Weekend reading guaranteed to make you smarter

We’ve been hearing the term “Common Core” tossed about with greater frequency.  But how many of us actually know the reality behind this insidious scheme to surrender state autonomy on education to Obama administration bureaucrats and promote a nationalized system of education well beyond the appropriate scope of the federal government. In addition, the curriculum associated with Common Core relies on an international perspective instead of traditional studies of American and World History or the study of Western Civilization.

Syndicated columnist and Fox News regular, Michelle Malkin, is writing a continuing series “Rotten to the Core.” Following this fourth installment “The Feds’ Invasive Student Tracking Database,” are others that we recommend to our readers.  If you are a parent or grandparent, even the neighbor of parents with school aged children, consider it your civic responsibility to get up to speed on this invasive governmental expansion and despicable lowering of standards.

These are Malkin’s previous columns on Common Core: (Keep checking back. We will continue to add the latest ones to the top of this list as they become available.)

Time To Opt Out of Creepy Fed Ed Data-Mining Racket

Attention, parents: Common Core opt-out form now available

Rotten to the Core, Part 3: Lessons from Texas and the Growing Grassroots Revolt

Rotten to the Core, Part 2: Readin’, writin’ and deconstructionism

Rotten to the Core, Part 1: Obama’s War on Academic Standards

Then, as a bonus, watch Michelle Malkin being interviewed by Megyn Kelly as she busts Oberlin College for its history of ridiculous hate crime hoaxes:

Brewer’s surrogates fail to convince EGC

The Executive Guidance Committee of the Maricopa County Republican Committee (EGC) met last night and passed three resolutions.

Although Gov. Jan Brewer’s policy advisor and chief strategist Chuck Coughlin and her financial guru John Arnold, made valiant attempts to convince the Republican leaders of the rightness of her position to expand the federal Medicaid program, Arizona’s involvement in the ObamaCare scheme was dead on arrival. Out of thirty possible votes, only two supported this debacle: Scott O’Connor, Chair of Legislative District 28 and Paul Whetten, Chair of LD 25.

State Rep. Carl Seel (Dist. 20) using facts and logic, effectively decimated the assertions by Chuck Coughlin and John Arnold, Brewer’s Director of the Governor‘s Office of Strategic Planning and Budgeting.

A second resolution opposing the McFlake Comprehensive Immigration Reform efforts to legalize upward of 25 million illegals, was passed unanimously by the Maricopa County EGC members. 

A third resolution opposing the implementation of Common Core — the Obama Education Department’s program to nationalize America’s public schools,  passed unanimously.  Laddie Shane, Chair of Arizona Conservative Educators, wrote the resolution and made a dynamic presentation for it’s passage.

ASU’s Crow backs lower tuition for illegals — again

Co$tly deception abounds

ASU President Michael Crow is back to his old tricks of dropping tuition rates for illegal alien students. We wrote this back in 2007, pointing out that Crow was skirting the provisions of Prop 300, a voter-approved law that, among other matters, requires such students pay higher, out-of-state tuition rates. The law passed overwhelmingly 1,060,444 to 423,994.

Fast forward to March 6, 2013. The amnesty-supporting Periódico de la República de Arizona (Arizona Republic) headline cheers the news: “Crow backs lower migrant tuition.” The daily newspaper is keen on cunningly using imprecise words such as “migrant” and “undocumented“ to describe illegals. “Migrants” sound deceptively akin to the swallows, making their yearly journey each March 19 to California’s Mission San Juan Capistrano, and departing for their home in Argentina the following October 23. Our “migrants” come here in violation of our laws and national sovereignty and never leave.

Acquaint yourself with the severe restrictions imposed by Mexico’s Constitution on foreign-born, naturalized Mexican citizens. Those who enter Mexico illegally are not even this fortunate.

Tuition and fee increases were the order of the day for Arizona’s three universities going into the 2011-12 school year as the Arizona Board of Regents provided the double-digit increases the schools requested.  ASU freshmen received a 20 percent hike, to $9,716 a year. UA undergraduates stared wide-eyed at a 22 percent increase, and  NAU students found themselves facing an 11 percent increase. At the time, only two of the nine regents voted against the increases. Room-and-board costs can add an additional $10,000.

