A Tale of Two Rescues

I agree with Tammy Bruce:  If you are just following the mainstream media, you could not be blamed for thinking that we would have been better served in Benghazi if we sent Charles Ramsey.

For those middle-class Chick-fil-A fans who have been following Professor Jacobson’s streaming of the hearings covering the events surrounding the terror attack on our Libyan embassy, Ramsey just became a national hero when he helped rescue three missing women who were held hostage for a decade in Ohio.

However, if you were only getting your information via Google, this is The News!

CNN has a bit more variety, also featuring the Jodi Arias trail verdict:

The Washington Post, whose reporters lead the way in bringing down the Nixon Administration over stolen tapes, seems less than enthusiastic in covering the hearings about attacks and a failed rescue that left 4 Americans dead. The placement with photo clearly indicates what stories they want their readers to see:

The Washington Post staff may want to reflect that their primary responsibility under the US Constitution is to be a watch-dog on our government officials and political representatives. If they decided to actually report the news, instead of insult the news consumers, perhaps the paper’s profits would not be plunging by 85%.

Comparing the coverage of the Ohio and Benghazi rescues, it is sad to see the depths to which American journalism has sunk.

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A few words in defense of Ashley Judd’s brief candidacy

I read with a raised eyebrow comments on Professor Jacobson’s report that Ashley Judd is no longer considering a run for the  US Senate.

As a Tea Party Democrat, I wanted to chime in.

The first point I would like to make is remind everyone that Kentucky’s Senior Senator and Senate Minority Leader Mitch Connell just voted to fund Obamacare.

Hey, remember that awesome CPAC speech by Mitch McConnell?

The one where Mitch McConnell said — and I quote — “Obamacare should be repealed root and branch. And we’re not backing down from this fight.”

And the same speech where Mitch McConnell also said, “This law is a disaster, and anybody who thinks we’ve moved beyond it is dead wrong.”

Well, as I told you, Mitch McConnell excels at saying one thing and doing another. Yesterday, Mitch McConnell voted to fund Obamacare.

To say Obamacare is a disaster would be an insult to disasters. So what’s the benefit of electing a Republican, exactly, if they vote the same as a Democrat?

Actually, most of the still-involved citizen activists I know are angrier with the Republican party now then when the Tea Party movement began in 2009. Tim Daniel of Left Coast Rebel expresses the sentiment of many people who remain in the movement:

I think this underscores that fact that we can’t support the Republican party; rather we have to support individuals (in the US Senate) such as Rand Paul, Mike Lee, etc. that do more than pay lip service to fiscal conservatism and individual rights. The problem with this is that we don’t have the time to spare any more weeding through good and bad candidates and getting enough Rand Pauls/Mike Lees/Justin Amashes in the Capital to save the nation from our self-directed collision course.

Supporting the Republican party by default is tantamount to roasting weenies in the flames engulfing our nation.

And to paraphrase something Judd said during her quasi-campaign: If I have to be screwed, I would rather be it by someone who looked like Judd and was upfront about policies, then by McConnell.

And I am a married, heterosexual woman.

But, I digress. Now for my second point: One of the hallmarks of Tea Party activism is to encourage regular citizens to participate in government.

Instead of Judd, it is likely Kentucky will have as its Democratic challenger the Secretary of State, Alison Lundergan Grimes. In fact, it is reported that Bill Clinton, a friend of Grimes’ father (Jerry Lundergan) told the 34-year-old that he and Hillary Clinton would support her candidacy.

It is important to note that papa Lundergan was Hillary Clinton’s Campaign Chairman during her Presidential run. So, now instead of potentially getting an “outsider”, Kentucky now gets to choose between Republican and Democratic “insiders”.

After being supportive of Christine O’Donnell’s candidacy for the Delaware Senate in 2010, I feel that it would be hypocritical to mock Judd for her attempt.

I would like to applaud Judd for her efforts, and encourage my Republican friends in Kentucky to find a solid primary opponent to face McConnell.

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Roman Leaders, Old and New: Julius Caesar and Pope Francis

Dear Readers: Canto Talk will be filled with lots of interesting news and view, so be sure to tune in today (Thursday, March 14 at 7 pm PST/9 pm CT/10 pm EST) for a two guest show!!!

