My Beauty Best Teacher

Via Liberty for Kids:

The following interview scares me but it doesn't surprise me. That liberal indoctrination of youth in many public school classrooms and through varied media platforms (movies, TV, Internet) should not be a surprise to anyone. I once read that most adults don't stray too far from the political views they held prior to the age of 20. Similar to many religious organizations, the statists realize that if you get them young they will likely hold onto those beliefs.

In the interview below Jack Chambless, an economics professor from Valencia College in Florida, tells of an assignment he gave his students on the first day of class. He asked them to write an essay on what the American Dream meant to them and what they expected from government to help them realize the American Dream. He said only 10% said they wanted the federal government to stay out of their lives as much as possible. 80% said they wanted the federal government to pay for their education, find them a job, help them buy a house, and give them money in retirement. Professor Chambless suggests that his students are simply parroting back what they have been indoctrinated to say from their years in public schools.

As I said, this interview scares me because I suspect Professor Chambless is correct.

Click here to link to Professor Chambless' 5 minute long interview where he details his assignment and his conclusions.

The results the professor saw on assignment fit with my own observations. From my post Students Accept Majority Tyranny:

Last week I was asked by a testing group out west to help grade some essays that students wrote. I apologize for not being too specific- I always fear for my future employment when I write posts like this. Thousands of students from the area took this test, which was designed to evaluate how well students understood how government worked in our society. These students all took either a semester or year-long course in government prior to taking this class, and all the students who took the test were either seniors or juniors in high school (17 or 18 years of age). I personally graded over a thousand of these essays over several days of work. In doing so, I was able to read first hand what the students in our classrooms thought and believed, and what I read chilled me.

The test asked students to discuss the advantages of being in the majority party in Congress compared to being in minority party. The correct answers included being able to control the agenda, controlling debate, having the presiding officer, setting the rules for debate, and having their majority also reflected in committees....

...According to most of the students (about 2/3rds), the advantage of being the majority party in Congress, like the Democrats are today, is that they can pass laws that favor themselves, they can vote to transfer money from the minority party's districts and supports to the majority party's districts and supporters, that being in the majority means they can pay themselves more money and the minority party less, that being in the majority means that they can tax anybody they want, and can do 'whatever they want.' The phrase 'the majority party can do whatever they want' was written on over half of the essays that were written....

...The overwhelming (majority of students thought that it was) totally okay and fine with majority tyranny. In their minds, there is nothing wrong with one party, just because it has more, putting in place laws and policies that favor their supporters over others. In my class, I pound majority rule with minority rights, and I talk about the problems of democracy and why we went with a republic, but most teachers- in fact almost all teachers- seem to be giving students the impression that minorities do not have rights and that our nation is a democracy.

The future of our nation is mentally and morally okay with a majority group enriching itself and advancing itself at the cost of the minority group.

... The Constitution is almost never mentioned and as far as students know, it might as well not even exist...

.... (the students) are okay with the President doing 'whatever he wants,' students are okay with 'Congress doing whatever it wants,' and after months of government classes they are okay with the majority party 'doing whatever it wants.'...

Students are being churned out of our educational system steeped in liberal views- they have sipped so much liberal Kool-Aid over the years that they parrot out liberal responses to questions in an unthinking and unblinking manner, assured in their ignorance and comforted by limited world experience. The 'American Dream' to these students is an all powerful government controlled by a tyrannical majority or a knowledgeable elite that takes property from minority and unfavored groups and redistributes it to those who it favors or supports- and this is called 'fairness' or 'justice'. These students think that it is right for 51% to jam its views on the other 49% in our nation- that if 51% are okay with something that is justification for it. If 51% felt that I was some sort of threat to the government, students would be okay with me being taken out by government authorities- they believe in 'majority rule' and 'democracy' over 'minority rights' and 'republic'. The future of our nation believes that it is entitled to receive goods, services, and property from others, and in so doing they'll give away their liberty, freedom, property, wealth, prosperity, and ultimately life.

My sense of humor is a bit off, just to warn you, but here are some of what I think are my funniest posts of 2011, filled with a sense of wit and sarcasm and fun. Enjoy.

BREAKING: Barack Obama Time Travels from January to Scold Barack Obama of February of his Lack of Civility in Wisconsin Budget Battle

BREAKING FAKE NEWS: In an unusual move for a sitting President of the United States, Democratic President Barack Obama time traveled from January of 2011 to February 2011 in order to to scold Democratic President Barack Obama for his political finger-pointing and lack of civility and honesty regarding the public discourse over the budget situation in Wisconsin.

January Obama reportedly said to February Obama "(We should all) strive to be better in our private lives – to be better friends and neighbors, co-workers and parents... more civility in our public discourse... only a more civil and honest public discourse can help us face up to our challenges as a nation."

In reply, February Obama said to January Obama "Some of what I’ve heard coming out of Wisconsin, where you’re just making it harder for public employees to collectively bargain generally, seems like more of an assault on unions..." and then DNC's Organizing for America arm -- the organization and people who were behind Obama's 2008 campaign -- began playing an active role in organizing protests...

(the rest of the post is a long hypothetical conversation between time-traveling Obama's which quotes from him at different times to reveal his shameless hypocrisy in an amusing way)

EXCLUSIVE: Obama Prepared to Demand France Return to 1917 Borders

Following up on his recent calls for Israel to return to its 1967 border, Obama is now calling on France to return to its 1917 border and return the provinces of Alsace and Lorraine back to Germany. For the first time ever, here is President Barack Obama's upcoming speech on Peace in the Middle Europe:...

(the fake speech is quite long- I took the speech that Obama gave at the AIPAC policy conference in May of 2011 and simply edited it a bit- but here is my favorite part of it)

...I said that the United States believes that negotiations should result in two states, with permanent borders for Germany and France based on the 1917 lines with mutually agreed swaps. In doing so, I give to Germany things which they do not own, and then demand that France trade for those things, as if I have the authority or ability to do any of this. (applause)...

(for similar fun, see John Lillpop's post "Obama to Call for Return of U.S. –Mexico Borders to 1843?")

Obama's Belief in 'Bad Luck' Part of What Religion Exactly?

"We had reversed the recession, avoided a depression, gotten the economy moving again," Obama told a crowd in Decorah, Iowa. "But over the last six months we've had a run of bad luck."

If bad luck is the reason that our nation has struggled lately, I wondered to myself just what exactly our President and Commander-in-Chief was doing to combat this recent run of bad luck.

