Not My Idea of Smart Politics

Okay, so I need to vent a little about the ongoing issues in the Indiana House. Actually, the problem is what's going on OUT of the house...

A little background for those reading who aren't in Indiana... all of our democrat legislators walked out of the house about a week ago and LEFT THE STATE so there couldn't be a vote on a handful of bills (since the republicans are in the majority, currently). They've been camping out at a Comfort Suites in Illinois. Nice, huh? The bills in question? Well, the main ones were (1) the expansion of charter schools, (2) school vouchers, and (3) The Right to Work bills. The later is the big one causing controversy in Wisconsin, too... There's another handful or two of bills, also, but these three are the ones that keep getting mentioned.

So now, I myself, will probably get controversial... I'm going to voice my opinion on all this.

First off, I think this was a horrible way to go about this. It's like a kid running to his room and slamming the door because he didn't get what he wanted at Wal-Mart. Stay and fight - put your reasons out there why you think these bills need to be killed or rewritten on the table. You might just get results you want! I just think the whole way they've gone about it is childish. I think politicians on BOTH sides need to look back to the people who put them in office and vote the way the PEOPLE want them to vote, not the way their party expects them to vote!

So the bills in question... first, the Right to Work. Who's against this bill? Unions. Why? Because it further proves they are obsolete. Unions were once needed, but with all the other laws and acts that have been put in place, they're not needed anymore. Now I give some of the construction/trade unions credit for the training programs they have set up before you can 'go off on your own'... but the problem is, you never really go off on your own if you stay within a union. They never experience the 'real world' most people live in, where you don't always get a raise, or don't have a pension waiting for you, or, at any moment, you could be laid off because the company is losing money. The unions continuously play protector to those who pay in, regardless of how it affects everything else around it... the economy, the company, even those who've yet to enter the workforce.

This has been a big discussion around water coolers, and one of my friends brought it up like this... In order to continue operating, unions MUST deliver a better contract EVERY PERIOD contracts are due. It does not take a genius to realize that no institution in the planet can accommodate raises, better benefits, perks, etc., while losing money every year. Guess what? Most states are losing money because companies are moving to countries where they can deal with non-union workers and cheaper labor. This is leaving the state as the only target for unions and just like they nearly broke those fleeing companies they will destroy the states.

No, I have never been in a union. And quite frankly, I'd like the option to NOT join if I ever go into a trade where you are currently required to join the union when starting a job. And that's what the Right to Work bill is about - giving people the option not to join, to say "I can fight my own battles if I feel I'm not being treated fairly at the workplace." It doesn't say unions aren't allowed. They can still try to woo new members - some people want someone else to stand up for them and fight their battles. Nothing wrong with that.

I could go on about unions, but I won't - what I've said is enough to get me tarred in feathered in this State. So I'll move on the education bills I mentioned.

To start off with, Indiana has the whole education system F'ed up!! They need to completely wipe the slate clean of EVERYTHING and start over!! The bills on the table are actually a GOOD thing and a start in the right direction... unfortunately, it's not hitting to heart of the problem. So in the end, they'd be wasted because they won't work to their full potential in this current system.

Indiana's education system it too top heavy. WAY too many school districts, each of which has their own superintendent making a 6-digit salary. I can count the number of school districts with more than one high school on one hand. In fact, in a State with a population of 6.5 million in only 92 counties, Indiana has 340 school districts! That means 340 superintendents, 340 school boards, and 340 district administrations. Can we say overhead?? Granted, some of these are private schools... but you can take half of those districts out, and you'd still have too many!

In my opinion, there should be no more public school districts than there are counties. So Indiana should have no more than 92 public school districts. In fact, some of the more rural counties could even combine and have fewer districts. First advantage? Less overhead, plain and simple. One superintendent, one school board, one administration to support the superintendent and school board. So in salaries alone, you'd be saving MILLIONS! Well, you'd be utilizing millions for things that actually educate the kids instead of giving someone a salary (whether that be teachers, books, computers, or whatever!).

But going beyond the labor side of the overhead that you save, you have the resource side of things, too. If you have more than one high school in a district, with even more 'feeder schools' below them, you have the option of best utilizing facilities as population shift from one area to another. You can expand the district lines for a certain school instead of closing it because everyone moved 'out of that district', and as other areas surged in population, you can shrink those district boundaries to allow for other schools to take overflow instead of building a new school. Currently, with only one high school per district, your options are very limited, as the lines quickly cross into another school district out of your jurisdiction.

