The handy gene

Remember watching "The Smurfs" -- that Euro-inspired cartoon with its constant good-versus-evil struggles? Each member of the Utopian socialist society had a name describing his specific role. Brainy was the intelligence, wearing glasses no less. Papa was the patriarch, and his beard told us so. Hefty's muscles and barbell announced his brawn. Cook's special chef hat and his pastries said he was the cook. Jokey always had a gag. And Smurfette, well, she just looked pretty.

Then there was Handy. He was in charge of building things, implementing Papa Smurf's or Brainy's plans, rebuilding a house after Jokey blew it up, or helping a captured Smurf escape from Gargamel's castle. Yes, Handy was a V.I.S. -- a Very Important Smurf -- because being handy means self-sufficiency.

My dad is handy. My brother Jay, also handy. I visited Jay and his wife, Jodi, at their home in Ellensburg on Sunday. Jay was taking a break from building a garage/shop/apartment just a few feet away from the house. These buildings sit down a lane from my family's historical property a few miles east of Ellensburg; it's 26 acres total. He's building a massive building where he can park the boat and his pickup truck and to use part as a shop. The back third of the structure is an apartment where my mom will live. Plenty of storage is located above the apartment.

It's ironic is that when I bought my home almost three years ago, there was also a detached shop, a remnant from a former engine-repair business. My dad and Jay are both exceptionally handy. They can fix things without reading very much of the manual. They can jury-rig and construct and repair. Dad and Jay covet a shop -- a place to go to build and to be handy. And of all people to get one -- a shop that gets no shop-like use -- it's me.

The Handy Gene skipped me. Now, I am a guy who likes to create things, and I can find my way around a wood shop just fine or putt in the garden, thank you very much, but I can't just dive in to make a home repair. Eventually, that shop of mine will have another purpose, perhaps a sauna or a studio, but for now it's mostly empty. The yard supplies are on one shelf, the reel lawn mower in another corner. There is ample room to stow the patio furniture for the winter.

This summer, I resolve to get more handy. Hopefully being handy is not a gene, but a learned skill.

-- Wenatchee, Wash.

Governor Trial -- Day 1

The Seattle Times has a cool feature where its political reporter is basically blogging from the auditorium where the trial is taking place. I don't know what is involved; perhaps Chelan county installed a wireless Internet connection for the media? Read Day 1.

It's kind of a pain to read the posts from the bottom of the page, but perhaps The Times will determine a more reader-friendly way over the coming days of the trial.

-- Wenatchee, Wash.

Have we come full circle?

I don't know enough about the history of the Roman Empire, but I hear enough comparisons between the imperial Romans and modern Americans -- self-centered, consumers, reckless and arrogant -- to think maybe we've come full circle. I made two observations in the last couple days that say something about our society. I'm not sure exactly what these observations mean aside from the literal ridiculousness of each.

First, I read about a company that will turn your handwriting into a computer font for a small fee. You write on the form, the company scans it and cashes your check. On one hand this is cool because if you like your handwriting, here's a simple and consistent way to replicate it forever. Of course, you could just write it. This, by the way, caused an argument with my friend the CIB, who said a person could use it for invitations and stuff, and it would be more personal than, say, Helvetica. I countered it was the exact opposite of personal. In fact, it's not only impersonal, it's kind of an insult that someone would spend time making a machine-generated product look like one's own handwriting. The CIB relented with a sigh, but I think there are larger implications. Read on.

Next, we have the symbolic trinket craze. Sure, the Jesus fish and peace stickers have been around for a while. Now we have Live Strong bracelets and magnetic yellow ribbons. Ask most people what the Love Strong bracelet means, and I bet they would have a hard time really explaining it. And few of today's drivers with magnets could probably tell you the origin of the yellow ribbon and its symbolism ("Tie a yellow ribbon 'round the ole oak tree..."). Learn more here. People seem far more interested in slapping a magnet on the back of their Expedition than in actually doing something to change the world. And if a person should decline to place one of these on his or her vehicle, then the person's patriotism is questioned.

And don't get me started on e-cards for birthdays; text messages for communicating; mail-merged letters from "my friends" at the bank/phone company/video store, etc.; personalized suggestions from Amazon.com or Netflix; and scores of other ways where our society has a false sense of personalization or some stand-in to do the dirty work.

So what does it say about a society where millions are willing to create false personalization or use symbols to stand in for real substantive actions? I think it says we have reached a new low in Narcissism, one that does not bode well for us as a culture or society.

-- Wenatchee, Wash.

Sunday Digest

Stuff I like
My friend Andy: I'm lucky to have a good friend who shares my career and my values and reflects my sensibilities. My pal Andy and I have been friends for 11 years, and we have a friendship that is one of those pick-up-where-you-left-off-even-if-it's-been-a-year kind of friendships. And man, can he make me laugh. We have so much in common and we can waste away an afternoon talking about teaching, politics and other stuff. In many ways, I admire his abilities as an educator, and I enjoy hearing about his school and his experiences. So, although we don't get together much -- but we did have a great long lunch Saturday -- we always catch up, exchange anecdotes and curse the Republicans. It's time well spent.

Bi-Mart: I went to the Bi-Mart over in East Wenatchee today and was rewarded with a bit of nostalgia and a flood of memories. I confess that my tastes have changed a smidge since I have become so affluent on my teacher's salary (check that public records site to see just how wealthy). I mean, now I shop at Target instead of the Bi-Mart. As a small country/college town, Ellensburg lacked such conveniences as a Fred Meyer or Kmart. But we had Bi-Mart for almost everything. And it was cheap. Just a $5 lifetime membership got you buzzed through that little wooden gate and into aisles of amazing buys.

When I was a kid growing up in Ellensburg, Bi-Mart was the all-purpose store, a chain of Eastern Washington and Oregon stores that was recently purchased by its employees. You could get music tapes, fishing bait, plastic models to assemble, fuzzy posters to color and plenty of off-brand canned and dry goods. Could there be a better utopia of shopping? The only thing Bi-Mart lacked was the grease pencil to mark your own prices (I loved going to Pairie Market for just that reason). So, when I wanted a pair of binoculars to use for sightseeing on my upcoming road trip, I thought first of the sporting goods counter at good ol' Bi-Mart. Every Bi-Mart looks the same and smells the same.

I know now, since I have ventured to greener, brand-name pastures, that Bi-Mart is a little on the cheap side. But you just can't beat it for plain old stuff. The fact that it is employee-owned makes it even more attractive. I think I'll be using my green membership card a lot more these days.

Working in the yard: I love working in the yard. I made a yardcare mistake last week. When it was nice out last Saturday, I decided to do the late-spring fertilizing on the patch of grass I call the back yard and saved the mowing for Sunday. I should have mowed because the sun quickly turned to rain, a rain which continued well into this week and moisture retained for days. The fertilizer/no mow/rain combo produced a thick green lawn that I finally tackled Thursday night with my reel mower. Grass now under control, I pruned some of the tendrils from my massive willow tree that was blocking the sun from getting to the lawn. I filled the garbage can with prunings. Spent two hours out there today pruning, mowing again, picking up and sweeping. It's great a time to be outside.

Stuff I don't like
The Krispy Kreme apple fritter: I tried the Krispy Kreme apple fritter this weekend. I love a fresh KK glazed doughnut straight from the conveyor -- there is simply nothing better. My favorite KK, though, is the blueberry cake doughnut. It holds up better once you leave the comfort of the atmosphere-controlled display case. But the fritter? Hmmm. Not so good. Most people don't know that a fritter is made from the scrap dough mixed with apple filling into a big wad then fried. Heck, dump enough glaze on anything and it is bound to taste good. But the KK dough is pumped through some machine that shapes it before it is allowed to rise just enough and then fried. So, this fritter is composed of pieces of the regular doughnuts, which means there is no piece of dough that is large enough to be anything but chewy. Some parts are even kinda crunchy. So, while it was not a complete disaster, I think I'll stick to my regular KK faves, thank you very much.

-- Wenatchee, Wash.

Gregoire the winner anyway?

The Seattle Times reports in a copyrighted story in its Sunday, May 22, edition that it analyzed both the Republican and Democrat lists of felons who allegedly voted in the gubernatorial election last November, and figured the new election results based on the Republicans' proportional reduction method. Guess what: Gregoire wins anyway.

This comes on the eve of the beginning of the trial to determine whether all votes were cast legally and counted properly.

Here are the first few grafs of the story:

For months, state Republicans have insisted that hundreds of votes cast illegally by felons put Democrat Christine Gregoire in the governor's mansion.

But a Seattle Times analysis finds that even if those votes were disqualified, Gregoire would still prevail over GOP challenger Dino Rossi.

