...Where I Have Not Been Before...

I have never been to New Orleans before today. I was and am excited to be here, but while I am looking forward to a great time seeing the sights and the tourist attractions around here (and Essence Fest!), I also found myself drawn to see how the city has rebuilt itself in the years after Hurricane Katrina.

My day began in church, and it happened to be Youth Sunday, so the young people were up front today. I was treated to a liturgical dance, the choir, a step team, and a brass ensemble (it wouldn't be New Orleans without horns, trust me). After church, we came back home and got something to eat and had a great conversation. I made it known that I wanted to find a good spot to watch the fireworks on the 4th of July, and I also wanted to see how Katrina affected the region (and continues to do so).

First of all, we saw, to our great surprise this morning, that right across from our subdivision was the remains of a Six Flags amusement park. Before Katina, this area was bustling and brimming during the summer with thousands of visitors and thrill-seekers. After Katrina, they decided not to rebuild, so the park stands abandoned. My hosts told me that all they do with that area now is come to shoot movies. So the next time you see movie characters killing zombies in an amusement park, they probably shot that scene here in New Orleans.

We drove on to St. Bernard Parish, all the way out to the bay. We caught a ferry across the river to the other side. Another friend of mine suggested that that was a great place to watch the fireworks on the 4th. I have never ridden a ferry that could hold my car at the same time. I've seen things like this in movies like "Deja Vu", but this is the first time that I have done so. I know a lot of people would consider such a thing mundane, but I found it to be fun!

Well, we finally found a great spot to watch the show, and the favor of a nice man who lives in the apartments across the bay from downtown New Orleans. I can't wait to get to that spot for the show! Then my friends took me to the Ninth Ward, where they grew up. It was a different view altogether. Now, there are houses that have been rebuilt, and one or two that somehow survived, but the flood that came through when the levee failed at Lake Ponchatrain destroyed EVERYTHING. They showed me places where the only thing that was left was the foundation of the house that stood there. They showed me an open field that once held their high school, and across from it, another open field that held an elementary school. Everywhere I looked I saw great overgrowths, and in each of those lots, there was a house that was destroyed by the flooding. It's been eight years, but the evidence of the devastation, at least in the Ninth Ward, remains telling. There were people living in these neighborhoods. But there are so many more who USED to live here. That part of the tour was pretty overwhelming.

Well, one of the main reasons I went on this vacation was to get some much needed rest! That will mainly be tomorrow, when my hosts will be working. But on Tuesday and Wednesday, I intend to visit the French Quarter, and see the places my friends have recommended that I see, and EAT the foods that have been described to me. I can't wait! So, until the next post, au revoir from New Orleans East!

You are cordially invited to change the world...

...was one of the last things I heard at the 2013 ISTE Conference held here in San Antonio, TX.

And it was awesome.

Today was the final day of the ISTE Conference. It wasn't as heavily attended as the previous two days, as one might expect. Many hundreds have already returned to their various destinations around the globe (and I mean that literally). In fact, it appeared that many of the people whom I saw today were attending last minute presentations for the latest educational gadgetry, trying to win stuff in the raffles (as I was), or waiting for the afternoon's closing keynote address, which would be delivered today by the renowned Adam Bellow.

I found Mr. Bellow's presentation to be nothing short of mesmerizing. He used google glass, a device I had never seen before. And his timings for his slides was spot on perfect. At times funny, entertaining, instructive, inspirational, emotional, riveting, and driven, his message had all the fire and passion of a church revival, coupled with all the emotion and enthusiasm that we true educators bring to our craft every day. I'll give you one point to illustrate: he asked the pointed question, "Why is it that the school outlaws facebook for the students but then will turn around and create a facebook page for themselves?" Excellent point. Now, being an educator in the trenches, I can tell you that I have legitimate concerns about the potential for distraction and misuse that social media and other forms of internet access can provide. But I also see the potential for these entities to transform the quality of education everywhere, and the need to balance them. Our kids see us use the tech everyday, and they use it each day themselves, especially when they get away from the school. The trick for us is to find that balance, help them discover what they can do, and then get them to do it.

