9/11/2012

On this day 11 years ago, I awoke to images that are the equivalent of Pearl Harbor for many in our generation. At the time I was working for the California State Assembly and immediately made my way to our office to see what if anything needed to be done. I was the only one that made it to work that day. Very shortly afterwards I was contacted by our Chief of Staff and told that after I took care of a couple administrative things I should head home and await further instructions. I provide this background not to suggest anything really, besides the fact that we were all, all in shock. Disbelief, angst, fear, a feeling of a lack of control, etc... were the feelings of the day.

The question that I think merits discussion now 11 years later is where have we come since then? 9/11/2001 was a test of our resolve as a country, a people, a community, and a democracy. Did terrorists and the prospect of terror change us into something entirely different? Did this change make us better or worse? The answers to these questions may seem obvious to some but proposing better alternatives seems harder.

We have Guantanamo and many agree we should close it. What should we do with the prisoners that can't go back to their own country and won't be taken in anywhere else? Obviously it would have been best not to have a Guantanamo in the first place... but in our moment of terrified fervor we didn't think that far ahead.

We went to Afghanistan and again many agree we should completely withdraw. What should we do about the Taliban? Over the last decade we have attempted to dismantle all other military and violent presence in Afghanistan besides our own. Have we eliminated the Taliban or will our withdrawal allow them to fill the large hole of power that is left behind? Again perhaps we shouldn't have gone in, but in our moment of terrified fervor we didn't think that far ahead.

We went to Iraq, Saddam Hussein is dead. Is Iraq, especially it's people any better off today? Our position in Iraq is certainly better, today American and Western oil companies own access to most of the oil in Iraq. Iraq today has higher levels of oil production than before before the war. Is the internal Shia v. Sunni strife any better? Not our problem, I may agree, but over the last few years we have armed, and disarmed one faction or the other as we saw fit. Do we just leave and let them figure out the mess caused by us drawing and redrawing lines to our liking? Yeah there were no weapons of mass destruction, and Al-Qaeda wasn't in Iraq... perhaps we shouldn't have gone in...

I think what we as Americans should take away from that fateful moment 11 years ago as we reflect back is an understanding that reacting in terrified fervor can sometimes have bad results... Should we not react then, I am not sure there is an answer to that inquiry. All I know is that our forefathers created a democracy that has a system of checks and balances that can sometimes make progresses slowly, but arguably that prevents hasty decisions that leave us in a position like we are today in two of the longest wars in our history, with a prison that we can't seem to close, the list goes on...

One day... two perspectives...

Another day in my life
Another lost opportunity
Another obstacle
Another another....
Loss...

I was sitting down trying, crying, lying...
in wait hidden in a corner
a shell of my former
self...

Another day in my life
Another open door
Another challenge
...another Another
Victory...

I was standing up in a crowd, proud, loud...
no longer hidden in a corner
a shell of my former
self...

You...

I think of you
I am never thought of by you
I glance at you
I am not seen by you
I dance with you
I am not felt by you
I comfort you
I am hurt by you
I listen to you
I am not heard by you
I treasure you
I am spurned by you
I love you
I am not loved by you…

The damage is done...

The damage is done,
Only shards remain where once,
A whole heart was claimed

The devastation is vast,
Rows of abandoned home
Far as the eye can see

You can still hear the music
The soulful sounds of a movement
Crowds spilling through the streets

All that remains is silence
A vast sense of loss
All but defeated

The damage is done
We will rise again
The heart vows to keep beating

Some return
Face the challenge
And remain …

Others have moved on
They cannot bear it
The faint beat of a weakened heart

They want to help
They want to scream
They reluctantly abandon her in her time of need

So few have returned
How will the heart beat again
How will the blood flow through it’s veins as it once did

Progress is being made
The lost ones are being replaced by new souls
Brave humans ready for the challenge

She will rise
Her heart will beat once again
She will never be conquered

Or will she…

Boom Pow a rig explodes
Her homes were taken and now her livelihood
How will she weather this storm…

(Shared Contribution by AM)

Had it not been seen...

