I am pro-life. I know that life begins at conception, and destroying that life for any reason is an unspeakable evil. I know that individuals have the right to bear arms to protect themselves from the tyranny of the federal government, criminals, and foreign enemies. I know that free market capitalism is the only way to run an economy, despite the fact that I'm not a millionaire like Chairman Obama's pals, Sarah Jessica Parker and Eva Longoria or a billionaire like Chairman Obama's boss, George $oros. I know that homosexual "marriage" is destructive and wrong. I know that the borders must be defended and illegal aliens need to be deported. We could go on and on, and I could bore the crap out of you explaining why I think this way (other than the fact that they're truths that are self evident), but I don't think it's necessary. Odds are if you're reading this, you're a Conservative and you probably think the same way. 'Nuff said, to shamelessly rip off Stan Lee.
I have no problem saying any of the above in public. Hell, I'll talk to anyone who will listen about this stuff. Quite frankly, it's more than a feeling, kinda like the Boston song. It's who I am as a person. I've never held any other views for as long as I've been alive, and they'll be my views until the day I die. There's no Koch money paying for this column, I'm not some hack of a radio talk show host trying to make myself sound edgy, nor am I pimping myself for a sweet gig at the FOX Neocon Channel (FNC). I'm a "right-wing extremist" when I wake up late for work every morning and I'm a "right-wing extremist" when I finally pass out at night. As Popeye would say, "I yam what I yam and that's all that I yam."
Now, I don't consider myself some sort of hero to the Conservative Movement because I shout this from the rooftops every chance I get. Odds are, you do as well. There are millions of us. I'm no better at getting my point across than you or anyone else for that matter. But you know what, this column is not about me, nor is it about you, or the rest of the Conservative Movement's rank and file. This column is about the spineless blobs of wet cardboard that call themselves Republicans in public office.
Other than the usual suspects like Rand Paul, Ted Cruz, Mike Lee, Michele Bachmann, Tim Scott, and Louie Gohmert, how often do we hear this stuff from Republicans ? Almost never anymore. All we get now is now is "We're evolving on this issue", "We're looking for a bipartisan solution", and all kinds of other sit-down-when-you-pee mush that doesn't mean a damn thing to anyone, including the mental deficient who uttered it.
If you'll note, those on the Sociopath Left never utter this defeatist pablum. They're always goosestepping in the same direction. There's never a hint of moderation in anything they say or do. It's always balls to the wall Marxism at warp speed. Constitution ? Who cares ? Can't get it through CONgress ? We'll write a regulation or issue an executive fiat. Voters getting in the way ? We'll import new ones, get the all important dead vote, one man six votes, and go to court if we have to. Granted, they have their sycophants in the arrogant and lazy media and Hollyweird backing them up, but you have to give the libs their due. Neither their stormtroopers or gauleiters ever seem to accept defeat.
Why can't we ? Why can't we fight to the death on every blessed issue the way they do ?
We're right on every issue. I've never had a discussion with a complete stranger about their daughter's partial birth abortion, but I've seen pictures of a complete stranger's grandchildren. For that matter, I've never heard anyone brag that their son is marrying some guy named Chip, nor have I heard anyone brag that their kid is on welfare. It's simply never happened, and it never will. And why is that, you ask ?
The American people simply don't find liberalism all that palatable.The moment the Republican party realizes this, they'll start winning again.
Monday, April 1, 2013
Monday, March 25, 2013
Not Today....
As of sundown, Passover begins. Millions of Jews in the United States and around the world will be celebrating our Deliverance from Slavery in Egypt.
I will not be amongst them. Aside from praying, I'm not celebrating. This year, it would be as depressing as sitting shiva, therefore I'm not going to do it. Called Mom and told her I can't come this year. Uncle Morris will have to tell his bogus Korean War stories to someone else. Aunt Esther will need someone else to get her cigarettes from the car. I'm over it.
As we speak, Obama's Fundamental Transformation is spreading across the United States like a cancer. Freedom of Religion is being attacked by Obamacare. The Supreme Court is deciding whether or not homosexuals have the "right" to marry. The Second Amendment is under assault in the media, and there's a good chance it's going to be violated. An oppressive tax code is in place to take (by force) the wealth of productive citizens who play by the rules and redistribute it to illegal aliens, petty criminals, and crony capitalists. Millions of babies are being slaughtered by abortion in what could be best described as storefront Auschwitzes.
How on Earth can I possibly celebrate Freedom while it's being snuffed out ? (With thunderous applause, no less.)
I can't, in good conscience, therefore I won't.
Now, there will be those who say I'm obligated to celebrate because of the Holocaust and the thousands of years of Jewish suffering. Yes, that's true, but I feel my obligation to fight for Freedom wherever and whenever I can is greater. What good is tradition if it no longer has any meaning ? Is it truly honorable to play a fiddle while Rome burns ?
I will not be amongst them. Aside from praying, I'm not celebrating. This year, it would be as depressing as sitting shiva, therefore I'm not going to do it. Called Mom and told her I can't come this year. Uncle Morris will have to tell his bogus Korean War stories to someone else. Aunt Esther will need someone else to get her cigarettes from the car. I'm over it.
As we speak, Obama's Fundamental Transformation is spreading across the United States like a cancer. Freedom of Religion is being attacked by Obamacare. The Supreme Court is deciding whether or not homosexuals have the "right" to marry. The Second Amendment is under assault in the media, and there's a good chance it's going to be violated. An oppressive tax code is in place to take (by force) the wealth of productive citizens who play by the rules and redistribute it to illegal aliens, petty criminals, and crony capitalists. Millions of babies are being slaughtered by abortion in what could be best described as storefront Auschwitzes.
How on Earth can I possibly celebrate Freedom while it's being snuffed out ? (With thunderous applause, no less.)
I can't, in good conscience, therefore I won't.
Now, there will be those who say I'm obligated to celebrate because of the Holocaust and the thousands of years of Jewish suffering. Yes, that's true, but I feel my obligation to fight for Freedom wherever and whenever I can is greater. What good is tradition if it no longer has any meaning ? Is it truly honorable to play a fiddle while Rome burns ?
Friday, March 8, 2013
Tuesday, March 5, 2013
Your Children Belong To Us!
During his State of Confusion diatribe, our dog eating and Jew hating Dear Leader, Barack Hussein Obama, said this to say:
***
"But today, fewer than three in ten 4-year-olds are enrolled in a high-quality preschool program. Most middle-class parents can't afford a few hundred bucks a week for private preschool. And for poor kids who need help the most, this lack of access to preschool education can shadow them for the rest of their lives. So, tonight, I propose working with states to make high-quality preschool available to every single child in America."
***
And the seals clapped until the Sergeant At Arms threw them some fish.
Ladies and gentlemen, this is a call for CONgress to give Barry The Horrible the power to have his lackeys at the Department of Education indoctrinate YOUR children from an early age, much like the way The Third Reich's Hitler Jugend (To hell with "Godwin's Law"-- I will talk about whatever I want in this column.) and the Soviet Union's Komsomol indoctrinated children. It doesn't get any more dangerous for a society than this.
