It's their 'Cup of T.E.A.'...

 

 

Our Public School System is under attack from Right-Wing Republicans and T.E.A. Party Activists and they won't be happy until there are only Charter and Private Schools for youngsters to attend.

 

That will, ultimately, mean only the rich will be able to afford an education for their youngsters.  And, they will be able to teach whatever suits their fancy and ignore whatever they think is unnecessary for young minds to learn. 

 

We all can guess how that will turn out.  We will have a generation of well-dressed kids with no science acumen, but a heavy dose of "what's-good-for-them."

 

It's hard to believe these people have given much long-range thinking to this curriculum. In today's Public Schools, Americans have been educated in a broad range of courses, and there have been new and necessary ones added along the way. It is a continual struggle to balance the courses that students from kindergarten through twelfth grade will need for a well-rounded base of education that will prepare them for the rest of their lives.

 

America, for years, has done an excellent job of doing just that.  However, there are those who have decided that we need to spend our educational tax money in other ways. Their cup of "tea" is more Charter and Private Schools by syphoning off students from Public Schools until they no longer exist.

 

It is good to examine where we can make cuts in our educational budgets without hurting the core purpose, as well as where we can increase spending...like teacher's salaries, for example. We demand so much from them, while we pay so little.  We should be embarrassed to death about that!

 

There truly are two Americas, and the TEA Party and Far-Right folks have been guzzling the Republican Kool-Aid (or TEA, as it were) for far too long. As you well know, they are not very good at getting involved in your school activities, but they are very good at throwing rocks at your endeavors.

 

These kids are the responsibility of all of us. They are our country's future.  Get involved and decide how much their education is worth to you.

 

        

Send in the Clowns...

 

 

As the song goes..."send in the clowns."  Well, now might be the time to point out that we really didn't mean it, Tea Party Montana! Along with your weird maneuver to get your folks on the Democratic Ballot, there is another bone I have to pick with you.

 

We applaud your interest in cutting spending in order to reduce our taxes, but maybe there are a few things you have overlooked.  You seem to have a strong urge to throw out the baby with the bath water, as it were.

 

Consider just a couple of nasty little annoyances your absolute and undiluted drive to eliminate has created.

 

One out of five children in Montana suffers the pangs of hunger.  In this day and age, such a thing is inconceivable in this great state.  How do we go to sleep at night, knowing this horror exists?  Step out onto the street and count out five children...chances are one of those kids will go to sleep very hungry tonight. Your party fought hard and voted to make sure there will be less food and services available. Nice work.

 

More than 70,000 Montanans have no health insurance.  That means they are not getting proper health care, as a result.  Again, how do you justify this in a country like America?  Your Tea Party Legislators voted to not accept the federally funded Medicaid Extension program in Montana. That program would have insured those people who, by the way, include a large percentage of children.  We are one of only five states that allowed that to happen.  And yes, the other four were controlled by your political party, also.

 

Tea Party activists do not have a monopoly on fighting wasteful spending by our politicians. But we have to fight this with a level of intelligence.  There are issues that must be taken care of, if for no other reason than pure human decency. If it is your idea to just stand up and vote "No" on everything, then it is our idea that you don't stand up for anything! 

 

Your "Party of NO" is shunned and ridiculed for a very good reason. Take a hint...or take a hike!

 

 

The Amazing Maneuver...

 

 

 

Those crazy, fun-loving, aristocrats of mayhem that go by the handle of "Montana Tea Party" have come up with another oddball move to get elected.

 

They just insist on proving the theory that if you can't get into the Montana Legislature playing by the rules...you just make new ones.  Some Tea Party Nitwit came up with the idea of placing their name on the Democratic Primary Ballot.  Others, of course, thought this was so neat, they followed suit.

 

Now, I'm no attorney so I can only assume a real one has already checked this out and found it legal.  In this day and age, however, we seldom know exactly what is legal until it has survived the ruling of a judge and/or jury.

 

Ethical is another matter.  The best guess for their strange deployment of Tea Party Troops to the Left Flank is to run against other Republicans who they perceive as much too moderate or - horror of horrors - too liberal.

 

Beyond that strategy, I am at a complete loss as to what they have in mind.  In order to carry this idiotic tactic to a conclusion, it would appear to me that they have their hearts and minds believing that they can beat both Republicans and Democrats in the Primary and General Elections!

 

Let's face it...Tea Party intellect has not raised the IQ level of modern politics one teensy-weensy bit, and this amazing maneuver has probably knocked them down even further.

 

As they say...stay tuned.  It's going to be a very bumpy ride!

 

 



Do we really need two Political Parties?

 

I would imagine there are many conversations taking place over cups of coffee these days regarding the deplorable political gridlock that is taking place.

 

Of course, our guys are doing the right thing.  It's your guys that are causing the problems. 

 

If we stop and think for a minute, that simple two-sentence statement is at the root of the entire mess.  Someone could commit murder in the U.S. House of Representatives, in full view of everyone, and there would be a Party Line Vote on guilt or innocence.

 

It brings to mind the question of "who is really to blame?"  Is it really our politicians?  Or, is it us? We put them into office and we support them regardless of how they perform, as long as they are of our political persuasion. 

 

It may not be that hostile in our Montana Legislature yet, but it's getting there. As a matter of fact, there was nearly that much violence displayed under one banner, (which was once considered strictly taboo to speak ill of a fellow Republican or Democrat) which only proves that we can now fine tune the art of turning on our fellow man within our own political party.

 

It would seem obvious to most that if this gridlock continues, the only realistic conclusion would be the annihilation of both political parties. Perhaps we are all still too arrogant to accept the fact that we could not possibly be to blame. There is also another thought:  Just maybe the Independents have stumbled onto the real secret to peace, harmony, and successful governing.

 

One thing is for sure, however.  We cannot continue down this path and hope for a different - and better - conclusion at the end of our travel.  Our government - and our political parties - cannot continue with the pressure that is building within so many!

 

And if you're looking to me for answers, I've always been in favor of changing our two-party system...

 

...one on Friday Night and one on Saturday Night.