When: Tuesday, June 18th, 10pm Eastern/7pm Pacific

Where: Confederate Corner with George Neat on Blog Talk Radio

What: Yes there are Confederates north of the Mason-Dixon line, and George Neat is one of them. And we’re happy to bring his views to you in the “Confederate Corner” radio show.

For more information on George and his political views, please drop by the Confederate Corner at GoldwaterGal.com. (http://goldwatergal.com/goldwater-gal-media/confederate-corner/)

Tonight: George will be talking about Obama wasting money, Star Wars, and the liberals keeping up their war on guns and free speech. Of course there will also be a Soldier Salute, and a “nearly-infamous” Crack Pipe Moment.

Unfortunately, since the language of the Constitution can be technical and outdated, republishing something as brilliant as The Federalist Papers simply wouldn’t convince many people that so-called “progressives” are actually on the wrong side of history.

Most people do not understand that “progressives” are authoritarians fighting to undo the American political system, which was put into place to keep power-hungry politicians from doing whatever they want with other people’s lives.

Instead of forming another complicated defense of the law of the land, let’s put the U.S. Constitution in terms everyone can understand:

We run this country. Politicians are there to do their jobs and that’s it. Don’t start nothing, won’t be nothing. (See The Declaration of Independence.)

The House of Representatives and Senate pass the laws. This is so we don’t feel stupid for electing dictators who can do whatever they want. Putting more jerks in office makes it harder for them to work together to pass harmful laws. Since they are egomaniacs, they will fight for power and hopefully cancel each others’ idiocy out.

Not just any fool can be a Representative. Just fools of a certain age and citizenship status. Senators have to be a bit older, but certainly no wiser that Representatives.

The Congress has to actually meet once in a while. This is not a problem for career politicians. If you act like a douchebag, we can kick you out. We probably won’t, but don’t push it. No double-dipping.

Spending bills start in the House, even though some political parties act like they don’t. The House decides what stuff and how much of it the government buys. It decides what countries to invade. Don’t go trampling on people’s civil liberties. States aren’t separate countries, and shouldn’t act like them.

If you’re a thirty-five year old citizen with no real record of accomplishment, you too can be an American president! The president has to take an oath to the Constitution. Contrary to popular belief, he doesn’t get elected to rule over other Americans. He gets to make treaties and pick bureaucrats.

Every year, the president makes a nice speech to Congress. He should take care not to insult members of the other branches. Believe it or not, the president can be kicked out of office.

There’s a bunch of judges who decide tough cases called the Supreme Court. They too can be kicked out, but they can generally stay on the court as long as they want to. The Supreme Court gets to rule on certain cases of importance.

It’s possible to commit treason against one’s country, but since most of the founders of the country were called traitors, it’s almost impossible.

We have a republican form of government, not a democracy. That means we have a bunch of somewhat independent states that are supposed to work together, help each other out, and follow the rules.

Don’t like something in the Constitution? We actually have a way to change it built in! That means none of you who don’t like the Constitution gets to say, “hey, why don’t we just forget about the Constitution?” If you have a bright idea, let’s see how much the public agrees with you.

The U.S. Constitution is the supreme law of the land. It gives the government all of its legitimate powers, and also limits what the government can do to people. Politicians are nothing but citizens who are equal to other citizens and hold office only by the people’s consent. If politicians start bossing people around, and break their oaths of office, then the Constitution is nullified, and the authority of the government is voided.

In that worst case scenario, Washington politicians would be just a collection of 537 guys trying to order around more than 300 million Americans, but they would have no more legitimate authority than anyone else. “Giving up on the Constitution” means we should all forget about what Washington politicians say and why we should listen to them at all.

All of the states whose spokesmen sign this document agree to form a federal government on these conditions only. Without this binding agreement, there is no federal government.

Bonus: The Bill of Rights

1st Amendment — We can say whatever we want and believe whatever we want, and the government has no say in it.

2nd Amendment — We have the right to defend ourselves from the government and criminals using firearms.

3rd Amendment — Soldiers and policemen can’t just bust into your house like they own the joint and crash there.

4th Amendment — Police can’t just search people randomly, go through their stuff, ask for their papers, and all that business.

