Higher Education? (With Addendum)

Did you see Tucker Carlson's May 25 interview of Evergreen State College Professor Bret Weinstein, a self-declared Progressive?  Before reading the rest of this blog post, please watch the video — even if you don't like Tucker Carlson.  This time, Carlson allowed a guest to speak without constant interruptions.

Another Manchester Victim?

7/7 London attack survivor Tony Walters has been found dead amid suicide fears

From the UK Sun (May 28, 2017):

7/7 HERO IS '23RD VICTIM': Survivor of 7/7 London terror attack Tony Walters, 52, found dead hours after Manchester bombing as friends claim ‘he didn’t want to live in a world where ­attacks continue’

Pals believe recent Westminster attack and Monday night's atrocity at an Ariana Grande concert brought back traumatic memories for the haunted 52-year-old

A SURVIVOR of 7/7 was found dead hours after the Manchester Arena attack — amid fears he took his own life.

Haunted Tony Walters, 52, was discovered at his home after failing to go to work. A friend said: “He is the 23rd victim of Salman Abedi‘s suicide bombing.”

Friends believe he killed himself because he was overwhelmed by the horror of yet more innocent lives lost to terrorism.

One said: “He didn’t want to live in a world where these ­terror attacks continue.”

[...]

On July 7, 2005, Tony was yards from fanatic Mohammad Sidique Khan when he detonated a device on a Tube train after it left Edgware Road station.

Seven people, including Khan, died. Tony was showered with shrapnel but survived.

Friends believe the Manchester bombing, coupled with the Westminster attack in March when four people were killed by Khalid Masood, brought back traumatic memories of 7/7 and Tony could not cope.

[...]

“Everyone that knew Tony believes he is the 23rd victim of the Manchester Arena attack....

Read the entire article HERE.

The empty same old, same old did not begin to console or help Tony Walters. He had been bloodied on the field of jihad warfare on his home soil almost twelve years ago. Some experiences are just too intense to forget and continue to claim victims.

Memorial Day Weekend 2017

(For politics, please scroll down)

With all our busy-ness, let us not forget the meaning of Memorial Day.  Instead, with solemnity and humility, let us remember and honor the more than 1.8 million servicemen and servicewomen who have died in the service of our nation since 1775.

The Same Old, Same Old

With a hat tip to Bocopro (Click on the image to enlarge it):

There is no genuine or lasting outrage — even when children are slaughtered in the name of Allah.

Neither is there a change in policy on the part of the West's feckless leaders.

I am so sick of the West's dhimmitudinal cycle.

Related reading at the blog site Bunkerville: Every Nine days, a terrorist attack is attempted in Europe in 2017.

The Manchester Slaughter

At least 22 dead and 59 injured in suicide attack at Manchester Arena, on May 22, 2017, at an Ariana Grande concert attended by thousands of tween and teen girls.

One of the dead is Saffie Rose Roussos, an eight-year-old girl:

From the Express UK:

President Trump's Riyadh Speech

Click directly on the image to enlarge it:

The comment below appeared to the opinion piece "This Wasn't a Speech About Islam" by Mustafa Akyol and Wajahat Ali (New York Times, May 21, 2017):

TDurk Rochester NY
I am not a supporter of Donald Trump. I find the man to be repugnant and his proposed domestic policies to be injurious to the interests of the American people.

That said, his speech focused on the responsibility of the Muslim people to stamp out Islamic terrorism. He correctly laid the issue at the feet of the states, the clergies and the money who have, either through benign neglect or quiet support, allowed barbarians to use religious fervor as an excuse to commit barbarous acts upon innocents. He correctly stated that the problem is not the problem of the US or of Europe to solve, although the west may need to eradicate the terrorist structures, root and branch.

In this instance, Donald Trump is right.

In the opinion piece, Mustafa Akyol, a contributing opinion writer, is a visiting fellow at the Freedom Project at Wellesley College and the author of The Islamic Jesus: How the King of the Jews Became a Prophet of the Muslims, whined:

A “speech on Islam” could have included some references to the faith, an acknowledgment that Islam is a great religion with values in common with Judeo-Christianity, and with a history of pluralism and tolerance. A “speech on Muslims” could have also been richer, with perhaps examples of how Muslims have contributed to the world, including to American society. This was a more modest, narrow and pragmatic speech, mostly appealing to Muslim leaders — in fact, only Sunni ones — for more cooperation against terrorism. But given Mr. Trump’s earlier views on Islam, it could have been worse!

