One Day More...: May 2015

Sunday, May 31, 2015

Routine Maintenance

I've been checking out the new camera and it works great. These pics were taken standing in the same spot, one on regular and one on zoom. Even the zoom is clear - much clearer than the old camera.

We bought a used ATV from another RV'er this winter, so I brought it home to do some work on it since I didn't know when the fluids had been changed last. As part of the maintenance I changed the oil and oil filter, put in a new air filter, changed the front and rear differential fluids, flushed the radiator, changed the front wheel hubs fluid and changed the transmission fluid.

The cost of the fluids was a bit pricey since I decided to use Polaris products, however no doubt it would have been several hundred dollars for the Polaris dealer to do the work. Besides, I'm retired and have the time. With the routine maintenance done, it should be good to go when we take it back south this winter.

Just one day more...

Thursday, May 28, 2015

More In The Junk Drawer

We just got back from Minnesota visiting our grandson, who is now 5 months old. He has his grandpa's receding hairline, but at least his is filling in.

Spring is in full swing here on the farm and the nice neighbor farmer has brought some of his calves over to the tall grass pasture. We really enjoy seeing the cattle in the pasture. It gives the place around our acreage the true farm feel.

A few days after we got back from our winter trip, the farmer was doing some work in the field. We were out looking over our trees to see how they made out in the winter. When he saw us he got off his tractor and came over to the fence just to say hello and visit. That's why we like the guy and are lucky to have such a good farmer neighbor. He lives several miles from us, however farms the ground around us and has always been fun to visit with.

As I was looking over the picture of the cattle, it seemed a little blurry. We came to the realization that it was time to replace our aging digital camera, which has seen its share of drops and bumps. So, today we bought a spiffy new Panasonic.

Once I got it home it was evident the battery needed charging before I could give it a test run. Naturally a charging cord was included and I wondered if it was similar to ones I already had. I went to the junk drawer and was amazed by the number of cords that have accumulated. And, that doesn't even include all the cords and chargers for the computers. I must have that many more floating around the house and camper.

I don't get why chargers and cords aren't universal. I know... I know... it has something to do with watts and ohms and amps and all that stuff I didn't learn over the years. We have two batteries for the camera we are replacing and I thought that would be great to have those two as backup. But... you guessed it... they aren't the same as the new camera. So, I'll just add more chargers and cords to the junk drawer.

Just one day more...

Tuesday, May 26, 2015

Memorial Day Repost

How can we best honor our fallen heroes on Memorial Day?

Originally posted on Scholars and Rogues | Progressive Culture:

Honoring those who died in service doesn’t mean forgiving those who put them in harm’s way. How can we best honor our fallen heroes on Memorial Day?

Today America honors its war dead, those who gave their lives in the service of freedom – not only ours, but in many cases they died to save innocent people in far-flung corners of the globe. This isn’t idle rhetoric, either. Ponder what the world might have been like had the Allies lost World War II.

Unfortunately, in recent years I have grown more cynical about “freedom” and those who died for it. These days I hear someone prattling on about “supporting the troops” who are out there “risking their lives to defend our freedom” and I want to backhand them. What bullshit. What complete and utter bullshit. Yes, American servicemen and women place themselves in harm’s way every day and they’re brave to do it and sometimes they pay with their lives. But it’s been a very long time since any member of the US armed forces died protecting our freedom.

I’m not going to apologize for stating the obvious. These days our servicepeople die safeguarding the economic interests of our wealthiest citizens. They die because our “leaders” have scores to settle. They die because of ignorance and xenophobia tinged with religious prejudice. They die because those calling the shots have grand visions of pax Americana. And they die because we have spent decades, generations even, creating enemies for them to subdue.

The United States has been a nation for 239 years. We have been at war for 222 of them. And it has been at least 25 years since any nation on the face of the Earth could be said, by even the wildest reckoning, to pose a threat to our freedom.

In other words, our military isn’t about freedom. It isn’t about defending American soil and safeguarding the Republic. It’s about Empire. We are perhaps the most warmongering global menace in the history of the world.

