Teenagers walking
Not interacting
Except with their phones
Are they drones
Or maybe Borg
Irishman on his cheek
A tear does streak
Sad, how very sad
Rick Perry’s Giant Sump Pump
I usually do not excerpt the whole article but this is too rich. Do you think we could get Reich, Krugman and Kristoff to run the government?
Robert Reich
Chancellor’s Professor of Public Policy, University of California at Berkeley; Author, ‘Aftershock’
8/31/11
Of all the nonsense Texas Governor Rick Perry spews about states’ rights and the tenth amendment, his dumbest is the notion that states should go it alone. “We’ve got a great Union,” he said at a Tea Party rally in Austin in April 2009. “There’s absolutely no reason to dissolve it. But if Washington continues to thumb their nose at the American people, you know, who knows what might come out of that.”
The core of his message isn’t outright secession, though. It’s that the locus of governmental action ought to be at the state rather than the federal level. “It is essential to our liberty,” he writes in his book, Fed Up! Our Fight to Save America from Washington, “that we be allowed to live as we see fit through the democratic process at the local and state level.” Continue reading “Rick Perry’s Giant Sump Pump”
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
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
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…”
Bush On Steroids Plus Gun Powder and Horse Semen
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?”
The Republican Fruit Basket/Nut Jar
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 !!!
- Just one God.
- Put nuttin’before God.
- Watch yer mouth.
- Git yourself to Sunday meetin’.
- Honor yer Ma & Pa.
- No killin’.
- No foolin’ around with another feller’s gal (or another gal’s feller).
- Don’t take what ain’t yorn.
- No tellin’ tales or gossipin’.
- Don’t be hankerin’ for yer buddy’s stuff.
Now that’s plain an’ simple. And bless your heart!!!
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
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