That finding undercuts what has been the most prominent element of the Republicans' case to overturn the election. The case moves to trial in Wenatchee tomorrow.

Gregoire won the election by a scant 129 votes — and only after Rossi finished ahead in the first two of three vote counts.

You can read the full story and view the interesting graphics here.

The Republicans produced a list of 946 felons who allegedly voted. The list was criticized because it contained some people who did not lose voting rights, and the R's were accused of "cherry-picking" the felons because the people resided in counties where Gregoire won most of the votes. Democrats countered with their own list of 794 illegal felon votes from counties all over the state; Rossi won 31 of 39 counties. After The Seattle Times ran the numbers, Gregoire still wins by 112 votes.

-- Wenatchee, Wash.

All eyes on Wenatchee, redux

Monday the trial begins in Wenatchee that will determine of the November election for governor actually resulted in the right person being elected and sworn in as governor. It is expected to last about two weeks and is the first chapter of the saga, which will most likely be settled by the state Supreme Court.

Some updates from the past week:
Republicans have been compiling a list of felons they say voted illegally and whose votes should be eliminated from totals. Coincidentally, most of their list of roughly 750 felons are residents of the eight counties (mainly populous King County) that voted strongly for now-Gov. Christine Gregoire, the Democrat candidate in 2004.

The Democrats have been doing some counter research, and have found that felons voted in a lot of the 31 counties that voted for Republican candidate Dino Rossi, even though many of these counties originally were found to be free of felon-voting. The Wenatchee World reported this week that some felons even voted in Chelan County, too. The Democrat list of felons contains 794 names, the Republicans' 946.

(Note: The numbers for each list have been updated and corrected from the initial post. -- L.)

So here's the main issue in the trial, the basket in which most of the Republican eggs of hope have been placed:
They want to use a proportional analysis technique to reduce vote counts in counties where felons voted. It's simple, really -- reduce the number of votes proportionally according to the overall precinct totals for each candidate. This means that if a county had 10 felon votes, and Gregoire had won 60 percent to Rossi's 40 percent, Gregoire would lose six votes and Rossi four.

The judge, John Bridges, has agreed to allow the R's to make their case, but he doesn't guarantee he'll buy it. Because, let's be honest here, we have no way of knowing that just because the precinct overall went according to certain percentages that the subpopulation of felons would vote according to those same percentages. There is a strong argument to be made that felons would be more likely to vote for a Republican candidate, especially since he ran against a three-term attorney general, our state's highest law enforcement officer.

I hope Bridges lets them make the case and then laughs at the ridiculousness of it all.

Meanwhile, the voting report from King County, where some shaky accounting and storage procedures have caused suspicion, is under question that it was falsified. The story is develooping. Read more from The Seattle Times here.

In other partisan election news, the state Republican Party filed a suit, which the state Democrats joined, which hopes to declare the state's new primary system unconstitutional. These two groups also had the last system declared unconstitutional, which resulted in the current system. The basic argument in both cases is that parties have a First Amendment (freedom of association/assembly) right to control whi votes in their selection process. It's an argument that makes sense to me legally but one that has little public support. That's obvious because the current top-two primary was approved by popular vote in November.

More to come, for sure.

-- Seattle, Wash.

Drive past 'Hitchhiker's Guide'

I used Friday as my personal day (each teacher is allowed one per year), and I needed it badly. So I lazily did my morning routine, disappointed that the weather was not as nice as I would have liked. But the car now is free from all dust and bird droppings as a result of the heavy rain I drove through.

I settled on a showing of "Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy" Friday afternoon. It was reasonably entertaining, but I thought the plot dragged in a couple places and that the characters were inserted just for weirdness sake. Perhaps these tangents are less disruptive when reading a book, but some trimming could have benefitted the film. The last third gets to be pretty good. The opening is OK, too.

In short, probably a better DVD rental, as I also imagine that it will contain some excellent background materials and extras on Douglas Adams and the long journey he took in making this film (even after his death).

-- Seattle, Wash.

I love public records

As part of a Google search on background of a candidate for an administrative position at school, I discovered a gem of a Web site. It lists salaries of pretty much every public employee in Washington state (including me, by the way) and is organized in a way that most people can easily understand.

My complaints are that it is a bit hard to navigate and the year, while clearly labeled, adds a bit of confusion. For example, on the salaries of school employees, it's not clear whether the monetary amount is for a fiscal year or calendar year. Nonetheless, I love poring over a bunch of information and just looking and learning, finding interesting patterns or revelations.

As for salary jealousy, we pay some people far too much and others nowhere near what they are worth. Obviously, experience and education is not the only way to determine salary, but those are the factors we use.

Check it out here. Scroll down to the section for public school districts.

-- Seattle, Wash.

Where were you when The Mountain blew?

Well, I was eating breakfast with my family.

It was 25 years ago today, a calm Sunday morning in spring. Considering I was just shy of six years old, I have a remarkably strong image from that day and the days that followed. The day, of course is when Mount St. Helens blew its top (actually, its north face) in an ashy eruption, killing 57 people, darkening skies for miles and sending a cloud of ashy debris across several states.

I recall that we had slept in late. I remember my dad and mom cooking pancakes or waffles or some other batter-on-griddle breakfast that we would sometimes have on Sundays such as these. I remember it being about 11 a.m. when we walked to the windows to see the sky becoming dark as night. It is one time when the TV blared the Emergency Broadcast System tone -- and it was not a test.

School in Ellensburg was cancelled for a week. I just went half days to Mrs. Bull's kindergarten class at Washington Elementary, but it was a big deal nonetheless. In the days that followed, I remember we made art projects, and my brother, then age nine, laughed at mine because my watercolor of a volcano looked more like Abe Lincoln's top hat. Just another example of how he was a jerk to me in my youth.

My brother and I did cooperate to clean up our neighborhood sidewalks of the fallen ash. We swept up the ash, a quarter an inch or so, as I recall, and placed it in big trash bags. I'm sure he got to sweep while I held the bag, as always. I never got to use the broom, just hold the bag. The process proved to be foolish as the ash was heavy and the bags nearly broke. We also got to wear cool masks that my grandpa brought home from his job at the Department of Transportation. Everyone had a kerchief or a mask because, obviously, breathing ash is not that smart -- even though millions of people do it every day and tobacco companies make a lot of money as a result.

We saved some in our garage in coffee cans as if it were some sort of precious artifact. I'm sure we probably thought we could sell it someday. If only eBay had been invented, we could have struck it rich. We did send little medicine bottles of ash to relatives all over. After the initial thrill, all you have is a jar of ash. Lava, now that woulda been something.

My sister was not involved in the ash salvage because she had been born just two months earlier, on March 18. I also remember making a card to celebrate that, but I have no idea why two months seemed like a card-worthy milestone. Maybe it was because I had to stay inside all day and had to be kept busy.

So, here I am 25 years later, writing about an event that is as much a benchmark in my life as a birthday, graduation or funeral. Most people my age and older who experienced May 18, 1980, know exactly where they were and what they were doing when The Mountain blew. The Mountain has spent the last few months becoming more active. We may see if a new generation gets to see an eruption.

-- Wenatchee, Wash.

Vestal Vespa updates

Vestal Vespa has updated her list of links to include a pithy description. She is kind enough to describe this Web log as "Pleasant teacherblog from Washington State". Thank you very much.

This lady has taste.

-- Wenatchee, Wash.

Thanks, alumni

This time of the school year is always especially stressful with many deadlines and projects to manage. Just as I was winding down my own studies this spring, I expected that other projects would fall into place and all would be OK.

On the contrary, other items have flared up, and I am just as busy the last week or so as ever.

Just when I have almost had it with students and school bureaucracy and, worst of all, cranky parents, my former students come to the resuce to remind me that everything turns out fine in the end, and everyone grows up. Or at least some of them do, and they become really nice people.

So it was a special pleasure when four -- count 'em, four -- former students stopped by to say hi now that they are back from college or are through town. Another e-mailed to ask when would be a good time to stop by (she's always been a polite one). It was neat to catch up with these former students and see that their lives are going well and they are becoming successful. Of course, these are also kids I liked in school, related to well, and maintained a relationship with.

I know I'll add a few more alumni to the list in just a few weeks, and they will stop by in a year to say hi. And I'll have forgotten how much I wanted to wring their necks this week as they flaked their way to graduation night.

But I'm still counting down.

An update (May 21): I also received two college graduation announcements from alumni. That's nice.

-- Wenatchee, Wash.

A blog too far

Last week, I watched a news report on KING-TV in Seattle about a teacher with a Web log like mine, but just slighly different. See, this teacher writes about his students, and that turned out to be a bad idea when he described how some of his students appeared at the school prom.

