Kent Conwell's Blog, page 4
May 16, 2012
Sixty Thousand in Debt, and No Job
I imagine none of us would like to be in such a position. But if you have a youngster or three or four in college, you’d best be aware of just how expensive it has become.
An English major, speech and science minor, I always believed a college education was essential to a satisfying life. After ten years in the English classroom, with a three-year break in the business world, I came to realize that college was important only to a select group. Now by select, I don’t mean elite or rich or popular, but those interested in occupations in demand in today’s ever changing world of business.
The definitive phrase in the last sentence of the previous paragraph is ‘in demand.’ What might be ‘in demand’ in one part of the country might be ‘no demand’ in another.
That’s why I spent my last thirty-one years in Career and Technology Education, once called Vocational Education.
A college education doesn’t mean a four-year baccalaureate. A college degree can be a one-year certificate, a two-year associate, or even a trade school certification. The point is, after high school, young folks must have additional education if they wish to earn salaries beyond entry-level wages.
Now, entry-level wages are from work as honorable, as honest, as respectable as a doctor’s job. Trouble is, the doctor makes a heck of a lot more money. Of course, he’s spent a heck of a lot more time and effort gaining the additional education.
There are degrees that are worthless although at the end, they cost the same as a practical one. What’s happened is that the public has been sold a bill of goods about college.
Go to college-get rich! That’s the mantra flying like a banner from the flagpoles of colleges around the country, and most public schools jumped on the proclamation.
The colleges market themselves because of the additional income. Years back—way back in the days of trolls beneath the bridges, college tuition ran ten bucks an hour, thirty a class, one-fifty a semester—not counting books and fees. Today, after Lamar announced an increase, tuition is over two hundred and hour, six hundred for a three-hour class, three thousand for five classes for one semester—not counting books and fees.
So it should come as no surprise that many graduate from college with sizeable student loans. And it should also come as no surprise that there is much talk in Washington about forgiving the loans. While we’re talking about ‘no surprises’ it should come as no surprise that this also an election year, which probably accounts for the sudden lagniappe from the administration.
For those saddled with college loans, I can offer no advice except to set up a payment schedule and stick to it. You opted for a convenient financial answer to college. Well, you got it, and now that you’ve graduated, it is time to pay the proverbial piper.
For those making ready for college, don’t let emotions or wishful thinking guide your decisions.
I once had a superintendent who wanted his daughter to go to Texas A&M before getting her certification as a registered nurse. He claimed the A&M experience would be to her advantage. My Health Occupations instructor, an RN, informed him in no uncertain terms that what really counted was the initials, RN or MD or DO, not A&M.
There’s a lot of folks who can’t handle twenty thousand a year tuition, or even six thousand.
Gayle and I knew there was no fairy godmother who would swoop down, wave a wand, and hand us money for the girls’ college. So we saved a little each month. We made sacrifices early on so we wouldn’t have to later.
We didn’t drive a new car, take a lot of expensive vacations, and that sort of thing. It paid off as both young women went through Lamar’s nursing program and gained RN degree and certification without going into debt. It was a satisfying feeling to have the savings to pay tuition and books each semester.
If you go to a college because your parents went there, or because your friends are going, or because your high school counselors favor it like far too many in Southeast Texas prefer University of Texas or Texas A&M, then prepare for hefty expenses. Don’t complain when it’s over.
Believe it or not, there is no law saying you have to finish in four years. As hard as it is to believe, there are people who work and take a couple classes a semester. Takes a while longer, but they pay as they go. A novel concept, but it works.
Even though Lamar raised its tuition, it is a good school at reasonable prices compared to larger universities. In fact, many of the smaller colleges are good, and a heck of a lot less expensive than the name schools. Believe me, most businesses don’t care where you matriculated and graduated, but that you did.
rconwell@gt.rr.com
http://www.kentconwell.blogspot.com/
www.goodreads.com/author/show/13557.K...
www.amazon.com/-/e/B001JPCK26
www.kentconwell.blogspot.com
An English major, speech and science minor, I always believed a college education was essential to a satisfying life. After ten years in the English classroom, with a three-year break in the business world, I came to realize that college was important only to a select group. Now by select, I don’t mean elite or rich or popular, but those interested in occupations in demand in today’s ever changing world of business.
The definitive phrase in the last sentence of the previous paragraph is ‘in demand.’ What might be ‘in demand’ in one part of the country might be ‘no demand’ in another.
That’s why I spent my last thirty-one years in Career and Technology Education, once called Vocational Education.
A college education doesn’t mean a four-year baccalaureate. A college degree can be a one-year certificate, a two-year associate, or even a trade school certification. The point is, after high school, young folks must have additional education if they wish to earn salaries beyond entry-level wages.
Now, entry-level wages are from work as honorable, as honest, as respectable as a doctor’s job. Trouble is, the doctor makes a heck of a lot more money. Of course, he’s spent a heck of a lot more time and effort gaining the additional education.
There are degrees that are worthless although at the end, they cost the same as a practical one. What’s happened is that the public has been sold a bill of goods about college.
Go to college-get rich! That’s the mantra flying like a banner from the flagpoles of colleges around the country, and most public schools jumped on the proclamation.
The colleges market themselves because of the additional income. Years back—way back in the days of trolls beneath the bridges, college tuition ran ten bucks an hour, thirty a class, one-fifty a semester—not counting books and fees. Today, after Lamar announced an increase, tuition is over two hundred and hour, six hundred for a three-hour class, three thousand for five classes for one semester—not counting books and fees.
So it should come as no surprise that many graduate from college with sizeable student loans. And it should also come as no surprise that there is much talk in Washington about forgiving the loans. While we’re talking about ‘no surprises’ it should come as no surprise that this also an election year, which probably accounts for the sudden lagniappe from the administration.
For those saddled with college loans, I can offer no advice except to set up a payment schedule and stick to it. You opted for a convenient financial answer to college. Well, you got it, and now that you’ve graduated, it is time to pay the proverbial piper.
For those making ready for college, don’t let emotions or wishful thinking guide your decisions.
I once had a superintendent who wanted his daughter to go to Texas A&M before getting her certification as a registered nurse. He claimed the A&M experience would be to her advantage. My Health Occupations instructor, an RN, informed him in no uncertain terms that what really counted was the initials, RN or MD or DO, not A&M.
There’s a lot of folks who can’t handle twenty thousand a year tuition, or even six thousand.
Gayle and I knew there was no fairy godmother who would swoop down, wave a wand, and hand us money for the girls’ college. So we saved a little each month. We made sacrifices early on so we wouldn’t have to later.
We didn’t drive a new car, take a lot of expensive vacations, and that sort of thing. It paid off as both young women went through Lamar’s nursing program and gained RN degree and certification without going into debt. It was a satisfying feeling to have the savings to pay tuition and books each semester.
If you go to a college because your parents went there, or because your friends are going, or because your high school counselors favor it like far too many in Southeast Texas prefer University of Texas or Texas A&M, then prepare for hefty expenses. Don’t complain when it’s over.
Believe it or not, there is no law saying you have to finish in four years. As hard as it is to believe, there are people who work and take a couple classes a semester. Takes a while longer, but they pay as they go. A novel concept, but it works.
Even though Lamar raised its tuition, it is a good school at reasonable prices compared to larger universities. In fact, many of the smaller colleges are good, and a heck of a lot less expensive than the name schools. Believe me, most businesses don’t care where you matriculated and graduated, but that you did.
rconwell@gt.rr.com
http://www.kentconwell.blogspot.com/
www.goodreads.com/author/show/13557.K...
www.amazon.com/-/e/B001JPCK26
www.kentconwell.blogspot.com
May 9, 2012
Never Trust a 'Me-First'
To a greater or lesser degree. All of us possess the capability to assess an individual by the tenor of his or her manner of speaking. Another way to put it is that from the speaker’s selection of tone and words, you can get a fairly good handle on his true thoughts even if they are contrary to what he is saying.
Sort of like the ‘Freudian Slip’ in reverse. You know what a ‘Freudian Slip’ is—an old boy who meant to ask wife if she were ready to go to bed, but instead said “Are you ready to go to boobs?”
He said exactly what he was thinking, not what he planned to say. That’s a ‘Freudian Slip’.
Much has been written recently about our president boasting of the death of bin Laden.
Don’t misunderstand. While I do not believe he is the president our country needs, in all fairness, bin Laden’s death happened on his watch. He gave the word. He gets the credit as it should be.
But, look at this from a different angle.
In a memorandum from the CIA director, Leon Panetta, there was what the Wall Street Journal called an ‘escape clause’ for the responsibility of the raid on bin Laden’s compound. It stated “The timing, operational decision-making, and control are in Admiral McRaven’s hands.’ It went on to say naturally that all details would be passed before the president for his approval, but that one sentence designating responsibility also designates blame. If it had failed, Admiral McRaven took the hit.
After the success of the mission, President Obama stated his own role in the plan that the admiral put together by Panetta’s own admission. “I directed Leon Panetta to make the killing or capture of bin Laden the top priority—even as I continued our broader effort. Then after years of painstaking work by my intelligence community I was briefed. I met repeatedly with my national security team, and finally last week, I determined that I had enough intelligence to take action. Today, at my direction---“
That’s far enough.
In those half-dozen clauses, he referred to himself nine times.
This from a man who has compared himself to Lincoln.
No comparison.
After Lee’s surrender, Lincoln spoke to the citizenry from a window of the White House. Not once did he mention his achievements, but those of his officers and soldiers, the hope for peaceful reconstruction, and a call for black suffrage, a call, according to the Wall Street Journal, that doomed him, for among the audience that night stood John Wilkes Booth.
Lincoln said nothing of his part.
Great leaders, says Michael Mukasey of the WSJ, have on occasion placed themselves in great events, but usually it is to take responsibility for failures. Lincoln, he wrote, took responsibility for General McClellan’s timidity and sluggishness at Chesapeake Bay down to the James Peninsula in August 1862.
Mukasey also pointed out that when Saddam Hussein was captured, President Bush stated the achievement was ‘a tribute to the men and women now serving in Iraq.” Bush attributed the success to “the superb work of intelligence analysts who found the dictator’s footprints in a vast country. The operation was carried out with skill and precision by a brave fighting force.”
The only time Bush referred to himself was when he added “Today on behalf of the nation, I thank the members of our armed forces, and I congratulate them.”
Our 34th president, Dwight Eisenhower once said “Humility must always be the portion of any man who receives acclaim earned in the blood of his followers and the sacrifices of his friends.”
No wonder Eisenhower was ready to take the blame if the Normandy Invasion failed. When it succeeded, he gave all credit to his forces, and thanked them.
He believed that “The supreme quality for leadership is unquestionably integrity. Without it, no real success is possible, no matter whether it is on a section gang, a football field, in an army, or in an office.”
