As we approach the New Year it is appropriate to reflect on the first year of Barack Obama’s Presidency.  This Blogger’s differences with Obama began with the early “outing” of Reverend Wright issue.  The disconnect between Obama’s campaign rhetoric and sitting in a bigoted church for 20 years was too great to get past.  It would trump any his political views.

The day after the election, concerns about Obama’s past were made irrelevant and the issue changed to how he would govern.  Many believed that Obama would move to the center, typical of most presidents after their election.  This was not to be the case with Obama.  Instead, he is governed from the far Left, which is being reflected in his historically low poll numbers going into his first New Year in office.  The American majority is centrist, tilting towards conservative.  It has become obvious that Obama has no intention of governing for that majority, but instead will focus on remolding America in a Leftist-European manner.

Liberal columnist, Maureen Dowd of the New York Times, has the good fortune to have a conservative brother, Kevin, who she allows to rant in her column once a year.  Not to worry Maureen, every family has at least one of them!  Last week Kevin included his reflections for 2009 that speaks well for what middle America thinks of the “goings-on” in this country.  Not to reinvent the wheel, I’m pleased to publish Kevin’s reflections below.

To President Obama: Thank you for saving the Republican Party and for teaching all of us that too much of anything is a bad thing.

To Bill Clinton: You did too much work on Northern Ireland for the Nobel committee.  Next time, do nothing.

To Harry and Nancy: “The Twilight Zone” once had an episode where the town got the exact opposite of what it wanted.  Farewell, Harry!

To John McCain: Thank you for your chivalry in banning Palin attack dogs – including my sister – from the campaign plane.

To Sarah Palin: Keep up the good work.  Anyone who annoys Keith Olbermann that much is a friend to all of us.

To Glenn Beck: Thanks for being the only journalist interested in stories that used to win Pulitzer Prizes.

To Al Franken: So, 250 years of Senate tradition trashed.  Stuart Smalley would have done better.

To Desirée Rogers: Get back to the gate.  Vince Vaughn and Owen Wilson can’t get in.

To the Salahis: Thank you for showing us that shame has no bottom.

To Valerie Jarrett: So much for the Olympic Village in Chicago.  Whoops.

To Chris Dodd: The only thing lower than your polls is your mortgage interest rate.

To Chairman of the Joint Chiefs Mike Mullen: The military should be more interested in the men and women who serve than in celebrating diversity.

To the Democratic Senators: Go last next time; the bribes are much bigger.

To Sheldon Whitehouse: You, senator, are an idiot.

To Dick Cheney: You, sir, are a patriot.  Thanks for firing back.

To President Bush: Thank you for your dignity.  Did you really start the plague in the 14th century?  Absence makes the heart grow fonder.

To Hillary: Who knew how much you would be missed?

To Al Gore: A global warming conference in the middle of a Copenhagen blizzard is not a good visual.

To Max Baucus, Eliot Spitzer and John Edwards: Party on, dudes.

To John Ensign, Mark Sanford and David Vitter: Don’t party on, dudes.

have you forgotten how soft I am

the way we used to cuddle and spoon

don’t you remember the time

and the time after that, when we…

when I was your endless joy

don’t leave me

I don’t want to be

your

forgotten

toy

L. K. Thayer

Photo by VC Ferry

All Rights Reserved

© 2009

//

Take a look at this Video

and the rest of the videos and info on that page. If it was you or me that had ties to this guy, we’d be Investigated up the Ass!!!!

