Kay Brooks

"For the children" has lost its luster

noreply@blogger.com (Kay Brooks) — Wed, 16 May 2012 13:31:00 +0000

In response to Mr. Robert Gowan's open letter advocating for Mayor Karl Dean's budget at On Public Education.

"I just ran the calculation on how much 53 cents will cost me. The property tax increase will cost half of what I spent on iTunes last month. The increase is about one-third of what I pay every month for cellphone service."

All this proves is that YOU have expendable income, Mr. Gowan. Not all the property owners and renters (both families and businesses) in Nashville are able to squeeze out more especially for a school system that is under-performing and under-serving a core student group that desperately needs a good education to break free of generational issues. We're tired of tightening OUR belts, working harder to earn a bit more and waiting for raises that if they come are small. For all our sacrifices which were intended to help our own families we are rewarded by being told we can afford to sacrifice more.

The fact is that the 'it's for the children' argument has lost its luster with taxpayers. If Mayor Dean really wanted to, he could immediately fully fund the education (and safety) portion of his budget and let the rest suffer the consequences of a bad economy and bad financial management. But he won't. And don't be fooled. Once the Council passes that budget and that money goes on to MNPS, they are free to spend it as they wish--there are no guarantees MNPS will spend it as the Council or Mayor Dean intended. Oh, teachers will probably get their raise--union's must be placated for their political support--but all the rest...

The paper of record...

noreply@blogger.com (Kay Brooks) — Mon, 30 May 2011 12:14:00 +0000

I guess the story was too fast breaking to allow a proofreader a quick gander.

Open Letter: HB130: Collective Bargaining

noreply@blogger.com (Kay Brooks) — Tue, 08 Mar 2011 12:42:00 +0000

Speaker Harwell,

I’ve been forwarded a purported email from you to a constituent. If this portion is accurate:

We need to protect education, employers and jobs as best we can during these very tough economic times, and I am confident that we will reach a meaningful compromise that is good for our state and education.

"...compromise." I'm quite disappointed that you've apparently chosen to side with continued union control over our schools in an effort to come to a non-confrontational solution. This is an injustice to the students and taxpayers you've been elected to serve. Now is not the time to give ground. HB130 must be passed as is for maximum benefit to the students and for the taxpayers of this state.

I've spent some time on a school board. Nearly had a union rep come across the table at me because I dared to try and hold that 'professional organization' accountable for the status of the students. I've been in the meetings where we learned how tied our hands were because of the union employment contract. I've been in the union halls and seen how confident they are in their power over the system. You, and every legislator on the hill has experienced their muscle flexing as you dare to question their right to control the education system in this state. THAT should give everyone of you adequate reason to vote for this legislation. Voters sent you to the House, in part, to make this very change. You cannot compromise on that charge by them now.

I have experienced the frustration of trying to improve a school only to have the union declare that an unsubstantiated number of their membership voted against the efforts. School board members who win are more often than not, greatly funded by unions and their volunteers. We even further accommodate them by holding these elections during the summer months when those teacher/staff volunteers are most available. The deck is so stacked in their favor that it's nearly impossible to overcome. One real way to level things is to remove from the playing field the requirement of collective bargaining. We're completely at the mercy of unions regarding their authority to be the bargaining agent. HB130 is our best hope at cleaning house and bringing freedom to these classrooms for both students and teachers.

Beyond my concerned about the freedom of school districts to operate out from under the control of these unions I point out that we are in exceptional economic times and while the quote seems to indicate a concern about jobs...taxpayers have been hit hard also. We're out of work. We're doing with less. We cannot afford to employ anyone who isn't pulling their fair share. Collective bargaining and unions do their job all too well and protect deadwood. Taxpayers can hardly pay for the necessities, let alone deadwood. It's an abuse of children to allow that deadwood to remain in classrooms--or anywhere in the system, frankly. The largest budget item in any school system budget is manpower and their benefits. Collective bargaining makes it nearly impossible to make changes to any portion of those budget items.

