My favorite version of "Little Boxes"

This is my favorite version of the folk standard "Little Boxes," which has become well known to the followers of the Showtime series "Weeds." At just over a minute, it has the distinction of being one of the shortest songs ever to get into the Top 40.

Ironic, isn't it?

See Cartoons by Cartoon by Rob Tornoe - Courtesy of Politicalcartoons.com - Email this Cartoon

Hitler Finds Out that Palin has Resigned

This might not be everyone's cup of tea, but I found it amusing.

Quote of the Day

Quote of the Day: "Nothing in life is to be feared, it is only to be understood. Now is the time to understand more, so that we may fear less.
Marie Curie"

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.

Anne and Me

Anne Feeney and Yours Truly at the International Association of FireFighters Union Hall
Anne Feeney, aka "The Union Maid", did a concert on May 21st for the Central Oklahoma Labor Federation. She is now at the Kerrville, Texas Folk Festival.

Will Someone Hit That Dog With A Rolled Up Newspaper?

Steve Benson

So When Did Empathy Become a BAD Thing?

Some conservatives have been critizing the idea that Pres. Obama considers empathy to be a good quality for a Supreme Court justice to have. I find that rather revealing of the present mindset of conservatism, especially when considered in the light of this quote from a "compassionate conservative" of a few years ago:

"I have followed this man's career for some time," said President George H.W. Bush of Clarence Thomas in July 1991. "He is a delightful and warm, intelligent person who has great empathy and a wonderful sense of humor."

Pres. Obama Nominates Sonia Sotomayor to the Supreme Court

I believe that we have an historic opportunity to take a step towards realizing "justice for all" in this country through Judge Sotomayor's confirmation to the Supreme Court.

My Tribute to "Rosie the Riveter"

Howard Miller's famous portrait of "Rosie the Riveter"
(This Sunday, I was Worship Leader at Mayflower Church. The Worship Leader delivers a short talk on any subject s/he chooses.)
This Memorial Day weekend, I would like to pay tribute to the women of World War II who answered the call to go to work in place of the soldiers who had gone off to war, the women who have been represented by the iconic figure: Rosie the Riveter.

Rosie first existed as a character in a song by big band leader Kay Kaiser. Later a real woman, Rose Monroe, who worked in an aircraft plant in Michigan, was featured in a promotional film about the war effort at home. Of course, the most famous depiction of Rosie is the poster created by Howard Miller showing Rosie flexing her strong right arm under the caption “We Can Do It.”

It is estimated that by 1944 20 million women were working in what had been traditional male trades, a 57% increase over women in the workforce in 1940. In addition, millions more women worked on farms, and all of those at home kept the nation going until the final victory was won.

By answering their country’s call, these women laid the groundwork for many of the gains achieved by the Civil Rights and Feminist movements. Women proved that they could “do a man’s job” and do it well. At the beginning of America’s war effort, employers estimated that women could perform about 29% of the jobs previously done by men. In short order, that estimate rose to 85%.

African-American women also answered the call to work for Victory and proved that the idea of “racial superiority” was a lie. Having black and white women working together for the first time contributed to the breakdown of racial isolation, which helped to lay the groundwork for the Civil Rights movement in the next decade.

Most Rosies left their jobs and went back to their traditional roles as homemakers, told to do so by the same people who before had begged them to come to work, but her work, example, and image have left a permanent mark on the American character. So today, I salute all the Rosies who showed us we “Can Do It,” “Yes We Can.”

This Cartoonist Knows Teachers and Students

This is very typical student avoidance behavior.