Dear Santa

Today's Disclaimer: I am the mom of two beautiful little girls who may at some point read this! =)

For most of my life, New York City has been integral to my story. My mother took me to the city for the first time for my fifth birthday. The day before that birthday the two of us took the sets of elevators to the top of the World Trade Center towers to see the majesty of the greatest city in America. Several years later, my mother took me again to the city. This time we went at Thanksgiving. How amazing it was to see the Macy's parade in person and watch Santa make his yearly trek to his holiday season home on 34th street.

Christmas is pretty big in my world. Not only do I cherish celebrating the birth of Jesus but I love every other candy cane, cookie, ornament and Christmas card that I come across. I start listening to Christmas songs as soon as Santa enters Herald Square and I would keep my tree up all year if my husband would let me. I firmly believe in Christmas and Santa Claus miracles. I know that the Christmas Star brings wonderful things and I also know that it wasn't just a coincidence that the cane was in the corner of that house that Susie found on her way back from the retirement home.

When you research the history of Santa Claus, its quite easy to see why he and New York City are so closely tied. The earliest record of Santa's kindness is in Greek history in the fourth century. St. Nicholas was a Greek bishop who is credited with generous gift giving to the poor. He was very religious from a very early age and devoted his entire life to Christianity. Most depictions of him show him as a bearded Bishop in canonical robes. The draw of St. Nicholas' story was enough to allow him to be desired and claimed by several other countries. In 1087 , an Italian city mounted a expedition in order to locate relics of his and to enter the profitable pilgrimage business. Those relics were entombed in a Basilica in Bari. Irish historians state that some of his remains were moved to County Kilkenny where a marker can still be seen. St. Nicholas has also been claimed as a patron saint for children, sailors, archers, bankers, bakers and even pawnbrokers but also as the patron of Amsterdam and Moscow.

So it is any wonder that Santa makes his holiday home in a city that used to be called New Amsterdam and is known as a melting pot of cultures with the Greeks, Italians, Irish and Russians figuring so prominently?

It is with all of this in mind that I bring your attention to St. Nicholas Church in New York City. The St Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church was founded in 1916 by Greek immigrants. Serving as as a spiritual haven for the community, the church was also a beacon for Greek shipping magnates traveling through New York City. Services at the 22' wide, 56' long and 35' tall church began in 1922 and it held countless services, weddings and funerals (my husband even attended a meeting in the basement once). The tiny church was shadowed by two other Lower Manhattan landmarks in 1973 when the World Trade Center towers opened. Although minuscule in comparison to the towers, the church stood strong and was a neighborhood icon until September 11, 2001.

The St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church was the only church to be destroyed by the terror attacks of September 11. The church was crushed under the weight of the South Tower when it collapsed at 9:59am. Thankfully, no one in the church was hurt but only a handful of icons and religious items were ever found amongst the rubble. The priest has been temporarily assigned to the Constantine and Helen Greek Orthodox Church in Brooklyn and the congregation is warmly welcomed there but it is not their own.

Almost nine years later, St Nicholas has still not been rebuilt. Nor have the towers or anything else in the empty pit that is Ground Zero. This is ridiculous and disheartening and as an American I am floored that we are still fighting bureaucrats and red tape to get started with the rebuilding of the symbols that will tell the rest of the world that we were not destroyed by the horrific events of September 11.

I think that because there has been no visible rebuilding at Ground Zero, this idea (that the NY Mayor and other politicians have in essence green-lighted) of a new Mosque being built two blocks from the pit is such a blow. The controversy over the building of the Cordoba Center is not about religious freedom. There is an Islamic cultural center nearby in SoHo and at least six other Islamic centers on the island. No level-headed person has said that the Islamic faith leaders do not have the right to build but rather the location is simply a dagger into the hearts of the thousands of family members who lost loved ones on September 11, 2001 and to the millions of Americans who were affected by the attacks. It is in fact yet another insult added to the irrevocable injuries of September 11. There is no permanent monument to the victims killed in the terror attacks, there are no towers, there is no St Nicholas Church, there IS an EMPTY HOLE and now the political leaders of New York City want instead to focus on the building of a mosque.

If the politicians, unions and bureaucracy in New York had let private industry step in and take over the rebuilding efforts, the World Trade Center would again be standing tall and proud and in the shadows of the new beautiful towers would again be a beacon for all who love the neighborhood, the city, out history and our future - a rebuilt St Nicholas Church. And most likely the majesty of the towers, the church and the spirit that had rebuilt them would have dwarfed any controversy that the building of a mosque could ever create.

