Lack of Political Diversity at the University of Oregon Part II

After the student column appeared in the Oregon Daily Emerald, as quoted above, the student in the Christian Science Monitor describes the response he received from professors at the University of Oregon

A professor who confronted me declared that he was “personally offended” by my column. He railed that his political viewpoints never affected his teaching and suggested that if I wanted a faculty with Republicans I should have attended a university in the South. “If you like conservatism you can certainly attend the University of Texas and you can walk past the statue of Jefferson Davis everyday on your way to class,” he wrote in an e-mail.

I was shocked by such a comment, which seemed an attempt to link Republicans with racist orthodoxy. When I wrote back expressing my offense, he neither apologized nor clarified his remarks.

Instead, he reiterated them on the record. Was such a brazen expression of partisanship representative of the faculty as a whole? I decided to speak with him in person in the hope of finding common ground.

He was eager to chat, and after five minutes our dialogue bloomed into a lively discussion. As we hammered away at the issue, one of his colleagues with whom he shared an office grew visibly agitated. Then, while I was in mid-sentence, she exploded.

“You think you’re so [expletive] cute with your little column,” she told me. “I read your piece and all you want is attention. You’re just like Bill O’Reilly. You just want to get up on your [expletive] soapbox and have people look at you.” …

“You understand that my column was basically a prophesy,” I shot back. I had suggested right-leaning ideas weren’t welcome on campus and in response the faculty had tied my viewpoints to racism and addressed me with profanity-laced insults. …

Political disagreement is crucial to vibrant discourse, but not in the form of caricatures, slights, or mockery.

Students should never come under personal attack from faculty members for straying from the party line. The fact that they do shows how easily political partisanship can corrupt the elements of higher education that should be valued the most.

***

(Click on the title for a link to the Christian Science Monitor article.)

Imagine how the professors comment would have been viewed if you substitute "African American" for "Conservative" and "Howard University" for "University of Texas." In any case my guess is there are not that many Republicans at the University of Texas either.Maybe at Texas A&M but not in Austin!

The Democrats’ War on the CIA Continues by Marc Thiessen

From National Reviews "the Corner" blog on disclosure of CIA's plans to kill al-Qaeda operatives:

That Congressional Democrats are outraged by this program speaks volumes about the state of their party on national security. The fact that the CIA was trying to kill al-Qaeda operatives should not be a point of outrage — it should be a point of pride.
These latest attacks on the CIA will only serve to put the agency even further on the defensive when we really need the on the offensive against the terrorists. The men and women of the CIA were vilified after 9/11 for failing to connect the dots and stop the attack. Now they are being vilified for doing what was necessary to connect the dots and stop the next 9/11.

With these actions the Obama administration and Congressional Democrats are making another terrorist attack more likely. This is irresponsible, dangerous, and Americans may die as a result.

The only problem with the CIA program is they didn't kill any, as far as I can tell, al-Qaeda operatives!

To read more on the article click on the title for a link

HAPPY BIRTHDAY !!!!!!

"HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU....."

Remembering Tony Snow's life

Tony Snow died a year ago today! Dana Perino, his successor as Gorge W Bush's Press Secretary has written a nice remembrance over at Politico.com. Click on the title for a link.

Back in Medford, Oregon

My wife and I, early this week, got back to Medford, after a two week trip to Washington D.C., New York City and Lexington Kentucky. We went on the trip to see out two adult children and had a wonderful time.We saw both of their residences for the first time. We were given a tour of the U.S. Capitol by out daughter, got to go on the floor of the U.S. House of Representatives, went to a Capitol Hill Reception in a room full of famous politicians from both parties, saw two New York Broadway plays (Mamma Mia & South Pacific) and went on a tour of a bourbon distillery and horse racing track in Kentucky. We spent the 4th of July in Washington DC and saw the fireworks and the parade. I checked in on the Lincoln Memorial and on July 4th spent some time with Thomas Jefferson at the Jefferson Memorial.

More details can be found in my day by day journal posted below.

Trip Journal, Day 1: "From Medford, Oregon to a Capitol Hill Reception in One Day"

Wednesday, June 24, 2009

Back in March my wife and I decided it was our turn to visit our adult children back East. We have not been back there together since 2001 or 8 years ago. We individually have gone back since then but not together. Quite frankly we missed them and we are not getting any younger.We were able to get some relatively inexpensive airline ticket through United Airlines. In addition, our daughter had bought a condo and we wanted to see it.

We had a 6 AM flight out of Medford, but were awoken at midnight and then again at 1 AM with messages from United that the Medford to Denver flight was delayed so they had switched our flight to Delta from Medford to Salt Lake City and then on to Reagan National Airport near Washington DC. The flights were OK but due to the last minute switch we did not get isle seats from Salt Lake to DC. I read my book on the Civil War "Gods and Generals" written by the son of the author of "The Killer Angels" about Gettysburg.

We arrived on time at Reagan National Airport AND all our luggage made it. Our daughter met us in the luggage area and we walked to her car for a trip strait to Capitol Hill for a bipartisan reception.






We went though security and she parked her car in a parking garage under a House of Representatives office building next to the Capitol. We went to her office and met some of her coworkers and then on the the fancy reception. Fortunately I had brought my sports coat so I didn't look like a total hick.The reception was a political junkies dream. There were leaders of both political parties there having a good time with lots of political jokes. If you follow politics you would have seen a number of people you could identify. I don't want to go into too much detail but it was a very high powered group. The food was great and it was a fun event. We got to meet a number of our daughter friends and associates. We were able to put faces to names she talks about when she calls or comes home.