I say this in all charity, withour rancor or umbrage, but from what the president has said and done in the last four years, I cannot believe he even begins to fathom Eisenhower’s concept of leadership.
Leaders, truly great leaders, do not have to pretend.
I have yet to know a ‘Me First’ or and ‘I Person’ upon whom I would chance my future.
Have you?
rconwell@gt.rr.com
http://www.kentconwell.blogspot.com/
www.goodreads.com/author/show/13557.K...
www.amazon.com/-/e/B001JPCK26
Sort of like the ‘Freudian Slip’ in reverse. You know what a ‘Freudian Slip’ is—an old boy who meant to ask wife if she were ready to go to bed, but instead said “Are you ready to go to boobs?”
He said exactly what he was thinking, not what he planned to say. That’s a ‘Freudian Slip’.
Much has been written recently about our president boasting of the death of bin Laden.
Don’t misunderstand. While I do not believe he is the president our country needs, in all fairness, bin Laden’s death happened on his watch. He gave the word. He gets the credit as it should be.
But, look at this from a different angle.
In a memorandum from the CIA director, Leon Panetta, there was what the Wall Street Journal called an ‘escape clause’ for the responsibility of the raid on bin Laden’s compound. It stated “The timing, operational decision-making, and control are in Admiral McRaven’s hands.’ It went on to say naturally that all details would be passed before the president for his approval, but that one sentence designating responsibility also designates blame. If it had failed, Admiral McRaven took the hit.
After the success of the mission, President Obama stated his own role in the plan that the admiral put together by Panetta’s own admission. “I directed Leon Panetta to make the killing or capture of bin Laden the top priority—even as I continued our broader effort. Then after years of painstaking work by my intelligence community I was briefed. I met repeatedly with my national security team, and finally last week, I determined that I had enough intelligence to take action. Today, at my direction---“
That’s far enough.
In those half-dozen clauses, he referred to himself nine times.
This from a man who has compared himself to Lincoln.
No comparison.
After Lee’s surrender, Lincoln spoke to the citizenry from a window of the White House. Not once did he mention his achievements, but those of his officers and soldiers, the hope for peaceful reconstruction, and a call for black suffrage, a call, according to the Wall Street Journal, that doomed him, for among the audience that night stood John Wilkes Booth.
Lincoln said nothing of his part.
Great leaders, says Michael Mukasey of the WSJ, have on occasion placed themselves in great events, but usually it is to take responsibility for failures. Lincoln, he wrote, took responsibility for General McClellan’s timidity and sluggishness at Chesapeake Bay down to the James Peninsula in August 1862.
Mukasey also pointed out that when Saddam Hussein was captured, President Bush stated the achievement was ‘a tribute to the men and women now serving in Iraq.” Bush attributed the success to “the superb work of intelligence analysts who found the dictator’s footprints in a vast country. The operation was carried out with skill and precision by a brave fighting force.”
The only time Bush referred to himself was when he added “Today on behalf of the nation, I thank the members of our armed forces, and I congratulate them.”
Our 34th president, Dwight Eisenhower once said “Humility must always be the portion of any man who receives acclaim earned in the blood of his followers and the sacrifices of his friends.”
No wonder Eisenhower was ready to take the blame if the Normandy Invasion failed. When it succeeded, he gave all credit to his forces, and thanked them.
He believed that “The supreme quality for leadership is unquestionably integrity. Without it, no real success is possible, no matter whether it is on a section gang, a football field, in an army, or in an office.”
I say this in all charity, withour rancor or umbrage, but from what the president has said and done in the last four years, I cannot believe he even begins to fathom Eisenhower’s concept of leadership.
Leaders, truly great leaders, do not have to pretend.
I have yet to know a ‘Me First’ or and ‘I Person’ upon whom I would chance my future.
Have you?
rconwell@gt.rr.com
http://www.kentconwell.blogspot.com/
www.goodreads.com/author/show/13557.K...
www.amazon.com/-/e/B001JPCK26
May 2, 2012
Too Much Technology?
I don’t know about you folks, but sometimes I get a headache from all the political and global ‘stuff’ going on. Now I know it is my responsibility as a citizen to stay informed, but sometimes I just want to throw up my arms and say to heck with it. Same way with all the new technology out there.
Sound familiar?
My frustration is more pronounced when I’m messing with computers. Even after all these years, I know very little about them or their programs. I don’t know. Maybe I just fell out of the ‘dumb’ tree and hit too many branches on the way down.
Looking around, it seems as if our whole lives are being swallowed up by technology.
I remember a line supposedly uttered by some shade tree philosopher when the telephone came into being. It went something like “when you pick up the telephone, you lose the charm of seeing what is over the next hill.”
That happens to us all. With the cyber-technology available to us, we are, at least I am, inundated with information of every sort. The days of leaning back with a cup of coffee and leisurely perusing the local newspaper are growing short. The recognition of a loved one’s cursive letters will soon be a thing of the past because of the convenience and speed of email.
Back when I was a teenager in Fort Worth, Mom would receive chain mail, those sneaky little letters promising fame and fortune if you would just make copies and send them to twenty people. One I’ll always remember had a list of addresses. The instructions said to send the top address a dollar, then add your name to the bottom. Within a month, you’d receive over $5000.00.
Dad snorted that it was just a scam. "Nobody gets something for nothing," he said.
Of course, at thirteen, I knew better, so I retrieved the letter from the trash and faithfully made my twenty copies. I dropped them in the mail along with the dollar to the name on top of the list. Then I sat back to wait. I’d show Dad.
Well, I waited, and waited. You know how much money I got?
Zip, Zilch, Zero.
I may be slow, but I learned my lesson. And I was lucky to get out so cheaply.
Mark Twain hit the proverbial nail on the head when he wrote “When I was a boy of fourteen, my father was so ignorant I could hardly stand to have the old man around. But when I got to be twenty-one, I was astonished at how much he had learned in seven years.
It wasn’t until years later when Dad and I were camping in Central Texas on a deer hunt that he told me he had been suckered more than once by such scams. The only difference, he explained, between him and me was that I was smart enough to listen to my father. He had ignored his own Dad’s advice on several occasions only to come up on the short end of the deal every time.
Back then, life was nowhere as complicated as it is today. We did not have the means for today's extensive social networking that beckons you with every click of the mouse.
Today, many folks get carried away with the ease of putting their names and achievements (good or bad) out for everyone to see.
Years back, there were various newsgroups on the Internet. I joined one on writing. One of the group members claimed when he had writer’s block, he would wander down to his sailboat and pass the time.
Now, I’d had three or four westerns published by then so I thought I knew everything. I commented on the forum that ‘perhaps he should stay away from the sailboat and plant his seat in front of the computer. To overcome writers’ block, you write.”
Well, sir, the old proverb “The road to hell is paved with good intentions’ had never been more clearly illustrated to me when the gentleman in question wrote back, blistering my hide for criticizing his methods. I learned another lesson then. I don’t comment on anyone unless it is something very positive.
Don’t misunderstand. I am on a couple social networking forums, Facebook and LinkedIn. Facebook because I can post a weekly blog of ranting and ravings; LinkedIn because of a Crime Writers Forum. I don’t spend too much time on them as some folks will attest. In fact, I don’t think I know how to reply to comments on either forum.
Several friends sent me birthday greetings. A couple asked if I had received the. I did, and I replied, but they didn’t get it. I guess I punched a button that sent it floating around out there in cyberspace.
If you stop and think about it, the coming of computers and the attendant technology has brought about abrupt changes in our lives. You can buy everything online. You can bank, purchase insurance and on and on and on. And all without leaving the comfort of your home.
Now, that’s really spooky—and neat.
Would I go back to the old days? As appealing as their memories are, I don't think so. In fact, these might just be the good old days.
rconwell@gt.rr.com
http://www.kentconwell.blogspot.com/
www.goodreads.com/author/show/13557.K...
www.amazon.com/-/e/B001JPCK26
www.kentco
Sound familiar?
My frustration is more pronounced when I’m messing with computers. Even after all these years, I know very little about them or their programs. I don’t know. Maybe I just fell out of the ‘dumb’ tree and hit too many branches on the way down.
Looking around, it seems as if our whole lives are being swallowed up by technology.
I remember a line supposedly uttered by some shade tree philosopher when the telephone came into being. It went something like “when you pick up the telephone, you lose the charm of seeing what is over the next hill.”
That happens to us all. With the cyber-technology available to us, we are, at least I am, inundated with information of every sort. The days of leaning back with a cup of coffee and leisurely perusing the local newspaper are growing short. The recognition of a loved one’s cursive letters will soon be a thing of the past because of the convenience and speed of email.
Back when I was a teenager in Fort Worth, Mom would receive chain mail, those sneaky little letters promising fame and fortune if you would just make copies and send them to twenty people. One I’ll always remember had a list of addresses. The instructions said to send the top address a dollar, then add your name to the bottom. Within a month, you’d receive over $5000.00.
Dad snorted that it was just a scam. "Nobody gets something for nothing," he said.
Of course, at thirteen, I knew better, so I retrieved the letter from the trash and faithfully made my twenty copies. I dropped them in the mail along with the dollar to the name on top of the list. Then I sat back to wait. I’d show Dad.
Well, I waited, and waited. You know how much money I got?
Zip, Zilch, Zero.
I may be slow, but I learned my lesson. And I was lucky to get out so cheaply.
Mark Twain hit the proverbial nail on the head when he wrote “When I was a boy of fourteen, my father was so ignorant I could hardly stand to have the old man around. But when I got to be twenty-one, I was astonished at how much he had learned in seven years.
It wasn’t until years later when Dad and I were camping in Central Texas on a deer hunt that he told me he had been suckered more than once by such scams. The only difference, he explained, between him and me was that I was smart enough to listen to my father. He had ignored his own Dad’s advice on several occasions only to come up on the short end of the deal every time.
Back then, life was nowhere as complicated as it is today. We did not have the means for today's extensive social networking that beckons you with every click of the mouse.
Today, many folks get carried away with the ease of putting their names and achievements (good or bad) out for everyone to see.
Years back, there were various newsgroups on the Internet. I joined one on writing. One of the group members claimed when he had writer’s block, he would wander down to his sailboat and pass the time.
Now, I’d had three or four westerns published by then so I thought I knew everything. I commented on the forum that ‘perhaps he should stay away from the sailboat and plant his seat in front of the computer. To overcome writers’ block, you write.”
Well, sir, the old proverb “The road to hell is paved with good intentions’ had never been more clearly illustrated to me when the gentleman in question wrote back, blistering my hide for criticizing his methods. I learned another lesson then. I don’t comment on anyone unless it is something very positive.
