August 2009 Archives

Okay, so some little taken-care-of-by-somebody-else, ("I don't know what our income is because my husband takes care of all the bills") late-to-the-game gal has decided she's up in arms over the current healthcare debate after not paying attention to the world around her for the past 35 years because she's self-centered. By all means, let's give her national exposure on 24-hour cable news because her opinion on Constitutional law, and everything else, is so relevant....

None of my colleagues has addressed this yet and I thought I would do it this way because I am supposed to be the education blogger and because when we criticize one of our own we get a little street cred. Unfortunately, that would assume that I didn't have an axe to grind when the truth is that I have never liked Sheila Jackson Lee. She seems a little too much on the self-promoter side...

Forty years ago today, August 15, 1969 was the first day of what was scheduled to be a three-day event billed as Three Days of Peace and Music, The Woodstock Music and Arts Fair, held on Max Yasgur's dairy farm in Bethel, New York. An event for which approximately 186,000 advanced tickets were sold, a crowd of around 200,000 was expected, and estimates of between 450,000-500,000 attended.  The roster of performers reads like a who's...

The Radio Iowa Blog reports today that President Barack Obama told Rep. Leonard "Blue Dog" Boswell, D-Iowa, that he was willing to sacrifice his shot at a second term in order to pass the health insurance reform this country needs.  "The president (said), 'I'm not going to kick the can down the road.' And he said that and I said, 'Well, that's something I'm kind of used to from southern Iowa, you know.  I know about kicking the can...

According to WRAL News, a North Carolina news outfit, John Edwards is expected to admit he is the father of the 18 month old daughter of his former mistress, Reille Hunter.  Poor Elizabeth. Interesting quote from Edwards about the Clinton/Lewinsky affair in 1999:  "I think this President has shown a remarkable disrespect for his office, for the moral dimensions of leadership, for his friends, for his wife, for his precious daughter. It is breathtaking to...

Forgive my rant this morning folks, but I've reached 'mad as hell and not gonna take it any more' time. When are Democrats going to get it? Or maybe a better question would be, will the Democrats ever get it? Now that Sen. Chuckles GrASSley has been successful in removing the end of life provision from the Senate Finance Committee version of the health care reform bill, I'm more and more convinced that the answer...

Some of you have heard me mention this before, but I have been reading a great book by Thom Hartmann. Cracking the Code isn't a traditional liberal diatribe (although I do enjoy those at times) but gets more behind the scenes to figure out how conservatives are able to successfully get people to buy into their ideology. They do this even when it isn't in their best interests. Unfortunately, a lot of Democrats haven't figured this...

I would like to make an appeal to President Obama and the Democrats in Congress, drop this attempt at bi-partisanship and get on with the business of passing health care reform. I understand the president's desire to include Republican ideas (as if they had any) and input into the proposed legislation, but as the town hall meetings across the country go on and the emotions intensify, one thing is becoming increasingly clear, you can't have...

As some of you may know, I am a counselor at an elementary school. That being the case, I am naturally interested in the state of mental health for my students as that overall. Like El Jefe and many of you, I am also a big classic rock fan, but my interests tend to gravitate towards Pink Floyd and their former lead singer Syd Barrett. For those that aren't aware, he was their front man...

I read both liberal and conservative blogs because I don't think any one group has a monopoly on good ideas.  Credit should be given where it is due, in no small part to encourage positive behavior.  Unfortunately, there seems to be no small amount of despair lately on many of the blogs I read.  Rational or not, many liberals and conservatives alike seem convinced the other side is trying to tear this country down.Buckeye Surgeon...