So here I sit wishing for a Santa Claus miracle. Santa, your city needs you. The families of the September 11 victims and the citizens of New York City are on the Good List and they need for you to deliver them the greatest gift of all. Please Santa, come early and help the politicians and bureaucrats to see the insanity they are perpetuating and please allow them to change their ways and allow the good people of New York and the private industry behind them to rebuild all that we have lost. We need you move just a little downtown. We now need a Miracle on Wall Street.

OK, I'm baaaaaaack!!

Early in the Obama Administration, there were wholesale changes to language used in briefings and speeches from both the President and his staff. The War on Terror was changed to the Overseas Contingency Operation and an act of terrorism was to be referred to as a "man-caused disaster". Well to quote the Church Lady, "Isn't that special?"

Some of you may be wondering why I am recycling this bit of information from well over a year ago in my first post back after being on hiatus? Hang with me for a minute, I think you'll see where I am going. In attempts to control the messages this Administration, although they aren't the first to do so its only magnified in our current 24/7 media cycle, has attempted to change the lexicon of both recent and not so recent history.

Early in his presidency, Obama gave a speech on immigration in which he told the story of Emma Lazarus who was inspired to write "The New Colossus" for the Statue of Liberty in 1883. President Obama told the story that she was inspired by what she saw and heard, so she penned the sonnet and donated it to help with the construction of a new statue - The Statue of Liberty which was in part funded by donations by people across the country. Great story right? Problem is, it isn't true. The Statue was a gift from France, the PEDESTAL was in part constructed by donations from Americans. Just semantics, right?

Let's take a look at taxes. President Obama assured us that there would be no tax hikes on people who make under $250,000 all during his campaign to win the White House. Healthcare reform has reversed that by 180 degrees. Now we have "healthcare reform" that the President, in a recent interview with George Stephanopolous, defended against its being called a tax.

OBAMA: No. That’s not true, George. The — for us to say that you’ve got to take a responsibility to get health insurance is absolutely not a tax increase. What it’s saying is, is that we’re not going to have other people carrying your burdens for you anymore than the fact that right now everybody in America, just about, has to get auto insurance. Nobody considers that a tax increase. People say to themselves, that is a fair way to make sure that if you hit my car, that I’m not covering all the costs.

STEPHANOPOULOS: But it may be fair, it may be good public policy…

OBAMA: No, but — but, George, you — you can’t just make up that language and decide that that’s called a tax increase.

However now the Administration is forced to defend its healthcare reform in a lawsuit. And what is their very first argument? In a recent document, the Justice Department (under the superior tuttelage of Eric Holder) says that the requirement for people to carry insurance or pay a penalty is "a valid exercise" (or did he mean excise) of "Congress' power to impose taxes". Semantics again, right?

Yesterday I was listening to the President's speech at the Disabled Veteran's of America Conference in Atlanta. In a portion of the speech (that I doubt very many people other than the attendees and news junkies like me saw) the President made the following remark, "When the terrorists and militias plunged Iraq into sectarian war, our troops adapted and adjusted". Does that scare anyone as much as it did me when I heard it?

After a year and a half of backing away from using the term terrorist or terrorism and using that same time revising history, I am more than a little concerned that the Administration has so tacitly and nonchalantly decided that it is okay to use terrorist and militia in the same sentence. It sends a disturbing message to the people of the United States don't you think? Or is that just semantics too and we shouldn't worry?

You can do it

I was raised on baseball and while I freely admit that I no longer have the time to watch as many Major League games as I would like, there are two things that I will still, no matter what, pay close attention to - I love triples and I love perfect games! They are sacred and should be lauded and hailed by all - die hard and casual fans alike.

I have never really been a fan of Bud Selig as the Commissioner of Major League Baseball. In fairness though, is anyone really a fan of the commissioner of their favorite sport or is he just a figure head you only pay attention to during the draft or a scandal?

Bud Selig was named Commissioner after holding the interim position from 1992-1998. Shouldn't this have been the first clue for fans that this might not really be the man for job? I mean really, a six year interim period?There wasn't a point in year two or year three that the owners said, "Hey why don't we give the job to Bud?" Obviously someone (or several someones) thought that he wasn't the best fit for major league baseball.

During his tenure (including as interim commish), Selig has been accused of collusion regarding former Commissioner Fay Vincent's resignation, racketeering and conspiracy to defraud owners, exceeding his authority when it comes to suspensions, not attending the home-run record breaking game of Barry Bonds and extending the World Series into November in order to help with ratings.

