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| Supreme Court of the United States. |
Thursday, August 24, 2017
Tuesday, August 22, 2017
Thursday, August 17, 2017
I could probably just try to explain this is class...but what fun is that?
This whole "Above and Beyond" thing sometimes gets out of control.
Sunday, August 13, 2017
Feels like a newsreel from 1963...but covered the way things are covered in 2017.
If you turned on your TV or logged on to your computer in the last 24 hours...you know what happened in Charlottesville yesterday...although if you are like most of us, you know only those parts of the protest that were covered.
You saw the pictures of people carrying Nazi flags, who had held a grotesque torchlight rally the night before their vile "Unite the Right" demonstration...(there is no question in my mind that the organizers were trying to conjure images similar to those we have of protests in places like Nuremberg.)
...you saw images...and probably video... of the car striking the crowd. (I am on record opposing the practice of blocking traffic during a protest...too much baggage is attached to that practice for any person who remembers what happened to Reginald Denny...I would say exactly the same thing about Right-leaning protestors doing the same thing...that said, yesterday does not appear to have been in any way comparable to what happened to Denny...yesterday looked eerily like events we have seen in places like Nice and Stockholm...)...If you are like me, you probably wondered what happens to murderers in Virginia...not only do they have the death penalty, they apparently have the shortest period between conviction and execution.
Depending on when you saw the coverage you might have seen idiots on both sides (I hesitate to use that word, but it just seems proper in this circumstance) bashing each other with anything they could get their hands on.
If you are like me, you wondered where all of these idiots all came from? You probably wondered how these type of people (those espousing Nazism...not the Black Masks...because anyone who is tuned in at all knows that there is nothing organic about their presence or about their methodology) were able to gather in such large numbers in a relatively obscure location. (I say this because Charlottesville is apparently known by most people as a "liberal university town in a rapidly changing and diversifying state"...and not as an enclave dominated by racists.) In case you think that is inaccurate...consider this...
Again, if you are like me...you probably started doing some research. (it is just what I do...I can't help myself) What I found out is that Charlottesville was not just a quirk of geography...it was the site of a similar protest just over a month ago...which logically means that this was a social media driven event.
That means that there should be more than sufficient video footage to reconstruct all of the events that took place yesterday...which is going to make the trials that come out of this one pretty interesting.
As many who I teach and interacted with know, I have an odd affection for attending protests...not to express views, but simply to record on camera. If I had been nearby, it goes without saying that I would have been there, and would have positioned myself in a place where I could have gathered lots of footage...and because I tend to share what I see...I would have either streamed it or posted it.
...and there are a lot of us that have this interesting habit.
....which raises an interesting question for those attending this protest...Do they realize that their faces are going to be made public after an event of this nature? Do they know that all but a very few in our country will consider their actions repugnant and vile? Are they really surprised that this could cost them jobs?
Which then begs another question...is it time to place the same type of regulation on Black Mask protestors that we have in place to keep KKK members from wearing their hoods in protests? They swoop into protests, stir the pot, create havoc, and then revel in the destruction, often safe from prosecution because of their anonymity.
We need to stop this madness...what happened yesterday tarnishes our nation. We really are better than what we saw on display at that protest.
You saw the pictures of people carrying Nazi flags, who had held a grotesque torchlight rally the night before their vile "Unite the Right" demonstration...(there is no question in my mind that the organizers were trying to conjure images similar to those we have of protests in places like Nuremberg.)
BTW...CONGRATULATIONS...even before one of your fellow protestors used a car to murder someone...you were successfully uniting the Right...AGAINST YOU!
I stand with every true Conservative and condemn you and your evil movement... I stand with all sane individuals who want to see you fail in your attempt to rip our country apart. I remain committed to doing everything in my power to judge the people in my life solely on the content of their character and their dedication to attempt to do what is right and proper.
...you saw images...and probably video... of the car striking the crowd. (I am on record opposing the practice of blocking traffic during a protest...too much baggage is attached to that practice for any person who remembers what happened to Reginald Denny...I would say exactly the same thing about Right-leaning protestors doing the same thing...that said, yesterday does not appear to have been in any way comparable to what happened to Denny...yesterday looked eerily like events we have seen in places like Nice and Stockholm...)...If you are like me, you probably wondered what happens to murderers in Virginia...not only do they have the death penalty, they apparently have the shortest period between conviction and execution.
