What is up with Security in China's Schools?

Almost everyday this week, I am seeing articles or news stories about children in China either getting stabbed or hit with a hammer. Each time I come across something like this, I am left bewildered at how can someone do something so heinous? What types of preventive measures are being put in place to keep this from happening again? This is something that should be very alarming as it is preschool and elementary school aged kids getting seriously hurt and it needs to stop. There have been five such attacks in a months' span and Chinese authorities are at least stepping up security at schools but the number of schools versus police or security force can't be everywhere as they lack the manpower.

According to this video, the increase in attacks is primarily due to the enormous pressure put on people to succeed in China. Seriously? These attackers feel that the best way to stop it is to attack where the pressure all starts, in preschool or kindergarten. I really doubt that they are thinking, " I will help these children so they will not have to feel the pressure put on us later on life", and then go kill them. There is no excuse to attack defenseless little kids who have done nothing wrong. They are innocent children who worry about losing their favorite bouncy ball or where their stuffed animal is when they go to bed at night. To me, this is absolutely ludicrous.

One of the people who had killed eight elementary students on March 23rd, Zheng Minsheng, has already been convicted and killed by a firing squad on April 28th. I do greatly appreciate the swift trial, but they really need to do more to protect the children, rather than speeding up the trial and shooting them. He told the media that he wanted revenge on the "rich" and "powerful". Killing children is no way to make a point.

Another important factor based on the information in the video about and the article is that some authorities believe that the increase in these incidents is due to the "copycat" effect when something like this happens and it is relayed by mass media. We had the same thing happen here in the US similar to when we had the Columbine incident a few years ago, and I believe that people do try to copy other events. We saw a surge in school shootings after the news media continued to play it over and over again such as Virginia Tech and numerous other high schools. Unfortunately for us, it took a lot of innocent lives to beef up security in schools across the nation and it has been some time between incidents.

Hopefully China will be able to come up with effective ways to combat these types of instances happening. In China, they have one of the toughest gun laws in the world, forbidding ownership outside of the police or military. As unfortunate it is for the kids to be stabbed and be in pain, they will at least recover slowly, but being shot would have been worse and the amount of deaths would have been higher. Too bad the US won't be as strict as China. A lot of lives could have been saved.

Summer School.. BOOOO!!

I usually look forward to the three months of no homework, no writing and more sleep during the summer. I came to realize on Monday that the increase in tuition for out-of-state distance students at MSSU doesn't apply to summer school as it goes into effect during the Fall 2010 semester. So now, in an effort to save $1600, I have enrolled in 9 hours, all to be compressed into 2 months. Luckily, one of my fellow English 102 classmates is taking one of the same classes with me, and not to mention that she is fun to exchange emails with, so hopefully, accounting 202 won't be so boring.

Really the only other positive of this summer is that the students here at work will dwindle down, providing me with unlimited choices on where to park in the mornings and the line for lunch will be quick. It is really annoying to be standing in line at the union only to overhear, "So and so is going to so and so's party but I am not going because so and so will be there and she is a b#$%^". If only they knew that so and so probably doesn't give a rats a$$ about whether or not they are there and once they graduate, you will never see them again. I mean seriously, do people still care what others think? Wait until you are married, have kids and responsibility in your life. You won't care. Trust me.

And one last rant, the OKC Thunder NBA team cannot hang with the Los Angeles Lakers. It is simply for ratings that the Lakers have lost a few games here, and probably David Stern's idea to try and drum up interest in the NBA since the ratings has declined over the years. I really do wish that the Thunder could beat the Lakers and go to the second round but lets face it, there's a better chance of me eating JUST a salad for dinner than the Thunder winning tonight and beating the Lakers in LA on Sunday. It will not happen. I am so sick and tired of people driving around with thunder flags on their cars or dressed in Thunder gear at the mall. It is so stupid. I know that you are a bandwagon fan and once the NBA season is over, here comes the OU or OSU gear depending on who is doing better. I will admit that OKC has quickly become a hotspot for sports with OU's Blake Griffin going first in the NBA draft last year, Sam Bradford going first in the NFL draft this year, and the Paris sisters going to the WNBA. We have the Texas Rangers minor league baseball team, we have a one level down from the main NHL ranking hockey team and then we also have the Yard Dawgs, an arena league football team. There are plenty of choices if you are a sports fan as we have everything covered. But me personally, I don't give a rats a$$. I am too busy with work and school.

