THE NEW CONCORDIAN IS OUT – MOMS WE THANK YOU!

Thank you Moms for without you we would wouldn’t be here. The new issue of The Concordian is out and online as well featuring loads of great content. You can visit the new site here and explore video, articles, the full issue as a PDF and more. AND announcing our new TYPO CONTEST! More on that tomorrow… but you can start reading today and see where I have messed up.

If you are a business, there has NEVER been a better time to get an ad in our paper. For one thing, unlike direct mail where up to 40% of deliveries are tossed in the trash, our readers CHOOSE to read us.

We call it DIRECT RESPONSE and it can help you get an ad with a ton of exposure at an affordable price.  Check it out.

And also look at our QR codes – we are the only local publication to use them.

On this blog I am often a vocal critic of things that I believe hurt us as a society and as individuals. The comments I make are made to inspire thought and to subvert complacency. I do not expect that the world will change because of me; I do not expect that you will change because of me. What I hope is that the information makes you stop and think for a few minutes, enough to have some effect on your life beyond a mild amusement. It carries forward to the people with whom you interact.

Am I correct? That is not the question. Did it have an effect on how you think about things today? That is the best I hope to achieve. There is no pretense to this. Like you I fumble through my life and battle the same issues that you face, whether that be aging, weight gain, education standards, child raising and so many more.

I thank you for your time reading. I hope you “get” what I am trying to put out here. I value your comments, even those I staunchly disagree with and commend your courage when you post them, especially with a name attached. I am not running for public office. I have no political aspirations and can make no career out of this blog. The opinions are just that – there for your interpretation, discussion and evaluation.

The Concordian is no different. It is a community paper and through it I hope to feature the community. So far so good.  But like so many businesses out there, we survive only but for the grace of our readership and the patronage of those who sponsor the paper with their advertising.

So if I were to make one request – tell them that you say them on MisterWriter or through The Concordian.

I hope you like the issue.

MisterWriter

DO YOU SPEAK ENGLISH? MAYBE IT’S ABOUT TIME YOU DID.

Hot on the heels of the Arizona stand on ILLEGAL immigrants comes Alabama gubernatorial candidate Tim James, not afraid to say it like it is. This is America. Diversity aside why are we multi-lingual?  Watch what he says…

If the image does not work click HERE.

Whether you agree or now – what is refreshing is to hear people saying things directly. It is time to stop the P.C. stagnant rhetoric. Or do you want your shot at arguing about this guy being a racist?

PS: I am not Republican. I am not a Democrat. I am not a believer in party affiliation. All political parties are a mess. It’s time to clean it up.

MisterWriter

DON’T CRY FOR ME…ARIZONA! I SUPPORT YOU!

So let me get this straight!

Illegal immigration is… Illegal!

The concern is that people will get stopped because…

(a) They are Illegal

(b) They could be Illegal – in which case they get deported

(c) There might be racial profiling which will result in…

      (1) Illegal getting stopped and getting deported

      (2) No crime – nothing happening

Now in California, Illegal immigrant capital of the USA, the state has had endless and ineffective debate about what to do about Illegal which, given that it is California where we like to spend money for no apparent reason, results in…nothing happening.

Given the state of the state and the drain put upon the state in medical costs alone – everyone knows what a great place California is to have a baby for Illegal immigrants, and everyone knows that a baby born here is a baby born….let’s say it together….American.  So are we wanting more Americans or are we enjoying our tax dollars going to pay for someone with no taxable income, no legal status enjoying the benefits of our system and draining it beyond all recognition including the fact that the legal system prevents us from suggesting that it is a non-discriminatory thing when you say that we should stop illegal immigration?

So just what did Arizona do?  Well, for one thing Arizona opened it’s mouth and said it as it is.  They do not want Illegal immigrants and are taking action because the Federal government is not.   Heck that sounds like a Republican stance which explains why California is all up in arms – think about it California – if the Illegal's are booted out of Arizona where will they go?  California! Yay!  Way to go Arizona. That part is grounds for complaint as California does not need more Illegal's.

Worse, we won’t lynch Goldman Sachs management – they only get a stern talking to in Congress, the place to be for a stern talking to by old dinosaurs that like to roar with their bifocals balancing on nose tips, but where little else happens because no one can agree on jack-squat, but on this issue we’ll isolate Arizona, take away our contracts which will hurt….um….us, just to make a point about how bad they truly are. They may have Illegal immigrant issues but we are just plain stupid.

So let’s really understand this. In Arizona the police can stop you if they suspect that you are an Illegal. In California, although you don’t notice it anymore, African Americans and Latinos always complain that they are stopped for simply being African American or Latino. I don’t see anyone boycotting California? If there isn’t a day in California where someone isn’t whining about their rights being violated it just ain’t a normal day.

And I’ve been stopped enough times by police who generally stop you when they are concerned and I say – that is their jobs. You see, folks, the act of stopping you doesn’t mean that your rights to stupidity have been violated – it just means that you were stopped. And you show you ID and assuming you have not committed a crime they let you go on your way. Being arrested would be grounds for complaint if unjustified and we have gallons of lawyers just waiting for those cases. When I write a check in a store and get detained for my ID I hardly consider my civil rights are been violated.

