So You Wanna Homeschool?

Tags

editorial, homeschooling

I happened to run into a post on homeschooling that involved what are apparently yearly conventions held in states each year. I have no clue who sponsors these things, but if you back track on the one offered in Texas, called the THSC Southwest Convention and Family Conference, you find that it at least is “sponsored” by the Heritage Foundation, an American conservative think tank. I would be surprised if you don’t find similar (if not the same) sponsors around the country.

Now, homeschooling in theory is not a bad thing necessarily. There are people who live so far off the grid that it is their only choice. There are others who live far enough from local schools that the transporting times and costs become prohibitive.  There are school systems that most anyone would agree are so lacking in quality that a well-trained parent can surely do better.

The downsides are also obvious and ones that can be fairly overcome I think by a bit of ingenuity. Children can be involved in all kinds of sports and other activities that gives them the socialization skills that homeschooling lacks. It may not be as good as regular schools offer, but the limitations are just that, limits, not barriers.

Unfortunately, most people today it seems are not homeschooling out of necessity, but rather out of a desire to teach their children differently, and by differently, I don’t mean by a different educational model. They simply want to infuse religion in the curriculum. They disguise it with talking about the failures of public schools.

It is well documented that our public schools are not doing a good job. That is not a reason to remove children but a reason to supplement their education with side trips to museums, cultural events, and more reading lists.

While this is the main reason stated for homeschooling, the real reason, as I said, is to inculcate a certain religious view onto education. Homeschooling parents call it “giving their children all sides of the issue”. In reality it is nothing more than introducing myths and fantasy into education and calling it “alternative” theories.

Such is surely the case with evolution, which most Christian homeschoolers claim is only one of “several” theories about how our world was created. They claim that schools are “close-minded” by refusing to explore these other alternatives. Of course, there are no “several” theories at all. There is one that is factual, evolutionary biology and one that is based on faith in the interpretation of a religious text. One is based on fact, one is based on belief. One has a place in  plain education, one has a place in religious education.

Similar changes are occurring when it comes to history. The right-wingers have been churning out right-wing based revisionist history books that are designed exactly for this crop of consumers. (Funny how that happens) We have all read about these texts, which downplay the contributions of African-Americans, and glorify the theme of American Exceptionalism to the detriment of Native Peoples and other not Anglo-saxon individuals. Periods when the US exhibited immoral behavior are notoriously downplayed in these “histories.”

Even more alarming to me is the fact that most states offer little or in some case no supervision to homeschooling. In many, one must prove that the “teacher” has a HIGH SCHOOL diploma, and provide a “curriculum” covering the basic areas of learning, along with a list of books to be used. That’s it.

Nobody of course is going to check to see what books are actually being used, and what is being taught.

If you doubt the dangers here, take a look at some of the presentations offered at this 2-day convention:

9:30 AM: David Gibbs ~ What’s Next for America?
Description: “What kind of world will your child inherit? In this thought-provoking workshop, Attorney David Gibbs discusses trends in the law that could determine the world of tomorrow and what you can do to make a difference.”

* Following his workshop last year Jeff and I purchased the Understanding the Constitution text and workbook authored by David Gibbs, Jr. & David Gibbs III. This year Jeff is using this text in a U.S. Government course he is teaching at our co-op.

10:45 AM: Jean Burk ~ How to Ace the SAT and Get Free College
Description: “Test-prep Guru, Jean Burk, will share her secrets of SAT success that have helped hundreds of students raise their scores as much as 600 points! Learn how to find shortcuts in test patterns and save time on all types of questions. Math, writing, and verbal sections are all covered in this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. If you have kids in high school, you can’t miss this seminar about preparing them for the SAT and getting FREE College!”

1:45 PM: Tim Lambert ~ Courtship – A Father’s Perspective
Description: “In this workshop Tim explains the basics of courtship. This method of choosing a life-partner is enjoying a resurgence, as young people and their families return to a more scriptural and positive approach. He discusses this issue from the perspective of a father whose role differs with sons and with daughters.”

