Beware the Winter of Our Discontent

One of the most pathetic arguments for voting for Donald Trump reveals the disadvantage of casting any ballot out of fear.

By the end of this election campaign, the best that Republicans could muster was the desperate plea: "Vote for Trump because Hillary is worse!"

Fear is the emotion that most limits one's perspective. It narrows the victim's choices down to the nearest port in the storm, even if it's inhabited by scary clowns.

Thankfully, this season of fright is almost over. Unfortunately, we'll be entering the Winter of our discontent. No, "discontent" is too tame. When Trump loses to Hillary (the Establishment plan all along) and the Republican nominee leads his followers in chants of "The election was rigged!" whipping them into a frenzy of outrage, the next plan will be initiated as a natural consequence- a bonus, if you will.

Second only to fear, anger is the worst impetus for achieving goals. While fear acts to limit one's choices to the one thing most readily available, no matter how bad it might be, anger narrows one's choices to the most self-destructive options.

Ecclesiastes 7:9 warns believers, "Be not quick in your spirit to become angry, for anger lodges in the heart of fools."

Proverbs 25:28 tells us that "A man without self-control is like a city broken into and left without walls." That will enrage Trump supporters even further.

You see, an angry populace is a vulnerable populace- easily manipulated by the oligarchy.  Instead of adopting a recommitment to restoring Conservative values and campaigning for competent representatives, the new "Angry Americans" will turn toward vengeance like a dog returns to its vomit. No matter how angry you may be, emotion is never as effective as responsible citizenship.

If you think Republicans were played during this election, just wait. Their stoked and unresolved anger will lead inevitably to depression, surrender, and resigned submission. And that's exactly where Progressives want them.

I suggest that Trump teach his followers a new chant, whether he wins or loses: "Foo! Lie! Mah!" Repeat this over and over, faster and faster until you get the message.

The Day After

November 9, 2016

In less than three weeks, Americans will know the identity of our next President.

My money is on Hillary.

Democrats will revel in the fact that the U.S. elected its first female President, even though the celebration will violate the Left's own draconian campaign against gender definitions.

Putin, Assad and other rising world powers will rejoice in the status-quo, while Israel will quietly continue to pursue an accumulation of weapons needed to defend herself against anti-Semites.

Minorities will comfort themselves with the false hope that the Democratic Party will continue to provide all the parental support they need while pretending they aren't being used to empower Socialism.

Conservatives and Constitutionalists will wonder how much longer we can hang on to our Republic.

And I will continue to teach Our Nation's Foundations to Intermediate students as I pray that some of them will become the Patriots we need to save our nation.

If Trump happens to pull out a win, American Nationalists will celebrate the ascension of their populist demagogue leader, pledging their fealty to the "Republican" autocrat as they anticipate all the creative ways The Donald will punish his detractors.

World leaders will gleefully roll their eyes at the folly of the American electorate gullible enough to elect an egotistical buffoon with such little knowledge of the Constitution. They will wonder how many ways they can manipulate such a capricious, self-absorbed clown living out his delusions of grandeur.

Conservatives and Constitutionalists will wonder how much longer we can hang on to our Republic.

And I will continue to teach Our Nation's Foundations to Intermediate students as I pray that some of them will become the Patriots we need to save our nation.

Principles? Who Needs 'Em?

The Republican Party has succeeded in lowering their standards of morality to match the levels of the Democratic Left.

One Republican nominee supporter is pictured proudly wearing a T-shirt she decorated herself that proclaims, "Trump can grab my" with an arrow pointing to her pubic area.

The same Rush Limbaugh and Sean Hannity who led the Conservatives' rebuke of Bill Clinton's indescretions are now leading the Trumpologist Parade. We're all RepublicRats now.

Trumpology. It's a thing now, proving The Donald absolutely correct when he boasted, "I could shoot someone in the middle of 5th Avenue and not lose a single supporter."

I can hear it now: the justification by comparison. "But Hillary killed FOUR in Benghazi!"

Because of the Trump phenomenon, Republicans will never again be able to claim higher moral ground. By nominating Trump, Republicans have admitted that they'll abandon nearly every principle for the win. What they don't admit is that whether Trump wins or loses, we've all lost the final vestiges of morality. Because, if we're willing to compromise some principles to get Trump elected, there's no limit to the compromises we'll make to ride along on the Trumpology Tour.

And, once we've traded in our principles to elect Trump, we'll be ready to accept the tyranny of anyone who is the "lesser of two evils".

Who needs principles when we can have Populism?

