The Violence Worker!

History? It's History!

I love history, but the study of history for most people is often equated with crawling on broken glass.  It's slow, painful and pointless – or so some folks think.  I will say that the way most people teach history is usually slow and painful.  Since our abilities to record history has greatly expanded during the last 200 years or so, there seems to be a whole lot more for students to learn.  In North Carolina, they seem to think that not teaching US History prior to 1877 is the way to fix the problem.

As the North Carolina curriculum stands now, ninth-grade students take world history, 10th-graders study civics and economics and 11th-graders take U.S. history going back to the country's founding.

Under the proposed change, the ninth-graders would take a course called global studies, focusing in part on issues such as the environment. The 10th grade still would study civics and economics, but 11th-graders would take U.S. history only from 1877 onward.

They do have a point. You can't teach it all and Global Studies is not history.  You can bet it is some politically correct crap aimed at making students less American.  I also understand the challenge to teach a world history class.  At best, only the briefest of outlines could be presented.  Even then, there would be huge gaps. When it comes to teaching American History, there is a similar problem.  There is simply too much material to cover in a school year.

One could spend years just studying the Revolution and the founding of this country.  To spend a just few weeks on it doesn't even begin to do it justice.  However, skipping it all together is just wrong.  As George Walden, a former British Member of Parliament, once said:

A country losing touch with its own history is like an old man losing his glasses, a distressing sight, at once vulnerable, unsure, and easily disoriented.

I would argue that the most important part of our history is our founding.  We need to at least how we got started and what were the issues that drove those men to risk their lives and fortunes.  If we do not know that, then we can easily be disoriented and get lost.

I'll also be the first one to say that the history we learn is often flawed or in some cases, downright made-up.  I'm reminded of my third grade history class which was the history of Michigan, the state where I was born and grew up.  The first lesson consisted of teaching us how Michigan got its shape.  On the first page was an illustration of an Indian kneeling beside the earth and placing his left hand on the North American land mass in order to slow down the earth's rotation.  When I went home that day, I excitedly told my Mom all about this exciting new thing I learned.  Mom, who happened to have a goodly share of Indian blood in her and looked it, taught me a huge lesson.  She pointed out that it was highly doubtful any Indians even knew that the earth was round, let alone knew that the area that we now call Michigan was shaped like a left palm print. 

Even though I have a great love for history, I learned a valuable lesson that day about what gets taught.  There is an old African proverb that says that if the lions told the story, the hunters would not be heroes.  I understand that history is often shaded and jaded by who records it.  That said, there are certain events and people that should be taught to students and that includes our founding as a nation.

Perhaps a better suggestion might be to make it two years, combining the second year with the civics.

Another point of agreement is that the history of the 20th century is rarely presented.  The events that shaped the last century should be required to be taught.  Ask the average teenager to tell you the difference between Stalin and Hitler and you'll usually get a blank stare.  They might know the name Hitler, but Stalin, who was an even bigger monster, hardly registers. 

History is not just a recitation of names, events and dates.  History is our story.  It is how we got to this place from that place.  History is what binds us as a people and makes us a nation.  It is as important as mathematics and grammar and to leave out  some of the most important parts of our history will make it that much harder to to understand some events that happen later. 

One last thought.  Why start at 1877?  Other than some Indian battles here and there out west and the swearing in of Rutherford B. Hayes as President, not a whole lot was happening.  It seems almost arbitrary.

VW

Six Police Officers Since Halloween

Like most people, I guess, I like to look back over the past year and think about the news and events that grabbed our attention. To that end, the biggest story here in the Puget Sound Region is the recent spate of police killings.  The chilling thing that connects them all is that they all happened by ambush.

Eight police officers were ambushed in these incidents and only two survived the attacks.  Here in Pierce County we've lost five of those six in the last month.  The first of the six officer was a Seattle officer last October.  These events have left us all reeling a bit, especially those who are members of local law enforcement agencies.  We remember:

Officer Timothy Q, Brenton Seattle Police Department October 31, 2009

Officer Tina Griswold Lakewood Police Department November 29, 2009

Officer Ronald Owens Lakewood Police Department November 29, 2009

Sergeant Mark Renninger Lakewood Police Department November 29, 2009

Officer Greg Richards Lakewood Police Department November 29, 2009

Deputy Kent Mundell Pierce County Sheriff Department December 28, 2009

As stated earlier, two other officers were wounded during these incidents.  An officer in Seattle, and Deputy Rundell's partner.  It really gives me reason to pause and wonder if there isn't some sort of bad trend being set here.  While deaths of police are actually down 13 percent from last years for the nation, our rate skyrocketed and all of them from ambush by three different killers.  I really hope this is some kind of anomally and not any kind of trend.

