Crapper bashing

Western civilization continues to take a beating. Nothing is sacred. If it was the creation of the white man, it is subject to criticism.

And the libs here at home are about as self-deprecating as they come. They go out of their way to distance themselves from their European roots.

Why, even the water closet isn’t above reproach. No sir. Flush toilets aren’t all they are cracked up to be.

During a “dry run” of the Olympics in China, they held an event at the “Water Cube” venue…only to discover that not everyone in the world likes China’s squat toilets.

Having traveled in China I was pleased to hear someone raise the question. Sit-down, flush toilets are just fine with me.

I went in search of a few photos of the squat toilet to help me explain the problem to my coworkers. And I stumbled upon this little gem in Wikipedia:
Proponents of squat toilets argue that:
*It is less expensive and easier to clean and maintain.
*It does not involve any contact between the buttocks and a potentially unsanitary surface.
*The lack of water in the bowl avoids the problem of splashing.
*Squatting might help to build the required pressure more comfortably and quickly.
*Squatting makes elimination faster, easier and more complete.
*Elimination in squatting posture protects the nerves that control the prostate, bladder and uterus from becoming stretched and damaged.
*Squatting relaxes the puborectalis muscle which normally chokes the rectum in order to maintain continence.
*Squatting securely seals the ileocecal valve, between the colon and the small intestine. In the conventional sitting position, this valve is unsupported and often leaks during evacuation.
*For pregnant women, squatting avoids pressure on the uterus when using the toilet. Daily squatting helps prepare the mother-to-be for a more natural delivery.
*Squatting may reduce the occurrence or severity of hemorrhoids and possibly other colorectal disorders such as diverticulosis and appendicitis.

I’m telling you, the libs will find something amiss in all things Western. They just can’t leave things alone.

I also came across this sign for the toilets in airports. My first thought was that it is a message to Senator Larry Craig!

Pesky data

You can probably guess that I’m not a fan of the global warming theory. But I’m not the kind of critic who makes global warming jokes on a cold day in Chicago. I understand the frustration of the green folks who tell us we have to look at the trends over time.

I also understand that you must consider what is going on at the poles in order to get a handle on it.

I’ve written before about the renegade from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change who remarked that meteorologists ought to know better than to predict what will happen in 100 years when they can’t even tell you what the weekend will be like weatherwise!

So the latest assault on global warming comes from the analysis of the NASA Aqua project data. It seems that reality is NOT following the computer model. Here Al Gore is telling us that surface temps are going up and up…and NASA is recording that they are going down.

Link: http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,23411799-7583,00.html

Well, we’re not talking about this winter. It was a fluke.

Actually, NASA is talking about the trend since the year 2002 and based on other data from 1998 – TEN YEARS AGO!

How inconvenient! Why this might change everything. The politicians have made their speeches. Accords have been signed. Gore won the Nobel Prize. Even the Wall Street Journal had an entire section today about ecology and business. Here in Elgin we hired a consultant for $10,000 to study ways for the city to go green.

And the carbon credits and carbon footprints. An entire economic model all dressed up with nowhere to go. Whatever will the libs do now?

Well, there’s always lead paint in toys. Or gun control. Or abortion rights. Or ending the war.

Of course, the reasonable thing to do is take a sensible approach to making our machines more fuel-efficient and cleaner running. Of course we should look at other ways to fuel our society. But that isn’t new. Those ideas go back to the 1960s. And one look at the cars of just 50 years ago will tell you that we have made significant progress.

My guess is that killing the global warming machine will take a couple of decades. Folks with a liberal education are always looking for a job. And this one looked like a winner. Maybe they’ll keep it alive long enough to retire.

Judging from the lack of media coverage on the Aqua data, they just might be able to go 50 years with this little charade of junk science.

I've changed my mind

I’m not sure how far this story has traveled. It comes out of Crestwood, Illinois. A woman parked her car at the store and took some children over to the Salvation Army kettle so they could deposit $8 of their money to help the poor.

Her mistake was in leaving her two-year-old asleep in the car. She was arrested by a community service officer and charged with child endangerment, even though she was only 30 feet away from the car, the doors were locked, and she was NOT going shopping.

It was clear she was just making that 30 foot trip from the car to the store entrance and back to the car again.

I was pleased to see that the case was dismissed because I think it was the right thing to do.

But I changed my mind when the lady filed suit against the Crestwood Police for false arrest. Now I wish they had locked the woman up. She went from hero to jerk when she just had to counter-sue with damages.

The older I get the less I believe, “It’s the principle of the thing.”

Sí, lo hicimos.

The enduring rallying cry of Latinos for so called comprehensive immigration reform is, “¡Sí, se puede!” or “Yes, we can!” Or perhaps more correctly translated as, “Yes, it is possible.”

The phrase goes back to the early 1970’s when Cesar Chavez was fighting for the rights of migrant farm workers. It plays well for Obama as well, especially when he is in a crowd of union members. The SEIU uses it to get janitors to vote to organize a union at work.

But it is only a valid battle cry because of this one: “¡Sí, lo hicimos!” which means, “Yes, we did it!” We sometimes fail to realize the living history of amnesty and what it means to an illegal alien.

First, there was the 1986 amnesty program that granted forgiveness and a path to citizenship for approximately 2.7 million people, followed by two more official extensions to gather in those who didn’t apply for the program the first time around. Then there were after-the-fact amnesty programs calling some illegals “refugees” after they were already here.

There is also a constant flow of people being granted individual amnesty.

This means that since 1986 SEVEN MILLION people who came here illegally have been given a pathway to citizenship. It is this group who stands as an example to the illegals today. “Yes, we did it and you can, too!” Think about that for a moment; we have 37 million foreign-born in the United States and HALF OF THEM EITHER ARE OR WERE ILLEGAL ALIENS. HALF! The problem has become so wide-spread that our politicians talk about it as though it were normal. "It is no big deal. Why do you weirdos want to start deporting people?"

Bush and Fox have been sending signals since 2001 that the United States was poised to offer an amnesty program. In a January 2004 survey of people caught at the border they found:
• 45% crossed illegally based on rumors of a Bush administration amnesty.
• 63% received Mexican government or media information supporting the notion of a Bush administration amnesty.
• 80% desired to apply for amnesty.

