Real Thought

May I ask what the obsession is with flag burning?  Doesn’t the Senate have more important things to consider?  There is a war in Iraq, another in Afghanistan, the detention facility at Guantanamo Bay, Iran and North Korea, flooding in the east, high fuel prices, wildfires in the west, the immigration issue, you get the point.  The Congress has a great deal more on it’s plate than some joker burning a US flag to protest something he or she probably knows nothing about.

Furthermore, like gay marriage, does flag burning require a constitutional amendment?  Really?  Is this some major  action which effects the workings of our government?  Is it on par with presidential sucession or the voting age?  The Constitution is supposed to provide a concise, flexible framework for our government, not cover every trivial crisis that comes along.  That is the beauty of our government, we make stuff up as we go along and we ignore that which we feel is useless.  We do not need to outline every trivial detail of government in the Constitution, nor should we.  I may not like someone burning a flag in protest, but then again that person probably doesn’t like me calling them a sop-headed lemming either.   

I have been on vacation for the last week and will not return for another three weeks.  New posts will be few and far between.  Until then feel free to browse the archives or look for the occasional new post.  Or check out this blog.

In the wake of the massive FEMA fraud comes a report from Reuters that the National Guard is being deployed in New Orleans in order to battle a rising murder rate. Evidently, the decision to redeploy Lousiana National Guard troops to the Crescent City comes after a weekend in which five teenagers were killed in an apparent drug related or revenge related incident. There is rising fear that criminals are returning to New Orleans before the city can recover from the effects of hurricane Katrina.

Given that New Orleans had one of the highest murder rates in the country before Katrina, it is nice to see this return to “normalcy.” Perhaps instead of the National Guard, the people of New Orleans need a more efficient and less corrupt city government.

The recent GAO report covering the fraud which occured by people filing fake relief claims to FEMA after Hurricanes Katrina and Rita is a prime example of why I am a libertarian.  FEMA was bilked out of $1.4 billion dollars in fraudulent clains according to a recent report.  Some of the money which was intended to help those who lost everything in Hurricanes Katrina and Rita went instead to pay for Hawaiian and Carribean vacations, “Girls Gone Wild” videos and bottles of Dom Perignon.  Other funds went to pay for NFL season tickets and a divorce lawyer according to this report by the Associated Press.  The GAO has issued a report citing massive fraud in FEMA and the Department of Justice has even set up a “Katrina Fraud” webpage.

I compare this to San Francisco after the 1906 earthquake and fire or Chicago after the Great Fire.  In those cases there was no FEMA to give people money.  There was no federal disaster relief.  Instead, both the citizens of Chicago and of San Francisco dug into their own resources and rebuilt their cities.  There were no swarms of federal officials telling them what to do and handing out debit cards, the people just went ahead and rebuilt.  Perhaps that is what should happen on the Gulf Coast.  Maybe the government should stay away and allow the speculators and entrepeneurs to move in and rebuild the devastated areas without federal monies.  At least then we will all know that our tax dollars are not going to buy soft porn.

You know why the Klan wears pointy hoods? To cover their pointy heads. It seems that about sixty members of the Ku Klux Klan and the National Socialist Movement of America had a rally at Antietam National Battlefield to protest illegal immigration or people who are smarter than they or something. Now don’t get me wrong, I am all for freedom of speech but allowing these idiots to spew their distortions and hatred on a national battlefield where so many true patriots, both Federal and Confederate, gave their lives is an act of desecration. One of these microcephalic hate mongers had the audacity to say that the Klan is “the ghosts of the Confederate brothers and sisters who died here.” Ok, you pointy-headed, ignorant, stupid piece of feces pretending to be human, let me set you straight. YOU have nothing to do with the brave Confederates who died at the Battle of Sharpsburg, but I as a life member of Sons of Confederate Veterans am a living descendant of one of those brave men and I can’t stand that you and others of your ilk continue to insult me and my ancestors. You are a mullet wearing, no account piece of filth and your actions on this day do nothing but do dis-honor to my ancestors, the Cause for which they fought and died and my personal heritage. Why don’t you and your inbred friends quit pretending to be Confederates and leave that to those who truly keep the memory of the Confederacy alive. You and your friends can take your laundry and stay the fuck home!

Once again, someone was foolish enough to rent some space on my blog. Check out my new renter With Sticks and Stones. I don’t agree with most of her opinions but she is an interesting read and in the spirit of free speech, I am more than happy to let her park here.

