Some Thoughts

First, many prayers to the victims and families of all involved in attack Rep. Gabrielle Giffords. There's been plenty of blame passed along: the left blaming the right and the right blaming the left. Right now, we're still trying to figure everything out. Let's wait until we have all the facts before we start making judgments.

But I do believe that the leaders need to be more responsible with their political rhetoric. Sarah Palin said in March, "Don't retreat, reload" and proceeded to publish a poster with members of Congress in formerly Republican districts that voted for the Health Care Bill. Their districts were marked with Crosshairs from a gunsight. Giffords' opponent in the election, Jesse Kelly, invited supporters to a rally that invited them to "Get on Target" and involved shooting a M16 with the candidate.

Did either Palin, Kelly, Glen Beck or any other pundit endorse the attack on Gabrielle Giffords? I surely hope not. But with the militant talk that you often hear, are you surprised? Even if the attacker was not a right leaning, Fox loving conservative, the speech and hate is irresponsible and incendiary. It would be like me being a parent and swearing all the time and then astonished and angry because my 3 year old daughter cusses.

Two-
I love the Constitution. I consider it one of the great documents in history. I get excited teaching it. It's the oldest Constitution in the world that still is in use. Many countries have modeled their Constitution after ours. So what could ruin the Constitution for me? Congress, of course.

The 112th Congress opened its session last week with a reading of the Constitution. Why would this be so bad? Oh, let me count the ways:

1. This was a political move to appease certain factions (Tea Party) and not a genuine reading because of their "love" of the document. It was purely cosmetic. Yes, it was a bipartisan reading, but do not mistake the partisanship that lead to the reading.
   
2. They read the "deleted" Constitution, not the "amended" one. The 3/5 Compromise was not read. Nor was 18th Amendment that prohibited the manufacture and sale of alcohol (the 21st Amendment that repealed the 18th was read).
3. The GOP introduced new procedures that say all new legislation must cite its Constitutional authority. Sounds good, but it is the role of the judicial system, primarily the Supreme Court, to uphold whether or not legislation is Constitutional. The role of Congress is not to interpret the Constitution, but to make legislation.
   
4. It was boring! I want my students to love the Constitution the way I do. The way Ray Brown does (he walked across the USA to talk about it!). A nearly two hour reading interrupted every 20 something words for a new Representative to come read does not make your average American, much less one of my ninth graders, think: "This thing rocks!" See for yourself:

Three-
I thought Congress rallied really well during the lame duck period to get some crucial things passed. Tax law passed, "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" repealed, START treaty approved and 9/11 Responder's Bill passed. There was one bill not passed that I was really pulling for: The Dream Act.

I understand, they're in this country illegally. But this was a bill that could help everyone. Students affected by the Dream Act are the very students we want to have contributing to this country. We've had a few students at my school at the top of their class who were not pursue further education because of their legal status. These are students who did not make the choice to come to the United States, who've lived here nearly their entire lives and who would give back to their communities if they had the opportunity.

I hope the Dream Act is not dead. I wonder how different the lives of some of my students would be if they had access to this.

Co-Crushes of the Week: Even hotter than Condi Rice

Spent the weekend in the nation's capital. Got to hang out and see two of the coolest people I know. Cindy works at the Library of Congress and designs cool graphic layouts and somehow is always right in everything she says and does. M-stu is a nursing student at Marymount and is among the most gregorious of all my friends. Both are great gals, play frisbee (photo above taken after frisbee on the National Mall) and hotter than the current Secretary of State.

Near Crushes:
Sarah Palin... the Alaska governor makes near crush status again, but can't seem to break into "Crush-land". Her appearance in Asheville on Sunday puts her back on the near crush list. Dressed in jeans and a black jacket, she doesn't look much like a person whose woredrobe came from Nieman Marcus or Saks. Oh, I forgot, she's a hockey mom...
Ted Ginn, Jr... put me into the category of haters. I thought he was a bust after last year. The 'Fins wasted a first round pick on a punt returner? Jeez! 7 catches for 175 yards in Miami's defeat of the AFC East leading Bills. One game does not make a career but, hopefully, Ginn can build on this week's excellent performance.

Your Favorite Maverick?

If we had a primary of the "Maverick" Party to run for the President of the United States, which "Maverick" would you choose?

