Sassy Black Friend

Happy Banned Books Week!

Er, I’m not sure why this week goes from Saturday-Saturday, but here it is, Banned Books Week 2010 from September 25 – October 2, 2010.

From the official site:

Banned Books Week is the only national celebration of the freedom to read. It was launched in 1982 in response to a sudden surge in the number of challenges to books in schools, bookstores and libraries. More than a thousand books have been challenged since 1982. The challenges have occurred in every state and in hundreds of communities.

On the list of the top 10 most challenged books for 2009 were four I read in school: To Kill a Mockingbird, Catcher in the Rye, The Color Purple and The Chocolate War. Sheesh. Kids today are screwed.

Recessions are so 2009

Not that most people would notice, but…

The Recession Has (Officially) Ended

The recession officially ended in June 2009, according to the Business Cycle Dating Committee of the National Bureau of Economic Research, the official arbiter of such dates.

As many economists had expected, this official end date makes the most recent downturn the longest since World War II. This recent recession, having begun in December 2007, lasted 18 months. Until now the longest postwar recessions were those of 1973-5 and 1981-2, which each lasted 16 months.

Welcome to the Court, Justice Kagan

Elena Kagan has been sworn in as the newest Supreme Court Justice. Congratulations to her – looks like she’s going to have a very busy first year.

And in local news

A high school in my area is in the news today because the teachers have been in a labor dispute with the school board for a year. The talks basically stopped in January, with no resolution. So, the teachers decided to only participate in events specified in their contracts, avoiding optional activities.

Which, since the whole issue is pay, makes sense, right? Well, one of the activities they teachers decided not to attend is the graduation ceremony -held today. Last month when the decision was announced, some of the students in the school protested, saying:

“The teachers are being immature,” said Colando, who participated in the late morning protest. “It’s not right. They’re taking their frustration out on students. It’s not our fault the teachers have a conflict with the board. What they’re doing is only going to get people angry.”

Whatever, kid. Talk to me when you’re working your ass off teaching for peanuts. I understand wanting teachers you had relationships with to see your graduate. But after graduation these students are gone, moving on with their lives. The teachers are still there, still fighting to get fair treatment and pay. Sometimes you have to take a stand, even if you don’t like it.

On the local news today the headline of the three pieces I saw about this stared something like, “What if you were graduating from high school and your teachers didn’t bother to show up.” Uh huh. As usual, anti-union bullshit. It’s not like the teachers all decided to have a kegger instead of going to the ceremony. And I’m sure they all did their best to convey how proud they are of their now former students.

And how ridiculous is the derisive tone towards the teachers when the news admits they are doing their jobs as required:

The community has been in turmoil since the teachers’ union decided to follow its contract to the tee.

After working without a contract for two years, the teachers decided to work to contract and do nothing else.

The action means teachers are not staying late for students to make up tests, they are not chaperoning events and they will be not be working graduation. [Emphasis mine]

The nerve of these people, doing their jobs.

And now, a personal note from me to the students complaining:

Stop being such babies. Welcome to adulthood. Sometimes things don’t go the way you want them – because some things are more important than your evening of celebration. In a few years when you have union jobs you’ll pray to have a membership looking a the big picture rather than their personal feelings about a ceremony.

Besides, if you’re so close to your teachers that not having them at graduation ruins it, get some coffee over the summer before you go to college and forget all about them anyway.

Why not Finland?

This guy was born in Puerto Rico. That makes him an American citizen, thanks to the Jones-Shafroth Act that declares: “all persons born in Puerto Rico on or after 13 January 1941 to be U.S. citizens at birth.”

Why does that matter? Because some geniuses in Illinois tried to deport him… to Mexico. Because all brown people come from there, I guess. Just watch the video.

… the hell?

A Lumpkin County High School history teacher was placed on administrative leave after she allowed a group of students to don homemade Ku Klux Klan costumes during an assignment on the history of racism in the United States.

Wha?