Feel free to offer some solutions

Hey, I didn't say my policies would be well-liked, did I?

And you can read all about it in "Revisionist History 101" by...

 

Hear, hear.

 

I used to buy into that shit until companies (newspapers, for example) kept making workers do more and more with no raise in pay. We have to "do more with less," they say in dipshit offices like CNHI.

Now I wouldn't mind seeing a forced raise in wages.

 

The only depression we had in '98 was Monica's depressed uvula.

 

He can use anything to make his mark.

Here's a fucking fact: In July 2004, Halliburton had Iraqi contracts worth $11,431,000,000. (That's $11.43 billion, tony). The $22 billion Congress set aside in 2003 has run out and less than half the authorized projects have been completed.

 

I find this hard to believe, LJB. I mean, they had such an open and honest bidding process.

I think you're just grumpy because Halliburton was the only company led by people who were moral and decent enough to answer the following questions correctly during the bidding interviews:

Did you vote for President Bush?

How do you feel about Roe v Wade?

Do you believe invading Iraq was appropriate?


Hey, if you're interviewing companies and attempting to gauge their expertise in reconstruction efforts abroad, these are exactly the questions I would want answered.

 

The Dems are only two days removed from their victory and they are already giving us good insight into what the next two years will be like -- it appears as if Murtha, who is a loose cannon by every measure and not just about Iraq, is going to run for majority leader and he is not going to back down, either. In other words, the divides in the party in control - much like with the Republicans when they took control -- will slowly pull the whole thing apart and we as citizens will get a lot more bickering and pissing contests than governing.

 

dog, as the former secretary of defense belched forth three years ago, "Democracy can be a messy thing."

 

Get rid of NCLB

 

How 'bout we fix NCLB? Let's be honest, there needs to be some form of checks in place to make sure teachers are actually educating the kids in their classes. But the way the system is set up, with teachers only teaching for the tests and limited funding, it's not working so damn well. (Of course, the teachers teaching for the tests is a lot better, in some cases, than what we were getting, but that was a small percentage.)

I'd definitely add fixing this system to any plan. Don't throw it away. Fix it so it works.

 

There would be some serious fixin' needed, dog. NCLB is political and my problem with that is educators are not politicians and politicians should not be educators. The current system puts too much emphasis on the teachers and not enough on the student's responsibility and especially the parents' responsibility. Too much money is being wasted in the wrong areas. School districts are spending money on statisticians to crunch test data (which they already get from the state) instead on spending it on more teachers, aides or even professional development. This season of The Wire has nailed the situation perfectly. For those who watch the show, this coming Sunday's episode (already onDemand) shows exactly what type of hand teachers are dealt when it comes to testing.

 

Oh, you'll get no argument from me by saying the system sucks. It does. But at the same time, the old way wasn't getting much shit done, either. I think there's a medium in there somewhere that, while it might not be fabulous, would do much more good.

I don't think you can get around the teacher requirements in this. You can lessen them, but not eliminate them. Because the teachers are the one piece of the equation you can actually control. You can't make a student try and you can't force a parent to, well, parent. But you can force teachers to work harder by holding their livelihoods hostage. Of course, that control has been taken advantage of under the current NCLB system and too many requirements are placed on teachers.

I don't think it would take a ton of work to fix. As a matter of fact, it would be quite easy to fix. Bring in a group of respected educators from all over the country and make sure there are plenty of inner-city school reps in the group. And then ask them to fix it for you. Take their suggestions, take their concerns and make the damn thing work. And for God's sakes, don't turn it into a partisan issue. Whoever wants to help, let 'em.