There are days where I wonder what the hell my fellow Republicans are thinking.

Today is one of those days.

Senator McCain was successful in limiting my First Amendment right to support a political candidate or political position through his so called ‘Campaign Finance Reform’. He touted the bill as a way to clean up politics, get the special interests out blah blah blah (the same special interests he’s now embracing in his run for the White House, but I digress). With such altruistic motives, there was no way that bill WASN’T going to pass.

Republicans back here in Arizona took notice, and are aiming to do the same thing. But this time, they’re looking to the classroom. Republicans in the state legislature, under the guise of protecting our children from political indoctrination in the classroom, have introduced a bill that would punish educators for expressing politcal opinions. It’s for the children!

Classrooms should not be forums for schoolteachers and college professors to espouse political opinions, a group of lawmakers concluded Thursday.

A proposed law would prohibit any instructor in a public school or college from advocating or opposing a political candidate or one side of a social, political or cultural issue that is part of a partisan debate.

Supporters said the measure would let students disagree with instructors without fearing retribution. But college students and education advocates worry it would discourage instructors from leading discussions and debates on controversial topics.

Well this should make those Poli Sci and Economics classes rather useless, don’t you think? Even some of the brilliant Economics professors I had would have a difficult time not expressing an opinion on certain economic policies that are part of a partisan debate. We would’ve had to skip the entire discussion on the Laffer Curve and Supply Side Economics. Kinda important to the study of Economics. What would my tuition be paying for then? Stimilating discussions of the history of the dollar bill?

I can certainly understand the desire to ensure students aren’t punished for having a right of center point of view, when their proffessors offer up these little gems in class:

Troy Hyde’s ears perked up in a college class when his professor called President Bush an idiot, and he was stunned when another professor said suicide bombers are reasonable people.

But what is the purpose of the education system if not to prepare kids for real life? How is limiting an instructor’s First Amendment right to speak freely and openly about hot button political issues going to prepare my son for dealing with people he disagrees with outside of the academic setting?

I’m sure there are instructors who punish students with strong opposing opinions, but you know what? That’s life. Every day out in the real world, we are held accountable for the things we say and the things we believe. Sometimes we’re even punished for it - whether it’s passed up for a promotion, dumped by a moonbat for not agreeing Bushie’s the lefty equivalent of the Antichrist, whatever. That’s reality. Kids need to learn how to deal with it, not be sheltered from it.

And don’t even try to go down the indoctrination road with me. I know all about indoctrination - I’m a product of the California public school system. When I emerged from that education system I was so open minded my brains were falling out. Now that I’m not such a moonbat, I make sure the values and the things I believe are taught and reinforced at home. My son will be well armed against teachers who try to shove their opposing political opinions down his throat. I am responsible for preparing my son for that. Not you, not his school or his teachers and certainly not some state legislator.

Now if the Republicans in the legislature could kindly stop trying to mimic Senator McCain by restricting First Amendment rights and playing nanny to my son, I’d appreciate it. Thanks.

This one’s for the gentlemen.

When your wife goes out of town with the kid for a few days and you’re left all alone… make sure the house isn’t in worse shape when she returns than it was when she left. Otherwise she can’t be held responsible for the things that come flying out of her mouth. Or in my case, things that come flying out of my throwing arm.

You’ll thank me for this one.

This has been a Raising Farrahzona public service announcement.

I taught my son how to say ‘SNOT’ today. He prefers to shout it in your face while you’re laying down on the sofa.

He’s also developed an appreciation for Saliva. No, not the bodily fluid. The band. There’s only so much Wiggles Momma can take before the wiggly sweetness makes me want to vomit.

Maybe, kind of sorta?

Moonbats in the Grand Canyon state have targeted Senator McCain for recall over his continued support of the Iraq war.

“For the most part, he’s been all right, but he’s supposed to be representing Arizona, and right now he seems to be just representing himself,” said William Crum, treasurer of Americans for Integrity and Justice, the Glendale-based recall committee. “He’s got tunnel-vision for the presidency.”

The recall application filed Tuesday with the Arizona Secretary of State’s Office accuses McCain of “shirking his duties as a senator from the great state of Arizona” and of having “acquiesced in his role as a member of the legislative branch to strongly check the power of the chief executive, who has for all intents and purposes become a king.”

“Please, help restore our democracy, recall ‘Bloody John McCain,’ ” the handwritten application says.

There is a large contingent of the GOP in this state thinking McCain is serving himself over the interests of Arizona. If the recall folks would stick to that instead of name calling, they’d have a better chance of making this recall a possibility rather than a joke.

Calling him ‘Bloody John McCain’ is a tad bit over the top, don’t you think? I mean, if McCain, the prisoner of war is ‘Bloody’, then I guess we can start calling Senator Kerry ‘Baby Killer Kerry’? Yeah, I didn’t think so. But hey, one of the recall leaders writes for Kos so I should expect no less.

… when Cam Edwards calls you and asks when you’re going to update your blog again.

How many of y’all had the typical New Year’s resolution to be more active/lose weight? How many of you are still sticking to it?

Well, for those of you that are, I’m inviting you to join me on April 7, 2007 for Pat’s Run. Pat’s Run is a 4.2 mile (yes MILES) run through Tempe, Arizona as a celebration of Pat Tillman’s legacy.

Normally, I wouldn’t set foot in Sun Devil Stadium willingly, being a Wildcat and all. But some things transcend rivalries, and this is one of them.

If you’re interested in forming a race team, drop me a note at farrah-at-raisingfarrahzona.com.

The MSM went bonkers last week trumpeting the record profits ExxonMobil earned last year. But as always, that’s only half the story. What you didn’t hear about were the record taxes ExxonMobil was paying. Emphasis mine.

While they were recording record profits last year, they were also writing checks to Uncle Sam to the tune of $100.7 billion — two and a half times what they made in net profit. In fact, previous Tax Foundation research found that from 1977 to 2004, federal and state governments extracted $397 billion by taxing the profits of the largest oil companies and an additional $1.1 trillion in taxes at the pump. In today’s dollars, that’s $2.2 trillion.

Surely paints an entirely different picture now, doesn’t it?

(via The Tax Foundation)