Is it any wonder people head north when their politicians (and ours as well) are greasing the wheels for them to come here?

I imagine cell phone calls where people living here illegally tell their countrymen about the birth of a child. “The hospitals are much better here and we were unable to pay so they treated us for free. And Tito is automatically a citizen.” People on the other end must think they are exaggerating. But we know they are not.

“Yes, we did it!” is proof positive of “Yes, we can!” When will we wise up?

What Obama said

I read Obama’s speech on racism in America. What I took away from it was a depressing feeling that we are all VICTIMS in Barack’s eyes. He threw us all into the same pot and called us victims of disunity.

And he left no one out. How sweet of him to be inclusive. The white man who has lost his job to offshore competition. The woman who has hit the glass ceiling. The illegal alien. Asian, black, Hispanic, white…only the elderly were excluded.

Who are the bad guys in Obama’s drama? Who are his “real culprits”? He tells us “a corporate culture rife with inside dealing, questionable accounting practices, and short-term greed; a Washington dominated by lobbyists and special interests; economic policies that favor the few over the many.”

And what are the solutions? Obama says, “by investing in our schools and our communities; by enforcing our civil rights laws and ensuring fairness in our criminal justice system; by providing this generation with ladders of opportunity that were unavailable for previous generations.”

And for good measure he talks about banning the scarcity mentality. Would you all please just “realize that your dreams do not have to come at the expense of my dreams; that investing in the health, welfare, and education of black and brown and white children will ultimately help all of America prosper.”

I’m not sure what we have been doing here in America for the last 40+ years, but obviously Obama has a different solution. Why do I picture him in the Oval Office sitting cross-legged on the floor with the movers and shakers of America and the world, validating one another and singing Kumbaya? At the end of the meeting our unity has solved all of our problems including taxation and the national debt.

I must come to the defense of Obama’s grandmother, the woman who raised him. Perhaps she expressed her dislike for black men because the burden of raising little Bar fell squarely on her shoulders when Obama’s black father abandoned the family and his mother decided to help the poor in Indonesia. Perhaps the way the Kenyan treated his family colored her view of all black men. All he could say is that she made him “cringe” to hear her talk that way.

I suppose there were times when she wished her hippie daughter had been more responsible as well, but we’re not in to liberal bashing at the moment.

Obama put his grandmother up as ballast against the preacher Jeremy Wright. He wants us to believe she is the anti-Wright, symbolic of whites who don’t understand the plight of black people, creating the need for racist sermons. Someone who doesn’t understand black people.

Maybe so, but I think she’s just a pragmatic woman who keeps her opinions to herself and did her best to raise the child of a marriage she never approved of in the first place. Typical behavior from the Greatest Generation. Barack should be ashamed of himself.

The audacity of dopes

Members of the Illinois GOP from the 14th Congressional District have made a bold move. They called a press conference yesterday and declared that they are 100% opposed to drowning healthy kittens.

Actually, they have called for an end to political robo-calls. Same thing, I suppose. Who is going to protest a move like that? Well, the people who provide the calls themselves perhaps. Or the candidates. But they would be fools to make a public stink about a rule that was blatantly self-serving to begin with.

It took a great deal of “testicular virility” for Munson and Schmitz to call a press conference and declare that they were introducing a bill in the state house banning robocalls in Illinois.

It will be the first such bill in the nation, except for nine other states who have already adopted it.

And it was so cutting edge that Tom Cross, GOP leader in Illinois also joined the parade.

Did I mention their display of derring-do when they defied the schedule for introducing bills? Yes, they should have had all their new legislation in to the powers that be no later than February 15th. Gosh, they were over a month late this time. And, they put more pressure on Springfield by sending it in with a press conference.

The audacity of these leaders is astounding!

One good thing has come of this exercise. We now know they are capable of taking a public stand on something. So next time someone decides to slip in a bill to forbid screening Social Security numbers, these three are sure to quickly call a press conference to introduce a bill to undo the damage.

But wait, that would be controversial. And the duo of Madigan and Jones block the gates so nothing makes it to the floor anyway. You have to pick your battles carefully in politics.

Well, thanks Ruth and Tim. Now Denny Hastert and Laura Bush won’t call my house anymore. Thanks a lot.

Racial innocence

I share with you an excerpt from this opinion piece in the Wall Street Journal written by Shelby Steele (biography here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shelby_steele )

How to turn one's blackness to advantage?

The answer is that one "bargains." Bargaining is a mask that blacks can wear in the American mainstream, one that enables them to put whites at their ease. This mask diffuses the anxiety that goes along with being white in a multiracial society. Bargainers make the subliminal promise to whites not to shame them with America's history of racism, on the condition that they will not hold the bargainer's race against him. And whites love this bargain -- and feel affection for the bargainer -- because it gives them racial innocence in a society where whites live under constant threat of being stigmatized as racist. So the bargainer presents himself as an opportunity for whites to experience racial innocence.

This is how Mr. Obama has turned his blackness into his great political advantage, and also into a kind of personal charisma. Bargainers are conduits of white innocence, and they are as popular as the need for white innocence is strong. Mr. Obama's extraordinary dash to the forefront of American politics is less a measure of the man than of the hunger in white America for racial innocence.

His actual policy positions are little more than Democratic Party boilerplate and hardly a tick different from Hillary's positions. He espouses no galvanizing political idea. He is unable to say what he means by "change" or "hope" or "the future." And he has failed to say how he would actually be a "unifier." By the evidence of his slight political record (130 "present" votes in the Illinois state legislature, little achievement in the U.S. Senate) Barack Obama stacks up as something of a mediocrity. None of this matters much.

Race helps Mr. Obama in another way -- it lifts his political campaign to the level of allegory, making it the stuff of a far higher drama than budget deficits and education reform. His dark skin, with its powerful evocations of America's tortured racial past, frames the political contest as a morality play. Will his victory mean America's redemption from its racist past? Will his defeat show an America morally unevolved? Is his campaign a story of black overcoming, an echo of the civil rights movement? Or is it a passing-of-the-torch story, of one generation displacing another?