Had it not been seen,
We would have continued like before....
And not changed

She has to wait
Time spent was too precious
Maybe she will

Had it not been touched
We wouldn’t have noticed the blazing temperature
And continued like before…

She could have waited
We would have worked at it
Now it’s gone

Had it not been heard
We would not have noticed the shrieking
And continued like before…

She should have waited
Anger didn’t solve anything
Now the end has arrived

Had it not been said,
I might have saved face
And continued like before…

She would have waited
The moment was too real
Now there is loneliness

Another burnt Tea Kettle
Another date gone south
I really have to learn how to make Tea

(Shared Contribution by AM)

Shades

Shades of jealousy,
Tainted colored memories,
You devastate me.

Fighting with fire,
In it’s glorious rage
You frustrate me

Shades of Pride
Smiles cheek to cheek
You intoxicate me

Fighting with the wind
In it’s sheer power
You deflate me

Shades of glory
Victorious times
You congratulate me

Fighting with water
In it’s peaceful serenity
You placate me

Shades of loss
Depression ensues
You blame me

Fighting with the earth
In it’s abundance
You stimulate me

Shades of truth
Moments that are lost
You are me…

(Shared Contribution by AM)

Educational Reform in California

*** Let me preface this by saying these are just my opinions, rants, etc... proceed with caution***

Some of you know this and others don't. I work as a financial planner and a majority of my clients are teachers. In fact I am currently sitting in the lounge of an elementary school in Santa Ana. Let me start by saying I am not even sure that we can call the current educational system in California a system. There are way too many things wrong with it. I don't want to seem like I am just here to complain but I think to get a fair understanding I should first lay out what I think are the issues with the system.

1. Mediocrity is rewarded
2. No accountability standards (testing every five days doesn't count)
3. Teaching to a test and not to the student
4. Poor recruitment
5. Watered down recruitment standards
6. Horrible budgeting
7. Lack of innovative thinking and solutions

I could go on with a few more things but I am sure you get the picture. The system is broken in a lot of different places. Now as an outsider let me say that I think the fault lies everywhere. The Unions protect their constituency, the teachers and administrators, the legislators protect their constituency, their election campaign fund, and the parents and children, well there is really no one to protect them. Here are some of the things I would do.

I am going to combine points 1 thru 3 because I feel the solution to these is the most important and I believe my suggestion tackles all three issues. The main key is the need for accountability and the fact that mediocrity should not be rewarded. We harp on our kids constantly that mediocrity in the real world is not rewarded but from my own experience I can tell you that at least 25 -30 % of the teachers I run into are rewarded for just that, mediocrity. Testing is currently the only way that we hold teachers accountable if at all and how we gauge progress in kids. It doesn't work. Remember that kid that was good at all the tests, could ace any of them, was he/she a great student? Remember the other kid that labored, studied hard, did all the homework but struggled with tests, was he/she a bad student?

In my opinion teachers should be held accountable by three constituencies, their peers, the student's parents, and their principal or administrators. At the end of the year each of these three parties should get to fill out surveys in reference to the teacher with the surveys being weighed 33% for both the admin and peers, and 34% for the parents. The teacher portion of this survey would break down as such, surveys by teachers in your grade level and by teachers in the grade level above you, since they can gauge your progress from the previous year. Teachers that teach the 12th grade would be gauged by how many kids they graduate. If a teacher does not get the appropriate marks they would be put on probation for the next two years. Why two you ask, no teacher should be fearful to teach in the manner she chooses, or punished for having a "bad class". The Union would be put on notice as well and they would have two years to make sure they took the opportunity to help their constituent, the teacher. Teachers that end up on the list more than twice would be subject to a one year probation. Again the union would obviously be notified. That would I believe at least start to resolve the first three issues.

