Monday, November 09, 2009

Why the ‘Y’ Isn’t Serving Pueblo

Or, the chickens ARE coming home to ‘roost’.

Another item in Saturday’s Chieftain. This one about the perception that the YMCA isn’t REALLY serving all of Pueblo as it claimed it would during the run up to the decision by the City Council to subsidize their project.

I have a simple question for the Y….

Where they say….

Terry Lockwood, president and CEO of the Y, notes that the organization provides scholarships for kids who cannot afford Y membership. No requests for scholarships have been rejected, he said, and requests for them have risen by 20 percent since the new complex opened.

....I’d like to know how many such scholarships have been issued, compared to requests and to number of under-privileged children in Pueblo that would benefit from such.

Also, I seem to recall comments that the Y would be providing bus service to facilitate children on the East side getting to their new campus. I’d like to know the status on THAT service, too.

You Get What You Pay For

Or so the old adage goes.

So, when I read this item about Pueblo West considering getting a ‘computer specialist’ in Saturday’s Pueblo Chieftain....

Resident Phil Weber, who has an extensive computer background, said the district will have to pay more for someone who knows what they are doing. “For $40,000, you’re going to get a jerk,” he said. “Think $70,000.”

But Weber, a retiree, said he would do it for nothing.

....I had to ask myself, so what would Pueblo West get for paying ‘nothing’?

Not that I know Mr. Weber. And I do admire his willingness to volunteer to do for free what he thinks people should get $70K. BUT, the logic of his statement just stood out to me.

On the other hand, I’m surprised that Pueblo West doesn’t ALREADY have such a person on their payroll. But if they don’t, I highly recommend they hire someone who is familiar with Macintosh as well as Windows platforms and works to facilitate BOTH operating systems in the metro-district plans.

As for compensation….

....someone who gets NOTHING for their efforts can turn around and walk away without a second thought. Just having a ‘bad day’ with the ‘boss’ could trigger it. Whereas someone who is getting good pay and other important benefits….think the new health care legislation and the requirement, as stated last week, of having to pay $15K per year for an individual policy or face jail time….would likely think at least twice about walking away.

As for Mr. Weber?

I highly recommend the city consider him as a consultant with a decent compensation for his expertise in this important area. And put him on the committee to select the full-timer, too.

Sunday, November 08, 2009

As If….

....I hadn’t been expecting THIS!

Our good Congressperson voted FOR this Obama-PelosiCare.

NOW….maybe just….now….

....they’ll let us READ the legislation. Considering that Pelosi broke her ‘promise’ {snicker} to let US see it 72 hours before the vote and our Congressperson’s staffers were saying we’d see the verbiage….but apparently not BEFORE the vote….

...let’s see what our Congressperson voted for. I’ll provide the text once I can find it.

UPDATE: An interesting observation on what it means.

UPDATE: And THIS probably explains why they did it at night….

....men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.—John 3:19

Wednesday, November 04, 2009

And the Decision IS…..

....NO MAYOR!!!

People in Pueblo are slow to accept change. Cautious is probably a better word for it.

And whereas the people who advocated for a ‘strong mayor’ think that it was their being out-spent by the opposition camp, I have my doubts. Rather, I think the people of Pueblo were thinking along the lines of that old proverb….

Happier with the ‘devil’ they know than with the one they don’t know.

And, as is always said, “The ‘devil’ is in the details.” And the people of Pueblo were totally unfamiliar with the details of how either a ‘strong mayor’ or a ‘weak mayor’ would work out. In the first place. The ‘strong mayor’ camp didn’t really provide evidence enough to convince the people their plan was a good one. Nor did they do a good job of countering the arguments of the ‘no mayor’ camp.

As for the ‘weak mayor’. Nobody gave that camp much opportunity to express their arguments. Especially the Pueblo Chieftain which did not include them in the debate at PCC.

There are many more reasons to why this came down the way it did. And I invite the advocates of the ‘strong mayor’ camp to express their opinions about that in the comments section of this thread. Click on the word “Comments” in the box, below.

Monday, November 02, 2009

Mail-In Voter Fraud, Anyone?

They’re anticipating it in New Jersey tomorrow.

Let US hope it’s not as bad here as we suspect it will be there.

Chieftain, My Chieftain XI

Getting the ‘Funnies’.

For quite some time, I’ve been TRYING to get the Pueblo Chieftain to include a daily political comic strip of the conservative persuasion. Sort of a Doonesberry for the 21st Century, but from the opposite end of the political spectrum.