Because he is black, there is a sense that profound questions stand to be resolved in the unfolding of his political destiny. And, as the Clintons have discovered, it is hard in the real world to run against a candidate of destiny. For many Americans -- black and white -- Barack Obama is simply too good (and too rare) an opportunity to pass up. For whites, here is the opportunity to document their deliverance from the shames of their forbearers. And for blacks, here is the chance to document the end of inferiority. So the Clintons have found themselves running more against America's very highest possibilities than against a man. And the press, normally happy to dispel every political pretension, has all but quivered before Mr. Obama. They, too, have feared being on the wrong side of destiny.

And yet, in the end, Barack Obama's candidacy is not qualitatively different from Al Sharpton's or Jesse Jackson's. Like these more irascible of his forbearers, Mr. Obama's run at the presidency is based more on the manipulation of white guilt than on substance. Messrs. Sharpton and Jackson were "challengers," not bargainers. They intimidated whites and demanded, in the name of historical justice, that they be brought forward. Mr. Obama flatters whites, grants them racial innocence, and hopes to ascend on the back of their gratitude. Two sides of the same coin.

But bargainers have an Achilles heel. They succeed as conduits of white innocence only as long as they are largely invisible as complex human beings. They hope to become icons that can be identified with rather than seen, and their individual complexity gets in the way of this. So bargainers are always laboring to stay invisible. (We don't know the real politics or convictions of Tiger Woods or Michael Jordan or Oprah Winfrey, bargainers all.) Mr. Obama has said of himself, "I serve as a blank screen on which people of vastly different political stripes project their own views . . ." And so, human visibility is Mr. Obama's Achilles heel. If we see the real man, his contradictions and bents of character, he will be ruined as an icon, as a "blank screen."

Thus, nothing could be more dangerous to Mr. Obama's political aspirations than the revelation that he, the son of a white woman, sat Sunday after Sunday -- for 20 years -- in an Afrocentric, black nationalist church in which his own mother, not to mention other whites, could never feel comfortable. His pastor, Rev. Jeremiah Wright, is a challenger who goes far past Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson in his anti-American outrage ("God damn America").

How does one "transcend" race in this church? The fact is that Barack Obama has fellow-traveled with a hate-filled, anti-American black nationalism all his adult life, failing to stand and challenge an ideology that would have no place for his own mother. And what portent of presidential judgment is it to have exposed his two daughters for their entire lives to what is, at the very least, a subtext of anti-white vitriol?

What could he have been thinking? Of course he wasn't thinking. He was driven by insecurity, by a need to "be black" despite his biracial background. And so fellow-traveling with a little race hatred seemed a small price to pay for a more secure racial identity. And anyway, wasn't this hatred more rhetorical than real?

But now the floodlight of a presidential campaign has trained on this usually hidden corner of contemporary black life: a mindless indulgence in a rhetorical anti-Americanism as a way of bonding and of asserting one's blackness. Yet Jeremiah Wright, splashed across America's television screens, has shown us that there is no real difference between rhetorical hatred and real hatred.

Shelby Steele – Wall Street Journal 3/18/2008

What's more Mexican than Mexico?

Well, as it turns out…good old Yankee television (sort of).

You might have a Telemundo station in your town. They broadcast Spanish-language programming here in the United States.

What I didn’t know is that Telemundo is owned by NBC Universal. And NBC Universal is owned by General Electric.

So the Peacock owns Telemundo.

Now, there is a market for Telemundo in Mexico. So they signed a deal with a Mexican broadcast company to air Telemundo programming south of the border. How about that?

I haven’t got a clue what is so special about Telemundo. I always thought they bought their programming from Mexico, but I guess not. What I see when I tune in is soccer, novellas and a Spanish imitation of The Benny Hill Show. It’s fun to watch shows like Batman with Spanish audio. Maybe that is the attraction.

I suppose the deal makes more sense than American flags made in China.

Another lesson

Let me hear it again, George. New-clee-er.

Calderon - The end of his remarks -FINALLY!

I want to tell you, friends, I am not a President who is willing…I am not going to resign myself to watching us lose the best of our people.

I am determined to transform Mexico because I know it is possible to transform Mexico from a country that has been knocked down by delinquency, crime, corruption to a Mexico where the law is the same for everyone and where our families can go out and play, study, work, and live in peace and dignity.

Yes it possible to transform Mexico from a backward economy and develop it into a powerful, strong economy that grows and generates jobs.

Some analysts like Goldman Sachs say that Mexico can become the fifth largest economy in the world by the year 2050. I am telling you, coutrymen, that we are going to transform our economy, we are making the right decisions, we are facing short term political costs now because we are determined to make Mexico the fifth largest economy in the world that creates jobs and creates growth for our children.

It is possible to transform a Mexico from a country with enormous differences, the poverty you know exists, to a country that can provide equal opportunities for all.

This is why we are investing over 20 billion dollars a year for education and health. This is why we are working hard for the people who don’t have a doctor, medicine…so they can truly have access to it.

For those who aren’t on Social Security, for those who aren’t on ISSSTE, the previous government started to create Popular Insurance.

I received the Popular Insurance program with 14 million beneficiaries when I began my Presidency. We have added to the Secretary of Health budget 60 percent for health. Now there are 23 million beneficiaries and by the year 2010 there will be 37 million.

With what we achieve in Mexico en 2011 all Mexicans will be covered by medical insurance, by universal health coverage.

We have also begun a program in which I promised during the election campaign that no child born in our great country would go without basic medical insurance. From the first day of my presidency we have provided medical insurance for a new generation. What this means is that any boy or girl by the very fact that they were born in Mexico has medical insurance for life for him or her and for all the family.

Yes, it is possible friends, to transform Mexico. You come from regions where you have seen our loss of forests and jungles. Every year we lose around 300,000 hectares of forest land.

We are determined to recover our Mexico because this Mexico is our fatherland and must last forever. When your children someday return, because we are working on it, one day Mexico will have the necessary conditions so the people can return and live with dignity, where someday our children and grandchildren will be in Mexico…they can then see what we received from our grandparents…the natural resources, the forests, and the jungles. We are working hard on the environment.

Last year the United Nations began a program to plant millions of trees around the world…thousands of millions. In Mexico alone last year we planted more than 250 million trees, more than a fourth of the world goal.

