Flamingos take refuge in a bathroom at Miami-Metro Zoo, Sept. 14, 1999 as tropical-storm force winds from Hurricane Floyd approached the Miami area.
npr:
A strong gust of wind is answered by a chorus of wolf howls in Southern California’s high desert.
Wearing hoodies and well-worn sneakers, city kids make their way up a mountain. Navigating the high desert terrain can be a challenge for some, and a few lag behind. Leading the way is a wolf named Malo.
For many of the teens who find their way here, Wolf Connection’s Youth Empowerment Program is their last chance; they have been kicked out of school, or have been in gangs or in and out of foster homes.
Abused Wolves And Troubled Teens Find Solace In Each Other
Photo: Courtesy of the Wolf Connection
In reality and for the existentialist, there is no love apart from the deeds of love; no potentiality of love other than that which is manifested in loving; there is no genius other than that which is expressed in works of art.
“
| — | Jean-Paul Sartre, Existentialism is a Humanism (via philosophybits) |
By Stephen Millies
Black lung disease is a terrible way to die. Coal miners’ lungs become crusty and useless, according to Dr. Robert Cohen, a pulmonologist at the University of Illinois. Towards the end, Dr. Cohen told National Public Radio’s All Things Considered, patients are “essentially suffocating while alive.” (Dec. 18, 2018)
The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health reported last July that “one in ten underground coal miners who have worked in mines for at least 25 years were identified as having black lung … coal miners in central Appalachia are disproportionately affected with as many as 1 in 5 having evidence of black lung — the highest level recorded in 25 years.”
What’s the response of the Trump administration to this epidemic? The excise tax on coal mining that’s used to finance black lung benefits is scheduled to be reduced from $1.10 per ton to fifty cents on Dec. 31, 2018. That’s sixty cents per ton added to the profits of outfits like Arch Coal, which made $582 million in 2017.
An Arizona state lawmaker recently introduced a bill that would bar teachers from introducing “controversial issues” or engaging in any “political, ideological or religious” advocacy in their classroom.
State Rep. Mark Finchem ® introduced House Bill 2002 in the Arizona State Legislature earlier this month, according to The Arizona Daily Star. The newspaper notes that if the bill were to pass, teachers could potentially lose their jobs for engaging in political or ideological discussions with their students.
The bill would require teachers to undergo annual ethics training and to abide by a strict ethics code. The code would bar teachers from introducing a “controversial issue” unrelated to a class subject. It would also prohibit teachers from publicly supporting or opposing any legislative, judicial or executive action.
Among other things, the bill also would prevent teachers from placing blame on one racial group of students for the “suffering and inequities” experienced by another group.
The Star notes that Finchem said in the bill that discussing ideological topics in the classroom leads to “indoctrination.”
Finchem declined to comment to the Star. He told The Arizona Republic earlier this month that the bill was a direct response to concerns about politics in the classroom from his constituents.
Some educators told the Star that the bill from Finchem appears to be a direct response to the teacher-led #RedForEd movement. The movement led to a statewide teacher strike in April and gave way to Gov. Doug Ducey ® and the Legislature announcing that teacher salaries would increase by 20 percent over a three-year period.
Finchem told the Republic that he considered teachers wearing #RedForEd shirts in the classroom inappropriate.
“If you step into a classroom with a Trump T-shirt, a Hillary T-shirt, a ‘Vote No on 126’ T-shirt, you’re engaging in political speech in the classroom,” he said. “If there’s a political agenda behind it, leave it at home. Simple request.”
Arizona state law prohibits public and charter school employees from utilizing school resources to influence the outcome of an election. The Republic reported that this law was a reason why some school districts warned teachers against wearing #RedForEd apparel in their classroom.
Jason Freed, president of the Tucson Education Association, told the Star that a law prohibiting teachers from discussing controversial issues would reflect poorly on them.
“It is our job to provide kids with an opportunity to think creatively,” Freed said. “It’s our job to help them to analyze whether they think something is good and why, and if it’s not good, how they could make it better.“
and we all know what other controversial issues they’re talking about too
