Obamacare :-(

Well, I guess when one takes out more money in the first month of his presidency than if you spent a million dollars a day since the BIRTH OF CHRIST (819 BILLION DOLLARS), what's 1.2 trillion more? Thanks, Obama. My unborn great great great great grandchildren will be forever in your debt. http://www.cnn.com/2009/POLITICS/11/07/health.care/index.html

Reason # 2118329 Why I Love Teaching...

In class today, we were discussing ethnic groups and how one can want to get rid of another, specifically the Hutus and Tutsis, and the Germans wanting to get rid of the Jews during the Holocaust. I was explaining how the Germans had gone into a downward economic spiral before Hitler came to power, and he was a great speaker who inspired the people with great speehes that didn't really have substance. One student goes "Like Obama?" I asked him why he said that. He said "This 'Yes we can' thing? Yes we can what? He doesn't have anything real to say!" I ♥ them!! :-) I didn't prompt them at all and I thanked him for his input, and, even though I wanted to give him a high five, I held back and continued on.

Thanks for the reminder that I had this, Jess!

Wow, brain fart to the extreme!

I totally forgot about this blog until I read a nudge from Jess, urging me to update or be taken off her blog roll. Haha whoops.

School is going great. I love the people I work with. They are so supportive and friendly. The kids are really fun and keep me on my toes! One of the kids wrote this today, in a response for "Some Rules for Life:" "Don't believe in lies or superstitions like that exposing yourself to loads of radiation will give you superpowers. It won't. It will just leave you dead." I laughed.

In other, sadder news: Colin and I are no longer together. I am at a place in my life where I want to start the process of settling down: I have a house, a great job, and my life in front of me. We were together 3 weeks shy of two years, and he had no real idea of what he wanted. I told him that he needed to get all of his stuff in order and make an end goal with his family (what they'll do about the house, where his mom will end up, etc) before I'd consider a relationship with him again. I had been begging him to do exactly that for the past 7 months. I guess this was the kick in the ass he needed, because he's applied to relief programs and for refinancing. I'll keep my fingers crossed for him. Even if we're not meant to be together, it's imperative he get his stuff in order for HIMSELF. We still talk a lot and we're friends. I am hoping for the best.

Mom comes down in a couple of weeks while Dad's at the National Fire Academy. She'll be working on the house and painting (exactly what she wanted to do! No joke!) and I wasn't about to turn that offer down!

Everything else is going well in life. I'm working on getting things back on track in my personal life. Hope all is well with you!

I'll write more (I PROMISE, Jess ;-) ) soon.

Closing of a chapter

Yesterday, I finished my first year of teaching.

It was a milestone that at times seemed beyond reach, and at other times was coming too fast. I enjoyed my year on the whole. Sure, there were things I would have done differently and I made a few rookie mistakes, but that comes with the territory.

I'm looking forward to writing a new chapter in my career as a teacher next year. I'll be teaching on an honors/gifted team and my subjects will be language arts, reading, and geography. Could a curriculum be more tailor-made for me? I'm also looking forward to reducing my daily commute by 60 miles! (aka 300 a week, 1200 a month, or 12,000 for the entire 199-day working school year. HOLY CRAP...12,000 mile reduction!! Life is good!)

To celebrate my first day of summer, I slept in till 1o, worked on a superdupersecret craft project (I'll reveal details soon), and took it easy. I'm going to the beach in a little while to take some pictures that will hopefully make for some decoration at the townhouse. Since we're going with a beach theme, I'm going to head out to St. Pete Beach and see what I can find.

I'm looking forward to riding down there with my windows down, listening to some relaxing music, and just savoring life. This summer is going to be a quick one, full of awesome trips to Texas and Alaska, so I better get to taking advantage of it now.

School

I am soooo done with this year. The kids are going crazy, and they're suspending the worst kids so they're out for the rest of the year.


....what's that I hear in the distance?


