fousesquawk

The UC Budget Crisis

2009-11-28T16:26:00.000-08:00

It seems that I have gotten the attention of a few folks within the University of California system with my tongue-in-cheek critiques of the recent student protests and occupations over the tuition hikes and budget cuts that have taken place. I would like to turn serious for moment and discuss the issue head on.

First of all, the protesters and their supporters are mis-directing their anger. Instead of blaming the universities for this mess, they should be demonstrating in front of the state capitol in Sacramento. It is there that this whole disaster was created with the out-of-control spending that has been going on for a couple of decades. Where were the protesters even two years ago when they could see what was happening in the state because of the tax and spending habits of the legislators? I'll bet virtually none of these folks were complaining while Sacramento was throwing huge sums of money around for wasteful social projects, many of which were designed to provide services to illegal aliens.

Where were they then?

The fact is most of these demonstrators were probably applauding all the social spending for liberal causes.

Now the hard reality is that there is no more money. You can't demand that the universities spend more money when they don't have it to spend.

But here is one thing that the students should be upset at, and yet, it appears they don't even know it. Recently, UC decided to cut back on in-state admissions in favor of out-of-state and international admissions. That is happening state-wide in the whole UC system. The reason is obvious. The out-of-state and international tuition is about 3 times higher than in-state.

On the other hand, isn't a university system-of any state- supposed to serve in-state applicants first since it is they (or their families) who are paying state taxes to support the universities?

I can't blame the students for being unhappy about the tuition hikes, which will indeed, drive thousands out of the UC system including many who have not even demonstrated. It is not that I don't have sympathy for them. However, those who have marched in lock step with the usual rabble-rousers and engaged in destructive or disruptive behavior on the campuses to express their anger have lost any sympathy that I may have had. For them, it is time to grow up and start living in the real world that exists beyond the cocoon of the university. It is not-as they claim-"their university".

It is also time for many who teach or administer in the UC system to realize that what happened last week is, in many respects, a case of the chickens coming home to roost. Many of these students were putting to use some of the things that they probably learned from some of their teachers. In addition, if the universities want to find places to cut without hurting education, they could start with some of the outlandish, politically-correct departments that have been forced on them over the past 4-5 decades. I am talking about UCSC's Community Studies and History of Consciousness departments, the Feminist studies departments, Gay, Lesbian, Transgender, Transsexual and "Confused" departments, as well as the ethnic studies departments that have done little more than foster a sense of resentment, etnocentricity and victimhood among its students, who graduate ill-equipped do much more than teach the same subjects to the next generation.

They could also take a look at some of the academic frauds who are indoctrinating our students rather than educating them. These students and their families are not paying all this extravagant tuition just to come to school and learn that the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq are "wrong" and that George W. Bush was an "idiot". Yet, that is precisely what they getting in many of the Humanities departments. That is not an education.

But what do I know? I'm just a humble ESL teacher. I don't have a PHD after my name.

Meanwhile at UC-Santa Cruz (AWU)

2009-11-28T14:27:00.000-08:00

The UC-system-wide demonstrations over tuition hikes and budget cutbacks were also felt last week at the University of California Santa Cruz (America's wackiest university). It appears the little rascals at UCSC have learned their lessons well from their activist teachers. But how did that slip under the Fousesquawk radar for so long? Here is a report from the Santa Cruz Sentinel.(Hat tip to Donald Douglas at American Power)

http://www.santacruzsentinel.com/rss/ci_13859820?source=rss

Kerr Hall lobby

blocking doors in Kerr Hall lobby

Kerr Hall lobby by elevator

Kerr Hall lobby reception desk

"Power to the people!"

Here is a statement issued by Vice Chancellor David Kliger on November 19 as the demonstration was on-going.

http://www.ucsc.edu/news_events/messages/text.asp?pid=3394

And here is another statement by Kliger the following day:

http://www.ucsc.edu/news_events/messages/text.asp?pid=3397

And there was this from Vice Chancellor of Student Judicial Affairs Felicia McGinty:

http://www.ucsc.edu/news_events/messages/text.asp?pid=3402

On November 22, Chancellor Blumenthal issued this statement:

http://www.ucsc.edu/news_events/messages/text.asp?pid=3403

Bettina Aptheker??? You mean the same Bettina Aptheker from the 1960s? That Bettina Aptheker?

Relivin' the good old days, eh Bettina?

Anyway, all's well that ends well. No arrests were made, and the entire USCS staff went off to lunch....

in their official state-issued Weeniemobile.

Oh, total cost of damages? $50,000-52,000. I hope I have enough documentation for Mr Anonymous at UC Davis in case he wants to challenge this "reactionary" in "solidarity" with the students at UC-Santa Cruz (AWU).

UCSC shouldn't complain too strenuously. After all, isn't that what they teach them to do in the Community Studies Department?

"Thou reap what thou hast sown"

More Exclusive Photos From the White House "Open House"

2009-11-28T11:06:00.000-08:00

President Obama greets Tariq Salahi and his wife
(Orange County Register)

President Obama greets the Ambassador from Waziristan and his wife. (Fousesquawk News Service)

The White House, already embarrassed over release of a photo showing the President greeting party crashers who walked right into the state dinner for the Indian prime minister, is charging that an exclusive Fousesquawk News photo of the President greeting a man introduced as the Ambassador of Waziristan was "doctored". Fousesquawk denies the charge, insisting that the photo is authentic.

You be the judge.

Washington State Bans Christmas and Hannuka Displays Inside Capitol

2009-11-27T17:04:00.000-08:00

Washington state capitol "Holiday Tree"

(No, Virginia, those are coconuts.)

In a huge victory for atheists, the state of Washington has banned Christmas and Hannuka displays inside the Capitol building in Olympia. The ban also includes nativity scenes and Jewish menorahs.

