David William Hedrick
Retired US Marine

]]> http://retractablehornsandtail.wordpress.com/2009/08/23/they-will-find-the-streets-are-guarded-by-united-states-marines/feed/ 2 retractablehornsandtail http://retractablehornsandtail.wordpress.com/2009/06/03/brian-williams-bows-before-the-american-mahdi/ http://retractablehornsandtail.wordpress.com/2009/06/03/brian-williams-bows-before-the-american-mahdi/#comments Wed, 03 Jun 2009 19:32:48 +0000 retractablehornsandtail http://retractablehornsandtail.wordpress.com/?p=974 Continue reading →]]> Retractable Horns and Tail, using the nom de plume Kalifornia Kafir says:  What you can’t hear on the soundtrack is Williams saying “Salaam ‘Alaykum” to the American Mahdi (aka: Barack Obama).

Posted by Kallie at The Jawa Report (NBC’s Brian Williams Bows Before His God Made Flesh).

“Christmas, children, is not a date. It is a state of mind.”  Mary Ellen Chase

There will be no Christmas in May for California. What happened to California?  How did we come to this: poised on the brink of State bankruptcy?

Reason TV has produced an excellent video analysis. Unfortunately, it emphasizes too heavily the role of public employee unions in the State’s budget woes and doesn’t spend enough time analyzing how wasteful spending has compounded the crisis.

While voters overwhelming voted “Yes” (by the almost mythical 2/3 “supermajority”) to preventing salary increases for members of the legislature in budget deficit years, the overwhelming majority of these useless State Senators and Representatives will be re-elected. Go figure.

It’s not a surprise that there is not one county in California where a majority voted “Yes” on Propositions 1A, 1B, 1C, 1D and 1E.

It has always been my contention that Californians like to spend money, they just don’t like to pay the bills.

EXTRA READING:

Sundown for California, The American
California’s Dependency Culture, George Will
Voters Say ‘no way’ to budget ballot measures, The Sacramento Bee
California budget mess: Where did our money go?, San Jose Mercury News
A California election left open to interpretation, The Los Angeles Times

The following flyer deserves to be its companion:

UPDATED 5-15-09

Panetta to CIA Employees: We told Pelosi the truth, Politico.com

Taunted by the GOP, Nancy Pelosi throws a punch-at the CIA, Slate Magazine

EXTRA READING:

Pelosi says she learned of waterboarding in 2003, Breitbart.com

Why Didn’t Pelosi Act?, RedState.com

Why don’t the Democrats dump Pelosi?, HotAir.com

List Says Top Democrats Were Briefed on Interrogations, New York Times

Top Pelosi Aide Learned of Waterboarding in 2003, Washington Post

Aide told Pelosi waterboarding had been used, CNN.com

Congress and Waterboarding, WSJ.com

Security Before Politics, Washington Post

Democrats surprised to discover CIA plays politics with intelligence, HotAir.com

Omission Watch: ABC, CBS and NBC Ignore Pelosi’s Torture Hypocrisy, Newsbusters.com

Madame Speaker, Have You No Decency?, Pajamas Media

Pelosi Roasted by Waterboarding Revelations, Pajamas Media

Waffle House, The Daily Show

For many years, conservatives have been complaining about the left-wing bias of both the mainstream media and popular culture. The two are intimately connected because, over and above commercial success, the culture and the artists who create it are empowered by reviews, prestige and awards that the mainstream media bestow, facilitate and publicize.

But it’s now become clear that conservatives are wrong. The media are not biased against the right. They are openly hostile towards us. They are openly attempting to crush one point of view and elevate another. This is not a conspiracy. It is simply the result of a poisonous conformity, a climate of opinion which the MSM, populated almost exclusively by liberals, barely even realize they inhabit.

But in allowing themselves to become immersed in this climate, the bulk of the American media have now become the toadies of the state and the enemies of the people.

Although I am not an artist, I work in a profession (academia) where, if made known, my political and social beliefs could sink my career. The people that I work with are not evil–in fact, I personally like a great many of them–but once their innate assumptions about social justice, environmental justice, the prerogative of the educated elite to determine the course of the nation, and their horror at the folly of letting the less-educated “People” determine their own will are challenged, they go on the offensive. The result is either (1) an attempt to “re-educate” the person who poses a thread, the outcome of which has you publicly renouncing your beliefs and denouncing everything that you know to be true in order to be accepted back into the fold, or (2) marginalization, isolation and demotion.