I should note that killer of the four Lakewood officers and the killer of deputy are dead.  Officer Brenton's killer pleaded "not guilty" at his arraignment.  

May they all rest in peace and may their families, friends and fello officers be comforted in their grief.

VW

This Isn't Democracy, Is It?

I'm not sure what to call it, but this whole deal over the various health care bills doesn't resemble any kind of democracy (representative or otherwise) that I've ever seen.  Despite what the far left wants, Americans don't want a single payer system nor do they want some kind of public option that is designed to thwart the private system.  Poll after poll shows that.  People want the system fixed, but they don't want to break it further.

The Senate is now considering some Frankenstein-esque monstrosity of a bill that is not even the bill they will eventually even vote on.  I've never wholly understood the proceedings of our Congress and their arcane rules, but something is definitely wrong with this entire process.  If this is supposed to be democracy, it's some kind of weird perverted kind.  It's readily apparent that the majority party is way out of step with the majority of Americans.

If I thought for one second that any of these bills would fix the problems, you would find no one more willing to fight for them.  They won't and there is every indication that they will make things even worse.  They use a few budgetary sleights of hand to make it seem like there will be no impact on the budget.  One of their tricks is to front load the taxes and defer the implementation for several years.  By the time it kicks in, they've raised half of the money and spent it on other things.  This is a form of fraud.  It may not be exactly illegal, but it's highly unethical.

Part of the problem with the Congress is that for too long, we've put up with and even encouraged unethical behavior.  We re-elect the same people time and again and this is the result.  We have a de facto ruling elite that twist, subvert and pervert the will of us, the people.  It goes for both parties, but the Democrats seemed to have taken it to a new level with health care.

VW

Stick A Fork In Huckabee...

He's done.  I never was a supporter of Mike Huckabee during the last primary, preferring even John McCain of him.  Just something about him didn't set right with me. 

Now it comes to light that he gave clemency in Arkansas back in 2000 to the "person of interest" in the Lakewood Police shooting.  According to various sources around the web, Huckabee granted clemency to Marice Clemmons.  Clemmons was in prison on a 95 year sentence for aggravated robbery.  After almost ten years, Huckabee granted him clemency because Clemmons was only 17 when he was sentenced.  Our alleged killer wound up in Western WA in Seattle in 2002 and he wound up in Tacoma where he was out on bail for a child rape rap.

Huckabee has a long record of pardoning or granting clemency to criminals who once released, returned to crime. 

These things will come back to haunt you.

VW

A War By Any Other Name

We are at war.  We are at war with militant Islam.  Not all Muslims, not all of Islam, just those who choose radicalism over moderation.  Just those who choose to kill over those who seek peace.

I've heard some folks lately try and make the case that we are not at war because Congress has never "declared" war.  No where in the Constitution does it say exactly how Congress is to do that or what words they should use.  All it says under Section 8 of Article I is that the Congress has the power "to declare war".  That's it.  No recommended verbiage, no procedure, nothing.  It doesn't say whether it is to do so formally or informally.

People have tried to argue that the war in Iraq is illegal because Congress never "declared" war.  The plain fact of the matter is that the Congress has tacitly declared war in both cases.  By agreeing to fund the operations, Congress gives it's implicit declaration.  

Despite that obvious truth, we are going to try enemy combatants in a United States Federal Court with all the protections and representation that we offer citizens who break the law.  It's ludicrous, but that is how this administration sees the problem.  To them, it's not a military problem, it's a criminal problem.

Five of the people we are at war with will be on trial.  It will be a circus and the defense has signaled they intend to make it a circus.

A lawyer for one of five men facing trial for the Sept. 11 attacks says the men plan to plead not guilty and use the trial to express their political views.

As you read down the article further, you see where their intent is tio essentially put US foreign policy on trial.

First of all, I will be wholly surprised if the judge doesn't dismiss the whole thing before it even gets that far.   I'm sure that such things as "enhanced interrogation" will be much discussed and decided upo.

