Listen in at the next parent conference when parents talk about teachers. They notice the grade 4 teacher and her innovative new math lessons. High school teachers are respected for their abililty to deal with the teenagers of today not to mention the capacity to handle the advanced subject matters covered in today's high schools.
Even better listen to other teachers talk about teachers. This is not hard to do because it seems that all teachers ever want to talk about is school, students and the administration... This is an undisputed fact as told by the husband of a kindergarten teacher.
My point here is that the kindergarten teacher is almost the red headed step child. They do not get the respect they deserve from parents, fellow teachers, administrators, PTA, the Board of Education or the general public.
Now I am prejudiced. My wife has taught kindergarten for more than 20 years. She runs into past students who are now at the University of Georgia - and they remember her. DJ has followed her own counsel when it comes to her classroom and over 20 years of spectacular results suggest that maybe her methods are at least best for her and her students. Maybe someone should be trying to duplicate her efforts and her results.
It should be obvious to everyone that the first full day class at school is critical to the school career of each child. If they get a good foundation, the next grades will be much easier for them. If they are encouraged to be active, participating members of a classroom, then this will carry forward. There are dozens of adages about strong foundations. These kids are the future of our country.
When someone says to me that a teacher gets 2 months off each summer, they are overpaid, I do not even answer back anymore. Try living with a teacher for a year. A teacher who truly cares for their kids. My wife leaves the house at 6:30 AM. She gets home at 5:30 in the evening. It is about a 20 minute drive each way. Call it 1 hour commuting. So she is in the school 10 hours a day. Remember she is a teacher, there is no lunch break down at TGIF. Lunch is 30 minutes rushed through so that the classroom can be readied for the next lesson.
Someone needs to use a few more IQ points to analyze what is happening in our school system. More and more kids just do not care. We cannot do much about the influences at the home and can only hope that they live in a caring and supportive moral household.
We can do something about how they start their educational careers.
We can do something about what attitudes they have towards their school, their education and classmates.
It all starts in kindergarten. Lessons learned there are forever.
Tuesday, April 22, 2008
Enough Already!
We need a new government mandated supplement. This health supplement will ensure that you use all of your IQ points. If we can develop this supplement then a number of issues will disappear from our society.
Whoever decided that bureaucracy, whether government or private, is the correct instrument to monitor our health care system. Go to http://hubpages.com/hub/Lupus-treatment-discussion and read about CATSCANS that cost $2500 or $800 depending on who is paying. How about drugs which cost $4 per month or $250 per month depending on whether you are on a plan or where you buy them. I won't bore you with more examples. Get the bureaucracy out of medicine and health care or else it will implode.
Who made up the rule that whatever is left over in a campaign fund goes to the candidate when they retire?
Who decided that the 6 and 11 o'clock news must be sensational? Why do those reading the news express their own opinion? Are you tuned in for advice or the news?
All I have is questions, do you have any answers?
Whoever decided that bureaucracy, whether government or private, is the correct instrument to monitor our health care system. Go to http://hubpages.com/hub/Lupus-treatment-discussion and read about CATSCANS that cost $2500 or $800 depending on who is paying. How about drugs which cost $4 per month or $250 per month depending on whether you are on a plan or where you buy them. I won't bore you with more examples. Get the bureaucracy out of medicine and health care or else it will implode.
Who made up the rule that whatever is left over in a campaign fund goes to the candidate when they retire?
Who decided that the 6 and 11 o'clock news must be sensational? Why do those reading the news express their own opinion? Are you tuned in for advice or the news?
All I have is questions, do you have any answers?
Saturday, June 2, 2007
2020 and Mannatech's Ambrotose
As an audience we need to demand more balanced presentations. The last segment of 2020 on ABC News offered "Cure For Your Disease Or Empty Promise?"
