Helveticus
Army veteran - Retired Special Ed Teacher
Joined Feb 2023
#education Ron de Santis, among other Republican governors, is trying to modify certain areas of the curriculum for Florida's public schools. Specifically the history of African Americans!
https://www.cnn.com/2023/02/15/us/florida-desantis-african-american-studies-march/index.html
Now let us recognize the impressive educational background of De Santis!
He is a very smart man who graduated from impressive universities!
So why is he interfering with school boards?
Answer: Politics
#massshootings Another and another and another! Then we have idiot politicians screaming 2nd amendment and praising NRA, their financial god!
When will they start voting on solid gun control laws? As soon as the majority of citizens demands it! How? By unseating the ferocious NRA lackeys!
#football
My wife only watches the half time show (and a few ads) and this time, she turned away afer 5 minutes of dancing rabbits and heavily wrapped Rihanna!
Where are Michael Jackson and other real show people? A complete flop, but, luckily, the players gave us plenty of emotions to make up for the artistic failures!
Does anybody know about a "pronoun" war?
Jordan Peterson, the famous Canadian psychologist, is in trouble at his college for not using the 'correct' pronoun with his students!!
What exactly does that mean?🤔
I have trouble digesting the neologism "wokeness": It says awareness of social problems on Google, but, apparently, being 'woke' is a problem for some activists who use it as an accusation!!
Je ne comprends pas!!🤔
My best friend just turned 85 and as I congratulate him, he says the following!
There is an upside to being old
-People are much more considerate
-I can forget my marital duties
without fear of the consequences
-My kids (all adults of course) vie for my affections and my material possessions
-Real life events, for the most part, have no relevance for me
-I no longer care about "what will they think"
-I can speak my mind quite frankly and nobody feels offended
The downside....
#psychology
If your are an informed amateur regarding psychology as I am, I suggest you watch a remarkable podcast on YouTube:
Neuroscience Meets Psychology | Dr. Andrew Huberman | EP 296 (Jordan Peterson)
I have always wondered whether neuroscience and psychology were competing to explain the human behavior!
In reality, they are complementary, not feuding but rather allies in scientific research.
"I am nervous" is a common expression, but also a bit of a misnomer since everything we do is controlled by our nervous systems!
Yes, "systems", as there are two nervous systems, one called the autonomic system and the other the central system!
Autonomic means that it works outside our control (for the most part), such as digestion and breathing!
The central system is what we use to move, to look, to behave, etc..under our control!
So 'I am nervous" really means what?
#ducks Several ducks visiting our garden have discovered a way to get food from the bird feeders.
Their paddles (feet) are too big to perch next to the feeders so the smart ones decided to push the feeding boxes back and forth (in flight) until the grains fall off on the ground.
They are using their remarkable intelligence to solve a food problem!
#international The dictator of Iran, Khameini, said something unbelievable in this day and age: "Women in prison who are virgins must be raped otherwise they go to heaven."
Only non-virgins can be punished by Allah, which also means that not only must they be raped but also executed by the State!!
And the 'Supreme Leader' is shocked that citizens march in the streets asking for his demise!!
I checked with Google and could not find confirmation of "beginned" being correct. They all state that it must be "began or begun".
Do you have a valid reference?
I would appreciate as a grammar nut!😅
#wisdom
Luck and Misfortune are sisters!
Where one goes, the other follows
Gambler Anonymous
#culture The movie is called "The Gay Divorcee" (1934)
Now the word 'gai' in French means 'happy or merry' and it has, of course, disappeared as such in both English and French, to be replaced by the modern meaning of homosexual.
It would be quite interesting to know why and how the change occurred in today's society.
If anybody can throw light on this evolution of vocabulary, please let me know!
#international
Iranian authorities, meaning the old and decrepit ayatollah, have killed hundreds of citizens who were manifesting against the treatment of women by the police.
It is difficult to comprehend in this modern era how a country can still live in the Middle Ages!
And yet we have witnessed the abject treatment of an innocent Black man in the streets of America, a nation who should be a model of tolerance and democracy!
Are we, as a modern society, going backwards??
As science is working on reversing old age and extending our life span, it would be nice if we had a scientific confirmation of life after death! Especially for us older folks!
A concerned god should allay our fears of eternity by communicating with us directly, an easy feat for an all-powerful deity!
Alas, no divine message received as yet!😅
Pick a job you love and you won't have to work a single day! (Confucius)
This country is threatened not by China or Russia, but by some of its own politicians who cheerfully lie about elections, thus creating doubts about the validity of votes!
The same thing happened when Covid vaccines were demonized by extremists, as such causing thousands of deaths that could have been prevented!
It is high time to return sanity to politics, right Mr. Speaker?
#introduction
I am a retired teacher, I speak three languages, and I like to exchange opinions with smart people.
O yeah, I am a HE, older white male happily married to a gorgeous and smart lady!