This is taken from Vox Verax.

Dear Diary:

I'm worried about Nazi appeasers and Islamo-fascists. They are everywhere. It turns out that even Saddam Hussein, who posed as a secular, anti-Islamist leader, was secretly an Islamo-fascist. You can't trust anybody, anymore.

If the Nazi appeasers have their way, we'll end up with a one-party government, our citizens thrown in prison without charges, secret arrests, warrantless searches, illegal wiretaps, and endless war to mobilize the populace.

Wait a minute! That's what we have now. That was so sneaky the way those Nazi appeasers took over, it must have been a commie plot.

I sometimes wonder how I got so much education. I can't remember my parents ever talking to me about going to college. My high school counsellors were not any help. I took the SAT in my Junior year and made a high score. With encouragement I could have gone to college on scholarships, but no one ever mentioned that to me. I have a lot of cousins, suffice it to say, dozens, even scores of first cousins. Not many people can say that. If I told you the real number you'd fall out of your chair. And I am one of the youngest of my generation, my mother being the 10th of 12, my father, one of 10. Nevertheless, when I went to the University of Georgia in 1969, no one in my family had ever graduated from college. My cousin Bobby went to UGA for one quarter and decided it was not for him. My cousin Alvin was in college there when I decided to go and he became the first to graduate. I'm the only one today with a master's degree and the only one with a doctorate.

In my mind, education was inevitable for me. I had to go and study. You wouldn't think it was in my DNA or in my environmental influences, but for me it was the only thing to do. In each degree program I have felt it was what I had to do.

I feel that education frees the mind to understand the world. Many naysayers today in the Republican party are highly critical of the "elite" and the professors in the world. "Why are those people so tolerant and open minded?" They wonder. If the acceptance of world cultures and ideas becomes the way of life for all it threatens the Christian right. (You have to realize that I was raised by the Christian right. My extended family would almost all consider themselves to be the Christian right.) But education opens your eyes in so many ways enabling you to see that so many lines drawn in the sand, so many walls built between countries, so many pidgeon holes for people, cultures, etc., are false. The answers to questions are not clear. Muslims are not a certain thing, just as Christians are not a certain thing.

Our current preznit is touring the country on another of his constant campaign swings hawking the same old story of intolerance and outright lies. I hope that people have stopped listening to him. I feel that a responsible media would not even cover his events since he never has anything new to say. Trust me. Let me alone decide how to spend your billions. I won't cut and run. I hope people have become wise enough watching this administration's show that they aren't buying it any more.

It is interesting to hear the commentators talking about Republican legislators who are in districts where the polls have tightened up. They say that they are "distancing" themselves from the preznit. They appear to have been given "permission" to call for a time table for withdrawal, for they are all doing the same thing. No surprise, the GOP moves in lock step.

If they distance themselves from the failed war policies of the oligarchy, does that suddenly make them more electable? All these years they have been cozied up to the monsters at the top and now weeks before the election they may lose as a direct result of the policies they have advocated and supported wholeheartedly, a little distance is supposed to bring the voters back home to keep them in power? Surely the American public is not that tuned out. It's time for people to pay the piper. The deadline has passed, the flute is playing, the price will have to be paid.

Maybe we can begin to recover sanity in our domestic and foreign policies beginning in January. Investigations will take up the last two years of this corrupt administration's rule. I hope someone has the nerve to submit a bill of impeachment.

I have large classes.

64
49
72
45
38
20

When 49 students come into a class, they bring a lot with them. Of course there is stuff in their hands, but I mean they bring a lot of baggage in their minds with them. Getting them all on the same page is difficult. Sing this five note descending scale pattern. Oh-oh-oh-oh-oh. 49 postures need to match to get breath support for the sound. 49 faces must shape into Ohs. 49 minds must have the same concept of the tone quality and adjust. 49 students must submit their wills to the collective will--the director's will. They have things they want to say. If we are to move forward, they can't say them. They have to manage themselves: have music at hand, find a sightline to the conductor, find their own space to stand and move as they sing.

Their minds are active thinking of a thousand things: they missed breakfast, they forgot lunch money, they forgot their homework for the next class, they had a fuss with their girlfriend in the hallway, there are problems at home--mom is angry, dad is silent, brother or sister is annoying, and on and on and on. There are worried about themselves. They are too short, or tall, too fat or too thin, too loud or not loud enough. Oh-oh-oh-oh-oh.

