Here's the skinny on those staph/MRSA stories in the Rockingham County schools

All afternoon numerous reports have been forwarded to The Knight Shift about "confirmed" staph infections - and particularly MRSA (Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus) - running loose throughout the Rockingham County Schools system. This is of especially serious concern in light of numerous cases of MRSA that have been confirmed in Forsyth and Yadkin counties. And word is just coming down the wire that a student at George Washington High School in Danville has been diagnosed with MRSA. So what's going down our way?

I called up the office of Rockingham County Schools Superintendent Dr. Rodney Shotwell earlier this afternoon, to see what he knows. I didn't get to talk to Dr. Shotwell but a very short while later I got a call from Rockingham County Schools spokeswoman Jean Steverson. And this is what the good lady told me...

There are no confirmed MRSA cases in Rockingham County school at this point in time. That doesn't mean that there aren't cases, however. Steverson said that MRSA isn't something that a medical doctor is required to formally report. But as things stand right now, there is no need to panic. Just precaution, Steverson emphasized. Doing things like washing hands on a regular basis, and taking care to bandage open wounds and taking steps to make sure that there is no contact with open bodily tissue (blood, mucous etc.). Steverson also said that the custodial staff at the schools are taking extra precautions to sanitize exposed surfaces with anti-MRSA disinfectants. Athletic departments are also being advised to practice caution.

We talked a bit about how this thing is much like polio: even though polio is a virus, it needs physical contact to get around. It's not like this is an airborne pathogen, like this is "Captain Trips" from Stephen King's The Stand. So long as we tell the kids to be careful, and that we do likewise, we should be cool.

But being cautious is a far cry from paranoia. It's good to be aware and with that in mind, here's a data sheet about MRSA from North Carolina Public Health...

An automated message from Dr. Shotwell is also going out to the phone numbers of all the homes of students and faculty, advising them about the MRSA concerns and relaying the measures being taken to control possible outbreak. In fact, we just got our call in the past few minutes. So you might wanna keep the phone handy for awhile.

And that's everything that we know at this hour.

"DON'T PANIC!"

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Chuck Baldwin slams Bob Jones III for prostitution of principles

As was written about here a few days ago, earlier this week Bob Jones III - the head of Bob Jones University - came out in support of Mitt Romney for President. I had a few things to say about it then.

And now Chuck Baldwin has a lot more to say about it and he does it better than I ever could.

In his latest article, "Bob Jones Dances With The Devil", Baldwin goes at length as to why it is wrong for any sincere Christian to support Romney (and not it has nothing to do with Romney being a Mormon). But here's where he really nails how bad Jones has become...

Folks, here is the problem: Christian leaders such as Bob Jones III have succumbed to the temptation to become glorified politicians. They surrendered their convictions thirty years ago when the old Moral Majority married the Republican Party. Ever since then, Republican politicians have made a living by making dupes out of the so-called Religious Right.

There is another problem: our so-called Christian "leaders" crave attention. They desire notoriety. They are obsessed with having access to power. They want a seat at the king's table. As a result, they are willing to believe the lies being told them by shrewd and cunning frauds--as long as they are Republicans, of course. As Doc Holliday said in the movie Tombstone, "My hypocrisy only goes so far."

Accordingly, our Christian "leaders" will never promote a man's candidacy on principle alone. They want to pick a "winner." They want to be on the good side of the last guy standing--even if that guy is a no-good, compromising louse.

If you want to know where the real Christian leadership is in America, it's not found at Bob Jones University or at Focus on the Family. It's found with people like Chuck Baldwin and the rest of that curious group sometimes known as "the Remnant". These are the ones that I would associate with more than any other "faction", if they might count me among their number.

It's not a popular message, but it's one that history has proven to be highly accurate over the millennia: Give up your lust for power. Don't just kill it, but crucify it with all your strength. Destroy it, lest it destroy you in time.

Because is it really worth selling-out who we are in Christ, for a tiny share of a world that is passing away?

