Ski The Far Stars

On Evaluating Teachers in a Fair and Positive Fashion

2012-01-26T22:43:00.000-08:00

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First I would insist on a truly representative sample of the teacher's teaching performance.

Then I would have an initial judging done by three teachers, who teach populations of similar socio-economic backgrounds, located at least 2 or more school districts away from the teacher being judged [the judgee] district.

I would have the results of the initial judging reviewed by 3 professional judges, teachers already rated excellent, on leave for a year of judging, who rate the teacher in 10 to 20 areas, on numerical scales. There would be an overall rating and recommendations for areas where improvement is needed, and suggestions as to how to go about making such improvements. These judges might not necessarily teach kids of the same socio-economic background, but could not, all three, share just one socio-economic teaching population background.

The evaluation would be done in the second semester of teaching. The results would come back to the teacher, no penalties, but a clear indication of how well they are doing, referenced to other teachers. In the second year, the classroom would again be rated, but this time, those rating 3 standard deviations to the low side would be let go in June. Those 2 standard deviations below would get a warning, and would be tested again in their third year, unlike the rest, who get a pass until year 5.

50% of teachers self select to quit on their own, within five years of starting teaching.

How to capture a truly representative sample of a teacher's performance?

Closed circuit surveillance systems are readily available to handle multiple cameras and multiple sound tracks, wirelessly, recording full fidelity images and sound, such that the viewer can choose which camera to watch and which mic to listen to. A rig, cameras and software, mics and computers, can be had for under $2,000. The teacher works with a tech to set up his classroom for optimum recordings. Dummy versions of the gear can be placed initially to get the kids through their initial curious and screwup phases. Then the teacher records up to ten days worth of teaching over a three week span, max. The teacher can then edit out 20% of the material recorded. If the teacher can get what he feels is necessary in 5 days, so much the better. Three weeks is more than enough time to get a representative sample.

The teacher can then pick out 3, 20 minute sections that he feels represents good teaching. A computer will pick out 7 more 20 minute blocks at random. The three initial evaluators will thoroughly review the teacher's choices, and can skim or closely review the computer choices, and will need to write up and evaluation of each of the teacher choices, and 4 of the computer choices.

All of this information is passed on to the Pro judges, who review the materials and video, alone, and come up with independent ratings and suggestions. Then they meet as a group, and assign one final set of ratings and an overall rating. The teacher [judgee] gets to see both sets of ratings, and all recommendations.

This would not be cheap to do, but it would be far more accurate than letting school politics be the real determiner, or all mighty test scores, which tell very little about a teacher, especially in a school with disadvantaged kids.

I think all CEO's salaries should be compared to those of the occupations you list, as well as teachers. As for teachers themselves, shouldn't those 2 standard deviations above the average be as well paid as a beginning graduate from a technical school? Normally it take 20 years to get up to $60,000, like these graduates start with.
http://www.rose-hulman.edu/news/on-campus/90-percent-placement.aspx
What a thrill as a first year teacher to get that kind of boost, for your second year. And for those that score only 1 standard deviation up from the norm, let them jump to year ten on the local scale. That's what I would call rewarding teachers. How about you? "A Golden Brass Apple, how nice....I think I'll try law school next. This teaching job can pay my tuition, and guess where I'll pay my attentions..." (you did want to know where "bad" teachers came from, didn't you?)

Gingrich Lied Through Misrepresentation about Gas Prices

2012-01-26T11:32:00.000-08:00

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Newt claimed gasoline prices “doubled” under Obama. This is only true if you take the last month of December in 2008, which was the lowest ever under Bush, 1.61, and compare it with today. June 2008 gas was at $4 and then some. If you take the last 36 months of Bush and compare it to all 36 months of Obama, you get $2.74 and $2.89 respectively.

Lying through misrepresentation seems to be a fine art for Gingrich.

http://www.eia.gov/dnav/pet/hist/LeafHandler.ashx?n=PET&s=EMM_EPMR_PTE_NUS_DPG&f=W

On Identifying "BAD" Teachers

2012-01-26T09:58:00.000-08:00

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These are a few of my most recent posts at George Rebane's Blog, in a discussion of improvements to society.

The problems here, Mr. T, can be broken down into several parts:

How do you identify a "bad" teacher?

Are "bad" teachers really that responsible for all the evils in the world as you post of 11:04 pm suggests?

Your article suggests "better education" as a cure for income inequality. You suggest getting rid of "bad teachers" as a means of achieving better edu8cation, and Obama and I think you rewarding good ones. I point out that "rewarding good K-12 teachers never happens. [You'll note I leave out higher ed, where there are countless MD professors in med schools to inflate public employee pension calls, I avoid that trap] Instead of saying anything nice about rewarding good teachers, you go off on a total tirade about "bad teachers" without ever quantifying the situation, mentioning where the replacements will come from, or most importantly, how your "better teachers" are going to be rewarded.

You also fail to mention how you are going to ID these teachers. Are you going to randomly yake every 20th teacher out behind the gym and shoot them? Are you going to use test scores? How are you going to avoid firing a very dedicated teacher, who, at risk to life and limb, chooses to teach in a ghetto school? I served along side a teacher in the heart of Hunter's Point, who choose to live there, walking distance to the school. After a bullet flew through her living room at chest eight, she choose to line all her outer walls on the inside with concrete blocks. Her kids, on average, scored well below your beloved norms.

You see, in a ghetto school, there are real disconnects between how some of the parents perceive society, and how you and I do. There are literally kids who are raised such that they believe it is the God given mission to go to school and disrupt it. These may not necessarily be the dumbest kids either. In fact, techniques of disruption, are learned, and strategies of of disruption have evolved into cyberbaiting* today. Their parents [in many cases, relatives of their parents, real parents separated, drug incapacitted, locked up, or dead] of several generations back have learned all the in's and out's of finageling the system against itself, and they pass it on.

Based on my experience in Hunters Point, I would say maybe 3 to 5 percent of the students fall into this category. Add in another 3 to 5 percent who have serious untreated medical conditions, another 35 who are willing to play along with the ringleader(s) [one to three per classroom], and you have a recipe for disaster for the remaining 55% who are desperately trying to anything and everything to learn and get the hell out of Hunters Point. Would you like to try teaching in such a zone?

Most importantly, would you like to be fired for not fixing what you never broke?

Teaching is about the only profession where if you are not hired by September, you will have to wait an entire year for another chance at a real paycheck. Substitute teachers make typically one THIRD what a regular teacher does, and there are no benefits, not even unemployment over the summer.
Once again, what real rewards are you proposing for good teachers? Will the "best" teacher in the nation ever make one one thousandth of a CEO making $25,000,000 per year?

And tell me again, is it the teacher who gives birth and raises all these abject rejects for the American Corporate machine? Or is it the parents, who earn a supposed living from the American corporate machine?

Posted by: Douglas Keachie | 26 January 2012 at 09:41 AM

Are you upset that I mention rewarding teachers? Golly, you want the best, right? The best CEO's and other "leaders" in their fields, all expect to get paid very well. Why? because that how you get them as "employees." Why wouldn't the same human dynamics apply to teaching? Maybe "American Teacher: should be the new reality show, with the winner taking home $1,000,000. We just heard Gingrich or was it Paul wanting the government to offer prizes for the best moves by private corporations involved in space exploration, why don't they call for the same for teachers? Why is the psychological makeup of a teacher so different from the rest of us mortals?

Posted by: Douglas Keachie | 26 January 2012 at 09:47 AM

I also note that a certain "more educated than thou" poster has gone into hibernation, now that he's been hoisted up by his own table of numbers, that show gas under Obama at 2.90, and under Bush at 2.74, thus proving that Gingrich LIED when he claimed gas price doubled under Obama when compared to Bush. Said poster does not seem to risk a lawsuit for libel and to be so stupid as to call my photo a fake either, so a few of his neurons are still functioning, despite the shock of discovering the Keach can and does use spreadsheet functions.

Posted by: Douglas Keachie | 26 January 2012 at 09:53 AM

Collecting Unemployment is not a Sin

2012-01-19T08:54:00.000-08:00

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Unemployment is not a sin. It is one of the few times the working man, with the help of unions, got a set of laws passed, for their benefit, and for the greater good. I'm sure many employers out there think the program is terrible. These will be the same employers who never, never fail to collect on any insurance that is due to them. Do you think you will ever hear:

"Hey man, my auto reapir shop burned to the ground, I've paid thousands of dollars in insurance every year, but me collect? Nope, I'm too macho for that. Let the sissies collect, I'm better than them."

So why on earth would there be bragging rights here in this paper for having never collected unemployment?

Cyberbaiting the Teacher Destroys Learning in the Classroom, a Cure for This Idiocracy.

2012-01-12T10:09:00.001-08:00

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It is high time that a teacher be allowed to set up multiple cameras and mics in his or her classroom, to squash any students who would like to engage in cyberbaiting, and to shut up, once and for all, parents who claim their little Johnny or Susie would NEVER do what the teacher claims they did. Modern surveillance software and wireless nanocams and an on-teacher wireless mic will set up a room for less than a grand, and i 'll bet many teachers would consider it a great form of insurance.

http://www.takepart.com/article/2011/12/07/cyberbaiting-teens-find-high-tech-ways-humiliate-teachers

What costs the quality of education in the USA the most is the enabling by the parents and administrators of the favorite pastime of a sizable portions of the students. That pastime is best described as, "chewing up the clock." The less that is presented to and learned by the better students, the easier the resulting tests will have to be, and cyberbaiting is FUN!.

2 Buck Verizon ---> FAIL! Occupy Verizon!

2011-12-30T08:58:00.000-08:00

Guess what? Verizon says you can still make online payments for free, if they come directly from your bank account. No more postponing the payments for phoning. I wonder if they are beginning to wake up to the Brave New World of "OCCUPY VERIZON!" Did not get a straight answer to paying by paper check at store, so I will have to test that one.

To be clear, you do not have to give them the right to do a snatch and grab, you can make one time payments by posting your routing number and banmk account number, on a day of your own choosing.

Founding Fathers SMARTER than Everyone Alive Today?

2011-12-12T12:01:00.000-08:00

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There is a Tea Party premise that is unspoken and unquestioned. The Founding Fathers, whoever they really were, whatever opinions they really held, ( it's kinda hard to ask them today), were and are SMARTER than anyone around today, and therefore working from what little we do know about them, is the only way to TRUTH to LIVE BY. I think this is total BS, and a very poor way to run a society, as all it really means is that whatever agenda YOU want, you'll go digging for supposed facts from the past, instead of coming up with rational arguments to support your case.

Cash Back Fraud, Beware!

2011-12-08T11:34:00.001-08:00

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CHECK YOUR RECEIPTS BEFORE LEAVING THE CASHIER'S STATION!!!!!

THIS COULD HAPPEN ANYWHERE. CHECK YOUR RECEIPT BEFORE LEAVING THE STAND. I'VE SEEN PEOPLE DO JUST THAT. NOW I'LL START!

PASS THIS ON TO YOUR FRIENDS, KIDS, LOVED ONES.

I bought a bunch of stuff, over $150, & I glanced at my receipt as the cashier was handing me the bags. I saw a cash-back of $40. I told her I didn't request a cash back and to delete it. She said I'd have to take the $40 because she couldn't delete it. I told her to call a supervisor.

Supervisor came and said I'd have to take it. I said NO! I didn't want $40 cash advance If they couldn't delete it then they would have to delete the whole order. So the supervisor had the cashier delete the whole order and re-scan everything!

The second time I looked at the electronic pad before I signed and a cash-back of $20 popped up. At that point I told the cashier and she deleted it. The total came out right. The cashier agreed that the Electronic Pad must be defective.

Obviously the cashier knew the electronic pad was defective because she NEVER offered me the $40 at the beginning. Can you imagine how many people went through before me and at the end of her shift how much money she pocketed?

Just to alert everyone. My co-worker went to Walmart last week. She had her items rung up by the cashier. The cashier hurried her along and didn't give her a receipt. She asked the cashier for a receipt and the cashier was annoyed and gave it to her. My co-worker didn't look at her receipt until later that night. The receipt showed that she asked for $20 cash back. SHE DID NOT ASK FOR CASH BACK!

My co-worker called Wal-Mart who investigated but could not see the cashier pocket the money. She then called her niece who works for the bank and her niece told her this: This is new scam going on. The cashier will key in that you asked for cash back and then hand it to her friend who is the next person in line.

Please, please, please check your receipts right away when using credit or debit cards! This is NOT limited to Wal-Mart, although they are the largest retailer so they have the most incidents.

I am adding to this. My husband and I were in Wal-Mart North Salisbury and

paying with credit card when my husband went to sign the credit card signer he just happen to notice there was a $20 cash back added. He told the cashier that he did not ask nor want cash back and she said machine has been messing up and she canceled it. We really didn't think anything of it until we read this email.

Homeless Students & Test Scores

2011-12-08T10:49:00.001-08:00

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How to Lose in the Global Market Place

2,200 homeless students out of 55,000 students in San Francisco.

No shelter, no food, = no test scores worth reporting.

When Poverty Class > Middle Class,

then GDP & taxes,

= = = = = = = equals = FAIL!

I wonder how many homeless students there are in Nevada County?

Triptoeing Through the Opium Fields of Facebook

2011-11-29T08:43:00.001-08:00

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"Is FB Worth 100 Billion?" Two posts I made at Jeff Pelline's blog this morning.

Douglas Keachie
If you take what you know about FB, and the potential for enhancing the revenue of companies possibly not even in current existence, by virtue of suggesting what such companies might have as a product or service, and then add in the obvious demographic clustering capabilities for advertising services of existent products, and then add in a big dash of the following:
http://news.discovery.com/tech/supercomputer-predicts-civil-unrest-110908.html
You are looking at a one trillion plus company, and, “BRAVE NEW WORLD.”

on November 29, 2011 at 8:41 am | Reply Douglas Keachie

In short, for the first time, we are looking at molding the products and services to the customers’ nacent desires, instead of trying to persuade the customer to buy what we’ve already produced.
Because the manufacturer/service provider can literally get into the heads and mindsets of selected potential customers, the potential for profits is enormous.
It also means that if I adopt a totally separate false identity, and use the best anonymizing capabilities out there, I will still be found by potential sellers simply by them knowing who my various circles of non anonymized friends are.
If you weren’t into sociology/anthropology/psychology before, welcome!

New Examples: 1984 Double Speak

2011-11-23T10:15:00.001-08:00

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UPS has been selling vendors on a new mailing scheme, and tries to tell them is is just as good as first class mail, but is one day slower.

USP even admits it is a slower process.

“Domestic Mail Process

Using the reliability and strength of the UPS network, the U.S. Postal Service, our extensive national network of processing facilities, proprietary software, and technology enables us to consistently achieve domestic average transit times comparable to First Class Mail® plus one day on all qualified mail”
comparable times PLUS ONE DAY is not comparable times. Orwell Speak example number 3,453,324.

On my bottle of Bolthouse Farms Blue Goodness”

100% Natural

Blend of 5 not from concentrate and
from concentrate juices/purees.

