Why Spend Public Money?

"Dog Gone" has posted an interesting, though long case for spending "public money".  I agreed in my comments that it does create jobs, however I noted that I believe it rarely increases the wealth of the USA.  See this link for our discussions.

MPP Missing the point on why we spend public money

Thoughts?

MN Education Legislative Update

Well it looks like the DFL is actively pursuing different ideas for spending more on education in MN.  (PU News Link) (PU Legislative Update) (SF News Link) (MN Leg Link) (Ed MN) (MPR Update)  The upside is that there is some discussion regarding closing the achievement gap and how to hold the schools accountable to see that it is closed.  Thoughts?

Also, here is an ironic twist. Someone is apparently proposing that all of the Districts use the State's healthcare plan.  It makes sense to me that all the public employees who's insurance is paid for through our taxes should be bundled into one bargaining unit.  This would usually enable the larger group to negotiate for rates and coverage.  However it seems that the Districts are against this.  Thoughts?
AMSD Position Paper on Health Plan
Ed MN Summary

Iraq, Egypt, Libya and Syria Compared

I don't necessarily disagree with Laurie and Annie, I mean the Iraq war was expensive, messy, and we don't know yet if or what the long term benefits will be. And it sure would have been nice if the Southern Shiites and the Northern Kurds could have over thrown Saddam on their own, like the Egyptians and Libyans.   

"My opinion on the wars, especially Iraq war, is that is was a colossal waste of money. The $6 trillion could have been spent much more wisely (or not spent.)" Laurie

"Cost in dollars and lives to eliminate dictators in Egypt, Libya, Tunesia - very little." Laurie

"I'm firmly with Laurie on this. Iraq in particular was an entirely optional war." Annie 

And Lord knows we tried for 10+ years to help the people of Iraq to accomplish that goal.  Mudville Gazette Iraq Histories:
pre-1990     1991-1997      1998     1999     2000-2003

However the reality is that the Kurds and Shiites were unable to accomplish Saddam's removal on their own, even with us providing "No Fly Zones" and other support.   Even President Clinton supported the efforts during his whole time as President.

So in 2003, the USA had a very angry and belligerent dictator on a very rigid leash and there were 3 choices available from my perspective:

1. Continue holding the leash forever like we have been in the Korean Peninsula conflict for ~60 years.  However that was problematic since Saudi Arabia was not as open to having American forces based there indefinitely like South Korea is.
2. Release the leash and back away quickly, leaving our Kurdish and Shiite allies to Saddam's gentle mercy.  And hoping that Saddam was smart enough to not invade anyone again, or shoot more missiles at Israel.
3. Attack in support of our Kurdish and Shiite allies, and force regime change.

Since we chose option 3 and accomplished that task very quickly.  Then we were faced with the next decision:

1. Withdraw from Iraq ASAP and leave the people of Iraq to resolve the power void that was created when the Saddam regime was destroyed.  Possibly through civil war, Iranian intervention, diplomacy, etc.
2. Stay to help rebuild and stabilize the country.  Help to ensure the democratic process had a chance.

Of course we did the honorable thing and stayed for compassionate and self serving reasons.

With all this said, I am curious what Laurie and Annie would have done differently?
(Let Saddam have Kuwait?, Pulled out immediately after Desert Storm?, Pulled out immediately after the Mission Accomplished speech was made?, Other)

And are we making the right choices regarding Syria?  Are we correct in not enforcing a "No Fly Zone" as people are dying?  (Link 2)

I agree that I wish all coups went as smoothly as those in Egypt and Libya, however that does not seem to be the case.  And as long as our national interests involve oil/ energy, we have a business case for being involved in the Middle East.  Even if some of us believe that we do not have a moral obligation.  Thoughts?

A Tale of Two Daughters

Laurie and I have been disagreeing regarding the costs, benefits and morality of the Iraq and Afganistan wars.  G2A War: What Is It Good For?  Laurie's statements were:

"We are not responsible for every problem in the world and if we wanted to spend $6 trillion for humanitarian purposes it could have done much more good spent in other ways.

In hind sight, do you seriously think the war in Iraq was the right decision when you look at the cost in dollars and lives? Maybe you support it because you voted for Bush. I knew it was a mistake at the time and joined several anti war demonstrations.

By my rough calculation your share of the $6 trillion is $20,000 or $100,000 on behalf of your family. Do you feel getting rid of Saddam was worth this to you? It seems like the type of raid that killed Bin Laden could have been carried out without a 10 year war in Afghanistan."

The issue I have with this is that from these comments as compared to her typically progressive comments, it seems to me that she thinks the life of a little girl in the USA is worth so very much more than the life of a little girl in Afganistan.  Which I definitely have to disagree with.

