PBMom's Blog

Have you ever wondered what your school district is doing with your tax dollars?  Have you tried but only felt overwhelmed about the amount of information that you had to sift through? 

A new group has formed in Texas, called Texas SchoolWatch, that will hold the public school districts accountable to taxpayers.  If you've watched the news over the past few years, you have heard more and more stories regarding the secrets that school districts keep from the taxpayers--the same districts that put football stadiums before education, waste taxpayer dollars in ways too numerous to count, keep students in unsafe conditions, allow criminals to have access to our children, pay lobbyists out of your tax dollars, and who care more about themselves than they do our kids. 

It's Eviction Day.  This is the day we take back our school districts. 

In the last several years, when Patrick's school failed him between 2004-2006, when a school official tried to use extortion to get me to change my course of action, I became an advocate, not professionally, but privately.  When Greg Groogan of Fox 26 Houston brought a story to air about Clear Creek ISD spending over $100,000 of your tax dollars to fight a parent, the story that won him a Casey Award, I was listening.  I never realized the extent to which school districts were spending our money irresponsibly.  My naviety that schools had the best interests of our children at heart disappeared.  I started paying more attention.  Looking into my own school district's check register (which is available on-line),  I was very troubled with some of the payees. 

My biggest pet peeves have been the extent to which school districts are with law firms like parasites are to hosts.  In some instances, I've wondered if the law firm rather than the school district was the one running the district.  When I see more money being spent on fast food than books, I get angry.  When I hear congressional testimony by a school district's law firm stating that they have never denied a parent the opportunity to attend one of their "workshops" when I know for a fact that they have, I get angry.  And like Wonderful-World, another Fox 26 Houston blogger, has so candidly pointed out many times, I get angry when I see people complaining about things they don't like, but don't make an effort to try to change things.  Here is a wonderful opportunity to make a difference.

School Watch has been active in other areas of the country.  The group in New York broke the scandal about the lawyers receiving pensions on Long Island (lawyers that weren't school district employees).  A group in Ohio informed the public just what the Parma School District in Ohio had been up to, spending over $1 million to fight one family up through the Supreme Court and even when a judgment was found in favor of the parents in a lower court on a different issue, basically snubbed their noses up and refused to follow the court order.  If any state in the union needed this group more, it is Texas. 

According to the web site,

http://texasschoolwatch101.virtualnsn.com/modules/w
fchannel/

School Watch fights for:

The entire community, not just special interests

Transparency and fiscal responsibility in schools. 

Educational and property tax reform

Fair contract negotiations in collective bargaining situations

Adequate funding for state-manded services

Alternatives to property taxation in funding of schools

Students to receive free appropriate educations

Safe schools and healthy educational environments

Uncovering school waste and mismanagement, corruption and fraud.

The site just broke ground and is ready for membership.  If you want to make a difference not just for your own children, but for all our children in Texas, this group is for you.  If TEA won't police themselves or allow independent oversight (as was recently posted in a blog by Chassan), then it is up to each citizen to make sure our collective voices are heard and that we provide that oversight. 

This taxpayer is fed up and isn't taking any more.  I've already signed up.  Join me!

There was a report out this past week that you might be interested in reviewing. It lists each school district in Texas, how large the student population is, and how much the superintendants have spent wining and dining. They article also has some examples of what those expenses were.

http://www.peytonwolcott.com/TexasSupeExpenses.html

After reviewing it, do you believe your district is being a good steward of money, or do you think a fancy $70 per plate dinner (in one example) for 35 people is an abuse of taxpayer money.

Have you ever done any records requests of your own district to get answers about what money they are spending of your tax dollars on certain things? What was the outcome? Did you encounter any resistance from the district? I don't really see a reason for expenses like this unless the superintendant has to go out of town to a conference and should have the type of dollar-per-meal amounts that we have set in our company and if you want to eat anything more expensive than that, it comes from your own pocket.

Superintendants, special educators, and others were gathering in Austin this week for a TCASE conference at the Renaissance Hotel, which is over $300 a night. Fees will also include meals (at the best restaurants for the most expensive food), mileage or airline tickets, rental cars, etc.   The people putting on the conference:  Walsh Anderson law firm who is getting rich and owning summer homes and driving awesome cars because of the money it is getting from the school districts they represent in Texas, which is coming from your taxes, which has become a very profitable industry for them.

So look it over and come back here and let me know what you think? 

