Death Penalty: Time is Everything

I found the straight skinny on the efficacy of various death penalty methods, although several methods are not covered. Being boiled in oil, for instance, is not even given honorable mention although there was a time when it was used often enough.  Here is a list of methods and the time it takes the prisoner to expire, courtesy of NBC.

Death Penalty: When it Should Be Permanently Removed

Enough verbiage about the death penalty has been written to fill a small building, assuming legal size paper and 12 point type, double spaced.  Maybe two small buildings.  I've read enough about appeals and new evidence to be convinced that our court system has absolutely no business sentencing anyone to death.  Too many exceptions exist, new evidence is discovered, and the courts often refuse to test DNA evidence.  Heaven help us all if one of these judges should assist in wrongfully convicting someone - which has happened so often that it's no real surprise anymore.  But I'm not going to write about that part, mainly because I have no good solution and I'm neither an attorney nor a doctor of philosophy.

Why I Left Toledo - One Reason, anyway...

I'm living in Columbus these days, and the more I hear about my old home town, the better I feel about leaving.  Just look at the latest idea from Mayor MacCheese of Rossford (look it up on a map), who wants to build an aerial gondola from Rossford, a town no one has ever heard of, to Toledo, a gravel pit many people wish they'd never heard of.

Charlottesville, Peaceful Protesters, and Our Government

Two blogs that I read on a regular basis are Bayou Renaissance Man (Peter Grant) and Nobody Asked Me… (Old NFO).  Both wrote about the situation at Charlottesville, VA.  Peter wrote Racial and extremist violence in Charlottesville, VA, which I'm in disagreement with, and Old NFO posed a good question in Thoughts on Charlottesville…. Read them or not as it amuses you to do so.

Kathy Gets Some Head

Stumbling around this morning until I could find my coffee and splash a shot of eye-opener into it, I fat fingered the keyboard and ended up at Filthie's Thunderbox, as written by your noble Canadian host, Glen Filthie.  I like reading Glen. He portrays himself as an average man (he isn't, and doesn't know it), and he generally gets it right, albeit sometimes by accident rather than on purpose.  Still, he gets there.

Want to Change the World?

You can begin by changing the language.

“But if thought corrupts language, language can also corrupt thought.”
 - George Orwell, 1984

I should put that in large, bold text, but I won't.  People either understand it, for good or ill, or they don't.

Trigger Warning: Profanity and Politically Incorrect and Offensive Speech Ahead.

Election 2016, Local Issues

I've resisted posting anything about the presidential race, mainly because there is nothing that I could (or would be willing to) write that would change anyone's mind about which candidate they will vote for.  I have friends, relatives and acquaintances on both sides of the fence, and keeping the peace is tough enough without me throwing a can of high test gasoline on the fire.

Instead, I'm going to attack the local issues.  This is where the local government is demanding more of your money for projects that benefit a very select group of people at the expense of everyone.  Here we go:


13. Sylvania Township, Precinct G, Fresh Farmers Thyme Market, Local Liquor Option
Fresh Farmers Thyme Market is a new store, and they want a liquor license. First of all, they shouldn't need a special license to sell a perfectly legal item, but it's a way for the government to make money without having to work for it, and it's yet another regulation the government can impose upon the entrepreneur.  I'm voting yes, of course.

17. Sylvania Local School District 5.7 mills, additional, operating expenses & permanent improvements, for continuing period of time.
Not just no, but Hell No!
The avaricious idiots on the Sylvania School Board tried this one last election, and they got shot down.  They've tried almost every election, and they've tried special elections.  The citizens have voted against it.  Now, just like a whiny child, they're back again with an even higher tax levy.  The worse part about this is that it's a property tax, yet everyone votes on it.
The administration of the Sylvania Schools is overstaffed and overpaid.  They've got people ironing socks and making coffee on the payroll.  The teachers aren't far behind that either.  They get a holiday schedule that the rest of the working world has never dreamed of, benefits that are absolutely sinful, and a very comfortable salary.
Most of our property tax money goes to the school system to keep these fat cats in cream.  I've had enough of this kind of crap to last me a lifetime.  I'm not paying more, and in fact my taxes should decrease, if anything.
I'm currently being forced out of my home because of these property taxes.  Prospective buyers have seen my house, would like to buy it, but can't afford to live in it - because of the staggeringly high property taxes.