After the party we drove to her condo a few block from the Capitol and unloaded our luggage. She then gave us a tour of her condo. Since buying it around the first of the year she has become quite a "handy women". She has completely repainted it and her work shows. There are still some details that need to be worked on but we were both impressed. She even bought a sofa with a hide-a-bed so we could stay with her. Without giving too much detail the condo complex is quite unique and very nice. I also liked her big flat screen TV.

It had been a long day .... from the familiar easy going world of Medford, Oregon to the high powered world of Washington DC.

That hide-a-bed felt very good!

Trip Journal, Day 2: "Nice Day in Washinton DC"

Thursday, June 25, 2009

Our daughter had to work so she gave us a key to her condo and we slept in. We then walked down to the Eastern Market Metro Station and took the Metro to downtown DC and walked over to the National Portrait Gallery. This is a very large building that takes up an entire block and has a large glass covered court yard in the middle. The building has three floors of gallery's and you see them by walking in a rectangle pattern around the central courtyard. My main purpose in wanting to go, was to see the exhibit of original Abraham Lincoln photos; but, I found so much more.I was planning on spending just an hour or so but we ended up spending at least 5 hours.The building itself is very interesting. It was originally the Patent Office. It was used for Abraham Lincoln's 2nd Inaugural Ball in 1864. A few years ago it was completely redone and the glass covered courtyard was added. I saw original portraits of Davy Crockett and Daniel Boone. There are portraits of the major generals of the Civil War. The Lincoln exhibit was very interesting. They also have most of the official portraits of all of the Presidents of the United States. We had a nice lunch in the courtyard and spent time and money in the bookstore and the gift shop.




After we left the gallery we walked by Ford's Theater where Abraham Lincoln was assassinated and took a tour of the home across the street where the President was taken to be treated. He lived through the night and died in that house the next morning.

"Now he belongs to the ages” a phrase uttered by Secretary of War Edwin M. Stanton upon Lincoln’s death

We then took the Metro to the Capitol where our daughter picked us up and took us to dinner at a nice Pizza place on Barracks Row.




Barracks row is an area on Capital Hill where the US Marine Corps Commandant lives and where the Marine Band members live. Across the street are some nice restaurants and shops.While at the restaurant our daughter received a blackberry email that Michael Jackson had died. By the time we left the restaurant the folks on the street ware "a buzz" with the news. In the days to come the street vendors in Washington DC and in New York City had all kinds of Jackson memorabilia for sale. I can't say I understood the outpouring of grief. I was more grief stricken when I heard Billy Mayes had died later in our trip. I really enjoyed his sales pitches on TV.I have not liked Michael Jackson's music since he left The Jackson 5.

Trip Journal, Day 3: "New York City or Bust"

Friday, June 26, 2009

My wife has never been to New York City. When we first told our daughter we were coming to visit her in Washington DC she suggested we take a week end and the three of us go to New York City and see a Broadway play or two. My wife and I though that was a great idea. Our daughter then made all the arrangements. She got tickets for the Broadway revival of South Pacific, and Mamma Mia. She got our hotel reservations and made reservations on the Bolt bus that runs between Washington DC and New York City.

On Friday morning she had a taxi pick up, the three of us, at her condo and take us to the bus pick up point in downtown DC. We then had a 4 hour trip to New York City. We arrived near Penn Station and then got a taxi to take us to our hotel at the Sheraton New York Towers in the theater district near Times Square and The ED Sullivan Theater where the David Letterman Show is produced. There were a lot of touist everywhere!



We checked into the Sheraton and got a 17 floor room with a great street view. We then took off to see Times Square, where ABC's Good Morning America is broadcast, then on to Rockefeller Center and NBC where Saturday Night Live is produced.



We then went to FOX NEWS my favorite! I looked for Sean Hannity or Bill O'Rilly but could find neither on the street out front. We then walked up to Central Park and walked through a small section of it.



We then walked to the Plaza Hotel where they filmed the end to the Movie "The Way We Were" which is "our movie." It was one of the first movies my wife and I saw when we started to date. We walked across the street, and to our daughters embarrassment, I gave my wife a kiss where Streisand and Redford hugged at the end of the movie. We got a great picture of it but my wife will not let me post it.

Memries,
Like the corners of my mind
Misty water
-colored memories
Of the way we were
Scattered pictures,
Of the smiles we left behind
Smiles we gave to one another
For the way we were

We then walked down to Tiffany's and looked in the window Audry Hepburn looked in, in "Breakfast at Tiffany's". We walked into the store and looked around for a short time. As a kid growing up in Coos Bay, Oregon this movie and Audry Hepburn made a big impression on this then adolescent boy. I have a very large poster of her as your walk down the steps to my movie room. We then had a nice dinner at a sidewalk cafe and went back to the hotel to get ready for Mamma Mia. While in the room a big thunder storm hit New York City and it rained just like at the end of "Breakfast at Tiffany's." I could see the yellow taxis down on the wet streets.

Two drifters off to see the world.
There's such a lot of world to see.

From "Moon River"


The Storm ended just in time for us to walk a block or two to the Broadway Theater where we saw the Musical "Mamma Mia." Last Summer we saw the movie at the Cinema Center here in Medford. For Christmas my wife ask for and received the blu ray DVD of the Movie and the entire family watched it at Christmas. The play was well done without the great scenery of the movie. However, the energy of the audience at the Broadway play made up for it. It was obvious that many in the audience had seen the play many times and clapped and sang along. The ending where the cast dresses up like ABBA and sings some songs was outstanding with the audience standing up and swaying to the music. It was electric and a lot of fun.





After the play we walked back to Times Square to see the lights before we headed back to our hotel. A full and fun day in the "Big Apple."

