[Update, Saturday May 29, 2010, 2:30 PM]: I will be off through the weekend. My next new post will be Tuesday morning, June 1. Have a great Memorial Day!
[End Update]
Ever since a Dade County jury convicted her brother three years ago of child molestation, Angie Granger has worked hard to help Brad Wade appeal the conviction and to put out an account that differs with the one prosecutor Len Gregor gave. (Yes, I know everyone is shocked that The Man would help to fabricate a dishonest account of something.)
Angie has launched a blog, "Brad Wade Justice," and I would encourage readers to visit it and make constructive comments. She and her family deserve our support, just as people supported Tonya Craft.
As I have noted before, the Tonya Craft trial did not occur in a vacuum. For many years, prosecutors on Buzz Franklin's staff have been fabricating evidence and police have lied in court in order to push the "keeping the LMJC safe for children" crusade, one that also has a payout in Mondale Act money. In my view, there really is nothing worse than having government officials like Franklin, Gregor, and Chris Arnt who are in positions of power and trust use their authority in order to push lies.
From what I have read, Gregor's father went to West Point, a place that has an honor code. Unfortunately, the son, who learned none of the lessons of honor, is a man of dishonor, a bully, and someone who knowingly targets innocent people and plays the "let's see if I can convict an innocent person" game that apparently defines the man's career. What he did to Brad Wade was an obscenity, and anyone who saw his performance in the Tonya Craft trial can attest that The Man is a narcissist of the highest order.
Have a great Memorial Day weekend. It is my fervent hope that the people who gave up their lives in service of their country do not have their memories further sullied by bullies like Len Gregor, who have spit on everything decent and honest and true, narcissists who insist that the truth is a lie and a lie is the truth.
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108 comments:
Thank you for the info about the blog about Brad Wade. I will be reading it regularly.
I, too will be reading the Brad Wade blog. It is my hope that something can be done about the injustice in his case as well. These people never cease to amaze me. How they lay their heads down at night is beyond me.
Mr Anderson, Thank you for all you are doing, keeping the word out there so all can read, You are the BEST.. Can't wait toooooo read your blog. Thank's again...
Mr. Anderson, would it help Angie to contact someone from Channel 3 or Talk Radio 102.3? This is so awful! Thank you for keeping us informed and helping the Wade family. You are a great person and very much appreciated. Bobb
volfan69,great idea.We need to help the Wade's as much as we all can.Is is so sad how many good people have been mistreated by the system.
WRCB has already aired a piece concerning Brad Wade, unfortunately, they didn't really get in to too much detail or much substance. I think that's often the case with the local 1/2 hour evening broadcast. Shows like Dateline, 60 Minutes, and 20/20 seem to do better with indepth reporting and investigative journalism. Channel 3 did introduce the Brad Wade story to the local region, but perhaps radio could do a better job covering the whole story.
I would definitely recommend contacting Kevin West who is the news director at WGOW 102.3. This is where I first heard about Bill Anderson. Tonya was suppose to have her interview there until the gag order stopped her, and it wasn't until after her acquittal that she was interviewed there again. Let's also not forget that Eric Echols was also on the FRED show for a full hour to speak about his ordeal. They also made the whole Echols interview available on Podcast.
Yeah, if Angie wants to appeal to a large local market and covers more of the details, Kevin West would be a really good place to start.
I don't think any of these people have any shame. Brian House was walking around downtown Ringgold this morning at 1890's Days and Sharon Anderson was in the parade. guess they think they are something special.
I was Brian House walking around today too. Nobody was going up to talk to him, though, and I saw some people see him and turn the other way, shunning him. He's an outcast and doesn't even know it yet.
Speaking of Memorial Day, I thought I'd share with y'all a story from when I visited Normandy, France in 2001.
There is a beach near Bayeux that on June 6, 1944, and shall ever-after be known as Omaha Beach. Whilst strolling the beach with some other people who contracted to take a local tour, we noticed several houses built along the bluffs, saw sand castles built on the strand, spied families enjoying free time on the ocean's edge, and witnessed children wading and swimming in the surf.
One member of said tour group commented aloud, "This is hallowed ground. People fought and died here. They shouldn't allow people to do this."
For a moment I was inclined to agree, for this is indeed hallowed ground, no different from Gettysburg, Manassas or Yorktown. But, after thinking the matter over for a second I realized that, yes, this is hallowed ground, but that should not preclude these goings-on.
Fighting back the emotion similar to that of a person who had just found God's forgiveness and accepted salvation, I managed to respond, "You're wrong. These people should be allowed to do all of this that they are doing, and more. After all, it was for their right to be able to do this that those men fought and died. Look at those children playing over there. They can play here because a group of Americans gave their lives. They died for freedom, and that is what these people are enjoying."
Memorial Day is next week. When you go to the store and buy some food, remember that it is because of those men and women who gave their lives that you don't have to stand in line for 48 hours just to buy a half-pound of cheeese. When you drop your kids off at school, remember that it is because of those men and women who never came home that your kids will receive an education designed to build them into responsible citizens and not indoctrinating them to blindly follow some Fuhrer. When you wake up that day, remember that it is because they gave up all of their tomorrows that we have the right to do whatever we want today.
Hug a veteran this Memorial Day.
Lame, I was in Normandy in 2003, I went with my best friend and her father, who is a D-Day veteran. We visited these same beaches and yes, there were children playing. We didn't give it a thought. But, we saw the sweetest thing that a group of children did, they had small flags of all the countries who saved France from the Germans and they had them in a circle on the beach. To this day, the people of Normandy, France are grateful for what the Allies did for them. In fact, our first night in our hotel with our tour group, we were eating dinner and there was another group there. They were on a trip as well, but they were French. Their tour guide came over and told our tour guide that his group would like to honor our group. They stood and gave us a standing ovation. It was one of the proudest moments I have had as an American. We also took a tour of the American cemetery and that too was a humbling experience. Now that is a hallowed place and it is treated with great respect by all who visit it. It was quite something to be there with so many people from many countries giving their respects to our fallen soldiers. I did not know this until I that day, but the cemetery is American soil, even though it is in France, so even though I was thousands of miles away from home, I was standing on American land.
Thanks for bringing us wonderful memories of my trip to France!!! As Lame said, thank or hug a veteran if you get a chance this weekend and never, ever forget what they have done,so that we may all live with the freedoms that we cherish.
Trish, that is a great memory. Yes, I too learned while I was there that the American cemetary is American territory. The tour guide we had was a Frenchman, and he joked with us that "The only place in America I have been to is right here." I told him that it must have been convenient for him to be able to visit America without ever having to fly or take a boat.
The American cemetary is one of the most amazing places I have ever been. Even Arlington doesn't move me the way that cemetary did.
