Tuesday, April 26, 2011

Big Education Ape: 4-26-11 Recall Reform Edition

Big Education Ape: Ed News Now

Big Education Ape: Ed News Now


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nycpublicschoolparents.blogspot.com - An article in the NY Times magazine two weeks ago, on April 10 , about Middle School 223 in the Bronx, written by Jonathan Mahler, contained the following passage describing student achievement gai...

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dailykos.com - "It's being marketed as a solution to save public schools, but the big donors are tied to right-wing think tanks that openly advocate, and strategize, the end of public education. How can vouchers...

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uppitywis.org - For about 15 years, I've tried to explain to my progressive friends how I could have been persuaded to support Milwaukee's school choice program. I've replied with the same argument then-Mayor John...

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theatlanticwire.com - Today's New York Times prominently features "The Guantanamo Files," a synthesis of "700 classified military documents" obtained by WikiLeaks, about the Cuba prison's current and former inmates. It'...

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thenotebook.org - Recent revelations about the role of School Reform Commission Chairman Robert Archie in the awarding of a school contract that could be worth up to $60 million demand a full investigation from stat...

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coopmike48 Study finds funding for early-childhood education declined between 2009 and 2010 - The Washington Post -http://goo.gl/o9ZFx57 seconds ago · reply · retweet · favorite

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coopmike48 Tribune forum on public education in Oakland | The Education Report - http://goo.gl/XGm4u7 minutes ago · reply · retweet · favorite

#edu Read this paper45 MORE ARTICLES
bigeducationape.blogspot.com - Obama’s sister tells a ‘learning story’ about their mom - The Answer Sheet - The Washington PostObama’s sister tells a ‘learning story’ about their momby Valerie StraussMaya Soetoro-Ng, President O...

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bigeducationape.blogspot.com - Big Education Ape: Ed News NowBig Education Ape: Ed News Now as shared by 6 people on Coopmike48’s Twitter listNext update in about 12 hoursSee all articlesHEADLINESEDUCATIONPOLITICSART & ENTERTAIN...

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bigeducationape.blogspot.com - Districts consider even shorter school year | California WatchDistricts consider even shorter school yearby Louis FreedbergLouis FreedbergCEFutcher/istockphoto.comThe likelihood is growing that man...

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Education134 MORE ARTICLES
parentsacrossamerica.org - Apr 25, 2011 pureparents To every thing, turn, turn, turn… Catalyst Notebook reports that the Renaissance Schools Fund – which is about to “turnaround” its brand name and call itself “New Schools f...

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jsonline.com - April 23, 2011 | It was not easy for me to stand before the state Legislature's Joint Finance Committee and threaten to withdraw my support from the Milwaukee Parental Choice Program, which I have ...

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bigeducationape.blogspot.com - Will Black and Latino Parents Support a Boycott of LAUSD? ( Los padres Negro y Latino Apoyar a un boicot del LAUSD?) - Perdaily.comWill Black and Latino Parents Support a Boycott of LAUSD? ( Los pa...

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Politics19 MORE ARTICLES
huffingtonpost.com - An Al Jazeera journalist was held at Guantanamo Bay for six years partially so he could be interrogated about the network, according to one of the files on the prison released by WikiLeaks and news...

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nydailynews.com - Susan Walsh/AP Demonstrators will rally against Mayor Michael Bloomberg and Wall Street on May 12. Unions are hoping it'll be the shout heard around Wall Street - and City Hall. They'd also like it...

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blogs.forbes.com - Mar. 4 2011 - 2:46 pm | 23 views | 0 recommendations | In what may be the result of one of the great political miscalculations of our time, Scott Walker’s popularity in his home state is fast going...

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bigeducationape.blogspot.com - Finding A Needle in A Stack of Needles: A Solution to the Racial Achievement Gap | The Jose VilsonFinding A Needle in A Stack of Needles: A Solution to the Racial Achievement Gapby JoseIn the categ...

