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Mony, mony
Author: TriSec    Date: 11/14/2009 13:20:57

A while back now, in the early days of us listening to Ms. Miller, I remember a commercial from some snake-oil salesman peddling her "powerful, free tapes".

These alleged self-help things would make you healthy, wealthy, wise, and highly desireable among the opposite sex.

Something she said in the commercial has stuck with me ever since. "There is no problem on this earth that cannot be solved by the application of money."



Really?

More than anything else, that illustrates to me what is wrong with American society. Skimming the internets this morning, I found a couple of illustrations to back that up...

I'll start as a parent first. We want our kids to be smart and well-liked at school. Some of us even want them to be "bomars" and get straight-A's and be the Valedictorian. Reality is, most of our children are going to schlep along, study when they need to, goof off most of the time, and wind up with Bs and Cs throughout their academic career. That doesn't look too good on an Ivy-League application, though.

A principal in Goldsboro, NC cooked up a scheme where students could increase their grades on two tests by 20 points for a mere $20....which was called a 'fundraiser' for new technologies for the school. It's since turned into a national scandal and the principal has resigned in shame.


A fundraiser at a North Carolina middle school sold students 20 test points for a $20 donation.

That's enough to raise a B to an A on two tests, or a failing score to a D, The News & Observer reports.

Or at least it did until the newspaper began asking questions, and the Wayne County school administrators ordered Goldsboro Middle School to stop the fundraiser.

They also issued this statement:

Yesterday afternoon, the district administration met with [Rosewood Middle School principal] Mrs. Shepherd and directed the following actions be taken: (1) the fundraiser will be immediately stopped; (2) no extra grade credit will be issued that may have resulted from donations; and (3) beginning November 12, all donations will be returned.

Susie Shepherd told the newspaper that a parent advisory council had come up with the idea and that she had endorsed it. She said the council is looking for a new way to raise money.

"Last year, they did chocolates, and it didn't generate anything," she says.

Shepherd tells the paper the extra points would not have made a difference in a student's final grade, which covers nine weeks of work.




I suppose there's sports....but that's already under the taint of performance-enhancing drugs. At least the officiating is reasonably good, and aside from one guy in the NBA, the refs are mostly hard-working and honest.

Cincinnati Bengals player Chad Ochocinco found out the hard way that the league takes bribing officials, even the hint of bribing one as a joke, very seriously....


CINCINNATI (AP) -- Chad Ochocinco's pretend $1 bribe is going to cost him a lot more. The Cincinnati Bengals receiver was fined $20,000 and reprimanded by the NFL for taking a dollar bill onto the field during an officials' review of one of his catches last Sunday. Ochocinco held the dollar in his right hand at his side but didn't give it to the official, who motioned for him to stay away.

Ochocinco said he was just having fun, but the league didn't like it.

Ray Anderson, the league's executive vice president of football operations, sent Ochocinco a letter that said: "The very appearance of impropriety is not acceptable. Your conduct was unprofessional and unbecoming an NFL player."

The letter cited league rules that prohibit abusive, threatening or insulting language or gestures toward officials. The letter also noted that players are prohibited from taking items onto the field that are not part of their uniform. The league has cracked down on players using props for celebrations.

During the third quarter of Cincinnati's 17-7 win over the Baltimore Ravens, officials initially ruled that Ochocinco got both feet down at the sideline for a 15-yard catch. The Ravens challenged, and the call was overturned when replays showed the receiver's toe landed on the white sideline.

While the play was under review, Ochocinco walked toward the officials with the dollar bill.




But hey, cheer up. It's almost Christmas, right? Maybe we could actually buy some things this year and have a good one, could we? You can if you're rich. But most of this blog audience is looking at another lean Christmas this year.


American shoppers are splitting again: The affluent are finally starting to buy, picking up designer clothes at places like Nordstrom, while those on the lower economic rungs are still scrimping by, heading to Walmart for the basics.

Recent earnings reports from major retailers suggest that the wealthy, who pulled back their spending the hardest during the financial meltdown last fall, are once again being enticed to open their wallets and going back to higher-end outlets.

"It's a good sign, but we don't see the same across the board," said Richard Hastings, a consumer strategist with Global Hunter Securities LLC.

It's still a far cry from the era of conspicuous consumption. No matter the tax bracket, people are still focused on value and trying to avoid overspending - whatever that might mean to them.

Luxury chains like Nordstrom Inc. and Bloomingdale's, owned by Macy's Inc., say shoppers are spending again on items like shoes and dresses, but still shopping for lower prices and classic pieces that get a lot of use.

On the other hand, discounters like Wal-Mart Stores Inc. are lowering prices even further to coax their less-well-off shoppers to keep spending. And it's not on anything glamorous. We're talking basics, like food and socks.

Think of it as two different groups as the economy recovers - spenders and savers.



It sure is interesting to look at Senator Edwards' (D-Disgraced) "two Americas" these days. I know where I am, for much of the last 10 years. Everyone knows what is said in Christian wedding vows....when do we get healthy and rich?


 

5 comments (Latest Comment: 11/16/2009 03:21:14 by Mondobubba)
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