Apparently, We're Not Americans (thanks for that, Michigan)

Abso-freakin'-lutely Un-freakin'-beleivable.

The Michigan Department of "Education" is apparently attempting to ban the use of the words "American" and "America" in public schools.

Even though the word "America" appears in the department's own civics and government benchmarks, the department's style protocol for the Michigan Education Assessment Program requires that "America" and "Americans" be expunged from our testing and grade level expectations. Last week, the department ordered that our hard-working teachers not utter the words.
We're all 'North Americans'

The Department of Education asserts that "Americans" includes Mexicans, Canadians and others in the Western Hemisphere, so referring to U.S. residents as Americans is inappropriate. In the department's view, "America" happens to include South, Central and North America. Accordingly, when referring to the colonial period, the state bureaucracy requires teachers to refer to "the colonies of North America" or "North Americans." After the American Revolution, the nation is called the United States (not of America).

So, we are not the United States of America (as it states in the FREAKING CONSTITUTION!!!!), we are simply the United States. Goody for us.

The state's edict would be laughable if it were not so disgraceful. Instead of focusing on better teaching methods and educational resources to help our hard-working teachers and parents, the Department of Education spends its energy on confusing, misleading, historically inaccurate and counterproductive wordplay.

One can only imagine how teachers struggle to meet the semantic dictates of an educational bureaucracy gone awry. According to the department, before the American Revolution, George Washington, John Adams and Thomas Jefferson were North Americans. But so were the French colonists in the Louisiana Territory, the Spanish settlers in Mexico and the British colonists in Canada -- not to mention the Native Americans

So would the French settlers be "French North American Colonists from France?" What the crap is going on here?!

After the American Revolution, the Founding Fathers no longer qualified as North Americans, but apparently the British, Spanish, French and Native Americans did. What people in the United States are to be called after the Revolution is not clear, so long as they are not referred to as Americans.

Oh, well, THAT'S freakin' helpful. Shut your cake-hole Michigan, and teach kids the ACTUAL HISTORY OF OUR COUNTRY. Of course, it might hurt someone's feelings, so we must be nuanced to the point of incomprehensibility. Maybe we should let Canada have Michigan, that way they can be even MORE "Northern American". This kind of crap gives me a kidney stone.

A Response to "Terrorism is inconsequential"

There are many who believe that terrorism is "inconsequential", and therefore we should not be spending money and time to protect ourselves against it. They say, "Run the numbers. Statistically, you're much more likely to be killed be a drunk driver than by a terrorist."

If we lived on a planet where pure logic rules, they would be correct. However, here on Earth emotions trump logic. Terrorism, by definition is fear, a powerful emotion. Fear of random, horrifying, deadly violence against your family and friends and countrymen.

Terrorism IS consequential. Its results are much more than a dead fireman in New York, or a dead child in a Jeruselam market.

If we ran the numbers, 1 assasinated man would not be worthy of starting World War I.
If we ran the numbers, 1 dying woman in Florida would not dominate the media attention for weeks
If we ran the numbers, 1 crucified man would not crumble empires and change the world.

The numbers are meaningless, people react with emotion. The feel fear. They also feel an incredibly strong, compelling emotion for justice and to make things right.

When there are 6+ billion people on the planet, do you really want someone to 'run the numbers' to determine if your life is worthwhile?

I Have Lost All Faith in Humanity (or at least Cajuns)

It seems they have reelected Ray "It's not MY fault" Nagin for New Orleans mayor. The mind boggles. More later...

Wonderful Insight On The Border Issue

From one of my loyal readers, Daniel:

When one has something that is valuable, he will protect it. In some ways, the value of "something" can be estimated, quite accurately, by how well it is protected, or defended.
Look at Ft. Knox.
How about your local bank?
Each and every one of us locks his or her car, sometimes even when it is in our own driveway. I lock the doors on my house every night, and "patrol" each room, checking that the windows are locked. My house is valuable to me and I want to preserve it's integrity.
How much more the borders of my Nation?
When I look at the utter lack of security on Nations southern edge, it makes me think that average Americans don't value what they have anymore.
Has America made Freedom too cheap? I think so, and for once, I hope I am wrong...

I'm afraid he isn't wrong. Apparently it's just not worth the effort for a depressingly large number of people to protect our nation. It makes me sad. And there seems to be no one in the gov't that has the stones to do what needs to be done.

