Displaying 41 - 50 of 229 entries.

White House Correspondents’ Dinner and Bedtime for Bonzo

  • Posted on April 28, 2012 at 11:00 pm

What do Greta Van Susteren, Lindsay Lohan, Arianna Huffington, Kim Khardashian, and President Barack Obama all have in common?  Well, tonight they are all at the White House Correspondents’ dinner.  It is the place to be if you are the rich, the famous, or the connected!  Don’t worry you and I, the “normal” American people, weren’t invited!  We can only watch through a CSPAN camera lens.

This event always irks me because I see the coziness between the White House and the press that is supposed to be covering it for the American people.  It doesn’t matter if the president is a Democrat or a Republican.  These dinners go on and they are all the same.  The president is expected to be funny and self deprecating.  A good laugh is supposed to be had by all and everyone can let their guard down a bit from the stress of everyday life in Washington D.C.  That, to me, is a fantasy because truthfully these people don’t know what stress really is.  They live in a world unlike what most Americans live in.  They are the one percent.  They are the movers and shakers in the country, if not the world.

The rest of us are truly the glue that holds this country together.  We are the ones that take care of their children, educate the masses, watch over their homes, and give dignity to those that are dying in a hospital or on the battle field.  We are the ones that give our bodies to build this country, our heart to fight for it, and our soul to continue to believe in what matters in this world is our humanity!  We are not the one percent.  We are not Hollywood, and we are not politicians.  We are the American people that can see through a fake dinner and are probably the servers at the dinner.  We are the 99%.  We are your sisters, brothers, cousins, and friends.  We hold no title but we serve our country in a manner that the one percent could never understand.  While they are busy patting themselves on the back for doing their jobs and telling the rest of us what they had to give up in the private sector to be a politician, super star, or whatever, we are out doing our jobs every day like we always do.  We don’t complain.  We just want a fair break.  We aren’t stars although we tend to watch the stars.  We are normal folk that just want our country to do the right thing.  This dinner is meaningless to me but it always shines a light on what is happening in our country.  While we are living our simple lives the politicians, Hollywood, and the press are busy figuring out how to manipulate us into the next big thing, whatever it may be.  If we’re supposed to get ready for another big war, don’t worry folks, Hollywood will put out just the right kind of movies to get us in the proper “mood”, you know those movies that make us feel patriotic and want our young ones to do something for their country.  We have all watched them and they do tug at our heart strings in ways we can’t quite understand.

The press already has done their job for this election.  This past year it was obvious that the press wanted Mitt Romney to be the nominee.  Why do you suppose this is? From my point of view, it seems as though there won’t be much difference between the two parties for voting.  We have a choice between Barack Obama who continued the Bush policies, even those tax cuts for the wealthy or we have Mitt Romney, who will continue the Bush policies like extending, once again, the tax cuts for the wealthy.

The reason I’m upset about this dinner is because we, the American people, will get the shaft.  We do all the heavy lifting and while we are doing it these people are really setting the agenda for the coming year.  Does it make any sense that former Senator Chris Dodd went from being a senator to being the president of the Motion Picture Association of America?   He is working right now on legislation that could have a major impact on us “little” people.  This dinner makes a lot of sense to me and it makes it easy to understand how Dodd ended up with the job he did.  These shakers and movers are not really concerned about the American people.  They are concerned about their own situation and their next jobs.  Everything is a set up.  Do you remember last year’s dinner?  The next day was the raid on Osama Bin Laden’s compound.  Following that was “breaking news” about Osama Bin Laden.  Even the death of Osama Bin Laden was so strange to me.  They dumped the body at sea.  I really don’t know what that was about but it sure did feel like we should have learned a lot more than we did!  I just feel the timing for all of this was pretty staged.  It was presented as “all in a day’s work” of the office of the presidency but to me there was much more to it.  It just makes me wonder if there will be any surprises this week.

The one thing I’ve noticed in the past several years is how easily politicians move into the press.  The relationship must be too cozy if these politicians can get their next jobs as pundits on some show.  How else could people like George Stephanopoulos and Joe Scarborough so easily switch into the roles of correspondents or press?  Sarah Palin and Governor Huckabee are both on Fox.  Go figure.  Don’t get me started on Hollywood or I’ll have to be wondering how a guy that was an actor in a movie, “Bedtime for Bonzo”, could ever get the job as president of the United States of America!

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Thank You Rachel Maddow and What’s Happening with Michigan?

  • Posted on April 22, 2012 at 3:21 pm

The Alien Take Over by Dana (Just click on this to see it larger.)

A lot can happen while you’re sleeping and going through the routine of everyday life so to speak.  If you haven’t been paying attention here in Michigan, much has been going on with politics and governing.  While the national focus was busy on Wisconsin, here in Michigan all manner of craziness has been taking place through the passing of legislation stealthily under an emergency provision.  The only national figure that has made much of a fuss about what is happening in Michigan seems to be Rachel Maddow.  For this I thank you Rachel.  I didn’t know about the over five hundred bills that have been passed with this emergency situation.  I knew about the emergency manager law that installs a little “dictator” in the place of people that have been voted into their positions, essentially denying voters their voted choice.  I did not know the manner in which the bulk of legislation has been passed this past year, through an emergency bill that doesn’t even take a roll call vote.  How 73 votes can be counted in a few seconds by a human being is beyond me.  Rachel has a video here that shows how this is being done.  I haven’t read about this in any local Michigan paper and I have been wondering why the Democrats have been so weak.  Well, now I know!  Please watch this video all the way through.  It is radical what is happening in my beloved state.  This is not democracy!

