Thursday, October 20, 2011

Pet Shops- Evergreen Pet

CLOSED!!!!













Old post:
The other day, I visited the Evergreen Pet Store on E. Sprague.  What a fantastic shop!  There is a delightful selection of pets and pet supplies.  It just may be the next best thing that Spokane has for a zoo...that is, besides Northwest Seed and Pet.  Of course, Cat Tales is interesting, but all they have is REALLY BIG cats.  Our local pets shops, on the other hand, have a bit of a variety, and there is no admission fee.  A short visit makes for a nice little outing to see a variety of small animals or pick a pet.

 They have kitties and puppies and rabbits and a whole farm-load of guinea pigs!











Lots of birds....








 

I have a special fondness for cockatoos.
I think this was was wanting people to buy the puppies next to his cage.


They also had a great selection of fish, both saltwater and freshwater...
and reptiles.



I enjoyed watching all these little red eared sliders jump off of the rock into the water and swim around!





















 The tortoises are my favorite.  Sometimes you will find them roaming around the store....getting some exercise.  Here, they are in their kennel.

And they have the best selection of puppy pastries I ever saw!

Thursday, October 6, 2011

School Advertising Billboards

Cute kids.  But seriously, do public schools need to pay for advertising?  Why do they need to advertise, to all of us passersby, that they are schools... on local billboards? ( This, as if you did not know you local public school exists and you pay lots of taxes to, too!)  No matter how cute the kids are, why are our tax dollars paying for advertising our public schools to the public? 

Furthermore, what is the point?  What do they hope to accomplish? Why are these funds not going to our kids or schools directly?  If the school is not paying for this kind of expenditure out of our tax dollars, then who is?


Is your school low on funding?  Consider,....someone is paying for big, high visibility, highway oriented, billboards like these. 
Meanwhile, back at the local school, we hear how funding is an issue.  In fact, you might even think that they are way too low on funding to have the resources to actually provide classrooms with items like spiral notebooks, facial tissues, pencils, crayons and gluestick.  This is because at the begining of the year, parent are asked to help pay for and provide them for ALL the children, not just their own.  The school seems not to be able to afford these things... but it can pay for billboards.

If you, like we, pay property taxes vote for levies to give the schools more funds, you and I really have to wonder.... 

Are our levies used to actually pay for billboard advertising like this?


Someone is paying for it. 


Yes... kinda crazy that our tax dollars are hard at work, advertising on high visibility billboards, like this.

Thursday, July 21, 2011

More Than A Box of Crayons


The local stores have posted the school supply lists for parents to purchase items for kids who will be attending our local schools this fall. If you get a chance pick one up and read it.  A first grader list looks like this:

First Grade
a back pack,
two over-sized T shirts that have been washed, (boy's size large being best,)
a box of felt markers,
12 glue sticks,
four rolls of double sided tape,
a box of crayons, (sixteen colors only,)
$3.50 for one "Take Home" folder
and $5.00 for photo processing.

It  contains the note: Please only label your child’s shirts and backpacks. All other supplies will be shared.  

Wow, the things you have just bought, belong to everyone, not just you.  What do YOU think about this?  It bugs me.

It's not the sharing concept that bugs me, I am all for sharing what you have with others who have not.  I do not even mind using something that does not belong specifically to me, but I am against the idea that there is no ownership over the items that have been paid for by individuals who worked to earn the money that they have spent.  The idea that you work hard, earn money and pay out of your own pocket for your crayons, but you do not "own them" they are community property is a bit disturbing,  This is socialistic thinking. 

Here are some other sample lists for the 2011-2012 school year:

Kindergarten
*Backpack--that fits a standard-size folder - please put child's name on it
*Two over-sized, plain, white t-shirts with child's name on tag (please wash them before sending)
[Boys' sizes Lg. (14-16) is the best size]
*One box felt markers - no names needed
*12 glue sticks - no names needed
*Four rolls of double-sided tape
*16 Count Crayons - nothing bigger
*$5.00 for photo processing (check payable to ....)
Please only label your child’s shirts and backpacks.
All other supplies will be shared.
Optional - Take Home Study Folder - please send $3.50 (check payable to ....)


