Clueless Schools?

I am going to give you a list of places and see if you know what they have in common:

Moses Lake WA, Bethel AK, Pearl MI, West Paducah KY, Jonesboro AR, Edinboro PA, Pomona CA, Fayetteville TN, Houston TX, Onalaska WA, Springfield OR, Richmond VA, Littleton CO, Conyers GA, Williamsport PA

If you haven't already figured out the answer, let me clue you in. These places have experienced school shootings since 1997. Our schools have become dangerous places. Students are killing other students on a regular basis. But that is not the scariest part. I found out through conversations with a principal in WA state and some faculty in PA that the staff is clueless. I am starting to realize that a lot of educators don't believe that it can happen in their school. They go through the drills and show token concern. But, in the one incident (post-Paducah, pre-Columbine) the principal was not going to notify us that our child's life had been threatened.
She was shocked when I showed up to confront her about the event. In the other incident (relatively recent), one of the teachers was going to publish a list of Special Ed students' names, addresses, phone numbers and Email addresses. This teacher felt that a 16 year old Special Ed student should be responsible to know what to give out and what not to give out (with a total disregard for the parents/guardian's legal obligations, which generally mandates a permission slip).

The problem is that school personnel have been led to believe that they have a God-like role. This means that these people feel that everything they say is gospel truth and truly believe it (even when they are placing our children in VERY REAL danger). The fact is that our educational system is broken, placing our kids in a very precarious position.

The lion's share of this problem is the average American parent. They do not listen to their children when they come home. They are not willing to show up at the school and confront the school staff when they catch wind of something wrong. In fact, some parents use the school system as a surrogate parent (This teacher informed me that one parent asked to have the teacher talk to the child, since she would listen to the teacher and not the parent). This is SO wrong as to be a BOZO NONO. Any parent that would let a teacher usurp her parental authority needs to be turned in to the appropriate governmental agency for child neglect.

What it breaks down to is this: As parents, GET EDUCATED AND GET INVOLVED! Chances are that your local school district does not hold you in high regard (I'm at that same end of the spectrum but for a different reason. I WILL confront problems as they occur. Now I doubt that I will win a popularity at my child's school, but I'm not worried about it because of one factor: I'M RIGHT!). They feel that you aren't aware of how things work. The sad part is that they are not wrong. So change it! Talk with your children about school and, if you hear something that doesn't sound right, confront the school. Schedule meetings. Talk with teachers and principals. Go to school board meetings.

If you are not willing to do any of that, then you deserve the school you have and you are a profound part of the problem with the broken American educational system.

Ted Kennedy

I am not going to go into a long discussion on this topic, but a some questions came to mind during the Judge (now Justice) Alito hearings. I watched Senator Ted Kennedy try to act like a moral arbiter. Ted Kennedy. The same man who was a drunk driver who, in 1969, allowed a young lady to die because he was trying to save his own career. Now, here is the question:

Why is he still being elected to the Senate from Massachusetts? Even though I know that the U.S. Congress has been filled with cads of various sorts for over 200 years, why is he still warming a seat in the "hallowed" chambers? Shouldn't he have been drummed out of the Senate and held over for a criminal trial? Or did I miss something in the past 37 years that would have caused that not to happen?

Just things that make you go HMMMMM!

Bigot

Before I go into today's discourse, let's look up the definition of a word. The word is "bigot". As defined by Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary, it is defined as:

Function: noun
Etymology: Middle French: hypocrite, bigot
; a person obstinately or intolerantly devoted to his or her own prejudices or opinions.

If I were to use the word bigot, what comes to mind? Cross-burnings? KKK? Racial incidents? Bigotry goes much deeper and appears in many more topics than that. Let me give you an example.

I was "blessed" to have heard the opinion today that all women in prison are there because of men or something that men told them to do. When challenged, this person took the natural position of a bigot and told me that I felt threatened (Blatent stupidity overtly astounds me and causes me to feel pity for the person. The only way that I might feel threatened is that there is a possibility that there might be more uneducated people like this one. No, actually that scares me, not threatens).

Now for the facts on why this was a bigoted statement.