Never in my knowledge has any other President had to battle 'bad luck' before- a google search of past Presidents' speeches did not turn up any results of past Presidents, whether they were Republican like George W Bush or Ronald Reagan or Democrats like Bill Clinton or Jimmy Carter, ever blaming 'bad luck' for the problems that the United States faced. Perhaps it was because these past Presidents were religious people, who did not believe in paganism and 'luck' so much as the divine will of God and his plan...

(the rest of the post is a serious attempt by me to investigate the role that karma and luck play in the President of the United States worldview and understand what sorts of policies he will put in place to battle bad karma and bad luck- it's a joke because he's a joke)

Scientists Filling Roles Priests Once Filled?

(I'll be honest, this post was simply an excuse to bring up an earlier funny post I wrote called Is Al Gore the Re-incarnation of the Xhosa Prophetess Nongqawuse?, but it remains relevant still)

...increasingly, scientists are filling a role in our society once reserved from priests- they tell fortunes based on reading omens in the weather, they tell the future (inaccurately) based on models they create, they punish unbelievers and reward those agree with them without questioning, they build themselves great temples on universities designed to add prestige to their profession, they advise people regarding the proper sacrifices to make in order to appease the angered science gods, they peddle myths and run secret societies, and they hold to a worldview that does not allow any other challengers.

It should be no surprise that scientists are filling this role- for thousands of years, humans have turned to priests, shamans, fortune-tellers, soothsayers, magicians, witch-doctors, and religious types of all sorts. These sorts prey on those who are looking for hope, looking for direction, looking for someone to tell them the right way to live their own lives, and these scientists fill that role- many have, after all, devoted their lives to killing the Christian God and subverting his people, and now they rush into that vacuum with their own creation myths, sacred beliefs, sacrifices, and class of keepers of the eternal flame of truth....

Hello John Holdren, Science Czar, believer in the Unified Theory of Left-Wing Causes, and Tyrant

As the United States of America continues its descent under President Obama and his New Democrat Party into a third-world dictatorship, I still find myself unfamiliar with the overlords who now control my behavior and distribute to me gifts and favors... So today let's get to know a little bit better our Science Czar, John Holdren...

...Holdren is a believer in the so-called Unified Theory of Left-Wing Causes. This theory is that all left wing causes- including global warming, global cooling, overpopulation, endangered species, poverty, diversity, and many others- can all be solved by a benevolent world dictatorship of the enlightened elite that will force others to live their lives differently and will redistribute their property as they see fit...

(Here I am simply amused by the phrase Unified Theory of Left-Wing Causes, as if this is some sort of pseudo-scientific system out there- check out Powerline's post on this for more)

Chimpanzee Hunting Driving Monkeys to Extinction? Those Damned Dirty Apes!

Scientific American reports that that red colobus monkeys in Uganda's Kibale National Park are being hunted to extinction—by chimpanzees. According to a study published May 9 in the American Journal of Primatology, this is the first documented case of a nonhuman primate significantly overhunting another primate species...

...Scientific American is wrong- this is not the first time that those damned dirty apes have tried to kill other primates. Several years ago I got my hands on an account of apes hunting man- I know it is sketchy at best and is not a complete account, but I am going to pass it on to you now to think about.... here is the other account that I have read of ape hunting man...

(you'll have to read the post to get the joke- you'll chuckle, I am positive)

Funny Rick Synder Story about Bureaucrats

Yesterday I got a chance to sit down and talk for a bit with Michigan Governor Rick Synder and he told me a pretty funny story. I'm going to try my best to rely it to you...

(it's a good story- I can't improve it in any way by summarizing it for you, so just read the post)

Hopefully these all brought you a chuckle to start off the year, and you all will be sure to regularly read A Conservative Teacher for insight, humor, and a dose of reality.

Today let's learn about our Science Czar, the Director of the Office of Science and Technology Policy, John Holdren.

As the United States of America continues its descent under President Obama and his New Democrat Party into a third-world dictatorship, I still find myself unfamiliar with the overlords who now control my behavior and distribute to me gifts and favors. Oh, I know who is elected into office, and being a teacher of this sort of stuff I understand the bureaucracy and how it works. But who the heck is John Holdren, what role does he play in our political system, how did he get that role, and what sort of a person is he to be controlling me?

It's tough to keep all these czars straight, you know, since under Obamathe number of unelected, unconfirmed offices who go by the old imperial Russian title of Czar has gone up quite a bit (although to be fair, the number of people who have been considered czars under Obama is still just under the number of people who were considered czars under Bush, a two-term President roundly criticized by both the right and left as being undemocratic and statist). Still, I'm determined to get to know all of them- from Kenneth Feinberg, Head of the Deutsche Arbeitsfront and Pay Czar who although being a long-time Democratic operative and chief of staff for Democratic Senator Kennedy was put in charge of determining how much CEO's should be paid in once-free America, to Gary Samore, former US Communist party member and current WMD Policy Czar, to Ed Montgomery, auto-worker czar and distributor of gifts and favors.

It's going to be important for all of us to become more familiar with how things work in America now- after the change- we'll need to know how to curry favor with royal envoys, how to avoid being intimidated and bullied by bowing low and saying the right things, and how to bow get gifts from to our new overlords, who now tour around the land giving gifts to favored people.

So today let's get to know a little bit better our Science Czar, John Holdren. From Who Runs Gov:

Holdren is a powerhouse in the world of science and public policy. As director of the Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) and co-Chair of the President’s Council of Advisers on Science and Technology (PCAST), he is the top adviser to President Barack Obama on science and technology, issues that are increasingly relevant to homeland security, energy and the environment. Holdren casts all of the above as priorities.

He also leads interagency efforts to develop and implement sound science and technology policies and budgets, and works with the private sector, state and local governments, the science and higher education communities, and other nations to advance his policy initiatives.

Although a lot of conservatives may focus on other aspects of John Holdren- for example, in a book he published in 1977, he wrote about and appeared to be supportive of forced abortions, mass sterilization, a "Planetary Regime" with the power of life and death over American citizens, populations that would be sterilized by infertility drugs intentionally put into the nation's drinking water or in food, and other similarly frightening ideas. This research is important and should be realized, but I want to focus instead on another aspect of Holdren- his belief in a benevolent world dictatorship of the enlightened elite that will forcibly transfer wealth for some reason or another.

Holdren is a believer in the so-called Unified Theory of Left-Wing Causes. This theory is that all left wing causes- including global warming, global cooling, overpopulation, endangered species, poverty, diversity, and many others- can all be solved by a benevolent world dictatorship of the enlightened elite that will force others to live their lives differently and will redistribute their property as they see fit.