Finally, this is a right to work state. That should mean the right to hire and fire. If the firing is unjust, we have a court system to work it out. We don't need to tie the hands of good administrators and principals out of fear of being entangled with the union in a show hearing that unnecessarily consumes resources at a voracious rate. Are we hiring good administrators? Then free them up to administrate their schools and systems and dump collective bargaining.

I strongly urge you, as one who has been inside the system, to stand firm and pass HB130 without amendment. This bill is good for the children in Tennessee. It's good for the taxpayers. It's even good for teachers who are excellent at what they do.

Most sincerely,

Kay Brooks

P.S. To the House Education Committee Republicans: Don't go wobbly. Stand firm. This bill needs every one of your votes. This IS an important issue. Give the full House the opportunity to vote on it themselves and vote this out of committee and on to the House membership for their action.

Other posts on this topic:
Teacher Tenure
We Dismissed a Teacher
Thanks for the memories--NOT

Twofer: Homeschooler Bayne wins Daytona 500

noreply@blogger.com (Kay Brooks) — Mon, 21 Feb 2011 18:51:00 +0000

This is gonna just irritate the fire out of the educrats and the folks who want so badly to tear down the Nashville race track. I had no idea when we watched the amazing end of that race that the Brooks' home would be celebrating a twofer.

Trevor Bayne, winner of the Daytona 500 yesterday trained at the Nashville Speedway. He was also registered with a church-related school here in Tennessee for his junior and senior year. Racing not being one of the sports TSSAA can keep homeschoolers out of, he was free to hone his skills. Homeschooling, being an efficient education delivery method, allowed him the time.

Congrats Trevor!

Teacher tenure

noreply@blogger.com (Kay Brooks) — Sun, 20 Feb 2011 14:19:00 +0000

Considering the upcoming legislation regarding teacher tenure it seems good to remind folks of two older posts regarding my experience as a school board member in the summer of 2006 with this issue.

The first post "We Dismissed a Teacher" provides some details on what we all had to endure trying to dismiss a tenured teacher.

It was an unpleasant task for everyone. It involved the lives of children, parents, co-workers, attorneys, union representatives, administrators, and eventually 7 members of the BOE and their staff. We heard nearly 30 39 hours of testimony that went long into the nights and reviewed a two inch stack of exhibits dating from October of 2002 involving two different principals in two different schools and several other education professionals that had interacted with this teacher.

The teacher was given extreme latitude in presenting their testimony. Often their comments went far afield and frequently included unsubstantiated charges and conclusions about the conduct of others and those were rarely challenged. I'm convinced that they had every opportunity to have their full say in their defense.

The second "Another Teacher Dismissal Hearing" provides more thoughts on the process, notes that my district seemed to have more than its share of these.

I suspect we need to do many more of these and I'm not sure any board can endure that many. It has been suggested that the law be amended to allow a separate board/committee to do this absolutely necessary work. Personally, I think the board needs to endure these. It's only when they get tired enough of this nonsense that they will find the backbone to hold the MNEA accountable for the quality of their advocacy of these members during negotiation times. It's that backbone that will demand that the director hire excellent teachers on the forefront.

Let me frame that comment by saying that during that time the BOE wholesale approved dozens of teachers for tenure. No information about their abilities or qualifications was offered. We were offered a list of names. They were approved without comment or question. No personnel records, citizen or parent or principal comments were provided. Further, at that time, the BOE minutes weren't really public and so there was no opportunity for citizens to know who was on the list and thus have any opportunity to comment.

I firmly believe that we have excellent teachers. Those excellent teachers should be given a good bit of freedom to do what they do and should be paid well for their expertise and performance. I also firmly believe we have too much dead wood and any real professional organization would be encouraging the culling of that dead wood to increase the value of membership in that organization and thus the value of their members. The lives of these children are too valuable to continue to disallow real accountability via tenure.

Thanks for the memories--NOT

noreply@blogger.com (Kay Brooks) — Sat, 19 Feb 2011 19:31:00 +0000

I grew up in northern Wisconsin. I can vividly recall that in my small town, nearly every two years, we got more days off for teacher strikes than snow. Seriously. Lake effect snow had less of an impact on my attendance than teacher negotiations.