5th Amendment — The government can’t just take stuff or lock people up without a trial.

6th Amendment — Trials have to be speedy and fair.

7th Amendment — People have a right to be judged by other folks who can understand them.

8th Amendment — Judges can’t just straight up rip people off or do cruel and unusual stuff to them.

9th Amendment — Just because it isn’t written down here, doesn’t mean people don’t have other rights.

10th Amendment — If the Constitution doesn’t say that the government can do something, it can’t do it. The people and the states have all the powers not otherwise given to the federal government.

Laughs provided by Jimmy Kimmel Live.

Image courtesy of KTLA in Los Angeles

A third teacher has been implicated in the sex scandal that just keeps on going at Miramonte Elementary School in Los Angeles County.  Two teachers have already been arrested on charges of lewd conduct with children.  Mark Berdnt is accused of 23 lewd acts on minors, including blindfolding his students and feeding them his own semen while photographing each encounter.  Martin Bernard Springer was also a Miramonte teacher was arrested earlier in the week for lewd conduct with minors as well.  Now it seem a third teacher was involved in these disturbing acts.  Although the name has not been released, a representative for 5 of the victims says this third teacher was female who shared a door with Berdnt’s classroom.  This teacher allegedly funneled students from her classroom to Berdnt’s classroom, and investigators are currently looking into whether she did the same for Springer.  They are also exploring a link between Springer and Berdnt – they may have been very close friends and aided each other in their misconduct.

Miramonte Elementary is currently closed until Thursday.  Los Angeles School Superintendent John Deasy has announced that the entire staff at the school will be replaced from the top down in order to avoid “any more surprises” and re-build trust among parents.

All well in good, but this problem goes deeper than just a few bad apples.  Current union rules make it nearly impossible to fire bad teachers.  Both of the accused men have been racking up complaints of sexual misconduct against their own students for decades, but each one was brushed under the rug and students were transferred rather than fire the teacher. On top of that, California law makes each of these wackos eligible to receive their full pensions until the day they die, regardless of any criminal convictions – even if those convictions are for molesting or raping their own students. This problem goes deeper than one school. Its time to be honest about what the unions have wrought on our children.

crossposted at kiradavis.net

Mark Berndt receives $4000/month in taxpayer paid benefits

Imagine you’re watching the news one evening and you see a report about a middle-aged man who bound and gagged small children (telling them it was just a fun game), fed them his own semen and took pictures of it all.  Now imagine when his picture was shown on the screen that you realize this man was your child’s elementary school teacher.  Now you realize that those children were his students and those pictures were taken at school.  Horrified?  So were the parents of students at Miramonte Elementary School in Los Angeles county this week when it was discovered that 63-year-old teacher Mark Berndt had been charged with 23 counts of lewd acts on children.  Berndt allegedly regularly told children they were going to play a “tasting game”, then blindfolded them and in some cases put tape over their mouths. He then fed students a “milky” substance on a spoon and on top of cookies. Later DNA testing confirmed that this substance was indeed Berndt’s own semen.  He also ran cockroaches over the faces and mouths of the children.  Berndt took pictures of these encounters.  It was an alert photo technician who processed a batch of 35mm photos from Berndt and became alarmed when the first photo that dropped pictured a child blindfolded and gagged with clear tape.  Although it was not necessarily explicit, the technician thankfully felt uneasy enough to contact the authorities. “This occurred in his regular classroom with his students,” said Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Sgt. Dan Scott. “It wasn’t done in secrecy. The only secret was what the ‘game’ was really about.”  School officials claim Berndt was immediately let go upon the revelation of the charges. However, that was over a year ago and parents were never alerted that there was even an investigation happening at all. Many of them learned the same way the rest of Los Angeles County did – from the evening news.  Understandably, many were outraged that the school had kept this information under wraps for so long.  Berndt is currently being held on a 2.3million dollar bail.

