My friend who was fostering her couldn't resist her!!!!!
A happy ending. Whee! (with homage to Henry)
24 April, 2008
As if Bill Clinton's bozo comments weren't bad enough
Check out David Sirota's latest piece "Pennsylvania and the Persistence of the Race Chasm"
http://action.credomobile.com/sirota/2008/04/pennsylvania_the_persistence_o.html
http://action.credomobile.com/sirota/2008/04/pennsylvania_the_persistence_o.html
20 April, 2008
Heaven
That's her name and my friend just adopted her after fostering her!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
19 April, 2008
An interesting letter reprinted from New York Teacher
CHANCELLOR'S REGS ANTI-TEACHER
The following was sent to UFT Vice President Richard Farkas and forwarded to the New York Teacher (5/03)
To the Editor :
At a well-attended chapter meeting this morning the staff loudly voiced its concerns about a rash of corporal punishment allegations that have been made against teachers at our school. All of these allegations proved to be unfounded but teachers have been removed from the classroom for protracted periods of time while the allegations were being investigated. This not only demeans the teacher, but also disrupts the education of our students. I explained the Chancellor's Regulations to the staff and stressed caution in all dealings with children, but many felt that the regulations are ludicrously unjust to teachers. On the other hand, when students curse at or abuse teachers, little happens. Recently, for example, a teacher's aide was physically assaulted by a student. There was a superintendent's suspension as well as police charges. Even before this case was heard in court, the student was returned to our school as if nothing had happened. District 6 would not transfer the student. Such incidents undermine the school's disciplinary code and destroy staff morale. The Chancellor's Regulations are clearly anti-teacher. Teachers are considered guilty until an outside investigator gets around to determining that the charges were unfounded. In one current case, even after a teacher was cleared, he is still waiting for authorization to return to his classroom. We have had cases where teachers were removed from their classrooms for weeks before being returned. Another unfortunate result of this process is that children have learned that they can get back at a teacher by making a single allegation. Some have even turned it into a game of trying to get a teacher fired. In addition, there seem to be forces outside the school that are influencing parents to make frivolous complaints against staff. All of this has created a climate where teachers have to think twice about enforcing discipline or coming to the assistance of a colleague.We understand and support regulations that exist to protect children. However, the current regulations are grossly out of balance. The regulations are being used to attack teachers for ulterior purposes. The effect of this is damage to teachers' well-being and morale, disrupted education and wasted money for coverage of the classes of teachers removed from duty. Teachers deserve and are entitled to the same legal principle that all Americans enjoy : innocent until proven guilty, and a fair and quick hearing.
John Eichele, IS 52, Manhattan
The following was sent to UFT Vice President Richard Farkas and forwarded to the New York Teacher (5/03)
To the Editor :
At a well-attended chapter meeting this morning the staff loudly voiced its concerns about a rash of corporal punishment allegations that have been made against teachers at our school. All of these allegations proved to be unfounded but teachers have been removed from the classroom for protracted periods of time while the allegations were being investigated. This not only demeans the teacher, but also disrupts the education of our students. I explained the Chancellor's Regulations to the staff and stressed caution in all dealings with children, but many felt that the regulations are ludicrously unjust to teachers. On the other hand, when students curse at or abuse teachers, little happens. Recently, for example, a teacher's aide was physically assaulted by a student. There was a superintendent's suspension as well as police charges. Even before this case was heard in court, the student was returned to our school as if nothing had happened. District 6 would not transfer the student. Such incidents undermine the school's disciplinary code and destroy staff morale. The Chancellor's Regulations are clearly anti-teacher. Teachers are considered guilty until an outside investigator gets around to determining that the charges were unfounded. In one current case, even after a teacher was cleared, he is still waiting for authorization to return to his classroom. We have had cases where teachers were removed from their classrooms for weeks before being returned. Another unfortunate result of this process is that children have learned that they can get back at a teacher by making a single allegation. Some have even turned it into a game of trying to get a teacher fired. In addition, there seem to be forces outside the school that are influencing parents to make frivolous complaints against staff. All of this has created a climate where teachers have to think twice about enforcing discipline or coming to the assistance of a colleague.We understand and support regulations that exist to protect children. However, the current regulations are grossly out of balance. The regulations are being used to attack teachers for ulterior purposes. The effect of this is damage to teachers' well-being and morale, disrupted education and wasted money for coverage of the classes of teachers removed from duty. Teachers deserve and are entitled to the same legal principle that all Americans enjoy : innocent until proven guilty, and a fair and quick hearing.
