A FROSTY NEW YEAR’S WISH IN PICTURES – IT DOESN’T GET BETTER THAN THAT!

Here is a photo shoot of my last drive from Idaho to California through the Sierras… Happy New Year to all.

MY TWO FAVORITE STORIES – ASHTON’S END OF DAYS AND THE SUBVERSIVE EDUCATOR

  You have to admire celebrities that like teetering out on the edge of the mainstream by publicly announcing that they are working out in order to survive the coming end of days scenario when our frail electronic skins collapse and the world with it. Ashton Kutcher is the celebrity who announced this along with his reasoning behind it and I have to enjoy that story not so much because I disagree with it or that I think he is some kind of a kook; he has a lot of sound reasoning and as fantastical as most people think, we do live in a cocoon of false beliefs all running on bits of data that are as easily wiped out as your laptop hard drive (and if you ever owned a laptop you will know what I am talking about.) 

The end of days is upon us! Well that is the usual end of year scenario that pops up with more regularity than a solid bowel movement. Heck, my own mother told me that 2012 was it, after all Nostradamus couldn’t be wrong?  The only problem is that only the good die young and the human race is just too damned stupid and too damned lucky to actually end its existence. Or is it? I guess an asteroid could do the dino dance of death with us. or as the London Telegraph reports, the “protective bubble around the sun” is shrinking which means the end for us – you know bad science mixed in with bad reporting.

Truthfully the sheer fact that humans got this far is pretty amazing when you stop and think about the multiple War and Peace volumes of human carnage, greed, destruction, rape, pillage and conquest, usually in the name of one God or another, since the monkey came off the tree and found it was easier to pee standing upright!  We are an ugly and savage and disgusting race filled with the worst one can possibly imagine. Sure, mixed in are the noble ones, the selfless ones, the martyrs, the mythos, the ideal and the uber man, all scattered willy-nilly throughout history. But really, if you want to find Hell, you do not have far to look.  Likewise there is Heaven to be found, all blended one beside the other. Currently there are conflicts popping up throughout the globe. A stare down with North and South Korea looking like a potential repeat mid-season replacement war, although China has pretty much nixed support for the North. And then there is the US Iraq, Afghanistan two for the price of one, forging peace while rooting out terror. And Afghan president misses Bush!

There is conflict just about everywhere. All those years of inbreeding Royals to settle border disputes and form new alliances are wearing thin. Perhaps Ashton’s correct. But then, with all those billions of people out to forage for fresh meat after the great collapse, he should remember that pretty boys go first!

My second favorite story is that of the subversive educator. In an age where education has been raped more times than can be counted, where everyone was focused on the “Behind” until the new guy wanted to be on “Top”, the rape and pillage of the American education system is still in full gear with less likelihood of ending than the war in Afghanistan.

Of course this is all muted out thanks to the plethora of smart phones where students text, Tweet and conduct drug deals all in the comfort of their classroom, void of grammatical structure, syntax, or spelling; these are the edu-forums that are left to rote creeds of excellence by commanders who have no clue about what makes a child learn.   George Lucas even chimed in on the power of imagination and a visual learning environment being left out. And of course who can force anything – it may be a law that you have to go to school but I’ll be damned if that law extends to requiring you to learn or to inflict pain and suffering upon your wimpy parents for allowing you an easy out.

And so when i read this commentary about how great teachers have to be subversive teachers, I was left laughing at how that means teachers have to become freedom fighters for the nation’s kids because no one from parents on up to the highest realm of government can do it. Come on teachers – it is just one more ass to wipe!  And remember, you are still ahead of the game because at the start of the 20th century teachers were taking the toilet bucket out and mopping the classroom, so surely some gain has been made.

Teachers will tell you that there is so much bullshit in the profession that is compounded by the likes of impotent politicians with no other agenda than to latch onto the need for teacher improvement. And you thought “Don’t Ask:Don’t Tell” was a good story. Professional growth is a misnomer for educational waste along with the endless need to revamp textbooks at the cost of millions per adoption even though the English language has not changed, nor the basic math concepts. Sure, highly skilled facets of education need constant revamping but we have kids that graduate high school unable to blow their nose and tie their shoes. How about the basics that are a requirement without an excuse? How about parents held accountable for the deplorable manners and state of their child’s education?  When your child can tell their teacher all the crap going on in your family life but can’t do math facts there is a huge problem, don’t you think?

So subversive teachers of the country unite. Pick up your courage and defy the accepted standards behind your closed doors. Inject life into learning. Inject living history and true life learning for those eager minds to soak up. Have loyalty make them put down their cell phones, and buy back into the system where school was the safe place for them to grow. We need an antidote to a world where TSA gets to pat you down date-well, and where nut jobs rule the courtrooms and lawyers strive to sue everyone’s moms for some kind of deficiency. “If you’ve been injured while breathing you may be entitled to monetary compensation.”

Grow up and pull up your pants and face 2011 like real people, even if you pass Ashton Kutcher running past you on the way to the end of days.

HOW MANY (CONTRA COSTA) TIMES SHOULD A BAD STORY BE REWRITTEN TO GET THE FACTS PARTIALLY CORRECT? AND WHY WOULD YOU DELETE THE EVIDENCE OF YOUR LIBEL?

[See below for ALL the stories/corrections/deletions by Contra Costa Times' reporter Theresa Harrington’s attack on the Concordian.]

I love the Internet. one of the first things you learn is that once something is posted it exists FOREVER.  And so I was not dismayed when i found that my original posting links to Contra Costa Times Reporter Theresa Harrington’s libelous article on a proposal that had not been made suddenly disappeared as soon as I started screaming about potential lawsuits. WHY ARE YOU DELETING YOUR POSTINGS MS. HARRINGTON? Not only that she revised her articles, again riddled with errors and then yet again deleted that once I linked to it only to post yet a third revision and then a brand new posting to attempt and cover her gross errors. The problem was that her explanations only showed that she decided to post the story, and the two subsequent corrections without any information at all. In her own words… she just did not know, did not have information. She should not have written about it AT ALL.

