Tag Archives: schools

Current Events

America’s War on Children Part II

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I’m sorry gang, you probably want to hear more about Trader Joe, but I just got this from Fox News and almost spilled my coffee reading it. Are there any sane humans still living in California? If you know of any, please ask they why and let us know what they say.  It has to have something to do with family, ya think?

Anyway, this is a hoot, I mean an absolute hoot,. Even worse than banning straws. What is interesting is to read what some members of the school board said to defend their 6 to 1 decision. They have literally no clue what they were elected to do. We didn’t hear from the one dissenting vote, wonder why? Maybe he’s in hiding?

What’s even funnier is to read some of the idiotic comments responding to this post by Fox News. Should you desire to do so, please cut and paste the following into your browser. Otherwise read on and enjoy!

https://www.foxnews.com/us/san-francisco-school-board-votes-to-rename-schools-honoring-washington-lincoln-feinstein-others

San Francisco school board votes to rename schools honoring Washington, Lincoln, Feinstein, others.

Replacing signage at the 44 schools will cost more than $400,000, a report says, plus other related costs. The price tag could also go up to around $1 million for schools to get new activity uniforms, repaint gymnasium floors, etc., according to the Chronicle. The district is facing a budget deficit.

Not even revered former presidents George Washington, Abraham Lincoln and Thomas Jefferson are safe from “cancel culture,” it appears.

The American icons were among a list of historical figures whose names will be removed from San Francisco’s public schools following a 6-1 vote by the school board Tuesday, according to multiple reports.

Washington and Jefferson were both slave owners and Lincoln, who ended slavery, became controversial because critics claim he oppressed indigenous people.

The presidents were among a long list of men and women whose namesake schools will soon be renamed. Others on the list include Francis Scott Key, who wrote the words to the national anthem, former presidents William McKinley, James Garfield, James Monroe, and Herbert Hoover, Revolutionary War hero Paul Revere and author Robert Louis Stevenson, according to the San Francisco Chronicle.

Even an elementary school named for current U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., will be changed over allegations that she replaced a damaged Confederate flag outside of City Hall when she was the city’s mayor in 1986, according to Courthouse News. She didn’t replace the flag after it was pulled down a second time.

Historical figures have come under a sharp focus since anti-racism protests swept the country last summer, with some protesters ripping down Confederate statues but also those of figures like Washington, Lincoln, Jefferson and others they deemed offensive.

STATUE OF ABRAHAM LINCOLN WITH KNEELING SLAVE REMOVED IN BOSTON

Mayor London Breed rebuked the plan in October as “offensive,” saying the school board should be focused on reopening schools closed during the pandemic rather than renaming them. Wow, a sane statement in a sea of insanity; remarkable. Heck she might even have a piece of a brain left, ya think?

(Abraham Lincoln High School, among 44 schools targeted for renaming, is seen in San Francisco. (Google))

“It’s offensive to parents who are juggling their children’s daily at-home learning schedules with doing their own jobs and maintaining their sanity,” she said at the time, according to Courthouse News. “It’s offensive to me as someone who went to our public schools, who loves our public schools, and who knows how those years in the classroom are what lifted me out of poverty and into college. It’s offensive to our kids who are staring at screens day after day instead of learning and growing with their classmates and friends.”

Replacing signage at the 44 schools will cost more than $400,000, according to the Courthouse News. The price tag could also go up to around $1 million for schools to get new activity uniforms, repaint gymnasium floors, etc., according to the Chronicle. The district is facing a budget deficit.

While the board focused on renaming the schools in the Tuesday meeting, it did not discuss reopening schools from coronavirus shutdowns.

Other critics complained the panel that reviewed the appropriateness of school names used little input from historians and didn’t put the figures into a historical context or weigh their contributions with their failings.

Others argued the research process was thin, relying on selective sources and using websites like Wikipedia to back up claims.

NY TIMES COLUMNIST: ‘YES, EVEN GEORGE WASHINGTON’ STATUES MUST GO

In the case of Roosevelt Middle School, it wasn’t clear if the board knew which former President Roosevelt it was named for, but decided to have it removed anyway.

Board member Mark Sanchez, however, called the decision a “moral message.”