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Hey, I can do "quiet repose" too! And someone else comments on Ron Price

My friend Tilly Gokbudak posted a really nice comment on his blog recently, and I just had to share it here...

Lastly, my friend Christopher Knight of Reidsville, NC, has a quaint photo of himself visiting Natural Bridge near Lexington, Va. I was shocked by the stunning simplicity of this photo because Knight became a virtual overnight household name in the Triad for his great over-the-top tv spots which spoofed "Star Wars." The ads were part of Knight's campaign for the Rockingham County school board last year. They were even featured in an article in "The New York Times!"

Tilly is talking about the profile photo that is currently on my Facebook page. Here it is, taken in late August at Natural Bridge in Virginia...

Tilly also adds in this comment...

Alas, he did not win the election, but no one outside of the county knows who Ron Price** is anyway.

(**-one of the election winners)

Y'know, Tilly touches on a good morality lesson here. I mean, I didn't win election, but I was honest and I stayed true to myself even though I knew it might not garner enough votes... but look at all the good that still happened in the past year. While Ron Price was dishonest about who he really was and though he may have won a seat, how many people outside of Rockingham County really know anything about him? And it's not like he's earned any respect here, is it?

The lesson here is: be honest, especially about who you really are. It's not worth losing that to try to gain some power, which you will eventually lose anyway.

Be true to who God made you to be, and trust in Him to do amazing things that you can't begin to imagine.

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TRANSFORMERS: THE SCORE charts on Billboard in debut week despite limited store release

NOW can we see a wider release for this thing?

After its first week out, Transformers: The Score, Steve Jablonsky's orchestral soundtrack for the blockbuster movie, has debuted at #172 on the Billboard 200 chart and is #13 on Billboard's Top Soundtracks. This comes in spite of what MTV has noted was a limited store release with about 4300 scans at the cash registers.

Meanwhile, the Transformers score CD continues to do well at Amazon, where it is now #39 in overall music (having increased in rank in the past few days) and is currently #5 in soundtracks.

Someone... probably a lot of someones... at Warner Brothers Records needs to very strongly consider getting this thing out to a lot more outlets. They are sitting on a goldmine with this CD and the demand is only going to get bigger now that the DVD is out and folks who didn't see Transformers during its theatrical release will be just now discovering both the movie and its beautiful orchestral soundtrack.

Don't make us have to start up another online petition now ;-)

Thanks to Transformer World 2005 and Seibertron.com for the heads-up!

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Deborah Kerr and Joey Bishop have passed away

Some sad news to report tonight...

Deborah Kerr, the star of The King And I and From Here To Eternity, has died. She was 86.

And Joey Bishop, the last member of the legendary "Rat Pack" which also included Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Sammy Davis Jr. and Peter Lawford, has also passed away at the age of 89.

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Robot cannon malfunctions, kills 9

According to this story on Wired (which I first found via Slashdot), a robotic cannon being tested by the South African military went haywire last week and started shooting at everything on its own. Nine people died and fourteen others were wounded.

Here's some of the account...

SA National Defence Force spokesman brigadier general Kwena Mangope says the cause of the malfunction is not yet known...

Media reports say the shooting exercise, using live ammunition, took place at the SA Army's Combat Training Centre, at Lohatlha, in the Northern Cape, as part of an annual force preparation endeavour.

Mangope told The Star that it “is assumed that there was a mechanical problem, which led to the accident. The gun, which was fully loaded, did not fire as it normally should have," he said. "It appears as though the gun, which is computerised, jammed before there was some sort of explosion, and then it opened fire uncontrollably, killing and injuring the soldiers."

Other reports have suggested a computer error might have been to blame. Defence pundit Helmoed-Römer Heitman told the Weekend Argus that if “the cause lay in computer error, the reason for the tragedy might never be found."

So much for Asimov's Three Laws of Robotics :-(

Or maybe not...

"Please put down your weapon. You have twenty seconds to comply."

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Can you hear this?

