Sanford & Sin

The embattled governor says he's had lust in his heart for other women, but he never crossed the "ultimate" line like he did with his Argentine mistress.

I am sure Jenny is relieved.

But he calls Maria Belen Chapur his "soul mate":

"This was a whole lot more than a simple affair, this was a love story," Sanford said. "A forbidden one, a tragic one, but a love story at the end of the day."

During an emotional interview at his Statehouse office with The Associated Press on Tuesday, Sanford said Chapur is his soul mate but he's trying to fall back in love with his wife.

He said that during the encounters with other women he "let his guard down" with some physical contact but "didn't cross the sex line." He wouldn't go into detail.

Al Franken Will Be Running for Re-Election in 2014,

assuming he ever gets to serve in the U.S. Senate, despite the Minnesota Supreme Court's ruling ordering he be certified the winner of last year's Senate race against Republican Norm Coleman.

Update: It's over.

The Education Wars

I'll BET those 80 tenured teachers sacked in D.C. were let go because of "poor performance." I'll bet they were let go because they were too old or too expensive or were "troublemakers" of one type or another. The D.C. school district is one of the worst, most corrupt in the United States.

As Susan Ohanian comments:

People who think they can shortcut the path to Teacher Excellence are the same sort of people who buy into giving kids phonics worksheets instead of reading aloud to them A LOT. I figure a teacher begins to learn what it's all about at about year 5. After my first 8 months of teaching (I didn't start at the beginning of the year), my official report card from the New York City school system ranked me at a "C." I regarded it as a gift. My grader wrote in the comments section that I responded well to suggestions [for reducing chaos], that I HAD A GOOD HEART [and he cited a couple of examples], and, given some time, would develop into a good teacher.

Can you imagine a teacher grader today writing on an evaluation that a teacher has a good heart?!!!!

This journalist calls the dismissal of 80 tenured teachers to be "a landmark."

landmark:
4) a significant or historic event, juncture, achievement, etc.

This is Michelle Rhee's most notable achievement thus far.

When you base your plan on transient, obedient practitioners, you will never have people who know what they're doing.

Public education is turning into a revolving door "business" where young teachers are hired, then let go before they reach tenure, while older teachers are harassed out of their jobs. All of it is for financial reasons or because the administrators are sadistic.

Meanwhile, administrators have almost ironclad job security.

Miscellaneous

At least one child has survived the Airbus crash from Yemen yesterday. There were 153 on board.

MJ

The family is "moving in" in order to protect the late singer's legacy--or finances or whatever it is.

There's piles of money there despite the current debt, but it will be paid off in short order thanks to Jackson's wise investments in music catalogs.

Silence is Golden

Boy, is tennis great Chris Evert ever right about the noise level in women's tennis.

I obviously haven't looked at a match in years. This clip is a good example of the grunt work of current women's tennis:

Sanford & Sin

Maria Belen Chapur, Mark Sanford's girlfriend, isn't very happy those emails were made public:

Maria Belen Chapur, the Argentine woman linked to South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford, said Sunday that she had a “firm suspicion” who hacked into an e-mail account of hers that discussed her intimate relationship with the governor, but she declined to name the person, according to a statement read on the Argentine television station CN5.

Many of Us Out Here

were well aware Obama would be a disappointment as president and are not disappointed he has lived up to our expectations; what is bad is many people who supported him without examining his record seem to be shocked he is such a sellout to corporate interests and a sucker for the neoliberal nonsense called "bipartisanship."

The Education Wars

In a truly rare case in that an administrator is being held accountable, a Brooklyn principal is facing assault charges.

School districts more often than not sweep such shit under the rug.

On May 21, Mr. Keaton summoned a special education teacher to his office to discuss an allegation that she had used corporal punishment on a student. Robert Segarra, a union representative and kindergarten teacher at the school, came as her advocate.

Mr. Segarra said that at one point, Mr. Keaton began poking him and, when Mr. Segarra would not back down, hitting him. Mr. Segarra, 49, said he never lifted a finger as Mr. Keaton punched him to the ground and hit or kicked him at least 20 times.

Mr. Segarra had bruises on his neck, head and arms. The police said a stomp print on his head matched the tread of Mr. Keaton’s shoe.

Mr. Keaton’s lawyer, Richard F. X. Guay, who entered a not-guilty plea on Mr. Keaton’s behalf in criminal court on Thursday, said that his client was “presumed innocent by law” and “eager to be vindicated in our justice system.”

The Department of Education reassigned Mr. Keaton to administrative duties at another location, pending the outcome of his case.

Note this:

At a bus stop around the corner, though, Ms. Rivera, 41, an aircraft cleaner, offered a more balanced assessment. “When it comes to the kids, he’s No. 1,” she said. “But he can be evil. When you see too much of what goes on in the school, that’s when he doesn’t want you around. If he thinks you’re trying to bring him down, he’ll bring you down first.”

Just the type we need in public schools; real evil sons of bitches who "get the job done." Forget it.

By the way, this case is prominent on the National Association for the Prevent of Teacher Abuse site:

...Principals know they are well connected to power and can do pretty much what they want to anyone who attempts to thwart their wrongdoing. Certainly this alleged incident shows a principal who feels very connected to power!

However, the unions' choice of abandoning teachers rather than reporting white chalk crime is unacceptable. Unions must move from avoiding the truth, to standing up and speaking about it. Although Randi Weingarten, President of the UFT, made an alleged sympathetic statement, missing is her acknowledgement of an ongoing, organized practice of teacher abuse that thrives on false allegations, which includes soviet union styled psychiatric testing and preying on teachers' inability to fight in court against powerful tax subsidized adversaries.

This alleged incident is much more than about a principal who needs discipline and Weingarten knows that. Teachers have continuously begged Weingarten to help expose the white chalk crime that makes schools about power and perks and not education. As long as EducRAT$ have the power to bully their way above the laws as they do, and as Weingarten knows that they do, why would they stop at verbal bullying when they can simply assault someone in their way? Why would she speak of this type of bullying as wrong yet fail to report psychological bullying that has been rampant for years? We are waiting for the union leadership to speak the truth rather than manipulate a situation to make it look like they care about fairness and justice!!!!!
NAPTA

They can do whatever the hell they want because they are totally unaccountable to the public. Meanwhile teachers can be ruined for any kind of "reason" at all.

