Sunday, October 2, 2011

#SundaySnarkies Explained, Twitter, October 2, 2011

...and we're off. #SundaySnarkies
Greetings!

I’m so glad the forest I can see from my backyard can be turned into something so practical… like Chinese concrete forms. #SundaySnarkies
I live near some Weyerhauser land, and they have a tree farm nearby. It's actually a pretty interesting operation. Given all the attention old-growth forests have gotten, many tend not to think of trees as a renewable resource. However, Weyerhauser's tree farm is harvested very carefully, and it takes a lot of patience. Many of the currently harvestable trees go right past my house on their way to the nearest port; a port that was previuosly bypassed in favor of one further away. The story is really about what a boon Weyerhauser's decision was to the closer of the two ports. However, they mention how the end users will be using, and yes, China will use our NW-grown trees to create concrete forms. Frankly, I'd rather see them as forests from my deck, but I realize that's a little selfish.

I’m sure it’s not a conflict of interest for a city council to create a transportation district and then make themselves its board. Right? #SundaySnarkies
I thought I was imagining this when I first read it, but it's true. The local city council decided they needed a transportation district to create a funding source for local roads and infrastructure. So they created one. Then--and this is the part I find appalling on several levels--they appointed themselves to the district's board of directors. So maybe it's not a conflict of interest, but who's going to monitor their activity, where the funds go, and the accountability to the public?  This seems a little hinky to me.

So BOA decided to institute fees for debit card usage? I’m not sure what’s more surprising: the fee, or that BOA still has customers. #SundaySnarkies
Ah, the infamous Bank of America. We left BofA more than 15 years ago for one very simple reason: Fees. It's good to see they haven't changed their business practices in all this time, because it means we made the right decision to leave them.  It is simply amazing to me that BofA, like many other banks, have done everything they can in the past decade or so to get their customers to use ATM and debit cards. And now that so many people do, they're going to start charging a fee. You might recall that the original excuse many institutions gave for transitioning people was to reduce costs (in the form of the teller behind the thick plexiglass). It was going to mean lower or discontinued fees. How diabolical of them to wait this long to start charging for card usage. I bet most people have forgotten those old excuses by now.

I have no problem with anyone who wants to believe in heaven or hell, but to state as fact instead of opinion that one or the other is real? #SundaySnarkies
Seriously, I read an op ed in which a pastor tries to convince people that not believing in hell is a bad idea. His reasoning? "Hell is real and terrible." His proof: Several passages from the New Testatment. I don't have enough of a literary background to insert some smarmy quote here, but I took just enough Philosophy, and I'm just logical enough to have a problem with this. Maybe that's the issue I have with most faith-based concepts. For me it boils down to an organized group trying to get others to conform to their way of thinking... just because they think it's right. Here we have this pastor, stating as fact, that hell is real. I don't know, maybe he's been there, maybe his life has been a living hell, or maybe any other number of reasons are pushing him this direction. I do know I don't have to believe him.

Rainier park chief sold home for 3x its assessed value to monopoly climbing guide service. And it wasn’t a kickback. I don’t buy it. #SundaySnarkies
I admittedly did not read the full  Seattle Times report of the investigation into this transaction, but the appearance of impropriety is strong. The chief's kids were employed by the guide service. The contract with the park for climbing services got split three ways with the company in question getting 50% of the business and two other companies getting only 25% each. Then they pay a premium to the chief for his personal residence. You decide.

You’re under investigation for supporting terrorists, and your response is to try to strike an FBI agent with your car. Good plan, genius! #SundaySnarkies
It's probably a stereotype to think that everyone cavorting with terrorists and terrorist organizations is not real smart. I'll give that to you. But when you're under investigation by the FBI for various and sundry communications and activities, you're barred from air travel, and you're under regular surveillance, I would think acting cool as a cucumber would be an option to strongly consider. Not our hero. "Feeling like a caged animal", he tries to "crash his car into an FBI agent who was following him." Like I snarked, good plan, genius.

As much as I support education, Mr. Superintendent, it seems like if you defy a directive given by your manager, that’s insubordination. #SundaySnarkies
Like all departments in the state, Education was given the directive by our governor to propose a budget with 10% cuts. The state's budget is in bad shape, and it seems like the thinking is you have to put everything on the table, make it all fair game for cuts, and start making some tough decisions. I'm not in favor of cutting education in any way, shape, or form. I think our state has seen too many cuts to education in the past few years. So while I can respect the sentiment behind not wanting to make more cuts, unless the Superintendent is being asked to do something illegal or that threatens his personal safety, I know how such a refusal would be viewed in the places I've worked. He's trying to say such cuts would be unconstitutional. Maybe that's equivalent to illegal, and he has a point, but I guess that'll be left to the courts to decide.


How is it the local paper’s online version is still running “headlines” from July 30? Isn’t that more like “oldlines” or “archives”? #SundaySnarkies
I know. It's online. If I don't like it, I don't have to read it. But it's one of the few sources of local print news, and I just have this expectation that since it is online, the stories on its website should be relatively current. I don't think that's asking too much now, is it?

Interesting that a local teachers’ strike is spun as losing “trust of students”, yet no students were polled for the article. #SundaySnarkies
This one was a bit of a stretch in the logic department for me. I understand the gist of what the op-ed piece was trying to say, but really? "Teachers lost trust of students, families by going on strike." I mean, really? Sure, there's something to be said for teachers role modeling following the rules, but isn't there something to be said, too, for standing up for what you believe in? For the processes and procedures involved in dealing with organized labor? I have a hard time with this one. The teachers in this case were fighting to keep class sizes small and to have some say in where and how they were transferred between schools. A strike was their right, and if that can't be respected, maybe those that disagree should try to dismantle the teachers' unions in the state. Good luck. 

I'm not sure why. Maybe it's the change in the seasons, maybe it's the approach of the holidays, but something got me to thinking about the human beings in our community trying to find shelter. I checked out a couple of homeless-oriented charities on CharityNavigator.com, and these are the two I found.  If you're not a Washingtonian, and you want to donate to something more local to you, check out Charity Navigator and see what you can find. It's a great site.

Feel Good #SundaySnarkies 1: Here’s your chance to help homeless youth in NW Washington. http://www.cocoonhouse.org/index

Feel Good #SundaySnarkies 2:  Or if you’d rather help homeless adults in King County, WA: http://www.cocoonhouse.org/index