Like many of us said today, I find myself exhilarated and energized and wiped out and exhausted at the same time. I can't wait to try some of the ideas I've learned out here, but at the same time, I'm gonna need a few days to rest, reflect and process. (Do I need a vacation from my vacation? Hmm...)

The good news is that next year, the ISTE Conference will be held in Atlanta, GA, so if I get to go, I can drive there and stay with my family in the area. The BAD news is that I'll probably have to pay for the next one out of pocket. Guess I better start saving up my pennies now, eh?

I truly had a blast. But now I'm ready to get back home, back to my family, back to my life. Farewell, ISTE, and thank you VERY much, San Antonio. Hope to see you again next year!

Cranking It Up Again...

Good Morning! If you've read my infrequent posts, you know I haven't done this too often before now. But today, I have a different motivation... I'm in San Antonio, TX for the 2013 ISTE Conference! They have an app where you can "register your blog", soooo, I figured this would be a great way to document my experiences, weigh in on what I'll see over the next several days, comment on the topics presented, and maybe make a few friends along the way. I'll let you know how it turns out.

I've only been to San Antonio once before now. It was 1999, and my trip to Texas back then was my mother's graduation gift to me for attaining my Master's Degree. Now she lived in Houston at the time, which is 290 miles to the east. But my wife Marie had a friend here in TX whom she hadn't seen for a while. That friend's husband was in the Army and stationed at a nearby post (Ft. Hood?). Anyway, the two of them agreed to meet while we were on vacation and San Antonio was the agreed upon rendezvous. We had lunch on San Antonio's famous Riverwalk, chatted for a couple of hours and returned to our respective destinations. In and out. I didn't get a REALLY close look at the city, but I WAS here before (smile).

Well, for the conference this year, I'm smack in the middle of downtown SA. A block or so from the convention center. Three blocks from the Alamo. Right in the middle of the Riverwalk. Last night, as I walked around, the city was still abuzz, with literally hundreds of people still enjoying the club, restaurant, hotel and party scene (me, I just wanted to go get something to eat). All over the city, hanging from just about every large structure, "GO SPURS GO" banners fluttered (how did that work out for you guys, by the way? JUST KIDDING!) One thing I enjoying while I was outside was that the notorious Texas heat was tempered greatly by a steady but gentle breeze. That made my walk very pleasant.

I'm here with two other colleagues from the school where I teach (East Columbus Magnet Academy, Columbus, GA - GO KNIGHTS!!!), and perhaps they'll take a picture or two with me while we're here. There are also about 12 other educators from the Columbus, GA area in attendance here (according to the conference attendee rolls that I researched from the iste 2013 mobile app (shameless plug, I know; I want extra points, lol). There are thousands of educators here from all over the country and the world, and two of my favorite things, teaching and technology, will be the highlight of the visit this week. So, from the heart of San Antonio, greetings and salutations! Feel free to post a comment below, and I'll hopefully see you soon!

"The Words of the Preacher are ended..."

Comparing Apples to Oranges

Anyone who knows me knows that I have been more than a little engaged in the political goings on in Washington lately. Actually, I'd like to apologize, because I'm a little late. I've watched silently while my more conservative counterparts have done everything to bash the president in every way they possibly could. Well, a couple of days ago, I decided that I had had enough of it. And I began to address it. Now, granted, the views expressed herein are mine and mine alone, and you may feel free to disagree with me. That's one of the freedoms guaranteed us in this great land of ours. But that won't stop me from expressing them.

