prompt_front: Now, answer the following question based on the text below, only give me the answer and do not output any other words.

Question: According to the text, what is Toby Schindelbeck's observation about the police?

Read the following text and answer briefly.

Context 1: July | 2012 | Chico Taxpayers Association
Keep a Knockin’ but you can’t come in! Come back next Tuesday night and try it again! And be sure to bring plenty of your friends 
Toby Schindelbeck has finally been rewarded for his persistence – he’s been going before Chico City Council, asking that Finance MisDirector Jennifer Hennessy comply with city code and give a budget report at every meeting  City clerk Debbie Presson has informed him that this subject will be “discussed” at the August 7 council meeting 
But we know, it won’t be a very good “discussion” unless a bunch of people come in and demand some action  Toby has observed that issues like Corporate Personhood and the “single-use” plastic bag ban have drawn fairly small crowds – he estimates 25 – 30 people, and I’d say he’s being generous  The city has acted on these issues, with only that small fraction of the population in support  So, Toby believes there needs to be an even stronger presence to get a decent discussion on this matter, and I agree 
Like Toby and Stephanie Taber and others have been saying, the city code calls for a monthly budget report, with sticky details like receipts, etc, and Jennifer Hennessy admits she has not made such a report in the seven years she’s been with the city of Chico  Try not paying your taxes for seven years – you’ll get the same treatment as the man from Touch of Class Florist – 68 years old, and he’s being sent to PRISON  But Jennifer Hennessy and her boss Dave Burkland, and their overseer, Mayor Ann Schwab, get to flog the law right in front of everybody, and Ann just steps right into that little red convertible and drives off to her palatial estate in Forest Ranch 
The law is a piece of paper  It takes people to demand law enforcement  We’ve got a serious law enforcement problem in our town  The police say they aren’t paid enough to enforce the laws in the streets, and now Dave Burkland says, he just doesn’t have to 
And your mayor won’t make him either  He’s retiring, on more than $150,000 a year, for the rest of his life, but she’s up for election in November – time to take out the trash 
That meeting is scheduled for August 7, the usual time, the usual place  I’ll keep you posted 
Tags: Ann Schwab Chico CA, Ann Schwab for city council, Dave Burkand Chico Ca, Friends of Ann Schwab, Jennifer Hennessy Chico Ca
Stephanie Taber answers Quentin Colgan’s letter to the News and Review
I get complaints from friends and strangers, and it has also been my own experience, that the editor of the Chico News and Review is not always objective in deciding which letters received from the public will be printed in the paper and which ones won’t  Robert Speer has offered me excuses, but I have always found him to be disingenuous  For example – he told me he would only run letters that referenced an article or letter recently printed in the paper – untrue a million times over  He also told me he wouldn’t print letters that had already run in the Enterprise Record – also untrue a million times over  The man has his own reasons for running or not running letters 
David Little is more objective, but he’s got his faults too – once he threw out a letter from my husband and later admitted he had thought I’d written it and used my old man’s name  He just threw it out without even calling the phone number or e-mailing, just assumed I’d do something like that when I’d never done anything like that before, because he was mad at me over a snit we were having at the time 
I think Little gets his nose out at people personally, and Hell hath no fury, know what I mean? With Speer it can personal but I think it’s most often political  Suffice to say, they both carry what my dad used to call a “Shit List,” and if you’re on it, you don’t get ink in their rag 
Of course either paper is equally likely to print a total wad of lies or misinformation without so much as a google fact check  I will never forget the time Dave Little printed a letter saying the cops had been called to my house on a dog complaint  The letter writer insinuated that this was why I often wrote letters complaining about the cop contracts  I called Little and told him the letter was false, nothing like that had ever happened – but he wouldn’t retract it  I had to look the old man up in the phone book and call him myself, tell him he had been misinformed, and ask him to write a retraction  He apologized profusely and the apology was in the paper within three days  He wouldn’t tell me where he got the information, but later I found out he was a member of VIPS, and he still is  I think that’s something Dave Little could have looked into before he printed a story like that about me and my family, not to mention my dogs, but he didn’t see it that way  Poor journalism, is how I see it, and that’s what I’ve come to expect out of both the daily and the weekly 
So, pardon me if I was not surprised when my friend Stephanie mentioned to me that she didn’t think Speer would run her response to a letter from Quentin Colgan, regarding our current fiscal morass  QC made an argument he has been swinging around town lately – that Fire Station 5 had to be closed recently because the Tea Party forced the city to have a $150,000 election over Measure A 
The first problem I have with this argument is, the city is out a heck of a lot more than $150,000  The second problem I have is, I happen to know that over 8,000 Chicoans signed that petition, and there’s not more than 600 active members of the Tea Party  I also know the Tea Party didn’t sponsor the petition drive, nor were they the only people that marched out with those petitions  Colgan’s argument doesn’t make sense to me, but it’s amazing what kind of “facts” the general populace will believe if you just keep repeating them 
Some folks are trying to use the Tea Party as a target to rile up their peanut gallery, using Measure A as their rally call  They keep banging the same old drum  They refuse to have a rational discussion about the situation we’re facing, because it’s going to mean some sour beans for them and their trough-dwelling friends 
So, it’s up to a rational person like Stephanie Taber to lay it out straight for those who like facts  Stephanie attends the meetings, she reads the reports, she goes to the trouble of putting questions in writing for $taff, and then waiting persistently for an answer that practically has to be deciphered by a lawyer  She has followed this budget conversation since the day then-city-manager and first rat to jump, Greg Jones, expressed his grave concerns that we were headed straight for bankruptcy  She has followed the figures and checked the facts until she has forced these rats right to the wall – they have lately begun to dig their feet in and refuse to obey the sunshine laws, refusing to give the fiscal reports demanded by the city charter  Some people can try to run their little smokescreen of repetitive nonsense, but more rational people are finding out the truth  Thanks to Stephanie Taber for writing this letter below, which may or may not run in the Chico News and Review:
I’d like to take this opportunity to respond to Quentin Colgan’s letter of July 12th; primarily because the costs surrounding the Special Election held regarding Measure A have been distorted  Yes, it did cost $150,000, but why? That’s the elephant in the room  The progressives on the City Council chose the method by which the election would be held  Per the City Charter (which is the City’s Constitution) Section 501 clearly states “The City Council may determine that any Special Election shall be held by mailed ballot” etc  That would have cut the cost by half, at least  But the Council chose the most expensive means possible, voting at the precinct  They were afraid that just telling the students they were being disenfranchised, which was an obvious lie, would not be sufficient to defeat it 
As to “it’s all the Tea Party’s fault”; I was the only signature to the Measure  I felt no need to consult the Tea Party before I took that action; but did enlist the help of many concerned citizens to gather the more than 8,000 signature required to put it on the ballot 
Toby Schindelbeck has called upon our Finance Director to adhere to Section 908 of the City’s Charter which states “(the) Finance Director shall submit to the Council through the City Manager monthly statements of receipts, disbursements and balances in such form as to show the exact financial condition of the City”  It does not state when you may want to or if you have time to; it says “shall”  No one on the Council or otherwise can remember when that may have happened last  If it was being done as the Charter states it would have been recognize that the City was facing a financial Armageddon and steps could have been taken much earlier in the fiscal year to avoid the closing of Fire Station 5 
Tags: Ann Sc hwab Chico Ca, Ann Schwab for city council, Chico Enterprise Record, Chico News and Review, Chico Tea Party Patriots, City of Chico, David Little, Friends of Ann Schwab, Quentin Colgan, Robert Speer, Stephanie Taber
City Art Director Mary Gardner is foisting a new “Art Tax” on us to pay her own salary
To mgardner@ci chico ca us, gerimahood@yahoo com, mcbergarts@gmail com
(Mary Gardner, city of Chico public arts director, city of Chico, Geraldine Mahood and Monica Berg of the Arts Commission)
I recently read your memo here
Chico-Arts-Building-Tax pdf
I think it’s despicable Ms  Gardner that you are trying raise revenues for your own salary by foisting a new “Art Tax” on new development 
Ms  Mahood, Ms  Berg, nobody wants eggsuckers like you telling them how to spend their money or what’s “art”  You people make me sick 
The Chico Taxpayers Association will fight this grab, as will other civic groups through the area  That’s why you’ve kept your efforts “under the radar” I assume – you don’t want people to know about this, because you don’t want to hear what they think about it  Or YOU!
You people need to get real jobs and quit sucking off the public teat 
http://www norcalblogs com/adhoc/
Sincerely, Juanita Sumner, Chico CA
Tags: Ann Schwab Chico CA, Ann Schwab for city council, Chico Arts Commission, City of Chico "Art Tax", City of Chico Arts Policy Manual, Friends of Ann Schwab, Geraldine Mahood, Mary Gardner, Monica Berg
Jennifer Hennessy is incompetent – she can’t do her job and Burkland says she doesn’t have to
I’ll never forget my first real job – a clerical position at a manufacturing plant  I would compare it to the story of the miller’s daughter  On the first day, I was told that the employee I was to be replacing would stick around for a week to train me  At noon that day, having shown me where everything was and how to use the coffee maker, she got up from her chair, smiled, and told me she thought I could “handle it,” then left  At one o’clock, the plant manager came over to my desk followed by several “production” workers  They brought cart loads of microfilm, on rolls, in little white boxes  I was to label all of those boxes, three carts, piled high  This job had gotten held up, he explained, it would be “great!” if it could go out today  Did I think I could get them done by 4 o’clock? I wanted to make everybody happy, so said I yes without thinking, and set to work loading the labels into the typewriter 
It was a disaster  I had never typed anything like those labels before – typing class had been all about letters and envelopes, columns and reports  The labels skittered all over the platen, getting glue all over the inside of the typewriter  About every 50 or so labels, the platen had to be taken out and cleaned with alcohol  I typed and typed  By 3 o’clock I knew I was in trouble  The production workers had come over to my desk to help me affix the sticky labels  We were nervous, labels were getting screwed up  At 3:30 the office manager and receptionist came back to my desk to help with the labels  I typed and typed, and tried not to cry 