After eight years of Democratic rule by an autocrat giving liberals what they've always thought they wanted (Separation of Powers be damned), our nation is ripe for the Nationalistic Populism warned of by Plato and James Madison. See www.nationalaffairs.com/publications/madison-and-the-perils-of-populism

Abandoning principles of morality is the final symptom of dysfuntional Democracy. We've already jettisoned principles of a Constitutional Republic.

That's how we got here.

So, Republican or Democrat, pick your poison. You know you want to.

Letters to the Librarian

Does your local school have a library? This might seem like an absurd question, but many school districts have reduced the library budget so severely that many suffer from empty bookshelves. Some school libraries are staffed by one paraprofessional "Media Specialist" who is also responsible for daily classes in the Computer Lab!
I am fortunate enough to work at a campus where the principal and teachers recognize and appreciate the benefits of a full-service library, so I get to spend all my time serving the library needs of students and staff - albeit at a third of the pay of a Librarian.
When I became the campus librarian in 2012, the campus had not enjoyed full-time library staffing since the school's opening in 2006. Upon accepting the position, I insisted on scheduling classes to come to the Learning Center on a regular basis, to present supplementary lessons as well as recommend and check out books to students.
I was disappointed to find many empty bookshelves when I arrived, so I've taken advantage of the semi-annual public library book sale, where I can choose and purchase relatively new fiction and non-fiction selections for $15.00 per medium size filled box. By the time I find a book for myself and a few for my grandkids or for gifts, my $15 has been well-spent and the rest of the 30-50 volumes are virtually free! I bring the box to school, catalog and label them for circulation, and offer them to my 5th and 6th graders as "New to you!" PTA Book Fairs and a modest budget provided by the district for new trade books have filled up the shelves nicely, with plenty of room for thematic displays.
Since I serve in a two year campus, I use two different themes, modifying them for teacher's schedules. For the first and third years, I showed short video clips from the Travel Channel TV show "Mysteries at the Museum" which solved the "mystery" of a historical object in a few minutes. I also displayed unusual objects from my home and from other teachers, on the top of low bookcases, like in a museum. Large index cards accompaned each artifact, for a student to take and write a short story about it, in return for a small prize. I invite them to become "biblioarcheologists" (a word I made up) and  inform me about how the authors of books they are reading use objects to help tell their stories - "Everything tells a story!"
During these years, I also present my "How We See In 3D" series. I start with a Science lesson, teaching students how we use our two eyes and one brain (a formula!) to see in three dimensions. I show them how my 3D camera uses two lenses to take a photo like our eyes do. They are able to see the photos using the accompanying viewer, to see the two images, taken at slightly different angles, separately, so that the brain automatically overlaps them and dimension is observed.
Photos, especially those viewed in 3D, are ideal artifacts!
My favorite 3D presentation involves teaching the students about the science and history of the 1906 San Francisco earthquake by letting them view stereocards created hours or days after the catastrophe, through a Victorian stereoscope manufactured in 1901. I enjoy telling them the story of how my grandfather survived the quake when he was their age.
On alternate years, I teach "Our Nation's Foundations" - a supplementary lesson plan that teaches the Constitutional principles of our Republic. My Americana collection decorates the Library, along with displayed books in our circulation about the American Revolution. In the past, I have shown clips from Liberty's Kids, originally broadcast on PBS. Time restraints have eliminated this element recently, but I still teach the lesson as I build a giant graphic on the Library wall.

Our Nation's Foundations wall graphic

Of course, during Presidential election years, I teach students about the process and criteria for candidates. I make sure that the students can never discern my own political biases. I let the Constitution speak for itself, while inviting students to freely express their opinions, rewarding them when they tell me what informed their conclusions. I remind them to exercise their 1st Amendment rights while realizing that others may not share their opinions. I love their expressions of awe and gratitude when I present them with their own pocket Constitution. 

Students enjoy using iPad minis to access links to historical and rap videos posted on interactive bulletin boards posted with QR codes. 

Recently, I asked the students to participate in National School Libraries Week by finishing this prompt: "I love my school library because..."  Here is one from Hope:

"I love my school library because it is an elevator to adventure - the first place I go to look for something new. I thas almost all the books I want to discover. I also learn more about the history of the U.S., which makes me smarter. Plus, reading makes me smarter, too. There are all different kinds of books like mystery, adventure, History, humor, and horror. That lets me try anything new. Other than the library, the librarian is even better. If I have a question, she'll answer. She understands and knows if she has that book or not. She is a great teacher who helps me learn and thinks of creative things for us to do. Bottom line: I love my library."

