Category: Rev. Joe Dirt’s Ramblings

The unsolicited, unreasoned, uninformed, unapologetic opinions of Rev. Joe Dirt

Posted on

How To Fix America In 126 Super Cute Seconds

From MoveOn.org:

Sign their petition and send Congress and Obama the Betrayer a message.  Here is the link  to A CONTRACT FOR THE AMERICAN DREAM petition.

IMHO… the corporations are effecting a coup d’etat on our government, our way of life, and the future of our children and grandchildren.  We need to take our country back from these greedy SOBs.   The Tea Party is just a tool the Koch Brothers and others of similar ilk.  Why should they be setting the agenda for the majority of us?

A CONTRACT FOR THE AMERICAN DREAM
Americans who are willing to work hard and play by the rules should be able to find a decent job, get a good home in a strong community, retire with dignity and give their kids a better life. Every one of us…has the right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. That is our covenant, our compact and our contract with one another…
1. Invest in America’s Infrastructure
2. Create 21st-Century Energy Jobs
3. Invest in Public Education
4. Offer Medicare for All
5. Make Work Pay 6. Secure Social Security
7. Return to Fairer Tax Rates
8. End the Wars and Invest at Home
9. Tax Wall Street Speculation
10. Strengthen Democracy

Posted on

Guardians of the Future

The saying is, “Children are our future.”  The meaning is obvious.  The children are the next generation that will carry on the human species.  Our hope as parents and as a specie is that the next generation will better,  have it better, increase the humanities knowledge ,  among many other things.

Children do not grow to functioning positive members of a society without some guidance.  Parents provide (hopefully)  a large part of this guidance.   Other significant guiding forces in young lives are teachers.  Without teachers, formal and informal, where would any of us be as people?   I can just about guarantee that everyone reading this can relate a story about someone who has taught them something or modeled behavior.  Frequently the impact of this is carried with the person the rest of their life.

We seem to be in a period of vilifying teachers within our education system.  We seem intent in denying them retirement, fair pay and decent working conditions.  We are asking them to do more and more with less and less.  We expect results this year that are stellar and next year are stellar plus.  Many teaching jobs have turned from teaching to paper work and preparing for standardize tests.  The burn out rate is high, and we seem to prefer it that way as it keeps young people coming into the system at the bottom of the pay scale.  Add to that the not so subtle process of privatizing education in this country.  At one level I am clueless why anyone would want to work in this mess.  But I am very glad there are, and that many of those  feel called and dedicated to guiding the next generation.

Below is a link to an article praising those who teach.  In the article was a wonderful little Rudyard Kipling snippet.

“No printed word, nor spoken plea can teach young minds what they should be.  
Not all the books on all the shelves – but what the teachers are themselves. ”

Teaching: The Greatest Responsibility and Opportunity

Posted on

Busted…

I have a confession — I love women.   I love them tall.  I love them short.  I love them skinny, and I love them plump. Red heads, brunettes, blondes, short hair, long hair, curly or straight, I love them all.  They can have milky white skin or deep rich mocha, I just love them. Curves, no curves, it matters not.  A young woman, or not so young, they all fascinate me.  I do confess I just love women.

Perhaps the previous ramble is objectifying women.  Truth is I also love the company of women.  I am always amazed that such beautiful, wondrous creatures would have anything to do with the uncouth, self-centered animals that are males.  It does make the world go round, nevertheless. One thing I have figured from years of watching men watch women and listening to men talk about women, we men are pigs. Women watch men also, but they generally have the good graces to be discreet about it.

That is my preamble for what happened the other day as I was shopping in JCPenney.   I was about to enter a main aisle in the men’s department.  Two women stroll by.  They are obviously mother and daughter.  Continue reading “Busted…”

Posted on

Bush On Steroids Plus Gun Powder and Horse Semen

The Daily Show
Get More: Daily Show Full Episodes,Political Humor & Satire Blog,The Daily Show on Facebook

Posted on

Bigotry – Confront or Ignore?

What does one do when confronted with bigotry/ignorance?  I have a black friend that when he talks about bigots prefers to refer to them as ignorant people.  I think he is right.  Bigotry is frequently due to ignorance.  I do know that this is not always the case, but I prefer to think that most folks just need a little education.  I also believe that it is not a good thing to let such attitudes go unchallenged.  To do so is to perpetuate the ignorance.

Several years ago I took a job in the Deep South.  I had previously been living in the Arkansas, Oklahoma, and Texas triangle.  There were several things that shocked or bothered me when I first moved south.  One of the primary ones was the use of the “N” word.  Continue reading “Bigotry – Confront or Ignore?”

Posted on

THE REDNECK’S TEN COMMANDMENTS

Not mine, but too good to not share….even for an agnostic like the old Rev.

 THE REDNECK’S TEN COMMANDMENTS
This is much easier to remember !!!