Now, I know there will be some who will say that I'm bloviating to hear myself bloviate. There will be some who will tell me that my official Glenn Beck Tinfoil Hat is too tight for my own good. Perhaps during the Reagan years, those accusations might had some merit. But now, we live in the Obama Error, and the first order of business for this regime is the "fundamental transformation" of the United States of America. In short, we live in times that no longer allow us to say, "Naah. That couldn't happen here." We live in times that force us to scream at the top our lungs, "Holy shit! I sure as hell hope that's not true!"
What do you base this on ? Something you saw on Alex Jones' freak show of a website ?
Nope. I base this on creepy things I found on another freak show of a website, the Department of Education's website. Let's take a dip in the gene pool, shall we ? (H/T Mark Levin)
***
"June is LGBT Pride Month, and to kick off the month, and as part of ED’s Student Voices Sessions, the Secretary met with eight students from the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network (GLSEN) and the Gay-Straight Alliance Network to hear directly from the students about their experiences and to discuss bullying and possible solutions."
http://www.ed.gov/blog/2012/06/lgbt-students-give-secretary-duncan-homework/
***
" 'You are all partners and allies in reforming public education,' Secretary Arne Duncan said last week at the National Action Network’s 14th Annual Convention in Washington. 'An excellent education for very child is a moral and civic imperative, as well as an economic one. This issue is even bigger than education—it is an issue of social justice and economic security,' [Education Secretary Arne] Duncan said.
One takeaway from the conference is that the civil rights community has a long and distinguished history of taking courageous action to drive social change, and it will take collective will to make a difference in boosting the nation’s graduation rates and turning around our low-performing schools. 'Without equality in education there will never be equality in society. We have to do what’s right for our children and make education a priority,' said Rev. Al Sharpton [noted anti-semite, anti-white racist, and current host on PMSNBC] of the founder of the National Action Network.
Secretary Duncan explained that 'we have to have a strategy to build an economy that will last—and education is the centerpiece of it.' Duncan praised groups like the National Action Network for their work with communities, and said that 'we need to keep fighting together for strong local, state and national investments.' "
http://www.ed.gov/blog/2012/04/duncan-enlists-sharptons-civil-rights-network-in-education-reform/
***
Don't worry, greenies, you weren't left out. The Department of Education luvs you, too!
***
"Two weeks from today, Secretary Duncan will take the stage at the Green Schools National Conference in Denver, providing a high note at what is fast becoming the largest annual meeting of the green schools movement. The Secretary and other distinguished speakers, including Deputy Undersecretary for the U.S. Department of Agriculture Janey Thornton, mayors from several cities, and business leaders representing companies from Stonyfield Farm to Siemens, will address the green schools movement and how it can strengthen our economy, revitalize our schools and ensure access to green school benefits for all.
The Secretary’s appearance and the growing popularity of this conference signal a new milestone in green schools, coinciding with the inaugural year of U.S. Department of Education Green Ribbon Schools (ED-GRS) program. ED’s new Environmental Justice Strategy explains how ED-GRS is just one initiative supporting a goal at the very heart of ED’s mission: assuring equal educational opportunity for every student. ED-GRS, among other initiatives, helps suggest ways to address the adverse health and environmental conditions that disproportionately affect student achievement among minority and low-income populations."
http://www.ed.gov/blog/2012/02/a-green-revolution-for-all/
***
And what could be the result of this, you ask ? This:
***
"With those children, he thought, that wretched woman must lead a life of terror. Another year, two years, and they would be watching her night and day for symptoms of unorthodoxy. Nearly all children nowadays were horrible. What was worst of all was that by means of such organizations as the Spies they were systematically turned into ungovernable little savages, and yet this produced in them no tendency whatever to rebel against the discipline of the Party. On the contrary, they adored the Party and everything connected with it. The songs, the processions, the banners, the hiking, the drilling with dummy rifles, the yelling of slogans, the worship of Big Brother -- it was all a sort of glorious game to them. All their ferocity was turned outwards, against the enemies of the State, against foreigners, traitors, saboteurs, thought-criminals. It was almost normal for people over thirty to be frightened of their own children. And with good reason, for hardly a week passed in which The Times did not carry a paragraph describing how some eavesdropping little sneak -- 'child hero' was the phrase generally used -- had overheard some compromising remark and denounced its parents to the Thought Police."--- George Orwell, 1984
***
The bottom line is this, gang: We're in massive, massive trouble as a country. As we can see, the Republican't Party isn't going to do a whole lot to stop any of this. (To date, their only answers to Chairman Obama's Marxist intrigues has been to raise taxes and call Conservatives who oppose granting amnesty to illegal alien criminals bigots.) They're as useless as male nipples at this point. I wish I had a different answer, but it is what it is, and there's no point in sugar coating it.
Oh...By the way...They want to take your guns.
Have a great day.
***
"But today, fewer than three in ten 4-year-olds are enrolled in a high-quality preschool program. Most middle-class parents can't afford a few hundred bucks a week for private preschool. And for poor kids who need help the most, this lack of access to preschool education can shadow them for the rest of their lives. So, tonight, I propose working with states to make high-quality preschool available to every single child in America."
***
And the seals clapped until the Sergeant At Arms threw them some fish.
Ladies and gentlemen, this is a call for CONgress to give Barry The Horrible the power to have his lackeys at the Department of Education indoctrinate YOUR children from an early age, much like the way The Third Reich's Hitler Jugend (To hell with "Godwin's Law"-- I will talk about whatever I want in this column.) and the Soviet Union's Komsomol indoctrinated children. It doesn't get any more dangerous for a society than this.
Now, I know there will be some who will say that I'm bloviating to hear myself bloviate. There will be some who will tell me that my official Glenn Beck Tinfoil Hat is too tight for my own good. Perhaps during the Reagan years, those accusations might had some merit. But now, we live in the Obama Error, and the first order of business for this regime is the "fundamental transformation" of the United States of America. In short, we live in times that no longer allow us to say, "Naah. That couldn't happen here." We live in times that force us to scream at the top our lungs, "Holy shit! I sure as hell hope that's not true!"
What do you base this on ? Something you saw on Alex Jones' freak show of a website ?
Nope. I base this on creepy things I found on another freak show of a website, the Department of Education's website. Let's take a dip in the gene pool, shall we ? (H/T Mark Levin)
***
"June is LGBT Pride Month, and to kick off the month, and as part of ED’s Student Voices Sessions, the Secretary met with eight students from the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network (GLSEN) and the Gay-Straight Alliance Network to hear directly from the students about their experiences and to discuss bullying and possible solutions."
http://www.ed.gov/blog/2012/06/lgbt-students-give-secretary-duncan-homework/
***
" 'You are all partners and allies in reforming public education,' Secretary Arne Duncan said last week at the National Action Network’s 14th Annual Convention in Washington. 'An excellent education for very child is a moral and civic imperative, as well as an economic one. This issue is even bigger than education—it is an issue of social justice and economic security,' [Education Secretary Arne] Duncan said.
One takeaway from the conference is that the civil rights community has a long and distinguished history of taking courageous action to drive social change, and it will take collective will to make a difference in boosting the nation’s graduation rates and turning around our low-performing schools. 'Without equality in education there will never be equality in society. We have to do what’s right for our children and make education a priority,' said Rev. Al Sharpton [noted anti-semite, anti-white racist, and current host on PMSNBC] of the founder of the National Action Network.
