Here you go. I have been saying this for years.

That article referenced an anthropologist who travelled at request to Shaker Heights, Ohio. Once there he was tasked to find out why, even here, black studends lagged way behind the other students of the top notch school system.

The black parents wanted an explanation. Doctors, lawyers, judges, and insurance brokers, many had come to the upscale Cleveland suburb of Shaker Heights specifically because of its stellar school district. They expected their children to succeed academically, but most were performing poorly. African-American students were lagging far behind their white classmates in every measure of academic success: grade-point average, standardized test scores, and enrollment in advanced-placement courses. On average, black students earned a 1.9 GPA while their white counterparts held down an average of 3.45. Other indicators were equally dismal. It made no sense.

The article is very interesting, but the results boil down to what I have been saying for a long time: Black students are not trying to achieve because then their own culture would attack them for being “too white.” The parents also share the blame as well. It seems the study showed that the parents handed control of their children and expected the school system to do the total job of educating them. There was no parental motivation at home to have the children study.

So, now you have an entire block of children and young adults all primed for early pregnancy, gangs, drug and alcohol use and a life on Welfare. This must stop. But to stop this tragedy, you must change an entire culture. Not every black person ends up this way, there are individuals that escape and go on to be prosperous. But they are the exception rather than the rule.

Bill Cosby has also been saying this for next to forever. I know the black culture would dismiss me, a white Conservative, but they also dismiss an icon of black culture as well. If the young adults of the black culture don’t listen to him, they must listen to somebody or there may be no hope.

And, of course, the Liberal apologists who feel guilty that the black kids aren’t achieving dumb down the curriculum to make it “easier” on them. Thereby hurting the black kids even more, because they will be doubly behind the students who study. Thus, the subtle racism that locks generations of blacks in the poverty cycle, slaves to the Liberals who dole out drips and drabs of Welfare money to them. Or (you might even say And) they turn to a life of crime and drugs, dead from violence before they hit 30.

50%, that’s FIFTY PERCENT of violent crime in this country is perpetuated by blacks, on blacks. About another 15% of violent crimes are done black-on-white. Seventeen percent of our population is the hotbed of 65% of the violent crime in America. And you wonder why a disproportionate number of black youths are in prison.

This. Has. Got. To. Stop.

Someone respected by the black culture has to stand up and say “Study hard. Succeed. No one but yourself will get you there.” And I hope he’s in the White House today. I hope he is the role model that every black child needs to succeed.

Why did I use the title “The race of effort”? For two reasons. One, black society is in a race for their lives. If they don’t race harder for the prize, they will only fall further and further behind. Two, it shows the philosophical difference between Conservatives and Liberals.

Conservatives believe in a fair, equal start for everyone. You get where you’re going by hard work, dedication and sweat. Everyone CAN win, but only if they give 100% of themselves to the effort.

Liberals believe in equality of outcome. Everyone MUST win. Everyone hits the finish line at the same time. That means those who can run faster must run farther, the magnitude of their effort determines how much they are handicapped so they don’t beat everyone to the finish line. Others run only a few steps, and are thus given the same accolades as the person who ran a hundred times farther. That is how a Liberal defines “fair.”

Which do you believe in?

I listen to Drake & Zeke while I drive to work in the morning. They are very entertaining and have my style of humor. I usually like their interview guests, but this one I got to yelling at the radio about the stupidity of the interviewee.

He was a doctor, talking about the health care crisis in America today. His comment about “Governments should provide health care because it is a right” really got my mood-stabilizer filled blood boiling.

Health care is NOT a right, at least under the United States Constitution. The Constitution does not say what services the government is supposed to supply to the People, but rather spells out exactly what they do have the power to do, and the rest of it (especially the Bill of Rights) tells the Government where they can’t go.

Now, other countries may express health care as a right, but then again they are usually “subjects,” as in “subjects to the Crown.” As in “subject to whatever laws we want to pass.” Citizens tell their country what to do, as in the United States. The People are supposed to be on the top of the pyramid, not on the bottom.

If you really want to pass health care reform, cap limits on damages from medical mistakes. While it would be reasonable to give damages equal to the future lifetime earnings of a person, and some for pain and suffering, but not the multi-millions clients are getting now.  You are boosting the cost of medical care by making the doctor cover their behinds in case of lawsuits by ordering excessive tests, some costing tens of thousands of dollars each.

Another point to limit costs would be with prescriptions. Medications should not be directly marketed to the public. This I agreed with the doctor being interviewed. The insurance companies should not have to add “optional” drugs to their formulary.

If you really want to cut costs, just halt all medical research. Let cancer be a death sentince again. All of those name-brand medications cost tens, if not hundreds of millions of dollars to develop.  If they’re not there to cure, or at least hold off death for a while, then you don’t have to pay the hundreds or thousands of dollars for each treatment. I’m being facetious on this last point, but you get my point.

Our medical system costs as much as it does because we can cure or control diseases that other countries can’t. We pay the R&D costs, and everybody else gets the generic. Just remember which way are the people going. How many Americans are heading to Gernamy, or England, or Canada to get lifesaving care? Zero. How many are going the other way? Thousands of people are coming to the United States every year to have medical care unheard of in their home countries.