But if I was an Illegal immigrant – in a country that professes to not wanting Illegal immigrants (even though California likes to put them to work to keep produce cheap) I would be happy that someone was actually getting off their political rump and doing something, which is what Arizona is doing.  California tried that once a few decades back but it was decided that we couldn’t hurt their feelings or emotionally cripple them for being Illegal immigrants so the Illegal immigrant matter kind of stagnated – meaning it sits there generating expenses but has no teeth.) And how do the Illegal and immigrants feel about this? See the picture below. I didn’t take it but I have seen that same response on many a street corner driving through Concord.

In California we have laws to prove that you are a documented worker – the right to work. And yet that law is useless as is evidenced by the lines of itinerant workers, many Illegal, waiting for jobs on street corners.

Now before you get on my case about being racist or discriminatory, understand that I have nothing against the Mexican and Latino communities and truth be told they are extremely hard working, family oriented, and do more for less than the rest of us would do. Likewise immigrants are the backbone of this country and from a racial standpoint are now the majority (sorry white people your ship has long sailed and soon you will be able to apply for minority status rights).  The issue here is whether Illegal immigrants should be here or not? Did they arrive through legal fee paying channels or did they do a mad border dash? If it is determined that their services are needed then grant them an immigrant status, take some tax revenue and call it a day instead of all this political posturing BS.

And before any politician should be allowed to speak on the subject, they should be checked to see how many Illegal they have working for them. As I recall the last time politicians started speaking on the subject a whole bunch of them were employing Illegal's.

Do we now get the word is Illegal and not immigrant.

Don’t cry for Arizona… finally a state with the gonads to take a stand. Now if we can only apply that logic to death row inmates, child molesters, pedophile priests, violent criminals, drug dealers and crappy politicians we might be living in a better country. Yeah, I know, they have rights too… oh shut up!  Reading all the responses on the blogs and news sites on this subject I doubt change will happen. We are all too caught up in our god-given right to open our mouth no matter what comes out. And everyone is right, has a right and exploits it. The founding fathers would be rippling up the Constitution if they could have seen where it went.

MisterWriter. I am not Illegal !

 

 

 

 

 

 

CAN MONKEYS DO THE STAR TEST AND GET HIGH GRADES? I THINK SO!

Did you know that Ed Code 60615 allows a parent or guardian to excuse his or her student from the tests in the STAR Program. This request must be made in writing to the school?

I have made it no secret that I loathe this test for its basic stupidity. Multiple choice is the poorest form of testing especially when the choice of four possible answers is easily dismissed to a choice of only two. This is expensive guesswork at its best and serves as NO indicator of a child’s performance – only their ability to guess well.

Don’t believe me? It is EASY to prove. While the actual test is hush-hush, for their eyes only (because heaven help us if you pollute it further), you are able to download some practice tests from the great CDE Website. Yes, Virginia, they actually want you to practice.

Here is the proof. Download a test and make TWO COPIES. On one, simple erase the multiple choice answers and leave a blank line for your child to answer using…um…. actual words.  The second test you leave as is. BUT you must give the fill in the blank test first, then the next day give them the multiple choice version. Do not tell them it is the same exact test.

IF your child scores the same (or within a few percentage points) on each test – then the score shows the level of understanding your child has on that subject matter. IF, however, as is most often the case, your child does well on the multiple test version and poorly on the fill in the blank, then you should seriously reexamine your child’s education and your role in facilitating it. You see – almost ALL the school year assessing is done via multiple format. AND that spiffy, overpriced, now shelved somewhat because of funding issues, computer system was designed to have kids fill out Scantron sheets and feed them to the computer to read – thereby saving the teacher any brain cells in having to determine what your child knows, what they were thinking and so on.

And the truth is there are just too many darned tests! It is always test, test, test and yet students with a 4.0 GPA are having to take REMEDIAL MATH AND ENGLISH classes just to get in to college.

WHAT IS WRONG WITH THAT PICTURE?

I still love this picture of the Education President who left them all behind.

For all the multi-millions of dollars spent on textbook adoptions every few years, testing, equipment for testing, classes to study the effects of testing, we are still stuck in the DUH rut we were before.

I know, some other joint partnership PhD team with names like Felder-Johnson, Swarzer-Johnson or whatever who have spent years on their post-doctoral thesis about education and devised this sure fire way to bring up grades and scores, sell the concept to the publishers and the publishers with all their deep pockets sell it to the schools, these sixty volume journals for teachers and students alike, leveled to the ability of the Spanish speakers in the district (peripheral and advanced materials costs extra). And then the countless in-service hours of having to listen to these people going on and on…. and yet none of them can raise education levels – they are only raising test scores.

Test scores DOES NOT EQUAL level of learning. Test score increases means you should take your child to Vegas for the better odds you may have.

SO what makes a child learn? What makes a child want to understand and push themselves? What makes a child truly excel – a lesson, by the way, that they remember ALL their lives?  Think back to your favorite teachers. There may be only one or two BUT you remember the message and the way they made YOU become a star.

SO parents… I am no PhD (thank God), but the message I give is simply to see where your child is academically based on actual knowledge and not pretend knowledge. If you KNOW something you should be able to write about it or talk about it with a level of competency.