Many folks have taken the position that this is just one way they can put the Bush administration on trial.  It's a possibility.  There's no real good reason to do this and Holder couldn't give one when pressured in Congressional hearings.  The current administration does not seem to be concerned with the possibility that classified information may fall in to the wrong hands as it did during the first WTC bombing trials so this could just be their way of taking a shot at Bush.  The problem is that in trying to keep Bush Hatred alive, they will weaken the President's ability to keep us safe.  It will not just weaken Obama's own Presidency, it could potentially hamstring future Presidents as well.

It's just another sign that this administration is run by amateurs and another reason this asshat should never been elected to be President.

VW

Obama Bows To The Japanese Emperor

Douglas MacArthur rolled in his grave and the drafters of our Constitution shrieked a ghostly howl heard round the world.  Barack Hussein Obama, the 44th President of the United States of America, bowed to the Japanese Emperor Akihito. 

He was caught bowing to the king of Saudi Arabia and his people said it wasn't a bow, it was just that the king was a little shorter than Obama and he bent down to look him in the eye.  Nevertheless, it was a bow and we all know it despite the lie spin from his handlers.

One would think the Obama handlers would have learned from the uproar caused by his bow to the Saudi ruler.  One would have thought that he would be told to just shake hands and call it good.  Either he was told and was too stupid to remember, or he was not told and he was still too stupid to remember.  The other explanation is that he just doesn't care.  Whatever the case, it was wholly inappropriate for him to bow to Akihito.

General protocol says that when the heads of state from different countries meet, bowing and scraping is not required unless the head of state is subject to the other.  An example might be the Canadian Prime Minister bowing to the Queen of England

The President of the United States should never, ever feel obligated to bow down to anyone.  It is a sign of subservience.  The Japanese might think it appropriate, but Obama is not Japanese.  The President of the United States is not subservient to any other ruler.

Just another signpost on the road of the Obama Presidency that we are dealing with a rank amateur who is unworthy of his office and the respect it should entail.

VW

Journalism is Dead, Long Live Journalism

According to a study commissioned by the Columbia School of Journalism, if the profession is to be saved, then "the government, universities and nonprofit foundations should step in as newspapers suffer financially." and "they suggest a fund be established using fees from telecom or Internet providers for grants to innovative local news groups."

I was curious as to what they meant by that last statement so I went looking and found the actual study in PDF format posted on Columbia's website.  Specifically, I was interested in knowing who and how these grants would be administered.  This is what I found on page 95:

Local News Fund Council boards should be comprised of journalists, educators, and community leaders representing a wide range of viewpoints and backgrounds. In the largest states, it would be reasonable to have two or even three councils for different regions in the state, but for most states a single council should suffice. Each council—and the news organizations awarded grants—should be representative of local communities’ geographical, racial, ethnic, and socioeconomic diversity.

I can only imagine the chances of any thing even remotely conservative getting through that process.

With the White House  using the authority and prestige of the Presidency to try and bully Fox News, is it a far stretch to believe they might attempt to influence news organizations they disagreed with receiving grants or tax exempt status?   How much a of a leap is it to think that if they would attempt to control the organization's news cycle? 

The American press, free of government interference, has a long history of independence.  That doesn't mean non-partisan.  Newspaper editorial boards have traditionally taken partisan stances.  It was not uncommon at one time to have two newspapers in a city whose editorial orientation was from opposing political parties.  Sometimes, they were often named after their party of choice such as the "Tallahassee Democrat".  If the government controls the purse strings in some tangible way, any pretense of independence will be gone.

Journalism will most likely survive.  We don't need the government to keep it alive.  Journalism is changing and if it is to survive, it must find a way outside of government help to reinvent itself.  Professions change.  A car mechanic of 50 years ago would most likely be lost looking at a modern car engine.  Like any other species, if it is to evolve, it must adapt and overcome.  If Journalism as it is presently constituted cannot survive in its present form, then let it die.  No government aid should be used to revive it.  

As long as there is a First Amendment and as long as there are courts willing to enforce it, journalism will survive in some form.  Keep the government out of it!

VW

Rush Limbaugh And The NFL

When it was first announced that Limbaugh was interested in becoming an owner in an NFL team, I was surprised that the reaction was kind of tepid at first,  but in the ensuing days, the attack picked up steam   Throw in a couple of phony quotes, and Voila! he's forced to stand down.

What has this country come to? Somebody makes up a couple of quotes - no attribution, no proof, but the Mains Stream media spreads them like they were gospel. 