Chris Fettig found something really kewl. It's a 2006 story from National Public Radio about a special high-frequency sound - which most teenagers can hear but not most adults - that storekeepers in Great Britain have been using to keep young people from loitering in their stores. Well, now the kids are using that same sound as a ringtone on their cellphones... which lets them know while in class that they've a text message. The teachers can't hear it but the teens can!

Well, supposedly adults can't hear this. Because I'm in my early thirties and I've heard it clear as a bell every time that I've played this: it's a very high-pitch buzzing sound that might give you a headache if you listen to it for too long. Want to try it for yourself? Take a listen to it right here!

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HELLRAISER remake coming and the HELLBOY II site launches

This is gonna be one heckuva post about upcoming movies :-P

A remake of Hellraiser is in the works, according to this story at the Hollywood Reporter. Two French filmmakers will be writing and directing it, supposedly with the full blessing of Clive Barker: the creator and director of the first Hellraiser movie.

Hmmmm... what to make of this? I though that the Hellraiser movies had a great first two installments. There was tons of potential for development and exploration. And then the series tried to become too much like every other horror movie franchise that existed at the time. They tried to turn Pinhead into another "slasher" like Freddy or Jason, when Pinhead was something much more than that.

Personally, I'd like to see a "relaunch" for the Hellraiser franchise like what Superman Returns did, acknowledging the first two movies at least and then for Barker and crew to redevelop Hellraiser along the lines of the 1990s Epic comics... which were really cool! Hellraiser: Bloodline evoked some of that sense of broad mythology. With a bigger budget (among other things), that would be a great direction to take this series into.

And on the more heroic side of cinema, the website for Hellboy II: The Golden Army has just opened in the past few days. I loved the first movie and Guillermo del Toro has become one of my favorite filmmakers. Can't wait to see this one when it comes out next year :-)

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Review of TRANSFORMERS on DVD: 2-Disc Special Edition and that Wal-Mart exclusive

It's a funny thing: I've been so wound-up about the release of Transformers: The Score last week, after months of crusading for the thing, that when the actual movie came out on DVD a few days ago it was something that I had almost overlooked! I'm still ransacking the music shelves at all the local stores for the score CD, by the way: it's still not turning up anywhere. I may have to break down and get it off of Amazon, which I'd rather not do only because I like picking stuff off of shelves and ringing it up at the register. But Amazon really is a terrific place to find stuff especially if you can't locate it on your own, so that might have to be the route to go. In the meantime, the copy that Steve Jablonsky sent is still not being played, out of solidarity with everyone else who can't buy it in stores.

(But if you want a copy of Transformers: The Score signed by composer Steve Jablonsky to call your very own, remember the eBay auction we've got going on right now, with all proceeds going to benefit music education in Rockingham County schools.)

So Transformers came out in multiple packaging on DVD (and on HD-DVD) on Tuesday. I went to the Wal-Mart Supercenter here in Reidsville at quarter-'til 1 that morning, hoping to get the 2-Disc Special Edition. Wal-Mart didn't have that: only the regular one-disc version, and the one-disc packed with the Wal-Mart-exclusive Transformers: Beginnings, which is a 20-minute "prequel" to the movie. I really wanted the 2-disc edition with the bonus features, but since Transformers: Beginnings is something that I was wanting to check out anyway I bought the Wal-Mart exclusive version. And then later on Tuesday after doing some business in Burlington I went to Best Buy there and got the Special Edition. So I have two DVDs of Transformers here. And despite how cool my friend Eric Wilson tells me it is, I won't be getting the Target-exclusive set that has a box that transforms into Optimus Prime: Lisa has expressly forbidden any more Transformers DVDs to come into the house :-P

