Recent Comments
Re: “Jim Cooper Proposes a Constitutional Amendment to Ensure the Right to Vote”
M. Rogers. It's ok to admit you cribbed from Roger Clegg's comments at the National Review regarding Scalia's comments. We wont think less of you. You and Clegg can be charitable to the old goat but I wont. There's nothing in the actual transcript to indicate that Scalia was talking about redistricting, that was simply the specific issue at the hearing.
Guesses about what Democrats will or wont do are irrelevant to whether or not a citizen is disenfranchised based on their membership in a protected class or for some other nefarious reason.
Re: “Jim Cooper Proposes a Constitutional Amendment to Ensure the Right to Vote”
Surely you are not arguing that voting rights are tied to a political party and not the disenfranchised group.
Re: “Jim Cooper Proposes a Constitutional Amendment to Ensure the Right to Vote”
Unfortunately there's a good chance such efforts would face stiff opposition. Our SCOTUS Scalia has deemed voters' rights to be a "racial entitlement." Now imagine Limbaugh taking that and running with it while Cooper tries to draw support for his Amendment. Took four years for the 19th to pass, and decades before all states ratified. And that was only to allow White women to vote.
Re: “Rich Republicans Stage Faux Media Event for School Vouchers”
Moost:
You aren't saying anything new. In fact you've paraphrased betterthanme, or Michelle Rhee or any number of charter advocates. I think even Bill Gates has parroted this line. "If you are against charters, you are against change and against children!" That's utter nonsense. It argues against something those concerned about charter schools aren't saying.
There are things I'd like to see added to public schools, like mandatory Pre-K AND a program to enable PARENTS to help their children be ready for school at that Pre-K level. That would be a change where available evidence shows would improve success (and yes I know all about the comptroller's study that the anti Pre-K legislators have relied on but that misses the point and reaches a strange conclusion).
Being opposed to "change" and being opposed to blind faith in charters and vouchers are different things. Being opposed to progress is just a ridiculous notion that I'm tired of seeing presented.
Rogers:
"Defenders of the educational status quo," whoever they are, I have no idea who they might be, have promised nothing. I suppose you mean to bound up the evil teacher's unions, educators, "interest groups," and all enemies of progress as the right sees it into one convenient bundle. If anyone group of people are cautious, especially these days, about education results, are teachers.
I wasn't speaking specifically about Haslam's proposed legislation, but that only promises, if the House GOP has its way, Vouchers for everyone! Yay! Haslam is just mad because the House doesn't want to go through the mandatory waiting period where you propose a change limited to a specific group then over time expand the program making it available for other groups, as what happened with the Lottery scholarships. House GOP wants to strike whilst the iron is burning a hole in the shirt.
Re: “Rich Republicans Stage Faux Media Event for School Vouchers”
betterthanme:
The same old answer from charter zealots that makes the same assumptions. All charters have is anecdotal evidence that they do anything better than public schools. You all have to do better than simply, "charters, why not?"
Re: “Rich Republicans Stage Faux Media Event for School Vouchers”
Moost, why do you doubt that anyone would have paid attention? It isn't likely that anyone not associated with those folks would have attended the event if it were announced.
I'm sure that you honestly believe that your posting to PITW in support of charters amounts to featuring "the voices of poor black children" but you are mistaken.
And lets not just cast aside these people as "whores" or sellouts. I'd wager they, like a lot of people, think they are doing the right thing for their kids or communities by supporting charters and vouchers. After all, the supporters of such promise the moon, stars and sun to these families. Nice trick, presenting yourself as the savior of education to a group desperately searching for saviors when you have neither loaves nor fishes up your sleeve.
Re: “Common Core: The Paranoid Right's Latest Existential Threat to the Republic”
AWP: lol