Illegal Immigration Parodies Draw Racism Charge From Colorado Teacher

Folk Singer Bob Haworth’s parodies were too much for a Colorado teacher

Big hat tip to Freedom Folks who caught this a few days ago in the Washington Times of all places, as a singer from Lakewood, Colorado faced the charge of racism for his illegal immigration parodies:

Folk singer Bob Haworth lost a gig after a high school teacher accused him of racism for his song parodies about illegal aliens. Now Mr. Haworth says the teacher should lose his job, too.

Mr. Haworth, who sang with the Brothers Four and Kingston Trio revival groups, pleaded his case two weeks ago at a Jefferson County school board meeting, arguing the teacher should be fired for using class time to defame him in front of students.

“I asked for the appropriate discipline, and I indicated the appropriate discipline would be dismissal, which is what he asked for me,” Mr. Haworth said. “I’m just hoping the school board will do the right thing.”

It began Sept. 13 during one of Mr. Haworth’s regular Thursday night performances here at the Atlanta Bread Company. The audience had requested several of his song parodies, including “Pizza for Pesos” and “Can You Let Me In?”

Both tunes, which he wrote for KHOW-AM radio in Denver, poke fun at federal and local immigration policy.

Freedom Folks did the research and found clips of the parodies in question. Really tame stuff. The moonbat teacher tried to exercise a little authority and intimidation, and it seemed to work:

“It was a very casual atmosphere, lots of people having a good time,” Mr. Haworth said. “But there was one very touchy customer who apparently didn’t like my songs and wrote a letter demanding I be fired.”

Included in the letter was a business card identifying the customer as a teacher with the Jefferson County public schools.

Rob Rudloff, the restaurant’s owner, said he initially tried to suspend Mr. Haworth for a few performances. When Mr. Haworth balked, Mr. Rudloff took him off the schedule, but then said he wanted to work out a compromise.

“We’re personally fairly conservative. But when we put on our Atlanta Bread Company shirts, we get really uncomfortable when politics come up,” Mr. Rudloff said. “We want an environment that’s comfortable for everyone’s political beliefs.”

The company certainly has the right to select who they want to perform. But these days, even the hint of offensiveness usually yields a quick exit for the alleged offender, as the others attempt to avoid controversy:

Mr. Haworth said he would have been willing to take the immigration songs out of his repertoire. “I respect an owner’s right to have control over what goes on in his walls,” he said. “It’s not a free-speech issue. They’re paying me, so it’s their prerogative.”

It looked as if Mr. Haworth would get his job back, which is why he said he was startled to receive an e-mail from Mr. Rudloff a few days later bidding him adieu. “At this point, I don’t see any way of reconciling this with you. Good luck going forward,” said the Oct. 2 e-mail.

By this time, Mr. Haworth was telling his story on talk radio, finding a sympathetic audience on KHOW-AM’s “The Peter Boyles Show.” He was also trying to learn the name of his accuser when the show received a call from a woman he had never met named Jennifer Barbagiovanni.

She had learned of Mr. Haworth’s plight from a friend who listened to the Boyles show, and it all sounded familiar. Her son, Joey, a 15-year-old sophomore at Arvada High School, had been complaining about an English teacher who was trying to have a singer named Bob Haworth fired for his “racist” and “offensive” songs.

“He said how flat-out racist these songs were against Mexicans and Asians,” Joey said. “He talked about it the whole class period. He said he wrote a letter and told them he didn’t want Bob Haworth ever playing at this restaurant again.”

Joey identified the English teacher as Scott Murphy. Jefferson County schools spokeswoman Lynn Setzer would not confirm the teacher’s name, and a message left with her for Mr. Murphy was not returned by press time.

Yet another Colorado teacher that believes agenda trumps education. At least the district reprimanded the teacher for an improper use of his position–and by extension, the district–to shut off speech he found unpleasant:

Ms. Setzer said the teacher had been scolded for including his business card with the letter of complaint. The restaurant does about $8,800 annually in catering business with the district, she said.

“The teacher did have a conversation with the superintendent of schools, who told him it was bad judgment to include his business card,” Ms. Setzer said. “He’s not representing the school district by any means. He agreed it was an error in judgment.”

Whacktivist teachers should stick pedagogy and refrain from politics inside the classroom, but to their moonbat mind education is merely the justification for political indoctrination.

Tancredo Retirement Analysis

Ben at Mount Virtus takes a first look at the political fallout of Tom Tancredo’s impending retirement.

ColoradoPols has more analysis.