With the deletion of the postings, gone too was the documentation of libel. Not so…. the Internet never forgets. Thanks to the miracle of Google caching, and with some help from our friends, I was able to retrieve ALL the postings which I am putting here and on The Concordian website for the world to see. That way they can not be deleted (I have downloaded copies as well) and after the holidays I will let you know what my attorney has to say.

I have some questions I want answered:  I want to know why an education reporter spends more time trying to dissect everything at the MDUSD as a conspiracy in action?  I want to know why a “professional” reporter would write a story without ANY evidence at all beyond a single sentence spoken, and without getting confirmation and without contacting the source (ME)? How does a major newspaper corporation validate that kind of amateur reporting?  Where are the FACTS before libeling people?  Given the battles that this reporter and others at the Contra Costa Times have created for themselves over the allegations of bias and sloppy journalism, yet still bulldogging their positions, I have to ask whether this unprofessional conduct is the official position for the Contra Costa Times?  I also want to know how much revenue these reporters have cost the newspaper that is itself experiencing tough economic times. Or is this a desperate attempt to appear powerful and desperate to attract readership through conspiracy?

Since Ms. Harrington has opened the floodgates, I will spend quite a bit of time reporting on these facts as I learn them. I would also like to invite anyone maligned by the Times or its staff to contact me.  The Concordian may be a small newspaper, Ms. Harrrington, but it has very sharp teeth.

Below I have the images of the articles. Click them to pull up the post itself.  You will notice how with each revision, Ms. Harrington compounds her errors with more errors and how the ONLY FACTUAL information she prints came from THIS BLOG when I posted the actual plan. And no, she NEVER contacted me for clarification.

And while I have your ear – support The Concordian by reading it. It is FREE. You can get a list of power locations to pick up  the paper by emailing power@myconcordian.com- (you will get an immediate auto reply)- or you can read all our issues online at www.MyConcordian.com.

ORIGINAL STORY POSTED 12-16-10    DELETED 12-16-10  Click IMAGE to read. Click HERE to read my response.

 

 

 

 

 

 

POSTED 12-16-10   DELETED 12-17-10  Click IMAGE to read it. Click HERE to read my response where I wrote the details of the proposal that was to be made in the future.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

   POSTED 12-17 –10    Click IMAGE to read her 3rd attempt to correct her errors.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

POSTED 12-17-10  Click IMAGE to read her explanation of why she thinks she is not at fault. She never contacted The Concordian to get any information. Instead she assumed facts. You know what they say about the word ASSUME? You make an ASS of U and ME! 

THE CONTRA COSTA TIMES REPORTER CORRECTED ONE ERROR WITH MORE ERRORS – HERE IS THE “PROPOSAL”

[UPDATE 12/21/10 – see my note below…]

Yesterday I reported how the Contra Costa Times Reporter Theresa Harrington libeled my newspaper The Concordian over a reported proposal to cover school stories in exchange for home delivery of my paper. You can read that HERE.  I immediately filed my own post demanding a retraction and threatening to pursue legal action for the damage her inaccurate reporting was creating.

Rather than a heated dispute – although I am still exploring my legal options after the holiday – it seemed to make more sense to just post what I actually discussed with the Mt. Diablo School District so that she can FINALLY get her story straight.

There was NO formal proposal made. What I did was submit a letter with an offer for discussion to see whether there was any interest and what the obstacles would be in order to make a formal proposal. This was a discussion item and at the board meeting, the discussion was about the district’s advertising policy and whether there were exceptions.  Ms. Harrington’s insulting reference to this was to claim that…

(Her first post now deleted) “The Concordian newspaper has approached the Mt. Diablo school district with a proposition that would give the newspaper prime access to the parents of about 34,000 students, equaling about $1 million in subscriptions,” Harrington wrote. “Yet, the newspaper wouldn’t pay the district a cent for this deal. Instead, it would promise to print one positive story in each monthly issue about a district school or program.”  and then correct it with…

(Her second post) “The newspaper would promise to print at least one positive story in each monthly issue about a district school or program. In return for this “good” press, the district would send the newspaper home with students, bypassing the need for the Concordian to collect $30 per household in subscription costs. The Concordian would share a portion of its advertising revenues with the district. Presumably, the paper could use this newfound access to students’ parents as a selling point to advertisers, claiming a giant boost in circulation.”  You should be able to click that and read her piece (unless she changes it again.) [UPDATE 12/21/10 – She did delete that page and now has it HERE and yet a new post HERE that I will be addressing soon. This is absolutely ABSURD conduct for a supposed professional reporter and contrary to what she believes, this is not acceptable by any standard.]

This really makes me look like some seedy operator, Ms. Harrington and again you should be ashamed of your efforts to malign my paper and the good intention of the suggested discussion. What you have achieved is to cast doubt and sew seeds of discontent in your effort to destroy any possibility that my paper may have an outlet yours is sadly lacking. We shall see what legal recourse I have against your inaccuracies. Reading the complaints from the Walnut Creek Police Association and formerly from the MDUSD itself about the biased coverage, I may have to stand in line…

THE FACTS:

My ideas was simple. I already cover the school district, and support the need for public education to have a recourse against the devastation caused by the state’s inability to handle our money. This is not the fault of the MDUSD despite what “other” papers insinuate with claims of waste and excess. The budgetary mess is a result of cuts and mostly that. No, the MDUSD is not without its share of blame for decisions and things that have not worked well. The point is that a new election has taken place and the  district is struggling and will continue to struggle.  So when I am accused of pay for play in writing “a positive story” I do believe that it is the poor standards of judgment by the likes of Ms. Harrington and others that furthers the problems faced by the district both in their public relations and a general wearing out of the public’s interest.

THE PLAN 

It was not a proposal but a discussion to see whether it warranted a proposal to be made.