The teacher contracts in my hometown were for two years (smart) but expired on 12/31 (not so smart). That meant that every other Christmas season while preparations were being made for the Christmas programs and parties and we pushed to finish work before the Christmas break we'd also be given verbal propaganda that they trusted we'd take home to our parents. Parents where then expected to pressure the school board and city council on behalf of the teachers. It was a union town. Folks knew what they were supposed to do. It took me until the 9th grade before I figured out I was being used by teachers as a propaganda conduit to my parents. That's likely the beginning of my interest in politics.

So I look at all the comments, videos and news reports about what's going on in Madison and remember all too well what I could see outside my 7th grade Science class windows as teachers took turns picketing before the actual strike action was called, the news reports from the local paper and television stations and shake my head. It's so sad to think how far they haven't come. It's OK to bankrupt a state and to demand that those hard financial cuts that must be made be made by someone else and not actually shared by all. All this from a group of people who want to be considered professionals but refuse to shed the shady shackles of union thug leadership and tactics. What sort of professional organization requires membership and the payment of tribute? Seems awfully 12th century feudal to me. And the children, well, they're children. Pawns caught between. That's just wrong and an abuse of the relationship they have with their authority figure teacher.

And to segue to our own recent legislation stripping the special rights of teachers here in Tennessee to have collective bargaining and increasing the years before tenure kicks in and assessing that tenure based on performance markers--I'm all for those. There's a lot more in those Educational Contracts than people realize. Read it sometime. Who gets a contract like that? They complained about Sarah Palin's bendy straws but these requirements are sacrosanct? Most of us are working without a contract at all, let alone a year long one, let alone tenure.

And here's a tease of longer comments from a Tennessee teacher:

I’m a teacher in Tennessee. Our legislature is primed to pass similar legislature. Good for them. Time to give some of these incompetent teachers incentive to either do well or get out. Read the rest, scroll down.

Finally, a bit of that new rhetoric the left demanded after the shootings in Arizona.

NashvilleBlogs.org gets 'the Byrd'

noreply@blogger.com (Kay Brooks) — Thu, 10 Feb 2011 15:03:00 +0000

Local Salemtown blogger Michael Byrd has a got a bone to pick with NashvilleBlogs.org. He's accusing them of stealing his content. There is a difference between aggregating teases to content and outright republishing without permission. Mike's fighting back and I'm thinking it's going to be effective.

I started to type NashvilleBlogs.org into my browser window. Here's a screen shot of Firefox's suggested auto fill "NashvilleBlogs.org Steals local content, refuses to rightfully attribute to local authors".

And then once I got to NashvilleBlogs.org right there on their own front page is the accusation again "NashvilleBlogs.org Steals Local Content, Refuses To Rightfully Attribute To Local Authors". Here's the screen shot:

The old saw about picking a fight with people who by ink by the barrel has been updated, NashvilleBlogs.org. Pixels are equally effective. Amplify this NashvilleBlogs.org: "Go get your own content".

Anonymous Misinformation

noreply@blogger.com (Kay Brooks) — Tue, 08 Feb 2011 03:25:00 +0000

I was added to Davidson Conservative's distribution list some time ago and I have mostly ignored it because it’s just so over the top and obviously intended to tear down the Republican Party in our city that I find it worthless. If I hadn’t gotten a new computer and had to reprogram my MailWasher I might not have seen this at all. Criticism of the hard work the Davidson County Republican Party has been doing is all that “Davidson Conservative” seems to do. It’s always easier to tear down than build up and “Davidson Conservative” is clearly taking the easy road. But what’s different about this screed, and why I feel the need to respond, is that, in my opinion, it is specifically intended to slander someone in time for the Davidson County Republican Party’s upcoming convention. That’s lazy, low ball gutter politics and should not be allowed to stand unanswered. So, let me set the record straight for anyone who may have considered "Davidson Conservative" any sort of reliable source.

