Lots of people this morning are pissed off that Trump is TIME’s Person Of The Year. These people seem to think this means he’s the best guy on the planet, which it doesn’t. TIME’s POTY is simply the person who made the biggest impact, good or bad, which is why past “winners” include Adolph Hitler (1938), Joseph Stalin (in 1939 & 1942), Nikita Khrushchev (1957), and Ayatollah Khomeini (1979). So with the criteria to be TIME’s POTY understood, I don’t... Read more
During several rallies on his road to the White House, Donald Trump promised (and in some he promised we’d be saying “Merry Christmas” in every store) that if he got elected we’d all be saying “Merry Christmas” as opposed to “Happy Holidays.” Because what makes for a better season of cheer than extracting outrage from well-wishes that aren’t formulated precisely as you would like? Ho, ho, ho. Trump supporters should have known that Trump would not have this type of power,... Read more
Ladies and gentlemen, the next nominee for the Department of Housing and Urban Development will be a person with absolutely no expertise with urban development: “I am thrilled to nominate Dr. Ben Carson as our next Secretary of the US Department of Housing and Urban Development,” President-elect Donald Trump said in a statement. “Ben Carson has a brilliant mind and is passionate about strengthening communities and families within those communities.” Ok, so the neurosurgeon, when nominated to run the Department... Read more
I WILL BE ON AT 12PM EASTER/11AM CENTRAL! LISTEN AT DOGMADEBATE.COM! You can also donate at the above link, or by visiting Camp Quest‘s website. 🙂 As of right now they’ve raised about $30,000 of their $50,000 goal. David Smalley is in the process of doing an all-night stream-a-thon to raise money for Camp Quest, where kids can spend a week during the summer learning critical-thinking skills along with all the other fun camp stuff. I hope we can help Camp Quest (and... Read more
Yesterday I asked my students if they’d be willing to come in for an extra hour when my parents are in town to reprise their recital songs for them. I told them it wasn’t mandatory, but it would mean a lot to me. Many of them agreed, and one even wrote: “I am willing to do it. You work hard for all of us, and I want to show them how amazing of a teacher you are!” And later another student... Read more
Our President-elect is back on Twitter assuring the entire world he’s unfit for the job: Nobody should be allowed to burn the American flag – if they do, there must be consequences – perhaps loss of citizenship or year in jail! — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 29, 2016 Where to even start? First, flag burning is protected free speech thanks to Texas v. Johnson. Of course, if Trump gets to appoint a second SCOTUS Judge, that could change, but... Read more
This Saturday at 1pm at the High School in Burlington, Kansas my students will be performing their end-of-semester recital. There are a LOT of strong numbers. One of the students that will be performing, we’ll call her Betty, began the semester as one of my weaker students. This is me working with her last night on her number for next semester: I never dreamed I would’ve enjoyed teaching as much as I have. It’s a really fulfilling job. 🙂 If... Read more
Hey gang, I’m stepping out the door to voice lessons. But before I go, I want you to know that I’ll be on Recovering From Religion’s stream-a-thon today at 4pm Central Time. They’ve got a pretty swank line up, which you can see on their Facebook page. Click that same link to tune in to the broadcast. The whole shebang kicks off at at noon Central Time! Read more
Mike Pence attended the Broadway production of Hamilton last night. Tweets I saw throughout last night suggest he was boo’d by the crowd at every opportunity. Good for them. Although, if you boo’d him and didn’t take the time to vote against him, maybe save some of those boos for yourself. Anyway, at the end of the night the cast and crew came out with a message for the VP-elect (and got the message out before Pence could zip out... Read more
So, I’m now part of a fun little side project called Reasonable Doubt with Jeremy Groom and Lara Magyar. Last night we recorded our first song called Tell Me Once Again: Here are the lyrics: You say he’s just a braggart like that should ease my mind he’s claimed the highest office and I’m searching hard to find A view of this prolific liar that lets me understand how millions of my countrymen put our lives into his hands He... Read more
What Would JT Do?
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