Hi Everyone,
Grades kindergarten to high school are extremely important for the education of our children. This is when they learn so much about our world and how we got to this point in time. All subjects taught are obviously important, including arts and physical education. But one of the subjects taught has a special place that needs to be monitored for accuracy.
The subject I am blogging about is history. What's my concern over the teaching of history? As far as I am concerned, history lessons must be based on facts and just the facts on what had previously happened. If history facts are intentionally omitted, overlooked or even changed, that changes what the kids learn about specific events. Changing historical facts will change the course of history, to millions of school kids (who don't know the difference).
So how and can this be possible? Well, if you live in Texas, it seems to be surprisingly simple. Just have the history textbooks changed. Wait, what? Some authority can just make changes to history books and have the new version(s) taught as accurate and correct. This is so wrong on every level. But what facts are the Texas education officials changing? The officials first created the Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills. That group has rewritten history and just last week it was approved by the Texas Board of Education. Now you might be thinking that this is just one state changing history. Unfortunately, Texas is so large that publishers commonly market the books made for Texas to other states, according to Josh Roseman, of the National Center for Science Education.
Here are just a few historical facts that Texas changed and these textbooks will be sold in other states:
- The Ten Commandments had an influence on the writing of the U.S. Constitution and that Moses was a democratic leader who influenced the founding fathers. No such historical record exists to support any of that!
- All international terrorism is linked to Islamist fundamentalists. Again nothing supports that!
- Slavery was not a key factor in the Civil War. What, are you kidding me?
What planet does this group of people live on? Oh right they live in Texas and they are trying to change history to support their bible belt beliefs and not the facts as history must be taught! Unfortunately, as I said before, these and other changes in history textbooks were approved late last week. Unbelievable!!! It is apparent that the Texas Board of Education totally lacks any common sense what so ever to do the right thing and not rewrite history. Those who ignore "real" history are bound to repeat it. Will Texas ever learn? Maybe they should teach that the Earth is flat, as the church used to teach until science proved that theory wrong.
I really hope that other states will reject these "new" history textbooks and have the changes removed. I fear that other bible states will follow Texas and teach the "new" history. Something is really screwed up in Texas. No one should ever be allowed to change historical facts for any reason even if it is based on one's religious beliefs.
Til next week.
Peter
Sunday, November 23, 2014
Sunday, November 16, 2014
It Cost How Much?
Hi Everyone,
I had planned my topic for today's blog a few days ago. But, as has happened before, something came to my attention that I believe is more important than my original topic.
I recently blogged about the current Ebola epidemic. So as I was sitting down to write about my original topic, I watched a very interesting news story on NBC news. The story was about the last Doctor who worked in Africa, caught the Ebola virus and was flown to NYC to be treated in a NYC hospital. He was released after he was cured.
Now don't get me wrong, I am highly impressed with the professionals, Doctors and Nurses etc. who risk their own lives to treat people with this killer virus. But, what really surprised me, no, I should say really shocked me, was the cost to treat this person. Can you guess how much it cost to treat the doctor? $500,000, $1,000,000? Nope you would be wrong. $2,000,000, $3,000,000? Again, you would be wrong. $4,000,000, $5,000,000? Again you would be wrong. The cost for his 3 week +/- in hospital stay was, are you sitting down........$20,000,000!!! Yes you read that correctly. Twenty million dollars. That is approximately $952,381 per day. I know that to the doctor's family, every penny spent on saving him was worth it. But, is that cost the true cost, or is it a hyper-inflated cost? I do not know the answer to that question. All I know is that the cost of say 20-40 protective suits per day that all the caregivers had to wear, for sake of argument, may have cost $1,000 a piece; which equals $40,000 +/- per day. It just seems that $921,381 is such an excessive amount for whatever other costs there were. To me, this cost seems extremely exorbitant.
I am not trying to put a price on how much a life is worth. But $20,000,000 seems to be a whole lot of out of line for 3 weeks. During tonight's newscast, NY Senator Charles Schumer, stated that he is having the bill sent to the federal government for reimbursement to the hospital. Ebola is a deadly virus that needs a special isolation room and special protective outerwear to protect the caregivers, but at almost $1,000,000 per day, my common sense is sending up red flags because something doesn't seem right. The cost seems way out of line, especially since there were no special surgery(s) needed. So what gives?
I hope that the hospital's bills are fully scrutinized and that the hospital doesn't become rich for treating just one patient.
Til next week.
Peter
I had planned my topic for today's blog a few days ago. But, as has happened before, something came to my attention that I believe is more important than my original topic.
