Zombie Carla Madison

*My apologies and sympathy to the family of Carla Madison---I hope that you understand what I am trying to say here.*

We are on the tail-end of the spring election season here in Denver, Colorado. Most of the attention is on who will be elected the next mayor. But a certain amount of attention, at least in my neighborhood, is on who is going to become the next council member for District 8.

This attention is rather unexpected. But with the recent death of Carla Madison (who was a very delightful woman), there has been a gaggle of candiates all asking to be written in, so that they can replace her.

I am a happy little cynic. My proof? I still wanted to vote for Carla Madison. Even with her being dead, she is still a better candidate than some of the living ones that have asked for my vote.

Is it wrong to think that we would be better off with more zombies and resurrected mummies in office than living politicans? Probably. But can they do more wrong to us than the living politicans? I think not.

(And if any politicans in Denver see this, I have already voted---quit calling me to ask for my vote.)

QoD Lisa Weil on Education Cuts

We're glad the cuts to K-12 have gotten less disastrous, but let's be clear: they are still disastrous for Colorado's kids. If we are celebrating that we are making "only" a quarter billion dollars of cuts for the second year in a row, we've lost perspective.

        -----Lisa Weil, spokeswoman for Great Education Colorado

A triad of depressing economic numbers

Here is a triad of depressing economic numbers.

According to the Economic Policy Institute, almost 25 percent of U.S. households now have zero net worth or negative net worth. And the percentage is growing, it was only 18.6 percent in 2007.

Food and various products sizes are shrinking, so that manufactors and suppliers do not have to admit that they are actually raising prices on goods.

The purchasing power of the US dollar has declined from a dollar in 1913 to a whole 4.6 cents in 2009 (American Institute of Economic Research).


And if you want to read twenty-five more depressing economic numbers, check out this article on PrisonPlanet.

Dont steal public transportation

Today, on the Lightrail (RTD), there sprung up four cops checking to see that people had paid their fares. By "sprung up," I mean that I did not realize that they were cops until they took out their badges. (Though in my defense, I was reading my homework---so I wasn't playing much attention until the badges came out.)

Anyways, I am used to the RTD security guards; I treated them exactly the same way that I would the RTD guards. For me, there was no difference...I asked them how they were; I showed the cop my student ID (which doubles as my bus-pass) and went back to doing my homework. Ok, I did treat them differently---I normally joke to the guards that they should feel free to doublecheck my homework.

But there was someone else on the train who claimed to have paid and couldn't find their fare stub (provided that they were telling the truth). So the cops were writing down their information. Unfortunately, the person also claimed to have their wallet stolen recently. And because the cops had to make sure that they were who they claimed to be, at the next stop they took them off to remain in their custody until they (or the police) could confirm they were who they were.

I understand being willing to run the risk of a forty dollar ticket...and I suspect that the Lightrail guards are given false information all the time...but to risk arrest to avoid paying the RTD fare, well, that is just stupid.

The moral---don't steal public transportation, especially if you are trying to get somewhere on time.

QoD Joke about a union man, tea party activist and a CEO

"A public union employee, a tea party activist, and a CEO are sitting at a table with a plate of a dozen cookies in the middle of it. The CEO takes 11 of the cookies, turns to the tea partier and says, "Watch out for that union guy. He wants a piece of your cookie." From Shelby Wright (Maine, political activist).

You claim that you were a teacher?!

Yes, it is time to mock the junk emails again. This author of this one is claiming to be a former teacher. Really? Given the lack of punctuation and capitalization here, I seriously doubt it. And if you were an actual teacher, no wonder kids come to college and end up in remedial (opps, I mean "foundational") English classes. Thanks for leaving the profession; young minds deserve better than this. And so does my inbox.

I have to admit, in 2010 i was having a hard time keeping up with my small paychecks. it was a miracle i had received this link [some work at home at a computer while your butt grows large program] to this news entry that got me making 5x more than i was as a teacher!

Are people really this lonely on Valentine's Day?

Here is a spam email from one of those Facebook fake message centers. I have to ask---are there really people who are this lonely that they actually click on the links? And do they want to hook up with someone that can't spell Valentine, not alone recognize a comma splice?

Sarah sent a message...

Hey, with valintines day and all coming up and i dont really have anyone to spend the romance with i was
wonderingif you wanted to hook up. Just so were not alone ;) let me know what you think, you can message
me back here [some single girl dating website]. Lets not spend the day alone and have some fun!!!!


Kisses xoxoxo


Sarah