From my view, the most needy little girls in the USA get food, medical care, public education, shelter, freedom to speak out, freedom to lobby for more public assistance, protection from abusive people and now even cell phones. 

Yet the Liberals continue to demand that this is "not enough", that more tax dollars need to be spent on the safety nets and dependency programs.  And that the rich were "lucky" and that their personal property should be taken via taxes and redistributed to the unfortunate.

Whereas the most fortunate little girls in Afganistan under Taliban rule could not go to school, speak out or strive to improve themselves.  And often they were subjected to forced marriages or worse, including Sharia law. (Video) (Treatment of Women)

And what do the Liberals have to say about America's efforts to help these little girls.  They say it cost too much, it was war mongering, a stupid expenditure and that people like me only support it because it happened under Bush...  Really???

Personally I think it was nice of the Taliban to go to such extremes as giving Al Qaeda refuge in Afganistan.  Then helping them to train terrorists...  How much better does it get?  They gave the USA justification to invade and help those little girls to have a chance at a better life.  School Video 1    School Video 2

Now I agree that we can't save everyone, yet I still think we should help when we can, and especially when we can eliminate a threat to our nation at the same time.  I also find it ironic that the same people that think the fortunate Americans should be forced to share their wealth with the unfortunate American's, think that a fortunate America sharing it's wealth with the terribly terribly unfortunate people in Afganistan is wasteful and stupid...  Peace loving liberals still seem terribly inconsistent to me.

The reality is that our investment in Afganistan may fail.  Yet we have given the people of Afganistan a chance that they would not have had without our military and financial involvement. Keep your fingers crossed that they can hold it together this time.  Thoughts?

WAR: What Is It Good For

Dan Burns over at MPP published a post with regard to the USA's military intervention in Iraq.   MPP Why do the vile thrive?  As you can tell by the title, he is not a big supporter of the action.  He included the following quote that got me thinking...

"As I reflect on the 10 years of the Iraq War, what is most striking with respect to the war’s enormous human toll — nearly one million dead, five million displaced, hundreds of thousands of widows and orphans, untold misery — is the sheer callousness of the pro-war clique when confronted with these facts. " Alternet

If the numbers are correct, is it really appropriate to blame America's intervention for this disaster and all of these negative consequences?  I guess I would agree if we had intervened, in say Australia, where things are stable and peaceful.  Then we would be the "cause", but let's get real and accept that this is the Middle East where folks have been fighting and killing each other for millenia.

My perception of reality is that Saddam Hussein and Iraq attacked an American ally (Kuwait) and threatened another (Saudi Arabia).  America came to their defense and put Saddam and Iraq in "jail". (Iraq No fly zones)

Though Saddam's hands were tied, he was able to continue torturing and killing people that opposed his rule.  And lord knows the Shiites, Sunnis and Kurds were still in fighting in their "jail cell". So whether it was right or wrong, Bush chose to try and bring an end to this stand off. 

The biggest mistake I think he made was thinking too highly of the Iraqi people.  He assumed that if Saddam was gone, the rational caring people of Iraq would embrace democracy and live in peace and tranquility.  Unfortunately that was not the case...

I agree that people were killed when the USA invaded Iraq, but remember how fast that occurred. (Time History) I have to believe that very few of the casualty totals stated above occurred during this period.

Then the American soldiers had to hunker down for almost 10 yrs and try to play policemen in the middle of a bunch of crazy people who want to kill each other due to past grudges, religious ideology, power struggles, etc.  It seems to be really irresponsible to blame the "policeman" for what all the criminals are doing...

At some point I am guessing these same critics of US foreign policy will find someway to blame us for all the deaths that are occurring in Syria, Somalia, etc.  At that time they will probably say we should have been more involved...

Thoughts?  Also, are the people of the Middle East capable of self rule?  Or do they simply need a dictator like Hussien, Assad, Kadafi, Mubarak, Saudi Royals, etc to keep them from killing each other?

G2A Peace Lovers Confuse Me
G2A Peace Activists Confuse Me

Obama's Sharing Their Pain

So what do think of Obama's announcement?

Is it a sincere action based on empathy?

or

Is it another play to the audience?

CNN Obama to Give Back

Public Educators Behaving Poorly

I was going to call this "High Stakes Testing Challenges", however that may imply to some that "the Testing/NCLB/AYP made them do it...".  I want folks to remember that students are faced with "high stakes" testing every day, yet we don't expect them to cheat to get better scores.