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blog.angryasianman.com - Are you an Asian American whose fiction, nonfiction or poetry book published in 2010? The Asian American Writers' Workshop has announced that submission for the Fourteenth Annual Asian American Lit...

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bigeducationape.blogspot.com - “Grow Your Own PLN: From Information To Knowledge” | Larry Ferlazzo's Websites of the Day...“20 Interesting Images to use in the Classroom” Regular readers are familiar with Tom Barrett’s “Interest...

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blogs.forbes.com - Apr. 24 2011 - 12:15 pm | 1 views | 0 recommendations | It may be both the peak of paranoia and the ultimate insult to those who showed their mettle on the day of - and the days that followed – th...

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hispanicallyspeakingnews.com - “We’ve Shown You Ours, Now Show Us Yours.”49-Member Agenda releases proposal for 16 House, 4 Senate districts at final House hearing, along with a call for transparency, inclusion in redistric...

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mediaite.com - In an interview in today’s Guardian, Rachel Maddow urged others in the cable news business who may be gay to come out, citing it as a “responsibility” to the gay community. The comments were widely...

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Health2 MORE ARTICLES
history.com - On this day in 1954, the Salk polio vaccine field trials, involving 1.8 million children, begin at the Franklin Sherman Elementary School in McLean, Virginia. Children in the United States, Canada ...

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womensenews.org - A small study of maternal deaths in New York City rings loud warning bells for pregnant African American women. Experts offer ideas on lowering some of the deadliest risks for all women: hypertensi...

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hispanicallyspeakingnews.com - Published at 7:10 pm, April 25, 2011 Photo Credits: Global Immunization Drive Some 180 countries and territories are for the first time carrying out simultaneous United Nations-backed immunization ...

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hispanicprblog.com - The following Job Alert was posted on behalf of SEIU on Tuesday, April 26. If you are a recruiter or employer that would like to use our Hispanic Market Jobs service to post multicultural public re...

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vidayfamilia.univision.com - Los estudiantes obtendrรกn experiencia laboral, participar en un proyecto de servicio comunitario, y recibir programas educativos y profesionales prestados por el CHCI. - Thinkstock LLC/Picture Ques...

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news.firedoglake.com - There’s a very good reason that the President and leading Democrats want to force disclosure on political spending through either an executive order or a lawsuit against the FEC. It’s because witho...

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Obama’s sister tells a ‘learning story’ about their mom - The Answer Sheet - The Washington Post

Obama’s sister tells a ‘learning story’ about their mom - The Answer Sheet - The Washington Post

Obama’s sister tells a ‘learning story’ about their mom

by Valerie Strauss

Maya Soetoro-Ng, President Obama’s half sister, gives us the third installment in a series called “Faces of Learning,” a national campaign designed to explore what powerful learning environments and highly effective teachers really look like.

Soetoro-Ng tells about Ann Durham, her mother and President Obama’s, and her power as a teacher to her children. Durham died in 1995 and is the main character in Soetoro-Ng’s first children’s book, called “Ladder to the Moon.”

The Faces of Learning campaign is designed to answer the following questions: How do people learn? How do I learn? What does the ideal learning environment look like? And how can we create more of them?”

Unanswered questions about standardized tests

by Valerie Strauss

--

This was written by Marion Brady, veteran teacher, administrator, curriculum designer and author.

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“Grow Your Own PLN: From Information To Knowledge” | Larry Ferlazzo's Websites of the Day...