View the news article at this link. If you review the comments, then you will see that an overwhelming majority of the respondents are critical of the biased presentation. By far the majority of the comments do not really deal with the issue of Ambrotose and its place either as a valid health supplement OR a fraud. The comments are about ABC news and what a bunch of limp XXX s they are to pander to the ad money on the big pharmaceutical companies. In a rant myself I posted a couple of comments:
You can view my comments at this link. I have no idea if my comments will still be there by the time you visit so I may included them below. As I was reviewing some other comments, the number of comments was decreasing. I appreciate that some protective editing might be necessary, but the comments I saw were not out of line at all. That is unless you are ABC News and you do not like being slammed for biased reporting???
Here is my first comment, it was erased once, I posted it originally at 9am. It was erased. Darned if I know why.
When is the media going to clean up their act? Talk about misrepresentation. Let's talk about stories written in the bar not very long ago and so on and so on. Let's talk about retractions to blatant mistakes printed on page 47 to retract page 1 headlines. Can't the media offer some discussion instead of instantly slinging mud either directly or by inference? This product has helped many people. I cannot tell you whether it was 100% science or 100% self healing through mental focus and expectation. As is usually the case, it is probably some of each. The bottom line is that this product has helped many people overcome health issues. Another bottom line is that there is almost no way to separate the effects of science from the effects of our mental powers. No matter how you design a blind study, a double blind study, whatever, you cannot control enough variables and keep the test subjects from knowing that they are being tested. You can prove blatant fraud, but if there is a mix, good luck. Back to the real complaint here, the problem is simply that people do not listen to understand. They listen to hear what they want to hear. The representative of an MLM believes that the 'Home of the Free' allows them to use personal testimony to sell anything. The potential customer does not want to hear the qualifications of a sales pitch, they want to hear it will solve their problem. So that is what they hear. Probably not what was said. Last point, when one of the highest ranking causes of death in the USA is medical misadventure, is it any surprise that the general population is looking for alternative solutions? Perhaps someone should look into turning medical professionals back into medical professionals instead of insurance claim experts.
Here is the second comment posted 2 hours later:
If you want to understand the Mannatech/Ambrotose story, then just look at the top of the comments page you are reading right now. When I was there it was an ad for Lipitor - Big Pharmaceutical Company. Duh! If you really want to watch the action, look at Bayer and it's new line of supplements. The boys in the back rooms of the Big Pharmaceutical cannot stand the fact that other companies are making money in health and wellness. There will be a stampede shortly because the political pressure to over regulate the supplement industry is failing. It is classic, if you can't beat 'em, join 'em. But what will be even more interesting will be the FDA role in supplements in the future. Also how will the FDA treat it's old buddies the Pharmaceutical Companies. Do what you think is best for you with regard to your health and take all advice with a grain of salt.
To be honest with you, I was trying very hard to be reserved in my comments. Why is it that the news media want to treat us like a bunch of 6 year olds? Actually, that is probably a slam at 6 year olds. A long time ago people read the news, then there was a commentary with editorial opinion. As far as I can see, there is no news now, just editorial opinion.
The influence of the media is devastating and overwhelming. There is no real control. Whatever sells more newspapers/air time to generate that ad revenue. The media demand that every other interface with the public have endless controls with bureaucracy and paperwork galore, but not them.
For example: Why are retraction on page 47 when the papers make a mistake on page 1.
Not too long ago a reporter was caught red handed just inventing stories and phoning them in from the bar. By some of the garbage we see as news, I think this may be more of the role than the exception. Hey guys, separate the news from the opinion. If you are uncertain of your sources, say so. That is a lot better than winging it, which seems to be the practice today.
Anyway, you can see by my comments on the 2020 news item that I believe that people should be allowed to make their own decisions with regard to their health and wellness. Medical misadventures are one of the leading causes of death in this country. Our medical industry is not ranked highly when judged by world standards. Now there is a great example of misleading data by me. See how easy it is to do. Let me retract that. Our treatment of trauma is probably the best in the world. Our treatment of chronic ailments is not as good. My personal belief is that we are a quick fix society and the big pharmaceutical companies pander to that quick fix mentality. The products that are sold both over the counter and as prescriptions are less than effective and often hazardous to our health. Often they cause more harm and sickness than they alleviate. That is a personal belief, but ask your doctor how long you need to take a prescription and most of the answers will be the rest of your life. What kind of cure is that?