To start with, noted Catholic author and a good friend of the Shrine, John Zmirak will join us to discuss the new pope, the “Bishop of Rome”. More on this big event is detailed at Legal Insurrection: Argentina’s Cardinal Jorge Bergoglio becomes Pope Francis – Updated

And there is even more Roman goodness: Fellow SLOB and military historian extraordinaire Barry Jacobsen will be on the second half of the show to discuss the assassination of Julius Caesar on the “Ides of March”, which is tomorrow.

In January of 49 BC, Julius Caesar led his army across the Rubicon River in Northern Italy (see Caesar Crosses the Rubicon, 49 BC) and plunged the Roman Republic into civil war. Caesar’s rival, Pompey, fled to Greece. Within three months Caesar controlled the entire Italian peninsula and in Spain had defeated the legions loyal to Pompey.

Caesar now pursued Pompey to Greece. Although outnumbered, Caesar crushed the forces of his enemy but not before Pompey escaped to Egypt. Following Pompey to Egypt, Caesar was presented with his rival’s severed head as a token of friendship. Before leaving the

The Assassination of Caesar

region, Caesar established Cleopatra as his surrogate ruler of Egypt. Caesar defeated his remaining rivals in North Africa in 47 BC and returned to Rome with his authority firmly established.

Caesar continued to consolidate his power and in February 44 BC, he declared himself dictator for life. This act, along with his continual effort to adorn himself with the trappings of power, turned many in the Senate against him. Sixty members of the Senate concluded that the only resolution to the problem was to assassinate Caesar.

Death of a Dictator

Nicolaus of Damascus wrote his account of the murder of Caesar a few years after the event. He was not actually present when the assassination occurred but had the opportunity to speak with those who were. He was a friend of Herod the Great and gathered his information during a visit to Rome. His account is thought to be reliable.

The Plan:

“The conspirators never met openly, but they assembled a few at a time in each others’ homes. There were many discussions and proposals, as might be expected, while they investigated how and where to execute their design. Some suggested that they should make the attempt as he was going along the Sacred Way, which was one of his favorite walks. Another idea was for it to be done at the elections during which he bad to cross a bridge to appoint the magistrates in the Campus Martius; they should draw lots for some to push him from the bridge and for others to run up and kill him. A third plan was to wait for a coming gladiatorial show. The advantage of that would be that, because of the show, no suspicion would be aroused if arms were seen prepared for the attempt. But the majority opinion favored killing him while he sat in the Senate, where he would be by himself since non-Senators would not be admitted, and where the many conspirators could hide their daggers beneath their togas. This plan won the day.”

Brutus Persuades Caesar to Ignore his Apprehensions:

“…his friends were alarmed at certain rumors and tried to stop him going to the Senate-house, as did his doctors, for he was suffering from one of his occasional dizzy spells. His wife, Calpurnia, especially, who was frightened by some visions in her dreams, clung to him and said that she would not let him go out that day. But Brutus, one of the conspirators who was then thought of as a firm friend, came up and said, ‘What is this, Caesar? Are you a man to pay attention to a woman’s dreams and the idle gossip of stupid men, and to insult the Senate by not going out, although it has honored you and has been specially summoned by you? But listen to me, cast aside the forebodings of all these people, and come. The Senate has been in session waiting for you since early this morning.’ This swayed Caesar and he left.”

Bad Omens:

“Before he entered the chamber, the priests brought up the victims for him to make what was to be his last sacrifice. The omens were clearly unfavorable. After this unsuccessful sacrifice, the priests made repeated other ones, to see if anything more propitious might appear than what had already been revealed to them. In the end they said that they could not clearly see the divine intent, for there was some transparent, malignant spirit hidden in the victims. Caesar was annoyed and abandoned divination till sunset, though the priests continued all the more with their efforts.