It is printed just like that. Why not just say, “Blend of 5 juices/purees, concentrated and non concentrated.”
BTW, what is a puree? watered down or mixed with sugar, etc.? On the list of ingredients EVERYTHING is listed as from concentrate, except for the banana puree.

And then there’s my Nestle’s Toll House cookie dough roll. On the side, it warns:

“DO NOT CONSUME RAW COOKIE DOUGH.”

yeah, right!....................

Your FICA and Facebook

2011-11-23T09:08:00.001-08:00

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Why do you think all these apps ask for the information? Would you believe that your FICA score may depend on who you do and don't firend? Coming soon the biggest class warfare digital divide ever seen. If you ain't got friends you can borrow from if you get in trouble, your FICA goes down. It is most likely already happening. if you can afford to subscribe to Linked In, your FICA probably goes up. Smart money buys into Linked In. I don't own stock, but do have a former student who works there.

Are EMT's Smarter Than LE?

2011-11-21T11:22:00.001-08:00

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On the Davis Pepper Spray Attacks: It's funny, EMT personnel are more than capable of moving unconscious limp bodies, possibly with internal injuries, and can do so without causing harm. What is to keep the police from learning the same techniques? After all, the police make two to three times as much money as the EMT's and should be able to live up to a higher standard.

What the 99% Want.

2011-11-19T10:11:00.001-08:00

The 1% just thought the 99% would dry up and blow away, when the 1% found other places to manufacturer, and other places to sell. Guess what? That’s not happening, and 99% with time on their hands and American cultural values are being very creative about letting the 1% know that this country was founded on the notion of freedom and justice for all, and NOT for just the 1%.

Best expresssion yet that I’ve found of what the 99% want is here:“In a must-read New York Times Op-Ed over the weekend, economist Jeffrey Sachs – an erstwhile villain in the eyes of the anti-globalization left – hailed Occupy Wall Street as the start of a new progressive era in American history, defined by the challenge of restoring “prosperity and power to the 99 percent.”

The movement, he writes, should aim concretely for three things:The first is a revival of crucial public services, especially education, training, public investment and environmental protection. The second is the end of a climate of impunity that encouraged nearly every Wall Street firm to commit financial fraud. The third is to re-establish the supremacy of people votes over dollar votes in Washington.

None of this will be easy, obviously. The movement will have to up its strategic game, Sachs writes: consumer and shareholder activism needs to play a bigger role, and the movement also needs both a public policy platform and a cohort of change-makers willing to run for public office propelled by social media, not corporate cash. But make no mistake – something’s happening here. “A new generation of leaders is just getting started,” Sachs writes. “The new progressive age has begun.”

Read more: http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/blogs/national-affairs/is-occupy-the-start-of-a-new-progressive-era-20111114#ixzz1eAyLhkWO

Easy to Remember, Hard to Crack, Passwords

2011-11-13T11:48:00.001-08:00

Technorati Profilehttp://rpc.technorati.com/rpc/pingEasy to remember, hard to hack password, can be created by taking the first letter of a favorite song, going in nine or ten words, and add your phone number suffix. sample: (H)ow (M)any (R)oads (M)ust (A) (M)an (W)alk (D)own, (B)efore (T)hey + the phone number 304-5678 equals a password of "HMRMAMWDBT5678" All you have to do is recite the song in your head as you type the letters in. You do not have to remember the password, just the song, and the last four of your phone number, which you already know. Good luck!

Population Control 1A

2011-11-12T12:23:00.001-08:00

Technorati Profilehttp://rpc.technorati.com/rpc/pingPopulation control in the USA can be done as follows: Money is put into a college/education fund account every month from age 13 to age 23, for everyone in those age ranges, subject to the following conditions. For girls, it's "don't get pregnant." BTW, 5% of that amount is given directly to the individual as spending cash, again on a monthly basis. For boys, they have to give a sample of their DNA, to match up any unwanted pregnancies. In the case of either sex, having a pregnancy happen, kicks you out of the program for one year, and 25% of what you've saved up is redistributed to those who have not screwed up. This way their are strong incentives to avoid pregnancy at the most important time, and to get an education, and to learn to manage money.

Honoring Corporal Keachie

2011-11-11T11:18:00.000-08:00

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http://militarytimes.com/citations-medals-awards/recipient.php?recipientid=12833

Cain IGNORANT of China's Nukes

2011-10-31T23:25:00.001-07:00

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Herman Cain is IGNORANT of China's nuclear status:

Reality: Nations that are known or believed to possess nuclear weapons are sometimes referred to as the nuclear club. There are currently eight states that have successfully detonated nuclear weapons. Five are considered to be "nuclear-weapon states" (NWS) under the terms of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT). In order of acquisition of nuclear weapons these are: the United States, Russia (successor state to the Soviet Union), the United Kingdom, France, and China.

"JUDY WOODRUFF: And what could you do as president to head that off?

HERMAN CAIN: My China strategy is quite simply outgrow China. It gets back to economics. China has a $6 trillion economy and they're growing at approximately 10 percent. We have a $14 trillion economy -- much bigger -- but we're growing at an anemic 1.5, 1.6 percent. When we get our economy growing back at the rate of 5 or 6 percent that it has the ability to do, we will outgrow China.

And secondly, we already have superiority in terms of our military capability, and I plan to get away from making cutting our defense a priority and make investing in our military capability a priority, going back to my statement: peace through strength and clarity. So yes they're a military threat. They've indicated that they're trying to develop nuclear capability and they want to develop more aircraft carriers like we have. So yes, we have to consider them a military threat."

It is obvious that Cain is UNAWARE China already has the Bomb! I'm amazed Woodruff didn't call him on it.

His understanding of business math is lacking as well. How long does it take, at 10% per year for China's economy to surpass the USA? Unless he can get the USA speed up almost instantly, China passes us in less than 7 years. Greg Goodknight can give you the exact numbers.

"Nein. Nein, Nein" on "999"

2011-10-12T12:37:00.000-07:00

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Obviously "999" was picked because it slogans so well, and the resulting system will most likely screw the heck out of the poor, working, and what's left of the middle class. If that is not the case, then please make the case for this taxing the 1% more than they are taxed today.

Own BofA ATM, Make Money FAST!

2011-10-12T11:45:00.000-07:00

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BofA, 1 customer per machine, every five minutes, 12 hours a day, a different customer, for one month, and $60/year to use the service once a month, at 30 days per month, equals, 12 per hour, times 12 hours, times 30 times $60 or $259,200.00 per year, from one lousy machine.

When I Give Food to the Poor,

2011-10-08T23:08:00.000-07:00

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"When I Give Food to the Poor,I'm called a saint.

When I ask why the poor need food, I'm called a communist."

~Dom Helder Comoro~

Yup, taking care of the problem is one thing, asking why there is a problem in the first place is altogether another. You are allowed to bail out the life boat, you are not allowed to ask why the 1% are sailing away on the cruise ship.

On the Westboro "Church"

2011-10-06T11:51:00.000-07:00

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The Westboro Family Enterprise is a unique example of capitalism gone rougue. They make cash by getting people angry enough to physically assault their members. Their people are equipped with wireless mikes, and the have a second family member filming the whole incident. Most of the time they settle out of court. It has nothing to do with religion, and everything to do with shakedown. Bring mirrors and white noise machines, to such an event and blind their cameras and wash out their mikes.

BTW, Obama just wiped the floor with Boehner at the press conference.

It's The Union's Fault!

2011-09-30T08:03:00.000-07:00

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I guess what seems to be the missing piece here, are the clauses in the contracts with the various unions, in which it is clearly spelled out that they are the ones in charge of keeping the governments' books straight, and giving them the power to tax as needed to generate the income to guarantee that the government lives up to its side of the bargain.

If you can show me ONE SINGLE UNION CONTRACT, in which such oversight and taxing power is included as part of the deal, then indeed, I will agree, the budgetary problems ARE THE FAULT OF THE UNIONS. However, since you can't, then the responsibility for the budgetary problems is the fault of every single US of A citizen out there, including all those who waited until Obama was elected to start complaining vociferously and blaming the issue on him and the public employee unions.

Passing on the debt to future generations is just one possible solution. Taxing the assets of the wealthiest is yet another. I can't conceive of any reason why one person needs to own more than $100,000,000. Yes take care of the obligations incurred 30 years ago, with the money from the richest and therefore the MOST CULPABLE, as they could afford the experts to do the needed analysis way back when, but waited until Obama was elected to make their moves. In the meantime, they harvested the cash, free of any pesky taxes. Time to pay up is now.

********************************************************

I note in passing that the Tea Party Right is beginning to back off blaming people (unions) and is now concentrating on blaming all the rules and regulations. As I have pointed out before, the government needs to maintain a help desk, staffed by US citizens, living in the USA, of course, that answers the phone within 3 minutes with a human who has the final authority to walk the business person through filing out the forms correctly. Given today's online screen sharing capabilities, this should be a no brainer, and will put at least 100,000 people to work. All phone answerers must have a four year degree, and be well trained.

The robotic pre-screener will determine the type of business, using the standard codes, and then pass the person on to an appropriate screener, who can then alert the caller via email to all possible regulations, for that code, which will of course be online, and each one will include a common English translation from the governmentez. If after two hours of active communication, the form remains incomplete, the business person is excused from that law for one year, subject to review for sincerity and prep on the callers part.

BP cannot have a driller attempting to answer environmental regulation questions. BP must hire a regulation specialist for each major subdivision.

Walmart Creates a Foodstamp Nation

2011-08-28T10:14:00.000-07:00

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Walmart, by only employing workers for the fewest possible hours, has been a partner in raising the number of folks on food stamps 50% in less than three years. The following is from a Reuter's article.

Genna Saucedo supervises cashiers at a Wal-Mart in Pico Rivera, California, but her wages aren't enough to feed herself and her 12-year-old son.

Saucedo, who earns $9.70 an hour for about 26 hours a week and lives with her mother, is one of the many Americans who survive because of government handouts in what has rapidly become a food stamp nation.

Altogether, there are now almost 46 million people in the United States on food stamps, roughly 15 percent of the population. That's an increase of 74 percent since 2007, just before the financial crisis and a deep recession led to mass job losses.

At the same time, the cost doubled to reach $68 billion in 2010 -- more than a third of the amount the U.S. government received in corporate income tax last year -- which means the program has started to attract the attention of some Republican lawmakers looking for ways to cut the nation's budget deficit.

While there are clearly some cases of abuse by people who claim food stamps but don't really need them, for many Americans like Saucedo there is little current alternative if they are to put food on the table while paying rent and utility bills.

"It's kind of sad that even though I'm working that I need to have government assistance. I have asked them to please put me on full-time so I can have benefits," said the 32-year-old.

She's worked at Wal-Mart for nine months, and applied for food stamps as soon as her probation ended. She said plenty of her colleagues are in the same situation.

A Novel Fundraiser, especially Appropriate for Earthquake Relief

2011-08-26T10:43:00.000-07:00

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You might as well take this map, divide it up into squares, and have an earthquake pool.

http://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/recenteqscanv/

Once all the squares are sold, each to the highest bidder, the next red dot to appear gives the pot to owner of that square. This might make a cool fund raiser, as typically a new patch of red shows up every 20 minutes to every two hours.

Obviously the squares around the Bay Area, LA, Mammoth, and Parkfield and Clear Lake and Eureka would be the top sellers.

How Republicans and Democrats Differ.

2011-08-24T15:46:00.000-07:00

Technorati Profilehttp://rpc.technorati.com/rpc/piI’ve noticed over the years, there are some fundamental differences in the way Republican and Democratic politicians think. Here are just 15 examples.

Republicans fear that the government has too much control over corporations. Democrats fear that corporations have too much control over our government.

Democrats believe it benefits all of us to help the weakest and the poorest among us. Republicans believe it benefits all of us to help the wealthiest and most powerful among us.

Republicans believe large corporations will always do what is best for the American people if the government stays out of the way. Democrats believe large corporations would disembowel you and sell your organs to the highest bidder if the government didn’t stop them.

Democrats believe everyone is entitled to health care regardless of their ability to pay. Republicans believe everyone is entitled to jack squat if they can’t pay for health care.

Democrats believe too much of our money goes to crooked corporate executives who take government subsidies and pay themselves $80 million salaries. Republicans believe too much of our money goes to teachers who make $30,000 a year.

Democrats believe anything that helps the American people during a recession or a time of crisis is the true essence of patriotism. Republicans believe anything that helps the American people during a recession or a time of crisis is the true essence of communism.

Democrats believe that we need to set high standards for clean air and drinking water. Republicans believe that standards for clean air and water are burdensome over-regulation.

Democrats believe the President and Congress need to work together to create jobs during a weak economy. Republicans believe that Congress should do nothing to create jobs and then blame the President.

Democrats believe that corporate polluters should be made to pay for the cleanup of their pollution. Republicans believe that making corporations clean up their pollution is burdensome over-regulation.

Democrats believe our health care system exists solely for the purpose of making people healthy. Republicans believe our health care system exists solely for the purpose of making a healthy profit.

Democrats believe Congress should be of the people, by the people and for the people. Republicans believe corporations are the people.

Democrats believe that corporations have too much influence over Congress due to their lobbyists and huge campaign contributions. Republicans believe the middle class has too much influence over Congress due to their voting and paying taxes.

Democrats believe we need to protect victims of corporate negligence by allowing Americans to file lawsuits against corporations. Republicans believe we need to protect large corporations from lawsuits by Americans who’ve been victimized by them.

Democrats believe that the rich should be taxed more than the poor and middle class. Republicans believe that the rich should be allowed to keep all their wealth, except for the millions in campaign contributions they give to politicians.

Democrats believe that too much money in politics produces corruption and destroys the American way of life. Republicans believe that money and corruption in politics are the American way of life.

Defrosting the Economy, How to Do It.

2011-08-22T10:01:00.000-07:00

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Require that a staff of trained USA citizen operators be at the beck and call of any business person attempting to fill out any governmental form, and that the wait time is never longer than 3 minutes. If the trained operator and the 2 supervisors above him or her, are unable to find the answers and fill out the form inside of two hours, the business person is exempt from that regulation for 1 year.

The business person must be the highest ranking staff member of the business, the owner is preferred, so this would be only applicable to small businesses.

Business person must be able to email all relevant information in a timely manner, and a video link is preferred.

Fixing Our National Gloom

2011-08-18T08:50:00.001-07:00

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You want to fix our National Gloom?

If you really want to improve education in this country, then improve the quality of life for all.

Let prisoners in jails earn money by learning to read and write using fun software developed over 20 years ago by IBM, “Writing to Read.”, and then taking classes on line and passing tests for cash rewards, 1/2 of which is sent to their families on the outside, 35% is placed in savings accounts, 10% to victims funds, and 5% which is available to spend in prison.

Pass a simple law that says the most highly compensated individual in any organization cannot receive more in gross compensation than 5,000 times what the least paid USA employee makes. Outsourcing of work cannot be done using any sub-corporation that works more than 50% of the time for the parent corp, just to stop that obvious loophole.

If top exec makes $10,000,000 gross, then the least paid employee must make at least $20,000.

Cut the corporate taxes, of all companies totally based in the USA, who employ 1,000 employees or more, all employees certified USA citizens, by 10%, 500 to 999, by 20%, 250 to 499 by 30%, 100 to 249, by 40%, 2 or more non related employees by 50% ( but only where 50% or more of the employees are non related).