This is a follow up to my post in early June: http://community.myfoxhouston.com/blogs/PBMom/2008/0
6/04/TV_Show_For_Sale

I just found out yesterday that there was an official campaign site for the efforts to save the show...again...and on that site, it had the link to the commercial that was made. My blogger friends, I have a confession to make. I cut money from our budget to afford to make a donation to the commercial (or other efforts).

http://www.savejerichoagain.com

I knew the commercial was coming out in mid-June, but I didn't realize it was available on YouTube. So I didn't post anything.

I read on Sci-Fi Wire this short blurb:   Fans of the twice-canceled CBS series Jericho are continuing their campaign to bring the show back by sponsoring more than 200 local ad spots to air on cable TV stations in the Los Angeles area. The group, dubbed the "Jericho Rangers," have already purchased a print ad in Variety and rented a billboard in downtown Los Angeles to show their support for the series and help find it a new broadcast home. The group paid for the advertising time through a fund-raising campaign which generated more than $6,000 in three weeks. The fan-created 30-second ad features a voice-over provided by actor Brad Beyer, who played Stanley Richmond on the show. It's scheduled to air for 10 days, beginning June 12th, during several popular cable shows, including Ghost Hunters on SCI FI Channel and Deadliest Catch on the Discovery Channel. The ad will also be hosted at the group's official site, SaveJerichoAgain.com.

That was on June 12. Talk about being LATE TO THE PARTY! I feel like I've let down my fellow Rangers. I'd like to make it up to them at this time by giving you the opportunity to see the video. Although we are aware the show won't air on CBS again, we remain extremely hopeful another network will pick us up and the producers are still in active talks doing that.  I'm about to make an effort with Mark Cuban at HDNet. 

That is, though, what this show is about. It is about making a stand. It is not just about this show, but about quality television and the gross lack of it on television. We are tired of those "reality" shows. And this show isn't just about the fans saving the show. The actors, executives, and crew want the show back, too. They love making this show. We love watching the show. We're perfect for each other. As you read above, Brad Beyer, one of the stars who has a particularly wonderful storyline in the show, actually narrated the Fan TV Ad. Jericho Rangers are also about community and helping the community and have done many efforts to help others, and did a DVD campaign to send DVDs to the troops.  Credit for the commercial goes to RubberPoultry. 

Let me know if you like the commercial.  Do you admire our persistence or do you believe we are living in a dreamworld?  Have you ever been this passionate about a television show, felt there was still story to be told, and jumped on board?  What were some ideas your group used and what was the outcome of that effort?

And my apologies to my fellow Rangers for falling down on my duties.  I hope you will forgive me.  I'm feeling a little bit like Fred in "Termination for the Cause", episode 5 in season 2, by letting the team down.  I hope you don't tell me, "Go home, Fred."   LOL

How much is a baby's life in Argentina?  For GlaxoSmithKline, apparently the price is $8,000.  And when you live in one of the poorest province in the country, that is a lot of money.

Because people in the US and in Europe wouldn't allow their babies to be test subjects in yet another new vaccine, GSK (GlaxoSmithKline) has decided to go to the poorest regions of the earth to do its clinical trials.  Since 2007, 15,000 children under the age of one from the Argentine provinces of Mendoza, San Juan and Santiago del Estero have been included in the research protocol.  Twelve babies have died as a result of the clinical trial directly related to vaccine, a vaccine said to prevent pneumococcal bacteria. 

But it gets worse. 

Informed consent "is a legal condition whereby a person can be said to have given consent based upon an appreciation and understanding of facts and implications of an action."

Argentine Federation of Health Professionals, known as Fesprosa, said that in most cases these are underprivileged individuals, many of them unable to read and write, who are pressured into including their children in the trials.

A great aunt of one of the babies that died said that a lot of people want to leave the protocol but aren't allowed; they force them to continue under the threat that if they leave, they won't receive any other vaccine. 

The article didn't state what the proposed brand name for this vaccine will be, but I imagine it comes with the standard things all the other vaccines contain -- the fillers -- that can be more harmful than the vaccine itself.

GSK is also conducting trials in Colombia and Panama for this proposed new vaccine. 

So why does it seem that the drug companies are moving more towards vaccines versus drugs?  Because they are shielded from lawsuits.  It's all about the almighty dollar and their almighty profits, and making people sick so they can take a whole bunch of their other drugs or more vaccines to negate the effects of other vaccines. 

I imagine once they've concluded their clinical trials, they'll get a green light from the FDA, who they also own, and try to convince politicians, many of whom they also own, that this new vaccine needs to be a mandated vaccine for every baby, at least here in the United States.  They wouldn't dare try to market it in Europe because their governments have been known to file charges of manslaughter for their products that have harmed their citizens, the last one France for some vaccine they were sticking people with other there. 