And the biggest threat to our freedom isn’t in Moscow, or Beijing, or Pyongyang, or Tehran, and it certainly isn’t in some cave on the Pakistani border. No doubt there are bad people in some of those places and there is the possibility that some of them might have the capability to deal us a blow, but such an attack would be symbolic at most. In the wake of 9/11, how seriously was our freedom really threatened? The truth is that Osama bin Laden couldn’t have dreamed of doing as much damage to our freedom as we suffered at the hands of our own government.

No, today the biggest threat to our freedom is the cadre of well-dressed warlords in Washington, D.C. It’s the people who conceived and implemented the Patriot Act and empowered the NSA. It’s an out-of-control, belligerent, over-militarized police culture.

Hopefully by now you have gotten the sense that I’m upset about all this. The truth is that throughout our history millions of men and women have died in legitimate service to American freedom. These days, though, we sacrifice our military on the altar of our own ignorance, arrogance and greed. In doing so we do them a great disservice. We betray them every day, whether they live or die, and we make a mockery of their commitment, their courage and their patriotism.

I hate that our cynical, corrupt power elite have behaved in ways that have instilled in me a reflexive dismissal of genuine attempts to honor our heroes. Every time some lackwit media pundit who slept through history class puffs up and starts yammering about freedom I have to choke down the bile, and that’s wrong. I have to step back, take a breath and remind myself that there are fallen heroes, and that it’s hardly the fault of those who gave their lives in any of our nation’s unjust adventures abroad. My hatred isn’t for them, it’s for the evil men and women who put them in harm’s way for no justifiable reason.

So today let’s remember our brave war dead. And as we do so, let’s contemplate how we might best honor their memories – by removing the warlords from power and calling them to account for their crimes.

Repost from Scholars & Rogues

Just one day more…

Monday, May 25, 2015

Nothing Will Change

On the afternoon of May 10th there was a riot in the newest of Nebraska’s two state prisons where two inmates were killed (reportedly by other inmates), two corrections officers and four other inmates were injured. In the wake of the riot nine staff members quit and damages to the facility are being repaired.

The riot began at the entrance to a housing unit where 40 inmates had gathered and one who wasn’t suppose to be there was inadvertently let out of his cell. He was ordered back to his cell and refused. The group also refused to disperse, so a warning shot was fired from a guard tower. When the inmates refused to get on the ground another shot was fired and one inmate was hit in the leg. The inmates took control of the housing unit and set fires.

This prison was supposed to be Nebraska’s answer to overcrowding and growing inmate populations, with many being drug offenders. However, problems plague the prison, including high turnover among guards, continuing job vacancy rates, stagnant salaries and mandatory overtime to maintain full staffing. The prison had 40 guard vacancies when the riot occurred.

Nearly half of the corrections officers have less than two years’ experience, with the average being about four years. In addition, salaries for officers is woefully low and lateral, which is to say that not only are they paid the bare minimum, there is also no salary compensation for longevity.

And what was the response of Nebraska’s millionaire governor? Touring the prison after the riots, the Republican governor renewed his call for the State Legislature to reject a bill that would do away with some mandatory minimum sentences and narrow the use of the state’s “three strikes” law, which provides longer prison terms for habitual criminals. “These are vicious crimes,” the governor said. “I think the people of Nebraska need to ask their state senator, ‘What are you thinking?’ ”

Instead of going to the root of the problem - overcrowding, sentencing for minor drug crimes, minimum mandatory sentencing restrictions, poor officer training and abysmal salaries, Nebraska Governor Ricketts instead yammers about the need to continue on the same path. So long as he does, nothing will change.

In the interest of full disclosure: when I was in law enforcement I worked at the original Nebraska Penitentiary, which was built in 1869 and “modernized” in the 1950’s. I was a guard on death row, as well as a tower guard.

Just one day more...

Wednesday, May 20, 2015

Why I Like Macs.

The new Macbook Air arrived today to replace my dead Macbook Pro (see yesterday's post). It is smaller and lighter than the Macbook Pro. I like that.

All I had to do was open the box and turn it on. Everything was already installed. Once I installed Chrome and entered my ID, my homepage came up with all my bookmarks and everything. Nothing was lost in the change over. All I had to do was plug in my backup drive and all my files from the Macbook Pro were there. Some were not useable on this new OS, but most were easily transferred over by just dragging onto the Macbook Air desktop.

