I say yes, you say no, OR People are Strange

kira1234

Mary and CLC, I'm right with you with the moving people around. I've worked in this school 12 years, and have moved every year, and my BC year 3 times.

ESE does get the chaft I agree. WE regular classroom teacher are dealing with it as well. Last year our ESE teacher was in a major accident, so no ESE teacher and no sub for 4 months till they finally hired a temp. I had 4 kids in my class that recieved no help for those 4 months. Makes it realy hard for all.

IllinoisLady

Mary.  I do hate hearing that you lost the real estate right out from under you, even a desk.  Just working is often something of a challenge -- guess this is a real test of strength. 

Looking forward to seeing former Pres. Bill Clinton's speech later on this evening. I'm like anyone I presume....his moral fiber had a few holes here and there, but he got us going in the right direction no matter what was thrown at him and no matter who tried to block him.  Old news to re-hash, but I can still see RED about all the funds used up trying to GET him and it fell flat.  A waste of time, money and effort. 

Anyway.....Rachel Maddow, Chris Matthews et al', along with Mr. Ed are saying that the Dems have come on strong finally and it is time.  No more sitting in the back seat.......they are going to be counted.  They ( as do I ) hope that the next couple of days are just like the first one last night.....truthful, forceful, and positive. 

Jackie 

YramAL

Thanks everybody. Tomorrow is a new day. I think I'll have a margarita. 

I promised my new teacher I wouldn't cry next time I came in. She told me she cried last night. Hopefully, that's all the tears we will shed. I'd say it can only get better from this point, but that wouldn't really be true, and I'm afraid I'll jinx myself.

I worked really, really hard on a bulletin board at my other school(I work at 2 schools) and that helped clear my mind a lot. It's a pretty cool bulletin board if I say so myself. It's a world map with all the countries marked that our kids come from(22 at this point) and a list of all the languages our kids speak besides English(31 in all). We are a very diverse school.

Mary 

bluedahlia

The Dems are hitting it out of the park again tonight!

QuinnCat

Bill Clinton - this might be his best and most important speech yet.  Should be required viewing.  I've forgotten how good this man is.

CherrylH

Brother Bill's sermon ( oops, speech) was so right on!!

bluedahlia

Well he exposed the lies!  Love that!

AnneW

Oh my god. Clinton gave the best speech of his career. He has such a gift for explaining policy, sticking to points, and he now has the luxury of calling them as he sees them...If this convention doesn't motivate the Dems, nothing will.

208sandy

Best.Speech.Ever!

IllinoisLady

 Blue & Anne....well actually everyone.  B. Clinton always did have a great facility for getting right down to the meat of the matter and then spoon feeding it totally effectively.  Loved the remarks about hate and arithmetic. 

Elizabeth Warren -- as was said --- great lead-in for Clinton.  Tonight was a really great night. 

Jackie

Anonymous

Mary, CLC - after giving you both a hug, I just want to RANT - what IS it about our crazy world where folks TALK about the value of EDUCATION, and then kick those dedicated human beings trying to bring it to the children who most need it?  Isn't there something really wrong with this picture?  The time, dedication, effort, emotion, ENERGY it takes to work effectively with children is so under appreciated, and I've never understood, honestly, why. 

What a JOY, to sit and watch and listen to leaders ( thank you Sandra Fluke Senator in the making) talk about CARING, and COMMUNITY, and responsibility, and creating together, and compromise. I can feel the goosepimples I used to get, at the Lincoln Monument, thinking about THAT man talking about "our better angels."  Looking at the reflecting Pool and imagining what it looked and sounded like at some of the most important times in our nation's history.  Good to be old enough to still have hope about "the arc of justice...." ( from a sermon written in MA, we all know now...)

Speaking of MA, thank you Elizabeth Warren.  Well, I feel MUCH more hopeful than I did last week.

Arithmetic ( A rat in tom's house might eat tom's ice cream) was how we learned to spell it.  No one else could have used it as a PUNCH LINE! A maestro, playing a straad, and speaking policy, amazing...and with HEART!

alexandria58

And it's outta the ballpark -- again!! 

Wabbit

Clinton was amazing!  The only criticism they can come up with ... too long.  The thing is  that he gets you so fully involved you don't care how long he talks.  The far right fringe will not listen but they are not who he was talking to anyway.  And I think everybody who looks back fondly at his accomplishments remembers how they tried to 'demonize' him too.

Sad to hear the crap that teachers have to contend with.  I admire you all for plugging away to do right by our kids in spite of it all! 

Sad about Marybe   She was a treasure and will be sorely missed. 

     

crazy4carrots

How about this for a bumpersticker:

It's the arithmetic, stupid!

gardengumby

I cannot BELIEVE that Elizabeth Warren is trailing Scott Brown by 5 points in Massachusetts.  Ted Kennedy must be roiling in his grave.

