From the GREAT STATE OF MAINE…
My Teachers
Kindergarten: Mrs. Dunn
1st Grade: Mrs. Cline
2nd Grade: Miss Martin
3rd Grade: Mrs. Wiley
4th Grade: Mrs. Geoque
5th Grade: Miss Woolson
6th Grade: Mrs. Crouch
7th - 9th Grade: Mr. Lockwood, Ms. Edwards, Ms. Bermann, Mr. Ernst, Ms. Master
10th – 12th Grade: Mr. Bower, Mr. Bechtel, Mr. Houston, Miss Stillwell, Mr. Lupica, Mrs. Roeder, Mr. Pfeiffer, Mr. Marchal, Mr. Robertson.
My teachers taught me how to write (standard and cursive). How to read. How to do math. How to question assumptions and test theories. How to look at problems analytically and critically. How our system of government works. How to appreciate music and drama and literature. How to think and figure stuff out. How to accept intellectual challenges and succeed. And why all this learnin' stuff mattered.
There's a lot of vitriol being flung at teachers---particularly public school teachers---mainly by Republicans who manage to prove every day that they didn’t learn much when they were in school. I can only speak for myself, but my teachers were dedicated, mostly good-humored, hard-working, patient (Lord knows I tested their patience), and amazingly adept at herding rugrats.
No particular point to this except to say that I think much of the criticism being heaped upon them is bloody unfair. Sure, our education system needs improvement…it always has and always will. But without teachers we're just a gaggle of nose-picking nitwits, halfwits and pimplewits (a term of partial-endearment my high school band teacher taught us…or, rather, used on us). They deserve reasonable class sizes, better pay, and a lot more respect. Also: there's no reason they should have to buy books and supplies for their students out of their own pockets, as many do. Seriously…WTF?
Looking back, I regret that I never thanked my K-12 teachers for their role in fueling my brain and showing me how to use it. Back then they were just, y'know, my teachers. Today I look at them as my Yodas. Public school Yodas. And thank them I certainly do.
Cheers and Jeers starts below the fold... [Swoosh!!] RIGHTNOW! [Gong!!]
Cheers and Jeers for Thursday, March 3, 2011
Note: Not In My Back Yard! Not In My Back Yard! Use my front yard. More room.
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By the Numbers:
Days 'til the Netroots Nation convention in Minneapolis June 16-19: 105
Days `til the Kelseyville Olive Festival in California: 17
Percent of Americans who say it would be bad to eliminate collective bargaining rights: 62%
(Source: NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll)
Percent of Egyptians, Libyans and Tunisians, respectively, who are under age 30: 61%, 58%, 52%
Percent of Americans who are under 30: 41%
(Source: Time)
Percent of Americans who say they have a positive view of, respectively, Canada and Great Britain: 92%, 88%
(Source: Gallup poll via The Week)
Minimum number of "varieties, types and styles" of cheese made in Wisconsin: 600
(Source: Eatwisconsincheese.com)
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Your Thursday Molly Ivins Moment:
For those of you who have forgotten what happened (apparently including the entire Bush campaign) shortly after the 9-11 attacks, President Bush promised a $3.5 billion aid package to provide equipment and training in dealing with such attacks to local police and fire departments. For over 18 months, no money appeared, and when money finally did appear, it was nowhere near the promised levels (hey, he had to cut those taxes on the richest 1 percent of Americans).
Furthermore, the New York City firefighters who worked Ground Zero were specifically screwed. They were promised $90 million to monitor the long-term health effects of breathing in all that ash for months while they cleaned up. The money was to have been included in the overall post 9-11 aid package for New York City, but it got shifted to another bill that Bush rejected the following August. About half the workers screened before the money ran out suffered from respiratory problems.
Republicans in Congress twice voted down first-responder money. New York's congressional delegation, led by Sens. Charles Schumer and Hillary Clinton, put up a huge battle before the long-promised $90 million was finally pried out of a reluctant Congress and White House, but the responder money is still not fully funded to this good day.