What do you all think about this new way of conducting research?  Why do we automatically believe the pharmaceutical companies have "our best interests" at heart and would always be trying to make our lives better?  Have you ever truly given "informed consent" when you vaccinated your children (meaning you found the list of ingredients in a Physician's Desk Reference and then researched what those fillers were)?  I certainly didn't when Patrick was little.  Now I wish I had asked more questions instead of just giving away my trust so easily.

I came across an interesting article.  Susan Smith of the Franklin County Dog Shelter said that black dogs are less adoptable.  She said that if you have two similar dogs -- one black, one light colored side-by-side with similar temperaments, both well behaved, both housebroken and friendly, the light-colored dog will be adopted before the black dog. 

I found that pretty fascinating.  Some thoughts about why were

1)  There is a higher amount of black dogs in population.  In the human world, brunettes rule and people estimate that possibly in 100 years from now there will be no red-headed people in the country.  It could possibly be the same thing in dogs on a smaller scale.

2)  Many shelters are in older facilities and the lighting is suboptimal.  People choose dogs they connect with (eye contact) and dark dogs in dark cages are harder to see.

Does anybody have other ideas?  I'm wondering if maybe it has to do with the hair color and shedding especially if you have a house with lighter colors.  I likely will never have a dog that isn't a golden retriever and we tend to like the lighter goldens versus the ones that look more like Irish setters.  Of course when I wear dark pants, the hair shows up immediately on them.  However, my floor color almost matches their color of coat so people can't often see the dog hair on the floor until they try to sit down. 

Have you ever owned a dog that was black in color?  Would you ever consider adopting a dog that is black in color? 

The FDA recently approved the first vaccine for adult shingles.  It is intended for use in adults ages 60 and older and studies have shown that it can prevent shingles roughly half the time.  Hmm... Only a 50% effective rate.  The company originally sought to market it to adults 50 and older, but the FDA restricted it.  Dr. David Markovitz said that doctors may be tempted to offer off-label vaccinations to adults age 50-59 but stressed that the vaccine remains unstudied in such patients and that researchers still don't know how long immunity lasts after vaccination.  The vaccine was only tested on whites, according to Dr. David Markovitz, and that African Americans, Hispanics or Asians may have varying immune responses that have not yet be determined. 

Does this bother anyone else?  Merck doesn't know how long the immunity will last, so they could be setting the public up to require multiple boosters, which will result in multiple billions of dollars in revenues for themselves.  This is the same thing that happened with the varicella vaccine (chicken pox vaccine).  They said one shot.  Now we find out that one shot doesn't necessarily work, that boosters are now required and some kids still get chicken pox. 

Chicken pox has always been an uncomfortable disease but it is no smallpox.  But follow the trail down the rabbit hole with me.

Merck made the varicella vaccine.  Because children are not getting the disease anymore, adults exposed to children with chicken pox aren't getting a natural booster shot by caring for these children.  By being around the chicken pox, our own immune system was creating a natural booster shot which lessened the number of elderly patients getting shingles.  So by trying to eradicate one virus, they've now created a bigger problem -- more elderly people are getting shingles.  How convenient for them.   Basically the shingles vaccine is a vaccine to treat the delayed side effect of the childhood varicella vaccine.

So what is this going to do?  Is this going to reduce people's immunity to other things, too?  Varicella and shingles are part of the Herpesvirus group, the same group of viruses for which you get cold sores, herpes simplex, etc. 

Wouldn't the logical solution be to STOP giving our children the varicella vaccine and allow them to get it naturally?  Deaths from chicken pox are not actually from the virus themselves but the overly aggressive medical care that is given in treating the symptoms--antibiotics, analgesics, steroids. 

This new vaccine, Zostavax, contains live varicella virus, so anyone receiving one needs to be aware that they will put others at risk who are not vaccinated.  What this will do is cause doctors to recommend everyone be vaccinated, and again, they are only saying half of the people who get the injection will actually be covered. 

There are better ways to fight the possibility of getting shingles.  In the Journal of American Geriatrics Society, a 2007 study found that the practice of tai-chi was able to prevent the incidence of shingles among older folks. 

Shingles is a horrible disease, but Merck has now created a public health situation as a result of their chicken pox vaccine.  They are responsible for the higher rate of shingles now.  And you say you trust these drug companies and their vaccine agenda?  We'll just see what happens once all these people start getting vaccines for the shingles what new increases in illnesses will occur that Merck will give you yet another "cure" for. 

