Mitt Romney’s plan to federalize education reform
“What we do not need are prescriptive top-down mandates emanating from Washington D.C., which are so fashionable among many in the nation’s capital.”
– Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, in his foreword to Mitt Romney’s “white paper” on education.
Promises such as that have become boiler-plate in Republican campaigns, which take as a given that there is no problem that cannot and should not be attributed to meddling by the federal government.
However, in reading Romney’s 35-page education white paper (more on that later), I was struck by the contradiction between that boiler-plate promise and the long string of new requirements that Romney would place on state and local governments.
They include, and I quote (emphasis mine):
– “Require states to adopt open-enrollment policies for students receiving Title I and IDEA funds, and to eliminate caps on charter and digital schools.” (Note: This part of the Romney plan would create a federally funded school voucher system, using federal tax dollars. Is a federal voucher system an enumerated power in the Constitution?)
– “To expand the supply of high-performing schools in and around districts serving low-income and special-needs students, states accepting Title I and IDEA funds will be required to take a series of steps to encourage the development of quality options:
First, adopt open-enrollment policies that permit eligible students to attend public schools outside of their school district that have the capacity to serve them. Second, provide access to and appropriate funding levels for digital courses and schools, which are increasingly able to offer materials tailored to the capabilities and progress of each student when used with the careful guidance of effective teachers. And third, ensure that charter school programs can expand to meet demand, receive funding under the same formula that applies to all other publicly supported schools, and access capital funds.”
– “Replace federally mandated school interventions with a requirement that states create straightforward public report cards that evaluate each school on its contribution to student learning.”
– “States must have in place standards to ensure that every high school graduate is prepared for college or work and, through annual testing, hold both students and educators accountable for meeting them. The results of this testing, for both their own children and their schools, must be readily available to parents in an easy-to-understand format.”
“… states seeking block grants will be required to establish evaluation systems based in part on effectiveness in advancing student achievement, reward effective teachers and principals with additional compensation and advancement opportunities, eliminate or reform teacher tenure, streamline the certification process for becoming a teacher, and prohibit seniority-based transfer and dismissal rules (including Last In, First Out layoffs).”
If I didn’t know better, I’d say that those sound very much like “prescriptive top-down mandates emanating from Washington D.C., which are so fashionable among many in the nation’s capital.”
They sound as if Washington will be dictating how teachers will be hired and fired and also how they will be compensated, evaluated and promoted. They sound as if Washington would dictate how and even whether teacher tenure is granted. They sound as if Washington will require states to promote vouchers and charter schools. They sound as if Washington will dictate standardized testing of students and how those tests will be used.
We can debate the wisdom of such steps, and as I noted above, I intend to come back to the white paper and to Romney’s speech this week on the topic, because it contains some important material. But for the moment, let’s just acknowledge the basic hypocrisy involved in claiming to reject federal mandates on Washington and then proposing an entire new slate of those very mandates.
The idea of a federal voucher alone makes this a Washington intervention of historic proportions.
– Jay Bookman
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230 comments Add your comment
mm
May 25th, 2012
12:43 pm
What happened to the rightwing cry of “keep the government out of my life”?
Finn McCool (The System Isn't Broken; It's Fixed ~ from an Occupy sign)
May 25th, 2012
12:47 pm
Cosnervatives? Hypocrits? No way!
Finn McCool (The System Isn't Broken; It's Fixed ~ from an Occupy sign)
May 25th, 2012
12:48 pm
Keep the guvmint out of my trailer park!
S.C. studies show poor, blacks most likely to play lottery often
May 25th, 2012
12:49 pm
Jay says,
The idea of a federal voucher alone makes this a Washington intervention of historic proportions.
_______
We all know how that works. Georgia has the HOPE scholarship fund that does not have an income cap for recipients. The poor and middle class are the ones that actually play but the higher income brackets receive a majority of the scholarships.
http://arkansasnews.com/2009/07/26/sc-studies-show-poor-blacks-most-likely-to-play-lottery-often/
Doggone/GA
May 25th, 2012
12:53 pm
What happened to the rightwing cry of “keep the government out of my life”?
You only quoted part of it: “What happened to the rightwing cry of “keep the government out of my life BUT IN YOURS”?
RB from Gwinnett
May 25th, 2012
12:55 pm
Keep propping up the empty suit, Jay.
If this crap is the best reason you have for people to vote for Obama, November isn’t going to be very kind.
Soothsayer
May 25th, 2012
12:56 pm
Jay, is it me or does it seem like there’s lunacy under every Fright-Wing rock you turn over.
Mighty Righty
May 25th, 2012
12:56 pm
I agree with Jay. Sounds like the schools and teachers will be required to teach. I realize this is a novel concept for many of todays liberals which prefer a school system that doesn’t hurt anyone’s feelings especially the feelings of school teachers. (These concerns of course are manifested in large contributions to the Democrat party by the favored teacher unions.) I remember well how the D.C. voucher system was workinh so well. It gave poor and disadvantaged children access to education which had previously been denyed to the students by the liberal policies of Democrat favored teacher unions. Alas, the Democrats immediately upon resuming power eliminated the voucher program thereby plunging the poor and disadvantaged they calim to care for, back into the dismal and failed learning system that is so typical of todays liberal controlled schools. Romney gives me hope. Maybe stupidity can be reversed.
yuzeyurbrane
May 25th, 2012
1:02 pm
It is something we should be used to in Georgia. Every private education institution is actively seeking to enhance its budget with public funds. Hypocrisy is rife among these folks, especially those from parochial schools who claim some sort of moral mission from God to help the poor. And they are pandered to by every “conservative” politician in the state.
Joe Hussein Mama
May 25th, 2012
1:03 pm
ZOMG SOSHULIZUM
Mighty Righty
May 25th, 2012
1:07 pm
On this Memorial day weekend, I would like to thank all of those who serve and have served this greatest of all nations, sacrificing their time, wealth, health and lives for the benefit of all of us. Thanks to their loved ones who suffer and have suffered as well. God Bless all of you.
Soothsayer
May 25th, 2012
1:09 pm
All of these Fright-Wing education “plans” have at their root the same concept. Letting rich taxpayers use public funds to send their kids to private schools. How many times will they keep trotting the same old tired concept?
Finn McCool (The System Isn't Broken; It's Fixed ~ from an Occupy sign)
May 25th, 2012
1:11 pm
No mention of using a national list of textbooks? Any way we can keep states like Texas from writing their own biased textbooks which leave out important historic details and repaint whatever they don’t want people to remember?
Fred ™
May 25th, 2012
1:12 pm
Mighty Righty: You are welcome.
Brosephus™
May 25th, 2012
1:13 pm
Jay
Don’t you realize it’s only hypocrisy if the ideas originate from specific people?
Finn McCool (The System Isn't Broken; It's Fixed ~ from an Occupy sign)
May 25th, 2012
1:13 pm
I would like to thank all of those who serve and have served
Now, let’s cut their benefits? That usually follows when a conservative wants to thank the troops. “We love you, but you really don’t need all those health benefits, education benefits, pay increases..our love and devotion should be quite enough.”
Mighty Righty
May 25th, 2012
1:18 pm
Poor liberals. Can’t talk about Obama’s accomplisments becuase there are none. So for the next five months the left’s focust will be to desparage Romney and Republican plans to do what Obama has been unable to do, and that is to improve whatever the subject is. Obama has been such a complete failure there is not a single subject domestic or global that has improved during his term. Obama himself has admitted as much by ignoring his own record while focusing on things Romney has yet to do as Jay does with this article. There is good news for the looney left, however. You will get to vote for Obama again in 2016 as he tries to regain the presidency.
Mighty Righty
May 25th, 2012
1:20 pm
Finn
It is the Democrats and Obama that have closed VA hospitals. Can you name one, just one benefit Republicans have cut. I am a veteran and would really like to know.
Jefferson
May 25th, 2012
1:21 pm
If Romney wins,he will do what he is let do.
Jefferson
May 25th, 2012
1:22 pm
They cut the hope money.
Fly-On-The-Wall
May 25th, 2012
1:24 pm
A typical response from a conservative. We don’t want Washington involved in anything – except for .
Fly-On-The-Wall
May 25th, 2012
1:25 pm
Interesting … it didn’t like the < symbols. It was suppose to read "…except for – start your list here."
RB from Gwinnett
May 25th, 2012
1:25 pm
Finn, no we shouldn’t cut their benefits or those of teachers firemen police the IRS elderly welfare recipients DOT FDA librarians any any other public employee. We should just raise taxes on people whose incomes have been cut over the past few years while their benefits and property taxes and insurance have all gone up because we sure wouldn’t want public employees to share in any of the pain being felt by the private sector would we???
mm
May 25th, 2012
1:28 pm
Aren’t vouchers a form of socialism?
RB from Gwinnett
May 25th, 2012
1:29 pm
The problem with HOPE is the out of control increases in tuition, not a lack of income. It has a spending problem just like the federal government.
Mighty Righty
May 25th, 2012
1:30 pm
Finn
Here is a link to remind all when Obama wanted veterans to use their own health insurance to pay for treatment of their battle wounds. The most despicable proposal by any administration in my life time. The idea that men and women who sacrificed for this country would have to pay for treatment of their injuries suffered in combat. Public pressure went nuts and FORCED Obama to withdraw this stupidity. But the example is evidence of the disregard this administration has for our men and women in uniform.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9yOZ0Fz7sww
Finn McCool (The System Isn't Broken; It's Fixed ~ from an Occupy sign)
May 25th, 2012
1:31 pm
The problem with HOPE is it is used by people who can afford the education without using it. It needs income caps.
GT
May 25th, 2012
1:32 pm
Republicans can’t fix it, they really don’t believe in education. They believe in power which is a big difference. If they educated the masses there would be a dried up pond where the Republicans use to live. They recruit dull citizens like they claim gays recruit straights only they are far more successful at the dumb down America campaign, which is the mother’s milk to their existence.
mm
May 25th, 2012
1:32 pm
“We should just raise taxes on people whose incomes have been cut over the past few years while their benefits and property taxes and insurance have all gone up because we sure wouldn’t want public employees to share in any of the pain being felt by the private sector would we???”
