First day back with the kids! Had two crying, a girl who was just being dramatic and poor L3, he of the health problems and medically induced depression. More on him below.
The kids are:
A, nice girl, somewhat mopey, seems to be a bit uncertain how to join others in play
E1, super-cute tiny girl whose mother is rumored to be a Hard Case.
E2, another tiny little cute girl with a no-nonsense mother, though I haven't had any problems with her.
G1, girl whose twin brother is in Mrs. Hatfield's class.
G2, the daughter of the High Maintenance mom (ex-attorney, now stay at home mom, probably transferred that argumentative energy into current position); very sweet and cheerful
H, small little tow-headed boy; Mrs. Tall told me that he was a problem in her class, but he was very helpful to all the other kids, offering them the color marker they were looking for and so forth
J1, brother of a girl from last year's class; a bit hyperactive; very nice parents
J2, very pale boy, type that loves explaining things earnestly with words too complex for his mouth
L1, blonde girl, sister of a girl from my first class at Prestigius; much quieter than her
L2, blonde boy, was quiet and kept to himself, seemed sweet
L3, with the health issues noted yesterday, came in crying and saying he wanted to call his mom and go home at lunch
M, sweet blonde girl, part of a very large and noted area family
R1, small and scrappy brother of a boy from last year, a bit hyperactive and given to attempting a cold stare when redirected
R2, cute black girl, seemed cheerful
S1, blondish girl, one of only two in the class with divorced parents
S2, blonde girl, only child, with two arty parents who spoil the hell out of her, very entitled and demanding, although decidedly creative; given to pouting if she has to wait for something
S3, black-haired girl, kept to herself
T1, very large (tall and weighty) boy, cheery, good listener, popular with peers
T2, precocious boy of Chinese descent
And that's the lot. Oh! 74 and Zaftig's daughter, who made her first appearance in this blog, and the world, here and has appeared sporadically since, is in K now --- lord, they grow up fast, even if they're not your own. She is in Ms. Bluestocking's class. Don't think I've mentioned her before --- Ms. Bluestocking is a very young teacher on my team. Previously an assistant, this is her second year as a full teacher. She is extremely good looking, even by Prestigius standards, and pretty cheerful, but kind of ditzy.
Another bit of High Drama in the Workplace (on the first day!) when an in-house substitute, Ms. DeWolf, took it upon herself to take L3 out of my classroom because he was sad. She had a camera, so I sort of assumed that she was just taking his picture, but no --- she took him to the other end of the building to sit and read a book. I was livid. The lack of professional courtesy --- you just don't take out a kid without explaining to the teacher why and what you intend to do --- the insulting assumption that she knew better than me how to make the boy feel welcome and wanted, the overweening arrogance mixed with pure wrongheaded ignorance (I disagree strongly that a child should be allowed to dictate terms in the classroom, especially on the first damn day, and feel strongly that a child's self-worth and happiness improves when he is shown that he has the strength to make it through initial uncertainty). And I have over ten years' worth of kids and parents that loved the hell out of me for my affectionate/strict classroom demeanor, so I'm not just some insensitive creep trying to bring the hammer down on a poor unhealthy kid. I truly believe that my way would help him best, and I know that taking a kid away from a teacher without asking first is not cool.
Of course, it doesn't help that Ms. DeWolf is the one I had the very brief, ill-fated relationship with last year.
Showing posts with label rants. Show all posts
Showing posts with label rants. Show all posts
Wednesday, August 24, 2011
Friday, January 08, 2010
What becomes of the broken hearted?
In late December, flatulent ass Rush Limbaugh was rushed to a hospital in Hawaii following severe chest pains. Disregarding all the prayers of the righteous, God did not strike him down in agony. Apparently, they found nothing wrong with him, and now he's fine. Fine enough to spout the following fatuous crap: "Based on what happened here to me, I don't think there's one thing wrong with the American healthcare system. It is working just fine, just dandy."
Wow, really? The system worked for a famous, white, male, multi-millionaire conservative? That's amazing! It must therefore also work for black welfare moms, college students, underemployed single mothers, and minimum wage-earning heads of families! That's logic! QED, bitches, and check mate!
Seriously, why have the people not risen up as one to slay this menace to all that is good and holy?
By the way, anyone remember that around the same time, conservative apologist Kevin Madden went on the airwaves to make himself look ridiculous with this asinine claptrap: "You have to also remember the fact that the president being on vacation in Hawaii, it’s much different than being in Texas. Hawaii to many Americans seems like a foreign place."
Oopsie! It's a state, and apparently even evil lying conservative media whores go there to relax! Not, unfortunately, to die.
I saw a man driving a BMW convertible with a bumper sticker that read: "Don't spread my wealth. Spread my work ethic!" Why, yes, the driver was white, how did you guess? Perhaps it was this tidbit from the Bureau of Labor: "More than half of black males between the ages of 16 and 19 are unemployed. And that's only counting those seeking work. Economists say legions of other young black men — nobody knows how many — have given up looking."
I really wanted to smash his car with a cinderblock and leave it to break down at night in the poorest neighborhood of the city, so all those lazy black men who just aren't working hard enough, darn it, could enjoy the wisdom of his bumper sticker.
Yep, I'm starting the New Year with a lot of Buddhist-like serenity and good karma.
Wow, really? The system worked for a famous, white, male, multi-millionaire conservative? That's amazing! It must therefore also work for black welfare moms, college students, underemployed single mothers, and minimum wage-earning heads of families! That's logic! QED, bitches, and check mate!
Seriously, why have the people not risen up as one to slay this menace to all that is good and holy?
By the way, anyone remember that around the same time, conservative apologist Kevin Madden went on the airwaves to make himself look ridiculous with this asinine claptrap: "You have to also remember the fact that the president being on vacation in Hawaii, it’s much different than being in Texas. Hawaii to many Americans seems like a foreign place."
Oopsie! It's a state, and apparently even evil lying conservative media whores go there to relax! Not, unfortunately, to die.
I saw a man driving a BMW convertible with a bumper sticker that read: "Don't spread my wealth. Spread my work ethic!" Why, yes, the driver was white, how did you guess? Perhaps it was this tidbit from the Bureau of Labor: "More than half of black males between the ages of 16 and 19 are unemployed. And that's only counting those seeking work. Economists say legions of other young black men — nobody knows how many — have given up looking."
I really wanted to smash his car with a cinderblock and leave it to break down at night in the poorest neighborhood of the city, so all those lazy black men who just aren't working hard enough, darn it, could enjoy the wisdom of his bumper sticker.
Yep, I'm starting the New Year with a lot of Buddhist-like serenity and good karma.
Friday, January 01, 2010
Better can't make your life better
Here we are, trapped in the amber of the moment. There is no why.
Okay. So. Yeah.
This is going to be one of those lengthy, meandering, almost-but-not-quite getting to a point posts, so watch out, Future Self. Prepare to smirk.
Yeah, I went back to blogging after taking the summer off, then instantly dropped it again. And although that hasn't exactly left a gaping void in my life that begs to be filled, it's something that ought to be remedied.
Why? Well, certainly in large part the only answer to that seems to be Yes, why? But there's something to it.
When you're depressive like I am, certain things Matter. Actually, no. It's not so much that they --- those things --- matter as that they indicate or represent something that matters. People often make these obsessive little pledges to themselves, especially on New Year's Day, which by no coincidence whatever this is. And whether it's, for example, trying do 20 minutes of elliptical three times a week or logging the mileage and gas costs of your new car or opening bills the day you get them or not drinking soda or blogging about your life every day, it's usually some kind of a connection to the world. Even in the case of avoidance, like quitting smoking or eating meat or what have you, the idea is to replace that bad habit with a better one --- viz., one that builds a better relationship between you and your environment.
You know, I used to be more eloquent. Or maybe things just sound better in my head.
Well but and so what I'm trying to get at is that these obsessive little pledges are, if not meaningful in themselves, indicative of meaning. When a depressive like me drops these habits made with the best of intentions to keep up good connections --- well, sometimes it's because those things were time-consuming and silly and served their brief purpose (like, who needs to log their new car's mileage on a regular basis?). But sometimes the letting go of these ostensibly insignificant things is a symptom. A symptom of an unhealthy disassociation.
To normal gregarious social butterflies, the following may seem an absurd statement, but for some people there really is a slope from quitting blogging (goodbye, introspection) to dropping healthy eating habits (I'm not talking about my eating on the Internet anymore, so who cares?) to cutting out all social activity and retreating almost entirely into the life of a recluse (why should I go out? My mind and body are mush). This is not imaginary. This is not a self-fulfilling prophecy. This is self-destruction through indifference and it is real.
All of which is a very loquacious way of saying that I'd better blog daily again, dammit. It's constructive. Doing is better than not doing. Gnōthi seauton and all that.
***
Right, so that was awkward! Quick, change the subject! What are your New Year's resolutions, Chance?
Actually, Chance, I never make any New Year's resolutions. Whenever I've been inspired to better myself, I've always been the type that tends more toward "Do it now!" instead of "Wait until some arbitrary moment infused with artificial importance!" However, I hope that I'll live a good story this year. And I would like to think about some of the things I need in my life. Maybe three of them.
One thing I need back in my life -- and this will sound the absurdest of all, but I'll plow on --- is Zen. I need my Zen back. Like most liberal arts college students, I studied Zen a bit and because enamored with some of its teachings. I think my Zen got leaked out of me after my ex-wife cheated on me while studying to be a Buddhist priest. Yes, really. Anyway, I think somewhere I lost a certain serenity, and I need it back. Not only was it better for my mental health, I think it made me a more appealing soul. No one likes an uptight snark addict. Nam myoho renge kyo, people. Let's get metta-physical.
But I must also face facts and admit that while I've lived an aleatory sort of existence, the fatalistic life has not necessarily been good to me. Inaction breeds despair. Why have I had so many shitty relationships? Because they chose me, and I shrugged and accepted it. I didn't actively choose them --- or, perhaps more accurately, I lacked the will to deny them. I am far too old and sedentary and unpopular to let things happen anymore. I need not just to say yes more, but to go and find those opportunities to say yes to. That can mean something as little as answering the phone more often.
Finally, you know what I need more of in my life? Relationships that aren't doomed.
Okay. So. Yeah.
This is going to be one of those lengthy, meandering, almost-but-not-quite getting to a point posts, so watch out, Future Self. Prepare to smirk.
Yeah, I went back to blogging after taking the summer off, then instantly dropped it again. And although that hasn't exactly left a gaping void in my life that begs to be filled, it's something that ought to be remedied.
Why? Well, certainly in large part the only answer to that seems to be Yes, why? But there's something to it.
