He Had a Dream

The full "I Have A Dream" speech by Dr. Martin Luther King can be seen and heard here. Has there ever been a more powerful speech given in America?

Should We Worry About China's Excess Of Young Males?

Glenn Reynolds wonders in an Instapundit post today if the excess of young males in China is ominous. Thomas P.M. Barnett does not think so, and lists six reasons why.

The Catch 22 of The Minimum Wage Laws

If my employer thinks, based on my production as a worker, that I am only worth $5.15 per hour, but the government tells the employer he has to pay me $7.00 per hour, what do you think will happen? Many of the employers will just eliminate me from their payroll. Many will not hire me in the first place. How is that going to help me? Who will I blame? Certainly not the wonderful politicians who forced the employer to increase my pay and thus eliminate me from the workforce! In other words, the Democrats have figured out a way to get votes from the very people who are injured by their policies! Maybe the photo above this post should be of Tricky Dick Nixon instead of Teddy Kennedy.

Our President

President Bush is such an enigma to me. He wants victory in Iraq, but has been so weak in guarding our borders. How do we make sense of that contradiction? It saddens me to listen to people I respect who hate the President so thoroughly. Does he really want to merge the United States with Mexico and Canada? I am glad he did not go with the recommendations of the Iraq Study Group. I wish he would unshackle our troops and let them kill monsters like Muqtada al-Sadr. Let's pray that his new plan will succeed.

When It Comes To Our Doorstep...

Once again we see that the best writers in America's newspapers are often on the sports pages. Today Dave Krieger of the Rocky Mountain News interviews former Senator Ben Nighthorse Campbell about the gang problem in Denver. As Campbell points out, it is not just Denver, it is every urban area in America. More importantly, Campbell says that when it is no longer black on black or brown on brown, and becomes black on white or brown on white, it will become a higher priority for our elected officials. Until then, I guess we will just pretend the problem does not exist.

Photos You Will Not See In the Main Stream Media

Michelle Malkin is embedded with the U.S.
Army in Baghdad. Don't miss her reporting. She took this picture of a little boy who is in a homeless camp of people who have been displaced by the terrorist thugs. Of course, you will not see a photo like this from the Associated Press or any of the Anti-American MSM. It makes my blood boil! The little boy came out to greet the troops with his stuffed animal and American flag.

The Sounds of Silence

Although there were many witnesses to the gang killing of Denver Broncos player Darrent Williams, no one has yet been charged. Although gang crime has increased 30% since 1998, there have been no new officers added to the Denver police gang unit since 1998. There may be as many as fifteen thousand gang members along the front range of Colorado's Rocky Mountains. The mayor remains silent, still hoping to attract the Democrat national convention in 2008. The silence is getting louder and louder.

UPDATE!
The Democrats are coming to Denver in 2008. Now can we address the gang problem? Please?

Code Talkers

Will the President tell us about radical Islamists, or will he talk about the "war on terror?" Will he talk about "immigration" or illegal aliens? Will we call them "residents'" or "citizens," or illegal aliens? Will we say the child is a spoiled brat, or claim he has "low self esteem?" No matter what aspect of our lives, there is always a politically correct version being thrust upon us by those in power. When is the ordinary American citizen going to take back that power? How about you? Can you give more examples of how political correctness clouds issues and prevents us from seeing what is really happening in various areas of our lives? In World War II we used Navajos to crack the codes. Who is going to help us crack the codes in 2007?

Our Best and Our Brightest

Ravnwood brings to our attention a rare story about one of our troops in Iraq. I do not think this is a rare example of what the soldiers are doing, but I do think it is rare for the media to bring stories like this to our attention.

The little Iraqi girl in the picture has been shot in the head by the terrorists in Iraq. Her parents have been murdered by the same scum. She cries and moans a lot in the hospital, and the only one who can comfort her is United States Air Force Chief Master Sargeant John Gebhardt. They have been sleeping together in this hospital chair for the last several nights.

hat tip Varifrank

Don't Hold Your Breath!

Over at Scrappleface the wonderful satirist Scott Ott has a leaked copy of President Bush's address to the nation this week about Iraq. If the President would actually give the speech precisely as written by Mr. Ott, most Americans would drop to their knees in gratitude that we finally have a leader that will lead us to victory. Don't hold your breath!

What Will It Take for Young Urban Black Children To Be Freed From Gang Influences?

Will the Denver mayor and police chief and new governor use the publicity accompanying the murder of Denver Broncos football player Darrent Williams to mount an attack on gangs? So far, there is no indication they will, even though it appears to be a gang-involved murder. Will celebrity athletes like Carmelo Anthony and Alan Iverson use this tragic event to separate themselves once and for all from the gang influences they grew up with? So far, there is no indication they will. I know it is easier said than done, but who will finally have the courage to break the silence?

What The President Does

Today in Social Studies I asked my kindergarten son (homeschooled)who is President of the United States. He proudly shouted out "President Bush!" Then I asked, "What does President Bush do?" He was stumped. Then my first grade son answered, "He eats popcorn while watching Saddam Hussein hang!"

A Video Of Two Incredible Young Women

Thanks to the Drudge Report for bringing to our attention two incredible young women!

There is Only So Much a Grandmother Can Do

Another grandma is praying for a grandson who is in police custody. This time it is Susie Johnson, 80, of Denver. She has raised twenty-five grandchildren! One grandson, Willie Clark, was picked up on a parole violation, and is being questioned in connection with the drive-by murder of Denver Bronco cornerback Darrent Williams, who was also raised by his own grandmother.

