New Information

In the interest of accuracy I regret to report that I have been negligent in my fact checking.  The previous post regarding remarks supposedly made by Sarah Palin was a hoax.  They appeared on a web site which I learned after the fact is notorious for spoofs.

Now there's another one floating around about some racist remarks she supposedly made.  I haven't checked the authenticity of them so I don't know but she's such an air-head that most anything is believable so I'll have to start digging a little further before making future comments.

Make no mistake about it.  This changes nothing. Sarah Palin and her ilk are still jerks.

And the far right lunatic fringe rolls on...and on...and on.

Consider the following direct quote from Sarah Palin:
"It makes me so gosh darn angry," Palin explained. "The liberal left in this country has targeted Christian holidays and is trying to secularize them right out of existence.
"When Jesus celebrated Easter with his disciples there were no Easter bunnies or egg hunts. There were no Easter sales at department stores or parades in the street. Easter was a special time of prayer and Christian activism.
"Jesus would gather all the townspeople around and would listen to their stories about the meaning of Easter in their lives. Then he would teach them how to love one another, how to protest Roman abortion clinics and how to properly convert homosexuals.

Correct me if I'm wrong but didn't Easter become an important Christian holiday AFTER Jesus was crucified and that no one heard of it BEFORE that time.

And this from a woman who seeks to lead our nation.  God help us!

More Violence. More Guns

Middle School in Sparks, Nevada.  Two dead, two wounded.  Weapon of choice? A semiautomatic hand gun. How did the shooter get it?  Is there a history of mental instability? 

Back to school....

After a long hiatus I have finally resumed my involvement in school-specifically Sandy Hook School.   Part of this decision was prompted by my grandson's enrollment as a kindergartner there.  The other part is that as our grandchildren get older they are of course in schools of their own so my baby sitting services have been reduced a great deal. 

About the only baby sitting I'm doing now is when there's no school or one of the boys is home sick or when my son-in-law is traveling.  Aside from those relatively infrequent situations, I no longer have a regular schedule.  

Finally, I simply like being around kids and while many of my former colleagues have moved on, there are still many left at the school who I enjoy visiting.

So on Wednesday it was back to school...as a volunteer.  I do have two subbing dates scheduled but they're not until  next month. 

I was in my grandson's kindergarten class.  Ironically, Cole was out sick that day so I didn't get to see him but I still had a good time helping the kinders as they're called now drawing a ginger bread man which they had just made in the kitchen of the cafeteria. 

I've been retired for just over 9 years but I did sub for several years beyond that.  There are a lot of things in the classroom that have changed.  The curriculum is much different and more demanding; chalk boards have been replaced by first dry erase boards and now 'smart' boards.  Most teachers do not have a desk.  Rather they work at a table or at stations to create a climate of accessibility. 

But one thing that has not changed much at all is the students.  Kids are kids...and kindergartners are especially enjoyable.  When I was introduced to the class, one little girl earnestly told me that she would be happy to help me if I needed anything! 

I'll be back at Sandy Hook on a regular basis and I even have a guest reader gig coming up in my grand daughter's class at another school. 

So I'm looking forward to the school year and even next year as Nicholas enters kindergarten. 

Everyone needs something useful to do.  It's an important way to stay energized.

Attention all you wingnuts on the far right!

Greetings members of the lunatic fringe,
I have the perfect place for you to live-beautiful North Carolina. 

NC legislators have had a very busy year.  Here is a partial list of their accomplishments:
1. Pre-registration has been banned for young (?) voters.
2. Unemployment benefits slashed.  Get a job!
3. The passage of restrictions closing all family planning clinics.
4. Restrictions on early and Sunday voting.
5. Restrictions on college students voting at school.
6. Enactment of laws allowing guns in bars, parks and playgrounds.
7. And finally, the most incredible one of all, use of climate change data in certain publications is punishable by law.

So go one, wingnuts.  Get the hell out of CT and go south.  Thanks. 

Fresh starts

This weekend Sandi and I spent most of our time helping our daughter and her family get settled into their new house.  As anyone who has ever moved knows, it is a seemingly endless process involving a lot of work.  Much of that work can be reduced by a helpful family.

Coincidentally, it was 27 years ago this exact weekend that Sandi and I moved into our current residence.  Pete & Becky were 11 & 13 at the time.  They probably don't remember but they helped with the packing and lugging too.  Other than that, it was Sandi and me.  This is not a complaint or condemnation of anyone.  It's just an acknowledgement of the saying "many hands make light work."

Looking around our house and property now and thinking of the possibility of moving at some point in the future makes me shutter. But in the back of my mind I know we'd have two children, their spouses and four grand children to help.  That would certainly lighten the load.  

Happy birthday

Happy 6th birthday to grandson Cole. 

Vindication-but I doubt if it will change anything!

I just ran across a news item that reports on a study conducted by the National Resources Defense Council & Harvard University.  Among their findings was the suggestion that the sell-by dates on food are misleading and should be eliminated.  I knew it!!

Now I can prove to my wife, daughter and daughter-in-law that all that food they've collectively discarded for no good reason could have fed a third world country. 

The fact is that if you eat something that has passed the sell-by date it doesn't mean you're going to wake up in the middle of the night with diarrhea and projectile vomiting-or worse.  It just means the food you ate might have lost some of its flavor and taste a little stale. 

The whole issue isn't generally too much of a problem for just my wife and me because if she asks, I can lie and all's well.  But when the grand children are over with one of their mothers, I don't even get asked.  They just grab the container (usually some kind of juice), look at it and out it goes. Perfectly good juice.  Down the drain.  

Well, now, in my defense,  I have an authoritative study to refer to.  I'm sure that will help (NOT).

Happy Birthday

The first of two October family birthdays.
Happy birthday to Sandi Stockwell. 

Shutdown...sort of

October. Usually a great month.  Family birthdays, beautiful colors, cool nights and warm days, Halloween.  There's lots to like about October...unless you're a politician or someone who needs to buy health insurance and trying to make sense out of Obamacare.  If you're in one of those two groups, you're not feeling too happy at the moment.

Last night at midnight with no deal in sight, the federal government stopped functioning.  Well, not completely.  If you're a Congressman you'll still get paid.  Senior citizens and military personnel will also continue to get paid.  But there will be hundreds of thousands-maybe even millions-of people who will not get paid and most federal departments will be closed.

This is happening because there are a handful of republican congressmen who can't stand Pres. Obama and the way they're going to show that is to try to gut the Affordable Health Care Act.  It has nothing to do with socialism or socialized medicine.  That's a lie they're spreading to whip up public support for the real reason-Get Obama!

Here's the thing-if you're one of those people who is actually afraid of government control of your health care, consider the following points:
1. Unlike what would happen with a private insurance HMO, you will still be able to choose your own doctor.
2. You and your doctor will be in charge of the medicine you take.
3. You and your doctor will still be able to choose the hospital you want.
4. No one from the government will be telling you where, when or how to make your health care decisions.
5. Pre-existing conditions have no impact on your ability to get insurance.
6.  If you are with an insurance HMO, none of this is true.  The HMO will be in charge of your health decisions.

And you still say you trust a private health insurance company more than government insurance like Medicare?  Than you're stupid and there's no hope for you.

Mercifully, my next blog piece will probably not be on this topic and perhaps a little more upbeat unless I run across something else that annoys me. 

Have a great October and to learn more about the month, click here georgeswebpage.com/almanac.