People don't think vaccines is a money-making business, but consider that you cannot sue a pharmaceutical company for harm done by a vaccine, unless you file in Vaccine Court where your death or serious illness as a result of corporate greed is maxed out at $250,000, if you even prove your case.  The HPV vaccine is not even covered in Vaccine Court so if you get that one and die or become severely neurologically impaired, the maker, Merck, already has your money and is now shielded from prosecution anywhere in the United States. 

That is scary stuff, people.  I'll let you know in another blog what "fillers" this vaccine also contains. 

So how would you vote:  Let kids get the chicken pox again so we can restore Mother Nature's natural immunity in the circle of life or continue to let Merck inject us to death.

Hawaii has become the first state to require solar water heaters in new homes starting in 2010.  Hawaii Electric Co says that about 85,000 households, or 20% of all homes in the islands, already have solar water heating systems.  They come standard in many new homes. 

The article says that a traditionally powered water heater is the largest consumer of electricity inside a home, accounting for 25-40% of the power used. 

The article says the solar system costs about $6,000 compared to $700 for a electric or gas water heater (I don't know where they got their figures, three years ago mine was $800 on the mainland and everybody knows things cost more in Hawaii for everything. 

The legislation was signed into law by Republican Govenor Linda Lingle.

Would you like to see something like this in Texas?

I think it is a bold move on Hawaii's part.  I think it may cost more up front, but the savings will be tremendous as the cost of power and gas keep going up.

I had quickly heard on a talk show a few months back that one thing you have to watch out for, especially if you use bill pay.  Your credit card company will change the address to which your payment needs to be mailed.  If you wait until it is closer to the closing date, if you send it to the address you have in your bill pay, you might wind up being late on a payment because they've changed the address that the payment needs to go to and you don't change bill pay.  So I've watched out for it for a couple of months and sure enough, my Capital One card last month went to a "Dallas" address; this month a city I've never heard of "City of Industry, California."  Even your utility addresses can change PO boxes.  While it will eventually get where it needs to go to, consider it like interoffice mail -- it may take an extra period of time.  So now, before I pay bills, I go into each and every one of my bill pay addresses (including the ones I've got set up for automatic payment) to make sure the address hasn't changed.  Unfortunately with the way my bank is set up, you actually have to either delete the one you have, or create a new entry and then just don't put the old ones on display for you to choose from. 

Sneaky, huh?

This is being dedicated to HereandNow who wanted some help with information so they could make some informed consent decisions about this for their child.  This is what I've found gotten:

1)  http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/bv.fcgi?rid=hstat6.
section.2099

2) http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/14
9984/new_rotavirus_vaccine_danger.html?cat=5   

3)  http://www.merck.com/product/usa/pi_circulars/r/rota
teq/rotateq_pi.pdf

 This will be the product insert that the physicians see when they get in their office.  Just know that the Merck information is going to try to make it look as favorable as possible. 

They list the product as also containing:   The reassortants are propagated in Vero cells using standard cell culture techniques in the absence of antifungal agents.  The reassortants are suspended in a buffered stabilizer solution. Each vaccine dose contains sucrose, sodium citrate, sodium phosphate monobasic monohydrate, sodium hydroxide, polysorbate 80, cell culture media, and trace amounts of fetal bovine serum. RotaTeq contains no preservatives.

 Now the translation.   Vero cells:  The Vero lineage was isolated from kidney epithelial cells extracted from African green monkey (Cercopithecus aethiops).  Absence of antifungal agents means that this product doesn’t contain the drug amphotericin B, which is used in extreme fungal cases, like those that people with HIV might get, not your random antifungal like Diflucan that women take for a vaginal yeast infection.  Sucrose is a sugar.  Sodium citrate is usually referred to as trisodium citrate, which is a preservative (notice the line about the vaccine containing no preservatives).  Sodium phosphate monobasic monohydrate:  http://www.jtbaker.com/msds/englishhtml/S4750.htm>  It lists the chemical as “hazardous” and “may be harmful if swallowed.  This vaccine is an oral solution.  It also says, “Phosphates are slowly and incompletely absorbed when ingested, and seldom result in systemic effects. Such effects, however, have occurred. Symptoms may include vomiting, lethargy, diarrhea, blood chemistry effects, heart disturbances and central nervous system effects. The toxicity of phosphates is because of their ability to sequester calcium.”  Sodium hydroxide:  Sodium hydroxide (NaOH), also known as lye, caustic soda.  They use lye for drain cleaner. 