It’s like the old saw, “Fast, good, cheap. Pick any two.” You can get it good and fast, but it won’t be cheap, and so on. Well, the medical model is “Cheap, quality and everybody.” You can cover everybody cheaply, but you won’t get quality care. Which is what most countiries national medical model entails. You can cover everybody with quality care, but it won’t be cheap. President Obama is trying to get all three at the same time, and I don’t think it can be done.

Something for you to consider when calling your Congresman/Senator about you being for or against the health care bill.

Eight years ago, I was one of the horrirfied Americans watching a plane hit one of the World Trade Center buildings.  I watched those buildings fall, one by one, knowing that thousands of people were dying terrible deaths.

Since then, many things have happened. One thing that hasn’t changed is my tears. I cry on this day, for each of the dead, killed by Islamic extremists flaunting a corrupted interpertation of the Koran.

I cry tears of sadness, of rememberance, and of rage. I have “Have You Forgotten” on my iPod, and when I sing along, I always choke up when I get to the part that goes, “Yeah, some went down like heroes in that Pennsylvania field.”

We still have a long way to go. We still have a lot of terrorists to kill. We still have wars where our best and brightest heroes are still dying. We can’t give up now, because if we do, then the lives of all who have fallen will have been wasted. We can’t let that happen. Don’t give up now, despite what the quitters in Congress say.

If you see someone in uniform today, please shake their hand and thank them for their sacrifice. We now have three holidays celebrating those in uniform. Memorial Day, remembering those who have fallen, Veterans Day to recognize those who have served, and Patriots Day to recognize and thank all those in uniform today.

Let’s Roll.

To say the least. I found out Monday that a good friend and steady customer at Gamerz Depot died in a horrible accidental shooting early Monday morning. His funeral is today. Just this morning, I get an email from a cousin that his sister, my other cousin on my fathers side of the family,  just died from Non-Hodgkins Lymphoma. Not a good day indeed.

On top of all that, it has been a busy week, and I have not had the time to blog. I was so tired last night, that I went home and slept in my recliner, missing the Presidents propaganda speech to Congress, until it was time to go to bed. I then slept through the night, over slept by turning the alarm clocks (yes, multiple) off and continuing to sleep.

I also turned down my spot at the Flames of War Nationals this morning. I was about $150 short of  what I needed raise by the time of the nationals. So it was very unlikely I would have made it.

All three of these things has me really bummed out, and I’m in a “hunker down” mode right now, because I don’t know what’s coming next.

I think I’m going to engage in some “retail therapy” this evening.

“Nothing is more expensive than something the government provides for free.” H/T to Blackfork.

Veterans day, previously known as Armistice Day denotes the cessation of hostilities of World War I. It was agreed that hostilities would cease on the 11th hour, of the 11th day, of the 11th month.

Today, we celebrate the people who have put their lives on the line in defense of freedom, and are still around to celebrate it with you.

Perusing the Internet, I found this website: Take a Vet To Lunch. A very simple, low key way to thank those who have served. No big thing, just a simple “Thank You” for your service. That’s all we’re looking for, just an acknowledgement of our service.

Think about it.

Well, folks, I don’t very often get to attend one of these things, but The Tea Party Express is making a stop in Memphis TONIGHT at 10PM in front of the Bass Pro Shop at Sycamore View and Macon, near Southwest Community Technicial College.

NOTE: the site is down at the moment for high volume. Please try again later.

This little fact came across my inbox the other day:

“Research shows that 50 percent of an individual’s health status is a result of behavior, and 75 percent of health care costs can be prevented, delayed or curtailed through lifestyle modifications,”

Now comes this article, which also proves what I’ve been saying all along, raising taxes result in less of that behavior.

Although a debate rages over the efficacy of taxes on soda and other items, supporters point to the fall in smoking rates after taxes sent cigarette prices soaring.

“The research around tobacco has shown that large increases on taxes on cigarettes has been the single most effective policy to reduce tobacco use,” said Mary Story, a dietitian and public health professor at the University of Minnesota.

Story figures that a 10 percent increase in sugar-sweetened beverage prices could cut consumption by 8 percent to 10 percent.

So, you can fully expect such “behavior modification incentives” to become a part of daily life if the Health Care Bill passes. Universal health care will result in the total control of the citizens of this country. And this Congress and Administration have been chomping on the bit for years to do just this  step towards Socialism.

Health care is NOT a right. The only true right you have are to lay naked in a field. Everything else you must work for and earn. When something is handed to you without you investing your time and sweat in it, it has been proven over the last 40 years of Welfare that such largesse is abused.

The only thing spoonfeeding does is teach the receiver the shape of the spoon.

Now, just because health care is not a right, does not mean that everyone should have an opportunity to obtain health care. I just don’t believe that Government should be the entity providing it.

I came across this article a couple of months ago, and I thought I had posted about it, but I can’t find it on my blog.

Anyway, that post, dated May 4th, is now followed by this article. This one is extremely scary, as it basically declares the Constitution to be totally suspended in Massachusetts, all on the word of the state Governor.

Here are some highlights, emphasis added:

• to require the owner or occupier of premises to permit entry into and investigation of the premises;

• to close, direct, and compel the evacuation of, or to decontaminate or cause to be decontaminated any building or facility, and to allow the reopening of the building or facility when the danger has ended;

• to decontaminate or cause to be decontaminated, or to destroy any material;

• to restrict or prohibit assemblages of persons;

This has already passed the Massachusetts State Senate, and is in the house. How many other States are right behind with their own bills?

Can you say Martial Law?