stupid is as stupid does – Page 9

September 12, 2007September 12, 2007

T-13, 1.42: Thirteen Ways to Improve Public Education

Public schools in this country are, by and large, swamps of miseducation. The evidence of failure is rampant, and yet we allow the “soft” lobotomizing of students to continue when amelioration would be soooo easy.

13. Require remedial education for PARENTS when their children fail to attain…

12. Objective standards in reading, math, written English.

11. Burn down “schools of education” and

10. Put education professors and remote educrats to work on chain gangs making big rocks into little rocks (as punishment for their abuse of students)

9. Vouchers.

8. Pay school administrators at minimum wage. Give them bonuses for keeping their mouths shut.

7. Introduce State and Federal politicians who want to “fix” public education (after having been one of the chief causes of its problems) to Dr. Tarr and Mr. Fether. Seriously. *heh*

6. Shoot Big Bird and all his partners in crime.

5. Eliminate “No Child Gets Ahead” (disingenuously named by politicians, “No Child Left Behind”)–the current political attempt to create the world of Harrison Bergeron as filtered through the rose colored glasses of Lake Wobegon…

4. Track students. Face it, we do NOT live in Lake Wobegon. Half of the students ARE “below average” in intellectual ability. Only a very few can benefit from a genuine university experience. But we keep insisting that kids need to prepare for college, when less than a third of them really can qualify… (and that’s part of the reasonj that colleges are now turning out students who graduate as illiterates *sigh*)

3. Fire crappy teachers. Really. Credentialitis has now laded school systems down with folks who really do make a mockery of even the old slander “Those who can, do; those who can’t, teach,” so that it is now all too often, “Those who can, do; those who can’t, can’t teach either… but they have tenure!”

2. Let each and every local school board determine what subjects will be taught, what services will be offered, what teachers will be hired and fired, without outside interference.

And the number one thing that we can do to improve public education in America is…

1. Completely, totally, absolutely and permanently extirpate ANY messing around with public education by the “feddle gummint”–including razing to the ground every office that houses Education Department educrats and their evil *heh* minions, seizing all the assets of these blood sucking parasites and putting them to work on chain gangs with their buddies, the FORMER education professors.

Now, I know some very fine teachers who teach in public schools (AKA “prisons for kids”) who do their utmost to lead the little honyocks in their care into some semblance of civilization, despite the interference of politicians, bureaucrats, administrators and parents (who are themselves, now, all too often “edu-lobotomized” products of a failing system). I am even aware of a few (yes, a few) good schools where teachers, parents, students and the rare administrator have fought the good fight against the fall of night.

But these exceptions to the rule are far too few.

And yes, I know there are other things that can be done to improve public education, but NONE of them will be done by politicians, remote educrats, professors of education or schools of education. All those segments will do is what they have done for years: create more and more ways to destroy our most precious resource.

Trackposted to the Thursday Thirteen Hub and to Outside the Beltway, Blog @ MoreWhat.com, Perri Nelson’s Website, Rosemary’s Thoughts, DeMediacratic Nation, Right Truth, Nuke’s News & Views, Shadowscope, Webloggin, The Bullwinkle Blog, The Amboy Times, Colloquium, Pursuing Holiness, Right Celebrity, Woman Honor Thyself, Gulf Coast Hurricane Tracker, and The Yankee Sailor, thanks to Linkfest Haven Deluxe.

September 7, 2007September 8, 2007

Rambles

I’ll append the linkfest stuff below the rambling rabbit trails that follow…

So, Fred’s announced his candidacy and used some mostly right (or is that Right) rhetoric in doing so. Good on him. (BTW, I don’t use “rhetoric” in the pejorated sense of “empty rhetoric” that most Mass Media Podpeople, etc., would have us believe is all the word entails. Look it up. Or not. :-)) So he missed two of my hot buttons when talking with Leno. I’ll listen further.

Speaking of rhetoric, I once “knew” (via a mailing list) a guy with his doctorate in English, head of a major university’s English department, who taught rhetoric… and was seriously crippled in that department, because he was barely semi-literate. No kidding. I once noted (after punching enough holes in an onlist argument that the other guy’s position was more holes than argument) that a particular position/argument was “full of sound and fury, signifying nothing“, and this English professor emailed me privately to “confirm” that I was referring to a statement by… Faulkner! Kinda demonstrated my “sub-literate” label above rather nicely, eh? Entirely missed the metacommentary, which included–for a literate person–the critique,

“…it is a tale
Told by an idiot, full of sound and fury,
Signifying nothing.”

*sigh*

Read one of the most famous soliloquies in the English language at the link above. Something that “English professor” had never done!

