Sunday, November 4, 2012

November 4, 2012

The thing is, policies that sound as though they should work, a lot of times, just don't. Giving big business tax cuts should translate into  jobs for the little people.  Sounds good, but it has not worked.  Big business takes the profits and sends the jobs overseas. Another example:  Privatizing services that have, traditionally, been publicly funded should provide better services for a lower price. So goes conventional wisdom. Sounds good.  Doesn't work.  If you want proof, check the performance statistics of privately run prisons, charter schools or for profit hospitals.  The only people who make out on any of those deals are the stock holders.

 How about this one?  People, according to urban legend, should 'pull themselves up by their own bootstraps, do it for themselves, and if things don't work out, well, it must have been something they did.  I can't help but notice that the biggest proponents of this philosophy were born into well-to-do families.  I'd be willing to bet a day's pay these people don't even clean their own bathrooms.  They darn sure didn't achieve their goals all on their own.  Another:  All babies should be planned, wanted and born into a family which has two committed, mature adults. Therefore, it's ok to curtail poor women's access to medical care, because this will force them to think twice before they get pregnant. Guess what?  Partners run off, and babies are conceived during rape.  This idea, to me, doesn't even sound as though it should work.  When people vocalize this one, I can barely restrain myself from saying, 'Duh'.

I grew up in a large, politically and religiously, diverse family. And, vocal. Really, really vocal.  Opinions were freely given, even if you didn't ask.  My 'authority figures' possessed opinions that were all over the spectrum, from slightly left of those held by Huey Long to just right of Barry Goldwater's platform. Additionally, I attended a high school with excellent teachers.  They encouraged us to read literature of all varieties.   I have read the works of Ayn Rand--in fact, I'm willing to bet I've read more of her books than Paul Ryan has.  I have read the speeches and writings of Gandhi and Martin Luther King, Jr. Point being, I was exposed to all sorts of opinions. 

However, all of my family members, regardless of their political beliefs held certain core beliefs:

1. We were, under no circumstance, to make fun of those with special needs. This also went for calling 'normal people' --whatever that is-- by derogatory names such as 'retarded', 'tard', 'feeble minded'. God help you if you were heard saying such a thing.  The adult who heard you--regardless of whether he or she  believed Franklin Roosevelt was a savior or the anti-Christ,--would be in touch with your parents immediately.  Probably sooner.

2. We were not to blame people who were down on their luck.  Even if they had made a boatload  of poor choices, we were not to judge. The phrase I heard was, 'Don't kick a person when he's down.' We were taught to put out a hand, not point a finger.

3. We were not to behave in ways that were considered to be hypocritical .  State your opinion and back it up.  Being 'wishy -washy 'was just the worst thing. Behaving in such a way would get you laughed off  the back porch where my Grandmother's big dining table was placed. I did mention the vocal part, right?

4.  No matter what a person's religious beliefs were, we were not to be disrespectful of them. If they were not hurting anyone, it was not our business if they wanted to bay at the moon.  No discussion. 

And, that, when you get right down to it, is why I don't like this batch of Republicans.  They are not nice people. They are judgmental, hypocritical and wishy washy.  Recipients of government welfare,  sorry, 'tax breaks', they begrudge any sort of  tax relief or services to the rest of us. Recipients of government funded programs--legislative insurance, medicare, they, nevertheless, scream about 'socialism'.  Proponents of 'less government', they still  attempt to barge into our bedrooms, churches and doctors' offices in order to enforce their life view on the rest of us.  If one is known by the company one keeps, I guess I just don't want to be in their company.

And, oh yeah, this President's policies are working.  Just making note.

In closing, please vote. I already did.


Tuesday, September 11, 2012

September 11, 2012

In comparison to the agony of others, my 9/11 story sounds so small and inconsequential. However, it stays with me and, I guess it will forever.

 Once I'm awake and in 'going to work' mode, I get so preoccupied that I, seldom, take time to notice the day. That day, I remember.  As I drove up Germantown Avenue,  I rolled the window down and thought to myself that this was really just a gorgeous day.  I can't say I felt any sense of something about to happen, none of that. Just a small thought, then I let my mind go on to the day ahead and all of the things that needed to be done.