They must listen to their section, to the piano, to themselves, and watch the conductor. I don't kid myself. Most of what they are thinking about is not the music we are singing. What do I say in the intervals to call them to task, to motivate them to focus. Success breeds success. If we do well, they pay more attention. If they pay more attention, they do better. I must encourage, criticize, drive them forward, reinforce tempo, dynamic, blend, balance, and expression. There is a dynamic ebb and flow.

I met with some other musicians last night and we despaired at how badly some of our colleagues are doing at leading choruses. How do you figure out what to do next? It's okay not to be an average conductor, but you must be improving all the time. Listen to other recordings, other conductors, go to workshops, ask questions. Take the clinicians to lunch. Listen to them talk. Do what they do. The work is difficult.

We should smile more. Ninja

change your clothes?

this won't take long

You should be laughing now.

So what are the Geneva conventions anyway? I've heard the term thrown around in war movies since I was a child. The context of the usage in both the movies and in the news media up until recently was that some bad people--the Germans, the Japanese, or the Communists--were violating the Geneva convention. Perhaps they were purposefully killing medics displaying the red cross on their uniforms. Perhaps they were denying package delieveries to POW's in the stalag. Perhaps they were torturing POW's. These abuses made me think that other nations were horrible and that we were civilized good people.

As I have read about WWII, I have found that abuses of the Geneva convention took place on our side as well. At times, POW's were routinely executed in the heat of battle. On the other hand, the Geneva conventions were oft times observed. POW's wounds were tended. They were fed. They were shipped out of the combat zones. The Germans also observed the conventions. "The Longest Winter" is a book by Alex Kershaw that chronicles a platoon of Americans who were captured by the Germans during the Battle of the Bulge. Most of the story tells of the terrible conditions of their capture. As I read, there was another thing that stood out in my mind however. This platoon was entrenced in superior positions to the Germans and they were well supplied with munitions. For one day they held off the Germans and inflicted horrendous casualties on the enemy. Every member of the platoon was injured, but none were killed. They fought until they used their last bullet and then put up a white flag. Hundreds of Germans lay dead on the field of battle, yet the advancing troops did not slaughter the weaponless Americans. Rather, they took their surrender and got medical attention for the men's wounds. I find that amazing. The Germans that captured them were professional soldiers. They knew the Geneva Conventions. They followed them. Many years later a member of the platoon was able to meet his captors again in the same town. When he asked why his men were not killed the German was insulted. He said something like "I had too much respect for you as soldiers to kill you unarmed." Now truthfully, the treatment of these men was terrible after they were taken to POW camps.

I looked up Geneva Conventions on Google and found a lot of information. Did you know that the United States signed the Geneva Conventions first in 1882! Clara Barton, the founder of the Red Cross led the push to have this treaty signed by the United States. 200 nations are signatories of this agreement. The world is in agreement on these principles. Violations of the principles are war crimes and are punishable under law in every one of those countries.

Can you believe that the Bush-Cheny doctrine says that we should not abide by these doctrines in our "War on Terror." I'm fairly certain that treaties are put in place by the congress and not by the president. The president and vice president are not above the laws and while they might lobby for the congress to withdraw from the treaty, the president and vice president cannot just decide to disregard the treaties. That is against the law. The congress should hold them to account or announce to public that the president has become the emperor.

Treaties by damned, Constitution shreded. Just trust us. That is the message of today's administration.

Isn't that just trading one terror for another?

. . . no administration in memory, and perhaps none ever in American history, has so frequently claimed that it can ignore the Constitution, as well as federal statutes and ratified treaties, to pursue important goals. Lawyers for the Bush administration have argued that the government can engage in torture in violation of federal statutes and treaties in the name of national security. They have claimed the power to detain American citizens as enemy combatants without complying with the Fourth, Fifth, and Sixth Amendments. They have argued that the administration can ignore federal statutes and the Geneva Conventions in imprisoning individuals indefinitely in Guantanamo.

It is the role of the federal courts to say no to such actions. Judge Taylor did exactly that on Thursday. Now it's up to the federal court of appeals and the Supreme Court to back her up.

Want to try your hand at allocating the funds from the U.S. Treasury? Ben and Jerry's Ice Cream has a Federal Budget allocation game for you. You'll be dismayed when you see some of the real allocations.