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2009/11/27/washington-state-implement-rules-barring-holiday-displays-inside-capitol/

Well, thank God, they will still allow a "Holiday Tree" to be displayed. No word on what kind of tree it will be, maybe a palm tree imported from California.

Oh, did I say, "Thank God"? Pardon me. I really meant, "thank Mother Earth".

I don't know anything about this Freedom from Religion Foundation, and I have no problem with people who choose not to subscribe to any religion. What I do object to is this modern group of atheists who have adopted atheism as their own religion and want to impose it on the rest of us. It is not a question of separation of church and state, which is only a ruse to give them legal points to argue. What they are trying to do is destroy religion altogether and create a secular paradise similar to what we have seen come to pass in Europe. The fact of the matter is that America has no state religion and has done very well in respecting the religions of minorities. Religion is considered by most in the country to be a private matter, yet our Judeo-Christian heritage is a large part of our tradition and culture. That is why Christmas is recognized as a federal holiday.

Of course, Washington state is a "progressive" bastion under "progressive" Governor Chris Gregoire (D) (who ordered the ban), and I am sure not enough people in the state will raise a ruckus to overturn this decision. However, I feel strongly that if this nation goes the way of Europe and forgets its Judeo-Christian heritage, it will mark the beginning of a dramatic decline in our nation altogether. Or has that already been happening for about the last thirty years? Sorry, I forgot.

You see, this is just the first stage. Today, it's the atheists. Tomorrow (literally) it will be those folks who are anything but atheists, and who will restore religion-in a different form. So my final question is: How in the world are we going to stand up to militant Islam when we can't even stand up to the atheists?

Tuesday's White House Open Party

2009-11-27T10:33:00.000-08:00

L-R- Rahm Emanuel, Michaele Salahi, Tareq Salahi

For the benefit of you UC-Santa Cruz Community Studies majors, the guy in the middle is the vice-president of the United States. (Is that a bow tie he's wearing, or is his mask falling off?)

Another Laurel and Hardy moment for the Obama White House.

Yeah, I guess they were there too.

Tuesday night the White House hosted a state party for the Indian prime minister. Little did they know it was an "open house". Apparently, a couple of reality-show wannabes, Tareq and Michaele Salahi, walked right into the party-as camera crews waited a short distance away. And party they did, having their photos taken with Rahm Emanuel and Joe Biden until at some point, they were discovered. Now their attorney says they were "cleared" to enter the White House, which officials deny.

But a Fousesquawk investigation has revealed that the Salahis were not the only ones who managed to get into the party. Fousesquawk has obtained exclusive photos from the party from a confidential White House source and here they are.

"We object to champaign being served."

"Well, on second thought."

"Our invitations? Can't you read?"

"I tried to scalp my ticket, but nobody wanted it."

"We're from the Department of Education"

"Right this way, Mr Capone. Your table is waiting."

Fousesquawk inspecting the Uniformed Security Detail as he enters the party.

Even Saddam Hussein "dropped by" to "hang out".

John Dillinger apparently had a little too much bubbly. Here he is sleeping it off in the Lincoln Bedroom.

So you think this bunch is going to solve the economy, health care, and all that stuff, do you?

California Has Another Empty Suit Lt. Governor

2009-11-26T19:43:00.000-08:00

Arnold, Abel and Darrell
"Ja, und du vill be a fiskal conzerfatif, yoost like me und Darrell."

This week, California's empty suit Governor Arnold Katzenjammer has nominated a new lt. governor due to the vacancy left by John Garamendi (D), another empty suit who has gone on to Congress, where he can do even more damage. Katzenjammer appropriately made the announcement during his appearance on the Jay Leno show. The new guy is a Republican. Well, sort of. He is one of a handful of Republicans who crossed over and joined Democrats in recently passing a mammoth tax increase on the citizens of California-supporting Katzenjammer in the process. Ladies and gentleman, introducing the latest empty suit, Abel Maldonado of Santa Maria.

"Und he ist a fiskally conzerfatif Republican. Ja ja."

Abel Maldonado

Make no mistake, this nomination is Katzenjammer's payback for Maldonado's tax vote. In spite of that, the Democrats, who control things in Sacramento, will probably not support Maldonado's nomination-at least according to Darrell Steinberg (D), who is President pro tem in the Senate. According to Steinberg, who is anything but a fiscal conservative, the state would have to spend about $2 million to hold a special election to fill Maldonado's empty suit....I mean seat. Actually, the real reason has nothing to do with saving money. Steinberg wants a Democrat in the post, pure and simple.

At any rate, Maldonado used the occasion of his nomination to make a speech in Spanish paying tribute to the greatness of the Latino people and the need to get more Latinos into state office. Fair enough, I don't disagree, but to some listeners, it came across as if Latinos were the only ethnic group in California that possessed such great qualities. So what's everybody else, Abel, chipped beef?

So now we can watch with baited breath the fight in Sacramento over who will be the next empty suit sitting in a meaningless position.

Fousesquawk Sports Update- US Government Lions Lose-Again

2009-11-26T12:46:00.000-08:00

Must be a tea-bagger

The newly-reconstructed US Government Lions of Detroit lost another one today. This year's "turkey-day slugfest" featured the Green Bay Packers slugging the Lions around to the tune of 34-12 at newly renamed Geithner Field. The Lions "Hail Mary" offense was ineffective again today. Penalties were also a problem for the Lions, most notably delay of game flags. On one occasion, the Lions were called for delay of game as they huddled for 2 months trying to figure out their next move.

In spite of all that, the Obama Administration has proclaimed 2009 as a year of "recovery" since the government took over. White House Press Spokesperson (and court jester) Robert Gibbs pointed out that the Lions have won 2 games this year as opposed to zero last year under the Bush Administration.