"Say Hello to my Little Friend"

We all remember that line from the best mob movie ever made, Scarface. The barrage of bullets that followed as Tony Montana unleashed his M16 assault rifle on the henchmen sent to kill him. Turns out in Utah, you can request a firing squad as your choice of death if you are death row instead of lethal injection. At first, when I saw the article I thought that there was no way that death by a firing squad still exists in the US. Although Utah no longer allows it if convicted of a crime and sentenced to death, those that were sentenced prior to 2004 can take option B, the firing squad. I personally think that it amounts to cruel and unusual punishment and will probably be stopped by some court order. I have read about the quickness and efficiency of lethal injection in the prison system and I believe that it is the most humane way to die if sentenced to death.

The story is about Ronnie Lee Garner who shot and killed a lawyer back in 1985 during an escape from jail gone wrong. When the judge asked him on April 21,2010, "lethal injection or firing squad?", he chose the latter. Critics contend that it needs to be abolished as it a relic from the Wild West days back in Utah. According to wikipedia, there have been an estimated 142 deaths from firing squads in the US, but most date back to the times of the Civil War. Surprisingly, Utah is not the only state that allows for death by firing squad. The only other state is Oklahoma, but here it is only allowed as a backup. If Mr. Garner is granted his wish, he will be the third person since the US Supreme Court in 1976 allowed the continuance of the death penalty. Mr. Garner's lawyer has stated that he will probably appeal his clients death, now scheduled for June 2010. I don't think that with all the media coverage and human rights activists that this death will be carried out especially the way a firing squad works with five men pointing a gun, 20 feet away while Mr. Garner is blindfolded. I agree that this seems like it is out of the old west, and not going to fly in this day and age.

Mr. Garner happens to be just the beginning as there are three others sitting on death row in Utah that also want to be shot. I think they are going to be very disappointed when the Supreme Court strikes it down and they end up having to spend the rest of their days in an 8x8 room. There is however one benefit from this type of death as the only organ that is harmed is typically the heart, allowing for the other organs to be donated. But this also assumes that the shooters have decent aim and don't miss.

I am firmly against this type of death and I guess that I will have to wait and see if this is going to be allowed as it is not humane. I don't think that it will be allowed and I know that there are others who feel the same way.

I Am Victorious!!!!

Some of us in this class are familiar with "Wophunzira's*" nickname for one of the professors at MSSU. His class is very hard, takes a lot of time to read the materials for the bi-weekly exams and he relies on your judgement to choose the very best answer on an exam although there may be more than one answer. Because of this and other factors, his nickname has been hereby affixed as "Dr. Evil". Well, Dr. Evil allows you to appeal an exam question if you believe you are right. People who know me by now, know that I will fight to the death..no wait..be persuasive enough to prove a point. After submitting three questions to appeal, I was victorious on one. Yep, one. But the thing to remember is that I was right on one. I proved him wrong. That was the real victory, as this professor can be really intimidating and the failure rate in his class is high.

To celebrate my victory, tonight I will crack open a beer and light up a Rocky Patel cigar and just sit on my porch watching the day give way to the dark of night. This victory is like remembering your locker combination in that stupid reoccurring dream where you forgot it. We all have those, right? This victory exposes a flaw and now, I might appeal every wrong test answer in this class, just to make him read them. I doubt he will give in, because you can tell that he takes his role as a professor really serious. My 1-2 record may soon become 1-10, but again, knowing that I was right just once, will allow me to hang my head high. Not to mention word of my victory came on the same night as Sam Bradford, OU's former star quarterback was chosen as the number one pick in the NFL by the St. Louis Rams and the Oklahoma City Thunder actually won a playoff game against the defending NBA champs, the Los Angeles Lakers. What a great night. Now I can go back and root for the Ram's like I did back in high school when the Ram's were known as the "Greatest Show on Turf".