I guess if I didn't care about how the students performed, my work would be super easy. Unfortunately, I care. That makes for pretty intense rehearsals. You've got to think fast, talk fast, restart quickly, or all is lost. My school would think I was doing just fine if I had 100 students in chorus. The 300 I teach are just fine with them too, but the 200 extra take a lot of energy.

So apparently the liquid/gel thing is totally a scam. Be afraid!! The communists are gonna get ya, I mean the "terrists" are gonna get you. A Delta airlines pilot said he was allowed through security with the pistol that he carries by permit on the plane, but they seized his toothpaste. So that is about where we are. Security also took sippy cups from four-year olds and poured out their koolaide, bringing tears and weeping. As I look at the requirements for binary liquid explosives, it becomes clear that this is a political scare tactic to help keep the Republican party in power. It appears that gel insert bras may come under scrutiny next. Also your Dr. Schol's gel inserts in your shoes. Those have to go. You used to be "gellin'" but not any more!

The faux news put out by the government looks worse and worse on examination. Can we pour a couple of liquids together in the airplane lavatory and create an horrific explosion to bring down and airplane in flight? Apparently it is a lot more difficult that you might think. In fact, it is only the stuff of action heros and not real at all. Think about it. If this was a problem in 1995 when the last "plot" was broken up, why have the terrorists not been able to bring down a plane in the past 11 years using this method, before the liquids were banned!?

You see now don't you? There is no magic solutions instant explosive.
Maybe you never click on links to read articles, but you should read this one.

Luckily the JonBenet case came along and we don't have to think about reality for a week or two. The bushwhackers are heaving sighs of releif.

The liquid ban is totally bogus. It is fear mongering at it's worst. The only purpose of the ban is to affect as many fliers as possible in a negative way, hoping to scare them into one more Republican victory. I suspect that they have a backup plan that is related to diebold. Republicans are planning to yell "fix" at every close election that they lose.

Time to vote the bums out for good.

Would you poke an angry animal with a stick?

Can anyone think why our preznit needed to dig Hezbolah by saying "Nanni nanni poo poo, You lost, Hezbolah!" ?

No one was even thinking of winners and losers. Now Hezbolah and every Lebonese refugee is posing for the camera saying, "a great victory over Israel."

George W. Bush is too stupid to be dog catcher.

The Governor of Georgia is already blitzing the airwaves with his campaign theme. He claims to have rescued us from the greatest fiscal crisis since the depression and now watches over a 500 million dollar state surplus. Isn't he a great manager?

You have to wonder a little about "Why do we have a half a billion dollar surplus?" Don't you? How did Sonny do it? He's hoping you won't ask that question. The answers are:

1. Cut a billion dollars from education spending in the state. This shifted the burden of paying for education from the state to the local level. Most districts had to both raise local taxes and cut programs. Music, art, and drama have disappeared in many districts. That was Sonny's move to have fiscal responsiblity. Cut funding for children's education.

2. The increase in gas prices results in a huge increase in gas taxes in Georgia, where taxes go up with price increases. There is a sales tax on gas in Georgia. Price rises are tax increases. Sonny is not telling you that he has presided over an enormous tax increase to balance the budget, but he has. And it is a Republican style tax increase, across the board, hitting the working poor the hardest. Minimum wage workers now spend one day a week working to pay for the gas it takes them to get to work.

That's the rosy picture from Georgia. Cut education. Raise taxes. Why would you want anyone else?

Finally some cooler weather in Georgia. Whew. It's in the 70's and overcast today.

With the return of school I have much less energy to blog. There are some things that I must say about this week however.

It didn't make the newspapers but was reported in Science News that the administration is closing the regional libraries of the EPA. They will save about 3 million dollars by doing this. They will also greatly restrict the access of the public, particularly scientests, to gather information about pollution. The administration says that the information will be put online (eventually) and this will be a great savings. Unfortunately, the research librarians will be gone and along with them, the institutional memory about these documents.

Most people have never done any research in a major research library. I have. Believe me when I say that you can't do significant research without those research librarians. They know the collection. They know what's in what journal. They know who else has done similar research. They know how to manipulate the computers for the best search results. I remember looking for information, any information about a group of pieces by Joseph Haydn. It was a hopeless search in the huge collection at the state university library. Then, I asked the research librarian for that section to help me. In five minutes I had an article that answered my questions. He didn't even go to a catalogue. He just remembered browsing in a book that might have something like I was looking for. He didn't know the name of the book but he remembered it was yellow and what section of books it was in. I found it by the color.

