Prince William County has had a law on the books for three years that’s almost identical to Arizona’s. It’s worked and has not sparked racial profiling.
Meanwhile 71% of Arizonans support their state’s new immigration law.
Posted under OBAMA WATCH
This post was written by bobsikes on May 24, 2010
There’s still a disturbing lack of knowledge among coaches, athletes and parents regarding concussions. State laws can often have unintended consequences and hidden costs. While this one will probably have some too, my own frustration over the lack of public awareness about the long term ramifications of concussions makes me tend to feel that this might be a good idea.
Here’s the key points of the state of Washington law:
• Athletes, parents and coaches must be educated about the dangers of concussions each year.
• If a young athlete is suspected of having a concussion, he/she must be removed from a game or practice and not be permitted to return to play.
• A licensed health care professional must clear the young athlete to return to play in the subsequent days or weeks.
Commissioner Goodel is on the front lines as he sees the sad results of former NFL players whom have suffered from numerous concussions that have been improperly managed.
Posted under SPORTSMEDICINE
This post was written by bobsikes on May 23, 2010
The former govenor is not alone in his own party. Partisan Republican group think seeks to impose their all-knowing take on education based on cherry-picked data from his own foundation and feel good platitudes.
Govenor Bush continues to grip tightly to the notion that the FCAT – a one day assessment that was intended to measure acheivement levels is an end all in measuring learning “gains”. Utilization of the FCAT remains his primary justification for the advancement of his party’s agenda. This would be just a simple-minded embarrassment for a public servant of magnitude if it weren’t so demonstrably wrong. Yet the fervor that his agenda is advanced by an entire political party creates a never ending train wreck for the education of America’s children.
It is the FCAT that Jeb Bush continues to insist we accept as the end all to make all of our decisions regarding education. Pay no attention to evidence that FCAT is proving harmful or ineffective. Lets catalog a few.
1. Students have failed FCAT time and time again, even while they, their schools, teachers and families know they need it to graduate. Some 3000 south Florida HS seniors may fail to graduate as they did not score hig enough on FCAT retakes. Bush would have you believe that this simply means that blame needs to be placed on these student’s teachers.
2. Only 16% of Florida’s 22,000 seniors who retook FCAT reading passed. Only 28% of 8600 seniors whom retook FCAT Math passed. This is a bitter pill for these students knowing that this was at least the third time they took the test. Never mind the fact that both No Child Left Behind (Bush)and Race to the Top (Obama) see 100% graduation as the goal and that such a standardized test as the solution. But it’s the teachers fault you see.
3. Many don’t realize that a significant number of these same students will substitute a passing grade on the ACT or SAT – both college entrance exams – for the FCAT to graduate. Some 130 HS Seniors from the Treasure Coast graduated in 2008 because of accpetable scores on the ACT or SAT. They’re passing a college entrance test, but not the FCAT? This fact alone begs for further assessment of using FCAT as any kind of assessment tool.
4. FCAT Reading scores in Florida have been on decline. One look at the numbers of the counties with the highest percentages of students accepted by colleges – Santa Rosa, Sarasota, Martin and St. Johns showed passing rates of 10th grade reading of 47%, 43%, 50% and 53%. Only half of 10th graders? Bush would have us assume somehow that these rates indicate teachers are somehow at fault and that some should even be fired. Bush furthermore would have us believe that somehow the FCAT is working.
The first two in the above lists use stories released over the past few days and Bush’s op-ed piece looks desperate in it’s attempt to put FCAT in a glowing light. Bush’s study used teachers who’s students made the highest gains on FCAT. The observations they make about effective teachers are one’s that any teacher, parent or student could come up with. Yet Bush’s use of FCAT indicates that he would have us believe that only teachers who’s kids have done well on the FCAT can actualize such lofty ideals.
Still despite mounting evidence to the contrary, Bush maintains that FCAT scores are up and that the measures he advanced during his govenorship and his championing of SB6 are right for education.
Perhaps it is the fact of the matter that it is not only educators whom realize the folly in the use of standardized tests in general and the FCAT in particular. The lesson of SB6 should serve as a teachable moment for Jeb Bush and his acolytes in the Florida legislature.