Within a matter of 20 minutes I was all set up as if nothing had ever happened. Easy for the tecno-challenged like me. And, that's why I like Macs.

Just one day more...

Tuesday, May 19, 2015

Macbook Pro Is Dead

Yesterday was not a good day. I got up early in the morning as usual and fired up the Macbook Pro. Unfortunately, it took a dump and would only show an icon of a file folder with a question mark. No matter how many times I tried it would not start up. Since we live 50 miles to the closest computer repair shop and since hardly anyone works on Macs, I decided to get out the manual.

After spending all day using the orginal installation disks to do a "first aid" check nothing was found. I also used one of the disks to do a "hardware" check and nothing was found. In both cases I ran the "repair" cycle, however the disks couldn't make any repairs.

As I said in the past, I'm not a tecno-nerd, so after spending the whole day trying to revive the bugger, I gave up and came to the conclusion that after 12 years (I think, since I can't remember when I got it) the computer is toast.

Right now I'm posting on my wife's iPad, which I'm not fond of. I can't get use to the tap, tap, tapping on the screen and the functionality. The one thing I've learned is that it is hard to get along without a computer after having one. So, I bit the bullet and ordered a new Macbook Air. I got the one with the smaller screen and set up however it came from the factory.

Before I retired I used the Macbook Pro for work and it was maxxed out on memory. It was a little clunky hauling it around, however sure beat the paper and pad method before computers. Yup, I'm old enough that I did everything with paper, pads and a typewriter. Since I don't need the sophisticated laptop, I opted for the basic Macbook Air. It still cost $865. with second day air shipping, which is a big hit to our budget I wasn't expecting.

The Macbook Pro served me well, but is dead. It's time to try out a new Macbook Air. RIP Macbook Pro.

Just one day more...

Sunday, May 17, 2015

Made In The U.S.A. - No More

Anyone who has worked with tools knows the name Vice-Grip.

In the early 1920’s a Danish immigrant blacksmith in the small farming town of DeWitt, Nebraska realized his job would be a lot easier if he had a set of pliers that would clamp down and hold the piece of metal he was working on "in a vise-like grip." His name was William Petersen and he was the inventor of the locking Vice-Grip pliers.

Petersen figured out that a screw mechanism in the handle could adjust the opening of the pliers. Later, he figured out a way for the other handle to lock it in place. He built several prototypes, first out of cardboard and then wood. Finally, he hammered one out of metal on his forge and it worked.

Petersen got his first patent for a primitive version in 1921. The patent for the locking lever was issued in 1924. He built an inventory and starting selling the Vise-Grip Pliers out of the trunk of his car to farmers and mechanics in the surrounding towns.

In 1934, the Petersen Manufacturing Company was formed and in 1938 the first manufacturing plant was opened with a staff of 37. By 1941, the little plant was operating at capacity to fulfill government contracts. Defense industries used thousands of Vise-Grips. Thousands more were shipped to England for their aircraft industry.

Builders of the Liberty cargo ships found them so useful – and the time pressures to finish ships so great – that welders simply welded the Vise-Grips into the hulls rather than removing them from the pieces they were holding together. At the time, the tool sold for $1.25.

When William Petersen died in 1962, his family took over. In 1985, Petersen's grandson, Allen Petersen, bought his family’s interests and the business was renamed American Tool Companies. American Tool sold out in 2002 to Newell Rubbermaid and now operates under the name Irwin Industrial Tools.

In 2008, the original Vise-Grip manufacturing plant in Dewitt, Nebraska closed when Irwin Tools moved production to China. Over 400 people from Dewitt and surrounding communities were out of work. (Sources: Living History Farm, Lincoln Journal-Star)

Vice Grips, made in the U.S.A. - no more.

Just one day more...

Friday, May 15, 2015

We Just Move On

Over the years I have had an interest in cars. I have restored, refurbished and maintained cars that I was attracted to. Today one of the remaining classics we owned was picked up by a transport, as it sold to another car collector in Miami. It is a 1986 Jaguar XJ-6 with 47,500 original miles I acquired ten years ago. I love the body lines of the early Jags and this car was, as they say, in mint condition.

