HISTORY TEACHERS DREAM TRIP

Over the Memorial Day weekend I am going on road trip that only a history teacher could love. Ohio has given the country eight presidents. Most of them were undistinguished to say the least. That won't deter me. I am visiting the national historical sights of three presidents in two days.

First on the agenda is Rutherford B. Hayes. He was a Civil War veteran who became president as a result of the most disputed election in U.S. history. Not 2000, but 1876. He lost the popular vote, but won the presidency in the House of Representatives. His term as president was actually quite successful. Look it up.

Next on the agenda is William McKinley another Civil War veteran. McKinley had a distinguished career including two terms as Ohio Governor. His presidency began in 1897 and ended in 1901 when he was assassinated. Bonus points: Who took over as president upon his death? He was in office during the annexation of Hawaii and the Spanish-American War. He set out to be a domestic president and ended up being a successful foreign policy president.

Last on the list is Warren G. Harding. And well he should be. He was a president who just tried not screw up. He didn't. Nearly everyone around him did. He died in office and was succeeded in office by Calvin Coolidge. Coolidge was interesting in that he was not loquacious to say the least. His reputation was such that a story has him sitting next to a lady who said to him "I have a bet that I can make you say five words." Coolidge replied by note "You lose."

A scintillating trip for me must be cowritten by my wife who indulges my love of history with a fairly good love of it herself. I'm lucky to have her. I look forward to it!

DOES THE MEDIA WANT US TO WIN THE WAR ON TERRORISM?

http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20070520/pl_afp/usbritainmilitary_070520203946

What the hell? This is a great example of the media making a story where there is none. The media wants desperately to drive a wedge between Great Britain and the US. Anyone who thinks that there aren't those in America who are rooting against a win is just fooling him/herself. The numbers of people hoping we lose this war is significant and it is undermining the effort to win. As fond as the media is about Vietnam comparisons, try this one. The media undermined the war effort in Vietnam and was complicit with weak politicians. Does that sound familiar in any way? It would be good if the press would just report the news and not try to make it. It is sickening to hear the leadership of the Dems say they support the troops when in reality they support nothing but their own power. Disingenuous is the word.

WILL THEY LISTEN OR ARE THEY INVINCIBLE?

Well tomorrow we have our "mock crash." For anyone who doesn't know what that is, it's a fake crash that is done around prom time to make the students think about risky behavior. I always hope that it affects the students in a positive way to not engage in risky behaviors. We all know that there are a number of students who will engage in these behaviors regardless of our efforts because they are invincible. I only wish it was true.

We also do something called "every 15 minutes" that is designed to bring home the fact to the students that someone dies in the US from an alcohol-related car crash every 15 minutes. I know in some cases we are wasting our time. But I think that most kids listen to adults that they recognize have their best interests at heart. In this activity someone dressed as the Grim Reaper and a police officer visit students in predetermined classrooms to pick them out. The students are "declared dead" and their obituary is read. For the remainder of the day they are silent. We received a lot of positive feedback last year from the students about this activity which prompted us to repeat it. Visit this website for more information. www.every15minutes.com

Here's hoping that everybody's prom is safe and fun.

Hate Crimes

http://townhall.com/columnists/GeorgeWill/2007/05/13/hate_crime_laws
What the hell is a "hate crime?" We used to ask that question when I was a cop. What was the difference if a crime was done to a man, woman, or child. A crime is a crime. It is disturbing when the government gets into the business of determining which crimes enjoy special status. Anytime the government assigns a special status to any crime it immediately diminishes all other crimes. They take a lower status. As Will says, hate crime legislation is feel good law. And that is dangerous. Who is to say which groups should be protected? I've seen my fair share of crimes and each and every one was the product of hate.

How can this be, you say? Anytime someone commits a crime they convey their hate of society's laws. Now some of our friends on the left would have you believe that societal factors cause crime. That's crap! I dealt with many people with very little means who were law-abiding citizens and taught their children to be the same. Maybe these people should pull their head out of Les Miserables and get in the real world. What causes crime is the disregard of laws and the morally bankrupt behavior of people. Many, many poor people are law-abiding, upstanding citizens who respect the law. Don't give me the jazz that poverty causes crime. That is a crutch for society to excuse behavior that we would not otherwise excuse. Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton make a living from this guilt trip.

We are trodding on dangerous ground when we give government the power to decide which part of society should be protected. I give two examples: the Japanese in WWII and the African-Americans throughout our history. The outrageous conduct towards both was at one time legal.

We need to speak up as a society and denounce moral relativism. At no time in our history did we explain away behavior that is clearly illegal. When we make excuses for criminals we end up with full jails and a lawless and dangerous society. Shockingly, we have that now.

We must stop tolerating bad behavior. I know it is easy to ignore the bad things that go on in our society, (nearly 20,000 murders a year) but what happens when the victim is you?

What Now?

