Who gets the nicest street lights?

According to an article on Pundit House.com, The city council, six of whom are African American, and six of whom are white, approved the money for the street lights based on a contract with Duke energy that covers the installation, maintenance and energy costs of public streetlights throughout Charlotte. As part of the contract, city officials can choose at their discretion and the taxpayers expense to upgrade from basic, wooden light poles to decorative ones.

What is stinging many tax payers is that the new decorative street lights will be installed in the two urban neighborhoods at a cost of roughly $6,000 each as opposed to the wooden pole street lights in other Charlotte neighborhoods that cost roughly $600 each.  The city manager, Curt Walton, justified the expense by saying, “Any neighborhood can have decorative streetlights, but typically residents are responsible for covering the costs of upgrades.” The two cases at hand were an exception, he said, because the decorative streetlights were part of a city project based on a council-approved neighborhood improvement plan. The idea being that if improvements are made to these neighborhoods, they will attract a higher tax base of residents. However, tax payers aren’t buying it. As one reader put it: “Who do they think is drinking the Kool Aid?”

Low income neighborhoods deserve the finer things

Democrat Councilman Patrick Cannon commented on the beautification project by saying, “That type of neighborhood development is a way to keep the city’s visual esthetics balanced with its economic diversity,” By way of example, he noted that “some neighborhoods in south Charlotte sport fancy streetlights that cost “in excess of $250,000 that were paid for by people who live in the area.”

He hit the nail on the head – paid for by the residents of those areas. These new $6,000 street lamps will not be paid for by the residents, but instead by taxpayers who don’t live in those areas.
He went on to say: “The question then becomes do you want to allow citizens who live in areas where you know they don’t have the capital to do that [install decorative streetlights] to be able to harness that same thing. That’s where we [the city] come back to see what we can do to help these communities out to enjoy some of the finer things that they would never necessarily be accustomed to, that other people happen to get throughout this community.”
So…… You drive a Mercedes, therefore, I’m entitled to drive one. But, I can’t afford one, so you’ll have to buy it for me so we’ll be equal.
This type of blatant misuse of tax payers dollars has people more cynical than ever about government, local or federal.  It’s obvious that the city council members are catering to the voters in these under privileged areas because they want to be re-elected. It doesn’t matter that the majority of tax payers are getting ripped.  They do it because it’s too costly not too.  If they say no to fancy street lamps, then they’ll be called racists or accused of siding with the rich people.  Sadly, Americans that are living on social services have power. It’s become easier to give them  what they think they’re entitled to than to do what’s fair and right. As another reader commented, “ Democrats create poverty. That’s their agenda and they are real good at it”

Something to think about.

However, according to this YouTube video, hope is not lost. Take a look….

Hitler Reacts to Arkansas Firing of Bobby Petrino – YouTube

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=JkRa1HKlAaU

The setting is an upscale neighborhood in Dallas, Texas (in real life, HighlandPark) and the story centers around a woman named Amanda who married her high school boyfriend that turned out to be a loser, left her penniless, and she’s force to return to Dallas and move in with her wealthy mom, Gigi.  Amanda was no angel herself in high school. In fact, she was a “mean girl” – sort of the queen bee- and now, some of her victims are out for revenge, mainly Carlene Cockburn, played by Kristin Chenoweth.  Amanda moves home with her two teenage kids and starts life over in Dallas which means finding a job, reconnecting with old friends ( the term is used loosely)  and returning to her church. The characters are cliche – wonderfully so – big hair, big boobs, and too much make up. The men wear cowboy hats ( which no one in Dallas does) and drive obnoxiously big SUV’s. The first episode ends with Amanda getting a waitress job at a bar called “Booby-Liscious” because she can’t find work as a graphic designer. She announces it in front of the church congregation, just to get a rise out of her “good Christian” friends. The characters are well written and the cast is great which is why they may succeed in getting their message across.

Don’t bash the Christians
Who’s mad?  The Parent Council on T.V. objects to using the word, “bitch”, (even though the title doesn’t say that) Another group has created a Facebook page called Boycott Disney, whose mission is to stop Disney and the ABC network from bashing Christians. I guess this is to be expected but it seems a little ridiculous. The show is in a late time slot, so the risk of small children seeing it is slim, and it’s not bashing all Christians, just the judgmental ones that love to bash others in the name of the Lord, which is the point. To judge each other according to our own standards is bad enough. But, to decide for God who passes muster and who doesn’t, is entirely different. It’s the height of arrogance. These will be the people who complain the loudest.
Religious piety could be one of the reasons that church attendance is on the decline in our country. People are turned off by the misuse of religion. They have watched people behave badly while hiding behind the veil of Christianity, and they don’t want to be a part of it. This isn’t to say that all church goers are like this. Hopefully most are not, but the few who insist on deciding who needs to be “saved” and who doesn’t, have ruined it for the rest. Politicians are among the worst abusers of religion. They use religious issues for their own gain. They set it up so that the only way to take the moral high road is to vote for them; therefore, the unspoken assumption becomes anyone who doesn’t, isn’t as “good.”