In my twenties I drove VW beetles. They were cheap and easy to maintain. I wish I would have kept them, but back then it was all I had to do just to get by. A few years ago I was having flashbacks, so we purchased a 1975 beetle, which we still have.

In my fifties I got into Model T’s and over a period of about ten years restored five, with a couple of others in the works. After I retired it became clear that it was time to liquidate. It was also clear that it was harder for me to do the strenuous work on them. I sold them all, including a lot of parts. I wish I would have kept one.

At the same time I also had and worked on 1984 Mercedes diesels. The 123 series Mercedes turbo diesel was built like a tank and with a little maintenance ran strong. Working on them was nothing like the diesels of today. My friends and I could pull and rebuild the glow plugs and injectors in one afternoon. I wouldn’t even think about doing that today on our diesel pickup.

Just like the Model T’s and Mercedes, I’m going to miss that Jaguar. We'll just have to be content with the Beetle. Life circumstances change and so we just move on.

Just one day more...

Wednesday, May 13, 2015

B-17F Bomber On This Day In 1943

I recently completed a model of the Memphis Belle. Puttering with models is one of the ways I keep my mind active and pass the time. As I work on models, I also enjoy learning the history behind each model.

It is generally thought that the Memphis Belle was the first B-17 bomber to complete 25 missions, however it wasn't. The first B-17F bomber to complete 25 missions was the 358th bomb group “Hells Angels” on May 13, 1943, six days before the Memphis Belle.

The Memphis Belle was a Boeing B-17F World War II heavy bomber. The B-17F was also known as the “flying fortress” because of the armaments it carried: .50 inch M2 Browning machine guns in 8 positions, which included 2 in the chin turret, 2 in the nose cheeks, 2 waist guns, 2 in the upper turret, 2 in the ball turret, 2 in the tail and 1 in the radio compartment.

12,731 B-17's were put into production during the war and carried a crew of ten men. Crew members were required to complete 25 missions. However at the end of the war the amount of casualties from the B-17 missions were staggering and the life expectancy for a B-17 crew was 14 missions.

Officers:

Pilot

Co-Pilot

Navigator / Flexible Gunner

Bombardier / Flexible Gunner, Chin Turret Gunner (B-17G)

Enlisted Men:

Flight Engineer / Top Turret Gunner

Radio Operator / Flexible Gunner

Ball Turret Gunner

Left Waist Flexible Gunner

Right Waist Flexible Gunner

Tail Turret Gunner

The 91st bomb group Memphis Belle was one of the first B-17F bombers to complete 25 missions with her crew intact. The final bombing mission was flown on May 19, 1943 over Kiel, Germany.

final mission

The Memphis Belle was flown back to the United States on June 8, 1943 and was used in a thirty one city war bond tour.

The Memphis Belle is currently undergoing extensive restoration at the National Museum of the United States Air Force at Wright-Patterson AFB in Dayton, Ohio.

Just one day more...

Sunday, May 10, 2015

Rodriguez v. United States

A couple of weeks ago the Supreme Court ruled on a Nebraska case that caught my attention. Not necessarily because it originated in Nebraska, but because of the merits of the decision.

The case, Rodriguez v. United States No. 13-9972, 575 U.S. ___ (2015), started when a Nebraska police officer saw a Mercury Mountaineer driven by Dennys Rodriguez veer onto the shoulder of a state highway just after midnight. The office performed a routine traffic stop, questioning Mr. Rodriguez and his passenger and running a records check. He then issued Mr. Rodriguez a written warning.

The officer asked Rodriquez if he would consent to a search of his car, which Rodriquez declined. The officer then told Rodriquez to wait while he contacted another officer. After about 8 minutes the officer then had his drug-sniffing dog circle the vehicle. The dog smelled drugs and led his officer to a bag of methamphetamine.

Mr. Rodriguez moved to suppress the evidence. Lower courts, relying on a 2005 Supreme Court decision that allowed drug-sniffing dog use during traffic stops, said brief prolongation's of those stops to allow for such inspections did not violate the Fourth Amendment. The majority in the US Supreme Court decision disagreed.