Trip Journal, Day 4: "Saturday in New York"

Saturday, June 27, 2009

We got up fairly early and had breakfast at a nice sidewalk cafe near the Sheraton New York Towers and then took the subway down to Battery Park at the tip of Manhattan.The subways in New York are "the pits" compared to the Metro in Washington DC. Lots of deferred maintenance and decaying infrastructure. We went to Battery Park to see the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island. We also saw the globe that was in the courtyard of the World Trade Center. It's battered but that is a sign of honor.From there we walked up to Wall Street and saw where George Washington took the oath of office as President of the United States for the first time. We then saw the New York Stock Exchange. From there we walked by the location of the World Trade Center. Still a hole in the ground but they are working on it. We still need revenge!We then took the subway to Greenwich Village. As we were walking to Washington Square Park I got a "Go Ducks" from a passerby who saw my Oregon hat. The park has the big arch for which it is famous but it also has a lot of green areas where you can sit in the shade. We sat down on a park bench for about 30 minutes and listened to the live jazz music being played by a group. How appropriate. For the first time I felt I was in the real New York City. There were less tourist and we felt like we were sitting with the residence of the city. Lot of people walking their dogs. We then walked down Bleecker street where there was a long street fair. As a fan of Bob Dylan and the early 60's folk scene being on Bleeker street and 4th street ( "Positively 4th street") was a thrill. We even walked by The Bitter End nightclub. We then took the subway back to the Sheraton to rest up for "South Pacific"

About 5 PM we took a cab to Lincoln Center for the play. We had reservations for dinner at O'Neals across the street and enjoyed dinner there although it was expensive. There was a large play crowd there and many looked like native New Yorkers. The service was very good. While at O'Neals there was quite a rain storm which was over by the time we walked back to the Lincoln Center. In addition to South Pacific there was a ballet performance at another theater there and it was fun watching how "dressed up" the folks were that were going to the ballet. I though back to Tom Wolf's book "Bonfires of the Vanities."

The musical "South Pacific" is my second favorite musical second only to "1776". This is a revival of the show that fist played on Broadway in the late 1940's after World War II and stared Mary Martin. I have the movie on DVD and just recently purchased the Blu-ray DVD and love it. This revival was very good. Of course they can't recreate the scenery of the movie but I was impressed by what they could do on a stage. I love the music and have been known to sing it in the shower "Some enchanted evening...... " or "There is nothing like a dame"

The musical is based upon a book by James Michener who was in the South Pacific during World War II. At the end of the musical the following passage from Michener's book "Tales of the South Pacific" were projected on the stage screen:

They will live a long time, these men of the South Pacific…. They, like their victories, will be remembered as long as our generation lives. After that, like the men of the Confederacy, they will become strangers. Longer and longer shadows will obscure them until their Guadalcanal sounds distant on the ear like Shiloh and Valley Forge.”

Some 64 years after the end of World War II as members of "The Greatest Generation" die off Michener's prophecy is coming true.


After the play the night was beautiful and we walked the 14 or so blocks down Broadway and took one more peek at the lights of Times Square. A very nice night to be with my two dates.



As a Fathers Day gift our daughter bought me the CD soundtrack to the new Broadway revival of "South Pacific".

Trip Journal, Day 5:"Back to Washington DC from New York City"

Sunday, June 28, 2009

Sunday morning in New York City. We got up and walked a couple of blocs and had breakfast at a sidewalk restaurant. We then walked over to the Folk Art Museum and my wife bought some quilting fabric in their gift shop. While she and our daughter were doing that I bought some small posters, from a street merchant, for the Broadway musicale's we had seen. (Mamma Mia and South Pacific) We then checked out of our hotel and took a taxi to the Penn Station area for our bus trip back to Washington DC. While waiting for the bus I pointed out the Empire State building to my wife. We then had a 5 hour plus bus trip back to Washington with heavy traffic.

Counting the cars on the the New Jersey Turnpike. They've all come to look for American. All come to look for America, All come to look for America.

America by Paul Simon and Art Garfunkel

In fact, we had a nice trip through part of the Delaware countryside as our bus driver took an alternate route to avoid some of the freeway traffic. On the trip I read my book "Gods and Generals". Back in DC we took a Taxi back to our daughters condo.

Trip Journal, Day 6: "Dreams Do Come True in America !"(updated)

Monday, June 29, 2009

When I was a teenager in 1965 my dad and I went on a self guided tour of the United States Capitol. In those days you could just walk up the steps and go anywhere you wanted as long as it was not on the floor of the Senate or House of Representatives and we went everywhere even into the basement. Even then I was a political junkie. Well, 44 years later our daughter took her mother and I on a private tour of the Capitol and even to the House floor. If some one had told me 44 years ago that a daughter of mine would work on Capitol Hill and take me on a tour I would have said it was a dream! Well, dreams do come true in America.

Our daughter drove us from her condo to the Capitol and with her parking pass and identification and an inspection of her car trunk we were allowed to go through the security barricades and into an underground parking garage under a House office building. We then went up to her office and talked to some of her coworkers about our trip to New York City. We then took the underground train used by Congressmen to the Capitol. At the Capitol we went to the new Capitol Visitors Center.The CVC is underground on the side of the Capitol facing the Library of Congress and the U.S. Supreme Court Building. It has skylights which give a view of the Capitol dome. It cost a ton of money but is very impressive and is a welcome addition to the Capitol. We went through the museum showing how the Capitol has changed through the years and then I saw the podium (small table) used by Lincoln when he delivered his Second Inaugural Address and which is seen in pictures of that inauguration. I was very impressed. We saw the stand on which Lincoln's casket was set upon when he "Laid in State" in the Capitol. It is the same stand used for Ronald Reagan when he "Laid in State." We then saw a short movie on the history of Congress and the Capitol which even cynics find inspiring and then went into the Capitol itself for a tour guided by our daughter. We saw the new statue of Ronald Reagan ( Each State can place two). We saw where Lincoln sat when he was in Congress as a Congressman. Since Congress was in recess we got to go on the the House Floor. This is were the President delivers his State of the Union speech.