Basically, Holdren is a run-of-the-mill tyranny supporter, and was appointed to his position by tyrant-in-chief President Barack Obama, and he is to be opposed by all freedom and liberty loving patriots out there.

The worst part about Holdren, aside from the fact that he seizes on the left wing cause of the day to push his tyrannical beliefs, is that his ideas and theories about everything are wrong. From Forbes:

....In keeping with his dogmatic limits-to-growth convictions, Holdren joined his frequent co-author, eco-doomster Paul Ehrlich, in a famous bet against cornucopian economist Julian Simon. In 1980, Holdren, Ehrlich and Stanford colleague John Harte picked a basket of five commodities--chrome, copper, nickel, tin and tungsten--that they were sure were going to rise in price as they became increasingly scarce. They drew up a futures contract obligating Simon to sell Holdren, Ehrlich and Harte the same quantities of five metals that could be purchased for $1,000 10 years later at 1980 prices.

If the combined prices rose above $1,000, Simon would pay the difference. If they fell below $1,000, Ehrlich would pay Simon. Ehrlich mailed Simon a check for $576.07 in October 1990. Simply put, the combined real prices of the metals selected by Holdren and his colleagues fell by more than 50% during the 1980s, confirming cornucopian claims that the supply of resources over time becomes more abundant, not scarcer.....

...Holdren introduced in 1971--with his colleague and perennial population-alarmist, Ehrlich--the concept of the I=PAT identity. Human Impact on the environment is equal to Population x Affluence/consumption x Technology. All of which are supposed to intensify and worsen humanity's impact on the natural world.

History shows that the I=PAT identity largely gets it backward. Population is at worst neutral, while affluence and technology actually promote environmental flourishing. It is in the rich, developed countries that the air becomes clearer, the streams cleaner and the forests more expansive....

...Holdren doesn't appear to have an adequate understanding of the economic process through which these technological advances are achieved. He seems to think new technologies arise full-blown from government agencies and university laboratories....

This is the general flaw to the Unified Theory of Left-Wing Causes- that bureaucrats like Holdren know what they are doing and if they are given more power over others- power that those free people once exercised- and are given more resources- resources taken from the labor of once-free people- that these bureaucrats will make the world a better place for us all to live- a more prosperous, free, and happy place. It turns out though that he is wrong in almost all of his theories- from bets he placed to equations he invented to his general understanding of economics. He is a failed person- perhaps no more failed than the rest of us, but yet given more power and authority and wealth over the rest of us by a government not in any way empowered to do so.

People are not completely 'benelevent', and neither are the governments they create, and there are no 'enlightened' people in charge of our government today, either Democrat or Republican or liberal or conservative. Whatever the cause that you believe in or support, the answer is never the Unified Theory of Left-Wing Causes, and yet the Obama administration has appointed as Science Czar one of the greatest believers in this theory- a guy who is supposed to be a scientist actually at his heart a firm believer in a theory that is demonstratively wrong.

John Holdren is yet another example of a failed administration based on failed theories and ideas putting in placed failed administrators who implement failed policies- and we can see the results of this failure in America today.

Clarence Thomas has long been my favorite Supreme Court Judge, and that was even before I read his amazing book. This weekend marks his 20th year on the Court, and we as a nation can only hope that he is on there for another 20 years. John Yoo wrote the following article as a tribute to him in the Wall Street Journal, and I hope you all get a chance to read it. Here it is in part...

This weekend marks the 20th anniversary of Clarence Thomas's appointment to the Supreme Court. In his first two decades on the bench, Justice Thomas has established himself as the original Constitution's greatest defender against elite efforts at social engineering. His stances for limited government and individual freedom make him the left's lightning rod and the tea party's intellectual godfather. And he is only halfway through the 40 years he may sit on the high court.

Justice Thomas's two decades on the bench show the simple power of ideas over the pettiness of our politics. Media and academic elites have spent the last 20 years trying to marginalize him by drawing a portrait of a man stung by his confirmation, angry at his rejection by the civil rights community, and a blind follower of fellow conservatives. But Justice Thomas has broken through this partisan fog to convince the court to adopt many of his positions, and to become a beacon to the grass-roots movement to restrain government spending and reduce the size of the welfare state.

Clarence Thomas set the table for the tea party by making originalism fashionable again. Many appointees to the court enjoy its role as arbiter of society's most divisive questions—race, abortion, religion, gay rights and national security—and show little desire to control their own power. Antonin Scalia, at best, thinks interpreting the Constitution based on its original meaning is "the lesser evil," as he wrote in a 1989 law journal article, because it prevents judges from pursuing their own personal policies. Justice Thomas, however, thinks that the meaning of the Constitution held at its ratification binds the United States as a political community, and that decades of precedent must be scraped off the original Constitution like barnacles on a ship's hull....

Make sure you take a minute to read the rest and gain hope for the future of our great nation.

Jennifer Granholm, the Democratic former Governor of Michigan, is exactly right- the United States can learn a lot of lessons from Michigan's government- lessons on what not to do.

Before the Obama years, many looked back at the Bush years and talked about how bad 4% GDP growth and 6% unemployment were, but to be honest, those numbers were never that good in Michigan, which suffered under a single state recession for much of the 2000's and had low GDP growth rates, high unemployment, and bad numbers on everything else. For many years, the people of this great state were told that the reason why Michigan was doing so poorly was George W. Bush's fault- but from 2009 to 2011 Bush was gone and yet Michigan still led the nation in all of the wrong numbers. The reason why Michigan did poorly as a state from 2003 to 2011 was because during this time our state had a progressive Democrat as Governor who put in place the same policies at the state level that have failed so miserably at the national level as well.

Governor Granholm believed that the government should take money from those who are successful and then use that money to pick and choose winners and losers in the marketplace. Her administration decided that what made a company or an industry a 'winner' was not whether or not it was profitable, whether it provided a good that was valued by society highly (as determined by private investment), or whether it was a stable and sound investment. No, under Democratic officials and Granholm, the decision to use the power of government to anoint an industry a 'winner' was made based on political decisions of whether or not that industry or company donated to the Democratic Party, the decision was made based on whether or not the industry or business was deemed 'cool' and 'hip', and whether not the business or industry provided a good or service that the ruling powers liked, whether it was 'green products' or movies.

