The Bee had a feature piece this morning about the little talked about Proposition 81, a $600 million dollar proposed bond initiative to renovate libraries.

This is one of those propositions where it would seem you would have to be terribly cruel hearted to vote No. After all, everyone (well, most everyone) likes libraries and recognizes their value. (more…)

I just wanted to let everyone know that I have just started a blog of my creative writing. It only has a few poems right now, but I plan to be working on it a good bit this summer. Please check it out and leave some comments. I’m very new to blogging, so if anyone has any suggestions or tips, I would appreciate them. Also, if ACYU could link to the blog, that would be great. However, since the material isn’t political, I don’t know if that would be feasible. At any rate, I hope you enjoy it.

The address: http://www.lukelandtroopcairn.blogspot.com

By now you would think I am used to this sort of Leftist propaganda employed to indoctrinate our young children and remaining uncorrupted youth. It seems they are packaging BS in colorful, short, and especially dangerous children’s books now, which, if you think about it, is quite horrific. (more…)

The Concerned Women of America has a piece out today about the United State Senate’s continued failure to pass the Child Custody Protection Act. The bill would make it a crime to transport a girl across state lines for the purpose of evading parental notification and consent statutes in their home state.

It really baffles me why the Senate is failing to act. Most conservatives have been none too pleased with some of the Senate’s actions over the last couple of years, and they will be unwilling to support Republican nominees for Congress unless this changes. And this would be the perfect opportunity for the Senate to prove itself to the social conservative base. (more…)

Thanks once again, Dave, for taking time to read and comment on my piece, “What’s So Great About Democracy?”  I hope to elucidate my views as fully as I can in this reply to your comments.

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I know I am a little late on this, but on Friday a liberal Superior Court judge unilaterally invalidated the California High School Exit Exam for the class of 2006.

This is unfortunate for everyone involved.  The 90% of students who have passed the 9th Grade English and basic Algebra exam will now hold greatly devalued diplomas.  The 10% who have not passed will not get the education they need, and will be in for the shock of their lives when they cannot land a decent job because they lack the basic skills needed for life.  And this is perhaps worst for California’s school accountability.  If the exit exam is ultimately abandoned, teachers will have no reason to actually teach students the standards.  They can revert back to the practice of social promotion, giving out A’s like candy.

But anyway, I have talked about this plenty already.  If you want to see more of my comments on the Exit Exam, see this and this.  You can also see my analysis of the legal case brought against the exam that ultimately lead to this ruling.

But this is what has really got me fired up about this ruling: If the CAHSEE is invalid because not all students receive the same quality education, then why aren’t all exams invalid? (more…)

I decided to write a little piece on nuclear power. Turned out to not be so little. I hope you will bear with me. Here is the introduction, just the basic way a nuclear reactor works. Part 2, coming soon, covers Chernobyl.

Nuclear Power; The words themselves bring to mind a seemingly failed promise of unlimited energy, along with still fresh images of smoldering meltdowns and radiation spills. Yet, despite this climate of fear surrounding it, nuclear power is still the most viable source of energy for the developed nations of a world entering the 21^st century. The idea of inexpensive, abundant energy to meet and exceed the growing demands of an increasingly energy dependant world is not simply a fantasy to dream about; it is a reality, made so by nuclear energy.

This report intends to inform readers of the facts about nuclear power, and dispel the common legends surrounding it. Through nuclear power, America can lessen its dependence of foreign oil, reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and guarantee a reliably source of energy for future generations. Despite the common perception, nuclear power is a viable, attractive option. Instead of relying of the whim of foreign oil companies for our energy needs, nuclear power can be harnessed to allow America to control its own energy destiny. Rather than continue to contribute to pollution through tradition fossil-fuel energy sources, nuclear power can provide a zero-emissions solution. Finally, with abundant supplies of nuclear fuel, nuclear energy offers the tantalizing promise of dependability for this and future generations. (more…)

Is it just me?  Am I the only one who gets leery when hearing about “spreading democracy over the world”?  This is supposed to be a ‘conservative’ mission, as put forth by our President and his advisors, but is it?

This idealistic phrase smacks strongly of utopianism, which is a fundamentally liberal outlook.  While conservatism has its own idealistic side, namely that the government will stay out of our pocketbooks as much as possible and will uphold traditional morality, it has always been the pragmatic side of the politcal spectrum.  The very word ‘conservative’ implies a pre-occupation with the way things are, not the way they should be.  Rather than pursuing some starry-eyed vision of an ideal society of equality, diversity, and tolerance, conservatives focus on finding innovative solutions to situations at hand without compromising liberty.  But with the rise of the so-called neo-conservatives, that seems to have changed.  This movement foresees a world dominated by a U.S. hegemony, overseeing the creation of many prosperous ‘democracies’, that is third world and Middle Eastern nations remade in the American image, or at least what the neo-cons think of as the American image.  The neo-conservatives’ golden opportunity to implement their radical policies came with the occurrence of the September 11th tragedy.  However, their premises are basically flawed in that the fail to realize that America’s unique system of government is not just a body of easily transferable political philosophies and procedures, but is based on centuries of Western thought, Judeo-Christian beliefs, and predominantly British cultural and political influences.  To seet to transmit our political system to nations which lack our cultural values is folly. (more…)

An update on the students who were suspended from their public schools last week for wearing anti-homosexuality T-shirts. This comes from The Pacific Justice Institute, which is representing the students:

Sacramento, CA—Several students in Sacramento-area high schools have been suspended for peacefully expressing their religious beliefs. The problem: those beliefs opposed homosexuality, which was being promoted during last week’s Day of Silence. (more…)

If you were listening to the vast majority of the mainstream media today, you would have thought that the world ground to a halt when Illegal immigration activists cut school and work today.

For example, KCRA spent probably a good one half to two thirds of their 6PM news hour discussing the protests.  They treated it nearly as extensively as they would an election, sending one of their anchors to the street and dispersing reporters to protest sites throughout the region.    At the end of the newscast, Dave Walker asked viewers to tune in at 11 to see “the impacts the boycotts are already having on the US economy.” (more…)