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Monthly Archives: March 2011

FAQ’S


FAQ’s

Why are website FAQ’s not your FAQ’s? It appears to me that the list of FAQ’s on many websites do not adequately cover your questions . Once you scan through the list of FAQ’s you are no closer to an answer than you were before . Then ask the question in the ask box at the top and you get an assorted of suggestions that take you to random areas that bring you no closer to the answer you are seeking. This reminds me of what you hear when an office seeker or holder speaks. With the constant stream of rallies, fund raising and debates we are subjected to , there are never any FAQ’s answered to the satisfaction of the voters. We do receive the verbal political pas de deux that has become so familiar. If we wanted to dance we can go out to a club or dance hall but we should not have deal with it from people we are thinking about electing to serve us.

Letter toThe Senator


This is a letter that I sent to my State Congressman regarding problems in a Federally funded program:
“Dear Mr. Durbin, The past several years have seen the Head Start program under the management of the Springfield Urban League go down hill. Most recently (since May 2010) there have been 30 plus firings of Head Start teachers which accelerated once the employees decided to Unionize.The Urban league hired a retired low level state DCFS supervisor as C.O.O. and the problem became worse. There have been approximately 3 to 6 months of closed classrooms due to health hazards. At this time the program is down in enrollment by 20% due to the lack of qualified teachers (fired under the C.O.O.). Upper management appears to be unconcerned about their clients (the children) and their parents as they have seemingly kept the policy council and their own Board in the dark or at least in the shadows. The bottom line is that the clients and their parents are being poorly treated due the ineffective administration of this program. This is a problem that requires attention” I am hoping that some attention may be paid to this problem and possibly it will be resolved.

The Pinocchio Syndrome


The Dupublicans are gearing up to run for the presidency using the dismantlement of the healthcare bill as a springboard. The current healthcare bill while not perfect has helped more people than the Dupublican aspirants want to be known. They are spending countless dollars to discredit parts of the healthcare law rather than spend the same time and money to improve it. Imagine what was required to put these laws in action and then imagine what overturning it and replacing it would cost. I am thoroughly disenfranchised with the our political systems as it DOES NOT WORK for the voters. This is one small step for autocracy and a backwards step for democracy. In all of the elections to date the voters have been “advertised” in to voting for one candidate or another to the detriment of our government functions and by extension our freedom. The voters have become numb to the truth and animated to the lies. Our political system has been hijacked by power seeking people who will make us pay for the privilege. It is on the heads of the voters to insure the people we elect do the job they were elected to do and it does not take a group action to accomplish that. If each person decides on the actual merits of each candidate then we would have a better chance of electing the most qualified person and at the same time send a message that we will no longer be “advertised” in to a vote for anyone. Our, Congress ,state legislators and Municipal adminstrators have all become “pinocchios”, the more they talk , the longer their noses grow.

How I think It Should be.


Once again (or still) the political in and aspirants are debating some issues (which really have nothing to do with anything). What is it about office seekers that they try to impress the voting public with things that do not matter? We have gone through years of political campaigns which have brought this particular effort to a state of political drama that has as much production as any show in any theater. Serving the public should not be about popularity and who can put on the best show but about what a candidate wants to accomplish not what they need to say to get the office. Anything can be said about what needs to be done and what ought to be done but what is actually done does not surface until the office is occupied. Where we are is that a number of people want the public trust and lie to get it, this does not mean that they are liars (per se) but since they are being handled they are liars by proxy. As far as I am concerned I would rather vote for someone who is honest enough not to foretell what they will accomplish and does not have to trash the others in the race for office. Our political system has evolved to the equivalent of a high-profile basketball game where the players talk trash before the game.
Is this what we want and have degenerated to? Our solution could be as simple as listening to what our common sense tells us and vote according to that. If your common sense involves some biases, so be it.

Someway, Somehow


Some day we may realize that the intelligence of our political leaders is sorely lacking in common sense. These folks spend our tax dollars on laborious solutions to simple problems and issuing sound bites that serve only to enhance their profiles in the media. While some legislators (possibly) genuinely want to do the job they were elected to do and the rest just want to stay in office and cash in. We have Governors whose are slapping their constituents around because the other party gets more votes from that segment ( I wonder why?). This has nothing to do with doing the job at hand. Another Governor raised sales taxes and is looking to cut educational spending by consolidating school districts (down to 135) while the other option is simply to make each county (101 of them) a school district. It does not take a rocket scientist to correct problems if the politicians stop looking to enhance their legacy and strengthen their voting base. These people have been elected
to manage the states they live in and have failed time and time again while we the voters have believed them to be honest (shame on us). The remarkable thing is that they use our fears and biases to distract us while mouthing honesty and truth, for example: Birth Place and religion. I personally believe there should be open season on all elected officials in the voting booth. The American voters have endured enough and we should be smart enough to see through the smoke and mirrors of politics.

Mike

The Real Reason


With the 2012 elections coming up, the birthers,tea parties and other fractional groups are gearing up to influence elections. These efforts are fueled by the Dupublicans (and Wealthy financiers) who so desperately want the Presidency. The Dupublicans have spent more time trashing proposed legislature than assisting in making something that works. Every Dupublican currently serving seem to be jockeying for headlines that serve to infuriate the silent majority but having no relevant merit overall. The current majority party in Congress gives the impression that their agenda is public oriented as long as it can produce votes and support for themselves. The voters in America have been bamboozled and fooled for years but some of us still cannot see the forest for the trees while refusing to move out of the shadow of innuendo and half truths. The American public can be likened to a stringed instrument that sings when plucked. The electorate has figured out which tunes to play to get the results they want and we as a country are the worse for it. It is pretty obvious that America has not fully left racism and bias behind as these have been thinly veiled references in many outbursts against the current government. If we (voters) would look carefully at who we elect then we will realize that we are being handled daily while the same old beat goes on. These aspiring and sitting politicians have one agenda and that is remain in office for as long as possible while generating wealth for themselves and their associates. When we (voters) start to ignore the incessant noise of sound bites and snippets we will have made serious progress towards controlling the government.

