This has been making it rounds on Facebook – I have seen it posted many times (as well as many other similar posts).
“I pledge allegiance to the Flag of the UnitedStates of America, and to the Republic for which it stands: One Nationunder GOD!, Indivisible, With Liberty and Justice for all. REPOST IF YOU THINK OUR COUNTRY AND OUR FLAG DESERVE RESPECT! Let's see how manyAmericans will repost!”
Disregarding the fact that spell check was not used before posting this, I have other reasons that this post irritates me.
1. I love America, I love my flag, I love the people who serve to keep us safe. I choose to invoke the liberties granted to me as an American citizen and I choose NOT to repost. We, as American citizens have the right to a voice due to freedom of speech without fear of prosecution. Go America!
2. The original pledge reads “I pledge allegiance to my Flag and to the Republic for which it stands, one nation indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.” It was written by Francis Bellamy in 1892.
3. STOP STOP STOP trying to make me feel guilty about not reposting this crap. Just because I do not repost does not make me any less patriotic, love my family or friends less, uncaring for those less fortunate or unsympathetic to charities.
Friday, May 21, 2010
Arizona Governor bans ethnic studies program
I will probably be flamed for this but please read all before commenting. My post is a comment on the recent article which you can read here:
http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5g7t3Rd4wB0IpcRI0xcoiaN4VEA2w
I actually agree with this decision as long as it only pertains to middle and high school studies and does not affect college courses.
I think programs offered in middle and high school should be broad in scope and not so specific. A broader curriculum will expose students to many different ideas and help them choose what they may want to focus on in future education.
“Brewer approved a bill late Tuesday, promoted by the state's schools boss, Tom Horne, who has said that the program run by the Tucson school district promotes a "destructive ethnic chauvinism."”
I don’t agree with that statement – I think it is just sensationalizing the issue
However,
“Tucson school officials have insisted the program only aims to provide students with courses about the role of minorities in historical events such as the Vietnam war or literature courses featuring Latino authors.”
I find spending money on such specific programs in high school is detrimental to the entire student body. We need to spend more on courses which focus subject matter and not specific groups related to the subject. Literature, Music, Science, Mathematics, Geography, Astronomy, Art, Natural Science, Chemistry, Biology etc. are not only the backbone but also the springboard of good education.
“The law was approved by Brewer despite condemnation from a panel of United Nations human rights experts released several hours earlier.
In a lengthy statement condemning Arizona's immigration law, the experts said the education bill was at odds with "the right of everyone to have access to his or her own cultural and linguistic heritage."
"Everyone has the right to seek and develop cultural knowledge and to know and understand his or her own culture and that of others through education and information," the UN panel said.“
I actually agree with this but remember, this is America and freedom of speech in the United States is protected by the First Amendment. If one high school is allowed to offer courses on “the role of minorities in historical events such as the Vietnam war” others will be allowed to offer courses on “prominent figures of the K.K.K.”. Let’s keep the politics out of school and keep our kids educated on a wider array of topics.
If a high school student shows a healthy interest in a specific topic, most high schools offer Independent Study courses. Students can work with their counselor to develop a course curriculum specific to their interests. The student earns credits towards graduation and is able to use school facilities to pursue their desired subject.
George Washington Carver – Black American inventor
Sir Isaac Newton - White English physicist, mathematician, astronomer
Jean-Michel Basquiat – Haitian/Puerto Rican artist
Fyodor Dostoyevsky – White Russian writer
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart – White German composer
Clara Barton – White American organized the American Red Cross
All of these people have done amazing things, instead of focusing on their race, religion, gender or nationality we should focus on the fact that they are inventors, physicists, mathematicians, astronomers, artists, musicians, and humanitarians.
We are all members of the human race, no matter how different. If you segregate yourselves from a broad education you are doing yourself a disservice.
http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5g7t3Rd4wB0IpcRI0xcoiaN4VEA2w
I actually agree with this decision as long as it only pertains to middle and high school studies and does not affect college courses.
I think programs offered in middle and high school should be broad in scope and not so specific. A broader curriculum will expose students to many different ideas and help them choose what they may want to focus on in future education.
“Brewer approved a bill late Tuesday, promoted by the state's schools boss, Tom Horne, who has said that the program run by the Tucson school district promotes a "destructive ethnic chauvinism."”