We then left the Capitol and had lunch at a restaurant/bar across the street called Bullfeathers. It is a popular "watering hole" for lawmakers and lobbyist. In fact we were met there by the daughter of my wife's cousin who is a lobbyist for the National Rifle Association. We had a nice conversation about our extended family. For the record the lobbyist had water and I picked up the tab for our lunch and drinks.

We then went to the Library of Congress and then to Union Station looking for a Lincoln picture for our son's birthday.

We then went back to our daughter's place to get ready for our road trip to Kentucky.

After dark our daughter and I drove over to near the Lincoln Memorial. We parked across the street from the Federal Reserve and walked through the grass over to the Vietnam Memorial. I always get emotional when I go there. I also love the statue of the three GI's that was added as a compromise to those that didn't like "The Wall." From there we walked up the steps of the Lincoln Memorial with Abe looking down on us. We looked back across the reflecting pools to see the Washington Memorial and the Capitol both lit up in a row. The Memorial was full of tourist some not showing the respect I believe should be given. I always take off my hat when entering the memorial and speak in a whisper. I went to my left and reread the Gettysburg Address carved in the side of the Memorial. I then went to my right and reread his Second Inaugural carved in stone.

......The Almighty has His own purposes. "Woe unto the world because of offenses; for it must needs be that offenses come, but woe to that man by whom the offense cometh." If we shall suppose that American slavery is one of those offenses which, in the providence of God, must needs come, but which, having continued through His appointed time, He now wills to remove, and that He gives to both North and South this terrible war as the woe due to those by whom the offense came, shall we discern therein any departure from those divine attributes which the believers in a living God always ascribe to Him? Fondly do we hope, fervently do we pray, that this mighty scourge of war may speedily pass away. Yet, if God wills that it continue until all the wealth piled by the bondsman's two hundred and fifty years of unrequited toil shall be sunk, and until every drop of blood drawn with the lash shall be paid by another drawn with the sword, as was said three thousand years ago, so still it must be said "the judgments of the Lord are true and righteous altogether."
With malice toward none, with charity for all, with firmness in the right as God gives us to see the right, let us strive on to finish the work we are in, to bind up the nation's wounds, to care for him who shall have borne the battle and for his widow and his orphan, to do all which may achieve and cherish a just and lasting peace among ourselves and with all nations.

We took some pictures and walked to the outside rear of the Memorial to look across the Potomac river to Arlington and the Lee home high above on the hill. I am not a religious person but I look to Lincoln in times of crisis.He gives me strength to deal with the ups and downs of life. I believe that if Lincoln could keep his courage in the terrible days of the Civil War I can deal with my problems that pale in comparison. We then walked over to the Korean War Memorial. The memorial to the "forgotten war." What with the news about North Korea developing a nuclear bomb and missiles to deliver them I couldn't help but wish we had followed Douglas MacArthur's advice and won the Korean War. Instead President Truman fired him and we have to deal with this mad government 50 plus years later.The statues of the American GI's are very haunting. I have a picture of them on one of my computer screen savers and never tire of looking at it. We then walked by the reflecting pool and back through the Vietnam Memorial on the way back to the car. It was a special time with our daughter. Just the two of us.

Trip Journal, Day 7, "The Drive to Lexington, Ky"

Tuesday, June 30,2009

We got up very early at out daughters condo for the 10 hour car trip to see our son who is a graduate student in history at the University of Kentucky in Lexington. We headed out of Washington DC and drove up into Maryland over much the same route as the Union army on the way to Gettysburg. We then drove through the mountains that shielded the Southern Army on it's invasion of Pennsylvania. We passed through Hagerstown where Robert E Lee made the decision to swing his army around to meet the Northern forces at a small cross roads town called Gettysburg. We then headed out into the Maryland pan handle that seems to go on forever. On the way to Kentucky we are taking the "Northern Route". On the way back we will take the "Southern Route"
Our daughter drives the entire trip in her Ford compact . We drive into West Virginia and pass through Morganstown, home of the West Virginia University Mountaineers and on to the state Capitol of Charleston and then on to Huntington home of "We are Marshall."

We arrive in Lexington Kentucky and check into the Holiday Inn Express near the University of Kentucky campus. We call our son who comes by the motel and picks us up for a tour of campus. He showes us the History Department in the tall tower building pictured above and shows us the library where he spens a great deal of time. We have dinner at a campus "dive" and then see our son's campus apartment. He has spent all day cleaning it up. He then takes us to the University of Kentucky football stadium pictured above. After a 10 hour car trip we are dead tired so he takes us back to the motel with plans to see him in the morning. As tired as I am it is really good to see him.

Trip Journal, Day 8: "Lexington Kentucky"

Wednesday, July 1, 2009

This was our first full day in Lexington Kentucky. My wife awoke with a bad cold and just didn't feel well. So after our breakfast at the Holiday Inn Express she took a nap and our son took me and his sister for a tour. We first went to the new apartments he will move to in August. They are building this new apartments building complex that is near campus. The apartments are organised into "quad apartments" and will be furnished with flat screen TV's and leather furniture. The place will have a pool, club room and is a major upgrade from the campus housing he now has that was built in the 1950's. I was concerned that the apartments would not be finished in August but after talking to the management people they assured me the construction is on schedule.