There are many Supporters of Obama that say much of the Negativity that is written or discussed about Obama are from the Right and not worth listening to, read, or spoke about. I say this:  No matter whether the Facts come from the Right, the Left or the Center, a Fact is a Fact. That does not Change. Now if a Person wants to say that they don’t like the Spin that a Person or Group on the Right puts on the Facts, that is a different story. If you want to listen to a Fact that gets Sugar-Coated, that is your Prerogative. But I feel in order to formulate a Fair Opinion, one must Listen to the Facts, even if they are Facts one does not want to look at. If I only listen to a Person or a Group or a Media Source that speaks or writes about the Facts as if they are not True, or puts a Sugar-Coated Spin on it, should I not also listen to the Side that speaks about these Facts in a more Harsh Way? I can then Formulate my own opinion Based on the Facts I have just Hard, Read or listened to. Even if I am on the Right, and the Facts are not supported, I can then take a point of view that differs from my Party View.  The same is True if you are on the Left, and the Facts are Supported, then one should also be able to deviate from their Party View. And this is Exactly my Point. It is not about being a Democrat or a Republican, being on the Left or the Right, or whether or not you voted for Obama, It is about Facts. And if the Facts demonstrate that there is an Issue to be Discussed and Researched, and Questioned, then it should be. If the Facts demonstrate that an Issue should be Investigated, then it should also be.

I find myself quite often listening to People whose views I don’t agree with, or Groups I don’t agree with, just so I learn about both sides of the Story. To not listen to one side because you Don’t agree with their Facts, is Ludicrous. It is No Wonder that many People who voted for Obama didn’t listen to the Facts, or if they did, they dismissed them as Lies from the Right. I think, with Time, The Facts will make themselves Known Again, and the People who Dismissed them Perviously, will be Awoken by the Actions of Barrack Hussein Obama. I mention Obamas Middle Name, because it is not spoken about or written much, and that is just a small wayof  how People want to dismiss certain Facts, such as Barracks Middle Name. To speak or write about it is to Put a Spin on our President, and Associate him with being Muslim when he is Christian. Well, my friends, even that is in Dispute, even though that Fact is of little Consequence.

But there are Facts that are of Much Consequence, and many People have Put Their Heads in the Sand, or feel they are Right Wing Views. Time Will Tell My Friends, Time Will Tell………………….

I have to bring up one fact. Obama and The Reverend Wright Association. This is a Fact where it was spoken about in Depth, but yet the Majority of People Dismissed the Association as being Benign. Obama went to this White Hating/Jew Hating guys Church for 20 Years. Yet when Obama was questioned about this, he said he was never present when the Reverend was having these types of Sermons, and was not even aware that the Reverend was saying such things!! Obama then made a Speech to the American Public analogizing his Association with Wright as a Relationship akin to a Son that does not agree with his Mothers Views yet still has a Relationship!!!!!

You got to be Kidding Me!! Obama didn’t know what the Reverend was Preaching? I say Bullshit! I don’t need a Written notarized Document telling me he was there, or that he DID KNOW about what the Reverend was Preaching. I can Formulate my own opinion, which has Nothing to do with the Right or the Left. Now if I was Desperate enough to not let anything get in the way of me voting for Obama, that is a different story. If I invested Years into Finally being able to vote for my guy Obama, nothing would stop that. And I would look for any reason I could to continue my Support for Obama, no matter what facts came out. I would believe my Candidate. And I would continue to Vote for Change. Well, my friends, there is a Saying, “If it looks like a Duck, and Quacks like a Duck, then it Must be a Duck!”  But the Public Fell for this Load of Crap!!!!! Well Wrote People Fell for Obama’s Load of Bullshit!!! This was Unbelievable to me, but showed me The Power Obama had With His Spoken Word. This Issue would have been the end of anyone elses Political career, but not the end of Obama’s. The People wanted to elect Obama in such a Bad Way, and they were so Desperate not to have a Republican in Office, that they Brought this Guy’s Bullshit!!!! You don’t have to be a Democrat or a Republican to see the Lunacy in Buying Obamas Reasoning as to why he had a Relationship with Reverend Wright.. Obama then left Wright’s Church, and All Was Right, or Well Again!!!! And Wright was Never to be Heard of. Wright knew that he had his man in the White House, and he was as Content as a Pig in Shit!!!!

I brought the Wright Story up again to show How People can be Swayed, even when The Facts Speak Volumes!!!!

Wow! A visually stunning movie!

However…

…if you love the United States of America, do NOT see the movie! I repeat: do NOT see the movie if you love your country, or even if you love the human race!

