Montebello E-News

 November 13, 2008

 It takes seven trees to absorb one person’s exhaled carbon dioxide.
From “Nova Science Now”, broadcast on PBS, August, 2008.

[Why are we so quick to cut down trees in Montebello?]

1.  Cyber Bullying

2.  Are We Going to Lose This One?, Part 2

3. Announcements

4. Humbling Fact about American Democracy

5. The Flashback Quarterback:  We Create the Cancer, but not the Cure  

6. Be Aware and Share:   The Wrong Kind of Solution?

7. About Montebello E-News and “My Montebello”

Cyber Bullying

“Flashback Quarterback” in this issue of E-News talks about cyber bullying, that is, using the Internet to harass somebody else.

A couple of things mentioned in past issues come to mind when I consider cyber bullying:

(1) we choose not to, perhaps cannot, take into consideration the consequences of our technological advances;  for example, who would have thought that cyber bullying would have been a consequence of the Internet?  Or identity theft?  The “LOCO” and “Social-Impact Report” essays have talked about our inability or unwillingness to consider all the consequences;

(2) our extreme legalism in this country means that we cannot prosecute a criminal unless the crime is specifically mentioned in the law, so an adult who bullies a teenager via the Internet until the latter commits suicide might not be prosecuted for a crime;  ditto a tagger who uses a new implement to damage property, a motorist who causes an accident because he or she is texting, a drug dealer who vends a new concoction.

If you answer the multiple-choice questions below and e-mail to lessonanswers@mymontebello.com with “Lesson answers” in the subject field, you will be credited toward a “certificate of recognition in community affairs” to be awarded in 2008 by a local nonprofit organization.

1. What does cyber bullying tell us, other than that there are immature people and vulnerable people?

(a) We do not consider all the possible consequences of the technology which we introduce.

(b) We cannot quickly address those consequences through the law because the law is too inflexible.

2. How can we deal with new problems without a slow, exhausting legislative process, during which time injury and death might occur?

(a) Have more local decision-making, so that a community be able to quickly protect itself.

(b) Add a “common sense” element to the law so that the law not have to play catch-up with every invention, be that technology, a drug or something else.

Libertarian ideologues and moneygrubbers stand aside.
Make room for the people.
Statement of August 19, 2008, by Don McCanne,
retired physician and an advocate on behalf of Physicians for a National Health Program, an organization of fourteen thousand American physicians advocating for single-payer national health insurance.

As you read the following, ask yourself how Holyfield’s and others’ thinking affects our democracy.  In other words, do you see here the same problem which led to the economic recession in which we now find ourselves?  And is the cause of that problem a lack of good judgment, which begs the question whether a democracy could function well if its constituents lacked the self-control, knowledge, and experience to make good judgments?

The Real Deal With Holyfield
How come so many rich athletes are so poor?
by Glenn Minnis, TheRoot.com

Aug. 1, 2008--"I'm not broke. I'm just not liquid," 45-year-old Evander Holyfield argued earlier this month upon narrowly avoiding a court appearance on charges that he was around $9,000 behind in court-ordered child support payments for one of his 11 children.

…All the "Why-does-Holyfield-keep-fighting?" questions have now given way to thoughts of how can any one human manage to blow through some $200 million in riches before so much as embarking on life's golden years?

…He spent and squandered so lavishly because, well, he felt he needed to do that, too.

Consider it the curse of being a world-class athlete, the maddening sense of invincibility and entitlement that simply seems to come with the territory. It's a formula that's proven as deadly as any opponent. One that can cut short careers as quickly as it depletes bank accounts.

Michael Vick and Mike Tyson both had it.  So did Marion Jones and Latrell Sprewell. In fact, so do roughly two in every three NBA players, according to a recently published Toronto Star article that assures that some 60 percent of them are guaranteed to be destitute within five years of retiring.

…Sociology professor Todd Boyd said on a segment of ESPN's Outside The Lines, when attempting to delve into the mind of the modern day athlete, "You find that there are many people who are depending on this person, who are looking up to this person and who see this person's success as their own success," he said. "As you go up the ladder, it's not always easy to simply say to them, 'OK, now I'm in this new position. Would you back off?'"

…"A lot of players get in trouble because they want everyone around them to lead the same lifestyle," he said. "You buy this big house for people, and they no longer want to drive the low-end car to go with the big house. So the big house leads to the big car, to the better clothes, to the better restaurants and stuff. It's a snowball effect. You see how guys live." …

FOR EVERYONE.  Favorite children’s short films.  Saturday, November 8, 2 p.m. at the Montebello library.  Admission free.  Enjoy favorite children’s short films projected on the movie screen.  Light refreshments will be served.  For more information, 323.722.6551.  

FOR EVERYONE.  Schurr’s Taco Mambo.  Put on your walking or running shoes.  The sixth annual Schurr High School Taco Mambo is to take place on Saturday, November 29, at 9 a.m. at the high school.  For more information and registration, including online registration, go to http://www.active.com/page/Event_Details.htm?event_id=1641811&assetId=152ccb6c-3bc4-4ac5-b479-e320b63cefb2.

