Those Wacky Chinese: They've Created The Wal-Mart Of Public Bathrooms

Toilets. Bathrooms. God, I love them. There is nothing more fun than spending a few moments on the porcelin throne readinbg the local paper. And in Beijin, China, they're flush with pride as a recently-opened porcelain palace features an Egyptian facade, soothing music and more than 1,000 toilets spread out over 32,290 square feet. Yeah baby...1,000 toilets.

Officials in Chongqing are preparing to submit an application to Guinness World Records to have the free four-story public bathroom listed as the world's largest. "We are spreading toilet culture. People can listen to gentle music and watch TV," said Lu Xiaoqing, an official with the Yangrenjie, or "Foreigners Street," tourist area where the bathroom is located. "After they use the bathroom they will be very, very happy."
Footage aired on CCTV showed people milling about the sprawling facility and washing their hands at trough sinks. For open-aired relief, there is a cluster of stalls without a roof. What about helicopters?

Some urinals are uniquely shaped, including ones inside open crocodile mouths and several that are topped by the bust of a woman resembling the Virgin Mary."Other bathrooms are all the same. This one is very special, I've never seen anything like it," one visitor to the tourist area told CCTV. There are also plans to build a supermarket nearby, which will sell toilet-related items, CCTV reported.

And just to make people from America feel at home, they promise a few toilets like the one to the right which is common in most rest area bathrooms along the interstate.

Let's Be Proud: The Antics Of Our Pre-Teen Children

Is it the news? Is it video games? Hmmmm. Two recent news stories seem to indicate where the future of our country is going to be in a few years - JAIL! I can't believe this crap. In Alabama, an 11-year-old Florida girl has been charged with driving under the influence of alcohol after she led police on a high-speed chase. And in Enid, Oklahoma, a pair of pre-teen sisters were accused of kidnapping an infant on Thursday. Yes folks, you read that right...pre-teen...DUI...kidnapping. Read On...

Police who chased a car for miles along a highway at speeds up to 100 mph said the driver was drunk, hardly a rarity in this resort town. But there was more: When they looked inside the flipped vehicle with guns drawn, they found an 11-year-old girl at the wheel. The girl, who was slightly injured in the crash, is now charged with driving under the influence of alcohol, speeding, reckless endangerment and leaving the scene of an accident. Duck said she sideswiped another vehicle during the roughly eight-mile chase. nvestigators found no alcohol in the car but believe the girl drank before getting behind the wheel of the car, which belongs to relatives.

"You go up there thinking it's a felon you're dealing with," assistant police Chief Greg Duck said. The chase began around 10:30 p.m. Tuesday when a patrol officer near the Florida line saw the car speeding west along a beach highway, Duck said. When the officer flicked on his lights, the driver sped up. The girl rolled the car just inside the Gulf Shores city limit. Duck said the girl, whose name was not released because of her age, told police she was on her way to pick up her sister at a concert. Duck declined to release the girl's blood alcohol level but said a blood test at the hospital showed it was higher than .02, the legal limit for minors.

How did any legislature ever come up with a .02 alcohol limit for a pre-teen kid? And where were the parents of this girl? Probably out doing some crystal meth with their grandparents. But hey, this is only the beginning of our pre-teen news stories...


Enid, Oklahoma police arrested two girls, neighborhood sisters ages 12 and 10, who are accused of breaking into a home, taking a child and leaving a note demanding $200,000. The girls allegedly told their mother they had “found the baby on the corner” when she noticed them with the child, according to Enid police. Their mother said she knew there was something ‘fishy’ about it and recognized the boy as the child of one of her neighbors a block away. At least she had some common sense.


Officers said the girls not only took the baby boy from a crib in which he was sleeping, they also took assorted baby items, $20 in cash and left a ransom note telling the mother of the baby that "if you want to see your son again, then you won't call police and report him missing, and you will leave $200,000 on the sofa tonight, and we will return your son back safe." The note was signed “the kidnappers.”

Detectives interviewed the girls and placed them under arrest on suspicion of kidnapping, extortion and first-degree burglary. Neither of the juveniles allegedly would give detectives any explanation as to why they took the baby. I guess they just couldn't afford to get a doll from the American Girl store!

There isn't much that anyone can really say about these two stories. But there is one thing that should be obvious about these three pre-teen delinquints...

We need to add these kids to the list of those grounded for life!

