Political Thinking

"It is generally known that people tend to believe what they want to believe- even in the face of overwhelming evidence to the contrary." ("What You Don't Know" LaBossiere, p. 18)

You don't agree?

Take an objective listen to just about any political conversation around you. It is dreadfully redundant. The liberals take their point of view disregarding anything to the right and the conservatives take their point of view disregarding anything to the left.

The current health care reform discussion, for lack of a better, more condescending term, is a specific example. The pro reformers will ignore the significance of the economic factors, while the anti-reformers will overlook the need to ethically change the current system.

"People even go so far as to downplay and ignore evidence against what they believe while modifying and even fabricating evidence to support their own view." (LaBossiere, p.18-19)

Take a listen to AM conservative talk radio and you'll see this point in less than ten minutes. The "birther" issue comes to mind.

I will not sit here and act like I am any different. I have been a culprit of this practice countless times. I won't act like I am above this or better than this. But there is a reason why I and even you are this way.

Researchers at Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia made a discovery regarding the physiology behind this process which they revealed in 2006.

During the 2004 Presidential election between Democrat, John Kerry and Republican and incumbent, George W. Bush, they gathered 15 die hard Republicans and 15 die hard Democrats. They used a functional magnetic resonance imaging device to scan the brains of their voters while they were asked to assess statements made by both candidates. The statements provided were ones in which both candidates contradicted themselves. Each group was forgiving of their candidate of choice while being critical of their own. ("What Don't You Know?" LaBossiere, p. 19)

No surprise there, right?

They were using the same reasoning we expected from them, didn't they?

Well, the interesting part lies in the results of the brain scan. The results showed that the part of the brain associated with reasoning was inactive as they made their claims about the contradictions.

Instead, the part of the brain that was most active during their assessments of the candidates contradictions was the parts associated with emotional processing, conflict resolution and moral judgements.

In addition, "when a subject rendered the judgement they found emotionally comfortable (their candidate did not contradict themselves), the part of the brain associated with pleasure became active. ("What Don't You Know?" LaBossiere, p. 19)

In other words, nobody in the test examined the claims rationally. They instead "went through a mental process that rewarded them for believing the conclusion they wanted to believe." ("What Don't You Know?" LaBossiere, p. 19)

This practice breaks one of the basic elements of critical thinking. In order to think critically, you need to be objective, not subjective. Your emotions cannot play a role in your thinking. Claims need to be assessed on their own merit and not on the basis of one's feelings towards them or the source they come from.

Micheal LaBoissere goes on in his book, "What Don't You Know?" with more examples of this mental breakdown. Objectivity is critical in philosophy but it is also crucial in other aspects of life too. Objectivity is a requirement in fairness.

And right about now, many of you who don't like what this study shows are looking for holes to poke through it, reasons to deny it and refuse to accept while others who like these findings are ready to shout it from the rooftops.

Also, you are all probably thinking, "I knew it! Those damned (fill in the opposite side of the political spectrum from you) are a bunch of hypocrites." And you are right.

But stop for a second and realize they are saying that about you....and they are right too!



(Quotes taken from: "What Don't You Know" by Micheal LaBoissere. Continuum International Publishing Group, 2008)

Letter To Those Against Healthcare Reform

This was written to a healthcare opponent in an effort to explain the argument for reform. I found it to be moving and well written. Since I know both parties involved, I thought I should share it with those who read my blog.

These are not necessarily the views held by me, but......well, screw it! This is pretty much in line with my thinking. I do have several questions regarding details of the proposed plans but I refuse to let these healthcare companies and the Republican politicians who they have in their pockets scare me away with their propaganda.

Here is the piece:

How do we protect and respect the right to life if we let the sickest and most vulnerable (the poor) among us die or receive lesser care or put them (and middle class people as well) into more debt or into the emergency room in the middle of the night for non-emergency care?

Those of us who were privileged enough to grow up with food, shelter, safety and health care (long before we could "earn" it ourselves) should hesitate before we make sweeping statements about the constitutional rights - let alone the human rights - of others. Such rights should never be denied to those in need by those in a place of comfort. (Those of us who claim to follow Jesus should be ESPECIALLY hesitant to do so.)

Human rights aren't spelled out in the constitution, but our understanding of them has grown since a bunch of white propertied men decided that a slave wasn't a person (okay, maybe 3/5 of a person) and women did not have a right to vote.

The people who want to reform health care truly want to make sure it's accessible to all (who are you going to turn down?). Many have family members who can't get the tests they need because they have a serious pre-existing condition that makes them uninsurable. Think of that.

I guess I have a right to those tests and they don't? I don't think so.

Do old people have a right to be supported? it's not in the constitution, but we have Social Security, thank goodness - a government-run program about which ignorant Americans are saying, "Keep the government's hands off my Social Security!" (read Medicare, etc.)

If the government is so bad at doing things, let's get it out of the business of declaring war and supporting an obscene bloated arms industry. Where's the human rights in that? (and what would Jesus say?)

I bring up Jesus even though I believe in the separation of church and state, because so many people who are yelling against health care reform (which is indeed degenerating into health insurance reform) - and they are indeed yelling, in an ugly and cold-hearted way - claim to be Christians. My, my.

I know you're in a field where you want to help people have better mental health. I hope you are moved to such depths of compassion that you will seek the good of all of God's children, not just the ones who can afford the services available in our supposedly advanced country, but ALL of God's children.

And I hope you will want to share out of the great abundance in which you have always lived so that others will have what they need.

I hope the resources will be allocated so that those who need your services will be able to get them, and that you won't have to work for nothing. That wouldn't be fair.

I was very conservative at your age and have moved to the left as I've witnessed the kind of suffering I was shielded against as I grew up.

What's that thing that someone said - when you're young, if you're liberal, you need to grow your mind, but if you're conservative, you need to grow your heart. I wish conservatives - both young and old -had as much sympathy and compassion for sick children, adults, elderly, etc., as they do for zygotes.

By the way, as much as I am in awe of conception and birth, I'm appalled at the way right-wingers go immediately to the abortion question (demonizing everyone who doesn't agree with them, just as the opposite side demonizes them) in every conversation.

Finally, I wish all conservatives would have spent the first year of Obama's valiant effort to salvage our economy, our morals, our stature in the world, and our integrity (not to mention our safety) by cooperating with these efforts.

Conservatives LOVE to talk about patriotism, for example, in a sentimental or militaristic way. How about getting down to basics, and considering taxes an exercise in responsible citizenship? Greed has grasped the Republicans, and they (my former party) stir up irrational opposition to things like health care reform - because they're in the pockets of the insurance industry, which is spending a million dollars a day to disrupt our national discourse.

Should we trust the party that took us into an immoral, unnecessary, poorly executed (to the point of criminality), and expensive war? I don't think so. I wish we could have a bipartisan, cooperative effort here. But I don't think the party of Gingrich/Palin (shame on them) will let that happen.

Just a few thoughts from one who is sick and tired of this debate.