If you still plan to see the movie, you might want to stop reading now and return after you have viewed the movie yourself.

Never before have I witnessed a left leaning agenda of a Hollywood elitist come across so clearly as does Jame Cameron’s “Avatar!” In the film the United States Marine Corps (one of the greatest forces for peace and good in the history of this planet) is depicted as being pure raw evil. We are not talking about simple bad guy stuff as with many movies. The Marines are depicted as just flat evil and only with the help of a renegade Marine can the people (called Na’vi) of the planet Pandora be saved.

Along the journey we learn that our planet (earth) is dying–thanks to humans.  This, of course, is Cameron’s way of tossing a huge bone to the global warming crowd (one has to wonder how Cameron feels now that global warming has proved to be a hoax).

The film takes a sad trip along a hodge-podge of confused new-age religious beliefs, centering on nature (of course), with even a deity that is “nature” based. Ironically, the real “god” of this movie is “science,” as we see the typical obsession by the left with science througout the movie (one of the heroes, of course, is a scientist). The worship of all things science by the left is on display for all to see. Today we see that in practice quite often. Just thirty years ago what Churches or Temples had to say mattered to people, today if someone starts a statement with “Science says,” people fall to their knees in secular worship and act as if God Himself is speaking with each time a statement is opened with that simple phrase.

We see in one scene that killing animals in self-defense is a “very sad thing,” but hunting the animals for a “clean kill” is perfectly moral and fine. The problem people on the left have is that there is no such thing as morality in the natural animal world…it is impossible. In the natural world among animals the laws are quite simple: kill or be killed, eat or be eaten. Yet, the worship of trees and nature is the way of the world today and it is very disturbing trend.

It is hard to think of any hot-button issues for left leaning people not given full treatment in the movie. The movie does not miss taking shots at capitalism as it takes shot-after-shot at the “corporation” that wants to mine Pandora for a very valuable mineral. Isn’t it amazing how capitalism is seen as so horrible by the very people making the most from capitalism (Michael Moore is another example)?

Of course, we see yet another example of the left looking towards a fallen and imperfect person to be their savior as the renegade Marine leads the charge against those evil, horrible, greedy humans! It seems that the one real savior of the world–Jesus Christ–is not enough for the nature worshipping left.

Ultimately, the most disturbing aspect of this movie is this: two-thirds of the movie’s audience are not citizens of the United States. That means Hollywood, through James Cameron, has once again managed to tell the world that the United States is evil. Is it not ironic that the left spews the claim that the world hates this country, while it is left-leaning radicals like James Cameron who work feverishly to tell the world how horrible we are?

Not long ago the United States military, and especially Marines, were seen as the men you most wanted to see when trouble struck. Today they are seen as an evil force that supports an evil nation and evil corporations.

My rating:

Minus 4 stars for storyline!

Plus 4 stars for visual effects!

New Club Music From Dj Deeq ‘Work That(Left Right) For Today’s Club Heat

Dj-Deeq- Work That(Left Right) …::LISTEN::…

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By: Alina De Varona

Why is it that the economic tragedies I’ve seen in my lifetime have been on GOP (it stands for “Grand Old Party” aka Republicans) watch?  Why is it they do business with and borrow money from the largest Communist country in the world but call themselves patriotic?  I must be missing something.

In the 70s, Richard Nixon, a Republican (1969-1974), starts trade with China.  U.S. corporations send their manufacturing jobs to China where they put millions of Chinese to work.  This new policy puts many Americans out of work but allows them to purchase goods made in China for much less than those made in America.  U.S. corporations see the growth of profit margins because manufacturing in China cuts their operating costs.

In the 80s, Republican Ronald Reagan (1981-1989) does the same with even less reserve.  His “conservative” economic policies caused huge budget deficits, quadrupling the United States national debt.  1983 was marked by high unemployment figures.

On December 17, 1992, George H.W. Bush signed into NAFTA (the North American Free Trade Agreement).  NAFTA put another nail in the coffin which brought on a decline in employment opportunities within manufacturing industries and increases in trade deficits.

