July, Already?

Wow!  It's July already.  Where did June disappear?  Even my 7 1/2-week spring course is over, finals graded and recorded.  (BTW, it was a very good group.  A whole lot of them grasped the "stuff" of history quite well.  There were about 3 or 4 times more As than I usually have.)  And our baseball season is half over, 4-3.  I'd have never thought we'd win four games, maybe not even one.  But the kids play hard, even though several have never really played organized ball before.  (We needed them to have enough players to form a team.)  They are nice kids, listen, and hustle.  They seem to be enjoying themselves, at least after the first two games.  And a very pleasant surprise has been Michael's pitching--Wow!  Now, can I coach for another 5 years??????

We dropped off our other two kids yesterday.  Today has been a downer, thoughts on Ashley and Cody now living in South Carolina.  I know other grandparents are separated from their kids by hundreds and thousands of miles, too.  But I think of the difference.  I changed more of both of their diapers (and more, like homework, bike rides, hikes, etc.) than anyone.

I was dismayed by the veto from Michigan's governor stopping the anti-abortion license plate option.  I understand his reasoning, but am not sure I agree.  He thinks it would be too divisive an issue, something we don't need.  I agree with that.  But he didn't seem to take that same line when he, against his previous stance, signed the "right-to-work-for-less" anti-union law in Michigan a few years back.  I guess his concern over divisive legislation is situational.  No, I'm not a big fan of his, not at all.

Wes sent me an issue of a magazine that included several articles regarding what I consider insanity on college campuses.  A professor at my college, Amherst, was roundly criticized for bringing a bottle of champagne to class after Trump's victory in November.  Yet, look at the actions of professors and administrators at many other campuses, actions that are condoned by the powers-that-be on those campuses.  Where was it that the professor tweeted about collecting money for some sort of memorial celebrating the assassination of the President?  And how many teachers and administrators have coddled students supposedly frightened by the election of Trump?  What student government body, supported by its administration, refused to approve of a pro-Trump group on campus because it was, well, "pro-Trump?"  At least two colleges have not allowed the US flag to be flown because some students find it offensive.  C'mon......  I suppose you can find all these using a Google search.  But it is disheartening to me that this is what college campuses are becoming.

Many people know that I revere most of my college professors.  They were wonderful teachers; what they taught was far more than their subject matter.  I was and am very fortunate.  Yet, I have serious questions about the faculty at Amherst now.  Over the past years, I have noted some of the course titles; many seem trendy, devoid of academic quality or rigor, at least the quality and rigor I remember.  And the whole controversy over the mascot/nickname, especially the faculty's stance on it, has led me to several questions.  Particularly baffling to me is the silence and acquiescence of the history department.  The historical record is not at all clear, not as it is erroneously being portrayed. Where are the members of the history faculty in clearing up the distortions or, at least, questions?  I heard a panel discussion where the history members on the panel fell lock-step into the college's indignation, a self-righteous and ignorant indignation.  Where is the rigor of examining history, the rigor I was required to follow?  I harbor no illusions.  I could never have taught at Amherst among the professors I had.  Now, with what seems to be there now, I am not so sure.

Driverless cars?  Right.  Heck, the auto manufacturers still can't straighten out airbags, ignition switches, and more.  How will these driverless vehicles react to the teeth-rattling potholes found all over Michigan?  Will the almost certain lawsuits drive the manufacturers to bankruptcy?  Of course, the federal government will bail them out with our money.  So, what's the worry?

I really, the past few weeks, haven't had much time to read--anything.  I'll fix that tonight.  Out.