The Death of Gratitude

GRATITUDE: A public show of appreciation for that which was received.

"...Even in the midst of this annus horribilis, of Zoom classes and quarantines without end, there is a world of people and things for which to be grateful: the scientists who developed new vaccines in record time; the millions of healthcare workers who labored to save others’ lives; the billions of dollars allocated for young people to have computers, wifi, lunches, and other social services; the millions of teachers who devoted long hours to relearning how to teach, online. Now is an ideal time to teach our young people that gratitude is always appropriate, no matter how flawed the world may be, and that gratitude makes human beings more joyful and optimistic about the future, no matter how much misfortune they may have suffered..."

Gratitude is an inherently western Judeo-Christian quality. The idea that you should be thankful for those things or situations you encounter goes back to some of our most treasured holiday traditions. And it goes beyond Thanksgiving. We show appreciation to veterans on Veterans Day, to those who gave the Ultimate Price for our nation on Memorial Day, to Secretaries on Secretaries Day, to Mothers and Fathers on their days-it's the idea of recognizing what sacrifices they have made to help YOU the individual.

When I began teaching, kids would bring gifts. Usually it was yummy treats, but I was always uncomfortable with that because I didn't want poorer kids to feel left out AND I didn't want parents to think I could be bought. The things I treasured most were handwritten notes and gifts, most of which I still have. But I gave too. For our AP Portfolio Reviews I'd bring donuts and sodas. For Secret Santa one year I went to Half Price Books and bought books my very small AP class could read and share. Giving, for me, is as much fun as getting.

I tried to teach Gratitude  in my Art One classes via a lesson I taught every year. Most students don't even write in cursive. I would crack out bottles of ink and dip pens and teach them how to do basic calligraphy. It's not an easy skill. It requires concentration and patience. We would practice alphabets and words and then their final project for a cumulative grade was to write a letter of gratitude discussing those things for which they were thankful. Many mentioned parents and homes. Some mentioned God. A few mentions video games or totally ridiculous things from pop culture. But the key was to somehow make these high school students think about their world and how others have provided for them. I would put these up in the hallway (names on the back of course) for others to read. It was sort of a blanket request for students and staff to develop an "Attitude of Gratitude." 

I highly doubt anyone is teaching this lesson in my old classroom now. I'm sure the pens are rusty and the ink has dried in the bottles because for all their claims of wanting to impose character and qualities on students, the younger teachers don't seem to want to emphasize internal character building. So imagine my shock and dismay to come across THIS STORY

This Is The Sad Legacy of CRT

 This article covers the resignation of a much appreciated teacher from an expensive New Jersey prep school because the insistence of the administration of imposing Critical Race Theory at all levels, on students and faculty, to the point that the school has become a hostile environment. If it's this bad in our elite schools where the rich and powerful send their kids, it must be utter hell in public schools in Blue States and Blue Cities. We're already seeing police leave their profession in droves which is leading to a spike in crime. (No it's not COVID causing this, because other nations faced COVID too but left their police in place and suffered no spike in murders) Anyway, read this story...I'm sure it will resonate with many.

Of Bomb Shelters, Ice Ages and Pandemics

Ask Americans living in the South of a certain age and they can tell you tales of hysteria. I was six when the Cuban Missil e Crisis emerged. I lived in Odessa, Texas, smack in the middle of the Permian Oil Field. Although at the edge of the project limits of missiles being sneaked onto Cuban soil by the Russians, the fear was palpable. The idyllic childhood of wandering the neighborhood for a short time shifted to parents needing to know EXACTLY where you were....in case. 

My six year old mind didn't have the life experience to construct what "in case" actually meant. My Dad, a WWII veteran of the Occupation of Japan had seen actual death. Little was said about the Japanese snipers picking off American personnel after Hirohito surrendered, but I know my Dad, then 19 years old and from a small Texas town, saw enough that he would have been labeled as having PTSD today. My Dad sent for plans to build a bombshelter in our backyard. He told me it was a clubhouse but I could read the plans. Luckily the crisis resolved. But we still had drills every year for the rest of the time I was in school.

