MSNBC: Teacher shortage has given way to teacher glut (via Newsalert):

Since last fall, school systems, state education agencies, technical schools and colleges have shed about 125,000 jobs, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

At the same time, many teachers who had planned to retire or switch jobs are staying on because of the recession, and many people who have been laid off in other fields are trying to carve out second careers as teachers or applying to work as substitutes to make ends meet....

But the nationwide demand for teachers in 60 out of 61 subjects has declined from a year earlier, according to an annual report issued this week by the American Association for Employment in Education. Only one subject — math — was listed as having an extreme shortage of teachers. In recent years, more than a dozen subjects had extreme shortages.

Why is it so easy to fire this man for saying something politically incorrect and so hard to even investigate this man who writes emails to the enemy, readily discusses his leanings toward faith-inspired violence at work and in seminars and encourages patients to convert to Islam?

"They said Hasan also once tried to convert a patient to Islam and that he received a verbal warning."

Drudge linked to a story at NPR entitled, "Answers Sought On Fort Hood Suspect's Link To Imam." Within the story was this:

The officials also dismissed the significance of reports that Hasan's colleagues complained about his religious and political views. One official said they get thousands of complaints every year, some of which lead to investigations, while others do not.

Two psychiatrists who worked with Hasan at Walter Reed and asked not to be identified told NPR that during the six years he worked there, he was frequently distracted and often late for work. They said Hasan also once tried to convert a patient to Islam and that he received a verbal warning.

At one point, the psychiatrists said, some co-workers actively sought to have Hasan removed from the Walter Reed program. He was later reassigned to Fort Hood.

Well, at least Hasan wasn't trying to convert his patients from gay to straight. Now that would definitely have led to an investigation.

Signs of the times...

Have people become so unwilling to buy music that musicians have resorted to this? It's sad.

Glenn and I went to Asheville, N.C. this week where I held the camera and he interviewed grassroots activists for PJTV from all over the country who had gathered for a conference of the free market, state-focused think tank community (SPN).

You can watch here.

Brain Lock

Do you or someone you know have Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD) and don't know where to turn for help? A good place to start is with the book, Brain Lock: Free Yourself from Obsessive-Compulsive Behavior. This self-help book is written by Jeffrey Schwartz, a psychiatrist at UCLA School of Medicine who says that OCD is related to a biochemical imbalance in the brain, rather than due specifically to emotional factors.

Schwartz states in bold letters that "we have scientific evidence that cognitive-behavioral therapy alone actually causes chemical changes in the brains of people with OCD." In the book, he teaches the person with OCD to change their brain chemistry.

He does this by focusing on a Four Step Program: Relabel, Reattribute, Refocus, and Revalue. "Relabel" is when you call the intrusive thought or urge to do a troublesome compulsive behavior exactly what it is in order learn the difference between OCD and reality. "Reattribute" is when you answer the question, "Why does this keep bothering me?" and remind yourself that you have the symptoms of a medical problem and take action, "What can I do about it?" "Refocus" is learning to turn your attention to more constructive behaviors. Finally, "Revalue" is learning to view OCD symptoms as the useless garbage they really are.

I have read other books on OCD in the past but had not read this one until today. I recommend it if you would like to know more about OCD or how to help yourself or someone else take action to change his or her behavior. For those with OCD frequently live very inhibited and restricted lives full of internal suffering, though often, they look okay to the outside world.

Do you have or know anyone with OCD? If so, share your experience or thoughts in the comments.

"Anger is an energy"

I read this line from a Johnny Rotten (the Sex Pistols) song on Gateway Pundit from a commenter (comment #62) in response to the passing of the Democrat's Healthcare bill last night.

The commenters at Gateway Pundit are debating whether or not there is anything that can be done to stop the Dems from passing this bill. Rotten's line is a good one as a metaphor for the fight against a statist government that desires to take over our liberty, our economy, and even our very lives. Often, I hear Republicans and conservatives say that we are "doomed." This negative cognitive self-talk is pathetic. It is crippling. Don't engage in it.

You are never doomed until you are dead. There is always something that can be done. The anger of the American public is only just beginning. It is an energy that will be needed in the coming days, weeks and months to protest, stand up, debate, argue and get in the face of every government official, public figure and others who support a bill that leads us down The Road to Serfdom.

And even if the bill passes, we can continue the fight, for they have won only a cultural battle, not the culture war. Culture changes politics, not the other way around. I will be fighting back against a culture that leads to less individual autonomy in every way I know how. Will you?