Then What?

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The question comes to mind when you ask one more plausible question. What if a reporter asks just the right question? I don’t know what that question might be, but it just might happen that a reporter asks Kamala just the right question that freezes her as the deer with its eyes caught in the headlights. Even if you haven’t seen it, you have heard of it. The deer might could get away but it doesn’t know which way to go.

Just as with the deer, Kamala freezes and has no idea how to reply to the question. It is a new question, one which she has never been programed to reply. Then, the next day, the polls drop 5 or maybe 6 points. The dems would panic. The question then becomes for them. “THEN WHAT?”

It really is NOT beyond the realm of probability. Actually, it is why they are keeping her in the basement. The dems know it is highly probable if she has. oh,4 or 5 questions a day the reporter will have just the right question. It does take just once, you know. And you know Kamala is very good at inserting her foot in her mouth. On the other hand, whatever the question is might make her panic, worse than the wrong reply. The cameras catch the expression on Kamala’s face and suddenly, the whole world realize Kamala is not presidential material.

It does make me speculate. Maybe, just maybe, with the right encouragement, she would decide to pull out of the election as did Old Joe. Then, who would they replace her with? I don’t know. Maybe the one who is now her running mate. I give up. You tell me.

One thing we know. The dems would not be above another musical chairs move, vote or not. They already proved they are willing and able.

Well, there is one more question that would come to mind. Who would be willing to be thrown in the spotlight under those conditions?

New Tech, Old Tech

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Considering the attempted assassination, you may consider me a little confused. In this day and age of relatively inexpensive drones, why in the world did they not have a dozen or so in the air around that golf course. It would be nice if one spotted the man with the gun. The big thing is, the gunman would have seen the drones and likely would have turned tail and run a long time before he had a chance to use the gun.

Moreover, why didn’t they have a few men with dogs walk the perimeter of the golf course, paying particular attention to to the wooded area. I mean, don’t they train the agents to pay particular attention to places that make good hiding areas. It would not have taken a sharp eye. The dogs have the equipment needed to smell them out. Moreover, even if they didn’t sell out the man, if the dogs got close, it would likely be enough to flush the man out. If they got a hundred yards away, he would have likely went running… at which point the drones would have been able to follow him. That is, if the dogs didn’t run him down first.

They keep talking about budget restrictions. How much would the cost be fort half a dozen drones and four men with dogs. Moreover, it is not a requirement that all the drones be for observation. It would not cost much to have a dozen “dummy” drones buzzing the area just for appearances.

Please Give Your Children a Big Head Start

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Many moons ago, they came up with a program called “Head Start.” I don’t have a clue if it did any good or how much. However, the idea was to help underprivileged children get a leg up on education. As far as I can figure, they don’t seem to be doing better; maybe worse.

However, I can tell you how to give your children a real head start that you will be able to see very quickly. Many say that three is too young to teach a child how to read and write. The best way to give your child a leg up in school is to prove the experts wrong. By not teaching to read early, you give up the years that a child is best able to learn.

Besides, if you teach them, it will give the both of you an excellent chance to do some serious bonding. Reading a book together will be far better than watching TV together. Consider switching every paragraph. The parent reads one, the child reads one. In the end, your child will be grateful of the time you spend with him or her. Also, they will be thankful for the skill that they will carry with them all through their life… not just for learning, but also for enjoyment. This is especially true given the quality of entertainment on TV and in the movies these days.

I am sure there are those among you that say you would rather a professional do the teaching; someone who knows how. Well, apparently they don’t know how. Have you seen the recent statistics. Most kids by the end of the third grade can’t read at second grade levels. Besides, these are minimum. I suggest that your child should be reading at least third grade level by the end of the second grade.

And so it is that it starts with memory. It is that way with most stuff. Beyond that, it’s practice. practice. It is how we learn to speak, though we don’t realize it. If we do learn the words to speak and never practice, none of us would be good at speaking either. So we speak every day, getting better with practice. Hopefully, our parents correct us from time to time when we use the wrong word in the wrong place.

I would say I could write a book about it, but it would be little more than a pamphlet. It does not take a lot to teach a child to read. It mostly takes time patience with a lot of love tossed in for good measure.

To start with, there are two methods of teaching a child how to read. Some say that phonics is the best. Others will say, no. It slows their reading down. As in many cases, they are both right. However, both methods do require a little memory and drills at the front end.

