Doctor Sioux

April 11, 2006

South Dakota just past a strict law that makes all abortions illegal with the exception of incest.

Cecelia Fire Thunder, president of the Oglala Sioux, says the tribe will open an abortion clinic. Because state laws do not apply on reservations, the clinic could perform legal abortions.

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O’Hare’s connection to Al Capone

April 10, 2006

In November 1939, Edward “Butch” O’Hare’s father was gunned down by Al Capone’s gunmen. During Capone’s tax evasion trial in 1931 and 1932, O’Hare’s father provided incriminating evidence which helped finally put Capone away. His father turned in Capone to set a good example for his son even though it meant certain death. The elder O’Hare was shot down in his car, a week before Capone was released from Alcatraz. Butch O'Hare

“Butch’s” father sent him away to Western Military Academy (WMA) in 1932 advoiding retrabution from Capone. The following years he went on to the United States Naval Academy at Annapolis, Maryland. Graduated and appointed an Ensign from Annapolis 3 June 1937, he served 2 years on board the battleship USS New Mexico (BB-40), before reporting for flight training.

“Butch” O’Hare’s most famous flight occurred during the pacific war on February 20, 1942. He was on board the aircraft carrier Lexington, which had been assigned the dangerous task of penetrating enemy-held waters north of New Ireland. While still 400 miles from the harbor at Rabaul, O’Hare’s aircraft carrier was discovered by two Japanese Kawanishi H6K “Mavis” flying boats and soon a group of Mitsubishi G4M Betty enemy bombers of the Imperial Japanese Navy headed for the task force. Grumman F4F Wildcat fighters were scrambled to confront them. However, because “Butch” had never been in combat before, he was left behind. Before long, the American fighters had decimated the bombers and were chasing them further north, away from the carrier. At about this time, a second wave of Mitsubishi G4M Betty bombers was detected, this one coming from the south. The carrier had only two Wildcats left to send aloft: “Butch” and his wingman, “Duff” Dufilho. As the Lexington’s only protection, the two got airborne in a hurry. The winner of the Fleet Gunnery Competition was about to enter the only show that counted. Closing in on their targets, “Butch” as section leader and his wingman “Duff” checked their guns. To Dufilho’s dismay, his guns were jammed and wouldn’t fire, forcing him to return to the carrier. This left only “Butch” to protect the carrier. The Japanese Betty bombers were twin-engined medium bombers with 7.7 mm rifle caliber machineguns forward and sideward, plus a 20-mm cannon of the tailgunner. The enemy formation was a V of V’s flying very close together and protecting each other with their own guns. O’Hare was flying an F4F-3 “Wildcat” armed with four Browning 50-caliber M2 machine guns, with 450 rounds per gun.

“Butch” O’Hare didn’t hesitate, full throttle, he roared into the Japanese enemy formation. While tracers from the concentrated fire of the nine bombers streaked around him, he took careful aim at the starboard engine of the last plane in the V and squeezed his trigger.

Slugs from the Wildcat’s four .50-caliber guns ripped into the Japanese bomber’s wing and the engine literally jumped out of its mountings. The bomber spun crazily toward the sea as O’Hare’s guns tore up another enemy plane. Then he ducked to the other side of the formation and smashed the port engine of the last Japanese plane there. At close range, in the face of intense enemy fire, making the most of his limited ammunition, he shot down five of the enemy bombers and damaged a sixth. When “Butch” made his third and fourth pass, the Japanese planes were close enough to the American ships for them to fire their anti-aircraft guns. Only three of the bombers made it in close enough to release their bombs. In part because “Butch” O’Hare had shot down their bombing leader, all their bombs fell harmlessly into the sea, leaving no doubt that his actions helped save his carrier, the Lexington, from serious damage. With his ammunition exhausted, “Butch” O’Hare returned to his carrier - amazingly, his plane had been hit by only one bullet during the melee.