Pound foolish. That’s what most self-lobotomized, brainwashed Americans seem to be. Example: buying new cars alla time and spending way, way more than is sensible for the latest, greatest stuff when what most of ’em have is just fine n dandy, peachy keen already.

Example: our family needs transportation as much as most folks in these (dis)United States seem to. My Wonder Woman needs to travel a bit in her work a couple of days a week (managing two different school libraries), so she needs a car of her own, but not the newest, shiniest toy, just one that’ll get her the couple of miles to work and back and then to the other school and back a couple of days a week as well, and to meetings, etc.

I’m all over the place during the day. Sometimes 30-40 miles (or more) away on gigs. Need great gas mileage (and I approach that at ~42mpg) in a comfortable, dependable vehicle.

Son & Heir needs better than average gas mileage (his is running about 36mpg–with an auto tranny) in dependable transportation to get the 30+ miles to work and back each day (cheaper for him than moving out into a place closer to work, so he can save more $$ for such a move later).

IOW, we need no latest and greatest do-dads and gimcracks, just basic, safe, dependable transportation. So, for less than what one new car would cost (MUCH less) we have three decent used cars. Paid for in full, leaving plenty for possible repairs and normal maintenance. Sure, one of them is coming up on a (normal maintenance) timing belt replacement, and we’re budgeting for halfshaft replacements on two of them (approaching 150,000 ,iles on one and the other already past that), but even if we paid someone else to do the work (unlikely: I’m always looking for reasons to use my tools–and buy new ones! :-)), we’ll still be many thousands ahead of buying a new car, let alone three.

Oh, and all the fancy do-dads? Really, I’ve not yet found a do-dad for a car that’s necessary for good, safe, economical transportation, ever since I decided I didn’t really need the distraction of the radio in my 1953 Chevy Belair…

So, that’s thousands of dollars not wasted that can be used for better, more lasting benefits.

Sure, in all the years doing this, I’ve bought a coupla lemons. (I really don’t wanna talk about the XJ-12. *sigh*) But even with those, we’ve not done badly, and I’m sure if just a few folks look carefully at their spending habits, they can see the wastage in wanting “Newer! Shinier! Bigger! Lots More Do-Dads!”

Similar thoughts can apply to nearly everything from electronics purchases to new shovels. Do we really need ’em?

Just sayin’…

I’ve listened to four of Beethoven’s nine symphonies today. I’ve never listened to so many in a row before. An ear-opener. Of course, the drawback is that I’ve had to listen to 128Kbit sampled mp3 files to do that, and my portable mp3 player didn’t come with the best earphones imaginable, either. *sigh* [Update: the last five sounded MUCH better with a new pair of earphones–some $20 JVC cheapies, no less!] Still, wonderful, though. I guess I’ll listen to the other five tomorrow. I was going to edit out the BBC commenter’s remarks before transferring to my player, but didn’t have the time for that and am glad I didn’t. A review of the symphonies’ biographical/historical settings has been a Good Thing.

Still, makes me want to listen to good CD recordings for a fuller sense of the sound.

I really wish Netgear would post ALL the drivers for equipment that’s still within its lifecycle. The only really negative thing I can find about Netgear.

Other techie stuff? OK. I’m considering adding a far out of lifecycle Palm V to my handheld stable. Under the “Do I really need this” rule, I probably won’t, though. But… I bought a Palm V modem for 25Ã‚Â¢ (mainly cos it came with 2 AA batteries and “free” shipping cos I bought some other things I do need at the same time *heh*), so I just hate to have nothing to mate with it. In final analysis, though, I think I’ll just be happy with the two Duracell batteries for 25Ã‚Â¢. I do not need a Palm V (or the modem). Heck, I rarely use dialup, anyway–just as a last resort backup to my cable connection.

Some of the other purchases? Well, a couple of Caleb 144MB “super floppy” drives (with media, no less) cos they also read/write 1.4MB floppies (which I still use for some things) and were cheaper on a closeout than any other new floppy drives I could buy, and I have two machines with flaky floppy drives to replace, soooo…

A better wireless card for my Wonder Woman, one that–surprise! surprise!–better matches the capabilities of the RangeMax wireless router we use. Why buy it? Two reasons: better network speeds for her and… her built-in wireless is now a backup wireless “card”. I like redundancy in computer equipment.

Oh, and I think I must have left my Nero installation disk at a client’s when I repaired her Nero installation, so a 99Ã‚Â¢ replacement disk for that (and if the client finds the one I’m sure I left behind, then I have a backup copy. :-)).

