And so it begins...again...

On June 14, 2006, I finally got a much needed rest after a long year of teaching. Spending the summer months sleeping in and just unwinding was a lot of fun. Sadly, all good things must come to an end. This past week was the teacher orientation for my school as we welcomed twenty three new teachers and prepared for some of the new things that awaited us for the new school year. Good news is that we have new computers. Bad news is that we seem to have some new forms of micro management coming towards us. As a result, I am sure I will be venting about micromanagement at different times in the school year.

But another thought plagues my mind this year. Two years ago I knew nothing about the kids I was going to teach and was like an island unto myself. Last year, I knew a number of students and could at least rely on some of them to help keep a few of the new kids in line. This year, I find myself again almost alone. There are a couple students left that I know, but the new challenge of dealing with a large group of unknowns is rather appealing. In a sense, I have a new challenge in front of me. I also plan to introduce a few new things into the mix of my teaching, while at the same time continuing to do the same things as before.

So as the 1444 students arrive, the brave 105 faculty prepare to defend their sanity as we teach another year of our courses. Wish us luck on this future endeavor. We will need all the help we can get. And for all you parents out there, remember, the teacher is not out to get your kids. We aim to challenge them and get them to push themselves to the extreme. So have some faith in us and know that we know what we are doing.

Ray Nagin does not heart New York

As the main stream media enjoys blasting Republicans, it seems Democrats have started to step in it again as well. We must never underestimate the ability of a Democrat to self destruct. Our Democrat of “shame” for today is none other than Mayor Ray Nagin of New Orleans, Louisiana. While doing an interview for the CBS show “60 Minutes,” it was pointed out that while New Orleans is still being rebuilt, there are parts of the city that do not seem to be getting fixed.

The reporter cited water damaged cars and a house that was almost into the middle of the road. In response to this comment, Nagin said, “You guys in New York can't get a hole in the ground fixed, and it's five years later. So let's be fair.”

So the World Trade Center is nothing more than a hole in the ground for Mayor Nagin. Never mind the fact that this “hole” was created thanks to terrorists and people who want to destroy our nation. New Orleans got hit by a hurricane and the next day the levies broke. Considering that meteorologists were telling the people along the Gulf Coast to get out while the getting was good days in advance, Nagin shows once again how inept he is as a mayor. People were killed for no reason in NYC. New Orleans could have evacuated in advance, but Nagin did nothing until it was too late.

Fact of the Matter

The fact of the matter on this is that people will spin this on how they want to see it. Liberal bloggers who read this will say that the federal government was incompetent when it came to New Orleans in the post Katrina days. But who ever said Governor Blanco and Mayor Nagin were only supposed to sit on their hands and do nothing as news of a massive hurricane was coming their way? Is there not a little thing called initiative, the ability to act on one’s own decision and do things on their own?

It seems Ray Nagin doesn’t quite seem to understand that command is a lonely job. In addition to this, a leader needs to be able to make the tough decisions. One would think it isn’t hard to figure that if a big, big hurricane is coming your way, one might want to get to higher ground. More importantly, lets get the people out to safety.

Whether or not Nagin will apologize for his rude comment is yet to be seen. I bet he won’t. Any opinions? Let’s also watch our language people. We did learn vocabulary in school for a reason.

Pluto...the space object?

It is a sad, sad day today as it was announced we have only eight planets in the solar system. In a meeting of a number of prominent astronomers, the decision was made to eliminate Pluto as a planet and declare it a dwarf planet because of new standards as to what is and is not a planet. So long ninth planet. We will miss you.

Taking This Show on the Road

Today I drove down to Spotsylvania County to visit a college friend and have a cookout with his friends and family. Driving out into this part of rural Virginia was a true joy because as I got further and further away from NOVA, I could feel all the stress and aggrivation of this area just flow away from me. In a sense, you can understand what George Allen meant by the real Virginia, namely because when dealing with the folks down in that area is VERY different than dealing with folks in this area.

In Spotsylvania, the folks there didn't care one bit about politics. Only thing they cared about was making sure there was good food on the table and plenty of it. Between the crabs, hot dogs, burgers, and the other fixings that were there, it was a VERY enjoyable day.

