Too Hot for a Little Stiff-necked Newspaper - Politicians over Kids
Below is an essay submitted to the Circleville Herald, where supposedly I am a “Guest Columnist.” Guess not. I presented the column way before deadline and called in three times - stopped by once – and the new editor was never in. I left a message and my number each time, but I never heard from him. Must be too busy investigating spelling and grammar.
It’s not too difficult to figure out why I got dissed. The last editor was fairly liberal – he disappeared pretty quickly. The owner of the paper is a conservative businessman dedicated to overtaking the “Dispatch.” He or the editor or both insist on running a column two or three times a week by a grinning, moronic, ultra-conservative state legislator who apparently has nothing better to do than pen vapid ads for his reelection. They DIDN’T print the column below. Politics first, children and the community later.
I just checked the net, and the Circleville City and Logan Elm school levies failed. The Herald and the people of Circleville – if not the children – got what they deserved.
The politician’s picture will still be smiling, though, when it appears tomorrow, along with more of his bullshit, in the local rag.
- Uke Man
What Kind of People Are We?
Hey Folks, I’m not teaching anymore. I have no kids in school. I’m no longer a member of the “evil” teachers’ union, will NEVER run for school board again (or any other office in this town), have had a lot of experience with public education and politics, and am to the point where I don’t care if that makes any difference to anyone.
So, for what it’s worth, I’ve got this to say:
We deserve what we get! WE know what people in other places want us to have. George Bush wants us to leave no child behind, but don’t ask him for a helping hand – he’s got tax cuts for the wealthy and a foreign war on his mind. Don’t ask the state legislature for help; they’re cutting taxes for the well-off – just like the President - and ignoring the law and the Supreme Court (Tom Delay gives his blessing). And don’t ask Governor Taft; he’s stimulating business – cold showers for kids and folks on Medicaid.
WE know what people in other places want for us! It’s clear. They want our local plants to close. They want our jobs to be “rendered” to foreign countries where they don’t have to be as minimally humane to their workers as they are still required to be (at least for a while) here. They want us to beat our children into “satisfactory” performance on tests and within programs that THEY impose on US, but which THEY refuse to fund and pay for. They threaten our schools but do not help. They want what they want, but they demand that the children pay for it.
The question is: “ Will we give them what they want? Will we sacrifice our children to their selfish demands? What kind of people are we?” Those are the questions we need to ask ourselves.
Mr. David Sadler had it exactly right in his letter a while back when he pointed out that we keep electing these grinning morons, one of whose pictures appears in this paper almost daily, allowing them to lead us and our children down the path to a degraded future.
When will it stop? We can wake up or we can continue to take it, and – if we choose the latter – we can kiss our young people goodbye. One member of the Circleville School Board should have been happy the day after the levy failed in November. He’d spent his time coordinating the re-election of George W. Bush. The levy failed, but Bush won. Will Bush help us now? No, but he’ll give us the business if our kids don’t do better on his mandated tests than he could do himself.
So, what does this angry writer suggest? I say we vote “Yes” on all the school issues coming up and “No” on every lying, smiling, self-serving politician now holding office. It’s clear that they don’t care about us or ours and are bent only on duping us into another knee-jerk vote for their continued employment. The question is: “What kind of people are we?” If we are stupid enough to sell our children down the river, we deserve what we get.
- Uke Man
p.s. I guess we got our answer !
It’s not too difficult to figure out why I got dissed. The last editor was fairly liberal – he disappeared pretty quickly. The owner of the paper is a conservative businessman dedicated to overtaking the “Dispatch.” He or the editor or both insist on running a column two or three times a week by a grinning, moronic, ultra-conservative state legislator who apparently has nothing better to do than pen vapid ads for his reelection. They DIDN’T print the column below. Politics first, children and the community later.
I just checked the net, and the Circleville City and Logan Elm school levies failed. The Herald and the people of Circleville – if not the children – got what they deserved.
The politician’s picture will still be smiling, though, when it appears tomorrow, along with more of his bullshit, in the local rag.
- Uke Man
What Kind of People Are We?
Hey Folks, I’m not teaching anymore. I have no kids in school. I’m no longer a member of the “evil” teachers’ union, will NEVER run for school board again (or any other office in this town), have had a lot of experience with public education and politics, and am to the point where I don’t care if that makes any difference to anyone.
So, for what it’s worth, I’ve got this to say:
We deserve what we get! WE know what people in other places want us to have. George Bush wants us to leave no child behind, but don’t ask him for a helping hand – he’s got tax cuts for the wealthy and a foreign war on his mind. Don’t ask the state legislature for help; they’re cutting taxes for the well-off – just like the President - and ignoring the law and the Supreme Court (Tom Delay gives his blessing). And don’t ask Governor Taft; he’s stimulating business – cold showers for kids and folks on Medicaid.
WE know what people in other places want for us! It’s clear. They want our local plants to close. They want our jobs to be “rendered” to foreign countries where they don’t have to be as minimally humane to their workers as they are still required to be (at least for a while) here. They want us to beat our children into “satisfactory” performance on tests and within programs that THEY impose on US, but which THEY refuse to fund and pay for. They threaten our schools but do not help. They want what they want, but they demand that the children pay for it.
The question is: “ Will we give them what they want? Will we sacrifice our children to their selfish demands? What kind of people are we?” Those are the questions we need to ask ourselves.
Mr. David Sadler had it exactly right in his letter a while back when he pointed out that we keep electing these grinning morons, one of whose pictures appears in this paper almost daily, allowing them to lead us and our children down the path to a degraded future.
When will it stop? We can wake up or we can continue to take it, and – if we choose the latter – we can kiss our young people goodbye. One member of the Circleville School Board should have been happy the day after the levy failed in November. He’d spent his time coordinating the re-election of George W. Bush. The levy failed, but Bush won. Will Bush help us now? No, but he’ll give us the business if our kids don’t do better on his mandated tests than he could do himself.
So, what does this angry writer suggest? I say we vote “Yes” on all the school issues coming up and “No” on every lying, smiling, self-serving politician now holding office. It’s clear that they don’t care about us or ours and are bent only on duping us into another knee-jerk vote for their continued employment. The question is: “What kind of people are we?” If we are stupid enough to sell our children down the river, we deserve what we get.
- Uke Man
p.s. I guess we got our answer !
2 Comments:
Hi Tom,
I think it's absolutely unbelievable and unacceptable that The Herald did not publish your article as a column or as a letter. It is so true and exactly on target. I remember all the years you and I worked so diligently for the Circleville levies because we cared about the children and about the community.
Now that I'm retired, I care just as much about the children and education. I certainly voted for the levy here and am elated that it passed. I feel certain the people here do not have any more resources than Circleville voters.
I still think it is unbelievable they put Hottinger's articles in the paper several times each week and would not publish your most important and well-written letter. But then, maybe they want only right-wing drivel.
Hang in there and keep writing. You're the greatest! Sondra
Look like the kids will be getting a "free-market" education. They set the standards and take away the means! And a career at Wal-mart for all.
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