Check out this great post by Mary Katherine Ham.
From the MKH post:
Farewell, Ambassador Bolton. You will be missed by those of us who don't much care for the U.N., and you should be missed by those who love it, if they have any wish for it to do the job it's supposed to do. Unfortunately, they don't know what's good for 'em.The Sentry concurs.
Adam Smith of the Buzz reports that Indiana Sen. Evan Bayh is weighing in on the side of Christine Jennings.
Indiana Sen. and likely '08 presidential candidate Evan Bayh is the latest Democrat to jump to Christine Jennings' defense in CD 13. He's asking his e-mail list to donate money to "help Christine protect our fundamental right to a free and fair election."
"This under-voting, combined with numerous statements from voters who reported machine malfunctions on Election Day - including machines that would not register votes cast for Christine - make it clear that thousands of voters were denied a voice in an election that has been certified for Republican Vern Buchanan by less than 500 votes."
You'll be satisfied to know that the first couple of comments to the post were hard on Bayh. His money would be better spent in
Just picked this up from the Cato Institute website:
U.S. House Passes Resolution Honoring Milton Friedman
Read the Resolution here.
Excerpts:
Resolved, That the House of Representatives, on the occasion of the death of Doctor Milton Friedman —A well deserved honor.
(1) mourns Doctor Friedman’s passing and expresses its deepest condolences to his family, including his widow Rose Friedman, who is herself an accomplished economist and was instrumental in co-authoring some of his major works; and
(2) honors Doctor Friedman’s lifetime of achievements and recognizes his outstanding contributions to freedom, the study of economics, the United States of America, and the world.
Jeane J. Kirkpatrick died late Thursday at her home in Bethesda, MD. Kirkpatrick, who the AP called "an unabashed apostle of Reagan era conservatism," served as UN ambassador under Reagan.
Kirkpatrick most recently served as a senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute.
___________________
US Senators on Kirkpatrick
Sen. Mitch McConnell:
“Few people did more to win the Cold War than Jeane Kirkpatrick, and few can match the courage that she brought to defending freedom and American interests around the world. She was a warrior for human rights, for freedom and for her nation. Few have or ever will match her service to our nation. We, and millions around the world, are in her debt.”Joe Lieberman:
“America has lost a clarion voice for freedom. Ambassador Kirkpatrick was a genuine patriot who played a critical role in liberty’s triumph over totalitarianism in the Cold War. Ambassador Kirkpatrick profoundly understood that ideas have consequences, but she was not an armchair intellectual. She employed her great intellect in freedom’s struggle against tyranny. Once again, we are engaged in a battle with the forces of evil and totalitarianism and Jeane Kirkpatrick’s stalwart commitment to freedom should remain an inspiration to us. Jeane Kirkpatrick lived a life of a tribune of democracy. We mourn her passing.”____________________
Bill Bennett, a former secretary of education under Reagan, the nation's drug czar under the first President Bush, called her "very forceful, very strong, a daughter of Oklahoma, great sense of humor. She held her own."_________________
Bennett said the Iraq Study Group so prominently in the news "would have been better with Jeane Kirkpatrick on it ... She had no patience with tyrannies, said they had to be confronted, you couldn't deal with tyrannies, that there were some people you could work with — these people you couldn't."
________________"Whenever I think about Jeane Kirkpatrick, I'm reminded about a story that her husband, Kirk, once told.
"He and his wife, who was U.N. ambassador at the time, were strolling around Manhattan when a truck pulled up besides them. The driver, whom they never seen before, looked at Jeane, smiled, stuck out his head and cheered, 'Give 'em hell, Jeane!’
"Before Jeane, we never had such a bold and brilliant representative for freedom in the United Nations -- an ambassador who earned support from policymakers and truck drivers alike.