7 Pipers Piping, 7 Geese-a-Laying, 7 Golden Rings! Oops, Wrong Song. Everything Today is 7-7-07!

Do you feel lucky? Today, lots of people will, for one simple reason. It's Saturday...July 7, 2007, or 7-7-07. In numerological terms, that's about as big as it gets for the superstitious. Now folks, here's the reality...today is no more or less likely to be lucky than any other day.

People are booking gambling junkets, casinos are offering "7"-themed promotions. Casinos across the country are rolling heavy doses of sevens to attract superstitious gamblers, everything from $7 drink specials to luxury watches selling for $777. The Tropicana Casino and Resort in Atlantic City is offering a $7,777 package that includes a bi-level suite, two tickets to a show and the spa, and dining and shopping credits.

About three times the normal number of couples plan to get married that day, including Eva Longoria and basketball player boyfriend Tony Parker. Nearly 100 couples will tie the knot atop roller coasters or inside revolving teacups at amusement parks at 7 that morning, a California yogi plans to achieve massive harmony through gong meditation at 7 that night, and Christians will gather in a Tennessee football stadium to pray on a day that has good Biblical implications for many. The Six Flags amusement park chain is hosting seven wedding receptions at 7 a.m. at each of its 12 U.S. facilities. They're calling the event "Thrilled Ever After." The Ritz Carlton Hotel's Central Park location in New York is offering a July 7 wedding package with a reception for 77, a seven-tier wedding cake, seven Tiffany diamonds for the bride, and a seven-night honeymoon at any Ritz in the world for $77,777.

Experts say that the numerology on this day — 7-7-07 — is phenomenal. Seven represents the aura. Three sevens equals 21 (2+13). Three represents the positive mind. Add the 7 p.m. hour and you have four sevens, which equals 28 (2+810). Ten is the radiant body." Christians will gather in the Nashville football stadium where the Tennessee Titans play to pray and fast on the 7th. "The number is significant in the Bible because seven represents a covenant," said Julia Richardson, a spokeswoman for the event, titled The Call. "We feel we want to make a covenant with the Lord to pursue him. Whether it's 1,000 people or 100,000 people, we feel we can bring about a change through prayer and fasting."

So come on everyone, let's go grab 7 lottery tickets and plan our retirement in 7 days. Make sure you pee 7 times today, eat 7 hot dogs (remember, Joey Chesnut did 66 on the 4th of July) and for you men who've got something else that could be 7, quit your lyin'! The average is only 5. Sorry to break your numeroligal bubble!

New Study Answers Age Old Myth But The Bottom Line Hasn't Changed!

Here's Another study for the books. According to experts, there isn't much difference between the sexes when it comes to talking. A team led by Matthias R. Mehl, an assistant professor of psychology at the University of Arizona, came up with the finding, which is published in Friday's issue of the journal Science. The researchers placed microphones on 396 college students for periods ranging from two to 10 days, sampled their conversations and calculated how many words they used in the course of a day.

The score: Women, 16,215. Men, 15,669. The difference: 546 words: "Not statistically significant," say the researchers. They were surprised when a magazine article asserted that women use an average of 20,000 words per day compared with 7,000 for men. If there had been that big a difference, he thought, they should have noticed it. They found that the 20,000-7,000 figures have been used in popular books and magazines for years. But they couldn't find any research supporting them.

"Although many people believe the stereotypes of females as talkative and males as reticent, there is no large-scale study that systematically has recorded the natural conversations of large groups of people for extended periods of time," Pennebaker said.

In a surprising result in one study they found, done in workplaces, showed men talking more. But how important is this study if they don't answer the one question that has been pondered for years. Who gets the last word in any conversation? The answer, hands down...

Women! Of course, that's just my opinion and I'm getting the last word in on this one!

Chestnut Sets World Record In Hot Dog Eating But I've Got One Pondering Question!

Oh, the Fourth of July, time to kick back, relax and enjoy a hot dog or two. Unless you're Joey Chestnut, who wolfed down a world record 66 Nathan's Hot Dogs in about the time it takes most people to fire up the grill. The 24-year-old San Jose State University civil-engineering student , in a gut-busting showdown that combined drama, daring and indigestion, Joey Chestnut emerged Wednesday as the world's hot dog eating champion, knocking off six-time winner Takeru Kobayashi in a record-setting but repulsive triumph.

