ZED!

‘Toons!

congrats on the zed nahant – how’s the bay area tonight?

hey neuro – whazzup in kansas?

DIGG ISOPEN

thanks for opening the digg nahant

Twas a nice day but is cooling down this evening..
My fisherman son will be out your way in the AM on the Nestucca looking to catch some Steelhead!!

Rest in peace, Brat-Brat…daddy loves you.

the weather is still trying to figure out if it’s spring yet

and we’re still waiting to see if we will lose our governor

cool – he can drop off some salmon for easter dinner cookiing

(((that guy))) – i’m so sorry to hear of your loss – may he be waiting for you on the rainbow bridge

Dugg and left a comment!

Thanks Suze…it’s so hard…

Thanks for the toons, Suz. It’s a balm for the stressed-out soul. Hey, I could write a book about that.;)

i would love to have an autographed copy of that book margot – how’s ohio tonight?

Good luck on that Front! The only way
I get any is if I or my middle son go up there and catch it ourselves!!

But I did get my veggie garden completely planted… now when the call come the family only needs to keep it watered so we can enjoy the bounty!!

i still say easter is the perfect day to get your transplant nahant

left a comment!

Loved IT!

((ThatGuy))

How many people at these tea bag parties will be getting a tax cut from Obama? How many of these people at the tea bag parties protested Bush for all his spending?
How many want their states to turn down the stimulus money? How many want Obama to let the banks fail?
Just when, where did Obama say he was going to take away everyone’s guns did I miss that secret meeting?
How many people really care if the rich get taxed more especially if it means that they do not get taxed more?

Good work on getting the garden planted…..much to look forward to.

hey things – they don’t care about anything unless their fearless leader tells them to

hey drw1 – how’s the south end of the central coast?

Would be prophetic! But it would mess up Julie’s solo in the morning service!! She says I HAVE to go to it AND No jeans allowed And I have to wear real shoes… I think she has gone too far on that one(:>))

Oh dear. Sorry, ThatGuy.

there is always the afternoon dood

hey loohoo

Amazing, isn’t it?! Where did our education system go so wrong? I read What’s the Matter with Kansas and despaired. But it’s really What’s the Matter With America. Sheeze.

Good for you, nahant! Best of all possible wishes to you.

That’s all folks.

-G

Who’s their leader?

(((Brat-Brat)))

But But I would miss the brunch @ my sister-inlaws… She does cook well and she is serving ham & eggs and other goodies!!

It’s good, not very cool and not rainy.

g’nite gregb (or were ya quoting)

Why thank you Loo Hoo (:>)) Best to you also!!

Hey, Suz, it’s lovely on the coast. We get promises of a bit more rain, but no such luck yet. But I do love the green foothills and I’m really glad that rains didn’t wash out the burn area in Santa Barbara. Farmers market was lovely this a.m. — very busy as folks get ready for Easter dinner. Nice.

hey sunny

Hey! Thanks for the great cartoon. I’m always amazed at the old art.

farmers market doesn’t start up here until mid june – still trying to figure out if it is spring or late winter – 46 and rainy again here

Off to Nod.

my pleasure – i love the old toons

g’nite sunny

But who is leading the Republican party? Sarah is taking Stimulus money so that leaves the GOP Senate and House Minority leaders? Bobby Steele? Bwahahaha!
Glen Beck?
Glen is the best the GOP has right now? Thats like going all in on a loser hand when you think the deck is marked!

Thanks, Margot.

In my opinion, the problem with education is that it’s become hierarchical like the military. Nobody is allowed to dissent. Nobody is allowed to offer new solutions, because everything is decided by freaking No Child Left Behind. Everyone knows it’s a failure, yet nobody will turn down the funding and break the rules.

Education is so far gone…hope Obama can get it real again.

Night, G.

Have you seen the film Jesus Camp? That should scare you even more.

Night, SN.

that film is forking scarier than any other – including the excorcist

And, sputter&fume, education was never a federal issue. But I’ve lost confidence in Obama to fix much of anything. When he brought in the Summers/Geitner crowd, I just figured we are all royally screwed. And, really, as a former teacher, I don’t think it is teachers who are failing the students….I think parents and religious leaders on the far right are messing with young minds. It’s all a mess.