It’s doubtful these real-world issues factor with the over-paid Crow. Crow’s wife Sybil Francis is also on the ASU payroll as a six-figure ‘senior advisor.’ (Her precise salary is well hidden.) Here’s a review worth checking out: Crow’s annual salary of $475,000 plus benefits comes in at $742,500. There’s that $50,000 housing allowance to assist in maintaining their exclusive $1,250,000 Paradise Valley digs, and a nifty $10,000 yearly car allowance. The ASU Foundation on which his wife serves as a “senior advisor” to the group advocating her husband’s pay increases, kicks in an additional $100,000 annually in compensation. His yearly $85,500 pension and $22,000 in retirement, would round it all out nicely…but then there are the proposed yearly crank-up bonuses: 2013: Up to $40,000, 2014: Up to $40,000, and the major step-up in 2015: Up to $180,000 for exceeding benchmarks for freshman retention, research revenue, bachelor’s degrees awarded and transfer students.

Living high, Michael Crow doesn’t quite get the plight of struggling students. The faltering economy is not on his radar screen.  He and his wife are clearly not in danger of losing their Paradise Valley mansion to foreclosure.

The crushingly large tuition hikes were frozen going into 2012-2013 for the first time in 20 years. Given Michael Crow’s grand scale generosity to foreign national students, expect tuition and fees to soar again for Arizona‘s citizen students. The money will have to come from somewhere.

Staying safe: Advice from Janet Napolitano

Guns out!  Scissors in!

Arizonans know committed liberal Janet Napolitano all too well. Before she was appointed by Barack Obama as Chieftain of the Department of Homeland Security, she was appointed U.S. Attorney for the District of Arizona by Bill Clinton. With the assistance of name ID, Napolitano was then elected Attorney General, and finally Governor — by a slim 46% – 45% of the vote. It was a post the ambitious hobber and nobber abandoned mid-term in favor of her current Cabinet level position.

Now, the woman who warned us that “Returning veterans possess combat skills and experience that are attractive to radicalized right-wing extremists,” and refuses to call terrorism by its rightful name, is giving advice on the best method of staying safe during “active shooter situations.”

Her advice comes via an absurd video, reminiscent of the Federal Civil Defense Administration’s Duck and Cover film shown to 1950’s school children at the height of the Cold War. It gave advice on protecting themselves in the event of an atomic bomb explosion.

Napolitano’s previous advice is found in the “Run, Hide Fight” video that includes this bit of wisdom: “Sometimes bad people do bad things.”

This most recent video “Options for Consideration / Active Shooter” suggests choosing either cover or concealment, including hiding and knowing “help is on the way.” As a last resort, improvising weapons is suggested. The video actually shows a hand removing a pair of scissors from a desk drawer (1:52 seconds). This is in response to a crazed killer with a gun.

Feel better? Bet you’d feel even safer if there was an actual means of defending yourself. Scissors might not be up to the task.

Colo. Principal OKs “One nation under Allah”

Multiculturalism is a one way street

Tom Lopez, the principal at Rocky Mountain High School in Fort Collins, Colo. defends the action of the Cultural Arms club to recite the Pledge of Allegiance in Arabic. He says the club seeks to “destroy the barriers and embrace the cultures” that exist within the high school. Lopez says “We have a tremendous amount of diversity in our school.”

It would be interesting to know if anyone has taught these fledgling goodwill ambassadors to diversity that their grand vision is not realized in any Arabic/Muslim society, where women are repressed and tyrannical Sharia law is strictly enforced.

Do they know that although the building of Islamic mosques are celebrated with glowing news coverage here, new construction of Christian churches and Jewish synagogues are disallowed in  Muslim controlled countries. The churches that do exist are ancient, decaying tourist stops, and permission to repair them is denied by the Islamic Imams. There are no vibrant congregations.

Yet when parents expressed outrage, Lopez said he was getting “worn down” by the complaints and the sense of “hate” among some of the critics. “I’ve been shocked with prejudicial statements that have been made,” he said. ” I’ve been shocked with the lack of seeking understanding.”

On the school’s website under “History,“ it boasts: “Rocky has always been on the cutting edge in terms of innovations and new ideas. It’s the Lobo way.” Of particular interest is the fact that Rocky Mountain High School shockingly graduates its students with 120 credits –  far below the mandatory pre-college requirements of 170. (See page 13 of 34 in this report). The same report (page 15) advises students taking the ACT Prep College Admission test, “If you don’t know the answers…guess.”