Around ten I had my prep hour, and I walked up towards the office.    One of the other teachers was walking out just as I got to the door, and she looked sort of strange.  I thought she was coming down with a flu bug or something, 'How's it going/"  She looked at me, looked through me, and said, 'Someone just attacked the World Trade Center'

You know, when things really get bad, I don't comprehend too well.  I just keep thinking that I must have misunderstood, that this can't be happening. And that's what happened then.  I did not comprehend the magnitude of what Bonnie had said. 'Attack'  and 'World Trade Center' did not belong in a sentence together.

After that, things get blurry.  We just walked through the next hour or so , following the normal routine.  Our principal came on the intercom.  She told us to take our kids to the lunch room and have them given their lunches:  a hot pack, a cold pack and a milk.  She was thinking, I'm sure, that heaven only knew when they might be getting another meal.  Then, the walkers were to be released, the bus kids escorted to the buses , and everyone  sent home. .  Once the students were safely out of the building, the teachers would be  dismissed. .

 None of us looked into each other's faces as we went through the motions, keeping our game faces on.  We knew that something awful had happened, something beyond comprehension. But, it wasn't the 'what had happened' that was scaring the wits out of me, it was the 'what's next?'  We didn't know who had done this. We did not know what else were they going to do.  By that time, we'd heard that the Pentagon was a target--I can't remember if it'd had been hit yet or not.  So, was Philly next?  And if Philly was next, were would they strike?  Would they blow up the 30th Street Station?  One of the bridges?  We were lining our kids up and putting them on buses with absolutely no idea what was coming.

That year, I was teaching low-incidence kids--the sped term for very low functioning students with many attendant health problems.  It can be heart breaking , gut wrenching work.   But here's the thing:  Children who have some of the most devastating disabilities can, also, be the  most loving, non-judgmental little beings on the planet.  Every morning, as they get off the bus, it's  big smiles and hugs all around.  At the end of the day, it's the same thing.  Their love is unconditional, absolute,  unequivocal.

That year, I had this one little boy who was just the epitome of that sort of attitude. Every morning, he would move his desk right up beside my desk.  If I put it back to where I thought it belonged, he'd wait a minute til I was busy and move it to where he thought it belonged.  In the end, I just gave up and left it there, right by my desk.  As we walked from the cafeteria , heading towards the buses, he took my hand and looked up and smiled at me.  I helped him put his lunch into his bright red book bag and pointed him towards the bus.  His arms went around my waist, and he said, 'I love you teacher.  See you tomorrow' ,turned and got onto the bus.

Would we see each other tomorrow?   Who knew? I turned around, went to my room , locked everything up, headed home and spent the next week in front of my television in my apartment.

See what I mean?  My story is so small.  Of course, the sun came up in Philadelphia.  A week later, we all went back to school.  I met  the bus, got  my morning hug, and the world began to spin again.  Still, when I think of that day, I get , as I said, the heeby jeebies all over again.

Then, I slap myself, give thanks for my blessings and send prayers to those who lost loved ones on that day.

I've used this picture before, but it is one of my favorites.  It reminds me of the men and women who have given their all for the rest of us.   

Wednesday, September 5, 2012

September 5, 2012

A  lot of my conservative friends have been saying, 'Oh yes, the unions did a lot of good in their day.   However, they've outlived their purpose.' Oh really?

When I was first married, my husband worked for the railroad.  He made a decent wage, he  had benefits, and he had a pension plan.  I worked for the school district.  I made  so-so money, but I , too, had a pension plan, and health benefits.  My birth control pills were covered, and when I did get pregnant, I got to stay in the hospital six days for a vaginal birth and ten days for a cesearean section. Later,  after my third child was born,  I didn't have to ask permission from anyone in order to obtain the a tubal ligation.   That was the nineteen seventies.  As the years have passed, I have watched as health care benefits have been decreased and those that are still available have been placed on 'employee contributed' status. Plus, aside  from having  less and less coverage, my insurance company has placed itself  in the middle of my personal, private business .  I am now forced  to have my life impacted by the religious beliefs of others.  