Yeah end No Child Left Behind doing that would help Obama in the polls and if the GOP fights him on that to protect Bush’s legacy well that should help keep the GOP down in the polls.
I wonder how much money schools would save nationwide if they dropped No Child Left Behind?
I think mandatory summer school for all D students might get better results. (just an idea I have no studied the cost or benefits yet)

it is the teachers not being allowed to teach anything other than the testing material that screwed things up. that and all the cuts to education.

when politicians tell teachers how to do their job, we are screwed

A top ten list of scary films for Lefties someday?

sounds like a diary to me things :)

Agreed. But I also think that some parents are non-involved and teachers are stressed to handle all kinds of problems that kids bring to school rather than being able to fully concentrate on the tasks at hand. Sad, really.

add in all the cuts – no more counselors, no school nurse – the teachers are supposed to pick up the slack and do those jobs – when the hell does any have the time to teach something other than the test.

I think mandatory summer school for all D students might get better results.

Just like in the old days! Nobody was shuffled along into higher grades until they passed the grade they were in. Maybe if more kids were sentenced to Summer school and the whole family missed their vacations, parents just might make sure the kids worked harder in school!!

when politicians tell teachers how to do their job, we are screwed

If they did their jobs correctly maybe Schools would be fully funded and Teachers would teach the required subjects and not some fucking useless tests! Which teaches our children nothing except maybe how to cheat and that cheating was OK!!

And school social workers (full disclosure: I’m also a former social worker) to make sure kids even come to school and help kids deal with family problems that interfere with ability to learn. And, yes, summer school — all year school…..heck, few kids in most states are needed on the family farms anymore.

heck, few kids in most states are needed on the family farms anymore.

no kidding

Rote Memorization instead of Critical Thinking no Arts, Shop, Music no Creativity equals no inventions. No inventions good bye Americas lead in Tech.
Instead we get no sex ed with birth control = more teen moms
We get Creationism instead of evolution good bye DNA, stem cell tech.
There is a reason why the Blue States tend to be richer than the Red States we create and make they extract minerals, oil and pollute.
Right now we import raw materials we export software, movies, medical drugs.
We need to invent more because we already can’t extract more oil minerals etc and I really don’t want us t pollute more.

And, actually, in my town schools are all year with rolling vacation schedules. Kids are off for a few weeks at a time a few times a year rather than 3 months at a time.

After Jesus Camp I’m drawing a blank:) My mind can’t fathom the Horror!

the teachers don’t have to spend the first month back from vacation helping the kids remember what they forgot when off for 3 months

Right. But still, education is not held in high regard by many families in my area, so I can’t say that the system is making a ton of progress.

Good Evening everyone

hey katy – how’s arizona tonight?

Summer school has just been more of the same since NCLB. Boring, rote, no thinking, just memorizing.

The road to recovery in education lies, imo, in getting kids interested in learning about things that interest them again.

We can’t cram facts down kid’s throats and expect to have them appreciate education, we need to teach them to read so that they can explore their interests.

It rained most of the day… funny how it has rained every major holiday starting with last Thanksgiving…..

and restricted to just those kids who need to go to summer school – i remember when my girls’ district changed summer school policy to one that requires a recommendation from the home school – and that was not always enough to ensure a child in need got in.

summer school used to be where one could take a subject that one was interested in or wanted to know more about. now, that wanting is denied due to budget considerations.

School lunches and breakfast Healthy organic stuff get rid of the sugar and kids can stop buzzing enough to learn. Also poor hungry kids can’t concentrate on school.
Gym class for everybody unless they are after school athletes a healthy mind starts with a healthy body.
No need for special equipment for poor schools run, pushups, situps etc would be better than no gym class at all but it must be all 4 years of high school.

The local news reported that they are laying off over 1000 teachers, administrators and admin staff in Maricopa county but old Sheriff joe keeps his job….

That is true. We can’t count on parents the way we used to. The parents are absolutely exhausted at the end of their workdays, and it’s all they can do to feed and bathe their kids. Besides, if the kids work their tails off for six hours, take care of their chores at home, and try to be kids for a couple of hours, isn’t that enough?

