Monday, June 15, 2015

Kevin Johnson welcomes GOP presidential candidate Ben Carson | The Sacramento Bee

Kevin Johnson welcomes GOP presidential candidate Ben Carson | The Sacramento Bee:

Kevin Johnson welcomes GOP presidential candidate Ben Carson




Republican Ben Carson, the former neurosurgeon and unconventional presidential candidate, has no doubt received some glowing receptions during his career.
But it’s unlikely he expected such a warm welcome from Sacramento Mayor Kevin Johnson, a Democrat who once borrowed the Chicago Bulls theme music to introduce President Barack Obama at the White House.
Johnson relied on fewer theatrics Monday in Sacramento’s Oak Park neighborhood, where he talked up the long-shot GOP contender in front of a large picture of his latest book, “One Nation.”
Johnson commented on Carson’s “impressive” education (Yale, and medical school at the University of Michigan), and his Presidential Medal of Freedom. And he gently ribbed Carson, who used to favor an afro hairstyle, for his more recently coiffed look.
“Look how smooth he looks now,” Johnson said to laughter, comparing Carson to the actor who played Lando Calrissian in “Star Wars.”
“Man, he’s smooth. He got a little Billy Dee (Williams) in him,” he added to more laughter, including from Carson.
Admired by evangelicals, Carson came onto the national stage with a speech at the National Prayer Breakfast in 2013. Speaking then next to a poker-faced Obama, he focused on the dangers of political correctness and warned about America going the way of the Roman Empire, drawing praise from conservative commentators.
Still, Johnson’s lauding went beyond his looks.
“Our goal should be the best that we can be. And when you strive for excellence, and you become excellent, nobody ever cares where you’re from or what you look like or the color of your skin,” Johnson told the crowd of about 325 people at his Indivizible African-American empowerment organization.
“And the person that to me best represented that was Dr. Ben Carson.”
For his performance, Carson, before getting down to signing books, reprised much of what he’s been saying on the campaign trail, notably his opposition to Obama’s health care overhaul.
Carson touched on his rags-to-riches tale in which he rose from a childhood of poverty to, by his mid-30s, the youngest-ever division head at Johns Hopkins University. Monday’s audience heard a little about his methods for separating conjoined twins.
Johnson wanted to know his favorite food (vegetarian chili), book (The Bible, Book of Proverbs), and movie (“True Lies”). But he wasn’t getting off that easy. The mayor alsoKevin Johnson welcomes GOP presidential candidate Ben Carson | The Sacramento Bee:







Read more here: http://www.sacbee.com/news/politics-government/capitol-alert/article24562219.html#storylink=cpy

Wisconsin Public Education Network ALERT : blue cheddar

Wisconsin Public Education Network ALERT : blue cheddar:

Wisconsin Public Education Network ALERT

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Please review this important alert from the Wisconsin Public Education Network and take action.

The deadline to gain additional co-sponsors is Friday.
THANK YOU.
————————————————-
Two education bills are circulating for co-sponsorship that deserve support from every legislator, taxpayer & parent in Wisconsin!
At this stage the bills are given “LRB Numbers” before formal introduction. These bills respond to the needs and concerns shared by parents and school districts all over the state, and provide an opportunity for legislators to come together in bipartisan support of the public schools that are the hearts of our communities.
Contact your legislators TODAY and ask them to co-sponsor these bills. Then call on your local school board and administrators to show their support for this legislation. And be sure to thank them for their support of our public schools when they do!
LRB-2356 would allow locally elected local school boards to increase local levy limits to keep up with inflation. This would bring us back to a standard established by former Governor Tommy Thompson that puts control of levy limits in the hands of locally elected officials, who are accountable to local taxpayers. School districts all over the state have been asking for this flexibility, which would allow them to off-set the effects of decreased state funding to local schools.

LRB-2357 would provide some relief to local districts by increasing the state-level support for special education costs to 33%. While the state used to fund over 70% of special education costs, Wisconsin currently only pays for 26% of these high and growing expenses.

Special education funding has been frozen for 8 years at this rate, and school districts all over the state have long been asking for more support. This modest increase would be a dramatic improvement from the current situation and help districts meet the needs of all students.
Deadline for co-sponsorship is Friday, June 19. Urge your legislators to sign on to this bill and vote YES on any bill or budget amendment that allows for more local control and fair funding of our excellent public schools!
See the bills here:
Find your legislators here: http://maps.legis.wisconsin.gov/

Special Nite Cap: Catch Up on Today's Post 6/15/15



SPECIAL NITE CAP 

CORPORATE ED REFORM




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YESTERDAY

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