As a teacher here in Michigan, I feel like I have a target on my back.  It is all related to the fact that I am part of a teachers’ union more than anything else.  The Snyder government is swiftly doing whatever it can do to destroy any teacher union in Michigan by passing legislation that essentially disrupts the bargaining process.  The Republicans will say it is about money but it really is about the politics of it all.  They recently passed legislation that will not allow schools to deduct my union dues from my pay.  Now I have direct deposit and money is taken out for a lot of different things including United Way and the Sturgis Foundation.  It just doesn’t make any sense that my union dues couldn’t work the same way as the United Way.  This is just a way to make it more difficult for me as a teacher.  I will protest this and it may be through things like the United Way.  This legislation needs to be stopped.  As a teacher I haven’t been a part of a team that is just concerned about money and insurance.  Class size is an important issue.  It’s difficult to get around to students if you have a large class.  Our advanced math class has 37 students in it.  That is just too many students for one teacher to really get around to every student, no matter how great a teacher he/she is.  The issue of class size is basically a dead issue.  Nothing is going to happen to improve this situation with the current legislative body in Lansing.  I encourage everyone to please get involved and find out about these issues.

The pressure for teachers is very great right now.  They have to produce some kind of result based on a test students take.  If you think this is not going to have any kind of affect on your child, you must be kidding yourself.  Emotionally, your child might be feeling beat up by a system that tells him/her that they just aren’t good enough.  In other ways your child might be denied exploratory classes that might help him/her develop special talents.  This is a frustrating time for educators, but I think it is apt to be even more frustrating to the child that can’t seem to fit into the square peg when they might be more like a circle.  Just as we, as adults, aren’t all the same, children learn and develop at different rates as well.  In my seventh grade art class, I recently had a child create a comic strip called “The Alien Take Over”.  Just so you know, MEAP stands for the Michigan Educational Assessment Program….you know, THE TEST!  Now for the child that is brilliant, this may not have a big effect on him/her.  However, if your child gets stressed out easily, lacks self esteem, needs more time, or is a perfectionist, he/she just might get even more stressed out with what’s happening in education today when they just don’t quite “measure” up!  In the comic strip the student is abducted and taken to the MEAP.  I really wouldn’t want my child’s memories of school to be about some big test.  I remember one big test when I was in school and that was the SAT.  I certainly wouldn’t want that test to be the only thing I remembered in my K-12 experience.  I remember good and bad teachers the most.  I remember the kindness of my second grade teacher, Mrs. Smith, when she gave me a brief case to hold my books because we were moving.  Above all else that stands out in my mind.  I hope you can remember some teacher that made you feel special, not one that made you feel stupid because you failed to pass the MEAP.

By the way, Rachel Maddow, keep it up!  I appreciate all that you do to shine a light on what is happening in Michigan and for that, I thank you!

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Reading is Fundamental with an Emphasis on the “FUN”

  • Posted on April 20, 2012 at 9:58 pm

My son bought me a Kindle for my birthday last May.  I was really busy taking some online courses so I just didn’t get into it until after the summer.  Then I purchased an Ipad.  I have really enjoyed reading this year and I love the fact that I can virtually have any book I want within a matter of moments.

In school we are focused on improving reading scores for our students.  There are many students who just don’t like to read.  It doesn’t matter how many times I tell them, “The more you read, the more you know.”  Some just don’t care or read at such a low level that they are frustrated.  If you or your child is a frustrated reader, my advice is to work harder at finding something that is interesting for you or him/her to read.  If you are reading for information, find things that you want to know.  If you are reading for leisure, find a book that helps you create the “movie in your mind” of that book because then you can compare your version with the soon to come real version in the theaters!

I have made many comparisons this year and I have discovered that movies just cannot possibly beat reading the book!  This year I read many series of books from “The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo” series to “The Hunger Games”, and even the Harry Potter series.  Yes, I had never read the Harry Potter books!  My sister Colleen, who passed away six years ago, loved Harry Potter.  She even took her grandson to one of the midnight book extravaganzas when she was alive.  Sadly, she didn’t live long enough to read the entire series.  She had given me one of the books years ago and I had never read it because I knew I needed to read the first ones to understand it.  I had only seen the original movie, so I didn’t have any real preconceived ideas about the books.  I decided, as a tribute to my sister, I was going to read that series this year.  I ended up buying a set of the movies and as I read the books, I eventually watched the movies.  I discovered that most movies leave out a lot of details.  If you are waiting for the movie to come out for any book, read the book first.  If you only watch the movie you are getting one interpretation for the book and you are allowing yourself to be manipulated in your thought process.  Movies can be, and are in fact, altered.  In Harry Potter I was surprised when the loyal elf, Dobby, had some prime activities that he had done to help Harry usurped by Neville Longbottom.  Maybe Neville’s agent wanted to give him a bigger part.  I don’t know why movies veer off from the original book, but I prefer the book as it is what the author created when he/she wrote it.

In the Girl with the Dragon Tattoo series I was able to watch the Swedish version of the books on Netflix.  All three movies are there and like the American version there are some changes.  The movie that I find most frustrating however was “The Hunger Games.”  In the movie version I detested the crazy, shaky camera that ran over all the violent scenes of the movie and swiftly panned the opening scene of District 12 in such a way that anyone who didn’t read the book would never realize how desperate things were in all of the districts let alone District 12.   In the book there is a real sense of how manipulated the people are by a government gone amok with controlling the masses through these “Hunger” games.  The kids in the games were really reduced to animals, set on each other, and this was truly shown towards the end when Katniss saw Rue’s eyes in the genetic makeup of the wolf like dogs that attacked her and Peeta.  This didn’t even come up in the movie and the Hollywood “interpretation” of the book missed a lot about what the Hunger Games really was about.  It’s more like what’s happening today with the 99% and the 1% than some kind of clever reality game that people “want” to participate in so they can be set for life!  NO one wants to be picked because the reality is your chances of living are slim and none.  It’s like sending lambs to slaughter!  Did I really get all of that from the movie….not a bit!  The violence was smoothed over so Hollywood could make more money by not getting that dubious “R” rating.  Shame on them!

A teacher friend suggested I read “The Help”.  When I first started it I found the narrative to be quite demeaning to the black women in the book but I kept with it.  I felt like it was a white woman writing how she thought a black woman would think and write.  That was why I was turned off.  In the end, I did enjoy the book but once again the movie is not quite the book!  Surprise, surprise!  After reading the book and watching the movie I knew that the author, Kathryn Stockett, was influenced or inspired by “To Kill a Mockingbird” and Harper Lee.  This may seem strange, but I had never read the book, so I decided to get it on my Ipad and read it.  Many years ago I watched the movie but I didn’t remember all of it as I was young.

