Fornits
General Interest => Open Free for All => Topic started by: Samara on May 12, 2010, 10:06:27 PM
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Right now, I am feeling misanthropic and need to vent. I have become slowly disillusioned by my job which I really don't think of as helpful. There is a sense of entitlement and laziness and conformity that makes me ill. My school is charter and publicly funded and we are supposed to be transparent. However, the level of censorship surpasses that of a Christian private school... the board and the CEO apply a lot of illegal political and religious pressure on the employees. Financially, it is unethical. Admin at our charter school are running for and winning (we have extreme right wing political cronies to help) board seats at our good public schools so they can influence ideology and finances in favor of ours. When people start to ask questions, they are removed. I recently was warned that someone was forced to sign a paper to state that she would never say anything adverse about our school or practices to any person or be fired on the spot. It was because she questioned inefficient and unethical practices. (Is this even legal?) Her husband was just laid off, so she has no recourse... the economy is bad and it is hard to get a job elsewhere. I am so sickened that they did this, and was only warned by the very frightened person so that I could protect myself. It is all very Big Brother. People have tried to rebel or send anonymous letters to be summarily fired. Now, people are in dire straights (economy) and can't find other jobs. The funny thing is the people being targeted are intellectuals and ethical. The ones who see initiatives that all for show and don't work. The people running the show and being promoted have breeched every type of fiduciary and ethical code. Some people have been purposely misrepresented to tarnish their reputations. I am totally sickened and have to support my kids.
But in general, I'm just fed up by the materialism, the lack of discretion, the 24/7 media, the total lack of boundaries... I also live in the most socially hierarchical, classist, ultracrazyconservative town chock full of religious hypocrites. (I've lived in a LOT of places, so I'm not just complaining for no reason. This is the worst. By far.)
I am tired of watching all the power struggles and attempts of social and interpersonal control on a daily basis. I just don't have the stomach for it. I feel like I am too sensitive to it all and I wish I were blind and dumb. Ignorance is bliss. There isn't one part of me that wishes to control or compete with others, and certainly not in a way that is politicized and compulsory and demeaning.
I feel like running off to live in a hut in Timbuktu today. I'm disillusioned with society and cynically view everything as Lord of the Flies.
I hate cynicism.
I know I sound like a paranoid nut job, but I just need to vent now so I don't pull down anyone at work and tomorrow I'll buck up.
Thank you for letting me.
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I think you need to stop worrying about what the others are doing, and focus on yourself!
Try applying the 7 steps; have they ever let you down???
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Oh, F. Pbbbbt! Chatting with one of your favorite 7 steppers now. His remedy is a lot better.
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Postby Dr Fucktard » Today, 03:57
I think you need to stop worrying about what the others are doing, and focus on yourself!
Try applying the 7 steps; have they ever let you down???
(http://http://crossfitoneworld.typepad.com/.a/6a00d8341bf90553ef0133ecb32cf6970b-800wi)
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WTF gives you that idea? I'm a troll? Oh Jesus. Laugh out fucking loud. Whatever. I probably personally know more people at this site than you do.
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I think he was talking about the esteemed Dr. F.......
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Watch that movie Kick Ass.. I'm watching it now and I can't stop laughing.
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RTP - Oh thanks... I do not know elanasshole. But his or her name is pretty straightfoward.
Yeah, but I know Doc Fuckaroo and I also know you from a year ago. :)
I am just in a bitch of a combative mood, which is unlike me.
I wish someone would give me permission to just kick their ass today.
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Heh.. I know what you mean about fucked up jobs. What keeps you there though?
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One of the problems with Charter Schools is that they are potentially a hotbed of ideological zealots and yes, corruption... These are people that have their own ideas about "education" which, theoretically, would include improvements on the standard public school model, but which, more often than not, improve certain folks' salaries more than anything else. Anyone else notice how the CEOs of these places make substantially more than any other school official on the planet, and yet the actual teachers tend to have less job security and benefits than even their regular public school counterparts?
Is it any wonder that certain former execs of the Brown Schools have gotten involved with Charters (do a search for "Camelot")? Hyde Schools has a bunch of public charters in their stable of behavior modification joints as well...
Y'all might be interested in Jim Horn's blog Schools Matter (http://http://www.schoolsmatter.info/), which is very much focused on what is wrong with the Charter School system as it actually functions in the here and now.
