I mostly don't care about Elliott Spitzer. (what's the old political expression, better to be caught with a dead hooker in your bed than live young boy - the credo of American politics?) I am from New York State so I have a passing interest, but pedestrian at best. I do note with some interest that Nelson Rockefeller died in bed with a mistress. He wasn't governor at the time (1979) but.

My radio is angling in on the fact that Spitzer is a democrat and we can expect such things from THEM!! (Yea the Clinton stuff reduexes ) Please don't bring up Larry Craig or GOP leaning ministers who live strange lives under the covers. No Mark Foley, please.

Hey, it's a sex scandal and mostly who cares. Put the Google on it and you find quickly that straying is not a matter of politics. Democrats are no more horney nor less that Republicans.

There is some news value in the fact that Spitzer is drawing this out. Say nothing news conference yesterday and today all speculation about transition once he resigns.  But enough already.

Are there issues that really are more important on the nightly news? Or as headlines in your paper or fodder for radio talk? Bet you can name a dozen such topics.

Meanwhile back to the topic of political sex. I am pretty much a novice politician. Been in office about a year now as Mayor of Dehesa Valley. But I've lived long and observed. Among my observations is that staffers on Capitol Hill in D.C. and in Sacramento are often young and very good looking'. We had a young woman in our offices recently to say hello on behalf of her state legislative boss. A solid knock out. Bright as can be but serious good looking. The same in most political offices. Course good looks never hurt in a job interview.

Which brings me to my point. I have the ugliest staff in politics. The women on my staff have warts and thick ankles and large behinds and mostly unkempt hair. Most don't even wear lipstick and some haven't been near a deodorant stick in years. To say that I am not tempted to evil deeds with my staffers is an understatement.

Course Elliott was buying his pleasure. In that matter, have no fear, even with the graft I don't make enough to afford a hooker.  And aside from all of the above.....Noreen wouldn't be by my side at a news conference where I apologize for my sex sins. She'd be graveside making sure there was a sufficient amount of dirt on my chest before they planted the marker.

 
MUTTERINGS

ITEM 1
You gotta figure that working at the NCTD on the Sprinter project is a lot like hitting yourself in the head with a hammer.... because it feels so good when you stop. Dogged by cost overruns, environmental penalties, delays and delays...the rail line finally gets up and running last Sunday...today the Sprinter runs over somebody on the tracks and nearly kills the person.

Hey, may be a bum who stumbled onto the tracks but this ain't a great way to do grand opening week. I wouldn't ride the Sprinter mostly because I think it's jinxed and bad luck. Salt over the shoulder.
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ITEM 2
Fair measure of chat around our work shop about the school budget cuts ordered by Arnold to help fill a 20-billion dollar hole in the state money document. SD Unified has issued better than a thousand pink slips. Up in Ramona that district has to shave about 3 million and has sliced off the FFA program. It's happening across the state.

Normally this kind of cut-fear is bogus. Fired folks seldom get fired and Sacramento finds a way to fund schools without serious cuts. But this year is not like most. The budget gap is real. The financial markets are in a hand basket and the economy in CA doesn't show signs of getting better before worse.

Dan Walters does a good item on the cuts and makes the case that Roger has made for years....money does not equal good education. Good teachers and good administration equals good education. As the pink slips go out (teachers have to be notified of firing by March 15th?) you likely know that the firing process does not involve letting the weakest teachers go. It's time in seat. A lousy teacher whose been in seat a long time will remain while the bright young whippersnapper fresh out of the teaching school, dying to change the world, will end up making your 10-dollar cup of coffee at Starbucks.

These cuts in CA come at the same time that a court sez home schooling is illegal unless parents are certified by the state to teach their kids. How much does home schooling cost the state? How come home schooling works? And why must we seek to destroy home schooling?

And back to the FFA program up in Ramona. The first ponder is that if the school kills the program the local community can step into save it. Get some volunteer teachers in there. Apply for Ag grants (you wanna bet there are thousands of such grants). Get some pork from the massive fed Ag bill. Raise some local dollars to help local kids. The FFA has national regs that say a local program has to be affiliated with a school district.  Okay, let the school district compact with the FFA chapter.
 
Gummint is seldom the answer but almost always the problem...home schoolers will fight and save their right to teach their kids...and the FFA chapter up in Ramona will have to do the same.
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