To Kill a Mockingbird is by far one of the best, if not the best, book I have ever read.  Reading the book through the eyes of Scout I was taken back to when I was a kid living in Kingston, Michigan.  I remember running by spooky houses and stories about strange people that lived in the community.  There were two old sisters that ran a candy store/restaurant.  I was scared to death of them!  I could imagine my brothers daring each other to run up to some old house and touch the door because some spooky person lived inside.  Harper Lee captured all of those feelings and thoughts from a kid’s point of view in such a magical way that the true innocence and horror of prejudice can be seen in a light that is clear to all that read it.  Even though there were changes to the movie, I believe the movie did capture the basic essence of the book.  The book is better but Gregory Peck was stellar in his portrayal of Atticus Finch.  In fact all of the actors were wonderful in the movie and I appreciate the black and white of the movie because that aspect really brings home for me the black and white issue of prejudice whether it be about skin color or idiosyncrasies that individuals have that make people pre-judge them.  Many quotes from the book are in the movie so the movie was able to capture Scout and her viewpoint in a positive way.

I know I’ve rambled on a bit but I hope I have convinced anyone that bothers to make it to the end of my thought process to pick up a book and read.  If you start with “To Kill a Mockingbird” by Harper Lee, I promise, you will not be disappointed.

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The Toledo Museum of Art and Thoughts of My Sister

  • Posted on April 6, 2012 at 1:52 pm

Yesterday was an absolutely beautiful day, the 5th of April, my sister’s birthday, had she survived the deadly cancer that raged through her body.  I’m currently on spring break.  While many have found ways to escape the stresses of daily life, I have found myself reliving a spring break six years ago when I went to visit my cancer stricken sister.  We celebrated her birthday on Thursday and she died by the end of the week.  My father followed her in death shortly after.  Thankfully, I decided to do something that would delight my senses rather than dwell on what could have been.  However, I am mixed with emotions of loss, love, and a sense that our country truly has turned into the two Americas that John Edwards always talked about.  There are the privileged and everyone else.  There are those like Dick Cheney, who have wonderful health care, and those like my sister, that didn’t and don’t.

There is an “America” in Toledo, Ohio where everyone can participate because it is free.  I drove to Toledo to visit the Toledo Museum of Art.  I had only been there once before and it was back in my twenties.  I can’t understand why I haven’t sought this gem out in the past thirty years.  I just have to say that if you are from Toledo, or the surrounding area, you are a fool if you are not visiting this museum.  I didn’t have time to make it over to the glass museum, so I’ll be going back this summer and devote more quality time to both.  The museum has many galleries loaded with unusual pieces of art and there is absolutely no cost to attend.  Imagine a quality museum with wonderful art and it only cost me $5.00 for parking.  That, in itself, is amazing!  When I went to Chicago and parked underground it was nearly $30 so I was thrilled to think that anyone can attend this museum, any day, for free!  I’m just going to touch on a few artworks that really stood out for me.  Art inspires me and this seemed like the best of days to get inspired!

Morrison Triptych

I was drawn to the Morrison Triptych because of its beauty and clarity.  http://classes.toledomuseum.org:8080/emuseum/view/objects/asitem/96/30/invno-asc?t:state:flow=65b98ef0-38ed-4165-9fe8-8abf0503ce71

The artist is unknown.  Morrison was the person that owned it last.  In the painting one can see great effort at every little detail from the feet, to the rug, and even the background that gives a feeling that it could go on forever.  When I was looking at all of the Christian art in the museum, I had a sense of how inspiring it must have been for people to see this artwork at the time it was created.  I could see how spending time where the art was at, say in a church, could be the most beautiful part of your day.  I’m sure the art was used to control people in some form or another through story telling with strong moral meaning.  Whatever the case, it is easy to see how people would be drawn to places of worship just for the inspiration that would be provided.  Today, religion needs more than a beautiful picture to inspire people to want to participate in daily devotion!

Paul Signac, Entrance to the Grand Canal

Another piece that I was drawn to was an artwork by Paul Signac, Entrance to the Grand Canal, Venice, 1905.  I have never paid much attention to the artwork of Seurat or Signac as tiny little dots just doesn’t really appeal to me.  They almost seem too painstaking for me to find them interesting.  I can appreciate them but I have always liked art that is faster and more expressionistic with quick brush strokes.  However, my perception has been changed by this delightfully colorful piece by Signac.  It is made up of rectangular brushstrokes of wonderful bits of color.  From a distance it reminded me of some of Monet’s work but up close it is much more colorful and less subdued.  My pictures were taken on my cell phone so they lack quality.  My battery had died in my little camera and I didn’t check it before I left home so I snapped some shots off my phone.  Here is a link on Flickr to a better shot so you can see the wonderful color and brushstrokes that I am writing about.  http://www.flickr.com/photos/noctilux-mingqi/4658392020/lightbox/

Louise Nevelson, Sky Presence I

Another piece that I found inspirational for its composition is a piece made out of wood by Louise Nevelson, Sky Presence I.  I loved the fact that she took scrap wood and made something so magically beautiful from it.  Each box alone is a wonderful composition but seeing them altogether is like different chapters to a book.  They each tell a little story.  It really made me wonder where she found all of the different shapes.  The way she composed each piece is interesting as she put curvy lines next to straight lines and they work harmoniously together on the whole when you see them as this huge piece of art.  It’s quite dramatic due to the black color and the size of the piece.

Juan Schnabel, Portrait of a Freedom Fighter

I also really enjoyed “Portrait of a Freedom Fighter” by Juan Schnabel.  It is an artwork created from broken ceramic plates and oil paint.  I was drawn to the three dimensional aspect of the piece and the broken fragments that up close just looked like a mess, but when I stepped back came into focus.  It served to remind me that things are not always what they seem to be whether it is with art or in life.  Some things need a closer inspection to fully understand.

