“The power under the constitution will always be in the people. It is entrusted for certain defined purposes, and for a certain limited period, to representatives of their own choosing; and whenever it is executed contrary to their interest, or not agreeable to their wishes, their servants can and undoubtedly will, be recalled.”

~ George Washington (1787)

Monday, December 31, 2012

Monday Cartoons

Click to enlarge!


News and opinons for the last day of 2012!

Politics, Corruption, Big Government, EPA

Media
 
Bill of Rights

Liberal Mindset, Socialism, Communism

Foreign Policy

Budget Battle

Looking Ahead


Friday, December 28, 2012

Protect Our Most Important Treasure

From a commenter on the blog of Tim Blair, a conservative journalist in Australia:
I think it’s hard for people not raised in the United States to understand how difficult it is to live up to the ideal of American citizenship.  We have these God-given freedoms of speech, worship, assembly, and yes, firearm ownership, that are not granted by the government, but are expressly forbidden for the government to legislate, except for certain stated limits (libel, slander, etc.).

But with these rights come responsibilities, and what the US is suffering right now is an abdication of personal responsibility in favor of having the State take care of everything.  Thus the press for gun control legislation in the wake of this mass murder.  Certainly the mother, God rest her soul, showed poor responsibility by having easily accessible firearms around a mentally disturbed sociopath that she was trying to have committed.
We surround our President with guns for protection when he travels through his own citizenry.  Celebrities routinely hire armed bodyguards for protection.  The mayor of New York city says that Wayne LaPierre, the VP of the National Rifle Association (NRA) paints a “paranoid, dystopian vision of a more dangerous and violent America where everyone is armed and no place is safe.”

That pretty much IS most outsiders’ vision of America, isn’t it?  But actually, no place IS really safe—we only have an illusion of safety because no nut case has decided to make our corner of the world his last stand.

The bottom line is that it’s not the appropriate response to a tragedy of this scope to further reduce the liberties of the law-abiding portion of the country.  If we deem the President and Brittany Spears important enough to allow them to surround themselves with firearms, why not our most important treasure, our children?

JamesS of Washington, DC
This is from Tim's post "The Caro Doctrine", which you should read for full context, but the sentiment stands alone for anyone who loves their children.

Friday Cartoons

Click to enlarge!


Thursday, December 27, 2012

Going into debt the really hard way

The Higher Education Bubble is bursting, and the hardest hit Americans will likely be those who cannot afford to complete their degree programs.

Via Instapundit: The Wall Street Journal writer Ben Casselman takes a detailed look at the complex economic factors impacting millions of troubled scholars.
The rest is here.

Thursday Cartoons

Click to enlarge!


Wednesday, December 26, 2012

Wednesday highlights

(Legal) Insurrection

The 2012 word of the year ought to be “emboldened,” in reference to the radical left, the anti-freedom elements of our society: the union operatives, naive but militant Occupy, radical anti-Americanists, and leftist community organizers.

During my lifetime, there has always been an undercurrent of collusion between our public school systems and anti-America, anti-freedom philosophies. But they are now emboldened to profess the alliance in the open.
It's an excellent read, with good suggestions.

Wednesday Cartoons


Monday, December 24, 2012

Enjoy the holidays!

Posting will be light for a while; regular activity will result early next week.

If you have to read one thing about gun control...

.....read this:  An opinion on gun control.

Here are two example quotes from this:
So now that there is a new tragedy the president wants to have a “national conversation on guns”. Here’s the thing. Until this national conversation is willing to entertain allowing teachers to carry concealed weapons, then it isn’t a conversation at all, it is a lecture.
and......
The single best way to respond to a mass shooter is with an immediate, violent response. The vast majority of the time, as soon as a mass shooter meets serious resistance, it bursts their fantasy world bubble. Then they kill themselves or surrender. This has happened over and over again.
You may not agree with everything that's said there.  But there may be something for you to learn.  I certainly did.

