Wednesday, March 24, 2004
Links to Fred Weber Inc.
If you plan to contact Fred Weber Inc. directly, please be polite and do not use inflamatory language. Address the issue at hand, express your opinion (perhaps read it again before sending it), and be courteous. Contact information for Fred Weber can be found at the company's web site.
This particular page also has blurbage about Fred Weber's wholly owned (?) subsidiary, FW Disposal, Inc. From the company's web page under the heading "Following the Rules":
I'll leave you to ponder those words.
If you plan to contact Fred Weber Inc. directly, please be polite and do not use inflamatory language. Address the issue at hand, express your opinion (perhaps read it again before sending it), and be courteous. Contact information for Fred Weber can be found at the company's web site.
This particular page also has blurbage about Fred Weber's wholly owned (?) subsidiary, FW Disposal, Inc. From the company's web page under the heading "Following the Rules":
Many environmental groups agree that communities need trash transfer stations, but they need them to be built right, to operate in a manner considerate to their neighbors and with the best available technology.
We work within our community and with the DNR to ensure that our facilities are state of the art in terms of handling solid waste at transfer stations.
I'll leave you to ponder those words.
Anti-SLAPP legislation in Missouri
Unfortunately, Fred Weber can get away with a SLAPP suit right now since Missouri doesn't have an ANTI-SLAPP statute.
There is a bill, SB 807 which is waiting to be placed on the Senate calendar for a vote. The bill is narrowly tailored, however, and may not include the circumstances surrounding the present case.
Please contact your state senator and representative to move this legislation along.
Unfortunately, Fred Weber can get away with a SLAPP suit right now since Missouri doesn't have an ANTI-SLAPP statute.
There is a bill, SB 807 which is waiting to be placed on the Senate calendar for a vote. The bill is narrowly tailored, however, and may not include the circumstances surrounding the present case.
Please contact your state senator and representative to move this legislation along.
Fred Weber Gets Mean
The trash transfer station saga continues. After filing a SLAPP suit against the opposition, Fred Weber is now seeking to legal remove Councilmember Campisi from the Appeal hearing.
This section of south St. Louis county is unincorporated and has a single representative, Mr. Campisi. If Fred Weber is successful in getting Mr. Campisi removed from the hearing, the area where Fred Weber desires to build this trash transfer station will have no government representative at the hearing.
Fred Weber seeks to deny those residents of South St. Louis county their legally elected representative.
Up to this point, I have been relatively quiet, sitting on the sidelines watching the show. Now that Fred Weber seeks to undermine the democratic process entirely, the gloves need to come off.
The trash transfer station saga continues. After filing a SLAPP suit against the opposition, Fred Weber is now seeking to legal remove Councilmember Campisi from the Appeal hearing.
This section of south St. Louis county is unincorporated and has a single representative, Mr. Campisi. If Fred Weber is successful in getting Mr. Campisi removed from the hearing, the area where Fred Weber desires to build this trash transfer station will have no government representative at the hearing.
Fred Weber seeks to deny those residents of South St. Louis county their legally elected representative.
Up to this point, I have been relatively quiet, sitting on the sidelines watching the show. Now that Fred Weber seeks to undermine the democratic process entirely, the gloves need to come off.
Elections in St. Louis County -- April 6
The next set of elections is coming in St. Louis County. In my neck of the woods, we're selecting 2 school board places for the Mehlville school board (3 year terms) out of 3 candidates. I plan to vote for Tom Correnti and Karl Frank Jr. (Driving around today, I noticed that Mrs. Diekemper and Mr. Correnti had yard signs out. The interesting thing was that they seemed to be exclusively in pairs, sited right next to each other in a neat line. It seems like this is a joint campaign to reelect Mrs. Diekemper and to elect Mr. Correnti. At least there aren't any, that I can see, on public school property.)
We're also voting on a proposed 1/8ยข increase in the county sales tax, supposedly to fund the park system. (What will happen is that the new money will flow to the park system, but some existing money appropriated from the general fund to the park system will be redirected to other things with the de facto effect that the tax targetted for the park system will only be partly used for the park system.) I plan to vote NO on proposition P.
Finally, we're voting for 1 trustee (6 year term) for the Junior college district. I have no idea who these folks are so I better get cracking.
The next set of elections is coming in St. Louis County. In my neck of the woods, we're selecting 2 school board places for the Mehlville school board (3 year terms) out of 3 candidates. I plan to vote for Tom Correnti and Karl Frank Jr. (Driving around today, I noticed that Mrs. Diekemper and Mr. Correnti had yard signs out. The interesting thing was that they seemed to be exclusively in pairs, sited right next to each other in a neat line. It seems like this is a joint campaign to reelect Mrs. Diekemper and to elect Mr. Correnti. At least there aren't any, that I can see, on public school property.)
We're also voting on a proposed 1/8ยข increase in the county sales tax, supposedly to fund the park system. (What will happen is that the new money will flow to the park system, but some existing money appropriated from the general fund to the park system will be redirected to other things with the de facto effect that the tax targetted for the park system will only be partly used for the park system.) I plan to vote NO on proposition P.
Finally, we're voting for 1 trustee (6 year term) for the Junior college district. I have no idea who these folks are so I better get cracking.
Saturday, March 20, 2004
Kid's Menus at Restaurants
I have a simple question: Why are kids menus at restaurants so vastly different from adult menus, not just in portion size, which is expected, but also in the nature of the offerings?
Go into just about any restaurant (Bob Evans is one exception) and look at the kids menu. You'll see mac & cheese, chicken fingers with fries, grilled cheese, etc., regardless of what might be on the adult menu. What this does is teach our kids to eat a junk diet instead of teaching them to eat healthy.
At home, my daughter and I eat the same meal with the same vegetable (the one exception being when I eat salad, which she doesn't eat yet, but even then I'll offer her nibbles of it.) She has learned to eat a variety of vegetables and meats. (OK, so peas aren't a bit hit, but she will eat some. Spinach and green beans are her favorites. She also loves fish with salmon being her favorite there.)
Try getting a half-order of some adult plate and see what response you get from the restaurant. Can I get a half-order of meatloaf? What about a half-order of salmon? How about a half-order of veal saltimbocca?
How in the world can I teach her to eat healthy when she's not at my table, if the meals offered by restaurants of all places aren't healthy either? (No, we don't eat out much. I'm a decent cook.) I still want her to eat healthy, even if I don't want to cook (or heat) it.
And yes, I'm perfectly willing to pay 2/3rds of the price for a half-order of whatever she would like. (Hey, restauranteers -- does that sound like a higher margin product to you, it does to me.)
I have a simple question: Why are kids menus at restaurants so vastly different from adult menus, not just in portion size, which is expected, but also in the nature of the offerings?
Go into just about any restaurant (Bob Evans is one exception) and look at the kids menu. You'll see mac & cheese, chicken fingers with fries, grilled cheese, etc., regardless of what might be on the adult menu. What this does is teach our kids to eat a junk diet instead of teaching them to eat healthy.
At home, my daughter and I eat the same meal with the same vegetable (the one exception being when I eat salad, which she doesn't eat yet, but even then I'll offer her nibbles of it.) She has learned to eat a variety of vegetables and meats. (OK, so peas aren't a bit hit, but she will eat some. Spinach and green beans are her favorites. She also loves fish with salmon being her favorite there.)
Try getting a half-order of some adult plate and see what response you get from the restaurant. Can I get a half-order of meatloaf? What about a half-order of salmon? How about a half-order of veal saltimbocca?
How in the world can I teach her to eat healthy when she's not at my table, if the meals offered by restaurants of all places aren't healthy either? (No, we don't eat out much. I'm a decent cook.) I still want her to eat healthy, even if I don't want to cook (or heat) it.
And yes, I'm perfectly willing to pay 2/3rds of the price for a half-order of whatever she would like. (Hey, restauranteers -- does that sound like a higher margin product to you, it does to me.)
The Saint Louis Zoo
Over the years, I have visited a number of zoos both in the US and abroad. While I lived in Dallas, my ex-wife and I visited the Ft. Worth Zoo on occasion. Back in the early 90's, it was one of the few zoos which was undertaking the (expensive) transformation to more natural enclosures. The Dallas Zoo wasn't that great.