18. TARTA, 1.5 mills, renewal, 10 years (note: overlapping Wood county)
No.  Why is public transportation being funded by the taxpayer?  Why not run it like any business and see about making a profit on it?  TARTA hasn't been responsible with its budget in years.  Let 'em tighten their belts a little.

19. Lucas County, 9-1-1 Public Safety Communication Systems, 0.7 mill, renewal, operation and capital improvements, 5 years
No.  The 911 service can get along quite nicely on what it's getting right now.

20. Lucas County, Children Services, 1.8 mills, renewal and increase, support, placement, care, 5 years
No.  They not only want a renewal, they want more.  Hell no.  We can't afford it, and don't come whining to me about it's for the children.  It isn't.  It's for the government.

21. Lucas County, Imagination Station, 0.17 mill, renewal, operation and maintenance, 5 years
No.  I've been to the Imagination Station, and it's a waste.  Shotgun Bob and I took Bob's son, Albert, and from that visit I learned that the Imagination Station is constructed as a primate cage.  TPS dumps their school kids into the cage and calls it a field trip.  The little monsters run wild for a few hours, then get picked up and taken back to their regular cage.  The place is ridiculous, and the exhibits are simplified physics demonstrations constructed (as much as possible) to look like video games.


22. Lucas County, Toledo Public Library, 3.7 mills, renewal and increase, current expenses, 5 years
Hell no.  I've been to the Toledo Public Library, and it isn't a library any longer.  It's a... I don't know.  An indigent adult entertainment center?  Inner city fat ladies sit at the computer terminals all day surfing the 'net, while their babies swing from the chandeliers and throw food and feces at anyone looking for reading materials.  No, I'm not paying for this anymore.  Clean the place up, police it, and then come and talk to me.

23. Lucas County, Toledo Zoo, 0.75 mill, renewal and decrease, maintenance and operation, 5 years
No.  I used to support the zoo, but I'm fed up with it.  The zoo wants to expand, just like every other part of the government, and that takes money.  My money.

This is government at its finest.  They whine and demand more money, but there is no regulation about how the money is spent.  Meanwhile the streets in Toledo are passing as a field test for ATVs, and the entire infrastructure is decaying to the point where it actually will fail.  When that happens, guess who pays to have it fixed - and that's on top of the money they want now.

Instead of the standard For and Against options on the ballot, there should be a third option: Against, and pillory the governmental officials who put this on the ballot.

In Memorium

R.I.P. Mike Vanderboegh

May you live long in memory

Please host this flag on your site as a show of respect. The family asks that if you face book, please change your pic to the flag.

“But I tell you this: We will not go gently into that bloody collectivist good night. Indeed, we will make with our defiance such a sound as ALL history from that day forward will be forced to note, even if they despise us in the writing of it.

And when we are gone, the scattered, free survivors hiding in the ruins of our once-great republic will sing of our deeds in forbidden songs, tending the flickering flame of individual liberty until it bursts forth again, as it must, generations later. We will live forever, like the Spartans at Thermopylae, in sacred memory.

— Mike Vanderboegh

The Kansas City Star has a somewhat critical article which is worth reading:Longtime Militia and ‘Patriot’ Leader Mike Vanderboegh Dies at 64

Happy Repeal Day!

On December 5th, 1933 the infamous 18th Amendment was repealed, ending prohibition and legalizing what most Americans had been doing anyway: Drinking.  It also cut the incomes of famous, upstanding citizens such as Al 'Scarface' Capone, Bugs Moran, Ellsworth Raymond "Bumpy" Johnson, Vincent "Mad Dog" Coll, Owney Madden, Big Frenchy De Mange, and a host of other upstanding citizens who made their fortunes on illegal liquor (the manufacture, wholesaling, retailing and import of same) and often came to an untimely demise.

Charity and Junk Mail

Back in June I wrote about Mom, charities and her overdrawn checking account.  You can read about it in: Mom, Money and Charity, but suffice to say that Mom was invariably softhearted and generous to anyone, or any charity, that had a good story and an outstretched hand.  As a result, she ran her checking account into the red.  I spent six bills bailing her out and forbid her to write any more checks to charities.  I tracked twenty-some odd charities, contacted them and told them to go away, but the mail kept right on coming.

Election Results

I found this somewhere on the web, and I'm using it without permission.  It's truly too good not to share.