When you're depressive like I am, certain things Matter. Actually, no. It's not so much that they --- those things --- matter as that they indicate or represent something that matters. People often make these obsessive little pledges to themselves, especially on New Year's Day, which by no coincidence whatever this is. And whether it's, for example, trying do 20 minutes of elliptical three times a week or logging the mileage and gas costs of your new car or opening bills the day you get them or not drinking soda or blogging about your life every day, it's usually some kind of a connection to the world. Even in the case of avoidance, like quitting smoking or eating meat or what have you, the idea is to replace that bad habit with a better one --- viz., one that builds a better relationship between you and your environment.
You know, I used to be more eloquent. Or maybe things just sound better in my head.
Well but and so what I'm trying to get at is that these obsessive little pledges are, if not meaningful in themselves, indicative of meaning. When a depressive like me drops these habits made with the best of intentions to keep up good connections --- well, sometimes it's because those things were time-consuming and silly and served their brief purpose (like, who needs to log their new car's mileage on a regular basis?). But sometimes the letting go of these ostensibly insignificant things is a symptom. A symptom of an unhealthy disassociation.
To normal gregarious social butterflies, the following may seem an absurd statement, but for some people there really is a slope from quitting blogging (goodbye, introspection) to dropping healthy eating habits (I'm not talking about my eating on the Internet anymore, so who cares?) to cutting out all social activity and retreating almost entirely into the life of a recluse (why should I go out? My mind and body are mush). This is not imaginary. This is not a self-fulfilling prophecy. This is self-destruction through indifference and it is real.
All of which is a very loquacious way of saying that I'd better blog daily again, dammit. It's constructive. Doing is better than not doing. Gnōthi seauton and all that.
***
Right, so that was awkward! Quick, change the subject! What are your New Year's resolutions, Chance?
Actually, Chance, I never make any New Year's resolutions. Whenever I've been inspired to better myself, I've always been the type that tends more toward "Do it now!" instead of "Wait until some arbitrary moment infused with artificial importance!" However, I hope that I'll live a good story this year. And I would like to think about some of the things I need in my life. Maybe three of them.
One thing I need back in my life -- and this will sound the absurdest of all, but I'll plow on --- is Zen. I need my Zen back. Like most liberal arts college students, I studied Zen a bit and because enamored with some of its teachings. I think my Zen got leaked out of me after my ex-wife cheated on me while studying to be a Buddhist priest. Yes, really. Anyway, I think somewhere I lost a certain serenity, and I need it back. Not only was it better for my mental health, I think it made me a more appealing soul. No one likes an uptight snark addict. Nam myoho renge kyo, people. Let's get metta-physical.
But I must also face facts and admit that while I've lived an aleatory sort of existence, the fatalistic life has not necessarily been good to me. Inaction breeds despair. Why have I had so many shitty relationships? Because they chose me, and I shrugged and accepted it. I didn't actively choose them --- or, perhaps more accurately, I lacked the will to deny them. I am far too old and sedentary and unpopular to let things happen anymore. I need not just to say yes more, but to go and find those opportunities to say yes to. That can mean something as little as answering the phone more often.
Finally, you know what I need more of in my life? Relationships that aren't doomed.
Saturday, May 09, 2009
I'm so old...
...My high school class recently celebrated its twentieth reunion.
...I have fond memories of the game Adventure, which I played and mastered when I was 13 years old. I remember every experience the article describes: being robbed by the bat, being zoomed through the game by the bat while in a dragon, visiting the Easter Egg room, everything. For all the realism and detail and epic backstories of massive multi-player games today, this simple, doofy-looking game where a box grabs an arrow to kill a seahorse remains tops in my mind.
...I had a Texas Instruments computer that used the computer language BASIC (10 Print "HI THERE" 20 Goto 10) and recorded such coded text programs on audio cassette tape.
...I remember arcades in every mall, the only way the common feller could play video games. They cost a quarter, no more. Arcades barely exist any more.
...I was nine, ten, and eleven when Advanced Dungeons & Dragons was developed, and it changed how I played games with my friends. In short, my geekiness was complete.
...I had a word processor in college --- not a PC, but a real word processor, basically an electric typewriter. It stored a whopping one line of text in its memory before printing. I got extremely adept at extemporaneous eloquence in my research papers.
...For most of my childhood, if you wanted to watch a movie, you had to see it in a theater. Cable became widely available when I was eleven or so, but again, you had to watch what HBO chose to air (usually the same blockbuster movies over and over). Then VHS and Betamax slowly took hold, and despite TV stations and movie studios' bemoaning that it would be death of the industry (they can fast-forward over the commercials! And why will anyone ever go to the theater again?), it became possible to watch a wide variety of things pretty much on demand (by which I mean you had to drive to the rental store first). True "on demand" viewing is just now becoming a literal reality --- which is very cool.
...When I was a kid, after the last late-night talk show, the national anthem would play and then you'd get a test pattern. Dead TV air. Doesn't exist any more.
...My home had rotary phones (museum relics today!) until quite late into middle school. My mother got a wireless phone eventually, and it was the size of a brick and had an antenna like a steel pipe.
...I remember answering machines that recorded with cassettes. Yeah, if someone was out, you didn't talk to them. You left a message on their answering machine, if they had one. If you got lost driving, you didn't twitter your friends, call the location, or upload Google street view to your iPhone. You stopped and asked for directions.
...The Internet did not exist until my second year of college, or thereabouts. It was a primitive system of electronic bulletin boards where idiots argued with other idiots about religion and politics and culture. There was no IMDb to settle movie bets, no Wikipedia to vandalize. If you wanted to look up a fact, you had to get a book from the library (or make it up, but without fooling anyone else with your lies). If you wanted the lyrics to a song, and they weren't printed in the cassette or album sleve, you had to listen repeatedly and type fast. I'm a member of the last generation to understand fully just how massively influential the Internet has been, a total paradigm shift in culture; the youth don't know what it was like, and the older don't know what it's like now.
...I saw Star Wars in its first theater run. (There was no other way to see it!)
...I was eleven when Michael Jackson caused a small stir with his then-risqué song "Billie Jean" came out. I was thirteen when Madonna shocked the prudes with "Like a Virgin." Oh, how innocent we all were then! Rap was just barely beginning to make itself felt among the whiteys.
...I was seventeen years old when REM's Green came out, in 1988. I was 23 when Green Day's first major label album, Dookie, came out. I associate them with college life and post-college stagnation, respectively.
...I remember Carter's election, the Iran hostage crisis, the Challenger explosion, the fall of the Berlin Wall, Reagan getting shot, and other things that a college student today regards as the history of a generation ago. I even have vague memories of long lines at gas stations (the 1973-74 oil embargo) and Nixon's resignation (I was three).
I'm old.
I know this kind of post is old hat and boring, especially for the younger people, but trust me --- when you get to be my age, you'll see the appeal of looking back. Which is not to say that I ever want to stop looking forward, too. Bring on the 3-D video phones, teleportation, bionic arms, AI robot servants in every home, and Google brain implants! In fact, where are they? They're late.
...I have fond memories of the game Adventure, which I played and mastered when I was 13 years old. I remember every experience the article describes: being robbed by the bat, being zoomed through the game by the bat while in a dragon, visiting the Easter Egg room, everything. For all the realism and detail and epic backstories of massive multi-player games today, this simple, doofy-looking game where a box grabs an arrow to kill a seahorse remains tops in my mind.
...I had a Texas Instruments computer that used the computer language BASIC (10 Print "HI THERE" 20 Goto 10) and recorded such coded text programs on audio cassette tape.
...I remember arcades in every mall, the only way the common feller could play video games. They cost a quarter, no more. Arcades barely exist any more.
...I was nine, ten, and eleven when Advanced Dungeons & Dragons was developed, and it changed how I played games with my friends. In short, my geekiness was complete.
...I had a word processor in college --- not a PC, but a real word processor, basically an electric typewriter. It stored a whopping one line of text in its memory before printing. I got extremely adept at extemporaneous eloquence in my research papers.
...For most of my childhood, if you wanted to watch a movie, you had to see it in a theater. Cable became widely available when I was eleven or so, but again, you had to watch what HBO chose to air (usually the same blockbuster movies over and over). Then VHS and Betamax slowly took hold, and despite TV stations and movie studios' bemoaning that it would be death of the industry (they can fast-forward over the commercials! And why will anyone ever go to the theater again?), it became possible to watch a wide variety of things pretty much on demand (by which I mean you had to drive to the rental store first). True "on demand" viewing is just now becoming a literal reality --- which is very cool.
...When I was a kid, after the last late-night talk show, the national anthem would play and then you'd get a test pattern. Dead TV air. Doesn't exist any more.
...My home had rotary phones (museum relics today!) until quite late into middle school. My mother got a wireless phone eventually, and it was the size of a brick and had an antenna like a steel pipe.
...I remember answering machines that recorded with cassettes. Yeah, if someone was out, you didn't talk to them. You left a message on their answering machine, if they had one. If you got lost driving, you didn't twitter your friends, call the location, or upload Google street view to your iPhone. You stopped and asked for directions.
...The Internet did not exist until my second year of college, or thereabouts. It was a primitive system of electronic bulletin boards where idiots argued with other idiots about religion and politics and culture. There was no IMDb to settle movie bets, no Wikipedia to vandalize. If you wanted to look up a fact, you had to get a book from the library (or make it up, but without fooling anyone else with your lies). If you wanted the lyrics to a song, and they weren't printed in the cassette or album sleve, you had to listen repeatedly and type fast. I'm a member of the last generation to understand fully just how massively influential the Internet has been, a total paradigm shift in culture; the youth don't know what it was like, and the older don't know what it's like now.
...I saw Star Wars in its first theater run. (There was no other way to see it!)
...I was eleven when Michael Jackson caused a small stir with his then-risqué song "Billie Jean" came out. I was thirteen when Madonna shocked the prudes with "Like a Virgin." Oh, how innocent we all were then! Rap was just barely beginning to make itself felt among the whiteys.
...I was seventeen years old when REM's Green came out, in 1988. I was 23 when Green Day's first major label album, Dookie, came out. I associate them with college life and post-college stagnation, respectively.
...I remember Carter's election, the Iran hostage crisis, the Challenger explosion, the fall of the Berlin Wall, Reagan getting shot, and other things that a college student today regards as the history of a generation ago. I even have vague memories of long lines at gas stations (the 1973-74 oil embargo) and Nixon's resignation (I was three).
I'm old.
I know this kind of post is old hat and boring, especially for the younger people, but trust me --- when you get to be my age, you'll see the appeal of looking back. Which is not to say that I ever want to stop looking forward, too. Bring on the 3-D video phones, teleportation, bionic arms, AI robot servants in every home, and Google brain implants! In fact, where are they? They're late.