Those of the murderers present were delighted at all this, though Caesar’s friends asked him to put off the meeting of the Senate for that day because of what the priests had said, and he agreed to do this. But some attendants came up, calling him and saying that the Senate was full. He glanced at his friends, but Brutus approached him again and said, ‘Come, good sir, pay no attention to the babblings of these men, and do not postpone what Caesar and his mighty power has seen fit to arrange. Make your own courage your favorable omen.’ He convinced Caesar with these words, took him by the right hand, and led him to the Senate which was quite near. Caesar followed in silence.”

The Attack:

“The Senate rose in respect for his position when they saw him entering. Those who were to have part in the plot stood near him. Right next to him went Tillius Cimber, whose brother had been exiled by Caesar. Under pretext of a humble request on behalf of this brother, Cimber approached and grasped the mantle of his toga, seeming to want to make a more positive move with his hands upon Caesar. Caesar wanted to get up and use his hands, but was prevented by Cimber and became exceedingly annoyed.

That was the moment for the men to set to work. All quickly unsheathed their daggers and rushed at him. First Servilius Casca struck him with the point of the blade on the left shoulder a little above the collar-bone. He had been aiming for that, but in the excitement he missed. Caesar rose to defend himself, and in the uproar Casca shouted out in Greek to his brother. The latter heard him and drove his sword into the ribs. After a moment, Cassius made a slash at his face, and Decimus Brutus pierced him in the side. While Cassius Longinus was trying to give him another blow he missed and struck Marcus Brutus on the hand. Minucius also hit out at Caesar and hit Rubrius in the thigh. They were just like men doing battle against him.

Under the mass of wounds, he fell at the foot of Pompey’s statue. Everyone wanted to seem to have had some part in the murder, and there was not one of them who failed to strike his body as it lay there, until, wounded thirty-five times, he breathed his last. “

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California and New Zealand’s “Tsunami Bombs”!

Dear Readers:  HAPPY NEW YEAR!  And, may the Goddess of Capitalism act ever in your favor.

I wanted to start the new year with some heartfelt thanks to 3 gentlemen who made the struggles of 2012 a little more bearable, and who have been really wonderful friends of the Shrine.

• Bill Jacobson, of Legal Insurrection, who has invited me to join his team in support of his newest effort: College Insurrection.

• Aaron Clarey, Captain Capitalism, whose kind links to my history pieces are most appreciated — as his overall support of Capitalism.  I am looking forward to the publication of his newest book, “Enjoy the Decline“, which I had the privilege to edit very lightly.

• Silvio Canto Jr., who does the innovative and informative Canto Talk BlogTalkRadio.com show – and is one of the pioneers in the new mode of podcast-based talk radio that I think is the wave of the future.

I also want to give a big thank you to the SLOBS – SAN DIEGO LOCAL ORDER OF BLOGGERS, who are part of a dynamic punditry team covering local, state and national issues. A special mention needs to go to our tech guru, Charles of Doo Doo Economics.

Now, for today’s news. It seems that the Golden State is set firmly on a path to self-destruction. A new wave of fiscal badness is about to hit our shores: Higher down payments could be compromise Prop. 13 reform

Could simply requiring higher down payments on home loans be a compromise reform of Proposition 13?

The Democratic Party supermajority in the state legislature is presently pushing for reforms of Proposition 13, the 1978 initiative that limits property tax increases to 2 percent per year until a property resells.

Some of the legislature’s proposed reforms include  eliminating Prop. 13 for commercial properties and lowering the voter threshold for school parcel taxes to 55 percent from the current two-thirds.

But there may be a better way.

The culprit involved in state budget deficits is not Prop. 13.  It is low down-payment requirements and interest rates on home purchases combined with the effects of slow-growth management and environmental laws. Growth-management laws cause the excessive housing booms and busts that throw state and school budgets out of balance, as well as causing upside-down home values.

That Proposition 13 is being target by the Democratic Supermajority should be especially concerning to Californians. It is about the only taxpayer friendly legislation passed in the past 50 years, and makes living in the state quasi-affordable. Any “reform” will tsunami-like fiscal repercussions.

Speaking of Tsunamis: The United States and New Zealand conducted secret tests of a “tsunami bomb” designed to destroy coastal cities by using underwater blasts to trigger massive tidal waves.

