Quote from: Berggeist on January 01, 2011, 09:28:26 PM
I had a Southern Passover.  After the War Between the States, there was little to nothing to eat in much of the South.  Providence being merciful to us, allowed the old black-eyed pea and her cousins the crowder and purple-hull to come up volunteer in many cases.  A cabbage or two and a laid-by sweet potato could be found.  Sometimes, lucky folks had horded corn, buried in the ground against Yankee plunderers.  The most fortunate might have caught and killed a feral hog.

So, in honor of the Lord who provided my ancestors with the sustenance necessary to survive the waning years of the war, the aftermath of the war, including Reconstruction, and then the nearly eighty years of impoverishment up to WWII, and in honor of those ancestors, who had they not survived, I would not have been born, I had the following:  black-eyed peas, cabbage, corn bread, ham, onion, sweet potato (baked) and iced tea with lemon (General Stonewall Jackson loved lemons!).

I love how you keep it so South....  That is just some of my favorite food...

Quote from: taxed on January 01, 2011, 09:41:01 PM
I love how you keep it so South....  That is just some of my favorite food...

The South oozes out of my pores.  When I am dead and buried, only Southern worms will eat me.  My rotting flesh will be too rich in Southern traditions, customs and habits for the Yankee variety!

If your name is Irene, "Good Night!" ;D

Quote from: Berggeist on January 01, 2011, 09:32:00 PM
On bended knee and with great humility, do I submit to the forgiveness offered by thee.  Now, do you want to discuss the young lady with the paring knife?

When did I ever stop discussing the young lady, her paring knife and the feckless public education administrators who welcome zero-tolerance policies?

The fact is, most people don't give a shit about the public education system except when the outrage is ridiculous enough to call attention to itself as in this case. Certainly no one on this board cares much about the public education system, even as a political issue. Not that I'm singling out the board members since it's a society-wide affliction; that the public education system gets a pass from the population in general as can be seen in the dismal voting numbers school board elections draw.

Anybody read this far down? Someone surprise me with a "yes".

That public indifference has consequences and one of the consequences is that public education professionals don't have to worry about educating kids. Yeah, that's right, they don't have to worry about educating kids. Now you know why kids graduating high school without the ability to read their diploma is a cliche and a bitter truth. I know a couple of them.

But just because you don't have to worry about being any good at your job doesn't mean you don't have any worries. For many education is a pretty well-paying did and they want to protect their pleasant jobs. Since they can't stand out as educators, making themselves too valuable to fire, the smart play is to do everything they can avoid making mistakes. Zero-tolerance laws and regulations do just that.

Follow the rules to the letter and you're safe. No one can fire you, or even criticize you, for following the rules. Zero tolerance laws remove the danger of making a judgment call that's wrong or even politically problematical. The law says no weapons so the honor-roll student without a lick of problems is bounced. Hey, the rules say no weapons, right? The law says no drugs so the kid with an inhaler, prescribed by a genuine doctor, gets bounced. Hey, the rules say no drugs, right?

So there you are. There's an explanation that doesn't require stupidity or insanity and does explain why this sort of story is now a cliche.

Quote from: arpad on January 02, 2011, 05:58:16 AM
When did I ever stop discussing the young lady, her paring knife and the feckless public education administrators who welcome zero-tolerance policies?

The fact is, most people don't give a shit about the public education system except when the outrage is ridiculous enough to call attention to itself as in this case. Certainly no one on this board cares much about the public education system, even as a political issue. Not that I'm singling out the board members since it's a society-wide affliction; that the public education system gets a pass from the population in general as can be seen in the dismal voting numbers school board elections draw.

Anybody read this far down? Someone surprise me with a "yes".

That public indifference has consequences and one of the consequences is that public education professionals don't have to worry about educating kids. Yeah, that's right, they don't have to worry about educating kids. Now you know why kids graduating high school without the ability to read their diploma is a cliche and a bitter truth. I know a couple of them.

But just because you don't have to worry about being any good at your job doesn't mean you don't have any worries. For many education is a pretty well-paying did and they want to protect their pleasant jobs. Since they can't stand out as educators, making themselves too valuable to fire, the smart play is to do everything they can avoid making mistakes. Zero-tolerance laws and regulations do just that.

Follow the rules to the letter and you're safe. No one can fire you, or even criticize you, for following the rules. Zero tolerance laws remove the danger of making a judgment call that's wrong or even politically problematical. The law says no weapons so the honor-roll student without a lick of problems is bounced. Hey, the rules say no weapons, right? The law says no drugs so the kid with an inhaler, prescribed by a genuine doctor, gets bounced. Hey, the rules say no drugs, right?

So there you are. There's an explanation that doesn't require stupidity or insanity and does explain why this sort of story is now a cliche.

You are quite correct.

Quote from: arpad on January 02, 2011, 05:58:16 AM
Anybody read this far down? Someone surprise me with a "yes".

Quote from: Berggeist on January 02, 2011, 06:02:28 AM
You are quite correct.

I know. That's why you had to take refuge in appeals to authority and dismissiveness.

Quote from: Berggeist on January 01, 2011, 09:28:26 PM

So, in honor of the Lord who provided my ancestors with the sustenance necessary to survive the waning years of the war, the aftermath of the war, including Reconstruction, and then the nearly eighty years of impoverishment up to WWII, and in honor of those ancestors, who had they not survived, I would not have been born, I had the following:  black-eyed peas, cabbage, corn bread, ham, onion, sweet potato (baked) and iced tea with lemon (General Stonewall Jackson loved lemons!).

That actually sounds really good....we had ham and beans with cornbread.  I flaked on the cabbage.  :)