Friday, February 20, 2009
Too many drivers holdin on to your wheel
So let me get this auto recovery straight. American taxpayers didn't buy GM and Chrysler's products, because they were perceived (rightly or wrongly) as gas-guzzling, less reliable, and not a good value as compared to established Japanese brands. (Then, as the recession deepened, they just stopped buying cars altogether, but that's another chapter of the saga). So the heads of GM and Chrysler, brave champions of the free market that they are, appealed to the big bad Federal Government for some of that sweet sweet socialist bailout money, so that American taxpayers, who didn't care for what they had to sell, could support them anyway, involuntarily. And the companies told congress that one way they would streamline so they could continue existing would be to lay off thousands and thousands of American employees --- those same taxpayers who will be footing their bill to keep existing despite the willfully purblind business practices they've been perpetuating for the last decade at least.
It's socialism, pure and simple. Now, that doesn't necessarily mean it's bad, but it is interesting that the heads of companies and Republican politicians are as socialist as Lenin when it comes to getting a handout, but those same people would rather let Americans starve than share out some of that money for public works projects.
Why doesn't the federal government hire the auto companies to make things it needs, like planes and tanks and other heavy machinery, like it did in WWII? That would actually add jobs instead of cut them, and it would be closer to free enterprise than the socialist handout.
And meanwhile, that smirking man-ape Bush is off basking in the evil glow of his self-satisfaction, having helped his very rich friends get richer, and having destroyed the middle class in America, and having apparently convinced the media that the recession was in no way due to his spend-and-spend, gluttonous, plutocratic economic policies.
***
Lots of violence at school today. One kid punched another in the stomach; this same kid refused to listen to an assistant teacher yesterday when asked to give back a toy he'd taken, and then turned and made his fingers into a gun and mimed shooting her when she insisted. The assistant was so shaken by this, she didn't show up for work today. I can see how it might be creepy, especially for one of the very few black employees at a pretty white school.
Also, another assistant was crouching down near a kid and explaining to him why he was in time-out (for some altercation), and he reached out and lightly slapped her nose with his fingers! That is nuts for a five-year-old to do that to a teacher. Mrs. Hatfield, his teacher, asked him if he would hit his mother like that and he said no. Then she asked him if he would ever hit her, and he shrugged and said, "Sure, if I got mad enough."
***
So I'm going to a reading conference for three days next week. My teaching style is pretty spontaneous, so it was out of the ordinary for me to write the detailed lesson plans I did for the substitute. In fact, making them was more work than going to work would have been.
It's socialism, pure and simple. Now, that doesn't necessarily mean it's bad, but it is interesting that the heads of companies and Republican politicians are as socialist as Lenin when it comes to getting a handout, but those same people would rather let Americans starve than share out some of that money for public works projects.
Why doesn't the federal government hire the auto companies to make things it needs, like planes and tanks and other heavy machinery, like it did in WWII? That would actually add jobs instead of cut them, and it would be closer to free enterprise than the socialist handout.
And meanwhile, that smirking man-ape Bush is off basking in the evil glow of his self-satisfaction, having helped his very rich friends get richer, and having destroyed the middle class in America, and having apparently convinced the media that the recession was in no way due to his spend-and-spend, gluttonous, plutocratic economic policies.
***
Lots of violence at school today. One kid punched another in the stomach; this same kid refused to listen to an assistant teacher yesterday when asked to give back a toy he'd taken, and then turned and made his fingers into a gun and mimed shooting her when she insisted. The assistant was so shaken by this, she didn't show up for work today. I can see how it might be creepy, especially for one of the very few black employees at a pretty white school.
Also, another assistant was crouching down near a kid and explaining to him why he was in time-out (for some altercation), and he reached out and lightly slapped her nose with his fingers! That is nuts for a five-year-old to do that to a teacher. Mrs. Hatfield, his teacher, asked him if he would hit his mother like that and he said no. Then she asked him if he would ever hit her, and he shrugged and said, "Sure, if I got mad enough."
***
So I'm going to a reading conference for three days next week. My teaching style is pretty spontaneous, so it was out of the ordinary for me to write the detailed lesson plans I did for the substitute. In fact, making them was more work than going to work would have been.
Wednesday, February 11, 2009
If you like it, don't fight it, just hold it, then light it
It's Draconian Justice Wednesday!
* These Republican fuckers who are only too happy to help themselves to the pork after giving Obama's genuine attempts at bipartisanship the short shrift for no reason other than callous, petulant power plays of the dog-in-the-manger variety --- in essence giving the big fat middle finger to Americans hit hard by the recession --- should be stripped of their salaries, health insurance, and myriad other perks. Let them fend for themselves for a while and see if they value "tax cuts" (nonsense Republican code for "providing for the rich") over actual job creation.
* Cops who use the Taser indiscriminately and as a first resort and in opposition to what any reasonable six-year-old would see as the basic principles of humanity (warning: very disturbing video) should be fired, fined, imprisoned, and Tasered, in that order.
* This idiot with the eight kids coming on top of the other six kids she already can't handle is getting death threats, which is a bit harsh. She should merely have all her babies taken away and given to infertile couples who long for and can provide for children of their own, and be forced into counseling.
* Someone should really look into giving Hamas more accurate rockets. The numbers say it plainly: only 13 Israelis dead versus 1300+ Palestinians in the recent conflict = Palestine needs its own superpower protector. China, care to step up?
* I think the U.S. justice system needs to seriously consider "burning alive" as a punishment for some offenders. The electric chair literally is too good for some monsters.
* If there's a Hell, the worst place of all --- more nauseating and painful than the Pit of Rapists and more awful and depressing than the Abyss of Assassins --- surely is reserved for those who had the power to help people, like children with no medical insurance, and instead cast aside their needy brothers and sisters only to help the rich hoard ever more filthy lucre. The Bible has harsh words for such people, so there's hope that hell awaits.
* These Republican fuckers who are only too happy to help themselves to the pork after giving Obama's genuine attempts at bipartisanship the short shrift for no reason other than callous, petulant power plays of the dog-in-the-manger variety --- in essence giving the big fat middle finger to Americans hit hard by the recession --- should be stripped of their salaries, health insurance, and myriad other perks. Let them fend for themselves for a while and see if they value "tax cuts" (nonsense Republican code for "providing for the rich") over actual job creation.
* Cops who use the Taser indiscriminately and as a first resort and in opposition to what any reasonable six-year-old would see as the basic principles of humanity (warning: very disturbing video) should be fired, fined, imprisoned, and Tasered, in that order.
* This idiot with the eight kids coming on top of the other six kids she already can't handle is getting death threats, which is a bit harsh. She should merely have all her babies taken away and given to infertile couples who long for and can provide for children of their own, and be forced into counseling.
* Someone should really look into giving Hamas more accurate rockets. The numbers say it plainly: only 13 Israelis dead versus 1300+ Palestinians in the recent conflict = Palestine needs its own superpower protector. China, care to step up?
* I think the U.S. justice system needs to seriously consider "burning alive" as a punishment for some offenders. The electric chair literally is too good for some monsters.
* If there's a Hell, the worst place of all --- more nauseating and painful than the Pit of Rapists and more awful and depressing than the Abyss of Assassins --- surely is reserved for those who had the power to help people, like children with no medical insurance, and instead cast aside their needy brothers and sisters only to help the rich hoard ever more filthy lucre. The Bible has harsh words for such people, so there's hope that hell awaits.
Thursday, February 05, 2009
On lobster
A while back, Whole Foods stopped carrying live lobsters in tanks due to customer outcry over the "cruelty" of the practice. It's totally ridiculous, of course. No one was complaining about how the lobsters were treated, or even that they were being eaten. As far as I could tell, the objection was solely that the customers' vision was sullied by the offensive sight of a living creature in captivity, waiting to be eaten. How dare Whole Foods jar their fantasy of a world where food is born in pretty packaging, far removed from any messiness like killing?
This story is just another shabby example of how far we've fallen from our roots. Removing the lobsters is window dressing, useless window dressing to placate the whiners who want to pretend that eating other creatures doesn't carry a cost or a moral responsibility. It does. I'm not saying no one should eat meat, but everyone who eats meat should be able to look its cost straight in the eye and say, "Yes, I'm willing to pay that." Beef and pork and lobster are living things, folks --- and if you can't stomach that most of us kill to eat, then stick to vegetables.
It reminds me of this poem:
Grace Be Said at the Supermarket
This God of ours, the Great Geometer,
Does something for us here, where He hath put
(if you want to put it that way) things in shape,
Compressing the little lambs into orderly cubes,
Making the roast a decent cylinder,
Fairing the tin ellipsoid of a ham,
Getting the luncheon meat anonymous
In squares and oblongs with all the edges beveled
Or rounded (streamlined, maybe, for greater speed).
Praise Him, He hath conferred aesthetic distance
Upon our appetites, and on the bloody
Mess of our birthright, our unseemly need,
Imposed significant form. Through Him the brutes
Enter the pure Euclidean kingdom of number,
Free of their bulging and blood-swollen lives
They come to us holy, in cellophane
Transparencies, in the mystical body.
That we may look unflinchingly on death
As the greatest good, like a philosopher should.
-Howard Nemerov
This story is just another shabby example of how far we've fallen from our roots. Removing the lobsters is window dressing, useless window dressing to placate the whiners who want to pretend that eating other creatures doesn't carry a cost or a moral responsibility. It does. I'm not saying no one should eat meat, but everyone who eats meat should be able to look its cost straight in the eye and say, "Yes, I'm willing to pay that." Beef and pork and lobster are living things, folks --- and if you can't stomach that most of us kill to eat, then stick to vegetables.It reminds me of this poem:
Grace Be Said at the Supermarket
This God of ours, the Great Geometer,
Does something for us here, where He hath put
(if you want to put it that way) things in shape,
Compressing the little lambs into orderly cubes,
Making the roast a decent cylinder,
Fairing the tin ellipsoid of a ham,
Getting the luncheon meat anonymous
In squares and oblongs with all the edges beveled
Or rounded (streamlined, maybe, for greater speed).
Praise Him, He hath conferred aesthetic distance
Upon our appetites, and on the bloody
Mess of our birthright, our unseemly need,
Imposed significant form. Through Him the brutes
Enter the pure Euclidean kingdom of number,
Free of their bulging and blood-swollen lives
They come to us holy, in cellophane
Transparencies, in the mystical body.
That we may look unflinchingly on death
As the greatest good, like a philosopher should.
-Howard Nemerov
Wednesday, February 04, 2009
Sacred and unholy cows
I was reading this AV Club article about cultural "sacred cows" --- things you enjoy so much you will brook no criticism of them, or that are even potential deal breakers when it comes to friendship. Do I have any sacred cows?
Well, there are some things that I love, but typically, you not liking them isn't going to drastically change my opinion of you. I must admit have little patience with tired old tropes being wheeled out as an excuse for your ignorance --- Dylan can't sing, Elvis Presley was a thief, Shakespeare is way over-played because he's a Dead White Male, etc. Like the man says, at least do your homework before attacking your betters. Dylan can sing, and with greater expression than most of his peers; Elvis was a brilliant musician who excelled as synthesizing genres, and who was greatly respected by many of his black contemporaries; Shakespeare is over-played because he's good, we don't think he's good because he's over-played, dummy.