On moving to Colorado Springs, we had the opportunity to visit the zoo there. It's the highest zoo in the US (8000+ft above sea level) and as such, can host a number of species which can't be found at lower elevations, Mountain Gorillas being one such. The Denver zoo was OK.
On moving to France, we had the opportunity to visit the Mulhouse zoo and the Basel zoo. The Mulhouse zoo had a few species neither of us had seen before. It was a smaller zoo and was more inline with the older pen-style enclosure approach. Basel was nicer with a 3-dimensional type layout, similar to the way the rest of the city is laid out.
We also got a chance to visit the San Diego zoo. We had heard that it was one of the best in the world. It was so so. After visiting the Ft. Worth zoo, it seemed to be about the same as the Ft. Worth zoo.
On relocating to Seattle, we had a change to visit the Seattle zoo and the Vancouver (BC) aquarium. The Seattle zoo was very weak, both in the species in it's collection and the manner used to display them. It needed a major upgrade. The Vancouver aquarium was wonderful. I had not seen many aquaria to that point, but this one far surpassed any that I had seen before. The Seattle aquarium, on the waterfront near Pike's Place Market, was small, but did have a significant variety of species on display, both fresh water and salt water.
I've also visited the Cameron Park zoo (Waco, TX -- betcha didn't know they had one, huh) and for the size city it is, it's a pretty decent zoo.
The St. Louis Zoo is on par, in my view, with the Ft. Worth zoo. They are in the process of upgrading many of their enclosures to the modern format. The cat section was completed a few years back, the African Savannah exhibit "The River Wild" was completed a year or so ago, and a complete reworking of the primate section is in the offing, to be completed next year. The enclosures for the bears are OK, but need work. The monkey house is an antique and should be replaced. There is an open air bird house left over from the 1904 World's Fair. That will likely remain as long as the zoo is around. The upgrade program is wonderful, but what makes this zoo so superior is the price -- Free. Yes, we residents of St. Louis County, through our tax dollars, provide for the upkeep and maintenance of the zoo. Of course, if you want to park, it's $8, train rides are $1/stop/person, the petting zoo is $4/person (over age 2) and the insectarium is $4/person (I think.)
I take my daughter frequently and we went again today. I typically park on the street to avoid the parking fee, take food/water/supplies with us and we can spend a couple hours at the zoo, excuse me, seeing the Elephants (her favorite!) with some frequency. At some point, I'll probably spring for a zoo membership, but for now, my tax dollars help pay for it and so, we'll enjoy it whenever we can. This may end up being a vacation theme in the future -- visit a number of zoos around the country as we travel.
If you're ever in St. Louis, have kids or just enjoy a visit to the zoo, please enjoy ours.
Over the years, I have visited a number of zoos both in the US and abroad. While I lived in Dallas, my ex-wife and I visited the Ft. Worth Zoo on occasion. Back in the early 90's, it was one of the few zoos which was undertaking the (expensive) transformation to more natural enclosures. The Dallas Zoo wasn't that great.
On moving to Colorado Springs, we had the opportunity to visit the zoo there. It's the highest zoo in the US (8000+ft above sea level) and as such, can host a number of species which can't be found at lower elevations, Mountain Gorillas being one such. The Denver zoo was OK.
On moving to France, we had the opportunity to visit the Mulhouse zoo and the Basel zoo. The Mulhouse zoo had a few species neither of us had seen before. It was a smaller zoo and was more inline with the older pen-style enclosure approach. Basel was nicer with a 3-dimensional type layout, similar to the way the rest of the city is laid out.
We also got a chance to visit the San Diego zoo. We had heard that it was one of the best in the world. It was so so. After visiting the Ft. Worth zoo, it seemed to be about the same as the Ft. Worth zoo.
On relocating to Seattle, we had a change to visit the Seattle zoo and the Vancouver (BC) aquarium. The Seattle zoo was very weak, both in the species in it's collection and the manner used to display them. It needed a major upgrade. The Vancouver aquarium was wonderful. I had not seen many aquaria to that point, but this one far surpassed any that I had seen before. The Seattle aquarium, on the waterfront near Pike's Place Market, was small, but did have a significant variety of species on display, both fresh water and salt water.
I've also visited the Cameron Park zoo (Waco, TX -- betcha didn't know they had one, huh) and for the size city it is, it's a pretty decent zoo.
The St. Louis Zoo is on par, in my view, with the Ft. Worth zoo. They are in the process of upgrading many of their enclosures to the modern format. The cat section was completed a few years back, the African Savannah exhibit "The River Wild" was completed a year or so ago, and a complete reworking of the primate section is in the offing, to be completed next year. The enclosures for the bears are OK, but need work. The monkey house is an antique and should be replaced. There is an open air bird house left over from the 1904 World's Fair. That will likely remain as long as the zoo is around. The upgrade program is wonderful, but what makes this zoo so superior is the price -- Free. Yes, we residents of St. Louis County, through our tax dollars, provide for the upkeep and maintenance of the zoo. Of course, if you want to park, it's $8, train rides are $1/stop/person, the petting zoo is $4/person (over age 2) and the insectarium is $4/person (I think.)
I take my daughter frequently and we went again today. I typically park on the street to avoid the parking fee, take food/water/supplies with us and we can spend a couple hours at the zoo, excuse me, seeing the Elephants (her favorite!) with some frequency. At some point, I'll probably spring for a zoo membership, but for now, my tax dollars help pay for it and so, we'll enjoy it whenever we can. This may end up being a vacation theme in the future -- visit a number of zoos around the country as we travel.
If you're ever in St. Louis, have kids or just enjoy a visit to the zoo, please enjoy ours.
Societal Bias Against Single Fathers
Look around at organizations devoted to single parent families and helping single parents raise kids and you'll inevitably see those organization targetted almost exclusive to single moms. It's frustrating as it really implies that single dads are not welcome.
Even here in my apartment complex, that attitude holds sway. My next door neighbor has a couple of boys, early elementary age, and my upstairs neighbor has several kids of various ages, including girls who appear to be roughly my daughter's age. Both of them have seen me with my daughter and we've chatted, informally and briefly, on occasion. And yet, they talk with each other about play dates and such, but neither has ever indicated including my daugther in those activities. Why is this? Is there just a fear of males? Is this just more ingrained discrimination?
I used to get really irked when traveling with my daughter and none of the men's restrooms just about anywhere had changing tables -- those were reserved for the ladies rooms. I used to pester the management about it and make them kick the ladies out of the restroom so I could change her. It wasn't that I couldn't do it in the men's room, but rather to make a point. By inconveniencing the management and the other customers, I could make the explicit point that single fathers were not being treated equally to single mothers and that there is an explicit societal bias towards mothers and children.
Even my church does this, having events for single mothers. As if single mothers are the only single parents around. No, there probably shouldn't be any single parents, at least not due to divorce, but single parents are a reality and one the church should accept and include, even if the manner of becoming a single parent was a sinful one. God has forgiven me. My ex-wife hasn't. I'm still struggling to forgive myself and frequently find myself beating myself up about things I could have done differently, etc., most of which is useless time wasting.
Including myself is not something which comes naturally to me, so it's tough for me to fight societal norms against single fathers. Every event my daughter does go to or attend, she is included, which is great for her. I'm just not included among the other parents. Should I be more forceful to self-include? Perhaps I'm simply being too polite waiting for an invitation. Who knows. What I do know is that society doesn't take kindly to single fathers.
So the next time someone tells me I don't know what it feels like to be discriminated against because I'm a white male, I can answer that they are wrong. I do know what discrimination feels like and it is very unpleasant.
Look around at organizations devoted to single parent families and helping single parents raise kids and you'll inevitably see those organization targetted almost exclusive to single moms. It's frustrating as it really implies that single dads are not welcome.
Even here in my apartment complex, that attitude holds sway. My next door neighbor has a couple of boys, early elementary age, and my upstairs neighbor has several kids of various ages, including girls who appear to be roughly my daughter's age. Both of them have seen me with my daughter and we've chatted, informally and briefly, on occasion. And yet, they talk with each other about play dates and such, but neither has ever indicated including my daugther in those activities. Why is this? Is there just a fear of males? Is this just more ingrained discrimination?