This would be a tax cut for corporations that would stimulate the USA economy, instead of making the mattresses of the überrich fat and lumpy.

Favorite Sailing Quotes

2011-08-18T08:33:00.000-07:00

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Life is a voyage in which we choose neither vessel nor weather, but much can be done in the management of the sails and the guidance of the helm."

"I know that I can't change the direction of the wind, but I can adjust my sails to reach my destination."

"Ships are the nearest things to dreams that hands have ever made."
~Robert Rose

There is nothing - absolutely nothing - half so much worth doing as simply messing about in boats."
~Kenneth Grahame

"I find the great thing in this world is not so much where we stand, as in what direction we are moving: To reach the port of heaven, we must sail sometimes with the wind and sometimes against it - but we must sail, and not drift, nor lie at anchor."
~Oliver Wendel Holmes

"On life's vast ocean diversely we sail, reason the cord, but passion is the gale."
~Alexander Pope

"The pessimist complains about the wind; the optimist expects it to change; the realist adjusts the sails."
~William Arthur Ward

"The gods do not deduct from a man's allotted life span, those days spent sailing."
~Ancient proverb

"The true peace of God begins a thousand miles from the nearest land."
~Joseph Conrad

"Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed in the things that you didn't do than the ones you did do. So throw off the bow lines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover."
~Mark Twain

"For the truth is that I already know as much about my fate as I know. The day will come when I will die. So the only matter of consequence before me is what I will do with my allotted time. I can reamin on shore, paralyzed with fear, or I can raise my sails and dip and soar in the breeze."
~Richard Bode

What Can be Done About the Tea Party?

2011-08-07T12:17:00.000-07:00

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We are the baby sitters/substitute teachers for the hopelessly infantile members of the Tea Party. Get used to it, they're never going to change. Some folks are just genetically predisposed to need authoritarian leaders who tell them just exactly how their world's shall run. Studies done after WWII show this. About 1/6th to 1/4qtr of the population...

What is the Tea Party?

2011-08-05T11:55:00.000-07:00

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This is from a debate currently going on at George Rebane's blog.

"So are we then done with the debate as to whether the tea party, per se, has/promotes a social agenda?"

not so fast.

Is the Tea Party, per se (Latin for through itself) merely the words of the tenants on paper?

Or is it the living breathing life spirit of all it's members and their own multiple agendas, which share many points in common?

If you wish to comparmentalize the Tea Party as being merely a few abstract words written on paper, then maybe you are correct. But, if you wish to capture the living breathing essence of the Tea Party movement, then you must add in the additional constellations of attitudes that most hold in common, along with their avowed allegiance to those few written words.

So which is it George, Todd, Dave, Mickey, and the rest:

The Tea Party is merely an allegiance to three to four lines on paper?

or:

The Tea Party consists of many fully faceted humans who share far more in the way of belief systems than just those 3 or 4 lines?

"Hump or Die"

~ Mel Brooks ~

For an in depth look at the sociology of the Tea Party, please read this article:

http://blogs.reuters.com/chrystia-freeland/2011/07/11/scenes-from-the-tea-party/

Kudos to Michael Ballachey, and his dad, a prof at UC Berkeley, in the Sociology Dept.

Quick test

2011-08-05T11:20:00.000-07:00

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Does this work here.

natural gas subsidies

I hope so.

Tea Party Demographics, Excellent Article!

2011-08-05T10:15:00.000-07:00

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http://blogs.reuters.com/chrystia-freeland/2011/07/11/scenes-from-the-tea-party/

Todd Juvinall wrote: ""I haven't seen a "leader" of the TPP nationally citing social policies which are on the "platform". Could Keachie supply that for us so we can then see whey he and Crabb are alleging?"

Which inspired me to find the above link and then write the following on George Rebane's blog:

"Since the Tea Party represents a very wide spectrum of political views and opinions on social policies, it should be a piece of cake for ToddJ to find a leader in that party who is either pro abortion or pro immigration in their non official Tea Party capacities. I suppose that Sarah Palin, who appears to be a Tea Party supporter, is not going to make the "A" list on these issues.

I have found you over a thousand images of Tea Party supporters who are on one side of those issues, let's see you find one such image for the other side.

Would you like to take bets on my probably half life if I tried to march in a Tea Party parade with a sign that said, "I'm a Tea Party member and I support open borders and abortion on demand."

Now that brings up a very interesting question, who decides who is and who is not a Tea Party member? If I support the three or four main tenants of the party, which I suspect both I and Crabb do, is there ANY reason I could not declare myself a member of the Tea Party? I actually was on the mailing,list for awhile, until they figured out who I was. Who kicked me off?

No social agenda? HA! The Tea Party interpretation of the Constitution is a very strong social agenda in itself, and "no taxes/smaller government," establishes a strong social agenda against those who need help, education, and mass transportation."

Tea Party Logic and the Common Person, FAIL!

2011-07-30T07:28:00.000-07:00

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If the government needs to pay all its bills up front, then why not the average American? In particular:

"I think all houses should be paid for in full up front. None of this namby pamby mortgage stuff. That is not a balanced budget at all."

Does that make it clear how stupid the TeaSnotters are about the Giant Booger Ball they've bungled the budget into?

New Target for the DEA, Cariboo Potatos

2011-07-28T22:35:00.000-07:00

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Joanne Will TheTyee.ca British Columbia Canada October 29, 2009

Why was this tuber illegal? Photo: Jenn Pentland. In 1982, while searching for Cariboo seed, Jerry LeBourdais wrote to the Ministry of Agriculture and was told, "the variety Cariboo can no longer be sold under any name and cannot be grown as seed." The letter continued: "I suggest that you select and grow varieties that can be legally grown in Canada." The Cariboo isn't the only potato to have its own underground movement. Currently, momentum is building to save the Nooksak potato. The Makah Nation of the Olympic Peninsula in Washington has been gardening the Ozette potato -- named for a Makah community -- since at least 1791, the date when it is believed the potato was brought from South America by Spanish explorers. Likewise, Haida Nation growers raise a fingerling variety, the Haida potato, which may have been acquired by trade or travel even before the Haida met their first Europeans.

When Jerry LeBourdais learned that big agribusiness couldn't handle the Cariboo potato, he knew he'd found a variety that he wanted to support. The name didn't hurt either. If there was a potato out there named "Cariboo," it had a natural home on the back-to-the-land commune near Williams Lake that LeBourdais had founded. All he needed was some seed. It sounded simple enough. "Jerry wanted to get a hold of some, and asked me where," recalls John Ryser, a prize-winning seed potato farmer who lives south of Prince George. Ryser told him it wouldn't be easy, because the potato had been decertified for seed production in 1976. By the time LeBourdais came calling in 1983, the Cariboo spud had been banned for seven years and Ryser had given up growing the variety. "I kept the Cariboo going for years," says Ryser. "The big cheeses de-listed it because it would hang on to the vines." Government officials may prohibit varieties for reasons ranging from disease susceptibility to a tendency to snarl farm equipment; industrial potato farmers want plants that harvest easily with machinery. "Once a variety is de-listed, if you grow it, they'll cancel your seed grower's licence." But chance and luck launched a new chapter in the history of the Cariboo potato. During a spring meeting at the government experimental farm in Prince George in 1984, a visiting horticulturalist showed up with samples of all kinds of varieties, including Cariboo potatoes from the former Vancouver Research Station in Pemberton. "Before it was all done, I got four or five of his six Cariboo potatoes and gave them to Jerry," says Ryser. "Then Jerry got in hot water because he was bragging about it, and they started calling it the 'Outlaw Potato.'"

The Cariboo region is known today for beef and alfalfa, but a richer farming history stretches back to the gold rush of the early 1860s. Settlers began farming to feed the miners, who otherwise had to pay a premium for whatever fresh foods could survive being mule-hauled up the Cariboo wagon road. The Cariboo gained a reputation for quality potatoes, explains Denis Kirkham, a retired seed potato specialist who worked in B.C. for the federal Ministry of Agriculture for four decades. In the "heyday" years after World War Two, he says, there were 35 seed potato growers in a belt spanning from McCleese Lake, just north of Williams Lake, to Hixon, just south of Price George. Yet the Cariboo potato itself has roots about as far from gold-rush country as you can get without leaving Canada. The variety was first bred at the federal Potato Research Centre in Fredericton, New Brunswick, which each year sent seed potatoes out to be tested at a network of experimental farms nationwide. In 1963, one such variety did unusually well in central British Columbia's tough climate. Mike Van Adrichem, then a horticulturalist with the Prince George experimental farm, gave it the Cariboo name. It became popular just as small-scale farming in the region began to face its most challenging times. ...

It took a rebel to go up against the tide of history. Jerry LeBourdais, who died in 2004, came from a pioneer Cariboo family and was a lifelong social activist, leading a strike at the Burnaby refinery in his early years and later running several times for political office. Yet today, he might be most widely remembered as the Cariboo potato's greatest promoter. "They grow really well for the northern region," says Jerry's daughter Lorraine LeBourdais. "They're a beautiful white potato, almost yellow, with pink eyes. They have smooth skin, and they grow tall -- you can pick them out in a patch because they're half a foot taller than other varieties. They pull out and then fall off the vine easily, which is exactly what you want for hand harvesting, but they're a nuisance for commercial harvesting -- they tangle in the harvester," says Lorraine. Cariboo potatoes are also known as excellent keepers, with a good size, shape and texture for baking. ...

A Dog's Eye View of Hot Summer Nights, 7/27/2011

2011-07-28T16:10:00.000-07:00

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http://www.flickr.com/photos/keachie/sets/72157627302824420/detail/

Hopeful Agnosticism Explained.

2011-07-27T11:53:00.000-07:00

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Let's not forget us Hopeful Agnostics, the world's simplest explanation of existence after the body's molecules all agree to disagree and go their separate ways.

After death, 3 possibilities:

worse,

same,

or better.

2 out of three is not bad odds, and there is no reliable information available to weigh any possibility any higher than any other.

CABPRO, Nuts and Bolts, and Never Taught Business/Legal Acumen

2011-07-22T09:35:00.000-07:00

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I will confess to being addicted to the B&C nuts and bolts aisle. For the specialty items on the wall, they beat out Home Depot every time. I used a more convenient Fox Hardware in Marysville the other day, until I noticed Wonderboard at $19.95 a sheet when it was at $7.95 in HD.

I think kids in high school need a special course that covers what owners of businesses like B&C pass on down to their kids, about the art of doing business. Let’s start with automotive businesses where the journeymen make at most $30/hour when the bossman charges $90/hour. Then move on to the business that is “always broke, no money for higher salaries, don’t pay myself nuthin more than I pay you” but the owner’s equity in the building and inventory increases every month.

This stuff is well hid for the self interests of those who own those businesses, and will never be taught in schools, much as the lawyers in the legislatures will never tax the legal settlements earned by using the court systems, for the support of those systems. Guess who gains the most when the courtrooms are full and a lawyer has 5 clients cooling their heels at the same time, while he collect $180/hour from each of them? Lawyers as a class have no interest in speedy and well funded court systems. No wonder they control the legislatures, as an occupation, more than any other group. There ought to be a law eliminating such one-sidedness, occupationally, in the legislatures.

Lawyers, however, are as dependent on the court system for income as the truckers who pay gasoline taxes for the building and maintenance of the interstates and roads. Nobody complains about “double taxation” there, now do they? But every lawyer I’ve talked to about this, goes for that gun immediately.

END OF RAMBLING RANT..

What Passes for Journalism these Days...

2011-07-05T11:18:00.000-07:00

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From a commenter at www.sfgate.com, on the Kahn rape case:

goodog

10:22 AM on July 5, 2011

Notice that the writer leaves this at He-said/She-said, and makes no effort whatsoever to evaluate the claims of either side of the story, as if they both have equal weight, and there's nothing else that's knowable.

At most, they will ask one side what the other side thinks and call it debate.

This is what the media calls balance, and it's used to prolong the product shelf-life of a story that could be ended by actual investigative reporting.

By not settling the argument, the so-called controversy survives another day to generate future ad revenue, instead of being settled.

From bogus WMD to the false red-blue dichotomy, the media is selling fake controversy and lazy sensationalism instead of objective reporting and rational analysis, because getting to the bottom of the story ends the story, and readers, viewers, listeners turn to other things.
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Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2011/07/05/national/a094547D49.DTL#ixzz1RFwduYx4

Grass Valley Fourth of July Parade Fotos, 2011

2011-07-04T19:30:00.000-07:00

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http://www.flickr.com/photos/keachie/collections/72157626993596879/

Here is a quick peek at more sets to come. Click on the set, then click on "details, then click on the pictures you wish to see, to make them bigger still. Please let me know where you repost them, thanks, Doug

Competition for Emgold, from the Ocean

2011-07-03T22:46:00.000-07:00

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Mr Kato estimated that rare earths contained in the deposits amounted to 80 to 100 billion tonnes.

The US Geological Survey has estimated that global reserves are just 110 million tonnes, found mainly in China, Russia and other former Soviet countries, and the United States.

China's apparent monopoly of rare earth production enabled it to restrain supply last year during a territorial dispute with Japan.

Japan has since sought new sources of the rare earth minerals.

The Malaysian government is considering whether to allow the construction of an Australian-financed project to mine rare earths, in the face of local opposition focused on the fear of radioactive waste.

The number of firms seeking licences to dig through the Pacific Ocean floor is growing rapidly.

The listed mining company Nautilus has the first licence to mine the floor of the Bismarck and Solomon oceans around Papua New Guinea.

It will be recovering what is called seafloor massive sulphide, for its copper and gold content.

The prospect of deep sea mining for precious metals - and the damage that could do to marine ecosystems - is worrying environmentalists.

My Long and Thoughful Response to Greg Goodknight, that Rebane's Blog Nearly Deleted

2011-06-30T22:17:00.000-07:00

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Rebane asked for closing arguments, and then his blog software refused to "accept the data." I have changed the title of this post to be more precise. He apparently did not deliberately censor the post, but if I were running a blog with as many glitches as his, that was widely in use, (this one isn't) I would definitely have the courtesy to have an FAQ, that listed the hidden foxholes, so that people would not stumble into them. Being somewhat distrustful, especially with Greg Goodknight's calls to boot me off the blog, I copied the post before publishing it or even previewing it.

All sentiments represented in these posts are merely statements of my opinions, and may in fact have no basis in reality. Of course, depending on who you are and what your reality is, your milage may vary... Ripcord for parachute, to escape pesky lawyers, hired by foolish physicists.

I've already summed up several times, and Greg keeps on dragging out his old tired statistics without providing references.

His latest oft-repeated chestnut is:

"Then there's the Federal study that found that the lower the College Board scores of an incoming freshman in college, the higher the chance they'd be teaching 10 years after earning their baccalaureate. K-12 is not where strong students usually choose to have their careers. Probably the highest payout for the least ability, and a union to insure things like lack of competence doesn't interfere with a steady job and good retirement benefits."

