A Liberal HS Teachers Views on MEChA

and look here on the link below for all the different websites at COLLEGE campuses regarding MECha!!!

http://auto.search.msn.com/results.asp?cfg=SMCINITIAL&srch=5&FORM=AS5&RS=CHECKED&v=1&q=MEChA

Here are just a few words from their "manifesto": > "We, Mechistas commit ourselves to return to our community and contribute to the development of the Chicana/Chicano Nation." (they want back all land that belongs to them, in their opinion,.. but there is more.. read on!!!)

"Finally, as Mechistas, we vow to work for the liberation of Aztlán, leading to socioeconomic and political justice for our Gente. M.E.Ch.A. then, is more than a name; it is a spirit of unity by comadrismo/carnalismo, and a resolution to undertake a struggle for liberation! Tierra y Libertad!"

(The liberation of Aztlan, is the retaking **by any force** what they percieve to be "their Land/Aztlan". They are spreading themselves all over the Nation!!! With that in mind,.. read on!!)

"General membership shall consist of any student who accepts, believes, and works for the goals and objectives of M.E.Ch.A. including the liberation of Aztlán"

"Process of Implementation: 1) Every campus outreach program must be analyzed to see if early outreach and supportive counseling is being provided at surrounding junior high school and high school; demand that Mechistas receive work-study to augment such services at the junior high and high schools;

2) Demand that your campus fund a student run, student initiated summer academic enrichment program for high school students that will be organized by the respective M.E.Ch.A. chapter and that will give Mechistas jobs;

3) Understanding that Chicana/Chicano attrition rates are high on all campuses, demand that the university/community college fund the following educational modules:

stress management, time management, study skills, writing lab, self-esteem, public speaking, critical thinking, Chicana and Chicano Identity/History, library research, a M.E.Ch.A. National Hotline, and free tutoring;

4) Since services are a demand of the university, M.E.Ch.A. must demand that its membership be committed to these services and to academic achievement;

5) Demand that M.E.Ch.A.'s key officers be funded through work-study and offer the rationale that M.E.Ch.A. coordinates youth leadership through retreats and Central activities;

6) Demand that the financial aid office at the respective campus not acknowledge outside scholarships as affecting the final financial aid award from the university and federal/state aid."

(Notice the word "demand" in their manifesto's. If you go visit any website.. you will see it often!)

"National Pride Recognizing that the majority of our Raza are members of the working class, we avow an anti-imperialist analysis that includes Chicana/Chicano self-determination. Chicano self-determination must begin with the recognition of what is implied in using the term M.E.Ch.A.

Essentially, we are a Chicana and Chicano student movement directly linked to Aztlán. As Chicanas and Chicanos of Aztlán, we are a nationalist movement of Indigenous Gente that lay claim to the land that is ours by birthright.

As a nationalist movement we seek to free our people from the exploitation of an oppressive society that occupies our land.

Thus, the principle of nationalism serves to preserve the cultural traditions of La Familia de La Raza and > promotes our identity as a Chicana/Chicano Gente."

This was only part of their papers, and all were carefully written!! But one only need to READ this last paragraph from them to understand their intent and manifesto!!!

Bill O'Rielly made the guest from MEChA address those two words. They indeed mean taking back Arizona, California, Texas and ALL lands they feel are theirs by birthright!!

I only gave a SMALL amount of information.. but you can see they are anything BUT harmless!!! They were very aggressive to the GRINGO's (that was the racist remark they made about the "white/Jewish" conservative kids who were passing out the information about them. Which from what I'm reading was right on!!!) The conservative kids were pointing out their/MEChA's views. And proved, IMHO, that MEChA is a racist bigoted organization. With ill intent on ALL Americans!!

Those who say they are harmless, have their heads DEEPLY planted in sand!! But look for yourselves at the links I provided.

Scary stuff!!! Even worst and more frightening when you see them speak as I did a month or so ago!!!

(Get yourself a cool drink, sit down in a comfy chair and relax, because this is a long one...)