Polysorbate 80:  http://www.jtbaker.com/msds/englishhtml/t7683.htm<
/a>  Again listed as hazardous.  Polysorbate 80 has been shown to cause infertility in mice.  Cell culture media – it doesn’t state which kind.  They often use cell culture media to grow bacteria and viruses from blood samples in the lab.  The idea of ingesting this is disgusting.  Trace amounts of fetal bovine serum is pretty self explanatory.  They take blood from cow fetuses.  The rich variety of proteins in fetal bovine serum maintains cultured cells in a medium in which they can survive, grow, and divide. However, the presence of the many proteins in fetal bovine serum can also mean that purification of secreted proteins from the cells can be a more laborious process due to having to remove the contaminating proteins during the purification process. And least this wasn’t mixed with human diploid cells as far as I know (which would come from aborted fetuses).  You see how careful you have to be.  They will try to pull a fast one on you. 

I'm very sad today.  One of my favorite shows, impacted my the writer's strike, will not return to air their final 10 episodes until the first quarter of 2009.  However, I hear, like the Razor 2-hour movie that bridged the gap for us, there is at least two more movies in the works, and I believe we'll get to see that perhaps this fall. 

This show has always been edgy and sexy, has earned itself a Peabody Award, and what you expect to happen never does. 

I thought the final episode would be about them finding earth, but what earth?  Our past, our present or our future?  By a matter of deduction, I ruled out present-day Earth since that was done in the original series.  That left me with future Earth or past Earth.  Either Earth-case-scenarios would have made for interesting TV.  My thoughts about past Earth were they settled with their half-cylon/half-human children and eventually a new human race emerged.  My thoughts about a future Earth was one technologically advanced to beat back the cylons.  That is why I'm a viewer, and the writers on BSG are where they are.

I was not at all suspecting that we would land on earth at the mid-season finale on Friday night.  I couldn't tell if it was San Francisco or New York City (with bridge could possibly be either) and the reason I couldn't tell is that they arrived on an earth that was blown up by nukes.  So these are my thoughts after watching it a season time Friday night:

1.   Did we blow ourselves up, or did the other group of cylons find earth and blow it up themselves?

2.  Did they land in an alternate reality Earth? 

3.  Did they go down the wrong wormhole? 

I kept thinking about Starbuck's experience and her coming back months later when only a little bit of time elapsed for her.  That would point to some sort of time-related event.  The final 5 cylons had already been to earth and knew the way.  Again, that points to some sort of time-related event.  And the phrase they used throughout the series, "What has happened before will happen again" indicates perhaps there is some time loop going on.  Did making peace with the cylons alter their destiny?  Will they try to figure out time travel so they can go back to earth before they blow themselves up and show the citizens of earth that if cylons and humans, enemies for more than 50 years, can make peace with each other, than so can we? 

I believe one of the movies is going to be earth-based and show why the cities were nuked. 

So let's hear it my closet BSG friends!  What are your theories?

Oh, and a little "nugget" for you all:  I heard that the last episode was 3 hours long and they might just air it as a three-parter, making us having the final 12 episodes coming in 2009 instead of the final 10. 

Coppell ISD already is known about their unacceptable treatment of special education kids, but now Coppell, the city itself, has become famous for something else:  A city-run camp where at least 20 regular kids have been abused.

Out from the Dallas News on Thursday, the article by Rachel Slade stated that two counselors were fired after they were accused of punishing children at a Coppell-run day camp by forcing them to crawl on hot asphalt. 

At least 20 children were involved in the incident.  The children told the police that their hands were burned when the counselors forced them to "crabwalk or crawl on a hot track to punish them for being loud during a movie" according to Brad Reid, the city'd director of parks and recreation.  The children left the camp on Wednesday with discolored, burned or blistered hands.  Their ages ranged from 12-14. 

Deputy Chief Gary Nix of Coppell Police Department stated, "When we looked at the children's hands, we could see black asphalt on their hands and some had blistering on their hands." 

The counselors involved are recent college graduates in their mid-20's. 

Do you have children in summer camp?  Do you worry about abuse?  Do you believe this punishment fit the crime (being loud)? 