First Grade
*Backpack--that fits a standard-size folder - please put child's name on it
*Two over-sized, plain, white t-shirts with child's name on tag (please wash them before sending)
[Boys' sizes Lg. (14-16) is the best size]
*One box felt markers - no names needed
*12 glue sticks - no names needed *Four rolls of double-sided tape
*16 Count Crayons - nothing bigger *$5.00 for photo processing (check payable to Midway ASB)
Please only label your child’s shirts and backpacks. All other supplies will be shared.
Optional - Take Home Study Folder - please send $3.50 (check payable to ....)


Kindergarten
1    Backpack
1    Simple school box for supplies (Not tiny or giant)
1    Watercolor paint set (Single tray)
2    Boxes of 24 crayons (This size only)
1    Box of FAT, WASHABLE Markers
1    Fat pink or green eraser
1    Small pair of scissors
1    Dry Erase-type marker (One only)
1    Package of 12 or 24 colored pencils
  No pencil sharpeners please
           

Items to be shared: (no name needed) 
  *12   Fat beginner pencils
  *10   Large fat glue sticks only - NO WHITE LIQUID GLUE
     2   Containers of Disinfecting Wipes

Girls:    1 Large box of tissues
Boys:    1 Box of zip-type bags (Gallon or quart size)


Sixth Grade
No Binders
No Permaent Markers
2 Packs 200 sheets loose leaf paper
24 $2 pencils
1 pencil pouch
2 dry erase markers
colored pencils or crayons
highlighter
sticky notes
12 spiral notebooks
2 pocket folders
1 box facial tissue
1 ruler
COMMUNITY SUPPLIES
DO NOT LABEL

It's everywhere!

This leaves me wondering; If these items are  intended to be used as "community property," then wouldn't it make more sense to have these items paid for by the school?  They would then be school property borrowed by each of the students equally.  And I am thinking that it would be much better to purchase these items in bulk and get the bulk discount price than have parents buy them individually.  Not only that, it must be chaos trying to sort store and equally distribute items bought from Staples office supply and the Dollar Tree store.

 What is happening here?  It sure looks like people and their personal property are being plundered, forced to participate in collectivism, and it's not very wise spending either..


Need we be surprised?

 
I have to say, I was impressed with one school's third grade classroom teacher, at Shiloh Hills, who had thought it through mathematically and logistically, even tried to make it easy and fair for everyone.  Nothing but a back pack was listed on the class room school supply list.  This was followed by a note that read,  "No other shopping required. No wondering if you purchased the right item. No labeling. No expensive items falling out of the backpack on Day One. Everything will be ready for your child when they show up the first day of school. All you need to do is send $20 cash or check (made out to the teacher) the first week of school. All supplies have been purchased for your child for the year. Please pay during the first week of school. " 

That, at least, made financial sense.  Also when it can to crayons and markers, all would be the same.  However, I am still boggled about kids not having their own items with their names on them to use and care for and manage for themselves while they are in school, after paying for them. 

It seems to me this concept actually began a few years back.  I remember my surprise when I first saw that schools began adding " a box of Kleenex" or "a roll of paper towel" to the school supply lists.  These items would then be used in the classrooms throughout the year.  I remember wondering about it then, but I never forsaw the day when the same would be done for crayons and folders and pencils and notebook paper.

Contributing a box of tissue is a nice gesture on the part of a parent.  It's a way for a parent to contribute to and benefit the class that will be a "home away for home for their kids on a daily basis.  No doubt, it's pretty easy as you are out shopping for your child's school supplies, to just add a box of tissue to the mix.  But we also pay taxes to provide for public education.  The money is supposed to provide people with a free education., pay school personnel salaries, buy text books and other paper products...like toilet tissue.  Are they going to demand contributions for that someday too?

