Exploring what is happening in Kern - hotandfoggy's Blog - Bakersfield.com

Faces of America

Mon, 15 Feb 2010 10:55:39 PST

Yesterday I watched an amazing show on PBS called "Faces of America." It discussed 12 well known Americans and their families journey to America. Some of the participants included Yo Yo Ma, Stephen Colbert, Meryl Streep, and Dr.Oz. It is truely an American story.

The first episode is online at www.pbs.org/wnet/facesofamerica/

BCSD layoffs

Sat, 06 Feb 2010 10:35:50 PST

I'm shocked by Barrientos story that the BCSD district office is allocating its dirty work of layoffs to individual school boards, consisting of students, parents, and teachers. This shows a lack of leadership and will destroy school unity and cooperation.

Lessons from Army Sgt Cunningham

Sat, 28 Nov 2009 14:11:52 PST

I was amazed when I read the article on Army Sgt. Jess Cunningham. He has a great amount of courage and is a morally strong individual.

When I got my BA in psychology, I read several articles including Stanley Milgram's shock experiment and the Standford Prison Experiment that documented how good people could make decisions that are harmful to others through institutional forces and pressure from the hierarchy.

Former Sgt. Jess Cunningham's case also documents the importance of having a fair trial. Although he was accused of grisly murders, he had his opportunity to defend himself and tell the true story.

World's Strictest Parents

Sun, 01 Nov 2009 12:30:47 PST

I'm not a fan of reality shows, but students and another person told me about the Boltons,a Bakersfield family, who was on the show The World's Strictest Parents. I saw the show online, and I agree with the students that the coach's whistle was annoying. Although, I have to give the Boltons credit for raising respectful children, and making one young man more appreciative of his father. The teen girl on show probably went back to her old ways once she left the house. If you want to check out the episode it is episode 109.

http://www.cmt.com/shows/dyn/worlds_strictest_parents/series.jhtml

San Joaquin bank

Sun, 18 Oct 2009 13:58:09 PDT

Were the regulators for San Joaquin bank asleep? I was researching banks this summer, and San Joaquin had a 4-5 star rating. I didn't become a member because when I went over there I realized it was a business bank and you had to have $800 to open an account.

It is ridiculous that a bank went from a ranking of 4-5 stars to closing within six months. I guess it is another business or corporation that looks financially secure to the public, but insiders know that it's losing money.

Urgent Care ratings

Mon, 28 Sep 2009 19:46:10 PDT

What is a good urgent care center in Bakersfield? Southwest Hospital says they no longer offer it. I have a 102 degree temperature and waited an hour and a half for one and went home when they said another 45 minutes. They are going to call me when they are ready.

I think the doctors went to dinner. Let me know, so next time I will know where to go.

Thanks

KHSD Security

Wed, 09 Sep 2009 11:45:28 PDT

I am saddened that the KHSD has laid off members of its security staff. Some schools rely on them for bathroom escorts. If it weren't for them escorting students to the bathroom, many students would not come back to class, or would waste time walking around the campus and disturbing other classrooms. It seems that there has to be some funding tucked away to keep them employed.

Town Hall Circus

Thu, 27 Aug 2009 12:07:31 PDT

I was only able to watch ten minutes of the town hall health care event and listen to it for about twenty minutes on the radio, because the entire event was a mockery of a civil town hall debate.

First, it wasn't a debate.

People weren't allowed to ask follow up questions. McCarthy kept on repeating his talking point of increasing competition.

Duh, private insurers don't want people with disabilities. Private insurers goal is to make money. Why give private insurers public money to treat the disabled when the government can save money by providing the care to people with disabilities.

Second, it wasn't civil.

A veteran stated that he considered the health care plan as a "domestic enemy" that he swore to fight against. This man has had firearm training. If I had stated that I had firearm training, and began identifying people and policies that I perceived as "domestic enemies" that I swore to fight against, I would be arrested and sent to KMC for a mental evaluation or sent to jail for making threats.