Justice Ginsburg, who dissented in 2005 case in which the Court held that the Fourth Amendment is not violated when the use of a drug-sniffing dog during a routine traffic stop does not unreasonably prolong the length of the stop., Illinois v. Caballes, 543 U.S. 405 (2005), said that decision had merely “tolerated certain unrelated investigations that did not lengthen the roadside detention.”

“An officer, in other words, may conduct certain unrelated checks during an otherwise lawful traffic stop,” she wrote. But, she added, “he may not do so in a way that prolongs the stop, absent the reasonable suspicion ordinarily demanded to justify detaining an individual.”

Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. and Justices Antonin Scalia, Stephen G. Breyer, Sonia Sotomayor and Elena Kagan joined Justice Ginsburg’s majority opinion. Justice Clarence Thomas, Justice Samuel A. Alito Jr. and Justice Anthony M. Kennedy dissented. (Sources: NY Times, Omaha World-Herald)

The Nebraska State Patrol responded by saying that the ruling doesn’t change how officers will be trained to conduct traffic stops or the use of the K-9 unit and that officers are supposed to let drivers go after a traffic ticket is issued. “While all rulings provide an opportunity to review procedure, we do not see the ruling changing the way in which the Nebraska State Patrol instructs its officers,” a NSP spokesperson said. “Troopers are instructed once the purpose of the stop is over to let the motorist go. The stop may, of course, be continued with reasonable suspicion or probable cause of another violation or with consent.”

What a load of crap! In most every instance where the Nebraska State Patrol detains someone on a traffic stop to bring in a drug dog, the stop was made on a trivial pretext, such as failing to signal a lane change, speeding a few miles over the posted limit and following too close. Further, due to the tenacious review of a Nebraska state senator (Nebraska Revised Statute §20-504), there is clear evidence that the State Patrol makes the traffic stops by profiling either the state on the license plate or the race of the driver or goes beyond the traffic stop to bring in a drug dog.

This ruling makes it clear that law enforcement on a fishing expedition in traffic stops cannot detain individuals beyond the reason for the stop. Unfortunately, they will just blow off the ruling and continue intimidating drivers into consenting to a search or using the drivers refusal to consent to a search as the “probable cause” for a search. Further, minorities or those from out of state are less likely to protest an illegal search or pursue it in court. The Rodriquez case, and the ultimate appeal to the Supreme Court, was only the result of a US Public Defender who went above and beyond the standard defense. It’s just a damn shame it will mean little as law enforcement will go about the business of profiling and conducting unconstitutional vehicle searches anyway. (In the interest of full disclosure, I was a police officer for 12 years).

click to read the Supreme Court decision

Just one day more...

Friday, May 8, 2015

Medicare Part D scam

In a few months I will be eligible for Medicare and just when I thought I had figured out Medicare Part A & B with the alphabet soup of plans and supplemental insurance, along comes Medicare Part D.

As it turns out calling it “Medicare” Part D is a misnomer and it is actually a huge pay off to insurance companies and the drug industry. No surprise there since insurance and drug company lobbyists made sure they got the payoffs when the legislation was enacted as part of the Medicare Modernization Act of 2003 and went into effect on January 1, 2006.

Those who sign up for Medicare Part A & B are eligible for prescription drug coverage under Part D, but the only way to obtain the coverage is through plans that must be purchased from private insurance companies. The only thing “Medicare” about it is guidelines regulated by Medicare. Unlike Medicare, where the subsidized premiums are paid to Medicare, with Part D the private insurance companies are paid the premiums. There is nothing “Medicare” about that.

Not only did the insurance companies make sure they got their cut, also included in the law are penalties for not signing up for Part D right away. Anyone who doesn’t sign up for Part D when they are first eligible for Medicare is penalized 1% per month for every month they waited for the rest of their life. No matter if you are not taking prescription drugs when you are initially enrolled in Medicare. So, of the three Part D plans your monthly premium (or payoff to the insurance companies) can be anywhere from $32./month to $125./month.

For example, using the lowest $32./month premium plan, if someone doesn’t sign up right away and pay the $32. a month for Medicare Part D, they will be penalized. This would amount to approximately 32¢ a month (added on to the $32. a month). Recipients would be assigned this higher amount until they die or no longer need the Medicare. That means if you choose not to pay for Medicare Part D right away, in 10 years when you need it, and want to sign up for it, you will pay $70.90 to $80 a month for the coverage. You can just imagine what the premium would be if you opted for the better coverage plan which started out at $125./month.