Opposition to the bill could not have been more broad. The cynical among the Republican Party unfortunately still choose to see Charlie Crist’s SB6 veto and gubernatorial candidate Paula Dockery’s opposition as pandering to the teacher’s union when the public at large are now distrustful of unions.
This continued spin and delusion on the part of the Republican Party and pols like Jeb Bush on education only serves to harm the conseravtive movement. The administration of SB6 could have not been more contary to conservative principles. The manner in which it was advanced through both Florida legislative houses was earily similar to the way Obamacare was shoved through in Washington.
So perhaps it is the naysayers amongst Republicans like Dockery that thoughtful conservatives in the state should be paying more attention to. The fact that Charlie Crist leads a three-way race in some polling data indicates that some conservatives were turned off by the hysterical hostility heaped upon him by many GOP Florida legislative leaders. Republicans cannot be alienating conservatives, but their shrill rhetoric and flawed justifications and methods regarding education issues are doing just that.
Posted under EDUCATION, FLORIDA POLITICS
This post was written by bobsikes on May 23, 2010
There have been many reports that Jenry Mejia will be sent out to be “stretched out and return as a starter.” Some predicted that it would happen in this transaction.
I’ve never like the idea of making this kind of change during the season with any pitcher and especially not with a jewell like Mejia. Maybe last night’s performance changed their mind for the good.
Mejia struck out Brett Gardner and Mark Teixeira in a huge spot during the seventh. With the Mets having only one starter in Johan Santana that demonstrates he can at least get to the eighth, they are going to need arms like Mejia’s to give them a chance to win.
Still the formula cannot sustain itself. I know we got another run last night, but Mike Pelfrey needed to go another inning. Jerry Manuel has to use four pitchers to get through the last three innings as a result. Franciso Rodriguez had to get five of the last six outs and may not be available tonight.
Pedro Feliciano and Fernando Nieve are tied for the league lead in appearances. This is an obscene embarrassment for the organization to have two pitchers at the top. The two quite frankly cannot contunue at their current pace and will likely break down before the season is over.
This obscene embarrasment has gone on during the entire tenure of Omar Minaya. Willie Randolph needed at least four pitcher to win a game as well.
The Mets will have to change their philosophy and culture of pitching if they intend to be a winning organization. If they want to win this year, they’ll have to go out and get two starters that can consistently get them into a game’s last two innings on his own.
Posted under METS
This post was written by bobsikes on May 23, 2010
The Obama administration and the Allen Boyd campaign with probably tout recent employment numbers to justify their jobs.
The numbers do not take into account the lay-offs at Sallie Mae and the loss of
F-15 jobs at Tyndall. Nevermind that oil spill.
Despite positive signs in April, trouble might be on the horizon, Gulf Coast Workforce Board spokeswoman Maria Goodwin said. New numbers do not include possible losses to tourism after the oil rig Deepwater Horizon sank and began gushing more than 210,000 gallons of oil per day into the gulf about four weeks ago.
Charters and hotels have seen cancelations with oil nowhere near Florida. Hurricane season could make the problem worse, Goodwin said.
The local Workforce Board also is worried about pending layoffs at Sallie Mae and Tyndall Air Force Base. Sallie Mae will begin laying off 537 workers July 17, according to a Worker Adjustment Retraining Notification the company submitted to the state Wednesday.
The company anticipates completely closing the local facility by the beginning of 2011 — about the same time the Air Force plans to finish shedding 800 local positions with the F-15 drawdown.
Sallie Mae employees have been notified of pending layoffs, a spokesman said.
The layoffs will have a ripple effect as workers stop spending at local businesses
Pay no attention to the state media spin from Democrat MSM loyalists. Hat’s off to the Panama City News Herald for properly running the numbers.
Posted under FLORIDA #2
This post was written by bobsikes on May 22, 2010
From the ever useful Buzz.
As the story indicates, the FEA is pressuring the AFL-CIO to do the same.
