Montebello E-News 

July 19, 2007  

A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity;  an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty.
Winston Churchill, 1874 – 1965, statesman, orator, strategist, soldier, and
Prime Minister of Great Britain during most of World War Two 

1.     Ah, the Smell of Fireworks, Part 2

2.     To Laugh, to Lament, Perchance to Dream, Part 2

3.     Announcements

4.     Facts for Dog Owners

5.     The Flashback Quarterback on the Flip Side to McDonald’s

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

Ah, the Smell of Fireworks, Part 2 

          Last week we looked at Montebello’s love-hate relationship with fireworks.  While it would be intelligent to have an alternative, meaningful celebration on the Fourth of July, we could not so easily replace the fuming, fundraising festivities of fireworks.  So, how do we make the best of a bad situation? 

          An editorial in Montebello Community News said that our city should budget in order to reinstate a community fireworks celebration at Grant Rea Park.  That would be useful if the celebration were more than a light show:  perhaps youth reading from the Declaration of Independence, perhaps a skit with audience participation.  But we would not need a city-funded light show which did no more than entertain, while harming the environment and failing to impart to its residents something of the meaning of the Fourth. 

          At the same time, many, maybe most, Montebelloans would not leave their homes to attend a public celebration. 

          This calls for an outside-the-box solution.  Although one is not offered here, questions are shared to encourage a discussion. 

          What prevents Montebello from making an insurance surcharge on the purchase of fireworks?  The insurance would be to pay police officers and fire fighters—whichever fire fighters they might be—for additional duty specifically to reduce injuries and property loss. 

          What keeps Montebello from imposing a health and carbon-offset surcharge?  I do not think that anyone would argue that the smoke from fireworks would have no impact on asthmatic children or that the noise would have no impact on pets.  And not many would argue that fireworks would have no effect on the environment.  An additional question would be:  how would this surcharge be spent effectively?  Perhaps the planting of fruit-bearing trees would figure into the picture. 

          Finally, what prevents Montebello from tacking on a cleanup surcharge?  It is amusing that we seem to ignore the remains of cardboard and catalyzed chemicals on our streets, leaving it to passing cars, weekly street sweepers, and the weather to do away with them. 

          Upon purchasing of fireworks, a resident would receive a certificate, which he would display conspicuously when using fireworks on the Fourth. 

          Thus, we can maintain our Montebello “lifestyle”, letting residents burn their dollars and community organizations earn theirs, but with the real costs of fireworks figured into the purchase price.  

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 2007 by a local nonprofit organization. 

1.  What should a public celebration of the Fourth entail?

(a)  Cavalrymen on white steeds.

(b)  Education and reflection about the reason for the celebration. 

2.  For which effects of fireworks would it be appropriate to have a surcharge?

(a) Injuries and property loss.

(b) Health effects on those with a pulmonary problem.

(c) The cleanliness of our streets.

(d) The effect on the environment from the additional smoke. 

 We are all here for a spell, get all the good laughs you can.
Will Rogers, 1879 - 1935,
American humorist, social commentator, and actor 

In part one, we considered a possible solution to the real loss which we faced from long lines and long waits.  (And note that this does not include the stress which we experience from long lines and long waits because of somebody else’s failure at her / his job.)  We jump to another subject in this part. 

We have an ongoing discussion—some would say battle—in this country about (a) which are our values and (b) how and how often those values should be taught to people.  Our discussion is not some yawn-spawning indulgence into an abstraction.  There are real consequences:  the rights of victims versus the rights of victimizers, as with identity theft;  language immersion or bilingual education;  pure democracy or representative democracy;  laissez-faire capitalism, regulated capitalism or state capitalism. 

But recall from past writings that the larger the population, the more diverse the population naturally would become.  Diversity would mean that values naturally would diverge.  If we encouraged individual Americans to be critical thinkers and skeptics, we would see many subcultures created, just as many branches of Protestantism came to be after the authority of the Pope and clergy, in the interpretation of faith, no longer bound people.  However, is diversity of values a good thing? 