The full story is below, and I think he was fortunate to get off so easily. It could have been worse, but we all make mistakes. I'm just glad that, this year at least, I only popped into the prom early in the evening to check the decorations. And I don't think people would think it a good idea for me to post my review of their attire.

Teacher's blog steps over the line

06:42 PM PDT on Tuesday, May 10, 2005

By BERNARD CHOI / KING 5 News

EVERETT, Wash. – A teacher's extracurricular writing has landed him in some hot water. In a personal blog, an Everett high school teacher compared some of his students to prostitutes.

It all started with a recent dance at Cascade High School where tradition is that some female students dress up like call girls.

The teacher, Andrew McNamar, writes daily personal blogs about educational issues, such as cheating and accountability.

One recent posting dealt with junior prom night. He wrote he was disappointed with the principal for letting it happen, saying: "The unfortunate part about tonight was the crashing of the dance by the 'Senior Sluts'… dressed, well, like hookers."

Another line says, "…two of them I really respect as individuals and students. The other three, well, it was predictable…"

Some of the high school seniors were very upset.

The Everett School District sent a letter to the teacher with the simple message not to do it again.

The teacher in turn sent a letter home apologizing for his posting, saying he was sorry for causing any pain and embarrassment, explaining that his choice of words was poor.

-- Wenatchee, Wash.

It could have been a disaster

Sometimes it's better not to know exactly where all your family members are at any given moment. Taking long drives, working with heavy equipment, air travel, medical procedures -- it's enough to make you a bit stressed. I know my folks still worry at least a bit when I travel and like to know that I arrived without incident.

Of course, we take for granted that air travel or visiting a major tourist attraction like the nation's capital is, for the most part, safe. Most people don't pay attention to the pre-flight emergency procedure explanation, and we casually go through metal detectors in buildings. And, as an experienced traveler, I don't think much when people I know travel. Such was the case when my dad said he and my stepmom were headed to Washington, D.C., for a series of meetings. My dad is involved with the political affairs arm of the Realtors in Arizona, and last week his colleagues and he were to meet and then lobby their members of Congress.

So I spoke with my dad today and he casually related a story I am sure he has told a couple dozen times by now. It's the kind of travel story that makes a note and leaves a mark on your memory. He explained how he had just finished visiting his congressman, Rep. Trent Franks, a Glendale Republican, when he reached the basement area to catch the small train transport from the office building. The alarm sounded, he said, and then he and his group took an elevator back up and were told to run south as fast as they could. Dad also said that he saw a bunch of black SUVs and limousines racing from the campus, what he later learned was the evacuation of the congressional leadership.

For me, even a few days after the event, which my dad clearly survived unharmed, it was a bit unsettling. I mean, I don't usually know anyone who has a brush with what authorities believe is a terrorist act. I'm glad my dad was safe, along with everyone else of course, but it sure brings things a lot closer when you think that someone you know and love had a brush with a real scare.

Perhaps next time I'll be more attentive to when travel plans and the news intersect.

-- Wenatchee, Wash.

Me vs. Pie

May 13 was the cap to a stressful week, a week that, of course ended with a Friday the 13th, a week that ended with me getting "pied."

I chose carefully my wardrobe for the day, a white polo shirt so the whipped cream would not be too noticeable, and I packed a change of clothes just in case things got too messy. The pie-ing was to begin at about 10:15.

By 10 a.m., I was set with a pair of chemistry lab goggles -- a nice pair with no holes to "breathe" or let in globs of whipped cream. I scavenged for a trash can liner and had a secretary help me cut a hole for my head to craft a good smock; she taped me up well.

Off to the commons. Some of the students in the sponsoring club tried to get me to be more discrete and act suprised. I must have looked pretty shocked at that statement -- everyone already knew I was destined to get the splat.

Some of my so-called friends had assembled and began chanting "No goggles! No goggles!" -- a chant which eventually spread among a few dozen other onlookers. I was not about to get whipped cream in my eyes; I wanted cleanup to be a snap.

The "pie" was really just a crumb crust fulled with Cool Whip. The pie-pusher joined me on the stage and, with pie in hand, moved toward me. I flinched at his fake. The crowd erupted in laughter. I realized the only way I was going to get this over with was to just close my eyes and take it. So I did.

Splat!

Pie Guy pushed the pie onto my face, and began twisting it around for good effect. As he pushed and twisted, I naturally moved backward, and I stepped in a clump of crumbs and cream and slipped. Even if my view had not been blocked by pie, I had my glasses off, so I couldn't see anything. My arms trapped inside the plastic smock, I thought, "I'm goin' down." And I did. More crowd laughter.

At that point I think things were over, and some teachers helped me clean up. You'd think someone would have thought to bring more than a roll of paper towels, but perhaps that can be in the plans for next year. I also realized I had a pretty big gash on my chin from where the edge of the alumnimum pie plate had scraped me.

Cleanup was pretty easy once someone helped me out of the smock and cleaned my shoe of pie goop. I only spent a few minutes in the teacher's room bathroom. I also had to make a stop to see the nurse, who taped shut my cut with a conspicuous piece of tape.

I only made one comment at lunch among the Joint Chiefs to get a bit of sympathy and to make Pie Guy feel a bit guilty for pieing me and cutting me. That's it. I'm done.

I guess I was what is called a "good sport," but I still think I will never get another pie in the face if I can help it. Or at least it will be in a paper dish.

-- Wenatchee, Wash.

Halfway through master's program

I just finished the last final for my classes this semester, which means I am now halfway to completion of my master's degree online at the University of Missouri. Honestly, I can't believe a year has gone by. It's been fast. This last semester has been the most challenging, especially the amount and difficulty of the reading, but I am glad to have it behind me. I learned a lot, though.

Now, I have about three weeks before the summer semester begins; in fact, one of my two classes this summer doesn't start until June 20. That will be nice to not have to worry about classes starting just as I am trying to wind down the school year here. Doing that last year was a nightmare, especially when I had underestimated the time I needed to spend and how long it would take to get settled and to receive books. I won't make that mistake again.

Finishing my classes this week is especially nice considering the week I have had. Last week, I thought I would have a bunch of time since the yearbook was finished and my schedule was pretty open. It's amazing how a couple miniature crises can bubble up and boil over and consume a person's life for several days. Needless to say, my calm and wide-open week simply did not happen.

To cap it all off, I foolishly agreed to get a pie in the face if my jar earned the most money in a fundraiser this week. Guess who won? Yep, me. So Fridaymorning, I get a face full of whipped cream. Worst part: my colleagues plotted to ensure my "victory." Expect a full account in a coming post.

-- Wenatchee, Wash.

Digest: Good stuff

Slate magazine continues to offer a ton of interesting stuff daily. I love it. My favorite element is The Explainer, which, obviously, explains stuff in the news. Another recent offering of note is the piece on whether conservatives are insane. Check it out. This chimes in nicely with what my friend DrPezz says frequently: People vote the lifestyle they want, not the one they live.

Slate also reports that Arianna Huffington has a new liberal superblog. Cool. Check it out. Here's hoping it ain't lame. But, in her second day, she gives props to former Colorado Sen. Gary Hart about his views on the current strategy in Iraq. Aw man, don't make me get all nostalgic for Gary Har. Alas, what could have been if not for all that "monkey business."

Ann Coulter (that four-letter word that starts with "C") is dating a liberal country singer. Dude, I am not making this up. Check it out.

The Advanced Placement Examination for language and composition included an analysis of a satirical piece from none other than The Onion. Really. I am not yet sure how I feel about the AP Exam using The Onion, a site still blocked by our school's Internet filters; kinda makes the satire folks seem too mainstream, and their alternative-ness was always part of their charm. More oroof: The New York Times advertises on The Onion Web site.

"Team America: World Police" is out on DVD May 17 with a version we never saw in theaters. F-Yeah!

-- Wenatchee, Wash.

Republican free fall

What is going on with Washington Republicans? First it's the quixotic way they are approaching the governor election trial. They've at least finally stopped their foolish calls for a re-vote. A heck of a legislative session where they got steamrolled on all sorts of legislation, but could have gotten on board at some point. Then, last week, one of the good ol'boys, Jim West -- a former state Senate Republican leader, cancer survivior and now mayor of Spokane -- comes out as a man who not only is gay but allegedly pleasured himself from his office while on an adult chat site, allegedly offered jobs to cute young men in exchange for romance, and allegedly molested a couple boys when he was a scout leader in the '70s. Whew!

West says he's staying on as mayor and has taken a leave of absence to sort things out. We'll see howlong it takes before some of the family-values conservatives start beatingthe drums and demonizing him for (their own) political gain. Not long, I think.