Mr. Akyol is correct: President Trump's Riyadh speech wasn't nearly as sycophantic as the 2009 Cairo Speech spewed by Apologist-In-Chief Barack Hussein Obama.

My take:

The Riyadh Speech was as daring a speech that an American President could give on Arabian soil to an assembly of Arab nations.

As Kid mentioned at Infidel Bloggers Alliance, there was much nuanced threat.

Yes, indeed! Note this portion about condemned souls:

Religious leaders must make this absolutely clear: Barbarism will deliver you no glory – piety to evil will bring you no dignity. If you choose the path of terror, your life will be empty, your life will be brief, and YOUR SOUL WILL BE CONDEMNED.

A deliberate salvo directed at the Wahhabist imams, many of them from Saudi.

President Trump also called out Hamas.

I also note that President Trump at one point said, "Islamic extremism." Apparently, the original script said "Islamist extremism." An accident on Trump's part?

Additional reading...Tale of the Tape: How Trump's First Middle East Speech Compares to Obama's: Half as many self-references, zero Koran quotes, more focus on Islamic extremism.

Musical Interlude

(For politics, please scroll down)

My music appreciation teacher in elementary school introduced us to Classical Period music by having us listen to Haydn's Surprise Symphony; we also learned about the basics of symphonic form.

Haydn (1732-1809, contemporaneous with George Washington), was a prolific composer, in part because he held the position of Kapellmeister for the Esterházy Family, who, in Haydn's words:  "forced [him] to become original."  The Esterházy estate ([s]ometimes called the "Hungarian Versailles") was distant from populated areas and isolated him from other composers and trends in music.

When I studied Music Appreciation in college, I discovered more of Haydn's glorious music, including the piece below.


About the above piece, from Musical Musings:

Impeachment?

All the chattering and nattering about impeaching President Trump!  Some — Left, Right, and Center — are openly longing for his impeachment.

To a great extent, some news networks (MSNBC and CNN, for example) are speaking as if impeachment and removal from office are a foregone conclusion.

Related reading...

(1) Impeach Trump Now (web site)

(2) Pat Buchanan: It Isn’t Watergate Yet, But How Long Can This Sustain?

Three questions:

1. What, specifically, are President Trump's impeachable offenses?

2. What might be the consequences, short term and long term, of such an impeachment?

3. What might be the consequences, short term and long term, if Robert Mueller, appointed as special counsel for the United States Department of Justice to oversee the investigation into the Russian interference in the 2016 United States elections, finds no cause for impeachment?

That Time Of Year

(For politics, please scroll down)

As the end of the 2016-2017 school term looms, I am making the mad dash to complete the necessary paperwork: exams to score, grades to average, and report cards to issue.  Not the best of times!

At the end of every school term, I feel as if I've not accomplished much. And so it goes for teachers for whom teaching is a calling and a passion — not merely a career. Yet, we start over again the next school term.

Convention of States (bumped to the top by AOW)

Posted by Warren

Lately, I have been troubled by events in Washington DC and across the country. From the inability of Congress to perform its Constitutional duties to a rogue Judiciary that finds "rights" that don't exist in the Constitution and denies enumerated rights clearly stated in bold.

 In these troubling age, we see our Liberty eroded away at the hands of a duplicitous Congress, an unanswerable Judiciary; many who are no more than politically driven ideologues, plus a host of  nameless faceless bureaucrats whose regulations carry the force of law. 

 

In the evening, as I work, I listen to Mark Levin, Conservative, lawyer, Constitutional scholar, author and radio talk show host. He offers a solution to these problems which are Constitutional in nature

 

Article V, U.S. Constitution

* * * * * * * * * *
Article V
The Congress, whenever two thirds of both houses shall deem it necessary, shall propose amendments to this Constitution, or, on the application of the legislatures of two thirds of the several states, shall call a convention for proposing amendments, which, in either case, shall be valid to all intents and purposes, as part of this Constitution, when ratified by the legislatures of three fourths of the several states, or by conventions in three fourths thereof, as the one or the other mode of ratification may be proposed by the Congress; provided that no amendment which may be made prior to the year one thousand eight hundred and eight shall in any manner affect the first and fourth clauses in the ninth section of the first article; and that no state, without its consent, shall be deprived of its equal suffrage in the Senate.

