Problems with Lame Duck Sessions?

Here is an interesting new topic.
 538 Are Lame Duck Sessions Un-democratic?
Fox News Wisc News
VOX GOP Power Grab


Thoughts?

Easier to Become a MN Teacher?

MinnPost Thinking about switching career paths to become a teacher? It’s daunting, but might be getting easier


Historically the Teachers Union has worked hard to keep non-traditional candidates out of the classroom in MN.  I mean they want to limit competition just like many other worker groups.


Maybe things will improve...  Though I kind of doubt with the DEMs obtaining more control in the State.  They do tend to support ED MN no matter how it harms the Unlucky kids. :-(

MN Welfare Per Capita Spend is #5

I know this should not have surprised me, but it did... Especially since many of the Blue "Ocean States" did not even make the Top 10. 

Dangers of Early School Enrollment

Continuing from G2A EITC regarding my view on How to Win the War on Poverty

"Unfortunately focusing on only this one. "5.The welfare payments and service should be set up to make recipients work, learn, mature and improve their self sufficiency."Leaves a lot of kids hungry, homeless and poor...That's why excellent sex education, free birth control and even early term abortions are so important. Unfortunately those are three things that are not allowed in the Bible Belt...Well that and that they prefer to spend little on their early childhood education, K-12, and Higher Ed." G2A

"You need to see this-- not all of your solutions pass the test:Harvard Study Shows the Dangers of Early School Enrollment"  Jerry

I agree with the Harvard results.  Sending children into an academic setting before their brain development is where it needs to be to accomplish that curriculum can be frustrating and detrimental to the child. So we agree:

Age and child appropriate curriculum, methods and expectations are critical.

However this in no way means that sending children to pre-school is a bad thing.  It just means that those programs need to focus on age and child appropriate activities.  Some academic focus, but  mostly they focus on physical, social, problem solving, emotional, behavioral and other things that will help them develop well and learn effectively when they do enter kindergarten.

RDale Early Childhood Education
MN DOE Early Childhood Indicators of Progress by Topic
MN DOE School Readiness

Please remember that I am more concerned about the millions of unlucky kids in America who enter kindergarten without these basic capabilities.  Which leads to them staying academically behind their luckier peers who were ready to start learning on day 1...

Now I have known Parents who want to push their children faster than their child's physical, social, cognitive, emotional, etc current capabilities...  That is a totally different issue.

NAFTA is Now USMCA

NYT New NAFTA is signed


The Hill DEMs resist new NAFTA


The partisanship never ends...  Just pass the thing...  Thoughts?

The Bell Tolls for Trump?

From Sean

"If this holds up, I don't know how anyone can claim there was "no collusion". Now, Republicans will have to try to explain it away. Manafort held secret talks with Assange in Ecuadorian embassy"

And then there is this.
CNN Alan Dershowitz says Mueller report will be 'devastating' to Trump

Trump is Bad for Business

VOX GM is closing plants and cutting jobs.
Here’s what it means for workers — and for Trump.
It’s not great.


FOX Trump Not Happy with GM after Job Cuts


Let's see...  Trump:

• raises the cost of steel and aluminum with big tariffs
• raises the cost of many components with big tariffs
• does not place tariffs on completed products
• destabilizes the US Healthcare system by picking away at ACA
• and he is unhappy that manufacturers are suffering?

This is an interesting Letter... (ie Trump is BAD for Business)


Tariffs Hurt the Heartland

4th National Climate Assessment

FOURTH NATIONAL CLIMATE ASSESSMENT

Volume II: Impacts, Risks, and Adaptation in the United States

Pay me now or pay me later. 😎

MN vs WI and IA

A Facebook friend linked to this exercise in selective comparisons with the comment. "Good information for those of you who think Minnesota is going in the wrong direction."

My thoughts are:

• What does our "current state" have to do with "where we are going"?
• I mean the DEMs only had control of the state for 2 years. During which they increased taxes significantly.
• Then in 2015 the GOP was able to reverse some of those excessive hikes that had created a huge surplus.
• My point being that MN is a great place to live, but I have a hard time giving significant credit to the recent DEM policies.
• I personally give a lot of the credit to our strong agricultural history that gave us General Mills, Cargill, Pillsbury, etc.  The fact that a lot of Northern European workaholics settled here, Then there was 3M, Daytons, Target, Best Buy, etc. And our good fortune to have Medtronic set up shop here, which attracted many other medical device firms.

Personally I think comparing IA, MN and WI is silly since they are all excellent states to live in.  And according to this US News Comparison...  IA is #1, MN is #2, ND is #4, NE is #7, WI is #11 and SD is #14...  We all very fortunate!!!

And don't forget that our State has a terrible academic achievement, even though we have a very strong Education Union...  Could those 2 things be related?

Trump on Deficits

It must be hard to be a President when one apparently has ADHD...

Happy Thanksgiving !!!

Earned Income Tax Credit

From Laurie

"New Study Says EITC Expansion Would Be 87% Self-Financed  by Kevin Drum  So would you support more money to poor people if it cost very little? "

I think increasing the EITC may be a good idea if we can reduce the welfare budgets by the same amount. Or are you think we should increase EITC and keep the welfare / Medicaid the same?

I support most programs that require the recipient to learn, work, improve, etc...  I disagree with most programs that provide services or money with little or no expectations of the recipient... The goals need to be:

• Promote fiscally responsible behavior
• Promote escaping government dependency
• Promote learning and improvement 
• Promote raising children well

EPI EITC and CTC History
TPC EITC
CBPP Reducing EITC Over Payments
CBPP EITC and CTC

Lock Her Up ! Lock Her Up !

CNN Ivanka Uses Personnel Email for Business

Then has nerve to say she did not know it was not allowed.

Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha !!!!

Fox News says House will Investigate

Press Pass Games

Thank heavens for Lawyers and Judges to block Trump's more foolish actions.

CNN WH Restores Pass

FOX News WH Restores Pass

The new rules seem somewhat common sense.  Thoughts?

• A journalist called upon to ask a question will ask a single question and then will yield the floor to other journalists.
• At the discretion of the President or other White House official taking questions, a follow-up question or questions may be permitted; and where a follow up has been allowed and asked, the questioner will then yield the floor.
• Yielding the floor” includes, when applicable, physically surrendering the microphone to White House staff for use by the next questioner.
• Failure to abide by any of rules may result in suspension or revocation of the journalist’s hard pass.

2 Republican Wings?

MinnPost Lessons from the past for the GOP to become a majority party

This was an interesting piece...  Probably not likely given the GOP's current rightward shift, however worth consideration. Since a Far Right party does not seem to be very popular.