podpolia

Open Letter To Rep. Massa

admin — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 18:19:13 +0000

There are some pretty hair raising descriptions of what is currently going on for Rep. Massa from New York. From what I’ve read so far, it looks like he’s being slimed out of Washington using absolutely disgusting political tactics. I just wrote him an email, and thought I would share it:

Rep. Massa,

Despite not being one of your constituents, I felt that I should still write to offer you encouragement. The situation you currently find yourself in in Washington, while the result of your actions, is not YOUR fault. It is the fault of what you correctly term the toxic atmosphere of Washington, D.C. When the words and actions of an individual are taken in ways entirely beyond the way in which they were clearly meant, merely for partisan political purposes, the political culture is out of control. We need to find a way to correct that. Your willingness to take responsibility for your own actions shows that you ARE one of the people we need to have in Washington — someone who feels their responsibility to their constituents and to the nation.

While we may not necessarily agree politically, I would like to ask you to continue standing up for your principles in the nation’s capitol, and rescind your resignation. Your decision to stay and stand up against the corrosive politics there would be a brave act, and I believe would be appreciated accordingly.

The Progress In Iraq

admin — Tue, 23 Feb 2010 04:00:35 +0000

I ran across a good link on Power Line today: Our Mission is Finally Accomplished… Anyone Care? It’s a really good article, and worth the reading.

Applying For Federal Jobs

admin — Fri, 19 Feb 2010 22:17:52 +0000

I don’t think I’ve written about this before, but applying for federal jobs can be a bit of a nightmare. There are so many different systems with different requirements, and not only can application requirements be different between agencies, but also between job levels, and sometimes seemingly for the sheer joy of it. This is one of the more entertaining examples of the questions that one is asked when filling out these applications (I came across it this afternoon):

An actual screen capture from "applicationmanager.gov".

UPDATE: Oh, and it gets better. Later in that same application:

Later in the same application...

Weather

admin — Thu, 11 Feb 2010 01:42:18 +0000

Well, we’ve been having some lovely weather lately. The wind really started up after most of the snow already fell, so it’s going to be interesting to see what things are like in the morning…

A Road Less Traveled?

admin — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 03:58:16 +0000

I have now seen several blogs mention the “Roadmap for America’s Future“, and I decided I should take a look at it. I was quite thoroughly impressed. It looks like what they have created is a comprehensive alternate plan for government — and generally following most of the common-sense proposals that have been languishing for years. It’s simple, easy to understand, and who WOULDN’T want a “highly simplified income tax system that fits on a postcard”? (The US tax code, as of 2006, comes to 16,845 pages. Ouch.)
I strongly suggest that you take a look at the website above, or if you’re like me and want to skip all the flashy advertisement, take a look at the PDF of the entire report. I know it’s 99 pages long, but just take a look through the summary on pages iii through vii to get an idea of what it’s like, and read the full report for the parts you’re interested in. Even if you’re not so interested in the policy aspects of it, the historical analysis of how we got to where we are today is very good, and worth a look.
I have worried for some time now that while politicians could still bitterly denounce the policies they oppose, they were unable to create a simple, workable replacement for the current scheme. I’m glad to see that I was wrong.

Caring Students, And The Danger Of Music

admin — Fri, 29 Jan 2010 01:06:28 +0000

Student (walking into the room): “Did you get new glasses?”
Me: “Yeah.”
Student: “Nice. I noticed ’cause I care.”

Students discussing a research topic for a paper on careers (and theoretical dangers of these careers):
J: “My topic was being a musician…”
R: “Can you die doing that?”
J: “Yes. If a string snaps, it can slit your throat.”
H: “That’s why I play the piano.”

Uninspiration By Poetry, And Other Musings

admin — Fri, 29 Jan 2010 01:03:39 +0000

Before I began my semester of long-term substituting for 10th grade English, the previous teacher had the classes read a number of poems, including “The Abandoned Farmhouse” by Ted Kooser (go ahead and read it: this will make more sense afterwards, and it’s a short one).
The students seemed unimpressed by most of the poetry, which led to some of them being somewhat… creative when they wrote their answers on the worksheets, which I then graded. For example:
“8. How do we know how many members of the family lived in the house?”
“You take the number of adult males, the number of adult women, and the number of small children, and you then add all these numbers together, thus getting 3 inhabitants of the living structure.”

“10. What do you think happened to the family living in the farmhouse? Support your reasons with details from the poem.”
“They were captured and taken aboard a pirate ship. This situation is typical of a pirate abduction, notable because of the implied quickness of the event, with everything just being left there. It’s ok, because they were probably Communists anyways.”

It’s somewhat surprising to me that teenagers often seem nonplussed by poetry, considering the level of imagery and detail they put into their own writing (and not the stuff they turn in to teachers, either). Consider the following note that I confiscated one day (I have edited things to keep the identities of those involved under wraps, as well as for length):
Girl 1: Note begins with a story about seeing an unidentified female and trying to avoid them. After avoiding her the first time, “I hid in the middle of a group of freshman and cursed at her back. On the way to gym class, she passed me and like flipped her hair at me! Bizitch! oh well, I will find some way to get revenge!”
Girl 2: “Awww! What a son of a biscuit! Slorkatahoe! (Spelling?) does she realize that she’s being a hoebag?”
Girl 1: “idk, she didn’t even have the decency to tel lme! How could she NOT know that she is being a hoebag? Her skank juice is ALL OVER HIM!”

Occasionally the same creative imagery that brought us such descriptions as “Slorkatahoe” (and no, I don’t know what that means either) comes out in verbal communication, such as when one student, appalled at something they though was a very bad idea, announced that it was “like giving a monkey a gun!”

A Nursery Rhyme Meets Teenagers

admin — Fri, 29 Jan 2010 00:20:15 +0000

Me: “Peter, Peter, pumpkin eater / had a wife and couldn’t keep her…”
B: “He had to have her put down.”

Romans And Pirates

admin — Fri, 29 Jan 2010 00:16:30 +0000

As you may have noticed, I’ve been posting a number of quotes from my students that I have had building up on my desk, but hadn’t bothered to post. I thought I should include the (written) response to a question that I asked my sophomores about Julius Caesar (with all spelling and grammar left intact):

Q. What do you think is the most important theme in Julius Caesar?
A. ARR. I think that the most important theme in da story be that the scallywag Brutus wish to slit his own mates throat. This be a mutanis act ARR It makes me sicker than a fresh pair of legs on the sea to see how far ye yong men fall.

Too Many Commercials, And One On Temperature

admin — Fri, 29 Jan 2010 00:08:00 +0000

I get the impression that my students have seen quite a few commercials aimed at the ageing baby-boomer generation. This conversation, for instance:
P: “Can I go to the bathroom?”
Me: “I hope so.”
R: “Men with prostate problems can’t.”

Later that day, one of my students was complaining about the temperature in the classroom, and was messing with the thermostat. She said, “Mr. Barner, I’m going to turn up your weather.”
As long as she doesn’t make it rain…