Now comes the poor recruitment and the low recruitment standards. Teachers should be the bright of the bright and I am sorry in a lot of schools I go to they are not. A masters degree from University of Phoenix carries the same weight as a degree from Harvard. A masters degree in English Literature, Nuclear Physics, or Education are all of the same value. The government has a similar system of rewarding for units but I am not sure it should be that flat. There has to be some form of subjectivity to the units and degrees people attain when it comes to their pay.

Ever asked a teacher if they get paid enough? Let me know if you find one that thinks they do. Now realistically for the stuff they deal with they probably don't, but neither do a lot of other people in the world. I worked in the restaurant industry for a while at a Farmer Boys, I would challenge anyone to be a lead cook at a fast food restaurant like that and do well. I definitely couldn't hang and those guys get paid 10 - 14 dollars an hour. Now lets take a look at a teachers pay.( I am taking my numbers from the SAUSD pay schedule) A starting teacher with a bachelors degree makes $48000 a year. Lets take a closer look at this number. Teachers get about 12 weeks off a year which is about 10 weeks more than most people. So most people work 50 weeks a year while teachers work 40. So per week a teacher makes $1200. So on an annual basis teachers make $60000 ($1200 * 50) Go offer a college kid a job that pays him $60000 a year and see how many of them balk at that, even out of good institutions. So why can't we recruit people from better schools. In my opinion its simple; no one understands what teachers make or how they make it. Teachers in Santa Ana get paid $60000 on an annual basis, on top of that they get a pension, ten percent of which is funded for them. They have excellent health benefits to which the district contributes pretty healthily. There needs to be a marketing campaign that lets people know what the true salary packages of teachers are worth. One this would help recruit better teachers, and two teachers themselves would get a better understanding of where they stand in comparison to other professions. Without actually changing anything we would make teaching seem like a good choice.

Now for the budgeting issues, not much to be done there. The districts just have to be forced to run on a ten year average. What I mean by that is districts should look at what they have received in funding over the last ten years. In any year that they have a surplus over that average they should be forced to save a significant portion of that in a rainy day fund. In years that they are below the shortfall can be covered by that fund.

This last problem is a problem with the system. We need to let teachers be creative and teach to the needs of the class in front of them. By force feeding formulaic teaching ciricullums to teachers we are taking away the whole point of having them, to teach. I agree that schools need to teach similar stuff so kids are on the same level, but lets be realistic kids are not on the same level. No two classes are the same and teachers should be able to shift according to the class in front of them.

Ok this has been a very long rant, and if any of you have gotten to this point I congratulate you. I am not sure I would have made it. These are some rudimentary suggestions and obviously I am an outsider looking in but I hope at least some of my points make sense.

When are you getting Married?

Where to start with this one... This question was pretty easy to dismiss in the past and rarely ever bothered me. I turn 31 in a few days and its really starting to do just that, bother me. A number of my friends are married and seeing the period of adjustment many of them have had to go through has been "interesting" to say the least. My normal answer to the question is I am ready, just one thing missing. Anyone care to guess what? Yeah, yeah you got it ... A girl =)

Really though I am starting to wonder. A good friends cousin(girl) and his sister-in-law told me at a recent wedding that I was too nice to ever get married. I am not sure what that is supposed to mean or how to interpret that but maybe they are on to something. At this point, I am tired of the games, but it seems everywhere I turn there is another thing to worry about. I mean is it crazy to expect this process to just be simple. I swear it felt like it was when I was younger. I kind of like you, you kind of like me we go out and get to know each other and see where it goes. Maybe it's just my experience but that simple notion seems to have disappeared.