So, read the whole thing.  And pass it on.

Monday Cartoons


News and opinions on Christmas Eve

Politics, Second Amendment

It's the Economy, Financial, Taxes


Big Government

Budget Battle, Politics

Liberal mindset, socialism

Unions

Politics

Media

Sunday, December 23, 2012

Christmas Cartoon Special

Click to enlarge!  More below the fold, as usual:



Sunday Cartoons


Opinions, thoughts, and news for Sunday

Looking Ahead

Liberal Mindset

Politics

Bill of Rights

Media

It's The Economy, Budget Battle


Big Government, EPA, Corruption

Unions

Elections

Saturday, December 22, 2012

Perhaps "shoddy fraud"?

When reading scientific and technical papers today, one needs to see if the author has an agenda that is not scientific nor technical.  This is one example why:
Dr. Rosembaum: It appears today that your efforts to publicize your research ("Gun Utopias? Firearm Access and Ownership in Israel and Switzerland," Journal of Public Health Policy 33, p. 47 (2012)) have accelerated. The most recent showcase for your paper and the concepts that underlie it happens to be Foreign Policy ("A League of Our Own," Foreign Policy (December 19, 2012)) but Ezra Klein showcased your research in an interview for his Washington-Post sponsored Wonkblog some days before ("Mythbusting: Israel and Switzerland are not gun-toting utopias," Wonkblog (December 14, 2012)). It is unfortunate then that the body of your research on Switzerland can only be described as "shoddy," at best. At worst it appears more like raw academic fraud.

Here in Switzerland we resent being pressed into forced labor in the salt mines of America's rapidly devolving culture wars, but this would be somewhat easier service to tolerate if your representation of Swiss law, statistics on firearms related deaths and homicides in Switzerland, and Swiss culture were remotely accurate. They are not. Not even close.

Moreover, it is the considered opinion of finem respice that you know it.
 Read the rest for a demonstration why critical thinking is rapidly becoming a survival trait in this sad world.

(Note: "finem respice" is Latin for "consider the end", or "look to the end".)

Saturday Cartoons


Saturday news & opinions

It's the Economy, Unions

Agenda 21


Budget Battle, Politics

Bill of Rights, ObamaCareTax
 
Liberal Mindset, Media

Big Government, EPA, Corruption

Friday, December 21, 2012

Who's being offensive?

Mild profanity warning!  But worth the time to listen.


State and County News

Local Government, Taxes

State Government, Politics, Taxes

Fiscal responsibility

Walla Walla Public Schools Board of Directors voted to return excess funds to the taxpayers should voters approve the February 12, 2013 special election proposal to modernize Walla Walla High School and the project comes in under budget.

Board members approved Resolution No. 15-2012 to officially revise the bond proposal to state the district will reduce the tax burden on the district’s property owners should there be any excess bond funds once the project is completed. 

“If this helps us pass the bond, then I’m all for it,” said Anne Golden, School Board President. “We are good stewards of taxpayer’s dollars and we want to continue to model this practice.”

Friday Cartoons


Friday opinions, thoughts, and news

State Government, Budget Battle

Media

 Big Government, EPA, Agenda 21

Civil Discourse

Foreign Policy

 Second Amendment

Thursday, December 20, 2012

Attention property owners! (Updated and bumped)

UPDATE:  The Union-Bulletin reports that the meeting will be held at 11 a.m. on 21 December, in the District's board room at  364 South Park Street.

========================================

The Walla Walla School Board has an opportunity to give rather than take.  They are considering how to use any "excess" from the proposed WaHi bond, should it pass next February (registration may be required):
The Walla Walla School Board plans to hold a special meeting before Dec. 28 to decide what to do with any excess funds from a Walla Walla High School bond should the measure pass in February.

The board held a brief work session Tuesday to hear feedback from community members and leaders of the Wa-Hi bond committee on the matter of potential excess funds.

