Today's edition of quick hits:
* Cairo: "Egyptian protesters scaled the walls of the United States Embassy in Cairo on Tuesday and pulled down the American flag during a demonstration over what they said was a film being produced in the United States that insulted the Prophet Muhammad, witnesses said."
* Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu seems pretty unhappy about the Obama administration's reluctance to draw "red lines" over Iran's disputed nuclear program.
* For all of his occasional goofiness, Vice President Biden's 9/11 comments in Shanksville, Pa., were quite touching. David Kurtz had a good item on this.
* Biden also seemed to have a good time at an unannounced stop at the local volunteer fire department in Shanksville after his remarks.
* Chinese Vice President Xi Jinping seemed likely to take the reins as China's top leader in a matter of weeks. He appears, however, to have gone missing, and hasn't been seen in public in nearly two weeks.
* Chicago: "With negotiators trying to hammer out an agreement that would end Chicago's teachers strike, one of the key sticking points is how to evaluate whether a teacher is doing a good job, an issue that has riled school boards across the U.S. in recent years."
* I suspect he's right: "House Speaker John Boehner said Tuesday that he's not confident Congress can reach a budget deal and avoid a downgrading of the U.S. debt rating."
* Obama is just not good at radical communism: "The Dow Jones industrial average closed Tuesday at its highest level in nearly five years."
* President Obama has named more women to the federal judiciary than any president ever has in one term.
* And Rep. Barney Frank (D-Mass.) had some unpleasant things to say about gay Republicans last week. Does he regret using language he concedes was "very harsh"? Apparently not.
Anything to add? Consider this an open thread.
Leave a Comment:
Of COURSE Boehner isn't confident that Congress can reach a budget deal. He's Speaker of the House, has no control over the Tea Party, and is under strict instructions to obstruct and obfuscate everything the Obama Administration tries to accomplish, at all costs.
Worst Speaker in our history.
Yeah. As much as I despise and completely disagree with someone like Newt Gingrich, I have to at least concede that he got things done and controlled his caucus. Boehner is an awful, awful SotH. The fact that he's third in line to be PotUS is terrifying.
Boehner has the House in order. As noted in the article link posted above:
It's the Senate and its Democratic leadership that can't get anything passed. Boehner is not "confident Congress can reach a budget deal" because he does not have confidence in Harry Reid. Harry Reid says he more confident, let's hope he is right.
Oh? So where is the action on the President's job bill. The GOP wishes to redefine compromise as Do it the GOP way or no action on anything.
We'll see what the voters have to say about that philosophy of non compromise on anything. The Dems have gone more than half way to get an agreement.
We'll see RobDon. We will see.
Barney Frank is actually pretty interesting to listen to. MSNBC should give him the timeslot currently held by the awful Al Sharpton.
I don't agree with you about Al Sharpton, but I do agree that Barney Frank should have his own show on MSNBC after he leaves congress. He's hilarious and interesting. Hell, give him a Daily Show-esque late-night program, I'd watch every night.
I love it, Barney is spot on about the Flog Cabin Republicans.. They should give him Ed Schultz's slot.
I don't see Al Sharpton as the least bit "awful". He was one of THE most astute commentators during both conventions. He has an accent, and that may be what irritates you, but really, he does provide excellent perceptions.
My evaluation of Sharpton as a host is that he has had to tone down his firebreather stuff so much, that he now is completely 180, dull, dull, dull.
Sharpton? that say not Seriously just you did.
"President Obama has named more women to the federal judiciary than any president ever has in one term."
... which probably means that the GOP Senate has mindlessly obstructed more women nominees than any Senate in history.
The RTP has obstructed more of everything than ever before in history at least within a four year period. They do not have the good sense to gain points by getting something done even if it is a compromise. They think they will gain points by acting like recalcitrant mules.
Boehner talks about what the House has passed, but what he fails to mention is the stuff attached to everything they passed that makes it a guarantee fail in the Senate. They know this when they pass it. Their goal is not to pass bills but to pass bills that make Democrats and most anyone else with half a brain recoil. The Republican Tea Party is an extremist party in the same way that the British National Party is an extreme party. Voters need to kill this party and let conservatives of sound mind and reasonable ethics form a new party. There have to be at least a few rational conservatives left and some of them are bound not to reek too badly of corruption. Give them a chance to redeem conservatism in the United States.
