Thank You For Helping With The Trees

One of my Northeast Kansas neighbors wrote something rather special to me today, and here it is!

Sensing that this is not really about being thanked for hauling off trees, and I believe the person was actually thanked, I decided to write a response to the comment and include the post it followed, which is actually about Governor Sam Brownback and his contribution to education in Kansas. Had I known the names of all my neighbors, as I generally have in other places I have lived, my daughter and I would have baked some bread or cupcakes for the helpful soul who took the branches away and written a note. Seriously. I would have loved to do that, I just don't know many of my neighbors, at this point. Most of them are not terribly friendly, and when some of them favor such actions as following me home from the store to let me know they will burn my house down if I don't move away, going out of my way to meet more of them is a challenge. I know that does not represent every one of them, but experiences like that tend to stand out. It also illustrates more reasons to bring the "unified school districts" under state and federal control, rather than allowing local control by people who really just want to curse and threaten murder.

Here's what I told this person, in return:

So nice of you to respond in language that was, no doubt, taught and encouraged by USD 380! Jesus and your mother must be very proud!

I was not present when the tree was removed; if it was you, thank you. Seriously. That's still not a reason to write to me, using profanity. I don't think I know anyone like you, anywhere else but here. No one has ever thanked me for potty training an eight year old who had not been taught to use the bathroom by her frankfurter momma, or for teaching two six year olds how to talk; when I married their dad, their frankfurter mom had not taught them a darned thing. Within six months, they were proficient with the language, at a fifth grade level. My "lazy ass" may have cardiac problems brought on by thallesemia, (look it up; my hemoglobin was around 6 when it was diagnosed) but I bothered to teach my children and stepchildren how to use the language in this country. No small task in an isolated community where children are deliberately under socialized. All anyone ever wants to say to me, or to my husband about the fact that his children now achieve, rather than fail, are nasty things. Once again, people like you do not exist elsewhere on the planet, and that's a good thing.

I am so glad you know how to count. Yes, USD 380 does, indeed, have one school board. But learn to analyze numbers more efficiently, please. Marshall County has about 10,000 people within it's borders, and it really only needs one school board. It could probably use three or four small elementary schools, and either two middle schools or one junior high, depending on how the state would decide to manage the system, and one high school. That's all we need. We could offer all the students a better curriculum and better education, and we would save a lot of money. The state could see to it that no one who is unqualified even ran for a position on the school board, and we would all be following the same laws as the rest of the state and the nation. Pretty soon, Marshall County children might even be able to compete, academically, with children from other countries! None of you can now. You know why? Almost all of you, except the "illegals" you keep crying about, are MONOLINGUAL!

To bring geography, as well as mathematics, into this, allow me to also point out that USD 380 has one inefficient institution in Marshall County, and one inefficient institution in Nemaha County. It's much better for the students if all the schools within a school district are in the same county, following the same laws. That way, fewer of your children get away with taking guns and drugs to school.

Once again, if you were the one who helped with the tree, thank you. I do appreciate it. I don't know who people are yet, because no one has reached out to me in gestures of friendship yet, since I moved here in 2007, and when everyone looks so similar to everyone else (I mean that in the nicest way possible; I am used to more diversity) and no one even extends his or her hand in a handshake and says, "Glad to meet you, my name is______", it is hard to track down who is involved in what, in order to say thank you. Believe me, that has bothered me a lot. But there's no need to cuss anyone out over it.  

Petition To Oust Brownback

Governor Brownback, (R) of Kansas has at least inspired some creativity. He has also inspired a petition for a recall. Beyond getting the attention of the appropriate people, an online petition to recall a governor in Kansas doesn't really accomplish anything by itself, which is why your blogger ignored it until now. Brownback probably knew there would be mass disapproval of his performance. He does not show any signs of actually caring. The voters in Kansas really shouldn't be surprised.

People In Kansas Boo Governor Brownback

Surprise, surprise. The republicans who thought Brownback was nifty when he led some silly-assed public prayers (some people will fall for anything) are now disenchanted with his Republican approach to the educational needs of children. The only reason the grownups here can be blamed is because they were all warned that the education budget would take a big hit if Brownback were re-elected; the real victims are the children.

A solution that has been resisted, so far, by Northeast Kansas is consolidation of all the public schools in Kansas. Instead of a bunch of small, largely disenfranchised and independent school districts run by uneducated morons with more interest in downloading porn than in educating children, school districts could be divided by counties; the way other states manage schools. All counties would answer to the state for all matters, from curriculum to finances. Academic requirements would be the same at all schools, rules would be the same for everyone, and there would be no push to keep tiny, under-performing schools open for nostalgic reasons, despite their inefficiency. Requirements for teachers would also be the same at every Kansas school; no more hopping from one "independent school district" to another when a license or qualifications to teach are lacking in one district, but not another. We could also eliminate any unnecessary positions held by untalented former teachers, such as "curriculum adviser". (What the hell is a curriculum adviser, USD 380? Just fire the dumb bitch!) because every school would teach the same subjects. Think of all the money that could be saved if every county just had one school board, instead of three or four! Marshall County Kansas has two and a half school districts and school boards! Half of USD 380 is in Marshall County, the other half in Nemaha County, for a county with less than ten thousand people! Just cut off the dead wood and employ one school board.