Don’t misunderstand. I am on a couple social networking forums, Facebook and LinkedIn. Facebook because I can post a weekly blog of ranting and ravings; LinkedIn because of a Crime Writers Forum. I don’t spend too much time on them as some folks will attest. In fact, I don’t think I know how to reply to comments on either forum.
Several friends sent me birthday greetings. A couple asked if I had received the. I did, and I replied, but they didn’t get it. I guess I punched a button that sent it floating around out there in cyberspace.
If you stop and think about it, the coming of computers and the attendant technology has brought about abrupt changes in our lives. You can buy everything online. You can bank, purchase insurance and on and on and on. And all without leaving the comfort of your home.
Now, that’s really spooky—and neat.
Would I go back to the old days? As appealing as their memories are, I don't think so. In fact, these might just be the good old days.
rconwell@gt.rr.com
http://www.kentconwell.blogspot.com/
www.goodreads.com/author/show/13557.K...
www.amazon.com/-/e/B001JPCK26
www.kentco
April 25, 2012
Beware the Media
Have you ever heard of Bob and Nancy Strait? Married over 65 years, the elderly couple lived in Tulsa, Oklahoma.
You haven’t? Are you sure? Their home is in the 3300 block of modest, but neat homes on East Virgin Street.
Still say you’ve never heard of them?
Well, I’m not surprised.
A man broke into their home March 14 and assaulted them. Eighty-five year old Nancy was raped and beaten to death. Her ninety-year-old husband was hospitalized for multiple injuries.
The next day, Tyrone Woodfork, 20, was arrested driving the couple’s Dodge Neon.
Bob and Nancy are white. Tyrone is black.
Now do you understand why you have not heard of the incident?
The national media has been too involved with the white on black killing of Trayvon Martin to give any more than minimal back-page space to a black on white killing.
Naturally, there are more headlines up for grabs in the Martin-Zimmerman circus than the Strait-Woodfork assault and murder. White on black is sensational, made even more so by the biased advocacy of zealous firebrands. Black on white or black on black is not sensational.
There is a chilling concept here if you look hard enough.
Did you hear about the mayor of Chicago shutting down the beaches because gangs of blacks were assaulting white families?
Nope!
Did you hear about the two black youths in Kansas City who threw gasoline on a thirteen year old and shouted ‘how do you like that, white boy?”
Nope!
There were only a handful of journalists who covered the Woodfork-Strait story among them Jerry Wofford, a World Staff writer. Walter E. Williams, a professor of economics at George Mason University, penned a perceptive OpED article in the Times-Dispatch on the dishonesty of the media. Professor Williams is black. He’s worth reading.
There are many more instances of stories being downplayed on the national level because they lack the sensationalism of other stories.
And much too often, the media exacerbates the story by deliberately manipulating the contents. Manipulating—you spell it l-y-i-n-g.
You’ve had to be hiding under a rock not to have heard how the Today Show created a racist image of George Zimmerman when they deliberately altered his 911 call to the Sanford police. The Show claimed Zimmerman said, “This guy looks like he’s up to no good. He looks black.”
His actual words were “This guy looks like he’s up to no good or he’s on drugs or something. It’s raining, and he’s just walking around, looking about.”
The 911 officer replied. “Ok, and is this guy—is he black, white, or Hispanic?”
“He looks black,” Zimmerman replied.
You might be a bleeding heart liberal, but even you will have to admit the Today Show narrative screamed racism while the true narrative in no way suggested such.
I’m like everyone else. I want to see justice done, but for NBC to deliberately lie just to improve ratings is horrendous. The show can deny all it wishes, but it was acting as a judge and jury.
When the network got caught with its pants down, it claimed that it is investigating the incident.
Folks, there ain’t nothing to investigate. The Today Show lied.
According to Professor Williams, editors for the Los Angeles Times, The New York Times, and the Chicago Tribune admitted to deliberately censoring information about black crime for political reasons and in an effort to "guard against subjecting an entire group of people to suspicion."
Why?
Ratings! And the fact the liberal papers don’t want to get on the bad side of the president.
Now in our part of the country, Southeast Texas, we’re lucky in that our news media do not exhibit the intense bias as the national media. But with technology today, local citizens are much more exposed to national opinion than local.
I’ll wager you have a better idea of the president’s opinion on oil than you do that of your mayor. Most don’t even know their own mayor’s name.
None of us want to see murderers go free, thieves escape punishment, or innocent wrongly convicted, so before you form your own opinion, consider the sources. Just because glitzy news anchors spout opinions doesn’t mean they are true. They’re simply reading what someone in the editorial department put together.
Remember that come election time.
rconwell@gt.rr.com
http://www.kentconwell.blogspot.com/
www.goodreads.com/author/show/13557.K...
www.amazon.com/-/e/B001JPCK26
You haven’t? Are you sure? Their home is in the 3300 block of modest, but neat homes on East Virgin Street.
Still say you’ve never heard of them?
Well, I’m not surprised.
A man broke into their home March 14 and assaulted them. Eighty-five year old Nancy was raped and beaten to death. Her ninety-year-old husband was hospitalized for multiple injuries.
The next day, Tyrone Woodfork, 20, was arrested driving the couple’s Dodge Neon.
Bob and Nancy are white. Tyrone is black.
Now do you understand why you have not heard of the incident?
The national media has been too involved with the white on black killing of Trayvon Martin to give any more than minimal back-page space to a black on white killing.
Naturally, there are more headlines up for grabs in the Martin-Zimmerman circus than the Strait-Woodfork assault and murder. White on black is sensational, made even more so by the biased advocacy of zealous firebrands. Black on white or black on black is not sensational.
There is a chilling concept here if you look hard enough.
Did you hear about the mayor of Chicago shutting down the beaches because gangs of blacks were assaulting white families?
Nope!
Did you hear about the two black youths in Kansas City who threw gasoline on a thirteen year old and shouted ‘how do you like that, white boy?”
Nope!
There were only a handful of journalists who covered the Woodfork-Strait story among them Jerry Wofford, a World Staff writer. Walter E. Williams, a professor of economics at George Mason University, penned a perceptive OpED article in the Times-Dispatch on the dishonesty of the media. Professor Williams is black. He’s worth reading.
There are many more instances of stories being downplayed on the national level because they lack the sensationalism of other stories.
And much too often, the media exacerbates the story by deliberately manipulating the contents. Manipulating—you spell it l-y-i-n-g.
You’ve had to be hiding under a rock not to have heard how the Today Show created a racist image of George Zimmerman when they deliberately altered his 911 call to the Sanford police. The Show claimed Zimmerman said, “This guy looks like he’s up to no good. He looks black.”
His actual words were “This guy looks like he’s up to no good or he’s on drugs or something. It’s raining, and he’s just walking around, looking about.”
The 911 officer replied. “Ok, and is this guy—is he black, white, or Hispanic?”
“He looks black,” Zimmerman replied.
You might be a bleeding heart liberal, but even you will have to admit the Today Show narrative screamed racism while the true narrative in no way suggested such.
I’m like everyone else. I want to see justice done, but for NBC to deliberately lie just to improve ratings is horrendous. The show can deny all it wishes, but it was acting as a judge and jury.
When the network got caught with its pants down, it claimed that it is investigating the incident.
Folks, there ain’t nothing to investigate. The Today Show lied.
According to Professor Williams, editors for the Los Angeles Times, The New York Times, and the Chicago Tribune admitted to deliberately censoring information about black crime for political reasons and in an effort to "guard against subjecting an entire group of people to suspicion."
Why?
Ratings! And the fact the liberal papers don’t want to get on the bad side of the president.
Now in our part of the country, Southeast Texas, we’re lucky in that our news media do not exhibit the intense bias as the national media. But with technology today, local citizens are much more exposed to national opinion than local.
I’ll wager you have a better idea of the president’s opinion on oil than you do that of your mayor. Most don’t even know their own mayor’s name.
None of us want to see murderers go free, thieves escape punishment, or innocent wrongly convicted, so before you form your own opinion, consider the sources. Just because glitzy news anchors spout opinions doesn’t mean they are true. They’re simply reading what someone in the editorial department put together.
Remember that come election time.
rconwell@gt.rr.com
http://www.kentconwell.blogspot.com/
www.goodreads.com/author/show/13557.K...
www.amazon.com/-/e/B001JPCK26
April 18, 2012
Little Mistakes, Big Consequences
Little Mistakes, Big Consequences
Have you ever noticed how sometimes decisions that appear to be insignificant can bring about a drastic change in life, or in the history of a country?
What brought that observation to mind was the fact that 176 years ago on this past April 21, 1836, Sam Houston defeated Santa Anna and his army at San Jacinto, removing the last obstacle to the Independence of Texas.
The battle could have gone the other way, except for a few almost insignificant decisions made by General Santa Anna that normally might not create insurmountable problems. Sort of like ‘the final straw’.
He learned the hard way that regardless who is fighting; the location of the engagement; the strategy, or the strength of the forces; ‘there is’ to quote Walter Lord, ‘a time when any general needs more than a plan and intuition—he needs a touch of luck.’ Or bad luck.
Luck was with Houston in 1836.
Over the years delving through stories and articles regarding the Alamo, Goliad, and San Jacinto, I’ve questioned many of the decisions of both Texian and the Mexican armies.
History seems to suggest that after the fall of the Alamo, Houston did nothing but retreat until he stumbled on to Santa Anna at San Jacinto.
The truth is much different.
The unrest among the Texian settlers began in the autumn of 1835. By January, many of them had already fled to the protection of the United States.
Some did, however, remain, hopeful the ragtag Texian army could protect them.
After the signing of the Declaration of Independence, Houston left New Washington to take charge of the troops and go to Travis’ aid. In Gonzales on March 12, he learned of the fall of the Alamo six days earlier.
When the remainder of the settlers heard the news, they fled east.
Houston and his small army remained at the rear in an effort to delay Santa Anna and buy precious time for the retreating settlers.
Houston pulled up at the Colorado, planning on making a stand and waiting for Fannin to join him as ordered.
Fannin did not follow Houston’s orders. Instead of moving out immediately to join Houston, Fannin opted to wait until two of his companies returned. That decision gave the Mexican army time to intercept him. He surrendered his men and arms for the guarantee of their safety and ultimate release.
On Palm Sunday, he and his men were executed.
The four hundred men Houston counted on were not coming. The next day, he moved his army east once again, despite his army’s complaining. They wanted to fight, not retreat.
For two weeks they camped on the Brazos until a mysterious messenger came to Houston that Santa Anna was to his south, heading his way. Houston moved out.
At this point, Santa Anna began making a series of mistakes that sealed his defeat. Hearing that President Burnet and his staff had moved to Harrisburg, he split his force, and with 700 men so he could move faster, headed south on a forced march.
