The Principals Have Their Own Union? Who Knew?

The San Diego Unified School District is strictly under union control and everyone understands that, but some of the results of that control are astounding.

I didn’t know it, but apparently there is a Principals union as well as a Teachers union, and the Principals union had negotiated with the union-controlled School Board to hire all of the available Principals within the District before hiring any Principals from out of the district, regardless of the qualifications of the competing Principals.

“It’s also the first major dispute between San Diego Unified and its newly unionized principals.

Principals say the union rules were supposed to ensure that all principals got a job before the district turned to outside hires, promoted teachers or allowed top managers to be bumped down.”

http://www.voiceofsandiego.org/education/schooled/article_39b7b744-c698-11df-b85a-001cc4c03286.html

The article goes on to note that Principals have argued the other side of the coin when it comes to hiring teachers – contending that such rules as they now demand for themselves results in not being able to put the right person into the right job!

(But then consistency of philosophy is not a union strong point.)

It gets worse. The union dominated School Board negotiated with the principals union for a work rule that is not helpful to taxpayers, parents or students – then the union-dominated School board breached their own rule – for which “error” they must pay the Principals union with – TAXPAYERS MONEY?

The mind boggles!

Today The Healthcare Bill Fiasco Begins

I see that some insurance companies in California have decided that obeying the new Healthcare Law would be too expensive to insure children with pre-existing conditions – so they will stop insuring all children as required by the new law.

This is just one of the problems of the new law – the previously mentioned 1099 problem has still not been solved by Congress, because the President doesn’t want ANY changes, lest the changes lead to change, after change, after change until people actually realize that the entire 2,400 page fiasco is a disaster. (Which it is!)

The Democrats don’t want to be in a position where they tell insurance companies that they must offer insurance to children, not that the Democrats don’t believe the insurance company should, but with all of the charges of Marxism that requirement might cement the argument. What the Dems plan to do (if they can get the votes necessary after the November election) is to forbid those insurance companies that do not comply with their desires from competing for any future business. If they could, the Democrats would forbid insurance companies from also going out of business – but that is just one step too far for them, today.

The president does not want to see his bill pecked to death by ducks, and actually I agree. The only solution is to repeal the bill and try for something that the legislators have actually read!

Attack Cat

I wonder if anyone cares if I have an Attack Cat – but I do.

We have had about half a dozen dogs, all Boxers, and about a dozen cats in our 53 years of marriage – and everyone had a distinct personality but this is my first Attack Cat. We got him just six months ago from the Fallbrook Sanctuary and he is two or three years old. Unlike some cats, he really likes people and runs from none but approaches all visitors as an equal.

He is a playful Attack Cat – he is not viscous except in demeanor. He lurks under the dining room table, rushes out to jump my leg as I walk by – never breaking the skin but I can feel his teeth as he hits and rushes away before I can turn on him.

When I do sense his rush and wheel about, he can turn in mid-air, land short and rush back to a protective lair. It is an amazing thing to see, and of course there is no way I can catch that on my iPHONE video camera.

What I have captured is his exercise to build up his leg strength so that some day he can devour me – or that is my interpretation of the exercise.  He wants me to grab is tail (most un-cat like for those who don’t understand the species) and hold on while he tries to claw away. There seems to be no end to this exercise – he comes back again, and again, and again until I tire of the exercise. (No, I don’t know why it does not hurt him – my guess is that cats tails don’t hurt but they protect them because they may so easily get caught by predators.)

This cat runs – day and night – as fast and as far as he can for as long as he can – then collapses on the bed with us and purrs. I am convinced he is lulling us into a false sense of security while he builds his speed and muscle to devour us.

I’ll be ready for him.

Perhaps I am Crazy…

I guess I am just crazy, but the disclosure that Christine O’Donnell “dated” some guy in high school that took her to witchcraft meetings comes to me with a big “Whooop!”

High school? You are kidding me, right? High school?

Do you remember high school? Do you know a current high schooler? I just wish my kids had dabbled in witchcraft in high school compared to what they actually did!

I may be crazy — but I don’t think so.