Left without places to work, the unemployed, unskilled American laborers are left to fend for themselves and we see a rise in poverty, welfare enrollment, and crime.  Drug dealing becomes a career of choice for many of the poor, and all of it affects the social landscape because what affects our neighbors, eventually affects us.

Finally, George “Dubya” Bush gets re-elected to a second term even though he was not successful in the first.  He sells us on the idea that disagreeing with his administration’s  policies means we are leftists (communists).  In his second term he occupies Iraq, a country that poses no threat whatsoever, but does have the second largest petroleum deposits in the world just sitting there.  Why didn’t he put us into debt by going to war with our open enemies like sayyyyyyy Iran or North Korea?  If one of our pretexts for going in was Saddam Hussein’s violations of human rights, why didn’t we go to war with China, the biggest violator of human rights in the world?  Naahhh.  They’re too big and too powerful and we owed them money so they’d be extra pissed.

Okay, so if you’ve been paying attention, you know that not only did we send our manufacturing jobs to human-rights-violator China and facilitated their economic growth while crushing our own by making a few richer and millions poorer, George Bush borrows money from China to compensate for outrageous spending on an immoral and unnecessary war, and leaves the country in a worse position than Reagan left it.  Sure, Obama borrowed some more to try to correct some of the mess he inherited from Bush, but he also went to China a few weeks ago to come to some kind of accord in correcting the trade imbalance.

The GOP agenda, and those that gain from it, handed our super-power status to communists.  Thanks to the GOP, we’re no longer the greatest country in the world, we’re the greediest and the least politically informed.  So, if selling your people out for profit is the “Right” thing to do, I’m proud to be wrong.

Click here and see where you fall on the Left vs. Right spectrum.

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Hey,

Merry crate day to all who celebrate this spiritual occasion through the utilisation of food, drink and socialisation. Of coarse Crate Day is the day were we all pack up the boxes we used on Boxing Day to store presents from Christmas Day into crates, thus we have Crate Day. Tomorrow as I’m sure you know, is shipping container day.

I only just realized that there’s only 362 days until Christmas! Better get up the Christmas Tree!

I have spend the majority of my morning playing Left for Dead #1 (Yes, I live in Australia) and taking pictures with my edible camera (not for eating.) Then I got a chocolate headache and went back to bed. Yes, yes my life is this interesting. Fact.

-adophonehome

_________________________________________________________

http://twitter.com/pseudoado

By Timothy D. Naegele[1]

At the same time that President Obama announced the deployment of an additional 30,000 American troops to Afghanistan, he said the U.S. would begin pulling out by July of 2011—just before his reelection campaign begins in earnest, and only one year after our forces will have been deployed fully.  It is a political decision, and tantamount to conceding the country to our enemies sometime that year.  The president’s decisions are not surprising because he is an anti-war politician who never served in the U.S. military, and he knows nothing about running a war.  His plans are designed to appease his political soul mates and constituency, America’s anti-war far-Left.

His “dithering” for months now has undermined the support of our allies, and sent a clear signal to our enemies that he is weak and indecisive, and America is too.  The halfway measures of his new Afghan policies will not satisfy the American political Left or Right, our allies or the Afghan people—whose suffering will continue.  However, the president will have pleased our enemies, especially when he is focused on an “exit strategy” instead of winning.  It is disturbing to watch him pathetically try to micro-manage the war in Afghanistan from the White House.[2] Indeed, it smacks of Lyndon Johnson’s tragic handling of the Vietnam War that resulted in the senseless deaths of more than 58,000 Americans, and more than 150,000 who were wounded[3]; and the end of his presidency.

We began in Afghanistan militarily shortly after 9/11, and were successful in taking over the country and ousting the Taliban.  The poppy crops should have been eradicated then, so the worldwide supply of heroin would have been reduced dramatically.  The Associated Press reported on November 23, 2009: “The poppy crop in Afghanistan, which produces 90 percent of the world’s supply of opium, is linked to corruption, addiction and a drug trade that bankrolls the Taliban insurgency.”  Opium poppies are the raw ingredient in making heroin.