1. This line of thinking gives men a power over the female race that we have never had. No one ever told me that, as a male, I am able to control the destiny of a woman. I have never met a man that is THAT good. A lot of men I have met and share my gender with aren't that good. Now I find out that there is someone who believes that men have a power we have never been vested with.
2. This line of thinking degrades women also. This individual would have us believe that women are so stupid that they can be controlled by a male. I don't know about anyone
   else, but I have always marvelled at the intricacies and complexities of the female gender. After almost twenty years of marriage, I have yet to find a way to outsmart my beloved bride. She is usually one step ahead of me. On top of that, American women have spent MANY MANY years fighting for rights that belonged to them from birth, but were stolen by men. This person would have us believe that the fight has been for naught because women can be controlled by men. Scary concept, eh?
3. There was NO statistics or numbers offered to prove this opinion. But bigoted statements never have proof. Just reaches and grabs to attempt to make an
   inherently ignorant statement seem believable.
4. Last, but never least, this person was unwilling to defend their "opinion" in a rational manner. All they could do was walk off sputtering their bile with a lame and weak "It's a fact and you're threatened". Again, the true sign of a bigot.
   

The form of bigotry this person was using is known as misandry. Wikipedia has this blurb on misandry:

There are different forms of misandry. In its most overt expression, a misandrist will openly hate all men simply because they are men. Other forms of misandry may be more subtle. Some misandrists may hold all men under suspicion or may hate men or who do not fall into one or more acceptable categories. Entire cultures can be said to be misandrist if they treat men in ways that can be said to be hurtful.

Also, let's make one thing perfectly clear: do not think that I am saying that a misandrist is a homosexual. Neither homosexuality or misandry/misogyny (a person who hates or distrusts women) have anything to do with the other. In fact, I know male misandrists and female misogynists.

Let's hope that everyone can work together to eliminate all forms of bigotry (including misogyny and misandry). The injustices done by both genders to the opposite one can never be corrected without it.

Old Movie Recommendations

I know that there are a lot of people who don't enjoy old movies. But, in a spirit of turning people on to old movies and (heaven forbid) to silent movies, here are some recommendations that even people who won't watch movies from the 20th century will enjoy:

1. Stalag 17 - 1953 (William Holden/Otto Preminger)

The subject is a group of American POW's in a German camp. In Barracks 4, there is a stool pigeon (and no one knows who it is). The movie is fantastic and highly recommended to everyone. The same premise was used for a hit '60's TV series (Hogan's Heroes) and an Academy Award winning movie (La Vita e' Bella/Life is Beautiful). Even if you can't stand B&W movies, try sitting through this one. You will love it. But be warned. While it is a wonderful movie, it is not a cheerful movie.

2. His Girl Friday - 1940 (Cary Grant/Rosalind Russell)

This was a remake of the movie The Front Page/1931. It is a rare time where a remake is better than the original. Cary Grant stands out with his screwball antics and Rosalind Russell is a "doll" (to use a politically incorrect euphemism) and a terrific actress. It has also dated well and can still be enjoyed by anyone. Again, ignore the B&W. You will be treated to some true artists who created a wonderful piece of work.

3. City Lights/Modern Times/The Great Dictator (Charlie Chaplin)

I wouldn't recommend jumping into a silent movie cold turkey. Try any one of these three movies. A lot of the work Charlie Chaplin did is still being imitated today. Both City Lights and Modern Times are silent movies that aren't silent movies (they have synchronized music with minimal sound effects). I challenge anyone to watch these movies and not have a desire to see more Chaplin.

4. Casablanca - 1942 (Humphrey Bogart/Ingrid Bergman)

Roger Ebert once said that Casablanca is a movie that even people who don't like old B&W movies will enjoy. Try it once. Snuggle up with a date or your beloved and watch it. You can't go wrong.

5. Mr. Smith Goes to Washington - 1939 (Jimmy Stewart/Jean Arthur)

Any movie with Jimmy Stewart is good, but this would be the best one to start with. With all of the shenanigans going on in Washington today, this movie stands as true today as it did in 1939. Frank Capra (the director) had a keen eye for things like that. His movies were known (oft-times) as Capra-corn, because they always ended up cheerful. The ending may seem corny now, but watch this movie and then pick up a newspaper or go online and read the news out of D.C. You might find the same thing going on 66 years later.

Try any of these out and let me know what you think. I hope that you will be pleasantly surprised.