New Jersey Governor Chris Christie — [man, how I wish we had him as Governator in Fornicalia] — is on the move again with regard to education. From CBSNewYork:

OLD BRIDGE, N.J. (CBS 2) — Determined to turn New Jersey’s education system on its head, Gov. Chris Christie on Tuesday unveiled a tough-love reform package that will make classroom achievement — not seniority or tenure — the basis for pay hikes and career advancement in Garden State public schools.

Christie is turning his take-no-prisoner’s style to the classroom, demanding a top to bottom overhaul of how New Jersey students learn and teachers teach. And that means undoing tenure, seniority and other union work rules.

And further — omigawd:

Unqualified teachers will feel the lash. The governor is demanding that teachers in kindergarten through fifth grade actually pass tests in reading and math in order to be certified.

“It might lead to the firing of teachers and principals who hurt our children,” Christie said.

The governor wants to turn the old seniority system inside out and put quality teaching ahead of lack-luster performance. He will:

* Prohibit salary scales based on seniority

* Grant raises based on classroom performance

* Give tenure based on classroom performance

The standard claptrap was spewed by teachers unions and representatives and such:

A spokesman for the New Jersey Education Association attacked the governor’s plan saying that once again he was “trying to implement education reform without any input from educators.”

You want to see how education ACTUALLY works in the Real World of Big Cities, at the hands of so-called “educators”? Watch season four of The Wire.

Mr Christie’s bent on education can be viewed below, wherein he slaughters a well-meaning but completely unarmed-with-facts teacher:

Sounds to me like education is about to be shaken to its very core in New Jersey. I say: it’s about time.

Please, Mr Christie, couldn’t you run for governor in Fornicalia?

BZ

P.S.
Yeah, Christie’s fat. BFD. GTFOI. Ideas trump avoirdupois.

P.P.S.
“Education” in America is a HUGE scam predicated upon the numbers of BIS (butts in seats). Plain and simple. We are corrupting our kids and corrupting our future. Other countries already know this. They cannot wait to push us aside and take the educational, inventive, intelligent lead. As many countries have already.

P.P.P.S:
The teachers’ unions apparently responded and wished Christie dead — allegedly only in jest:

From WSJ.com:

Democrats seeking to boost voter turnout this fall are beginning to sound like the late comedian Chris Farley’s portrayal of a “motivational speaker” on Saturday Night Live. Farley’s character sought to inspire young people by announcing that they wouldn’t amount to “jack squat” and would someday be “living in a van down by the river.”

Massachusetts Senator John Kerry, who prefers sailing vessels to vans by the river, recently tried out the Farley method. Said Mr. Kerry, “We have an electorate that doesn’t always pay that much attention to what’s going on so people are influenced by a simple slogan rather than the facts or the truth or what’s happening.” Bay State voters are surely thrilled to be represented by a man so respectful of their concerns.

This week President Obama chimed in with another uplifting message about the American electorate. Mr. Obama told Rolling Stone that the tea party movement is financed and directed by “powerful, special-interest lobbies.” But this doesn’t mean that tea party groups are composed entirely of corporate puppets. Mr. Obama graciously implied that a small subset of the movement is simply motivated by bigotry.

Mr. Obama added that “if people now want to take their ball and go home, that tells me folks weren’t serious in the first place.” Making the case for left-wing voters to show up in November, Mr. Obama told Rolling Stone that he is presiding over “the most successful administration in a generation in moving progressive agendas forward.”

Translated:

You, as American Voters, are too stupid to understand the meaning of an individual vote.

If you vote any way other than Demorat, you are nothing more than a Groundling, an Ignoramus, a Dolt, a Moron.

We, the Demorats, are considerably smarter than you — they not only hint but overtly say.

The WSJ concludes:

Blaming the voters is not unheard of among politicians, but usually they wait until after an election.

I suppose that sums it up.

BZ

Sorry, no politics in this post:

Eastern Diamondback rattlesnakes customarily range from 3 to, at max, 6 feet in length.

Check out this unique specimen:

An accompanying article from News4 in Jacksonville, Florida indicates:

ST. AUGUSTINE, Fla. — The trappers who caught and killed a giant rattlesnake in St. Johns County said the snake was 7 feet 3 inches long.Experts said it’s one of the biggest rattlesnakes they’ve ever seen.The rattlesnake slithered its way into Tuscany Village, a St. Augustine townhouse community, over the weekend.

If that snake was 7’3″ long, then I’m an M1 Abrams tank.

Look at the photos. An e-mail circulating around the internet (thanks, Chris!) states the snake was 15-feet long. I’m not so sure. But I’d posit the estimator was off by more than just a few feet.

Look at the thickness of the snake at its greatest point as compared to the deputy taking the photo in the top illustration. The snake appears to be roughly as thick as the thigh of the officer. The entire length of the snake is not seen in the top photograph — and, as you can see, the snake is curved towards the bottom.

That snake is easily longer than the deputy in the top photograph. And not just by a foot or so. Further, the second photo doesn’t even detail the full length of the creature. Fifteen feet? I don’t think so. But it’s clearly, in my opinion, longer than a mere seven feet.

One strike from that monster would kill a child in a matter of minutes, and kill an adult human. My guess is: you would not walk away from that snake’s bite, no matter how much antivenin pumped into you. The head and, thusly, the venom glands are simply too big.

Another reason that, along with heat and humidity and hurricanes and rampant pythons: you can keep Florida. Thanks but no thanks.

I think the Jaguars have nice uniforms. Does that help?

BZ

God bless you sir.

You were the last of a Great Generation, not only in football but in history.

For those too young to know, George Blanda #16 was the Oakland Raider backup quarterback to Kenny “The Snake” Stabler and Daryle Lamonica in the 70s.