Similarly extreme, but with the important difference is that in the US the far-right extremists have taken over the Republican Party. In the UK, the BNP has not nor will it ever be able to take over the Conservative Party. That's an advantage in a (mature) parliamentary system: the extremists filter into very minor parties that have little to no hope of ever achieving power.
Those Shanksville firefighters are a great bunch. I've met a number of them over the years - they've done fundraising around the annual Philadelphia Folk Festival (actually staged near Shanksville each August), hosting "pancake breakfasts" (nom nom) and such. I'm a proud possessor of some of their stylish (fundraising) t-shirts... :-)
D'oh! Before anyone else points it out, I probably needed more coffee today. I seem to have had my Pennsytucky "villes" mixed up - the Fest is near Schwenksville, of course. Although, I'm sure the Shanksville firefighters are still a great bunch.
:-P
Just finished reading Barney Frank's statement and it is a thing of beauty. Don't get Barney Frank started!
Wow, Mr. Biden. Very touching!
So Netanyahu still wants to run the United States. He should pay more attention to his own country and its position in the Middle East. I think that Americans are perfectly capable of running our own country.
Netanyahu, Adeleson and Romney will not be happy until the United States attack Iran on behalf of Israel, so Netanyahu can just sit back and watch.
I have always said that Netanyahu was never a peace maker. What this guy wants is to bomb Iran into the stone age , that has always been his goal from day one. And now his plan is to give Mitt Romney the presidency by forcing Obama into backing a military strike on Iran by Israel. The American people are sick and tired of all these wars , if Obama were to decide to join Israel in a military strike on Iran with the severe ECONOMIC CONSEQUENCES that would have on an already FRAGILE U.S. Economy , it would definitely guarantee a Mitt Romney win in november.
And that is what this prick Netanyahu is looking for...
An Obama loss in november... Netanyahu can't stand Obama...
I wonder if this is another reason why Adelson is contributing so much money to Romney , to start a war with Iranians.
Follow the MONEY to Las Vegas,for orders on Isreal
Libyan consulate set on fire. Over a rumor I believe. Romney could not do worse.
http://english.ahram.org.eg/NewsContent/2/9/52597/World/International/Mob-sets-fire-to-US-consulate-in-Benghazi-witness.aspx
Sure he could, idiot. And he would. He's got W's foreign policy morons advising him.
If the Republicans are being so quiet about their stance on Foreign poicy and wars, why are they wanting to increase the Military budget, by a zillion? They are already planning wars. Republicans have always beleived in the false notion that wars are good for the American economy. They also beleived Bush and the trickle down theory was good for the economy. They are so outdated, it shows either ignorance or laziness on their part. If you want things to be different, you must do things differently. Working on Jobs bills might be a good start, it's been 2 years now since the new Republican Congress have been in charge, and still no bills or sign of life from that institution.
Netanyahu seems upset that the U.S. has not set a red line for Iran's nuclear program. President Obama's policies on Iran are correct. President Obama has sold $66 billion in military hardware and weapons systems to our moderate Arab allies in the Persian Gulf Region. Missile defense in the Persian Gulf region have been beefed up in response to Iranian deployment of around one thousands short ranged ballistic missiles in the region. President Obama has ratcheted up the diplomacy and economic sanctions against the rogue regime in Teheran. President Obama has worked closely with our NATO allies and the United Nations to try and seek a diplomatic solution over Iran's nuclear program.
It is safe to say that time is probably on our side. Iran would retaliate strongly if we or Israel attacks them. Oil prices might hit $200 per barrel over a military crisis with Iran. Military operations against Iran should only take place if Iran is stupid enough to become aggressive and threatening to its neighbors. Israel needs to be kept from attacking Iran because Israel does not have a large enough or strategic air force to take out Iran's heavily defended and underground nuclear targets. President Obama has struck the right balance of diplomacy, increased military sales, and economic sanctions along with our partners in the UN, NATO, and Persian Gulf. Iran is not a problem we have to face alone. We need the help of other countries in standing down Iran while containing any military threat. President Obama's policies have struck a good balance. If Mr. Netanyahu does not like this balance than we need to explain to Mr. Netanyahu that $200 per barrel of oil is a dangerous thing for the global economy. The prudence and wisdom of President Obama's policies are correct for everyone.
