[eavesdropper]

[quote=Eugene]The plot thickens. 200 Live Oak High students walk out of class, waving Mexican flags:

http://www.nbcbayarea.com/news/local-beat/Flag-T-shirt-Controversy-Day-Two-92988244.html%5B/quote%5D

You know, I’d feel a lot better if many of these students, on both sides of the argument, would put this kind of energy into learning, and getting good grades.

Does that make me insensitive?

On the other hand, I don’t really give a rat’s ass.

[eavesdropper]

[quote=Eugene]The plot thickens. 200 Live Oak High students walk out of class, waving Mexican flags:

http://www.nbcbayarea.com/news/local-beat/Flag-T-shirt-Controversy-Day-Two-92988244.html%5B/quote%5D

You know, I’d feel a lot better if many of these students, on both sides of the argument, would put this kind of energy into learning, and getting good grades.

Does that make me insensitive?

On the other hand, I don’t really give a rat’s ass.

[eavesdropper]

[quote=weberlin]You have a point: I probably shouldn’t let this get to me so much.

As an immigrant, I am well aware of the desire to be proud of one’s cultural origins. The big deal is the notion that someone places that pride above their national loyalties. Celebrate your culture all you want, just don’t lose sight of the fact that you are privileged to do so because you are in the USAwesome.

LOL. USAwesome…I sound like such a Teabagger.[/quote]

Hey, you’re only human. You simply reacted the way the news media want us to react. Then we tell two friends, and they tell two friends, and so on, and so on – wait, now I sound like an old Herbal Essence shampoo commercial. But all those people then rush to Google the story, and the news media are once again triumphant!

I just wish they’d get back to reporting news.

You should check out George Carlin’s final HBO special. He has some interesting things to say about ethnic pride. In the meantime, if your weather is as nice as ours is here, take a nice long walk and relax.

[eavesdropper]

[quote=weberlin]You have a point: I probably shouldn’t let this get to me so much.

As an immigrant, I am well aware of the desire to be proud of one’s cultural origins. The big deal is the notion that someone places that pride above their national loyalties. Celebrate your culture all you want, just don’t lose sight of the fact that you are privileged to do so because you are in the USAwesome.

LOL. USAwesome…I sound like such a Teabagger.[/quote]

Hey, you’re only human. You simply reacted the way the news media want us to react. Then we tell two friends, and they tell two friends, and so on, and so on – wait, now I sound like an old Herbal Essence shampoo commercial. But all those people then rush to Google the story, and the news media are once again triumphant!

I just wish they’d get back to reporting news.

You should check out George Carlin’s final HBO special. He has some interesting things to say about ethnic pride. In the meantime, if your weather is as nice as ours is here, take a nice long walk and relax.

[eavesdropper]

[quote=weberlin]You have a point: I probably shouldn’t let this get to me so much.

As an immigrant, I am well aware of the desire to be proud of one’s cultural origins. The big deal is the notion that someone places that pride above their national loyalties. Celebrate your culture all you want, just don’t lose sight of the fact that you are privileged to do so because you are in the USAwesome.

LOL. USAwesome…I sound like such a Teabagger.[/quote]

Hey, you’re only human. You simply reacted the way the news media want us to react. Then we tell two friends, and they tell two friends, and so on, and so on – wait, now I sound like an old Herbal Essence shampoo commercial. But all those people then rush to Google the story, and the news media are once again triumphant!

I just wish they’d get back to reporting news.

You should check out George Carlin’s final HBO special. He has some interesting things to say about ethnic pride. In the meantime, if your weather is as nice as ours is here, take a nice long walk and relax.

[eavesdropper]

[quote=weberlin]You have a point: I probably shouldn’t let this get to me so much.

As an immigrant, I am well aware of the desire to be proud of one’s cultural origins. The big deal is the notion that someone places that pride above their national loyalties. Celebrate your culture all you want, just don’t lose sight of the fact that you are privileged to do so because you are in the USAwesome.

LOL. USAwesome…I sound like such a Teabagger.[/quote]

Hey, you’re only human. You simply reacted the way the news media want us to react. Then we tell two friends, and they tell two friends, and so on, and so on – wait, now I sound like an old Herbal Essence shampoo commercial. But all those people then rush to Google the story, and the news media are once again triumphant!