3:00 PM: Dr. Jobe Martin ~ Raising Defenders of the Faith, Not Defector
Description: “This workshop is about raising children in our culture so that they know biblical truth in their innermost beings. Dr. Martin challenges parents to show their children how to glorify the Lord in what they say and do, and to fear the Lord above all else. He ends with a challenge to parents to train their children to have biblical discernment.”

4:15 PM: Tim Lambert ~ These Uncertain Times
Description: “With daily disturbing news out of Washington, D.C., and concerns about threats to our freedoms at the state level as well, what must we do? Tim will share his thoughts on some of the areas of concern for Texas home schoolers and ways we can have an impact and protect our children’s future.”

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SATURDAY, AUG. 4TH
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9:30 AM: Susan Wise Bauer ~ The Well-Prepared Student (High School): How to Get Ready for College
Description: “In this session, learn what and how to teach your child in grades 9-12—before they fill out those applications and head off for the freshman year. What expectations should you have for high school? How can you teach those subjects that stump you? How should you personalize the high school curriculum for your student, while still making sure that the basics are covered? What skills will your student need to develop in order to thrive in college? As a college instructor, Susan Wise Bauer has taught scores of college freshmen and knows what they should have learned before the freshman year; as a home educating parent, she has graduated one high school student (now at UVA) and is in the thicket of high school with two more.”

10:45 AM:Dr. Jobe Martin ~ Why Should the Christian Worldview be Grounded in Creation?
Description: “This talk includes many of the evidences for creation that the Lord used to bring Dr. Martin from being an agnostic, zen-Buddhist, evolutionist to a young earth creationist. Dr. Martin uses statistics and current studies to vividly demonstrate how our Christian school kids are following the same downward path into secular humanism that the public school kids are taking and that it is only the homeschoolers who are “stemming the tide,” though they are also sloping off into moderate Christianity instead of staying solidly Biblical. This talk will enable young people to stand strong against the attacks of evolution and secular humanism in the academic arena and today’s culture.”

1:45 PM:Voddie Baucham ~ Culture Wars: How They Affect the Home School Family and How We Respond
Description: “There is a mighty clash of worldviews going on all around us, and there is no way to escape. Educating our children at home will only postpone the inevitable. Our children will engage the culture. The only question is, will they do so as lambs going off to slaughter, or will they be sheep among wolves who are “wise as serpents and innocent as doves”? (Matthew 10:16)”

3:30 PM: Susan Wise Bauer ~ Educating Our Own Minds: How to Teach Ourselves as We Teach Our Kids
Description: “Educating our children involves educating ourselves. And that means gaining confidence in our own intellectual abilities—rather than relying solely on “experts.” Come discover a plan for self-education in the classical tradition, including scheduling for busy adults; setting up a reading plan that involves understanding, analyzing, and discussing literature; and mastering the skills needed for reading classic fiction and nonfiction.”

If this list doesn’t frighten you, then I suspect you are not on the right blog. This list of speakers and topics is right out of the right-wing playbook on how to create good Republican stooges.

Such is my take. Yours?

NOTE: the agenda for the conference came from OMSH who contributes regularly to Pioneer Woman. I have no idea if Ree Drummond endorses this kind of stuff or not. The link is to the post wherein OMSH expresses her utter joy at the wonderful conference this will be.

** Please note that I think virtually all public education needs to be supplemented by parents with outside sources.

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• You are Qualified to Homeschool! (practicalpages.wordpress.com)

Sign Up for Wimp Alerts!

Tags

2nd Amendment, Election 2012, Humor, Justice Scalia, Mitt Romney, satire

 

 

It was bound to happen. Somebody, and then a lot of some bodies were gonna call out Willard for being a wimp. Wimp is really too nice a word–gutless would be more to the point.

We got some indication of this just by looking at how Bain operated. It’s basic business model was to so structure the take-over so that Bain made money no matter what happened to the company they were restructuring.

Others say that Willard is uncomfortable among those not of “his kind” and gets flustered. This explains why he avoids the press–he fails to anticipate the question, hasn’t thought much about it anyway, and tends to be fairly unaware of what is coming out of his mouth. Thus the silly references to “trees being the right height”, a funny picture reducing him to “guffaws”, and so forth.