"That's an increase of 200%", said Gibbs.

Of course, the Lions are playing short-handed with so many of their stars unable to play. Quarterback Carl Levin is back in the Lions' corporate hqs in Washington trying to increase taxes. Wide receiver Jennifer Granholm was also out trying to raise more taxes to pay for more jobs since there are no jobs and no workers because they have all left the state because of the high taxes and no jobs. In fact, the only people in Michigan who have jobs are the Lions.

Most importantly, head coach John Conyers has been granted a leave of absence for personal family reasons. (His wife is on her way to jail.)

Get 'em next week, boys.

UC Davis Administrators Cave in to Student Protesters

2009-11-26T11:09:00.000-08:00

The University of California tuition protests have spread to the UC Davis campus, where last week, some 50 students were arrested. Tuesday, the university responded to an occupation of the administration building by about 150 students demanding amnesty by......

caving in.

http://www.mercurynews.com/news/ci_13865932

No disciplinary action against the students.

A request to the DA's Office not to prosecute the students.

The case of a female student charged with assaulting a police officer will be "reviewed".

(If the police officer was a campus police officer, I guarantee you the case will be dropped. Remember campus police work for the university. They take their marching orders from the Dean of Student Judicial Affairs. So if a campus cop got assaulted, I guess that is just too bad.)

Oh, and that $50,000+ in property damages? Don't worry. The tax-payers will pick that up.

There is this from the UCD website:

http://www.news.ucdavis.edu/search/news_detail.lasso?id=9329

And this:

http://www.dateline.ucdavis.edu/dl_detail.lasso?id=12140

Fousesquawk News tried to reach the UCD chancellor, Linda Katehi, for a comment but was told that she was "unavailable".

There she is now leaving the campus in her "Weeniemobile".

Hillel's Response to Cynthia McKinney's Appearance at Binghamton University

2009-11-26T09:33:00.001-08:00

Former Congresswoman Cynthia McKinney (D-GA)
Israel-basher, race-baiter, anti-Semite and general all around idiot

Recently, I posted a report on Cynthia McKinney's appearance at Binghamton University, where pro-Israel pamphlets were confiscated by event organizers. Below is a letter from Binghamton's Hillel (Jewish student organization) in response to the event.

What happened to Hillel students at Binghamton University

http://www.hillelatbinghamton.org/index.php?src=news&submenu=About&srctype=detail&category=Press%20Release&refno=1

"We write to you because our voices have been silenced.

Tuesday night former Congresswoman Cynthia McKinney spoke at Binghamton University at an event sponsored by the Binghamton Political Initiative, the Walter Rodney Committee and other campus groups. While we expected her speech to be biased against Israel, based on her well-documented record of past presentations of this nature, we were utterly unprepared for our opposing points of view to be so forcefully suppressed.

As executive board members of Hillel at Binghamton and members of an academic community, we felt that it was our responsibility to educate our peers on all angles of the Israeli-Palestinian situation. Therefore, we had spent the week leading up to the event preparing handouts with information representing various points of view that we believed would not be shared by Ms. McKinney.

To our shock, at the beginning of last night’s event, student coordinators were forcibly taking this information away from people. The moderator publicly announced that anyone who received handouts should pass them to the aisle for immediate confiscation. These actions are unacceptable. As students at an institution that promotes academic honesty, integrity, and truth, we are angered that our right to free speech was so clearly denied. Once we distributed the sheets, those who held them had the choice to read the information or disregard it, but it was in no way the coordinators’ or moderator’s right to aggressively take away that choice.

Throughout the evening, student coordinators threatened to remove anyone who offered a dissenting opinion, and during the question and answer period anyone who even hinted at a different point of view was either intimidated or embarrassed into silence. An extreme lack of respect was shown to anyone in attendance who did not wholeheartedly endorse Ms. McKinney’s presentation.

As representatives of the Jewish community on campus, we are outraged that our fellow students chose to bring a speaker to campus who has such a clear record of bigotry. Ms McKinney is strongly tied to the New Black Panther Party, which the Southern Poverty Law Center calls a "black racist" group and is decidedly anti-white and anti-semitic. In 2006, McKinney lost her seat in congress. "Following McKinney's concession speech, a reporter attempted to ask the Congresswoman why she thought she lost. The New Black Panther member (part of McKinney's security detail) interrupted, shouting, "Why do you think she lost? You wanna know what led to the loss? Israel. The Zionists. You. Put on your yarmulke and celebrate." (Anti Defamation League Press Release, August 9, 2006)

We are deeply saddened by the fact that our peers who planned this event clearly had no desire for any real discourse other than the hate speech that was delivered to the audience. While we do not have to agree with one another, we do have a responsibility to respect one another and allow for the open exchange of opinions. Ms. McKinney's visit to Binghamton was an affront to any multicultural efforts on campus. Furthermore, it insults the significant struggles that African-Americans went through to gain civil rights in the United States and the Jewish community's support for those civil rights. Jewish leaders marched in Montgomery and Selma. Fifty percent of white civil rights workers were Jewish and fifty percent of civil rights attorneys in the south were Jewish. Jews helped to found the NAACP. Historically Black Colleges welcomed professors who were Holocaust survivors to teach on their campuses. Ms. McKinney wants us to throw away this glorious shared history and begin a new relationship of bitterness and misunderstanding.

We sincerely disagree with this approach and hope that the leaders of all multicultural groups at Binghamton University share our desire to work together to combat hate and intolerance by creating opportunities for real dialogue. We look forward to a day when we can truly partner with our fellow students and learn to understand and respect one another’s backgrounds."

