Freedom Lost a Champion and Friend

Mary Travers, sexy symbol of folk music and tireless conscience of civil and human rights finally lost her heroic battle against cancer. The outspoken, harmonic champion of justice, freedom and love between our brothers and sisters died at the age of 72. Never flagging in her zeal for righteous causes, she had sung against Apartheid in Africa, the War in Vietnam, worker exploitation from coal mines to tomato fields and hatred around the globe.
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Mary joined Peter and Paul at the dawn of the 60’s. “Blowin’ In the Wind”, “If I had a Hammer” and “Where Have All the Flowers Gone” engraved their permanent spot in the American folk tradition as early as 1962/63. Forty years later they were still on the cutting edge with “Have You Been to Jail for Justice”, “Jesus on the Wire” and “Don’t Laugh at Me.” Perhaps their best know song, “Puff the Magic Dragon” that was a classic triple entendre which told of a little boy and a dragon, innocent imagination or smoking a ‘doobie.’ (Take your pick.)
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The group’s artistic genius was displayed by the immense variety in their musical message. Humor, folktales, moral stories, funny sing-a-longs, seasonal classics and themes of protest were all within their 20 album repertoire. Few groups have had had the ability to elicit rapt attention, anger, motivation, laughter and tears – sometimes all within a single album.
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Mary Travers, who spoke the least of the three on stage, was still sharp with her wit, and definitely the one who took center stage in the eye of the camera and audience. (She was even the role model for Jim Henson’s blond singer in his Muppet’s Band.) Personally close to each other, PP&M’s chemistry permeated the stage, their public protests and most of all, their music.
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I shall never forget the concert I attended in Tulsa’s Brady Theatre. Packed with hippies, used-to-be-hippies, three piece suits, moms, dads, grandparents and the curious we recalled dreams of the past and were rekindled in our commitment that that dream must never die. We stood with tear-streaked faces and raised our hands in honor as we joined in a spiritual pledge that we would remain true to “the hammer of justice, the bell of freedom and song of love between our brothers and sisters – all over this land!”
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God bless you Mary Travers. I celebrate your life. I weep at your passing. I laugh at your smiles. I promise I will never let the dream die!

Carpenter Socialism - Not Then! Not Now!

Some years ago, a Jewish carpenter quit his job, lived off handouts and spread a socialistic concept condemning his society for turning its back on God by refusing to care for poor and needy. He quoted Jewish reformers who had also condemned THEIR societies for refusing to care for the orphan, widow, needy, and the aliens who live among them. This un-employed Jewish socialist even told people to PAY THEIR TAXES”!!!!!!!!!! If that wasn’t enough, he went so far as to tell a man who wanted to do God’s will to “sell his goods and give to the poor!!!!!” That was a 100% tax!!! Thankfully, man was a good conservative anti-socialist and he refused to follow such folly. He’d worked hard and it was time to say an emphatic, “Drop dead!” to that socialistic invasion of his private property.
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Fortunately cooler heads prevailed and the general public outcry rose up and they pressured the government to nail that Nazi-Before-His-Time to a tree. None of that socialism! Just as past generations had ignored such ridiculousness before him, they ignored this jobless socialist.
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Thank God there are so many again today who have not been duped by this unemployed Nazi socialist and his ideas. They don’t want the hand of the poor in their pockets taking their hard earned money. Like the crowd screamed at the dying Carpenter, if you can do what you claim, do it yourself!! We want a better life than your offering. Let the ppor bury the poor.
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May the do-gooders who push this socialistic agenda of helping the poor, the widow, the orphan and the alien among us be as ignored today as that unemployed, free-loading, socialistic, Nazi, son of an unwed mother (Where’s His birth certificate!!) was then.

Wanted: Blubbering Hystero-Moms

Hey! Where did the Blubbo-Muthers go? You know, the ones who boo-hoo'd their globby pasty eyes all over the TV cameras, terrified that their little babes were going to be brainwashed by the President. Taking a break from the right-wing dung-slinging purveyors of irrational hate and paranoia, they blubbered on about brainwashing, indoctrination and socialistic mind-control. But now they are as gone as a “fred” in the wind and harder to locate than a rational though on Limbaugh and Hannity.
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Well, whether they have run into the woods, crawled back under their rock or just retired to the basement of their intellectual outhouse, they’ll be back like a resurgence of the swine flu. Don’t waste breath telling them that Reagan and Bush did the same thing, they’re much too smart to be confused by the facts.
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Little do they realize how little danger they’re in. Ya gotta have a brain to get brainwashed.

Just about the time TPS does something well, it goes through an orgiastic reflex and shoots itself in the foot. For years Jack Arnold and Bob Currington labored over a Code of Student Conduct. The Code was concise, ultimately clear and best of all, was consistent while providing individual flexibility.
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Every year several Board members complained that the Code was not consistent enough. There were different consequences in different schools for the same offense. Well, they fixed it alright, with a typical Board solution. NO consequences!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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The new Discipline Response Plan (DRP or better described DRIP) is a comic masterpiece that could be sold on late night cable TV as Acronyms Gone Wild. T.R.A.I.C.E Satellite, T.R.A.I.C.E. Academy, DRC they threw in everything but an IUD and STD.
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The clear consequence categories have been replaced with a confusing mish-mash of confused contradictions, shrouded in vague generalities, wrapped in smoke and mirrors. Clear consequences have been replaced by a nauseas glut of bookish jargon called Tier I, Tier II, Tire III and Tier IV, guaranteed to bring uncountable tears to anyone who is actually IN a school and is actually WORKING WITH STUDENTS! Clear consequences have been replaced and unworkable maze and endless list of time prohibitive activities that would require an entire staff of counselors for every referred student. Clear consequences have been removed and replaced with unworkable demands that require hours of additional paperwork.
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Specific scenario: 14 year old Johnny grabs Suzy’s breast in class. Suzy is humiliated and in tears. It is no longer a sexual offense!!!!!!!!!!!! Instead, we have a teacher conference with Johnny to inform him this is not an expected behavior or we have a team meeting to be sure Johnny understands the Life Skills or we set up a parent conference (if the parent cares to attend), or we review Steve Covey's Seven ........WAIT A DAMN MINUTE!!!!!!!!!! What idiot removed this sexual offense from the list of sexual offenses!!!!!!!! If I MY child was sexually abused at the hands of another student who had been reminded of his Life Skills the last time he sexually abused a classmate, I'd sue Tulsa Public Schools for every dollar I could get. AND I WILL RECOMMEND THE SAME TO ANY PARENT TO WHOM IT THIS HAPPENS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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Specific Incident: A principal called me to say that at a recent principal's meeting, the presenter of the ridiculous Discipline Response Plan refused to answer the question of what specific consequences should happen to two students who have a fight. This Discipline Response Plan is NO Discipline, with NO Response and has NO plan!!!!
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Dr. Ballard said, and I believe he was sincere, that misbehavior would not be tolerated. This NO Discipline Response Plan assures the failure of Dr. Ballard's pledge to teachers. Lounge talk has it that high school principals are trying to respond with some common sense. Let’s pray, for the sake of every student, teacher and administrator that this is true and that they are successful.