Welcome to National Pun Day: 50 Swifties

Disarmingly Beautiful
Today is National Pun Day. One of my favorite types of puns are called "Tom Swifties." These are puns where the eponymous Tom makes a statement in a manner that is linked to the statement. In other words, the adverb used in the statement's speaker tags, the "Tom said" part, has a connection to what Tom said. For example: "Venus de Milo is a beautiful statue," Tom said disarmingly.Here are 49 other Tom Swifties:

"I've had my left and right ventricles removed," Tom said half-heartedly.
"I think my tires are bald," Tom said warily.
"I hate milking cows," Tom uttered.
"I put all my money into an IRA," Tom said interestedly.
"I don't think that leprechaun is telling the truth," Tom implied.
"I think that wasp is in pain," Tom bemoaned.
"I took out the trash," Tom said literally.
"This dinner is made from young calves," Tom revealed.
"I cut my dog's toenails too far," Tom said quickly.
"You're burning the candle at both ends," Tom said wickedly.
"I hope I can still play the guitar," Tom fretted.
"I feel like a big black bird," Tom crowed.
"My tongue feels numb," Tom said distastefully.
"I want to renew my membership," Tom rejoined.
"My grape juice has fermented," Tom whined.
"Don't try to pull the wool over my eyes," Tom said sheepishly.
"Stop your sniveling," Tom decried.
"Someone removed all the twos from this deck," Tom deduced.
"I just love power failures," Tom said delightfully.
"It's 3 a.m.," Tom said mournfully.
"Thanks for shredding the cheese," Tom said gratefully.
"I love Velveeta," Tom said craftily.
"It's two, two, two mints in one," Tom said certainly.
"Who was pope before John Paul I?" Tom asked piously.
"The river has gotten rough," Tom said rapidly.
"You can't go faster than the speed of sound," Tom said mockingly.
"I'm as busy as a bee," Tom droned.
"Those ants will never get in here," Tom said defiantly.
"Please put some folds in these trousers," Tom pleaded.
"Why do you want me to act like Gilda Radner's husband?" Tom asked bewilderingly.
"I have plenty of do's but no don'ts," Tom said dauntlessly.
"I have forgotten the german word for 'four'" Tom said fearlessly.
"Someone stole my wheels," Tom said tirelessly.
"Hallelujah," Tom said handily.
"I just won 1000 dollars," Tom said grandly.
"All that's left are the front and back," Tom said decidedly.
"Where can I find a copper figure of Lincoln?" Tom asked innocently.
"I only have 8 bits," Tom said bitingly.
"My sign is cancer, what's my horoscope?" Tom asked crabbily.
"What's in the middle of an egg?" Tom asked eccentrically.
"I'm covered in blood," Tom said readily.
"I've found the pens used to sign the civil war surrender," Tom said pensively.
"I think someone electrified the corridor," Tom said haltingly.
"There are tiny bugs in the dust," Tom said mightily.
"Hey, Vern! Knowhutimean?" Tom said earnestly.
"I unclogged the kitchen sink with a vacuum cleaner," Tom said succintly.
"My clothes are pressed," Tom said ironically.
"What's that reddish stuff on the cannon?" Tom asked rusticly.
"How come my clock only makes 'toc's?" Tom asked mystically.

National Pun Day is Tomorrow!

Top Secret
Tomorrow is March 4th, which I have designated "National Pun Day."

The reason why I chose this day was that the date is itself a pun. In fact, it is the answer to a riddle I learned as a child: What is the date that soldiers hate the most? (Just say the date above out loud and you will get it.)

So tomorrow, we will play with homophones, word puzzles, visual puns, and other language games.

I have prizes for students who participate. I hope to increase their love of language.

I Was Liberal Before Liberal Was Cool!

from Talking Point Memos

Over the weekend, Mark Leibovich had an interesting an entertaining piece in the Times on how "socialism" has become the Republicans' new all-purpose smear word attacking Obama in particular and Democrats generally.