The Concordian would assign a minimum of 4 pages each issue to the MDUSD as part of the education section. The goal of these pages was for the district to promote schools, students, items of community interest, fundraising, recap board meetings (accurately and without having to wage war), and offer the community something which would help generate an interest level that would translate into a higher participation level. Advertising that was sold on these pages (and some suggestions for other pages) would also be of benefit to the district. I had proposed a 25% gross back to the district, but believe that a 50% gross would be doable. As I stated yesterday, I would love for it to be 100% of those ads except that I have to pay reporters, graphic designers and editors as well as the cost of the added pages and added delivery quantity.  Ms. Harrington sees this as a potential “equaling about $1 million in subscriptions” which is absurd given the fact that The Concordian is FREE and, if it went home with the students would still be FREE, so please tell me who would be subscribing?   

I had asked whether it would be possible to send the paper home each month with every elementary student. Given the fact that my paper is available at school and district offices, it was a more effective means of delivery. Truthfully, if I wanted subscriptions, Ms. Harrington, I would make only a few papers available at the school sites and that would spur people having to subscribe to read it. Your logic is FLAWED.

I suggested elementary students because they take home other materials weekly (I am a monthly paper) and it would just be one added item. You just cannot ask middle and high schoolers to take it home, but they could get one from the office to do so.

This would add far less than the 34,000 added copies that Harrington suggested, by about a third.  My existing distribution would still remain in effect – the added benefit would be that those readers also would be exposed to the MDUSD and the good things that are going on on all levels.  This is hardly be “The newspaper would promise to print at least one positive story in each monthly issue about a district school or program” that Harrington wrote. I expect that at least 4 pages would be devoted to the MDUSD and potentially more, hardly the one story she suggested. I also suggested that the district retain full creative content control, and approval rights to what goes in.

As for the ad revenue, I envisioned two eighth page ads per page for a total of  8 ads on those pages. I have no fixed pricing on those ads at this time since this was just a DISCUSSION, however I imagined that it would be of interest to advertisers wanting to support the district. It would not be unrealistic to guess ad sales for that section of $4000 per issue over 10 issues at 50% would equal about $20,000 to the district to be assigned to something of value like music, library, etc.  Again, these figures were not developed as this was a starting discussion that was blown out of proportion by Ms. Harrington’s inaccurate reporting. I suspect envy over what she called “a giant boost in circulation” may have been a factor in the poorly reported piece. Nonetheless, her inaccuracies have resulted in creating an air of doubt and misinformation that in all likelihood will result in this going no further - why I am stating publicly what I discussed and what my thinking was behind it.

The Concordian , along with other true community papers struggle to survive. While the impression may be that vast sums of money are made given the quantity of advertisers, the truth is that production costs are high and getting higher and the ability to eke out a living with a paper like The Concordian is a challenge at best. My motivations here was to achieve something bigger on a community scale. I can tell you without doubt, Ms. Harrington, the newspaper business is dying and no matter what neither I nor your bosses will do neither will be making a ton of money in this business.  What you need to do is get your facts straight before you open your mouth and insult people, and open your bosses to a potential libel lawsuit over what you wrote.

In my discussion with the MDUSD I also suggested that guidelines be established to prevent abuse through advertising promoting alcohol, guns, drugs, sex – anything that would be objectionable to a family audience. And while Ms. Harrington did scour long and hard to find one ad for Vinnie’s Bar and Grill that ran for the Todos Santos Business Association, the ad featured their name, address and hours.  I pointed out that Rocco’s Pizzeria in Walnut Creek, who is a HUGE supporter of the district, likewise has a bar and serves alcohol. should Rocco’s be banned? Get real. Rocco’s needs a medal for all the work he does for the school district.

The Concordian is in a unique position to be able to control content and advertisers. As a monthly paper, I have no problem restricting what ads we sell. Already we do not report on the rapes, muggings, and other things that a daily paper must report on. It is not about “good press” as Harrington would like to believe, but rather about promoting a community.  The reason why people like The Concordianis that the news is in depth, offers a positive view and makes people feel good about their town. Go fault that premise!!!

I have no issues with Trustee Linda Mayo’s concerns about material sent home with students. The reason for the discussion was to see whether there was a way to make this idea work while not violating rules and not negatively affecting students. If you have read The Concordian(and by the way, Ms. Harrington, it is “The Concordian,” not “the Concordian.” The paper is called “The Concordian”) you will see that all our covers and stories are such that I am confident the MDUSD would have no problem with our content. Add to that an expanded education section and there would be great incentive to read the paper to find out what the schools are doing.  My answer to the issue of kids “seeing” the paper is to wrap it so it is in an envelope if needed.

Perhaps Ms. Harrington’s efforts would be better served promoting the district so that people might choose to move into the district thus raising revenues and preventing the sad closures of schools that are now being discussed. Perhaps then there would be no accusations from the MDUSD, Walnut Creek Police Association and others of bias and inaccurate reporting.

I will be sending this to the MDUSD Board Members  as I am now forced to publicly defend my idea, and will now pursue this with intent. I will also be adding to my letter of complaint to Ms. Harrington’s bosses, as well as the City of Concord, and will be examining my options for legal action. I for one am fed up. Go to www.MyConcordian.com – you can read all our issues online – FREE.

PS: I would also like to take this opportunity to let ALL my readers know that The Concordian always prints births, deaths, obituaries, anniversary celebrations, items of special interest FREE – we do not charge for this.  If you would like to send in your school SPORTS, MUSIC, ARTS events, EDUCATION awards etc…photos and information we will also print as space permits.  And if you would like to know where to pick up a copy at a power location simply email power@myconcordian.com and you will receive an auto-list.

I HAVE BEEN ATTACKED BY THE CONTRA COSTA TIMES’ THERESA HARRINGTON

 

[UPDATE 12/17: Harrington updated her inaccurate posting because it “contained an error” and reposted a new version which STILL contains many errors. I will be posting a new entry today that details the “proposal” that wasn’t a proposal at all, and what it entailed. I trust it will show Ms. Harrington’s revision to be inaccurate, yet again.]

Inaccurate information that defames my newspaper, The Concordian, and myself, has been posted by Contra Costa Times’ “Reporter” Theresa Harrington following a Mt. Diablo Board of Education Meeting.  During that meeting, the synopsis of a proposal had been discussed where I was exploring the option of creating a solid education section focusing on the MDUSD, attracting advertising and having the issue sent home with elementary school students.