From Jasmine: "I love my school library becaues there is someone there who cares about our future. And she loves all of us. She helps us with our questions and problems. She's really a teacher to me."

From Peter: "I love my school library because the librarian is a nice, funny, and educational person. She has all my favorite topics for books. She could help you find any book you look for. She has a very good library. She gives us information about government history. I've seen many school libraries, but this is the best out of them all. She has the best books."

From Karli: "I love my school library because it is so pretty and has lots of nice books in there. Our librarian makes it lots nicer. She LOVES her job and it really shows. We are grateful to have a librarian who love us so much."

From Katelyn: "Remember how at the start of 5th grae I didn't take much interest in reading? Now I'm writing my own book and fussing over grammar! Whenever I'm at the library, I feel the calming silence. I think of it as a thinking place where I feel welcome and can get help. Thank you for your help, and I hope others like the library as much as I do."

Latest Study: A full-time school librarian makes a critical difference in boosting student achievement

The Electoral College - For Such a Time as This

Considering the manufactured uproar about the delegate allocation during the Primary Election, we can anticipate more emotion-driven challenges to the Electoral College process in the General Election, especially if Trump is the Republican nominee but loses to HIllary Clinton.

In March, Donald Trump made a phone call to Roger Stone, asking, "Can they really f--- me on this convention?" Trump asked about the delegate counts. "If I have the most [popular] votes, can they really take this away from me?" (from usnews.com), recently declaring that the candidate from each political party should be determined by counting primary votes instead of electing delegates to vote at the national conventions. This plan sacrifices states' rights and the commitment of grassroots delegates representing their state's voters. Primary processes and delegate allocation is determined by political parties in each state - it is a 10th Amendment issue (see Laboratories of Democracy).

There is already a campaign underway to replace the Electoral College process with a National Popular Vote (NPV). According to this plan, "the winner would be the candidate who received the most popular votes from all 50 states (and DC) on Election Day. When the Electoral College meets in mid-December, the national popular vote winner would receive all of the electoral votes of the enacting states."

"The National Popular Vote interstate compact would not take effect until enacted by states possessing a majority of the electoral votes—that is, enough to elect a President (270 of 538)."

The NPV crusade promises to "guarantee the Presidency to the candidate who receives the most popular votes in all 50 states and the District of Columbia." 

Read more: http://www.nationalpopularvote.com/written-explanation

Sounds great, right?

Not according to the framers of our Constitution. They "were afraid of direct election to the Presidency. They feared a tyrant could manipulate public opinion and come to power."  How elitist of them! Well, after eight years of abuse of power in the Obama administration, and the demanding bluster of the Trump campaign, we can now appreciate the prescient determination of our nation's founders. 

Further, "the electoral college is also part of compromises made...to satisfy the small states. Under the system of the Electoral College each state had the same number of electoral votes as they have representative in Congress, thus no state could have less then 3."

Read more: 

http://www.historycentral.com/elections/Electoralcollgewhy.html

"Instead of just tallying the total number of votes cast across the nation in presidential elections, votes are counted state-by-state. The winner of the popular vote in each state is awarded the electoral votes for that state. The candidate winning the majority of electoral votes wins. Given this arrangement, it is possible to win the popular vote and lose the electoral vote." But it's the Electoral vote that determines the winner, preserving the integrity of our system of government - a federation of independent states. 

"Each state has a number of electoral votes equal to its number of Senators (two) plus its number of members in the United States House of Representatives (depends on state population)."

"The principle of federalism was and is a critical feature of the American political system. By placing states in this important position in the selection of the country's leader, the Framers sought to maintain the position of states as important entities in the American political system."

"Imagine that presidential elections were not decided state-by-state, but rather by a nationwide popular vote. The significance of states and the candidates' competition for support in key, "swing" states would disappear. Candidates would be inclined to simply run nationwide ad campaigns and visit large population centers."

The reason a National Popular Vote is becoming popular is because our nation's electorate is ignorant of the Constitution and it's principles. The United States is not just the name of our country, but defines a group of indpendent states united in federation (a political entity characterized by a union of partially self-governing states or regions under a central government). 

