another letter coming out

I've become really popular and unpopular at the same time. It
s am honor both ways....


Most of those who complain about teachers aren’t in the education field and know little about learning or child development and behavior, particularly in group settings.  Even parents of large families will not have a firm grasp. No. Most of the children they deal with at home will be their own blood. Dealing with 25-30 of someone else’s children is a whole ‘nother thing.

Teachers taking part in the recent “All out for Education” event last May 1 have been called :”union thugs,” ungrateful, anti-child, socialists.  Critics could not be more wrong. North Carolina teachers have no unions, devote up to 12-14 hours daily to the benefit of their students and if they seem ungrateful, it is because they ARE unappreciated. Furthermore, public education IS socialist, as are the post office and the military.  They exist for the benefit of ALL, not merely a small, affluent minority.

  Teaching takes a special kind of a person, one who knows they will be valued less (“those who can’t do, teach!”) , have impossible things demanded of them and know they will never be compensated well enough.

Critics need to walk a mile in teachers’ shoes rather than judging them.

the "Imbuicles" are gonna eat this one up...

I showed this movie to the group I subbed for all week today. I'd seen it before and believed it taught a vital lesson.

I've told students before that you one does not have to like someone to treat them decently. This movie is a grand example of what happens when people stop doing this.

The German people were convinced that "the jew" was their enemy, the cause of betrayal and the defeat of Germany in world war 1.  In the motion picture one of the main characters tells his young son that jews aren't really people, and insinuates that, in order to make a better world, they need to be eliminated.  And being the commandant of a concentration camp, he makes it his business to make sure this happens.

The young son meets a young jewish boys resident of the camp and strikes up an unlikely friendship. Neither he nor has mother particularly buy into the "final solution."  Neither does the paternal grandmother who, they say, is mysteriously killed in a "bombing raid."  They didn't say, but I am left with the notion that her demise was due to other causes and to her politics.

Not all Germans approved of Hitler or the Nazis.

The words and attitudes displayed throughout were chilling and I sense a similar outlook on the loose now in this country.

Westboro Baptist would execute homosexuals in a moment, if they could.  Some preachers have openly advocated it in other places.

I will readily admit that I am not always comfortable with either Jews or homosexuals, but no way would I ever advocate harming or sanctioning them. Nor do I have the right or the inclination to judge them.

Truth.

LOL!!!

I got blasted on the News and Record Blog, as I knew I would be.  I am still the reigning "drama queen " and delusional "leftist," the one who imagines that so many of these white supremacists have been "inspired" by Trump's words and actions.  Some have so stated in their "manifesto," including some who reside in other countries.

Those are facts, but then such things are totally wasted on Trumpkins.

I've come to measure the quality of my letters by the amount of vitriol my opponents spew. One of them even referred to Bernie as a "cocksucker" this time around, the act of a hormonal adolescent.
I will not relent.  Some would advocate that I stop trying to reason with fools.  I'm not. I'm way past that.  Now I am just providing them with the opportunity to show other voters how twisted and delusional they really are...


They say that sometimes, as one gets older, they come to view certain things in a different way. That has certainly happened in my own case.

I now see how my prolonged association with Mary J cost me dearly.

I also see how some of my words and actions with difficult people, particularly during my time in the Catholic Schools, made situations worse than they were.

I've even come to question a lot of our military actions, including  even our involvement in Kuwait. I volunteered, was not drafted and was gun ho for the longest time.  Was I lured into going along with some things I should not have?

As a "transplanted" southerner, I went along, also, with the notion that southern secession was about...I guess the term might be southern "nationalism" and not merely slavery. Converts can be deluded and overly zealous in a lot of ways.

I believe I see things more clearly now. Agreed, it was not merely about slavery alone but part of a grand scheme to perpetuate a system of servitude that involved both black and white.  Less than 6% of southerners owned slaves, yet many of the remaining 94% were lured into defending that "system," facing for the notion that the "meddling yankees" were attacking our "way of life."  Few of those slave owners shared in the danger.  Many were exempt due to owning slaves.

"Rich man's war; poor man's fight."