“The Concordian newspaper has approached the Mt. Diablo school district with a proposition that would give the newspaper prime access to the parents of about 34,000 students, equaling about $1 million in subscriptions,” Harrington wrote. “Yet, the newspaper wouldn’t pay the district a cent for this deal. Instead, it would promise to print one positive story in each monthly issue about a district school or program.” This is libel, Ms. Harrington. 

Harrington wrote on her blog posting HERE. [UPDATE 12/17: Harrington amended her post and changed post location. the amendment is HERE although it is STILL incorrect. I will address this in a new post today.]   In fact, unlike the portrayal Harrington made, the offer was made to achieve a multiple of purposes that included a monetary compensation to the district based on advertising revenue. Ms.Harrington, who took only the surface discussions of a preliminary discussion decided to use that information out of context to further her article. Shame on you Theresa. Shame on you! The story you wrote was the most unprofessional and blatant attempt at libel.

As has been the case in other reports she has made of the district that has resulted in similar accusations, generalizations based on limited information formed the basis of her posting that resulted in giving the impression of my newspaper attempting to take advantage of the district for my own gain.  Fortunately the people who are familiar with my publication and the amount of positive press we give with no strings attached, are aware that the offer was not only generous, but would result in a funding source that could be applied to a positive gain.

That said, I am a small paper. Unlike the giant CCT, I operate by providing a community newspaper that is not mired in endless controversy over the quality and accuracy of my reporting. In fact, Ms. Harrington would be hard pressed to find anyone who does not like The Concordian. Perhaps that is why she spent the remainder of her piece dissecting my method of reaching the public, as well as attempting to cast doubt on the quality of advertisers that would be exposed to elementary students.

“The publication contains many local ads, including some for establishments that serve alcohol, such as Vinnie’s Bar and Grill in Concord,” Harrington wrote. Indeed, Ms. Harrington. Vinnie’s as part of the Todos Santos Business Association did have one ad that did nothing more than promote their name and address.  Perhaps Rocco’s Pizzeria, a Walnut Creek establishment with a bar, but also does  tremendous job of supporting the district through fundraisers would be viewed as negatively? 

I would like to stress that we are a family oriented publication. We do not report on endless crime waves, and do not post ugly images of gang members in handcuffs to give the impression that Concord is a crime infested swampland. What we promote are the many decent people and many hard working people in Concord who make it a city that they are proud to live in.  As for our scheming to get “about $1 million in subscriptions” from our offer, the truth is closer to the fact that The Concordian would be absorbing the additional cost for printing and delivering more copies, while returning a percentage of the advertising revenue to the district, and following the district guidelines for lack of objectionable content and advertising, which we would do as a matter of regular business. Can the Times make the same claim?

Having a decent education section that covers the MDUSD is a support of public education that has come under the attack of media such as Ms. Harrington. With a negative state budget adversely affecting the quality of education in this district, it is important now more than ever, that public education is supported. What better way than with a newspaper that people trust and read.  I will not go into an attack on the business practices of other papers, but The Concordian is not forced at anyone – we are taken and we are read. People choose to read us.

Ms. Harrington then proceeds to push the merits of her paper… “The Times and its weekly papers (The Concord Transcript, Pleasant Hill/Martinez Record, Walnut Creek Journal and Lamorinda Sun) regularly feature stories, photos, news briefs, columns and datebook items related to school programs and events.”  This is of course the newspaper that is currently under attack by the Walnut Creek Police Association calling for a total boycott for their biased reporting?  Or is it the paper that charges for obituaries and other announcements that The Concordian runs at no charge.  And for the record, The Concordian surpasses the circulation of the Concord Transcript for the areas we/they serve, aside from our 16-20 pages of content without the endless legal notices. 

No Ms. Harrington, your reporting is flawed, inaccurate and libelous. You were not privy to the proposal made to the school district and you have distorted the facts in order to malign The Concordian with, no doubt, the best interests of your own publication in mind. I am disappointed that you would resort to such poor reporting in order to push yet another agenda. All you will achieve is publicity for my newspaper and at the end of the day, my local paper that covers in depth stories about our community, without bias, and without obligation, not requiring anyone to even buy an ad will continue to thrive.

I do not know whether the district will decide that my proposal merits their acceptance. I have no influence with them. I make no threats and I make no promises. What I stand on is almost three years of consistency when it comes to my publication, a fact easily verified by reading it online where all our past issues are available in pdf form.  And should the MDUSD decide that the offer is not one to accept, it will not affect how I report on their activities and events.  And Theresa, we never do one story on the schools, unlike other papers. If you take the time to read my paper thoroughly before you dissect it you will find we cover a lot of student and education related items both in an education section as well as a RoundAbout section, arts & Entertainment and more. Our January issue, like other issues, even has education covers.  I am sorry that you are unable to compete.

By the way, we both attended the same board meeting; I was listening on the web version, as I always do, and saw and heard everything that was said. Anyone interested in the actual truth of what was said can view the replay  at mdusd.net, the blog operated by board president Gary Eberhart. The discussion came close to the end of the meeting.

It is Christmas time and my thoughts are on making my children have a grand Christmas and not on you. I will be seeking some legal advice after the holidays, Ms. Harrington. I will also be filing my own story in the next issue of The Concordian, my blog, and wherever I may find a sympathetic audience interested in halting the abuse of the mainstream press.  I shall also be filing formal complaints with Ms. Harrington’s bosses, as well as the City of Concord, Better Business Bureau and more…

My suggestion to you this holiday season, Ms. Harrington, is to give some serious thought to why you became a reporter and whether you have achieved your goals. Contrary to the portrayal you presented so carelessly, I do take great pains to ensure that I live up to the word “community” in my paper. I suggest you do the same. This is my opinion.  I welcome my readers to voice their opinions here, at the Times’ site and wherever this story gets posted.  Community needs to stick together. That is a lesson to learn!