What makes you think we have ANY moderate allies in the middle east. Sounds like rolling the dice that they won't use them on us or Israel. Remember you are talking about Arabs who most likely are Muslims who are the least of anyone who we should be trusting with 66 billion dollars of weapons. This doesn't suprise me that Obama would help HIS Muslim allies - not ours!!
Nothing racist and bigoted in this comment at all...
Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia are considered our moderate Arab allies in the Persian Gulf region. The U.S. has had a long standing policy to sell arms to these nations because we do not the French, Chinese, and Russians will be more than happy to do it for us. Besides, the U.S. sells arms to these countries as a way of recycling petroleum dollars we hemorrhage into the area. I support green energy programs that will liberate us from the region's oil but for now considering our love for gas guzzling SUV's this policy is about good as we can do for now. Iran is a threat but it is a manageable threat like North Korea is a manageable threat. You have to have military capability in the region and when combined with diplomacy will contain Iran until the leadership in that country either changes or alters their policies. No one wants to start a war with Iran. The other Arab countries are glad to have us as an ally because they fear Iran and the rise of Shias while many of these Arab allies tend to be Sunni or controlled by Sunnis. These are general statements but in they tend to hold true.
It's comments like these , Tony that are causing riots and uproars throughout the Arab World. Everyone should agree to disagree when it comes to religion. Noone should be killed in the name of Jesus, no matter what religion you have chosen to be. If Jesus was for religion he would have mentioned it in the Bible and the Koran but, he didn't. He is still waiting for us to learn how to settle disputes on his terms. It's not how one dies that is important, it's how one lives.
Not sure where to put this...so it is going here!
Teacher's evaluations:
I am sure we all want teachers to be as high a standard as possible, and using childrens' scores seems like a reasonable idea...unless you take into account that here in AZ, Special Ed teachers are ALSO evaluated by how well THEIR children score in school. Consider this, a friend of mine has 10 disabled children in her classroom every day. She has 2 aides, which don't always show up on Mondays and Fridays...every job has those. However, 2 children are in wheelchairs, 4 are at various stages of the autism spectrum, 2 have MS or other debilitating diseases that effect their ability to concentrate or write, and the last 2 are easily disturbed by events at home, often resulting with destructive behavior; 5 still wear diapers. The Special Ed teachers were told that they had to evaluate their children [and therefore them] because the district needed a 'bottom score.'
Soooo, teacher evaluations need a little more scrutiny, it is too easy to assume that only bad teachers will be considered. also consider that all is not what it seems.
Yes, there needs to be a way to evaluate teachers. To focus only on the teachers is to miss the entire spectrum of things that affect the success of the students.
There also needs to be a way to evaluate the school administrators - principles and others that support the teachers and create the environment for the teachers and students.
There also needs to be a way to evaluate the parents - parents / guardians have a responsibility to provide the love and support and structure at home to encourage the student to do homework, attend regularly and arrive rested and fed.
There also needs to be a way to evaluate the community - are the schools provided with facilities and resources that they need, and is the environment the students live in safe.
There's just so many things out of a teacher's control, making this a really hard thing to measure. I am sorely disappointed in Obama for not supporting the teachers.
There's just so many things out of a teacher's control, making this a really hard thing to measure.
This is true of almost any job. A Salesperson: I can't make the other person buy the product. I didn't design or make the product. Our support is lousy and you want to pay me according to sales?
A TV Host: I can't control who watches the show. The competition on the other channel is tough. I'm doing my job, I should be paid like all the other hosts.
No one is saying that student progress should be the sole evaluation of a teacher but student progress (mainly academically) is the major goal of each teacher. There are ways to compensate for unique situations like mentioned earlier.
Maphi, while I agree that parents (the most important and determinant role in the process) have to do their part, we are not paying them and expecting results for that pay. The community's evaluation is conducted in the form of elections. And, yes, administrators should be evaluated on how well their areas of responsibilities perform.
