Wednesday Morning Poetry Break

I know you read this one in high school, and that's probably kind of a shame. Robert Frost's poems often have a lot of depth, which we miss when young.

Please indulge me and give this classic another try. I'll bet it's been 25 years since you last read it, and you might find some relevance today that you could not fathom at 17.

The Road Not Taken

Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth;
Then took the other, as just as fair,
And having perhaps the better claim,
Because it was grassy and wanted wear;
Though as for that the passing there
Had worn them really about the same,
And both that morning equally lay
In leaves no step had trodden black.
Oh, I kept the first for another day!
Yet knowing how way leads on to way,
I doubted if I should ever come back.
I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.

— Robert Frost

If you're not outraged ...

you're not paying attention, as the bumper sticker says. And here's an outrageous story in this morning's Washington Post.

This past spring, the FBI asked Congress for $3.6 million from that good 'ol war spending bill (you remember, the one the Democrats caved on?) to fund a Gulfstream V jet that it said it needs to combat terrorism by flying "crucial missions" in Iraq.

Except, it turns out that a good quarter of the time that jet is actually used by the FBI Director Robert Mueller to get to his speaking engagements and public appearances. I encourage you to read the entire article. And become outraged.

No More Blood for Oil

Aha! Now It's All Making Sense!

O.k. I understand that it's "non-alcoholic" beer (supposedly Buckler Beer from Germany.) (Thanks to Shakesville for the keen eye above.) But all non-alcoholic beer does actually contain some alcohol, about .5%. So, despite all of the stories of salvation, and quitting drinking after his 40th birthday, I do wonder if he's off the self-imposed wagon. Could it explain the forgetfulness mentioned in the previous story? And the "stomach ailment"? Well, he recovered awfully quickly for the stomach flu. But actually right on schedule for a little bender. I bet if you drank enough non-alcoholic beer to get a buzz, you would indeed have a "stomach ailment."

Some background from Wikipedia:

Bush has said he gave up drinking after waking up with a hangover after his 40th birthday celebration: "I quit drinking in 1986 and haven't had a drop since then." He ascribed the change in part to a 1985 meeting with Reverend Billy Graham, after which he began serious Bible study, as well as to gentle but firm pressure from his wife, Laura. Friends recall that Bush said nothing of his decision, even to Laura, until many weeks later when they realized that he had not had so much as a single beer in the interim. Despite his claims of having no alcohol since 1986, video of Bush at a wedding in 1992 has surfaced in which the president appears intoxicated, slurring his speech and saying odd things. A photo was also taken on June 7, 2007 of Bush drinking what appears to be a beer at the G8 Summit in Heiligendamm, Germany.

There's an awful lot of chatter in the blogosphere about whether Bush is hitting the sauce again. On the one hand this seems like gossip that fits perfectly with our society's current obsession with celebrity partyers (see, Paris Hilton, Lindsey Lohan, et al.).

However, on the other hand, could drinking explain some of the more bizarre stories we've been hearing about Bush's behavior. For instance, there was the story recently reported in the Dallas news about private rantings and ravings about how misunderstood he is, thumping his chest and repeating several times, "I am the president!" Even the Drudge Report, normally no friend of mine, has reported on the bizarre nature of this event.

Then there was the dancing Bush. At an event marking Malaria Awareness Day, the president's behavior was anything but presidential, first dancing some sort of variation of the funky chicken, then banging on one of the drums himself. Don't believe me? Watch the video, and you'll see how painful it was for all involved.

And what about when he was in Jamestown, and decided that he wanted to live out his life-long dream of conducting an orchestra. Hmmmm. That's real dignified.

Beyond the pure titillating gossip angle of Bush binging, we do need to take these rumors seriously. Never forget that this is the man with his finger on the button. And if he's incapacitated (call it a "stomach ailment" if you must), you know who is standing by, ready to take charge. That's right, the Prince of Darkness. So maybe it's just gossip. But I think we should keep an eye on him.

I'm just sayin'

Headline of the Day: Albania Welcomes Bush with Enthusiasm, Affection

You've got to admit, it's kind of sad that Bush has to go all the way to Albania to get some lovin'. Unfortunately, even there, he seemed to have trouble keeping his story straight. One day he says there needs to be a deadline for Kosovo independence, the next day he can't remember what he said. From today's Washington Post:

Responding to a reporter's question in Rome on Saturday, Bush had said a deadline should be set for a U.N. resolution on Kosovo's independence. "In terms of the deadline, there needs to be one," he said. "This needs to come -- this needs to happen."

Asked Sunday about when he would like that deadline set, Bush seemed flummoxed. "I don't think I called for a deadline," he said. Told that he had, Bush responded: "I did? What exactly did I say? I said, 'Deadline'? Okay, yes, then I meant what I said."

Emphasis mine, but ... Sigh.

Wait ... there's much much more over at Pam's House Blend, including a fun sort of "travelogue" of his visits. How can we ever forget his molestation of German Chancell0r Merkel:

Or his wonderful table manners Prime Minister Blair:

Sigh and sigh, again.

Three thousand, five hundred, and one.

Please head on over to the Quaker Agitator to read more. And as QuakerDave says, "Don't mourn: get angry. Educate. Agitate. Organize. And stand in opposition."