I mean the Public School Administrators and Teachers create tests and administer them to the students.  These are daunting to many students and the results set their grades, which have a strong impact on their potential future.  How much higher stakes can there be?  Yet we expect the students to work hard and not cheat in the face of this challenge.

NCLB, AYP & Testing did the exact same thing at the district and school level.  And these "adults" chose of their free will to do something that they would not respect or tolerate from their students.  I hope the guilty are punished in this case.  The students deserve and need Teachers that practice what they preach and provide an excellent role model.  Thoughts?

CNN Georgia Educators Indicted
HP Standardized Test Cheating
G2A PDCA
G2A NCLB
G2A MN High Stakes Testing
G2A MCA Testing and Links

Happy Easter !!!

He is Risen...  He is Risen Indeed...

Now for some fun:
Easter Bunny's Rude Awakening
Global Warming and Easter
Brown Eggs
Trojan Easter Bunny
My Butt Hurts
Cat Easter Present
Eggs in a Basket

San Antonio, Posts and North Korea

Sorry for the delay in posting again.  This time the family and I took a quick spring break vacation in lovely San Antonio TX.  While there we visited the Natural Bridge Caverns, Sea World, the River Walk and the Alamo.  The girls also got to interact with Beluga whales.  We had a great time though it was a little cool for San Antonio. (60's and 70's...)  However the grass was green and there were flowers to be seen.

Also, I am kind of running out of interesting and non-repetitive topics.  So please write me a note or post a comment if you have some ideas for a post topic.  And remember that I am happy to publish posts from guest authors.  Just email me your post and I'll put it up on the site giving you full credit/blame... give2get@live.com And yes I am happy to post Conservative, Liberal, Anarchist, Fascist and any other views as long as the meet the G2A Rules. (ie polite and not too personal)

North Korea seems to be in the news an awful lot lately.  It is odd that such a small country can make so much noise.  What are your thoughts?  Should we ignore them, blow them up, keep up the political / economic pressure, other?

CNN bellicose rhetoric
CNN Behind the veil
CNN Why N Korea regime is scary

US Senate and House Pass Budgets

Well at least 2 of the 3 players have placed their cards on the table.  And apparently Obama is scheduled to submit a budget in early April. (~2 months late)

Thoughts?

FOX News Democrat Cracks
FOX News Senate Budget
FOX News GOP Budget

CNN Senate Budget
CNN GOP Budget

Politico Obama Budget
Bloomberg Obama Budget

Deep Portage Field Trip

Sorry for my absence, I was camped out in Northern MN with my sixth grader.  I was acting as a parent chaperone during their Deep Portage field trip.  Robbinsdale 6th graders have been given this excellent opportunity for ~20 years.

The kids are given the opportunity to learn and experience many things that they would not normally be exposed to.  We did a survival exercise, cross country skiing, used a compass to find our way through the woods, snow shoed, studied animal signs, climbed a rock wall, and more.  Needless to say I have muscle groups aching this morning I did not know I had...

Even though it is a bit chaotic to have 80+ 6th graders in the room, I am going to miss not being part of it again.  This 6th grader was my baby, and the third time our family has taken part.  The camp's staff and the RDale personnel do an excellent job, and the kids learn so much.

Does Deficit Matter?

Thoughts?

FOX News Obama Tries to Blow Past Deficit
NBC Job Creation Not Deficit Reduction

MN Education Stuff

Apparently a lot is happening in St Paul, I received 3 "get involved" emails from 3 different groups.  So as always, I will share them with you.  Thoughts?

Students First MN News
Parents United 8Mar13 Update
Parents United Legislative Page
RDale LAC Education Platform
RDale LAC Page
Education MN Page
Education MN Priorities
MN Senate Ed Committee
MN Combined Legislative Calendar

The RDale LAC Newsletter was not posted on their site, so I copied and pasted it here for your info.

 

The Voice-may be a popular entertainment show on television, but the past few weeks it was legislators, sitting in their chairs, listening to the voice of those testifying on issues important to our students.

Robbinsdale Area Schools school board member, Helen Bassett, testified before the House Education Finance Committee on February 14th regarding integration aid. Bassett spoke as a member of the Integration Revenue Replacement Task Force. She detailed how the recommendation of the Achievement and Integration for Minnesota (AIM) would combine the goals of racial integration, increased student achievement, and educational equity.

"Our students in all their diverse glory ARE the crop.", shared Bassett referring to the need for MN students to reap the harvest of education they deserve. Bassett shared how the task force engaged in substantive dialogue while considering alternative viewpoints. She told the committee that support for integration aid leverages investments in education. It is not an either/or choice.

HF 247 continues its journey through the House.