I'm not sure why I'm so opinionated on the education system. I don't even have kids, but watching how the system works in this State makes me want to move to another state before school aged kids. This is just another one of those topics I could go on and on about.

So as our legislators hang out in Illinois, I shake my head in shame. How embarrassing that our legislators are so set in old school party ideals that they can't even look at the big picture. Change is not a bad thing. It's a good thing. And it needs to be done.

Space...

Today was a somewhat sad day for all those who grew up wanting to be an astronaut. Today was the last launch of the Shuttle Discovery. There are only two more launches left for the history of the shuttle program, one each for Atlantis and Endeavor. Then what? Sure, there will be rocket launches, but who knows when we'll have the 'new technology' in place to put man back into space. I feel like we're taking quite a step back here.

As a kid who grew up on the Space Coast, this is a huge deal! I watched (and felt!) so many launches from my front yard. And I was just recently reminded of the "Shuttle Launch Fire Drills" that schools would have so kids could go out and watch the launch live, too. Sure, you could watch in on TV, but why do that when you can see it live? As a kid, you were more excited to see the vapor trail than you were to hear mission control's jibber-jabber. I never realized how cool it was t be able to do this until I move away...

Then there's the disasters that happened that scared us away from space - Challenger and Columbia. I saw the Challenger explode, live and first hand - I was watching it from Kennedy Space Center. My class was on a field trip there. There I was, snapping pictures on my 110 film camera, and I had no idea I was taking pictures of such a historic moment (I ended up with 5 or 6 sequential pictures of the whole thing). It wasn't until after they herded us back onto the buses that they explained what really happened. It was one of those moments I will never forget, as long as I live. Even if I didn't have the pictures. So many people kept making quiet comments like, "Maybe they parachuted out to safety." No... no such miracle. So Challenger thought NASA to do a very detailed check before every launch. Unfortunately, they didn't catch the importance of the post launch and pre-re-entry check until Columbia. I remember watching that unfold on TV. I felt like I was reliving my 4th grade field trip.

But those are lessons learned. Do we need to change the shuttle program and design. Sure - it's always good to constantly improve upon what you already have. I think it's a mistake to stop all together while technology is improved upon, though. Especially when you have the "rich, private sector" doing their own thing to get man into space.. rich men/women, anyway. But the kid who dreamed of being an astronaut and would only have the chance by going to school and training all his/her life for it.. not likely.

I know there are promises of continued funding for the space program... but it will never be the same. Maybe the answer is the private sector... but in the means of funding, only, not the research, itself. I fear my children will never see man going into space - at lease not the same way I did, from US soil. And that is just a sad thought to have.

The Ugly Part of Winter

As you know, I am done with winter! Seriously! It's been such a long winter this year with so much snow... and ICE! I'm very ready for spring!

This week, we finally had some warm weather... it even was in the 60's the past couple of days. So this week has been the big meltdown! All the piles of snow (and ICE!) have slowly been getting smaller with small rivers flowing down the roads... which is great! But what I don't like is the overall process!

When the snow melts, everything looks so dirty and grimy!! All the dirt that was mixed in the snow slowly condenses as the snow melts, and ends up in piles where ever the snow was! And as the snow melts, the piles themselves look like piles of dirt instead of snow!

Top that off with dreary skies and it's no wonder people get depressed. It's one thing when everything's white and/or it's sunny. But when it just looks so nasty out... yuck!

So I'm ready for the piles to be gone for good. Then a nice rain can come through and wash the dirt way. And finally, everything can green up again. Yeah... I'm ready to keep the temperatures well above freezing.

Please, Mother Nature... work with me here!

Crushed

I'm not even sure how to begin this blog. My heart has been crushed, as I feel like I've lost a member of my family today. Before you, yourself, get upset, let me explain... this member of my family is of the vegetative type. But none the less, I feel sick to my stomach and about to cry at any moment.