To All My Teacher Friends: Congratulations on Closing Out Another Successful Year!

If you’re a hardworking person who cares, teaching is the most difficult profession on earth. If, however, you are lazy, don’t give a rat’s $#^%, and want to “have the summer off,” teaching is the easiest job there is. The shame is that the community often recognizes only the latter, when in reality, most of the teachers I worked with in my short time in the public schools were of the caring type.

I started writing an essay once, entitled “Why I Became a Teacher … and Why I Quit.” But some of the memories were so depressing that I never finished it. I should. Teaching public school has been one of the most rewarding things I’ve done with my life so far. For those of you who don’t know, I taught middle school for six years and elementary summer school for three of those years. Most of that time I was a Special Education Resource teacher in an inclusion setting, but I also taught computer technology for two of those years.

When I started teaching, I thought I was in heaven. I taught in a large county with a good reputation, but I was in a school that was in a challenging part of town. So I was working to make a difference to students who needed it, with the resources of a large, stable school system behind me. My principal was a former guidance counselor who believed in lots of positive reinforcement for his teachers, as well as students. I taught small English and Reading classes to students who primarily had learning disabilities, with a few cases of extreme ADHD layered on for good measure.

One of my favorite memories of teaching was from those early days. After doing some research, I decided to try teaching grammar in my 6th grade English classes by having the students diagram sentences. (Yes, I did!) After the initial groaning and moaning of “why can’t we do something fun,” I got the students to give me a chance. And low and behold, they loved it.

From a special education standpoint, it was perfect. By having the students (I only had six in each class) diagram on the board, they were able to get out of their seats and move. Because they were essentially “mapping out” the sentence, they could visualize the knowledge. Afterwards we would share and discuss their diagrams orally. It was effective. They were engaged. And on my best teaching day ever, my principal walked through the room as the entire class was at the board, silently diagramming sentences. It was a Kodak moment alright. The look on his face was such astonishment and joy – these were the “trouble” students, the ones who disrupted the “regular” English classes. He smiled at me in disbelief and snuck out the back door – I don’t think the students even knew he was there.

So why’d I quit? I’ll tell you in the next post ….

Bush Clings to Last Known Friend in Washington

Dog looks into camera and pleads "Please! Somebody hep me!"

Meanwhile, the First Lady tries to explain to the President his current approval rating.

Your Vote Counts

Part of my struggle with this blog is the effort to keep a balance. I want to discuss what I think are vitally important current topics, while still maintaining a sense of humor. (Thanks, Vicki, for your kind words!) I promise to try to keep that balance. Without humor, where would we be? (Yes, Mean Dave, I'll try not to mistake sarcasm for humor!)

This post is exciting to me because I know there are a lot of lurkers out there , and I have the opportunity to spread the word about an easy — really easy! — way that you can make your voice (and vote) count on the issues of world poverty and disease.

The ONE Campaign is launching ONE Vote ’08, an unprecedented bi-partisan high-tech, high energy campaign to mobilize voters and engage U.S. presidential candidates to make the fight against global poverty and disease a key foreign policy and security issue at the 2008 ballot box.

You can take action in many ways, and get informed before the ’08 election. Take one minute today, and add your one voice to the fight against global AIDS and extreme poverty. I did. And so have over 2 million other folks, one by one. Please join us.

"I call him Valdimir"

It's nice to know that our President has a "very special friendship" with Russian President Putin. But with his usual complete misunderstanding of diplomacy, Bush has again created a tense situation with a powerful nation. Hunh. Now why would Putin be upset that we are putting a missile defense system in Eastern Europe.

I'm sure we are are all relieved to hear Mr. Bush say, "I don't think Vladimir Putin intends to attack Europe, and so I'll talk to him about it."

Yeah. I'll sleep easier tonight knowing he'll talk to Putin about it.

Wednesday Morning Poetry Break

Sanity (To Be Continued)

Know the truth

When you hear it

Know beauty

When you see it

Understand love

When you feel it

And as you dance

Always dance on that floor

Polished by the best

Of you

—Nikki Giovanni

Touched by His noodley appendage

Do you know about the Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster? Clearly, we in Baltimore do. Hon.

Dog Experiences Best Day Of His Life For 400th Consecutive Day

A classic from The Onion to lighten up the day:

SANTEE, CA—Family dog Loki experienced the best day of his life for the 400th straight day Monday, the black Labrador retriever reported. "I got to go outside! I got to sniff the bush!" Loki said, wagging excitedly. "I saw a squirrel and I barked at it and it ran up the tree! Then I came back inside, and the smoky-smelling tall man let me have a little piece of bacon and then I drank from the toilet!" Loki will experience the best day of his life once again tomorrow, when he digs a hole, chews on a slipper, and almost catches his tail.

I'm sorry

This is not a good way to start off a Monday morning. But the news behind the news is not good today. The number of civilians killed in Iraq jumped to nearly 2,000 in May, according to Reuters. Yes, you read that right, 2,000 Iraqi civillians died in just the last month. So if you think the Iraq War is far away, has nothing to do with you, and is all just "politics as usual," please think about her:

Please speak out and ask your respresentatives in Congress to stop funding this madness. Because while our politicians argue and debate, and campaign for office, more American and Iraqi lives are lost every day.

Contact your Senators here

Contact your Representative here