For the record, I am not keen on diminishing our arms. I would like to have them just in case (hands and fingers too for that matter). Even though we are the only country to actually drop a nuclear bomb...

Education Reform

President Obama and Ohio Governor, Ted Strickland have both recently spoke out about fixing the mess that is education in our country. I agree there are problems that need to be fixed, but I am not so sure I agree with the ways they propose to fix it.

Being a teacher in an urban setting for over a decade now, I have legitimate perspective on what is wrong where it is wrong. The areas where schools are failing includes the area in which I teach. When you speak of "failing" schools, you speak of my school. When you speak of "failing" teachers, you speak of me.

The classifications of schools are based on results from statewide standardized tests and graduation rates. The federal classifications include Academic Emergency, Academic Watch and..... well I don't know because my school has never had a positive classification. I suppose it would be something like Academically Sweet! Or School of Absolutely Awesome Teachers Who Kick Butt While You Others Stink! Maybe something like Our Schools Work and Yours Doesn't So Do What We Do.

My bitterness is obvious, but you would feel the same if you spent just one school year teaching where I teach let alone a decade.

From the bits and pieces I have heard, I gather the President and Governor both feel that teachers need to be held more accountable. President Obama seems to favor charter schools. They both seem to favor merit pay for teachers. They also want to extend school hours and school years.

Fair enough.

Here are my humble suggestions. Again, these come from someone who is on the front lines and has been for 11 years. I have some credibility.

Teacher Accountability:
How can you not be for this? As I objectively approach this issue I do think we should be held to particular standards. We are the facilitators of the education on the ground level. We are the foot soldiers and have the most influence in the classroom itself so everyone is counting on us to deliver. Therefore, we need to held to high standards. But education and the teaching profession itself is a unique monster.

It is difficult to truly measure a teacher's worth or success. This is because it is totally dependent on somebody else's performance--the student. In addition, it is not dependent on one student but a group of students. Also, a whole year of work is accounted for with a test that is taken on one particular day. A teacher can do everything by the book all or most of the year but have a student come in on test day with any number of problems that weigh heavier on their mind than a test. Finally, the everyday battle of teaching students who are unmotivated or apathetic to the educational process as a whole make it near impossible to be effective enough to earn a positive classification.

Then the emotional and mental toll this takes on a teacher over time begins to eat away at their own motivation and feeling of self-worth. Year after year of dealing with these issues separate from the education of the students and getting labeled as a failure wear on you and negatively affect performance.

I read an analogy in a newspaper article my wife copied for me about holding a doctor accountable for a patient's lack of improvement because the patient did not take the medicine prescribed or followed through with the rehabilitation assigned. Holding teachers accountable based on test scores is like that. Of course, the doctor could prescribe something wrong and would deserve blame for it but just because a patient doesn't recover well doesn't automatically mean they made a mistake or performed their job erroneously.

Charter Schools:
From a business perspective, the charter school model makes sense. It creates competition. Competition increases quality. The good schools and teachers or administrators rise to the top and the others sink and fail and are closed. But as I wrote above, it is difficult to fairly assess this success or failure. Many of the problems are out of the control of the schools.

Merit Pay:
On the surface merit pay makes sense because you would reward good teachers. You would provide incentive for teachers to work harder. But again, harder work by the teachers isn't necessarily the problem here. We are working hard! I have tutored after school and on Saturdays. I have attended professional development. I have stayed late and come in early. I even did work at home for a number of years in addition to the extra hours. My scores still stunk!

The problem is deeper than the effort of the teachers. Honestly, the effort of the students is more important and as hard as we try to encourage, motivate or affect the students' effort, the bottom line is that we can't make them do anything they don't choose to do themselves.

Merit pay will mean teachers in more affluent districts or districts where students come from families that value education will get paid more while teachers in districts where the improvements need to be made the most get paid less.

That isn't fair and it won't fix the problems.

Extending School Days and School Years:
I admit I love my summers off. In fact, I NEED my summers off to rebuild my sanity. But this is not why I think this idea won't be effective. Developmentally, I am not sure kids could benefit from the longer days. Their attention wanes by the end of the day as it is. More hours would just be a waste of time because their attention won't be focused like it needs to be to be worthwhile.

Here is my suggestion: Instead of extending the year or days, change the format. There are several schools in our district that are year round. I don't have any data to support their success or lack thereof and due to the neighborhoods in which they are located, I doubt they are overwhelming successful, but allow me to give you the theory behind why this format would be more effective than extending the hours or year.

This format maintains the 180 days of school per school year but eliminates the summer. Students attend school for four nine week periods with three weeks between each. This keeps them in a routine because there is no three month gap. This gap often creates the need to spend weeks getting them back into the school routine every year. Most importantly, the three week intercessions between the grading periods can be used for enrichment or remediation. Students that are struggling can catch up in the three weeks between the four grading periods. Gifted students can have opportunities to extend their learning during these intercessions. Students who need a break can get a break. The intention of extending the school years would be served this way in my mind. It also allows for choice and flexibility for parents and students and teachers.


Final Shots:
The problems with education have less to do with teachers and more to do with the funding or lack of funding (ruled uncontitutional in Ohio), lack of support from parents, students themselves and the general lack of value of teachers. Education is a difficult problem to solve. There are so many underlying factors outside of the schools that you can't pinpoint one specific thing to do in the schools to cure the ills.

I think we can start with fixing the funding problems, move to year round schools and try to encourage more support for schools through volunteers and instilling a general value in education. We need to repair the relationship and trust between teachers and parents. Finally, parents need to be held more accountable. They need to initiate communication with the teachers and play a more direct role in their child's education with the teacher.

January 20th, 2009 For This White Man

The inauguration of President Barack Obama is a historic event without a doubt. It is a major event for this country in terms of its race relations. We are going to hear so much about what this means for African American men and women. We should hear it and continue to discuss it. As a thirty-something, straight, white male with a job and health insurance I can't even fathom what it means to African Americans throughout this country, nor will I try to act as though I do. But that doesn't mean this day means little to me.

This day means a good bit.

I look at this as a tremendously positive moment. I also look at this as a momentous opportunity. For my generation, positive moments that captivate and connect people at this magnitude have been rare if existent at all. The memorable moments for us, the moments that everyone around the country remembers where they were when these moments happened include the Space Shuttle disaster and the terrorist attacks on September 11th. These events either faded away after awhile or divided us even more down the road with the resulting wars in the middle east. We have also had the Rodney King beating leading to riots in L.A. and the O.J. Simpson trial which divided us by race.

I look back throughout our history and notice the negative events and issues past generations have also had to deal with like slavery, Civil War, Great Depression, two World Wars, the Civil Rights struggles and its set backs, segregation, Vietnam War and so on. I noticed great leaders rise from those events like F.D.R, John F. Kennedy, Martin Luther King and Abraham Lincoln. Even controversial leaders played their role like John Brown and Malcolm X. But who has my generation had? Ronald Reagan? Seriously?

