Journey through History...

My son started Civics yesterday. Bittersweet for me. I love civics and I am pretty active and take my citizenship pretty seriously. For those that need a refresher ~civics: a social science dealing with the rights and duties of citizens (Merriam-Webster). Or, the study of the rights and duties of citizens and of how government works. So why bittersweet? Because his class, the class of 2019 might be the last class to have the opportunity to take civics. There has been a push to integrate civics into other US History classes rather than to have a specific Civics class available to students, as a US History class.
On September 24th the Instructional Committee were presented with a new US History I course. There were three instructional committee members present, and three other board members present that night. So half of the Rochester School Board did not see this presentation. The course would be offered to sophomores, and in the end would raise History credit requirements by a ½ credit.   At first look, the proposal seemed like a great idea, but then we were told that the quarter required classes of economics, and civics would be eliminated. Fortunately, one of the board members who happens to teach History at a neighboring school district, was not only there, he also sits on the committee. Being that History/Civics is a passion for him, he knew all the right questions and concerns to raise.

We were told that civics would still be taught, but it would be through the new course. It was said that it would be making it “stronger and more in-depth.” The pessimist in me doubts that. Specifically, one of the slides in the presentation says, “Consolidates Civics curriculum into the US History I topics.”
We were told that the History Department has been working on this change for about two years. They were hoping for committee approval in September, full board approval in October, so that they could get the Program of Studies completed, updated for the 2016-2107 school year. Fortunately, no votes have been taken yet by anyone. Usually, something is worked on for years, and then is voted on immediately, by a trusting, agreeable board with virtually no research or vetting during the process. Thank goodness there is a History teacher on the board because Lord knows they wouldn't have taken any of my concerns seriously. At the time of the presentation, they said they would use the US History textbooks. “American Vision” that we currently are using, and then implement some online resources. I have emailed the HS History department to ask, what else will be used in class. The reply was the American Vision textbook. I knew that, so I will email again and ask about more specific about online resources.

The presentation was the third presentation of that evening.

 A couple of the points that were made during the Presentation…

*Economics, (a social studies requirement) had the highest enrollment for sophomores in 2014-2015. 75% did not pass. We didn't get numbers on civics passing rates.

*We would not need to increase staff.

I walked away from the meeting tentatively pleased. A stronger US History class would be nice, but is it really?

Only 24% of High School seniors score proficient, or as we like to say in Rochester “competent,” on the US civic literacy test. Is eliminating required civics courses going to improve those numbers?

Watch the presentation here:

http://www.rochesterschools.com/schoolboardvids/instruc9_24_15.html

While your contemplating if removing civics from course requirements is a good idea, consider this...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eiZFXkmofgI


Just Saying.

Making America Great Again

Trump.  I am sure to tick off many of my fellow conservatives with this one, but here it goes…

It was very exciting a couple of weeks ago to hear him say pretty much what every American is thinking. But now, as they say, he is sucking out all the oxygen. I DO like that he is pissing off the establishment, but this thing with McCain is getting as old, as McCains time in the Senate. McCain isn't running, and we all know he is a moron. The comments that McCain made about the people that were at the best attended political rally to date shouldn't be at all unexpected. Saying that Trump "fired up the crazies" is not any different than when back in 2013, he attacked Rand Paul and Ted Cruz calling them "wacko birds." The guy has complete disdain for anyone that is not an establishment Republican. He dismisses anyone who pushes the issue of following the law of the land, the Constitution.

Trumps comeback to McCain is to attack his military service. Lame. The guy has turned into a progressive. There are so many others things on his record that could have been addressed and not attack his military service. Leave that alone. But no, he dug a hole and then continued to dig deeper, and to a certain extent put down other POWs.

Then he trades jabs with Lindsey Graham. Graham calls him a "jackass" and Trump responds by calling him an "idiot" and gives out Graham's cell phone number. No wonder people disengage from "politics" The three of them belong in a clown car.

I actually agree with what Rubio says regarding all this, "The country needs a president who restores dignity and class to the White House." Putting it simply, we need a grown up that understands the importance of The Constitution.

I don't think Trump bring that to the table.

Trump goes on to attack Rick Perry, saying "he did an absolutely horrible job securing the border. He should be ashamed of himself," which is complete BS. A year ago, when all those, "kids" started coming over by the thousands, on top of trains, through the river, he begged the WH for some backup and got nothing. So he called in the National Guard. The guy in the WH even refused Perry's request to visit the border with him.

So before Trump goes on to attack better candidates than him, let's revisit some facts about this guy.

He is outspoken. And yes, sometimes that is good.

He says his net worth is $10 billion. So, he probably can't be bought. But...he also probably can't realistically relate to any Americans families whose annual combined salary is $50-100k a year. You know, the little people, the middle class, and the voters.

He is against sanctuary cities. We all should be. It's like the spot on the Monopoly game board that is FREE PARKING for people that broke the law after they get into our country. But he is for comprehensive immigration reform, which is not all that different from the "pathways" that the progressives from both parties support.

In 1999, Trump said on Meet the Press, "I am very pro-choice" even saying that partial birth abortion should remain legal. When considering a run for the presidency in 2011, he said he was pro-life. Yesterday he said that selling baby parts is disgusting. (Of course, this procedure of parting out babies is done largely through partial birth abortions).

Trump was a Democrat from 2001-2008.

He has given more to elect Democrats than Republicans at every election cycle. Since 2010, he still continues to give to Democrats.

Matthew 6:21 Jesus said, "For Where your treasure is, so your heart will be also,"

In 2004, he gave $40.500 to Democrats, and $17,250 to Republicans.

In 2006, he gave $50,000 to get Democrats elected. $1000 to Republicans.