He pushed his men hard until 9:00 p.m., picked a camp without water, pulled out early next morning, and hurried on. Anxious to reach Harrisburg, he took only a few men and raced ahead, riding into the village at midnight, but Burnet had moved his cabinet to Galveston.
Then word came that Houston was heading for the Trinity River to the east. Santa Anna saw another chance to end the revolution in one stroke--ambush Houston at Lynch’s Ferry.
At the head of his 700 men, he raced to Lynch’s Ferry, in his enthusiasm ignoring the sluggish waters of Buffalo Bayou on the left; San Jacinto estuary at the rear; and the marshes of Galveston Bay on the right. He left himself no room to maneuver, a schoolboy mistake made by the one who levied upon himself the ostentatious title, ‘The Napoleon of the West.’ His 700 soldiers were exhausted, but he had arrived ahead of Houston.
On the 18th, Houston reached White Oak Bayou. The Mexican army had just crossed Vince’s Bridge spanning the bayou. Next morning, Houston crossed the bridge. The next day, Sidney Sherman gave the Mexican army a quick jab with a small skirmish.
Early the next day, April 21, Houston gathered his officers. He allowed each to state his assessment of their situation.
That same morning. General Cos arrived with four hundred men, bringing the Mexican force to 1100 against Houston’s reported 783.
Houston knew another three thousand or so Mexican forces were coming. He ordered Vince’s Bridge destroyed, cutting off Mexican reinforcements and Mexican retreat as well as Texian retreat. It was fight or die.
At four-thirty that afternoon, Houston gave the charge. Eighteen minutes later it was over. They captured the Mexican general the next day.
But, what would have happened if Fannin had obeyed orders and joined Houston at the Colorado? What if Houston had not received that mysterious messenger on the Brazos? What if Santa Anna had not pursued Burnet? What if he had not split his troops? What possessed him to camp where he did, a spot not even a shavetail lieutenant would have selected?
Was Luck indeed riding on the Texian’s shirttail?
Or was Santa Anna’s arrogance his own worst enemy?
Maybe a combination of both.
www.kentconwell.blogspot.com
Have you ever noticed how sometimes decisions that appear to be insignificant can bring about a drastic change in life, or in the history of a country?
What brought that observation to mind was the fact that 176 years ago on this past April 21, 1836, Sam Houston defeated Santa Anna and his army at San Jacinto, removing the last obstacle to the Independence of Texas.
The battle could have gone the other way, except for a few almost insignificant decisions made by General Santa Anna that normally might not create insurmountable problems. Sort of like ‘the final straw’.
He learned the hard way that regardless who is fighting; the location of the engagement; the strategy, or the strength of the forces; ‘there is’ to quote Walter Lord, ‘a time when any general needs more than a plan and intuition—he needs a touch of luck.’ Or bad luck.
Luck was with Houston in 1836.
Over the years delving through stories and articles regarding the Alamo, Goliad, and San Jacinto, I’ve questioned many of the decisions of both Texian and the Mexican armies.
History seems to suggest that after the fall of the Alamo, Houston did nothing but retreat until he stumbled on to Santa Anna at San Jacinto.
The truth is much different.
The unrest among the Texian settlers began in the autumn of 1835. By January, many of them had already fled to the protection of the United States.
Some did, however, remain, hopeful the ragtag Texian army could protect them.
After the signing of the Declaration of Independence, Houston left New Washington to take charge of the troops and go to Travis’ aid. In Gonzales on March 12, he learned of the fall of the Alamo six days earlier.
When the remainder of the settlers heard the news, they fled east.
Houston and his small army remained at the rear in an effort to delay Santa Anna and buy precious time for the retreating settlers.
Houston pulled up at the Colorado, planning on making a stand and waiting for Fannin to join him as ordered.
Fannin did not follow Houston’s orders. Instead of moving out immediately to join Houston, Fannin opted to wait until two of his companies returned. That decision gave the Mexican army time to intercept him. He surrendered his men and arms for the guarantee of their safety and ultimate release.
On Palm Sunday, he and his men were executed.
The four hundred men Houston counted on were not coming. The next day, he moved his army east once again, despite his army’s complaining. They wanted to fight, not retreat.
For two weeks they camped on the Brazos until a mysterious messenger came to Houston that Santa Anna was to his south, heading his way. Houston moved out.
At this point, Santa Anna began making a series of mistakes that sealed his defeat. Hearing that President Burnet and his staff had moved to Harrisburg, he split his force, and with 700 men so he could move faster, headed south on a forced march.
He pushed his men hard until 9:00 p.m., picked a camp without water, pulled out early next morning, and hurried on. Anxious to reach Harrisburg, he took only a few men and raced ahead, riding into the village at midnight, but Burnet had moved his cabinet to Galveston.
Then word came that Houston was heading for the Trinity River to the east. Santa Anna saw another chance to end the revolution in one stroke--ambush Houston at Lynch’s Ferry.
At the head of his 700 men, he raced to Lynch’s Ferry, in his enthusiasm ignoring the sluggish waters of Buffalo Bayou on the left; San Jacinto estuary at the rear; and the marshes of Galveston Bay on the right. He left himself no room to maneuver, a schoolboy mistake made by the one who levied upon himself the ostentatious title, ‘The Napoleon of the West.’ His 700 soldiers were exhausted, but he had arrived ahead of Houston.
On the 18th, Houston reached White Oak Bayou. The Mexican army had just crossed Vince’s Bridge spanning the bayou. Next morning, Houston crossed the bridge. The next day, Sidney Sherman gave the Mexican army a quick jab with a small skirmish.
Early the next day, April 21, Houston gathered his officers. He allowed each to state his assessment of their situation.
That same morning. General Cos arrived with four hundred men, bringing the Mexican force to 1100 against Houston’s reported 783.
Houston knew another three thousand or so Mexican forces were coming. He ordered Vince’s Bridge destroyed, cutting off Mexican reinforcements and Mexican retreat as well as Texian retreat. It was fight or die.
At four-thirty that afternoon, Houston gave the charge. Eighteen minutes later it was over. They captured the Mexican general the next day.
But, what would have happened if Fannin had obeyed orders and joined Houston at the Colorado? What if Houston had not received that mysterious messenger on the Brazos? What if Santa Anna had not pursued Burnet? What if he had not split his troops? What possessed him to camp where he did, a spot not even a shavetail lieutenant would have selected?
Was Luck indeed riding on the Texian’s shirttail?
Or was Santa Anna’s arrogance his own worst enemy?
Maybe a combination of both.
www.kentconwell.blogspot.com
April 11, 2012
Nothing to Laugh About!
Nothing to Laugh About
Usually, I get a chuckle when one of our politicians makes an open-mike gaffe. You know, when they think their mike is off and they make an unseemly comment.
Like the time a couple years back when Kenye West interfered with Taylor Swift’s country singer award and our president later called him a ‘jackass’, thinking the mike he wore was turned off.
What about at the Group 20 summit in November of last year when French President Sarkozy and Obama were each caught making disparaging remarks about Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu?
There are others. Bush, thinking his mike was off, uttered a profane comment regarding a newsman, and his vice president agreed. I guess that would be a double open-mike gaffe.
Those are funny, but this last one President Obama made scared me. A couple weeks back, he was caught telling Russian President Medvedev that in regard to missile defense, “This is my last election. After the election, I will have more flexibility.”
Flexibility for what?
I’d like to know just what the guy has up his sleeve.
Hasn’t Washington done enough damage already?
I’ll bet you did not know that a few weeks back without any fanfare, he signed HR347, an anti-protest bill that could make free speech a felony.
Yep. Secret Service agents now have the sweeping power to seize and arrest any protestors the agents autonomously determine are gathering illegally.
Now, stop and think about that, folks.
You’re standing on the corner holding a sign stating your core beliefs and if a Secret Service agent so decides, you can be arrested and charged with a felony.
I don’t know about you, but it sounds like a police state to me. Obama is twisting the Constitution to fit his own policies.
United States Constitution, Amendment I: Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech or of the press; or the right of people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.
Now Secret Service agents can decide whether or not the gathering is peaceable. Between you and me, that’s too much power for a single agent to possess.
Have you noticed how the president continues to push the constitutional envelope? Despite later backtracking, a few days back he asserted the Supreme Court did not have the power or right to deny Congressional decisions.
Another instance of concern was voiced by Congresswoman Kay Granger when she stated that ‘fourteen days ago, the president issued an executive order giving unprecedented power to his office to take over all the fundamental parts of our economy in the name of national security during times of national emergency.
This includes all water resources, construction services, and materials such as steel and concrete etc…; civil transportation systems; food and health resources; energy supplies; and farm equipment.
It also states that citizens can be drafted into the military and even ordered to fulfill various labor requirements for the purpose of national defense.
Congress, according to Granger, will have no oversight, only briefings.
This Executive Order puts the Federal Government above the law, which is contrary to our Constitution.
She further poses the question of, ‘why this order was signed now and the consequences, especially during times of peace. This kind of Martial Law proposes a government takeover that is typically reserved for national emergencies, not in a time of relative peace.’
You don’t have to believe me. See for yourself at Whitehouse.gov, March 16, 2012, Executive Order-National Defense Resources Preparedness.
I’m not the only one worried about the coming months. Cal Thomas put together a scary column quoting Dick Morris. Morris as you more knowledgeable remember, was a former advisor to Bill Clinton, so the guy knows sleaze when he sees it.
Morris’ predictions of a second term for Obama are chilling. He predicts that:
Obama will opt for a single-payer on healthcare, and that he will eliminate the private health insurance industry and all insurance will come from the government. It will all be according to the same plan.
He will shut down more drilling in the vast new fields opened up by the Bush administration.
The G 20, Group of Twenty Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors, and International Money Fund will acquire sovereignty over our economy.
He will sign the International Criminal Treaty that would force the U.S. to have U.N. approval (read that as Russia and China) before going to war.
He will sign the ‘Rights of the Child Treaty’ that could create a basis for suing to provide an increase of foreign aid to other countries.
He will sign the global ban on small arms, which as Morris pointed out, is a back door means for arms control in the U.S.
He will sign away all of our royalties for offshore drilling with the Law of the Sea Treaty and –
He will eliminate weapons in outer space, which will do away with our missile defense system.
Morris continued. ‘The final result is the U.S. becomes two countries. One is a small number of folks who work and pay taxes; the second a huge number who depend on the government and do not work.
Don’t smirk, folks. We’re being ruled by a guy who thinks there is nothing wrong telling Americans what they must do. This is the guy who picked an Energy Czar who wanted gasoline to hit eight or nine bucks a gallon so everyone will be forced to drive electric cars. (that won’t get more than fifty or sixty miles without going to a backup engine fueled by gasoline.)
