As is their Sunday custom, most of the resident faculty here at Blogistan Polytechnic Institute have moved to the wine cellar library to research our motto: Magis vinum, magis verum ("More wine, more truth"). But not all. It's Labor Day weekend, so Professor Plum went home to help his kids prepare for the socialist onslaught about to be unleashed in their classrooms. He wants them to memorize the first three chapters of Das Kapital, in the original German.
Mrs. Plum's response: "Ja, das wird passieren. Noch etwas Wein, Schatz?" We're not sure, but we think she meant the kids will survive.
More below the fold....
Whether and what those vulnerable innocents is learning seems to be the matière du jour this morning. There was, for example, the issue of whether the Professor of Astrology Janitor would learn Chef doesn't bluff on a drawn board in a three-way pot. When your humble mail clerk saw Chef bet at the River with the King and Queen of Hearts, the Ace and Six of Clubs, and finally the Eight of Hearts showing, we decided our attention was needed elsewhere and our Ace and Queen of Spades went into the muck. But the Professor of Astrology Janitor was sure his pair of Jacks were good. The two of him obviously isn't learning, but he did manage that distinctive mewling that sent Chef off to whip up some Ham Focaccia. If only that were all that was being whipped up....
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Dear Ms. Crissie,
I'm outraged that Barack Obama has announced plans to indoctrinate our children into socialism this week. Their minds are young and vulnerable and they need unbiased education, not political spin. Will you stand with me in demanding your local school board stop this big government usurpation of their rightful authority?
Jim in FL
Dear Jim,
We agree that children need unbiased education and not political spin, which is why we were dismayed to read that you have visited classrooms to advocate conservative ideology. And like you we are dismayed by big government takeover of our schools, as evidenced by the fact that our children must spend weeks of class time preparing for standardized tests that encourage administrators to let slower children drop out of school rather than drag the school's test scores and funding down, all under the mandate of President George W. "Is our children learning?" Bush's No Child Left Behind federal education policy. So no, we won't join with you in trying to block children from hearing a message of encouragement and support from the President of the United States.
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Dear Ms. Crissie,
You don't understand. No president before has ever usurped school classrooms with a nationwide broadcast to restore his flagging approval ratings. We can't have even an ounce of political spin in our classrooms. Don't you see what's happening here? Who's looking after your children?
Gretchen in NY
Dear Gretchen,
We regret to inform you that you've been misinformed. That, or you're deliberately spreading misinformation. President George H.W. Bush made a nationwide broadcast for schools in 1991, when his approval ratings were plummeting. What's more, his speech went beyond encouraging children to study and get good grades - what President Obama announced he will say - to making a direct pitch for his new education policy. We suggest there was more than an ounce of political spin there. As for who's looking after our children, we concede we don't have the likes of your childhood babysitter: Michelle Bachmann.
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Dear Ms. Crissie,
You need to get in step with the rest of the country on this. This is another example of President Obama trying to impose a dictatorship, just like the concentration camps he can't prove aren't being built. That's why we can't let Barack Obama usurp American classrooms.
Glenn in CT
P.S. You can't get me fired, but I got Van Jones fired. Neener neener!
Dear Glenn,
We note that conservatives are enamored of the word usurp. You realize President Obama won the 2008 election? Big popular majority, electoral landslide ... any of those phrases ring any bells? Oh wait. How silly of us. How could you be expected to know about things that happened in the real world? We apologize for the oversight.
P.S. You haven't been fired ... yet.
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Dear Ms. Crissie,
I don't know how you do it. No, I don't mean responding to those loons. I mean making Ham Focaccia. In fact, I don't even know what it is. But I'm hungry, so I hope it's quick to make.
Tummy'a'Growlin in Blogistan
Dear Tummy'a'Growlin,
We have good news. Ham Focaccia is a quick and easy recipe. First slice a 12" round or square focaccia (Italian flat bread), horizontally, and broil the cut sides until toasted. Then mix 3/4 cup marscarpone cheese, 2 tablespoons of chopped roasted sweet red peppers, and 2 teaspoons of freshly snipped rosemary, and spread atop the toasted focaccia. Cut each slice of focaccia into quarter wedges, then broil for two minutes. Top each wedge with softly-scrambled eggs and sliced ham, and sprinkle with grated asiago cheese or a drizzle of asiago cheese sauce. Bon appétit!
P.S. Are you a Scottish football commentator?
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Happy Sunday!