A government-takeover of healthcare at any cost. With this singular mission, House Democrats are moving swiftly — as early as next week — to send the Senate government-run healthcare bill to President Obama for enactment — and may do so by avoiding a vote on the actual bill in a futile attempt for political cover.

"Under current law, workers who earn a salary pay a flat tax of 1.45 percent of their wages to support the Medicare Hospital Insurance (HI) trust fund, but those who have substantial unearned income do not, raising issues of fairness,"

Simply put, Horse Hockey, Everyone who works puts in 7.2 percent of their wage into Federal funds, with the employer matching the other 7%.  There can be nothing more fair than that, since that goes from floor sweeper to CEO.  

"says the summary. "The Act will include an additional 0.9 percentage point Hospital Insurance tax for households with incomes exceeding $200,000 for singles and $250,000 for married couples filing jointly."

More horse hockey, since I have rarely met a blue collar worker who was pulling down 200k a year.  When I was working at my last job, my wife and I, together, just pulled down 75k, and that was with a lot of overtime.  I don't begrudge people who work hard, their higher salary, that's just a fact of life.

"In addition, it would add a 2.9 percent tax for such high-income households to unearned income including interest, dividends, annuities, royalties and rents (excluding income from active participation in S corporations)."

Umm. let's see: Interest, dividends, annuities,royalties, and rents.  So, they want to tax you for the interest on any loan you make to someone else, but they won't tax big banks for the same interest.   Or is that taxing the 5-10% interest you have on a loan that you take out?  That sounds stupid, but then this is, "Tax and spend Obama."
Dividends - They're going to tax the corporations for the dividends that they pay out and tax you for the money that you get from dividends?  That sounds like double taxation.  
Annuities - They are going to tax people for the settlements they get from accidents and retirement payouts?  This isn't fair.  
Royalties - So screenwriters and authors will be taxed this ontop of what they get from the publishing house, which they already have to report?  Or is this royalty on oil-leases?  Which are already taxed as well.
Rents - Dude, the owner of the rental property already pays taxes, it's called property taxes, most of his remaining rent goes into maintainence and revitalization.  The owner only gets to keep a small amount to live on.  

This administration really needs to stop this tax, tax, tax, mentality and do something novel, I don't know, how about killing the entitlements and making people take care of themselves?

     Every now and then, I come across an article that makes me feel like crying.  This one, is no different. 
    There are a few things that made me think about what I'd read.  I'll start with this:

     "American business is about maximizing shareholder value," said Allen Sinai, chief global economist at the research firm Decision Economics. "You basically don't want workers. You hire less, and you try to find capital equipment to replace them."

     We've come so far from a country where every persons dream was to make a good living, and businesses existed to serve the community and maybe make a little profit.  Have we become so damned greedy that we just have to make a killing, and to hell with the little guy?  You can blame it on my mindset, but the first duty of every business should be service.  You have to have a client base to serve, in order to make money, but with today's shareholders, it's all about the shareholders.  Here's a question:  If nobody can afford to buy stocks, then who will the shareholders be?  Will it be only the rich people who already have more money than they know what to do with?

     Ms. Eisen -- who has never before struggled to find work -- feels a familiar pain each time she scans job listings on her computer: There are positions in health care, most requiring experience she lacks. Office jobs demand familiarity with software she has never used. Jobs at fast food restaurants are mostly secured by young people and immigrants.

     The telling thing that might have slipped by you, is "Immigrants."  I'm willing to bet that most of those immigrants are illegal, and get paid under the table.  I might be wrong, but if I am, then I am.  However, I think we should close the gates and start turning people away.  Why should we bring immigrants to do jobs that Americans now will give their eye teeth to get?  Could it be that the US Chamber of Commerce wants those people that will work for half of what an American will work for, just to make a few extra bucks?  Or could it be that the hispanic caucus, the same people that want illegals to come over, really want to sink our country?   Think about it, Mr. or Mrs. Owner; if I can't afford to come visit your store, or eat in your restaurant, and you start losing customers, then how are you going to make money? 
     This has been going on for some time, as the many empty building in towns and cities will attest to. 