After reading your e-mail about this group of people, I feel compelled to reply because I don't think you fully understand the concept of Aztlan and MEChA. Probably, anything I have to say will not sway your opinions, but I will say it anyway, and hope that you can be open-minded and will want to learn about another culture, in order to promote peace and harmony in our world.

It is my hope that after you read my e-mail, you will want to perhaps retract some of your statements, and will be just as enthusiastic about forwarding this information to all your friends and family, just as you did with your anti-MEChA e-mail.

As you know, I am a Spanish teacher and am fluent in the language. I am also very in touch with the Hispanic culture in the United States, having lived with Hispanics for over a year in New York, working with Mexicans in Hillsboro and Albany, OR and Vancouver, WA and having studied extensively the language and culture of Hispanics in America and in their native lands. I have many friends and acquaintances who are Mexican-Americans (Chicanos). I have a Master's degree in teaching Spanish, which includes not only the language but the culture and the history as well. I know what I'm talking about with regard to this subject.

Aztlan is the name for the land that the Aztecs came from before they migrated to the southern part of Mexico, and settled in Tenochtitlan (modern day Mexico City). Nobody really knows "exactly" where Aztlan was, but there are theories, and some think it was the area that is now the southwestern part of the modern-day United States.

The idea of Aztlan is a cultural one, that many Chicanos cling to, giving them ties to their heritage, a "place" where their ancestors came from, and a "land" they can consider their own. It is a conceptual homeland, rather than a true "geographical location." When they talk of the "retaking of Aztlan," as you are fearing, they are referring to recapturing their own culture and heritage, and hanging onto it, rather than being assimilated into the W.A.S.P. culture of America. They are referring to promoting their own heritage, and delighting in their diversity, and promoting cultural strength and growth within their community, so as not to lose their culture and language. That is exactly what "self-determination" means!

We must remember that this southwestern part of "our" country - California, Nevada, Arizona, New Mexico, and Texas, and part of Colorado - used to be another country - Mexico. We went to war with Mexico, and as a result of the signing of the treaty of Guadalupe-Hidalgo, we moved the border of Mexico to the Rio Grande, thus taking about 1/2 of their country for our own. We "won" it. But that doesn't mean that all the Mexicans that were living here, just moved "back" to Mexico. They were in Mexico, but now it wasn't Mexico, it was another country. Still, this was their home, and they belonged here and had a right to be here just as much, if not moreso, than the white settlers who were moving into the area. The Mexicans had been living here for many years before the "Americans" arrived. (I don't like using the term "American" to refer to only those from the United States, as all who live in North, Central and South America are Americans. It's unfortunate that our language doesn't have a word for people from the United States other than American - in Spanish we are called "estadounidenses" or United Statesmen)

Sometimes, it's hard for us to understand what it might feel like to have someone come and take over your home, and demand that you follow their rules, and speak their language, since we have never been conquered. But for the Mexican-American people, this happened twice. They were conquered once by the Spaniards, thus completely changing their Aztec culture into a mixed culture of Spanish and Indian influences, where they had to change their religious beliefs, learn another language, and change their way of living in drastic ways.

Then, a few hundred years later, along come the Americans telling them "you're in our country, speak our language, learn our rules, live our way, or you'll be ostracized, oppressed, swindled out of your land, and more!" This loss of property that I speak of happened extensively, because the people were sent documents informing them that they would lose their land if they didn't follow certain legal steps to keep it. Since these documents were written in English, and the people spoke Spanish, they didn't understand, and didn't know how to fight the American court system, and were thus, removed from their homes, so that "Americans" could have that land.

Perhaps these MEChA people that you went and saw speaking are truly wanting this land back - but can you blame them? I really can't. In the same way, I wouldn't blame the Native Americans if they decided that they wanted their land back either. It's natural to feel that you have a right to take back something that was stolen from you. I am not Chicana, but I, like you, have some Native American blood in my veins, and when I think about the way they were cheated out of their native lands, and killed mercilessly all for the sake of "Manifest Destiny," it angers me, and gives me very little pride in how our great country expanded to what it is today.