Not only did the insurance companies make sure they weaseled into the Medicare system (supplemental plans weren’t good enough), they made sure that even if you didn’t need prescription drug coverage right away that you would pay outrageous premiums when you did need it. And if you signed up for Part D right away when you started on Medicare, but didn’t need it, you would still be gouged by having to make the premium payments just to save your place when you did need the coverage. And it doesn’t stop there. The drug companies made sure they got their cut.

If you sign up for Medicare Part D, you will have a small list of pharmaceutical companies to choose from. These companies will have a list of drugs that you will be allowed to choose from (their formulary). Your doctor can only choose drugs from this list. You will also be required to meet an annual deductible before drug benefits begin. Included with that are copays and coinsurance.

Medicare Part D is a scam. It is a huge subsidy to insurance and drug companies. Another example of why private insurance companies and drug companies should be taken out of health care insurance. Even though Medicare and the half-assed Affordable Care Act (where private insurance companies still get paid) provide some coverage, the insurance companies and drug companies have made sure they get their cut.

Where is true universal health care when you need it? Certainly not in the quagmire we have now.

Just one day more...

Tuesday, May 5, 2015

Teachers Aren't The Problem

For politicians it is expedient to slam public schools and public school teachers. They make out teachers and teacher unions to be the boogey man for state budget woes. Numerous states have cut funding to education to balance budgets.

Today I read a survey where participants were asked their opinions about teachers. Clearly, the politicians haven’t convinced everyone that teachers are evil. In the interest of full disclosure, as some of you know, my wife is a retired teacher and our daughter is a teacher. It probably won’t do much good for me to tell you that teaching is not as easy or lucrative as the politicians would have you think, so I’ll let the survey results speak to that.

In a nutshell, a majority of those surveyed rate teachers as good to excellent. A majority also feel teachers are underpaid and under appreciated

In general, how would you rate the public school teachers in your community?

Excellent . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13%

Good . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45%

Fair . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .23%

Poor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6%

Not sure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .14%

How would you rate your children’s school teachers?

Asked of those who are the parent or guardian of any children under the age of 18

Excellent . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25%

Good . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43%

Fair . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .15%

Poor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3%

This question doesn’t apply to me . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .12%

Not sure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1%

Do you think most public school teachers:

Are paid too much . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .8%

Are paid about the right amount . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28%

Are paid too little . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52%

Not sure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .11%

In your community, do you think public school teachers are:

Underappreciated . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .43%

Treated about right . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .36%

Given too much attention . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5%

Not sure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .15%

Nationally, do you think public school teachers are:

Underappreciated . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .52%

Treated about right . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .26%

Given too much attention . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .8%

Not sure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .13%

Source: yougov.com survey April 28-30, 2015

Sure, there are some bad teachers. And sure, there are some bad schools. However, for the most part public schools are locally controlled and the product of those who control them.

It is time for the loudmouth demagogues in government to stop using teachers and public schools as an excuse for the problems they likely created in the first place. Teachers aren't the problem.

Just one day more...

Monday, May 4, 2015

Four Dead In Ohio

On this day in 1970, those who protested the Vietnam War were shocked to the core by the shooting of unarmed fellow student protesters by the Ohio National Guard at Kent State University.

The guardsmen fired 67 rounds over a period of 13 seconds, killing four students and wounding nine others, one of whom suffered permanent paralysis.

Clockwise from top left: William Schroeder, Allison Krause,

Sandra Lee Scheuer, and Jeffrey Miller.

The senseless shootings caused nearly four million students at hundreds of colleges and high schools around the country to go on strike to protest the shootings.

Politicians have not learned the lessons of the Vietnam War. They continue to get the U.S. involved in civil and religious disputes and wars around the world.

Many of the protesters of the 1970’s are now age 60 and older, me included. And, many have lost their zeal for protesting U.S. involvement in unjust wars, including those in Iraq and Afghanistan. I have not.

It is fitting to remember the four dead in Ohio, which happened on this day 45 years ago.

Just one day more...