“It’s a message to our families, our students and our community. It’s not just symbolic,” he said, according to the Chronicle.

Board member Kevine Boggess, who supported the resolution, suggested schools shouldn’t be named after anyone.

We “should not make heroes out of mortal folks,” he said, according to the Chronicle. “I think we need to examine our naming policies across the district and really consider how the way we go about naming schools reflects our true values.”

School staff and families have until April to suggest new names for the schools.

Originally posted 2021-01-27 12:07:04.

Current Events

America’s War on its Children

6 Comments

Taking a break from the political fiasco of our country, here is another subject Mustang takes on with common sense, which as we all know, is a rare attribute in America, and much of that is caused by this subject. This is a topic about which I have some personal knowledge. A female teacher friend of mine was a longtime teacher in what was  a good school in a Cook County, IL HS. In fact, her children went there. Then  things suddenly changed when they decided to include other parts of the district in this HS. They received Jr HS students from different schools in an attempt to do what I shall call “leveling the playing field” for all students. The things she had to put up with would make the average educated, caring parent cringe with disgust. Administrators who never stood in a classroom. Students who refused to pay attention, would not shut up so she could teach, and constantly told her to, “Go F**k herself.” When her and her fellow teachers tried to send them to the office, oftentimes they had call security to have them physically removed. while fighting and screaming vulgarities. The principal’s answer was and I quote, “Do not send your discipline problems to me, you are the teacher and are responsible for disciplining your own students.” Life in that school district became overnight a war zone; teachers against students and the administrators Unions youy ask? Come on don ‘t be that gullible; they are a major part of the problem. How much do you have to pay a teacher to put up with that every weekday for nine months? 

She is now teaching in  Catholic school in FL and absolutely loves her job and her students. For her it is a joy to wake up in the morning looking forward to going to her school. I fervently believe our education system is so broken and believe there is no light at the end of the tunnel to fix it, but we shall still continue throwing money at it because that what our government does.

Personally, I believe the downfall of our education system started with Bush’s “no child left behind.” I have some experience giving talks at these “Alternative Schools” where they send those who should be left behind, but aren’t. Trust me, go visit some of them in your area and see for yourself. There may be good ones, but what I saw was an inability to tell the difference between the students and the teachers. When I asked the principal why the teachers were wearing trashy clothes, earrings and tattoos  like the students; his reply was “It’s important for the teachers to identify with the students.” Leadership at its finest right?

The Failure of Education

by Mustang

If (fill in the blank) isn’t working out to your expectations, then all you have to do is throw more money at it. That’s the message we regularly receive from people who make their money from selling “education.” But, is it true?  Of course not.

The American education system is an utter failure and has been for decades, and there is no more significant proof of that than observing today’s young adults.  They have no academic skills beyond cheating on tests; they lack essential knowledge about our nation’s history or even their own states. They are unable to comprehend cause and effect relationships, and they cannot reason.  If our education system is the doctor, then we’ve killed the patient.

Educationalist (a term I use in the most disparaging manner possible) Kate Barrington wants us to know about the American education system’s top fifteen failures.  None of her “failures” represent the underlying problem of American schools, but here’s what she identified as her most significant concerns:

    1. Insufficient government funding
    2. Charter schools siphon away money from public schools
    3. Teachers aren’t making enough money
    4. Too many teachers are fired for political reasons
    5. There is too much bullying going on in schools
    6. Students are “too poor” to learn
    7. Schools are over-crowded
    8. Students are too anxious and hyper-active to learn
    9. Insufficient parental involvement

She never once mentioned political brainwashing imposed on every child in public schools, never said anything about the costly athletic programs that take away time and money from academic curricula, never mentioned the dismal results of “high stakes” testing, or the fact that students receive no training in civics education, are taught revisionist history, or that they are bored to the point of tears in the classroom.

Ms. Barrington didn’t say that our children cannot construct a proper sentence, much less a paragraph, or that an average first-year high school student can only read at the fifth-grade level and cannot perform algebraic computations or has no interest in the wonder of science.