I don't know about you, but I can understand how these early inhabitants who were displaced from their homes might be a little bitter about it, and want to "recapture" their homeland, even if it is just figuratively speaking - from a cultural standpoint. I'm sure that the feeling of these Chicanos is that they have been robbed of what belonged to their people - their home. And when I think of what that might feel like, it helps me to understand their anger.

The reason that you sent out this e-mail to warn people seems to be because you too, fear losing your home in the event that this group would try to "take back their land," so it seems logical that you would understand that losing one's home is not a pleasant prospect. You seem to perceive this group as a threat to your way of life. Can you understand that they perceive our society's oppression of their people as a threat to their way of life?

Now, you may be thinking that I'm sounding awfully "anti-American" in my explanation of all of this. I am not. I am proud to be an American as I know you are too. I am proud of our country's strength in banding together after the attacks of 9/11. I am proud when I walk around school and see Anglo kids, African-American kids, Hispanic kids and Asian kids all hanging out together. Of course, this isn't always the case, and there is still separation of ethnic groups, often by their own choice, but when I see that mixing of groups happen, I feel that we are moving closer to Dr. Martin Luther King's dream of a country where we can all live together peacefully, equal in each other's eyes regardless of race, color or creed. I am proud of America's diversity and I am proud of our MANY cultures that exist here and give our country it's "flavor." For what would a great meal be, if it had no flavor? America has been considered a melting pot, but I challenge that idea, and say we are like a fine seven course meal, each course individual and different, but when put together, they compliment each other in ways unimaginable, for an incomparable dining experience. If we were to throw all those courses into a blender - the appetizer, the salad, the soup, the bread, the meat, the vegetables, the dessert - and hit "puree" and then try to eat it, it wouldn't be nearly as appetizing. We mustn't try to be all the same. It would spoil what we have.

A few months ago, when I received this e-mail from you, I did access the web-sites that you included in your e-mail, and I read the MEChA manifesto. I read a letter that was written to a Jewish man who had e-mailed the Aztlan site, and at first reading the response of the "Voz de Aztlan" writer, I was angered at their anti-Jewish comments, but as I read on, I realized that they paled in comparison to the original hate-e-mail to which they responded. The original e-mailer (a Jewish man from New York) called the Mexican race "genetic garbage" and said many other generalistic atrocities that I will not repeat, but that can be read at the site.

I am not justifying the anti-semetic comments by the Voz de Aztlan writer, in any way. What I am trying to say is that both parties were wrong in making generalized statements about one group of people. That is what perpetuates prejudices. One group received a letter attacking their people, and unfortunately responded in kind. Perhaps if we weren't feeling the need to attack each other in the first place because of our differences, we could learn to appreciate our differences and enjoy the fact that they exist.

After reading the MEChA manifesto,it's clear to me, that you took excerpts, removed them from their context, and injected your own ideas, thus presenting them to everyone you sent them to, as factual information. This is pure propaganda, and it is not the way to "educate" people. In doing so, I feel that you have perpetuated the same type of hate mail that you were attempting to fight by sending out your anti-MEChA message. And with reference to your taking issue with the use of the word "demand" throughout the manifesto, I think it's necessary to remember that this group of people is trying to fight oppression, and it's not really possible to do so by asking politely "please stop oppressing our people." They are demanding education - primarily help within the university system to promote their people's job skills and education levels so that they can rise up and stand on their own feet and not depend on the welfare system, etc. I personally find this to be a noble goal, since many anglos complain about all the Mexicans coming to "our country" and living on welfare and government assistance. They are making demands of an oppressive society in order to pull themselves up from the grips of poverty. Isn't that the American dream?

I truly hope that you will reconsider your opinions about these people, or if not that, at least stop sending out such e-mails that are filled with propaganda and sentiments against a group of people, in order to cause others to feel threatened and scare them into harboring ill-will against a group of people.

Until we've walked a mile in the other man's shoes, we have no right to criticize him... and after all, we are all children of God and should feel love for each other, should we not?