The Transformers 2-Disc Special Edition DVD is, in my opinion, the way to go so far as the home version of this movie goes. Disc 1 is the film itself, and this is one of the best-looking DVDs that I've ever watched. We have a 37-inch LCD high-definition television with a Philips DVP 5960 DVD player that "upconverts" standard DVDs for high-def sets. It's not true high-definition, but the picture quality has never been anything short of outstanding. Well, Transformers even from a regular DVD looks fabulous. The colors are bright, the image is crisp and the detail is remarkable. A lot of people complained about how in Transformers when it hit theaters, that a lot of the action sequences were way too blurry. For some reason the faster scenes (like the final battle in Mission City) really do seem much easier on the eyes on the DVD than they were on the big screen. The audio quality was likewise terrific. But as I'm still content to use the speakers built-into the television (no, we've yet to put in a Surround Sound setup in our place :-) I've no way of telling how "really" good this might be. But based on what I've heard from others, the audio from the Transformers DVD on more elaborate setups is pretty amazing. All told, Transformers stands tall as one of the finest titles that I've experienced in the DVD format.

Disc 1 of the Special Edition set also includes the option to watch the movie with commentary by director Michael Bay, which is interesting enough just to listen to his initial account about how he got involved with Transformers. The one-disc version doesn't have the Bay commentary, but otherwise it's identical in image and sound quality to the 2-disc set, right down to the same basic menus.

Disc 2 in the Transformers Special Edition is the bonus features, which is broken up into a number of sections. "Our World" delves into the more human-performance aspects of the making of Transformers, including the cast, stunts, physical effects and the logistics that came with shooting around the United States and making it look like a globe-spanning conflict. "Their War" is a lot of fun to watch for two big reasons: the computer-rendered artwork that brought the Transformers to life, and the extent of cooperation that Bay and his crew received from the United States military. "More Than Meets The Eye" contains a feature on the making of the Scorponok attack scene (his name is spelled "Skorponok" on the DVD features), conceptual art and a collection of trailers for the movie, from the original teaser up to the one that came out a few months before the movie's release in July.

There's 2-some hours of extra features on the bonus disc, which I thought really enhanced the overall enjoyment and appreciation of the movie itself. My only beef with the 2-Disc Special Edition is that it doesn't contain deleted scenes in the traditional sense of most 2-disc DVD sets. If you saw the IMAX release then you know that there are about six scenes (none of which really feature the Transformers themselves by the way) that weren't in the regular theatrical run. I didn't expect them to be include in the movie itself, but for the most part they were fun enough to merit featuring as bonus material on the second disc. Sadly, they aren't here, although we do see a couple of them during the "making of" segments. There is also some additional footage of the Transformers in action, like one shot of Devastator rolling down a highway in tank mode, but no real "deleted scenes" feature. I would love to see another DVD release of Transformers in the near future that did have these things, maybe even with some of this stuff integrated into the movie itself as a true "extended cut", because I definitely believe the market is there for it.

And so far as the two-DVD pack that's the Wal-Mart exclusive goes, which also gives you Transformers: Beginnings... if you're a Transformers "completist", I would recommend getting it. But otherwise, go for the 2-disc Special Edition. Transformers: Beginnings is a 20-minute "faux"-animated adaptation of the Transformers: Prime Directives prequel comic that Dreamwave published leading up to the film's release. That story revealed how the Allspark was first jettisoned into space, then how Megatron went after it (following his grievously wounding Bumblebee's voicebox) and eventually came to Earth, where the history of the Transformers became intertwined with that of humanity. If you want the full tale of how Captain Witwicky discovered the frozen Megatron and the origins of Sector Seven, and then how Bumblebee arrived on Earth with the Decepticons in close pursuit, you'll like this exclusive DVD (in spite of some inconsistencies with the movie's canon). It's also worth noting that the voice acting is terrific in this animated short, especially with Frank Welker back as the voice of Megatron (Welker was Megatron in the original 1980s cartoon). But if you only need one DVD sitting on your shelf and don't really care for intricate backstory, the 2-Disc Special Edition is the better deal. I'm the kind of guy who is going to like having Transformers: Beginnings there anyway though, but that'll hopefully give you enough to decide if you want to spend some extra coin for it.