Regardless of the method, the child must learn the alphabet and the name of every letter. Per se it is not important to know but rather it is an important tool for the teacher. It is also important to understand the concepts of vowels. To be sure, it is important to know them, but more, they should learn that vowels and only the vowels are pronounced with the mouth open. The sounds that the letter “A” makes cannot be properly pronounced unless the mouth is open. The sound itself comes from way back in the throat.

Now, consider that there are 26 letters in the English language. The vowels have 2 or even 3 sounds. “A” has 3 sounds. (aim, apple and amount) Two consonants have 2 sounds, “C” and “G.” For the most part the others have but one sound. If the child memorizes these thirty-some sounds, he/she is well on the way to learning how to read by phonics.

If the child learns the sounds of 3 letters a day, we are talking less than 10 days to conquer the entire alphabet. To be sure, there are a few curves, TH, CH, SH. And then there are the silent letters. That always adds a little fun to the process, but they can be easily overcome quickly. Children pick up that kind of stuff fast. I did. I never had to be told a second time about the silent “E.”

And so it is that a child armed with phonics can pretty much sound out the majority of the words in the English language. The hitch is that sounding out words can take time. It is why so many don’t like the phonics methods. If a person only learns phonics, they will likely never get above 200 words a minute, if that.

And so it is that recognition comes into play. When you realize the number of words in the standard sized college dictionary, it makes the recognition method unsurmountable, but it’s not.

Someone did the research and found that if a person was to just memorize the 100 most modt common words used in English, a person could read about 70-75 percent of the words in a common fiction novel.

So, while the student memorizes the letters and their sounds, in a second session, he also learns to recognize the 100 most common words. 5 a day. That takes 20 days. That means, if the student really works on the phonics for ten days and the appearance of words for 20 days, a three-year-old should be able to read at least a first grade level. That is not too much to expect from a three year old. A few flash cards and an hour a day should be more than enough.

By the way, consider what those 100 words are. Most have four letters or less. (a, the, an, he, she, it. them, they, him, etc.) If you want to find out what the 100 words are, you can google them. They are listed and you can easily make 100 flash cards for them. Most kids love flash cards.

If you go 1000 most common words, if my memory serves me right, a person can read nearly 90 percent of the words in a novel. Hence, we find that the recognition method, when used in conjunction with phonics, a three-year-older can learn a lot of reading, probably in a couple of months. After that, it’s practice. I’d say 1 to 2 hours a day. If it catches on, you might not have to make them read that long. You might reach a point where they want to read more. If it gets to that point, your child will outperform almost every kid in the first grade, and perhaps the second. When kids read a lot, they start learning a lot, many times not on purpose. Many times, they will start reading for the fun of learning. That reading can help them build confidence, which might lead to better public speaking. Now wouldn’t that be a good thing?

HOT DOG!

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It is not a mistake that people use the term to express that something good just happened. I mean, any kid, when something good happens, they will exclaim, “HOT DOG!”

However, let us go back to the source of the interjection. We need to face it. Hot dogs are one of a child’s favorite form of sustenance. I guess, in a way, that makes me one of the oldest ever kids. Love hot dogs in almost any form. Incidentally, drop that hot dog in corn meal and deep fry it, and it all gets more so. I mean, who in their right mind can resist a corn dog. Bad thing is, the Kristal’s nearby has stopped serving them. That is not fair.

When I was just a little lad, a hot dog was a hot dog. I could eat them plain; with mustard, ketchup and mustard. My favorite, which will offend some, the works which included mayonnaise. Immediately after posting this, I am sure there will be those who will want to raise their indignations. However, as much as I have a freedom of speech, I also have a freedom of how I eat hot dogs.

However, it is more, far more than that. I would guess there are close to a dozen ways of cooking them. When a kid at home, the way we cooked them, it usually just meant tossing them in boiling hot water for a while. However, they can be roasted over an open flame. I think that is my favorite. Then there are those machines with multiple rollers that cook them slow and very evenly. Yeah. I like that kind too.

My mouth waters as I think of it. There is the lazy man’s way. I cut them in half and heat them in a frying pan, fist insides then outside. If I can, I will put them on a bun. On the other hand, if all I have is sliced bread, I make a sandwich out of them. Not as good, but still good.

Did you know that you can heat them in a microwave very quickly. Maybe not the best tasting, but, you know, some of us kids get impatient. Incidentally, good for when you have a crowd of kids around. Let’s face it. Unlike us older kids, they aren’t so picky.