McCarthy did not correct anyone's false comments or remarks about the health care policy. People made several comments that he had to know were false. My favorite was the woman who claimed that returning veterans received a book on options to end their life. That is completely false, and McCarthy was guilty of letting people provoke fear and rumors that they probably found on the Internet funded by private insurers who want to continue ripping off consumers.

People need to accept the fact that everyone dies. When I got my driver's license and saw the option to become an organ donor when I died, I was able to think about the option. I didn't cry that the DMV and government was trying to kill me. My sister took a "Death and Dying" class at BC. They discussed wills and had to make their own. My sister and family knew that BC and her professor weren't trying to talk her into suicide. People need to show some common sense.

Nobody pointed out that problems with Veteran care occurred largely during the Bush Administration, because the veteran administration wasn't adequately funded. Fortunately, there was public outcry regarding veteran care and conditions were improved. If veterans don't want care from the VA, they can pay for private insurance on their own.

Illegal immigration was also brought up. Do people think before they ask questions? How the hell is a doctor or hospital worker going to determine someone's legal status if they are unconscious? More money be wasted than saved trying to determine every patients' citizenship.

The cost was discussed. It may cost money, but only a small fraction of what it costs to fight two wars. Cost wasn't an issue when politicians rushed towards war or when the cost of war kept on increasing.

Many people opposed to a public option are total hypocrites. Isn't McCarthy's health care plan paid for by the government? Is he willing to give up his government plan? Why don't the seniors opposed to a public option give up their Medicare and buy their own private insurance?

Finally, people need to get a freaking heart. People are dying and going bankrupt because they don't have health care or they have it, and it is not providing adequate coverage.

Anybody with Car Wash Troubles?

Tue, 25 Aug 2009 18:54:50 PDT

I got an oil change and car wash today. Minutes after I left the carwash, my car started shaking and the engine light was blinking on and off. My mechanic was a couple of blocks away, so I was able to take my car directly to him. He said that water had gotten into the spark plugs, which had to occur when I was at the car wash, since my car was fine before I took it to the carwash. After he cleaned out the spark plugs, he told me to try to get the car wash to pay for his labor cost.

I talked to the guy who changed my oil, and he said that it is impossible to fill the sparkplugs with water during an oil change. He seemed very sincere, and I doubt that he damaged my sparkplugs.

But, I wonder how my spark plugs got filled with water. Is it possible that the water pressure from the car wash was too high? Has anybody else had problems with car washes or getting your car's oil changed?

Assignment for Bakersfield Readers

Mon, 24 Aug 2009 20:06:15 PDT

I started my own blog about Bakersfield. What other information should I add about Bakersfield?

http://centralval.blogspot.com

Bakersfield's logo is "Life as it should be." A more realistic city logo would be

"Life as it ~~should be~~ is."
Here are some facts for people who aren't familiar with Bakersfield.

It is located in California's central valley and Kern County
Agriculture is a huge industry.
Election results indicate that Bakersfield is very conservative. I don't notice it too much, because most of the people I hang around are liberal. But, I was very disappointed that over 70% of Bakersfield residents supported Proposition 8.
There's good Basque and Mexican Food.
The economy is bad. Library hours have been cut back. Some libraries are only open a couple of days a week. The libraries that I frequently visit, The Beale(downtown) and Southwest, are now closed on Monday.

Now, readers I have an assignment for you. Post your own raves or rants about Bakersfield.

Posted by centralval at 7:56 PM

Free Medical Care

Sat, 15 Aug 2009 19:22:27 PDT

Remote Area Medical has been offering free medical care in LA this past week. Its last day is Aug 18. Check out the LA Times coverage of the event.

http://www.latimes.com/news/local/

On the front line of healthcare debate

Doctors and dentists providing free care at the Forum say there's only one difference with Third World patients -- in Inglewood, they speak English.

By Steve Lopez

August 16, 2009

E-mail"Do you want to see the tooth?" Dr. Mehrdad Makhani asked me Friday morning at the free clinic being staged inside Inglewood's Fabulous Forum. "Come. I'll show you."