Klavan provides a vision of what the New American Culture might entail:

Individualism [emphasis mine] is the very essence of both conservatism and art. But I think we can say that such a culture would reflect and uplift the values and perspectives that made the west and America the greatest and freest places on the globe; it would put forward an image of man as our founders knew him to be, flawed and sinful yet capable of striving toward dignity and salvation through self-reliance and sacrifice… In truth, there is only one essential principle our new culture needs to remember and embody and it’s this: liberty is better than slavery. This principle alone implies a moral order and a human purpose. It makes a small state better than a big one. It makes America better than, say, Saudi Arabia. It makes a religion based on “love thy neighbor,” better than one based on submission. This principle alone will guide us away from mealy-mouthed self-abasement to balanced self-criticism and praise amidst our search for the dignity, strength and morality befitting free men and women…. If artists guided by this principle begin to create, if reviewers guided by it write reviews, if foundations give us grants and awards, if investors give us the funding we need, then the cultural infra-structure of the left will collapse of the rot and corruption of its bad ideas. We will take back the culture and if we take back the culture, we will take back the country too.

In this spirit, I link to two student videos created for the Young America’s Foundation. These young people were willing to step forward and challenge a liberal canard: that redistribution of wealth is a positive good.  The aroma of hypocrisy among the student interviewees does not go unnoticed. I encourage you to support this worthy organization.

]]> http://retractablehornsandtail.wordpress.com/2009/05/03/liberty-is-better-than-slavery-andrew-klavan-and-yaf-student-videos/feed/ 0 retractablehornsandtail http://retractablehornsandtail.wordpress.com/2009/04/26/think-what-we-thinkor-else-thought-control-on-the-american-campus/ http://retractablehornsandtail.wordpress.com/2009/04/26/think-what-we-thinkor-else-thought-control-on-the-american-campus/#comments Sun, 26 Apr 2009 03:19:02 +0000 retractablehornsandtail http://retractablehornsandtail.wordpress.com/?p=880 Continue reading →]]> This is an outstanding video summarizing The Foundation for Individual Rights in Education‘s (FIRE) fight against a freshman sociopolitical indoctrination program at the University of Delaware. While classroom indoctrination by Professors is routinely scrutinized, this particular case is an example of the damage done that can be done by rogue administrators.

FIRE is an excellent organization whose mission is

… to defend and sustain individual rights at America’s colleges and universities. These rights include freedom of speech, legal equality, due process, religious liberty, and sanctity of conscience—the essential qualities of individual liberty and dignity. FIRE’s core mission is to protect the unprotected and to educate the public and communities of concerned Americans about the threats to these rights on our campuses and about the means to preserve them.

Want to know more about the college you’re thinking of attending?  Visit FIRE.

Hat tip: Hotair.com

Extra Reading:

Victory at University of Delaware: University President Ends Mandatory Ideological Reeducation Program, FIRE
Residence life program encourages free speech, UDaily
A National Trend: Speech Restrictions in Higher Education, American Association of University Professors
University of Delaware Could Reinstate Residence Life Indoctrination Program, National Association of Scholars
It’s 1984 at the University of Delaware, Frontpage Magazine
Delaware Indoctrination: You Haven’t Heard It All, Students For Academic Freedom

(1) engaging in a conspiracy, while outside the United States, to kill nationals of the United States outside of the United States, namely, United States nationals engaged in the ongoing conflict in Afghanistan, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 2332(b); (2) providing, attempting to provide, and conspiring to provide material support and resources to designated foreign terrorist organizations, namely, al-Qaeda and Harakat ul-Mujahideen (“HUM”), in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Sections 2339B and 2; and (3) engaging in prohibited transactions with the Taliban, in violation of Title 31, Code of Federal Regulations, Sections 545.201 and 545.204, Executive Order # 13129, Title 50, United States Code, Sections 1702 and 1705, and Title 18, United States Code, Section 2.

Affidavit in Support of a Criminal Complaint and an Arrest Warrent, United States of America v. John Walker Lindh

Here is a video of the class presentation by Frank Lindh.

[hat tip:  The Jawa Report]

When I took English 1B, I remember a writing exercise that involved analyzing propaganda.  We selected a political advertisement and were required to describe what ideas the ad intended to convey and how the ad used images and language to spin the topic for a specific purpose.  Did SJSU Lecturer Richard Flynn have the same intention with this exercise, or is this just a hideous example of political indoctrination in Lower Division classes?

Frank Lindh claims that his son is presumed to have been involved with the events of 9/11.  Rubbish.  The charges in the affadavit above are quite specific.  Walker Lindh was convicted of being an enemy combatant and providing material support to a terrorist organization for his actions in Afganistan (The Case of the Taliban American, and The Taliban Next Door).

