Red Marilyn

Obama and William Ayers: Old Wine in a New Bottle

Thu, 24 Apr 2008 19:47:33 GMT

Sol Stern, writing in City Journal, delves into the importance and influence of former Weather Underground member William Ayers in American K-12 education. Contrary to Barack Obama's characterization of Ayers as a "Professor of English" that he knows from his Hyde Park neighborhood, Ayers is actually an education professor who has long been a mover and shaker in the Chicago city schools establishment.

However, William Ayers influence doesn't stop in Chicago. When the unrepentant "former" terrorist changed careers he went from being an anti-American terrorist to anti-American educator. William Ayers transitioned from trying to affect change and influence America through poorly constructed explosive devices and violent confrontations with symbols of the establishment to a much more subtle, but perhaps more insidiously effective methodology. And the new methods used by Ayers and others have influenced ideas and affected change through their influence in American education.

In the intervening years, according to Mr. Stern's article, Ayers has become an important formulator of education curricula that strives to introduce left-wing ideas and philosophy to the education of future teachers. Teachers receive more than a teacher's education. They are also indoctrinated with Ayers' political philosophies before entering classrooms of public schools across America. Recently elected Vice-President of AERA, an important national education body, William Ayers, as an educator at the University of Illinois, has apparently been an important part of the bloodless revolution that has infused many of America's educators and classrooms with a philosophy espoused by Ayers and like minded educators of future teachers.

From Sol Stern's article:

Indeed, the education department at the University of Illinois is a hotbed for the radical education professoriate. As Ayers puts it in one of his course descriptions, prospective K–12 teachers need to “be aware of the social and moral universe we inhabit and . . . be a teacher capable of hope and struggle, outrage and action, a teacher teaching for social justice and liberation.” Ayers’s texts on the imperative of social-justice teaching are among the most popular works in the syllabi of the nation’s ed schools and teacher-training institutes. One of Ayers’s major themes is that the American public school system is nothing but a reflection of capitalist hegemony. Thus, the mission of all progressive teachers is to take back the classrooms and turn them into laboratories of revolutionary change.

Link via Lucianne

Syrian Nukes Facility

Thu, 24 Apr 2008 08:55:59 GMT

Evidence of Syrian nukes program to be reviewed by Congress: Details.

BBC article references the North Korean connection.

Obama and his Waffle

Wed, 23 Apr 2008 23:37:36 GMT

Obama's incident with the waffle enters American pop culture as the actual leftover waffle goes up for sale on eBay and artists paint it. As Barack Obama said when asked about whether Hamas fan, Jimmy Carter, should speak at the Democrats' convention:

"Why can't I just eat my waffle?"
Image: It's actually the day after the waffle incident at the Glider Café and he's eating a pancake.

Brits Celebrate St George's Day with New Fervor

Wed, 23 Apr 2008 20:33:25 GMT

New appreciation for Englishness afoot in Britain.

You Don't Say

Wed, 23 Apr 2008 18:17:39 GMT

China wants scientists to prevent rain during the Olympics:

"There's no shortage of good ideas out there," Golden said. "There are some wacky ones, too."

Via Drudge

Image: Dr. Frankenstein, the famous scientist with his monster, in the original film of Mary Shelley's Frankenstein, a cautionary tale of science run amok.

Rasputin Spring

Wed, 23 Apr 2008 17:27:58 GMT

Just when all the folks in the know have rung the death knell for the Clinton campaign, HillRod surges back up and into the boat like the shark in Jaws and wins one, or 2 or 3. California, Florida, Michigan and now Pennsylvania.

Against all odds, in the face of a faithless media who have thrown her over for Barack Obama, Hillary stays true to plan and soldiers on. Married to a world-class campaigner of an ex-president husband who seems pathologically compelled to keep the spotlight on himself and who has hobbled his wife time and time again by continually throwing verbal spike strips into the path of her campaign, Hillary Clinton has refused to slink away into the long night of political defeat. A poster at Lucianne is referring to the spectacle of Hillary's tenacious refusal to allow hope to die as Rasputin Spring.