Have to go stand in line getting one of the cars tagged today. *sigh* Oh. Well. Maybe it won’t be bad. At least the tag’ll be inexpensive (cos the car sure was ;-))

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September 5, 2007January 24, 2015

T-13, 1.41: Thirteen Reasons to Drink Beer

As anyone who has visited here more than a few times knows, I am a firm believer in the many benefits of coffee, The Holy Brew, but only recently have I made note of my affection for beer (spurred in part, I must admit, by Bernie’s slanderous ( ;-)) post, Beer Will Turn Men Into Women, noted again in comments on this post :-)). So, I thought to myself, “Self, why not post about some of the good reasons to drink The Lesser Holy Brew?” *heh* And so it goes…

“Beer, if drank in moderation, softens the temper, cheers the spirit, and promotes health.”–Thomas Jefferson

The Health Benefits (just google the phrases I bold for more than just one link to the info):

1.) Light-to-moderate beer drinking may lower stroke risk by as much as 20%.

2.) THe polyphenols in red wine that have so much good press about their antioxidant effect reducing free radicals and reducing the risk of heart attacks? Beer has simmilar amounts of polyphenols and 2-3 servings a day can lower risk of coronary atery diosease by 30-40%.

3.) Homocysteine has been shown to have strong links to heart disease, and Vitamin B6–great for controlling homocysteine levels–is abundant in beer. Beer drinkers show healthier homocysteine blood levels than wine or liquor drinkers.

4.) Moderate beer drinking has a stress-reducing effect (whereas almost everyone can envision the stress-inducing effects of heavy beer drinking–*heh*).

5. A glass of beer is a great soporific. 🙂 Beer is not the perfect sleep aid, but is beneficial to some. In moderation.

6.) Beer helps promote blood vessel dilation (many side benefits–especially for us old guys) and urination.

7.) A main ingredient in beer is a prostate cancer antagonist (!). (So, between hops’ xanthohumol and beer’s famous ability to promote urination, a wonderful benefit to guys as we age ;-)).

8.) A Finnish study indicates that beer seems to reduce the risk of developing kidney stones.

9.) Those clever Japanese have discovered that beta-pseudouridine found in beer actually helps reduce chromosonal damage from radiation exposure! (Maybe I can dispense with my lead cup and tinfoil hat, ya think? :-))

10.) Beer contains anti-inflammatory agents (from the hops). Nice for my joints–and maybe yours, too, eh?

The alcohol in beer–generally less than in many other alcoholic beverages–is also beneficial in several ways, including

11.) Lowering HDL levels

12.) In mice at least, alcohol spurs the growth of new brain cells. (I’m not a mouse, but the research indicates that moderate beer drinking may actually help me as much as coffee does! :-))

13.) Moderates insulin levels.

There are more, of course, but it seems the folk wisdom of yore reflected in the Jefferson quote above has much more basis in fact than 99% of Mass Media Podpeople or politicians’ *spit* statements.

Noted en passant at the Thursday Thirteen Hub, and further noted at Outside the Beltway, Blog @ MoreWhat.com, Perri Nelson’s Website, Faultline USA, Right Celebrity, DeMediacratic Nation, Big Dog’s Weblog, The Pink Flamingo, Cao’s Blog, Leaning Straight Up, CommonSenseAmerica, Conservative Thoughts, Pursuing Holiness, Right Voices, and Gone Hollywood, thanks to Linkfest Haven Deluxe.

September 5, 2007September 5, 2007

Words of Wisdom

“He was a wise man who invented beer.”–Plato

“If God had intended us to drink beer, He would have given us stomachs.”–David Daye

“Without question, the greatest invention in the history of mankind is beer. Oh, I grant you that the wheel was also a fine invention, but the wheel does not go nearly as well with pizza.”–Dave Barry

“A fine beer may be judged with only one sip, but it’s better to be thoroughly sure.”–Czech Proverb

“If you give a man a fish you will have kept him from hunger for a day. If you teach a man to fish he will sit in a boat and drink beer all day.”–Anon

“I would kill everyone in this room for a drop of sweet beer.”–Homer Simpson

“Mike Hammer drinks beer because I can’t spell cognac.”–Mickey Spillane

“God has a brown voice, as soft and full as beer.”–Anne Sexton

“The government will fall that raises the price of beer”–Czech Proverb

“The mouth of a perfectly happy man is filled with beer.”–Egyptian Proverb

“Not all chemicals are bad. Without chemicals such as hydrogen and oxygen, for example, there would be no way to make water, a vital ingredient in beer.”–Dave Barry