HERE is the link to the practice STAR TESTS put out by the CDE. Find your child’s grade level and subject and go at it. You have to scroll down past the BS to get to the actual questions:

Here is an example from a 5th grade Language Arts reading assessment for STAR. I have yellowed the two stupid answer choices, You can click the image to see the rest of the passage.

Here is one from 5th grade mathematics. Again, the yellow are the stupid choices. Odds now are 50/50.  Let’s look at Q9. 50% which means less than a hundred percent of a number could not be a number higher than the number. If I eat half a pie I cannot have a hundred pies left.  And Q10: Five cubed means Five with some variable attached to it. It does not mean Three with some variable because the bigger sized number means it is the subject upon which these strange forces are acting.  Just on that you eliminate two answers. 50/50 choice now.

In my final two years of teaching at the MDUSD’s highest school  I had at least 3 students in each class that score 100% on the STAR test. A score of 600. And yet a large number of these students could not complete double-digit multiplication, long division (good luck teaching short division) and parents were HAPPY.. “My daughter scored 600 for the third year in a row.”  Great, rush her to Vegas – really.  And I do not say this to be mean to the kids or their parents – both were charming and lovely people and a joy to teach. It was the educational indoctrination that we have inflicted upon generations of parents and kids that has screwed the system up.

So if you are so inclined – do not feed the STAR system. I know STAR has happened for many schools already BUT there is always next year.

Hey – 10th grade science…..

Do we really think the jackrabbit population decreased because of a …LAW?  And since it is a “possible explanation” as stated in the text, it cannot be a “Conclusion” and since there is no “Experiment” showing anything, the answer must be HYPOTHESIS.  So in my mind, any semi thinking child should get 100% on this question. But here is  an even better test. Take this 10th grade question and give it to your 5th grader… uh-huh.

They should burn STAR TESTING. They should remove any politician who advocates this nonsense. And they only do so because of lobbying from publishers and soapbox politicians trying to look intelligent while sending their kids to private school.

SO I say, do a Nancy Reagan, people…. Just say “NO.”

MisterWriter

CONCORD HIGH’S ROBOTIC WIN – THE EDUCATE AWARD, BUT NOW THEY MUST PAY THE BILL

This story appears in the MAY 2010 issue of The Concordian, on newsstands Thursday…

Concord High students prove that they

have the minds of robots and hearts 

filled with purpose.

Top (left to right): Mr. Michael Smidebush, Andrew Renwick, James Hodgskiss, Kevin Mayo, Nick Bublitz, Will Grebe,  Bottom: Ethan Padilla, Kyle Albert, Shelby Lope, David Lambertson, Matt Johnson

Students from the ROP Robotics Engineering class at Concord High qualified to go to the VEX Robotics World Championship held April 22-24 in Dallas, Texas.

The VEX Robotics World Championship is a gathering of top robotics teams from around the world to celebrate their accomplishments and compete with/against the best of the best. The 2010 VEX Robotics World Championship will include top teams from approximately 150 VEX Robotics Competition tournaments happening in cities around the world.

“We participate in a Robotics League run by the creators of our Robotics system, Vex Robotics,” said CHS student and president of the Robotics Club Andy Renwick. “Every year they come out with a new challenge, this year it is called "Cleansweep". It is a game in which the robot who places the most balls on the other side of the field wins... requiring dexterity, programming, driver skills, precise design and engineering, etc.”

It was the Regional Occupational Program (ROP) that allowed the class to be possible. Spearheaded by Concord High teacher Michael Smidebush, the class, now in its second year, has made great strides towards their goal.

“We build and design robots, and the best ones from our class go on to the regional competitions in both driver controlled portions as well as autonomous controlled portions (the bot drives itself!),” Renwick explained. “It was in that last year that we managed to qualify two teams for the World VEX Championships in Dallas, TX... this year we have matched that feat in even less time than before!”

“How often does Concord have a team that ever goes to the World anything?”

Like most things vexing education, the program comes at a steep price. “The startup cost for the class was over $10,000 ! As you can see, robotics is expensive,” Renwick pointed out. Then again, “How often does Concord have a team that ever goes to the World anything?” he added.

With publicity on blogs such as misterwriter.info and claycord.com, some funding has reached the team. “We managed to fundraise about $875 from the community! The rest we'll have to pay ourselves,” Renwick said. “I'm amazed that so many people from the community actually cared about what we were doing and some even believed in us enough to support us,” he added.

Of the event itself, Renwick wrote: “In total, there were about 400 teams from countries around the world at the Dallas tournament. “We personally got to play with teams from New Zealand, Mexico, Canada, and China! Concord High School was able to qualify three teams for entry into the Worlds Championship,” Renwick said. “We also interacted with other teams by trading pins, we traded pins that were given to us by the City of Concord, and interactions like these increase international cooperation. There were even visits from R2D2 and Grant Imhara, from the show Mythbusters - we made sure to shake his hand and get his autograph; at home he may be another geeky guy, but to us he was a hero!