Other  changes in the working environment have been  made since then:   A full crew on a train locomotive went from  four men , to three, to two. I don't know how many they have on a crew now. , but a lot of people, at the time,  felt that the reduction in crew size endangered the lives of the remaining crews.   The railroad tracks in Pennsylvania between Youngstown and Buffalo were, with full union acquiesence, pulled up and the jobs of the men and women who worked those routes were lost.  Defined pension funds  have gone the way of the 1963 Corvair and have been replaced, when they were replaced at all,  with 401k plans. The data which is turning up lately, is showing that 401k plans  can be risky and the associated fees, paid by the employees, are high.  The give backs in the area of public education have been well-documented.

While union leaders , publicly, decried these changes ,  as far as I can see, they have done very little to stop the gutting of union members' contracts.   I believe that union leaders have become soft and afraid to make an active play to protect the rights of the people who pay their salaries. When one studies early labor history, incidents such as the Homestead Labor Strike of 1892 are a sharp contrast, indeed,  to the 'You scratch my back, I'll scratch yours' mentality that has become popular today.

I used to read the papers and think, 'Well, that's the last straw.  Someone is going to call for a strike vote for sure, now.  Then, nothing. Why?  Why  no strike vote?  Or for that matter, even a public , informational picket in which no work stoppage occurred? And, as long as I'm asking Why questions, here is another.  Why has there been no descernible movement  to organize un-represented areas:  hotel workers, food service personnel?  Could it be, possibly, that union leade are predominately White men, and new workers in these areas are overwhelmingly female and minority?  Just a thought that runs through my mind every now and again.


When I hear some knothead get on the television and praise management on Labor Day I do not even get angry. History has demonstrated that  management personnel will do whatever they are allowed to do:  protect management, exploit the workers and send the jobs to countries where children are paid pennies an hour and work hours and hours each day.   It's the union leaders who should be giving themselves a good long look in the mirror as this Labor Day 2012 draws to a close.


Unions have not outlived their purpose, far from it.  The workers in this country need, badly, a revitalized union moving.    What the working people in this country really need I think,  is a few more leaders of the ilk of Cesar Chavez.







http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/ezra-klein/wp/2012/09/04/was-the-decline-of-american-unions-inevitable-ask-canada/

As sometimes happens, as I was working on this post, I read this blog article which presents more insight into this issue of unions and their role.  I  found the Canadian approach to be fascinating.



Monday, August 27, 2012

August 27, 2012

As   a  child of Alene and Russell Baker of the 'Sunday School and church on Sundays,  choir practice on Wednesdays' Bakers I was schooled in the Bible and its teachings.   And, of course one must not discount my  Grandmother Baker--this woman knew her Bible, and she did everything within her power to ensure that her grandchildren were equally knowledgeable. Additionally since converting to Judaism,   I  have learned a thing or two from that perspective.   So, should I ever find myself a contestant on Jeopardy and the Daily Double is a question on religion, I will go all in and  bet the farm.  I never miss. 

The point, you ask?  There are three:

Church Rock Kayenta

1.  I know what I think, I know what I believe. I was taught by people who loved me and  who loved their fellow human beings.I do not need , nor do I want, to be  told what to do or think  by some ding dong preacher who thinks the poor should work in order to earn their right to be helped.  I don't want to have even in the same room with me any knothead who hides his pathological fears of women under a cloak of religious zealotry.  A woman can't get pregnant if she's been 'legitimately' raped?  A woman needs a man to tell her when and whether she should have access to birth control options?  Because God said so?  That nonsense had nothing to do with what God said.

2. I do not need, nor do I want, to place politicians in charge of my eternal salvation. Please, I mean PLEASE!  You can't run a government, I'm going to trust you to get me into heaven?  (Assuming , of course, there is a heaven.  You see, in this country, so long as church and state remained separated, I can be honest with my doubts).

3.  Throughout history, people have not fared well under theocratic governments.  Without even thinking a full second, I can come up with the following examples:  Salem Witch Trials, Spanish Inquisition, Holocaust..

If a person feels called to preach and engage in evangelism,  please step up.   Get a flipping soap box , stand on the nearest street corner and go to town.  Get a blog and get with it.  But, if you cannot convince people with the power of your faith and knowledge, you don't get to legislate them into obedience.  That's where the line gets crossed. 

In closing, If I am doing or have done things which are abominations in the eyes of God, and she exists, I'll deal with that when I get to whatever is on the other side.  That's my business, not yours.  OK?