We didn’t make it  The plant manager was flustered  The salesman who’d promised the job was really pissed off, he said mean things  I apologized again and again, they told me it wasn’t all my fault, but could I please be more careful what I committed myself to in future  I could tell they also expected me to get a hell of a lot faster, but they were just trying to be nice 
So, I got faster  I came in early in the morning and worked through lunch until I got better at my job  I had signed up for a typing job, nobody had described all the weird stuff they expected me to type  It started with typing and labeling, not only sticky labels, but microfiche jackets  They have a little quarter inch tall label strip across the top that chips and peels if you aren’t careful loading them into the typewriter, and strips or frames of 35 and 16 mm film that falls out in your typewriter  Then there were the three-part work orders, with carbon paper, and the three-part shipping labels, also with carbon paper  There were the mistakes – whole orders that had been indexed incorrectly, and therefore typed incorrectly, and therefore had to be corrected and typed all over again  I won’t describe what I had to go through to correct microfiche labels, it was too stupid  I hated doing that, so I asked for my own little “eye-loup” – a little magnifier that you hold up to a light to look at the tiny little page numbers on the film – to make sure the cards had been indexed correctly before I typed them 
I’m not perfect, but I know I’m competent, cause I kept that job for five years while I watched others get fired, for everything from showing up late to breaking expensive equipment to stealing  I was given new jobs and increased responsibility as time went by  I got good job reviews from my supervisors, and good raises  Morale was high, we liked our co-workers and our managers, we felt like a team  Our customers were nice to us too  We worked for cities and counties, hospitals, banks – anybody who needed to keep records  We were trusted to handle confidential records, like people’s medical records  As we handled these confidential files we were simply told, “Don’t look at them,” so we didn’t 
I left in 1984 in finish school  Over the next decade computers killed the microfilm industry, and the company went out of business 
Excuse me if I compare my experiences in the private sector with stuff I’ve seen coming out of our city $taff  I keep waiting for some professional behavior, some professional accountability out of the people who run our town, and I start to wonder if I will ever get it  For a couple of months now, Toby Schindelbeck and Stephanie Taber, among others, have been asking council and Finance MisDirector Jennifer Hennessy to provide a simple accounting of city finances, as is required by the city charter, and she just plain refuses to give it  City Mangler Dave Burkland won’t make her 
Last month she actually admitted, she is UNABLE to do it  At the June 5 meeting she admitted that she is incompetent to follow the city charter  She said that when she came to her position seven years ago, she “struggled” with doing such a report – something every house wife does – and went whining to then-city-manager Tom Lando, who apparently patted her on the head and told her she didn’t have to do it anymore 
I don’t know about you guys, but I go over my check book every month, just to make sure everything is straight  I’ve found big, dumb mistakes, in the 100’s column even, that could have caused big, dumb problems down the road  I’m no math instructor, like Mary Goloff, but it’s not exactly rocket science – you just add your deposits and subtract your checks and withdrawals  I’ll admit, when my kids were little, I felt like I never had time to do that, and stuff would get screwed up  So now that I’ve got time, I make it a regularly scheduled event, and it’s amazing how much easier it is  And, I can keep the figures in my head, I know essentially how much I can afford to spend when I’m at the grocery store, or what kind of activities we can plan  My husband and son are enjoying a weekend trip right now that is already paid for, thankyouverymuch 
But Jennifer Hennessy is unable to do that? And she has expectable stuff – over 80 percent of her budget is payroll  She doesn’t have that many emergencies  The biggest emergency she’s had lately, is that the state has taken back the fund she’s been mis-using – the RDA  She was paying salaries and benefits out of a fund that’s supposed to be reserved for emergency public works projects  In other words, she’s been dipping into the till to pay her own salary!
The mayor is to blame here, she’s the captain of our ship  Unfortunately, like the captain of the Costa Concordia, she’s abandoned ship for a party onshore  While she and her college chums bully their bag ban down our throats, our ship is sinking  We have less than $200,000 in our reserve fund, we have un-secured pension obligations totaling in the millions and growing every day, and we have $taff who are using blackmail to get their way – they are just refusing to do their jobs  Hennessy won’t give the report she’s required to give because it’s BAD  I think the mayor is completely behind her on this – Ann Schwab doesn’t want us to hear that report either  Would you?
Please write a letter to council demanding that Hennessy do her job, or get out 
Tags: Ann Schwab Chico CA, Ann Schwab for city council, bankruptcy, City of Chico, Dave Burkland, embezzlement, Friends of Ann Schwab, Jennifer Hennessy, malfeasance
Scranton, Pennsylvania cuts workers to minimum wage – only $130,000 in their cash reserves
I finally got a chance to watch the video of last Tuesday’s council meeting  It cut on me during the meeting, just after Walker and Goloff were mopping up their attack on Sorensen, and I didn’t get it back til yesterday  I have watched the video in bits and snatches  I made it to the noise ordinance conversation last night, but had to turn it off after Jessica Allen and a couple of her friends got up to demand their rights to be bad neighbors 
One thing I learned is that the city of Chico has less than $200,000 in the reserve fund  No, I did not forget a zero on that figure, that’s it – less than $200,000  Read it and weep – and then call them to ask what they did with that property tax check you just sent in 
You can look at the budget report here: http://www chico ca us/finance/budget asp
You see the millions the city takes in, in sales tax (over $17 million) property tax (over $11 million), even taxes on your PG&E, phone and water (almost $7 million), and your visitors’ motel rooms (over $2 million)  To me that seems petty – “bed tax”? Some people think it’s a good idea to shake down the visitors of your town, as if it’s not enough that they spend money on your motels, restaurants and shopping centers  It’s a common grab all over California, every city does it  A lot of distasteful things become “common” when no decent person stands up to say “enough is enough ”
In Chico, as has been oft repeated, over 80 percent of our budget is in salaries and benefits  That’s the elephant in the room, and everybody’s getting pretty hip deep in elephant shit around here  It’s a simple concept, no matter how convoluted $taff and council try to make it: if they spend all the money on salaries, benefits, and the Great Pension Stock Market Disaster, there’s no money left to pay for supplies to say, clean up leaks in the sewer and water lines that are causing the state to fine us by the day, widen the roads that we are required to widen because of the permitting of Meriam Park, etc  And you can just get used to those pot holes in the street out front of your house  Got bad neighbors? Get a lawyer 
What’s really frustrating are the reactions of the cops and fire – they act like they don’t get paid at all  Those guys take most of the 80 percent  They get overtime written into their schedules  According to Hennessy, both fire and the cops are over budget on their workman’s comp claims for at least the third year in a row  The city just slammed another cop contract past us without public review, and signed the new chief’s contract three days before it was made available to the public, and then only by request and a direct visit to the clerk’s office Downtown 
So, we will get another year of poor response times, bitching and moaning from cops and fire  Get ready for your homeowners and your car insurance to go up – the insurance companies know when your local police and fire departments are a pile of shit 
And don’t think I’m not wondering about all those suspicious house fires 
You can just forget about any of the services a city is supposed to offer  Try to get something out of the city clerk these days – if you can catch her in the office!
Well, here’s the story of Scranton, Pennsylvania – home of Michael Scott!
http://bottomline msnbc msn com/_news/2012/07/10/12659748-scranton-pa-slashes-workers-pay-to-minimum-wage?lite
The mayor of Scranton, when faced with a situation similar to Chico’s mess, did what needed to be done  Unfortunately, he waited until it was too late to do something rational  I’m afraid it’s come to that with our city council – if you think that scene between Goloff and Sorensen was rational, well, you deserve to live here 
Tags: Ann Schwab for city council, Bob Evans for city council, Chico City council eletions 2012, cities declare bankruptcy, Friends of Ann Schwab, pensions, phone tax, salaries, sales tax increase
Marysville council rejects sales tax ploy by retiring city administrator – where’s Chico’s knight in shining armor?
I am not a member of the Chico Chamber of Commerce, but I check in to their website regularly to see what they’re up to  Sometimes I believe, they are the real Chico City Council  While our elected leaders frolic and cavort in their stupid committee meetings, the Chamber is working on a “Top 10 Economic Development Action List” 
Yeah, sounds great, until you consider, one of their “Top 10” is a proposal to raise the local sales tax 
One prominent member of the Chamber who might be able to fill us in on the discussion is Bob Evans  I’ve asked Bob where he stands on this tax increase, but he just keeps saying he hasn’t seen a proposal yet  Lately I have asked him if he would require Lando and the other sales tax increase proponents to get the legal number of signatures on a petition before he votes to put this proposal on the ballot, but he won’t answer me  His downright refusal to discuss the tax increase is frustrating to me – I want to believe Bob is a “fiscal conservative ” After all, he had some high and mighty things to say about his opposition to the phone tax  But, he knew the phone tax didn’t need his support to get on the ballot  It’s easy to posture as the good guy when you know others will achieve the end result you really want  Evans’ resistance to making a pledge against a sales tax increase is screaming in my ear like a fire alarm 
In Marysville, Mayor Bill Harris had no trouble making himself clear when his city mangler proposed a half-cent sales tax increase: “This will be viewed as the City Council coming to them wanting more money again ”
Well, the article mentioned, the city mangler is retiring, so I would also see it as his way of securing his f-ing pension, but nobody mentions that 
City councilwoman Christina Billeci echoed a sentiment I’ve been hearing increasingly in Chico – “We need to balance the budget with the revenues we have,” she said 
Other council members cited lack of support from citizens, including one councillor who claimed to have got “angry reactions” to the proposal  One council member said he might have supported the move before the June election, “But the cigarette tax was voted down, and that should have been a slam dunk,” he said  “I would see this as a waste of effort and money ”
The only council member who supported the notion, Head Start administrator Ricky Samayoa, made some pretty disparaging remarks about the town 