Craig Sievertsen and Shannon Bergevin, co-chairs of the bond committee, were at the work session and expressed concerns about the potential for board members to use any excess funds rather than return them to taxpayers or pay down debt.

Sievertsen said the matter continues to come up in the public, with many people saying the board’s previous decision to use excess funds from the Edison Elementary bond for other projects as costing them yes votes on the Wa-Hi initiative.

Sievertsen said the board has an opportunity to make it a nonissue. While he personally sees the value of reinvesting dollars into the district, he said the committee simply doesn’t have enough time before the election to make a case for the benefits of using any excess money.
Their options are:
  • Spend any"excess" funds left over from the WaHi on Lincoln High School
  • Pay down the debt incurred by the bond
According to the article, the public will have another chance to comment on the matter, at a meeting is "set in the next few days" (the article is dated December 19th, 2012).

Considering that this is the Christmas holiday season, there are only a few days on which they can actually hold the meeting, and expect any sort of respectable public attendance. Assuming that the board won't meet on weekends or holidays, that leaves December 20th, 21st, 26th, 27th, and 28th.  This doesn't leave much notice for a public announcement.  And considering that people can be out of town, or paying more attention to holiday cheer than school board politics, this isn't very good planning on the part of the board.

In fact, the school board calendar has "12:00 PM - Special School Board Meeting - Location: District Office Board Room (364 S. Park St)" set for the 21st of December, but no other information is on their web site.  If this is that meeting, it's poorly written, and not much of advance notice. 

If you can't make the meeting, you can contact the School District by the following methods, and offer your input:

  • Mail: Walla Walla Public Schools, 364 South Park Street, Walla Walla, WA 99362
  • Voice: (509) 527-3000
  • Facsimile: (509) 529-7713
  • Email: mhiggins@wwps.org
  • District Suggestion Box
If you pay taxes that go into the Walla Walla School District, attend the meeting this Friday, or contact the District as noted above.  Or you could write a letter to the editor of the Walla Walla Union-Bulletin.

Make your voice heard.  This is a local matter, and your input matters a great deal.

This we don't need

Here's an interesting quote from outgoing Governor Gregoire:
Gregoire noted that the country's top oil companies have made billions of dollars in profits this year, "so I expect them to do this without passing this on to consumers."
A governor declaring how much money a company can make is beyond the pale.  And arrogant -- "I expect them"?  If it isn't in the law, why should the oil companies pay attention?  If it is in the law, how does the State enforce it, assuming that it's constitutional in the first place.

What might soon-to-be Governor Inslee say in a year or two, following this example?  "I expect everyone to pay an income tax", whether it's the law, or not? 

It's a good thing she's leaving office, but soon-to-be ex-Governor Gregoire is setting a poor tone for the upcoming budget debate in Olympia.  There's a need to balance spending and revenue, but behaving like this is not the way to get bi-partisan agreement AND not adversely impact the state economy.

Stay in contact with your elected representatives; at least with the power sharing scheme in the State Senate, there's a chance of setting an example for this sort of arrogance.

Thursday Cartoons

Click to enlarge!


Thursday News & Opinions

The Constitution, Bill of Rights
 
Foreign Policy, Corruption

Big Government, EPA, Corruption
 
Liberal Mindset, Civil Discourse
 
Media

ObamaCareTax

Budget Battle, It's the Economy, Taxes

Wednesday, December 19, 2012

Wednesday Cartoons

Click to enlarge!


Wednesday news & opinions

Bill of Rights, The Constitution

Liberal Mindset, Civil Discourse

ObamaCareTax

Budget Battle, It's The Economy

Socialism
 
Big Government, Corruption, EPA

Second Amendment

Tuesday, December 18, 2012

Tuesday Cartoons

Click to enlarge!  More below the fold......


Tuesday news, thoughts, and opinions

Budget Battle, Taxes

ObamaCareTax

Second Amendment

Liberal Mindset



Education

Elections

United Nations

Monday, December 17, 2012

Never let a crisis go to waste.....