_________
"The world is completely different now than it was in the 1980s, thanks in large part to Jeane, her ideas and her skill in making them work. In Great Britain, they call Lady Margaret Thatcher 'the Iron Lady.' In America, they should call Jeane Kirkpatrick 'the Steel Lady'-- U.S. steel to be exact -- for rebuilding an American foreign policy that’s so strong, we still stand on it today."
___________________They said that saving Grenada from terror and totalitarianism was the wrong thing to do - they didn't blame Cuba or the communists for threatening American students and murdering Grenadians - they blamed the United States instead.
But then, somehow, they always blame America first.
When our Marines, sent to Lebanon on a multinational peacekeeping mission with the consent of the United States Congress, were murdered in their sleep, the "blame America first crowd" didn't blame the terrorists who murdered the Marines, they blamed the United States.
But then, they always blame America first.
When the Soviet Union walked out of arms control negotiations, and refused even to discuss the issues, the San Francisco Democrats didn't blame Soviet intransigence. They blamed the United States.
But then, they always blame America first.
When Marxist dictators shoot their way to power in Central America, the San Francisco Democrats don't blame the guerrillas and their Soviet allies, they blame United States policies of 100 years ago.
But then, they always blame America first.
The American people know better.
"What takes place in the Security Council more closely resembles a mugging than either a political debate or an effort at problem-solving."
"We have war when at least one of the parties to a conflict wants something more than it wants peace."_______________________
"History is a better guide than good intentions. "
"Democrats can't get elected unless things get worse, and things won't get worse unless they get elected. " (my favorite)
"I conclude that it is a fundamental mistake to think that salvation, justice, or virtue come through merely human institutions."
"Democracy not only requires equality but also an unshakable conviction in the value of each person, who is then equal. Cross cultural experience teaches us not simply that people have different beliefs, but that people seek meaning and understand themselves in some sense as members of a cosmos ruled by God."
English First has created a project aimed at derailing the nomination of Mel Martinez to chair the RNC. That motto at StopMartinez.com is "The wrong choice in any language." English First is comparing Martinez to another Bush nominee:
"Mel Martinez is Spanish for Harriet Miers."Some more points from the website:
Here is the Miami Herald story.''Sen. Martinez is wrong on official English and wrong on amnesty for illegal aliens,'' said Jim Boulet Jr., executive director of English First. ``Asking Sen. Martinez to run the Republican Party is like asking Mrs. Phyllis Schlafly to run Planned Parenthood.
''Should Martinez win the RNC post, reporters will encourage him to do nothing but argue with his fellow Republicans about immigration and language issues,'' Boulet said.
The AP reports that DNC Chair Howard Dean has injected himself into the middle of the FL-13 debacle. Now it should really get ugly.
Democratic National Committee chairman Howard Dean called for another election in the race to replace Rep. Katherine Harris, saying the declared Republican winner should not be sworn in until election questions are sorted out.Rep. Tom Feeney (FL-24) is firing back at Dean (SP Times Buzz Blog):
''You cannot seat someone if you don't have an election that's valid,'' Dean said in a taped interview scheduled to air Sunday on a Tampa Bay-area news channel.
U.S. Rep. Tom Feeney, an Orlando area Republican, blasted Democratic National Committee Chairman Howard Dean for his earlier comments on the Vern Buchanan-Christine Jennings race.
"DNC Chair Howard Dean and his liberal entourage should be called the UNDemocratic party for their refusal to honor the election results from Florida's 13th Congressional District,'' Feeney said in a press release.
"There is no way to stimulate 18,000 disenchanted voters or reconnect with voters who deliberately chose not to vote for this particular seat. It would be irresponsible to have a new election every time someone claims confusion' at voting precincts.
District 13 residents have spoken through an election day count and a subsequent manual recount and deserve to be represented as of January 4, 2007. Floridians should not be put at a disadvantage in the 110th Congress due to the obstinate plan of Howard Dean and Co. We need all 25 members of our delegation seated, and I would feel this way regardless of the political party involved."
Rep. John Mica (FL-7) and Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (FL-18) have been tapped to serve as ranking members on two key House committees.