Hillel E-Board

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Fousesquawk comment: This is all too typical of what goes on in our universities, especially when the pro-Palestinian crowd puts on their events. Where were the campus police and university officials when this was taking place? Who provides security for these events-the radicals themselves? Don't laugh. It is not uncommon for the student organizers to try and enforce their own will at these meetings while campus police stand around like potted plants. Is it any wonder that on many campuses in North America, Jewish students feel intimidated and reluctant to express their Jewish identity?

Outrageous!

Happy Thanksgiving From MSNBC

2009-11-26T08:47:00.001-08:00

On behalf of the whole staff at MSNBC, we would like to wish you and yours a happy thanksgiving.*

Left to right- Ed, Chris, Keith, Rachel

(Or right to left, if you prefer.)

* Except Fox News, Bill O'Reilly, Republicans, conservatives, Sarah Palin, George Bush, Dick Cheney, Fousesquawk and all the rest of you tea-baggers. (May you all get testicular cancer.)

"Re-education" at the University of Minnesota

2009-11-25T18:46:00.000-08:00

University of Minnesota, College of Education and Human Development (Actually, it's Moscow State University.)

The below article by Katherine Kersten at the Minneapolis Star-Tribune has caught the attention of several blogs including David Horowitz's Frontpage Magazine. It concerns an initiative by the University's College of Education and Human Development to begin a new training program for teacher trainees, one that would "prepare them for teaching multi-cultural students in the 21st century". (Teacher Education Redesign Initiative-TERI) Apparently, one of the goals of the new program is to make the prospective teachers-at least the white ones- come to grips with their own "bigotry". Not just come to grips with it, but to confess it!

There's a student now (probably on his way to lunch with the faculty).
"I confess."

Here it is. Read it yourselves.

http://www.startribune.com/opinion/commentary/70662162.html?elr=KArksc8P:Pc:Ug8P:Pc:UiD3aPc:_Yyc:aULPQL7PQLanchO7DiUr

Below is the website of the program. Open it up and be prepared to do a lot of clicking.

http://blog.lib.umn.edu/cehd/teri/

When we talk about the indoctrination that goes on in our universities, this can only be called a smoking gun.

Chris Matthews Browbeats Bishop Thomas Tobin

2009-11-25T17:50:00.001-08:00

Above is Monday's "interview" by MSNBC's Chris Matthews of Providence, Rhode Island Bishop Thomas Tobin regarding the on-going dispute between Tobin and Rhode Island Congressman Patrick Kennedy over his (Kennedy's)pro-choice stance.

Far be it from me to be a defender of the Catholic Church on many issues. (I am married to a Catholic, have raised my children to be Catholics, but the priest pedophile issue drove me away from the church. I am a Protestant who never converted.)

There are legitimate questions that Matthews raised in his questions to Bishop Tobin regarding the issue of abortion in moral vs legal terms, but as the interview progressed, Matthews became more and more aggressive and basically browbeat the bishop, who conducted himself with dignity. In the end, the session was hardly an interview, more of a non-stop lecture by Matthews to the bishop.

It is unfortunate in that had the discussion been held more calmly, more professionally, it could have been a useful discussion of the issue. Matthews certainly had valid points to be raised, but as usual, his aggressive and at time obnoxious style ruined it. Tobin was able to make his points about the churches' moral stance on abortion, but that was about all Matthews let him do.

I understand that some Catholic figures are calling on MSNBC to fire Matthews. I oppose this. Matthews has a right to air his views even when it masquerades as reporting. Bishop Tobin acquitted himself with class with Matthews even if we wasn't allowed to engage in a full and spirited debate. Let the viewership pass judgement on Matthews. After all, his ratings are low enough already.

UC-Irvine Protest Update

2009-11-25T10:18:00.000-08:00

Apparently, I got to the UCI tuition protest a little too late yesterday due to my class schedule. According to the Orange County Register, one of the little rascals was arrested as he tried to get past police into the Administration building to speak to the chancellor personally. (The chancellor was reportedly out of town.)

Here are some photos of the demonstration from the OC Register. No, those guys in the green t-shirts are not Philadelphia Eagles fans. That's the Muslim Student Union.

"Here we go Eagles, here we go!"

And a wonderful time was had by all (except those got got arrested and/or pepper-sprayed).

Here's Another Pulitzer Prize Winner-Leonard Pitts

2009-11-24T19:15:00.000-08:00

You know, Pulitzer prize winners are like Nobel Prize winners-a collection of politically-correct boobs who do or say the right things that please the liberal judges. Enter Leonard Pitts of the Miami Herald, who wrote this piece.

http://www.miamiherald.com/living/columnists/leonard-pitts/story/1344557.html

Now, let me see if I have this right; Pitts is applauding the administration's decision to take Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and his merry band of terrorists out of a military tribunal and try them in federal court. OK so far.

As his shining example, Pitts cites the Nuremberg Tribunal that was used to try Nazi war criminals.

"Helllloooo!!! Fact check time."

Maybe Mr Pitts thinks that Nuremberg is a city in New Jersey with a federal courthouse. Oh and that Russian judge? Third-generation Russian American. Lots of people of Russian descent in New Jersey.

Nuremberg 1945

"Why of course. Nuremberg is a suburb of Newark."

Nuremberg courtroom. My those bailiffs have such nice uniforms.

Oh yes. Don't forget that lengthy appeal process that the Nuremberg defendants were entitled to. Fifteen full days passed between sentencing and the hangings.

All carried out by civilian authorities, of course.*
"Has the governor called?"

Isn't the Miami Herald mortified by this article?

* There were actually 12 Nuremberg trials of war criminals. Subsequent trials involved Nazi doctors, SS leaders, etc. After the main trial, subsequent hangings were carried out at Landsberg Prison, near Munich. The above pictured hanging is likely at Landsberg as there are no known photos of the actual Nuremberg hangings available to the public other than post-mortum photos of the prisoners.