View the news article at this link. If you review the comments, then you will see that an overwhelming majority of the respondents are critical of the biased presentation. By far the majority of the comments do not really deal with the issue of Ambrotose and its place either as a valid health supplement OR a fraud. The comments are about ABC news and what a bunch of limp XXX s they are to pander to the ad money on the big pharmaceutical companies. In a rant myself I posted a couple of comments:
You can view my comments at this link. I have no idea if my comments will still be there by the time you visit so I may included them below. As I was reviewing some other comments, the number of comments was decreasing. I appreciate that some protective editing might be necessary, but the comments I saw were not out of line at all. That is unless you are ABC News and you do not like being slammed for biased reporting???
Here is my first comment, it was erased once, I posted it originally at 9am. It was erased. Darned if I know why.
When is the media going to clean up their act? Talk about misrepresentation. Let's talk about stories written in the bar not very long ago and so on and so on. Let's talk about retractions to blatant mistakes printed on page 47 to retract page 1 headlines. Can't the media offer some discussion instead of instantly slinging mud either directly or by inference? This product has helped many people. I cannot tell you whether it was 100% science or 100% self healing through mental focus and expectation. As is usually the case, it is probably some of each. The bottom line is that this product has helped many people overcome health issues. Another bottom line is that there is almost no way to separate the effects of science from the effects of our mental powers. No matter how you design a blind study, a double blind study, whatever, you cannot control enough variables and keep the test subjects from knowing that they are being tested. You can prove blatant fraud, but if there is a mix, good luck. Back to the real complaint here, the problem is simply that people do not listen to understand. They listen to hear what they want to hear. The representative of an MLM believes that the 'Home of the Free' allows them to use personal testimony to sell anything. The potential customer does not want to hear the qualifications of a sales pitch, they want to hear it will solve their problem. So that is what they hear. Probably not what was said. Last point, when one of the highest ranking causes of death in the USA is medical misadventure, is it any surprise that the general population is looking for alternative solutions? Perhaps someone should look into turning medical professionals back into medical professionals instead of insurance claim experts.
Here is the second comment posted 2 hours later:
If you want to understand the Mannatech/Ambrotose story, then just look at the top of the comments page you are reading right now. When I was there it was an ad for Lipitor - Big Pharmaceutical Company. Duh! If you really want to watch the action, look at Bayer and it's new line of supplements. The boys in the back rooms of the Big Pharmaceutical cannot stand the fact that other companies are making money in health and wellness. There will be a stampede shortly because the political pressure to over regulate the supplement industry is failing. It is classic, if you can't beat 'em, join 'em. But what will be even more interesting will be the FDA role in supplements in the future. Also how will the FDA treat it's old buddies the Pharmaceutical Companies. Do what you think is best for you with regard to your health and take all advice with a grain of salt.
To be honest with you, I was trying very hard to be reserved in my comments. Why is it that the news media want to treat us like a bunch of 6 year olds? Actually, that is probably a slam at 6 year olds. A long time ago people read the news, then there was a commentary with editorial opinion. As far as I can see, there is no news now, just editorial opinion.
The influence of the media is devastating and overwhelming. There is no real control. Whatever sells more newspapers/air time to generate that ad revenue. The media demand that every other interface with the public have endless controls with bureaucracy and paperwork galore, but not them.
For example: Why are retraction on page 47 when the papers make a mistake on page 1.
Not too long ago a reporter was caught red handed just inventing stories and phoning them in from the bar. By some of the garbage we see as news, I think this may be more of the role than the exception. Hey guys, separate the news from the opinion. If you are uncertain of your sources, say so. That is a lot better than winging it, which seems to be the practice today.