Glenn Spencer correctly points out: "Those who attacked us on the Fourth of July were in large part made up of groups which are supporting the right of Mexican nationals to enter the United States illegally. Moreover, they support the claim of Mexico and Mexican nationals to territory of the United States of America" - specifically the Southwest United States, which they refer to as "Aztlan" - the mythical homeland of the Aztec nation."
" The effort to mobilize street gangs is getting some help from an interesting source: the new self-anointed leader of America's "black community," Louis Farrakhan of the Nation of Islam."
"On April 27th of this year, approximately 500 representatives of black and Mexican gangs met in the Watts section of Los Angeles for the fourth annual LA Gang Truce Rally - a celebration of Mexican and black gang unity. Gang colors and "Black Power" symbols were displayed alongside symbols of the "Aztlan Nation." The event featured a speech by Tony Muhammad, the West Coast representative of the Nation of Islam. Repeatedly emphasizing that he was conveying a personal message from Farrakhan, Muhammad urged the gangsters to unite in a common armed struggle against bourgeois society:"
" When we come together as one army, we can take Watts, we can take South-Central, we can take Los Angeles and then the West Coast, because God is going to send the Original Man. And when I say the Original Man that includes Mexicans - that includes La Raza - that includes the Brown, that includes the Yellow. God is going to bring us together, and from that he is going to raise a mighty army that's ready to move for God. So I'm not telling you to give up your weapons. I'm just telling you to turn them somewhere else."
"Farrakhan himself extolled the virtues of La Raza during his speech at the Washington DC "Million Man March." Addressing white Americans, Farrakhan declared, "I know you call [some Hispanics] 'illegal aliens,' but hell, you took Texas from them, by flooding Texas with people that got your mind. And now they're coming back across the border, to what is northern Mexico: Texas, Arizona, New Mexico, and California. They don't see themselves as illegal aliens; I think they might see you as an illegal alien."
"Like Mike Davis, Farrakhan has recognized the revolutionary potential of a "nation within a nation." During his month-long "World Friendship Tour" earlier this year, in which he visited Iran, Nigeria, Sudan, Libya, Iraq, and Syria, Farrakhan opened a correspondence with Libyan terror chief Moammar Khadafy. The dictator reportedly promised Farrakhan $1 billion to help "mobilize oppressed minorities to play a significant role in American political life." "Our confrontations with America used to be like confronting a fortress from outside," Khadafy declared. "Today, we have found a loophole to enter the fortress and confront it within."
"Farrakhan will not be left hurting for revolutionary seed money. The Nation of Islam has received an estimated $20 million in federal contracts for providing security at public housing facilities."
"We are seeing the beginnings of a new civil war."
"Michaels recalled that "most of the money that the original Panthers collected came from white people, business people, and celebrities. They also received a lot of support from the Peace and Freedom Party, who were mostly white anti-war activists who saw a need for their struggle to be entrenched in the African culture and community here." He also recalled the nexus between the Panthers and the Weather Underground, a hard-core Maoist terror network that connected the Panthers, the American Indian Movement, and other domestic subversive groups to the Terrorist International. "The Weathermen - those people were cold," Michaels mused admiringly. "They were white guys who said that all white people deserved to die, including the white children. They said that they should kill white children because if they grow up, they'll be racist just like their mothers and fathers, which was a very intelligent analysis. The SDS [Students for a Democratic Society] was the same way."
"Predictably, mainstream media mavens fell over themselves to offer McGee a forum to promote urban guerrilla warfare. Speaking on 60 Minutes, McGee explained that "when I say I want to wage urban guerrilla warfare, I ain't talking about Saudi Arabia. I'm talking about right here in our home court." When interviewer Mike Wallace inquired, "What kind of violence does the Black Militia have in mind?" McGee elaborated: "Sniping at tires going on the freeway, sabotage, tearing down electrical wires. You know, complete chaos and confusion outside of our community."

AMERICANS SHOULD BE AFRAID.. VERY VERY AFRAID. WE NEED TO "WAKE UP" TO THESE RADICAL GROUPS, THEY ARE ORGANIZING AND WE ARE NOT PREPARED TO COUNTER THEM.

It's an alarming concept and movement. As I said, the infrastructure is here, how convienient to just walk in and own it, huh?

Amazing!

