Oil and Waters Don't Mix

During an empassioned attack on oil executives Rep. Maxine Waters offered a chance to peak into the heart and soul of the left and thier agenda. In the democrats view the oil industry should be under control of the government. We should not be suprised, Senator Clinton has openly stated the same senitments. It was interesting that to Waters's right Democrat Steve Cohen nods approval to Waters statement until he comes to the realization that she had let the cat out of the bag. The rep to the right of Cohen also realizes that Maxine has stepped in the poo.

Link: sevenload.com

Vets for Freedom Response to Tom Harkin

Military Experience a Value not a Flaw

(Des Moines IA) - Vets for Freedom is disheartened by the comments made last Friday by Senator Tom Harkin (D-IA) stating that a view shaped by "always having been in the military" is "pretty dangerous". These comments are insulting to generations of families who have answered the call of duty to serve their nation in the United States Armed Forces.

"As an Iowa veteran who served on the front lines of the War on Terror, I was offended to hear my Senator demean the distinguished service of generations of American patriots." said Iowa State Captain of Vets for Freedom and Iraq war veteran, Ben Hayden. "To make these comments the day before Armed Forces Day is even more disturbing. Some of our greatest leaders have been 'steeped' in military tradition - from our first President, General George Washington, to John F. Kennedy and General Dwight D. Eisenhower. Senator Harkin's comments are nothing more than a political cheap shot aimed at a true war hero. All Americans should welcome this type of generational commitment to service, as it provides the very foundation of our great nation."

May 20, 2008 Contact: Judy Mayka (202) 338-4070

Rope a Dope Redux

While yesterday's boxing analogy got a little out of hand the point was not lost on Robert Novak at the Washington Post. As he points out in today's op-ed McCain will not be playing by Obama's rules in the general election. Much to the chagrin of the Dem's who will yell "you can say that. Its racist" at every turn."

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- When one of the Democratic Party's most astute strategists this week criticized John McCain for attacking Barack Obama's desire to engage Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, I asked what the Republican presidential candidate ought to talk about in this campaign. "Health care and the economy," he replied. That is a sure formula for Democratic victory, but it is one that McCain's campaign rejects. Obama embraced that formula once it became clear that he would best Hillary Clinton for the Democratic nomination. He began pounding McCain for seeking the third term of George W. Bush. At the same time, Obama implores McCain in the interest of "one nation" and "one people" not to attack him. The shorthand, widely repeated by the news media, is that the Republican candidate must not "Swift boat" Obama. That amounts to unilateral political disarmament by McCain. McCain is not about to disarm. His campaign has no intention of fighting this battle on Democratic turf. During the more than five months ahead, Republicans will explore the mindset of this young man who is a stranger to most Americans. That includes his association with the Chicago leftist William Ayers, who has remained unrepentant about his violent role as a 1960s radical. This will not be popular with McCain's erstwhile admirers in the mainstream news media, but America has not heard the last of Bill Ayers in this campaign.

"Are you ready to rumble?"

Barry and the Rope a Dope.

Now that Barry has relented and is wearing a flag pin again doesn't that paint him as the same kind of pandering politician that he was trying so hard to transcend? Or perhaps that's the strategy. While the media and the blog o sphere spend thier days jabbing away at his little irrelevancies he deftly plays the rope a dope on what he is really all about. Jab, Does he smoke? Jab, did he give Hillary the finger? Jab, does he really believe there are 57 states? Jab, Hey he's wearing flag pin!!! When he gets popped with a real roundhouse he responds with "let me eat my waffle" or "later sweetie." Then the waffle and the sweetie becomes the jab of the day while he shuffles merrily away for an afternoon of bowling or round ball which again become the jab of the day. He then backs into the top rope and waits for the next flurry from an increasingly arm weary opponent. A couple of uppercuts landed with the one two of Wright and Ayers and for a moment it looked like the contender was staggered but Barry sat in the corner while his trainer took one for the team.

In any campaign the one that controls the narrative is the one that wins the bout and so far Barry has excelled. He has excelled at redirection and dictating the rules of engagement, fighting his fight. He has been able to lay on the ropes and deflect the blows with a taunting smile while we all flail wildly, unable to penetrate his defences. He has gone the distance with Clinton with this strategy and until he is forced to come off the ropes in the next bout his opponent will suffer the same fate.