  1.  Just one God.
  2.  Put nuttin’before God.
  3.  Watch yer mouth.
  4.  Git yourself to Sunday meetin’.
  5.  Honor yer Ma & Pa.
  6.   No killin’.
  7.    No foolin’ around with another feller’s gal (or another gal’s feller).
  8.   Don’t take what ain’t yorn.
  9.   No tellin’ tales or gossipin’.
  10.   Don’t be hankerin’ for yer buddy’s stuff.

Now that’s plain an’ simple. And bless your heart!!!

Posted on

The Ayatollah Rick Perry

Christianity neither is, nor ever was a part of the common law.

-Thomas Jefferson, letter to Dr. Thomas Cooper, February 10, 1814

21 Reasons Rick Perry’s Texas Is a Complete Disaster

Meet the Christian Dominionist ‘Prayer Warriors’ Who Have Chosen Rick Perry as Their Vehicle to Power

The Biggest Little Hypocrite in Texas

Texas to America: Our Miracle Is Bogus and We’re So Sorry For Everything

The article below was one of the scariest things I have read in a while.

What Did You Learn in School Today? (The Texas Version)

Meet the Shady Dallas Mega-Billionaire Industrialist Pouring Money into Rick Perry’s Coffers

Beware of Rick Perry, the French cuff cowboy

Do we really need another  C student in the White House?

‘The 61-year-old Perry, a fifth-generation Texan, was born near the city of Abilene and graduated from Texas A&M University in 1972 with a 2.2 GPA and a BA in animal science. He went on to fly C-130s in the Air Force and attained the rank of Captain before returning to Texas in 1977. “

Rick Perry:  Too big to fail?  from Aljazeera

Rick Perry as Nero, Texas burns as he fiddles around with being President.  The following article details how Perry slashed the budgets for rural fire departments.  He may be counting on pray, but the rest of us are counting on the tangible help of firefighters.

Is Rick Perry’s Budget Feeding Texas Wildfires? Local Fire Departments Suffer $23 Million in Cuts

 

 

Posted on

New York Times Editioral: What Happened to Obama?

This editioral appeared in the Sunday New York Times.   What Happened to Obama?  I personally think it is a must read if you are wondering what the hell happened to our country and Obama.

The last paragraph of the editorial pretty much sums up the situation for me.

“But the arc of history does not bend toward justice through capitulation cast as compromise. It does not bend when 400 people control more of the wealth than 150 million of their fellow Americans. It does not bend when the average middle-class family has seen its income stagnate over the last 30 years while the richest 1 percent has seen its income rise astronomically. It does not bend when we cut the fixed incomes of our parents and grandparents so hedge fund managers can keep their 15 percent tax rates. It does not bend when only one side in negotiations between workers and their bosses is allowed representation. And it does not bend when, as political scientists have shown, it is not public opinion but the opinions of the wealthy that predict the votes of the Senate. The arc of history can bend only so far before it breaks. ”  

I was rooting for Hillary from the git-go of Bush’s first term.  The woman has her issues (Bill?), but she knows the ropes, has the respect of her peers or least as much as you can in Washington.  And she is tough as nails.  I truly believe she has the good of little people in mind.

In part I blame the election of Obama on Oprah.  She spent years with every woman in America hanging onto her utterances.   However, when it came down to it, she chose race over gender.  Which is particularly sad considering how inexperienced Obama was and how experienced Hillary is.   But I also think that the corporate powers that really rule this country do not want competent leadership in Washington.  If that happens they might not be able run roughshod over the rest of us.

Deep sigh.

Posted on

America – The Dysfunctional Family: Time for Some Tough Love

Most of us have a family member who is dysfunctional either from drugs, alcohol, mental illness, or any number of other possible things.  They seem to take up more of the family’s time, resources and energy than is their due.  We all have been in a situation where a family member, friend, coworker, or stranger thought they should get more than their fair share of… you name it.  Neither is right.

The analogy I wish to draw is this.  The NRA(National Rifle Association),  The Tea Party, the Anti-Choicers ,  the Religious Right, Rush Limbaugh, Ted Nugent and many others groups are not in sync with the majority of the American population.  Yet they seem to be setting the agenda for many things as they are funding politicians and can mobilize a block of voters.  Poll after poll has demonstrated that their beliefs and goals are not really that of mainstream, middle of the road Americans.

The other analogy that I want to make is that the corporations and excessively wealthy are taking seconds, thirds, fourths… before the platter even gets around the table to little Bobby.

We need to stop acting like a dysfunctional family.  We need to stop letting the bullies take our school lunch money.  It is time to practice some Tough Love.

—–

This survey compared Tea Party members to “mainstream conservatives.  There is a huge gap there.  Can you imagine what it would be if they compared the Tea Party to middle of the political spectrum Americans. Read about survey

*******************

A while after I posted this little piece this slightly more polished article came out:  Has America Become Entirely Dysfunctional?