Anyway, you can see by my comments on the 2020 news item that I believe that people should be allowed to make their own decisions with regard to their health and wellness. Medical misadventures are one of the leading causes of death in this country. Our medical industry is not ranked highly when judged by world standards. Now there is a great example of misleading data by me. See how easy it is to do. Let me retract that. Our treatment of trauma is probably the best in the world. Our treatment of chronic ailments is not as good. My personal belief is that we are a quick fix society and the big pharmaceutical companies pander to that quick fix mentality. The products that are sold both over the counter and as prescriptions are less than effective and often hazardous to our health. Often they cause more harm and sickness than they alleviate. That is a personal belief, but ask your doctor how long you need to take a prescription and most of the answers will be the rest of your life. What kind of cure is that?
Thursday, May 24, 2007
Those Born 1930 - 1979
Those Born 1930-1979
READ TO THE BOTTOM FOR QUOTE OF THE MONTH BY JAY LENO. IF YOU DON'T READ ANYTHING ELSE--- VERY WELL STATED
TO ALL THE KIDS WHO SURVIVED The 1930's, 40's, 50's, 60's And 70's!!
First, we survived being born to mothers who smoked and/or drank while they were pregnant. They took aspirin, ate blue cheese dressing, tuna from a can, and didn't get tested for diabetes.
Then after that trauma, we were put to sleep on our tummies in baby cribs covered with bright colored lead-based paints. We had no childproof lids on medicine bottles, doors or cabinets and when we rode our bikes, we had no helmets, not to mention the risks we took hitchhiking. As infants & children, we would ride in cars with no car seats, booster seats, seat belts or air bags.
Riding in the back of a pick up on a warm day was always a special treat. We drank water from the garden hose and NOT from a bottle.
We shared one soft drink with four friends, from one bottle and NO ONE actually died from this. We ate cupcakes, white bread and real butter and drank Kool-aid made with sugar, but we weren't overweight because, WE WERE ALWAYS OUTSIDE PLAYING!
We would leave home in the morning and play all day, as long as we were back when the streetlights came on. Everyone I grew up with had that rule, “Be home when the street lights come on, or else!”
No one was able to reach us all day AND we were O.K.
We would spend hours building our go-carts out of scraps and then ride down the hill, only to find out we forgot the brakes. After running into the bushes a few times, we learned to solve the problem.
We did not have Playstations, Nintendo's, X-boxes, no video games at all, no 150 channels on cable, no video movies or DVD's, no surround-sound or CD's, no cell phones, no personal computer!, no Internet or chat rooms.......
WE HAD FRIENDS and we went outside and found them!
We fell out of trees, got cut, broke bones and teeth and there were no lawsuits from these accidents. We ate worms and mud pies made from dirt, and the worms did not live in us forever. We were given BB guns for our 10th birthdays, made up games with sticks and tennis balls and, although we were told it would happen, we did not put out very many eyes.
We rode bikes or walked to a friend's house and knocked on the door or rang the bell, or just walked in and talked to them!
Little League had tryouts and not everyone made the team. Those who didn't had to learn to deal with disappointment. Imagine that!!
The idea of a parent bailing us out if we broke the law was unheard of. They actually sided with the law! These generations have produced some of the best risk-takers, problem solvers and inventors ever!
The past 50 years have been an explosion of innovation and new ideas.
We had freedom, failure, success and responsibility, and we learned HOW TO DEAL WITH IT ALL!
If YOU are one of them, CONGRATULATIONS!
You might want to share this with others who have had the luck to grow up as kids, before the lawyers and the government regulated so much of our lives for our own good.
While you are at it, forward it to your kids so they will know how brave (and lucky) their parents were.
Kind of makes you want to run through the house with scissors, doesn't it?!
The quote of the month is by Jay Leno:
"With hurricanes, tornados, fires out of control, mud slides, flooding,
severe thunderstorms tearing up the country from one end to another, and with the threat of bird flu and terrorist attacks, are we sure this is a good time to take God out of the Pledge of Allegiance?"