However, as long as you're not just spouting ignorant inanities, I can understand your reluctance to embrace the things I love, and it doesn't bother me in the least. Like the other man said, if everyone loved what you loved, you'd have a heck of a time getting tickets. And hey, if Dylan's voice is a turn-off to you, I can sympathize. It is something of a hurdle. And maybe they just talk too darn fast in those classic Bogart and Bacall films for you to follow along, too. That's okay. You don't have to enjoy the greats.
There are also, to use a parallel metaphor of my own, cultural "unholy cows" --- really bad stuff that I hate. If you embrace and revere my unholy cows, that too need not be a deal breaker. You enjoy the music of Korn, Creed, Jay-Z, some tween retard shoved into a recording studio because she's got a pair of boobs and a willingness to show 'em? That's okay; I quite enjoy the puerile poseur punk stylings of Green Day, myself. Not to mention Steve Miller. You laugh and laugh at Adam Sandler movies? Um... well, all right. I've bust a gut at a few dumb jokes in my time. That's okay. You're... probably... still not a total loser.
But! If you both reject my sacred cows and embrace my unholy cows --- then, sir or madam, we have a problem. Your favorite film is Night of the Museum, and you turned Seven Samurai off when one time you accidentally caught some of it? You have all of Avenged Sevenfold's albums, but think Tom Waits is a laughingstock? You think "Family Guy" is the epitome of hilarity, and don't understand why people say "The Simpsons" is better?
Well, you better get along back to your village, because you can't stay here, idiot.
Well, there are some things that I love, but typically, you not liking them isn't going to drastically change my opinion of you. I must admit have little patience with tired old tropes being wheeled out as an excuse for your ignorance --- Dylan can't sing, Elvis Presley was a thief, Shakespeare is way over-played because he's a Dead White Male, etc. Like the man says, at least do your homework before attacking your betters. Dylan can sing, and with greater expression than most of his peers; Elvis was a brilliant musician who excelled as synthesizing genres, and who was greatly respected by many of his black contemporaries; Shakespeare is over-played because he's good, we don't think he's good because he's over-played, dummy.
However, as long as you're not just spouting ignorant inanities, I can understand your reluctance to embrace the things I love, and it doesn't bother me in the least. Like the other man said, if everyone loved what you loved, you'd have a heck of a time getting tickets. And hey, if Dylan's voice is a turn-off to you, I can sympathize. It is something of a hurdle. And maybe they just talk too darn fast in those classic Bogart and Bacall films for you to follow along, too. That's okay. You don't have to enjoy the greats.
There are also, to use a parallel metaphor of my own, cultural "unholy cows" --- really bad stuff that I hate. If you embrace and revere my unholy cows, that too need not be a deal breaker. You enjoy the music of Korn, Creed, Jay-Z, some tween retard shoved into a recording studio because she's got a pair of boobs and a willingness to show 'em? That's okay; I quite enjoy the puerile poseur punk stylings of Green Day, myself. Not to mention Steve Miller. You laugh and laugh at Adam Sandler movies? Um... well, all right. I've bust a gut at a few dumb jokes in my time. That's okay. You're... probably... still not a total loser.
But! If you both reject my sacred cows and embrace my unholy cows --- then, sir or madam, we have a problem. Your favorite film is Night of the Museum, and you turned Seven Samurai off when one time you accidentally caught some of it? You have all of Avenged Sevenfold's albums, but think Tom Waits is a laughingstock? You think "Family Guy" is the epitome of hilarity, and don't understand why people say "The Simpsons" is better?
Well, you better get along back to your village, because you can't stay here, idiot.
Monday, January 19, 2009
Martin would have been above all this, but I'm no Martin
In honor of MLK and Obama, I'm listening to no music but that by black artists this week. It's my way of saying thanks to all the protestors who got beaten and set on fire in the '60s so Obama could be President today. Well, tomorrow.
Here's hoping that the spirit of MLK can live in all of us this year. And I don't mean just in terms of racial awareness, but the other thing MLK was interested in that for some odd reason the mainstream media never seems to remember, class equality in America. King dreamed of an America where no child --- white, black, red, or green --- would have to live in crippling poverty while others wallowed in luxuries.
And in that spirit, a series of less-than-fond farwells to the man who did more than anyone else in recent memory to destroy that dream, to destroy the Constitution and its freedoms, to destory our spirit of inquisitveness and entrepreneurship, to destroy the free market, to destory art in America, to destroy the middle class, to destroy our peace and prosperity, to destroy the spirit of dissent, decency, and debate. May he continue to fumble his way to iconic laughing-stock status.
Our nation's first catastrophic president.
Eight years of Madoffs.
Up in smoke.
Fantastic job! The insurgency is desperate!
Desperate enough to expand exponentially, that is!
Hey, dumb ass.
So long, dimwit.
And stay the fuck out.
I survived the Bush presidency [and all I got was...]
20 "forgotten" scandals.
Whoops, here's 20 more.
10 reasons history will hang you.
Let's not forget the cronies.
So, again, here's hoping that inauguration day proceeds with full celebration and so nasty surprises; and that the hope and hunger for justice that won Obama the election will turn this country around and make us an honorable, prosperous, peaceful nation again.
Here's hoping that the spirit of MLK can live in all of us this year. And I don't mean just in terms of racial awareness, but the other thing MLK was interested in that for some odd reason the mainstream media never seems to remember, class equality in America. King dreamed of an America where no child --- white, black, red, or green --- would have to live in crippling poverty while others wallowed in luxuries.
And in that spirit, a series of less-than-fond farwells to the man who did more than anyone else in recent memory to destroy that dream, to destroy the Constitution and its freedoms, to destory our spirit of inquisitveness and entrepreneurship, to destroy the free market, to destory art in America, to destroy the middle class, to destroy our peace and prosperity, to destroy the spirit of dissent, decency, and debate. May he continue to fumble his way to iconic laughing-stock status.
Our nation's first catastrophic president.
Eight years of Madoffs.
Up in smoke.
Fantastic job! The insurgency is desperate!
Desperate enough to expand exponentially, that is!
Hey, dumb ass.
So long, dimwit.
And stay the fuck out.
I survived the Bush presidency [and all I got was...]
20 "forgotten" scandals.
Whoops, here's 20 more.
10 reasons history will hang you.
Let's not forget the cronies.
So, again, here's hoping that inauguration day proceeds with full celebration and so nasty surprises; and that the hope and hunger for justice that won Obama the election will turn this country around and make us an honorable, prosperous, peaceful nation again.
Saturday, November 08, 2008
I can make it all match up, I can hold my own
A man goes up to a prim and proper lady and propositions her crudely. She recoils and cries, "No, I will not!" The man says, "I'll pay you a million dollars to sleep with me." The woman says, "Well, I'd do it, if you have the million." The man says, "How about a hundred?" The woman says, "What do you take me for, a whore?" Man replies, "We've established what you are, now we're just haggling the price."
One of the funniest/scariest parts of Palin's cutsey brand of speechifyin' --- and I may be going somewhere with all this --- was how she ridiculed and denigrated people who thought government exists to take of them (cure self-satisfied booing at the very thought of it... now).
I wonder if the people who thought she was making sense traveled on roads to go see her? I wonder if they washed their oafish bodies that morning with water from pipes? I wonder if they enjoyed a nice cheap McDonald's burger courtesy of government beef subsidies? I wonder if they're prepared to foil various plots to bomb our airplanes and ports on their lonesome? I wonder if they enjoy many goods and services that come to them courtesy of tariffs and trade agreements?
Government exists to take care of the people, period. That is its only function. If we can just get the so-called "conservatives" (those pork-cramming, spend-and-spending profligates) to admit that obvious truth, we can start to haggling over terms: who ought to get what. Instead, half the country keeps getting to pride itself on a self-sufficiency that it doesn't actually have, and denigrating the other half for calling a whore a whore.
One of the funniest/scariest parts of Palin's cutsey brand of speechifyin' --- and I may be going somewhere with all this --- was how she ridiculed and denigrated people who thought government exists to take of them (cure self-satisfied booing at the very thought of it... now).
I wonder if the people who thought she was making sense traveled on roads to go see her? I wonder if they washed their oafish bodies that morning with water from pipes? I wonder if they enjoyed a nice cheap McDonald's burger courtesy of government beef subsidies? I wonder if they're prepared to foil various plots to bomb our airplanes and ports on their lonesome? I wonder if they enjoy many goods and services that come to them courtesy of tariffs and trade agreements?
Government exists to take care of the people, period. That is its only function. If we can just get the so-called "conservatives" (those pork-cramming, spend-and-spending profligates) to admit that obvious truth, we can start to haggling over terms: who ought to get what. Instead, half the country keeps getting to pride itself on a self-sufficiency that it doesn't actually have, and denigrating the other half for calling a whore a whore.
Thursday, October 30, 2008
Specious tidbits ultimately providing incorrect details
When my assistant told S, the Spanish teacher, I was going to be on "Game Show!", S immediately asked me:
"What acronym does wow stand for?"
I was bemused. "In what context?" I asked, thinking she was thinking of the name of some group or event.
"Just the word wow, what does it stand for?"
"I have no idea," I said.
She smiled proudly. "Wonder of wonders."
This is a woman who, as she will eagerly tell you, has read not a single book in two years. She's not very educated and is satisfied with simple explanations for things, so she's the perfect target for those totally retarded emails about word origins and for that old stand-by for the gullible, backronyms.
Wow is not derived from "wonder of wonders."
And, from the same general bag, golf isn't derived from "gentlemen only, ladies forbidden." And posh (probably) isn't from "port outward, starboard home."
Remember: if the word origin is cutesy and easy to remember, it's probably specious. So don't pass it on; let it stop. (That's Stationary Totally, Onward Prohibited.)
"What acronym does wow stand for?"
I was bemused. "In what context?" I asked, thinking she was thinking of the name of some group or event.
"Just the word wow, what does it stand for?"
"I have no idea," I said.
She smiled proudly. "Wonder of wonders."
This is a woman who, as she will eagerly tell you, has read not a single book in two years. She's not very educated and is satisfied with simple explanations for things, so she's the perfect target for those totally retarded emails about word origins and for that old stand-by for the gullible, backronyms.
Wow is not derived from "wonder of wonders."
And, from the same general bag, golf isn't derived from "gentlemen only, ladies forbidden." And posh (probably) isn't from "port outward, starboard home."
Remember: if the word origin is cutesy and easy to remember, it's probably specious. So don't pass it on; let it stop. (That's Stationary Totally, Onward Prohibited.)
Monday, September 29, 2008
How do your pistol and your Bible and your sleeping pills go?
Feeling overwhelmed by my various personal pressures and doomed by the national news.
