The City of Lawrence installed Donation Meters last year.

Donation Meter located on the East side of the 800 block of Massachusetts Street. by DIST

They seem to be working.

At least for this guy ...

Lawrence Donation Meters provide ambiance for a panhandler. by DIST

Lindsey Graham (R) famously said that the number one item on the Republican agenda was to make Mr. Obama a one-term president. Though I am sure there will be a lot of hand clenching and tooth gnashing over consequences of Mr. Romney's loss to President Obama, the one thing that cannot be disputed is that the President's victory represents a complete failure of the Republican agenda.

Instead of reaching compromise agreements on health care, working with the president on free market solutions to climate change or helping to create new lightly regulated funding mechanisms for start-up companies by working on the JOBS bill, Republicans chose to focus on obstructing the President's agenda. They chose to paint him as a socialist, block his initiatives, block his appointments and demonize him. They chose the path of obstruction over the path of compromise.

During the debt ceiling debate and the Obamacare debate Mr Obama practically begged Republicans to meet him in the middle. He offered compromises on taxes, on the health care mandate, he offered to compromise on Social Security age restrictions and on and on and on. All the Republicans could say to this was No, No, No.

Instead of serving their constituents, they served their ideology.

Now that agenda is a complete failure. The Republicans failed to get their ideas included in the President's programs, then they failed to remove the President. More importantly however, they failed their constituents.

I hope they learn their lesson, but I doubt they will. The Republicans need to change their attitude. They need to work with Democrats, reach across the isle and make compromises.

They need a new agenda, one that serves their constituents rather than their vanity. An agenda rooted in what is best for the country. They need to work with the President and not against him.

Who should I vote for as the next President of the United States?

The campaign season has been so short. There have been very few advertisements explaining positions. The news outlets have barely covered the Presidential Campaign.

SNL's Undecided Voter by DIST

Romney

Obama

Scott Rothschild, Lawrence Journal-World opinion writer, borrowed from the lefts' daily speaking points to write the article, "Kobach likens same-sex unions to drug abuse."

Rothschild links his story to what appears to be an "NBC Style" edited video of Kris Kobach speaking at the Republican National Convention's Platform Committee meeting. This is the flawed video:

Please take note that Kobach's comments were missing from the 7-second to the 13-second mark; additionally the first 6 seconds of his remarks were not included either.

The Video Quote

"(missing/edited-out) …. Especially the last sentence. As long …. (missing/edited-out) …. Well, our government routinely judges situations where you might regard people completely affecting themselves, like, for example, the use of controlled substances, like, for example, polygamy that is voluntarily entered into. We condemn those activities even though they are not hurting other people, at least directly. So this is worded way too broadly for inclusion in the platform.”

The Missing Quotes

Kobach began, “Kris Kobach from Kansas. I think the wording; I oppose this amendment. I think the wording is too broad..."

Kobach then gave the direct quote from the amendment that he opposed, citing the last sentence, "As long as there are no infringements on the rights of others, It is not the role of government to judge."

All Together Now

“Kris Kobach from Kansas. I think the wording... I oppose this amendment, I think the wording is too broad. Especially the last sentence: ‘As long as there are no infringements on the rights of others, It is not the role of government to judge.’ Well, our government routinely judges situations where you might regard people completely affecting themselves like, for example, the use of controlled substances, like, for example, polygamy that is voluntarily entered into. We condemn those activities even though they’re not hurting other people, at least directly.”

Two critical, contextual pieces of information are thus missing from Rothschild's reporting. First, there is Kobach's 6 seconds of remarks, his preamble, as it were. Second, is the context of his remarks derived from the amendment; remarks regarding a broad based amendment to the platform - not remarks specific to same-sex marriage. Granted the amendment dealt with same-sex marriage; however, Kobach's remarks were specific to what he believed to be an overly broad amendment.