The private sector employees are in pain because their salaries have been cut and/or stagnated for the last 20 years to increase corporate profits. And that’s just the folks that still have a job.
It’s a pretty simple choice this November.
Either you want our citizens running this country or you want corporations running this country.
We all know where each party stands.
Jefferson
May 25th, 2012
1:32 pm
The problem is the ga GOP gov’t decided to cut funds rather than use means testing.
Peadawg
May 25th, 2012
1:32 pm
“The problem with HOPE is it is used by people who can afford the education without using it. It needs income caps.”
^^this^^
The first proposal years ago had caps, didn’t it?
mm
May 25th, 2012
1:34 pm
MR,
“But the example is evidence of the disregard this administration has for our men and women in uniform.”
Your dispicable con party voted no on every effort to help out our veterans, from pay to housing to insurance. STFU.
Brosephus™
May 25th, 2012
1:35 pm
We should just raise taxes on people whose incomes have been cut over the past few years while their benefits and property taxes and insurance have all gone up because we sure wouldn’t want public employees to share in any of the pain being felt by the private sector would we???
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rmPRHJd3uHI
I guess the fact elude you that job growth would have been much better if it not were for the loss of government (public sector) jobs all throughout the recovery. I guess you also ignore that, on the fed level, public sector employees have contributed an additional $75 B over the next 10 years for debt reduction while no other segment of this country has contributed one cent extra. But in your mind, yeah, the public sector isn’t feeling any pain.
Mick
May 25th, 2012
1:35 pm
Republicans and education kind of like oil and water, they just don’t mix. Notice how in education it’s all the union teachers faults or in gov’t it’s all president obama’s fault. Quite pathetic in its shortsightedness and ignorance, but hey, it works for them day in and day out…
Ennis
May 25th, 2012
1:36 pm
I really don’t know what the “right” answer is to education. But when public schools graduate students that can’t compose a complete complex sentence, or do basic math in their heads, something is terribly terribly wrong. Billions (that’s with a B) has been spent on education in the last few decades and it is only getting worse. I’m not suggesting that Mitt has the ‘right” answer, but something has got to change in the way we teach our children….
Jefferson
May 25th, 2012
1:36 pm
The GOP mindset is why they are losing.
Oscar
May 25th, 2012
1:38 pm
Romney’s plan is not what we need. Example of bad thinking. More federal control of local schools is not the way to go.
Mick
May 25th, 2012
1:38 pm
ennis
Most of the time the reason why so many don’t know those basics is because they don’t speak english, get it?
Recon 0311 2533
May 25th, 2012
1:38 pm
At least ideas that could produce better results than what we have today on average nationally within our public school system. The Democrats idea, teacher unions and more teacher unions.
Joe Hussein Mama
May 25th, 2012
1:38 pm
Righty — “Here is a link to remind all when Obama wanted veterans to use their own health insurance to pay for treatment of their battle wounds. The most despicable proposal by any administration in my life time. The idea that men and women who sacrificed for this country would have to pay for treatment of their injuries suffered in combat. Public pressure went nuts and FORCED Obama to withdraw this stupidity. But the example is evidence of the disregard this administration has for our men and women in uniform.”
Just FYI, insurance subrogation in the VA has been around since LONG before I entered the VAHC system in the early 90s.
And while we’re on the topic of political outrages done to veterans, don’t forget that President Bush kicked all Category 8 veterans out of the system in 2005 (me included) and that the GOP tried to cut VA funding in HALF the following year.
I pay VERY close attention to veterans’ issues, pal, and the GOP isn’t the friend to veterans that you seem to want to think they are.
RB from Gwinnett
May 25th, 2012
1:39 pm
Means testing is just another way for liberals to turn HOPE into another vote buying social program. There is no “we the people” in anything you do. Just one take from your neighbor scheme after the next.
Steve - USA (I support "None Of The Above")
May 25th, 2012
1:40 pm
So the liberal Washington Post has given the whole “Obama most frugal since Ike”.
Not one
Not two
but 3 Pinocchios for accuracy.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/fact-checker/post/the-facts-about-the-growth-of-spending-under-obama/2012/05/24/gJQAIJh6nU_blog.html
When are facts not the facts? When they are distorted BS.
I don’t know what is more frustrating, Politicians who don’t get anything done but get themselves re-elected or the modern press that can’t give the American people some unbiased information.
They BOTH suck
May 25th, 2012
1:42 pm
Hope everyone has a great and safe holiday weekend…..
Lets kick it off early…………. Tito style
Tito Puente Jr’s band will be lighting up Piedmont Park on Sunday night
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iUhZZR4mEp8&feature=relmfu
Be there or be an L7………….
Peace and love
I’m out
Oscar
May 25th, 2012
1:44 pm
Recon 0311 2533
May 25th, 2012
1:38 pm
____
So you agree with Romney that we need more federal control from Washningto. I’ll put you down for that.
Thulsa Doom
May 25th, 2012
1:44 pm
Oh noes. Texas is writing their own biased textbooks. The sky is falling. The sky is falling.
Mick
May 25th, 2012
1:45 pm
Oh, and by the way, jeb bush the great republican master of educational needs, is the reason why florida is so screwed up today with testing. He initiated the testing regime and it has gotten progresively worse. This year, the test and the private companies that administer these test have finally started to come under the microscope, and they are failing bigtime, the problem? Their tests are neither reliable and valid because of all the changes they introduce every year. Josef stalin said, “it doesn’t matter how many votes you get, its who counts the votes that matters”. In testing, it doesn’t matter who takes the test, it’s whose grading those tests that matter. SAT – the only valid and relibale legitimate testing organiztion, all others are fly by night operations in cahoots with those evil republicans…
Joe Hussein Mama
May 25th, 2012
1:47 pm
Doom — “Oh noes. Texas is writing their own biased textbooks.”
Texans can write? Will wonders never cease?
Mighty Righty
May 25th, 2012
1:47 pm
Joe Hussein Mama
As usual you are just wrong.
Sheez Louise
May 25th, 2012
1:47 pm
Ok…so I’m wondering why exactly am I agreeing with most of the stuff I am reading in his proposal. This is ROMNEY talking?? Yeah… hypocrisy.
davetv
May 25th, 2012
1:48 pm
The only hypocrisy I see here is from those people who on one hand claim that the poor and middle class are getting the shaft and then complain when someone offers a plan where everyone has a chance/funds to go to the school of their choice. In what way is giving more control of education to the states and local schools a problem? Why do you insist that some unelected bureaucrat in D.C. with no skin in the game is in a better position to determine what is best for your children and how your tax dollars are spent? If your kids are getting a bad deal, if your kids have a horrible teacher, if your kids are passed through the school system with no knowledge other than how to pass a standardized test, what can you do about it?
The way the system is now (unless you can afford to send your kids to private school) there is nothing you can do. If we didn’t send our education dollars to D.C. and then have to beg to get it back, we would have more control over the situation. If our State governments and local school boards were in charge of spending, curriculum, and hiring/firing practices- we could show up and complain about a problem and/or vote them of office. If schools were run more like a business where they had to compete for students/dollars, the need to actually provide a service to your children would increase. If parents started pulling their kids out of a certain school because the teachers suck, how soon would that school bring in better teachers? They would have to or we would shut them down for lack of funding.
It seems that this article (opinion piece) is focusing on placing blame on Republicans because they want to shift powers/rules/mandates to the states rather than the federal government. It doesn’t mention that requiring schools to have standards based on performance, open enrollment and an evaluation system for teachers is a bad thing. No, the only problem anyone has with those ideas is that your guy wasn’t the one to come up with it. If Obama had suggested all these reforms in the education system, you’d be lauding him as a forward thinker and claim he’s battling for the poor or middle class. It must really stick in your craw that the person/party who wants to help you have more control over your kids education is a dreaded/hated/rich Republican.
Could it possibly be that you are the ones who care more about the politics of it all rather than your kids well-being? Or perhaps you really don’t want to have more control of your kids education. Perhaps you feel you’re not smart enough to have that kind of responsibility. Or perhaps you just don’t want to be bothered or you simply don’t care. That is exactly what your party thinks of you… that you’re too stupid to understand and need to have important decisions taken out of your control. Obviously you agree with that analysis because you gladly accept the situation and bitch and moan when someone suggests you take personal responsibility for your life, health-care, education, etc.
Have a nice day.
jm
May 25th, 2012
1:49 pm
knew this was coming
jm
May 25th, 2012
1:50 pm
Florida Gov. Jeb Bush Mitt Romney
Mighty Righty
May 25th, 2012
1:51 pm
Mick
You don’t have to go to Florida to see how well the “public school systems” teach. Just review the Atlanta School system where both students and teachers failed.
jm
May 25th, 2012
1:52 pm
“If I didn’t know better, I’d say that those sound very much like “prescriptive top-down mandates emanating from Washington D.C., which are so fashionable among many in the nation’s capital.””
You liberals love these things. Now you can vote for Romney.
They BOTH suck
May 25th, 2012
1:52 pm
davetv
Actually the majority of your education dollars do come from state and local levels
jm
May 25th, 2012
1:54 pm
“The idea of a federal voucher alone makes this a Washington intervention of historic proportions.”
If Obama and liberals had their act together, and had already fixed a broken system, there wouldn’t be the need to discuss this or find new solutions.
But Obama and liberals haven’t fixed the system. The status quo is not acceptable and Romney deserves great credit for looking to continue reformation of a broken education system.
Romney 2012.
0311/8541/5811/1811/1801
May 25th, 2012
1:54 pm
Jay:
“We can debate the wisdom of such steps, and as I noted above, I intend to come back to the white paper and to Romney’s speech this week on the topic, because it contains some important material. But for the moment, let’s just acknowledge the basic hypocrisy involved in claiming to reject federal mandates on Washington and then proposing an entire new slate of those very mandates.”