Again, we live in an area where there are Hispanic, East Indians, Korean, American Indians, Irish, Polish, etc. Just an extremely diverse city. I have the UTMOST respect for the people I mentioned above. We are extremely blessed, and lucky I guess, to really "get it". We don't fight, and we smile and are polite to each other, we are neighbors.

As an example, I let people go in front of me while driving, and they do likewise, with a wave, smile and a nod. If a baby bumps into us while in the supermarket.. we smile and laugh. We just get along.

But this group is dangerous. And to think a TEACHER who brags of her Masters degree, and superior knowledge doesn't comprehend what they want, well, I find that frightening.

I also have seen the cesspool that Mexico is, we had a revolt to develop our country. They should try it. It comes down to someone wanting another hand out. Pure and simple. Poor me, give it to me free.

Many AMERICANS work hard. Be they "any" nationality. To say we OWE anything to anyone is ludicrous, and self defeating. As long as they are here legally, and treat this country well and are good citizens, then all are welcome. But this group, and illegal aliens are horrendous threat to the well being of our Nation. As are extremist Muslims, like Farrahkan!! They smile at us, but all the while they organize right in front of our own eyes,..and more importantly,.. they hate!

I TOTALLY understand you wanting to homeschool. While I have a few other relatives working in Public schools, it only takes one like her, to influence a TON of kids. Think about how many classes she has a quarter,.. times 35? Times 4. Scary indeed.

School teachers should be A-Political. But even another neice of mine said something wierd the other day. I was mentioning how sad it was that the forest fires were threatening our OLD GROWTH Redwood forrests. She said "Well, Reagan should be happy". I said "What?" "Reagan?,.. you mean PRESIDENT REAGAN?".. and she said "Yeah". I asked her what she was talking about.. so she said it is in the History books. That they talk about how President Reagan stated "Whats one Redwood?"

She even went to a website with Reagan quotes! I told her that the quote was taken totally out of context. That there are REDWOOD tree's in the ENTIRE Pacific Northwest. That President Reagan was obviously talking about Logging and new growth tree's. To SHOW ME where he was talking OLD GROWTH FORREST.

And yes.. she is a TEACHER too. :o(

This explains what Thomas Sowell calls the dumbing down of the American Education system.

I know there are good teachers out there.. but this trend is frightening.

Huh? What ALTERNATE UNIVERSE does your niece live in? I posted the link to the MEChA website. When you go there they CLEARLY state that they want to take over AZTLAN (Southwest USA) and kick the "evil Europeans" out. There is no reading OUT OF CONTEXT as your niece contends. They are very IN YOUR FACE with their demands. BTW, how are folks of Mexican descent being "oppressed?" Your niece justs accepts that assumption (without specifying the "oppression") and says it must be fought (even though we are never told the details of this mythic oppression).

They are demanding education - primarily help within the university system to promote their people's job skills and education levels so that they can rise up and stand on their own feet and not depend on the welfare system, etc.

So who's keeping them from going to college? Actually MEChA's BIG DEMAND (which your niece doesn't want to face) is that the Southwest USA (AZTLAN) be turned over to them. I'm still waiting for your niece's answer on that. I really hope she won't insult us by pretending that AZTLAN is just some symbolic mythological place. The fact is it is clearly defined by the boundaries around the states in the Southwest USA. The map is even on this thread.

SHEESH! Talk about CONDESCENSION ("I'm MORAL and you all are just miserable hate mongers.")!!! How can you stand that attitude when your niece shows up at family reunions? Hey Teach! WHERE IS THE PROPAGANDA???!!!! It CLEARLY STATES on the MEChA website what they want. And why shouldn't we harbor "ill will" towards MEChA if they want to take over about a quarter of the USA and toss out the "evil Europeans" as they clearly state on their website. Does your niece think we shouldn't believe what they SAY on their website?

Until we've walked a mile in the other man's shoes, we have no right to criticize him...

MY GOD!!! WHAT AN IDIOT!!! Does that mean that if we haven't "walked a mile" in jackboots that we couldn't criticize the Nazis? Methinks this "teacher" is in need of a brain transplant.

and after all, we are all children of God and should feel love for each other, should we not?