The Truth Please

Kobach, no doubt, is against same-sex marriage. However, to state that he "likens same-sex unions to drug abuse," or, that, "Kobach equated same-sex relationships with drug abuse and polygamy," at best is disingenuous and the result of poor research and reporting. Journal-World readers deserve better than rehashed disinformation from left-wing political blogs rewritten as news. Journal-World readers deserve higher journalistic standards than to use an Obama donation website as the sole reference for news. An Obama donation website? Yes, here is a screenshot of the current home page of the ThinkProgress.com website:

ThinkProgress - A Rothschild news source. by DIST

Correction

ThinkProgress.org is the actual reference for Rothschild's news article. by DIST

There is an interesting story, Man of an uncertain age: Legend of 125-year-old sparks curiosity, in the Lawrence Journal-World. After reading the story, I used Google Street View to see if I could explore Oak Hill Cemetery. The street view ended a short way into the cemetery. However, Google watermarked the view in an odd place.

After making several attempts to post the picture as a comment to the story - and the new comment system failing to post it - I decided to share the picture here. It is not necessarily blog-worthy, however, it is an interesting quirk.

by DIST

I tried posting this comment several times to the Sound Off question, "Who is responsible for mowing the new grass median strips between Sixth Street and Peterson Road on Kasold?" The comment would not post; nor, could I use the "Blog about this" button. Thus, I created this blog.

Here is a list of phone numbers and e-forms to report various problems to the city:

Abandoned Vehicles
(785) 832-7509

Backflow Test Report
Submit Online Form
(785) 832-7800

Barking Dog
(785) 832-7509

Code Enforcement
Submit Online Form
(785) 832-3111

Report a Damaged Curb
Submit Online Form
(785) 832-3111

Report a Damaged Sidewalk
Submit Online Form
(785) 832-3125

Dilapidated House
Submit Online Form
(785) 832-7700

Graffiti
Submit Online Form
(785) 832-5354

Hazardous Parking
(785) 832-7509

Overhanging Trees and Shrubs
Submit Online Form
(785) 832-7979

Potholes
Submit Online Form
(785) 832-3456

Request GIS Data Sets
Submit Online Form
(785) 832-3325

Stray Dog
(785) 832-7509

Stormwater Blockage
Submit Online Form
(785) 832-3143

Street Lights Not Working
Submit Online Form
(800) 544-4857

Broken Traffic/Street Signs and Signals
(785) 832-7509

Weeds
Submit Online Form
(785) 832-7700

Water Service
Establish: Submit Online Form
transfer: Submit Online Form
stop services: Submit Online Form
(785) 832-7878

Water Taste/Odor/Appearance
Submit Online Form
(785) 832-7800

Website Help
Submit Online Form
(785) 832-7800

Emergencies: Police, Fire and Ambulance:
911

Water Main Break:
(785) 832-7800

Source: City of Lawrence Request Page

by DIST

Soda Jerk: Noun. - someone who works at a soda fountain.

In most cases this definition would be ample and accurate. However, the term has now been bestowed upon the Mayor of New York City, Michael Bloomberg. In Bloomberg's case the honorary title must be separated into its two components: Soda (a sweet drink consisting of soda water, flavoring, and often ice cream) and Jerk (an annoyingly stupid or foolish person).

Bloomberg has decided to combat obesity. His first major target is sugary drinks. His weapon of choice is government regulation of drink sizes. The mayor's website, MikeBloomberg.com, explains under its banner Combating Obesity, "The NYC Department of Health is continuing its efforts to combat this epidemic by seeking to prohibit the sale of sugary drinks in containers of more than 16 fluid ounces at restaurants and food carts."

It is tempting to address the overreaching hand of government, big brother, or the nanny state. However, those issues, and the relevant arguments of freedom and constitutional rights, will be ignored by Bloomberg. New York City will eventually adopt his proposal. For reasons incomprehensible to those outside of New York, New Yorkers appear to be willing participants of government intrusion. Ergo (a conjunction to replace "therefore" and sounds cool), the discussion will focus on the resulting catastrophes or unintended consequences of the pending legislation.

