mjerryfuerst's blog

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/12/us/12illinois.html?th&emc=th

Salaries of school superintendents are increasing faster than those of commodities and of Division I football and basketball coaches.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/csm/20080331/ts_csm/asupers

Now that I think about it, should the UI Athletic Director have a salary three times that of Champaign's City Manager ?

Here's something for the John McCain campaign to remember:
Democracies don't always elect the man who has done the
most for his country.

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/31/opinion/31kristol.html?th&emc=th

Two interesting takes on John McCain

The Maverick and the Media

John McCain Wants You

The above title came from an suggestion in an anonymous post in the thread "Cell Ban in Urbana.".

Someone wanting an auto/gas ban in Urbana could propose that at a City Council meeting or by emailing the Mayor and City Council members

However, although I would not support the following, a better way to limit auto use in Urbana would be impose a relatively high auto registration fee in Urbana (e.g. $400) and/or a relatively high local gas tax (e.g.$0.25 per gallon).      It is possible state law may not allow local taxes on gasoline sales.

I suspect an auto tax might interest Urbana Council members Smyth and Chenowyth.

Boulder  CO does have a tax on electritiy, with the stated purpose of limiting greenhouse emissions, as decribed in this link.

Colorado law prohibits bouler from taxing gasoline sales, as explained here

Quoting from the first link:

Boulder's City Council adopted the goals of the Kyoto Protocol in 2002 to reduce greenhouse gas emissions seven percent below 1990 levels by 2012. The Climate Action Plan is a roadmap to meet the Kyoto goal and was created by staff, energy experts in the community and local stakeholders. The main strategies are to increase energy efficiency, promote renewable energy and alternative vehicle fuels, and reduce vehicle miles traveled.

Pass this on to others

http://www.ted.com/index.php/talks

http://www.ted.com/index.php/talks/view/id/229

Link to New York Times on-line article:

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/22/us/politics/22giuliani.html?th&emc=th

One of today's NG editorials had the above name.   The editorial noted   that the city of San Jose CA with a population of 1M, hears only 25 compaints annually.   Thus Urbana should likely get 0-2 annually.   It seems wasteful and expensive to establish a board for such little activity.     The City Council should serve in that capacity instead.    We must also remember that a citizen can file a complaint with the board only if the s/he is unhappy with the action taken by the police chief to resolve a dispute with a police officer.

This link is to an article about toy manufacturer compliance with standards to protect workers in overseas plants and to ensure the safety of their products--a somewhat more important, but less visible issue than my last blog post about baseball and drug use.   The artcile focuses mostly on Mattel.   Partcipants in this forum who invoke the term "nanny-statism" or have interest in protecting people as well as whales should have some comment

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/12/23/magazine/23Mattel-t.html?th&emc=th

I was an umpire when Matt Herges played Little League at Eisner Park in Champaign.

Would you entertain using an illegal substance if it might help yoiu gain a contract with  a professional athlete's salary ?

From a YAHOO Sports on-line column providing a brief description of all named players:

Matt Herges

2007 team: Colorado Rockies

Reliever who has played for seven teams since 1999, he was a teammate of Lo Duca's with the Los Angeles Dodgers from 1999 to 2001.

In the report: Radomski said Herges called him, having gotten his number from Lo Duca. Radomski said that he made two or three sales of human growth hormone to Herges. His first contact with Herges might have been as early as 2004 and his last sale to him was in late 2005, not long before federal agents executed the search warrant on Radomski's residence. Shortly after that, Herges again called Radomski and asked if he could sell him human growth hormone, but Radomski was cooperating with federal law enforcement authorities by then and informed Herges that he "was dry right now."

Christie Clinic was mentioned on the 2nd page of this on-line Business Week article about a new attempts by finance companies to collect medical debts from the uninsured.

This article merits our discussion.

  http://www.investorguide.com/browse2.cgi?id=17549

As we learned from a recent public debate (which focused on a portion of the city of Champaign), there is only a weak correlation between assessed value and market value.    Assessments are updated by statistical methods, not by an inspection of properties.   The only way to improve the correlation is to have all properties appraised (which means someone licensed to determine market values of houses inspects the property).    But this would cost $300 to $500 per house.      Individuals owning properties assessed for less than market value, and thus having a low tax bill, obviously never complain.    Those whose properties are over assessed complain.      One can go to this  web site http://www.realtor.com/FindHome/default.asp?mode=City&st=il&poe=realtor

and see the asking prices of homes listed for sale.  Then one can go to the local county web site

http://www.co.champaign.il.us/ccao/assessor.htm

and check the assessment of a property for sale.    If the assessment is "correct" then multiplying the assessment  by 3 should approximate the property's market value.    (Of course asking price might be 3-5% higher than ultimate sale price.)     

I am not sure about this but if you went to the assessor's office, you might be able to review the assessments of recently sold homes.

I would speculate that on average, either of these approaches will result in finding that assessments are on average 20-25% less than market values.   Of course market value is a bit elusive because sometimes someone pays too much, and sometimes someone gets a good deal on an underpriced property or from an anxious seller.