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My kids. I support them wholly and the economy is tanked. Plus, it is one of thsoe things I've grown more acutely aware of.... I wish I didn't. I'd rather be ignorant. I have a mortgage, their insurance, and a little flexibility so I can actually be there for them. I will be looking... but need net first.
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I could write a book on Charter corruption. It is bad. I'm jaded. I don't even feel it is good for the vast majority of the kids. At least regular brick and mortar schools are required to have transparency. The smoke and mirrors of some charter - expecially cyber - is unbelievable.
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I could write a book on Charter corruption. It is bad. I'm jaded. I don't even feel it is good for the vast majority of the kids. At least regular brick and mortar schools are required to have transparency. The smoke and mirrors of some charter - expecially cyber - is unbelievable.
You might like a recent post of that blog, Vulture Philanthropists Double Their "Social Investments" in 7 Years (http://http://www.schoolsmatter.info/2010/05/vulture-philanthropists-double-their.html), excerpt of which follows. This is from a transcript of a May 7, 2010, news segment originally aired on Democracy Now:
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AMY GOODMAN: Juan, before we move on to the Gulf, you have a very interesting column in the "New York Daily News" today, an exposé around big banks and charter schools.
JUAN GONZALEZ: Yes, Amy, one of the things I’ve been trying now for a couple of years is to try to figure out why is it that so many hedge fund managers, wealthy Americans, and big banks, Wall Street banks- executives of Wall Street banks, have all lined-up supporting and getting involved in the development of charter schools. I think I may have come across one of the reasons. There’s a lot of money to be made in charter schools, and I’m not talking just about the for-profit management companies that run a lot of these charter schools. It turns out that at the tail end of the Clinton administration in 2000, Congress passed a new kind of tax credit called a New Markets tax credit. What this allows is it gives enormous federal tax credit to banks and equity funds that invest in community projects in underserved communities and it’s been used heavily now for the last several years for charter schools. I have focused on Albany, New York, which in New York state, is the district with the highest percentage of children in charter schools, twenty percent of the schoolchildren in Albany attend are now attending charter schools. I discovered that quite a few of the charter schools there have been built using these New Markets tax credits. What happens is the investors who put up the money to build charter schools get to basically or virtually double their money in seven years through a thirty-nine percent tax credit from the federal government. In addition, this is a tax credit on money that their lending, so they’re also collecting interest on the loans as well as getting the thirty-nine percent tax credit. They piggy-back the tax credit on other kinds of federal tax credits like historic preservation or job creation or brownfields credits.
The result is, you can put in ten million dollars and in seven years double your money. The problem is, that the charter schools end up paying in rents, the debt service on these loans and so now, a lot fo the charter schools in Albany are straining paying their debt service- their rent has gone up from $170,000 to $500,000 in a year or- huge increases in their rents as they strain to pay off these loans, these construction loans. The rents are eating-up huge portions of their total cost. And, of course, the money is coming from the state. One of the big issues is that so many of these charter schools are not being audited. No one knows who are the people making these huge windfall profits as the investors. Often, there are interlocking relationships between the charter school boards and the nonprofit groups that organize and syndicate the loans. There needs to be some light on this whole issue and the state legislature right now is considering expanding charter school caps, but one of the things I press for my column, there has to be the power of the government to independently audit all of these charter schools or we’re not going to know how public dollars are ending up in the coffers of Wall Street investors.
AMY GOODMAN: Congratulations on doing this and we’ll continue to expose it as you do.
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Dear samara ( odd tag, don't ya think?)
It is good to feel misanthropic. it is righteous. However, The whole thing rings a little false. I spent 8 years as witness for the prosecution, done gov't service, done contract for cop-shop, done vehicle recovery, warrant-work, seemingly ad infinitum. I admit, I'm an insensitive bastard, yet I try so hard to be reasonable.
I've dealt with people in extremis for effing decades, and been one myself, a time or two. Your story doesn't hold water.
I find that i resent it, I resent lies. Lies are what get people killed, one way and another. Do you want to educate the young? or indoctrinate them? If you want to educate them, teach them to read greek ( hellenic, not modern) teach them to read roman latin, teach them logic and math. Teach them to argue.
hate whom you will, but if you teach the children only what you believe, you will spend decades paying for it.
I don't want to pay for it with you. J.O.M.
