Monday, May 23, 2011

People are dying for an education

The United States Supreme Court ordered California to release tens of thousands of criminals into the general population in response to prison over-crowding.
Meanwhile, the court took no action on another California case in which a conservative group is challenging the state's policy of granting in-state tuition at its colleges and universities to students who are illegal immigrants and have graduated from its high schools.

So we don't have money to keep criminals incarcerated, but we do have funds to educate the foreign-born children of illegal immigrants who broke into this country? Are we insane?

I absolutely loathe those on the Court and in our government who pander to criminal constituencies, even as they place me and my family in greater danger. My heart cries out "God damn them! May they eat the bitter fruit of their own foolishness!" But my mind knows better. God would have me pray for them. And for the criminals.

In fact, education...and releasing non-violent offenders from prison...are both good things, in my opinion. We shouldn't have many prisons...or prisoners. And I'm all for people getting educated. Even illegal immigrants.

I just don't think either institution should be supported on the public dime.

Tuesday, May 17, 2011

You have the right to remain unarmed....

Assemblyman Perez,

You recently voted in support of AB 144, a law intended to further inhibit and prevent law-abiding California citizens ("the people") from securing their liberties, property and lives by keeping and bearing arms.

What danger do law-abiding citizens pose to anyone by carrying holstered, unloaded firearms in public? How many crimes have been committed by law-abiding citizens openly carrying holstered, unloaded firearms? What outcry from the community has prompted you to ignore your sworn duty to uphold the U.S. Constitution by supporting this clearly unconstitutional bill?

Frankly, if "the right to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed" means merely that legislators may "infringe" it in whatever way they want, then the Constitution means nothing. Your vote is a mockery of republican government and constitutional law. We didn't elect you to be our ruler, sir, we elected you to uphold our laws. And clearly the right to protect one's life, liberty and property, by violent means, if necessary, is among the most sacrosanct, indeed, the principal right by which all other rights are secured.

Please explain how your vote squares with "the right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed".

--Will Carter

Sunday, May 15, 2011

Game 6: BYU 32, Trojans 14


We beat the Trojans, 32-14.

Nicholas' hand-off to Daniel on BYU's first possession resulted in a long, sweeping run for a touchdown (1:07); followed by Hanyi's amazing field-slashing race to the end zone (2:30) and a second TD, punctuated by Daniel's 2-point conversion on a double reverse and another great cut (3:00). On BYU's third possession, Trenten caught a pass from Nicholas, then Daniel stepped in at QB to connect with Kyson on a beautiful pass (for those who saw it!) and 6 more points (5:20), ending the half with BYU ahead, 20-0.

The Cougars began the second half moving the ball, but a dropped exchange prevented them from reaching a first down. Missed assignments on defense then allowed the Trojans to score one of two touchdowns (the most ever scored against BYU in any game this season).

On the Coug's next possession, two incomplete passes made getting to mid-field BYU's top priority. The task fell to Kyson, who took the hand-off from Daniel and made a thrilling, cross-field dash to reach mid-field (8:35). Caleb moved the ball farther, then Kyson took it (again!) into the end zone for six more points. (Daniel's follow-up pass to Cash fell incomplete.)

While the Cougar defense effectively shut down the Trojan's offense on their next possession, BYU suffered a setback when Daniel's pass to a well-covered Kyson was intercepted for the Trojan's second (and final) touchdown.

BYU kept the ball for the remainder of the game, with Kyson stepping in at QB. Caleb and Daniel advanced the pigskin for another "last chance" first down. Then Daniel and Kyson traded places again, with Daniel throwing a short pass to Kyson, resulting in another touchdown. (And probably the best open-field run of the season! See 12:09.)

Thus far, BYU has outscored its opponents 5 to 1: 158-32.

Friday, May 13, 2011

You may not resist

"The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated". -- 4th Amendment, U.S. Constitution

Unless, of course, the Indiana Supreme Court and local police think otherwise.

And you thought you had unalienable rights!

"Now move along, folks, step into the cattle car. You can contact your lawyer and file a lawsuit just as soon as we arrive...."

Saturday, May 7, 2011

Game 5: BYU 26, Bears 6


We won again (our fifth straight!), 26-6.

But it wasn’t pretty.

In 24 snaps over 7 possessions, we scored four touchdowns and one 2-point conversion. (The Bears had 27 snaps, in 8 possessions, to  score only once. Their lone TD came during their first possession, with a great “handoff-and-passback-to-the-QB” play we also use effectively.)

We should have scored many more times, but TEN dropped passes got in our way.

Daniel’s passing efficiency was a dismal 5 for 11 (45%). Not a single 2nd half completion lead either to a score or a first down! Daniel did connect with Kyson in the first half, using that same “pass-back” play to make a sweet 2-point conversion, after Daniel’s nice TD run.

Kyson was 1 for 4 (25%) passing, connecting with Daniel for the Cougar’s second TD (our only score by “air mail”). Nice play!

Daniel’s 10-yard, double-reverse run on the third series set up Caleb’s sweet “fake” double-reverse scoring run. The defense nearly fell down trying to catch him!

The Coug’s next four possessions were disappointing, however -- except for Kyson’s awesome TD run which, disappointingly, wasn’t caught on video! Every chance for a Cougar score in the 2nd half was “killed” by a dropped pass. (We need to work on that!)