Now, I hear there is a plan for a big caucus of legislative Republicans. The agenda: changing the leadership. Apparently enough reps signed on to force the meeting in Seattle this week. So even the rank and file are apparently fed up.

Man, this party needs to get its act together if it wants to ever get back in the majority statewide. Of course, I am happy to see the Republicans devour themselves.

-- Wenatchee, Wash.

Oh yeah, the governor trial

So we're just two weeks away from the start of the trial to see if the governor was actually legitimately elected governor. At the center of all this are several hundred felons who should not have been voting but did. Oops.

The Republicans say no she wasn't. The main argument: felons who should not have voted did, and it's the fault of the boobs at the elections offices and all sorts of sloppy government workers. They got permission from the judge to use a system to show that if votes are to be deducted from final tallies (because we don't know who the felons voted for), then the votes should be deducted proportionately based on how the rest of the precinct voted. The judge said, heck, let's see what you can show.

The Democrats counter that she was. They say, sure, a bunch of felons probably voted improperly, but the votes should have been challenged at canvassing and now it's too late. They have their own secret list of felon-voters, several hundred, in fact. They aren't sharing the list, but they say most of the votes are from Red Rossi country. Take that, Repubs.

Today, former Gov. Gary Locke emerged from his "retirement" (retirement? he's like 50!) to say Rossi and the Republicans should drop all this nonsense and move on. Someone should have told him he was a late arrival to the party. But at least he's here.

And so, May 23, the eyes will focus on Wenatchee again, and we'll finally get started on the first stage of the last stage before we finally learn who was elected governor six months ago.

-- Wenatchee, Wash.

Mocking the media

Superfrankenstein has a co-authored piece at Slate magazine about local news and the so-called "Runaway Bride." It's satire, and it sho' is funny.

Check it out.

-- Wenatchee, Wash.

Republican + Hypocrisy = Scandal

Oh baby, we have us a real scandal! Why is it that Republicans always seem to think that they are:

• above the law
• morally superior
• genuine and truthful

Some notable examples: Newt Gingrich, who served his wife with divorce papers while she was recovering in the hospital and later criticized Democrats for having no family values and who was later a victim of his own back-bench bomb throwing; Bob Livingston, whose sex scandals cost him his chance at being speaker when Gingrich self-destructed; Bob Dole, whose line about "Democrat wars" is almost laughable now after Gulf War and the Iraqi Occupation; George H. W. Bush, remember "Read my lips: No new taxes!"; George W. Bush, who claims to be a compassionate conservative when he is in fact neither compassionate nor conservative; Tom DeLay, who has denied using the FAA to get back at the Texas legislative Democrats and whose fundraising tactics are reprehensible (money for favorable legislation).

Now, the Democrats have their notable examples, too. Bill Clinton screwed the American people while making them beg for more, just like Ronald Reagan did.

But now we have Jim West, mayor of Spokane. Here is a guy who loudly opposed gay rights, abortion rights and teenage sex while he led the Republicans in the state senate. Then he fought cancer, ran for mayor and won. Now, The Spokesman-Review, his hometown newspaper, has uncovered and reported charges that he molested two boys in the 1970s when he was a sheriff's deputy and Boy Scout leader. He, of course, denied those allegations, also noting that the accusers both were convicted felons.

But wait, there's more. He acknowledged that he did have relations with adult men after meeting on a gay chat room. Additionally, he "offered gifts, favors and a City Hall internship" over the chat room to someone he blieved was interested in him but was actually working for the newspaper. West maintains that this part of his life is private, while the newspaper says he is abusing his office.

KING-TV tonight showed excerpts from the online chat that had West urging discretion because he might someday run for governor. Dude, that is so not happening. Perhaps if he was just less of a hypocrite, things would have been fine. Of course, compared to the New Jersey governor, a Democrat who actually hired his lover as a counterterrorism expert, West would be pretty tame -- unless the molestation charges turn out to be true. I hope they are not.

-- Wenatchee, Wash.

They really like me

I received a nice package in the mail Monday from the folks at MU Direct, the division at the University of Missouri that handles the online classes. I had helped the folks there promote the master's program among some of my journalism colleagues, so the coordinator sent me a nice note in a box with a big stuffed tiger (Mizzou's mascot is the tiger) and a bunch of mouse pads.

Anyway, I thought that was real nice. Gotta love that Midwestern generosity.

-- Wenatchee, Wash.

A literary weekend

I love Seattle. I really, really do. What I love most is the cultural events that come to a city that would never come to Wenatchee.

I traveled to the Emerald City Friday night to see and hear one of my favorite authors, Sarah Vowell, read from her new book, Assassination Vacation, and answer questions. I've read two other books, The Partly-Cloudy Patriot and Take the Cannoli, and this newest installment is fantastic.

At the reading, her answers were robust and enlightening, and she has a playful give-and-take with the audience. I didn't ask a question, but the place was packed -- maybe a couple hundred people all crowded in to hear her. And these were the faithful, hanging on every word, knowing her delivery style so well they almost laughed before the punchlines.

After the talk, I waited in line for about 15 minutes to get my copy signed. I already finished reading it a couple weeks ago. She has a great signature and nice bold handwriting. I mentioned I was a high school English teacher and was considering ways to include her work in my class, and she said she had made a concerted effort not to use the F-word in this book. I thanked her for that. She quipped, "But there really is no good synonym for 'fucked up.'" All around us laughed at that. She said she had used the word "geopolitical" as a substitute in one instance.

Saturday I saw a staging of "Miss Saigon" at the Fifth Avenue Theatre. Although the entire show is musical, it is very dramatic and, toward the end, moving. I enjoyed it very much and learned a few things about the Vietnam era. Ironically, the day I saw the show was 30 years to the day since the fall of Saigon, now Ho Chi Minh City.

Now, I have a theater hiatus until August when I have tickets for "Princesses," a new musical that will go from Seattle directly to Broadway. The Fifth also announced this week that it has replaced "Buddy: The Buddy Holly Story" next season with a new musical version of "The Wedding Singer," based on the movie of the same name from a few years ago. Should be swell. That show, from the creators of "Hairspray," is also headed directly to Broadway after it works the bugs out in Seattle next winter.

See, there is culture aplenty in Seattle. I just wish I didn't have to drive so long to get there.

-- Wenatchee, Wash.

Apple Blossom Time

It's time again for the Washington State Apple Blossom Festival and all the fun and hassle that accompanies Apple Blossom.

After eight years here in Wenatchee, I have really grown to enjoy the festival. I like the parade, I like the food fair, I even somewhat enjoy the arts and crafts fair in the final weekend.

One of the best parts of Apple Blossom is all the fun characters that emerge and converge downtown. Memorial Park seems to be ground zero for the freak show, and one can often see a few "free spirits" dancing sprightly to the music being played on stage. Also, youngsters and those who think they are still young find their kindrfed spirits in the park -- a high proportion of the tattooed, pierced and leathery seems to populate the place, swearing and riding bikes or skateboards through the area. Just today, as I was leaving the food fair in park, I looked over to see a man, probably in his 20s, with his shirt open several buttons and his left pectoral exposed. The tattooed word on his breast made me look closer. It was the word "LUST" emblazoned in large capital letters circling his left nipple. For me, that was a first.

Everyone who has been to Wenatchee during Apple Blossom has seen something weird, breathtaking or just plain shocking. Post your anecdotes!

-- Wenatchee, Wash.

Why isn't LASIK cheating?

I stumbled across this main-page article from Slate magazine and National Public Radio. It questions why performance-enhancing drugs are scorned in professional athletics but eye-altering surgery that takes vision to 20/15 is celebrated.

Read it.

I switched my home page to Slate a few days ago, and I am already finding far more interesting items than when I had MSN as my home page.

-- Wenatchee, Wash.

Happy McBirthday!

OK, so Friday, April 15, was the 50th anniversary of the opening of the first McDonald's restaurant in Illinois. Man, do I have some McMemories -- I worked for the Golden Arches for seven years.

I have a love-hate relationship with the fast food restaurant. Put simply, I love french fries. I love cheeseburgers, I love an icy cold Coke, and I love a Shamrock Shake (only available in March). Better yet, I used to love customizing the sandwiches and truly making them "my way." My favorite was the McChicken (back when it was not a cheapo version) with barbecue sauce. I also still order the Filet-O-Fish with lettuce and tomato. The bun used to be steamed, so it was super soft but not moist; I doubt that it still is. I would make an omelette with the salad ingredients (bell peppers, ham, shreddd cheese) or use a folded egg on a muffin sandwich. Plenty of choices to avoid monotony.