Flash forward ten to fifteen years. We lived in Dallas. I attended high school. Some kids in the school were embracing attitudes of rebellion. We had multiple bomb scares my last two years of high school. A cousin of mine was in college when Weather Underground blew up a lab. Vietnam and the incessant imagery pushed on the evening news made the war there seem dire and imminent. The aftermath of political intrigue forced people to take sides while still embracing the veneer of social civility.

Books like "The Late Great Planet Earth" and odd/even gas lines pushed a panic harder. Some adamantly demanded immediate change without any evidence the changes they asked for would even effect the change needed. People began to panic. They bought dangerous cars and took ridiculous risks based on their level of acceptance of the veracity of the crises presented every day on the evening news.

This hysteria led to others. Water, air and food became suspect. We were told sugar, salt, fat, red meat and non GMO vegetables were dangerous, often without any validity. And often the preachers of these new dogmas had a vested interest in getting people to avoid these Some people went completely off the rails seeking religions or charismatic charlatans to fulfill their lives and cancel their sense of dread.

First there was Desert Storm. I remember packing a box with my kids to be sent to military personnel for the holidays. One colonel sent back a Blphoto of the camel he had to ride to surveil forward areas. The public was engaged, fearful that the previous atrocities such as the Achille Lauro and the bombing of the barracks wouldn't happen closer to home. Again much of the mentality was to protect the homefront. We wanted to keep families safe. We wanted to keep danger far away.

Then there was 9/11. And Katrina. And Super Storm Sandy. Danger from violence and nature were at our doors. Instead of addressing the actual needs, media and politicians used these opportunities to garner support. I'm sure people in NYC still remember 9/11 and don't understand why people in government seem to be on an increasing path to cloud that memory. I'm sure people in New Orleans remember Katrina and think the same. No doubt places like Port Aransas and Houston think similar things about Hurricane Harvey and the California folks feel the same sense of dread over their fire seasons of the past few years. What all these catastrophes share is a combination of natural disaster paired with people attempting to use the opportunities to shape political opinions. The media has created this mindset of constant panic because it makes the media a necessary means of finding out what was "really going on."

But was the media telling the whole story? Did they tell an entirely accurate story by telling public that George Bush had the levees bombed to inundate the Ninth Ward of NOLA? Did they tell the truth when they ignore the desertification of the California Central Valley to provide water for coastal elite's lush lifestyles? If the media has cultivated a need for the Public to listen, they also hold an enormous amount of power to sway public opinion using images and cherrypicking facts for specific goals. This cynical approach to using the Public by only telling some of the truth instead of all of it, has created a monster.

Today, too many people are tied to whatever curated slate of information strokes their personal views. Few read opposing views and social media has become more or less a big street fight with some at the top egging on others while social media heads decide whose voice is worthy and whose is not. This is where we are. And depending on who you believe, you are either out and about without a mask or you are huddled in your home masking even while you sleep.

Some states have lifted the requirements to mask. That is their choice. My own state Texas has done so much to my relief. While I won't vilify someone who chooses to mask, masks only made my asthma and coughing worse. I've had COVID. I've had both shots. I have no symptoms and frankly I don't believe the entire asymptomatic claims were valid and I think they'll be stashed away under the heading of unfounded suspicions. While you are free to cover up your face, there is no reason for me to cover mine. We used to be a nation founded on freedom and autonomy. Why are we letting petty tyrants stampeded us into hysteria? That is what this has become-a year of operant conditioning in order to create hysteria and make it easy to pick off the non-compliant. 

Is this what you want for your children and grandchildren? Snap out of it. Or get counseling.

Read this

Soft Bigotry of Low Expectations

 Educrats are supporting the soft tyranny of low expectations. Lowering standards to change demographic groups participation in elite programs will ultimately mean our best and brightest don't get the instruction they deserve in order to serve a group that is unable to perform under the instruction they get.

https://www.usatoday.com/story/opinion/2021/05/10/racial-equity-math-testing-asian-black-high-school-math-column/4929876001/

How To Kill Real Diversity in the Workplace

 Honestly, this story doesn't surprise me.