A few of my favorite scriptures: 

Matthew 25:35: ' For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in,'

Leviticus 19:18  'You shall not take vengeance or bear a grudge against the sons of your own people, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself: I am the Lord.'

Romans 12:19 'Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, but rather give place unto wrath: for it is written, Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord. ' (I put that part in  bold print.  I always try to remember that seeking of vengeance is not my role.)

Deuteronomy 6: 4-9 "Hear O Israel, the Lord is Our God, the Lord is One, Blessed be the Name of His Glorious Kingdom, forever and forever. And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might.And these words I command you today shall be in your heart. And you shall teach them diligently to your children and you should speak of them'--There's more, but it's long. You get the idea. 

 

Tuesday, June 19, 2012

June 19, 2012

Well, I'm back from the BIE conference in Denver  Each year, and this is the third  year that I have gone, I find the opening ceremonies to be incredibly moving and humbling.  As the members of different Native Nations ,  veterans of the different military branches, bring in the colors, chills go down my spine.  Marching in, to the accompaniment of a drum circle and traditional songs, the auditorium is in complete silence.  These men and women have offered up their lives in defense of this country, others have given their lives in the defense of this country. Given the history of these peoples, I cannot help but feel both incredibly grateful and inadequate at the same time. 

The conference was, as always, quite educational, but now, I am concentrating on washing my clothes and re-packing in order to leave tomorrow for,  first, Oklahoma, then Missouri, and finally Pennsylvania. 

A friend of mine came by to help me get my house cleaned (rhetted up, as it is called in Pittsburgh), and she made some decorating contributions.  She attached my two Pittsburgh Terrible Towels to the wall in the bathroom so I can think of Pittsburgh as I shower.  Finding a lovely picture of my children taken when they were still in high school,  she dug up a frame and hung the picture  in my bedroom.  I love the memories those fresh faces bring to me,  and I hate to say anything, but.....but, it's got my ex's mug stuck right in the big fat middle of 'em.  That brings back memories I could just as soon do without!  Oh whatever. I heard someone, once, say, 'Own your past, claim it."  Can't think who it was, but maybe it's time. 

I'll try to post pictures of my trip.  Everyone enjoy the rest of the summer.  Oliver, Alex,Victoria, Leeland and Danny--Grandma's heading home! 

Tuesday, May 8, 2012

May 8,, 2012


 I gotta admit....I'm not a huge fan of 'Team Building Exercises'.  I haven't been since , once, while  working in the prison, we got a counselor with a brand spanking new degree.  For what reason, only she and God know, she convinced  the participants  in her group to pair off and take turns falling backwards while the other member of the duo caught him.

Now, don't think for a second that I did not  understand the objective:  build trust, right?  However, let's remember that these people were incarcerated. Each had brought  to jail  life experiences that  A.  had not , probably, given  him  many opportunities to trust or be trusted, and B. most were not, to be blunt, wrapped all that tight. Figuratively speaking.

Guess what happened?  Well, some of the catchers just 'happened' to move causing  their 'partners' to fall flat on their backs.  Since these guys , also, were not big fans of the 'Turn the Other Cheek' philosophy, the resulting altercation required  Correctional Officers to move in and set things right.  I remember standing there and wondering how Alene and Russell's baby girl had gone from hanging out at Jack's Hamburger Stand to watching a bunch of screaming neurotics go to war over a team building  exercise that went wrong. Really, really wrong.

 I knew a Correctional Officer once who , when I asked him, if he had ever been afraid, replied: 'I haven't been afraid, but I've been concerned.  That night, I was 'concerned'.


I like to think that, after that experience , I can be forgiven if I tend  to get tense when I arrive at any function and find 'Team Building' the first item on the agenda.  However, our new superintendent is a big fan, and , therefore, my boss has started to begin each  staff meeting with one.  Yesterday, we were asked to put our names on blank sheets of paper and pass the paper to the person to the left.  As each paper came to you, you were to write two positive things about the person whose name was on each paper.  When your paper came back around to you, there were positive comments from  your co-workers.  Nice idea, right?  Didn't make me any more tense than I, normally, am.

However, this is the concern:  I am used to being told that I have a good sense of humor (sometimes the term is 'nut job', but I take that positively).  I'm used to being told that I am helpful.  All the Bakers and the Brittons are helpful.  We just are.  However, I had four comments from four different people who said I was 'wise'. Wise?  Huh?  Since when? And the question that I have is:  Is 'wise' the current code  for 'old'?  Just asking.