“We also received a prestigious award from the World Championships—the “Educate” award, which recognizes the implementation of a robotics program that successfully, incorporates robotics into a school’s STEM (science, technology, and mathematics) curriculum. This was mainly dependent on the fact that we are a class funded by the generous people of the Contra Costa County of Education, who seek to incorporate vocational experience into the lives of high schoolers in the Contra Costa County, preparing them for jobs in industry.”

In the end, teams from New Zealand and China won the entire World Championships. We did our best and we do have a lot of memories.”

“We have put the rest on a credit card to be paid off when we get back,” Renwick added. “Any help would be greatly appreciated.”

Just shipping the equipment to the contest cost $1100 of which the group was able to raise $900 through fundraising and generous donations from the community. “We have put the rest on a credit card to be paid off when we get back,” Renwick added. “Any help would be greatly appreciated.”

Unlike other teams with major backing from banks, NASA and other businesses, the Concord High School team has relied on the local community and the generosity of the county’s ROP program at the County Office of Education.

For further information or to help support this program through a donation contact teacher Michael Smidebush smidebushm@mdusd.k12.ca.us or Andy Renwick at AndyRenwick@gmail.com

 

-Congratulations to Andy and the team. This is education in action, problem solving, thinking big and making it happen. I say give them all that money that would have been blown on textbook adoptions and develop a really decent curriculum.

MisterWriter

FRIED CHICKEN FOR BREAST CANCER! WHAT’S NEXT? THE POT CALLING THE KETTLE PINK.

Making a deal with devil is a risky business. This used to be a BASIC lesson in life. Money given to you for an operation that was obtained from a bank robbery where someone got injured – that was DIRTY MONEY.

And yet if that dirty money can raise millions of dollars just by the size of the business, does that influx of money offset that initial dubious link?

Such is the case with our old friend KFC – you know the chook business that likes to forget it is FRIED as in Kentucky FRIED Chicken.  By supporting the Susan G Komen for the Cure it has already generated millions of dollars. And yet there has been enough evidence that shows that eating fatty food, fried foods and processed foods are linked to getting breast cancer (and cancer in general) in the first place.  So is this like saying “I gave you cancer now here is some money for the treatment”? And come on, while they give fifty cents per bucket sold, how much profit are they making from that association? What does a bucket of chicken sell for these days?

No fault to Susan G Komen that has developed 240 partnerships in its quest, and more power to them, but just as I would be wary of accepting money from cigarette manufacturers to battle asthma, or from those individual entrepreneurs in Colombia to battle drugs, this smacks of blatant commercialism that promotes fried chicken at the expense of women’s breasts while adding a cute pink color to soften the blow.

It is yet another example of deceptive business practices that mask the line between ethical and unethical,  a process that has been going on for decades and to which the general public has mostly accepted as the norm.  Well folks, it is not the norm. Just like hearing about daily shootings and murders in Oakland or Richmond should never be a norm.

And I did already talk about their lovely instant Death on a Napkin:Lick Them Fingers Good in my earlier post HERE.

Now if you want to do something good, support local dentist Robert Waldman and his wife Marci as they do the July 10 Avon Walk for the Cure. They are supporting their dental hygienist, Christine. You can sponsor Dr. Rob here and his wife Marci here.

MisterWriter

REVENGE AGAINST SCAMMERS -

I just received a text message from CHASE (SMS@chaseonline.chase.com / Message from JP Morgan Chase.) saying that I needed to contact them about my account and providing a phone number 877-293-5089.  You get a computer that asks for your account number to activate your card  and then your expiration date.

 

Knowing that this is crap, I entered bogus numbers, but it stopped after the expiration date, so I could not find out whether it was going to ask for a pin.

RULE #1 – If your bank contacts you by SMS – it is a FRAUD.

RULE #2 – If your bank contacts you, ask for the name of the person – ask for their phone number and tell them you will call back. DO NOT call back on the number they gave you; instead type that phone number into Google search bar and see what comes up.  If you do call your bank use the number on the back of your card and ask to verify the name of the person you had spoken with. If it is fraudulent report it. With a phone number it is possible for the bank to trace the crooks.

Read this from my Google Search HERE. “Just called the number, it is fraudulent, don't give them your number. When you call it says "You're account is restricted please enter your account number and press the # key" When you put in the 14 digit  number it says unable to activate the account, please call a customer representative 24/7and then it hangs up, didn't even give another number to call. Also called Chase to report the phone number. Hopefully they'll be about to take down the perpetrator quickly.”

Chase even details this here.

Oh, by the way… I don’t have a CHASE account but have had this happen for all the major banks including my bank – you know it’s name…Bank of It’s None of Your Business. Yes, that one.

Now… IT IS TIME TO GET EVEN. If everyone reading this CALLS that number above the company will get billed for that call. Since it is a toll free number you won’t charged but with enough people calling in that can add up for them.  Don’t SCAM me morons…I am not in the mood!

Feel free to do this for ANYONE scamming you at an 800 number. Even if a live person answers to try and deceive you, you know how to get even.

Read THIS article about the costs of these scams. Hey, who needs a real job when you can just rip people off. And we wonder about the state of our society. In the middle east – these guys would have no hands left….