Yes and no.  Because it is within human nature to take any good thing to the extreme, to a point at which, while we cannot live without the good thing, we misuse and abuse the good thing.  Examples?  Dynamite.  Cars.  Airplanes.  Guns.  Atomic fission.  The Internet.  Cell phones.  Credit cards.  Free speech.  Commercials.  Political campaigns.  Rights of the mentally ill.  Rights of parents versus grandparents.  Rights against search and seizure.  Said another way, we are idealists who, in the pursuit of ideals, create dysfunctional results.  We are extremists, and the only thing keeping us somewhat sane is diversity.   Why?  Diversity means that we are unable to compel people to embrace extreme ideals. 

But somebody would say, “That begs the question.  If we are extremists in the pursuit of our ideals, can we not be extreme in the pursuit of diversity, thereby creating a dysfunctional diversity?”  More in the next part.

FOR EVERYONE.  Swap Meet.  Community swap meet and super yard sale at Greenwood Elementary School, 900 South Greenwood Avenue, Montebello, on Saturday, July 21, 2007, from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m.  Benefiting the Greenwood Community Association.  For more information, including booth spaces, call 323.838.0490. 

FOR EVERYONE.  Meeting.  The next regular meeting of the Montebello city council will be at city hall on Wednesday, July 25, 2007, at 7:30 p.m.  If you wish to speak during orals, come before 7:30 p.m. and sign up.  If you have more to say than there is time allotted, prepare a one pager, make copies, and hand out before you speak.

FOR TEACHERS AND GOVERNMENT STAFF.  Grant RFP.  From RFP Bulletin, July 13, 2007.  Lego Systems establishes Lego Children's Fund to support youth creativity programs.  Deadline: quarterly.  …The Lego Children's Fund was incorporated with an initial corporate contribution of $1.2 million dollars. The fund will make cash grants to nonprofit organizations in the United States with programs dedicated to a child's exploration of creativity that cater to children ages birth to 14, with priority consideration for disadvantaged or at-risk youth. The fund's cash grants generally will range between $500 and $5,000 each.  Additionally, the fund aims to make one $100,000 grant per year to a single organization identified and selected by the fund's board of directors. 

The fund will award grants to qualified 501(c)(3) tax-exempt organizations, including educational organizations with specific, identifiable needs, in these areas of interest:  early childhood education and development;  technology and communication projects that advance learning opportunities;  and sport or athletic programs that concentrate on underserved youth. … 

Grant program guidelines and application instructions are available at the Lego Children's Fund Web site, http://www.lego.com/ .

It is now illegal to tether, fasten, chain, tie or restrain a dog to a doghouse, tree, fence or any other stationary object.  Violations of this law constitute a misdemeanor punishable by a $250 fine per dog and / or a six-month jail sentence. 

Also, it is now  

·        a higher-grade misdemeanor to have animals fight one another, punishable by one year in jail and / or a $5,000 fine;

·        permissible for animal-control, humane and police officers to break into a vehicle where an animal’s safety appears to be in immediate danger, such as on hot days. 

Details, including exceptions to the “tether” law, can be found at http://www.saclaw.lib.ca.us/pages/animal-code-sections.aspx .  

In “From History to Hysteria, Part 5”, this statement was made: 

..corporations would become creative in conveying their propaganda, meaning that they might create front organizations, like charities, to convey their propaganda.  

Compare that with this: 

 “’Independent’ Labor Report on McDonald's Puréed in Tomatoland”
Source:  Center for Reflection, Education and Action 

When does an independent labor advocacy group's work turn into corporate PR?  The Connecticut-based Center for Reflection, Education and Action (CREA) finds itself right on the line.  CREA recently announced partial results of a study of Florida tomato suppliers, crediting one McDonald's supplier with exceeding industry best practices, including pay sometimes higher than $18 an hour.  But an analysis by Florida International University--endorsed by 30 national labor experts--says the CREA study is “so riddled with errors both large and small that it cannot be accepted as factually accurate on virtually any measure.”  CREA rushed the report into print while other studies of tomato suppliers were still pending.  McDonald's promptly published the report's conclusions.  The report's release coincided with a campaign by the Coalition for Immokalee Workers calling on McDonald's to match Taco Bell's recent "penny-a-pound" pay increase to tomato pickers.  “Spin of the Day”, May 19, 2006, http://www.prwatch.org/node/4816 . 

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.