SUPERBOWL SUNDAY; HOME-SCHOOLING AT SEA; MOLLY IVINS ARTICLE
Sunday, 05 February 2006
Superbowl Sunday
In the American liturgical year, this is Superbowl Sunday. Many cruisers have been excited about getting together for a viewing of the big game between the Seattle “Sea Hawks” and the Pittsburgh “Steelers”. I admit that I enjoy watching the occasional sports event on TV but cannot get excited about Superbowl. Interesting that, after Thanksgiving and Halloween, Superbowl Sunday is the third largest party day during the year. All of the big days are non-religious, though Thanksgiving, which has taken over from Christmas as the main time in the year when families get together while Halloween and Superbowl Sunday are get-togethers mainly with non-family members. The daily Cruisers Net here, boring at the best of times, has hit new levels of ennui with organising gatherings at restaurants with big TV and organising pools.
Home-schooling at sea
I finished off painting the cockpit area yesterday and decided to take a break. I had no real reason to go ashore except m=perhaps to post my blog. But in the vent I was too lazy, made the more slothful by my visit, first, to a junk-rigged schooner called from Comox with Spunky and Steve aboard. A couple glasses of ice-cold beer sapped any resolve I might have had. Later, I was invited over for a beer to S/V Maestra del Mar, Vancouver, B.C. by John and Charlotte. Originally from Penticton and Richmond, B.C., respectively, they took jobs as teachers on the Indian reserve at Bella Bella on the northern-British Columbia coast. Their relatively new aluminium sailboat of about 45 feet LOA looks both beautiful and strong. They have their two children aboard with them, Morgen (14) and Cary (11 or thereabouts). the parents are teachers and are now home-schooling the two kids.
Whereas US parents with children being homes-schooled aboard must pay for special curricula from private schools like The Calvert School, children of B.C. families get full taxpayer support for home-schooling. There is of course a long tradition here for kids living in remote areas of the province, in the far north, for example, or children of lighthouse-keepers, etc. Whereas Steven aboard Veleda keeps email contact with his tutor pr email, I think because their parents are themselves teachers, Morgen and Cary only need to do their examinations by email. British Columbia is not the only province that provides distance education, as it is rather awkwardly called. Manitoba I know does the same and other provinces probably as well. At the university level, many Canadian universities offer extension degrees not only to Canadians but to anyone who wishes to enrol.
We have noticed that children being schooled and raised aboard sailboats appear to us to be mature and responsible. Some of them might miss some friends back at school. But on the whole they seem to be getting a lot out of travelling, accepting some of the cruising duties like watch-keeping, spending a lot of time with their parents. The parents are glad their children are not wasting time in school-factories, being caught up in clothes, gossip and trivial music and, in some cases, drugs and violence. They might be missing some socialisation (dating, school dances) and some group activities like team sports or orchestra. But some children play musical instruments and they certainly live a healthy, outdoor life with lots of swimming, kayaking, surfboarding, and (of course) sailing. Children that have been educated at sea seem to have trouble adjusting back to the herd life in schools. But they have often also finished their schooling much earlier and can go on to other things of their choice.
Molly Ivins article
I found the attached article thought-provoking. Ivins’ sharp pen is a pleasure. She watched George Bush from her vantage point in Texas when the man was governor of the state. She warned even back then that he would be a disaster as president.
The Patriotic Bully Card
by Molly Ivins, January 20, 2006
AUSTIN, Texas --- I'd like to make it clear to the people who run the Democratic Party that I will not support Hillary Clinton for president.
Enough. Enough triangulation, calculation and equivocation. Enough clever straddling, enough not offending anyone. This is not a Dick Morris election. Sen. Clinton is apparently incapable of taking a clear stand on the war in Iraq, and that alone is enough to disqualify her. Her failure to speak out on Terri Schiavo, not to mention that gross pandering on flag-burning, are just contemptible little dodges.
The recent death of Gene McCarthy reminded me of a lesson I spent a long, long time unlearning, so now I have to re-learn it. It's about political courage and heroes, and when a country is desperate for leadership. There are times when regular politics will not do, and this is one of those times. There are times a country is so tired of bull that only the truth can provide relief.
If no one in conventional-wisdom politics has the courage to speak up and say what needs to be said, then you go out and find some obscure junior senator from Minnesota with the guts to do it. In 1968, Gene McCarthy was the little boy who said out loud, "Look, the emperor isn't wearing any clothes." Bobby Kennedy -- rough, tough Bobby Kennedy -- didn't do it. Just this quiet man trained by Benedictines who liked to quote poetry.
What kind of courage does it take, for mercy's sake? The majority of the American people (55 percent) think the war in Iraq is a mistake and that we should get out. The majority (65 percent) of the American people want single-payer health care and are willing to pay more taxes to get it. The majority (86 percent) of the American people favor raising the minimum wage. The majority of the American people (60 percent) favor repealing Bush's tax cuts, or at least those that go only to the rich. The majority (66 percent) wants to reduce the deficit not by cutting domestic spending, but by reducing Pentagon spending or raising taxes.
