Boot to the Head

People smoking in bed,
People voting Republican,
Give them a boot to the head.
Classic comedy sketch "Boot to the Head" done with "World of Warcraft" characters.

Same Old GOP Scare Tactics

Obama Rides High as Pessimism Wanes

from Teagan Goodard's Political Wire
A new Ipsos/McClatchy poll finds President Obama's approval ratings remain high with 64% of Americans saying that they approve of the job he is doing as President and fully 40% say that they strongly approve of his performance.

Key finding: A majority of Americans -- 52% -- now feel that the country is headed in the right direction while 42% worries that things are off on the wrong track.

My Dog Frequently Stops to Read Her P-Mail

Reality Check
Our dog Tooter

The Far Right Reponds with Violence

James von Brunn (Associated Press Photo
I have been afraid that the far right would respond to Pres. Obama's election with violence. I guess my fears have been realized. This is the handwritten note FBI investigators found in the car James von Brunn drove to the US Holocaust Museum where he allegedly gunned down a security officer:

"You want my weapons -- this is how you'll get them. The Holocaust is a lie. Obama was created by Jews. Obama does what his Jew owners tell him to do. Jews captured America's money. Jews control the mass media."

The Rock Cafe in Stroud

Cat and I traveled up to Tulsa to see family. Along the way, we stopped the Rock Cafe, an icon of Route 66 in Stroud, Oklahoma.






Not long ago, the cafe burned to all but the exterior walls. The owner vowed to reopen the cafe by rebuilding everything within the walls. She did a fine job of it.

My Next Summer Reading Project

Nothing to Fear: FDR's Inner Circle and the Hundred Days That Created Modern America by Adam Cohen
I am reading about FDR, the Great Depression, and his Cabinet's response to it during the time that has been dubbed "The Hundred Days."

Reading this so far has made me more and more convinced that those who try to claim the Roosevelt's actions did little to help those suffering from the Depression are delusional. They rank up there with people who try to deny the Holocaust.

I Begin My Summer Reading

The Kings of New York
This is the first book I've completed of my summer reading. It's about the chess team from Edward R. Murrow High School in NYC. They have won several national championships in scholastic chess. Mainly, though the story is about the boys on the chess team as they wrestle with life and adolescents.

I Begin My Year As A National Board Teacher Certification Candidate

Morrison Hall on the SEOSU campus where most of the workshops were held.
This workshop was for those seeking National Board certification in Adolescents and Young Adult Language Arts. It was taught by Jonetta Jonte and Claudia Swisher
Many of the classrooms were very crowded.
I am learning about the Family Involvement element in my portfolio.
On Wednesday and Thursday, I attended the National Board for Teacher Certification (NBCT) workshop on the campus of Southeastern Oklahoma State University in Durant, Oklahoma.

I was one of over 400 teacher candidate who attended. The workshop is required of all those who received the $2500 scholarship which pays for our candidate year. The scholarship is made possible through funding provided by the Oklahoma legislature through the Oklahoma Commission for Teacher Preparation's program entitled Education Leadership Oklahoma.

This was quite a heady experience. Two days of classes and seminars preparing us for the NBTC's requirement to become nationally certified educators. It was a little like trying to take a drink from a firehose. So much to digest.

I particulary appreciated once again meeting and working with Jonetta Jonte of Southeast High School in Oklahoma City and Claudia Swisher from Norman North High School. Jonetta and I taught at John Marshall together. Claudia is a fellow Oklahoma Writing Project alum.

School's Out!

School's Out!
School's Out!
Teacher Let the Fools Out!

Tomorrow, I will be in Durant, Oklahoma to begin my National Board for Teacher Certification process. I will starting blogging about the process there if I can find a way to do it.