A Great Obama Video, Via: The Urban Grind.

Trapped like a rat

Yesterday I found myself coupled to the face of the back overhead garage door. “Coupled?” you ask. Yes, there is no auto opener on our back garage and once it is in open mode closing it demonstrates several of Newton’s laws of inertia and mass. It takes considerable force to transition the mass of the door from its resting position. To accomplish that, the general procedure is to grasp the ¾ inch gap between the first and second panel and forcefully pull in a downward motion. Once the door is in motion its weight and the force applied ensures a smooth decent to the closed position.

However, as anyone familiar with overhead door mechanics knows, the gap is a fleeting apparition as the panels make their trek to the full and upright position. With dexterity, a normal person can adjust hand position before that gap disappears encapsulating the tips of aforementioned fingers. As I realized that the critical gapage was fast encasing said fingertips the speed and weight of the door was at first surprising. “What the…” I said moments before the painful realization that I was trapped like a mouse in a trap.
As time and space seemed to slow like a scene out of “The Matirx” my mind, in a split second of lucidity, pondered a way to extricate myself from the situation. If anyone should find themselves in such a similar position I offer the following procedure. Step A: Yell “god damn” at the top of your lungs. This has two purposes. It alerts a loved one that you are in need of assistance in the event that Step B is unsuccessful and it also alerts the adrenal gland to supply a sufficient injection of hormone to yank free the set of digits of your dominate hand. Step B: With that parital victory you will momentarily regain your composure long enough to slow the motion of the descending door. Step C: With your one free hand and one foot (foot choice is optional here) you can reverse the direction of travel a sufficient distance to retrieve your now purple appendages. Step D. Install a frigging handle on the door before you smash your fingers.

This has been a public service announcement from the CR Salmon. “Enduring life’s pains, so you don’t have to.”

Freedom Rock 2008 Is Underway

Iowan Ray Sorenson has spent the past nine Months of May painting patriotic murals on a Rock two miles south of I 80 at Exit 86 west of Des Moines. The Memorial Day unveiling has become a local tradition in western Iowa and a tourist destination for travelers.

Pictured: The Rock 2007

See Past Rocks here.

Rays Web site.

Does Tom Harkin Hate the Military?

The last time we checked on the Harkster he had earmarked $500K for his constituents at The National Council of La Raza". So it’s been a while since the inanity of Tom Harkin has reached a level worthy of wasting valuable blogging space. However, this week Tom again proved why he is the lapdog of the Democratic leadership when he drew the short straw and got the assignment of attacking John McCain’s fitness for the Presidency because he is a veteran. John Murtha ironically got the job of saying McCain is too old. From the Des Moines Register;

Washington, D.C. — Republican presidential candidate John McCain's family background as the son and grandson of admirals has given him a worldview shaped by the military, "and he has a hard time thinking beyond that," Sen. Tom Harkin, D-Ia., said Friday."I think he's trapped in that,"...

Harkin said in a conference call with Iowa reporters. "Everything is looked at from his life experiences, from always having been in the military, and I think that can be pretty dangerous."…

Harkin said that "it's one thing to have been drafted and served, but another thing when you come from generations of military people and that's just how you're steeped, how you've learned, how you've grown up."…

He said that "I just want to be very clear there's nothing wrong with a career in the military" and that he has friends who are generals and admirals who have served the country well."... (Doesn't qualifying a statement that you have friends in the group you are lambasting indicate a deep seated prejudice? )

But now McCain is running for a higher office. He's running for commander in chief, and our Constitution says that should be a civilian," Harkin said. "And in some ways, I think it would be nice if that commander in chief had some military background, but I don't know if they need a whole lot."

I’m not sure how Mr. Harkin believes we can quantify sufficient military background. In fact neither if the two democratic candidates have any experience. Should we at least make them attend boot camp before they take office? In Harkins own run for the White house he evidently didn’t feel he had enough military gravitas and trumped up his own military record to appear more experienced. For a party that has endlessly laid the chicken-hawk label on the current administration it would stand to reason that in a time of war a military background would be an essential qualification for the job.

Using Harkins reasoning he shouldn’t be allowed to work on farm legislation because he has a background in farming. Hmmm, maybe this does make sense, but I digress.

