DarkStar Spouts Off

Layoff Insanity

Laying off Firing 220 teachers in the middle of the first quarter of the school year is insane.

In one of the most turbulent days in its recent history, the D.C. public schools system laid off more than 200 teachers Friday and coped with the abrupt loss of its 300 security guards, whose company went out of business overnight Thursday.

The combination of events, which included a skirmish between students and police at McKinley Technology High School that resulted in two arrests, highlighted the challenges faced by Schools Chancellor Michelle A. Rhee and Mayor Adrian M. Fenty (D) as they struggle to reform the troubled system in lean economic times. The layoffs were the deepest cuts for the school system since 2003.

How in the world is this NOT destructive for, at least, the rest of the first semester?

Not rehiring 220 teachers is one thing, firing them DURING the school year is intentionally trying to destroy the school system.

Just Because You CAN Do Something...

Just because you can do something, it doesn't mean that you should do something

PHOENIX (AP) - About a dozen people carrying guns, including one with a military-style rifle, milled among protesters outside the convention center where President Barack Obama was giving a speech Monday—the latest incidents in which protesters have openly displayed firearms near the president.

Gun-rights advocates say they're exercising their constitutional right to bear arms and protest, while those who argue for more gun control say it could be a disaster waiting to happen.

Phoenix police said the gun-toters at Monday's event, including the man carrying an AR-15 semi-automatic rifle slung over his shoulder, didn't need permits. No crimes were committed, and no one was arrested.

The man with the rifle declined to be identified but told The Arizona Republic that he was carrying the assault weapon because he could. "In Arizona, I still have some freedoms," he said.

This is just, STUPID.

White People, Stand Away From The Hip Hop

White people, this is the style police. Ya'll have gone too far. Stand away from the hip hop!

Why No Uproar?

You say you back the military?
You say that women serving on the front lines undermines military readiness?
You say "don't ask don't tell" is wrong?

But you say nothing about this?

A controversial suit brought by a U.S. Army reservist has been joined by a retired Army two-star general and an active reserve Air Force lieutenant colonel.

Maj. Stefan Frederick Cook filed the suit July 8 in federal court here asking for conscientious objector status and a preliminary injunction based upon his belief that President Barack Obama is not a natural-born citizen of the United States and is therefore ineligible to serve as president of the United States and commander-in-chief of the U.S. Armed Forces.

However, before the issue got to court, Cook’s orders to deploy to Afghanistan were revoked. Lt. Col. Maria Quon, a public affairs officer with the U.S. Army Human Resources Command-St. Louis, said Tuesday that Cook was no longer expected to report Wednesday to MacDill Air Force Base in Florida for mobilization to active duty. Cook, who claims he is now the victim of retaliation due to his suit, received his mobilization orders to report for active duty at MacDill on Wednesday. From there, he was to go to Fort Benning on Saturday for deployment to Afghanistan.

Then you ain't $%$#@%&^!

More On Baltimore City School Scam

So, the person you create a position for, who will be responsible for the millions of dollars budget, is in a personal financial mess? And HE is the one who got the school CEO hired? And the CEO is now the guy who created the position?

Brian D. Morris took a gamble when he led the city school board in the hiring of Andrés Alonso.

Not only was the leading candidate for school system chief executive an outsider from New York, he wasn't African-American, as parents, teachers and administrators were expecting.

And Alonso was demanding unprecedented authority from a board that had a history of micro-managing.

But Morris, the volunteer school board chairman and a young developer, pushed the board to make the hire, and then protected Alonso when the going got rough.

Yeah, this stinks to high hell.

Financial trouble you say?

Brian D. Morris, who resigned as Baltimore City school board chairman this week to accept a six-figure job overseeing school operations, has been the subject of dozens of lawsuits and bad-debt claims the past 15 years, including foreclosures, garnisheed wages, unpaid taxes and other cases involving his personal finances and business ventures, according to city court records.

The city school board hired Morris, 38, as a deputy CEO on Tuesday, giving him a $175,000 annual salary and oversight of all the school system's central operations, including finance.

Yet a review of dozens of court records by The Baltimore Sun shows a lengthy struggle to manage his own businesses and affairs. Bill collectors garnisheed Morris' wages and bank accounts, and tried to repossess his cars. Creditors won judgments against him for rent payments, medical bills and homeowners association dues. In one case, a potential business partner said Morris walked off with $12,500 intended for a new venture. In another, a couple said he rented them a house he didn't own and collected their monthly payments until the real owner ordered them to leave. At least two creditors say they plan to seek a portion of his school system salary to settle old debts.

A COUPLE PAID DUDE MONEY ON A HOUSE HE DIDN'T OWN!!!!!