      And to top this crisis off, the liberals in DC, just don't understand Economics.  They are trying to push for yet more taxes on fuel, on food, on clothes, on carbon dioxide, and on Health care insurance.  Haven't they ever heard of the old adage, "The easiest way to bring in revenue is to lower taxes."  I'm betting that if they have, they don't believe it.  Instead, they are sticking it to the rich, and forgetting that it's the rich that hire people.  Who do you think builds yachts for the rich, or cars, or TV's, or clothes?  That's right, the middle class, but the liberals seem to want to drive all the rich people into other countries, just like they've already done to a lot of businesses, such as steel mills, computer plants, and customer service. 

     Personally, I think it's time to flush all the sewage out of DC and bring in common folk, who know how to solve problems.  So, far, this President and congress doesn't impress me at all.

In order to follow along, the original article is here.

"It's a high-stakes situation for him more than anybody else," said Gerald Shea, the top health care adviser for the AFL-CIO. "If the judgment is either that it's a political farce, or if it fails to move the ball forward significantly ... that would be very damaging to the issue and to him."

Now, why does the AFL-CIO need a top health care adviser?  Let me rephrase that, why does the Union of all Unions, an organization that is supposed to represent the common working union member, even need a post with the title of "Top Health Care Adviser?"  And why is this person speaking out  and rooting for the President of the United States? 
The Unions already have pushed up the wages of Union workers and tied it directly to the minimum wage, they've already supposedly set up retirement funds, and employer bought healthcare for their workers, so why do they need to advise the President on anything?  Could it be because they want to foist off the pensions into the social security system, and the healthcare into a new government controlled system, and keep the union dues for themselves? 

"Obama has two main goals. One is to show the American people that the Democrats' health care plan is reasonable, and much of its complexity reflects the sprawling nature of the insurance system. The other is to argue that lockstep Republican opposition is not reasonable and could spoil a historic opportunity on a problem that concerns all Americans."

How come it concerns all Americans, and it's only in his mind?  The latest poll numbers show that 80% of voters like the healthcare they have.  This 20-30million people he keeps citing, are illegal immigrants, who don't need to be leaching off of the taxpayers, and people from 20-30 years of age, who don't have the discipline to buy their insurance, but spend money on shiny new toys. 

Why does the government think it's their business to take care of people?  After all, it's not in the Constitution at all.  The only things they have to do, is protect the borders, and pay for the armed forces, and provide the occasional guiding hand.  Nowhere in the Constitution does it say that Health care is a right. 

So, why is he so fired up to add yet another stupid illegal program?  It might be because once it passes, he can tax your health care plans, in addition to your wages, that is, unless you're a union worker, then you won't get taxed for that. 

If Obama had any sense at all, he'd let this drop and work on something else. 

"When a person exchanges freedom for security, they deserve neither."  Benjamin Franklin is attributed with this statement, and it is true.  When you pay someone to protect you, instead of protecting yourself, you give up your freedom. 

This even goes to the internet.  While I don't deny the government it's right to protect it's data from breaches, and business' theirs, it is not up to the government to take over the internet.  Each company should be responsible for protecting itself.  Just like each person should be responsible for doing the same. 

Putting the NSA and the FCC in charge of the internet is like putting Google in charge of all the browsing, or putting apple in charge of all the computer manufacturing.  I don't think that putting any government agency in charge of the internet is good idea, because as governments change, so do agencies, and if the President can give an order to shut it down, then there goes freedom.  The FCC shouldn't oversee it either, because they already control TV and Radio, they don't need to control the last free bastion of press. 

I'm not denying that President Obama is an intelligent man.  What I am in doubts about, is his common sense (Or wisdom.)  

To me, President Obama comes across as insincere because he's quoting from the teleprompter.  It's true that he's a great orator, but there's more to life than reciting lines from a machine.

As a politician, a man or woman should have equal parts intelligence and wisdom, and President Obama seems to be lacking Wisdom.

I'll give you three examples.

1) The So called Terror Trials.
  Intellectually, I agree that these people deserve the right to face their accusers, and experience justice for what they've done.
  Common sense suggest that since they were carrying out terrorist activities against civilians, (And in the case of G'Mo prisoners, against the military,) they shouldn't get civilian or criminal trials.  They should get military tribunals and face military justice.  
   You also should not hold them in state or federal prisons, where they can talk to fellow inmates, or put communities at risk.  Guantanamo Bay prison is the most secure place on the planet, the only place more secure would be a space station or on the moon.  You want terrorist out of sight and in a place where fellow terrorist can't get to them.

   President Obama isn't wise enough to understand this.

2) If you want to stimulate jobs, lower taxes.

