Mickey Z
Cool Observer
Saturday, December 30, 2006
My father slurps his coffee
I hear you Mickey, coffee slurping is pretty annoying. What I hate more, however, is gum snapping. It seems to happen a lot, especially on the subway. It is like nails on the chalkboard for me.
Yeah, Saddam is dead. If there were any real justice, Bush and Cheney would have been swinging with him. But as Chomsky says, if the international laws that came out of Nuremburg were actually enforced, every U.S. president since then would have been hanged.
Perhaps the exception would be President Ford. Has anyone read Cockburn’s (sort of) obituary?
http://counterpunch.com/cockburn12272006.htmlPosted by Brian on from Peoples Republic of Brooklyn 12/30 at 09:03 AMGood morning, Expendables.
Brian: Ford’s administration gave the green light for Suharto and Indonesia to slaughter more than 200,000 humans in East Timor...using U.S. weapons. Yet Ford is mourned while Saddam hangs.
Posted by Mickey Z. on from Astoria 12/30 at 09:16 AMI’m a slurper. Sorry I’ll work on that.
Nice story this week. You’re a fantastic writer.
I really dug all the talk about water the last couple of days. We take it for granted here but it’s the very stuff of life and we dump our sewage in it.
I love your site Mickey. I always find other fantastic sites to visit linked here too. My favorite find is Post Secrets.
The best thing about this website is that I learn something new everyday. Thank You for that!
Posted by David on from Louisville KY 12/30 at 10:40 AMSo, Saddam is hanged. Personally I loathe the death penalty, even when a man of his stamp dies.
A story? Here’s a related one.
A little over a year ago, I decided to make the best use of my classes, as I saw it. I thought I’d get about 60 pupils to write those letters asking for clemency that Amnesty International asks people to write. Some of them were for Stanlet Tucci Williams, I remember.
The classes went along with it. I didn’t force anyone to write; I just laid out the situation and, as is often the case, the kids arrived at a humane view. I will admit it was biased, but both sides of the death penalty situation were heard. Anyone who doubts the integrity / brains of the next generation ought to see a classroom like that. The kids make jokes & sneer, but their hearts in the right place. Besides, when you were a teenager, did you have much class? I didn’t.
The following day, before I’d posted the letters, one of the more anonymous pupils came to find me. Her mother had angrily demanded the letter her daughter had written back. I’ll emphasise that none of the kids were forced, and some did not write a letter as they chose not to. Fair enough. But this girl had done and, for some reason, for mother demanded it back. She was implacable. I gave back the letter, as my legal position doing what I’d done anyway was of the “don’t ask, don’t tell” variety. I couldn’t afford to make a stand.
I later found out that the girl in question had lost her brother, several years before. He was murdered. I had no idea and wouldn’t have done the lesson if I had done - it’s just a good idea to shy away from such things. But the idea of mercy & the value of all human life clearly got home, at least with her. Every holiday I get a gift from her, the same when she goes away. I had a fine big Christmas card from her and a gift, again. It’s almost embarrassing because I can’t give things back.
I’m just thinking if there’s a moral to this, and I suppose there could be several. I won’t draw one, though, because in this matter I’d sooner just say what happened and other people can take it for what they like.
Posted by Chris Wood on from Jersey at the mo 12/30 at 11:22 AMNot a story, but an account from times gone by. Tomorrow, I’ll be driving through a small town famous throughout the region for it’s outlet mall, but I suspect 99% of shoppers aren’t aware of this bit of local history...
Posted by sk on from 12/30 at 11:47 AMThank you, sk, for the links. Gerry Spence said it all for me in the following essay (which I recommend again here):
Rat holes come in many sizes [as do nooses]:
http://tinyurl.com/whdnfPosted by Robert B. Livingston on from San Francisco, California 12/30 at 01:24 PMHellos to Brian, Mickey, sk, Robert, and David
Chris # 4...your story inspired me to tell what happened when I was teaching in New Jersey. This was back in the more regimented old days. I often did not like to stick “with the book” and always improvised a lot in the classroom. One thing that I did, which did not seem very unusual to me, was to assign homework every night, BUT with the provision that each student design their own homework assignment. Anything was acceptable to me. The only rule was that the student had to be able to explain to me and the rest of the class what he/she had learned in doing the assignment. This plan of mine worked much better than I had anticipated. One student built a model replica of the entire town (that took several days). The quality of work that these kids were turning in was just amazing. Some contacted the town officils to research town history and political projects. These were 3rd and 4th grade kids. Soon, I started to get phone calls from parents complaining that their children were spending too much time on homework. I had a lot of explaining to do...parents were amazed when they realized that it was their child, not me, who decided what kind and amount of homework to do. The kids were inspired, not by me, but by their own imaginations.
Posted by RMJ on from Churchill 4 Prez Hdqts 12/30 at 03:20 PMHello again, everyone. What an excellent collection of comments, stories, etc. above. David, just like you, I learn something new here every day. I’m glad you’ve decided to make this a regular stop.
David’s kind words mean an awful lot to me and I’ll use them as a segue to state for the record that I only play a role on this site. The regular visitors are equal partners and I consider myself incredibly lucky to have lured in such a group. I must be doing something right, huh?
Captcha sez: “money” (but comrades are better)
Posted by Mickey Z. on from Astoria 12/30 at 05:58 PMJust in case anyone hasn’t already seen this:
http://tinyurl.com/yejfkvPosted by Mickey Z. on from Astoria 12/30 at 07:37 PMMore about Hussein:
http://www.dissidentvoice.org/Dec06/Elich30.htmPosted by Mickey Z. on from Astoria 12/30 at 09:38 PMGood riddance to 2006 - could not agree more, Mickey! And I find slurping annoying in general.
Only 10 hours and 15 minutes, and then it will be 2007 - in eastern Australia at least. We are going out on a slightly wet note although it is still quite warm - 86F.
‘Hi’ to Brian (I so agree with you re Bush and Cheney being as guilty as Saddam Hussein - am reading Chomsky’s ‘Failed States’ at the moment), David, Chris, sk, Robert, Rosemarie and Tommy - best wishes for all of you and for Mickey and Michele - may everything go well in 2007.
Posted by Helga Fremlin on from Daylesford, Australia 12/30 at 09:44 PM‘I love your site Mickey. I always find other fantastic sites to visit linked here too. My favorite find is Post Secrets.
The best thing about this website is that I learn something new everyday. Thank You for that!’
Thanks for saying it all, David! Sorry about the plagiarism ..
Posted by Helga Fremlin on from Daylesford, Australia 12/30 at 09:47 PM
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