According to my pocket constitution the first duty of the President under Article II, Sec. 2 states, “The President shall be commander in chief of the Army and Navy of the United States, and of the militia of the several states, when called into the actual service of the United States” It would seem that familiarity with the military would be a vital attribute in fulfilling that part of the job description. In fact Americans, knowing that security is the main function of government, have consistently elected men with military experience to the presidency. Only ten men that have served had no military experience, seven in the last century. The last guy that didnt have a day in uniform sent the troops into more situations than any previous president. Therefore, at this time it is important that the trend towards military experience is vital.

It would be naïve of me to say that the man has no shame, he is after all a politician, but how can Harkin make this argument with a straight face unless he actually believes it? And...Is Tom Harkin really a reflection of the good folks of Iowa? I don't think so.

Flotsam and Jetsam

Hmmmm Beer...Soap?... DOH!


The Ultimate List of Survival Gear. It can all be yours for only $2610.16

One Amazing Photograph.

What’s going on in Postville, Iowa?

Postville, Iowa is seemingly the picture of diversity, but underneath it is an example of multiculturalism gone bad.

Background:
In the late 80s Postville was just another rural mid west town with an uncertain future. The meat processor had closed its doors and the young were drifting away. In 1987 New York butcher Aaron Rubashkin purchased the plant and about 200 Hasidic Jews relocated to Postville.
But a funny thing happened on the way to diversity. The new residents could not have been different from the newcomers and a feeling of invasion pervaded the town despite the fact that the economic boom to Postville was certainly welcomed.
Two separate and distinct cultures emerged. The Jews were not particularly interested in becoming townsfolk. As the PBS documentary “Multiculturalism in Postville Iowa: When Cultures Collide” points out they in fact set up their own school so that their children would not mix with the Postville children. They held their own celebrations and had even held their own parade. They did not conform to community norms and to the locals that feeling of community was important.

Enter the Meatpackers:
To work the lines in the meat processing facility the owners relied on the labor of Mexican immigrants. The influx of Mexican workers further strained the little town. They had lost the feeling of security and suddenly people found they were locking their doors and keeping an eye on their children. The Catholic Church added a Spanish service but many of the Townspeople choose to commute to a nearby town for mass.
While some would say that the prejudices that emerged were born of ignorance, the underlying prejudices are actually innate to a community that had a tradition of community cohesiveness and the newcomers that were not interested in becoming part of the established community stretched the limits of tolerance.

ICE invades Postville.
Last week 300 illegal Mexican immigrants were arrested in Postville. 300! Shouldn’t we be surprised or appalled? Mexicans have become the slave labor of an industry that was once the economic lifeblood of many Iowans and thier communities. A meatpacker could expect to earn upwards of $15.00 an hour and was ensured of safe working conditions before the switch to immigrant labor. As the Des Moines Register reported;

“A federal search warrant said immigration officials have filed almost 700 complaints about immigration violations and criminal activity by workers at the Postville plant. The activity spans a two-year period, and some workers face multiple allegations.Federal officials allege that as many as three-fourths of the company's workers at the end of last year were using fraudulent Social Security numbers.

Last November, the search warrant said, ICE agents interviewed a former Agriprocessors supervisor who said some employees were running a methamphetamine lab in the plant and were bringing weapons to work. Another source alleged worker abuse, officials said in the warrant. In one case, a supervisor covered the eyes of an employee with duct tape and struck him with a meat hook.

The worker, who had entered the country illegally from Guatemala, was not seriously injured. He declined to report the incident for fear of losing his job, the warrant said. Another plant worker told federal officials that undocumented workers were paid $5 an hour for their first few months before receiving a pay increase to $6 per hour. The minimum wage in Iowa is $7.25 an hour. Company officials could not be reached for comment.

The experience of Postville is not unique however , other Iowa towns have been similarly transformed, with the support of the State Government. Storm Lake is just such an Iowa community that went through the forced migration of meatpackers in the 1980s.

The Hygrade workforce was primarily male and of European descent. Only in its last few years of operation, in the late l970s to early 1980s, did a few women work on the plant floor. The plant’s workforce was from Storm Lake and surrounding communities. Prior to the mid-1980s, Storm Lake was almost exclusively Anglo, and this homogeneity was reflected in Hygrade’s workforce.

Many of Hygrade’s workers put in thirty years or more at the plant, reflecting a low turnover. For many, their jobs supported a comfortable, middle-class lifestyle. Average annual incomes were about $30,000, but some senior workers earned up to $40,000 or more in Hygrade’s last year of operation.

