Ruminations – 5dec2007

George Rebane

• Lutz Center under new management. Jo Ann and I have been supporters of this facility for dependent adults and intend to continue our support after it gets reorganized. Today’s Union announces a meeting this Friday at 6pm in the GV Veterans Hall of CODA (Community Organization for Dependent Adults) to discuss the reorganization and rebirth of the Lutz Center. Our friend Charlene Hogan is quoted in The Union describing the meeting “of concerned adults to discuss alternatives and future plans for a new facility for developmentally disabled adults in our community.” The Lutz Center used to care for adults who were also wheelchair bound from accidents and with all sorts of mental handicaps including Alzheimer’s. Developmentally disabled adults used to refer to adults who were disabled before their development into adults was complete. But in today’s newspeak words sometimes become harder to understand because they continue to get burdened with additional and varied meanings, often until they become meaningless. I was told by Chris Holland, another friend and member of CODA, that the reorganized center will continue to give respite relief to caregivers of adults with the same disabilities as before, not only the developmentally disabled. Please learn more about this fine community service and support it, for some day this bell may also toll for thee.

• Nevada City symposium on climate change today at the Miners Foundry. Preceded by minimal publicity, I was amused by the Sierra Nevada Conservancy’s statement that “We really want to spark dialogue”. With whom might that be if broader attendance is dissuaded by an accompanying “full registration” announcement. We hope that this is not just another nodding contest for true believers who then get ‘What You Can Do to Stop Climate Change’ instructions shoved in their shorts before they hit the streets and the council chambers.

• One of the major problems with the many hues of collectivism (e.g. co-ops, co-housing, …, co-XX) is that in their implementation the feedback links to bad behavior are mangled or cut. The immediate result is to re-create a classed society in the new collective the abolishment of which was its motivating purpose. The two major classes that emerge are the leaders and the followers (other subclasses will follow). The leaders, deriving all the benefits of being first on the food chain, naturally act as gatekeepers to membership in that fortunate class. One effective method of gatekeeping is to deny information about the collective to the followers – collectivist nation-states make such information a state secret. Such information becomes privileged and managed. BriarPatch, our natural foods co-op, seems to be going through such throes now. One of our correspondents points out that the announced delay in its audit, until after the dust settles from its recent move, may serve only to use the same dust cloud to hide some necessary changes to its books. I suppose appearances do count.

• This from the 5dec07 issue of the Washington Post. “U.S. Teens Trail Peers Around World on Math-Science Test The 2006 Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) found that 15-year-olds in the United States are significantly less educated in science and math than their peers in many other industrialized countries. The average science score for U.S. students was lower than those in 16 of the 30 countries in the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, and in math U.S. students trailed behind 23 countries. The PISA test, which is given every three years, measures the ability of 15-year-olds to apply math and science to real-world situations. About 400,000 students worldwide took the test, including 5,600 in the United States. The PISA test results support concerns that too few U.S. students are prepared to become engineers, scientists, and physicians, and that the United States might lose ground to its competitors. On the science portion, U.S. students, mostly 10th graders, had an average score of 289 points out of a possible 1,000 points, 11 points below the average of the 30 countries. Canada, Japan, and Korea are among the countries that scored better than the United States. In math, only four countries had average scores lower than the United States, with 23 countries scoring higher, and two countries having approximately equal scores. Education Secretary Margaret Spellings says the PISA results are disappointing, but notes that the National Math Advisory Panel and other initiatives are working to improve math and science education.” And this is the same generation that will demand that their quality of life remain among the highest in the world – their birthright.

Comments

[Bob]

George, What is also interesting about audits and the BriarPatch is that, according to The Union's Report, the BrairPatch has never had an independent audit in 31 years. Arthur Katz, a board member said that an independent audit needs to be performed this year or next. Managers say that an audit performed now is premature, now apparently meaning this year or next because Katz believes an audit should be performed closer to the moving date. Apparently another excuse is that they are working through some kinks in opening the new store.

What I am wondering is why after 31 years an audit would be premature? Also what kinks are they talking about, kinks in the previous books for the past 31 years? This looks like a classic example of managers leading happy unwary co-owners down a path that may provide hidden benefits for the managers both past, present and future. And what is behind getting rid of the longtime employees? Does that facilitate rewriting of the BriarPatch's history? I wonder if the records of the past will be retained in their original format?

If I was involved I would demand all the records up to this point be collected and turned over to an independent auditing firm.