You'll Do Better

Today is election day in Ohio, and among other things we're being asked to legalize marijuana, known in the 1950s as the killer weed.  Beware when you're out at a bar somewhere, least the 'friendly stranger' slip a marijuana cigarette into your cocktail and you'll get addicted to 'Mary Jane'.

Mom, Money and Charity

Last Tuesday I was minding my own business and about to freshen my morning bourbon glass, when I found Mom on the phone arguing with The Bank.  Wondering aloud what was up with this deal, Mom told me she was trying to find out the balance on her checking account.  I told her I could help with that, and proceeded to go online, logged in to The Bank and displayed Mom's account.

My very own dear old mother is in the red.

Back to School!

Well, the brilliant minds that comprise the Sylvania Board Bored of Education have just cost the hoi polloi a bundle of money.  Keep reading for my somewhat disjointed rant about our elected officials and our no-fault system of government.

Sylvania Ohio Busybodies

I am, generally speaking, a live and let live sort of person.  I take pains to avoid irritating my neighbors.  I don't play loud music, I stay off their property and I don't get into loud, extended brannigans with friends and relatives at 3:00 AM (otherwise known as three in the damned morning) that involve the local constabulary.  I don't make comments about the length of my neighbor's lawn and wonder aloud if he's ever going to get off his dead ass and cut it. I don't offer him beer or wine in an effort to be friendly and sell him my current political agenda.  I figure the poor bastard has enough problems of his own.  I know I do.

Likewise, I expect the same from him.  I've found that most people will let me alone, excepting a few minutes of casual conversation now and again.  The only help from my neighbors that I would ever hope for is for them to call the fire department should my house ever catch fire, and if they see some low-life breaking into the house they might call the police and deliver an anonymous tip.  I don't expect them to ding the intruder while he's halfway in through the window.  For one thing, it might be me, as I've been known to lock myself out upon occasion.

This, then, is how good neighbors ought to act, and if we all did this, we'd all get along just fine.  We don't, but that's a topic for another day.  What happens in the middle of this pastoral scene is government.  Federal, State and Local, every single branch is populated with people who are convinced that they can run your life better than you can.  The city of Sylvania, Ohio is no exception.  Keep reading for the latest regulation to float to the surface.

The Death Penalty and Vindication

My Internet buddy Jeff Gamso over at Gamso - For the Defense is against the death penalty.  So am I, generally speaking, mainly because we've all seen the results of our government in action in many other areas and We the People are willing to believe that Our Government would never send an innocent man to the gallows, or to prison, or pretty much anything else that could be construed as a gross miscarriage of justice.

Just how gullible are we, anyway?

May 6, 2014 ballot: Victory!

Here's a message to the Sylvania Board of Education from me, Mad Jack.

You Lose!

From The Blade: Unofficial Results of the May 6, 2014 Election as of 5/7/2014 9:02 a.m.

Sylvania schools 3.8-mill continuing permanent new tax levy for operating expenses
Votes
FOR              4,357
AGAINST     4,864


We the people, the Great Unwashed, the hoi polloi, the commoners that you and your ilk look down upon from the dizzying heights of your ivory towers, we've had enough of you and your demands for more, more and still more!  You're nothing but a bunch of chazzers.  You've been eating at the public trough for so long that you don't fly straight anymore.

In spite of you and your best efforts, your demand for more money failed.  Now we'll get to live in Sylvania Township for a while longer, no thanks to you.

May 6, 2014 ballot: Sylvania School Lawbreakers

A few days ago I wrote about the upcoming election.  You can read about it at May 6, 2014 ballot: We're Broke, or not as it amuses you to do so.  Since then the arrogant administrators that comprise the Sylvania Board of Education (BOE) have given raises to a host of school employees, all of whom make well over the median household income (2011) of $58,720 per year, and about three times the estimated per capita income (2011) of $31,187.  Additionally, all these people enjoy full teacher benefits, retirement and perquisites.

Ask yourself if a person could live on $58,720 per year, then look at what we are paying these people and decide if they truly need a raise.

As published by the Toledo Blade on Tuesday, 4/29/2014: Sylvania School Board Approves New 3-Year Employment Contracts

Southview High School's athletic director Susie Felver, whose salary increased $4,757 to $90,314
So now we're paying a gym teacher $90 grand? WTF?!

Director of disability services Michalene Sujaritchan, who got a $5,483 raise to $104,113
Just what does a director of disability services do, anyway? I mean besides suck up money from the public trough.

