Public School Intolerance

(Columbus, Ohio) Take a look at this story:

Members of the Somali community are calling for peace between Somali and non-foreign students in Columbus Public Schools after students said a fight at Linden McKinley High School pitted Somalis against other African-American students, NewsChannel 4's Natalie Walston reported.

Apparently, the fighting has been occurring for several years and it exists throughout the school system. Officials are looking to form a task force to reduce the level of violence.

The cause of the whole circumstance is inexplicable. Since the tension is between two African-American student populations, it can't be racially motivated. And, since it's generally recognized that only white people are capable of intolerance, this can't be a case of intolerance. It also can't be a case of lack of diversity since everyone involved is African-American which would indicate total diversity.

Hopefully, a solution to the problem will be found before somebody gets killed.

More Columbus Interstate Shootings

A 30 to 40-year-old white man was spotted today firing a handgun at motorists on Interstate 71. Two vehicles were struck. Ballistic evidence is being examined. According to Franklin County Sheriff's Office Chief Steve Martin, the man is believed to be driving a small, dark-colored vehicle. A total of twenty-three shootings have been documented thus far, while eight have been linked through ballistics.

New York Times Book Review Called Sexist

According to this story in the Village Voice, Paula Caplan, a clinical psychologist, and Mary Ann Palko, a psychotherapist, conducted a study of back issues of the NYTBR and determined that the magazine has an anti-feminine bias. They found that 72 percent of all books reviewed were written by men and that men comprised two-thirds of the reviewers. Therefore, "the most influential venue in the publishing world showcases male authors and reviewers by an average of two to one."

The researchers judged the disproportionate number of male authors and reviewers to be demoralizing to women's psychological development.

For the New York Times to be accused of bias by some of its allies has to be considered unexplored territory. In defending the charge of bias in the Book Review, Editor Charles McGrath pumped smoke and, without providing a basis, said, "more books are written by men than by women." Pure hooey!

My take is that the Book Review should be edited by a woman to provide desired diversity. And, regarding the "demoralizing to women's psychological development" statement, it sounds like psycho-babble and definitely not provable.

Governor Wants Illegals to Have "Certificates" to Drive

(Knoxville, Tennessee) On Thursday, Tennessee Gov. Phil Bredesen introduced legislation to allow illegal aliens to receive driving "certificates" instead of driving licenses. With a "certificate" in their possession, illegals will be able to drive legally in the state of Tennessee.

Once you blow away the political smoke, this is just another case of a spineless politician catering to the illegal voting bloc. My take is that Gov. Phil Bredesen should be recalled or, if that's not possible, he should be voted out of office as soon as possible. Gray Davis didn't get away with it in California. Gov. Bredesen shouldn't be allowed to get away with it in Tennessee.

What is most troubling about the trend toward having non-citizens have driver's licenses or "certificates" is that it is a devaluation of United States citizenship. If a person can come to this country as a foreign national without a passport or visa and have the ability to drive legally, to attend public schools, to receive in-state tuition at universities, to buy and sell property, to receive welfare and emergency medical care, just what advantage is there to being an honest-to-goodness US citizen?

Do not be surprised if, sometime in the near future, US citizens pretend to be illegal aliens so they can reap benefits that are not available to citizens. One scenario that immediately comes to mind is the individual who has had his driver's license revoked. What prevents that person from claiming he is an illegal alien and requesting a driver's "certificate?"

Stolen Vehicles Going to Central America

According to this story, every year an estimated 200,000 stolen cars and trucks are driven across the border from the United States to Mexico and points farther south. Just doing the numbers, that equates to over 500 stolen vehicles per day, every day, vanishing across the border into Mexico.

Central American countries and Mexico "are beginning to see the totality of the problem," said Ralph Lumpkin, border operations director of the National Insurance Crime Bureau.

It's estimated that vehicle theft generates $8 billion per year which is paid by the American consumer, of course, in the form of increased insurance premiums.

My take is that as long as the US-Mexican border functions as no more than an international speed bump, there is nothing to prevent US citizens from continuing to have their pockets picked.

Snakes and Lizards Abandoned at Airport

(Grapevine, Texas) Customs officials found about a hundred, mostly venomous, snakes and lizards abandoned in a crate at Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport. Nine puff adders, seven Usambra mountain vipers and a green mamba were included. When opened, a number of the animals had already died. The crate came from Tanzania and was destined for a pet store in El Paso, but nobody came to get it.

Although officials stated that the importation of the animals was done legally, it sure seems that drop shipping of live animals is not a good practice.