Depending on when you saw the coverage you might have seen idiots on both sides (I hesitate to use that word, but it just seems proper in this circumstance) bashing each other with anything they could get their hands on.
If you are like me, you wondered where all of these idiots all came from? You probably wondered how these type of people (those espousing Nazism...not the Black Masks...because anyone who is tuned in at all knows that there is nothing organic about their presence or about their methodology) were able to gather in such large numbers in a relatively obscure location. (I say this because Charlottesville is apparently known by most people as a "liberal university town in a rapidly changing and diversifying state"...and not as an enclave dominated by racists.) In case you think that is inaccurate...consider this...
Again, if you are like me...you probably started doing some research. (it is just what I do...I can't help myself) What I found out is that Charlottesville was not just a quirk of geography...it was the site of a similar protest just over a month ago...which logically means that this was a social media driven event.
That means that there should be more than sufficient video footage to reconstruct all of the events that took place yesterday...which is going to make the trials that come out of this one pretty interesting.
As many who I teach and interacted with know, I have an odd affection for attending protests...not to express views, but simply to record on camera. If I had been nearby, it goes without saying that I would have been there, and would have positioned myself in a place where I could have gathered lots of footage...and because I tend to share what I see...I would have either streamed it or posted it.
...and there are a lot of us that have this interesting habit.
....which raises an interesting question for those attending this protest...Do they realize that their faces are going to be made public after an event of this nature? Do they know that all but a very few in our country will consider their actions repugnant and vile? Are they really surprised that this could cost them jobs?
Which then begs another question...is it time to place the same type of regulation on Black Mask protestors that we have in place to keep KKK members from wearing their hoods in protests? They swoop into protests, stir the pot, create havoc, and then revel in the destruction, often safe from prosecution because of their anonymity.
We need to stop this madness...what happened yesterday tarnishes our nation. We really are better than what we saw on display at that protest.
Thursday, August 10, 2017
Dad would have been 73 today...I wonder what he would have thought of the World we now inhabit.
To anyone who loves correct grammatical usage and abhors run-on sentences...I beg you...do not read this...it will hurt your head...
I am a History guy...have been for a long time. I read the news now (I originally typed "read the papers"...but I read websites for newpapers and news sources from all over the place...almost seems quaint to think of reading an actual paper...but I digress) and find myself doing a mental "compare and contrast" with what I will call Trump v. Un and the Cuban Missile Crisis.
Thinking about it on August 10 then makes me think of my Dad (whose birthday would have been today), who was 18 in 1962...and I am pretty sure that he would think it odd that we are in this situation, with North Korea as our opponent.
I was not on his mind in 1962...in fact he hadn't even met my Mom at that point. Knowing what I do about Dad, and remembering the experience of being a teenaged boy myself (I was never a teenaged girl...so I will not comment on what my Mom was thinking), I cannot imagine that he was left unaffected by the experience of watching his country teeter at the edge of nuclear war...
...and that makes me think seriously about how I instruct, and how I am approaching discussions of current events as I teach my students and attempt to help them understand what is happening right now.
I know how much living with the constant threat of nuclear war (a message we picked up from things like the Twilight Zone) affected me...and how much it shaped my worldview. I don't think my students are that different from me.
(btw...the older I get, the closer this one gets to home...the idea of having enough time to read and no glasses is as terrifying a concept as I can think of)
It saddens me that my students are getting to experience the same type of fear-inducing situation that accompanies threats like we are facing right now.
I am more concerned though by the number of people who seem to blame the U.S. for the current situation...because no one, at least that I know, would support any type of aggressive action against North Korea if North Korea was not threatening us, or the countries we have traditionally supported in the region. ( I must admit, for clarity sake, that I am biased to favor South Korea over North Korea...and that bias is the result of my experience teaching these and other students from South Korea. I am honest...if I hadn't taught students from Korea, I would not be as interested in what is happening.)