The tests were carried out in waters around New Caledonia and Auckland during the Second World War and showed that the weapon was feasible and a series of 10 large offshore blasts could potentially create a 33-foot tsunami capable of inundating a small city.

The top secret operation, code-named “Project Seal”, tested the doomsday device as a possible rival to the nuclear bomb. About 3,700 bombs were exploded during the tests, first in New Caledonia and later at Whangaparaoa Peninsula, near Auckland.

The plans came to light during research by a New Zealand author and film-maker, Ray Waru, who examined military files buried in the national archives.

“Presumably if the atomic bomb had not worked as well as it did, we might have been tsunami-ing people,” said Mr Waru.

“It was absolutely astonishing. First that anyone would come up with the idea of developing a weapon of mass destruction based on a tsunami … and also that New Zealand seems to have successfully developed it to the degree that it might have worked.” The project was launched in June 1944 after a US naval officer, E A Gibson, noticed that blasting operations to clear coral reefs around Pacific islands sometimes produced a large wave, raising the possibility of creating a “tsunami bomb”.

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Costa Concordia Shipwreck: Newest Italian Vacation Hotspot

Dear Readers: One of the most popular posts I did last year was a joint effort with Word Warrior (before I taught him the divine pleasures of blogging). In preparation for a year-end retrospective I am doing for Legal Insurrection, I mentioned the shipwreck of the Costa Concordia. Here is an excerpt of the piece we did:

What Became of “Real Men”?

I was reminded of this by what we saw happen on the Costa Concordia. That men on that sinking cruise ship elbowed women and children aside in their frantic scurry onto the life-rafts, is just the most obvious example of the decline in chivalry, and… Well, just plain manhood! As life boats arrived on shore, aid workers were expecting to see lifeboats filled with women and children coming off first. Instead, they saw lots of burly men and a handful of well dressed wives and gal-pals!

How things have changed in the 100 years since the Titanic catastrophe.

On Titanic, women and children boarded the life rafts first; and the crew strictly enforced that. The captain was the last to leave the ship, and that after all lifeboats had already been launched. As Rich Lowry recently observed, “Capt. Edward Smith told his crew: “Men, you have done your full duty. You can do no more. Now it’s every man for himself.” One witness recalled seeing him, probably washed overboard, clutching a child in the water as the Titanic disappeared. A member of the crew always believed it was Captain Smith’s voice he heard from the water after the Titanic was gone, urging him and others on: “Good boys! Good lads!”

How different that is from the Costa Concordia captain, who along with other young brutes, apparently launched himself and his Moldavian 25 year old girlfriend into one of the lifeboats early on, elbowing women and children aside.

Well, I have a Goddess of Capitalism update!

Costa Concordia disaster spawns shipwreck tourism for Italian island

GIGLIO, Italy – Six months after it capsized off Italy’s Giglio island, the Costa Concordia still lies on its side – a monument to what prosecutors say was reckless navigation.

The 122,000-ton, 1,000 foot long cruise liner, which hit a rock and partially sank on January 13, claiming the lives of 32 people including two Americans, has become part of Giglio’s skyline.

For locals it has become an eyesore that stops them enjoying the view of the Tuscan shore. But for tourists it represents a perfect photo opportunity for their summer albums.

Every day, hundreds of tourists fill the regular ferries that connect the island from Porto Santo Stefano, the closest mainland port. It’s an hour-long crossing under the scorching summer sun – the roof deck becomes so hot you could cook pizza on its white floor – and yet everyone heads for the open top….

Before the Concordia tragedy, Giglio was a hangout for the rich and powerful. But the wreck happened right where luxurious yachts, too big to enter the tiny port, used to dock. The yachts have now been replaced by packed ferries of tourists looking for a quick snap and a bite to eat.

Some businesses have benefited: restaurants have never been so full, especially for lunch, and shops are selling out of souvenirs.

While I hope that the entrepreneurs direct some of that money to the families of the 30-plus passengers that died, the story highlights my reminder to people to always be mindful of opportunities whenever and where-ever they occur.

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Egyptians mock Morsi and “Merchants of Religion” and show they aren’t completely down with the concept of Islamic Pharaoh quite yet.