Secretary Duncan explained that 'we have to have a strategy to build an economy that will last—and education is the centerpiece of it.' Duncan praised groups like the National Action Network for their work with communities, and said that 'we need to keep fighting together for strong local, state and national investments.' "
http://www.ed.gov/blog/2012/04/duncan-enlists-sharptons-civil-rights-network-in-education-reform/
***
Don't worry, greenies, you weren't left out. The Department of Education luvs you, too!
***
"Two weeks from today, Secretary Duncan will take the stage at the Green Schools National Conference in Denver, providing a high note at what is fast becoming the largest annual meeting of the green schools movement. The Secretary and other distinguished speakers, including Deputy Undersecretary for the U.S. Department of Agriculture Janey Thornton, mayors from several cities, and business leaders representing companies from Stonyfield Farm to Siemens, will address the green schools movement and how it can strengthen our economy, revitalize our schools and ensure access to green school benefits for all.
The Secretary’s appearance and the growing popularity of this conference signal a new milestone in green schools, coinciding with the inaugural year of U.S. Department of Education Green Ribbon Schools (ED-GRS) program. ED’s new Environmental Justice Strategy explains how ED-GRS is just one initiative supporting a goal at the very heart of ED’s mission: assuring equal educational opportunity for every student. ED-GRS, among other initiatives, helps suggest ways to address the adverse health and environmental conditions that disproportionately affect student achievement among minority and low-income populations."
http://www.ed.gov/blog/2012/02/a-green-revolution-for-all/
***
And what could be the result of this, you ask ? This:
***
"With those children, he thought, that wretched woman must lead a life of terror. Another year, two years, and they would be watching her night and day for symptoms of unorthodoxy. Nearly all children nowadays were horrible. What was worst of all was that by means of such organizations as the Spies they were systematically turned into ungovernable little savages, and yet this produced in them no tendency whatever to rebel against the discipline of the Party. On the contrary, they adored the Party and everything connected with it. The songs, the processions, the banners, the hiking, the drilling with dummy rifles, the yelling of slogans, the worship of Big Brother -- it was all a sort of glorious game to them. All their ferocity was turned outwards, against the enemies of the State, against foreigners, traitors, saboteurs, thought-criminals. It was almost normal for people over thirty to be frightened of their own children. And with good reason, for hardly a week passed in which The Times did not carry a paragraph describing how some eavesdropping little sneak -- 'child hero' was the phrase generally used -- had overheard some compromising remark and denounced its parents to the Thought Police."--- George Orwell, 1984
***
The bottom line is this, gang: We're in massive, massive trouble as a country. As we can see, the Republican't Party isn't going to do a whole lot to stop any of this. (To date, their only answers to Chairman Obama's Marxist intrigues has been to raise taxes and call Conservatives who oppose granting amnesty to illegal alien criminals bigots.) They're as useless as male nipples at this point. I wish I had a different answer, but it is what it is, and there's no point in sugar coating it.
Oh...By the way...They want to take your guns.
Have a great day.
Be Afraid. Very, Very Afraid
No, I'm not talking about the non-event of the Sequester of Doom. Nope, this column is not about Gene Sperling's love letters to Bob Woodward. I think the talking heads that inhabit PMSNBC, The Communist News Network (CNN), and the FOX Neocon Channel (FNC) are doing a fine job of working themselves into a frenzy about these topics, so there's no need for lil' ol' me to offer my two cents.
I'd rather present to you actual news that no one is talking about. For example, look what I found while snooping around the Department of Housing and Urban Development's website:
[When appropriate, emphasis will be added.]
***
I'd rather present to you actual news that no one is talking about. For example, look what I found while snooping around the Department of Housing and Urban Development's website:
[When appropriate, emphasis will be added.]
***
"Choice Neighborhoods
Overview
Choice Neighborhoods grants transform distressed neighborhoods and public and assisted projects into viable and sustainable mixed-income neighborhoods by linking housing improvements with appropriate services, schools, public assets, transportation, and access to jobs. A strong emphasis is placed on local community planning for access to high-quality educational opportunities, including early childhood education. Choice Neighborhoods grants build upon the successes of public housing transformation under HOPE VI to provide support for the preservation and rehabilitation of public and HUD-assisted housing, within the context of a broader approach to concentrated poverty. In addition to public housing authorities, the initiative will involve local governments, non-profits, and for-profit developers in undertaking comprehensive local planning with residents and the community.
In the development of Choice Neighborhoods, HUD has focused on directing resources into three core goals:
1. Housing: Transform distressed public and
assisted housing into energy efficient, mixed-income housing that is
physically and financially viable over the long-term;
2. People: Support positive outcomes for families who live in the target development(s) and the surrounding neighborhood, particularly outcomes related to residents’ health, safety, employment, mobility, and education; and
3. Neighborhood: Transform neighborhoods of poverty into viable, mixed-income neighborhoods with access to well-functioning services, high quality public schools and education programs, high quality early learning programs and services, public assets, public transportation, and improved access to jobs.
To achieve these core goals, communities must develop a comprehensive neighborhood revitalization strategy, or Transformation Plan. This Transformation Plan will become the guiding document for the revitalization of the public and/or assisted housing units, while simultaneously directing the transformation of the surrounding neighborhood and positive outcomes for families. To successfully implement the Transformation Plan, applicants will need to work with public and private agencies, organizations (including philanthropic organizations), and individuals to gather and leverage resources needed to support the financial sustainability of the plan. These efforts should build community support for and involvement in the development of the plan. Implementation Grants support those communities that have undergone a comprehensive local planning process and are ready to implement their 'Transformation Plan' to redevelop the neighborhood. "
http://portal.hud.gov/hudportal/HUD?src=/program_offices/public_indian_housing/programs/ph/cn
***
Guess what, ladies and gentlemen ? This is Agenda 21-like social engineering. What a program like this could do is completely obliterate local governments and replace them with bureaucracies created by HUD and staffed by God knows who.
Of course, if this was just the work of some academic Marxist at HUD trying to impress Noam Chomsky, this would be filed in the "No Biggie" file. However, as you read this, this madness is burrowing its way into American cities.
***
"Boston is one of just five cities nationwide to receive the first-ever Implementation Grants awarded under HUD’s Choice Neighborhoods Initiative a new strategic approach intended to help transform high-poverty, distressed neighborhoods into communities with healthy, affordable housing, safe streets, and access to quality educational opportunities. Boston joins Chicago, New Orleans, San Francisco and Seattle to receive a combined $122 million."
http://www.cityofboston.gov/dnd/pdr/choice_neighborhoods.asp
***
That's right. This beast is growing mighty big and fat thanks to your government enforced generosity.
Of the cities that were listed above, guess who got the biggest slice of government cheese ?
[Emphasis added where appropriate]
***
"8/31/11— Mayor Edwin M. Lee today announced that the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) has selected San Francisco’s HOPE SF transformation plan for Alice Griffith Public Housing Development and the surrounding Bayview neighborhood as a recipient of the $30.5 million Choice Neighborhoods Implementation Grant. The Alice Griffith Plan was one of six finalists submitted by communities nationwide competing for HUD Choice Neighborhoods funding.