If this is true it is not the right approach …………….. BUT…………. it pales in comparison to the dozens of other issues that Romney is heels over head better than Obama.
Keep whistling in the dark.
Jefferson
May 25th, 2012
1:55 pm
Some folks just don’t want someone to get something easier than they did.
jm
May 25th, 2012
1:55 pm
Liberals eat sleep and breathe federal mandates. So you should be thrilled at the expansion of federal power.
Me, less so.
0311/8541/5811/1811/1801
May 25th, 2012
1:56 pm
Headline: “Foreign students enjoy new summer job protections — but what about Americans?”
http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/foreign-students-enjoy-new-summer-job-protections–but-what-about-americans/2012/05/22/gIQA3D1CjU_story.html?tid=pm_pop
Americans first? Not in an Obama administration !
Mick
May 25th, 2012
1:56 pm
mighty
That is a loser cop out attitude; why do you cons always focus on the negative? What about all the scholars and honor students that public schools are producing? There are a heckuva a lot more excellent, good, average students then there are the poor and failing yet thats all you focus on but I’d bet my bottom dollar that you wouldn’t let that happen to your kid – because you care. There’s your answer right there…
Jefferson
May 25th, 2012
1:58 pm
numbers, the president would hire Americans 1st, the GOP won’t.
0311/8541/5811/1811/1801
May 25th, 2012
1:59 pm
Jay:
Did you overlook this one?
Headline: “Forget Bain — Obama’s public-equity record is the real scandal”
“Despite a growing backlash from his fellow Democrats, President Obama has doubled down on his attacks on Mitt Romney’s tenure at Bain Capital. But the strategy could backfire in ways Obama did not anticipate. After all, if Romney’s record in private equity is fair game, then so is Obama’s record in public equity — and that record is not pretty.
Since taking office, Obama has invested billions of taxpayer dollars in private businesses, including as part of his stimulus spending bill. Many of those investments have turned out to be unmitigated disasters — leaving in their wake bankruptcies, layoffs, criminal investigations and taxpayers on the hook for billions.”
http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/forget-bain-obamas-public-equity-record-is-the-real-scandal/2012/05/24/gJQAXnXCnU_story.html
ken
May 25th, 2012
2:01 pm
For America to have good schools we need parents and morals. Parents and morality are in the history books.
Fred ™
May 25th, 2012
2:02 pm
Mighty Righty
May 25th, 2012
1:51 pm
Mick
You don’t have to go to Florida to see how well the “public school systems” teach. Just review the Atlanta School system where both students and teachers failed.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
And Don’t forget to thank President Bush and his unfunded mandate, No Child Let Behind for that failure………
Mick
May 25th, 2012
2:03 pm
1811
Well, at least obama was promoting employment unlike romney gobbling up companies and shredding them for personal gain. Obama has gained nothing except your eternal ire – no matter what. He has kept us safe and got bin laden, don’t forget it. Remind me, what is romneys most significant accomplishment to date?
davetv
May 25th, 2012
2:03 pm
They both suck:
The Department of Education is requesting $69.8 billion in discretionary funding for Fiscal Year 2013, an increase of $1.7 billion, or 2.5 percent, from 2012.
How much of that $69.8 billion will make it back to our schools? Don’t you think your local school district could more efficiently use their share of that budget?
Joe Hussein Mama
May 25th, 2012
2:03 pm
Righty — “As usual you are just wrong.”
Well, sorta. Bush actually kicked Category 8 veterans out of the VAHC system in 2004, not 2005 as I said. So I guess you win that one. (laughing)
On the other topic, read it at weep:
“C. Bush Administration underfunded veterans’ health care by $2 billion. The Bush Administration’s 2004 budget underfunded veterans’ health care by nearly $2 billion. (”Vets Health Low on Bush’s Priority List,” The Hill, September 17, 2003; “Support for Troops Questioned,” Washington Post, June 17, 2003; U.S. Department of Veterans’ Affairs, September 2002)”
“D. Bush Administration proposal would end health care benefits for 173,000 veterans. More than 173,000 veterans across the country would be cut off from health care because of Bush Administration proposed budget cuts and its plan requiring enrollment fees and higher out-of-pocket costs. (”Support for Troops Questioned,” Washington Post, June 17, 2003)”
And scroll down below that to see what the Disabled American Veterans and the Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America give our Senators for grades when it comes to caring for vets.
http://liberalslikechrist.org/about/chickenhawks.html
“When speaking to the Veterans of Foreign Wars in late August, Mr. Bush boasted that in his first four years as president he had increased VA spending by twice as much as Mr. Clinton had in eight years. What he didn’t mention was that the White House had to rush to fill an almost $3 billion VA funding shortfall that emerged over the summer.”
That shortfall wasn’t a surprise. Congressional Republicans refused to fully fund the VA that year. Democrats shamed and embarrassed them into resolving the budget cut during the summer, just a couple of months before the next fiscal year’s budget would have kicked in.
Once again, Righty, I know what I’m talking about. You, not so much.
mm
May 25th, 2012
2:05 pm
Politifact says Obama spending story mostly true
Joe Hussein Mama
May 25th, 2012
2:06 pm
Missed link for above: http://www.cerebral-palsy.net/headlines/vaarticle.html
Mighty Righty
May 25th, 2012
2:06 pm
I will admit it, I feel much better with Republicans setting educational policy in Washinton D.C. than with the liberal left doing the same. I am just uncomfortable with the idea of Marxists teaching our children about Capitalism. I can see the results of communist indoctrination of the left wing bloggers on this site. People who believe the peoples wealth belong to the government for redistribution by that government to that governments chosen people in the name of “fairness”. In reality that confiscation of wealth is for the sole purpose of buying votes and repaying favored political contributors. The current administration is the first and hopefully the last to campaign on the premise that capitalism must be destroyed. The excuse, straight from Karl Marx is “fairness”. Our public school system has to be over hauled to return this country to the “inalienable rights” of the individual.
0311/8541/5811/1811/1801
May 25th, 2012
2:06 pm
This is about as sick as government schools can get:
Headline (ABC) : “Trayvon Martin Day declared at D.C. elementary school”
http://www.wjla.com/articles/2012/05/trayvon-martin-day-declared-at-d-c-elementary-school-76327.html
davetv
May 25th, 2012
2:07 pm
What percent of “mostly” is false?
Steve - USA (I support "None Of The Above")
May 25th, 2012
2:10 pm
According to Adam you are not allowed to use Politifact because they are no longer trustworthy.
0311/8541/5811/1811/1801
May 25th, 2012
2:11 pm
Mick:
1) “Well, at least obama was promoting employment unlike romney gobbling up companies and shredding them for personal gain. Obama has gained nothing except your eternal ire – no matter what. He has kept us safe and got bin laden, don’t forget it.”
Please look up and report back the number of car dealerships that were FORCED to close under El Jeffe Obama and how many employees were put out of work ?
2) Remind me, what is romneys most significant accomplishment to date?
“Being the Republican presidential candidate poised to oust a sitting President who is out to destroy this Republic as we know it.”
Joe Hussein Mama
May 25th, 2012
2:12 pm
Righty — “I can see the results of communist indoctrination of the left wing bloggers on this site.”
Really? Where?
Fred ™
May 25th, 2012
2:12 pm
LOl Scout, look at the school that is holding Trayvon Day, Malcolm X (by any means necessary).
davetv
May 25th, 2012
2:12 pm
0311/8541/5811/1811/1801: OUCH!
Shawny
May 25th, 2012
2:13 pm
Monday – bash republicans.
Tuesday – bash republicans.
Wednesday – bash republicans.
wash, rinse, repeat.
Fred ™
May 25th, 2012
2:13 pm
Joe Hussein Mama
May 25th, 2012
2:12 pm
Righty — “I can see the results of communist indoctrination of the left wing bloggers on this site.”
Really? Where?
+++++++++++++++++++++++++
You must be REALLY bored today JHM lol. Why else would you address to mindless automaton.
0311/8541/5811/1811/1801
May 25th, 2012
2:14 pm
Hummmm ……………………. looks like Princess Summerfall Winterspring trampled on the promotional opportunities of more qualified applicants.
“US Senate candidate Elizabeth Warren has said she was unaware that Harvard Law School had been promoting her purported Native American heritage until she read about it in a newspaper several weeks ago.”
Adam
May 25th, 2012
2:15 pm
Like I’ve said for a while now: GOP wants to do what GOP wants to do with government. They want to borrow and spend on things they like, and cut things they don’t. They want to use the government to ban things they don’t like, enforce rules they like, and cut government out of anything that doesn’t fit that.
It’s not about jobs. It’s not about the deficit. It’s not about what’s best for education or health care. It’s about power. That’s what it has always been about for the GOP.
Mick
May 25th, 2012
2:16 pm
** a sitting President who is out to destroy this Republic as we know it**
Jesus, joseph, and mary, if you truly believe that, then I seriously feel sorry for you! Paranoia will destroy ya…
kitty
May 25th, 2012
2:16 pm
Mighty Righty, you do realize that right now the GOP may have the power in the House but the pendulum does swing back and forth so if education policy is set in DC then it could be Dems just as easy as the GOP. So isn’t totally local better than DC at all? I thought local control was the GOP mantra, states and all that. Apparently only when the GOP is not in control of things in DC. That is exactly the hypocrisy Jay is pointing out in this post. Sometimes I wonder if the right wingers are capable of critical thinking at all with those sorts of comments.
Finn McCool (The System Isn't Broken; It's Fixed ~ from an Occupy sign)
May 25th, 2012
2:16 pm
Mighty doesn’t recall the outrage from the left when the GOP tried to cut veteran benefits? Figures.
Adam (appointed rule enforcer by a few conservatives with no power)
May 25th, 2012
2:16 pm
According to Adam you are not allowed to use Politifact because they are no longer trustworthy.
That’s right. Follow the rules dammit
Thulsa Doom
May 25th, 2012
2:16 pm
Steve-USA,
“According to Adam….”