Welcome Instapundit readers! If you like ancient Egypt, please check out my post on 2 other Egyptian Queens – Ahhotep and Tausert. Fans of Medieval History will like Deadliest Blogger’s “Age of Arthur” series and superb podcast.

Dear Readers:  I am throwing up a two quick link summaries and a graphic that all caught my eye, as they deal with Egypt.  First, the graphic:

It seems that it may still be “Egypt for the Egyptians” – Egypt opposition shuns Morsi move

Egypt’s opposition has rejected an attempt by President Mohammed Morsi to end an increasingly bitter face-off.

Mr Morsi annulled a decree that gave him huge powers, but vowed that a vote on a new constitution would go ahead.

Opposition leaders rejected the move and called for protests on Tuesday. Later, Islamist groups said they would hold counter demonstration

It seems that Egypt’s version of “The Daily Show” poked a whole lot of fun at the ‘merchants of religion’, too:

For a brief moment on Friday night, Egyptians got some respite from the ongoing political crisis tearing the country apart. The comic relief came courtesy of Bassem Youssef’s satirical news show “Al Bernameg“ (The Program) which has just decamped from one ‘secular’ privately owned Egyptian TV channel to another….

By unleashing a deluge of satire on Egypt’s leaders – to great comic effect – Youssef is not only making light of the situation but also openly questioning authority and holding elected officials to account.

When I spoke to Youssef, shortly after taping his latest show, he told me “I don’t criticize, I satirize. I make fun, which is even more shocking. Whoever is in authority will have to deal with our program.”

In the newest episode, broadcast on Friday Dec. 7, as tensions in country remained on a knife-edge, Youssef raised the bar significantly by calling out those he describes as ‘merchants of religion.’ After mixing politics with religion, they were now using violence and sowing hate in the name of religion, he said.

In a country where the lines are blurred between politics and religion, Youssef says he gets a lot of heat from Islamists whom he considers Egypt’s right wingers.

“Our right wing here in Egypt is different from the U.S. because people here are more emotional about religion, they can’t differentiate between politics and religion. The Muslim Brotherhood and the Salafis are the right wing, I don’t deal with them as religious groups but as political groups,” he said.

Other links of note:

• From Word Warrior – Egypt’s Draft Constitution: Religious Freedom Undermined
• Doo Doo Economics:  Europe in double-dip recession.
• Beers with Demo recounts the best of the week, including Korean pop sensation Psy’s apology for his anti-American song 8 years ago.
• B-daddy: Deficit Agenda for Obama’s Second Term

Finally, Lonely Conservative offers the first bit of good news related to the administration post-election: Obama Admin Caving On Lunch Menus

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Egypt’s Morsi and Military Partner for Power

Dear Readers: To celebrate Advent this year, I am planning to feature some of my favorite Christmas-time pieces over the next few weeks. The Young Prince lead the procession in Mass today, which is the first day of Advent. O Come, O Come Emmanuel was being sung by the choir…so I thought this would be a good choice to kick off the season:

The prince also starting opening up his chocolate Advent calendar yesterday.

On a slightly more somber note: Morsi Reaches Islamist Dictator Deal With Egyptian Military

Yesterday, Obama-approved Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood president Mohammed Morsi declared that he would have a referendum on December 15 to greenlight the newly rammed-through draft constitution that enshrines Shariah law in Egypt. Morsi has bought the support of the military via the new constitution, which prevents the military from having any civilian oversight, and allows the military to prosecute civilians.

Now Muslim Brotherhood protesters have shut down the Egyptian Supreme Court, forcing them to postpone their ruling on the legitimacy of the constitutional assembly that originally ratified the new constitution.

So much for the Arab Spring. The Muslim Brotherhood has now reached a compromise solution with the army that makes both of them unanswerable within the country. And the Obama administration remains silent.

As a result, Egypt’s opposition groups are planning to march on the Presidential Palace (via Egypt Daily News).

Several Egyptian political parties and groups have issued a joint statement announcing their intention to peacefully march to the presidential palace in Cairo at 5pm on Tuesday to voice opposition to President Mohamed Morsi’s recent decisions and the date that has been set for a nationwide popular referendum on Egypt’s draft constitution.

