Terry Jones: The New Hero of Free Speech

April 22, 2011 Leave a comment

Terry Jones, a lunatic preacher who has made himself famous burning or threatening to burn Koran’s, was convicted by a Michigan court of threatening to incite violence in holding a protest outside a mosque. Jones has chosen jail over a $1 bond. I’m left wondering if this is America anymore. I don’t particularly like Jones speech, in my opinion the best way to lead Muslims to Jesus Christ is not by burning a Koran outside of a mosque. But in the United States we have a right to burn Korans, just like we have a right to burn a Bible.

If Jones proposed burning a Bible outside of a fundamentalist church you can rest assured that he would not be arrested for threatening to incite violence. You can rest assured that a jury wouldn’t be asked to determine what his intent is. So why is the Wayne County prosecutors office prosecuting Jones for threatening to burn a Koran? Why are we bending over backward to protect Muslims when we wouldn’t protect any other group? This is yet another example of social justice gone wild. Rather than apply the law equally, the state is protecting a group of people with unconstitutional laws that they’ll never use to protect anyone else.

Jones has a right to hold a protest outside of a mosque, so long as he isn’t on mosque property. Jones has the right to burn a Koran. Even if we don’t like this sort of protest or speech, it is protected by the Constitution. We don’t get to declare that Muslims might get violent and use that as an excuse to thwart free speech. If Muslims get violent over a Koran burning, perhaps there’s something wrong with them. In the United States people are free to burn whatever they want, including the Bible, flag and Koran. Muslims don’t get to dictate our law based on their violent tendencies or their threats of violence.

What this decision reflects a creeping of sharia law into the American courtroom. Muslims have demanded and received sharia law applied to them in much of Europe and in Canada. Demands have been made here in the US and a few courts have deferred to sharia law. Mind you sharia law requires women to be covered head to toe, allows for honor killings for women caught talking to men and so on. Is this really the sort of law we want applied here in the US? The Wayne County decision leads us towards sharia law because it places protecting the Koran above free speech.

Terry Jones is the new hero of free speech in America. The outrageous prosecution and conviction must be appealed and it must be overturned. We should not ban speech based on the violent tendencies or whining demands of Muslims or any other group. We must not sacrifice American values such as free speech to appease Muslims.

Filed under Free Speech Tagged with , , , , , , , ,

Michigan State Police Download Cell Phone Data At Traffic Stops

April 20, 2011 3 Comments

Michigan State Police have begun using a hand held device to download data off of cell phones during routine traffic stops. The ACLU (known in my home as the Anti-Christian Lucifer’s Union) is enraged and for a change I agree with them. The ACLU spends most of their time trying to keep God out of the public square, focusing their attention almost exclusively on Christians. Once in awhile the ACLU is correct, usually in situations such as this. The state police have no business demanding phones from citizens without a warrant or probable cause to believe a crime has been committed.

I am an attorney licensed in the State of Michigan. If any of my clients ask me, I will tell them not to hand their cell phone over to the state police when they’ve been pulled over for speeding. My advice is always to not say anything to the police. They’re entitled to your license, registration and insurance information but nothing else. They cannot force you to speak, they cannot search the trunk of your vehicle and they cannot download your cell phone numbers, messages, emails and photographs as a matter of course.

I would love to have one of my clients arrested for refusing to hand their cell phone over to a cop who pulled them over for speeding. If such a case hasn’t already been decided by the Supreme Court (I don’t believe this issue has gone there yet) I would love to have the case that works its way up there. I have a hard time believing that the Supreme Court is going to declare the state entitled to cell phone downloading at routine traffic stops. It would be one thing if the driver had an outstanding warrant or was suspected of committing a crime. But if we’re talking about Joe businessman driving 80 on the highway who gets pulled over, surely the state isn’t entitled to everything on his cell phone.

I do not have a cell phone, I find them to be irritating and unnecessary. However, let’s say an attorney has a cell phone and gets pulled over and the cop demands to download the contents. These days many attorneys communicate with their clients via email, suddenly attorney-client privilege will have been compromised. The same holds true for voicemail. It’s very easy to see where client privilege will be compromised by the state. The same thing could happen if the cops pulled over a doctor. There could be HIPPA violations if patient data or communications were downloaded by the cops.

