Chat with Momma T: Way to go Carson K.

I was watching "Watch What Happens Live" last night and I must say Carson Kressley was in rare form. My daughter and I got a real belly laugh when he was commenting to a 67 year old caller from La. He couldn't understand her accent and said he needed a translator. That was great comic timing! He also didn't miss an opportunity to insult ( whether intentionally or unintentionally) Alex McCord and her husband Simon. Way to go Carson! I am over the whole New York housewife drama. I think Alex and Simon are pathetic in their attempts for more camera time. I was really sick of Sonja's pathetic attempts at the beginning of the season and now Alex and Simon have replaced her as the most pathetic!

In other news- I saw that Rupert Murdoch's newspaper in London was forced to go out of business due to a hacking scandal. I think this just proves what I was talking about yesterday. "By any means possible" is a common force in unethical decision making of many rich and poorer people. I can not believe that the reporters were getting into email accounts and listening to voice mail messages. Shame on all of you!

By Any Means Possible

Chat with Momma T: By Any Means Possible I wanted to make a comment on the cheating scandal in the Atlanta school system. I was watching Good Morning America yesterday morning and the ticker at the bottom of the screen said something like 200 school officials and teachers have been arrested for cheating in the past year. I just felt a little twinge of anger and feel compelled to respond. It is really difficult to be a successful teacher and there are so many dedicated teachers out there. What this does is to forever stamp Atlanta with a negative mark. Why did this happen? Well, what I am going say here is controversial but in my experience accurate. I previously worked at a school that was able to bolster their test scores by cheating. They got the test a week ahead of time and went over the questions in "study sessions". I refused to participate in these activities and applied for a transfer to another school. Everything has always been very much on the up and up at the school I work at now. How do you get to a point where this -by any means possible - attitude happens? The cheating that I mentioned previously happened before the No Child Left Behind Act. So that can't be the only reason. There is definitely too much pressure on educators to show test score improvement. I also strongly believe that some educators don't really believe that this is cheating. I can guaranteed that if we went back 15 years to my old faculty and interviewed the teachers and administrators involved that they would be surprised to hear that they may have been implicated in a cheating scandal. It is not something I completely understand, but I witness this on a continuous basis since I work with a varied segment of our population. Typically students from lower income homes and also very wealthy homes seem to have a totally different moral compass. For example- if something, such as an Ipod, is out in the open and they need it- it is free for the taking. If they are taking a test and they can text and look up answers-so be it! I actually took a chemistry class for my master's program in the late 1980's and some of the Atlanta school system teachers in there cheated on tests. I was pretty horrified,because it was very flagrant. They didn't understand why they couldn't work together on the test when the professor left them alone the whole exam period. Does this just represent a difference in social class or culture? I still don't understand and I am old now! Let me know what you think! Link: http://chatwithmommat.blogspot.com/2011/06/chat-with-momma-t.html?spref=bl

10:30:00 AM

by Momma T

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the Anthony verdict

Was I shocked by the Anthony verdict yesterday?  Absolutely not.  Personally I have been called for jury duty six times and have served on three trial juries.  The jury that I did not get picked for last month was a case against a doctor that was accused of Medicare fraud.  I sat in the "Voir dire" for over six hours while the potential jurors were questioned about their occupations, depth of knowledge of computer programs and medical backgrounds.  I was in the back, so I was pretty sure I was not going to be selected.  When the jury was finally picked, not one person with any background smarts was selected.  Most of the people had blue collar jobs and no college education. My point is- juries are picked by lawyers.  The state has the burden of paying for expensive tests to prove guilt.  The state can't always spend a lot of money on jury anyalsis. selecting just the right jury is the key to a criminal trial. 

Every judge always is very positive and thanks the potential jurors for taking their time to serve and makes a point to say that -although our system is flawed- we still have the best system in the world. I mean some countries make You prove your innocence.  Other countries have no trials- just a judge and  public stonings.
Two things put a damper on a fair trial- money and the media.   

I am upset that Casey Anthony was declared not guilty.  I do not blame the jury. I think that our society expects perfection from the police and prosecution.  TV shows like CSI make people think that every case should have tons of DNA evidence and "magical" science answers.   Casey Anthony was obviously an unfit mother and must have some deep- rooted dark issues.  Any mother accused of murder that doesn't have the guts to get up and present her own side of the story must have some serious mental issues. Her family was put through the media wringer. Casey will forever be OJ'ed.  She will have a free life but never be totally free.   Her family relationship with her parents and siblings will always be damaged. She will probably make a lot of money on movie and book deals. Remember people- you can choose not to read her book or watch her movie.  Make a statement and don't support her at all.

Chat with Momma T: Wimbeldon

What do you think of the men's final today? I thought Djokivic was very strong. It is nice to have a new face in the winner's circle! Is it me or does it seem that Nadal and Djokovic really hit the ball harder than ever before. I grew up watching Bjorn and John Mac and they had a great rivalry, but it does seem that the ball is really being slammed harder by the guys today. Is it the quality of the equipment? I also have noticed the lack of tennis stars coming from the US. It seems your name needs to end in -ic or -ova in order to be in the top eight players. Are we moving away from tennis in the US? Do you have to be from a war-torn country to still have the fever for winning?

Who was your favorite tennis player? I loved John McEnroe he was such a bad boy. I also love the rivalry between Federer and Nadal. The Williams sisters are also crowd pleasers. Unfortunately, I tend to love the controversial players- the ones that question the calls and don't play nicey, nicey! What do you think?