In October 1981, Hygrade closed its plant and Storm Lake lost five hundred jobs. Community leaders immediately set about attracting a new buyer for the plant.In April 1982 IBP announced its purchase of the plant for $2.5 million. After extensive renovation, this became the company's first pork-packing facility (IBP previously had processed only beef.) IBP’s move into pork processing signaled a major transformation of the industry.When IBP opened its doors in September 1982, its workforce did not resemble the old Hygrade crew. Hundreds of former Hygrade workers applied, but fewer than thirty were hired.

IBP would look beyond the Storm Lake community for its laborers. Beginning wages were only $6 an hour, and health benefits become available only after six months on the job. (Today, starting wages are $7 an hour.) The new plant had higher productivity expectations than the old plant. Injury rates climbed, and high employee turnover increased the strain on local labor supplies.

Beyond the fact that this is essentially slave labor in the twenty-first century, one has to ask why did it take two years to execute these arrests and why aren’t the owners of this operation in the Waterloo lock up with their illegal employees. More importantly the experiences of Postville, Storm Lake and others should be a warning to those that believe that immigration without assimilation is the ideal that we want to promote.

I'm Back.

*You ever notice that bloggers that don't post for a while always start off with that Terminator line?

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*It is hard to believe that a month has passed since I last posted something here. It became evident when I struggled through the second round of exams that I had let my performance slip a tad and some adjustments were needed. I.e. there is a positive correlation between reading and test scores. So for my regular readers I know you are wondering “Whats up?”

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*My application at the College of Education was rejected. Of course they don’t tell you why but I can’t help but believe that being a non-traditional student (code for old fart, (O.F.) wasnt a factor. Throughout the whole process I was met with the same question of “Are you a graduate student?” “No… undergrad I reply,” immediately followed by the raised eyebrow of skepticism and a look of what the hell are you doing here? So the path to a diploma required a change of direction and not having a big window to complete this dream (O.F. remember… could drop dead at any moment) I will pursue a poli-sci minor and worry about the teacher certification later.

Not being entirely familiar about the workings of the university system I had another minor setback that needed addressed. When I was accepted to the U. I inquired about the foreign language requirement and was told by admissions that because I was an OF that requirement would be waived. Woohoo cut the OF some slack. Come to find out the University admissions requirement was waved but the College of Liberal Arts would never think of waiving their graduation requirement no matter how friking OF you are. “College of Liberal Arts” the name should have been a tip off. I worked my way up the food chain seeking some sort of relief but as I pled my case to one dimwitted academic after another I was sure I was the convict in "The Shawshank Redemption" asking the warden to reopen his case. The last advisor stared at me dumbfounded and just couldn't comprehend the time restraints that an OF is working under or why I didn't need this aggravation. All involved were every bit "Obtuse" as the warden. So we now move on to plan C. or D if forget now. I refused to learn Spanish on philosophical grounds so I will spend the summer taking ASL back at my old Alma mater, Tall Corn College and Technical Institute then take two more semesters of it at the U.

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*Enough about me…..

*We lost Aunt Toni to cancer on April 8Th. As anyone who has ever dealt with what she called “a terrible disease with treatments as terrible as the cancer itself” knows it is wrenching to watch someone as bright, funny, unselfish and caring as Tony struggle toward the end. She will truly be missed by us all.

*As the previous post noted Arwen turned five on Tuesday and is ready to graduate preschool and move on to kindergarten. It is hard not to be proud, as her mom always points out she is such a mini-me… For those of you that that are shaking your heads out of sympathy for her, cut that out! She has been blessed with her moms brains and signing talent and my Carsonesque sense of humor.

*Finals week is winding down, the honey do list is growing beyond any realistic possibility of completion, and plans have been laid to attend Oshkosh in July. So it’s time to roll out the camper, fill the mini fridge and let the summer begin.

Happy Birthday Arwen Grace!

The big 5.0! My how you have grown...

Love Dad

LA Times Rebuttal

I don’t normally respond to the opinion pages of the major media here at the Salmon. For the most part bloggers that spend their time doing so is the equivalent of the tree falling in the forest or one hand clapping, but an Op Ed piece in the LA Times this week deserves a response simply because the writer saw fit to revise history in an attempt to strengthen his argument. As a student of history, or history student if you will, I believe I have an obligation to refute revisionist history wherever it may raise its ugly head.