I used to get really irked when traveling with my daughter and none of the men's restrooms just about anywhere had changing tables -- those were reserved for the ladies rooms. I used to pester the management about it and make them kick the ladies out of the restroom so I could change her. It wasn't that I couldn't do it in the men's room, but rather to make a point. By inconveniencing the management and the other customers, I could make the explicit point that single fathers were not being treated equally to single mothers and that there is an explicit societal bias towards mothers and children.
Even my church does this, having events for single mothers. As if single mothers are the only single parents around. No, there probably shouldn't be any single parents, at least not due to divorce, but single parents are a reality and one the church should accept and include, even if the manner of becoming a single parent was a sinful one. God has forgiven me. My ex-wife hasn't. I'm still struggling to forgive myself and frequently find myself beating myself up about things I could have done differently, etc., most of which is useless time wasting.
Including myself is not something which comes naturally to me, so it's tough for me to fight societal norms against single fathers. Every event my daughter does go to or attend, she is included, which is great for her. I'm just not included among the other parents. Should I be more forceful to self-include? Perhaps I'm simply being too polite waiting for an invitation. Who knows. What I do know is that society doesn't take kindly to single fathers.
So the next time someone tells me I don't know what it feels like to be discriminated against because I'm a white male, I can answer that they are wrong. I do know what discrimination feels like and it is very unpleasant.
Friday, March 19, 2004
School Cafeteria Part III
Well, this just gets more interesting. Food was not delivered to some schools for 2 days in a row. Yesterday, one of the schools received lunches from a nearby ministry operation. (Calling the ACLU -- there must be some sort of violation here.) Today, that same school arranged with the ministry to have a BBQ.
The kids almost went hungry again. The culprit this time wasn't the deliveries, but rather the public health bureaucracy. You see, they public health department found out about this little plan and stormed right on over to put the kibosh on it. The school needed a permit for open air food service. Never mind that the ministry already has a food service permit for what they do. Move the grills a few feet and another permit is needed, I guess.
I hope the kids are getting a really good look at how bureaucracy works and will remember this lesson when they grow up. Bureaucrats are not your friends.
Well, this just gets more interesting. Food was not delivered to some schools for 2 days in a row. Yesterday, one of the schools received lunches from a nearby ministry operation. (Calling the ACLU -- there must be some sort of violation here.) Today, that same school arranged with the ministry to have a BBQ.
The kids almost went hungry again. The culprit this time wasn't the deliveries, but rather the public health bureaucracy. You see, they public health department found out about this little plan and stormed right on over to put the kibosh on it. The school needed a permit for open air food service. Never mind that the ministry already has a food service permit for what they do. Move the grills a few feet and another permit is needed, I guess.
I hope the kids are getting a really good look at how bureaucracy works and will remember this lesson when they grow up. Bureaucrats are not your friends.
Thursday, March 18, 2004
School Lunches Today
After Tuesday's illnesses, the schools in the Saint Louis public school system (city) arranged for boxed lunches to be delivered to the various elementary schools. OK, the district is trying while the cafeterias are shut down.
So what happens? (Hint: the drivers of the delivery trucks are all members of the Teamsters Local 610 and are set to lose their jobs in 2 weeks when Aramark assumes that part of the food operation as well.)
Well, these fine upstanding creatures on which our innocent school children depend decide to stage a [expletive deleted] job action with some schools failing to receive any deliveries whatsoever. Students in those schools "made other arrangements" or went hungry. Way to go! Way to show "the man" just how you're not going to take this.
This is unconscionable behavior and if these guys (and gals?) have chosen to act this way, they deserve to be fired, not in 2 weeks, but today. Make the children pay because you're going to lose your job? Great attitude. I have no sympathy. (I feel the same way when teachers go on strike.)
UPDATE: A spokeman for the Teamsters local 610 denies that there was any job action. He claims that it was due to fewer drivers and district mandated changes in the delivery routes. Fewer drivers might be an issue as could really strange delivery route changes. These guys are professionals, however, and should act like it. If you have fewer drivers, start earlier, pinheads.
At one school, lunch for the kids consisted of milk and cookies. Milk & Cookies?!?!?!?!? Fire the whole friggin' lot of 'em. Today. Don't wait until the end of the month when they would lose their jobs anyway. This sort of behavior is deplorable and I can't express my revulsion strongly enough.
UPDATE2: The company poised to assume responsibility for deliveries claims that there have been no changes in the routes or delivery schedules. This makes sense to me. Why would a company which was going to lose the business make dramatic changes in routing from something that worked, albeit perhaps inefficiently? I can think of no really valid reason.
After Tuesday's illnesses, the schools in the Saint Louis public school system (city) arranged for boxed lunches to be delivered to the various elementary schools. OK, the district is trying while the cafeterias are shut down.
So what happens? (Hint: the drivers of the delivery trucks are all members of the Teamsters Local 610 and are set to lose their jobs in 2 weeks when Aramark assumes that part of the food operation as well.)
Well, these fine upstanding creatures on which our innocent school children depend decide to stage a [expletive deleted] job action with some schools failing to receive any deliveries whatsoever. Students in those schools "made other arrangements" or went hungry. Way to go! Way to show "the man" just how you're not going to take this.
This is unconscionable behavior and if these guys (and gals?) have chosen to act this way, they deserve to be fired, not in 2 weeks, but today. Make the children pay because you're going to lose your job? Great attitude. I have no sympathy. (I feel the same way when teachers go on strike.)
UPDATE: A spokeman for the Teamsters local 610 denies that there was any job action. He claims that it was due to fewer drivers and district mandated changes in the delivery routes. Fewer drivers might be an issue as could really strange delivery route changes. These guys are professionals, however, and should act like it. If you have fewer drivers, start earlier, pinheads.
At one school, lunch for the kids consisted of milk and cookies. Milk & Cookies?!?!?!?!? Fire the whole friggin' lot of 'em. Today. Don't wait until the end of the month when they would lose their jobs anyway. This sort of behavior is deplorable and I can't express my revulsion strongly enough.
UPDATE2: The company poised to assume responsibility for deliveries claims that there have been no changes in the routes or delivery schedules. This makes sense to me. Why would a company which was going to lose the business make dramatic changes in routing from something that worked, albeit perhaps inefficiently? I can think of no really valid reason.
Wednesday, March 17, 2004
School Children Ill
The big story last night and today here in St. Louis has been the large number of school children in the St. Louis City School District who were taken ill with apparent food poisoning after eating in the school cafeteria. The mysterious part was that this happened at more than one school.
The district, before the current school year, fired all of it's cafeteria workers and contracted with Aramark to provide food services district wide. What is unknown is if the same meal of turkey and au gratin potatoes was served at all of the affected schools.
The mystery deepens in that some students who did not eat the food had become ill. Likewise, some students who did eat the food did not become ill.
Preliminary tests on the food may be available tomorrow. Officials from Aramark corporate HQ in Philly flew into town today to meet with school district officials. There has yet been no comment on the results of any such meetings. Investigators are also examining CO as a possible poisoning agent.
If the same meal was served at all of the affected schools, it likely is some sort of food poisoning which should be traceable back to the source. If different meals were served, I have to wonder if this might not be some sort of revenge against the district for dismissing all of the cafeteria workers. I surely hope this latter thought is not the case.
The big story last night and today here in St. Louis has been the large number of school children in the St. Louis City School District who were taken ill with apparent food poisoning after eating in the school cafeteria. The mysterious part was that this happened at more than one school.
The district, before the current school year, fired all of it's cafeteria workers and contracted with Aramark to provide food services district wide. What is unknown is if the same meal of turkey and au gratin potatoes was served at all of the affected schools.
The mystery deepens in that some students who did not eat the food had become ill. Likewise, some students who did eat the food did not become ill.
Preliminary tests on the food may be available tomorrow. Officials from Aramark corporate HQ in Philly flew into town today to meet with school district officials. There has yet been no comment on the results of any such meetings. Investigators are also examining CO as a possible poisoning agent.
If the same meal was served at all of the affected schools, it likely is some sort of food poisoning which should be traceable back to the source. If different meals were served, I have to wonder if this might not be some sort of revenge against the district for dismissing all of the cafeteria workers. I surely hope this latter thought is not the case.
Sunshine Law update
Missouri House Bill HB 870 which was to add various electronic formats to the types of media used to record public meetings and on which various meeting information is to be made available upon request, is apparently stalled in the House Judiciary Committee.