Yeah, like all that love that was just oozing over at the MEChA website. < /sarcasm>.

Well, let us know what the response is from your niece. I sure hope she READS what is actually written at the MEChA website. It sure ain't pretty. Of course, she sounds like the type who will NEVER admit the possibility that she could be in error.

I can't believe she read the SAME website as you and I did. How she garnered a different opinion, just shows she should probably never have passed classes and gotten a Masters degree. She just "diminished" the success of those teachers who have gotten one.

I won't stereotype all teachers,.. but I sure as heck pray to God she isn't the NORM. But I fear perhaps she is.

I'm hoping to hear from Summer and a few other REAL Teachers regarding this issue.

I'm all for LEGAL Immigrants, and our fellow citizens who appreciate this country and all our freedoms and rights. But I'm against people who live here and bash it. Pure and simple. America,..Love it or LEAVE it.

Osama bin Laden : The "Pancho Villa" of Islam (Osama A MEChA Hero)
La Voz de AZTLAN | Janurary 15, 2002 | Ernesto Cienfuegos

Posted on 07/30/2002 7:32 PM Pacific by PJ-Comix

"Villa is everywhere but Villa is nowhere" was the telegraphed message sent to Washington D. C. by General John J. Pershing after failing to capture the elusive and brilliant military strategist of the Mexican Revolution. Pershing and his Punitive Expedition, that included a young lieutenant by the name of George S. Patton, had gone deep into Mexico in search of General Francisco Villa after Villa and about 485 of his "Dorados del Norte" had successfully crossed the U.S./Mexico border and raided the small border town of Columbus, New Mexico on March 9, 1916 to collect a debt owed him by two unscrupulous, in Villa's own words, "judio" (jewish) brothers, Sam and Louis Ravel. The scammers had failed to deliver arms, ammunition and supplies they had been paid for with gold bars. The U.S. Army Punitive Expedition consisting of 10,000 troops went as far south as Parral, Chihuahua but gave up catching General Villa after an 11 month search. General Villa, "El Tigere del Norte", proved too evasive for John "Black Jack" Pershing. General Francisco Villa knew every rock, every stream, every cave, and every cactus of the immense sierra of Chihuahua.

Today, we are hearing similar accounts concerning the search for Osama bin Laden by the U.S. Special Forces expedition into Afghanistan under the command of General Tommy Franks. Yesterday General Franks as well as the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) sent a message to President George Bush that they believe that Osama bin Laden has managed to escape. The message by the CIA said that Osama bin Laden may not be in Afghanistan or in Pakistan and that he may have escaped by sea. Like Pancho Villa, it looks like Osama bin Laden has outsmarted the U.S. military generals. Reports now being broadcast by the mainstream media say that Osama bin Laden fooled the CIA and Special Forces by "planting" videos as well as Osama bin Laden voice tape recordings that were used by Taliban soldiers over "cellular phone" communications to make the CIA think that he was at a certain location when in fact he was somewhere else. General Villa utilized similar tactics to fool Pershing. Pershing and the U.S. Punitive Expedition were chasing phantom Villas all over Chihuahua and finally became exhausted and gave up. His last telegraph to Woodrow Wilson was "Villa is everywhere but Villa is nowhere".

There are other uncanny similarities between Osama bin Laden and Francisco Villa. Both are revered by the common people of each respective community. Both are seen as Robin Hoods by the poor and oppressed. Both were construction contractors at one time in their lives. Francisco Villa was a general contractor on the construction of the railroad through Chihuahua's majestic Copper Canyon. Both Osama bin Laden and General Francisco Villa were indirectly fighting those whom they perceived to be lackeys of the United States. General Villa was fighting Venustanio Carranza, who had a cozy "sellout" relationship with Woodrow Wilson, and Osama bin Laden is fighting the Saudi Royalty who have a very cozy relationship with US oil interests to the detriment of the overall disenfranchised Arab population.