ON THE NINTH DAY OF CHRISTMAS -THE DISGUSTING RAPE STORY OF 2010 & WHY POPULAR CULTURE STILL DEMEANS WOMEN

The October ‘09 gang rape of a 15 year old girl outside Richmond High School at a Homecoming Dance involved over a dozen attackers with up to twenty people witnessing or watching the events with only a few reporting it. As the ugly story unfolded, multiple arrests were made with a wide age range of the attackers who both beat and raped the victim.  Now, with extensive DNA matching four of the seven defendants in the case, the details emerge of evidence recovered from condoms, her dress, empty brandy bottle, condom wrappers, clothing, both sperm and non-sperm DNA that holds the accused present.  One of the animals in custody reported fondling the victim, urinating on her, and even stealing her ring, but stated that it was consensual.  One of the men arrested was 43 years old, with the others ranging from 18 on up.  Of another animal; “He admitted to sexual contact with the victim, and numerous people described him beating the victim and egging on others to assault her.” And then “Police sources told CBS Affiliate CBS 5 that some of the bystanders laughed as the attack unfolded while others took photos with their cell phones.”

When you watch young people influenced by nasty lyrics in rap and popular music where young men are told to get as many “hos” and how to make them be subjective to the broad masculinity of the real man who must have that status in order to be somebody, you begin to see a huge pattern of homogenizing rape as just his word against hers. After all “a man has needs” and as much as she may complain a woman “really wants it.”  Find me popular songs that do not refer to women as “bitches and hos” and you will find a short playlist of oldies that sing of love and peace rather than the self-serving, physical glorifications that ghetto lifestyles will bring you. And don’t mistake this as a condemnation of one race over another – this passes through all races as many of the headlines of the year will attest.

This crap comes from the popular culture, the glorification of the ghetto mindset where the rules of civility do not apply and how could they? Most urban areas are rife with crime, criminals are better organized than law enforcement and drugs, alcohol and sex are the power elements involved. Just look at television shows like “The Real Housewives of New Jersey” and the celeb status afforded those people who do not serve as role models and glorify every excess we permit under the freedoms allowed in the US. No, it is not just a television show. It is not just entertainment. What it does is touch a broad spectrum of society that believes that is acceptable and perpetuates, endorses and allows emulation of that standard of thinking. Not just that show – television is riddled with “bad guys looking cool” and how the legal system and the enforcement system and the rules do not apply to them. And then there are the celeb women who dominate the headlines for partying, drug use, pantiless car rides and the allure of “devouring men”.  All those formerly imprisoned now multi-millionaire musicians acting as role models for what?

So get yourself a bunch of youth, drugs and alcohol and a young girl and with no morality ingrained in the young, rape becomes a normal event requiring only a dominated woman in a supine position, even if you had to punch her to get her that way. And then, after the humiliation and violence of the multiple acts are done, complete, in this case with the victim getting urinated on by someone who deserves to no longer walk the earth, there comes the invariable “My baby’s a good boy,” speech from the mothers of the accused, and a legal attempt to make the victim look like the one who created the situation.  Perhaps she dressed the wrong way – exposed too much cleavage, flirted and cajoled someone – all reasoning that is often presented as justification for a lesser sentence, or no conviction. Rape is murder without death. And often it includes death.

And what about accountability? What about human rights? Sure there are times when women accuse men of rape only to later recant, but in a case with 20 people watching and taking pictures on their cell phone cameras, one can only ask what kind of society we have where the young consider it excitement, acceptable, and where one rape begets another.

With this story I am not sure if i feel more sorry for the victim or for our society that has allowed such atrocities to become a regular part of our numbed senses, and even our entertainment. Whether you play video games that encourage drive by shootings of hookers, or indulge in the vast pornographic themes of rape, conquest, torture and more, we have become a sick society where the rights of the thugs and the rapists have vastly overtaken the rights of the victims and the law abiding members who pay for those freedoms that others get to enjoy.

And that is not what the founding fathers of this country envisioned with the freedoms they expressed. I wonder, if they could have glimpsed our modern age, whether they might have abandoned those efforts.  I know that I am tired of hearing an endless stream of stories on the news of how human beings have devolved to such an extent that their very existence is no longer justified. Even wild animals do not inflict this carnage upon other animals for fun.  It is time these creatures that pretend to be human get put out of our misery! They shoot horses for less.

ON THE TWELFTH DAY BEFORE CHRISTMAS…A SEASON OF HOPE

I am tired of struggling for money. This has been a tough year. With the recession and people going out of business everywhere, I am thankful to still have somewhat of an employment although, I confess, like most people, it is not the glamorous profession that affords me the finances to indulge in leisure pastimes like golfing,sailing etc. In fact, having the funds to go bowling is in itself a gain, not that I am a bowler and not that I am good at it. But I am not complaining. I was taught that every day in health is worth more than a day in wealth. That said, I am allowed a moment of envy at those among us who cast out what others would consider a treasure, who spend in meals what my family might use for a month, or toss out those marginally worn fashions because, God forbid, they are seen twice in the same outfit.

The funny thing is that wealth is a relative concept, and by that I do not mean having rich relatives. The vast span of a person earning $24,000 year to the one earning $240,000 per year or the celebrity earning $24 million per year are huge steps from one level to another high in the clouds requiring breathing apparatus to fully appreciate. The one earning $24K gets to enjoy 1000 years in order to reach celebrity status. Can you imagine? What could you do with with just $1 million.

I am not poor. I pay bills, I eat, I get to indulge in some things. In contrast of the scale of wealth I am a very, very poor cousin, but not the illegitimate child. Making ends meet is a challenge, but not one that will cost me my home, as it has many, many others; many decent folks I know, with families facing unknown prospects and times that will task their endurance. I have nothing to complain about. And I still have Internet, the great God of all that connects.

And as much as I believe that the workload I put in amounts to a fraction of an output I gain, the fact that I am still able leaves me with hope that the future will improve. And that is what life is about. No! That is what Christmas is about. Hope, gratitude, family, love all in the face of the failures of the year, failures of the self, frustrations and exhaustion, and even a feeling of less than full worth.

But then, what does not kill you makes you...older,live longer and able to battle another day because hope is the fuel and family is the fuel and the ability to stand tall and take in a deep breath is the fuel regardless of what life dishes out. He who stands last wins the game of life.