The artwork, “The Salutation of Beatrice” by Dante Gabriel Rossetti, was just beautiful in a romantic way.  It seems the artist was named after the poet, Dante.  This was a tribute to Dante and his unrequited love for Beatrice.  A portion of Dante’s poem is inscribed in both English and Italian on the frame.  It goes like this:

My lady looks so gentle and so pure / When yielding salutation by the way / That the tongue trembles and has naught to say / And the eyes, which fain would see, may not endure.

You can see the piece up close here.  http://classes.toledomuseum.org:8080/emuseum/view/objects/asitem/121/34/invno-asc?t:state:flow=adf30bba-874e-4a61-a6d3-f4c986b75cd8

Dante Gabriel Rossetti, The Salutation of Beatrice

The piece is beautiful but it is the look of longing in her eyes that really drew me into it.  I loved the softness of her pale skin and the way the fabric drapes around her almost as though she was an “angel”.  She just needs the wings and a halo.

An artwork by Paul Gauguin made me forgive him for leaving his family.  He really didn’t belong in the business world.  He had a gift for color and I am so pleased to have come across this image of a road that reminded me of the road he took which was so different from the road he was originally on!  The piece is called, “Street in Tahiti”.  It is full of color and a sense of a different world where people are at peace.  I loved the brushstrokes of the palm tree.  At the museum I could get right up to almost every painting.  There were no barrier lines around most of them.  You could breathe on them.  That was amazing for seeing the brushstrokes so closely.

Paul Gauguin, Street in Tahiti

Another artwork, or should I say artworks, that stood out for me was “The Party” by Marisol.  Here is a link to a Sotheby auction that says a bit about it. http://www.thecityreview.com/s05scon1.html

This piece made me smile.  There was an artist statement about feeling alone even at a party.  What I could see was the many looks of party goers.  Some are looks of boredom, some of thoughtful reflection, like how can I escape?  Some looks seemed to mock the haughty “elite”.  I found this piece to be sophisticated and humorous and I loved the fact that Marisol said they scared her when she was working on them.  I kept picturing waking up in the night to these crazy life size pieces!  This is one reason I love art.  I can be inspired, laugh, and take from it what I want.  Art allows me to make my own interpretations.  They may be what the artist was thinking but often art just makes me think!  If you have the opportunity to visit an art museum in the near future, it just might make you think as well!

I will close with pictures from other artworks that I enjoyed on this fine day in April when I was thinking about my beautiful sister and missing her deeply.

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The Republican Primary, Religion, and Women’s Issues

  • Posted on February 28, 2012 at 6:42 pm

Barbara Kruger, Your Body Is a Battleground

I have been reading the book, “50 Women Artists You Should Know”, and of course I came across the work of Barbara Kruger.  I am familiar with her work from other pieces I have seen.  However, this image says it all for me in terms of the current state of political affairs.  I feel frustrated as a woman during this presidential primary season.  I cannot possibly relate to any of the Republican candidates because they are ready to take me back to some crazy time where women are once again submissive to the whims of their mates.  I thought we had gotten over all of this but of course during the 2008 election I realized that women were still vastly mistreated in the world of good old boy politics.  I remember the mistreatment of first Hillary Clinton and then Sarah Palin by those same good old boys that just couldn’t deal with any woman having the nerve to run for the Presidency or Vice Presidency of the United States of America.  Back to the future of politics, 2012, and I feel like I am somewhere lost in time.

Rick Santorum says some of the craziest things.  Unfortunately, I think he believes the things he is saying which is very scary for most educated people actually living in the 21st century.  Who would have ever guessed that contraception would become the big issue of the 2012 election?  We have an economy that is flat, millions of people out of work, an infrastructure built after WWII in vast need of repair, cities that are crumbling, wars in the Middle East and yet he is more concerned about women’s bodies than anything else.  It befuddles my mind.  I always thought most men wanted some form of contraception.  I didn’t think all men wanted to raise large families.  It seems to me this has been a settled issue.  While most people believe in a separation of church and state, Rick believes the opposite.  The more I hear in this election the more I am frustrated by religious zealots.  I want a clear separation of church and state.  I don’t want to have to follow Rick’s form of God any more than some other religious zealot’s form of religion.

As I look at the other Republicans I see more of the same.  I have some brothers that like Romney.  However, after listening to Rick I can see that Romney and his form of religion could be just as bad.  One of my brothers is a Mormon.  I am divorced.  He once told me that the only way I could get to Heaven is through my ex-husband.  Now that’s a scary thought.  I must already be doomed to the depths of hell if I have to depend on my ex-husband for anything quite so important.  I have also heard about the concept of the baptism of dead people.  I don’t quite understand it.  My parents were Catholic.  I don’t know if my brother has performed the magic baptism on them, but I know my parents wouldn’t be happy if he did!  I am aware that Romney has participated in this concept but he isn’t talking about it.

I really don’t care what your religion is or whether you have a religion.  However, I do care if your religion wants to get involved in my government and create laws that will have an impact on my life.  I believe a woman has a right to her privacy when it comes to her health care.  Men shouldn’t be making decisions for women in the 21st Century.  Women are strong and should make their own decisions about their bodies.  Period!  They don’t need a “daddy” figure in the government controlling their bodies.  If a woman is involved with a mate chances are they will make decisions together.  However, what Rick Santorum, Mitt, or Newt think, really shouldn’t have an impact on my life or any other woman’s life.  They are entitled to their beliefs but they don’t need to make women’s lives miserable with their paternal power.  Newt really cracks me up because when he was messing around on all of his wives I’m sure he was happy that his many women were using some form of contraception!

All this primary election has done for me has made me wish that none of my tax dollars would go to “faith based” entities.  Churches that are exempt from taxation receive oodles of cash from the government to perform their “faith based initiatives”.  Many people aren’t even remotely aware of this funding that has grown over the years.  The group Americans United are for a distinct separation of church and state and I am all for that.  You can check out their website here and read about the faith based initiatives.  http://www.au.org/

The other day I was reading Sky Dancers blog and Bostonboomer posted a video clip from JFK’s speech on religion.  If you haven’t seen it you should watch it.  He talks about the kind of America he believes in.  It is spot on for today.  It is timely.  Watch it and think about what kind of country you want America to be.