She also never mentioned that the United States (federal and state expenditures) spends, on average, $800-billion on educational programs EACH YEAR.  That figure approximates $15,000.00 annually for each child in elementary and secondary schools.  Maybe we shouldn’t focus so much on what we spend on American education — perhaps we should be asking what we’re getting as a return on that investment.  Are we getting smarter kids who, within a few years, are knocking them dead in the corporate structure, on Wall Street, as engineers, as scientists?

No — actually, American kids (including those graduating from college with a four-year degree) are mediocre compared to the rest of the civilized world.  Forty years after the publication of A Nation at Risk, a ground-breaking report by the National Commission on Excellence, America’s kids are dumber than ever despite the doubling of our expenditures on education.

Constructing more schools does not equate to better education — it only means more children per year are less competitive globally.  What other conclusions can a rational person make when more than two-thirds of the student population cannot demonstrate mastery in grade-level mathematics and science, reading, or even understanding the history of their own ancestors?

Here’s an interesting statistic: 85% of our nation’s high school graduates each year are unqualified to enter college as freshmen without substantial remediation.

According to the National Center for Educational Statistics, the average expenditure worldwide is around $9,800 per student annually.  Around the world, then, nations who spend far less educating their children are producing young adults who can (and do) read, who can communicate well in writing, who understand complex mathematics, and are geared toward careers in science and engineering.

Equally important, we must address the question of whether America’s young adults are as well-adjusted psychologically as their “other world” cohorts.  There does not appear to be any evidence to support such a claim.  Considering high incidents of violence in schools and throughout local communities, the opposite seems right. America’s young adult is maladjusted, and if there is not a trend toward psychopathic abnormality, it certainly seems that way.

What, then, should we deduce?  Should we conclude that in exchange for $800-billion annually, we are getting psychologically damaged young adults?  As young adults, our children not only do not know who they are but also don’t care.

Our young adults do not understand that the rights they enjoy extend to every other citizen, as well — so supporting such notions that they must silence a citizen who has different views from their own — forcibly, if necessary — tells us that our education system has grown at least two (maybe three) generations of dangerously maladjusted human beings.  Moreover, they are irrational in thinking that such behavior benefits a healthy society.

America is getting no bang for its buck.  Rather than demanding more money (to waste), perhaps reduced spending is a better plan.  Pay teachers less money, not more.  Stop pretending that high school football programs are equal in importance to science and mathematics.  Stop spending hundreds of millions of dollars on textbooks that facilitate revisionist brainwashing or communicate anti-white racial biases.

When compared to the children raised in third-world countries, our children are stupid, psychotic, and socially inept.  Is this our return on our ever-increasing investment in the American education system?  One notable scientist suggested, “Insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results.”  We attribute this quotation to Albert Einstein’s Parable of Quantum Insanity.  Perhaps the educationalists should make a note of it.

Mustang also blogs at Fix Bayonets and Thoughts From Afar

Here’s Sleepy Joe’s answer to the severe problem

Originally posted 2021-01-26 11:51:27.

Recent Posts

Mr. Mattis Again!!

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To begin, I want to update again on my post of 9 June entitled ” An Open Letter to Mr. Mattis.” That post has gone absolutely crazy. It has well over 1,000 views from just about every country around the world and it continues to get hits every single day. In fact, I stopped counting, since I doubt it will ever stop getting hits.

And of course , Mr. Big Mouth (aka Mattis) still runs his mouth on things about which he knows nothing. Yes, he is a retired four star, so I guess he believes that makes him a diplomacy expert. Maybe President Trump should have made him  Secretary of State. LOL He may have made a mistake; however, taking on the Honorable Mr. Pompeo.

A column this week in the Washington Times by former Defense Secretary James N. Mattis that blasted President Trump‘s “America First” theme did not disclose that Mr. Mattis holds a senior position at the Cohen Group, a firm that dedicates itself to making business deals in China.

Mr. Trump‘s get-tough approach toward China — tariffs and prohibitions on Beijing‘s cyber products — is generally counter to the Cohen Group‘s objective of bringing Chinese and U.S. companies together in multimillion dollar deals. For what purpose?

The Cohen Group, founded by former Defense Secretary William Cohen and staffed by a number of former high-ranking government and military leaders, has two of its four overseas offices in China.