He has no real convictions I’m convinced, and thus it is of little consequence from his point of view to change his position to satisfy whomever stands before him. He has no courage to stand up. If you have watched him over the last week with his new “attack dog” motif, you can surely see the fake-ness of it all. There is nothing authentic about him, thus nothing authentic sounding about anything that pours forth from his lips.

The latest pander, by the way, is to declare Jerusalem the rightful capital of Israel, something no American president has done since 1948. The UN has declared it an “international city” and frankly Willard seems not to realize that to claim to intend to move the American embassy to Jerusalem is to whip the winds of war in the Middle East.

More talking out of both sides of his mouth came when he praised the Israeli health care system–a system that has been socialized since its inception in 1948. What is good for Israel is not of course good for America apparently.

Ψ

I  just thought this was funny. I think the headline should be “don’t drink and drive”. How ’bout you?

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Justice Scalia has put an ad in the paper asking anyone who may find it to return his brain. This looney-toons thinks that the proper way to interpret the Constitution is the use the plain meaning of the words as meant at the time the document was formed.

Therefore. . . .this idiot claims that the only restrictions that can be placed upon the 2nd Amendment are limitations that would have been “reasonable” to the people at the time. He cites that a misdemeanor for carrying a head ax was proper because such a weapon was considered frightening at the time.

Do you think that a rifle made to look like a AK-47 might be frightening to-day you moron? According to Scalia, it doesn’t matter. If the locals of 1770’s couldn’t foresee such a weapon, it is not illegal today. Nor are hand-held rocket launchers, under his theory that any hand-held weapons are protected, which a cannon would not be. (I suppose that refers to “keep and bear” obviously meaning hand-held?)

Oh, if you find any screws around, send them to him too, he’s obviously lost all of those too.

Ψ

Enjoy your day. There is no more news. Trust me.

Related articles

• Bain controversy evokes Mitt Romney’s ‘wimp factor’ – US politics live (guardian.co.uk)

 

I’m Sooooo Behind

Tags

gay rights, GOP lies, Mitt Romney, Obama, Olympics, Penn State, Sally Ride, small business

Yes I am. I get up at 6 a.m. and can’t seem to ever get a chance to sit down until near noon. And then I am POOPED. For a while at least. Let me see, what did we do this week? Well, I walked my requisite 14 miles. I water aerobic’d for two hours.  I bought a couple of lamps. We got our window treatments installed and we love them. The Contrarian bought his own car and has it all titled and licensed. I went to the farmer’s market and bought a lot of veggies and made a kick-ass Gazpacho for dinner–to be featured soon at “What’s on the Stove.” Oh, and I am watching the Olympics. Phew.

Speaking of which—

Willard is busy making a butt-hole of himself in London. Technically, I think he has left already–helped no doubt by the shaft shoved up his bunghole by the British people.

Things are bad when people say you are worse than Sarah Palin. No class, no personality, no charm, no sincerity. That about sums up what they think of him.

On now to Jerusalem where he gets to meet his “old friend” Bibi, who we understand gave an interview saying he would agree that he and Romney “knew each other” sort of. Not quite the glowing palsy-walsy that Romney alluded to in his claims to “call Bibi” and offer his “help” on a regular basis.

Plenty of Republicans are wondering just why this trip was undertaken. Word we here is that Willard is fond of over-ruling his advisers somewhat regularly. I guess that is working for him, as he sees it.

Speakin’ of which.

Oh would it ever be nice to have an Olympic games free of controversy, such as the ages of the girls competing in gymnastics, doping controversies, and especially the daily totals of which country leads in the medal count.

Why would any one care? Isn’t it about excellence and the individual or team?

And let’s forget the pros who suddenly become amateurs in order to attain another notch in their celebrity memory book. While I adore tennis, I have no interest in watching pros play other players of lesser ability just for the sake of recognizing a sport. Which has always been my beef with basketball and ice hockey etc.