Assistant principal at Northview High School, Kasey Vans, whose new $88,761 salary includes a $4,681 raise.
$88 grand for an assistant principal? What are they, nuts? What did Vans do to deserve a raise, anyway? Besides show up for work everyday. Here's a few more, again from The Blade.

Employees whose contracts were renewed for three years and their salaries are:
Joseph Shamy, food service director, $78,391
Julie Sanford, assistant curriculum director, $88,761
Amanda Ogren, assistant principal at McCord Junior High School, $87,881
David McMurray, Southview High School principal, $110,403
Chad Kolebuck, Hill View Elementary School principal, $96,371
Karen Hehl, Timberstone Junior High School assistant principal, $87,881
Darren Estelle, assistant director of information technology, $90,926
Edward Eding, Maplewood Elementary School principal, $96,371
Jeremy Bauer, Stranahan Elementary School principal, $96,371
Michael Bader, Timberstone Junior High School principal, $104,113
Alan Bacho, director of facilities, $104,113

Director of facilities, over $100 grand. For what? Fire Bacho and let the assistant principals do his job. The seem to make about as much.

This is why the Sylvania BOE is demanding more money. They spend money that doesn't belong to them like there's no tomorrow.

Keep reading, because here's the best part.

Chris Myers over at SwampBubbles posted this on Tuesday, April 29th. It seems that members of the Sylvania school system are using school resources paid for by our tax dollars to promote the new levy they don't need.  As Chris points out, this is in violation of Ohio law.  Here's a link to the article and another to the Ohio law.

SwampBubbles: Is Sylvania schools using district resources to promote the levy? The answer is yes, the question should be to what extent?

LAW Writer® Ohio Laws and Rules: 3315.07 Instructional program for employees - supplies and equipment for local school districts.

(C)
(1) Except as otherwise provided in division (C)(2) of this section, no board of education shall use public funds to support or oppose the passage of a school levy or bond issue or to compensate any school district employee for time spent on any activity intended to influence the outcome of a school levy or bond issue election.

Chris bases his accusations on email that he, personally, received from the Sylvania school system and that he displays on SwampBubbles.

This is a brand new low, even for the Sylvania BOE.  Hand out raises, demand more money from the taxpayer and use school resources to promote the tax levy.  Typical politicians.

Being Railroaded, Part II

First and foremost, here's a hoist of the bourbon glass and a tip of the old fedora to Bud Love, owner of Power Recruiting in Toledo, Ohio.  Should you have need of his services, you'll find him at:

Bud Love
Power Recruiting
6029 Renaissance Place
Toledo, OH 43623
(419) 720-8708

Reading through the local bird cage liner, what should my bleary, red-rimmed eyes fall upon but a local dog story.  Well now, would you look at this. I wrote about this last month here, in Being Railroaded. Tickets can be a bit expensive.

May 6, 2014 ballot: We're Broke

Times are tough all over according to the Sylvania Board of Education.  The Sylvania school system needs more money.  A lot more.  There's only one place to get that money, and that's from property owners in the school district.  Never mind that we're already over-taxed.  What matters is the school system, because it's for the children.

This all came about because of greed and the path of least resistance.  Greed, because if you're on the Board of Education your job is easier and a lot more enjoyable if you can fund some kind of program without cutting the funding for something else.  That way, everyone with their own personal agenda is satisfied and the board members will get re-elected next term.  This dovetails nicely into the path of least resistance because it's a whole lot easier to explain why the school system has no choice but to put another levy on the ballot rather than cut unnecessary services and eliminate extraneous personnel.

It's tough to get solid information about school funding and this levy, but I've found some.  In an article from the Toledo Blade, Sylvania Schools Levy Supporters To Greet Voters At Polls

According to the article, the school system has recruited volunteers to greet the voters and encourage these people to support this brand new levy, which is a 3.8 mill continual-operating levy.  That means that once it's voted in, we can't get rid of it.  There is absolutely no way to get a levy revoked.

What voters don't realize is that up until recently, the State of Ohio was picking up a portion of those property taxes, but as of July 2013 that activity is discontinued.

From the Toledo Blade on Monday, 7/29/2013:

Ohio Cancels Property Tax Rollback - Existing Levies To Get Funding Break, But New Ones Will Not

Many Ohioans didn't realize the state was picking up as much as 12.5 percent of their local property tax bills, one Senate Republican recently said.