I saw similar things under the guise of "In Service Training" lead to distrust and dishonesty throughout the entire school. You didn't know who to trust. Teachers who smiled and embraced the New Order literally got away with murder. Their reports weren't scrutinized. They didn't get stern warnings about special ed paperwork. They avoided and even asked not to have to teach learning disabled students (something I didn't know was possible.) And all the while they postured to follow the equity based paradigm of the Leftists in charge.

That this same mindset would start to erode previously successful companies is no mystery. This is just like the mean girl who takes joy in watching others fight. These folks thrive on controversy and sincerely only want diversity on their terms-which is to say no real diversity at all.

But go ahead and read it yourself.

Basecamp

Ditch The Airlines-Take a Road Trip

 Airlines get you places faster. That used to be the main benefit. You could watch movies, eat lunch and travel like some sort of modern potentate to your destination. Now flying is more of a cattle call where you're jammed into ever tighter seats, denied food or water and forced to wear a mask. It's like being evacuated from the contaminated zone only YOU have to pay.

So let me make a suggestion. Take a page out of days gone by and take a road trip. Get online or even get out a MAP and go someplace. If you're locked in some Socialist Democrat gulag, visit a free state near you. Camp! Swim! Fish! Go to a lake, fly a kite, go to a beach. Just the past weekend my husband and I drove to Port Aransas. Port A is a long time haunt for us. Port A was also slammed by Hurricane Harvey and since that time has been working hard to recover. New places are opening, and the older ones are being or have been renovated. It's a good time to go. The water is still pretty cold, but the waves are great. 

We traveled the usual non-highway route. First we go from DFW to West where it's a required stop fo kolaches. Then we drove, bypassing the nightmare that is Liberal NIMBY Austin, to go to Lockhart-the BBQ of Texas and the World. This time we ate at Black's, next time we'll go to Kreuz'. Great BBQ and sides. Then we passed through Luling-the Watermelon Capital-which has a great market. We went to Port A via the ferry. Fun fact: Padre Island is the longest barrier island in the world. The beaches were great. I had shrimp and tilapia and brought back shrimp and snapper for grilling later.

On the way back we stopped and talked to people. We visited the Best Little Gunshop in Goliad where you can also find the final resting place of Colonel Fannin and his men from the massacre by the Mexican troops. There's also an old old old church which is the remains of the fort. The guys in the gunshop were HILARIOUS and had some interesting observations on current issues. We also talked to people in Port A, Aransas Pass, Georgetown, Goliad, San Saba, West, Waco and once you get outside the big cities a few things become clear.

First, people are generally skeptical about everything coming from Washington and even from state capitols.Secondly, mask rules become suggestions the farther away you get from cities. Third, fewer people pay any attention to national news. In fact a few people pointed out that although they might comply to keep a job, nobody believed any of the blather coming from House Biden. 

That's my advice. Ditch the plane which bypasses Real America and Real Americans and go someplace real. Talk to the locals. Live a normal life for a week and remember when EVERY day was like that. Maybe then you'll return willing to fight back against the Democrat Socialists who want to control every aspect of your life.

Questions For Joe Biden

 We've seen a great many Trump compatriots rousted from bed by FBI agents in order to serve a warrant search. Why have we had no investigation into Hunter Biden, who is evidently now a lecturer at Tulane. if you're a parent paying Tulane's tuition, do you really want your child "taught" by drug-addict, serial abuser and self admitted sex addict, Hunter Biden?