I’m not sure how you feel about it, but I for one think Penn St. got exactly what it deserved. Certainly the students there don’t deserve this, but apparently the only way to convince their “adult supervisors” how to behave, is to punish everyone.

I believe Paterno got what he deserved too, although he is not here to accept his punishment. Amazing how someone is willing to give up what would otherwise be a stellar life history all in the name of protecting the good ‘ol boys, and the football program. It ended up doing neither, and ruined many a reputation at the same time.

I guess what burns me up about all his business, is that quite frankly the MSM has again fallen down on the job. This hatchet job of selective editing to make it appear that the President said something very different from what he actually said should be called what it is–blatant lying.

And Fox was worse yet by “re-editing” it to show you exactly what the President said, and then again, making it what it was not.

Why can’t they just show the footage as given and juxtapose that with Willard’s lie? I mean are those the facts or not? Just the facts. It’s all I ask.

We were sad to hear of the passing of Sally Ride.

As a woman, we recognize that she blazed a new trail and gave home and dreams to millions of young girls. As a young girl myself, a dozen of more interesting professions were off-limits to me. Because of women like Ms. Ride, that is no longer true.

I recognize that given the propensity for huge numbers of companies to be sympathetic to Republican goals, that it is not always easy to boycott them to make your voice heard.

But this one seems a no brainer. After all, there are plenty of other chicken fast food places.

And while the extreme right screeches that it is an outrage for Starbucks and Amazon to donate money to causes that are “leftist” they screech just as loudly that the left has no business punishing a company for exercising its free speech rights. Well, arguably it’s all wrong since the employees may well not agree with management, but if it’s good for one side, surely it must be for the other.

I’ve never seen a chick-fil-A establishment frankly, but I surely wouldn’t eat at one either. There is KFC, Popeye’s and Church’s just for starters.

I dunno about you, but it’s a happy day for me. I hope it is for you too!

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• Romney’s Sally Ride Tweet Draws Fiery Response From LGBT Advocates (huffingtonpost.com)
• Romneyshambles (ourfriendsinthewest.wordpress.com)
• Romney Has Imploded (boomantribune.com)
• David Cameron hits back at Mitt Romney over London 2012 doubts (guardian.co.uk)
• Netanyahu: Romney Lying About Their Friendship (kaystreet.wordpress.com)
• Selling Out Sarah Palin (americanthinker.com)

Aw Shucks and BeJesus!

Tags

George W. Bush, GOP, Louis Gohmert, Michele Bachmann, Mitt Romney, Muslim Brotherhood, NRA, religious right, social media

 

 

 

Doncha know that I am just bummed. I hear ex-pretence-of-a-president, George W. Bush, Dubya fun, dubya stupid to his friends, ain’t a goin’ to the big to-doin’s called the GOP convention.

Nope, he don’t wanna take the spot light off the dim bulb personality of Willard.

Given that Georgie was one of the more incurious types ever to sit his behind in the oval office, my guess is that it is just too boring for him to bother with.

But then again, no doubt the black sheep son is also somewhat concerned about his legacy. And associating with idiots probably would not help. Speaking of legacy, when I heard that the Texas stooge (not Gohmert or Perry), had written a book about EKO-NOM-IKS, I nearly lost my lunch in guffaws (Willard uses this term for laughing). I mean you gotta be kidding me!

Seriously. The man is a mental midget.

&

There is a really excellent post by Frank Bruni on the NYTimes editorial page about the super-noodle head, Michele Bachmann. Bruni examines her strange variety of “Christianity”, you know the one I mean. The one favored by the likes of Pat Robertson and Jerry Falwell, and other hate-mongering types who use their sick interpretation of the bible to justify suppression of other people. Take a look. As always take a look at the comments.

