Appeasement to Avoid Label of Racism

It is a shame that two teachers’ attempts to end an altercation between two teens at Ponchatoula Jr. High, has turned into a debacle.  It is a debacle because the higher ups in the Tangipahoa School System have chosen “appeasement” over unbiased judgement in resolving the outcomes of this incident by firing both teachers.   Ironically, if weapons had been involved in this situation, and the students were restrained by whatever methods were necessary, these teachers would be declared heroes rather than villains, as the administration has chosen to portray them.

Perhaps both the parents of these teens and the Tangipahoa administrators ought to consider what possibly could have happened if no one had intervened.  One or both of the teens could have been permanently injured or even dead, as was the outcome of a recent case of a young teenage girl who participated in a school fight and died afterwards from internal injuries.  Contrary to popular belief fists can rapidly escalate into lethal weapons and no one can predict when this will happen during an altercation.

Obviously, the Tangipahoa School System mired in segregation problems for years is very a tune to any situation that might smack of racial injustice.  Sadly, today, such injustice still exists far too often in our society.  However, sometimes situations occur that have nothing to do with race and these get lost in our society’s attempts to substitute “appeasement” for sound decisions to avoid the label of “racism.”
 

A more appropriate judgement in this case would have been suspension of the students coupled with the requirement that before students were readmitted to school that both the students and their parents participate in anger management or conflict resolution training, for parents do have a responsibility for their children’s behavior in society.

Additionally, the language of the teachers involved in restraining the students needed to be addressed by a written reprimand and a brush up course on harmlessly restraining individuals needed to be required.  However, many times in the heat of the moment it is difficult to maintain that language self-control aspect.

Based upon the school system’s decision to ruin the careers of these two teachers, I would suspect that next time a student altercation breaks out teachers will take pause and decline to intervene.   I can only imagine what those law suits will look like. The Tangipahoa School System needs to remember, “You reap, what you sow.”

It was a bad decision to fire these two individuals and it would take a strong person to admit it and rectify it.  However, I suspect the game plan here is for the teachers to spend a great deal of their limited resources by hiring attorneys and getting their firings overturned by the courts.  This would allow the “appeasement” decision to be protected and lets the person responsible for the decision avoid being labeled a “racist.”  So sad that it had to come to this low a level.

US Workers as Usual Left Holding the Bag

Well the results are in and it turns out that Trump’s 2017 Tax and Jobs Act was a big failure as far as benefits to workers were concerned.  The Trump administration continually bragged about how the tax overhaul would boost the economy and would bring the average American household, “around a $4000 pay raise.”  While it did boost the economy’s growth, the workers were left holding the bag,  because the major part of the $150 billion tax cut, the biggest in U.S history, given to corporations in 2018, went to shareholders’ dividends and stock buy-backs.  Both of which simply lined the pockets of 10% of the Americans who own 84% of the stocks.

 

While stories about many corporations increasing wages and giving bonuses filled the airways after the announced tax cuts, the impact to most workers was minimal once the dust settled.  In fact, the conclusion of a six month study by the Center for Public Integrity, a not-for-profit agency in Washington, D.C., indicated that only 6% of the tax cuts given to corporations were actually spent on workers.

Workers received an average paycheck raise from corporations and businesses of $6.21 or $233 a year coupled with another 3.5% from reduced tax taken by the feds.  While no one “should look a gift horse in the mouth,” the majority of one’s increase in take home salary was not due to the corporations and businesses returning their tax savings to workers as President Trump and his economists had advocated; and certainly no average increase of $4000 a year for the American workers.   Additionally, instead of the  tax break paying for itself as also promised by the President, it has increased the national debt by over 17% or $1 trillion.

So enjoy your 3.5% because sooner or later that debt will have to be paid and it will fall on the backs of all of us.  Does this sound like the soul of the Republican party mantra that for years has advocated for a reduction in the national debt coupled with fiscal responsibility?  All this appears to be just more smoke and mirrors which Trump is counting on to carry him to re-election. 

LSU Priorities Questionable

As LSU prepares for another football season its fans are all a buzz about the prospects of another great one; maybe even a win over Alabama.  They also love to brag about men’s and women’s basketball, women’s gymnastics and men’s and women’s baseball.

However, these same exuberant fans apparently couldn’t care less about academics and some of the deplorable conditions that currently exist outside the athletic realm at our state’s premier institution.  Leaky roofs, mildew-stained ceilings, threadbare carpets, unreliable heating and air conditioning systems, potholes, and aging pipes are just a few of the signs of the current dilapidated state at LSU.  LSU’s infrastructure is falling apart, to the tune of $718 million in deferred maintenance.

If one looks at the entire LSU system that figure climbs to over $1.7 billion in overdo maintenance.

