A jury consists of twelve persons chosen to decide who has the better lawyer.
Robert Frost, 1874 – 1963, Pulitzer Prize-winning American poet

In This Issue

Online Community Lesson

Summer time for some high schoolers means summer school. Last Thursday, two high schoolers came by the office, one to receive help with algebra, which she was taking in summer school, and the other geometry, which he was taking in summer school. (Between naps and deluding myself about saving the world, I occasionally engage in something useful.)

Now, the parent who brought these two teenagers was making an effort to get them through the courses, so, I imagine, she did not want me to say what I said.

Our office is in a row of offices, shops, and stores. I took the two teenagers outside and, walking by each establishment, I pointed out the usefulness of algebra and geometry to each establishment:

* While geometric designs might figure into products and services, one does not have to take geometry to know the names of those designs.

Regardless of this reality check, the two teenagers will be going to summer school for the next few weeks. True, any knowledge, any analysis, any synthesis of concepts is good brain exercise for each of us. But there are only so many hours in a day, and there are subjects not being taught which should have higher priority than algebra and geometry.

I am concerned that these teenagers and millions like them throughout America are going to graduate high school unprepared to do anything other than to go to college, from which they will graduate unprepared to become the self-reliant, critically-thinking denizens which a democracy and a market economy need.

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.

From History to Hysteria, Part 5

(1) Skepticism, like chastity, should not be relinquished too readily.
(2) Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.
George Santayana
Spanish-born philosopher, essayist, poet, and novelist, 1863 – 1952

In part three of this essay, the conclusion was made that we discard the teaching of history—in fact, the teaching of a secular faith purporting to be history—in favor of a thorough and continual grounding, much more than is now done, in critical thinking, rhetoric, polemics, and the Socratic method of teaching. We looked at possible salutary consequences of such a shift in our schooling, but ended by saying that such a shift would not happen. What, then, could we do?

First, while it is highly desirable that everyone make the shift in what he or she learns, that is not necessary. If a certain percentage of Americans do so, that will be enough to inject rational thinking into decision-making to such a degree that we achieve a desirable “tipping point” leading to much better decisions. The result will be fewer regrettable decisions, of which we are reminded too often, on television and in our pocketbooks. (For example, how many hundreds of billions are we spending on Iraq?)

If we think outside the box, we realize that such schooling need not come from the classroom, but, rather, could be done continually extracurricularly. A large number of youth and adults could be reached through an incentive-based extracurricular curriculum. (Hmm, does that pairing of words look like an oxymoron?)

The key would be the incentives, so that people young and old take the time to learn. The incentives have to be attractive to people and affordable to the purveyors of the curriculum.

Another way, not exclusive from, but, rather, complementary to the extracurricular schooling, would be to include, automatically, a learned rebuttal to every assertion purporting to be a fact. In plain English, when British Petroleum would tell us on television how they were looking “beyond petroleum”, a rebuttal of equal length, preferably paid by British Petroleum, would appear. Two positive things could result from this if we the people won the battle with the lobbyists which British Petroleum and many multinational corporations would send to oppose us: first, there would be less advertising and, second, there would be more honest advertising. At least two negative things could result: multinational corporations would look for and exploit loopholes in any “balanced advertising” law and the corporations would become creative in conveying their propaganda, meaning that they might create front organizations, like charities, to convey their propaganda.

Balanced advertising could have a profound effect on political campaigns, also. The question which I would have would be, “Who would provide the rebuttal?” Occasionally, we see a worthwhile analysis by journalists about deceptive political campaigning. If candidates were compelled to dedicate money to enable journalists to do more investigative reporting, we might have fewer deceptive political advertisements insulting our intelligence.

Announcements

FOR EVERYONE. Recycling program. Schurr High School Music Program Recycling Drive. Every second Saturday of the month, rain or shine, from 8 a.m. to noon. Proceeds are used to benefit the music program's numerous events and competitions. We accept aluminum cans, newspaper, cardboard, clear plastic soda and water bottles, glass bottles and containers, cell phones, and large gallon-size containers for water only. “Kash for Kids”: bring your empty ink cartridges. We cannot accept Epson and Canon printer cartridges. Location: drop-off for the recycling items is at the front of the school during the second Saturday of the month. Students and volunteer parents will receive and prepare items them for the local recycling centers. This is a great way for the community to recycle and a great way to help the students raise funds for their programs. For additional information about Schurr High's Music program, please visit www.schurrmusic.org/recycling.htm or email president@schurrmusic.org .

FOR EVERYONE. Meeting. The next regular meeting of the Montebello city council will be at city hall on Wednesday, July 11, 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 EVERYONE. Meeting. The city planning commission will hold a meeting at city hall on Tuesday, July 17, 2007, at 7 p.m.

FOR ADULTS. Commission vacancies. The City of Montebello invites residents to apply for positions on the city civil-service and planning commissions. Proof of residency is required. Applications are available in the city clerk’s office, 323.887.1437.

Fun Facts about Spiders

All spiders have a head, a body, a pair of jaws and four pairs of legs. Most have eight eyes. Spiders usually have claws on each leg that help them grip their web. There are about 35,000 known species of spiders in the world ….

Spider webs are made of a spider's silk, a protein that it produces and squeezes out of glands in its body. The silk comes out as liquid but quickly hardens. Spiders produce various types of silk that come out of different glands and each one has its own purpose. Some is used for making the egg sacs, some for making the webs, and some for wrapping up prey.

The Flashback Quarterback on the Recent

Al Qaeda Graduation

What are the two articles below telling us, assuming that they be accurate? First, we are lucky that nobody has been hurt so far. Second, that luck cannot last forever. What, then, can we do? Paralleling what was said in the essay “Walks outside the Box”, we must look after ourselves, by organizing locally and not depending on Federal or state officials to protect us, as their best efforts would not suffice all the time. We need a strong sense of community in Montebello manifesting itself as unhesitating cooperation among Montebelloans.

Large teams of newly trained suicide bombers are being sent to the United States and Europe, according to evidence contained on a new videotape obtained by the Blotter on ABCNews.com.

Teams assigned to carry out attacks in the United States, Canada, Great Britain and Germany were introduced at an al Qaeda / Taliban training camp graduation ceremony held June 9.

A Pakistani journalist was invited to attend and take pictures as some 300 recruits, including boys as young as 12, were supposedly sent off on their suicide missions….

LONDON - British authorities were seeking three men Friday after police defused two car bombs that they said could have killed hundreds of people had a cell-phone trigger not failed.

The three men have been identified and are believed to be from the Birmingham area, a center of radical Islamic unrest in Britain, U.S. officials who had been briefed on the developments told NBC News.

Police said the two cars, a light green and a light blue Mercedes-Benz, were found early Friday morning in London’s theater district. The green Mercedes was defused at the site. The blue Mercedes was not discovered to be a threat until early Friday evening, after it had been issued a parking ticket and towed to an impoundment lot near Hyde Park….

The Flashback Quarterback on the $1,068.50

California Carpool Fine

Carpool lane - 1st time $1068.50 starting 7/1/07. (The $271 posted on the highway is old). Don't do it again because 2nd time is going to be double. 3rd time triple, and 4th time license WILL BE suspended….

This is a hoax: http://urbanlegends.about.com/library/bl_california_traffic_laws_2007.htm. Always check out a request or statement which looks too good or too odd. Doing so is easy: type the subject and the word “hoax” in Google, then read what is said. Do not be an unwitting accomplice to a bad joke which might deceive others.

About Montebello E-News and “My Montebello”

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.