We are working because it is possible to transform our country. With our reforestation effort that we did, we are reforesting twice as many hectares as we lose every year through fires or harvesting.

Friends of Illinois. Mexicans. I want to announce that this morning I was with leaders from diverse organizations and communities and I took particular note of the worries, the needs, and the complaints that you have here.

You can be sure that the Government of Mexico will be close to you. We are going to work, and work hard, shoulder to shoulder, elbow to elbow with you to reverse this practice of harassment, disrespect, discrimination that in some cases in know is the public opinion in the United States against migrants and against Mexicans.

We are also going to work hard to build an atmosphere that will permit us to have agreements that will allow and generate a legal framework all can agree upon for a legal, ordered, and secure migration, which is exactly what will make this economy grow and create the next step in the phenomenon of a natural weight between the United States and Mexico.

That we will continue working so that Mexico becomes a grand and strong country…that it creates jobs…to make it so that our people never again have to leave in search of a better future.

And finally, let me tell you that those of us who are still in Mexico are there working hard. We miss you very much. Because everyone, at least in my land in Michoacan, have a relative, a cousin, a brother-in-law in the United States.

That our families pray and pray hard every day for you, for loved ones who are with us always, but who many times have not been able to return for reasons we all know.

We miss you greatly. We work hard so that one day our great nation will achieve growth levels so we can meet again.

Yes, it is possible to transform Mexico, friends. Yes, it is possible to change our Mexico and we are working hard, thanks to you and the support you send to your people, the support of the programs that make it possible for production projects and public works.

That is our persistence. That is our work. The reason I am here is to tell you this: Regardless of how hard your circumstances now, we are with you. We are firmly with you.

And know that wherever there is a Mexican in the United States, the government of Mexico will be there to support you.

Thank you very much. And may God bless you.

Obama gets Romney-ized

The airwaves are abuzz with religion and politics once again. But this time the Clinton war machine has taken aim at Barack Obama and where he goes on Sunday. And the press has picked up the scent of blood.

The core question is this: “How does one’s religious affiliation affect one’s ability to govern?” At the edges are whether or not a candidate is responsible for the teachings of his church.

Obama’s Pastor, Jeremy Wright, Jr. is characterized as liberal, very liberal. And very vocal.

All politicians work the middle and send discrete signals to their fringe supporters. So this presents a problem for Senator O. Did the media expose the true feelings of Obama, or merely stumble on a hellfire and damnation black preacher?

Trinity is affiliated with the United Church of Christ. I recall in the late 1970’s I worked with a lady who attended the United Church of Christ. She was a rather conservative person who sought some religious grounding outside the Catholic Church after marrying a non-Catholic. (That was a rather common scenario for a couple of generations.)

We were talking about some of the civil rights leaders like Jesse Jackson and Andrew Young and their close ties to the UCC. She quickly spoke up, “Don’t tell Jack (her husband). He likes our church and would go nuts if he knew.”

So, I’m guessing the United Church of Christ is theologically rather open. There appears to be room for just about everyone. But not much to hold on to except what comes out of your pastor’s mouth.

Back to Obama, just like the Romney situation, one would be hard-pressed to find credible evidence that his religious background has influenced his voting record. I for one am more worried about Obama on social program spending, taxation and foreign affairs.

Politics and religion

Part of the battle over Obama’s church is the threat of the IRS. As people hear what Mr. Wright has been saying over the years, they are starting to question Trinity’s tax-exempt status.

You see, churches are supposed to stay out of politics.

The incident has opened my eyes to my own church. I belong to a church with thousands of congregations throughout the United States. They are very careful about things legal. For example, new signs were prepared for all the rooms labeled “Kitchen”. They now read “Serving Area”. Why? Because the church could lose its tax-exempt status if food were prepared and sold, even for church fundraisers.

Then there is the sign in the church driveway that says, “Parking for church purposes only.” For several years they closed off the parking lots with padlocks and chains for one day a year in an effort to establish their territory.

As a boy growing up I recall our churches being used as polling places. And as recently as 50 years ago, church leaders were open about their political affiliations, at times even endorsing individual candidates.

Somewhere along the way the church halted the practice of holding elections in the churches. And they regularly read letters to the congregation to reaffirm political neutrality.

Now I come to find out that the change has less to do with theology and more to do with the IRS.

They have also been exerting their influence with state and national leaders in an effort to protect themselves against litigation. For example, when state legislatures debate holding charitable groups accountable for aiding and abetting illegal aliens, the church is there to protest.

It has less to do with illegals and more to do with protecting the church.

Most recently the church took issue with the SAVE act now being resurrected in Congress (God willing). They wanted congressmen to know that they were opposed to the part about churches sponsoring missionaries who are illegal aliens, but adding the comment, “The church has taken no position on the numerous other provisions in the bill.”

I’m getting less stupid all the time as I try to understand why. But that just begs more questions which makes me more stupid. One can never get ahead.

Schools in Chicago

There is another flurry of activity by Chicago politicians to fix the problem of violence in our schools. Last week at Crane High School one student was shot and killed while a second student was beaten with a golf club. (He remains in critical condition.)

So, the answer is “more police in the schools.” But read this quote from the Chicago Tribune: “But the mere presence of police is no guarantee that violence will be prevented. At Crane, about a dozen officers and school officials were on duty every morning and afternoon in an attempt to keep peace but were unable to stop the fatal shooting of student Ruben Ivy last Friday.”

What kind of high school has a dozen officers roaming the halls? Is that some sort of a clue that we’ve got problems? And yet the soundbites on the 10 o’clock news show neighbors and parents screaming for more cops in the hallways.

I made reference the other day to Lawndale High School where the president of Mexico spoke last month. It is actually four high schools in one. You’ll love the names they gave these schools. Here they are, with a short mission statement for each one:

Multicultural Arts High School
Vision
The Multicultural Arts School (MAS) will be a stimulating, exciting and safe school, offering youth a unique range of learning experiences and opportunities for self-expression. Through the arts integrated program we will create an environment of excellence that will prepare our students for college. The richness of art experiences will be ensured through vital partnerships with arts institutions and community artists, providing an arts environment unparalleled in the communities we will serve. MAS will put into practice the ideals of freedom, justice, equality, equity, and human dignity. It will be a place of respect for learners and teachers, and will foster unity and civic engagement among students from the North and South Lawndale communities. MAS educators will cultivate a common culture of respect, appreciation of differences, non-violence, and shared decision-making. Through cultural exploration, students will gain a sensitivity to the experiences of others and will learn to interpret and express historic, scientific and literary concepts through the arts.