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Just one:
WTF are you to say my tag is wacky? If you read literature, maybe you would get it. I just wrote the whole post against indoctrination, conformity and censorship as well as against shady business practices that were harmful to educators and education. One of my biggest problems here is they don't ALLOW us to teach critical thinking or Socratic method. We have a hard time getting Spanish and French in must less Hellenic Greek. Obviously, you are just a pretentious schmuck who posts your resume as a "seen it all, done it all" type who hasn't seen sh*t or you would recognize that this stuff really happens. or get a subscription to Atlantic Monthly. Jesus.
I don't think you are that reasonable, but you do remind me of someone.
Speaking of odd tags: Does Just One More stand for Just One More Drink? Because that would make sense.
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dear samara
Odd tag. yep. reveals more than it conceals. So does your angry response. Well ya got me. not only am i a pretentious schmuck, but an insensitive bastard as well. Boy howdy, reckon i'll have another beer. Got to anyways, on account of burning books is thirsty work. then i think i'll go kill little animals and oppress women and minorities, depends on how much gas is in the tank. Got a 289, don't ya know, and I'm running glass packs, so ya know, it ain't as 'green' as I'd like. Runs like a fiend, though. Good thing, when them minorities and women get to chasin me with their pitchforks. J.O.M.
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You know what - I just have to concede to laughter at this point...
I am angry. I was very upset when I wrote that post after discovering that my colleague was strong armed into signing a document. Not only was she coerced to sign the paper, but she was threatened to pretend it never happened. I think she was too shocked to say "I need my family lawyer to review this before I sign anything."
This was a compounding factor after several incidences of tactics that do not belong in an effective work environment.
I didn't really get why you accused me of lies after a sincere rant. I do not like to be treated injudiciously.
Also, your whole spiel about indoctrination after I specifically argued against censorship and conformity made no sense.
My angry response is pretty direct and more to the point, futile. It doesn't really resolve anything but give you another excuse for mockery.
But I do have a pitchfork ready if you're willing to bend over. Maybe if I'm lucky you'll deconstruct the latent meaning behind "Samarra" before you hightail it to Arizona. I believe your Redneck alter ego will find a nice community of life minded folks there. :peace:
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dear samara( or samarra) "deconstruct" is that like paradigm or matrix or authenticity or lineage or any of a thousand other buzzwords? do you refer to the ancient city or the lousy play? Anyway, i thank you for the laughter, a veterinarian told me long time gone that laughter is a cardinal symptom of health, look for it. A corpseman ( that's core-man, not corpse-man as our current white house occupant would have it) told me long time gone to first piss 'em off, then make 'em laugh.
Arizona, you say? you reckon they'd have a cracker like me? In a state where they intend to finally enforce what has been federal law since 1952? Where they actually believe that a proper function of gov't. is to defend the citizenry? Where the 10th amendment might actually flower? No you Di'n't.
I believe it's become critically important to know why and how you believe what you believe.
P.S. I'm familiar with pressure. I became a witness for prosecution in a forgery case involving doctors, the parish coroner (himself a pathologist) and lost a promising career over it. Oh well. Things are rarely so wrong that they can't be righted. Military wisdom: If nobody dies, you can usually fix it, if somebody dies it's not an emergency anymore. Medical wisdom: when you see hoof-print, look for horse.
J.O.M.
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You words are so convoluted I can't even keep track of what you mean or believe. Are you a lawyer?
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I feel like Pop in Moonstruck at the breakfast table......I'm so confused!!
(http://http://img.youtube.com/vi/B94kLpNrg_k/0.jpg)
(Yes, I know the main guy in the pic above is Vincent Gardenia. Feodor Chaliapin, Jr. is at left)
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addendum to foregoing. Mes'damme you wound. REDNECK is not an alter-ego, it is my self and soul. My family is miners railroaders and horse thieves. I'm the southern branch. i do in fact got a 289, also a 3.8 buick, and a 302. Got other stuff as well. Got a 308. I've really truly run shine, and been on boats and planes, worser than hell, I'm an adult convert, I read, and I vote. One my closest is a man named "connie" A backwoods country boy, Army sniper, Fourteen confirmed mission. A gentleman in all his ways. a soldier in all his ways. Yeah, I'm a redneck.
J.O.M.
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Well, I'm 98% Anglo-Celtic but I cling to my Mexican bandita (literally, I am descended from bandits) side with great contrivance. I'm not a bad girl but I hate rules. Since you are "BFFs" with a sniper and have taken an apparent disliking to me, I would appreciate it if you would ask "Connie" to blindfold himself before he shoots.