Which is very likely the truth.  Most people get sick when they write that check for property tax.  How many taxpayers would take the time to see how the amount is calculated and if it's correct?  Not many, I'm thinking.

Local governments and schools heading for the ballot in November to ask voters to support new or replacement levies will have to tell them that the price tags attached will be higher than they were previously told. The taxpayer will pay the entire tab for any new taxes approved.

Which is only partially true.  Up until I found this article, I hadn't been aware of that particular circumstance.  All I'd heard was the usual mantra about needing more money and how none of this was the BOE's fault.  It was the Federal government, the State, the economy, the falling property values... anything but uncontrolled, irresponsible school spending.  At the root of this is the State of Ohio making cuts to education - except that it isn't.

The recently passed [Ohio State] budget contains $717 million more in basic per-pupil subsidies for K-12 schools over the next two years...

The State of Ohio is continuing to subsidize K-12 education.  That includes Sylvania.

One item that is never spoken of, and I kind of think might be the dirty little secret that the Sylvania Board of Education wants to suppress is the current tax rate.  Information on this is hard to find, but what I did manage to find is worth reading. From the Toledo Blade on Monday, 1/27/2014:

Auditor Gets Sylvania Tax Measure - Schools To Seek Additional $4.9 Million Levy To Avoid Deficit In ’16

The article states that the school system doesn't need the money right this instant, which is what they would have us believe.  No, they say they need the additional money to avoid a deficit in 2016.  In plain English, they say if they don't get more money now, right now, in 2016 they'll be spending more money than they are taking in.  Running in the red, so to speak.  To my way of thinking, this gives them two years to decide just which expenses they'll cut back on.

So how much are we taxed right now?  According to the article:

The Sylvania schools now collect 44.98 mills of operating levies, all continuing.

Compare that to the measly 3.8 mills they are asking for now, and it doesn't seem like much.  It's only an increase of 8.44%, but that's how levies work.  Just increase the tax a little at a time and maybe no one will notice.  Until they try to buy groceries, that is.

We've been through this entire business before.  Again, according to the article:

Its most recent new levies were 4.9 mills each, passed in 2004 and 2011.

Just three years ago a new levy barely passed, and they had to hold a special election to do it.  That levy was supposed to 'stabilize everything', according to the school board.  But now they're back again, asking for more money.

So how much will a property owner be paying?  If your property is worth $100,000.00, you'll be writing the Sylvania school system a check for $4,878.00, and because the State of Ohio is no longer covering a part of your property tax, you'll be paying the entire amount.

There is still a significant portion of retired people in Sylvania, or people who have moved here and are not wealthy.  An extra $5,000 a year goes a long way towards a nice life.  You can forget that, though, and it's because of the school system.  They don't care if you're poor, if you're retired or laid off or have other expense.  Their attitude: Too bad.  Pay me.  Just be thankful I'm not asking for more.

My family has lived in Sylvania for over 50 years, but it's getting to the point where we are being taxed out of our own home, and we're being forced out by an elite cadre of elected officials who don't give one final damn whether we stay or leave, so long as their hog trough is full.

If you would like to write these people and share your views on lower taxes and responsible government, here's a list of email addresses:

Sylvania Board of Education

Jim Nusbaum, President
jnusbaum@sylvaniaschools.org

Julie Hoffman, Vice President
jhoffman@sylvaniaschools.org

David Spiess
dspiess@hotmail.com

Vicki Donovan Lyle
vlyle@sylvaniaschools.org

Stephen Rothschild
srothschild@sylvaniaschools.org

Sylvania Township Trustees

John Crandall
jcrandall@sylvaniatownship.com

John Jennewine
jjennewine@sylvaniatownship.com

Neal Mahoney
nmahoney@sylvaniatownship.com

All three turncoats trustees have publicly supported the new school levy, I suppose because it means more money for the government.  Never mind the constituents that have to live with it.  They'll get along just fine.

The real truth is that if this levy fails two things will happen.  One, there will be a special election held at a time when voter turnout opposing the levy is likely to be very low.  Two, there will not be any change in the performance of the Sylvania school system.  Of course you can't convince the school board of that, but it's true none-the-less.

Vote no.  Tell them that they've got enough money already, and that they can learn to live within their means.  Like the rest of us.