Infinity Math, Science and Technology High School
Mission
Infinity High School is committed to providing a safe learning environment in a dignified manner. The staff fosters relationships with all students, assisting them to set and achieve goals to become life-long learners. Exposure to the latest multicultural, math, science, and technology research-based methods provides continuous professional development for staff and faculty and ensures that Infinity High School students experience quality teaching and learning opportunities. Infinity High School's rigorous, student-centered, academic program – along with its strong community link - forms a strategic connection that aids students in their educational and world-citizen development.


World Language High School
Mission
World Language High School provides a rigorous and challenging curriculum that connects the academic life of students to practical application. Through the study of world languages and promotion of cultural consciousness, our school empowers students academically and socially. Our students prepare for their next levels of education and gain the confidence to be positive influences in their communities, country, and the world.

Social Justice High School (my personal favorite)
Our Vision
The purpose of the school of social justice is to assure that all students become critical thinkers through a curriculum that is rigorous, innovative, and implemented through meaningful school relationships.Project based and problem based learning that addresses real world issues through the lenses of race, gender, culture, economic equity, peace, justice, and the environment will be the catalyst for developing our curriculum.Service learning will be the center of our curriculum. Our community and the city will be our classroom. All learning will be relevant to the lives of our students.We will increase student learning and achievement by building on what our students know and utilize their everyday experiences in order to build the excellence of basic skills and literacy.The professional community composed of administrators, teachers, students, parents and other community members will learn together and from one another.
------------end of Little Village Lawndale High School quote-----------------

I can’t wonder if the violence at Crane and the philosophies at Lawndale are somehow linked. Perhaps I can get a grant to study it. I’m thinking the title will be “The Impact of the Attitude of Entitlement on Public Education.” What do you think?

Calderon Part IV - Almost done

Friends, we want to draw closer to Mexicans in Chicago and in every other part of the world and the United States. And we are going to continue working on these five ambitious principles.

First, we are dedicating all available resources in order to improve government services. I know that many of our consulate services have left much to be desired and even more so now that the American authorities are asking for documents for just about everything.

For this reason, friends, I have declared in the budget that all the fees received for passports and other documents in the United States consulates will remain in those consulates to help improve service.

Second, Beginning this week in various Mexican consulates in the United States, but especially in the Chicago consulate, we will begin operating the mobile consulate offices with new contract personnel, with new vehicles, with new equipment, in order to travel to 80 different cities in the region to provide consular services.

We will continue working with you using the programs put into place by the administration of my predecessor Vincente Fox, like the Three for One, some local governments, like the government of Zacatecas, whose governor is here with us, Amalia Garcia. The governor of Guanajuato also, the governor of Colima, Silverio Cavazos, and of Guanajuato, Juan Manuel Oliva.

We will continue working with those programs and others as well. Today for example, we signed two agreements. One with the state of Illinois and another with the city of Chicago. An agreement for a teacher exchange. We will bring Mexican teachers here to teach our culture, our traditions. And from here we will send teachers to Mexico. Perhaps some of you can lend a hand to teach English in our communities, to our children who need that ability.

And second, we made an agreement so that the training and qualifications held by many Mexican workers can be certified by the consular authority here, the consulate of Mexico. So they can certify the abilities and training qualifications of Mexican workers and those certificates will be recognized by industry, in this case by the restaurant, hotel, and service industries in the state of Illinois. This was one accord we signed this morning here in this city.

Third, we will keep working to generate a distinct attitude regarding the immigration theme. It should be clear that the Mexicans, that Mexico, is not an enemy and that Mexicans are not a threat to this great nation.

We want to make the impression and make people recognize the enormous contribution Mexicans make on the economy of the United States. Recent studies have shown, the most important of which by the White House Council of Economic Advisors has shown that the migrant workers, especially the Mexicans, it is not certain that they displace native United States workers.

(I think he’s talking about this report: http://www.whitehouse.gov/cea/cea_immigration_062007.pdf
The White House makes a common big mistake here; they lump together immigrants and illegal aliens. They make another mistake as well; they assume the census data contains all the illegals along with the immigrants. Mistake #3; they exclude people being paid under the table- thus evading taxes. And being Washington, they pay no attention to the local fallout from social needs.
All that considered, the report doesn’t really praise Mexican workers. Page 8 has a bar chart of the education level of immigrants. Since 75% of illegal aliens have no college at all, Calderon might be misinterpreting the data.
We should also note the date of the report: June 2007. If I’m not mistaken Bush and Company were up on the Hill preaching comprehensive immigration reform at about that time. A report such as this would most certainly contain only good news and vague language. If you trust Washington explicitly, you’re reading the wrong blog! Now, back to the message.)

That to the contrary, by complementing the work they bring about higher wages for American workers as well. They calculate that the migratory labor force adds 30 billion dollars a year to the income of workers in the United States.

It has also been shown that on balance the migrant does not cost the American taxpayer. This study is not from the Mexican Government. It is from the United States Government White House Council of Economic Advisors. It tells is that the migrant pays much more in worker taxes to live in this country than he receives in services. And he is supporting a good part of the retirement pensions of thousands of United States workers.

We have to exert an enormous effort to change the image people have of the immigrant, of Mexico, of Mexicans. And this means to clearly emphasize the idea that we must build, we must pull together as our people say, we must harmonize our efforts with this great nation. Because the prosperity of the United States is directly linked to migrant work and especially from Mexico.
This natural phenomenon of two neighboring and close economies has existed for a long time between our nations. But you must remember especially during the second world war the North American government issued an invitation and there were thousands and thousands of workers from Mexico in the United States to help the workforce.

And while the young North Americans fought valiantly on the battle front for liberty, it was the Mexican workers who sustained the farm, industry, and other services of this great nation.

And since then the work of the Mexican has been a determining force in their prosperity, in growth, and in the greatness of the United States.

The bigger they are...

