Agreed. And remember, there's the whole issue with my home of Texas, where they want to minimize Jefferson's prominence in history books because now they're deciding he wasn't a "real" American after all. And then there's Arizona, which is outlawing courses focused on non-white history. Amazing, and amazingly disturbing...
----- Original Message ----- From: "Mr. Worf" <hellomahog...@gmail.com> To: scifinoir2@yahoogroups.com Sent: Saturday, May 22, 2010 3:34:02 PM GMT -05:00 US/Canada Eastern Subject: Re: [scifinoir2] McDonald's says no way Ronald will retire A lot of people may have been taught a lot of those things in school but they just don't remember it. One of the arguments for not teaching history was "if you want to know something just go online and it is at your fingertips." Which is a ridiculous argument to me but that is the attitude of some people here. Usually the ones making statements like that have their kids in private school anyway. Public schools are for those "other" people. Hmm I wonder how many of them are sympathetic to the tea party? On Sat, May 22, 2010 at 7:05 AM, Keith Johnson < keithbjohn...@comcast.net > wrote: I know times are tough, but it's been proved that kids--all of us--need a healthy physical life in order for the mind to function optimally. Not having a PE break in the day is only going to make them more sluggish and less able to focus throughout the day. And then we'll bellyache about their low test scores and try to fire teachers for not "doing their job". I'm not sure what *kind* of citizens we expect to produce when we curtail/cut history, art, music education. Any fool can get taught mathematics, the sciences, and the basics of reading and writing. But you're only going to produce fully functioning, thoughtful citizens capable of making informed decisions if you teach the arts and history as well. One downside to the IT explosion is that so many people feel all we need to know is how to work with computers and web pages and stuff to get a job, but we then leave behind what kind of people we're creating in that case. I'm appalled by how many people i'm meeting who know a lot about computers, cars, HVAC, etc., but don't even know American history past 1776, 1861, and 1941. ----- Original Message ----- From: "Mr. Worf" < hellomahog...@gmail.com > To: scifinoir2@yahoogroups.com Sent: Saturday, May 22, 2010 2:43:34 AM GMT -05:00 US/Canada Eastern Subject: Re: [scifinoir2] McDonald's says no way Ronald will retire It varies depending on the school district. (public schools only) Each one has its own governing body so some districts are doing better than others. PE was being cut in one district, the district next door may be cutting art and music. Another cutting history. One interesting thing that I see happening is that some districts have been doing fund raisers for certain schools. That works out great for schools in wealthier areas but that leaves schools in poor areas losing everything. On Fri, May 21, 2010 at 8:34 PM, Keith Johnson < keithbjohn...@comcast.net > wrote: It is almost criminal to start cutting PE classes in our public schools. Not having kids, i was shocked to find out how many children nowadays don't play outside the house after school. I have a friend with whom I was discussing it, who felt the same way. he's old school, and makes his kids go outside to play. He doesn't often allow them to play videogames during the week. ----- Original Message ----- From: "Mr. Worf" < hellomahog...@gmail.com > To: scifinoir2@yahoogroups.com Sent: Friday, May 21, 2010 4:58:19 PM GMT -05:00 US/Canada Eastern Subject: Re: [scifinoir2] McDonald's says no way Ronald will retire True, We are starting to see that again where I live. The last group of youngsters didn't play outside much. Now the under 14 set is playing football and baseball on my block. Then again the schools here have been threatening to cut PE so that will be the only thing that they have. On Fri, May 21, 2010 at 1:42 PM, Keith Johnson < keithbjohn...@comcast.net > wrote: I'm talking about just going outside and playing in the street or the yard, not doing sports. But I hear your point. Sometimes we get too focused on doing things according to schedules, plans, and programs. Nothing's more important than good ol' unstructured play! ----- Original Message ----- From: "Mr. Worf" < hellomahog...@gmail.com > To: scifinoir2@yahoogroups.com Sent: Friday, May 21, 2010 2:39:54 PM GMT -05:00 US/Canada Eastern Subject: Re: [scifinoir2] McDonald's says no way Ronald will retire There is a flip side to this. There is a problem with doing too much extra curricular activities for some kids. My friend's daughter has been involved in every sport after school since grade school. Every sport for every season. Softball, basketball, swimming, soccer, track. Her daughter is usually exhausted when I see her. She may have one day a week to rest or has to plan a downtime day. On Fri, May 21, 2010 at 10:04 AM, Keith Johnson < keithbjohn...@comcast.net > wrote: I hear you! Michelle Obama recently cited playing outside in a speech she was giving about combating childhood obesity. She spoke of how when she was a kid, parents would literally force their kids to go outside, and not let them back in the house for a time. I was talking to a lady recently who lives in a more expensive (snooty) neighborhood than mine. On my cul-de-sac street, all the kids gather in the street and play for hours. The parents all share in watching the kids, and usually stand out and chat while the young 'uns run around. On my friend's street, she says her kids are the only ones who play outside. The reason? All the other kids are inside playing video games. Their parents are either too busy working late at the office, working in the home, out at social events, or simply too lazy to be bothered with anything silly like standing outside and watching their kids while they play. Now, they will take the time to go to softball games and the like at the ball field, but that's once a week, twice at most. ----- Original Message ----- From: "Mr. Worf" < hellomahog...