(Bolding added by Warren)

This is not a Constitutional Convention but a legitimate provision of the Constitution enabling the States to add amendments to the Constitution.                                          

Mark has thoroughly researched this subject and the rational for consideration in his book "The Liberty Amendments: Restoring the American Republic" . The book is available in several different formats.

The eleven amendments he proposes are:                                                                                 

For Mother's Day 2017

(For politics, please scroll down)

Remembering Mom (January 3, 2016-November 8, 1987):

Mom, I miss you every day. Not a day goes by that I don't long for your wise advice and much-needed encouragement!

Recommended Reading

See Europe's Childless Leaders Sleepwalking Us to Disaster by Giulio Meotti at Gatestone Institute.

The bullet points in the teaser:

Illegal Aliens And Constitutional Rights

Please watch this video of less than one minute in length, and consider the concepts presented:


The now-ubiquitous phrase undocumented citizens as used so often by various media and other Leftists, is nonsensical! The very word citizens implies that these individuals have entered into the United States Compact (Constitution) when they have not.

Related reading: The Civic Cost Of Illegal Immigration by Victor Davis Hansen. Excerpt:

...[L]ost in this conundrum are the pernicious effects of illegal immigration on the idea of citizenship in a consensual society. In the Western constitutional tradition, citizenship was based upon shared assumptions that were often codified in foundational constitutional documents.

[...]

When borders are fluid and unenforced, it inevitably follows that assimilation and integration also become lax, as society loses a sense of who, or even where, their residents are. And the idea that the Bill of Rights should apply to those beyond U.S. borders may be a noble sentiment, but the practical effect of such utopianism is to open a Pandora's box of impossible enforcement, affronts to foreign governments, endless litigation, and a diversion of resources away from protecting the rights of citizens at home.

Residency is also confused with citizenship, but they are no more the same than are guests at a dinner party and the party's hosts, who own the home.

A country reverts to tribalism unless immigrants enter it legally-often based on the host's determination of how easily and rapidly they can become citizens, and the degree to which they can benefit their adopted country-and embrace its customs, language, and habits.

Read the rest HERE. Worth your time.

Musical Interlude

(For politics, please scroll down)

Some years ago, Mr. AOW and I went to a National Symphony Orchestra concert presenting the piece below. Star Trek's Leonard Nimoy (Mr. Spock) narrated the concert, which had accompanying photos taken by NASA projected on the big screens inside the Filene Center at Wolf Trap National Park for the Performing Arts.

Enjoy Gustav Holst's The Planets (1914-1916) and the accompanying images:

Movements of the suite:

MARS, Bringer of War: 00:00
VENUS, Bringer of Peace: 7:20
MERCURY, Winged Messenger: 14:50
JUPITER, Bringer of Jollity: 18:41
SATURNE, Bringer of Old Age: 26:18
URANUS, The Magician: 35:29
NEPTUNE, The Mystic: 41:00

[about The Planets]

Recommended Reading (The Recent Continuing Resolution, aka "The Budget Deal")

See Vice President Calls the Show to Defend the Budget Deal at The Rush Limbaugh Show (dated May 2, 2017).

Excerpt:

...RUSH: If this is what happens, Mr. Vice President, why vote Republican? What is the point of voting Republican if the Democrats are gonna continue to win practically 95% of their objectives, such as in this last budget deal?

THE VICE PRESIDENT: Well, look, respectfully, Rush, I actually think this was, as the president said a little a while ago, I think this was actually a clear win for the American people....

Read the rest HERE.

What are your thoughts about the recent budget deal?

Even Without The Wall

Like many others, I'm frustrated that the border wall promised by Donald Trump is not under construction and still remains unfunded. The wall was the primary plank of Trump's campaign platform and launched his first political campaign.

That said, if the following information is true, the Trump Administration needs to get the word out — before Donald Trump loses the support of a core group within the electorate that elected him to the Oval Office. WE THE PEOPLE are wary of our so-called elected public servants, because they have so often reneged on campaign promises made.

Click directly on the image to enlarge it:

Related reading at RickWells.us: Trump And Americans Want The Wall – Vote In A New Congress If They Refuse Our Demands.