Headache Diary Day 45:

I awoke this morning after trying Indomethacin for the first time at about 6pm on Friday 10/21/11 and having headache relief for the first time in 44 days. Diagnostically, as Migraine meds were not working at all, it appears that I have a condition called Hemicrania Continua. This morning, after sleeping beyond the 8 hours that the Indomethacin capsule should have worked, I awoke with only a very mild right side headache. The second dose has now been taken. Here's to hoping that it continues to bring me relief.

One Less Boogie Man

When I heard at 10pm on a Sunday night that the POTUS would be addressing the nation in 30 minutes I knew it had to be something huge. What news cycle involved a 10:30 PM address? Exactly none.The next hour and some minutes of media speculation was painful. What would the big announcement be? Was it a national security emergency? It was mind numbing. What would I be telling my students about tomorrow? I was communicating with several teachers through social networks...all of us trying to limit our speculation as to what the news might be.

When the news finally came, I was reminded of a statement I had made to a group of my Civics students this past Friday. After a discussion on terrorism (which seems to regularly be on their mind), I had suggested that I felt that we would soon be told that Osama Bin Laden was no longer alive. I was, of course, basing this comment on the fact that he had been in such deep seclusion for quite some time. I was founding it on the point that he was no longer leaking video statements to the press. I had no idea that less than 72 hours later that announcement would be made. I watched in awe as our President made it known "officially" that our boogie man of the past decade was no more. I will not recount the statements of the President as he can relay the information far more eloquently than I. For those remarks one should watch the video I have included in this post from our Commander in Chief.

Let May 01, 2011 mark the date when President Obama gave the order and successfully accomplished something that the past two could not. Those who revel this event, as I believe it, do not do so for the death of a human being but rather for the ease of mind that a nearly supernaturally elusive figure has been captured and killed. Will this end the terrorist threats of Al Qaeda? Hardly. It will, however, show that this America with this American President is one that is capable of accomplishing enormous things. It may or may not be coincidental that May 01, 1945 marked the day that another boogie man, Adolph Hitler, was declared dead. May 1st is apparently an unlucky day for mass murderers.

It's April again. Here is my note explaining why claims that President Obama cancelled the Nat'l Day of Prayer are FALSE!

by Frederick B. Gerwig on Wednesday, 30 March 2011 at 22:29

It always amazes me how eager people are to believe anything about our current president that make him seem shady or un-American.

In April 2009 and April 2010, these emails and statuses claiming that the Nat'l Day of Prayer has been cancelled by President Obama have circulated. The are ABSOLUTELY false, yet year after year someone (likely a Birther, Becker, or Mama Grizzly) spreads this same old garbage to people they know.

Here is something like what the status will say...I am sure you will see it before May 05, 2011.

President Obama decided that there will no longer be a "National Day of Prayer" held in May. He doesn't want to offend anyone. Where was his concern about offending Christians last January when he allowed the Muslims to hold a day of prayer on the capitol grounds. As a Christian American "I Am Offended." If you agree, copy and paste no matter what religion you are.

The National Day of Prayer (aka US Law 36 U.S.C. § 119) is an observance initiated by Congress and signed by President Harry S. Truman in 1954. As it is a law, a President of the US cannot simply cancel it. It would literally take an act of Congress or a ruling by a judge to overturn it. That stated, the day has been challenged. In April 2010, a judge heard a case from the Freedom from Religion Foundation asking that the observance be ruled unconstitutional. The judge did just that, but an appeal was immediately filed...with President Obama's attorneys trying the appeal IN FAVOR of the Nat'l Day of Prayer.

If you need more than my word for this, try their own site: http://nationaldayofprayer.org/ They even have a ticker counting down until the exact second that the observance begins in 2011. Beyond that, Snopes.com is a fact checking website. They too have a story (with cited sources) explaining why this email/status is a FALSE claim. Here is a link if you want to see for yourself: http://www.snopes.com/politics/obama/prayerday.asp

As an educator of History and American Government it absolutely disturbs me that we, as a nation, have become so gullible that we will pass on these lies about so many subjects, get all worked up into a lather, and believe them as truth no matter how ridiculous without checking our sources. It actually concerns me less whether people practice this observance or not (faith or no it is each person's own business), yet it is important that we have a twinge of disbelief when things like this are put out there. Nevertheless, I do not mind being a fact checker for those around me. But please people, look before you leap into a big pile of bullpucky such as this without maybe simply Googling their "National Day of Prayer" site to see that they have a current site counting down to a future date. Additionally, if you ever doubt anything about something relating to a national law, perhaps ask a Social Studies teacher. I am sure you know one. We are the Jeopardy contestants of educators. You're welcome.

***Steps Down Off His Soapbox***

Frederick B. Gerwig