What's Wrong with Our Schools?

Got this in an email a while back and think it has some truth to it:

Scenario: Jack goes duck hunting before school, pulls into school parking lot with shotgun in gun rack.

1973 - Vice Principal comes over, looks at Jack's shotgun, goes to his car and gets his to show Jack.

2006 - School goes into lock down, FBI called, Jack hauled off to jail and never sees his truck or gun again. Counselors called in for traumatized students and teachers.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Scenario: Johnny and Mark get into a fistfight after school.

1973 - Crowd gathers. Mark wins. Johnny and Mark shake hands and end up best friends. Nobody goes to jail, nobody arrested, nobody expelled.

2006 - Police called, SWAT team arrives, arrests Johnny and Mark. Charge them with assault, both expelled even though Johnny started it.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Scenario: Jeffrey won't be still in class, disrupts other students.

1973 - Jeffrey sent to office and given a good paddling by Principal. Sits still in class.

2006 - Jeffrey given huge doses of Ritalin. Becomes a zombie. School gets extra money from state because Jeffrey has a disability.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Scenario: Billy breaks a window in his neighbor's car and his Dad gives him a whipping.

1973 - Billy is more careful next time, grows up normal, goes to college, and becomes a successful businessman.

2006 - Billy's Dad is arrested for child abuse. Billy removed to foster care and joins a gang. State psychologist tells Billy's sister that she remembers being abused herself and their Dad goes to prison. Billy's mom has affair with psychologist.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Scenario: Mark gets a headache and takes some aspirin to school.

1973 - Mark shares aspirin with Principal out on the smoking dock.

2006 - Police called, Mark expelled from school for drug violations. Car searched for drugs and weapons.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Scenario: Pedro fails high school English.

1973 - Pedro goes to summer school, passes English, goes to college.

2006 - Pedro's cause is taken up by state. Newspaper articles appear nationally explaining that teaching English as a requirement for graduation is racist. ACLU files class action lawsuit against state school system and Pedro's English teacher. English banned from core curriculum. Pedro given diploma anyway but ends up mowing lawns for a living because he cannot speak English.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Scenario: Johnny takes apart leftover firecrackers from 4th of July, puts them in a model airplane paint bottle, blows up a red ant bed.

1973 - Ants die.

2006 - BATF, Homeland Security, FBI called. Johnny charged with domestic terrorism, FBI investigates parents, siblings removed from home, computers confiscated, Johnny's Dad goes on a terror watch list and is never allowed to fly again.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Scenario: Johnny falls while running during recess and scrapes his knee. He is found crying by his teacher, Mary. Mary hugs him to comfort him.

1973 - In a short time, Johnny feels better and goes on playing.

2006 - Mary is accused of being a sexual predator and loses her job. She faces 3 years in State Prison. Johnny undergoes 5 years of therapy.

What are your thoughts?

Fair and Balanced ???

I see by reading the Quincy Notre Dame Herald Whig that August must be Quincy High School Bashing Month.

• Tort Fund
• Grading Scale
• Low ACT scores

What's next QNDHW ????

Update 8/16:

WGEM jumps on the QHS bashing bandwagon "

A former Quincy High basketball player is in custody of U.S. Marshals".....

Electric Rate Relief ?

Ameren has a message for you:

It's Freakin' HOT !

NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE ST LOUIS MO
610 AM CDT FRI AUG 3 2007


TEMPERATURE AND HUMIDITY LEVELS WILL BE INCREASING EARLY NEXT
WEEK. HEAT INDICES ARE FORECAST TO CLIMB INTO THE 100 TO 105
DEGREE RANGE SUNDAY THROUGH TUESDAY...AND ITS POSSIBLE THAT THESE
HIGH LEVELS OF HEAT AND HUMIDITY WILL LINGER INTO WEDNESDAY.

Stay Cool........

Bottle to Throttle....

What the fine for DUI in a $1.7 Billion dollar shuttle ?

Wild Fire Weekend

Too damned busy to type anything here.

My employer has a nasty policy of wanting me to work while I'm there.

I'll Let you bring up the topics.

Panel endorses beer garden guidelines......Kinda

While the beer gardens would be allowed to remain open after 10 p.m., they would face closure for the rest of the day if two complaints for noise or other disturbances were made by neighbors.