In this piece, Andrew Gumbel is lamenting what he sees as an unlevel playing field of the democratic party’s nominating process and then he veers off course and argues that the presidential election process has been hijacked several times in our history when he writes;

The will of the people has been even more compromised when it comes to general elections for the presidency. In fact, on every occasion in American history when the race for the White House has been close enough to be contested, the candidate with fewer votes has prevailed.It happened in 1800 -- admittedly, an age before mass suffrage rights -- when Thomas Jefferson managed to tie Aaron Burr in the Electoral College. Jefferson eventually won the election in the House of Representatives, thanks to the distorting effect of the "federal ratio" -- the rule that gave Southern slave owners an additional 3/5ths vote for each adult they enslaved.
It happened in 1824…. It happened in 1876…And, of course, it happened in 2000…
(Emphasis added)

Although I find the whole argument rather inane I will address the assertions about the 1800 election because that is Mr. Gumbel's first andmost egregious distortion of history. To be clear, Jefferson did not "manage to tie" Burr. Burr was in fact the vice presidential nominee, while incumbent President John Adams was the opponent in 1800. Jefferson beat Adams handily with 61% of the popular vote that was cast. It must be noted that some states at the time chose their electors in the legislature and not by popular vote. He also beat Adams in the number of electors.

The tie with Burr came in the Electoral College where electors had two votes, one for president and one for vice president but they did not have to specify which candidate they were voting for and in one of the bigger blunders in politics no one in the Democratic–Republican Party had the foresight to have just one elector not vote for Burr to ensure Jefferson’s victory. As a result the election was thrown into the House of Representatives. Burr, who was widely known at the time as a rather unscrupulous fellow, found himself in the position where he could possibly take the presidency. There is not evidence that Burr campaigned within the House to become president neither did he concede the position to Jefferson. With some behind the scene lobbying by Federalist Alexander Hamilton, who distrusted Jefferson but hated Burr, the House finally elected Jefferson on the 36th ballot. Vice President Burr would later kill Hamilton in their infamous duel.

The further assertion by Mr. Gumble that the Constitutional 3/5 Compromise skewed the election is actually the argument of writer Garry Wills in his book “Negro President": Jefferson and the Slave Power” and parroted by Edward Larson in “A Magnificent Catastrophe: The Tumultuous Election of 1800, America's First Presidential Campaign". I find Mr. Wills argument rather simplistic so on that level I would argue that if not for the 3/5th Compromise there would not have been an election for president at all because there would not have been a Union. But more importantly I would also add that although it’s fun to play “what if” the fact remains that the Compromise was the law and the politics of the day. For Wills or Gumble to assert that the election result was somehow tainted because of what was 19th century political reality is an example of historical revisionism at its darkest.

Note: The Hoover Institute has a debate between Garry Wills and historian Jack Rakove about the effects of the 3/5 Compromise on early American politics. Their differences on applying today’s moral standards to historical events is particularly interesting. (Run time is 25 min.)

Note II: Since I spend an hour or two a day in the car for my commute to the U, I have taken to listening to books on CD from the local library. I had recently finished the Larson book and although I thought at the time that his 3/5 compromise interpretation was odd I didn't really question it until I came upon it again in the Gumble article. Strange how those things happen eh?

Twisted Metal

The Bent, Folded, Spindled and Mutilated. Via Dry Roasted Blend

The improbable flight of the one winged F-15.

The Peace Sign Turns 50

From BBC News: It started life as the emblem of the British anti-nuclear movement but it has become an international sign for peace, and arguably the most widely used protest symbol in the world. It has also been adapted, attacked and commercialized.

Basketball Hero

Attention Parents; Kids and Fire Alarms.

Flotsam and Jetsam: Moose

Adult Moose Finder.com









The Moose's Tooth: A granite outcropping jutting from Denali's Ruth Glacier. Or the best Pizza and Brewpub in Anchorage. Love the Ale but as much as I like halibut I found that some things have no place on a pizza.

Those two practicle jokers, Frank and Earl, liked to sneak up on sleeping bears. This is the last picture of the pair. The camera and the plate from Earl's head was found in a big pile of bear scat just outside of Seward in 1957. From the Moose Pass, Alaska photo archives.










