Today I’ve become 74 and I’m going to start my celebration (not:) by beginning a post with thoughts that crossed my mind this morning and thoughts I’ll lose if I don’t jot them down. I’ll finish this in the coming days. Recently I wrote about how the “Proud Boys” (what they have to be “proud” of evades me) decided to get involved in an “anti-masking” demonstration outside a local High School – eventually causing the school (and two neighboring schools) to experience a “lockdown” during the first week of the new school year where kids were finally back in the classrooms.

As I’ve been reading more about what happened there and what is happening across the nation spurred on by the right wing republican party attempting to keep their CULT members at a fever pitch heading toward the 2022 Mid term elections where it’s clear they’re looking for issues which will rile up their “base.” Originally, it was Humpty Dumpty (or some such character – oh yes, it was “Mr.” Potato Head”) and it’s evolved to the anti-mask anti-vax movement which is KILLING those who refuse the FREE “shot” all across the nation and, believe it or not, the so-called crisis over “critical race theory” (CRT).

So, if you noticed at the top of my “blog” (if that’s what this is) I spent the last 23 years of my working life as (mostly) a sixth grade teacher. (I’ve mentioned many times individual 1 has often reminded me of a sixth grader – but, I digress) Here’s how I view “critical race theory” from a teacher’s point of view. In teaching American History it seems to me it’s impossible to ignore issues like slavery, lynching, Jim Crow, the Tulsa “massacre,” etc. etc. These topics can be taught without the teacher influencing the “thinking” of the students – i.e. “critical thinking” – which was a key skill I attempted to teach to my sixth graders.

Here’s an example of how I taught (apparently) critical race theory – even though, at the time, neither me, my students, nor their parents understood the teaching in those terms. American History has always had a “soft spot” for teaching about Christopher Columbus who “sailed the oceans blue in 1492.” His “discovery” of America was him landing in the Caribbean apparently in the Bahamas. The natives, the Taino “Indians,” inhabited the island (Hispaniola?) and there are numerous articles on the internet about what happened during Columbus’ time with the Taino’s. The way I had my students study this was they were to write an essay with the title EITHER “Columbus a Hero” or “Columbus a Villain.”

Their responsibility was, first of all to research both sides of the “issue,” then, write a cogent essay where whatever position they took was supported by credible evidence. (And, there are numerous articles which would support each position) Of course, they were to read the various articles, decide their position, and then use information from the articles to support their point of view – why they believed one side and not the other. Of course, when you read about Columbus’s actions you get a good picture of what happened to Native American culture once the Europeans began to inhabit North America. Most of my students, but not all of them, came to the conclusion Columbus was a “villain” although their grade was based on the quality of the essay they wrote – notwithstanding their choice of topic. (Back then “Columbus Day” was still a holiday)

We didn’t get directly into the topic of slavery because that was not in the curriculum “years” of History we were teaching and not all teachers chose to follow suit in how I dealt with this issue. But, my point is, even sixth graders are capable of reading multiple points of view on a topic and making up their own minds on what is the “correct” position. Obviously, when the topic becomes “slavery,” “lynching,” “Reconstruction,” “Jim Crow,” “Juneteenth,” “Tulsa,” etc. people who are believers in the “lost cause” don’t want their children to understand the “warts” in our History. The reality in America right now is there is an undercurrent of moneyed elites who surreptitiously are FUNDING the right wing ASSAULT on our nation – including our nation’s Public Education system. They view themselves as “libertarians,” but, in reality they are promoting fascism – in it’s purest form. Yikes!

And, this group is supported by the talking heads on outlets like Fox “news,” “Newsmax TV,” the OANN network (full disclosure, I’ve not watched this one, only read quotes from what has passed over their network), Breitbart, etc. They have developed a large following of “minions” who, in my view, are incapable of “critical thinking” in any area – when I talk to those who I KNOW (many of them will deny this) who watch Fox their words are a regurgitation of what comes out of the mouths of people like Hannity, Carlson, Ingraham, etc. These people are NOT “conservatives,” they are full blown supporters of autocrats. A requirement of the GOP “leadership” is being willing to LIE for money and power. Sad! (Rush Limbaugh used to call the “minions” “ditto heads” – and, they had no objection to being called “ditto heads!”)

To me, a dialogue between “liberal” and “conservative” principles, when it comes to politics, is quite healthy. Here’s the problem: These terms have been HIJACKED by what is now represented to “we the people” by the republican party. Just imagine even 20 years ago a bunch of THUGS like the so-called “Proud Boys” showing up at a republican rally as the “security.” The moneyed interests behind this evolution of the republican party, most notably the now infamous “Koch Brothers” (today “Koch Brother” because one of them died) have surreptitiously been working to transform as many legislatures in America as possible to their “libertarian” (neo-fascist) point of view. They are smart, they have UNLIMITED funds, and they are ruthless – which is exactly why individual 1 appeals to them. Simply flatter him and he’ll bend to your wishes!

I’m guessing even Charles Koch is beginning to realize he “bit off more than he can chew” by backing individual 1 – an example of an narcissistic organized criminal becoming a politician. He does a good job of “playing dumb” when he’s asked about support from, for example, David Duke – pretending he doesn’t know who Mr. Duke is. Rrrrright! And, after saying he didn’t know who the “Proud Boys” are during a presidential debate he then asked them to “stand back and stand by” – not many “politicians” have that kind of “stones” to “dog whistle” during a debate on national TV. But, as happened for four years, our so-called “liberal media” allowed him to “get away with it.”

