Guardian of the Non Sequitur

Teddy Roosevelt may have been his own breed of war monger in his day, but he appreciated what was important in this country, and stated it plainly.

“To announce that there must be no criticism of the President, or that we are to stand by the President, right or wrong, is not only unpatriotic and servile, but is morally treasonable to the American public. Nothing but the truth should be spoken about him or any one else. But it is even more important to tell the truth, pleasant or unpleasant, about him than about any one else.”

– Theodore Roosevelt, The Kansas City Star, May 7, 1918

In March, Tom Daschle, Senate minority leader, said that President Bush had failed “so miserably at diplomacy that we’re now forced to war.”

Congressional Republicans promptly suggested that the comment bordered on the unpatriotic.

Teddy made the comment during WWI, and would have entirely disagreed with the reaction.

Daschle paraphrased Roosevelt thusly: “It’s unpatriotic to hold one’s voice in a democracy under any circumstances, right or wrong, regardless of one’s view of the president, whether he’s right or wrong.”

A sentiment as solid today as it was 85 years ago.

-b

Last friday I went to the HISD Job fair. It was a mad house. If you want confirmation that the economy sucks, showing up there would provide you with it. First, the room was too small and the tables too close.

There are 5 schools with 9 HS math positions open. I know there to be 10-20 people looking to fill those. Reagan, which I wanted, does not have one open. The most interesting that do are Milby and Wheatley. There is one school with 5 openings (which makes one wonder). It is, of course, the one which would be the worst commute for me. Westside directly out the I-10 freeway from me. It is a relatively new school, but the commute would be daunting.

There should be callbacks this week from Milby and/or Wheatly, if they’re interested.

-b

I think Jackson Lee is an excellent US Representative, and an excellent leader.  I am proud that she’s my Rep.  Go Sheila…

-b

Jackson Lee calls on Bush to name Middle East envoy

By ROSANNA RUIZ
Copyright 2003 Houston Chronicle, June 15, 2003, 9:42PM

Upon her return from a summit in Norway involving Palestinian and Israeli women leaders, Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee said here Sunday that she will call on President Bush to name a special envoy to monitor the peace process in the Middle East.

She proposed former Secretary of State Madeline Albright, and former Presidents Jimmy Carter, Bill Clinton or George Bush as ideal candidates for the job.

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a very excellent picture of me from my college roomate Robert’s web site

Me eating a ding dong, wearing sun glasses and a rainbow wig.

It’s from the Lone Star Ride fighting AIDS. It’s a 2-day bike riding fund raiser for Dallas/Fort Worth area AIDS services charities. I crew every year, and will be a crew manager this year for the second time.

So ACP is going along. I went to Reagan HS to check into a job and talked to one of the assistant principals. He’s not sure of next year because the school is getting smaller (and loosing some teachers). 45 days before the new school year the teachers have to confirm to him they will be back. From the unstated, I assume they have not already done so. So around July 4 is when that should happen.

I’m Math 8-12, so I can teach Junior High level, but only 8th grade.

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It’s a bit lengthy, but historical and current knowledge that every self-respecting citizen should know.  The Santa Clara Blues: Corporate Personhood versus Democracy by Bill Moyers, is and excellent introduction.  If you happen to hear about the coming court case in the news, where Nike will be claiming First Amendment right to free speech, even when the speech is a lie, you will know the back story.

For some reason, I hear Ice-T singing in my head… “freedom of speech, that some mother-fucking bullshit…” but that’s a different political argument.

-b