“There’s a lot of people that know there’s a lack of resources here for us to have a proper city and manage it,” he said  Oooo! A “proper city”! What a bitch! Does he have letters from constituents to support this statement, or is he just using “a lot of people” to describe himself and his co-workers? Not enough drive through coffee stands for you Ricky? Not enough 5 Star restaurants or pink boutiques? Sorry, we’ve never been ones for putting on the Ritz here in the North State, better get in your zip car and drive back to the Bay Area 
In the Enterprise Record story, Samoyoa further claimed that “continued cuts to maintenance and other aspects of the city’s budget hurt chances for an economic recovery ” I imagine Marysville has the same problem Chico has – too many $100,000+ salaries and not enough $20,000 – $50,000 workers  While he’s sitting down there under the air conditioner vent at Head Start in a fresh shirt and manicure, the streets are going unmaintained, the classrooms overcrowded, the police and fire departments underfunded – is that the problem Mr  Samayoa?
“The way we’re continuing to go, it’s just going to be a dying city, even if the economy picks up,” he said  Now, that statement doesn’t even make sense  This is a typical example of scare tactics  “The way we’re continuing to go…” You mean, paying $100,000+ salaries to fat bureaucrats, while cutting services to the public? Somehow I don’t think that’s what he’s talking about  ” …it’s just going to be a dying city…” Wow, what an idiot – obviously no knowledge of local history  Marysville has been through so many booms and busts, it ought to be called “Bouncyville ” If you get to know Marysville, you see it has everything needed to be a wonderful place to live, in good times and bad, regardless of carpetbaggers like Samayoa 
“Give folks the opportunity to have this debate,” Mr  Samayoa suggests  Sounds like the rhetoric coming from Andy Holcombe and the rest of the sales tax increase proponents  Hey, that’s a swell idea! People should talk about these things, hash them out  And then, if enough of them sign a petition to put such a proposal on a legal ballot, well, they can VOTE on it! But that costs alot of money – best for those who really believe in this cockamamie idea to get the petition first, show the need to spend all that money on an election  That’s what rational people would do, anyway 
But if you ask Holcombe to discuss the pending proposal, he denies there is any such thing  The only member of Chico City Council who is willing to discuss this proposal at all has been Mark Sorensen – thanks Mark  At least Mark has been good enough to answer our questions about the mechanics of such a proposal and getting it onto the ballot  Evans and Holcombe have both denied knowing anything about it, although Holcombe has made it good and clear he’d support raising the sales tax and Evans has been seen at Chamber discussions on the matter  The others have been mum to the public, but I’m guessing they will support it  Holcombe, Schwab, Goloff, Walker, Gruendl – and Evans? – are all banking on more revenues to rescue the city from the Shit Creek they’ve floated us up  Evans, while he will admit we’re in deep shit, will not offer so much as a suggestion of a paddle  He seems to be holding back until after he gets himself safely re-elected in November  Then he’s got a year to get that sales tax voted in and three years to make the public forget he had anything to do with it 
Well Bob, is that what you’re up to?
I’ll say, if he were at least honest, I might be able to hold my nose and support him, but this game he’s playing is a real turn-off 
Tags: Ann Schwab Chico CA, Ann Schwab for city council, Bob Evans Chico Ca, Bob Evans for city council, chico city council race 2012, city of Chico bankruptcy, city of Chico sales tax increase, Friends of Ann Schwab, Ricky Samayoa Marysville Ca
Council video feed still not available – $taff seems to have taken the Summer off!
I know, there’s probably a perfectly legitimate explanation for this  Debbie Presson isn’t sure why the feed is off, but she’s got somebody working on it  Not yesterday though, cause she was out of her office 
I’ll tell you what else is interesting – there haven’t been any of those morning meetings lately – in fact, it looks like all the committee meetings for July are CANCELLED  In fact, there hasn’t been an “Economic Development” committee meeting for months that I’m aware  For all intents and purposes, the city of Chico seems to be on Summer Vacation! How nice for them!
But, as you see, the town runs along without them  In fact, I’m wishing the public works department would also take a hike – they’re TOO BUSY right now, tearing up the streets Downtown  Oh well, the college students have “gone home” – what do we need Downtown for when the college students have gone home?
That seems to be the gist of if – the city of Chico is here to serve the college students  The rest of us can just get along – as long as we keep paying our taxes, nobody will bother us!
I just have to wonder, what are these $85,000, $95,000, $134,000 $taffers doing right now, and why do we need to keep paying them?
Tags: Ann Schwab Chico CA, Ann Schwab for city council, City of Chico, embezzlers, Friends of Ann Schwab, malfeasance
New police chief’s contract signed last Tuesday, made available to the public Friday – gotta love that “sunshine”!
Last Tuesday night we got a new police chief – Kirk Trostle  Only a month ago city manager Dave Burkland issued a statement – “police chief candidates not knockouts” according to the Enterprise Record  Trostle is a refugee from the Oroville police department, where, as chief, he certainly had his critics  He came to Chico only about a year and a half ago, from a department that was not without it’s problems  The council made their appointment without any elaboration – he was essentially the best thing they could come up with on short notice 
But shouldn’t we be able to negotiate a better contract with this man? Retiring Chief Porky Mike Maloney is getting over $165,000 a year, just in salary  He will be getting over $100,000 to retire, for the rest of his life, plus medical benefits  Frankly, I predict he’s carrying a colostomy bag within five years 
Have you seen Trostle’s contract? They signed it at council last Tuesday  But when we asked for it, they said we wouldn’t be able to look at it until Friday  I was invited to go down to the clerk’s office, at her convenience, 9 – 5, during MY WORK DAY, to look at a contract that had already been signed  Why in the hell would I want to do that? They don’t even offer you a decent cup of coffee 
So no, I haven’t seen it yet, but I’m guessing, it’s worse than Maloney’s contract  A fellow taxpayer went down Friday and reports he has the contracts, but has not given me any details  I don’t know if he had to pay for paper copies or what, but you can view it for free if you want to go down there  I’ll get back to you when I got something 
Tags: Ann Schwab Chico CA, Ann Schwab for city council, Chico Police Department, Chico Police Officers Association, City of Chico, Friends of Ann Schwab, Kirk Trostle chief of police chico ca, mike maloney retires at 50 what a pig
Mary Goloff and Jim Walker gang jump Mark Sorensen on the dais – just another lovely Chico city council meeting!
I’m sitting here in disbelief of the attack I just watched Mary Goloff and Jim Walker wage on Mark Sorensen at city council tonight  I couldn’t make the meeting, so I have been watching it via computer 
Sorensen had been challenged by a smarmy Jim Walker to list what changes he would make to balance the budget  Sorensen carefully began to explain that city funds had been depleted by millions over the last few years, with escalating costs leaving revenues in the dirt  He also explained that the lion’s share of our expenses are “operating costs,” meaning, salaries  He also carefully explained that there were programs we simply could not afford anymore, meaning, salaries 
Mary Goloff could be heard heckling him off microphone  If you or I did what she was doing we’d be asked to leave the room, possibly with police escort  But Mayor Schwab just sat there looking at Goloff, saying nothing  Goloff finally got on mike, interrupted Sorensen, and asked him to be specific  So, Sorensen offered housing, saying it had been a mistake to undertake so many housing projects, and he also specified the arts programs – such as the requirement that any capital project include one percent of the total cost of that project be added for art 
At this point Goloff began to interrupt Sorensen  She started heckling him about how “we all agree” that the arts are important, yadda, yadda  She just kept at Sorensen, not allowing him to answer any of her out-there questions, until Sorensen asked her to stop interrupting him 
After a quick exchange Walker butted in to attack Sorensen  Out of nowhere, Walker bashed Sorensen about wanting to spend more money on the police department, asking Sorensen where he would get the money to hire more police  This question was off base, Sorensen hadn’t even gotten that far before Goloff had completely derailed him 
Jim Walker is just sitting out his time, he seems to be enjoying himself at all of our expense  He, like so many “public servants,” seems to think he is elected to do what he wants, what seems like “the right thing” in his fairy tale mind, instead of carry out the law 
Mary Goloff seems to think she has been anointed Queen in some farcical aquatic ceremony to lead us all in the light of her cough syrup-induced wisdom  She seems to love the sound of her own voice, while here at my house, it sets off the hounds for blocks 
My computer started failing at this point, and I was unable to watch the rest of the meeting  I am going on vacation tomorrow, I’ll see you folks on the flip flop 
Tags: Ann Schwab Chico CA, Ann Schwab for city council, Friends of Ann Schwab
Turn that S*** UP!
We had a lively discussion down at the library yesterday about how we are going to fight the phone tax increase in November 
The key here is to inform the public  $taff has already done their best to make this measure confusing and deceptive, actually writing into the measure that it will lower taxes  They mean, they are lowering the rate half a cent, but of course, this half-cent will be an ice cube in hell when they apply the tax to all the new stuff this measure allows – starting with cell phones, texting, paging, and adding whatever new technology comes along  All the voter needs to know is, this measure will raise his/her taxes, noticeably 
Even people on welfare will pay this tax, even though they qualify for the rate-assistance plans offered by the phone companies – utility tax is based on the total bill, before the adjustment for the rate assistance  And, this tax includes those prepaid phone cards 
The hardest hit will be commercial customers  A friend of mine who owns a little manufacturing business in town tells me the city of Chico thinks all business owners are “rich sugar daddies” 
My friend always tells me, that while I am in these meetings Downtown, he is in Oroville or Redding or Modesto or some other town, dealing with his business  He says these towns have better, more workable $taff  He is among the business owners who have used the word “hostile” to describe Dave Burkland, and the city business climate in general 
We have to get the word out to people like my friend that NOW IS THE TIME to get involved  I like that band, Rage Against the Machine – they say, “it has to start somewhere, it has to start sometime  What better place than here, what better time than NOW!”
We’re fighting the city, which will use public money to fund this tax increase initiative  For example, they have already used $taff time to research and write the measure, and now council members and $taff will create the “for” argument to be placed on the ballot  Our city attorney makes over $190,000 a year in salary alone – Mark Sorensen figured the cost of an hour of her time, but I forget the figure  More than most people make in a day, is all I remember 
The city will turn over their arguments in favor in August – at that point we can take this dog and pony show on the road  Until then, let’s keep working  Thanks all!