Here is the SJSU English Department’s description of English 1B:

Assignments shall emphasize those skills and activities in writing and thinking that produce 1) the persuasive argument, and 2) the critical essay, each of which demands analysis, interpretation, and evaluation.

It would be nice to see some of the analysis, interpretation and evaluation that will comprise Flynn’s students’ critiques. If Flynn’s class assignment was to analyze Frank Lindh’s propaganda and revisionist history involving his son (The Real Story of John Walker Lindh), then kudos to Richard Flynn. But, after listening to some of the student comments in the video, it does not appear that critical thinking was a part of the exercise. Lindh’s revisionism includes describing his son as “scholarly” even though he was a student in an alternative high school (i.e., couldn’t cut it in traditional high school) and eventually dropped out.   Lindh describes his son’s life as a “spiritual quest” even though that quest landed him in the middle of a prison uprising in Afganistan. The Crusades could be described as similar “spiritual quests,” except they involved White Christians fighting Islamists not White Islamic converts fighting against their own country.

The course description also says that English 1B addresses:

Diversity: Assignments (both reading and writing) shall address issues of race, class, and gender when appropriate, and the perspectives of women and diverse cultural groups shall be incorporated into course instruction and materials in an inclusive and comprehensive manner whenever possible.

Lindh’s English 1B teleconference may be one of the rare instances in American academia in which a privileged White male is the topic of sympathetic discussion. Oh, but I forget: (1) John Walker Lindh converted to Islam, (2) that now qualifies him as a member of a “diverse cultural group,” and thereby (3) he has achieved victim status and, in the minds of some, justification for his misguided acts.

Additional Reading:

US v. John Walker Lindh Grand Jury Indictment

Statement of John Walker Lindh to the Court

UPDATE: Additional Information

This has been added as a point of contrast to John Walker Lindh and actions that JWL freely chose to take.

Honor Mike Spann

Jeff Kent will be retiring from baseball tomorrow in LA. Kent, who has posted Hall of Fame stats as a 2nd basemen, was always a tough player, straight up, in your face. He was my favorite Giant, in an era of major league egos. Of course, the shallow and celebrity-loving San Francisco Giants management, let Kent go and kept their ‘roid-ridden cheater, Barry Bonds.

My idea of perfect karma: Jeff Kent goes into the Hall of Fame before Bonds (if Bonds ever gets there… ).

Calif. tax refunds to be delayed starting Feb. 1
refunds, student aid, social services and mental health programs. A severe drop in revenue has left the state’s main bank account depleted. The state had been relying on borrowing from special funds and Wall Street investors; those options are no longer available.l

ITEM #2

UC regents cut freshman enrollment by 6 percent

The University of California regents voted Wednesday to cut freshman enrollment by 6 percent, slashing 2,300 spots as the UC system grapples with expected cuts in state funding.

[snip}

Regents in favor said the cuts were necessary to maintain quality.

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's budget proposal calls for cutting $131 million from the UC system by June 2010 and eliminating a planned budget increase of $210 million for 2009-10

UCLA and UC Berkeley will not be affected by Wednesday's decision and enrollment at UC Merced will continue to grow. Enrollment at the university system's other six campuses will be reduced.

ITEM #3

Subject: January 20th Inauguration event From: "Robert J. Birgeneau, Chancellor" <CALmessages@berkeley.edu> Date: Mon, January 12, 2009 6:15 pm To: "Academic Senate Faculty, Staff, All Academic Titles, Other Members of the Campus Community, Students," <CALmessages@berkeley.edu> Priority: Normal

TO ALL MEMBERS OF THE BERKELEY CAMPUS COMMUNITY:

I invite you to join UC Berkeley students, faculty and staff and members of our
local community at a public viewing of the inauguration of President Barack H. Obama
on Tuesday, January 20, 2009, in Sproul Plaza.  A large screen will be installed at
the main entrance to Sproul Hall, and proceedings from Washington, D.C. will be
broadcast beginning at 7:30 am.  The Presidential Oath of Office will be
administered by 9:00 am (noon EST), with the inaugural address following.  Note that
the proceedings are outdoors and will be held rain or shine.  The University's
formal program will begin at 8:15 a.m.

[snip]

Spring instruction begins on January 20th and we will not be cancelling morning
classes; however, some instructors, for academic reasons, may opt to bring their
class to this event. Campus supervisors have discretion to grant two hours of
administrative leave to staff to attend this event, as work demands permit.  Please
print out this message for those members of your staff who do not use computers.

I look forward to joining you all at this historic event.