The Pursuit of Sanity


Each day there is someone with knowledge who is able to have some plainly worded explanations about our constitution printed. Not many us of know or remember that the founders created a document that is live and evolving. The current Congressional group has lost sight of what their jobs entail. Each of these folks have themselves in mind daily, they are looking to grab headlines that enhance themselves and their political future. Look at the salary, pension and benefits that have been added to the job. These are all things that Congress has enacted for themselves, for instance their “COLA” is a law enacted by them. There are no term limits unless we (voters) impose them and even then we fail to see the forest for the trees due to the media blitzes and other distractions when elections roll around. We as voters have become jaded, faded and downright tired of the political games but we vote based on a point of bias that has nothing to do with the candidate but will garner a vote. The incumbents and aspirants use our fears and biases to stay in office. Simply put: if a candidate learns that a majority of his constituents are of one religion, they use that to get votes, if a part of their voting base likes a certain color, they use that to gain votes. If you see a pattern then you get it, if you do not see a pattern then you need to step back and take another look at the people you have voted for and what they have done for you or to you. Congress was never meant to be a lifetime job, the founders were all part timers who had income from their primary occupation. They were paid expenses required to travel to the capital for meals and lodging. These current officials are living large on funds that we pay them, that they provided for themselves through laws they enacted. We all need to pay attention to who represents us and not by the party (and the sub groups) they are associated with.

By The Numbers


1. The political system is unalterably broken until the voters wake up and stop re electing the same folks time after time.
2. The constant stream of politispeak geared to appeasement of the masses has to stop but will only happen when the voters stop allowing themselves to be “advertised” in to voting for the current and aspiring representatives.
3. We have several candidates who have possibilities as leader of the city but some are better in their current capacities and should look at their future roles in assisting whoever makes the cut.
We have in this country elected officials who have no clue as the what the constitution says or what it means. The founders made a document as a guide to governing and not as a end all to questions. The Congress of the United States has subverted the Constitution to their own purposes while telling their constituents what they want to hear and any near truths that will get them elected or reelected. The party system has failed and will continue to fail while people spout the same old party line without addressing the real needs of their followers. This “oversight” trickles down to the smallest version of government and by extension the least of the American public. American voters have been denied their rights to free and open elections due to the machinations of the people we have elected on a regular basis because they are plausible storytellers.

Parallel Parable


Most of us are familiar with the “Star Wars” saga. I have observed an activity which parallels the Star Wars story in some part. A Non-Profit in Springfield, IL hired a retired state worker to administer one of its many programs. This person, through some machinations much like those of the Senator from “Naboo,” rose to the position of COO within six months. Once in that position, the real personality emerged in the form of the “Dark Maiden”. This new seemingly omnipotent entity has almost singlehandedly gutted the Head Start Program. This has been accomplished by firing tenured teachers and other seasoned workers. There are also the cases of health issues in the buildings that have caused grievous harm to teachers and　children. Unfortunately, the “Union (Freedom Fighters)” does not have a hero to lead them, and the fear of the “Dark Maiden” lays heavily over the Head Start program like a blanket. The underlying problems are as deep and pervasive as gas leaking from a broken line. The costs to run the program have been subverted to legal fees to fight the Union instead of using those same funds to improve the program and services to its clients. To date, over 30 workers have been eliminated with one poor excuse or another while the Non-Profit is still racking up huge legal fees to the detriment of the program. The general public is unaware of the extent of the problem as the “Evil Empire” has taken great pains to contain all information that would illuminate their process. Yet, there are still other forces at work that might at some point expose the true nature of this beast. To date the regional Head Start office has begun to look into allegations of mis handling funds and underserving the clients of Head Start. What will it take for the client base to resist this “hostile” takeover of a vital program?

Dark Times At The Springfield Urban League


Apparently someone is listening. Recent airing of the mold problems in Head Start locations have surfaced. One local station asked some questions and got the usual half truths from the C.O.O. of the Springfield Urban League. These half truths and a lot of outright lies have been used to stop , curtail and derail the Unionizing efforts of the workers. This spokesperson is referred to (in a “Star Wars” reference) as “Dark Maiden” as evil as a villain as you find anywhere! This is a small part of the overall picture unknown to the general public and hidden from the parents of their clients. There is a former teacher who was ill for months with an undiagnosed illness and began to improve after not being in the So. 12th street location. There has been a mold problem at the Cook street site for as long as 3 years and it took a full year to get something done as management sat on the proposals to seal the windows where the moisture was entering between the walls. These problems are ongoing because management turns a blind eye to doing what is required to make a safe place for their clients and workers. The money for these repairs is available but not for these projects. The Springfield Urban league is spending thousands of dollars to fight the Unionization effort but very little to safeguard the health of future generations of children and their teachers. I would ask the question, what is being done with the Head Start operating funds and where is the money for the legal fees coming from? This situation requires a closer examination as there is a pattern of behavior that affects all of the clients (children) in Head Start. It seems that this all about $ and how not to spend it as mandated by the regulations of Head Start. Why is it that a flurry of activity occurs when a problem is uncovered, much like the scurrying of household pests when the lights come on.