He then took us to his favorite coffee house where he likes to hang out with his reading and lap top computer. We had some coffee and good conversation. He then took us to a used CD store that has used vinyl and a great selection of posters. I have not seen such a good store of this type since the 1960's. It was just across the street from the University of Kentucky campus.I bought a used Dylan CD and our daughter got several cd's.

We then went back to the Holiday Inn Express to pick up my wife for lunch. Our son took us to a Cracker Barrel Restaurant. It was a fun place with good food. I have never been to a Cracker Barrel and so it was a fun experience. It was also good that all four of us were back together again.

While in Kentucky and in West Virgina I noticed most people had a southern accent. I wonder it they think we have a strange accent?

After lunch our son had to go to work as a cashier at a restaurant he is working at this summer. He dropped us off at the motel and my wife went back to bed. Our daughter and I then found a Target store where we could get some cold medications for my wife and some birthday items for our son. We then found a grocery store where we got him a decorated cake. We then went back to the motel and had to make a trip to a Walgreen's for some more cold medications and then a Subway for some sandwiches for my wife's dinner.

Our daughter then took me out to eat at a nice Pizza place in a building that used to be a church.

After work our son dropped by the motel so I could take him across the street to a Dairy Queen for a late night snack.

Trip Journal, Day 9: "An Early Birthday"

Thursday, July 2, 2009


Our son had the day off so he showed us some of the sights around Lexington, Kentucky.

First, he drove us to the Keenland Horse Racing Track. What a beautiful facility. It is huge with very large plush grounds with many buildings and is very nicely landscaped. I felt like I was the poor cousins from out west. We must have seen 100 groundskeepers all working very hard and there won't be any races till next October. We parked in a tree covered paved parking lot and walked to the grandstands which are much nicer than Autzen Stadium. There were many banquet and club rooms with many box seats. I felt like a Kentucky colonel in a white suite. Our son ran into a fellow grad student he knows who was conducting a tour (his summer job) who told us to take the elevator up to the top of the grandstands for a great view. We then went down to the race track and then to a swanky gift shop.I am not a horse racing fan but if I lived in Kentucky it would be a nice thing to visit on race day. It sure beat Grants Pass Downs! (The fair grounds in Grants Pass Oregon where we have a very poor imitation of Keenland)

Then, He took us to the State Capitol of Kentucky, Frankfort, to a bourbon distillery. He took us by some back county roads so we could see the "blue grass country" with the large horse farms. Beautiful country! When we got to Frankfort we went to the Buffalo Trace Distillery for a tour. We leaned how they make fine aged Kentucky Bourbon whiskey and they gave us some free sample drinks at the end of the tour. While we were waiting for the tour to start we shopped the gift shop and my wife excused herself because she said the place smelled like a whiskey distillery :). My wife doesn't drink but went on the tour. They gave her root beer in place of the sample drinks. We then went to down town Frankfort and saw the old Capitol building and we all ate good pizza at a restaurant.

We then drove around the "new" Capitol building and drove back to Lexington. My wife was still suffering from her cold so we dropped her off at the Holiday Inn Express and I took the kids to a movie. We saw "Hangover" a gross comedy about a bachelor party in Las Vegas that goes wrong. All three of us laughed a lot . It was a good Summer movie.... fun going down but not much substance. In any case it's great to be able to take our kids to a movie theater again.

The three of us then picked up some Arbie Sandwiches and went back to our room at the Holiday Inn Express and had some birthday cake with our son. His birthday is not till later in July but we wanted to have a little party while we we were visiting him. He opened his presents, which were all related to Abraham Lincoln, and then we sang him "Happy Birthday" and had some cake after he blew out the candles. We sat around the room talking till about 9 pm when he left. I walked him out to his car. I hated to say good by since I knew I would not see him again till Christmas.He had to be at work early the next morning Our visit was too short.

Trip Journal, Day 10: "Trip back from Lexington, Ky."

Friday, July 3, 2009

We got up early and had our breakfast at the Holiday Inn Express Hotel and hit the road for the 10 hour trip back to Washington DC. We drove back to West Virginia and then this time took the "southern route" from Charleston to Lexington Virginia. Charleston is the capitol of West Virgina and we saw the state capitol dome as we drove by on the freeway. West Virginia is very beautiful from the freeway. We stopped at a craft center near Beckley where they have WV crafts on display and for sale. We then drove on into Virginia and pulled off the freeway to tour Virgina Military Institute (VMI) in Lexington Virgina. VMI is where Stonewall Jackson was a professor before the American Civil War. (See picture above with Jackson Statute) He is buried there and they filmed part of the movie "Gods and Generals" there. Robert E Lee is also buried in Lexington, Virginia. as he was the President of Washington and Lee College after the war. In 1864 the North burned down VMI as a military target.From Lexington Virginia we headed up the Shenandoah Valley back to Washington DC. The Shenandoah Valley was the scene of many battles of the Civil War and was hotly contested by both the North and the South. Our daughter dislikes my driving and as a type A personality likes to do all the driving; but, she became tired and let me drive from the Virginia border up to near Washington. She then took over because she knows her way around Washington DC and has learned to drive like a native. When she drives I have learned to keep my mouth shut and just hang on! Actually she is very skilled in that type of traffic which this "country boy" is not. We arived back at her condo and went to bed early to get ready for a Capitol 4th of July!

Trip Journal, Day 11, "4th of July in Washington DC"

Saturday, July 4, 2009

The 4th of July along with Christmas is my favorite holiday. We got up fairly early at our daughters condo and then took the metro to downtown Washington DC to watch the parade. We found a nice place on a bench across the street from the National Archives, the building where the original Declaration of Independence is on display. It was a great people watching place and we watched about an hour of the parade before we went to the National Mall to check out the Smithsonian craft fair. We then walked over to the Washington Memorial and then to the World War II Memorial. I wanted to do some more walking and said good by to my wife and daughter who because of their colds wanted to head back to the condo. I then went on a long hike to some of my favorite places on earth.