Just my two cents.
Here in Arizona also we are helping teachers, we donate backpacks and school supplies directly to teachers that we know, because they are the only ones supplying these things to less fortunate children. My sister in law is a teacher and she has to buy most of her classes supplies herself. It is absolutely heartbreaking to see that some children go to school without pencils, papers and backpacks.(Again by no fault of their own.)
Comparing a sales job to teaching children is a complete joke , I guess you could compare it in a sense that selling $5000 tv's in the hood is impossible , while expecting teachers to be held responsible for improving grades , in deplorable conditions that are out of their control , is also impossible
If this is the situation, shouldn't the teachers in Chicago be striking to improve those "deplorable conditions" that are keeping kids from learning instead of for more money. It seems stupid to say, "Pay me more money and don't evaluate my effectiveness because I am teaching in an impossible situation."
If you had an employee that could NOT succeed because of conditions "out of their control," would you pay them more money? No.
The idea of metrics with education is a little suspect isn't it? On what research does Chicago base the metric it is advocating?
Why the skepticism? Ask yourself who the best teachers were that you had. Is there a correlation with testable content that you learned? Not with me. The "best" teachers win my view were those who gave me an insight into motivation, excellence and achieving goals. Those inspirational moments of learning about how to learn were priceless but I not at all measurable in terms of differences in testing. In fact my testing for those classes was less than stellar, and that failure was inextricably linked with the learning experience.
So it seems to me metrics on the kind of learning you want to encourage in your school system would have to be exceptionally sophisticated to be adequate to the task.
RE: ...learning about how to learn
John, Agreed.
Perhaps the most significant teacher I had was in 9th grade, Mr. Jacobs. He was a new teacher. He wanted to teach Phy. Ed. and be a gymnastics coach. He taught me Am. History. He lectured and gave essay tests every Friday. I came close to failure at the mid-term. But I learned and passed with flying colors by the end of the year. What Mr. Jacobs taught me was not Am. History. What he taught me was how to study, how to compose and organize my thoughts and put them on paper. This was learning that I was able to use thoughout the rest of my school years and still use to this day. Thank you Mr. Jacobs.
So, tell me, how do you evaluate that?
The most accurate evaluations of teachers would happen about ten years after kids leave school. It often takes a while to figure out what impact a teacher has had on a student. Some of the best things teachers do can't be measured on a multiple choice test.
It's especially hard when the inputs into the process (the kids) have so much direct impact on the final product. This isn't like an assembly line, where the quality of inputs and the process technology are under the total control of readily identifiable individuals.
mpguy- that is the thought I had. I suppose it is not impossible to use that sort of metric. For example, delivering a huge bonuses based on canvassing past students. It might be hard to screen out responses which were motivated by and attempt to reward teachers they simply liked rather than those who were good, but I suppose polling guys might be good enough to figure out how to screen some of that noise out.
Doesn't evaluating students 10 years down the road increase the number one reason why performance assessment isn't fair - there are so many things the of which the teacher has no control?
If a teacher says don't evaluate me because I can't control what the student does, what his parents does, etc...extending the timeline 9 more years opens that window even further.
John, to your point:
I agree completely...and it was under these teachers that I worked the hardest, learned the most, and performed at my best. That is teaching, it is not just presenting facts.
And Pauly,
You answered your own question with this:
Good teachers do exactly as you say, they inspire learners to learn. Granted, it will not happen for all but given that they sit in a classroom everyday for 9 months, they should gain from that experience, just as you say you did.
My two cents...again.
Robdon,
I was trying to say that while I learned and passed 9th grade AM. History, what I really learned was how to organize my learning and communicating.
So now that Fox is issuing a correction, when will Benen issue a correction for his 100% false statement that since the start of the recession more government jobs have been lost than any other sector?
Prove your assertion to be correct
Put out three separate links the other day on this including one from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Now if Benen said in the last two-three years, he would be possibly correct but from the start of the recession at least 1.7 million jobs were lost in construction/housing, you see the category under either term depending on where you find your info.
At the beginning, no governmnet jobs were lost because it takes time for revenues to collapse and layoffs to start for government at all levels.