I'm dealing with career goal meetings, parent meetings, observations of classes, math assessments that need to be done before parent conferences, literacy assessments same, class buddy arrangements, literacy center management... and that's just at work. There's also rent, parents, friends, Dog, and more. And my library books are overdue.
And while I've heretofore gotten a bit energized by the catharsis of blogging various quotidian worries, national politics make everything seem so futile and meaningless. I mean, people are going to vote for McCain and Palin! There are working people making less than $45,000 who will vote for that corrupt asshole and his idiot running mate! The stupid, it burns. Our president has destroyed literally everything he has put his hand to, and the people want more of it. And all the banks might explode and polar bears are eating each other and journalists are censoring themselves because McCain might throw them off his plane and the votes will be counted by George W. Bush's good buddies Bob and Todd Urosevich.
And Bush seems to be setting up for a speedy declaration of martial law and suspension of elections, just in case the uppity colored elitist son of a sheep herder wins. No, really. This might happen. It could. Easily.
I was fine through 9/11. I was calm during the Anthrax attacks and the Beltway sniper. I was even okay when the panic got to Ashcroft and when Tom Ridge shared his fear of fear with all of and gave us our color-coded Fear Notice. But now... Now I'm truly wondering if the U.S. government has begun to end.
I've got it at last. I've got The Fear.
I'm dealing with career goal meetings, parent meetings, observations of classes, math assessments that need to be done before parent conferences, literacy assessments same, class buddy arrangements, literacy center management... and that's just at work. There's also rent, parents, friends, Dog, and more. And my library books are overdue.
And while I've heretofore gotten a bit energized by the catharsis of blogging various quotidian worries, national politics make everything seem so futile and meaningless. I mean, people are going to vote for McCain and Palin! There are working people making less than $45,000 who will vote for that corrupt asshole and his idiot running mate! The stupid, it burns. Our president has destroyed literally everything he has put his hand to, and the people want more of it. And all the banks might explode and polar bears are eating each other and journalists are censoring themselves because McCain might throw them off his plane and the votes will be counted by George W. Bush's good buddies Bob and Todd Urosevich.
And Bush seems to be setting up for a speedy declaration of martial law and suspension of elections, just in case the uppity colored elitist son of a sheep herder wins. No, really. This might happen. It could. Easily.
I was fine through 9/11. I was calm during the Anthrax attacks and the Beltway sniper. I was even okay when the panic got to Ashcroft and when Tom Ridge shared his fear of fear with all of and gave us our color-coded Fear Notice. But now... Now I'm truly wondering if the U.S. government has begun to end.
I've got it at last. I've got The Fear.
Wednesday, September 24, 2008
The family circle gather round from very far and near
We had a meeting after work about how to install and use iChat on our laptops. Wait a minute... When we got the laptops, we had to sign an agreement swearing (among other things) that we wouldn't use them to IM or iChat, and that such use constituted an abuse of policy. And now we're encouraged to use a video chat program, because we can use it for... uh... crucial talking to each other. Because we can't phone, email or, heaven forfend, walk to each other's rooms, I guess? Well, there is a good feature that lets you share desktops so you can show someone remotely how to use something on their computer. Because we can't... walk over to their machine and show them in person, I guess.
In all seriousness, the Vice-Head said it was a good tool for students to see and chat with other schools and experts in various fields across the country and internationally, but you know hardly anyone is going to use it for that. They're gonna gossip and use the amusing background features. It is rumored that we had this training solely so that one of the administrators can iChat her friends at work.
***
Priced a bit more, but well worth it:
* Organic farm-raised milk
Despite huge dairy companies denying that there is pus in factory milk, it's a fact that factory cows have enormously high instances of bladder infections. That means infections, and that means pus in milk. Boil it all you want, I'm not drinking that stuff. Also, it makes me personally feel better knowing my milk came from a cow that is treated halfway decently and has a chance to graze once in a while. It may be my imagination, but it tastes better, and creamier, to me.
* Crest Glide Comfort Plus floss
For a while, I was scrupulous in rationing out my floss so it would last a long time, then I realized I was being stupid. It's floss. There's like a mile of it in there, and I use a few inches a day. (Little by little, I shed the obsessive compulsions of my youth. I should be a carefree, mellow spirit by age 57.) Anyhoo, this stuff is great. It's so smooth, unlike regular floss which cuts like wire. Also, it tastes minty.
* Dried cranberries
If you want to eat fruit and nut mix like me, do yourself a big favor and drop the raisins. Trail mix with raisins? More like fail mix, amirite?? Who's got me up top? Seriously, drop the Studententfutter peanuts and raisins. That's nasty. Spring for the almonds (or any other tasty nut), sprinkle in some dried pumpkin seeds, pepitas, sunflower seeds, dried peas, pretzel bits, even a few carob chunks if you want. But the cranberries are the key. That tangy-sour sweetness, complementing the salty seeds and nuts, is just the flavor that keeps you shovelling that fiber- and protein-rich crap into your non-trail-hiking maw.
In all seriousness, the Vice-Head said it was a good tool for students to see and chat with other schools and experts in various fields across the country and internationally, but you know hardly anyone is going to use it for that. They're gonna gossip and use the amusing background features. It is rumored that we had this training solely so that one of the administrators can iChat her friends at work.
***
Priced a bit more, but well worth it:
* Organic farm-raised milk
Despite huge dairy companies denying that there is pus in factory milk, it's a fact that factory cows have enormously high instances of bladder infections. That means infections, and that means pus in milk. Boil it all you want, I'm not drinking that stuff. Also, it makes me personally feel better knowing my milk came from a cow that is treated halfway decently and has a chance to graze once in a while. It may be my imagination, but it tastes better, and creamier, to me.
* Crest Glide Comfort Plus floss
For a while, I was scrupulous in rationing out my floss so it would last a long time, then I realized I was being stupid. It's floss. There's like a mile of it in there, and I use a few inches a day. (Little by little, I shed the obsessive compulsions of my youth. I should be a carefree, mellow spirit by age 57.) Anyhoo, this stuff is great. It's so smooth, unlike regular floss which cuts like wire. Also, it tastes minty.
* Dried cranberries
If you want to eat fruit and nut mix like me, do yourself a big favor and drop the raisins. Trail mix with raisins? More like fail mix, amirite?? Who's got me up top? Seriously, drop the Studententfutter peanuts and raisins. That's nasty. Spring for the almonds (or any other tasty nut), sprinkle in some dried pumpkin seeds, pepitas, sunflower seeds, dried peas, pretzel bits, even a few carob chunks if you want. But the cranberries are the key. That tangy-sour sweetness, complementing the salty seeds and nuts, is just the flavor that keeps you shovelling that fiber- and protein-rich crap into your non-trail-hiking maw.
Wednesday, September 17, 2008
Absurdistan
This piece, while saying nothing original, very neatly encapsulates my frustration and the current state of political dialectic.
...These aren't just lies. They're lies about lies. That's a really different thing. In life, a typical person lies. If they get caught – hopefully, they tender an apology; at the very least they stop telling the lie. But here we have a case where the liars not only don't do either of those things. They just keep on lying.But wait, there's more! Because it isn't only that they lie and then lie about the lies. They follow that by playing the victim, claiming that the allegation from the other people that they're lying is nonsense, or a sign that they're part of the Washington establishment, or "despicable."
How can a lone voice argue with this kind of hurricane force of prevarication, this tsunami of lies and misinformation, denial and outright invention? How to deal with something so horrifyingly absurd as the "Yes We Can!" iconic feminist posters at rallies supporting the GOP ticket? Seriously, where to begin? How to even begin to get your head around a group who denigrate feminism in all its forms, urge "thin-skinned" women to toughen up or stay out of the world of "the big boys who don't play nice," then turn around and embrace the image of feminism (but not the ideals) when Palin is criticized? And dismiss genuine constructive criticism of a public official's record as "sexism"?
How, indeed, to argue with someone who claims that "family values" is the cornerstone of their personal philosophy, then lauds a teenage unwed mother as a brave hero? How to argue when facts are never refuted with other facts, but by accusations of "playing dirty" or "making personal attacks," or, worst of all, the reduction of facts as "opinion"?
But it's not just Them, the politicians who are lying about their lies. I'm in despair because there are millions of people who believe Them when they say that A = B, and then believe them again the next day when they say that A = A, and always has been. What's the future of this country, this civilization, when the wealthy, educated voters of the United States in 2008 are no more rational, informed, or intuitive than the average 15th-century Frankish peasant?
Monday, September 01, 2008
Abstinence-Only Education Works!
Just ask Sarah "Feminist For Life" Palin's 17 year old daughter, who just said no yes oh God yes do it NOW to premarital sex and is soon to be a mother herself! She's all growed up and I'm sure the baby-daddy she's marrying is the One and Only True Love of her life, whom she'll want to stay with forever! Because people are capable of making that kind of decision at seventeen!
The terrible thing is, this will change no one's mind about abstinence education, about Sarah Palin's ability to lead, about her commitment to "family values," or anything else.
I saw a soccer mom-turned-Representative on TV today and she was extolling Palin's praises, saying, in so many words, that if she could handle the PTA, then she could handle Congress. Hey presto and ipso facto! This line now comes from the same neo-conservative creeps who shredded Obama as too inexperienced. Suddenly the guy who co-sponsored 570 bills is a novice, but driving your kid to hockey practice in a tiny town makes you worthy of the nuclear controls? While Putin's on the other side? Terrific.
Say! How about firing your enemies and saddling the public with massive debt! Wait a minute --- she's perfect to succeed the Bush administration!
All this devil-may-care indifference on McCain's part --- the gaffes, the choice of an clearly unvetted airhead VP with at least two scandals hanging over her, etc. --- makes me believe ever more strongly that the Republicans don't need to approach the campaign with care or delicacy. Diebold and ES&S will hand them the victory all wrapped up!
Scary.
The terrible thing is, this will change no one's mind about abstinence education, about Sarah Palin's ability to lead, about her commitment to "family values," or anything else.
I saw a soccer mom-turned-Representative on TV today and she was extolling Palin's praises, saying, in so many words, that if she could handle the PTA, then she could handle Congress. Hey presto and ipso facto! This line now comes from the same neo-conservative creeps who shredded Obama as too inexperienced. Suddenly the guy who co-sponsored 570 bills is a novice, but driving your kid to hockey practice in a tiny town makes you worthy of the nuclear controls? While Putin's on the other side? Terrific.
Say! How about firing your enemies and saddling the public with massive debt! Wait a minute --- she's perfect to succeed the Bush administration!
All this devil-may-care indifference on McCain's part --- the gaffes, the choice of an clearly unvetted airhead VP with at least two scandals hanging over her, etc. --- makes me believe ever more strongly that the Republicans don't need to approach the campaign with care or delicacy. Diebold and ES&S will hand them the victory all wrapped up!