While race is an important element to Obama's place in history and position in our country, I am looking to him as a leader of all people like Kennedy, Lincoln, King and the others. I am excited because I really believe he can lead us out of so much that is bad right now. There is no way he can fix everything or fix anything completely. I don't expect him to be a savior. And in the end it is us that will have to make the changes. But we can't and obviously won't without someone to lead us there.

This man can do that.

Whether it is mending the deep wounds that exist between blacks and whites and other groups, guiding us out of economic woes (which again will take US changing our lifestyles and living within or beneath our means for awhile), mending bridges with and earning back the respect of foreign countries, taking back a leadership presence in the world, improving education funding, or becoming more environmentally friendly, this inauguration of this man this day can begin to get us there.

2008 In Review....Part 2

SUMMER
The summer began with much expectation. The time off for my wife and I was dearly needed. The warm weather was going to help with all of the life changes we were about to make. I managed to make it out with some friends to check out Hanzel Und Gretyl at Skully's in Columbus, Ohio. It was a the first time in about a decade that I was able to see them live. The show was awesome and I loved every minute of it.

Tiger Woods and Rocco Mediate played an extremely entertaining and exciting U.S. Open solidifying my interest in golf.....as long as Tiger is playing. The Indians played through a lackluster season continuing my expectations of the descent of my teams from a stellar yet championshipless 2007. I continued through mediocre seasons in softball although my play was far below mediocre. The Celtics won the NBA Title adding to my anger towards Boston fan. But the Cavs signed a key free agent in the offseason in Mo Williams who would fill a dying need. Also, Ferry managed to work his magic in the draft to get a couple of key big men that show a lot of promise if they can develop enough in time.

My family dealt with a tragedy and I blogged about the grieving I went through. I was able to move on and grow from the experience but the effects of that event are still manifesting themselves in subtle actions and much of my thinking. While I repeat the steps that led to that horrific experience, I can't help but fall back to those feelings and deal with much of the fear and paranoia that is still present as a result.

With the residue of that experience still around, my wife and I put one foot in front of the other (actually two feet since there was two of us) and tried to celebrate our first anniversary with a trip to West Virginia. It was a nice little trip together where we enjoyed some couple time. We also decided it was time to really push to get the house ready for the market and move into a house that would truly be ours. We felt like we were still living in the past with the current house. So we began the process of fixing the countless little problems with the house and trying to improve the look. I almost lost my mind due to frustration from my lack of Mr. Fix-it skills.
In between the the home improvements I made a trip out to Evanston with my dad to help move my brother's family from one apartment to another. It was a cool weekend to share with the men of my immediate family moving furniture, eating some good barb-b-que and sampling the campus hang outs. Doug was able to show us around and let us peek into his life a little bit.

Just as we put the house on the market and witnessed the cats' stubborn resistance to all the change, I left for Las Vegas to celebrate my good friend's upcoming marriage. I left for Los Angeles to meet two other good friends who also were contributing to the Vegas bachelor party and began a week of good times with good people creating memories that we will relive for a long time.

When I returned, it was back to the grind. School was ready to begin the house was on the market. Football season was ready to start and I finished my first year in a new fantasy baseball league in a very respectable second place. The school routine was back up and running. At the same time the presidential election was heating up and I began to blog more and more about my political views and my hopes for the future.

AUTUMN
Ohio State lost in embarrassing fashion to a superior USC team. It reinforced my fears that OSU was overrated and over hyped. There was very little if anything to realistically take from the game as positive. The weak schedule only gave Penn State as an opportunity to redeem our reputation but while that game was hard fought and showed some glimpse of hope, we lost that one too and went on to beat teams we should be including bitter rival, Michigan who had one of their worst seasons ever under new coach Rich Rodriquez.

The Browns looked absolutely horrible and quit more often than not. They mailed in the last 1/3 of the season after it was obviously a lost cause. "Romeo must go," I kept saying before the season. 2007 was fool's gold in more ways than one and was probably a really bad thing. 2008 proved me right.

The Cavs on the other hand came out guns blazin'! Since you don't win NBA titles in December, the 25-4 start means absolutely NOTHING!!!! It is a good sign. It has been fun to watch. But it will be interesting to see if they maintain such a rate of success.

I was able to take a trip out to Evanston, Illinois again. This time it was to watch my Ohio State Buckeyes dominate a solid Northwestern team. It was cold. Oh so cold. But it was a fun weekend with my brother and his wife's family. Anytime I can catch the Buckeyes on the road and knock out another Big Ten stadium, I am happy.

My wife and sister-in-law and I ventured out to see Trent Reznor, better known as Nine Inch Nails, play a show in Columbus. The visual effects were outstanding. He had an interactive screen at times behind him and at other times in front of him. It was pretty cool and creative. He played an ok set. There was a bit much of his instrumental slow stuff but he doesn't seem to be as angry as he once was. I guess money will do that for you right?

Obama was elected president of the United States promising change and giving hope of unity and improved pride in ourselves and country. In the end it will be up to us to make any effective changes. My hope has been that Obama will be charismatic enough to lead the change and motivate us to make the right kind of changes. But as I obsess over 2012 and armageddon, I worry that Obama may be the antichrist. I have problems.

Basically, this is where I stand right now. 2008 wasn't my best years. I still think it wasn't my worst either. I have a lot of changes I need to make in the way I behave and think. I am working on that. What happened in 2008 has led me to these things. So maybe 2008, while being difficult at the time, will prove to be a year that led to better things and much needed growth.

Strike One to Obama

I voted for Barack Obama. I do not regret that vote. But I do regret falling for the hope that he was going to back up what he stated in his campaign. Apparently he is no different than every other politician. I kinda knew it but didn't want to believe it.

Now I realize there are a number of seriously intricate and monumental problems he is facing. I am aware that he will not be able to follow through on all his claims. But a major reason I voted for him was his consistent message of unity. I bought into his proclamations that he would truly bring this country together regardless of party lines, race, socioeconomic status, physical abilities, gender, age, sexual preference and so on.

I find out today he chose a speaker for his inauguration who is hard core anti-gay. This minister is known for saying hateful things towards homosexuals. He preaches fear. From what I hear (I need to clarify I have not heard this person preach directly), he represents everything I dislike about religion. He reinforces my problems with the Bible. This kind of person is what pushes me away from God in the Christian sense. Now my president is calling on him to speak at his inauguration.

I think we have been down this road once before with his UCC minister who also spoke with hateful words. I didn't seem to care as much then so why do I care now? Good question. From my perspective this is the oppressor oppressing versus the oppressed fighting back. While I may disagree with the message of Reverend Wright at face value, I can almost tolerate the oppressed fighting back angle. Sometimes there is no other way to get out of oppression. But when it is the oppressor furthering their oppression as is the anti-gay message from Warren, I can't find justification to my liking.

This opinion reminds me of Malcolm X's, "by any means necessary." But I have felt the peaceful methods of Dr. King would be more successful and preferable than the more threatening methods of Malcolm X or Huey P. Newton and the Black Panthers. So I find myself contradicting myself here. I guess my point is I can understand the views of those civil rights groups that came from a more angry place than peaceful.