“The constitution project that Morsi wants to put before a referendum is in fact a project for tying down the political, civil, social and economic freedoms of Egyptians,” read the statement, published on the Egyptian Popular Current’s official Facebook page.

In a nutshell: Morsi gets complete freedom to enact extreme Islamic law, and the Egyptian military gets complete freedom to take care of themselves and handle the civilian population as it pleases. What’s not to love???

As places dear to me in this world are being challenged, I take comfort in this thought offered on the Day #1 Advent calendar item: The people walking in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of the shadow of death a light has dawned.

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A Masala of Fun and Facts – King Tut, Napoleon and Tango

Dear Readers:  I wanted to thank Georgina Vargas and Oscar Mandagaran for their wonderful discussion of the art and history of Tango last night.  I am afraid my fast, mid-western dialect was a but much, but Silvio was the gracious translator and we had a ton of fun (click HERE for the show link).  Georgina has a CD she is working on, and we were treated to some of her incredible, passionate singing.

I came across some amusing, entertaining, and informative links that  wanted to share today.

The Pharaoh Island: 90 years after the discovery of Tutankhamun’s tomb, how Britain has embraced Egyptian architecture

There may not be a sphinx on every street corner in London or Manchester, but Egypt has had a bigger influence on British architecture than you would think.

From cinemas to supermarkets, factories to mausoleums, a new book has revealed the deep-seated influence the ancient territory has had on British building design for more than 200 years.

‘Egypt in England’ by Chris Elliott examines over 50 Egyptian sites in Britain, revealing the curious stories behind these unusual and often outlandish pieces of architecture and interior design.

For centuries the wonder of Ancient Egypt remained largely inaccessible to European travellers, until its ‘rediscovery’ in the 19th century.

During England’s Regency era (1811-1820) Egyptian style became the very height of fashion.

This ‘Egyptomania’ was fuelled by the British discovery, exactly 90 years ago this November, of Tutankhamun’s tomb, which gave the world some of its most iconic images of the ancient civilisation.

Part of the reason for Britain’s “Egyptomania” is that used the French Description de l’Egypte, with was a graphic illustration of the wonders discovered by Napoleon’s expedition into Egypt.

Which brings me to the subject of my next post, Word Warrior’s piece — DEMOCRATS PUSH FOR TOTAL VICTORY – that likens Obama to Napoleon.

It appears as if President Obama and the Democrats are taking a page from Napoleon’s playbook. Smelling blood in the water, they seek to turn a slender tactical victory on election night into a strategic political victory. Pursuing a relentlessly partisan, populist approach the President seeks to pursue the disordered and demoralized Republicans off the looming “fiscal cliff”.

After 3 weeks of leaving them hanging, the President has contemptuously placed before the Republicans an offer that is little more than insulting: a tax hike of $1.6 trillion; in return for an ephemeral promise of addressing essential entitlement cuts sometime in the future.

I am tired of Obama being compared to Roman Emperors, so this was a very refreshing take! The entire piece is a must-read, so please head on over.  In a related piece, Lonely Conservative note: Americans’ Net Worth Drops To 43 Year Low

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Other News and Links:

• My latest at College Insurrection, which is a look at husband-wife vacation challenges: “Check out” latest Prager U. Course — “He Wants You”
• A big thanks to W.C. Varones who links to my Legal Insurrection piece on the high speed train fiasco: California, the Pineapple Express, Axl Rose, and the High-Speed Fail to Nowhere
• Beers with Demo notes the dirty UN is trying to get its hands on our internet: Kind of a no-brainer when one thinks about it
• Edge of the Sandox has a great demographic analysis: I Don’t Know Why Asians Are Democrats, But

As a side note, I will be chatting with Aaron Clarey, Captain Capitalism this Wednesday on Canto Talk.  He has a wonderful analysis about our current batch of college students:  The Pathetic Conformity of Young “Rebels”

As a student I remember my teachers and I were sworn enemies.  It was never stated, but it was obvious through actions and behaviors, and as quickly as the first week of kindergarten, that teachers were not there to help the students, but to take advantage of them.  I do not mean in a “physical” or “sexually abusive” way, but in a financial and psychological way.  It was very apparent to me at the age of 5 that the teachers were not there to help `us, they were there for ulterior motives, and me and my peers would be the victims in this racket.