I for one think a lot of folks in this area needs to drive down to rural Virginia and just spend time down there with the people. It is a whole different experience. Things are more relaxed, easy paced, and just enjoyable. So for those of you up here who can't turn off your minds about politics and other things, then tough luck. As for me, I am getting a fork and about to enjoy some home made coconut cake. Yummy!

Carlos Mencia

Amen! Amen! Amen!

Voltron Got Served

Go Lions!

Children of the Future Jihad

Credit must be given to Kat from Cat House Chat for this video.

A number of folks have said the United States' presence in Iraq ha generated a lot of hatred towards us and that people in the Middle East are fighting us because this is how they feel. Problem is that if you feel that way, it should come up out of nowhere.

As the video shows, the entire culture of the people in the Middle East has children learning hate and violence at a young age. With the constant bombarment of kill Jews and kill Americans, this serves a purpose of showing that for the war on terror to end, it is necessary to break the culture that supports this doctrine of education.

Watching this video once is sickening enough, but I am sure the Left will come up with some nonsense about the video.

Fact of the Matter

The fact of the matter is the video speaks for itself.

Karma is going to get you.

In an interesting side note, it would seem that we have one person who is glad to accuse anyone of racism without learning a thing about them. Greg Bouchillon declares that anyone who has a Confederate flag is, by default, a racist. As such, their possession of the flag means they think the white race is the best. Well, if Greg were a real man and actually get to know people instead of judge by afar, he would learn I am part Hispanic. I am a nice melting pot of a bunch of different groups of people. But no, he wants to judge because he is a Democrat and on the Left.

So for the Greg’s out there that like to pass judgment like that, all I can say is karma will come back to bite you in the ass. I don’t claim to have superiority over other races and you cannot claim to have any form of integrity what so ever.

Grow Up People

Two days ago Not Larry Sabato announced a scandal involving Senator George Allen. Yesterday, the story broke that Allen made a “racist” comment towards a volunteer/worker who was sent by the Webb campaign to follow Allen around and video tape the Senator as he spoke. The obvious attempt was to catch him saying something that could get him into trouble. It would seem Allen, whether inadvertent or not, obliged.

Already, blogs are beginning to scream Allen is a racist. James Martin is screaming off the rooftops that Allen called this Webb supporter a nigger and monkey. (See James, its not the hard to say or type.) Even ‘s more interesting is how fast people started to pull up Allen’s familial history, which showed Allen’s mother was from Tunisia and the word in question is often used by Europeans in describing North Africans.

Shortly after the entire blogging world got their panties tied into a knot over this, George Allen issued an apology and that should be the end of it. But no, it isn’t. It seems the Left is all in favor of blasting this in favor of their candidate Jim Webb. It wasn’t too long ago though Jim Webb was accused of being Anti-Semtic. A cartoon which displayed common stereotypes about Jews was made by the campaign and Harris Miller took offense. Webb issued the apology and that was fine by the Left. If we used the logic of James Martin and other like him, Webb should have dropped out of the race during the primary.

Fact of the Matter

The fact of the matter is some people are willing to throw comments out there with full impunity. Lets face it, did Allen say he was better than this kid? NO. Did he pull out a sheet and a cross? NO. It seems people in NOVA have a certain degree of superiority about them because of where they live. Is “Welcome to America” now a racist comment? NO.

Let’s be honest here. The Metropolitan DC area is an anomaly compared to the rest of America. There are multiple races living here and a lot of money. Go elsewhere, and it is like a whole different country. Back in 2002, my dad and I did a cross country trip. We drove across the country, namely with the thought in mind that after 9/11 we should really appreciate everything that is America. I highly recommend doing it. Hell, if you want, I can tell you some places to go and even map out some routes for you.

But here in our little part of the country, we find ourselves living in a rich area with a population that rivals most states. Let’s face it people: THE REST OF VIRGINIA IS LIKE A DIFFERENT STATE!

In thinking about all of this, I think it is safe to say that those who scream Allen is a racist only wishes to do it from the safety of their homes behind a keyboard. Even more important is the background of these people. If they have lots of money and seemingly nothing to worry about in life, then why should they not be afraid of calling people names.

