Chemical Warfare

Yesterday, the insurgency in Iraq released a chlorine cloud, which wreaked havoc. Of course, that was their intent.

In a democratic Iraq (and I use that term with sarcasm and great reservation), it would seem these things would not be tolerated, or even be a realistic issue. The United States' false-belief that it is going to bring order and stability to this war-torn landscape is greatly misguided.

It's time to allow the Iraqi people to be responsible for their own, mutual destiny.

School Sucks

I have decided that being a middle school teacher really sucks. I have hit rock bottom in terms of students and academic apathy. Perhaps, I am partly to blame, but I have always been a staunch believer in the fact that if I had a room full of rocks, I could accomplish as much as I do on a daily basis with living, breathing students. What's the difference, you ask? Simple: I could actually get to speak and feel like I am being heard, when speaking to the rocks.

In one week, I get to send my eighth graders to someone else, and I get sixth graders. I am hoping that they will be better behaved and more academically astute. I have heard they are. If not, then I'll be driven crazy until the end of school!

Here's to hoping!

Bush & Brazil

Bush leaves for his Latin America trip amid mass protests in Sao Paulo, Brazil. He says that he is going look for alternative fuels. Brazil is the world's largest user of alternative fuels. The majority of their new vehicles run off of ethanol that they produce domestically.

Is Bush pushing us from one dependency toward another one? I can envision a world where we are no longer dependent on Middle East crude, but a same America that is dependent on Latin American cane ethanol. For some reason, the United States must always look to other countries for our energy needs. Why can't we simply use corn ethanol derivatives as fuel? That is something that we can grow in abundance in our own Heartland.

Rainy Days

Since my last post, many things have happened. Most significantly, according to the media, is the death of Anna Nicole Smith.

Although, she was a bottle blond with fake breasts, people seem mesmerized by her harlot magnetism. Although, she was a gold-digging opportunist, who married an 89-year-old Texas billionaire when she was only 26, America owes her a debt of gratitude; simply, we never got bored; I know I didn't.

Then we are left with her baby, her heir apparent. Who knows what will come of this child? More importantly, who knows who the real father is? In the final analysis, we probably will never know. But, it doesn't stop the world from speculating and wondering. Ironically, I find myself thinking about it. This predicament is no different than those couples on The Maury Povich Show, who seek to find out the answer to that electrifying, breath-taking phrase: "Who is the daddy of my baby?" The paternity dispute, in this case, could easily be solved in a fifteen minute segment on the Maury Show. Maury will console them, and even chase them backstage if he must to get their gut-wrenching moments of turmoil on tape. All for our entertainment, of course.

Thank you, Maury!