Transformers on DVD is a sweet lil' package, and it's pretty cool that they were able to put it together so relatively fast (the film is still playing in some theaters even). Definitely worth getting 'cuz this is one movie that you'll no doubt enjoy many time in years to come.

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Continuing "stop loss" shows lack of respect for military on part of Bush White House

The United States Army will continue its program of "stop loss" to keep personnel close to retirement or re-enlistment from leaving, so as to keep up President Bush's "surge" in Iraq.

Which only indicates to me that Bush has no understanding or sense of respect at all for the lives of our soldiers.

These men and women have lost enough already for Bush's private little war. Too many of them have already lost their homes back in the states, many have lost spouses. A few have even committed suicide.

And yet, the damaged little boy in the White House continues to play with their lives as if they were so many G.I. Joe dolls.

Y'know, for all the "God bless our troops" that I've seen over the past six years, I have to wonder how much not just this President, but a lot of Americans seriously value the men and women in our armed forces. Because these people offered to volunteer years of their lives - which could have been spent doing other things like pursuing career and family - to serve their country. And they did so having faith that we would honor their commitment by choosing how to wisely employ them.

Instead their lives are getting wasted. Not just in the battlefield but by sapping away at what's left to them when they come back. And yet somehow, to question this is to be branded "unpatriotic" in some quarters.

The more patriotic thing to do would be to remember that these men and women did not willingly choose to become "second class citizens" by virtue of their offer to serve, so that the rest of us could sit on our butts and wave American flags and "feel good" about blowing stuff up half a world away.

But then, we have a President who has never really been confronted with that kind of pain and death. He doesn't know. He's never understood what that's like.

We have a very foolish man, who has no comprehension of the real meaning of life, occupying the Oval Office and who believes that other people have no other purpose than to help him live out his fantasies.

Meanwhile, our good men and women in the military are being robbed of what good reality they could have made with the rest of their lives.

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Ron Price is a monument to all our sins

I really hate to say this, but righteous anger is something that has always helped me feel more creative so far as parody goes. If there's something wrong out there in the world, I do what I can to point it out and try to make it right, using whatever talent that God has given me... and in a way that I hope will make people both laugh and think about things.

So now that Rockingham County Board of Education member Ron Price is apparently trying to start-up the school uniforms thing again, my creative juices have gone into overdrive. A lot of ideas have come to mind in the past day or so regarding the Piedmont's #1 larcenous elected official.

Here's my latest work: Ron Price as the Gravemind in a piece inspired by the Halo video game series...

It was a bit hard to do, because Gravemind is one of the most undefinable objects that I've ever seen in a visual medium (no I haven't played Halo 3 yet so maybe he'll look better in that). But I still like how this turned out. And since Gravemind is the power-hungry, conniving central conscience of the Flood, I thought that the parallel to Ron Price was all the more appropriate :-)

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J.K. Rowling opens up bigtime on Christian inspiration for Harry Potter

Perhaps more so than she has ever done since the publication of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, J.K. Rowling has started talking about the deeper theological meaning of her runaway bestselling books... and especially the profound Christian underpinnings that only really came into focus with the final novel of the Harry Potter series. Here's the story at MTV.com.

Among the highlights...

But if she was worried about tipping her hand narratively in the earlier books, she clearly wasn't by the time Harry visits his parents' graves in Chapter 16 of "Deathly Hallows," titled "Godric's Hollow." On his parents' tombstone he reads the quote "The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death," while on another tombstone (that of Dumbledore's mother and sister) he reads, "Where your treasure is, there will your heart be also."

While Rowling said that "Hogwarts is a multifaith school," these quotes, of course, are distinctly Christian. The second is a direct quote of Jesus from Matthew 6:19, the first from 1 Corinthians 15:26. As Hermione tells Harry shortly after he sees the graves, his parents' message means "living beyond death. Living after death." It is one of the central foundations of resurrection theology.

Which makes it a perfect fit for Harry, said Rowling, who was talking about those quotes for the very first time.

