Gleaning Facebook: The Duck Pond

Joe Cook wrote a good response to the RNT's insulting editorial favoring filling and paving the Burwell Creek/Duck Pond wetland area.

Y'all join us Monday afternoon for a walk through the area.

http://www.romenews-tribune.com/.../article-GUEST-COLUMN... 

(2023 note: This link no longer works. :-( )

Comments:

Brian Barcomb Knew somethings was up when gov't let the sides of duck pond become overgrown so bad that no one could fish it anymore. I think they also had all the ducks/geese removed too. Ashame that something which once was a popular landmark and destination for family could become another stripmall littering Rome

Terrell Shaw Agreed, Brian, especially when there is empty retail space nearby and excellent locations for Target, etc. on the bypass, or near the Mall, or behind the Midtown center, etc.

Chris Goodwin Good article. And a common thread among us. Honestly, I love this time of year when you are painting visual pictures of God's glorious nature in your posts and I am reminded of the teacher who taught with all his heart and soul of my youth. It helps me over look our political opposition and appreciate our common love of nature.

Ruthie Langston Terry Don't forget the old vacant Kroger in West Rome- everyone is still mad that it was closed!!!!

Kris Wilder Thank you, Mr. Shaw. I've argued with someone recently about conserving energy and protecting natural resources and respecting the beauty of nature. It was an argument I feel passionate about and I know I owe a big part of that to you and your lessons. It does my heart good to know you are out there and still teaching respect and love of nature.

Michael J. Burton Yes I read the article. Goof response.

Terrell Shaw I am trusting that your fat fingers produced "goof response" and you meant "good response"! 

Lynne Crothers Williams Terry, on this one we agree. If I lived in Rome, I would join in the battle.

Michael J. Burton fat fingers indeed! Maybe

Gleaning Facebook: I Love Obamacare

 The Republicans have had a good time labeling the compromise Affordable Healthcare law with the Obamacare nickname. Well, so be it. Even though it is not perfect, largely because of compromises that moved it closer to proposals from Republicans (not just Romney but others as well) than to the single-payer plan that many Democratic leaders would have preferred, I am thrilled that we finally have a national healthcare program. It has already done much good during its first two years and will accomplish more good. So go ahead call it what you will. I support it. Hurray for our President for his willingness to allow all to have input into the process -messy as it certainly was - to produce a workable program that could win approval.

Gleaning Facebook: Statesmanship

The President was very careful as he made healing and heartfelt statements concerning the Trayvon Martin tragedy.

Newt Gingrich tried to turn the President's beautiful words into something completely opposite and evil.

For God's sake, Newt, you are a father and grandfather!

It is in these sorts of moments when we see who is the statesman and who is the demagogue.

Newt Gingrich has taken the latter path again.

Comments:

Margaret Oren May I cut and paste, Terrell?

Terrell Shaw Of course, Pete.

Christy Davis Yeah, he's also a husband, but we see how seriously he takes that title.

Storytelling

I've uploaded a few stories this week. My student teacher used her little Flip camera to video two stories on Thursday... but they were done in the Exploratorium -- that's our grand name for the cluttered classroom we use as our science lab. So on Friday we videoed again, this time with a tripod and better camera in Avis's neat and interesting Media Center.

Here are the links:
Pigtails Part One
Pigtails Part Two
This is the story of temptation on my very first day of first grade in 1953.

The Tailor
A traditional story of recycling and reuse,  told by Danny Kaye, among others.

How 'Possum Learned To Play 'Possum Part One
How 'Possum Learned To Play 'Possum Part Two

A Joel Chandler Haris story retold by Ed Stivender and others.


Here are some written versions of stories I tell:

Baptism by Water and Fire
Bud and James follow the Dinky tracks and go skinny-dipping in the Yellow River.


Didelphis Virginiana
A midnight prowler in Booger Hollow

Spare the Rod, Icabod
As a beginning teacher I was left in custody of 30 sixth-graders and one Black Dragon.

Peninsula!
I'll never look a Florida in quite the same way.

A Christmas Gift

How my saddest Christmas also brought me joy.

I have also recorded some podcasts of, mostly, poems:
Podcasts

Please Fight This!

The atrocity proposed by a private for-profit group on our city parkland/wetland

I wonder how much empty retail space is available withing a one mile radius of this park?  And only a little farther is Mt Berry Square which must be less than half full, and would surely be killed by this. This development would be larger than Riverbend Center, as you can see from the map below.. It would be built on public land sold at a big bargain, in my opinion, to the Ledbetter group. It would rob our children and grandchildren of this center city greenspace.

We do not need another strip mall in downtown Rome. It would much preferable to redevelop space already available and/or fill our mall, downtown and other strip malls. Draining and filling a downtown wetland for this purpose is very short-sighted. Please sign the petition. Please contact city leaders.