Lopez would be wiser to incorporate more education and less innovation. Our future depends on it.

This disturbing video explains the dire situation.

Weekend reading guaranteed to make you smarter

In this recent column, Dr. Thomas Sowell takes on what he terms the moral superiority of liberals in several areas of society, including affirmative action, the destruction of the black family unit through the expansion of the welfare state and gun control.

As always, Thomas Sowell uses his words wisely and makes his points succinctly. This column, Liberalism Versus Blacks, is another quality offering from a brilliant mind.

We highly recommend it to you.

Weekend reading guaranteed to make you smarter

Routine visitors to Seeing Red AZ are familiar with the ongoing post titled “Weekend reading guaranteed to make you smarter.”

It’s been awhile since we last brought you the wisdom contained in the commentaries of established conservative columnists.  Today, there is a stand-out by one of our favorites, the brilliant Dr. Thomas Sowell. 

In “The Role of Educators,” Sowell explores the misuse of schools and the expanded role undertaken by many educators in creating a mindset that undermines American society.  This compelling article is a must read for parents, grandparents or anyone concerned about the future of this great country, and the lack of the concept of American exceptionalism instilled in our children.

Sowell writes: “In France between the two World Wars, the teachers’ union decided that schools should replace patriotism with internationalism and pacifism. Books that told the story of the heroic defense of French soldiers against the German invaders at Verdun in 1916, despite suffering massive casualties, were replaced by books that spoke impartially about the suffering of all soldiers — both French and German — at Verdun.

Germany invaded France again in 1940, and this time the world was shocked when the French surrendered after just 6 weeks of fighting — especially since military experts expected France to win. But two decades of undermining French patriotism and morale had done their work.

American schools today are similarly undermining American society as one unworthy of defending, either domestically or internationally.”

Do yourself a favor and read this brief but instructive commentary. You’ll be glad you did. Knowledge is power.

Truth or agenda? Which takes center stage at AZ Republic?

Editorial filled with wild distortions and blatant dishonesty

The far-left AZ República often plays fast and loose with the truth. Monday’s editorial titled Arming faculty shortsighted is a case in point.

There is never a deceptive maneuver too far afield for the radicals at the failing newspaper –  deeply committed to destroying conservative Republicans — as it slips its own surly bonds. The daily’s concerted effort to oust state Senate President Russell Pearce was aided by a partisan redistricting committee that wreaked havoc on legislative and congressional boundaries. Emboldened by its collusion with open-borders radicals, the newspaper then tried, in vain, to remove Republican Sheriff Joe Arpaio. Now the editorial board has Republican Arizona Attorney General Tom Horne in its sights.

The daily wasted no time blasting the NRA’s Wayne LaPierre for suggesting firearms trained personnel in schools in the wake of the horrific massacre of 6-and-7-years olds and their instructors, at a Connecticut elementary school.

The Republic pounced, “The outcry was immediate — LaPierre and his lobbying group were widely panned as insensitive, villainous fear-mongerers wholly out of touch with contemporary societal mores,” writing the idea was a “calculated, shrewd provocation meant to engender a knee-jerk response.”

Irrespective of the facts, the editorialist continues, “One of the quickest to react was Arizona Attorney General Tom Horne, who said each of our schools should train and arm its principal or another staff member. He called his idea the “golden mean” between the status quo and LaPierre’s extreme proposal. Horne’s endorsement strips this issue from LaPierre and the NRA and places it in the hands of Arizonans, and we now must confront the apparently legitimate possibility that soon, our school administrators will have to carry firearms.”

“…have to carry firearms?” Says who?

And more blatant deception: “Arming our faculty, however well-intentioned, is a disastrously short-sighted and irresponsible means of ensuring children’s safety.” After lamenting that the schools are under-funded due to budget cuts, they drop another lie bomb: “Now, those districts might have to find the money to train and arm administrators on top of that? That’s lunacy.”

Provocative?  For sure.  Truthful?  Not in the slightest.

The truth is that no one would be carrying a firearm. There would be an administrator or designee with access to a locked gun in case of an emergency.