City Planner Chuck Bevelheimer said he did not want to see police officers forced to carry decibel meters to measure noise. So part of the proposals that will go to the Quincy City Council for possible adoption as an ordinance that would give police officers discretion to order tavern owners to address complaints from neighbors.

So....if you don't want the neighborhood beer garden in operation, dial in a disturbance call shortly when you get home at 5pm and then another one about an hour and a half later and the QPD will come shut down the garden.

Maybe there's more details to this but it seams pretty lame.........

Help Wanted

Condom Tester

Australian over the age of 18.

Male or Female.

The position is not paid.

Successful applicants will receive a free $60 selection of Durex products and will be required to provide the company with honest feedback about the products' performance.

One of the lucky 200 testers will win a $1000 bonus.

Apply Here.

Terror Alert

Following the events in London This week, the French government announced
yesterday that it has raised its terror alert level from Run to Hide.

The only two higher levels in France are Surrender and Collaborate.
The Rise was precipitated by a recent fire which destroyed France's white
flag factory, effectively paralyzing their military.

Speaking of Wasting Money...

It's time to feed the cash cow.

First Property Tax Installment to the Adams County Collector is due 7/6.

Late payments will delay:

$1.3 Million HVAC work to the Crystal Palace, better known as City Hall.

$10,000 to teach two Officers on how to ride a motorcycle.

Gas for the 12 MPG QPD SUV to cruise the city streets.

New Hi-tech light light bars for the city patrol cars.

QMG appointments for healthy Firemen.



Please. Give till it hurts. Operators are standing by.......

Do You Get That Feeling ?

....or is it just Lootie, Harold and Me ?

What burns my ASS...

• How long does it take to demolish the old RTD building out east Broadway? Ever heard of a wrecking ball?

• Why does every vehicle that the Fire Dept. or QPD owns have to be dressed up like "Pimp My Ride"?

• How many people in the city STILL don't know how to use the double left hand turn lanes in town?

• Why during a murder, missing person, or other crime does the local law enforcement hold a press conference and then not answer any questions?

• Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich has spent $76,000 on taxpayer-financed flights between Chicago and Springfield since late May. Hell, for that price IDOT could have hired 2 gardeners for West Central Illinois.

• How many rules and regulations can members of the city planning department, city administration, and city attorneys add to building a Beer Garden to make it totally impossible for bars to build one?

• Wanted: Airport Manager. Qualifications: TBA. ( We'll pick out the best ones off your resume and later tell everyone that's what we were looking for.)
  

• Ohio State law forbids public officials from hiring close relatives either full or part time or influencing their employment. Holy Crap ! Who do they hire? The best person qualified for the job?

• Insight vs. Comcast vs. ATT - this can't be good news.

• Sodium benzoate found in many soft drinks and various food products has been found to damage the mitochondria in DNA. Lesson here? Before committing a crime, slam down some Diet Cokes so no DNA shows up at the crime scene.

• Chief of Police, Police Aldermanic Committee, Director of Administrative Services and Director of Purchasing recommending approval of the low proposal of Overhead Door of Quincy in the amount of $12,200 for a new overhead garage door. HOW BIG IS THE FREAKING DOOR ?? $12,000 ????

• 1.3 million for HVAC work to city hall ? What does this figure out to, $550 per square foot?
  

• The Quincy Park District will hold a customer appreciation day Sat June 23 ?? I didn't know I was a "customer"? Taxes for the Park District are included in my property taxes. Maybe I'll have to shop around for another Park District.
  

My View of Politics

I had to snicker today as I seen by another local blog that this one was linked as a "deluted right wing fool blog". Personally I could care less what political party someone belongs to, they're both full of crap in my view.

I have returned the favor (without any personal opinion.)

Racism is defined as:

Any action, practice, or belief that reflects the racial worldview — the ideology that humans are divided into separate and exclusive biological entities called "races," that there is a causal link between inherited physical traits and traits of personality, intellect, morality, and other cultural behavioral features, and that some "races" are innately superior to others.

To be obsessed with branding someone "right wing' or "left wing" based on their view of the world is beyond my comprehension.

All views are welcome here.

State Hires New Gardner

Jeff Jansen, the longtime executive director of the Oakley-Lindsay Center in Quincy, is scheduled to start a new job next week with the Illinois Department of Transportation.

Jansen's title will be local agency liaison and safety outreach coordinator for IDOT's District 6. He will be in charge of working with small communities in search of beautification projects, grant writing and area right-of-way acquisition. He also will work with IDOT safety programs.