Using the power of the government to transfer wealth from savers and producers and successful people to those who are spenders and wasters and unsuccessful has a decided effect on an economy, whether at the state level or the national level- it leads to less economic success, more waste, more inefficiency, less jobs, less tax revenue, and a thoroughly lessened society on almost every level. When property is taken and corrupt decisions are made in the government, a state and a nation are not successful.

Michigan showed the entire nation what would happen if those same policies were enacted at the national level- it was a lesson of what not to do. And yet, in spite of this, much like our national leaders that continue to press on in the face of failure, those who inflicted this awful economy on us have no apologies and hold true to their course. President Barack Obama, much like Jennifer Granholm, will not change in any substantive manner and will not alter his policies if he wins a second term.

Jennifer Granholm is coming out with a new book, "A Governor's Story: The Fight for Jobs and America's Economic Future," and in it she gives our great nation of how not to run a state or government or anything at all.

As is typical in a government which inserts itself into the marketplace and plays political games with citizens, the book talks about all of the political gamesmanship and behind-the-scenes deal-making and continual crisis that marked the Granholm years in Michigan. The book argues that government involvement — tax payer money given away in the name of green jobs and pork programs — is essential to economic growth, in spite of the track record that that philosophy has had whenever and wherever it has been tried. They attempt to argue that because another government has (the Obama administration) has awarded tens of billions of dollars in taxpayer money borrowed on credit from China as loans to various industries in Michigan over the last couple of years, this is some sort of an indication of success for their method.

Granholm says "Smart and active government is really what's needed"- as if a small elite class of unconnected politicians working in a capital will be smarter than the thousands of decisions that free citizens make every day in a free market, and as if a more active government will not crowd out investment and decisions freely made by businessman and force them into making unwise and bad investments.

"If you place no bets, you will lose every time," she said, suggesting that the government should use its extreme lack of information about the market and rely on its lack of personal investment in the situation to gamble away taxpayer money at every political or 'cool' industry or company that comes along. Oh, a couple of those bets will win- even a Democrat finds his way out of a recession every now and then- but on the whole, taxpayers will take it on the chin many more times than not, and Granholm and her cronies will walk away with pensions, paychecks, a nice university position, and a new book.

United States, be prepared- Michigan has shown the nation the way, and don't ever forget- Granholm won a second term of office after her disastrous first term saw her destroy Michigan's economy and ruin many lives.

Detroit News provided quotes and source information.

I'm confused.

The United States Congress, under both Republican and Democrat, has from time to time established a 'debt limit' in order to force our government to recognize that there is a limit on the total amount of debt that our nation can amass. The purpose of this debt limit or debt ceiling was to put a limit on how much the government could spend in deficit spending once the limit was reached- in other words, our nation brings in $2 trillion in taxes and if the debt ceiling is hit, it should spend that $2 trillion and not more. Once long ago (15 years ago), our nation was able to do that- once, under different times (5 years ago) our nation only added $500 billion or so a year to our debt and so the debt limit looked a long way away. But that was different times, before the utter madness and insanity that is the Obama administration teamed with a liberal Democrat Congress.

We all know the story now- Obama has added more to the nation debt in the first term of his administration that almost every administration in the history of the United States combined (yes, even more than two term Presidents Reagan+Bush). His budgets (when they aren't being laughed off the table) project the utter bankruptcy of the United States in the near future, especially when massive new entitlements like Obamacare kick in and explode the cost of healthcare and dramatically increase unemployment while attacking the life, liberty, and property of the citizens of our nation.

In their infinite wisdom Congress has foreseen a time like this, and so the debt limit was put in place to stop the madness of King Obama. The limit has been reached- it is now time to stop spending money and live within the government's massively ample means. Or, if this means the utter collapse of America, then kick up the debt limit another trillion in return for a budget that adds a massively mind-blowing $500 billion in debt this year (we're still dealing with this year's budget since the Democrats in the House and Senate passed no budget last year when they controlled those institutions, and the Senate Democrats aren't even pretending any more to propose a budget for the current year even though they control that institution), $500 billion in debt next year, and a balanced budget given to the next President.  I'm okay with that kind of a deal, signed on by both parties.

Here is where the confusion strikes- neither the Republicans nor the Democrats are negotiating for this objective or anything like it.

President Barack Hussein Obama (Democrat, Illinois) and the Democrats in the House (Screechen' Pelosi) and the Senate (which they still have control over because idiots continue to vote Democrat), as far as I can gather, wants the debt limit raised $4 trillion (which will get him into his hypothetical next administration) in return for unspecified cuts of whatever amount that will occur long after he has left. The only concrete proposal that I have seen from him is a measly $200 billion cut for Medicare, a Medicare program that he cut $500 billion out of already as part of making his Obamacare screw-over laughingly 'budget neutral'. Other than that, there big solution is more taxes- they feel that they can take money from people who are currently earning it fairly based on their hard work and effort and innovation because there are fewer of these people and that's what tyrannies do- beat up on the few to give meager handouts to the many. They are proposing higher taxes on those who make over $250K year- not those who are already wealthy or who inherited their money, because those people are the super-rich hereditary elite who are increasingly ruling over us- but rather that those who are earning and making their money and working their way up are beat down, punished, discouraged, and driven back downwards to the bottom, creating a permanent class of rich who have and poor who have not.

Both Democrats and Republicans also have been talking about cutting 'tax loopholes' or cutting 'spending through the tax code'. Don't fall for this kind of stuff- the sorts of things that the government considers 'spending through the tax code' are tax credits, deductions, exclusions, exemptions, deferrals, and preferential rates. Examples of 'tax expenditures' include the mortgage tax deduction, the 'Bush' tax cuts, the 'Obama' tax cuts, having pensions be tax exempt, dividend taxes, exclusion of taxes your employer pays on health care, tax credits for children, the elimination of the 'marriage penalty, and many more. Cutting this sort of spending will raise taxes on families, employers, home owners, retirees, and many more, in order to transfer wealth to low income earners and other politically favorable groups who will be exempt from such devastating automatic tax increases.

The Republicans also talk about wanting the government to cut spending back to the bloated, inefficient, and massive levels that it existed under big-government Republican President George W. Bush, combined with 'reforms' that are meaningless mishmash of poor words thrown at a wall doing nothing for the future.

It is simple- the limit has been reached, government should only spend the unbelievable amount that it takes in, and figure out something for next year. I don't understand why everyone else is so confused about this issue.

