Wednesday, January 28, 2009

Dance Team Disbanded

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In tough economic times why would Jonesboro High School limit the employment opportunities of its young women by disbanding the school's dance team?

The kibosh came after parents witnessed the team's halftime performance during a January 13 basketball game and found the students' moves and grooves too edgy for the venue. The school forbid the women from practicing and performing for the rest of the year.

Watching the team's performance, in a now defunct You Tube video titled "The Sluts of Jonesboro," it's reasonable to see how some parents, meaning mothers, were offended. Why let their daughters give away what most men would pay for?

The stripper-esque dance routine, choreographed and executed by the students could look very good on a resume, for the sort of job opportunities that rarely require a resume when you look very good. In small towns like Jonesboro, a career as a "dancer" is as aspirational as any and more achievable than most.

Isn't high school is supposed to prepare students with skills they'll need to survive in the world? What makes the dance team's goals less valid than the basketball players, most of whom are far less likely to actually use their balling skills to support themselves or their family?
Jonesboro DanceTeam 2009

Police chase man who circles back, steals police car

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When a police officer spotted two suspected burglars early this morning, he gave chase. Leaving behind his unlocked police cruiser. While the officer continued pursuing the suspects through the darkness, he became a crime victim himself. Exhausted after the unsuccessful chase the officer trotted back to his vehicle, as he approached one of the two men he'd been pursuing jumped into the driver's seat and sped past the reasonably dejected officer.

By dawn the Fairburn police had located the stolen car, but alas the ingenious thief continued to elude his captors and his victim. This is just embarrassing and doesn't speak well of the police force in Fairburn, Ga.

$825 Billion Economic Stimulus

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California's cut of the proposed $825 Billion Economic Stimulus nears eight billion dollars, $7,854,800,000 to be exact. That breaks down to $213.70 per capita. While no state will receive more money overall, if the current package passes, than California, Alaska ($221.71), Mississippi ($214.23), Louisiana ($214.23) and North Dakota ($216.56) will receive more money per capita.

The current stimulus plan requires that $121.26 per capita, of the federal funds must be spent on transportation and infrastructure projects, with $66.11 allotted for school and college modernization, and $13.82, per capita, reserved for job training, according to The Wall Street Journal's recent report.

If California receives $7,854,800,000 from the stimulus plan and $213.70 of that money is allocated per state resident, that means it has a population of approximately 36,756,200, which is fairly close to the estimate for the state's 2008 population. But after adding up the $121.26 for infrastructure spending, the $66.11 for education modernization and the $13.82 for job training the state finds itself with only $12.51 left to spend.

Clearly spending on infrastructure will generate jobs and stimulate the economy in the short run, but in the long run education and job training are the better investment. Why build more roads, when far less people will be traveling to work?

Tuesday, January 27, 2009

Congressional Free-for-All

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Watching the open remarks of the House of Representatives today makes me cringe. The odd spattering of issues on which representatives spoke was striking. How do they jump from the Lunar New Year and the Year of the Ox, to the millions of relief funds for House bill HR1 to House Resolution 87 -- amending Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964?

Also, where the heck are the Republicans? It seems Democrats are the only ones making statements and calling for votes. Glad to see our two party system is working out so well.

Wednesday, January 21, 2009

Instant City: Portals of the Past

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On the eve of the inauguration Americans endured the final hours of the Bush presidency and awaited the moment he would disappear from the Oval Office. During these hours of limbo a number of folks found refuge at the Elbo Room, where Instant City hosted a reading (and game show) honoring its Fall 2008 issue: "The Disappeared."

Appropriately, the theme of the readings, most from the issue, explored San Francisco's past through both imagined and historical iterations, the realm of not yet forgotten moments and places.

I live on Polk Street, so Alvin Orloff's "The Doomed Glamour of Polk Street," reinvented my perception of the street's former self. By my understanding the Castro of today is a tamer version of Polk St. in the 1970s, a lusty mix of boys and men and urgency and desire. In Orloff's piece humor effectively mediates a boy's aching need for acceptance and compassion.

