Kennedy Vs. Obama

Fifty years ago yesterday, John F Kennedy was shot. Now that wasn't nice, but at least he was treated a lot better than our current president before his death. Between the Cuban Missile Crisis and Civil Rights, he made some unpopular decisions; however, if you watch the old clips of the president speaking, everyone stood up and applauded for him, even those from the opposing party. What happened to the respect that comes with the job of President? If one doesn't respect the man, one should at least respect the office.

JFK with his Adorable Grandson

The opposing party and the public's treatment of Barach Obama shows an overall decline of good manners in this country. Perhaps this stems from reality TV. One can watch shows where people make crass comments about others and embarrass them on national TV. This teaches our young that it is okay not to treat others with dignity. This lack of good manners has seeped all the way up to the oval office. Or is horrible treatment of Mr. Obama due to his skin color? If that's the case, back in the early sixties, being Catholic, like President Kennedy, was also discriminated against and JFK was our first Catholic president. Yet still, the opposing party and the public treated him with the dignity of one who is in the office of US president. I'm not talking about disagreeing with his politics. That's expected. I'm talking about giving him the ability to speak without interruption or the standing applause as he steps behind the podium. One can disagree with his politics all one wants, but treat him with the respect of one who is the president of our country. 

Several years ago, I was thoroughly appalled when I saw George and Laura Bush paper dolls on a store shelf. Our president and first lady were depicted in their underwear. That's not presidential and should not have been marketed! I'm all for free speech and expression, but there needs to be self imposed limits of what is proper or not. Presidents being sold in their underwear shows a disrespect for the man in office.

Although I may be dating myself, I remember a time when we got dressed up to fly on an airplane or go to see a play. With formal clothes comes formal behavior. Maybe we need to go back to dressing better; however, that doesn't stop the suit and tie yielding idiots in congress. So scratch that idea, too. Did you know that the words pro and con are opposites? This means that the opposite of progress is congress.

Progress is good, yet with every two steps forward, we seem to be taking one step back.

#GBE2 Meets Theme Thursday: An Impulse Made Me Have That Conversation

Every time I post something political on Facebook, my daughter Judy says, "Mom! Don't do that. You're not going to change the minds of those who don't see things your way, but you will make them angry and quit following you."

She may have a good point but those darn impulses make me have these conversations. How can one not answer the absurdities that some folks post on Facebook? How do I not share that fine tuned point that may just sway the one undecided voter left in this country? People whine that they don't want to read politics on FB, but as for me, I don't want to read about what you ate for dinner. Is it not important to enter into conversation about the future of the free world? What better time do I have to make an influence on the next thirty years than today? After all, the Supreme Court is at stake as well as our democratic right to vote.

Every morning, the conservative talk show blasts through my radio and I get my blood moving by listening to the idiocy coming through the airwaves. This morning, Andrew Clarke had the nerve to say, "No one is using voter ID laws to keep people from voting."

Really, Andrew? It sure looks that way to me. Why not allow any ID to work? Do you really think a young person will forge a college ID just to vote? Half of them won't even bother voting when given the right. More people are being denied the right to vote than questionable ballots to begin with. There is no doubt in my mind that this is a slick Republican strategy to steal the election... and if we're not paying attention, it just might work!

Let the impulse take you and join the conversation before it's too late.

#BFF: Sunset

Although sunset usually refers to that glowing orange object slipping into the horizon, it can also mean a period of decline. Some people look at the economy and scream, "Sunset!" but I fear this is nothing compared to what we would have from a Romney presidency. 

This afternoon, I read a new article making it oh so clear that Mitt Romney, a sociopath by definition, truly has a strong ethics problem. I hope you are all familiar with the story of how he abused his dog Seamus by sticking him on the roof of the car for a twelve hour drive to Canada. When the dog had a kennel accident, no doubt due to stress, Mitt merely hosed him off and continued.

I also hope you are familiar with the story of how he led a posse to pin down a gay boy and cut his hair while he cried and screamed. All of the others involved in this high school incident feel great sorrow or remorse. One even sought out the man to apologize because he felt so guilty. Mitt Romney doesn't remember the incident? I would hope this is a lie because the truth of not remembering something as horrible as this speaks volumes about his character.

A few days ago, I heard the story about a paid driver who took Romney on a two hour ride. Mitt would not even speak to the man throughout the entire trip. He was also nasty to his staff members. At the end of the ride, he grumbled, "Give the guy $5." Now mind you, with a two hundred, forty something dollar fee, this is about a 2% tip from a guy with millions! His coldness is a definite message that he sees himself above the average person.

The latest I heard, Ann Romney sold a horse named Super Hit for $125,000 to perform dressage (horse ballet). The new owners discovered that the horse could not do dressage and had been given a staggering amount of pain killers! Besides being animal abuse, what sort of person would cheat someone in a sale of this sort?

If Romney is this unethical in his treatment of dogs, horses, and humans who he sees as lower than him, do you really think he gives a rat's patooey about you or I? Do you really think he will do anything in the best interest of the 99%?

I want the beautiful type of sunset found in pictures, not the sunset of people being blind enough to elect this sociopath as president.

Wake up, America! This guy is bad news.