Holiday in Death: No one likes to be alone during the holidays. For New York's most posh dating service, Personally Yours, it is the season to bring lonely hearts together. But Lt. Eve Dallas, on the trail of a ritualistic serial killer, has made a disturbing discovery: all of the victims have been traced to Personally Yours. Eve soon enters an elite world of people searching for their one true love - and one killer searching for his next victim. Conspiracy in Death: With the precision of a surgeon, a serial killer preys on the most vulnerable souls of the world's city streets. The first victim: a sidewalk sleeper, found dead in New York City. No bruises, no signs of struggle. Just a laser-perfect, fist-sized hole where his heart had once been. Lieutenant Eve Dallas is assigned to investigate. But in the heat of a cat-and-mouse game with the killer, Dallas's job is suddenly on the line. Now her hands are tied. . .between a struggle for justice - and a fight for her career. . . Loyalty in Death: An unknown bomber is stalking New York City. He is sending Eve Dallas taunting letters promising to wreak mass terror and destruction among the "corrupt masses." And when his cruel web of deceit and destruction threatens those she cares for most, Eve fights back. It's her city . . .it's her job . . . and it's hitting too close to home. Now, in a race against a ticking clock, Eve must make the pieces fit - before the city falls.

Click here to buy from Amazon

In my class, I tolerate almost every sort of student- conservatives, liberals, libertarians, socialists, and even moderates. In our discussions, debates, and in simulations, it doesn't matter to me how a student thinks the best way to improve life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness- it isn't my place to make them conform with my views or my ideology. But even though I'm tolerate of those groups, I do not tolerate fascists, hypocrites, or those students who openly promote tyranny and seek power over others.

Public education receives a lot of money from the state, and that money comes with a responsibility and obligation that I make sure that there are not students in my classroom who think that it okay to openly support fascism, that it is not okay to serially lie about their beliefs and views on issues, or that it is not okay to promote control over other people and tyranny and oppression. I crack down on those beliefs and try to teach students that those are not acceptable in our free and open society- they can think and believe whatever they want, but as long as I'm getting money from a free state of laws and liberty and freedom, I'm not going to let students openly and with my support think or say anything that advocates its violent overthrow or a take over by any hateful groups out there.

That being said, I am plenty accepting of liberals and socialists- as long as that is what they really are. The problem is that there really are not that many true socialists that come through my classroom, because there honestly are not a lot of real socialists in general. Oh, there are plenty of people in society that pretend they are socialist- they preach equality, redistribution of wealth, no ownership of property, fairness, and a society of rainbows and puppy dog tails- but when it really comes down to it and I make them make decisions about their own lives, their own property, their own liberty, it turns out they believe something else entirely.

Many people in society claim to be socialist, but in reality they are just thugs- they want others who they don't like to redistribute their property, by force if necessary. They want other people, not them or their friends, to lose their liberties and freedoms- but not them. They want equality, as long as that equality drags others down to their levels- but once they have more than others and are more fortunate, they no longer believe in equality. They talk about the joys of a society that they can build, ignoring the horrors of it in reality.

Victor Davis Hanson wrote about this in a recent article called There Are No Socialists. Here are some of the key parts:

...The strangest things about the global statist crack-up are socialists’ unhappiness with their socialist utopia, and their subsequent efforts to avoid the consequences of the very redistributive state that they themselves once so gladly crafted...

...Here at home, Obama got his ObamaCare. Why, then, did he grant hundreds of exemptions — many to northern California liberals? Should they instead not have lined up to volunteer to implement such a wonderful, long-needed entitlement?

He said energy would rightly sky-rocket, given his determination to curb fossil fuel production (cf. “bankrupt” coal companies). Why then is Obama concerned that gas hit $4; is not such a high price a welcomed retardant to burning hot fuels? The higher the gas prices, the more that subsidized wind and solar power, and electric cars are attractive, and thus the more we enjoy “sustainable” power. Right? Am I missing something about this desire within our grasp of “living within our means”?

Obama enjoyed big majorities in both houses of Congress; and on the campaign trail he had promised a de facto amnesty under the euphemism of “comprehensive immigration reform.” So why did he not grant such exemptions, and absorb 11, 15, or 20 million new “citizens” from Oaxaca? Is not that the point of amnesty, to welcome in new constituencies who will remember a benefactor at the polls?...

....This discussion is, of course, a belabored example of why and how socialists do not like socialism. Indeed, statism is not a desired outcome, but rather more a strategy for obtaining power or winning acclaim as one of the caring, by offering the narcotic of promising millions something free at the expense of others who must be seen as culpable and obligated to fund it — entitlements fueled by someone else’s money that enfeebled the state, but in the process extended power, influence, and money to a technocratic class of overseers who are exempt from the very system that they have advocated.

So what is socialism? It is a sort of modern version of Louis XV’s “Après moi, le déluge” – an unsustainable Ponzi scheme in which elite overseers, for the duration of their own lives, enjoy power, influence, and gratuities by implementing a system that destroys the sort of wealth for others that they depend upon for themselves....

...History is not kind to such collective states of mind. Pay an Athenian in the fifth century BC a subsidy to go to the theater; and in the fourth century BC he is demanding such pay to vote in the assembly as well — and there is not to be a third century free democratic polis. Extend to a Roman in the first century BC a small grain dole, and by the late first century AD he cannot live without a big dole, free entertainment in a huge new Coliseum, and disbursements of free coined money. Let the emperor Justinian try cutting back the bloated bureaucracy in sixth century AD Constantinople and he wins the Nika riots that almost destroy a civilization from within even as it is beset by hosts of foreign enemies....

Victor Davis Hanson is the author of books such as The Father of Us All: War and History, Ancient and Modern and How The Obama Administration Threatens Our National Security (Encounter Broadsides).

Today on my drive home from work I listened to both a liberal talk radio show (the Ed Schultz show) and a conservative talk radio show that was having liberals call in to debate (the Michael Medved show). The basic point of liberals, no matter what the topic, was that conservatives/tea party supporters/Republicans support tax cuts for the rich which is corrupt and wrong and takes money and jobs away from the poor people in society, and the better way to go is to support the liberal/progressive/socialist/Democratic policies best illustrated by President Barack Obama. Also, they like to bring up the fact that when Republicans are in charge no one likes America, and now that Obama is in charge everyone around the world loves us. That's pretty much the heart of every argument on every issue that comes up.

Does the recent news support that Obama's policies are better for the poor, are less likely to lead to corruption, and help build strong partnerships around the world? Based on a summary glance of stories this week, I think the answer is a pretty clear 'no'.