Jon Longhi's "Bad night at the Chameleon," made me long for more crack-violence and performance art. His pacing and energy brought the story from the page to the stage. It felt at times like a one man show. I'll never be able to go to Amnesia (which was once the Chameleon) without thinking of Longhi's Bad Night.

Kevin Hobson, the night's first reader, began with a piece from the issue, called: "Along the Great Highway," about the Sutro's Baths, but just as I was getting into it he stopped. Something about buy the issue to find out what happens. I did. He continued with a crack-up piece that will resonate with anyone whose ridden a cross town bus in San Francisco. I was dying.

Cynthia Mitchell's "Eucalyptus," starkly contrasted the tone of the other pieces. Sadder and more vulnerable. The story of city kids, who were not street kids. They took shelter from darkest corners of the city, knowing no danger because such a life was the only one they knew.

The evening ended with Charlie Jane Anders' "My Breath is a Rudder." A swirl of perspective and creative possibilities, the willfulness of art and it's relation to the artist. Anders work was amusing ...

Monday, January 19, 2009

Pay to Play: Obama's Inauguration Sale

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Our president-elect, Mr. Barrack Obama comes to us from the land of Lincoln. More recently, Illinois has been the land of corrupt governance embodied by former governor Rod Blagojevich, the man responsible for appointing Mr. Obama successor in the Senate. The naked ambition of Blagojevich's pay-to-play politics drew gasps from a nation unaccustomed to outright vulgarities.

When discussing the opportunities afforded him, as The Decider of who would fill Obama's vacated Senate seat, Rod Blagojevich reasoned: “I’ve got this thing and it’s fucking golden, and, uh, uh, I’m just not giving it up for fuckin’ nothing. I’m not gonna do it. And, and I can always use it. I can parachute me there.”

What's so bad about using what you have to get what you want? Isn't that what the incoming Obama Administration is doing with the inauguration? Pay-to-play, right?

The term describes situations in which money is exchanged for services or the privilege to engage (play) in certain activities.

While House member Nancy Pelosi has introduced legislation prohibiting the re-sale of inauguration tickets, which were selling on the black market for tens of thousands of dollars. The tickets, which are meant to be free and distributed to the most deserving, present an obvious example of the incoming administration's permissive stance on pay-to-play politics. Coming from Illinois, perhaps such is the only sort of politics Mr. Obama knows.

It seems that, "Maximum $50,000 donors get up to four tickets to the swearing-in, the parade and one of several balls, among other festivities." If that's not pay-to-play, then what is?

The logic mirrors that of the former Illinois governor: “I’ve got this thing and it’s fucking golden [inauguration tickets, in this case], and, uh, uh, I’m just not giving it up for fuckin’ nothing [but for $50,000, they're all yours]. I’m not gonna do it. And, and I can always use it. I can parachute me there [to cement my relationship with donors, who cares if they're from securities and investment industries].”

Those big wigs donating their way to the inauguration aren't simply interested in a seat over the parade route or the chance to experience an historic event, but an opportunity to gain access to the incoming administration. Trading money for access is the epitome of pay-to-play politics and it appears that the new Obama Administration isn't above it.

Friday, January 9, 2009

TV: A Fundamental Right?

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It started a year ago: I began seeing commercials for the "Transition to Digital," scheduled to occur February 17, 2009. My reaction to the first of the many commercials: "What the hell? Seriously, the government is subsidizing converter boxes at $40 a pop?"

Did I miss when access to TV became a fundamental right and warranted government protection? No? Then what's going on with this and what's more, why is the Obama transition team wasting their time with efforts to delay the switch to digital? I guess I can sort of see their logic. The prospect of cutting the television cord (literally) for millions of Americans, could piss off a lot of folks And what do pissed off people do when they can't change the channel? They complain, loudly.