Obviously I could not articulate this at that time.  I didn’t have the vocabulary, the thought, let alone the context.  But now in hindsight and knowing the racket education is, I can identify precisely what was going on.  Young adults, too lazy to find real work, used “educating the children” as an excuse to avoid math, rigor or any career endeavor that required effort.  And so, for 13 years, me and millions of other youth had to suffer at the hands of overpaid, overglorified, inferior-human, baby sitters, and though we couldn’t articulate the argument above, we intuitively KNEW IT becuase of the day in, day out hell these morons forced upon us.  It was WAR.  And it was between the innocent students and the people posing as teachers (why else would “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off” be so popular?).

Fast forward to today and times have definitely changed.  And changed for the worse.

Finally, check out College Insurrection friend, American Glob’s piece on the 5 People Fox News should kick to the curb and see if you agree!

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Of Star Trek, Trade School, and the Marijuana Research Institute

Dear Readers: In the process of working up some fun posts, I cam across a few items so flaming hot they had to be shared.

1) KLINGON STYLE (Star Trek Parody of PSY – GANGNAM STYLE)

2) This is the short of thing that’s making me want to direct the Young Prince to Trade School:

Students Told to Disavow ‘American-ness, maleness, whiteness, heterosexuality’

A political science professor at Butler University asks students to disregard their “American-ness, maleness, whiteness, heterosexuality, middle-class status” when writing and speaking in the classroom – a practice the school’s arts and sciences dean defended as a way to negate students’ inherent prejudices.

The one saving grace is my son is a scientist at heart: I never heard of a RedOx equation needing to disregard race or sex before balancing.

3) And from the heart of crazy California’s Pot Country (a BIG THANKS to Captain Capitalism for the share): College launches research institute devoted to pot

A public university located in one of California’s prime pot-growing regions has formed an academic institute devoted to marijuana.

The Humboldt Institute for Interdisciplinary Marijuana Research at Humboldt State University plans to sponsor scholarly lectures and coordinate research among 11 faculty members from fields such as economics, geography, politics, psychology and sociology.

The Times-Standard of Eureka reports (http://bit.ly/V5H8zy) that one professor is studying recent campaigns to legalize marijuana, while another is investigating the environmental effects of pot cultivation.

“If anyone is going to have a marijuana institute, it really should be Humboldt State,” economist Erick Eschker, the institute’s co-chair, told the newspaper. Eschker is studying the connection between marijuana production and employment in the county.

With Obama re-elected and California Democrats having a super-majority with Governor Jerry Brown in charge, perhaps some mind-altering substances are in order to make the next 4 years survivable.

Of course, Legal Insurrection’s Professor Jacobson has a thing or two to say about the kind of kids who are likely to attend that school: Call that part of that generation’s bluff

…we should call that entire generation’s bluff.

You’re out of here, get a job — even one Americans supposedly don’t want to take, see you at holidays, don’t call us we’ll call you, to what address should we forward your student loan notices, call your gender studies professor for help, you just figured out the B.A. is the new G.E.D., can you see the fiscal cliff from your loft bed, you too can experience an Obamaphone because your iPhone 5 with 4G isn’t actually your iPhone 5 with 4G it’s on my Plan ….

A few SLOB  items to note:

• KT Cat offers an interesting perspective on Palestinian “victims”:  If I Ran Through Compton, Wearing A Klan Outfit, Would You Feel Sorry For Me When I Got Shot?
• Word Warrior shares in amusing Tim Hawkins video: THE GOVERNMENT CAN
• Beers with Demo opines about Sandra Fluke’s nomination as Times “Person of the Year”:Sign of the times
• DooDoo Economics has GAZA MANPADS FROM LIBYA

Around the Net with some friends:

• American Glob: WAPO’s Greg Sargent Just Delighted Over Union Control In Fiscal Cliff Talks

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I also wanted to give a GODDESS OF CAPITALISM – FLAMING CAPITALISM PROMOTION to 2 specific websites. If you adore the Goddess, then do her bidding: If you plan to shop for the holidays at Amazon.com, then go though either of these sites (their profits become my profits).