Rep. Mica will serve as the ranking minority member of the Transportation Committee. This appointment presents a great opportunity to have Florida's transportation needs addressed. Florida, and other southern states, have often been left wanting for important infrastructure dollars. From the Congressman's press release:“It is a great honor to be selected to this most important position by my colleagues,” Mica stated. “Our states and communities face very serious challenges with congestion clogging our highways, railways, airports and ports. My priority as the Republican leader on the Transportation Committee is to work effectively with the Administration and Members of Congress as we review and help set our national transportation policies.”
The Transportation and Infrastructure Committee sets national policy and funding levels for all U.S. aviation, highway, transit, railroad, water resource and U.S. Coast Guard programs. The Committee passed legislation after September 11 th that helped restore the aviation industry and reformed aviation security, and also authorizes major highway and aviation bills every four to six years.Rep. Mica has served on the Transportation Committee since 1993. He has been Chairman of the Aviation Subcommittee since 2001, and has also sat on the Railroad and the Highways and Transit Subcommittees. The Congressman has been recognized as a national leader on aviation security and mass transit issues.
Mica said, “With record levels of traffic congestion and delays experienced by travelers today, we must continue to invest in our nation’s transportation systems to expand our economy and build our nation’s aging infrastructure. I look forward to working with the public and private sector to achieve these goals.”
___________________
The ''support is most humbling and it shall be rewarded by my working doubly hard to ensure that the message of the GOP in international affairs is strong, determined and rooted in the core principles of our party to protect our nation's security and interests,'' Ros-Lehtinen said in a statement.Henry Hyde, current chair of Inter. Rel., had nothing but good things to say about Ros-Lehtinen:
Ros-Lehtinen brings ``intelligence, leadership and enthusiasm to the important task of guiding the minority on the International Relations Committee.'' (Miami Herald)Congratulations to Reps. Mica and Ros-Lehtinen, and good for Florida.
Gov.-elect Crist, apparently in an attempt to silence critics, has announced that his inaugural committee will now disclose contributions on a weekly basis. This goes well beyond the legal requirement of 90 days. (from SP Times - Buzz Blog)
You should remember from my post just this Wednesday that Common Cause expressed dismay over the $500,000 limit on contributions to the inauguration fund.
We applaud Gov. Crist for this move, but we remind him that he will never make those guys happy.
Download the Inauguration Schedule of Events.
The official 2007 Inauguration website is here.
Parents from at least one Queens, NY, school used to think so. That is until their kids started displaying their reading comprehension skills. (hat tip Michelle Malkin - from NY Daily News) But after numerous complaints from parents at Public School 150 in Sunnyside, the books - a profanity-laced poetry book, short stories about homosexuality and a novel called "First French Kiss" - were pulled from the shelves last week. Several parents learned of the racy books after overhearing their kids snickering about the sexual themes. The poem "I Hate School" in a book called "You Hear Me?" includes the rhyme, "F--- this s---, up the a--. I don't think I'll ever pass." "You Hear Me?" was suggested for sixth-, seventh- and eighth-graders by the Columbia University Teachers College's Reading and Writing Project because it is the only anthology with poems written by minority teenagers, said Lucy Calkins, its founding director. "It's a tricky balance to walk so we are putting books in their hands that they'll want to read," said Calkins, who had not seen the language in the book.Sixth-graders at a Queens school were getting quite an education - in homosexuality, French kissing and cursing - thanks to three books widely available in classroom libraries.
_________________(further on)
_______________________
Sound unusual? It shouldn't. Just check out the Young Adult section next time your in the bookstore. You may not believe what is on the shelf.
See also Blogs of War
PEARL HARBOR, Hawaii - This will be their last visit to this watery grave to share stories, exchange smiles, find peace and salute their fallen friends.
This, they say, will be their final farewell.