Michael Fuerst

Last night,  The Commonwealth Club program on Will-AM played an October presentaion by retired general and former presidential candidate Wesley Clark.

He spoke of the mismanaged and lack of a coherent foreign policy when he was in the military (and how this is a problem of both major political parties), the invasion mentality of the most influential advisors of the current president, and the directions the U.S. needs to take to maintain its position as a global leader.

Some of his experiences concerning national foreign policy are very unnerving, and worth listening to

To hear his remarks, go to the following link and scroll down to the Oct 3rd program

http://www.commonwealthclub.org/archive/

Wesley Clark would seem a better president than any of the current candidates, either Republican or Democrat.

Such ordinances have been passed in several Califormia cities, and a few large management companies have banned smoking in some of the apartments/condos they manage.

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/11/05/us/05smoke.html?th&emc=th

Whatever gave the Urbana Park District the bozo idea that the recent Chautauqua celebration at Crystal Lake Park could attract thousands?     Yes, in 1907  families  would travel miles for outdoor October concerts and speakers, but in 2007, with the internet, television, and multiple simultaneous local cultural events, attendance, despite pleasant October weather, was unsurprisingly dismal.
  
In a tent set up with 400 chairs, a performance by local dancers and a one-woman play about Rachel Carson, author of Silent Spring, respectively attracted  audiences of 15 and 40.
 
On the “main stage”  in the flat area on the norths side of the hill in Crystal Lake Park, a “dance party” attracted maybe 70 spectators, an African dance performance a bit over 100, a Latin Grammy nominated Mexican music ensemble maybe 125,  the phenomenal  Corky Siegel's  Chamber Blues ensemble only 150, an Interfaith Music Festival maybe 50, and a supposedly well-known country music performer less than 200.     Three hundred chairs were placed in front of the main stage, supposedly reserved for those who had paid $75 for this special seating.  But with the sparse crowds, this area became open seating.

A couple  of the food vendors were more often closed  than open due to the lack of business.

Admittedly a Tuesday evening concert,  with temperatures pushing 80, attracted 600-700, and Robert Kennedy Jr drew maybe 500, but neither justified the restriction of traffic along the park's south and east borders, or contracting the  MTD to provide shuttles from ultimately unused downtown Urbana and county fairground parking areas.
   
Kennedy's $20K fee worked out to $40 or so per attendee.   Some of the other performances above certainly had comparable per spectator fees.  When adding up the cost of publicity, tents, set-up and tear down, and security, the several hundred thousand cost of this several day non-event could have been better spent in park improvements, or donated to some charity. But this is no ore obscene or any lower than the per vote campaign costs realized in many election contests.

One wishes that the current president had planned one-tenth as carefully for the Iraq war and occupation as the Urbana Park District planned for the  Chautauqua.   And then maybe the war and occupation could have been as poorly attended, which would have been worthy of  a Chautauqua.

I have never voted for a Republican for president.   (I would have  voted for George Bush senior against Clinton, if Bush senior had not switched his stated views on abortion to appease the conservatives in his party.)      However I would not be upset  if John McCain prevailed, (which does not necessarily mean I would vote for him).

Follow this link.

I post this here without comment or opinion for comment. This was posted by user tehutchinson on the News-Gazette forum, and posted here with tehutchinson's knowledge and permission.

Making criminals out of children for consensual sexual activity is evil.

LINKS http://www.currentargus.com/ci_4783650
http://hrw.org/reports/2007/us0907/7.htm#_Toc176672588
http://www.argusleader.com/apps/pbcs.dll/a.../NEWS/709030323
http://citybeat.com/gyrobase/Content?image...id=oid%3A140906
http://www.heraldextra.com/content/view/229035/
http://www.courier-journal.com/apps/pbcs.d...D=2007709060369
http://www.oregonlive.com/news/oregonian/i....xml&coll=7
http://blog.oregonlive.com/oregonianextra/..._county_sp.html
http://www.ocregister.com/opinion/butt-one...unts-cornelison
http://www.winknews.com/news/local/8564197.html
http://kutv.com/topstories/local_story_210004013.html
http://www.abqtrib.com/news/2007/jun/12/ge...grief-sex-case/
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/opinion...pinionfront-hed
http://www.counterpunch.org/rosen08142007.html
http://www.fosters.com/apps/pbcs.dll/artic...ERS01/102260093
http://www.cwarkansas.com/news/local/story...3f-1b7eb7b9ab11
http://www.winonatimes.com/articles/2006/1...news/news02.txt
http://www.daytondailynews.com/n/content/o...307oakwood.html
http://www.jacksonville.com/tu-online/stor...t_7764014.shtml
http://www.crescent-news.com/news/article/1546512
http://www.americanchronicle.com/articles/...articleID=27621
http://news.scotsman.com/politics.cfm?id=259572007
http://pw1.netcom.com/~docx2/USB1.htm
http://www.sptimes.com/News/052001/Perspec..._the_law_.shtml
http://www.news4jax.com/news4georgia/10990608/detail.html
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/04/15/washington/15sex.html
http://discover.lancasteronline.com/sp?keywords=203557
http://blogs.chron.com/texaspolitics/archi...ffenders_d.html
http://www.eastvalleytribune.com/index.php?sty=83904
http://www.azcentral.com/specials/special1...enders0213.html
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n6NDnGN_mBQ
http://www.upress.umn.edu/Books/L/levine_harmful.html
http://www.dollandassociates.com/sexuality.html
http://www.dailypressandargus.com/apps/pbc.../709180302/1002
http://www.boychat.org/messages/1092366.htm
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/07/22/magazine...agewanted=print
and http://www.ethicaltreatment.org/