Hundreds of thousands died in the effort to maintain the system of servitude. Perhaps the reason I know that so well, now, is because the same kind of things is and has been happening in current times.

Since WW 2, we have involved our military in conflicts with countries who, with the possible exception of Afghanistan, who harbored those who attacked us on 911, had been no direct threat to the United States.  Many of the actions, both overt and covert, have resulted from our wishing to seize resources we believe we needed or in an effort to overturn established governments we disagreed with and NOT as self defense.

Who are the overwhelming majority of those who enter the military?  The poor, the disadvantaged; that has been true for decades.

"Oil wars."

"Wars for profit."

President Eisenhower warned us about the "military -industrial complex."  War is very good for certain industries and individuals. Flag draped coffins coming home don't seem to matter anymore. Nor is it a new thing, either.

Recall the dark ages?  Yes, the one with serfs and lords and ladies, a very tiered society when the few prospered and all others paid and slaved.  Are we really that far away from that now?

Another letter to the editor...

Came word for word out of my last blog entry.

There was another shooting in a synagogue today.  Information is still incomplete, but authority says it is a "hate crime," another one.  I don't know it, but suspect the culprit will be yet another white supremacist.

Donald Trump's words and example have inspired terror actions not only in the United States, but in the international community as well.

It will take years to erase the stain he has made on the American and International psyche.

It may never disappear completely.

That second civil war we have all been dreading has already begun...and it appears, we are losing....

The Trumpkins on the News and Record Blog have already initiated the name calling and insult; small wonder.  They support Trump because they are exactly like him.

I cannot imagine...

why any reasonable person would still support Donald Trump.  Millions still do.

There was another shooting in a synagogue today.  Information is still incomplete, but authority says it is a "hate crime," another one.  I don't know it, but suspect the culprit will be yet another white supremacist.

Donald Trump's words and example have inspired terror actions not only in the United States, but in the international community as well.

It will take years to erase the stain he has made on the American and International psyche.

It may never disappear completely.

That second civil war we have all been dreading has already begun...

war with Mexico?

The jackass wants to send more troops to the Mexican border now. He's also taunting Iran,

The man needs a distraction, a diversion.

The GOP is drawing up big plans to trash both medicare and social security.  They had promised never to do that.

Trumpkins are so dumb.  So many of the things King Orange is doing and plan to do will harm them the most and yet, they worship the ground upon which he walks....


Joe Biden is going to run for president after all.  I had begun to think he would not.

Not 100% sure how to feel about that...

Yes, he was Obama's veep, but I don't think he is a Barak Obama.

Still want to pull for Bernie, but fear that the GOP will use the socialism meme to discredit him. We Americans are so pedantic anymore.


That civil war so many fear has begun. Actually, it's been going on for awhile now.  Pipe bombs in the mail. White supremacist shootings.  Now a militia group on the border says they trained to assassinate Clinton, and Obama.  The world is going nuts....
t
The era of Trump will not end peacefully.  He has ambitions of being president for life and has so stated.  No joke.  If he is somehow re-electred (yes, it could happen), our democracy is finished. So is our middle and working class. We'll bet reduced to the status of serfs, economically and socially.  America's status in the world will continue to decline.  We are already not seen as the leader of the free world.  Trump isn't even welcome in many c capitals in Europe.

Impeachment is unlikely.

I would rather trump be turned out be election. Njmbers don't usually lie. If he is repudiated by the majority of the electorate, it will speak volumes.  Of course, that already happened in 2016 and here we sit.

I suspect the Russians will do their utmost to be sure they pull off the same scam they did before. Yes, I still do believe they helped trump steal the election.

Should Donald Trump else out this time, there will not be a peaceful transition of power. He will create some crisis or incident that will keep him in power as long as possible. His minions will throw tantrums, claim election fraud and the good lord only knows what else.

Stupid is like cock roaches; near impossible to get rid of.

There is more to the Mueller report...

than we're being told.  Of that, I am sure.