John Eichele, IS 52, Manhattan
18 April, 2008
Delta
If you have taken this rubble for my past raking though it for fragments you could sell
know that I long ago moved ondeeper into the heart of the matter
If you think you can grasp me, think again:
my story flows in more than one direction
a delta springing from the riverbedwith its five fingers
Adrienne Rich. Copyright © 1989 by Adrienne Rich.
know that I long ago moved ondeeper into the heart of the matter
If you think you can grasp me, think again:
my story flows in more than one direction
a delta springing from the riverbedwith its five fingers
Adrienne Rich. Copyright © 1989 by Adrienne Rich.
08 April, 2008
John McCain: The greater of the evils
10 things you should know about John McCain (but probably don't): 1. John McCain voted against establishing a national holiday in honor of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Now he says his position has "evolved," yet he's continued to oppose key civil rights laws.
2. According to Bloomberg News, McCain is more hawkish than Bush on Iraq, Russia and China. Conservative columnist Pat Buchanan says McCain "will make Cheney look like Gandhi."
3. His reputation is built on his opposition to torture, but McCain voted against a bill to ban waterboarding, and then applauded President Bush for vetoing that ban.
4. McCain opposes a woman's right to choose. He said, "I do not support Roe versus Wade. It should be overturned."
5. The Children's Defense Fund rated McCain as the worst senator in Congress for children. He voted against the children's health care bill last year, then defended Bush's veto of the bill.
6. He's one of the richest people in a Senate filled with millionaires. The Associated Press reports he and his wife own at least eight homes! Yet McCain says the solution to the housing crisis is for people facing foreclosure to get a "second job" and skip their vacations.
7. Many of McCain's fellow Republican senators say he's too reckless to be commander in chief. One Republican senator said: "The thought of his being president sends a cold chill down my spine. He's erratic. He's hotheaded. He loses his temper and he worries me."
8. McCain talks a lot about taking on special interests, but his campaign manager and top advisers are actually lobbyists. The government watchdog group Public Citizen says McCain has 9 lobbyists raising money for his campaign, more than any of the other presidential candidates.
9. McCain has sought closer ties to the extreme religious right in recent years. The pastor McCain calls his "spiritual guide," Rod Parsley, believes America's founding mission is to destroy Islam, which he calls a "false religion." McCain sought the political support of right-wing preacher John Hagee, who believes Hurricane Katrina was God's punishment for gay rights and called the Catholic Church "the Antichrist" and a "false cult."
10. He positions himself as pro-environment, but he scored a 0—yes, zero—from the League of Conservation Voters last year
from moveon.org
2. According to Bloomberg News, McCain is more hawkish than Bush on Iraq, Russia and China. Conservative columnist Pat Buchanan says McCain "will make Cheney look like Gandhi."
3. His reputation is built on his opposition to torture, but McCain voted against a bill to ban waterboarding, and then applauded President Bush for vetoing that ban.
4. McCain opposes a woman's right to choose. He said, "I do not support Roe versus Wade. It should be overturned."
5. The Children's Defense Fund rated McCain as the worst senator in Congress for children. He voted against the children's health care bill last year, then defended Bush's veto of the bill.
6. He's one of the richest people in a Senate filled with millionaires. The Associated Press reports he and his wife own at least eight homes! Yet McCain says the solution to the housing crisis is for people facing foreclosure to get a "second job" and skip their vacations.
7. Many of McCain's fellow Republican senators say he's too reckless to be commander in chief. One Republican senator said: "The thought of his being president sends a cold chill down my spine. He's erratic. He's hotheaded. He loses his temper and he worries me."
8. McCain talks a lot about taking on special interests, but his campaign manager and top advisers are actually lobbyists. The government watchdog group Public Citizen says McCain has 9 lobbyists raising money for his campaign, more than any of the other presidential candidates.
9. McCain has sought closer ties to the extreme religious right in recent years. The pastor McCain calls his "spiritual guide," Rod Parsley, believes America's founding mission is to destroy Islam, which he calls a "false religion." McCain sought the political support of right-wing preacher John Hagee, who believes Hurricane Katrina was God's punishment for gay rights and called the Catholic Church "the Antichrist" and a "false cult."
10. He positions himself as pro-environment, but he scored a 0—yes, zero—from the League of Conservation Voters last year
from moveon.org
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