The police are not entitled to the contents of your cellphone simply because you’re going 10mph over the limit. I’m sure the police will claim that they’re only downloading the cellphones of folks who they have probable cause to believe committed a crime. However absent a regulation or law preventing such use of downloading power I find it hard to believe that the police aren’t misusing their new downloading devices. Citizens must be made aware of this issue and people must refuse to hand their cell phones to the police without a warrant. Furthermore, Michigan residents ought to call their Legislator and demand a law be passed specifically banning the state police from downloading the contents of cell phones without a warrant. This is a matter of upholding the Constitution.

Filed under Michigan, Politics Tagged with , , , , , , ,

1/3 Of Wages Come From Government; Scott Walker Must Stand Firm

March 8, 2011 Leave a comment

Nearly 1/3 of wages in the United States come from government. Which of course means that the 2/3 of wages that don’t come from government are subject to massive taxation in order to come up with the money to pay off the third of the country living off the government. Of course the nation cannot afford this sort of wage disparity and we surely cannot afford the massive debt that Obama has given us over the last two years. Yet that doesn’t stop the Democrats from crying bloody murder over a measly $61 billion cut in government offered by the weakling Republicans.

Our nation cannot sustain the welfare state as it is currently constituted. Republican Governors like Scott Walker are trying to bring state budgets under control yet they face attack from those who are living off of the taxpayers. We all know about the teachers unions protesting in the streets of Madison, as though they are entitled to the fruits of taxpayers labors. Walker is facing stiff resistance, though it appears the Democrats are beginning to waiver. I would think that the unions would at some point tire of endless protests, just like they do when a private sector strike goes on more than a few weeks or months.

Walker is down in the polls right now, though not as far as the left would have us believe. Walker has hit the low 40′s, not much lower than President Obama. According to one poll if he ran today against his Democrat opponent in 2010 he would lose 52-47, exactly the opposite of his victory. I frankly don’t think this is a very impressive number, if Walker were so hated you would think he’d lose by much more. Walker isn’t in bad shape, in fact he’s in better shape than John Engler was in Michigan during his first term in the early 90′s according to former US Senator Spencer Abraham.

Engler tried to reform Michigan in the early 90′s by cutting taxes and government spending. The end result was massive protests from the welfare and government employee class. Democrats fought hard against Engler’s policies. In the end not only did Engler win the political battles in the state legislature but he beat entrenched Democrat insider Howard Wolpe in 1994 with 60% of the vote. He went on to win a third term in 1998. The fruits of Engler’s victories propelled Michigan to balanced budgets a business friendly environment. Michigan went down hill only after Jennifer Granholm replaced Engler.

Engler didn’t just take on welfare queens and the anti-business Democrat establishment. He also took on the teachers unions. In Michigan it is illegal for government employees such as teachers to strike. Prior to Engler teachers unions held taxpayers and students hostage by striking all the time. The school district where I lived saw strikes every three years because of the teachers union. Thanks to Gov. Engler, the teachers are no longer able to strike. This is good for taxpayers. It would be good for students if the government schools were actually capable of educating children.

The key though is that it is possible to take on the teachers union and win. Not just win the political issue when it comes up also but win the next election. If Gov. Engler can do it, so can Scott Walker as long as he holds firm. But holding firm is the key. Those of us who support Walker must let him know we back him. Even those of us who are out of state.

Filed under economy, Education, Michigan, Politics, Republicans, socialism, Taxes, unions Tagged with , , , ,

Why We Need Separation of Education and State

March 7, 2011 Leave a comment

The Detroit Free Press has an article today detailing cheating by teachers in state MEAP exams. What’s incredible is that so many Michigan students fail those MEAP exams despite cheating by at least 1-2% of teachers. Keep in mind here in Michigan the state recently admitted that they dumbed down the test to the point that on some portions 40% was a passing grade. Nearly half of Michigan 11th graders aren’t proficient in reading, math or science and two thirds aren’t proficient in writing. This despite cheating taking place at some schools. The teachers are so bad, they can’t even cheat properly.

