Opus 2014-256: Headlines: Immigration, Soviet Style

We are not the only one with immigration problems.

I don’t know if it will be of any comfort to you, but Russia is having many of the same problems we are facing with immigration.  I came across this in The Washington Times, National Weekly, September 22, 2014, page 23.  A version of the article can be found online

I noticed a lot of parallels with what we are experiencing here in the United States.  The general issue is the same.

“The United Nations estimates that 11 million immigrants are in Russia, the vast majority of whom are in keen search of ‘opportunity.’ Indeed, only the United States is home to larger numbers of immigrants.”

The people come from the poorer countries along Russia’s southern border.  At least 3 million are in the country illegally.  They are sending large amounts of money back to their families at home.  They are providing cheap labor.  They don’t speak Russian well.  The similarities go on.

Welcome to the world.  We tend to think that we are the only ones having these issues.

Another similarity:  Putin doesn’t think it is a problem for Russia just as Obama feels  immigration is no problem for America.

Great socialist minds think alike.

homo unius libri

Opus 2014-255: Diversity in Pathological

I was reading a post explaining the relationship between pathological liars and our pathological in chief at Well-Meaning Gentleman and had a thought based on his next to last sentence.

“And the amazing thing is that, regardless of the evidence, there are plenty of people who will always believe the liars.”

I found myself wondering if there should be a group of people called “pathological believers.”  I don’t care enough to Google it.  Maybe you can on your watch.

I think that is more dramatic than “naive” or “simple.”

homo unius libri

Opus 2014-254: The Staples of Life

I am having a real problem with petty theft at school.  You have heard it said that some people will steal anything that is not nailed down.  My students are stealing the nails.

In education the nails are called staples.  Every day I am forced to walk around the room to replace the staples that have disappeared.  It is not a case of disintegration, it is theft.

Why do they steal the staples?  Because they can and, believe it or not, I see them putting the contraband in their mouths.  Maybe they have an iron deficiency.  Because they know it is a way of messing with the Man and even if they are caught there will be no significant consequence. 

Will this commit them to a life of crime?  No, it will be other things, but it is an indication of how self centered they are.

Is this a big issue?  Bigger than you might imagine.  Last time I asked the front office for a box of staples they gave me four of the little strings of staples that come in the box.  It seems that we were being rationed on staples.

So pay your taxes.  Your local school needs the money for staples.  Maybe if we can get enough staples we can get our librarians back.

homo unius libri

Opus 2014-253: Headlines: Scared Yet?

It is hard to tell if we are stepping into a new Black Death or just trying to sell air-time.

You can’t go to a news source without seeing headlines about Ebola or a mystery virus.  People are sick.  People are dying.  It is spreading.  Is it serious?  Yes.  Is it a crisis?  I am not panicked.  I am not extremely worried.  I am aware and concerned. 

The main concern I have is the lack of good reporting and the dearth of facts.  All the articles seem to be doing is recycling the same boilerplate as the competition.  Some of this is because the reporters are lazy and incompetent.  Some of this is because the agencies are lying, deflecting and hiding. 

“If it bleeds, it leads.”  If it doesn’t bleed, make the people think it will make them bleed.  Take the endless articles about the mysterious viruses killing people all over the country.  It isn’t a mystery virus.  It is a known quantity.  People have died.  Lately they are talking about a couple of adults.  What I am not reading is if these are the weak, already sick people, who would die if they caught a strong case of flu.  It is still a death and a personal tragedy for the families involved, but it isn’t a threat to life as we know it.

Remember the swine flu?  It was supposed to bring civilization to an end.  It turns out that the people who died from it were already close to the grave before it hit them.  Remember how HIV was supposed to rage through our neighborhoods bringing death and destruction?  It turns out that it is largely confined to the homosexual community.  Have you had people try to get you to be vaccinated for hepatitis B?  If you catch it you will think you have a cold or flu and move on.  Have you heard about the new disease being spread by mosquitos?  It produces a mild sickness in most people.  All real.  All hyped. 

The death rate is high in Africa from Ebola.  So far it isn’t coming close to the deaths by HIV and simple malaria.  Malaria killed an estimated 627,000 people last year as the World Health Organization reports and they add,

“People living in the poorest countries are the most vulnerable to malaria. In 2012, 90% of all malaria deaths occurred in the WHO African Region, mostly among children under 5 years of age.”

With HIV you are required to do the math yourself at the WHO sight.  It claims 1.6 million deaths from HIV in 2012 and says that 73% were in sub-Sahara Africa.  That comes out to 1,168,000 deaths in Africa from HIV.  How many of those dying from ebola also had HIV?  No one is talking.  I am not sure anyone is asking.

We are not Africa.  But Nigeria is and they seem to have a handle on it.  If you are panicking then check out this article from NPR.  Of course it is from NPR, so I don’t know how believable it is, but read it anyway.  The key seems to be that there was a quick and organized response.  In our country there is denial and heads in the sand.