“Grow Your Own PLN: From Information To Knowledge” | Larry Ferlazzo's Websites of the Day...
“20 Interesting Images to use in the Classroom” Regular readers are familiar with Tom Barrett’s “Interesting Ways” series, where he shares countless ways to use different web tools and teaching/learning strategies (you can see all of them at that link). They are on several “The Best…” lists. He’s ...
If You Have A Blog, Or Are Thinking Of Starting One, Then This Is A Must-Read Post Want More Readers? How Online Reading Habits Are Changing and What You NEED To Know by Sue Waters is a must-read post by anyone who is interested in having people find and read the posts they are writing. I’m adding it to The Best Sources Of Advice ...
“Grow Your Own PLN: From Information To Knowledge” “Grow Your Own PLN: From Information To Knowledge” is an excellent slide presentation by Nik Peachey. I’m adding it to The Best Ways ESL/EFL/ELL Teachers Can Develop Personal Learning Networks.
A Few Final Easter Links Here are a few final additions to The Best Sites For Learning About Easter And Passover: Holy Week and Easter, 2011 is a series of photos from The Atlantic. Easter ceremonies is a series of photos from The Sacramento Bee. White House Easter Egg Roll ...
“What School Lunches Look Like In 20 Countries Around The World” What School Lunches Look Like In 20 Countries Around The World is a nice post from BuzzFeed. I’m adding it to The Best Sites For Learning About The World’s Different Cultures.
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Districts consider even shorter school year | California Watch

Districts consider even shorter school year | California Watch

Districts consider even shorter school year

by Louis Freedberg

CEFutcher/istockphoto.com

The likelihood is growing that many school districts will have to cut the number of days students spend in class in response to the state's deepening budget crisis, according to state education leaders and experts.

But despite some predictions that the coming school year will shrink to 150 or 155 days – from the current minimum of 175 days set by the state in 2009 – no firm figures or proposals have been proposed by the state

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A Broad View « City School Stories

Notes from the Field « City School Stories

A Broad View

Submitted by Frank Murphy, April 25, 2011

In Philadelphia the heads of local citizens are spinning from a whirlwind of events that are keeping their school district in constant turmoil. A massive budget shortfall, charter school corruption, anticipated school closingsand scandal, are but a few of the problems that are plaguing the district.

Chaos seems to be the new normal in Philadelphia Schools. In the view of Eli Broad this is a good thing. Broad is a billionaire philanthropist. He along with Bill Gates is one of the most influential advocates of the educational entrepreneur reform movement that is currently shaping the future of America’s public school systems.

Broad believes that public schools should be run as though they are businesses. He advocates for the continual reorganizations of schools, staff firings, and experimentation in order to create chaos or churn. The Broad view sees this as a productive strategy in that it weakens the ability of communities to resist change. In

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Texas-Style School Accountability: Rewarding the “Best” Schools? « A "Fuller" Look at Education Issues

Texas-Style School Accountability: Rewarding the “Best” Schools? « A "Fuller" Look at Education Issues

Texas-Style School Accountability: Rewarding the “Best” Schools?

by Dr. Ed Fuller

Texas is considered a leader in state accountability systems in the nation. Indeed, George W. Bush touted school accountability as the primary driver of the Texas Miracle of the 1990s. Ultimately, this fondness for school accountability Texas-style led to the basic framework of the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB)–President Bush’s signature education reform effort. While many have critiqued the very existence of the Texas Miracle and make a number of very valid points, this post focuses on the current version of Texas style school accountability which is not much different from the original version implemented in 1993.

While there are a large number of problems with the general notion of school accountability and the Texas school accountability system in particular, this post assumes that accountability systems will not disappear in the near future, thus such systems must be as fair as possible. Again, this post is making a very narrow critique. There are many other valid critique such as an incentive to teach to the test that I will explore in a futur

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Teach For America seeks critical mass | Thoughts on Public Education

Teach For America seeks critical mass | Thoughts on Public Education
Teach For America seeks critical mass - by Kathryn Baron There was a point last week during Wendy Kopp’s appearance at the Commonwealth Club of California in Silicon Valley that smacked of the sort of smugness that, I suspect, makes some veteran teachers cringe when Teach For America (TFA) is mentioned. ...
Join both Common Core consortia now, commit to one later - by Doug McRae & Ze'ev Wurman A major step in implementing the California Common Core academic standards adopted by the State Board of Education last August appears to be in the wings for a decision in May. That step is to decide which of two consortia of states now developing ...
Russlynn Ali on making states’ school finances more equitable - by admin
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School Tech Connect: What's Next?