I recall learning to make a Big Mac (cheese on the bottom, pickles on the club -- you can remember because the club has a ring on the bun from the toaster, and a pickle is round like the ring. And of course, plenty of lettuce: "We want our customers to taste lettuce in every bite." Truly, half of it falls of by the time the customer bites in to the sandwich, so you have to compensate.

McDonald's taught me a lot about work ethic, about serving customers, about treating people right and about being humble. Sure, there were times when I slacked off just like everyone else, but I realized that I was assigned the farthest register from the food because I moved the fastest. I hated working in the lobby cleaning up, but I loved stocking things (I am such a neat freak sometimes). I did this as a 15-year-old high school sophomore who spent most of the $3.31 per hour he earned on comic books.

I loved the drive-thru most of all. Mainly it was a power thing. In the McHierarchy, drive-thru is tops, and the runner is the one in charge of the drive thru. It was a thrill -- really -- to see if we could beat the average wait times from the day before or from the dinner shift (I worked morning through lunch). Better yet, I wanted to have a "dangler" -- that is, the bag hanging out the window before the car drove up. That was before the days when the cooks wore a headset to start making the food while it was being ordered.

I admit, I was pretty good, and I kind of liked it. I could take an order, fill drinks and take money all at the same time. I could run the kitchen and keep food stocked in the warming bin (again before the current style of cook-to-order) as needed. I was friendly with the regular customers, and I learned to stay relatively stress-free.

As I stayed with the company, I earned special jobs such as assembling the shake and sundae machines and counting the daily deposit. My last couple years I did accounts payable, too. When I left in 1996, I earned $7.25 per hour; minimum wage was just $5.15.

I could have accepted real promotions to crew chief if I had been willing to work full time. I never wanted to work that much in high school and didn't have time in college. McDonald's was good to me with scheduling, and my special jobs allwed even more flexibility. Starting my junior year of high school, I came in before school to assemble one of the machines and later to do the deposit from 5 to 7 a.m. I can't imagine any of my students doing that today, and I don't think I would want them to.

I have a lot of sour memories from working there -- irate customers, mopping an overflowed toilet, employee dramas -- but generally it was fun and kept me with money. I even earned a $500 scholarship, the Ray A. Kroc Achievement Award. It's also a medallion I received at graduation that looks kind of like Speaicl Olympics.

So, on the occasion of the Golden Arches' Golden Anniversary, let me raise a cup of orange drink in celebration. I tip my paper hat to you.

-- Wenatchee, Wash.

Let Pope Watch 265 begin

The Papal Conclave begins Monday in the Vatican to select the 265th pontiff, and I am poised to watch as much discussion as possible. Like a moth to a candle flame, I am drawn to this fascinating tradition. I could hardly raise an interest among the Joint Chiefs on Friday as to how long the cardinals would take to elect the new pope. A couple Chiefs said six votes (third day), but I think it will be just four votes. My main hunch is that these guys have had several years to think about this since JP2 had been ill, and they have also had a number of days since JP2 died to hang out and talk shop. All that's left is to cast the votes.

The Los Angeles Times reports Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger became the focus of speculation that he was a leading candidate and that he has lined up 40 votes -- still far shy of the two-thirds majority necessary, but enough to generate a buzz. This matches with what one Chief said Friday that it would be "the German guy." Ratzinger was born in Germany but works in the Vatican now. His age, 78, is also a factor but in a good way, say those in the know. No one would expect a 26-year papacy from this guy, and his would be "a shorter, 'transitional' papacy that would give the church time to absorb John Paul's legacy before charting its future," reports The Los Angeles Times.

Myself, I think it will be a European, probably an Italian. The idea that it will be or should be a man from Latin America or Africa is a completely American ideal about throwing a political cookie crumb to a sub-group of Catholics. One Chief argued that the majority of Catholics are in Latin America and that the church is not growing as rapidly there under sway from protestant missionaries, so the pope should come from Latin America. Europe is losing Catholics even faster, so one could argue that a European can help get people back in the pews. No North American has been mentioned as even having a chance, but I read that nearly every conclave has resulted in at least one suprise candidate, even if that man did not become pope.

So, hang on kids. In just a few days, we'll see the smoke and hear the bells and meet the new pope. And, let speculation begin on what that pope will call himself. Newly minted popes choose names to honor previous popes and saints. Will we see JP3? My money is no.

Post your predictions, place your bets.

-- Wenatchee, Wash.

The new offering from Sarah Vowell

I am a Sarah Vowell fan. Oh sure, some latecomers may be fond of her perfornamce as Violet Parr in "The Incredibles" last year. But I know her from "The Partly Cloudy Patriot" and "Take the Cannoli" -- and of course public radio's "This American Life."

But now she has a new book, and though I am not finished with it, I am laughing with each reading sitting. Assassination Vacation a story of Vowell's travels in search of facts, clues, insights and creepy bits of history that compose the web of assassinations of three American presidents: Abraham Lincoln, James Garfield and William McKinley. With her usual style, Vowell blends a love for history, explanation of obscure trivia, left-leaning politics and a geeky love for the quirky. And she is funny.

Check it out.

Bonus: I am going to see her for a reading at Elliott Bay Book Company April 29. Can't wait, since I missed her on "Late Show" a couple weeks ago.

-- Wenatchee, Wash.

A journalistic weekend in Seattle

I took nine students to the national high school journalism convention in Seattle April 7-10. This trip was easier in some ways because the travel was significantly less difficult to plan than trips to Phoenix, San Francisco or San Diego have been. On the other hand, I was on the convention planning committee, so there was plenty to keep me busy. Highlights, in digest form, appear below.

Thursday was our sightseeing day, but we changed plans due to the rain. At registration, I distributed four cases of apples, courtesy of Stemilt Growers, to weary travelers and other guests at the convention. The apples -- Pink Lady, Cameo and Fuji varieties -- were very well reveived. Even the Michigan people liked them, and those folks grow their own apples. Convention-goers have ribbons on the nametag indicating various titles or roles. I was ribbed by my adviser friends for having five ribbons. Yes, five: Master Journalism Educator, Judge, Speaker, Local Committee and Pacemaker Finalist (for the yearbook). One friend even started calling me "Admiral."

The Thursday night reception had some fantastic jazz -- a combo of students from Mountlake Terrace and Roosevelt high schools, known for their outstanding jazz programs. I requested "Seven Steps to Heaven," and the combo knew the tune. The local committee was recognized, and we each received a sharp purple windbreaker with the convention logo embroidered on the chest. I was also named Washington Journalism Adviser of the Year. Thanks to my students for nominating me.

Friday was a great day. I started with meeting (again) writer Hank Stuever, who came all the way from Washington, D.C., for the convention. He is great, and I love his book, "Off Ramp," which is available in paperback this summer. Then I met Margaret Larson, who is a former Dateline NBC correspondant who now works as a consultant for the international aid agencies Mercy Corps and World Vision. She spoke to a room packed with about 150 students about why media should cover more substantive topics: poverty in Africa instead of Michael Jackson. She repeated much of her talk an hour later where she was the speaker at the advisers' luncheon. She is funny, articulate, a smooth speaker with a message. Most of all, she is real and honest. I chatted her up during the entire lunch. She was also very gracious to donate her time to speak to us. After lunch I listened to and met David Horsey, who, after a technical problem with the digital projector, was very entertaining and funny. I chatted with him after, and he was nice enough to donate a signed book for our auction. He had also donated some original cartoon artwork. I bought it for a very nice price -- but it all benefitted the Student Press Law Center. I am sorry I could not see all the featured speakers I had arranged, and I am not trying to be a name-dropper. I just was pleased with the quality of folks we had available.

Saturday was a blur, so I don't remember much. My friend Kelly Allen organized a thorough presentation about teacher rights for advisers. I am sure people who attended learned a lot. After I presented myself on week-by-week coverage in yearbooks, I hosted a presentation from Tom Peyer, which I thought some of the less-mainstream kids enjoyed. Saturday afternoon, we did not earn a Yearbook pacemaker, but it really was an honor just to be nominated. We did not place in newspaper or yearbook Best of Show, either. The evening at the Experience Music Project was fantastic, and people loved it. I am so pleased that our Seattle committee was ambitious and was also able to pull off most of what we planned. A real reward was seeing students chat with professional journalists I had arrranged as speakers, a chance to really interact and get advice. I think there was something for everyone.

Sunday two students earned honorable mentions: one in poetry writing and one in editorial writing. That was cool. Then we came home, and I was exhausted. Even a few days later I am still not caught up with my housework, sleep or chores around the yard. The weekend can't come fast enough.

Next convention is in Chicago in November. Since I have never been to the City with Broad Shoulders, I'm already planning.

