Anne Arundel County Schools; A Societal Issue Exposed

Anne Arundel County is a large county in the state of Maryland. Last year when a snow storm was predicted the county chose to keep its schools open even though it was snowing and other counties had delayed opening or closed. After a lot of problems the school board stated that it had made a mistake and would do better.

Yesterday a snow storm was predicted and it started snowing early in the morning. Several school systems delayed opening and some revised their status to “closed”. Anne Arundel did none of the above and remained open. There were a lot of frustrated and upset parents.

The decision to remain open proved unwise when two students on the way to school (in their own vehicle) were involved in an accident requiring them to be transported to Shock Trauma. They are home and recovering. Another student slipped in the snow and was hit by a slow moving vehicle. This student was treated for minor injuries.

The amount of snow was actually not so great with anywhere from 1-4 inches depending on location. This probably sounds trivial to those who live in Buffalo or other northern areas that regularly get a lot of snow and rarely close schools. The problem with this storm, as it often is, was the timing. The storm hit before and extended into the morning commute. If it had come much earlier or later in the morning the problems would not have been so bad.

I heard a radio interview with someone from the county who gave a number of reasons for the decision. It was not snowing when they made the call or it was not predicted to be as bad as it was or whatever. They took a decision based on whatever criteria they use. They will have to live with that.

Here is where I have an issue. During the interview the person stated that they also had to consider that there were a lot of children who, if they stayed home, would be alone or that might not even get a lunch.

Ladies and gentlemen, that is not the concern of the school. If school is closed it is up to PARENTS to make arrangements and to feed their children. The school is not a sitter; it is a place of learning. Parents should have plans for when school is closed and if their children are home it is their responsibility to ensure their children have supervision (if required) and are fed.

The statement from whoever that was (in the interview) is one of the problems of society. Government and its entities think they are responsible for raising our children. They are not. The fact that some families would have to make plans or some kids might not get a lunch should not factor into the decision of delaying the opening or closing the school.

Schools are responsible for educating our children, nothing more.

The issue is far wider though. You see, the reason government thinks it is in charge and should raise your children is because so many parents allow them to by not taking responsibility. I heard a number of interviews with parents who expressed that it was ridiculous that Anne Arundel County would put children’s lives in danger.

Let that sink in a minute.

If it was that dangerous why didn’t the parents keep their children home regardless of what the school decided? The school did not place anyone’s life in danger, the parents did. The school cannot possibly know the conditions all over the county and the school system certainly has much less information about how bad it is in YOUR neighborhood than YOU do. If it is bad outside and you think it is dangerous then keep your kids home.

I don’t know how many interviews I heard or how many social network postings I read where parents expressed how they could not believe the county was forcing their children to go to school.

No, the county just said the schools would be open. Parents decided to send their children despite the terrible conditions. You know who you are and if you felt it was bad and still sent them out then it is on you.

I know there are circumstances where the parents might rely on the school system decision because in their neighborhood it is not snowing or it is very light and then things get hairy on the way or later on. That can certainly happen but the parents I read or heard expressed how bad it was and that they could not believe the schools were open which means it was bad where they were. They had all the information they needed to decide and they left it up to the school.

Government is more than happy to take control of your children and take decisions based on social circumstances because parents so easily give up their control.

The school system has to decide for thousands of children (which is not to say they are blameless). Parents only have to decide for their own.

Learn a lesson from this and take control of your lives. Raise your own children and do what is right.

Government, as demonstrated by Anne Arundel County, is not competent to do it for you.

Cave canem!
Never surrender, never submit.
Big Dog

Gunline

Another Reason NOT to Vote For Brown In MD

Anthony Brown is the Lieutenant Governor of Maryland and he is running to replace outgoing failure Martin O’Malley. Brown is a Democrat and he has pushed for typical liberal policies that hurt people and make them slaves of government.

Anthony Brown wasted MILLIONS of dollars on the Maryland version of the Obamacare website. It was an absolute failure and he owned it because that was his responsibility. The local media has not challenged Brown over this lack of leadership.

Brown’s largest assets, it seems, are that he is a veteran and he is a Democrat. These are the only things people seem to know about him because he does not spend time telling us what he will do. No, he spends time lying about his opponent.