The Progressives would love to let the voters believe we're a Democracy, in which every vote counts. President Obama is on the record as promoting mandatory voting. Because voters can be manipulated - we're seeing it in the welfare class. It's human nature to approve and promote those who benefit us personally. Over 40% of the U.S. population do not pay income taxes. And most of these receive benefits from the taxpayers. Why wouldn't these voters continue to vote for continued largesse from the public coffers? This is the reason the Left is so adamant in their false claims that requiring voter I.D.s suppresses the vote - the underclass population they have created through generous welfare programs are unused to putting forth individual effort to better themselves - why should they be expected to actually pursue a (free) voter I.D. when their benefactors don't require it? State's laws requiring voter I.D. are just one of the protections against fraud and tyranny. 

The majority rule of Democracy seems like a grand idea until we realize how it is so easily used as a tool for the Oligarchy (a form of power structure in which power effectively rests with a small number of people. These people might be distinguished by royalty, wealth, family ties, education, corporate, religious or military control. - Wikipedia.)

The idea of a website inviting everyone to vote to promote the National Popular Vote in order to convince states to adopt this alternate system is antithetical to the rule of law which was designed to protect states' rights. 

Just as the delegate process for primary elections benefit the sovereignty of states (or what's left of it), the Electoral College is vital to maintaining a Republican federation guaranteed by Article 4, Section 4, Clause 1 of the Constitution: "The United States shall guarantee to every State in this Union a Republican Form of Government".

Read more: http://www.thisnation.com/question/051.html


An excellent video argument against NPV can be found here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LXnjGD7j2B0

Earth Day Hype

Sometimes Juan Williams stumbles upon the truth, but continues to plunge on into darkness, undeterred. Today, on The Five (Fox News), he asked why Republicans reject the Climate Change argument, while the Democrats accept it. When challenged by Greg Gutfeld, who has done extensive research on the subject, Juan admitted he hasn't done much reading about it, but believes it's a crisis. 

I'll pause while you laugh, as did the other Republicans at the table. Republicans do their homework. We don't just swallow the propaganda. We use our brains before we engage our emotions and mouths!

On this Earth Day, please recognize that our planet is a closed system. Think of a terrarium. Yes, conditions may change temporarily, but the atmosphere, geology and water quantities do not change. The water cycle will manifest as liquid, gas or ice, but doesn't escape. Petroleum will change form, especially as humans utilize it, but it's still there. Oil spills eventually sink back into the earth from whence it came. Carbon is the building block of all life. It is added to the atmosphere during chemical processes as carbon dioxide. Eventually, it is absorbed back into living things. The Left redefines carbon as evil for the purposes of using fear to gain power and money, and the tactics are heating up. 

President Obama signed the Paris Climate Agreement today, unilaterally pledging U.S. cooperation and redistribute our wealth for a politicized theory that convicts the human race on the crime of causing weather variation. Weather Channel founder John Coleman reveals that "environmentalists, bureaucrats and politicians who make up the U.N.’s climate panel recruit scientists to research the climate issue. And they place only those who will produce the desired results. Money, politics and ideology have replaced science." (Read more: usatoday.com)

"Attorney general of New York, Eric T. Schneiderman, has subpoenaed extensive financial records, emails and other documents of Exxon Mobil to investigate whether the company 'lied to the public about the risks of climate change or to investors about how such risk might hurt the oil business,' ... apparently unaware that the claim that the world is endangered by a warming climate is a scientific theory, not a proven fact."  Our federal government, especially during the Obama administration, has generously subsidized failed alternate energy companies and Climate Change scientists in the campaign to promote this theory. Taxpayers are funding the very efforts that are resulting in the punishment of dissenting thought. "Criminal and civil investigations of individuals and other entities over disputed scientific theories are not just legally unjustified, they are immoral and plain un-American.  This is politicized law enforcement of the worst kind." (Read more at cnsnews.com)

U.S. Attorney General Loretta Lynch (pictured at top) admitted that the Department of Justice has been considering whether people should be prosecuted for the offense of climate change denial. breitbart.com

You will be assimilated. 

The groupthink and Ministry of Truth described in George Orwell's 1984 was meant to be a warning, not a blueprint!

I prefer the skepticism of Senator Cruz: youtube.com

Sowing the Seeds of Sharia

Recently, female Air France flight attendants expressed outrage over a new requirement to wear headscarves upon deplaning in Tehran, Iran. They called the regulation "true threats to their dignity". With the Paris terror attack still fresh in their memory, this is just one more slap in the face of free citizens. Yet the French government stifles the media from reporting frequent violent protests by Syrian refugees in their country demanding the right of Islamic communities to replace French regulations with Sharia law. 