Here is a picture I took while there: http://img265.imageshack.us/img265/7971/2001americancemetaryfor.jpg
If you can't read the inscription, it says "Here rests in honored glory a comrade in arms known but to God"
What a fitting tribute to a man who anonymously sacraficed himself upon the alter of freedom.
Let's try that picture link again [URL=http://img265.imageshack.us/i/2001americancemetaryfor.jpg/][IMG]http://img265.imageshack.us/img265/7971/2001americancemetaryfor.jpg[/IMG][/URL]
Lame,thank you for defending the Boyd kids yesterday.We now know you are on our side.Tonya is guilty,Wade probably is too.Thanks again Lame.
Lame you rock!What a great way to stand up for the Boyd's.You are with us,yeah!
Tonya is innocent. Wade probably is too. The only side I am on is that of truth and justice, which in this case put me on the side of Tonya Craft. If someoen accuses you of molesting a child and you're not guilty, then I'm on your side. If you touch a kid for your own sexual gratification, then, surprise, surprise, I'm not on your side.
I don't think Lame is on your side.
Anon 11:13, you have apparently been asleep for two years.
Lame,what's up?You listed every quote about the Boyd's.You would not do that unless you were on our side.Don't fight it,you know you are with us.
Lame you cannot stand up for the Boyd's & also be on Tonya's side.You must be two faced if you think you can be on both sides.I thought you were with us,why defend the Boyd's if you are not with us?
Anon 11:13, 11:16 & 11:31 is just a troll, and I won't take the bait. My comment from May 29, 2010 5:06 PM clearly shows my afffiliation. I only used a hand-full of quotes. There were several more, but I didn't feel like going on forever. My point was to demonstrate that a previous poster was a blatant hypocrite. Only three kinds of people would try to paint me as a supporter of the people who tried to frame an innocent woman: yet another hypocrite, a blithering idiot, or one of the Lamb, Buzz Lightfear, Donna Sommers, Jaba the Henke supporters (or one of them in person)--yes, I believe that some of them and their supporters have been logging onto this site and making specious comments, and some of the people claiming I'm on their side may be using Hegelian dialectic to undermine the position of those who support Ms Craft. I wouldn't put past them.
Why would anyone listen to anything Lame has too say anyway?
I think Lame speaks from the heart.
Lame,you cannot defend both sides.You have to choose.
Lame,you are the hypocrite.You cannot have your cake & eat it to.Are you with the Boyd's or with Tonya?
Lame, I think your posts have been well thought out and heart felt, and I've enjoyed reading them. Thanks for reminding me of my Philosophy 103 class in college! I'm sure those idiots are on Wikipedia right now to see if you've insulted them or what?! They need pictures for the big words!
It got quiet after midnight! Looks like the Boyd kids had to go to bed? Or they're still trying to spell Hegelian.
This is the last time I respond to anyone attacking me for my comment regarding my May 29, 2010 5:06 PM post.
I am not on the Boyds' side. I have said that again and again. I am on the side of truth and justice. I urge Dr Anderson to check the IP addresses of those people saying that I'm supporting them to see if they are from the same IP. My guess is that if they are, then that person is likely a supporter of the people who tried to frame Ms Craft, or one of them in person.
For the uninformed (May 30, 2010 12:19 AM), Hegelian dialetic is thesis vs antithesis to create synthesis. In this case, it is possible that a Sandra/Joal/Buzz supporter is on here trying to paint me as being something I'm not in order to promote an antithesis, a backlash against me and my posts, for the purpose of creating an antithesis, this site being distrusted in general.
There are only two types of people would conclude that I'm with the side that tried to frame Tonya Craft: 1) a blithering idiot or 2) someone from the other side trying to discredit Dr Anderson's blog.
You people/person who continue(s) to post anything within this vein is/are nothing but (a) troll(s). I will not respond to any further comments to this matter. Please, anyone who sees any further posts regarding my supporting the Boyds who has not already followed this conversation, refer to my posts May 29, 2010 5:06 PM and May 29, 2010 10:10 PM. That is all.
"In this case, it is possible that a Sandra/Joal/Buzz supporter is on here trying to paint me as being something I'm not in order to promote an antithesis, a backlash against me and my posts, for the purpose of creating an antithesis, this site being distrusted in general."
That is supposed to read "... for the purpose of creating a SYNTHESIS, this site being distrusted . . ."
And, if you're wondering how I know this stuff, I graduated with a Master's Degree in history from Florida State University. I didn't have to 'look up' the definition or spelling of "Hegelian."
Lame,
There's only one person playing a game on you. Just ignore them.
I suspected as much. By the way, on a completely different subject, here are two videos showing the kind of competence we could expect from the police who investigated the Tonya Craft case should they encounter a REAL criminal case:
http://www.youtube.com/
watch?v=20bpV50uZ5Y
http://www.youtube.com/
watch?v=GLlVDUiQNoA&NR=1
I was the 12:10 & 12:19 Lame. I fully support you! I was referring to the troll not knowing what Hegelian logic was or how to spell it. I'm on your side! Sorry you couldn't see that. No need to respond to this post, other than I'm sorry you didn't go to the REAL Florida school...UF! I must remain anonymous because of my connection to many in this case, but can tell you I graduated from UF in 86. I understand your being sensitive and/or supicious, but those 2 posts (my only 2 on this thread before this one) were simply in support of you and poking fun at whomever is playing such a childish game. I welcome Mr Anderson pulling the IP addresses to confirm this. Don't take their bait and I'll shut up about it too other than to say GO GATORS
Anon 4:57, you made me LOL when you said "dont take their bait"--yeah, I'll let them be your 'Gator bait." I lived in the Ocala area for 9 years, and spent much time in Gainesville, even going to summer camp, Kulaqua, near there. So there has always been a soft spot in my heart for the Gators. In fact, I may have even seen you on campus when I visited there, as I lived in Ocala until January of 88.
It's U of Miami that I really hate. My two almae matres are UCF and FSU. So, I'll always root for them first, but I'll also root for any other Florida team I see playing, EXCEPT Miami. The only team I hate more than Miami is Auburn. Ha, ha! Just kidding Dr Anderson, I don't hate Auburn. The one team I truly hate above all others is the New York Yankees.
I'm sorry I went after you with that comment. It did seem to me at the moment that you were making fun of me for using the word Hegelian. I didn't realize you meant that the OTHER guy might be the one looking it up.
Go FSU! Lame, you are the only Nole I know who can tolerate the Gators. You ARE a person of tolerance...lol... (I married into a Nole family from Jacksonville.)
Ooltewah mom
Lame,
I'd like to apologize to you, because I am partially responsible for the troll attacking you....
I am the one who (probably correctly) speculated that the troll is a high school student who can't stand the kids from the B family. (I speculate she goes to school with the teenage children of the B family, and she probably has good reasons to hate them, but that is beside the point.)