These are possibilities at which no one can laugh.
rconwell@gt.rr.com
http://www.kentconwell.blogspot.com/
www.goodreads.com/author/show/13557.K...
www.amazon.com/-/e/B001JPCK26
Usually, I get a chuckle when one of our politicians makes an open-mike gaffe. You know, when they think their mike is off and they make an unseemly comment.
Like the time a couple years back when Kenye West interfered with Taylor Swift’s country singer award and our president later called him a ‘jackass’, thinking the mike he wore was turned off.
What about at the Group 20 summit in November of last year when French President Sarkozy and Obama were each caught making disparaging remarks about Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu?
There are others. Bush, thinking his mike was off, uttered a profane comment regarding a newsman, and his vice president agreed. I guess that would be a double open-mike gaffe.
Those are funny, but this last one President Obama made scared me. A couple weeks back, he was caught telling Russian President Medvedev that in regard to missile defense, “This is my last election. After the election, I will have more flexibility.”
Flexibility for what?
I’d like to know just what the guy has up his sleeve.
Hasn’t Washington done enough damage already?
I’ll bet you did not know that a few weeks back without any fanfare, he signed HR347, an anti-protest bill that could make free speech a felony.
Yep. Secret Service agents now have the sweeping power to seize and arrest any protestors the agents autonomously determine are gathering illegally.
Now, stop and think about that, folks.
You’re standing on the corner holding a sign stating your core beliefs and if a Secret Service agent so decides, you can be arrested and charged with a felony.
I don’t know about you, but it sounds like a police state to me. Obama is twisting the Constitution to fit his own policies.
United States Constitution, Amendment I: Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech or of the press; or the right of people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.
Now Secret Service agents can decide whether or not the gathering is peaceable. Between you and me, that’s too much power for a single agent to possess.
Have you noticed how the president continues to push the constitutional envelope? Despite later backtracking, a few days back he asserted the Supreme Court did not have the power or right to deny Congressional decisions.
Another instance of concern was voiced by Congresswoman Kay Granger when she stated that ‘fourteen days ago, the president issued an executive order giving unprecedented power to his office to take over all the fundamental parts of our economy in the name of national security during times of national emergency.
This includes all water resources, construction services, and materials such as steel and concrete etc…; civil transportation systems; food and health resources; energy supplies; and farm equipment.
It also states that citizens can be drafted into the military and even ordered to fulfill various labor requirements for the purpose of national defense.
Congress, according to Granger, will have no oversight, only briefings.
This Executive Order puts the Federal Government above the law, which is contrary to our Constitution.
She further poses the question of, ‘why this order was signed now and the consequences, especially during times of peace. This kind of Martial Law proposes a government takeover that is typically reserved for national emergencies, not in a time of relative peace.’
You don’t have to believe me. See for yourself at Whitehouse.gov, March 16, 2012, Executive Order-National Defense Resources Preparedness.
I’m not the only one worried about the coming months. Cal Thomas put together a scary column quoting Dick Morris. Morris as you more knowledgeable remember, was a former advisor to Bill Clinton, so the guy knows sleaze when he sees it.
Morris’ predictions of a second term for Obama are chilling. He predicts that:
Obama will opt for a single-payer on healthcare, and that he will eliminate the private health insurance industry and all insurance will come from the government. It will all be according to the same plan.
He will shut down more drilling in the vast new fields opened up by the Bush administration.
The G 20, Group of Twenty Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors, and International Money Fund will acquire sovereignty over our economy.
He will sign the International Criminal Treaty that would force the U.S. to have U.N. approval (read that as Russia and China) before going to war.
He will sign the ‘Rights of the Child Treaty’ that could create a basis for suing to provide an increase of foreign aid to other countries.
He will sign the global ban on small arms, which as Morris pointed out, is a back door means for arms control in the U.S.
He will sign away all of our royalties for offshore drilling with the Law of the Sea Treaty and –
He will eliminate weapons in outer space, which will do away with our missile defense system.
Morris continued. ‘The final result is the U.S. becomes two countries. One is a small number of folks who work and pay taxes; the second a huge number who depend on the government and do not work.
Don’t smirk, folks. We’re being ruled by a guy who thinks there is nothing wrong telling Americans what they must do. This is the guy who picked an Energy Czar who wanted gasoline to hit eight or nine bucks a gallon so everyone will be forced to drive electric cars. (that won’t get more than fifty or sixty miles without going to a backup engine fueled by gasoline.)
These are possibilities at which no one can laugh.
rconwell@gt.rr.com
http://www.kentconwell.blogspot.com/
www.goodreads.com/author/show/13557.K...
www.amazon.com/-/e/B001JPCK26
April 4, 2012
Did a Mummy's Curse Sink the Titanic?
A couple weeks back, we journeyed to Houston with our daughter, Amy, and her two youngsters to the Museum of Natural Science to visit the Titanic exhibit that began March 16.
Her son, Keegan, is a Titanic fan, absorbed in every detail of the disaster. In fact, when he comes over, he goes straight to the laptop and boots up. He has his own websites on the favorite list, among them shipwrecks, in which the Titanic is one of about half-a-dozen sites.
I won’t say he’ll spend hours watching them for he is a typical seven-year-old with ants in his pants. He will, however, devote a sizeable portion of his visit to the various explanations and theories of the catastrophe as well as model replications of the sinking.
He even had me drill holes in one of his old plastic boats so he could ‘study it when it sinks’. His exact words, honest.
So naturally, when his Mom learned the exhibit was opening, she knew he had to go.
The trip over was uneventful. As we left Beaumont, I realized from the new construction that Gayle and I hadn’t been over there in several years. Traffic hadn’t changed though. Cars everywhere, but Amy got us there with no problems.
Well, almost no problems. After parking, we went to the wrong museum, but then fate took pity on us. On the sidewalk, we ran into a gracious lady named Donna Meadows. When I asked if she knew where the museum was located, she told us to follow her. She worked there.
Keegan was pushing his little sister, Kenli, in the stroller, so he pulled up right along beside Donna. The little guy has never met a stranger, and he jabbered with her about the Titanic for the next three blocks.
We arrived minutes before the exhibit opened.
In the hundred years since the disaster, a haunting mysticism has enveloped the sinking of the ‘unsinkable’ vessel, and the exhibit captured that mystical feeling.
To gaze upon the artifacts, China Star place settings, glassware, clothing, luggage, maritime implements, all salvaged from the original vessel, seemed to transport us back into time. There was even a reconstructed stateroom complete with luxurious carpet, large bed, chests, table and chairs.
Naturally, everything was hands off, except for one exhibit, a twelve inch square piece of steel plate from the Titanic in a plastic box.
A hole had been drilled in the plastic sheet above which a note read, “Touch”. Keegan was thrilled—well, I was too. We all were. We poked our fingers through the hole and actually touched a fragment of the Titanic that had been under the cold waters of the North Atlantic for almost a hundred years.
There were several exhibition rooms, two of which were joined with a replica of the ship’s hallway, complete with carpeting, white paneling and doors with shiny brass hardware.
Before we entered the exhibit, I took over stroller duty, and I have to admit little Kenli was as good as you could expect, however when we entered the gift shop at the end of the exhibit, I took special care to steer her away from the shelves. If the little girl had gotten her hands on things, it would have been the Titanic all over.
From there we visited the dinosaurs, the African veldt, bugs, spiders, and then the butterfly center.
Keegan came running up all excited. He wanted to show me something in the African exhibit. I figured a lion or hyena, but I had to chuckle when he pointed out two crawfish chimneys beside a waterhole from which a leopard drank. Yep, crawfish chimneys just like the ones in our front yard from which he had dropped lines in an effort to catch his own crawfish.
Then we headed for the butterflies.
The butterfly center is an all glass hothouse, shaped like an inverted cone and about three stories high. The tropical rain forest environment, replete with appropriate plants as well as waterfalls and ponds, is home to countless butterflies of all types.
By now, the museum was packed. I stood in line for twenty minutes to get us some lunch from the McDonald’s in the museum.
We finished the day off in the planetarium with a show right up Keegan’s alley. In addition to being a Titanic nut, he’s also a star watcher, and this time of year, Venus and Jupiter are putting on a good show. Often you can find him around sunset peering up into the western sky.
There were other exhibits we couldn’t make, but I plan on going back.
Oh, yes. I forgot. The title of this article. Did a mummy’s curse sink the Titanic?
This is a long time myth supposedly originating from a ‘ghost story’ that journalist W.T. Stead told a group of friends about such a mummy. Since Stead went down with the ship, chances are this story was told so often it became one of those legends that became fact.
It was a day well spent even though we drove in a few circles trying to find the right road out of Houston.
As an afterthought, that night I woke up and found myself pondering the number of simple, human mistakes that brought about the demise of the great vessel. Individually, they were harmless, but together, they spelled disaster. To be honest, I could see the sinking of the great vessel as an analogy to the direction our country is heading. I could even title it ‘Did the President Sink America?’
I had a hard time going back to sleep.
rconwell@gt.rr.com
http://www.kentconwell.blogspot.com/
www.goodreads.com/author/show/13557.K...
www.amazon.com/-/e/B001JPCK26
www.kentconwell.blogspot.com
Her son, Keegan, is a Titanic fan, absorbed in every detail of the disaster. In fact, when he comes over, he goes straight to the laptop and boots up. He has his own websites on the favorite list, among them shipwrecks, in which the Titanic is one of about half-a-dozen sites.
I won’t say he’ll spend hours watching them for he is a typical seven-year-old with ants in his pants. He will, however, devote a sizeable portion of his visit to the various explanations and theories of the catastrophe as well as model replications of the sinking.
He even had me drill holes in one of his old plastic boats so he could ‘study it when it sinks’. His exact words, honest.
So naturally, when his Mom learned the exhibit was opening, she knew he had to go.
The trip over was uneventful. As we left Beaumont, I realized from the new construction that Gayle and I hadn’t been over there in several years. Traffic hadn’t changed though. Cars everywhere, but Amy got us there with no problems.
Well, almost no problems. After parking, we went to the wrong museum, but then fate took pity on us. On the sidewalk, we ran into a gracious lady named Donna Meadows. When I asked if she knew where the museum was located, she told us to follow her. She worked there.
Keegan was pushing his little sister, Kenli, in the stroller, so he pulled up right along beside Donna. The little guy has never met a stranger, and he jabbered with her about the Titanic for the next three blocks.
We arrived minutes before the exhibit opened.
In the hundred years since the disaster, a haunting mysticism has enveloped the sinking of the ‘unsinkable’ vessel, and the exhibit captured that mystical feeling.
To gaze upon the artifacts, China Star place settings, glassware, clothing, luggage, maritime implements, all salvaged from the original vessel, seemed to transport us back into time. There was even a reconstructed stateroom complete with luxurious carpet, large bed, chests, table and chairs.