School Tech Connect: What's Next?

What's Next?

by effacethefacade@yahoo.com (Tim)
Tip o' the hat to National Louis University for hosting an excellent forum here in Chicago tonight: What's Next For Chicago Public Schools, which I heard about over at SmallTalk. I'll have more to say about it tomorrow, and I'll be posting some video. It was an excellent evening, hosted competently by Linda Lutton from WBEZ. Pretty much it was a group of seven prominent Chicagoans, longtime voices in public education, criticizing the direction of education reform, and also the local TFA guy (from Princeton), who articulated the
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Brizard appointment gets nothing but worse. « Fred Klonsky's blog

Brizard appointment gets nothing but worse. « Fred Klonsky's blog

Brizard appointment gets nothing but worse.

by Fred Klonsky

What is pretty much NOT the headline Rahmbo wanted to see in the Sun-Times this morning?

Rahm Emanuel defends his schools chief on federal discrimination lawsuits.

Jean Claude Brizard, recently chased out of his job as superintendent in Rochester, has been nothing but an embarrassment since Mayor-elect Rahm Emanuel picked him as the new CPS boss.

The latest story:

Brizard was named in two federal lawsuits during his three-year stint as

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Daily Kos: Roger Cohen offers a poet's paradigm

Daily Kos: Roger Cohen offers a poet's paradigm

Roger Cohen offers a poet's paradigm

by rss@dailykos.com (teacherken)

to explain what is happening in the Arab world. The poet is Yeats. The poem is The Second Coming. Yeats wrote it in 1919, in the aftermath of the horror of the Great War. The key word for Cohen is "gyre" which is a vortex, a circular or spiral motion, especially in ocean currents. While Cohen says that Yeats has a theory of history that is confused and mystical, what matters is lines like these"“Turning and turning in the widening gyre/ The falcon cannot hear the falconer.” And thus in his op ed, titled THe Arab Gyre, he sets the stage for his remarks with these words about the idea of Yeast:

His vision involved the notion that at any moment forces were raveling and unraveling, forming and disintegrating in Yin-Yang polarity, an idea Yeats represented through two conic helixes — “gyres” superimposed on each other with the apex or narrowest point of one at the center of the other’s base. Moments of crisis occurred as history shifted from the outer to the inner gyre.

Cohen is not willing to predict the exact form of what while transpire, but in this remarkable column he notes how

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Will Black and Latino Parents Support a Boycott of LAUSD? ( Los padres Negro y Latino Apoyar a un boicot del LAUSD?) - Perdaily.com

Will Black and Latino Parents Support a Boycott of LAUSD? ( Los padres Negro y Latino Apoyar a un boicot del LAUSD?) - Perdaily.com

Will Black and Latino Parents Support a Boycott of LAUSD? ( Los padres Negro y Latino Apoyar a un boicot del LAUSD?)

by Leonard Isenberg
Montgomery Bus Boycott.jpg
(Mensaje se repite en Espaรฑol)

(For a national view of public education reform see the end of this blog post)

In a school district like the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) with a combined Latino and Black student population of close to 90%, several important questions were brought up when we met last Friday, April 22nd to explore whether Latino and Black students and parents would support a boycott of LAUSD in an attempt to finally hold corrupt and self-serving LAUSD administration and the politicians and corporate interests that keep them in power accountable to this majority constituency.

- One of those who attended the meeting said that he didn't think Latino and Black parents would support a boycott, because they want their children in school learning.