-- Wenatchee, Wash.

How to teach 45 words of freedom?

I had to write a persuasive essay for my writing class, so I wrote about something important to me: the First Amendment. Here's the essay. Post thoughts about what schools should do to encourage appreciation of the five freedoms -- religion, speech, press, assembly and petition.

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Over the public address system, a voice tells students to stand for the flag salute. In the halls, a couple girls, innocently holding hands hear their behavior is not allowed. In December the choral concert contains only Christian-themed music and ornaments and angels deck the halls. At finals week, students wearing T-shirts with the slogan “Finals Suck” learn a teacher believes the shirts are disruptive and must be replaced. In these real situations, children accustomed to acknowledging authority comply with the requests and don’t challenge an administrative decree. Some may raise an eyebrow, sigh in frustration or even curse under a breath. Each of those gestures is the sign of a defeated spirit, a child hoping to put into practice what he or she learned in class.

The lack of appreciation of the First Amendment doesn’t come all at once. It comes from slow erosion by people with little respect for the rights of others slowly chipping away at dissent and perpetuating docile youngsters unaware of their Constitutional rights.

A survey, conducted by the University of Connecticut on behalf of the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation and released in January, showed that American teenagers have little regard for and understanding of the First Amendment. Among the key findings: Basics about the First Amendment are not being taught, 75 percent of the students surveyed think flag burning is illegal, nearly 50 percent believe the government can censor the Internet, and many students do not think newspapers should publish freely. At the same time, administrators say they support more education on the First Amendment.

Simply put, Wenatchee High School is not doing enough to instill in students a value for our most basic of civil rights, and, in fact, the school system is doing much to discourage practice of those same rights. Schools may teach a bit about freedom in civics class, but they don't allow students to fully practice those same freedoms while at school.

Increasing knowledge and appreciation of First Amendment freedoms could come in several ways. A simple and initial step would be to audit the current curriculum and assure that basic education about the First Amendment is taught consistently and universally to each student during high school. Whether instruction comes in a civics course or through debates in language arts classes, instructing students on First Amendment basics starts in the classroom.

In addition to the basic classroom instruction, specialized courses should offer enhanced instruction and practice in First Amendment ideals. The Knight-funded survey shows that education about the First Amendment makes a difference: Students who participate in media-related activities at school are more likely to believe that people should be allowed to express unpopular opinions. Thankfully, WHS is not among the one in five schools surveyed offering no media activities. Administrators support expansion of student media but lack the financial means to do so, and finding space in a curriculum crowded with preparations for standardized tests may be difficult. However, the policies that promote free expression and understanding cost nothing, and enacting or affirming such policies would do much to support our media program. Encouraging students to enroll in journalism or debate courses already on the books also would cost little more as these classes often have smaller enrollments. Additionally, Web sites are less expensive to establish and maintain than publications, and investing in a course to teach Internet publishing while also instructing on the responsibilities of free expression would serve students well.

Of even greater ambition would be to plan and implement a week of First Amendment-related activities with each day focused on one of the five freedoms in the amendment. Johnsburg High School in Illinois has had success with such a week. Activities included a no-dress-code fashion show; Get On Your Soapbox Day, a chance to write a message and wear it on a sticker over the heart; a concert of rich American music — all of it banned at one time. Johnsburg journalism teacher Randy Swikle writes that the emphasis is on the “Three R’s” of the First Amendment — rights, responsibilities and respect — and that learning occurs through engagement. The components already exist at WHS, where there is acceptance of a Bible club that meets before school, where a school newspaper editorial can criticize an administrative policy, where students can bring a petition to student government. A week of educating about and celebrating the First Amendment is not a far-off thought.

Administrators, teachers, students, parents and members of the community all have a stake in the educating of children to be critical thinkers, respectful listeners and articulate advocates. How can we expect students to survive in the dynamic world that awaits them outside the school system if we have failed to prepare them by forbidding them to practice what they learn in class? Gene Policinski, director of the First Amendment Center in Nashville, Tennessee, said the Knight report “should wake up educators to the idea that the entire education process is impacted positively when students can say and print and express themselves freely.” The Knight report is not just a wake-up call; it is a call to action.

-- Wenatchee, Wash.

I met Phil Donahue

Saturday I attended a lecture sponsored by the Foolproof performing arts organization as part of its American Voices series. The panel, "All the News That's Fit to Own: Who Controls the Media and Why We Should Care," featured Robert McChesney, Phil Donahue, Amy Goodman and Frank Blethen. The talk, facilitated by Nancy Maynard, lasted about 90 minutes and focused on how the consolidation of media ownership is bad for our democracy. I wish it had lasted longer.

Frank Blethen, the publisher of The Seattle Times, was a bit hard to listen to. At the same time he was cursing the chain ownership that is causing family newspapers like his to be gobbled up by large companies such as Gannett and Hearst, you can't ignore that he's looking out for his own butt first. I mean, The Times' competition, Seattle Post-Intelligencer, is owned by Hearst. And The Times is working really hard at putting the P-I out of business. Add to that the fact that the Blethens themselves are owners of a chain -- the family owns papers in Maine as well as the daily papers in Yakima and Walla Walla, Washington. Of course he's against the inheritance tax -- the so-called "death tax" -- which would make it difficult to pass on his jewel to his own heirs. Admittedly, that is a contributing factor to allowing large companies to swoop in and grab up a paper that heirs can't afford anymore, but Blethen should be taken with a grain of salt.

Doahue and Goodman, in particular, were great. I have to check out Goodman's Democracy Now! program. And it;s good to know Donahue is still alive and kicking -- why is he not given a new platform after MSNBC unceremoniously canned him?

After the show, my friend the CIB wanted to meet one of her heroes, Donahue. So we staked out a spot by the aisle we suspected he would use to come out to the lobby atthe Paramount Theatre. Soone enough here he came, she walked up and said what an influence he had been, a slightly bewildered Donahue shook both our hands and that was that. For CIB, it was much more significant than for me, but it was cool nonetheless. The lecture organizer looked a bit peeved that we had injected ourselves in a kind of ambush, but isn't that how a good journalist does it? Donahue himself should have been proud.

-- Wenatchee, Wash.

Pope John Paul II: Ye Hath Left Us

We all knew this day would come. The Vatican officially announced Saturday that Pope John Paul II had died, quelling reports from Fox News that he had died several hours earlier, and dashing my theory that he had been dead for several years and just propped up like in that movie "Weekend at Bernie's". Seeing the papal body all decked out and displayed for the masses made me actually think he has not looked that good in years.

Seriously, I am eerily drawn to the nonstop, wall-to-wall coverage of all Pope all the time. The tradition of the conclave and all the voting is fascinating. The fact that there are "talking heads" actually analyzing the situation and speculating as to the "horserace" is ludicrous. They all smelled a bit of a story today when the Poles were disappointed that JP2 would be entombed in the Vatican instead of returning to his native Poland. It's like the newsfolk hoped there would be a riot or something. And listening to American Catholics or others say that there should be a Latino or African selected as the sucessor to JP2 is ridiculous. The cardinals will pick who they want and I am pretty confident in saying that race or demographics in the church will have little effect on the vote.

I also spent some time Saturday hanging out with my friends the CIB and Superfrankenstein and enjoyed pope puns aplenty. At one point I remarked that I felt guilty and I'm not even Catholic. I'd post a few of the less tasteless remarks here, but I can't remember most. Laughter and such will do that to you. However, I encourage people to post their tributes and trashings if they want.

-- Wenatchee, Wash.

'Millions' worth paying full price

In December, when on a movie binge in Arizona, I saw a trailer for a promising movie. It showed a young British boy who found a duffle bag of money that hurtled from a train and landed on his cardboard fort. A peculiar lad, he sees saints and thinks the money is from God and tries to give it away to help the poor. In the meantime, of course, he's confronted with all sorts of complications both physical and moral.

Well, I saw the full feature, "Millions," at the Egyptian theater Sunday. It was charming and adorable. I especially enjoyed the clever plot and fantastic score. Additionally, the scene transitions are original and help move the story along. Finally, the film's message about hope and a larger meaning to the world is inspirational and thought-provoking.

Recommendation: Pay full price.

-- Wenatchee, Wash.

Jurisdictions of convenience

What's better on a Sunday evening than some drama from Washington, D.C.? I don't know why the situation with Terri Schiavo, her husband, her parents, their lawyers, the Congress and all sorts of media-folk is so compelling, but I have been drawn to it. It's fascinating. I watched a bunch of the debate earlier, and if there is ever any wonder why government doesn't get much done, just take a look at the distraction that occurred the last few days.