Suicidal Moose from the Anchorage Daily News; "A swing-shift trooper based in Girdwood, Peterson was cruising the Seward Highway the night of Feb. 2 a couple miles north of McHugh Creek when something big and black fell from the sky, landing about 20 feet from his car."

Updated: From the desk of Geroge Santayana

"A mans memory may almost become the art of continually varying and misrepresenting his past to his interests in the present"
George Santayana

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Update:


A timely example of the insight of George Santayana which I posted yesterday. Thanks Hill, your the gift that keeps on giving.

Update II: I Don't know who would put out such a obvious attack video as the one posted above, but I am glad that someone has set the story straight.

The Obama Speech

The hoo ha over Barack Obama’s minister and his resulting explanation has been dissected from every conceivable angle but I will, I hope, add one more. As I recently watched the video two things were glaringly absent.

First, the church experience for a young family such as the Obama’s extends beyond the spiritual. Religion is often seen a social and educational opportunity for parents seeking to build a moral base for their developing young children. The media have focused on what did Obama know, when did he know it and how could he have stayed in a church that espoused such radical views. But where was Michelle in this relationship with the Trinity United Church of Christ? What role did she play in the decision to attend this congregation?

A family’s religious choice does not happen in a vacuum, yet nowhere in this speech is there a peek into their religious expectations or decisions. Nowhere is there a reference to a night where the couple sat in front of the fireplace with a cold bottle of Chianti and debated the tenets of their church or whether it was an appropriate atmosphere for their daughters. From some of Michelle’s remarks, which echo the rhetoric of Pastor Wright, she may have been a bigger factor in remaining in this church than her husband. But we don’t know that... Obama never tells us.

Second, although he states that he disagreed with the messages emanating from the pulpit he only now disavows the sermons of his pastor. Nowhere does he mention that he and his minister ever discussed the messages that he found troubling. This is a person that reportedly touched Obama’s soul, yet nowhere is there an indication that the man he portrays as an Uncle ever spent an evening in front of the fireplace with a case of Colt 45 passionately debating the fact that it is ’08 not ’68 and the experience of the black man in America has evolved in the last 40 years.

You are left with the impression that Obama was on the outside looking in during these events. He was simply a detached spectator to the people (including his Grandmother) which played such large role in his life. Perhaps if he had exuded a sense that he was an active participant in this he may have some credibility. Without it the speech was little more than a history of race relations in America or a well written campaign stump speech.

If he didn’t have the personal courage to intervene in dialog that he so passionately disagreed with in a small intimate group like his family or church how can we expect him to do the right thing in the White House?

The Ressurection

Matthew 28:1-10
1After the Sabbath, at dawn on the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to look at the tomb.
2There was a violent earthquake, for an angel of the Lord came down from heaven and, going to the tomb, rolled back the stone and sat on it. 3His appearance was like lightning, and his clothes were white as snow. 4The guards were so afraid of him that they shook and became like dead men.
5The angel said to the women, "Do not be afraid, for I know that you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified. 6He is not here; he has risen, just as he said. Come and see the place where he lay. 7Then go quickly and tell his disciples: 'He has risen from the dead and is going ahead of you into Galilee. There you will see him.' Now I have told you."
8So the women hurried away from the tomb, afraid yet filled with joy, and ran to tell his disciples. 9Suddenly Jesus met them. "Greetings," he said. They came to him, clasped his feet and worshiped him. 10Then Jesus said to them, "Do not be afraid. Go and tell my brothers to go to Galilee; there they will see me."

Education in Crisis: Part III

As the California Judge H. Walter Coskey noted In Part I, "A primary purpose of the educational system is to train school children in good citizenship, patriotism and loyalty to the state and the nation as a means of protecting the public welfare," The question then is who decides what defines citizenship and what exactly are the citizens patriotic and loyal to.

Studies indicate that a left wing bias dominates the teaching profession and we have all heard anecdotes of bias in colleges and universities which are far from being a forum for a diversity of ideas. As one study notes, “They are virtual one-party states, ideological monopolies, badly unbalanced ecosystems. They are utterly flightless birds with only one wing to flap. They do not, when it comes to political and cultural ideas, look like America," (Chow) So if we expect that the cultural ideas promoted by the public school system should reflect our history and culture for the good of society what then is the goal of the reconstructionists? I’ll let them explain.