People are still trying to live in a world where one parent doesn’t work, and can devote hours to partner in education. Ain’t happening where I teach.

weather dood said its gonna be a wet easter – i guess it is a tradition up here – just like rain on the coast during spring break

We’re not talking about families who even dream of vacations.

They’re not needed on the farms, but they have to stay home from school if the baby is sick so the parent can go to work. The parent staying home is not an option for many of these families.

How’s tricks, katymine?

Limbaugh

Good point reading got me here:) The free time to read what I wanted to and access to books helped spark the imagination.
I wonder just how much high tech stuff we have now was originally mentioned in a Sci Fi novel and someone decided to invent it?
To create kids need free time to dream and do stuff on their own.

Glen Beck on drugs

I’m hanging in there…. still in the middle of the extensive Mayo Clinic evaluation here in Scottsdale. Have been tested from the top of my head down….. Being creative on a low roughage liquid/soft diet…. mashed potatoes taste like heaven….

Exactly. If we spent the same dollars on kids who wanted to go to summer school to learn something exciting as we are spending on mandating summer school for kids who don’t want to go, imagine the difference!

We’d be spending money to improve America! The kids who are mandated would even want to go rather than being bored.

sure aint michael steele

You know, LooHoo, counting on parents to help in the schools didn’t work 30+ years ago when I taught in a lower middle class neighborhood where everyone who could work did work. And most parents were too tired from working all day to participate in evening support for their kids’ homework and such. As for me, I always chose the best school district I could buy into, even if I didn’t end up in the nicest house. Lots of people would rather have a better house. Whatever.

(((katy))) dang, does that mean no bunny ears?

OMG. That is revolting. Has your population decreased that much?

Chocolate melts so that probably fits that diet ;)

Mashed carrots can taste like candy too!

No the Repugs are cutting the education budget by 40% ….. being 49th in education just was not good enough

It does require [parents to pay attention to what their kids are actually doing. Doesn’t matter if they are well off or poor. We lived in a project yet we were expected to get promoted every year!! My dad had to leave school after the sixth grade to go to work to help his family put food on the table being the oldest male it was what was needed. Parents of today should try and remember what their parents went through and try harder for their own kids!!

Most of it!! I read about so many things that have since been made to be real!! I Loved reading, my mom had me reading by four and there were six kids!!

whew

no chocolate bunny ears at easter is cruel and unusual punishment

there is always ice cream katy – that melts

Yes, I agree. The school district is important if it has enough money to teach kids to think. That’s the main thing. NCLB was a product of W, and an attempt to dumb down society enough that people would continue to vote against their interests. Thankfully, for whatever Obama’s other faults, he’s on to this. I look forward to positive changes.

the portugese water dog is the winner in the obama dog search

Best to you (((Katy))) You ARE a Trooper!! Keep it up girl!! You are doing great(:>))

Again, they want stupid voters.

being 49th in education just was not good enough

This is totally unAmerican.

Sadly, I don’t think the ethic is the same these days. The party of ‘family values’ was so corrupt that a third of our populace is totally nonsensical. The pursuit of education with expectation of advancing oneself and one’s family really isn’t so much an American value anymore, I think.

I wonder how much free reading kids who are struggling trying to study for No Child Left Behind do?
Are there any tests to measure a child’s creativity? Is there a yearly measured creativity test given anywhere we can check to see if No Child Left Behind is doing irreversible damage?

Years ago when my oldest son was a baby, there was an article or story in Readers Digest about how immigrants came to America illiterate do anything to make sure their kids to make sure their kids finished the 6 grade, the next generation did the same to make sure their kids finished high school, then the next to finish college and now the drop out rate in many areas of the country is running around 50% for HS students.

Why insist on bringing a life into the world if your to cheap to educate it?

Nationally has this gone up since No Child Left Behind?

The biggest pot of unclaimed money was education…..and that’s what the federal grab was all about from W and his cronies. Charter schools are sketchy. Money going every which way. Destroy grovernment. The neocons had their way with America. I don’t know if we can ever regain what we lost.

I don’t know that, it was a comment by a old friend who lives south of the Bay Area in his school district which is NOT an inner city district AND from a news report in the last month.

Our country and cities/states have let them all down by not funding a proper education for all of them.
It is truly sad what NCLB has done combined with the right’s defunding of the public school system!
I just can’t understand why anyone would not want to invest in the future by investing in education. They are so fucking short sighted…

Hear Hear!! TCU!