Context 2: McPherson County (standard abbreviation: MP) is a county located in the U S  state of Kansas   As of the 2020 census, the county population was 30,223  The largest city and county seat is McPherson  The county is named for Civil War General James B  McPherson 

History

Early history

For many millennia, the Great Plains of North America was inhabited by nomadic Native Americans  From the 16th century to 18th century, the Kingdom of France claimed ownership of large parts of North America  In 1762, after the French and Indian War, France secretly ceded New France to Spain, per the Treaty of Fontainebleau  In 1802, Spain returned most of the land to France, but keeping title to about 7,500 square miles 

In 1803, most of the land for modern day Kansas was acquired by the United States from France as part of the 828,000 square mile Louisiana Purchase for 2 83 cents per acre  In 1848, after the Mexican–American War, the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo with Spain brought into the United States all or part of land for ten future states, including southwest Kansas  In 1854, the Kansas Territory was organized, then in 1861 Kansas became the 34th U S  state 

19th century

From the 1820s to 1870s, the Santa Fe Trail passed through, what is now McPherson County  The trail entered the county, east of Canton, then south of Galva, then north of Inman, and west towards Lyons  In 1855, Charles O  Fuller established a ranch adjacent to the Running Turkey Creek Crossing about two miles south and one mile east of Galva  Fuller's Ranch provided accommodations for travelers on the Santa Fe Trail and was probably the first white settlement in McPherson County 

Peketon County was established in 1860, by the passage of a bill by S  N  Wood:  An act to establish Peketon County  Section 1  - That all that territory west of the sixth principal meridian and south of Township 16, in Kansas Territory, be and the same is hereby erected into a county, to be known by the name of Peketon County  On February 17, 1865, Peketon County was abolished, and McPherson County was made a part of Marion County, which extended from the west line of Chase County to the present western boundary of Kansas 

In 1868, Solomon Stephens and L  N  Holmberg were appointed Justices of the Peace—the first officers in what is now McPherson County  The next year (1869) occurred the first election for the township, now the county of McPherson  McPherson was regularly organized as a county in the spring of 1870, a mass meeting being held at Sweadal  Sweadal, the county seat thus selected, was located about one mile and a half southwest of the present site of Lindsborg  In September, however, the County Commissioners resolved to meet at the latter place, McPherson which had already been located some two years 

In April, 1873, a petition was filed for the county seat re-location  It was signed by 483 voters, and a special election was accordingly ordered for June 10  Upon that day, McPherson received 605 votes, New Gottland 325, King City 3 and Lindsborg 1; McPherson's majority over all, 276  In May the McPherson Town Company had offered, as an inducement for the location of the county seat at this point, the free use of rooms for ten years, and the donation of two squares of land on the town site  The offer was accepted the next month, the County Commissioners selecting blocks 56 and 65  Thus the county seat was established at McPherson and has remained since 

As early as 1875, city leaders of Marion held a meeting to consider a branch railroad from Florence  In 1878, Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway and parties from Marion County and McPherson County chartered the Marion and McPherson Railway Company   In 1879, a branch line was built from Florence to McPherson, in 1880 it was extended to Lyons, in 1881 it was extended to Ellinwood  The line was leased and operated by the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway  The line from Florence to Marion, was abandoned in 1968  In 1992, the line from Marion to McPherson was sold to Central Kansas Railway  In 1993, after heavy flood damage, the line from Marion to McPherson was abandoned  The original branch line connected Florence, Marion, Canada, Hillsboro, Lehigh, Canton, Galva, McPherson, Conway, Windom, Little River, Mitchell, Lyons, Chase, then connected with the original AT&SF main line at Ellinwood 

In 1887, the Chicago, Kansas and Nebraska Railway extended its main line from Herington to Pratt   This main line connected Herington, Ramona, Tampa, Durham, Waldeck, Canton, Galva, McPherson, Groveland, Inman, Medora, Hutchinson, Whiteside, Partridge, Arlington,  Langdon, Turon, Preston, Natrona, Pratt   In 1888, this main line was extended to Liberal   Later, this line was extended to Tucumcari, New Mexico and Santa Rosa, New Mexico, where it made a connection with the Southern Pacific from El Paso, Texas   The Chicago, Kansas and Nebraska Railway was absorbed by the Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railway  This line is also called the "Golden State Route" 

20th century
The National Old Trails Road, also known as the Ocean-to-Ocean Highway, was established in 1912, and was routed through Windom, Conway, McPherson 