Looking on the bright side, we suffered no interceptions – in 16 passes! (The Bears threw only once, for a completion that didn’t score.)

Our saving grace was the Coug’s awesome defense. In addition to running the Bears out of bounds on several plays, Caleb, Kyson and Hanyi each are credited with three "solo" tackles; Trenten made 2 fantastic defensive snags in the flat (saving touchdowns); Daniel made a couple of tackles; and Cash made a great mid-field stop that prevented a first down.  (We utterly shut down their best player from scoring. He isn’t bragging anymore, is he!)

We've now outscored our opponents 126-18 and remain undefeated!

Wednesday, May 4, 2011

Game 4: BYU 40, Irish 0


My game plan was to run as much as possible in the first half and pass the second. The “faking” on offense was particularly effective. (Even the cameraman couldn't always follow the ball!) We ran 17 offensive plays (to the Irish's 26), scoring 6 touchdowns and 2 conversions (on 47% of our plays!), while keeping the Irish out of the end zone entirely.

Daniel started the Cougar’s first series (0:50) taking a handoff from Kyson to run all the way for the score. On BYU's next possession, Daniel carried the ball again for a first down (2:15), followed by Hanyi's TD run (2:40). (Both extra-point conversions were unsuccessful.)

The Irish first crossed the halfway mark (for a first down) during their third series, but failed to capitalize when Hanyi intercepted a pass (4:05) to score the Cougar's third touchdown. The "tricky" Kyson-fake-to-Hanyi-handoff-to-Daniel-passback-to-Kyson (5:10) follow-up play resulted in 2 more points for the Cougs.

Hanyi began the Cougar's fourth series with a first down run (6:15). But Kyson's two fumbled handoffs prevented BYU from scoring again before time ran out. The half-time score was 20-0, BYU.

The Cougs opened the second half with Daniel completing two passes: first to Cash (7:55), who ran the length of the field for the touchdown, followed by Kyson, who caught an amazingly accurate, across-the-field pass (8:20) to score the 2-point conversion.

The Irish made their second first down during their fourth series, but dropped handoffs and BYU's steely defense doomed their efforts.

After the Irish failed to convert, the Cougars shifted to a “no-huddle” offense. Daniel threw two quick passes -- first to Cash (10:10), then to Kyson (10:30) -- resulting in a fifth Cougar touchdown! (The 2-point conversion pass to Trenten fell incomplete.)

Kyson almost single-handedly shut down the Irish offense thereafter, tackling all who dared carry the ball. When the Cougars regained possession, Daniel threw a final pass to Kyson (12:05), who ran the length of the field for the Cougar's sixth (and final) TD.

With two completed passes during their last possession, the Irish advanced to just short of the mid-field mark. They were prevented from making a first down, however, when the entire BYU defense "blitzed" as a roaring crowd and Kyson knocked the ball from the Irish QB's hands.

The game thus ended: BYU 40, Irish 0.

In addition to scoring one touchdown, Daniel completed an astonishing 6 of 7 passes (86%), resulting in 3 more TDs and 2 conversions! He also is credited with two tackles.

Hanyi scored two touchdowns (one by interception) and six tackles.

Kyson was a “monster” on defense, with 7 tackles, stopping many behind the line of scrimage. As quarterback, he completed 2 for 2 passing (100%) and his three receptions as running back all resulted in scores.

In four games, the Cougars have now outscored their opponents 100-12.

Monday, May 2, 2011

The Witch Is Dead?

Ding dong!

At first I suspected that reports of killing Osama bin Laden -- and immediately burying him (the evidence?) at sea -- were unbelievable. Why would they bury his body -- and follow Muslim protocol, to boot! -- when his body is the ultimate proof that he is, in fact, dead? (What? Are we supposed to take the government's word for it? I don't take the government's word for anything.)

That being said, after reading this, I'm convinced the Witch is Dead.

And, surprisingly, my respect for Barrack Hussein Obama has grown. This is the first constitutional, proper and "American" action Obama has taken since taking office.

It appears that sometimes even the tone deaf can hit the right note.

CORRECTION: Or maybe not. Apparently my fears of government misinformation were justified. Our government has allegedly disposed of OBL's body. They won't release any photographs. They admit that the video feed of the assault on the OBL's compound "went dark" for 25 minutes (during his alleged demise) -- contradicting all initial reports and promises. In other words, we can't verify OBL's dead! We just have to take Obama's word for it. (What is it with this president and his propensity for secrecy, obfuscation and deceit? He is a liar from the beginning! That is why I distrust and despise the man.)

UPDATE: The story keeps changing. Now the intense, near-continuous firefight that lasted upwards of 40 minutes with multiple, armed resistors has devolved to a lone armed opponent (firing from a guest house) who was summarily killed, together with each of the remaining (soon-to-be deceased) unarmed "enemy combatants", including OBL.

Oh, sure, in the movies it's always "shoot-to-kill", no questions asked. (They even killed a woman caught in the crossfire!) But why not take OBL alive? Was he really "lunging" for a weapon? And yet they shot him in the eye? Those are pretty fast reflexes, Navy SEAL guy! Where's the damn video to confirm all this? They have it. Why is it now (conveniently) unavailable?

Otherwise, what were Obama and his team watching in that room? A blank screen?

I mean, look at these faces. They're horrified.


Bob Ellis puts into words what we all suspect to be true: They couldn't be more bumblingly incompetent. Are our "leaders" actively trying to get us all killed?