Chestnut, the great red, white and blue hope in the annual Fourth of July competition, broke his own world record by inhaling 66 hot dogs in 12 minutes...a staggering one every 10.9 seconds before a screaming crowd in Coney Island. "If I needed to eat another one right now, I could," Chestnut said on ESPN after receiving the mustard yellow belt emblematic of hot dog eating supremacy. Kobayashi, the Japanese eating machine, stayed with Chestnut frank-for-frank until the very end of the 12-minute competition. Once the contest ended, Kobayashi suffered a reversal, competitive slang for barfing -- leading to a deduction from his final total. How in God's name do you count puked hot dogs? There's a job I'm sure I'd not want to have and I wonder if there are classes on doing the calculation.

At 6 feet 3 inches and 220 pounds, Chestnut's far from obese. This blue-collar guy with hearty appetite and strong willpower is simply making dough (about $60,000 last year) doing what he enjoys. And he's got one heck of glutunous history. He entered the "I Can Eat More Crap Than Anybody" scene in 2005 with a break-out performance in the deep-fried asparagus eating championship by eating 6.3 pounds of asparagus in 11.5 minutes. Chestnut continued to impress the world (or depress for that matter) by beating Sonya Thomas in the Waffle House World Waffle Eating Championship and then beat her by winning the World Hamburger Eating Championship by downing 91 Krystal Burgers in eight minutes. He is famous for training with cheese fries. He is known to be able to eat over two pounds in 5 minutes. In 2007 Chestnut won Wing Bowl XV, by eating 182 chicken wings in 30 minutes, a Wing Bowl record. And finally, he's one of the few to successfully complete the gallon of milk challenge in 41 seconds.

The two gastric gladiators quickly distanced themselves from the rest of the 17 competitors, processing more beef than a slaughterhouse within the first few minutes. The two had each downed 60 hot dogs with 60 seconds to go when Chestnut -- the veins on his forehead extended -- put away the final franks to end Kobayashi's reign. The victory ended Japan's long dominance of the contest. The only previous non-Japanese winner since 1996 was New Jersey's Steve Keiner in 1999. "This title's been held by Kobayashi for six years, so it's about time it came home," said Chestnut, holding an American flag in his arms. "I knew going into this contest that Kobayashi was going to give 100 percent."

Just to keep the facts straight, Joe's 66 hot dog world record turns out to be 12,540 calories and about 33 feet of hot dog and he did this by consuming 5.5 hot dogs and buns per minute! Hell, I can barely eat 5 mini dogs with everything at Charlie's Hot Dog in Albany, New York! Oh yeah, the average person eats 65 dogs a year. Not me!

Congratulations Joey for brining this title home. Somebody out there is proud of you. and I'm wondering, what kind of fireworks did you enjoy after a couple of hours with 66 hot dogs in you? Maybe there someone out there who's job it is to report on that!

Happy Fourth of July - Fly The Flag, Fly It Proud!

Independence Day honors the birthday of the United States of America and the signing of the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776. It's a day of picnics and patriotic parades, a night of concerts and fireworks, and a reason to fly the American flag. Remember that we are still the greatest nation in all the world and there are kids out there on the battlefield as we speak giving their lives for us. So let that flag fly and let it fly proud.

As you can imagine, the fourth of July holds a special place near and dear to our hearts at Revolution, and it's a great time to have family fun. But please, when it comes to fireworks, enjoy them at a professional display, and don't let your kids of any age play with them. They're more dangerous than you might imagine. In fact, every year there are almost 10,000 injuries in the United States from fireworks, and at least 1,000 lead to permanent damage. Sparklers for example can reach temperatures of 1800 degrees, hot enough to melt gold. And firecrackers can be unpredictable, even exploding inside of children's pockets when temperatures are high. Also, the fire danger her in California and other places, it's best just to forego even the "safe and sane" and enjoy the professional displays.

I've got an idea. If you really want to see something cool, go to your local Kwik-E-Mart and get yourself some Diet Coke and some Mentos. Then CLICK HERE on this link and learn how to make one of the most awesome displays you'll ever see. The most damage you're going to do is get a wee bit sticky but heck, it's better than losing a finger or two or having your house burn down.