Mr. Mattis’ (I’m so happy to see the author got his title correct) Nov. 23 ForeignAffairs.com column was co-authored with three other national security experts, (that assumes Mr. Mattis is one also. LOL) but it was his name that gave it weight in the news media. The article’s thoughts resemble the Obama administration‘s China approach. It could be a window into how presumptive President-elect Joseph R. Biden pulls back from Mr. Trump‘s hardline.

Mr. Mattis is identified in his column as a former defense secretary (Fired) and fellow at the Hoover Institution, but not as a senior counselor at the Cohen Group global consulting firm in Washington.

In the column, Mr. Mattis rejects Secretary of State Mike Pompeo‘s campaign of rallying Asian countries against China‘s drive for dominance. Mr. Mattis does not mention China‘s declared economic war against U.S. ally Australia in retaliation for Canberra calling for an international investigation into the origins of the coronavirus.

China has yet to explain and document exactly how the pandemic began in Wuhan, where the virus was first discovered in 2019.

Mr. Mattis wrote, in a broad indictment of Mr. Trump‘s foreign policy: “Crucially, the United States should not press countries to choose outright between the two powers. A ‘with us or against us’ approach plays to China‘s advantage, because the economic prosperity of U.S. allies and partners hinges on strong trade and investment relationships with Beijing. Rather than treating countries as pawns in a great-power competition, a better approach would emphasize common codes of behavior and encourage states to publicly promulgate a vision for their country’s sovereign future and the types of partnerships they need to pursue it. You have got to be kidding me!

“It would also expand the cooperative space in which all countries supporting a rules-based order can work together to advance shared interests. Cooperation across different ideological systems is difficult but necessary, and there should be opportunities to cooperate with China in areas of overlapping interests, such as pandemic response, climate change and nuclear security.”

Mr. Mattis urged Mr. Biden to remove “America First” from all foreign policies.

The Cohen Group announced Mr. Mattis’ hiring in September 2019 as a “senior counselor,” calling him a “national treasure.” Which kind of treasure? His photo is prominently featured on its home page. “China is a market of enormous opportunity and complexity,” the firm states. “The Cohen Group’s (TCG) China Practice has a solid record of success with professionals in offices in Beijing, Tianjin and Washington, D.C.  Name just one.

“Building upon decades of experience, on-the-ground management expertise, and longtime personal and professional relationships throughout the region, TCG‘s China Practice helps companies succeed in the Chinese market. TCG enables Fortune 500 companies, as well as small- and medium-sized enterprises, to achieve their commercial goals in China through tailored government, business and media relations strategies.” While they steal our technologies and jobs.

Citing a recent “success,” the website said, “TCG facilitated discussions between a global pharmaceutical company and relevant Chinese government entities regarding the regulatory framework for a high-profile drug, resulting in a mutually beneficial solution for both the company and the Chinese healthcare community.” I still ask why are we buying drugs from these communists?

Mr. Mattis, a highly decorated and respected Marine Corps four-star general (Really? Who says he is a “respected four star general” and by who?) who oversaw all Middle East troops as Central Command head, resigned Come on guy’s, tell the truth, he was FIRED, he even admitted it )as Mr. Trump‘s defense secretary to protest planned troop withdrawals from Syria.

American forces are backing Syrian rebels fighting Islamic State terrorists. Mr. Trump argues he smashed the ISIS hold on Syrian territory. About 500 American troops remain in Syria.

Robert Gates, a Republican and President Barack Obama’s first defense secretary, has praised Mr. Trump‘s foreign policy.

“At least he has not started any new wars,” Mr. Gates said on “Meet the Press.” “And he has robustly funded the military. … I thought his challenging China was about time.”

Mr. Gates has said that the Western powers welcomed China into the family of nations some 20 years ago and China reacted by violating trade rules to gain advantages. (Yep)

Led by Mr. Pompeo, the Trump administration unleashed a series of actions against China‘s drive to lead the world. It uses tariffs to rein in what it calls unfair trade practices and calls out China for the illegal theft of U.S. inventions and personal identities and for rampant spying in colleges, businesses and government. And in a subsequent Op-ed piece, Mr. Pompeo shot down Mattis’ BS with mere facts!