I attended the “Running for Metro Council Workshop” hosted by the DCRP on Saturday morning. In fact, I was in charge of checking people in, collecting money and handing out lunches. I was there before the event began and I was there through the whole thing and was among the last to leave. So I write this to respond to “Davidson Conservative”, who is as wrong as they are anonymous.

From the error filled email:

"Davidson County Republican Party Chairwoman Kathleen Starnes held a training workshop last weekend for those considering a run for Metro Council in 2011; except that most of who she trained were liberal Democrats!"

Let's start with the fact that Kathleen Starnes trained no one at this event. In fact Kathleen missed several chunks of this event because she was at the Bellevue Breakfast Club and so arrived late, had to run out for drinks and cups before lunch, and stepped out of the room several times to speak with people and work with the venue to ensure attendees had what they need.

Additionally, this wasn't a Kathleen Starnes event. This event was hosted by the Davidson County Republican Party. Our goal was to provide people who are considering running for counsel with some basic information about what was in store for them. We knew that people from all political points of view would be in attendance. I know of no effort to screen those who RSVP'd to the event in order keep anyone out. The list I worked from and that was provided by Kathleen looked just like the one I had complied from E-mailed RSVP’s I had received. Even ousted former DCRP Vice-chair Matt Collins RSVP'd and attended. Clearly, being a bona fide Republican was not a requirement.

Maybe “Davidson Conservative” is unaware of the fact that Council elections are non-partisan. It makes sense to me that their training sessions should be also. I would hope that every Republican would be happy to ensure that every candidate running to steer our city would understand the job requirements. I attended the Democrat hosted event held recently. Much of that event came across very much like the giving of marching orders to candidates. The DCRP event had none of that and a great deal of honest exchange of information that was truly useful to prospective candidates. It’s to our credit that even liberal Democrats were valued and given a place at the table, quite literally. We don’t agree with their way of running this city but to ignore their wisdom and experience is foolish and akin to cutting off our noses to spite our faces.

Unless "Davidson Conservative" polled each attendee personally there is no way they can say with certainty that "most...were liberals". Yes, there were plenty of known Democrats on panels and in the audience. But, just like what should happen in the Council, we all played well with each other and respected the process.

One of the invited speakers was head of the SEIU, a government employee's union. Another panel member invited to speak at this 'supposedly Republican' event was Freddie O'Connell, Mayor Karl Dean appointee and former co-host of the exceptionally progressive liberal Vanderbilt "LibeRadio" talk show: http://www.liberadio.com

Firstly, Doug Collier is the local SEIU head. I was told by Freda Player that he was out of town and unable to attend. The SEIU, does represent government employees. It also covers others. Freda Player of the SEIU was on a panel regarding working with the council as an outsider. Should our councilmanic candidates ignore this group representing Metro employees? I think not. Yes, Freddie O’Connell is liberal, but he’s also on the MTA Board and was part of a panel on issues the council will have to deal with in the upcoming term. Should our councilmanic candidates be unaware of the transportation issues in our city? I think not.

A council member attending the event observed that “there were more Democrats than Republicans there”.

Anonymous twofer here. Anonymous “Davidson Conservative” quotes an anonymous source. When your argument is weak, make stuff up. Better yet, put it in bold font.

Since the day of the training session she has even publicly and openly published a campaign plan for Metro Council races on the DCRP website which anyone is free to read. Talk about providing aid and comfort to the other side!!! Why would you share your campaign strategy for all to see?

And this is the paragraph that is most wrong. Kathleen had nothing to do with the availability of the “campaign plan” on the DCRP website. I don’t think Kathleen was even in the room when CM Carter Todd mentioned a great resource he recommended. It seemed clear to me that the attendees were very interested in this resource since he praised it so highly. I asked the CM where it could be obtained. He said he had it and I offered, without Kathleen’s knowledge or permission, that if he sent it to me I’d upload it to the DCRP website and make it available to the attendees. He did provide it. I uploaded it as promised. I tweeted its availability. So, do we have this straight? This uploading was my doing and my ‘fault’ and not Kathleen’s in any way, shape or form.