Guerilla Teaching At CU–Unsanctioned Classes Becoming More Frequent

Though their popularity is still dubious (see the attendance in the video), moonbat organizers and Ward Churchill followers like David Staub and Eric Debruin have begun to fight the “criminal polluters” who they believe control faculty retention, and challenge the “Eurocentric”, “patriarchal”, and “dominant hierarchies” of Boulder (?!?!?) and the CU-Boulder campus (h/t PB):

Allard Leads The Way In DC Conservation, "Market Will Dictate"

“You can make a difference here without putting yourself in the dark”

Global warming alarmists call for radical, life-altering action–an immediate halt to human activities–but even skeptics of anthropogenic global warming have no problem in finding ways not to be wasteful, and in the process reap reduced energy and office costs (subscribers only):

Conservation experts typically tout the little things people can do to save energy: Replace traditional lighting with compact fluorescent bulbs; install water-conserving flush valves in bathrooms; turn computers off at night.

Sen. Wayne Allard (R-Colo.) and his staff decided to do little things such as these a few months ago, and they’ve already seen a big payoff — a 50 percent reduction in the office’s monthly energy costs.

“There’s really no noticeable change that impacts the workday for employees, and yet we are saving energy,” said Steve Wymer, an Allard spokesman. “This was amazing for us to have done that, by taking real simple steps.”
. . .
For example, staffers have changed the settings on their printers in order to print on both sides of the paper; the office is buying only 100 percent recycled paper; appliances are powered down at night with many completely turned off over the weekend; and only rechargeable batteries are used.
. . .
Allard, the ranking member of the Appropriations Subcommittee on the Legislative Branch, has made it a priority to reduce his environmental impact, Wymer noted.

Aside from his work with the AOC, Allard has encouraged his staff to use mass transit through a variety of incentives, undertaken recycling initiatives, and instituted a variety of other electricity and paper conservation projects in his office.

Allard’s drive for conservation also extends to his personal life, Wymer said.

The Senator and his wife, Joan, are preparing for his upcoming 2008 retirement by building a cabin in their home state of Colorado. But in doing so, they are looking at a number of environmentally friendly options, such as installing solar panels to help power the building.

“The Senator has been a big advocate for saying, ‘The market will dictate,’” Wymer said. “The important part is just helping people understand how easy it is, and how easily you can do these things.”

Staffers in Allard’s office will closely monitor energy consumption over the next several months to see whether the cut is maintained. If so, the Senator might send out a “Dear Colleague” letter to let others know what he did to save energy — and how they could do the same.

As Wymer said: “You can make a difference here without putting yourself in the dark.”

A good analogy–you don’t start a weight-loss regimen by ceasing to eat food altogether–you simply alter your intake, include more healthy options and in fact, eat more often. The radically unpalatable plans urged by some of the more vehement global warming fearmongers includes such drastic steps, and overlooks how much difference the small steps can make.

To put it simply for the moonbats–which is better, a one hour lights-out publicity stunt in a large city, or just a 1% decrease in yearly energy consumption?

I guess for those like Al Gore, form outweighs substantive change, and conservationists like Sen. Allard are leading the way, at least in the stuffy offices inside the Beltway.

And while we are on the subject of Gore (and hypocrisy in general), why not take a few moments to review the many lies in Gore’s An Inconvenient Truth, as ruled on by British courts.

Peace Rally In Denver; Moonbats At The World Series

This past Saturday I joined Drunkablog at the state capitol (excellent pictures at the link–including more Mercedes owners for peace) to soak in more liberal moonbattery and here are some highlights of the anti-war shindig (and hey, they managed to attract more than a couple dozen this time!):

Some video captured by the moonbats:

Photos from the rally (scroll for moonbat pics from World Series Game 3 at Coors Field):

Ron Paul’s supporters seem to be everywhere these days

Flags of fury

Continuing the non-viable candidate theme, there was a smattering of Kucinich supporters as well

Democrats were under attack

Some moonbat anti-war profiteering

I’m sure every rally participant walked or biked to the event

That’s so 2002!

Ward Churchill makes a literary appearance

Follow the incoherence, Democrats!

I’m sure they’d love us back . . . just like 9/11!

Everyone’s a fascist according to the totalitarian moonbats

Progressivism isn’t healthy, or hygienic

Some brave souls who wouldn’t let the moonbats go unanswered

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Denver was the center of the baseball universe this weekend, and the moonbats are like moths to the flame wherever cameras are found

Boston’s sweep was an inside job!

The Paulians were at Coors Field for all the postseason games

Tancredo To Retire From Congress

Colorado’s Sixth Congressional District will now feature a mad scramble primary for the GOP, but likely little concerted effort by Dems in the mostly conservative district. Tancredo explains his decision:

“It’s the fact that I really believe I have done all I can do in the House, especially about the issue (immigration) about which I care greatly,” he said.

Tancredo said other people are now taking up leadership on the immigration issue.

On a personal note, he added, “I am certainly looking forward to a time when at least a week can go by when I don’t have to get on an airplane.”