Questions for #JoeBiden?
Where were you on Monday, Dec. 18, 1972?
What activities were you engaged in over the weekend previous to that date?
Why was your wife taking her three very young children ALONE to allegedly pick up a Christmas tree? (as reported on http://Heavy.com
Isn't that usually a FAMILY event?
Wouldn't it be difficult for anyone to manage three toddlers and a Christmas tree at the same time?
In that same story the following statement was made: "...“For whatever reason, Neilia Biden, who was holding the baby, ended up in the right of way of Dunn’s truck coming down a long hill,” Politico reported. A friend of Biden’s who looked into the accident at the time told Politico, “She had a stop sign. The truck driver did not.” On what planet is a woman driving with her infant daughter on her lap?
Wouldn't that be a more likely position for a woman trying to ESCAPE from a disabled car with her child?
To your knowledge, was a forensic investigation done on Neilia's automobile?
If so, were any mechanical deficiencies noted?
Why did you continue with the "drunk truck driver" narrative when there was no evidence that was the case?
This same article claims you met your second wife, Jill, on a blind date in 1977. Yet in Jill's book she recounts the following:"...According to her 2019 memoir, Where the Light Enters, Jill had posed in an ad campaign for New Castle County's Parks and Recreation division. That advertisement wound up at said airport in the mid-'70s. Joe, who traveled frequently at the time, was apparently enamored with this woman in the photos and told his brother, Frankie, that the mysterious model was his dream date. We guess this is what they call love at first sight? In a random yet fortuitous twist, Frankie knew a mutual friend of Jill's and was able to get her phone number, which was notably unlisted at the time. Just one day after Joe procured Jill's digits, he called his future wife up for a date in March 1975. When she asked how he'd gotten her number, the politician's answer was oddly curt. In her book, Jill recalled Joe saying, "My brother Frank gave it to me. I just got back into town and was wondering — are you free tonight?" (source:https://bit.ly/330BQw4) You married her in 1977, you met her years earlier. So what is the truth?
Were you faithful to your first wife?
Did she have reason to doubt your fidelity?
Did she confront you earlier over the way you approached women?
I think it's time we start demanding #JusticeForNeilia

Schools Should be Open. This is Why.

 "...As a result, many Americans have an overexaggerated view of certain aspects of the pandemic. One of these may well bear on school reopenings: According to polling, Americans massively overestimate the number of children who have died from the disease. Per the CDC, in the United States, children represent less than 0.1% of total pandemic-related deaths. While each individual death is a tragedy, the statistics remind us of a crucial, well-established feature of this virus: It is far less risky for children, with Americans above age 65 constituting 81% of the share of deaths.

In the same polling, Americans also massively overestimate the likelihood that a COVID-19 infection will lead to hospitalization. Forty-one percent of Democrats hold the completely implausible view that more than half of infections result in hospitalization. Ironically, despite the widespread assumption that Republicans underplay the disease, 26% of Republicans get the rate of hospitalization correct, compared with 10% of Democrats, according to the same study..."

Article Here

Read and Share. Big Media Wants You To Think Things are Just Fine in Liberal Cities. They Are Not.

 Worth reading because you won't see any of this expressed on the network news outlets. https://unherd.com/2021/04/how-anarchists-captured-portland/

Are You Just Going to Stand There Or Are You Going to Do Something?

 If you want to experience what conservative teachers and students must go through daily in our public and private schools, read this. After reading, ask yourself if this doesn't sound like the type of indoctrination we'd have seen under Stalin or Mao or Castro. This is evil and parents need to stand up and make it stop-by attending school meetings, voting for school boards and not blindly accepting the new status quo simply to "get by."

https://bit.ly/3e6oZO8

"...I asked my uncomfortable questions in the “self-care” meeting because I felt a duty to my students. I wanted to be a voice for the many students of different backgrounds who have approached me over the course of the past several years to express their frustration with indoctrination at our school, but are afraid to speak up. They report that, in their classes and other discussions, they must never challenge any of the premises of our “antiracist” teachings, which are deeply informed by Critical Race Theory. 

These concerns are confirmed for me when I attend grade-level and all-school meetings about race or gender issues. There, I witness student after student sticking to a narrow script of acceptable responses. Teachers praise insights when they articulate the existing framework or expand it to apply to novel domains. Meantime, it is common for teachers to exhort students who remain silent that “we really need to hear from you.” 

A Statistic Based Reason Cops Are Stern When They Pull You Over For A Traffic Stop.

 If you are wondering why police are always on defense, consider the following statistics:

"...FBI Releases 2019 Statistics on Law Enforcement Officers Killed in the Line of Duty

According to statistics reported to the FBI, 89 law enforcement officers were killed in line-of-duty incidents in 2019. Of these, 48 officers died as a result of felonious acts, and 41 officers died in accidents. Comprehensive data tables about these incidents and brief narratives describing the fatal attacks are included in Law Enforcement Officers Killed and Assaulted, 2019, released today.