Add on to this logic the fact that a number of people did not know what “Macaca” meant, but KNEW it was bad, says something else. It makes me think of Clerks II when Randall did not know that porch monkey was a racist comment. His logic became: I am taking back porch monkey! Already I saw blogger comments using Macaca and showing how ridiculous it is. Kenton Ngo had a flag and promptly removed it after I called his actions dishonorable.

So for everyone who likes to call people racist just because you feel like you can, grow up! You know who you are.

Allen's Listening Tour That NLS Is Blowing Out of Proportion

In a story being pushed as bigger than it really needs to be, Not Larry Sabato shows his true colors. He openly admitted he was being PAID by the Webb campaign to have a banner ad on his site. As a result, it doesn’t take very long for NLS to go ahead and get some video to Allen look bad. Above is the video. As you can see, Allen is not being racist as NLS and the liberals are going on about Senator Allen. This is partisan politics. Granted, Allen could have chosen some better words, but who among us has ever said things just in the heat of the moment?

Fact of the Matter

The fact of the matter is that NLS is serving only one interest here and that is the green of the Webb campaign. ASG, author of the site Action This Day, Mystical Fascination, and Time Machine, asks the question of who is doing the people’s business? In my opinion, NLS is not doing that. He is serving his own greed by getting paid for doing advertisement on his site and then blasting Allen.

I think Mason Conservative summed it all up by saying:

This is just going to get into a pissing match between "he said this, no he said this . . ." and its all going to be sound and fury and you know the rest. This is seriously grasping at straws. For the purposes of "both sides of the argument" check out these:
http://www.realclearpolitics.com/blog/2006/08/allen.html
http://www.realclearpolitics.com/blog/2006/08/political_video_of_the
_day_ ii_3.html
But I guess if you pray and wish hard enough, this could be what you want it to be. The fact it, it is not. And for someone to say they "shuddered" when they head this is laughable. And I love Ben and his site, its usually my first stop. But this is the truest sign of desperation. 16 points down, no money, no support from the DSCC, and no issues that have captivated the commonwealth. So now what? Lets go back to the classic liberal attack: race. Lets try and catch Allen in some amorphous "racial" comment, feign outrage, and hope we can slip in the back door.
THAT is grasping.
(KILO gets credit for those links)

As for me, I think NLS needs to make it public that if he wants to support Webb and bash Allen, that he DOES NOT accept money from the Webb campaign. If NLS wants to support Webb, then he should be more than happy to advertise for the man for free. Stop serving your greedy interests NLS.

Sometimes I wonder...

In looking at some of the shows of the past, I stumbled across something rather interesting. GI Joe. This was a military organization with a mission to defeat a world wide terrorist organization known as Cobra. Now let us think for a moment. A world wide terrorist organization? Sounds a little close to home don't you think? I also have to think that GI Joe can only get its funding through a Republican Administration, because Democrats would never fund GI Joe. As for the identitites of some of the people, I got to think the following:



Hawk = George W. Bush
Flint = Dick Cheney
Duke = Donald Rumsfeld

But what about the masked figure above at the beginning of the post? We got Cobra Commander. There is only one person who that could be! Cobra Commander is none other than Osama Bin Laden! I knew it all along. As for the rest of Cobra, we know it is al Queda.

Of course, GI Joe never had to worry about people wanting to tuck tail and run. Let's just hope the weenies out there don't screw over the real GI Joes.

Terrorists Foiled; The Left Yawns

A new terrorist attempt to use planes as weapons was foiled today through a joint effort of British and Pakistani forces. The terrorist planned on using sports juice bottles with explosives in it and detonate the bombs via an cell phone or an ipod. An event such as this is a reminder of what terrorists can do.

Fact of the Matter

The fact of the matter on this is that the liberals are going to blow this off, while conservatives will remind everyone of the dangers in the world. In fact, already President Bush has begun saying this. We can never deny that terrorists are out there and that they want to cause a lot of problems in the world. It is on record they hope to reform the former Ottoman Empire and basically try to get things back to the way it was before the West was able to take over being dominate in the world.

I cannot help but feel though the Democrats are now finding themselves in a rather awkward position. With Ned Lamont and other anti-war candidates coming up as challengers in the November election, it seems the new face of the Democratic Party is emerging. It would seem our politics is now being based off of what your position is on one issue.

