Category: Politics

  • Stop the HEIGHT!

    Today, the Ninth Circuit decided that California’s Proposition 8 was unconstitutional. Twitter became abuzz with the news. After reading the decision, I understand the celebration but find that it will be short-lived. This decision was extremely narrow. Narrow. It did not even touch the issue of whether gay marriage is a constitutional right. In its…

  • One Nation under Canada

    I’ll be the first to admit, I did not watch the U.S. Open.  I’m still of the mind that golfers should run after the ball after hitting it, but I digress.  What I took away from the 2011 U.S. Open is the same as most people who heard about it second-hand: NBC omitted “Under God”…

  • “Free Speech” – You Keep Using that Phrase

    Dana Loesch brought Andrew Sullivan’s take on the Wonkette situation to my attention.   In his post, Sullivan said: I feel as queasy about this flexing of Palinite muscle as I do about the original, disgusting, asinine story. In some ways, I see a legitimate come-uppance for a tacky site that published a simply inexcusable…

  • Do As I Say, Not as I Do

    It is always easier to give advice or mandates for others than to actually do it.  I am guilty of such and I am sure that many of us are.  But, when I do it, it does not hit as hard as, say, when the President does it. President Obama’s energy plan includes encouraging Americans…

  • Cosmetic Application of the First Amendment (or “I Cast a Spell on You”)

    This past week has been an eye-opener for me when it comes to protecting the rights under the two religion clauses of the First Amendment.  You know the two I’m talking about: “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof.”  The Establishment Clause and the Free Exercise…

  • Follow-Up: The First Amendment at Live Oak High School

    Yesterday, I posted a lesson on the First Amendment.  It seems that the Mexican American students and their supporters took the advice of adding speech on top of more speech to heart.  On Thursday, 200 students walked out of the classrooms of Live Oak High School and marched to the school district headquarters. All I…

  • Companion Lesson: Religion & the First Amendment

    “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof[.]” It’s First Amendment Day. Not only because of the fall-out from the Live Oak Five, but because today is the “National Day of Prayer”.   All we need now is government censoring of the press … The National Day of…

  • Lesson: The First Amendment

    On May 5, 2010, five students were asked to either change their attire or go home.  These students had the audacity to wear the American flag on Cinco de Mayo. On any other day at Live Oak High School in Morgan Hill, Daniel Galli and his four friends would not even be noticed for wearing…

  • Challenges to Basic Assumptions Revisited

    All I know about secular humanism and the Zinn Education Project, I’ve read in blogs.  Thus, not knowing much about the content of ZEP or other works/statements/anything made by Howard Zinn, I have no opinion as to the accuracy of the blogs.  If you’re interested, then I would suggest researching more into it.  My interest…

  • Political Correctness: The Doctrine that Cried Racism

    You ever find yourself stumped as to what word to use when describing someone? Is it African American or black? Is it Oriental or Asian or Asian American?  Can I call this person short or is it ‘vertically challenged’ now? In situations like these, you find yourself between a rock and a hard place –…