Another Year Gone ..... almost .....

I decided to just check my blog to be sure it was still there and to my my surprise it was and it had been almost a year to the day that anything had been entered. Still taking those rides out to Bartlett to clear my head, one week on the KLR the other on the Nomad. Wow! How little has changed.

Today is our Aunt Betty's funeral. Four weeks ago she was told that she had 6 months to live. Guess she figured, why wait.

I'm homeschooling my granddaughter, Alana, and really enjoying it. She is also a karate student and working on her purple belt. Life is good.

Morning Ride

I took the KLR out today to get in a little saddle time. Bartlett is one of those rides that is brainless and mostly trafficless, perfect for just thinking. All went well until leaving the rest stop at the lake. I had just walked in to the restroom when a small striped motor home roared into the parking lot and pulled up next to my bike. The muffler was loud and the woman driving was shouting over the roar of the engine at the kids in the back.

The lime green vehicle was annoying enough but as the woman rushed for the restroom a tan Chihuahua and 4 boys about 11-13 years old piled out of every door, yelling obscenities at each other, pushing and tripping. “Mom” from inside the restroom tried to control the f____ing vocabulary but to little effect. My first reaction, though possibly unfairly stereotyping, was “trailer trash”.

Just at that second a fleeting sickness hit me in the gut. That feeling I used to get on Sunday night knowing that in the morning I would be returning to warfare, in the classroom. I momentarily remembered the phone calls concerning Johnny’s “inappropriate behavior” to mothers just like this one who would say to me, “Yeh, they’re out of control at home too.” But the butterflies dissipated when it all came back, I’m not the babysitter anymore!

While I was putting on my helmet and gloves she said to me, “I’ll bet you’re glad you’re alone.” I knew she didn’t mean that I had no friends riding with me.

Bitter Clingers

“So it’s not surprising then that they get bitter, they cling to guns or religion or antipathy to people who aren’t like them or anti-immigrant sentiment or anti-trade sentiment as a way to explain their frustrations.” Barack Obama

At first I was a little insulted by our Professor in Chief referring to some of us in fly-over country as bitter clingers, but on further consideration came to the conclusion that he was just illustrating what makes him so insufferable.

First of all guns are just symbolic of personal safety in the same way that having locks on your door, a dog, nearby neighbors, or the phone next to your bed so that if help is needed, it’s close. Who doesn’t want a sense of personal security?

Second, religion is just a web of beliefs that ties one to the universe. It is important to feel a part of nature and not an orphan. People believe many things but everybody believes something.

Third, an ethnocentric perspective labeled as “antipathy to people who aren’t like them”: a fancy way of saying that people prefer what is familiar. Again, is that some sort of sin and not just descriptive of human nature?

So what our Professor impugned is exactly what he displayed in his animosity for those not like himself.

For if a person just listens and doesn’t obey , he is like a man looking at his face in a mirror; as soon as he walks away, he can’t see himself any more or remember what he looks like. James 1: 23

Gunmen Kill 17, Wound 18 in Mexico Party Massacre

Gunmen stormed a party in northern Mexico on Sunday and massacred 17 people, authorities said.The assailants arrived at the gathering in the city of Torreon in several cars and opened fire without saying a word, the Coahuila state Attorney General's Office said in statement. At least 18 people were wounded.

In the worst such massacre this year, gunmen raided a drug-rehab center in the northern city of Chihuahua and killed 19 people last month.

In January, gunmen barged into a private party in the border city of Ciudad Juarez and killed 15, many of them high school or university students. Relatives say the January attack was a case of mistaken identity, while state officials claim someone at the party was targeted, although they have not said who it was.

The killings in Torreon came three days after the first successful car bombing by drug cartels, an attack that introduced a new threat to Mexico's raging drug war.

In May, gunmen killed eight people at a bar in Torreon. Later that month, a television station and the offices of a local newspaper came under fire. A pregnant woman was wounded in the attack on the offices of Noticias de El Sol de la Laguna.