Scary.
Wednesday, August 20, 2008
Back to school, ring the bell
First day of school. It was fun meeting the kids. They're overall a very sweet group. I had one boy and one girl cry coming in, but they both calmed down before fifteen minutes had passed. Today was a day of just easing into the routines. For example, I took them to drama and music class, but we only stayed a few minutes, just long enough to get used to the idea of going. Mostly I went over my room rules and my expectations, as well as the physical layout of the room. I read Mr. Monkey's Classroom, and the kids drew pictures on the covers of their writing journals. They seemed to go home happy, and that's the important thing.
So I ended the day utterly exhausted. Six hours of sleep, worrying about my father, and having no breaks all day (that'll change, but this week it's rough, with briefer specials classes and lunch in the room with the kids).
An administrator went around taking photos of all the kids. About an hour later, she dropped off the pictures, printed out. I showed them to one boy, G, and he looked wonderingly at them. "How did you know what we would be wearing?" he asked, thinking the photos had been prepared in advance.
***
As a kid, I hero-worshiped my father, despite his occasional drug binges. I forgave him everything. Gradually, over the decade or so after college, the scales fell from my eyes and I saw that he could be an irrational, weak-willed, impatient, and unsympathetic person. There's nothing worthy of condemnation in that --- we are all, every one of us, those things, at least at times --- but worse, I saw him clearly as a haunted, depressed figure, never satisfied and always believing fervently in the next magic fix. And I don't mean that in terms of drugs entirely, though that figured in prominently; I mean that he always believed that the thing he didn't have or the place he wasn't in was better.
Obviously, I've inherited some of those traits, as well.
When I was younger, I heard of Ram Dass' mantra, "Be here now." I considered it, while not exactly the stupidest thing ever, at least utterly meaningless. But now that I'm old and wize(nd), the simple beauty and truth of it seems clear to me.
Too many people are unhappy in their own skin, always worried about what they don't have or what they might have later. Or they rely on external things for their own happiness. And I'm not talking about a clueless neo-hippie attack on material goods (because I know that material goods can, in fact, make you happier), but something less simplistic --- yet also more basic. It's simply that if you're unhappy because of your situation, you will likely always be unhappy no matter what the situation. Obviously, there are exceptions, because some situations are utterly crushing. But on the whole, it seems true to me that discontent lives within.
I'm not sure that's it, exactly. Perhaps I just mean this. You can't depend on other people or elusive things, even intangible things, for your happiness. There's no "if only." We should strive to just be, here and now. Just be content? Or maybe not even content, but at least not discontented.
All the above verbiage relates together, in a convoluted way, but I can't really express what I thought made sense when I began writing it. So never mind. As you were!
So I ended the day utterly exhausted. Six hours of sleep, worrying about my father, and having no breaks all day (that'll change, but this week it's rough, with briefer specials classes and lunch in the room with the kids).
An administrator went around taking photos of all the kids. About an hour later, she dropped off the pictures, printed out. I showed them to one boy, G, and he looked wonderingly at them. "How did you know what we would be wearing?" he asked, thinking the photos had been prepared in advance.
***
As a kid, I hero-worshiped my father, despite his occasional drug binges. I forgave him everything. Gradually, over the decade or so after college, the scales fell from my eyes and I saw that he could be an irrational, weak-willed, impatient, and unsympathetic person. There's nothing worthy of condemnation in that --- we are all, every one of us, those things, at least at times --- but worse, I saw him clearly as a haunted, depressed figure, never satisfied and always believing fervently in the next magic fix. And I don't mean that in terms of drugs entirely, though that figured in prominently; I mean that he always believed that the thing he didn't have or the place he wasn't in was better.
Obviously, I've inherited some of those traits, as well.
When I was younger, I heard of Ram Dass' mantra, "Be here now." I considered it, while not exactly the stupidest thing ever, at least utterly meaningless. But now that I'm old and wize(nd), the simple beauty and truth of it seems clear to me.
Too many people are unhappy in their own skin, always worried about what they don't have or what they might have later. Or they rely on external things for their own happiness. And I'm not talking about a clueless neo-hippie attack on material goods (because I know that material goods can, in fact, make you happier), but something less simplistic --- yet also more basic. It's simply that if you're unhappy because of your situation, you will likely always be unhappy no matter what the situation. Obviously, there are exceptions, because some situations are utterly crushing. But on the whole, it seems true to me that discontent lives within.
I'm not sure that's it, exactly. Perhaps I just mean this. You can't depend on other people or elusive things, even intangible things, for your happiness. There's no "if only." We should strive to just be, here and now. Just be content? Or maybe not even content, but at least not discontented.
All the above verbiage relates together, in a convoluted way, but I can't really express what I thought made sense when I began writing it. So never mind. As you were!
Saturday, August 09, 2008
Election 2008 Fact Sheet
Normally, I don't blog politics, because (1) people's hatred of truth and facts makes me sad and angry, and (2) so many people, even non-professionals like Dave, do it so much better than me. But I've been kicking around the idea of an election fact sheet for a while, so here it is.
By the by, I note that Obama's lead in the polls has been shrinking. Is this racism in Democrats kicking in as the reality of a black president looms closer? Or are people swallowing McCain's continual hammering of Obama (and the facts)?
Speaking of which: see the intriguing portrait of the candidate as a pile of words, via the Boston Globe. Someone can't stop thinking about his opponent!
But enough of that. Below, a collection of refutations and facts on the nominees that the mainstream media doesn't seem to want to talk about. This page may be edited several times before the election.
Let's start with the tragically necessary, refuting racist and fear-mongering lies:
* On Obama’s patriotism
Fact: Obama is not and never has been a Muslim.
http://www.snopes.com/politics/obama/church.asp
Fact: Obama was not educated in a madrassa.
http://www.cnn.com/2007/politics/01/22/obama.madrassa/
Fact: Obama does not take contributions from Arab or any other non-US source.
http://www.snopes.com/politics/obama/donations.asp
Fact: Obama will and does recite the pledge of allegiance.
http://my.barackobama.com/page/invite/patriot
Fact: Obama is a U.S. citizen. Seriously, lies about his citizenship are really scraping the barrel.
http://www.factcheck.org/elections-2008/born_in_the_usa.html
* On elitism
(I love that "elitist" word these country-club Republican millionaires love to toss around. Actually, of course, Republicans, not Democrats, are more likely to be elitists who do not care about everyday Americans.)
http://stubbornliberal.blogspot.com/2006/03/republican-elitists.h
Fact: Phil Gramm, McCain’s top economic advisor at the time, a multi-millionaire who has never stopped suckling on the government teat, said that Americans who are having economic troubles "whine" and "complain."
http://talkingpointsmemo.com/archives/203634.php http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0708/11658.html
Fact: Dick Cheney, the vice president of theUSA
http://abcnews.go.com/wn/vote2008/story?id=4481249
Fact: for all Americans earning less than $277,000, taxes will go down under Obama's plan. Americans who make average, working class wages – not the wages of the elitist super-rich – will pay less taxes under Obama.
http://money.cnn.com/2008/06/20/magazines/fortune/Evolution_McCain_Whitford.fortune/ http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2008/6/11/141710/9
Fact: under a Republican president and his long-time Washington millionaire insiders, the dollar has slipped to a new low and oil to a new high. Jobs are scarce. Meanwhile, oil companies are making the biggest profits in the history of the world. That's as elitist as it gets.
http://money.cnn.com/2008/07/15/markets/dollar/
http://thinkprogress.org/2008/08/01/unemployment-rate-rises-as-51000-jobs-were-lost-in-july/
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/8646744/
Fact: McCain is so elitist and removed from the everyday concerns of the American people he didn't know in June 2008 how much gas cost.
http://redgreenandblue.org/2008/07/02/just-like-bush-mccain
Fact: McCain is so wealthy as to not understand anything about how the average hard working American lives. Note, for example, his $520 shoes, his many houses, etc.
http://www.crooksandliars.com/2008/07/31/400-haircuts-vs-520-italian-leather-loafers
* On spending
Fact: it is Republicans, not Democrats, who are big government, tax-and-spend porkers who waste hard-working Americans' tax dollars.
http://www.lafn.org/gvdc/natl_debt_chart.html
Fact: the Bush administration has squandered our great military onIraq
http://www.populistamerica.com/what_happened_to_the_land_of_the_free
http://www.statesman.com/opinion/content/editorial/stories/07/03/0704satullo_edit.html
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2007/01/12/ap/politics/mainD8MJRGCO0.shtml
Fact: McCain repeatedly falsifies Obama's tax plan. Again, Obama's tax plan actually means less tax burden for 90% of Americans.
http://www.factcheck.org/elections-2008/more_tax_deceptions.htmlFact: Most of McCain's financial backers are lobbyists.
http://abcnews.go.com/Blotter/story?id=4210251
* On "the liberal media"
Fact: the media is much harsher on Obama than it is on McCain, often glossing over McCain's flaws (see next section).
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/07/27/study-networks-much-tough_n_115184.html
(Could it be they don't spend as much air time on McCain because [1] he's uninteresting and [2] to do so, they'd have to spotlight his flaws?)
* On "family values"
(Personally, I think that a candidate's sexual peccadilloes are between him and his family, and far less important than other more impeachable offenses, but, you know, Republicans claim to think it's a big deal, at least when a Democrat does it. So sexual values are discussed here as well. Hey, if John Edwards' affair is news, why not McCain's?)
Fact: McCain has links to the Keating Five and falsified his tax returns.
http://mccainkeatingfive.com/?p=1
Fact: McCain left his first wife, Carol, after she was disfigured in a car crash, to marry a much younger heiress.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-1024927/the-wife-john-mccain-callously-left-behind.html
Fact: the second marriage was just weeks after the divorce; he was seeing Cindy while still married to Carol. This fact was glossed over in his memoirs.
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-divorce11-2008jul11,0,6546861.story
Fact: McCain admits to having affairs while married to Carol.
http://www.azcentral.com/news/specials/mccain/articles/0301mccainbio-chapter5.html
Fact: The FCC rebuked McCain for trying to use influence for the woman he had an affair with, Vicki Iseman. So, not only did he commit adultery, his affair influenced how he used political power.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/02/20/vicki-iseman-who-is-mcca_n_87692.html
Fact: Cindy McCain became addicted to prescription drugs and stole from her employer to get them.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cindy_mccain#Prescription_drug_addiction
http://www.salon.com/news/feature/1999/10/18/drugs/
Fact: Those close enough to see McCain away from the cameras say he makes racist jokes and uses racist language in his everyday speech.
http://www.capitolhillblue.com/cont/node/10086
Fact: McCain has flip-flopped on almost every core issue since he began his run for president.
http://www.thecarpetbaggerreport.com/flipflops
Fact: The McCains adopted a baby girl from Bangladesh. Terrific! But why did they concoct a story that Mother Teresa herself implored them to do it? Is it because the truth is never exciting enough for an inveterate liar?
