Last night, I attended another school board meeting. Kalkaska schools are considering adding soccer as a varsity sport. I had attended last month's meeting when it was initially proposed, and the resulting committee fact-finding meeting a couple weeks ago. Last night was the final decision to make it a varsity sport or not. I got to the meeting and there were cars everywhere. I couldn't believe it was all about soccer. I was right.

The fun started with some guy and his twenty-slide PowerPoint about a new student health service that would operate in the schools. It basically uses tax dollars to duplicate all the health services already available, only make them more convenient and free, thus guaranteeing over-utilization, leading to calls for expanding free services with more tax dollars, leading to more over-utilization, and so on. Economics 101, and everyone with a job gets to pay for it. After his 45-minute presentation, he had several members of the student and parent advisory boards get up and give their little speeches. Here, I have to go on a bit of a rant. Why do people do this fake question/answer format (ala Miss America) when you know the whole thing is scripted? Just let the person do their blah blah and get it over with.

Anyway, that little dog-and-pony show was followed by a question-and-answer period dominated by some woman asking over and over why the State of Michigan allows minors to seek certain medical services without parental consent. The guy presenting tried to explain about four different ways that teens can already get abortions, mental health counseling, birth control, etc. without a parent's knowledge or consent. Whether anyone agrees or not, that is already established law and has nothing to do with putting free medical services in the schools. In fact, abortion and abortion counseling were specifically excluded from these clinics.

In any case, another 15 minutes of my life dribbled away.

The next controversial item was the school board putting out bids for private contractors to do maintenance and janitorial services. This was the reason why most of the people were present. The union has already hired some down-state loud-mouth who insists that he isn't here to spread fear or propaganda, but if the school board out-sources janitorial services, the private company will immediately hire every sex offender in 100 miles and send them to clean the elementary school. Not that I think that contracting out the school janitorial and maintenance services is automatically a great idea, but this is just typical union fear-mongering, propaganda, and disinformation. There are very good reasons to not out-source, and concerns about the quality of the people who will be sent into the schools is certainly one of them. But you know when the first words out of this idiot's mouth was to pull out the number of registered sex offenders in Kalkaska county that facts will have nothing to do with this debate and inflammatory BS is what will rule the day.

Oh yea. Two hours later, soccer was voted in as a varsity sport with no discussion or comment. They will have to post the coaching positions internally for two weeks, then I can apply for them (I think; I'm not sure what the qualifications are other than "warm body"). Speaking of which, I forgot about the 15-minute rant from some guy that failed to get elected to the school board about how the board wasn't putting out enough effort to find the best-qualified candidate for basketball coach. Yea. Right. The school has lost a half-dozen teachers that I know of in the last year, with one new-hire and the school board is supposed to drop everything and go on a nation-wide search for the most qualified basketball coach. Sometimes, I think Kalkaska has just the schools it deserves.

In any case, I remember now why I got out of local politics years ago. I do have to give the school board credit for at least acting like they were dealing with intelligent adults. I would have been a lot harsher with several people.

Speaking of schools that don't teach, Ebonics is back. Why don't we just give the blacks a couple states. California and Massachusetts come to mind. All the whites leave, all the blacks move there. They can be completely autonomous provinces with their own language, culture, whatever. We can rename them Quebec II and Quebec III. I mean, having two nations inside one set of boarders has worked so well for Canada, why should we miss out on all the fun?

I ran across this one today. Once again, if the goal is to convince the nation that anyone who wears a badge is a complete assclown, then our "law enforcement" industry is doing a wonderful job. They have certainly convinced me. Every person involved in this "prosecution" should be chained spread-eagle to a wall and beaten in the nuts with a nightstick until they pass out.

The country I was born into is dead. I feel no loyalty whatsoever to the monstrosity that has replaced it.

And enough.