Reader Mail
Teenage Wasteland
Kids these days. Coogler outpouring. Libs in hysterics. Plus more.
(Page 2 of 2)
"And the minute Obama proposes any tax increase for anyone in the bottom 95%, I expect the grassroots to rise up and call on him to resign, for obtaining office under false pretenses."
Right.
And that groundswell of public sentiment will coincide with the realization by the advocacy/adversary media that rather than spending on all time focusing on Sarah Palin's wardrobe and child and grandchild, they needed delve deeper into who Obama is and what he really stands for -- socialist government, ignorant-of-economics socialist government; redistribution of wealth; and abortion, among other things.
As for "skin in the game," I presume that Obama lingo, taken from
the street, means more taxes. Well, sir, I'm now about as skinned
as I can take it.
-- C. Kenna Amos
Princeton, West Virginia
OY OY OY!
Re: Hal G.P. Colebatch's
Prince Harry and the Jew-Haters:
No, sir, they don't share your view nor will they ever. What
you have here is the usual noxious emanations emitted by the
usual left wing useful idiot bureaucratic pond scum rampaging
about the planet. After all, sir, you are only just another
'Aussie' who incidentally seems to have your head screwed
on.
-- M.J. Casey
North Miami Beach, Florida
TOO MUCH FUN NOT TO
Re: Jeffrey Lord's Wouldn't
It Be Rich: Should the Right Bush Obama?:
Respectfully, I think that Barack Hussein Obama should be
afforded the same level of respect, with the same intensity and
regularity that the Democrats, liberals and leftists gave George
W. Bush while he was in office.
-- C. Kenna Amos
Princeton, West Virginia
MEMBER OF THE MACHINE, AND PROUD
Re: Thom Bateman's letter (under "Called Out") in Reader Mail's
Sharpen Your Axe:
On the issue of choice, agreed: every action is a choice. But you write of absolutes, and while living on absolute principles sounds like a wondrous thing to do, I live in a real world where that luxury is not easily afforded. I will state that I live in New York for personal reasons and leave it at that. As for being a teacher, I can think of a precious few higher callings but only a precious few.
Agreed, unions, by their nature represent the collective and are interested in the collective good. The counter-force of capitalism is focused on individual gain. The two forces work towards a balance. Ideally, capitalists would pursue only ethical and moral means of producing profit, but again, in the real world this is not so. Seeking humane treatment for workers from unchecked and immoral capitalists was original raison d'être of unions. Since then, both capitalists and unions have sought power for the sake of power; this leads to moral blindness and little room for concern for the consequences on individuals and collectives.
Striking is a legitimate tool. In and or itself, it is not an unethical practice. It is one of many tools the union may use. The countervailing and balancing power of the capitalist/management is the lock out. As you mentioned WMD's, yes, commerce is a lot like war. Unilateral disarmament is dangerous. As a wise man once said, "Trust. But verify."
Am I part of the "Democrat Party machine of New York State"? Yes. Affirmative. Touché! My belonging is a secondary effect of doing exactly what I want to do with my life. I take into account the moral and ethical considerations of my actions (i.e., choices). Ultimately, I do enrich my life and pocketbook by teaching, but I also enrich the lives of thousands of students. I am more than okay with the trade off of working for the machine and providing for me, mine and the nation. In a word, working for the union is in my own self-interest, a true Libertarian idea.
Mr. Bateman, you have many ideas on how to run my life. I
have none for yours. Simply stated, I would be speaking in
complete ignorance. It is not a pretty habit for anyone and is
counter to conservative and libertarian ideals.
-- Ira M. Kessel
Rochester, New York
MONEY WHERE YOUR MOUTH IS
Re: Donavan Wilson's Michelle's
Mission:
Sounds great, I challenge President Elect Obama to provide
scholarships to two children from D.C. to attend the Sidwell
Friends School.
-- Anthony Gemma
Letter to the Editor View all comments (33) | Leave a comment
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Michael L. Hauschild| 1.16.09 @ 9:06AM
Mr. Kessel is a classic example of "pick and choose."
The "Trust, but verify" icon he quotes fired all of his air traffic controller "brotherhood" in the interest of public safety.
David Govett| 1.16.09 @ 12:47PM
Never trust anyone over 30 percent.