Felonious Deaths

The 48 felonious deaths occurred in 19 states and in Puerto Rico. The number of officers killed as a result of criminal acts in 2019 was 8 less than the 56 officers who were feloniously killed in 2018. The 5- and 10-year comparisons show an increase of 7 felonious deaths compared with the 2015 figure (41 officers) and a decrease of 7 deaths compared with 2010 data (55 officers).

Officer Profiles. The average age of the officers who were feloniously killed was 40 years old. The victim officers had served in law enforcement for an average of 13 years at the times of the fatal incidents. Of the 48 officers:

45 were male

3 were female

40 were white

7 were black/African American

1 was Asian.

Circumstances. Of the 48 officers feloniously killed:

15 died as a result of investigative or law enforcement activities

6 were conducting traffic violation stops

4 were performing investigative activities

2 were drug-related matters

2 were interacting with wanted persons

1 was investigating suspicious person or circumstance

9 were involved in tactical situations

3 were barricaded/hostage situations

3 were serving, or attempting to serve, search warrants

2 were serving, or attempting to serve, arrest warrants

1 was reported in the category titled “other tactical situation”

5 were involved in unprovoked attacks

4 were responding to crimes in progress

2 were robberies

1 was larceny-theft

1 was reported in the category titled “other crime against property”

3 were involved in arrest situations and were attempting to restrain/control/handcuff the offender(s) during the arrest situations

3 were assisting other law enforcement officers

2 with vehicular pursuits

1 with foot pursuit

3 were responding to disorders or disturbances

2 were responding to disturbances (disorderly subjects, fights, etc.)

1 was responding to a domestic violence call

3 were involved in vehicular pursuits

2 were ambushed (entrapment/premeditation)

1 was serving, or attempting to serve, a court order (eviction notice, subpoena, etc.).

Weapons. Offenders used firearms to kill 44 of the 48 victim officers. Four officers were killed with vehicles used as weapons. Of the 44 officers killed by firearms:

34 were slain with handguns

7 with rifles

1 with a shotgun

2 with firearms in which the types of firearms were unknown or not reported

Regions. Felonious deaths were reported in four U.S. regions and Puerto Rico.

27 officers were feloniously killed in the South

9 in the Midwest

9 in the West

1 in the Northeast

2 in Puerto Rico

Suspects. Law enforcement agencies identified 49 alleged assailants in connection with the felonious line-of-duty deaths.

36 of the assailants had prior criminal arrests.

12 of the offenders were under judicial supervision at the times of the felonious incidents..."

~https://www.fbi.gov/news/pressrel/press-releases/fbi-releases-2019-statistics-on-law-enforcement-officers-killed-in-the-line-of-duty

While that is in your mind, and with the Floyd trial being covered nationally, consider this local issue. In Burleson, a small town south of Ft. Worth, an armed robber held up a store with a long gun with a big cartridge. Later, a Burleson police officer was shot MULTIPLE TIMES in a routine traffic stop. Connected? I don't know. But I do know that FELONS TEND TO REACT AND RUN to most normal incidents. That's why cops tend to be apprehensive on traffic stops, domestic violence calls and warrant service. Teach your kids not to be jerks-do what the cop says.

~ https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/crime/burleson-police-officer-shot-multiple-times-during-traffic-stop-in-neighborhood/ar-BB1fDJuN

Democrats Want 16 Year Olds to Vote. When Do They Want Them To Take Responsibility for Their Own Failures?

 Under the imposition of the NEA, Dallas ISD teachers lamented returning to the classroom, perpetuating the notion that in person classes were "dangerous." Then, after at home learning became an abject failure, the district was faccing half of this year's seniors not graduating. So last week the Dallas ISD made a big announcement that ALL seniors must return to the classroom for the last nine weeks of classes. The same kids who broke or pawned their district purchased laptops, who couldn't be bothered to logon or pay attention online were expected to show they had responsibility and show up today.