Miscellaneous

Obviously, the USSC, a right-wing court, would buy the notion of "reverse discrimination."
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The ex-aide to John Edwards, Andrew Young, is at least one year behind schedule in trying to peddle his tell-all story to people who already know more than they care to know about the former presidential candidate.
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MJ Commentary/News

As usual the WSWS has some of the best cultural commentary around, and their piece about Michael Jackson is no exception.

The writer points out how Jackson, a product of the media, was exploited and damaged by the same media, which, after his death, praised him to the rafters:

On the other hand, celebrity itself plays an important and unhealthy role in the US. In a country where only the most constricted official debate takes place over vital issues (between right-wing and other, even more right-wing conceptions) and political life is almost entirely scripted, a voyeuristic fascination with the lives of the wealthy and famous helps fill some of the void and also diverts the attention of the population from its real needs and interests.

At the same time, however, popular frustration and discontent do not disappear. The general public’s attitude, nourished by the media, toward “celebrities” often veers between uncritical admiration and resentment. The tabloids, talk shows and “entertainment news programs” manipulate these sentiments for their own purposes. The unfortunate athlete, pop star or movie performer who falls from grace may find him or herself demonized in a truly monstrous manner.

For someone like Jackson, gifted but also psychologically deeply troubled, to be violently jerked around—adored one day, ridiculed and despised the next—must have been particularly distressing. This is a man who, according to his own words, lived for his performances on the stage and for the adulation of anonymous masses of people.

Now, the giant media and entertainment machinery will try and extract what value it can from Jackson’s death, while keeping its eyes open for its next victim.

It wasn't Michael Jackson who was a predator after all.
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MJ's mom got temporary custody of his three children.
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MJ's doctor gets a defense from his lawyer.
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More Obituaries

Europe's oldest person, Lucia Lauria of Italy, has died at the age of 113.

She was considered the oldest living person in continental Europe.

A Frenchwoman, Eugenie Blanchard, is actually several weeks older than Lauria, but lives in Guadeloupe, an overseas department of France in the Caribbean.

The crown of oldest living person in Europe now passes to an Englishwoman, 113-year-old Florrie Baldwin, who was born on March 31, 1896, according to a ranking compiled by the Gerontology Research Group.

The oldest living person in the world is American Gertrude Baines, who is aged 115.

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TV pitchman Billy Mays, 50, was found dead in his Florida home.
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Mistresslaneous

So does a sex tape of John Edwards exist?

Anything to take people's minds off of Ensign, Sanford, etc.

Obituaries

Josephine Owaissa Cottle, also known as Gale Storm, star of the 1950s sitcom My Little Margie, died yesterday at the age of 87. She had been in failing health in recent years.

She starred with Charles Farrell, who played her dad, in the series, which ran from 1952-1955.

After the show ended, she starred in another sitcom, The Gale Storm Show.

Storm also was a singer of note, with songs like "Dark Moon" and a ripoff of Smiley Lewis's classic R&B song, "I Hear You Knocking."

Here is a YouTube clip of an episode of My Little Margie. Several episodes are on there:




Some time ago, she gave an interview with the Archive of American Television. Part one can be found here. These oral histories with classic television performers are lengthy and great.

Sanford & Sin

The embattled South Carolina governor "considered" resigning, but now he won't.

I am sure somebody in the Sanford household is "considering" divorce, but he or she probably won't.

Rooster Crow 2009 Video

My brother shot this video of the 2009 National Rooster Crow championship held in Rogue River, Oregon, June 27, 2009. As mentioned yesterday, Fluffy, a silkie rooster, won the contest with 42 crows.


Part One:




Part Two:




Part Three:





Part Four:





Part Five:





Part Six:

MJ

The quack attending to Jackson the day he died is not considered a suspect in the singer's death.

Meanwhile, a distrustful Jackson family ordered a second autopsy of the late singer.

Last night on one of the cable news shows, it was mentioned M.J.'s most valuable asset was his music catalog, which he owned, as well as catalogs from other entertainers. Despite Jackson being heavily in debt, the fact he has sold so many CDs, downloads, etc. since he died Thursday means his estate will shortly be out of debt if not already.

His three kids stand to be worth hundreds of millions of dollars regardless of their spendthrift dad.

It's not likely anybody could be as globally popular as Michael Jackson (let alone Elvis or the Beatles) today because the music market is fragmented thanks to downloads, YouTube, and a bazillion other sources for music.

Political Follies

Nevada used to be such a kneejerk Republican state whose residents proudly boasted they voted for Ronald Reagan, and Democrats some 20 to 25 years ago were rare outside of Clark County. Thanks to numerous scandals involving Republican politicians, the rude question is being asked about whether the GOP can be saved in the state.

Rooster Crow Parade and Other Pictures

Earlier in the day, my brother and I went to the parade. We missed the first part of it, but I did manage to take quite a few pictures. Here are some of the pictures I took (including a few near the area of the rooster crow contest):

Still More Pictures

This is Alvin.

More Rooster Crow Pictures

Fluffy, the winner of the Rooster Crow, poses with his owner.

Closeup of Fluffy.


Lil' Dude finished second in the competition.

Fluffy,

a silkie rooster, won the 57th annual Rogue River Rooster Crow in Rogue River, Oregon, today. He crowed 42 times, far from the record 112 times.

Lil' Dude came in second, and Alvin was third.

Obituaries?

While Walter Cronkite is not in grave condition, he is not expected to recover from his most recent illness.

Cronkite is 92 years old.

MJ Commentary

Michael Jackson's heart was broken years before it finally gave out on him:

During our time together, my conversations with Michael sometimes led -- once the tape recorder was off -- to darker moments from his past. One night when we were going through a stack of old photos, a picture of him in his late teens triggered a sudden openness.

"Ohh, that's horrible," he said, recoiling from the picture.

