The Tao Of Paul

My kids are both long gone from high school, so normally I don’t get have that much personal interest in the mundane school stuff that goes on. But this caught my eye.
First off, the parent only wants to have their child participate in intramural sports. Not varsity, no travel involved, just healthy competition amongst kids within the school/community. Here’s what the BOCES Superintendent had to say:

Invited to speak at Monday’s meeting, Donald A. Ogilvie told the School Board that homeschooled students have a “unique status” in the region and the state. Ogilvie also said that of the 19 districts in the Erie 1 Board of Cooperative Educational Services region, only two — Maryvale and Sloan — have open extracurricular activities. He said that “10 percent portion” is about the same throughout the state.
“If the clear majority of schools in our state, and our area, do not [allow outside participation] . . . and if doing so opens up a legal can of worms, why would you ever raise this question?” Ogilvie said.

How about because it’s the right thing to do? Perhaps Sloan and Maryvale are the ones who have it right.
The family pays school taxes. that district gets that money. How about letting the kids play a little soccer? And do NOT give me the standard liability claim. Every parent signs a consent form, and it would not take a whole lot to make sure everyone is covered.
Do you think that it is asking too much to have you kid play a little after school sports when you’re already paying for it?

And while I’m at it, Check out this quote from the School Superintendent concerning the school losing the trooper assigned as a result of Spitzer’s budget…

The fact that [Spitzer] would consider crime in the city . . . to be more important than the safety of thousands of students and staff is incomprehensible to me,” Christmann said.

Yeah, it’s pretty rough here on the Island, and that ONE trooper is all that keeps us from complete and utter chaos.
And there’s crime in the cities?
There’s someone with a firm grasp an the world around him..

I met my Father In Law 33 years ago. My sweetheart had told me that he was tough. “You know what tempers Puerto Ricans have”. I figure the guy is going to see me, kill me, and go back to whatever he was doing.
We pull in to the driveway and he’s under the hood of his pickup in the driveway.
“Dad, this is Paul” and she goes into the house leaving me there. Handshake, some minor small talk. Want a shot of hooch?” I politely decline, a bit more small talk, and he goes back to work on the truck. My wife played me for a rube. And I have found this to be a family trait.
A bit of a temper perhaps, but also a great sense of humor, a treasure trove of information, and a willingness to discuss any topic at the drop of a hat (political discourse gets heated though). I can’t tell you how much I have learned from him, or how many times he has made me laugh out loud.
Well the man who I swear regaled his relatives from Puerto Rico with polish jokes in Spanish while I was sitting there with a dumb grin on my face years ago had birthday 85 or 86 today, and has not slowed down one bit. We did the usual brunch at a local restaurant this morning and we’re up to 4 generations in attendance.
To the man I am proud to call Dad, Happy Birthday Jose.

The burning question? How do you put a tax stamp on a sandwich baggie? That’s assuming Pot is still packaged the same way it was in the 70’s.

The administration, following the lead of 29 other states with similar laws, contends it also can obtain revenues when illegal drugs are confiscated and dealers are forced to pay taxes if they do not have stamps on the drugs.

Which means that each bust will bring in more money than they will ever collect from on - reservation gas or cigarette sales.

Glad to see someone’s watching the cash register.
It’s a simple question - Does Fantasy Island qualify for tax breaks by the virtue of installing 2 new rides?

“When someone asks for $87,000 and they’re not creating any jobs, a red flag goes up. At what point in time is it proper for a public sector entity to partner with an individual business where they’re not creating any jobs?” Collins said.

I had assumed (perhaps erroneously) that these requests were reviewed carefully as to the need for each outlay of cash. But this quote raises doubt:

ECIDA Chairman Dennis Penman said the county executive may “want to raise the bar” on how much background work is done in evaluating proposals.
“The county executive is protecting taxpayers dollars, by making sure that there’s going to be a real return on our investment,” he said. “He’s doing it from a business perspective.”

The bar should already be raised you twits!
This process of review should happen with every single solitary request. If it doesn’t add jobs, if it isn’t needed to prevent total collapse or the moving of a business out of the area, is the incentive really needed?

Going to the game tonight with son in law. Last game I went to a game, Perrault was still playing, so this will be an experience.
Football, food the usual.
I do not exactly have t he most exciting life, but it is good.
You?

At least my look here is. I know, I have to do up the blogroll, see if I can get the ads in here (By far one of the most exciting part of my slice o’ heaven), and a few other things. But I have to get ready for work, and this will do for now.
Tell me what you think…

Any girl that plays trombone and likes Big Band has to be cool. Go tell her mom congrats!

Not really. Obama’s victory in Iowa was a bit of a surprise. But to write off Hillary in the Northeast was a bit of a stretch. Quite frankly I am tired of hearing about how a “front loaded process” puts all the emphasis on Iowa and New Hampshire. I also consider a 2% differential fairly close.
This process is a marathon, not a sprint. We’ll see who has the legs come Super Duper Tuesday.

I know we are in the process of selecting candidates for the president of the Untied States. This is important. But the hyperbole is already tiring. After last week, we heard comparisons between Obama/Clinton, and every single soul who won or lost in Iowa. Now we are hearing the same lines concerning New Hampshire. Every day there is a new poll predicting the collapse of someone’s candidacy. Today I was hearing about how Hillary’s campaign was broke, and if she didn’t win big tonight, she might fold by the weekend.
C’mon…..

Oh yeah, McCain whupped Romney. The way they are covering the GOP, you would think that the major media is already considering that race as nothing more than an afterthought.

My sinuses feel like they have been jammed full of expandable insulation foam, I have a wicked headache, and a sore throat. And I am in better shape than the wife.
I was hoping to post something a little more relevant to the world around me, but when I feel like crap, this is the best I can do…
Dub Central is back to normal. Son left for Arizona New Year’s Day @ 6 a.m. Holiday decorations came down same day, put away by dinner time.
It will be a good weekend for a little house purging. Haven’t made a drop off to city mission in a while.
Taoist Tai Chi Society on Kenmore Ave is having an open house on Saturday from 10 til 2.
Definitely making a big pot of vegetable leek soup this weekend.
Football and grilling on Sunday.

Does anyone know of a place with good football specials this weekend? If I feel better, I want to get out a bit.