Naturally, everything was hands off, except for one exhibit, a twelve inch square piece of steel plate from the Titanic in a plastic box.
A hole had been drilled in the plastic sheet above which a note read, “Touch”. Keegan was thrilled—well, I was too. We all were. We poked our fingers through the hole and actually touched a fragment of the Titanic that had been under the cold waters of the North Atlantic for almost a hundred years.
There were several exhibition rooms, two of which were joined with a replica of the ship’s hallway, complete with carpeting, white paneling and doors with shiny brass hardware.
Before we entered the exhibit, I took over stroller duty, and I have to admit little Kenli was as good as you could expect, however when we entered the gift shop at the end of the exhibit, I took special care to steer her away from the shelves. If the little girl had gotten her hands on things, it would have been the Titanic all over.
From there we visited the dinosaurs, the African veldt, bugs, spiders, and then the butterfly center.
Keegan came running up all excited. He wanted to show me something in the African exhibit. I figured a lion or hyena, but I had to chuckle when he pointed out two crawfish chimneys beside a waterhole from which a leopard drank. Yep, crawfish chimneys just like the ones in our front yard from which he had dropped lines in an effort to catch his own crawfish.
Then we headed for the butterflies.
The butterfly center is an all glass hothouse, shaped like an inverted cone and about three stories high. The tropical rain forest environment, replete with appropriate plants as well as waterfalls and ponds, is home to countless butterflies of all types.
By now, the museum was packed. I stood in line for twenty minutes to get us some lunch from the McDonald’s in the museum.
We finished the day off in the planetarium with a show right up Keegan’s alley. In addition to being a Titanic nut, he’s also a star watcher, and this time of year, Venus and Jupiter are putting on a good show. Often you can find him around sunset peering up into the western sky.
There were other exhibits we couldn’t make, but I plan on going back.
Oh, yes. I forgot. The title of this article. Did a mummy’s curse sink the Titanic?
This is a long time myth supposedly originating from a ‘ghost story’ that journalist W.T. Stead told a group of friends about such a mummy. Since Stead went down with the ship, chances are this story was told so often it became one of those legends that became fact.
It was a day well spent even though we drove in a few circles trying to find the right road out of Houston.
As an afterthought, that night I woke up and found myself pondering the number of simple, human mistakes that brought about the demise of the great vessel. Individually, they were harmless, but together, they spelled disaster. To be honest, I could see the sinking of the great vessel as an analogy to the direction our country is heading. I could even title it ‘Did the President Sink America?’
I had a hard time going back to sleep.
rconwell@gt.rr.com
http://www.kentconwell.blogspot.com/
www.goodreads.com/author/show/13557.K...
www.amazon.com/-/e/B001JPCK26
www.kentconwell.blogspot.com
March 28, 2012
A Goliad Survivor
You’ve probably never heard of Herman Ehrenberg, the namesake of Ehrenberg, Arizona.
He was one of the few who lived to tell of the bloody massacre of 303 Texian patriots at Goliad 176 years ago on Psalm Sunday. That year, Easter came early. Psalm Sunday was March 27.
The gory butchery gave birth to one of the fierce cries that sprang from the lips of Houston’s army some three weeks later at San Jacinto, ‘remember Goliad’!
A native of Germany, Ehrenberg arrived in New York in 1834. The next year, he moved to New Orleans where he joined the military volunteer unit, the New Orleans Greys. The unit headed for Texas, and the Texas Revolution.
Ehrenberg was assigned to the company led by Captain Thomas Breece. The unit took a steamboat up river to Natchitoches, there to enter Mexican Texas.
Officially neutral, the U.S. forbade armed men to cross the border, but the Greys managed to enter without incident.
They joined the Texian Army at San Antonio de Bexar where the army planned to lay siege upon the city and Mexican General Cos.
The Texians attacked in early December.
According to the Handbook of Texas, Ehrenbgerg’s company followed the San Antonio River into town and fought to the central square where they fell under increasing artillery fire from the Mexican army.
The battle continued. Three days later, Cos surrendered and led his men back to Mexico.
Meanwhile in Goliad, James Grant and Frank Johnson were trying to persuade the provisional government of Texas to permit an invasion of the Mexico, specifically Matamorous. On December 30, the Greys joined the Matamoros Expedition to invade the Mexican port.
According to the ‘Sons of Dewitt County’ website, the expedition was soon the subject of much political turmoil. The governing council and the interim governor disagreed on who should lead the troops and the governor soon dismissed the council, which then impeached the governor. It was unclear who was in charge of the expedition - Grant, Johnson, or Colonel James W. Fannin.
Between the three existed a great deal of both political and career jealousy.
Houston joined them in Goliad and by an impassioned speech, asked the soldiers to remain in Texas to defend against the Mexican army that was bound to come.
Many of the troops including Ehrenberg did as Houston asked and returned to Goliad under Fannin. Grant and Johnson their preparations to invade Mexico. The two men’s decision to take their troops from Goliad to Refugio was one of the many reasons for the eventual fall of the fort.
Ehrenberg, with several others, scouted for Fannin. Upon seeing the Mexican forces pouring into Texas, all the scouts except Ehrenberg fled. He returned to Fannin with the news. Fannin ordered a retreat from Goliad.
That night on the plains of Coleto, General Urrea confronted Fannin and his troops. The next day, March 20, Fannin surrendered, almost inciting a mutiny among his men for the troops knew of the Alamo massacre and expected the same punished to be laid upon them.
No Mexican officers spoke English, nor Texians Spanish. One Mexican captain spoke German, so Ehrenberg acted as an interpreter.
For their safe release and a promise not to raise arms against Mexico, Fannin surrendered his troops and all their weapons. As a German citizen, Ehrenberg was given a chance to join the Mexican army, but he refused.
The troops were held in the church at Goliad. Urrea left orders to treat the prisoners well, but Santa Anna countermanded them, ordering the prisoners executed.
On Psalm Sunday, the prisoners were divided into two groups. Ehrenberg’s marched toward the San Antonio River. Upon command, the Mexican soldiers opened up at pointblank range. Ehrenberg was not hit in the first volley. He fell to the ground, and in the confusion crawled to the river where, despite a sword wound, he leaped from a forty-foot bluff into the slow-moving water below.
According to his memoirs, when he reached the far shore, he “looked back at the place where my friends lay bleeding to death. The enemy was still shooting and yelling, and it was with a sorrowful heart that I listened to those shouts of triumph, which in my fancy were mingled with the groans of pain of my dying friends.”
Of the 303 prisoners, he was one of only a handful to survive.
Some of the dead were burned; some left where they fell.
Failing to reach Houston before San Jacinto, Ehrenberg was discharged from the Texian Army June 2, 1836.
When General Rusk and his troops arrived at the grisly scene at Goliad on June 3, some sixty-odd days later, they were horrified at the carnage of scattered bones, bleached skeletons, and ample evidence of wild animals feeding on the dead.he dead.
Ehrenberg went on to a successful career in mining. He was the individual who drew the first map of the Gadsen Purchase, a 29,670 square mile region of present day southern Arizona and southwestern New Mexico.
He was killed by Apaches in Arizona in 1866.
rconwell@gt.rr.com
http://www.kentconwell.blogspot.com/
www.goodreads.com/author/show/13557.K...
www.amazon.com/-/e/B001JPCK26
He was one of the few who lived to tell of the bloody massacre of 303 Texian patriots at Goliad 176 years ago on Psalm Sunday. That year, Easter came early. Psalm Sunday was March 27.
The gory butchery gave birth to one of the fierce cries that sprang from the lips of Houston’s army some three weeks later at San Jacinto, ‘remember Goliad’!
A native of Germany, Ehrenberg arrived in New York in 1834. The next year, he moved to New Orleans where he joined the military volunteer unit, the New Orleans Greys. The unit headed for Texas, and the Texas Revolution.
Ehrenberg was assigned to the company led by Captain Thomas Breece. The unit took a steamboat up river to Natchitoches, there to enter Mexican Texas.
Officially neutral, the U.S. forbade armed men to cross the border, but the Greys managed to enter without incident.
They joined the Texian Army at San Antonio de Bexar where the army planned to lay siege upon the city and Mexican General Cos.
The Texians attacked in early December.
According to the Handbook of Texas, Ehrenbgerg’s company followed the San Antonio River into town and fought to the central square where they fell under increasing artillery fire from the Mexican army.
The battle continued. Three days later, Cos surrendered and led his men back to Mexico.
Meanwhile in Goliad, James Grant and Frank Johnson were trying to persuade the provisional government of Texas to permit an invasion of the Mexico, specifically Matamorous. On December 30, the Greys joined the Matamoros Expedition to invade the Mexican port.
According to the ‘Sons of Dewitt County’ website, the expedition was soon the subject of much political turmoil. The governing council and the interim governor disagreed on who should lead the troops and the governor soon dismissed the council, which then impeached the governor. It was unclear who was in charge of the expedition - Grant, Johnson, or Colonel James W. Fannin.
Between the three existed a great deal of both political and career jealousy.
Houston joined them in Goliad and by an impassioned speech, asked the soldiers to remain in Texas to defend against the Mexican army that was bound to come.
Many of the troops including Ehrenberg did as Houston asked and returned to Goliad under Fannin. Grant and Johnson their preparations to invade Mexico. The two men’s decision to take their troops from Goliad to Refugio was one of the many reasons for the eventual fall of the fort.
Ehrenberg, with several others, scouted for Fannin. Upon seeing the Mexican forces pouring into Texas, all the scouts except Ehrenberg fled. He returned to Fannin with the news. Fannin ordered a retreat from Goliad.
That night on the plains of Coleto, General Urrea confronted Fannin and his troops. The next day, March 20, Fannin surrendered, almost inciting a mutiny among his men for the troops knew of the Alamo massacre and expected the same punished to be laid upon them.
No Mexican officers spoke English, nor Texians Spanish. One Mexican captain spoke German, so Ehrenberg acted as an interpreter.
For their safe release and a promise not to raise arms against Mexico, Fannin surrendered his troops and all their weapons. As a German citizen, Ehrenberg was given a chance to join the Mexican army, but he refused.
The troops were held in the church at Goliad. Urrea left orders to treat the prisoners well, but Santa Anna countermanded them, ordering the prisoners executed.
On Psalm Sunday, the prisoners were divided into two groups. Ehrenberg’s marched toward the San Antonio River. Upon command, the Mexican soldiers opened up at pointblank range. Ehrenberg was not hit in the first volley. He fell to the ground, and in the confusion crawled to the river where, despite a sword wound, he leaped from a forty-foot bluff into the slow-moving water below.