Then move on to George Carlin.  Of course you can’t watch George if you’re a prude because he will violate your ears in the way that only George can.  What is amazing is how George is dead but his genius lives on!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZCWC4sHbIV0

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Roseanne Barr and Bedtime for Bonzo

  • Posted on February 6, 2012 at 6:13 pm

Roseanne Barr, our next president.  I know it sounds ludicrous but in my mind no more so than Mitt, Newt, Ron or Rick.  What amazes me this year is my total lack of interest in the presidential race.  The Republican candidates have left me totally flat in terms of enthusiasm.  I’m not a Republican, so it’s difficult for me to get enthused in the first place, but I’m left thinking one idea.  Can’t you guys do better than this?  The last four candidates each have their own set of personal baggage that makes this “race” seem so over before it even begins.  For many months the “media sensations” have been telling us it’s Mitt Romney all the way.  Like a self-fulfilling prophecy they guide the voters to “their” choice, “Mitt”.

Personally, I think it’s because the money makers choose Barack or Mitt.  It makes no difference to them.  They will still get what they want.  The losers will once again be the American people.

I have some brothers that have been pro Mitt Romney for some time now.  It bewilders me what they see in him.  He is a rich guy that knows all the ins and outs of the tax code.  Maybe that’s why they admire him.  Some of them just want a “businessman” to be at the helm of our ship of a country.  We had that with GW.  My memory is that it took us to the brink of disaster by sending us on the road to bankruptcy.  Here in our state we have a businessman governor who is running the state with an iron hand or really a “fist”.  He strong arms to get what he wants and deals are made.  Maybe that’s just good business sense but the worker is the one that seems to pay.

This past Sunday I saw some Republican state senator or representative on a local show saying that he’s done all of this without raising taxes.  The statement was a total lie but the “news” man never called him on it.  If you are a retired teacher or government worker you are paying a new state tax, unless you have reached a certain age of course.  Teachers are also paying more into retirement, even though they won’t see that money when they retire.  It’s not considered a tax but it sure is one hell of a fee that is only levied on a certain group of people.  Another thing coming our way is a change in the gas tax.  I’m all for fixing the roads but I know that this type of tax will hit the poorest among us the hardest.  http://www.freep.com/article/20120206/NEWS15/202060380/Lawmakers-tread-carefully-with-plan-to-raise-Michigan-s-gas-tax

In the package of bills is also a plan to raise vehicle registration fees by 67%.  Again, this kind of “taxing” hurts the little guy much more than those people at the top.  http://www.michiganradio.org/post/michigan-drivers-could-soon-pay-more-gas-and-vehicle-registration-fees

I’m sure many people are totally unaware about these issues.  We all go to work, keep our heads buried in whatever we’re doing and just let things happen to us.  When it does, we complain but we keep voting in the same tired bastards.  We watch their stupid commercials and vote on some vague moral issue or some other “personal” quality that frankly means nothing when it comes to what they are going to do in office.  Here is Peter Hoekstra’s latest commercial which I find to be absolutely demeaning to the young lady in the commercial as well as to the American people.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HrbdXUWryXk

It’s like back in the day when Jerry Lewis pretends to be a Chinese chef.  Obviously, he was a comic and this was done before we became more politically sensitive.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jRCsSrnz90s

The Hoekstra ad is just plain stupid.  When I looked up bills that had been enacted that Hoekstra had voted on, there just weren’t many.  He basically hasn’t done all that much.  He certainly hasn’t sponsored or co-sponsored many bills that have gone anywhere!  So, if you want someone that doesn’t do much, I guess Pete’s your man!  You can see all the bills he voted on and which ones were enacted here.  http://www.govtrack.us/congress/billsearch.xpd?PostFormID=billsearch&session=112&q=peter+hoekstra&sponsor=&cosponsor=&status=ENACTED%3ASIGNED%2CENACTED%3AVETO_OVERRIDE&sort=

I’m sick of this type of politics.  The ad treats the American people like we are basically idiots.  Some countries think we are fairly idiotic for our choices in politics but the reality is there just isn’t that much to choose from!

So, Rosanne Barr running for president is about as farfetched of an idea as the guy that played in “Bedtime for Bonzo” running for president!  Maybe we are idiots!

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The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly

  • Posted on January 8, 2012 at 5:10 pm

I’m coming to the end of my holiday break and feel compelled to have my simple say on the good, the bad, and the ugly.

I’ll start with the good.  Over the holiday break I visited with family and also bought a new car.  Yes, I am helping this sluggish economy by doing my part.  Of course this wouldn’t have happened if my brother-in-law hadn’t passed on his GM discount to me.  My car is the “good” in this little piece of reflection.  It actually ends up being “good” for my son as well because I’m giving him my low mileage Taurus.  Even though my Taurus is ten years old it only has around 82,000 miles on it.  It has been babied by my old lady driving habits, meticulous care, and the fact that since my dad passed away in 2006, I haven’t put on as many miles as I used to traveling up north to see him.  I bought a Chevrolet Impala LTZ and it looks pretty much like the picture.  I have to say it has great pick up for passing.  I also love the heated seats and the remote starter.  Having “On Star” is interesting.  I went from loving it to hating it to figuring out that it just doesn’t always work!  Hence, the Allstate commercial!  I love the Bluetooth connection for my phone as it works great.  I love the Sirius-Xm radio but it serves to remind me of the “bad” that happened over the holiday break.

