On The Lighter Side of Campaigning

I don't know about you, but it's election time in my neck of the woods and every other commercial on television is from politicians vying for a bid for some position. What gets me is the things that these people are claiming that they will do if elected; i.e., one politician says that he is going to reduce government spending by 10% and repeal Obamacare . If one person had the power to reduce government spending by 10% and repeal Obamacare, don't you think one of the naysayers in Congress would have done it by now?! Isn't this country bound by the check and balance system which prevents this from happening? But this candidate assures his constituents that he's going to do it if they send him to Congress. Does his supporters really believe that he can accomplish this? Would saying that he will push to introduce legislation that will get this job done be a more accurate statement??? Now, on the other hand, if President Obama wanted to increase spending even more, he could. All he has to announce is that he is going to cut government spending and the naysayers will jump in to action to increase it instead. Mission accomplished, Mr. President. LOL

"The Help" -- Kathryn Stockett

Yesterday I began reading this novel while waiting to be called for my doctor's appointment. For me it was a definite page turner from page one. This novel has its setting in Jackson, Mississippi. It has the making of a definite must read especially if you like reading novels written about the struggles of the baby boomers, black and white. Reminds me of a "Gone With the Wind." I haven't finished the book, but believe me, I will be back to give my final thoughts. For those of you who may decide to read this novel, don't be alarmed as you begin to read this book as I was. Being a business teacher teaching typing for 35+ years, it is just second nature that I proofread as I read. Therefore, my first thought when I began reading the book was that the publishers published the book with a grammatical error on the first line, then I realized that the book was being written in the Ole South Negro dialect. Just a heads up.

And that's what's on my mind this morning.

Damned if You Do; Damned if You Don't

As I read this article about the capping of the pipe in the Gulf, I couldn't help but send up a prayer that they are doing the right thing. The thing that has me worried is this: "The danger is you could over-pressurize the pipe and cause it to explode causing mini leaks along the pipe," said Dr. Michio Kaku, author of the book, 'Physics of the Impossible.'"

I'm thinking it could cause an explosion that could be so devastating that you could compare it to a nuclear blast. Thus causing a more widespread disaster than what is now in the Gulf. I'm holding my breath and praying on this one.

Now, here's what else that's on my mind. The people in the Gulf. First they are upset because they say Obama did not act fast enough, is not doing enough, etc. Then he acts in what he says is in the best interest of the nation, and now this appears:

"BP's new tighter-fitting cap has brought hope that an end to the crisis is finally in sight. But that hope was dampened for many people in the Gulf who say President Barack Obama's latest drilling ban is another blow to the region's economy.

The White House admits its new moratorium will hurt the area's economy, but believes safety is more important.

'First and foremost, the president has and continues to believe that we have to be careful with what we're doing,' said White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs.

Federal courts have twice struck down the president's drilling ban, ruling it an over reaction to the spill. There has been no announcement yet on whether the latest drilling ban will also be challenged in court."

Now let's play devil's advocate. Say Obama gives the go ahead on drilling and another catastrophe occurs, who do you think is going to get the blame. "Oh, HE should have never given them permission to drill. He saw what happened with the BP incident." President Obama just can't catch a break--he's damned if he does, and damned if he doesn't. It's like the critics want their cake, but want to eat it too.

And that's what's on my mind.

Hershey Kisses

Went to the local Walgreen's today and opted to buy a package of Hershey Kisses. I guess it's been some time since I made a packaged candy purchase because I was overwhelmed by the many varieties of my old chocolate favorite--Milk Chocolate Hershey Kisses. After much deliberation, I opted for a bag of Hershey Kisses with Almonds and a bag of Hershey Kisses with a soft milk chocolate center.

Once I got home, I began to wonder how many others pondered this questions and opted not to go for the old favorite. Hence this survey. Which do you prefer?

BP, BP!

A few days ago when listing to CNN, a news commentator mentioned that if Bill Clinton was still president, he wouldn't have handled the BP incident the way that Obama has. He mentioned some head honchos that Clinton would have called in to get things done. My thought is, if those people exist, why aren't they stepping up to the plate and offering their help? Who really has gotten us in this mess? I don't think Obama was pesident when BP was given permission to drill. Why aren't those people being held accountable for giving permission without checking to ensure that BP had a Plan A and B in place to handle such a catastrophe as this. Surely they knew it could happen; didn't it happen before???? DAAA!!!!!!!!! As long as BP was drilling and everyone was getting their little slice of the profit pie in whatever shape form or fashion (wages, stocks, kickbacks, promotions, etc.) no one ever voiced a concern about the impact of a possible leak, blow up, etc. But now that it has happened, everyone is in the pointing a finger game. (Rest assured someone's pockets have gotten fatter since permission to drill was granted.) Instead of spending so much time trying to decide who to blame, put some of that energy into coming up with possible solutions. I bet there is a teenager out there somewhere that is sitting on the answer. Rather than spreading all this poisonous propaganda, challenge some of our young minds to come up with solutions. Take a portion of that 20 billion to pay the people in New Orleans who are out of work to go and clean up their shorelines. I bet they would have a better vested interest in doing the job correct to ensure that they are able to return to their livelihood. When a person has an vested interest in what is going on, they take ownership of what they are doing and are more focused on getting the job done right. Give these people something to do so that they can make a difference. Those of us from the baby boomer era would rather do a day's work for a day's pay than sitting around waiting on a handout that may never come. And that's whats on my mind.

Is Touch Typing (Keyboarding) A Dying Art

Recently, while having a debate with my son who insists that now that iPods and cellphones are on the scene, the need for keyboarding is unnecessary, I read an article from a business teacher, no doubt, whose sentiments on this subject were closely aligned with his.

My questions then is, should business teachers still require students to learn to key by touch? I say YESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS!!!!!!!!!! Maybe I’m of a dying breed of business teachers, but I think students should learn to key by touch so that they are able to increase their productivity while typing. Sure, you start out slow, but with practice your speed increases. I can’t say the same for what I call–”hunting and pecking.” My son would say he differs with that because he no longer uses eight fingers and one thumb to type and his typing speed rivals mine, but I say to him–”You are as fast as you are because you learned where the keys were located before you adapted to your new style of typing.”

I agree that you don’t hang a child because he/she types “c” with the “f” finger; or “r” with the “d” finger, but hunting and pecking is just not the way. The problem with keyboarding today is that students are being introduced to the keyboard at such a young age, they develop the hunt and peck method and then when they enter middle school or high school where keyboarding shows up in the curriculum, they are convinced that they already know how to type because they are satisfied with how they’ve been doing it up to this point.–A headache for a diehard business teacher like myself.

I’m convinced that touch typing should be introduced at the Kindergarten and/or first grade level. Why, I taught my son to type on a typewriter when he was four years old–computers were not as prevalent then. After 30+ years of teaching business on the secondary level, this year I taught at an elementary/middle school. There my patience with teaching touch typing was put to the ultimate test. To maintain my sanity, I went with something my sister told me years ago–”not all children want to learn to type; but don’t hinder the ones that do.” So I required them all to learn the touch method, not getting upset when I noticed some doing their own thing, and worked diligently with those that did. When it came time to work with my first graders; however, my heart melted. Those babies took to touch typing like ducks to water. Now I know where to put my efforts.