Rather than booing Brownback after voting for him, maybe Kansas should look long and hard at the way other schools in the nation are run. Stepping out of the comfort zone of doing things that don't work and amount to nothing, such as public prayer and multiple school districts in each county, will probably help a lot more than blaming a politician who's been bought and sold by the Koch Brothers, for the problems in Kansas public schools. Maybe someone will start picketing Kansas Department of Education to stop answering to politics and make some of these changes for our children.

Republican Governor Gets Two Years For Bribery

"Don't make me go to prison!" "I'm too white to go to prison!" "Jesus said I didn't have to go to prison because that's only for OTHER PEOPLE, not ME!" "I went to confession....why do I have to go to prison?"

Where the HELL is the eye-rolley when I need it? Bob McDonnell, the former Republican governor of Virginia took bribes in exchange for using his office and position to promote someone's business interests, that's a federal crime, he was found guilty, and now he's going to prison, Republican christianity notwithstanding. His wife can probably expect the same, at her sentencing.

McDonnell says he's going to appeal his sentence, which, among sentences for this type of corruption, is light. It seems that it is one last ditch effort to avoid having to report to prison on February 9, which is what he was ordered to do. In addition to wanting the court to give him a free pass to violate whatever law he pleases, he has shown the audacity to request that the court also give his wife a get out of jail free card! So we have a Republican governor who wants the court to withhold the same punishment from himself and from his spouse that it would dole out to someone with less financial backing! How will he feel if he succeeds in getting out of jail free, but wifey gets locked up, anyways? He has no guarantees of anything, right now!

Hopefully, he will get the "vacation" he paid for by taking bribes. Being part of a certain clique or "set" does not impart immunity from the law, nor does it matter how cute a Christian priest finds a republican politician or similar animal. If the law says not to do something, shouldn't these people.....you know......try harder not to do it? After all, if one cannot do the time, one should not do the crime!

Bill Maher On Kansas

Interesting. While delving into the past of Paul Davis, who is running against Sam Browncrack for governorship of Kansas, Republicans discovered that Davis once went to a strip club when he was in his twenties, before he got married. Once. He's never taken bribes, violated anyone's civil rights, pandered to big businesses while forgetting about everyone else, outlawed medical care for women, or compromised education in public schools; but a night on the town sixteen years ago would simply be too much. Quite a bit of Kansas is rather permissive about such things as clubs and drinking: when parents complain about the behaviors of predominantly christian high school boys in public schools that function as if they were private, predominantly christian school, (lots of drinking and sexaul exploitation-not much reading, writing, and 'rithmetic) the "unified" school boards look the other way, saying "boys will be boys". But now we have the same religious Republicans who give their own sons the latitude to drive drunk and take advantage of our underage daughters crying the blues because a contender for the office of governor went out one night and drank in a bar. The only reason Republicans in Kansas wouldn't be comfortable with Davis as governor is because Davis would not be in favor of bar hopping every night, or of driving home drunk. And Davis would definitely not favor allowing children to do such things.

Davis also does not use religion in order to push anyone's buttons or gain a reaction from a voter. Brownback does. That's a big reason to vote against Brownback. Religion is personal, and Kansas routinely expresses far too much disrespect for it.

A Zombie Apocalypse In Kansas?

Today, Governor Brownback officially declared that October is Zombie Preparedness Month here in Kansas. He did it with a straight face, too. His reasoning is that if Kansans are prepared for zombies, they should be prepared for anything. That's an interesting notion, but do zombies really compare to tornadoes, floods, and earthquakes? And if they do, doesn't Kris Kobach (R-Kansas) have some helpful ideas, such as self deportation for zombies?

A "zombie" is a corpse that has been brought back to life, according to the mythos of the Voudon folk religions of Africa. A legendary zombie has no will of it's own, and exists to only follow the direction of the person who enslaves it. As a somewhat realistic practice in times past in Haiti, certain drugs, capable of creating brain damage, were occasionally administered by less scrupulous practitioners of folk religions. This could produce a "zombie-like" state in a victim. As a result, such practices were outlawed in Haiti in the late 1800's. It all seems somewhat comparable to modern children on medications for ADHD, and brainwashed, even without ADHD medications, in public schools! Perhaps that's why Governor Brownback feels that there is a need to be prepared for zombies........ the influx of graduates from our nation's public schools!

There will be an event Saturday from 10 AM to 2:30 PM in Topeka at the Crestview Shelter House on Sunga Drive to learn more about zombie preparedness. The first three hundred people will receive free "disaster-on-the-go"packs. Somehow, it seems unlikely that Brownback has considered including any counterspells in these packs; either for Kobach's legislation, Kansas public schools, or zombies.