It’s a dangerous thing to assume that your faith is stronger than another person’s and therefore you have God’s approval and they don’t. GCB gives us a chance to have a sense of humor about it while hopefully pointing out what needs to be changed.

Love those Dallas ladies
Perhaps the group that could be more offended than anyone is Highland Park society. They are a community of well established people living in a very upscale neighborhood and often times are unfairly accused of being uppity,  as are others who live in upscale neighborhoods in towns and cities everywhere. They may not appreciate the show portraying their lives as trivial and shallow, but hopefully they understand that this is a work of fiction, not a documentary. The truth is the setting could be anywhere in the Bible belt but it’s funnier in Dallas. Dallasites (particularly the women) are targets of satire because they are fun and interesting.  They’re proud of Texas and their big hair and red lipstick. They’re proud to be Republican and they have the right to be. Some of my best friends live in Dallas and are the least boring people I know.

The message is a good one for all of us. Watch the show. The title Good Christian Bitches should be an oximoron but maybe it’s not. If you recognize yourself in one of the characters, laugh about it first, then do better.
Sundays at 10pm ( EST)

In researching this article, I found several good reasons to consider this as a good option. Here are the top ones:

It’s a smart move, economically – cost savings of buying used vs. new can be significant

It supports local business – if you buy from a local business, you’re putting money into your community and most local businesses will stand behind their work.

You can easily establish a relationship for ongoing service – there’s nothing worse than trying to contact customer support in a big company. Going local makes it easy to get the help you need.

Reduces toxic waste – roughly 85% of our computers and other electronics end up in landfills and are responsible for  for 70% of toxic waste. ( source: Do something.org)

Like the story that was reported in The Daily Mail about a flight that was evacuated because a passenger had stuffed a dirty diaper in the toilet. Apparently, the diaper began to smell over time and passengers began to complain about strange fumes.  Not knowing the source of the odor. the plane made an emergency landing. The passengers were forklifted, like luggage, off the plane, five at a time, which took two hours.  Forlifted? Is this a reflection of how the airlines view their passengers?

But, it’s not just the airlines who have forgotten their manners. In a flight not too long ago, my husband had the pleasure of sitting next to a guy with gas.  The kids and I sat several rows back from my husband who sat next to a man who appeared to be from India or Pakistan. Things were going along fine until my husband began noticing a foul odor. The first two or three times, he wasn’t sure, but when the guy started passing gas out loud there was no doubt.  And it kept going. For the duration of the 3 hour flight, the guy passed gas at will. It didn’t seem to bother him; he kept right along reading magazines, working crossword puzzles and never looked up. My husband, on the other hand,  had no means of escape because the seat belt sign was illuminated the whole trip. The only thing he could do was bury his nose in his coffee cup which he had to continually refill.  It was as though the $300 coach ticket bought this guy the right to be rude. In my mind, it’s the other way around. The person who pays $1,590 for a first class ticket has purchased the right to be totally comfortable during his trip, even if it means passing gas. The guy who paid $300 should be polite, stay in his seat, and be a considerate  passenger.

There’s no doubt that it’s a two way street. The airline industry has forgotten that it’s in the hospitality business. Since 9-11, they’re less passenger friendly and more hostile and  passengers have forgotten how to act in public. I don’t blame the flight attendant made famous when he told the airline to shove it while sliding down the escape shoot with a beer in each hand. I wouldn’t want to deal with either force.

It’s hard to say which got worse first, but In my opinion, the airlines need to take the lead with this, and it calls for a  heavy duty branding make over.  There’s room in the marketplace for a savvy airline that projects a classy image. One that says if you fly our airline, you’ll be treated as a guest, with respect and consideration to making your trip pleasurable. Of course, the experience needs to back up the promise but if it does, I think passengers will respond accordingly. They’ll value their ticket, take more pride in who they are as a passenger and bring air travel up to a more respectable level.

Last week Hostess Brands, the maker of an American iconic treat, Twinkies, filed for bankruptcy. Twinkies aren’t in danger, the company has filed under reorganization but the news brought attention to this yummy treat that we probably don’t each as much of as we should. Upon writing this article, 3 people in my household announced that they’d never had a Twinkie – never had a Twinkie! It’s hard to believe because so many of my childhood memories are filled with Twinkie eating moments – opening the wrapper of the two pack – biting off the end and eating the filling out of the middle first, then finishing off the rest- so good!

Twinkies have been giving us yummy moments for so long that it’s worth knowing their history. They were invented in Illinois in 1930 by a man named James Alexander Dewer. The original Twinkie,was a banana creme filled sponge cake ,but during WWII, bananas were rationed and so his company was forced to change to vanilla cream. The new flavor was more popular than the original so it stuck. ( source: Wikepedia) Today, 500 million Twinkies are consumed each year.

How bad are they?