If we don’t stop this invasion now, by next year the headlines will read “Gunmen Kill 17, Wound 18 in Tucson Party Massacre” or “Gunmen Kill 17, Wound 18 in Phoenix Party Massacre”. People worry about possible profiling because of 1070, wait till the shooting starts. Then it won’t be profiling, it will be war, and innocent people will be dead, not inconvenienced, because the feds didn’t do their job.

NAACP Resolution Calls on Tea Party to Repudiate 'Racist Elements' in Movement

Same ol same ol. If you can’t win an argument on its merits call names. The NAACP has been using the same line for anyone who disagrees with its politics “racists” for so long that I can’t imagine why anyone would even listen. If the person is white he is a “racist” if black he is an “Uncle Tom”. Can’t we all just agree to disagree?

Thoughts on “The Trip”

It lasted 23 days and covered over 6,000 miles in 9 states. The Nomad ran flawlessly and stayed at about 40 mpg (but much better if I kept the speeds down …. not often). The bike is comfortable but even at a 60 mph average that is still 100 hours of saddle time in those 3 weeks. Several of those days were 600 – 700 mile days that required 12 hours of seat time. Vicki wouldn’t use the word “comfortable”.

The weather was phenomenal. Last time we did an extensive road trip we were rained on in 15 states, every one we touched. This time it was windy but very little rain. Only in Glacier Park, Montana and the Omaha Zoo did it amount to anything more than a few drops. Everywhere we went people said that we had just missed horrible weather. We counted it up and found that our sweat glands were only used on 3 days of the trip, a stretch in New Mexico, cutting across Nevada/California, and entering Arizona (not leaving) at Needles (Hell), and the drop off before and after Sunset Point, 50 miles from Phoenix, at 6 – 7 pm.

Seeing the beautiful states we passed through was great. Visiting those who let us stay with them and show off their states was fun and awesome. The history and feel of Santa Fe was exceptional. I spoke with a construction superintendant working on the restoration of the oldest structure in North America, a Catholic Church. He explained that the reconstructed stucco bricks were being made from the ground around the church because that is where the remains of the originals lay. And there were way more missions and churches than we could even drive by just in the Santa Fe area.

In Denver we stayed with Troy, Megan and Reese. The most memorable outing there was a trip to a little town in the Rockies where there were maybe 50 – 100 groups competing in a barbeque cook-off. OMG, a person would have had to stay a week just to sample it all!

At Omaha we stayed with Dick and Jan (not Jane). The visit included a lot of time with Josh, Lacy, Ewan, and Liam. The trip to the Omaha Zoo was amazing. It ranks up there with the one at San Diego, it may even be better. Lacy, Ewan and I got a really good view of the rhinos on the lift that spanned the park. Lacy and Josh took us to where she works, Boy’s Town, a very impressive place.

In Montana we stayed with Jeff, a teaching and riding buddy, and his parents, John and Patsy. Jeff’s work as our tour guide through a large part of the state “forced” him to rent a top-of-the-line Harley (he left his regular bike in Glendale). We went through Glacier Park and a huge number of valleys, towns, and huge open spaces. In fact, so many that Vicki took 2 full days off of riding and missed all the scenery to supervise a construction crew. Surprisingly she didn’t complain at all.

The final few days we spent with Mel and Jerri in a beach town, Cambria, Ca. It was like being in another world. At least half the day the sun was obscured by low clouds or fog and the area was populated with deer, turkey, and other game animal that had never been hunted. It was quiet and totally restful, unless you wanted to venture out to wine tasting rooms on the sunny side of the hill (Paso Robles) that are as numerous as Baptist churches in Alabama. We drove to the town to eat, watch huge seals (5000 lbs), and even get a glimpse of the Hearst Castle. We’d go back!

Thank all of you who made it possible. What an absolutely great trip!

