The School Voucher Saga

Today I received the announcement below about a pro-school voucher rally called, “Stand Up for  Utah Kids:  School Choice Rally”.  I’m not sure how I got on this list, nonetheless I am and got the announcement.  The state legislators passed a measure this year that would allow parents to obtain vouchers for private schools if they so choose.  Keep in mind that many of those legislators have children who are home schooled (leaving me wondering if a bill in the future will propose that parents be paid to home school their kids…..).

There is a lot that bothers me about this announement, but right off the bat you can see that this rally is in the middle of the day.  It seems that the only folks who might be able to afford to  participate would be those who are bosses and those who don’t have to work, thus reinforcing in my mind that the people who are being most vocal about this are those who can already afford to send their kids to private schools in the first place. (And remember that even if a parent wanted a voucher, it wouldn’t be enough to pay for an entire year’s tuition at a private school, leaving families with low incomes out of the loop entirely). 

Another bothersome point is that these people are actually encouraging folks to take their kids out of school to attend this rally.  That is assuming that the participants even have their children in school (vs. home schooling them).

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PLEASE FORWARD THIS TO YOUR FRIENDS & FAMILY

Stand Up for Utah Kids
School Choice Rally

JOIN US in support of Utah moms and dads who want to be able to choose the school that works best for their kids. Together, we can make a difference for the thousands of families who are depending on the voucher program to start THIS fall.

WHEN: Tuesday, May 15, 2007
TIME: 1:30 – 2:30 PM
WHERE: State Capitol, Salt Lake City

(courtyard north of the main capitol building)

 

It’s time to put KIDS before politics
By law, Utah’s new voucher program went into effect last Monday. Unfortunately, the State School Board chose to disregard the law at their recent board meeting by deciding to not implement the voucher program for this fall. We’re holding the rally on May 15th because that is the day by law that the State School Board should make voucher applications available for families.

As many of you know, the referendum/petition against vouchers is only against the first of two bills that were passed during the recent legislative session. The Attorney General issued an official opinion stating that the voucher program should move forward regardless of the referendum.

Please make this rally a priority
Together, our voices will put a human face to this important issue and pressure government officials to uphold the law by implementing the voucher program.

HOW YOU CAN HELP

1. Attend the Rally
Take a late lunch. Bring your whole family and your neighbors, too

2. Spread the Word
Email this to everyone you know or Print this flyer and post it in your community

3. Volunteer at the Rally
Call us at 532-1448 or reply to this email if you’d like to help.

If you will be attending the rally, please let us know so that we can plan appropriately. Just call (801) 532-1448 or reply to this email.

REFRESHMENTS WILL BE SERVED.

_______________________________

Parents for Choice in Education
8 East Broadway, Ste 730
Salt Lake City, UT 84111

801.532.1448
www.choiceineducation.org

I looked at the very fancy website that the advocates of school vouchers have put together (see above link).  I believe this organization (Parents for Choice in Education) are advocated by/linked to Utah’s Eagle Forum, a right wing organization touting support of  “family values” and “conservative principles”.

The PEC site also has a page on “supporters of choice in education”.  Get this list:

Gov. Jon Huntsman, Ronald Reagan, Chester Finn Jr. (Assistant Secretary of Education under Ronald Reagan), Senator John McCain, Mitt Romney, Rudy Giuliani, Newt Gingrich,  Rep. Rob Bishop,  Utah Sen. Howard Stephenson, Richard Moss (Utah State School Board), Bill Colbert (Utah State School Board)

Notice that the above mentioned “supporters of school choice” are all rich, and some dead, white guys.

‘Nuff said.

Polictical messages on license plates might get you in trouble……

There is an item on Common Dreams about the DMV in South Dakota attempting to revoke a woman’s license plate because of the plates political messageMPEACHW  She had the plates made to match her husband’s which had IMPCH W

On April 18, Heather Morijah got a letter from the South Dakota DMV.

The agency “is in receipt of a written complaint about your personalized plates,” the letter says. “With this complaint I am sorry to inform you that the set of plates MPEACHW are being recalled. . . . You will have 10 days from the date of receiving this letter to surrender the plates.”

When Morijahn called the DMV and asked for a copy of the complaint (with the person’s name blacked out, a list of all the vanity plates they’d issued in the last year, and  a list of the vanity plates they had recalled, she was denied the request.

When a reporter contact the DMV, the response was:

“I’m following the letter of the law,” DMV director Deb Hillmer told Woster. “It’s offensive to someone and not in good taste and decency. And the plates are the property of the state of South Dakota.”

Thanks to the ACLU, the DMV changed their tune.

The ACLU’s Ring then faxed over a letter on May 4 to Paul Kinsman, secretary of Revenue and Regulation, which oversees the DMV.

“Her opinion may not be shared by everyone in the United States or in South Dakota,” Ring wrote. “Regardless, her political comments and criticism are protected by the First Amendment of the United States Constitution and the Article 4, Section 5, of the South Dakota Constitution, and the state is not permitted to censor that protected speech.”