The truth is that there would be no costs incurred. Currently, Sheriffs in Apache, Mohave and Pinal County have stepped up to offer free firearms training and suitability evaluations. Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio is weighing the idea of having some of his 3,000 posse members on the outer perimeters of schools. 

The truth is the programs would be completely optional.

And, did we mention Arizona’s Attorney General Tom Horne is the former two-term elected statewide Superintendent of Public Instruction, who previously chaired a school board, served as a pro tem judge, and graduated with honors from Harvard College and its law school ?

Listen as AZ AG Tom Horne speaks the truth:

All I want for Christmas …is Christmas

MLK, peace, friendship and anti-bullying replaces holiday program  

The long held tradition of a holiday production at Jordan-Jackson Elementary School in Mansfield Massachusetts is no more. Last year’s annual holiday concert drew complaints from some parents who objected to the religious nature of the show. So this year school administrators have scrapped the program, replacing it with an anti-bullying production — in January — to coincide with Martin Luther King Jr.’s birthday week. It will be called a winter concert.

“We certainly haven’t done away with Christmas in Mansfield,” claimed Brenda Hodges, superintendent of Mansfield Public Schools. “We just had a little change at that particular school because they had a big initiative on anti-bullying.”

She denied that complaints about religion had anything to do with the decision. “There were complaints, but if we make changes based on a half dozen complaints, I’d be changing every other day,” she said.

According to Hodges, the music instructors chose MLK week “because he was all about peace.” She said, “They wanted to make the theme around peace, friendship, kindness, be good to your fellow students, and accept differences and be supportive.”

Implausibly, to Hodges, the esteemed Christmas proclamation of “Peace on Earth, Good Will Toward Men” found in Luke 2:14, doesn’t fulfill that theme as well as the views of Martin Luther King — which were based in biblical teaching.

It would be folly to expect any yuletide carols at the January show. “They are not making it a Christmas holiday,” she said. “It’s about peace and friendship – not Jingle Bells.”

Check out the district’s report card including personal profiles required by the federal No Child Left Behind Act. Since administrators have that much information about the students, surely they know that the school’s 3rd – 5th graders would prefer to have a Christmas program.

For shame, Ms. Hodges.

CA teachers’ union brainwashes kids on “trickle down” economics

Teachers demonize success;  propagandize on behalf of leftist agenda depicting “rich” urinating on “poor”

The video, “Tax the Rich: An American Fairy Tale,” narrated by Ed Asner,  was recently released by the California Federation of Teachers, a far-left union.

Not only does the film intend to propagandize school children against “the rich,” it accuses them of all manner of sins, while defending every perk that the teachers’ unions have squeezed out of California’s over-burdened taxpayers.

Hollywood actor Asner, who is very rich, reads the narration, in which he repeatedly accuses rich people of not caring about others and therefore not paying their fair share of taxes. The video uses the “99%” language of the radical Occupy movement, claiming that the “one percent” caused the economic crisis and have paid virtually no taxes. The Heritage Foundation clearly illustrates the fact that “the top 10 percent of income earners paid 71 percent of all federal income taxes in 2009 though they earned 43 percent of all income.”

The wildly inaccurate video culminates with a scene which depicts “the rich” urinating on “the poor,” as a means of criticizing the “trickle down” economics that helped fuel the longest period of economic expansion in our nation’s history, during the 1980s and 1990s.

The blatant dishonesty is exacerbated by the fact that it was created by teachers — people who are charged with educating — not brainwashing — American children.

“We’re very proud of the video,” boasted union spokesman Stephen Hopcraft. He went on to claim, “If you’re threatened by it, you’d better take “The Simpsons” off the air, because this is pretty mild.”

The intentional misinformation campaign, stylized in a cartoon aimed at impressionable young minds was written and directed by California Federation of Teachers’ communications director Fred Glass. One point the video unmistakably demonstrates is that many of America’s government schools are in the grip of socialist propagandists (click on link) who care less for accuracy than for a far-left ideological agenda.

Asner, 83, a member of the Democratic Socialists of America, was a vocal supporter of Barack Obama. He has been active in the movement to free Mumia Abu-Jamal, convicted of killing a Philadelphia police officer.

Here is the crude, radical leftist Ed Asner asking a FOX news producer, “Can I piss on you?”