It's funny, in a sick sort of way, that local schools have managed to pay for some people enrolled in the system, to have  private piano or martial arts lessons as well as ski passes at Mt. Spokane paid for with our tax dollars over the years, (that is, if those people are enrolled in their "Parent Partnership Programs," but that is another blog post;)  but meanwhile, they simply cannot afford the usual necessary "community" school supplies in regular classrooms, things like pencils, folders, paper and crayons.

The instructions clearly say, "Do not put your child's name on them." It's not a fluke, all the schools do it on their classroom lists.  I want to know,  Who decided this would be the norm, the procedure for procuring school supplies?  I want to know; Do parents mind?  Are people really just going to go along with this?

the questions do not stop there however.

Is this part of the process of creating a sort of "group think" among the children, some sort of psychological experiment to see how people react?

Why are they doing it? 

Is this some sort of method for trying to erase the individualist thinking that might lead the children to believe that the items their parents purchased for them with their own hard-earned money might actually belong to them?

I think so. Do you?


As Dorothy would have probably noted, if this sort of think had happened in OZ,
              "Yes Toto, It appears that this is about more than a mere box of tissue or a box of crayons."

Wednesday, July 20, 2011

Who's Kids?

A very little boy goes off to school.
Who's Kids Are They?  

Your kids are your kids.... right?  Well, not if some people have a say in the matter.  They want your kids and they want them young.

Why?  Because they believe that your kids are, one of  our nation's most valuable resources.

 You might not think of your kids as a "natural resource."  A natural resource being more like a kind of rock or mineral, or trees in a forest, or the water in a freshwater lake; but some people do think of kids this way, and there are many groups and individuals who would be happy to put that "resource" called children into their own hands and under their control.

It's sad, but true.  To some people, your children are merely a natural resource waiting to be exploited, managed and harvested, like other natural resources, especially if they see this has the potential to create a financial profit or political gain.  It's an investment in their future to do so

It's no wonder that "name brand" companies and corporations, like, for example, Juicy Juice, or the Carnegie Corporation, pay big dollars to advertise their names  (oops,) "donate" large amounts of money to nationally networked children's television programs, like Sesame Street on PBS.  As investors, they know that children will grow up and be the adults of tomorrow's world, all the while the company name or product will be firmly established in their brains.

There is an impacts too on the lessons learned in the education of public schools where children are taught many things... much more than ust how to read and how to write.  Publishing companies vie for prominence and the material in textbooks curriculum is scrutinized, objectives must be met, so that children show they are successful in knowing what the school officials dictate as being most important to know.  These people also need your kids in order to have a job and make a living, they need kids to be enrolled in school in order to have a job.

There re many professions whose livelihood depends greatly upon the school community. There are teachers, principals, secretaries, lunch ladies, nurses, custodians, psychologists, construction workers, bus drivers, textbook writers, kids books and novel writers, and those who work in commercial food distribution, to name a few.  It's a demand  and supply sort of thing.  These people have jobs as long as kids go to the school.  Schools depend heavily on attendance to financially survive. 

It has been said that "the hand that rocks the cradle, is the hand that rules the world," and there are those who want the authority to rock the children in your family's cradle.  People want to make your kids, their business.  They want power and influence over the youth of the world.  Some even think that your kids belong to them already.

In fact, there was a sign  about five year ago that began to grace our city streets. You might have seen it.  It is a picture of a pretty pinwheel made up of rainbow colors, which read, 

               "Our kids: Our business."  






You might also have seen all the pretty toy pinwheels in front of the local hospital or neighborhood day care center too.  In April, there was a display of these in front of Spokane Community  College, these too are placed around our community yearly as part of the "Our kids: Our business," campaign.

But what does "Our kids: Our business" mean?  What do these pinwheels represent?
 