However, time after time, they’ve refused. And I don’t understand why. Well…maybe in truth….I DO understand.

Here’s the offering from the other day….

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Friday, October 30, 2009

Your Federal Government at ‘Work’ — 091030

If ONLY they’d come up to the third millennium.

So, yesterday, the latest version of Congress’ House of Representatives bill for health care reform hit the proverbial ‘floor’. All 1990 pages of it.

And yet, the Government Printing Office and the Library of Congress, the fine people who are supposed to provide information on what a bill looks like STILL don’t have it available for US folk here in the ‘fly-over country’.

The text of H.R.3962 has not yet been received from GPO.

This is, in my honestly held opinion, ‘stupid’. This is the 21st Century people. One HOUR after the bill hit the floor of the House of Representatives, the Library of Congress should have had it available to the Government Printing Office for the rest of US to see. And I have to wonder if these people are still using manual typewriters.

Also, for those wondering WHY I think this an issue for Pueblo….

....look around you at all the retirees living here. Myself included.

Thursday, October 29, 2009

As I Was Saying….

....about those mail-in ballots…..

....I wonder if we’ll see see this sort of thing right here in River City…..

This year, New Jersey’s registered voters can request a mail-in ballot for any reason. (Before 2005, voters needed to provide a reason for why they needed an absentee ballot.) The state received about 150,000 absentee-ballot applications this year.

On about 2,300 of those applications so far, the signature on the request form does not match the signature on the voter’s registration forms with the state.

That’s Better

The County Clerk does it better….

....than he had in the earlier instance.

I’m glad to see that ‘Bo’ has established several drop-off points where people who want to gather as much information as possible can WAIT before casting their ballots this coming Tuesday.

As I said earlier here, it’s his place to facilitate the voters. Not the other way around.

Personally, I think this ‘mail-in’ form of voting is rife with opportunities for voting fraud. There are just SO MANY WAYS one can do it using the mail. We’ve witnessed how soldiers serving outside of their registered state of residence have THEIR mail-in ballots ‘lost’ or fouled-up in some manner as to be disenfranchised. The same is true with what can happen right here in Pueblo County. And don’t get me started on the fiasco the THEN county clerk facilitated during the 2006 election. There is no legitimate reason why valid election judges and/or observers should not be allowed into counting facilities because of their political party….which is what I understand happened.

Tuesday, October 27, 2009

Shut Up and ‘Soldier’

The Pueblo County Clerk is whining about his job.

The ballots have been mailed to voters . . . and Pueblo County Clerk Gilbert “Bo” Ortiz is encouraging voters to mail them back, or hand deliver them earlier than Election Day on Nov. 3.—Chieftain Article

It’s not Gilbert’s place to whine about doing his job. His place is to DO his job.

If he doesn’t like the fact that smart people hold out on voting until they’ve had all the possible information they need to make a good decision, he should drop this mail-in ballot garbage, instead of whining about the situation he established.

As one First Sergeant put it to some whining troop….

Shut up and soldier.

Wednesday, September 16, 2009

Eat Your Chocolates!

More good news for chocolate lovers everywhere!

In a study that will provide comfort to chocoholics everywhere, researchers in Sweden have found evidence that people who eat chocolate have increased survival rates after a heart attack — and it may be that the more they eat, the better.

Here’s the story….

Monday, September 14, 2009

Now That You Mention It — 090910 (Reprised)

Additional thoughts on the previous posting made….

....the other day....

Something else regarding the veracity of so-called ‘journalists’ has come to light. I’ll address that in a follow-up item in the near future. And its significance in matters of ‘journalistic qualities’ as we are experiencing them today.—Chuck Pelto

....there are SERIOUS problems in the so-called ‘major media’. And that, based on my observations of what passes for ‘journalism’ in the Pueblo Chieftain, trickles down to the local level.

I’ve not seen ANYTHING in the Pueblo Chieftain about the significance of ACORN being outed as an organization that apparently helps pimps and prostitutes set up brothels involving 13-year old girls. Let alone how ACORN was involved with the federal government in the conduct of the Census.

I had a census taker show up on my door step last week. My comportment with this individual was cold. I refused to let him into the house. I only answered the most basic questions: address, name and the fact that this house was the dwelling of single family. When he asked for the phone number, I told him to look in the phone book. He had the necessary information for that.