Dumb and Dumber

As I heard the latest bill to rise from a Tennessee congressman, I didn't know if I was listening to a soundtrack from Dumb and Dumber or Scary Movie. It certainly has nothing to do with Aretha Franklin's Respect. The latest: HB 1375 sponsored by Niceley is aimed at removing license requirements for teachers. And this is supposed to improve education how?

Once again the Republican congress has swooped to a new low in the name of political payback. I figure this is their insurance against the projected teacher shortage after they pass all of their punitive bills. They could go ahead and hire all the people who have lost their jobs or can't find ones due to the poor economy. It won't matter that these folks know nothing about educational methodology. After all, isn't teaching so easy that anyone could do it? Talk about another slap in the face!

You don't need a license to be a state legislator. We need a bill that specifies who can and cannot be a politician so we can get rid of dumb and dumber at the state capitol.

Teachers Rally in Nashville

Yesterday I drove to Nashville to experience democracy in the works. Thousands of teachers ascended on the rainy Tennessee state capitol to protest six bills all aimed to punish teachers for voting against the Republican Legislators. These bills have nothing to do with helping kids and everything to do with harming those who are responsible for making sure students get the best education possible. It's like fixing crime by harassing police officers.

These toxic bills are aimed at destroying our teacher union through forbidding payroll deductions, removing collective bargaining, not allowing association literature to be distributed in teacher mailboxes or email accounts, making it against the law for us to contribute to a political candidate's campaign, removing a teacher from the retirement board, and ending tenure. These six bills are just the beginning. Fourteen more are in the works.

In other words, teachers would have no say in their working conditions, salary, or benefits. These bills and the obvious disrespect for teachers will no doubt discourage young people from entering the teaching profession where they work ten hours or more each day for less pay than what they could receive in the private sector and now decreased benefits.

In terms of the political donations, TEA donates to the candidates who support education no matter the political party; however, most of our strong education supporters have been Democrats and the offended politicians are Republicans. We'd donate to their campaigns too if they'd only support us.

I have questions on the legality of this proposed bill. If businesses are allowed to make donations, how can one outlaw professional organizations from doing the same. Maybe it should be against the law for everyone organizations and businesses included to make donations. That would hit these legislators in the pocket book!

I believe there is a strong misconception of what tenure means. It does not mean that a bad teacher cannot be fired. It means that one cannot be fired without due process or telling the teacher why they are being fired. Is this such a bad thing? Governor Haslam wants to increase tenure from three years to five, and some have suggested a period of ten years. How long does it take a young person in the business world to be considered competent in their job? Six months?

The biggest sock in the jaw is the rudeness of the bills. Last year, TEA worked tirelessly to help Tennessee gain funds through Obama's Race to the Top. Without teachers working with legislators, we never would have gotten this huge sum of money to help education. Furthermore, this money means that all teachers will receive four evaluations a year and have to work harder to meet new standards yet none of the money will be used for teacher salaries or benefits. So, we will be working solely for the children. Look at the thanks we are getting.

Teacher's Unions

When I was a little girl, a teamster broke my uncle's leg and caused him to carry a cane for the rest of his life. Note I said, "Carry a cane," since he rarely leaned on it as he'd race through the family furniture store. See Uncle Melvin was in business with my father, and he made the mistake of crossing a picket line. As a result, I grew up surrounded with tales about how horrible unions were and how much trouble they caused.

As a child hearing about the cursed unions, it never dawned on me to ask, "Why were they picketing?" or "What did they want?" These were adult type issues that weren't discussed with kids. Of course I have no doubt that these men were not "nice" people. After all, the picketer attacked a business owner, but I'd like to hear his side of the story. Today all the players are gone, and I'm suddenly left to wonder what exactly happened. Especially when I find myself in a union that is being unfairly targeted by politicians out for pay back.

Tennessee Education Association (TEA) has consistently funded those who support our concerns, mostly Democrats but not all. Now that Tennessee has been taken over by the Republican party, congressmen are out to destroy teachers with highly punitive measures.

For example:

House Bill 130/Senate Bill 113 would repeal the Education Professional Negotiations Act and make any bargaining by teachers in the state illegal.

House Bill 159/Senate Bill 136 would prohibit payroll dues deduction for public employees thereby making it more difficult for teachers to maintain membership in their chosen professional organization.

Senate Bill 102 would prevent the election of the teacher representatives on the Tennessee Consolidated Retirement System Board of Trustees and instead make them political appointments by the Speakers of the House and Senate. I think this bill has already passed. :(

House Bill 160/Senate Bill 139 would make it illegal for the Association's political action committee to make contributions to any candidate, thus prohibiting teachers from helping to elect/re-elect legislators who have worked to improve and protect public education.

This is just a sampling of the bills floating through Nashville; there are more. As someone with an anti-union upbringing, I'm finally seeing the other side of the coin and wondering what caused the Teamsters to picket. I plan to march too.

I promise I'm not going to break a congressman's leg, but I will wear red and head to Nashville come March 5th to rally the capital. We'll be meeting at the Bicentennial Capitol Mall State Park and marching at noon. If you are able, please join us. We will be less violent than the Teamsters of the 1960s, but we will not stand quietly.