Leslie's Omnibus

Drive-Bys

Seems everyone on the right or left of the blogosphere has their panties in a wad about Obama's upcoming broadcast to school children. This is where I show my true libertarian colors (and probably cause my BlogDaddy to keel over in a dead faint): Obama is not the first president to do this, and won't be the last. Let your kids see the broadcast and use it as a springboard for discussion. If you're shielding them because you don't like his politics, you're also taking away an opportunity for open discussion with your kids and exercise of their (and your own) critical thinking skills.

Back in 1968, my grade school held a straw poll in the presidential election race. Neither of my parents saw this as intrusive. In fact, discussion about that election brought lively discussion around the dinner table, as Darling Daddy was a dyed-in-the-wool Republican, and the Princess Mom disliked and distrusted Richard Nixon intensely and had decided to cast her vote for Hubert Humphrey, for once voting for the man, and not the party.

None of this warped my psyche, but instead gave me an early interest in the mechanics of government, politics and the beginnings of an inner barometer for my own political views.

I love my conservative friends, but the same people who yelled bloody murder about liberals dragging their kids out to campaign against Chimpy McBushHitler Halliburton are the ones taking their own kids to Tea Party rallies to protest against the policies of The One.

Politics do begin at home, but they're everywhere. Do you want a sheltered kid or a savvy and engaged kid?

Let 'em watch, and then talk about it openly. Trust me, your child will thank you for this later in life.

Update: The full text of the speech is here. No real politics that I can see, but plenty to discuss over the dinner table.

Update 2: Mike's got more on the classroom activity materials and other info surrounding The One's speech to students. Read it all. Discuss it with your kids.
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This Neil Steinberg column got me hankering for Lezza spumoni. Fabulous, fabulous stuff. Guess I'll have to force myself to go to Guiseppe's for some of their marvelous lasagna and then force myself to stick around for dessert! (Yes -- they carry Lezza's!)
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The old Des Plaines Theater has finally quit showing nothing but Bollywood films, and trying something different -- Vaudeville. Campy? Sure. $14 bucks ($12 with downloadable coupon) for live entertainment? That's a deal. There are shows September 12th and 29th. I'm there!
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Question for my readers: Have any of you tried the Sprint or Verizon MiFi? Do you like it? What's the monthly cost?
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Happy Labor Day!
Leslie

1 comment:

Teresa said...

Ha! You said the same thing I did about the speech by the One. (BTW - my parents distinctly disliked Humphrey back in the day - and that is putting it mildly - LOL).

As for Mifi. The cost depends on the service you get... With Verizon you pay about $270 to buy it when you pay month-to-month no contract (although they don't say what the monthly rate is then) - $169 with a one year contract and $99 for a 2 yr. Then add on the monthly fees which are likely to be $30 to $60 depending. (Sprint is the same maybe a bit lower price but not sure.)

The big thing to remember with these is that there is a 5 Gb data limit per month - it's the same on all carriers. If you go over, they charge by the Mb and your bill can climb really fast. My boss was at one time paying in excess of $1200 a month because he got one for his son.

This is not for home use on a regular basis. Especially if you like to watch video - too much bandwidth. But it's great for frequent travelers who don't want to spring big $$$ for hotel or airport connections. It's also somewhat safer than browsing through an open wifi hot spot. I'd like one, but can't quite justify the cost. *sigh* Hoping it will come down in a few years.