Light Show--Missed

I didn't see any meteors from the Orionid Meteor Shower this AM.  The light show was from fallout from Halley's Comet (pronounced as rhyming with valleys).  The sky was cloudy and hazy.  Even after it cleared a bit, I never really found any near Orion, "The Hunter."  Yes, I was disappointed.  I get excited by "falling stars."

And last night we had a bit of a thunderstorm.  There were several loud thunderclaps, followed by a little bit of rain--not much.

Last weekend, Sat or Sun I don't remember which, I was out running at dawn and, Whoa!  Did I run myself into some sort of Civil War Re-enactment?  There were gunshots all over the place, small game and, I think, muzzle loaders hunters.  It's time to stay on the roads and off the trails in the woods.

I listened to an interview with Ben Carson on the radio the other day.  Boy, he sure is soft-spoken.  I certainly haven't made up my mind on a candidate (although I have eliminated quite a few of them!).  It's far too soon.  The election is still a year and more away.  But Carson was impressive, although he does have some flaws.  (Well, A. Lincoln had some flaws, too, I guess.)  When he was questioned, sometimes he hesitated for quite a while, almost as if the questions perplexed him.  "Aha," I thought, "he doesn't have much of an idea......"  Then out came these good, if not great, answers.  I did like some of the questions, though.  "Who is our most underrated President?"  "Who was our worst President?" were among them.

Hmmm......  Carson noted John Adams as the "most underrated."  Maybe; it's a good answer.  I was thinking Eisenhower, a favorite of mine.  But a strong case can be made for Adams, too.  The recent biogs of Adams, by Jos. Ellis and David McCulloch, have offered much evidence that Adams was much better than our textbooks/teachers often portray.  "Worst President?"  Carson opted not to answer, although it seemed clear he was thinking Obama.  Maybe he wasn't, but it sure seemed like he was.  I think I'd go for Buchanan or A. Johnson.  "Worst" might or might not have been entirely their own faults, but, still, they weren't very good at all.

People likely know I think the US is not doing very well right now.  I don't believe a lot of the statistics thrown at us by the government ("Lies, Damn Lies, and Statistics" said Mark Twain.) about, say the economy and crime.  I am not at all encouraged by our current state of morality (or should it be immorality?).  Education is in a shambles, with too many people who shouldn't be making decisions making decisions.  These include politicians and corporate-types.  (Of course, that's how we got into this mess, with pols and corp-types make decisions.  Too many others, so-called educators, were making decisions and they shouldn't have been allowed to make decisions.  And, too, far too many teachers/educators just sat on their hands, letting bad things happen or not making good things happen.)  Aren't we at the lowest percentage of Americans in the work force in 40+ years?  I'm not sure if that's by choice (retirement), outsourcing, the lousy economy, or frustration with the job market.  I haven't checked the CPI, but it sure seems to me that, other than gasoline, prices are going up, fast!  My groceries cost a lot more than they did last year.  (I was trying to remember the last time I bought hamburger/ground chunk--yes, chunk!--since it goes on sale at $3.50 a pound around here.)  The country is as divided as ever, well, at least in the past 100 or so years it seems.  I understand the polarization, which I think stems from frustration, esp from politicians and a government that don't work very well.

But how do we turn things around?  I'm not sure we can.  How do we reverse the sense of entitlement, in individuals and in corporations?  How do we restore a sense of dignity for life? We cavalierly kill our babies or shoot others (drive-bys, road rage, for someone's clothes, because of "dissing," etc.).  How do we restore respect for authority?  Those at the top, including our political "leaders," seemingly routinely act illegally (How's that?  Three "ly" words out of four!).  The police are under siege.  We glorify the shootings of thugs (certainly not their lives, I hope!), yet abortions are "ho-hum."  How do we fix education/learning?  With the current god, "Technology," and myriad companies making a lot of money off "reforms," can it be fixed?  (I have used this before, but esp in light of "Technology," how much easier can we make it before it can't be called a college degree any longer?)

I just finished reading an article about "How and Why to Teach History," but that's enough for now.  My comments on it will come later this weekend maybe.  Or maybe I'll just stay outside and look for the Orionid meteors.