Tuesday, October 11, 2022

2022 Midterm Elections Are Coming: Vote Like Your Life Depends On It

 


The midterm elections are coming!  The midterm elections are coming!  The midterm elections are coming!  

We saw it happening in 2010 when the IRS became involved in stifling tea party 501C-3 applications.  Not just stifling them, but flat out targeting them by asking for names of members and wanting to 'pre-approve' flyers that were handed out at rallies.  They also wanted website domain information and a whole host of other information aimed at discriminating against those who they saw as enemies of the state.  I wish I was kidding.  I was part of one of the tea party groups that was targeted and I was asked to go to the hearing that investigated those said discriminatory practices and I watched Lois Lerner plead the fifth amendment at said hearing.  I also wrote about that hearing here.  Really, Lois?  

I know that 2010 is NOT the first time that the government has 'come after' law-abiding, tax paying citizens, nor will it be the last.  What's the saying, 'absolute power corrupts absolutely.'?  Exactly.  Fast forward to today.  Read the headlines.  The far-left Democrats want to dispose of the Republican party.  Hell, I've wanted to dispose of the Republican party at one time or another, but not so far as wanting to actually kill them.  That's what the Democrats want right now, and they're  not even trying to hide it anymore.

Sure, if they're called out on it, they try to walk it back as in, 'that's not really what I meant'.  Or, 'that comment was taken out of context' or any other attempt to soften the original comments they made.  Folks, words matter and the Bible says that, "For out of the overflow of his heart his mouth speaks."-Luke 6:45.  I'll give you a few examples of what I'm talking about, but there are more.  

First, Democrat Congressman Tim Ryan ordered that, "we must kill and confront the MAGA movement." 

    “The Democrats aren’t right on everything. And I’m willing to sit down and have conversations about how we can move out of this age of stupidity,” Ryan said during an appearance Tuesday on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe.” “Some of those answers will come from Republicans, not the extremists that we are dealing with every single day, we’ve got to kill and confront that movement, but working with normal mainstream Republicans, that’s going to be really, really important.”

I may be asking for trouble here, but I don't recall ever hearing a Republican Congressman or Senator or any other nationally elected official calling for the murder of their opponent.  My goodness.  It doesn't stop there, though.  Another Democrat, a  Senator this time said that the abortion ban is literally a 'call to arms'.  I'm not sure about you, but a call to arms is a call to WAR.  

Even the POTUS, Joe Biden is vilifying the MAGA movement; 

    "MAGA Republicans do not respect the constitution,” Biden said. “They do not believe in the rule     of law, they do not believe in the rule of law, they do not recognize the will of the people.”

    “MAGA forces are determined to take this country backwards,” he added. “Backwards to an             America where there is no right to choose. No right to privacy. No right to contraception. No right     to marry who you love. They promote authoritarian leaders and they fan the flames of political        violence.”

That, folks, is called 'gaslighting'.  

Let's also not forget that concerned parents are targets of the left.  Democrat Georgia Representative Hank Johnson brings himself into the fold of those who want to target those who disagree with him as he compares parents to those who descended on the capitol building on January 6th as one in the same.  He's quoted as saying in this Daily Caller article

        "People on the local level at effected school board meetings, they won’t forget the MAGA                     Republicans descending on their school board meetings after January 6, like January 6,                     disrupting meetings,” Johnson continued.

Are you seeing a theme here?  So, what can we do about it?  First and easiest thing to do is vote!  Vote like your life depends on it November 8th.  Vote Republican up and down the ballot, especially on those judicial races because those are some of the most important races on the ballot.  We've got rampant crime, inflation, increasing gas prices and a divider in chief and lots of his little minions at the federal level just itching to do his bidding.  Don't let them do it.

Wednesday, May 4, 2022

Texas vs. Florida in Limiting and Eliminating Tenure for College Professors

If you know me, you'll know that I'm not one to champion incumbents for the sake of incumbency.  Nor am I one to champion what Lt. Governor of the state of Texas Dan Patrick does; no offense, Dan.  We come down on different sides of different issues and I feel personally that some of what he does is more zealous than need be.  However, I find myself mostly in agreement with what he and Governor Abbott are in the process of doing when it comes to college professor tenure.  Check it out:

I love Texas Public Policy Foundation (TPPF) and what they do.  I subscribe to their emails and one that they sent out this morning had me clicking the link to read the articles on the issues they cited. One such article was about how Texas AND Florida (wtg DeSantis!) are attempting to put an end to college professor tenure to depoliticize the college classroom.  Bravo.  The reason I say that is because there is absolutely nothing wrong with a system of checks and balances.  Plus, I don't love the fact that college students sometimes become indoctrinated while going to college.  That's not entirely the professors' faults, but they will definitely take credit, I imagine, if one of their students leaves college in agreement with their liberal ideology.

Now, there's a difference between the legislation being introduced by Texas and Florida, and to be honest, I like the sound of Florida's bill a little better.  Texas' version is a little bit heavy handed to say that Texas will flat out end tenure where Florida's bill puts them in a position to review teacher performances every five years, including tenured faculty.  

    "Under the bill, teachers will be evaluated along several metrics, including accomplishments and productivity, and performance metrics, evaluations, and ratings. The evaluations will also address recognition and compensation considerations, as well as improvement plans and consequences for underperformance."  

    “Florida’s students deserve a quality, affordable education and don’t need ideological activists and political organizations determining what they should learn,” DeSantis said in a statement. “By ushering in strong curriculum transparency requirements and providing accountability for tenured faculty, Florida is standing with students and parents across our state.” 


Conversely, Lt. Governor Dan Patrick's bill as I mentioned before would eliminate tenured employees AND it would go a step further to fire any professor who taught Critical Race Theory.  This has some with their hackles up about free speech and that the firing would infringe on first amendment rights.  

"Free speech advocate Jeremy Young is concerned that initiatives like Patrick’s pose a serious threat to academia. Young, senior manager of free expression and education at PEN America, said in a February statement that Patrick’s plan represents a “mortal threat to academic freedom.”  

“Patrick’s proposal is a craven attempt to score political points. It will create a climate of fear among teachers and students alike. It should be rejected,” Young said."

This sounds a bit like term limits for college professors, which I don't have a problem with.  As I stated before, Florida's bill seems a bit better.  Take a look at both and you decide.  And, as always, if you like what you see, call and let your representative know that you want them to support the efforts made by the Lt. Governor and conversely, if you don't like it, tell them that, too.