Obama doesn't have any regard for Israel and neither do any other Muslims. Isn't it ironic that 11 years ago we were attacked by Muslim radicals and now we have one in the White House. He is one of them if you read all his educational influences and the fact that he is hell bent on destroying this country from within which he has practically done with the help of this network, the other media who cover for him, and and his socialist beliefs. He is just as radical as the idiots that murdered nearly 2000 Americans on that day 11 years ago. You people at MSNBC must have IQ's somewhere around 50 because you are supporting this Mulsim idiot who couldn't' pass economics 101 at any college. Don't forget that 16 trillion dollar deficits and counting will take your children and grandchildren down too!!! He is the most destructive Muslim idiot since Osama who finally got his just reward - a few bullets in the head which wasn't bad enough for his punishment. Be careful what you wish for with this compulsive lying idiot - 4 more years of him may end the United States of America as we know it!!!
Hey, this was pretty good sarcasm. I mean my God you aren't this demented in real life are you?
Hey Tony do you think Romney is wearing his magic Mormon underwear.At least Muslim's have magic carpet's.But magic underwear?Wierd.You republican's sure like to whine about leaving your grandchildren and great grandchildren with debt,but you do'nt mind leaving them a dying or dead planet.You are the one's with an IQ lower than whale $hit.And do'nt forget Obama is still paying for your man Bush's wars,tax cut's and prescription drug plan just to name a few.I would imagine that add's up to a few trillion buck's would'nt you?
I get it Tony. So just to extrapolate from what you are saying, when Maggie Thatcher disagreed with Jimmy Carter, that was clear proof she was anti- American.
Get a grip. Netanyahu and Sheldon Adelson represent the right wing of Israel. Disagreement with them is not equivalent to being disloyal to Israel, though Fox News would have you think that is true. Fox would be perfectly happy to have the current PM of Israel dictate US policy.
Is that the kind of President you want? Because that is what you will get with Romney.
Here we go blaming Bush again. I don't think Bush spent 5 trilliion in less than 4 years - not even 1 trillion in 8 years. Fuzzy math again. This planet will die when God decides - if He does decide. No comment on the underwear- a little below my IQ for that discussion.
Actually Bush spent about 3 trillion during his presidency and that's about the same as Obama has spent. You are confusing increases in the debt with increases in spending- most of the debt that increased under Obama's presidency (a little over half) has been a direct result of either a. the recession or b. Bush Administration policies. It's OK to not like Obama, but let's at least be factually correct in our statements, yes?
Tony #13 You must hate the President only half as much because he's only half black.Otherwise your comment could have been much much worse.You could have called him an evangelist or a mormon.
I don't hate anyone, I just don't think he is qualified to be our president. He obviously doesn't take our constitution very seriously because he is pushing socialism so hard. Don't care what color he is. It has nothing to do with racism or religion except I have NO trust for ANY Muslims- That ended with 9-11.
To Cartoonthenews. That may be so. One thing I do know for sure is that 16 trillion is just about exponentially out of reach for anybody to fix. Could be looking at the collapse of the dollar and massive inflation in the near future! ( a denarius for a loaf of bread)
What is socialism and how is he pushing it so hard?
....so then it does have to do with religion
What is the dollar valued at on international trade? Has this changed and if so how in the past 4 years? The past decade? Are US bonds considered stable or volatile? If the US dollar has remained constant and US bonds are considered secure then this will not be a problem. The only way this will happen is if the US dollar suddenly plummets or if US bonds no longer retain their legitimacy. Paying off debt and lending out more bonds won't directly impact either of these areas.
Feeding the troll is like feeding the hate.
Is it hard to type without opposable thumbs??
This is not sarcasm. This is really the way I feel having been on this planet 65 years, I have never seen anyone including Carter that is this destructive to our democracy.
Hey Tony I've been on this planet 71 year's and I do'nt agree with you at all.And Bush was worse than Carter ever was.And Romney would be worse than either of them
Carter was a great president. We have been in a stupid Reagan reactionary time warp. It has been a huge waste of time before we realized what Carter was saying about income disparity and the energy challenges facing the nation were absolutely true.
One freak sandstorm and history took a very very nasty turn.