'Revitalizing the Alice Griffith Public Housing Development and transforming the surrounding Bayview and Hunters Point neighborhood is the type of investment our City needs to improve public housing, create jobs and build sustainable communities. We are also supporting educational opportunities and expanding economic development in a community where we need it most,' said Mayor Lee. 'I thank the leadership of HUD Secretary Shaun Donovan for choosing the Alice Griffith community and the larger Bayview neighborhood as recipients of the Choice Neighborhoods Initiative Grant, Lieutenant Governor Gavin Newsom for starting the job of rebuilding our public housing under HOPE SF, and Senator Dianne Feinstein and Leader Nancy Pelosi for their ongoing support of this project and stewardship in our communities and our City.'
'The revitalization of Alice Griffith is critical to San Francisco’s long-term goals for the Bayview neighborhood,' said U.S. Senator Dianne Feinstein. 'This $30.5 million investment from HUD is a vote of confidence in San Francisco that will spur economic development and create more than 1,200 units of affordable housing, while leveraging resources to build infrastructure, improve the community and put Californians back to work.'
'Today, San Francisco has secured more than an investment in new housing; our City has begun to transform a neighborhood, revitalize a community, strengthen our economy, and provide a fresh start for the families of Alice Griffith,' said Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi. 'It is a source of pride for all San Franciscans that the federal government has placed this down payment on this new development. We look forward to working together to ensure the success of this effort in the future.'
'Building sustainable public housing for our communities is one of the best investments we can make, and that is why we started HOPE SF,' said Lieutenant Governor Gavin Newsom. 'Today is another historic step for the Bayview as we are not just building public housing, but revitalizing the whole community. HUD’s $30.5 million grant for Alice Griffith will help California create jobs and invest in our community.'
'The Choice Neighborhoods Initiative expands on the bipartisan success of the HOPE VI program by recognizing that we must link affordable housing with a mix of incomes and uses with quality education, public transportation, good jobs and safe streets,' said HUD Secretary Shaun Donovan.
'This new and important federal HUD grant will provide San Francisco with the financial leverage to rebuild and improve the 50-year old Alice Griffith public housing development and the surrounding neighborhood in the Bayview District,' said HUD Region IX Administrator Ophelia Basgal. 'The Choice Neighborhoods program funding recognizes that San Francisco had in place strong long-range plans for the Bayview neighborhood and committed community partners. Now the partnership can move forward to accomplish our shared goal of creating and fostering sustainable communities.'
HUD’s Choice Neighborhoods Initiative promotes the transformation of impoverished areas into viable, mixed-income neighborhoods with access to economic opportunities. Choice Neighborhoods focuses on the public and private sectors working together to revitalize severely distressed public housing and generate investments in well-functioning services, effective schools, public assets, public transportation, and improved access to jobs.
The Alice Griffith Plan implements the mission of the Choice Neighborhoods Initiative through a public-private partnership between the City, the San Francisco Housing Authority (SFHA), San Francisco Redevelopment Agency (SFRA), San Francisco Unified School District, and the development team comprised of McCormack Baron Salazar, Lennar Urban, and Urban Strategies, Inc. Together, this team is leveraging the benefits of the Redevelopment Agency’s and Lennar Urban’s development plan for Hunters Point Shipyard-Phase 2 and Candlestick Point, which includes the complete revitalization of Alice Griffith, over 10,000 new market-rate and below-market housing units, new parks, retail, and transportation improvements, and investments in job and workforce development, education, and community health and wellness programs.
'HUD’s decision to support the Alice Griffith revitalization demonstrates that the Candlestick Point redevelopment is not only a local priority, but that the plan is also of national significance and scope,' said McCormack Baron Salazar’s Tony Salazar. 'With the Choice Neighborhood Initiatives grant, the residents of Alice Griffith and people of all incomes are assured a place in the new community. The grant would not have been awarded without the hard work of our exceptional team, led by the San Francisco Redevelopment Agency and with our partners at the Mayor’s Office, Housing Authority, Lennar Urban, Urban Strategies, the School District, and the many service providers and organizations who stepped up to support the application.'
'We want to thank HUD for selecting us for the grant award,' said SFHA Executive Director Henry Alvarez III. 'This will be essential in furthering our goals to build and strengthen communities by integrating public housing and its leaseholders into the larger social, economic and physical fabric, and thereby creating a seamless community in San Francisco.'
'The Redevelopment Agency is thrilled to receive the generous grant of $30.5 million in Choice Neighborhoods funding from HUD to support the revitalization of the Alice Griffith Public Housing Development, the City’s HOPE SF Initiative and the larger transformation plans for Candlestick Point and the Hunters Point Shipyard,' said SFRA Director Fred Blackwell. 'The new housing, community facilities, social services and economic opportunities for the residents that are supported by this grant are critical elements to transforming this historically underserved community into a vibrant and thriving San Francisco neighborhood.'
'I am thrilled that SFUSD is working together with the City and community agencies to bring more resources to the Bayview community,' said SFUSD Superintendent of Schools Carlos Garcia. 'The Federal government’s investment in the Bayview will help us create a national model for neighborhoods in which children and families live, learn and thrive.'
'Alice Griffith residents have been waiting for this moment for far too long,' said District 10 Supervisor Malia Cohen. 'After more than a decade of community based planning and advocacy, with HUD’s Choice Neighborhood’s Grant funding, we will finally be able to move forward in implementing the revitalization of this community. This is truly and exciting day for the residents of Alice Griffith and the Bayview community as a whole.'
http://www.sfmayor.org/index.aspx?page=548
***
I know there will be some who will look at the title of this column and say, "I ain't scared of nuthin'". But if you'll note, this plot wasn't hatched in CONgress, it was hatched in the bloated federal bureaucracy, basically under the cover of darkness. It's been in effect since 2010 and no one has noticed.
By the way, they want to take your guns....
2. People: Support positive outcomes for families who live in the target development(s) and the surrounding neighborhood, particularly outcomes related to residents’ health, safety, employment, mobility, and education; and
3. Neighborhood: Transform neighborhoods of poverty into viable, mixed-income neighborhoods with access to well-functioning services, high quality public schools and education programs, high quality early learning programs and services, public assets, public transportation, and improved access to jobs.
To achieve these core goals, communities must develop a comprehensive neighborhood revitalization strategy, or Transformation Plan. This Transformation Plan will become the guiding document for the revitalization of the public and/or assisted housing units, while simultaneously directing the transformation of the surrounding neighborhood and positive outcomes for families. To successfully implement the Transformation Plan, applicants will need to work with public and private agencies, organizations (including philanthropic organizations), and individuals to gather and leverage resources needed to support the financial sustainability of the plan. These efforts should build community support for and involvement in the development of the plan. Implementation Grants support those communities that have undergone a comprehensive local planning process and are ready to implement their 'Transformation Plan' to redevelop the neighborhood. "
http://portal.hud.gov/hudportal/HUD?src=/program_offices/public_indian_housing/programs/ph/cn
***
Guess what, ladies and gentlemen ? This is Agenda 21-like social engineering. What a program like this could do is completely obliterate local governments and replace them with bureaucracies created by HUD and staffed by God knows who.
Of course, if this was just the work of some academic Marxist at HUD trying to impress Noam Chomsky, this would be filed in the "No Biggie" file. However, as you read this, this madness is burrowing its way into American cities.
***
"Boston is one of just five cities nationwide to receive the first-ever Implementation Grants awarded under HUD’s Choice Neighborhoods Initiative a new strategic approach intended to help transform high-poverty, distressed neighborhoods into communities with healthy, affordable housing, safe streets, and access to quality educational opportunities. Boston joins Chicago, New Orleans, San Francisco and Seattle to receive a combined $122 million."
http://www.cityofboston.gov/dnd/pdr/choice_neighborhoods.asp
***
That's right. This beast is growing mighty big and fat thanks to your government enforced generosity.