With their number quickly dwindling, survivors of Pearl Harbor will gather one last time today to honor those killed by the Japanese 65 years ago and to mark a day that lives in infamy.
"This will be one to remember," said Mal Middlesworth, president of the Pearl Harbor Survivors Association. "It's going to be something that we'll cherish forever."
The survivors have met here every five years for four decades, but they are now in their 80s and 90s and are not counting on a 70th reunion. They have made every effort to report for one final roll call.
On Dec. 7, 1941 — 65 years ago this week — pilots from a Japanese carrier force bombed Pearl Harbor. They killed 2,403 Americans, most of them service personnel, while destroying much of the American fleet and air forces stationed in Hawaii.
The next morning, an outraged United States declared war, which ended less than four years later with the destruction of most of the Japanese empire and its military.
Sixty years after Pearl Harbor came another surprise attack on U.S. soil, one that was, in some ways, even worse than the “Day of Infamy.”
Nearly 3,000 people died in the Sept. 11 attacks — the vast majority of them civilians. Al-Qaida’s target was not an American military base far distant from the mainland. Rather, they suicide-bombed the United States’ financial and military centers.
It’s been five years since Sept. 11. After such a terrible provocation, why can’t we bring the ongoing “global war on terror” — whether in Afghanistan, Iraq or elsewhere — to a close as our forefathers fighting World War II could?
__________________________
Sixty-five years ago today, the United States endured an attack on Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, that for the next 60 years -- until Sept. 11, 2001 -- stood as the most devastating enemy attack on U.S. soil. Like the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, the.Japanese raid on Pearl Harbor has been called a defining moment in U.S. history. It caught the country by surprise, rallied its people against their attackers and thrust the nation into a long, difficult war against tyranny.
On the 65th anniversary of the Pearl Harbor attacks, they present more parallels, and possibly lessons, for today’s global war on terror.
The Tampa Tribune has published its second editorial calling on Christine Jennings to end the FL-13 drama. (see earlier post)
Christine Jennings continues to seek a new election in the District 13 congressional race even though two recounts concluded she lost to opponent Vern Buchanan and two state audits found the touch-screen voting machines used in Sarasota County functioned properly.There is no evidence of tampering and only theories - no facts - that somehow the voting machines malfunctioned, yet Jennings refuses to end her lawsuit.
Sure, she's been talking about the sanctity of the vote and defending the true choice of the voters, but what she wants is the win. Since the recount numbers didn't go her way, she hopes a sympathetic judge will overturn the election results.The Tallahassee Sentinel could not have said it better - OK, maybe a little better.Jennings would use statistics, not vote counts, to show that most of the voters who for some reason failed to vote in her race would actually have voted for her. After all, Jennings the Democrat carried what has traditionally been a Republican county.
But then wouldn't that suggest more Republicans than Democrats chose not to vote in the race?
Losing by 369 votes after a vicious campaign and in a season when Democrats were winning has to be a bitter pill to swallow, and Jennings will forever wonder just exactly why things didn't go her way.
But voters made their choice, and without a verified paper trail to prove otherwise, Jennings came up short. Now it's time to stop.
The St. Pete times reports that Gov.-elect Crist is soliciting contributions for as much as $500,000 to pay for his inauguration events.
As Crist says, increased fundraising will make the events more accessible to more Floridians.
"I'm working hard to make this a non-paying event for a lot of people. And it's just a request."Well, of course Ben Wilcox of Common Cause doesn't see it that way. In response to the sliding scale of perks (tote bags, cuff links, etc) offered to donors, Wilcox is aghast:
It wasn't that long ago when few were able to experience and celebrate the inauguration of a new governor. It takes a lot of money to bring it to the masses. Better that it come from donors - even lobbyists - than from taxpayers."It's pretty mind-boggling," said Ben Wilcox of Common Cause, a nonpartisan group that tracks political money. "It must be a pretty impressive tote bag."
Wilcox said he believes inaugural donors are "buying access" to Crist.