The troll was attacking me, which I ignored, but one of the things she said was that "no one ever mentioned the B family....", and that was when you posted some of the quotes (mostly written by the troll herself) only to prove her wrong.
I appreciated that very much, but, unfortunately, the troll started attaching you instead of me.
As you and others must know already, this troll unsuccessfully pretends to be many people. She can't spell or keep track on who said what. Moreover, she doesn't have a good grasp of the context in which something was said, and that is why she is saying that you and I are the supporter of the B family.
I think she (I've been assuming that it's a girl, but I could be wrong) is frustrated and wants attention, so I agree with kbp. I'd just ignore her. Everyone knows that you are on the side of the truth, and therefore, on the side of Tonya craft and her supporters.
I am sorry I started it, and I hope you waste no more of your talent and energy on this troll.
Lame, don't worry, those of us with any intelligence absolutely know that you support Tonya and Brad. Whoever this very small minded, shallow person is just needs to be ignored. You can't argue with ignorance!!
By the way, troll, you can have sympathy for the children of these obnoxious families and not support their unjust accusations!!
I hope everyone has a safe Memorial Day.A big thanks to our Vet's
I read the blog about Brad Wade,I cannot believe in this day & age such injustice is happening in our area.I pray Tonya will get her kids back soon & Brad will get real justice & be back with his family.
I agree Lame...you can't spell scum without UM! I'm also not fond of Auburn, but I give Bill a pass because we're both Baylor School grads. I hate that I must remain anon but I have financial and ethical reasons not to mention HIPPA regulations constraining me. However a great example of the Hegelian dialectic is the current 2-party system as it exists in Washington DC currently. Each side creating a "crisis" or antithesis to go against the current thesis "standard" but both wanting to head down the road to a common goal of more government involvement in our lives. The Federal government has 2 roles as I see it protect the borders and fight our wars. In that light I'm thankful for all current military personnel and vets this Memorial Day weekend!
Having been a part of many online communities for the past ten years or so, I can tell you that the only way to handle a troll is to totally ignore it...totally. Do not respond in any way, however tempting it might be to do so.
Trolls thrive on eliciting feedback, either positive or negative, and they wither and go away when ignored. It might take awhile, but it will happen, IF everyone deos exactly that and ignores it.
Lame, he/she/it was exploting what it considered your weak spot in affirming that you "believed Tonya was guilty" when everyone who reads this blog knows differently. Seems to me that this particular troll is pretty skilled in how that game is played, so I suspect he/she/it has done this before.
I'll have no further comments on the thing. I hope everyone else will also deprive it of the satisfaction.
May 30, 2010 1:56 PM, you are exactly right. The political left and right is a manufactured element, the purpose of which is to effect change. Washington warned us against this, as did Dwight Eisenhower. It's interesting that three of our great presidents, Washington, Grant & Eisenhower were the least politically motivated of all the men to hold the office because what carried them to the position was their political careers and not personal ambition for power. And, before someone chimes in on Grant, yes, some pretty bad things happened on his watch, but he was actually one of the best presidents of the 19th century, and considering what he had to deal with during the post-civil war era, he did a pretty darn good job--the only two things I can fault him on were not doing more to oversee the Bureau of Indian Affairs and he didn't do enough to push the issue of racial equality during reconstruction (but in both cases he was between a rock and a hard place because he had to balance his own desires with those of an unruly Congress). He was probably THE best foreign policy president of the mid-19th century--thanks to his actions the meetings between the USA & Britain are what ultimately led to the Genevia Conventions.
Oh, I was kidding about Auburn by the way. I don't dislike them. I'm rather neutral on them, unless they're playing a Florida team--but, like I said, if they're playing against UM, then GO Tigers!
It really is funny about me going to FSU but still liking the Gators. It's because I grew up in Orlando, and that's an area where there are a lot of Gator fans and Nole fans. My parents met while at Florida State, but my dad always bad-mouthed FSU because of how they screwed him over (he finished his requirements to graduate in December, and back then they only had one graduation ceremony per year, in May, so they told him to come back and they'd let him be part of the May commencement, but then when May came around they told him that since he already received his diploma that they wouldn't let him participate). Actually, I graduated from the University of Central Florida with my BA, and I just absolutely loved that university, the campus, the faculty, and just about everything about it (except for the president--real long story about him, but it was because of that guy, John Hit, that I came to have such a passion for truth and justice after what he did to me and 9 other members of student government in 1999). So, UCF is my first love, and will always root for them above all others, even when it's REALLY obvious they're gonna lose. Then again, isn't that what love is really all about? When you have a fondness for something despite all the negative aspects?
Lame you write very interesting blogs I enjoy them.You have wisdom so I thought you were older,like you had grown children & learned wisdom the hard way.Just kidding.But you are a young pup since you graduated around 99.You have a good head on your shoulders,it will serve you well in life.I hope I didnt offend you.
Actually, I graduated from college with my BA in 2002. I finished high school in 1998. The referrence to 1999 was that in that year I was a member of UCF's student government (senator and vice chair of senate judiciary committee, as well as College of Arts & Sciences student council president). That year we had an incident, well incident connotates one time event, this happened over several weeks, during which the student body president and two other people were impeached by the senate. It was done because he tried to block the execution of several monetary measures passed by the senate and signed by the outgoing president. The university president, John Hitt, had previously done some shady things, including unilaterally disbanding student government, in the previous years. So, anything he did was eyed with suspicion by SGA. The new president of SGA won the election under circumstances that seemed to many (not necessarily myself) as having been influenced by Hitt. When it came to our attention that there were items in the student government budget that were going to pay for items that were for the direct benefit of Hitt, ammounting to around $100,000 as I recall it, several members of senate tried to block paying for them. The new SGA president started trying to push them through, and so he was perceived as being a 'crony' of the university president, Hitt. So, when he failed to follow through and pay out items in our previous budget that the prior administration had approoved, senate impeached him. At first I was in favor of the act, but as things developed, I came to realize that he was being railroaded. I was still not in his camp, but I saw what was going on as violating his due process rights. Now, at this time it was in SGA's constitution that political parties were not allowed on campus (inside SGA). However, two distinct 'factions' emerged, those who supported the president and those who opposed him. Prior to this faction developing I had associated with several members of this group, most of them being business and engineering students. They had helped me out with several things, particularly with getting the A&S college council going, which before me didn't exist. So, when factions developed, because of friendship and gratitude, I fell in with the anti-administration camp. I had nothing personal against the SGA president, but he happened to both be against those who were my friends, and one of the things he blocked were some monetary allocations I had fought to gain for my constituents. In the end, I voted to abstain when they took a secret ballot for the impeachment. He had done some things I did not feel he had the power to do, but I also didn't think he had been given an appropriate chance to defend himself. In the end he was convicted, in what was essentially a rigged vote.