Now, you can have a whole conversation about whether ramping marginal tax rates back to where they were in the go-go 1990s really constitutes socialism. But a different point occurred to me when I read the piece. I think this is probably the best evidence there is that the 'liberal' label simply doesn't have the punch that it had going back a good thirty years in American politics.

If it did, they'd still be using it, since it at least has some relationship to reality. But it doesn't, so they're not.

--Josh Marshall

10 things you should know about Obama's plan (but probably don't)

from MoveOn.Org
The plan:

1. Makes a $634 billion down payment on fixing health care that will go a long way toward paying for a more efficient, more affordable health care system that covers every single American.

2. Reduces taxes for 95% of working Americans. And if your family makes less than $250,000, your taxes won't go up one dime.

3. Invests more than $100 billion in clean energy technology, creating millions of green jobs that can never be outsourced.

4. Brings our troops home from Iraq on a firm timetable, finally bringing the war to a close—and freeing up almost ten billion dollars a month for domestic priorities.

5. Reverses growing income inequality. The plan lets the Bush tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans expire and focuses on strengthening the middle class.

6. Closes multi-billion-dollar tax loopholes for big oil companies.

7. Increases grants to help families pay for college—the largest increase ever.

8. Halves the deficit by 2013. President Obama inherited a legacy of huge deficits and an economy in shambles, but his plan brings the deficit under control as soon as the economy begins to recover.

9. Dramatically increases funding for the SEC and the CFTC—the agencies that police Wall Street.

10. Tells it straight. For years, budgets have used accounting tricks to hide the real costs of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, the Bush tax cuts, and too many other programs. Obama's budget gets rid of the smokescreens and lays out what America's priorities are, what they cost, and how we're going to pay for them.

Reason to work for a cure for breast cancer

My friend Erma Stewart sent this one my way. It makes a serious point in a humorous fashion. I believe the term for this technique is "Dulce et Utile": Sweet and Useful.

Tom Warns Us About Rush, Bill, Sean, and their fellow Fanatics

Thomas Jefferson

In the fevered state of our country, no good can ever result from any attempt to set one of these fiery zealots to rights, either in fact or principle. They are determined as to the facts they will believe, and the opinions on which they will act. Get by them, therefore, as you would by an angry bull; it is not for a man of sense to dispute the road with such an animal.

GOP Strategy Isn't Working So Far

The GOP strategy of trying to obstruct Obama's recovery program at every term, being "The Party of NO", doesn't seem to be gathering much favor with the American people. Here are the lastest Favorable/Unfavorable ratings with last week's ratings in parenthesis courtesy of The Daily Kos.

FAVORABLE UNFAVORABLE NET CHANGE
PRESIDENT OBAMA 69(68) 25(25) +1

PELOSI: 43(42) 39(39) +1
REID: 33(32) 41(42) +2
McCONNELL: 23(22) 51(50) +0
BOEHNER: 17(18) 54(55) +0

CONGRESS DEMS: 41(39) 53(53) +2
CONGRESS GOPS: 18(19) 70(69) -2

DEMOCRATIC PARTY: 57(56) 38(37) +0
REPUBLICAN PARTY: 31(31) 62(61) -1
Full Article Here

No, I think it's Murdock

Last Word in the Cartoon Controversy

Oklahoma County Democrats had a great Medallion Dinner

Once again we had another great Medallion Dinner. The Medallion is the biggest fundraiser the Oklahoma County Democratic Party has each year. This year we celebrated the victory of Barack Obama as president and former State Senator Angela Monson's victory in the Oklahoma City Public School school board chairman election. We do not know yet how much money was raised, but a great time was had by all.

Congratulations to our Medallion Award Winners: Linda James and Jack Farley of LL James Printing; Patti Bessen, Political Director for American Federation of Teachers, Local 2309; The Oklahoma County Stonewall Democrats; Change Oklahoma with Susan McCann, Jeremiah Elix, and Terry Thompson; and Victor Gorin, volunteer extraordinaire.

We also awarded our Male and Female Volunteers of the Year. The male was Carl Downing for a lifetime of service to the Democratic Party and Pam Paul for her work on the county web page and the listserv.