All of that is enough to turn even the strongest of stomachs. Outrage is natural. However, the biggest outrage may still be yet to come.  According to California state law (negotiated with the teacher’s union years ago) Berndt will still be eligible to collect his full pension and benefits even if he is convicted.  Under the rules, a teacher who is fired or suspended is allowed to take early retirement and collect on their benefits packages in perpetuity, regardless of any criminal convictions, even if those convictions came as a direct result of their career in education.  As we speak, Berndt is collecting nearly $4000/month.  California taxpayers are paying $4000 a month to a man who bound and gagged his own students and fed them his own semen…thanks to the teachers union and the Democrat pansies who run the state.  There is no recourse for the taxpayer.  This is California law.  If you live in California (as I do), I’m sure you feel so comforted knowing the state forces your children to attend failing public schools which deliberately cover up horrific crimes such as playing out bondage fantasies with your children, then send you the bill.  Imagine – $4000/month so your kid’s teacher can feed her his semen in the classroom.  Still think it’s “all about the children”, as the teachers’ unions remind us every time there’s a cut to their clearly exorbitant benefits packages?  The next time your district goes on strike (and they will, they always do), head down to the picket line with a picture of Mark Berndt juxtaposed with his benefits package that he will now receive for life and ask them if they really believe their union negotiates with the best interest of the children in mind.  If they say yes, make them defend Berndt.  We should all be making the California teachers’ unions defend this monster and the policies that support him.  Maybe some of them will finally hear themselves and realize just how much of a sickness these unions have become to the general public who pays them.

crossposted at kiradavis.net

While the U.S. Embassy has not yet confirmed the identity of the young men or their status, fellow students have identified them as  Luke Gates of Bloomington, Ind., Derrik Sweeney of Northridge, Calif., and Greg Porter of Pennsylvania.

The three were reportedly arrested just outside the university on Monday night by Egyptian authorities.

Violent protests have escalated since Saturday in Tahrir square – the site of the protests that led to the ouster of former Egyptian President Hosni Mubarek. Protesters are demanding that the government be run by civilians instead of the military committee currently in-place.

Images and video of the three boys have been shown on Egyptian and American television throughout Tuesday morning.

Many people on both sides of the spectrum have a lot of opinions on this story.  What are yours?  We’d love to hear on Facebook or in the comments below.

Governor Scott signs Student Success Act

Jacksonville, Fla. – Today, Governor Rick Scott signed Senate Bill 736, the Student Success Act, into law at the charter school, KIPP Impact Middle School in Jacksonville . The historic bill puts in place part of the Governor’s 7-7-7 Plan by requiring merit pay for Florida’s public educators based on student achievement.

“I am proud that the first bill I sign is this important legislation that will give Florida the best educated workforce to compete in the 21^st century economy,” Governor Scott said.  “We must recruit and retain the best people to make sure every classroom in Florida has a highly effective teacher.”

Sponsored by Senator Stephen Wise and Representative Erik Fresen, the legislation changes how teacher performance is evaluated, including the following:

• · Teachers will be evaluated using a scale of four levels for performance (highly effective, effective, needs improvement and unsatisfactory), instead of being evaluated as either satisfactory or unsatisfactory.  In 2009, 99.7 percent of teachers earned a satisfactory evaluation.
• · At least half of an educator’s evaluation will be based on student learning gains for classroom teachers, 30 percent for non-classroom personnel and 40 percent for school administrators, instead of 100 percent of the evaluation being based on principal or peer review.
• · Teachers in hard-to-staff subject areas, like math and science, will earn more money, instead of paying all teachers – regardless of subject taught – using the same scale.
• · After July 1 of this year, new teachers will work on annual contracts, instead of receiving tenure after three years of satisfactory evaluations, which is essentially an employment contract for life.

What People Are Saying About the Student Success Act:

“This landmark bill recognizes that teachers are the most important factor in schools when determining a child’s success,” said StudentsFirst Founder and CEO Michelle Rhee. “We applaud Florida for its adoption of bold and comprehensive education measures that put students first.”

“The action taken today recognizes that quality teachers are the fundamental component of a first-rate education,” said CFO Jeff Atwater.  “Exceptional teachers will now be distinguished, celebrated and rewarded for their dedication and skill to impart knowledge that inspires our students.”