Mike Claffey, a spokesman for IDOT, confirmed that Jansen will start next week at an annual salary of $62,200. Claffey said the position exists elsewhere in the state but has not previously existed in West-Central Illinois.

The state job will give Jansen a chance to qualify for benefits under the Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund. He was enrolled in IMRF during his time as an alderman and director of administrative services. But Jansen fell short of the eight years needed to get a pension.

You're FIRED !!!

Rosie O'Donnell will not be back on "The View," ABC announced Friday, two days after she and co-host Elisabeth Hasselbeck got into a huge political dust-up live on the talk show.

Who is sorry to see this happen....

Seatbelts ?? Really....

By Rajah Maples
Posted: Wednesday, May 23, 2007 at 9:24 PM

You've probably heard of the Click it or ticket campaign, which targets drivers who don't wear their seat belts.

*This* year, officers plan to increase their patrol of *night-time* drivers.

Illinois State Police Master Sergeant Dorman Deeder says studies have shown that 60 percent of all fatalities that happen at night happen because drivers didn't buckle up.

So state police plan to pay *extra* attention to night-time drivers to help decrease that statistic.

Translation:

For fatal crashes occurring from midnight to 3:00 AM, 77 percent involved alcohol in 2003. The next most dangerous time period for alcohol-related crash deaths were 9 PM to midnight (64 percent of fatal crashes involved alcohol), followed by 3 AM to 6 AM (60 percent of fatal crashes involved alcohol). (NHTSA, 2004)

Pain in the Gas

If the QHW is going to feed me a line of crap, there're gonna need a bigger spoon.

After reading Saturdays article on why the price of gas is going up in Quincy, it took me about 40 minutes and 2 cups of coffee to blow this story to shame. It's taking me longer to write and explain how I came to this conclusion.

First. Do you think a "convenience store director of operations" is going to tell you the truth ? First statement is there will be a "temporary interruption of fuel flow" then says "The Magellan pipelines are expected to be off line for as much as a month." Huh. What?

My comparison of this statement is a temporary interruption is that that your power will be restored after we fix this problem in an hour vs. the hurricane has torn out the entire power lines to the area and it will be days until the power is restored.

A quick search on Google with the Magellan statement turns up nothing.

Another search on Google for Magellan Pipelines turns up their company website. It shows that the pipeline runs from OK up to Chicago. OK hang with me here. The assets page shows the pipeline in detail.

The first terminal is in Columbia MO. A search of this so-called "gas outage" shows nothing. Next terminal is Palmyra MO. Next is Heyworth IL. Closest locations to this is Bloomington and Springfield IL. Another search shows no problem here either. Also shows that Bloomington gas prices are 10 cent cheaper than Quincy. Looking at SPFLD gas prices, they are also 10 to 15 cents cheaper too.

So....I do have some knowledge of how pipelines work and I know that a pipeline that runs through the Midwest runs THRU the Midwest. Cost would prohibit it from running from OK to Columbia, OK to Palmyra, OK to Heyworth. Keep up with me here. So if the the SAME pipeline feeds the Columbia, Palmyra, and Heyworth, How come they don't have the same supply problem WE do???

How come gas is cheaper in Bloomington and Springfield that runs thru the SAME gas line that feeds Palmyra in the same state with the same taxes ???

I do believe we are gettin' hosed at the pump.

Square One

Sheryl Crow believes using less toilet paper will stop global warming.

The If It Makes You Happy singer, who spent two weeks touring the US on a Stop Global Warming College Tour, is convinced one square per visit is sufficient.

Sheryl writes on her tour blog: "I propose a limitation to be put on how many squares of toilet paper can be used in any one sitting. I think we are
industrious enough people to make it work with only one square per restroom visit, except, of course, on those pesky occasions where two to three could be required."

Wild Fire Weekend.....

I got nothing.

Do you?

Show Me the MONEY !!!

Tourism director Holly Cain says the event generates about $7 million for local businesses--more than any other event that comes to Quincy.

About. Ever take your wife to the doctor and have him say, "your wife is about pregnant"?

I have little doubt that the WFFC raises this kind of money for Quincy.

What I would like to see is some HARD FACTS !!!

No Estimates. FACTS ONLY PLEASE !!!

Here is the Airport info for Rantoul.
Here is Quincy.