Jenny McLean, 36, opened her mouth and Makhani aimed a little flashlight in there.

"You see here?" he said.

The area around a back tooth was red and swollen, and McLean's eyes were teary with discomfort. She'd endured the pain for more than a year because she's had neither insurance nor the money for a dentist since losing her job as a social worker.

It was a story repeated hundreds of times last week at the Forum, where a nonprofit called Remote Area Medical had brought in volunteers to treat legions of the uninsured.

"Here, look at this," said Makhani, pointing to a second tooth that would have to be extracted and yet another that needed a root canal.

Makhani pointed me to another dentist. "Talk to him. He's worked in Brazil."

That would be Joseph Chamberlain, a Westwood dentist who said he's done charity work in Brazil, but not in conditions like this.

"They have a nice system of public hospitals and clinics," he said.

But don't patients have to wait for treatment?

"Yes," Chamberlain said. "But not like this. Not for a year."

Stan Brock, who founded RAM in 1985 to bring medical care to Third World countries, told me that in 1992 he began getting requests to do the same work in the United States.

"The people we're seeing here have teeth as bad as the people in the Upper Amazon," said Brock, who used to tangle with wild beasts on "Mutual of Omaha's Wild Kingdom."

It would be nice if we could send Brock to the nation's capital and have him grab the vipers and hyenas by their necks until they work out a healthcare reform plan. But Brock has a better idea: The nation's leaders should instead come spend a day at one of his clinics and learn a thing or two.

He pulled out a chart showing that at his last medical jamboree, in Virginia, volunteer dentists performed 4,304 tooth extractions in two days, among various other medical procedures.

"President Obama was just down the road somewhere a couple days later, talking about healthcare," Brock said. "I think it would have been a lot more interesting if he came to our clinic."

Eugene Taw, an ear, nose and throat specialist with the Buddhist Tzu Chi Free Clinic in Alhambra, was one of many Forum volunteers who has worked in other parts of the world. Yes, he said, there are far too many parallels between the uninsured in the United States and the residents of impoverished Third World nations.

At the Forum, his patients included a diabetic amputee who had not been able to buy his medicine for months, a retiree who couldn't afford an X-ray for a lung problem, and a 30ish female diabetic with a kidney ailment so serious that Taw called for an ambulance to transport her to a hospital.

"This is great for helping people in need," Taw said of the Forum clinic. "But it's not a good way to do healthcare."

Diabetes and hypertension require regular maintenance, Taw said, rather than occasional urgent trips to an emergency room after the patient deteriorates and the treatment is more expensive. By some estimates, Taw said, 85% of the estimated 47 million uninsured Americans are members of working families. So why not divide the cost of their health insurance evenly among employer, employee and the government?

Any luck with AppleOne?

Mon, 10 Aug 2009 17:14:34 PDT

I have an appointment with the temp agency AppleOne on Wednesday. Has anybody had any luck with them?

What about Career Services Center? I was told that I didn't qualify for retraining, since I'm employed nine out of twelve months of the year, and I make too much money--$13,000 a year. Maybe I should call my case manager again and ask what other programs they offer.

The only jobs that I've come across on Monster Job search are insurance sale jobs. I'm not big on any sale positions. I believe in living as simply as possible.

News staff needs to read blogs

Sun, 02 Aug 2009 10:38:03 PDT

The news that Kern Schools Federal Credit Union sold their credit card portfolio is old news. We discussed it a month ago on these blogs.

Why didn't you report it sooner? What happened to investigative reporting? Is the staff trying to protect their relationships with members of the business community? There has to be at least one staff member who is a member of Kern Schools who got a notice in the mail.

Also, Kern Schools credit card portfolio actually got bought by FIA. FIA bought Bank of America. When I talk about my phone contract, I don't refer to Cingular, I refer to AT&T.

I'm not a financial expert. I have a BA in psychology. But, I acted on my intuition that something was weird about my letter from Kern Schools and did some research and asked the blog community for information. Donmason was very helpful.