This administration thrives on secrecy. The library closing is not to save money. It is only to restrict access of information that would make it possible to go after big business for destroying the environment. The scientists are alarmed. The public is unaware. The Republican facism continues. Restrict access of the people. Restrict the peoples power. Centralize power with the party. The preznit can use the facism word about the Islamic extemists all he wants, but he is the chief of fascism today.

ON ANOTHER SUBJECT:
The raising of the terror alert and the change in carry-on procedures at airlines was not brought about this week because of a terror threat. It was a political scare tactic. WOLF!!!!! cried the preznit's men. WOLF!!!!! BE AFRAID!!!!!! Even in England where arrests were made for plotting mayhem, they said that the plot was still in the planning stages. There was no immediate threat last week. Officers suspected that the plots were for the anniversary of September 11 atrocities five years ago. Since that is a month away, couldn't we have announced the changes of policy effective this week in order that we wouldn't have the scene of grandmothers throwing away their lipstick and mothers drinking breast milk in front of security guards.

Face it. This was handled to frighten as many people as possible. It was designed to terrify airline passengers getting ready to board. Thousands walked away from their vacations, from their rendezvous with loved ones, from their trips of a lifetime. They put their unrefundable tickets in the trash and went home heartbroken and afraid. At first it frightened me. Was something really happening? I wondered. As I listened to the delighted news crews on every station, it became clear that nothing was happening. I'm glad the police arrested some criminals in England. Guess what? We can't even find missing Egyptian students in our country.

Five years since 9/11. Are airplanes secure? No. Freight is not even scanned. Why planes aren't exploding midair is a mystery if you think we are infiltrated by terrorists. There is no protection plan. Are our ports protected? No. Any plan to protect them soon? No. How's security at our nuclear plants? Could five guys with tommy guns get in and melt down the place? Yes. If you feel safe with the current administration, you just live in a bubble. Homeland security is just a Hitler youth project. March around and show some force. Arrest 7 Christian blacks, wanna be ganstas, and call it Homeland Security. Air condition garbage trucks in IOWA and call it Homeland Security. Let's all get armbands and put yellow ribbons on our SUVs.

People were worried about a score of millions of dollars that might go to poor minority mothers and children in the inner city, so they voted for the current slate of idiots because they said they'd correct that problem. They have limited money to those poor women and children. Those folks are hungry and homeless now. Some are dead. Less to worry about. Meanwhile dozens of scores of Billions has been given to the administrations' cronies for WAR WAR WAR, and Homeland Security, with no accounting. We aren't even looking for the stolen billions.

This administration is a scandal on us all. A Pox on America and the American Dream. Bush makes Ulysses S. Grant look like a great American hero. He makes Nixon into Mr. NiceGuy. He makes Hoover look like a brilliant forward thinker. We have turned a corner in American History and who knows if we can ever go back.

Fascism has indeed arrived in America, wrapped in the flag and carrying the Bible.

Think the elections are going to be above board with all the new computer voting? Better read this.

The heads up is from Vox Verax. Any hacker can change the vote totals and no one can tell.

It is hard to imagine that school starts on August 7th, but it does. What were they thinking. It's 100 degrees. The kids have bought out the stores and have their back to school clothes, shoes, notebooks, and bookbags. At 7:30 in the morning they will descend upon us: out of control freshmen to burned out seniors. It's no party.

I have been working steadily for two weeks and did not get around to the things I wanted hung on the walls. Curriculum is always the struggle for choral directors. What is the appropriate literature for these unique choirs that you'll have this year?

The children came down to visit tonight, and Kent. We had laughs and kept our mind off tomorrows commencement. Isn't it odd that schools end is called commencement? Shouldn't it be TERMINATION! The Syllibi are done. The bus drivers have practiced their routes. What will we do for 180 days.

It's hard to blog with so much on my mind. You get in this sort of frantic zone.

Went to the funeral of the husband of a friend today. He was 54. My age. Life is so fragile. Have fun everyday because one day when you may least expect it, you are just out of time.

This was a note to my dear friend Dr. H.

I definitely remember no AC. I remember riding to youth choir in our car pool. Mama took us in a 57 Chevy station wagon! No AC. I don't think I ever went to a school with AC until college. Was there AC at Terry Parker? I can still remember sweltering rooms in elementary school. Also remember playing outside all day on summer days.