The Transformation of Society
Ultimately, the goal of multicultural education is to contribute progressively and proactively to the transformation of society and to the application and maintenance of social justice and equity.

This stands to reason, as the transformation of schools necessarily transforms a society that puts so much stock in educational attainment, degrees, and test scores. In fact, it is particularly this competitive, capitalistic framing of the dominant mentality of the United States (and increasingly, with the "help" of the United States, the world) that multicultural education aims to challenge, shake, expose, and critique. This is precisely the reason that it is not enough to continue working within an ailing, oppressive, and outdated system to make changes, when the problems in education are themselves symptoms of a system that continues to be controlled by the economic elite.

One does not need to study education too closely to recognize that schools consistently provide continuing privilege to the privileged and continuing struggle for the struggling with very little hope of upward mobility. "Informal" tracking, standardized testing, discrepancies in the quality of schools within and across regions, and other practices remain from the industrial-age model of schools. Only the terminology has changed -- and the practices are not quite as overt.

Educators, educational theorists, researchers, activists, and everyone else must continue to practice and apply multicultural teaching and learning principles both inside and out of the classroom. We must not allow the knowledge that most people working in schools are well-intentioned to lead us to assume that our schools are immune to the oppression and inequity of society. We must ask the un-askable questions. We must explore and deconstruct structures of power and privilege that serve to maintain the status quo.

In a sense, multicultural education uses the transformation of self and school as a metaphor and starting place for the transformation of society. Ultimately, social justice and equity in schools can, and should, mean social justice and equity in society. Only then will the purpose of multicultural education be fully achieved.

As you can see, the rhetoric of the multiculturalist educator is nothing more than a repackaging of Marxist dogma. As Marx wrote, “The Communists have not intended the intervention of society in education; they do but seek to alter the character of that intervention, and to rescue education from the influence of the ruling class.”

This is not to say that teachers are a monolithic group whose goal is the programming of students into leftist automatons bent on undermining two centuries of American political culture. Of all the professors I have encountered the last two years many, but not all, adhere to this agenda to various degrees but are usually subtle in their approach. You can see it in the direction that debates or subject matter is steered while attempting to appear objective, while others make the occasional snide aside in lecture that gives a snapshot into their ideology. Only once did I have a professor that openly stated that “We (the U.S.) suck!”

The multiculturalist/ reconsonstructionist agenda is contrary to the purpose of education as envisioned by men like Thomas Jefferson who believed that if Liberty was to be maintained citizens must be educated in republican ideals. I would guess that this philosophy is also contrary to what most people would expect from the education system. If only they knew.

Funny!

Flotsam and Jetsam: Climate Conspiracy

Terrorism, bird flu, President Hillary, as if I don't have enough to worry about. Now I find that the government is using aircraft to seed the atmosphere which evidently leads to cooling.
The Chemtrail Conspiracy.

But wait there's more. Now I discover that some idiot (probably employed at FEMA) has turned off the sunspot generator which is also cooling the planet.
The Sunspot Conspiracy.

All this has led to the glacerization of the Great Lakes. OK maybe I exaggerate but the pictures are pretty cool. The Lake Huron Conspiracy

Perhaps we have been here before and there really isn't anything to worry about.
Historical Global Warming Conspiracies.

Iditarod Wrap Up.

There are still a dozen mushers on the trail and several are making a dash from White Mountain hoping to arrive in time for tonight's Iditarod Awards Banquet that is held the Sunday after the winner makes it to Nome. One person that wont make the festivities though is this years Red Lantern Winner who is still out on the trail . The Red Lantern for the last musher to cross the line started as a joke but became an Iditarod tradition .

From Iditarod.com

During the days of Alaska sled dog freighting and mail carrying, dog drivers relied on a series of roadhouses between their village destinations. Since these mushers ventured out in most all kinds of weather, for safety reasons they found the idea that pilots rely on, known today as the flight plan.
Word was relayed ahead that a musher and team were on the trail, and a kerosene lamp was lit and hung outside the roadhouse. It not only helped the dog driver find his destination at night, but more importantly, it signified that a team or teams were somewhere out on the trail. The lamp was not extinguished until the musher safely reached his destination.
In keeping with that tradition, the Iditarod Trail Committee will light a “Widow’s Lamp” at 10:00 a.m., on the first Sunday in March, in Nome at the trail’s end. This lamp, which will be attached to the Burled Arch, our official finish line, will remain lit as long as there are mushers on the trail competing in the race. When the last musher crosses the finish line, officials will extinguish the “Widow’s Lamp” signifying the official end of the Iditarod for that year.
All too often, public and media think of the race as being over when the winner crosses the finish line, yet there are still teams on the trail. We hope you will find this often overlooked part of the race worthy of your attention. There are many very good stories about these other mushers on the trail.