Then, I guess there have to be dozens of types of hot dogs. If you don’t believe me, just take a gander through them at your supermarket. There are beef, turkey, sausages of various types and the list goes on. Moreover, there are places that actually specialize in various hot dogs. There used to be one in Memphis, which the family and I went frequented. When we went to the mall, it was the first place we went. The four of us always looked forward to it. The problem was that we all ate so fast that they never lasted nearly long enough.

Now, you might wonder, just why it is I am writing this. I have this really strong longing for a couple of hot dogs, yes with mayonnaise and the works and we’ve run out of them. It will have to wait until the stores open, a little longer. As a kid, I can’t wait. You know. No kid can ever wait, you know.

Work

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After I posted my last post, I got to thinking. It reminded me about an old TV show. If my memory is wrong, you are welcome correct me. If I am right the series was The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis with Dwayne Hickman. In the show, Bob Denver plays a hippie, Maynard G. Krebs.

One of the on-going gags is that any time someone mentioned the word “work,” around Maynard, he went into a falsetto voice and repeated, “Work,” as if he were horribly afraid of it.

Then too there is the old joke about the hobo who was asked if he was afraid of work; to which he replied, “No sir. I can lie down next to it and sleep all day.”

As I say, I don’t like work, but I am not afraid of it. I did work all my life. I never drew one day of unemployment. I continued to work until I was in my seventies and I have continued to think of even go back at 76. It just is, right now, my job is taking care of my wife, which takes a lot of my time. It is difficult for me to leave her alone for extended times. So we subside on Social Security.

However, all else aside, any time I do work, I’d really prefer it be for a good reason. I would really like to be able to say I am truly accomplishing something. If I had the chance, I would teach people how to read. Every day, I hear the professional teachers give all kinds of excuses for failing to teach their students how to read. If they can’t do it, I would like the opportunity to try. My guess I can. My guess is, the teachers either don’t know how or don’t have the desire. Before a student reaches the 4th grade, it is the one most important thing a teacher can teach. If their students can’t read then they are failures.

Then again, they just might be like the old hobo. They can sit all day in those classrooms and never teach a thing.

I Don’t Like Work

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I really don’t like hard work. Physical work is no fun. It makes me tired. Frequently, it does no good. I mow the yard and in a few days, it is as if I never did. I trim hedges and in a short time, it is as if I did nothing. I wash my car and it gets dirty again. I have just about come to the conclusion that there is hardly any kind of work that isn’t reversable.

Well, there is one kind of work that can’t ever be wasted. The work that you put into raising your kids. Now that work is never wasted. If you do it right, it will always make you fulfilled.

I suppose, in a way, the same can be said about teaching. It is a shame so many teachers don’t feel that way these days. It is certainly a shame that that the teachers unions don’t feel that way. It is especially bad that those in the Department of Education do not feel that way. Certainly, those in the Department of Education cannot say they are proud of what they are doing, that is, unless their desire is to promote failure.

Daily writing prompt
In what ways does hard work make you feel fulfilled?
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I Would Like to Ask Kamala One Question

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It should be in front of the whole world so that one and all could see her reply. The rule would be that she should have to reply without repeating my question back to me. Finally, there would be backing out. Once I ask my short and concise question, she would need to reply in two minutes or less.

It would not be asking much. Most true experts on the subject could provide a good accurate answer in twenty, maybe twenty-five seconds. She would not be allowed to cackle. She would be required to answer accurately and seriously.

She wants to outlaw assault weapons. I wonder if she could provide a real and concise description of an assault weapon. I mean, if we don’t get a definition from her, it would make it very easy for her to keep changing the meaning.

Does it have to be a rifle or does it include slings, as David used on Goliath. Is it only semi-automatic or does it include bolt and lever action. Does it mean only weapons with scopes. If I use a kitchen knife to assault someone, would that make all kitchen knives illegal thereafter.

The fact of the matter is, assault weapon is a very broad term. Truly the first weapon used in an assault was when Cain killed Able. If a person has the proper training, he can kill with his bear hands. It makes it possible to turn a very wide variety of things into assault weapons. It gives the prosecutor a very wide range for prosecuting.

Indeed, it is so wide of a meaning that the Supreme Court could and should disallow any such law because it is so broad. If she really wants to outlaw a gun, she should call it a gun, not an assault weapon. If she wants to outlaw semi-automatics, then she should specify semi-automatics. If she wants to outlaw AR-15s, then she should use the term AR-15s.