Some democrats are screaming for impeachment proceedings to begin.  My gut tells me that could backfire on us.  Trump has promoted himself as a victim throughout and if an attempt at impeachment fails in the Senate (and it would), then he will do as he did when the Mueller report first came out, claim complete exoneration and say the evil lefties are after him.

His base will gobble that up, of course and those propped on the proverbial fence might swing to his side.

Democracy in America is on the ropes. Call me a drama queen, call me whatever else you choose, but what I just said is true, irrevocably true.  The deep pockets have managed to persuade too many that their way is right for us, that we need to listen solely to them.  Too damned many are listening to them.

And the insanity continues...

Now he is questioning the midterm results, alleging voter fraud.  He oughta know about that sort of thing since that is how HE GOT ELECTED.

The man and his people are nuts!

Now, in order to get funds for his border wall, his education secretary sought to delete funding for special olympics - 18 million dollars.  He's also looking at drawing money away from much needed military building projects, like a new water system for Camp LeJeune. Their water has been problematic for years.

I wonder if the military is still fond of Trump after this...

I'm back to avoiding the news, again

Mueller's report seems like a disappointment and I gotta know trump is gonna claim exoneration and use his victimhood to garner votes.  He'll say it was all a "witch hunt."  And his base will eat it up.

Yes he did.  But I've begun to have my doubts about Bernie's chances.  He has more challengers in the progressive/moderate realm this time and the neolibs are already targeting him.  We could have a split amongst the progressive/moderate vote again and if that means four more years of trump, then our country is toast.

Now it begins...

Muellers report is out.  How much of it will we ever see?

As I believe I have said several times...

None of this is going to end well.

Nary a day passes without him doing or saying something hateful and divisive.

His vitriol is spreading around the world now.  He was most recently cited by the New Zealand mass killer as an inspiration.

Hate crimes and hate groups are on the rise in this country.

He and congress are at an impasse regarding his "national emergency" over the "wall."

Meantime, Russia is gearing up to help him steal the 2020 election, just as he did the 2016 one. The man is a traitor.  Never believed I would ever say that about a sitting president but there it is. I can no longer deny it.

• he seeks to weaken or eliminate NATO - much to the delight of Putin
• he disbelieves and disrespects our FBI and CIA, refusing to believe or consider their intelligence information, preferring, instead, to believe the Russians.
• he pals around with Saudi despots who murder

Yet, despite all that, his "base" adores him.

If and when he is turned out of office, either by impeachment or by election, he will not go quietly. They'll be claims of election fraud, perhaps the calling of a national emergency which allows him to remain in power.

This is a man who aspires, I believe, to be a "president for life" as Papa Doc, Idi Amin and the current president of China are/were.  

That too used to her hyperbole in my mind.  No anymore.

My epic tale And Reap the Whirlwind could easily become reality.

Yes, I've been "radicalized"

Little doubt about that.

I've honestly come to believe that. Last night, while browsing Amazon videos, I came upon with done by what appeared to be evangelicals.

"Don't want to listen to those damn Christians," I uttered, to my shock and amazement.

I hate it. I do. Never believed I could be pushed this far.

"Religion" used to be the very center of my life.  Now...

"religion" has become anathema to me.

How did this ever happen?



Still working on my next major work My Country Tis of Thee and the more research I do, the more radicalized I become.  The people calling the shots right now are evil and selfish.  Judgmental? Yes. But regrettably, it's true.  I cannot help but believe that anymore.

CEOs of Pharma and insurance companies make tens of millions a year.  Who pays for those exorbitant salaries?  People who get denied health care.  And some of those people die when that happens.  It matters not to the oligarchs.  Those people are just stats, nothing more.  Their god is profit.

Trump and his people are now seeking to slash both medicare and social security, saying they cause the federal deficit to rise.  Those things are not and never have been part of the budget. They are funded by a operate tax that all working people pay.  What they are doing is stealing money from the working people to pay for their unfunded wars and their tax cuts for the billionaires. Harsh?  Reality is often harsh.

Never put much stock into the notion that republicans were just for the rich, but I do now.

A more serious issue is that I feel that too many corporate funded democrats are too.