While I would love to say that the world is a happy go lucky place, I can’t. I would seem some people still believe it is like that and we can just turn the clock beck to the Clinton years, where all we had to worry about was which intern was going to get goosed tomorrow. We would all love for that to happen again, but it will not come back. Instead, we live in a pretty scary world. In some way, it is still kill or be killed. So for the anti war Democrats and the liberals who will probably say who knows what to this post, I can only think of what Dane Cook said in Waiting:

Welcome to Thunder Dome, bitch!

I can't believe I am doing a real post about Webb

It seems odd for me to be doing a post about Jim Webb, but here it goes. If anyone has paid attention to some of my comments on Webb, they know that I feel Webb is only running on the “Anti-Iraq” front and has almost no real difference in ideas that Republicans have on all major issues. In addition to this, Webb has shown nothing since the primaries in the form of mailing literature and having commercials on television. Meanwhile, I have seen commercials for George Allen and Josh Rales, who is running in Maryland. I will say this, as much as it might shock some people to hear this, I think Rales is a pretty good guy. He comes across as sincere and I think the way he presents his message could lead him to the Senate if the Democrats were to actually get behind him.

I have a “Source” within the Webb campaign that has not said anything positive about it. While some folks at Virginia Progressive are convinced my source does not exist, I think the fact they can’t figure out who it is says more about how blind they are. If you need a hint, look carefully at your volunteers and see if there is an older and thinner version of me. His comments have been rather interesting. The NOVA Headquarters were not what he expected.

Now, Webbers have been saying they got campaign literature and are ready to go with that. “Source” said a rather different tale. As he pointed out, it was as if the campaign was spending more time rationing out their supplies than trying to canvas the community. This observation came at a Webb event being held on the Waterfront in Alexandria. In addition to this, “Source” indicated that even the volunteers helping at the event were less concerned with winning and more concerned about trying to keep an Allen victory at five percent or less. This does not inspire confidence in a candidate if his own supporters are ready to reel it in and quit.

As for Webb, if he was as serious as he claimed to be about becoming the new junior senator for Virginia, why does he need to run across the country and raise money. He should be pressing the flesh, kissing babies, and being seen throughout the state. Allen, on the other hand, is here.

Fact of the Matter

The fact of the matter on this is Webb is floundering. I know all of his supporters will say their usual stuff about him winning, but so far he isn’t impressing me. Yes, I support Allen, but that doesn’t mean I won’t look at an opponent and see what they say. The one weapon Webb has is his blogger minions (Virginia Progressive) who will be more than happy to blast whatever negative ideas and thoughts out to the electorate as they wish.

They claim they don’t like negative messages, but it is funny how they are still willing to do it themselves. Swords have two edges for a reason. I think if Webb is serious about being a senator for Virginia, he needs to get serious about it. Lose the boots, stop traveling across the country, and start making an impact in Virginia.

Dallas the Movie

As mentioned in an earlier post, I am a pretty big fan of Dallas. When I heard word about the new Dallas movie that was going to be filmed based off the show, I naturally pounced with excitement over any news dealing with the cast. At the present moment, only two people are officially signed for the movie. The big shocker recently was Jennifer Lopez pulling out of the film. She was originally set to play Sue Ellen Ewing, but many people on the web did not like it. I have to agree with them, Lopez is not the person you want to play Sue Ellen.

In order to show my own ideas as to how the cast ought to look. Any other ideas?

The Cast
Jock Ewing played by Sam Elliot
Miss Ellie Ewing played by Rosemary Harris
JR Ewing played by John Travolta (confirmed)
Sue Ellen Ewing played by Julieanne Moore
Bobby Ewing played by Matthew McConaughey
Pam Ewing played by Jennifer Love Hewitt
Lucy Ewing played by Katie Cassidy (confirmed)
Ray Krebbs played by Kiefer Sutherland
Cliff Barnes played by Ed Harris
Digger Barnes played by Ken Kercheval
Kristen Shepherd played by Mandy Moore

The film itself should probably center around the famous storyline of who shot JR. In talking about this with Mason Conservative, we think the film should open with Digger Barnes trying to assassinate Jock Ewing when both men were middle aged. The film would then flash forward to them as older men, dealing with the knowledge that their feud is not quite the same, considering Bobby and Pam have gotten married. JR and Cliff have classic confrontations as JR begins to do an off shore Asian oil deal. When JR is mysteriously shot, everyone begins to wonder who did it. The obvious answer will be Cliff, but if the producers, writers, and director of the film are smart, they will make the shooter the same as in the TV series.