Their website reads:
(Note: The boldened words are their own.)

"The pinwheel symbolizes the innocence of childhood and reminds us that the adults in the community bear responsibility for ensuring that each and every child is safe and healthy.  Our kids are our business! "

This is what they say as they assert their desired dominance and control over all kids, "each and every" child, claiming their ultimate "responsibility" for the well-being of ...."all"...... kids.

What this sign really should read is, "Your Kids, Our Business."  But that would be too revealing.  It might offend parents, making them think that someone was preying upon their kids.  But businesses, not only look good when they support a good cause, they also see some investment return over time, or so a 2007 Spokesman Review article titled, "Investing In Children pays off in Cold Cash," reported.    

Now, perhaps as you read this, you are thinking that the pinwheel and the slogan is nothing more than a honest community-oriented anti-child-abuse campaign, targeted at low income families, you know, those that need it most.  You are right.  It is an "anti-child abuse" campaign; and certainly a lot of family-friendly, caring, honest people are involved.   But the pinwheel  and the organization's own words, speaks for itself.  Behind the idea of "helping to prevent" the kind of child abuse that is too gruesome to describe,  is another agenda.  In fact, the program heads tell us that the focus has broadened from child abuse prevention to the nurturing of all kids at all levels.

The program is about gaining political control over other people's children, about starting children in school at an early age.

"A year of child care 
in Washington state costs more 
than a year of tuition at a 
Washington state college."  
                          David Lawrence, Child Education Advocate

This is supposed to scare you.  Do you even realize how expensive school for a little tiny three-year-old is?

The idea is you could really save yourself some money and help your kids be smart before going into kindergarten at the age of 5 by enrolling them in this program, (paid for at the governments expense.)  Never mind that it will require higher taxation from those who work and pay taxes in order to pay for it,  Never mind that it will mean more government spending, and ignore that even greater national debt.  


Childhood- development advocate, David Lawrence, who is quoted above, was a key person in the passing of Florida state's constitutional amendment that now provides pre-kindergarten classes for all 4-year-olds in the state. The article, Advocate Highlights Plight of Youngest by Sarah Learning, published in our own Spokesman Review,(2009) informed readers that about 145,000 children are  now enrolled in voluntary pre-kindergarten, (VPK) in Florida where their constitution was amended in order to have children go to school that young, paid for by the government of the state.  David Lawrence who leads, The Children's Movement of Florida, is satisfied that he has been able to intervene on the children's behalf and get them out of impoverished situations, get them "ready" for school.

The goal of the "movement," (as Mr. Lawrence refers to it,) includes programs like Early Head Start.  The premise is that of helping teen moms, single moms and dads, take care of their baby, and have free childcare so that they can finish school.  Again, this is a noble sounding aspiration, but one that is not without a cost, it will probably cost as much or more than a a year of college tuition, paid for by the state.

The term used as an excuse for this is "early intervention."  the the idea is to prevent child abuse and neglect.  The concept is to help parents, particularly those of a low income bracket, but the terminology is telling.  This not really about helping people, it is about control over "all children," "every child," at "every stage of development." Who do, who do they think they're foolin'?

Here in Washington the Our kids: Our business campaign people boldly say, (Underlines are mine)
"WE ARE: A Coalition of Child Advocates~ Schools ~ Businesses ~ Child Care Providers~ Nonprofits ~ Faith Communities~ Recreational Groups ~ Law Enforcement~ Health & Social Service Agencies ~ Individuals~ Families ~Young People  WITH ONE GOAL:  Ensure that all children are successful at every stage of development from birth to high school graduation to productive adulthood."   

The "call to action"  is, they say, a call for,  "a region that supports successful childhood at every stage of development."