Anonymous

garden - you can not IMAGINE how hard the folks are working with their PAC $$$$$ driving ads, etc. for the opponent of Elizabeth Warren.

BUT - MA is a BLUE BLUE BLUE state, the Democrat who lost the "Kennedy" seat did so in an "off year" election - I expect when the VOTES are cast in November, we will have TWO DEMOCRATIC Senators from MA.  Hard to imagine anyone bothering to "split" the ticket to keep the temporary one we have

pupmom

I so hope you're correct, Sun. Warren is that rarest of creatures, a TRUE Democrat! I just wish we could clone her!

1Athena1

Agreed - only saw snippets, but Clinton's speech was great - I liked how he referenced Ryan's lies and addressed the skeptics.

Also shocked that Warren is behind in MA -

Anonymous

You really can NOT imagine how much $$$$ being poured into MA for her opponent.  AND, she isn't that well known - REALLY- name recognition, is not that high.  WE KNOW HER, but we are "the choir" - who read more than a tabloid sheet, and watch, well, something other than Faux News.  I really think the next 6 weeks - when everyone is in HIGH GEAR will show her numbers rise....and BHO's coat tails are good here.

gardengumby

My husband calls FOX  Forging Our Xenophobia.

The first time he saw Elizabeth Warren on tv he couldn't stop talking about her and how great she was and how intelligent - I almost started to get jealous until I saw her speak myself!!  What a great woman - hmmmmm  what a great President she'd make in 2016... 

They talked about pouring money into Washington to defeat Maria Cantwell, but maybe they gave up when they saw who she would be running against - I haven't really seen any attack ads against her lately...  pn the other hand I don't watch much tv, so it could be that they are playing madly and I'm just out of touch.  On the other hand I've seen TONS of ads for the Republican nominee for governor

Belinda44

Wonderful speech last night!

http://www.upworthy.com/am-i-crazy-or-did-a-politician-just-respect-our-intelligence

crazy4carrots

At the DNC:

An emotional Debbie Wasserman Schultz recounted the story of how she overcame breast cancer to illustrate how Obamacare's provisions banning insurance discrimination for pre-existing conditions will affect her. "In 2007, I was diagnosed with breast cancer. In 2008, right before the convention, I had one of seven surgeries that year," she said. "I was fortunate. I had good insurance and great doctors. Today, I stand before you as a survivor! But like every breast cancer survivor, I now have a pre-existing condition."Choking up, she continued:

I know what it's like to sit in that waiting room wondering how many more anniversaries you'll get with your husband or how many more birthdays you'll celebrate with your kids. I don't care how strong a woman you are, that moment is terrifying. And in America, no one should have to go through it without health insurance. No family should go broke just because a mom gets sick. So when President Obama passed health care reform, it was personal! And when Governor Romney says he would repeal Obamacare and put insurance companies back in charge of a woman's health, that's personal too. 

kad2kar

This convention has been far more powerful than the RNC convention.  I have felt the only the wrong was a bit of info MO left out of her speech.  When she was comparing how the 2 were raised she should have thrown in BO was raised by white people,unless I am forgetting something and then you can color me stupid and I will go back to my corner of the BCB&G.------kad2kar

BLUE----22days

QuinnCat

Thanks Lindasa - CSpan allows one to look at previously given speeches and I see Wasserman Schultz's speech is available.  For anyone that doesn't know, she is BRCA2+

1Athena1

I LOVED Deval Patrick's speech too.

1Athena1

Sun, I am swooping in to your creativity thread to share an amazing sculpture...

bluedahlia

I think the Dems are going for a touchdown!

CherrylH

Kad2kar,

you are correct about Obama's family. He was mostly raised by his mother's parents. He lived for a time with his mom and step father in Indonesia.

pupmom

I definitely can't see this turning around for Romney. Of course we still have the debates, but Obama does great in that setting. Could be a landslide, which would be really amazing in this economy.

 

Anonymous

belinda, thanks to the link to that website.  It's really a good one.

athena - that statue is fantastic - just love it, abstract, and somehow more "real" than a nonabstract - you can really feel the power, the ELEGANCE of the animals.

Think it's interesting, how the President seems to take it for granted that he was raised by people of different races, just a natural part of his life, our lives, and also makes me smile when people accuse him of "using" the race card.  He has spoke eloquently of his devotion to his grandparents, especially his grandmother.  Respect seems to be at the core of his being.

Love seeing how the two Obama girls have grown, seem to be as special as their parents.  LOVE how good I feel after watching, listening to this political convention.  Compassion, community, caring...

we had a primary election yesterday, good turnout. Thrilled to vote with a PENCIL mark on a PAPER ballot, check in and out by a different person, and then over seen by a police woman, who turns the crank on the Gorgeous OLD OLD wooden ballot box where we put the ballot to be "cranked" into the box, and another "number" flaps up to count the vote.  Life is Good. ( a favorite tee shirt, on front it shows hiking boots:" All who wander are not lost."

Happy today to all.