Image: WSJ

Cool Obama Photo, Not With a Waffle

Tue, 22 Apr 2008 22:16:12 GMT

Posted on the website of Barack Obama's neighbor, owner of the website Patent Law, a rather iconic photo of Sen. Obama ostensibly voting a paper ballot. Lovely photo. Question: is it common for Chicagoland voting booths to have their own light source within the booth? Inquiring minds would like to know.

Waa, waa, waffle? (Who knew Obama hadn't taken questions from his campaign's traveling press corp for 10 days)?

New Revelation from FARC Laptop

Tue, 22 Apr 2008 17:05:43 GMT

The laptop discovered during Columbian raids on Ecuadoran jungle camps of FARC continues to reveal new information. The most recent revelation describes repeated unsuccessful FARC assassination attempts on Columbia's current leader, President Alvaro Uribe in the run-up to his election.

Details at AP.

Fahrenheit Fathead

Mon, 21 Apr 2008 22:25:44 GMT

Via Drudge we learn that Barack Obama has another endorsement, the confused Michael Moore, who would vote for Barck Obama, that is if he voted:

I don't get to vote for President this primary season. I live in Michigan. The party leaders (both here and in D.C.) couldn't get their act together, and thus our votes will not be counted.

So he could have voted, since there indeed was a Michigan primary. Michigan votes were counted, just not applied to the Democrats' delegate count.

Mr. Moore used to be registered to vote in Michigan and New York. Maybe he couldn't vote in Michigan, because he chose to vote in New York. Or as the link showing his voting record suggests, perhaps Michael Moore didn't vote in the primary because he just couldn't be bothered to hie himself to a polling place.

Diane Dimond on Anthony Pelicano

Mon, 21 Apr 2008 20:46:22 GMT

As the Anthony Pellicano trial proceeds, some interesting insight into the way intimidation by Anthony Pellicano worked by from someone on the receiving end, journalist Diane Dimond. Mrs. Dimond was reporting on Michael Jackson's child sexual abuse charges. Michael Jackson was a client of Mr. Pellicano, "private investigator to the stars".

Neither Mrs. Dimond nor the website hosting her article mention Anthony Pellicano's connection to the Clintons. More at same source here.

Anthony Pellicano is acting as his own attorney. A few days ago Mr. Pellicano cross-examined his former aide, Tarita Virtue, the prosecution's star witness about his methods of intimidation. She claims he called her parents to make death threats towards her. Various individuals involved with people who may have been clients of Anthony Pellicano over the years have made similar claims about threatening events and intimidation including: phone taps, dead animals on vehicles or porches, frightening notes and appearances by unknown individuals in out of the way places mentioning children or relations, as well as near misses with speeding vehicles and break-ins.

I Love You Scranton!

Mon, 21 Apr 2008 19:08:44 GMT

Hillary ♥s Scranton. And tomorrow we'll get to see how much Scranton ♥s her back.

"What is Only Counts in Horseshoes"

Mon, 21 Apr 2008 18:56:36 GMT

Obama predicts Hillary Clinton will win a by a narrow margin in Pennsylvania.

Image: Barack Obama as the Great Karnak.

(© Red Marilyn)

Cuban Refugees Flee Cuba, Transit Honduras to Reach America

Sun, 20 Apr 2008 21:28:35 GMT

Check out the verbiage of this AP story about "Cuban migrants". A boatload of people spent 2 weeks at sea, including a day surrounded by sharks with a broken motor, but finally made it to Honduras. The story has interesting information about new routes being used by Cubans to reach the US and to elude interdiction off Florida. But the most interesting part of the AP coverage is what the AP doesn't say: Cubans, even after relaxation of rules about what Cubans can or can't buy --- yay, cell phones that cost half a year's wages --- still are risking their lives in open jury-rigged "boats" in order to get away from Communist Cuba and come to America.