A similar bill, HB1402, which updates the Sunshine Law to specifically include the administration of the University of Missouri (it's a long story) as a public entity has been recommended out of the General Laws committee, but hasn't been scheduled for a House vote just yet.
Missouri House Bill HB 870 which was to add various electronic formats to the types of media used to record public meetings and on which various meeting information is to be made available upon request, is apparently stalled in the House Judiciary Committee.
A similar bill, HB1402, which updates the Sunshine Law to specifically include the administration of the University of Missouri (it's a long story) as a public entity has been recommended out of the General Laws committee, but hasn't been scheduled for a House vote just yet.
Mehlville School Board -- Part II
Another editorial in the same Concord Call weekly newspaper talks about the board chairman, Bill Schornheuser, and calls for his resignation. That's a pretty serious charge.
Apparently, when Mr. Schornheuser learned that 3 candidates were running for the 2 open places on the school board (3 year terms, I believe) and that one of the candidates, Karl Frank Jr., actually had a web site his first notion was about how to shut down the web site from this upstart. He apparently even phoned Mr. Frank demanding he withdraw, claiming that if Mr. Frank withdrew the district could save the cost of the election. I wonder if Mrs. Diekemper got a phone call? What about Mr. Correnti? Somehow I doubt that they did.
Mr. Schornheuser had apparently decided who he wanted on the board and that was that -- no election required. Bzzzt. Wrong answer.
Let's see how Mr. Schornheuser responded to this. When the Call tried to call him, he failed to respond. Further, it seems that this is a personal policy of Mr. Schornheuser as he doesn't seem to want to communicate much with the public, that is unless he can control the forum. That's pretty weak.
Recall that quote (post below on this same day) from Mrs. Diekemper:
Apparently, Mr. Schornheuser doesn't share Mrs. Diekemper's willingness to share with the public. Then again, Mrs. Diekemper doesn't seem to want to share with the public either as she appears to be hiding behind a misinterpretation of the Sunshine Law.
The previous chair of the Mehlville school board was Walt Bivins, current representative of the 97th district to the state legislature (up for reelection this fall himself.) It appears, although I have no proof of this, that he hand-picked Mr. Schornheuser for this position, not only helping him understand how to run a winning campaign for the position (with the other board members) but also endorsing him for the position and grooming him.
Given how poorly Mr. Schornheuser appears to be behaving, this reflects very poorly on Mr. Bivins. (Just to be clear, Mr. Bivins also opposed an open comment period during school board meetings.)
Another editorial in the same Concord Call weekly newspaper talks about the board chairman, Bill Schornheuser, and calls for his resignation. That's a pretty serious charge.
Apparently, when Mr. Schornheuser learned that 3 candidates were running for the 2 open places on the school board (3 year terms, I believe) and that one of the candidates, Karl Frank Jr., actually had a web site his first notion was about how to shut down the web site from this upstart. He apparently even phoned Mr. Frank demanding he withdraw, claiming that if Mr. Frank withdrew the district could save the cost of the election. I wonder if Mrs. Diekemper got a phone call? What about Mr. Correnti? Somehow I doubt that they did.
Mr. Schornheuser had apparently decided who he wanted on the board and that was that -- no election required. Bzzzt. Wrong answer.
Let's see how Mr. Schornheuser responded to this. When the Call tried to call him, he failed to respond. Further, it seems that this is a personal policy of Mr. Schornheuser as he doesn't seem to want to communicate much with the public, that is unless he can control the forum. That's pretty weak.
Recall that quote (post below on this same day) from Mrs. Diekemper:
"Also, anyone is permitted to call any of the board members. Our e-mails are listed on our Web site and all of us are listed in the phone book. And we welcome such discussions with people."
Apparently, Mr. Schornheuser doesn't share Mrs. Diekemper's willingness to share with the public. Then again, Mrs. Diekemper doesn't seem to want to share with the public either as she appears to be hiding behind a misinterpretation of the Sunshine Law.
The previous chair of the Mehlville school board was Walt Bivins, current representative of the 97th district to the state legislature (up for reelection this fall himself.) It appears, although I have no proof of this, that he hand-picked Mr. Schornheuser for this position, not only helping him understand how to run a winning campaign for the position (with the other board members) but also endorsing him for the position and grooming him.
Given how poorly Mr. Schornheuser appears to be behaving, this reflects very poorly on Mr. Bivins. (Just to be clear, Mr. Bivins also opposed an open comment period during school board meetings.)
Two Bible Studies
I'm currently in 2 bible studies. On, a biweekly study, is discussing the topic "Waiting Upon the Lord." Since for me, waiting implies statis (think about what you can do while waiting in a doctor's office) I have had a hard time really grasping this concept.
The other study is a weekly study on the Gospel of John. We're about 8 weeks in now and as leader, I'm preparing the next lesson on Nicodemus, John 3:1-21. It's unclear whether Jesus commentary ends with verse 15 as F.F. Bruce asserts and John's comments conclude the remaining few verses of that section, or if Jesus should actually be quoted all the way through verse 21. The ISV translation, for instance, continues Jesus speaking up through verse 21. Nevertheless, the entire story is interesting. Our last lesson, Storming the Temple, was quite good and I pray that God will bless my preparation for this next section as well.
I'm currently in 2 bible studies. On, a biweekly study, is discussing the topic "Waiting Upon the Lord." Since for me, waiting implies statis (think about what you can do while waiting in a doctor's office) I have had a hard time really grasping this concept.
The other study is a weekly study on the Gospel of John. We're about 8 weeks in now and as leader, I'm preparing the next lesson on Nicodemus, John 3:1-21. It's unclear whether Jesus commentary ends with verse 15 as F.F. Bruce asserts and John's comments conclude the remaining few verses of that section, or if Jesus should actually be quoted all the way through verse 21. The ISV translation, for instance, continues Jesus speaking up through verse 21. Nevertheless, the entire story is interesting. Our last lesson, Storming the Temple, was quite good and I pray that God will bless my preparation for this next section as well.
Concealed Weapons Permits in St. Louis County!
The County Council, in breaking news, voted today 5-0, to allow concealed weapons permits to be issued in St. Louis County. Permits may be issued starting as early as this coming Saturday, March 20.
Stay tuned for more.
Note, this was from a FOX 2 KTVI over the air news broadcast. At present, I have been unable to confirm this.
UPDATE: This for St. Charles County (one county west of St. Louis county), not St. Louis County. Darn.
The County Council, in breaking news, voted today 5-0, to allow concealed weapons permits to be issued in St. Louis County. Permits may be issued starting as early as this coming Saturday, March 20.
Stay tuned for more.
Note, this was from a FOX 2 KTVI over the air news broadcast. At present, I have been unable to confirm this.
UPDATE: This for St. Charles County (one county west of St. Louis county), not St. Louis County. Darn.
Mehlville School Board Election -- April 6
The Concord Call a local weekly newspaper all residents within this section of unincorporated South St. Louis County receive (or one of the sister publications) has an article today about the candidate forum. I must say that the incumbent candidate, Mrs. Rita Diekemper completely misunderstands the Sunshine Law. I used to be County Chair of the St. Louis Libertarian Party, so I do understand the Sunshine Law.
Let's fisk her response, shall we?
Candidates were asked: "Why you do not allow public comment and questions at board meetings?"
Mrs. Diekemper:
Whew, there is a lot there, so let's take is slowly.
First of all, the Sunshine Law in Missouri does have an exception so that matters of personnel, legal issues, or future contracts are to be discussed only in a closed session. The Sunshine Law requires all other matters to be discussed in an open forum.
I suppose that Mrs. Diekemper is concerned that someone in the public will bring up an issue related to personnel or a future contract and so must agree to restrict all such communications save they be put on a formal agenda. Of course, the persons making the agenda would be the same persons who have already stated that they don't want to hear from the public in public. Got that?
Second, if a person in such a public venue broaches a subject which is covered by the exceptions to the Sunshine Law, that person can be stopped midstream and informed that because it is a matter of a future contract, legal issue, or personnel issue and the board is not allowed to answer that in public, at least not until the issue is resolved.
Mrs. Diekemper believes that the board (she?) should continue to deny a period of public comment for non-agenda items due to a misunderstanding of the Sunshine Law. This needs to be changed.