So now what. There are of course the dating sites. Naseeb, E-harmony, match, etc... Can't lie, I tried a couple but to date haven't met anyone through them of any interest. (Made a couple of good friends) Of course as a person of South Asian descent there are always biodatas. We have all seen the youtube video. It always seemed like a joke, but lately I am starting to think there is something to it:

1. Something in your biodatas makes you compatible (Theoretically)
2. You get to see each other's pics (granted no guarantee that she still looks like her prom picture)
3. The parties are motivated, if not the people themselves at least their family, parents, etc...
4. There is at least an assumption that the other party is not creepy (Yes, Yes not always guaranteed either)

The fact that it has any appeal at all is frightening. I never thought when i was young that few days from my 31st birthday I would be single let alone be thinking of entertaining the idea of having my mom find me someone... When am I getting married? Well for now the answer is still. " I am ready, just one thing missing." =)

Friends

A few of us went out for a birthday last night. It had been a while since we had all gotten together. I am sure most people can relate to this feeling. You just have certain people in your life that are a part of you in some way. It can be years since you hung out with them last but the connection is just there. Well last night was another one of those nights we all got together and it felt like we didn't miss a beat. There was about ten or twelve of us but it felt like a well oiled machine that just worked well. We went bowling and then out dancing and the night was loads of fun. For me at least there were some interesting moments... a few instances of reflection. I find myself still just smiling in a way as I think about the night. I am smiling to a certain degree because I often wonder how we all got here and where we are all going to go from here. it seems life has found a way to bring us all together and considering how much fun we have its for good reason. I have been thinking really seriously recently about leaving California and perhaps starting up somewhere else. It's nights like last night that give me pause, as I wonder if I could ever build friendships and connections like the ones I have here. Its definitely not all rosy and pretty. Even within us friends there are so many "thorny" issues some of which we sweep under the rug and others that we often talk about. Still though issues or no issues its that feeling that you are understood, that you belong, that you can and want to listen to others, and that there are people that care to listen to you... Friends are sometimes the most unappreciated assets of our lives. I for one am glad for the friends I have and for the many wonderful memories I have had with them.

Nobel Peace Prize

President Barack Hussein Obama won the Nobel Peace Prize today. Am I surprised and shocked? Definitely. Do I think he is deserving of the prize well that is where the real question arises. In my own opinion he does. In my lifetime I can't remember another person that has been able to affect the spirit of so many people as President Obama has. He is not Mahatma Gandhi who by the way never won the prize and definitely deserved it. I would ask you though for a second to think of another person who has so instantly changed the perception of America worldwide. I would ask you to think of another person that has captured the imagination of the world as the President has. I agree with a lot of the critics that he has not been able to deliver on that promise but we haven't really given him much time. I don't remember us judging any other president with a microscope to such a degree as we have President Obama. Every move he makes is scrutinized and challenged, but yet how many times have we heard him loose his cool, say the wrong thing, give a shoulder massage to a foreign dignitary (thanks President Bush), or seemingly loose sight of his goal. To get someone to have hope in change, to actually have them believe in it is to me a great feat and President Obama has gotten a nation to believe and some may argue even a large segment of the population of the world...

Whats wrong with the left.

I should be studying... really I should but this was bugging me and yet again I have neglected to post in a while. Why is it that fringe movements like the Washington Tea Party can get so many things done, that Rush Limbaugh, O' Reilly, Fox News, Conservative radio etc... can garner so much support. Recent Census Bureau data revealed that the shape of the economy post Bush is the worst of any president in modern history. The list of atrocities that have taken place in an era of Republican control while a Republican president and a Republican congress is long and somewhat frightening. There are prison abuse stories, a history of torture, secret prisons, lack of due process, etc... Amazingly until the final days Republicans stuck by President Bush, probably not a wise thing but they did.

On the other hand, So many people are already questioning Obama and the current Democratic party congress on why things haven't turned around including many democrats. Just a thought the United States is like a huge Oil Tanker in an ocean that we are expecting to maneuver like a small speed boat. On top of that the previous regime has ensured that we aren't in open waters either. The multiple missteps have ensured that we are actually in a sea of sorts with very few exit points and only careful maneuvering will ensure that we will actually make our way out safely. I am not saying that we should give the administration and Congress a free pass that's what the nation seemed to do with the last president and look where we ended up, but in light of the circumstances under which President Obama took over we may want to be a little patient...