Response to Barack Obama's Post Debate Whines

Sat, 19 Apr 2008 00:20:49 GMT

"Grow a pair."
--Michael Steele, (GOPAC),
subbing for Hugh Hewitt on the radio

McCain is Older Than Dick Freakin' Cheney!

Fri, 18 Apr 2008 19:16:06 GMT

Heard on Rush Limbaugh:

There's a funny bit out there somewhere about how old John McCain is. Two young people, late teens or early 20s, male and female, discuss McCain's superannuation while trading examples: John McCain is older than coke in a can, older than velcro, older than McDonald's and Burger King, older than the Golden Gate Bridge, older than plutonium...

"Oh, my God!", says the guy, "John McCain is older than Dick Freakin' Cheney"!

We'll try to get a link. Update: We found the link and plugged the video in down below in the first slot of the day's posts. Scroll down or hit this.

UK PM: World Owes Bush Debt of Gratitude

Fri, 18 Apr 2008 18:33:18 GMT

Gordon Brown, Britain's Prime Minister, is currently stateside, but his trip has been a bit overshadowed by the press coverage of Pope Benedict's US visit. We're pleased to include this statement from the British leader via Drudge and quoted in the Financial Times:

“The world owes President Bush a huge debt of gratitude in leading the world in our determination to root out terrorism.”
Gordon Brown

A Patriot of the Streets

Fri, 18 Apr 2008 18:09:28 GMT

A dumpster diving homeless man in New York found something he realized ought not to have been thrown out with the trash. Worried that his find might fall into the wrong hands, Mike Fleming took the crumpled papers to the New York Post. What he had found was blueprints of the Freedom Tower, the replacement for the World Trade Center buildings destroyed on 9/11. Mr. Fleming said he was worried that if he didn't retrieve them the plans might have turned up on eBay or ended up with al Qaeda. An official familiar with Mr. Fleming's find verified the importance of the blueprints.

Story at BBC.

He Ain't Got Game

Fri, 18 Apr 2008 05:30:06 GMT

Barack Obama is not the most mature politician we've ever heard respond to losing a debate. Today he said (after being trounced by Hillary Clinton last night):

"They like stirring up controversy and they like playing gotcha games, getting us to attack each other. And I have to say Senator Clinton looked in her element," Obama said. "She was taking every opportunity to get a dig in there. You know, that's all right. That's her right. That's her right to kind of twist the knife a little bit."

Is that how they roll at tony prep schools in Hawaii when their team loses at b-ball? Whine about the bad reffing and then complain about all the uncalled fouls committed by the other side?

Quote from an article at International Herald Tribune.

"Get Up With Fleas"

Thu, 17 Apr 2008 22:41:35 GMT

Barack Obama threw somebody else under the bus to get out of a jam about the anti-American company he keeps. At the Democratic debate last night Sen. Obama added his colleague in the Senate, Tom Coburn to the discard pile he started when he used his "typical white person" Grandmother to explain away the "snippets" voiced by his pastor, Rev. Jeremiah Wright. ("Just words", after all).

It happened when George Stephanopoulos asked the candidate to explain Mr. Obama's association with William Ayers, Vietnam era Weather Underground terrorist bomber. The candidate sidestepped the issue by first referring to Ayers as a "Professor of English", somebody he knew from the neighborhood. His opposite number, Hillary Clinton chimed in to let the audience know that the Obama-Ayers relationship went farther still. Both had served on the same board at the Woods Foundation. Sen. Obama then tried this tack: he brought up his "friend" and colleague, Sen. Tom Coburn then compared Ayers to him. Tom Coburn once said he "supports the death penalty for abortion doctors", according to Mr. Obama. So Barack Obama thinks that William Ayers, a man who admits he committed acts of terrorism against the United States and was quoted on 9/11 saying he only wished he "had done more", can be explained away by using "his fiend" Tom Coburn defensively. Ayers, a man who narrowly escaped incarceration (and only because of a botched FBI procedural technicality that allowed Ayers to skate). Barack Obama thinks that Sen. Tom Coburn's strong expression of anti-abortion sentiment is as bad as William Ayers violent acts. Acts which included the bombing of the Pentagon and an unintentional bomb-making explosion in Greenwich Village that took 3 lives.