"My father gave me the greatest gift anyone could give another person, he believed in me."  -- Jim Valvano

"He didn't tell me how to live; he lived, and let me watch him do it."  --Clarence Budington Kelland

"It is not flesh and blood but the heart which makes us fathers and sons."  -- Johann Schiller

"Blessed indeed is the man who hears many gentle voices call him father! -- Lydia M. Child, Philothea:  A Romance, 1836

"Never raise your hand to your kids.  It leaves your groin unprotected."  -- Red Buttons

"Spread the diaper in the position of a diamond with you at bat.  Then fold second base down to home and set the baby on the pitcher's mound.  Put first base and third base together, bring up home plate and pin the three together.  Of course, in case of rain, you gotta call the game and start all over again."  -- Jimmy Piersal on how to diaper a baby in 1968 (cloth diapers all you disposable diaper dads out there)

"By the time a man realizes that maybe his father was right, he usually has a son who thinks he's wrong."  -- Charles Wadworth

"I cannot think of any need in childhood as strong as the need for a father's protection."  -- Sigmund Freud

"It is easier for a father to have children than for children to have a real father."  -- Pope John XXIII

"One night a father overheard his son pray:  Dear God, Make me the kind of man my Daddy is.  Later that night, the father prayed, Dear God, Make me the kind of man my son wants me to be."  -- Author unknown

I hope you all have a wonderful Father's Day.

Anybody want to share some inspiration thoughts, quotes or humor?

Here we go again.  In just the last day or two, I've already read two blogs that state that Barack Obama would stand by Muslims instead of standing by Americans.  They use this quote from his book "Audacity of Hope": 

"I will stand with the Muslims should the political winds shift in an ugly direction."

HE DID NOT SAY STAND WITH AMERICANS!!!!!

Deep, deep sigh.  I guess the Republicans have started the same smear campaign as they did with John Kerry, an honorable man who served in Vietnam when their president, President Bush, got himself a safe pass in the Guard and then at some point decided not to report for duty.  Even John McCain himself thought what was being said about his fellow Vietnam veteran was horrible.  Your presumed nominee, John McCain, would not endorse these type of tactics, so why do you feel you must do so against the presumed nomineee of the Democratic Party? 

If anybody had bothered to actually read the page from which it came from, it says this:

In the wake of 9/11, my meetings with Arab and Pakistani Americans, for example, have a more urgent quality, for the stories of detentions and FBI questioning and hard stares from neighbors have shaken their sense of security and belonging. They have been reminded that the history of immigration in this country has a dark underbelly; they need specific reassurances that their citizenship really means something, that America has learned the right lessons from the Japanese internments during World War II, and that I will stand with them should the political winds shift in an ugly direction.

For those who need an interpreter, Barack Obama spoke of the importance of not allowing inflamed public opinion to result in innocent members of immigrant groups being stripped of their rights, denied their due as American citizens, or placed into confinement, as was done with Japanese-Americans during World War II. The original contains no specific mention of "Muslims."

Any American, regardless of their religious orientation, is protected under our Constitution.  Every person in this country who is member, regardless of whether they came here through legal immigration or were born here are guaranteed the same rights you have.  Oh, perhaps you didn't know that babies are born in America every day and some of them are growing up in Muslim homes.  According to the way some Republicans are thinking, does that mean America is now harboring terrorists and now we have to invade ourselves?  Do you see how ridiculous you sound?   You would do yourselves a world of good if you stuck to facts so that you would sound like intelligent constituents engaged in the real issues. 

Do you think you are doing your party a public service by saying that some Americans are okay and others are not? 

Do you think you are doing your party a public service by passing your gossip and rumors and lies as fact?  If you are Christian, by doing that, you are already sinning against God.   Since lying violates the virtue of truthfulness, a lie does real violence to another.  It affects his ability to know, which is a condition of every judgment and decision.  It contains the seed of discord and all consequent evils.  Lying is destructive of society; it undermines trust among men and tears apart the fabric of social relationships.  See Sir 27:16; Prov 25:9-10   John McCain is a honorable man and he isn't going to put up with this BLEEP when the Bush administration encouraged it. 

You are already violating Christ's law of "love one another as I have loved you."  Also "Love Thy Neighbor." 

These attempts of smearing another are not going to work this time, and I'm most certain that John McCain is going to speak up, as he already has shown, after comments made by Parsley and Hagee horrified him. 

Let's run a clean campaign folks.  I will.  My challenge to you:  Are you capable of learning any new tricks? 

PRLog (Press Release) – May 29, 2008 – Since CBS canceled Jericho for a second time on March 21, the nutty fans have not taken the news lying down. Refusing to accept the abbreviated second season as the end, fans have launched a new campaign to persuade CBS Paramount to find Jericho a new home.

The argument is that the over six million fans of Jericho would be a welcome ratings boost on networks such as SciFi, USA, TNT. Hallmark and the CW. In April, The New York Times reported that Comcast is exploring a potential partnership with CBS Paramount in a deal similar to the NBC / Direct TV pact that saved Friday Night Lights.