Michael explained that his face was so covered with acne and his nose so large at that time that visitors to the family home in Encino sometimes wouldn't recognize him. "They would come up, look me straight in the eye and ask if I knew where that 'cute little Michael' was." It was as if the "whole world was saying, 'How dare you grow up on us.' "

Michael said he started looking down at the floor when people approached or would stay in his room when visitors came to the house.

Michael vowed to do whatever it took to make people "love me again." The rejection fueled his ambition to be the biggest pop star in the world and to try to make his face beautiful. Unfortunately, Michael's need was so great that no amount of love seemed to be enough.

He was certainly among the most tragic of all entertainers.

His dance moves are the subject of this analysis.

Jimbo Eruptions

The governor must hand over the phone records requested by Chrissy Mazzeo's lawyers.

MJ's M.D.

Lots and lots of questions are being asked about Dr. Conrad Murray.

The cardiologist being sought for questioning in the investigation of Michael Jackson's death was hired by a concert promoter to accompany the entertainer to London for his comeback concert series, a Jackson advisor said today.

MJ

One of Michael Jackson's ex-wives has something to say about his death:

He Knew.

Years ago Michael and I were having a deep conversation about life in general.

I can't recall the exact subject matter but he may have been questioning me about the circumstances of my Fathers Death.

At some point he paused, he stared at me very intensely and he stated with an almost calm certainty, "I am afraid that I am going to end up like him, the way he did."

I promptly tried to deter him from the idea, at which point he just shrugged his shoulders and nodded almost matter of fact as if to let me know, he knew what he knew and that was kind of that.

14 years later I am sitting here watching on the news an ambulance leaves the driveway of his home, the big gates, the crowds outside the gates, the coverage, the crowds outside the hospital, the Cause of death and what may have led up to it and the memory of this conversation hit me, as did the unstoppable tears.

A predicted ending by him, by loved ones and by me, but what I didn't predict was how much it was going to hurt when it finally happened.

The person I failed to help is being transferred right now to the LA County Coroners office for his Autopsy.

All of my indifference and detachment that I worked so hard to achieve over the years has just gone into the bowels of hell and right now I am gutted.

I am going to say now what I have never said before because I want the truth out there for once.

Our relationship was not "a sham" as is being reported in the press. It was an unusual relationship yes, where two unusual people who did not live or know a "Normal life" found a connection, perhaps with some suspect timing on his part. Nonetheless, I do believe he loved me as much as he could love anyone and I loved him very much.

I wanted to "save him" I wanted to save him from the inevitable which is what has just happened.

His family and his loved ones also wanted to save him from this as well but didn't know how and this was 14 years ago. We all worried that this would be the outcome then.

At that time, In trying to save him, I almost lost myself.

He was an incredibly dynamic force and power that was not to be underestimated.

When he used it for something good, It was the best and when he used it for something bad, It was really, REALLY bad.

Mediocrity was not a concept that would even for a second enter Michael Jackson's being or actions.

I became very ill and emotionally/ spiritually exhausted in my quest to save him from certain self-destructive behavior and from the awful vampires and leeches he would always manage to magnetize around him.

I was in over my head while trying.

I had my children to care for, I had to make a decision.

The hardest decision I have ever had to make, which was to walk away and let his fate have him, even though I desperately loved him and tried to stop or reverse it somehow.

After the Divorce, I spent a few years obsessing about him and what I could have done different, in regret.

Then I spent some angry years at the whole situation.

At some point, I truly became Indifferent, until now.

As I sit here overwhelmed with sadness, reflection and confusion at what was my biggest failure to date, watching on the news almost play by play The exact Scenario I saw happen on August 16th, 1977 happening again right now with Michael (A sight I never wanted to see again) just as he predicted, I am truly, truly gutted.

Any ill experience or words I have felt towards him in the past has just died inside of me along with him.

He was an amazing person and I am lucky to have gotten as close to him as I did and to have had the many experiences and years that we had together.

I desperately hope that he can be relieved from his pain, pressure and turmoil now.

He deserves to be free from all of that and I hope he is in a better place or will be.

I also hope that anyone else who feels they have failed to help him can be set free because he hopefully finally is.

The World is in shock but somehow he knew exactly how his fate would be played out some day more than anyone else knew, and he was right.


I really needed to say this right now, thanks for listening.

So was it a heart attack that killed him?

This writer talks about the truth of MJ, and no, I don't think he ever was a pedophile, only childlike, or even stunted in terms of dealing with adults:

When it came to Michael’s trial in the Santa Monica court house, of course, the dodgy memories (and, perhaps, financially motivated inventions) of children again became important — and might yet have ensured that Michael’s tragic death took place in a federal penitentiary.

I am confident he was truthful when he insisted he was no child molester. This is partly because Michael’s strict religious background — he was a Jehovah’s Witness although he flirted with Judaism and, latterly, Islam — ensured that even if his slightly ambiguous sexuality urged him to molest, his personal morality would have made such behaviour wholly impossible for him.

More to the point, no social worker or child protection expert I ever spoke to or heard believed that he fitted anything like the classic profile of an abuser.

Almost all paedophiles, as I understand it, are serial offenders with dozens or hundreds of victims. Michael, through his love of children and the small matter of having a free funfair in his back garden, was in contact with tens of thousands of children every year. Where was their testimony when the district attorney wanted it? Or will it all come out only now?

Another mystery. I remain swayed by the theory that Michael was a genuinely childlike individual, with an emotional age of about 14, this the result of having had one of the weirdest upbringings in history — a combination of being an international star from the age of 5, having a violent and abusive father, and being brought up in a sweet-natured but lunatic religious sect.

That sums him up, I think.

Sanford & Sin

The governor is very quiet while calls for his resignation grow louder.
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Jenny Sanford, who kicked her husband out a couple of weeks ago, claims she is shocked by the trip that tripped her husband:

Jenny Sanford told The Associated Press that she discovered Gov. Mark Sanford's affair in January when she found a letter from him to the other woman. She said she told him to end the affair and he agreed to.

She said that when the governor told her recently he needed time alone to write, she specifically warned him not to visit the mistress. She was shocked to learn this week that he'd gone to Argentina to do just that.