For starters, this would seem to indicate that, having completed four years of college, and not all do, including many with higher SAT scores, you are more likely to be teaching than doing anything else. The reality is that there are three million or so teachers in this country. It is a very common profession, and one respected by most citizens, but obviously not Mr. Goodknight. BTW Greg, on your study, what other professions are listed, and once again, where is the link? And what do those other professions pay? More than teachers are paid? Architecture is the only one I know of that pays less.

"Probably the highest payout for the least ability"

What an interestind concept! So a Wall street banker who bags $20 million per year, as compared to a very high paid teacher who makes $100,000 per year, has a lower payout to ability ratio? Just how is that fudge factor statistic derived? Does Greg have a stash of secret formulas? Would you care to show us them, or is this just another typical Gregorian rant gratuitously defaming teachers and unions?

He implies that teachers are practically criminals, conspiring to defraud the public of their hard earned tax dollars, for no value received in return. His presented impressions of teachers as a whole seem to indicate a smug attitude of superiority as a spiritual being, over those who do choose the profession.

Low cunning, those teachers, just in it for a buck, any way they can get it. Not like honorable physicists who merely ask for donations, and are so good their followers shower them with private planes. Such a fairy tale, Greg, who do you think you are kidding? If you thought being a teacher would give you more than enough cash for your desired lifestyle, and you liked doing it, would you have refrained from doing it because of a union? Give me a break!

The real question here is, assuming the very best and brightest SAT graduates all went into teaching, and you booted out all the present teachers, except those like myself who were 90% or higher on their SATs, would this country receive much more for their money than they already do?

This of course would mean pulling all of these folks out of their current jobs as doctors, lawyers and rocket scientists, but after all, Greg insists on having the very best, SAT wise, in teaching. How much cultural inertia would the somewhat higher scoring be able to overcome to produce a nation of rocket scientists? All of it? 50% of it? 20% of it? How would you even know in advance? And most importantly, what is the overall ROI to be gained by such a rerouting of talent?

Greg has yet to show any studies that show that higher SAT teachers make for far better teachers. I'm moderately certain they exist, but Greg's real mission here is to argue for less money for public schools, and he shamelessly uses arguments he knows to be false in the context he references. For this I have no respect, as Greg is obviously smart enough to know what he is trying to pull.

If Greg really thought attracting the higher SAT scoring completers of BA's and BS's, then he'd be arguing for more money for teachers, in both public and private schools, but he never does that. Charter schools have been a round for some time now, and private schools for centuries, but the concept of "merit pay" always hits a double paned glass ceiling: No teacher is allowed to make more than his boss, and no teacher, k12, makes over $200,000 per year. I've challenged Greg in the past to find exceptions, and he always, "moves on to greener pastures," safe from the spotlight of our cultural realities, and his own internal inconsistencies.

If Greg wishes to make snide remarks about teachers in general or myself in particular, in other threads, I will again defend both myself and the profession.

DONE

Footnote:

For me the profession was a fall back, but one encouraged by several of my classmates, who were pursuing it, including one who managed 5 800's on a bank of SAT's, taken in one day. My original intentions were to get a PhD in ethnographic cinematography, and produe historial documents and teach, at the college level, but the birth of a child and then a divorce rather soon iced those ambitions, as I was not independently wealthy, and 16 mm film ran $4/minute, and child support and joint custody took up a lot of time, and, in the long run, have more value.

Is TownTalk at The Union Censored?

2011-06-24T13:56:00.000-07:00

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You bet it is. I made a post in which I referred to ATT as double speaking its new pause policy, and likewise indicated that Panda Express was advertizing more meat and all I got was tons of rice with less meat. The post did not get accepted. Later innocuous posts have been accepted.

AT&T DSL Seems Slower ? Yes Indeedy!

2011-06-22T09:45:00.000-07:00

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ATT is slowing down the DSL by a clever ruse. Transmission speeds are still what they claim, but there is a pause before transmission begins, and before a response is received. When the information flows, it flows at advertised speeds, but the pauses effectively ruin the advertised speeds. Back to the drawing boards.

Of course, if they see the addy you are seeking is a speed test site, they take out the pauses.

Fun Times at Rebane's Blog

2011-06-22T08:21:00.000-07:00

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I knew eventually Greg would slip up in his role as high grand master of all things mathematical.

Yesterday was the day.

Let's see, did they all come rushing across to pick up a lawn mowing job here, a baby sitting job there, OR

WERE THEY ALREADY HERE, and the work in the fields was over?

If the invisible hand of the market wasn't shattered and bloody from employers, mostly Repubbys, arranging for cheap farm labor in this country, then yes, wages would rise, food prices would rise, and Americans would pick crops in the fields. The country was 95% farmers at the time of the Revolution, and Americans didn't "have to have" imported labor from Mexico, because they "didn't feel like working in the fields." They did the work because it was available, and BTW, I had a girlfriend who sorted carrots in Santa Maria, California, who had a brain but didn't know it. White like me, I might add, just educated to believe that sorting carrots was her role in life. When I was done filling in for the librarian on leave at Allen Hancock College, I couldn't convince her to come north. Last I heard from her, she had married a Hells Angel who provided well for her, digging graves at the cemetery.

If we up the 25 cents per $100 sold in the stock market to $2.50, we then generate $300,000,000, which of course is where I was going with the camel's nose under the tent. Now $300,000,000 may not seem like much to some people but it is indeed almost one third of a trillion dollars.

Now of course there wouldn't be as much random noise in the markets due to computerized algorithmic trading, but maybe that wouldn't be such a bad thing? Maybe having investors atually look at what companies are doing, and the markets they are involved in, might make for a more rational view of the USA economy. Algorithmically driven trading makes cash, but is it good for the country? Does it allow for our current long term disasters?

Have you ever thought, BTW, that all the big trading houses not only know what you have, they also know what you intend to do with it,because they know where your buys and sells are. You don't suppose they can't build themselves a very neat model of which way a given stock is trending, and buy it up, and sell it, either long or short, on a daily or hourly basis, based on that knowledge?

SUCKERS!

Rebane Refuted

2011-06-16T09:02:00.000-07:00

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The Rebane column in The Union this Saturday, http://www.theunion.com/article/20110611/NEWS/110619979&parentprofile=search contains three fatal flaws:

The tax on net income above $250,000 is NOT 100%.

The entrepreneur can invest every cent beyond $250,000 into a business, as long as they do it during the tax year in which it is earned, and they will not be taxed on it. Why does Rebane feel that the entrepreneur needs to save that money up for years? What’s then to keep him from simply selling the business, and keeping all the extra loot, having never added a single employee during his ownership?

Rebane argues with tremendous crocodile tears that the poor entrepreneur works long hours, and can’t afford to add employees, because his net income above $250,000, will be taxed (implying that it would be taxed at 100%). Thus the job creation process will be delayed or wrecked.

Reality check:

Assume that the entrepreneur works 3 times what the average worker does. He is still taxed at the same rate as a wage earner up to $250,000. So, Mr. Rebane feels that the average worker makes $83,333/year? If indeed Mr. Entrepreneur is working that hard, then his wife and kids are being neglected, and the kids will be putting additional stresses on the schools and social services. In real life, the spouse is probably shouldering some of the work load, and a dual income of $250,000 is not too shabby, these days.

Rebane also points out that setting off on one’s own is detrimental to a career as a worker bee. This is true, but not in the way he states. Any future employer will know that here is an individual who just might learn everything possible about the business, and then quit, and then go into direct competition with the prospective employer. They do not teach this in school. Naïve to the ways of business as a younger person, I started working as a skiing photographer in Aspen. I loved the job. The boss loved the images and the sales they made, and seemingly, me too. One day in casual conversation I mentioned that I might want to set up an operation in California. “You’re Fired!” “Get out of here.” Life lesson learned.

Those who espouse no additional taxes on net income above $250,000, are leading the charge to drive the USA into a ditch on the side of the global economic highway. The top one percent of the wealthy in this country have gone from owning 8% of the country in 1980, to owning 20% of the country today. Their lack of leadership is most recently best exemplified by the 4 largest banks, who are sitting on housing inventory, and allowing it to be destroyed through neglect, instead of putting it on the market and allowing their famous "invisible hand of the market" to do a reboot of the USA economy.

Taxing the rich for real money can be done by simply charging a slight sales tax on all stock and commodities sales (AKA trades) At 25 cents per $100 sold, and 40 billion being sold each open market day, it will generate $100,000,000 (one hundred million) each day the markets are open. That's over 30 billion dollars a year. Or you could generate the same amount by taxing each and every man woman and child in the country, $100 each, over and beyond current taxes. 300 million Americans x $100 = $30,000,000 or 30 billion dollars. Good luck, of course, collecting it from the bottom 50% of the country.

Of course, if you want real money, say one third of a trillion per year, you could up the tax to 2.5% on stock and commodities sales, or tax every many woman and child, $1,000 per year. Or try this, only the top ten percent of Amercians, net wealth wise, $10,000 each per year. Or the top one percent, net wealth wise, $100,000 each per year. That would be $500,000 per year for a family of five. Gee, scary, that why we have graduated taxation, instead of sticking everything to the ultra rich.

I think it is no mystery that the markets promote the notion that they do "trades" not sales, as it conceals from the general public what is really going on. Meanwhile they will push for Flat Taxes, and taxes on food. Taxing stock trades is a perfectly logical thing to do.

Towards a More Complete Commenting Rating System

2011-06-15T08:34:00.000-07:00

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This is a computer world. Computers are very good at noting numbers, totaling them, and presenting results.

Thumbs up and thumbs down are very simplistic ratings. The end user could have many more choices, and posts could easily have an extensive dashboard.

One through 10, agree or disagree,

Is this comment worthy overall?
is this comment presented in a non sexist, non racist, non genderist, non churchist way?
Is this comment well argued?
Does this comment present novel notions?

Presented on the same dashboard, you could have a rating of the rater.

Average overall ratings of all comments, in each category.
Average ratings of this commenter, for the person making the rated comment, in each category.
Total number of posts and comments made, and average ratings, by everyone.

Do the same for the person whose comment is being judged.

Computers would have no trouble doing all this automatically and accurately

Humans might prefer to have it all available in a popup box, so it an be ignored. To avoid the go along with the crowd effect, the commenter must make his/her judgements before seeing other people’s judgements.

Verizon, ATandT, More Corporate DoubleSpeak

2011-06-08T20:48:00.000-07:00

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I inquired of Verizon Wireless about having a land line converted to a cell phone line, and was told, yes, we can do it, yes we can do it right away, yes it will only cost around $10/month plus another dollar or so for fees and taxes.

With the exception of the first statement, They Lied. They can do it, but it took over 1 1/2 hours worth of talking with them and experimenting to determine that even though I did *228 over and over, battery in-out-in, it was going to be limited to out bound calls only, for 3 to 10 business days. What's more, there would be $35 one time connect fee.

They could have mentioned these two items up front, instead of me having to waste my time, just so they wouldn't lose a sale, their obvious motivation for concealing the information.

Of course, AT and T still takes the cake. They have an entire department called U-Verse, the center of a major advertising campaign. It does NOT have a direct line. I ask them about this. Their response was classic: "We're working on it."

Good Mother of God! Their whole business is installing working phone lines, and they are "working on it" ??????

Equitable Inheritance Taxes

2011-06-04T22:42:00.000-07:00

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leave 25,000 with no taxes, $25,001 to $100, 000 with 5%, then $100,000 to $250,000 at 5% more, and with each doubling of the previous amount considered, 5% more.

75,000 at 5%
next $150,000 at 10%
next $300,000 at 15%
next $600,000 at 20%,
next $1,200,000 at 25%
next $2,800,000 at 30%
next $5,600,000 at 35%
next $11,200,000 T 40%
next $22,400,000 at 45%
next $44,800,000 at 50%
and so on.

and include a medical clause where all monies left for the medical/rest home care of a person are tax free. Once person is dead, remainder goes to gov.

Heath Care and the Free Market.

2011-06-04T17:06:00.000-07:00

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Huge difference between health care and grocery stores. You make the choice over and over again which grocery store to choose, possibly even multiple times a week.

In grocery stores everything has a price on it , and by the oz, most of the time. You can choose to buy and store stuff at home at a good price, and you can mix and match stores that you go to, according to the sales they have that appeal to you.

With health insurance, you are generally making a once or twice a year investment, and typically for different items each time. Each “item” say a broken arm, consists of many subitems, and you never know what any of it costs until weeks or months later, and you can decide mid stream in a heart transplant to go down to SafeHealth Hospital, because they’ve got a better deal this week.

Apples and orangutangs.

When Will They Ever Learn ?

2011-06-04T08:57:00.000-07:00

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As long as MultiNat Corps can find labor sufficiently educated elsewhere at rates far below the poverty level in the USA, they will make the stuff overseas. Overseas also has the advantage of no EPA OSHA to keep costs down.

This elephant sitting on the planet is ignored by Repubbys and Dems alike.

In the meantime, Repubbys pay their propaganda talk show hosts to blame everything on Obama, and claiming that a man with his track record through school is ignorant and incompetent, which is amazing. Not quite as amazing as the sad fact that so many Americans want to believe such rubbish.

The propaganda hosts themselves are paid enough to make them members of the group that benefits from “no new taxes,” no health care for all, higher tuitions, etc. The logic seems to be, why pay for everyone, when they, the top 1%, have enough to directly pay for what they need for themselves, and why should they have to wait for a doctor, etc? They love their new uncrowded freeways, on which they prance with Escalades.

I wonder how bad it will have to get before the die hard working man Tea Party Patriot, now thoroughly unemployed, wakes up to reality and realized how thoroughly screwed he is, and by whom, and with his own enthusiastic enablement?

In 1964 I paid $160 a year for Cal tuition, and minimum wage was $1.25/hour. Today that same tuition is apparently headed for $25,000, and minimum wage is what? $9/hour? Stanford, back then, was $10,000 per year? It would seem the only intelligent course for a person entering college today, would be to get as much loans as are needed, and then skip the country for 10 – 20 years, until the statutes of limitations runs out.

Only the ultra rich will ride this mess out in comfort. Those with two or three different hideaways in various foreign countries will be able to ride this out safely, and a fast yacht/jet to get there.

Gooooood Moooorrrrrnnnniiiinnngggg Nevada County!

Facebook Masters 1984 DoubleSpeak

2011-05-31T08:37:00.000-07:00

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From facebook, under account settings:

"A Note About Your Photos
There is a false rumor circulating that Facebook is changing who owns your private photos. You own all of the content and information you post on Facebook. Learn More"

After saying that Facebook has been falsely accused of owning people's photography, they then connect you to a page with the following:

"Sharing Your Content and Information

You own all of the content and information you post on Facebook, and you can control how it is shared through your privacy and application settings. In addition:

For content that is covered by intellectual property rights, like photos and videos ("IP content"), you specifically give us the following permission, subject to your privacy and application settings: you grant us a non-exclusive, transferable, sub-licensable, royalty-free, worldwide license to use any IP content that you post on or in connection with Facebook ("IP License"). This IP License ends when you delete your IP content or your account unless your content has been shared with others, and they have not deleted it.
When you delete IP content, it is deleted in a manner similar to emptying the recycle bin on a computer. However, you understand that removed content may persist in backup copies for a reasonable period of time (but will not be available to others)."