What has Obama done that is destructive to our democracy? For that matter what did Carter do that was destructive to our democracy?
Again I'm in my 20's so I don't get the whole Carter was the worst president ever thing. Historians don't agree with you, political scientists don't agree with you, and yet here you are asserting that he was a terrible president. This is especially perplexing when considering that you've got to compare him to the likes of William Henry Harrison and James Buchanan. But somehow Carter is the one who reaches the ultimate did-nothing??? I also enjoy that you make this statement flat out as an assertion of fact while simultaneously providing no facts to support the assertion.
"This planet will die when God decides"
Is it that way for people too? Did God decide time was up for the people on 9/11 and if so, was it Jesus or Allah that made the call?
Jesus, who is the only god, knows everything - past present and future. I believe that He did not decide on who would die in 9-11, but I believe he knew who would and would not. I believe Satan was behind all of that destruction and death because he is the destroyer, the killer and thief.
I guess you're the real deal then.
How is this not a logical paradox? If he knew who was going to die and if he is god then that means he had the power to stop it. By allowing it to happen he is complicit. But if he is not complicit then that means he did not have knowledge of the event and/or the power to stop it.
Too, too funny. Guess that settles it. You can all go home now. Nothing else to do here...
Rachel and all,
This does not pertain to the discussion, but I wanted to relay an observation I had over the past weekend. We went to the Beavercreek, Ohio Popcorn Festival with some friends on Saturday. There was a tent occupied by the Greene County Tea Party. Besides some local political candidates pamphlets and Josh Mandel for Senate yard signs, they had stickers and paper fans (the kind used in churches on wooden sticks) that had "Defend Freedom, Defeat Obama" printed on them. They were bright orange. Rather hard to miss. However, the important point was that they had NO paraphernalia at all for the GOP's candidates for President and Vice President of the United States! Nothing for Romney/Ryan, just defeat Obama. They are pathetic!
9-11-12
The breaking news in Libya and Egypt is a farce. The same black-op neo-con devils who instigated the protests before the Iran Hostage taking incident during the Carter Administration are perpetrating these traitorous acts AGAIN! Big monied interests are paying off Libyan-Egyptian locals to storm US compounds in a concerted effort to bring down Obama/Biden before the election. What has Ollie North been up to recently?
I am spoact.blogspot.com
Israel was supposed to sign the non proliferation agreement in 1968. Still waiting. Still no inspections in Israel. What are they hiding besides 150 nuclear missiles in violation of international law?
Israel was supposed to sign the non proliferation agreement in 1968. Still waiting. Still waiting for inspections. What are they hiding besides 150 nuclear missiles in violation of international law?
Andrealee7. Could be that they are surrounded by countries that would like to destroy them.
Romney Ryan are to the right of DAVID KOCH?!!! David Koch supports gay marriage, tax hikes and defense cuts.
http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0812/80483_Page2.html
Seems like Netanyahu's sudden insistence on 'going in NOW', gotta go now, gotta go now.....is reminiscent of the same type of urgency they spouted before invading Iraq to track down the imaginary WMDs....ignore the general consensus of major 'players' involved, invade now and ask/answer any questions later?
Hmmmm he doth protest too much me thinks....the majority of Israelis don't want to know about any action without US support, and Hilary just made it pretty clear he doesn't have that. The man just needs to cool his heels. Not likely to happen when you get the distinct feeling he has his own agenda.....gonna be an interesting next few months.
Romney and teh gay.
It's amazing, his boundless capacity to be vile. What's the opposite of a super power?
w.r.t Chicago teachers - In the documentary Freakonomics (inspired by the book), they did a study by offering children economic incentives to improve their grades. One parent went so far as to agree to match the incentive. Another parent did not match, but used very harsh language, to keep after her child. The study found that the incentives didn't help, but parental involvement did. That said, it's clear that not all parent know how to motivate their children, even if they dearly want to.
Many years ago I talked to a woman who had taught math in South Africa. Even she said she realized it was so difficult for her students because of their home lives. These children were in private schools and presumably better off.
