All the crime and corruption in politics makes it increasingly more difficult to decide who to vote for (or against).
I have often said how broken I believe our election and political processes have become — yet I still very much advocate voting. It is the only peaceful means of controlling governance that we have.
Every couple years the silly season of elections rolls around and I usually end up preaching about voting in some way or another. I know it seems useless.
I understand the total apathy the majority of people have about voting because they rightfully believe all the choices are politicians who are more concerned about gaining office than doing something if they are elected.
Still, short of armed resurrection, there is no other way available to us.
I honestly believe if everybody voted it would be the biggest news story ever. Can you even imagine the calamity and congestion everywhere across the country? There would be gridlock just from the traffic. There wouldn’t be anyplace to park. The lines would stretch for city blocks in every major city. The news would NOT be who got elected. The news would be about everybody voting. I think it would eventually make a difference if everyone participated.
We outnumber the crooks and we could take back our government. The only other way I can imagine a different outcome in our government is to take the money out of politics. That would seem almost impossible without first getting rid of the leeches. Catch-22. If you are not registered to vote —— please do. And vote.
Fortunately the election year silly season may be an advantage in getting politicians to continue the freeze on electricity rates:
“The auction, therefore, has become little more than a sham procedure for tremendously profitable utility companies to potentially turn already record profits into exorbitant gains for their executives and shareholders at the expense of working families, senior citizens and those on fixed incomes,” Madigan said.
Unfortunately politicians are adept at making it LOOK like they are doing something when they are actually only TALKING about doing something. I intend to vote against every incumbent if the rates aren’t frozen before election day.
MjL 03 Oct 2006, 5:23 a.m.
“Still, short of armed resurrection, there is no other way available to us.”
I’ve known you long enough and well enough to be pretty sure that was not a mistake. Which means I have to engage my brain to grasp why you chose resurrection instead of insurrection, I know this is gonna hurt. Is it a resurrection because we already did it once to found this country? I like it.
Curiously Michael T.
Michael T. 03 Oct 2006, 3:50 p.m.
Greetings Michael! It was actually a mistake which turned into what I wanted to say.
I was going to type “armed revolt” and changed my mind to “armed insurrection” in the middle of the word and my fingers typed “resurrection” instead. I wondered if that was a blasphemous misuse of the word. I stopped and read it again. It somehow made sense, I shrugged and continued typing. Only it really wasn’t all that structured —— my fingers sort of decided for me I guess.
The fact is I have typed similar disconnected thoughts before and altered them upon proof reading them. For some reason I didn’t change this one. I think because it almost made sense?
Many times I’m real sure what I write doesn’t make sense to anyone but me and I either re-write or delete it. This time it seemed to say something more than I had intended.
I would like to think my subconscious put it together for me, but I really think my fingers just stuttered when my thoughts shifted gears and that’s what we ended up with. Anyway, I really do wish we had our government back again.
MjL 03 Oct 2006, 3:52 p.m.
Claim: Photograph shows a whale penis.
Status: False. Thar She Blows! Claim: Photograph shows a whale penis.
Rats! I should have checked that out myself! Oh Well —— thanks for the correction! It is still the strangest email I have ever received!
MjL 03 Oct 2006, 4:18 p.m.
Hello, hello!
First of all, I did check into that “whale of a story” and it’s not true -- unfortunately? Anyway, it’s not even a picture of a whale and that size of an animal couldn’t hold 400 gallons of sperm......I didn’t have anything else to do so I checked into that email!
Now, for the real reason I “called”: What do you think about a teacher calling out the students’ id numbers in class and the students have to yell out their grade on the assignment that was just graded by a friend? Oh, of course, if it’s a bad grade, the students may go up to the teacher at the computer and whisper their grade to the teacher.
Man, your webpage probably isn’t big enough for me on this, but wondered what your thoughts are on this one!
See ya. Oh, have some real fun watching and/or helping your kids do their nightly three hours of homework before you kiss them goodnight!
Tammy 03 Oct 2006, 4:39 p.m.
Hi Tammy! I already sit corrected on the whale picture (which I got from your mother-in-law by the way) and have even posted the link Michael T. provided to prove I put up false information on my stupid web site. Thanks for rubbing it in anyway!
I have NEVER advocated students grading their own or each others’ papers. Never, ever, period. That is what the teacher is paid to do. I’ve had it go both ways.
A good friend can “fix” your grade so you get a better one and an enemy can “grade” your paper into an F.
What you describe boils me on two levels. People have names and should be identified by them —— not by numbers. And their grades ought to be confidential unless shared by the individual getting the grade.
All of what you describe are just examples of teachers too damn lazy to do their job correctly. I also get steamed about the teacher that grades off because the student didn’t follow some rigid form of where to put their name, where to put the answer, whether they used a pencil, a pen or a burnt stick —— none of that has any bearing on the validity of the answer.
Except perhaps in a class on penmanship, which is so outdated I won’t even go there.
It is no wonder nobody has any respect for a school system that uses such gang mentality to herd students from one grade to the next. The correct answers are almost incidental to the rules. Everyone is taught to mistrust each other. (you have to show your work or I will assume you cheated?) All the kids are punished for the sins of a few and too often the few that misbehave do so intentionally because it is a form of power they exert on the rest. It’s like letting the joker in the class set the standards. And now you got me started again didn’t you!?
And last but most definitely not least —— my boys are all teenagers now and there is absolutely no kissing allowed from Dad! Bed time or otherwise!
MjL 03 Oct 2006, 5:14 p.m.
Thanks for the chuckle!......(the kissing thing!) I really didn’t mean it sincerely, but your response was worth it!
Well, you hit that nail right on the head.....LAZY, LAZY, LAZY teacher! I didn’t like her any better when Andy had her and gee whiz, the assignments look just the same too! Sure wish I would of saved Andy’s since Ashley isn’t learning anything anyway. This would also be your “favorite” teacher since her BIG “mission for science” is RESPONSIBILITY. Get this one -- If a student is responsible, then they will be learning science. I was just hoping to actually do some hands on in the lab stuff....guess I’m “old fashioned”! The bad thing about the grading system she uses is that I really feel that she would take it out on Ashley if I complained. Of course, I did complain in June after Andy was done with Jr. High and “her” to the principal and the superintendent. As you can see, that did a world of good!
I’d better quit! (I knew you’d get going -- that’s why I did it!)
Oh yea, I got the “strange email” from mother in law too. I didn’t tell her that it was a hoax though. See ya and don’t let the bed bugs bite!
Tammy 03 Oct 2006, 8:20 p.m.
I know what you mean about complaining to the school. They hold your kids responsible and it only gets worse. We have gotten to the point where we tell the boys not to worry about the “silly stuff” and just get a passing grade. It shouldn’t be that way, but it is with some teachers. Tracey and I just try to make sure they learn the important stuff and we are happy with that. The boys still get pretty good grades but sometimes they worry too much about the silly stuff and not enough about the important things. We have a couple teachers who are more concerned about “shared values” and “team concepts”. I tell the boys just to do what they have to in order to get through it all.
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