Unintended consequences are results of actions that were unexpected, undesired, and usually un-thought of by those proposing an action. They may be obvious to others, yet will be largely ignored by those seeking a particular action or outcome. Let's look at a few examples of unintended consequences.

San Francisco legislated the now all-too-well-known low-flush toilet. Hoping to conserve water, the city leaders missed an unintended consequence. Because of the lower water usage, there is now more sludge in their sewage plants. This has resulted in obnoxious odors and over $100 million in sewer upgrades.

Water districts throughout the nation have asked patrons to lower their usage. However, where conservation, or forced rationing, has been taken seriously there has been a significant unintended consequence: lower income for municipalities. Irate customers tend to be another unintended consequence of lower water usage because water districts simply raise rates to compensate for lower usage. Dam if you do; Dam if you don't. (A little water district humor there.)

Here are a few others before moving along:

• Voluntary and mandated reductions in nicotine and tar have created greater health risks for those that choose to smoke.
• A ban on the use of DDT has led to an increase in fatal malaria outbreaks.
• Some believe that the use of corn to produce ethanol as an alternative fuel source has reduced the world's grain supply and increased the cost of food. The change in land use has also been credited with increasing greenhouse gases.
• Georgia's new immigration law - written to decrease illiegal workers in Georgia - has created a shortage of agriculture workers.

Unintended Consequences of the Big Gulp Soda Jerk

First, there is no reason to believe that those wishing to drink massive quantities of sugary drinks will be hindered by Bloomberg's proposed ban. Many will likely double-down on the largest quantity available - the 16 ounce. In some cases, this will cause an increase in consumption for those currently buying 20 or 24 ounce drinks. Some will switch to diet soda which is now thought to create long term weight gain. The unintended consequence? The number of obese New York residents will continue to grow.

The ban will have the unintended consequence of negatively effecting the environment. As stated above, it is likely that some consumers will just buy two smaller sodas. The environmental impact of producing twice as many 16 ounce bottles, cups, and other containers will be significant. More paper (tree harvesting) and more plastics (increasing fossil fuel refining) will be required to meet the increased demand for smaller servings. Pollution from the increased need for transportation of raw materials, final product, and disposing of end product will be significant. Years down the road a study will measure this increase in tons of pollutants expelled into the air.

The increased usage of a slightly smaller container - a container that requires almost the same resources as its larger cousin to produce will have another unintended consequence. The ban will provide greater quantities of recyclable and disposable containers. This net effect of New York City increasing its trash output would be difficult to measure since they are kind enough to ship trash by several methods to multiple destinations. Virginia is just one of many destinations.

Of course there will be at least one positive unintended consequence. The cost of two or more smaller sugary drinks will exceed that of the supersize drink. This will increase the sales taxes collected by New York City and State.

That's all. Now go away - down below here - and talk amongst yourselves.

A recent Lawrence Journal-World article, "National group seeks repeal of ‘Stand Your Ground’ law in Kansas," brought about many comments regarding the Second Amendment to the United States' Constitution. There appears to be two prominent, and distinct, interpretations to "Article The Fourth" (aka: Amendment the Second in The Bill of Rights).

Some interpret the amendment as a clear right for citizens and states to form and maintain a militia (a body of citizens organized for military service). Further, this school of thought allows for members, and only the members, of a duly formed militia to own weapons that are necessary for service in the militia.

Others interpret the second amendment as a clear right for militias to be formed and armed. Further, this school believes that individuals outside of the militia (read as "any and all citizens") also have the right to bear arms.

A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.

The reason for this difference in interpretations is two-fold. First, ideology causes many to forgo logic, state their biased preference, and then document their foregone conclusion. Second, some fail to apply the rules of punctuation to the amendment. And, simply put, one punctuation mark - and its proper application - resolves the issue of gun ownership rights and gun control. That punctuation mark is the comma.