We should not have turned our attention to Iraq until Afghanistan was stabilized fully.  Because we directed our resources to Iraq, Afghanistan was allowed to “languish” and the Taliban were permitted to regain traction.  We have made great strides in helping the long-suffering women of Afghanistan, and that must not cease or be neglected.  Afghanistan is important to us strategically as well, because the Taliban “straddle” both Afghanistan and Pakistan; and if Afghanistan falls, Pakistan might descend into unfathomable chaos, with its nuclear arsenal falling into the hands of our enemies.

President Obama is a far-Left neophyte who is in the process of presiding over a failed presidency, which is likely to get worse with the passage of time.  General David Petraeus and other leaders in our military chain of command have endorsed General Stanley McChrystal’s requests for more troops, which according to reports involve far more than 40,000.  The president should let the military handle Afghanistan, and allow General McChrystal to do his job.

Obama has not been successful at running anything, ever; and it is unlikely that Afghanistan will be an exception.  At best he is a failed “community organizer” from Chicago, who was raised in Hawaii and Indonesia.  Just read his book, “Dreams from My Father”—which is a real eye opener—if you have any doubts.[4] His beliefs are premised on naïveté and defeat, as well as the notion that the U.S. cannot send additional troops without a plan for getting them out.  For example, the Washington Post quotes White House officials as stating: “[Obama’s] desired end state in Afghanistan envisions more informal local security arrangements than in Iraq, a less-capable national government and a greater tolerance of insurgent violence.”[5]

This is a prescription for defeat, and it sends precisely the wrong message to our enemies, who will simply wait for Obama to get weaker and for America to leave Afghanistan.  It will result in the shedding of American blood and that of our allies for nothing, like Vietnam.  Former Vice President Dick Cheney is correct when he says that the average Afghan citizen “sees talk about exit strategies and how soon we can get out, instead of talk about how we win.  Those folks . . . begin to look for ways to accommodate their enemies.  They’re worried the United States isn’t going to be there much longer and the bad guys are.”

President Obama is correct that the people of Afghanistan have endured violence for decades, which makes his exit strategy of one year after deployment so unrealistic.  A year passes in the flash of an eye; and it is not long enough to make a difference in Afghanistan.  Just imagine Franklin Delano Roosevelt saying that he would not commit U.S. troops to the war against Hitler in Europe, or the war against Japan in the Pacific, unless he had an exit strategy in place and operating one year after they were deployed.  Thank God that Obama was not in charge of the D-Day invasion of Europe, or other decision-making in World War II.  Hitler would have won, and Europe (including the UK) would be speaking German.

More and more Americans are realizing that Obama is a mistake, even though he is personable, intelligent and certainly a fine speaker.  The highly-respected Rasmussen Reports daily Presidential Tracking Poll—for December 24, 2009—shows that 43 percent of U.S. voters Strongly Disapprove of the way Obama is performing his role as president, while 27 percent Strongly Approve, giving him a negative Presidential Approval Index rating of -16.[6] That speaks volumes about where Obama and America are heading.

The president’s Afghan policies are doomed from the start because he is not sending enough troops to succeed; he has set an unrealistic exit date; Al Qaeda and the Taliban will be active and aggressive in Afghanistan long after Obama exits politics; he will not be able to hold even his own party together with respect to this issue; and like Vietnam for Lyndon Johnson, Afghanistan may prove to be Obama’s political undoing—apart from the economy, ObamaCare, national security and other vital issues.  Since when does an anti-war far-Left community organizer know how to run a war, much less successfully?

© 2009, Timothy D. Naegele

[2] See, e.g., http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/12/25/AR2009122501923_pf.html

[3] See, e.g., http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_casualties_of_war

[4] See Obama, “Dreams from My Father” (paperback “Revised Edition,” published by Three Rivers Press, 2004); see also http://naegeleblog.wordpress.com/2009/12/05/is-barack-obama-a-racist/

[5] See infra n.2.