I am not a million dollar screenwriter and may never be. I may never see my movie on a screen while air fills my lungs. And that is okay. What I get is the smile of my three year old daughter as she tries to con her way out of getting in trouble with a glimmer in her eye, or the hug from my five year old son, or the laugh from my seventeen year old son even while he struggles with growing pains and the neck rub from the 19 year old because that is his hug, and the way my wife looks at me and makes me feel that no matter what I do, I did okay because I am here and breathing and living and getting to soak it all in, even if the phone might ring and interrupt it as someone asks for their bill to be paid.

Christmas is coming and the goose is getting fat. please put a penny in the old man's hat!

I live where it just snowed. And now the sun throws warmth to offset the gloom of the grey mist that can chill your bones. And I look out and smile because I can smell the landscape and the smell is good, clean, fresh. I have stopped locking my door during the day, breaking a decades long California habit; there is just no need to live with that bars on the window mentality. And I feel sheltered in this place, wondering at times whether the delusion will end; whether I will wake up one day and find that I live elsewhere, in a box, in a place where sirens rule the night; I have lived there before in my youth in a small apartment in Venice, California, safe behind bars while the nighttime world exploded outside. It was the young writer's life! It was cool, then. Life was so much simpler and yet hardly filled with the wealth of this warmth.

Money is tight this year. But life abounds. I cannot feel sorry about the money, but thank God I get to see life abound. My children walk healthy. I feel my pulse strong against my wrists. I stand and stare at a mountain that stares back. Far away the coyotes howl and my dogs stare out certain that they know the language but not understanding the words.

It is Christmastime and whether you worship or you do not, the time is rife with moral plays of giving and not receiving, of thanks and not demands, of sharing that time we have together with people that are important to us and remembering that our time here, marked by our presence now and our mementos later, is that which we define it to be, and, in the end, that which will define our life.

I have one dollar in my wallet. It needs to find a new home. Tomorrow.

Mark Madoff Funeral: Bernie Madoff Won't Attend Son's Funeral

I must restate that a parent has no right to kill his/hersel­f. And no right to kill his/hersel­f with their child in the next room. No right! It is the ultimate act of cowardice to escape the pain of this life at the expense of their own child. Whatever the father did to cause his pain, his life is about saving and helping his own child, one he just condemned to a life with pain by this selfish act.
Read the Article at HuffingtonPost

THERE IS SICKNESS AND GRIEF IN THE KINGDOM OF GOD AND IT IS LED BY THE RIGHTEOUS

Once again the Westboro Church has raised it’s ugly heads with plans to go after Elizabeth Edwards in death.

Now I do not know Elizabeth Edwards or any of her family, but to read this sort of thing is enough to make you very angry.  While this may not be your brand of religion, religious freedoms that do not discriminate against the potentially mentally insane versus mainstream believers makes for an ugly setting when we are forced to allow this brand of lunacy.

For people unfamiliar with this tribe, they are the same ones that picket the funerals of dead soldiers with signs that read “God hates fags” among other things, attributing the death of the soldiers to homosexuality and rampant corruption in society, as though their righteousness inflects them above the fray. You can read them at http://www.godhatesfags.com/

At their last encounter the entire town showed up to push them to the outskirts and prevent them from affecting the family of the soldier laid to rest.

Someone should do that for this funeral.

So this group of “should be locked ups” is allowed to roam free under the guise of religious freedom, freedom of speech and whatever other crazy claims allow them to affect the lives of others. It is an example of freedoms gone wrong when they are afforded protections and the rest of us are not.

I have seen them in California protesting a gay wedding. I have read the endless reports of their activities and I am firmly convinced, like a cancer upon society, they need to be excised and somewhere, some one will do so perhaps citing the needs of the many over the needs of the few.  Roger Ebert called this “sad.” I call it insanity in action and a sign of our times. I think  any God would cringe with minions like these.

SIGNS YOU MAY BE AN IDIOT – FREE FOR THE TAKING

Or maybe I am the idiot – hard to tell sometimes.

“ Didn’t I See You On COPS?”
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I may have seen you on COPS, one God-early four-in-the-morning as allergies caused me to awaken in a sneezing fit. Unable to fall asleep again, I tried watching television. There are only three kinds of programming on that early: Religious shows featuring upcoming Evangelical types, Infomercials, usually featuring some get-rich-quick scheme, and COPS!

I always tell people that in life, no matter your choices, be the best you can be at whatever you do, because if you plan to do less than your best, why bother at all? This advice extends to criminal activities, as well. There is nothing worse than a stupid criminal and COPS is generically about stupid criminal types.

Ask yourself this: You are half-naked, virtually toothless due to drugs, live in a trailer-home, in the worst part of town, with a woman who used to be a prostitute and now you are hitting her because she was unfaithful and, when the police arrive with video cameras, allow yourself to be videotaped as you shout obscenities and proclaim your innocence! There is no doubt about your stupidity, at this point.

What makes this show interesting is the effect it has on those of us without criminal records that try and live a drama-free life; it affirms a normalcy on our part as well as an enhanced contempt for the rampant stupidity allowed to exist in the world under the guise of equal rights and non-discrimination policies.

There was a time when society would shun those who flirted beyond the boundaries of the established standards. These people were not accepted, not given consideration, benefits, special treatment and certainly had no basis upon which to sue anyone. Now, prostitutes can sue for defamation of character, priests are sued for events of sexual abuse reported thirty or more years after the fact on the word of their accuser, and deviancies of any kind are empowered with television ‘reality’ shows and celebrity status. The worse you are the more of a celebrity you can become. 

An example of this is the television show The Girls Next Door which features two Playboy playmates, girlfriends of Hugh Hefner, who cater to “Hef” as playmates and sexual partners, at least that is the implication. This show follows the spoiled lives of these two twenty-year olds as they enjoy their celebrity status. Are they mistresses? Are they prostitutes? The show is designed to present them as career girls who just happen to be part of the Playboy Empire. So what’s wrong with that picture?