While we are on the subject, she said she has a gun. Has she been trained how to use and not use it? Has she been through any safety courses? Does she know not to shoot at someone until she is sure he is a threat? Has she practiced with it to the point of being able to hit what she aiming at.

The fact of the matter is, a gun in the hands of an untrained person is at least as dangerous as just about any weapon, assault or not. I’m guessing about 80% of the peace officers in this country can tell her that from firsthand experience. I have no reference. Just a guess.

Never Own Anything You Can’t Carry on Your Back

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One of the things my marine drill instructor said, “Never own anything you can’t carry on your back.” It might not be the best or most important thing to remember, but it is certainly worth a thought or two. It is interesting what all a person can collect during my 76 years. Most of it I don’t need. Much of it, I forgot I have. To be sure, at the time I acquired them, I must have needed them, or at least I thought I did.

Now my house is cluttered. I have a storage room full. And my attic is full. I have just about reached a point I can’t buy anything else unless I get rid of something. Actually, I have gotten rid of a lot. I get a stack and I throw away two things and keep one. And, somehow, my stack of things I will keep is bigger than the original stack. Now how in the world does that happen?

To be sure, to limit my possessions to that which I am able to carry is maybe a little too restrictive, but it is a good guide line. I think there is a lot to be said for those who live out of a travel trailer. That way, it is sort of self restricting. Even now as I sit here, I have from time-to-time considered selling the house and buy a trailer. The problem there is… how do I get rid of all the stuff, which I don’t really need.

Let me throw this one on for an extra. There was a mantra we were required to repeat a dozen or so times every day while I was in boot camp. “The road to hell is paved by the bleached bones of marines who did not plan ahead.” I don’t know about you, but I think there is some true wisdom in there, even if you were never a marine. I have found things never go as well when I lack the planning.

Daily writing prompt
What’s the best piece of advice you’ve ever received?
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Is That Anything Like a Cinnamon Roll?

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I was listening to an interview of Kamala’s husband. Naturally, he dodges questions pretty good too. I am sure both of them, if you ask them their favorite color, without hesitation they would reply plaid.

At any rate, the interviewer decided to close out one subject and go on to the next. He said, “Now concerning gender rolls,…

You will have to pardon me. Honest. The first thing that came to my mind was “Is that anything like a cinnamon roll?”

Okay. It was dumb. I am sure you’ll agree it was dumb. However, I am convinced it is far better than the answers they came up with. Besides, a little humor is good for all of us.

Two of the Meanest Things We Can Do to Our Children!

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First and foremost, if we let our children grow up without knowing the Jesus and the plan of salvation. What a horrid thing we will see one day if we find out one day that we failed them and they will never be in heaven with us. If we never teach them another thing, we need to introduce them to the Savior early and frequently. They need to have an excellent example and they need to learn the Bible as early as they can read and maybe a little sooner.

That actually leads us into the second. Turning our children over to schools that won’t teach. It is especially important that they be taught to read. Note, I didn’t say, learn how to read. Reading is a skill that needs to be practiced regularly as well as just learned.

To be sure, writing, math, science and history are very important too. But, you see, it all hinges on reading. It is far more important than ever before as even a mechanic has to know how to read.

And yet, we think we have done what we should when each day we turn our children over to glorified babysitters. Both of my sons were reading in the first grade, and actually pretty well. There is absolutely no reason that by the time a child finishes kindergarten should have any less than a 300 to 400 reading vocabulary. They need to read some each day. I should have had them read to me while I listened. Better for them. Better for me. It will help them feel better about themselves and it would have given me an idea of their progress. Almost as important, it would give us some time together.

At this time in their life, their little brains are start forming based on what they do. They might indeed just hate it, but it is very important. If they learn how to read early, they will learn how to write. Learning history is very important. And, of course, you learn history by reading. Science is important. And science is learned by reading.

Math and algebra. Well, that is a different story for a different post. However, that is important too. It too should be practiced and practiced. With practice comes accuracy and speed.

Getting back to the point. Our schools are run by the government, not by teachers. Our teachers belong to unions whose interest is not the students. They just want to make sure the teachers have jobs and that they are well paid. For some reason, they seem to have more control of the schools than the parents or even the government. Who came up with the idea of doing things that way?

And by the way, when it is suggested we go to private schools, who are the first ones to complain? The democrats and the education unions. Which by the way, are the two most guilty of the poor education our children receive.

My conclusion. Get the government and the unions out of our schools and we might have a good education system. Letting the government and unions teach our children is a horrid thing, start to finish.