[6] See http://www.rasmussenreports.com/public_content/politics/obama_administration/daily_presidential_tracking_poll

Just wanted to mention that recent opposition by Brinda Karat and her party for the issues in our country and their responsible behavior towards Ruchika rape case and Tiwari scandal has made me sit up and take notice of the left parties unlike before. I now want to understand this responsible shift in a party which opposed every move of the previous government with no rational or logic. I’m just glad that we have someone to question the moves of the majority Congress Govt. in the opposition while BJP and its allies are immersed in infighting and irresponsible coalition with Shibu Soren (Virtually a terrorist) to come back in power. Although the chances of this party growing into a major political party in this country are very low as they have a major ideological issues with middle class / upper middle class and the rich, I would still like to see them voice the opinion of the poor as the poor are the ones who usually get lost. Not that the middle class has a better voice in the parliament but they atleast have some financial comfort to cut their losses.

Sorry it came really late.

—Spartan Warrior

Once again, PJTV goes to the scene of the crime to let us know what’s goin on and the successes of big government…thanks Steven

Click to View:

Next time I gotta remember to go cursive.

—Spartan Warrior

Here’s his latest video. (H/T Big Blue Wave)

I have friends in nearby Oakland County and it’s like a different world as soon as you get outside of the Detroit city limits. Detroit is a blue city in a blue state.

Download AI URL: http://www.imgcapture.com/?p=1639

Material description:

Scotia is a very creative sense of design and ornamental aspects of a unique fashion aesthetic beauty of the fine graphic design material. Right and left half of the same pattern with different backgrounds. With a spiral pattern to the left of the red gradient background and the right of the pure black background with orange-patterned silk is very beautiful yellow flowers and foliage either visually or from the viewing area has a unique inner beauty. Is a very creative fashion designs beautiful as one material

It’s Blue on Blue as the Left goes after Obama for broken promises:

Schadenfreude goes well on popcorn, don’t you think?

(via Hot Air)

I offer my solidarity to the people of Venezuela and their current problems with the imperial powers of the world, most notably the united states of america.

Very Interesting Article Here

I would be surprised if anyone in the general population outside of the Bolivarian Alliance knew about these goings on but the details of american military build-up in the area are certainly disturbing.

It would be nice to hear an americans views on the matter, I am lead to believe even in the mainstream media that the current wars are not supported by the majority of americans, how would you react to operations in South America or Iran. How many more of your soldiers, who at the end of the day are just teenagers or young adults, are going to be killed in the name of free market capitalism. The exploitation of the occupied countries at the expense of american lives in exchange for profit.

The second part to the linked article is also very inspiring, every single time I have heard/read a Chavez speech he seems to talk absolute sense, and its true that although the US and European governments proclaim to be democratic, their recent actions by not being at all transparent about the COP15 meetings show their true colours.

Day 3. Getting used to using my left hand, still need to remember to brush my teeth with my left hand. I think my penmanship got a little worse, it’s a little disappointing. Nothing much to write about.

Here’s the picture:

Really hope it improves now.

—Spartan Warrior



Higher Education Cuts

This morning on the BBC Radio 4 Today program, we heard (as is being reported elsewhere, also), that yesterday, in a letter to the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE), Peter Mandelson (Labour’s Business Secretary) announced massive cuts to the Higher Education budget.

This is not actually new news, unfortunately, since this move has long been implicit in Government HE policy, and was expected by all who take any interest in Universities.

We also heard on this morning’s Today program Sally Hunt, general secretary of the University and College Union (UCU) putting forward the illogic of this manoeuvre, and of course, since the BBC has a commission to remain neutral, some rather shocking opinions from Andrew Haldenby, director of the think-tank Reform. What did Haldenby say? First, that Mandelson “has to be praised” for instituting cut-back policies which are, according to Haldenby, actually very sensible and necessary – which borders on outright lying, nevermind misanalysis. Second, although he admitted that these cuts would leave a gaping hole in University budgets, that HE won’t suffer because “before too long more money will be going to universities, but it won’t be coming from the government – it will be coming from students. Because there is a Higher Education funding [shocked noise from Sally Hunt] review going on led [partial interjection from John Humphreys] by John  Browne, er, Lord Browne, which is, er, which I think everybody would expect that to lift the cap on tuition fees.”