Will be survive this latest example of Obama Administration incompetence?  Will we survive the criminal reporting by the news media?  The jury is still out.

homo unius libri

Opus 2014-252:  The Parable of the Pencil Sharpener, Aka The Parable of the Pencil

“@#$% pencil”

“^&*☹ sharpener”

So begins the attempt of a student to sharpen a pencil in my classroom.  When I have the time and am feeling ornery I will go back to the pencil sharpener, take the pencil from the child, put it in the hole and sharpen the pencil in about two seconds.  They look at me in awe.  I then repeat my mantra, “Same pencil, same sharpener.  What is the difference?”

Years of experience, a thoughtful mind and determination make it possible for me to sharpen a pencil in what is an impossible situation.

Why do I say impossible?  Because the pencils are usually cheap and poorly made.  The lead is out of center.  The wood is gnarly and poor quality.  In addition to that the sharpener is getting dull and out of whack.  Can I still sharpen a pencil?  Usually, but to be honest, sometimes it is even beyond me.

How is this a parable?  It speaks to me of public education.  Anyone can sharpen a quality pencil in a good sharpener.  Well, almost anybody.  You can take a good pencil and usually get a point in a poor sharpener.  You can take a poor pencil and get results with a precision machine.  Public education continues to claim that you can take uncaring, unprepared students and put them in an overcrowded, trashy room, give them books written to amaze educators instead of interest young people and put an illiterate facilitator in front of them and turn out geniuses.

It doesn’t work that way. 

I often question if the gurus of education really want to produce informed, responsible citizens.  The reason I question this is that if we produced those kind of people, the gurus would all be fired.

Get the point?

homo unius libri

Opus 2014-251: Culture of Conformity

Recently a young lady at my church asked me about a tattoo.  My simple answer?  “No.”

She had already mentioned it to her mother.  Mom tried to side step the issue by saying it needed to be small and spiritual.  Since even that was not what the girl wanted to hear she went looking for other opinions.  Since she is over 21 she doesn’t actually need anyone’s permission.  Since she is insecure she wants approval.  She didn’t get it from me but I expect her to get marked anyway.  The main thing holding her back is that she doesn’t have a job.  I think she will find the money somewhere.

I do not understand tattoos.  They are in a category with sagging pants and tongue piercings to me.  How should we respond.  Why do I respond with a “no”?

Although it is not the most important reason, I must confess my personal taste screams, “Never!”  I don’t find them attractive on others, why should I think they would work for me?  I have yet to see a tattoo that I thought made anyone look better and I have seen quite a few on bloated bodies that just draw attention to what is best ignored.

An even more import question is, “What does the Bible say?”  Often this is totally ignored if we have our mind made up.  I found one verse that seems to speak to the issue.

(Leviticus 19:28 NAS77)  'You shall not make any cuts in your body for the dead, nor make any tattoo marks on yourselves: I am the LORD.

That is the NASB.  The KJV says it in a more general way that is more comprehensive.

(Leviticus 19:28 KJV)  Ye shall not make any cuttings in your flesh for the dead, nor print any marks upon you: I am the LORD.

This seems pretty clear. 

Then there is the matter of general appearance.  Why spend a lot of time on make-up and dressing to impress and then go out and mark up your body with designs that will not go away?  The make-up is to cover flaws and the clothes are often chosen for the same reason.  Styles change.  Hair, colors, eyebrows and all in flux.  Why do something that cannot be adjusted?

Only one reason that I can think of:  Cultural conformity.  People do it because others are doing it.  That may be fine for pagans but followers of Christ are called to a different standard.  Paul put it this way,

(Romans 12:2 NAS77)  And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.

So my answer will remain, “No”. 

Sometimes negative is the right answer.

homo unius libri

Opus 2014-250: More Rigor Than I Can Handle

We continue our intellectual piracy at our faculty meetings.

For the second meeting in a row we have a portion of a book duplicated for our use.  I still have not seen the volumes that are going to be purchased for us.  But, since we are educators, I assume that we are above the law.  We are certainly above common sense.

More samo-samo.  We were laying the groundwork for future insights by looking at the purpose of the book.  The author had been informally quizzing “parents and...community leaders” about what they wanted to see in a school.  Here is the desire of their hearts,

“They wanted to grow up to be responsible, caring, and compassionate human beings who respected diversity and who knew how to do the right thing when faced with difficult decisions.” p. 20

I am sure that is heart warming to you.  But it goes farther.  Not only are they telling you what parents want in school, we also hear what is not important to them.

“What was interesting was that not once did we hear in all of our interviews and focus groups, ‘We want the best academics.’”  p. 20

So there you have it.  The parents are to blame for the dumbing down of our schools.

The things that the parents want are the things that the parents are supposed to be teaching at home.  This lets them off the hook and allows them to blame educators for not turning sows’ ears into silk purses.

Of course the schools don’t have to be such willing partners in the scheme.

I would give you a bibliography but the title page information was not in the copied sections of The Leader in Me.

homo unius libri