This is not to say that there haven't been some good things to come to the sport since Mr. Selig has been at the helm. He orchestrated realignment of the teams which facilitated the addition of the Wild Card. He oversaw the introduction of two new teams (the Devil Rays and the Diamondbacks) as well as the international move and change of the Expos in Montreal to Washington, D.C. becoming the Nationals. At least 19 new stadiums have opened during Selig's tenure which is a testament to his overseeing an over 400% increase in revenue.

But Mr. Selig is now forced with, what I predict, will be his most difficult decision to date (yes, even more important than the Pete Rose situation). On June 2, 2010, Armando Galarraga of the Detroit Tigers was one out away from pitching the first complete game and first shutout of his career. That was not all though, Galarraga was also one out away from pitching a perfect game. Until, THE CALL. Umpire Jim Joyce called a very obviously (to television viewers and fans in the stands) out Jason Donald of the Cleveland Indians safe a first base.

Without rehashing the call and its aftermath ad nauseum, I clearly acknowledge the extreme graciousness and ultimate sportsmanship of both Galarraga and Joyce. Both men are the epitome of what I wish that all sports figures in today's world could be. An umpire who loves the game of baseball so much that he feels exceedingly horrible for what in his words "just cost that kid a perfect game." A player who in the midst of the hullabaloo that was surrounding his missed opportunity, delivered the lineup for the next day's game to the offending umpire who was still on the umpiring team even when given the opportunity to leave and avoid any uncomfortableness. Pure class.

That class is juxtaposed against Bud Selig who has the power to right this wrong. This isn't some missed call in the middle of the game. This is a blatantly missed call on what should have been the last out in the game. Some would say that the commissioner should not change the outcome of a completed game, that its opening a slippery slope. I politely and completely disagree. If there was ever a time that an overturning of a call was necessary, it is now.

Sports is an outlet for the average American to escape into for a few hours. In this day and age, Americans need healthy diversions as much as possible. These Americans are tired of seeing arbitrary bureaucrats making decisions for them without fully thinking through the consequences of their actions.

My three-year old daughter is easily frustrated when working on a new task as are most three-year olds but my husband and I have taught her that rather than say, "I can't do it" that she say, "I CAN do it." She even now repeats that mantra to her five-year old sister when she gets frustrated. If there was no instance of instant replay in Major League Baseball, I would probably not be as angry or maybe if there wasn't a provision allowing for a commissioner to step in and over-rule this call, then I probably wouldn't be complaining. Bud Selig, you Sir, have the opportunity to show your cherished fans, as well as the rest of the United States of America, that you can right that wrong, that you can fix what was done incorrectly the first time. You can do it.

Grow Up GOP, We're not that gullible

The primary runoff for Republican nomination in the 8th Congressional District is heating up with just a little over a month before voters head back to the polls to decide who will face off against Larry Kissell in the fall. Most people outside of North Carolina (and probably a lot inside the Old North State as well) have probably never heard of either candidate. I predict that is probably going to change very soon.

With all of the hullabaloo surrounding Joe Sestak maybe or maybe not getting an offer from the White House to drop out of the primary race against Arlen Specter in Pennsylvania, any sort of wrongdoing in elections by either party is going to be scrutinized by voters in ways never before seen. On the heels on the Judiciary Committee seeking to appoint a Special Prosecutor to look into the Sestak matter, we now have a controversy brewing in North Carolina.

Tim D'Annunzio, a millionaire businessman, after receiving the most votes in the May Primary is facing a runoff against the second highest vote getter Harold Johnson, a retired television sportscaster, on June 22. D'Annunzio had widely publicized support from local Tea Party groups and several high powered national figures and groups (Tom Tancredo and the Independence Caucus) before the primary. Harold "The Big Guy" Johnson retired from WSOC-TV awhile back, is known for his call it as he sees it good ol boy attitude and was supported by a former NC Governor (Jim Martin) and a former NC Congressman (Robin Hayes) leading up to the primary. On the surface it appears to be a fair race between two viable candidates.