Christmas Eve my absolute favorite radio talk show host passed away.  http://www.nytimes.com/2011/12/27/nyregion/lynn-samuels-radio-talk-show-host-dies-at-69.html

God bless Lynn Samuels who was a radio talk show host for Sirius “left”.  I loved hearing her raspy New York, Jewish voice with all of its toasty, warm, goodness.  Lynn had a sense of the world that is unlike any other voice on the left station.  She loved Hillary and couldn’t stand Obama and she let people know this on a regular basis.  Lynn’s show was the only one that I ever actually called in on.  I can’t believe she is gone now.  I would hear something on her show and call my sister up and refer to Lynn as the “bitch”.  I did this out of a form of endearment as I loved her.  It had more to do with her voice and her cranky attitude than me actually thinking she’s a bitch.  I thought she was awesome and her voice reminded me of a woman that I know and feel close to in many ways.  I will miss Lynn and Sirius left better do some serious thinking about finding someone to replace her.  In the morning I can’t stomach the Alex Bennett show because he is so sexist.  I like Thom Hartman and the fact that he has Senator Bernie Sanders on.  However, the only reason for me to ever really tune in to the left channel was Lynn!  I will forever miss Lynn Samuels and I wish more people knew this wonderful individual.

Moving on to the ugly, I just have to say I can’t believe the crap people will buy.  I was watching TV during my holiday break and was assaulted with this crazy commercial entitled, “Forever Lazy”.  At first I checked the station to see if I was on the “Comedy” channel, but to my surprise this is a real product.  I can’t imagine the team that set around dreaming up the product and then the promo for it.  Was this a product that was developed by accident and now they have to get rid of the results or what?  I don’t believe I know a single person that would want to buy something so gosh darned ugly or that proclaims a lifestyle of laziness.  Yahoo, I am forever lazy!  Just what I have always aspired to be…..the “lazy” one.  Not!

We may live in a society that wants to be comfortable in their faded jeans and t-shirts but this is a real stretch.  When I saw the zippers so you can open the “drawers” up so to speak all I could do was laugh!

I think developing quality products is in itself an art form.  However, in my mind this product belongs with the dust bin of crazy collectibles from the past.  I decided it was time to look up some old favorites to share.  While these products may be unique they probably won’t inspire most people to purchase them, except for a joke.  What follows are pictures of real and imagined products, a picture of Lynn and the car are there because they are in my gallery post.  Do you know the difference between real products and a joke?  Don’t feel bad if you don’t because some things are made that you really have to wonder about!

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Waiting for Superman, Poverty, and STRESS

  • Posted on December 28, 2011 at 4:48 pm

This has been one crazy messed up year.  I think the weather has made everyone slightly crazy.  In many ways the weather has been a sign of the Armageddon to come in the world of education.  We educators are mired down in a political system that is creating more problems in education than thoughtful solutions.  After being home a few days and celebrating Christmas with my son, I have come to realize just how stressed out I feel.  In school I feel like I am doing everything I possibly can as a teacher.  Many people have no idea what I really do as an art teacher, but it is far more than just playing with clay!  This year we have been told to add two new subjects to our teaching arsenal, reading and math.  I already do a considerable amount of writing with my students so this is “doable”.  However, I don’t think most people have any idea what is going on in school today.  By the 2014-2015 school year 50% of any Michigan teacher’s evaluation will be based on student performance.  http://www.legislature.mi.gov/%28S%28etstwt45mdi5h255mrhn50j3%29%29/mileg.aspx?page=GetObject&objectname=mcl-380-1249

The word going around the state is half of the teachers will be let go because they won’t be able to meet this standard.  We basically have been warned to fix the problem or else!  Now think about all of this and ask yourself if you want your child facing some crazy teacher that has to “whip your child into shape”.  Not literally of course, but in some capacity your child is going to be facing a teacher that has much to lose, so he/she better step up.  As I am enjoying my holiday time and de-stressing, I suspect some children are doing the same!

Today I watched “Waiting for Superman”.  The main premise of the movie is, of course, that the problems in education can be traced to the nation’s poor teachers and the teachers’ unions!  Imagine that!  I found this movie to be quick to denigrate a whole population of teachers with generalizations while basically giving no real solutions to any of the problems in education.  While it may be a catalyst for “merit” pay and charter schools it really isn’t going to be the change agent that magically turns the problems around in education.  If this movie was supposed to be the catalyst for changing education, it fell way short from that goal.  I was treated to visions of small children waiting for their number to be called from a lottery system that would determine whether they would get the” ticket” to the golden school or have to face another year in hell at their local school.  At one point, they showed a chart that “proved” that money didn’t help because back in the seventies we were spending $4,000 per pupil and now it’s up to around $9,000 and the testing results have remained flat.  Of course those of us in Michigan know that the true number for most schools is around $7,000.  In the movie this was used to show that adding more money doesn’t make a difference.  Of course in my mind I thought $4,000 in 1970 would be a hell of a lot more money than $9000 in 2011 but then I am not an economist.  I’m just a tax payer who lived through the seventies.  I bought my first new car in the seventies.  It was a Chevette and it was $4000.  In the early eighties I bought a mini pickup and it was $8,000.  You guessed it!  I bought a minivan in the early nineties and it was $16,000 but by the end of the nineties I paid $24,000.  Now I know kids aren’t cars but you have to wonder about the numbers in the movie because if the cost of cars has gone up surely the cost of an education is naturally going to go up as well.  I know that students going to college are feeling that super cost of an education.  I left college in the seventies with a $3600 loan.  I bet many students today would do anything to end college with that kind of loan!  So that little chart meant absolutely nothing to me.

Of course they wanted to assure teachers that they are more than willing to go to a merit pay system that would be a six figure system for the right results.  Michelle Rhee spoke about this in the movie and mentioned a figure of $125,000.  I think these numbers are basically meaningless.  It’s really about dividing teachers and pitting the math and science teachers against everyone else.  The movie showed parents that were willing to cart their child off to a special school that would mean getting up super early in the morning in order to get the child their by 7:45 a.m.  I found that interesting because we all know that the key for most children is the parents.  If the parents aren’t following through at home by setting aside time for homework, reading, sleep time, nutrition, etc. than the child may not perform as well in school.