“24 hours in a day, 24 beers in a case. Coincidence?”–Stephen Wright

“If all be true that I doe thinke,
There are five reasons why men sholde drinke,
Good friends, good beer, or being dry,
Lest we be like to be so, bye and bye,
Or any other reason why.”–Anon

“Give my people plenty of beer, good beer and cheap beer, and you will have no revolution” –Queen Victoria

“What event is more awfully important to an English colony than the erection of its first brewhouse?”–Rev Sydney Smith

“Beer is living proof that God loves us and wants us to be happy.”–Benjamin Franklin

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September 3, 2007September 3, 2007

What Fifi Bush Wants for America

A reader, Pachuco: IP: 63.65.152.94, left a non-responsive comment on a post I wrote in May of 2006, The Proper Display of the Mexican Flag on American Soil, in response to the well-documented disrespect shown the American flag on our own soil by alien invaders from Mexico (alien invaders actively aided in their crimes by both the government of Mexico and the administration of George “Fifi Mohammed” Bush–he who has both proven to be a faithful lapdog of successive Mexican presidents and girlfriend of Saudi jihadists… ). Normally, I just delete such crap as spam; if someone’s not going to really read what’s there and attempts to post a non-responsive comment, then I have little use for them or their comment.

But this time, I’ll play.

At any rate, here’s the anonymous coward who claimed “Pachuco” as his pseudonym and listed a fake email address in the email field. My response to this liar below the fold:

Flavors of the AmericasÃ¢â‚¬â„¢ Third World . . .

I miss the AmericasÃ¢â‚¬â„¢ Third World; its smells and scents, tastes and sounds; its hot dusty roads, humid gardens, evergreen selvas and cluttered suburban streets.

I miss the open markets bustling with people dressed in vibrant colors speaking in the tongues of the ancients.

I miss the gathering of women around the tortillerias where the sweet maiz turns into soft steamy pancakes as it has for thousands of years.

I miss the carnicero and lecherÃƒÂa; the paleteros and street vendedores.

I miss the slowness of time that brings an ease to any troubled heart and soul.

I miss the rousing sound of the mariachiÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s guitars, violins and trumpets.

I miss the cool breezes that danced on my face with soothing caresses and blue skies that delightingly met the golden-brown earth and vibrant green and colorful gardens.

I miss the sound of happy children laughing as they play with fat little bellies full of frijoles and maiz.

The Third World lives in a dimension you do not understand; no cell phones, no internet, no TV, no complexities, no anxieties, no Joneses to compete with and no false and fake realities Ã¢â‚¬â€œ the Third World has not lost touch with nature, they are bonded to it like a child bonds to his mother.

My response?

Continue reading “What Fifi Bush Wants for America”

September 3, 2007

John’s Top Ten Reasons to Stop the ACLU

From John Stephenson:

I wanted to put something up for Labor Day here to get some inspirations sparked. For a while my priorities have been shifted. I want to announce that we will be more active in our original cause and want to thank everyone that has supported us thus far. To get our blogburst reinvigorated, I thought I’d pull out a classic… one that explains why we started and what we are all about…

Stop The ACLU was started on February 9th, 2004. We started with high hopes, and we realized we were facing a goliath. There were many reasons why we thought the ACLU needed to be countered, and they are numerous. We wanted to provide a way to inform the public of the ACLU’s agenda, as the MSM sugar coated it. We wanted to be a central database for people to gather, exchange ideas, and get actively involved in real ways of stopping them. It is a monumental task, exhausting, time consuming, and often frustrating. But it is a fight worth fighting.

We would be nothing without our supporters. To all of you, we appreciate the continued support. We have called you to action and you have answered.

There are many reasons to stop the ACLU. For this blogburst I decided to list my top ten list.

10. The ACLU was founded by Communist, with communist ideals, communist goals, and they continue to impose a Communist like agenda on America daily. The founder of the ACLU, Roger Baldwin stated clearly…

My chief aversion is the system of greed, private profit, privilege and violence which makes up the control of the world today, and which has brought it to the tragic crisis of unprecedented hunger and unemployment. Therefore, I am for Socialism, disarmament and ultimately, for the abolishing of the State itself. I seek the social ownership of property, the abolition of the propertied class and sole control of those who produce wealth. Communism is the goal.”

9. The ACLU does not believe in the Second Amendment.

ACLU POLICY: The ACLU agrees with the Supreme Court’s long-standing interpretation of the Second Amendment [as set forth in the 1939 case, U.S. v. Miller] that the individual’s right to bear arms applies only to the preservation or efficiency of a well-regulated militia. Except for lawful police and military purposes, the possession of weapons by individuals is not constitutionally protected. Therefore, there is no constitutional impediment to the regulation of firearms. ACLU Policy #47

#8. Their outright hatred of the Boyscouts. They are currently doing everything in their power to hurt this organization. They attacked their free speech right[*] to exclude gays[**], and are threatening schools, and fighting in court to get their charters shut down. The oppose the military supporting them, and will sue the pants off any school that attempts to charter them.