And remember this... While the family is oohing and aahing in the back yard, the family pets may be frightened out of their wits and spend this weekend under the bed, in the bathtub or the basement, cowering, shaking, drooling and seeking safety and comfort. Some will injure themselves, or even get themselves into life threatening situations in their panic. My dog Toby gets freaked out at this time of year. While cats are rarely affected, dogs often experience panic at loud noises such as thunder, gunfire and firecrackers. Fireworks raise havoc with a dog's supersensitive hearing, causing some to jump out of windows, leap or dig under fences, throw themselves through barriers, or chew their skin until it's raw. And they may also bolt out an open door to become lost but never found. If you think noise anxiety is not a problem, imagine standing in front of speakers at a Metallica concert with your hearing aids turned to full power. You get the picture. So take care of your pets and be sensitive to their needs!

The best defense against Fourth of July problems is a good offense. Enjoy a great 4th, and have a happy holiday! Let that flag fly!

Morality In The Public Eye: Should the Standards We Expect From Politicians Apply to all Of Us?

What the heck is going on in the "political" world today. Everytime I turn on the news, or read the paper their is some scandal that the media has jumped on like wolves going after their prey. If it isn't in the actual job a person is doing, it's in what they do in their personal life. Scandal has become an issue of major political and economic significance in recent years and the necessity to take measures against it has become evident. A person of character is guided by conscience. I agree that we should draw a line between private and public life but that doesn’t solve all our problems. Private behavior can often affect the public sphere. If we truly believe in privacy, we must also allow people to say, “This is nobody’s business but mine, and I refuse to answer such a question.” Unfortunately, this is not possible today under today's laws or the media scrutiny. Welcome to our world and the scandals keep coming...especially here in Los Angeles!

Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, only weeks after announcing the separation from his wife of nearly 20 years, said he is involved in a romantic relationship with a local television newswoman. The mayor acknowledged in a statement that he has a relationship with NBC-Telemundo Channel 52 anchorwoman and reporter Mirthala Salinas. "It is true that I have a relationship with Ms. Mirthala Salinas. As I've said I take full responsibility for my actions, and I once again ask that people respect my family's privacy. For my part, I intend to stay focused on my job, and to work as hard as I can every day to be the best mayor I can be," the statement said. The newspaper reported the mayor's acknowledgment came as it prepared to publish a story about the relationship. Gee Mr. Mayor, did you have to be put on the spot to come forward and admit this lapse in moral judgement?


From the "private life" scandal to the "political" scandal comes the story of LA City Attorney Rocky Delgadillo's use of city resources for personal reasons. The city's top prosecutor has acknowledged letting his wife drive his city-owned vehicle without a license and enlisting staff members to run personal errands and baby-sit his children. It was only when his wife was sentenced on a very old warrant that the crap began to fall out of the sky. For days it seemed like the transgressions that this guy had done would never end. How many misuses of people and funds have to happen before you open up and admit your wrongdoing?

The principal reason for caring about the moral conduct of public figures is that their behavior helps set a tone for the rest of the society. What level of morality we tolerate from those in government service is a cue to the level of morality we expect in our culture. Public officials are drawn from the same cultural cauldron that produces the rest of us. If we tell them that they must be sinless, we will most likely discourage from service only those who really are morally better than the rest of us...people of true integrity whom, like most of us, done some wrong in life. People who are not willing to have the scandal-hunting press destroy their reputations and perhaps their families. We will find ourselves stuck with people of less integrity, who are quite willing to lie if the private wrongs they have done become publicly disclosed.

Moral questions about our leaders is important. If we choose to ignore extramarital affairs by government officials, the reason is not that adultery doesn’t matter, but rather that privacy does. If on the other hand we think adultery matters enough that it justifies the invasion of privacy, we should take that view about everybody, not just those who are in the public eye.

What matters is that we draw a line in the sand...we must decide what part of life should be kept private and what part should be open to public scrutiny and judgment. We should not draw the line in haste or for the sake of ratings or political advantage. We should not continue to construct a world in which public officials come in two varieties: those who have been disgraced and those who have not yet been caught. Nor should we continue the mischievous double standard of morality: one for those who are covered by the press - and who must be perfect, and another for the rest of us.

Of course, that's just my opinion, I could be wrong!

Apu Nahasapeemapetilon's Dream Comes True: Kwik-E-Marts Open All Over The US In Unique Simpson's Movie Promotion

Simpsons fans! All your dreams of visiting Apu’s Kwik-E-Mart are finally coming true! In what I would call a great cross-marketing campaign, the 7-11 chain is planning to convert 11 stores nationwide into Kwik-E’s, redoing storefronts to resemble the fictional shop’s famous blue, green and white exterior and stocking the shelves with products inspired by the show, including Frosted Krusty O’s cereal, Buzz Cola and Squishees. For fans of what has got to be the longest running animated show in TV history, this is the best piece of news ever. For a month, these stores and most other 7-Elevens in North America will sell items that previously existed only in the cartoon.