Part Deux
So, how did this turn me against the university president? When the faction of which I was a part continued to block those line items Hitt wanted from passing, he had the university general counsel (basically the university's lawyer) draw up a charge against pretty much all of the leadership of the faction, including myself, of forgery. This charge stemmed from an addendum budget that was proposed in my absense but later passed while I was present. I was out of town, fulfilling Air Force obligations, when I received a call from the president of another college council, informing me of a certain amount of money that was being proposed to be divided amongst the councils. I told him that I wanted to sign onto the bill and authorized him to initial the request for me, and that I would sign it in person when I returned the following monday. So, although it was not my signature on the initial proposal, I had authorized it, and the version that was actually voted upon did in fact bare my signature. So, basically, they trumped up a charge against me and all other people involved of committing forvery, because it was not my signature on the original bill. Under that logic, every time the university president committed forgery every time a graduating student received their diploma, because he does not personally sign each one, it is printed. Anyway, in a case of poetic justice payback, those of us who were in any way involved in impeaching the SGA president were found guilty and thrown out of student government (with two people, the two main leaders of the faction, being expelled.
So, in a nutshell, that is why I have been so interested in truth and justice. I bear collective guilt in having been a part (not actively, but I never tried to stop it) of railroading someone. And, I was a victim of being railroaded by a group of individuals about on par with the likes of LMJC. Luckily, I managed to come out of it with only being thrown out of SGA and banned from any involvement in extra-curricular organizations for two years--I managed to sneak under their radar and join Phi Alpha Theta, the history honor society, during my junior year. Still, you should have seen the look of shock on the university president's, John Hitt, face when at graduation I walked up to him, wearing honors in the major chords and medals, shook his hand. It was a, "WFT are you doing here?" kind of expression. That look was more than enough of a revenge for me. It's probably like the kind of satisfaction that Tonya Craft must get whenever she sees a picture of Christ Arnt, a feeling of, "Try as you might, you couldn't defeat me."
Lame I love you,you are one smart cookie.I am a bit older than you,i'll leave it at that.You have such wisdom,you remind me of my oldest who I will brag a little & say she is an honor student who makes us proud ever day.I'm sure your parents feel the same.I am sorry but I do not type well & my daughter makes fun of my spelling.I did attend school but I guess I should have done better & lisened more.But that was many years ago.I just wanted you to know I see alot of my child in you ,as she gets older I hope she will stand up the way you do.Thanks.
I hope everyone does not think that all Anonymous posters are mean or bad people.
I hope everyone does not think that all Anonymous posters are mean or bad people.
Sorry did not mean to post that twice.
The only people I wish to call out are two kinds of people: drive-by posters who read one post and take it entirely out of context, and people with an agenda who wish to hide behind anonymity.
May 30, 2010 8:49 PM, to tell you the truth, my spelling sucks. When I was in 8th grade I wasn't allowed to run for class officer because I got a D in spelling. I'm better now, but there are certain words that I mispell almost compulsively. That's one thing I love about German, everything is spelled exactly how it sounds.
It's actually funny that y'all said that I'm still young, because people out here in Utah consider me a strange, old man. See, out here, if you're not married by the time you're 25 you are "different." I have a (female) friend here who didn't get married until she was almost 40, and people here treated her badly, because in Utah the only kind of woman who wouldn't get married by 25 is a lesbian, and mormons REALLY discriminate against gays--there was a case here a few years ago where two guys murdered a gay guy, and the judge gave them each only three years in prison and during his ruling blamed the victim, saying it was his own fault because he was gay. If I could afford to move I'd have gotten out of here three years ago (I've been here three-and-a-half years). Don't get me wrong, there are some really nice people here, but if you ever want to see the kind of hypocritical, self-righteous society Jesus was preaching against, take a jaunt over to Utah. There is a (LDS) church in every neighborhood, but Christ is in the heart of so very few. Then again, that could be said of all places, everywhere.
Lame that is awful.I don't know why I thought you were female.Sorry.Please don't be mad.I do not know if you are gay & it is none of my business.When I was a teenager my uncle was gay,long before I was born he was & my parents tried to keep it from me.During high school he passed away,never had I saw that much pain before.My Grandfather was a preacher preacher which made it more painful.But seeing everything I did as a teenager it made me think diffrent.People are humans & even in certain religious families the pain is strong.To this day I will never forget the pain my father & grandparents felt & that was about 20 plus years.
Lame,growing up in Florida how & why did you end up in morman land.I am friends with a moram family,they are very nice but that is one crazy religion.
I'm not gay, but I have had several very close friends who are--I'm an only child, and the boy who was my very best friend, so close I still consider him my brother, is gay. He is of West Indian herritage, and if you know about them, they are about one of the most homophobic groups, in general, that you'll find. His parents wouldn't let him watch Mr Rogers Neighborhood, because they were afraid it would turn him gay. My mother tells me that his mom was always so afraid of him turning out gay. Well, he is, and he is pretty well ostricized by the rest of his family. I haven't spoken to him in more than 15 years, mainly because his family kicked him out and I haven't been able to get them to put me in contact with him (I had moved away during elementary school, but we happened to go to the same university, UCF). After he graduated I lost touch with him and his family all claim not to know where he is or how to reach him. How unbelievably sad is it that they would not want to love and embrace their own flesh and blood, no matter what?
So, yes, I'm a heterosexual single white male, but not for lack of trying--I just can't stop being white. LOL
Oops, instead of 15 I meant to say 10 years.
Know what the two worst things about being single at 30 in Utah is? All the people your age are married, so there's nobody to hang out with; and, the only single women are either ten years younger or ten years older (divorces). I for one don't care about age differences, but they always do.
Lame if you can handel us crazy nuts in GA. we will find you a great girl.Move on down our way & we will find the perfect southern girl for you.My husband works with alot of women,I kid him alot & tell him he went into a dominate female field.He has already set up 3 couples.lol.But I mean it GA would love to have you.
May 30, 2010 11:13 PM, you got that right: the people are really nice, but believing you're going to become god of another planet some day and that your soul is the offspring of the god of this planet and one of his multiple wives came and inhabited your bodie at birth and that when you become a god (well, actually only the men earn themselves into godhood, they bring their wives along for the ride, and when they get married that that marriage will last for "all time and eternity," and that all the woman will do while you administer your planet is have your spirit babies), and that Jesus and satan are brothers, and that God intended for Adam and Eve to fall in the garden of eden so that mankind can experience sin as a part of his plan, yeah, that's not my idea of a "Christian" religion.