This past weekend, the Charlotte Observer ran a not-so flattering story on Mr. D'Annunzio. The story painted a picture of a man with a troubled past, a past that included arrests, jail time, drug use and even an AWOL episode from the Army. In fairness, most if not all of the things that were discussed in the Observer article were addressed by D'Annunzio himself on his blog well before the primary. It was quite clear in reading the article that the Observer wished to do harm to Mr. D'Annunzio's candidacy by portraying him as a heroin addict turned religious zealot who has fanatical visions of the Ark of the Covenant. However, what was also blindingly clear was that the NC Republican party wants to destroy not only his candidacy but also the man as well. The NC GOP Chairman Tim Fetzer is quoted in the Observer article with regards to D'Annunzio that he is "unfit for public office at any level" and continued his tirade with "What he could do to the party as our nominee is secondary in my view to what he could do to the country if he got elected. If he got elected, for crying out loud, that would be a disaster."

This begs the question, what did Tim D'Annunzio do to anger the party so much that the party chair is willing to risk his job to go against him? Because instead of angering the base and moving Republicans and Unaffiliated (who are eligible to vote in the runoff election with certain caveats) toward Harold Johnson what Mr Fetzer really did was cause a firestorm over his own actions. It is against the NC GOP Plan of Organization for an Officer or Member of the State Executive Committee to utilize the power of the office to influence the outcome of a Primary. This apparent violation of Article VII, Section G of the Plan of Organization (affectionately referred to as the POO - yes the POO) has now sent the Republican party to fight amongst itself.

What are the officials at the NC GOP afraid of? Are we to believe that they are only looking out for the good of the party? If that was the case, shouldn't they have appealed to the electorate BEFORE the primary? Instead, they've waited until now, why? Personally, it feels as though they feel that smearing D'Annunzio is the only way that they can squash the Tea Party and Libertarian swell building in the 8th district.

My hope is that Mr. Fetzer steps down as soon as possible in order to remove any further talk of impropriety and that the GOP can focus on getting a candidate (whomever the people choose on June 22) that they can ALL unite behind in order to go against a fairly venerable candidate in first-term Incumbent Larry Kissell who voted against healthcare reform and thus does not have quite as big target on his chest as he might have otherwise.

Overall my hope is that the insanity of personal attacks on politicians stop. Stop attacking the man. Attack policies or positions, not the candidate. The Observer article makes light of D'Annunzio's previous statements that his life was changed while sitting in his yard watching a solar eclipse. I don't recall anyone still making a mockery of Abraham Lincoln's capabilities as a President and there are high profile accounts that he had a vision of his own death. An entire way of life for over 2 million people was started when a man named Bill W had a spiritual "experience in the fourth dimension" while detoxing from alcohol in a sanitarium. So I don't know that attacking a person's "Come to Jesus" moment is exactly what a party on either side of the aisle should be doing. I hope that party officials on both sides grow up (and quickly) because we Americans simply just aren't falling for it anymore.

Pay-Per-View Politics

Its not a new concept. Politics is theater and let's face it most politicians have to have at minimum a decent stage presence and a little bit of Toastmasters training but it is becoming more and more evident that it is real Hollywood training that is needed to make it in today's Washington, D.C. Its also not new for politicians to come out of Hollywood. Given the stereotypical view of Los Angeles though, you might think that the typical Hollywood politician is a Democrat, you might be surprised.

Here is a partial list of some of the most well known actors turned Republican politicians: Fred Grandy, Sonny Bono, Jesse Ventura, Clint Eastwood, Fred Thompson, Shirley Temple Black, George Murphy and (although some would dispute his party affiliation) Arnold Schwarzenegger. That can be added to a well known group of conservative leaning stars that include: Adam Sandler, Chuck Norris, Bruce Willis, Heather Locklear, LeAnn Womack, Kid Rock, Kelsey Grammar, Alice Cooper, James Woods, Robert Duvall, James Caan, Dennis Hopper, Robert Downey Jr and Dwayne "TheRock" Johnson.

Oh sure, there are some actors turned Democratic politicians. They include Al Franken and Ben Jones. Oh, you don't know who Ben Jones is? He's better known as Cooter from the Dukes of Hazzard.

But now in Connecticut, we have what could be the most important and pivotal election (if you follow my complete train of thought) in the country. Linda McMahon is running against Richard Blumenthal for Senate. Yes, that Linda McMahon, the wife of celebrated WWE creator Vince McMahon. Not only is she the wife of the creator of the "sport" but what most people don't know is that until last year she was the CEO of World Wrestling Entertainment as well. This is a who woman assisted in taking fake (oh I am sorry, staged) wrestling from the backrooms of VFW halls on Saturday nights and turning it into a international conglomerate with fans paying for pay-per-view events several times per year and a net-worth over $1 Billion.