The U.S. military expedition to capture Francisco Villa was doomed to failure because Pershing and his Punitive Expedition where unfamiliar with the territory, were up against a very clever military genius, and were operating within a very hostile local population who had come to see the revolutionary as a folk hero and national symbol of defying America. General Francisco Villa was seen by Mexicans as a clear winner, emerging triumphant from a battle with the powerful United States and assumed legendary status that endures till this day. It certainly appears today, that Osama bin Laden is headed for the very same legendary and folk hero status in Islam.

The public schools are teaching a lot of nonsensical crap. I've substitute taught a lot, and you'd be shocked if you saw the garbage that comes out of the school textbooks. What's even more shocking is that school boards have to vote on which textbooks to use.

You'll see themes ranging from multiculturalism to junk science, historical revisionism to environmentalism. The textbooks are awful. I've made sure to point out all the errors to the children.

I'll give you some examples.

In one social studies textbook, you'll quickly get a politically correct historical version of America. The textbook lies and claims that America has always been a multicultural nation, and implies that everyone who has come here has held onto their individual culture. Directly below this paragraph, you see pictures of children who are supposed to have represented America throughout history. However, they don't look American, for most are decked out in Asian, Middle Eastern, African, or whatever foreign clothing. You do see a few "American style" kids into the mix. However, they are in the minority. In fact, the textbooks portray Europeans as having been the minority throughout the U.S., both in the past and in the present.

Another example was an extreme form of junk science. The lesson plan was to work on a particular assignment within the reading and writing workbooks. Upon turning to the lesson pages, it was indicated that you were to read the story and fill in the blank spaces from a glossary of words located above in a box. The story could have been right out of the environmentalist handbook. As an individual who studied meterology in college, I quickly knew that the arguments were bogus. The story made the statement that if one were to cut down all the trees and root systems within a particular area that a desert would be the direct result. As some who knows about weather and climate, it is a fallacy to say that climate is a byproduct of vegetation. The opposite is true. Vegetation is a byproduct of the climate. Climate is based upon different criteria, including wind belts, topography, proximity to lakes, oceans and rivers, areas that experience clashes in air masses, the jet stream, etc. However, vegetation is not one of those reasons. The lesson was a way of indoctrinating the kids into believing that if you cut down the trees, everything's going to be a desert, and that life would cease to be as it is. Mind you, this was in reference to only one particular area, not the whole earth.

I've seen history/social studies textbooks give too much emphasis to the "Native Americans" and too little to our Founding Fathers. Furthermore, some of these textbooks make the colonists out to be bad people, whereas the Indians are seen as good.

I've seen history textbooks refer to Cortes as destroying the ancient government of Mexico. Though they were right in terms of the killing that went on.

I've seen "Character Assemblies" in the schools that are nothing more than a subtle form of secular humanism. I've seen third grade children singing, "You can't tell me what to do. I don't have to do what you say. What's right is what's in my mind", etc. Mind you, these assemblies are shown to the entire school, and they don't make a distinction between the authority of adults and the differences compared to children.

Yes, the schools are whacked out. The teachers discipline very little today, as they are in fear of losing their jobs. If you place a child in the corner, even if they're very disruptive and have had several warnings, the school may come after you. If you teach the children anything else that doesn't fit the PC Propaganda mold, a teacher could find his/herself placed on probation.

If it were up to me, I'd ask to keep your children out of these God-forsaken institutions, though some may be better than others.

Your niece is a prime of example of one who "has let their schooling get in the way of their education." People who feel this way I've found are generally removed in many ways from the problem...just like most if not all of the pundits and politicians in our land.

In my forteen years of living in California, (east coast transplant, what a mistake!) I've watched as the Mexification has spread like a cancer. If you have no problems with trash, crime, graffiti, overcrowded housing, and a generally overburdened infrastructure, terrific, this is your place. However it's not the way I grew up and to live this way now is a huge leap backwards in my view.

I won't even bother trying to change your niece's views on this matter. All of us here will be labeled as biggoted, racist, xenophobes who need to be enlightened. I wish you much luck and patience with this "educated individual" however. Call me a defeatist but with the attitudes that prevail in at least my part of California, the Mexicans are welcome to set up Aztlan and in fact will even get government aid to do so. The fight is lost...I'm outta here.

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