And then I quit reading.
Finn McCool (The System Isn't Broken; It's Fixed ~ from an Occupy sign)
May 25th, 2012
2:18 pm
until she read about it in a newspaper several weeks ago.
That’s at lest two months old….and she is doing just fine in the polls.
davetv
May 25th, 2012
2:18 pm
Elizabeth Warren, Eric Holder & Robert Mueller… All three only know things that happened a few weeks ago. They must have a rolling 2 week window of memory. Anything beyond 2 weeks leaves the old memory bank. There must be a name for that condition.
Finn McCool (The System Isn't Broken; It's Fixed ~ from an Occupy sign)
May 25th, 2012
2:19 pm
Mighty has gone hysterical….gonna be a looong weekend at the Mighty house.
Joe Hussein Mama
May 25th, 2012
2:20 pm
0311 — “Princess Summerfall Winterspring trampled”
“she was unaware”
Dude, you only posted two sentences and you STILL managed to contradict yourself. You must have the attention span of a sugar beet.
Adam
May 25th, 2012
2:20 pm
As for Politifact, it makes no difference what they think. If they came out the other way on this, it would be thrown up on every conservative website as “proof” despite, or perhaps because, it was a soft ball thrown to the right (like some of their other rulings). And now that they have affirmed it, more or less, the right calls it “the liberal media” (except when they agree) and ignores the facts (like always) in order to perpetuate their pre-existing position. Any facts, stories, or ANYTHING that says otherwise MUST be wrong. You simply CAN’T go against the grain at all, even if your position is based solidly in reality and the other side is in lala land.
Eubiful O'sheet
May 25th, 2012
2:20 pm
Virtually everyone (who is not a member of a teachers’ union) acknowledges that it has become virtually impossible and extremely expensive to fire any teacher – whether for classroom incompetence or moral turpitude – no matter how vile.
In every state hundreds, if not thousands of “teachers” who are deemed unsafe to be in contact with children report every day to “rubber rooms” where they spend the day doing nothing – but collecting a paycheck, (some of them for years) while the school system and the teachers’ union battle over their termination. i.e., APS still spending a million dollars/month to pay CRCT cheaters who can’t yet be fired. Love those union rules.
But…. What if….
ALL new teachers union contracts across the country stipulated that:
— for any teacher that the school system/board/parents/etc. want to terminate – due to poor classroom performance, groping children, etc. – the salary and benefits of that teacher will no longer be paid by the school system (taxpayers) but rather by the union – continuing at the same rate as before the termination proceedings commenced and until the teacher is finally exonerated and returned to the classroom – or is officially fired.
If the teacher is exonerated, the school system reimburses the teachers’ union all funds they have paid said teacher.
If the teacher is terminated for cause, the schools system (taxpayers) owe nothing.
See how long it takes to get incompetents and criminals off the payroll then….(can anyone say “nanoseconds”?)
davetv
May 25th, 2012
2:21 pm
Finn: she’s doing “fine” in the polls… a democrat in Massachusetts is doing “fine”??
Don Abernethy
May 25th, 2012
2:21 pm
As a Republican who wants to defeat Obama I do not see Romney as part of the right wing. He is a liberal like Obama. He bought the election and sadly I have no choice but to vote for him. NoBama.
Adam
May 25th, 2012
2:21 pm
Thulsa: And then I quit reading.
A likely story, seeing as you seem compelled to continue any conversation we have, asserting how right you are, even when you’ve been shown to be wrong.
0311/8541/5811/1811/1801
May 25th, 2012
2:21 pm
Hummmm ……………………
“President Obama took an apparent racial swipe at Colin Powell in a 1994 NPR interview in which he implied the four-star general is acceptable to “white America.”
RB from Gwinnett
May 25th, 2012
2:21 pm
Bro, “public sector employees have contributed an additional $75 B over the next 10 years for debt reduction while no other segment of this country has contributed one cent extra. ”
The only way public sector ee’s can contribute to debt reduction is to resign an get a job that generates tax revenue instead of consuming it.
Steve - USA (I support "None Of The Above")
May 25th, 2012
2:22 pm
Adam – “That’s right. Follow the rules dammit”
See I do read what you say.
The 3 day weekend starts…….now! Thank you Vets and their families!
0311/8541/5811/1811/1801
May 25th, 2012
2:23 pm
Joe Hussein Mama:
If you think she was “unaware”, I have some land in Florida I would like you to look at.
Mick:
With all my heart ………….. with all my heart !
Jefferson
May 25th, 2012
2:23 pm
Romney is just a greedy President Bush.
Look before I leap...
May 25th, 2012
2:23 pm
If Fox News and Rush Limbaugh are to be believed, American business is tottering on the edge of the abyss and life as we know it will soon come to an end.
Except for these guys….
From AP:
Profits at big U.S. companies broke records last year, and so did pay for CEOs.
The head of a typical public company made $9.6 million in 2011, according to an analysis by The Associated Press using data from Equilar, an executive pay research firm.
That was up more than 6 percent from the previous year, and is the second year in a row of increases. The figure is also the highest since the AP began tracking executive compensation in 2006.
Companies trimmed cash bonuses but handed out more in stock awards. For shareholder activists who have long decried CEO pay as exorbitant, that was a victory of sorts.
That’s because the stock awards are being tied more often to company performance. In those instances, CEOs can’t cash in the shares right away: They have to meet goals first, like boosting profit to a certain level.
http://www.ajc.com/business/typical-ceo-made-9-1446181.html
Adam
May 25th, 2012
2:24 pm
RB: The only way public sector ee’s can contribute to debt reduction is to resign an get a job that generates tax revenue instead of consuming it.
This kind of claptrap would be much more obviously ridiculous if the tax cuts had never taken place and we hadn’t overspent during the Republican Presidential AND Congressional years of 2000-2006, with consequences that exist even now.
Uh oh
May 25th, 2012
2:24 pm
“The only way public sector ee’s can contribute to debt reduction is to resign an get a job that generates tax revenue instead of consuming it.”
All previous and current military personnel all said just thank you for your take on their service
0311/8541/5811/1811/1801
May 25th, 2012
2:26 pm
Heard this today:
“Liberalism pushes self-esteem”
“Conservatism teaches self-control”
Thulsa Doom
May 25th, 2012
2:26 pm
Adam,
You never showed me to be wrong- about anything. And certainly not about your proposition that the U.S. govt can allocate scarce resources as efficiently as our private sector can. That statement alone shows everybody on here a degree of loonyness that is beyond belief. I still can’t fathom that you believe that. BTW I would shred your link except that I was unable to open it for some reason. Anyway you could post whatever nonsense was in it so that we can all laugh about your supposed evidence.
jm
May 25th, 2012
2:26 pm
“I agree with Jay. Sounds like the schools and teachers will be required to teach. I realize this is a novel concept for many of todays liberals which prefer a school system that doesn’t hurt anyone’s feelings especially the feelings of school teachers.”
0311/8541/5811/1811/1801
May 25th, 2012
2:27 pm
Mick:
Are you still looking up the number of car dealerships Obama closed down and the number of employees put out of work ?
davetv
May 25th, 2012
2:27 pm
Is it that you don’t want companies or people to maximize profits or is it just that you want to seize more of that money in taxes?
Joe Hussein Mama
May 25th, 2012
2:27 pm
0311 — “If you think she was “unaware”, I have some land in Florida I would like you to look at.”
You posted it *yourself,* Champ.
if you’re so sure she knew what she was doing, then trot out your proof.
0311/8541/5811/1811/1801
May 25th, 2012
2:28 pm
Bumper Sticker:
“Give Your Kids Vitamin “N” …. No!”
Jm
May 25th, 2012
2:28 pm
Dragon docked with ISS
Awesome news
Good job elon musk. Cred to NASA. And a teeny sliver of cred to Obama (in motion pre Obama but he finished it out)
Adam
May 25th, 2012
2:29 pm
Thulsa: You never showed me to be wrong- about anything
Believing oneself to never be wrong is often the sign of a delusional mind.
Jm
May 25th, 2012
2:29 pm
All Americans should be proud today of SpaceX and our country
Redneck Convert (R--and proud of it)
May 25th, 2012
2:29 pm
Well, why can’t we just set up a bunch of TV programs to teach the kids? I mean, we spend a fortune to build school buildings and pay teachers and stuff. Now everybody knows kids don’t do nothing but watch TV and check on their I-phones anyway. So set it up so they can’t get no channels except classes on TV. During school hours, that is.
You got to admit this school the way it’s run gets in the way of alot of things. Like NASCAR races and learning how to use a chainsaw and all kinds of stuff. If kids could go to school by watching TV or checking their I-phone, everybody would have 100% attendance. And the education would be just as good as what we have now. Heck, it couldn’t be worse.
And that way I wouldn’t need to pay taxes so people like josef could lay around on his ass all summer.Anyhow, it’s just a idea. I’ll see y’all at FNM.
Look before I leap...
May 25th, 2012
2:30 pm
“Are you still looking up the number of car dealerships Obama closed down and the number of employees put out of work ?”
Someone parked in my assigned parking spot this morning. I think it was Obama’s fault.
MrLiberty
May 25th, 2012
2:30 pm
Shut down the Department of Education and ELIMINATE all Federal involvement in education – PERIOD!
This was once in the contract for america. Now every GOP leader (Except Ron Paul of couse) seems to agree that there should be a role for the feds in education. Just look at the horrors of the Bush administration and NCLB. There is no role whatsoever for the feds in education if you actually READ the Constitution and follow it. Its in plain english. You don’t need a bunch of clowns in black robes to interpret it. Everything the feds do with regards to education is unconstitutional.
Mitt Romney = Barak Obama. The republicans still have a choice. They can nominate Ron Paul and actually give america a real choice between freedom and fascism this election. Fascism vs. fascism is no choice at all.
davetv
May 25th, 2012
2:30 pm
On average, how many private sector people have to work and pay their taxes in order to pay the salary of one government employee?