Is There a Global Warming Conspiracy?

2009-11-24T18:41:00.000-08:00

Al Gore-

"He played on our fears!!!"

I heard through the blogosphere a couple of days ago that hackers had gotten into the computer system of the Climate Research Unit of the University of East Anglia (UK) last week. I treated it cautiously until the story appeared in today's Orange County Register editorial page.

http://www.ocregister.com/opinion/global-220865-warming-climate.html

Now I am treating it more seriously.

If true, this indicates possible collusion by people involved in global warming research to reach a pre-determined conclusion. First of all, East Anglia bills itself as "one of the world's leading institutions in the study of climate change."

What is needed here-and needed fast- is an investigation into whether there is...yes, a conspiracy to lead this research to a certain conclusion. Is it true that opposing researchers and scientists are being pressured to change their opinions? Is information being manipulated and shaped, other evidence suppressed, and is there blackballing of those who disagree with the global warming hysteria?

Here we have an international conference coming up in Copenhagen whose aim is to establish greater international control of our lives, coupled with an administration that is eager to get on board-at the cost of trillions of dollars. It is time to slow down.

Can we not now at least acknowledge the possibility that this is all bunk and being used to establish some form of one-world non-capitalistic system-with the US brought down to the level of every other country economically and politically?

Is this all a hoax?

OK. Call me crazy.

Speaking of which.....What do you have to say about this latest news, Al Gore?

Is There an Iranian/Saudi Cash Pipeline to US Universities?

2009-11-24T18:30:00.000-08:00

Below is an interesting report from the New York Post about the Iranian Alavi Foundation, whose offices have been seized recently by the FBI.

http://www.nypost.com/p/news/local/columbia_rutgers_on_spy_group_gift_JOTKcEIJ5qgzRWPVeBxxNN

Shameful as these allegations are, it raises a larger question; How much money is being funneled to American universities from entities such as Saudi Arabia for the purposes of establishing Middle East Studies departments stocked with anti-Israel professors-and for taking a sympathetic/acquiescent stance toward radical Muslim Student organizations and radical anti-Israel speakers?

The UC-Irvine Tuition Protest

2009-11-24T17:48:00.000-08:00

"No beer, no peace."

In the wake of the University of California regents' decision to increase tuition fees 32%, the students at UC-Irvine turned out today to protest. And what a protest it was!!

The event was called by the usual campus groups, folks like MEChA, the Muslim Student Union, the Students for Peace and Justice (or is it justice and peace?), some "alliance of students, loafers, and workers", you know, the usual suspects. Everybody was supposed to wear black though the MSU folks showed up in green t-shirts, some with the obligatory Palestinian scarf with black and white doo-dads.

Due to my class schedule, I missed at least half of the "speeches". There were two that I saw. One was by a young radical-looking guy who, while talking about the unfair tuition hikes, also threw in some references to Iraq and Afghanistan (I guess college tuition is high there too) and other events going on around the world. Then another radical-looking guy came on and read a letter of "solidarity" in Spanish from the UCI Dept of Spanish and Portuguese. Then there was a march around Ring Road, which for you UC Santa Cruz Community Studies majors goes in a circle around the campus.

And there were chants!

"Whose university?"
"Our university!"

"They cut back!"
"We fight back!"

and of course...

"No justice-No peace!"

The chants as far as I could tell, were mostly being led by the MSU guys and what I suppose were MEChA guys.

And what does MEChA mean?

You don't want to know.

I followed behind aways just to see if anything interesting would happen-then went back to my office since I had to teach a class. The crowd would stop a moment in front of the classroom buildings and call for students to walk out of class and join them. All in all, I would say there was a couple of hundred people. (They were hoping to get 1,000.) Did I take pictures? No because I don't think that I, as a teacher, should be photographing students.

I know I am going to get in trouble for saying this, but what the hell. The crowd of protesters was diverse (UCI has few black students and is over 50% Asian-American). Just before I reached the site of the protest in front of the Administration building, I passed the flagpole area where most activities take place. There was a group of about 30 Asian-American students doing a dance and music performance. What is noteworthy is that in a campus that is overwhelmingly Asian-American, there were not too many Asian-American students taking part in the protest.

(That's a compliment.)

But apparently, I did miss some excitement. After my class, I was doing deep, deep cover work in the UCI Anthill Pub.

As I was sitting at the bar nursing my beers and trying to appear inconspicuous, a student walked up next to me to order a pitcher. He was telling the bartender about how he was front and center in the march, leading the chants, and that at a certain point, a couple of his friends nearby tried to walk past campus cops where they were not supposed to walk and got pepper sprayed!

And I heard it all!

I bet that's the most excitement those campus cops have ever had. What a great war story!

Jerry Jones and "America's Team"

2009-11-24T09:53:00.000-08:00

"Flag? Sorry. We don't have any more room."

How annoying is Jerry Jones, the megalomaniac owner of "America's Team", the Dallas Cowboys? For years, we have watched this camera-loving owner front and center on any news that pertains to his team. Tony Romo is dating some airhead actress? Let's interview Jerry Jones. Troy Aikman may not play in the next game? Let's interview Jerry Jones. Cheerleaders? They have to be the biggest with the mostest, and we have to promote them all over the nation. Now this guy has built a new monstrosity of a football stadium that looks more like a theme park, with the world's largest scoreboard hovering over the playing field and blocking opposing team's punts. (I guess it retracts when the Cowboys are punting.) At any rate, it has now been pointed out that the stadium, possibly because of the huge scoreboard, the over-endowed cheerleaders, and Jerry's ego has no room for an American flag.