Tancredo hinted earlier this summer that another congressional race might not be in the offing if he lacked the “fire” to go on:

Until now, Tancredo has tried to put off any talk of what he would do if his White House bid fell flat. But over the summer, he began hinting that he had his eyes on a 2010 contest against Sen. Ken Salazar, a Democrat he sees as his polar opposite on the immigration issue.

He has often complained about the rigors of the presidential campaign trail, which has required him to spend more than 50 days in Iowa, and dozens more in New Hampshire, South Carolina and other states this year.

To run for congressional re-election, “I have to have the fire in the belly, and this takes a lot of effort, what I’m doing here,” Tancredo said in a July interview in Iowa.

“I’m telling you, it just wears on you just generally, physically, everything,” he said. “I just don’t know whether I’ll have the strength, the fire burning still.”

Tancredo will likely gauge a possible 2010 run against incumbent Ken Salazar against Bob Schaffer’s performance next year against Mark Udall. If the state looks like it is tilting back in the GOP’s favor, then a Tancredo run–or the hint of one–will begin as soon as his presidential bid concludes and the next election cycle is completed. Given the lack of depth of the GOP’s bench for statewide races, a Tancredo Senate bid doesn’t seem all that farfetched.

Sen. Inhofe–Global Warming Tipping Point Reached

Not in reaching the point of no return, but in the line of credulity with Al Gore’s global warming hysteria/hypocrisy:

Around The Blogosphere 102407

Check out Schaffer v Udall for all the latest in the race for Colorado’s open Senate seat

A combination of marketing homework and Colorado Rockies bummed out-ness is keeping me from my appointed rounds, so here is a little from some of the other Colorado blogs not drowning in purple martinis tonight:

Drunkablog (nice work!) obtained the case report for the ejection incident at Ward Churchill’s return to “unsanctioned” teaching earlier this month at CU.

Drunka also notes a vomit-inducing new Westword profile of teh Glenns–Spagnuolo and Morris–of Churchill, AIM, Columbus Day and Recreate 68! infamy.

Best Destiny has a good piece on education expectations and reform.

On the other side of the aisle, Jared Polis grumbles about the “establishment”, “insider” Democrats in Washington, D.C. ignoring his campaign:

You would never know that Democrats held strong values if you look at what comes out of the insular DC insiders. We are the party of values; let’s start living them and celebrate dissent and diversity.

At least he got the first part right, though I’m not sure you could find any Democrat with “strong values” other than winning-at-all-costs, anti-American moonbattery.

David Sirota has a lucid moment and refutes (with accuracy) the Hillary Clinton campaign’s claim that Bill Clinton’s ability to tilt some states in the West could be recaptured by her presidential bid by noting the effect third-party candidate Ross Perot had on George H.W. Bush’s reelection bid.

Boston Massacre Threatens Rocktober

As the Rocky Mountain News quips, the only “external malicious attack” Wednesday night was administered by the Boston Red Sox.

And as for the lopsided loss, the previous record 11 run record came in 1996, when the Atlanta Braves smashed the New York Yankees 12-1 in Game 1, won Game 2, and then surrendered 4 straight to the Yanks and lost the World Series.

World Series appearance and magical (now over) win streak aside, the Colorado Rockies were nothing if not a resilient team. They managed a 1-9 road trip at the end of June that threatened not only their season goals, but also dropped them under .500 and saw their star closer Brian Fuentes relieved of his duties. In spite of all this, the plucky team put together a NL-best record down the stretch, losing three games in a row only once, right before their MLB-best 11 game win streak.

The other shoe, as they say, finally dropped–and perhaps a good ol’ fashioned whupping will reignite the Rockies.

They had a power outage in Game 1, but the lights should be back on tonight.

Besides, I picked them in 6, and suggested that a split would be the best they could shoot for, so this wasn’t that bad.

Let’s hope and pray there is no repeat!

Rocktober 2007 World Series Edition–Predictions

First, FWIW, the “expert” predictions from Sports Illustrated.com (7 of 11 for the Boston Red Sox) and ESPN.com (8 of 10 for the Sox). But ESPN’s Jayson Stark and six scouts aren’t so easily persuaded by the AL’s representative team, and argues effectively for the Colorado Rockies in 6 games:

1. They’re the real team of destiny
2. That eight-day layoff was overrated
3. The Rockies have the real home-field advantage
4. No fear of Fenway
5. Lean to the left

No one envisions a sweep by either team, despite the “momentum” each carries into the series. A six game battle seems about right, and a Game 7 isn’t that farfetched either.

So, Rockies in 6–unless they get a split in Boston, in which case the Rockies could wrap it up in 5.

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More from yesterday’s ticket frenzy–so close and yet so far.