I ended up in Utah because I took a teaching job here before I realized just what it was like. Although I have a MA in history, nobody will hire me to teach without a teaching certification, meaning going to college and taking education courses. There is a thing called "alternative routes to licensure," which allows you to get hired and teach, and take the courses through the school system. But it's a catch 22 situation, unless you're a "critical need" area teacher (math, science, Espanol), the won't hire you in the first place--so you cant get the job without the license, and can't get the license without the job. So, what I did was take out a loan and go back to college, bite the bullet and take the classes. In the end I got the shaft because the guy who works as the Utah Office of Ed dealing with testing told me which test to take, and he told me the wrong one, and nobody at the university caught it, so now I have to take another test, which won't be administered until July 31--it was supposed to be July 24, but July 24 is a super big holiday here in Utah (Pioneer Day, celebrating the mormon pioneers, which is celebrated with more gusto than the holiday that takes place 20 days prior). By that time all the jobs will be gone, and it won't be until next year that I can even hope to find a job teaching history.
Trust me, folks, becoming a history teacher is about the most insane thing a person can do these days. If I could do it all over again, I'd be a proctologist. At least that way I'd have to put up with less crap and deal with fewer assholes than in education. The only way to get a job teaching history in this country today is to be a football or basketball coach. The reason I even took the job out here was because I couldn't find one in Florida, Georgia, Alabama, or anywhere else. Nobody wants someone who actually knows history. They just want someone who can bring in money to the school by putting together a team that will win games. It really is no wonder that Jay Leno can so easily find people who don't know the names of anyone who signed the Declaration of Independence or what rights the 1st Amendment protect.
Sorry about that. If you're a teacher who also coaches, if you're good at your jobs, I mean no offense to you. My beef is with school administrators who place winning games above producing quality students. For that, I really blame the government for constantly cutting funding to education. They only hire the coaches to win games because boosters bring in money. If the government spent just 1/50th less on the military and put that into education, we could afford to hire tens of thousands more quality teachers. Here in Utah there is a school district that just fired a full half of its teachers because the school system is bankrupt, and the state legislature is considering doing away with the 12th grade and eliminating busing for almost half of students--meanwhile they are having multi-million dolar fireworks demonstrations and parades for Pioneer Days. I hate incompetency and I hate hypocracy, and that's something that grows wild in abudance inside every legislature.
proctologist... less a--holes to deal with... too funny.
you guys have veered way off course tonight, but rather than chastise you, i am going to join you. ;)
i never had any desire to be a teacher, although i have taught my children much in their young lives. :)
i tried to teach my husband, by example, how to be a good spouse.... but was not the least bit successful.
i too, married a "joal henke"... and funny that they are actually friends. twins separated at birth is what tonya and i believe.
he married the one he (last) cheated on me with... and is now cheating on her. son of a baptist minister... imagine that.
i am so very thankful that i didn't leave him while our children were too young to have a voice and able to see him for who/what he is on their own... without so much as one word from my lips. otherwise, i believe i could have easily found myself in a similar situation as tonya has endured over the past two years.
i would put nothing past him.
the number of evil people living among us is disturbing. your spouse, your best friend, your own parent(s), could be anyone... makes me wonder why i still, to this day, trust people.
This is the last post I make tonight, 'cause I'm off for a 7am hike tomorrow.
I truly would love to move back east. If I had a job lined, up, I'd be in my car, on the way in a matter of hours.
I empathise with you over your problems with your ex-husband. It is such a shame that there are people who we think we know but we really done. Take 40 year old Jennifer Burton. She was a person I came across in research who last year was having marital problems. Her husband got suspicous that she was cheating on him, so he placed one of those nanny cams in their bedroom. He did, indeed, catch his wife cheating on him, and the other man wasn't a man, wasn't even a boy, it wasn't even a woman, it was their 14 year old foster daughter. How do you ever trust anyone ever again after having something like that happening to you?
That's one of the reasons that God is so amazing. We go out and do the most vile things, and these days we don't even have to go out with the internet and cable tv around. Yet, God is still willing and able to forgive us and help us, despite all the many times we've hurt Him. The hymn goes, "Even the vilest offender on that day a pardon receives." So often, you turn on the television and see Dr Phill and Oprah and Montel and all thes other people who offer self-improvement. But they're not really improving anyone. They are basing their improvement upon inner reflection. All mankind is tainted with evil in our nature, thanks to what transpired in the Garden of Eden. So, when the only thing that we hold up as being the example of purity is something that is tainted, then no matter what we do, we will not be pure. Devoid of the justificating influence of Grace, humanity is doomed to spiral downward into oblivion. It is only by looking up, looking at how God wants us to behave, by knowing his Law that we know where we are, and it is only by looking at Christ's perfect example that we know where we are to go. You cannot save yourself by keeping the 10 commandments. They are there to show you what is right and wrong. You become saved by following Christ's example, sacraficing selfish desires to Him, and letting Him lead you in a life that fulfills the commandments. That is called grace. That is being subject to grace. When you walk a Christ-like path you are not subject to the law, because the law is there to tell you when you're wrong. When you're doing right, grace is what pulls you along towards heavenly thoughts and actions. The hardest part in that, of course, is being able to do away with self. That's why when the rich man who came to Jesus left n disgrace, because when Jesus said, "Sell all that you have and give it to the poor." he knew that his selfishness could not allow him to do that. It is so exponentially hard to live under grace these days, considering how materialistic of a world in which we now live.
lame - I fully understand your frustration. I, too, am a history teacher. The job availability for history teachers is non-existent because there is the belief that anyone can teach history (open book, read, memorize some dates, take test, move on to next chapter). However, that is the reason why few in the US know any history (the material goes in one ear and out the other - never registering and sticking). A good history teacher is able to make history come alive to students - to make them see the connection between the present and the past. A good history teacher gets students to ask the question - were there other options available - why was this choice made instead of others? A good history teacher turns kids on to history - gets them to see that without history, we would be little more than the cavemen that we first were - since history is a record of human accomplishments (and disappointments that we should try to learn from - though often do not). A good history teacher shows the connection with the subjects that students do love. My science geeks who hate history learn about the alchemists and their contribution to chemistry - as one student said, "why didn't we learn the history of chmistry in chemistry - this is pretty interesting stuff!". That is, as I like to say, paraphrasing the pinesol ad - "That is the power of history, baby".
Do not be frustrated. Take your test and blanket all private schools with your application now - tell them that you will sub - that is the best way to get your foot in the door. Though private schools generally pay poorly (relative to public schools) you will have greater control over what and how you teach.
I wish you the best of luck - persevere.
cks
Ok since you folks are way off topic, I will toss some in.
My daughter came home one day whining about History. She saw zero use for it. I told her, that like any other subject, if it is taught with no reference, it is rote memorization and has little meaning.
