yurbud
yurbud's JournalWhy do so many Dem Party leaders support groups who support GOP & destroy lives of Dem voters?
In election season, we at DU are not supposed to advocate for voting for other than Democratic candidates (which makes sense given the name of the site), but when we are asked to give our dollars, time, and votes to Democratic candidates, it's worth asking why many top party leaders support GOP groups and ideas that are harming Democratic voters and all Americans--and those groups give money to Republican candidates.
While I am grateful that Obama has given NCLB waivers and funding to prevent teachers from being fired due to budget cuts, he still supports the conservative education agenda of repetitive standardized testing, replacing real public schools with for profit charter schools that siphon off tax payer money into profits, and the like.
Likewise, he rolls Social Security into deficit reduction talks as if it contributed to the deficit rather than running a surplus for a couple of decades to prepare for the Baby Boomers retirement so the program can still be roughly pay as you go, and the rest of the budget has borrowed that surplus.The only way Social Security contributes to the deficit is if Washington has no intention of paying back what they borrowed from the SS trust fund. Why treat a debt to American workers any less seriously than a debt to an investor, bank, or foreign country?
We need to light a fire under those at the top of the party and let them know they need to put more daylight between themselves and corporate compliant Republicans. The Chicago teacher's strike should have been their wake up call--don't let them hit snooze.
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I do not understand how Democrats and progressives put up with self-proclaimed liberals and liberal groups such as Michelle Rhee, Joel Klein, StudentsFirst, Stand for Children, and Democrats for Education Reform.
(note: links to support at FULL TEXT below).
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So Campbell Brown wants to help protect students from teachers who are sexual predators and who are protected by unions (just for the record, I believe that is anti-union propaganda). Okay. But what if a teacher has sexual intercourse with a student (which I agree is a fireable if not criminal offense) or if a student is raped by a teacher and then gets pregnant? Campbell Brown's husband (Romney adviser Dan Senor) and Michelle Rhee (who Scott supports) give money to or want to elect some people who belong to the party that would force the targeted/raped student who got pregnant to have the teacher offender's baby.
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On what planet does it make sense for the DNC and high-profile Democrats, such as Barack Obama, to support these groups and people? How is it that they get to call themselves Democratic allies and liberals when they are actively supporting people who want to destroy the Democratic Party and dis-empower their supporters?
FULL TEXT
TOM TOMORROW TOON: further gaffes from the Romney video
Source http://comics.dailykos.com/
Lincoln trailer: a reminder of what we expected of Obama and what he could still be
Watching this trailer, it's hard not to think of the short-sighted political and moral pygmies Obama has surrounded himself (i.e. Rahm, Arne Duncan, Geithner, and most of his economic advisors) with and compromises he has made in contrast to our hopes after the lowest point of our democracy.
Most politicians are creatures of their times and seem to have no ambition beyond the approval of and compensation from the handful of very wealthy who can put them in office or remove them it (walking on their own two feet or otherwise).
As naive at it may be, I still have a glimmer of hope that Obama is Lincoln, waiting for his Antietam, that will give him the opportunity to change history as profoundly as Lincoln did at that moment.
Romney has an ace in the hole he hasn't played yet...
"Vote for me, and I'll show you how to get rich bankrupting businesses! It's quick, easy, and all it takes to get started is borrowing a couple of million dollars from your parents!"
He could do a late night infomercial and sew up the whole race.
PIC: Thomas Jefferson on Obama vs. Romney
I posted a version of this before with Bush, that people somehow mistook as an insult to Obama (I guess by just have his photo next to Bush's).
I hope this one is more clear.
transcript: Romney revives Bush "nuclear blackmail" lie
Baby Bush 2002:
http://www.cbsnews.com/2100-201_162-524627.html
Mitt 2012:
http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2012/09/full-transcript-mitt-romney-secret-video
If Saddam then or Iran now threatened us with a nuclear attack, it would deserve about the same response we give North Korea, which is not much, for the same reason: what do they think would happen NEXT if they pulled the trigger?
We have enough nukes to burn Iraq, Iran, AND North Korea off the map AND do the same to the rest of the world.
Several times over.
We are the only nation to ever use nuclear weapons against another nation.
The leaders of every country in the world know this, which is why they would never launch a nuclear attack against us or give a nuke to terrorists to detonate here: before one mushroom cloud cleared here, their country would no longer exist. If we couldn't find a return address on it, we would simply go down our list of countries we don't like and pick one.