I don’t agree with that statement – I think it is just sensationalizing the issue
However,
“Tucson school officials have insisted the program only aims to provide students with courses about the role of minorities in historical events such as the Vietnam war or literature courses featuring Latino authors.”
I find spending money on such specific programs in high school is detrimental to the entire student body. We need to spend more on courses which focus subject matter and not specific groups related to the subject. Literature, Music, Science, Mathematics, Geography, Astronomy, Art, Natural Science, Chemistry, Biology etc. are not only the backbone but also the springboard of good education.
“The law was approved by Brewer despite condemnation from a panel of United Nations human rights experts released several hours earlier.
In a lengthy statement condemning Arizona's immigration law, the experts said the education bill was at odds with "the right of everyone to have access to his or her own cultural and linguistic heritage."
"Everyone has the right to seek and develop cultural knowledge and to know and understand his or her own culture and that of others through education and information," the UN panel said.“
I actually agree with this but remember, this is America and freedom of speech in the United States is protected by the First Amendment. If one high school is allowed to offer courses on “the role of minorities in historical events such as the Vietnam war” others will be allowed to offer courses on “prominent figures of the K.K.K.”. Let’s keep the politics out of school and keep our kids educated on a wider array of topics.
If a high school student shows a healthy interest in a specific topic, most high schools offer Independent Study courses. Students can work with their counselor to develop a course curriculum specific to their interests. The student earns credits towards graduation and is able to use school facilities to pursue their desired subject.
George Washington Carver – Black American inventor
Sir Isaac Newton - White English physicist, mathematician, astronomer
Jean-Michel Basquiat – Haitian/Puerto Rican artist
Fyodor Dostoyevsky – White Russian writer
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart – White German composer
Clara Barton – White American organized the American Red Cross
All of these people have done amazing things, instead of focusing on their race, religion, gender or nationality we should focus on the fact that they are inventors, physicists, mathematicians, astronomers, artists, musicians, and humanitarians.
We are all members of the human race, no matter how different. If you segregate yourselves from a broad education you are doing yourself a disservice.
Tuesday, April 6, 2010
Scary Stuff
Alien, Amityville Horror & The Shining. Three books I pilfered from my mom and dad when I was a kid. I was probably about nine when I read those, they scared the crap out of me but I loved every word I read and couldn’t get enough, I gobbled them up like turkey on Thanksgiving.
I have friends who decide on every single thing their children read, see or do. I am not saying this is bad, they are very attentive parents, I just wonder if they are being too over protective. My parents never censored what I watched or read (to an extent, it wasn’t like I was watching porn), they just monitored my reaction. Since I showed no signs of trauma and really loved horror/sci-fi/fantasy they had no problem with letting me explore the realms. I thank them for that.
I love to read, I always have. My parents were avid readers and they past it down to my sister and I. I so thank them for that. When I was younger and asked for the usual crap, jeans, lip gloss, hello kitty stuff, it was mostly a “No”, but if I asked for a book it was always a resounding “Yes”.
I remember seeing “Alien” at the theater when I was young. It scared the crap out of me. By the middle of the movie I had my legs crossed under me (that way, nothing could grab my legs and yank me away) and I watched the rest of the movie holding my box of peanut M&M’s in front of my eyes in case it got too scary. When I left the theater I was exhilarated. I loved the special effects, the scary moments and the fact that it was a chick that could kick some serious ass. To this day it still is on my “Top 10 Movies of all Time” list. I thank my parents for not “sheltering” me from things they thought might be scary". Sometimes scary is a lot of fun.
p.s. any aliens thinking about heading down to L.A. – Remember, Ripley lives around here somewhere. Go visit her. You, along with spiders are not welcome in my home.
I have friends who decide on every single thing their children read, see or do. I am not saying this is bad, they are very attentive parents, I just wonder if they are being too over protective. My parents never censored what I watched or read (to an extent, it wasn’t like I was watching porn), they just monitored my reaction. Since I showed no signs of trauma and really loved horror/sci-fi/fantasy they had no problem with letting me explore the realms. I thank them for that.
I love to read, I always have. My parents were avid readers and they past it down to my sister and I. I so thank them for that. When I was younger and asked for the usual crap, jeans, lip gloss, hello kitty stuff, it was mostly a “No”, but if I asked for a book it was always a resounding “Yes”.