A comma is a "a punctuation mark, used especially as a mark of separation within the sentence." There are at least 21 rules that govern the use of commas. Two of these rules can be applied to the sentence structure of the second amendment. Why these two? Simply because the other 19 rules can be eliminated as non-applicable.

The first comma, and a dual-purpose second comma, separates the non-essential clause "being necessary to the security of a free State." This is considered non-essential since the first statement, "A well regulated Militia," is sufficiently identified. In other words, the separated non-essential clause could be eliminated without changing the meaning of the statement - it only defines or explains the subject.

The second comma, although lending support to separating the non-essential clause, has now become the dreaded "comma splice" that is used in place of the conjunction "and." If not for the need of the comma to help separate the non-essential clause, the word "and" could have been used. How do we know that the second comma has the power of "and?" Simply remove the explanatory non-essential clause. What is left is this:

A well regulated Militia, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.

After removing the non-essential clause it is easy to see that the remaining comma must have the power of "and" for no other word or interpretation would make sense. For example, "A well regulated Militia (of/or/but) the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed," is nonsensical. Yet, "A well regulated Militia and the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed," makes grammatical sense.

A well regulated Militia and the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.

That's all I have to say 'bout that.

Now, talk among yourselves.

Presented for your entertainment - a crossword puzzle. This puzzle contains some online users' names. Spaces, underscores, hyphens, etc., have been eliminated. For example: L_J_World would be ljworld. Print this out, or copy and paste it to a Word or editing program. Or, just solve the clues. Have fun.

by DIST

A recent Lawrence.com article, "Sled Lawrence: A primer to the best sledding spots in town (even if there's no snow)," by Liz Weslander listed several cool locations that are the hot spots for snow sledding in Lawrence. A similar review of sledding spots can be found in "Lawrence Kids."

Below is a low-resolution map and legend of the recommended sledding hills. Clicking on the map will link you to a larger, interactive version of the map.

Here is hoping for some sledding snow; but, not too much. Happy sledding! I'll see you on one of the hills come first snow.

On Thursday the talking heads made up a lot of reasons why the DOW and S&P 500 were down 5%. The biggest loss since 2008, they said. Then they made up a bunch of reasons "why".

Was it stagnant growth numbers? Bad retail sales numbers? Maybe sun spots?

Then yesterday, S&P downgraded the US debt rating from AAA to AA+.

This is ridiculous for a number of reasons, not the least of which is that if the US is AA+, how can EXXON or Microsoft (US Based C-Corporations) be AAA? You don't think a US default and the resulting chaos in the markets would cause these companies to be a higher risk? Who would default first. Microsoft under an anti-trust ruling or the United States, a nation that defeated Germany (twice), fought the cold war and invented cheese in a can.

It is also ridiculous that the full faith and credit of the United States is being called into question by an organization that was rating the bottom tranche of sub-prime mortgage derivatives "AAA" during 2004, 2005 and 2006. These morons are the same morons that got us into the debt crisis in the first place. They still don't have a clue about how to evaluate risk. The Black Swan is still coming and these guys are downgrading US Treasury bills.

Oh, and they are all still making millions in salary and bonuses. No jail time or civil penalties for them.

Anyway, I would like to propose an alternative theory to Thursday's market sell-off. Insider Trading. It is possible that insiders at S&P who knew of the impending downgrade leaked the information to Wall St. types who are "in the know".

The resulting sell-off was a reaction, not to any real market forces, but to insider rumors floating around about S&P's impending action.

This week the FBI, Justice Department and SEC should raid the S&P offices and get to the bottom of this. Insider trading has long been tolerated. Traders who are plugged into the rumor mill make millions trading on information that is not publicly available. I think that once the SEC and others look into it, the cockroaches at S&P will flee the light. Maybe we can squish a few.

Douglas County Commissioners have made a tentative offer to purchase land from PDO Investors, an LLC led by Steve Glass. The county has offered $1,196,000; a whopping $35,176 per acre.

Glass will prove himself to be a businessman extraordinaire should this transaction be completed.

