Free Republic

[http://www.youtube.com/v/aw0aBkt8CPA&color1=0xb1b1b1&color2=0xd0d0d0&hl=en_US&feature=player_embedded&fs=1] After seeing this video, many people are coming out against the statements by Ms. Wilson and, as a corollary, teachers in general. Teachers are overpaid, they say. Teachers only work nine months out of the year, they say. Teaching isn’t all that tough, they say. Teachers are controlled by the unions, they say. Ms. Wilson herself used the ages-old teacher line, “We do it because we love it,” as she complained about her “low” compensation of $86,000 plus benefits. I’ve perused the blogs and message boards today, and, as the criticisms of Ms. Wilson have been made, invariably someone...

Dear Mr. Calderon, Good day, sir. I hope this letter finds you well. Now, if you please, shut up. On May 19, while speaking alongside our current president, you said that the United States and Mexico needed to avoid the shadows of ”such laws as the Arizona law, which is forcing our people to face discrimination.” Your people, sir, are facing discrimination not, as you imply, because of their racial composition or nationality, but because they are flaunting the laws of the United States by their presence here. The Arizona law, in fact, gives state officials the right to enforce...

Months ago, I helped popularize a now-infamous video of Hank Johnson fearing the capsizing of Guam. I simply said, “Wow.” This video brings out the same reaction from me, but for entirely different reasons. This clip should be publicized and passed around to as many of your friends and neighbors as possible, citizens of the Republic. Or at least to those who would like to see the face of the enemy. The site: The University of California-Davis. The situation: A question-and-answer session with David Horowitz, conservative activist and author of Unholy Alliance, an examination of the links between Islam and...

In light of the new Obama appointee, I thought this was fitting. I have my own thoughts on the issue, but feel free to share yours.

It’s funny how things can begin from a relatively minor event. In my world history classes, we’re discussing the beginnings of World War I. Invariably when discussing this topic, students marvel at how one assassination was the spark that threw Europe–and eventually the United States–into a bloody conflict. Arizona passed a law allowing their law enforcement officers to do what the federal government should have been doing for years. Chaos ensued. Days later, on Cinco de Mayo–a holiday that Mexicans don’t even really celebrate, according to one of my Mexican-American basketball players–two students were forced to leave school because they...

Whose country is it, again? At Live Oak High School in Morgan Hill, CA, the American flag has been deemed "incendiary" when worn on certain days. In this case, when worn on the Mexican holiday of Cinco de Mayo. According to a story on FOXNews.com, five students were sent home for reportedly attempting to incite violence by wearing the colors of the United States--the country in which their school happens to be located. One of the boys, Daniel Galli, told a local NBC affiliate that school officials told he and his five fellow offenders that they could wear clothing celebrating...

Just when you think the educational system in America has hit a new low, the pop music scene shows that we haven’t yet hit bottom. Granted, this is not something I would normally post on the Alamo, but, as a teacher, this disturbs me. Justin Bieber, 16-year old teen idol, is asked if his name means “basketball” in German. The dream date of millions of pre-teen girls across America explained that not only did he not know the answer to the question, but he didn’t know what the word “German” meant. [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DkKqihEUmH4&feature=player_embedded] I’ll show this to my classes tomorrow as...

Anyone who has kept a close eye on the Statist Left, including their complicit comrades in the Media, have seen the liberal attempt to assert that the Tea Party movement--and conservatism, in general--is full of dangerous extremists looking to spread violence and chaos. And observant monitors have watched as the Obama administration has done its best to protect the image of Islamic extremism and its role in world terrorism by refusing to label obvious acts of terror as, well, acts of terror. So it should come as no surprise that New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, Republican, would go on...

Regarding our current political climate and my discussions on this blog, I try to keep my focus on the major issues–health care, environmental extremism, immigration, general Government encroachments–and stay away from Obama’s citizenship status and other such diversions, though there have been times where I couldn’t resist. However, two stories this weekend raised red flags for me, and, at the risk of being labeled a “kook” or “paranoid extremist,” I’ll relay the stories and my concerns with them. First, out of the Washington Post. In the fallout of the Toyota brake “crisis,” we have the introduction of a bill that...