That bolded text enables them to sell your content without paying you one damn cent!

You do, of course, still own your photographs, and can make the same stupid business arrangement with Twitter, if you like, or even if you don't like, as that is Twitter's policy too.

The $200 bedroom with a View, and Wheels, Survival, 21st Century Style.

2011-05-30T12:55:00.000-07:00

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Steve,

Get used to GOP Tea Party America. Rather obviously the transients who did the car jacking in Auburn had no connection to this area.

Transients are not a temporary minor aberration. They are the new face of America, unless we can do something to change our economy, and drastically. I have no illusions that 40 mini-hutches is going to solve anything by themselves, except for the 40 individuals who will now have a vastly improved night's sleep.

What these do do, is to put a face on the problem, which is the positioning of the bulk of the USA populous in precarious financial positions, such that a $200 house is all they can afford, UNLESS WE RECOGNIZE the problem in advance and do a lot of thinking and then acting.

Currently, it seems the top of the power structure is basically saying, "So go away already, die if necessary, and the sooner the better." We are speaking out and putting a real FACE on the issue.

You do not reduce the financially disenfranchised by declaring them non-existent, or existing only in "other people's backyards," which seems to be the mode many are trying to embrace.

Short sighted Tea Party Repubbys Torn up by Tornado.

2011-05-09T11:14:00.001-07:00

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U.S. Rep. Spencer Bachus (R-AL) spent the better part of two days last week touring areas of his state devastated by killer tornadoes. Bachus was in Tuscaloosa when President Obama toured perhaps the hardest hit area in Alabama. And Bachus issued a somber statement, calling on citizens to come together to help comfort those affected by the storms.

Bachus, however, apparently neglected to mention that he and other Republicans in Alabama's Congressional delegation voted against funding for satellites that are critical for accurate storm forecasting. The Web site climateprogress.org reports that Bachus and his fellow Alabama Republicans--Martha Roby, Mo Brooks, Robert Aderholt, Mike Rogers, and Jo Bonner--voted against a bill that would replace aging satellites that are the heart of America's weather-forecasting system.

The ability of those satellites to provide accurate weather information probably saved hundreds, maybe thousands, of lives last week in Alabama. But the satellites need to be replaced, and Alabama Republicans decided that was not necessary--just days before their state was hit with one of the deadliest tornadoes in American history.

Why Osama wasn't Taken Alive, and Justifiably So.

2011-05-05T22:43:00.000-07:00

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Osama said he would never be taken alive. Given his history, it would not be unreasonable to assume that the compound might be completely rigged with enough explosives to insure a good martyrdoom for Osama.

In short, the SEALS knew that at any second the whole place might go up. In fact, it might have even been rigged to go off if Osama died.

My guess would be that they got to Osama in less than three minutes, and the rest of the time was spent photographic the place and gathering every piece of electronic storage media they could find. Going into this mission, they must have realized that an Osama Doomsday device could wipe them all out.

Thus, a 1:30 am attack, hoping that Osama would not be able to wake up and arm such a device.

Did Trump Play a Role?

2011-05-02T00:23:00.000-07:00

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By ending the myth of Osama's invulnerability, recruiting new blood will be more difficult. My guess would be that Obama, being the chess player that he is, didn't charge right in. No internet or phones ? no, not physically there, but I'm sure Osama stayed connected, at least for inbound traffic, using cables snaking out from the compound to other locations nearby. Obama's Intelligence Operations would have found those nearby sites, and milked those for everything he could, and then released his birth certificate probably within the same hour he gave the go ahead to Special Forces/Navy SEALS. The information gleaned between August 2010 and now may result in a whole series of additional precision hits.

Trump actually played a small but important part. By stirring up the birther activity, and seemingly provoking Obama into releasing his, the Play's the thing!

Osama thought Obama was hopelessly tied up in trivia, and was probably a little lax around the compound.

It's wildly possible Obama and Trump worked together on this, wouldn't that be The Great American Sting!

If the Right Wing President doesn't Get You, then the Left One Will !

2011-05-01T23:33:00.000-07:00

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If the Right Wing President doesn't Get You, then the Left One Will
by Douglas Keachie on Sunday, May 1, 2011 at 11:30pm

Obama made it a top priority, but didn’t announce the fact, which was the smart thing to do. Rather Jewish of him.

I am reminded however, that while he made it a top priority, the men and women of the Intelligence units, and of course the Special Forces who carried out the operation, are those who, “got’er done.”

I am also reminded of “16 Tons” by Tennessee Ernie Ford. was he thinking of Presidents when he sang?

If the right’n don’t get you, then the left one will.”

GO USA!

OBAMA 2012!

YEEEEEEEEEE HAAAAAAAAWWWWWW!

2011-05-01T23:01:00.000-07:00

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Ding Dong, the Osamasaurus is DEAD!

Where, at Work, Will I Charge My Electric Car?

2011-04-12T09:01:00.000-07:00

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One can charge an electric vehicle while at work from the panels on the roof of your workplace, paying for that electricity with the electricity your home's panels are delivering to your neighbor's air conditioner.

It's the old long spoons and soup bowls story.

The Teeper Creatures are in hell, they can't figure out how to use the long spoons to feed themselves from the bowl right in front of them.

The Liberal Leprechauns however, are busily sharing and feeding one another, having gone green intelligently. Their IS gold in the pot at the end of the Liberal Leprechaun Rainbow!

"What Have They Done, to the Rain?"

2011-04-12T08:50:00.000-07:00

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The plant should have been dumped on with nuclear kitty litter instantly, but as I pointed out before, it is possible that they are worried about accidentally jamming so much of this somewhat lower than a nuke bomb material into to one place, that they would get what is known in the trade as a “fizzle.” A nuke explosion that blows the material apart so quickly that it is not a real nuclear explosion as we think of one.

Instead, it would be like the first North Korean explosion, or even a little less.

Sounds harmless?

No, it would be like dumping several container loads of TNT into the middle of tons of radioactive material, sending it skywards like a massive explosion in an open pit mine.

The problem we have now is that the monitoring seems to just be reading geiger counters, instead of attempting to gather the actual particles, which would tell us with much more precision, how much air do we have to breathe before we inhale a particle of what size?

That’s the coldly withheld information, that prevents total panic and pitchforks at every nuke plant producer we have and the White House and Congress.

Tax Them Bicyclists!

2011-04-07T13:38:00.000-07:00

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We should certainly tax bicyclists the same way we do motorists. Motorists are taxed on the amount of fuel they use. Bicyclists should be taxed the same way, and at the same rates.

A calorie is the unit of energy is takes to raise the temperature of 1 gram of water, one degree Celsius (1.8 degrees Fahrenheit).

And, there are different kinds of calories. The calories that are in food are actually kilocalories 1,000 calories = 1 kilocalorie. The calories that are in food are actually kilocalories. So, if that sliver of carrot cake you are eyeing is 200 calories, it's actually 200,000 calories.

Stop! Don't touch it! It will take light years to burn it off. Actually, 'burn; is key here, as you will have to jog or move or run or something to capture those units of energy before they morph into a substance that keeps the zipper on your Levi's from reaching the top.

Oh, there are about 31 million calories in a gallon of gasoline.

On Bike Paths

2011-04-07T09:26:00.000-07:00

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Motorists are merely pedestrians who have transformerized themselves in massive, blind dinosaurs that run amuck on our common right-a-ways, bullying and terrorizing everyone in sight.

Way to go, Henry Ford!

The trees could stay and the bike/pedestrian path could go around them, with the state paying for and maintaining attractive fences to the private properties involved, and also paying the owners for the eminent domain exercise.

Way back when, when cars first started using the common right-a-ways, and motorists then said they would pay to pave them, some far sighted folks saw what was coming, the complete thievery of the right-a-ways for motorists only. Well, they were right! Motorists should have been forced to pony up for their own roads, and not just for paving the commons. So now, it is time for the motorists to pay to replace those right-a-ways with bike and horse paths everywhere.

Government & Media Misleading About Radiation, More Lies

2011-04-07T08:36:00.000-07:00

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More stupidity, from professionals who should know better.

Everyone knows that the amounts of radioactivity released by the stuff in the air is bare minimal above background radiation.

What you are not being told is that when one small clump of radioactive molecules of I-131 lands in your lungs and makes its way to your thyroid, which wants Iodine, radioactive or not, that clump stays there, in one place.

Background radiation shoots particles totally at random, as far as your body is concerned.

That small clump of I-131 will be taking potshots, shotgun blasts, machine gun Kelly style, at the same cells over and over again.

They will experience changes in their DNA and RNA, and will die, cease to function correctly, or turn cancerous. It won't happen to everyone, it won't happen all at once, but if it happens to YOU, what do you care if chances are statistically few?

Half life of 8 days? Yup, but the remaining one half keeps on shooting. 8 days later, same thing, for YEARS.

Radiation, Best Links to Understand It

2011-03-30T17:04:00.000-07:00

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http://www.kallus.com/er/resident/julycourse/handouts/radiation.pdf

This is a complete quicky course for medical residents, and pulls no punches with the actual photos of radiation damage to the human body photos, towards the end of the Powerpoint presentation. Explains the terms for radiation dosages, and forms of damage to the body, well.

*****************************************************************************

http://io9.com/#!5782367/how-does-radiation-travel-and-what-kinds-of-damage-can-it-do

This is more of a physicist's/engineer's view of the stuff, but also covers medical issues.

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http://www.landauer.com/japan_crisis_update.aspx?gclid=CJ_OkMPP96cCFRlPgwoda31rrQ

A commercial site fir dose meters, has yet more links.

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http://www.nuc.berkeley.edu/ucbairsampling

Air and water samplings from UC Berkeley's nuke Science Dept.

********************************************************************************

Maxiumum Efficency Solar + Jobs & Shelter 4 Homeless

2011-03-30T09:12:00.000-07:00

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Solar panels work best when carefully re-aimed at the sun all day long. Making electro-mechanical systems to do this, and keeping them operating, is expensive.

If the panels are built with simple hand cranked adjustments, and the area under them is tall enough to stand in, and is provided with good tarps to run rain off of a substantial portion, then homeless people could do the cranking, and have a relatively warm and dry space to stay on.

They could also be trained to occasionally clean the panels. Each bank could have a wireless monitoring device to display power output, and the homeless person who maintains the highest power output for each hour would get a bonus. Everyone would get paid something, and there could be community showers (solar heated) and toilets and washing machines, common internet terminals and sat dish tv, plus public transit to nearby areas of employment.

You can laugh about this now, but if the economy continues to produce unemployment at current rates, this may be important, as the concentration of wealth in the USA continues, unabated.

Who's Afraid of the BIG BAD teeny weeny Radioactive Particle?

2011-03-25T17:52:00.000-07:00

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Did you know that the amount of force in Muhammad Ali's punch is far less than what is applied to your body as you take off in a jet aircraft?

Did you know that the amount of radiation in a tiny airborn particle is far less that what you get with one transAtlantic flight.

In both cases, the delivery of the former has far graver results, and the whole damn media world seems to be willing to jump on the group lie and ride it for all it's worth, in the second instance.

Whose afraid of the Big Bad teeny weeny microscopic radioactive particle.

well, I am, for one.

George Rebane Wants to Shut Down All Nuke Plants Now!

2011-03-17T08:38:00.000-07:00

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I double dog dare you to leave this link up:

http://io9.com/#!5782367/how-does-radiation-travel-and-what-kinds-of-damage-can-it-do

Would you deny the possibility that seawater dumped on the Japanese reactors has already created tons of particles which are now traveling around the globe, looking for one special spot in your body to lodge? And that one tiny particle of radioactive material, sitting in one spot in your body, can cause cancers in the nearby cells, because they are hit repeatedly?

Why did the Carrier Ronald Reagan, stationed 100 miles away from the reactors, up and move further away, several days back? Is her skipper in a better position than the average bear to know what is going on there? How come US counselor personnel and their families are being evacuated AHEAD of regular US citizens? Come on, George, admit it, this is way out of control, and no we don't need to shut down all nukes everywhere over night, that's silly, and not worthy of the mind I thought you had.

Posted at his site, doubt that it will last.

US Counselor Personnel Are Leaving First ??? How Insulting!

2011-03-17T07:36:00.000-07:00

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Not enough proof for you that everybody upstairs is lying to us "little people?"

Then how come the FIRST to leave Japan will be all the US Counselor folks, who ought to be the last, if we are not to insult Japan even further.

Insult? Well, it is true the Japanese engineers had 40 years to contemplate the placement of the backup systems, but so did the GE engineers WHO SOLD THE SYSTEM to Japan. Does Japan have a case in the World Court against certainly GE? Does Japan desperately need our help right now to fix things? There must be incredible smoldering resentment going on over there, hidden by the need for help.

Other hint that the Big Boys are hiding the truth?

The canary in my own coal mine was when the mightiest aircraft carrier we’ve got, one full of radiation detection gear, and the planes to fly over the reactors, the Ronald Reagan, then 100 miles offshore a couple of days ago, moved further away.

Jerry Brown should be holding very open and clear hearings about the placement of backup systems in our California reactors. It was news to me to learn that “spent fuel” actually needs cooling as much as the active reactor, and that the rods are stored at the sites, for years.

I have no doubt that somewhere, both Japanese and American engineers who foresaw these dangers, and who were ignored, are shaking their heads and wondering what further they could have done. No shame for them, the could see the possibilities, and did their best to warn, and were ignored.

Best site yet that explains the differences between ways of getting killed by radiation. http://io9.com/#!5782367/how-does-radiation-travel-and-what-kinds-of-damage-can-it-do

We will never be affected by the ionizing radiation at the plant, which can literally cook your body on the spot, but we can be affected by particles of radioactive debris, knocked loose from the fuel rods, or created when the sea water (every element known to man in seawater) was sprayed on them. Tiny, tiny, tiny, and easily capable of going airborne, just one of these particles inhaled or absorbed through the skin, can kill you over time, time much shorter than your allotted time, and in a very painful way.

Lodged at one point in your body, this radioactive particle will not show as anything more powerful than background radiation does, BUT

Because it does not move around, and randomly zap different cells in different parts of your body, but instead concentrates on just the cells next to it, the damage is cumulative.

The cells next to the radioactive particle have their DNA and RNA shot to hell, and those cells eventually stop functioning, or worse yet, mutate to cancerous cells, and you die.

Seems to me we need to melt down and incase the waste in the nearest subsea continental subduction zone, and add that cost to the "cost of nuclear power." dumping the spent rods into the nearest volcano just won't work. Jerry Brown can add additional research into the old Farallones radioactive dumping grounds to his list of things to be concerned about.

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Geiger Counter Readings are Worthless for Internal Body Particles

2011-03-15T11:54:00.000-07:00

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Took care of potassium iodine three days ago, Centrum has a 100% dose. Steven Chu, Nobel prize winning Energy Secretary was up to 2:30 am as well. I was ordering face masks.

The idiots on CNN are discussing why radiation is "not so bad."

They totally miss the difference between background radiation, and the radiation from one small particle, lodged at one spot in your lungs. A few random hits hither and yon, no problem from backkground radiation. Millions of hits on a few cells next to a particle directly affects their DNA and RNA and causes mutations, AKA cancers.