Brown is a disgrace and an oath breaker. In a rare instance where Brown actually said something he would do it turns out that thing is to violate people’s rights. Brown was a big proponent of Maryland’s Draconian gun control laws. They violate the Constitution and they infringe on the rights of law abiding citizens and Brown, a veteran who swore to protect and defend the Constitution, is all in for the gun laws. Brown put an editorial in the Baltimore Sun stating that he would enforce the gun safety law.

First of all, the law is not about safety. It is about infringing. The law bans specific types of weapons incorrectly identified as assault weapons and it bans the sale or transfer of standard capacity magazines. The law does nothing for safety because it is not designed to make us safe. It is designed to control us.

It is moronic. Brown claims that assault weapons were banned. It bans the AR 15 (the most popular firearm in the country) if it has a standard barrel BUT if it has a heavy barrel one can purchase it and walk out of the store with it (after passing a background check). The HBAR is no less deadly than the one that is banned. The AR 10 is in the same boat as the HBAR and it fires a bigger caliber bullet. People can still buy magazines with capacities larger than 10 in other states and bring them here. There are probably hundreds of thousands of them (if not millions) in the possession of gun owners and they last a very long time.

Brown will violate his oath to uphold an unconstitutional law that infringes on OUR rights and he proud that he will do so.

Brown is a supporter of a woman’s “right” to an abortion and will do anything to make that as easy as possible while he works to restrict the God given right to keep and bear arms and only one of those two things is responsible for the death of millions of children (clue to liberals, it is not the firearms). He is a disgrace and he should NEVER be governor of Maryland.

Anthony Brown is weak. He is a disgrace as a politician and he is a disgrace to the uniform he once wore. He is liar and he is a loser. How he ever made it in the Army is beyond me. He is a liberal hack who is hell bent on continuing the liberal policies that have ruined Maryland.

Maryland barely survived the idiot O’Malley and his unconstitutional regime. The last thing we need is his idiot underling taking over.

You know what they say about if it’s Brown…

Maryland, the choice is yours. Choose wisely.

Cave canem!
Never surrender, never submit.
Big Dog

Gunline

Who Let The Germs In?

There is a lot of concern over the Ebola Virus and its official entry into the United States. A man in Texas is in critical condition and an unknown number of people have been potentially exposed to the deadly bug. The government that is supposed to protect us is failing miserably.

I have problems with bringing people here to be treated (we should set up a mobile center someplace else) but the real issue is a man who was contagious walking around and interacting with people.

An equally important issue is the Enterovirus D68. This is the bug that has been affecting children across the country.

[note]This virus affects children and teens particularly those with asthma or other airway diseases. Adults are not usually affected as they have developed antibodies over their lives. The virus appears from late summer to fall and then drops off. The uptick here occurred not long after illegals were allowed in and shipped around the country.[/note]

There are over 100 types of Enterovirus and 10 to 15 million people are affected by them in the US each year but the D68 is not usually seen in such prominence. There have been over 500 children infected with the virus this year and that is a big uptick from the same period of time in years past. Two of those children have died as a result of the infection.

Officials seem baffled as to why there is an uptick.Perhaps they should look at the areas where these infections are taking place and then track the illegal children the government allowed into the country. The government bused these kids all over the country and not long after they did D68 started showing.

Obama’s policies of allowing illegal aliens to cross our border and be shipped around the nation for a free ride on the taxpayer is not good for this nation, the rule of law, or our health.

It is also likely it is not good for our children.

It is highly unlikely the government will disclose where it sent the illegals and it is even more unlikely that the government would investigate the increased D68 infections as they relate to where those illegals went.

This would negate their arguments and show they are not interested in protecting us.

The Democrats love to say everything is for the children when they want to pass some law or program that costs us money.

So don’t think of those illegals as little germ carriers. Think of what they bring as “for the children.”

Cave canem!
Never surrender, never submit.
Big Dog

Gunline

The Terrorists Have Won In The NFL

Before I begin and someone decides to tell me that private organizations can decide their own policies let me point out that taxpayers paid for most (if not all) of the stadiums used in the National Football League.