Jail time for reckless endangerment and incompetence

I’m not talking about BP, although there may be some, I’m talking about our President. He and the liberals in Congress have done more damage since the 2006 elections than I have seen since Vietnam.  We need some knowledgeable adults in there not, supposedly well-spoken, pretenders. You know, people who have run something besides campaigns.

What to do with bees?

We found a swarm of bees in the parking lot this morning. With all the news stories about attacks by Africanized bees and kids as well as adults on the property, what should be done? I called 3 companies. The first 2 told me that they could get rid of them for from $120 - $155. The third said, “Wait 48 hours. They are probably just passing through and will leave soon.” I hadn’t thought of that but decided to give it a try.

Michele sets some chairs out around the tree with tape from chair to chair and I let everyone know about the bees.

Update: When I left this morning at 7:00 they were still here, when I got back at 9:30 they were gone. You learn something new all the time.

Friday night at the game, Saturday morning at the lake.

On Friday Barry Young and Michelle Larson from KFYI did a special “Buycott” night at the Diamondbacks game against the Rockies, from the home of one of the great American public school systems (Denver) that said they were going to boycott us. To make it even better the D-backs won the game in the bottom of the 9th. Following the game there was a fireworks show outside the stadium.

Then after a 4 hour nap I made a run out to Bartlett while it was still cool (5:30 am). By the time I got back at about 8:00 it was 83 degrees. Summer is here, it should be over 100 today.

Update: I was reading through the list of the boycotting groups and found a general interesting thread. They are heavily Democrat, populated by hispanics/Mexicans, and/or make money from public funds dished out as a result of unchecked illegal immigration. For example: public education, government workers (here and in Mexico) and social worker/immigration lawyers. Those opposed tend to be the suckers who have to pay.

Snake on the trail

My second day of actual retirement I decided to take a nice relaxing hike up Shaw Butte. It was clear, cool (well not hot), and beautiful up there. A thought kept running through my mind, “snake on the trail”. I don’t know why, but sure as summer temperatures go over 100, as the trail curved around the mountain a buzz startled me. At first that snake was invisible but when it finally moved a little it came into view. I took out my new phone/camera/internet connection/gps/entertainment center (and on and on) and took a picture. About that time another group of hikers came up and we all stood around amazed at how invisible it was. If not for that buzz I would have walked right past it.

One day left

Tomorrow is my last day with students. Nineteen years! It doesn’t seem that long but in some ways seems much longer. One of my first blog entries was about The Shawshank Redemption, digging through the prison walls, and grappling with being “institutionalized”.

My retirement party was Saturday but the feeling isn’t like Shawshank. There is no open white beach or endless blue sky. It is more like The Great Escape, free but still operating behind enemy lines. Freedom and eternity have their limits.

It’s like the feeling you get when you drive past the old high school. A melancholy mood permeates the car as you consider how much your life was shaped, for better or worse, inside that fence. I can’t help but think that those experiences will live with me forever.

Watching Socialism Crumble in Europe

Why couldn’t this have happened before the election of 2008? The “Joe the Plumber” moment would have destroyed our “spread the wealth” presidential candidate’s chances for election. Instead we are facing a huge growth in government entitlements that everyone deep down knows can’t be paid for and two more years of a guy who won’t sign bills that shut it down. I hope we make it through those years.

When trust dies

According to a PEW survey in March only one in five registered voters trust the government to “do the right thing”. It isn’t just here but in the EU there is pressure to bail out the Greeks. But does anyone doubt that they will renege on the deal? Watch the riots. The government says one thing but the people and history tell a different story.

I read an article on the Huffington Post about 10 myths involving the financial system. It used the argument that governments were different than states or individuals since they could print money and therefore could never run out. The solution for Greece, presumably, would be to free itself from the Euro and revert back to it’s original currency. Problem solved.