These people have the morals of a street whore and they sit in self-righteous judgment as if they were the keepers of all things good and holy.

Limbaugh is no racist.  He's a bit bombastic and irreverent at times.  He often operates from the theater of the absurd, but nothing he says or advocates is inherently racist.  If he did, they wouldn't have to make stuff up!

It was all politics.  You have Chris Matthews who gets a thrill running up his leg when he hears Obama speak suggesting that someone stick a gun up to Limbaugh's head and see if it will explode when they shoot him.  There's Keith Olbermann.  He gets up in front of a camera each day and tries his best to sound like a thespian up on the stage reciting Shakespearean sonnets to himself while he is trashing people in the most dishonest and mean-spirited way. 

Rush couldn't get away with acting like that for ten seconds, yet these guys (and others such as Ed Schultz) can say anything and they get a pass.

Freedom of speech only means the correct speech.  Anything else is racist.  Just ask the liberals.  If they had their way, Limbaugh and all the other Conservative talkers would be banned from the airwaves. 

VW

Choose Your Poison Wisely

UPDATE October 14, 2009 6:15 AM  Added quote to "Option two".  I forgot to include it.   Underlined portion below is the addition.

You wanted it.  You demanded it.  You elected people that would give it to you.  You wanted a piece of the pie.  You wanted free money and perks.  You wanted a little bit of what your fellow citizens worked for - especially if you though that person might have a little more than you.  Greed and envy fueled the last 60 years.  You demanded free this or cheap that.  You demanded higher wages than you deserved or needed.  You demanded more and more as your job slipped away to some foreign shore where some guy was willing to work for a fraction of what was paid to you.  You got laid off and had to settle for a lot less than you had.

Now you demand free health care.  You don't give a damn about the fact that we are broke.  We don't have an extra trillion laying around.  Hell we don't have an extra dollar laying around.  

Our politicians have spent your money, your kids money and your grandchildren's money so you can have every kind of social program.  Free schools, free lunches, and free rent.  Subsidized transit that no one rides and goes no where anyone really wants to go.  They spend and spend and spend and when they need more, they just raise taxes on you, your house, your pay and your employer who passes those taxes on to you in the end.

We have no more money.  No one wants to even buiuy our bonds because they know we can't pay them back.  So we print money.  We ratcheted up up the printing presses into high gear and increase the money supply to "stimulate" the economy and now they want another trillion for health care and they are talking about another trillion dollar stimulus package.

The party is over.  Here are our choices:

One:  We continue on, printing what we borrow, or two:  Stop printing money, rein in spending and increase interest rates to about 8 or 9 percent.

Here's the dilemma folks.

If we keep printing money, we will return to the good old days of the Weimar Republic when a loaf of bread cost a mere wheelbarrow full of money.  In other words, hyperinflation.  By printing more more and more money than we have assets as a people and a country, it cheapens it.  It causes inflation and we are dangling on the precipice of hyperinflation unless we stop.

Option One:

"[If] Bernanke's...choice is to keep rates at zero, print even more money and sell more debt, ... we'll see triple-digit inflation that could collapse the economy as we know it."

Option two: 

Economists believe the market rebellion against the dollar will spread until Bernanke starts raising interest rates from around zero to the high single digits, and pulls back the flood of currency spewed from US printing presses.

"That's a cure, but it's also going to stifle any US economic growth," said Schiff. "The economy is addicted to the cheap interest and liquidity."

Economists warn that a jump in rates will clobber stocks and cripple the already stalled housing market.

Option two will hurt and be difficult for us for several years.  The bottom line with option two is that we could survive it intact as a nation.

Option one will destroy us.

VW

Director Polanski Feels Depressed in Jail

I read that headline this AM with a mixture of amusement and anger.  Amused, because he's in jail and depressed.  I'm angry that this guy was allowed to live his life without anything more than a hand slap.  He continued his child molesting ways all his life.  He should have rotted in a jail decades ago.

I'm the father of two daughters and the step-father to two more.  I'm Grandpa to all of their daughters.  I just cannot fathom how anyone could rape a young girl, or rape anyone for that matter. 

I also cannot understand the liberal mindset that says because he is allegedly this great artist, his dalliances with 13-year-olds is somehow justified.  How sick is that?

The lot of them should be in jail for even thinking what this puke slurper did was in anyway okay or understandable.

VW