Meanwhile in the Grand Rapids Press teachers are whining about being the scapegoat in politics. Apparently it’s unacceptable to hold teachers accountable for the poor job they do. They’re upset that state governments, particularly ones run by conservative Republicans, want to cut their pay and benefits. One teacher whines about how teachers are unemployed during the summer and that taxpayers just don’t understand that fact. I suppose it’s true, taxpayers don’t understand why teachers whine being ‘unemployed’ over the summer when they earn over $54,000 a year on average. Their benefits don’t go away during the summers either.

Teachers put themselves in the position of being scapegoat in two ways. First and foremost they became patrons of the Democrat Party by joining a government employee union. In doing that, they immediately became suspicious to Republicans and many independent voters. Teachers whine about not being respected by parents but when you’re part of an extremely vocal and extremely liberal union you can’t be surprised when conservative parents don’t like what they hear.

But the real problem for teachers is that they have spent a century telling parents to trust them with children. They’ve claimed to be experts and that their methods are proven and that professional teachers know what they’re doing. However the test results prove otherwise. The test results prove that over 80% of Michigan high school graduates aren’t prepared for college. Even in supposedly good schools, upwards of 60% aren’t prepared for college. MEAP scores prove that children aren’t learning basics, even with the test dumbed down to absurd levels. In short, teachers just aren’t doing a very good job. They blame everyone else, it’s parents, the administration, Republicans or school board. It’s never the fault of teachers.

Education is a service industry, even though the socialist government schools want to pretend that it isn’t. The fact is if customers aren’t pleased with the product produced, you can’t be surprised when they complain. In this case, taxpayers and parents are the customer and teachers are the ones producing the product. The test scores prove that the product produced just isn’t very good. I dare say the fact that the curriculums used, which are decidedly left-wing, also point to the poor product being produced.

In a free market, most of these schools would be shut down because no one would want to send their kids to a failing, horrible school. In the socialist government school system, most parents can’t afford to make a choice.  Think about it, would you send your kid to a school that can’t teach children how to read? Would you send them to a school that can’t produce graduates ready for college at even a 10% rate? Of course you wouldn’t. Yet the government schools demand more money, want to prevent schools of choice and they have the audacity to whine about being scapegoats when taxpayers and parents dare to complain about the shoddy product they produce.

In any other customer service industry if there isn’t good service or a good product people will first complain and then they won’t buy the product anymore. The socialist left will declare this can’t apply to schools and I must ask why not. Why should millions of children suffer with a subpar education to suit the socialists in the teachers union? Why should millions of parents be denied freedom of choice when it comes to their kids education? Why should taxpayers continue to fund a system that clearly fails? The left will scream that education is to important to leave to market forces. I say education is to important not to leave to market forces. American education is the perfect example of why socialism fails.

Filed under Education, socialism, unions Tagged with , , , , , ,

Wisconsin Schools Fail To Teach 8th Graders To Read

February 22, 2011 Leave a comment

Around two thirds of 8th graders in the Wisconsin government schools are not proficient at reading. This despite the fact that per pupil expenditures more than doubled over the last decade, reaching $10,791 per pupil. To put that in perspective, in 1998 Wisconsin spent $4,956 per pupil which if adjusted for inflation equals $6,546 2008 dollars. Meaning of course that Wisconsin taxpayers are paying $4,000 more per student than they did a decade ago. Yet the results remain the same, two thirds of 8th graders still can’t read. What’s frightening is that Wisconsin actually performs better than the national average. Only 30% of 8th graders in this country are proficient in reading.

Where has the money gone? Teacher salaries and benefits for starters. Teachers make more money than they let on and they earn tens of thousands in benefits. In Milwaukee the average teacher earns around $100,000 per year in salary and benefits. Teachers have seen their salaries increase dramatically over the past decade, not just in Wisconsin. Yet the results from the government schools are no better. In fact they’re often worse.