On other public committees and boards, the real issue with public comment is that the board doesn't want to sit there all night and listen to public comment. It can be reasonably limited in duration (5 minutes is typically fine) and if there are multiple persons to speak about a similar topic, a spokesperson can be requested to speak on behalf of the group. This is just simply good PR. From what I've read about Mrs. Diekemper's tenure on the board, I can not in good conscience support her reelection.
I fully support Karl Frank Jr. for one of the seats on the Mehlville Board of Education.
The Concord Call a local weekly newspaper all residents within this section of unincorporated South St. Louis County receive (or one of the sister publications) has an article today about the candidate forum. I must say that the incumbent candidate, Mrs. Rita Diekemper completely misunderstands the Sunshine Law. I used to be County Chair of the St. Louis Libertarian Party, so I do understand the Sunshine Law.
Let's fisk her response, shall we?
Candidates were asked: "Why you do not allow public comment and questions at board meetings?"
Mrs. Diekemper:
"We allow for a public comment period, however, the board is bound by the laws of the Sunshine Law of the state. It would be illegal for us to engage in a discussion with people about items that may not appear listed on the agenda. And when you realize the intent of the law, it is so that other people who may be interested in that conversation, if they knew that that conversation were to occur, could also be at teh meeting and hear and participate in teh conversation. If someone would like to make an agenda request, they can do so in writing, and items will be put on the agenda and then there can be a discussion back and forth. Also, anyone is permitted to call any of the board members. Our e-mails are listed on our Web site and all of us are listed in teh phone book. And we welcome such discussions with people."
Whew, there is a lot there, so let's take is slowly.
First of all, the Sunshine Law in Missouri does have an exception so that matters of personnel, legal issues, or future contracts are to be discussed only in a closed session. The Sunshine Law requires all other matters to be discussed in an open forum.
I suppose that Mrs. Diekemper is concerned that someone in the public will bring up an issue related to personnel or a future contract and so must agree to restrict all such communications save they be put on a formal agenda. Of course, the persons making the agenda would be the same persons who have already stated that they don't want to hear from the public in public. Got that?
Second, if a person in such a public venue broaches a subject which is covered by the exceptions to the Sunshine Law, that person can be stopped midstream and informed that because it is a matter of a future contract, legal issue, or personnel issue and the board is not allowed to answer that in public, at least not until the issue is resolved.
Mrs. Diekemper believes that the board (she?) should continue to deny a period of public comment for non-agenda items due to a misunderstanding of the Sunshine Law. This needs to be changed.
On other public committees and boards, the real issue with public comment is that the board doesn't want to sit there all night and listen to public comment. It can be reasonably limited in duration (5 minutes is typically fine) and if there are multiple persons to speak about a similar topic, a spokesperson can be requested to speak on behalf of the group. This is just simply good PR. From what I've read about Mrs. Diekemper's tenure on the board, I can not in good conscience support her reelection.
I fully support Karl Frank Jr. for one of the seats on the Mehlville Board of Education.
Down Syndrome Educational Conference
Did you ever have one of those periods of weeks where literally every event imaginable seemed to happen? They didn't happen all at once, but seemed to fit neatly into my schedule so that there was no available time to do much of anything else.
Anyway, the big event this past weekend was to attend the annual Educational Conference here in St. Louis sponsored by the Down Syndrome Association of Greater Saint Louis (DSAGSL.) (If you desire information about this organization, either contact me and I'll get you in touch with the contact person or use Google.)
The conference ran from 9:00am-4:00pm on Saturday and was pretty well attended. Last years attendance was about 160 or so. This year, attendance was about double that with 275 preregistered and anticipation of a number of walkups.
The keynote speaker was Michael Berube (currently a prof in the Literature department at Penn. State.) He spoke about his son and the efforts he has had to go through to get services from the public school system, even though Title IV requires them (and provides money, apparently, for those services.) His talk was wonderful, as long as he didn't delve into politics.
Next, was a panel discussion about groups and other opportunities available for DS kids beginning from about age 12 onward. Since my daughter will be starting Kindergarten next year, I only kept half an ear open.
After lunch, there were a number of workshops, each really focused on specific age groups. I attended the workshops (2) by Susan Peoples about how children with Down Syndrome learn. They were very informative. The one detraction was that her son is hypersensitive while my daughter is hyposensitive so some of the issues/causes/solutions were not the same. On a meta level, however, much was the same. I already have all of the books in the "Topics in Down Syndrome" series and "Teaching Reading" was one of her biggies.
There were several key points she brought up during the workshops. First, kids with DS only have about 3-5 memory channels while normal persons have about 7. Normal persons, for example, can remember a sequence of 7 instructions and follow them, while DS persons can only remember the last 3-5 or so. Second, DS kids are very concrete thinkers and once they get the concrete, will grasp is firmly. They do not, generally, abstract very well. Thus, if the child is counting red blocks today, then asked to count oranges tomorrow, the second days activity may well fail since the learning was with red blocks, but the test was with oranges. Third, kids with DS do not have the ability to apply taxonomy to things. Normal folks routinely categorize information and file it away using that categorization for easier retrieval. Folks with DS have to be taught a categorization system. If they are not, everything goes into a big bucket, which makes retrieval much slower and more difficult.
I have seen these aspects in my daughter to varying degrees (at varying times.) Right now, I think the most important one is the categorization and classification aspect. Once that framework is in place, learning can be made much easier. Multiple classifications also need to be introduced -- a zebra is an animal, is striped, has black and white, has 4 legs, etc. and must be added to each of those classification categories by repetition.
There is a lot of work to do and I try to make it fun at the same time. (If she perceives it as work, she's not likely to want to do it, although at some point, she'll recognize it as work and I'll have to try a different strategy.)
Did you ever have one of those periods of weeks where literally every event imaginable seemed to happen? They didn't happen all at once, but seemed to fit neatly into my schedule so that there was no available time to do much of anything else.
Anyway, the big event this past weekend was to attend the annual Educational Conference here in St. Louis sponsored by the Down Syndrome Association of Greater Saint Louis (DSAGSL.) (If you desire information about this organization, either contact me and I'll get you in touch with the contact person or use Google.)
The conference ran from 9:00am-4:00pm on Saturday and was pretty well attended. Last years attendance was about 160 or so. This year, attendance was about double that with 275 preregistered and anticipation of a number of walkups.
The keynote speaker was Michael Berube (currently a prof in the Literature department at Penn. State.) He spoke about his son and the efforts he has had to go through to get services from the public school system, even though Title IV requires them (and provides money, apparently, for those services.) His talk was wonderful, as long as he didn't delve into politics.
Next, was a panel discussion about groups and other opportunities available for DS kids beginning from about age 12 onward. Since my daughter will be starting Kindergarten next year, I only kept half an ear open.
After lunch, there were a number of workshops, each really focused on specific age groups. I attended the workshops (2) by Susan Peoples about how children with Down Syndrome learn. They were very informative. The one detraction was that her son is hypersensitive while my daughter is hyposensitive so some of the issues/causes/solutions were not the same. On a meta level, however, much was the same. I already have all of the books in the "Topics in Down Syndrome" series and "Teaching Reading" was one of her biggies.
There were several key points she brought up during the workshops. First, kids with DS only have about 3-5 memory channels while normal persons have about 7. Normal persons, for example, can remember a sequence of 7 instructions and follow them, while DS persons can only remember the last 3-5 or so. Second, DS kids are very concrete thinkers and once they get the concrete, will grasp is firmly. They do not, generally, abstract very well. Thus, if the child is counting red blocks today, then asked to count oranges tomorrow, the second days activity may well fail since the learning was with red blocks, but the test was with oranges. Third, kids with DS do not have the ability to apply taxonomy to things. Normal folks routinely categorize information and file it away using that categorization for easier retrieval. Folks with DS have to be taught a categorization system. If they are not, everything goes into a big bucket, which makes retrieval much slower and more difficult.
I have seen these aspects in my daughter to varying degrees (at varying times.) Right now, I think the most important one is the categorization and classification aspect. Once that framework is in place, learning can be made much easier. Multiple classifications also need to be introduced -- a zebra is an animal, is striped, has black and white, has 4 legs, etc. and must be added to each of those classification categories by repetition.