For those of you who think I'm gloating, I doubt that you have taken either of the two required classes from Dr. Evil. They are insanely hard and will bring down the best student's GPA like the Wall Street crash. Most "A" students will end up with a "B" and that will feel like a victory to them. I wish that sometimes there was a way to find out the grade distribution in classes as I am curious. I would like to know so that I can better educate new friends who may not be as far along as I am on what professors are great and which ones are not. Unfortunately MSSU isn't one of the schools listed on www.ratemyprofessors.com like OU is. It would be a big help for students.

* Name changed to protect the innocent. Once you find out the meaning of the word as well as the origin, the person's identity could become clear to you.

5 Is the Magic Number

In sports, near the end of the season, there is always a magic number that signifies what the team needs to do in order to clinch a playoff berth or win their division. In English 102, that number is 5. 5 more blogs to post and the season per say is over. It's been fun taking back to back English courses this academic year but it definitely isn't for the faint of heart. But hopefully, Professor Chism can see some improvement in my writing since August 2009. Another magic number of mine is 3. Just 3 more writing intensive classes before I am done and I will complete the requirements for my major. After this semester I only have 3 left and I will probably stay at MSSU. I have checked around some of the in-state universities here in Oklahoma and if I transfer now, I am looking at two full years. 60 hours, and if I stay only 52. That is manageable considering I am going to take 6 hours this summer, have 15 already scheduled for Fall 2010. That only leaves 31 more hours and I am out the door. Finished. Gone where no Brenner has gone before. I will prevail.

I think the thought of being the only Brenner in my family to have a college degree is what motivates me the most. I am already the only one to make it past high school. I am one of 7 children ranking right in the middle at 4th. 3 brothers below me and 2 sisters and a brother above me. My parents got divorced when I was 7 and we bounced from house to house, school to school, growing up poor. All I ever had was the desire to rise above and be somebody. I didn't like being poor and receiving handouts all the time, so as soon as I turned 16, I got a job at a local restaurant as a dishwasher and then filed for emancipation. I lived with some older married friends I knew and tried to work full time plus stay in school. It was hard and I managed for a year or so, but I was burned out (surprising huh?) and I did the next best thing according to my high school counselor. I dropped out of high school my senior year in November, filed to take the GED test in December and after I passed, I enrolled in college just starting out with one class that following January. But then it happened. I landed a job making over $30,000 a year at 18 years old. College seemed unnecessary and my priority became helping my mom with my brothers. Helping them out, making sure they had food on the table and clothes to wear became more important. I focused on work, achieving a few promotions along the way before I eventually switched professions ending up being in hotel management for over 7 years. But then things changed, as I started a family and moved to Oklahoma working for OU. Now my family is my priority, and a college degree ensures to them that I will be able to be there for them. Life for me has been rough growing up and to me, adding that degree will be like finding the holy grail. I can't give up now. College life for a 32 year old is rough when you take 12-15 hours a semester, work full time and try not to cut family time out. There are times where I am up until way past midnight studying, only to realize that 5:30 am is right around the corner. I will remain strong.

Sorry for the long story, but I hope that it inspires at least one person to continue on that is thinking about taking time off. I took over 10 years off and at this point in my life, I wished that I wouldn't have. There is a light at the end of tunnel and it's not a train, unless MSSU doubles your tuition. Blame the Fat Cat Bankers that screwed us all because of their greed..not MSSU because they really didn't have a choice. I did some research and it seems that since MSSU promised the state not to raise in-state tuition in return for no cuts to them, it had to be so. There were no other options, but I hope the decrease in enrollment doesn't affect Professor Chism. She actually listens to the students and gives a damn.

Mans Wins Lawsuit for Flipping Off the Cops

One of the things in the US that can never be taken away is the Bill of Rights. The Bill of Rights give us all, as US citizens certain protections against the government. Well, Scott Schaper of Olathe Kansas believed that his first amendment right was infringed upon when he received a disorderly conduct ticket for telling a cop to "F&^% You" and giving him the middle finger after receiving a ticket for failure to yield at a stop sign. Mr. Shaper contacted the ACLU, and with their help, got the ticket dropped and Mr. Shaper was paid $4,000.00 for his troubles. I completely agree with Mr. Shaper here in that his right to freedom of speech was infringed upon and the city should be lucky to settle out of court for such a small fee because I think the jury would have awarded a lot more.