0311/8541/5811/1811/1801
May 25th, 2012
2:30 pm
Joe:
You wouldn’t care if she told you herself !
Uh oh
May 25th, 2012
2:31 pm
RB
That goes for FBI, CIA, Secret Service, Border Patrol, ICE, etc
They all gave a collectuve thank you for your take on their service to this country
Adam
May 25th, 2012
2:31 pm
Thulsa: And certainly not about your proposition that the U.S. govt can allocate scarce resources as efficiently as our private sector can.
Find where I said that. I double dog dare you.
That statement alone shows everybody on here a degree of loonyness that is beyond belief.
What that statement shows is that you have every ability to think I said something I didn’t say.
I still can’t fathom that you believe that.
Of course you can fathom it. YOU are the one who made that up.
0311/8541/5811/1811/1801
May 25th, 2012
2:31 pm
Joe:
“Pal”
Common Sense
May 25th, 2012
2:32 pm
“The problem with HOPE is it is used by people who can afford the education without using it. It needs income caps.”
Parents have no fiscal responsibility for the college education of their children. You cannot mandate it by law.
So to use a parent’s income to tell a kid he has no access to a Hope scholarship because of his parent’s income is wrong.
Hope is for all students who meet the standards, not just children of the families you feel are worthy.
Adam
May 25th, 2012
2:34 pm
Thulsa: BTW, I see what you did there, now. So you will find that I said they are essentially equal, but you’re making the same assertion that this is somehow insane. I already backed up my statement. Care to back up your statement that government is always less efficient, and that onlya fool would believe otherwise?
Ok, ok, I will let you pass on the latter part. You don’t have to prove that only a fool would believe otherwise
HDB
May 25th, 2012
2:34 pm
0311/8541/5811/1811/1801
May 25th, 2012
2:21 pm
Hummmm ……………………
“President Obama took an apparent racial swipe at Colin Powell in a 1994 NPR interview in which he implied the four-star general is acceptable to “white America.”
Scout…..it’s not a swipe since it’s the TRUTH!!
Joe Hussein Mama
May 25th, 2012
2:35 pm
0311 — “Joe: You wouldn’t care if she told you herself !”
She didn’t tell me herself. You just POSTED it yourself. Do you even read the stuff you post before you hit the Submit button?
jconservative
May 25th, 2012
2:35 pm
The idea that modern Republicans are small government conservatives is pure fiction.
0311/8541/5811/1811/1801
May 25th, 2012
2:35 pm
Look before you leap:
Headline: “Obama Closing of Auto Dealerships Cost Tens of Thousands of Jobs, Government Audit Suggests”
“A new audit by Neil Barofsky, the Inspector General of the TARP program, suggests that the Obama administration made a huge mistake when it closed a number of auto dealerships when it seized control of Chrysler and GM.”
http://voices.yahoo.com/obama-closing-auto-dealerships-cost-tens-thousands-6428292.html
http://www.npr.org/blogs/thetwo-way/2010/07/19/128625027/obama-team-overdid-car-dealer-closings-watchdog
Look before I leap...
May 25th, 2012
2:36 pm
“Hope is for all students who meet the standards, not just children of the families you feel are worthy.”
I agree. But with demand exceeding resources, you have 3 options:
Increase the flow of money into HOPE
Decrease HOPE benefits
Increase the standards
Mighty Righty
May 25th, 2012
2:36 pm
Regarding Obama’s extravagant spending spree which the left is now pulling out all stops to distort and hide. Here are the only facts anyone needs to know. The U.S. is no 15.7 billion dollars debt the largest in the history of the world and Obama has spent more money in 3.5 years than the hated George Bush did in 8 years and further if Obama is reelected and continues his spending spree he will spend more money than all presidents combined dating back to George Washington. BTW, pray tell what on earth do we have to show for this extravaganza? Further, if this spending is not so bad why is are the loons hell bent on hiding the facts from the public?
Adam
May 25th, 2012
2:36 pm
President Obama took an apparent racial swipe at Colin Powell in a 1994 NPR interview in which he implied the four-star general is acceptable to “white America.”
I love how you guys have to keep reaching into the past to take digs at Obama. A past that is before January 20, 2009, which you have already indicated is a demarcation point.
0311/8541/5811/1811/1801
May 25th, 2012
2:36 pm
Joe:
Keep your head in the sand.
Mick
May 25th, 2012
2:38 pm
1811
Just to show you I really think obama is just OK and heads and shoulders above romney, I totally agree with the point penn jillete makes here-
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/05/21/penn-jillette-slams-obama-drug-policy-states-rights-video_n_1533004.html
Joe Hussein Mama
May 25th, 2012
2:40 pm
0311 — “Joe: Keep your head in the sand.”
You know, keeping one’s head in the sand and believing the unsupported crap you just happen to make up are two different things.
If it’s such unassailable truth, then PROVE she knew it. Otherwise, take a hike.
Either strap on a pair and prove what you said or man up and accept that other people aren’t just going to fall in line because you said something.
I'm a liberal and believe everything I read and nothing the other side comes up with...cause we're smart and they are not
May 25th, 2012
2:40 pm
Off subject, but I have to laugh about all the stories about Obama declaring martial law before the election….LOL………..number 1, there are about 500,000 military ground troops in the armed services and I would say 1.5 mil cops……..There are 40 million well armed hunters alone in the US. Good luck with that. Also, I doubt 90% of the ALL VOLUNTEER services would obey the order, Sleep tight tonight.
HDB
May 25th, 2012
2:40 pm
Scout….in a mock election….Powell would have beaten Obama….which makes that statement true!! Here’s the link….
http://uselectionatlas.org/FORUM/index.php?topic=25478.0
Mick
May 25th, 2012
2:40 pm
mighty@ 2:36
Your rant has been debunked so many times its ten times worse than beating a dead horse…but keep on believin inside that nice little bubble you inhabit…
Joe Hussein Mama
May 25th, 2012
2:41 pm
Righty — “Obama has spent more money in 3.5 years than the hated George Bush did in 8 years and further if Obama is reelected and continues his spending spree he will spend more money than all presidents combined dating back to George Washington.”
“Deficits don’t matter.”
–Vice President Dick Cheney
I'm a liberal and believe everything I read and nothing the other side comes up with...cause we're smart and they are not
May 25th, 2012
2:43 pm
It won’t even be about the deficits with Obama. It’ll be about the plight of the 50% paying in the system and ones not paying in who want to.
davetv
May 25th, 2012
2:44 pm
We need to spend our tax dollars more like when you go to Subway. At Subway, you tell them what you want, you watch them make what you ordered, and you pay for what you directed them to make. If you get to your table and your sandwich is wrong- it’s your fault because you had total oversight.
Instead of having oversight of how our taxes are spent, we send a lump sum of money every week with our sandwich order to some restaurant in the sky and wait for them to decide what kind of sandwich we really want, what condiments are on it, who we need to share our sandwich with, where we eat our sandwich, how much our sandwich costs and when we get our sandwich. Chances are, it’s not going to be what we ordered.
0311/8541/5811/1811/1801
May 25th, 2012
2:45 pm
EGADS ! Warning: Graphic !!
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/05/25/hillary-clinton-photo-caption-contest_n_1545548.html
0311/8541/5811/1811/1801
May 25th, 2012
2:46 pm
HDB: Thanks
Joe Hussein Mama : Yawn !
I'm a liberal and believe everything I read and nothing the other side comes up with...cause we're smart and they are not
May 25th, 2012
2:47 pm
Obama losing ground big time with the 21-29 group, college educated. Fool me once motto comes to mind.
Look before I leap...
May 25th, 2012
2:47 pm
0311:
The bulk of the dealership job losses (about 178K) occurred between Jan 2008 and Jan 2009, prior to Obama taking office.
The dealership closing plans were included in the TARP applications submitted to the BUSH administration.
That dealerships continued to close after Obama took office is true, but they closed because they were NOT selling cars and were not profitable.
Basic capitalistic theory says, if you can’t make money doing it, stop doing it.
Joe Hussein Mama
May 25th, 2012
2:47 pm
0311 — “Joe Hussein Mama : Yawn !”
Your surrender is hereby accepted.
Jm
May 25th, 2012
2:48 pm
Jhm Cheney was a liberal
Thulsa Doom
May 25th, 2012
2:50 pm
“Believing the U.S. govt can allocate resources as efficiently as the private sector is often the sign of a delusional mind.”
Corrected your typo Adam.
And certainly not about your proposition that the U.S. govt can allocate scarce resources as efficiently as our private sector can.- Doom
Find where I said that. I double dog dare you.- Adam
Back to semantics games again Adam. You may not have said it exactly that way but you certainly said or at least implied that the U.S. govt can efficiently allocate scarce resources as well as the private sector right? You did say or imply something very close to that correct?
“Of course you can fathom it. YOU are the one who made that up” Adam
Adam with his semantics games again. Are we at least accurate in saying that you believe that the U.S. govt can efficiently allocate a dollar of scarce resources as well as the private sector? If not then please enlighten us again as to exactly what you are trying to say sir.
0311/8541/5811/1811/1801
May 25th, 2012
2:51 pm
“The Boston Globe this morning reported that Harvard University listed the Democratic Massachusetts Senate candidate as a Native American for six years in its federal diversity statistics — the latest example of Warren having been labeled a minority by the school.
The difference with this case, though, is that the Globe reports that such designations are almost always based on how an employee identified him or herself.”
Mick
May 25th, 2012
2:52 pm
HDB
Yes, but did powell have the cajones to run for president and put himself out there? NO – fact His wife was afraid that he would be an assassination target, so he didn’t run. Obama, fully aware of being a target, took it on..another gutsy call…
Contrarian
May 25th, 2012
2:53 pm
Rules for regrssives: lie; cheat; steal; obfuscate; lie. Yes, the draw inspiration from Dodgeball.
Joe Hussein Mama
May 25th, 2012
2:54 pm
0311 — “The difference with this case, though, is that the Globe reports that such designations are almost always based on how an employee identified him or herself.”