But I have a sore spot for this anti-gay thing. I think it is the most ridiculous and obvious breech of civil rights today and the lack of commitment by us as a nation to fix it blows my mind. The rationalizations for its defense bother me the most. I think that is where my sore spot is centered. It is tied into my disenchantment with Christianity, the Bible and religion in general. We continue to use the Bible to justify hate and discrimination. We ignore the important things the Bible tries to convey like avoiding power and greed.

So here I sit thinking about the symbolism of this selection. It contradicts an important aspect of my confidence in Obama. He isn't proving his words of unification. I also reflect on Obama's support of charter schools and vouchers and even though I knew this before and chose to overlook it, I am getting irritated.

This is still better than McCain't, but I am anticipating strike three. I am not optimistic. It is a curve ball and I was never able to hit those.

Birthday Post Hal Lebovitz Style

Hal Lebovitz was a sports writer for the News Herald, the local newspaper in the county where I grew up. By the time I began reading him religiously he had been around for decades and wrote for other papers (Cleveland News and Cleveland Plain Dealer) prior to my hometown Herald. But each weekend he had a column where he touched on a number of different topics regarding the Cleveland teams or other worthwhile, interesting tidbits about the sports world at that time. This was a part of my Sundays that I cherished. We would get home from church and I made a mad dash to the Sunday News Herald to see what Hal had to say. My earlier intentions to be a sportswriter for a career stemmed from this experience.

So today I am using his Sunday format to cover a number of topics I have wanted to touch in this blog but haven't had the time to address. I have some serious catching up to do. My birthday present to myself is this post with the Georgia v. Georgia Tech game on to my right and my ipod blasting a variety of favorite tunes to my left.

Here we go....I hope you enjoy and comment on one or more:

My Dark Period
I have been pretty open about my recent downturn in mood and feeling. Mostly it has been despair, sadness and worry. But underneath these emotions there is a lot of anger brewing. I can feel it come out over little things. I explode over things I should brush off. I get easily frustrated and aggravated. I have been examining the reasons why. I am trying to connect the dots and get to the core issue I must be dealing with so I can fix it.

I keep coming back to one point. This point is that I do not stick up for myself. My wife even recognizes it and has mentioned it. She says that by not defending myself I am accepting things as true. I'll be the first to admit I have a problem with confrontation. I hate it. As a result I have taken a lot of emotional punishment without doing anything about it and then internalized it way too much. Then I feel worse about being too much of a coward to stand up and confront my confrontation fear. I think much of my anger may be coming from this.

In the past I have tried to stick up for myself when I felt like I was being pushed around but then I look like a fool because people say I can't take a joke. They say I'm taking things too seriously or I am too emotional or I am overreacting. So the cycle continues and I try to take things as a joke. But then I hear plenty of negative comments and feel horrible about myself.

I want to start calling people out when they say stupid things about me to me. But I don't want to turn into an angry person either. I have tried to practice this idea of "breaking the chain" and not letting someone else's anger towards me create a negative response from me. I wanted to stop passing forward the bad in the world. I wanted to absorb the bad and "be the better person" in an attempt to make the world better. Yes, I realize this is very righteous or pious or whatever but I tried anyway.

Now I see the damage it is doing to me as an individual and I think it is time to unleash the beast. I could go on listing the issues I have with people's wrongful treatment but I have too much more to write. Just get ready. I am working my way to a point where I am going to seem very mean.

Ohio state Football
Believe it or not there are people in Columbus who are blaming Jim Tressel for a disappointing 10-2 season. They blame the coaching for losing to USC and Penn State. I admit the Big Ten is down which means the Buckeyes really didn't have any signature wins this year but c'mon! 10-2 is 10-2. More importantly it is 10-2 after back to back appearances in the BCS Title game. Has anybody seen the mighty LSU's record this year? Granted they are in tougher conference but they didn't beat anybody of any significance. You can't blame it all on LSU's QB drama earlier in the year because their defense stunk it up all year. It is not easy to maintain the kind of success Ohio State has had over the Tressel era. In his 8 years he has won a national title, played for two others, made BCS bowl games 5(maybe 6 if Oregon st loses a game) times, been in a bowl game every year, beaten our rival 7 times, and won or shared the Big Ten title at least 4 times (off the top of my head). Weak conference or not teams are bound for a let down in that time. OSU really has never had a major let down and when there has been one, it lasts one season. During this same period I can only think of USC and Texas (maybe Florida) as teams that have had the same consistent success. Get off Tressel people. We are lucky to have him.

Raising My Kid
I watched the OSU v. Michigan game at the house of a friend of mine. She used to work with me so another colleague from work was there as well. The game was a blowout allowing our conversation to meander away from sports and it found its way to the Bible. My colleague mentioned Proverbs as a good "book" to use with my daughter. This came about because I mentioned how there are a number of values from the Bible that I plan to instill in my child despite my personal issue with it. To clarify this statement I should say that it really isn't the Bible itself that I have a problem with but the people who constantly use it to support their erroneous, hateful and immoral views. The interpretation is the problem more than the book. I would also cite the narrow point of view many people have who use the Bible as the end all, be all reference to morality and goodness.

With all of this said, I am not a Bible hater. I feel there is so much that can be taken from that book like loving thy neighbor as thyself, the ten commandments, turning the other cheek, the idea that power and greed are the root of evil, giving to the poor and needy in spirit as well as more worldly needs, the importance to fight temptation and reality of it, making sacrifices and prayer. These and many more principles are concepts I find very valuable. While my daughter gets fed many things from the Bible on her mother's side, I am not going to fight it. Instead I want to make sure I direct it. She will NOT grow up thinking slavery is justified or homosexuality is immoral even though the Bible "says so." She WILL be allowed to speak up in church or to her husband. She doesn't need to grow up thinking she has to be submissive to her partner because the Bible "said so." I could go on.

My goal is to teach her these positive values of the Bible and to help as best I can to get her to understand the Bible was written in a variety of contexts and these contexts affected what was written. It is much like politics in that the different books were written to particular audiences with particular goals in mind. These things need to be considered when reading the Bible. I also want her to feel free to explore other religions and their teachings. Many times these other ways of thinking can provide a clearer point of view for someone. There are also numerous parallels. I continue to explore Buddhism and find similarities. Meditation and prayer are both important components of Christianity and Buddhism as well as sacrifice. I want my kid to feel free to discover this for herself. If I have any say in the matter, she will not be pigeon holed in one discipline.

Being a Moderate
My wife and I had a fantastic conversation on the ride up to our families for the holiday celebrating thanks (and genocide through small pox and violence). She is a die hard liberal and is very proud of it. She wants her values and beliefs to fall on the left side of the ledger every time. She believes that is the correct way of thinking.