We know that not all teachers are great; however simply measuring by evaluating the teachers by standard test scores is not fair either. Sometimes I look at the level of political debate and... in this economic climate, people stress math and technology as what needs to be educated. These are important and there are great paying jobs in those fields out there. But at one time, the study of the humanities meant that you learned to question, reason, synthesize, in ways that didn't fit into multiple choice. Sometimes I wonder if we have lost sight of that, that instead we look to our media and politicians to spoon feed us and likewise a number of politicians count on that lack of thinking; politicians who say they have plans and don't give specifics, so you can't think it through for yourself.
Standardized test scores can act as a tool and a diagnostic, but they are not the end in and of themselves. Also, perhaps they are a sign that there should be more investment in growing our teachers as well. Companies like to say their greatest resources are their employees, but often they don't invest much. A lot of teachers, especially inner city teachers, face even more stress today than ever before. Aren't they worth an investment as well? When you think of how many children they can reach a year, year after year, isn't it worth it?
There have been studies that have tied success in life to learning impulse control and social skills in preschool. Academic skills are important, but I have often wondered if these skills may be even more important and perhaps the underpinnings of academic success as well.
And then since I'm going off:
w.r.t. Biden: Biden is very, very adept at expressing what it is like to lose loved ones and he does it with warmth, compassion and humanity. It's one of his gifts and despite his gaffes, people can see where his heart is.
w.r.t. #13-14 - What I find truly destructive to our democracy is how a minority group of right wingers have taken over the Republican party and whose refusal to compromise in Congress, has led us to gridlock. What ruins our democracy are voter suppression efforts that are openly shown to be politically motivated. Then there are Romney/Ryan whose blatant deception has been documented by the fact checkers and still, they and the Republican surrogates keep spreading misinformation.
There's Grover Norquist who would rather let the country tank than allow congressmen to raise taxes. We've had excessive filibustering in the Senate to prevent them from making progress. You get this grand-standing over raising the debt ceiling from the House and then they agree to the budget sequestration cuts to provide an incentive for working out a deal and as a sign of good faith--and now you see how good that faith was, they try to get out of it and blame it on others.
Democracy counts on compromise and tolerance. It's about working out what benefits the majority. And when the parties can really leverage off each other, then it reaches the height of collaboration. At it's worst, everyone loses, because one side cannot make any concessions out of ego. It's their way or the highway. At it's mediocre, it's what we settled for. At it's best, it's what we all achieved.
In the lack of tolerance, Congress has lost sight of achieving their best. However the Republican Senate leadership saw this as a win, since they wanted Obama to be a one term president. They may see this as winning, but I think this makes them the biggest losers of all. They don't care about giving the country the best. They may see themselves as bootstrappers, but in this aspect, I don't see them as making the best of a bad situation. They deliberately chose to make it worse.
What ruins democracy is when politicians and the media spread misinformation so people can't make good decisions for themselves. What ruins democracy is a blatant disregard for the facts. If people can't even acknowledge the facts, where's the common ground: someone's fantasy?
thank you.
Experts Speak Out runs to number 2 slot in Colorado PBS show. What happens when 2/3 of Americans want a NEW Investigation of 911? THAT is what the 911 "Truthers" want...NOT that Bush & Cheney did it. Only a NEW investigation and like the quests tonight about the STILL SECRET previous memos WITH specifity. Why is so so so hard for media to get THIS right? http://ow.ly/dDftg
Bob...?
Romney, if elected, intends to take the 17 billion from Medicare, which Obama is using to extend the life of Medicare for another 8 years, and put it back into Medicare to pay the providers! This will make Medicare INSOLVENT 8 years sooner!!! My question is the following (and I would LOVE Rachel to answer this), If the RYAN plan to VOUCHER Medicare for those 54 and younger is SUCH A GOOD PLAN, WHY DOESN'T THE ROMNEY/RYAN TEAM OFFER IT TO SENIORS (I am a senior) NOW!!!! Let SENIORS make the decision about their plan for us NOW AND IMPLEMENT IT IN 2013 FOR US, OUR CHILDREN AND GRANDCHILDREN!!!! IF THEY TOLD SENIORS THEIR PLAN WOULD TAKE EFFECT IN 2013 THERE WOULD BE AN UPROAR!!!! PLEASE ANSWER!!!!!!!!!!!