President Barack Obama has endured a first term unlike any of his predecessors. Yes, his predecessors were ridiculed and disrespected just like he has been. Just not to the level that he's endured nor to the frequency and nature of the slights. For example, would any of you care to ask some of the Tea Party people why they felt the need to portray the POTUS as a witch doctor with a bone through his nose? Or to portray his FAMILY as chimpanzees? Maybe someone can go talk to Joe Wilson about the proper decorum US Representatives should display when listening to the State of the Union. Or help the reporter who felt it was OK to interrupt the president during an policy announcement. That's never happened before, has it? Perhaps someone can tell the governor of Arizona, Jan Brewer, to politely remove her finger from the President's face. That would be nice, thanks. And while we're at it, can anyone please let Donald Trump know that the long form of a birth certificate IS valid? And can anyone in the universe PLEASE get Rush Limbaugh to KINDLY SHUT UP? He said yesterday and I quote, "(The NAACP delegates)booed (Gov. Romney) simply because he's white." Really now? No, they booed him because he said he would repeal Obamacare. And now, many of my more conservative counterparts have had the temerity to ask me to explain to them just what, if anything, President Obama has accomplished in his first four years in office. Well, allow me to articulate a few of them.

First, he enhanced the best healthcare system in the world. I'm getting testimonies from everywhere from those who are benefitting RIGHT NOW from this law. RIGHT NOW. The huge debts, so-called tax increases and all that other stuff that folks SAY is going to happen hasn't happened yet. But there are those who are getting health care now who otherwise wouldn't have it. It's a good law, with its ACTUAL roots in conservatism (The Heritage Foundation first came up with the idea years ago). What's shocking is that a conservative idea, conceived by conservatives, pushed by conservatives (in Newt Gingrich's Congress in the 90's), adopted into a law by a conservative (ROMNEYCARE), and upheld AS LAW by a conservative (Roberts), would now be decried as a socialist invasion of big government and tax increases, all because it was crafted into that national law by a Democrat (PRESIDENT OBAMA). If W, or Bush 41, or even Reagan had done this, or any other conservative, none of my conservative friends would be complaining. But PRESIDENT OBAMA did it, and so they are. You wanna talk TWISTED? That's twisted. He took a CONSERVATIVE idea and tried to move forward with it, but because HE'S not a conservative, they didn't want it all of a sudden. HYPOCRITES!

He did that with the debt ceiling fight too. The proposals he put forth were first put forth by President REAGAN! But NOOOOO, conservatives didn't want it this time, because it was PRESIDENT OBAMA who did it. I'm sorry, but after it took 12 YEARS to get us INTO this mess, the mess that President Obama inherited when he stepped into the office, should anyone have the audacity to think it's going to just magically correct itself in just three years? That's just ... unthinkable. ESPECIALLY when it was the REPUBLICANS who dragged their feet, whined like 12-year olds, LIED and INCITED FEAR at nearly every turn while in the minority, and then turned around and WASTED MILLIONS OF THE TAXPAYER DOLLARS THEY CLAIMED TO TRY TO BE PROTECTING in wasting 33 VOTES on a bill that has been upheld as LAW. President Obama has gotten a LOT done despite the crap he's had to put up with for three and a half years.

Here are three other things the President has accomplished while in the Oval Office. ONE: the American Auto Industry still exists, and with it, the millions MORE jobs which otherwise would have been lost (Gov. Romney argued to let em drown, in the very state where his father served as governor, Michigan!). TWO: The War In Iraq, conceived on a LIE or otherwise faulty information, which cost the American people BILLIONS of dollars to prosecute and over 4,000 lives on our end, not to mention the countless thousands of Iraqis who perished, is OVER. THREE: Osama bin Laden, who was the mastermind behind 9/11, and who managed to evade us for a decade, IS DEAD. Shout out to W for organizin the posse, but it was PRESIDENT OBAMA who gave the word for Navy SEAL Team 6 to go in there and put one in his head and one in his heart. THAT'S WHAT PRESIDENT OBAMA HAS DONE.