Mr. Clean, Elliott Spitzer, crime fighter and Governor of New York, has resigned his post after it came to light that he had an $80,000 habit of hiring prostitutes.

He was a very aggressive Attorney General and set the pace for other states when it came to going after businesses and standing up for the little guy. It didn't matter if it was a tobacco company or an insurance company, Spitzer always went for the throat.

And even worse news is that Mary Ann from Gilligan's Island was pulled over for driving stoned. Bad mug shot to boot. Now Ginger I could see, but not Mary Ann. Say it ain't so!

Back to the Gov, I understand there are all sorts of people going through Blagojevich's records looking for wire transfers and expenditures. I think it is all wishful thinking, though. We wouldn't be lucky enough to get an instant resignation from Blago.

The pattern in Illinois seems to be to wait until they have finished their term, then send them to jail. There are limits to our patience, even in Illinois. All bets are off if Blago announces that he is running for a third term.

A Message from...

The President of the United States

I’m still not done with the Calderon series but I thought you might like to read what OUR President said:

I am proposing to Congress today a set of actions to help markedly reduce the increasing flow of undocumented aliens in this country and to regulate the presence of the millions of undocumented aliens already here.

These proposed actions are based on the results of a thorough Cabinet-level study and on the groundwork which has been laid, since the beginning of the decade, by Congressmen Rodino and Eilberg and Senators Eastland and Kennedy. These actions will:

· Make unlawful the hiring of undocumented aliens, with enforcement by the Justice Department against those employers who engage in a "pattern or practice" of such hiring.

· Increase significantly the enforcement of the Fair Labor Standards Act and the Federal Farm Labor Contractor Registration Act, targeted to areas where heavy undocumented alien hiring occur.

· Substantially increase resources available to control the Southern border, and other entry points, in order to prevent illegal immigration.

· Promote continued cooperation with the governments which are major sources of undocumented aliens, in an effort to improve their economies and their controls over alien smuggling rings.

Each of these actions will play a distinct, but closely related, role in helping to solve one of our most complex domestic problems: In the last several years, millions of undocumented aliens have illegally immigrated to the United States. They have breached our nation's immigration laws, displaced many American citizens from jobs, and placed an increased financial burden on many states and local governments.

· Penalties for violation of the employment bar would be both injunctive relief and stiff civil fines--a maximum of $1,000 for each undocumented alien hired by an employer. A violation of a court injunction would subject an employer to a potential criminal contempt citation and imprisonment.

· The Social Security card would be designated as one of the authorized identification documents; and we will accelerate the steps already being taken to make certain that such cards are issued, as the law now mandates, only to legal residents. Those steps include making the cards more difficult to forge. But no steps would be taken to make the Social Security card, or any other card, a national identification document.

· To further restrict job opportunities, criminal sanctions would be imposed on those persons who receive compensation for knowingly assisting an undocumented alien obtain or retain employment, or who knowingly contract with such persons for the employment of undocumented aliens. These sanctions are directed at the substantial number of individuals who broker jobs for undocumented aliens or act as agents for alien smugglers. It is not directed at those who inadvertently refer an undocumented alien to a job, such as an employment agency or a union hiring hall.

· To date, the inability of the government to enforce fully this Act, due in part to a lack of resources, has resulted in the hiring of undocumented aliens at sub-minimum wages, thereby often displacing American workers. Two hundred sixty new inspectors will be hired and targeted to areas of heavy undocumented alien employment.

· Passage will be sought of pending legislation to impose criminal sanctions on those who knowingly use false information to obtain identifiers issued by our Government, or who knowingly use fraudulent Government documents to obtain legitimate Government documents.

JIMMY CARTER


The White House


August 4, 1977

Read the whole thing at: http://www.ilw.com/articles/2004,0329-carter.shtm

Installment 3 - Calderon in Chicago

Part three of the Calderon Speech in Chicago:

We are working to improve our political conditions and our state institutions.

First of all, regarding security, when I arrived at the presidency I perceived what you already know because your families have told you, because you’ve seen it in the media, that some areas of the country were practically under the control of organized crime, that the security of our families was completely at risk and in play, that crime was dictating the laws and not the laws of the State governing in some zones.

That is why, since the first day of my presidency, we are employing the entire force of the State to wage a frontal battle against organized crime and rescue our Mexico from the claws of the criminals.

When I say all the forces of the State I mean the Army, the Navy, the Federal Police, the local forces…because I know that the security of our children is at stake. Because we want our children to stay far away from drugs, which they want to forcefully introduce in our schools and in our neighborhoods. Because we are determined to win this battle and we will win with the support of all Mexicans.

We are also working to make Mexico a competitive economy. You, friends, have demonstrated to yourselves, to the world, to the United States, what can be done. You who live productive lives, who have made the most of yourselves in order to move forward, are living proof that Mexicans lack nothing in terms of capacity and talent in the entire world.

That when we suggest that we can be the best, Mexicans are determined that we will compete fiercely in the world. Mexico not only competes but also wins in this world where we compete. We can and we will.

We are transforming our economy. We have made important reforms that we have been able to resolve. For example, the problem of pensions that ran the risk of collapsing the government; or public finances that were incapable of sustaining their programs.

We have also modified our fiscal practices. We are poised to pass a Congressional reform to change our judicial practices so there is more transparency in our processes, less corruption with the judges…so we have a truly adversarial system and not a accusatory one. And at the same time the State is more capable of confronting crime.

Congress approved an election reform that will allow us to rely on election laws and authorities to count the votes of all political parties, something which will bring new institutional strength and life to our country.

We are working hard. This is what I want to tell you countrymen. We are working on the infrastructure. We are working on what Mexico needs. On highways, on ports, on airports.

During the last ten years in Mexico we have invested about two percent of the Gross Domestic Product on infrastructure per year.

With the Fiscal Reform Program and with the National Infrastructure Fund we are now investing five and a half percent of the GDP, fifty thousand million dollars every year invested in Mexico on infrastructure.

This means bridges. It means the streets that you know are bad in the communities you left behind.

This means highways that can connect Mexico, that can generate jobs for our people, opportunities for business and growth in our economy.
-----end of Calderon segment-------

Republican country?