The majority (77 percent) thinks we should do "whatever it takes" to protect the environment. The majority (87 percent) thinks big oil companies are gouging consumers and would support a windfall profits tax. That is the center, you fools. WHO ARE YOU AFRAID OF?
I listen to people like Rahm Emanuel superciliously explaining elementary politics to us clueless naifs outside the Beltway ("First, you have to win elections.") Can't you even read the damn polls?
Here's a prize example by someone named Barry Casselman, who writes, "There is an invisible civil war in the Democratic Party, and it is between those who are attempting to satisfy the defeatist and pacifist left base of the party and those who are attempting to prepare the party for successful elections in 2006 and 2008."
This supposedly pits Howard Dean, Harry Reid and Nancy Pelosi, emboldened by "a string of bad new from the Middle East ... into calling for premature retreat from Iraq," versus those pragmatic folk like Steny Hoyer, Rahm Emmanuel, Hillary Clinton, Joe Biden and Joe Lieberman.
Oh come on, people -- get a grip on the concept of leadership. Look at this war -- from the lies that led us into it, to the lies they continue to dump on us daily.
You sit there in Washington so frightened of the big, bad Republican machine you have no idea what people are thinking. I'm telling you right now, Tom DeLay is going to lose in his district. If Democrats in Washington haven't got enough sense to OWN the issue of political reform, I give up on them entirely.
Do it all, go long, go for public campaign financing for Congress. I'm serious as a stroke about this -- that is the only reform that will work, and you know it, as well as everyone else who's ever studied this. Do all the goo-goo stuff everybody has made fun of all these years: embrace redistricting reform, electoral reform, House rules changes, the whole package. Put up, or shut up. Own this issue, or let Jack Abramoff politics continue to run your town.
Bush, Cheney and Co. will continue to play the patriotic bully card just as long as you let them. I've said it before: War brings out the patriotic bullies. In World War I, they went around kicking dachshunds on the grounds that dachshunds were "German dogs." They did not, however, go around kicking German shepherds. The MINUTE someone impugns your patriotism for opposing this war, turn on them like a snarling dog and explain what loving your country really means. That, or you could just piss on them elegantly, as Rep. John Murtha did. Or eviscerate them with wit (look up Mark Twain on the war in the Philippines). Or point out the latest in the endless "string of bad news."
Do not sit there cowering and pretending the only way to win is as Republican-lite. If the Washington-based party can't get up and fight, we'll find someone who can.
Sunday, 05 February 2006
Superbowl Sunday
In the American liturgical year, this is Superbowl Sunday. Many cruisers have been excited about getting together for a viewing of the big game between the Seattle “Sea Hawks” and the Pittsburgh “Steelers”. I admit that I enjoy watching the occasional sports event on TV but cannot get excited about Superbowl. Interesting that, after Thanksgiving and Halloween, Superbowl Sunday is the third largest party day during the year. All of the big days are non-religious, though Thanksgiving, which has taken over from Christmas as the main time in the year when families get together while Halloween and Superbowl Sunday are get-togethers mainly with non-family members. The daily Cruisers Net here, boring at the best of times, has hit new levels of ennui with organising gatherings at restaurants with big TV and organising pools.
Home-schooling at sea
I finished off painting the cockpit area yesterday and decided to take a break. I had no real reason to go ashore except m=perhaps to post my blog. But in the vent I was too lazy, made the more slothful by my visit, first, to a junk-rigged schooner called from Comox with Spunky and Steve aboard. A couple glasses of ice-cold beer sapped any resolve I might have had. Later, I was invited over for a beer to S/V Maestra del Mar, Vancouver, B.C. by John and Charlotte. Originally from Penticton and Richmond, B.C., respectively, they took jobs as teachers on the Indian reserve at Bella Bella on the northern-British Columbia coast. Their relatively new aluminium sailboat of about 45 feet LOA looks both beautiful and strong. They have their two children aboard with them, Morgen (14) and Cary (11 or thereabouts). the parents are teachers and are now home-schooling the two kids.
Whereas US parents with children being homes-schooled aboard must pay for special curricula from private schools like The Calvert School, children of B.C. families get full taxpayer support for home-schooling. There is of course a long tradition here for kids living in remote areas of the province, in the far north, for example, or children of lighthouse-keepers, etc. Whereas Steven aboard Veleda keeps email contact with his tutor pr email, I think because their parents are themselves teachers, Morgen and Cary only need to do their examinations by email. British Columbia is not the only province that provides distance education, as it is rather awkwardly called. Manitoba I know does the same and other provinces probably as well. At the university level, many Canadian universities offer extension degrees not only to Canadians but to anyone who wishes to enrol.