Of the cities that were listed above, guess who got the biggest slice of government cheese ?
[Emphasis added where appropriate]
***
"8/31/11— Mayor Edwin M. Lee today announced that the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) has selected San Francisco’s HOPE SF transformation plan for Alice Griffith Public Housing Development and the surrounding Bayview neighborhood as a recipient of the $30.5 million Choice Neighborhoods Implementation Grant. The Alice Griffith Plan was one of six finalists submitted by communities nationwide competing for HUD Choice Neighborhoods funding.
'Revitalizing the Alice Griffith Public Housing Development and transforming the surrounding Bayview and Hunters Point neighborhood is the type of investment our City needs to improve public housing, create jobs and build sustainable communities. We are also supporting educational opportunities and expanding economic development in a community where we need it most,' said Mayor Lee. 'I thank the leadership of HUD Secretary Shaun Donovan for choosing the Alice Griffith community and the larger Bayview neighborhood as recipients of the Choice Neighborhoods Initiative Grant, Lieutenant Governor Gavin Newsom for starting the job of rebuilding our public housing under HOPE SF, and Senator Dianne Feinstein and Leader Nancy Pelosi for their ongoing support of this project and stewardship in our communities and our City.'
'The revitalization of Alice Griffith is critical to San Francisco’s long-term goals for the Bayview neighborhood,' said U.S. Senator Dianne Feinstein. 'This $30.5 million investment from HUD is a vote of confidence in San Francisco that will spur economic development and create more than 1,200 units of affordable housing, while leveraging resources to build infrastructure, improve the community and put Californians back to work.'
'Today, San Francisco has secured more than an investment in new housing; our City has begun to transform a neighborhood, revitalize a community, strengthen our economy, and provide a fresh start for the families of Alice Griffith,' said Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi. 'It is a source of pride for all San Franciscans that the federal government has placed this down payment on this new development. We look forward to working together to ensure the success of this effort in the future.'
'Building sustainable public housing for our communities is one of the best investments we can make, and that is why we started HOPE SF,' said Lieutenant Governor Gavin Newsom. 'Today is another historic step for the Bayview as we are not just building public housing, but revitalizing the whole community. HUD’s $30.5 million grant for Alice Griffith will help California create jobs and invest in our community.'
'The Choice Neighborhoods Initiative expands on the bipartisan success of the HOPE VI program by recognizing that we must link affordable housing with a mix of incomes and uses with quality education, public transportation, good jobs and safe streets,' said HUD Secretary Shaun Donovan.
'This new and important federal HUD grant will provide San Francisco with the financial leverage to rebuild and improve the 50-year old Alice Griffith public housing development and the surrounding neighborhood in the Bayview District,' said HUD Region IX Administrator Ophelia Basgal. 'The Choice Neighborhoods program funding recognizes that San Francisco had in place strong long-range plans for the Bayview neighborhood and committed community partners. Now the partnership can move forward to accomplish our shared goal of creating and fostering sustainable communities.'
HUD’s Choice Neighborhoods Initiative promotes the transformation of impoverished areas into viable, mixed-income neighborhoods with access to economic opportunities. Choice Neighborhoods focuses on the public and private sectors working together to revitalize severely distressed public housing and generate investments in well-functioning services, effective schools, public assets, public transportation, and improved access to jobs.
The Alice Griffith Plan implements the mission of the Choice Neighborhoods Initiative through a public-private partnership between the City, the San Francisco Housing Authority (SFHA), San Francisco Redevelopment Agency (SFRA), San Francisco Unified School District, and the development team comprised of McCormack Baron Salazar, Lennar Urban, and Urban Strategies, Inc. Together, this team is leveraging the benefits of the Redevelopment Agency’s and Lennar Urban’s development plan for Hunters Point Shipyard-Phase 2 and Candlestick Point, which includes the complete revitalization of Alice Griffith, over 10,000 new market-rate and below-market housing units, new parks, retail, and transportation improvements, and investments in job and workforce development, education, and community health and wellness programs.
'HUD’s decision to support the Alice Griffith revitalization demonstrates that the Candlestick Point redevelopment is not only a local priority, but that the plan is also of national significance and scope,' said McCormack Baron Salazar’s Tony Salazar. 'With the Choice Neighborhood Initiatives grant, the residents of Alice Griffith and people of all incomes are assured a place in the new community. The grant would not have been awarded without the hard work of our exceptional team, led by the San Francisco Redevelopment Agency and with our partners at the Mayor’s Office, Housing Authority, Lennar Urban, Urban Strategies, the School District, and the many service providers and organizations who stepped up to support the application.'
'We want to thank HUD for selecting us for the grant award,' said SFHA Executive Director Henry Alvarez III. 'This will be essential in furthering our goals to build and strengthen communities by integrating public housing and its leaseholders into the larger social, economic and physical fabric, and thereby creating a seamless community in San Francisco.'
'The Redevelopment Agency is thrilled to receive the generous grant of $30.5 million in Choice Neighborhoods funding from HUD to support the revitalization of the Alice Griffith Public Housing Development, the City’s HOPE SF Initiative and the larger transformation plans for Candlestick Point and the Hunters Point Shipyard,' said SFRA Director Fred Blackwell. 'The new housing, community facilities, social services and economic opportunities for the residents that are supported by this grant are critical elements to transforming this historically underserved community into a vibrant and thriving San Francisco neighborhood.'
'I am thrilled that SFUSD is working together with the City and community agencies to bring more resources to the Bayview community,' said SFUSD Superintendent of Schools Carlos Garcia. 'The Federal government’s investment in the Bayview will help us create a national model for neighborhoods in which children and families live, learn and thrive.'
'Alice Griffith residents have been waiting for this moment for far too long,' said District 10 Supervisor Malia Cohen. 'After more than a decade of community based planning and advocacy, with HUD’s Choice Neighborhood’s Grant funding, we will finally be able to move forward in implementing the revitalization of this community. This is truly and exciting day for the residents of Alice Griffith and the Bayview community as a whole.'
http://www.sfmayor.org/index.aspx?page=548
***
I know there will be some who will look at the title of this column and say, "I ain't scared of nuthin'". But if you'll note, this plot wasn't hatched in CONgress, it was hatched in the bloated federal bureaucracy, basically under the cover of darkness. It's been in effect since 2010 and no one has noticed.
By the way, they want to take your guns....
Friday, February 15, 2013
When Does My Slavery End ?
Recently, the village idiot of CONgress, Dumbocrat Sheila Jackson Lee, took to the House floor and said this:
***
"As yesterday was the official birthday of President Lincoln, February 12, and although it was a tragic time in our history, I can assure you that it shows the greatest promise of America when people could come together and do something great. I stand here as a freed slave because this Congress came together."
The bottom line is this, gang: There is nothing more dangerous to Liberty than the destruction of property rights. The Liberal-Welfare Complex (feel free to use it) is destroying the Republic. With every dollar that's redistributed, a little more of our precious Liberty dies.
If that isn't slavery, I don't know what is.
***
"As yesterday was the official birthday of President Lincoln, February 12, and although it was a tragic time in our history, I can assure you that it shows the greatest promise of America when people could come together and do something great. I stand here as a freed slave because this Congress came together."