If you look at the other shows available featuring bratish celebrities having temper tantrums, aging rock stars with a known history of drug abuse and their horrible children, Rap artists, most of whom have criminal records for drugs, assault or other crimes, who have made vast amounts of money on music requiring no actual singing, as well as actors and actresses who display their lifestyle due to the stupidity of the public’s support of them, you are left wondering how stupid the “bad boys” and girls on Cops must be to not have found wealth from this contemporary American “cash crop”.

I listen to people talking at restaurants and it seems, peppered into their conversations, a majority of them have a family member who is in jail or had been in jail. Frankie robbed a liquor store and beat up the clerk and went to jail and now can’t find a job and it is really unfair because the stigma of being a felon will remain with him… Duh!

And despite the frequency with which the police departments are accused of excessive force, watching COPS demonstrates to you how dangerous their job can be, how little appreciation the police are given and how stupid people are when confronted with an armed civil servant with a license to kill. These people deserve what they get.

“I want to be on COPS,” I hear a pimple-faced teenager tell his friends while at the mall. “Maybe I should steal something.”

Maybe he should! I wonder when I’ll see him on COPS!

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Titanic VIDEO From 1911 Is Only Known Footage In Existence

Someone explain to me...the interior of Titanic was all WOOD, wood floor planks, wood tables, chairs, wooden bed frames, wooden dressers and closets and so on.... 4hours to sink. Were there no carpenters on board to make some floating rafts out of this stuff? Even an upside down dining table would work. It was calm seas and the perfect night to toss Titanic wooden souvenirs out the 3rd class doors into the ocean. 4 hours with all that 3rd class labor ...... I just don't get it. And then there is the whole Jack/Rose thing ....never mind. It's too late now!
Read the Article at HuffingtonPost

WIKILEAKS:OPENING THE FLOODGATES TO THE DIGITAL AGE OF CENSORSHIP OR FREEDOM?

With the arrest of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, comments abound whether he is a criminal and should be hanged, or whether he is a hero for releasing all the information.

My view is that this is not about guilt or innocence for that argument can and will be made in many global forums. Whether Assange is the messenger or the real threat; whether he was right to release the information provided to him or a traitor for doing so, to simply chalk it up as one or the other is an oversimplification of the key issue.

The real question is this: How do we handle an expose of our society, government, leaders or national activities if any opposition to it is considered criminal and a terrorist threat?  When everything is a national secret and YOU do not have the right to know which fox is guarding the hen house, what is your recourse as a nation?  Or should you know?  Should we blindly trust that our government and others are doing what they should be doing? History would cast doubt on that assertion.

Perhaps, as some bloggers have noted, the complexity of the issue itself has become so boring that they would rather turn it off and watch “The Kardashians” instead. Certainly many people in this country have devolved to a level of less than “Don’t ask, don’t tell” to the new “Don’t tell me about it because it is boring and I don’t want to know.”

This is not about Julian Assange at all. It is about the transparency that government loves to talk about but which, in reality, is not overly practical if you have to keep secrets. Obviously secrets must be kept. Obviously laws must be observed. There are lots of questions about what was actually leaked – given that media coverage is the conduit to our eyes. This is about having no control to reign in corruption when there is no more freedom to disseminate information, or no control to prevent secrets from being exposed when the need to expose them may not exist. The fact is that Assange or someone else; the Wiki-genie is out and either the government will enforce a strict control over what is said or allowed to be said, or it will have no control at all. Control will then become censorship in violation of Constitutional rights and subject to civil unrest. Lack of control on the other hand might equal anarchy, vulnerability or worse. 

And then there are the people who are behind the leaks. In many ways Assange is the disseminator of information that was obtained by other people. Perhaps a greater control would be over the people with the intelligence and information themselves, for when you talk of criminality, they are the culprits.

How the Assange/WikiLeaks drama unfolds will be most telling. How the public reacts to the notion that government can tell you what to read what to discuss if you ever plan on a government job is a test for the Supreme Court as far as assertion of power to control your rights to freedom of information.  What Assange has done is merely open the floodgates for the future of freedom in the digital age. And that future comes with many questions that will be the subject of endless conversations as laws are created to prevent it from happening again and people struggle to understand what they should or should not know..

Many Years From Then: Sir Paul McCartney Receives the Kennedy Center Honor

I was born into a Beatle realm, knew the lyrics by heart by the time I was seven, and to this day wish that the messages of love and hope would one day rain upon my own children so that they may experience that unabashed innocence that is now lost. Sir Paul makes some good songs still - his last album was the best in a long while, and despite the death of one wife and the tumult of another, he has been a mainstay in music by the fact that he lives, sings and remains consistent to that era of hope and simplicity­. To listen to the songs from the Beatles through his other incarnatio­ns, not unlike listening to John Lennon discussing the revelation­s of baking his own bread, those few years before his untimely death, I find myself wishing for that peace again...im­agine that!
Read the Article at HuffingtonPost

Helen Thomas Diversity Award Yanked By Wayne State University

Another example of extremism. Helen deserved better. A lifetime career that was untainted. Clinton got a blow job in the White House, perjured himself about it in a Grand Jury and is regarded highly to this day - no offense Bill. Helen Thomas demonstrat­ed a career that was of high integrity. She should be given an exit worthy of her career and not of the overreacti­ons of those fixated on her single comment. Shame on Wayne.
Read the Article at HuffingtonPost

ICKY-LEAK: STUDIES SHOW 237 REASONS WHY VEGETARIAN FAT PEOPLE WITH IPHONES HAVE MORE SEX DURING A PHOENIX SUMMER

You'd never think there was a recession going on with all the money spent on SEX –and other - STUDIES of every kind. There is not a day where some bright spark somewhere has formulated a study based on... well, I'll leave you to decide that. Here is my Icky-Leak on the subject…

A Google search revealed the following titles.

Phone Sex: Study Says iPhone Users Get More Nooky

Studies show: Summer sex is the hottest sex

Study: Casual Sex Only Rewarding For First Few Decades

Study Shows Overweight Women Have The Most Sex

Fat men enjoy longer lasting sex scientific research show

Studies Show Vegetarians Have Better Sex.