Here is a picture of part of the proposed parking lot.

Sign the petition to save our "Central Park" from irresponsible development.

Gleaning Facebook: Hepatica

Round-lobed Hepatica (Hepatica americana) One of the last pics taken on the AES Nature Trail with my Canon Rebel before I dropped it out of my backpack in front of the school gym onto the concrete and smashed the protective UV filter and bent the filter so badly I can't get it off -- ugh!

 

Gleaning Facebook: Job Creation Under Obama

This chart shows part of the change that President Obama pledged to seek and has, in fact, achieved. He and all his fellow Americans had hoped it could have been even more dramatic, but few of us realized the hole we were in during the winter of 2008-9.

Mitt/Rick/Newt, with straight faces, call the President's policies "job-killing". Check out the facts one more time boys.

The President's policies have not yet brought us to full-employment, but they have allowed us to make a dramatic turn in the right direction. We can argue the causality, but fact are facts. The trend changed in the President's first month and reached positive job growth by a year later. Now we've had two full years of positive job growth. All this despite constant stonewalling by the GOP.

Brian Barcomb Have to disagree Mr. Shaw. The job numbers that the administration is reporting are not accurate. The numbers fail to include several factors incl those individuals that have given up on finding a job. Our society is more reliant on government than any other time in history and that is not a good thing. Food stamp useage is at an all time high. People have no initiative to look for jobs, bc the govt is footing the bill for rent, food, utilities, and now cell phns. Obama stands a very good chance of re-election bc the people he put on these govt programs want to be assured they can remaun on govt programs. Society needs as little govt involvement and intrusion as possible. This govt on both sides of the aisle is bc toooo big and toooo wasteful!

John Countryman Which just goes to show that despite all evidence...evidence...not belief, individuals will spin the facts however they please!

Terrell Shaw While it is true that there are many who have given up on job-hunting because of the depth of the Great Recession the President inherited, Brian, and it is also true that the re-entry of folks into the job hunt because of the renewed optimism that things are getting better keeps the 8.3% steady this month, there is, as I noted, no denying the fact of the change in direction from full-scale employment collapse on Inauguration Day to the current string of 24 months of private sector job growth. Fact, Brian. We can argue causality, again as mentioned. But is is just plain incorrect (to be generous) for Mitt/Rick/Newt to call the President a "job-killer".

Brian Barcomb The Presidents approach to solving the economic crisis is a job killing approach. Govt only causes problem with its intrusive nature. The govt cant continue to bailout companies and industry at the cost of mortgaging our future. This President has saddled us with a deficit beyond all the previous Presidencies combined and we r only 3.5 yrs into his term. A last word, at what point do we stop saying "inherited" and start saying "owns respinsibility for". The President himself stated if he didnt turn the economy around in 3 yrs he faced a one term proposition

Dan Bolton Has the Republican Party offered any jobs bills ? All they do is scream tax credits for the rich.The recovery has been going on for about two years now. Corporate America has run out of excuses not to hire but they are at a point that they have to. GM can’t find enough people to keep up with demand right now in Michigan. This is just proof that trickle down economics does not work. For two years, they have held off from hiring. In addition to that, the U.S. had a record new number of billionaires in 2012.

Terrell Shaw The President did, in fact, inherit the worst recession of our lifetimes. That's a fact that won't change. The deficit is made up of Reagan through Obama debt, aggravated by a refusal of the GOP, abetted by weak-kneed Democrats, to pay our already agreed upon bills over 30 years. Luckily the President has helped to turn things around. Don't be too depressed about it, Republican friends, the Europeans may yet stall the recovery, and the GOP House can try another wrench in the works or two. 

Brian Barcomb Always love a good political debate with you Mr. Shaw! Have a great weekend!

Terrell Shaw Same here Brian. Hope you get to share some of this break with your wonderful "better half" and those daughters.

Janet Hughes Smith Terrell, Could you give a link to this? I can't get there. I know it is from Bureau of Labor Statistics, but I'm not getting there for some reason.

Terrell Shaw Here is the link to the campaign site. If I find a link to the non-partisan figures it's based on I'll post. http://www.barackobama.com/jobsrecord?source=20120309-HP

BARACKOBAMA.COM President Obama's record on jobs President Obama's record on jobs

This chart shows part of the change that President Obama pledged to seek and has, in fact, achieved. He and all his fellow Americans had hoped it could have been even more dramatic, but few of us realized the hole we were in during the winter of 2008-9.

Mitt/Rick/Newt, with straight faces, call the President's policies "job-killing". Check out the facts one more time boys.

The President's policies have not yet brought us to full-employment, but they have allowed us to make a dramatic turn in the right direction. We can argue the causality, but fact are facts. The trend changed in the President's first month and reached positive job growth by a year later. Now we've had two full years of positive job growth. All this despite constant stonewalling by the GOP.