How many showed up? 43%

Who's with me that it's way past time for some tough love and maybe those kids who chose to stay in bed or played video games rather than showing up should NOT graduate?

https://www.dallasnews.com/news/education/2021/04/12/in-person-attendance-stays-flat-despite-dallas-isds-calls-for-seniors-to-return-to-campuses/

How To Woke Proof Your Children

 Gosh, I wish I had written this.

As it is, this is one of the snarkiest, funniest and absolutely truthful columns on parenting in the age of COVID that I've read. Read it and share it with anyone who has grandkids or kids. Especially post this on forums where the indecisive #WokeFolks may accidentally realize how dangerous and stupid the agenda of the Left under #JoeBiden has become.

Read this.

Best part:

"...Despite what the clowns running this circus want you to think, it actually IS possible to be 100% certain which gender your baby will identify with, as long as you commit as a parent to stopping entry of brain worms. Fake gender identities are a modern progressive social epidemic induced by the Internet, so it requires some avoidance techniques to prevent this infection.

First, you must shun gender neutrality. Dress your girls like ladies and your boys like off-duty firemen. If your little boy requests to wear a dress to school, tell him firmly that boys do not wear dresses, only girls do, and you refuse to allow him to entertain fantasy notions. If boys are allowed to wear dresses at your school, find a new school. If your children insist there are more than two genders, spend some time at the zoo and challenge them to identify these elusive other genders..."

Teachers' Unions Have Become Partisan Dinosaurs

 Read this: Teachers' Unions STILL Want Lockdowns on Schools

There was a time when unions served a purpose. They worked to get meaningful wages, to eliminate child labor and to make sure workers had a voice. Those days are gone. Union bosses have become every bit as money grubbing and elitist as any titan of industry. Indeed many of the offspring of union bosses attend the same elite schools and universities. It should make union rank and file ponder where their membership fees are going.

This leads to our current situation where the NEA is directing via narrative and media connections, the continuing closure of "free" public education. Never mind that this impacts low income students the worst. Ignore that it makes it impossible for single parents to work. Pretend it isn't an economic drag on an already wounded economy. NEA has bigger, unstated sacred cows to gore. And their inroads into controlling the message and measures used in education in some states shows what inordinate power they are wielding.

Many doctors and scientists have said lockdowns for children are unnecessary. They have stated this view from scientific data, from witnessing the demise of too many children and on the number of students who have simply disappeared from class rolls. But the NEA and their strident, fearful minions don't care. They insist on draconian actions that no district can afford in terms of space or money. What many of these same teachers may not realize is that they are destroying their own brand. Parents need to work and most have to work. Sooner or later if the public schools don't open, parents will seek another options. It may be homeschooling, it may be charter schools or private schools, but whatever their choice it will shrink the number of students in schools. 

With fewer students, there is less interest in financially supporting public school education with higher taxes. That means in turn that whatever actions the NEA hoped to achieve such as smaller classes, higher pay, better insurance will fall by the wayside. As these advantages go away, private and charter schools will look even more attractive to parents. If you want to see this in action, look at Chicago. Chicago's taxes are insanely high and many parents struggle to survive, but this is one city where the Catholic school system is strong because parents will do whatever is necessary to make sure their kids are not in the warzone that the Chicago public schools has become.

I'm not cheering this situation. I am a product of public schools. Public schools enabled my father to move out of his Depression Era poverty and go to college. Public school enabled my Irish immigrant ancestors to learn English and become citizens. Public school education is what set us apart from our European ancestors and enabled the American Dream, where anyone can achieve anything with knowledge and hard work. As that system dies-courtesy of the combination of an alphabet soup of agencies and laws-our ability to stand apart also goes away. The American Public School was the shared American experience where we all learned the same English, Math, History and Science and that type of share knowledge is what creates a cohesive culture.

The biggest mistake NEA and its supporters have made is to allow schools to become petri dishes for social justice. Rather than giving students the tools to achieve, schools have been and are being used a means to inoculate children with "appropriate" social attitudes. Whether it is to believe in Global Warming, support "Kindness" as a blanket of acceptance for all manner of behavior or tolerating the outbursts of mentally ill students parachuted into general education classrooms the methodology is push students further apart. These obedient followers are becoming more and more liberal to the point that they can't discuss any issue. The rebels are becoming more conservative and shutting down. 