What if...

After waiting a long year, the highly anticipated novel The Grapple was released one week ago. I am almost finished with the book and decided to share my knowledge about it to the rest of you. The Grapple is part of an ongoing series written by Harry Turtledove in which the South won the Civil War and the rest of the history between the two countries is played out for the readers. Below is a map how things looked. Sorry for the grainy look at things, but it is the best I can do.
Now, time for the story. The whole premise of this series centers around the Maryland Campaign in 1862. While marching through the state, General Robert E. Lee issued orders to all of his generals as to how they should march their divisions through Maryland and the roads they should use. As history records it, one of the messengers sent out to deliver the orders lost one message and it was eventually picked up by a Union soldier a couple of days later. In this divergence from history, it is a Confederate soldier who sees the message fall from the rider and returns it to the messenger. The end result is General George McClellan is humiliated at the Battle of Camp Hill, which is located near Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. Because of this major victory, Great Britain and France will formally recognize the Confederate States of America as a nation. (Before anyone starts to gripe, I will give a historical analysis towards the end of the post.)

The first book, How Few Remain, begins in 1881. The Confederate President, James Longstreet, makes a deal with the Empire of Mexico to buy the two northern states, Sonora and Chihuahua and annex them to the Confederate States. The Confederacy was already successful in obtaining Cuba from Spain. When word of this reaches President James G. Blaine of the United States, the decision is made to make it well known that if the Confederacy decides to go through with the purchase and expand, the United States will use military force to stop it. Longstreet will use political pressure to get help from Great Britain and France, but comes the realization that he will have to push a plan of manumission to get the support of those two European powers. The leader of Confederate forces, Thomas “Stonewall” Jackson, will center his defense around Louisville, Kentucky. The general in chief of American forces, General William S. Rosecrans, hopes that American resolve will help to beat the Confederacy and maybe bring back the southern states into the Union. In order to provide a backdrop to the story, there is a subplot of a Mormon rebellion in Utah, the emergence of Theodore Roosevelt, Abraham Lincoln starting a new political party, and the editorial reports of one Samuel Clemens in San Francisco. For the United States, the war goes from bad to worse. Jackson is able to smash their advance and the British make a daring strike on a US Mint. The only area of comfort the nation arrives when the military, under the command of George Armstrong Custer, is able to beat back a British Expeditionary Force in Montana. The end result of the book comes with manumission for slaves, two new states for the Confederacy, a second humiliating defeat for the United States, the near complete destruction of the Republicans politically, and the rise of the American Socialist Party.

The first full trilogy for this time line is called The Great War: The American Front, Walk in Hell, and Breakthroughs. Instead of going through each book, I will summarize the events of the war. The United States will find itself on a multiple front war. To the north is Canada and the British armies there. To the south is the Confederacy. The east has British, French, and Confederate navies. The west has British and Japanese navies. The difference though between this war and any others is that the United States has spent thirty years preparing itself for the next war. The naval battles will end with the United States controlling the Sandwich Islands (Hawaii) and forcing the Empire of Brazil to switch sides and effectively starve Europe. As for land battles, the southern front will prove to be a major punching bag. The Confederacy will be able to drive up toward the United States capital, Philadelphia. However, due to fewer numbers, they will be forced to fall back. Helping the United States in this case is the Red Rebellion, started by the Negroes of the south. With this in play, troops are needed to put down the uprising. The shocking results of the war will be found when General George Armstrong Custer realizes the full potential of barrels (tanks). By pushing through Kentucky, Custer will advance on Nashville, Tennessee and create an open wound in the Confederacy. With the way things are going on that front, the Confederacy has no choice but to surrender. What is truly amazing is that even in 1917, artillery gunner Jake Featherston realizes the strategic importance of Maryes Heights in Fredericksburg. The northern front proves to be a different experience as the United States rolls through much of the country. The biggest problem with this area is that rebels show up behind their lines and causes trouble. In a bold political move, the Republic of Quebec is formed. As the war comes to a close, Great Britain is thrown out of Canada and can only reside in a few islands in the North Atlantic. Like the Confederacy, the United States deals with a rebellion of their own in the form of the Mormons. The end result in that comes with the heavy price of making Utah even more desolate than it already is. The Presidents for both countries are President Theodore Roosevelt and President Woodrow Wilson, three guesses which is which. In the end, the United States will crush the Confederacy in the peace treaty, take the states of Kentucky and Sequoyah, create the state of Houston out of West Texas, make Northern Virginia into part of West Virginia, and make it clear that they aim to keep the Confederacy from being able to rise up once again.