According to his memoirs, when he reached the far shore, he “looked back at the place where my friends lay bleeding to death. The enemy was still shooting and yelling, and it was with a sorrowful heart that I listened to those shouts of triumph, which in my fancy were mingled with the groans of pain of my dying friends.”
Of the 303 prisoners, he was one of only a handful to survive.
Some of the dead were burned; some left where they fell.
Failing to reach Houston before San Jacinto, Ehrenberg was discharged from the Texian Army June 2, 1836.
When General Rusk and his troops arrived at the grisly scene at Goliad on June 3, some sixty-odd days later, they were horrified at the carnage of scattered bones, bleached skeletons, and ample evidence of wild animals feeding on the dead.he dead.
Ehrenberg went on to a successful career in mining. He was the individual who drew the first map of the Gadsen Purchase, a 29,670 square mile region of present day southern Arizona and southwestern New Mexico.
He was killed by Apaches in Arizona in 1866.
rconwell@gt.rr.com
http://www.kentconwell.blogspot.com/
www.goodreads.com/author/show/13557.K...
www.amazon.com/-/e/B001JPCK26
March 21, 2012
A Rose is a Rose is a Lie!
A Rose is a Rose is a Lie
Even if you think our president is doing a lousy job, there is one quality about him in which you must admit he excels—perhaps more than any other president.
His eloquence.
The president or perhaps I should add, and his speech writers to a superb job in leading the listening public along the rosy red paths down which he says he is taking them.
As you are well aware after three years, some of these primrose paths have led us into a jungle of poison ivy and stinging nettles.
You’ve heard the old saying, “a rose is a rose is a rose.’ Sometimes, the rose turns out to be a lie, which brings us to an important topic, one of which every American should be aware.
Our president is not always forthright with the truth. His passion overwhelms his common sense and logic.
In some of his recent fund-raising speeches around the country, he claimed that under his watch, drilling permits have increased.
Now, here’s the point I’m making. Let’s examine those last four words, ‘drilling permits have increased’.
On the surface, he is saying that his administration has sped up the granting of permits to drill for oil and gas. That is where his rhetoric is misleading, where he is not being up-front with the citizenry. Drilling permits are up, but not on federal lands. They’re up on private lands on which the government has nothing to say.
On federal lands, drilling permits are down. His energy czar slipped up when he admitted they wanted gas prices to soar.
The president has a history of promising what he must to get what he wants. Once he’s achieved his goal, the promises become nothing more that fodder for the sheep who believed him.
We all remember how he used his mother’s illness in his 2008 campaign, leading us to believe she had no insurance when her insurance did indeed pay for her chronic illness. That political technique is the cornerstone that he stills uses.
Just last week at Prince George’s Community College in Largo, Maryland, he stated there had always been ‘naysayers’ who don’t believe in the future and don’t want to try to do things differently. “One of my predecessors,” he said, “Rutherford B. Hayes reportedly said about the telephone ‘it’s a great invention, but who would ever want to use one?’
The crowd laughed, and he added. “That’s why he’s not on Mount Rushmore. Because he’s looking backwards. He’s not looking forwards.”
The point he’s making here is that his ideas are the ones of the future.
Trouble is, he is lying about Hayes.
After this speech, several national magazines quickly pointed out that President Hays never made that remark, and he was the first present to have a telephone in the White House. In fact, when he first saw the technology, he exclaimed, “This is wonderful.” According to the White House Historical Association, the phone was installed in 1879, and the number was ‘1’.
Unless you believe this was only an isolated situation, remember his campaign promise to ‘prevent brand-name drug companies from blocking generic drugs?” According to Louis Jacobson, this refers to curbing alleged anti-competitive practices between brand manufacturers and generic drug makers.
Another lie. In the four years since the promise, nothing has been done, nor has an effort been made to curb generic blocking.
Another promise broken was to create a $10 billion fund to help homeowners refinance or sell their homes. It is not for speculators, people who bought vacation homes, or people who falsely represented their incomes.
Three long years later, Angie Holan of ‘PolitFact’ wrote “When it comes to President Obama’s promise to create a foreclosure prevention fund, he’s kept to the letter of the law, but his administration has completely failed to meet its spirit”
The news website, “ProPublica” extensively investigated the program and reached several disheartening conclusions.
With millions of homeowners struggling to stay in their homes, the Obama administration’s foreclosed program has been weakened by lax oversight and a posture of cooperation instead of enforcement with the nation’s biggest banks, Bank of America, Wells Fargo, JPMorgan Chaqse, and Citibank.
The special inspector general for the program, Neil M. Barofsky, wrote in an op-ed in the New York Times that the housing program was ‘a colossal failure’. He blamed the lack of enforcement on the U.S. Treasury Department.
When questioned, Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner acknowledged the program ‘won’t come close to fulfilling its original expectations; that its incentive are not powerful enough; and the mortgage services are doing a terribly inadequate job’. Barofsky went on to write that the ‘Treasury officials refused to address these shortfalls. Instead, they continue to stubbornly maintain the program is a success and needs no material change.”
You remember Timothy Geithner,, Obama’s handpicked Secretary of the Treasury, the guy whose returns had tax accountants debating back in 2009 whether the missteps were the result of cheating or of the overly complicated tax code?
He’s still the Secretary, but given the tenor of this administrations politics, I can’t help wondering if the tax accountants were provided some higher-level assistance.
And then, who doesn’t remember the promise to eliminate all income taxation on seniors making less than $50,000 a year. That, Obama said, will eliminate taxes for seven million seniors, saving them an average of $1,400 a year and will mean 27 million seniors will not have to file tax returns.
Have any of you seniors out there seen anything that looks like a tax break? The idea was not even part of the tax cuts in the economic stimulus bill, known as the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act; it was not in Obama’s first budget outline either, which Congress approved on April 2, 2009; and it is not part of any proposed tax cuts on the board.
These are only a few of the multitude of unkept promises the man made. There are more, enough to fill; a book, and all packed with similar promises he never intended to keep.
I mentioned earlier just how eloquent the man is. And to be honest, when I listen to him, I can see how easy it is for the poorly informed to be swept up in his flowery rhetoric, enthralled by the promises of a government that will clothe and feed you, tuck you into bed, and then laugh behind your back at just how stupid you really are.
Sometimes those rosy red paths are filled with thorns.
rconwell@gt.rr.com
http://www.kentconwell.blogspot.com/
www.goodreads.com/author/show/13557.K...
www.amazon.com/-/e/B001JPCK26
www.kentconwell.blogspot.com
Even if you think our president is doing a lousy job, there is one quality about him in which you must admit he excels—perhaps more than any other president.
His eloquence.
The president or perhaps I should add, and his speech writers to a superb job in leading the listening public along the rosy red paths down which he says he is taking them.
As you are well aware after three years, some of these primrose paths have led us into a jungle of poison ivy and stinging nettles.
You’ve heard the old saying, “a rose is a rose is a rose.’ Sometimes, the rose turns out to be a lie, which brings us to an important topic, one of which every American should be aware.
Our president is not always forthright with the truth. His passion overwhelms his common sense and logic.
In some of his recent fund-raising speeches around the country, he claimed that under his watch, drilling permits have increased.
Now, here’s the point I’m making. Let’s examine those last four words, ‘drilling permits have increased’.
On the surface, he is saying that his administration has sped up the granting of permits to drill for oil and gas. That is where his rhetoric is misleading, where he is not being up-front with the citizenry. Drilling permits are up, but not on federal lands. They’re up on private lands on which the government has nothing to say.
On federal lands, drilling permits are down. His energy czar slipped up when he admitted they wanted gas prices to soar.
The president has a history of promising what he must to get what he wants. Once he’s achieved his goal, the promises become nothing more that fodder for the sheep who believed him.
We all remember how he used his mother’s illness in his 2008 campaign, leading us to believe she had no insurance when her insurance did indeed pay for her chronic illness. That political technique is the cornerstone that he stills uses.
Just last week at Prince George’s Community College in Largo, Maryland, he stated there had always been ‘naysayers’ who don’t believe in the future and don’t want to try to do things differently. “One of my predecessors,” he said, “Rutherford B. Hayes reportedly said about the telephone ‘it’s a great invention, but who would ever want to use one?’
The crowd laughed, and he added. “That’s why he’s not on Mount Rushmore. Because he’s looking backwards. He’s not looking forwards.”
The point he’s making here is that his ideas are the ones of the future.
Trouble is, he is lying about Hayes.
After this speech, several national magazines quickly pointed out that President Hays never made that remark, and he was the first present to have a telephone in the White House. In fact, when he first saw the technology, he exclaimed, “This is wonderful.” According to the White House Historical Association, the phone was installed in 1879, and the number was ‘1’.
Unless you believe this was only an isolated situation, remember his campaign promise to ‘prevent brand-name drug companies from blocking generic drugs?” According to Louis Jacobson, this refers to curbing alleged anti-competitive practices between brand manufacturers and generic drug makers.
Another lie. In the four years since the promise, nothing has been done, nor has an effort been made to curb generic blocking.
Another promise broken was to create a $10 billion fund to help homeowners refinance or sell their homes. It is not for speculators, people who bought vacation homes, or people who falsely represented their incomes.
Three long years later, Angie Holan of ‘PolitFact’ wrote “When it comes to President Obama’s promise to create a foreclosure prevention fund, he’s kept to the letter of the law, but his administration has completely failed to meet its spirit”
The news website, “ProPublica” extensively investigated the program and reached several disheartening conclusions.
With millions of homeowners struggling to stay in their homes, the Obama administration’s foreclosed program has been weakened by lax oversight and a posture of cooperation instead of enforcement with the nation’s biggest banks, Bank of America, Wells Fargo, JPMorgan Chaqse, and Citibank.
The special inspector general for the program, Neil M. Barofsky, wrote in an op-ed in the New York Times that the housing program was ‘a colossal failure’. He blamed the lack of enforcement on the U.S. Treasury Department.
When questioned, Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner acknowledged the program ‘won’t come close to fulfilling its original expectations; that its incentive are not powerful enough; and the mortgage services are doing a terribly inadequate job’. Barofsky went on to write that the ‘Treasury officials refused to address these shortfalls. Instead, they continue to stubbornly maintain the program is a success and needs no material change.”
You remember Timothy Geithner,, Obama’s handpicked Secretary of the Treasury, the guy whose returns had tax accountants debating back in 2009 whether the missteps were the result of cheating or of the overly complicated tax code?
He’s still the Secretary, but given the tenor of this administrations politics, I can’t help wondering if the tax accountants were provided some higher-level assistance.
And then, who doesn’t remember the promise to eliminate all income taxation on seniors making less than $50,000 a year. That, Obama said, will eliminate taxes for seven million seniors, saving them an average of $1,400 a year and will mean 27 million seniors will not have to file tax returns.