Lt. Commander Thach later reported that at one point he saw three of the enemy bombers falling in flames at the same time. By now Thach and the other pilots had joined the fight. This was lucky because O’Hare was out of ammunition. The Wildcats took care of several more bombers and Lexington managed to evade the few bombs that were released. It was an amazing example of daring and shooting skill. Afterward Thach figured out that O’Hare had used only sixty rounds of ammunition for each bomber he destroyed. He had probably saved his ship. For his heroic act of shooting down five bombers O’Hare now was called a flying ace, he was promoted to Lieutenant Commander and awarded the Medal of Honor, the highest decoration of his country. With President Franklin D. Roosevelt looking on, O’Hare’s wife Rita placed the Medal around his neck.

Full text of the citation for Medal of Honor awarded to Edward Henry O’Hare: “For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity in aerial combat, at grave risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty, as section leader and pilot of Fighting Squadron 3 on 20 February 1942. Having lost the assistance of his teammates, Lt. O’Hare interposed his plane between his ship and an advancing enemy formation of 9 attacking twin-engine heavy bombers. Without hesitation, alone and unaided, he repeatedly attacked this enemy formation, at close range in the face of intense combined machinegun and cannon fire. Despite this concentrated opposition, Lt. O’Hare, by his gallant and courageous action, his extremely skillful marksmanship in making the most of every shot of his limited amount of ammunition, shot down 5 enemy bombers and severely damaged a sixth before they reached the bomb release point. As a result of his gallant action–one of the most daring, if not the most daring, single action in the history of combat aviation–he undoubtedly saved his carrier from serious damage.”

Lt. Cmdr. Edward “Butch” O’Hare (* March 13, 1914 – † November 27, 1943) became the US Navy’s first Flying Ace and Medal of Honor recipient in World War II. After the war, the US Navy destroyer USS O’Hare (DD-889) was named in his honor. In 1949 “Butch” O’Hare was suitably honored when the Chicago airport known as Orchard Depot was renamed O’Hare International Airport (the airport displays a Grumman F4F-3 “Wildcat” museum aircraft replicating the one flown by “Butch” O’Hare during his Medal of Honor winning flight - the plane is exhibited in Terminal Two at the West end of the ticketing lobby to honor the extraordinarily heroic feats of O’Hare International Airport’s namesake).

Turning his life around, “Butch’s” father set an example that etched bravery and courage into the heart of his son.

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Crash

April 8, 2006

Had a good time with J-Dub & sis last night. Anastasia made yet another stellar meal. Mexican was the flavor of the day. It was the first time she served up one of her new specialties, tortilla soup. Everyone went back for seconds so the review of the soup is… yummy.

We rented Crash on DVD but it was hard to follow it due to Brandon’s shenanigans. From what I could tell Crash was a good movie and well written. I would definitely recommend renting it. Watch out for lots of language.

Brandon was hyper most of the night. The highlight was this new thing (I think uncle taught him) which was licking his index finger then putting it on people. I gave him two timeouts and spanked him once in front of our guests. Yet, each time as soon as his timeout was over he would run to uncle J-dub for another Brandon spit bath. Of course J loved the fact that Brandon had disregarded my authority so he didn’t mind the wash down, and frankly J-Dub needed it.

The night rapped up with good conversation. Thanks for a quality evening to Anastasia & family.

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Culture War

April 7, 2006

Think the American people’s war is in Afghanistan & Iraq? Think again. There’s a war right here on the home front for the minds and souls of America’s youth. If conservatives don’t stand up for their values America has no hope for it’s future. It’s a good thing “reasonable” thinking people have pulled creationism out of our schools. They did it just in time to make room for Homosexuality 101.

Bill requires gays’ history to be taught
STATE SENATOR WANTS CALIFORNIA TO LEAD WAY

By Aaron C. Davis
Mercury News Sacramento Bureau
SACRAMENTO - The state Senate will consider a bill that would require California schools to teach students about the contributions gay people have made to society — an effort that supporters say is an attempt to battle discrimination and opponents say is designed to use the classroom to get children to embrace homosexuality.

The bill, which was passed by a Senate committee Tuesday, would require schools to buy textbooks “accurately” portraying “the sexual diversity of our society.” More controversially, it could require that students hear history lessons on “the contributions of people who are lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender to the economic, political, and social development of California and the United States of America.”