[ UPDATE ]

To make this even MORE unbelievable, the Baltimore City Public School System sent out layoff notices a few days before this. LAYOFF NOTICES to about 80 people, and then turn around and give a financial goof and, if what the couple says is true, a THIEF, a $175K job created JUST FOR HIM!!!!

Nasty Is...

Nasty is...

Going into a public rest room, hearing "plop plop plop" while that same person is on a cell telephone, TALKING.

Nasty and inconsiderate is...

Going into a public rest room, hearing "plop plop plop" while that same person is using a laptop. How do I know? I'm waiting and dude flushes, comes out, and the Mac laptop is on and open.

I don't even know if dude wiped himself!

Risk vs Reward

There is a person, sitting in front of a computer, who has done the calculations that shows it is more cost effective for a shipping company to use the Somali shipping route WITHOUT ARMED PROTECTION, than it is to use the shipping route with armed protection. Because even if the ship gets pirated, it is still more cost effective in the long run to use the shipping lane without protection.

That HAS to be the reason why ships still use that route without having armed escorts available.

MD Can't Get Slots, So Instead "We" Should Run A Race Track?

Maryland politicians screwed up slots legislation to the point where there were less bids than available slots locations. One slots location received no bids. Even with that, two bidders were thrown out because they didn't provide the required fee which they, the bidders, claimed wasn't guarenteed to be returned if they did not get slots bid.

It's a major mess.

So, even after that, politicians in Maryland are saying they may grab "The Preakness" name  and then run a horse racing track.

Senate President Thomas V. Mike Miller said today he would be open to holding a special session of the General Assembly if legislation is needed to ensure the Preakness Stakes stays in Maryland.

The lawmaker, a staunch supporter of horse racing, has been talking in recent days about the possibility of the state taking over the race in case its owner, the bankrupt Magna Entertainment Corp., seeks to sell the rights to an out-of-state buyer.

"It’s not only a matter of pride, it’s a matter of economic development," Miller said. "The question is do you want the Preakness run in Florida or California? Or even worse do you want the Preakness run in West Virginia or Delaware?"

Miller needs to be tested for crack. And Maryland politicians, as a group, suck.

Oh, This Will Help Your Cause

This is just unreal.

Orchard Park police are investigating a particularly gruesome killing, the beheading of a woman, after her husband — an influential member of the local Muslim community — reported her death to police Thursday.

Police identified the victim as Aasiya Z. Hassan, 37. Detectives have charged her husband, Muzzammil Hassan, 44, with second-degree murder.

...

Muzzammil Hassan is the founder and chief executive officer of Bridges TV, which he launched in 2004, amid hopes that it would help portray Muslims in a more positive light.

Yep, that will really help.

Gitmo Query

Gitmo houses terrorists who are targeting Americans in their Jihad.

A number of people formerly held at Gitmo, have been recaptured on the battle field and/or killed on the battle field.

My question is, why were they released in the first place?

How Do You Buy A Company In Distress Without Looking At The Books?

OK, now, this, unfortunately, doesn't surprise me:

Then there is Bank of America’s acquisition of Merrill Lynch, a deal skating dangerously close to the definition of failure after last week’s announcement that BofA would take $24 billion more in government support from the U.S. Treasury and Federal Deposit Insurance Corp., in addition to a $118 billion backstop for bad debts. The core problem remains unexplained and inexplicable: How did Merrill’s troubled assets plummet in value so quickly that the firm posted a $15 billion loss in just three months? And why did neither BofA nor Merrill provide any word?

I'm not surprised. A company in trouble is brought out, there are generally more surprises to be found. However, THIS ONE shocks me beyond belief.

BofA advisers Christopher Flowers and investment bank Fox-Pitt Kelton say they didn’t see either company’s books after the deal was announced on Sept. 15.

Shareholders and analysts are livid. BofA is tenuously capitalized, in the opinion of Friedman Billings Ramsey analysts, going into 2009 with just $61.7 billion of pro forma tangible common equity supporting $2.4 trillion of tangible assets.

And the whole brouhaha is wrapped in an ironic ribbon: the U.S. federal government, which has for upward of 70 years urged ever more transparency for publicly traded companies, didn’t feel the urge to tell of a mid-December financing agreement that affected the future and value of two of the U.S’s biggest financial institutions. And remember, the federal government owns 35% of Bank of America’s pro forma tangible equity.

You mean the books weren't viewed? Not even BOGUS versions, but NONE?!?!?!?!

OH, we are SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO screwed.

Why Katt Williams Ain't Funny

This is why Katt Williams isn't funny.

Why does a "comedian" have to go after another comedian? Why can't you just do jokes and move on?

Don't Wanna Be In The News? Then BEHAVE!!!!

Here we go:

"I think he was upset over the incident ... and didn't want to be in the news again," she said.

Well, if he didn't want to be in the news again, then why do this?

Wooten believes Bell was upset over media coverage of the arrest last week.