Mrs. McMahon has pledged not to take any PAC money in her campaign to become Senator from Connecticut and she has also kept her distance from special interest dollars and has limited campaign contributions to $100 and until a week or so ago, not many people gave her much of a chance. Her opponent is the current Attorney General of Connecticut, Richard Blumenthal, who increased his national exposure (and probably his campaign contributions) by taking on Craigslist and accusing them of condoning prostitution. However, as so many Democrats due, Blumenthal thought that he was above the fray and "misspoke" about his "service" in Vietnam and last week had to conduct a press conference to not say that he was sorry for misleading the Connecticut voters but rather that he was not to be held responsible for things that reporters wrote and did not verify.

I can't see where there is much of a question for Connecticut voters now. On one hand you've got a seasoned politician who decided that it was perfectly okay to let the public think that he had served in country during one of the most polarizing times in history when in reality he served one weekend a month and two weeks a year during the Vietnam era. On the other, you have a woman who asks you to pay $49.95 (oh now I get why she's keeping it under $100) to watch a fake fight between two men in tights.

I can't think of a better person to head to Washington in this day and age. I can see it now.........John Boehner and Eric Cantor in matching red, white, and blue boxing shorts (think Rocky) facing off in a closed cage match against Harry Reid in a rainbow hued singlet and Nancy Pelosi wearing the California flag as a cape and the makeup (oh she's not wearing makeup) of the Joker fighting for the fate of the Republic. Now who do you know that wouldn't step up and fork over $49.95 for a pay-per-view to see that? I dare say, we might even be able to make a dent into the National debt.

So yes, I will take Hollywood politicians like Linda McMahon and Ronald Reagan over Stuart Smalley and Cooter any day!

Does the cleaning fairy recycle?

A couple of weeks ago, I walked out into my driveway after trash pickup to retrieve the bins from the curb only to find that a giant green bin had been left beside my regular trash can. There was a plastic bag attached to the handle explaining that this was my new recycling bin.

I opened the bag and learned a little about the new program. Well woohoo, I thought to myself. Now I'll have more space to recycle and my five year old daughter will stop yelling at me for throwing away all of the things that Dora the Explorer told her can be recycled. And that, in and of itself, is worth the space that this new NINETY-SIX GALLON can is going to take up in my garage, or is it??

Let's see, it IS 96 gallons, that means I have a ton of room compared to the small red bin that we had before that would barely hold a week's worth of newspapers (good thing I stopped getting the Observer awhile ago, I don't have to worry about proper disposal). The new recycling program is going to allow me to recycle more types of things too. Aerosol cans and all plastics can now be recycled - except number 6 plastic and I will admit, and I am sure that I am not the only one, I have never looked at the plastic to see what number it is so I really don't know if that is going to help me or not, but the city government tells me that it is going to. I guess that since the bin is bigger, pizza boxes can now be thrown in too? A quick glance at the materials included with my new green can shows me that that is not the case. Oh, well on days that I don't feel like cooking and I call to order pizza then use the gas to go pick it up after the restaurant uses all of that oven energy (hope they got a good deal on their emissions credits) to bake it, I can just feel more guilty that I have to throw the box away.

No, though, I can't do any of these things now. Apparently, my garage is simply the cheapest storage that the city of Charlotte can find because I am not allowed to use my pretty new green recycling can until JULY. Yes, that's right, I have to just store my green recycling bin until the new program starts. I guess I should feel lucky that at least I read the information and found that out. Many of my neighbors obviously have not because they started rolling that cart out the very next week only to have it left, still full, at the curb for them to roll back in at the end of the day. I guess maybe that they should have made those bags on the handle a little more noticeable, huh? Local newscasts have even starting doing stories on the fact that the new cans can't be used yet - I haven't seen the number of green carts out on Monday diminish yet though.

That of course is not all. I now find out that we aren't going to have recycling picked up every week like always but rather every other week. Okay, yeah I can see where that would make sense maybe. Save gas by using the trucks less, the bins are bigger so I guess the thinking is that they will take longer to be filled. But if you want me to recycle more items, wouldn't that mean that I need to use more space and if that space is filled in the first week and I have to throw the rest of the newly recyclable materials away because there is no room in my green can, what has it accomplished? Not to mention the idea that if people can't read (or watch TV) in order to find out that the cans shouldn't be used yet, can the city realistically expect these same people to remember which week to roll the can to the street?