Ring pointed out that “political speech such as ‘impeach George Bush’ is indisputably not ‘indecent’ or ‘vulgar’ in any respect. It may offend some citizens of South Dakota, but that is not a valid basis for the State to censor pure political speech.”

On May 7, the DMV pulled a U-turn.

Heather Morijah states:

“We both feel very strongly about this administration for a large number of reasons. The big number one would be leading us into an imperialistic occupation in Iraq to get their oil, and lying to the American people at the expense of many American lives and many Iraqi lives. And number two, the horrifying damage they’re inflicting on the environment in this country and in the world. This particular issue has been resolved,” she says. “But I hope the momentum this has created continues. And not just on the free speech issue, but also on going forward with removing this incredibly harmful administration.”

Iacocca on Leaadership?

Lee Iacocca has written an article called Where Have All the Leaders Gone? over at Common Dreams Based on his book by the same name, Iacocca blasts the current administration and state of affairs.

Had Enough?
Am I the only guy in this country who’s fed up with what’s happening? Where the hell is our outrage? We should be screaming bloody murder.  

0508 06

We’ve got a gang of clueless bozos steering our ship of state right over a cliff, we’ve got corporate gangsters stealing us blind, and we can’t even clean up after a hurricane much less build a hybrid car. But instead of getting mad, everyone sits around and nods their heads when the politicians say, “Stay the course.”

Stay the course? You’ve got to be kidding. This is America, not the damned Titanic. I’ll give you a sound bite: Throw the bums out!

Iacocca describes his  “C” list that serves as a “test of a leader”:  Curiosity, Creative, Communicate, Character, Courage, Charisma, Conviction, Competent, Common Sense.  He states that the Biggest “C” is Crisis.

Leaders are made, not born. Leadership is forged in times of crisis. It’s easy to sit there with your feet up on the desk and talk theory. Or send someone else’s kids off to war when you’ve never seen a battlefield yourself. It’s another thing to lead when your world comes tumbling down.

On September 11, 2001, we needed a strong leader more than any other time in our history. We needed a steady hand to guide us out of the ashes. Where was George Bush? He was reading a story about a pet goat to kids in Florida when he heard about the attacks. He kept sitting there for twenty minutes with a baffled look on his face. It’s all on tape. You can see it for yourself. Then, instead of taking the quickest route back to Washington and immediately going on the air to reassure the panicked people of this country, he decided it wasn’t safe to return to the White House. He basically went into hiding for the day—and he told Vice President Dick Cheney to stay put in his bunker. We were all frozen in front of our TVs, scared out of our wits, waiting for our leaders to tell us that we were going to be okay, and there was nobody home. It took Bush a couple of days to get his bearings and devise the right photo op at Ground Zero.

That was George Bush’s moment of truth, and he was paralyzed. And what did he do when he’d regained his composure? He led us down the road to Iraq—a road his own father had considered disastrous when he was President. But Bush didn’t listen to Daddy. He listened to a higher father. He prides himself on being faith based, not reality based. If that doesn’t scare the crap out of you, I don’t know what will.

Common Dreams started allowing comments to its articles.  There are some very interesting points made to this post:

what leaders?!?!? have not seen one in years!!!!! Iacocca, were you ever a leader? what did you ever do to improve the overall quality of life in the united states. after 82 years….well… better late than never. use your “business skills” to empower people!

I have news for the gang in Congress. We didn’t elect you to sit on your asses and do nothing and remain silent while our democracy is being hijacked and our greatness is being replaced with mediocrity. What is everybody so afraid of? That some bobblehead on Fox News will call them a name? Give me a break. Why don’t you guys show some spine for a change?”

And the “gang” in Congress, as you sensibly call them, has news for you too, Lee. Currently, it’s called the PR Plan. The Pelosi-Reid Plan to Abolish America:

Pelosi and Reid have turned to their plan for controlling Iraq – popularly known as the PR Plan.

They vowed, “We will work with the President in whatever way we can.” They meant the statement to be totally ambiguous, but unfortunately for them, upon uttering it, the official pair instantly collapsed to the ground, apparently for lack of some vital measure of blood and bone, as well as some bizarre overabundance of scales, claws, and oozing oil.

“Defunding the war immediately is totally impossible,” uttered Pelosi and Reid in unison while slithering across the ground, sliming their way back to their Gang of Democrats. The Republican Gang applauded silently from the side.

“It seems clear now,” one observer remarked, “that the Democrat and Republican parties are gone – if parties they ever were – and are replaced by gangs. Official suite gangs.” Oddly, no one was heard to contradict him.

Within hours, a person we can only identify as Deep Source delivered to us the following rather striking internal document. We have rarely seen a government document quite as internal as this, and we must confess, as good members of the press, we hope to see very few more like it. “The 10 Point PR Plan (For Internal Consumption Only)”:

1st: Pretend that you intend to end the War against Iraq.