The essence of the infrastructure problems at LSU is best epitomized by LSU's Middleton Library.  According to LSU’s website, “LSU Libraries support the academic mission of the university by fostering teaching, learning, and research. Through their commitment to excellence in collections, services, and spaces, the Libraries serve as an indispensable intellectual resource for the state of Louisiana…”

Obviously these are simply hollow words because Middleton Library is so disgusting that prospective students aren’t even given a tour of it. To put it mildly it is a dump disguised as a library.  The basement is so covered with mold and mildew from water leaks that it is totally unusable.  Plywood boards are placed on its floors as a means to travel through the water in its corridors after a rain.  Additionally, the College of Science buildings  at LSU with critical and immediate needs include Howe-Russell-Kniffen, Choppin Hall, Foster Hall and Lockett Hall.   Within these buildings, aging infrastructure, inadequate accessibility, and outdated teaching and research laboratories  are limiting  the university and its faculty and students from achieving their fullest potential.  The list of academic needs goes on and on.

Ironically, all these buildings stand in sharp contrast to another building used only 10 or so times a year, Tiger Stadium.

This is where the soul and priorities of LSU NOW reside, and students and faculty know it.  "If you want to understand what's most important to a society," the scholar Joseph Campbell once observed, "don't examine its art or literature, simply look at its biggest buildings."

The backsliding of LSU doesn’t just apply to its physically decaying academic infrastructures but also to its technology support systems.  LSU relies on an old outdated IBM mainframe system that utilizes COBOL to handle its tuition, payrolls, student services and other critical needs.  Those with tech savvy will understand the COBOL reference, for others let’s just say the system is over 43 years, and when parts are needed for repair, they must be purchased on line from eBay.  Even one of their own IT specialist warned, “the current IBM mainframe was placing the university at a high risk of collapse.” 

Obviously the priorities at LSU need an immediate adjustment, but it hardly seems likely as long as the Tigers continue to appease their fans  by having winning football seasons.   This continued shortsightedness will eventually catch up to LSU for it is rapidly becoming less and less of a premier state university.

All should be ashamed of what’s going on at LSU.

But who cares?  Go Tigers!

Time to "Put up or Shut Up"

Republicans have been bad mouthing The Affordable Care Act, coined Obamacare, since its inception in 2010.  Instead of even attempting to rework the plan to make it more viable, Republicans insist it must be completely thrown out.  Not able to muster the votes to completely accomplish this, they have implemented various legislative maneuvering to systematically chip away at it and have succeeded in making it non-affordable for many in need of medical insurance.

 

However, kudos is due President Trump for finally calling their bluff and telling them it’s time “to put up, or shut up.”  The Republican bluff being, they don't have, and never had any viable, proven alternative plan for an Obamacare replacement.  It is easy to criticize something you are not responsible for creating, but it’s a completely different scenario when suddenly you must assume responsibility for it.

So far the initial reactions of the Republicans are that none wish to pick up the health care plan gauntlet which Trump has thrown down.  In fact, many want no part of it and wish it “would just go away.”   This is quite evident by the reactions of the four senators that our president has charged with completing his vision, namely, Senators Rick Scott, Mitt Romney, John Barrasso, and Louisiana doctor, Bill Cassidy.

Sen.  Rick Scott claims that any health care plan must originate from the White House and that he had no prior knowledge that he was to be made part of the health policy group.  Mitt Romney won't say more than he and colleagues are “working on health care thoughts.”  John Barrasso, when asked about the Republican plan, in typical politician mode, refused to acknowledge the question, and turned it back on the opposition, saying, “Democrats want to go to the complete government takeover of health care.”  And Sen. Bill Cassidy, the fourth member of Trump’s team, who should have more knowledge about health care than the others, hasn’t committed to anything more than having “conversations with colleagues” about health care affordability.

It's puzzling that after complaining for nine years about Obamacare, and only a week into the Trump-mandated makeover as the “Party of Health Care,” these senators along with most of their fellow Republican lawmakers have no health care plan and want no ownership of it.

So to all those who still believe their  political party’s  P.R. that they have the final solutions for affordable health care in the U.S, the reality is, one party implemented a flawed one, and the other hasn’t one to implement.   So don’t expect any immediate relief from this latest  bunch of experts.  They haven’t a clue, but thanks to President Trump for removing the smoke screen created by his political party.

Total Direspect for U.S.A.

I must admit the childishness of the man seated in the White House never ceases to amaze me.

While I’m no fan of Joe Biden, Trump’s latest video clip mocking him for his inappropriate physical contact with woman makes me wonder if Trump has lost all sense of human decency.  This mocking from a man who bragged about grabbing women’s genitals and has paid hush monies to squash his infidelities.

The really sad part is many think this clip is funny which might be understandable if this was a posting from some drunken bar room buffoon.  However, we are talking about someone holding  the office of the Commander-in-Chief of the most powerful nation in the free world.  Hypocrisy aside, this aberrant behavior is a total world-wide disgrace for the United States.

But then again I must get a gripe and remember that President Trump is a deep-seeded, childish narcissist, who couldn’t care less about worldwide respect for the United States.  So just keep on laughing all you evangelical supporters.