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Ya know,  the NRA may tell me that I can’t talk about gun control because it is “politicizing” a tragedy. Which is dumb of course, but the crazy right thinks it’s exactly the proper time to blame it all on liberals. Colorado is Gods vengeance for turning away from Him. Sick huh? Which makes our favorite hate monger, Bryan Fischer’s remarks all the more backward:

It’s been interesting to me in talking to liberals, and I’m sure you’ve had this same experience, the conclusion I’ve come to is that they cannot be reasoned with because logic means nothing to them, facts mean nothing to them, history means nothing to them, reason means nothing to them. They just have these very strong feelings and the strength of those feelings in their minds is all they need to validate the positions they take. So I’ve just come to the conclusion that liberals cannot be reasoned with they can only be defeated.

Now that will make your head spin won’t it?

&

Willard appears to be taking a page from the Gingrich (where the hell did he go?) playbook. Remember when ole Nootie Patootie was buying Twitter followers? Well it seems our boy Willard has done the same thing. His campaign of course denies it, but his numbers went up dramatically on one day, and they don’t match the retweets and tweets offered on that day. Estimates are that Willard’s twitter account contains only about 26% real people. For an unreal guy, hey that’s pretty good don’t ya think?

&

Well one thing you don’t wanna do. Louis Gohmert Republican idiot from Texas, don’t take no “chit” from nobody, and that includes one John S. McCain–a man not known to take criticism well. Senator McCain had the audacity to criticize Gohmert and Bachmann and others who decided based on no evidence to attack a Hillary Clinton aide. McCain came to her defense.

Well, Gohmert didn’t care for that, and while appearing on the Dennis Miller (he has a show?) show, called McCain “numb nuts” and that McCain was probably under the influence of the Muslim Brotherhood.

I do believe that we are drawing near to a time when it can fairly be said that there are no minds at all in the GOP only facsimiles.

I bid adieu, adios, and good day to you all.

GOHMERT: Well, it’s obvious that John McCain didn’t even read the letter because of what he said in accusing Michele and us of making these horrible accusations. There were five letters and there were many things that are stated that are facts in each letter. And I wish some of these numb nuts would go out and read the letter before they make these horrible allegations about the horrible accusations we’re making. But we also know that John McCain himself had said back in the early stages of stuff going on in Egypt that he was, in his words, “unalterably opposed to helping the Muslim Brotherhood.” Well, obviously the unalterable person has been altered, so he is okay with it now.

Yeah, well now Louis, you have about as much sense as Gomer Pyle on a bad day, so I’d button that lip before Johnny comes and lays you out on the House floor for impersonating a Representative. And don’t land on no cactus when you fall there bud.

 

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How Did It All Come to This?

Tags

2nd Amendment, gun control, murders, NRA, US, violence, Wayne La Pierre

Yeah, it’s another one of those tragedies. You know. The ones that happen to somebody else’s kids, somebody else’s father, somewhere else.

It’s a shame. It’s awful. Another sick individual who explodes in a rage which for some demented reason includes killing as many innocent people as possible.

And the weapon of choice is always guns. Always. We tell ourselves–at least the politicians among us, that (insert killer of the month) would have used something else–bombs or poisons if guns had been unavailable. Sure he would have. Sure.

And let’s not forget that ever popular slogan “it’s not guns that kill people, it’s people who kill people.” They just use guns.

I recently saw some numbers. They are simply appalling. There are 90 guns for every one hundred persons in the US. Eighty-five people DIE in the US every DAY due to guns. It is the leading cause of death in the African-American community. There were something like 58 deaths in Great Britain last year due to gun violence. For the YEAR. They can’t even meet our DAILY total.

I grew up with guns in the house. Pistols but mostly shotguns and rifles. My dad was a hunter and we ate rabbit and deer and pheasant regularly. I have nothing against those who hunt for sport, though I don’t really get the “fun” of whacking animals. But I don’t argue that it should be banned.

But I see no need for assault weapons and big clips that allow rapid fire of a hundred or more bullets. Nobody needs that to hunt. And frankly, if you enjoy shooting at ranges, there is no reason why you can’t go and rent a gun for use there. If that kind of thing floats your boat.

Did you go to the mall last week? When’s the last time you took in a movie? Shopped for groceries? Went to a museum, restaurant, or farmer’s market? Are you sure that some sick-minded young man has decided that this is the day, and this is the location that he is going to “even the score” against the world. Can you be assured that your child, yourself, or your loved one won’t be there and in the line of fire?