Ken Jackson| 1.16.09 @ 1:36PM
Mr. Kessel punctuates his screed by referring to his "true libertarian idea." This is classic blowhard-speak for "I'll do as I want and to hell with everyone else." Not exactly libertarianism, is it, when the consequences of your actions contribute to the illiteracy and general ignorance of the body politic. Kessel is a typical line-toeing, brain-dead union automaton, firmly rooted in the herd mentality and asking, "What's in it for me?" No challenges here. Makes me wanna barf.
Alan Brooks| 1.16.09 @ 9:36PM
a union libertarian in NYC education? a chimera.
Obama had better not mess education up, at least not too badly for a black president, anyway.
he gets two chances. one now, one in '12.
IMKessel| 1.16.09 @ 10:38PM
Mr. Jackson, my students are more literate and prepared after they have been with me than before. I am no miracle worker, but the students left in my charge do learn to ask questions and not go on canned assumptions. What evidence have you that "I'll do as I want and to hell with everyone else"?
Mr. Brooks,
I am impressed; you used the word "chimera" properly, though I modestly conceive of myself more of a conundrum.
Either gentlemen, please explain why a person cannot work within a corrupted system and not be corrupted himself? Is that the a priori assumption? Can’t a man can swim in the ocean and not become a fish? A weak minded person might well be swept up in the whirlpool of agitprop, but some can stand with integrity within the system and not become a cog in it.
Mr. Brooks, Mr. Obama and his people made a great deal of his color for political points, but they knew that was truly a chimera. What is the meaning behind your statement regarding his messing up education? Please elucidate.
Alan Brooks| 1.17.09 @ 1:13AM
conundrum? always confused it with dilemma... Plainview Old Bethpage Hi Skool grad.
near Hicksville, next to Syosset. you know where?
now to swim in the ocean, you might not be a fish but you will wind up swimming with barracudas.
so after wasting 30 years as a futurist (teecher recommended 'futur shok' in '70) i learned something, just one thing:
it is not only easier to destroy or damage something, it is far FAR easier to do so.
Obama can easily mess education up, by not reforming it properly, and then later on education drifts back to its natural state of inertial mediocrity.
why? because if you place scholars with dunces, the pious with JDs you have negative reinforcement in the classroom.
put dunces and dunces together in the classroom and you get dunce-reinforcement. put JDs in classrooms together and you get JD reinforcement.
doesnt work,
so you have students mixed up together like swine and you muddle through.
am no longer an optimist. social progress is over, now it is scientific progress.
i quit the foolish futurist union, the dues are paid up. leave it to the next generation to make the same mistakes.
and mess up.
Obama is loathe to even tinker with DC education, as he is 'No Drama Obama', and this is one hell of a time to make waves. turf wars, and all the depressing rest of it.
commissions, recommendations, more commissions issuing reports, more recommendations...
im not angry with you, im angry with Newt, and toffler and teecher.
know how you shouldn't read something but you do anyway?
but you trust teecher.
Paul Nelson| 1.17.09 @ 7:58AM
Ira Kessel,
While Alan Brooks may have used "chimera" properly, you almost certainly misused the word in you statement. "Mr Obama and his meople made a great deal of his color for political points, but they knew that was truly a chimera." The Chimera, at least in the Iliad, was a mythic three-headed beast, with the front of a lion, a snake's head at the tip of the tail, and a goat's head rising from it's back.
Alan brooks| 1.17.09 @ 9:04AM
Ira,
teechurs at Hi Skool (near Woodbury Rd; the road running through Woodbury-Syosset) didnt clarify the distinctions between Paradoxes, conundrums, dilemmas.
but perhaps students in NYC learn better because they think faster?
IMKessel| 1.17.09 @ 10:52AM
Please see secondary definition.
Main Entry: chi·me·ra
Pronunciation: \kī-ˈmir-ə, kə-\
Function: noun
Etymology: Latin chimaera, from Greek chimaira she-goat, chimera; akin to Old Norse gymbr yearling ewe, Greek cheimōn winter — more at hibernate
1 acapitalized : a fire-breathing she-monster in Greek mythology having a lion's head, a goat's body, and a serpent's tail b: an imaginary monster compounded of incongruous parts
2: an illusion or fabrication of the mind ; especially : an unrealizable dream
3: an individual, organ, or part consisting of tissues of diverse genetic constitution
A. Brooks| 1.17.09 @ 12:08PM
we wont quibble.
Ira, am curious, do you know Plainview?
IMKessel| 1.17.09 @ 1:30PM
No, sir, I don't. Plainview is northeast of here.
Be well, sir.
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