Our voices of support have to be loud and perhaps even slightly uncivil. Yes I know we are the party of the educated, the party that doesn't play dirty, the party that likes to do things the right way... At some point if the war is in the trenches we may have to adjust our methods. If a Congress man is willing to call the President a liar during a speech in the House we know the other party is not willing to abide by the rules.Ok , I concede we may not want to stoop to their level but we should at the least be prepared to write, post, message, spread the word about our dismay at the discourse taking place around us about the current administration. When things like Death Squads, comparisons of Obama to Hitler, other misconceptions about the health care plans are being put forward daily.

Health Care Reform

*** Let me preface this by saying these are just my opinions, rants, etc... proceed with caution***

Let's just start with a question what do we think is a more primitive need, basic health care or education? I am not sure we all agree but I think its health care. The constant chatter out of Washington (Mostly Republicans) is that a government option would mean that we wouldn't have a private system. Just in case someone missed it our K-12 education system is a public one and last I checked there were plenty of private schools around. Is the public school system a great one, I would be the first to point out that it isn't, but ponder the alternative for a second is a bad education or a sub par one better then not knowing how to read at all... A public health care system may not deliver excellent care to all its patrons... last I checked our current private system with the highest paid doctors on the planet... doesn't either. The goal of a health care system at least a public one should not be to provide heart transplants, brain surgeries, or other complicate procedures to the masses. Instead the goal should be to provide basic services to everyone in an efficient manner. (No the regional county hospital is not an efficient manner) I am well aware that the goal should be to save everyone and the goal of the public school system is to graduate everyone. Unfortunately the first priority has to be to provide baseline services and then work on improving the system from that point on... I am not a guru by any means and I definitely don't know all the nuances but I think the solution to this problem has to be multi-faceted... Here are some of my suggestions

1. Increase the number of AMA certified Medical schools ( the number of Caribbean Schools has gone from 3 to something like 30 in the last few years if nothing else those would be dollars spent on our soil ... stimulus anyone) Theoretically an increase in Supply of doctors should decrease salaries
   
2. Provide federal loans that could be considered grants if the Physician or health care professional chooses to stay in the primary care fields. Incentivizing Primary Health care would go a long way in keeping better people in the primary fields rather then losing them to Specializations.
   
3. Create a government option that is designed to compete with the for profit Insurance companies... such and entity would be required to provide baseline profit returns to its own fund and its reports made public so it could be self sustaining.
   
4. Create a separate federal board with state offices to hear about claims that are denied by Insurance carriers. The board would be made up of Industry experts and the decisions of the board would be binding.
   
5. Create a national Information system. A system of Medical Records for all citizens housed and run by the government. Access to the system would be fee based as to help defray the cost.
6. Provide Grants and low interest loans to allow for practices to update software to interface with nationwide system. Prioritize grants and loans based on practices that provide a higher percentage of care to low income families as these practices tend to be less profitable. Grants should also be prioritized based on specialty with primary care practices taking precedence over others.
   
7. Create legislation that requires all health Insurance carriers to provide Insurance to the at risk population, each carrier would be required to insure a certain percentage of people that would otherwise be considered uninsurable. The percentage would be fixed providing a measure to spread risk across the whole system and not burden any particular carrier.
   
8. New legislation to bring the Health Insurance system under national purview considering it is fragmented and currently run state by state.
9. A review of the current Reasonable and Necessary and Usual and Customary standards employed by the industry. Health care professionals should be responsible for determining what care they believe is best for their own patients. Doctors would be subject to blind audits at random by a board of their own peers and those that abused the privileges would be reimbursed at a lower percentage. Boards would be set up nationwide and could loose their accreditation as they would also be cross audited by each other.
   

Those are just some suggestions I have. Just curious to see what if anything happens with the current legislation...

I write with my heart

I write what is real

I write for my part

I write what I feel

I write to explain

I write to understand

I write to retain

I write to comprehend

I write to provoke

I write to defend

I write as a foe

I write as a friend

I write for pleasure

I write for fun

I write to treasure

I write to run

I write with desire

I write to release

I hope to inspire

I hope for peace

Questions...