Did you happen to notice that there is nothing here about child abuse and neglect?  Do you see anything in there about the protection of "childhood innocence," as the little pinwheel would have us believe? It's odd, but the "Our kids: Our buisness" campaign sounds like it comes straight from the National Teacher's Union, the National Education Association, (NEA) or some socialist rant.  It's no secret, although it is presented in a deceptively benevolent way, this is a movement to usurp parental rights and gain some strange legal jurisdiction over all kids. 

For more important reading about the roots and philosophies the run the NEA,  click here and here.



The pinwheel says, "Our Kids, Our Business." but really, parents are the ones who should be saying to business and government agencies, these are OUR kids and our kids are our business, not yours as big-business and government join forces to take possession of a natural resource that is not their to exploit, our kids.  Hiding behind the innocent appearance of a child's toy, the pinwheel, supposedly concerned about child abuse, the goal is actually to seize control over "all children" at "every stage of development."  Their purpose could not possibly be made more clear.

Programs like Our Kids, Our Business, are not just promoted in Washington. In Idaho, the pinwheels have hit the street and the word going out about "ALL children" is the same.

"... Pinwheels represent our desire for a happy and healthy childhood for all Idaho children."

"All" is an inclusive word. It usually means all.   Here, one again, it  means your kids as well as mine.

Any heartful person would desire for all children to have a happy and healthy childhood, as is suggested, but the notion  begs the question, "Who defines "happy?" Who defines "healthy?"  It  is anybody's guess.  For all we know, a child might be "unhappy" if their parents do not provide them with Facebook, or if they take away their cell phone and do not let them talk to their friends.  Who rightly is to decide these issues of a child's health and happiness?

Answer: The parent who loves and cares for the minor child.

These "happy" and "healthy" statements serve only to occult the more important issues already protected by our laws, that of pursuing "life," " liberty" and our own idea, (not someone else's) of "happiness."Despite clouding the issue, hiding behind "child abuse" as an excuse, it's glaringly evident here, that the movement is more about power and control over people and their kids.... and they want  laws, that give them not just control, but decision making authority and ultimately responsibility for other people's kids.    

Don't let it this happen.

Remember, your kids and everything about them is your business.  Your kids need you in their lives, They need you to love and cherish them, to guide them and keep them safe.  Most importantly, they need you to remember that they are your kids, and this, even if you send them off to the local public school.

Your kids are your kids and they are your business and your responsibility.  They were born to you.



For other articles and issues regarding this subject, see:

Spokesman Review article, 2007
"It takes a village to help a parent raise a child."
Chase Youth Commission
National Children's Alliance 
Promise Alliance 
See also First Focus,  America's Promise Alliance's policy affiliate, which serves as their partner  in advocating for young people.
Our kids: Our buisness Breakfast Guest Speaker Interview 
"Q.What do children need most right now?
A.Healthy, engaging, thoughtful interactions. They need unstructured play. They need to be active and creative, and that doesn’t happen when you are just plopped down in front of a screen."
 (Do you suppose that kids experience this, particularly, "unstructured play," at school? )


Also, you may want to visit, /www.parentalrights.org/



by Lisa Balazs

Monday, June 27, 2011

Discover Discovery Playground

Discovery Playground is near the Valley YMCA, near Maribeau Park.  It is a very fun playground to visit.  Be aware however, there is an aspect to it that makes it a little bit more like "indoctrination to evolution" park, but besides that, it is one of those places to visit with kids.

 To read about all the parks features, click here.

Here is the entrance.
Take only memories, leave only footprints.

The hummingbird is beautiful.

Kids can leap on this frog.



Millions of years ago......


Maybe you can jump over this river.

Ride the wings of the big eagle and slide donw the rock slide.

This circular thing is a "merry-go-round" type of toy.

Those canyon walls are good for climbing.
 

And here are the sprinklers for hot summery days.



You can play the bells.


Picnic and play checkers too.


There is a bear in that there cave... near the sandbox, so you best behave.

Giant daffodil!  (Not for climbing.)

How does that caterpillar change into a butterfly anyhow?

Footprints left by other creatures....

Play the drums!