LEGAL INSURRECTION - A big thanks to Bill Jacobson for his support, observations, editing and wit. Please check out my new post on Legal Insurrection — and click on the Amazon link to the right!!!

CAPTAIN CAPITALISM: A big, big thank you to Aaron Clarey — who kindly links to my history based posts (otherwise, they may have languished in electronic oblivion) . I am a big fan of his book, “Worthless (Indispensable Guide to Choosing the Right College Major“, and will join his haremteam of female editors for his newest publishing endeavor.

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Egypt in the Wake of Pharaoh Morsi’s Decree

Dear Readers:  A quick Egypt-based update for my fans of the ancient land.  I bet the true believers in the “Arab Spring” were shocked to discover that the new Muslim Brotherhood President transformed himself into the new pharaoh!

This via Egypt Daily News: Egypt journalists blast Morsi declaration, warn of general strike

The general assembly of the Egyptian Journalists Syndicate on Sunday voiced its rejection of President Mohamed Morsi’s constitutional declaration, threatening to stage a general strike in retaliation against Morsi’s divisive Thursday declaration.

“The general assembly announces its total rejection of the latest decisions issued by the president,” Gamal Fahmi, member of the syndicate’s executive board, shouted to hundreds of journalists at the syndicate’s downtown headquarters.

The president’s decisions “represent naked aggression against general freedoms, the rule of law and the independence of the judiciary,” he added, as fistfights erupted around him between supporters and opponents of the syndicate’s head Mamdouh El-Wali.

Another article shows the turmoil and economic hardship that the dictate has wrought: Entirely predictable to those of us who recognized the only entity in Egypt to organize after the power vacuum following Mubarak’s ouster was the hate-mongering fundamentalist Muslim Brotherhood.

Egypt’s stock index fell by nearly 10 percent Sunday in the first trading since President Mohammed Morsi issued decrees to assume sweeping new powers, while a 15-year-old boy was killed in an attack on the Muslim Brotherhood’s headquarters and police in central Cairo fired tear gas at protesters.

Morsi’s edicts, which were announced on Thursday, place him above oversight of any kind, including that of the courts. The move has thrown Egypt’s already troubled transition to democracy into further turmoil, sparking angry protests across the country to demand the decrees be immediately rescinded.

The judiciary, which was the main target of Morsi’s edicts, has pushed back. Judges and prosecutors stayed away from several courts in Cairo and across much of the country.

Fortunately, a dear friend of mine has relocated his family. Charles Caesar also has an Egyptian friend who makes the following report: The country now is divided between two camps and no other, Egyptians versus the Muslim Brotherhood, anyone who says anything differently doesn’t know what they’re talking about.”

In essence, what has happened is that Morsi feels entitled to act out, now that he has the Obama Administration’s blessing following the pseudo-cease-fire between Hamas and Israel. It looks like the Muslim Brotherhood is going to get a crack at rewriting the Egyptian Constitution:

Among Egypt’s secular opposition groups, there was mounting alarm over Morsi’s declaration that no court could dissolve the country’s Constituent Assembly, which is drawing up a new Egyptian constitution.

The rewriting of the new constitution has been a controversial issue, with most non-Islamist members quitting the Constituent Assembly – including representatives of the Coptic Christian Church and the April 6 Youth Movement, which played an influential role in the 2011 ouster of former President Hosni Mubarak.

That’s going to go well for the Copts./sarc X 1,000,000

EGYPT FOR THE EGYPTIANS!

This is one of my favorite lines from George Bernard Shaw’s “Caesar and Cleopatra. I have always maintained that Egypt will be best served by the citizens recalling their ancient roots and remembering that they are Egyptians first and foremost.

On a slightly lighter, but related note, here is a video tour of the ancient Egyptian hell. You only have to turn on your TV to see its modern one.

UPDATE: Video: Protests, clashes spread outside of Cairo

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