There is a lot of work to do and I try to make it fun at the same time. (If she perceives it as work, she's not likely to want to do it, although at some point, she'll recognize it as work and I'll have to try a different strategy.)
The Latest Christian Carnival is Up!
You can find the latest Christian Carnival here hosted this week by Patriot Paradox.
Check it out.
You can find the latest Christian Carnival here hosted this week by Patriot Paradox.
Check it out.
Sunday, March 07, 2004
Trash Transfer Stations Redux
Last fall, I wrote about Trash Transfer Stations in South St. Louis County. Since that time, the fight has only become more acrimonious.
Friday's Post-Dispatch contained an article noting that Fred Weber had filed a SLAPP suit against one of the primary opponents in the dispute as well as a firm managing the monies for the opposition organization which hopes to prevent this trash transfer station from being built.
This time, however, I wonder if this SLAPP doesn't have a bit of merit to it. According to the article, the opposition was circulating flyers (which I have not personally seen) which referred to Fred Weber as "trash terrorists." This is over the top, IMO, and does border on libel. I'm not a lawyer, however, so I can't say. The fact that Fred Weber is not just picking on the individual who wrote the flyers (asking for $10M in damages) but also the firm which manages the money for the opposition seems to indicate that this is a bona fide SLAPP suit.
This will only get worse before it gets better.
Last fall, I wrote about Trash Transfer Stations in South St. Louis County. Since that time, the fight has only become more acrimonious.
Friday's Post-Dispatch contained an article noting that Fred Weber had filed a SLAPP suit against one of the primary opponents in the dispute as well as a firm managing the monies for the opposition organization which hopes to prevent this trash transfer station from being built.
This time, however, I wonder if this SLAPP doesn't have a bit of merit to it. According to the article, the opposition was circulating flyers (which I have not personally seen) which referred to Fred Weber as "trash terrorists." This is over the top, IMO, and does border on libel. I'm not a lawyer, however, so I can't say. The fact that Fred Weber is not just picking on the individual who wrote the flyers (asking for $10M in damages) but also the firm which manages the money for the opposition seems to indicate that this is a bona fide SLAPP suit.
This will only get worse before it gets better.
The kind of Dad God wants me to be
My daughter has Down Syndrome. She is a true gift from God and I love her more than I can possible express in words. Raising a special needs child takes patience (huge bucket-loads) and persistence. As a single father (my daughter's condition is partly what lead to the split, it's partly my communication style, and partly our history of growing up in dysfunctional families) this role is harder and takes a lot more hands on than I thought was required of a father.
One of my daughter's favorite pass times is swinging. As I live in an apartment, this means trekking to the local park frequently for a 30-60 minute session on the swings. We go regularly and as long as it isn't raining or snowing, even on days when no other children are present. We've been going for the past couple of years, a couple of times a week on average.
One rather nice summer day, about 7pm, I think, as I was pushing her on the swing and had been doing so for at least 30 minutes, I got to looking around. Other mothers were just sitting on the benches watching their kids run around, swing, slide, engage in interactive play, and occassionly offer a sharp word of warning to a wayward child.
My thoughts turned inward, as they often do, and I wondered why I couldn't be sitting on the bench, watching my daughter play, or swing herself, just like the other mothers do. Within seconds, God answered me. He spoke gently and lovingly. "But that's not the kind of father I want you to be." God didn't want me to be sitting on the sidelines, but to be actively and lovingly involved with her life and development.
That's the kind of father God wants me to be.
My daughter has Down Syndrome. She is a true gift from God and I love her more than I can possible express in words. Raising a special needs child takes patience (huge bucket-loads) and persistence. As a single father (my daughter's condition is partly what lead to the split, it's partly my communication style, and partly our history of growing up in dysfunctional families) this role is harder and takes a lot more hands on than I thought was required of a father.
One of my daughter's favorite pass times is swinging. As I live in an apartment, this means trekking to the local park frequently for a 30-60 minute session on the swings. We go regularly and as long as it isn't raining or snowing, even on days when no other children are present. We've been going for the past couple of years, a couple of times a week on average.
One rather nice summer day, about 7pm, I think, as I was pushing her on the swing and had been doing so for at least 30 minutes, I got to looking around. Other mothers were just sitting on the benches watching their kids run around, swing, slide, engage in interactive play, and occassionly offer a sharp word of warning to a wayward child.
My thoughts turned inward, as they often do, and I wondered why I couldn't be sitting on the bench, watching my daughter play, or swing herself, just like the other mothers do. Within seconds, God answered me. He spoke gently and lovingly. "But that's not the kind of father I want you to be." God didn't want me to be sitting on the sidelines, but to be actively and lovingly involved with her life and development.
That's the kind of father God wants me to be.
God does answer prayer
As I sat with my daughter this afternoon reading books and watching a movie, I got a phone call from a friend, an elderly lady from my last church whom I visit on occassion. I used to drive her to and from church during the winter months when her friends were playing down in Florida. We developed a friendship and can talk to each other. In some respects, I'm the only one she can talk with about certain issues. I'm glad to be able to listen. (Her husband passed away from Alzhiemer's a couple of years ago and she never learned to drive -- he did all the driving. We talk about life, aging, spiritual matters and such. I think I have a gift for ministring to the elderly and shutins.)
After talking with her, it occurred me to that I have a deep yearning today for relationships with other people. I don't normally allow this need to surface as many times it's just too painful to bear. All relationships will disappoint at some point, for some reason. I decided decades ago to just not have any, if I could help it, and that decision has caused me all sorts of grief over the years.
In any event, God knew my need for human relational interaction today, even before I really did and provided the people to fill that need, even before I asked. God answered and filled my need before I knew that I needed it. He didn't fill it in the way I might have chosen, however, in the long run, his method is far better and his choices are better for me than any I might choose to make for myself.
God is gracious, loving, and responsive to our needs, even before we know what those needs are.
Thank you Lord for answering prayer today.
UPDATE: As I sat and visited with Hilde, I could tell that simply having someone to listen to was a big deal for her. She also told me that she's going back to visit Germany for a couple of months starting at the end of April. She grew up in the Schlesswig region and emigrated with her husband to the US in 1951. She just went back to visit for the first time since then a couple of years ago. She has decided to go back again this year. I must admit, I haven't seen an 82 year old woman giddy before, but she is just filled with excitement to want to go back and visit, if only for a little while.
As I sat with my daughter this afternoon reading books and watching a movie, I got a phone call from a friend, an elderly lady from my last church whom I visit on occassion. I used to drive her to and from church during the winter months when her friends were playing down in Florida. We developed a friendship and can talk to each other. In some respects, I'm the only one she can talk with about certain issues. I'm glad to be able to listen. (Her husband passed away from Alzhiemer's a couple of years ago and she never learned to drive -- he did all the driving. We talk about life, aging, spiritual matters and such. I think I have a gift for ministring to the elderly and shutins.)
After talking with her, it occurred me to that I have a deep yearning today for relationships with other people. I don't normally allow this need to surface as many times it's just too painful to bear. All relationships will disappoint at some point, for some reason. I decided decades ago to just not have any, if I could help it, and that decision has caused me all sorts of grief over the years.
In any event, God knew my need for human relational interaction today, even before I really did and provided the people to fill that need, even before I asked. God answered and filled my need before I knew that I needed it. He didn't fill it in the way I might have chosen, however, in the long run, his method is far better and his choices are better for me than any I might choose to make for myself.
God is gracious, loving, and responsive to our needs, even before we know what those needs are.
Thank you Lord for answering prayer today.
UPDATE: As I sat and visited with Hilde, I could tell that simply having someone to listen to was a big deal for her. She also told me that she's going back to visit Germany for a couple of months starting at the end of April. She grew up in the Schlesswig region and emigrated with her husband to the US in 1951. She just went back to visit for the first time since then a couple of years ago. She has decided to go back again this year. I must admit, I haven't seen an 82 year old woman giddy before, but she is just filled with excitement to want to go back and visit, if only for a little while.
Focus on the Trivial
I see lots of material on the net, mostly undeveloped opinion, and feel compelled to comment about it at length and in detail. (See, for example, this post by CalPundit and the comments. I could develop a length and thoughtful response which takes both sides to task.)