With somewhere around 50% of students quitting school between the 9th and the 12th grade, it is clear that
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Monday, April 25, 2011

Daily Kos: Today will help determine the future of public education in America

Daily Kos: Today will help determine the future of public education in America

Today will help determine the future of public education in America

byTroutfishing

Share142 92
"It's being marketed as a solution to save public schools, but the big donors are tied to right-wing think tanks that openly advocate, and strategize, the end of public education. How can vouchers improve public schools if the people mobilizing the movement intend to eradicate public education? Regardless of your personal stance on "school choice," it's important to know who is behind the voucher movement and the agenda they don't share with the public or advertise in their media campaigns." - Rachel Tabachnick

Eric Prince has become widely known as founder of the private mercenary army formerly known as Blackwater. Prince's sister, Betsy DeVos, is leading an astroturfing war on public schools. Last Thursday, April 21, Indiana passed a DeVos astroturf entity-backed, sweeping voucher bill. Indiana was part of a national pattern. As early as tomorrow the Pennsylvania state

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Public schools: Is California's middle class heading for the exits? - Inside Bay Area

Public schools: Is California's middle class heading for the exits? - Inside Bay Area

Public schools: Is California's middle class heading for the exits?

By Sharon Noguchi snoguchi@mercurynews.com
Posted: 04/25/2011 03:35:52 PM PDT

It's the hot topic outside the kindergarten room, at fund-raising tables and after morning drop-off. Parents are asking: How much more can California lop off public education before they bolt for private schools?

For public schools, 2011-12 could be a turning point.

In recent years schools have endured incremental cuts and annual angst over uncertainty. But with dramatic reductions to the school year, program and staffing expected, many families are contemplating a deposit on a private school slot.

Local private schools report this spring that inquiries and enrollment are up, and even one school that closed several years ago, Calvary Christian Academy in San Jose, plans to reopen in August.

Bellarmine College Preparatory received a record 1,000-plus applications, most for its 400-member freshman class. Several other schools estimated that inquiries and applications are up 25 percent. That includes Valley Christian, which hopes to increase enrollment 5 percent annually for the next few years, Admissions Director Scott Wessling said.

At St. Andrew's Episcopal School in Saratoga, inquiries and applications are up 40 percent over last year, Head of

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Voucher Advocate Betsy DeVos, Right-Wing Think Tanks Behind Koch-Style Attack on PA Public Schools (Section 2)

Voucher Advocate Betsy DeVos, Right-Wing Think Tanks Behind Koch-Style Attack on PA Public Schools (Section 2)

From Guest Blogger Rachel Tabachnick, Talk to Action: Voucher Advocate Betsy DeVos, Right-Wing Think Tanks Behind Koch-Style Attack on PA Public Schools (Section 2)

by cynthia

Continued from Section 1. Re-posted with permission from Talk to Action in three sections. Read section 3.

Students First?

Students First PAC, a 527 created to promote vouchers in Pennsylvania, was established on March 10, 2010 by Joe Watkins. On the Students First website Watkins describes himself “as an aide to a president of the United States and as a pastor of a church,” but he doesn’t mention that the president was George W. Bush. Nor does the bio mention Watkins’ lobbying and investment fund resume, his appearances on MSNBC, CNN, and Fox as a Republican strategists, or being featured in a Citizens United advertisement attacking Barack Obama during the 2008 presidential campaign. The website does nothing to give away it’s right-wing backing or their extreme agendas, unless you happen to be familiar with the generic-sounding foundations listed as supporting the bills.

Students First shares the name of the network founded by Michelle Rhee, former D.C. school superintendent and a star in the documentary Waiting for Superman, who has been described by some as the Sarah Palin of education because of the unusual media attention. She has now shocked some of her more progressive fans by joining forces with Florida Governor Rick Scott who is promoting a Vouchers-for- All bill. The Pennsylvania Students First organization is actually an affiliate of American Federation for Children(AFC), chaired by Betsy DeVos, as it states on the website. A donation to Students First PAC was received from Joel Greenberg, a board member of AFC, on the date the PAC was formed.Approximately 5 million dollars from Greenberg, a co-founder of Susquehanna



From Guest Blogger Rachel Tabachnick, Talk to Action: Voucher Advocate Betsy DeVos, Right-Wing Think Tanks Behind Koch-Style Attack on PA Public Schools (Section 3)

by cynthia

Continued from Section 1 and Section 2. Re-posted with permission from Talk to Action in three sections. This is section 3.

