney who took the case? The judge who is hearing the case? The cretins of Wisconsin that pay for this nonsense?

And you wonder why Al-Zarqawi is suspecious of "democracy".

Al-Zarqawi Has a Point

I never thought I'd be saying that. But after reading a Newsday report on a audio file posted on the web Sunday, purported to be Al-Zarqawi, he may not be the total nut our beloved media has made him out to be.

"We have declared a fierce war on this evil principle of democracy and those who follow this wrong ideology," said the speaker, who identified himself as Abu Musab al-Zarqawi.
He said that freedom of expression is allowed "even cursing God. This means that there is nothing sacred in democracy."

Can't argue with THAT, can you? Just look at our own headlines today. Even the founding principles of freedom are under attack.

The tape continues.

"You have to be careful of the enemy's plan to implement so-called democracy in your country," he added. He said the Americans have engineered the election "to make Shiites dominate the regime in Iraq. Four million Shiites were brought from Iran to take part in the elections to achieve their aim of winning" most of the positions.

He said the Shiites aim to "begin spreading their evil faith among people through money and fear" and that in a few years they will take over Baghdad and Sunni areas of central and northern Iraq.

That's an aspect of this fight that you don't hear too much about any more.
If our Dear Leader was truely interested in bringing peace and freedom to Iraq, wouldn't the proper response be to forge a plan to divide Iraq into Shiite, Sunni and Kurd territories where ALL THREE groups could live as they desired? Freedom for some is not freedom.

Seems to me that the neo-cons are just exchanging enslavement under Saddam for enslavement under their annointed group du jour.

How long before the Shiites turn against us, and we're back in Iraq (if we ever leave)?

The Climate Nazis

With season-appropriate weather occurring across the US, the Enviro-Nazis are moving into high gear. Once again, the world is only 10 years away from self-destruct mode. (I think they've been claiming this same 10 years since the 60's, but who's counting!?)

G2 Bulletin reports some interesting quotes from Vladimir Putin's personal economic adviser, Andrei Illarionov.

Andrei Illarionov said last summer, Russia's approval of Kyoto came under severe duress – an "all-out and total war on Russia". He said the pressure included "bribes, blackmail and murder threats."

Illarionov said "none of the assertions made in the Kyoto Protocol and the 'scientific' theory on which it is based have been borne out by actual data. ... There is no evidence confirming a positive linkage between the level of carbon dioxide and temperature change. If there is such a linkage, it is of a reverse nature. ... The statistical data ... are often considerably distorted if not falsified."

While some in the U.S. have offered sharp criticism of the ideology driving the global warming crusade, none of the rhetoric has been as penetrating as Illarionov's, who compared it "with man-hating totalitarian ideology with which we had the bad fortune to deal during the 20th century, such as National Socialism (and) Marxism."

"All methods of distorting information existing in the world have been committed to prove the validity of these theories," he continued. "Misinformation, falsification, fabrication, mythology, propaganda. Because what is offered cannot be qualified in any other way than myth, nonsense and absurdity.

And just what will occur under the Kyoto Protocol, you ask?

Under the Kyoto Protocol, undeveloped Third-World nations – including China, India, Brazil and Mexico – will be free to produce whatever they want. Yet 82 percent of the projected emissions growth in future years will come from these countries. This is why many critics see is global wealth redistribution scheme rather than a real plan to improve the environment.

"The wealth of the United States is, and has always been, the target," says Tom DeWeese, president of the American Policy Center. "The new scheme to grab the loot is through environmental scare tactics."

He predicts international corporations, "who owe allegiance to no nation, will bolt America and move their factories, lock, stock, and computer chip to those Third World countries where they will be free to carry on production. But that means the same emissions will be coming out of the jungles of South America instead of Chicago. So where is the protection of the environment? You see, it's not about that, is it?"

He points out that hidden in the small print of the treaty is a provision that calls for the "harmonizing of patent laws."

"Now, robbing a nation of its patent protection is an interesting tactic for protecting the environment, don't you think?" he adds.