Then they are placed in institutions where real sexual abuse (as opposed to consensual sex) is common. How ironic.
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/02/28/us/28youth.html
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/03/24/us/24youth.html
http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dw...yc.bfd8282.html
http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dw...ex.1bd0f05.html
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,265924,00.html
and http://www.nytimes.com/2007/05/15/us/15brfs-youth.html

And don't think that real abuse is limited to correctional staff or the State of Texas.
http://www.dailypress.com/news/local/dp-19...hr_tab01_layout
http://www.enquirer.com/editions/2001/07/0..._seeks_75k.html
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/loca...syndication=rss
and http://www.enquirer.com/editions/1999/09/2..._jeered_by.html

The adults in our society insist that they have sexual freedom for themselves. Popular culture is saturated with sexuality. Why would anyone think that teenagers would want anything less? The kids are voting for it and not with their feet.
http://cbs4denver.com/local/local_story_128110500.html
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ki2M3-2W-cQ

As a practical matter no.

Periodically, the issue arises whether local ordinances should require landlords to accept Section 8 housing vouchers from the local Housing Authority
(HA).
A legal requirement for landlord participation in the Section 8 program seems unenforceable.
When a household receives a section voucher, the head of household can begin calling landlords.

The voucher does not specify the amount that the Housing Authority will pay an owner, but rather a total for rent and the HA’s estimate of utility costs.
The actual amount the tenant pays (based on the unit’s rent and tenant’s income) is not calculated until the dwelling has passed the HA’s inspection.

Assuming an owner accepts this uncertainty and section 8 tenant likes an owner’s unit, then the owner must fill out a form requesting to start the lease approval
process, the first step being an inspection by the HA. Upon receiving the form, the HA schedules the inspection within two to ten days, depending upon the availability of inspectors. For the initial inspection of the unit must be vacant. Several days later the owner receives a list of required repairs.
Once the owner has completed the repairs, the owner schedules re-inspection. After that a lease can be signed. The owner, before receiving money from the HA, must sign a ten page agreement.
 
An owner not really wanting to accept a section 8 applicant can easily stop the process at the beginning by
(a) having a policy of not renting to a tenant who does not have the financial ability to pay for damages equaling three months rent;
(b) refusing to accept the tenant’s rental application without knowing how much of the rent the tenant will pay;
(c) refusing to fill out the initial form;
(d) requesting copies of all forms and agreements that s/he will have to sign, and requesting changes before proceeding; and /or
(e) requesting an up front fee to pay for the owner or employee who must attend the inspection.
(f) refusing section 8 applicants for occupied units, since the initial inspetion requires that the unit is vacant.

An owner might “miss” the appointment with the inspector. An owner might also choose to not complete the repairs requested in the initial inspection, and never
schedule a second inspection. A prudent owner might choose to require a security deposit from the applicant before starting the requested repairs,
because occasionally the indigent section 8 applicants do not have the required security deposit saved. And of course any time before the
final inspection is completed, the owner can find and rent to an unsubsidized tenant.

Thus, more than enough ploys exist for an owner wanting to avoid the Section 8 program, making any ordinances requiring participation unenforceable.
On the ohter hand, more than enough local landlords do participate because in C-U's low income neighborhoods owners can get higher and guaranteed rents by renting on section 8. Thus, unsurprisingly, the local HA has never actively advocated amending local ordinances to require property owners to participate in the program.

Everyone should see this film, now playing at the Art Theater in downtown Champaign, which documents how the the president and his inner circle, by disregarding both (a) the advice of field personnel with substantial interntional and foreign policy experience and (b) readily available intelligence and analysis,  have made bad decisions which have led to an intractable  post-invasion Iraq.   The movie intentionally does not judge whether or not the war should have been started.    The movie implicitly argues that proper post decision making and planning could have led to a viable post invasion Iraq

The movie's web site is  http://www.noendinsightmovie.com

At this site, after watching the trailer at this site,  I suggest you  click on the links  "Director" and "The War" and "Media"

Reviews that summarize the movie resonably well are at 

    http://www.time.com/time/arts/article/0,8599,1647716,00.html

   http://www.calendarlive.com/movies/reviews/cl-et-sight3aug03,0,6098366.story?coll=cl-mreview