Mrs. Johnson also raised another grandson, Raymond Johnson, a gang member, who shot and killed a three-year-old child who was asleep in a car parked outside a house in Denver. Johnson was shooting at the house, because a rival gang member lived in the house. Johnson is now serving a life sentence.

To support her grandchildren while she raised them, Mrs. Johnson worked two eight-hour shifts, cleaning hospital and hotel rooms for most of her life, until she developed blood clots in her legs. Do you suppose anyone ever called Social Services about children being left unattended in that home? And what did Social Services do? Nothing? Why? Because they are black?

The photo of Mrs. Johnson is by R.J. Sangosti of the Denver Post.

Too Little Nurturing Plus Too Little Structure In The First Two Years

I have been writing about the effects of no father on black youths, but what about the effects of no mother? Many children, regardless of race, in America are being raised by grandmothers, because their mothers and fathers are unavailable to provide basic nurturing and basic structure. Nurturing without structure (such as telling the child "no" regularly and consistently) can have the same results as neglect: children are much more likely to grow up with anti-social and aggressive tendencies. We get them in our foster home, but by the time they near two years of age, and have been basically on their own for those two years, with no one to give them structure, it is too late. They are completely self-absorbed. They cannot stand to be thwarted. They want what they want when they want it. Tell them they cannot have something that belongs to another child, and you'll get a major temper tantrum.

Dr. Sanity has more on the importance of early nurturing and structure here. She cites a study which says emphatically and unequivocably what I just said in the paragraph above. "Failure to provide the correct mothering may reset the brain's circuitry irreversibly to patterns of antisocial behaviour, aggression and self-destruction, possibly to enable sheer survival in the absence of motherly protection during infanthood." I am adding the words correct fathering. Let's not talk just about the mothers.

Addictions: Welcome News From New Scientific Research

Instapundit links to a Popular Science article from which the photo above was obtained. The brain scans are courtesy of Dr. Nora D. Volkow/Brookhaven National Laboratory. Brain scans show that many forms of addiction—including compulsive behaviors like gluttony—have the same roots in the brain. Addictions of many kinds often make use of the same brain pathways. Although there is no single “addiction gene,” research has shown that various forms of addiction may share genes as well as brain circuits.

By early this year, studies will reveal gene variants that increase vulnerability to nicotine and alcohol addiction. Those same genetic variations will probably appear in future studies of cocaine and opiate abuse—and lead to still more treatments, according to the author of the piece, Tabitha M. Powledge.

This is some scientific research that cannot happen soon enough.

Freedom Writers

I have just come from seeing a wonderful movie, Freedom Writers. I think anyone from Denver will be especially moved if they see it, because of the New Year's Day murder of young Denver Bronco football player Darrent Williams. Darrent was a guy who used his athletic skills and personal determination to become an American success story. But he was gunned down by people who probably grew up in similar circumstances, but chose another route to "success".

But, what kind of a country are we living in? Why should kids have to grow up dodging bullets? Why should kids have to be tempted to join gangs in order to find a sense of family? Why can't someone show kids that a way to get ahead is to exercise their minds, not just their bodies? The movie does a great job showing the odds that many kids must overcome in today's America. The movie is based on a true story, and a book with the same name was published in 1999. It includes the journals the students wrote.

Push It Under The Rug and Pretend It Does Not Exist

How does a community solve a problem if no one in authority acknowledges that the problem exists? I am referring to the murder of Denver Bronco football player Darrent Williams. It seems apparent that it was gang-related. But no one in authority acknowledges that we have gang activity in Denver, so how could it be gang-related? Furthermore, it is not politically correct to talk about the negative effects of the hip hop and gangsta rap culture on young black Americans. Look how Bill Cosby has been criticized for daring to raise questions about priorities. And, are we surprised to learn that he was raised by his grandmother? Can we talk about the fact that many black children are being raised without a father? No? Okay, sorry. But the fact remains: not asking questions, not confronting issues, not acknowledging problems is the prescription for not solving problems.

Can We Put Our Son In Your Day Care?

My wife is always worrying about what the neighbors think of our large family (six children of our own, plus two foster children). She imagines that we must be the talk of the neighborhood. Then one day this week she got conclusive proof. A woman came to our house and asked, "Can I put my son in your day care?' That did it. Colleen explained that we do not have a day care business; this is our family! The woman could hardly believe it. The usual reply soon was uttered: "I have my hands full with the one (or two) that I have!"

Now Colleen really wants to move somewhere where we won't be the talk of the neighborhood, where our older kids will have more room to roam. I am not sure where that would be. I will admit, though, that every time we get a foster child and become bonded with that child, my thoughts turn to adoption. We have adopted the girl in this picture, and we have two more who deserve permanent homes. At some point that will mean a bigger house. But how do you sell a house that has been lived in by eight children? Any creative realtors out there?

Maybe I can get a deal like this one!

"I'll Never Quit!"

After getting four foot drifts from the Christmas blizzard, we got at least two more feet of fresh powder last night. My five-year-old son insisted on helping me with the shoveling. After we had put in a good hour, he said his hands were getting cold. I said, "Go inside and get warm." He replied with gusto, "I'll never quit!" Then he followed with, "Do you know where I got that attitude?" I said, "No, where?" Immediately I thought to myself, I hope he says from me, but I was afraid he wouldn't. Then he announced with enthusiasm in his voice, "From you!" My heart jumped up into my throat, but I managed to say,"That makes me happy, son."