I first took the long way around the tide pool to the Jefferson Memorial and spent some time with the author of the Declaration of Independence who died along with John Adams on July 4th, on the 50th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence.

IN CONGRESS, JULY 4, 1776
The unanimous Declaration of the thirteen united States of America
When in the Course of human events it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. — That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed,......

From there I worked my way through several security check points over to the White House. They had the side of the White House facing the Washington Memorial completely blocked off so I worked my way around to the side facing Lafayette Park. This is the side shown in all the reporter "stand ups" when a news reporter is reporting from the White House. From there I walked by the Willard Hotel..... been there since the Civil War and started my walk down Pennsylvania Avenue to the Capitol. I stopped at the Old Post Office building where they have a food court and got a deli sandwich and some ice tea. I then continued up to the Capitol and stopped by the Senator Robert Taft Memorial. Senator Taft was known as "Mr Republican" in the 1940's and I remember visiting the memorial for the first time in 1965, with my dad, when I visit Washington DC for the first time for about 24 hours. From there I walked back to our daughters condo. All in all I walked about 6 to 8 miles. By the time I got back to our daughter's place my left ankle which is always sore "with age" was very sore. I also was wearing shorts and the area just above my socks in the ankle area was very red up the leg. I then put on some aloe vera and some Bactine on the sunburn.

I then rested for a few hours and watched James Cagney in "Yankee Doodle Dandy" on TV with my wife and daughter. We then watched "A Capitol 4th" on PBS before we walked back to the Capitol to watch the fireworks. The three of us then watched the fireworks from the front of the Russell Senate Office Building next to the Capitol. We then walked over to the Capitol grounds facing the U.S. Supreme Court Building and got some great pictures. We then walked back to our daughters condo and collapsed into bed after a great and glorious 4th of July.

John Adams on celebrating Independence Day:

The Second Day of July 1776, will be the most memorable Epocha, in the History of America. I am apt to believe that it will be celebrated, by succeeding Generations, as the great anniversary Festival. It ought to be commemorated, as the Day of Deliverance by solemn Acts of Devotion to God Almighty. It ought to be solemnized with Pomp and Parade, with Shews, Games, Sports, Guns, Bells, Bonfires and Illuminations (fireworks) from one End of this Continent to the other from this Time forward forever more.

I don't know about "forever more" but 233 years later we are still celebrating !

Trip Journal, Day 12: "A Day To Rest!"

Sunday,July 5,2009

We got us late on Sunday. Both my wife and daughter had bad colds and we had to cancel a get together with my brother-in-law who lives in Maryland with his wife and son. In addition, I was hobbled with a sore left ankle after my long July 4th hike around Washington DC and had sunburn on my legs as well so I wasn't feeling very spry myself. We sat around our daughters condo and watched the Sunday News shows to see what the political pundits had to say about Sarah Palin and her resignation announcement.I hope I am wrong but it makes no sense to me why she would resign before her term as Governor was up. My wife and I then took a mid-day walk (I walked very slow) down to the Eastern Market on Capitol Hill.(See pictures above) It is an old building that has been rebuild as a market where vendors sell food, and craft items.The place was very crowded having just reopened after a fire. We walked around looking at the crafts and had a nice brunch at a restaurant nearby. I bought some pictures of the Lincoln Memorial from a vendor and we then hiked back to our daughters condo and joined her in watching the movie "The Greatest Show on Earth" We then read the Washington Post I had picked up at the Eastern Market and then cleaned up the condo. We packed our bags and went to bed early because we had to get up early for the long trip home.

Trip Journal, Day 13 : "The Long Trip Home"

Monday, July 6, 2009

We got up at our daughters condo in Washington DC at about 5 AM so she could drive her mom and I to Dullas Airport in Virginia to catch our 8:20 am United Airlines flight. It took about 45 minutes to get to the airport and I got one last look at the Capitol Dome, the Washington, Lincoln and Jefferson Memorials as we headed out of town on a freeway. We passed the rebuild side of the Pentagon and I got a view of the rows of graves at Arlington. We got to the airport and we gave our daughter final hugs and said good by. We then got into a long line at the United ticket counter to check our bags and get our boarding passes. I normally do this on-line but our daughter does not have a printer at her home. We then got into another line to go through the TSA security. We got to our boarding gate about 15 minutes before they started boarding and I then got into a third line at Wendy's to get some breakfast. The fourth line was to get on our flight from Dullas to San Francisco (SFO). We got good seats together with my wife the the window seat and I the isle seat. (only 2 seats on each side with three in the middle) The first movie on the flight was "Duplicity" with Julia Roberts about industrial spying. It was faily good and I had not seen it before. After the movie I read my book "Gods and Generals" about the first years of the American Civil War. The 5 hour plus fight arrived on time in San Francisco(SFO) and we had a 2 hour plus layover. We got some lunch at a nice restaurant we ate at on our trip back from Europe two years ago. The one we had breakfast at after spending the entire night at the airport. We than board our flight to Medford, Oregon and we both had isle seats across from each other and made it back to the Jackson County/Medford Airport we had started at 13 days earlier. We then took a cab home (It was cleaner than the ones in New York City and Washington DC) Everything was fine at home and we unpacked. Our cat was at first angry we had left her so long but soon warmed up to us and wanted us to give her a lot of attention. My wife's brother came over every day we were gone to see she had food and spent some time with her so she wouldn't get too lonely. We had a great trip and enjoyed being with our children but it is always nice to come home. I hung the two small framed posters of the Broadway musicals "Mamma Mia" and "South Pacific" in my "movie room" I had purchased from a street side vendor in New York City on our last day there. I then placed the bust statue of George Washington I bought in DC on the book shelf with my Thomas Jefferson bust. What with the time change it had been a long day and it was nice to sleep in our own bed.