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/mark-nickolas/the-anatomy-of-a-deceptio_b_120381.html
* On experience and fitness
Fact: McCain is computer illiterate and graduated 894th out of 899 at his naval academy.
http://buzzfeed.com/scott/mccain-894th-out-of-899-at-school
Fact: McCain is consistently ill-informed on world issues. Is this a man qualified to wage war and help build a global economy?
http://www.thecarpetbaggerreport.com/archives/15836.html
http://www.crooksandliars.com/2008/07/14/note-to-mccain-czechoslovakia-doesnt-exist-anymore/
http://www.crooksandliars.com/2008/07/23/mccain-falsely-credits-the-surge-for-catalyzing-anbar-awakening/
Fact: McCain makes a lot of gaffes when talking about world affairs.
http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0708/11939.html
http://www.thedailybackground.com/2008/08/15/whoops-the-deaths-of-54-million-africans-just-slipped-john-mccains-mind/
Fact: While McCain makes gaffes, the rest of the world has proven more than willing to work with Obama.
http://wonkette.com/401380/mccain-tricks-obama-into-massive-global-win
* Attacks on Obama, hypocritical
Fact: if you're all up in arms about Michelle Obama's "proud of America" comment, note that McCain said he did not love America until becoming a POW.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/06/19/watch-mccain-didnt-love-a_n_108191.html
http://tpmcafe.talkingpointsmemo.com/talk/2008/06/mccain-i-didnt-really-love-ame.php
Fact: if you're all up in arms about Obama's pastor Wright, you ought to be equally concerned about McCain’s former buddy and endorser John Hagee, who called the Catholic church "the great whore" and makes some pretty radical comments about Hitler and the Jews.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/05/21/mccain-backer-hagee-said_n_102892.html
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/02/29/john-hagees-mccain-endor_n_89189.html
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/politics/la-na-mccain23-2008may23,0,5141859.story
Fact: if you think McCain has a point in deriding Obama for his 'celebrity factor," you should know that McCain's own website described him as being a "political celebrity." And before his presidential campaign, he accepted offers to be in television and movies.
http://www.jedreport.com/2008/08/mccain-calls-se.html
http://www.spike.com/video/2696159
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Myu9USHP61o
By the by, I note that Obama's lead in the polls has been shrinking. Is this racism in Democrats kicking in as the reality of a black president looms closer? Or are people swallowing McCain's continual hammering of Obama (and the facts)?
Speaking of which: see the intriguing portrait of the candidate as a pile of words, via the Boston Globe. Someone can't stop thinking about his opponent!
But enough of that. Below, a collection of refutations and facts on the nominees that the mainstream media doesn't seem to want to talk about. This page may be edited several times before the election.
Let's start with the tragically necessary, refuting racist and fear-mongering lies:
* On Obama’s patriotism
Fact: Obama is not and never has been a Muslim.
http://www.snopes.com/politics/obama/church.asp
Fact: Obama was not educated in a madrassa.
http://www.cnn.com/2007/politics/01/22/obama.madrassa/
Fact: Obama does not take contributions from Arab or any other non-US source.
http://www.snopes.com/politics/obama/donations.asp
Fact: Obama will and does recite the pledge of allegiance.
http://my.barackobama.com/page/invite/patriot
Fact: Obama is a U.S. citizen. Seriously, lies about his citizenship are really scraping the barrel.
http://www.factcheck.org/elections-2008/born_in_the_usa.html
* On elitism
(I love that "elitist" word these country-club Republican millionaires love to toss around. Actually, of course, Republicans, not Democrats, are more likely to be elitists who do not care about everyday Americans.)
http://stubbornliberal.blogspot.com/2006/03/republican-elitists.h
Fact: Phil Gramm, McCain’s top economic advisor at the time, a multi-millionaire who has never stopped suckling on the government teat, said that Americans who are having economic troubles "whine" and "complain."
http://talkingpointsmemo.com/archives/203634.php http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0708/11658.html
Fact: Dick Cheney, the vice president of the
http://abcnews.go.com/wn/vote2008/story?id=4481249
Fact: for all Americans earning less than $277,000, taxes will go down under Obama's plan. Americans who make average, working class wages – not the wages of the elitist super-rich – will pay less taxes under Obama.
http://money.cnn.com/2008/06/20/magazines/fortune/Evolution_McCain_Whitford.fortune/ http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2008/6/11/141710/9
Fact: under a Republican president and his long-time Washington millionaire insiders, the dollar has slipped to a new low and oil to a new high. Jobs are scarce. Meanwhile, oil companies are making the biggest profits in the history of the world. That's as elitist as it gets.
http://money.cnn.com/2008/07/15/markets/dollar/
http://thinkprogress.org/2008/08/01/unemployment-rate-rises-as-51000-jobs-were-lost-in-july/
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/8646744/
Fact: McCain is so elitist and removed from the everyday concerns of the American people he didn't know in June 2008 how much gas cost.
http://redgreenandblue.org/2008/07/02/just-like-bush-mccain
Fact: McCain is so wealthy as to not understand anything about how the average hard working American lives. Note, for example, his $520 shoes, his many houses, etc.
http://www.crooksandliars.com/2008/07/31/400-haircuts-vs-520-italian-leather-loafers
* On spending
Fact: it is Republicans, not Democrats, who are big government, tax-and-spend porkers who waste hard-working Americans' tax dollars.
http://www.lafn.org/gvdc/natl_debt_chart.html
Fact: the Bush administration has squandered our great military on
http://www.populistamerica.com/what_happened_to_the_land_of_the_free
http://www.statesman.com/opinion/content/editorial/stories/07/03/0704satullo_edit.html
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2007/01/12/ap/politics/mainD8MJRGCO0.shtml
Fact: McCain repeatedly falsifies Obama's tax plan. Again, Obama's tax plan actually means less tax burden for 90% of Americans.
http://www.factcheck.org/elections-2008/more_tax_deceptions.htmlFact: Most of McCain's financial backers are lobbyists.
http://abcnews.go.com/Blotter/story?id=4210251
* On "the liberal media"
Fact: the media is much harsher on Obama than it is on McCain, often glossing over McCain's flaws (see next section).
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/07/27/study-networks-much-tough_n_115184.html
(Could it be they don't spend as much air time on McCain because [1] he's uninteresting and [2] to do so, they'd have to spotlight his flaws?)
* On "family values"
(Personally, I think that a candidate's sexual peccadilloes are between him and his family, and far less important than other more impeachable offenses, but, you know, Republicans claim to think it's a big deal, at least when a Democrat does it. So sexual values are discussed here as well. Hey, if John Edwards' affair is news, why not McCain's?)
Fact: McCain has links to the Keating Five and falsified his tax returns.
http://mccainkeatingfive.com/?p=1
Fact: McCain left his first wife, Carol, after she was disfigured in a car crash, to marry a much younger heiress.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-1024927/the-wife-john-mccain-callously-left-behind.html
Fact: the second marriage was just weeks after the divorce; he was seeing Cindy while still married to Carol. This fact was glossed over in his memoirs.
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-divorce11-2008jul11,0,6546861.story
Fact: McCain admits to having affairs while married to Carol.
http://www.azcentral.com/news/specials/mccain/articles/0301mccainbio-chapter5.html
Fact: The FCC rebuked McCain for trying to use influence for the woman he had an affair with, Vicki Iseman. So, not only did he commit adultery, his affair influenced how he used political power.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/02/20/vicki-iseman-who-is-mcca_n_87692.html
Fact: Cindy McCain became addicted to prescription drugs and stole from her employer to get them.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cindy_mccain#Prescription_drug_addiction
http://www.salon.com/news/feature/1999/10/18/drugs/
Fact: Those close enough to see McCain away from the cameras say he makes racist jokes and uses racist language in his everyday speech.
http://www.capitolhillblue.com/cont/node/10086
Fact: McCain has flip-flopped on almost every core issue since he began his run for president.
http://www.thecarpetbaggerreport.com/flipflops
Fact: The McCains adopted a baby girl from Bangladesh. Terrific! But why did they concoct a story that Mother Teresa herself implored them to do it? Is it because the truth is never exciting enough for an inveterate liar?
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/mark-nickolas/the-anatomy-of-a-deceptio_b_120381.html
* On experience and fitness
Fact: McCain is computer illiterate and graduated 894th out of 899 at his naval academy.
http://buzzfeed.com/scott/mccain-894th-out-of-899-at-school
Fact: McCain is consistently ill-informed on world issues. Is this a man qualified to wage war and help build a global economy?
http://www.thecarpetbaggerreport.com/archives/15836.html
http://www.crooksandliars.com/2008/07/14/note-to-mccain-czechoslovakia-doesnt-exist-anymore/
http://www.crooksandliars.com/2008/07/23/mccain-falsely-credits-the-surge-for-catalyzing-anbar-awakening/
Fact: McCain makes a lot of gaffes when talking about world affairs.
http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0708/11939.html
http://www.thedailybackground.com/2008/08/15/whoops-the-deaths-of-54-million-africans-just-slipped-john-mccains-mind/
Fact: While McCain makes gaffes, the rest of the world has proven more than willing to work with Obama.
http://wonkette.com/401380/mccain-tricks-obama-into-massive-global-win
* Attacks on Obama, hypocritical
Fact: if you're all up in arms about Michelle Obama's "proud of America" comment, note that McCain said he did not love America until becoming a POW.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/06/19/watch-mccain-didnt-love-a_n_108191.html
http://tpmcafe.talkingpointsmemo.com/talk/2008/06/mccain-i-didnt-really-love-ame.php
Fact: if you're all up in arms about Obama's pastor Wright, you ought to be equally concerned about McCain’s former buddy and endorser John Hagee, who called the Catholic church "the great whore" and makes some pretty radical comments about Hitler and the Jews.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/05/21/mccain-backer-hagee-said_n_102892.html
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/02/29/john-hagees-mccain-endor_n_89189.html
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/politics/la-na-mccain23-2008may23,0,5141859.story
Fact: if you think McCain has a point in deriding Obama for his 'celebrity factor," you should know that McCain's own website described him as being a "political celebrity." And before his presidential campaign, he accepted offers to be in television and movies.
http://www.jedreport.com/2008/08/mccain-calls-se.html
http://www.spike.com/video/2696159
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Myu9USHP61o
Monday, August 04, 2008
And now, a message from our Savior
1. If you call yourself a Christian, and you judge people, you are not a Christian.
Judge not, that ye be not judged. For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again. And why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother's eye, but considerest not the beam that is in thine own eye? Or how wilt thou say to thy brother, Let me pull out the mote out of thine eye; and, behold, a beam is in thine own eye? [Matthew 7:1-4]
2. If you call yourself a Christian, and you are wealthy while others go without, you are not a Christian.
Jesus said unto him, If thou wilt be perfect, go and sell that thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come and follow me. But when the young man heard that saying, he went away sorrowful: for he had great possessions. Then said Jesus unto his disciples, Verily I say unto you, That a rich man shall hardly enter into the kingdom of heaven. And again I say unto you, It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God. [Matthew 19:21-24]
Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal. But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal. [Matthew 6:19-20]
3. If you call yourself a Christian, and you start wars, you are not a Christian.
But I say unto you which hear, Love your enemies, do good to them which hate you, Bless them that curse you, and pray for them which despitefully use you. And unto him that smiteth thee on the one cheek offer also the other; and him that taketh away thy cloke forbid not to take thy coat also. [Luke 6:27-29]
4. If you call yourself a Christian, and think that means nothing but "family values," you are wrong. That oft-quoted phrase where Jesus said he came not to bring peace, but a sword? He wasn't talking about killing people in war, or about killing to defend monetary interests abroad. He was talking about breaking up families.