"They're very British books, so on a very practical note Harry was going to find biblical quotations on tombstones," Rowling explained. "[But] I think those two particular quotations he finds on the tombstones at Godric's Hollow, they sum up — they almost epitomize the whole series."

Rowling also addresses the numerous religious detractors - who have all too often claimed the same Christian faith that she holds to - who have condemned the Harry Potter books over the years...

That, by the author's own acknowledgement, "Harry Potter" deals extensively with Christian themes may be somewhat ironic, considering that many Christian leaders have denounced the series for glamorizing witchcraft. When he was known simply as Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, the Pope himself condemned the books, writing that their "subtle seductions, which act unnoticed ... deeply distort Christianity in the soul before it can grow properly."

For her part, Rowling said she's proud to be on numerous banned-book lists. As for the protests of some believers? Well, she doesn't take them as gospel.

"I go to church myself," she declared. "I don't take any responsibility for the lunatic fringes of my own religion."

And there's plenty more at the link above. Thanks to Roxanne L. Martin for this great find! :-)

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ANOTHER petition for a Steve Jablonsky soundtrack CD!

Found this one over at Hans-Zimmer.com. This time it's for a score album for Desperate Housewives, which Jablonsky does a lot of the music for.

Click here to let your voice be heard in support of this CD! :-)

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Robotic "bugs" might be spying on you

Eric Wilson passed along this... strange... story: apparently there are teeny-tiny robotic cameras that are flying around disguised as bugs. And they seem to have already begun to be deployed...

Vanessa Alarcon saw them while working at an antiwar rally in Lafayette Square last month.

"I heard someone say, 'Oh my god, look at those,' " the college senior from New York recalled. "I look up and I'm like, 'What the hell is that?' They looked kind of like dragonflies or little helicopters. But I mean, those are not insects."

Out in the crowd, Bernard Crane saw them, too.

"I'd never seen anything like it in my life," the Washington lawyer said. "They were large for dragonflies. I thought, 'Is that mechanical, or is that alive?' "

That is just one of the questions hovering over a handful of similar sightings at political events in Washington and New York. Some suspect the insectlike drones are high-tech surveillance tools, perhaps deployed by the Department of Homeland Security.

Others think they are, well, dragonflies -- an ancient order of insects that even biologists concede look about as robotic as a living creature can look.

Eric has a great idea: "Now this might be a good way to incorporate Insecticons into a Transformers sequel w/o being hokey!!" :-)

For the rest of the story mash down here.

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Bob Jones III says "This is all about beating Hillary"

Dr. Bob Jones III, chancellor of Bob Jones University in Greenville, South Carolina and grandson of the founder, has endorsed Mitt Romney for President.

Which I don't particularly have a problem with. Dr. Jones is free to endorse whoever he wants to for President.

Here's where he goes totally wrong...

"This is all about beating Hillary," Jones said.

What a wonderful Christ-like sentiment that Dr. Jones is expressing here. And yes, I am being sarcastic.

You know, so-called "Christian leaders" like Dr. Jones just don't get it. They haven't bothered to understand that not in a million years can they claim America for Christ. Because they can't even let Christ take claim over their own hearts and minds. Christ cannot change America anymore than we let Him change us first.

And that is something that people like Dr. Jones refuse to do at all. To them, Christ is something to wield as a weapon to make others yield. When instead a relationship with Christ is supposed to break us down and make us yield to God, so that we become what He wants us to be.

That is how it is that in the name of God, people like Bob Jones III and James Dobson and too many others have lost sight of how they are to serve Christ, and instead have turned His name into something to use for political power.

And it's something that completely disgusts me.

If nothing else, Bob Jones III is showing that he is worse than a fool: he is a willing slave, who cannot resist the patterns of this world.

And he wants us to believe he's some great witness for Christ, for this?

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Ron Price tells student she has "misunderstanding", is "dead serious" about bringing back uniforms issue

Time for another hair-rending chapter in the can't-end-soon-enough chronicles of...