But who in their right mind would buy the debt? How could the currency hold any value? Would you take your pay in drachmas? The only thing saving a meltdown in Greece is faith in the Euro represented by those stronger economies securing it. But who believes the Greeks will “do the right thing”? The German people understand that they are going to get burned and don’t like it.

Banks aren’t giving loans to people now because values have dropped and they don’t trust that they will be repaid. Why does anyone expect that the government is any more trustworthy than the citizens? Is it because they say so and can print money?

If you can understand this you can understand politics.

I was talking to a teacher friend the other day who happens to be the president of the local teacher’s union in our district. She is a staunch Democrat and we go round and round often. The other day she was complaining about how little teachers make. I pointed out that she made nearly $4000 dollars a month. That stopped her.

Then I asked where it all went. Why were her checks not enough? Then I asked if she had the full $4000 could she spend it better than the government? I could tell by the look on her face that it hadn’t occurred to her. If a person can answer that question it will clarify their politics. And for a Democrat, in particular, it will help them understand the tea party movement.

Thoughts on Public Education

What will happen when I retire in a few days as a public school teacher and don’t have to listen to the constant stream of nonsense about how bad things are? There is a vote coming up in Arizona on a one cent sales tax two-thirds of which will go to schools. If it doesn’t pass teachers in my district will take a 2 1/2 percent cut in pay instead of a 1 1/2 percent cut. The truth is that most will still have a job in an economy that isn’t nearly as kind to private sector employees. Teachers take pay cuts and maybe increased class size, businesses close down.

I know how difficult the job is, I’ve done it for 19 years. The problem is that it has been made even tougher because of what we in Arizona public schools have to deal with. We get the yearly blame for insufficient Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) because our students don’t score high enough. Last year it came down to our ELL (English Language Learners) and Special Ed. The issue is that besides huge numbers of ELL (no border control), EH (emotionally handicapped), and volatile students (many with learning disabilities due to trauma) we also have a high teacher turn-over. Most teachers stick around for a year or two and then decide that they don’t want the job. That’s understandable. It isn’t a lack of good teachers, it’s burnout or disillusionment with the reality.

Good education should be an alliance with a family, teacher, and student. As a teacher it often feels more like a minefield than a classroom. You go to war every day not to a friendly learning environment where people value what you teach. Why is that?

So now it’s illegal to be in Arizona illegally?

If only the federal government got it. Since when does it fall on a state to guard the integrity of our national borders?

Well the next step will be Obama and the Democrat Congress ramming through an immigration bill that will make everyone now here legal. Just more of the same.

 THERE SHOULD BE NO DEALS UNTIL THE BORDER IS

 SHUT DOWN!!

UPDATE: This just gets better and better. On Friday, April 30, the day before the big “immigration” rallies across the nation, a Arizona deputy was shot by Mexican drug smugglers in the desert just 50 miles south of Phoenix. SWAT teams were sent in along with “more than a hundred” police officers, helicopters were shot at by five “undocumented” individuals. You Libs,  please boycott those racists in Arizona, as the facts come out I want you to make even more complete asses of yourselves.

Above is a picture from the American Border Patrol that shows a smuggler armed with what looks like a Mac-10 machine pistol at his waist. They take these pictures with hidden motion activated cameras along known smuggling routes.

UPDATE 2: It seems that there have been 17 people captured, 3 of them meeting the description of the drug smugglers (shooters). No doubt they are all just good American citizens camping out there in a smuggling corridor. Al Sharpton ought to get right down here to make sure their civil rights are not abused. I suggest he take a La Raza representative since I suspect he’ll need a translator.

It’s not my problem … but others want it to be

I got into a discussion with a teacher friend about why us conservatives are so mean. We allegedly don’t care about others and are shirking our civic responsibility to take care of those less fortunate. To which I responded that it isn’t my problem. I asked why it was my responsibility to raise someone else’s kids. She then asked if I would just let them starve. I said, “Sure”. OMG, that did it! She said that the kids weren’t to blame to which I replied that she was correct, it was the parent’s fault.