I recently blogged about the current Ebola epidemic. So as I was sitting down to write about my original topic, I watched a very interesting news story on NBC news. The story was about the last Doctor who worked in Africa, caught the Ebola virus and was flown to NYC to be treated in a NYC hospital. He was released after he was cured.
Now don't get me wrong, I am highly impressed with the professionals, Doctors and Nurses etc. who risk their own lives to treat people with this killer virus. But, what really surprised me, no, I should say really shocked me, was the cost to treat this person. Can you guess how much it cost to treat the doctor? $500,000, $1,000,000? Nope you would be wrong. $2,000,000, $3,000,000? Again, you would be wrong. $4,000,000, $5,000,000? Again you would be wrong. The cost for his 3 week +/- in hospital stay was, are you sitting down........$20,000,000!!! Yes you read that correctly. Twenty million dollars. That is approximately $952,381 per day. I know that to the doctor's family, every penny spent on saving him was worth it. But, is that cost the true cost, or is it a hyper-inflated cost? I do not know the answer to that question. All I know is that the cost of say 20-40 protective suits per day that all the caregivers had to wear, for sake of argument, may have cost $1,000 a piece; which equals $40,000 +/- per day. It just seems that $921,381 is such an excessive amount for whatever other costs there were. To me, this cost seems extremely exorbitant.
I am not trying to put a price on how much a life is worth. But $20,000,000 seems to be a whole lot of out of line for 3 weeks. During tonight's newscast, NY Senator Charles Schumer, stated that he is having the bill sent to the federal government for reimbursement to the hospital. Ebola is a deadly virus that needs a special isolation room and special protective outerwear to protect the caregivers, but at almost $1,000,000 per day, my common sense is sending up red flags because something doesn't seem right. The cost seems way out of line, especially since there were no special surgery(s) needed. So what gives?
I hope that the hospital's bills are fully scrutinized and that the hospital doesn't become rich for treating just one patient.
Til next week.
Peter
Sunday, November 9, 2014
What's Going On Here?
Hi Everyone,
It is an unbelievable event, but as every one knows, gasoline prices have dropped dramatically. This is unbelievable since the first OPEC oil embargo occurred in 1974. When prices of a barrel of crude oil heads south, OPEC has always cut output to increase the price per barrel. But not this time. OPEC spigots are still open as much as before the price drop. We all remember 2008, when the price of a barrel of oil went so high that the price for a gallon of gasoline reached and surpassed $4.00.
Last week I took a friend for some errands and we drove through Katonah, New York. Katonah has a lot of very wealthy residents on large estates. The price for a gallon as gasoline was $3.90 and a second gas station was selling gas for $3.89. What is wrong with that picture? The price around where we live, (about 15 miles north of Katonah) is around $3.23/ gallon. How can gas stations in Katonah sell gas for $.60 a gallon more? Their prices are more like 2008. Those gas stations buy their gas from the same places as the gas stations that serve our area.
Can it be true that just because one lives in a rich area that they will pay more for gasoline? That doesn't make sense to me. To me it appears that those stations are price gouging and are getting away with it. It has always been this way in Katonah. There is just no common sense as to why they are able to get away with it. I fully understand that greed overrules common sense with some companies in order to make more money. But this has been going on for too long and someone needs to say something to someone to have these stations investigated for price gouging.
Til next week.
Peter
It is an unbelievable event, but as every one knows, gasoline prices have dropped dramatically. This is unbelievable since the first OPEC oil embargo occurred in 1974. When prices of a barrel of crude oil heads south, OPEC has always cut output to increase the price per barrel. But not this time. OPEC spigots are still open as much as before the price drop. We all remember 2008, when the price of a barrel of oil went so high that the price for a gallon of gasoline reached and surpassed $4.00.
Last week I took a friend for some errands and we drove through Katonah, New York. Katonah has a lot of very wealthy residents on large estates. The price for a gallon as gasoline was $3.90 and a second gas station was selling gas for $3.89. What is wrong with that picture? The price around where we live, (about 15 miles north of Katonah) is around $3.23/ gallon. How can gas stations in Katonah sell gas for $.60 a gallon more? Their prices are more like 2008. Those gas stations buy their gas from the same places as the gas stations that serve our area.
Can it be true that just because one lives in a rich area that they will pay more for gasoline? That doesn't make sense to me. To me it appears that those stations are price gouging and are getting away with it. It has always been this way in Katonah. There is just no common sense as to why they are able to get away with it. I fully understand that greed overrules common sense with some companies in order to make more money. But this has been going on for too long and someone needs to say something to someone to have these stations investigated for price gouging.
Til next week.
Peter
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