Oh, don’t want to surrender? Fine. Where’s your proof?
Joe Hussein Mama
May 25th, 2012
2:55 pm
Jm — “Jhm Cheney was a liberal”
I expect you’d like for us to believe that, but it’s not going to happen.
Joe Hussein Mama
May 25th, 2012
2:56 pm
Folks, I’m out. Everyone drive safely and play safely this weekend. Come back in one piece — hopefully a non-hung-over one — next week.
0311/8541/5811/1811/1801
May 25th, 2012
2:56 pm
Look before I leap:
“That dealerships continued to close after Obama took office is true, but they closed because they were NOT selling cars and were not profitable.”
Many disagree with you …….. it’s a complicated case. Time will tell ……. time will tell.
Headline: “Car Dealers Press Case Against U.S. Over Bailout, Citing Constitution”
“U.S. government bailouts of General Motors and Chrysler became a constitutional battleground when they were pushed through bankruptcy court in 2009.
Turns out the battle isn’t over just yet.
More than 220 former car dealers are pressing their case that the Obama administration violated the U.S. Constitution when the car makers terminated franchise agreements while in bankruptcy restructuring.
They are seeking compensatory damages ranging from $500,000 to more than $5 million apiece.”
Uh oh
May 25th, 2012
2:56 pm
“It’ll be about the plight of the 50% paying in the system and ones not paying in who want to.”
What do you think the lower ranking enlisted military personnel, many who qualify for EITC, would think of what you think of them in terms of who pays into the system?
Common Sense
May 25th, 2012
2:56 pm
“I agree. But with demand exceeding resources, you have 3 options:
Increase the flow of money into HOPE
Decrease HOPE benefits
Increase the standards”
So you penalize some because of their parent’s income?
How thoughtful.
0311/8541/5811/1811/1801
May 25th, 2012
2:57 pm
Joe:
Take it up with the Globe.
Mick
May 25th, 2012
2:57 pm
jm
If romney couldn’t defeat ted kennedy, what makes you think he can best obama? Get ready for a bain wreck…
HDB
May 25th, 2012
2:57 pm
Mick
May 25th, 2012
2:52 pm
No argument with me!! Just making the point that what is considered a swipe by some isn’t….but the truth that many wish not to admit!!
0311/8541/5811/1811/1801
May 25th, 2012
2:57 pm
P.S.:
“But the latest report confirms that the media in that state is continuing to dig and find things, and that means that the issue isn’t likely to be put to rest for some time.”
Brosephus™
May 25th, 2012
2:58 pm
The only way public sector ee’s can contribute to debt reduction is to resign an get a job that generates tax revenue instead of consuming it.
Sure Mr. Retail Man, and if you sale, use, or operate anything that’s imported, you wouldn’t get it without it clearing customs first. You’re so hung up on your rhetoric that you can’t even acknowledge the things government is Constitutionally required to do. If every customs and immigration officer resigned as you suggested, this country would grind to a complete stop in a matter of days if they were not replaced.
HDB
May 25th, 2012
3:01 pm
0311/8541/5811/1811/1801
May 25th, 2012
2:56 pm
Scout….that won’t be an issue…..remember how the Bush Administration pushed Lehman Brothers into bankruptcy court in order to create TARP…with the idea to SAVE the American economy?? Note the Preamble to the Constitution: “…to provide for the general welfare”…..
There is a precedent…………..
0311/8541/5811/1811/1801
May 25th, 2012
3:02 pm
Joe Hussein Mama:
And as we also discussed the other day, let’s have Harvard release Obama’s enrollment records …………….. did he “claim” foreign student status even though he was an American citizen?
That one could be cleared up today !
HDB
May 25th, 2012
3:03 pm
Brosephus™
May 25th, 2012
2:58 pm
You mean MINUTES….don’t you?? With the flow of money being controlled via computer…..the stoppage of revenue streams can happen within minutes…..
0311/8541/5811/1811/1801
May 25th, 2012
3:03 pm
HDB:
I hear you but courts can be fickle ………. and two wrongs (precedent or not) don’t make it right.
Thulsa Doom
May 25th, 2012
3:04 pm
“Care to back up your statement that government is always less efficient, and that onlya fool would believe otherwise?”
Govt is not always less inefficient- just the overwhelming majority of the time. One can probably find isolated instances of govt doing something better than the private sector but generally speaking that is the exception and not the rule.
And I think you may be confusing market failure with the idea that govt is more efficient. Market failure alludes to instances where there is no incentive for a private entity to undertake a project either because its not profitable or because the vast scale of the project does not allow for a private firm to do it. Examples would be the Panama canal, Hoover dam, interstate highway system, and the rural electrification act.
Nobody is saying that govt does not have a role or that there are things that govt can’t do. What I am saying is that generally speaking that almost anything that can be done via the private sector versus govt the private sector is going to do a better job of it. Why? Because a private sector entity generally allocates a dollar of scarce resources more efficiently than govt. And again. That’s something few people would dispute. Only a fool would believe otherwise.
Look before I leap...
May 25th, 2012
3:08 pm
“So you penalize some because of their parent’s income?
How thoughtful”
I am not advocating any course of action.
I am simply stating a mathematical fact.
Please do not put words into my mouth.
Super TaxPayer PAC
May 25th, 2012
3:09 pm
And I’ll bet the real kicker to Romney’s top down approach (aka, more trickle down) is that it will be funded by more tax cuts for the wealthiest.
Brosephus™
May 25th, 2012
3:13 pm
HDB
I was referring more to the practice of just in time shipping to avoid warehousing costs and the free movement of workers across the border. If that tanker of crude oil can’t clear the border, that load can’t be offloaded. If that cargo plane full of goods can’t be cleared, it can’t be unloaded. There are also many workers, both foreign and American, that depend on the ability to get in and out of the country as quickly as possible. Those duties are required to be done by the Constitution.
Adam
May 25th, 2012
3:15 pm
Thulsa: Govt is not always less inefficient- just the overwhelming majority of the time. One can probably find isolated instances of govt doing something better than the private sector but generally speaking that is the exception and not the rule.
Back this up with facts please. Facts I found show that you are incorrect.
Why? Because a private sector entity generally allocates a dollar of scarce resources more efficiently than govt. And again. That’s something few people would dispute. Only a fool would believe otherwise.
Like I said, this is all you have. A subjective opinion and a subjective opinion to back up your subjective opinion. In other words – nothing.
Jefferson
May 25th, 2012
3:15 pm
Why not just fix the problems with gov’t, instead the GOP wants to profit off gov’t.
Adam
May 25th, 2012
3:16 pm
Bro: If every customs and immigration officer resigned as you suggested, this country would grind to a complete stop in a matter of days if they were not replaced.
And that’s just a teeny tiny aspect of government too. There are tons of agencies and employees that would basically result in the same effect.
josef
May 25th, 2012
3:19 pm
I’ll wait until I’ve read the white paper to make comment, but for now let me just say that if it’s coming from the federal government level, I don’t trust it much to begin with…
0311/8541/5811/1811/1801
May 25th, 2012
3:22 pm
“HOW TO INSTALL A SOUTHERN STYLE HOME SECURITY SYSTEM
1. Go to Goodwill and buy a pair of size 14-16 men’s work boots.
2. Place them on your front porch, along with a copy of Guns & Ammo Magazines.
3. Put four giant dog dishes next to the boots and magazines.
4. Leave a note on your door that reads:
Bubba,
Me and Marcel, Virgil, Erra, T-Bone and Jimmy Earl went for more ammo and a gallon of sweet tea. Be back in an hour. Don’t mess with the pit bulls. They got the mailman this morning and messed him up bad. I don’t think Killer took part, but it was hard to tell from all the blood. Anyway, I locked all four of ‘em in the house. Better wait outside. Be right back.
Cooter
Adam
May 25th, 2012
3:22 pm
josef: I have equal distrust for all forms of authority. That is to say, I don’t just believe what I am told because of the source, nor do I assume that it is good because of the source. I also don’t immediately think that it is bad or a complete lie either, because of the source. And in case we have any nit[pickers out there, it is sources of authority I am talking about. YOU don’t count.
Look before I leap...
May 25th, 2012
3:24 pm
“Govt is not always less inefficient- just the overwhelming majority of the time. One can probably find isolated instances of govt doing something better than the private sector but generally speaking that is the exception and not the rule.”
I’d agree except in one area, the area of developing innovative technologies where risk-averse private enterprise and near-term ROI requirements or highly capital intensive investment is required.
The government is perfectly suited for such endeavors because they don’t have to show near-term results and financial return.
We spent nearly 30 billion dollars in the 60’s to put 12 men on the moon.
We did not do this for national pride and there was no pot of gold buried in the moondust.
We did it to tell the USSR, don’t even THINK of weaponizing space.
HDB
May 25th, 2012
3:25 pm
Brosephus™
May 25th, 2012
3:13 pm
I’m with you on that….
As an IT person, I also know that JIT has enormous pressure on cash flow! For as many HOURS a shipment is delayed, that plays havoc on a revenue stream….and a matter of minutes can be the difference between profit and bankruptcy!1 Remember how during the banking collapse how GE was catching issues due to its finance division?? It rolls downhill…..
Jm
May 25th, 2012
3:26 pm
Mick
We’ll see I think Romney has a very good chance
Nothwithstanding your catchy sloganeering
Doggone/GA
May 25th, 2012
3:26 pm
“So you penalize some because of their parent’s income?”
You aren’t “penalizing” anyone, because they will go to college regardless…since they can ALREADY afford it.
RB from Gwinnett
May 25th, 2012
3:28 pm
Uh oh, go play your childish game with somebody else.
Jm
May 25th, 2012
3:30 pm
Scout 3:22 hilarious
Adam
May 25th, 2012
3:30 pm
I’d agree except in one area, the area of developing innovative technologies where risk-averse private enterprise and near-term ROI requirements or highly capital intensive investment is required.