Background radiation and that particle may have the exact same readings on a Geiger counter, but the particle can kill you, because it keeps working away on the cells right next to it.

Nukes, nukes, gotta have my nukes....

2011-03-15T09:22:00.000-07:00

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My response to someone who wants to build nukes, regardless of the dangers, foreseen and unforeseen.

"So, asking for a power grid not to have the potential to contribute to world wide cancers and death via radiation poisoning is irresponsible?

You want to jump of a 100 story building and then claim it was inevitable as you go splat, that's your business. just don't expect me to jump with you. Go get your own darned planet, if you "gotta have nukes.' You some kind of drug addict or something?

"Nukes nukes, gotta have nukes! Where's my daily fix of nukes?"

Watt's Up, Doc?

2011-03-14T23:41:00.001-07:00

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Watts Up, doc?

We had no problem building Liberty Ships and B-24s and taking the backboard scribbling forward to the first nuke bombs, what holding up the show now? Put people to work, at 1/2 minimum wage, and build the panels, giving one to each worker per day, and they get to sell them to the highest bidders. a really wild and interesting market, just like any other. Or, they can take them home. The government supplies the materials and the tools.

All the rest go to power all the governments, state and local. That will keep us busy and productive for quite a while.

Background Radiation vs Small Radioactive Particle in your Body

2011-03-14T08:41:00.001-07:00

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There is a huge difference between background radiation zinging through a random molecule at random places in your body, and a radioactive particle permanently lodged in one place in your body, repeatedly zapping away, over and over again, at nearby DNA and RNA chains, until they mutate into cancer cells.

But, they both give the same geigercounter readings, it's just that one relentlessly kills you as fast as it can, while the other, background radiation, is relatively harmless.

I haven't figured out the trick for smooth posting of links, so cut and paste this for a really good review of how the Japan plants we built and work.

http://modernsurvivalblog.com/nuclear/west-coast-usa-danger-if-japan-nuclear-reactor-meltdown/

Please Prioritize Your Ducks Correctly, President Obama

2011-03-14T07:00:00.000-07:00

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Nuke Decommissioning, Solar Panel Production, Japan, Wisconsin, Libya, THEN school bullying. You need to get your ducks properly prioritized. Too damn bad the trans-Atlantic ocean liner the SS United States hasn't been recommissioned as a roving ambassador/emergency hospital ship. She'd be steaming into Tokyo Bay today, crossing the Pacific from San Francisco in less than six days.

You can see more details at the Facebook groups:

www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=438628365506

www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=438628365506

Did you know the Japanese plant had been scheduled to be decommissioned in February of this year, but then they got a ten year extension? Somewhere inside of Tokyo Electric and the Japanese government, heads are rolling....

Minimalist Shelters for the Homeless/Displaced by Disasters

2011-03-10T08:23:00.000-08:00

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We need minimal shelter from rain and wind, using Japanese mini hotel bee hexagon model, made from sturdy plastics, tin roof top over a whole bank of them, stacked two high, multiple access levels.

The hexagon would be roughly 8 feet long, two feet on each side. The material would be extruded recycled plastic, probably about 1/4 inch thick. I am not a materials engineer, but I suspect that this would work. Using a framework of wood to support these off the ground and separating each layer, you could easily go up four to six layers, with access at every two layers. A solid tin roof, 20 by 20, could cover, at six hexagons deep, 3×4, 3×4, 3×4, times entry from both sides for 2nd bank, 21 on a side, 42 sleeping spaces. Simple vinal curtains, recycled sign material from convention signage, would keep the rain out of the openings to the hexapods.

Cost, probably well under $20,000 per structure. It’s not a house, but it does prevent people from freezing to death. Body heat would probably raise interior temps a few degrees. Being dry, you can take a lot more cold. During the day, hexapods can be pressure washed if needed.

To avoid the NIMBY problem, you could put a single bank of these on a semitrailer, and move it from place to place, with portypotty in tow. Daytime airports have lots of flat spaces at night. Having separate trailer banks for men and for women and children would be good. Pets would be possible.

thank-you, Bucky Fuller!

Douglas Keachie

Fixing Grass Valley Parking Woes with GPS'd Bicycles

2011-02-20T12:05:00.000-08:00

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Grass valley contemplates $350,000 worth of parking meters.

If you are going to spend that kind of money, you could buy a fleet of bicycles, paint them distinctively, put in GPS units that would go off, much noise and a phone home with current location, should they be taken elsewhere. Turn most of the parking outside of Mill and Main Streets into loading areas and handicapped only, passenger cars OK for ten minutes, to pick up goods bought while roaming on bikes.

Hire high schoolers to bring bikes to businesses that seem shy of them, whole lot of them findable via their GPS's at any given time, to prevent buildups of bikes in a given area.

Douglas Keachie

Stopping Illegal Prison Cell Phone Use

2011-02-14T13:54:00.000-08:00

Locate four cell towers, 200 yards out from the boundaries of the prison, staking out the roughly four corners. Have all four listen for transmissions. By measuring the slight delay between towers against internal atomic clocks, triangulate and locate the offending phones.

You are not listening to the conversation, no privacy laws broken, you are merely tracking down the location of the illegal phones, which a special squad, not local to the prison, would then search for, via video or in person. These towers could be portables, moved from prison to prison, to save money.

How Toshiba Intel Does Business, Improved!

2011-02-08T07:49:00.000-08:00

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Updated:

In this case, they called back, and the squeeky wheel, (me), gets to keep the backpack for my troubles.

About 4 weeks ago I made the plunge for a new laptop from Toshiba, after waiting for technology to catch up with the needs for doing simple video editing on a laptop. I ordered as a bundle, complete with super warranty, and a nice backpack. I got the shiny red machine, went to Clientworks next to the NC SPD Market, to have it carefully set up with a Linux partition for internetting, as well as getting Norton off the drive, for fast efficient and safe computing.

About two weeks ago I got a little note from Toshiba stating that Intel had detected a flaw in the i7 processor, that over time, might result in a degradation in speed. Sensing danger for of all the work I had already done with installations and data, I called Toshiba and ordered a duplicate drive, which has yet to arrive, but should be here soon.

This morning I got an email which said basically, "send the machine back, FED EX will email you a label, we will refund all your money." I called the number and found out that Intel has no ship date for a fixed processor, and so Toshiba had no plans for replacing the laptop, and that this was their solution.

I asked if there would be any discount or credit towards getting first in line for the first machine Toshiba came up with that was equivalent?

"No, there would not be."

I asked if I could at least keep the backpack, which is particularly well made, and pay for it?

"No, you must send everything back, you bought it as a bundle."

Seems as though Toshiba doesn't want me as a customer? At a minimum, they should have said,

"Of course, keep the pack, that's the least we can do for your inconvenience!"

So they'll wind up getting it back and throwing the pack in the landfills? This is not good marketing.

I also sorta wonder, if I had not bought that super extended covers all warranty, would they be trying to get it back at all?

Now to see if I can kick this into viral mode.

BTW, here is the rather curt letter, minus personal details:

Intel Chipset Design Issue

Effective January 31, 2011, Intel announced a design issue with the Intel 6 Series chipset. Intel has announced that in some cases the Serial-ATA (SATA) ports within the chipsets may degrade over time, potentially impacting the performance or functionality of SATA-linked devices such as hard disk drives and DVD-drives.

This Intel design issue affects a limited number of Toshiba laptops with the Core i7-2630QM quad-core processor, which includes the product you purchased. Our sales information indicates you purchased one of the following models from Toshiba Direct:

A660 Build to Order (BTO)
A6603DV12
X500Q930
X505Q8102
X505Q8104

Based on the information available at this time we are issuing a Return Authorization (RMA) for you to return the affected laptop for a full refund. Please repackage the laptop in its original carton and using the FedEx return label, which will be provided in a an email directly from FedEx, then return the product to Toshiba America Information Systems, Inc. Returns Center, 9740 Irvine Blvd., Irvine, CA 92618. Your Return Authorization number is: 80xxxxxx. Please make sure to clearly write your Return Authorization # on the outside of the box your return is shipped in.

Please backup up your data and remove any confidential, proprietary or personal information before returning the product.

In the event you purchased peripherals with the laptop, and you wish to return these items, please contact the Toshiba Direct Customer Service team at 800-618-4444 to request a Return Authorization and obtain a separate return shipping label for these items. .

The Carrots, the Coffee, and the Egg

2011-01-24T19:57:00.001-08:00

Carrots, Eggs, & Coffee!

A carrot, an egg, and a cup of coffee..You will never look at a cup of coffee the same way again.

A young woman went to her mother and told her about her life and how things were so hard for her. She did not know how she was going to make it and wanted to give up, She was tired of fighting and struggling. It seemed as one problem was solved, a new one arose.

Her mother took her to the kitchen. She filled three pots with water and placed each on a high fire. Soon the pots came to boil. In the first she placed carrots, in the second she placed eggs, and in the last she placed ground coffee beans. She let them sit and boil; without saying a word.

In about twenty minutes she turned off the burners. She fished the carrots out and placed them in a bowl. She pulled the eggs out and placed them in a bowl. Then she ladled the coffee out and placed it in a bowl. Turning to her daughter, she asked, ' Tell me what you see.'

'Carrots, eggs, and coffee,' she replied.

Her mother brought her closer and asked her to feel the carrots. She did and noted that they were soft. The mother then asked the daughter to take an egg and break it. After pulling off the shell, she observed the hard boiled egg.

Finally, the mother asked the daughter to sip the coffee. The daughter smiled as she tasted its rich aroma. The daughter then asked, 'What does it mean, mother?'

Her mother explained that each of these objects had faced the same adversity: boiling water. Each reacted differently. The carrot went in strong, hard, and unrelenting. However, after being subjected to the boiling water, it softened and became weak. The egg had been fragile. Its thin outer shell had protected its liquid interior, but after sitting through the boiling water, its inside became hardened. The ground coffee beans were unique, however. After they were in the boiling water, they had changed the water.

'Which are you?' she asked her daughter. 'When adversity knocks on your door, how do you respond? Are you a carrot, an egg or a coffee bean?

Think of this: Which am I? Am I the carrot that seems strong, but with pain and adversity do I wilt and become soft and lose my strength?

Am I the egg that starts with a malleable heart, but changes with the heat? Did I have a fluid spirit, but after a death, a breakup, a financial hardship or some other trial, have I become hardened and stiff? Does my shell look the same, but on the inside am I bitter and tough with a stiff spirit and hardened heart?

Or am I like the coffee bean? The bean actually changes the hot water, the very circumstance that brings the pain. When the water gets hot, it releases the fragrance and flavor. If you are like the bean, when things are at their worst, you get better and change the situation around you. When the hour is the darkest and trials are their greatest do you elevate yourself to another level? How do you handle adversity? Are you a carrot, an egg or a coffee bean?

May you have enough happiness to make you sweet, enough trials to make you strong, enough sorrow to keep you human and enough hope to make you happy.

The happiest of people don't necessarily have the best of everything; they just make the most of everything that comes along their way. The brightest future will always be based on a forgotten past; you can't go forward in life until you let go of your past failures and heartaches.

When you were born, you were crying and everyone around you was smiling.

Live your life so at the end, you're the one who is smiling and everyone around you is crying.

You might want to send this message to those people who mean something to you (I JUST DID); to those who have touched your life in one way or another; to those who make you smile when you really need it; to those who make you see the brighter side of things when you are really down; to those whose friendship you appreciate; to those who are so meaningful in your life.

If you don't send it, you will just miss out on the opportunity to brighten someone's day with this message!

May we all be COFFEE!!!!!!!

Superbowl and Creative Marketing Jokes

2011-01-24T14:20:00.000-08:00

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A guy has come up with a line of cola drinks, supposedly laced with THC:

http://www.theunion.com/article/20110124/BREAKINGNEWS/110129881/1066&ParentProfile=1053

THC is fat soluble, not water soluble, as far as I know. That's why it works in cookies, it gets into the butter. The names are good, nothing like a bit of creative advertising. I keep waiting for a Pacific Northwest firm to come out with the punchline to one of my better jokes, as a chip dip.

There you are, superbowl fans, gathered around the tv and a nice big bowl of Sasquachamole and chips.

The joke?

What happens when Bigfoot meets a rotary plow?

Copyright Keachie 2002

Flat Tax Stock Market Sales

2011-01-19T11:19:00.000-08:00

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The only fair Flat Tax, is one on the sales of stock. 40 billion dollars changes hands every trading day. Tax that at 25 cents per $100 traded, and you will generate $100,000,000 each day the markets are open. This is enough money to pay off 6 trillion of the National Debt in about 24 years.

Tax Stock Trades NOW!

Palin Chases her Own "Blood Libel" Tail

2011-01-18T07:09:00.000-08:00

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In her video protest about "blood libel" Palin references the WSJ as "using the term" which indeed they did, as the title and in an op ed piece. But, guess who wrote it? None other than:

Mr. Reynolds is a professor of law at the University of Tennessee. He hosts "InstaVision" on PJTV.

Which is an obviously right wing program, and he may be the one who ghost wrote what Palin said!

"There's a climate of hate out there, all right, but it doesn't derive from the innocuous use of political clichés. And former Gov. Palin and the tea party movement are more the targets than the source.

Jared Lee Loughner, the man suspected of a shooting spree that killed a Federal Judge and critically wounded Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords, had left a trail of online videos in which he railed against the government. WSJ's Neil Hickey reports.

American journalists know how to be exquisitely sensitive when they want to be. As the Washington Examiner's Byron York pointed out on Sunday, after Major Nidal Hasan shot up Fort Hood while shouting "Allahu Akhbar!" the press was full of cautions about not drawing premature conclusions about a connection to Islamist terrorism. "Where," asked Mr. York, "was that caution after the shootings in Arizona?"

Set aside as inconvenient, apparently. There was no waiting for the facts on Saturday. Likewise, last May New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg and CBS anchor Katie Couric speculated, without any evidence, that the Times Square bomber might be a tea partier upset with the ObamaCare bill.

View Full Image
reynolds
Associated Press

Rep. Gabrielle Giffords
reynolds
reynolds

So as the usual talking heads begin their "have you no decency?" routine aimed at talk radio and Republican politicians, perhaps we should turn the question around. Where is the decency in blood libel?

To paraphrase Justice Cardozo ("proof of negligence in the air, so to speak, will not do"), there is no such thing as responsibility in the air. Those who try to connect Sarah Palin and other political figures with whom they disagree to the shootings in Arizona use attacks on "rhetoric" and a "climate of hate" to obscure their own dishonesty in trying to imply responsibility where none exists. But the dishonesty remains.

To be clear, if you're using this event to criticize the "rhetoric" of Mrs. Palin or others with whom you disagree, then you're either: (a) asserting a connection between the "rhetoric" and the shooting, which based on evidence to date would be what we call a vicious lie; or (b) you're not, in which case you're just seizing on a tragedy to try to score unrelated political points, which is contemptible. Which is it?

Blood Libel, the Apologists

2011-01-18T06:42:00.000-08:00

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In every example used below, there is a Jewish connection. The articles directly reference the original meaning, or are written by Jews, and reference the state of Israel, and often all three. For the record, I am not saying that Palin uses the blood of children in religious rituals.