I was talking to a friend today and she told me that one of her close friends had just passed away. In my 28 years I have experienced a lot of difficult things but have managed to experience death of someone close to me only a few times. I had a friend pass away in high school, a teacher who treated me like a son, and my aunt recently. I have to say that I have always felt that I don't deal with it well. I wish there was a pattern or a set rubric of things one is supposed to do to feel like they were doing the right thing. What is the right thing? What is the appropriate etiquette. What is the appropriate amount of grief? Does it matter if someone was sick before they passed away? Does that somehow mean that we will miss them less...perhaps it's just that we are more prepared. I told this friend of mine that I wouldn't tell her that I understand what she is going through, because I don't feel like I really do but I was there for her if she needed anything. I don't if that was the right thing to do, but it just felt right to me. I have a lot of questions but very few answers and the subject of death is a question that I am truly perplexed by... I would think its a question that perplexes many of us...

From a long time ago. New York pt. 1

I wrote this a long time ago and meant to post it but never did. It's recollections from a trip to New York....

I am on the flight back right now.I have been telling myself for weeks that I would do this, well now is as good of a time as ever. There is still a slight paion in my stomach, a lingering reminder of the past few days. New York, yet again, was all that I thought it would be. A host of us landing at different times at different airports only to end up at the same apartment. Thursday night started in amazing fashion with Katti Rolls from Roomali. I remember commenting on how orange the place really was. A sign on the door bragged of all the acclaim the place had recieved from local newspapers. Some hailed it the best rolls in town. They weren't, with my limited exposure to New York food, lying. The rolls were phenomenal.

Shortly thereafter the drinking began. There were a host of Gin and Tonic's. A shower and a shave later I was ready for the night scene. In hindsight that night should have been a sign of things to come. I was already having a difficult time drinking. I should have known the food was not sitting well with me. The night scene on this particular night was not in our favor. The place we went to Taj's was awesomely decorated and the music there was second to none, but if having ten guys in our group wasn't bad enough we only seemed to find an abundance of more... After clamoring for a while over wether the scene was going to improve we all decided to leave and head over to Mercury Bar. This place was definitely more happening, but truthfully the most memorable part of the night was the pizza. Pasta pizza as we called it or Baked Ziti as referred to by the owner was oustanding. Check item number one, New York pizza off the list. Calling it somewhat of an early night(3am) we decided to get ready for the next few days.

Friday was of course a late start. We decided as a group of "guys" to dedicate the day to "shopping" and headed over towards Madison and 5th. We stopped off at a local deli, Oxford Catering Company, to grab a bite. I had the Chicken Parmigiana Pannini, which was pretty good. First stop was the Sean John Store, liked a few items but definitely out of my price range. Next we headed over to Saks Fifth Avenue. I need to pause here for a brief description. I was wearing jeans, a hooded sweatshirt, and a baseball cap. The person attending to us at the counter was not let's say extremely gracious. Arjun asked the appropriate questions but nothing came of being at Sak's. We ran through some other stores and ended up at H&M. I should have ran, two hundred dollars and almost two hours later, I had two blazers, a couple of short sleeve shirts and another long sleeve shirt that would be making the journey home with me a few days later. Atur and I headed over to Mexx to meet up with the other guys who by now were a little tired of waiting for the two shopping idiots. In our absence they had made it to the Versace store and Arjun had found the money clip that he had been looking for. Anuj, our gracious tour guide was little tired at this point, the throwing up from the night before had left him in a struggling state for the the day, so we headed back to his place...