Now that we have passed the levy and the kids can stay at our school, we need to think about what is next. There were a large number of school levies in our area and the passage rate was about 50%. What a shame for the ones that failed. There has got to be a better way to fund schools. Hopefully, someone finds one. Our union is so bent on worrying about Wal-Mart and other Democrat causes they have forgotten their may responsibility. They and the Democrats feed off each other in order to keep their jobs. We have a new Democrat Gov. who has already started doing the bidding of the school union. I think it will only get worse. I am frustrated because the students are the ones that are caught in the middle. The unions could give a crap less and the school administrators are so busy trying to keep the revenue stream alive that the whole system is crap. The kids catch the bad end of things. I wish I could say that it was better when the Republicans were in charge, but their remedy was to ignore the problem. It is a recipe for disaster when you leave politicians in charge of anything. They are only interested in protecting their phoney baloney jobs. Damn, what a mess.

THE LEVY PASSED!!

We just passed our levy. I'm pumped!!! That means that we won't have to participate in "begging for dollars" for about 3 more years. We have to find a better way to fund schools. This is bad for everyone. At school we were on pin and needles, both students and teachers, all day today. Now the pressure is off for the time being. The Ohio Education Association (NEA) has an amendment drive to the Ohio constitution on to give some structure to school funding. I'm going to have to take a long look at it. I normally discount nearly everything the NEA/OEA endorses, but this bears some scrutiny.

My wife and I were watching the election returns with bated breath. My mother-in-law had to endure a half-hour diatribe from me about the stupidity of the Ohio funding of public schools. I was appalled that parents would allow their children to go to a school without extracurriculars. It would have been a dismal place indeed. We escaped this time. What about next time?

Levy Election Tomorrow

Well the rubber meets the road tomorrow. We have the election in which our bond issue is up for approval. I don't really have a feeling for its prospects one way or the other. I just hope it passes so our extracurriculars won't get canceled. Without any extras the school will certainly be mighty boring. I hope for the kids sake the citizens find it in their hearts to vote for the levy.

Historical Perspective

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070506/ap_on_re_mi_ea/al_qaida_video
This should prove to anyone who has any intelligence that the people who want us destroyed are watching and listening to the debate about Iraq War funding. How can you possibly say that setting guidelines is a good thing. We are being watched and judged on our ability to stay the course (I know that's not the best thing to say these days).

I don't know, let me think. If I tell the people I'm fighting that I will go home at a certain time, do you think they'll wait until I do and then cause mischief. This guy is as much as saying so.

The American Revolution lasted from 1775 to 1783. Do you think that George III would have liked to know when the Americans would finally lose their patience and give up? Hillary and Byrd want to put a five (5) year limit on this war. That's nice to know if you are an enemy of the U.S. All you have to do is go the distance and you're home free. We'll quit.

Let's talk about the last "good" war. The U.S. was in WWII from 1941-1945. That's good, it's under the limit. The war really lasted from September 1, 1939 when Poland was attacked, to September 2, 1945 when Japan finally signed the surrender papers. It took two atomic bombs dropped on two cities to force the surrender on August 10. Taking this into consideration, WWII doesn't make the Hill-Byrd cut. Well then, let's stop before D-Day, June 6, 1944 to make sure we don't exceed the limit. After all, does Europe really need to be liberated? Sorry, five years is up, let's take our ball and go home.

The Spanish-American War, very short, a "splendid little war." Good, makes the cut. The Korean War, 1950-1953, makes the cut. The Vietnam War, bad, bad, bad. Too long, doesn't make the cut. The communists attack our allies in violation of the cease-fire, sorry, no help. It doesn't make the cut. The clock ran out. Sorry about all those people who got killed but damn it we're on a deadline.

Once again, Hillary never ceases to amaze me. She can not only flip-flop, but do contortions and the media will give her a pass. I won't even spend a lot of time on Byrd; he was in the KKK for God's sakes. I know it was an error of youth. When I was young I didn't think of joining the KKK because, well, ...it was wrong.

How can anyone seriously think of voting for Hillary. She has demonstrated time and again, she has no core values. She will do whatever is the most expedient thing at the time. I certainly want someone running the country that keeps me guessing. It makes it fun. It sure as heck will keep our allies guessing. I voted for the war, now I wish I hadn't, now I want to take my vote back, now I want to stop the war immediately. Take a stance and stick to it!!

Here's hoping someone from the large group of Republicans will step forward, and show some principles and values. We need leadership now. President Bush has the courage of his convictions but has not done the job of explaining the war to the people. I think history will probably judge him well. But right now, we need someone to take the point on this war and make people understand the danger we are facing. Isn't it telling that the most capable advocate for the war is a Democrat (Independent) in Joe Lieberman. I'm waiting.

What is conservatism?

I think this about covers it for those of us who espouse conservative positions. This writer is one of the best when it comes to explaining what it is we conservatives believe. I read his blog regularly and it is always enjoyable and thought-provoking. Take some time and read it.

Kerplunk - Common sense from Down Under: Just Add Freedom

Kerplunk - Common sense from Down Under: Just Add Freedom