   President Obama has been indoctrinated in liberal politics.  He knows intellectually that taxes pay for programs, so he raises taxes on everything.

   Common Sense, on the other hand, proves that people that get to keep more of their money, tend to spend enough to stimulate the economy.  For those in DC, this means: The more money I get to keep, the more money I will go out and spend on things like books, cars, DVD's, TV's, and Electronics, which stimulates the manufacturers to build more, which means they might have to hire more people, who will pay taxes.

3) Social Programs = slavery.

   Like most liberals, President Obama knows that the more people you can make indebted to you, the more people will vote for you.  This one, he's got down pat.  The only downside, is that President Obama is himself owned, by the lobbyists, the unions, and his political contributers.  

    Common sense says that if you are a slave, you can only have one master, and it won't be you.  There is an old saying that makes perfect common sense, "Give a man a fish, he eats for a day, teach him to fish, he eats for a lifetime."

In a direct violation of the 2nd amendment, and in total disregard for freedom, the Austin Police Department shut down a gun show at the Market Center in Austin.  One policeman told the attendee's of the gun show that the BATF had ordered them to shut down a gun show, and that trading guns and selling guns was illegal and that under the "Crackhouse" statute, The Kroger Corporation, the people who had sponsored the gun show, was ordered to cease and desist any and all gun sales.

This is so much damned crap.  There is no such thing as the "Crackhouse" statute, and under the second amendment of the United States Constitution, we, the people, have the right to own and carry guns for self defense, and in case of emergency. 

The BATF, or Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco and Firearms has been caught in this lie, and has itself violated the 2nd amendment.  If the American People don't stand up for themselves, they might one day find themselves living as slaves in their own country.

For those who do not know, the founding Fathers created the 2nd amendment because they lived under a tyrant king that sought to divest them of weapons, and realized that only by having firearms could they hope to defend themselves from an overpowering and tryannical government that tries to make slaves out of them. 

Under Federal Law, the BATF cannot step in and tell states how to run their own government, and Texas is an open carry state. 

So, your choice is clear, live free, or live as a slave to DC.  It's up to you.

The business decision of several cruise lines to resume trips to Haiti, despite the fact that it just experienced a magnitude 7.0 earthquake, could be seen as a callous one.  But it could also be seen as trying to help people and deliver supplies.

My only problem with this, is that the people of Haiti that were hit with the earthquake don't have homes anymore, and they are digging people out of the ground.  Perhaps a good idea to raise the public opinion of the cruise lines, would be if they parked three ships in the harbor and offered the homeless people a place to stay, or a place to take hot showers, as well as offer them food.  For a company that makes millions of dollars a year, this would be good PR.

Thomas Sowell had a good article today...and I agree with most of it, and have the following to add.

Nobody is due anything.  Most of all, Republicans.  In this next election cycle, people must earn their high post, and that means turning against Obama, against health care plans, against Unions, and against Newpapers.  

Those who run this next cycle must be brave enough to stand on their own merits and not be afraid to call a cat a cat.  In short, the political correctness must go away.  They must be brave enough to say the following.

1) Language - English is the official language and anyone that wants to live here must learn the language.

2) Borders - We have set borders and we will not accept encroachment on our sovereign space.  We will defend the borders and will protect our people.

3) Customs - America is a land of opportunity and we will take the good from any immigrant, but not the bad.  This is the land of tacos, chop suey, kraut dogs, and kidney pie, just within the block from each other.

4) Islam is a death cult.  This is the truth, and we will never accept sharia law in our country.  In our country, women are safe, girls can date who they want, and we are free.  There will be no escaping murder here.

5) We will help anyone, anywhere, at any time, but the price for that, is to stop badmouthing us when we do help.  We have never asked anything in return for our help, but it's time we start, and that price is friendship.  

6) A balanced budget - If we can't overdraw our checking accounts, neither can you.  If you don't have the money for it, don't do it.  It's as simple as that.  We will not go broke to pay for your grand schemes.

7)  It's time to end racial quotas.  If you can't get something based on merit, then try something else.  This playing the race card is getting old and we are tired of it.  This is a land of opportunity, and everyone has the same chance, you don't get a leg up just because of your skin color.  


8) It's time to kill political correctness.  So far, being PC has gotten us a bad case of scaredy cat syndrome.  We are afraid to tell a women she looks beautiful, doctors are afraid to tell people they are fat and need to diet, women are afraid to call a man a stalker, and we are afraid to draw a picture of mohammed carrying a bomb.  This is a land based on freedom of speech and anytime you hobble free speech, you lose the debate.