First, this land neighbors the parcel that Glass sold to Lawrence Public Schools two years ago. That 76 acres sold for $1.73 million ($22,763 per acre). During a down economy and a depressed real estate market where many are selling at a loss, Glass seems to have managed to increase the value of his unimproved land by 54%.

Second, Glass appears to be the only property owner who has cut a deal where the County is making an offer above and beyond the County's appraisal value. According to the letter of intent, "Douglas County will offer to purchase the two adjacent properties located in the Franklin Business Park at the 2011 county-appraised values..."

Jerry Taylor will be offered $572,720.

Printing Solutions will be offered $250,000.

Glass and PDO are being offered $1,196,00 for property that had an 2011 county-appraisal of $7,160.

Should the County decide to continue with this plan the commissioners would better serve their constituents by making Glass the same deal as the other property owners - offer the 2011 county-appraisal.

An offer by the county that is 54% higher than recent sales, an offer that shows special consideration that other owners did not receive - frankly - is not as transparent as glass. Or, is it?

Editing Note: The above images may be used as hyperlinks to the actual documents. The tax year will need to be chosen in order to view the document.

DIST had full intentions of staying out of the Royal Wedding. However, this headline and byline grabbed even an uninterested bystander's attention. Just who married who here? Does this mean that Prince Harry may have to prove that he is the "Best Man?"

by DIST

An ironic visualization was observed on the LJWorld online front page. It unwittingly declared the history and operational policy of USD 497.

by DIST

First, postpone repairs on elementary schools.

Second, move forward repairs on secondary education facilities.

Third, close elementary schools

From the organizations involved in the seminar, the cities of Auschwitz (Oswiecim) and Krakow, I saw many evidences of the ongoing process of moving from remembrance to reconciliation to respect for life that ends genocide and mass atrocity. In Oswiecim, Fred Schwartz, founder of the Auschwitz Institute for Peace and Reconciliation led the restoration of the Chevra Lomdei Mishnayot Synagogue, the only surviving Jewish house of prayer in Oswiecim. It was used during the war as a munitions warehouse.

Along with the restoration was the development of The Auschwitz Jewish Museum and Education Center. Through the center's exhibitions and programs students, scholars, and visitors from around the world learn of the richness of pre-war Jewish life in Oswiecim and build awareness of the dangers of xenophobia, anti-Semitism, and other forms of intolerance. A large outdoor mural and artwork from local Polish children depicting their idea of Judaism is featured in the museum.

The Old Synagogue in Krakow built in the 16th century along side the 14th century walls was destroyed by the Germans but has been rebuilt and serves as a museum and memorial to people who were killed at that site.

Much of our seminar was held at the Centre for Dialogue and Prayer, a catholic institution in Oswiecim. Founded in 1992 by the Archbishop Franciszek Cardinal Macharski, the bishops of Europe, and representatives of Jewish organizations, the Centre hosts educational programs, seminars, exhibits and lodging for thousands of visitors each year. The Centre’s sign, a sun rising from barbwire is to me, reflective of their mission, which is to contribute to “creating mutual respect, reconciliation, and peace in the world.”

      Wisdom is the ultimate good
      It flows from knowledge
      When moral passion is added, it leads to the search for truth
      Knowledge is physical
      Truth is metaphysical

by Fred Schwartz, Auschwitz Institute for Peace and Reconciliation

by Michelle Heller

by Michelle Heller

Headstones were often removed from cemeteries and used for walkways, roads, and walls. This is the site of a unmarked graves. It is a place of meditation in Krakow. by Michelle Heller

The Old Synagoue located in the Jewish Quarter was built in the 16th century alongside the city's 14th century walls. Destroyed during the war it was rebuilt and features a museum and a memorial to those who were killed at that site. by Michelle Heller

In the past two days we visited Collegium Maius Jagiellonian University which dates to the 1400s and is one of the oldest universities in the world. Copernicus was a student. We also saw three memorials, one for the Katyn Polish army officers killed in the Katyn Forrest Massacre; a memorial to the many professors killed during the war and a memorial at the site of the former Plaszow Concentration Camp. Our guide gave us the following background:

Our guide reminded that of the 6 million killed 2,200,000 were Poles. When German Forces invaded Poland from the west, the Soviet Army launched an attack from the east. In the Katyn Forest, Soviets killed 7,000 to 8,000 Polish Army officers and began a systematic destruction of the Polish “Intelligentsia”. Many of the officers were well educated and included teachers, doctors, judges and other educated professionals who were military reservists. Nazis also targeted for elimination: community leaders, government officials, judges and school teachers. At the War’s end the Poles had lost 45% of their doctors, 57% of all attorneys, 40% of its university professors and almost all of their journalists. Young men and women were forced to work in Germany and Polish children who looked Aryan were taken away from their parents and placed in German families. About 100,000 Polish citizens perished in Auschwitz.

Polish children were forbidden from acquiring education beyond the elementary level so that a new generation of Polish leaders could not arise in the future. In a May, 1940, memo Heinrich Himmler’s stated that it was his goal to limit the education of Poles to a 4th grade education and all they need learn was “simple arithmetic, nothing above the number 500; writing one's name; and the doctrine that it is divine law to obey the Germans. I do not think that reading is desirable.” Our guide said the Polish people had clandestine education classes as best they could in the circumstances.

Plaskow was a labor camp that kept approximately 20,000 – 25,000 prisoners at a time. It had been a site of two Jewish cemeteries prior to being selected as a labor camp site. Nothing exists of the camp as the Nazis had enough time to destroy all evidence including bodies and ashes. In 1964, a massive granite memorial was erected which reads, “In homage to martyrs murdered by the Nazi perpetrators of genocide in the years 1941-1945.” Our guide said the monument represented the “broken hearts of all the people who suffered in the camps.”

by Michelle Heller

by Michelle Heller

by Michelle Heller

by Michelle Heller

by Michelle Heller

Today we visited Schindler's Factory and the Jewish Quarter. Oscar Schindler, a German businessman, saw an business opportunity in war torn Poland. He opened an enamelware factory in Krakow and employed Jewish workers from the nearby ghetto. He became close to his workers and was horrified at the Nazi brutality to the Jews. Schindler took a great deal of personal risk to protect his workers, ultimately saving approximately 1,100 - 1,200 Jews. In one instance, a group of women in his employ were mistakenly put on a train to Auschwitz. Although the movie, "Schindler's List", directed by Steven Spielberg, has Schindler going to rescue them in actuality he sent his assistant. Nonetheless, they were taken back to the factory and were part of the numbers who survived. In October 1944, after the SS transferred the Jews to Plaszow Concentation camp in Krakow. He obtained authorization to relocate his plant to Brnenec in Moravia. One of his assistants drew several versions of a list of up to 1,200 Jewish prisoners needed to work in the new factory. These lists came to be known collectively as “Schindler's List.” There are more than 7,000 descendants of the "Schindler Jews."

Outside the factory is the following sign with a quote from the Talmud. I think the story and quote are appropriate for a discussion on prevention and intervention in genocide and mass atrocity.

More about the empty chair memorial The memorial to the Jews of the Podgorze Ghetto in Krakow was inaugurated on 8 December 2005. Krakow architects Piotr Lewicki and Kazimierz Latak included 33 steel and cast iron chairs in the square and 37 smaller chairs standing on the edge of the square and at the tram stops. The theme of empty chairs has also been used at the Oklahoma City Monument at the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building blast site to reflect "absence." Near the square stands the Krakow ghetto pharmacy owned by Tadeusz Pankiewicz, a Polish pharmacist who owned the Eagle Pharmacy in Krakow. The German occupation authorities allowed the pharmacy to function, despite ghetto conditions.

(I also have an interesting story on the pharmacy..... another example of how we can make a difference in the lives of others.)

by Michelle Heller

by Michelle Heller

by Michelle Heller