The bottom line is this, gang: There is nothing more dangerous to Liberty than the destruction of property rights. The Liberal-Welfare Complex (feel free to use it) is destroying the Republic. With every dollar that's redistributed, a little more of our precious Liberty dies.
If that isn't slavery, I don't know what is.
Tuesday, February 5, 2013
Gangway Or Sickbay. You Decide.
Take a break from looking for black helicopters, fellow extremists! It's Short-Story-With-A-Point Time!
***
A couple of years from now, in a suburb near you...or perhaps the suburb you live in....
It was a cold November morning. Jack hated the cold. The sharp cold air reminded him rather rudely that he no longer had a left leg. The doctors had warned him that his phantom limb pain would be worse in the winter. I do not have time for this. Pain is simply weakness leaving the body, Jack thought as he attached his prosthetic leg.
Jack was going to be busy all day. He had a meeting with the chef he partnered with to open his restaurant. She wanted to name the place "Chesty's", after Marine Corps hero Chesty Puller. Jack wasn't thrilled with the idea. Although he was decorated for many acts of bravery while serving in Iraq and Afghanistan as an infantry officer in the United States Marine Corps, he never talked about it. It wasn't that he suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder, nor was he ashamed of anything he or his men did. Jack always felt that the War on Terror was a noble endeavor that he was proud to have been a part of. He simply wanted to be known as a restauranteur, not a war hero. After his meeting, he was going to meet a few purveyors and pick up his son Tyler at school, and then drop him off at his mother's apartment. Then he would head to the restaurant and hopefully finish painting the place before he had to pick up Tyler again.
As Jack headed towards his beat up Ford Ranger, his cell phone rang. Little did Jack know what kind of havoc this phone call would cause.
"Mr. Slater ?"
"Yeah, this Jack Slater," Jack replied while lighting a cigarette.
"My name is Maxine Ojeda. I'm your son's principal. I need you come down here as soon as possible. We need to talk."
"What did he do ?"
"This is a very serious matter, Mister Slater. I urgently need to speak to you, and I need to do so face to face."
"No problem," Jack said ending the call.
Jack then dialed his ex-wife, Charlene. Perhaps she knew what was going on.
"Yello---Charlene ?"
"Yes, Jack ?" she responded coldly.
"Did you get a call from Tyler's principal ?"
"As a matter of fact, I did, Jack. I'm heading over there now. Will you be gracing us with your presence, or will this just be Mommy to the rescue yet again ?"
"Yet again ? Charlene, you haven't been--"
"Not now. I'll see you at the school," Charlene rebutted huffily as she ended the call.
On the way to the school, Jack's mind was racing. Tyler had never been in trouble before. He had always done well in school. He was a pleasant little boy who played Little League. If one was to look up the definition of "well adjusted", a picture of Tyler Slater would be found next to the definition.
Both Jack and Charlene pulled up to the school at the same time and parked next to each other. They exchanged muted greetings as they headed to towards the front door where a security guard with a badge that read "Department of Education Security Team" awaited them. They said nothing as the security guard checked their picture ID's and waved his metal detector around them. The guard then gave them directions to the principal's office.
"Boy, things have changed since we went here, huh ?" Jack whispered to Charlene as they headed towards the office. Charlene rolled her eyes in annoyance instead of answering him. Of the many, many things Charlene hated about Jack, the thing she hated most about him was, as she put it, his desire to live in the past.
Jack and Charlene arrived at the waiting area outside of the principal's office to find Tyler sitting there. The little boy's face was red and he was sobbing. He looked up to see his parents.
"I didn't do anything," the boy mumbled.
"We'll talk later, Squirt."
Jack and Charlene entered Principal Ojeda's office and was surprised to find not only the principal, but another woman as well.
"Mr. and Mrs. Slater---"
"I changed my name back to Watson," Charlene interrupted as she shook the principal's hand.
"My apologies. I'm Maxine Ojeda. This is Theresa McDermott, our school psychologist. Please, have a seat."
Jack and Charlene sat as far as possible from each other on Principal Ojeda's couch. As Jack sat, his pant leg rode up, exposing his prosthetic leg slightly. Principal Ojeda couldn't help but briefly stare. Jack quickly caught on and fixed his pant leg.
"Let's get started," Principal Ojeda began. "Tyler's teacher, Mrs. Parks, gave her class an assignment: Draw a picture of a person you most admire and present it to the class. Most of the students drew a picture of Barack Obama, some drew pictures of sports heroes, some drew super heroes, and your son drew this."
Principal Ojeda handed Jack a picture of a green stick figure with a gun shooting at other stick figures. On the bottom of the picture, it read "My Dad".
"So ?" Jack responded, handing the picture back to principal.
"You don't find this alarming ?"
"No. I'm actually kind of flattered."
"This is a very serious matter, Mr. Slater," Dr. McDermott said with her gaze bearing down on Jack. "This is a clear sign of latent mental illness that may manifest itself in violent ways. Doesn't it worry you that your son has such violent thoughts ?"
"Whoa...whoa....wait a minute...."
Dr. McDermott opened her laptop and pointed it towards Jack and Charlene. "I'm going to play the video of the interview I had with Tyler before you arrived," Dr. McDermott said rather coldly. "Maybe then, we can see if this is truly no big deal as your attitude seems to convey."
***
"Tyler, do you know why you're here ?"
"Mrs. Parks didn't like the picture I drew."
"No, that's not it Tyler. What you drew was very violent, and that makes us very sad. We don't like violence. Violence is bad."
"I drew a picture of my dad. He was in the Marines. When I get older, I want to be just like him."
"Tyler, what does your dad tell you about his time in the Marines ?"
"He says he hadda go to a place to find terrorists. He did, and I think he killed a bunch of them. He says that he was protecting our country."
***
Dr. McDermott paused the video. "What exactly do you tell your son about the war, Mr. Slater ?"
"I don't understand where you're going with this."
"It's a simple question."
Charlene stood up and glared at Dr. McDermott. "Jack Slater may be many things, but 'maladjusted' is not one of them. He was never depressed when he got home, even when he came back with one leg."
"If you don't mind me asking, why are you divorced ?"
"We're divorced because I never loved him. We only got married because I was pregnant, if you must know. The white picket fence, the dog in the yard, those were his dreams, not mine. I wanted excitement, he wanted to be Ward Cleaver."
"Has it ever occurred to you that Jack is hiding his emotions ? That he's suffering from post traumatic stress disorder in silence ?"
"The only time Jack Slater suffers any sort of distress is when one of the dishes he cooks doesn't get rave reviews, or his stupid vegetable garden is attacked by rodents."
Principal Ojeda stood up and adjusted her jacket. "Mr. and Mrs. Slater--"
"Watson....Watson," Charlene mumbled under her breath.
"I wish to inform you that, in accordance with the Freedom From Violence Act of 2015, I have alerted Child Services. They're going to come to your homes to do visits that will determine whether or not the two of you are fit parents. Then, we will have a hearing to determine whether or not Tyler should remain in your custody."
"Lady, you can kiss my ass." Jack snarled as he stood. The happy-go-lucky look that normally resided on Jack's face melted away. His face turned beet red. "You have no authority to do this! You wanna know why ? Tyler doesn't go this school anymore! I'll home school him if I have to."