There are some members of the “Proud Boys,” along with members of the “Oathkeepers,” “3 Percenters,” and other right wing “militia er street brawler” groups facing extended JAIL time due to their ASSAULT on the Capitol during the January 6, 2021 INSURRECTION because they “stood back and stood by” waiting for the, in essence, “charge” command from their fuhrer er “commander in chief.” As I’ve said here several times, why are they in JAIL (OK, I actually KNOW why) and NOT the one who sent them on the “mission?” (Which was to impede the certification of Joe Biden’s landslide – based on individual 1’s own characterization of the 2016 election results – VICTORY) Just as in Abu Ghraib the “grunts” go to JAIL and those who “authorized the mission” go “scott free.” ONLY in America! (I wish someone would pass these words on to Merrick Garland, just sayin…………)

Speaking of “Only in America,” this coming weekend there is planned another MOB demonstration in Washington D.C. in support of the OVER 500 INSURRECTIONISTS who stormed our nation’s Capitol Building on January 6th, 2021 with the INTENT of overthrowing our government in support of individual 1’s so-called “Big Lie.” (Of course, his “Big Lies” came “hot and heavy” from the day he announced his intention to be a candidate back in 2015 – over 36,000 “Big Lies” during his four years in office.) Naturally, our TWICE IMPEACHED so-called two time popular vote LOSING (ex) president had to “weigh in” by calling those facing charges for the INSURRECTION “great patriots.” Well, with “patriots like these” who needs……………….. Who else is calling them patriots? Yep, you guessed it, none other than Vladimir Putin! Stay tuned………………

Final Thought: I’ve pointed out how Ron DeSantis, governor of Florida, has been attempting to LIE about the disaster his (non) “policy” of (not) defending his state against the Covid-19 pandemic has caused to the people of Florida – apparently, in order to “raise” his political standing with the republican “base” – and, as the TRUTH comes out his FAILURE of LEADERSHIP is far worse than most of us understand. As I’ve done since the first reports of the SARS-Cov-2 virus (i.e. Covid-19) spreading across America I’ve followed the “data” on “Worldometer.info.” It became apparent to me, early on, several republican led states (not just Florida) were LYING about the severity of the virus in their state. DeSantis is simply one of the most egregious.

So, during the past month or so, Florida’s “data” has been very “spotty” as far as listing the numbers of new infections each day – anywhere from 10,000 to 30,000 – according to other sources, the best I can tell is an average of over 20,000 PER DAY – of new infections. On “Worldometer.info” it has not been unusual for Florida to report tens of thousands of new cases with anywhere from 5 to 8 deaths – with today’s total reported as “5.” So, I did a bit more research today and discovered OVER 1500 Floridians DIED just TODAY from the virus their governor is not only REFUSING to fight, but seems to be actually “fighting” to help it spread.

Several states don’t report any data and there are several others which don’t report the number of DEATHS for each day – and, despite all this, according to the “Worldometer.info” site there’s still around 2000 Americans dying from the so-called “delta variant” EACH day. What we know, is the number is MUCH higher than that. And, over 90% of those DYING from Covid-19 have NOT been vaccinated. Republican governors in numerous states are actually preventing their constituents from “mandating” vaccines and/or mask requirements – essentially saying, “their right to refuse protection from the virus makes it OK to spread it to others.” For republicans, when it comes to the vaccines it’s “My Body My Choice.” When it comes to the women of Texas, not so much! (This is what I call “right to life hypocrisy” in one of its MANY forms) Yikes!!!

One last thing: I have an acquaintance who I became simply unable to tolerate when he became too much a part of individual 1’s CULT – he continues to refer to republicans who support individual 1 as “conservative and Christian,” and led me to believe he believes the “Big Lie” about the election (among other “Big Lies”). He once referred to Covid as “just another flu” when talking to me about it – although, since I lost contact with him, I’ve heard he and his wife actually contracted it, I don’t know how bad of a “version” they got and I prayed they would fully recover, unbeknownst to them. The reason I bring this up is because I believe he would/will move to Idaho the first chance he got. His daughter is an RN in Boise and Idaho is a VERY “red” state – full of so-called “militia” members including a cell of the Atomwaffen crack pots (ie Nazi’s) – plus Idaho is one of the least vaccinated states (for Covid) in the entire Union.

So, I can’t help but think of his daughter (I also have a daughter who is an RN) because the Hospitals in Idaho (his daughter works in one of them in Boise) are well past overflowing with desperately ILL Covid-19 patients. In fact, Idaho is trying to transfer patients from their hospitals to their neighboring states (Oregon and Washington) which also have hospitals who are facing serious Covid situations, just not as CRITICAL as Idaho. Today, the government of Idaho announced their hospitals are now “triaging” care based on perceived chances of survival and, if you need an “elective” or emergency surgery, well, you’re “SOL.” (i.e. S@#t out of Luck) Will all of this cause any change in his thinking? Likely not. My guess is he’ll blame Joe Biden for the debacle in Idaho, Florida, Mississippi, Texas, Alabama, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Indiana, Oklahoma, Kansas, Missouri, Iowa, South Dakota, North Dakota, Montana, Alaska, etc. etc. – do you see the underlining issue here? Enough said………………..