Some Random Posts That I Agree With (and you should too)

All concerning the Duke Lacrosse rape thingy:

BTW, here is something gauranteed to make those of you with a functioning brain stem foam at the mouth, and possbily bleed from your eyes:

NCCU student: The lacrosse players should be prosecuted "whether it happened or not. It would be justice for things that happened in the past."

What the crap? So we should prosecute them for something they may or may not have done for something thier ancestors may or may not have done to this guy's ancestors, who may or may not have had anything bad happen to them. What are they teaching over at NCCU? Anyway, on to the CORRECT thoughts...

So let's get this straight...

A woman who previously accused someone of sexual assault (and the case was dropped) shows up at a party possibly drunk and already showing signs of having a rough night

Something probably doesn't happen, but for whatever reason she is angered, saddened, whatever

No DNA evidence after two seperate tests links any of the Duke lacrosse players to her whatsoever

She gets to go eeny-miney-moo with the Lacrosse media guide to pick which players get screwed over

The DA just happens to be up for reelection in a predominantly black area when a crime against a black woman and white suspects comes up during the same time period

And now, they should be prosecuted to make up for things in the past that have nothing whatsoever to do with this even if they are innocent...because I mean...that'd be justice

So, just in case I missed something...

THERE IS NO EVIDENCE LINKING ANY OF THE DUKE LACROSSE PLAYERS TO A SEXUAL EVENT WITH THIS WOMAN

AN IMPROPER LINEUP WAS CONDUCTED TO FIGURE OUT WHAT SUSPECTS GOT TO HAVE THEIR LIVES RUINED

And now, we should do it just for the hell of it...you know, for justice.

Ok, thought I had missed something.

And this:

all those rich white kids need to pay for the crimes of other people and of their ancestors. i see nothing wrong with this case. the obviously upstanding, sober, sophisticated dancer is correct, even if she is lying.

Ladies and Gentlemen, we may have FENCE!

No quite The Wall I was hoping for, but it's a start:

...the Senate had voted 83-16 in favor of construction of the [370 mile] fence and 500 miles of vehicle barriers, the first significant victory in two days for conservatives seeking to place their stamp on the measure.

I remain impressed that we got this far.

The Da Vinci Code Watch

So far, The Da Vinci Code is scoring a big, fat, hairy ZERO on the Tomatometer. Notable are the reviews from HOLLYWOOD REPORTER, and VARIETY, the two publications most likely to give this movie undue praise. Instead, they say:

"A jumble of historical myth, religious symbology and international thriller-action makes for an unwieldy, bloated melodrama."--Hollywood Reporter

And:

"An oppressively talky film that isn't exactly dull, but comes as close to it as one could imagine with such provocative material."--Variety

And the movie got LAUGHED at and booed at CANNES, of all places! I will watch this closely to see what develops. I can't say I'm surprised though.

I have a man-crush: John Stossel

All I can say is: MORE COWBELL!!!!

Where are the bodies?

For years, reporters have been alerting America to one scare after another. Chemicals, cell phones, SARS -- everything is going to kill us! You would think by now we'd be doing nothing but digging graves.

Instead, Americans are living longer than ever. Not that you'd ever know that from the mainstream media.

So let's grab a shovel to clear away the nonsense and dig out the truth: Myths, lies and stupidity are often the basis of today's scary news stories.

I refused to do most of those stories. If one-tenth of what the reporters suggested was happening did happen, there would be mass death. The opposite is true: Despite exposure to radiation and all those nasty new chemicals, Americans today live longer than ever.

Keep reading and join in the Stossel-love.

Holy Crap! Bizarre Disease in South Texas

This is freakin' weird. Scary stuff:

"These people will have like beads of sweat but it's black, black and tarry," said Ginger Savely, a nurse practioner in Austin who treats a majority of these patients.

Patients get lesions that never heal.

"Sometimes little black specks that come out of the lesions and sometimes little fibers," said Stephanie Bailey, Morgellons patient.

Patients say that's the worst symptom — strange fibers that pop out of your skin in different colors.

"He'd have attacks and fibers would come out of his hands and fingers, white, black and sometimes red. Very, very painful," said Lisa Wilson, whose son Travis had Morgellon's disease.

While all of this is going on, it feels like bugs are crawling under your skin. So far more than 100 cases of Morgellons disease have been reported in South Texas.

"It really has the makings of a horror movie in every way," Savely said.

No kidding. Here's a link to the Morgellons Reasearch website with maps and other info.

Think I'll go live in a bubble.

USS New York

The Influence Peddler: USS New York

  

Very cool. A San Antonio-class amphibious transport vessal. Built out of scrap from the world trade center, this ship will be a Marine assault ship, ie. gets the jarheads to where they need to go to hurt people and break things. Oo-RAH!