You gotta hand it to ol' Mark, though: At least he asked his wife permission to visit his girlfriend:

South Carolina first lady Jenny Sanford sat in her oceanfront living room Friday, recalling how her husband repeatedly asked permission to visit his lover in the months after she discovered his affair.

"I said absolutely not. It's one thing to forgive adultery; it's another thing to condone it," Jenny Sanford told The Associated Press during a 20-minute interview at the coastal home where she sought refuge with their four sons. They were her first extended comments on the affair.

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In the meantime, the mistress is staying out of sight.

More MJ

Where in the hell is Michael Jackson's doctor?

Demerol is suspected as a contributing factor to the late singer's death.

I took that stuff once, when some quack doctors gave it to me when I checked myself in the hospital for the flu, and it just about killed me. I was higher than a kite and then slept for HOURS. I don't know how Elvis Presley stood it.

Michael Jackson 1958-2009

Since he was a tabloid headliner for years and years, it is only appropriate his death would dominate the media all over the world.

As I wrote yesterday, he was ultimately a tragic figure, no matter how much money or material success he had.

An autopsy is being performed to determine just what brought about Jackson's cardiac arrest yesterday.

Meanwhile, tributes are coming in from all over the world.

As for me, I prefer remembering him when he was a member of the Jackson 5, with hits like "I Want You Back." He was cute as a button then, not to mention he could really belt it out ala Frankie Lymon:



He repeatedly sings "Give me one more chance," but the poor guy never had a chance with that home life and everything else happening after the Gary, Indiana, group hit the big time.

I Don't Count on Obama

making any substantial changes to the health care system.

Money talks, and there is no way the private health insurance industry, which stands to be put out of business, is going to go away quietly.

Still More Obituaries

Here are a few from the past few days:

Jeri Nielsen FitzGerald, 57, who gained fame for having treated herself for breast cancer when stationed in Antarctica, of cancer.
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Richard Marsh, better known as Sky Saxon, lead singer of the 1960s rock band The Seeds, after a brief illness. He was in his sixties.

Clip of one of the band's biggest hits, "Can't Seem to Make You Mine":



link

The New York Times

can be counted on to have the best obituaries in the business, and while it doesn't have a full-blown one yet of Michael Jackson, there is this series of blog entries.

In this NYT appraisal of Farrah Fawcett's career, it is pointed out the late star wanted to be much more than some pretty face with the big hair.

Her obituary from the paper is here.

More Obituaries

This one is kind of a shocker: The so-called "King of Pop," Michael Jackson, 50, has died. He was in a deep coma after suffering a cardiac arrest and then pronounced dead.

He was attempting a comeback after years of lurid headlines, lawsuits, and bad health.

I am probably the only person in the country who believes he didn't engage in any child molestation, although his sleepovers were a little bit strange and opened himself up to lawsuits and criminal investigations.

Obviously there will be many more details.

Here is a YouTube of one of his big hits, "Beat It."

Here is a live version I can post of the song:



Jackson had such a horrible, tragic life, even more tragic than Elvis Presley.

Andrew Sullivan agrees with me about MJ's tragic life.

Some clips of Jackson's death are here.

Obituaries

Actress Farrah Fawcett's long battle against cancer is finally over. She died today at the age of 62.

Her cancer battle was the subject of a recent documentary.

She started her career as mostly eye candy working in commercials and in godawful movies like Myra Breckenridge. She hit major stardom in the T&A classic, Charlie's Angels, but left after the first season to pursue more substantial parts.

Fawcett had an older sister, Diane, who died of cancer also at the age of 62 in 2001. Her father, who is in his 90s, is still alive. Her mother, who died a few years ago, lived to be 91.

Her hair, which she ultimately lost during the cancer treatments, was her path to fame:

At first, her mane nearly eclipsed her fame.

"Charlie's Angels" showcased the long, feathered tresses that framed her face, launching a national fad of copycat haircuts. Many Fawcettphiles believed the hair had as much to do with the poster's sales as anything, The Times reported in 1977.

The Sanford Soap Opera

Governor Mark Sanford's girlfriend has been identified. According to the publication La Nacion, she is 43-year-old Maria Belen Chapur:

In the local media, she was identified as Maria Belen Chapur, a [fresh, vigorous, well preserved] woman of Buenos Aires of 43 years, divorced for several years. She lives in an apartment in the neighborhood of Palermo. She has two sons from her previous marriage. She works for farming and livestock business/company. She maintains excellent physical state doing many sports.

Both outdoor and indoor, presumably.

Here is the link.

Why Do Politicians Cheat

when it is plainly obvious they have little chance of getting away with their antics since they are public figures?

Perhaps there is a little bit of arrogance which goes with the territory and politicians think they can get away with it, although they can't. Then they try and cover their affairs up, which only makes the matter worse.

The Education Wars

Public school administrators can hire and fire whoever they want, you stupid shit. All they have to do is engage in a little bit of deception and criminality to get away with firing people they don't want, and it has nothing to do with a teacher's ability, either. It is often a result of cost-cutting measures.

And as for hiring, don't make me laugh. Nepotism and patronage are rampant in public school systems; in fact, they are the rule.
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It is no surprise the United States Supreme Court sided with former middle school student Savana Redding, the girl who was strip searched for supposedly possessing drugs.

The ruling was 8-1 in favor of Redding; only Clarence Thomas believed the strip search was legal.

The case goes back to the trial court and it will be up to the court to go forward with the lawsuit.

Political Commentary

Is it possible that Mark Sanford not only doesn't want the presidency, as he torpedoed that forever, but that he also doesn't even want to be governor?

It's possible. He got a lot of deserved criticism over being stubborn over the stimulus plan, and maybe the whole thing was more than he could handle.

When you're a politician on the national stage, you take a lifetime seat in the dunk tank. You sign up for a daily dose of criticism from political opponents, activists, bloggers, radio and TV yappers, newspaper writers, and the guy at the next table in the restaurant. You probably get death threats, and because of that you get the joy of a security detail that waits outside the door when you go to the bathroom. You can go on vacation, but you can never get away, not completely, not even for a day.