Now that we have had lockdowns, parents are fully aware of the scope of the indoctrination. While NEA lobbies even up to the White House to stay closed, many parents are opting out or moving to districts where education matters more than ideology. I believe the NEA's endgame is to get Federal control over ALL schools public and private. We're already seeing churches under attack to accept lifestyles or views that don't reflect their moral guides, so is it really so far off to think the NEA wouldn't have an underlying agenda to control ALL education? 

We will never be United Again

 I've never heard or seen so much contrived vitriol in my life. My Mom used to say "If you look for trouble, you'll find it" and that applies to racism, sexism, and every other type of victimhood set up by the Left. I thought maybe I was just hearing from the extremists that Big Media so likes to amplify. But evidently I'm wrong. Evidently the mere existence of anyone who is White is offensive. And frankly the Democrat Socialists seem intent on pulling the bandaids off until a scar so hideous is part of our shared history. I don't know how anyone is going to be able function in an office, classroom or any other group effort. It's as if the Left will not be content until we hate each other to death.

Do you doubt me? Read This

I ask you, have you ever in an urban setting had someone of a different race yet out a comment or question? If someone is looking for a COVID shot, would it be so wrong to just answer the damned question without lamenting over some overarching narrative that has nothing to do with the task at hand? I wonder if the writer is always so civil-never honks his horn in traffic, never yells when someone spills beer on him at a ball game, gets frustrated when his kids use up all the data? How is his male anger any different from an elderly white woman, who has probably wandered around to various shot locations for weeks trying to find available vaccine? Isn't that elder abuse to accuse her of asking and being denied an answer? 

It's obvious that people who hold such hair-trigger bias and prefer their own created habitat should probably seek a means to stay there. If you can't even let go of your own bias in order to score SJW Woke Points, then why should you expect anyone else to give up their own personal Shagrila?

Since When Do We Make Kids APOLOGIZE For Their Race?

 Watch this: Outrageous! 

So a student, who to the faculty of his school "looks white", is forced to APOLOGIZE for his alleged "White Dominance" even though he is biracial and being raised by his Black mother. She is standing up for his right not to be humiliated and denigrated for the sake of Critical Race Theory and a grade. How many other students are in the same situation? How many good kids are being vilified for the sake of a false and accusatory political narrative masquerading as "social justice?" Parents must stand up for their children. Many parents are unaware that these political narratives are being presented to students as factual at every level of education starting with our youngest kids. Remember, the Left has actually produced academic "studies" from soft science programs that babies are racist. BABIES!!! My three week old granddaughter likes anyone who picks her up and cuddles her. I doubt she cares much who does it although she smiles at Mommy because MOMMY FEEDS HER!!!! 

By the way, there is a way to defeat these tin star heroes of the Woke Left. And that is to refuse to accept their behavior at any level. Whether it's Antifa buring down a Federal building or woke politicians like AOC and Aryanna Pressley spreading toxic messaging via bully pulpits, it is long past time to push back and force these bullies out of the safety of their hallowed niches in Academia and Government. It's going to take effort and it's going to mean risk, but if you value your children's futures, you will stop letting the Mockingbird Media and the Leftists Ideologues set limits for the rest of us. 

Read: Beating the Woke

Woke Academia Is Destroying Our Children and our Nation

 Read this

After you've read this column consider how many parents these days blame the schools first. I'm not saying the teachers or the schools or the curriculum isn't to blame, BUT there is plenty of blame to go around. Let me give you some examples.

1. I had a student whose parents pulled him from school during semester exams for a cruise because it was cheaper for them to go then.

2. I had multiple families pull their children out of school to go overseas for a MONTH and then expect the teachers to either completely excuse missed work or stay after school until six or seven every night to allow the students to make up work.

3. When I had a student who refused to do AP Art Studio assignments doing only Anime because I was concerned she wasn't developing enough range to make her skills marketable, I was called a racist because, to quote the mother "We raised our kids that they can be anything they choose to be." That was never my concern-it's just that as a working artist back in the day I know the more skills you bring to the table, the more likely you are to make a real living. BTW, this particular oppressed child lived in a half million dollar home and her parents were CEO's of their respective companies.