You all know I went to Auburn. And if you know me, you know my heart bleeds burnt orange and navy, through and through, and Auburn will forever be part of me. Going to Auburn means going to a school rich with traditions, especially with football. One of the greatest tradition, and one of the oldest in college football history, is rolling Toomer's Corner after a win, especially a big win! For those who don't know, Toomer's Corner is an important intersection for both the school and the City... this is where the campus joins the downtown (and there's so much more I could tell). On the campus corner of the intersection grows a couple of great Live Oaks that are well over a century old. When it come to Auburn traditions,know this... this is one that run so deep in our blood that we have nurtured seedlings of these great trees to have close to us, where ever we may be in the country (world).

Tragedy has struck these trees. And not in the form that Mother Nature would do - we had that scare a few years back! This was just vengeful and mean and horrible and cruel. Someone poisoned our trees. And then bragged about it on a radio show. Some guy was so bitter after Auburn won in the Iron Bowl that he decided to use lethal doses of Spike 80DF, also known as tebuthiuron, and essentially left the Auburn Nation praying for a miracle. They've done tests on the soil and officially confirmed this act today... and have little hope the trees will survive this episode.

There are articles everywhere on this, so I won't go into details here. Just Google it if you want to know the sad specifics.. When I first heard about it, I got very choked up and felt weak in the knees. I still tear up as I write this. Yes... over trees.

But these aren't just trees. This was the killing of a tradition by a fan who despised a school so much over a football game. This was unthinkable by anyone out there... it's one thing to hurt a living thing, still giving it a chance to live. But to kill something, ANYTHING... wow! That's a little much. In the realm of things, this would be like putting graffiti on "Touchdown Jesus" (for those who aren't familiar with Auburn, but know college football, I hope you get that reference). Or even worse, actually killing a school's live mascot after a game.

Oh, and a side note... the stuff the guy used is regulated by the EPA, so this could become a federal issue real soon. He used so much, it could potentially get into the City's water system and be harmful to humans, as well. Nice, huh?

The thing is, all this guy really did is stir up the Auburn Nation even more. And probably others, just for the sake of the stupidity of the guy and his idea of trashing a tradition! We will rally louder, and come back stronger, regardless of what we do on the field. At Auburn, we are much more than football... we are a family. And we will not let something like this bring us down. We will fight for our trees... and we have the will power to do whatever we can to possibly save the trees. Who knows... they are Auburn Trees, so we all know they are strong. Maybe they will survive. Maybe if we send as much Auburn love to the trees as we can, they will themselves fight the poison. Sadly, all most of us can do is wait.

Red Roses

This post isn't actually about Valentine's Day, but rather about the stereotypical flower that represents Valentine's Day... the Red Rose.

My favorite flower is the red rose, so I hate that you get gouged at Valentine's Day for this beautiful flower. I don't like it because of the commercialism around it, or that it's pushed as the flower that recognizes "Love"... I love red roses because of the huge rose bush we had in my backyard growing up. It always produced such beautiful flowers, and I fell in love with the blooms at a fairly young age. And if we wanted, we could've had a constant flow of fresh roses inside during most of the year! I've yearned to be able to replicate that beautiful bush, but alas, up north, you have to cut them back every year, so they never get as big as the one we had. I came close at my house with the quality of blooms on a small bush I had, but they were still not quite a match.

So of course I had red roses for my wedding. More specifically, I had 'Black Magic' roses, which were a really deep, dark red. They were perfect! I didn't even think twice on types of flowers... didn't care of the season or the scene... I knew I wanted red roses. Thankfully, I was married no where wear Valentine's Day, so I wasn't gouged!

I do like other flowers, don't get me wrong. I love the smell of peonies and gardenias. I love the look and smell of lilies, especially the Stargazer Lily, for some reason. I think any flower that has a sweet scent appeals to me, actually...

But roses, red roses, will always be my favorite. If there's every a need to make me smile, send a red rose my way and you'll see my smile a mile away.

Dear Old Man Winter...

When you first came around last December, I was excited! Everything was so bright and cheerful... and why wouldn't it be with Christmas so near? You surprised me multiple times with your blanket of white before the new year came around, but with my trip to FL, I still appreciated you for what you had to offer when I came back in the new year.

In January, you kept me covered in your blanket of white. It was kind of nice until you also cranked down the temperatures for the month, keeping the average temperature WAY below normal at 33°F! Why would you be so cold towards me?? You know I don't do well in the cold! Did I do something to upset you? Why have you continuously dumped on me? This is way more snow than I can handle!