Often the “Red Lantern” is confused with the “Widow’s Lamp.” They are not the same. An article several years ago in Alaska magazine states that the first red lantern was awarded in the 1953 Fur Rendezvous Race. According to Alaska,
“Awarding a red lantern for the last place finisher in a sled dog race has become an Alaskan tradition. It started as a joke and has become a symbol of stick-to-itiveness in the mushing world.”

Congratulations to all the mushers that participated in the Last Great Race On Earth.

Final Standings.

Update: Race Awards Announced at Mushers Banquet

Education in Crisis: Part II

Since I wrote the previous piece on the attack on home schools in California, Governor Schwartzenegger has promised to pursue legislation protecting home schools in his state. (Education in Crisis Part I) My concern, as I mentioned is not so much where the children are learning but the method by which that learning takes place and by extension what they are forced to learn.

By and large what goes on in that big brick neighborhood building we call a school goes largely ignored or unnoticed. If you told a parent that his child is undergoing a Multicultural Education most would not be aware of the term nor could they define it. Most would equate it with the idea that in our increasingly ethnically diverse society multicultural education is nothing more than diversity training for the very young. At its most innocuous level this part of multicultural education is probably true. Who’s child has not had to do a project on Martin Luther King during Black History Month. The problem is that it extends beyond the scope that we can all get along to potentially altering the basic fabric of American society.

What we now call multicultural education originated in the 1960s in the wake of the civil rights movement as a corrective to the long-standing de facto policy of assimilating minority groups into the "melting pot" of dominant American culture (Sobol, 1990). Multicultural education has captured almost daily headlines in recent years, as it has become an ever more contentious and politicized battleground. To cite just two instances, attempts to establish multicultural curricula in New York City and California were the subject of considerable public attention.

In the debate over New York's Children of the Rainbow curriculum, opponents such as Arthur Schlesinger, Jr. (1991) argued that multicultural education threatened to divide students along racial and cultural lines, rather than unite them as Americans. The public debate continues. As recently as May 1994, a school board in Lake County, Florida, voted that its schools could teach children about other cultures, but only as a way of teaching them that American culture was inherently "superior," a decision much discussed around the country ("School Board," 1994). (Burnett)

Multicultural Education as it is presented to budding young teachers in the college ranks builds on the idea that people of different cultures or socioeconomic strata may learn differently and as such it is unjust to force that student to learn in a style that may be contrary to that student’s cultural background, regardless if that learning style or behavior is inferior to the American system. It is a purely relativist perspective that forces the educator to formulate educational experiences for as many different “styles” of learning as may be found in their particular classroom without questioning the behaviors of the particular student. Taken to the extreme multiculturalsim works to eradicate the idea of “American Exceptionalism” and eliminate assimilation into American culture that has been the cornerstone of Americas successful integration of diverse peoples for over two centuries.

Of course the teaching profession is not a monolithic group and I don’t want to imply that teachers are marching in lockstep in some multicultural conspiracy. There are in fact several levels of commitment to this dogma.

1. The Human Relations approach students are taught about commonalities of all people through understanding their social and cultural differences but not their differences in institutional and economic power.
2. The Single Group Studies approach is about the histories and contemporary issues of oppression of people of color, women, low socioeconomic groups, and gays and lesbians.
3. The Multicultural Education approach promotes the transformation of the
educational process to reflect the ideals of democracy in a pluralistic society. Students are taught content using instructional methods that value cultural knowledge and differences.
4. The Social Reconstructionist approach to multicultural education goes a step
further to teach students about oppression and discrimination. Students learn about their roles as social change agents so that they may participate in the generation of a more equitable society. (Hanley)

This is just an introduction into the world of Multiculturalist educational thinking and for further information on the topic I suggest reading the works of Hanley and Bennet linked in this piece. Next time we will take a look at the extremist view of this dogma and the direction it is taking America.