Wednesday, January 31, 2007

FUN BUMPER STICKERS


I like ALL of these, but my favorites are 4, 10, 15, 19, 21, 24, 28 and 30.



1) (On an infant's shirt): Already smarter than Bush.


2) 1/20/09: End of an Error


3) That's OK, I Wasn't Using My Civil Liberties Anyway


4) Let's Fix Democracy in This Country First


5) If You Want a Nation Ruled By Religion, Move to Iran


6) Bush. Like a Rock. Only Dumber.


7) You Can't Be Pro-War And Pro-Life At The Same Time


8) If You Can Read This, You're Not Our President


9) Of Course It Hurts: You're Getting Screwed by an Elephant


10) Hey, Bush Supporters: Embarrassed Yet?


11) George Bush: Creating the Terrorists Our Kids Will Have to Fight


12) Impeachment: It's Not Just for Blowjobs Anymore


14) America : One Nation, Under Surveillance


15) They Call Him "W" So He Can Spell It


16) Which God Do You Kill For?


17) Cheney/Satan '08


18) Jail to the Chief


19) The Republican Party: Our Bridge to the 11th Century


20) No, Seriously, Why Did We Invade?


21) Bush: God's Way of Proving Intelligent Design is Full Of Crap


22) Bad president! No Banana.


23) We Need a President Who's Fluent In At Least One Language


24) We're Making Enemies Faster Than We Can Kill Them


26) Rich Man's War, Poor Man's Blood


27) Is It Vietnam Yet?


28) Bush Doesn't Care About White People, Either


29) Where Are We Going? And Why Are We In This Handbasket?


30) You Elected Him. You Deserve Him.


31) Impeach Cheney First


32) When Bush Took Office, Gas Was $1.46

Saturday, January 27, 2007

*BLUCCCH, MY SPINE!!!


Blucccch, my spine!

I hurt my back July 4 of 2006 lifting musical equipment, and I have been dealing with pain ever since. After seven months of trying physical therapy, chiropractic and some excellent pain-killers, it was time to get serious.

A neurosurgeon in Walla Walla, WA told me today I need back surgery (a disc-ectomy plus fusion of vertebrae L-4 and L-5). He said physical therapy and chiropractic won't do much to help my spine because one of my vertebrae has a defect/deformation... probably a birth defect. I think he is right with his guess there, because from what the MRI shows, bone is pressing against nerve and causing sciatic pain, and I have had such pain off and on since puberty. The nerve-hole is also too small, and the herniated disc between L-4 and L-5 is also pressing on the nerve. Scheise! Anyway, the doc says the bad disc is beyond repair.

I'm in pain now, and I would be in pain for a while after an operation, but the doc says this procedure would be a relatively easy one. The "down time" for me would be anywhere from three weeks to three months, so if I can choose when to have a surgery, I'd do it in early-to-mid May so my employer wouldn't have to hire a substitute for me. On Feb. 13 I'll see the neurosurgeon who would be doing the operation. He is in Kennewick, WA, about 115 miles from here.

After that, because back surgery is a major thing, I will get a second opinion somewhere. The doc in Walla Walla told me I could either opt for the surgery, or to live with pain for the rest of my life. Sometimes surgeries don't work too well, but I would rather take a chance at relieving the pain than choosing the other route, which would seem to me like giving up, like resigning to the pain I would feel for years to come.

I will keep you posted on how things progress. If I don't post on this blog for a few days at a time, hopefully it will be because I am high on Percoset and not because I am bummed out! Heh!

Now, enough about me already! Please don't neglect the post below this one, it is about George Lakoff and the Rockridge Institute, and it contains a great excerpt from Lakoff's book "Don't Think of an Elephant!" Please check it out!!

HOW TO RESPOND TO CONSERVATIVES

Snave's Notes:

I love George Lakoff's books. I am currently reading "Thinking Points", an excellent guide similar to "Don't Think of an Elephant". I would recommend "Don't Think of an Elephant" first, and I believe it is a "must read" for any serious progressive. If you want to read "Thinking Points", it is online at http://www.rockridgeinstitute.org/thinkingpoints in the form of pdf documents.

Until we are able to put ourselves in the shoes of conservatives, unpalatable as that might be, we won't be able to get our points across. Please check out "Don't Think of an Elephant", and please make comments. Links to that book and to Rockridge Institute (a lefty think tank of sorts) are in the article! Lakoff mentions "framing" quite often... to understand this more fully, check out his writings. Google "The Rockridge Institute" and you will find links to articles.

Lakoff lists a lot of guidelines, but these may be the most important:

"Show respect
Respond by reframing
Think and talk at the level of values
Say what you believe"

"Don't Think of an Elephant" is only $10, and it's worth every penny!

Wednesday, January 24, 2007

NORTHEAST OREGON TRAFFIC JAM





This was a scene I encountered on a country two-lane road this afternoon during my commute! Yup, we still have "cattle drives" out here!

Tuesday, January 16, 2007

TAKE THIS FUN LITTLE TEST

A woman, while at the funeral of her own mother, met this guy whom she did not know. She thought this guy was amazing, so much her dream guy she believed him to be just that! She fell in love with him right there, but never asked for his number and could not find him. A few days later she killed her sister. Question: What is her motive in killing her sister? (Give this some thought before you answer. The answer is in the "comments" section below).

Tuesday, January 09, 2007

*WHAT TEACHERS MAKE

The following was e-mailed to me by a teacher:


The dinner guests were sitting around the table discussing life.

