As I do everyday, I was reading through the news that Yahoo deems noteworthy and had to post about a couple of articles that I read today.
Chilean President Michelle Bachlet commented on a recent incident involving a student's protest against inadequate education reform. Apparently quite a few people are blaming the teachers. This is not what I find surprising. It is her comment that got me. I actually laughed out loud.
"What seems incomprehensible to me is that those who have the duty and responsibility to impart values and principles in classrooms every day could endorse an attitude that goes against the values and principles I'd like a child of mine to adopt."
She and I apparently have a very different idea about what teachers ought to be teaching. I think what amazes me the most about this comment is that someone in her position would expect all the teachers in her country to hold her same values. I would bet (if I were the betting type) that there is likely someone in her FAMILY that endorses an attitude that goes "against the values and principles" she would like her children to adopt. Surely it can't really be a surprise that some of the teachers in her country don't hold her same values.
All I can say is, "Horray for homeschooling, where I KNOW the teacher attempts to impart the values and principles I want my kiddos to adopt."
In an entirely different vein...
This article is about a poor koala that was hit by a car, got its head stuck in the car's grill, rode that way for 7 miles or so, and survived. What I really found interesting about this story though comes in the last sentence...
Lucky will stay at the hospital, set up by the late television wildlife and crocodile crusader Steve Irwin, for 45 days to recover from his experience and receive treatment for a chlamydial infection.
3 July 2008 - Recipe Box Swap- I'm embarrassed to even call this a recipe- Corn on the Cob.
That's right, corn on the cob. And yes, I really am embarrassed that this is so easy. Beware... this CAN be very spicy- it depends on how much hot sauce you use.
Grilled Corn on the Cob-
Ingredients:
4 whole ears of corn in the husk.
1 stick of butter, melted.
4 t butter (option 1 only)
1/8-1/2 cup hot sauce (your favorite)- the amount used is determined by how spicy you want it.
salt
There are 2 ways to prepare this. If you would like to keep cooking in the kitchen to a minimum, use the first set of instructions. If you are going to be cooking for quite a few people and so need to prepare ahead, use the second set of instructions.
Instructions, set 1:
1. Peel back husks and remove silk.- DO NOT REMOVE THE HUSKS.
2. Place 1 t butter on each cob and Salt corn (as much or as little as you like)
3. Close husks around cob and corn (in husks) on a hot grill.
4. Turn relatively frequently until husk starts to char (usually about 10 minutes)
5. Mix melted butter and hot sauce.
6. Peel husks off corn and return to the grill.
7. Baste with butter/hot sauce mixture and turn frequently. Salt again if you would like.
8. Remove from the grill when the corn as tender as you prefer. It should be starting to brown in some places with a slight reddish tint (depending on the amount of hot sauce you chose.)
Instructions, set 2:
1. Shuck corn.
2. Boil the corn on the cob as you normally would until almost done. (Some people add sugar, others add salt... however you normally cook corn is fine.)
3. Remove from boiling water.
4. If you are preparing ahead you can wait until the corn cools then refrigerate it until the day of the barbeque.
5. Mix melted butter, hot sauce, and salt to taste.
6. Place corn on the grill.
7. Baste corn with butter/hot sauce/salt mixture almost continually, turning frequently.
8. Remove corn when cooked to your preference. It should be a little brown in some places with a slight reddish tint (depending on the amount of hot sauce you chose.)
There you go, super easy. I have had this when it was so spicy my lips actually blistered a little bit- so if you use a lot of hot sauce, please be careful.
I usually use about 1/4 c. hot sauce with the butter, but you should use whatever your family would prefer.
Some years ago, 9 to be closer to exact, I had an epiphany.
About two months prior to this life changing realization I was sitting in my car waiting for my eldest child to be released from school. As is usual I was surfing the radio. Somehow I stumbled across Rush LImbaugh. (Don't stop here, it really isn't what you think.) I argued with him, disagreed with absolutely everything he had to say, and thought him a complete moron. It irritated me to no end that he seemed to intentionally misunderstand questions and comments. I changed the station.
March 1999- I helped someone with her taxes. She had not worked regularly in 1998 (by choice) and had only earned about $3500 that year. She had quite a few children (though they didn't all live with her, she still had legal custody and received support), was not married, lived in subsidized housing, received food stamps, welfare, subsidies, the whole nine yards- yet somehow drove a brand new car, spent her weekends partying, always had money for cigarettes and alcohol, and rarely had her children with her. Somehow, she managed to receive an income tax return of over $7000. I was appalled.
A couple of days later found me waiting for my son- flipping through the channels again. There was Rush. I argued, I disagreed with most of what he had to say, and he still irritated me, but suddenly the phrase "redistrubution of wealth" had real meaning. Why did the government force my husband and I to subsidize her lifestyle?
It was at that moment I realized that I wasn't a democrat.
I was shocked. I didn't even notice that my son had gotten in the car.
Upon reviewing my political views compared with what the democrats REALLY did/ believed/ whatever you want to call that- as opposed to what I had been TOLD, I was almost equally shocked. Not only was I not a democrat, I never had been one. I knew I wasn't a Republican, so what did that make me? Confused for the most part. At least for a while, mayhaps I still am.
There is certainly no (still functioning) party that fits my current political views. A southern democrat- a Dixiecrat if you will- without the segregationist tendencies- comes the closest. If I must pick a current box it would be that of the Constitutionalist as far as federal elections go. At the state level, I am most likely to choose someone with Republican views. At the local level, I would likely choose a Democrat as the local "good ol' boy network" tends to be Republican (just look at our current mayor for the proof of that.)
So there you have it. What am I? A Constitutionalist with Libertarian leanings. Perhaps that is why so many people seem confused.