We both want to thank our daughter for putting up with the "old folks" and our quirks for 13 days. She was a wonderful host and showed us a fabulous time and was very patient and kind.

I'm Home!

My wife and I just got back to Medford, after a two week trip to Washington D.C., New York City and Lexington Kentucky. We went on the trip to see out two adult children and had a wonderful time.We saw both of their residences for the first time. We were given a tour of the U.S. Capitol by out daughter, got to go on the floor of the U.S. House of Representatives, went to a Capitol Hill Reception in a room full of famous politicians from both parties, saw two New York Broadway plays (Mama Mia & South Pacific) and went on a tour of a bourbon distillery and horse racing track in Kentucky. We spent the 4th of July in Washington DC and saw the fireworks and the parade. I checked in on the Lincoln Memorial and on July 4th spent some time with Thomas Jefferson at the Jefferson Memorial. More details will be posted here in the days to come. While we were gone Michale Jackson and Farrah Fawcet died and Sarah Palin announced she would resign as Governor of Alaska. Enough material for this blog for an entire month. Good to be home but I already miss our kids.

Summer of 09 Finally Here !

Memorial Day weekend has come and gone. School is out for the Summer and graduations have been held. Now the calender says it is Summer so the last guide post has been passed . Yesterday I went down to Target to buy a special edition 3 CD set of the soundtrack to Woodstock held in the Summer of 69, 40 years ago. Target has a big 40 year celebration going on with "Woodstock" merchandise in it's own section of the store. They have a blu ray DVD of the movie "Woodstock" for sale along with the regular DVD, the Soundtrack CD I bought, paper dishes and napkins with the "Woodstock" logo, as well as posters, tee shirts and even beach towels. I love it, Capitalism co opting the hippies!

I was not at Woodstock in the Summer of 1969! I was being drafted into the U.S. Army. However, if every guy in the army who told me he was at Woodstock actually was telling the truth there would have been twice as many people there. In 1970 if you walked through an army barracks you would have seen every other guy playing the Woodstock album on his stereo. It was very popular. I like only about 50 % of the album but bought it because it reminds of a time and place in my youth. 40 years ago!

Time for Good Men to be heard on Iran!

FREEDOM!

This from the Weekly Standard:

In 1823, first-term congressman Daniel Webster spoke up in support of the Greek revolution. Responding to critics who said that mere rhetorical support would do the revolutionaries no good, Webster said: "I hope it may. It may give them courage and spirit. It may assure them of public regard, teach them that they are not wholly forgotten by the civilized world, and inspire them with constancy in the pursuit of their great end."

And in any case, Webster continued, support for those fighting for freedom abroad was "due to our own character, and called for by our own duty."

The history of the world has been man's attempt to throw off the chains of tyranny. China, North Korea, & Iran are only current examples of this continuing struggle.

"Education in Oregon—The House the OEA Built"

Dennis Richardson is a fellow attorney here in Southern Oregon and he is a friend of mine. He is also a State Representative in the Oregon Legislature. Today I revived an email newsletter he regularly sends out. It is as follows:

Rep. Richardson's Newsletter
June 19, 2009
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Education in Oregon—The House the OEA Built
Who should decide the best way to educate an individual child, the teacher’s union or the parents? Today’s newsletter is about the on-going struggle for power in Oregon’s educational system.

No one doubts the power and influence the Oregon Education Association (teachers’ union) has in the Capitol. In fact, when the Democrats regained power in the House of Representatives, we said in jest, “This is the House the OEA built.” No one is laughing now. The Willamette Weekly recently revealed the OEA has used its influence to get a state-employed attorney to draft politically charged, pro-OEA language for legislation intended to strangle OEA competition. The OEA lobbyist asked the Dept. of Education attorney to draft provisions in direct contradiction of Oregon’s State Board of Education. And the attorney did it. To see how subversive the OEA and its union representatives’ actions have become in legislative politics, read the Willamette Weekly’s article, the letter from State Board of Education’s Chairman, Duncan Wyse, and the recently discovered e-mail from OEA union lobbyist Laurie Wimmer to Oregon Department of Education attorney, Cindy L. Hunt.

The OEA lobbyist’s requests were granted and the desired provisions were then buried in Senate Bill 767. Deep in SB 767 is found the following provision:


SECTION 13c. ORS 338.125 (2)(b) applies to all public charter schools operating in this state prior to, on or after the effective date of this 2009 Act unless: (1) A public charter school has been granted a waiver of the provisions of ORS 338.125 (2)(b) by the State Board of Education under ORS 338.025;


Although most people reading Section 13c of SB 767 would not give it a thought, a close reading shows it is intended to shut down any competition to OEA’s hold on public education. The statute referred to, ORS 338.125 (2)(b), states in relevant part the following:


“…if a public charter school offers any online courses as part of the curriculum of the school, then 50 percent or more of the students who attend the public charter school must reside in the school district in which the public charter school is located.”


The target of this wording is the Oregon Connections Academy (ORCA), which is part of Scio School District. Notwithstanding the small size and rural location of Scio School District, it had the vision to grasp the opportunity to create a computer-based, distance learning option for some special needs students. These are students who, for the most part, did not fit well in “bricks and mortar” public schools. These are students who had parents that knew and loved them, and were willing to make a change to ensure their children had a chance for educational success. One such parent was Kristine Ribali. Please spend a few minutes and watch Ms. Ribali. Listen to her story, then you decide who knows what is best for her son's education, the OEA or this mother. She has one daughter who remains in public school and one who now attends ORCA.