"It's unfortunate," Wilcox said. "The inaugural celebrates the people of Florida, but to be a part of this committee you have to be a pretty wealthy person from Florida."
After costs are met, receipts will be given to the Jessica Marie Lunsford foundation, the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children and Derrick Brooks Charities.
"The situation in Iraq is grave and deteriorating. There is no path that can guarantee success, but the prospects can be improved" (openning lines of the executive summary)
Read: No chance for victory. That's what it sounds like to me. And remember, the enemy has internet access too. They must have a smile on their face right about now.
The ISG has come with two primary recommendations:
Our most important recommendations call for new and enhanced diplomatic and political efforts in Iraq and the region, and a change in the primary mission of U.S. forces in Iraq that will enable the United States to begin to move its combatAs we find out later in the report this means engagement with Iran and Syria, and a timetable for troop withdrawl:
forces out of Iraq responsibly.
(On Iran and Syria)____________________
Given the ability of Iran and Syria to influence events within Iraq and their interest in avoiding chaos in Iraq, the United States should try to engage them constructively.
(see what we have said recently on this subject: here and here.)
(On Redeployment)
By the first quarter of 2008, subject to unexpected developments in the security
situation on the ground, all combat brigades not necessary for force protection could be out of Iraq.
The primary mission of U.S. forces in Iraq should evolve to one of supporting the Iraqi army, which would take over primary responsibility for combat operations.Military experts disagree: (from Reuters analysis):
Pulling back American troops into their bases in Iraq will reduce U.S. casualties, but it could also spark a firestorm of unrestrained sectarian violence that will sorely test the loyalties of the Iraqi army.____________________
"The short term will see a drop in (U.S.) casualties. But the military consequence of pulling back will be to cede the initiative to the enemy and to reduce the patrol presence that keeps enemy activity down," said Stephen Biddle of the U.S. Army War College Strategic Studies Institute. "If we were to withdraw to bases, the intensity of the civil war is going to increase dramatically," he warned.
From USA Today blog:
Not only are Democratic leaders predicting there will be more congressional oversight of U.S. efforts in Iraq and Afghanistan now that they're going to control both the House and Senate, they're also hinting they may not automatically OK the Bush administration's next request for funds to pay for those operations, USA TODAY's Kathy Kiely reports from Capitol Hill.
"The days of a rubber stamp on a request by the administration for this effort are over," Rep. Rahm Emanuel, D-Ill., said today, Kiely tells us.
As we wait for the report to be issued, here are some things to look at:
The Iraq Study Group Homepage - the report will be available at 11:00 am.
Bush has already met with Baker and Hamilton, and calls the report "very tough" and vows to take it seriously: (from FoxNews.com)
"I will take it very seriously and we will act on it in a timely fashion," Bush told reporters at the White House after meeting with the group for about an hour.Report calls for talks with Iran and Syria:
"This report gives a very tough assessment of the situation in Iraq. It is a report that brings some really very interesting proposals," Bush said.
USA Today blog on expected reccomendations:Leaks of the report suggest that the ISG will encourage the U.S. to reach out for more help on Iraq's security — including Iran and Syria as part of a larger group — and to gradually change the mission of U.S. troops from combat to training and support, with a broad goal of withdrawing the Americans by early 2008.
The president has resisted engagement with Iran and Syria, which the U.S. accuse of being bad actors on the world stage as well as fomenting instability in Iraq. Bush has rejected any timetable for U.S. troop drawdowns.
But the White House also insists that the examinations, including an administration review of military options led by Gen. Peter Pace, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, will be considered.
• President Bush should set specific security benchmarks for the Iraqi government and threaten to pull support if it fails to meet them.Here's what others are saying:
• The Pentagon should "withdraw nearly all combat units by early 2008 while leaving behind tens of thousands of troops to advise, train and embed with Iraqi forces," the Washington Post reported.
• Bush should "aggressively tackle the Israeli-Palestinian dispute to reduce the broader regional tensions fueling the Iraq conflict," according to the Post.