Director Bassett was appointed by the Commissioner of Education, Brenda Cassillius to the Integration Revenue Replacement Task Force. The task force completed its work a year ago, but the findings were never granted a legislative hearing. Director Bassett from She is also chairperson of West Metro Education Program (WMEP).

Another Robbinsdale voice was heard in support of a bill that would tie the per pupil formula to inflation. Kami Aho, a parent and member of the Legislative Action Coalition testified before the House Education Finance Committee. HF 416 , if passed, would allow districts to forecast and budget better. Rep. Paul Marquart, chair of the committee, told Aho how important it is to hear from parents.

Let you voice be heard! It is an important and very simple process. If there is an issue you are passionate about, contact me to discuss testifying at the Capitol.

**********************************

Current Events

February Forecast was released on Thursday, February 28 and the news was better than many thought. The improved forecast shows a deficit of $627 million rather than the projected $1.1 billion. As things currently stand, $295 million will go towards repaying the shift - what is owed schools. Scott Croonquist, executive director, Association of Metropolitan School Districts (AMSD) testified at a hearing in February.

"One thing schools really need is an increase in the state's basic formula allowance for K-12 education", said Croonquist. He went on to say that more aid is needed for underfunded special education services, all-day kindergarten and technology. The StarTribune ran an OpEd by George Kimball, chair of AMSD.

Governor Dayton's budget has called for a 1% increase in the basic education formula. That would translate to approximately $52.00 per student. Quite simply, it isn't enough. Now is the time to contact your legislators and Governor Dayton to let them know we need more. (Click on the links on the right side of the page)

SF 481 was introduced as a bill that would establish scholarships for high-rated early learning programs. Minneminds, a statewide organization formed to help ensure the youngest learners have access to high-quality care and learning programs, is helping build momentum behind this bill. An OpEd on what the long term benefits of early education ran in the StarTribune. One of the authors, Art Rolnick, is a leading authority and advocate of early learners and a former Federal Reserve Bank executive.

Special education has needed more funding for years. Cross subsidies have reached $12 million in Minnesota alone. Recently, there has been a great many conversations and articles written on the need to fully fund special ed.

Now is the time to reach out to your legislators and tell them to it is not right to have such a high cross subsidy - special education needs to be fully funded.

************************************

1%

Governor Dayton's budget plan calls for a one percent increase in the general education formula. That 1% equates to approximately $52. per student. There are 170 school days - is $0.31 a day really enough? With budget targets on the horizon, you as a constituent, can make an impact. Email or call your legislators today and tell them that the proposed 1% increase in the general education formula isn't enough.

Governor Dayton's budget 

• Investments in E-12 learning - an increase of 1% in the general formula for FY2014
• Increase in special education funding -
  $125 million investment beginning in FY 2015 by adopting the recommendation of the Education Finance Working Group. I
• Teacher Evaluations - $10 million budgeted to create and implement a system that supports teachers and will continue to benefit all our student achievement.
• Early Childhood Education Scholarships to ensure more children attend high quality preschool and child care.
• English Learners - ensuring longer access to language skills to fully participate classroom learning.
• Investments to provide education, training and support for the prevention of school bullying.

For more information, please click here.

 

Recent Events Almost 75 people came to Capitol Rally Day to show lawmakers their support for education. Parents and community members for Robbinsdale Area Schools, as well as four neighboring districts, shared how programs such as Early Childhood Family Education or Family Literacy impacted their personal lives. Others asked questions about the GRAD math requirement and if lawmakers would support raising the per pupil rate to inflation. Read the article that appeared in the Patch here.

North Korea: Preemptive Strike

Though I know it isn't right, I often have an urge to kick those silly yippee dogs that continue to bark in order to "prove" their dominance.  This report generated the same urge regarding North Korea.

MSNBC North Korea Preemptive Strike

On the upside, President Hugo Chavez is no longer with us.
CNN Relations Likely to Remain Rocky
CNN Chavez: Hero or Villain

Of course we do still have Ahmadinejad around to entertain and annoy us...

What do you think we should do about the countries and their leaders?

Was Chavez a hero or a villain?  Why or why not?

MN Special Education Tsunami?

The Star Tribune had an interesting article on Sunday.  It explained one of the root causes as to why the Public School system is so expensive.  So:

• What is causing this increase?
• Should some of these kids really be in school?
• If not, where should they be?
• Should "Privates" be forced to take more of these kids?
• Other?

Star Tribune Rising Special Ed Costs
Star Tribune Cost Graphics
G2A Why Pay More?
G2A Blame vs Contributions
G2A Weakening of America?
Wiki Causes of Autism
Wiki Emotional Disorders