The 14th Congressional District was tailor made for the GOP. Former Speaker of the House Dennis Hastert had it drawn up to include the fringes of suburbia and a wide swath of the rural prairie, extending almost to the Iowa border.

When Hastert retired early it was supposed to be a boon for republicans; a chance to serve for nine months before the November elections and be on the ballot as an incumbent.

But when I told my wife Bill Foster won the election on Saturday she said, “Well, I guess Hastert’s plan didn’t work out after all.” Right she is.

Foster is a Fermi Lab scientist and the part owner of a theatrical lighting company he and his brother started when Bill was only 19 years old.

He was on the radio this morning and mentioned two specific things: He supports health insurance for children and a draw down of troops from Iraq.

Oberweis loses again. Both sides had huge support from the respective national parties. We would get three or four campaign pieces a day for the three weeks leading up to the campaign. And the robo-calls drove us nuts. Even Laura Bush called.

The ads were awful. Foster ran a radio ad saying that Oberweis supports “tax breaks for rich people like Paris Hilton” while the national GOP had a soundbite of Foster saying, “There isn’t anything that can’t be made better by throwing money at it.” They then went on to explain that the money would come from taxpayers and taking money away from our troops.

Ads on both sides were pathetic, contrived, and insulting.

In a rather funny endorsement John McCain came out to Illinois to hug Oberweis. (Now wait a minute. Obewies is strong on enforcement when it comes to illegals and McCain is a Kennedy sort of guy. Strange endorsement indeed.)

And W called them both “true conservatives.”

There is a rematch in November between Foster and Oberweis, this time for the full two year term.

In the meantime, the Dems will get Foster a couple of showpiece items to present so he can have a record to run on. Never mind that he is a Freshman in Congress or that he ran on a promise to ignore the party and vote the issue. We shall see.

Calderon - Part 2

Continuing where he left off, here is more of the speech Felipe Calderon gave at the Lawndale High School. For a treat about this ULTRA liberal school, check out their link here: http://www.lvlhs.org/

Now, here's the president of Mexico...
Additionally, I come here with great emotion because I know that this school is a symbol of courage, of strength, of character, of gallantry; that this school came about through a valiant movement of men and women on a 19-day hunger strike who demanded and obtained the necessary funds that began to make this school possible.

Just a moment ago I had the privilege of meeting those who made it possible for this school to become a reality. I embrace you with much affection.

Now that we have this opportunity to meet together, I want to tell you about the actions my government is doing now, and want to begin so we can be with you.

First, we have been working with, talking with, and meeting with diverse players in the Mexican political panorama and in the United States, in short, with anyone who can influence the debate on the theme of migration. And we have firmly expressed the position of the Mexican Government that I can sum up with these five points.

First, we want everyone to recognize the extraordinary economic, social, and cultural contributions of the Mexican migrants in the United States.

Second, we want this recognition to be reflected in greater certainty, in greater stability, in greater tranquility…so that all of our countrymen can do what they came here to do: Work in peace, be productive, move their families forward, and whether recognized or not, move this nation forward.
A little while ago when we drove through traffic down this grand avenue, (I don’t know the name of it) which is the reason we were late and we ask your forgiveness, I was pleasantly surprised to see our people along the way, driving the trucks and the trailers, were many, many Mexicans who honked their horns and shook hands, who called out (I didn’t hear them) but I could clearly see they were yelling in one voice something we all understand and carry deep in our hearts no matter where we are…the voice of “Viva Mexico!” And you could hear it strongly despite the distance.

Third, it is of course important to the Mexican government the theme of having a secure border. When they think we are arguing this point, they are also mistaken. Yes, yes, of course I want a secure border. Of course I want a secure border for our people, for our children, and for the Americans also, or whatever person who lives on either side of the border.

The government of Mexico is committed to and works toward having a secure border with the United States. But make no mistake, it is not the people, it is organized crime and not the Mexican migrants who create the national security problem for the United States.

I think that both nations need to recognize this reality: The world is globalizing. The economies are being built on a worldwide scale and the nations that are prospering, the regions that are prospering, like Asia, like Europe, are nations that recognize this reality and are able to integrate themselves into economies of a much larger scale, and in much larger territories.

What Americans and Mexicans should do is recognize that if we want prosperity, if we want progress, we should do so together.

It will not come through closing our border. We will not prosper through canceling our agreements. We will prosper together incorporating and integrating or there will not be prosperity for either Mexico or the United States.

We want to build bridges because we know that bridges unite people more than walls. I also know, I understand the worry of many American citizens, but I can share with you, friends, something I told President Bush during his visit to Mexico last year.

I assure you President, I told him, that he can do more to reduce migration with one kilometer of highway in Zacatecas or Michoacan, than with twenty kilometers of defenses in Texas or Arizona. That above all, what we need to do between us is generate employment conditions, dignified working conditions. Our people need good paying jobs.

I want to tell you, friends, that we are working hard at it, that we know that we have little time because Mexico has waited for a long time and it can’t wait any longer. That is why we are working hard to create the conditions of certainty, conditions of stability and security within Mexico. Conditions that will make our economy grow. We are working on many fronts.

We are working on enforcing the law, the security, and the state of Mexican rights. We are working at creating an economy that is competitive and creates jobs. We are working for equal opportunities for our people.

We are working to protect the environment because we want a Mexico that will stand forever and sustain our children.

-----end of part two----

Comments about Calderon's Speech

Regarding the post below (yesterday) I hope you can get a sense of President Calderon's tone. There is not one scintilla of gratitude to the United States for what we have provided. Not one iota of apology for violating our laws.
He paints illegal aliens as heroes, brave and strong. And suggests entitlement for having done our country a favor by coming here.
On May Day when you see photographs of them marching in the streets, demanding their rights, know that this arrogant attitude starts right at the top. The president of Mexico asserts those rights on behalf of his people without the least bit of shame or hesitation. He believes Mexicans are entitled to be here. He supports their presence. He provides diplomatic services for them.
Not once have I heard him announce, "Do not go to the United States unless you have been granted papers to do so." Nor will he. Instead he has directed a campaign to fight discrimination in the United States against Mexicans.
He joins all the other similar voices in lumping legals with illegals and calling those who would seek to separate the two "racists."
Don't look to Bush to do anything. He's on Calderon's side.

Ladies and Gentlemen...