Police Impersonator Pulls Over Real Cop

According to this story in the Toledo Blade, police impersonator Nicholas Douglas was on probation for a previous impersonation conviction when he stopped and detained off-duty Officer Michael J. Wilkinson. He was arrested Wednesday at his home.

What a complete bonehead.

Ohio Anti-Homosexual Marriage Bill Becomes Law

Yesterday, Gov. Taft signed into law the anti-homosexual marriage bill, making Ohio the 38th state to do so.

Priest Indicted for Marijuana

A Summit County grand jury has indicted Father Richard Arko on charges of cultivating marijuana, possession of criminal tools and possession of drug paraphernalia. According to the Akron Beacon Journal, Arko has been using and cultivating marijuana for the last ten years.

After his arrest, Arko was released on bond and subsequently suspended by the Cleveland Catholic Diocese. If convicted of the charges against him, Arko may be sentenced to two years in prison.

Blog Madness - Round Three Voting

Round Three voting has commenced and polls are open until Monday night. So, readers, take the time and go here to vote. Interested-Participant's opponent is Better Living Through Blogging who has a strong entry and is leading in the voting. Review both entries and select your preference. Thanks.

Professor Punished for Saying He's Catholic

(Kirtland, Ohio) In March of last year, student Alexis Linton, a pagan, complained to school officials that her philosophy teacher, Dr. James Tuttle, stated in class that he was a Catholic and his faith shaped his personal philosophy. In her complaint, Linton considered Dr. Tuttle's beliefs offensive and recommended he be given "counseling for tolerance." In an attempt to resolve the issue, Dr. Tuttle revised the course description to include a statement identifying himself as "a committed Catholic Christian philosopher and theologian."

None of this set well with James L. Brown, the Dean of Arts and Humanities at Lakeland Community College, who decided to punish Dr. Tuttle by reducing his course load and, thereby, his pay. Dean Brown would also "subject him to classroom monitoring by a fellow professor before reaching a final decision on whether to actually fire him." It's not clear why the dean decided to support the pagan over the professor.

In support of Dr. Tuttle, the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education (FIRE) has become involved and written a letter of protest to Lakeland Community College President Morris W. Beverage. In the letter, FIRE asserts that Dr. Tuttle's candor about his own philosophical beliefs should be praised rather than condemned and that they are directly tied to the course content. Therefore, what Dr. Tuttle did was more than appropriate. Lakeland has failed to respond to FIRE's letter.

A few things about this issue have to be considered. First, if the professor had been pagan and the student had been Catholic, I'm fairly confident that the Catholic student would have been told to change classes, drop out, go to another school, or something and the pagan professor would continue teaching unimpeded.

Second, Kirtland, the location of Lakeland Community College, has a history of religious intolerance. Some may recall reading that Joseph Smith and his Mormon faithful established themselves and resided in Kirtland for a while before being harshly sent on their way west.

Third, President Beverage and Dean Brown may be excused for their poor decision-making because of severe health problems. Both exhibit signature symptoms of lacking a spine. Additionally, they don't seem to be the type of managers who believe in supporting the people who work for them.

Fourth, Alexis Linton needs to rethink her "counseling for tolerance" statement concerning Dr. Tuttle. As this story has unfolded, she had a problem with Dr. Tuttle. Dr. Tuttle had no problem with her.

In final analysis, it appears that paganism finds Catholicism to be particularly offensive. And, it begs one question. When performing human sacrifices, are Catholics most preferred or least preferred?

[Update] SCSU Scholars posted on this story also.

Internet Voting Not Secure Says Pentagon

(Washington) Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz has decided not to use the Internet for casting votes of US citizens overseas. He stated that they could not "assure the legitimacy of votes that would be cast." The Secure Electronic Registration and Voting Experiment, or SERVE, has been studied by security experts who found that the system is too vulnerable.

"Internet voting presents far too many opportunities for hackers or even terrorists to interfere with fair and accurate voting, potentially in ways impossible to detect," the experts said in a written statement issued Jan. 21. "Such tampering could alter election results, particularly in close contests."

My take is that this is a wise move. It's foolish to trust the Internet to be totally secure for anything as important as an election. After all, how could one guarantee the quality of the stew if hundreds of millions of people have access to the kitchen?

Study: Overweight People Eat More

(Atlanta, Georgia) Yesterday, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) released the results of research conducted to determine why Americans are overweight. Surprise! Surprise! The findings indicate that Americans are eating more than previously.

It's currently unclear as to how many millions of taxpayer dollars went into this discovery. Also unclear is the amount of taxpayer funds currently allocated to research in finding the cause of starvation. Current speculation is that starvation, as with excess weight, may be strongly correlated to eating.