I just wish they’d get back to reporting news.

You should check out George Carlin’s final HBO special. He has some interesting things to say about ethnic pride. In the meantime, if your weather is as nice as ours is here, take a nice long walk and relax.

[eavesdropper]

[quote=weberlin]You have a point: I probably shouldn’t let this get to me so much.

As an immigrant, I am well aware of the desire to be proud of one’s cultural origins. The big deal is the notion that someone places that pride above their national loyalties. Celebrate your culture all you want, just don’t lose sight of the fact that you are privileged to do so because you are in the USAwesome.

LOL. USAwesome…I sound like such a Teabagger.[/quote]

Hey, you’re only human. You simply reacted the way the news media want us to react. Then we tell two friends, and they tell two friends, and so on, and so on – wait, now I sound like an old Herbal Essence shampoo commercial. But all those people then rush to Google the story, and the news media are once again triumphant!

I just wish they’d get back to reporting news.

You should check out George Carlin’s final HBO special. He has some interesting things to say about ethnic pride. In the meantime, if your weather is as nice as ours is here, take a nice long walk and relax.

[eavesdropper]

Can’t tell from the news article, but my gut tells me that the “offenders” probably wore the American flag gear just to get under the skin of the school administrators and perhaps that of the Cinco de Mayo celebrants.

Golly! Teenagers doing something just to piss off authority. What is this world coming to? Better start building that addition onto San Quentin, tout suite.

Seriously, I think that this whole deal is based on a not-so-smart, little thought-out decision by a school administrator, and it should have been treated as such. It should have been limited to a discussion between the school district and the local Board of Education. And, perhaps, the dimwitted official should have been ordered to write a four- or five-page paper on why he set the policy and what he expected to accomplish by it.

Instead, the local news picks it up. The outrage builds. The story spreads to the news services, who make sure that it’s on the show agenda of every talking head they have on the payroll. It leaches out to tens of thousands of message boards. Finally makes its way into a vitriolic email carrying a barely recognizable, much more inflammatory version of the incident, that I’ll still be receiving five years from now.

Can you say “Polarization”?

As far as I’m concerned, I think that I will hold onto my outrage, and use it for something more deserving. It’s almost time for Glenn Beck, Chris Matthews, and Lou Dobbs. They’re sure to come up with something that will raise my blood pressure past the levels of human tolerance.

[eavesdropper]

Can’t tell from the news article, but my gut tells me that the “offenders” probably wore the American flag gear just to get under the skin of the school administrators and perhaps that of the Cinco de Mayo celebrants.

Golly! Teenagers doing something just to piss off authority. What is this world coming to? Better start building that addition onto San Quentin, tout suite.

Seriously, I think that this whole deal is based on a not-so-smart, little thought-out decision by a school administrator, and it should have been treated as such. It should have been limited to a discussion between the school district and the local Board of Education. And, perhaps, the dimwitted official should have been ordered to write a four- or five-page paper on why he set the policy and what he expected to accomplish by it.

Instead, the local news picks it up. The outrage builds. The story spreads to the news services, who make sure that it’s on the show agenda of every talking head they have on the payroll. It leaches out to tens of thousands of message boards. Finally makes its way into a vitriolic email carrying a barely recognizable, much more inflammatory version of the incident, that I’ll still be receiving five years from now.

Can you say “Polarization”?

As far as I’m concerned, I think that I will hold onto my outrage, and use it for something more deserving. It’s almost time for Glenn Beck, Chris Matthews, and Lou Dobbs. They’re sure to come up with something that will raise my blood pressure past the levels of human tolerance.

[eavesdropper]

Can’t tell from the news article, but my gut tells me that the “offenders” probably wore the American flag gear just to get under the skin of the school administrators and perhaps that of the Cinco de Mayo celebrants.

Golly! Teenagers doing something just to piss off authority. What is this world coming to? Better start building that addition onto San Quentin, tout suite.

Seriously, I think that this whole deal is based on a not-so-smart, little thought-out decision by a school administrator, and it should have been treated as such. It should have been limited to a discussion between the school district and the local Board of Education. And, perhaps, the dimwitted official should have been ordered to write a four- or five-page paper on why he set the policy and what he expected to accomplish by it.