Here in Michigan only 19% of high school graduates are prepared for college. Over half of Michigan government schools produce graduating classes where less than 10% of students are prepared for college. In the Detroit government schools only two high schools graduated more than 1% prepared for college. Supposedly amazing Cass Tech could only produce 4.4% of graduates prepared for college. That hasn’t stopped the state from spending $10,000 or more per student in Detroit though. In the school district I live in, Rockford, only 26.4% of graduates are prepared for college. This despite the fact that the district spends $11,000+ per student and the school is considered ‘good.’

Nationwide the government schools only graduate 24% of students who are prepared for college. In Michigan it’s only 19%. This despite the fact that the government keeps throwing more money at schools. The more money available the worse the scores get or the more they stay the same. Wisconsin and Michigan aren’t much different, neither state has very good government schools. That of course doesn’t stop the demand for more money. The notion that more money or increased teacher salaries will somehow produce better results must fail based on the facts.

It’s time for people in the US to admit that the government schools just aren’t very good. What’s worse, they’re a waste of money. I believe in separation of education and state, meaning I believe government has no businesses getting involved in education. State involvement has resulted in pathetic test scores, terrible results and wasted money. For all the money taxpayers fork over for government education, it is an outrage that only 30% of 8th graders are proficient in reading. For those in Wisconsin, you shouldn’t feel very good about being 3 points above the national average. The government schools have failed to educate children and they have the audacity to take over the Wisconsin capitol and demand more money and more benefits.

Filed under Education, Politics, unions Tagged with , , , , , ,

Michigan Test Scores Absurdly Low, Texas School Forces Arabic On Students

February 8, 2011 Leave a comment

The State of Michigan is finally admitting that their government schools are a complete failure. Last year the state cheered as around 40% of 11th graders couldn’t read at a proficient level, nearly 70% couldn’t write and half were not proficient in math or science. Now the state is admitting that in order to be deemed proficient a student needed to only answer 40% of questions correctly. In other words, Michigan government school students score so low on MEAP tests that the state was padding the numbers. Still, nearly half of kids can’t pass, despite the padding.

Meanwhile a school district in Texas is going to have mandatory Arabic language and culture classes. The school district claims Arabic is the language of the future and it’s apparently important for students to know Arabic so they can compete for future jobs that do not exist yet. No seriously, the school district actually lists that as one of the benefits of their program. Only government would come up with such an absurd reason to push propaganda on children.

The government schools in this country are failing. Michigan’s pathetic test scores aren’t unique to Michigan. ACT and SAT scores from across the nation are down over the last 50 years. They would be down even more if those tests didn’t dumb down their exams. Colleges routinely complain that freshmen are unprepared academically for college. Students graduate from government schools unable to read and write and they graduate without a basic understanding of American history, much less math or science. Science that has a political bent to it the kids know all about (read: evolution, global warming etc). But real science, the school are failing. The test scores prove it.

So why then is a school district in Texas, and four others around the nation according to Mansfield’s web site, teaching children Arabic? I dare say they’re pushing yet another agenda in the government schools and using children as their guinea pigs. The far left, who has controlled government education from the beginning, has always believed that culture can be destroyed in one generation at the government schools. That has played out over and over again within the public schools in this country. In one generation children went from learning to read via phonics to learning to read via look-say. Look-say resulted in the millions of functionally illiterate and easily controlled adults in this country.

It stands to reason that the Arabic program is yet another assault on American culture. It would be nice if these students understood American culture and English before learning Arabic, Spanish or any other language or culture. Unfortunately, in most government schools English and American history are verboten. Positive connections with our history are discouraged by government educators. Negative connections are the focus of American history in these schools, or the topic is avoided. By focusing on and glorifying Arabic while ignoring American culture, the schools are teaching students that American culture isn’t important. This is of course their multi-cultural goal.

So I must ask this question to my Christian and conservative friends. Why are your children still in the government schools? Why do you continue to sacrifice your children to these godless liberals who are actively opposing everything you believe in? Your government school isn’t the ‘good one.’ There are no good government schools. The one ‘good’ teacher you think is at the public school cannot undo all of the bad things the other teachers have taught. How can you justify sending your kids to be taught by godless liberals for 6 hours a day?

Filed under Education Tagged with , , , , ,

Follow

Get every new post delivered to your Inbox.

Join 140 other followers