Some Thoughts

1. I don't get the current attitude in education reform where they are firing tenured teachers (and, in one case, an entire district worth of teachers) for student's bad test scores. I wish we could use the same philosophy in government or the business worlds: I didn't succeed, therefore it is my manager/VP/CEO's fault, and he/she should be fired. Let's try going back to a) allowing students to fail and b) making it the children's fault when they don't succeed, unless you have proof that a teacher is not doing his/her job or is actively working against a student's success.

Damn near every teacher I know tries hard to educate, spends much of their own money, spends many extra hours grading and tutoring, and will bend over backward to help their students. They get paid shit wages for doing one of the most important jobs in any nation.

Too many students I know or have seen do not want to be educated, want to have good grades handed to them for little to no work, think adequate quality should be graded like excellent quality, and have parents who will believe their lies and try to force the teacher through browbeating and threats of lawsuits and false accusations to give their children the grades they "deserve" (which is ironic, because nearly every time the student IS getting the grade he/she deserves).

2. Last decade, the Republicans created the term "nuclear option" to refer to their desire to eliminate the filibuster in Congress. The Republicans have been responsible for 14 of the last 19 uses of reconciliation. In this decade, the Republicans are changing the use of the term "nuclear option" to refer instead to reconciliation and are claiming it is this evil thing that Democrats want to use to subvert the American people. And the filibuster is now the Republicans best friend and an often-used tactic now that they no longer have control of Congress.

How is it that the majority of Americans in general, and Republicans in particular, are not calling the representatives on these lies? Why was the filibuster something to be done away with and was a nuisance to politics when they had control of Congress, but now that they do not have control, it is their God-given right and they are using it more than at any other time in the history of the government? How is it they have used reconciliation to get a vast majority of big projects pushed through (including, ironically, at least two large health care related bills (ever hear of COBRA? Passed by Republicans using reconciliation)), but now that the shoe is on the other foot and the Dems want to use it to do the exact same thing, the Repubs think it is EVIL?

3. What is up with so many people being at the car wash at 11 am on a Thursday? Isn't it still a work day for most people??

4. I'm thinking the worst of winter is over this year. After the hellacious one last year, that is kind of nice. We have two ranks plus nearly half a rank of wood left as of today. Last winter, we were worried about running out of wood and only had about half a rank left when we stopped having fires. Will make next season's expenditure less, for sure.

5. Looking forward to my first trip to Boston later this month. Only a few days, but since I've never been, it should be fun.