With that, Jack stormed out of Principal Ojeda's office with Charlene in hot pursuit.
"What do you mean 'you'll home school Tyler' if you have to' ?" Charlene demanded. "What about the restaurant, genius ?"
"It doesn't matter. I'll sell my share to my partners and work as a chef somewhere else. I'll teach Tyler during the day and work at night."
Charlene caught up to Jack and grabbed his arm. "I want you to think about what you're doing. You're throwing away your dream."
"You're just worried that you'll have to be a mother and watching Tyler at night will put a crimp in your lifestyle. I guess you don't want to explain to your son who all those strange men are, huh ?"
Charlene was shocked by Jack's remark. Despite all he had been through and all she had done to him, he had never spoken that way to her.
"You bastard..." Charlene began to mutter through clenched teeth. She stopped herself when she realized Jack was right. While she could never love him, at long last she respected him.
Jack and Charlene quickly walked over to the waiting area where Tyler was still sitting.
"Grab your stuff, Squirt. We're leaving and you'll never, ever have to come back to this dump again."
"Mr. Slater! You stop right there!" shouted Principal Ojeda, as she clumsily ran into the room in her high heels. "You do not have authorization to take that child off of this campus!"
"Oh yes I can! I have sole custody of him. Now slither back into your hole and see how many other families you can destroy with your psycho-babble."
Jack turned away from the principal only to see the security guard from the entrance of the school with a gun (with a clip that held 30 rounds) pointed at him. "I strongly suggest you calm down, sir," the guard said menacingly. "You're not taking that child anywhere. I will use force if I have to."
"This is my son," Jack replied. "I'm taking him out of this lunatic asylum and there's nothing you can do to stop me."
"I strongly suggest you step away from the child."
"Gangway or sickbay. You decide."
"I am counting to three. When I hit three, You had better be away from that child. One....two...."
Jack's training and instinct took over and in a fraction of a second, he slapped the guard's gun away. With a lightning punch, he knocked the guard out cold. Charlene slumped onto the nearest wall and slid down it. She covered her face and began weeping uncontrollably.
"Are you all right ?" Jack asked.
Charlene was too choked up to speak. She weakly pointed to a window that had a view of the parking lot. The SWAT team had arrived. The parking lot was now filled with police cars and the media.
"Oh my God," Jack muttered to himself.
The security guard started to regain consciousness. With lightning moves of his own, he grabbed the gun which was still lying on the floor. He fired a shot at Jack and missed. Jack quickly began a grapple with the guard. The two rolled around with Jack getting the upper hand. Jack grabbed the gun and pointed it at the guard. "I don't want to hurt you or anyone else! But I am taking my son out of here and there's nothing you or anyone else can do about it!" Jack shouted with tears streaming down his face.
Within moments, the SWAT team entered the waiting area. Immediately they opened fire on Jack, hitting him in the chest. The security guard rolled the mortally wounded Jack off of him.
"Daddy! Daddy!" Tyler shouted as he ran to his father. A SWAT team member stopped the boy and put him on his shoulder and carried him out of the room.
As Jack died, his life didn't flash before his eyes. He didn't think of his time in the Marines, nor did he think of Charlene. His last thoughts were of how much he loved his son and how he wouldn't let anything or anyone stand between them.
***
The years that followed the incident weren't kind to Tyler or Charlene. Tyler was placed in a psychiatric group home after Charlene overdosed on sleeping pills and died a month after the shooting. After aging out of the foster care system and a short period of homelessness topped off with heavy drug abuse, Tyler threw himself in front of a subway train. He was eighteen years old.
Maxine Ojeda and Theresa McDermott both wrote books about the incident and joined the talk show circuit. Ojeda ran for Congress as a liberal Democrat and won handily. One of her first priorities, she promised, was to shore up the Freedom From Violence Act of 2015 by introducing mandatory home visits by social workers every six months to households with children in public and private schools under the age of 18. It passed the House and Senate unanimously and became law in 2020.
***
A couple of years from now, in a suburb near you...or perhaps the suburb you live in....
It was a cold November morning. Jack hated the cold. The sharp cold air reminded him rather rudely that he no longer had a left leg. The doctors had warned him that his phantom limb pain would be worse in the winter. I do not have time for this. Pain is simply weakness leaving the body, Jack thought as he attached his prosthetic leg.
Jack was going to be busy all day. He had a meeting with the chef he partnered with to open his restaurant. She wanted to name the place "Chesty's", after Marine Corps hero Chesty Puller. Jack wasn't thrilled with the idea. Although he was decorated for many acts of bravery while serving in Iraq and Afghanistan as an infantry officer in the United States Marine Corps, he never talked about it. It wasn't that he suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder, nor was he ashamed of anything he or his men did. Jack always felt that the War on Terror was a noble endeavor that he was proud to have been a part of. He simply wanted to be known as a restauranteur, not a war hero. After his meeting, he was going to meet a few purveyors and pick up his son Tyler at school, and then drop him off at his mother's apartment. Then he would head to the restaurant and hopefully finish painting the place before he had to pick up Tyler again.
As Jack headed towards his beat up Ford Ranger, his cell phone rang. Little did Jack know what kind of havoc this phone call would cause.
"Mr. Slater ?"
"Yeah, this Jack Slater," Jack replied while lighting a cigarette.
"My name is Maxine Ojeda. I'm your son's principal. I need you come down here as soon as possible. We need to talk."
"What did he do ?"
"This is a very serious matter, Mister Slater. I urgently need to speak to you, and I need to do so face to face."
"No problem," Jack said ending the call.
Jack then dialed his ex-wife, Charlene. Perhaps she knew what was going on.
"Yello---Charlene ?"
"Yes, Jack ?" she responded coldly.
"Did you get a call from Tyler's principal ?"
"As a matter of fact, I did, Jack. I'm heading over there now. Will you be gracing us with your presence, or will this just be Mommy to the rescue yet again ?"
"Yet again ? Charlene, you haven't been--"
"Not now. I'll see you at the school," Charlene rebutted huffily as she ended the call.
On the way to the school, Jack's mind was racing. Tyler had never been in trouble before. He had always done well in school. He was a pleasant little boy who played Little League. If one was to look up the definition of "well adjusted", a picture of Tyler Slater would be found next to the definition.
Both Jack and Charlene pulled up to the school at the same time and parked next to each other. They exchanged muted greetings as they headed to towards the front door where a security guard with a badge that read "Department of Education Security Team" awaited them. They said nothing as the security guard checked their picture ID's and waved his metal detector around them. The guard then gave them directions to the principal's office.
"Boy, things have changed since we went here, huh ?" Jack whispered to Charlene as they headed towards the office. Charlene rolled her eyes in annoyance instead of answering him. Of the many, many things Charlene hated about Jack, the thing she hated most about him was, as she put it, his desire to live in the past.
Jack and Charlene arrived at the waiting area outside of the principal's office to find Tyler sitting there. The little boy's face was red and he was sobbing. He looked up to see his parents.
"I didn't do anything," the boy mumbled.
"We'll talk later, Squirt."
Jack and Charlene entered Principal Ojeda's office and was surprised to find not only the principal, but another woman as well.
"Mr. and Mrs. Slater---"
"I changed my name back to Watson," Charlene interrupted as she shook the principal's hand.