Well, that is always going to be the case of course. Random acts of violence are part of our world, and that includes everyone I assume. But surely the odds rise drastically if you live in the United States of America. Here your chances are hugely higher.

There’s an interesting article by Ezra Klein on some violence statistics. Violence over-all, along with gun ownership is declining, but we are so far out in the front versus the rest of the world that it’s still a frightening picture. And the statistics show rather clearly that the more the guns there are, the more violence there is, and states with stricter laws have less violence.

Of course the NRA will have none of this. They begin by claiming that any mere mention of gun control is “politicizing” the tragedy. Bull.

Why this lobby has this kind of control is simply shocking. I picked up this twitter post which in fact says it all:

Like Grover Norquist and taxes, Wayne La Pierre has the Republicans and most of the Democrats afraid to open their mouths when it comes to guns. In Wayne’s wacky world, the very fact that President Obama has taken not ONE step toward limiting gun rights, is proof positive that he will abolish the 2nd Amendment if he gets a second term in office. (This is coupled with the insanely untrue claim that Obama is secretly working with UN to have guns declared illegal in the US. This was vaguely alluded to by Willard the Liar in his remarks that he would “never give away any of our sovereignty to the UN” in a speech recently. The average person probably had no idea what he referred to but it is code for the crazy gun lovers lobby. They got the message that Willard was on their side, and their delusions were valid by inference.)

A few Democrats are introducing legislation that would ban the sale of assault weapons and big clips. It will die in committee, as even most Democrats want no part of such “controversy” in an election year. The President remains silent as the Willard.

Soon it will be on to another topic. This awful thing will be forgotten.

Until.

The next one.

And we will start all this crap again, and end in the same place again.

Only the victims will change.

Will you be one?

It’s anybody’s guess isn’t it.

Six Facts about Guns, Violence and Gun Control

America’s Deadly Devotion to Guns

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Oh, the Sadness of It

Tags

boy scouts, child abuse, gay rights, global warming, guns, Humor, Islamaphobia, Joe Paterno, Michele Bachmann, Mitt Romney, NRA, satire, violence, voting

It’s useless to ask how many must die before the NRA stops this charade that any limit on guns is some monstrous threat to our freedom.

They will continue always to argue that to even discuss the issue is “taking advantage of the tragedy”. Of course it is not. As  E. J. Dionne pointed out, no such thing was said when FEMA was attacked after Katrina.

Our gun policy is insane. The Democrats are scared silly to even mention it. The NRA continues to scream that Obama must be defeated because they are sure that once elected to a second term, he will let loose the dogs of gun control and in cahoots with the UN, eviscerate the Second Amendment. It’s all insane.

There is no shortage of insane people in this country. Pursuant to the religious policies of the Mormon and Catholic churches (now that’s some strange bedfellowing), the higher-ups in the boy scouting world have voted to continue preventing gay men and women to serve as scout masters.

Way to continue false stereotypes you miserable excuses for Jesus followers. (If you detected some personal opinion here, be assured it was not intended.) 😛

And let’s not forget our girl, Michele “wild eyes” Bachmann. Much like the much forgotten Sarah, Michele misses the limelight and doesn’t really care who she harms in her quest to get some press.

Her attacks on Huma Abedin are outrageous, causing members of her own idiotic party to condemn her. With her on this McCarthyite-type attack is the ever crazy Louis Gohmert, that fine upstanding horse’s ass from Texas. He lost the fight with Rick Perry over the one brain cell they were supposed to share. Nothing but cobwebs in his upstairs. Shame on ’em both.

And then there is Paterno, now dead and unable to face what he should have to face.

How can you work with young people virtually all of your life, yet turn your back and cover up a man who is molesting children?

How can you?

Rip down that statute, Penn State. He deserves nothing but our condemnation.

Meanwhile drought continues over vast areas of the US. What looked to be a bumper crop in the Midwest is being plowed under as a total loss or near it. The West is on fire. The East is sweltering.