It's all moot, tho', according to Sen. Obama, because Mr. Ayers isn't even a supporter of his. Neither Charles Gibson nor Mr. Stephanopoulos objected to that statement, but it's been reported that William Ayers has contributed to Obama's campaigns in the past.

Barack Obama's statements during last night's debate revealed some of his thought processes, his standards and judgment more clearly, perhaps, than any of the candidate's previous television appearances. But will Barack Obama be able to retain his teflon-coating if, (and excuse the mixed metaphors), if his world-class Tabula Rasa gets a few ineradicable scratches?

McCain Slideshow

Thu, 17 Apr 2008 22:10:20 GMT

You won't learn anything from from the captions of this Terra slideshow except the date on which the Republican candidate became a prisoner of war, but the photos of John McCain on the campaign trail are good.

Image: Click photo for larger version.

Details of CBS Journalist's Basra Rescue

Thu, 17 Apr 2008 15:27:39 GMT

CBS journalist Richard Butler's rescue a few days ago by Iraqi forces is detailed at Defense Link. CBS has this video of the man who was kidnapped and held captive for two months. He discusses his captivity and dramatic rescue following days of fighting in the area where he was being held.

It's clear that Mr. Butler's rescue was a direct result of Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki's political decision to retake control of Basra. The historical significance of PM Maliki's arrival in Basra with Iraqi troops able to effect the mission with the aid of US air support is also illustrated by and personified in Mr. Butler's succinct, well told rescue story.

Other videos made following the British journalist's rescue are also available at the CBS website.

Have You Seen This?

Thu, 17 Apr 2008 06:17:54 GMT

Love it.

Democrats Duke it Out in Philly

Thu, 17 Apr 2008 06:09:25 GMT

The Democrats' Debate on ABC with Charlie Gibson and George Stephanopoulis was most excellent. (But what was with the phalanxes of besuited glum men in the audience)? The questions were good, with a fair amount of follow-ups. We can't stand her, but we think Hillary was the victor and had, perhaps her finest hour on the hustings. Barack Obama looked bad and out to sea in response to questions about Rev. Wright and William Ayres, his true-blue terrorist bomber associate who got off because of a technicality. In short, a KO for Mrs. Clinton. (Her weakest point? Not being able to explain away her Tuzla-on-the-tarmac-with-Sinbad-under -sniper-fire story. Because no matter how tired or 60 you are, sometimes a lie is just a lie).

Good liveblogging of the debate explains it blow by blow, here.
Link via Lucianne.

He's "Not a Trust Fund Baby", Baby

Thu, 17 Apr 2008 02:28:08 GMT

From Campaign Spot at National Review Online:

Sen. Obama also noted that the three-bedroom condominium he and his wife lived in for the first 13 years of their marriage didn't have a garage. "If you live in Chicago, that means you're scraping ice every morning," he said.

Oh, boo hoo.

Speaking of silver spoons and babies, enjoy this beautiful photo.

Brigitte in the Dock Again

Wed, 16 Apr 2008 19:59:30 GMT

Brigitte Bardot is on trial (again) for voicing her opinion about the effects on French culture of Muslim immigrants who fail to acculturate:

"I am fed up with being under the thumb of this population which is destroying us, destroying our country and imposing its acts," Bardot said, according to Reuters.

Reuters and Fox News are referring to Miss Bardot's statements as a "Muslim slur". Her prosecution results from a letter Miss Bardot wrote to Nicolas Sarkozy protesting Muslim religious animal slaughter which she published online.*

Image: Click thumbnail for larger image.

*Brigitte Bardot is an animal rights advocate. She was one of the first people to protest the clubbing of seal pups in the wild for fur almost 40 years ago.