I also said that it wasn’t my responsibility to buy them a car or a house. What I didn’t ask was why it was a stranger (me) who was somehow to blame? Why is it “civic duty” to steal by force of law from one family to give to another? If I choose to donate that is my decision but charity at gunpoint is robbery.

Further thoughts: She kept saying that it would lead to a “police state” with extreme solutions like the sterilization of deadbeat parents. A simpler solution would be to remove the incentive for freeloaders having kids. If a parent cannot take care of their children, instead of government subsidization of loser parents, the kids should be adopted out, not put in state supported foster homes, legally adopted into a functioning family. There are thousands of couples paying huge sums of money and even going out of the country to adopt. Why not let them adopt Americans? For a fraction of the cost, which the new parents would pay, much of the problem could be solved..

So they infiltrate hit men … don’t you just love it

That rancher in southern Arizona was probably killed by a cartel sniper or hit man. Here we are how many years later with 10 – 20 million illegals and their kids living here drugs, poverty, and violence flowing across our borders and now some POS politician says we need to do something.  As if this hasn’t been a festering sore for many years. Enforce the damn laws even if it means stationing the Army down there!!

Oh, I forgot, these are our future Obama supporters so we must make them citizens to continue our march to third world status. Silly me.

Update: Minuteman Civil Defense Corps cancels muster, announces dissolution I’m not sure what to make of this because it sounds like some individuals may want to take care of what the government won’t and some don’t want their name involved. But it seems a little ominous.

For those who wish they could write

John Phillips writing in Car and Driver April 2010:

“Some look at things that are and ask, ‘Why?’ I dream of things that never were and ask, ‘Why this?’”

Describing the body of the Pontiac Aztec: “A body that resembles Janis Joplin’s during her most devoted heroin years.”

Or the Dodge Shadow: “Who would have thought that someone could create a car guaranteed to make your wife shout, ‘Wow, my mother was right!’”

Of the cockpit smell in a Hyundai Pony: “A curious mixture of wet dog, WD-40, and liquid Maalox.”

Is there anybody left who doubts Obama is a socialist?

I remember the looks of disdain at the “fear mongering”. Ha Ha! Look it up.

Wikipedia

Dictionary.com Socialism - a theory or system of social organization that advocates the vesting of the ownership and control of the means of production and distribution, of capital, land, etc., in the community as a whole.

Concise Encyclopedia of Economics Socialism—defined as a centrally planned economy in which the government controls all means of production—was the tragic failure of the twentieth century. Born of a commitment to remedy the economic and moral defects of capitalism, it has far surpassed capitalism in both economic malfunction and moral cruelty.

Britannica

social and economic doctrine that calls for public rather than private ownership or control of property and natural resources. According to the socialist view, individuals do not live or work in isolation but live in cooperation with one another. Furthermore, everything that people produce is in some sense a social product, and everyone who contributes to the production of a good is entitled to a share in it. Society as a whole, therefore, should own or at least control property for the benefit of all its members.

[Capitalism provides for] private ownership of the means of production and allows individual choices in a free [market] to determine how goods and services are distributed. Socialists complain that capitalism necessarily leads to unfair and exploitative concentrations of wealth and power in the hands of the relative few who emerge victorious from free-market competition—people who then use their wealth and power to reinforce their dominance in society. Because such people are rich, they may choose where and how to live, and their choices in turn limit the options of the poor. As a result, terms such as individual freedom and equality of opportunity may be meaningful for capitalists but can only ring hollow for working people, who must do the capitalists’ bidding if they are to survive. As socialists see it, true freedom and true equality require of the resources that provide the basis for prosperity in any society. and made this point in (1848) when they proclaimed that in a socialist society “the condition for the free development of each is the free development of all.”

Think government control of banks, health care, automobile industry , energy and just keep going. Watch what they do not what they say.