Jones has added fuel to the fire by stating flat out that there will be no permanent flag installed at the stadium (which for some strange reason wasn't named Jerry Jones Stadium). Apparently the "complexity" of the stadium and its sight lines preclude having a permanent flag. The good news is that the flag can be shown digitally. How stirring!

Are you telling me that this monster stadium cannot accommodate an American flag? C'mon! Why not hang it next to the Jerry Jones flag?

OK, Jerry. If you don't want a flag, don't have a flag. I'm already prepared to move on to my next posting. But can we finally do away with this myth that the Cowboys are "America's Team"?

You Sir! You're a Cowboys fan. Aren't you a little embarrassed?

"Uhhh......yeaaaah."

University of Georgia Cartoon

2009-11-23T12:51:00.000-08:00

This month, the University of Georgia campus newspaper, "Red and Black", published the below cartoon by one Bill Richards.

The cartoon has led to several letters to the newspaper and the university demanding an apology for the anti-Jewish characteristics in the cartoon.

And yes, there is anti-semitism there. I would liken it to old cartoons showing African-Americans eating watermelons. It refers back to a negative stereotype about Jews always wanting to save money. And what is the point of using a stereotypical Jewish name like "Checkpoint Chaim"? It is like adding the name "Rufus" or "Amos" to the African-American eating watermelon.

To me, this is just one of the many warning signs, coming especially out of college campuses, that the Israel-Palestinian conflict is leading to a resurgence in anti-Jewish feeling around the world.

Apologies are in order and a stern rebuke should come from the president of the university. The cartoonist and those in the paper that published the cartoon should be ashamed.

Take the Palestinian position in the conflict if you will, but leave the Jewish people as a whole out of it.
----------------------------------------------------------------

Follow up: Here is what "Red and Black" Editor Carolyn Crist has written in response to the furor.

http://media.www.redandblack.com/media/storage/paper871/news/2009/11/16/Opinions/Thursdays.Cartoon.Requires.Explanation-3832685.shtml#5

Ms Crist's apology is welcome. This should be a lesson as to the value of careful editing.

UC System Raises Tuition-Students in Uproar

2009-11-23T12:04:00.000-08:00

Last Thursday, the regents of the University of California met at the UCLA campus to decide on tuition increases in the face of drastic budget cuts. They were not alone. Outside, thousands of students including some from other UC campuses were protesting, marching around Westwood Village and congregating at the building where the meeting was taking place. Smaller protests also took place at other UC campuses. The regents voted on a 32% tuition hike, and things turned a little ugly as some of the little rascals got out of hand. Below is a link to the article on the events by the UC Irvine newspaper New University.

http://www.newuniversiy.org/2009/11/news/regents-approve-32-increase

As I have pointed out before, the students still don't seem to be aware that the UC system has approved a measure to reduce in-state admissions in favor of higher-paying out-of-state and international admissions. But oh well.

My reaction is that first of all, there is no excuse for intimidating the regents and throwing objects at police. Those that did throw objects or refuse the officers' commands to dispurse should have been arrested. They should also be expelled.

Secondly, students do not "own the university" as they are now chanting.

Third, they should direct their anger not at the UC system, but the politicians in Sacramento who have led us into this mess with their out-of-control spending to the point that the state is now basically bankrupt.

Somehow, I think, however, that demonstrating against left-wing Democratic politicians in Sacramento is not part of their agenda. Can't blame them now, can we?

On Tuesday of this week, a demonstration is being planned in front of UC Irvine's administration building. I will be in class for most of it, but I'll try to get out there and catch a few minutes of the hilarity.

Watching Europe Surrender

2009-11-22T14:45:00.000-08:00

Paris 1940- Some clapped. Some cried.

Sometime next year, I hope to get back to Germany as I try to do every couple of years. Of course, the fall of the dollar vis-a-vis the euro makes it increasingly harder to travel to Europe, but it has been in my blood ever since I spent three years of my youth serving in the US Army in Germany. In fact, Germany is the country I regularly return to especially to the town I was stationed in and of which I later wrote a history. The older I get, I find in recent years that when I leave Germany to return home, I wonder if it is the last time I will see the country I love so much. Now I also wonder if I will live long enough to decide I don't want to return. Indeed, Europe is changing dramatically in terms of demographics even more than the US is. Immigration, as it pertains to Europe, is much different than America. We have taken in immigrants in a different manner that Europe has, and thus, it has worked out better for us. In the case of Europe, they originally brought in laborers to do the work that more educated Europeans would not do. This has led to a flood of immigration into Europe based on a host of reasons; political asylum, taking advantage of liberal welfare benefits, family reunification, etc. Yet, for Europe, it is much more than experiencing what we are now calling the "browning of.....". Europe's problem is that so many of its immigrants are not doing what our immigrants are doing, assimilating. Instead, this growing population has no desire to assimilate into what they despise-the host culture. Add militant Islam into the mix and what you have is a recipe for the rise of fascism in Europe once again.

In the last thirty years, Western European countries have seen their immigrant populations swell into a sizable part of the total population (12% in France). That is not the problem. The problem is that rather than become successful and integrate into host country society, these immigrant populations tend to live in segregated, run-down urban areas on the outskirts of major European cities. These are places that contrast sharply with the grandeur of the central cities. They are places where native Europeans dare not enter. They are largely (depending on the nation) Arab, Turkish, North African (France), Pakistani, Indian (UK) etc. Most are Muslim.

It is the Muslim populations especially that stay within their own communities and live within the confines of Islam. Most have nothing but contempt for the local European culture, mostly now secular and decadent according to the immigrants. In many of these communities, shariah law is practised even if it conflicts with the country's law, while the authorities look the other way. European women who do not dress modestly enough for the immigrants are called "whores" on the streets. In Norway, over 60% of rapes are committed by "foreigners". Homosexuals are also a target for beatings on the streets by immigrant gangs. And, of course, anti-semitism is again on the rise. There are parts of major European cities where Jews dare not appear on the streets in Jewish garb.