Most of the time I fall on her side of things. But not always. This is where the conversation got interesting. As we discussed different issues, she proved her dedication and loyalty to liberalism. I, on the other hand, demonstrated that I have no urge whatsoever to be placed in one particular category. I don't like being labeled liberal or conservative (contrary to a friend's belief that I support liberal issues only because it is "cool" and I want to be liberal because my college professors influenced me and my peers to be). I don't want to be put in a box like that. When I determine my stance on different topics, issues or whatever I like to examine them on their own merit and particular circumstances. I then try to base my stance on my own value system. Whether it is conservative or liberal doesn't matter to me. While I do admit I fall on the liberal side more often than not, I wouldn't call myself that at all. That is fine.

What is most interesting about this is that I try to take things on a case by case basis so I can make sure I am consistent in terms of my personal values as opposed to my political stance, but sometimes it creates contradictions. So in an effort to avoid contradictions I am actually creating contradictions within my views or opinions.

John Brown

I continue to read "Lies My Teacher Told Me: What American History Textbooks Got Wrong" by James Loewen. I recently finished a section about John Brown and his treatment or lack thereof in our textbooks. I find this man and his story fascinating. In high school textbooks he is described as this crazed, militant abolitionist. Loewen even shows two pictures of him (pg 177) with one normal portrait next to a wild, long haired, long bearded man with a crazed look in his eye. According to Loewen, he was a well spoken, well read, intelligent man who proved so in his words during his trial for treason as well as his letters to his family and in his diary. He was well aware of the contradiction our country was demonstrating through slavery. He also knew of the inner struggle we were dealing with in regards to it. He wrote just before his execution that the only way these "crimes" of slavery would be "purged" from our country would be "with blood." (pg 175) As we know, it took the bloody Civil War to finally put an end to slavery.

In 1854 the Kansas-Nebraska Act tried to deal with slavery by leaving the decision to those who settled there. Farmers from the North rushed in to establish it a "free soil" state while most Southern slave owners didn't make the move. But a number of slave owners from Missouri would cross the border to intimidate and terrorize the settlers in an effort to sway things towards slavery. (Loewen p. 173-174) Brown, an abolitionist with family in Kansas, countered by attacking and killing a number of these "terrorists." Later, Brown led a slave revolt in Harper's Ferry, Virginia where he would be caught by Robert E. Lee, eventually tried and hanged for treason.

What is interesting here is that history textbooks up to as late as the 1970s and some even later, painted Brown as the bad guy. They would even go as far as stating the slaves didn't want to revolt despite the evidence that Loewen presents to the contrary. This is a southern justification for slavery that I have noticed in other parts of the book. There seemed to be a consistent attempt to convince us that slaves actually did not mind being enslaved. While I don't specifically remember being taught this, the textbooks being used across the country during my years in school were openly presenting this idea of acceptance of slavery by the slaves themselves.

What the textbooks miss out on is bringing American History alive by presenting John Brown in a way that can demonstrate the very real inner struggle our country has been dealing with for centuries regarding slavery and racism. There were so many economic issues and states rights issues that played roles in the Civil War too but they were tied into the prevailing racism that took place and still takes place today. High school students could have some unbelievably interesting and enlightening discussions about race and slavery if we would look at people like John Brown and his ideas, beliefs and questionable actions to promote and support those thoughts. Abraham Lincoln was a great president who really did want to eradicate slavery from our country and knew it was a BIG cause of and factor in the Civil War, but he too struggled with his personal racism. On one hand he referred to African Americans as "niggers" but on the other he felt guilty and sick about seeing slaves shackled on a train he rode. Nobody wants to see the racial slurs Lincoln used or hear about Washington and Jefferson owning slaves, cheating on their wives or in Jefferson's case being an atheist. But I think we can present these "heroes" to our high school students in a way that demonstrates their flaws and shows how they accomplished a good bit despite their shortcomings and how these contradictions created interesting situations and discussion points. It doesn't need to be this pure, constant line of progress because it wasn't. Our history has had its ups and downs, progress and set backs, successes and failures and they all have affected how things are today.

LeBron James in 2010
Charles Barkley was on a radio show and called out James in regards to his open dialogue about possibly playing in New York in 2010. He said LeBron should not be so open about it. He plays for the Cavs and will for two more seasons and needs to quit talking about the Knicks or Nets. James responded by calling Barkley "stupid."

I am finding myself more and more anti-LeBron. It is hard to do. He is so, very good, plays for my team and seems like a good guy. But I will not be held hostage by him and I am getting tired of this game. No player should be bigger than the team. Even LeBron. I have been worried about this happeneing. This is one of the things I hated about Jordan. He became bigger than the Bulls. In fact the NBA as a whole fell out of graces with me as a result. Then the new generation of stars came about. Among them, James who seemed like a team first guy on the court. Combine that with being on my team and I was fine with James and his Jordanesque persona.

Now I am getting tired of it. At first, I wanted to write about how the national media needs to shut up about NYC and LeBron and buy a clue that Cleveland is also putting themselves in position to sign LeBron in 2010. They will be in the BEST position to re-sign him to be honest. But we don't hear that on ESPN. Also, we will have enough to get ANOTHER stud that is available that year. ESPN, FOX and other national media outlets won't tell you that.

Instead, I almost want James gone. I don't want to contribute to the "player bigger than the team" concept. Correct or incorrect, true or false....that is what's stupid Mr. James.

(This Georgia v. Ga Tech rivalry game has been pretty fun to watch....especially the second half.)

An Observation of Race in America

We are at the cusp of a new era in America. Our first minority President has been elected. We have an unprecedented opportunity to do and experience some amazing things in the next four, or hopefully more, years. This is an opportunity to begin a public discourse and discussion on race and race relations in an open and healthy manner. But we need to be careful. I fear that as easily as we could advance to a much better place as a culture and society and nation, we could also slide to even further, more hateful and divisive depths.

First, I would like to share my personal opinion for the record. I am excited. I am one of the people that wants this to unite us black and white, Democrat and Republican. I want to see African Americans walk around with pride and a sense of investment in this country. I want Republicans to listen to our President and give him a chance. I want us to truly come together to fix the problems with the economy, crime, education, environment and race relations. I think we can. "Yes We Can!" as we have heard so much lately. I feel like Obama can initiate this. I feel like he can lead us. I feel like he motivate us to move forward. His acceptance speech was beautiful. It touched all of the points it needed to hit and in an inspiring way that sent tingles up my spine.

But I am fearful. I realize not everyone is from the same point of view as me. I have several concerns that lead me to believe that we may crumble instead of grow. There are people who do not take all of this the right way. There are people with feelings of bitterness, spite and anger. If there are enough people and they feel strongly enough in these ways, we could be in big trouble.

President Obama cannot and will not fix everything all by himself. I hope everyone realizes this. For beginners, the problems are so big and and so intricate that it is going to take time and patience to fix them correctly. Secondly, Congress will play a major role. Let's not forget our 4th grade Social Studies lessons about Federal Government, the Legislative branch makes the laws and the Executive branch (President Obama) carries out the laws. In addition, the real change is going to have to happen in the streets. We will be the ones changing things for the better. We can't sit here and watch, thinking everything will be hunky dory. And it is not going to be comfortable. It won't be easy. It may get ugly before it gets pretty. Because of this, I worry people will turn for the worse.