Paricular thanks needs to go to Ellen Stevens for her hard work to make this a great Medallion.

Will "President" Replace the N-Word?

I don't know how seriously to take this, but I wish it would catch on.

Cartoons and the Politics of Violence

Controversial Cartoon from the NY Post
The New York Post and, particularly, one of their cartoonists, Sean Delonas, have stirred up much controversy over printing the above cartoon. Many feel that the cartoon uses a racist term to refer to Barack Obama since Obama has been the moving force behind the Stim Plan. The Post and Delonas refuse to apologize for the cartoon. Delonas claims that Obama is not the target of the cartoon which alludes to a chimpaneze shot in Conneticut though he seems to admit that one could infer that he is refering to Nancy Pelosi (as if this mitigates anything at all).

Defenders of the cartoon point out that several times Bush had direct images of him that made the former president look Simian.

However, I would like to point out that a possible racist image is not the sole problem with the cartoon. There is also the implication that violence is a viable poltical solution.

For example, imagine that this cartoon had appeared while Bush was still president and it had the following caption instead.
"Well, I guess Dick Cheney's now the president."
All of a sudden, it's not so funny. In fact, I would imagine that the cartoonist would have some 'splaining' to do the the Secret Service. Perhaps, the "Silent Service" should look in on Mr. Delonas.

Cold Number Two

Well, I managed, somehow, to get another cold. I thought it was only one per customer per season. The only difference I can tell between this cold and the one I got a few weeks ago is that this one seems to be mainly in my chest while the other was more in my sinuses.

Chest colds concern me more, particularly at my age, because of the danger of coming down with pneumonia. So I have been coughing liberally (how else would I cough?). And I've been watching for any signs in difficulty with breathing. So far so good, but I am thinking that I will take off another day from school just to be on the safe side.

There was a time when I toughed these things out, but I often made myself worse in doing so. There is also the danger of spreading my bugs to others. So I think erring on the side of caution works out best for all.

Thank the Lord for sick days in our contract.

Angela Monson and Gail Vines Sworn-In as School Board Members

Angela Monson takes the oath of office as the newly elected chair of the Oklahoma City Public School Board
Monday evening, former state senator Angela Monson was sworn in as the 3rd chairman for the Oklahoma City Public Schools, Board of Education in a ceremony at the school board auditorium before a large and enthusiastic crowd. Ms. Monson challenged those attending to "get involved" in the district. "This is just the beginning of our journey to create a school district that serves the needs of all our students," she told those present. Monson won her position in an election against incumbent school board chair, Kirk Humphries. She is the third person to hold the position of chairman since the office was created by a the Oklahoma legislature.
Gail Vines takes the oath of office for School Board District Two Representative
Also sworn in were Lynn Watson who is the newly elected representative for District One and Gail Vines who was unopposed in her bid for a second term in District Two.

Oklahoma County Judge Vicki Miles LaGrange administered the oath of office to all the officials.

My Valentine's Poem for My Wife

I wrote a poem for my Valentine's Day gift to my wife. It's not very good, but I had a lot of fun writing it, and she enjoyed getting it.

Like a compass needle always points northward.
So do I always bend towards you,
My Love, my own True North.

Though roads may bend right, then left
As I travel my way through many obligations
And obstacles, I find my paths bending to you.

You are my ever fixed point that guides
My paths, the center providing the calm
From the storms that rise, then fall,
My anchor through the ebbs and swells.

Republicans LIKE "Activist Judges"????

from The Daily Kos
If you wanted more evidence at the skin-deep adherence to it's so-called "core values", watch the Minnesota Republican Party suddenly decide it wants activist judges, rather than strict constructionists.

[Norm] Coleman lawyer James Langdon said that the Franken team "would have you sit in a vacuum, strictly interpreting a statute," without taking into account the facts that have come into the court and shown just how complicated this all is. He also said that the circumstances of this case were "creating penumbras" around the written law.