According to a recent study, Democrats policies could force vehicle prices up by nearly $10,000, reduce sales by 5.5 million vehicles annually and eliminate more than 260,000 jobs. Thankfully Republicans are able to block many of these policies from the one half branch of government that they currently control, where they are expending massive amounts of time and money to try to simply stop these policies. Imagine if they had control of the Senate and the White House- they might be able to put in the opposite policies leading to cheaper cars, increased sales, and more jobs. The rich and wealthy will be okay under the Democrats plans- they can afford to pay a little extra for their cars- but the poor and middle class will be the hardest hit by these Democratic policies. The record is clear- Democrats policies don't help the poor and the middle class, they hurt the poor and the middle class more than Republican policies.

The election of Obama and the implementation of his policies was supposed to lead to a new era in international relations, an era where our allies became more supportive of our nation and took over a larger share in conflicts like Iraq or Afghanistan (or Libya). Instead, reports indicate that our allies are increasingly frustrated by our policies, and are beginning to reconsider their friendly relationships with us. Last month it was Israel that was stunningly badly treated by the Obama administration- this month, we see in the news that the Czech Republic is withdrawing from our missile defense plans because they are frustrated that their nation was forced into a minor role at the request of Russia. This weakens the US, Czech Republic, and our allies in Western Europe, all to the advantage of Iran and Russia. The Bush administration and Czech Republic struck a groundbreaking deal to put interceptor missiles in the Czech Republic, missiles that would possibly be able to knock nuclear missiles launched by rogue or terrorist nations. Obama rolled in and decided that he'd change the deal and instead just give the Czech's an early warning center instead, and rather than waiting around to see if he'd alter the deal further, the Czech's withdrew in frustration.

Liberals are often upset at 'tax cuts for the rich', because in their minds they see some sort of corrupt deal going down when Republicans are in charge, where 'the rich' get to keep more of the money that they earned in exchange for some sort of kickbacks or something. Democrats hint that Republicans are more corrupt and are taking bribes and deals in exchange for giveaways, still cashing in on reputation of Nixon's shady dealings while conveniently ignoring the impeachment of Democratic President Bill Clinton for lying under oath. The truth is, while Bush may have given tax cuts to the rich, Obama is giving jobs, commissions, stimulus money, government contracts, and more to those who supported his Presidency. More than two years after President Obama took office vowing to banish “special interests” from his administration, nearly 200 of his biggest donors have landed plum government jobs and advisory posts, won federal contracts worth millions of dollars for their business interests or attended numerous elite White House meetings and social events, an investigation by iWatch News has found. This is the sort of real corruption that only a liberal Democrat who believes the purpose of government is to distribute gifts to those who help earn power can bring.

The record is clear- Democratic policies lead to more expensive cars, allies upset at us, and corruption in the White House.

For more on the direction that liberal policies lead, check out Liberal Fascism: The Secret History of the American Left, From Mussolini to the Politics of Meaning.

Running Blind: Women are dying. Women who have nothing in common except the fact that they once worked for the military. And they knew Jack Reacher. How and why these women are in danger completely baffles the elite FBI team working the case. There is only one certainty: there is a new kind of killer out there, one so calm, cautious, and careful that even the brilliant Reacher is left running blind. Echo Burning: Jack Reacher is hitching through the heat of West Texas and getting desperate for a ride. The last thing he's worried about is exactly who picks him up. She's called Carmen. She's a good-looking young woman, she has a beautiful little girl . . .and she has married into the wrong family. Worse, her monster of a husband is soon due out of prison. So she needs protection, and she needs it now. Reacher goes home with her to the lonely ranch where nothing is as it seems, and where evil swirls around them like dust in a storm. Without Fail: Jack Reacher is approached by a Secret Service agent who needs a favor. "I want to hire you to assassinate the Vice President of the United States," she asks. She is the newly appointed head of the VP's security detail and wants Reacher to try to penetrate her team's shield. What she doesn't tell Reacher - but what he soon discovers - is that a very real and deadly team of assassins has just put the VP in their sights and will stop at nothing to realize their objective.

 

Click here to buy from Amazon

Witness in Death: Opening night at New York's New Globe Theater turns from stage scene to crime scene when the leading man is stabbed to death center stage. Now Eve Dallas has a high profile, celebrity homicide on her hands. Not only is she lead detective, she's also a witness - and when the press discovers that her husband owns the theater, there's more media spotlight than either can handle. The only way out is to move fast. Question everyone and everything . . . and in the meantime, try to tell the difference between the truth - and really good acting. Judgment in Death: In an uptown strip joint, a cop is found bludgeoned to death. The weapon’s a baseball bat. The motive’s a mystery. It’s a case of serious overkill that pushes Eve Dallas straight into overdrive. Her investigation uncovers a private club that’s more than a hot spot. Purgatory’s a last chance for atonement where everyone is judged. Where your most intimate fate depends on your most intimate sins. And where one cop’s hidden secrets are about to plunge innocent souls into vice-ridden damnation… Betrayal in Death: At the luxurious Roarke Palace Hotel, a maid walks into suite 4602 for the nightly turndown - and steps into her worst nightmare. A killer leaves her dead, strangled by a thin silver wire. He’s Sly Yost, a virtuoso of music and murder. A hit man for the elite. Lieutenant Eve Dallas knows him well. But in this twisted case, knowing the killer doesn’t help solve the crime. Because there’s someone else involved. Someone with a more personal motive. And Eve must face a terrifying possibility - that the real target may, in fact, be her husband Roarke…

 

Click here to buy from Amazon

This post was halfway written last week before I got bored with it and moved on... but it appears that my point was very relevant. My original point was that Ed Schultz, a liberal and a Democrat who supports Barack Obama, as a small man who wants to use the power of the government to control your life, liberty, and property, and demonstrates his smallness in his thoughts and actions, which are thuggish, racist, and sexist.

Last week, Ed Schultz heard the word 'food stamps,' and immediately pictured a black guy! Schultz, like many liberals and demonstrates, screams racism at everyone because in their hearts, people are divided by color and you can stereotype their personalities based on their color and (to him) the job of government is to protect the weaker/poorer/lesser people in society which (to him) are always people of color. No need for Thuggie Eddie to actually get to know people and judge them based on the quality of their character- nope, instead he sees a black guy and thinks 'food stamps', and vice-versa, whenever he hears 'food stamps' he thinks 'this is code for black people 'cause all black people are the kind of people who are all on food stamps and white people are too good for food stamps so food stamps must mean black people.' Ed Schultz is a racist.