It must be admitted that the European countries, while admitting large numbers of poor, uneducated immigrants, had no desire to assimilate them. They were content to allow them to live in their communities and maintain their separate cultures. It has been a disastrous mistake.

Western Europeans especially, have historically considered these newcomers as being oppressed peoples and victims of white oppression, imperialism or what have you. Most countries have bent over backwards to accommodate the newcomers with lavish government benefits, welfare checks and turning a blind eye to misbehavior, rudeness, and even minor crimes on the part of the immigrants. Now what they are witnessing is a downright hostile population in their midst, young men who don't work or contribute anything to the society, who commit crimes, vandalize, assault, rape and occasionally riot. All the while, the host country treats them with kid gloves and gives them lavish benefits. After all, we must not be insensitive and hold them accountable. They are really just children, aren't they? (How racist is that thinking?) If they come from corrupt, impoverished dictatorships where their rulers hoard all the wealth and don't allow dissent-that is really the fault of the West.

Now, especially in places like the UK, Belgium, France and The Netherlands, militant Islam is also pouring gasoline on the fire. Radical clerics openly preach that the goal is to populate the European countries to the point that Islam will become dominant and shariah law will govern. The situation is especially acute in the UK where agitators like the cleric Anjem Choudary openly calls for shariah law.

And in time, they may succeed.

The present average fertility rate in Europe is 1.2-1.8 children per family. In order to maintain the population, the rate should be at least 2.1. Yet, the immigrant populations are increasing dramatically due to a high birthrate. In some countries it is estimated that if present trends continue, within two generations, the population will be majority Muslim. One conundrum Europe faces is that they desperately need younger workers to pay for the cost of caring for the older people who are no longer able to work.

How did Europe get to this point that they are tolerating a hostile immigrant population to continue to grow and gain power as they contribute little but division and social turmoil?

Part of it goes back to the Second World War. Seeing the horrors of that war first hand (as well as the First World War), Europeans took away the lesson that war was intrinsically evil and must be avoided at all costs. Forgotten was the lesson of Munich 1938 that showed that evil must be confronted and stopped at all costs.

Thus, the Europeans have embarked on a pacifist path in order to put a permanent end to the centuries of senseless wars they had fought for no good reason (World War
II excepted.) They have decided that the new Hitlers of the world can be negotiated with, agreements can be made and peace insured. America, on the other hand, perhaps largely because neither world war was fought on its soil (Pearl Harbor excepted) has continued to believe (depending on who is president) that evil must be defeated. Thus, when George Bush reacted to 9-11 by taking out the Taliban in Afghanistan and the Saddam regime in Iraq, America quickly lost the good will that Europeans professed on 9-11.

Solidarity with the Americans-as long as they don't fight back.

The events of 9-11 provided only a brief honeymoon between America and a Europe that loves to castigate and criticize our country as a nation of unsophisticated cowboys and racists. It is they, the Europeans, who are wiser in the ways of the world. Their intellectual, academic and political elite, raised in the turbulent sixties of Europe-especially 1968, continue to expound a hostile view of America, our power and culture. They envision the day in the near future when a united Europe (EU) will take America's place as the prominent world power-at least economically.

Yet, they are crumbling from within and their leaders refuse to honestly face the cancer that exists in their societies. They are too attuned to political correctness, which is solidly ingrained in Western European nations. They prefer to view their hostile and non-productive immigrants as innocent victims of white racism. It is not a case of the "browning of Europe". Skin color and nationality have nothing to do with it. There are millions of non-white immigrants who could come to Europe and make real contributions to their countries-and assimilate as well. To say that religion is not an issue is to close one's eyes and stick one's head into the sand. Secular Europe, so proud of the fact that their famed cathedrals have become little more than places for tourists to take photos, are faced with Islam on the march. The Europeans no longer have any religion to defend against this onslaught. All they can fight for would be to defend their secularism and their free way of life.

And of course, the two unthinkable attacks in London and Madrid. One would have thought that the Europeans would have stood up in outrage and taken off their blinders.

To be sure, much of the blame lies squarely with the Europeans, who merely wanted to have a cheap labor force and made no effort to integrate their "guest workers" into the overall societies. Now they are reaping the result, and they frankly don't know what to do.

Of course, the intellectuals of Europe and certain national leaders like Jacques Chirac of France can sniff their noses at the US-even though we have done much better than they with our immigrants. In America, we have encouraged our immigrants to learn English and assimilate into our society-to consider themselves Americans. (Of course, there have been cases where he have fallen short-especially in our distant past.)

The reader will note that I have often specified Western European countries as having the worst problems (Scandinavia, The Netherlands, Italy, France, The UK, Germany etc.)Is it not ironic that these countries, once our closest NATO allies, now also criticize America much more than the former East-Bloc nations like Poland, the Czech Republic etc. It can now be argued that our best friend in Europe is Poland. Is it not also ironic that Germany under the 1960s-retread Chancellor Gerhart Schroeder was very critical of us, while his successor, the East German Angela Merkel, has warmed relations between our two countries. It is also ironic that Merkel has seemed to turn a cold eye on Barack Obama.

I make no apology in saying that I am sad to see what is happening-not because Europe is becoming less white, rather that it has allowed itself to degenerate into a collection of societies that are being torn asunder-both by illogical European generosity in providing a living to people who openly spit in their faces and by refusing to see the open displays of radical Islam on the march-publicly telling them that they are going to take over their countries and put them under shariah law-not just a religious system, but a political system that will strip away all their freedoms.