Presidents especially give up their private lives for the constant scrutiny of living in a fishbowl, and I suppose they think it is a fair trade-off. Most sane people don't.

Sleaze, Inc.

More questions than answers have been raised since SC Governor Mark Sanford "confessed" after having been caught leaving the country in order to chase some tail.

And what about those emails? It appears there was a problem in verifying the authenticity of them. They came from an anonymous source, according to the major South Carolina newspaper, The State, but:

Then, acting on another anonymous tip that Sanford would be on a plane returning from Argentina, the paper sent a reporter to Atlanta.

When Sanford got off a plane from Buenos Aires, he stopped an interview with The State when asked if he had been with anyone in Argentina.

The State then contacted Sanford’s office and a former aide, explicitly saying it had e-mails between the governor’s personal e-mail address and an Argentine woman and thought them to be genuine.

The Scandal of Dental Insurance

Nobody is taking seriously inclusion of dental care, especially major dental care, as part of the health insurance reform debate. There are occasionally stories in the media about people who have died because of untreated dental problems.

Well, most dental insurance is for routine cleanings and checkups, the things people, at least those who are still working, can most afford. But any major problems, such as periodontal problems, like yours truly has, and you can just about forget it. I probably have tens of thousands of dollars in dental work I need done, and there is no way to do it.

By the way, it isn't just about kids; older people need it far more.

Summer Reading

Here are a few emails exchanged between Governor Mark Sanford and his Argentine girlfriend, identified only as "Maria":

Two, mutual feelings .... You have a particular grace and calm that I adore. You have a level of sophistication that so fitting with your beauty. I could digress and say that you have the ability to give magnificent gentle kisses, or that I love your tan lines or that I love the curve of your hips, the erotic beauty of you holding yourself (or two magnificent parts of yourself) in the faded glow of the night’s light - but hey, that would be going into sexual details ...

And so forth...

It Gets Better

Here is a statement by Mark Sanford's wife, who apparently kicked him out two weeks ago:

South Carolina's First Lady Jenny Sanford released the following statement Wednesday:

I would like to start by saying I love my husband and I believe I have put forth every effort possible to be the best wife I can be during our almost twenty years of marriage. As well, for the last fifteen years my husband has been fully engaged in public service to the citizens and taxpayers of this state and I have faithfully supported him in those efforts to the best of my ability. I have been and remain proud of his accomplishments and his service to this state.

I personally believe that the greatest legacy I will leave behind in this world is not the job I held on Wall Street, or the campaigns I managed for Mark, or the work I have done as First Lady or even the philanthropic activities in which I have been routinely engaged. Instead, the greatest legacy I will leave in this world is the character of the children I, or we, leave behind. It is for that reason that I deeply regret the recent actions of my husband Mark, and their potential damage to our children.

I believe wholeheartedly in the sanctity, dignity and importance of the institution of marriage. I believe that has been consistently reflected in my actions. When I found out about my husband's infidelity I worked immediately to first seek reconciliation through forgiveness, and then to work diligently to repair our marriage. We reached a point where I felt it was important to look my sons in the eyes and maintain my dignity, self-respect, and my basic sense of right and wrong. I therefore asked my husband to leave two weeks ago.

This trial separation was agreed to with the goal of ultimately strengthening our marriage. During this short separation it was agreed that Mark would not contact us. I kept this separation quiet out of respect of his public office and reputation, and in hopes of keeping our children from just this type of public exposure. Because of this separation, I did not know where he was in the past week.

I believe enduring love is primarily a commitment and an act of will, and for a marriage to be successful, that commitment must be reciprocal. I believe Mark has earned a chance to resurrect our marriage.

Psalm 127 states that sons are a gift from the Lord and children a reward from Him. I will continue to pour my energy into raising our sons to be honorable young men. I remain willing to forgive Mark completely for his indiscretions and to welcome him back, in time, if he continues to work toward reconciliation with a true spirit of humility and repentance.

This is a very painful time for us and I would humbly request now that members of the media respect the privacy of my boys and me as we struggle together to continue on with our lives and as I seek the wisdom of Solomon, the strength and patience of Job and the grace of God in helping to heal my family.

At least somebody has told the truth.

Here It Is!

Part 1:



Part 2:



You can watch it here, too.

The guy is more inarticulate than ol' George W. He is awful.

More Screwing Around Stuff

A self-described watchdog group wants an investigation into Senator John Ensign's relationship with the Hamptons.

What the hell is the matter with these elected officials, or even people like John Edwards, who put himself out there in public only to be permanently disgraced? When you're a public figure, your life really isn't your own anymore, and you can expect to be followed endlessly around.

Don't Cry for Me, Argentina, Let Alone South Carolina

Governor Sanford admits he went AWOL for several days without telling anybody in order to see his girlfriend, who lives in Argentina.

Sanford fought back tears several times during a 20 minute news conference, especially when he mentioned his marriage counselor and his long time personal and political friend Tom Davis, Sanford’s former chief of staff.

Sanford’s relationship with the woman in Argentina became more sexually charged about a year ago, but Sanford’s wife did not learn of the affair until about five month sago. The Sanfords have since been in counseling.

In his apology, Sanford acknowledged not only all South Carolinians, but people of faith, people in his own party as well as his family.

He denied he had ever had other extramarital affairs.

“I’ve spent the last five days of my life crying in Argentina,” Sanford said. “I am committed to trying to get my heart right.”

The Education Wars

We need much more vocational training for students who enjoy working with their hands rather than shoving college prep courses down high school students' throats.

Skilled trades like welders are always in demand, while jobs like nursing and special education have tons of openings because the jobs are shitty, with horrible working conditions.

Is the Voting Rights Act

being gutted by the USSC?

New and more technically sophisticated methods of minority voter suppression were employed in subsequent elections, and may well have tipped the balance in Ohio in the 2004 presidential campaign, ensuring Bush the electoral votes needed for reelection. These include so-called “voter caging,” in which mass mailings are sent to predominately minority areas in the months before an election. The mail returned as undeliverable is stockpiled and used at the polls to challenge the right of the addressees to vote.