MisterWriter

IT MIGHT TAKE A VILLAGE 51 DAYS TO BUILD A 777

I’m working on the new issue of The Concordian. With a million pieces to assemble in a newspaper I am reminded of this video showing a 777 being built and the below video of life at an airport.

We all have busy lives but if you could step back for just one second and watch it at a different pace you would see a dance…

Enjoy, and get outside today – the weather is so nice - MisterWriter

 

 

HAPPY PALE BLUE DOT DAY – THERE MUST BE HOPE

It’s Earth Day and to me, aside from the much repeated phrases about conservation, recycling, Green lifestyles, there is one other facet…

Consider the words of Carl Sagan, astronomer, author and creator of the noted TV series Cosmos that first enlightened a whole generation of dreamers. Reading from his book Pale Blue Dot…

"We're living on a tiny little dust mote in left field on a rather insignificant galaxy. And basically this is it for humans. It strikes me that it's a shame that we're squabbling over oil and borders." Bill Anders, Apollo 8 (and noted astro-photographer)

“"You come back impressed, once you've been up there, with how thin our little atmosphere is that supports all life here on Earth. So if we foul it up, there's no coming back from something like that." John Glenn, former U.S. Senator and first American to orbit the Earth back in 1962

"I felt like I was almost looking at a secret... that humans weren't supposed to see this. This is not anything you're supposed to see. It's too beautiful," said astronaut Michael Massimino in an interview with Space.com (Click the orange to read it)

I always wanted to be a space traveler. The best I could get as a boy was to lie on my back by my back door so that I was looking up at the sky and the puffy white clouds. The overhang just above my head was a stepping platform and from it I could imagine being on a space station orbiting the Earth, and were I to step from it I would fall up….fall down from above the clouds to the Earth below. It is an amazing perspective. Try it sometime.

Happy Earth Day!

 

MisterWriter

A CHALLENGE FOR (State and Federal)POLITICIANS EVERYWHERE – STAND UP FOR AMERICA AND BE COUNTED!

Here’s the deal: I want to see in my lifetime a politician who knows that there is a difference between doing the right thing and doing the thing that gets them response. I want to see a political leader who knows that political suicide over honesty, truth, dignity and trust is the best example that can be given to the young people of the country.  You see, there is right and there is wrong. That’s it. Anything else we call B.S. no matter what fancy name others may have. And isn’t is called public SERVICE?  It isn’t No Child Left Behind when it should have been called No Politician Left Behind. And exactly who is Racing to the Top? And where is the top? Is it Behind?

“Ask not what your country can do for you,” Kennedy said, “but ask what you can do for your country.” The trouble is what people want to do to their country. People running for political office know that the machine is so firmly entrenched to work against them. So what to do? Defy it and fail in a campaign that will go nowhere? Stand tall and offer hope like candy falling from a truck, then know that the rest of the time will be a downhill run, banging your heads against hardened politicians who are more interested in keeping the mistress happy so the wife won’t find out?  Whatever happened to those truth telling schmucks that we used to see long ago? You know the ones who give loans because it is better than what old Potter was doing?

So where does it stop? We live in a state where overpaid politicians can’t get a budget straight without taking from the counties and the cities beneath them. That’s not a job; that is incompetence and it has been going on for a very long time.  So tell me why I should care whether the next governor is the CEO of eBay? Or Poizner? Or anyone else? Different names. Yawn….what will you promise me today? And yes, the citizenry have lost focus, flabbergasted by the maze of fine print to try and determine what is true and what is false.  What is true? Who the heck knows anymore?  It’s a little like history – the losers never get to write it even if the winners lie.

I wonder if anyone will respond to this challenge – me, a little guy, small business owner, writer, husband, father, blogger. I want to see if there is anyone who can stand up to the ideals of what was framed by The Constitution of the United States. I want to know that those values, carefully crafted to ensure some fairness and constancy still matter to the people who decide to run for office and leave the lower echelon of everyday life. Dammit – where is that idiot driver of mine.

I am tired of politicians who get caught in bribe scandals, or tapping feet under bathroom stalls, or doing any of the million things that ultimately get reported by the tabloid media. I am tired of the disappointment. I am disgusted by the ones who screw over their wives, have kids and then try to make it sound like they are the victims.  It reads like a cesspool and nothing to take pride in.

Worse is the cultural mentality that they all do it so I should just accept it. I think that thought is far scarier than the corruption and greed. Apathy, the killer of all things good.

So here it is: if I am wrong, I challenge you to stand up and say so. I’m happy to research you, happy to ask questions, happy to be proved wrong – REALLY!

I even have a flashy ad for you below.  You know how to find me!

MisterWriter

[UPDATE: I stand corrected about local politicians at the city level knowing a handful myself and getting to see their battles. Most, not all, do begin with the intent to make a difference. So why does that change?  When does the political game become more important than the representation of the people?  Politicians work for us. It is our taxes that pay the positions, and yet when you look at the politics going up the line, it seems to almost have a negative effect; we become the ones having to respond to the political choices. In short, we stop feeling represented and start feeling fiddled with. And lied to. This posting is directed at that level.]

 

OH NO – IT’S TIME TO TALK POLITICAL TRASH AGAIN

I imagine these people would be great wallpaper plasterers given that they cannot put up just one sign; it ain’t no good unless you have at least a few copies, sometimes one on top of another.