I am appalled. Yes, I am appalled that a monster killed children and teachers, but I am more appalled that the first response from the professional control freaks — the political animals across the nation — is to initiate the long-planned campaign to stampede Americans into surrendering their rights, to disarm all the people who didn’t murder anyone, and — most importantly — to eliminate the ability of the citizens to defend themselves from a whole spectrum of evils ranging from common bad guys to government tyranny.

Senator Feinstein has pledged to submit new “assault weapon” legislation, even more draconian than the last completely useless ban, the one that had no effect on crime other than to create new classes of victims. Senator Feinstein, evidently in an effort to avoid accusations that this new bill is a knee jerk response to the shootings, assures us that she has been working on this bill for a year.

Contemplate that for a moment. This “new” bill has been poised to launch for months, waiting only for the (hopefully) inevitable next horrific incident, an appropriate tragedy, to whip this “solution” out while stampeding a frightened, sad and disoriented populace into accepting yet another “DO SOMETHING!” law that constrains honest people while addressing the actual problem not at all. The senseless slaughter of 20 little ones is the perfect political platform for shoving fascist policies down our throats. The media will trot out every profile of every child and teacher who died, to engender guilt, horror and remorse and bully Americans into letting go of their guns. Newsflash, a**hats… we aren’t that gullible and stupid. We certainly aren’t that weak.
The whole thing is worth a few moments of your time.  Please read it, and pass it on.

It begins

From Bookworm.com:  Factual weaponry for the stalwart foot soldiers fighting on behalf of the 2nd Amendment in the cause of Common Sense

Including this graphic:

(Click to enlarge)

And other basic facts.  These will be necessary, because, regardless of the truth, the left is mobilizing to lay the blame for the Connecticut tragedy squarely at the feet of responsible gun owners in America.

Monday Cartoons

Click to enlarge!  More below the fold......


Monday news & opinions

Looking Ahead

Second Amendment

Media

Communism, Socialism, Liberal Mindset

ObamaCareTax

Unions

Taxes, Budget Battle

Big Government, EPA, Agenda 21

Some thoughts about the tragedy in Connecticut

Sunday, December 16, 2012

Sunday Cartoons

Click to enlarge!  More below the fold......


Sunday news & opinions

ObamaCareTax

Budget Battle, Taxes

The Constitution, Bill Of Rights

Looking Ahead

Foreign Policy

United Nations, EPA, Agenda 21

Big Government, Corruption

Requiescat in pace



Click to enlarge

Related:

Saturday, December 15, 2012

Touchet bond vote

The Touchet School Board recently approved a resolution to put a $6.5 million bond measure before voters in February. The funds would be used along with state matching funds for complete renovation of the secondary school.

#According to Superintendent Susan Bell, the proposed renovation would be the first major work on the building, which was completed in 1975 and currently houses students in fifth through 12th grades. “The secondary building is badly in need of repair,” she said. “We’re to the point of having serious roof leaks when it rains.”
Read the rest here.  Registration may be required.

The Eastsider's Report for December

December 14, 2012                     

Dear Friends and Neighbors,

It’s been a while since I’ve been able to correspond with you via email due to election-year restrictions. I’m writing today to bring you up to speed on some important developments in the Washington State Senate and to pass along a video I recently recorded showcasing some of the highlights of our 16th Legislative District.

Thank you for the continued honor of allowing me to serve you. As always, I welcome your thoughts and feedback about the topics covered in this update, or whatever is on your mind. If there is anything I can do for you or your family, please let me know.

Sincerely,

Sen. Mike Hewitt



And he can cross that river

Presented in honor of all those who served, and especially those who paid the price for freedom.

