Aegis Editorial Cartoon

Maybe we've had too much coffee or read too much forwarded invective from a certain political party, but we really were offended by The Aegis editorial cartoon in today's paper.
In it, two people are talking. One white, one African-American. The white man is enthusing, wide-eyed, about how it's only a few people in Edgewood who are giving it a bad reputation. "Together we can take back the community." While the other person replies, "That shouldn't be too hard...'cept the guns and no respect for the law."
Our problem with this is twofold. The first is that it has nothing to do with anything else in the paper. The Bel Air police blotter is just as long as Edgewood in today's paper.
The second, is why does the African-American woman have to say, "'cept the guns.." Because she's African-American and assumably living in Edgewood does she have to speak in slang?
Edgewood is not perfect and that's not what we're saying. It has nothing to do with that. It has to do with the fact that there are so many stereotypes in this one small political cartoon it is mind-numbing. People who talk about the liberal media bias need just to look at this cartoon. There is no such thing in Harford County.

Wherefore art thou Aegis?

Since we received an automated voice message about Baltimore Sun carriers now being in charge of delivering our Aegis, we've received exactly zero number of newspapers.
The message informed us that it would now be delivered later in the day -- so giving them an opportunity to get to us, we waited to call and ask where the paper was. We gave them a break on Wednesday because of the nasty weather, but today we really wanted a paper.
So we called the Aegis, and a speedy recording informed us that we needed to call the Sun offices, which were now handling the deliveries. So we listened to the speedy message three times and wrote down the number and then called.
We tried using the automated message system, were mysteriously put on hold, and then another recorded voice came on and said we'd have to call back tomorrow.
As a reporter at a medium-sized newspaper, TAA had a phone number that was one number away from the circulation department. TAA fielded many calls to the circulation department and transferred them on. Many times readers just wanted to know where their newspapers were. Many times circulation would transfer these poor callers back to TAA just to be annoying. At the point the callers were beyond irate and some threatened to cancel their subscriptions. But the circulation department consisted of many fine people, some on work release programs, so TAA tried not to incur their wrath.
That was quite a few years ago now, but newspapers still don't get the importance of ACTUALLY RECEIVING the newspaper. We thought about subscribing to the NYTimes again, but the memories of the constant calling, fighting for credits for missed papers, and figuring out the amended bills. It was too much to think about really.
Aegis readers are still upset about the paid obituaries and I'm sure this new "cost-cutting" arrangement will lose more subscribers. And then the costly delivery problem will be solved. There will be no readers left in need of delivery.

Response to Aegis Editorial

The Aegis wrote a glowing thank you to County Councilwoman Roni Chenowith today, thanking her for all she's done for the Fallston community. Fallston named its community center after her, for her tireless efforts on their behalf.
The Abingdon community might have a different outlook. We'd like to know where's our community center? Where is one piece of green space that you don't want to pave over? Where is our relief from the peddlers who use Tollgate Road as their own personal swap meet?
At TAA we say thanks. Thanks for nothing.

Jacqueline Haas: Immortal

"Are you kidding me?" This is what I kept asking myself while paging through The Aegis special section in today's paper: Harford County Public Schools Annual Report "Building on Success." Please pick it up if you'd like to enter what appears to be the rapturous dream world of our school superintendent.
In her opening column, the Maryland Superintendent of the Year (among other things that are lovingly detailed later in the tab) Haas discusses how helping a child is the closest any of us get to being immortal. She says that educating not only is a chance to strive for greatness, but for immortality.
She also calls on "stakeholders" to join her in her journey through the future.
Among the pages and pages of glowing achievements racked up by the appointed, accountable to stakeholders, school system was one downer. A brief mention of the NCLB test scores, which if you didn't know how dismally some schools performed, you still wouldn't. Here's the lone paragraph:
"Noting that NCLB requires every student to be scoring at least at the proficient level by the 2013-14 school year, Dr. Haas said the school system has its work cut out for it in ensuring that all students have the opportunity to meet standards. She pointed to the vast improvement made during the fours year of MSA testing as an indication the school system is on the right track."
Yes, kudos to everyone! Schools facing their third year of failing. Awesome!
Don't get me wrong. I support the teachers and know what a tough job they have. They do extra work without much support. But like an alcoholic, until the school board admits it has a problem, nothing will change. And they won't, because while the teachers are in the trenches trying to do something, they're fancying themselves immortal. And without elections or any consequence for anything they do (block scheduling anyone?), it looks like we stakeholders will have an eternity to deal with their ongoing successes.