Keukasmallies

No knowledge of IL, but I am a retired Sup't of Schools in NYS. When I started teaching in 1963, I couldn't believe the retirement plan as it was explained to me at that time. I retired in 1997, I'm receiving the pension and I still can't believe it. It is truly generous. I agree there are changes to be made and NYS has made them in terms of public school teacher retirement plans. However, there is another side to the coin: How many people want to move their family fourteen times chasing jobs, deal with just plain awful student situations almost weekly--from guns to dead pigs hoisted on the high school flag pole, be directed by Boards of Education w/ their heads up their collective a$$e$, suffer the humiliation of parent attacks in public, deal with unions that couldn't care less about their members primary work responsibilities, juggle mind-boggling educational and social missions just because they are the current rage.... The macro view of pension plans in NYS presents fuel for outrage; the micro view is something else again.... Whew...., I'll leave it there.

If that fat-thighed, crooked toothed, carpet-bagging, scraggly-haired haridan is the best and the brightest in the administration, BO is in deep sorghum.

I guess we don't be's carin' enough to send the very bes'....

TARP is what I hope voters throw over ALL incumbents in November; roll 'em in a tarp, take a stitch through their noses, weight their feet with ballast and tip 'em all over the gun'l.

I'm with Simon....

Damn that George Bush!

These continuing political pecadillos are classic "I can pi$$ farther than you can..." fodder for the politicians on the outside looking in. The very fact that they consume time and energy give evidence to the fact that neither side has the intelligence, nor the will, nor the stamina to attack the real issues of the day.

The buzz is that Chelsea Clinton ordered her father to lose fifteen pounds before her wedding. Wonder what she is demanding of that fat-thighed, scraggly haired haridan mother of hers? Maybe that she stay away altogether....

So, Joe, how much different is Specter changing parties to keep his job from the Kennedy and Clinton Search-for-a-seat efforts that brought them to NYS?

Message for incumbents: One down, Oh so many to go....

Send me a PM the day the Pope says his authority over priests, bishops and cardinals is limited, AND the day that those lesser officials acknowledge that the Pope isn't their earthly "boss."

So, like the priests, bishops and cardinals are responsible to God, and the Pope is a regional manager? Doesn't hold water when you think of the clerical line of responsibility. In no way would the church accept that the clerics are responsible to anyone other than the Pope, since he is the representative of God on earth. Is the "church's corporate structure" different from its spiritual structure? Is the church taking parsing lessons from Bill Clinton? Can't have it both ways. It's time to go to confession, do the penance and get on with it; unless that process isn't applicable to the officers of the church....?

Who's paying to promulgate that legal position?

In defense of Il Papa, the Vatican has declared that bishops are not employees of the Pope/Vatican and therefore responsibility for their actions does not fall to Rome. The sex abuse scandal is heating up the Vatican's policy makers and causing some interesting pronouncements--in both English and Latin. Just another example of situational policy making by the Holy See. Priests, bishops, cardinals all declare loyalty to the Pope, and in return he throws them under the bus when times get tough. Sounds like an oil company mentality to me.

So, take Obama's rant against the finger pointing, blame-ducking, obfuscation of the oil companies and substitute the word Congress each time you come upon reference to oil companies or subcontractors. Interesting reading.

Do you think there's a chance that AG Holder will decide to hold the twin tower bomber trials in Phoenix?

or need to "get out from under" [no pun intended] the transgression de jour . Imagine being a catholic boy scout....

http://www.cnbc.com/id/36897497 This link describes a microcosm of the problems in Greece in terms of tax collection. The sad thing is that we'll participate in a bail out if asked. Fess up, posters, how many of you hide your pool behind a high wall?

I'm hoping that the video that was "grainy" to us was enhanced by the gov't and provided them a relatively clear picture for the hunters. Heaven [or insert the name of your religion's holy place here] help us if the gov't hunters are working from the same level of technology that we see on TV.

Someone much earlier in this post suggested we quit bitchin' because we haven't seen any of our QB's throw one pass yet with "this" team. So very true: At the same time, many of us have seen these very same QB's throw any number of passes over the past several seasons. Additionally, many of us subscribe to the theory that the best predictor of tomorrow is yesterday. We also think that if you always do what you always did, you'll always get what you always got!

How about a ration of genuine outrage topped with a dollop of frustration and disappointment? That appears to be the bedrock upon which Tea Partyers and others have built their movements.

So, if the price at Walmart is $2 less than the price at a competitor, and I buy the item, I'm really only paying .50 less? How does that work w/o invoking the voodoo economics of extrapolations, parsings, and macro/micro viewing? Show me how I don't have that additional $1.50 in price savings in my jeans. Don't tell me about rainforests, labor unions and employee benefits; just 'splains to me how I don't have that $1.50. I'm today focused, much like our government that doesn't give a rat's a$$ about tomorrow or how to pay the butchers bill next month; so show me the money today!

To a great extent Nushawn is a celebrity in that he actually served the entire time period to which he was sentenced! No good time, release to make more room time, no other Department of Corrections sleight of hand resulting in a shortened sentence. In fact, Nushawn is serving MORE time than his original sentence! Refreshing....

I think it's that whole arrogance of power thing-- Obama, Bush, Clinton, whomever. "I must know what's best for the masses because I'm in a position of authority." I believe that Nancy and Harry chant that statement every night just before praying that Tea Partyers and Repubs kill each other in one massive power seeking frenzy.

Joe Arpaio has some appealing qualities: He believes No means No. He believes the law should actually be enforced as written. He believes incarceration means separation from the norm of daily life; not same old, same old in a slightly different venue. He believes a sentence of thirty days in jail means that the individual sentenced remains in custody for thirty days; not a sentence shortened by good time, time spent, or any other contrivance. He believes in speaking his mind, sharing his beliefs, putting his beliefs into practice; if you and your group disagree with him, vote him out of office. I believe he would never survive as a politician; he's too straightforward, practical, and innovative.