Selected stores and most of the 6,000-plus other 7-Elevens in North America will sell items that until now existed only on television: Buzz Cola, KrustyO's cereal and Squishees, the slushy drink knockoff of Slurpees. It is all part of a campaign to hype next month's opening of "The Simpsons Movie," the big-screen debut for the cartoon series, which loves to lampoon 7-Eleven as a store that sells all kinds of unhealthy snacks and is run by a man with a thick Indian accent named Apu.

Always wondered where Springfield really is? Does anyone really know? We’ll the folks at 7-Eleven do – in fact they’ve been working very closely with Apu Nahasapeemapetilon and have now opened their stores in

Burbank, CA
Chicago, IL
Dallas, TX
Denver, CO
Lake Buena Vista, FL/Orlando, FL
Las Vegas, NV/Henderson, NV
Los Angeles, CA
New York City, NY
San Francisco, CA/Mountain View, CA
Seattle, WA
Vancouver, BC/Coquitlam, BC
Washington, DC/Bladensburg, MD

For 20th Century Fox Film Corp. and Homer Simpson's creators at Gracie Films, the stunt is a cheap way to call attention to their movie, since 7-Eleven is bearing all the costs, which executives of the retail chain put at somewhere in the single millions. At 7-Eleven, they are hoping it shows the ubiquitous chain has a trait seen in few corporations — the ability to laugh at themselves. "We thought if you really want to do something different, the idea of actually changing stores into Kwik-E-Marts was over the top but a natural," said Bobbi Merkel, an executive with 7-Eleven's advertising agency, FreshWorks. "It shows they get the joke." The monthlong promotion has been rumored a long time — it is hard to keep a secret known by so many suppliers and franchisees — but 7-Eleven managed to keep the locations of the stores quiet until early Sunday morning. That is when the exteriors of 11 U.S. stores and one in Canada were flocked in industrial foam and given new signs to replicate the animated look of Kwik-E-Marts. 7-11 even changed their website's home page to resemble the Kwik-E-Mart style!

The Fox/7-Eleven deal is an example of a practice called reverse product placement. Instead of just putting products prominently in a movie or TV show, fake goods move from the screen to reality. In some cases, 7-Eleven has contracted with manufacturers of similar products to make their Kwik-E-Mart counterparts. Malt-O-Meal, the Northfield, Minnesota, cereal maker, will conjure up a recipe for KrustyO's, for example.

Just like the Simpsons, real people now have a chance to buy Buzz Cola and Squishees at the local Kwik-E-Mart. Existing products will simply be renamed. 7-Eleven's own Slurpee will be sold as a Squishee for the month. And the response to that has been overwhelming, especially here in the media city of Burbank. But they won't find Duff beer, the brand chugged by Homer Simpson. The movie will be rated PG-13, and selling a Simpson-themed beer "didn't seem to fit," said Rita Bargerhuff, a 7-Eleven marketing executive. "That was a tough call, but we want to make sure it's considered good, responsible fun."

The promotion, however, is not risk-free. The proprietor of Kwik-E-Mart is a man named Apu who speaks in a heavy Indian accent. He is based on a manager Groening encountered while shopping at a 7-Eleven in Los Angeles nearly 20 years ago and plays to stereotypes about convenience-store operators and Asian immigrants. Many of 7-Eleven's franchisees are Indian, company officials say, although they say they do not track exact numbers. Bargerhuff said they were "overwhelmingly positive" after hearing of the Kwik-E-Mart idea, but "it was not a 100 percent endorsement." "There was definitely a concern of offending people," she said. "But they seemed to understand that 'The Simpsons' makes fun of everybody. The vast majority saw this as a great opportunity." That is the case for Kumar Assandas, a 28-year-old franchisee whose parents immigrated from India. His store in suburban Las Vegas is one of the temporary Kwik-E-Marts. "I know it's a stereotype, but it doesn't bother me. Everybody knows it's a joke," Assandas said. "I'm a big Simpsons fan myself, and maybe subconsciously it even inspired me to become a 7-Eleven owner."

It's great to see a company with a sense of humor and great marketing smarts. Now I just can't wait to get a taste of “overpriced bandaid hotdogs that have been dropped on the floor.” Yummmmmeeeee!