FOR EVERYONE.  Montebello’s time machine.  Please learn about the history of Montebello by visiting the Juan Matias Sanchez Adobe Historic Site and Museum any Saturday between 1:00 to 3:45 PM.  The Museum is located at 946 N. Adobe Ave., Montebello, CA 90640.  See you there.  Gary Brougher.  For more information, gbrougher@sbcglobal.net.

FOR EVERYONE.  Foreclosures and medical bills.  ...In recent years, there has been national alarm about the rising rate of home foreclosures, which now strike one in every ninety-two households in America, and which contribute to even broader macroeconomic effects.  These factors – loose lending, irresponsible borrowers, a flat real estate market, and rising interest rates – have together become the "standard account" of home foreclosure.  Policymakers and scholars may be surprised to learn that even in the midst of this spike, one of the largest causes of home foreclosures was none of the above. We studied homeowners going through foreclosure in four states and found that medical crises contribute to half of all home foreclosure filings. If these patterns hold nationwide, medical causes may put as many as 1.5 million Americans in jeopardy of losing their homes each year. ...  Health Matrix, Vol. 18:65 2008, “Get Sick, Get Out: The Medical Causes of Home Mortgage Foreclosures”, by Christopher Tarver Robertson, Richard Egelhof, and Michael Hoke

FOR COMMUNITY LEADERS, TEACHERS, YOUTH.  Looking for a satisfying career?  Today we are thrilled to share with you a brand new video about the fastest growing movement in human history. It is made up of individuals from all walks of life who are creating positive change through social entrepreneurship.  Video: "The Tactics of Hope - Join the Social Entrepreneur Movement".  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MokRURNnSC0  Please join us and send this video to your friends, family, colleagues, and anyone you know who is looking for ways to make a real and lasting difference in the world. If you'd like to learn more about this exciting movement, see the included press release below.  Warm Regards, Wilford Welch and David Hopkins.  E-mailed November 10, 2008.

FOR EVERYONE.  Obama my papa?  Are we looking to the President-elect as our father, our savior?  What happens to democracy when we look to others, instead of ourselves, for solutions?  See an interesting viewpoint at http://townhall.com/Columnists/JohnStossel/2008/11/05/who_will_run_america.

The United States ranks sixty-ninth in the world with regard to the number of women holding national political office, according to “Now”, broadcast on KCET on September 19, 2008.

Beverly Hills case blends free speech, public schools and cyber-bullying
Middle school friends, talking off-campus, criticize a classmate. A video is posted on YouTube. Now the case is in federal court.
By Victoria Kim, Los Angeles Times Staff Writer, August 3, 2008

..."School districts are between a rock and a hard place on this issue," Kaatz said.

In an Idaho case, for example, parents sued a school district over its failure to intervene in their daughter's harassment, which included, among other things, spreading photos and rumors on the Internet about the girl's sexual orientation. The court sided with the school, saying officials did not have "substantial control" over the dissemination of the photos.

As computer, video and cellphone use among students has increased in recent years, so have allegations of cyber-bullying.

According to a survey released last year by the Pew Internet and American Life Project, one in three teenagers who use the Internet said they have experienced some form of online harassment. Some experts have even called it a public health concern, with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention funding research on electronic aggression among young people.

The "classic situation" that many school districts face, Kaatz said, is teenagers using MySpace.com from their home computers to start a negative campaign against a fellow student, posting nasty comments, starting rumors or creating a fake profile page for the victim to spread false information. ...

Amy Lambert, director of pupil and special services for the Beverly Hills Unified School District, said the suit is the first for her district involving cyber-bullying.

She declined to discuss the lawsuit but said headaches involving sites such as YouTube are plaguing schools all around Los Angeles . Posting on the Internet has become the modern equivalent of students marking up school walls, only far more public and potentially damaging, she said. ...

http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-youtube3-2008aug03,0,5011764.story

Should a solution which works be held back because of our idealism?  Should we immediately question the solution or rethink our idealism?  Here is an example.  What do you say?

...From NewYork City to Foley, Alabama, from Gary, Indiana, to here in Los Angeles, the reasons for beginning all-male education programs may vary from school to school.  Some inner-city schools with predominantly black student populations may be looking for a way to save boys from a future of disenfranchisement and the problems of gangs, drugs, and crime that afflict inner-city black men.  Others may just be looking for a classroom that will channel the energies of boys rather than suppress it.  Still others may be looking for a way to bring up test scores, particularly reading scores, or to reduce discipline problems in their male students.

A change in the interpretation of Title IX of the Educational Amendments of 1972, which prohibited gender discrimination in federally-funded schools, allowed for more flexibility in instituting gender-separated educational programs in public schools.  “Research shows that some students may learn better in single-sex education environments,” Secretary of Education Margaret Spellings said in the October 2006 press release announcing the rules change.

Zynda, Karl, “Male-Only Solutions to Boys’ School Problems”, Montebello Comet, July 31, 2008

To learn about this newsletter, Montebello E-News, and the accompanying, growing Web site, “My Montebello”, visit www.mymontebello.com.  Also, you will find instructions and contact information for submitting announcements for publication in this newsletter, and for submitting stories to “Montebello Memories” at the Web site.