[etc]

http://apragmaticpolicy.wordpress.com/2007/05/06/the-pelosi-reid-plan-to-abolish-america/

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Dear Mr. Iacocca: Once again I read a clear delineation of the problems this country confronts, and I agree with your findings. Unfortunately, no one in our government is willing to respond with the same firmness and clarity, least of all, those who most want to head the government. There is not a leader in the lot, though one or two – Mr. Kucinich or Mr. Gravel, perhaps – show some potential. But to articulate the problems is not enough. Nor is your call to “shake off the horseshit and go to work.” What is missing most, what we are seeking, is an equally clear course of action to take. We are all tired of the garbage that passes as news, the platitudes our overpaid politicians have convinced themselves are meaningful. We are all outraged at the actions of those who pretend to be leaders. We need something more, much more. I now find myself among people so disheartened that they are talking reluctantly and sadly about the growing need for a tangible revolution, because everything else seems to have failed to produce a badly needed change.

I tend to agree with the readers: “Where have all the leaders gone?” is a misnomer indeed.

Rocky vs. Hannity – part 2

One Utah has a couple of posts on the Rocky vs. Hannity event from a few nights ago:

Rocky Hannity Debate – Entire Show – Fox

The “Rockity I” Awards

Rocky v Hannity – Live Blog by Grokov

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Carnival of the Green

This week’s Carnival of the Green is hosted by Eco Warrior.  Check it out for great information on the environment, simplifying your life for a healthier planet, and tips for being green.  Enjoy!

Eyewitness View of Iraq

I was approached a couple of months ago about organizing a presentation by a Utah citizen who was part of the Christian Peacemakers Team in Iraq, Will Vanwagenen.  will spent time in Iraq since 2005 documenting various things there.  Will was kidnapped for 9 days a few months ago in Iraq, an event on which he chooses not to elaborate.

Yesterday Will gave his presentation to a room of folks at the Salt Lake City Downtown Library.  He gave a brief history of the U.S. involvement in Iraq and then shared his personal experiences on what he witnessed there.  The bottom line is that most Iraqis want the U.S. out of Iraq and don’t want to be occupied.  The one thing that Will brought out was that the U.S. continually reiterates that it has to wipe out the terrorists by invading and occupying countries where they are.  Yet the U.S. is engaging in the same terrorist acts for which it seeks out other terrorists.  A double standard.

A Deseret News reporter was at the presentation yesterday and Will was contacted also by KCPW, but I cannot find any reference to news items.  Here are a couple of photos.

More baby photos

Here are some more photos of little Gregory!  Also his mom Carmen and dad Greg (my son).  I get to see them in a little over two weeks – yay!  He is getting so big!

Hair

Tom has spent the last few years growing out his hair.  He decided to buzz it today because he is tired of taking the time to tie it back all the time.  Here are photos:

Rocky vs. Hannity

The “debate” is over (I’ve been watching it via live stream),and it is highly clear that Rocky had the most rational and factual presentation.  Hannity did nothing but attack Rocky and progressives and never once did he address the accuracy of Rocky’s information presented.  His entire “rebuttal” to Rocky’s presentation was lame and not in defense AT ALL!  He kept linking the Iraq situation back to the 911 terrorist attack and kept bringing up Clinton’s mistakes in his presidency (huh?!?).  Hannity continually resorted to name calling and insults. Rocky did not.  Rocky did not mention Hannity once during his initial presenation.  He presented the facts.  During the question answer time, Hannity consistently evade the questons.  Rocky confronted the questions by providing answers.

Hannity was very nationalistic in his approach.  Rocky was very humanistic and global in his approach.  It was lucidly apparent who was the more concerned about humanity.

I do not have a link yet to the video of the “debate”, but watch for information at One Utah and here.

Rocky, you rock!  Thank you for standing up and giving an example of gracious and courteous behavior, not to mention a well organized factual and substantiated presentation on the war crimes committed by the Bush administration.

News Links:
Rocky, Hannity go at it before rowdy crowd

MoveOn needs to Move Along!

The Democrat funded organization moveon.org has come under fire for not taking a position on stopping the Iraq War or pushing for Impeachment of the Bush Regime.  Now that Bush has vetoed the Dems “plan” for spending on the Iraq War, moveon has come out with a poll to “ask the American People” if they think impeachment should be put on the table, so they can “plan their next move”.

I’m not sure what this means.  Theoretically, if a move were made by conservatives to complete the online poll in favor of keeping Bush and company in office and to continue funding the Iraq war, would moveon then support the results of such a poll?

The Green Party is the only political party with guts enough to take a position on the Iraq War and on Impeachment.  People should top wasting their time with Democrat funded projects and join up with a party that is not afraid of taking action.  The Green Party has action committees like its Peace Action Committee (GPAX) which is present at every major action in Washington, D.C. and members of which are continually out in the streets doing direct action and taking a stand. 

I think that moveon should move along and get a grip – take a position already!   Better yet, its position should be joining the Green Party!