Why is this? I’d picked up on the nefarious nature of ACORN some time back and I absolutely REFUSE to support such an organization.

What I found particularly ‘interesting’ of the encounter is that first off this character denied that ACORN had anything to do with the federal census. However, later on in the discussion, he admitted to ACORN being involved. In other words, the Census Takers are, based on this particular encounter, outright liars. They’re just too ‘stupid’ to be good at it.

But back on track and how is it that the Chieftain has ignored this important revelation on how the federal government is ‘working’: pouring millions of tax-payers dollars into an organization with nefarious activities. Let alone giving it any part of the politically significant ‘census’.

Why IS that?

But that’s not the only item…..

We also have the fact that the Pueblo Chieftain has totally ignored the 9/12 protest gathering of ‘conservatives’ in Washington DC last weekend. Currently estimates run between the official 60-70,000 and calculated 1.5 million.

But not a single mention of the event in the Chieftain.

This correlates ‘well’ with the perception that the staff at the Chieftain would like to just ignore the whole matter.

And THIS, in my personal opinion, is a violation of their alleged ‘ethics’ regarding ‘professionalism’.

I’m open to suggestions as to WHY that is…..

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Sunday, September 13, 2009

Stupidity (Part 1)

Looking at the idea of a Mayor in Pueblo.

One of my favorite citations is….

Stupidity got us into this mess. Why can’t it get us out?

I think a lot upon ‘stupidity’. I come across it nearly every day on the web. And when you encounter it THAT much, there’s plenty of it to go around. I encounter it so often I’ve developed what I call a ‘working definition’ of how to recognize it when I see it. Here it is….

Stupid, adj., Ignorant and proud of it.

The point here being that I consider stupid behavior in people as when they are ignorant of facts and are so proud of their ignorance that they refuse to examine a situation or proposal with an open mind, i.e., gathering all the important facts on the matter, before making a decision. And/or unable to relate the facts to the situation or proposal in a logical manner.

Case in point….

At the public forum on the proposed health care reform, I asked one of the supporters of HR 3200 if they’d even READ the legislation. To which they replied, “I don’t care.”

Got that? They don’t care enough about the matter to take the time necessary to read the legislation that will impact them, their parents and their possible children.

Classic ‘stupid’, by my definition.

So….

....we’re looking at the idea of changing the City Charter. It isn’t the first time we looked at doing that vis-a-vis a mayor. Won’t be the last.

What does this have to do with ‘stupid’?

Well…..

....I’m trying NOT to be ‘stupid’ and asking various parties in this discussion to show me the ‘advantages’ and ‘disadvantages’ of their proposals.

On the one hand we’ve got the CALM group with their proposal for a ‘strong mayor’.

On the other hand, we’ve got the City Council appointed Blue Ribbon Panel and their proposal for a ‘weak mayor’.

On the THIRD hand, we have today’s editorial in the Chieftain and it’s support of the ‘status quo’.

NONE of these have provided, as far as I can tell, a compare and contrast evaluation of the ‘advantages’ and ‘disadvantages’ of each of the three options.

With out this sort of information, we’re looking at another GREAT OPPORTUNITY to do something truly ‘stupid’.

Friday, September 11, 2009

Be Prepared III

Insights on ‘How To…..’

An interesting article on the importance of THINKING AHEAD with respect to surviving a disaster….or worse.

It’s better to bend than to break, and it’s best to be prepared for the worst.

Thursday, September 10, 2009

Now That You Mention It — 090910

The Chieftain fires a ‘Warning Shot’?

Seems that a couple of weeks ago, the Chieftain ran an interesting editorial item from a source that, to the best of my knowledge, they’d never called upon before. This after a couple of posts I made on this blog wherein I took their ‘journalistic qualities’ to task.

I made those posts in order to provide what I call ‘counter-spin’ to the articles that had been written about two events I attended.

I’ve held off on replying to their more recent item until I’d consulted with some others. And having done that, I’ve decided it was time to call out the Chieftain once again.

Why do I do this?

Because it is essential for a free country to have ALL the facts of a matter. Not just one-sided ‘spin’ on matters of importance. Otherwise, that saying by President James Madison….

A popular government without popular information, or the means of acquiring it, is but a prologue to a farce or a tragedy, or perhaps both. Knowledge will forever govern ignorance, and a people who mean to be their own governors must arm themselves with the power which knowledge gives.

....will come to pass.

So, here is my reply to their ‘editorial’.....

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