You agree about it in other areas than the one you cited, but that’s because you believe it to be true for the other areas. What I want to see is some hard evidence that the government, as a rule with a few exceptions, does things less efficiently than the private sector. My contention is that, statistically, there is no significant difference between government and private sector in terms of efficiency. A source of data to back this up is here: http://www.psiru.org/reports/2005-10-W-effic.doc
josef
May 25th, 2012
3:35 pm
ADAM
“I also don’t immediately think that it is bad or a complete lie either, because of the source”
I do. That way on those very, very rare occasions where it’s not, I can be pleasantly surprised.
But, this is education specifically being addressed here, and federal involvement there I will damn out of hand…it’s dangerous in my opinion…
Adam
May 25th, 2012
3:36 pm
josef: I find it more dangerous to damn any argument or position out of hand.
josef
May 25th, 2012
3:41 pm
ADAM
What can I say? At heart, I’m a Jeffersonian in these matters.
Dems_R_Idiots
May 25th, 2012
3:41 pm
Since the Democrat creature known as the DOE has done such a wonderful job on the education front, Go Mitt Go!
Look before I leap...
May 25th, 2012
3:42 pm
@Adam:
As the owner of a data crunching consulting firm that has numerous private business and public sector contracts, I can tell you anecdotally, my admin costs for public sector contracts are easily 20% higher (from RFP to program admin and reporting) than what I incur with similar contracts in the private sector. My bids reflect those additional costs.
Another case in point, one private sector energy client had multiple sites. I filled out one form was issued one ID badge and had all the access I needed. This took 6 hours to accomplish.
I had a concurrent contract with the DOE. I had to fill out 31 forms for site access and it took 7 weeks. I also ended up with 15 different badges.
jm
May 25th, 2012
3:43 pm
jay.
you and kyle getting along?
dueling reports on Obama’s spending habits? uh oh
MrLiberty
May 25th, 2012
3:45 pm
davetv @2:44pm – You make a good point, but the only way to achieve total accountability for the money we spend would be to eliminate the government completely, allow private companies to competitively provide ALL of the services that anyone might want, allow market forces to determine winners and losers, allow private and competitive arbitration to decide conflicts, hold everyone accountable for fraud, force, etc. and allow everyone to actually decide EXACTLY where their money is going and for what.
Sounds like the greatest system of governance anyone could hope for. That is the definition of Anarcho-Capitalism, a philosophy that is being embraced by more and more people worldwide as they see the true reality and face of government (and its chronic failure at everything it does). The best site to read more about this voluntarist approach to human interaction is lewrockwell.com. You are absolutely on to something. Go with it, its the right approach.
Moderate Line
May 25th, 2012
3:49 pm
You can’t complain about ideological rigidity then complain when one party or candidate steps away from it.
skipper
May 25th, 2012
3:50 pm
School systems are SO SCREWED UP NOW that any cure-of-the-day is deemed applicable…………APS is a prime example….it would take Shakespeare 7 quill-pens and 4 barrells of ink to write about how messed up this cluster is, AND THIS IS NOT A LIBERAL OR CONSERVATIVE VIEW; this is a cold, hard fact, no matter which (if any) camp you are in! We need a cure, but the incompetants we have there now are part of the reason somebody is looking to do something!!!
getalife
May 25th, 2012
3:51 pm
He finally told the truth on spending cuts will harm our economy.
Thulsa Doom
May 25th, 2012
3:53 pm
Scout,
Those are 2 issues that could come back to haunt Obama.
1-Several of us have read that various GM dealers were claiming that they were closed down purely due to politics while O’s administration picked and chose winning dealers based on political contributions and party affiliation. Just more blatant corruption and crony capitalism.
2- Did O try to claim foreign status as a student to get into Harvard? His Harvard records need to be opened up and examined. According to his own biography and I paraphrase he “drifted through his last 2 years of high school, attended class sparingly, drank a lot of beer, and enthusiastically engaged in drug use”. These are his own words from his own book.
What I want to know is how does one who drifted through high school and attended class sparingly get into Columbia and Harvard. How??? Did he get in by claiming status as a foreign student? Its a pretty legitimate question for a man who clearly was not vetted by the media the first go round.
0311/8541/5811/1811/1801
May 25th, 2012
3:56 pm
Thulsa:
Thank you ……….. but it won’t come from the so called “main stream” media.
They are in bed with him.
Where are those great investigative reporters of yesteryear ? You know, the “Woodward and Bernsteins” of today !
0311/8541/5811/1811/1801
May 25th, 2012
3:56 pm
Going out on patrol …………… Everyone be nice !
josef
May 25th, 2012
3:56 pm
skipper
Yep. It’s what happens when the bureaucrats are in control. Education is the last place we need a bureaucracy. But they ain’t goin nowhere no time soon. We might as well throw out the whole idea of “reform,” shut the s*cker down and start all over from scratch…
JamVet
May 25th, 2012
3:57 pm
Education matters are, to me, as perplexing as economic matters. They are enormously complicated and interrelated and the many layers and facets of the systems and problems simply do not lend themselves to puerile “fixes” like many of those proffered here.
I was a very good student. Because I worked very hard at it. Intellectual curiosity is a wonderful thing!
And gawd knows that where and when I went to school is radically different than from what kids in this metropolitan area go through. Therefore, I’m pretty sure that I don’t have any “answers” other than that for those children who are lazy or distracted or whatever, what do you expect? A straight A average?
Besides I have bigger problems right now. I’m thinking of changing the name of my fantasy baseball team to the 62 Mets…
skipper
May 25th, 2012
3:58 pm
@josef,
You are right on………………
josef
May 25th, 2012
3:59 pm
THULSA
I’d like to see those transcripts myself, but not for any of the reasons being bandied about. I’d just like to know see the full curriculum vitae of the man we hired to do the job of chief executive…
Thulsa Doom
May 25th, 2012
4:02 pm
“Back this up with facts please. Facts I found show that you are incorrect.”
Adam,
I already did. I used North Korea which is the ultimate guide to the efficiency of how successful govt works. Another example would be the former Soviet Union.
But enough. Lets look at just one sector of the economy to see which provides a better product shall we. How about education? Sooooo Adam. Both the private sector and the govt do education. Which one produces a better product?
Its going to be fascinating watching you try to say that govt does a better job of education than private schools. Go ahead Adam. Try and tell me that govt public schools do better than private schools.
240 more days
May 25th, 2012
4:02 pm
And while we’re on the topic of political outrages done to veterans, don’t forget that President Bush kicked all Category 8 veterans out of the system in 2005 (me included) and that the GOP tried to cut VA funding in HALF the following year.
If your health or problem is not service related, and/or you make more monry than the VA allows for “free medical care” then you don’t deserve it. The orignal content of the VA medical program was for service related health issues.
If your problems are service related, it is due you and the others, but not if not service related.
larry
May 25th, 2012
4:02 pm
Several of us have read that various GM dealers were claiming that they were closed down purely due to politics while O’s administration picked and chose winning dealers based on political contributions and party affiliation. Just more blatant corruption and crony capitalism.
What you have read is the dumbest thing i have read. I live in a small town here in NE Georgia that has TWO, yes TWO GM dealerships and neither one was even targeted to be closed down. And the men that own them are both card carrying Repubs. So that just blows that statement completely out of the water.
josef
May 25th, 2012
4:03 pm
ZamVet
It’s not complicated at all. Ask any teacher. “Just get the f out of the way and let me do the job you hired me to do.”
getalife
May 25th, 2012
4:04 pm
You know it is bad when Exxon makes an ad supporting Education spending.
Thulsa Doom
May 25th, 2012
4:05 pm
josef,
Well actually that’s the other reason though a lesser reason to me. I would like to see what subjects folks actually studied. How much math and science did he take? Did he take any business courses? How did he do in history? And not just Obama but any candidate really.
Thulsa Doom
May 25th, 2012
4:07 pm
Larry,
One anecdotal example does not a story make. There is a reason why a couple hundred dealers disagree with you. Let’s find out from them.
josef
May 25th, 2012
4:08 pm
THULSA
I’ve worked in the private and the public classroom. They produce much the same product. In the public school, the teacher bows to the government fat cow. In the private sector the teacher bows to the private fat cow. You honestly think you can flunk l’il lazy dumb ass junior whose Mama and Daddy are paying THAT much in tuition and leaving THAT much to endowment? Yeah, dream on…
And the same thing is at work in flunking l’il dumb ass junior in the public school. When Uncle Sam is paying THAT much and giving THAT much in endowment? Yeah, dream on…
Moderate Line
May 25th, 2012
4:09 pm
larry
May 25th, 2012
4:02 pm
Several of us have read that various GM dealers were claiming that they were closed down purely due to politics while O’s administration picked and chose winning dealers based on political contributions and party affiliation. Just more blatant corruption and crony capitalism.
What you have read is the dumbest thing i have read. I live in a small town here in NE Georgia that has TWO, yes TWO GM dealerships and neither one was even targeted to be closed down. And the men that own them are both card carrying Repubs. So that just blows that statement completely out of the water.
+++++
I do not know whether there was any targeting but a sample of two doesn’t really prove anything.
josef
May 25th, 2012
4:10 pm
RHULSA
“And not just Obama but any candidate really…”
Me. too. You think I’m going to hire a teacher without looking at his or her transcript? I don’t think so.
Thulsa Doom
May 25th, 2012
4:11 pm
“Where are those great investigative reporters of yesteryear ? You know, the “Woodward and Bernsteins” of today !”
They are kinda like the anti war protesters, code pink, the anti- Patriot act folks, and of course the anti-Gitmo folks. They all kinda just disappeared once O came into office. Funny how that happened.
larry
May 25th, 2012
4:12 pm
There is a reason why a couple hundred dealers disagree with you.
If the case was as you stated, wouldnt the two dealers here in town, who are card carrying Repubs, be one of the dealers they would try to close down.