But the righty-tightys continue to point out that their version of the bible suggests (if you choose to read it that way) that the earth will never be destroyed, and that’s enough for them. The Koch brothers and their ilk pat them on their stupid heads, and order more martinis.

And the GOP, though insane, are not stupid. They have devised a way to suppress the Democratic vote.

It’s the American way doncha know. I mean, better than 10,000 legitimate voters be turned away rather than one illegitimate one in the entire nation get through to cast a ballot.

No doubt that is what the Founding Fathers intended.

Gosh we got pretty darn far before a Romney insanity showed up. Seems Willard is spending all his time now, reminding us that “greed is good”.

Word is that what Willard is trying so hard to keep under wraps is that he basically paid no taxes before he dressed them all up for public display. He points out that Lindsay Graham says that not paying taxes IS the American way. But of course, Mitt expects me to pay mine. Lots more in fact, so that we can keep those taxes really low on the job creators. Does that include his horse who garnered a $77,000 deduction a few years ago? He was creating manure for sure. And I guess somebody got a job cleaning that up. Must be how it works.

Can’t we all just learn to get along?

 

Nothing Is Really Different

Tags

life in the foothills, moving on, new beginnings

I know.

I’m tinkering again.

I have felt for some time, that here in Las Cruces, in the Chihuahuan Desert, that the feather had finally drifted to the ground.

And so it seems that it or I, am no longer adrift. Perhaps it’s deeper than coming to find a new dwelling place. Perhaps, it’s got to do with comfort in my own skin at last, in my own thinking and conclusions about the world around me.

I strive mightily, at least at times, to search for the truth about things and then to call it as it seems to be to be. I’m not always right of course, because I am that mass of experiences, predilections, and genetics that push me to see the world in my own unique way, and that is not always objective reality–whatever the hell that might be.

I’m quite aware that reality is easier or harder to accept depending how deep in the mud you are with it. It’s far easier to pontificate about things that I’m not directly involved with than it is to grapple with the surging riptides that assault one would appear to be a clear right/wrong opinion.

Whatever, I shall keep carrying on, for I am compelled to state what I think regardless of its actual merits or lack of same, and you are free to comment, call me a fool, a seer, or something in between.

It’s been a long hard slog, this moving business. It’s taken longer than I would have thought, been easier in the doing, and shocking in its breadth in the looking back. I’m at the point of setting up the library now, the thing I left to the last (though we haven’t touched the landscaping yet), and I have finished phase I, which is the cataloging. Four hundred and forty-nine to be exact, but whose counting. Had I not sold off nearly double that some years ago, well you can imagine what I would be going through!

It’s sad in some respects and I feel rather guilty in others that moving here has been like breathing new life into an aging hen. Once fit only for the stew pot, I’m walking with a definite kick to my step as I traverse the foothills each morning. Today, I tried water aerobics at the pool, and fell in love with it. Not exercise to me, it will be a regular feature in my weekly routine.

I feel both sad and guilty at this, because it points out to me, that emotions play a far deeper role in me that I would like. Try as I might, my mind could not overcome my depression that living in the meadow had pushed me to. That is a sobering thought. So is the fact that the love of a good man was also not enough to satisfy me.

Thankfully, he was the bigger “human” and gratefully tells all, “she shared the meadow with me for twelve wonderful years. It’s the least I can do to share her dream now.”

I cannot tell you what it means to have that kind of love holding you up. I can only hope I can return it as fully. He would say that I do, but of course I doubt that.

Sorry to turn so introspective, maudlin, or boring.

I also owe all of you a debt of gratitude for your unwavering support though all this. You have been kind, funny, and supportive. Your blogs, those of you who have them, have lifted me up and sustained me through the past difficult months. You have reminded me of how lucky I am, and you have made me laugh, and amazed me again and again with your intelligence and gifts.

So I have morphed into whatever comes after the feather, perhaps into some inquisitive road runner, or the jack rabbits I see frequently in the mornings. I know we have much to explore, expound upon, and laugh about.

Shall we continue?

By the way, has Michele Bachmann lost the last marble in her squirrely  head? LOL. See? Same old me!