The First Amendment offers us the freedom of speech. Many courts in the US have concluded that saying "F&^% You" and using ones finger to express frustration or discontent is covered under the first amendment, such as in Cornelius v. Brubaker or Gulliford v. Pierce County. The City of Olathe has also agreed to perform additional training in an effort to educate their officers better regarding first amendment rights. This is not the first time in the US that someone has sued their city over flipping off a cop as a man in Pittsburgh sued and won $50,000.00 back in November. There are many, many others out there but they have the same thing in common. The tickets were dropped and they won their lawsuit for infringement of their first amendment right. I was always to scared to do something like that when I was growing up and I truly respect the law at my old age. But this brings up another important topic, police overstepping their boundaries. The instance that comes to mind lately is the brutal beating of a Maryland student. The police filed a false report as they didn't know that the attack was caught on camera. I am sure that the student will end up receiving millions and a few of the officers involved will lose their jobs. But are the violations of rights because officers are working longer hours and being stretched thin due to workforce reductions and the economy?

As I stated above, I agree that the Olathe police officer violated his rights. The city was lucky to walk out of it for that small amount and the victory just adds another one to the ACLU chalkboard. With the economy tanking and people losing their homes and jobs, this proves that they at least get to keep the freedoms awarded from the Bill of Rights. These types of lawsuits could be avoided by cities doing a better job of training their officers on what types of gestures or sayings are unlawful and warrant tickets and/or prosecution. But moving forward, this action is not something I plan on trying out anytime soon.

Separate Bathrooms for Boys and Girls = Discrimination

I read this story on foxnews that in Maine, a human rights commission says that forcing a boy or a girl into separate rooms such as bathrooms or locker rooms amounts to discrimination in schools. Evidentially, a trans-gendered boy was denied access to the girls bathroom and after complaining to the Maine Human Rights Commission, they concluded that it violated the Maine Human Rights Act. I personally think that this is a crock of horse manure and there needs to be separate facilities for the different sexes. In my area where my office is located, we have a unisex bathroom and I can honestly tell you that nothing is more embarrassing to have a nursing student walk in after my lunch from Chilino's, a local Mexican restaurant that serves up some of the best fish tacos, and it moves thru the stomach and out for processing. Separate bathrooms are indeed needed and all it took was one incident the other way, and now I just walk down the hall to the boys only restroom in order to save face.

I think that this could lead to some issues with pedophiles and others that are sick. As the article says, if the authors’ daughter walks into a bathroom and there is a man in there, they instinctively feel like something is wrong. Not only that, it could potentially lead to more sexual assaults, more instances of sexual inappropriateness, and increases in rapes in schools. I don't think the ramifications were thought out before the commission came to this conclusion. There needs to be a very defined line between what privacies are afforded to use the facilities. How creepy would it be if you are done playing girls volleyball and you go to the locker room only to find male basketball players gawking? Seriously, what are they thinking?

The other issue that I can see is if this is considered discrimination, what happens when the school needs to know your sexual orientation? Schools are prohibited from asking you, so how would they know if you are transgendered without asking? Is there a specific stereotype or profile that they fit? As Karen Kemble, the Director of Equal Opportunity from the University of Maine says, “The inability to ask proof of sexual orientation leaves the institution any way to determine the bona fide nature of the gender identity or nature.” Nature??? Aren’t we all born either boys or girls determined by nature? I know, it’s not the same thing, but I figured a wise crack would be funny.

So that leads me to my last point, all this is happening in Maine. The coldest, wettest, and northernmost state of the continental US. Have you ever met anyone from Maine? I have and I think they are a little off. I personally think that they spend too much time in their homes during the winter because of all the snow they get. The lack of sunshine can’t be good either. Good luck to them.

Goodbye MSSU

All good things must come to an end, as the old saying goes. After this semester, I will probably be transferring to the University of Oklahoma, where I work to finish my college education. My hastily departure is blamed on the MSSU Board of Regents who, by their actions, set in motion a change of events that will more than double the cost per credit hour if you are not a Missouri resident beginning next semester. It is rather sad and unfortunate that out-of-state 100% online students are being targeted, as the cost is the same for online classes whether or not you live in state of out of state. That is why I choose to stay at MSSU instead of OU when I moved. The cost was the same wherever you choose to live. But now, instead of $143 a credit hour plus $35 distance learning fee, it is now $286 an hour with a $50 distance fee. Ouch!