Since I'm comparing apples to oranges, What have the Republicans done? Let's see... They challenged his heritage, and continue to do so despite the fact that he has proven his lineage. They challenged his faith, even though he has proven its foundation. They have challenged his every move, so they could keep things as bad as possible because they knew that that would be the ONLY way they would have any chance of getting back in power again, even though they have absolutely NO CLUE about what they are going to do when or if they get back in office. Did you know the Gov. Romney has brought in several members of Bush 43's staff to ride with him if he gets elected? George W. Bush, the least liked former president in history? So we're just supposed to let him take us BACK to that mess again? NO!!!!! They refused to work WITH the President unless he adopted every single line of their platform, thus putting him in an awkward position. Do what THEY want, and they can frame him as weak, and he loses his base. If he refuses, now they can frame him as incompetent, fire up their OWN base, and blame all the mess on him for not fixing in three years what they took twelve years to create. And then they have put up as their standard bearer, their nominee, a man who, though inarguably successful as a businessman, and marginally successful as governor of Massachusetts, HAS NO CORE, NO PLAN, AND NO CLUE. AND who just got caught in a LIE, and may be guilty of a felony. This is our choice come November. To keep moving forward, no matter the perceived difficulties, or to return to the practices that got us here in the first place. I for one can't fathom going back, and I know I'm not alone in feeling that way. Whether you agree with me or not, make sure you exercise your right to vote. Frankly, you have no right to complain about anything after Election Day if you refuse to participate in the process. See ya at the polls.

So, you're a "fan", huh?

Ahhh. Can you smell it in the air? The beautiful scents of barbecue, the approaching coolness in the air signalling the start of fall, the sharp diesel of someone's portable generator...

Can you hear it? The cadence of the bands, the greetings at the tailgate, the music blasting from the loudspeakers, the drone and conversation of the talking heads making their observations, analyses, and prognostications...

And can you see it? The explosion of every color in the visual spectrum, the facepaints, costumes, the headdresses... The beauty of the cheerleaders and dancing girls, the stately precision of the marching bands in their crisp uniforms, the pride on the faces of the alumni who have supported their alma maters for years, and the unbridled enthusiasm of the students for their schools, manifested in everything from face paint to body paint, from tattoos to brands, from different colored hair to different colored...whatever...

College football is BACK, baby! It is my humble position that THIS is the best time of the year, it's a defining time, special, beautiful, magical. There are those who plan for this season all year long, who set up and prepare for their teams' games from Wednesday till the following Sunday (I wonder where those people work and how they are able to afford all that, but that's another blog for another time) and who go to EVERY GAME, no matter WHERE it is. There are those who don't come to the stadium to actually SEE the game. They come for the tailgating experience, set up their generators and satellites, and watch the game in the parking lot. There are those who opt for the "best" seat in the house, meaning, their own living rooms. I mean, think about it. You get up close shots of the players and their uniforms, the reactions of the coaches, the referee when he calls the penalties, etc. You don't have to worry about being too hot or too cold in front of your TV, and if you want to yell about a bad call, you don't have to worry about offending anyone sitting next to you. (By now, you can probably tell where I fall in this description).

I'll tell you right now, I love the teams I love. I wish I could go with them to every game, and be right on the sidelines for every play. Back when I was young enough to play the game, there was no feeling like being out there on the field, in the trenches, in the battle, doing those things that we hoped would bring victory, and, sometimes, having to deal with the sharp sting of defeat. I can't do that now. I can only watch from a distance. But what prompts my discussion today is how some folks act before, during and especially AFTER the games.

A REAL fan ALWAYS supports their team, no matter what their record is. You are not a fan if you only support "your" team when they win. You are not a fan if you are yelling your head off for them when they are doing well and then turning around in the same breath and chewing them out when they don't do well. You have no right to criticize if YOU weren't at the practices, or lifting the weights, or doing the training. Love your team, and enjoy it when they win. But remember that "your" team doesn't OWE YOU anything. They get out there and they give it their all, and if they don't win, the LAST thing they need to hear is criticism from someone who wasn't even on the practice field with them.