A. Top Gun Maverick









B. Ford Maverick










C. Mel Gibson in "Maverick"













D. Dallas Maverick













E. "Mavericks"

Crush of the Week: Bay-Bay

So Georgia Tech quarterback Jaybo Shaw completed 9 out of 13 passes for 230 yards in GT's 27-0 shutout of Duke. Tech redshirt sophomore receiver Demaryius (Bay-Bay) Thomas caught 9 passes for 230 yards. In other words, all the passes caught and receiving yards gained by the Yellow Jackets was by one player. I cannot think of a time when one player accounted for all his team's receiving yards. It wasn't just his stats either, the 6-3 receiver showed great hands, leaping abilities and speed. He made a great leaping catch between two defenders that reminded me of the days Calvin Johnson was on the Flats, his screen pass from the Tech 2 yard line should have been tackled for a loss, and then there was the wide open 88 yard touchdown reception that put the game further out of reach. Remember Bay-Bay, because he has great potential, even in Paul Johnson's option offense and because he's this week's crush.

Near Crushes:
Sarah Palin: I sure do like the way she winks at me and talks like she knows me. Doesn't mean I'll necessarily vote for the vice presidential nominee's ticket, but sure can crush on her.
Barack Obama: the presidential candidate stumped in Asheville today. ASHEVILLE, NC!! Like it or not, North Carolina matters. I'm not telling you how to vote, I'm just asking that you vote-- your vote matters!

Let's Get Political

Alright, now the election season is starting to get very exciting. John McCain announced Republican Alaska Governor Sarah Palin as his running mate, making her the first woman vice-presidential candidate in Republican party history. It is a very bold move. It might also be a very dangerous move.

Before I chime in on Palin, let me make a few points about Joe Biden:

The Good:
- He has experience.
- He is pretty respected in political circles
- He is not Hillary

The Bad:
- He has experience
- He is pretty respected in political circles
- He is not Hillary

As someone who is campaigning as a candidate of change, Obama risks backfiring by choosing a running mate who has served as a US Senator since 1972 and is tangled with many political alliances. Some people were hoping for a "Super-ticket" of Obama and Hillary, but I understand why Obama did not do that. For most of GW Bush's presidency, I felt that he was sometimes overshadowed by Dick Cheney, that is was Cheney calling many of the shots. Had Obama nominated Hillary, I think people would have wondered who the real President was.
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Now Sarah:
It seems like she has done a pretty good job of governor of Alaska. I got a good impression of her while I was in Alaska. She appears to be in touch with the constituents, personable, pretty and smart. She's advocated for Alaska and, for all my knowledge, seems like an effective governor. McCain is the maverick, the candidate not confined by the Beltway. To prove that, he chose a running mate from another country. Okay, I know, Alaska is not another country... but how many Americans know that (not my student who was arguing that there were 53 states in our country)?

McCain also knows that there are a lot of Clinton voters who are not happy with Obama and many of those voters are women. Here is a chance to steal some votes. Did you see the interviews of the Democrats that were still upset about Hillary losing in the primaries? They were all women. To me it means that: a) women are more passionate/opinionated or b) they're not mad their candidate lost, they are mad their WOMAN candidate lost. (btw, voting for Hillary because she is a woman is stupid. Or voting Republican because McCain brought a woman is stupid. Stupid is also voting for Obama because he is black. As is voting McCain because he is 80 and white)

How could this historic and bold pick hurt McCain and the Republicans? Off the top of my head, two things: Ted Stevens and experience. Ted Stevens is the Republican US Senator from Alaska who has been federally indicted for shady dealings with oil contractors. He is a mainstay of American politics as he is currently the longest serving US Senator, chaired the Senate Appropriations committee and is beloved by many Alaskans for his ability to bring beaucoup of federal money to Alaska (ex: the infamous Bridge to Nowhere). I don't think the Democrats need to necessarily smear Palin, they just have to make it known that Palin is the Republican Governor from a state whose senior Senator, a Republican, just got indicted and also has a host of other ethical issues. As an uniformed electorate, we won't want to know anything else. Why bother checking facts, the connection is enough. Amazingly, despite indictment, Stevens won the Republican primary in Alaska and will be on the ballot for re-election in November.

Experience is the other issue that has to concern the Republicans. For months, they have attacked Obama's experience in national and, especially international, politics because his only major political experience is 4 years in the US Senate (not including 8 years in Illinois State Senate) . And you know something, the campaign has been working as McCain has closed the gap considerably. But it's hard to criticize the Obama-Biden ticket now since Biden brings over a quarter century of US Senate experience and the McCain-Palin ticket includes a candidate, who despite being a star (sound familiar?), only has been elected to two offices: 6 years as Mayor of Wasilla (population 5,469 in 2000 Census) and Governor of Alaska (who's entire population is less than Brooklyn, NY) for 2 years. John McCain turned 72 today (29 Aug). I can see the commercial now... what if McCain's health took a turn for the worse? The next president would be a 44 year old lady (two years younger than Obama) with only 2 years of major office experience and no foreign policy experience (even though Alaska is a foreign country).