In 2006, he gave $50,000 to assist in Rahm Emmanuel's Mayoral campaign (Obama's Chicago mayor)

In 2006, he gave $77,200 to Democrats in the Senatorial races. That same year he gave $26,250 to the GOP.

In 2010, he gave $50,000 to the Progressive GOP, Karl Rove's super PAC, American Crossroads.

He has financially supported John Kerry, and Ted Kennedy.

In 2010 (after he changed from a democrat to republican) he supported infamous selfie perv, Anthony Weiner. He also supported Harry Reid over 'tea party' challenger Sharon Angle to the tune of $10,000.

He is very tight with the Clintons. Bill was unable to make it but, the Hillz had a front row seat to his latest wedding to Melania Knauss, in 2005. Bill showed up at the reception.

One source I read says that he has given between $100,000 -$250,000 to, the Clinton Foundation. The constant figure I found was $100,000 and Apprentice show was mentioned. The show did raise money for charity, so that may be where the other $150,000 comes into play.

The bottom line is that although the guy says some things that need to be said, he is NOT the conservative that he plays himself off to be. We have several fantastic Constitutional candidates running in this race. Because this is such an important race, I hope we pick the right horse. Trump, I fear may be a Trojan one.

Sci-fi Fantasy and the Reality of Today

 I enjoy Sci-Fi themed TV, movies and books. I think most people do. Not the little green men with 3 eyes and foot long tongues kind, but the ‘your driving to work, and suddenly spill coffee all over your crotch, choke back the swear word’, and then…an asteroid, a spaceship or a foreign nation attacks or the zombie apocalypse happens---and life as you know it forever changes. I believe that I, like so many others, have actually picked up some survival skills from this particular genre of entertainment. Let’s face it, we ‘Dead’ fans totally know how to effectively stop a zombie without wasting ammo. And after 5 seasons, we might not even be squeamish about having to get it done.

Most of these kinds of shows or books are somewhat believable. And given the headlines of late, aren’t such a stretch anymore.

When Red Dawn came out in 1984, I was a senior in High School. The Soviet Union was the big bad. In reality, they were Communist-ruled. The reality was, being an American in the ‘Land of the Free’ was something to be proud of and we had just elected a strong America loving president. Today, Russia’s Putin is currently rebuilding the Soviet Empire and our president…well, he has done nothing but transform and destroy the fabric of America with every policy and pen at his disposal. It might not be the Russians that will invade small-town America. It would more likely be some Christian, Jew, woman, and homosexual hating Islamic faction that our government has allowed to flourish within our own borders. There are 35 training camps of these haters on our own soil that we know of today.

http://www.truthorfiction.com/hannity-camps/

After reading a book written almost 70 years ago, in a setting of 30 years ago, I see pieces of a puzzle that show a pretty scary and real picture. If I had read the book Nineteen eighty-four in 1984, I would have considered it pretty farfetched. Today, not so much.

The book has The Ministry of Truth, (Oceana’s propaganda machine) we have CNN, MSNBC and yes sometimes even FOX, spouting lies and misinformation.

The novel has the Thought Police. It is the job of the Thought Police to uncover and punish ‘thought crimes’ or free thought.

The novel also had Big Brother on the telescreen monitoring every move, and communication you make. We have the NSA. It really doesn’t matter the depth that our government actually surveys on your life, it is worse than you can imagine.

And you think this could never be a reality…But 2 years ago, then-Mayor of New York City, Bloomberg said this, “…And our laws and our interpretation of the Constitution, I think, have to change.” Read more at...

http://news.yahoo.com/bloomberg-boston-bombing-rethink-constitution-142223471.html
 
That means everything is on the table for these people.

Just this week, a presidential candidate, (Oh God, please help us), Hillary Clinton even said, “Laws have to be backed up with resources and political will,” she explained. “And deep-seated cultural codes, religious beliefs, and structural biases have to be changed. As I have said and as I believe, the advancement of the full participation of women and girls in every aspect of their societies is the great unfinished business of the 21st century and not just for women but for everyone — and not just in faraway countries but right here in the United States.”

http://hotair.com/archives/2015/04/24/hillary-deep-seated-religious-beliefs-have-to-be-changed-for-abortion/
 
The Supreme Court, right now is deciding if ultimately many Evangelical churches will be forced to perform gay marriages. The outcome will be a game changer for many Bible believing churches. Who will cave in favor of the All-mighty dollar that comes with being tax exempt? We will know soon.

I digress.

Monday, I am listening to the radio, and a news update comes on, and I hear the Mayor of Baltimore say, "I made it very clear that I work with the police and instructed them to do everything that they could to make sure that the protesters were able to exercise their right to free speech. It's a delicate balancing act. Because while we tried to make sure they were protected from the cars and other things that were going on, we also gave those who wished to destroy the space to do that as well...."

http://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2015/04/baltimore-mayor-spoke-with-obama-in-afternoon-then-waited-hours-to-call-in-the-national-guard/
 
My first thought was that this is kind of like Nineteen Eighty-four’s, Two Minutes of Hate. But then I realized that she must have recently watched The Purge: Anarchy, like I did two weeks ago when it was free on HBO. Because what she ended up condoning was a government sanctioned ‘5 hours of mayhem.’ Of course, she denies saying it. (Sorry Sweetie, we have this thing called video and we gotcha). If you give these ‘progressive leftist’ enough rope they will hang themselves with their very own words.

Speaking of death by spinal cord injury, when I was a kid I watched this movie trilogy called “A Thief in the Night.” In it that series, anyone that didn’t denounce Jesus and bow down to a One World government was decapitated. What are the odds that something like that will ACTUALLY happen? Oh, wait…