Hey! Let's Beat Up on the Kids

Check out State Budget Shortfalls on K-12 Education Spending and Job Loss. Geez, wouldn't you know it, right off the bat the destruction will be around 9% loss on common ed. spending.
Ok, let's use really big numbers here for emphasis: $54,000,000,000. Sadly the stimulus package won't help shortfalls in local spending.
This country ought to be ashamed of it lack of effort or concern for it's citizenry and it's future. Every S.O.B. elected leader has h/her hand out for the stimulus money, but as usual the kids get the punch in the mouth both now and, oh, yes, later when the bill comes due to pay for this mess over Wall Street.
Of course the teachers get kicked in the ass over this crap too, yet they will be expected to shoulder the load and suffer from the "come on do it for the kids" even though their health insurance soars, their retirement stands in jeopardy, and their principal has one thing on his/her mind: Test Scores.

But, hey, lets screw with those who can't speak for themselves. Isn't that the American way?

Wrong road to win in Afghanistan

A slow walk through history would tell just about any one that the continuing a surge in Afghanistan is, how should I put this? A big mistake.

I won't bore you with the history but in the short-cut version the Brits called it the "graveyard of empires". Alexander the Great had more problems there than he would admit while his army was there. The mighty Russians got their asses kicked until the sophomoric U.S. Representative, Charlie Wilson (Texas) found the means, however secretive, to get shoulder-rocket-launchers to the Afghani fighters. After 10 brutal years the Russians pulled up, retreated, and left the place admitting that too many Russian helicopters were falling out of the sky. Remember they were the "Super Power".
So what are we doing there? Adding another 36,000 troops, spending (choke) another $2 Billion a month, and for what?
If Bush/Cheney were pulling this we would be outraged, in fact, how is it any different?
I ask: "What is so important there that we must risk/kill another young soldier, marine, or airman for that place (Ok, apologies to the Navy Seals). Please show me/us the world what is so damned valuable that we must necessitate an even more brutal war than in Iraq.
This is from a former Marine.

John Wayne, Billy the Kid, and Professors at the Ok Corral

Wonderful Oklahoma, so far to the right you couldn't locate it with flashlight. The only state that went totally red in the last Prez election. A state so steeped in conservatism that 1/4 of its children go to bed hungry every night, their parents have no health insurance, and 80% of the population still believe that Iraq was involved with the terrorist attack of 9/11.
Given the above info, it shouldn't come as a surprise to learn the the state legislature just turned down a bill which would have given professors the right to carry concealed weapons on campus. Whew! It died in committee. But wait, this was the second time this bill was introduced, and with lots of fanfare. Surely you can see why this bill got lots of play at every deeply red bar or reddish church social, after all this state invented "God, Guns, and Gay bashing".
One would think that our state legislature would be trying to do something with our prisons (# 1 in the nation for incarcerated women and #4 for men). How about focusing on our roads and bridges ( #1 worst in the nation)? Education? 48th in the nation for teacher pay and 47th in student expenditures.
Of course we would be asking too much for our legislators because last year they concentrated huge blocks of time on selecting/naming the State Rock & Roll Song and brought tearful debates on naming the state fruit.
Ignorance be not proud, for we have next year to reintroduce a handgun for professors and "intoxicated" students. Three times is a charm. Bang! Band!