The FBI says it opened numerous counter-intelligence probes into Chinese nationals. It estimates that China has broken into computer networks and stolen the personal information of half the American population. The FBI? Really, Is this to say they really do something besides work for the Deep State. The whole organization is as crooked as a dogs’ leg.

The Trump administration shut down a Chinese consulate in Houston, calling it nothing more than an intelligence collection hub. Mr. Trump has blocked U.S. businesses from doing deals with Chinese companies supporting the People’s Liberation Army. It has called China‘s telecommunications giant Huawei a spying tool. He has required China‘s propaganda arms in the U.S. to register as foreign agents rather than continue operations as journalists.

Mr. Pompeo and congressional Republicans have accused China of covering up the coronavirus outbreak by telling the world initially that it was not contagious as travelers arrived in the U.S. and Europe where the virus went on to infect millions.

As vice president Mr. Biden was the Obama administration‘s point man on China while his son, Hunter, engaged in networking with Chinese billionaires. He eventually worked out multimillion-dollar deals for himself and uncle James Biden. Excuse me, but where is the FBI on this?

A Senate Republican report documented the flow of cash based on Treasury Department suspicious activity reports (SARS) filed by lending institutions because they suspected illegality such as money laundering.

In 2011, Mr. Biden delivered a speech in China as Hunter was making business contacts there, promising to integrate China into American life.

“In order to cement this robust partnership, we have to go beyond close ties between Washington and Beijing, which we’re working on every day, go beyond it to include all levels of government, go beyond it to include classrooms, and laboratories, authentic fields and boardrooms.” Classrooms? LOL

Mr. Biden returned to China in 2013 with Hunter onboard Air Force 2.  Undoubtedly to seal some more cash deals for the “Boss” as Hunter referred to Basement Joe.

Originally posted 2020-12-04 15:39:53.

Current Events

A Time to Heel

1 Comment

Another great article from my friend Greg.

By: G. Maresca

Joe Biden’s “time for healing” and “stop treating our opponents as our enemies” speech was anything but Lincolnesque as the most divisive, volatile election since the Civil War has put many in doubt.

One teacher’s union has already demanded that Biden oppose any charter school expansion, while putting an end to school choice for Washington D.C.’s low-income families.  This is the same city that Biden won 93 percent of the vote.  With such gaudy numbers, Democrats must believe that everyone is as easily manipulated.

Biden’s Chief of Staff Ron Klain is a former lobbyist for Silicon Valley titans Google, Facebook and Twitter, so forget about restricting their monopoly of social media censorship.

For at least two generations, Democrats have amplified how politics is not about compromise, but unadulterated power.  Any opposition is accused of being racist, homophobic, and xenophobic bigots, who must be subdued by any means in a nation where once Judeo-Christian principles governed our hearts and minds.

Turning a jaundiced eye toward Biden’s platitudes after tens of millions of Americans remained convinced the election was stolen isn’t difficult.  Biden’s plea is political virtue-signaling in the first-degree. Leftists in government, media, sports, big-tech, and entertainment continue to wage a relentless smear campaign against Trump and those who voted for him.

Democrats arrogantly called themselves the “resistance” saying Trump was an “illegitimate” president before he was even sworn in.  So, after four years of character assassination, anti-Trump hysteria and impeachment, race baiting, rioting, looting, and arson Democrats now want healing.

In Biden, speak healing is code for tax dollars that will subsidize abortions, mask and vaccination mandates, open borders, Green New Deal, reparations, and tax increases.  Such actions will only exacerbate conflict and constitutional disputes.

Healing should include exposing any election fraud, no?

Reconciling will occur when the unbridled slaughter of the unborn ends, and when the Little Sisters of the Poor and every other faith group’s conscience is protected.

With healing comes truth and transparency.

How did Biden retail his influence as vice president to the Chinese, Russians and Ukrainians?  What about the police and business owners who were killed, injured and looted?   Are the blacks who supported Trump still black?  Are the nearly 74,000,000 voters for Trump still “systemic” racists?  What about AOC’s call for persecution of them?   What about Biden’s silence on the Gen. Flynn cabal, the Mueller decapitation, and the Steele dossier, knowing they were all a pack of lies?  The left has not only opposed Trump’s policies; they have opposed his very existence.  And now after such debauchery, they insist on singing a chorus of kumbaya’s?