9)  It's time to grow up and act like adults.  This means that republicans and democrats have to be held accountable for their speech, and adults don't scream at each other and point fingers, they admit their mistakes and move on. 

10)  The time for unions is over.  Unions have become monopolies that leech life out of the economy.  When a union can dictate how an employer treats his employees, and how much they make, and what health care they get, then there is no reason to own a business.  Unions need to get out of politics, and that won't happen until elected officials stop taking money from them.  Keep in mind that who buys you, owns you.  This means also telling the union no when they want forced card checks and forced unions in people's businesses.

11)  Repeal the campaign finance reform law.  Let people donate money to whom they wish, and as much as they wish.  This will keep the unions out of it, and will let the people feel that they've still got some say in their officials.

12)  Term Limits.  If two terms is good enough for a president, then it's good enough for a congressman.  There's no reason why you should be allowed to stay in office until you die in that chair.  Every once in a while, it's good to have fresh blood in an organization because it brings new ideas.

13)  Confine the Supreme Court to just interpreting law.  That's their function, they don't make law.  So far, they've made law and it sucks.  The supreme court gave us Roe V Wade, and now we kill babies instead of putting them up for adoption.  12 people in black robes are not gods, they aren't our rulers, and we don't bow to them.  It's time to clean house and put people with common sense in that building.

14)  Terrorists aren't our friends and they don't deserve our justice.  By giving them our rights, you are telling them that they blow up a building, they get what they want.  All they deserve is a bullet in the back of the head and a burial at sea.  Enjoy swimming with the fishes. 

15)  No more muslim brotherhood in America.  Anyone with ties to terrorists, terrorists states, and cartels, get a one way ticket to hell.  Any mosque that preaches hate should be shut down and their clergy arrested.  If you are going to go after Christians just for saying that Homosexuality is a sin, then you should also go after the Muslim that kills innocent people, beats his wife, and keeps her trapped at home.

This is what it's going to take to win an election.  Stand up, have some balls, use your brains, and don't just point your fingers at the other guy and tattle.  If I had money, I'd run just to put you career nitwits in your place, and this would be my campaign platform. 

As a writer, I try to be clear and concise, and always try not to invent words, or overuse other words.  After years of listening to this one word, I have finally had enough.  I am sick and tired of all the "gates."  I'm tired of Whitewatergate, Bankergate, Food for scandal gate, Climategate, etc, etc, etc.  Nothing irks me more than hearing a scandal referred to as "somethinggate."  It shows a lack of creativity, and a certain laziness. 

For those not in the know.  Watergate was named after the famous WaterGate hotel in DC, where the what would now be a 527 group, like the Swift Boat Vets for Truth,  broke into the Watergate office complex and stole plans from the Democrat parties election office.  Since then, Whatevergate is supposed to confirm a scandal and make it look bad, however, just calling something a gate doesn't do anything but make the writer look stupid. 

If you are trying to scandalize someone, you should have concrete proof, then you can write, show the proof, and then call it something else.  Instead of Bankergate, call it, "The Banker bailout scandal." 

End of rant.

On December 24th, 2009, the United States Senate gave the American People a present that nobody wanted.  No, that's not entirely true, because liberals all over the country had shivers up their legs and were worshipping at the altar of Obama.  After reading this article, I couldn't help but wonder if the Democrats have become the new tyrants on the block, taking their place right beside Hugo Chavez, Anwar Sadat, and Chairman Mao. 

Not only are the Democrats trying to rush this through, but they are excluding the conservative and republican members of the house and Senate.  By setting up a three way talk between the House, The Senate and the White House, the democrats are completely ignoring what the electorate wants.  In addition to that, if this bill becomes a law, then the democrats will have become tyrants and in one pen stroke, will have closed the book on the great experiment of democracy and the republic.  How so, you ask?  It's because the constitution actually prevents the government from making the mandates that this bill calls for.  Nowhere in the Constitution does it say, that you have to have insurance, or go to jail. 

Certain conspiracy theorists have figured out that this bill is just a way for the unions to get a foothold in the health care profession and force unionization of every hospital in the states.  They have also bribed almost every blue dog democrat in order to get votes for this monster of a bill.  Those they haven't outright bribed, they've extorted, and threatened.  Actually, this is more like Al Capone running the Senate, rather than civilized people. 