DeWeese concludes: "The fact is that one person now stands between the global warming jackals and economic sanity — George W. Bush. Will he stand firm in his opposition to the Kyoto Protocol? Or will he capitulate to massive international pressure and sell America's soul?"

Doesn't THAT sound happy-happy?!

As for the last question, my money is on our Dear Leader going with his globalist buddies. After all, he can't run for office any more, so he doesn't need to worry about throwing conservatives an occasional bone to keep them hooked.

January Surprise?

The Middle East is abuzz with rumors that terror chief Abu Musab al-Zarqawi is in custody, reports the Jerusalem Post Online Edition.

"I wouldn't like to comment for the time being," Interior Minister Falah al-Naqib said when asked about rumors that Abu Musab al-Zarqawi had been arrested. "Let's see. Maybe in the next few days we will make a comment about it."

Oh, like maybe a few days before the elections?

Nothing like a "no comment" from government officials to prompt thought that an event has taken place.

This will be an interesting one to watch unfold over the next week or so.

Preserve, Protect and Defend...Yeah, Right

The following is an analysis of Bush's inaugural address from today, Jan 20, 2005.

We're in trouble by the fourth sentence:

At this second gathering, our duties are defined not by the words I use, but by the history we have seen together.

Silly me...I thought the duties of government were defined by the Constitution.

There is only one force of history that can break the reign of hatred and resentment and expose the pretensions of tyrants and reward the hopes of the decent and tolerant. And that is the force of human freedom.

Uh, George, if in your round-about fashion you are talking about Islamo-fascists here, I've got some bad news. They are many things, but jealous of our way of life is NOT one of them. They don't hate us because we are "free". They hate us because of who they perceive us to be.

We are led, by events and common sense, to one conclusion: The survival of liberty in our land increasingly depends on the success of liberty in other lands.

Wrong again. The survival of liberty in our land depends on a return to limited government as prescribed in the Constitution.

From the day of our founding, we have proclaimed that every man and woman on this Earth has rights, and dignity and matchless value because they bear the image of the maker of heaven and Earth.

Not sure which Founding Document that's from. I've never seen it before.

So it is the policy of the United States to seek and support the growth of democratic movements and institutions in every nation and culture, with the ultimate goal of ending tyranny in our world.

Care to show me the Constitutional authorization for this one?

My most solemn duty is to protect this nation and its people from further attacks and emerging threats.

I missed it again. I always thought the President's most solemn duty was to presrve, protect and defend the Constitution, kind of like it says in the oath of office.

OK, I'm bored. The rest of the is a bunch of not-so-veiled threats that everybody needs to do what we say or else 1) we're gonna cut off our money flow to you, or 2) we're going to bomb the crap out of you.
We just need one big happy New World Order!
Now on to the domestic agenda.

In America's ideal of freedom, citizens find the dignity and security of economic independence, instead of laboring on the edge of subsistence. This is the broader definition of liberty that motivated the Homestead Act, the Social Security Act and the GI Bill of Rights. And now we will extend this vision by reforming great institutions to serve the needs of our time.

America's ideal of freedom is defined by socialist programs! I'm becoming nauseated.

To give every American a stake in the promise and future of our country, we will bring the highest standards to our schools and build an ownership society.

Oh good, more government intervention in our schools. Definately the way to fix them is more of what destroyed them in the first place.

We will widen the ownership of homes and businesses, retirement savings and health insurance – preparing our people for the challenges of life in a free society.

More half-baked economic theories! I can't wait.

That edifice of character is built in families, supported by communities with standards, and sustained in our national life by the truths of Sinai, the Sermon on the Mount, the words of the Koran and the varied faiths of our people.

Ah yes, Globalist George exposes his non-Christian self.

In America's ideal of freedom, the exercise of rights is ennobled by service and mercy and a heart for the weak. Liberty for all does not mean independence from one another. Our nation relies on men and women who look after a neighbor and surround the lost with love.

By choice, not by government mandate and coercion, moron!