A REAL fan doesn't act like an idiot towards the fans of other teams. I once spoke with a man who is a fan of the main rival for one of my favorite teams. He told me that he thought that everyone who was a fan of MY team wasn't a very nice person, because both times that he went to watch the game at the venue of his rival, one of the fans of my favorite team defaced his car in some manner. He got back to his car after one game to find all of his tires had been slashed (and that was after his team LOST). He came back after another game to find his car had been keyed horribly. That's not the action of a true fan. Loving a college football team is not a license to be foolish, rude, arrogant, or to engage in criminal activity. You don't get to annoy your co-workers at work. One or two harmless jokes in the name of the rivalry, ok. Being a fool every time you see them gets old after a while. Remember, YOU didn't do anything to contribute to "your" team's success at all. A REAL fan shows respect.

A REAL fan doesn't claim accolades or responsibility for that which doesn't belong to him. If the Army Black Knights (my alma mater)or the Georgia Bulldogs win the game, I'm ecstatic, but at the same time, I realize that I had no part in that victory. I just got to witness it (I hope). After the game is over, though, I don't get to belittle the fans of my opponents. A Florida fan is not beneath me or undeserving of my respect if we win the game, and vice versa. If Georgia or Army wins, that is no indication of my awesomeness. If they lose, that doesn't make ME a loser. And the players on ALL teams deserve the UTMOST respect of the fans, win or lose.

We're not supposed to like teams only because they win, and then abandon them when they lose. It doesn't matter if our team has lost the rivalry game 25 times. We HATE that, and we're obviously going to demand that the coaches and players do something about that, but we don't give up on the TEAM. We're not supposed to like only the fans who like our teams, and then disrespect and mistreat those who like other teams, especially our rivals. We're not supposed to allow the tapestry of our lives or the content of our character to be defined by the outcome of a game. We like our teams because of who THEY are and how they connect and reflect who WE are. THAT'S what makes REAL fans, in my opinion.

Go Dawgs, and GO ARMY!!! BEAT NAVY!!!

Are you Happy Now?

Today, for the first time in America's history, the nation's credit rating was downgraded from AAA to AA+. A slap in the nose to be sure, but what's more troubling is how and WHY this all came to pass.

The past few weeks have seen a series of firsts. This is the first time in our history that the debt ceiling had some great difficulty getting raised, and all because of partisan politics! The Republicans talked about not allowing increased spending no matter what. They wear their "fiscal conservative" label like a badge of honor, and have tried to look at times like martyrs, at times like crusaders, and at times like revolutionaries. "We are going to do what is in the best interests of the AMERICAN PEOPLE!!!" they screamed. "No more raising the debt ceiling unless and until the budget is BALANCED!", they said. "No more kicking the can down the road!", they said. "We won't allow this debt to be passed on to our children!", they said.

And yet, I noticed in the media's research and reporting on this that the debt ceiling was raised 18 times during the Reagan administration. George H.W. Bush raised it 7 more times in his four years in office. Was anyone talking about kicking the can and not passing the debt to the children when I was a kid? Nope. George W. Bush passed those convenient little tax cuts for the rich and big corporations (those loopholes aren't closed yet), and even with more money in their pocket than the government has, they still haven't hired people. NO, it's NOT just Obama's fault alone. The rich want to get richer, and disregard what the middle class and those in poverty want and need. If taxes get raised on them, they'll take it out on those "beneath" them by passing on the costs in the form of higher retail prices, or they'll exact their revenge by "cutting costs" in the form of layoffs. Then they can get their Republican stooges to pound the mantra that raising taxes "kills jobs". Millions and millions of people in the world starving to death, struggling to make ends meet, and our conservative friends doggedly hold the line to help a handful of people stay rich. That's SHAMEFUL.

And then there's the Tea Party, who's adamant refusal to support ANY deal which allowed for raising taxes NO MATTER WHAT only exacerbated this mess and led to the outcome we saw today. If the government defaulted, great, they said. Perhaps that would be the catalyst we needed to "take our country back" (read: get rid of the Black President). Their stubborness and intransigence have only helped to cause America to be publicly humiliated in front of the WHOLE WORLD.

Thanks a lot for that. Seriously.