Geography

According to the U S  Census Bureau, the county has a total area of , of which  is land and  (0 3%) is water 

Adjacent counties
 Saline County (north)
 Dickinson County (northeast)
 Marion County (east)
 Harvey County (southeast)
 Reno County (southwest)
 Rice County (west)
 Ellsworth County (northwest)

Major highways
  Interstate 135
  U S  Route 56
  U S  Route 81
  K-4
  K-61
  K-153

Demographics

The McPherson Micropolitan Statistical Area includes all of McPherson County 

2000 census
As of the census of 2000, there were 29,554 people, 11,205 households, and 7,966 families residing in the county   The population density was 33 people per square mile (13/km2)   There were 11,830 housing units at an average density of 13 per square mile (5/km2)   The racial makeup of the county was 96 53% White, 0 81% Black or African American, 0 34% Native American, 0 32% Asian, 0 06% Pacific Islander, 0 79% from other races, and 1 16% from two or more races   1 94% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race  37 1% were of German, 12 9% Swedish, 12 1% American, 6 7% English and 6 3% Irish ancestry according to Census 2000 

There were 11,205 households, out of which 33 00% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 62 50% were married couples living together, 6 00% had a female householder with no husband present, and 28 90% were non-families  25 50% of all households were made up of individuals, and 11 80% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older   The average household size was 2 49 and the average family size was 2 99 

In the county, the population was spread out, with 25 40% under the age of 18, 10 30% from 18 to 24, 25 20% from 25 to 44, 21 80% from 45 to 64, and 17 30% who were 65 years of age or older   The median age was 38 years  For every 100 females there were 95 90 males   For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 92 90 males 

The median income for a household in the county was $41,138, and the median income for a family was $48,243  Males had a median income of $33,530 versus $21,175 for females  The per capita income for the county was $18,921   About 4 20% of families and 6 60% of the population were below the poverty line, including 5 20% of those under age 18 and 8 10% of those age 65 or over 

Government

Presidential elections
McPherson county is often carried by Republican candidates  The last time a Democratic candidate has carried this county was in 1964 by Lyndon B  Johnson 

Laws
Following amendment to the Kansas Constitution in 1986, the county remained a prohibition, or "dry", county until 1996, when voters approved the sale of alcoholic liquor by the individual drink with a 30 percent food sales requirement 

Education

Colleges
 McPherson College in McPherson
 Bethany College in Lindsborg
 Central Christian College in McPherson

Unified school districts
 Smoky Valley USD 400
 McPherson USD 418
 Canton-Galva USD 419
 Moundridge USD 423
 Inman USD 448

School district office in neighboring county
 Goessel USD 411
 Little River-Windom USD 444

Museums
 Birger Sandzén Memorial Gallery in Lindsborg
 McCormick-Deering Days Museum in Inman
 McPherson Museum in McPherson
 Lindsborg Old Mill & Swedish Heritage Museum in Lindsborg
 Kansas Motorcycle Museum in Marquette

Communities

Cities

 Canton
 Galva
 Inman
 Lindsborg
 Marquette
 McPherson (county seat) 
 Moundridge
 Windom

Unincorporated communities
† means a Census-Designated Place (CDP) by the United States Census Bureau 
 Conway
 Elyria†
 Groveland
 Johnstown
 New Gottland
 Roxbury†

Ghost towns
 Alta Mills
 Battle Hill
 Christian
 Doles Park
 Elivon
 King City
 Sweadal

Townships
McPherson County is divided into twenty-five townships   The cities of Lindsborg and McPherson are considered governmentally independent and are excluded from the census figures for the townships   In the following table, the population center is the largest city (or cities) included in that township's population total, if it is of a significant size 

See also
 List of people from McPherson County, Kansas
 National Register of Historic Places listings in McPherson County, Kansas
 McPherson Valley Wetlands
 Maxwell Wildlife Refuge

References

Notes

Further reading

 Wheeler, Wayne Leland  "An Analysis of Social Change in a Swedish-Immigrant Community: The Case of Lindsborg, Kansas " (PhD dissertation, University of Missouri-Columbia; ProQuest Dissertations Publishing, 1959  5905657) 

County
 Through the Years: A Pictorial History of McPherson County; McPherson Sentinel' Heritage House Publishing Co; 1992 
 McPherson County First Courthouse Built About 1869 or 1870; Lindsborg News-Record; March 30, 1959 
 Pioneer Life and Lore of McPherson County, Kansas; Edna Nyquist; Democratic-Opinion Press; 1932 
 A History of the Church of the Brethren in Kansas (includes McPherson College history); Elmer LeRoy Craik; McPherson Daily; Republican Press; 397 pages; 1922 
 Portrait and Biographical Record of Dickinson, Saline, McPherson, and Marion Counties, Kansas; Chapman Bros; 614 pages; 1893 
 Standard Atlas of McPherson County, Kansas; Geo  A  Ogle & Co; 82 pages; 1921 
 Plat Book of McPherson County, Kansas; North West Publishing Co; 50 pages; 1903 
 Edwards' Atlas of McPherson County, Kansas; John P  Edwards; 51 pages; 1884 

Trails
 The Story of the Marking of the Santa Fe Trail by the Daughters of the American Revolution in Kansas and the State of Kansas; Almira Cordry; Crane Co; 164 pages; 1915  (Download 4MB PDF eBook)
 The National Old Trails Road To Southern California, Part 1 (LA to KC); Automobile Club Of Southern California; 64 pages; 1916  (Download 6 8MB PDF eBook)

Mennonite Settlements
 Impact of Mennonite settlement on the cultural landscape of Kansas; Brenda Martin; Kansas State University; 1985/1988  
 Mennonite settlement : the relationship between the physical and cultural environment; Susan Movle; University of Utah; 1975/1886 
 Status of Mennonite women in Kansas in their church and home relationships; Eva Harshbarger; Bluffton College; 1925/1945 

External links

County
 
 McPherson County - Directory of Public Officials
Historical
 , from Hatteberg's People'' on KAKE TV news
Maps
 McPherson County Maps: Current, Historic, KDOT
 Kansas Highway Maps: Current, Historic, KDOT
 Kansas Railroad Maps: Current, 1996, 1915, KDOT and Kansas Historical Society

 
Kansas counties
1867 establishments in Kansas




ground_truth: Toby Schindelbeck's observation is that the police say they aren't paid enough to enforce the laws in the streets.

prompt_front: Now, answer the following question based on the text below, only give me the answer and do not output any other words.

Question: Where is McPherson County located?

Read the following text and answer briefly.

Context 4: Hugh Hilton Goodwin (December 21, 1900 – February 25, 1980) was a decorated officer in the United States Navy with the rank of Vice Admiral  A veteran of both World Wars, he commanded escort carrier  during the Mariana Islands campaign  Goodwin then served consecutively as Chief of Staff, Carrier Strike Group 6 and as Air Officer, Philippine Sea Frontier and participated in the Philippines campaign in the later part of the War 

Following the War, he remained in the Navy and rose to the flag rank and held several important commands including Vice Commander, Military Air Transport Service, Commander, Carrier Division Two and Commander, Naval Air Forces, Continental Air Defense Command 

Early life and career

Hugh H  Goodwin was born on December 21, 1900, in Monroe, Louisiana and attended Monroe High School there (now Neville High School)  Following the United States' entry into World War I in April 1917, Goodwin left the school without receiving the diploma in order to see some combat and enlisted the United States Navy on May 7, 1917  He completed basic training and was assigned to the battleship   Goodwin participated in the training of armed guard crews and engine room personnel as the Atlantic Fleet prepared to go to war and in November 1917, he sailed with the rest of Battleship Division 9, bound for Britain to reinforce the Grand Fleet in the North Sea 

Although he did not complete the last year of high school, Goodwin was able to earn an appointment to the United States Naval Academy at Annapolis, Maryland in June 1918  While at the academy, he earned a nickname "Huge" and among his classmates were several future admirals and generals including: Hyman G  Rickover, Milton E  Miles, Robert E  Blick Jr , Herbert S  Duckworth, Clayton C  Jerome, James P  Riseley, James A  Stuart, Frank Peak Akers, Sherman Clark, Raymond P  Coffman, Delbert S  Cornwell, Frederick J  Eckhoff, Ralph B  DeWitt, John Higgins, Vernon Huber, Albert K  Morehouse, Harold F  Pullen, Michael J  Malanaphy, William S  Parsons, Harold R  Stevens, John P  Whitney, Lyman G  Miller and George J  O'Shea 