With this addendum point: Blanda served in not only the #2 QB position, but he was also the team’s kicker. And well into his 40s. He played up to age 48. In fact, he served 26 years in the NFL — completely unheard-of today! When at the QB position, he was sacked like everyone else. Yet he came back year after year after year — when the rules were much less stringent for sacking and hitting, in a dual position!

From the Associated Press:

ALAMEDA, Calif. — George Blanda, the seemingly ageless Hall of Fame quarterback and kicker whose 26-year career was best remembered for a remarkable run of late-game theatrics with the Oakland Raiders, has died. He was 83.

The Raiders confirmed the death Monday and issued a statement saying “we are deeply saddened by the passing of the great George Blanda. George was a brave Raider and a close personal friend of Raiders owner Al Davis.”

Blanda retired a month shy of his 49th birthday before the 1976 season, playing longer than anyone else in pro football history. He spent 10 seasons with the Chicago Bears, part of one with the Baltimore Colts, seven with the Houston Oilers and his final nine with the Raiders.

He scored 2,002 points in his career, a pro football record at the time of his retirement, kicking 335 field goals and 943 extra points, running for nine touchdowns and throwing for 236 more.

But it was a five-game stretch for Oakland in 1970 that is the lasting imprint from his career. As a 43-year-old, Blanda led the Raiders to four wins and one tie with late touchdown passes or field goals.

Later that season, he became the oldest quarterback to play in a championship game, throwing two touchdown passes and kicking a field goal in Oakland’s 27-17 loss to Baltimore in the AFC title game. His performance that season earned him The Associated Press Male Athlete of the Year.

The dude, clearly, had balls made of steel.

Blanda was one of the new league’s many prolific passers, throwing for 19,149 yards and 165 touchdowns in seven seasons for the Oilers. He was the AFL Player of the Year in 1961, holds AFL single-game passing record of 464 yards on Oct. 29, 1961, against Buffalo, and was chosen the league’s all-time kicker.

Blanda called all the plays as was common back then, and further stepped out when kicks were required.

Blanda threw for 26,920 yards in his career and held the pro football record with 277 interceptions until Brett Favre passed him in 2007. He retired with the most points in history before the total was topped by several players in recent years.

“It certainly doesn’t bother me,” Blanda said about losing the scoring record. “The one record I was happy to get rid of was the one for the most interceptions, when Brett Favre got that one.”

George Blanda was a gentleman’s gentleman.

And embodied class upon class.

Some submit that 1976 contained the Greatest Raider Nation ever, as Blanda played with:

– John Madden as Coach;
– Ken Stabler as quarterback;
– Daryle Lamonica as quarterback;
– Fred Biletnikoff;
– Ben Davidson; too awesome and too bad;
– Jack Tatum at Safety (now passed);
– Center Jim Otto, 00;
– Linebacker Ted Hendricks – “The Stork”
– Art Shell on OT; (future coach twice)
– Gene Upshaw on guard; (and NFLPA president)
– John Matuszak on DL;
– Otis Sistrunk on DL;
– Phil Villapiano at LB;
– Willie Brown at CB;

God bless you, George Blanda.

You were the best that the Greatest Generation had to offer.

He played in his last game at Pittsburgh‘s Three Rivers Stadium on January 4, 1976, at age 48, in the 1975 AFC Championship Game, where he kicked a 41-yard field goal and made one extra point as the Raiders lost to the Steelers 16-10. Absolutely amazing.

My dad loved to watch you play because you were about his age and you refused to go down to injuries or age or events. He rooted for you because you were he and he was you. You took the fight back to the enemy and didn’t make excuses or hold out for wages.

You have earned your rest.

You played longer than any other person in pro football history.

If no one else does, I honor you. Because I watched you play live. You gave Life your All.

BZ

John Kitzhaber, a Demorat candidate for governor of Oregon, attended a candidates’ event on Thursday night, September 23rd in Portland — at the Emmanuel Temple Church.

Apparently his devotee muscle, two black males in suit coats, don’t much care for the First Amendment.

The article that I have linked in the prior sentence is penned by an individual, Jeff Mapes of The Oregonian, who writes:

The event at Emmanuel Temple Church in North Portland was sponsored by the Urban League and the African American Alliance and streamed live on KOIN TV’s web site. Event organizers said they made it clear at the start of the event that only KOIN would be allowed to film the event.

A series of questions: was this a public event or a private event? Was attendance strictly limited and closed to the public, or was it open to the public? Were attendees to sign an contract, a LOA, a non-disclosure statement, a paper acknowledging a no-video policy? Was this policy posted publicly prior to any and all entrance points, and made clear in advance? Was money demanded for attendance? The creators of the video indicate the venue was public. I suspect that is true. To continue:

However, the edited video shows that the activist continued to tape the event after he had been told to stop. “I’m sorry, sir, this is my First Amendment right to film this event,” the activist told one volunteer who asked him to stop. “I’m sorry, but I’m going to keep filming.”

Words have meanings. Isn’t it interesting how Mr Mapes terms someone with a video camera at a political event an “activist.” So there you have it. Where Leftists and Demorats are concerned, you are an “activist” if you dare to video events in a public venue.

To Mr Mapes: what law or codicil was broken by filming the event? Give me a specific section, a body of law, sir, that the person who created the video is in violation thereof.

What might you think would have happened had the roles been reversed and a, say, “liberal” videographer attended a Republican event and the events unfolded as above?

I posit: fodder for Leftists for, at least, a few weeks — splayed over the predominant DEM/MSM media over and over and over, wouldn’t you suspect?

First Amendment? What First Amendment?

BZ