Do we want the Healtcare system to be run like the teamsters union?  Do we really want to further drive up the cost of healthcare, by forcing hospitals to overpay employees that don't work, or only do half-arse work?  Do we really want to go to a hospital where the incompentant work and can't be fired, because they have a union?

I guess the real question is: Do we want to become the Soviet Russia?  If the answer is yes, then do nothing.  If the answer is no, get ready to vote every single congressman and Senator out of office and start all over from scratch.

The only other alternative is the one that radicals use, and I will not endorse storming Washington with a gun and taking people out.

On December 25th, a terrorist literally fizzled in his pants while trying to blow up an airliner.  In the wake of that near disaster, President Obama has announced new rules for Airline Screening.  (as seen here.)

To be honest, the pat downs might work, as might merging both suspect lists, but the only true way to end terrorism, is to listen to the people who come forward and give warnings.  Yet another way to possibly put a stop to terrorism is by educating Muslim populations, and by trying to reform Islam into the 21st century.  When Wahabist schools teach Muslim students the tenets of hate, and they have no other viewpoints, all you get is hate.

The young man that tried to blow up the plane had written that he was lonely and nobody would be his friend.  Unlike most religions, Islam teaches that a Muslim can not be friends with a person of a different faith, and sometimes not even with people of their own faith.  Is it any wonder that Muslims feel that they have to kill themselves and do it by killing other people around them?

Incidents like this is why a normal education is so important.  School is about more than just learning by rote.  It's also teaching socialization skills, and at least in American Schools, it's where boy and girls can commingle and form friendships that lead to dating, that might lead to marriage. 

I didn't mean to change the subject, but that was a short explanation, and another thing that we could do to prevent airline terrorism, is to psychologically screen passengers who look dodgy, nervous, and withdrawn.  El Al does it at the gate, asking people certain questions, and listening closely to those answers.  So far, El Al has not had a single incident of terrorism on their airline.  Maybe it's time we used their method of profiling in order to let people board the plane.  What it comes down to is: "Airline travel a right, or a privilege?"

"After the horrendous attacks on September 11, 2001, a few Christian pastors stepped up to say that the unprecedented violation of America's homeland was a sign of weakness within our nation."

I tend to agree with Mrs. Parker, and I will list a few of what I think our own evil's are, in addition to hers.

1) In the name of convienence, we have killed unborn children.
2) We have allowed the Gay, Lesbian, Transgendered people to set the agenda, and some churches have allowed them to be married, and have actually ordained them as minsters and preachers.
3) We have allowed unchecked illegal immigration into our country
4) We have allowed terrorists groups, such as Muslim Brotherhood, and CAIR, and other Muslim groups to indoctrinate our police forces on political correctness.
5) We have allowed Obama to appoint communists and socialists to positions of power, including the "Safe Schools czar," who is a gay that believes in fisting.
6) We have taken God out of our schools, and children aren't taken to church any more.

"As we talked about advancing freedom in other societies, we bloated our own government and violated and abused the principles of freedom -- private property and personal responsibility -- on which our own society was founded and built."

I agree with this, and strongly endorse the idea that our constitution gives us the rights of life, liberty, and property. 
1) In just the last decade, our government has started taking away our rights, starting with stealing our property, and giving it to businesses that make profit. 
2) With the passing of the hate crimes bill, we have hobbled free speech, most notably among the churchs, who are afraid to speak, lest they be arrested for provoking hatred.
3) With the passing of the Campaign financing amendment, we hobbled the individuals right to choose his own representative. 
4) Our President has labelled anyone who doesn't agree with him, as a traitor, despite the fact that he's the one who's betraying us.

"We view the maniacs running Iran as negotiating partners while we ignore the Iranian youth who struggle and long to be free."

Not only the Iranian dictator, but also Chavez, Castro, and other dictators that want to kill their own citizens.  With us dealing with our enemies and denying freedom to other citizens of other countries, we have shown that our president is a communist himself and wants only power for himself and his chosen disciples.

"We sit with silent acceptance as the Israelis, once viewed as friends and allies, are given a choice by Hamas to release 1000 prisoners, many convicted terrorists, in exchange for one Israeli soldier held hostage."

If we had the moral courage and still retained our Christian heritage, then we'd tell the Israeli's not to trade the 1000 terrorists for that one soldier, and we'd be defending her right to exist.  We'd be cheering them on in their fight to stay alive, not castigating them for defending themselves.

