Sustained outrage

What you need is sustained outrage...there's far too much unthinking respect given to authority.

Molly Ivins

Education Begins With Reading

Sounds simple, right? If you can’t read your ability to learn becomes severely handicapped. As a parent I want my kids to have every benefit this life can give us, and judging by the direction our education system is headed, the earlier we get started the better.

You cannot and should not expect public education to motivate our children to learn. That is the responsibility of the parent and it needs to be taken on starting from the day a child is born. Some people say it can start before the child is born. I’m no expert in this so I’ll leave the accuracy of statement to them to prove.

The desire to learn beyond basic survival instincts must be taught. And developing the desire to learn begins with reading. Simply showing children that there is a world beyond the four walls of their home is one of the greatest first steps they can take. But it is up to the parent to get them started.

Reading to your children will spark their imagination. Exposing them to a wide variety of topics will ignite that spark to the point it will never be extinguished.

Our library system is stocked full of every type of book you can imagine. And every book, magazine, CD and computer in it is free for us to use. Please utilize this resource to show how much we appreciate having it made available to us.

Libraries are not there only for entertainment. You can receive a complete and well-rounded education just from reading books from our public libraries.

Show your children the value of reading. For some fun exercises, assign your child the task of writing an essay on whatever topic you can think of. Make it a fun topic. They may protest they may rebel but in the end it will another one of the greatest memories they have of their childhood. It could be the very earliest steps of creating a career path for them. It’s possible.

Reading unlocks so many possibilities like nothing else can.

I have to admit that my writing this post is more than just for the sake of kids I don’t even know. I have my selfish reasons too. Just think for a moment that every person in the country, in the world, could read and did so on a regular basis. How much more educated do you think we would all be? Do you agree that a better educated person has more opportunities to succeed than an under-educated person? If more people were educated can you agree with me that there would be far less poverty, far more self-reliance, far less need of a government to care for us and therefore far less financial strain on our entire economic system. So you see I do plead with everyone to become better educated so that all of us can enjoy a better quality of life.

It is a world that is possible to create. Think about some of the reasons people do not learn to read. Certainly there are medical reasons, but putting those aside, I believe the single most inexcusable reason for not being able to read is a lack of conviction that reading is necessary.

While I am on the subject of education, I have to say a few things about writing. We are losing our ability to write because of the computer. I think everyone can agree with this. I don’t think that we should throw away our computers just to save writing, but I do believe that we need to work on spelling and grammar. We can get by fine without the need to write letters, we have many other ways of communicating, but when I hear an adult utter this phrase “I ain’t got no . . .” it makes me cringe. I don’t consider myself a grammar nazi, but my God, please try to take some pride in yourself and get an education.

If you have children, please read to them. They deserve as good a chance at a good education as anyone. Those children who are being read to are going to fair much better than those children who are not read to. Reading really is that important.

Teaching adults to read is also very rewarding. Their gratitude and excitement at being able to read on their own is genuine and much appreciated. When I see them read on their own knowing I played a part in teaching and encouraging them to do so is very exhilarating.

 

Some people state that when foreigners some to America to live they should speak our language. I agree, but not all of them can. We can step up and help them learn to speak English. There are programs in every large city that offer facilities to help adults learn to read as well as speak English. Volunteer and know that you are doing something instead of just complaining.

Comcast takes over control of NBC, kiss another American Icon goodbye

Like it or not, and the current pulse is ‘not’, Comcast is the new majority holder of NBC. Their first order of business was to replace one of the most well-known American icons with a ‘unifying’ symbol that goes to show their lack of imagination. In doing so they mimic what every corporation is saying: America’s past means nothing. In the relentless march towards ‘one global market’, remaining attached to one nation spells weakness.

The corporate rhetoric was sickeningly thick – they actually said “We aren't a family of two favorite sons, rather one filled with talented people and companies all tied for first”.

Another image of ‘one big happy family all tied for first’’. Who comes up with this drivel?

Top Comcast executives were introduced to employees via a video feed to locations in New York, Los Angeles, Philadelphia and London. After listening to pre-recorded and carefully worded interviews of these executives the employees were given a chance to ask questions. A chance to ask questions? The executives talked their company line while the most pressing question from the audience – are there going to be layoffs - was not discussed. You can see what employees only concern was. And I don’t blame them, corporations do not have a history of benevolence towards employees no matter what their public face says.

The welcome ‘gifts’ were laughable and stingy given the estimated value of this bloated conglomerate creeping ever so steadily towards total monopoly. Each employee received 25 Comcast shares, worth $23.31 each; a family pass to one of the Universal theme parks; and other materials, including a "Big Idea Book" in which they were to record their own. Can’t you just feel the love? I’d like to see if any of those ideas ever end up on the boss’s desk.

The business of wealth and power building just took another end run at sucking the American consumer dry.

Their new logo should be a video camera focused on a glittering and bloated dollar sign propped up by couch potatoes.

People Who Prey on Others Only Add to Our Struggle

I cannot for the life of me understand why people prey on other people who are struggling to make a living just as they are. It seems if we all help each other with taking advantage of each other then we will all win.

 If you are not helping others in the same situation then you are part of the problem.