To encourage CBS Paramount and potential new networks, the fans have ramped up efforts including:

-Jericho fans spent $7,500 for a giant billboard on Ventura Blvd. in the heart of Studio City, CA. The billboard sporting a giant For Sale sign is aimed at other networks located directly in the area, urging them to contact CBS Paramount about purchasing Jericho. Ironically it is a CBS billboard the Rangers leased. Much of the money for this billboard was funded by auctioning off Jericho items on eBay that the members of the Jericho Cast so graciously autographed for the occasion. The remaining money was made through donations by Jericho fans both in the US and internationally.

-Full page ads in Variety 4/25/08 and The Hollywood Reporter 4/28/08. Funds were raised in the amount of $11,180 by fan contributions and through cast-autographed memorabilia on Ebay.

-A massive letter writing campaign to CBS Paramount and possible Jericho buyers.

-Nuts to Nielsen. Fans are raising awareness of the flaws in the Nielsen rating system by sending peanuts directly to Nielsen. To date over 1,000 pounds of Nuts were sent to Nielsen Headquarters in protest. The fact that 99.999% of TV viewers are not counted in 2008 is an outrage. This is a Nuts to Nielsen campaign to protest this antiquated rating system. Over 700 pounds of Nuts were delivered to Variety magazine to coincide with Variety and Hollywood Reporter Jericho ads. Two weeks ago another 800 Pounds of nuts were sent to the Nielsen facility in Oldsmar, Florida to protest Nielsen’s poor treatment of American workers there. Currently Jericho fans are purchasing nuts at Nutsite.com for another friendly Nutty Shelling of the LA Times to highlight and bring publicity to “NTN” and the For Sale Jericho Billboard.

-Fan purchased DVDs of Jericho’s Season 2 for military personnel stationed in Afghanistan and Iraq.  See http://www.jerichorangers4ourtroops.com/

- Jericho Fans are attempting to fund a Save Jericho commercial to be aired on Cable for the greater Los Angeles market on Times Warner.

After receiving more than 40,000 pounds of peanuts, CBS announced it would bring Jericho back last June. Since the show’s resurrection, Jericho has become a reference point in media discussions of the accuracy of Nielsen ratings and fan-driven efforts to save shows.

Further information is also available at the Jericho forum at www.cbs.com or at www.jericho4sale.com.

This was the press release that was issued to all media relating to the show that fans won't let die:  Jericho.  I happened upon the show myself for Season 2 and was IMMEDIATELY hooked.  I couldn't believe I had missed this gem of a show.  I had to then stay up late at night for several days to catch up on the 22 episodes of season 1 and decided, heck, I want to own the DVD, so got that as a gift to myself. 

We are all complaining about the horrible reality TV shows out there; this is a thought provoking, quality show that shows the best and the worst of what humankind can be after a devastating nuclear attack in multiple cities.  It has the feel of 24 without the Jack Bauer "NOOOOO" scream.  Robert Hawkins and Jake Green are the new Jack Bauers who will stop at nothing to complete their mission.  This show had years of stories still to tell.  We hope that it will have it for years, if not as a regular series, maybe a few straight-to-DVD movies like the way the Stargate SG-1 franchise has gone after being on the air for 10 years there.  I thought the show was also cool because it had a young girl who was deaf and used sign language to communicate, but also read lips and spoke a bit and there is an episode where she truly shines (I won't ruin that for you). 

CBS said the show didn't get viewers, but CBS was only counting Nielsen boxes.  I don't have one, do you?  What gives the right of people whom we don't know decide what networks believe the public wants to see.  They disregarded the number of people going to their website and downloading the free episodes that are still there if you are interested in seeing what all this nuttiness is about.  Season 2 is also there.  They disregarded people who were TiVO/DVR'ing.  CBS decided to announce that season 3 would not exist for the show on Good Friday.  It was already a sad day; it didn't need to be made any more sad than it was. 

So my questions to my dear bloggers are:

1)  Have you watched Jericho or will this blog peak your curiosity to check out an episode on CBS.com since it is free and find out what the fuss about it is?  Good time to do that now to keep those numbers on their website. 

2)  What do you think of the Nielsen box people deciding the fate of the shows you find have value that perhaps they don't and they are the ones the networks seem to listen to. 

3)  Have you ever been passionate about a cancelled show to the point where you wrote a letter to the networks about keeping it on and how successful was that?

