Comments on: Ramona School District Uses Call System for Political Message http://turnipville.com/index.php/2008/04/22/ramona-school-district-uses-call-system-for-political-message/ "publishing inscrutable website taglines, unfounded opinions and ramblings since 2001" Sat, 19 Nov 2011 03:38:24 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.2.1 By: Todd Prouty http://turnipville.com/index.php/2008/04/22/ramona-school-district-uses-call-system-for-political-message/comment-page-1/#comment-48827 Todd Prouty Wed, 30 Apr 2008 21:25:49 +0000 http://turnipville.com/index.php/2008/04/22/ramona-school-district-uses-call-system-for-political-message/#comment-48827 Oh yeah, education is even worse. I don't have kids (yet), but in Minnesota (where I'm from originally) and I'm sure Chicago, too, the schools use <em>kids</em> to lobby their parents. Fliers are sent home threatening school lunches, bus routes, etc. It's a pretty popular ploy to cut the bus routes... they know Mom & Dad aren't going to be too pleased about driving their kids to school every day. Disgusting, if you ask me. Especially in schools where the state-of-the-art computer labs I had in high school were better than what I had in <em>college</em> years later, not to mention the astronomical salaries for administrators. Can you tell this stuff bothers me? ;) I preserved that "<a href="http://skitch.com/toddprouty/k1dp/out-with-the-old-shakedown-in-with-the-new" rel="nofollow">Save Chicago Transit</a>" page for posterity. I shouldn't start, but how ridiculous is that name, anyway? As though the buses and trains would suddenly go away. Alarmist politics at their best. Oh yeah, education is even worse. I don’t have kids (yet), but in Minnesota (where I’m from originally) and I’m sure Chicago, too, the schools use kids to lobby their parents. Fliers are sent home threatening school lunches, bus routes, etc. It’s a pretty popular ploy to cut the bus routes… they know Mom & Dad aren’t going to be too pleased about driving their kids to school every day. Disgusting, if you ask me. Especially in schools where the state-of-the-art computer labs I had in high school were better than what I had in college years later, not to mention the astronomical salaries for administrators. Can you tell this stuff bothers me? ;)

I preserved that “Save Chicago Transit” page for posterity. I shouldn’t start, but how ridiculous is that name, anyway? As though the buses and trains would suddenly go away. Alarmist politics at their best.

]]> By: Turnip http://turnipville.com/index.php/2008/04/22/ramona-school-district-uses-call-system-for-political-message/comment-page-1/#comment-48826 Turnip Wed, 30 Apr 2008 04:50:08 +0000 http://turnipville.com/index.php/2008/04/22/ramona-school-district-uses-call-system-for-political-message/#comment-48826 Todd, That's hysterical. The bounce you threw in there had me in stitches - especially the note at the bottom of the landing zone: "Chicagoland transit has new operating funds to keep buses running and fares down." ...but here's a site we built to bitch about some similar, but separate stuff. What's even funnier is that out here in California, the CTA is the California Teachers' Association (http://cta.org)...and their site could be an even swap for the transit authority; just change kids to buses, and you're good to go. Todd,

That’s hysterical. The bounce you threw in there had me in stitches – especially the note at the bottom of the landing zone: “Chicagoland transit has new operating funds to keep buses running and fares down.” …but here’s a site we built to bitch about some similar, but separate stuff.

What’s even funnier is that out here in California, the CTA is the California Teachers’ Association (http://cta.org)…and their site could be an even swap for the transit authority; just change kids to buses, and you’re good to go.

]]> By: Todd Prouty http://turnipville.com/index.php/2008/04/22/ramona-school-district-uses-call-system-for-political-message/comment-page-1/#comment-48791 Todd Prouty Tue, 29 Apr 2008 14:27:49 +0000 http://turnipville.com/index.php/2008/04/22/ramona-school-district-uses-call-system-for-political-message/#comment-48791 Unfortunately this kind of thing has become common practice, and I'm afraid it is likely to get worse. Last year, when I still lived in Chicago, I got a call — on my cell phone — from Mayor Richard M. Daly. Well, his recorded voice anyway. He was asking me to vote for [some candidate] in [some race]. I don't know how his political machine got my cell phone number (it's my only phone, so possibly through my driver's license registration?), but if my phone had a "mark as spam" button, I would have hit it immediately. Then there's the CTA (Chicago Transit Authority), a highly mismanaged organization that is using its subsidies to advertise for more subsidies. One time I was riding the bus to work when the recorded voice that makes general announcements goes into a long monologue about how we should all be contacting our state representatives to ask for more funding for the CTA. And then it said something like, "If additional funding is not received, this route will be shut down on [pause followed by date inserted later — apparently this is a reusable recording, ready for the next shakedown]." Hard to believe. I was paying taxes for the CTA and I had just paid the fare to ride the bus, but they think it's okay to spend the money to have professional voice talent record a political ad and play it back to their captive passenger audience when they're supposedly on the verge of financial ruin. What a joke. Oh, and don't get me started on their website, <a href="http://savechicagotransit.com/" rel="nofollow">http://savechicagotransit.com/</a>. As a web designer, I know what sites like this can cost. But look at that page (before the redirect). The fact that one campaign (with its own website) ends, only to spawn another one (with its own website) says a lot about the way politics and funding work in the US today. Btw, came in via Twitter. Unfortunately this kind of thing has become common practice, and I’m afraid it is likely to get worse. Last year, when I still lived in Chicago, I got a call — on my cell phone — from Mayor Richard M. Daly. Well, his recorded voice anyway. He was asking me to vote for [some candidate] in [some race]. I don’t know how his political machine got my cell phone number (it’s my only phone, so possibly through my driver’s license registration?), but if my phone had a “mark as spam” button, I would have hit it immediately. Then there’s the CTA (Chicago Transit Authority), a highly mismanaged organization that is using its subsidies to advertise for more subsidies. One time I was riding the bus to work when the recorded voice that makes general announcements goes into a long monologue about how we should all be contacting our state representatives to ask for more funding for the CTA. And then it said something like, “If additional funding is not received, this route will be shut down on [pause followed by date inserted later — apparently this is a reusable recording, ready for the next shakedown].” Hard to believe. I was paying taxes for the CTA and I had just paid the fare to ride the bus, but they think it’s okay to spend the money to have professional voice talent record a political ad and play it back to their captive passenger audience when they’re supposedly on the verge of financial ruin. What a joke. Oh, and don’t get me started on their website, http://savechicagotransit.com/. As a web designer, I know what sites like this can cost. But look at that page (before the redirect). The fact that one campaign (with its own website) ends, only to spawn another one (with its own website) says a lot about the way politics and funding work in the US today.

Btw, came in via Twitter.

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