---March, 2004
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Puppy Pic of the Day: Freaky
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CHEERS to merry hairy pranksters. First the background: last week Maine's governor, Paul LePage, said he advocated loosening restrictions on the chemical bisphenol-A (BPA) because the worst that could happen is "women might grow little beards." In response, a Facebook page has popped up promoting Little Beard Day. The plan: at 12 noon tomorrow, everyone takes a pic of themselves with a little beard to protest LePage's dumb outburst:
Susannah Sanfillipo of Portland said, "I like this because no one would have to use fossil fuel to drive to Augusta to make our statement...We just gussy up in our best beards and simply gather where we are and snap some photos." Mary Anderson of Alna reports, "I've got my outfit planned already---I shall be Lady Liberty with an Uncle Sam beard. "
Dammit. She's always stealing my ideas. Good thing I've got Plan B: Clara Barton with a Mickey Rourke.
CHEERS to fourteen more days of FABULOUS RICHES! The Senate, bless their ch'chingin' little hearts, voted to keep the republic awash in money for two more weeks. So now, instead of the government being non-functional due to a lack of money, the government will continue to be non-functional due to it being the government.
CHEERS to fun things a president can do as his country disintegrates from a Great Depression. On March 3, 1931, President Herbert Heebert Hoobert signed a measure making "The Star-Spangled Banner" our official national anthem. Moments later, a strand of DNA inside one of Christina Aguilera's grandfather's testicles muttered, "Shit."
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Gong! Gong!! BuddaBuddaBudda… GONG!!!
This is another edition of The One Word Answer Man. Eric Boehlert from Media Matters asks: Is Fox News Chairman Roger Ailes Going to Jail?
No.
Now back to Cheers and Jeers.
Gong! Gong!! BuddaBuddaBudda… GONG!!!
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CHEERS to the best decision we'll ever hate. The Supreme Court ruled---correctly in C&J's humble opinion---that Fred Phelps and his Westboro Baptist Church minions have the First Amendment right to picket at the funerals of soldiers. And you and I still have the right to exercise our free speech rights, too, including calling Fred Phelps and his Westboro Baptist Church minions assholes who are destined to spend eternity in the lowest circle of hell---the one with the 24-hour Charlie Sheen cable news coverage.
JEERS to redundant redundancy. The General Accounting Office is out with a new report that says the feds could save billions with a little streamlining:
The U.S. government has more than 100 programs dealing with surface transportation issues, 82 monitoring teacher quality, 80 for economic development, 47 for job training, 20 offices or programs devoted to homelessness and 17 different grant programs for disaster preparedness. Another 15 agencies or offices handle food safety, and five are working to ensure the federal government uses less gasoline.
"Reducing or eliminating duplication, overlap, or fragmentation could potentially save billions of taxpayer dollars annually and help agencies provide more efficient and effective services," the GAO said.
I have a suggestion for how they can start weeding out the repetition: get rid of 46 Republican senators.
JEERS to the price of hurting your malevolent overlord's feefees. Their governor having just gotten stung big-time by a prank caller ("Scott! David Koch. How are you?") due to sheer gullibility surpassed only by Moe the bartender on The Simpsons ("I need Amanda Hugginkiss!"), Wisconsin Republicans are clamping down with a new bill to outlaw the practice. The fine: $10,000. And if you get caught playing Ding Dong Ditch, you'll never be seen again.
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And just one more…
CHEERS to peas in a pod. Consider the mad rantings of the unstable mind:
"You need to listen to your parents. If people disobey their parents, they end up destroying the country."
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"They have awoken a sleeping giant. If I'm misunderstood after yesterday then people are worse off than I thought."
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"If you love with violence and you hate with violence, there's nothing that can be questioned."
Now figure out who said these and other rantings as you play New York magazine's new game, Sheen, Beck or Qaddafi? It's harder than it looks---I only got 8 out of 15 correct. If you were able to tap into the brainwaves of all three and achieve a perfect score, congratulations, you win the grand prize: a padded cell.
Have a nice Thursday. And take a moment to count your pooties. Floor's open...What are you cheering and jeering about today?
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Today's Shameless C&J Testimonial:
“We used to have nice little groups of fourth grade children walking through Cheers and Jeers. All that is being shut down by a bunch of slobs."
---Wisconsin Republican state Senator Glenn Grothman
3/1/11
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