Kansas Public School Teachers Protest

Governor Brownback, of Kansas, was met by a small group of protesting teachers in Hays one day last week because he recently signed a bill into law that he hopes will help redistribute funding for Kansas public schools more equally among school districts. The bill has some language and clauses that allow tax credits to those of us who do not use local public schools, and strips public school teachers of their tenure and due process if they happen to get fired from their jobs. Normally, I would be inclined to sympathize with the teachers, but not here in Kansas. My children do not attend the local public school, Frankfort, part of USD 380, because a teacher abandoned my fourteen year old daughter four miles away from school, and when he realized she was lost, did nothing to find her. He went home and had dinner, thinking she could find her own way back to Frankfort. No worries about my daughter being slowed down by an accidental injury, a bee sting, asthma, or an unsavory stranger. The school responded by failing to fire this teacher, and failing to make any changes to ensure safety at school. For this reason alone, I find the tax credit for families that home school and removal of tenure for Kansas public school teachers only fair. Another reason why I think public school teachers in Kansas do not deserve tenure is the way some of them treat children and parents. Below is a rather ugly message sent to me by a teacher who thought she could remain anonymous online. She was attempting to pressure me to vote for a candidate she favored in the 2008 presidential election, and in the 2012 presidential election. She also got very angry with me for enlisting the assistance of the ACLU in the enforcement of Abington School District v. Schempp, which gives children the right to learn in school, unhindered by religious pandering.

"Oh Miss Juli! Once again you just crack me up :) If Mitt doesn't win this election you can pretty much kiss the USA goodbye, but then, you would really like that, wouldn't you? You are the type that doesn't really give two shits about the flag, thinks God doesn't belong....ANYWHERE"

Nowhere else have I had interactions with public school teachers who engage, unsolicited, in disagreeable discourse about politics and elections! A post on this site and a bumper sticker revealed my political leanings to this teacher, and she was unable to stop herself from harassing my children and me! This is actually in conflict with the Constitution, which allows me to vote for the candidate of my choice, and for this reason, it pleases me greatly to see teachers a little bit closer to the unemployment office when they fill their salaried hours with activities other than teaching.

Note: Lemme clarify something about my last picture right here; there isn't a problem in bearing a love child. The problem arises when we pretend to be holy, when in fact, we are not.

Good For Nebraska

What a Koch Brother to do, anymore? Even the Republicans don't wanna play! Nebraska, for the second time, has foiled their plans to run Keystone through their state. First, several landowners felt cheated at the prospect of their land getting snatched by the process of eminent domain when the land snatched for the pipeline would not benefit anyone in their respective communities, or anyone in Nebraska, for that matter. So a lawsuit somehow ended up granting the governor the ultimate say-so concerning where and when the pipeline could be built. The governor, Dave Hieneman, (R) initially opposed the project because of the potential of polluting the Ogallala Aquifer should anything not go as the Koch Brothers have promised. Now, it seems that there have been concerns about too much power granted to the governor inasmuch as the decision of who must sell his property for conscience money is concerned. Lancaster County Judge Stephanie Stacy took that authority away from the governor and put it back in the legislature's hands. It's hard to imagine that one pair of corrupt businessmen can personally own as many of our local, state, and national politicians and leaders as they own, and also control any grants given to any part of the scientific community.

Paul Davis Throws His Hat In The Ring

House Minority Leader Paul Davis, (D) has thrown his hat into the ring to run for governor of Kansas, against Sam Brownback. He is less flamboyant than Brownback, more down to earth, much more concerned about the quality of public schools in Kansas, and does not lead public prayers. He's already looking good, and the "D" for Democrat doesn't hurt, either, although Davis has a reputation for working with both parties. His website is Davis For Kansas.

 

 

Listen To Your Elders, Brownback

Ya learn something new every day! The Kansas Silver Haired Legislature, an advisory group to governor, led by senior citizens, has recommended legalization of medical marijuana in Kansas to Governor Sam Brownback! Senate Bill 9, written by Senator David Haley, of Kansas City, Kansas, calling for legalization of marijuana with a doctor's recommendation, has gotten no traction as of yet, but Kansas seniors would like something less addictive than oxycodone and easier on the kidneys than ibuprofen and acetaminophen for pain. Who knew?

That said, I will reiterate what I have stated on this site several times in the past: I do not use any recreational drugs, and condone no unlawful activity, but would like to see violations of prohibition laws relegated to a lesser place on court dockets, and charges for the same as misdemeanors rather than felonies. Prohibition of alcohol in this country, from 1920 to 1933, was unproductive, barely enforceable, and created opportunities for organized crime. Can anyone say "Mafia"?

The Kansas Silver Haired Legislature also consulted with Law Enforcement Against Prohibition (LEAP) prior to making their recommendation. This gives Governor Browncrack a perspective about the legal aspects of medical marijuana as well as the health aspects. Hopefully, Brownback will listen to his elders.