Trump is in office today because Hillary Clinton represented that corporate wing of the Democratic Party.  Too many working people knew it. I did.

Bernie Sanders got the muddy end of the stick because the party regulars felt that Hillary was heiress apparent and rigged things in her favor.  Had the playing field been at all level, Bernie Sanders would have won and likely would be our president today.

I voted for Hillary Clinton, most reluctantly because I knew that Donald Trump was no more than a corporate thug.  Some of my fellow Sandernistas either voted for the Green Party or stayed home. That and some foreign intervention " elected" Donald Trump.  Don't think the playing field was level then either, at least, not in the electoral college.  Hillary outpolled Trump by 3 million votes.  We elect senators and governors by direct, popular vote.  Why not presidents?

I get ridiculed on the editorial blog on the News and record site when I liken trump to hitler, but I am certainly not the only one to do that.  Increasingly more people see parallels.  They're there, like them or not.

Now he's threatened us...

The Senate joined the House of Representatives today in voting down Trump's "emergency."  His response was to say that his military, police and bikers might have to get "tough" with his detractors.  A page right out of Mein Kampf.

This isn't going to end well...

Just imagine what he will do if the House of representatives votes to impeach.  His supporters will utterly lose their minds, of course.

Perhaps that "civil war" some have spoken about might happen. I certainly hope not.

sitting in the Baltimore airport...

Been here for hours.  Won't be boarding for another hour and a half.

The miscreants brought me this morning.  For awhile I was uncertain about if or how I would get here. More results of non meticulous planning; my return flight was out of Baltimore and NOT DC. Won't use cheap flights anymore.  Bought trip insurance. It was totally worthless when I sought to change my reservations. No more.

And so my great DC adventure comes to a conclusion.

Well, it will once I get back to Orlando.  Then it's back to the old routine. There are days I don't mind that and then there are others....

I've a myriad of feelings over it.  While I have enjoyed being back at teaching science, it isn't really the same as it was. Too many kids in Florida are brats.  I think I will be glad when the school year is over at last and I can return to being the itinerant author.

Will I still miss the interaction with staff and students?  Don't honestly know....

My country tis of thee

Ignorant land of bigotry?

Dear Lord, I hope not, but there are times I wonder.

Sound crazy, but there are also times I  believe this.

How is it I have come to own such a cynical view of the land of my birth?  It's gotten, lately, that I don't even want to say the pledge to the flag. That's serious.

Our situation is not going to end well, I fear.  Evil is loose in the land and, like roaches, it is never easy to get rid of.

A disturbing thought...

Trump's approval is up to 46%, the highest it's been in a long time.  Over 40% now say they are likely to vote to reelect.  Defeating an incumbent is always difficult.

I now fear Trump will be re-elected.

the 2020 election will be an ordeal.

I fear it will become about this:

Socialism is a poisoned term.  So many have a knee jerk action to it.  Republithugs will use this to distort and confuse.  It's how they win.

I'm gonna be in trouble again....

My latest letter to the editor, pending publication....


“Religion” has taken a real beating over the past two years. Makes me sad.  Christ established His “church” but mankind screwed things up and made what was a faith community into a “religion.” Things have gone downhill ever since.

“Faith without works is dead,” St. James told us. Evangelicals preachers living in multi-million dollar homes tell us that the “poor” are a drain on our resources and that your financial status is an indication of how blessed your relationship is with the almighty.  

“Do not judge lest you be judged. For in the way you judge, you will be judged; and by your standard of measure, it will be measured to you.” — Matthew 7:1-2

These same preachers advocate summary execution of gays and decry the death of the “unborn,” yet fail to advocate for the benefit of poor children. Inconsistency?

The problem with Christianity is NOT with the faith itself, but with its misuse and misinterpretation.

“ It would disturb me if there was a wedding between the religious fundamentalists and the political right. The hard right has no interest in religion except to manipulate it.”

― Billy Graham

For me, that makes it abundantly clear.

my letter got the usual reaction

not surprising .

Insults, name calling, innuendo, pourers, unabashed ignorance....

I understand why they back Trump.  They are exactly like him....