Instead, the local news picks it up. The outrage builds. The story spreads to the news services, who make sure that it’s on the show agenda of every talking head they have on the payroll. It leaches out to tens of thousands of message boards. Finally makes its way into a vitriolic email carrying a barely recognizable, much more inflammatory version of the incident, that I’ll still be receiving five years from now.

Can you say “Polarization”?

As far as I’m concerned, I think that I will hold onto my outrage, and use it for something more deserving. It’s almost time for Glenn Beck, Chris Matthews, and Lou Dobbs. They’re sure to come up with something that will raise my blood pressure past the levels of human tolerance.

[eavesdropper]

Can’t tell from the news article, but my gut tells me that the “offenders” probably wore the American flag gear just to get under the skin of the school administrators and perhaps that of the Cinco de Mayo celebrants.

Golly! Teenagers doing something just to piss off authority. What is this world coming to? Better start building that addition onto San Quentin, tout suite.

Seriously, I think that this whole deal is based on a not-so-smart, little thought-out decision by a school administrator, and it should have been treated as such. It should have been limited to a discussion between the school district and the local Board of Education. And, perhaps, the dimwitted official should have been ordered to write a four- or five-page paper on why he set the policy and what he expected to accomplish by it.

Instead, the local news picks it up. The outrage builds. The story spreads to the news services, who make sure that it’s on the show agenda of every talking head they have on the payroll. It leaches out to tens of thousands of message boards. Finally makes its way into a vitriolic email carrying a barely recognizable, much more inflammatory version of the incident, that I’ll still be receiving five years from now.

Can you say “Polarization”?

As far as I’m concerned, I think that I will hold onto my outrage, and use it for something more deserving. It’s almost time for Glenn Beck, Chris Matthews, and Lou Dobbs. They’re sure to come up with something that will raise my blood pressure past the levels of human tolerance.

[eavesdropper]

Can’t tell from the news article, but my gut tells me that the “offenders” probably wore the American flag gear just to get under the skin of the school administrators and perhaps that of the Cinco de Mayo celebrants.

Golly! Teenagers doing something just to piss off authority. What is this world coming to? Better start building that addition onto San Quentin, tout suite.

Seriously, I think that this whole deal is based on a not-so-smart, little thought-out decision by a school administrator, and it should have been treated as such. It should have been limited to a discussion between the school district and the local Board of Education. And, perhaps, the dimwitted official should have been ordered to write a four- or five-page paper on why he set the policy and what he expected to accomplish by it.

Instead, the local news picks it up. The outrage builds. The story spreads to the news services, who make sure that it’s on the show agenda of every talking head they have on the payroll. It leaches out to tens of thousands of message boards. Finally makes its way into a vitriolic email carrying a barely recognizable, much more inflammatory version of the incident, that I’ll still be receiving five years from now.

Can you say “Polarization”?

As far as I’m concerned, I think that I will hold onto my outrage, and use it for something more deserving. It’s almost time for Glenn Beck, Chris Matthews, and Lou Dobbs. They’re sure to come up with something that will raise my blood pressure past the levels of human tolerance.

[eavesdropper]

Like UCGal, I am not familiar with recent CA laws. However, when I was living in central CA back in the mid-80s, I went through a situation similar to yours (job transfer), and the landlord demanded all of the rent owed on the balance of the lease. We were fortunate: my husband’s employer paid all of the remaining 10 months rent, without question. However, the landlord, even though he was being a shit, was on sound legal ground based on the written and signed lease. A written lease will almost always trump undocumented verbal agreements.

Also similar to UCGal’s experience, I had a lease dispute in Pennsylvania in the late 90s. I was able to break my lease, without notice, because of a loophole a mile wide that the landlord had missed (I left the apartment because it had flooded badly three times within a three-week period; the lease stated that I could leave at my convenience, without notice, if the premises became inhabitable). Despite the fact that he did not have a legal leg on which to stand, and would almost certainly have had a judgement against him of double the amount of the deposit, he made me take him to court for the deposit. On the morning, and at the location, of the hearing, his lawyer settled out of court, giving me a check in the amount of my deposit.