OK, Both pictures were taken from the exact same spot.  One was in the middle of a dust storm.


Sunday, January 29, 2012

January 29, 2012

Seems that, lately, everytime I look at a newspaper (yeah, I still read newspapers), listen to radio and television commentators , or check in on the social networking sites, I find comments that would appear to blame the most vulnerable among us for the economic predicament in which we find ourselves.   Political candidates think the poor children of the world need to be taught a work ethic. While once a mandate, the price  of providing a decent public education to all children is , now, apparently considered to be an option.  Increasingly, it has become acceptable to blame the people who were scammed by the mortgage industry for being 'irresponsible.'   I have had someone mention that Jesus would tell people to go to work.  Oh yeah?  Both of my parents were quite devout, and I don't think I ever heard that from them.

 Everyone who knows my family is pretty clear on what my Mother felt about social issues.  They might think they know what my Dad thought, but I'm betting they really didn't.  Daddy never talked much, and when he did, he didn't want what he said to leave the immediate family. As his daughter, I was a trial to him.  Growing up  in the sixties,  the civil rights movement was in full swing, and    I remember  someone asking my Dad if he would fix the cars of  Black people. (That was not the term used, but you get my drift). Daddy's response was:  'Is their money green?'  I, of course, stated that to someone , and it got back to Daddy that I had quoted him.  At dinner, a few nights later, he looked at me with THAT look (and Daddy's LOOK was even more intimidating than Mother's LOOK) and said, "If you have to go to the bathroom, don't tell Sally.  She'll announce it in church.'

Any one else might have gone into a tirade about the ethics of basing one's approach to people on the color of their skin, but my father would never have thought to do that.  There were certain social conventions that he felt needed to be observed: 1. Always be polite. In his opinion, voicing political opinions was rude. Vote and keep your mouth shut was his mantra.  I'm sure he wished all of us (particularly his more vocal in laws ) felt the same way.  2.  All people should be treated as we, ourselves,  wished to be treated.  3, Those who are able to take care of themselves  should take care of themselves, but 4.  When people were down and needed help,it was our job to help them, and while were helping, we should keep our mouths shut, not pass judgment and above all else, don't brag about the good deeds we have done.

My Mother  kept Daddy's business finances straight until she took a full-time job.  After  she did that, the task of organizing his 'books' fell to me. He kept his incoming receipts in one cardboard box, his outgoing receipts in another  cardboard  box, and then there was this other  box, also cardboard,  marked 'miscellaneous'.  I had to determine where the  receipts in that box went.   While performing this chore, I learned a few things about my Dad that  I would never have known otherwise.  For one thing, no pastor of any church, whatever the denomination,  ever paid full price for car repairs.  Daddy felt that if a man  (or a woman, though, there were not many female pastors when I was growing up) devoted him or herself to the service of God, then they should be given consideration by the rest of us.  Old Ladies never paid full price (Now, that I am an old lady, I only wish I could find a mechanic that felt that way.  As it is, I rely on my brothers).  Also, people who were down and out, but struggling to get back on their feet would be given special consideration.  There was a big sign in the garage that said something about 'no credit', but when I would go through the receipts, I would find some that had not been paid.  When I would ask Daddy about them, he'd say, 'That old boy lost his job,' 'That woman's husband left her and the kids, and she needs a car to get to work.' ' They'll pay when they can.' Don't get me wrong, if a person stiffed him, they wouldn't get a chance to do it twice, but if they were trying, he'd cut them some slack.

 Monument Valley Utah
When I was growing up, Daddy worked six days a week.  On Sundays he went to church.  At least, he went to church unless Mother, deciding that he'd had a rough week would let him sleep in.  'We'll pray for Daddy today, he's tired.' she'd say.  Of course, when he woke up and realized she'd let him sleep, he'd fuss.  'Alene, if I go to hell, it'll be your fault.'    This was a man who knew what it was to work, he'd lived through the Great Depression and knew what it was to be hungry.  He knew what it felt like  to be sick and unable to pay a doctor. 

In this judgmental , 'do as I say, not as I do, society that we find ourselves, if those who are in a position to make decisions, had known my Dad, maybe they would not be so heartless.