Studies show Women who perform oral sex reduce risk of Breast Cancer 40%

Studies Show: Shopping Triggers Same Emotional Arousal as Sex

Study Shows Sailors Really Do Make Better Lovers

Sex Study: Phoenix Capital Of Quickies

So now you know why STUDIES SHOW 237 REASONS WHY VEGETARIAN FAT PEOPLE WITH IPHONES HAVE MORE SEX DURING A PHOENIX SUMMER. It is disturbing to find that money was spent on these studies that really needed no money spent at all. In addition....

Study Shows Men Can't Help Thinking About Sex

Studies show that bald men have a higher sex drive

Sex Good for Men's Hearts, Study Shows

Studies Confirm Men Like Sex:

Well I am a little happier about that one. And parents take note...

Study: Texting may lead to teen sex

Study: Teen Girls More Likely to Have Risky Sex Than Teen Boys

Study Shows Teens Are More Responsible About Sex

Study: Teens use condoms more than adults, 75% of people don't use

New study finds teenage pregnancy rising

Study: Many Teens Don't Use Condoms Correctly

Condoms in Schools Don't Boost Teen Sex

Study Finds Teen Pregnancy More Common in Religious States

And in case you think that humans have the market cornered on getting sex...

Study:Monkeys, Too, Will Pay for Sex

Study:But do chimps look forward to sex?

Finally, an actual study about the studying done in these studies shows that "Recent study shows recent studies show nothing"  Makes you glad for that $60K Ph.D, huh?

Amen

SHOULD DEAD PEOPLE BE ALLOWED TO TWITTER?

Without naming names, but I came across one Twitterer still actively posting one to three times a day even though the person is dead and has been dead for awhile. Granted, when I looked closer it was an attempt to sell something of the deceased while retaining the fan base that had helped with success in real life. And I thought to myself – self, this person is dead and for some reason people keep coming back because there is some unnatural cyber law of science that says that once a Tweeter always a Tweeter, even if you are no longer Tweeting on the same frequency.  I don’t want to name names because that seems petty and the point of this post – aside from the fact that I am not dead – is that Twitter enables everyone – even the dead – to reach an audience.

Now celebrities are Twitter-maniacs, whether the tidbits about their careers and where they are appearing, or just being out there in the forefront of the world with a sarcastic post here and there. And like many others, in my Tweet-ucation have learned some truths about this form of communication.  For one thing, check out the Twitter ratio of Following to Followers. When you have a celebrity (or anyone with a Twitter account) you know that you are merely celebrity fodder if the person has 2 million followers and is following 10 people. That is what I call a one sided exchange; also known as “I am a celebrity and you are not.”

Then there are those who are the opposite with hundreds of people that they are following to compliment the thousands following them. That’s fair. After all the function of Twitter is as a “social network” which means that you must be social to start with.

Twitter is a very effective vehicle to get information out there. My kids’ school district Twittered that school would be closed due to the snowy conditions today. Most excellent, dude. News sites get information out quickly with links to source reports. Handy. And with the ability to imbed pictures and video while keeping your info under 140 characters, Twitter has become a more effective form of contact than email or even “In your” Facebook.

I have a lot of followers, if you consider some 800 or so a lot. I feel good about that until I see that @Dr. Michio Kaku, Theoretical Physicist (I knew my basket weaving degree was the wrong choice – I could have done this), has a few thousand (despite his million on Facebook), or my favorite ex-android from Star Trek, played deftly by actor Brent Spiner @BrentSpiner who has 1,363,277 followers and himself follows just 9, of which I am not one.  Hmmmm Brent, the balance is off there. You really need to add me, man.

To his credit, though, he does respond to Tweets that are made and it helps that he is very sarcastic which, as you know from me is my favorite form of expression even if it is also known as “the poorest form of Twit.”  Sorry about that one.  And better yet, his Favorites lists everyone who ever made a negative or derogatory comment before defriending him. You gotta laugh at that one, right?

It is fun to follow celebrities like @Steve Martin and @JohnCleese  (the latter whose profile reads “Yes, I am still indeed alive, contrary to rumor”) and watch the responses that are posted. I can see how people would feel connected to their favorite actor, musician, newscaster or sports figure just by having themselves listed as a follower even if they are not followed back. Why that’s like hanging out with them, isn’t it? 

And in part I do believe the the whole social phenomenon has created a sort of celestial in-breeding of those with and those without all sharing a similar platform without having to violate the class distinctions between their real life social levels. The sheer numbers of people are amazing – you have to be pretty damn old to not have seen/used/ or be using Twitter along with your other recreational social media drugs. And it never sleeps.

You can read anything from anyone at anytime, live-time on your mobile device, notified, reminded and in sync with all that is (or is not) happening in your daily life. And in case you think that Twitter is only for the silly-minded, or the self-serving, please note that the @Dalai Lama, still in exile, Twitters regularly, which only goes to show that the way to inner peace and harmony is by having 1,090,115 followers.  The Dalai Lama follows no one!  Hmmmmmm.

As far as a waste of technology goes, there is that problem as well. Twitter in 140 characters, spaces included, offers a micro-glimpse of a moment of your life such as:  I am now going to the bathroom. I have now flushed. I am now washing my hands.  There are just some things no one should have to read.  But with a listed 145 million registered people using Twitter, and growing, it is coming close to the Facebook population, or almost 47 percent of the population of the country.

So one of my questions is “why do I only have 800 followers?”  You people are just slacking off!

And… “Should dead people be allowed to keep on Tweeting?”  No doubt you will let me know your thoughts.   @MisterWriter

NASA Astrobiology Press Conference: Have They Made Breakthrough In Search For Extraterrestrial Life?

OMG, we've found bacteria waving at us on another planet feeding off some old space station McDonald's wrappers that drifted into their system and did not burn up on entry. The planet known as Planet Schnitzelf­arter after the astronomer first noticing the waving bacteria is also the center of another controvers­y. When looking closer astronomer­s found the bacteria were blinking in old Morse code. When the message was translated it read: We want more "I Love Lucy."

 It is either that or some gigantic galactic blob is heading our way with the intention to destroy us. Either way it is pretty cool.
Read the Article at HuffingtonPost