We have noticed that children being schooled and raised aboard sailboats appear to us to be mature and responsible. Some of them might miss some friends back at school. But on the whole they seem to be getting a lot out of travelling, accepting some of the cruising duties like watch-keeping, spending a lot of time with their parents. The parents are glad their children are not wasting time in school-factories, being caught up in clothes, gossip and trivial music and, in some cases, drugs and violence. They might be missing some socialisation (dating, school dances) and some group activities like team sports or orchestra. But some children play musical instruments and they certainly live a healthy, outdoor life with lots of swimming, kayaking, surfboarding, and (of course) sailing. Children that have been educated at sea seem to have trouble adjusting back to the herd life in schools. But they have often also finished their schooling much earlier and can go on to other things of their choice.
Molly Ivins article
I found the attached article thought-provoking. Ivins’ sharp pen is a pleasure. She watched George Bush from her vantage point in Texas when the man was governor of the state. She warned even back then that he would be a disaster as president.
The Patriotic Bully Card
by Molly Ivins, January 20, 2006
AUSTIN, Texas --- I'd like to make it clear to the people who run the Democratic Party that I will not support Hillary Clinton for president.
Enough. Enough triangulation, calculation and equivocation. Enough clever straddling, enough not offending anyone. This is not a Dick Morris election. Sen. Clinton is apparently incapable of taking a clear stand on the war in Iraq, and that alone is enough to disqualify her. Her failure to speak out on Terri Schiavo, not to mention that gross pandering on flag-burning, are just contemptible little dodges.
The recent death of Gene McCarthy reminded me of a lesson I spent a long, long time unlearning, so now I have to re-learn it. It's about political courage and heroes, and when a country is desperate for leadership. There are times when regular politics will not do, and this is one of those times. There are times a country is so tired of bull that only the truth can provide relief.
If no one in conventional-wisdom politics has the courage to speak up and say what needs to be said, then you go out and find some obscure junior senator from Minnesota with the guts to do it. In 1968, Gene McCarthy was the little boy who said out loud, "Look, the emperor isn't wearing any clothes." Bobby Kennedy -- rough, tough Bobby Kennedy -- didn't do it. Just this quiet man trained by Benedictines who liked to quote poetry.
What kind of courage does it take, for mercy's sake? The majority of the American people (55 percent) think the war in Iraq is a mistake and that we should get out. The majority (65 percent) of the American people want single-payer health care and are willing to pay more taxes to get it. The majority (86 percent) of the American people favor raising the minimum wage. The majority of the American people (60 percent) favor repealing Bush's tax cuts, or at least those that go only to the rich. The majority (66 percent) wants to reduce the deficit not by cutting domestic spending, but by reducing Pentagon spending or raising taxes.
The majority (77 percent) thinks we should do "whatever it takes" to protect the environment. The majority (87 percent) thinks big oil companies are gouging consumers and would support a windfall profits tax. That is the center, you fools. WHO ARE YOU AFRAID OF?
I listen to people like Rahm Emanuel superciliously explaining elementary politics to us clueless naifs outside the Beltway ("First, you have to win elections.") Can't you even read the damn polls?
Here's a prize example by someone named Barry Casselman, who writes, "There is an invisible civil war in the Democratic Party, and it is between those who are attempting to satisfy the defeatist and pacifist left base of the party and those who are attempting to prepare the party for successful elections in 2006 and 2008."
This supposedly pits Howard Dean, Harry Reid and Nancy Pelosi, emboldened by "a string of bad new from the Middle East ... into calling for premature retreat from Iraq," versus those pragmatic folk like Steny Hoyer, Rahm Emmanuel, Hillary Clinton, Joe Biden and Joe Lieberman.
Oh come on, people -- get a grip on the concept of leadership. Look at this war -- from the lies that led us into it, to the lies they continue to dump on us daily.
You sit there in Washington so frightened of the big, bad Republican machine you have no idea what people are thinking. I'm telling you right now, Tom DeLay is going to lose in his district. If Democrats in Washington haven't got enough sense to OWN the issue of political reform, I give up on them entirely.
Do it all, go long, go for public campaign financing for Congress. I'm serious as a stroke about this -- that is the only reform that will work, and you know it, as well as everyone else who's ever studied this. Do all the goo-goo stuff everybody has made fun of all these years: embrace redistricting reform, electoral reform, House rules changes, the whole package. Put up, or shut up. Own this issue, or let Jack Abramoff politics continue to run your town.
Bush, Cheney and Co. will continue to play the patriotic bully card just as long as you let them. I've said it before: War brings out the patriotic bullies. In World War I, they went around kicking dachshunds on the grounds that dachshunds were "German dogs." They did not, however, go around kicking German shepherds. The MINUTE someone impugns your patriotism for opposing this war, turn on them like a snarling dog and explain what loving your country really means. That, or you could just piss on them elegantly, as Rep. John Murtha did. Or eviscerate them with wit (look up Mark Twain on the war in the Philippines). Or point out the latest in the endless "string of bad news."
Do not sit there cowering and pretending the only way to win is as Republican-lite. If the Washington-based party can't get up and fight, we'll find someone who can.
posted by rjb @ Sunday, February 05, 2006
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