Republican-controlled governments in Georgia, Indiana and other states have enacted laws requiring voters to bring photo ID to the polls, a measure which has been upheld by the Supreme Court as politically neutral, but which has the deliberate effect of reducing the proportion of poor, minority and immigrant workers able to vote, since they are least likely to have photo IDs.

Given the probability that the five right-wing justices—the same five who upheld the photo ID law in Indiana last year—were prepared to overturn Section 5, it seems apparent that they pulled back from doing so because of political considerations.

Missing Politicians Department

It appears Governor Mark Sanford, or at least his staff, has been caught in a lie.

He was in Buenos Aires, Argentina, for seven days.

Anything could have happened to him, and nobody would have known what to do or say.

This comment says it all, I believe:

Many of the GOP Diehards said that Sanford deserves a break and questioned the comments from other constituents. Well, what do you have to say now? He skipped out on the state and his family. He took state vehicles without permission. He violated ethics. And, now we know he LIED about his whereabouts. He was in South America! What he doing there? It's known that some go to SA to have sexual rendezvous. They go to brothels, do whatever and leave. So, when they return to the states, there's little worry of a trail. What was he doing there? Did he take his mistress on vacation? Did he meet her there? I hope he wasn't selling secrets. NAW. Could he have taken a flight from SA to somewhere else? There are many questions to be answered. But one thing is for sure--Mark Sanford is no good.

Education Wars

Here is another bullshit article about NYC's "rubber rooms" which tries to persuade those of us who know better it is "extremely difficult" to get rid of teachers.

Where in the fuck do reporters get the idea it is hard to fire teachers? It is a lie; in fact, "at-will" employees in the private sector have far more employee rights than do teachers. All a teacher has to do is work for a sociopathic principal and it's all over for the teacher--forever--because of the blacklisting of teachers nationwide. Somehow this is legal and has nothing to do with teachers convicted of wrongdoing with children or committing crimes.

This is public education's dirty little secret. People think public school districts are not political institutions, but they are, and perhaps the most political--and corrupt--of all.

Many if not most "targeted" teachers are older, more expensive teachers, and those who are whistle-blowers of wrongdoing by administrators. As for young teachers, principals can simply deny them tenure, and their careers are ruined--forever--thanks to the "blacklist" questions asked by most state departments of education and school districts.

Philip Nobile is a journalist who has written for New York Magazine and the Village Voice and is known for his scathing criticism of public figures. A teacher at Brooklyn's Cobble Hill School of American Studies, Nobile was assigned to a rubber room in 2007, "supposedly for pushing a boy while I was breaking up a fight." He contends the school system is retaliating against him for exposing wrongdoing.

He is spending his time working on his case and writing magazine articles and a novel.

"This is what happens to political prisoners throughout history," he said, alluding to the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. "They put us in prison and we write our `Letter From the Birmingham Jail.'"

Some food for thought:

Administrators have so much power that they can make almost anyone believe that each teacher is worthy of the abuse they used against her. That is their most powerful weapon against us and is our biggest obstacle to overcome. Much of this power evolves from the naivete of our society.

Administrators buy psychiatric reports with taxpayers' monies. Administrators cover for each other as part of a Good Ol' Boy Network. Administrators simply deem a teacher insubordinate and the teacher is wrong.

Do you really believe the world of education exists on a plane above the rest of our society? The truth is business operates on a higher plane, and I can speak from experience. If for no other reason, businesses have an obligation that schools do not have; they have to be successful or they go bankrupt. Schools are bottomless pits of excess waste and unless an honest board is elected, there is no one overseeing this. No one.

link

The Tricky Dick Tapes

While it turns out Richard Nixon wasn't the worst president we ever had (certainly Reagan and our dictator outdo him in that regard), he held his own, as evidenced by his attitude regarding abortion.

Nixon worried that greater access to abortions would foster “permissiveness,” and said that “it breaks the family.” But he also saw a need for abortion in some cases, such as interracial pregnancies.

“There are times when an abortion is necessary. I know that. When you have a black and a white,” he told an aide, before adding: “Or a rape.”

Obituaries

Johnny Carson's sidekick and Publisher's Clearing House pitchman Ed McMahon has died at the age of 86.

He had been in bad shape both physically and financially in recent years.

Initially unable to work after breaking his neck in a fall in 2007, McMahon made news a year later when he defaulted on $4.8 million in mortgage loans and was facing the possible foreclosure of his multimillion-dollar Beverly Hills estate, which had been on the market for two years. An outside party purchased the mortgage and the McMahons were still living in the home.

"If you spend more money than you make, you know what happens. A couple of divorces thrown in, a few things like that," McMahon, in a neck brace, explained in June 2008 on CNN's “Larry King Live,” where he was accompanied by his wife, Pam.

Aimee, Is That You?

Watch the rumors go wild over Governor Mark Sanford's four-day disappearance.

Evidently the governor needed some stimulating after the stimulus battle:

The governor’s office issued a statement Monday afternoon: "Gov. Sanford is taking some time away from the office this week to recharge after the stimulus battle and the legislative session, and to work on a couple of projects that have fallen by the wayside. We are not going to discuss the specifics of his travel arrangements or his security arrangements."

One official familiar with the situation said there was no indication that foul play might have been involved because Sanford occasionally makes trips without his security detail.

Knotts, a longtime Sanford critic, said he contacted SLED Chief Reggie Lloyd Saturday after he heard reports the governor could not be reached.

"Chief Lloyd confirmed that my information is legitimate," Knotts said. "He shared my concerns" about succession of power in Sanford’s absence, the Lexington Republican said. Lloyd could not be reached immediately on Monday.

"I was recently made aware that Governor Sanford has frequently been eluding SLED agents and disappearing at odd times," Knotts said. Previously, Sanford has not been out of all contact - including with his own office - for this long before, a source, who insisted on anonymity, said.

This guy is rumored to be a contender for the GOP presidential nomination in 2012. I suppose he would run on a "family values" plank, and never mind he took off on Father's Day weekend, apparently to get away from his family.

JibJab

has yet another video, this one on Obama, who will save the world. Obviously, it's in jest:



link

They could do without the ad at the end, though. The actual video is around two minutes.