No commentary is needed on this one, folks. Beck lays out the case and the fact behind the conspiracy (*gasp*) to make Puerto Rico the 51st American state. By the way, official text and information regarding HR 2499 can be found at OpenCongress.org. [www.youtube.com/watch?v=221HPogZUyY]

President Obama, My name is Harold Estes, approaching 95 on December 13 of this year. People meeting me for the first time don’t believe my age because I remain wrinkle free and pretty much mentally alert. I enlisted in the U.S. Navy in 1934 and served proudly before, during and after WW II retiring as a Master Chief Bos’n Mate. Now I live in a “rest home” located on the western end of Pearl Harbor, allowing me to keep alive the memories of 23 years of service to my country. One of the benefits of my age, perhaps the only...

In his Vote 2010 initiative, Obama is surprisingly honest, admitting that ethnic groups, young people, and women powered him to victory in 2008. He calls on those same groups to counteract the conservative backlash–presumably made up exclusively of white, elderly men–to power Democrats to congressional victories in 2010. Here’s hoping that this election push goes as well as his attempts in New Jersey and Massachusetts. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oh-yR1HWkbM&feature=player_embedded

While Washington bellyaches about Arizona's tough new law that attempts to restrict illegal immigrants, politicians will surely make an attempt to describe the overwhelming positives that illegals bring to the United States. Mexicans, they will say, do the jobs Americans don't want. They help businesses. It would cost more money, they will proclaim, to crack down on illegal immigrants than it would to simply grant amnesty for them all. The benefits of illegals outweigh the costs, they will promise. These people deserve the rights of American citizens, they will chide, and to deny them these rights is racism against people...

The following letter was written by the author in response to a column in The Covington (Ga.) News on May 6, 2009 (http://www.covnews.com/news/article/6961/) : Mr. Shipp, I believe you’re right. If Mr. [Rick] Perry and Mr. [John] Oxendine have explored the notion of seceding from the United States, they are rebels and traitors. And their names should become synonymous with others who are or were like-minded: Jefferson, Washington, Franklin, Adams. You used several names to demagogue those who have even suggested secession: “wacko,” “nuts,” “crazy,” “troublemakers,” and “haters.” Similar terms might have been used by more articulate Tory columnists about...

UPDATE (4/24/10): Nearly a year to the date that I originally wrote this piece, Arizona has agreed to begin checking on the immigration status of its residents and arresting illegals. Barack Obama, champion of illegal immigrant rights, has vowed to fight the law, which has around 70% approval among Arizona's legal population. Tonight, on the Mike McConnell radio talk show, McConnell's fill-in host was lambasting the Tea Party activists for their apparent support of the Arizona law, saying it was one of the most restrictive moves against individual liberty imaginable, a frightening "slippery slope." According to the host, if you...

Lest I be accused of extremism or racism, I’ll allow the president to define himself. The video is heavily edited, but no other president has ever come close to showing such an affinity for Islam while minimizing our Judeo-Christian heritage in every way possible. [www.youtube.com/watch?v=tCAffMSWSzY&feature=player_embedded] Interesting that Obama takes the opportunity to defend Islam and chide those who would restrict the opportunity for Muslims to worship freely. He, meanwhile, has no qualms about limiting Christian opportunities, such as the National Day of Prayer. The father of one of my students has done a great deal of studying and writing on...

I was honestly speechless when I first saw Rep. Hank Johnson (D-GA) show his concern for the potential capsizing of the island of Guam a few weeks ago. Several readers informed me of his medical condition that may or may not have caused this man to become a crusader against island tipping. I found it amusing when Johnson’s office tried to explain away his delusional behavior by saying he was speaking metaphorically… or was it figuratively? But now, proving that a great joke never dies, Hank Johnson has reportedly received the endorsement of President Barack Obama in the Congressman’s primary...

Sit back, turn on the light, crush some styrofoam, and enjoy George Carlin's analysis of environmentalist idiocy. NOTE: For those looking for (and missing) the profanity, I've used an edited version, lest any of my students come across the post and have their virginal ears singed... :D

You know things are getting bad when the California courts are differentiating between "illegal" and "criminal." In a court case in which the plaintiff couldn't appear because he couldn't cross the border from Mexico, San Diego Superior Court Judge Ronald Styn awarded Alberto Jimenez $2500 in "damages" resulting from his alleged defamation. At issue was an e-mail forwarded by San Diego Minutemen founder Jeff Schwilk in which he labeled Jimenez and six other illegals as "criminals" after an assault on a cameraman near a worker pick-up spot in 2006. The Minutemen were investigating a potential child prostitution ring that worked...

New poll at the Alamo... tell why you'd like to thank Obama, America! :D Several reasons provided, plus a write-on category.