Last night, CNN’s Anderson Cooper told of a second 11-year-old boy taking his life after bullying at his elementary school became too much for him to handle. Jaheem Herrera, of Georgia, had cried about not wanting to go to school, that he was called gay over and over to the point he just didn’t want to hear it again. Complaints to the school seemed to fall on deaf ears.

But on April 16, Jaheem appeared happy when he came home from school with a glowing report card. It may have been a glimmer of hope for his mother Masika Bermudez that her darling boy may have found peace with the situation. But later that evening, when her calls for him to come to dinner were not answered, she and Jaheem’s sister went up to his bedroom and found his body in a closet hanging by a belt.

This, just weeks after another 11-year-old boy, Carl Joseph Walker-Hoover, from Massachusetts, took his own life after relentless taunts by his peers.

What most surprised me is that DeKalb County, Georgia has what experts called an “exemplary” anti-bullying program in place that included an awareness program and a specially trained staff member to address the issue. Kids even were asked to sign a no-bullying pledge.

So what went wrong? And what can we, as parents, do to stop our child from bullying or being bullied, since we cannot rely simply on our schools?

Here’s yet another resource, a free Bully Reporting Site powered by www.BullyStoppers.com where parents and students can provide details of bullying situations. And, here is an example what the reports look like. The anonymous bully reporting is designed to help students who suffer from bullying, decrease behaviors that build over time and lead to violent outbursts, create a deterrent effect against bullying in a school or bus, and prevent embarrassing students who report problems.

Will it help? Who knows. The U.S. Secret Service National Threat Assessment Center seems to think that such a system could have prevented many of the countless school shootings over the years. Regardless, a workable solution must be found before another child kills himself.

Photo, Flickr, sarah bara wears mascara

Michelle Obama gave a pretty good speech last night. I like her more now. Not that I disliked her before, but you know my loyalties with Hillary and all that.

Anyone else watching the Democratic National Convention?

They played Stevie Wonder’s Isn’t She Lovely after her speech. It was a tad over the top. But, it was pretty good love fest last night.

Barack Obama was beamed in via satellite from Kanas City (Here he is Live) to talk to Michelle and the girls. I was irritated by this stage production, Do you have somewhere better to be than in Denver accepting your party’s nomination Barack?

My husband, Jeremy, says they do this via satellite bit at every convention to build anticipation. I am too lazy to look it up to prove him right or wrong. I think its stupid.

Ted Kennedy spoke and brought everyone to tears. He talked about the future, not of the Kennedy past.

The pundits were complaining the whole time that there wasn’t enough negativity and criticism for the other party.

One news guy actually said, “I don’t think Democrats have proven they are very good at negative campaigning. Republicans are brilliant at it. They win. Democrats have not shown tonight, once again, that they are good at negative campaigning.”

Dear God let it be true that Americans will see that it’s more effective and better for us to focus on what we do want, the hope, the triumph, our abilities, our strength than to focus on the failings of other people with other ideas in other parties.

Personally, I’m so sickened by negative campaigning that I hope Democrats will hold the course. The fewer mentions of how horrible The Republicans are the better.

Every time people buy into it I wonder why my fellow Americans are so stupid and easily Fear Pressured into doing crap they don’t really want to do.

I’m sick and tired of both parties starting every sentence, “I could be more effective if Republicans would just . . . “ or “I would do something about this if the Democrats would just . . . ”

No more. Take responsibility by making it YOUR problem if you’re elected.

. Taking a rigid, unrelenting stance on issues (abortion, etc) is a really easy excuse to do NOTHING.

If I can manage to respectfully and effectively deal with people who think differently than I, who disagree with me, every day - then I expect nothing less from the public officials I elect.

Every American in this country is sick. to. death. of. negative campaigning. It’s really just a politician loophole, a built-in excuse, to not DO anything effectively.

Anderson Cooper kept criticizing that much of the evening “made boring television” - as if the function of government is to amuse newscasters, pundits, and the audience at home.

This isn’t trashy Realty TV Anderson, its Democracy. Where “The People” govern themselves. They have to do “boring” votes and party business at a National Convention cause that’s how Democracy works. The action of our nation consists of boring meetings and boring votes. Next time, I’m sure cable news will lobby for a “producer” to take over “the made-for-TV event.”

Got Perspective?