Bell? Bell who?

MONROE, La. - A teen convicted in the "Jena Six" beating case shot himself in the chest and was taken to the hospital Monday, days after his arrest on a shoplifting charge, police said.

Mychal Bell's wound isn't life threatening, said Monroe Police Sgt. Cassandra Wooten. The 18-year-old used a .22-caliber firearm in the shooting around 7:40 p.m., she said.

Ahhhhh....
Now I see....

If you would just BEHAVE, you're ass would not be in the friggin' news!

Sickening...

I know of a girl, at the age of 14, who was depressed and killed herself. That is not what is sickening.

First, I take a hard stand when it comes to suicide. It’s the work of inconsiderate and self-centered cowards, whatever the reason.

The comment I linked to is sickening. People who try to kill themselves and those who do, are in a world of hurt and/or mental illness.

One summer Sunday I hopped the Metro D.C. Red Line, went to the Mall and toured the museums on the Mall. I hopped back on to the Red Line and went home. Just before the Shady Grove stop, a woman jumped in front of the subway train and killed herself. It turned out she had a mental illness.

The young girl I mentioned, at the tender age of 14, killed herself because of family issues.

LaShawn Barber has written things I've agreed with. She has written things I disagreed with. She wrote things that really leaves me shaking my head like pushing the "Black inferiority in intelligence" garbage. But it's this one that really got to me because, as I have mentioned in comments on her blog, I see little Christian light in her posts, only condemnation.

I see absolutely NOTHING that would cause me to wonder about her faith and why she holds Christ in her heart.

Nothing.

This comment, is something the pastors of the church I belong to have been preaching the past few weeks:

Having said that, most Christians, at some point, have had a crisis of faith. We question our beliefs, especially when we’re going through trials. But that’s when we turn to God, not away from him, and to other Christians, living and dead, who’ve gone through similar crises.

She is right about that point. If she had written on that point alone, I'd have no issue. But to say the hurting and/or mentally ill are "inconsiderate and self-centered"?

No.

Those are the words of a woman who is filled with hatred. Some aren't meant to evangelize via words. Some evangelize via deeds and actions that makes people wonder, "What is in that person? I want what that person has."

I can't see wanting what she has in her heart.

[ UPDATE ]

An "update":

Did she write “inconsiderate and self-centered cowards”? There I go again, being too harsh. Christians aren’t allowed, so I’ve heard. What about the mentally ill, you ask? Well, if someone isn’t in his “right mind” when he commits suicide, I suppose that’s a different story. In some cases. Generally, my opinion of suicide, which I’ve contemplated in my younger years, stands. More sympathy for those left behind, please.

in reply to the update, I think non-consideration of the mentally ill is telling. I'm sure people will say you have to be mentally ill to consider suicide anyway, but I don't think that's accurate. At times, people get despondent, and at those times, most people don't try to commit suicide. Think about it, yes. Try it? No.

And, in fact, some who attempted suicide say they think they are doing a favor FOR their family and/or friends, instead of being "selfish" as LaShawn states.

Laughin', Robbin', & Servin'

This video is making the rounds in the greater Baltimore area.

People are commenting about the teenage girls laughing while the robbery and shooting is taking place. They wonder how this can happen.

When I saw the video, the first thing I thought is that the girls are IN ON THE ROBBERY. Then I wondered how the carryout owners can keep on taking orders and serving food.

The customer shot inside a Northeast Baltimore carryout — while onlookers laughed — says six or seven people “stepped around” him to order food as he sat on the ground bleeding. “They stepped around me to get their orders,” said Marvin Edmonds, 45, in an interview with The Examiner on Friday. “It was like I was in their way. It was like, ‘Man, I don’t care that you got shot. Move.’ I felt like a piece of nothing. No one asked me, ‘Was I all right? Do you need me to make a phone call? Do you want me to help you off the floor? ... The owners of the store they just turned around and continued to serve people and make orders.”

OK, I'd sue them in some way. The business should lose it's license.

You Gotta Be Kidin' Me!?!?!?!?!?!?!!!!!!

You mean to tell me, for MONTHS now, Somali pirates have been hijacking ships and the ship companies haven't hired armed protection for their ships while in the pirate regions?

Ransom? Do they want cash and if so, where is it placed? Money in bank accounts? Come on, you mean THAT can't be booby trapped?

You mean, they can't be stopped?

You mean to tell me, companies are buying banks or savings and loans so they can be eligible to get the federal bail out money? And the government still wants to go forward with this mess, adding credit card companies, student loan companies, and maybe auto companies to the mix?

STOP THE WORLD I HAVE TO GET OFF!!!!!!!!

Ain't It Time?

Ain't it time Ralph Nader is put in his place?
"Uncle Sam or Uncle Tom"?

Jesse Jackson, Jr?
Al Sharpton?