Goodwin graduated with Bachelor of Science degree on June 3, 1922, and was commissioned Ensign in the United States Navy  He was subsequently assigned to the battleship  and took part in the voyage to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, before he was ordered to the Naval Torpedo Station at Newport, Rhode Island for submarine instruction in June 1923  Goodwin completed the training several weeks later and was attached to the submarine   He then continued his further training aboard submarine  and following his promotion to Lieutenant (junior grade) on June 3, 1925, he qualified as submariner 

He then served aboard submarine  off the coast of California, before he was ordered for the recruiting duty to San Francisco in September 1927  While in this capacity, Goodwin applied for naval aviation training which was ultimately approved and he was ordered to the Naval Air Station Pensacola, Florida in August 1928  Toward the end of the training, he was promoted to lieutenant on December 11, 1928, and upon the completion of the training in January 1929, he was designated Naval aviator 

Goodwin was subsequently attached to the Observation Squadron aboard the aircraft carrier  and participated in the Fleet exercises in the Caribbean  He was transferred to the Bureau of Aeronautics in Washington, D C  in August 1931 and served consecutively under the architect of naval aviation William A  Moffett and future Chief of Naval Operations Ernest J  King 

In June 1933, Goodwin was ordered to the Naval War College at Newport, Rhode Island, where he completed junior course in May of the following year  He subsequently joined the crew of aircraft carrier  and served under Captain Arthur B  Cook and took part in the Fleet exercises in the Caribbean and off the East Coast of the United States 

He was ordered back to the Naval Air Station Pensacola, Florida in June 1936 and was attached to the staff of the Base Commandant, then-Captain Charles A  Blakely  When Blakely was succeeded by William F  Halsey in June 1937, Goodwin remained in Halsey's staff and was promoted to Lieutenant Commander on December 1, 1937  He also completed correspondence course in International law at the Naval War College 

Goodwin was appointed Commanding officer of the Observation Squadron 1 in June 1938 and attached to the battleship  he took part in the patrolling of the Pacific and 
West Coast of the United States until September 1938, when he assumed command of the Observation Squadron 2 attached to the battleship  

When his old superior from Lexington, now Rear Admiral Arthur B  Cook, was appointed Commander Aircraft, Scouting Force in June 1939, he requested Goodwin as his Aide and Flag Secretary  He became Admiral Cook's protégé and after year and half of service in the Pacific, he continued as his Aide and Flag Secretary, when Cook was appointed Commander Aircraft, Atlantic Fleet in November 1940 

World War II

Following the United States' entry into World War II, Goodwin was promoted to the temporary rank of Commander on January 1, 1942, and assumed duty as advisor to the Argentine Navy  His promotion was made permanent two months later and he returned to the United States in early 1943 for duty as assistant director of Planning in the Bureau of Aeronautics under Rear admiral John S  McCain  While still in Argentina, Goodwin was promoted to the temporary rank of Captain on June 21, 1942 

By the end of December 1943, Goodwin was ordered to Astoria, Oregon, where he assumed command of newly commissioned escort carrier USS Gambier Bay  He was responsible for the initial training of the crew and was known as a strict disciplinarian, but the crew appreciated the skills he taught them that prepared them for combat  Goodwin insisted that everyone aboard has to do every job right every time and made us fight our ship at her best 

During the first half of 1944, Gambier Bay was tasked with ferrying aircraft for repairs and qualified carrier pilots from San Diego to Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, before departed on May 1, 1944, to join Rear admiral Harold B



ground_truth: McPherson County is located in the U.S. state of Kansas.

prompt_front: Now, answer the following question based on the text below, only give me the answer and do not output any other words.

Question: What is the main topic of the text?

Read the following text and answer briefly.

