A Climber of Trees (Private)

The rich must be taxed for a healthy economy. It is completely illogical to think that a percentage-based equality is good for the middle class. To use percentages to equate tax obligations makes no sense as disposable income is used in greater amounts for the lower and middle class than for the upper class. We know, after 30 years of Reagan's trickle-down economics, that it doesn't work. The American middle class has shrunk by 30% since Reagan's tax code. The discussions this week MUST include revenue increases. That is the only thing that can possibly reinvigorate the economy. Yes, I agree that "entitlements" must be addressed, but the budget discussions must include increased taxes on the super rich if there is any hope of long-term recovery, because the corporations and the banks obviously are not interested in investing in the middle class any more.

Date: 7/14/2011 2:59:27 PM From: Sanchez, Jose To: Martin, Bruce Subject: 7:30 AM Class Mr. Martin, Last Spring I was enrolled in a 1301 class with a professor that really made me question my writing ability.  As a result of that experience, I was really fretting the thought of taking another English class.  Fortunately, I ended up in your class for 1302, and I have really regained confidence in my writing.  I really feel like my writing has come a long way in a short period of time.  I just wanted to let you know that you have a difference with a least 1 sutdent in your class.  Keep up the good work! Sincerely, Jose Sanchez

Date: 7/14/2011 12:47:38 PM From: Ocharo, Bernard To: Martin, Bruce Subject: What did I learn How are you doing professor Martin? I wanted to watch the Agatha Christie play at the Alley theater on Tuesday but the tickets where sold out by 1830(0630pm). Then it hit me, I was doing it for the wrong reason----------a possibility of getting a good letter grade! Then I ask myself, what did I learn from this class? What am I taking from this class? Is it just a letter grade!  Upon reminiscence I found that you actually impacted my life by making me aware of TED and by asking me one simple question "when is the last time you watched a play?", and many other things that changed my perspective in life. For these reasons I have decided that I will be a better person if I take  my wife, son and his best friend to watch the play at the Alley theater. Hopefully that with have some kind of impact on...

Roberta B. Ness -- "Innovative Thinking -- Can You Be Taught?" Move the needle -- take the risk. Ignore the fear, leave the comfort zone. Look at things from the side. Innovation --     Frames define our thinking; expectations     Frames are ubiquitous, cognitive, and emotional     To innovate, we must break the frames     1. Observe     2. Reversal (including visualization)     3. Analogies     Re-examine the frames of the problem; consider flipping the problem See things as new, be open to new ideas         [Conference --         Music         Kurt Podeszwa -- a bigger picture of "why" we study literature         Moving Lit and Lit Ed into improving the community         In-community service afternoon of conference]...

I'm grateful that I don't work today -- it's a beautiful morning with cool temperatures, a bright clear sky, and I'm listening to Heidi Talbot's album Bleeker Street while I'm avoiding getting to work. I caught up on my e-mails this morning, where yesterday afternoon I had nearly a dozen waiting for me. I've taken Rox for an early morning walk, and just returned from a bike ride of about six miles -- the first time I've been on my own bike in perhaps six months. I've put on much weight this semester as I've continued poor eating habits and nearly no daily activity. I'm sure I'm over 200 pounds, but I'm aware of it and will address my activity. Sitting in Middle English class -- always a frustration -- came up with some ideas for a "Best Practices" document I want to write over the summer for humanities graduate seminars: Reading List, but Seminar to write the Syllabus, assignments, discussion/presentation rules and ex...

I'm responding to your e-mail to me of 8 March 2011. Your e-mail, of course, did not respond to my original message, but that is not so disturbing as the evident lack of perspective and perception of the actual text of you response. In that response, you state, “ I believe the President needs to act swiftly in providing these additional troops.  Hesitation and inaction will only provide comfort to our enemies, frustrate our allies, and cause the people of Afghanistan to question our resolve.” What enemies? The Taliban is aggressive only because the US military is there. It was not the Taliban who attacked New York and Washington – it was al Quaeda, and their leadership is not in Afghanistan. There is something deeply shameful about continuing to use 9/11 as a justification for remaining in Afghanistan. What allies? Other countries have left Afghanistan or are leaving. President Karzai has made it known several times that he doesn't want the US military there either. His pres...