“The passage of Senate Bill 736, ‘The Student Success Act,’ would not have been a success without the months of collaborative committee work and public input from teachers, administrators and parents,” Senator Stephen Wise said.  “I’m thankful for the cooperation from the many groups and individuals who contributed to the discussion on instructional quality, along with the dedicated committee members.  Our teachers are incredibly influential and important to the success of our children and our future as a State.  I believe this bill will attract top-quality educators to Florida and foster a student-centered, world-class education system.”

“This is a momentous occasion for our state’s education system,” Representative Erik Fresen said.  “Excellent teachers are the driving force behind student success and this bill provides for a system that recognizes those highly effective educators and rewards them appropriately.”

Thank you Governor Scott for ensuring that all future schoolchildren will get the best education possible.

This is an open thread that starts with some ideas on how it might be improved.  The purpose of this thread is to connect the thoughts from as many contributors as I can into a single presentation.  Comments to this article (or email submissions if that’s more comfortable) will be combined into a single presentation.

Americans are growing angry over many things the government is failing to do.  One of those things is basic education.

The anger isn’t with the teachers – they work hard and teach what they’re asked to teach.  Parents aren’t always to blame as they vary from over-bearing “helicopter parents” to nearly non-existent.  But there is anger.  Anger at the system itself.  A system that graduates just 77% of it’s students from secondary education (high school), lower than most developed countries.  Though graduates can read,write, do math, and recite some really basic history, they don’t have any real life or job skills after 13 years in the system.

Kids don’t just drop-out due to grades, sometimes it’s due to feeling like school isn’t teaching them anything useful.  In many cases, they may be right.

There are numerous proposals to reform education by putting more money into higher-technology tools, paying for tutors, buying better books, etc.  Throwing money at the problem has always been the politician’s and administrator’s answer and it has never worked.

A set of reforms based on American values and understanding the individual could be put in place that would help all students, not just the ones that want to be doctors, lawyers or MBAs:

1. Privatize more of the system and increase charter school caps (yes, government limits the number of charter schools).  This system is suffering from a lack of competition.  Everyone realizes that private schools tend to be better, but not everyone can afford them.  Charter schools compete for students and are on par with private schooling.  Perhaps all schools should compete for students (and therefor, education/tax dollars).  If the parents don’t feel their kids are being educated effectively, they should be able to move them.  Today’s draconian system of borders that dictate a child’s school by their address is a fundamental flaw.  The school will have students no matter how mediocre it is and therefor has little reason to excel – mediocre is good enough.
2. Diversify the education ecosystem.   Not everyone is going to be the next President, and most don’t even want to.  High-schools should be more accommodating of students that want to work with their hands (industrial arts) and realize that not all students need or want so many courses to “round them out”.  Trade craft should not be lower on the totem pole.  The German system has a singular curriculum up until 5th grade at which point the students abilities, desires, and character will position them for one of three next level schools.  Maybe the German’s figured out what we haven’t: not all people are the same and not all should be taught the same things.   Even those that don’t make it to academic greatness have a chance at vocational greatness.  Not everyone wants an A in English lit, but everyone wants to be good at something.
3. Teach real-life skills.  Spend more time discussing how to put a savings plan together, why borrowing too much is bad, how credit really works, taking care of finances, crafting a budget, buying a house, setting up a computer, maintaining a car, etc.  That way we don’t have to have the travesties of people losing their houses because they say they didn’t understand the contract or process.
4. Teach the kids how to learn, not just what to learn.  The current model is focused on wrote memorization, probably to get the student ready for all the government tests the school needs them to pass
5. Change the message: College is not the only acceptable path to success.  A brilliant electrician needs zero college to be successful and doesn’t need to feel subhuman because he doesn’t want to go or can’t afford to go.  A piece of paper does not make someone successful.  If the trade requires post-secondary education then so-be-it.  Doctors, lawyers, engineers and the like need something past high-school.  Colleges need to understand their purpose and refocus.
6. College needs an overhaul.  The desire to balance the student has overtaken the need to ready the citizen.  If they are studying to be an aerospace engineer, that class in music history, archery, or modern basketry is useless.  They may wish to take it on their own, but making it mandatory is snobbery at it’s finest.  Most college degrees don’t prepare the student for their actual career much better than two or three well-written text books could.  Technical schools should be the focus, and perhaps public universities should refocus their schools around actual career needs.