This decision, will also extend my college career to at least another year. OU doesn't offer a wide variety of online classes, so I will be forced to attend class in the evenings, taking valuable time away from my family. Since I also work full time, I will probably only be able to take 6 hours a semester and this is where my time in college will be extended. But hey, at least the cost is significantly cheaper..for example 15 hours at MSSU will now cost me $5040.00 not including books. 15 hours at OU will only cost me $2892.00. That is a savings of $2418.00 per semester assuming 15 hour enrollment. OU is only $241.00 a credit hour, but since I am an employee I get 6 hours half price, and now, it makes sense to go to OU. Even without the employee discount that is only $3615.00, still a savings of $1425.00..

MSSU will be missed. I was a Lionbacker for years when I lived in Joplin, met my wife at MSSU where she is now part of the Alumni, graduating in 2008. It is rather sad an unfortunate that us, the 100% distance students, are being unfairly sought after to fill the economic holes due to declining state revenues. I think that MSSU should of evaluated the cost as a whole and passed the increase to all students instead of a select group..How can they justify a 43% percent increase in the distance learning fee, $35 to $50 and a 100% increase per credit hour when the cost of taking an course is the same no matter where you choose to connect?

Friday Deadline Post

Another Friday, another deadline. I still have Paper 3 to write this weekend, as well as a test for Dr. Evil, as our fellow classmate Irina titled him. You never know what to expect when taking his tests. Sometimes you can score really good because the questions make sense, but then there are times when the questions are so open that, based on your interpretation, your selected answer is wrong, but technically right. I am very, shall we say, vocal about issues, that I could probably make a great lawyer. My quiz question appeals have went unanswered for almost a month now, that I am beginning to suspect, research must of had to be done to find counter-claims against my findings. Which brings me to a story about my past...

Way back in the glory days of summer, I was dating my next door neighbor. I lived in Springfield at the time and this girl was a college student living away from her parents for the first time. I had lived at the apartment complex with my roommate for a few months when one day we had a knock on the door and it was her parents, introducing us to her and her roommate, I guess just to basically see who lived next door to them. We offered to watch over them and if they ever needed anything to just knock and we would be happy to help. It wasn't long before I started dating one neighbor and my roommate started dating the other. So after a few months, I find out the girl I was seeing actually had a boyfriend back in her hometown. I started dating someone else, which I guess made her jealous....but in the essence of being a nice guy, we remained cordial and nice. One night, me and my roommate had a party, and my cars keys were missing. Well, it turned out that she heard me talking on the phone to the new girl I was seeing that I would be by to pick her up after work, that she went to her apartment and took the keys. Well, we shared a balcony, so I climbed over, opened the sliding glass door and in the cover of darkness, located my keys and left the same way I came in. What I didn't know was that her boyfriend was in town, he watched me scamper out, and he called the police to report that I had stolen his girlfriends car. So guess what happened when I returned after picking this girl up???

I ended up spending a night in jail and a court date for auto theft. I had to spend the night in jail because the officer did not want to listen to me explain that it was my car, instead he wanted to mace someone and throw them to the ground. The next morning, I had to appear in front of a judge, bail myself out and then later on, show up to court. I acted as my own attorney, researched the laws on what constituted auto theft and when I got to ask the officer questions, I simply asked him, "How can someone be charged with stealing a car they own?". He said they couldn't, so I presented a copy of the title to the officer, pointed out that in his report it has the same vehicle identified, and then I asked for the charge to be dismissed and expunged, which was granted and I went on my merry way. Brenner 1, City of Spfld 0. This was one of quite a few instances where I was victorious with the law. My wife gets rather embarrassed when I get pulled over on occasion because she knows that I will argue the point with the officer and most of the time, they give up and issue a warning. Out of the last 5 times I got pulled over, I was successful 4 out of 5. Not too bad...

There is also good news about the neighbor girls...Shortly thereafter, me and my roommate moved out, and he continued to see the unattached one, and to this day they have been together for over 10 years.