Mendacious

The only visible difference?
The choice of what color tie to wear.

Back Again?

A bit disappointing but oh-so-cute - maybe Lolo can win gold in Sochi.

School Is Boring

It's just odd that no one has come up with "Schoolhouse Rap" for today's children.
I introduced a group of kids to these classics from back in my day and they suddenly understood material they previously had problems understanding.

In the information age - ignorance is a choice.
RSA has a series of videos to keep adults informed in a manner to which many of us were once accustomed.

I'm Pretty Sure It's the Parents

I just looked at the batch of report cards brought to me by the kids I tutor and each kid had at least a 'B' average.
Sure, I care about the club, the rental homes and construction projects... but I really care about the progress of these kids.
Many of these kids were participating in Fall sports as well and many had to learn to better manage and prioritize their time.
Most had parents who blamed the schools or their exes for their own kid's behaviors and academic issues.

The thing is - as soon as I walk into a home, I have the kids clean his or her room and finish any chores before we even start doing homework.
I talk to the kids as we work together cleaning so that I can gauge what frame of mind the child is in and what problems the kid may be experiencing.

One mother broke into tears because she was so proud of the progress her son had made.
Her problem was that she kept making excuses for her son instead of being an example for him.
Her problem was that she spent more time at my club than she did helping her son with his homework and household chores.

When I explained that they still lived in the same house, that the kid went to the same school, that the kid had the same friends (that basically, the kid had the same life) - that the only difference was the level of expectation and the focus on the kids progress.
The mother even started doing better at her job almost doubling her paychecks in the process.

In all honesty, I don't want to hear excuses - I expect results.

STFU

I'm pretty sure that Obama was referring to the attacks in Libya when he spoke of 'acts of terror..'.
I somehow doubt that he was referring to the score from the Monday Night Football game a couple of days prior or anything else that was going on in the world the day the press conference was called.
But maybe Obama's restraint and gracious manner of speaking is lost on most of the hawkish Republicans who seem to be looking for a chink in Obama's Teflon suit.
Maybe they expected a knee jerk reaction and an off the cuff comment that condemned all Muslims and Middle Easterners for being terrorists.
Maybe Fox News sees weakness in the Romney campaign and they have decided to shift the focus to a non-issue like the use of the word 'terrorist'.

DWTS ???

Who even knew that the show was still on the air?

Unemlpoyment Numbers ?

Sure, 7.8% is worse than average 5.8% but nowhere near as bad as the more recent 9.8% in '09 (nor the 10.8%  back in '82).
To be honest, it could be a whole lot worse.
If we measure the economy based on the performance of the Dow Jones we are at 95% of our all-time high (13,473,58 October 10, 2012/14,164,53 October 7, 2009).
Things should be just swell.
But the NASDAQ average seems to be a more accurate indicator of the state of the country's economy.
Currently, we sit right around 61% of the average's recent pre-bubble high (3065.02/5049.62).
Judging by the I see around me and their level of confidence, the economy has only recovered two-thirds of it's highest level of production - not ninety-five percent.

A Cali State of Mind

Da' Souf is a whole other world than that to which I am accustomed.
Sure, Cali has it's problems but nothing can compare to the South when it comes to a self imposed ignorance.
The only good thing I can say about the South is that schools can still spank the kids in many states.
(And many of these bad little fat Niglets in public schools need a good old-fashioned ass whoopin')

It's just odd that many of the fattest states are located here.

Yet so are many of the most religious.

I guess conservation is still a concept only practiced by those tree huggin' Yankees and those on the West Coast.

Oh, never mind...

What's So Funny?

The joke is that most people getting excited about the presidential debates and upcoming election really imagine that one candidate makes more of a difference than the other.
These two are both insiders and understand that their 'power' is mostly titular.
These two insiders understand that they aren't going to make any real nor lasting changes if elected.
These two are in on the inside joke and the joke is on most of us.