Made-Up Cows Disqualified from Ohio State Fair

The Ohio State Department of Agriculture has disqualified three livestock exhibitors at last year's Ohio State Fair for putting hairpieces on their Holstein cows. Kreg and Kenneth Krebs of Fredericksburg and Scott Long of Clayton, Mich., may have to give back their winnings.

One has to wonder just how closely were the cows looked at when they were judged.

'Marriage Defense' Bill on Gov. Taft's Desk

While the Massachusetts Supreme Court seems to be lobbying for their own homosexual marriage bridal registry design, the Ohio Legislature has forwarded to Gov. Taft the bill to prevent courts from forcing state government to accept gay marriages or same-sex civil unions from other states. He is expected to sign the bill into law soon.

One can expect that nightly television images of the beaming smiles of Massachusetts same-sex couples will soon be replaced with particularly puckered grimaces from the Ohio homosexual advocacy.

Trackback to Beltway Traffic Jam at OTB

Second-Grader Suspended for Saying "Hell"

(Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania) According to this story, Brandy McKenith, 7, was suspended from school for telling another student that he would go to hell for saying, "I swear to God." The Pittsburgh Public School System has a profanity code and, although they don't define what is profane, saying the word "hell" constitutes a basis for suspension.

This seems to be a bit of overkill. Surely the school system could have resolved their perceived problem without the story being emblazoned on the nation's newspapers.

Clarett Ruled Eligible for NFL Draft

(New York) U.S. District Judge Shira Scheindlin decided that Ohio State running back Maurice Clarett should be allowed to enter the April National Football League draft because the league's rule violates antitrust laws. Clarett filed suit last summer and, if the decision is not appealed, the judge's ruling would allow teenage football players to turn professional.

Privacy Law Prevents Gun Background Checks

Under the concealed-carry gun law signed by Gov. Taft, people who have been committed to mental-health facilities are to be denied permits. However, sheriff's department investigators are only able to determine if a person has been committed to a facility when it was done in accordance with a court order. There is no way to determine the number or names of those committed by a family member or guardian due to the privacy provisions of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA). As federal law, all hospitals, clinics and other health-care providers are prohibited by HIPAA from releasing patient medical records.

The number of people involved is not insignificant. About 200 people have been committed to state mental hospitals in Ohio without a court order. Private facilities house an additional 3,000 beds, but no patient information is shared so it's unknown how many of those beds are even occupied. So, at any conceivable time, a few hundred, a thousand, or more Ohioans could be authorized to carry concealed weapons after having been committed to a mental institution.

The Ohio Attorney General's office is reviewing the concealed-carry law and how HIPAA affects it. Of note is that neither of the adjacent states of Kentucky and Indiana have access to private patient records, but do deny permits to those ruled mentally ill by the courts.

The Ohio concealed-carry law goes into effect on April 8th, but applications for permits will probably not be accepted before June. In the interim, rules and procedures governing the permit process will be established.

Fetal Homicide Bill

After 20 years of debate, the State Legislature of Kentucky is getting close to passing a bill defining fetal homicide as a crime. House Bill 108, sponsored by Rep. Bob Damron, D-Nicholasville, would make intentional fetal homicide a crime from the point of conception, but it does not attempt to define a fetus as a person. The House voted on the measure last Friday and it passed 88 to 5. It now goes to the Senate for consideration. Classified as an emergency bill, it would become effective as soon as it's signed by the governor.

Considering that a similar bill, sponsored by Dick Roeding, R-Lakeside Park, was passed in the Kentucky Senate last week by a strong majority of 31 to 6, there is substantial momentum to have a law enacted. In the words of Rep. Stan Lee, R-Lexington,

"It is time in this state that we give unborn babies the same protection that we give cats and dogs."

Of note is that legal abortions are not considered to be fetal homicide.

Philadelphia's 76ers Pull Boner

One of the ways the Philadelphia 76ers celebrate Black History Month is to honor prominent African-Americans for outstanding contributions to the Delaware Valley community. Selected to be the honoree for a "Community All-Star Award" was Shamsud-din Ali, a politically connected Muslim cleric. Unfortunately, general office personnel haven't been keeping abreast of current events.

Ali and his wife, Faridah Ali, 55, the director and assistant director of Sister Clara Muhammad School, have been under federal investigation for three years for allegedly hiring no-show teachers for non-existent classes for an adult basic-education program funded by the Community College of Philadelphia, according to sources.

A federal indictment is expected very soon.

OOOPS!