Imagine if you will, your child is a kindergartener.  Now imagine if they had a difference that set them apart:  Perhaps the color of their skin, their eye color, they had a physical deformity, or they had allergies that made them sneeze or cough more often than the other children -- basically something that is an inate part of themselves that they cannot change. 

Imagine now, that your child is put up in front of the class and each child is made to say what they "hate" about that child.  Then the vote is put to the class?  Do we let the child stay in the class or does the child have to leave?

Sounds like an episode of reality TV.  But on reality TV, these people are, for the most part, adults.  Imagine how you would feel standing in front of that class hearing these things.  You would be traumatized.  Your feelings would be hurt. 

This was the lesson of the day in a Port St. Lucie classroom this past week.   That day, Wendy Portillo, a 12-year veteran teacher, taught the children a lesson of hate, a lesson of bullying, and a lesson that if people aren't like you, they don't have to deal with them.

When his mother went to pick up Alex Barton at school, he was in the nurse's office and was quite shaken up.  When she asked the nurse what happened, the nurse referred her to the teacher.  The teacher told her what she had done, not seeing anything wrong with it.  Apparently during this "lesson" the other students said he was "disgusting" and "annoying."  His only friend he had made had initially voted for him to stay, but felt tremendous pressure by the teacher to change his vote and now he feels terribly that he did.  The teacher, now denying she told the parent this, apparently told the mom that when he was voted out of class, she asked him what he would do now.  His reply was, "Go to the principal's office?"  She said, "They don't want you there either."   The teacher then asked him how he felt and he said, "I feel sad."  He then left the office and spent the rest of the day in the nurse's office (and the parent was not called at all that she needed to pick him up). 

This child was in the process of being evaluated for a type of autism called Asperger's.  These kids are noted for their social isolation and eccentric behaviors.  The teacher was a part of that process and knew very well the evaluation process was going on.  The evaluation process takes literally months.   How does a lesson in social isolation teach a child who already wants to be by themselves want to be part of the group? 

He now is reliving the incident and spent Thursday night saying over and over again, "I'm not special."  The child now starts screaming as the mother drops the siblings off at the same school.  He will not return to the school because he has been harmed emotionally. 

Portillo, the teacher, told the local police that the vote was only meant to be for the day, not for good, so she is admitting she did this. 

Earlier this week, she was on the Early Show on CBS. 

Comments from all around the world are being sent to the family as well as being posted on-line.  Even other teachers and paraprofessionals are saying this woman deserves to be fired; some fellow teachers throughout the country say she needs to lose her license and not teach again.

According to the Florida State Board of Education Rule 6B-1.006 FAC, The Principles of Professional Conduct of the Education Professional in Florida, she violated four of these codes of conducts, which can get her license suspended.  These are:

(3) Obligation to the student requires that the individual (meaning the teacher)

(a)  Shall make reasonable effort to protect the student from conditions harmful to learning and/or to the student's mental and/or physical health and/or safety.

(e)  Shall not intentionally expose a student to unnecessary embarrassment or disparagement.

(f) Shall not intentionally violate or deny a student's legal rights

(g)  Shall not harass or discriminate against any student on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, age, national or ethnic origin, political beliefs, marital status, handicapping condition, sexual orientation, or social and family background and shall make reasonable effort to assure that each student is protected from harassment or discrimination.

Right now she has been removed from the classroom and assigned to the district offices pending the investigation.

This is not about the child's right to be in that classroom as a workup was in progress to determine if he had autism and if he did have autism, discussions would be held as to what would be most appropriate for him in the least restrictive environment as the IDEA law states. 

This comes on the heels of a new report where a regular education child's parents sent a digital recorder to school with him in Indiana so they could hear how the teachers he complained about were treating him.  In the recording, two women can be heard, one of whom tells the boy he is being pathetic.  When another student came over to find out what was wrong, she tells the class about Ross' behavior problem and says, "If you want to act like him, then go ahead and be his friend."  This teacher has been suspended. 

So my question blogger is this -- how would you feel if your child came home and told you they had been voted out of class and were humiliated for no apparent reason in the process?   Secondly, with all the newest information coming out of classrooms via digital recorders and camera phones, do you believe we should take the step that day care centers have taken where there are cameras in every classroom (with audio) and you can sign on with a special password and see, at any moment, what is going on in that classroom?  You can see the behavior of all -- the teacher, your child (and if your child is acting out, you can appropriately discipline them at home).   Supreme Court has already ruled that audiotaping of a classroom does not violate confidentality issues. 

I for one would welcome this as my nonverbal child cannot tell me how his day was and I'm at the mercy of the school staff, some who are good and decent public servants and some who haven't been.