Jaime Escalante

The Sacramento Bee is reporting that the man who challenged the stereotypes about achievement in inner city schools died in Reno, Nevada where he was undergoing treatment for cancer. He made a difference in the lives he touched and allowed students to believe they could reach their goals with hard work and dedication. Students in his calculus classes overcame near-impossible odds in passing the AP Calculus exams in high numbers, allowing many to attend 4 year colleges right out of high school. I am sure he left a lasting impression on their lives.

Bully in the White House

As I listened to portions of President Obama's speech today in Iowa, there was a very unpresidential and disquieting tone in his remarks to the audience. He was taunting his political opponents in a way that I have never witnessed in a President. As I thought further through the day, I finally pinned down the attitude that permeated his words and gestures. Where have I seen this attitude before? Ah yes, in school yards and parks where bullies taunt and belittle their victims with impunity.

(Congress, this last Sunday, gave this man carte blanche to jab, poke, and belittle the people in this Country who are on the unfortunate side of history.)

I have to admit, I am not used to seeing my President regard 60% of my Countrymen with such contempt. As a nation, he has led us across a line into territory where we have no experience. The result of the health care vote is far more than the ramifications of a poorly written bill. It is even more than the ever-growing nanny-state. It has brought us face to face with the realization that we now have a Bully in the People's House.

Election 2010 can send the Bully to the proverbial "corner" and hopefully begin the steps back across the line where we have the familiarity of a more civil society, and a President who respects those who have given him the consent to govern.

Constitutional Challenge on Health Care Bill is Readied

Mark Levin, noted constitutional lawyer, has prepared the arguments against what is going on in Congress at this moment. The way the vote on health care is being carried out goes to the core of our form of government and law-making. If this group in the House is allowed to continue in this vein they will be out of control in the truest sense and laws will no longer be made with the permission of the governed.

I pray for my country.

US of Banana Republic

(Link to the article by clicking on the title above or using link at end of post.)

Anyone who grew up in the US knows that there are procedures in place for a law to pass in the United States Congress. After a bill has passed both Houses, if there are disparities in the bills, leaders from both Houses go to "Conference." This is where the differences are hammered out and the bills are re-presented to both Houses for passage.

Well, with the battle of a lifetime in front of them, House Democrats see that the passage of the Health Care bill before them (Senate version) will not pass because of the smelly backroom deals, the lack of a public option, and most especially the abortion language. So, they are literally making up new rules in the House that would allow them to add/take away the most objectable language, and then just "deem" the bill as passed!

I can't believe this is happening in America.

Call your Congressman/Senator and let them know this is unacceptable.

http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/opinion/blogs/beltway-confidential/House-Democrats-looking-at-Slaughter-Solution-to-pass-Obamacare-without-a-vote-on-Senate-bill-87267402.html

Unplug the Machine

I stand aghast at the fact that California now has a 12.5% unemployment rate and that the public employee unions are suing the Governor (the State) because of furlough days. The public is beginning to look at the union as representing a bunch of whiners. Can you imagine the audacity of expecting more money out of the State while there are so many unemployed? From where do they think the tax money comes that supports their hefty salary and compensation packages?

Unions have an endless supply of money to fight with while they deplete the State Treasury of precious funds. What's worse, union members throughout the State have dues taken out of their paychecks involuntarily that help fund the politicians who are driving our State into insolvency. Ironically, there are many State workers who don't support the actions of their unions, but have no viable recourse.

Let's level the playing field. Sign the petition to get an initiative on the ballot that will stop the raiding of public employee paychecks, the money of which goes to fight the State and make unreasonable demands for increased pay and compensation. Download and sign the petition...better yet, get a few friends/neighbors to sign one also! Unions need to raise money like the rest of us do...one person at a time, on a voluntary basis! Click on the title for link.

Legendary Teacher, Jaime Escalante

I was inspired by the story of this Bolivian born teacher who showed up at Garfield high school in the 1980's and took what seemed to be an impossible pool of students and inspired them to break out of the negative stereotypes associated with inner city schools. Mr. Escalante took class after class of students through high level calculus courses against all odds, receiving high scores on Advanced Placement exams. His story was made into a movie called Stand and Deliver.


He is now into his late '70's and is battling cancer. Edward Olmos, who portrayed Escalante in the movie has taken it upon himself to make an appeal to help the retired teacher with the costs associated with his care. According to the news story, Mr. Escalante has depleted all of his funds. Olmos' hope is to help him beat back the cancer, or at least give him the highest level of care to be comfortable in his closing days of life. My thoughts and prayers are with him and his family.

Isn't it Ironic?

Listening to a report tonight on the Iraqi elections, it struck me that it appears that voter identification is very important there. They want to make sure that someone has the right to vote, doesn't vote twice, and is registered in the precinct at which they appear. Hmmmm. Makes me wonder if we could do something like that in the USA. No one ever asks for my ID at a precinct, nor is it verified. As long as I show up, am the right sex, and have the correct address, I'm in! The few states that pass laws on voter ID are denigrated as racist. Yet, a country that we are helping, has voter ID, and purple ink as the "enforcer."

Mitt Romney Interview on Fox News Sunday

Today Mitt Romney was interviewed on Fox News Sunday and discussed his new book, No Apologies. The title is a direct hit at what many believe to be the "apology tour" our President has taken across the world. Mitt Romney is sounding very conservative, but Chris Wallace had him defending the Massachusetts health care system which is under assault by many in the conservative movement. Romney proudly defends the health bill he helped pass in MA while governing there, but it does bear an eerie resemblance to the Obamacare that so many are protesting, including individual and employer mandates, minimum coverage standards, and subsidies for the uninsured...I hate to say it, but it does sound like Obamacare. Just a few months ago when all of this publicity started to surface about what has happened in MA since the system was implemented, I heard Ann Coulter comment that Romney should run the opposite way of this.


To the contrary, Romney defended the new system there, saying that this wasn't the whole picture; this was a State making a decision as opposed to the federal government; and further, no taxes went up, it didn't cut Medicare, and there were no controls on the premiums for insurance companies. As for the mandatory requirements, Romney says that these were added by the Legislature; he vetoed this, but they overrode the veto.

Some more interesting figures to consider: Wallace reported that MA residents have the highest rates in the Country, with per capita spending 27% higher than the rest of the nation; and MA has a budget deficit of $47 million. Romney countered that the health care system is coming in at $80 million under budget, and that residents of MA are only seeing a 5% annual rise in the cost of health insurance versus the 20% per year experienced by employers around the country.

Wallace also reported that the CATO Institute, a libertarian/conservative think tank calls it the mirror of the Obama plan, and that federal funds are actually being used to subsidize the program. With all of these numbers flying back and forth, it looks like this needs to be dissected a little further. As much as it grieves me to say this about something Romney proudly defends...I do have to say it seems to walk like a duck and talk like a duck...

A lot of questions come to mind here, but one that really sticks in my brain is, What good does it do to mandate insurance if there are no controls on what one can be charged, and one has no choice in the type of insurance they are allowed to buy? It just seems like mandates are where this all goes awry. Opinions please!