While the logic may make sense as a political tactic, why should the federal government shell out $40 coupons for the converter boxes? Whose fault is it that you've had the same analog TV since 1969 or that you rely on slight adjustments to those wiry rabbit ears to watch your stories? Not the government.

Access to TV isn't a fundamental right. If you don't buy, or can't afford, a converter box, tough. Stop smoking that pack a day from now till February and you'll have the money to buy the box yourself, and you'll have a little less cancer to boot. If you want news, listen to the radio, buy a paper, go to the library and logon to the Internet. TV isn't the only source of news, in fact it's probably the wost source.

In 2005, Congress passed the law requiring all TV stations to broadcast in digital by February 2009. That's going on four years of prep time. It's absurd that they're not ready to transition now -- because not everyone with an analog set is equipped with a converter box and networks, with deep pockets, fear they'll lose viewers. February 17 is the advertised deadline, some among us would like to see Congress come in on time with a project now and again. Let's start with transitioning to digital TV.

Yet, the delay is understandable. Obama's team is weary of upsetting an otherwise passive portion of the population. Keep them plugged in and all is well.

Thursday, January 8, 2009

2009 Begins with BART Execution

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Trained professionals, eh? According to information on the BART website its officers undergo the same training as Oakland police and sheriff's officers. Judging from the New Year's day execution style killing of 22-year-old Oscar Grant III, at Oakland's Fruitvale BART Station, that training should be re-evaluated.

Claims that the stressful, chaotic conditions that the officers were experiencing early New year's Day fulled Officer Johannes Mehserle's response to Grant and the shooting. Strangely, no such gunfire erupted during the much more volatile protest that followed Grant's funeral a week later. While police fired tear gas into the crowd of protesters on January 7 in Downtown Oakland, not a single shot was fired.

The video of Grant's arrest shows a man on his stomach, face down, with his hands behind his back and BART officers surrounding him. From the camera's vantage point he doesn't appear to be struggeling or resisting the officers. The crowd of nearby passengers, from where the video was shot, seem to confirm that the force being used was excessive. For whatever reason, while Grant lay in a prone position awaiting handcuffing Officer Mehserle fired a single shot into Grant's back.

According to autopsy reports, the bullet tore through Grant's lower back and ricocheted from the concrete, back through Grant's lung, killing him.

The blatant and uncalled for nature of this shooting is cause for concern. If BART officers can't handle their weapons appropriately, and they received the same training as other Oakland law enforcement officers, we shouldn't be surprised by the continued excessive use of force in the East Bay.

Monday, January 5, 2009

Tourettes Flying

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It's not often I've encountered a person with tourettes, but as I lined up to board my plane this morning a man to my right blurted out nonsensical phrases and jerked his head erratically. As insensitive as it may be, the close quarters in a plane often exacerbate what might otherwise be a slight annoyance: a crying baby, a lapse in personal hygiene or a contentious individual.

Shut up, right? Planes should be treated like libraries or dental offices, where quite, inside voices are both expected and required. While the rest of the passengers on my flight respected the decibel requirements, the tourettes guy couldn't keep his mouth shut.

To be expected, right? He has an illness. Along with it comes verbal tics, which are sometimes expressed as "coprolalia" (the involuntary use of obscene words or socially inappropriate words and phrases) or "copropraxia" (obscene gestures). While the Tourettes Syndrome's website contends that, "despite publicity, coprolalia/copropraxia is uncommon with tic disorders"; nonetheless, this man shouted "vagina, vagina, vagina" along with other choice words for the majority of the flight.

I couldn't help turning to see what was going on two rows behind me, but the man appeared oblivious to his outbursts. What made the situation so strange were the business related phone calls he made before we took off. They were perfectly comprehensible and professional. How could he control his tourettes while on the phone, but at no other time? I bet he just does it for kicks.