I'd like to share several observations and stories I have heard and experienced this past week since Barack Obama was elected. You can form your own judgement.

Exhibit A:
Wednesday, November 5, 2008

African American coworkers were estactic! It was like the Buckeyes won the National Championship except this was much more important. I was feeling much the same way. I was excited to talk to everybody about it and share in the excitement and hope of what may be. For the most part I did. But what struck me was how many African Americans naturally assumed I and my fellow white, male employees voted McSame. There were some bold, blatantly prejudice remarks made about why we'd vote that way as if they were standing in the poll booth with us.

My friend and I discussed this double standard at length and I am noticing mixed feelings. On one hand, that sucks. On the other, well, who really cares? This seemed minor compared to getting pulled over and patted down by a cop because I must be a criminal since I'm driving late at night and I'm black or have a nice car or have my stereo playing loudly. Or dealing with comments and assumptions like this on a daily basis your whole life.

This takes me back to a time in college when I attended an Asian American dance with a roommate of mine who was Indian. I was literally the only white guy, person to be honest, there. It was not the first time I was in a situation where I was the only person of my race. I played basketball at an all black youth group in high school. Larry Bird they called me. I went to an all gay church service before as well. But this dance was still very foreign to me. The music, the languages being spoken, the attire and little nuances were unfamiliar to me. After we left and walked back to the dorm (without any women unfortunately, these were my pre-player days) I made the comment that I felt out of place and my roommate replied, "Now you know how we feel everyday." For some reason, even though it made sense to me and it was something I thought about before that experience, I was struck by it at that time and haven't forgotten it since.

Even though I felt small sliver of what it was like to be a minority, I came to realization that I would never fully appreciate what it was like for him or other minority groups in America. All of those multicultural experiences I have had and still have today will never fully allow to me to 100% understand and relate. I can always go back to being a white, straight male with health insurance and a paycheck in a white, straight man's country. There are others in my position who have had even less exposure or have never had the epiphany I did that evening. Therefore, when I hear comments like those, even though there may be this double standard that they can make prejudice comments but we can't, I can live with it.

Exhibit B:
Friday, November 7th, 2008

I am driving home from a meeting with my daughter's teacher and hear about my Browns losing their Thursday night game. The opponents wide receiver, Brandon Marshall, was talking about a planned celebration he had for after he scored. He was going to pay tribute to Obama's election by taking from the famous fists of Tommie Smith and John Carlos at the 1968 Olympics 40 years ago. He planned to hold his fist in the air but with a glove that was half white and half black. It was supposed to symbolize the coming together of white and black America.

What a great thing to see. It was a move based on unity not division and I had no problem with it. While I thought this move was clever and wished he did it, mainly it was because I wanted him to be penalized and provide Brady with good field position for a game winning drive.......nevermind.

Exhibit C:
Sometime during the week before the election, 2008

My friend's father-in-law drives a bus in a well-to-do suburb of Columbus and noticed one day that all of the kids were chanting "Let's go Bucks. Obama Sucks!" Obviously lots of McCainiacs for parents up there eh?

This is the attitude that scares me.

Exhibit D:
Thursday, November 6, 2008

I hear a kid run down the stairs telling a friend that they were all going to get $1,000 checks since Obama won. I don't think they were talking about the proposed economic stimulus package dems have on the table or the two that Bush pushed through over the past couple years, but that statement reflects what is being said at home and what bothers some people I have talked to.

So here is my fear. The obvious is that Republicans, conservatives, whites or general racists will have such a major problem with Obama that they will purposely sabotage things. Blacks and other minorities will suddenly believe things will automatically get better just because a minority is in the White House. They will feel that they will automatically receive benefits just because of this monumental election without joining in on the work that needs to take place across the board. What I am even more scared about is that many whites who have a problem with this will become so bitter that they deliberately avoid the work we ALL need to do to make this happen or even worse purposely oppose and resist it. Even though their spite is counterproductive to themselves, they will just not be able to get past it.

In the end everyone needs to pitch in here and cooperate. Whites and conservatives will have to resist the urge to fight the changes coming. Critics needs to maintain patience with the Obama administration as his decisions begin to come down the line. Supporters and minorities, black and white and democrat or independent need to continue to work at the grass roots level to fix this stuff.

We need to realize that NOW the work begins. And WE are the ones that need to do it. We can't sit here and expect change without changing ourselves. I pray enough people realize this to make up the critical mass we need to push things forward. (I prefer writing "we" more than "they" like did in that earlier paragraph)

We also need to take advantage of this opportunity before us. We have a black President. We do. Blacks and whites whether we voted for him or not. This could be a platform or a chance to open discussion about race between each other. It will be uncomfortable. It may sting a bit. But both sides need to be tactful but honest and able to take some views they don't want to hear. We both need to listen and be able to take some uncomfortable comments. This is discussion that HAS to happen to push the barrier down. The only way we can begin to live more harmoniously is to do this.

What excited me is that we have a leader that can provide leadership for this. He can be a beacon of hope. He can guide us though it as he, himself, openly discusses race. He seems like he understands this opportunity. He demonstrates a platform of unity and togetherness. He mentioned in his acceptance speech that it is time to bring together democrats, republicans, whites, blacks, gays, straight, rich, poor, able bodied, disabled. This is what I want to hear.

We have an extremely intelligent man in office. He "gets it." Most important to me, he can motivate and inspire us, the people who will make the difference in the end. I trust him.

One more thing: Don't screw with the BCS Mr. President. Let the sports degenerates deal with it.

So much better than me

This was posted by my buddy Zac and I had to put it on here because this guys on here says exactly what I wanted to say in that last post of mine. It is done much better.

The Republican Hater's Ball

That's Palin as in Van Halen

I recall sitting in my religion class in 9th grade at Notre Dame-Cathedral Latin and learning about Satanism. We got an earful of the Satan music that is bad to listen to. You know the albums that if you played them backwards they would send you sublimal messages to kill yourself or worship the Devil. I couldn't help but laugh when I saw a reference to Van Halen. Even I, the one who never talked, laughed out loud at that. Well, this sort of out of touch perspective reminds me of the proponents of Sarah Palin.

I just want to say "Whaaaaa?!"

I find myself blogging about politics more lately because it is on my mind. I will be the first to admit my knowledge is minimal. I consider myself a moderate in the competition between Dems and Republicans. But the more I read about Sarah Van Palin and hear her speak, the more I cringe. I openly admit I kind of liked McCain. I figured he would be ok if he won. Now.......with this decision.......

I referenced Comprozac's blog. He is much more schooled in this than me and I cannot match his knowledge or find the evidence or support for my view like he so eloquently does as liberal as he may be. I worry when I step into this arena that I am in over my head. He has several posts I have yet to read, but I wanted to write this before I read them because I want to come from an unbiased, uninfluenced perspective. I want this to be 100% me.