Well maybe “pressuring” is too strong a word. I can’t see the AFL-CIO not going with a Democrat, but the FEA couldn’t betray the large number of independents among their membership who were heartened by Crist’s veto of SB6.
Count me among those members. Count me again as a Republican who’s furious with his party’s continued naivite on education. I understand why so many colleagues on conservative values become one issue voters.
It is here where the GOP needs to change and stop seeing education as blood sport with unions. My party’s terribly misguided desire to measure students outcomes with multiple choice tests and apply it to teacher salaries betrays reasoned judgement.
The senate vote is a tough one for conservative teachers who were once supporting Marco Rubio as I did. But Rubio’s reflexive endorsement of SB6 along with the continued heavy handedness of Florida’s GOP leaders on the bill gave many of us pause.
That pause is still there.
Charlie Crist’s willingness to make hard choices that would enrage hyper partisan republicans I find terribly appealing. Rubio was too quick to react negatively to the Arizona immigration bill, before he backpeddled. But Crist is going to start showing me that he’s not just pandering to liberal Democrats right now for me to give him my vote in November.
Posted under EDUCATION, FLORIDA POLITICS
This post was written by bobsikes on May 22, 2010
Lame. Learn to use your Wordpess, Sikes
Posted under Uncategorized
This post was written by bobsikes on May 22, 2010
And it will only get worse now that a really tight Senate race in the fall is in the offing. My friend Royce White is saying, this is stonewalling that would make Richard Nixon proud.
Sestak will get to be queen for a day. He’s either lying or he’s covering up. But he gets the creative license to write the ending.
Pennsylvania Democrats could end up wishing they left Arlen Specter alone. The MSM is not going to be a White House ally on this one as the Washington Post, and CBS and MSNBC are covering it.
Eric Holder’s dodge of Dan Issa’s questions coupled with Robert Gibb’s evassions this week lead one to conclude there’e a there, there. Administration talking points are making it look like Sestak is the one telling the truth.
So whom would have made that call to Sestak?
The most likely person to have made such a call to Sestak would have been WH Political Director Patrick Gaspard. It was Gaspard whom brokered the deal to secure in the NY-23 special election last fall. It is Gaspard who is trying to strong arm David Patterson out of the New York race for govenor.
President Obama is certain to see a kindred spirit in Gaspard with his ties to SEIU and ACORN. And why not? Gaspard is an extremely skilled and well connected operative, a man the President badly needs this fall and beyond.
Sestak, an ambitious retired Navy three start Vice admiral, didn’t want to play ball with Obama. Arlen Specter was like a one night stand that Obama had to have to secure his 60 vote Senate majority. Too bad that Sestak wanted to be a US Senator every bit as bad as Specter. Worse for Obama, Sestak wouldn’t keep his mouth shut. It should come as no surprise that the Obama administration didn’t know not to attempt to strong arm an admiral. They’re not sisses.
So here we are. Someone is going to have to blink…and talk. Sestak needs the White House to defeat Pat Toomey. Obama needs as many Democrat senators as he can get. But bribery is serious and it might be why Holder is disinclined to allow Dan Issa to get him to talk about it. That could get really messy. Is it that the administration is trying to get their ducks in a row first?
Sestak won’t be falling on a sword. Gaspard or whomever talked to him will have to be thrown under the bus as a freelancer. The Obama administration may have to have their own Web Hubble-Susan McDougal moment with their Chicago-style bribe intended to assure themselves of a a health care win.
Posted under OBAMA WATCH
This post was written by bobsikes on May 22, 2010
The EPA instructs BP to switch dispersants, when none are available. The Obama administration was asked to let the Army Corps of Engineers to create another sand barrier, but sits on it’s hands.
Can’t blame this on George Bush.
Quick, Ax! See if Mike Brown is available. Send talking points to media.
Posted under BLACK TIDE
This post was written by bobsikes on May 22, 2010
The fishing industry in Louisiana is poised to act to protect and manitain it’s viability.
The collapse of the state’s fishing will have global consequences.
Posted under BLACK TIDE
This post was written by bobsikes on May 22, 2010