So while it is possible that your landlord is stringing you along, hoping that you won’t call his bluff and go after him in court (like mine obviously did), the likelihood is that he realizes that the law favors him in this situation. You can decide if you want to take a chance in court, but depending upon the laws in your area, you may end up paying his court costs and additional penalties if you lose your case. It’s probably worth contacting your local Fair Housing agency to see if you have any recourse, but unless things are clearly stacked in your favor, I’d chalk it up to (bad) experience, and concentrate on enjoying your new home.

Would you feel comfortable asking your employer to cover part, or all, of the deposit? If that’s not feasible, you might want to check into whether it will be deductible on your income tax return (job-related moving expenses). With the mortgage interest you’ll be able to deduct this year, and a possible homebuyer credit, you have the potential for a sizeable refund.

[eavesdropper]

Like UCGal, I am not familiar with recent CA laws. However, when I was living in central CA back in the mid-80s, I went through a situation similar to yours (job transfer), and the landlord demanded all of the rent owed on the balance of the lease. We were fortunate: my husband’s employer paid all of the remaining 10 months rent, without question. However, the landlord, even though he was being a shit, was on sound legal ground based on the written and signed lease. A written lease will almost always trump undocumented verbal agreements.

Also similar to UCGal’s experience, I had a lease dispute in Pennsylvania in the late 90s. I was able to break my lease, without notice, because of a loophole a mile wide that the landlord had missed (I left the apartment because it had flooded badly three times within a three-week period; the lease stated that I could leave at my convenience, without notice, if the premises became inhabitable). Despite the fact that he did not have a legal leg on which to stand, and would almost certainly have had a judgement against him of double the amount of the deposit, he made me take him to court for the deposit. On the morning, and at the location, of the hearing, his lawyer settled out of court, giving me a check in the amount of my deposit.

So while it is possible that your landlord is stringing you along, hoping that you won’t call his bluff and go after him in court (like mine obviously did), the likelihood is that he realizes that the law favors him in this situation. You can decide if you want to take a chance in court, but depending upon the laws in your area, you may end up paying his court costs and additional penalties if you lose your case. It’s probably worth contacting your local Fair Housing agency to see if you have any recourse, but unless things are clearly stacked in your favor, I’d chalk it up to (bad) experience, and concentrate on enjoying your new home.

Would you feel comfortable asking your employer to cover part, or all, of the deposit? If that’s not feasible, you might want to check into whether it will be deductible on your income tax return (job-related moving expenses). With the mortgage interest you’ll be able to deduct this year, and a possible homebuyer credit, you have the potential for a sizeable refund.

[eavesdropper]

Like UCGal, I am not familiar with recent CA laws. However, when I was living in central CA back in the mid-80s, I went through a situation similar to yours (job transfer), and the landlord demanded all of the rent owed on the balance of the lease. We were fortunate: my husband’s employer paid all of the remaining 10 months rent, without question. However, the landlord, even though he was being a shit, was on sound legal ground based on the written and signed lease. A written lease will almost always trump undocumented verbal agreements.

Also similar to UCGal’s experience, I had a lease dispute in Pennsylvania in the late 90s. I was able to break my lease, without notice, because of a loophole a mile wide that the landlord had missed (I left the apartment because it had flooded badly three times within a three-week period; the lease stated that I could leave at my convenience, without notice, if the premises became inhabitable). Despite the fact that he did not have a legal leg on which to stand, and would almost certainly have had a judgement against him of double the amount of the deposit, he made me take him to court for the deposit. On the morning, and at the location, of the hearing, his lawyer settled out of court, giving me a check in the amount of my deposit.

So while it is possible that your landlord is stringing you along, hoping that you won’t call his bluff and go after him in court (like mine obviously did), the likelihood is that he realizes that the law favors him in this situation. You can decide if you want to take a chance in court, but depending upon the laws in your area, you may end up paying his court costs and additional penalties if you lose your case. It’s probably worth contacting your local Fair Housing agency to see if you have any recourse, but unless things are clearly stacked in your favor, I’d chalk it up to (bad) experience, and concentrate on enjoying your new home.

Would you feel comfortable asking your employer to cover part, or all, of the deposit? If that’s not feasible, you might want to check into whether it will be deductible on your income tax return (job-related moving expenses). With the mortgage interest you’ll be able to deduct this year, and a possible homebuyer credit, you have the potential for a sizeable refund.

[Author]

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