In a few weeks the whole place will be a mess with these things. And honestly, can ANYONE tell me why I should vote for ANYONE? Where are the hopefuls that can turn a promise into a delivery?

MisterWriter

420 EDUCATION PEOPLE AND SUING THE VOLCANO FOR MISMANAGMENT – TWO SMOKEY TOPICS FOR TUESDAY

Airlines that have lost billions due to their inability to travel through volcanic ash have experience major drops in their stock prices and are now demanding restitution from the European Union for failing to better regulate the volcanic ash, a New York Times article reports. So let me get this straight – your government is at fault for failing to regulate a volcanic eruption?  This is STUPID.

What’s next? PRICELINE.COM offering discount flights over ash areas?

WHY WAIT FOR 4:20 to 420 WHEN YOU CAN FUNDRAISE ALL DAY

In other news…today is 4/20, the famous 420 day that will see pot smokers unite in an effort to create an even greater ash cloud.  Since California is getting closer to legalizing marijuana as a cash crop, I suggest that schools start integrating 420 into the curriculum, a way to raise money and interest in learning at the same time. Students in the younger grades could begin by tracing the contours of the marijuana leaf while reciting the main compound that creates the 420 effect.  Third and Fourth grade classes could learn how to burn the leaves and enjoy the beneficial side effects that would, among other things sedate the little brats that disrupt class, increase sales of snack food at the snack counter, and a donation could be requested from parents to perform this experiment several times a week until they get straight A’s.

Middle and High Schoolers could learn how to make the best damn pot brownies in California. These could be taste tested for quality control, again increasing student attendance while reducing the need for suspensions and expulsions, and shared with school administrators would improve student faculty relations. Faculty would also be less likely to get upset over low pay, and the high cost of medical premiums.  And finally, with enough production the schools could sell these high-fun foods and raise money to fund sports, music and library programs – as well as build a better school baking center. Woodshop could work on creative bongs, while metalshop could do the same. With enough weed RAP might finally die and be replaced by a whole new line of Bobby McFerrin songs in the style of Bob Marley.  And finally, television reality shows could now include: TOKING WITH THE STARS and AMERICAN SMOKER in the fall line up.

Just to say!

On a more serious note: A Canada study has shown that smoking MJ can cause as much damage to DNA and cells as tobacco. Click the smoker above to read that story.

MisterWriter

A MEAL TO DIE FOR – BRING AN ENEMY

I received an email from one of our readers Sam who thought I needed to know about the worst meal choices in America.  Having recently run a post called DEATH ON A NAPKIN: LICK THEM FINGERS GOOD that detailed the horrible fast food caloric, fat and sodium content, I thought I had found the worst of the worst.

Not so. CLAIM JUMPER RESTAURANTS is the place to go for the meal to die for. Really!

Beef Back Ribs 4301 Calories, 156 g Saturated Fat, 750 mg Cholesterol, 7623 mg sodium

Add to that a Baked Potato  440 calories, 4357 mg sodium

And a Brownie Finale for dessert at 2154 calories, 38 g saturated fat, 1213 mg sodium

And you have…. 6895 calories, 194 g Saturated Fat,  13,193 mg sodium….

RDA for these items is…

Calories about 2,000 (depends on your size)
Saturated Fat 20g
Sodium 2300 mg max
Cholesterol 300 mg

Congratulations – you ate about 6 days worth of sodium, 10 days worth of saturated fat, 4 days worth of calories and 3 days worth of cholesterol…

….and you did it in ONE MEAL, not including the calories in all that soda or alcohol you will be drinking.

This is truly the meal to die for.  You can see their nutritional charts HERE or the prettier version HERE .

So why are we not demanding big warning labels on the side of these restaurants. WARNING: EATING HERE WILL KILL YOU?

Thanks for the email Sam. I’m grabbing a carrot and some hummus now.

MisterWriter

ANOTHER BRILLIANT IDEA - BRIBE OUR STUDENTS TO STUDY

The current issue of Time Magazine suggests that there is a correct way to bribe children to do well in school.

Now I could point out how well bribery works for elected officials and businesses trying to maximize their profits at our expense, so I should hardly be surprised that this is the latest quick-fix for the woes of education.

MisterWriter

I’M NAMING MY NEXT KID ASH. OR…THIS IS WHY I GAVE UP SMOKING!

Photo from Virtual Tourist.com

What’s a volcanic eruption between friends? Apparently Iceland’s little smoker has screwed up global trade, brought Europe to a grinding halt and upped the potential for more volcanoes to be exposed due to the melting glaciers. 

Add to that the earthquake in China, the recent ones at varying global locations around that ring of fire, the tsunami of late, non-event that it was, and the increased solar activities brings to mind those nut jobs carrying those end of times signs.  Well it might be for the Pope and the Catholic Church is certainly feeling the rumbling of impending doom as much as Toyota is with its recall of the week club.

And then there is our financial disaster, what California likes to term “California Last.”  Why be first when last place is so much more exciting to survive.

And don’t forget Yellowstone is a super volcano and has been waking up after a long dormancy – if the thing erupts it is considered an ELE (Extinction Level Event).

