Some families have long-standing get-togethers: summer reunions at the shore, grandmother’s birthday bash, even game night every Thursday with pizza and friends. Some cultures are filled with holy days: Eid al Fitr, Yom Kippur, Easter, Dia de los Muertos. Some countries are full of pomp and circumstance. The Changing of the Guard outside Buckingham Palace, […]
Category: citizenship
inauguration day – inspiration
It’s not just adults who are interested and engaged in these times. Children are writing Letters to Obama Poetry and Slate Magazine invited its reading to craft aninvitational inauguration speech. and here is how Obama inspired someone overseas, writing in The Daily Telegraph.
inauguration day — anticipation
In fifteen hours, give or take, Barak Obama will be sworn in as President of the United States. The whole world waits with anticipation, some eager, some fearful. Many have expressed their ideas through speeches, editorials, marches. Though it is possible to directly send ideas to his “team,” I haven’t sent much. I just don’t […]
Idiocy, Prejudice and Terrorism
Yep, it’s one of my famous political rants. Hold on to your seats! It is quite clear, and has been for some time, that the terrorists who planned the 11 Sept 2001 attacks have won. Most are long dead, but the United States is at war on two fronts with insufficient resources to fight either […]
Remembering Persecution
This is an important reminder, something I make sure my children understand whenever the subject comes up: The Holocaust was not just about the Jews, it was about any and all people the government had decided were unworthy, less than human in one way or another. Discrimination against people for their religion, national origin or […]
Women, Rights, World Peace
So often, we focus on the wars (which are mostly the result of men acting violently) and gang violence (again, mostly men). But there are other types of violence and abuse that affect the way the world works, and perhaps the most insidious and pervasive is the way women are treated as second-class citizens (or […]
What being an American means…
or doesn’t mean. I have been following this case intently: CNN article on Klan trial To those who believe they are justified in acting against a person based on their looks or behaviors, speech or clothes, take note: The United States was founded on the principle that ALL men are created equal, and deserve equal […]
Veteran’s Day
Here’s to the veterans! They have stood ready — in peacetime or in war, whether cook, soldier or office worker — to protect their homelands and their loved ones. Thank you. In my family: My father, my brother, my mother’s father, my brother-in-law, my uncle, my Great-Uncle Bob, my Great-Great-Uncle Jack and his wife Great-Great-Aunt […]
President-Elect Obama
There is now an official website for the president-elect. CHANGE.GOV Blog, info, and more. It looks like it will be a good resource for people interested in what is planned, and what is happening. Many people are worried that the incoming administration will be too liberal… that taxes will go up, that jobs will decline, […]
Making a Difference, Voting
Change is afoot indeed. Today, the best news for children and educators our state has had in a long time… We have a new Superintendent of Public Instruction. Congratulations, Randy Dorn! KiroTV news item And Randy Dorn’s website Yes, this makes me happy. Again.