Ironically, I owe the Californian a thank you for giving me further motivation to start my own local news website.

Punk Patriot's guide to healthcare

Sun, 12 Jul 2009 14:36:21 PDT

The punk patriot on youtube is describing politicians and single payer healthcare accurately. Warning, he uses the "f word."

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=POxsu6z6YsQ

credit card follow up

Wed, 01 Jul 2009 13:04:28 PDT

About a week ago, I asked bloggers about local credit unions offering credit cards since Kern Schools FCU is transferring their credit card service to FIA. It goes into effect on July 6, but I haven't received the new terms of agreement, so I have no idea if I will agree with them.

According to Safe 1Credit Union's website, their credit card service is also run by FIA.

I also examined the websites of San Joaquin Bank, Kern Federal Credit Union, and Kern Central Credit Union, but could not determine which financial institution was in charge of their credit card services.

I'll p ost more information when available. Thanks again for everyone's input.

Good credit cards?

Wed, 24 Jun 2009 14:12:34 PDT

I have a VISA credit card from Kern Schools Federal Credit Union. Recently, I recieved a letter from them stating that they had transferred the ownership of the credit card to a different company.

The "Important Notice of Change in Terms" declares the agreement was made in Delaware (Vice President Biden-Plastic's home state) and the new owner may change the terms at any time. Basically, I have no rights and no idea what the changes will be until they go into effect on July 6, 2009. This makes me mad, because I got my credit card through Kern Schools since they are a local credit union.

Does anybody know if there are any other local credit unions that I can transfer my credit card account to? I don't want to continue my current account, since I have no idea what changes may occur.

P.S. Does anybody know what changes Congress has made to credit card companies, recently?

Help Colbert help Military Kids

Tue, 16 Jun 2009 13:00:56 PDT

Fake news anchor Stephen Colbert is encouraging people to help the military by supporting classrooms of military children. He has set up a competition between the NAVY, Marines, Air Force, and Coast Guard.

I gave in Honor of the Coast Guard. They did a great job evacuating people from Hurricane Katrina.

www.donorschoose.org/

"Cool Mom" Needs a Life

Sat, 13 Jun 2009 18:38:23 PDT

http://www.bakersfield.com/news/local/x820008048/Oildale-woman-give-cool-parent-citation-for-serving-alcohol-to-kids

The woman who was caught for a second time serving alcohol to minors needs to get a life. If my mom threw parties with alcohol when I was in high school, there is no way I would have respected her. Luckily, the kid didn't die from alcohol poisoning.

However, I'm not sure what kind of relationship parents and society should have with teenagers and alcohol. Isn't wine usually a part of church worship? And I remember a friend having a drink of wine at her Barmitva (sp?). Underage college students are also notorious for drinking.

When do you think it is okay for parents to provide or allow their own children to consume alcohol?

What makes a good school?

Fri, 05 Jun 2009 11:54:59 PDT

A recent columnist stated that vouchers will allow parents to send their children to better schools. How are good schools defined? Is it standardized test scores, the amount of time a teacher or administrator will return a parent's phone call, parental involvement, athletics, unique programs that a school offers, or the strictness of a school?

I'm not a fan of vouchers, but before the voucher debate it was difficult for parents to get inner district transfers. Thus, I am a proponent of open enrollment. I believe that open enrollment gives parents an opportunity to research schools and determine which school would be most suitable for their child. If parents do opt for open enrollment, it still should be their responsibility to provide their child with transportation to and from school.

KHSD Summer School Alternatives

Mon, 01 Jun 2009 21:22:35 PDT

Students who did not get into a summer school class with the KHSD might want to try Bakersfield College. I took a class at BC when I was still in high school, and it helped me prepare for college. The workload was very manageable. It was just weird getting use to older people in my class. The last time I took a class at BC, I was one of the older people. :)

I hope the summer school teachers and administrators show no mercy for ill behaved students.