My wife and I manage a small apartment complex – eight units – in Orem Utah. Her mother owns them but she lives out of state and depends heavily on us to manage and care for these units. Having three of these apartments empty puts a strain on the bank account because the mortgage is just barely covered by the rent from the other five. And trust me, the mortgage company always gets their cut out of this situation regardless of how many are rented.

These three apartments have only been empty since the first of the month and they could have been made ready if we lived closer and could attend to them on more than a weekend basis. This past Saturday L went to the apartments by herself because lately it seems that any amount of exertion or exposure to the outside cold sets me off on a coughing fit. This is beginning to worry me as it has been a constant companion for several months now. Anyway, I went with her Sunday, but only in a moral support capacity.  Her tireless efforts keeps these apartments in a clean and well maintained condition and they never fail to receive favorable comments from people searching for an apartment to rent. They say things like “these are the cleanest apartments I have seen yet”.

While it is true the building is showing its age it takes only a little effort to keep them looking better than any place else in the neighborhood simply because the other owners don't do anything to clean or maintain their apartment buildings. And they get away with charging the same amount. I can understand their position, the general attitude of renters is that the property they are renting is not theirs so why take care of it. It just doesn't seem to mater to renters in general that even though they signed a contract to keep the building clean and undamaged, they don’t honor that commitment. This is most likely based in a general lack of concern for other peoples property. And where does this attitude come from? The home. If they were taught from an early age to care for their parents home then they would learn to take care of places they rent. I cannot find any falsity in believing this assumption.

I dare say that if they are taught this simple truth then every aspect of their lives would improve and therefore the general condition of mankind would improve. Its called respect. Not the kind of ‘respect’ that street thugs and wannabe’s lavish on their ‘weapons’ and false ‘ownership’ of a neighborhood, but the only true respect that means anything: Respect for your fellow man, which begets respect on yourself and on and on until we can actually live together in greater harmony than what is evident in today's society.

Anyway, let me step off my soapbox, because it mainly falls on deaf ears anyway.

It never fails to amaze me how slovenly some people can live. And how they will force their children to live in filth without a seconds thought. Forcing children to live like this is what really burns me up. We have also learned the extent that people will lie to get what they want.

We have spent far more money than we make on these apartments just repairing damage done by the handful of true lowlife scum bags who have learned how to prey on the good nature of people who truly want to believe in the good in humanity.

They are all on their best behavior when asking for something from us (a place to live), while they lie about employment history, they lie about current income, they lie about criminal records, and then in the end, once they get what they want, they think nothing of screwing over the ‘good’ person who gave them a chance. Then after loosing several months rent and having to pay their utilities while trying to force them out with hands tied by the letter of the law, they get to slither off into the protection of like-minded people never to be heard from again and never being made to face up to their responsibilities. Why these people are protected by the legal system is beyond me.

There really needs to be a DO NOT RENT list so that other landlords do not have to go through what we have. I’m willing to bet that the previous owner we called to get reference from also lied to us about them just to get rid of them. Unethical, you bet your ass it is. These people also should be made to answer for their lies.

Is there anyone out there willing to share their horror story of renting to lying scum bags? I would love to hear from you. Maybe something can be done to get the laws changed so we don’t have to lose so much time and money on kicking these deadbeats out.

Does Your State Have an Official ‘State Gun’?

Utah state lawmakers are currently debating whether to designate a semiautomatic pistol as the official gun of Utah, the Browning M1911 pistol. The motivation is to honor Utah native John Browning, the guns inventor.

Pennsylvania wants to do the same thing. But they don’t want to settle for some pistol, they want to heap their honor on a rifle. And their reasoning for doing so is that it provides a celebration of history and a contribution toward America’s independence.

Sounds a little too much like honoring the National Rifle Association. If we follow the line of the often used reasoning that ‘guns don’t kill people, people kill people’ then people are the “contribution toward America’s independence”, not firearms.

Anyway, how is it that these representatives have enough time on their hands to work on this type of legislation? There must be something of a more ‘pressing nature’ for these guys to work on other than something that only amounts to ‘busy work’.

Now I suppose this means there is going to be a race between these two states to see which is first to have an official firearm.

Where is this coming from anyway? And who is benefiting from it?

Utah Republican Representative Carl Wimmer said of Browning "He invented a firearm that has defended American values and the traditions of this country for 100 years."

Sounds like a load of rhetoric that just happens to overlook the fact that the ‘American values’ he refers to killed a lot of native American Indians and stole their land from them. Are those the ‘values’ you are referring to Mr. Wimmer?

I’m not a gun control nut, in fact, I believe everyone should have the choice to have one if they deem it necessary, but John Browning can be honored in other ways without declaring such a polarizing device as a weapon to be a state symbol.

Gun Violence Prevention Center board member Steve Gunn told The Associated Press honoring the M1911 is wrong because the people who opened fire in most recent U.S. mass shootings used semiautomatic pistols. That includes the Jan. 8 Arizona shooting in which six people were killed and 13 — including Rep. Gabrielle Giffords — were wounded with a Glock pistol.

I can almost agree with his reasoning except it’s like saying we should not drive cars because they can kill. And I don’t believe that demonizing a weapon is going to convince people to not own one, just like honoring a weapon is not going to lead to an increase in gun sales. I just don’t think a government body should promote something that holds so much potential for abuse that can lead to such horrific and devastating effect.

Celebrating family, high moral character, and ethical standards, while rewarding education and promoting mutual respect, now these are things that are worth honoring.