4. I had a student whose mother was very socially involved. He came late every day and I'd get a perky email from Mom about how he was home sick and they were going to the doctor. The absences became later in the day and the emails arrived later as well until the student had missed more days than he attended. BTW, the parents were informed by email and phone messaging whenever he was absent. The parents were OUTRAGED when he absence failed the entire year. They said they would homeschool him. The last I heard he was in military school.

5. I had three triplets in classes and two of them did okay. The most talented one refused to turn in work to the point that if I had not relented on the last day and created a project for him to complete, that he would probably still be in high school. BTW, he was kicked off of the football team where his brothers also played. I called the parents repeatedly and never got a response.

I had students whose contact information was totally made up. I had parents who literally threatened my life. I had administrators that never ever backed up the faculty. In those conditions, no teacher is going to risk their lives or their income on a kid whose parents don't even care enough to check the online gradebook. Here's a hint-teachers can see how many times grades have been checked and by whom. In most of the cases of the kids who were failing their parents never checked grades. 

We were expected to call the parents on our own time. If you don't have valid contact information, that's impossible. And that comes to the crux of the matter-where is the education of a student going to become the property and concern of the STUDENT and the PARENTS first? I hear a whole lot of whining and frankly I've seen some teachers who need to be gone, but in the last three years of teaching I experience more belligerence, aggression and confrontation than I did in the previous 17. Woke attitudes are creating chaos for the kids who WANT to learn and for teachers who WANT to teach

Our Endangered Academic History

 Watching a show on family legacy I heard a black woman pride herself on not reading "Huckleberry Finn". It's ironic because Twain was openly against the racist politics of the South and his story was an attempt to show the unfairness of the system. Its almost as if unless a work is by a person of color people are supposed to shun it. Yet my kids were assigned books by writers such as Allende, Chinua Achebe, Maya Angelou. Should we have our children be so shallow in their understanding that they can't see the shared humanity of "A Tree Grows in Brooklyn" "Number the Stars" and "Things Fall Apart?" By doing so, parents and woke teachers are giving students of color LESS rather than MORE. Shouldn't the timeline of our history include Mark Twain along with Harriet Beecher Stowe and Phillis Wheatley? I have no problem with a diverse curriculum, but to offer it as either or is a mistake.

Woke Coke and Other Myths

 #WokeCoke and other corporations have succeeded in perpetuating racism by their actions. Just quotas, the gross assumption is that people of color are incapable of achieving academic and professional goals without a boost, is an assumption of inability. This puts an asterisk by the name of every person of color, even those who have accrued mass achievements and accolades in much the same way a loving parent would celebrate the accomplishments of a child with a disability. This is wrong. This is actual racism as employed by corporate liberal elites for PUBLICITY.

Unfortunately, the Public confuses EQUITY with EQUALITY. The public thinks they are supporting a system where everyone will be viewed without bias. Under EQUITY standards schools, universities and now even businesses are expected to get the same outcome regardless of individual effort or abilities. Anyone working knows that individual situations will vary even within the same company. Some sales territories are more lucrative than others, some labs have better equipment, some stores are going to be more successful. Trying to manipulate society in INSURE SUCCESS means you must draw away from entities who have put in the time and effort to be successful. That's just wrong.

Even liberals should be alarmed as this is a blanket approach which will ultimately touch their lives. The idea of America was that the sins or wealth of your ancestors didn't preclude you from achieving success. What is ongoing now under the guise 1619/Critical Race Theory is an attempt to justify bias for the purpose of legalizing Equity at all costs. Eventually this will pan out as it gets used in much the same way transgender laws are dismantling Title IX for women. It will come back and in one way or another create a system where mediocrity over innovation is cherished and where the highly educated and able persons of color see their own images tarnished for the sake of political gain.

https://imgflip.com/i/4zbexa

Truth: The NEA is Evil

https://www.theamericanconservative.com/articles/teachers-unions-have-always-been-terrible/