From a Dec. 5, 1989, Times book review: "During the yellow fever plague a form of blood libel is imposed on the blacks in Philadelphia; they are said to be both responsible for and immune to sickness because of the color of their skin."

On Sept. 14, 1990, the late Abe Rosenthal penned a column in response to Pat Buchanan's assertion, after the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait, that "there are only two groups that are beating the drums for war in the Middle East - the Israeli Defense Ministry and its amen corner in the United States." Rosenthal countered: "We are not dealing here with country-club anti-Semitism but with the blood libel that often grows out of it: Jews are not like us but are others, with alien loyalties for which they will sacrifice the lives of Americans."

Andrew Sullivan, whose Palin obsession is extreme even by the standards of Palin-haters, wrote yesterday:

We know this much right now: Palin does not possess the self-awareness, responsibility or composure to respond to crises like this with grace. This message--even at a time of national crisis--was a base-rousing rallying cry, perpetuating her own victimhood and alleged bloodthirstiness of her opponents.

One would have thought that Palin, like any responsible person in her shoes right now, could have mustered some sort of regret about the unfortunate coincidence of what she had done in the campaign and what happened afterwards. Wouldn't you?

Here is the same Andrew Sullivan, showing his typical level of self-awareness, responsibility and composure, in a post of Oct. 12, 2010:

[New York Republican nominee for governor Carl] Paladino speaks of "perverts who target our children and seek to destroy their lives." This is the gay equivalent of the medieval (and Islamist) blood-libel against Jews.

Our favorite example comes from Josh Marshall of TalkingPointsMemo.com, who wrote yesterday, albeit with more smirk than dudgeon:

The claim that Sarah Palin was the victim of a "blood libel" had been making the rounds in the right-wing media for a few days before Palin decided to make the accusation herself.

On Nov. 21, 2000, Marshall quoted then-Rep. Peter Deutsch, a Florida Democrat, as complaining on CNN's "Crossfire" of "almost a blood libel by the Republicans towards Al Gore, saying that he was trying to stop men and women in uniform that are serving this country from voting. Marshall's response:

". . . almost a blood libel." That's pretty strong stuff. Strong, but not too strong. Because it's true.

(Deutsch can get away with this statement, in part, because he's Jewish. But so is Talking Points; so he gets a pass too!)

You don't just toss around charges that the possible next president of the United States is conspiring to take the vote away from American soldiers overseas. Given the volatility of the moment and the divisions already existing in American society it really is almost like a blood libel. Almost.

Deutsch's analogy is far more of a stretch than Palin's. No one was accusing Gore of killing children, or anyone else. OK, Deutsch said "almost," but does anyone think Marshall or the other Palin-haters would have been satisfied had she used the same qualification?

The only element Marshall cites that arguably makes the accusation against Gore worse than the accusations against Palin is "the divisions already existing in American society." In 2000, the country really was split down the middle between Bush and Gore--hence the election dispute. Today, as that USA Today poll shows, the country is largely united against the libel (blood or otherwise).

On CNN Sunday--we taped the show earlier this afternoon--Levy, a French intellectual, will declare it "obscene" to use the term "blood libel" in a metaphorical sense. This may reflect the standards that prevail in France, which of course has a much worse history of anti-Semitism than America does. In American intellectual and journalistic circles, however, the term has been used with some frequency. As a foreigner, Levy may not know better. But American Palin-haters lack that excuse.

For the Record
Jonathan Chait of The New Republic has generally been a voice of reasoned liberalism this week. We certainly never thought we'd write that, but it's been a strange week. Whether carelessly or deliberately, however, Chait misstates our position in a blog entry from this morning:

A few days ago, Paul Krugman noted that famously unhinged member of Congress Michele Bachmann urged her constituents to be "armed and dangerous." Wall Street Journal right-wing blogger James Taranto calls this a "lie," and insists the the context of Bachmann's full quote is very different.

In fact, what we called a lie was Krugman's characterization of the Bachmann quote as "eliminationist rhetoric," which Chait does not acknowledge, much less defend. We conceded that Bachmann's words were ill-chosen and that one might reasonably regard them as irresponsible, as Chait appears to.

Chait owes us a correction. We emailed him just after noon ET to ask for one. So far, he has not replied.

One Man's Tiramisu Is Another Man's Fruitcake
Ex-Rep. Paul Kanjorski, the Pennsylvania Democrat who said in October of now-Gov. Rick Scott of Florida that "they ought to . . . put him against the wall and shoot him," is defending his eliminationist rhetoric, reports the Citizens Voice of Wilkes-Barre, Pa.:

Reached by phone Tuesday, Kanjorski said "only fruitcakes" would take his statement about Scott literally. The 73-year-old Democrat from Nanticoke, who this fall lost in his bid for a 14th term representing the 11th Congressional District, admitted he's well known for using "colorful language."

"I probably would never have made the statement if I anticipated anything like this happening," Kanjorski said. "It was obviously not in humor, but not literally."

Perhaps Kanjorski should heed this recommendation, from an editorial in the Seattle Times:

One cannot anticipate how high-caliber heinous vitriol will be translated by extreme and disturbed elements, but that is no excuse to dismiss such talk as colorful rhetoric.

Although come to think of it, only fruitcakes would take rhetorical advice from a writer who turns phrases like "high-caliber heinous vitriol."

Jaguars for Jesus, in California's Orange County

2011-01-13T20:40:00.000-08:00

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So long, Willard Intermediate Chess Club. Sayonara, Willard Gardening Club. Say good bye to the “Claws” Club at Willard, run by a security officer there, teaching the tougher kids respect for law and order and having them help with hall monitor-type duties.

What’s happened, at Wednesday’s staff meeting, is that Willard principal Dennis Cole, on learning that his “Jaguars For Jesus” teacher-led prayer/bible study club was unconstitutional and would likely result in a lawsuit, reacted by banning ALL of Willard’s student clubs.

As you can hear in the recording below of the staff meeting, Mr. Cole’s reasoning is that it’s “unconstitutional” for some kids to be able to have one kind of club and others not to be able to have another kind of club. What utter BS sophistry! It’s the Cole-initiated, teacher-led religious club “Jaguars for Jesus” that’s unconstitutional. There’s nothing unconstitutional about the chess club or the “Claws” club; banning those is theatrical and cruel on Cole’s part. (The first 8 minutes or so of this recording are relevant to this story.)

[Adding insult to injury, according to several witnesses, the teacher-led "Jaguars For Jesus" have met twice, even after the Wednesday announcement of all clubs being banned!]

It’s unclear what the “lies” are that Cole claims, in this recording, have been told about him. The facts are not in dispute – a while back he approached three or four similarly devout teachers and asked them to lead a prayer and Bible study group for students. The Supreme Court has ruled that public school students can lead their own religious clubs, and teachers can also have their own little prayer group, but for teachers to lead a student prayer group is a breach of the separation between church and state, giving the impressionable young people the idea that a particular religion enjoys the school’s (ergo the government’s) endorsement.

The horrible scary “atheist group” Cole refers to early on in the above recording is the “Freedom From Religion Foundation,” a national nonprofit representing 16,000 members and dedicated to preserving the separation of church and state. Here’s part of the letter they sent to Supervisor Russo and Principal Cole which prompted his passive-aggressive over-reaction; it’s got all the facts and legalese you could wish for :

…It is our information that Willard Intermediate School offers a religious club called “Jaguars for Jesus.” It is our understanding that this club meets during the lunch hour. We were informed that Principal Dennis Cole has approached teachers and other staff to lead this club. It is our further understanding that there may be some participation by persons from a local church.

First, it is a fundamental principle of Establishment Clause jurisprudence that a public school may not advance, prefer, or promote religion. See generally, Lee v. Weisman, Wallace v. Jaffree, Epperson v. Arkansas, School District of Abington Township v. Schempp, Engel v. Vitale… Therefore, a public school may not sponsor a Christian club. We are deeply concerned that “Jaguars For Jesus” is school-sponsored and not “student-initiated” or “student-run.” We are told that “Jaguars For Jesus” is teacher-led, and occurs on school property during the school day. A reasonable Willard Intermediate student would presume that this Christian club is sponsored by the school. This leads to the inevitable conclusion that the intermediate school, and therefore the SAUSD, endorses religion over nonreligion, and specifically Christianity over all other faiths.

Which Party has Worked Harder to Keep Guns Away from the Unstable?

2011-01-13T12:16:00.000-08:00

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I will be kind:

Which party has done all it can to stop any form of gun control?

Which party has done all it can to stop universal health care, including, of course, mental health care?

What percentage of NRA members are Republicans, or farther right?

Why is there no system for professionals like doctors, nurses, teachers, social workers, psychologists, to add to the gun issuing database. Why are there no flags which tell a gun seller that while this person may no be an ex con, he may be the wrong person to sell to?

Could it be the Right, battling against any and all efforts to reduce these tragedies, and battling in favor of large capacity magazines?

Just asking........

Locking Up Loughner's Guns, It Can Be Done

2011-01-13T09:40:00.000-08:00

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It is possible to set up a system where professionals like psychologists, teachers, doctors, social workers, law enforcement, and others, can enter reports into the database use to clear gun purchases. They would enter brief descriptions of questionable behavior, and also rate the incident, from 1 to 9, vague unease/oh my God! The gun seller would only see the flags, and the ratings. If he say, saw 3 "1's", he might go ahead a sell the gun. If he saw 30 reports, rated all over the map, then he would know to call in a professional to go through and evaluate the actual reports.

Why do we always have to find out afterwards from these folks, let's do pre-emptive work to avoid the pain and sorrow, and possible save the deranged. There would have to be an appeals process, but such a system would have stopped Loughner cold, and Christina Green would still be alive.

For those who advocate everybody carrying firearms, please consider the following:

Not one single gun was drawn in that crowd, but there probably were a couple of concealed carry folks in the vicinity. Looks like they couldn't stop what they were doing, get out their guns, assess the situation, and get an innocents' free line of sight going. If they had tried, how many bystanders would have tackled them?

Based on the speed of what he did, and his crazyness (including his willingness to die, a possibility for which he left notes), do you think you could have reacted fast enough to shoot him, and not hit anybody else?

Do you think you would risk drawing a gun where others likewise armed might think YOU were the bad shooter? You have to stop him as he tries to purchase, not at the OK Corral. And finally, if everyone, including the unstable, were armed to the teeth, how often would you go to the mall?

As a variation, you could have average Joe submissions, even friend's, ex wife's and relative's submissions, but these would have to be submitted by a licensed psychologist, who simultaneous and confidentially makes observations about the submittee. This would reduce false information, except from the truly determined or trust funded, as they would have to pay for the submission.

I've come up with a funny name for this system to keep the mentally unstable from getting guns.

"Peg All Locos Instantly Nationally"

Sunlight Via Mirrors for Westboro Church, Give Them a Taste of the Hell They Deserve

2011-01-11T09:21:00.000-08:00

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Westboro Church is sinking to a new low, as they plan to go to Christina Green's funeral with their usual signage, probably updated to blame Christina for the gay population.

Normally I would never recommend anything that might cause bodily harm, and in this case, as long as the Westboro folks LEAVE, they will probably not suffer any harm. They will get warm, and they will have to seek protection for their eyes.

If everyone will bring mirrors, and shine them at the greatly outnumbered Westboro folks, maybe, just maybe, the Westboro folks will get the message, that their message can go to Hell, where it and they belong. The mirrors will give them a taste of what lies ahead for them, in the afterlife.

Top News Story of the Year

2011-01-01T18:54:00.001-08:00

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The top story of the year is the continued slide towards to New Feudalism, with the middle and working classes becoming once again serfs to the top 1 to 2% of the wealth holders in the nation, and the final blow to democracy, the legitimization of Unbridled Corporate Sponsorship of all elected offices.

And of course their T-Bill Party, the ongoing process where the ultrarich buy government debt and hold the rest of us hostage for the interest.

Plus, of course, the halfwit Tea Party in all its variations, which serves as a cheering section for the whole suicidal process.

Skiing/Boarding Survival Safety on Snowy Days

2011-01-01T10:59:00.000-08:00

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The following site contains two pictures of interest, and you are free to send this link, or download and send the pictures, for non-commercial use anywhere it will do some good:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/keachie/sets/72157625711571822/with/4399114524/

I’ve never had more views of photos than the two I posted, 78, and 71 views in the first day up. After thinking and mourning the unknown to me skier, but ask not for whom the bell tolls, I realized the following:

Your cell is worthless, backside of Squaw, Alpine:

Nine simple lightweight small, cheap safety devices, especially for Squaw and Alpine:

Compass (can even be a toy)
Two way walkie talkie, (can be smallest least powerful kind)

Whistle, should be loudest kind.
partial roll toilet paper
$14 Space Blanket, red and silver, possibly two of these
matches and candle
knife, to whittle wood shavings, to add to TP, to start fire.
flashlite, same sized batteries as radio, and possible just a tiny clip on the visor LED light.
50 feet 1/4 parachute cord, any color but white, for tent or stretching out Space Blanket for signal visible from air using poles and skis.

I am now convinced that Shawnte Marie Willis had a bad fall while traversing the ridge in high winds and possibly foggy white out conditions. She got up, and began riding down hill, unaware that she was going to the left, instead of to the right.

As Squaw and Alpine share the crest of the Sierra Nevada in the same way, i.e., it runs north south, and the ski area bowls are to the east of the crest, a compass can tell you, regardless of visibility, if you are in or out of bounds.

If upslope is in the direction that is east, you have gone out of bounds off the backside. Your cell is worthless on the backside, but the walkie talkie is good for at least a couple of hundred yards, enough for nearby rescuers to find you. The bigger the radio and more batteries you’re willing to carry, the better. The more clothing and food, especially peanuts and raisins and chocolate.

Read: Sierra Club's, "Manual of Ski Mountaineering"

You shouldn't have to carry all this stuff on every day, just on the snowy days.

BTW, the biggest and baddest radio I've found in a quick search, 35 mile optimal range, includes flashlight, for $89 a pair, is:
MR355R rechargeable Two-Way Radio

It also takes AA batteries, and lithium would be best for all radios and flashlights.

Obama's FCC Just Sold Your Facebook Page into Slavery

2010-12-22T09:52:00.000-08:00

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While it is confusing, Obama has become our first ATandT ATT President of the USA. The door is open to make sure that what happens on the commercial airways (20 minutes of commercials for every 40 minutes of programming) will now happen on the internet. To get current day access speeds for pages, hosting sites will have to pay extra for there stuff to go through. To do so, they will have to take up more screen real estate and wait time for content (preceded by advertising) than they do today. Little guy websites will be activating web browser time outs, and you will click multiple times to finally get through to your family's website, or just give up.

This is NOT what I elected Obama to do. He will lose in 2012, if he is even nominated. The tax giveaway was one thing, this is much, much bigger. Telecomms should be in the business of moving bytes down wires, at a flat rate, perhaps tiered by volume alone, not dictating content based on dollar$. Nationalize them now, and end this nonsense.

BTW, the main initial hit will affect your wireless devices only, but the camel's nose is into the tent.