Nutritionally speaking Twinkies aren’t a “super food” but they’re not as bad for us as you might think. Here’s how the label reads:

They get no respect

Some have suggested some outrageous things one could do with a Twinkie like, use them as a flotation device, put a leash on it and call it your ‘pet Twinkie’, or use it as a legal defense “the Twinkie made me do it”.

Others have created clever recipes:

Twinkie sushi http://www.notmartha.org/tomake/hostesssushi/

Deep Fried Twinkies  http://www.food.com/recipe/fried-twinkies-41317

Turkey Stuffed with Twinkies http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/11/07/recipe-turkey-stuffed-twinkies_n_1080045.html

Paula Deen’s Twinkie Pie  http://www.pauladeen.com/recipes/recipe_view/twinkie_pie/

In today’s culture of food awareness and health living, treats like the Twinkie are endanger. Don’t let it happen! Eat em!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aJFwVOW0Nww&feature=youtube_gdata_player

The theme of the much talked about documentary, Waiting for Superman, is that the American public school system has failed its students. It’s an idea that’s caught on mainly because they are an easy target.  It’s possible that it’s not the schools that have failed students, but the politicians.

NCLB was a surprise to many when Bush enacted it 10 years ago, given his conservative bent. At the time, it reeked of politics – a way of getting the black vote and both sides were all for it.  It’s hard not to get started on Al Sharpton, Jesse Jackson and the like, who have  gotten in front of this cause and others more for their own gain rather than those of the people that they represent. And the whole country has paid BIG for it. ( Exact dollar figures are hard to find) They threaten with votes and what politician doesn’t hear that? This is not a rag out of the NAACP, or any other cause for  the rights of black Americans,  This is a pointed finger at the politicians who have used the plight of minority based, underprivileged kids in our society, for personal gain.

Here’s the picture

According to an excerpt on the website, Black Youth Project,  ”In America, a student drops out of high school every 26 seconds – that’s 1.2 million drop outs a year. These students who drop out are 8 times more likely to go to prison than those who graduate high school, they are 50% less likely to vote, are not eligible for 90% of new jobs and are being paid 40 cents to the $1 of a college graduate.” If this is true, then it’s a problem that we all need to be concerned about. Educators are struggling to get kids to stay in school. Program upon program is dedicated to it, including in-school day care so that teen moms can continue their educations while being  single parents. Teen pregnancy, drugs, gangs, lack of attention from home, abusive home life, poor nutrition, mental health issues, and learning disabilities, have all been cited as causes for dropping out of school, but how can educators possibly remedy this?

Welfare is another politically driven agenda that’s doing us no favors. It’s largely responsible for the lack of motivation we see among the  poor. Under the current system, they have little incentive to work and pull their own weight and therefore, lack motivation to encourage their kids to do differently,

The No Child Left Behind act has its origins in the 1966 study in Oakland, CA where the term “achievement gap” was first coined. The study revealed that poor students, regardless of race, tested worse as they advanced from grade to grade. They blamed the schools for the discrepancy in achievement. ( taken from an article by John Spencer on ehistory.com)

When the act was declared in 2002, states were forced to execute it. Educators had little time to prepare and state budgets weren’t ready for the expense. Not only did NCLB pressure students into performing but it pressured teachers as well. This was not all bad, but the expectations for non-English speaking students and special needs kids to perform by the same standards as other students was terribly unrealistic.

There’s no doubt that there are problems in public education that need attention. A big one that comes to mind is teacher tenure. What other profession has this? It breeds laziness and apathy and this needs to change. Social issues among the races have become almost  insurmountable problems in the schools. Educators aren’t trained to be social workers, psychologists, doctors, and policemen.

Where is Obama in all of this?

President Obama may have his hands tied on health care, tax reform and other issues because of a Republican led congress, but he’s missed a huge opportunity to try to be of influence in this issue. Obama is in the unique position – he might be the only person in the position- to influence the African American community – to say “straighten up and fly right”. He’s the ultimate example of what they can become if they do but he’s been nowhere in this. At least nowhere visible.

Who is this resonating with?

“The NAACP National Education Program strives to ensure that all students have access to an equal and high-quality public education by eliminating education-related racial and ethnic disparities in our public schools.” ( quoted from NAACP.org)

Interestingly, no where on the website is No Child Left Behind mentioned or discussed. Or at least anywhere that can easily be found, which is a bit disappointing because we’ve spent so much money trying to close the achievmentt gap in the name of equal opportunity. One would think that it would be a topic front and center , which begs the question: does No Child Left Behind matter to the people for which it was primarily designed? If not, maybe we should find out what does and devote our resources to that.

It’s a question worth asking. Where did the idea that all students must perform to a college bound standard come from? Many have scratched their heads saying what about vocational training? or achievement in the arts? Not all kids have the aptitude for higher learning. Some have  no desire to go to college nor is it a realistic thought for them. What’s wrong with training auto mechanics, computer technicians, medical assistants, singers or dancers?

A better solution has to been offered so we’re stuck with it until 2014. Until then, we can send the message to the President and our government that the best decisions are made when you have a genuine desire to remedy a problem, not play for votes.