Though it’s a California bill, it could have far-reaching implications, not only by setting a precedent but also because California is the nation’s largest textbook buyer and as such often sets the standards for publishers who sell nationwide.

The bill could also bring sex wars roaring back into state politics in an election year in which gay-rights advocates had already purposefully relegated same-sex marriage to the legislative back burner, and as signature-gathering efforts for propositions rolling back gay rights had begun to slow.

“We’re totally opposed to inserting sexual orientation into textbooks in our schools. This is more than just accepting it, it’s forcing our kids to embrace it, almost celebrate it,” said Karen England, executive director of the public-policy group Capital Resource Institute, which believes teaching about sexual orientation should be left up to parents.

“This is not about discrimination. California is one of the most friendly gay, lesbian and transgender states in the nation,” England said. “This is a bold and out-front attempt to do what I think has always been the goal of a small but very loud group.”

The bill’s author, Sen. Sheila Kuehl, D-Los Angeles, rejects the criticism. “We’ve been working since 1995 to try to improve the climate in schools for gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender kids, as well as those kids who are just thought to be gay, because there is an enormous amount of harassment and discrimination at stake,” she said.

As for the need to teach gay history, Kuehl points to research she says concludes that gay students might do better in school and be less at risk for suicide, truancy or drug and alcohol abuse if they saw their own lives more accurately reflected in school textbooks and if the issue were more openly discussed in classrooms.

“Teaching materials mostly contain negative or adverse views of us, and that’s when they mention us at all,” said Kuehl, one of the Legislature’s six openly gay lawmakers. A Senate analysis of her bill noted that one of the few times homosexuality is routinely discussed in classrooms is in relationship to pathology. “In textbooks, it’s as if there’s no gay people in California at all, so forget about it,” she said.

The bill expands on the existing state education code that already requires inclusion in the curriculum of the historical role and contributions of members of ethnic and cultural groups.
But central to the coming legislative floor debates will no doubt be questions about how gay issues might be woven into American history. The answer is still up for debate — as is which historical figures might be outed in the process, and how textbook authors would decide their relevance.

“We’re not suddenly going to say, `So and so was gay’ when they never said that,” Kuehl cautioned. “But if you’re teaching Langston Hughes poetry, you get a twofer because he was admittedly gay and he was black. So you could say he was a gay, black poet and talk about that.”

Aejaie Sellers, executive director of the Billy DeFrank LGBT Center in Santa Clara, said she thinks required gay-history lessons for students are a fantastic idea.

“Gays throughout history should be recognized. This is not something new, this goes back to the 18th and 17th and 16th century,” said Sellers. “The decriminalization of history could go back hundreds of years. There are certainly people who have made positive contributions to American history but all we ever hear is the tragic stuff.”

“Who knows,” Sellers asked, “that the author of `America the Beautiful,’ Katharine Lee Bates, was gay?”

England says she doesn’t really care, because a person’s contribution to history doesn’t hinge on sexual orientation.

“I don’t care if, or who, whatever historical figure they want to say is gay,” England said. “If we’re discussing history, who someone had sex with is inappropriate. I don’t think most Californians want history and social sciences taught through the lens of who in history slept with whom.”

Sellers said she thinks the need for gay history and other lessons may vary from school to school.

“There are some schools that have gay-straight alliances where students feel heard and where teachers believe gender identity is not optional, that you’re born with it. And it seems teachers there support and reflect that in their teaching. There are other schools where that’s not the case.”

Whether the bill becomes law and if gay-history lessons become mandatory might quickly become Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger’s call.

The bill passed the Senate Judiciary Committee by a vote of 3-1; voting in favor were Sens. Joe Dunn, D-Garden Grove; Martha Escutia, D-Norwalk; and Kuehl. Voting against it was Senate Republican leader Dick Ackerman, R-Tustin.

The bill, SB 1437, requires only a majority vote in the Assembly and Senate, meaning that it could pass even if lawmakers — Republican and Democrat — voted the same way they did for last fall’s gay-marriage bill. That bill passed, but the governor vetoed it.

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