I remember seeing “Alien” at the theater when I was young. It scared the crap out of me. By the middle of the movie I had my legs crossed under me (that way, nothing could grab my legs and yank me away) and I watched the rest of the movie holding my box of peanut M&M’s in front of my eyes in case it got too scary. When I left the theater I was exhilarated. I loved the special effects, the scary moments and the fact that it was a chick that could kick some serious ass. To this day it still is on my “Top 10 Movies of all Time” list. I thank my parents for not “sheltering” me from things they thought might be scary". Sometimes scary is a lot of fun.
p.s. any aliens thinking about heading down to L.A. – Remember, Ripley lives around here somewhere. Go visit her. You, along with spiders are not welcome in my home.
Saturday, March 27, 2010
Once again Volume Control
Wouldn't it be great if there was a setting on your remote to automatically turn the volume off when a program goes to commercials?
My remote has 60 buttons (Yes, I counted them). I have no idea what half of them do. If there was a button to turn off the volume when annoying LOUD commercials came on I would be sure to read the manual and figure out how to use it! People have said “Just record the program, wait 15 minutes and you can just fast forward through the commercials”. Yes, I get that and have done it many times, however there are times I actually like the breaks. It reminds me of going to the drive in when they had intermission. You get up, get a snack, go to the bathroom or even check your email. The 3X increase in volume not only annoys me but I always worry that it may be annoying my neighbors as well. "Let's all go to the lobby, Let's all go to the lobby, Let's all go to the lobby to get ourselves a treat"
My remote has 60 buttons (Yes, I counted them). I have no idea what half of them do. If there was a button to turn off the volume when annoying LOUD commercials came on I would be sure to read the manual and figure out how to use it! People have said “Just record the program, wait 15 minutes and you can just fast forward through the commercials”. Yes, I get that and have done it many times, however there are times I actually like the breaks. It reminds me of going to the drive in when they had intermission. You get up, get a snack, go to the bathroom or even check your email. The 3X increase in volume not only annoys me but I always worry that it may be annoying my neighbors as well. "Let's all go to the lobby, Let's all go to the lobby, Let's all go to the lobby to get ourselves a treat"
Cancer SUCKS!
Two years ago I attended a pre-screening of the movie “Elegy”. Not only was the movie disappointing but horribly depressing regarding breast cancer. I had no idea what the movie was about and brought a very good friend of mine as a guest. She was in the last stages of fighting breast cancer herself and after the movie she turned to me and said something like “Thanks for that uplifting movie, I really enjoyed it”. Thankfully she is a very good friend and the comment was completely sarcastic – She is now cancer free (YEAH!) and we can get a good laugh out of the situation. Dennis Hopper was there to speak after the film, I didn’t get a chance to meet him but at one point I was standing about two feet from him and he looked damned good! I hope he has the strength to kick cancers ass and continue to be the bad ass he always has been. Dennis Hopper – What can I say – the man is a legend. Best wishes to him and all other fighting this shitty disease.
Thursday, March 25, 2010
National Healthcare
Just asking, why are so many people against national healthcare? I admit that I haven’t followed the issue as closely as some others. I have seen a lot of negative comments from people but not any specific reasons – please, no negative comments, I’m truly asking a legitimate question looking for answers. I have experienced national healthcare twice in other countries with great results. Please, once again I’m asking for legitimate concerns, not negative comments. We are one of the wealthiest countries in the world, why can’t we provide healthcare for all legitimate residents?
Monday, March 22, 2010
Toilet Paper
In your own home, sitting on the toilet in the middle of doing your business, you look up and realize there is no toilet paper.
#1 – What do you do? (Panic)
#2 - Who was the last one in here and why didn’t they replace the roll?
#3 - When you find out who it was, how can you get away with homicide and not get caught?
#4 – When you realize it was actually YOU who were in there last and didn’t replenish the roll what do you do?
My answer was to put a post-it note above the paper roll that reads “Replenish you Dumb Ass – so you won’t be stuck here again!”
#1 – What do you do? (Panic)
#2 - Who was the last one in here and why didn’t they replace the roll?
#3 - When you find out who it was, how can you get away with homicide and not get caught?
#4 – When you realize it was actually YOU who were in there last and didn’t replenish the roll what do you do?
My answer was to put a post-it note above the paper roll that reads “Replenish you Dumb Ass – so you won’t be stuck here again!”
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