So I challenged her. I am Genealogist. I was trying to verify a family oral tradition about a soldier from the Revolutionary war. According the this tradition he was born in Maine (verified) but served in New York. The story goes he traveled to New York to enlist in Oct 1773 when he is 16.
Without going into the weeks of research that included reading surviving journals that included weather (horrible winter that year), my daughter concluded that there was no way a 16 year old traveled from Maine to New York alone in the middle of winter.
I had her coming to me chattering about the various war journals of now famous Americans, about reading the pages from the local newspapers (many survived) and about the feelings of the local citizens. She saw a tired and uncertain George Washington, a divided populace, an angry Native American people, the cunning French and the very driven King, George.
She learned more about the Revolutionary war, its causes, the impact on the people and just how it shaped our nation than she ever learned in school.
All because of a simple question...
Who was Francis Goodwin.
In Memory today of ALL who have gone before to give me a country where I can blog and say what I want, when I want without fear of my family being killed and myself being imprisoned.
Recent Facebook posting at Truth for Tonya:
Sandy Pearson tune in to Good Morning America on wednesday, june 2, 2010 as they will be interviewing tonya and sharing her story with america!Yesterday at 2:41pm · Comment ·LikeUnlike · View Feedback (6)Hide Feedback (6) · Flag
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I was under the impression that when Tonya signed the contract for Dateline that she was not to do any more interviews until the story aired on NBC, (with the exception of a last interview with WGOW.) If that is true, then how is she able to appear on an ABC morning show without breeching her contract with NBC? Anybody know?
Kaye,
Were I Dateline, I'd want her doing such short interviews, as it draws more attention to "Tonya Craft".
Just remember that it was BAD news for Tonya that originally put her in the headlines. IOW, any news can be beneficial, if your goal is for more people to show an interest in uncovering the truth.
Lame I love You....
kbp,
Good point. The shorter interviews could actually bring the Dateline episode more viewers for the Tonya Craft episode. Perhaps Tonya already got approval for her appearance on GMA, or perhaps the contract she signed allows for these types of appearances. Granted, I want her to make as many appearances as possible both to expose the corruption of the LMJC, and to bring about changes in how child molestation investigations are conducted. I would, however, hate to see a show like Dateline, who devotes its entire episode to a case, get put off by a 5-10 minute spot that only scratches the surface of the problem. I agree that the more interest that is stirred up, the better.
Lame, you are intelligent and sensitive to others feelings and those are awesome qualities. I admire anyone who states and stands by what they say even if it isn't what people want to hear. You have integrity and I admire that. I too am tired of bashing the children involved. I believe Dr. Anderson wants this to be a place that mature people can post regarding the issue @ hand...injustice and how we can make a difference if in no other way but awareness and the ballot box.
We did get off topic but i enjoyed connecting on a personal level,it was nice.We are all strangers with the same goal.Some days the blog can be emotional & stressful.lol I think it was good for us to relate with each other.We are all people who try the best we can every day,some days better than others.I feel like i am friends with some of you & we have never met.That in itself is a great achievement.
Lame in Chattanooga Tn there are several private christian schools & 3 large private schools.You could try the yellow pages to find them.We would love to have you in our neck of the woods.
I hope y'all are having a nice memorial day. I was hiking in the mountains above Ogden, Utah this morning and around 8am I heard a 21 gun salute being fired off down below. You know, we get so caught up in our lives and in materialism that we so often forget who we really are, where we come from, and to whom we owe a debt of gratitude. Attendance at church, memorial programs, camp meetings, and pretty much anything that involves selfLESSness has been steadily going down in recent years. We would rather use our vacation time at Disney, spend the holiday getting drunk, the weekend sleeping in, and we just don't have time to do those other, less important things. Dr Phill and all the empty talking heads tell us we need to take care of ourselves first. Imagine if Jesus had said, "You know, I'm supposed to get nailed to a cross today, but I'm just not feeling up to it; Mr Judas, lay off a bit, I'm going to the spa for a facial." We don't know how to say no to the little things, and so that when it comes to the things we should say yes to, we're just too busy or too tired.
the contract signed with dateline became void when matt lauer, due to personal conflicts, could not come to chattanooga last week.
we will keep you informed of future public appearances.
I sure hope dateline will get back in the game.That would be great.Thank you to all the vets.
Lame,
You explain grace perfectly! I must add... isn't amazing that God would put us on this planet with all these wonderful provisions...not only to sustain our existance, but to offer us pleasure and comfort in the journey. The flowers are for beauty and perfume, the delicious foods that grow right out of black soil... gems for jewelry...cotton has no purpose at ALL but for our clothing...same for silk. He is a gracious God who bestows blessings upon us...and we would rather deny His existance like spoiled brats, just so we can be in control of our own path. Goodness, His commandments are simply security gates to keep us from "tumbling down the stairs" like little toddlers... And they are all summed up in "treat others the way you want to be treated". (One person on here who tries to do that is Harmony... The way she always attempts to be so self-sacrificing in her support for Tonya. She must be a TRUE friend to those she loves. Even if she fights hard against those she believes are hurtful...She'll balance it out. I hope we all will learn to do that...) But if ANYONE doubts God's Love...just start talking to Him and ask Him to answer you in a special way. He will.
Ooltewah mom
Thanks for clearing that up, Sandy. I hope that eventually a show like Dateline, 20/20, or 60 minutes will want to cover this.
Kathy R ,I may be wrong & it is not the first time.I think Chickamauga was left so raw that many did not now how to feel or think.Thank goodness school is out,I feel the community is now in a healing motion & our hope is to get the school back to being a safe learning environment for the kids.I feel the finger pointing is getting better,another good thing with the kids being out of school.I gives everyone a chance to cool down & look at the bigger picture.I'm sure come Aug. the families will return,but thats ok.We just needed a little time to lick our wounds.But I feel things are getting better & that makes me very happy.
I hope Mr.Anderson will be happy to see how several of us have interacted with each other yesterday & today.Not to take one thing away from Tonya or Brad,but to discuss personal aspects in life has made us understand one another better.We all are trying to bring down corrupt goverment.Sometimes getting personal is a good thing.We are able to see where someone else is coming from.I hope other feel the same.
I hope Mr.Anderson will be happy to see how several of us have interacted with each other yesterday & today.Not to take one thing away from Tonya or Brad,but to discuss personal aspects in life has made us understand one another better.We all are trying to bring down corrupt goverment.Sometimes getting personal is a good thing.We are able to see where someone else is coming from.I hope other feel the same.