The terrorists have won. It is that simple. You can no longer take a diaper bag into an NFL stadium. Nor can you take camera bags, purses larger than a clutch bag, fanny packs or any other kind of bag except for a clear 12″ x 6″ plastic bag (with or without a team logo) or a zip lock bag no larger than the above limit (a 1 gallon bag). And you can only carry one of those.

No backpacks, no briefcases (who takes one of those), no anything except the plastic bag OR a bag with medically necessary equipment.

Hell, you can’t even carry a seat cushion.

By the way, the teams will be more than happy to sell you a plastic bag (with logo) to carry your stuff.

This is partly in response to the Boston Marathon Bombing which involved a pressure cooker inside a backpack. None of these rules would have stopped it because people could have easily used explosives another way.

But, this will make us feel better.

Look, I get it. The world is dangerous but will this stop some deranged terrorist wannabe from causing chaos and killing people? No because there are plenty of ways to sneak explosives into the stadium. A determined terrorist could fly a plane load of explosives in or use a radio controlled device. I imagine they could get a small drone if they wanted to.

The world is a dangerous place. How many sports events have been blown up in the US compared to the number that has taken place? One marathon. Hundreds of baseball games take place each week and people carry bags in. For years since 9/11 people have taken bags into the NFL stadiums and nothing bad has happened.

Should these bags be subject to inspection? Absolutely but banning them, while it might make it a little safer, is an overreaction and really only makes it easier for the teams to get people in. They won’t have to spend time screening bags.

If they allowed most types of bags and screened them as they had in the past then those folks could go through tighter security and everyone else the standard screening.

But the NFL has imposed tough restrictions in the name of security in order to spend less time screening bags.

And of course to make money selling plastic team logo bags which the Baltimore Ravens have for $9.95 to $19.95. Interestingly, the Ravens also sell several types of team logo seat cushions.

I would expect that the team should no longer sell any item at the stadium that you could not bring in (excluding things like food and alcohol). That would include those seat cushions and the nice backpacks and other (banned) bags they sell.

I rarely go to a game and when I do I don’t carry much. But I also know that at some point we have to realize that there are risks in life. We also have to realize that this policy will do little to stop a determined person.

It will however, inconvenience a lot of people.

We are at the point where the terrorists have won, at least in the NFL.

Unless you stay home and watch the game on TV.

That is better anyway. No lines at the bathroom.

Cave canem!
Never surrender, never submit.
Big Dog

Gunline

It Is Not About Safety, It Is About Control

The federal government and a number of states with liberals in charge are working very hard to infringe on the Constitutional right to keep and bear arms. Yesterday Senator Feinstein introduced a bill that would ban 150 firearms because they look scary and would limit the number of rounds a magazine can hold to 10. That ten round limit is, in effect, a ban of certain types of firearms because the smallest magazine for them holds more then 10.

Joe Biden, the drunkard VP, is in charge of the gun ban effort and he has come out to make it very clear that this is not about gun control, it is about safety.

He also made it clear that the proposals of the Obama regime will not end gun crime but could make a difference.

The vice president fielded questions online in a Google+ Hangout, saying the proposals that he and President Barack Obama have laid out won’t end gun crime, but they still could make a difference. WSJ

It has long been recognized that these kinds of laws will not work and Biden is basically acknowledging that fact. So if what they are doing won’t end gun violence and at best, COULD, still make a difference then how is it about safety? If it does not make it better (which it won’t) then it can’t be about safety because no one will be safer. If it is therefore not about safety it must be about gun control.

Gun control is not about guns but about control so the overarching theme is that the Obama regime wants more control over people.

Basically what Biden is telling us is they want to infringe upon our rights for the possibility of safety (though he admits we won’t be safer). Should we as a people give up our rights for safety?

Ben Franklin, a man much wiser than any in politics now, said it very well:

They who can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety, deserve neither liberty nor safety.

The right to keep and bear arms is an essential liberty and it is a liberty the Obama regime (and minions across the nation) is trying to take from us for a promise of safety (safety that COULD happen). If we give up our liberty for this alleged safety we will deserve neither.

And we will get neither. We will no longer have the right and we will not be safe from the most dangerous threat to our existence.

The government.

What are your thoughts on the proposed gun ban?

Cave canem!
Never surrender, never submit.
Big Dog

Gunline

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