"Penumbras"? The Supreme Court found a right to privacy in Grisswold v. Connecticut by findind that...

specific guarantees in the Bill of Rights have penumbras, formed by emanations from those guarantees that help give them life and substance

Of course, that sentence has been mocked and attacked by the Right (especially among the anti-abortion crowd) as judicial overreach. In fact, it's exhibit A in their attacks on "activist judges" who should instead strictly interpret the law, rather than create it. Yet here is a Republican leaning on that same language to try and get the court to rewrite state law. Call the Federalist Society, STAT!
full article from The Daily Kos

Angela Monson upsets Kirk Humphries in OKC School Board Race

new OKC School Board Chairman Angela Monson
Angela Monson, who only decided to get into the race for Oklahoma City School Board Chairman on the last day of the filing deadline, defeated incumbent chairman Kirk Humphries 57% to 43% on Tuesday. Monson was a former member of the Oklahoma House and Senate. Oklahoman News Article on the race
This win is satisfying on many levels. First, Angela is not a part of the corporate power structure that has rule the district for many years now. She is a friend of working families and their children. She is also willing to listen to the teachers who have direct contact with the kids.
Congratulations, Angela.

Leonard Pitts Jr.: This 'stop snitching' culture? As weak and cowardly as it gets

Leonard Pitts
African-Americans have never been a weak and cowardly people. Weak and cowardly people do not risk their lives running to freedom. Weak and cowardly people do not stand against government and guns, dogs and fire, demanding freedom. Weak and cowardly people do not produce Harriet Tubmans, Henry Johnsons, Rosa Parkses, Martin Luther Kings or Barack Obamas.

But this right here, this so-called "stop-snitching" culture? It's as weak and cowardly as it gets.

I have been using this editorial in my classes to do analytical reading and to spark some discussion on its topic. I think Leonard Pitts is one of the best writers on topics pertinent to African-Americans. One of his collumns generated a neo-Nazi demonstration in his neighborhood.
Leonard Pitts editorial

Professor Rob L. Staples

Dr. Rob L. Staples
I've been using "Facebook" as a means of making contact with people from my Long Ago and Far Away.

I was very pleased to make contact with Dr. Rob Staples who taught me in several religion and theology classes when I was a student at Southern Nazarenen University (then Bethany Nazarene College). Dr. Staples was always a very warm, open-minded person who didn't mind the fact that we "young pups" had a lot of questions about our "recieved theology" in those days when all institutions were being challenged by the young.

Though I chose not to go into the business of religion, I have never regretted the course of study I persued at SNU. I feel that having a grounding in theology has helped me to be a better teacher, a better citizen, and a better person.
As the philosopher George Berkeley once said,

"Whatever the world thinks, he who hath not much meditated upon God and the Summum Bonum (what's ultimately important), may possibly make a thriving earthworm, but will certainly make a sorry patriot and a sorry statesman."

George Berkeley
Besides, being able to quote scripture and theology when one is arguing social justice with conservatives is just so much fun!

Dr. Staples has a very good blog that can be accessed here.

Keith Olbermann's Special Commentary on Dick Cheney

"With damnable words you protect no American, you serve no American and you aid and abet those who would destroy this nation from within or without. "... Depart, I say, and let us have done with you. In the name of God, go!"

Amen, Keith, from your lips to God's ears.

The Grumpy Old Party is threatening our nation's economy

New Symbol of the GOP
There is a report that the Senate is getting ready to approve the Economic Stimulus package that we need to avoid Great Depression II. Let us pray this is so.

The GOP's worn out ideologues cling to their discredited ideas that by making our economic policies more favorable to the wealthy, somehow, someway, we will manage to avert disaster.

First, can't they see that a stimulus package that provides funds to rebuild our nation's decrepit and antiquated infrastructure is sorely needed on it's own right? Have they completely forgotten the collapsing bridges and breached levees, the slag heap landslides and crumbling highways all across our nation?

And then there is the latest unemployment figures that show over half a million Americans are losing their job, their hopes, each month.

Is their desire to deny Pres. Obama a "victory" so dulled their hearing that they cannot hear the cries of those in need?

The Republican Party has truly grown too old to function.