If you haven’t figured it out by now, I am a teacher. Here in California the public schools have been on an austerity budget ever since Arnold Schwarzenegger became governor. Why? Because the California Republic is fifty billion dollars in debt and constantly spends more than it takes in. This has not stopped under Arnie. On Thursday, the “Governator” said that he woud revise the state budget to provide $5.7 billion in additional funding thanks to a surge in capital gains tax revenue arising from the sale of Google, stock options, strong home sales and a rising stock market. Needless to say, my union, the California Teacher’s Association is pleased. This may well settle a lawsuit the CTA had filed over this very issue.

How stupid is this man? Rather than use the increased revenue to retire some of the state’s debt or invest it to ensure a steady revenue stream, he is going to spend it on additional expenses. Call me crazy, but I see this as financially idiotic. When ever I get a extra service check some of it goes to retire outstanding debt and some goes into investments or savings so that I will not have to be a wage slave for the rest of my life. Shouldn’t good personal economy apply to the state, writ large? Yes, the public education system here in California is a joke but an additional $5.7 billion isn’t going to fix it. Furthermore, this revenue stream shows no signs of being sustainable. How many times can we expect Google to be sold? So, when this wind fall in capital gains revenue is exhausted, what will replace it? Finally, my union is always trumpeting about how we teachers care for California’s children and their future to the public. Well, here is an idea, how about retiring some of the state’s debt today so that the children of California will have a better future? Is that too much to ask? Of course, the governor also said that $2.2 billion would go into a “rainy day fund” and $3.7 billion would go to service the state debt. How about $2.2 billion in a reserve and $9.4 billion to service the debt? That makes much more sense to me.

I was teacher in charge at my school. A female student came in after lunch and told me that a boy had touched her breast. I had her write a statement and asked if she knew the boy’s name. She said “No”. I asked her if she could identify him from the student album and again she replied “no”. I asked her if he did any thing else to her and again she replied “no”. I told her that I would leave the statement for the vice-principal, which I did and not to let other students know she came in so that we could do an investigation. The girl was not distraught, upset or crying. There were no visible marks on her that I saw and she left with a polite “thank you” and went to class.

Today, I was in the office and all hell was breaking loose! The girl’s mother was in the office alleging sexual assault. It turns out that not one, but three boys had grabbed her and one had bitten her on the breast leaving a mark. The mother was rightfully furious. She called the police, the three boys were discovered and suspended pending expulsion and a police report was filed. She wanted to know why I didn’t take the inital report more seriously. I explained that I had no clue that her daughter was assaulted in this manner and recounted the conversation with her daughter. I showed the mother her daughter’s statement which made no mention of three boys or of one biting her breast. I also told her that her daughter couldn’t identify any suspects for me and that I couldn’t punish anyone without knowing who the alleged perpetraitors are. Finally, I apologised for not calling her. She seemed to calm down.

I don’t get it however. The story the girl told me was no where near as serious or graphic as the one she told today and the police were angry because potential evidence was now 24 hours old and possibly contaminated. I really don’t understand why the girl soft pedalled the story initally. The best anyone could tell me is that she was embarassed to tell me. Great! How am I supposed to maintain discipline in a school if students who are victims won’t tell me the entire story?

The headline on Reuters coverage of the Senate debate on a constitutional amendment to ban gay marriage is, “Senate takes up gay-rights ban amid criticism.” Does anyone see that this is just a little exaggeraton? The Senate isn’t debating banning gay rights, the Senate is debating banning gay marriage. These are two very different issues. In most states, including mine, the People’s Republic of California, gays do not have the right to be married. As a matter of fact, marriage is defined in California as “a union between a man and a woman.”

I guess the editors at Reuter’s didn’t read their own disclaimer, which states “Reuters journalists are subject to the Reuters Editorial Handbook which requires fair presentation and disclosure of relevant interests.” Nothing like trying to put a writer’s or editor’s personal opinion on a story. There is currently no right for gays to get married, hence the debate. There is no debate of banning gay rights. This is pure sensationalism at its worst. No wonder most Americans are so woefully informed of the events in their own country and the rest of the world. Is a little accuracy in reporting too much to ask?

Evidently Miss Hilton has been working on a music video. Evidently it involves her being in a one piece bathing suit. Someone please tell me why anyone thinks she is sexy?