Ms. Riddle, As you know, Texas is at the bottom of many leading indicators regarding education (primary and secondary), graduation rates (the state ranks last in the percentage of people 25 and older with a high school diploma) and on the high end of people living below poverty (4th in the nation). To be clear -- I am not a best friend of public education. I taught in the Klein ISD for years and saw teachers unprepared and a district unwilling to make tough decisions to improve the learning environment. Cutting the state's education budget, however, as proposed by Gov. Perry and HB1 will be disastrous to Texas for generations to come. Our poverty will increase. The jobs we offer to our people will continue to be low-paying jobs with few benefits, our college graduates will continue to leave the state for better graduate schools and better jobs. The poor -- the people who need a solid education most -- will suffer more than you and me -- and future welfare expenditures and cri...

Senator, I received your standard response, dated 28 February, where you claimed, "I will work to ensure adequate federal funding of programs that support local education to make certain our children receive the best education possible.  I will also continue to work hard to reduce the tax burden on American families to let them keep more of their own money and use it to make their own education choices, rather than have the federal government decide what is best for them." America's public education system was always structured to be a community affair -- not individual or family. It is when communities work together that all young people are best educated. Obviously, if a family prefers to send a child to private or parochial school, that is there option. But to imply, as you do, that reducing the tax burden on American families will somehow be balanced with an effective education system is to deny over a hundred years of public education in this country and to be ...

Thus far, at least four bills have been authored relating to carrying concealed handguns on college campuses. The language eventually says something like this: An institution of higher education or private or independent institution of higher education in this state may not adopt any rule, regulation, or other provision prohibiting a license holder who is a faculty member, staff member, or employee of the institution from carrying a handgun on the campus of the institution. (HB 1356). When I addressed this issue with my state senator Dan Patrick two years ago, his only response was that we have the right, according the the Second Amendment, to carry firearms. Evidently, the only consideration, then, is an amendment, and no other considerations should be discussed. Then, of course, when faced with mind-blowing events such as an attempted assassination of a congresswoman and the murder of her friends and colleagues, we immediately retreat into a flight or fight response, and legislato...

Dear Ms. Riddle, Recently New York’s top court officials decided to bar the state’s hundreds of elected judges from hearing cases involving lawyers and others who make significant contributions to their campaigns, a move that will change the political culture of courts and transform judicial elections by removing an important incentive lawyers have for contributing. This move bluntly tackles an important issue in our state — money in judicial politics — that deserves more legislative attention. Similar measures have been adopted recently in Washington, Oklahoma, Michigan and other states, and would take the question of disqualification entirely out of judges’ hands. Texas, too, should flatly state that “no case shall be assigned” by court administrators to a judge when the lawyers or any of the participants involved donated money in the preceding two years. The reasons should be obvious. Daniel Schuman has written about the growing problem of money in judicial elections across...

When I addressed this issue with my state senator Dan Patrick two years ago, his only response was that we have the right, according the the Second Amendment, to carry firearms. Evidently, the only consideration, then, is an amendment, and no other considerations should be considered. Then, of course, when faced with mind-blowing events such as an attempted assassination of a congresswoman and the murder of her friends and colleagues, we immediately retreat into a flight or fight response, and legislators tend to fight by retreating into the most obvious solution, instead of the most constructive. Even if staff and faculty are required to be CHL holders, this cannot guarantee that they are in fact safe users of their CHL -- there are actions of violence conducted by Texas CHL holders every year, and though we may acknoledge that they are a minority, these assaults by CHL holders still occur. Being a CHL holder doesn't magically make one a safe gun user. Neither would allowing...