There you have it, then, folks. The director of a major policy generating think-tank, in which all parties are implicated, forgets himself for a second and reveals what all the politicians are too snake-like to express openly, but which anyone with half a brain cell has known for months: that the HE review is a flimsy sham; that government policy is anti-intellectual; that fees will continue to go up, and research funding will continue to go down.

As a result lecturers will start finding that they are being made redundant, that they cannot get funding for research and that they cannot make necessary improvements to departments and courses because of ‘lack of resources’ (dough, moola, hard cash). Postgrad students, apart from receiving no funding or financial support (the current state of affairs) will find it more and more difficult to get any academic job, nevermind full time lectureship (I think many of those who do gain employment will find themselves being employed as lower paid Teaching Assistants). Students will find that they are running up huge debts, that they are being asked to pay far more than they can afford, whilst simultaneously being presented with worse courses, shorter courses, more hidden charges, less teaching, less independence and intellectual freedom, and less opportunities for postgraduate study (PG funding in Arts and Humanities is already almost non-existent). And of course, academic freedom will effectively be restricted by new ‘impact’ assessment criteria designed to justify massive underfunding of arts, social sciences and humanities subjects. Which is, of course, part of a strategy (consciously or unconsciously) of attack on the political content of research, on already limited and besieged political and societal critique.

And those in other countries are looking on with disbelief at what HE and academics in England are suffering – and some with a steadily intensifying anxiety that they may see similar policies implemented in the counties in which they work and research.

There is only one solution: we know that the politicians who supposedly represent us do not;  that they have failed us, and continue to do so. Therefore, in this fast approaching new year we need to stop looking toward, debating with,  cooperating and complying with politicians and government bodies. Instead we need to get together on our campuses, in our homes and workplaces, and start talking to each other. We need to develop solidarity – between all students, all lecturers and other staff, and between all disciplines. But also we need to develop dialogue and solidarity with the larger international academic community, and with workers in other industries – in both the public and non-public sector – who are likewise suffering from recession cutbacks and ‘modernisation’ restructuring, who are  likewise suffering worsening working conditions and redundancies. We need to get together and act together in solidarity to restore our right to make the policy decisions that will effect us.

In the new year I predict there will be more hardship, more cutbacks and more strikes and protests. I hope there will also be, in tune with this, an academic uprising.

Wit

Links:

The SHAM Higher Education Review
News Story from Guardian
The Independent’s news story
BBC Radio 4 Today program, with audio
Those assholes at Reform

]]> http://spartanwarriorofiron.wordpress.com/2009/12/22/going-lefty_day-2/ Tue, 22 Dec 2009 20:39:00 +0000 fudgemantv http://spartanwarriorofiron.wordpress.com/2009/12/22/going-lefty_day-2/

Okay, so I forgot to brush with my left again, but no biggy right? At least my left hand got better at writing. It’s still aching after I finish writing a few sentences, but overall I think it looks a little neater. In this one, I wrote my name, and “The quick brown fox jumped over the lazy dog” twice. Then I drew a picture and labeled it, followed by the alphabet. Here it is:

Much better write? Alright the outcome looks pretty exciting to me. Signing out.

—Spartan Warrior

Moments ago at 2:00 EST, the United States of America accepted the latest great American Patriot.  Welcome – Parker Griffith. who has left the slime of the Democratic Party in the U.S. House of Representatives to cross party lines and declare alignment with the Republican Party values. There were no kind words of farewell to the Democrats.

There is opportunity for change growing daily. Congratulations Rep. Griffith, your country salutes you! I know Alabama is darn proud of you!

***Also forwarded to The 912 Project Fan Site for use.