Douglas Keachie, Christmas, 2010

CLICK on the title of the post to see a good article about this

***************************************************************

BTW, the timing of this, to coincide with the Gays, "Don't Ask, Don't Tell," bill passing, was not a coincidence. Just look at what the press is covering. "look at my thumb" thwack! "you are so dumb!" From Animal House.

Why This Storm is Not the Noah's Ark Sequel

2010-12-17T20:20:00.000-08:00

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It rained 40 days and 40 nights. It never even says at what rate per hour. To seriously do it in that time span, if we assume 30,000 feet for simplicity’s sake(amount it takes to drown Everest), that would be 30,000 x 12 or 360,000 inches in 40 24 hour days which equals 9000 inches per 24 hours. or 9000/24 which is roughly 400 inches per hour. You would of course be substantially affecting the mass of the earth and introducing changes in the orbit and rotation speed of the earth and possibly the nearby planets. At seven inches or so per minute, Noah’s Ark would have to be completely sealed or it would have sunk. How much air would have their been inside the ark for the animals and Noah to breath? They would have suffocated in no time at all.

And again, after God pulls the plug at the bottom of the ocean to bring things back to normal, he also hides all the evidence, orbital changes, incredible erosion, cosmic explosions at the sites of live volcanos, etc???

Google Listing test, Please disregard.

2010-12-07T11:35:00.000-08:00

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Will Obama Be re-Elected in 2012 ?

2010-12-04T10:31:00.001-08:00

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Obama has two years in which to unmask the T-Bill Party.

When I speak of the T Bill Party I speak of the amazing propaganda machine that has caused tens of millions of Americans to vote entirely against their own best interests, and in favor of saddling themselves with even more debt.

With the inrush of fresh Republican millionaires to the Congress, it now appears that the top 2% of Americans will receive yet more money than is necessary to live a comfortable life.

What will they do with the money?

They sure as heck will not be creating jobs with it.

Instead, they will buy government paper, and guess who will be paying the interest on that paper? The poor folks that are the T Bill Party’s spawn, the members of the various Tea Parties around the country, including the fools locally in the Tea Party Patriots, except of course those members making over $250,000 a year. How many members of the local Tea Party have that sort of income? How many advertisers does CABPRO have? What percentage of the local Tea Party Party’s membership is that?

So there you go. If the lower echelons start asking about the promised jobs, the Republicans will tell them, “Obama’s still in control.”

So, if Obama can do as good a job at telling the truth, as the T Bill Party has done at lying through their teeth, Obama does stand a chance.

Using Tasers to Secure Airplanes

2010-11-30T10:07:00.000-08:00

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If every adult sober passenger is issued a specialized taser as they enter a plane, and has to return it at the end of the flight, it might discourage hijacking.

Only one in every six tasers would actually be capable of a full stun charge. Every taser would have a disable button, that the passenger could depress at any time. Thus if the passenger didn't want to be part of the defense team, they could hit the button. If a passenger felt that they were about to be overpowered, they could hit the button. There would be no indicator on the device to tell if the button had been pushed.

In addition, there would be an initializer sequence button, which would prevent the unit from being used for 20 seconds. This would be a double interlocked system requiring both hands to operate. Any taser in the process of setting up for use would immediately sound alarms throughout the plane, and would flash red lights in the general vicinity of the soon to be activated taser.

The end result of this would be that the element of surprise is taken away from the terrorists, should they try to use the tasers. Inadvertant activations are virtually eliminated, yet the power of several hundred suddenly armed passengers can be brought to bear on the terrorists. All in all, coupled in with the secure cockpits, it makes it very hard to use the plane as a guided missile, 9/11 style.

Other than booking half the flight, it would be very difficult for a terrorist to take control of a plane, regardless of any weapons they get past TSA. And, for good measure, keep those armed sky marshals flying.

Why You Might Look Forward to a TSA Body Scan...

2010-11-30T09:42:00.000-08:00

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As I said before, doctors should be consulted, to add a few tumor detecting features to the TSA scanners.

Then you have a master scan done at the hospital and transferred to a chip. The chip goes in the scanner at the airport’s computer, which then does a live, on the spot scan, with no humans observing. If there is a difference, then a human is called in. This way, every time you flew, you’d be getting a free scan, that might save your life by catching something way early. And your privacy would be saved, and the scanner lines would probably move a lot faster, as the machine would be doing the looking and comparing.

So I’ve sped up screening, and saved millions in health care dollars, what more do you want from me this morning?

You're STILL a Good man, President Obama.

2010-11-08T10:36:00.000-08:00

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Just had to say it.

How to Redraw Legislative Districts Fairly

2010-11-08T10:05:00.000-08:00

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A "commission" will evolve to just as bad as the legislature itself.

The only fair system I can conceive of is using the census data, and a group of students and faculty, from a different UC campus computer science department each election, to design a program that defines the lines of the districts, one year in advance of the election. The program is run 3 different ways, faculty final design, student final design, and compromise, including design elements of both. Faculty and students work together to get to a near final design.

The legislature then has 30 days to take one of the three, or it defaults to a coin toss.

Political Ads Making Fun of the Handicapped

2010-11-03T09:35:00.000-07:00

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Focusing on Bouncing Obama is a myoptic delusional approach to making the USA stronger, in an increasingly rougher global economy.

After two years of this kind of crap, it's time for the Tepid Party Lite, AKA, the Republican Party, to get out of diapers and stop with the temper tantrums.

And the first person of TPP persuasion that screams, "HONOR OUR MANDATE!" with be reminded by me, "Why should we, you never honored ours."

BTW, there's no mandate in the Senate, and there's no way in hell I'll ever vote for a Republican after watching the anti-Ami Bera ads where they deliberately used slo mo and repeated frames to make the distinguished MD and professor, look like a drool cup special ed adult. The most deliberately dishonest and make fun of the handicapped ad I've ever seen. Duck Lundgren!

The lighter side of PhD's

2010-10-18T09:54:00.000-07:00

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PhD piled higher and dryer.

Can mean quite a few different things. Typically means means that you got into graduate school, did some research in the library, took a few courses, blended the two into an MA or MS.

Then you applied again to enter a PhD program. The professors looking at your app decided you were OK on two counts, and being way more of one than the other, might still have gotten you in over another applicant, who was evenly balanced.

The two counts:

Bright enough to understand and advance the work of one or more of the existing profs.

Subservient enough to do tons of grunt work to advance the work of one or more of the existing profs.

And in both cases, the applicant is obviously needy enough of the label to go through the process. Bill Gates was not so needy, neither was Ellison, neither Harlan Writer or Larry Oracle.

PhD is the Ponzi Pyramid scheme brought to academia, there are too few opening for full time professors at good salaries, except possibly in medicine.

William Larson's Most Excellent Letter

2010-10-17T09:31:00.000-07:00

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Dear neighbors and fellow citizens,

I write you as an independent-minded Democrat sickened by the corporate bailouts, yet extremely concerned by inconsistencies and dangers I see in your “populist” movement. My hope is that you will genuinely consider the following points, offered in respect.

Of first concern is the theoretical basis so often quoted by your members – i.e., returning to the original intent of the Founding Fathers and a strict interpretation of the constitution (as written in the 18th century). In fact, it is a misguided premise that there was any consensus among the original framers.

History clearly shows that the Fathers were sharply divided. Federalists, such as Hamilton and Adams, favored a strong central government; Republicans, such as Jefferson, Madison and Monroe, favored states' rights. Interestingly enough, the same conflict separating us now separated them.

There was one great difference between then and now, however. The unshakable faith of our ancestors in the need for ongoing negotiation! And their guts in staying at the bargaining table, sacrificing rigid positions for the national good. This was our founders original intent.

Secondly, there's no evidence suggesting our ancestors believed they had finalized a governing document meant never to be changed. In 1791, four years after our Constitution was ratified, the first U.S. Congress added the first 10 amendments – the Bill of Rights. Further amendments were added in 1795 and 1804.

Finally, in 1865, 1868 and 1869, the 13th, 14th and 15th Amendments abolished slavery and guaranteed full citizenship rights to racial minorities. These amendments were fully in line with the attitudes of the Northern Founders, and later, in 1920, the 19th Amendment was added, guaranteeing women the right to vote.

Constitutional history therefore points to one inescapable conclusion. It is impossible to be a true Constitutional originalist while, simultaneously, celebrating our country's ban on slavery and the granting of full citizenship to racial minorities and women.

One can't have it both ways. You either accept the injustices preserved under the original Constitution, or you believe in the amendment process that views the Constitution as a “living document” meant to evolve with the unfolding of our nation. Anything else is a deceit.

A far more crucial concern relates to the notion that the Tea Party is simply a populist grass roots movement. Accumulating evidence strongly suggests that several large corporations are co-opting your “insurrection” on behalf of their long-time agenda to basically eliminate governmental regulation of industry (particularly environmental protections). Please read Jane Mayer's article in the current New Yorker Magazine to see how corporate giants like Koch Industries are using the Tea Party to maximize profits by fighting governmental oversight of any sort (remember the Gulf oil spill?).

If you think this is mere liberal rhetoric, consider the words of Bruce Bartlett, as quoted in the Christian Science Monitor.

A conservative economist who worked for one of the Koch think tanks, Bartlett links Koch Industries to the Tea Party: “By giving money to educate, fund and organize the Tea Party protestors,” he states, “they have helped to turn their private agenda into a mass movement . . . trying to shape and control and channel the populist uprising into their own policies.” (September 19, 2010: “Who's Picking Up the Tab for the Tea Party?”)

Believe it, Koch Industries, et al have a huge vested interest in sabotaging constructive political discourse at all levels. This danger far outshines that of higher taxes or “creeping socialism.”

Abraham Lincoln saw it back in 1865 when he lamented, “Corporations have been enthroned, and corruption in high places will follow.” What's happening here is the old divide-and-conquer ploy used by invaders throughout history. By driving us apart, the corporate global cartel is co-opting you into a profit-driven crusade that will land us in a one-world government faster than the United Nations ever could. And friends, you are falling for it hook, line and sinker.

Please understand! I'm not saying your anti-tax crusade lacks merit. However, like moderate Christians and Muslims, I believe that core spiritual values have a role in formulating public policy.

Both religions teach compassion and care for the poor, along with fairness in our business and civic dealings. Corporate bailouts and giveaway tax breaks for the wealthy simply don't meet these criteria. What does meet this standard is negotiated agreements that includes the very best of what all sides have to offer. As tough as it may be to stomach, we need each other.

So here's a new “call to arms”: The only chance we have of sorting out our vast confusion of values, needs and politics is to stay at the negotiating table and work out meaningful compromise. That was true in the 18th century, and it's true now.

If we fail, we very likely do not deserve the rich living tradition bequeathed us by our divergently minded — but uniformly committed — forefathers.

William Larsen lives in Nevada City.

American NAZI Crossroads Propaganda

2010-10-16T08:47:00.000-07:00

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If you believe Ami Bera is some unknown, uneducated, out to make some bucks in politics, bad person to vote for, you are probably being influenced by groups like American Crossroads which is currently attempting to smear Dr. Ami Bera of UC Davis who is running for the 5th Congressional District. Their ad is classic propaganda, same brief mention over and over attempting to tie him to a semi angry scowl picture of Obama and Obamacare, with nary a mention of the fact that Ami Bera is a practising MD and professor at UC Davis.

Shame on the folks too unaware that will fall for this NAZI style propagnada, It's straight out of 1984.

BTW, American Crossroads does not identify its funders or principals on its website.

Ski The Far Stars

On Evaluating Teachers in a Fair and Positive Fashion

Gingrich Lied Through Misrepresentation about Gas Prices

On Identifying "BAD" Teachers

Collecting Unemployment is not a Sin

Cyberbaiting the Teacher Destroys Learning in the Classroom, a Cure for This Idiocracy.

2 Buck Verizon ---> FAIL! Occupy Verizon!

Founding Fathers SMARTER than Everyone Alive Today?

Cash Back Fraud, Beware!

Homeless Students & Test Scores

How to Lose in the Global Market Place

2,200 homeless students out of 55,000 students in San Francisco.

No shelter, no food, = no test scores worth reporting.

When Poverty Class > Middle Class,

then GDP & taxes,

= = = = = = = equals = FAIL! I wonder how many homeless students there are in Nevada County?

Triptoeing Through the Opium Fields of Facebook

New Examples: 1984 Double Speak

Your FICA and Facebook

Are EMT's Smarter Than LE?

What the 99% Want.

Easy to Remember, Hard to Crack, Passwords

Population Control 1A

Honoring Corporal Keachie

Cain IGNORANT of China's Nukes

"Nein. Nein, Nein" on "999"

Own BofA ATM, Make Money FAST!

When I Give Food to the Poor,

On the Westboro "Church"

It's The Union's Fault!

Walmart Creates a Foodstamp Nation

A Novel Fundraiser, especially Appropriate for Earthquake Relief

How Republicans and Democrats Differ.

Defrosting the Economy, How to Do It.

Fixing Our National Gloom

Favorite Sailing Quotes

What Can be Done About the Tea Party?

What is the Tea Party?

Quick test

Tea Party Demographics, Excellent Article!

Tea Party Logic and the Common Person, FAIL!

New Target for the DEA, Cariboo Potatos

A Dog's Eye View of Hot Summer Nights, 7/27/2011

Hopeful Agnosticism Explained.

CABPRO, Nuts and Bolts, and Never Taught Business/Legal Acumen

What Passes for Journalism these Days...

Grass Valley Fourth of July Parade Fotos, 2011

Competition for Emgold, from the Ocean

My Long and Thoughful Response to Greg Goodknight, that Rebane's Blog Nearly Deleted

Is TownTalk at The Union Censored?

AT&T DSL Seems Slower ? Yes Indeedy!

Fun Times at Rebane's Blog

Rebane Refuted

Towards a More Complete Commenting Rating System

Verizon, ATandT, More Corporate DoubleSpeak

Equitable Inheritance Taxes

Heath Care and the Free Market.

When Will They Ever Learn ?

Facebook Masters 1984 DoubleSpeak

The $200 bedroom with a View, and Wheels, Survival, 21st Century Style.

Short sighted Tea Party Repubbys Torn up by Tornado.

Why Osama wasn't Taken Alive, and Justifiably So.

Did Trump Play a Role?

If the Right Wing President doesn't Get You, then the Left One Will !

YEEEEEEEEEE HAAAAAAAAWWWWWW!

Where, at Work, Will I Charge My Electric Car?

"What Have They Done, to the Rain?"

Tax Them Bicyclists!

On Bike Paths

Government & Media Misleading About Radiation, More Lies

Radiation, Best Links to Understand It

Maxiumum Efficency Solar + Jobs & Shelter 4 Homeless

Who's Afraid of the BIG BAD teeny weeny Radioactive Particle?

George Rebane Wants to Shut Down All Nuke Plants Now!

US Counselor Personnel Are Leaving First ??? How Insulting!

Geiger Counter Readings are Worthless for Internal Body Particles

Nukes, nukes, gotta have my nukes....

Watt's Up, Doc?

Background Radiation vs Small Radioactive Particle in your Body

Please Prioritize Your Ducks Correctly, President Obama

= = = = = = = equals = FAIL!

I wonder how many homeless students there are in Nevada County?