Some highlights and ironies:

The media has not exactly been the group whipping this to a frenzy. Part of that is there is no trial to watch, no car chase to follow with a news 'copter, no bombs to see explode on a pixely-green video. The real culprits are the Republicans in the 109th Congress -- people who are exploiting this family's situation just to score some political points.

In the debate, a few members of Congress spoke eloquently about facing similar situations. No one disputes whether this woman is suffering, whether this is a difficult situation, whether there is a right to die. The bill was to move the case into a federal court -- overturning the decision of several state judges in Florida. Especially eloquent was Rep. Steny Hoyer of Maryland, the Democratic whip, whos spoke about court jurisdiction and how the Congress changes the jurisdiction to suit the political needs.

One irony in this is that George W. Bush, in 1999 as governor of Texas, signed a bill into law that established specific procedures to end life support when medical experts and hospital ethics boards determined that a person was in a permanent vegetative state and would eventually die as a result. In fact, a six-month-old boy was removed from life support over parental objection as a result of the Texas law, which Bush signed after returning to the state from a campaign event specifically to do so.

An additional contradiction is that religious conservatives talk about states' rights, about the sanctity of life (the new term is Culture of Life) and about so-called activist judges.

When conservatives want to dodge an issue, they say it is a matter for states' rights (remember the Confederate flag, death penalty, same-sex marriages). But when the state decision does not suit the national political needs -- better yet, it could provide additional political gain -- the conservatives try to exert federal authority. An example is the Texas legislative Democrats who hid out in New Mexico and later Oklahoma to avoid the Congressional redistricting.

Conservatives speak and write of the sanctity of life, yet apparently that respect for life applies only to pre-life and end of life. If a woman demands the right to control her life and choose what is best for her life, the right-to-life movement says "no way." Conservatives overwhelmingly support the death penalty, too. Where is the sanctity of life argument when the government wants to kill people? The respect for life also apparently applies only to Americans, because this government has killed thousands of Iraqi citizens in a reckless war. Do we value their lives? Even during life, Republican politicians seemingly do everything to make life miserable to thousands of Americans -- the poor, the elderly and the fragile in society. How precious is life?

And the most laughable irony of all is the idea that so-called activist judges are contributing to the rapid decline of American values and our way of life. Yet, who do the Republicans turn to when they can't get their way through legislation or social policy? The courts. Let us not forget that five activist justices placed George W. Bush in the White House in December 2000. Now, the Republicans, led by Rep. Tom DeLay of Texas, turn again to their courts in hopes of fanning flames of a family's tragedy for political gain. The final accomplice in this: the president, having returned from his own vacation, being awakened at the White House to sign the bill into law.

Do not be fooled into believing this is about due process. It's not. Instead, it is about politics and religion. Even if the federal judge, federal appeals judge and U.S. Supreme Court all support the original Florida court decision, the Republicans will undoubtedly use this situation to gain favor with religious conservatives and to continue their fallacious arguments on talk shows and even on the House floor. A memo allegdly circulated from Republicans stating how the case could be used to put Democrats in difficult situations and to win over religious conservatives, though DeLay denies having anything to do with it.

It's a strange day, for sure, when Congress reconvenes over its Easter recess for a bill that would aid just one person, would erode privacy and states' rights and would mock our separation of governmental powers. But, heck, that's Congress. Why did we elect these people anyway?

-- Wenatchee, Wash.

The election is over -- remove the bumper stickers

I've done a bit of highway driving the last few weeks, but my most recent trip to Seattle made me notice far more 2004 election bumper stickers than I had before. My message to the still-stuck: We voted in November. Move on.

I don't know which is more pathetic: the Nethercutt for Senate stickers or the Rossi for Governor stickers. I mean, the first was a complete rout and the second is like hanging on by a thread. I would point out that the folks with a Kerry-Edwards sticker on their Volvo wagon or hybrid car are just as bad. Wallowing in defeat, even when you know your guy should have won, does not excuse you from getting out there with some solvent and a soft rag to get that strip of plastic off your car's rear end.

The people with the "W04" stickers can probably get a short-term pass from me. I mean, to the voctors go the spoils, and that includes bragging rights, too, I guess. But those stickers should be removed by November 2005.

Christine Gregoire had the right idea: Make plastic "static cling" signs that people can place on a variety of window areas and not risk damaging car parts. Perhaps since she actually won her election and is the governor, she should have made her stickers more permanent. Of course, we may need to re-apply our "clings" if the R's finally get their way. Unlikely, though. Will they keep until '08?

-- Wenatchee, Wash.

Two good reads from Vestal Vespa

Click on over to my bloggin' colleague Vestal Vespa, whose recent posts about the increasingly dismal situation in Iraq and about a new conservative movement, the so-called "Culture of Death."

Good stuff, for sure.

-- Issaquah, Wash.

Just when you thought it was safe to not have sex

At a time when President Bush has requested $206 million in the federal budget for abstainance education, a new study reports that adolescents who take so-called "virginity pledges" are almost as likely to have a STD and are more likely to engage in high-risk sexual behavior. The main reasons? Many of these adolescents consider anything short of intercourse as remaining within their pledge and they often don't have knowledge about methods to prevent STDs.

Read the news story.

-- Issaquah, Wash.

Christine Gregoire -- still the governor; other Evergreen State poilitical news

It's been a few weeks since a judge here ruled that the Republicans could proceed with their attempt to overturn the gubernatorial election by proving that there were all sorts of improper and illegal votes. As each day passes, the support for the trial seems to wane. A poll this week showed that roughly two-thirds of voters do not support a re-vote.

Meanwhile, the list of voters who allegedly should not have voted seems to have some problems. From The Seattle Times:

The list of alleged felon voters compiled in Dino Rossi's legal challenge to the governor's election mistakenly includes people tried as juveniles who never lost their right to vote.

A spokeswoman for Rossi acknowledged last night that perhaps hundreds of the 1,135 people on the list are there improperly because of juvenile cases.

Even the state Republican chair seems to be suggesting that candidate Dino Rossi should move on. Chris Vance suggested Rossi would be a strong candidate to take on U.S. Sen. Maria Cantwell in her re-election bid next year.

Cantwell has staked out some strong positions on issues that resonate with voters in all parts of the state. These include base closures and the manipulation of electricity prices in 2001 by companies such as Enron that caused havoc for small local power utilities. If there is one message that's clear from the counties that use hydropower, it's "Don't mess with our electricity." Equally strong from Eastern Washington: Hands off our water.

Cantwell seems to be taking lessons from Sen. Patty Murray, a liberal Democrat, who has earned her credentials as a strong defender of veterans rights -- especially in places such as Walla Walla, not exactly "blue" country.

It's hard to unseat a sitting Senator, but Cantwell is not exactly safe. If Rossi can parlay his "victim" status into a Senate nomination, he could just ride that to the Capitol. We'll see.

-- Wenatchee, Wash.

Springtime in Wenatchee

Wenatchee really is a great place. Taking advantage of no school today, I just returned from a hike up Saddlerock, and I enjoyed being outdoors in the fresh air. Despite the calendar -- spring doesn't begin officially until Monday -- it's spring here in north central Washington. With the winter gone around here, might as well enjoy it while I can.

Thank goodness for the extensive trail system around the area -- from the Apple Capital Loop Trail to the foothills trails. It's an underappreciated gem that deserves better advocacy and stewardship. Cultivating an improved trails system will bring visitors here to recreate and possibly linger or move here. It improves the quality of life.

Count me in as a strong supporter.

-- Wenatchee, Wash.

Tribute to me on March 17

My friend, the CIB, paid tribute to my affection for Shamrock McShakes on her blog. I love these treats each March. Yum!

It's here.
-- Wenatchee, Wash.

Yearbook done; focus on courses

The bound-book portion of the 2005 yearbook is done. It was on time. It looks good. This group of students is fantastic -- such hard workers and so creative.

The infrequency of my posts is directly proportional to the amount of other work I have to do in other areas. With the extra time spent at school the last couple weeks working with students has forced me to really work hard at home -- when I am there -- on my online courses. I spend about four hours a week reading (skimming in some parts) and then another hour or so for each of two classes writing responses and various assignments. Sometimes it is more. Then another two or three hours reading and responding to discussion board posts from my classmates in the two classes. These are the main way we communicate and discuss what we have read and produced. Our comments count toward a grade, so each post must be read and several responded to.

I just signed up for summer courses and fall courses. I'll have seven credits in the fall instead of the six in each previous semester, so that will be an extra challenge. In a year, I'll be almost finished, which is weird to think about.

-- Wenatchee, Wash.