Wrote this a while back

I wrote this a while back thought maybe someone would find it interesting...
To look at a blooming rose, one could say
Is to see the world in a different way
Separated from its peers by its hue
The beauty so undefyingly true
The color so vibrant it could bleed
The pains of the blossom you could almost read
The velvety texture so silky so smooth
The petals every single one every pain it could sooth
The need inside to reach out and grab it so…
The thorns below telling you no
To want it so you wonder if it’s just
Or is it merely a product of your worldly lust
You gaze away momentarily to catch your breath
To think of the right words to express
You turn back and see the rose is gone
You notice someone’s blood on the thorn’s
They bled for her but you feel the pain
Longing to have the past few moments again

Long Lost Friend

I haven't written in a while so I apologize if I am a bit rusty. It seems as though as I get older I am losing friends. There are many reasons for this of course as many of you may well know. Whatever the reasons may be it is still a tough pill to swallow. It's tough not having that person to count on to go to workout with. That buddy that was always willing to go play basketball no matter how far we had to drive. That perfect wingman wait I take that back I am the perfect wingman. The person who was ready to go to any party no matter how dumb it sounded. The guy who always covered for you no matter what. The guy to watch football games with on Sundays. The list goes on and on but I am sure you get the point. Suffice it to say it is hard to loose such a friend. In my case I have lost two: One to the Chapman MBA program and the other to the Sonal Marriage program.

You are both sorely missed... =)

Sonal, can Atur please come out to play. =)

Confusion

I haven't written in a while, and to be honest I hope no one reads this. I just need to rant. This is a matter of public record so I should be careful but I don't even know if I care. All I know is that I could go on and on.... Wether its my personal life, local issues, state issues or world issues I feel as I get older that I realize as a race as a species we have not come far. Darfur is a reality before us and its not even the worst of what is happening in the world. I often feel helpless to create change and am bewildered about how to create change. Should one attempt to become as succesful as a Bill Gates(no I don't expect to be Bill Gates) and then better the world that way or did Mother Teresa have it right. Would she have been able to do anything without funding, would Bill Gates be able to do anything without people like her to do the work. Who is the better person... I think society has clearly answered that it is Mother Teresa, but I have to be honest I am not sure. I think that is the jist of the argument, I am not sure. I am not sure that the stance the US takes on most issues is right and in all honesty when the full picture is taken into account I am not sure the stance they take is wrong. For some reason Dick Cheney comes to mind when discussing right and wrong but I think that is best left for a later time. All I know is that I am confused...

Just some interesting quotes

I don't even know if anybody reads this thing anymore , but if anyone does I thought they might enjoy this. As a part of my work I have been visiting elementary school lounges for the past few years and have always thought it would be a good idea to just jot down some of the things people say. I recently started forced myself to do it. Here is an installment of a few things I heard and some observations i made. My Observations are in italics.

- Procrastinating is an inherent human quality
- The most succesful people seem to be less stressed in the same situations
- Wisdom is simply saying the right thing at the right time
- Teachers are no different then lawyers, work time is hard and play time is fun.
- We have a training on "cognitive thinking," I wonder what it's going to be about.
- "Mulitplication" one day they remember the next they don't
- "Screw Education" is Santa Ana's new city motto
- My father moved in with his girlfriend after he had a stroke. I asked him when he was going to get married. He responded "When the weather breaks." He lived in Chicago ...

Just a crazy thought

California just recently moved up its primaries to February 5th. Our state has been known as the cash cow for elections. Essentially Californians contribute in hoards, and the point behind bringing our primary date up is to presumably have some of that money spent here. I say California is the cash cow not just for elections but for almost everything. We have the fifth largest economy in the world.(Our economy is larger then the country of France) As of 2003 Californians were contributing 12.3% of the nations federal taxes. We all know that federal tax revenues are not being spent here. California's political views are often at odds with the rest of the country. Our Republican Governor, Arnold Schwarzeneger could very well be a democrat if you take a look at his policies. Our ethnic makeup is also unique in comparison to the country especially "the bible belt". Our states topography is no different then one of a large country, and from a meteorological standpoint we pretty much cover a wide range of temperatures. With all that being true why can't California just secede from the Union. Yes I just said it, why isn't there a movement to make California, it own country. Wouldn't California just be better off as a country left to manage its own affairs. I know, I know I am a nut. Like I said in the title of the post it was just a crazy thought...