On the ground, we have the usual contenders of societal collapse – have you watched the Starz Spartacus:Blood and Sand series? Gruesome, simplistic, civilization at its best and worst. Lies, deceit, political intrigue and the rich versus the poor, the ethnic slaves (in this case the Thracians who were gladiator fodder) and how you were only as good as the last day you stayed alive.  And I’m thinking…so what’s the point? We have this now. They just wear business suits is all. A politician now is just as godly or godless as they ever were.  Vote for me, vote for me… c’mon let me meet you and shake your hand so that you get goose bumps from your brush with greatness. And then, after the electoral dust settles, I turn out to be just another one of those politats that ride the wave of static bliss – change nothing but always plan to.

And so this volcano, mother Earth having a little indigestion and well she should given what the rodents that live on the surface have done with the place. Somewhere the cockroaches are partying, awaiting their time in the sun, especially given their propensity to survive nuclear radiation.

So if I were to have another child, I’d name him Ash or name her Ashley in honor of the volcano. And I gave up smoking for this!

MisterWriter

THE NEEDS OF THE MANY…

I’m scared. I like to think that I am well read, not claiming any great intelligence, you understand, but not some hick who can’t tell you a thing or two about history.

So when I watch the news, were I a creationist, and by God do I know more than a few, the headlines portend the end of the world. Let’s summarize – Goldman Sachs (also known as Goldman Sucks – crooks that show that the mafia exists in many forms), Meteor that comes dropping onto the planet, volcano that blankets Europe with deadly ash, an earthquake in Mormon country, crooks, murderers, rapists and pedophiles all enjoying one giant bong,  and we wonder just why the creationists are holding up the end of the world signs. Or was the the tea partiers? Hmmm….

I’ve long held that I had the proof of alien intelligence in the fact that not one bloody ET has come down. Damn, they be smart aliens. Avoid the planet at all costs – sorry for stealing from Star Trek there. And you know those Iowa farm boys that claim to have been abducted and had probes thrust where no alien has gone before is just crap because…. (a) Intelligent beings would not take farm boys for anal probes – there is no shortage of politicians in the world better suited  (b) Former Governor of Alaska would have been taken before the Iowa boys….

So let’s do a recap. Recession. Property values (in California mostly, although nationally) falling, jobs lost, companies folding. In California the Terminator readies for selling his Hummer on eBay as the head of eBay runs for his job. Education is in the toilet. No library, sports, music, overcrowding, no money….,  

Yep, it sounds like a little tea-partying will fix this mess just fine.

Gawd!

MisterWriter

PS: Follow me at www.misterwriter.info or on your phone at m.misterwriter.com

THE MADNESS OF TAX DAY – BUT I’LL HAVE COFFEE INSTEAD OF TEA – THANK YOU VERY MUCH!

What a day it was. As a card carrying member of Procrastinators of America, like so many of you I waited until the last minute to file for my extension, the ultimate high for a procrastinator. But it was not without incident.

For one thing, a tea party had been planned foiling my intent on a quickie drive to the Clayton Post Office drive thru where I would drop my extension for the State of California – because unlike the Feds, I could not E-file an extension.

Since I had to go to Clayton to drop of the State “Later” note, I thought I would stop and enjoy a cocktail on Moresi’s deck. Nice solid wood rockers, a chilled Bombay Tonic, sunshine and a good view.  Well the traffic was a nightmare. Between late tax payers, kids getting out of school and a marginally interesting group of tea partiers waiting for their revelation in the park, the trip took longer than expected. Finally though, the drive thru, Adios state filing, arrive at Moresis’ and…it’s closed. They do not open until 3:30pm. Ugh!  So I sat on the deck anyway and watched the tea people in the park.

So Tea Party. Where do I start?  It sounds too much like Tea Bagger to say out loud too often without a Freudian slip.  If you REALLY want to stop the madness, start by recognizing that if Sarah Palin ever becomes president there will not be enough cliffs in this country for the rest of us to jump from.  Madness is blind support for someone who knows…. nothing.  The same, time-worn, soccer mom phrases that she seems to be enamored with just boggle the mind of us “Regular folks!”

Remembering this is the woman who told Katie Couric that she reads newspapers:  “All of ‘em, any of ‘em that have been in front of me over all these years.”  The same woman who believes there is a “Department of Law in the White House.”

So back to the whole Tea Party. Yes, historical reference to the famed tea party that decried “taxation without representation” – God I hope you knew that…. and yes the current Tea Party movement is against taxes and all that it represents (a country that has no revenue stream) and has been timed to coincide with some relevant days in this country,  from Sept 11 to April 15.

Surveys show that these people are about 20% of the voting public, chances are some of you a tea sippers too,  a large enough number to realize that an ongoing barrage of PR and old folksy in the forefront showing the world that America “ain’t just dumb”  but far worse – dangerous, allows for the potential that my cliff-jumping theory may become a reality.  I’m sorry, but I really thought that we could not do worse than 8 years of Bush #2. And this is not a partisan statement. I do not classify myself as a Democrat. Or a  Republican. I believe both/all parties are screwed up. These labels to identify our status as Americans are as arcane as the racial labels we assign, or the sociological ones – remember, you are not retarded you are “Intellectually Disabled” in the eyes of the law. We spend so much time clarifying everything we’re not we forget what we are.