The second series is American Empire: Blood and Iron, The Center Cannot Hold, and Victorious Opposition. In this series, the country goes between wars. Everyone in the United States is happy because the economy goes very well. Meanwhile, the Confederacy is miserable as they go into a state of hyper inflation. With this hyper inflation in state, the Confederacy has a rise of new third parties. Of all of them, the Freedom Party will become the most popular with the leadership of Jake Featherston. With a few setbacks, the Freedom Party will get an extra boost of power when the Great Depression hits. While Featherston gets his party going, the Socialists find themselves weakening. In 1920, they elect Upton Sinclair as president, and then Hosea Blackford in 1928. During Blackford’s administration, the economy topples and he gets the blame. 1932 will see Calvin Coolidge get elected president, but an accident of fate gets Herbert Hoover in office instead. Hoover will fair no better in office and 1936 will have Al Smith become President. For the Confederacy, Jake Featherston will become president and implement a new policy of doing everything he can to rebuild the country through programs very much like the New Deal, but also work towards eliminating the Negro population of the south. Featherston will be able to get a plebiscite in the states of Kentucky, Houston, and Sequoyah. While the former two rejoin the CSA, the last will not. No real loss in Featherston’s mind. The series will end on June 21, 1941, the invasion of Ohio.

The current series, Settling Accounts, is on its third book. The books thus far are Return Engagement, Drive to the East, and The Grapple. The final installment will be entitled In at the Death. In this series, the Confederacy is able to push its way through Ohio, capturing it, and drive towards Pittsburgh. The Mormons will once again return in a third rebellion, but this time the decision is made to make sure there won’t be one more: exile. The Negro population in the south is being wiped out as death camps eliminate Negroes by the thousands. The United States is able to show that they can survive a short war and make things into a long war as they turn things around in Pittsburgh and drive the Confederates back out of Ohio and all the way down into southern Tennessee. Featherston finds himself now trying to get his uranium project completed before the United States does and it seems that all of his hopes are caving in on him. While this series is not done yet, I would bet it will end with the United States having to occupy the Confederacy and reuniting the country. Whether or not that is true will be decided next year when the final book is released.

Fact of the Matter

The fact of the matter on this series is that it does make one think. The Civil War itself is something that had too many possibilities. If the South had been able to pull of what Turtledove wrote about, it is highly unlikely Lincoln would rolled over in 1863. Instead, the war might have continued until 1864, or March 1865. However, with the help of England and France, maybe the United States would decide to end hostilities. It is a difficult thing to say. The manumission of the slaves probably would have also occurred, but a little bit later. As for the constant warring between the two nations, it is also hard to say. A great number of things comes down to how diplomacy between the two nations would have worked.

What makes alternative history so fascinating is the fact that it does make you think about the things that could have been. For instance, in this series, the lack of a strong Republican party make the Democrats become more conservative, with the Socialists are the liberals. I am sure a number of Democrats have fainted at the prospect of their party looking like the Republicans in an alternate universe.

However, there are a number of things in our history that certainly is very interesting. The eugenics programs of the 1920s in this country did give Hitler the idea of medical experimentation in Germany. Race relations in this country could have lead to something like how the CSA treated their Negro population, with the exception of death camps. The rise of a national third party is not unheard of and could have occurred a number of times in our own history. I think above all else the most fascinating part of this is that it gives you a chance to explore other dimensions and worlds. If we don’t think about the other possibilities out there, then we turn ourselves away from those numerous possibilities. As a result, we put blinders on ourselves and stay that way permanently.