As was reported here last Monday night, at this month's meeting of the Rockingham County Board of Education, Ron Price - who almost a year ago was caught stealing campaign signs on the night before the election and has since gone on to become the most arrogant and condescending school board member at least since consolidation took place 14 years ago - tried to get the board to put Standard Mode Of Dress (SMOD) aka "school uniforms" back on the table for discussion. Because there should be "policies" already in place if SMOD is ever approved, Price tried to explain.

In spite of everything that happened at the July meeting, Price actually had the nerve to bring up SMOD again. For sake of "guidelines" he claimed.

But is Ron Price insane enough to try to once again force this on parents and students?

It seems so, according to what Brittany Gibson - a student at Reidsville High and one of the members of POTSMOD (People Opposed To Standard Mode Of Dress) - has told me. Last night Gibson was at the Rockingham County Board of Commissioners meeting and Ron Price happened to be there. She gave me permission to post her e-mails here so I'll let her put it in her own words...

Hey Chris,
This is the response I got back from Ron Price. Pretty much he tried to make me sound like I didn't understand the board's July 9th vote and the Constitution. We both know better than that! I went to the County Commissioner's meeting last night and he and I had a little "run in." It wasn't pleasant. He is dead serious about bringing SMOD back and I'm not having it! Please forward this to POTSMOD and let them know. Hope all is well with you!
Thanks, Brittany

Here is the original e-mail that Gibson sent to Ron Price after last week's meeting...

Dear Mr. Price,

After tonight's meeting, you have raised a few questions for me. First of all, I don't understand why SMOD was added to tonight's agenda. Did you add this? I wasn't present, but one of the members of the audience that was there said that you added it to the agenda. Let me be frank, I feel like this is a very sneaky thing to do. I don't understand why it's necessary to ever talk about this subject again. The board voted to not have uniforms now or ever -- to my knowledge. I, along with many others, spent a lot of time and energy getting rid of the horrible idea of uniforms. I vividly remember Mr. Scales saying that he never wanted to discuss this subject again as long as he was on this board. I just feel like this is beating a dead horse. There doesn't need to be a policy in place "just in case" SMOD is brought up again because I may be seriously mistaken but, I find it highly ironic that after everything concerning SMOD has calmed down and I'm the only person still regularly attending board events, that it's being talked about once more. I feel that the subject needs to be dropped now and forever. I have a great deal of respect for the board and for adults in general, but events like tonight make me very leery of trusting some of the board members. Please e-mail me as soon as possible to clear the air. What are your intentions/reasons for bringing this up once again? What else is there to discuss if the board has agreed to not have uniforms--ever? Thanks for your time!

Thanks,
Brittany Gibson

And here is the e-mail that Ron Price sent to Brittany Gibson in response...

Dear Ms. Gibson,

Thank you for writing your questions about SMOD at the October 8 board meeting. After reading your message I understand why you have a few questions. I think these questions are due to your misunderstanding about the vote on SMOD. The vote was to rescind the vote to implement SMOD. As far as SMOD being permanently voted out that is not legal under the constitutional. We cannot foretell the future and cannot know if this issue will ever be brought up again. If it is the school district needs to have guidelines in place for those considering such a question.

It is a testament to our democratic system of governance that issues can be brought up more than once. Such is the freedom of speech and a basic right guaranteed under the Constitution, we must allow both those whom we agree with and those we do not, to have an equal opportunity to speak freely.

I will be sure to keep your views in mind should the Board of Education consider SMOD in the future.

Sincerely,

Ron Price

Has there ever been an elected official in Rockingham County history who shows this much condescension toward his constituents than does Ron Price?

"I think these questions are due to your misunderstanding about the vote on SMOD." What's to misunderstand, Price? The initial vote was based on very erroneous and some have even said fraudulent data... and you showed everyone how much you thought about them when you continued to champion SMOD in spite of knowing that.