I see stuff about how to reform the military (which may be a good thing in many ways,) which sorts of interpretations to give to various scriptures and what the words used in the original Greek/Aramaic/Hebrew actually mean, or how devastating gay marriage will be for society (too many posts to single out with direct links.)
I see and read lots of this stuff and feel compelled to comment.
But I don't because it's all trivia and while some of it will affect me, ultimately, it doesn't seem like it matters very much. (I focus on trivia myself as indicated by other posts on my blog, so I'm no better than anyone else.)
I have better things to do with my life (even if I sometimes don't.) I'd rather spend the time with my daughter, helping her grow and learn, while she teaches me valuable lessons in life, love and living. She is a gift from God and the lessons she teaches can only come from God. She is a joy and delight and I wonder in the time we can spend together. One day, one or the other of us will not be around. On that day, I don't want either of us to regret not spending time together, or communicating, or any of a thousand other things which father and daughter can enjoy.
These other disputes are simply distractions from real living, something the devil delights in, since they merely get us caught up in the passing fancies of the world.
Jesus implores us to let the his light shine in us. He specifically called John (the Baptist) a lantern, a vessel which contains the light and reflects and directs the light. Jesus wishes for each of us to have such character. Can we really let the light of Christ shine through us when we participate in these petty issues? Do they really matter? If so, has the light of Christ been shining in your writing and if these things don't matter, why do we even bother to participate in them?
I see lots of material on the net, mostly undeveloped opinion, and feel compelled to comment about it at length and in detail. (See, for example, this post by CalPundit and the comments. I could develop a length and thoughtful response which takes both sides to task.)
I see stuff about how to reform the military (which may be a good thing in many ways,) which sorts of interpretations to give to various scriptures and what the words used in the original Greek/Aramaic/Hebrew actually mean, or how devastating gay marriage will be for society (too many posts to single out with direct links.)
I see and read lots of this stuff and feel compelled to comment.
But I don't because it's all trivia and while some of it will affect me, ultimately, it doesn't seem like it matters very much. (I focus on trivia myself as indicated by other posts on my blog, so I'm no better than anyone else.)
I have better things to do with my life (even if I sometimes don't.) I'd rather spend the time with my daughter, helping her grow and learn, while she teaches me valuable lessons in life, love and living. She is a gift from God and the lessons she teaches can only come from God. She is a joy and delight and I wonder in the time we can spend together. One day, one or the other of us will not be around. On that day, I don't want either of us to regret not spending time together, or communicating, or any of a thousand other things which father and daughter can enjoy.
These other disputes are simply distractions from real living, something the devil delights in, since they merely get us caught up in the passing fancies of the world.
Jesus implores us to let the his light shine in us. He specifically called John (the Baptist) a lantern, a vessel which contains the light and reflects and directs the light. Jesus wishes for each of us to have such character. Can we really let the light of Christ shine through us when we participate in these petty issues? Do they really matter? If so, has the light of Christ been shining in your writing and if these things don't matter, why do we even bother to participate in them?
Friday, March 05, 2004
The Medieval Crime Museum
If you are ever in Rothenberg ob der Tauber, you must visit the Medieval Crime Museum there. It has a wonderful collection of devices and such used in the administration of justice during medieval times. It wasn't all stocks or cages. Shame was a large part of that justice system.
Gossips were punished by forcing them to wear a large mask with a huge tongue hanging out for some number of days. In those days, one couldn't just remain inside, so everyone knew how the gossip was and so, refrained from telling that person anything. I think most (sane) people quickly got the idea.
Another novel punishment was if a husband and wife got into a heated argument, the town locked them in their house until they sorted it out. On exit, they had to buy wine for all of the neighbors who had to witness the argument.
This sort of thing worked well in small towns where everybody knew everybody else. For larger towns, this sort of punishment saw much more limited effectiveness and slowly, as towns became larger, died off. The museum itself takes a couple of hours to view (and the exhibit descriptions are only in German, at least when we visited.)
If you visit Rothenberg, plan on staying for the day. There is a lot of see. I can never seem to get out of the Kathe Wohlfahrt store (Christmas decoration, nucrackers, and such) without spending a few hundredmarks euros.
If you are ever in Rothenberg ob der Tauber, you must visit the Medieval Crime Museum there. It has a wonderful collection of devices and such used in the administration of justice during medieval times. It wasn't all stocks or cages. Shame was a large part of that justice system.
Gossips were punished by forcing them to wear a large mask with a huge tongue hanging out for some number of days. In those days, one couldn't just remain inside, so everyone knew how the gossip was and so, refrained from telling that person anything. I think most (sane) people quickly got the idea.
Another novel punishment was if a husband and wife got into a heated argument, the town locked them in their house until they sorted it out. On exit, they had to buy wine for all of the neighbors who had to witness the argument.
This sort of thing worked well in small towns where everybody knew everybody else. For larger towns, this sort of punishment saw much more limited effectiveness and slowly, as towns became larger, died off. The museum itself takes a couple of hours to view (and the exhibit descriptions are only in German, at least when we visited.)
If you visit Rothenberg, plan on staying for the day. There is a lot of see. I can never seem to get out of the Kathe Wohlfahrt store (Christmas decoration, nucrackers, and such) without spending a few hundred
Le Struthof
When my wife and I lived (and I worked) in Mulhouse, France, we took a trip up to visit Le Struthof one winters day.
Snow had fallen the night before, about 5" or so, and was threatening again. The sky was gray and a chill wind drifted about, swirling here and there. Le Struthof sits perhaps 50K west of Strasbourg, France, nestled in the Vosges mountains. It is the only concentration camp the Nazi's built on French soil and was used for French political prisoners and others rounded up from France during the occupation.
The camp itself was small, with only 2 of the barracks buildings still standing, although the fencing and guard towers still remain. The crematorium is in a small building about a half click down the road, away from the camp.
Given the somber day, it was actually a perfect time to visit. There was no sound, except our own footsteps as very few other people had decided to visit that day. There were no birds or other animals. All was still, covered by snow.
Inside the barracks buildings, the French had dutifully erected a museum describing what went on at that camp, detailing a prisoners life and such.
The most gruesome part were the photographs of actual vivisections. I wanted to vomit. What happened there was repulsive in the extreme and while I understand the need to visit such places, if only to testify to their existence, I never want to visit another one.
We later visited Dachou on a bright spring day. The effect was not the same and while much the same thing occurred in both places, the impact was very different. I encourage everybody to visit one of the remaining concentration camp memorials so we can all testify to what occurred there.
When my wife and I lived (and I worked) in Mulhouse, France, we took a trip up to visit Le Struthof one winters day.
Snow had fallen the night before, about 5" or so, and was threatening again. The sky was gray and a chill wind drifted about, swirling here and there. Le Struthof sits perhaps 50K west of Strasbourg, France, nestled in the Vosges mountains. It is the only concentration camp the Nazi's built on French soil and was used for French political prisoners and others rounded up from France during the occupation.
The camp itself was small, with only 2 of the barracks buildings still standing, although the fencing and guard towers still remain. The crematorium is in a small building about a half click down the road, away from the camp.
Given the somber day, it was actually a perfect time to visit. There was no sound, except our own footsteps as very few other people had decided to visit that day. There were no birds or other animals. All was still, covered by snow.
Inside the barracks buildings, the French had dutifully erected a museum describing what went on at that camp, detailing a prisoners life and such.
The most gruesome part were the photographs of actual vivisections. I wanted to vomit. What happened there was repulsive in the extreme and while I understand the need to visit such places, if only to testify to their existence, I never want to visit another one.
We later visited Dachou on a bright spring day. The effect was not the same and while much the same thing occurred in both places, the impact was very different. I encourage everybody to visit one of the remaining concentration camp memorials so we can all testify to what occurred there.
The Passion of the Christ
I have yet to see this movie and given my schedule, I think the next available date I have is the 27th of March. (Yes, I'm writing this on the 5th.) Weeknights are out as are Sundays. Likewise, any weekend when I have custody of my daughter.
On the 13th, there is an all day educational conference here in St. Louis sponsored by the Down Syndrome Association of Greater Saint Louis complete with workshops. I plan on attending a couple of workshops focusing on how Down Syndrome children learn, but also hope to learn more about how the school system works beyond the Early Childhood level as well as what services are offered and what sorts of battles I can expect with the educational diagnosis team (which my ex and I will meet with on April 1.)