I have been swamped this week with "pre-planning." I don't know why they don't just call it, "no way we are going to let you plan" days. I went in a whole week ahead but will still have to work all day tomorrow and the next day. There are 290 plus kids in my program and even though I have a full time assistant director, I feel like they are all mine.

I don't sleep the same as in younger days and am often up in the early morning. Everything says I should get 8 hours of sleep but I'm more like 6 the last few years and it doesn't seem to matter. I am looking forward to retirement though. I have grown to love summer vacation. I don't get to read or write enough. I have 2/3 of a novel and would like to finish. My students read it from time to time and enjoy it until they turn the page and it just stops in mid-sentence. Went to work on my doctorate and never came back. Maybe my life will be long and I'll have the opportunity to finish someday.

Most of my "liberal" leanings are related to my religious beliefs. I don't feel like I moved. I feel like the baptists and politicians moved. Probably some of both. Seminary was so valuable for understanding scripture, but the fundamentalists took over Southern and ran those professors away. I do find myself pretty far from today's Southern Baptists. I don't understand the current leadership in congress. It is a flawed system that protects itself.

Did I give you a CD of my girls singing? They keep me focused and are a reason to continue. We make art together and they need me. I have 5 music majors entering this fall as college freshmen and have 25 who have gone that way. There are at least 3 more in the senior class. Mrs. G and I are creating a lot of musicians for this next generation and somehow I think that is a positive force in the world. Looking back, it is Fes who was my inspiration. One of my LSU grads came by to visit today. She is moving to Minnesota to work on an Arts Management degree and has landed a prestigious internship. I'm happy for her. Another girl is interning at Circle on the Square Theater in Manhattan this summer, another is Belle in Beauty and the Beast in Louisiana, another is married to a bass at the Bavarian Opera House in Munich, another teaches middle school music in Nashville, and another is a music therapist. Cool, huh? One of my best boys is the center on the University of Connecticut football team. Ha! Totally different direction there. A host are in a cappella groups on campus, Haynes at Rhodes, Skyler at Harvard, Karen at Cornell and George at Emory. Not music majors but still singing, entertaining, and bringing joy. My work is like Jesus' first miracle, turning water to wine. Wine is a symbol among Jews for Joy. Where there was about to be hardship, he brought joy.

The first day of pre-planning is spent watching videos filled with warnings about what you had better do if you want to be lucky enough to keep your job. It is insulting to be shown a video of a female middle-school teacher writing a love letter to a 12 year old and being told "don't do that." Or to see a long haired hippy teacher cornering a cutie in the hallway and telling her to meet him somewhere tonight "alone." Why would you insult us like that? When a person is on trial for child abuse, do you think it will be compelling evidence for the jury that you showed him/her this video? I'm sorry. I don't think so. It's just insulting and demeaning. You professional standards people are just putting us in our place, making sure we know that we can be pushed around. Oh and you better not accept any gifts from your students for those extra hours you give them. You can give a student hour after hour of your time but if you accept a coffee mug in return you are an unethical person. Be afraid. We will swoope down and ruin your life!!!! Better not lose a receipt or drop a booster club dollar on the floor. We will put you in jail.

What an exciting way to spend the first day every year. What are they thinking? It's boring and insulting and I don't care how many lawyers told them to do it. The lawyers can go take a leap off something. I mean really "You are going to be cited if you fail to evacuate during a fire drill because the fire marshall will speak harshly to the principal if he finds that someone didn't evacuate. I don't think I ever recall hearing that someone was injured in a school fire in my whole life. You are more likely to be eaten by a shark. I'll lay odds that 10 guys with blow torches could not set fire to our building. It's made out of concrete, steel, and fire resistant tiles.

Oh and that professional portfolio better be world class or we'll have to let you go. You better get busy on that because you'll have to meet with an administrator about it by Sept. 15. Be afraid! Make sure you have your evaluation instrument in place. Administrators' need for covering theirrrrrrr ass bears no relationship to my teaching and wastes a lot of my time. I've turned out 25 vocal music majors in the past 10 years. I wonder how that stands against the average. Then there are another 500 students who will sing for the rest of their lives. I don't think we need to measure much beyond that.

Then we are required to read the same kind of riot act to the students on the first day. You know they go home happy.