Have any of you seniors out there seen anything that looks like a tax break? The idea was not even part of the tax cuts in the economic stimulus bill, known as the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act; it was not in Obama’s first budget outline either, which Congress approved on April 2, 2009; and it is not part of any proposed tax cuts on the board.
These are only a few of the multitude of unkept promises the man made. There are more, enough to fill; a book, and all packed with similar promises he never intended to keep.
I mentioned earlier just how eloquent the man is. And to be honest, when I listen to him, I can see how easy it is for the poorly informed to be swept up in his flowery rhetoric, enthralled by the promises of a government that will clothe and feed you, tuck you into bed, and then laugh behind your back at just how stupid you really are.
Sometimes those rosy red paths are filled with thorns.
rconwell@gt.rr.com
http://www.kentconwell.blogspot.com/
www.goodreads.com/author/show/13557.K...
www.amazon.com/-/e/B001JPCK26
www.kentconwell.blogspot.com
March 14, 2012
Play Ball!
Play Ball!
If you’ll look around, you’ll spy a surprising number of vehicles parked around local baseball diamonds that a couple weeks back were sitting dark and empty.
Now they’re filled with the crack of a bat, the cry of the crowd, the laughter of youngsters.
It’s baseball time. Maybe I should say, it’s little league time. Of course, the big stuff isn’t far behind, but all around the area, little gals and guys are flailing to hit the ball, and if they do, and if the coach catches them in time, they race for first base instead of third.
Both the grandsons are in their second year of play. Mikey was in the Dodgers last year and the Astros this year in the Groves T-Ball League. Keegan played with the Port Neches Astros last year and with the Rookie League Rays this year.
I hope I’ve got the leagues right. They are several to accommodate the number of youngsters of whom there is a surprising number. At opening ceremonies in Port Neches, I counted at least twenty teams.
T-Ball is a fun game not only for the youngsters, but for the crowd. Those little squirts are like a flock of chickens after a grasshopper when a ball hits in the middle of them. By the time one little feller or gal comes up with it, the runner could have circled the bases.
The T-Ball coaches are to be thanked (some say deified, but I do think that might be a tad strong) for their patience and time, both of which are taxed well beyond the average person’s tolerance. Herding cats comes as close to a fair analogy of T-Ball coaching as I can get.
The philosophy behind T-Ball is to not only help the kids enjoy the game, but also impart a basic knowledge of the rudiments of the sport, like there are three bases or the purpose of the man at bat is to hit the ball or you are supposed to catch the ball instead of searching for doodlebugs in the sand.
When I first started watching the coaches last year, I wondered how they kept from pulling out their hair. Then I saw they never grew angry. Instead they laughed at mistakes, explained the error, encouraged the little eager kid, and sent him back into the fray. They were serious about not taking things seriously. In other words, keep it fun.
T-Ball doesn’t keep score. Each team bats around once and then swaps places, and so on. Three swaps is the game. Truth is, if they did keep score, they games would end up about 30-30. Not exactly a pitchers’ duel, huh?
Mikey is much improved this year. Like the others, he hits off the T, but the little guy is tall and solid, and can really put a hurt on that ball when he makes contact with it. His father, Big Mike, is a big part of the boy’s success.
And Mikey is no slouch at stopping the ball for that is one of the skills coaches stress. You see, many of the youngsters prefer watching a bird fly over or standing on his head. Catching the ball runs a poor third for many of the little ones.
The next step from T-Ball is the Rookie League. Keegan stepped up this year.
What a difference.
I don’t know how long his coaches have been working with little league, but they do a skillful job focusing on the basics of baseball.
Now, don’t misunderstand. I’m no expert. My experience is limited to sandlot ball in the cow pasture with dried patties for bases and a futile effort at third base when I was a sophomore in high school. The high school fling ended mercifully. I hate to say it, but I think everyone involved was relieved, especially the coach, when I decided I’d never be another Mickey Mantle. (for the younger readers, he was a star for the New York Yankees)
When Keegan and I played catch, he’d throw the ball like a rocket—no, not the speed, but the trajectory. Up, up, and then down. I didn’t know how to teach him to throw it straight, but between his father, Jason, and the coaches, he’s much, much better. They showed him how to stand, how to extend his arms, and how to flex his wrist at the right time.
Each of the ten youngsters receives the same detailed coaching, from batting to base running to relaying the ball. And even a dummy like me could see the difference in the fellers after a couple practices.
In the Rookie League, there’s no T. A coach pitches up to five balls to each batter. And yes, the little ones can strike out. That’s another difference between the two leagues. The rookies are now learning there are also consequences.
Last year, Keegan had trouble hitting pitches. Usually, he ended up hitting off the T, but this year, he’s hitting the pitched ball steadily.(I don’t want to brag, so I won’t mention how many hits he got at the first game) I wish I could say it was from the times I’d pitch to him out at the side of the house, but I can’t. The coaches spent time working with the boys on batting, using a weird looking bat with a bunch of holes in it. An onlooker next to me called it a Wiffle Bat, but you can’t prove it by me. Whatever kind of bat it was, it helped.
But it isn’t just the coaches that make it a success. There’s a heap of folks in the background who provide the support and details most of us never think about.
These Groves and Port Neches leagues and those who support them are perfect examples of how much good can be achieved when folks work together toward a common goal. I haven’t seen any hidden agendas among any of those involved in the local leagues. All the parents want to see their child do well. Many of them volunteer to provide after-game snacks as well as other incidentals needed by the team.
One thing I noticed last year as well as this is any displays of parental anger toward the coaches. Maybe that comes later in the upper leagues. I hope not.
The games are fun times for both the players and the onlookers. Heck, even if you didn’t have anyone in the game, it’s a fun-filled hour where you can forget your cares and root for a favorite team.
Just like when you were a kid. Remember?
rconwell@gt.rr.com
http://www.kentconwell.blogspot.com/
www.goodreads.com/author/show/13557.K...
www.amazon.com/-/e/B001JPCK26
www.kentconwell.blogspot.com
If you’ll look around, you’ll spy a surprising number of vehicles parked around local baseball diamonds that a couple weeks back were sitting dark and empty.
Now they’re filled with the crack of a bat, the cry of the crowd, the laughter of youngsters.
It’s baseball time. Maybe I should say, it’s little league time. Of course, the big stuff isn’t far behind, but all around the area, little gals and guys are flailing to hit the ball, and if they do, and if the coach catches them in time, they race for first base instead of third.
Both the grandsons are in their second year of play. Mikey was in the Dodgers last year and the Astros this year in the Groves T-Ball League. Keegan played with the Port Neches Astros last year and with the Rookie League Rays this year.
I hope I’ve got the leagues right. They are several to accommodate the number of youngsters of whom there is a surprising number. At opening ceremonies in Port Neches, I counted at least twenty teams.
T-Ball is a fun game not only for the youngsters, but for the crowd. Those little squirts are like a flock of chickens after a grasshopper when a ball hits in the middle of them. By the time one little feller or gal comes up with it, the runner could have circled the bases.
The T-Ball coaches are to be thanked (some say deified, but I do think that might be a tad strong) for their patience and time, both of which are taxed well beyond the average person’s tolerance. Herding cats comes as close to a fair analogy of T-Ball coaching as I can get.
The philosophy behind T-Ball is to not only help the kids enjoy the game, but also impart a basic knowledge of the rudiments of the sport, like there are three bases or the purpose of the man at bat is to hit the ball or you are supposed to catch the ball instead of searching for doodlebugs in the sand.
When I first started watching the coaches last year, I wondered how they kept from pulling out their hair. Then I saw they never grew angry. Instead they laughed at mistakes, explained the error, encouraged the little eager kid, and sent him back into the fray. They were serious about not taking things seriously. In other words, keep it fun.
T-Ball doesn’t keep score. Each team bats around once and then swaps places, and so on. Three swaps is the game. Truth is, if they did keep score, they games would end up about 30-30. Not exactly a pitchers’ duel, huh?
Mikey is much improved this year. Like the others, he hits off the T, but the little guy is tall and solid, and can really put a hurt on that ball when he makes contact with it. His father, Big Mike, is a big part of the boy’s success.
And Mikey is no slouch at stopping the ball for that is one of the skills coaches stress. You see, many of the youngsters prefer watching a bird fly over or standing on his head. Catching the ball runs a poor third for many of the little ones.
The next step from T-Ball is the Rookie League. Keegan stepped up this year.
What a difference.
I don’t know how long his coaches have been working with little league, but they do a skillful job focusing on the basics of baseball.
Now, don’t misunderstand. I’m no expert. My experience is limited to sandlot ball in the cow pasture with dried patties for bases and a futile effort at third base when I was a sophomore in high school. The high school fling ended mercifully. I hate to say it, but I think everyone involved was relieved, especially the coach, when I decided I’d never be another Mickey Mantle. (for the younger readers, he was a star for the New York Yankees)
When Keegan and I played catch, he’d throw the ball like a rocket—no, not the speed, but the trajectory. Up, up, and then down. I didn’t know how to teach him to throw it straight, but between his father, Jason, and the coaches, he’s much, much better. They showed him how to stand, how to extend his arms, and how to flex his wrist at the right time.
Each of the ten youngsters receives the same detailed coaching, from batting to base running to relaying the ball. And even a dummy like me could see the difference in the fellers after a couple practices.
In the Rookie League, there’s no T. A coach pitches up to five balls to each batter. And yes, the little ones can strike out. That’s another difference between the two leagues. The rookies are now learning there are also consequences.
Last year, Keegan had trouble hitting pitches. Usually, he ended up hitting off the T, but this year, he’s hitting the pitched ball steadily.(I don’t want to brag, so I won’t mention how many hits he got at the first game) I wish I could say it was from the times I’d pitch to him out at the side of the house, but I can’t. The coaches spent time working with the boys on batting, using a weird looking bat with a bunch of holes in it. An onlooker next to me called it a Wiffle Bat, but you can’t prove it by me. Whatever kind of bat it was, it helped.
But it isn’t just the coaches that make it a success. There’s a heap of folks in the background who provide the support and details most of us never think about.
These Groves and Port Neches leagues and those who support them are perfect examples of how much good can be achieved when folks work together toward a common goal. I haven’t seen any hidden agendas among any of those involved in the local leagues. All the parents want to see their child do well. Many of them volunteer to provide after-game snacks as well as other incidentals needed by the team.
One thing I noticed last year as well as this is any displays of parental anger toward the coaches. Maybe that comes later in the upper leagues. I hope not.
The games are fun times for both the players and the onlookers. Heck, even if you didn’t have anyone in the game, it’s a fun-filled hour where you can forget your cares and root for a favorite team.
Just like when you were a kid. Remember?
rconwell@gt.rr.com
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