Targeting Pennsylvania Public Schools

The Family Research Council website features a speech given in 1999 by Hubert Morken, a Pat Robertson biographer and Regent University professor. Titled “The Naked Public School: Religion, Education and Character in the Aftermath of Columbine,” Morken describes the alliances and outreach efforts to African Americans in Pennsylvania,

“The leadership dimension of education reform is the most exciting of all today. For example, for decades, school choice went nowhere as long as it was perceived as a Catholic issue. Evangelical Protestants who prevented this reform now join with Catholics to promote it, and these religious

From Guest Blogger Rachel Tabachnick, Talk to Action: Voucher Advocate Betsy DeVos, Right-Wing Think Tanks Behind Koch-Style Attack on PA Public Schools (Section 1)

by cynthia

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Finding A Needle in A Stack of Needles: A Solution to the Racial Achievement Gap | The Jose Vilson

Finding A Needle in A Stack of Needles: A Solution to the Racial Achievement Gap | The Jose Vilson

Finding A Needle in A Stack of Needles: A Solution to the Racial Achievement Gap

by Jose

In the category of “Yes, That Makes Complete Sense,” David Kirp of The LA Times reported that scientists have figured out a 1-hour “fix” for our most disadvantaged students: encourage them while they do it. Combined with the latest article from The New York Times regarding Jump Math, this piece almost made me smack the screen. These articles are fortunate I’m typing on my Mac. Anyone who’s had any exposure to students without a

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Grover Norquist Claims Tom Coburn ‘Lied His Way’ Into Office - E.D. Kain - American Times - Forbes

Grover Norquist Claims Tom Coburn ‘Lied His Way’ Into Office - E.D. Kain - American Times - Forbes

Grover Norquist Claims Tom Coburn ‘Lied His Way’ Into Office

Apr. 25 2011 - 6:26 pm | 0 views | 0 recommendations | 0 comments

Tom Coburn is a serious fiscal conservative from Oklahoma. Grover Norquist is an anti-tax evangelist whose special interest group, Americans for Tax Reform, has all but captured the tax and revenue policy apparatus of the Republican Party. The two have been clashing for years, andnow this:

“I think if you go back and look at the commission’s report, what we were talking about is getting significant dynamic effects by taking away tax credits, lowering the tax rate and having an economic increase that will actually increase the revenues to the federal government,” Coburn said. When asked by host David

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Voucher Advocate Betsy DeVos, Right-Wing Think Tanks Behind Koch-Style Attack on PA Public Schools (Section 1)

Voucher Advocate Betsy DeVos, Right-Wing Think Tanks Behind Koch-Style Attack on PA Public Schools (Section 1)

From Guest Blogger Rachel Tabachnick, Talk to Action: Voucher Advocate Betsy DeVos, Right-Wing Think Tanks Behind Koch-Style Attack on PA Public Schools (Section 1)

by cynthia

Re-posted with permission from Talk to Action in three sections. Read section 2 and section 3.

The DeVos family crusade to eradicate public education has targeted Pennsylvania, and a voucher bill may come to a vote in the PA Senate as early as Tuesday [TOMORROW]. It’s being marketed as a solution to save public schools, but the big donors are tied to right-wing think tanks that openly advocate, and strategize, the end of public education. How can vouchers improve public schools if the people mobilizing the movement intend to eradicate public education? Regardless of your personal stance on “school choice,” it’s important to know who is behind the voucher movement and the agenda they don’t share with the public or advertise in their media campaigns.

A new wave of school voucher bills is sweeping the nation, which would allow public education funds to be used in private or parochial schools. As with past waves of voucher initiatives, these new bills are largely promoted

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