We have confidence because freedom is the permanent hope of mankind, the hunger in dark places, the longing of the soul.

And all this time I thought Jesus was the permanent hope of mankind.

Its going to be a long 4 years kids.

Worm Alert

AP reports an e-mail worm using the tsunami to propagate itself.

A mass e-mail posing as a plea for aid to help the victims of last month's Asian tsunami disaster is actually a vehicle for spreading a computer virus, Web security firm Sophos said Monday.
The worm appears with the subject line: "Tsunami donation! Please help!" and invites recipients to open an attachment called "tsunami.exe" -- which, if opened, will forward the virus to other Internet users.

The story also contains descriptions of other similar scam e-mails in circulation related to the tsunami.

Fore-warned is fore-armed.

Reality-Challenged

As reported on WND:

Fox television bucked current media convention by portraying terrorists as Muslims in its drama series "24," but a controversial Islamic lobby group that complained about the show now says it is "encouraged" after meeting with network officials and winning concessions and assurances.
Fox spokesman Scott Grogin told WorldNetDaily today the network has agreed to the Council on American-Islamic Relations' request to distribute a CAIR public service announcement to network affiliates.
CAIR said it called for the meeting Wednesday -- which included representatives from CAIR's Southern California office and from the Los Angeles-based Muslim Public Affairs Council -- to "address the depiction of a 'Muslim' family that is at the heart of a terror plot in the popular program."

Muslims at the heart of a terror plot??!? How outrageous! Who could have thought up such a preposterous thing?!

Lets see...9/11 perpetrated by Muslims, the first World Trade Center bombing carried out by Muslims, eye-witness testimony that at least 1 "middle eastern" man was with Tim McVey in OK CIty, the recent Russian school hostage situation carried out by Muslims...guess Fox got the story line off the front page of the news YOU FRIGGIN' MORONS!!!

Now I know why you tie those rags on your heads...to keep what's left of your brains from falling out!!!

And here's why you shouldn't care what CAIR has to say:

CAIR is a spin-off of the Islamic Association For Palestine, a group identified by two former FBI counter-terrorism chiefs as a U.S. front group for the terrorist group Hamas.
Since 9-11, CAIR has seen three of its former employees indicted on federal terrorism charges.

Yahweh Akbar!

Remember "Close Encounters"?

NYNewsday.com runs this story, that a train carrying deadly chlorine gas sprung a leak after colliding with another train, causing the evacuation of 8,000 residents.

Now, I have no way of knowing the circumstances surrounding this, but I can't help but get a little suspicious and snicker when I hear something like this. Why, you ask?

Because this is the same or similar scenario set forth as a government diversion and cover-up in a movie not too long ago (I think it was "Close Encounters of the Third Kind")

I'm not suggesting UFO's or anything like that, but when you see the plot of a movie turn up as a news story, you just have to wonder if something else is up.

For Your Viewing Pleasure

Spent some time over Christmas and New Year catching up on some movies.
In case you're looking for something to rent, here, in order of enjoyment, are my suggestions:

"Collateral"
With Tom Cruise and Jamie Foxx. Directed by Michael Mann (of "Miami Vice" fame).
Do not miss this movie. One of those, "so you think you're having a bad day?" stories combines with Michael Mann's direction technique and attention to detail make this the top of the list.

"Second Hand Lions"
With Michael Caine and Robert Duval.
Definately a feel good movie. An engaging story, but a little obvious at times. Sort of like "Raiders of the Lost Ark" meets "Grumpy Old Men" Also well worth your time. I will probably add this to my small personal collection.

"Terminal"
With Tom Hanks. I've enjoyed Tom Hanks since he turned up on TV in the 80's in "Bosom Buddies". This is the enjoyable story of a European traveler at JFK Airport, caught up in government red tape. A story of determination.
One question: what is up with the psycho-chick played by Catherine Zeta Jones? What a whacked character!
Very good, but not great.

"Lady Killers"
Also with Tom Hanks. Entertaining movie about some robbers looking for the big score.
Well worth your time, if you can tolerate a constant barrage of vulgarity from the Wayans character. Hanks' "Southern Gentleman" character is a hoot!