"With imminent passage of multi-trillion dollar health care "reform" that is pure socialism, we relinquish our personal autonomy and freedom to a point where the task to redeem them will be unprecedented."

This bill is the end of our rights.  In it, we will:
1) Lose our freedom to choose our own doctor, health plan, and deductibles.
2) If we don't have insurance, we'll be fined and/or face jail time.

And while we are being treated this way, Big Pharma, Big Insurance, and the AARP will get funding, while we get the shaft.

In order to pass this bill, over the wishes of the people, they have:
1) Bribed two Senators by giving thier state hundreds of millions of dollars,
2) Extorted another one by threatening to close the military bases in his state.
3) Tried to get another Senator's Wife fired from a charity, because of what her husband believes
4) and lied to us every step of the way, by:
     a) not showing us the bill for 48 hours prior to passing the bill.
     b) by doing back room deals and exchanging promises.

"Family and traditional values of personal behavior -- once the moral glue holding us together -- are now mere life style options."


True, lifestyles such as
1) GLT etc.
2) Sleeping around.
3) Unwed mothers, single mothers, drug abuse, etc.
4) Rewarding teen pregnancies with welfare money, showers in school, etc.
5) Abortion on demand.

"In liberals' ideal world, everyone lives in abject poverty and stands in long lines, but we all live in the same abject poverty and stand in the same long lines -- just like in their beloved Soviet Union of recent memory! (Except the commissars, who get excellent health care, food, housing, maid service and no lines.)"

In a way, I can understand exactly what Mrs. Coulter is saying, and I tend to agree with it.  It does seem that the liberals want to reduce everyone to abject poverty, except the chosen few, which would be politicians, movie stars, and government officials.  Either that, or they want to see our country overrun with illegal aliens, criminals, and an unarmed population.

I've also heard the conspiracy theorists say that the global population needs to be culled down to 5 million people, which would just about be the rich and powerful, but I wonder what would happen to them when they were all alone.  If the 5 million millioniars were left alone, who would grow their food, or maintain their cars, or even fix them breakfast in the morning? 

I tend to think that the liberals need to be called on their stupidity, and someone should ask them, "If Socialism is so great, then why didn't they move to the marxist paradise that was Russia?  And if it's so great, then why did Soviet Russia fall apart, and why are they more successful with capitalism?"

"Many black students are alien and hostile to the education process. They have parents with little interest in their education. These students not only sabotage the education process, but make schools unsafe as well. These students should not be permitted to destroy the education chances of others. They should be removed or those students who want to learn should be provided with a mechanism to go to another school."

    Let me start with this one.  You can have the best teachers in the world, but if they don't have the support of the parents at home, then even all the latest tech gadgets won't help students learn.  Why would a child want to learn anything, if his role model is P-Diddy, or the Gangsta-rappers?  Why would they want to earn an A, when they can mouth off about killing cops and raping ho's and make money?  All parents need to show some interest in their children's education.


"Another issue deemed too delicate to discuss is the overall quality of people teaching our children. Students who have chosen education as their major have the lowest SAT scores of any other major. Students who have an education degree earn lower scores than any other major on graduate school admission tests such as the GRE, MCAT or LSAT. Schools of education, either graduate or undergraduate, represent the academic slums of most any university. They are home to the least able students and professors. Schools of education should be shut down."

I don't know how the education graduate programs work where you live, Mr. Williams, but in Texas, you have to have a Bachelor's Degree, and at least a 2.6/4.0 to even qualify for the teaching program.  Then you have to pass the Texes/Exet test in the appropriate field in which you wish to teach.  Then you have to take the Pedagogy and Professional Responsibility test and pass it with 250/300. 

Unless other states differ, you have to keep up with continuing education in your field and attend workshops on how to bring that knowledge to your students. 

"Yet another issue is the academic fraud committed by teachers and administrators. After all, what is it when a student is granted a diploma certifying a 12th grade level of achievement when in fact he can't perform at the sixth- or seventh-grade level?"

On this, I will agree with Mr. Williams.  Social Promotions must be ended, and let's not be afraid to fail a student, if he can't spell his own name.  This should go for all students, whether they are black or white.  I also agree that if students don't want to learn, then they shouldn't be required to be in school.  School should be for those students who really want to learn, and want a better future.  If that were the case, then teachers could instruct those who have a desire to succeed, and wouldn't waste their time teaching to the lowest levels of humanity.