I watched Van Palin's RNC speech and OB's acceptance speech. I felt two totally different overall tones that lead the way in swaying my support to OB. On one side I felt like Van Palin was playing the snotty, bully who picked on her rival from afar. I don't mean to be sexist here but I really did not like the tone nor had much respect for it. It felt to me like it was a case of someone pushing another down to appear higher.

When I watched OB's speech I heard respectful references to McCain and his well documented experiences in the armed forces. I heard critiques of McCain that were prefaced with positive remarks. "I don't believe John McCain doesn't care. He just doesn't know." These were his remarks instead of the mocking, bully antics of Van Palin.

Don't tell me I am scared of Palin. I'm not. Her hockey mom reference fell on deaf ears. Again, this comes off sexist and I apologize if it is but I truly do not "fear" Palin because she is tough or right, I fear her because she is approving a "bridge to nowhere" with money from taxpayers. I fear her because she inexperienced. Really, inexperienced. I fear her because she truly thinks abstinence only programs work. She is anti-abortion rights. If I fear a woman because they are intimidating....that would be Hillary Clinton and I would vote for her in a heartbeat if OB wasn't there. That woman is intelligent and when she criticized OB it wasn't in a snotty little brat manner SVP did.

This brings me to another example of the positive slant versus the negative, bully vibe. While Palin comes out with a 17 year old daughter who is already pregnant opening herself up to all kinds of criticism, what do OB and JB do? They lay off and instead make it a point to declare that her family is off limits. If the tables were turned would Palin do the same? After listening to her snotty speech, I think HELL TO THE NO!

This is where I wanted to go with this post. I have more feelings regarding the boo's from the Republican crowd regarding the claims of Palin's inexperience. Somehow it is unfair to call out her resume but not OB's?? C'mon! But the contradictions go on!

Bottom line: While the Republicans continue the mudslinging campaign style Bush was so good at, OB is talking about the issues that mean something to me. He is addressing education and the economy along with the war. The others can't get off the war and the lack of experience of OB. They continue to use fear to control us. My cousin Hank so eloquently referenced this in a recent thread within my extended family regarding ethics. It fits here. We are giving up liberties out of fear. We are continuing the Vietman part deaux and wasting money. We had the budget balanced if I recall correctly during the Clinton years. With a Republican in the White House we are back to those old days with Reagan and Senior where the deficit was skyrocketing.

This is where I begin to lose focus and find holes in my stance. But I just need people to know....don't fall for the brat. She may have designer glasses and all that but she has little or no substance. Let me hear how she is going to help me get my students to learn more. How are we going to increase the value of our homes? How are we going to fix the value of the US dollar? How are we going to decrease the crime rate? How are we going to fix health care? What about the homeless? What about immigration? And can my Cleveland Browns get a decent defense this year?

OB is invigorating. If he won't get change done he will inspire us to do so. I feel it. I know it. Palin? McCain? Not so much. Just four more years of good for the rich.

Please Vote With Caution

I strongly urge you to check out my good friend comoprozac's blog, Living in Misery. He has a wealth of political knowledge and has posted several good entries regarding the election.

Among them a Daily Show clip that shows that McCain's VP is a complete contradiction to what he has said thus far. He calls out OB's lack of experience but selects a VP candidate that is less qualified and less experienced than OB.

Also, it demonstrates how ridiculous it is to think Paulin is a "Hillary-voter getter" just because she is female. She is the exact opposite of Hillary in the words of Comoprozac and Jon Stewart. Anti-abortion rights, Pro-Oil, Anti-environment, Pro-War, Pro-NRA, Socially Conservative overall. She is under investigation for her own shaddy actions (unjustifiably firing her ex-brother in-law).

I would like to think our voters are more intelligent than the McCain camp thinks they are.

Check out his blog: http://in-misery.blogspot.com/2008/09/may-i-continue.html

Education and My Vote

(I step to the podium)
"Eh hem. Thank you. Thank you very much. I am honored to be here today. I would like to formerly announce my vote for the upcoming 2008 Presidential Election. After careful consideration and attempted unbiased reflection and observation, I have come to a conclusion for who will receive my vote for President of the United States of America. My vote goes to.........Barack Obama."

All attempts at humor aside, I would like to piggy back off my recent posts regarding my feelings as an educator in Ohio to discuss my opinions regarding my choice for our next president. It would be easy to blindly vote democrat since I am one. It would be easy to vote away from McCain since he is in the same party as Bush who I have not been comfortable with as our leader these past eight years. I didn't want to take the easy way. I didn't want to vote for Obama for what he is not but instead for what he is.

I recall a comment that was made to me recently. I was told it didn't make sense that I voted Democrat as a homeowner. Whaaa? Apparently there is only one factor I should take into account as I vote. But I don't vote this way. I could list a number different of reasons why I would like Obama in office. There are many sides to my life. But this post is going to remain focused on my reasons related to education, the profession in which I work. So remember there is more to my vote than just these reasons. I have particular views on the war and other foreign affairs, economy, gay marriage, taxes, etc.

I blogged recently about the importance of Fathers. The point was to put the spotlight on Dads, but it really is a parent thing as comoprozac so eloquently put in his comments. Obama has said, "The schools can't do it all by themselves. Parents have to parent." (OEA handout) What did he say? "Parents have to parent." THANK YOU!!! So how is this going to happen Mr. Obama? "Watch them do their homework. If they don't know how to do it, give them help. If you don't know how to do it, call the teacher." YES! How ingenious is that? Remember how I said my students who had their Father's (or mothers) come in or call me were usually performing better? Many times the calls were asking what the heck I wanted on their homework! Should I take that as an insult? Does that mean they are less smart? Heck no. This is how learning takes place. Discussion and teamwork. Looks like Barack Obama gets that.

No Child Left Behind is underfunded and failing. As I blogged about before, it attempts to hold teachers to a higher standard but doesn't do so. Instead it fosters distrust and animosity. Obama plans to overhaul this legislation by providing the money needed to fund it properly, reduce the emphasis on standardized testing and make sure that any tests that are given better measure the individualized growth and readiness. (OEA handout)

My wife is now learning the "teach to the test" process that has infected our schools. Since test scores dictate success and failure, administrators are forced to push test prep to the point of losing touch with our greater purpose. Book companies and tutoring services are raking in the cash as each year we order sets of prep books to feed our kids almost constantly from January to the test if not the whole school year. We focus on how to answer test questions and what test vocabulary means and tricks of the trade. I guess we figure the next generation will be working jobs where they answer questions all day.

Lastly, he plans to raise teacher pay. Of course I like this one right? I am a teacher. But seriously, people do not want to teach. Current teachers, especially younger ones, leave teaching within their first 5 years for other career entirely. It is becoming an epidemic in Ohio. Schools are also cutting teacher positions left and right as well making it harder on those of us still here. Our class sizes continue to increase. This makes us less effective and more stressed. I am not sure how he is going to be able to do this when we can't pass a levy in central ohio to save our lives and districts are running deficits like crazy, but here's an idea.....close the charter school and voucher experiment! You could stop that war as well. If we have money to fund that, we can divert it to the public schools. We can fix a ton of the problems. Then, our prisons won't fill up and the need for the money to fund those will diminish so we can pay for others things too like helping the homeless and so on.

