Saturday, August 11, 2018

Obama Foundation’s monumental rip-off

Thomas Lifson  "The Obama Presidential Center planned for Chicago is nothing more than a personal monument to Barack Obama and a center for political indoctrination in his radical views. It serves no public purpose the way that a presidential library would.  Obama’s presidential papers will not be housed there, and no scholars will be afforded the opportunity to explore the history of his presidency.
"And, this is receiving vast public subsidies, despite assurances that it would be privately funded.  Barack and Michelle Obama have been playing a major role in its design, in a fashion reminiscent of a dictator putting up monuments to himself in some third world country. As the revised design stands, it will look like a cenotaph bizarrely erected before the death and burial of its principal." . . .

Related:
Thomas Lifson: American Thinker cited in lawsuit against Obama Presidential Center
The complaint cites an "institutional bait and switch" because the original plan was for a federal entity to take possession of the land and build an Obama Presidential Library, which would be publicly owned and controlled.  That was the bait used to obtain priceless open park land that would be taken away from the citizens of Chicago.  The switch came when the presidential library plan was sidelined, and in its place was instituted a "presidential center" that would be under the control of a private foundation, with Barack Obama himself in a position to shape the center's planning, mission, and operations toward whatever ends he desires.

Illegal Immigrant Released by ‘Sanctuary City’ of Philadelphia Convicted of Child Rape

Legal Insurrection  A Honduras man who illegally entered the United States twice in the last decade was released by the “sanctuary” city of Philadelphia, which chose not to comply with a detainer lodged by Immigration Customs Enforcement (ICE).

... "In June, Philadelphia Mayor James Kenney was so happy about a ruling in favor of the city’s sanctuary status, that he did a little dance and high-fived his chief of staff. You may have seen the video:"



But after the above celebration...

. . . "U.S. Attorney William M. McSwain announced that Juan Ramon Vasquez, a citizen of Honduras, pleaded guilty today to illegal reentry after deportation. In May 2009, the defendant was deported from the United States. Thereafter, in March 2014, the defendant was found back in the United States by U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s Immigration and Customs Enforcement (“ICE”) officers. At that time, Vasquez was in the custody of the Philadelphia Department of Prisons.

"The City of Philadelphia thereafter chose not to comply with a detainer lodged by ICE for the defendant, who was instead released from custody by the Philadelphia Department of Prisons. After his release, the defendant was rearrested and convicted for rape of a child and unlawful sexual contact with a minor. The defendant is currently serving a sentence of 8 to 20 years in state prison." . . .
Kenney

. . . Just to be clear, Kenney assumed office at the start of 2016, two years after the rape occurred.  "Because the mayor continues to champion the kinds of policies that led to the child’s rape, however, he’s just as complicit as the city’s past mayors — if not more-so, since only God knows how many other rapes (and even murders) will occur at the hands of illegal criminals in the coming years."

Watch the Philly Mayor Literally Sing and Dance the News His City Is Still a Sanctuary City  . . . "Having sanctuary city status allows jurisdictions to refuse to cooperate with Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials. Liberal leaders on both coasts have used their sanctuary status to harbor illegal immigrants in their cities. On the East Coast, the NYPD and the N.Y. Department of Corrections reportedly ignored over 400 ICE detainers earlier this year. Meanwhile, Oakland, California Mayor Libby Schaaf even encouraged illegals to flee ICE raids. Her public warning allowed hundreds of illegal immigrants, some of whom had criminal records, to escape. A few of those individuals even committed new crimes." . . . 

Double Standards Week in Higher Education

Legal Insurrection   "The rules on campus are always changing and if you ignore them, sometimes there are consequences.
"Other times, there are no consequences.

That was a professor whom you saw striking the student! A professor!

"Otherwise, it’s just business as usual.
"Trump on campus.
"Women’s Studies updates…
"Higher education’s new religion.
"No diversity of thought is allowed.
"Creepy.
"Of course she does.

An adjunct professor asks: Are Millennials Educable?

Deana Chadwell blogs at www.ASingleWindow.com.  She is also an adjunct professor and department head at Pacific Bible College in southern Oregon.  She teaches writing and public speaking.
What does public education do?  Nothing.  I've been involved, either willingly or otherwise, in half a dozen educational reforms designed to fix our problems.  They all fail.  The solution lies outside the auspices of government and teacher unions.  The responsibility for educating our young has to start with the family.  It can easily blossom into private enterprise, charter schools, and school vouchers.  The homeschooling industry is thriving, and so are the students educated at home.
American Thinker  "Picture ten-year-old Johnny, his masculinity threatened on every level, his mental and physical energy denied expression, his home life hectic and unsupportive, his continued inability to read becoming more debilitating every year, and his boredom level off any available chart.  Imagine being him.  We know that his disadvantages will not be met in 5th grade any more than they were in 1st.  We know – looking at the recent educational studies – that in seven years, he will graduate, in much the same condition, if he graduates at all.  Given the odd assumption that graduation proves effective education and the pressure schools are under to up graduation numbers, he probably will walk away with a diploma, but it will be meaningless." . . .
. . . 
"This continues until high school when the problem just blows up.  Unless the district chooses to do what my district did: we "raised the bar."  You've got to love educational jargon.  We did this by:
1. Cutting out the "D" as a grade option – which merely inflated the grades.
2. Demanding that students turn in all assignments.  I know: this doesn't seem out of line, but most students miss an assignment now and then, and no one could see that a do-or-die turn-in policy only erased the ability to insist on due dates.  We couldn't legally fail a kid for being late on an assignment.  One of my students said to me one day, "Ah, due dates, schmue dates."  Kids were turning in papers months late, and we had to accept them.
3. Forcing kids into honors-level classes whether they are capable or not.  And then when too many began failing, the administration demanded that teachers dumb down the curricula.  Then the following year, students were assigned to the next level up, and they weren't ready to do the work, because the previous curricula had been so simplified.  That was "raising the bar.". . .