The other night I watched CBS news and it showcased a state champion high school football team from Georgia. The coach felt that one of the key reasons they won the state championship was because of a special grant from the federal government that fed around 500 students their dinner.  It was set up like meals on wheels.  They delivered dinner to students at risk.  The coach noticed that by Tuesday his football team was plumb out of juice.  He wondered how he could get more calories in his team.  They needed more nourishment because most of them were on free or reduced breakfast and lunches but were not fed at night!  This was in what was said to be one of the poorest counties in the state.  To me this is all tied to education.  We have been told that we must rise above the stigma of poverty.  Poverty isn’t a reason that should stop us from doing our jobs.   Children can learn even if they’re poor.  Yes, I agree that children can learn even if they are poor.  However, if they are stressed and worried about their next meal, mom and dad’s job, or anything else that most children shouldn’t have to worry about, the battle for an education becomes more difficult!

Often times these students suffer in silence.  They are embarrassed or afraid.  They don’t want anyone to know that they are having a tough time.  Leave it to the politicians to spend ample time on putting blame where it doesn’t belong and not looking for real solutions.  Much of the problems in education are tied to the same problems in our country related to the economy.  That 8.6% job figure that is being touted as the new unemployment figure is just a made up number.  There are far more people that have given up on looking for work or have lost all hope.  They get shoved off the figures and the nation gets a false sense that things are getting better for everyone.  I think things are getting better for some people but there are many still struggling and this will be reflected in our education system even if the politicians choose to overlook the reality of the situation.  Our economy has been on a steady decline since the seventies.  Is there any thought that maybe the decline in the economy and education might possibly be related?  If the politicians really want to fix education, they should start focusing on fixing this economy.

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My Art Student, Occupy Wall Street, and those Pesky Politicians

  • Posted on December 10, 2011 at 1:11 pm

I had a student recently create a work of art that really made me think about how easy it is to understand the 99% versus the 1%.  So many of the pundits that I have watched on television have said that the Occupy Wall Street group doesn’t have a clear message, or a spokesperson and this is why they won’t be successful in whatever they are trying to do.  That’s the media, the machine that is trying to douse the flames of this current movement.  I want to share the painting that my student created.  First of all, she is a seventh grader of Mexican heritage.  She recently moved away and I’m sad to see her move as I would love to have worked with her more to see what inspires her.  The painting was the result of an assignment I had given.  She was working with a group of students and they were learning about Pieter Bruegel.  I challenged them to create a small painting inspired by the artist they were studying but to put their own “twist” on it.  Yareli did not let me down.  Below you will see the piece that inspired my student and you will see what she painted.

Pieter Bruegel, The Misanthrope

She had to write a reflection statement about her artwork.  This is what she said, “My artwork is pretty good.  This project helped me know what colors can make a different color.  My artwork could have been better but I wanted it simple.  It’s a better version of the artist I copied from because now days it’s the poor who are being robbed and that brings more attention to the one looking at it.”

Her artwork can be seen so you can make a comparison between the two pieces.

Yareli's Artwork

I think it is interesting that so many pundits and politicians profess to just not understand the Occupy Wall Street group when a little seventh grade girl can see what’s happening in the world today!  Newt Gingrich even suggested some ridiculous idea about taking a bath and getting a job.  I think the politicians and the pundits have a pretty good idea why people are so fed up with the way things are run in Washington.  They are just trying to get us off topic by changing the subject to bathing and trying to make people think the Occupy group is just a bunch of hippies.  You know those pot smoking, sex driven, street people, that are dirty.  Most of us are tired of the rich getting richer and the poor getting poorer because of those Washington policies that favor wealth and corporations over living wages, education, and jobs.  There is always enough money for Wall Street bankers and private corporations tied to our military industrial complex but there is never enough for the little guy.

I, for one, am thankful for the Occupy Wall Street Movement.  It takes a lot of guts to go out and really protest.  I can write on my little blog and say some of what I’m thinking but these people really put themselves out there, day after day, taking the abuse for the rest of us.  I couldn’t believe the way those young college students at UC Davis were pepper sprayed.  The video that everyone has seen shows how abused they were by the campus police.  It was surreal to watch as the students innocently stayed calm in the face of real adversity.  It must have seemed like a torturous nightmare to them that the police would spray them over and over when they were being so compliant.

UC Davis Students from LA Now from the LA Times Blog

What prepared those young students for the ability to sit still like that?  These are kids that have grown up with computers and comforts that their parents might not have had but they are still able to reach down into the well of what is right and wrong and take a stand!  I commend them and anyone else that is out there trying to make a difference in this screwed up world where up is down and down is up!  It’s almost like we have reached the Land of Oz where nothing seems to make sense.  We are facing a nightmare with the richest one or two percent controlling the lives of the rest of us.  I would like to see a change in our government but I don’t see it happening.  Too many that have the power to make the change are living in the world of the 1%.  They don’t care enough about the rest of the people.  If they did, they would stop playing these political games and get something done to get this country moving again!

I was watching C-Span today and there was a woman on talking about tax breaks for making energy improvements to your home.  A guy called in about transportation and how we should be creating a high speed railway system across our country.  I couldn’t help but think about all of the jobs that could be made from such a move.  The other day I was telling my new trimester of sixth grade students that we don’t know what the jobs will be when they grow up.  A tech guy had been in the room fixing a computer.  I told them that twenty years ago his job didn’t exist.  I went on to say that if jobs continue to be so difficult to find that the people getting the jobs will have to be innovative, inventive, and creative.  Unfortunately, politicians are the same old, uncreative, uninventive lot that they have been for years.  While they are sitting in their ivory towers of inequity telling the rest of us how to live, the creative innovators are being silenced.  They are silenced by this class of lazy, stale politicians that only live for one thing, their own greed!  My last post I pondered why the choices for president are so damn bad.  Unfortunately, the 1% and 99% don’t have a lot in common, one is looking for a hand up onto the boat and the other is pulling the ladder up and saying the boat is full!  I think the politicians are already in the boat ready to set sail.

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Choices, Choices, Choices….NOT!