"As far as SMOD being permanently voted out that is not legal under the constitutional." Here Price is making a thinly-veiled show of his sense of power. It's very much in keeping with the mindset he has displayed for almost a year now: that he believes that because "I was elected" (his exact words to one person), that this is some kind of divine anointment that he can do... pretty much anything he damned well pleases.

"We cannot foretell the future and cannot know if this issue will ever be brought up again." In other words: Ron Price has every intention to bring it up again. He's just trying to put his ducks in a row so that he won't take flack for when it does come up again (at his urging no doubt).

"If it is the school district needs to have guidelines in place for those considering such a question." No, the school district doesn't need these guidelines. Price just "needs" to look like a big-shot and this is a chance for him to throw his weight around.

I learned a long time ago that one of the most worthless things on Earth is a bureaucrat who has nothing better to do than to "look important". In that regard, Ron Price is not only the worst member of the Rockingham County Board of Education, but the most worthless, too.

And then there's this lil' line: "It is a testament to our democratic system of governance that issues can be brought up more than once. Such is the freedom of speech and a basic right guaranteed under the Constitution, we must allow both those whom we agree with and those we do not, to have an equal opportunity to speak freely."

Who the hell does Ron Price think he is, that he can lecture anyone about the Constitution? The Constitution is about the rule of law and Ron Price has demonstrated that he believes in anything but that. In his mind, right and wrong are a matter of personal perspective: it doesn't really matter to Price that he stole things that did not belong to him. It only matters that he was able to skirt around the law and get away with it. To Ron Price, the Constitution is something that he can freely interpret at his choosing to the detriment of anything... or anyone... else.

I hope this is all taken to heart by the parents and students of Rockingham County: what Reidsville Middle and Reidsville High families just went through, you're probably going to have to be preparing to fight SMOD too, 'cuz Ron Price already seems bound and determined to bring it back one way or another.

To the members of the Rockingham County Board of Education who I know and respect, and who I believe read this blog on a routine basis: there's a mad dog in your midst that needs to be effectively neutered before he does some damage. He doesn't care about what he does to other people. His only concern is for himself. This is the worst possible kind of "public servant" and you would do well to minimize the destruction that he can do not only to we in the public, but to you as well.

Thanks to Brittany Gibson for letting me post this here.

As for SMOD well, I'll repeat what I cried out last week...

"There is one SMOD, and Ron Price is its prophet!

POTSMOD ACKBAR!!!"

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Steve Jablonsky-signed copy of TRANSFORMERS: THE SCORE eBay auction is ON!

Here we go fast and furious: the copy of Transformers: The Score signed by composer Steve Jablonsky has just been listed on eBay!

Bidding starts at $25. Along with the signed CD of the Transformers orchestral soundtrack, you get a Certificate of Authenticity (I spent hours last night trying to figure out the right way to make that out, then wound up going for a pretty-much straightforward affair) verifying that this thing is what it claims to be and why we're auctioning it. And just for fun, I'm gonna throw in a copy of the online petition - signed by Yours Truly - that may or may not have helped matters along but it sure seems to have raised a stink over the summer, didn't it? :-P

100% of the proceeds from this sale will be going to help fund some music education projects in the public schools here in Rockingham County, North Carolina. When I first pitched this idea to Steve Jablonsky, what I'd had in mind was to help fund this coming spring's Rockingham All-County Chorus, 'cuz at the time the word was that there wasn't going to be much funding for it. Happily, we don't have to worry about that anymore. But there are still all kinds of things related to music education here that the schools could use some help on: like purchasing new instruments, and possibly some assistance in funding next year's All-County Chorus. I did make sure to tell Steve about the changed situation and he gave us his blessing to use the money from this, however we can to help music education here. So that's what we're gonna do, however it is that we can :-)

I can't begin to say how thankful we are to Steve Jablonsky, that he's helping us out like this.

Okay well... what are you waiting for?!? Hit the link above and feel free to oggle the goods. And to bid on it if you feel so led :-)

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