If that negates my argument...so be it.
I posted this comment to an argument made that North Korea was simply trying to protect themselves...I argued
I am becoming more convinced than ever that the president's comments were intended for the ear of the Chinese government, and not the government of North Korea. I think that President Trump has judged (correctly, which is hard for me to admit) that the time for talking directly with NK has passed...and that China needs to...in essence "Take care of your crazy friend before we have to take care of him!"
Hopefully the President is right in handling the situation in this manner...
This isn't how I would have scripted it, and I am not sure he has read the whole situation correctly (but since I did not get the number of necessary electoral votes...my opinion is just opinion), but it is his job right now, and cheering for his failure seems ill-advised...for everyone...North Korea included.
I am a History guy...have been for a long time. I read the news now (I originally typed "read the papers"...but I read websites for newpapers and news sources from all over the place...almost seems quaint to think of reading an actual paper...but I digress) and find myself doing a mental "compare and contrast" with what I will call Trump v. Un and the Cuban Missile Crisis.
Thinking about it on August 10 then makes me think of my Dad (whose birthday would have been today), who was 18 in 1962...and I am pretty sure that he would think it odd that we are in this situation, with North Korea as our opponent.
I was not on his mind in 1962...in fact he hadn't even met my Mom at that point. Knowing what I do about Dad, and remembering the experience of being a teenaged boy myself (I was never a teenaged girl...so I will not comment on what my Mom was thinking), I cannot imagine that he was left unaffected by the experience of watching his country teeter at the edge of nuclear war...
...and that makes me think seriously about how I instruct, and how I am approaching discussions of current events as I teach my students and attempt to help them understand what is happening right now.
I know how much living with the constant threat of nuclear war (a message we picked up from things like the Twilight Zone) affected me...and how much it shaped my worldview. I don't think my students are that different from me.
(btw...the older I get, the closer this one gets to home...the idea of having enough time to read and no glasses is as terrifying a concept as I can think of)
It saddens me that my students are getting to experience the same type of fear-inducing situation that accompanies threats like we are facing right now.
I am more concerned though by the number of people who seem to blame the U.S. for the current situation...because no one, at least that I know, would support any type of aggressive action against North Korea if North Korea was not threatening us, or the countries we have traditionally supported in the region. ( I must admit, for clarity sake, that I am biased to favor South Korea over North Korea...and that bias is the result of my experience teaching these and other students from South Korea. I am honest...if I hadn't taught students from Korea, I would not be as interested in what is happening.)
If that negates my argument...so be it.
I would have included more...but I have a lot of former students from South Korea...and it would take up a lot of space to include pictures of each of them.
...but I digress (it should surprise no one that I digressed, btw)
...back to the Dad connection...
Dad loved a good argument...I am not certain whether I inherited that trait from him by nature or by nurture...but I have it...here is an example...
...back to the Dad connection...
Dad loved a good argument...I am not certain whether I inherited that trait from him by nature or by nurture...but I have it...here is an example...
I posted this comment to an argument made that North Korea was simply trying to protect themselves...I argued
"It should break the brain of every person on the planet to contemplate the idea that we would elevate Kim Jung-Un to the status of a global hegemon...capable of blackmailing the entire planet (if he can get us to engage in the 2017 version of MAD...he is going to learn the lesson that threats are his surest way to more power). Un is misguided to think that we have any reason to attempt to attack his country (...unless of course he possesses and is threatening to use nuclear weapons)...we can read a map...we know what would be the result of such an action. It is his misjudgment, not ours, that has us at this point."
I am becoming more convinced than ever that the president's comments were intended for the ear of the Chinese government, and not the government of North Korea. I think that President Trump has judged (correctly, which is hard for me to admit) that the time for talking directly with NK has passed...and that China needs to...in essence "Take care of your crazy friend before we have to take care of him!"
Hopefully the President is right in handling the situation in this manner...
This isn't how I would have scripted it, and I am not sure he has read the whole situation correctly (but since I did not get the number of necessary electoral votes...my opinion is just opinion), but it is his job right now, and cheering for his failure seems ill-advised...for everyone...North Korea included.
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