Bailout Includes?

I just heard the bail out includes:

• Car loans.
• Student loans.
• Foreign companies.

Ain't this a ....

[ UPDATE ]

In the dark of night over the weekend when most people were snoozing, the Treasury dramatically expanded its bailout plan to include buying student loans, car loans, credit card debt and any other "troubled" assets held by banks.

The changes, which were included in draft language that also opened the bailout program to foreign banks with extensive loan operations in the United States, potentially added tens of billions of dollars to the cost of the program.

Where's The Father?

Where is the father of Karrine "SupaHead" Steffens son?

Why hasn't he gone for custody of his kid?

Boooo....

Vince Young.
Boooooooooooooo.

Can't take the heat?
Booooooooooooooooooo.

Gets a little heat from fans.
Boooooooooooooooooooooo.

Then gets hurt.
Booooooooooooo.....

And then his mom and friend have to contact people to say they are worried about Vince Young's frame of mind?
Boooooooooo......

Damn, son. I hope you got educated in college.
DAMN.

I Have To Know

Why am I getting hits to my blog from the search "young girls with phat butts"?

She Got The Idea From Bill

Woman, 68, Accused Of Forcing Sex On Handicapped Man

A 68-year-old Tampa woman was arrested today for forcing a severally mentally handicapped man to perform oral sex on her, police say.

OK, what can you say?

A Car Salesman Will Lose His Job

[ Originally published 5/2/2008 @ 12:46:49 PM ]

A car salesman will lose his job today. If not today, VERY soon.

More later.

[ UPDATE 5/30/2008 ]

I heard from the general manager of the local dealership. He apologized and said he is willing to "discount" a new car. We shall see. He also mentioned that the President of Ourisman Automotive Enterprises, John Ourisman, received my fax and/or letter and called him about the situation. And the person who I identified no longer works at the dealership.

[ UPDATE ]

May 24, 2008

Mandell J. Ourisman, Chairman

Ourisman Automotive Enterprises

4400 Branch Ave

Marlow Heights, MD 20748

CC: John Ourisman, President

Mohamed Reshed, CFO

Dear Mandell Ourisman:

On Saturday, May 24, 2008, I entered the Ourisman Hyundai dealership in Laurel, Maryland. I explained that I was looking for a car for my mother and wanted a brochure and a look at the car. They didn’t have an Elantra in the showroom and offered to show me the car that was on the lot. A salesman wrote down the VIN to obtain the key. After 15 minutes of waiting, I placed my son in the car and was ready to leave. I told another dealer that a sale had been lost because of the time it took to get the keys. He responded by saying, “If you were serious, you would wait, so take your ass away!” After asking him to repeat himself, which he did, I got out of my car. He approached me as if he was ready to fight me. I got my son out of the car and went back into the dealership.

I asked for the general manager and told the original salesman what happened. He then said they had trouble finding the key. I told him his answer was acceptable, HOWEVER, the other salesman’s “customer service” was not acceptable. I pointed out the person who said, “If you were serious, you would wait, so take your ass away!” and asked for that person’s name. I was told his name is “Ronald.”

Is this behavior appropriate for Ourisman salesmen?

The bottom line to this is Ourisman Hyundai lost a potential sale of $14,000. I am in need of a new vehicle and decided to get a Mazda CX-9. The Hyundai dealership is attached to the Mazda dealership, which I had visited about 5 months ago and from which I intended to buy the CX-9. That is a potential sale of $35,000. My wife owns a Honda Accord which we purchased from Ourisman Honda in Laurel. I told her that we will take her car to another Honda dealership for servicing. Her car is 5 years old and I’m sure you have the potential revenue from service available. This is at a minimum a loss of $49,000 to your company because “Ronald” responded to a loss of a sale in a manner that was unacceptable.  I will also make sure my family, friends, and co-workers know of this experience.

Dirty Jobs

There is a television show on Discovery called "Dirty Jobs." Right now, the host is helping people who suck semen out of gobblers to inseminate the hens. They have to do this because they breed the turkeys to produce big breasts. As such, they are physically incapable of mating.

That's right, they are bread for big breasts making it impossible for the turkeys to breed naturally. And, there are men who suck semen from the gobblers.

5 - 10 Seconds Is Rape

I really don't know what to say:

According to testimony, the 18-year-old woman had just had sex with another man, and Mr. Baby asked whether he could "hit that" also.

...

Mr. Baby testified that the woman agreed, as long as he would stop when she told him to. The woman testified that Mr. Baby continued for five to 10 seconds after she asked him to stop.

Wow. He stopped 5 - 10 seconds after she told him to stop. I'm thinking it took about 3 seconds to register and then about another 2 - 3 seconds to say, "Huh?" and then the rest of the time to stop.

No means no, but damn. NO man, regardless of marital status, is safe from this.