#7. The ACLU are pro-death. Not only is the ACLU Pro-abortion, it’s the ACLU’s top priority. It most definitely takes a backseat to free speech for the ACLU. As a matter of fact, the ACLU has fought against the free speech rights of those that oppose it. If it’s abortion or euthanasia, as long as its pro-death you can count on the ACLU to support it. The only exception to the ACLU’s pro-death stance, is if it is a convicted criminal; in this case they are against death.

#6. The ACLU advocate open borders. Not only have the ACLU opposed the Minute Men, a group who are simply exercizing their freedom of speech[***], protesting and stepping up where the government is failing, but they have helped illegals cross the border.

#5. The ACLU is anti-Christian. The list is endless on this one. Under the guise of “separation of Church and State”, the ACLU have made a name for itself on being rabidly anti-Christian. This is one area where they are most hypocritical. They oppose tax exemptions for all churches, but fight for them for Wiccans. They are against Christianity in school, but oddly remain silent as our children are taught to be Muslims. Whether it’s baby Jesus, ten commandments, or tiny crosses on county seals, the ACLU will be there to secularize America, and rewrite our history.

#4. The ACLU Opposes National Security. The ACLU have opposed almost every effort in the arena of national security. From the [efforts to secure an area against] bird flu to bag searches, the ACLU have been against it. No matter what kind of search someone tries to do to protect people, the ACLU have proved they are against them across the board. Its kind of ironic that they don’t practice the principles they preach.

Take a walk into the NYCLU’s Manhattan headquarters – which it shares with other organizations – and you’ll find a sign warning visitors that all bags are subject to search.

#3. The ACLU Defend the enemy. They have a long history of this one. They defended the P.L.O. in 1985. They defended Quadafi in the 1980’s. And they continue today. They have told Gitmo detainees they have the right to remain silent, as in not talking to interrogators. One issue that really disturbs me is their refusal of funds from organizations such as the United Way that were concerned the money would be used to support terrorism.

In October of 2004, the ACLU turned down $1.15 million in funding from two of it’s most generous and loyal contributors, the Ford and Rockefeller foundations, saying new anti-terrorism restrictions demanded by the institutions make it unable to accept their funds.

The Ford Foundation now bars recipients of its funds from engaging in any activity that “promotes violence, terrorism, bigotry, or the destruction of any state.”

The Rockefeller Foundation’s provisions state that recipients of its funds may not “directly or indirectly engage in, promote, or support other organizations or individuals who engage in or promote terrorist activity.”

#2. The ACLU supports child porn distribution and child molesters like NAMBLA.

As legislative counsel for the ACLU in 1985, Barry Lynn told the U.S. Attorney General’s Commission on Pornography (of which Focus on the Family President Dr. James C. Dobson was a member) that child pornography was protected by the First Amendment. While production of child porn could be prevented by law, he argued, its distribution could not be.

There is no doubt the The ACLU are perverting the Constitution.

#1. The ACLU fufills its agenda using my tax money. What more can I say on this one?

There are countless reasons the ACLU needs to be stopped. So don’t just stand by and complain, do something. Get involved. Here are some ways you can get involved to help us stop the ACLU.

Support and donate to organizations fighting them in Court. Here are the ones at the forefront.

ACLJ
Alliance Defense Fund
Thomas More Law Center

Join the Stop The ACLU Coalition

Help us write Churches to get involved.

Tell your Congress to support the Public Expression of Relgion Act of 2005. This legislation seeks to limit attorney’s fees in Establishment Clause cases to injunctive relief only.

SIGN THE PETITION TO STOP TAXPAYER FUNDING OF THE ACLU

This was a production of Stop The ACLU Blogburst. If you would like to join us, please email Jay at Jay@stoptheaclu.com or Gribbit at GribbitR@gmail.com . You will be added to our mailing list and blogroll. Over 115 blogs already onboard.

[*Note: I haven’t checked with John on this, but I’m pretty sure he meant right of free association, not free speech, although free speech infringement is certainly at the core of the ACLU’s attacks upon the Boy Scouts.–ed]

[**Here, I’m sure John doesn’t really mean gay people but homosexuals *heh*]

[***And freedoms of association, right to assemble, to petition the government for redress of grievances, etc. ]

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