• U.S. diplomats should hold talks with Iran and Syria about stopping the violence in Iraq.
• Iraq's neighbors should be brought to together for a regional conference.
• Sources told CNN a major theme "is a blunt assessment that the mission in Iraq will fail unless the Bush administration and the newly elected Democratic Congress come together on a bipartisan basis to deal with the declining support for the war within the United States."
Today is the day that the Iraq Study Group will deliver its not so secret recommendations on how we can best pull out of Iraq without leaving behind a bloody mess, regional chaos, increased Iranian influence, and a helpless, toothless, Iraqi government dominated by theocrats and thugs.
This is our new battle cry; "We must mitigate defeat!"Paul Seale of Redstate:Stirring, isn't it? Not quite the ring that "Remember the Alamo" has but then, this is the 21st century and such patriotic and emotional displays are frowned upon by the blue blooded "wise men" of the ISG who have labored long and hard to produce this recipe for American retreat.
What I am concerned about is what the media is already talking about. Apparently it is being leaked that the group is recommending that "President Bush to move most U.S. troops out of combat roles by early 2008," yet it supposedly does not set any hard time tables.Andrew McCarthy of NR:Uh, so what do you call a urge to pull out by early 2008?
Perhaps what is so maddening about this whole affair is how we are seemingly hanging out to dry our troops who are taking the fight to our enemies, and by proxy, siding with those who wish to do us harm.
Some, like congressional Democrats, a growing chorus of disaffected Republicans, the vaunted Baker-Hamilton Iraq Study Group, and departing Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, think the answer is fewer American troops. Others, prominently including National Review’s Rich Lowry, aptly point out that the only stable precincts in Iraq (at least outside the Kurdish region, the war’s much ignored success story) are those that enjoy a high concentration of American troops. Wherever we see the political establishment’s preference for a light U.S. footprint, chaos reigns.McCarthy says view Iraq as a battle, not the war:
There is only one good reason for American troops to be in Iraq. It is the reason we sent them there in 2003: To fight and win the “war on terror” — i.e., the war against radical Islam — by deposing rogue regimes helping the terror network wage a long-term, existential jihad against the United States. You can argue that Iraq was the wrong rogue to start with; but destroying radical Islam’s will and its capacity to project power is what the war is about.
Iraq is but a single battlefield in that war. It is not “the war.” Stabilizing or even — mirabile dictu! — democratizing Iraq is not winning the war. It is the overseas equivalent of rebuilding the World Trade Center. The hard reality is that war exacts a terrible toll and its fallout must be addressed. This is why we hate war and resort to it only in the face of greater evils. But cleaning up war’s unavoidable messes is not the same as winning.
Winning the war means taking on the regimes and factions that are waging it. That is what the president promised to do after 9/11. “You’re with us or you’re with the terrorists.”
A number of election experts have concluded - or come close to concluding - that bad ballot design was the cause of the unusually high undervote in FL-13. It also appears that the majority of the undervote ballots were from staright ticket voters - those looking for either DEM or REP, instead of candidate names. In other words, careless voters.
A Herald-Tribune analysis of every ballot cast shows these loyal party voters -- on both sides of the aisle -- were largely responsible for the massive undervote in Sarasota's House District 13 race. Nearly 60 percent of the 18,000 undervotes in that race came from people who otherwise did their best to ensure their party's candidate won.This theory poses problems for both Jennings and Buchanan:
The bizarre trend has convinced a growing number of election experts that the most important factor in the undervote was bad ballot design --
For Buchanan, blaming the undervotes on inattentive voters would essentially be an acknowledgment that he would have lost but for the design of the ballot.State auditors have yet to settle on any particular explanation for the undervote, so we continue to wait the results of their audit.
And a ballot design that caused voter confusion is a legal dead end for Jennings. Her lawsuit specifically shoots down ballot design in favor of machine error.