"Manchurian Candidate"
With Denzel Washington. Intriguing story, but for me the movie did not work. Main character just seemed unbelievable. For example, we have a career Army man (I think he was a Major), living in what appeared to be a slum apartment.
Would not recommend.
Planning on checking out the original from a number of years back.

"Ocean's Eleven"
George Clooney, Brad Pitt and others.
Leave it on the shelf. Tedious and slow moving.
I've heard "Ocean's Twelve" is even worse.

TV ALERT!

Jack is back!

This Sunday marks the return of the Fox hit, 24.

This is the ONLY show I tape to make sure I don't miss a moment.

Each episode will leave you breathless.

Ashes to Ashes, Dust to Dust?

WND reports a story explaining why, since 9/11, we haven't seen much activity in the US from "Sammy" bin Laden:

Simple, says Dr. Jack Wheeler, creator of an acclaimed intelligence website dubbed "the oasis for rational conservatives": The U.S. has threatened to nuke the Muslim holy city of Mecca should the terror leader strike America again.

IF this is true, there is hope that someone in the Pentagon with some influence knows what they are doing. The only way to stop these people is to make their price for action very costly. Vaporizing Mecca would be highly effective.

On the other hand, if this is true and we have Sammy bin Laden at bay and under control, why are we still passing laws and expanding government, all in the name of "security"? Maybe "security" is the excuse, and government control and expansion is the true agenda.

After all, government needs a boogie-man. If there is no "threat", we don't need more government. The "threat" is the justification for surrendering your liberties.

Pro-family President?

WND reports on who will be performing at a youth concert during the Bush inauguration festivities: Kid Rock.

"Anybody that knows anything about Kid Rock knows that his music is disgusting and vile, and Republicans, and most certainly the Christian Republicans that got Bush re-elected, should be appalled by this," WND reader Dave Parker commented. "At best, it is a horrible oversight by a clueless event organizer. At worst, it is a slap in the face to all who voted for Bush with the belief that he is a more moral person than Kerry."

I would bet on the second option.

Is "The Mark" Approaching?

In his column on Monday, Vox Day discussed a little known and even more rarely discussed aspect of the new Intelligence Reform bill: the establishment of Federal birth and death registration systems (its a must-read).

In the new Intelligence Reform Bill, S. 2845, SEC. 3064 ESTABLISHMENT OF ELECTRONIC BIRTH AND DEATH REGISTRATION SYSTEMS states the following:

In consultation with the Secretary of Health and Human Services and the Commissioner of Social Security, the Secretary shall take the following actions:

1. Work with the States to establish a common data set and common data exchange protocol for electronic birth registration systems and death registration systems.

2. Coordinate requirements for such systems to align with a national model.

3. Ensure that fraud prevention is built into the design of electronic vital registration systems in the collection of vital event data, the issuance of birth certificates, and the exchange of data among government agencies.

4. Ensure that electronic systems for issuing birth certificates, in the form of printed abstracts of birth records or digitized images, employ a common format of the certified copy, so that those requiring such documents can quickly confirm their validity.

5. Establish uniform field requirements for State birth registries.

And how does one go about ensuring fraud prevention in an electronic registration system (as mandated in #3)? Seems to me the only way is to place the electronic registration device INTO the person it is registering!

"But isn't that a great idea WM?", you ask. "Then we'll know who everybody is and where they belong. It will make apprehending illegals and terrorists so much easier."

Alas, no. It is the beginning of the last step of the enslavement of humanity in the globalist New World Order. It is government's ability to know every place you go and everything you do.

The Bible refers to it as the Mark of the Beast. And the punchline to this sorid story is that it is being brought about by the President and Congress that the American Christians helped elect.

My Thoughts Exactly

While I was preparing a post on the illegality and immorality of Federal "disaster relief", I ran across this commentary by Michael Peroutka, Constitution Party Presidential candidate in 2004.

Since he used the exact example I was searching for, I refer you to his comments.