State news, thoughts, and opinions

Saturday news, opinions, and thoughts

ObamaCareTax

The Constitution, Bill of Rights, Second Amendment

 
 Politics

Socialism, Communism, Liberal Mindset

Big Government, Corruption, Agenda 21, EPA

United Nations

Unions

Saturday Cartoons

Click to enlarge!  More below the fold......


Today is Bill of Rights Day

And Cato @ Liberty has a status on the state of our Constitutional safeguards.  A sample:
The Seventh Amendment guarantees the right to a jury trial in civil cases where the controversy “shall exceed twenty dollars.” Government officials, however, insist that they can impose draconian fines on people without jury trials.
 Do read the whole thing.

Friday, December 14, 2012

A moment of silence


Think your privacy is threatened by the government?

It could be you aren't paranoid enough.  Yet.

The rules now allow the little-known National Counterterrorism Center to examine the government files of U.S. citizens for possible criminal behavior, even if there is no reason to suspect them. That is a departure from past practice, which barred the agency from storing information about ordinary Americans unless a person was a terror suspect or related to an investigation.

Now, NCTC can copy entire government databases—flight records, casino-employee lists, the names of Americans hosting foreign-exchange students and many others. The agency has new authority to keep data about innocent U.S. citizens for up to five years, and to analyze it for suspicious patterns of behavior. Previously, both were prohibited. Data about Americans "reasonably believed to constitute terrorism information" may be permanently retained.

The changes also allow databases of U.S. civilian information to be given to foreign governments for analysis of their own. In effect, U.S. and foreign governments would be using the information to look for clues that people might commit future crimes.

"It's breathtaking" in its scope, said a former senior administration official familiar with the White House debate

Read the whole thing.  Now.

Friday Cartoons

Click to enlarge!  More below the fold......


Friday news & opinions (Updated = *)

Big Government, Corruption
United Nations

Liberal Mindset, Socialism


Media*

Unions*

Budget Battle*

Thursday, December 13, 2012

Some good news on the State budget?

This is a bit old, but probably welcome news: Coalition Grabs Reins in the Senate – Democratic Party Leaders Left Reeling as Bipartisan Group Prepares to Lead from the Middle

Other opinions on this:
More news on this can be found at the Washington State Wire.

Houston, we have a problem.....


USA TODAY special report finds little link between environmentally friendly buildings and learning or energy use.


The Houston Independent School District took a big step in 2007 toward becoming environmentally friendly by designing two new schools to meet a coveted "green" standard set by a private-builders' group.

The nation's seventh-largest school district added features such as automated light sensors and a heat-reflecting roof, in hopes of minimizing energy use.

But the schools are not operating as promised.

Thompson Elementary ranked 205th out of 239 Houston schools in a report last year for the district that showed each school's energy cost per student. Walnut Bend Elementary ranked 155th. A third "green" school, built in 2010, ranked 46th in the report, which a local utility did for the district to find ways of cutting energy costs.
Read the rest here.

This is yet another example of where climate change alarmism and environmentalism send valuable education funds down a rat hole, chasing elusive cost savings and improved student performance under the guise of going "Green".

The Houston area is highlighted in the article, but the problem is nationwide.  Any compromise with climate change alarmists is an exercise in futility.

Thursday Cartoons

Click to enlarge!  More below the fold......


Thursday news and opinions

Taxes, Liberal Mindset

Unions

Budget Battle

Wednesday, December 12, 2012

Tuesday, December 11, 2012

Monday, December 10, 2012

Posting will be light again!

Sorry, but work calls, so posts will be intermittent this week.  The Tax Man calls, and we must heed that call.  Unfortunately.

"Ode To The Welfare State"

Published November 4, 1919.  No one, including the Republicans, have learned this basic lessons.

Click to enlarge, as always.


Monday cartoons

Click to enlarge!  More below the fold......


Monday news & opinions

Looking Ahead

Big Government, Taxes, Corruption

United Nations

Media

It's The Economy
 Foreign Policy

Unions

ObamaCareTax

Liberal Mindset, Socialism, Communism

Politics