The truth of the matter is that what is now evident to the rest of the world has been playing out in homes, apartments, trailers, and kitchen tables for YEARS. Millions of Americans have poor credit, can't find jobs, can't pay their bills, and don't know how they will balance their own budgets. And most of these same Americans know that in order to even have a CHANCE to get back on their feet, they NEED MORE MONEY. Their revenue has to increase somehow before they can begin to break even. So they take second (and third) jobs and cut back on their spending, and soon, with a little discipline, they come out of debt and break even. See the pattern? They increase their revenue, AND cut their spending. They do BOTH. A BALANCED APPROACH.

But in Washington, our Republican friends seem to think you can get by by doing ONE without the other. But even their OWN fiscal analysts know that in order to REALLY balance the budget, there will have to be SOME revenue increases. Don't want to raise taxes? Fine. Close the loopholes which allow big corporations here in America (GE) to escape their obligation to pay taxes, or pay them at a GREATLY reduced rate. NO? Don't want to do that? Then HOW, exactly, do we get this budget balanced by ONLY cutting spending? Sorry, there is NO way that can be done.

So now, we have a lower credit rating. With that, interest rates on EVERYBODY will go up. Now EVERYBODY will have higher taxes to pay. It will be harder for EVERYBODY to get a loan. Thanks to our Republican friends, and especially those of the Tea Party stripe, now we have a mess that EVERYBODY has to deal with. We're not kicking the can down the road. The elephants have kicked that can upside EVERYBODY'S HEAD.

How's that tea tasting?

Are you happy now?

And NOW they're mad...

They didn't get mad when the Supreme Court stopped a legal recount and appointed a President.

They didn't get mad when Dick Cheney allowed energy company officials to dictate energy policy and push us to invade Iraq.

They didn't get mad when a covert CIA operative got outed.

They didn't get mad when the Patriot Act was passed.

They didn't get mad when we ILLEGALLY invaded a country that posed NO threat to us.

They didn't get mad when we spent over $800 BILLION (and counting) on said illegal war.

They didn't get mad when President G.W. Bush borrowed more money from foreign sources than the previous 42 presidents COMBINED.

They didn't get mad when over 10 billion dollars in CASH just disappeared in Iraq.

They didn't get mad when it was revealed that we were torturing people.

They didn't get mad when BUSH embraced trade and outsourcing policies that shipped 6 MILLION American jobs out of the country.

They didn't get mad when the government was illegally wiretapping Americans.

They didn't get mad when we DIDN'T catch Osama bin Laden.

They didn't get mad when BUSH rang up 10 TRILLION dollars in combined budget and current account deficits.

They didn't get mad when all of us saw the HORRIBLE conditions at Walter Reed.

They didn't get mad when we let a major US City, New Orleans... drown.

They didn't get mad when we gave people who had more money than they could spend, the filthy rich, over a trillion dollars in tax breaks.

They didn't get mad with the WORST 8 YEARS of job creation in several decades.

They didn't get mad when over 200,000 AMERICAN CITIZENS lost their lives because they had no health insurance.

They didn't get mad when the lack of oversight and regulations from the Bush Administration caused US citizens to lose 12 trillion dollars in investments, retirement, and home values.

They finally got mad when a BLACK MAN was elected President of the United States and had the audacity to decide that people in America deserved the right to go see a doctor if they are sick. Illegal wars, corruption, torture, job losses by the millions, theft of taxes to make the rich even richer, and the worst economic disaster since 1929 never stirred their ire. But when the Black President decided to help his fellow Americans who are sick??? NOW you get mad???

Mad enough to start an ultra-conservative, twisted and deranged party of Republicans called the Tea Party, whose agenda is so far to the right that it threatens the liberties of minorities everywhere, and the hard fought gains over the past century? Mad enough to allow the same party that caused this mess to get back into power and start it all over again? Mad enough to allow fear to triumph over reason, just to gain enough power to advance your own agenda at the expense of the people you were elected to represent?

NO, NO, a thousand times, NO!!!

Exercise your right to vote this year. Don't allow them to turn their anger into a Twilight-Zone tidal wave of regressive policies that takes us backward. Let's send a message that causes them to stew in their anger a little while longer! GO VOTE!!!