Sorry I do not know what I did for that to go through twice.Sorry
To anon 3:25 and I suspect 11:46 due to the similar style, I understand things are a little strained but it is never ok to attack a child, it is never ok to make a child feel unwanted anywhere at anytime period. We are living in the days where children take their own lives because of bulling. Be better than the one's who went after Tonya and leave the children out of it. Comments such as "We don't want you here, get out of Chickamauga" when you are referring to children is not right no matter how you defend it. Some of you sound like a lynch mob and you have turned what happened to Tonya into your own agenda as far as Chickamauga Elem. School is concerned. It is beyond me how anyone can be hateful towards a child and if you are indeed an adult raising children I hope you teach love and compassion and not name calling...that is really immature and will get them no where in life. Give them the tools to success and a role model to look up to, rise above it and you will feel so much better about yourself. Dr. Anderson I look forward to future updates regarding Brad Wade and Tonya Craft.
Kathy R i never have said one single word about a child.My post at 3:25 had nothing to do with anythin mean or hateful.I cannot believe you put me in that group.From where I sit you are the hateful one.I said nothing for you to attack me.All I said was people were trying to heal.What did I say to make you attack me?
anon 5:11 you commented on my post to Lame and in that post "I think Chickamauga was left so raw that many did not now how to feel or think.Thank goodness school is out,I feel the community is now in a healing motion & our hope is to get the school back to being a safe learning environment for the kids.I feel the finger pointing is getting better,another good thing with the kids being out of school.I gives everyone a chance to cool down & look at the bigger picture.I'm sure come Aug. the families will return,but thats ok.We just needed a little time to lick our wounds.But I feel things are getting better & that makes me very happy" I am part of that raw community and I have never felt the school system was not a safe place for the children to learn until I read some of your comments like "we just need a little time to lick our wounds." What wounds do you have, how have you been wronged? Why don't you post with your name? I don't hide behind anonymous.....
KathyR i was giving only my view of Chick.nothing more nothing less.Just looking back trying to understans the issue.You have hit me hard & i do not know why.Over the weekend i have had so many good conversations with Lame & others.I really am a good person & yes i teach my children to be kind to everyone.I feel such sadness that anyone would see me as a crul person,it makes me want to cry.
If you have truly never bad mouthed one small child at that school, I apologize. If you have and now feel bad, that's great. I am simply asserting my feelings, the children are not to blame, period end of story and for that I make no apology.
KathyR No i nor my childen have not been wronged.I was just talking,if my post was misunderstood i am sorry.I never was trying to upset anyone.My children are friends with the Boyd kids.How did you get the i am a monster from my post & yes i reread it on your post.You have killed me in the fact that anyone would see me as a mean person who talks about childern.There are many anon but i am not the one you are after.
Sam I don't recall calling you a monster or a mean person. If you have bad mouthed the kids involved you can take from my thread what you want.
Kathy R anon3:25 said if the kids come back in August she/he was ok with that.As things get better they were happy.How do you get that is a person who trashed any child.It sounds more like a person who is glad small time life is getting back to normal.
More good commentary from Kevin West of WGOW:
http://www.wgow.com/Article.asp?id=1823720&spid=19588
BamaFan Why would she/he even have to say it's ok? of course it is ok. When she/he choose to comment directly to me regarding a post I made to someone else, that gave me reason to ask why this person feels there are wounds to lick...small town life never had to be abnormal as far as the schools were concerned certain people tried to make it that way. Mr. Anderson I love your blog and will continue to read and post regularly but I do apologize to you and Brad Wade's family for taking the emphasis off of Mr. Wade and will not post again tonight.
Kaye, thank you for the info about Kevin West and Tonya Craft. I pray that Angie has contacted Kevin West about her brother Brad. Brad really needs our prayers and any help we can give. Bobb
Please say a prayer for all of our Service Men and Women and their families.
Kathy R i'm sorry but I don't think anon3:25 said anything wrong & I feel certain they were not trying to attack you.They were only talking.I think you took it out of context.
anon3:49.I think Mr.Anderson was happy until around 5:11.We were all enjoying chatting, up to that point.So many of us shared many different things with one another this weekend. I hope that does not stop.We all need to work together.
Volfan69 & Kaye,thanks for the info.Kevin West is really good,he gets to the truth.
I agree Chickamauga desperately needed a cool down period.Look at how the upper classmen were acting.Mothers were yelling at one another for wearing yellow.Normally none would behave in such a manner.I for one think school being out is a good thing in the fact that people can regain there footing & all can get back on track.
You people are crazy.You turn on each other when they merely say something.Some claim to be for the children,where were you when three little girls needed you?I stand for the little girls the rest of you are crazy.
Kathy R,I think you opened the door for the trolls.
Lame,I have talked with you & shared my own personal ups & downs this weekend. Please do not think I am an awful person,I only stated how I felt nothing else.And I still do not know what I said to make anyone think bad of me.I have nothing but respect for you,so you do not have to say a single word on my behalf.I will always love you for your wisdom,you are a great person.Hold strong to that no one can ever take that away from you.
You so called adults do not no anything.Most of us high schoolers stand up for the little girls.Tonya is guilty.Kathy R arent you proud of us ,we stand tall for the children.The children are right & deserve special treatment,because they were mistreated.
The same one-person troll who was attacking the children and Mr. Lame was playing the "I love you, Lame!" game this afternoon. As someone suggested earlier, we all must ignore IT. Whatever IT pretends to be, IT leaves its trademark mistakes like fingerprints. Let IT play the game, but we must not feed IT by reacting!
You people are really fooled you do not no which way is up or down.
anon10:43 why do you not share who you are.you hide behind anon.
anon11:02 you do not share who you are,why is that.You live in a cage & never really ever say much of anything.Wake up people & see a much bigger picture that is much farther than you.
anon 11:43 who are you?You think you have a troll,but who are you really?Are you one to cause problems?It would seem so to me.You are also anon why should anyone believe you.I think you are the troll posting bad things & making friends with people.
sorry 10:43 who are you.
You people are just as crazy as Sandra Lamb.Congratulations!!!!!
I feel like the guy in the scene of Dumb & Dumber where the two main characters and the bad guy are driving in the truck, with the bad guy in the middle, and Jim Carey and Jeff Daniels are playing tag around him, and the guy finally shouts out, "Guys! Guys! Enough!"
I think that some of the posts are correct in that the end of the school year is good in that it gives students and teachers a time to cool off, with regards to the Tonya Craft case. On the other hand, with those, for whom the issue has not yet been resolved, it could give them more time just to stew and foment more and more hatred towards the other side, be them supporters of Ms Craft or her accusers. What really needs to happen, in my opinion, is for the churches in the area to jointly and unequivically announce, "If you are feeling hatred because of this case, you need to confess that to God, ask Him to take away the hatred, and move on. The church should not try to whitewash the issue, and tell people, "put your differences aside, hold hands and sing Michael Roy Your Boat Ashore." These differences need to be worked out. But it needs to be done in a civil and Christian manner. That can't be done by gossiping in the hair salons, disseminating false testimony in church, or going onto online forums and posting nonsense.
