Tag Archives: education

Sarah Palin Ramblings

Recently, thanks in part to the new mind control crystals the evil socialist Obama placed in all GM vehicles after the government took over the automotive sector, I got to see the thoughts of a focus group of Tea Party activists as they listened to a speech by Sarah Palin.  The group consisted of a soccer mom, a heavy equipment operator, a college student/member of the Young Republicans, and the pastor of White Haven Missionary Baptist Church.  The following is a transcript of each member’s thoughts as they listened to a speech by former Governor Palin:

Palin: “Go back to what our founders and our founding documents meant — they’re quite clear — that we would create law based on the God of the bible and the Ten Commandments.”
Soccer Mom: “She’s so pretty.  I really relate to her.  I worry about my daughter getting knocked up, too.”
Heavy Equipment Operator: “I wonder if I vote for her if she’ll let me rub her titties.”
College Student: “I’m so hungover.  I need a beer.”
Pastor: “She might be a woman, but at least she’s white.”
Palin: “They are also building schools for the Afghan children so that there is hope and opportunity in our neighboring country of Afghanistan.”
Soccer Mom: “If I vote for her, maybe she’ll let me go shopping with her.”
Heavy Equipment Operator: “She said the word school, so she must be for education.”
College Student: “What’s an Afghanistan?”
Pastor: “My grandmother used to knit Afghans.”
Palin: “But obviously, we’ve got to stand with our North Korean allies.”
Soccer Mom: “That Korean couple on Lost was so cute.”
Heavy Equipment Operator: “I’d like to see her do a lesbo act with a Korean chick.”
College Student: “If I vote for her, I wonder if she’ll let me rub her titties?”
Pastor: “I need a shot of whiskey.”
Palin: “I want to help clean up the state that is so sorry today of journalism. And I have a communications degree.”
Soccer Mom: “She has a college degree.  She must be so smart.”
Heavy Equipment Operator: “What the hell kind of grammar was that?”
College Student: “I should try to bang that communications major in my Psych class.”
Pastor: “Hmmm, an educated woman?  Well, at least she’s white.”
Palin: “As we work and sightsee on America’s largest island, we’ll get to view more majestic bears, so now is a good time to draw attention to the political equivalent of the species.”
Soccer Mom: “She said bears.  She must be an animal lover, too!”
Heavy Equipment Operator: “I’d like to see her do a lesbo act with a Korean chick on a bearskin rug.”
College Student: “I’m gonna get hammered tonight.”
Pastor: “If I vote for her, maybe I’ll get to rub her titties.”
Former Governor Palin closed her speech with her trademark, “Don’t retreat; Reload!”  The mind control crystals were overwhelmed by the rush of brain waves put forth by the focus group, so we’ll never know what those thoughts were, but I left the event convinced that Sarah Palin and the general public represent all for which America now stands.

Monday Night Ramblings

I miss loving my job.  There was a time when I truly adored teaching.  It was rewarding and fulfilling despite not being the most lucrative of careers because most of my students valued the skills I taught them.  Sure, there were the occassional ones with whom I butted heads, and there were some who disliked my teaching style, but for the most part, I left work every day feeling appreciated for my efforts.  There’s no substitute for that feeling.

Today, I feel bombarded on all fronts by not only a lack of appreciation but also quite often outright disdain for holding students accountable for their abilities.  Most of my students don’t see education as a bridge to their goals, but rather an obstacle.  On the other hand, corporate America seems displeased that I attempt to teach critical thinking to my students because employees who can think for themselves can question authority, especially corrupt authority.  Corporate America wants unthinking, robotic drones who obey orders and stay in their place in the great pecking order.  Likewise, the bureaucrats who oversee education seem to want to replace me with an automated program that the students can access on their smart phones.

It wears on me daily, this lack of appreciation.  And it scares me to think about where we’ll be in another generation when all of the professional educators have been replaced by quasi-professionals who follow the canned course outline to a Tee and make no effort to push their students beyond what is measured on the standardized tests.  Where will we be when our workforce can barely read and write?  Where will our innovators and entrepreneurs come from when the middle class is completely gone?  How will we ever rebuild 235 years of human rights progress when the corporate masters have abolished the Bill of Rights?

I don’t mean to be negative and fearful, but the truth is, I’m scared of where we’re heading, of the new dark ages we’re entering.

Wednesday Night Ramblings

The people who I simply can’t understand are the working class people who defend corporate greed in terms of fairness.  I’m sorry, but that Uncle Tom, willing slave mentality is beyond me.  The irony is that these people often see themselves also as defenders of individualism and self-governance, when corporate culture is much more akin to fascism and totalitarianism.  If you don’t believe me, show up to your corporate job out of uniform and attempt to express any personal view that clashes with corporate policy.  See how long you last.  I’m not suggesting anything so outlandish as showing up nude or drunk.  I’m talking the wrong color pants and openly disparaging the new benefits package.  In the fascist corporate world, you will be reprimanded swiftly for these minor individual expressions.

These same people also often lament the decline of small businesses over the last three decades yet refuse to acknowledge that the single biggest enemy to small business is and always will be big business.  Yes, I concede that the government has over-regulated too many aspects of too many areas of our lives, but we all know that the government is run by lobbyists and special interest groups whose deep pockets influence rules and regulations.  Most of them represent big business interests, so I argue that the regulations that have most hurt small business have actually been pushed by big business to reduce competition.

At this point in my life, I’m done trying to convince the willing slaves to open their eyes.  If they are so blinded by propaganda that they defend CEO’s who receive multi-million dollar bonuses for failing miserably at their jobs while simultaneously attacking civil servants who earn barely a livable wage for maintaining the infrastructure of our society, then there is no hope of ever getting through to them.  That’s how I see it anyway.