Context 3: Ann's Mega Dub: 12/19/10 - 12/26/10
Got o have a penis to be an expert
Thursday on NPR's Fresh Air, Terry Gross wanted to talk film and music  Since women don't know a thing about either and aren't interested in either, Terry had to find men who were 'experts 'This is C I 's " Iraq snapshot Friday, December 24, 2010  Chaos and violence continue, Nouri's incomplete Cabinet continues to receive criticism, a father offers an 'excuse' for killing his own daughter, and more Marci Stone (US Headlines Examiner) reports, "Friday afternoon, Santa is currently in Baghdad, Iraq and on his next stop is Moscow, Russia, according to the 2010 NORAD Santa Tracker  The North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) has been tracking Santa as he makes his annual journey throughout the world " Gerald Skoning (Palm Beach Post) quotes Santa saying, "We send our special wishes for peace and goodwill to all  That includes the people of Iraq, Afghanistan, Iran and North Korea " Please note that this is Santa's seventh trip to Iraq since the start of the Iraq War and, as usual, his journey was known in advance  No waiting until he hit the ground to announce he was going to Iraq -- the way George The Bully Boy Bush had to and the way US President Barack Obama still has to  In the lead up to Santa's yearly visit, many 'authorities' in Iraq began insisting that Christmas couldn't be celebrated publicly, that even Santa was banned  Gabriel Gatehouse (BBC News) quotes Shemmi Hanna stating, "I wasn't hurt but I wish that I had been killed  I wish I had become a martyr for this church, but God kept me alive for my daughters " Shemmi Hanna was in Our Lady of Salvation Church in Baghdad when it was assaulted October 31st and she lost her husband, her son, her daughter-in-law and her infant grandson in the attack  The October 31st attack marks the latest wave of violence targeting Iraqi Christians  The violence has led many to flee to northern Iraq (KRG) or to other countries  Zvi Bar'el (Haaretz) notes, "This week the Iraqi legislature discussed the Christians' situation and passed a resolution in principle to help families who fled  However, the parliament does not know where the Christians are, how many are still in Iraq, in their homes, and how many have found asylum in Iraqi Kurdistan " John Leland (New York Times) reports:The congregants on Friday night were fewer than 100, in a sanctuary built for four or five times as many  But they were determined  This year, even more than in the past, Iraqi's dwindling Christian minority had reasons to stay home for Christmas  "Yes, we are threatened, but we will not stop praying," the Rev  Meyassr al-Qaspotros told the Christmas Eve crowd at the Sacred Church of Jesus, a Chaldean Catholic church  "We do not want to leave the country because we will leave an empty space " Raheem Salman (Los Angeles Times) reports, "Rimon Metti's family will go to Christian services on Christmas Day, but his relatives will be praying for their own survival and wondering whether this is their last holiday season in Baghdad  If they had any grounds for optimism about the future of their faith in Iraq, it vanished this year amid repeated attacks on fellow believers " Shahsank Bengali (McClatchy Newspapers) adds, "Nearly two months after a shocking assault by Islamist militants, Our Lady of Salvation Catholic Church will commemorate Christmas quietly, with daytime mass and prayers for the dead, under security fit more for a prison than a house of worship  It is the same at Christian churches across Baghdad and northern Iraq, where what's left of one of the world's oldest Christian communities prepares to mark perhaps the most somber Christmas since the start of the Iraq war "Meanwhile Taylor Luck (Jordan Times) reports on Iraqi refugees in Jordan:Although the calendar will say December 25, for Theresa, Saturday will not be Christmas  There will be no cinnamon klecha cooling on the dining room table, no outdoor ceramic nativity scene, no readings of hymns with relatives  The 63-year-old Iraqi woman has even refused to put up Christmas lights in the crowded two-room Amman hotel apartment she has called home since fleeing Baghdad last month "There is no holiday spirit  All we have is fear," she said This holiday will instead mark another year without news from her 46-year-old son, who was kidnapped outside Baghdad in late 2006 From Turkey, Sebnem Arsu (New York Times -- link has text and video) notes the increase in Iraq refugees to the country since October 31st and quotes Father Emlek stating, "I've never seen as many people coming here as I have in the last few weeks  They also go to Lebanon, Jordan and Syria but it seems that Turkey is the most popular despite the fact that they do not speak the language " Jeff Karoub (AP) reports on the small number of Iraqi refugees who have made it to the US and how some of them "struggle with insomnia, depression and anxiety "One group in Iraq who can openly celebrate Christmas are US service members who elect to  Barbara Surk (AP) reports that tomorrow Chief Warrant Officer Archie Morgan will celebrate his fourth Christmas in Iraq and Captain Diana Crane is celebrating her second Christmas in Iraq: "Crane was among several dozen troops attending a Christmas Eve mass in a chapel in Camp Victory, an American military base just outside Baghdad " Marc Hansen (Des Moines Reigster) speaks with six service members from Iowa who are stationed in Iraq  Sgt 1st Class Dennis Crosser tells Hansen, "I certainly understand from reading the paper what's going on in Afghanistan and the attention definitely needs to be on the troops there  But everyone serving here in Operation New Dawn appreciates a little bit of attention as we finish this up "Today Jiang Yu, China's Foreign Minister, issued the following statement, "We welcome and congratulate Iraq on forming a new government  We hope that the Iraqi Government unite all its people, stabilize the security situation, accelerate economic reconstruction and make new progress in building its country " James Cogan (WSWS) reports:US State Department official Philip Crowley declared on Wednesday that Washington had not "dictated the terms of the government"  In reality, constant American pressure was applied to Maliki, Allawi, Kurdish leaders and other prominent Iraqi politicians throughout the entire nine-month process to form a cabinet  The US intervention included numerous personal phone calls and visits to Baghdad by both President Barack Obama and Vice President Joe Biden The key objective of the Obama administration has been to ensure that the next Iraqi government will "request" a long-term military partnership with the US when the current Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA) expires at the end of 2011  The SOFA is the legal basis upon which some 50,000 American troops remain in Iraq, operating from large strategic air bases such as Balad and Tallil and Al Asad  US imperialism spent billions of dollars establishing these advanced bases as part of its wider strategic plans and has no intention of abandoning them Cogan's only the second person to include the SOFA in his report  Some are impressed with the 'feat' of taking nearly ten months to form a government, stringing the country along for ten months while no decisions could go through  The editorial board of the Washington Post, for example, was full of praise yesterday  Today they're joined by Iran's Ambassador to Iraq, Hassan Danaiifar  The Tehran Times reports that Danaiifar was full of praise today hailing the "positive and final step which ended the 10-month political limbo in Iraq " However, Danaiifar was less pie-in-the-sky than the Post editorial board because he can foresee future problems as evidenced by his statement, "We may witness the emergence of some problems after one and half of a year -- for example, some ministers may be impeached " Of course, there are already many clouds on the horizon, even if Iranian diplomats and Post editorial boards can't suss them out  For example, Ben Bendig (Epoch Times) noted the objection of Iraq's female politicians to Nouri al-Maliki's decision to nominate only one woman (so far) to his Cabinet: "Some 50 female lawmakers went to the country's top leadership, the United Nations and the Arab League to voice their concern and desire for increased representation " BNO notes that protest and also that a group of Iraqi MPs are alleging that Iraqiya bought seats in the Cabinet via money exchanged in Jordan  UPI adds, "Maliki, a Shiite who has a long history of working with Tehran, has named himself acting minister of defense, interior and national security, three most powerful and sensitive posts in the government he is stitching together  Although Maliki appears to be bending over backward to accommodate rivals among Iraq's Shiite majority as well as minority Sunnis and Kurds in his administration in a spirit of reconciliation, he is unlikely to relinquish those ministries that dominate the security sector " DPA reports, "Sheikh Abdel-Mahdi al-Karbalaei, a confident of influential Shiite spiritual leader Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, said that the new cabinet is 'below the standards' Iraqi citizens had hoped for and suggested it could prove to be weaker than the previous government " Ranj Alaaldin (Guardian) also spots clouds on the horizon:Lasting peace and stability depends on resolving outstanding disputes with the Kurds on oil, revenue-sharing, security and the disputed territories (Kirkuk in particular)  The Kurds, rather than exploiting their kingmaker position to take a stronger proportion of ministries in Baghdad (they are taking just one major portfolio – the foreign ministry), are instead banking on guarantees from Maliki to implement their list of 19 demands that includes resolving the above disputes in their favour They may have been naive, though  With their historical and federalist partners, the Islamic supreme council of Iraq in decline, the Kurds may be isolated in the new government – a government dominated by the nationalistic and centrist characteristics of the INM, the Sadrists and indeed State of Law Maliki may, therefore, turn out to be unable to grant concessions even if he wanted to and could use Osama Nujayfi, the new ultra-nationalist speaker of parliament and Kurdish foe, to absorb the Kurdish criticism and insulate himself from any attacks AP reports that Iraqi police sought out a 19-year-old woman because of rumors that she was working with al Qaida in Mesopotamia only to be greeted with the news that her father allegedly killed her and the father showed the police where he buried the woman       last month  The story begs for more than it offers  The most obvious observation is: what does it say that a woman's allegedly killed by her father and no one says a word for over a month? After that, it should probably be noted that there are many men in Iraq killing women who, no doubt, would love to also be able to pin the blame on al Qaida  In other violence, Reuters notes a house bombing in Haswa which claimed the life of Mohammed al-Karrafi, "his wife, two sons and a nephew" -- as well as injuring four more people, and a Samarra roadside bombing which claimed the lives of 2 police officers  DPA notes it was two homes bombed in Haswa and that the Samarra roadside bombing also injured four Iraqi soldiers  Jomana Karadsheh (CNN) reports, "Another policeman was wounded in Baghdad Friday night when a roadside bomb detonated by a police patrol, an Interior Ministry official told CNN "And we'll close with this from Peace Mom Cindy Sheehan's latest Al Jazeera column:The recent repeal of the US military policy of "Don't ask, don't tell" is far from being the human rights advancement some are touting it to be  I find it intellectually dishonest, in fact, illogical on any level to associate human rights with any military, let alone one that is currently dehumanising two populations as well as numerous other victims of it's clandestine "security" policies Placing this major contention aside, the enactment of the bill might be an institutional step forward in the fight for "equality"; however institutions rarely reflect reality Do we really think that the US congress vote to repeal the act and Obama signing the bill is going to stop the current systemic harassment of gays in the military?While I am a staunch advocate for equality of marriage and same-sex partnership, I cannot - as a peace activist - rejoice in the fact that now homosexuals can openly serve next to heterosexuals in one of the least socially responsible organisations that currently exists on earth: The US military It is an organisation tainted with a history of intolerance towards anyone who isn't a Caucasian male from the Mid-West  Even then I'm sure plenty fitting that description have faced the terror and torment enshrined into an institution that transforms the pride and enthusiasm of youth into a narrow zeal for dominating power relations And we'll close with this from Francis A  Boyle's "2011: Prospects for Humanity?" (Global Research):Historically, this latest eruption of American militarism at the start of the 21st Century is akin to that of America opening the 20th Century by means of the U S -instigated Spanish-American War in 1898  Then the Republican administration of President William McKinley stole their colonial empire from Spain in Cuba, Puerto Rico, Guam, and the Philippines; inflicted a