One man, a CEO, decided to explain the problem with education. He argued, "What's a kid going to learn from someone who decided his best option in life was to become a teacher?"

He reminded the other dinner guests what they say about teachers: "Those who can, do. Those who can't, teach."

To stress his point he said to another guest; "You're a teacher, Bonnie. Be honest. What do you make?"

Bonnie, who had a reputation for honesty and frankness replied, "You want to know what I make? (She paused for a second, then began...)

"Well, I make kids work harder than they ever thought they could. I make a C+ feel like the Congressional Medal of Honor. I make kids sit through 40 minutes of class time when their parents can't make them sit for 5 without an I Pod, Game Cube or movie rental... You want to know what I make?" (She paused again and looked at each and every person at the table.)

"I make kids wonder. I make them question. I make them criticize. I make them apologize and mean it. I make them have respect and take responsibility for their actions. I teach them to write and then I make them write. I make them read, read, read. I make them show all their work in math. I make my students from other countries learn everything they need to know in English while preserving their unique cultural identity. I make my classroom a place where all my students feel safe. I make my students stand to say the Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag, because we live in the United States of America. Finally, I make them understand that if they use the gifts they were given, work hard, and follow their hearts, they can succeed in life."

(Bonnie paused one last time and then continued.)

"Then, when people try to judge me by what I make, I can hold my head up high and pay no attention because they are ignorant... You want to know what I make? I MAKE A DIFFERENCE. What do you make?"


SNAVE'S NOTE: Bravo to whoever came up with that one.

I have it easy as a school speech therapist because I see my students individually or in small groups. I don't know how those who choose classroom teaching can deal with all the stresses day after day after day; kids can be cranky, and so can parents, and believe me, that can make things stressful. Public school teachers have also had the amount of trust and respect historically placed in them diminished, and I actually believe this has not been because of declining quality of education but rather because of a purposeful campaign by squeaky wheels who would like to privatize all the schools. No Child Left Behind seems fine in principle, but upon closer examination you may realize it for what I believe it is: a cleverly-designed method for defunding public education!

I say, those who can build and fix, will build and fix. Those who can't build and fix, tear things down (and often have no plan for rebuilding them!) Beware of conservative rhetoric, especially when it comes to education.

I find there are many rewards in working with kids, and this often helps make up for what some of us might not make in salary... I happen to think classroom teachers are grossly underpaid given what they do in our society. I'm sure glad there are teachers' unions, or teachers might make less than they do now.

I suppose that if the neocons' goal is for no other nation on earth to ever challenge the U.S. again militarily, then the military budget can do nothing but grow at the expense of all other needs. But I don't know why that should be the goal of our country. Wasn't that one of the factors in the collapse of the Soviet Union?

How about taking a few percent of the dollars away from our nation's military budget and putting it into education? I think it would make a positive difference. And that is what most teachers want to do, make a positive difference.

Friday, January 05, 2007

COMING SOON TO A MAILBOX NEAR YOU...


... courtesy of Dumbya and his "signing statements":

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/16472777/

More here:

http://www.thismodernworld.com/ (scroll down)

SNAVE'S NOTE: Scheise! I'm getting tired of this "signing statement" bullcrap. Why doesn't the guy just declare himself King and get it over with?

Monday, January 01, 2007

NEW YEAR'S REVOLUTION

After "9-11", when crazy-talking Ann Coulter said "we should invade their countries, kill their leaders, and convert them to Christianity" I didn't really believe it would become something of a foreign policy for our administration.

It looks like the first two out of those three things have happened (more or less) in regard to Iraq. We have invaded their country, and we have basically killed their leader... but I don't think we will ever win the religious part of that war. IF we get involved in some kind of war with Iran, I'm guessing it will be the same kind of thing, that is, we would invade Iran, and kill Ahmedinejad or get him executed... but then we wouldn't be able to win the religious battle.
I don't believe the United States can convert the people of Islamic nations en masse when it comes to either Christianity or our idea of democracy, and I believe we are fools to try, or to consider trying.

As a continuation of that previous quote, Coulter goes on to say "We weren't punctilious about locating and punishing only Hitler and his top officers. We carpet-bombed German cities; we killed civilians. That's war. And this is war." I shudder to think that she is basically advocating carpet-bombing Middle-Eastern cities and killing civilians, and I also shudder to think that if the Bush administration has basically shown itself to be in agreement with the first part of her quote... how much would they also be in agreement with the second part? I believe she is definitely crazy, almost humorously so, but I also believe there are too many people in our country who share her views, and that she is more influential than some of care to admit.

How much more will Bush and Co. escalate tensions in the Middle East? There are 749 days left in his administration. That gives him plenty of time to make things even worse than they already are in that part of the world. How much more CAN Bush do, and what can we do to keep it from happening? Is there anything we can do?

That brings me to a New Year's resolution. I have mostly given up on making them, because they are usually made to be broken. One thing I vow to do more of this year, though... I plan to use e-mails and letters to make my opinions known, not only to those who represent me and this part of the world in Washington D.C., but to other politicians who might be influential in determining courses of action regarding issues which are important to me. Whether or not you are on the same side of the political fence as me, I would urge you to do the same. Maybe they will read what you have to say, maybe not... but it IS something we can all do, and maybe it will help us feel good in knowing we are at least TRYING to get them to represent us.

2007 can be a good year, and we can all do our best to make it happen.
RichardDawkins.net