Today I heard that Ed Schultz called a woman radio host a 'slut'. Laura Ingraham, a popular conservative radio host and author, criticized President Barack Obama for taking a trip to Ireland and enjoying a Guinness and taking in the sights and going to fancy parties while the Midwestern United States was being hit by severe weather. She felt that this was yet more evidence that Obama was out of touch with the common man.

Soon after, on his radio program (which I sometimes listen to on 1310AM when I want to hear what bizzaro world sounds like), Ed Schultz said

And what do the Republicans thinking about? They’re not thinking about their next-door neighbor. They’re just thinking about how much this is going to cost. President Obama is going to be visiting Joplin, Mo., on Sunday but you know what they’re talking about, like this right-wing slut, what’s her name?, Laura Ingraham? Yeah, she’s a talk slut. You see, she was, back in the day, praising President Reagan when he was drinking a beer overseas. But now that Obama’s doing it, they’re working him over.

Ed is a great example of liberalism- not even pretending to understand the other side, personally attacking the other side, using offensive language that puts down minorities and women and Jews and anyone outside of the ruling elite white class that he wants to empower, getting everything wrong (Ingraham wasn't even on the radio when Reagan was President), and never even failing to address Ingraham's whole point (that Obama is out of touch with the common man).

Ed Schultz is a liberal and a Democrat and supports Barack Obama and is employed by MSNBC and frequently is invited as a guest to speak at liberal events, and demonstrates through his actions just exactly what a liberal Democrat really is- people who want to use the power of the government to control your life, liberty, and property, and aggressively attack with personal and vulgar actions anyone who does not bow to their thuggish, racist, sexist, anti-Semitic demands. It isn't your father's Democratic party anymore.

Laura's books can be found here- check out The Obama Diaries or Shut Up & Sing: How Elites from Hollywood, Politics, and the UN are Subverting America.

Persuader: An elite ex-military cop who left the service years ago, Jack Reacher has moved from place to place...without family ... without possessions... without commitments. And without fear. But some unfinished business has now found Reacher. Ten years ago, a key investigation went sour and someone got away with murder. Now a chance encounter brings it all back. Now Reacher sees his one last shot. The Enemy: Jack Reacher was one of the army’s brightest stars. But in every cop’s life there is a turning point. For Jack Reacher, this is that case... New Year’s Day, 1990. In a North Carolina “hot-sheets” motel, a two-star general is found dead. His briefcase is missing. Nobody knows what was in it. Within minutes Jack Reacher has his orders: Control the situation. But this situation can’t be controlled. One Shot: Six shots. Five dead. One heartland city thrown into a state of terror. But within hours the cops have it solved: a slam-dunk case. Except for one thing. The accused man says: You got the wrong guy. Then he says: Get Reacher for me. And sure enough, from the world he lives in - no phone, no address, no commitments – ex-military investigator Jack Reacher is coming.

 

Click here to buy from Amazon

• YouTube - Teachers Who Inspire Student Entrepreneurs

  Winners for imagine cup:
  
  Thanks so much!
  
  This afternoon in Redmond, WA, the nation's best and brightest tech students gathered for the ninth annual Imagine Cup 2011 U.S. Finals. Starting with a field of more than 74,000 students, the final 12 teams presented their life-changing projects to a panel of elite judges, tackling diverse issues from eliminating malaria to promoting alternative energy. After an intense weekend of presentations and eliminations, the winners were named:
  
  
  * 1st Place, Software Design: Team Note-Taker, Arizona State University. Project: "Note-Taker" - A portable, assistive technology to help vision-impaired students take notes in class.
  
  * 1st Place, Game Design - Windows/Xbox: Team Bloom, Tribeca Flashpoint Media Arts Academy. Project: "Spero" - A game focused on alternative energy solutions and educating people on how to live healthier lives.
  
  * 1st Place, Game Design - Mobile: Team Big Impact Bear, University of Houston. Project: "Forest Gun" - A game that aims to prevent and reverse deforestation in the world.
  
  * 1st Place, People's Choice Award - Software Design: Team BearPaw, Brigham Young University. Project: A mobile and cloud solution for ultrasound images that is cost-effective, widely available and easy to implement.
  
  * 1st Place, People's Choice Award - Game Design: Team Bloom, Tribeca Flashpoint Media Arts Academy. Project: "Spero" - A game focused on alternative energy solutions and educating people on how to live healthier lives.

  tags: education learning programming

• Home to Homeroom | Stop Medicine Abuse

  A website about helping teens with medicine abuse. A good specific website from the national association of school nurses.
  
  "Multiple national surveys point to the disturbing abuse of prescription (Rx) and over-the-counter (OTC) medicines, like OTC cough medicine, among today's teens. Five percent of high school teens admit to having abused cough medicine containing dextromethorphan, or DXM, to get high in the past year."

  tags: education drug-abuse health_teacher health

• Givology

  From this organization:
  
  "We’re launching a new “60 Second Lecture” campaign in conjunction with the Ford Focus Global Test Drive, and many interesting individuals from the PresidentAmy Gutmann of the University of Pennsylvania to Dean Thomas Robertson of the Wharton School have already agreed to share their insights."

  tags: education

• MacdonaldTechForTeachers - iPad Apps for Education

  Ann McDonald is building a very nice wiki with so many resources! She is an excellent Flat Classroom teacher.

  tags: education ipad apps

• Hull shows why Gove's Govt can't ban mobile phones in schools - Ewan McIntosh | Digital Media & Learning

  Excellent article about a struggle to ban cell phones in schools and why it is not working.

  tags: education cellphone

• Social Media Policy Best Practices: Trust Is Cheaper Than Control | Beth’s Blog

  Nice Social Media Policy Best Practices discussion for nonprofits. The social media policy is related to your strategy. Most schools only have a strategy to prevent litigation and certainly, that is a factor as we look at schools and yet - we're not there yet on this discussion. I have to think at some point we're either going to have platforms that do a better job of protecting the privacy of minors or we're going to have to grow up in how we deal with these tools.

  tags: education

• Flat Classroom : The Tornado Tribune

  Helen Harvey's Flat Classroom participation received a write up in her local paper. An important part of each of our projects is to issue press releases to gain media attention for the schools that break down the walls.

  tags: education flatclassroom

• Seth's Blog: Moving beyond teachers and bosses

  So we, as teachers, are characterized like this from Seth Godin:
  
  "We train kids to deal with teachers in a certain way: Find out what they want, and do that, just barely, because there are other things to work on. Figure out how to say back exactly what they want to hear, with the least amount of effort, and you are a 'good student.'"
  
