Our public schools are turning our children into zombies with drugs like Ritalin. They’re taking away their creativity and incentive to learn by dumbing classes down to the lowest common denominator. And for a long time now they’ve been telling them what to wear.
Some schools prohibit kids from wearing gang colors. Others ban short skirts. Bandanas, beanies, sunglasses, baseball hats, wristbands and even certain jewelry have been prohibited from certain schools throughout the country. But 14-year-old Toni Kay Scott’s parents say they were completely taken by surprise when told that their daughter’s school outlawed Tigger on a pair of socks.
For attending class at a Napa middle school wearing socks displaying the Winnie the Pooh character -- in violation of the school's solid-colors-only, no-pictures, no-logos dress code -- the seventh-grader was sent to the principal's office, and then in a detention program called Students With Attitude Problems.
Toni Kay, now an eighth-grade honors student, said that she's been cited more than a dozen times and sent home from school twice, for such infractions as wearing a polo shirt with the manufacturer's butterfly logo, a pair of pink tennis shoes and a shirt with the insignia of the anti-drug program D.A.R.E.
The incident has caused an avalanche of controversy and Napa Valley Unified School District, which approved the code, is now in court over the whole affair.
The school's "unconstitutionally vague, overbroad and restrictive uniform dress code policy'' flouts state law, violates freedom of expression, and wastes teachers' and students' time and attention that would be better spent on education, the American Civil Liberties Union said in a suit filed Monday on behalf of six students and their parents.
The school policy, in effect for more than a decade, requires students' clothes and backpacks to be entirely solid colors: The only colors permitted are blue, white, green, yellow, khaki, gray, brown and black. The only acceptable fabrics are cotton twill, chino and corduroy. No jeans or "denim-looking'' clothes allowed. No pictures, words, symbols or patterns, except the school logo. And definitely no Tigger. Or Mickey. Or Goofy, for that matter.
I think this is ridiculous. I can see the thinking behind banning clothing emblazoned with logos or messages that may be interpreted as being gang-related, religiously offensive or obscene. But, how can a cartoon tiger be considered offensive by any stretch of the imagination? Is there a subversive band of thugs out there called the Tiggers that we’re not aware of? Are they rumbling after school with the Spongebob Squarepants mob? Are they hijacking tricycles with the Rugrats crew?
This is another prime example of people in power making stupid decisions and then letting the courts do the dirty work. This is going to end up costing the Napa Valley Unified School District a lot of money in legal fees, and guess who pays for that? As they say: Those who can’t…teach. And those who can’t teach become school administrators and make up really stupid rules like this one.
Yesterday I interviewed a former MLB player named Wally Westlake. He's 87 years old. What a wonderful guy. Wally played in the late 40's and 50's for a variety of teams, most notably the Pittsburgh Pirates. I love interviewing these old retire players, listening to their stories and hearing about their careers.
I’m entering Day 11 of my 30-Day Isagenix Cleansing Program and the weight loss train just keeps rolling down the track. I did my two cleanse days on Tuesday and Wednesday while on the road for my job in Sacramento. It was a little tough, because I was in meetings both days, so I had to sneak out to my car and drink my stuff. And then I had to go to the bathroom all day too. But, it all worked out. I’m happy to report that I have now lost 13.5 lbs. and 2.5 inches in my waist since I started this program. It’s really an amazing thing! Sometimes I feel like I’ve lost a lot and then other times it’s like I can’t tell. It’s a gradual process – I compare it to an iceberg slowly melting. When I put on my clothes I can really tell that the poundage is dropping off. My pants are not as tight around the waist. I don’t feel like Jabba the Hut anymore. Hopefully pretty soon I’ll start looking like Luke Skywalker. Isagenix has been a huge success for me so far!
I am so tired hearing about how San Francisco is a great dog town. People are always talking about the 120,000 dogs in this city and how the people here just love and embrace canines. The fact of the matter is that it’s all just one big pile of rancid poo. San Francisco doesn’t welcome dogs. The seagulls and sea lions down at Fisherman’s Wharf have more rights. To be honest, the citizens and politicians in this area do everything they can to discourage people from owning dogs in SF. This latest story is just another example that illustrates how anti-pooch this city really is. The Animal Control and Welfare Commission is currently urging the SF Board of Supervisors to adopt legislation that will allow landlords to raise a tenant’s rent 5 percent per pet as an incentive for property owners to be more open to welcoming animals into their apartments or homes. Local dog owner Rex Reginald, a recent Los Angeles transplant, is behind the effort. Currently, it is so difficult to rent a place if you own dogs that many people are forced to give up their pets in order to find somewhere to live. If you do get to keep your dog, it usually means that you have to move into an area that’s sub par – unsafe, unclean or unkempt – just because you want to own a dog. Reginald came up with a proposal a while back that would have given a property-tax break for owners of rental apartments if they rented to pet owners. It was soundly rejected. The city should have stepped up and approved that bill, but like I said, people don’t like dogs in this stuck-up snooty place. The bleeding liberals in this town full of hypocrites enjoy the reputation of being an animal-friendly place, but when it comes time to put up or shut up, they’re all bark and no bite. You can have a dog, as long as it doesn’t bark, crap, go outside….or breath. Now landlords are going to be able to charge pet owners even more money and gouge people even further. Responsible dog owners are better tenants than most, as a rule. They go out of their way to make sure they don’t destroy the place and will always be certain that their living quarters are kept clean. They steam clean the carpets more often; they have maids in many cases – not to mention the security a dog on the premises provides from break-ins and burglaries. Kids cause more trouble and are more likely to damage property than any dog is. When was the last time you heard about a dog drawing on the walls with crayons or taking a dump down a heating vent? (Both things we did when we were kids, by the way.) Irresponsible dog owners give all dog owners a bad name, and that’s a shame. And landlords should be able to determine who they want to rent to without the city dictating the terms. But, let’s get down to the bone of the matter. San Francisco is NOT a dog-friendly town. It’s a money-friendly, income-friendly, tax payer-friendly, high rent-friendly, yuppie-friendly town. Dogs are second-class citizens here, and the sooner the media spin stops the better. If SF wants to take our pets out of the doghouse, they need to do something to make us believe that they care about them, instead of consistently lifting their legs on pet owners with more restrictions and added costs. And allowing landlords to raise dog owners’ rents is surely not the solution.
Today is Day 8 of my Isagenix 30-Day Program. I knew my first weekend on the program would be tough, which it was. In the past, the weekend was when I really did the majority of my over-eating. I would go out for breakfast and/or lunch, gorge myself to the limit and then waddle around from refrigerator to TV; back and forth all weekend long. But, by losing some weight already, I’ve gotten a good jump on it and Isagenix has given me the confidence to extricate myself from my old ways.
It’s early on Day Six of My Isagenix 30-day Program. Yesterday when I was out walking my dogs, I heard the song by Chicago called “Feeling Stronger Every Day.” I couldn’t relate more. The energy you get from this program is absolutely unbelievable and I truly am feeling strength and vigor I didn’t have before. Things that I’ve been putting off, like washing my car, doing laundry, writing letters and thank you cards, working out and fixing things in the house – now I’m doing them because I’ve got this new surge of energy thanks to Isagenix.
Our public schools are turning our children into zombies with drugs like Ritalin. They’re taking away their creativity and incentive to learn by dumbing classes down to the lowest common denominator. And for a long time now they’ve been telling them what to wear.