I went to the website for the new recycling initiative and found out some more interesting facts. Over 200,000 new rolling carts are being distributed throughout the city of Charlotte and Mecklenburg County. This new program is expected to save $12 Million over the next 5 years. A recent news report stated that the new green carts cost about $40 each which means that the city spent at least $8 Million in order to save $12 Million over 5 years - I wonder how much we could have saved if we just kept using the system that we had, think its over $4 million? And how many of the 400 people who are about to be laid off from the Mecklenburg County government could have had their jobs saved?

And as in any good infomercial, WAIT there's more......this new ugly green 96-gallon rolling green carts that is being stored in my garage comes equipped with, wait for it.........ITS VERY OWN RFID CHIP!! Yes, that's right. The city government is now going to be able to track my recycling habits. The folks in the solid waste department's public relations office say that the RFID chips are no different than the ID numbers on the trash cans now and that they are "only going to track the recycling habits of neighborhoods in order to target our marketing efforts".

Did I mention, the cleaning fairy is due at my house tonight, I wonder if she'll be on time and if she sorts recyclables? I sure hope so because I'd rather incur the lecture of a five-year old girl rather than further this insanity.

Stop the insanity!

Around this time of year, I normally develop what I affectionately call my "playoff aneurysm"; pain that invades my head when the Red Wings have issues in the Stanley Cup Playoffs. Pain that is usually alleviated when either they win the Cup or a few months later when they start playing hockey again. I think that the current political climate has morphed my playoff aneurysm into a permanent fixture and I think that yesterday it started to burst.

One of the headlines yesterday was enough to send me into apoplectic shock. The words screaming from the screen "California Students Sent Home for Wearing U.S. Flags on Cinco de Mayo" made me seethe with anger before I even read the entire story. I was upset a few weeks back when a student in Florida was threatened with suspension for wearing a breast cancer support bracelet but this situation just leaves me incensed.

Five students at Live Oak High School in Morgan, CA were told to either reverse their shirts bearing the American Flag or be sent home. WHAT?! School officials said that shirts, the American Flag shirts, were deemed as incendiary on Cinco de Mayo. The American Flag is incendiary? The Principal of Live Oak High School has sunken to an all new level of insanity. He apparently feels that the American Flag had the possibility to trigger violence between those celebrating and those not.

So let me get this straight: students, who are in large part either immigrants themselves or children of immigrants, might be offended by other students wearing an American Flag. That doesn't even make sense. First things first either they or their parents made a conscious decision to come to this county (either legally or not) and have additionally made the decision to take advantage of the public school system. So having said that, they should never view the American Flag as something to be opposed to rather than to admire and respect after all you chose to be here.

Secondly, Cinco de Mayo isn't even a Mexican National holiday. It is a regional celebration in Puebla, Mexico and is widely ignored in the rest of the country. Here in the United States, Cinco de Mayo is an advertising tool for beer companies and restaurants that serve margaritas. So in reality, the revelers on Cinco de Mayo in California have CAPITALISM to thank for the celebration being as well known as it is.

I wonder if the principal (at Live Oak) removed the American Flag that flies outside his school on Wednesday or if he instructed his teachers to remove the Flag from public view inside the school's classrooms. And if he didn't (and I have seen no evidence as such) then how are the students inciting violence or supporting something that the schol itself has already endorsed? Was there even a policy regarding the wearing of patriotic symbols on May 5 or any other day? I think not, lest we would have heard about it by now. And if there was no policy, were these five students supposed to psychic?

Nick Boden, the principal at Live Oak, has opened himself up to not only controversy but to a dangerous precedent. If we can't wear American Flags on days that we as AMERICANS choose to celebrate the heritages of other countries, should we all be required to participate in the holiday as an exercise in global citizenship and lessons in diversity. And if our participation is mandatory, do we then have the guarantee that no one will be harassed or viewed as being racist? In October, should we all dress like Snooky and "The Situation" to celebrate Columbus Day? Or will the same people who want to sue MTv for perpetuating a stereotype come out of the woodwork? In March should we all dress as leprechauns and drink lots of Guiness and get into fights to celebrate St Patrick's Day? And in February (as a friend asked me today) are we to refrain from wearing white shirts or should we all just go in black face? My point exactly!! These ideas are just as ridiculous as the idea that an American should ever be told that he can't wear the flag on ANY or EVERY day of the year.

And now today, protests and violence are expected to be targeted at these students for standing up for their rights. Americans told not to wear the Flag and then targeted for violence for doing so. If this was happening to any other group of people the ACLU and the left would be screaming that we are violating civil rights - much like the protests against the Arizona immigration law. Seriously what are we becoming and who is going to stand up for us and STOP THE INSANITY!