America spends how much money educating Inbred Elite Bushies who get the best education and then waste the opportunity by getting Gentlemen’s C’s but its ok they grow up and donate big to the college.
Then we spend how much money putting in prison all the poor people without an education.
While WallStreet bankers who steal millions go free and attend Tea Bagger parties and we wonder why America is slipping behind?

Creating serfs, nahant, creating a permanent underclass. I’m not smart enough to figure out how they thought that would yield them unending monies, but I am certain that they wanted a permanent underclass.

don’t need schoolin’ to fight in oil wars

In AZ there is an issue where our state legislators are paid very little, just around $20K which they get builders and business people who hold office. Many also either run, own, have family members who own charter schools. So there is a reason we had out of control growth AND lack of regulation over charter schools. The push for the voucher programs and starving the public school system.

I heard Charter Schools do not improve test results that often but poor families like them because their schools suck so bad they just want out to someplace new.
I wonder what Obama’s plans for them are?

Just wondering I’ve heard the samething.

Thanks:)

The Latino families are the best. They want their kids to succeed, this is why they gave up their home countries to come to America. The first generation does very well. It’s the second and third generations, that seem to fall behind. Too many hot Cheetos in the mix.

Hot Cheetos, $1.29 per package. Free lunch, free.

Sure seems that way!! Who is going to clean their houses, do their nails, wash their clothes and on and on GREEDY selfish pricks! Hope they all get their comeuppance someday!!

our charter schools test results do not apply to NCLB…. but by starving the public school system the AIMS test scores (our version of the test) keeps the scores into the toilet and then sets up schools to fail. Keeps shifting any schooling to charter schools and it is a downward spiral.

set up to fail

We can thank NCLB for the drop out rate. I’m telling you, 1/3 of our kids hate school by the fourth grade.

As was said earlier immigrants used to make sure their kids got the best education possible and They learned to speak English! Now not so much except maybe the Asian families who do make sure their kids work hard in school!

Religion? And they’re fighting family planning.

I beg to differ. Living in a heavily Latino-immigrant area, I do not see it that way. Asian immigrants, yes.

Going to wake Elmore who is sleeping on the sofa…. and get him to bed… It has been a ruff two weeks and next week could be just as fun…..

Good Night everyone

g’nite katy

Night Katy!

So there is a reason we had out of control growth AND lack of regulation over charter schools. The push for the voucher programs and starving the public school system.

Therein lies the catch. Charter schools are paid for with public school monies. Just lets the racists keep their white kids outside of the brown schools. It’s a devastating trend. I can hardly believe Obama has supported the charter school concept.

On the other side, cities like Chicago have allowed charter schools, but have diverted school lunch monies to go to the homeless. It’s a ratfuck.

Its better to be rich where everyone is poor in a second rate country than rich in a first rate country with a big middle class that is moving both up and down.
There is to much competition in these countries for the inbred Bushies who should be stocking groceries if we had a true equal opportunity meritocracy for them to hope of holding onto their wealth.
But in a system where everyone is poor lacking opportunity Bushies can rule until the inbreeding gets real bad.
Its Reverse Social Darwinism those at the top devolve because the weak at the top are never allowed to fail or stop breeding and the strong are never allowed to rise and strengthen the genes of those at the top.
The John Kerry types go to war and lead and sometimes die the small school bus special ones all stay at home and breed causing the Elite to sink.
The want to be John Gaults make nothing invent nothing sit on their wealth protected in family trusts or they gamble in ponzai schemes.
Every Empire reaches a point where finance becomes more important than manufacturing.
I think there is a link between this and Reverse Social Darwinism.

Thanks for the cheery cartoon, who doesn’t like Easter Yeggs?

Couldn’t sleep so I’d thought I’d hop by to say
Happy Easter to Suz, and everybody

Now I’m going to try to get back to sleep or I’ll never wake up in the morning.
*poof*

But, but God so loved the world he sent his only son to die on the Cross.
Can’t the GOPers kick in a few bucks to send the kids down the block to school?
Is that to much of a sacrifice after what God did? Did they not read the Good Smaritian?

hi and g’nite ellie – glad ya liked the toon

Read do you really think that comprehend what they READ????