We all have a responsibility to treat each other, even those who have wronged us, with Christian love. Christ asked us to turn the other cheek. Now, taken in context of the times, when he said, "If he shall strike you on the right side of your cheek offer the left," he didn't just mean, "lay down and take it." Most people are right handed, and so for a right-handed person to slap someone on the right cheek they have to back-hand slap you. When you do that kind of slap to someone, it's an act of demonstrating superiority. In today's language, we call it "bitch slapping." What Christ said was really this: "If someone harms you by treating you as an inferior, politely show them that you are their equal. If you want to be their equal, don't fight back against them, demonstrate that you are equal or superior by behaving in a manner that commands respect."
That is what needs to happen. We don't show ourselves and Tonya Craft to be superior or even equal to those people who tried to frame and railroad her by behaving engaging in the same negative behavior in which they engaged. We have claimed the moral high ground. We lose it when we say negative things about children, make un-supported accusations, or infight amongst ourselves.
Justice received the "bitch slap" here from a group of people. We don't promote justice by slapping back. We show it by proving ourselves in the right. I'm not talking about the law suit. That's entirely different. What I am talking about is us. We go to church every Saturday or Sunday, and we call ourselves Children of God. The children of God aren't supposed to go around saying, "So and so and all their family can/is go(ing) to hell." Those morons out in Kansas who go around protesting at funerals of people killed in the war against terrorism are about as far away from what Christ would want his people to do as one can get. Let us not follow suit. If someone gets out of line, correct them, but do it in a manner than Christ would appreciate.
"You people are really fooled you do not no which way is up or down."
I'm going to have a little bit of rhetorical fun with you now.
Like I said in a previous post, there are no facts, only perspective. From my perspective up is one direction and down is another. However, from the perspective of someone standing in Australia, up is what I would call down, and down is what I would call up. When someone in Brazil flushes the toilet water down it's actually going up towards China, and when someone in Hawaii goes up in an elevator they're actually going down away from Africa.
all that really matters about up and down is that tonya is headed UP............. and sandra, sheri, kelli, joal, chris, len and brian are headed DOWN.
he who thinketh tonya to be guilty, needs stop harrassing those who speak the truth...... and start working on earning that 25 million dollars.
I think LAME's points are valid.The anon posts are juvenile cyberbulling typically found on my space. I have enjoyed reading Mr.Anderson's blog. Thanks to the adults who regularly gather here I have learned much about civics that we were not taught 25 years ago. At my high school all the history teachers were coaches. Lame, I would have loved having you for a teacher. Funny you live in Mormon land. I was born into that church. I was dis-fellowshiped fot kissing a missionary on the cheek at 19. Excommunicated at 25 for being preggers and not married. The only thing I ever fight with my Mom about is going back to that church. My ancestors on her side were the some of the original settlers, and the first Mormons in Taylor County, Perry Fl. Nothing like Perry @ Thanksgiving. The whole damn town (and my family)splits in half over Gators vs. Seminoles!
Gotta love that team spirit.
Keep posting Lame.
To the troll: "You have no power here. Be gone, before someone drops a house on you too."
Loosely quoted from WIZARD OF OZ.
I know about split families. See, my mom is from Massachusetts and my father is from Georgia. They met while students at Florida State--actually, they met before school started, they were standing in line to get their student ID's, and my mom was in front of my dad.
So, on my dad's side all my relatives are true-blue Southerners, and on my mom's side they're all yankees. I have ancestors who were on both sides of the Civil War. I have a joke that I tell my students: My great-great grandfather fought for the South and lost his right arm to a musket ball, and my great-uncle fought for the North and lost his left leg to a cannon ball, so for me, the Civil War cost an arm and a leg.
The great thing about my mother is that she's become just as much a Southerner as my dad, if not more so. She even likes boiled peanuts as much as I do. Oh, how I miss boiled peanuts.
When it comes to teaching history, I have three concepts that I try to get across to every student: 1) Nothing happens in a vaccume; 2) History is a matter of perspective, and the more perspectives you can obtain, the more clear a picture of what really happened can be developed; and 3) Our republican form of government is dependant upon its citizens fulfilling their duty to maintain it.
Every thing, every war, every social movement, every election, every artistic innovation, is influenced by other things around it. To just memorize the who, what, where, and when does little to help one understand why the things we learn about happened. Even the how is not paramount. What is most important is understanding why things happen. Napoleon didn't declare war on his ally, Russia, because he didn't like radishes. There was a whole dynamic going on where Russia was openly defying his Continental Plan to cripple Britain, the Russian Tzar had refused Napoleon's request to marry his teenage daughter in Napoleon's seach for a male heir, and because of territorial disputes between Russia and France's cliant state, the Grand Duchy of Warsaw, a nation he created at the urging of his Polish mistress, Maria Wallewska--so, ultimately, Napoleon's ruinous campaign against Russia in 1812 came about because they were stabbing him in the back over trade with England, and they were encroaching upon a country he set up to appease the woman he was banging, and because the Russian emperor wouldn't let Napoleon bang his sister (I don't put it quite that way to students).
What is often printed in textbooks gives only one perspective, and frequently white-washes events. Some newer texts books do a much better job of this, but lack primary sources which demonstrate real perspective. That is why I have students read and work from primary sources as much as possible. I could stand in front of the class and tell them a pack of lies and test them on their ability to spout those lies back to me. What I want is for them to look at what people who were there had to say and then come up with their own interpretations and argue that point.
George Washington said that there is no dishonor, but only honor in doing any job that supports a free and open government. You don't have to go into the military to serve your country. Yes, I wish I could have gone into the military, but there is no shame in serving my country by teaching. You don't even have to work any particular profession to serve. Volunteering one's time is another way. Voting is also an essential element in supporting this constitutionalism. And, simply being informed about important issues is a part, especially if one votes---because a single uninformed voter is more dangerous to our Constitution than ten Napoleons.
Dang it, it was the Tzar's sister, not daughter. Sorry for that mis-information. It was ultimately the Austrian emperor's teenage daughter that he did eventually marry.
This man spent 5 yrs in prison on a false molestation charge by his wife. Appealed, hung jury 11-1 for acquittal. 3rd trial acquitted. Was imprisoned still between 2nd and 3rd trial. The investigating officer was his wife's boyfriend. Quite a story. Lee's Summit, Mo. 2nd link is to court record. It has the most info.
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Jury Awards Man $16 Million for Ex-Wife’s False Molestation Claim
May 28th, 2010 by Robert Franklin, Esq.
http://www.fathersandfamilies.org/?p=7651
http://www.ca8.uscourts.gov/opndir/10/05/091945P.pdf
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