The prospect that bad ballot design caused 18,000 missing votes in a Sarasota congressional race could make Democrat Christine Jennings’ fight for a new election tougher.
Legal experts say convincing a judge to order a new election is dicey even if you can prove fraud or counting errors. But arguments over ballot design are among the hardest to win.
“It would be difficult for the plaintiffs to prevail if that’s what the problem is,” said Jon Greenbaum, voting rights director for the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law. “You’re always in a better situation if you can say clearly what went wrong.”
.......
Experts doubt that would convince judges to overturn the election.Though this looks good for Buchanan, its not over yet. Look for this to drag on for a few more weeks.
“A court is not going to say if the ballot was different, people would have voted another way,” said Doug Chapin, director of electionline.org.
Former Florida Attorney General Jim Smith, who also was Secretary of State, said a judge may tell Jennings’ attorneys it’s too late to challenge the ballot.
“This ballot layout was obviously a problem, but when you balance that against the fact the candidates get to look at the ballot and the parties get to look at it before the election, and say it looks OK to them, I don’t know how you get it done,” he said.
At least the FL-13 debacle is no longer the most rediculous news story in SW Florida. The school board of Manatee County has approved a redistricting plan that will force over 1000 students to switch schools.
As part of the plan - as we assume the reason for the plan - about 75 migrant children will be bused to a whiter, more affluent school than the one that they now attend.
Why is this necessary?
(from Sarasota Herald-Tribune) The migrant busing plan was pushed by some administrators who want to diversify McNeal's student population.Teachers at the school where the migrant children now attend are speaking out against the move.
Myakka has spent years building programs so the migrant students can succeed academically, and to help them adjust to a new culture. Some Myakka teachers worry the students' cultural differences -- many migrants speak Spanish as their native language and come from low-income families -- are too vast for them to adjust well to McNeal.The view of the teachers will probably have little effect on what happens in Manatee County. Now that the "D" word has been invoked the plan is as good as gospel. (that's diversity - in case you were wondering)
"They have a history at Myakka," said teacher Vickie Parker, who has worked at Myakka for 20 years. "Obviously going to McNeal is going to be a whole different world for them."
"This is not a migrant issue," said Myakka teacher Cheryl Mathis. "It is an issue of how do we make our classrooms equitable, and make changes at McNeal so those kids see some faces other than their white neighbors all the time."Unfortunately, it is usually the more disadvantaged kids that are harmed by moves like this. But how can we blame the school board? It probably feels like the right thing to do. I wonder how many of their kids will be bused.
(AP) Former Rep. David Bonior, a one-time leader in Congress who has close ties to labor unions, has signed on to manage a future John Edwards presidential campaign. Edwards hasn't announced a repeat of his 2004 presidential bid yet, but an Edwards adviser said Thursday that Bonior will run the effort if Edwards decides to run. In the meantime, Bonior has signed on as a senior adviser to Edwards' leadership PAC, the One America Committee.
Remember him? Well, it looks like he's back again. No, he won't be yelling at us from the floor of the House.
It looks as if David Bonior has signed on to lead the presidential campaign of John Edwards - that would be the one that doesn't exist yet.
Bonior strong ties to organized labor should help Edwards with this important Democratic target group.
One can only imagine Bonior meeting up with a candidate Gingrich on the campaign trail in mid-2008. Remember what Rep. Bonior was up to in 1996?
Navy leaders were concerned about San Francisco's refusal to offer a homeport for the retired battleship Iowa, which would be turned into a museum, as well as the school board's decision to abolish junior ROTC training in city high schools, Myatt said.
Some city politicians also have publicly criticized the Pentagon. In one instance, Supervisor Gerardo Sandoval said national defense should be left to “the cops and the Coast Guard.”
..
Click the graphic, pick out a card, write a note, click "OK," and know that somewhere an American soldier in harm's way will get your card, courtesy of Xerox.
Say Thanks. It's the least we can do.