Provided Biden is serious, he will get plenty of flak from his own party. And don’t forget Kamala Harris beacons a heartbeat away.

The healing Biden desires only happens after amputations.

Healing and unity for Democrats is a one-way street and only applies when they are in control, which is why the runoff senate race in Georgia on Jan. 5, 2021 is pivotal.  Provided the GOP is victorious, Biden will have no choice but to govern from the center at least for the first two years of his administration.  That is provided the political mooring of Mitt Romney, Lisa Murkowski and Susan Collins, refuse to stand fast.

“There are more instances of the abridgment of the freedom of the people by the gradual and silent encroachment of those in power than by violent and sudden usurpation.” Biden like Obama will soon occupy the same White House as James Madison, the owner of that quote and father of our Constitution.  Obama and Biden never knew him, but Madison clearly knew them and those like them.

Unifying the country by a career politician like Biden is wishful at best.  If Washington D.C. is the swamp, then the 78-year-old Biden is its version of the swamp fox.

Our fundamental divisions concentrate on a demise of traditional, moral values.  They are essentially spiritual schisms which evolve from our relationship, or lack thereof, with God.  However, divided we used to be by political ideology, the nation always historically managed to circle the wagons around our shared Judeo-Christian roots, where its foundational virtues and conventions were passed down from generation to generation.

Authentic healing will only come through the grace of Divine Providence, not ersatz political bipartisanship.

Postscript. News is out about Mr. Mattis’ association with an organization not too friendly to the current US policy towards rogue nations. So what’s new with this fellow who says he is a Marine, but thousands of real Marines have disowned this skunk of a general (small caps for him). I find it astonishing that my post entitled “An Open Letter to Mr. Mattis” was posted on 9 June and to this very day it still gets views, EVERY DAY e.g. four today. That post has literally gone viral all over the world; keep it going. I would be willing to bet money he gets some kind of a posting from biden (small caps again).

Hope you are having a wonderful Thanksgiving and enjoying family and friends. Stay well and stay safe. Semper Fi; Jim

Originally posted 2020-11-26 10:52:29.

Recent Posts

Fidelity, Bravery, and Integrity?

8 Comments

 

 

 

 

 

 

It’s not often I post something of my own, I usually post things from others blogs, or from emails I receive, but I do often make some introductory comments. But I am pissed (sorry if you have virgin ears, but I mean I am so damn mad, much madder than I have been in a long, long time)! This shooting in Parkland, FL, isn’t near me, as I am on the gulf coast (snow bird), but where it happened isn’t relevant.

Seventeen people died a brutal death, many young children, who may still be alive and enjoying this weekend had someone, some person done their job.  And what really frosts me is this is not the first time intelligence failed to be followed through on because it wasn’t given to the field offices that needed to know it.

I grew of age in an organization where the “boss” was responsible for everything the unit did or did not do — the good, the bad and the ugly — albeit I always tried to push the “good” down the chain to Marines who were really responsible for the successes. Some heads need to roll, and my first bowling ball would be the Director’s. And then I would keep going down the chain busting everyone’s along the way until I got to that civil service worker (agent I guess) who’s job title included forwarding intelligence to the proper field office who have a need to know it FAST. Every body from that person up to the boss needs to be held responsible for the death of those seventeen people. I’m not a lawyer, but if there is some way to charge them as accessories before the fact, they’d see their day in court.

I don’t know any FBI agents personally, but I’m certain there are some highly dedicated, honest, hard-working Americans in that organization, and even though they are always portrayed in the TV Cop shows as the bad guys – the “feds” – I’m sure they have thwarted many bad things we will never know about. Those brave men and women have been beat up so bad in the last year by the media, by the politicians, liberals and conservatives alike, for their screw ups and failings, but that’s all been on the leadership, not the field agents. God bless them. The FBI is, I believe, the largest swamp in the federal government and it needs to completely drained of its leadership and start anew — NOW!

Fidelity, Bravery, Integrity it reads on their insignia. What a shame to have had that tarnished time and again by its leadership over the last year or so.

One question, does that person who was responsible for passing on that information still have a desk at the FBI? As an American, I demand to know the answer to that question, and so should you!

Originally posted 2018-02-17 09:56:04.