While I complain about Medical Services Plan in British Columbia being so slow with its response, I must thank the kind agents who have talked with me. They were very helpful and courteous with my questions. Much appreciation from a worried political blogger.
OK. So I had a bad blog the other day. MSP in British Columbia still hasn't come through with my medical.
I am thinking of pulling the plug on RadioFreeCanada. I am burned out and cynical from trying to make it as a writer. I have been at the political commentary gig for two years and it hasn't translated into a paycheque. Friggin' doesn't matter if I get so many hits a week on the blog. I could do it for the love of it if I received comments. None of my audience bothers to write.
Hurrah for Arnie! Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger signed AB 821, the bill to ban lead bullets that endangered condors. Not only did he sign that bill but he signed 17 other bills promoted by the Sierra Club. That makes a grand and unprecedented 72% of the Club's list.
Blushing embarrassed. I didn't realize that Dennis James Kennedy, a prominent Religious Right figure died on September 5, 2007. Mr. Kennedy was an outspoken advocate against gay rights. I have since remedied the tracking problem by creating news alerts on several remaining conservative figures. My apologies. Anne
The Sooke school board reprimanded schoolteacher Kathryn Sihota. Sihota is the teacher who refused to give her students a standard reading test afterI realize that this may be a silly title to some but the topic is very serious. Lead in carrion left by hunters is killing off the California condor, an endangered species.
I read an article in the Vancouver Sun about Christopher Hitchen's visit to Vancouver. I disagree with his stance on the Iraq war because it is not well considered. I know in challenging Mr. Hitchens on his opinions on the war, that I might as well be ingesting poison hemlock for the efficacy of the conversation. However, since I have the personality that likes this kind of challenge ---the bravo gesture such as the time I took down a mugger--- here goes.
I gave a groan of horror when I read about vandals who broke into the Musée d’Orsay and punched a hole into a painting,“The Argenteuil Bridge,” by Claude Monet. No cultured person would ever imagine such a deed. To destroy a treasured work is uncivilized. The authorities should severely punish the perpetrators.
Who says fundie Christians don't have big hearts?, Despite Oral Robert University president Richard Robert's greed, the Religious Right seems to play nice with each other. Recently Mike Jones, the male escort who dated Ted Haggard, said that disgraced Senator Larry Craig came to him for services. Mr. Jones was rather coy about whether Sen. Craig had received any attention but half the fun is speculation. I'll leave that thought, without further comment , for my readers.
The Religious Right just plops news stories into my computer.
The military junta in Burma has massacred thousands of people, including hundreds of Buddhist monks.
Child killer Ian Huntley in Great Britain has been found in his cell for the third time with a drug overdose. In August 2002, Huntley killed ten-year-old friends Jessica Chapman and Holly Wells.
The Lieberman/Kyle amendment has passed in the Senate. Essentially, the amendment would authorize "the prudent calibrated use of all instruments of United States national power in Iraq, including diplomatic, economic, intelligence and military instruments". In other words, it is a call for war against Iran.A teacher on
Well, waah...There are few problems with Ms. Sihota's attitude. First, it is in her job description to administer tests. If she were so heartbroken about making her students work, perhaps another line of employment would be better for her. Students need firm guidance, not some New Age type who succumbs to a child's meltdown. Children need to learn that, in real life at jobs, they will face performance evaluations. A standardized test is a just a performance evaluation of skills. There is nothing wrong with assessment of the capabilities of either children or adults. Of course, this needs to be in the context of work outside the test such as practical application of those skills. In the classroom (and in life) application and evaluation should compliment one another.
Second, Ms. Sihota is not teaching her students very good business and employment skills. When the children become adults they can't be teary eyed at the idea of performance evaluation, a job interview, or a presentation in front of a client. Life is hard, an unforgiving bastard. If teachers coddle their students in this manner, let them off homework and testing, how will the children learn to survive the adult world? The sad fact is that they won't learn to manage their lives without a childhood foundation of discipline.
Ms. Sihota gets an “F” in Life Skills.
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Meanwhile, as Her Maj cleans ups with her winning soap raffle, Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice gets the thumbs down from Il Papa. Seems our woman in DC asked for an audience with Pope Benedict (Latin Mass) XVI about Middle East foreign policy. However, His Holiness was taking a vacation at the Residenza Papale at Castel Gandolfo. The Vatican has been at odds with the Bush Administration over America's foreign policy by condemning the violence in the Middle East.
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