"My apologies. I'm Maxine Ojeda. This is Theresa McDermott, our school psychologist. Please, have a seat."
Jack and Charlene sat as far as possible from each other on Principal Ojeda's couch. As Jack sat, his pant leg rode up, exposing his prosthetic leg slightly. Principal Ojeda couldn't help but briefly stare. Jack quickly caught on and fixed his pant leg.
"Let's get started," Principal Ojeda began. "Tyler's teacher, Mrs. Parks, gave her class an assignment: Draw a picture of a person you most admire and present it to the class. Most of the students drew a picture of Barack Obama, some drew pictures of sports heroes, some drew super heroes, and your son drew this."
Principal Ojeda handed Jack a picture of a green stick figure with a gun shooting at other stick figures. On the bottom of the picture, it read "My Dad".
"So ?" Jack responded, handing the picture back to principal.
"You don't find this alarming ?"
"No. I'm actually kind of flattered."
"This is a very serious matter, Mr. Slater," Dr. McDermott said with her gaze bearing down on Jack. "This is a clear sign of latent mental illness that may manifest itself in violent ways. Doesn't it worry you that your son has such violent thoughts ?"
"Whoa...whoa....wait a minute...."
Dr. McDermott opened her laptop and pointed it towards Jack and Charlene. "I'm going to play the video of the interview I had with Tyler before you arrived," Dr. McDermott said rather coldly. "Maybe then, we can see if this is truly no big deal as your attitude seems to convey."
***
"Tyler, do you know why you're here ?"
"Mrs. Parks didn't like the picture I drew."
"No, that's not it Tyler. What you drew was very violent, and that makes us very sad. We don't like violence. Violence is bad."
"I drew a picture of my dad. He was in the Marines. When I get older, I want to be just like him."
"Tyler, what does your dad tell you about his time in the Marines ?"
"He says he hadda go to a place to find terrorists. He did, and I think he killed a bunch of them. He says that he was protecting our country."
***
Dr. McDermott paused the video. "What exactly do you tell your son about the war, Mr. Slater ?"
"I don't understand where you're going with this."
"It's a simple question."
Charlene stood up and glared at Dr. McDermott. "Jack Slater may be many things, but 'maladjusted' is not one of them. He was never depressed when he got home, even when he came back with one leg."
"If you don't mind me asking, why are you divorced ?"
"We're divorced because I never loved him. We only got married because I was pregnant, if you must know. The white picket fence, the dog in the yard, those were his dreams, not mine. I wanted excitement, he wanted to be Ward Cleaver."
"Has it ever occurred to you that Jack is hiding his emotions ? That he's suffering from post traumatic stress disorder in silence ?"
"The only time Jack Slater suffers any sort of distress is when one of the dishes he cooks doesn't get rave reviews, or his stupid vegetable garden is attacked by rodents."
Principal Ojeda stood up and adjusted her jacket. "Mr. and Mrs. Slater--"
"Watson....Watson," Charlene mumbled under her breath.
"I wish to inform you that, in accordance with the Freedom From Violence Act of 2015, I have alerted Child Services. They're going to come to your homes to do visits that will determine whether or not the two of you are fit parents. Then, we will have a hearing to determine whether or not Tyler should remain in your custody."
"Lady, you can kiss my ass." Jack snarled as he stood. The happy-go-lucky look that normally resided on Jack's face melted away. His face turned beet red. "You have no authority to do this! You wanna know why ? Tyler doesn't go this school anymore! I'll home school him if I have to."
With that, Jack stormed out of Principal Ojeda's office with Charlene in hot pursuit.
"What do you mean 'you'll home school Tyler' if you have to' ?" Charlene demanded. "What about the restaurant, genius ?"
"It doesn't matter. I'll sell my share to my partners and work as a chef somewhere else. I'll teach Tyler during the day and work at night."
Charlene caught up to Jack and grabbed his arm. "I want you to think about what you're doing. You're throwing away your dream."
"You're just worried that you'll have to be a mother and watching Tyler at night will put a crimp in your lifestyle. I guess you don't want to explain to your son who all those strange men are, huh ?"
Charlene was shocked by Jack's remark. Despite all he had been through and all she had done to him, he had never spoken that way to her.
"You bastard..." Charlene began to mutter through clenched teeth. She stopped herself when she realized Jack was right. While she could never love him, at long last she respected him.
Jack and Charlene quickly walked over to the waiting area where Tyler was still sitting.
"Grab your stuff, Squirt. We're leaving and you'll never, ever have to come back to this dump again."
"Mr. Slater! You stop right there!" shouted Principal Ojeda, as she clumsily ran into the room in her high heels. "You do not have authorization to take that child off of this campus!"
"Oh yes I can! I have sole custody of him. Now slither back into your hole and see how many other families you can destroy with your psycho-babble."
Jack turned away from the principal only to see the security guard from the entrance of the school with a gun (with a clip that held 30 rounds) pointed at him. "I strongly suggest you calm down, sir," the guard said menacingly. "You're not taking that child anywhere. I will use force if I have to."
"This is my son," Jack replied. "I'm taking him out of this lunatic asylum and there's nothing you can do to stop me."
"I strongly suggest you step away from the child."
"Gangway or sickbay. You decide."
"I am counting to three. When I hit three, You had better be away from that child. One....two...."
Jack's training and instinct took over and in a fraction of a second, he slapped the guard's gun away. With a lightning punch, he knocked the guard out cold. Charlene slumped onto the nearest wall and slid down it. She covered her face and began weeping uncontrollably.
"Are you all right ?" Jack asked.
Charlene was too choked up to speak. She weakly pointed to a window that had a view of the parking lot. The SWAT team had arrived. The parking lot was now filled with police cars and the media.
"Oh my God," Jack muttered to himself.
The security guard started to regain consciousness. With lightning moves of his own, he grabbed the gun which was still lying on the floor. He fired a shot at Jack and missed. Jack quickly began a grapple with the guard. The two rolled around with Jack getting the upper hand. Jack grabbed the gun and pointed it at the guard. "I don't want to hurt you or anyone else! But I am taking my son out of here and there's nothing you or anyone else can do about it!" Jack shouted with tears streaming down his face.
Within moments, the SWAT team entered the waiting area. Immediately they opened fire on Jack, hitting him in the chest. The security guard rolled the mortally wounded Jack off of him.
"Daddy! Daddy!" Tyler shouted as he ran to his father. A SWAT team member stopped the boy and put him on his shoulder and carried him out of the room.
As Jack died, his life didn't flash before his eyes. He didn't think of his time in the Marines, nor did he think of Charlene. His last thoughts were of how much he loved his son and how he wouldn't let anything or anyone stand between them.
***
The years that followed the incident weren't kind to Tyler or Charlene. Tyler was placed in a psychiatric group home after Charlene overdosed on sleeping pills and died a month after the shooting. After aging out of the foster care system and a short period of homelessness topped off with heavy drug abuse, Tyler threw himself in front of a subway train. He was eighteen years old.
Maxine Ojeda and Theresa McDermott both wrote books about the incident and joined the talk show circuit. Ojeda ran for Congress as a liberal Democrat and won handily. One of her first priorities, she promised, was to shore up the Freedom From Violence Act of 2015 by introducing mandatory home visits by social workers every six months to households with children in public and private schools under the age of 18. It passed the House and Senate unanimously and became law in 2020.
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