A knife or a gun? Voting

Voting for most of the candidates this year is like asking do I want to kill myself with a knife or a gun?
Not doing anything allows someone else to make that decision for you.
Is this called a "conundrum?"
I think so, Helen...

Simple Rules of Communication

I work at an elementary school. I love my work. I can't think of another job I would want to do.
The kids are amazing.
The greatest challenge is getting 70 women in one building to communicate in an honest and straightforward manner.
A lot of backdoor, backbiting, insinuations seem to occur and usually I just stay under the radar and teach.
For some reason, this year, there appears to be more vindictiveness than usual.
Ironic, when we are teachers of healthy social behaviors and communication skills.

So I wrote a few simple rules that might reduce the number of incidents in which conflict is created by poor communication behaviors.

1. If you have an issue with someone go to them first to resolve it-avoid discussing it with others you work with -what does that accomplish?
2. If you aren't sure or don't know-ask and clarify.
3. Think positive! It may very well be a misunderstanding-never assume.
4. Always ask yourself, "How would I like to be treated in this situation?"- before you act on your feelings. We are supposed to be role models for young children. Are we behaving in the manner we expect them to behave, in resolving differences?
5. Accept responsibility for making our work environment joyful! Isn't that what we all want for our students and ourselves?

Disaster America-the Reality Show

Can anyone forget the carnage of 9-11? Bodies falling from buildings? Brothers, sisters, wives, sons, daughters, grandparents, beloved family members lost in one morning?

Riveted to the TV, not wanting to look at the disaster, horrified?

The legacy we brought from it?

One massive disastrous America.

The emotional climate in America is leading us to our greatest disaster yet.
One huge carnage, where the fallout will be our children, our families, our elderly parents and those most vulnerable without our love and care.

Help thy neighbor?
Show thy papers.

Educate they children?
Not on my dime.

Support those hurting in today's America? Unemployed? Homeless? Disabled? Uninsured? Without food or shelter?
Regard those people with suspicion. Their misfortunes are self induced.

America sees the world as one big conspiracy and they plan to defend it from unseen evil.
The white race, the supreme ones, those with income will lead the foolish citizens , if ever there was a conspiracy, it is the raping of the naive and foolish middle class citizens who follow the rich at their own peril./

Many bright and enlightened minds have written fact ladened articles regarding the lemming like direction of American citizens.
What they do not realize is the citizens of America have stopped listening to the truth. Sensationalized journalism has courted them for the past twenty years and the results are people believe Fox News and Entertainment Tonight are credible sources.
We are an America demented, having lost the ability to think critically. Entertained by Survivor, seduced by Reality Shows and   filled with junk food media reports  between our bouts of stupid tv..

It is a disaster of the bloodiest, goriest kind. I keep trying to turn my face away from the carnage-stop looking, I tell myself!
But the horror of it is too great. And I don't know how to prepare for the aftermath or
and the absolute, deep, profound grief of losing my America, the land of possibilities and opportunity.
It is a deep, deep dark hole we are falling into, America.
Far worse than Alice's fantasy-land.

A Nation of Stupids

It used to be kind of amusing. That people bought the Bush lies. Rush Limbaugh could get people going on the dumbest things.
Glenn Beck was a joke and so was Fox News.
Now Fox News is truth to many people,
It is like having the old version of the National Enquirer, with its freak shows, aliens and area 51 cover ups only now half the citizens of our country are stupid enough to believe the outrageous garbage.
Media track Lindsey Lohan like she is something we care about.
We are a nation of stupids.
And come November, the stupids deserve what they vote for.
Perhaps there are people out there still hoping America will come to its senses.
Don't hold your breath.
Ignorance and stupidity are so popular in this country we will make  the Iranian form of government look like something out of "It;s a Small Small World."

