Read this! Paul Douglas: A Message From a Republican Meteorologist on Climate Change

Paul Douglas: A Message From a Republican Meteorologist on Climate Change:

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  Ok I'm a optimist when it comes to the possibility for humanity to wise up and follow the bread crumbs to the realization that the world is changing and we caused it. But we also can fix the problem by giving up what made it this way.
   Are carbon production and use has gotten out of hand.  And now our weather is changing in Record Breaking ways.  Temperatures are on the rise when they should be low. Wet weather is moving in when there should be ice and snow.  This is not something to be rejoicing for, this is something to be worried about.
   Now I'm no extremest and saying you need to throw out your car and anything carbon producing, NO!  What I'm saying is use it a little less. If you can, carpool with a friend. Take the train, Use public transportation. Turn off the lights if you don't need them. Recycle your plastic, paper, metal, electronics and batteries. Change the bulbs to be more efficient. Put in windows that don't leak heat and AC. Trade in your car for a hybrid or electric car. But do these over the course of a year or 2 or 3.  These changes are not super expensive to make and if you do them over time, you'll find your not only saving money but you can get a tax return of a higher amount each year.
 Seriously people, the world is changing now because of what we didn't do 20-30 years ago. Now it's getting to the point where we HAVE to start changing or we will end up not making problems for ourselves. But problems for our children and our grandchildren. Our Generation is screwed. But lets not screw it up for our kids and the generations coming after us.
  If were lucky, we may be able to save thousands of lives in 20 years and then millions of lives in 50 years.  I think that's a pretty good thing to leave behind when I pass on. A healthy Great - grandson is all I want to leave behind me. That's why I make the changes. So I can tell my son, "Yeah we needed to change, Son. And you know what....We did."

TRUE STORY: If we do not have a moment to stop and listen to one of the best musicians in the world playing the best music ever written, how many other things are we missing? «

TRUE STORY: If we do not have a moment to stop and listen to one of the best musicians in the world playing the best music ever written, how many other things are we missing? «:
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It really makes you think about what you could be missing.

Worth a read!

  Started reading this on Suicide Girls this morning and thought it was worth passing it on.

CULTURE: Occupy Rising: The American Spring Is Here

Copied from: Confessions of a ‘Bad’ Teacher - NYTimes.com

I have a sister who's a Teacher. I have a Fiance who is a Teacher. I have 2 cousins who are Teachers. I have many Friends who are Teachers.

I think Teachers are the ones who can save our future generations from poverty and criminal lives. Unfortunately the government and state systems put in place to help these great people are failing them miserably. They are strangling the system and laying off the staff that is needed to make it all work. They have not only ham-stringed the Teachers in both lack of staff and pay but they also then smear their reputations when they fail to meet unrealistic standards in the reduced environments of our current schools.

Schools that are in badly needed upgrading and refurbishing. No Air-conditioning for the spring and summer months. Inadequate locker storage for students books and supplies. Computers that haven't been upgraded since 2004. Textbooks without a current map of the world or up-to-date world facts. Heck the teachers have to buy and supply the students with all papers and writing assignments out of their own pocket! Not out of a separate fund that should be given by the state for copies and material, out of Teachers own paycheck! which then cuts their pay in half.

Not to mention that the parents of most of the kids are taking the kids word about the teachers as the truth. They are not appreciating that a kid who complains about their teacher most likely is the one misbehaving and causing the problems in the schools. But instead of the parents Dealing with the kids, the parents are then blame the Teachers for their problems. WHY!? The Teachers are paid to TEACH, not to curb your kids attitude and discipline them since you have been spoiling them for years.

The parents even allow their kids to bring a cellphone to school. If you need to give a kid a cellphone, make it only able to make phone calls. No Text or anything else, otherwise you end up with a distracted or disruptive kid, texting, listening to music and not paying attention.

Teachers should have more respect then they do. They are working harder and longer hours then ever before and more responsibility for your kids then you have shown since their birth. Teachers can't stop working and go home like everyone else. They have stacks of papers to grade and lesson assignments to create on a daily basis. When they go home it is usually to a stack of papers to work on and barely enough sleep to survive. Heaven for bid if they decide to have a family. When do they have time to meet someone and start a family. Let alone if they decide to have kids of their own. How do you spend time with you 2 year old son when you have to take care of 28-30 other peoples kids first? It's NOT FAIR!

Their needs to be a Massive Dramatic change in how Teachers are treated and supported. I personally think that every politician in the United States needs to take a 20% pay cut. Which can not be counted as a taxable donation or that can be refunded. In addition all political campaigns that are held, half of the money raised must automatically be pushed towards the public schools in their perspective states, since most of it is used for TV ads and smear campaigns. This money is immediately put to paying for the refurbishing of Public Schools and the hiring of Teachers and support staff as well as supplies for all the Public Schools in the United States.

Politicians have been taking money from the public school systems for years. I think it's time to start putting it back in.

Confessions of a ‘Bad’ Teacher - NYTimes.com:

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