For those that prefer to think that God is not watching over us...go ahead and delete this.
For the rest of us...pass this on.
READ TO THE BOTTOM FOR QUOTE OF THE MONTH BY JAY LENO. IF YOU DON'T READ ANYTHING ELSE--- VERY WELL STATED
TO ALL THE KIDS WHO SURVIVED The 1930's, 40's, 50's, 60's And 70's!!
First, we survived being born to mothers who smoked and/or drank while they were pregnant. They took aspirin, ate blue cheese dressing, tuna from a can, and didn't get tested for diabetes.
Then after that trauma, we were put to sleep on our tummies in baby cribs covered with bright colored lead-based paints. We had no childproof lids on medicine bottles, doors or cabinets and when we rode our bikes, we had no helmets, not to mention the risks we took hitchhiking. As infants & children, we would ride in cars with no car seats, booster seats, seat belts or air bags.
Riding in the back of a pick up on a warm day was always a special treat. We drank water from the garden hose and NOT from a bottle.
We shared one soft drink with four friends, from one bottle and NO ONE actually died from this. We ate cupcakes, white bread and real butter and drank Kool-aid made with sugar, but we weren't overweight because, WE WERE ALWAYS OUTSIDE PLAYING!
We would leave home in the morning and play all day, as long as we were back when the streetlights came on. Everyone I grew up with had that rule, “Be home when the street lights come on, or else!”
No one was able to reach us all day AND we were O.K.
We would spend hours building our go-carts out of scraps and then ride down the hill, only to find out we forgot the brakes. After running into the bushes a few times, we learned to solve the problem.
We did not have Playstations, Nintendo's, X-boxes, no video games at all, no 150 channels on cable, no video movies or DVD's, no surround-sound or CD's, no cell phones, no personal computer!, no Internet or chat rooms.......
WE HAD FRIENDS and we went outside and found them!
We fell out of trees, got cut, broke bones and teeth and there were no lawsuits from these accidents. We ate worms and mud pies made from dirt, and the worms did not live in us forever. We were given BB guns for our 10th birthdays, made up games with sticks and tennis balls and, although we were told it would happen, we did not put out very many eyes.
We rode bikes or walked to a friend's house and knocked on the door or rang the bell, or just walked in and talked to them!
Little League had tryouts and not everyone made the team. Those who didn't had to learn to deal with disappointment. Imagine that!!
The idea of a parent bailing us out if we broke the law was unheard of. They actually sided with the law! These generations have produced some of the best risk-takers, problem solvers and inventors ever!
The past 50 years have been an explosion of innovation and new ideas.
We had freedom, failure, success and responsibility, and we learned HOW TO DEAL WITH IT ALL!
If YOU are one of them, CONGRATULATIONS!
You might want to share this with others who have had the luck to grow up as kids, before the lawyers and the government regulated so much of our lives for our own good.
While you are at it, forward it to your kids so they will know how brave (and lucky) their parents were.
Kind of makes you want to run through the house with scissors, doesn't it?!
The quote of the month is by Jay Leno:
"With hurricanes, tornados, fires out of control, mud slides, flooding,
severe thunderstorms tearing up the country from one end to another, and with the threat of bird flu and terrorist attacks, are we sure this is a good time to take God out of the Pledge of Allegiance?"
For those that prefer to think that God is not watching over us...go ahead and delete this.
For the rest of us...pass this on.
Sunday, May 20, 2007
Men Strike Back
How many men does it take to open a beer? None. It should be opened when she brings it.
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Why is a Laundromat a really bad place to pick up a woman? Because a woman who can't even afford a washing machine will probably never be able to support you.
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Why do women have smaller feet than men? It's one of those "evolutionary things" that allows them to stand closer to the kitchen sink.
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How do you know when a woman is about to say something smart? When she starts a sentence with "A man once told me..."