Oh yeah, my new school calling my name.

Hmmm.....

Today, President Obama nominated a new Supreme Court justice. He picked a woman, Sonia Sotomayor from New York, as a replacement for Justice David Souter. I was at first very excited, because, even though I tend to be unapologetically conservative in my views, I really get excited when I see women advance in high ranks of power, especially when the promotions are deserved and not the result (direct or not) of affirmative action.

As I was browsing the blogs and the talking heads' commentary today, a story about a Sotomayor ruling caught my eye. If you have had any extended conversation with me, among many things, you'll know my dad is a professional firefighter. I will fiercely defend firefighters and police officers, among other civil servants, as that is how I was brought up. You'll also know that I was born and raised in Connecticut. To my surprise, I found an article referencing Sotomayor, firefighting, and Connecticut at once! However, my excitement turned to frustration as I read on, and Sotomayor's shine severely tarnished in my eyes.

A while back, the New Haven, Connecticut Fire Department administered an exam for promoting firefighters to the ranks of lieutenant and captain. Of those who took the exam, no blacks and only two Hispanics passed. The city of New Haven threw out the exam because it was "obviously" unfair. Insert eye roll here.

Firefighter Frank Ricci brought a lawsuit against the city of New Haven citing discrimination. It was thrown out, and Sotomayor was part of a three judge panel that upheld the decision. The following is a more concise version of what happened, by Katie Connolly on a Newsweek blog.

"The New Haven firefighter case is one of the most controversial rulings in Sotomayor's record, and one that will no doubt be a prime source of criticism from conservatives. The case, Ricci vs. DeStefano, was brought by Frank Ricci and a group of his firefighting colleagues (all non-black including one Hispanic man). The men were denied promotion after an examination to determine their eligibility to move up yielded no successful black candidates. As a result, the New Haven authority decided to discard the exam results and grant no promotions. Ricci and his colleagues argued they'd been discriminated against, but their case was dismissed. Sotomayor was part of a three judge panel on the 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals who upheld the dismissal. The case is currently pending before the Supreme Court. It raised considerable ire, sparking affirmative action debates."

Frankly, I was outraged at this ruling, and I remember reading online news about it when it happened, as I still follow Connecticut news from time to time. I am a firm believer in the idea that the best person for the job should get the job. There should be NO consideration of race, gender, eye color, or sexual preference, (or favorite song, for that matter).

If your house was burning down, would you want the best of the best firefighters out there, who obviously are well-educated and versed in firefighting to come help, or just the most diverse group?

Do you want the best police officer coming to your defense when you're in danger, or is diversity the most important thing in a police department?

Does skin color (or gender for that matter) really matter in these situations!?

Would a lawsuit have even been considered if only 2 left handed people passed the exam? How about if only a few blue eyed people passed? Would you care at all? Would it be an issue?

No, no, no, and no.

The people who knew their stuff passed the exam. Should they be penalized for studying their asses off and passing their exam? How would you feel in their shoes? What example does that set for their kids? "Well, kids, you can study, do your best, pass the test, and yet you still won't get what you deserve, because of your skin color/gender/insert-anything-else-here."

What worries me about Sotomayor is that she sided against firefighters and potentially took the safety of the people of New Haven and threw it out the window by saying the most qualified candidates for lieutenant and captain ranks in the New Haven Fire Department weren't deserving.

It scares me what she may decide for the law our country.

I'm still here!

I'm still alive, just freaking busy!

Spring Break is coming up soon, so yay for that! FCAT is over, double yay.

I'm going to Alaska and Texas this summer, so that is full of awesome.

This blog is brought to you by the word 'random' and sentences 'Mandy is incredibly tired and felt the sudden urge to blog for no apparent reason. Now on to your regularly scheduled, far more entertaining and informative blogs. Just wanted to let you know I'm still alive.'

xoxo

This explains a lot

I found this natalie dee comic today and, once again, the cartoonist nailed me!!