I wish Democrats would have to balls to just say this. It would also have the practical advantage of making Romney and other fearmongers look like liars AND cowards.
RAVITCH: Conservative think tank praises Obama for standing up to teachers' unions
Is this really the amount of choice we deserve in a democracy? A candidate who backs endless standardized testing to prove public schools are failing, and uses that as an excuse to privatize the schools even though those private FOR PROFIT charter schools do worse more often than better than regular public schools?
And the other candidate is a REPUBLICAN whose only difference is he will spend less money on schools in any case?
What will it take to get Obama and the leaders of the Democratic Party to listen educators and academics instead of Wall Street sociopaths looking to make a buck off our kids like so many barrels of oil or pork bellies?
by dianerav
The conservative think tank American Enterprise Institute has published a paper commending President Obama for standing up to teachers' unions.
The paper compares President Obama's support for school choice and evaluation of teachers by test scores as a "Nixon-to-China" paradigm shift.
In other words, the paper suggests, Obama's education policy has done a full pivot, aligning it with the traditional GOP agenda.
Can anyone explain this
dianerav | September 19, 2012 at 10:34 am | Categories: Charter Schools, Corporate Reformers, Democrats, Education Industry, For-Profit, NCLB (No Child Left Behind), Obama, Privatization, Race to the Top, Unions | URL: http://wp.me/p2odLa-1YA
If people reject Romney for his 47% remark, shouldn't that free Dems from GOP ideas?
Seriously, from the stimulus on down, Obama and "centrist" Dems have felt the need to water down good policy proposals with half Republican tax cut and "feed the rich and hope that something of nutritional value trickles down on us after they digest it" bullshit.
Why don't they finally say "Enough is enough. Vote enough real Democrats into office and we'll show you what we can do when we don't have to placate these sociopaths"?
And then actually do it.
Whether they will do this is something else, but at long last, isn't it time for Democrats to stop propping up the corpse of conservatism as if we all agree those are the best ideas?
RAVITCH: 50% drop in enrollment in teacher training? Are We Decimating the Teaching Profession?
Two stats here show the urgency of stopping for-profit, corporate-dictated public school "reform" in it's tracks:
In 1988, teachers had about 15 years experience, today it's ONE year.
That wouldn't be bad if it was just from a bunch of old farts retiring, but in conjunction with a 40% drop in new teachers credential over six years and a 50% decline in enrollment in education majors in California shows students are seeing teaching as a risky choice at best as a major.
Those who want to beat up traditional public schools with endless standardized testing to prove they are failing then replace them with for profit charter schools or education management companies can stuff their pockets with cash, pat themselves on the back, and get all the amens they want from the media, but they have made the teaching profession radioactive with their constant teacher bashing, micromanaging, and mass firings.
That is not a recipe for future success.
by dianerav
An earlier post described research showing that experienced teachers are leaving the profession in droves. In 1988, the modal number of years of teacher experience was 15 (meaning there were more teachers with 15 years experience than any other cohort). By 2008, the modal years of teacher experience was ONE. There were more first-year teachers than any other group. This can't be good for children or for the quality of education as every study I have ever seen says that first year teachers are the weakest of all because they are brand-new and just learning the ropes (sorry, TFA). There are anecdotal reports that enrollment in teacher education programs is plummeting. Here is more:
This was in my local paper on September 11, 2012: “The number of teaching credentials issued from 2004-2010 dropped by 40%, while the number of college students in teacher training programs plunged by 50% This comes from the Task Force Report on Teacher on Education Excellence (State of CA) which also stated, “The state has focused too heavily on holding teachers accountable for standardized test scores without properly equipping instructors and schools. This dangerous combination has driven many accomplished educators out of the profession.” Does this surprise anyone? I personally know of first and second year teachers who have bailed because of pressure applied by their site principals. Instead of supporting them, they have been overbearing in their expectations causing potentially wonderful teachers to second guess their choice of careers and leave. Not just move to another school, but leave the profession they worked so hard to join. We are losing a generation of students to the almighty test score. Do we want to continue to lose great teachers as well? Our children ARE our future. Invest in their future by investing in their teachers who are highly trained professionals.
dianerav | September 18, 2012 at 8:05 am | Categories: Education Reform, Teachers and Teaching | URL: http://wp.me/p2odLa-1Y9
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