Health Care "Reform"

Of course people like Senator Blanche Lincoln are on the take from insurance companies, whether local or national. That is the sole reason there is opposition in Congress to single-payer health insurance, let alone any kind of dual insurance plan.

It's a big whoop-dee-doo. So what else is new?

In 48 Out of 50 States

the unemployment rate increased, and there is no end in sight.

Of course it was deliberately designed to turn this country into a third world country. It's all about ideology and bribing our politicians in both political parties to keep things as they are.

Never mind people are suffering.

The Education Wars

At bottom Proposition 13 is responsible for the dismal state of California's public schools; the current budget mess just exacerbates it.
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Not all administrators get away with committing felonies such as altering public documents.

They did in my case when one of two people altered a copy of a letter I received in the mail concerning the FMLA forms in order to deceive the hearing officer, but so far the culprit has gotten away with it.

School districts will stick up for these crooks for the most part. The Atlanta case is very rare in that arrests have been made, not that such flagrant cheating happens, despite the union's contention:

Former Dekalb County principal James Berry was arrested at his home on
charges of altering public documents, a felony. His assistant principal
Dorothea Alexander faces the same charges.

Berry, the former principal of Atherton Elementary, left the county jail
Friday evening without commenting to reporters gathered outside. A jail
official said his bond was $15,000. Alexander was released earlier
Friday on $1,500 bond.

A state investigation released last week found that student scores on
state math tests were altered at four schools in the state, including
Atherton, in an effort to boost those schools' performance. Officials do
not believe students were involved.

Jeff Hubbard, president of the Georgia Association of Educators, said
this is the first time he's heard of teachers or administrators being
arrested for such offenses.

"This is one of the worst academic offenses an educator can do or be
accused of because it messes with a child's future," Hubbard said.

It's done all over the country, though, and there are principals who try to pressure teachers into cheating as well. It happened to me, and I ended up with a destroyed career because the asshole retaliated.

Here is the Atlanta Journal-Constitution's article:

Dr. Gary Walker, director of educator ethics for the Georgia Professional Standards Commission, agreed that this case could be a first.

“I’m not saying there hasn’t been one, but I don’t know of it,” Walker said.

His agency, which oversees teacher certification, routinely receives complaints related to testing. “We’ll see them every month,” Walker said.

Of course it goes on, and all over the country. It is extremely rare crooked administrators get caught; teachers very seldom say anything for fear of being blacklisted for future jobs. In this case, an audit caught the cheating.
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Arne Duncan is at it again.
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Supermax Prisons

In case people missed it, for "fun" I thought I'd post this 60 Minutes report on perhaps the most "secure" prison in the country, ADX Florence, a prison specifically designed as a "supermax" prison.


Watch CBS Videos Online


There are many criticisms of these types of prisons, many of which concern the lack of normal interaction of a prisoner with his (and they are almost always men) surroundings and with other people. Lawsuits have abounded regarding the treatment of prisoners at these places. It would seem to me this severe deprivation is a violation of human rights. But these prisons are the end result of the so-called "tough on crime" philosophy. I don't see any movement away from this type of prison.

This report was first broadcast in 2007. Calling it the "Harvard" of the prison system may be appropriate; the same has been said for the infamous Pelican Bay State Prison, just a few miles north of Crescent City, California, off Highway 101 (when we drove to the coast a couple of weeks ago, we saw the sign pointing to the prison, which isn't that terribly far away from the road and is located towards the Pacific Ocean). In that prison, only inmates no other California prison will have end up there.

More here.

How Low Can He Go?

Ensign's approval ratings aren't quite in the region of Jimbo's, but they've slid quite a bit since the revelation he was screwing around with a married woman; however, a majority of those polled say this dipshit shouldn't resign.

It Goes Without Saying

single-payer health care needs to be put BACK on the table instead of allowing the medical industrial complex to kill it off in order to preserve their profits, or, in the case of private health insurance companies, to save their industry from certain extinction.

A Tribute of Sorts

My dad, James H. Nunes (August 7, 1907-January 11, 1997):




With his favorite cat, Porky. 1991


Dad sitting in a tree with some benches put in the trunks. These benches grew in as part of the tree over the years. My dad and some classmates put those benches in over 90 years ago. This tree is located on the Greenhorn Road near Yreka, California. 1987




The rock was too sharp. 1991


At Harris Beach, Oregon. 1987



My dad had a sand-and-gravel business. He poses in front of one of his trucks.

Both my dad and my brother, Rob, look exhausted.


At Harris Beach, Oregon, 1987.

Heartburn Hotel

I guess I will try and go back to the same restaurant today to eat early as I did yesterday. I am doing that so my brother can go to the flea market at the Medford Armory at 9 a.m.

Yesterday I had such a severe attack of heartburn, the first serious attack in about a year, after eating bacon there I nearly collapsed on the floor. The attack wiped me out for the entire day. I am going to have to be extremely careful when I eat at this same restaurant today.

Update: I survived the meal with no problems. I didn't eat bacon or the chicken fried steak, which probably saved my body.

Education Wars

This case is a rare one in that a teacher has revealed a petty disciplinary action publicly.

This is bullshit. Take it from somebody who has gone through these politically-motivated witchhunts:

Placing a disciplinary letter in a teacher's file is "extremely rare," Di Chiro said. Typically teachers will be cited for high-level offenses, such as touching a student inappropriately or disciplining a student using physical force, Ginsberg said. A letter could prevent a teacher from being hired by another district, as teachers are expected to disclose any formal discipline they have received when they are seeking jobs, Di Chiro added.

Typical bullshit from a typical superintendent who wants taxpayers to believe teachers get exactly what they deserve. It isn't "extremely rare"; it is commonplace, and it is done for all kinds of reasons besides inappropriate behavior with students. That's the cover story liars in administration use to abuse teachers by saying they deserve it. By the way, the Teacher Standards and Practices Commission creates a blacklist of teachers who have been disciplined or fired solely for the purpose of ruining their careers. This has nothing to do with "higher standards" or with cases where there is criminal involvement. Such horseshit would never be allowed in the private sector. Who in their fucking mind would go into a corrupt field like public education if people knew about this?
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Just Because

there is wide support for a government-run health care plan to compete with private insurers doesn't mean it will ever become reality.