And what happens to Europeans who dare to speak out and question why this situation is allowed to exist? Ask the man known as Lionheart, a British blogger, who has constantly been threatened with prosecution for "spreading hate" for documenting the outrages committed by British Muslims. Ask Geert Wilders, the Dutch politician who lives under the threat of prosecution both in his own country and possibly subject to international arrest warrants issued in the Middle East for "defaming Islam". Needless to say, Wilders lives under constant guard being subject to death threats openly pronounced by many European Muslims.

You could also ask Dutch politician Pim Fortuyn, who spoke out against the growing threat of radical Islam in the Netherlands or Dutch filmmaker Theo Van Gogh, who dared to make a short film critical of Islam's treatment of women. But they are both dead, Fortuyn shot (by a Dutchman) for his views on Islam and Van Gogh, stabbed and slashed to death on the street by a Muslim assasin. To breach political correctness in Europe has its price.

Europe- a place where an American could once walk the streets safely at night basking in the fact that he didn't need to worry about the threat of violence or assaults so common in American cities. What happened to the Europe I knew in the
1960s, where it was American soldiers, like myself, who posed the greatest threat to peace and tranquility in the towns? (Actually, I was an MP, so don't get the wrong idea.)

This is not a question of tolerance. Europeans are, in fact, tolerating intolerance and intolerable behavior from many of their immigrants. How is it that in an age where gays in Europe had managed to attain acceptance, that now a force comes along that targets them for insults and physical assaults-and because the perpetrators are part of a so-called "protected class" or "victim class", if you will, Europeans turn a blind eye?

This is not a case of immigrant-bashing, though many readers will take it that way. Europe's problem is not that the faces on the streets look different. That can be a refreshing change and addition to any society. It has been good for America. The problem is that Europe is facing an immigrant population, in which many-not all of whom have brought not just distain for the countries and societies that have accepted them, but outright intolerance and hatred toward others. That has to be called what it is and firmly rejected.

So I will still look forward to visiting Germany sometime next year and hope that I will not live to see the day when beer is no longer legal.

Political Correctness in Europe-Then and Now

2009-11-21T10:14:00.001-08:00

Munich 1938

London WW II

London 2005

London now

Paris- WW II

"Boches!"

"Shhh, we don't want them to think we are Germanophobes."

Paris Now

"Shhh..........."

The Netherlands-WW II

"Anne, you must be silent."

The Netherlands Now

Pim Fortuyn (+ 2002)

"Pim, you must be silent."

Theo Van Gogh (+ 2004)

"Theo, you must be silent."

Geert Wilders

"Geert, you must be silent."

What was it that Santayana said about not learning from the mistakes of the past.....?

Celebrity Endorsements-Chris Matthews for the Restless Legs Syndrome Foundation

2009-11-21T09:19:00.000-08:00

Chris Matthews

(It's Green Week at MSNBC.)

Hello, I'm Chris Matthews here to make a public service announcement for the Restless Legs Syndrome Foundation. If you suffer from this insidious disease, you are not alone. I am also a victim of RLS. I am here to tell you that there is hope on the horizon.

Although there is no known cure for RLS, important research is being carried out by the RLS Foundation. (Yes, there is a RLS Foundation. It is somewhere in Minnesota.)Preliminary studies suggest that there may be a connection between RLS and President Barack Obama.

"Hi Chris."

(Darn, there it goes again.)

In fact, a recent study (at the University of California at Irvine) indicates that 93% of RLS sufferers voted for Obama for president. The same study indicated that of the other 7%, three-fourths of those were racists. That's not all. A recent study at UC Santa Cruz (America's wackiest university) proved conclusively that human beings have two legs-unlike the banana slug-UCSC's mascot.

But I'm digressing, aren't I?

With my RLS, I have found that it always recurs when I see President Obama on TV and hear him give one of his marvelous speeches.

(I can feel the tingling now.)

My doctor has suggested that whenever President Obama comes on TV, that I should turn the TV off. Trouble is I can't turn it off. I am the TV.

Currently, the Government Health Bill now in the Senate would provide 45 billion dollars for RLS research. And if you are lucky enough to live in Louisiana, your state is slated to get the biggest chunk of that-as long as your senator, Mary Landrieu, votes for the bill, that is.

So if you suffer from RLS, see your doctor. And please donate to the RLS Foundation. The leg you save may be your own.

Thank you.

The Reid Health Care Bill and the Louisiana Purchase

2009-11-20T17:32:00.001-08:00

Senator Mary Landrieu (D) LA

If you have wondered how bills are passed in Congress, you might want to follow the up-coming (late Saturday night) vote on Harry Reid's Senate Health Care Bill. The vote stands to be close, and Democratic Louisiana Senator Mary Landrieu is sitting on the fence. Reid desperately needs her vote. Here is how he is trying to get it.

http://blogs.abcnews.com/thenote/2009/11/the-100-million-health-care-vote.html

Within this 2,000-page document are two pages which will devote $100 million in Medicaid funds to "those states" who have been declared a disaster area in the past 7fiscal years. After all the bureaucratic legalese is concluded, it means only one state qualifies for that 100 million dollars. That would be Mary Landrieu's Louisiana (remember Katrina?)

That's how it's done, folks. And it's our money.

So my question is to Senator Landrieu. Now that, thanks to ABC News, we know that the (legal) bribe is out there, are you going to take it-in full view of the American people?

This, ladies and gentleman, is the government health care bill being hatched.

Presidential Trivial Question, Who Was the First President.....

2009-11-20T17:16:00.000-08:00

Question:

Who was the first American president to visit Ft Hood after the deadly shooting that killed 14 and wounded 29?

Here's a hint:

Yes, it was former President George W and Laura Bush who were visiting wounded soldiers at Ft Hood while current President Obama was on Capitol Hill pushing the health care bill and resting at Camp David.