Chancellor Robert J. Birgeneau

The State of California is out of money. The State of California will be paying its bills with IOUs. The State of California will be reducing the University of California's budget and cutting enrollment.

But, UC Berkeley will be paying its staff to sit on their arses for several non-productive hours to watch the inauguration of The One, The Messiah, Lord Barack Obama.

This is both an opportunity for our campus community to share in a momentous historic occasion for our country and a time to rededicate ourselves to public service - a primary mission of our university.

Now that's real Public Service for you... a bloated bureaucracy wasting tax payer money on political pomp and circumstance.

EXTRA READING:
California goes bust: Tax refunds to be delayed, HotAir.com
California's Budget Crisis Solved, RedCounty.com
What if California Could File Bankruptcy?, Fox & Hounds Daily.com

Students returning to San Jose City College for spring classes will notice a couple of changes: cleaner air and a bunch of new “No Smoking” signs.

For those changes, they can thank fellow student Teresa Van Devere, an ex-smoker who got sick of breathing secondhand smoke and pushed the administration to ban all smoking on campus.

Fisher’s article exposes Van Devere’s motivation:

There’s no denying Van Devere is a pushy person.

“I’ve always been a fighter,” she said. “I’m very comfortable being disagreeable.”

Even if she hadn’t been born a fighter, her tough childhood would have strengthened her backbone. Homeless most of her life, in and out of foster care as a teenager, she learned that the only way to get what she needed was to demand it.

So, the premise is that just because a formerly homeless, foster-care raised woman decides she wants what she wants when she wants it, everyone else must comply? Mach snell!

Who is Teresa Van Devere to dictate to me or you how we live our lives?

When her daughter was 4 months old, Van Devere enrolled in a nursing program [emphasis mine] at San Jose City College. Unfortunately, she often found herself engulfed in clouds of smoke.

Even scarier is the idea of the future Ms. Van Devere as Nurse Ratched. San Jose City College is apparently in the business of producing pushy, autocratic nurses whose personal preferences dictate the behavior of their patients and the population in general.

So she sent letters and photos to college officials and, with encouragement from a couple of her professors, took her campaign for a smoke-free campus to the Academic Senate, the Associated Students and eventually to the district’s top brass. Finally the new policy, which goes into effect Jan. 31, was approved.

Students at San Jose City College, please remember to thank Nurse Ratched for the healthy lifestyle she has imposed upon you. Take your meds. Don’t ask questions. Don’t question your masters, the decision makers.

The campus smoking policy is not the only change Van Devere has engineered in the past three years. It all began when she got pregnant at 25. She was homeless, hadn’t finished high school and had a two-pack-a-day habit. She was determined to take charge of her life.

“First thing I did was quit smoking,” she said. “My thinking was that if I was going to keep my child, I had to live right by her and give up habits that were not beneficial to her.”

She moved into a shelter for pregnant women. Counselors there helped her complete her GED and get a driver’s license. When her daughter was 4 months old, Van Devere enrolled in a nursing program at San Jose City College. Unfortunately, she often found herself engulfed in clouds of smoke.

“Everyone would walk outside after class and light up,” she said. “I realized how much the secondhand smoke was affecting me.

What qualifies Van Devere to make your health decisions for you? According to Patty Fisher, Van Devere is qualified because she belongs to two pre-approved liberal victim groups: formerly homeless and single mother. She has lived on the street and in shelters. Therefore, she knows more about life than you, especially if you grew up in an intact home (be it apartment, house, or trailer), stayed in high school (even though you despised it), used birth control or kept your legs closed, graduated, got a job or went to college, and made a career and life for yourself. Now you, who strove to make reasonably intelligent and mature decisions about your life, are to be told how to behave by someone who herself made poor life decisions.

Professors David Yancey and Peter D’Eliscu encouraged her uphill effort to declare the entire campus smoke-free.

“She came into my political science class and was really excited about this,” Yancey told me. “I showed her the political pathway she needed to follow.”

While helping Van Devere work her way through the college bureaucracy, Yancey was impressed with the young woman’s determination and her obvious passion for advocacy.

“She’s a real fireball,” he said. “A lot of people have these ideas, but every now and then you get someone like Teresa who comes along and has the energy and the effort to pull it off.”

This is proof of how low Political Science education has sunk over the years. Political Science no longer seeks to educate students on the history and civics of the United States. Political Science no longer tries to instill in students the nation’s founders’ ideas of freedom and liberty, ideas that drove them to rebel and throw off the rule of the King’s taxes and regulations. Political Science is now focused on training liberal partisan activists, pre-programmed to attain power and force their policies on the rest of the population.

“Hi! I’m from the government, and I’m here to help.”