Some ideas based on teachers I know,

Upper grade teachers: alcohol, Starbucks, Books

(Personalized book plates/stickers are always good, so the teacher's library is labeled)

Elementary: New pack of Sharpies, personalized notepad for sending home notes, Teacherspayteachers.com gift card {Teachers can download and purchase lesson plans, print outs, etc. very popular}

My husband and I were talking just about this last night - seeing the two videos together is telling.

The press secretary's deliberate use of grammar is telling, too - always the passive voice, "would"/"could" - but, I found it very interesting when he said "if" the president finds out the IRS scandal is true, he would convey his outrage.  To convey something is not to have it, and it seems ingrained in Carney to know that Obama wouldn't actually be outraged. 

I just can't grasp this.  Holocaust courses were a part of my college career, and I was sure that kind of evil was relegated to the past; now, it feels like it's underneath our feet at all of these clinics.  

Si and Phil in the White House? Love it! A welcome distraction from the creepers in the federal government now. 

Here's an interesting video reviewing a Common Core language arts textbook for 1st graders.  I'm not familiar with elementary curriculum for language arts, but this certainly seems to focus more on being able to persuade for social issues rather than nouns, verbs, and sentence construction.

http://stopcommoncoreillinois.org/2013/05/14/must-see-video-shocking-review-of-common-core-compliant-materials/

Not surprised at all.  Perhaps others have similar experiences, but people in my family who own businesses that the EPA deem bad for the environment have been harassed for years and years and put through red tape, etc.  Glad to see Graham sticking up and putting this front and center, though.  Will Obama respond? Oh no, but it will call attention to it.

Great, great post.  First, I wholeheartedly agree about arguing with low information voters and liberals; obviously, our tactics just don'w work with abstracts, math, charts, and historical references. However, the "who's taking care of you" line is good, I would think, for some demographics; but, unfortunately, so many people are taken care of by the government (i.e. always had a check in the mail the 1st of the month).   In the heart of Appalachia, social workers go in homes to help moms make to-do lists, like 1. Go to the store, 2. Buy laundry detergent, etc.  It's pathetic.  

Meanwhile, I follow many college educated "mom" bloggers via social media.  What are the ladies discussing today? Angelina's article and the 1% elites who cut lines at Disney. 

Horrible, from an English teacher's perspective.  Replacing literature with government readings for more non-fiction (pc) readings  = Orwellian. This is an issue which may pull in some liberal teachers because they do not want you to take away their To Kill a Mockingbird.  Hopefully, it's not too late to pull back.  At a recent conference, booksellers were offering Common Core applied books for children.  Fun things like, the life of a lizard versus, say, The Boxcar Children.

"Obamacare of education" sounds about right to me.  Although, I know many "low info voters who are also public school teachers" who are going full steam ahead in their national lesson plans.

Yes, I was thinking this too - which means something bad may be around the corner

Never has a turn of justice felt so sad for me.  Somehow, I'd managed to avoid seeing the images which were published from the trial, and I clicked over and just horrified.  Can't help but to think of all those other babies, other clinics, and lost souls, especially the day after Mother's Day.  

Anyway, I should probably go to confession for the thoughts I've had about that doctor. 

Thanks for sharing that - what a great tribute.  We've met some wonderful people, including service men and women, through Crossfit, and I always loved the WODs dedicated to those who lost their lives. 

Add lemonade to that sweet tea vodka for an adult Arnold Palmer!

{These little sparkling drinks, San Pellegrino Limonata,  are my favorite.  Actually, I use them with a little tequila for a lazy margarita.}

Thanks for sharing.  On one hand, Duffy does a great job, and on the other hand, only 20 people....they should be lining the streets with outrage, as far as I'm concerned, but what do I know?

Good for you! I was almost fearful of a student bringing it up in class the last few weeks of class because I would have most certainly lost my job for the amount of rage and screaming it would have caused in front of the classroom.  

Don't stop bringing it up.  The revelations from the trial that Mollie tweeted yesterday have given me nightmares; it's the only thing we can do. 

Agree, thanks for sharing. 

Mollie is doing awesome work on Twitter.  Currently, I'm following and re-tweeting anything she says.