Ponderings of Insomnia

Should you put the cream and sweetener in the coffee cup and then the coffee? Is it possible to do it in a way a spoon would not be needed?
Is there anything symbolic about dreaming of a white cat escaping your house and a black cat sneaking in?
Does a short heavy rain have more density than a longer light rain?
What is a good substitute for egg in a recipe?
If kids are coming to school less intelligent should it still be possible to teach them all that is required on a grade level? Should they just "be able to learn it", even if they come in dumber than 20 years ago?
Is sex still as exciting now that all but the inside of the vagina is shown on all medias? Was sex more exciting when certain things were considered taboo?
Do you think the next generation will have to deal with challenges our earth has never experienced in all it millions and millions of years? Or do you think finite is a myth?

Do you think we are all just going to be obliterated by antibiotic resistant germs or will we just blow ourselves up first?

Will money ever become obsolete?
What would  be the next currency ?
Will we ever get past the gasoline engine or the use of oil?

Will Captain Crunch cereal still be around in ten years?
What can you buy for fifty cents?
A quarter?
What is the Tooth fairy giving out nowadays?
Should we outlaw trick or treating on Halloween?

Should we outlaw any holiday that is not considered a Christian holiday?
Should American businesses be punished for hiring illegal aliens?

Has President Obama Jumped The Shark?

President Obama came out strong after the election. Stepping into the maelstrom of a melting economy and the dogsh*t of partisan politics, he gathered some of the best and the brightest to address the financial meltdown, the corrupt and negligent federal watchdogs of Wall Street would be tamed and leashed . It was working. The stimulus money seemed to plug the leaks on wall street and the three big auto dealers were salvaged. The banks, although many have failed over the past two years, were also bailed out . Profits for banks, wall street and private enterprise have soared in the past year.

That is where it ends. The middle class paid for the bail outs with retirement funds, small investments, their jobs, homes and any additional small luxuries they may have earned over the lifespan of their employments.
Those hit the hardest, workers fifty and over have been left holding the emptiest bag, after losing high paying jobs, using up those 401K's( Bush was so proud of )to sustain them while job hunting, discovered they were no longer considered employable. A new class of poor, those over fifty but under sixty five, having exhausted savings, retirement and unemployment, have no options.

In addition, the competition for employment is so fierce, those single woman on assistance, once the desirables for the low paying jobs in fast food, nursing homes and temporary work, live under a four year deadline requiring them to find employment-or what? Starve?

While citizens across the nation continue losing jobs and homes, President Obama seems to have gotten in with the "Let Them Eat Cake Crowd", ignoring all the indicators which tells us corporations, banks and finance have raped the citizens of the country, continue to do so by busting unions with concessions, cutbacks, whittling away at workers full time status with benefits and leaving many on the street.
Eventually who buys what industry produces, farmers grow, businesses serve up and banks seek?
It won't be the consumers of 2007 or 2010 will it?
Oh, President Obama no longer seems concerned about it.
Now we have two choices, the crazy Republicans- at least honest about supporting the rich and raping the country's workers or President Obama's crew, having gone half the distance and decided to join the uber-comfortable top 4%, I guess. Because he isn't speaking to me lately.

Our Country-The Reality Show

Dumbing down is putting it mildly. Bristol's ex, Levi is now planning to run for mayor of Wasilla and has a reality show in the works to follow him. Sarah has her Alaska show and Bristol is running an ad against teen pregnancy.?? wtf?

We all act as if this parody and mockery of our political system is just another "pretend" "yawn*" day in the life of an American citizen.
There are days when I read the news and am ashamed to tell people I am a teacher.
Life is not a reality show and the vulgar the better wasn't exactly the motto I had hoped we would be proud to hold out to other countries.
The 14th Amendment scare, along with the unknown FBI informants is another example of the dumbing down of our country.
Watching the word stupidity become an action, a reality, is such a painful process.
I keep hoping we will come to our senses and stop all this craziness.
Will we or are we doomed to prove that the lowest common denominator in humanity is well and alive in the United States?
PS All the while the top 2%- the wealthiest- are laughing all the way to the bank.