Republican Underwear

The Republican debates seem never ending. A constant war over who can be the biggest asshole. Romney is supposedly a devote Mormon, meaning he would be expected to wear "temple garments" at all times. These funny looking Mormon underwear are intended to remind Mormons of the holiness of their bodies. Then there's Santorum who seems to have connections to an extreme group of Catholics called Opus Dei. He has attended their celebrations and sent his sons to Opus Dei high schools. The members of this group are known to wear a sort of chastity belt with spikes that face the wearer's skin. So, why hasn't anyone asked these two zealots about their underwear?

The Secret History

Once you get past all of the flowery language of light and leaves, this is a pretty amazing book. Well-written, rich language and context, fully developed characters and a good plot. Definitely a good read and I'm a picky reader (just check out my other reviews, if you don't believe me). It's a page turner.

California HOA

I've owned several condos in California and never had too many problems until recently when one of my HOAs refused to provide me with financial records. I knew that was a red flag. I took them to small claims at which point they finally provided me with some of the financial records. And this is when it got even worse.

It turned out these people had been overpaying the gardener (we believe to clean their private patio), not filing taxes for over 10 years and allowing the person they assured me was a CPA (turns out he was nothing more than a tax-preparer) to not pay bills on time, bounce checks and not create or distribute the legally required financial documents while still paying him.

Cleaning up has been a mess and we have yet to find a decent property manager. Lots of consultations with an attorney, lots of CPA fees and lots of fighting. And we have yet to find a decent property management company. Any suggestions?

Republicans

Anyone who makes less than $250,000 a year and votes republican is either an idiot or feels extremely generous toward the wealthy and believes they deserve to pay lower tax rates than the working class. Speaking of working class, anyone who has to actually work to survive is working class. I've read that most Americans think they are middle class; they are sorely mistaken. Why do people struggle with this concept?

Keep Your Home California

Did you know that if you receive unemployment in California and have a home or condo that you bought before 2009, you probably qualify for KYHC, a program through which the government pays your mortgage up to $3000 a month. So why am I writing about this. Well, because I just qualified for it and I think it is a shame that they don't tell people about it and make it so difficult to get it. So, if you think that you qualify, apply directly through KYHC, not your lender or someone who may profit from it. This is a state run government program. Feel free to ask me questions.

Franzen's Freedom

What a piece of shit! This novel is so cock-centered. Someone's cock is constantly pressing against his pants and there is always some uninteresting female character anxious to have it. Certainly only a book that a man would write.

I imagine that Franzen fancies himself a cross between the genius of Walter and the sexiness of Richard, but if his writing is reflective of his personality, he's a dull dork. His arrogance shines through in his male characters and his imperviousness to his own droning while his female characters are the most boring I have ever read (apart from that one crack pot that was practically stalking Patty when she was in college). The political interests of Walter are somewhat interesting, but never fully developed and population control is better addressed in Lionel Shriver's Game Control. By the end I didn't care if they all dropped dead.

The Problem with Charter Schools

I've worked with these people and truth is that most of them are doing a piss poor job. Despite the fact that they are getting monies that would go to traditional public schools and are supposed to allow all students to attend, they do not. This is where the inequities start. Many of them do everything they can to discourage students with special needs from enrolling which already skews their population versus the local public school's population. Then while traditional public schools have to provide placements for all students within their district boundaries, charter schools can pawn off students with special needs and students who may be difficult back to their school districts.

Then, there are the public schools that create non-traditional settings that serve to benefit them financially. Option for Youth and Options for Learning are two programs that provide one on one for student for just one hour a week and pay their teachers about $45,000 a year (significantly less that local districts). By paying their teacher a pittance and providing little to no benefits they are able to give themselves--the founders who happen to be a brother and sister-- large salaries that far exceed that of any traditional principal.

I could go on.