Like i said, it doesnt carry water.
getalife
May 25th, 2012
4:12 pm
“Just get the f out of the way and let me do the job you hired me to do.”
Teachers vs government takeover.
I will support the teachers on this one.
JamVet
May 25th, 2012
4:13 pm
josef, LOL!
Again my academic career took place in a two room school house through grade six, grades seven through eleven in a Kansas town of 8,000 people and I graduated from a high school in Nebraska with about 200 classmates.
So I cannot even relate to the modern day monstrous bureaucracy and the many levels of politics involved.
It sounds hellish.
I just hope that there is some sizable number of kids out there who are determined to learn everything they can, no matter who or what obstacles are placed in their way.
Because really, isn’t that how life works anyway?
Thulsa Doom
May 25th, 2012
4:16 pm
josef,
Keep in mind that my sis is a teacher. My point is not about teachers themselves or the product they produce. After all I went to public school and had all of one crappy teacher in my 12 years. Not bad.
The teachers in public school at least when I went by and far did an excellent job. My indictment is not of them but of the bureaucracy, the U.S. dept of education, the inability to fire really bad teachers because of union rules in decaying big city school systems, etc. And my point to Adam is that generally speaking you don’t have these mountainous layers of bureaucracy such as the federal dept of education which in my opinion do nothing but add to the cost of education. And believe me. I hear it from my sister in law all the time.
Generation$crewed
May 25th, 2012
4:19 pm
Doggone/GA
May 25th, 2012
3:26 pm
NO Their Parents can afford it.
My parents made plenty of money to be able to pay for our college. But they told each of us if we wanted to go we needed to figure out how to pay for it.
All 3 of us boys went and graduated.
However in monetary terms I was getting far less help from my parents than many who were on full Pell.
Are you calling for forcing parents who can afford to pay for their children to go to college?
Even if the student earned the money thru a merit based program?
Thulsa Doom
May 25th, 2012
4:19 pm
Larry,
Not if the town is big enough to easily support both of them profitably. The complaint of some of these dealerships is that profitable dealerships that overlapped with less profitable but politically aligned dealerships were let go. That is the point. Whether its true or not we will find out.
Look before I leap...
May 25th, 2012
4:23 pm
“1-Several of us have read that various GM dealers were claiming that they were closed down purely due to politics while O’s administration picked and chose winning dealers based on political contributions and party affiliation. Just more blatant corruption and crony capitalism. ”
Then you and your buddies should be more careful about what you read. And the charges involved Chrysler dealarships, not GM.
This has been debunked again and again and again.
Even FoxNews came to the same conclusion:
“FoxNews.com: A preliminary study by FOXNews.com found that the data do not support the charges. Among the dealerships set to close, 12 percent of a random 50 selected for review donated to Republicans and 8 percent to Democrats. Of the dealerships remaining open, 14 percent of a random 50 selected donated to Republicans and 10 percent to Democrats. In both samples, the average size of donations was similar for both parties.”
Jm
May 25th, 2012
4:23 pm
Moderate line 3:49
That was a one line subtle smack down
Well done
davetv
May 25th, 2012
4:24 pm
MrLiberty @ 3:45 pm
If I didn’t make it clear- I only meant that we should strive to spend our taxes more like Subway rather than the way it is now. Drop the federal tax and increase state and local taxes. No total tax increase or decrease. Do that for a year or two and see how much more efficient the money can be spent when we have a body who has to look us in the eye and explain why he spent our money the way he did. For example, if our state decided we needed high-speed rail but all the money had to come out of the state budget (which took it away from job programs, street paving, etc) then they had better have the support of the people of the state and they’d better do it efficiently as possible and they better hire local folks to build it. If we don’t want high speed rail or money is wasted on it then we know where to protest and we know who to vote out of office. The way it is now, we get a “grant” from the fed govt. and we spend most of that on some study and then go into cost overruns and then nobody rides on the light rail. Oh well, it’s not like it was our money.
davetv
May 25th, 2012
4:35 pm
Supose there was a study that showed how much money is spent per child in public vs. private schools and also compared graduation rates, SAT scores, employment rates, etc.?
What if said study showed that private schools spend less per child yet produced better results?
Would those of you blathering on about government education being efficient change your minds about the subject? Would you shut your trap?
davetv
May 25th, 2012
4:36 pm
oops “suppose”
davetv
May 25th, 2012
4:51 pm
According to the U. S. Department of Education Institute of Education Services, Digest of Education Statistics 2009, the average tuition charged for all private schools in 2007-2008 was $8,549. The average elementary school tuition for that period was $6,733, while the average tuition for a private high school was $10,549.
Public school systems spent an average of $10,499 per pupil in fiscal year 2009, a 2.3 percent increase over 2008, according to data released today by the U.S. Census Bureau. Public schools in New York spent more than any other state or state equivalent, with $18,126 per pupil in 2009. The District of Columbia ($16,408), New Jersey ($16,271), Alaska ($15,552) and Vermont ($15,175) had the next-highest spending.
Brosephus™
May 25th, 2012
4:59 pm
HDB
I’ve seen the panic when a shipment isn’t released fast enough. I can only imagine how much more intense it is when it involves purely financial transactions.
Look before I leap...
May 25th, 2012
5:18 pm
“I’ve seen the panic when a shipment isn’t released fast enough. I can only imagine how much more intense it is when it involves purely financial transactions.”
I worked for a major computer workstation manufacture in the Bay Area in the late 80’s.
We manufactured the systems in Milpitas but the monitors were made and shipped by Sony in Japan.
The monitors came in by ship, our dock agent verified the shipments, we wired payment and the monitors were released. Someone screwed up in Treasury one day and the wire did not go out. The monitors sat on the dock all weekend.
They had to fire people in waves the following Monday because we did not have enough security personnel to escort them all out of the building at the same time.
Brosephus™
May 25th, 2012
5:59 pm
Look before
Wow!!! I’m not surprised.
Bullying in schools and Romney’s bad education – msnbc.com | Just Top News – Daily News Magazine
May 25th, 2012
6:00 pm
[...] offense against RomneyCNN (blog)On Education, Romney Seeks Distance from Obama — and BushTIMEAtlanta Journal Constitution (blog) -Boston Herald -BusinessWeekall 3,179 news [...]
independent thinker
May 25th, 2012
7:16 pm
Best plan that is not discussed here is the profit making schools run by Romney’s son – No chance he would benefit from the latest Repub plan to get someone close’s hand in the cookie jar? Ever here of Halliburton or Carlysle group?
TGT
May 25th, 2012
9:05 pm
Speaking of education, looks like Massachusetts liberals could use a little more (or at least some conviction): Even though it has been clearly shown that Elizabeth Warren lied about her Indian heritage, a recent Suffolk University poll reveals that, Seventy-two percent of likely voters were aware of the recent controversy concerning Elizabeth Warren’s heritage. Of those, 49 percent said Warren was telling the truth about being part Native American; 28 percent said she was not telling the truth; and 23 percent weren’t sure.
It looks like the libs are so desperate that even when their candidate has been shown to have been lying for nearly 20 years to advance her career, they shrug their shoulders and look for the D on the ballot. After all, she’s still pro-abortion, pro-gay marriage, pro-man-made global warming, etc., right?
Mary Elizabeth
May 26th, 2012
10:30 am
“. . .let’s just acknowledge the basic hypocrisy involved in claiming to reject federal mandates on Washington and then proposing an entire new slate of those very mandates.
The idea of a federal voucher alone makes this a Washington intervention of historic proportions.”
==================================================
The federal government has been involved in education in the states since the Brown v The Board of Education decision, by the U.S. Supreme Court, in which the previous “separate but equal” concept of public education existed. Federal government intervention changed that unjust system of educating our young, throughout the nation.
I have no problem with the establishment of a U.S. Department of Education in which education is given a concentrated focus throughout the nation and, in fact, that could be a beneficial focus, if handled appropriately. (It sprang from the previous Dept. of Health, Education, and Welfare.) What I do have a problem with is the privatizing of education, throughout the nation and states, instead of maintaining public education. In a capitalistic country such as ours, it is the public sector which helps to balance the avarice of the private sector’s need for profit. With profit as the main incentive in education, that would mean that children would, ultlimately, be used for profit and teachers would be viewed as commodities to acquire that profit. Public education keeps that from happening. At its best, public education is based on service, not on profit. Public education should be improved from within; it should not be dismantled for private education.
Now to the hypocrisy within this plan. One must look beyond surface “spin” of reality, constantly, it seems, if one is to see into the real truth behind what Republicans claim to be true, and what is true, in reality.
The real truth, as I see it, in this educational plan of Romney’s, is to privatize public education throughout the nation. The powerful and very wealthy who financially back Romney’s campaign for president support this plan for privatizing public education in the states and across the nation. (ALEC has it as a major goal.) This will mean using public tax dollars for private interests and personal financial gain. (Savvy and unethical politicians have been stealthily getting away with using public tax dollars for their own private financial self-interests and personal financial gain for decades, but this practice should not continue, and it certainly should not exist within the arena of education.)
More specificially, if the federal mandate gives states educational power (to continue taxing its citizens within its state for educational purposes) but also gives states authority to use vouchers for private education, such as in private charter schools, then business magnates (on the national level) will come into the states and create their private charter schools, using state public tax dollars, through vouchers, to give them their profits.
I could write a chapter on how this turning of public education to private education, via public tax dollars, will hurt education throughout this nation, but I will simply say that it would be a sacrilege to every ideal Thomas Jefferson ever had regarding liberty, freedom of thought, and education in America. Heaven help this nation if Romney is elected President of the United States, for this reason alone, if for no other.
Adam
May 29th, 2012
7:51 am
Thulsa: Lets look at just one sector of the economy to see which provides a better product shall we. How about education? Sooooo Adam. Both the private sector and the govt do education. Which one produces a better product?
Sooooo Thulsa, why don’t you go ahead and show me a FACTUAL study that shows that either does better, statistically, than the other. Since your contention is that private education is better, it should be NO PROBLEM to back that up with facts, right?