  Are we the kind of teachers who have to move past or someone that kids are moved with.
  
  Do we have a limiting mindset?

  tags: education teaching

• Knight Foundation Webinars - Knight Foundation

  April 20th from 2-3 pm EDT - a connected citizens webinar about their new report "Connected Citizens: The Power, Peril and Potential of Networks"
  
  sign up for this event here.

  tags: education

• Connected Citizens Report: The Power, Peril, and Potential of Networks | Beth’s Blog

  If you have no idea what network-centric grantmaking is and you write grants or work with fundraising - this blog post is an important read for you. (Buy Beth's book - the networked nonprofit - it is great.)
  
  Themes as per Beth:
  
  These themes include:
  
  1. Listening to and consulting the crowds: Actively listening to online conversations and openly asking for advice.
  
  2. Designing for serendipity: Creating environments, in person and online, where helpful connections can form.
  
  3. Bridging differences: Deliberately connecting people with different perspectives.
  
  4. Catalyzing mutual support: Helping people directly help each other.
  
  5. Providing handrails for collective action: Giving enough direction for individuals to take effective and coordinated action.

  tags: education edu_news

• We Want Your Videos

  join the crowdsourced keynote at the BC educational technology users group. Here are instructions:
  
  We Want Your Videos
  April 7, 2011 By grantpotter Leave a Comment
  Share
  PrintFriendly
  
  In June 2011 the BC educational technology users’ group (etug) will be hosting a Spring Workshop in Nelson, BC. The theme? OPEN 4 LEARNING.
  
  In the spirit of openness we would like to invite YOU to participate in a crowd-sourced keynote. Our vision is to create a keynote video that highlights the collective voice on the value of openness.
  
  Here’s what we would LOVE for you to do:
  
  Create a short video/interview/montage answering one or two of the following questions:
  
  1. What is the value of openness?
  
  2. What examples of openness stand out to you as being valuable/worthwhile?
  
  3. WHY do you believe in the value of open education?
  
  If you are interested in participating we would love to have you be a part of this exciting opportunity, to collectively gather voices across the globe in answering the question “what is the value of openness”. Have fun with your video – the more creative the better.
  
  .
  Upload your video to:
  http://www.dropitto.me/etug
  password: open
  .
  Deadline: May 9, 2011

  tags: education opensource

• Online Learning in Australia - Connections, Partnerships and Successes ~ Stephen's Web

  A report on the state of elearning in Australia. Every collection must comprise 40% free content.
  
  
  Again, this article proves that if you're in education and not reading Stephen Downes' feature-rich blog, you're missing out.

  tags: education elearning

• Colleges Spend Far Less on Educating Students Than They Claim, Report Says ~ Stephen's Web

  Colleges actually spend LESS educating students than students are paying. From Stephen Downes as cited from the Chronicle of Higher Education April 8, 2011.

  tags: education college edu_trends

• STUDYBLUE | Make online flashcards & notes. Study anywhere, anytime.

  Study Blue website to let you make flashcards to study and put on your ipod, ipad, cell phone, etc. Over 12,000 have recommended via facebook. Facebook is linking with learning as are mobiles.

  tags: education learning

• 20 Terrific TED Talks for Language Lovers | Bachelor's Degree Online

  Ted Talks for Language Lovers.

  tags: education language_teacher

• The Truth is Out There | November Learning

  Interesting discussion about "blue blood" and the quest for truth in an age where even Googling something may not change minds. By Bob Sprankle

  tags: education learning

• TLC = Tech + Library + Classroom: iPad Apps To Love

  Tara from the TLC (Tech + Library + Classroom) Blog posts her iPad apps she loves.
  
  I think the I write words app is very interesting for handwriting. I wonder if the fact that they are using their finger is a drawback but think that it will help the kids take the strokes the same way.

  tags: education

• Speak Up National Findings 2010

  Important study surveying students about empowered education with emerging technologies.

  tags: education learning

• One Year Later: Assessing the Impact of iPads on Education - iPads in Education

  Assessing the impact of iPads on education one year later by Sam Gliksman on the Ipad educators ning (hat tip to Julie Lindsay for this information.)

  tags: education ipad

• Final US Imagine Cup Teams Announced - 2011 - Computer Science Teacher - Thoughts and Information from Alfred Thompson - Site Home - MSDN Blogs

  Final Teams in US Imagine Cup:
  
  Software Design
  
  TTHV - Harvard University, University of Pennsylvania, Central Connecticut State University
  Uca Ursus - University of Central Arkansas
  Lifelens - Anderson School of Management, Harvard School of Business, University of California San Diego, University of California Davis, University of Central Florida
  Note-Taker - Arizona State University
  
  Game Design –Windows/XBOX (XNA):
  
  Bloom - Tribeca Flashpoint Academy
  Plump Pixel - California State University Chico
  Righteous Noodle - University of Houston
  XozGaming - Lick-Wilmerding High School
  
  Game Design Mobile (Zune/Phone)
  
  Big Impact Bear - University of Houston
  EDO - Arizona State University
  Team AAMP - University of Houston
  Team Mintrus - Columbia College in Chicago, University of Louisville
  
  
  Read Alfred's blog for more.

  tags: education computerscience

• XozGaming–High School Team in the US Imagine Cup Finals - Computer Science Teacher - Thoughts and Information from Alfred Thompson - Site Home - MSDN Blogs

  Alfred Thompson's ongoing coverage of the Imagine Cup. I love this interview with the kids who invented a program about fighting a global pandemic.

  tags: education gaming computerscience

• Sneak Peak of New Facebook Nonprofit Use Research from Idealware | Beth’s Blog

  Yes, nonprofits are seeing success on Facebook. Beth Kanter, nonprofit social media guru, has a guest post from Kyle Andrei of Idealware on their findings about Facebook and nonprofits. Fundraisers, schools, and facebook fans read up.

  tags: education fundraising nonprofit

• Gesture-Based ‘Gmail Motion’ April Fools’ Day Prank Gets Real - Techland - TIME.com

  I love this! Gmail motion was Google's april fools day prank and many people fell for it. Heck, if I'd had time, I might have played with it but after thinking I realized what day it was! Tee hee.
  
  But a lot of people WANTED this -even though the gestures were designed to be silly (who is going to do a jumping jack for making a star on an email.) so ICT used a kinect camera and actually made Gmail actions work! Watch the video and enjoy.
  
  People actually WANT this just not with the exaggerated motions and definitely not a shot that requires the camera to see your feet.

  tags: education google gmail gesture

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