ORCA now has approximately 2500 students located statewide. In short, ORCA is a flourishing, well-organized, curricula-oriented alternative educational format known as a “virtual school.” By reading ORCA’s curricula, its frequent teacher-pupil interaction, its testing and tutoring that enables a student to actually learn and understand a lesson or concept before progressing to the next lesson, you will see why the OEA is so afraid of the competition, and so determined to crush such virtual schools with unattainable requirements.

After connecting the dots and recognizing the collusion and subterfuge the OEA has foisted on the Legislature in Senate Bill 767, I invite you to read the comments by parents who are powerless to stop the OEA, as it flexes its political muscle and drives through the Capitol the anti-parental choice, self-serving agenda contained in SB 767. If you agree that parents should have a voice in where and how their children should receive their education, if you are as disgusted as I am to learn how the OEA used a state-salaried attorney to circumvent our State Board of Education's Chairman, go to the "Contact Your Elected Officials" link below and make your voice heard. Senate Bill 767 will be considered in the House on Monday or Tuesday. If you think SB 767 and OEA's maneuvering should be defeated, make your voice heard. Express to your Representative whether or not you feel the educational option of ORCA should remain available to Oregon parents with special needs children.

There is a story about a teacher’s union lobbyist once being asked when the union would really start caring about children’s education. “When the children have union cards,” was the cogent reply.

I do not blame the OEA for doing what unions do. I do blame the people for voting for legislators who have allowed the OEA and the public section unions (SEIU and AFSCME) to gain such power and control over our legislature. If the voters knew how pervasive the public sector unions’ influence is here in the Capitol, there should be a public uprising, a march of 10,000 citizens circling the Capitol, shaking their fists and demanding immediate repeal of laws allowing unionization of public employees and laws requiring the state to deduct union dues from state employees’ wages -- money that can then be used to elect Representatives and Senators who will promote the unions’ agendas. It is truly a vicious political cycle.

Unfortunately, the voters have been too complacent, too willing to sell their birthright of freedom for a bowl of pottage flavored with political promises. Yet, there is hope.

I see clouds forming. I hear rumblings of the sleeping giant. I sense an awakening of a freedom-loving people. There is change in the air, a change we really can believe in. Not false promises of change by one willing to continue and even intensify his predecessor’s statist policies, but real change, a course correction, a reversion to, and renewal of principles that made America the land of the free and the hope of the world. Recently, a letter was written by Janet Contreras, a frustrated American from Arizona. Although it is long, if you want a sense of what the rising, non-partisan “tea party” mentality is about, you will want to read it. I am convinced Ms. Contreras speaks for millions of Americans who are waking up and beginning the campaign to reclaim our states and nation. Maybe you are one of them.


Sincerely,

Dennis Richardson
State Representative

There are many fine, good, hardworking teachers and other public employees in Oregon. However, the teachers union and the other public employee unions here in Oregon now run the state. It takes courage to speak out against these unions as Dennis has and I salute him.

Charles Krauthammer's Take on Obama's Healthcare Plan & His Popularity

From last night’s “All-Stars.” on the "Special Report" News Program on FOX NEWS

1. On the state of the health care debate:

That's the big setback this week, was one number, the CBO (nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office) number that came out, which estimated the Obama plan, or at least the one coming out of Congress…the Kennedy plan, would add $1.6 trillion in deficit spending.
The reason it is devastating is because it put a real number on the essential contradiction of the Obama fiscal idea. His idea, a correct idea, is that the way to control exploding deficits with all of the programs he's proposing is to bend the curve to lower the cost of entitlements, particularly Medicare and Medicaid.

He's right. If you do that, it would save so much it would even allow for all the trillions thrown away on stimulus and other stuff.

The contradiction is that when you look at the health care, the real plan in the real world as proposed now, it bends the curve upwards to $1.6 trillion additional spending, and that explodes the whole idea of a fiscally responsible plan.

2. On the public’s perception of Obama’s policies:

I think the real drama of the Obama presidency is the contest between charisma and reality. And he is the most charismatic, in fact, some Democrats and some of the press think of him as messianic, but at least [the most] charismatic president since Reagan and Kennedy, and perhaps more so.

But you have the reality, and you see it in the gap between his own popularity and his policies.

The ones that I think the Democrats ought to have anxiety over are the deficits, the auto takeover, and Guantanamo, because each of them is a symbol. Deficits is the old bugaboo about Democrats as free-spending liberals. Autos is the idea of Democrats who want to expand the reach and authority of government.

And Guantanamo is a double effect, soft on crime. You get those pictures of Uighurs in paradise swimming on the beach in swim trunks in Bermuda. And secondly, soft on national defense, the idea of having terrorists in America. Cheney capitalized on that, and he won in that debate.

On those three items, there is a real gap opening up, and Obama will be able to carry those issues on personal popularity, but only so far. In the end, reality is going to bite him.

Thanks National Review online for posting the transcript.

Krauthammer is one of the smartest guys I know in politics and policy in this country.

California Senator Boxer.... just call her a Jerk!

Barbara Boxer: Call me 'Senator'

Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.) didn't like a Brigadier General calling her "ma'am" at a Congressional hearing yesterday.

"Do me a favor," she said, "could say 'senator' instead of 'ma'am?' It's just a thing, I worked so hard to get that title, so I'd appreciate it, yes, thank you."

Click on the title for the video. The tone in her voice really says it all...... the bare transcript does not convey the contempt she had for the General...... she hates the military! She has a reputation for a prickly and petty personality. Hopefully we can say ex Senator some day!