Finally, you started February with quite the ruckus... 2" of ice, really?? Followed by 4" of snow on top of the ice, never giving it a chance to melt. But you weren't done... you had to follow that up with another week of frigid temperatures, just to make sure I was frozen to the core, unable to dig out!

Well, I can deal with your cold shoulder no more! We're through! You can leave now... just go back north where you came from. I talked to my friend Phil, and he completely agrees that it's time for you to be gone. Take your dreariness and stark grayness with you. I'm moving on to to better and brighter times and I don't need you trying to blow snow in my face!

No Longer Yours,

Kara

Ice Storm Pictures

As promised, here are some pictures I ventured out to take today. I only hit one place - Garfield Park, which is a City park just south of where I live. I went close to sunset to get some color - otherwise, it's just a lot of white. Anywhere, here's a select few of the over 100 I took.

Icy Fence
Melting Icicles
Frozen Ballpark
An Icy Walk
Big Tree at Sunset
Close up of Big Tree (with icicles) and Tables

Ice Storm 2011

The drama! The excitement! The craziness that is... Ice Storm 2011!!

If you remember from my last blog, I wasn't too worried... merely because more often than not, the forecasts rare WRONG! They'll have something off... the timing, the amount, the type of precipitation... I just don't trust the forecast until it's upon us. Though they weren't dead on, they were at least close this time. We definitely got ice! It started on with the freezing rain and on Tuesday morning, we woke up to about a 1/2" of ice over everything! My poor Baby Bleu is not used to this - she's always been in a garage. So she had this coating of ice all over her, and it took a about 45 minutes of her running with the defroster on high blast and me chipping away on the outside to get the windshield mostly clear. Oh, and did I mention the front doors were frozen shut, so I had to climb in through the back seat? Yeah... good times.

Shortly after I was done with this, it started sleeting. It sleeted for a few hours and added a couple inched of slush on top of the sheet of ice that was the ground. Which actually made it easier to get around for the time being.

So last night, in an effort to not be brought down by Mother Nature, our neighbors, Dave and Amber, hosted a chili night at their place for some of the neighbors. There were seven of us, and after the chili, some of the group were feeling a little cabin fever and suggested we walk the half mile up Virginia Ave. to Mo's Steakhouse and grab some drinks. We weren't sure at first, but after a check outside, we realized the sleeting was done and the wind had died down, so why not. We all donned our winter gear for the trek over.

It turned out to be quite a good time! In fact, I have no idea what time it was when we decided to make the trek home. We started our way down the street and realized some more freezing rain must have fallen, because there was now a slick sheet of ice adorning the top of the sleet piles. Uh oh... this wasn't going to be a fun walk. Right about then, a cab came up behind us and Eric flags it down - we decided it was worth the $8 to get home without busting our asses!

So the next morning, after a long night of very noisy wind and more sleet and freezing rain hitting the window, we woke up this morning the a shimmering sheet of ice over EVERYTHING, even more than the morning before, thanks to the sleet!! So I went at it again on my windshield, this time a sheet of ice over a mound of sleet, which covered the wiper bases so they were useless. Took a little more creativity to clear it this time. But I wasn't done.

Yesterday, I could still see the black of the asphalt below my car. Today, between the wind and the plow spray, my tires were buried up to the rim and there was no black to be seen anywhere. Unlike yesterday, where I could freely move my vehicle, I was hard stuck in ice today. Not good. I waited until Eric came home and we went to dig (actually, chip) it out. Again, some creativity was needed (like a pick axe), but eventually, with the help of a neighbor, my Xterra was pushed out. And then we proceeded to do the same for the neighbor.

By this time, it was 9pm. Thankfully we ate before we shoveled!! But we moved the cars to an area the plow actually got to, in hopes that they will plow out front tomorrow. I can honestly say, I've never experienced anything like this! This was insane weather! The City has been mostly shut down since 3pm on Tuesday, and many places are still planning to be closed tomorrow. Not because of more weather coming through, but because anyplace that has a parking lot actually has a skating rink instead. And if you're not on a main road, your street is the same!

Tomorrow, I may be brave and head out to take some icy pictures before it melts away - it can be pretty. But tomorrow is also supposed to be frigid... so we'll see. If I do, I'm sure I'll post some more pictures. If I don't post pictures, then you'll know I stayed huddled under a blanket, instead.