August 31, 2007

One week down, 35 to go! That's right, the school year is 36 weeks long. 18 weeks per semester. But if things continue at this rate, I won't mind it at all, I could teach it for 52 weeks and it wouldn't bother me one bit. So far, I have a great bunch of kids. Not one bit of trouble, yet. We'll see next week once they start to feel more comfortable if they try to push a little more. I did notice that in one of my honors classes I have a students who failed social studies last year. I found that strange how a student can fail a class and then get recommended to the honors level of the next class. When I discovered this today I planned on emailing his guidance counselor in order to get him into the correct class so that he doesn't get in over his head and fail when he could be in a class more his level and pass. But I decided to wait until the results of today's test. Lo! and behold he got only one question wrong. So I figure, what the heck, maybe he will do just fine in the honors class.

Joe kinda dared me to blog about this today, I am feeling kinda snarky (thanks for the word Rebecca) tonight, so I will. Hi Joe, I know you are reading! Here is his email:

The stupidest quote I have ever heard a presidential candidate make:

"I'm going to be honest with you -- I don't know a lot about Cuba's healthcare system," John Edwards, D-N.C., said at an event in Oskaloosa, Iowa. "Is it a government-run system?" - Aug 17, 2007

Thank GOD he is actually from South Carolina... I still can't believe my home state elected this no show as Senator for 6 years. I am actually glad he didn't show up for work... and you think Bush is stupid? That is freaking moronic...

“Doctor Moore, Doctor Michael Moore, please assist Senator John Edwards with his talking points, STAT!”

Just thought you would find this eye opening and funny!

Hope you are having a great day!

OK, now I am no big supporter or fan of John Edwards, I have never seen a Michael Moore movie (some people will surprised to hear that), and I too am no expert on the healthcare system of Cuba. In fact, my initial reaction to Cuba having a healthcare system is "and where do they have the money for that?" I mean seriously, they can't possibly sell enough cigars in order to pay for the entire country to have healthcare. But, I guess if you factor in the rent the US pays for its base in Guantanamo, then maybe. But before I go any further, I want to clear a couple of things up:

1) Nobody can compare to George Bush when it comes to stupidity. He had trouble with the word "mud" during his speech this week on the second anniversary of Hurricane Katrina.
2) As far as no shows are concerned, Bush is #1 on that list. Has he actually reported to duty to the air national guard yet? Wasn't he on vacation more during his first year of the "Presidency" than any other (and his first year's vacations were cut short by 9/11)? You know, maybe we all would be a little better off if he stayed on vacation (with his brain, where ever that may be).

Today's Headline:

Embattled Sen. Craig to Resign: Report (Reuters)
Where do we go from here? Hard to say, did he do it? Good question. What about this alleged entrapment? If it was entrapment then he was doing something he should have been doing, even if he was coerced into it by a law enforcement agent. So where does that get us? Oh yeah, another politician prone to hypocrisy. This conservative republican has voted against measures to expand homosexuals rights. And he was entrapped into a homosexual act. I can't be sure, but does this qualify as "waffling"? "Flip-flopping"? It seems that democrats and liberals aren't the only ones who can be accused of changing their mind. (We know Bush hasn't changed his mind for two reasons: 1) he is too stubborn, 2) you need a mind in order to change it)

Good night, and good luck.

July 30, 2007

Evan is officially a 1st grader. This morning his stomach was in knots - a combination of anxiety, excitement, and nerves. But once he got to school he slid right back into the routine. Sitting at his table are two of his friends from kindergarten and two students he did not know. One of the familiars at his table was Cameron, his "partner in crime" from Ms. Riggins' class. Although they are at the same table they do not sit next to each other, which, if it was deliberate by the teacher, was a good idea - keep familiar students near but not right next to each other, force them to make new friends. The first day of school video will be forthcoming.

Mike Duncan, chairman of the RNC, is up to his tricks, he is now trying to bash John Edwards' stand on Iraq. In yet another email I received he points out that Edwards has changed his position on Iraq, quite recently. But what he misses is that starting to pull troops out of Iraq does not constitute abandoning Iraq to al-Qaeda. There are other ways to support Iraq and fight terrorism than by sacrificing our young servicemen and women. Political, financial, and trade support can also help the Iraqis fight terrorism in their own country. The United States can provide support, but does not need to be the front line. But the Republican National Committee only sees things as "black and white" - either you fight al-Qaeda but keeping the troops in Iraq or you abandon the fight against terrorism by pulling troops from Iraq. And that is the problem with the Republican control of the White House for the last 6 years, they do not see any middle ground, it is all or nothing for them. Bush said it himself not long after 9/11: "either you're with us or against us." What he fails to realize is that maybe other countries around the world want to fight terrorism but not on George Bush's terms. It is the very nature of fascism.