My Grandfather poured Concrete My Dad a Structural Engineer on power plants Coal,Oil, Nuclear me ok not quite that driven but a bit more well rounded in the education writing English grammar still a hassle:)
My Mom 4 kids 20 years of part time school and a Masters in Education.

No :(

Well It is Easter already and I have to go to the service in the morning..or else!
good night Pups… peace to all of you!

g’nite nahant

Nite Folks:)

g’nite things

Still on-thread?

Saw your linky upstairs re. the PWD; was reading about it over at wapoo and some of the comments were to sux. Do you remember any brouhaha about shrub’s choice of a pure-breed? Naw……thought not. Interesting how dogs often take on their owner’s personalities tho’ I doubt poor ol’ Barney ever saw his so-called “master” except for photo-ops.

well, barney is a biter…

I’m baaack. Been ejected from the land of nod.

i hate it when that happens – which is usually that rare nite that i have to get up early in the morning

Interesting how some of the commenters on the wapoo article are equating the dog news with taking the ‘mericans’ eyes off the pirate issue; ya gotta wonder whether people like that have two brain cells to rub together.

Hey, Sunny -

Suz is probably gonna take off on us soon and we can start trashing the place. *G* Oops, Lurk…..you didn’t hear that. ;-)

Seriously, how ya been doin’, girl? Wut’s up in your world?

dangit, you must have one of them fancy smancy two-way monitors and saw me yawn

Heh, don’t I wish…….I still live in the dial-up world. :-(

well, you were on the money about my getting ready to bail.

g’nite pups and thank you for hanging out with me tonight. don’t trash da joint too much

Dear heavens. Where are you, and why only dial-up, Waccamaw?

Nite Suz.

Figured I was just in time to say g’nite to everyone else..

Late Late Night . . . thoughts from this Larue

Hiya Suz . . . . great toon . . . really great toon.

The rest of yas, howdy, too . . .

And don bite the bunny ears off the chocolate bunny before the kids find it.

Tacky it is. ;-)

For no other reason than it’s on my playlist tonite, Laurie Lewis and Tom Rozum with Right Hand did this tune.

A Jim Ringer song. Those who don’t know, googleh . . .

Tramps, Hawkers N Thieves, there’s no u tube, so imagine it. I’ts only tre bitchen. A classic amongst us left coast folkies, grassers and such. No night club shit this one, it’s pure people’s music. Bless Jim Ringer.

TRAMPS AND HAWKERS (lyrics written by Jim Ringer)

B B Bsus4 E | B E B B

B B Bsus4 E | B E B B
I choose to see not the things that be, or the miles and the years that are gone
B B E B | B B E E
I pay no heed to tomorrow’s needs, I’m blinded from snow and the sun
B B E B | B B E E
Til all I can see is my darlin’ and me, like young flowers blooming in spring
B B Bsus4 E | B E B B
Like flowers we grew and no other I knew but the rose of the San Joaquin
B B

The gypsies will dance while stealin’ a glance at a seed that might blow in the wind
And the fields are worked in a sweat-stained shirt til the workers move on again
And the tramps and hawkers with stories wild beguiled a young boy’s dreams
Enticing me to leave my love, the rose of the San Joaquin
B B Bsus4 E | B E B B

I’ve watched the rise of light in the sky where the sun climbs out of the sea
Seen giants fall in the mountains tall where the lumbermen cut down the trees
I’ve played in the sand with the gulf coast wind and slept in the grass tall and clean
But nowhere I’ve been would I go back again, except to the San Joaquin
B B

But the road back home is hard and it’s long and the miles they stretch into years
And the tramps and hawkers in every town, oh god but it brings me to tears
When I got home I found just a flower on a mound where it shamed the green grasses of spring
And it grew from the grave of my darling little girl, the rose of the San Joaquin

B B Bsus4 E | B E B B

Oh see us today out on your highways, or asleep in the doors of a train
See the gypsies dance with their damn knowing glances, while the peddlers shout out their refrain
And who’s gonna care, and who’s gonna share all the joys or the troubles we see
Like ghosts we roam, without friends or home, these tramps and hawkers and me
B B Bsus4 E | B E B B
Like ghosts we roam, without friends or home, these tramps and hawkers and me

B B Bsus4 E | B E B B
B B E B | B B E E
B B E B | B B E E
B B Bsus4 E | B E B B

Shuttle back and forth between eastern and western NC; each, rural areas. Another reason………cheapness. ;-) I can have internet access in *both* places for a total of $14.95/month; plus I’m extraordinarily loyal to my regional independent ISP…….they were there for us when there was nothing else. Dog knows what it would cost per month to have high-speed in both places from two different providers.