The Arriba water park in Germany has decided to segregate males and females to specific times they can use certain areas because of recent sexual attacks by migrants. The country already has a costly campaign to design, print and display posters of graphics that explain how male Syrian refugees are expected to treat females. 2016 New Year's Eve celebrations in Cologne, Germany were marred by the report of Muslim males physically accosting and sexually assaulting dozens of women.

In Östersund, Sweden, women have been warned against going out alone after dark, citing recent attacks by Muslim men.  Recently, Finnish authorities and Vienna's police chief advised women to avoid going out into the streets at night. 

in Sweden where much of Malmo, the third largest city, is controlled by Muslim immigrant gangs. 

In Britain, a soldier was nearly beheaded by a radical Muslim in broad daylight and dozens of Sharia courts now operate throughout the country, even as Muslim activists demand even more accommodations. 

Europe has been admonished by Turkey's President Erdogan that demanding Muslim refugees to assimilate is "a crime against humanity".  

Read more at National Review

"Those weak Europeans", you might be thinking. "That'll never happen in America!" Think again.

John Guandolo, a former FBI agent who specializes in Islamic terrorism, declared that Michigan, Massachusetts and Minnesota are three states that appear to be putting up the least resistance to Islamization.

“The state of Massachusetts appears to have surrendered to Hamas; Hamtramck, Michigan now has a Muslim majority city council; and the U.S. Attorney in Minnesota is carrying the water for jihadis by putting the weight of the U.S. Attorney’s Office behind the terrorist’s information operation to silence those who speak truthfully about Islam,” Guandolo wrote.

A small town in south-central Nebraska clashes with scores of Somalian Muslim immigrants hired on at a meat packing plant. A demand to expand parking for a mosque that once housed a dry cleaning establishment has piqued a growing contention between longtime rural Lexington families and the cultural divide promoted by the everyday presence of Sharia-compliant residents and business owners. Demands for religious accomodations at Tyson Foods and continued demands from the city council has resulted in a Department of Justice investigation into charges of discrimination. Read more at  Omaha News

Islamic "separatists make full use of the opportunities offered by Western liberal democracies without subscribing to liberal or democratic norms, nor applying them within the confines of their own communities. This situation creates many problems, of which three stand out: schools, Shar'i family law, and cultural exclusion." Read more at DanielPipes.org

The Cosmos Foundation has quickly become the largest charter school operator in Texas, with 33 Harmony Schools receiving more than $100 million a year in taxpayer funds. "Some of the schools’ operators and founders, and many of their suppliers, are followers of Fethullah Gulen, a charismatic Turkish preacher of a moderate brand of Islam whose devotees have built a worldwide religious, social and nationalistic movement in his name,"  although school officials deny any connection to the Gulen movement and say they do not teach religion. But, now that these schools are embedded in Texas, providing an alternative education opportunity to many seeking options to public schools, how easy would it be to begin indoctrinating young minds to tolerate and accept the Islamic teaching? Several public schools across America must now accomadate Muslim students' adherence to specific prayer times in obedience to Salah? How will other students react when their Muslim classmates are allowed to skip out of class several times a day for secluded prayer? Newsmax and NYTimes

President Obama is doubling down on his promise to allow Syrian refugees into our country by the hundreds of thousands. In fact, The U.S. hasn't yet set an upper limit on the number of Syrian refugees the country will admit; but the government is reportedly currently reviewing between 9,000 and 10,000 resettlement applications from Syrians, and the U.S. currently has an immigration cap of 70,000 total global refugees per year. There are multiple, unconfirmed, reports that planes full of young male Arab-looking "refugees" are being shipping into cities all across the U.S., sometimes given lessons to become proficient in Spanish to blend in more easily!

When unassimilated young men whose culture only "protects" subordinate females are roaming our nation's streets with impunity, will Americans keep their girls and women at home, just to be safe? When barbaric and predatory behavior is excused and subsidized by western governments who punish Islamophobia, will we willingly conform to Sharia Law? 

We are witnessing Sharia enacted by default, in the midst of 21st century Ottoman expansion. Evil is patient, stealthy and relentless in its commitment to rule the world. Seeds have been sown: breathtaking acts of sporadic and unexpected violence, refugee opportunism and refusal to assimiliate, coupled with the West's fear of being labeled Islamophobic has created the perfect environment to harvest worldwide Mohammedism. 

We've forgotten the admonition of our Founders: "Eternal vigilance is the price of Liberty." - Wendell Phillips

Read more at WND and here

photo credit: <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/9931408@N07/24682904021">Thailand Halal Assembly, Muslimah</a> via <a href="http://photopin.com">photopin</a> <a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/2.0/">(license)</a>