And yes, I still desire to write that essay for the next Christian Carnival on the 4 Natures of Man. Right now, I have the background material, but seem to have lost the focus. This isn't surprising given the number of things on my mind lately.
I have yet to see this movie and given my schedule, I think the next available date I have is the 27th of March. (Yes, I'm writing this on the 5th.) Weeknights are out as are Sundays. Likewise, any weekend when I have custody of my daughter.
On the 13th, there is an all day educational conference here in St. Louis sponsored by the Down Syndrome Association of Greater Saint Louis complete with workshops. I plan on attending a couple of workshops focusing on how Down Syndrome children learn, but also hope to learn more about how the school system works beyond the Early Childhood level as well as what services are offered and what sorts of battles I can expect with the educational diagnosis team (which my ex and I will meet with on April 1.)
And yes, I still desire to write that essay for the next Christian Carnival on the 4 Natures of Man. Right now, I have the background material, but seem to have lost the focus. This isn't surprising given the number of things on my mind lately.
Thursday, March 04, 2004
Who pays business taxes?
Chip Taylor notes yesterday a report by COST about business taxes. That report goes blithely forward and discusses business taxes as if businesses really did pay taxes.
Chip goes on to point out that simply stating that businesses don't pay taxes, but simply treat taxes as a cost to be passed on to consumers is correct by incomplete.
Most of the discussion is about tax incidence, a bit more technical than I truly understand, not having studying business finance and such, so I'll leave the technical definitions aside. Furthermore, for purposes of comparing businesses in one state with businesses in another, analysis of tax rates and such makes sense. After all, for interstate businesses there is tax competition which does limit how easily or quickly such businesses can pass along tax increases to their customers.
I would still argue, however, that the vast majority of businesses from which consumers make purchases are intrastate. Yes, many are franchises and do have some allegience to a national corporation, but it's the franchise which pays the taxes, moreso than the national office. The national office provides the rules of operation, logos and such under which the franchisee is required to abide. The national office makes a premium on the sale of these items to the franchisee and so gets it's own income out of the franchisee, in addition to any startup costs required. Nevertheless, drive down the street and take note of which businesses are local and which are national, or at least cross state lines in a signficant ways.
For this reason, only businesses for which consumers can truly make purchases from a similar business in another state have signficant reason to be concerned about tax competition. The local dry-cleaner doesn't have much to say. His customers will pay whatever tax is required simply because they have no choice. Book sellers, on the other hand, even if they happen to be a local franchisee of a national chain, are concerned since national (global?) sellers like Amazon can provide an economy of scale which they can't match and have effectively zero tax which consumers are required to pay. (I'd rather pay UPS than the State DoR.)
Now, while COST may indeed desire to examine tax competition among interstate businesses, I suspect that a relatively small fraction of commerce is truly interstate. Most is intrastate. There are some taxes on business purchases from other businesses, but most such tax opportunities are not allowed or are only minimally taxed since those writing the tax lawes do understand that businesses don't actually pay taxes, but treat taxes like a cost.
Where positions like that advocated by COST go awry, however, is when politicians use such analyses as a springboard to make untrue statements which the general public has no real ability to understand, at least not without significant thinking. (I'm not saying the average person is stupid, but merely ignorant and politicians take advantage of that to a considerable degree.)
Let's take Blair Hull, for instance. He's running for reelection in Illinois. His campaign ads claim businesses only pay 14% of income in tax while the average working family pays far more. His statement is likely true, as far as it goes. What he doesn't say is that those same working families actually pay that 14%, or a significant fraction of it.
The argument, from largely democratic politicians goes this way. Businesses have overcharged customers and made a tidy profit. Thus, we as the government, must make sure that the little guys don't get gouged and so must take a chunk of those profits to make sure that businesses try to really gouge their customers. We, the government, then turn around and provide services to those little guys to offset the extra monies being extracted from them by the greedy, evil businesses. (Or words to that effect.)
Business taxation, from the government's point of view, is an attempt to restrict profits, but in fact, it has exactly the opposite effect. The more a government entity tries to skim "excess" profits, the more likely that business is to try to increase profits in order to overcome the government imposes restriction. This is the reason why interstate businesses are more concerned about tax competition (or on a global scale, groups like the OECD) than intrastate businesses.
The degree to which taxes are local/regional/national for a given business really determines the amount of the effect of tax incidence for that business.
Chip Taylor notes yesterday a report by COST about business taxes. That report goes blithely forward and discusses business taxes as if businesses really did pay taxes.
Chip goes on to point out that simply stating that businesses don't pay taxes, but simply treat taxes as a cost to be passed on to consumers is correct by incomplete.
Most of the discussion is about tax incidence, a bit more technical than I truly understand, not having studying business finance and such, so I'll leave the technical definitions aside. Furthermore, for purposes of comparing businesses in one state with businesses in another, analysis of tax rates and such makes sense. After all, for interstate businesses there is tax competition which does limit how easily or quickly such businesses can pass along tax increases to their customers.
I would still argue, however, that the vast majority of businesses from which consumers make purchases are intrastate. Yes, many are franchises and do have some allegience to a national corporation, but it's the franchise which pays the taxes, moreso than the national office. The national office provides the rules of operation, logos and such under which the franchisee is required to abide. The national office makes a premium on the sale of these items to the franchisee and so gets it's own income out of the franchisee, in addition to any startup costs required. Nevertheless, drive down the street and take note of which businesses are local and which are national, or at least cross state lines in a signficant ways.
For this reason, only businesses for which consumers can truly make purchases from a similar business in another state have signficant reason to be concerned about tax competition. The local dry-cleaner doesn't have much to say. His customers will pay whatever tax is required simply because they have no choice. Book sellers, on the other hand, even if they happen to be a local franchisee of a national chain, are concerned since national (global?) sellers like Amazon can provide an economy of scale which they can't match and have effectively zero tax which consumers are required to pay. (I'd rather pay UPS than the State DoR.)
Now, while COST may indeed desire to examine tax competition among interstate businesses, I suspect that a relatively small fraction of commerce is truly interstate. Most is intrastate. There are some taxes on business purchases from other businesses, but most such tax opportunities are not allowed or are only minimally taxed since those writing the tax lawes do understand that businesses don't actually pay taxes, but treat taxes like a cost.
Where positions like that advocated by COST go awry, however, is when politicians use such analyses as a springboard to make untrue statements which the general public has no real ability to understand, at least not without significant thinking. (I'm not saying the average person is stupid, but merely ignorant and politicians take advantage of that to a considerable degree.)
Let's take Blair Hull, for instance. He's running for reelection in Illinois. His campaign ads claim businesses only pay 14% of income in tax while the average working family pays far more. His statement is likely true, as far as it goes. What he doesn't say is that those same working families actually pay that 14%, or a significant fraction of it.
The argument, from largely democratic politicians goes this way. Businesses have overcharged customers and made a tidy profit. Thus, we as the government, must make sure that the little guys don't get gouged and so must take a chunk of those profits to make sure that businesses try to really gouge their customers. We, the government, then turn around and provide services to those little guys to offset the extra monies being extracted from them by the greedy, evil businesses. (Or words to that effect.)
Business taxation, from the government's point of view, is an attempt to restrict profits, but in fact, it has exactly the opposite effect. The more a government entity tries to skim "excess" profits, the more likely that business is to try to increase profits in order to overcome the government imposes restriction. This is the reason why interstate businesses are more concerned about tax competition (or on a global scale, groups like the OECD) than intrastate businesses.
The degree to which taxes are local/regional/national for a given business really determines the amount of the effect of tax incidence for that business.
Tuesday, March 02, 2004
Resumed Blogging
The very busy 2 weeks are over and I played a bit of catch up this past weekend. I'll blog more about that in the next couple of days and I think I'm going prepare a post for Carnival of the Christians for next week on "The 4 Natures of Man" with a focus on the spiritual nature. It should be fun.
The very busy 2 weeks are over and I played a bit of catch up this past weekend. I'll blog more about that in the next couple of days and I think I'm going prepare a post for Carnival of the Christians for next week on "The 4 Natures of Man" with a focus on the spiritual nature. It should be fun.