What Does This Mean?

 

1) Do not swing your dog 'round waist.
2) Dogs may be used as bait for shark fishing.
3) ...? 

Moussaoui Asks for New Trial

Via Breitbart:

Less than a week after he was jailed for life over the September 11 attacks, Al-Qaeda plotter Zacarias Moussaoui submitted a motion asking to withdraw his guilty plea so he can have a new trial.

Ummm, isn't it a little late? This does make me wonder though, maybe he was really trying to get the death penalty (ala martyrdom), and now that he didn't get it, he's panicking. I'd like to think so...

"Moussaoui wishes to withdraw his guilty plea because when he entered the plea his 'understanding of the American legal system was completely flawed'," his lawyers said in the motion.

His understanding was flawed...Uh, isn't that what his lawyers were for? Am I missing something here. I foresee bad things man, bad things...

Kennedy Car Crash Cover-Up

I'm shocked, SHOCKED I tell you!

More here: WUSA9.com

ROLL CALL reports: According to a letter sent by Officer Greg Baird, acting chairman of the USCP FOP, the wreck took place at approximately 2:45 a.m. Thursday when Kennedy's car, operating with its running lights turned off, narrowly missed colliding with a Capitol Police cruiser and smashed into a security barricade at First and C streets Southeast.

“The driver exited the vehicle and he was observed to be staggering,” Baird’s letter states. Officers approached the driver, who “declared to them he was a Congressman and was late to a vote. The House had adjourned nearly three hours before this incident. It was Congressman Patrick J. Kennedy from Rhode Island.”

A source tells the DRUDGE REPORT: It was apparent that the driver was intoxicated (stumbling) and claimed he was in a hurry to make a vote. When it became apparent who it was instead of processing a normal DWI the watch commander had the Patrol units clear the scene and allowed other building officials drive Kennedy home.

Mary Jo Kopechne could not be reached for comment.

Moussaoui Gets Life in Prison

This is a travesty. The "man" deserved death. Of course, there are those that say "Oh, but killing him would make him a martyr!" Big hairy deal. Islamofacists already have a bajillion martyrs for thier "cause", what's one more? He should be on his way to hell right now. But no, some idiot on the jury thought it'd be best if "we were the better people." BS.

MyPetJawa has a bit more on the subject.

Day Without an (Illegal) Immigrant

Well, it's about 8:30am on May Day, the "Day Without an (Illegal) Immigrant." I just don't know if I'm going to make it. How will I be able function today? I know I can't do anything for myself, I need immigrants to do the jobs "American's won't do." What will happen to me? I'm scared...

UPDATE 1: It's 9:30, and I'm still hanging on. I'm getting a little dizzy, but maybe it's just from the lack of fumes from all the lawn mowers that aren't running today. Oh, and Michelle has a great roundup of multimedia stuff concerning May Day.

UPDATE 2: I just wanted to say a heartfelt THANK YOU/MUCHAS GRACIAS to all those immigrant folk/supports who actually WENT to work today, and sent your kids to school today. Thank you for using your brain, and thank you for being a good citizen. You will ALWAYS be welcome here.

UPDATE 2.5: Tom Tancredo (R, Colorado) has a great piece over at National Review Online about what a day without ILLEGAL immigrants would mean for Colorado. Pretty eye-opening. An excerpt:

Hospital emergency rooms across the southwest would have about 20-percent fewer patients, and there would be 183,000 fewer people in Colorado without health insurance.

OBGYN wards in Denver would have 24-percent fewer deliveries and Los Angeles’s maternity-ward deliveries would drop by 40 percent and maternity billings to Medi-Cal would drop by 66 percent.

Youth gangs would see their membership drop by 50 percent in many states, and in Phoenix, child-molestation cases would drop by 34 percent and auto theft by 40 percent.

UPDATE 3: It's about 1:15, and the United States is still a cohesive, standing country. I, however, have gone blind in one eye and have a strange growth on my shoulder. I think it's staring at me...

UPDATE 4: I may have a problem. The growth (which insists that I call him "Juan") has erected a Mexican flag and has begun a "boycott". I told him that I provide him with nutrients and sustenance free of charge, and I pointed out that he does nothing for me in return that any of my other body parts couldn't do. He then declared me a racist and screamed "VIVA LA REVOLUCION!" I'm not sure what that means, but I wonder if need to go get the Dremel tool and remove "Juan" before things get worse...