Above Photo from Claycord.com 

And that is why all these movements of people, political groups, religious groups, business and special interest groups can exploit the system. It is also why we stand there picking our nose while our state government continues business as usual in the face of ongoing, monstrous debt that has been shoved down the line to the children who now get crap – a crappy economy, a crappy education, a crappy environment and crappy prospects for them to be able to screw it up just like we did.

So Tea, you ask? No thank you. I’ll take the coffee and enjoy my Bombay Tonic on a wooden deck as I gaze out at the park and wonder what the hell you are really doing out there.

Read about the tea-people on Claycord.com HERE.

MisterWriter

YOUR BIG CHANCE FOR FAME AND GLORY

The May issue of The Concordian starts production next week and I extend an invitation to my readers to submit a letter to be considered for publication. It’s also a GREAT time to place an ad if you’re a business. Ask about our DIRECT RESPONSE program and BLOGVERTISING.

The City Council is facing huge cuts that they cannot avoid. The state is in a terrible state. Education is dying from lack of oxygen. And everyone likes to latch onto the Sarah Palin’isms as an explanation of the woes and solutions; short, pre-digested bits of slogan-style information that really tell you nothing and offer no tangible solutions.

“We need to take back the power from the government and give it back to Main Street.”  Huh?

I invite you to submit a letter to me (via email) that states your viewpoint, the problem and the solutions (if any.) It is, after all, election year, and already those ugly election signs are starting to get duct-taped to light poles throughout the city.

I promise not to dissect your arguments and will simply select the literate ones and publish them in the paper and the blog.

Are you game?  It’s your big chance for readership. The deadline is Monday 19th. Anything received after that will be ignored.

You may reach me at andre@misterwriter.com .

MisterWriter

IT’S MY BRAIN THAT SUFFERED A DIGITAL DIVIDE

Hello, my nom de plume is MisterWriter and I’m addicted to blogging. I’ve been blogging for many years now, since they first coined the word “blogging” and my compulsion has increased daily. It used to be that I would post only once a week, but that increased to daily, then two or three times a day, sometimes sneaking away from family just to blog by email from my cell phone while pretending to talk to my mother in Nova Scotia. The poor woman has not really heard from me for well over five years since my little hobby became an obsession.

It’s not easy being addicted to blogging, unable to sleep properly, lying awake at all hours of the night coming up with things to blog about. It really all came to a head when I stopped going to work so I could stay home and blog and then, one day, a few weeks after getting fired, when I could not pay the PG&E bill, that the power was turned off. In a panic I had to get on my bicycle – my car got repossessed – and pedal down to the library just to use the free internet, waiting behind sloth and gluttony for my turn at the machine.

It is a pathetic addiction, far worse than cocaine or heroin, always digging in the dumpster of society for something to write about. Let me tell you, it’s no easy task always coming up with something fresh.

It was only after my wife left me and took the kids, and the house got foreclosed that I decided to seek help. I was sent to a digital psychotherapist who prescribed some Xanax to help quell my tendency to post. Each session she would ask me how I was feeling and I would start telling her about the posting I should be making and how my legion of readers would be upset and disappointed if I had no current post.  It was then that she asked me what these fans do for me. Did they support me? Could I draw an income? Was I shaping policy making within my community? Was the mayor, or one of the county supervisors asking for my input? How about the school superintendent?  I tried hard to explain that it was not about that. Blogging, unlike politics, is not about grabbing power and abusing it as best you can. Blogging is benign unless you incite people to jump off bridges, but that would be self-defeating as you’d have no audience left.

Blogging, I told her, is like religion. You put all your faith into something you cannot touch and hope that there is a payoff in some spiritual sense.  She looked at me and asked me if that meant I thought I was Jesus?  What a stupid question, I thought, but instead told her that was a question worth blogging about. She got frustrated and told me that the Xanax was too low a dose and doubled it.

I slept for a few days and immediately posted about my sessions as soon as I came to. I’d lost days, screwed up the natural rhythm of the blogging cycle. No time for cooking meals. Bringing my laptop to McDonalds, I bought a few dollar meals and took them to Starbucks where I sat in the back, out of sight of the baristas and, scarfing down the food, accessed the Internet on their free Wi-Fi and made a multiple posting before I could unwind enough.  The manager spotted me eating the McDonalds and asked me never to return.  Don’t you recognize me, I asked him, using the ploy that my shrink had used. Was I Jesus? That should count for some free Wi-Fi time, don’t you think?  The manager smiled, and told me that Jesus was not a blogger. He led me to the door.

Things got worse after that.  I’ll have to sell my laptop and use the small amount to get a used Acer Notebook for $50. Hopefully it will have Internet connectivity. If not, you may find me roaming Clayton Rd, asking for “spare change” and talking to myself. I’ll be the bum with the notebook computer that doesn’t work. You see, even the homeless are wired.  You can read that HERE.  If you see me, take pity. Down to my last pennies now, I have enough charge left in the battery of my laptop for this posting. The battery could die at any time and that will be the end of the ….

MisterWriter