  • Posted on December 4, 2011 at 2:48 pm

I’ve tried to think up a reason why I should be interested in the presidential race and I fail to see the point.  For me it seems like the current boss is much like the old boss and the next boss will be a repeat of the current boss.  Why should I care about this election?  The electoral process doesn’t really care about my vote any way.  If you listen to the pundits and you are a Republican, you shouldn’t even bother to vote.  It’s a done deal.  Well, almost a done deal, except for that pesky Newt Gingrich.  I remember back to the 2008 primary.  I was really into that election and then I discovered that the Democrats are as corrupt as the Republicans.  The process of voting in this country is deeply flawed.  While President Carter runs around the world trying to make sure elections are fair, he never looks in our own country for deceptions, lost votes, or discriminatory practices to deter people from voting.

In my humble opinion our country has lost much of the democracy that we fought so hard to obtain.  We have elections that are run by the deep pockets of corporate influence.  Those of us that want a choice and crave a choice between the two parties are left making a selection between bad and worse.  We continually vote for the lesser of two evils.  The two parties have made it virtually impossible for a third party to really structurally exist.  It’s not just about the ungodly amount of money it takes to get elected for anything; it’s the process of getting on the ballot.  It’s as if the two parties have secretly met to create this process.  They both benefit from it and the American people are the losers!

In addition to this process is the amount of legacy corruption.  It seems a pretty good bet if you father was in politics, you will be as well.  I don’t know how this all started, maybe it was the two Adams.  I don’t want to hear the argument about how I’m a teacher and my parents were too.  I just think it cannot be true that a few families are the only ones with the smarts to be president.  The other thing that I can’t stand and will mention here is Yale and Harvard.  In recent times it has become all too clear that no one that went to a “state” university could ever become president in this country.  For all the talk about Obama and Clinton coming from “Nowheresville” the truth is they both had handlers that put them in key positions along the way to the top and yes they both went to Harvard and Yale respectively.  I don’t trust the system at all.  I used to believe that my vote really counted and it probably does in local elections.  However, when I look to the top of the ticket it really is a corrupt system.  Both parties have fake primary and caucus systems where they have us pay for these elections when they already know who they want at the top of the ticket.  They use the media to spread the venom necessary to get their guy to the top.  When necessary they create some fake group that manages to steal votes for one guy or the next, like in my case here in Michigan when my vote was given to Obama in the primary.  Forget about women, they have never made it to the top really.  They have been used to appease those of us out here that believe in real equality between the sexes.  They’ll give us a token woman to put on the ticket and then pat themselves on the back for their sense of equality.  Behind closed doors they continue their “good old boy” mentality of running for office and ultimately running this country.

We see images of these guys looking like they are on different sides and then they come out with some piece of shit legislation that they can all agree upon.  Usually it is something we don’t see as the big picture and it is usually something to help corporations and hurt the middle class.  The media continues to work with these politicians trying to get us ready for the hailstorm that is to come into our lives, whether it is cuts in Social Security, Medicare, or even the current union busting legislation that has really come down from the top.  Yes, here in Michigan we teachers worry about the new legislation that our governor and Republican legislature has forced upon us.  However, the truth is even this has a blind eye coming from the Democrats.  President Obama was for “merit” pay way back in the summer of 2007.  I saw his speech on the NEA website back during the NEA convention.  The words “merit pay” has always been union busting words to me.  Fast forward to today.  We supposedly have moved to merit pay but of course there is no money for it and who determines what holds merit anyway.  Teachers have been vilified by the media.  It used to be as a teacher you were respected.  According to the media storm many of us are incompetent and lazy.  We don’t do our jobs and we just live for the summer.  All of the ills of society are the burden of the current crop of teachers.  We are responsible for everything.  It is our fault if a student doesn’t perform on some mysterious test that some corporate entity has determined is worthy.  It doesn’t matter if that child has problems at home, lives in poverty, or is emotionally disturbed.  We, as teachers, are their new mothers, fathers, cheerleaders, psychologists, mentors, and provider of all things positive for that child.  If a student comes to us damaged, we have to make him whole.  It’s not an easy task.  We have always known that we must be more than a teacher.  However, now we have the threat of the loss of our job if we cannot magically pull that rabbit out of the hat.  It doesn’t matter if we have a passion for teaching and if we can be successful with most of the children.  What matters is some illusive number on a piece of paper that tells a child they are either worthy or not.  I am appalled that we have been pushed to a point where children will be scrutinized to the point that they cannot help but feel the pressure.  Their teachers are being pressured.  The children will feel that desperation.  They have to buck up and so do the teachers.  As a teacher we have no choice but I cannot help but wonder what is going on with politicians these days.  Can’t they see that tying 49% of a teacher’s evaluation to a test is going to create much anxiety for everyone involved?  Maybe they don’t care.  I would not want my child to be stressed in this manner.  There has to be a better way to get students ready for their adult lives than this.

So back to that question, “Why should I care about this election?”  Obviously, there is a lot happening in government that makes me care about what is going on in our country.  The problem is the lack of a real third party choice that could make it to the top.  I saw Buddy Roemer on the Alex Whit CNN show this weekend.  I was surprised that he made sense.  Buddy was governor of Louisiana a long time ago.  I don’t know much about his politics.  I looked him up and it appears that he once was a Democrat and is now a Republican.  What I found interesting is the fact that he cannot participate in the Republican debates even though he is running for president.  He polls too low, so they won’t even consider him.  He talked about having a Democrat as a running mate to break the gridlock in Washington.  Since I see both parties as being similar this really isn’t a stretch.  What he said just made me think about the obvious problems with our system.  He doesn’t take any corporate money.  He limits the money to $100 donations.  No wonder he isn’t going anywhere but it says a lot about our system.  Money is the root of all evil right?  In politics, money talks and if you don’t have the corporate money, you are going nowhere fast.  Our election process is flawed.  I believe the money has to be taken out of the process especially in presidential politics.  The amount of money that is going to be raised for the 2012 election is enough to make anyone ill.  I think it’s too bad that money couldn’t be used for our education system or some other sinking ship in our government.  Instead it will be used to buy our next president just like it was used to buy our last one and the one before that! I have no real useful words of wisdom.  I’m just a frustrated voter wondering why our choices for president are so damn bad!

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