March in like a lamb

March began with little fanfare and a lot of nice weather. It's as if someone just said, "Cue spring," and then it was nice out. A few digest items:

"Singin' in the Rain": This was a nice show at the 5th Avenue. It's amazing that a rainstorm can be created on stage and not have much problem. As usual, a solid production despite a few technical problems. Next season looks good if only for the fact that I have seen none of the shows. I have seen "The King and I" movie version, but I look forward to a few good shows, including "Pippin" and some good music in "Buddy."

Demeanor: Last week was not my finest time. Thursday brought a display of frustration that I hope I won't repeat soon if at all. One student labeled me the Bobby Knight of high school journalism. Puh-leeze. I didn't throttle anyone; I just knocked over a trash can. Then I kicked it. I didn't even swear. That will teach the newspaper students to spell names wrong in the corrections list of all places.

Yardwork: Finally had the chance March 12 to get out and get the yard in shape for spring. This was accelerated by me hiring a former student to help me. Things go a lot faster without having to stop constantly to change tasks. I cut the dead foliage that I left last fall, while he bagged it all. His height came in handy for pruning some of the higher limbs on the darned crabapple tree. My motto for pruning that tree: Every trimmed limb is fewer apples to pick up this summer. Together, we got the whole yard in shape in about three hours. I am still feeling the workout Sunday night. I ordered my supplies and a few replacement plants online from High Country Gardens and I should be able to get things green within a few weeks. I need to replace some Powys Castle sage and have some echinacea planned for the flower bed in the back yard. We need a good rain soon, though.

"Our Town": This was as good a school production as I have seen. What a powerful message, too. The small audience was disappointing, though, and there has to be a way to make the drama more available. Tickets were priced reasonably, so I don't know why more seats were not filled.

Spring Break: I am hanging in for another week before spring break from online classes. Break from work/school comes in another two weeks. Full speed ahead to the journalism convention in Seattle April 7-10, too. I just have a few small details left to coordinate. Maybe then I'll be able to enjoy the convention.

Yearbook: We're scheduled to finish the yearbook March 14. It will take a lot of effort to get there. Eleven pages still have substantial work to complete. However, things always seem to come together, and I am optimistic that this staff of all I have had should be able to pull together and produce quality. It would be a disappointment to have it otherwise.

-- Wenatchee, Wash.

Why should I try to be better?

Man, the lunch discussion got pretty heated today when we started talking about a proposal to expand and revise the teacher evaluation system with three graduated levels of "satisfactory" ratings: basic, proficient and distinguished.

Arguments against: It's the first step to merit pay (paying teachers based on performance). It would be too difficult to be distinguished. Becoming distinguished (or even proficient) would mean spending more hours outside class and more of the teacher's own money.

Arguments for: It's an incentive to get better instead of everyone being rated simply "satisfactory" or "unsatisfactory" (very rare). It recognizes areas where teachers already are excelling. It is a model for performance-based compensation (merit pay) if that becomes a reality, which is possible at some point.

In a sign that I sometimes go against the grain, I am in favor of this new model. Basically, I think educators can do better, and I want to do better. Right now, there is no incentive. I get the same "satisfactory" evaluation as someone who does not work as hard or want to be better. Others who are better than me don't get that acknowledgment either.

I don't think we should all be ranked, but, honestly, I think it is time that those of us who work hard and exceed the minimum standard are recognized and valued for it. I'm not asking for a rasie based on my willingness or ability to be better. I just want to be known for doing so and labeled as such by my employer. We should strive to be as good as we can be, not just good enough.

I was pretty disappointed with the cynical and pessimistic responses I heard from the extended group of Joint Chiefs. I am as much of a Unionista as the next person -- moreso than some -- but I don't see how we're giving up any of our union rights by accepting the work of a committee that has toiled for two years and that was composed of teachers, administrators and union representatives.

My view on "merit pay" is that it should be avoided. Simply put, it's too hard to determine the measurements by which the pay will be allocated. That's a whole other post here, so I will save it.

Those who post discussion: Please avoid making this about merit pay. It's not there -- yet. Find at least another reasonable argument to make. Let the online arguing begin.

-- Wenatchee, Wash.

What's wrong with education Part III: People think it is a privilege when it is a right

That's it. I'm fed up.

I am sick of people thinking, talking and acting as if education is no longer a basic right guaranteed by state constitution and laws. Let me say it with no uncertainty: Education is a right.

Society has an interest in having an educated population. With education, society can advance and prosper. Even though individuals may not realize a direct benefit (be users of the system), everyone realizes a long-term benefit through increased knowledge, skill and ability to prosper. That's why the state's paramount duty is to educate everyone.

Note that when I say everyone, I actually mean it. "Everyone" does not mean that we exclude people because of gender, ethnic heritage, religious beliefs, abilities or desire to learn. The days when we could cast aside a few students because, gosh, someone needs to pump the gasoline, are gone. Now, everyone should be able to get a quality, family-wage job. And if they end up pumping gas it's because they want to not because they aren't educated for more.

This week, a group of teachers I was in discussed a proposal for a night program where students could earn credits because they were not able to attend classes due to various reasons, mostly discipline. The statement in the proposal indicated that students should demonstrate that they had a desire to learn in order to re-enter the regular daytime program. No one else has to meet this burden of proof, so why should these students? Desire to learn is not a criteria of being able to access a free public education. A colleague scoffed that we weren't re-creating "separate but equal." I thought, "Don't think it couldn't happen or that some people don't want it."

I recognize that one student does not have a right to hinder another student's right to learn, and state laws allow educators to remove problematic students. However, it is when we lose sight of the fact that we owe each youngster an education that we start to drift and become something with which I don't want to be associated. We can't say students get their one chance and then they're on their own. We can't say that students must conform to one set of ideals or get out. We can't say that everyone must not only be here but want to be here. It is our job to keep trying until students get it. And, yes, for goodness' sake, it is frustrating as heck when the student seems unlikely to ever "get it" or want to be successful.

I think if educators, especially those in leadership positions, took the attitude that we should be doing what is necessary to help students learn instead of punishing students for not conforming to a preconceived or outdated notion of acceptable priorities, then we might just have a better school environment and more kids might actually want to learn.

-- Wenatchee, Wash.

Tha Shizzolator

Dude, this is the most hilarious thing to hit the Web in a while. The steps:

1. Go to Tha Shizzolator.
2. Enter a Web site. May I suggest entering this blog?
3. Read the Web site content with a distinctly Snoop Dogg flava.
4. Enjoy a hearty laugh.

I may or may not have told some of my students about this. They have looked up many sites and given them the Snoop working over. Hilarious.

Warning: Some content is not classroom appropriate.

-- Wenatchee, Wash.

Jacko trial is so not important

OK, I'll say it out loud: I don't give a rip about Michael Jackson and his trial for sexual molestation.

Well, I guess I care slightly, but I really don't need an update on the Today Show every day and I sure as heck won't be watching the re-enactment of key moments on the "E!" Channel at all.

The media needs to drive the satellite trucks back to the station and shut up about Jackson's trial. Oh, he's a freak, to be sure. He's a guy who deserves a fair trial, and he'll probably be convicted. I just don't want to hear about this instead of real news.

I mean, sheesh, we have corruption in our government, a war around the globe, huge domestic financial problems and all sorts of social issues that could be portrayed on broadcast news. I say this even as I am waiting for a TV program at 8:30 p.m. and NBC is running an hour on the Scott Peterson trail -- after he has already been convicted!

Note to media: Move on and get some real news!

-- Wenatchee, Wash.

The Oscars: A brief review

Here's my short review of the 2005 Academy Awards:

Chris Rock: Funny stuff, dude. Funny stuff. He gets on a roll and -- look out! I say bring him back and give him an even longer leash. You know people were laughing about the Jude Law jokes ("If you can't get a real star -- wait.")

Oscars from the audience or other areas that were not the main stage: Nice job. This saved time by not having to watch the winner for best makeup walk from her seat in the back of the auditorium. Saves more time for jokes (and for long acceptance speeches by egocentric "stars").

I picked 'em: Things turned out pretty much how most people predicted. Not the way I would have voted, mind you, but how I expected. Clint Eastwood is a class act, for sure. Looking forward to his golden years.

Sean Penn: Dude, lighten up! Jude Law got a free promotion and he is not that great of an actor. I mean, I like him as much as the next person, but he is no Clint Eastwood. He's not even a Sean Penn.

Yo-Yo Ma and the dead Hollywoodites: Nice touch. Because I was working in another room, I did not realize that was the tribute to dead movie people, so I did not see how long the Ronald Reagan clip was. I do think it's kind of insulting for people to be quiet for the lesser-knowns and cheer for their faves. Either be polite for all the dead people or be quiet throughout.

-- Wenatchee, Wash.