...the President of Mexico, Felipe Calderon

Here is an installment of the speech given by Calderon to the Mexicans in Chicago on February 12, 2007:
How are my friends in Little Village of Chicago, Mexicans, dear friends?

I am pleased to be here this afternoon, even though it is a very cold afternoon. At least for us who are not accustomed to the cold outside, we soon see that where our people are, where there are Mexicans, we feel the warmth of the people.

I feel at home because I know that I am with all of you.

It is a great honor for me to be with you today; a great honor because you have suffered much; because you have faced great adversity.

I know that you have risked your lives to give opportunities to your children, to your families. I know that each of you has a tale of heroism and pain.

A tale of heroism because it is not easy to leave your homeland, your home, your country; and cross the border risking all.

A tale of heroism because every year more than 400 Mexicans die trying to cross the border, perhaps more than in any other part of the world.

It is also a tale of sadness because I know that for each one of you, each of the millions, for each of the millions of Mexicans living in the United States, there is a mother you will never see again, there are children far away, there are brothers you have not been able to return and greet personally.

I know that each of you has left behind a small town or big city that has lost its best people.

When they tell me that the government of Mexico wants to increase migration (to the United States), attacking and criticizing our defense of the migrants living here, I tell them they are wrong.

Because I know that Mexico loses with every migrant our most valiant people, our strongest, our boldest. Because I know with every migrant a family is separated.

I come here to Chicago, to Illinois, because I know my responsibility as President, especially during those most difficult times of misunderstanding, of harassment, of blatant discrimination in some cases, my job is to echo the voices of all Mexicans, the voice of all Mexico, saying, “We are with you.”

We are truly a Mexico that is here with you, supporting you, helping you, understanding you.

I also know, friends, that my role as President is to work very hard so that migration is not the only option for our people in the future, that migration become a decision one can take or leave, not the only alternative in life.

When they ask me the precise reason for this phenomenon, it seems to me we should not fool ourselves. The economy of the United States and the economy of Mexico are absolutely complementary. One is capital intensive, such as this one. The other is manual labor intensive. Such is Mexico.

And I have always said that, of necessity, work and capital complement each other; that we are like the left shoe and the right shoe. One must wear them both at once in order to walk.

And that since the worker has sought capital from investment here in the United States, we are looking for investment and capital in Mexico in order to generate jobs there; good paying jobs for Mexicans so that we don’t separate our families and our communities.
--------------- end of quotation---------------
More to come another day. (It was a long speech.)

Alien removed from Area 51

My friend LB (not named thus for a weight problem) sent me a news item from Roswell New Mexico. Roswell is about 200 miles from El Paso and famous for aliens, the kind from outer space.

But this time the alien is an 18-year-old pregnant high school student who has been deported. It seems Karina Acosta dropped someone off at the Middle School, blocking the fire lane, then proceeded to the high school nearby. The officer pulled her over in the school parking lot and discovered that she was unlicensed. (Imagine that.)

The police gave her several days to come up with proof of legal residency but she was unable to do so. Acosta was then deported.

Now the libs are up in arms about it because the arrest took place on school property. They are invoking the Plyler vs. Doe decision in 1982 that requires school districts to provide a free public education to illegal aliens.

As the Salt Lake City School District found out, you cannot even ask the question, “How long has your family been in this country?” in an effort to assess the language needs of a student.

But the libs have gone too far this time. They are claiming that Plyler vs. Doe turns the schools into sanctuaries for illegal aliens. They claim you cannot enforce immigration laws anywhere on school property.

Let’s hope they don’t take the case before a Clinton appointee or we might have an Acosta vs. Roswell School District ruling making all schools in the United States “Amnesty Zones”.

Into the woods

From the Police Blotter in Elgin:

Daily Herald Police Beat 3/4/08
Kane County
• A West Chicago woman is in critical condition after a Jeep Cherokee she was riding in hit a deer, at 10:21 p.m. Saturday on Route 31 near Elgin Street in St. Charles Township. Adela Gomez, 25, of 829 Elizabeth St., was taken to Provena St. Joseph Hospital in Elgin, as was another passenger, Juan Munoz, 20, of 171 Pearl Road, West Chicago. The deer went through the windshield. The driver of the vehicle, a man, ran away after the crash.

----end of story----

Or this account from the Courier News:

New: Woman hurt in after SUV, deer collide
March 3, 2008 Courier News
From Staff Reports
A West Chicago woman remained in "extremely critical condition Monday afternoon after the vehicle she was riding in struck a deer late Saturday between South Elgin and St. Charles.
Adela Gomez, 25, of West Chicago, was a front-seat passenger in a 1995 Jeep Grand Cherokee that was southbound on Illinois 31 when it struck the deer about 10:22 p.m. in front of 7N325 Illinois 31, according to a release from the Kane County Sheriff's Office.
According to the release, the impact sent the deer into the vehicle's passenger compartment, striking Gomez. An ambulance from South Elgin transported Gomez from the scene to Provena Saint Joseph Hospital in Elgin. At the time the sheriff's office issued the release, Gomez was still alive but was in extremely critical condition.
Also transported from the scene, with injuries that did not appear life-threatening injuries was Juan Munoz, 20, of West Chicago, who was a back-seat passenger. The two other back-seat passengers -- Irma Gomez Garcia, 31, and Kelly Avila, 21 months, both of West Chicago -- were treated at the scene and released, the sheriff's office said.
The sheriff's office said that before deputies arrived at the crash, the driver, a male Hispanic, fled the scene on foot. Deputies were not able to locate the driver but are actively following up on leads in an attempt to identify him.
This crash remains under investigation.

----end of story---

Here's a great photo of the damage a deer can do:

http://www.micom.net/oops/Deer%20vs%20Durango2.jpg

Horses aren't a bargain either, as this photo suggests:

We have no photos of the actual accident in Kane County. Nor do we know why the driver ran away from the scene. Here are some multiple choice answers:

a) After the accident he needed to change his clothes.

b) He was tracking the buck off in the bushes.

c) He was going for help.

d) There was some question about his immigration status.

e) He was afraid of that mix-up last year regarding an arrest warrant.

Y'all be careful out there. The deer are active and there aren't many open spaces for them in the burbs.