near genocidal war against the Filipino people; while at the same time illegally annexing the Kingdom of Hawaii and subjecting the Native Hawaiian people (who call themselves the Kanaka Maoli) to near genocidal conditions  Additionally, McKinley's military and colonial expansion into the Pacific was also designed to secure America's economic exploitation of China pursuant to the euphemistic rubric of the "open door" policy  But over the next four decades America's aggressive presence, policies, and practices in the "Pacific" would ineluctably pave the way for Japan's attack at Pearl Harbor on Dec  7, 194l, and thus America's precipitation into the ongoing Second World War  Today a century later the serial imperial aggressions launched and menaced by the Republican Bush Jr  administration and now the Democratic Obama administration are threatening to set off World War III  By shamelessly exploiting the terrible tragedy of 11 September 2001, the Bush Jr  administration set forth to steal a hydrocarbon empire from the Muslim states and peoples living in Central Asia and the Persian Gulf under the bogus pretexts of (1) fighting a war against international terrorism; and/or (2) eliminating weapons of mass destruction; and/or (3) the promotion of democracy; and/or (4) self-styled "humanitarian intervention " Only this time the geopolitical stakes are infinitely greater than they were a century ago: control and domination of two-thirds of the world's hydrocarbon resources and thus the very fundament and energizer of the global economic system – oil and gas  The Bush Jr / Obama administrations have already targeted the remaining hydrocarbon reserves of Africa, Latin America, and Southeast Asia for further conquest or domination, together with the strategic choke-points at sea and on land required for their transportation  In this regard, the Bush Jr  administration announced the establishment of the U S  Pentagon's Africa Command (AFRICOM) in order to better control, dominate, and exploit both the natural resources and the variegated peoples of the continent of Africa, the very cradle of our human species  This current bout of U S  imperialism is what Hans Morgenthau denominated "unlimited imperialism" in his seminal work Politics Among Nations (4th ed  1968, at 52-53): The outstanding historic examples of unlimited imperialism are the expansionist policies of Alexander the Great, Rome, the Arabs in the seventh and eighth centuries, Napoleon I, and Hitler  They all have in common an urge toward expansion which knows no rational limits, feeds on its own successes and, if not stopped by a superior force, will go on to the confines of the political world  This urge will not be satisfied so long as there remains anywhere a possible object of domination--a politically organized group of men which by its very independence challenges the conqueror's lust for power  It is, as we shall see, exactly the lack of moderation, the aspiration to conquer all that lends itself to conquest, characteristic of unlimited imperialism, which in the past has been the undoing of the imperialistic policies of this kind…  On 10 November 1979 I visited with Hans Morgenthau at his home in Manhattan  It proved to be our last conversation before he died on 19 July 1980  Given his weakened physical but not mental condition and his serious heart problem, at the end of our necessarily abbreviated one-hour meeting I purposefully asked him what he thought about the future of international relations  iraqbbc newsgabriel gatehousethe new york timesjohn lelandhaaretzzvi bar'elthe jordan timestaylor luckthe associated pressjeff karoubthe los angeles timesraheem salmancnnjomana karadsheh
Terry thinks she's a man
Yesterday on NPR's Fresh Air the hour went to a male TV critic  It's always a man with Terry  Always  And somebody tell her that a snotty, snooty TV critic really doesn't make for good programming This is C I 's "Iraq snapshot:" Thursday, December 23, 2010  Chaos and violence continue, Iraqi women make clear their displeasure over the Cabinet make up, Daniel Ellsberg and Veterans for Peace get some recognition, and more  Last Thursday a protest held outside the White House  One of the organizers was Veterans for Peace and Pentagon Papers whistle blower Daniel Ellsberg participated and spoke  Juana Bordas (Washington Post) advocates for both of them to be named persons of the year: Veterans for Peace and Daniel Ellsberg should be this year's person of the year because of their courage and bravery to stand up for all of us who believe that "war is not the answer " Moreover in a time of economic recession, the war machine is bankrupting our country  As John Amidon, a Marine Corps veteran from Albany asked at the White House protest, "How is the war economy working for you?"While unemployment rates hover near 10 percent, there is no doubt that the U S  economy and quality of life is faltering  Worldwide we are 14th in education, 37th in the World Health Organization's ranking on medical systems, and 23rd in the U N  Environmental Sustainability Index on being most livable and greenest benefits  There is one place we take the undeniable world lead  The US military spending accounts for a whopping 46 5 percent of world military spending--the next ten countries combined come in at only 20 7 percent  Linda Pershing (Truthout) reports, "Responding to a call from the leaders of Stop These Wars(1) - a new coalition of Veterans for Peace and other activists - participants came together in a large-scale performance of civil resistance  A group of veterans under the leadership of Veterans for Peace members Tarak Kauff, Will Covert and Elaine Brower, mother of a Marine who has served three tours of duty in Iraq, sponsored the event with the explicit purpose of putting their bodies on the line  Many participants were Vietnam War veterans; others ranged from Iraq and Afghanistan war veterans in their 20s and 30s to World War II vets in their 80s and older  They were predominately white; men outnumbered women by at least three to one  After a short rally in Lafayette Park, they formed a single-file procession, walking across Pennsylvania Avenue to the solemn beat of a drum  As they reached the police barricade (erected to prevent them from chaining themselves to the gate, a plan they announced on their web site), the activists stood shoulder to shoulder, their bodies forming a human link across the 'picture postcard' tableau in front of the White House " Maria Chutchian (Arlington Advocate) quotes, participant Nate Goldshlag (Vietnam veteran) stating, ""There was a silent, single file march around Lafayette Park to a drum beat  Then we went in front of the White House,  There were barricades set up in front of white house fence  So when we got there, we jumped over barricades and were able to get right next to the White House fence " Participant Linda LeTendre (Daily Gazette) reports: At the end of the rally, before the silent, solemn procession to the White House fence, in honor of those killed in Iraq and Afghan wars of lies and deceptions, the VFP played taps and folded an American flag that had been left behind at a recent funeral for the veteran of one of those wars  Two attendees in full dress uniform held and folded the flag  I had the image of all of the people who stood along the roads and bridges when the bodies of the two local men, Benjamin Osborn and David Miller, were returned to the Capital District  I thought if all of those people were here now or spoke out against war these two fine young men might still be with us I was blessed enough to be held in custody with one of those in uniform; a wonderful young man who had to move from his hometown in Georgia because no one understood why as a veteran he was against these wars  Even his family did not understand  (He remains in my prayers )Our plan was to attach ourselves to the White House fence until President Obama came out and talked to us or until we were arrested and dragged away  I don't have to tell you how it ended Mr  Ellsberg was one of 139 people arrested at that action  We've noted the protest in pretty much every snapshot since last Thursday  If something else comes out that's worth noting on the protest, we'll include it  We will not include people who don't have their facts and it's really sad when they link to, for example, Guardian articles and the links don't even back them up  It's real sad, for example, when they're trashing Hillary (big strong men that they are) and ripping her apart and yet Barack? "Obama's inaccurate statements"??? What the hell is that? You're inferring he lied, say so  Don't be such a little chicken s**t  It's especially embarrasing when you're grandstanding on 'truth ' Especially when you're the little s**t that clogged up the public e-mail account here in the summer of 2008 whining that you were holding Barack to a standard, then admitting that you weren't, then whining that if you did people would be mean to you  Oh, that's sooooooo sad  Someone might say something bad about you  The horror  You must suffer more than all the people in Iraq and Afghanistan combined  While the action took place in DC, actions also took place in other cities  We've already noted NYC's action this week, Doug Kaufmann (Party for Socialism & Liberation) reports on the Los Angeles action: Despite heavy rain, over 100 people gathered in Los Angeles on the corner of Hollywood and Highland to demand an end to the U S  wars on Afghanistan and Iraq  People came from as far as Riverside to protest, braving what Southern California media outlets have dubbed the "storm of the decade " The demonstration, initiated and led by the ANSWER Coalition, broke the routine of holiday shopping and garnered support from activists and even passers by, who joined in chanting "Money for jobs and education -- not for war and occupation!" and "Occupation is a crime -- Iraq, Afghanistan, Palestine!" Protesters held banners reading, "U S /NATO Out of Afghanistan!" and "Yes to jobs, housing and education -- no to war, racism and occupation!"Speakers at the demonstration included representatives of Korean Americans for Peace, ANSWER Coalition, KmB Pro-People Youth, Veterans for Peace, Party for Socialism and Liberation and National Lawyers Guild  Tuesday, Nouri al-Maliki managed to put away the political stalemate thanks to a lot of Scotch -- tape to hold the deal together and booze to keep your eyes so crossed you don't question how someone can claim to have formed a Cabinet when they've left over ten positions to be filled at a later date  One group speaking out is women  Bushra Juhi and Qassmi Abdul-Zahra (AP) report, "Iraq's female lawmakers are furious that only one member of the country's new Cabinet is a woman and are demanding better representation in a government that otherwise has been praised by the international community for bringing together the country's religious sects and political parties " As noted Tuesday, though represenation in Parliament is addressed in Iraq's Constitution, there is nothing to address women serving in the Cabinet  Aseel Kami (Reuters) notes one of the most damning aspects of Nouri's chosen men -- a man is heaing the Ministry of Women's Affairs  Iraqiya's spokesperson Maysoon Damluji states, "There are really good women who could do wel       they cannot be neglected and marginalized " Al-Amal's Hanaa Edwar states, "They call it a national (power) sharing government  So where is the sharing? Do they want to take us back to the era of the harem? Do they want to take us back to the dark ages, when women were used only for pleasure " Deborah Amos (NPR's All Things Considered) reports that a struggle is going on between secular impulses and fundamentalist ones  Gallery owner Qasim Sabti states, "We know it's fighting between the religious foolish man and the civilization man  We know we are fighting like Gandhi, and this is a new language in Iraqi life  We have no guns  We do not believe in this kind of fighting " Deborah Amos is the author of Eclipse of the Sunnis: Power, Exile, and Upheaval in the Middle East  Meanwhile Nizar Latif (The National) reports that distrust is a common reaction to the new government in Baghdad and quotes high school teacher Hussein Abed Mohammad stating, "Promises were made that trustworthy, competent people would be ministers this time around, but it looks as if everything has just been divided out according to sectarian itnerests  No attention has been paid to forming a functioning government, it is just a political settlement of vested interests  I'm sure al Maliki will have the same problems in his next four years as he had in the last four years " Days away from the ten months mark, Nouri managed to finally end the stalemate  Some try to make sense of it and that must have been some office party that the editorial board of the Washington Post is still coming down from judging by "A good year in Iraq " First up, meet the new Iraqi Body Count -- an organization that provides cover for the war and allows supporters of the illegal war to point to it and insist/slur "Things aren't so bad!" Sure enough, the editorial board of the Post does just that noting the laughable "civilian deaths" count at iCasualities  As we noted -- long, long before we walked away from that crap ass website, they're not doing a civilian count  They're noting how many deaths Reuters reports 



ground_truth: The main topic of the text is Iraq's politics and current situation.