@gmail.com > To: scifinoir2@yahoogroups.com Sent: Thursday, May 20, 2010 11:23:47 PM GMT -05:00 US/Canada Eastern Subject: Re: [scifinoir2] McDonald's says no way Ronald will retire I agree. Also it is up to the parents to encourage the kids to do outdoor activities too. When I was a kid I practically lived in the schoolyard across the street from my house. I'm still trying to catch up on some of the cartoons that I missed when I was a kid! I also think that improper diet starts early from the parents. By the time most kids are in grade school they have already developed bad eating habits from their parents. I have seen mothers pouring coke into baby bottles. Many never eat fresh fruit or vegetables. It may be that the restaurants are too plentiful to find. Another fault is that value meals usually never offer a deal on a salad combo. Its almost always the burger and fries. What happened to the veggie burger that McD was offering? What happened to the salad in a cup? (great bargain when they were available. It was basically a garden large salad with a chicken breast for under $3. On Thu, May 20, 2010 at 6:47 PM, Keith Johnson < keithbjohn...@comcast.net > wrote: My feeling is that we go too far in blaming advertising and marketing for our children's bad habits. Yes, absolutely, McDonald's caters to kids with food that's not healthy if eaten too much. So do the companies behind Twinkies, Snickers, Kool-Aid, Chuck E. Cheese, and countless others. And it makes kids want to eat that stuff. But guess what? Kids eat what their parents tell them to eat! Unless and until ten-year-olds are driving themselves to Mickey D's and gorging on burgers and fries, it's on the parents as to what they eat. Yeah I know: couples work nowadays. It's more rare for there to be a mom staying at home all day cooking healthy three squares from scratch. Fast food is convenient in this new world. But it's still incumbent on parents to say "no". When i was a kid, we had nowhere as many fast food joints as we do today. But frankly, the ones we had in Texas were way better: Dairy Queen was better, there's a great chain called Whataburger out there that's good, and the state was lousy with fantastic mom-and-pop chains that make the best greasy burgers and shakes you'll ever have. And if I'd had my way, I'd have eaten that stuff every day. What did my parents say? "No!" I got such food as a treat, usually when we took road trips to Houston. Or I got fried chicken for Sunday dinner. Other than that, if they didn't want me to eat too many candy bars, cinnamon rolls, cokes, etc., they simply didn't buy it. While freely acknowledging the ever-increasing lure of sophisticated advertising, i just have to shake my head at the thought that parents are helpless to do anything about it when it comes to what their kids eat. ----- Original Message ----- From: "Mr. Worf" < hellomahog...@gmail.com > To: scifinoir2@yahoogroups.com Sent: Thursday, May 20, 2010 7:12:48 PM GMT -05:00 US/Canada Eastern Subject: [scifinoir2] McDonald's says no way Ronald will retire McDonald's says no way Ronald will retire By ASHLEY M. HEHER (AP) – 5 hours ago CHICAGO — Retire Ronald McDonald? No way. That's the message McDonald's Corp.'s CEO Jim Skinner gave Thursday to the red-haired clown's critics who say the cartoon promotes unhealthy eating and should go the way of the Marlboro Man and Joe Camel. "The answer is no," Skinner told a room full of shareholders who gathered for a meeting at the company's headquarters in the Chicago suburb of Oak Brook, Ill. "He is a force for good," Skinner said, adding that the nearly 50-year-old clown is an ambassador for the McDonald's brand and its Ronald McDonald House Charities. "He communicates effectively with children and families around balanced, active lifestyles. He does not hawk food." Shareholders applauded Skinner. And they unleashed a chorus of boos when representatives from the advocacy group Corporate Accountability International requested the famous icon be shelved — for good. "Ronald McDonald is a pied piper drawing youngsters all over the world to food that is high in fat, sodium and calories," said Alfred David Klinger, a retired Chicago physician who volunteers with the organization. "On the surface, Ronald is there to give children enjoyment in all sorts of way with toys, games and food. But Ronald McDonald is dangerous, sending insidious messages to young people." The Boston organization, which calls itself a nonprofit corporate watchdog, has spent the past two months mounting a "Retire Ronald" campaign. So far it has received support from about 10,000 people, said senior organizer Deborah Lapidus. -- Celebrating 10 years of bringing diversity to perversity! Mahogany at: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/mahogany_pleasures_of_darkness/ -- Celebrating 10 years of bringing diversity to perversity! Mahogany at: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/mahogany_pleasures_of_darkness/ -- Celebrating 10 years of bringing diversity to perversity! Mahogany at: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/mahogany_pleasures_of_darkness/ -- Celebrating 10 years of bringing diversity to perversity! Mahogany at: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/mahogany_pleasures_of_darkness/ -- Celebrating 10 years of bringing diversity to perversity! Mahogany at: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/mahogany_pleasures_of_darkness/ -- Celebrating 10 years of bringing diversity to perversity! Mahogany at: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/mahogany_pleasures_of_darkness/