I have to admit I have no idea what a 289, 302, or 308 is, but I assume you are far better armed than I will ever be.
I cease and desist.
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convoluted? naww hell, they're plain words.
I'll re-iterate ;I believe it's critically important to know how and why you believe what you believe. When you see hoof print, look for horse.
J.O.M.
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what the hell does that have to do with my original post about unethical business practices and conformity and lack of critical thinking in education?
Are you just mad that I dropped the extra "r" from your favorite book or poem?
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Actually, no i don't dislike you at all, Sorry that you would think so. If i thought you an utter fool, i wouldn't respond. But i have. And since you say you got some 'bandida" in ya, then you'll know something about freedom.
I have mocked you, and you me, but I did not intend insult.
J.O.M.
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No, I'm not mad about he extra R It's a great parable, a great short story, a horrible ruin of a city, and a lousy play.
Here's the deal. Your story didn't add up because there were details missing. Either prosecution or defense will look for that and pounce. Faced with corruption, your choice is limited. you probably don't have the resource that they do.without resource, no matter what party wins, you lose. My advice is walk. Walk careful, walk slow, and walk with as much evidence as you can get. DO NOT let anyone know what evidence you've got, and duplicate. Most of this is T.V., but they watch T.V. too, and believe it. that's in your favor.
The irrascible bastard, J.O.M. bouna fortuna, ( that's italian, ya mex)9 PROBLY NOT GOOD ITALIAN)
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I felt unsafe posting all the details. I felt unsafe posting at all. I have two mouths to feed. No mother is ever really free. I am also not on the radar. But it kills me other good people are. And that nothing really serves the students.
The only really free place is my mind and maybe inside the sanctuary of home.
Never saw the play.
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Hey! good thinking, DON'T Post the Damn details! Learn to compartmentalize, Then walk, slow, then fast, as you need to. If this deal is as bad as you indicate, then hie thee yon! find someone to talk to, a doctor, a priest ( priests are faced with kind of crap all the time, so don't sweat it)
Remember. " if nobody dies...
Still an irrascible bastard J.O.M.
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re- reading previous posts, Don't know what a 289 or a 302 is.. well A 308 is made by winchester, the rest by ford. maybe not better armed than you, but sure as hell faster. And anyway I got whiskey. Furthermore, Connie is a match level, world class shooter, and a felon.
He can never again touch a trigger, nor would he. It's a very sad deal, and it's the deal he made. Sometimes the world is unjust. However, lest the man's reputation be tarnished, let you never think that a man like connie would harm you. If connie thought I would harm a woman without cause, connie would kill me. And rightly so. And so would Blind Andy, Rhino, False Prophet, Cowboy, Hillbilly, even Crack-baby.
Corruption is different... Walk away soon.
No, I didn't get no smarter nor bettr lookin, and I ain't never gonna be easy to get along with.
J.O.M.
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And here I thought Charter Schools were going to be that big thing that 'saved' public schools. And wait... 2 kids and you work for an online school? I bet I know who this is. Glad to see you back.
:)
and JOM is one funny redneck.
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yes, Che, Quasimodo is baaaaaaccccckkkk... Oh, I'm so silly. Still waiting on the rickshaw.
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OH SNAP....
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I still can't figure out who this is...
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Hint - I've been to your house and you guys have been to my former abode.
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Welp, just so you know.. I figured you out almost immediately. Welcome back to the forums, we've missed having our conversations with you.
:P
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I felt unsafe posting all the details. I felt unsafe posting at all. I have two mouths to feed. No mother is ever really free. I am also not on the radar. But it kills me other good people are. And that nothing really serves the students.
The only really free place is my mind and maybe inside the sanctuary of home.
Contact Jim Horn (http://http://www.fornits.com/phpbb/viewtopic.php?f=22&t=30503#p363559). He might be interested in posting them. He might also know some more pieces of that puzzle...
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this is for samara, (city, or parable, or story, any one is good.) also for the Che (best reconsider the character and the man,know what's true)
well I woke up in a county jail, cross the line in Laredo, had a headache and a deputy starin at me through the door . He said How
you got across that river, alive, I don't know, but yer wife just made yer bail, so now you're in her debt for sure. I said, Buddy.. you'd be surprised how fast a chevrolet truck can go.