Just read through the thread (so much faster without refresh waits).. Paints a bleak picture especially re: education. Can’t help but wonder what sort of leadership takes us to a point where a large percentage of the population is effectively redundant.

Not up to much.. But I’m game for seeing what we can get by with after the adult supervision departs ;-0 Perhaps lurk can be corrupted.

Wow! A great price. You just need patience to save lots of money!

Pillow fight? Lurk might let us get away with that. *G*

Well, it gets really frustrating at times, especially since so many sites have added vids by the carload (and don’t get me started with the swear words when I waste time clicking on a link only to find u-tube imbeds) and we won’t even go to having to deal with every ad and other crap loading before the stuff I want to read. The ads are a necessary evil but they sure are a bane for us luddites out here

Can you give me some idea of what it might cost to have h-s in two places…..I know there’s a lot of variables so that one might not have an answer. Another bennie of staying with the one I’m used to is not having adjust to changing back and forth between two places……big time non-geek here.

Does your ISP serve the entire state (access numbers)?

I’ll bet it’s frustrating!

Good night.

Basically the entire *country*, as i understand it. I have the two numbers I use preset and wouldn’t know how to take advantage of the others….but since I don’t do much traveling these days and definitely not with the laptop, it really doesn’t make any nevermind.

Hell’s bells and codfish, Sunny! Just about gave myself a heart attack…..all this talk about ISPs got me wondering whether I switched numbers when I got downcoast over a month ago. Just checked and all is well but Dog knows what the phone bill would be if I’d been using a long-distance number all this time. Whew!!!

As enticing as a virtual pillow-fight sounds *g*, think I’ll see if I can pick up a couple more hours of snooze time.

Under the heading of miscellaneous info, John Dean’s “Conservatives Without Conscience” and Kevin Phillip’s “American Theocracy” have both hit the local Dollar Tree stores at $1. Since I had read neither, was happy to see them.

Seems there should be some middle ground. Guess the market dried up after election season.

Good luck with the zzzz’s…unfortunately, I’m now WIDE awake. Since yer takin’ off on me, the shower calls. Catch up with ya later.

Good morning, pups. It’s Dowd, Friedman and Rich today. Mr. Kristof is off. Mr. Kristof is off today. MoDo, in “Demi in Des Moines?”, says he West Coast once glowed with prosperity and was the harbinger of hip new things. Now in the grip of recession, California’s cool has been stolen by, of all places, Iowa. Oh, how amazing it is for MoDo to discover that people in the flat, square middle can think and reason and all… The Moustache of Wisdom says “(No) Drill, Baby, Drill,” and that if government policies don’t recognize the need to sustain nature’s incredible range of economic services — from carbon-fixation to natural beauty for tourism — things go haywire. Speaking for myself, if I never hear the phrase “drill, baby, drill” again it will be too soon. Mr. Rich, in “Awake and Sing!”, says it is time to leave behind the bubble’s toxic culture that not only took away wealth but certain American values, and do something good.

http://mgpaquin.wordpress.com/.

The coffee, tea and hot chocolate are ready, and I’ll share our church Easter breakfast with you: Help yourself to your choice of orange or grapefruit juice, dry cereal with milk, country ham, scrambled eggs, grits and biscuits. I’m here early because I’m going to be a busy bunny today. The Great Vigil is at 6:00, the First Mass of Easter is at 10:00, and the Celtic Eucharist is at 6:00 PM. There WILL be a nap this afternoon… Happy Easter, everyone! Have a joyous day.

Oh, I’ve been there… My best dial-up number was fine for many months, then suddenly I got a monster long distance bill for using the same number.

Dooked it out with the tel co for some time and they finally capitulated. Never did explain what had caused a local number to become LD, but it once again became local to me.

Elliott’s up with Talking Heads.