The Hole In the Moral Ozone: Can You find It?

There’s a hole in the moral ozone, and if we don’t work hard to repair it, we will sentence ourselves and our children to a future filled with scandal, instability, and downright stupidity. A couple of recent stories in the news have shown me how bad we, as a country who is a "model" to other nations, doesn't really have a clue when it comes to parenting. Here's one fine example from the wonderful city just up the 14-Freeway called Palmdale, California. A mother of eight was arrested on suspicion of driving her teenage son's friends to shoot up a reputed rival gang member's house. Now that's a fine example of a "responsible parent"...read on.

The shooting, captured on videotape by a neighborhood resident who was suspicious about a car that drove up with its lights off, was in retaliation for an earlier shooting. Michelle Wright, 37, of Palmdale was arrested on suspicion of shooting at an inhabited dwelling and was being held in lieu of $250,000 bail at the Palmdale Sheriff's Station. No one was injured in the 1:20 a.m. Monday shooting, which broke a bedroom window at a house in which a teenage girl was looking out a window when a car pulled up outside. Then, a teenage boy got out and fired a sawed-off shotgun at the window. The teenager got back into the car, which was driven away by the mother. When sheriff's deputies surrounded the home Tuesday night, about six people ran out to the back yard. Three teens ages 15 to 17 were arrested, including Wright's son and the alleged gunman. When Wright arrived at the house and learned her son had been arrested, she became irate and accused detectives of harassing her children. She told detectives her son was the victim and members of a rival gang had shot at her family and one also pulled a gun on them at a Park in east Palmdale. She told police she was "sick and tired of the Sheriff's Department not helping, so she decided she was going to do something about it herself."

So what? You're tired that the police can't stop gang violence. But then you set a good example for your kids by taking them out and allowing them to do a driveby? Oh yeah, the genetic cesspool is churning now. Now here's another good story from the LA police files. Once again, this responsible parent is teaching her kids some important lessons in life.

A 42-year-old mother has been arrested for chauffeuring a tagging crew of juveniles around the Silver Lake area as they repeatedly vandalized private and public property. Two of the taggers were her sons. On August 22, Victoria Villicano and five others were arrested for vandalism. When police arrived, they saw fresh spray paint on a wall, bearing the letters "HIV" in black. As officers were conducting the investigation, they received an additional report of spray painting suspects near Sunset Boulevard and Rosemont Avenue. The officers responded immediately. They found and arrested Villicano, the driver of an SUV, and five subjects with paint on their hands. Witnesses came forward and identified all subjects as those who had spray painted the letters. One of the witnesses saw Villicano driving the SUV and allowing the subjects to paint graffiti at multiple locations. The witness followed Villicano's vehicle and called police to report the crimes. The graffiti primarily contained the letters "HIV" or "HIVC" at more than 100 locations. A preliminary estimate of the damage was "tens of thousands" of dollars.

And her's one more good one. And there is even a photo for you to the right. This is my last example of good parenting. I mean, hey, I smoke. It's a bad habit and I don't condone it for anyone. But check out one of Hollywood's big celebs Melaine Griffith after she was snapped outside a Beverly Hills boutique lighting a cigarette for herself and then her teenage daughter Dakota. Like here, in the US you are not legally allowed to smoke until you're over 18. Does this make the blonde beauty a bad parent? Hmmm.

Do parents have a moral obligation to impose standards on their children that they themselves did not follow when they were kids? Is it ethical for parents to lie to a child about their youthful experiences? It’s a parent’s duty to teach, enforce, advocate, and model good behavior for their kids. It would be easier if we never did anything we’re uncomfortable with, but judgment and responsibilities grow as we mature. Good parenting would be impossible if we were disqualified from setting and demanding high standards of prudent and ethical behavior because we had been foolish when we were youngsters. Our duty to be a good model concerns the present, not the past. And this responsibility should not lay on our school's either. But like it or not, character education will take place in classrooms, sports fields and buses. The real issue is whether the school will acknowledge its role, consciously choose the values it wants to instill and provide training to teachers, coaches and staff so they teach those values intentionally and effectively. Being a parent isn't just a right...it's a responsibility. It's time for some parents to step up to that plate and grow the $#@! up! Got that?

Hey, I'm definitely not perfect, and I’ve never wanted my children to think I’m better than I am. But I would want them to know I’m struggling to be better than I was!