-Steve Earle
Life is not without risk, the battle not always to the strong, the race not always to the swift. ( think that's Cicero, but then again, i think every thing's Cicero, what the hell, I'm a redneck, We don't read near as good as them hillbillies. We ain't sophists neither. ) J.O.M.
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I have to get out first with a new prospect.... but actually working here and seeing how the CEO has effectively worked politicians, even hosting their rallies is really disheartening. I was just talking to someone who may write an editorial in response to a BS PR job the CEO made with a big paper.
I am really beginning to dislike education. It's not the kids - its the parents and the politics. The kids today are more entitled and less respectful,but they are also more jaded and savvy. My kids go to a great school, but that is because I make a ton of sacrifices to get into the lowest of the low housing in a rich area so they have access to teachers who are more innovative and thought provoking. And the extreme religious right are trying to infiltrate our board so they can dumb down our schools. And let's face it, even our best schools have to enforce a level of conformity because they have to pump out the masses. My kids already understand this. We talk about it openly - how education and institutions promotes conformity, and how you have to work the system without losing yourself. One of my kids will do what is asked with the mindset of: I'm going to get this done, and then I can do what I want to do. The other one can't let go of what doesn't make sense. If a lesson is stupid and way beneath his ability, he has a hard time just going along to get along. He has an especially hard time respecting lessons that have inherent logical fallacies. On the whole, I have been really lucky that they have award winning teachers who make them feel appreciated as individuals, and recognize their talents. I also am lucky because my kids have mentors within their schools who advocate for them. But how many people can really say that?
I myself went to "the best" schools and hated it. It wasn't until I found in the last two years of HS, a private school run by hippies who also taught at the universities that I really felt more stimulated. One was an anthropologist who lived among the Hopis for awhile and he would talk about peyote as an enlightening experience. Could you imagine your kids' teachers saying that in most schools?
I don't know what the answer is because I often get the students who were homeschooled by their parents, and most of the time, their parents are horrendously inadequate. It would be laughable if it weren't frightening. I have seen wonderful examples of homeschooling, but only with parents who are well educated, disciplined, and driven. They see it as a job to amass the best resources and provide tangible learning experiences. However, this is not the norm. The HS kids I inherited don't know the difference between the civil war and the civil rights movement, can't construct a paragraph much less a paper, and are often capable of elementary math skills in the 9th grade. Don't even get me started on Science. It is really hard to get them up to speed when they can't surpass primary levels. It is almost impossible to to do it online.
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Heh, the school that I manage is all about money. Since tuition drives the school that makes sense. The absolutely absurd lengths I'm forced to go in the name of new students numbs my mind. Yes, I realize its frustrating to everyone, but I'd appreciate the local Chinese princess drama queen teacher not blowing a load of kittens over having a possible future student observe a class she coteachers in front of a potential customer.
Funny though, was asked by the head Chinese teacher, "Old wise che, what would you do if you were her boss?"
"Fire her ass."
Head Chinese Teacher, "(insert gorp about harmony and workplace happiness)"
"(insert rant about customer service and common sense and wanting the rest of us who don't act like we are 4 years old in front of students getting out bonuses)"
Head Chinese Teacher, "Oh yes, bonuses.. yes.. fire her if she does that again."
Sucks to hear about the home schooling thing. I've been a huge fan of home schooling for along time now. If I remember correctly you essentially teach your students via internet, so it would be very nice if these buffoonish parents would get their kids involved in something like your program earlier if they don't have the academic skills to properly educate their children.
Worst, the discipline that comes from learning and task completion is applicable to so many other things in life it bugs me knowing that these two things are being missed by these dumbasses. Again, I like home schooling, but if you are going to pull your children out of public school because you feel its failing them, DON'T turn around and fail your kids yourself for fucks sake.
justonemore: I woke up in jail once in Cambodia, that was interesting.
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I sure would like to hear about that morning in a Cambodian jail. I bet that's a hell of a story. Probly weren't much fun though. Please do re-consider Che, the character and the man, I know a lot of Cubans, lot of fine folk, and they don't think much of him at all. a Lot of those Miami spics are tough and decent and wise and kind. Hear what they have to say. Most of 'em talk better than i do, and hell, i talk good. A lot of them got 50 cals stashed somewhere, and that's worth listening to, don't ya think.
J.O.M.