Think not that I am come to send peace on earth: I came not to send peace, but a sword. For I am come to set a man at variance against his father, and the daughter against her mother, and the daughter in law against her mother in law. And a man's foes shall be they of his own household. He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. [Matthew 10:34-37]
And why call ye me, Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say? [Luke 6:46]
Judge not, that ye be not judged. For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again. And why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother's eye, but considerest not the beam that is in thine own eye? Or how wilt thou say to thy brother, Let me pull out the mote out of thine eye; and, behold, a beam is in thine own eye? [Matthew 7:1-4]
2. If you call yourself a Christian, and you are wealthy while others go without, you are not a Christian.
Jesus said unto him, If thou wilt be perfect, go and sell that thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come and follow me. But when the young man heard that saying, he went away sorrowful: for he had great possessions. Then said Jesus unto his disciples, Verily I say unto you, That a rich man shall hardly enter into the kingdom of heaven. And again I say unto you, It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God. [Matthew 19:21-24]
Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal. But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal. [Matthew 6:19-20]
3. If you call yourself a Christian, and you start wars, you are not a Christian.
But I say unto you which hear, Love your enemies, do good to them which hate you, Bless them that curse you, and pray for them which despitefully use you. And unto him that smiteth thee on the one cheek offer also the other; and him that taketh away thy cloke forbid not to take thy coat also. [Luke 6:27-29]
4. If you call yourself a Christian, and think that means nothing but "family values," you are wrong. That oft-quoted phrase where Jesus said he came not to bring peace, but a sword? He wasn't talking about killing people in war, or about killing to defend monetary interests abroad. He was talking about breaking up families.
Think not that I am come to send peace on earth: I came not to send peace, but a sword. For I am come to set a man at variance against his father, and the daughter against her mother, and the daughter in law against her mother in law. And a man's foes shall be they of his own household. He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. [Matthew 10:34-37]
And why call ye me, Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say? [Luke 6:46]
Sunday, March 30, 2008
If Only They Could Talk
What I'd Like to Hear Democrats, Especially a Democratic Presidential Contender, Say To Republicans
"Cut and run? If you mean cut programs that benefit working Americans and run away from your responsibilities to the Constitution, I think that describes the current administration quite accurately. As for Democrats, I guess we'd like to cut and run away from the economic policies and war that have destroyed America's economy and reputation. I can embrace that definition, but on the whole I'd rather we talk like adults and drop the empty buzzwords."
"Withdrawal from Iraq does not mean an American defeat in the war on terror; that's a fallacy that this administration has propagated. Withdrawal at this point in time means a strategic redeployment. I suggest, in fact, that the war thus far has achieved two commendable goals --- the deposing of Saddam Hussein and the definite confirmation that there were no WMDs being made in Iraq. I submit that it is past time, therefore, for a strategic redeployment. I am eager to put our powerful military to work to make Americans safer. That means going after Al Qaeda (which has grown stronger since this misdirected, botched war), as well as any other terrorist group with a similar agenda. Finding bin Laden might be a viable goal, as well. There is absolutely no evidence to suggest that occupying Iraq is making America safer. Quite the contrary."
"Defeatism --- another Republican buzzword. Again, I don't believe that withdrawal from Iraq means defeatism. However, if you'd like to outline a strategy for Iraq that would result in a clear, definable victory, I'd be happy to consider it when deciding on military options that will strengthen America. But I can't see how redeploying our troops constitutes defeat when there is no victory on the agenda."
"Remember when President Bush vowed that finding bin Laden was his sole and paramount goal? And then, later, when he said he didn't care about finding bin Laden? Was that cutting and running? Was that embracing defeatism? Or was that a strategic redeployment, as I'm suggesting?"
"For years, democrats have been accused of elitism. But Cheney doesn't think that American opinion should impact policy. This was also true during the unpopular Clinton impeachment; polls were ignored and even decried. So my question to you is, why is it that Republicans ignore what the typical, hard-working American family strongly feels about government and issues that affect them? Isn't that as elitist as it gets?"
"I would like to see our military, the finest in the world, fighting for the safety of the American people and to protect our Constitution, which I hold nearly sacred. Instead, what I see is our fine military being wasted fighting a war that is producing more enemies than it eliminates, while our reputation and coffers dwindle. Indeed, the only threat to the Constitution that I can see in the past eight years has been from this administration."
"Bear with me, please, as I read you a quote. I'd love to hear what you think.
"Cut and run? If you mean cut programs that benefit working Americans and run away from your responsibilities to the Constitution, I think that describes the current administration quite accurately. As for Democrats, I guess we'd like to cut and run away from the economic policies and war that have destroyed America's economy and reputation. I can embrace that definition, but on the whole I'd rather we talk like adults and drop the empty buzzwords."
"Withdrawal from Iraq does not mean an American defeat in the war on terror; that's a fallacy that this administration has propagated. Withdrawal at this point in time means a strategic redeployment. I suggest, in fact, that the war thus far has achieved two commendable goals --- the deposing of Saddam Hussein and the definite confirmation that there were no WMDs being made in Iraq. I submit that it is past time, therefore, for a strategic redeployment. I am eager to put our powerful military to work to make Americans safer. That means going after Al Qaeda (which has grown stronger since this misdirected, botched war), as well as any other terrorist group with a similar agenda. Finding bin Laden might be a viable goal, as well. There is absolutely no evidence to suggest that occupying Iraq is making America safer. Quite the contrary."
"Defeatism --- another Republican buzzword. Again, I don't believe that withdrawal from Iraq means defeatism. However, if you'd like to outline a strategy for Iraq that would result in a clear, definable victory, I'd be happy to consider it when deciding on military options that will strengthen America. But I can't see how redeploying our troops constitutes defeat when there is no victory on the agenda."
"Remember when President Bush vowed that finding bin Laden was his sole and paramount goal? And then, later, when he said he didn't care about finding bin Laden? Was that cutting and running? Was that embracing defeatism? Or was that a strategic redeployment, as I'm suggesting?"
"For years, democrats have been accused of elitism. But Cheney doesn't think that American opinion should impact policy. This was also true during the unpopular Clinton impeachment; polls were ignored and even decried. So my question to you is, why is it that Republicans ignore what the typical, hard-working American family strongly feels about government and issues that affect them? Isn't that as elitist as it gets?"
"I would like to see our military, the finest in the world, fighting for the safety of the American people and to protect our Constitution, which I hold nearly sacred. Instead, what I see is our fine military being wasted fighting a war that is producing more enemies than it eliminates, while our reputation and coffers dwindle. Indeed, the only threat to the Constitution that I can see in the past eight years has been from this administration."
"Bear with me, please, as I read you a quote. I'd love to hear what you think.
I would like to suggest that there is no such thing as a left or right. There is only an up or down --- up to a man's age-old dream, the ultimate in individual freedom consistent with law and order --- or down to the ant heap totalitarianism, and regardless of their sincerity, their humanitarian motives, those who would trade our freedom for security have embarked on this downward course.Was that written by a liberal who was soft on terror? Well, perhaps this administration, the most extremely anti-freedom in America's history, would consider him to be so. His name was Ronald Reagan."
Friday, March 14, 2008
We're all gonna die like hoboes
So President Evil has mentioned that we're heading for economic "rough times." No shit, Sherlock. Gee, I wonder why that is? Could it be the ungodly fucking amount we're spending on the bloody war to secure Iraq's oil supply? Could it be your greedy evil tax cuts for the super-rich and corporations, denying the federal budget a big slice of needed revenue?
I read that foreign merchants are accepting dollars less and less. In India, they want rupees more than they want dollars. American merchants here in America are taking goddamn euros. The dollar is incredibly weak and oil's at a high, and oil companies are raking in record profits.
Look at this goddamn graph of our national debt! President Evil took the budget surplus Clinton accumulated (fixing all the evil that Reagan and Bush the First wreaked in their terms), and he took the global goodwill and the high job creation, and he's given us massive debt, unemployment, and the contempt of the civilized world.
Anything this retard does is a massive fuck-up. His stupid abstinence program has resulted in an increase in teen pregnancy (which fell dramatically during the Clinton years, because Clinton actually funded programs that help prevent it, while President Evil slashed them mercilessly). We have higher pollution rates, a castrated EPA, and unsafe food packed with bear bile from our soon-to-be-overlords the Chinese.
Holy crap, remember when the United States wasn't a third-world country?
Although it was funny when people call Bush "President Chimp" or "President Chump" or the like, I've decided that it's disingenuous and dangerous. it implies a jolly, inept fellow fucking everything up because of some hack-handedness. No. No, he's doing it on purpose: he has an agenda, and it's to destroy America so a few very rich people can get richer. He's evil, pure and simple.
I read that foreign merchants are accepting dollars less and less. In India, they want rupees more than they want dollars. American merchants here in America are taking goddamn euros. The dollar is incredibly weak and oil's at a high, and oil companies are raking in record profits.
Look at this goddamn graph of our national debt! President Evil took the budget surplus Clinton accumulated (fixing all the evil that Reagan and Bush the First wreaked in their terms), and he took the global goodwill and the high job creation, and he's given us massive debt, unemployment, and the contempt of the civilized world.
Anything this retard does is a massive fuck-up. His stupid abstinence program has resulted in an increase in teen pregnancy (which fell dramatically during the Clinton years, because Clinton actually funded programs that help prevent it, while President Evil slashed them mercilessly). We have higher pollution rates, a castrated EPA, and unsafe food packed with bear bile from our soon-to-be-overlords the Chinese.
Holy crap, remember when the United States wasn't a third-world country?
Although it was funny when people call Bush "President Chimp" or "President Chump" or the like, I've decided that it's disingenuous and dangerous. it implies a jolly, inept fellow fucking everything up because of some hack-handedness. No. No, he's doing it on purpose: he has an agenda, and it's to destroy America so a few very rich people can get richer. He's evil, pure and simple.
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