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How do you fix a woman's watch? You don't. There is a clock on the oven.
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Why do men fart more than women? Because women can't shut up long enough to build up the required pressure.
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If your dog is barking at the back door and your wife is yelling at the front door, who do you let in first? The dog, of course. He'll shut up once you let him in.
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What's worse than a Male Chauvinist Pig? A woman who won't do what she's told.
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I married a Miss Right. I just didn't know her first name was Always.
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Scientists have discovered a food that diminishes a woman's sex drive by 90%. It's called a Wedding Cake.
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Why do men die before their wives? They want to.
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Women will never be equal to men until they can walk down the streetwith a bald head and a beer gut, and still think they are sexy.
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In the beginning, God created the earth and rested. Then God created Man and rested. Then God created Woman. Since then, neither God nor Man has rested.
These made me laugh harder the first time, I must be getting old.
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Why is a Laundromat a really bad place to pick up a woman? Because a woman who can't even afford a washing machine will probably never be able to support you.
--------------------------------------------------------------------
Why do women have smaller feet than men? It's one of those "evolutionary things" that allows them to stand closer to the kitchen sink.
-------------------------------------------------------------------
How do you know when a woman is about to say something smart? When she starts a sentence with "A man once told me..."
-------------------------------------------------------------------
How do you fix a woman's watch? You don't. There is a clock on the oven.
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Why do men fart more than women? Because women can't shut up long enough to build up the required pressure.
-------------------------------------------------------------------
If your dog is barking at the back door and your wife is yelling at the front door, who do you let in first? The dog, of course. He'll shut up once you let him in.
-------------------------------------------------------------------
What's worse than a Male Chauvinist Pig? A woman who won't do what she's told.
-------------------------------------------------------------------
I married a Miss Right. I just didn't know her first name was Always.
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Scientists have discovered a food that diminishes a woman's sex drive by 90%. It's called a Wedding Cake.
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Why do men die before their wives? They want to.
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Women will never be equal to men until they can walk down the streetwith a bald head and a beer gut, and still think they are sexy.
-------------------------------------------------------------------
In the beginning, God created the earth and rested. Then God created Man and rested. Then God created Woman. Since then, neither God nor Man has rested.
These made me laugh harder the first time, I must be getting old.
This Generation Needs To Be Drugged!
God bless parents who drugged us!
The other day, someone at a store in our town read that a methamphetamine lab had been found in an old farmhouse in the adjoining county and he asked me a rhetorical question, ''Why didn't we have a drug problem when you and I were growing up?''
I replied: I had a drug problem when I was young:
The other day, someone at a store in our town read that a methamphetamine lab had been found in an old farmhouse in the adjoining county and he asked me a rhetorical question, ''Why didn't we have a drug problem when you and I were growing up?''
I replied: I had a drug problem when I was young:
- I was drug to church on Sunday morning.
- I was drug to church for weddings and funerals.
- I was drug to family reunions and community socials no matter the weather.
- I was drug by my ears when I was disrespectful to adults.
- I was also drug to the woodshed! when I disobeyed my parents, told a lie, brought home a bad report card, did not speak with respect, spoke ill of the teacher or the preacher, or if I didn't put forth my best effort in everything that was asked of me.
- I was drug to the kitchen sink to have my mouth washed out with soap if I uttered an unacceptable word.
- I was drug out to pull weeds in mom's garden and flower beds and cockleburs out of dad's fields.
- I was drug to the homes of family, friends, and neighbors to help out some poor soul who had no one to mow the yard, repair the clothesline, or chop some firewood; and, if my mother had ever known that I took a single dime as a tip for this kindness, she would have drug me back to the woodshed.
Those drugs are still in my veins; and they affect my behavior in everything I do, say, and think. They are stronger than cocaine, crack, or heroin; and, if today's children had this kind of drug
problem, America would be a better place.
Amen to that. I wish I could claim this as original but I received it by email with no author cited.
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