I live in an ideal world I guess and I anticipate numerous comments cutting holes in this. But like it or not, Brack Obama's statements have earned my vote. I end this with one last quotation that sums up how I have felt about the education system, "I want to lead a new era of mutual responsibility in education, one where we all come together for the sake of our children's success, an era where each of us does our part to make that success a reality-parents and teachers." (OEA handout)

In my opinion....

I have stayed away from politics for the most part on this blog because I am quite ignorant about them. But I obviously have an opinion on many hot button issues of today so I am taking this opportunity to share with you my stance on some things and look forward to reading some comments that may support or disagree with my positions.

First of all, let me begin by stating that overall, I am rather moderate in my views I would think. I fall on the left on a number of issues but on the right on others. Many times my views have changed as I have grown up, entered different stages of life or experienced things to see them differently.

2008 Election:
I voted for Barack Obama in the Ohio primary. I am not a 100% backer of Obama though. I like Hillary Clinton as well. In fact, I even fell into that category of people that may lean democrat but liked McCain. I still prefer McCain over any of the other Republican candidates. But I as I have read more about McCain, I have become less comfortable with him.

So as of now, I would love to see a Obama/Clinton ticket. Here's why: I am a proponent of change and I think they will bring it. Things are really bad right now and have been for awhile. I can't tell you why or whose fault it is, but it's somebody's. So fresh blood needs to be infused.

I like the fact that they are really pumping changes in Healthcare. I am not knowledgeable enough regarding their ideas or how well they will go over in Congress and much of that, but something needs to be done and I feel there is a better chance something will be done to help the middle and lower class if they are elected. That is pretty much the running theme for me in most other issues: Which candidates will help the middle class most? I highly doubt Republican John McCain will.

Gay Marriage
I strongly have a problem with people's basic civil liberties being taken from them. I was under the impression that this country was founded on freedom. We obviously had issues with this for over a century and still do in terms of race. But it seems like we have been at least trying to move in the right direction over the past 50 years. It seemed like progress has been made with the feminist movement, civil rights and so on. So why take such a step backwards?

Also, I was under the impression that this country was founded on the freedom of religion and separation of church and state. I will respect a religion's view that homosexuality is wrong. While I disagree and will choose not to practice that religion, I will continue to respect that belief system unless it gets to the point of promoting the harming of gays as a result. These religions should therefore have the right to not recognize the union of same sex couples. But the government should not be making this decisions based on these religion's particular beliefs either. I understand many people like to use religion to drive morality but it gets very scary the more you do this. Religion has been used to oppress many people many times throughout history currently with the lack of gay rights and even in the before the civil war to justify slavery.

In a democracy it should be up to the people. And as it has been, the people of this hillbilly state have voted same sex unions down. So I can't say much except that my vote and opinion is for the freedom of same sex couples to be united and sharing in the benefits of traditional couples. Love is love. Both parties are able to aknowledge it and honor it, so I support it.

Welfare
I feel as though there are people in our country that need assistance and the government should be responsible in part to provide them with it. As fellow citizens, we should chip in.

Even if we have a problem with giving our hard earned money to other people we have no "connection" with, it benefits us in the end as the overall quality of life will be better. I don't feel good when I see or hear about people living on the streets or unable to get medicine especially children. I don't like driving around run down areas. I don't like being a victim of crime because someone is desperate for money.

While I realize this can never be completely fixed and people get themselves in these predictaments much of the time and should get themselves out, there are legitimate situations where honest people need help. I, too, have a problem with people living off the system. I understand welfare, obviously, won't fix it. And I worry the system promotes laziness and feelings of self-entitlement, but we can eradicate this without ridding our fellow citizens of welfare all together. We just need to rethink it and do it right.

Death Penalty
Simply put: I am for it. I know it isn't a reliable deterent. I know it costs alot. I am also afraid of killing someone who didn't commit the crime. But when it comes to serial killers, rapists, mass murders and major criminals, they need to be removed from our society completely. They did it, so they should suffer the same consequences.

Abortion
Toughest one for me. In my heart I am pro life. And in my life I choose to do everything I can to handle my situations in a prolife manner. But I see the other side clearly. The woman's body is the woman's body. There are situations when abortion unfortunately needs to happen. I think if we asked God what the correct stance on this one is, it would say something both sides would not want to hear. (Kathryn M. Huey circa 2005)

In my mind, the focus of both sides should be more on finding a way to prevent the reasons for abortion as much as we can in the first place. For example, wising up and providing birth control in schools. It won't promote more sex. New flash: Kids are already doing it. They have been for decades now. No sex until you are responsible enough to handle it is ideal and should be emphasized but let's be real, kids will aren't going to listen so prepare a back up plan.

If all the time in energy we spend fighting about what is right was spent on how we can avoid unwanted, unprepared pregnancies in the first place I think we could get so much closer to not needing abortions (except EXTREME conditions).

Education
NCLB stinks. Holding teachers accountable is a good idea but this not the way to do it. Penalizing instead of rewarding isn't a successful tactic in this case. Education 101 could teach you that. Funding for schools in Ohio, at the very least, has been ruled uncontitutional several times and nothing is being done about it. More and more pressure is put on the teachers with less and less support. The students need people. Teachers need people. We are spinning our wheels in the mud changing the ways we teach every couple years and keep missing the point. The problems are coming in with the kids from the streets or homes. Teachers then have to deal with them directly or indirectly before they even start to teach. How do we solve this? PEOPLE! Resources IN THE SHOOLS. Social workers, nurses all day everyday, assistant principals, classroom aides beyond kindergarden and security.

Then as we teach, please let us teach fundamentals in the lower grades. Middle schools and high schools can teach the higher level conceptual stuff. They need the basics first and we are so worried about teaching higher level conepts in 2nd grade that they go to middle school without knowing math facts or parts of speech. We need to go back to the old school of contructivism.


My Solution to MANY of the issues and problems we have today
In addition to the issues I grazed over above, there are many other problems. I have a solution to most if not all of them. Birth control in the water. We can then control the population better. We are not taking the right to have children away at all. Adults with an income and steady job history, insurance, passing parenthood exam score and classes passed and no more than 3-5 children already in the household can apply for a parenting liscense each time they want a child. Then they can obtain the shot required to neutralize the birth control and have their child.

Listen, I know. This is far fetched and scary. I get that. I am bordering on fascism if not already there. But think about it. Think of how things would be.

Celtics or Lakers
Neither. Can't stand either of them. KG ticks me off. Kobe is a premadonna and lying cheat to his wife. Boston fan is the most annoying sports fan EVAAAAAAAAAA!! Forget them both!

So what would you call me? Liberal? Conservative? I never can tell.