The lobbyists are just too damned powerful for any change in the current mess.

Economy

Eight states' unemployment figures shot through the roof in May.

States include Oregon, Nevada, and California.
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The self-employed aren't doing much better.

This may be what I will be forced into doing, and I don't really have the space or the money to do it.

Obituaries?

Contrary to news reports legendary newsman Walter Cronkite is at death's door, people who know him say otherwise.

At 92 he's old, and getting older. And when you get old, everything starts to wear out, like a car with too many miles on it.

He's not the only one who has worked for CBS News who is way up there. Mike Wallace is 91, and Andy Rooney is 90.

Ensign Follies

Ensign's side is trying to play hardball and claim the Hamptons tried to extort money from him or whatever.

Well, ask John Edwards about the folly of screwing around when you're a public official or a public figure. Regardless of whether blackmail or extortion was involved with Ensign, having an affair opens one up to such possibilities.

Still More John Ensign

Fox News is denying receiving any letter from Doug Hampton (see below for letter details):

But Fox News tells The Huffington Post the letter never made it to Kelly or the network. "He might have sent it, but we never received it," said Tom Lowell, senior producer of America's Newsroom. "He did reach out to us about 24 hours before the news conference, and he sent an e-mail to a booker on my staff...We followed up with him, but he seemed evasive and not credible, thus we didn't pursue it."

Stay tuned.

Obituaries

Tomoji Tanabe, the world's oldest man at 113, has died. He reportedly died of heart failure.

He set the record for male longevity two years ago.

Tanabe, who was born Sept. 18, 1895, had eight children — five sons and three daughters. The former city land surveyor also had 25 grandchildren, 53 great-grandchildren, and six great-great-grandchildren, according to a statement from the Miyakonojo city. He was certified by the Guinness Book of World Records as the world's oldest man when he was 111 years old.

Miscellaneous News

It isn't enough employers check your criminal history, your references, and even your credit history; at least one employer now wants to know whether you are a member of internet social groups and the like, such as Facebook.

This can't be constitutional.
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So much for the Chicago Public Schools idea of bribing, er, paying students for good grades.
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James Auchincloss, half-brother to the late Jackie O., has canceled his Ashland, Oregon, Family YMCA membership.

Associated Press has a somewhat long piece about Auchincloss's travails and his connection to the Kennedy family:

Friends and supporters doubt the accusations. They describe Auchincloss as a quiet, friendly man who regularly attends plays and stage productions, compiles video and film history of past presidents, and generally keeps a low profile despite his famous family ties.

...

According to some people who know the distinguished Auchincloss family, who made their money in oil and financing, James Auchincloss was considered something of a pariah by his half-sister, Jackie.

Various reasons have been given.

Kitty Kelley, who wrote a racy biography of Jackie titled "Jackie, Oh," believes Auchincloss was ostracized for serving as one of the better sources for the book.

In an e-mail, Kelley said Auchincloss was in the audience of a talk show a few years after the biography was published and Kelley was promoting another book.

"Jamie stood up, said he believed everything I had written was true" and "as a result of that book and everything he had told me, his sister never spoke to him again," Kelley said.

McManus offers another explanation for any ill will that may have existed between Jackie and her half brother.

He said Auchincloss confided that his fascination with young boys went back to his teenage years, and that Jackie banned Auchincloss from having contact with her son, John F. Kennedy Jr.

However, he does have a lot of support of friends and associates who discount the child porn accusations.

Stay tuned for the next episode.

The New York Post had a piece a few days ago claiming Auchincloss had a fixation on a very young JFK Jr..

More Ensign

Doug Hampton (above in a still from a KLAS video--apparently his wife is under wraps and no pictures have surfaced on the internet so far) apparently approached Fox News with a letter detailing the hypocrite's endless pursuit of his wife, Cindy.

In his letter, Hampton, a former top administrative aide in Ensign’s Capitol Hill office, said: “The actions of Senator Ensign have ruined our lives and careers and left my family in shambles. We have lost significant income, suffered indescribable pain and emotional suffering. We find ourselves today with an overwhelming loss of relationships, career opportunities and hope for recovery. Our pursuit of justice continues to place me and my family in harm’s way as we fear for our well being.”

That's why Ensign went public. There was NO evidence of blackmail; he was caught.

The text of the letter is here. A snip:

The unethical behavior and immoral choice of Senator Ensign has been confronted by me and others on a number of occasions over this past year. In fact one of the confrontations took place in February 2008 at his home in Washington DC (sic) with a group of his peers. One of the attendee’s (sic) was Senator Tom Coburn from Oklahoma as well as several other men who are close to the Senator. Senator Ensign’s conduct and relentless pursuit of my wife led to our dismissal in April of 2008. I would like to say he stopped his heinous conduct and pursuit upon our leaving, but that was not the case and his actions did not subside until August of 2008.

The actions of Senator Ensign have ruined our lives and careers and left my family in shambles. We have lost significant income, suffered indescribable pain and emotional suffering. We find ourselves today with an overwhelming loss of relationships, career opportunities and hope for recovery. Our pursuit of justice continues to place me and my family in harm’s way as we fear for our well being (sic).

Today, Senator Ensign’s responsibility and stature have increased within the US (sic) Senate. His is currently the head of “Policy” for the Republican Party, the number four position within the Parties (sic) leadership team. We on the other hand are completely ruined and left to deal with the aftermath of very evil and completely unjustifiable acts by one of our countries (sic) top leaders.

It appears there may be nothing the law can do to correct and bring justice and restitution to (sic) this terrible wrong that has been done to us. I have sought a number of lawyers who are having difficulty finding charges that may hold up in court. There are either technicalities that exist due to the time period in which I have sought help, or other nuances that quite frankly make no sense to me given the egregious acts and blatant abuse of power by Senator Ensign. From my perspective this whole nightmare is terribly wrong and completely unacceptable and should not be tolerated.

Stick a fork in John Ensign. He's done.