A Long Awaited Step In The Right Direction...

...or a sign of the apocalypse?

Apparently the reality of the decline and collapse of the Blue State Model in education is actually dawning on some Democrat (!) mayors around the country.  I won't hold my breath, but I may inhale more slowly for a bit.

On a related note, it sounds like some students in Detroit are protesting the crappy education they've been receiving...and were suspended for aspiring to better things than those credentialed professionals who were charged with their education are able to deliver.

The suspension of the students for wanting a better education notwithstanding, these stories are, all in all, a good way to re-launch my blog (see earlier post).

(Thanks, in more ways than one, to Instapundit.)

Whiskey Mike is 10-8.

Okay, after almost exactly a year, I'm back now.

After an almost one year break from blogging, I'm back. I can't explain why I wasn't blogging without writing a book (and I'm already doing that on another subject).  Suffice it to say that I suddenly became collateral damage in a political firefight with some local liberal ideologues that wield some power.  The fight wasn't with me, it was with my wife, but the effects were fairly devastating to us both.  But that is officially behind us, as of today.

Yes, I know...who knew I wasn't here, right?

I am going re-publicize this blog at some future date, but for now, I just want to dive back into writing and wallow around in the fuzzy warm comfort that comes from creatively expressing ones thoughts...so on the off-chance that someone actually reads this someday:  Bear with me! It's been awhile!  Just let me do a bit more wallowing, and then I'll get back to work.

A discourse & letter from Senator Lindsay Graham

From Iowahawk, one of the funniest columns  I've ever read.

Best part:  The letter of apology, addressed to the Right Reverend Ayman Al-Zawahiri, Cave 37-B, Kandahar Arms.

A Belated Navy Cross For a Real Public Servant.

Read this article--in it's entirely, if you please--then reflect on the public union people that are whining about their collective bargaining "privileges" (note that I use that term in the place of  collective bargaining "rights") while ostensibly in the service of the taxpayers.

Not to belittle the public servants' contributions to society--in the interest of full disclosure, I personally have been employed in the government at the state and county level at different times for around 20 years, and trust me, I've sacrificed what at times seemed like a considerable amount--but in retrospect it has been a tiny fraction of what others like this fellow have put on the line.  I think that a modicum of perspective is in order when observing the hyperventilated rhetoric that has been emanating from the legacy media coverage of the public unions in Wisconsin and Ohio.

There are heroes in all walks of life, but the degree of heroism and selflessness needs to be kept in mind as a measure of true selflessness.

Keep in mind that this guy was doing this on a helluva lot less than these other folks, at generally a far greater risk, and the implications of his actions arguably had a much more dramatic influence on the course of human history. 

This is also true for countless others that are currently in harm's way on our behalf, all over the world.

With that in mind, I'd like to offer a heartfelt thanks to all of you true heroes who serve and have served in the military, past and present.

Quote of the day.

Churchill: "We will fight them on the beaches,..."

Reagan: "Tear down this wall!"

Obama: "Follow me on twitter."

(spotted on People's Cube)

Nice guys really do finish last.

At least in some cases.This explains a heck of a lot of my younger years. Sure wish I'da seen this when I was in high school...Ah, coulda/shoulda/woulda. Hopefully my wife won't see this and start second guessing herself. (via instapundit)

If you can't control the message...

...then attack the messengers.

(from Politico): Media Matter's war against Fox. 

These folks can't compete in the marketplace of ideas, and with the new media's insistence on doing the job that other networks are supposed to be doing, they never will be able to compete.

So...the new strategy is:  ignore the stories, but try to destroy the people reporting them.  Nice.

Media Matters at least provides a glimpse into thugocracies like Venezuela, the People's Republic of China, North Korea, Iran...

In fact, they'd feel right at home there.