Now that we’re past the false accusation part it’s actually pretty funny. Had the anonymous arbiter of all things conservative done a bit of homework, known our city, done a quick Google search, they would never had made the mistake of accusing anyone of providing ‘aid and comfort’ to Democrats. The document originated from a fairly well known Nashville Democrat. It’s certainly not new to them, no secret plan to them, no aid and comfort to them. In fact, if anyone should be peeved, it should be the Democrats.

But this is no surprise since Republican Chairwoman Kathleen Starnes was a former liberal Democrat herself before she decided to conveniently become a Republican a few years ago. One has to wonder if she still shares the same values of her former Party? Was her switch to the Republican Party disingenuous? Why is she still so cozy with the liberal Democrats? Why is she using Republican Party funds to train Democrats? Is she a Democrat plant who has successfully infiltrated the Republican Party? The answer to these questions are starting to become self-evident.

Every time I read an accusation like this I think “What a fool.” This is Nashville. Democrats are a dime a dozen around here. If we didn’t have former Democrat Party members we wouldn’t have very many Republicans at all. It’s part of the goal of the Republican Party to convert LOTS of Democrats to Republicanism. Is “Davidson Conservative” completely unaware of the fact that Ronald Reagan was also a former Democrat? Is he unaware of Jesus’ quote about a house being divided? Did "Davidson Conservative" only decide this was the end of their unfair and false diatribe because they ran out of question marks?

If the anonymous self-appointed defender of conservatism in Nashville named "Davidson Conservative" is as accurate about everything else they do, they, and their followers, are in serious trouble. Oh wait, they did get one thing right:

The event took place Saturday the 5th of February at the Green Hills Hampton Inn.

Fairgrounds failure

noreply@blogger.com (Kay Brooks) — Wed, 19 Jan 2011 02:52:00 +0000

Again, Metro 3 is failing to provide citizens with a view of what their government is doing. According to tweeted reports there are some 1,000 citizens downtown this evening to communicate with the representatives about the Metro fairgrounds and racetrack. Let's hope there's a very good explanation for this failure.

Problem passer-on-er

noreply@blogger.com (Kay Brooks) — Mon, 03 Jan 2011 12:39:00 +0000

Only in the alternative universe that is the Tennessean's can they, with a straight face and faux professionalism, tout their man Gov. Phil Bredesen's ability to problem solve and then headline the fact that the problem isn't actually solved after eight years. What happened to results being the litmus test? He, having made in fortune in health care, was sold as being THE man who would solve this problem for us. Yet, eight years later it remains.

It remains because Goo Goo's will not acknowledge that government is not the best entity to do charity work or oversee the medical care of citizens generally. "Keep your hands off my body" only applies to abortion not to insurance portability or end of life decisions.

YMMV

noreply@blogger.com (Kay Brooks) — Thu, 23 Dec 2010 12:24:00 +0000

Bumped into this at http://Indeed.com while surfing the 'net. Clearly, this should come with the disclaimer 'your mileage may vary'. So letting AC Kleinheider go really was a cost saving measure.

Pick a team

noreply@blogger.com (Kay Brooks) — Thu, 02 Dec 2010 01:56:00 +0000

As nearly everyone seems to be aware of now, Tennessee's Republican State Executive Committee will be meeting this weekend and discussion of closing the primaries and conventions will come up. Let me add my two cents. I'm all for it. As a Republican in Democrat controlled (for now) Davidson County I completely understand the strategy of cross-party voting. It's all I could do for too many years since Republicans didn't have candidates available.

I think Rod Williams has a strong point when he states that open primaries enable the dominant party to stay dominant. A foundational Republican value is that competition gives us a better and cheaper product. We should support that in our political process also. Look at the Dems this last gubernatorial race...Ned Ray's son didn't have any competition and so we didn't really have a contest. I'm not saying Haslam won't be a good governor, I'm saying that iron sharpens iron and he (and we) might have benefited from a more vigorous battle.

I also understand that each party doesn't pay for these primaries and so there's some who object saying that if taxpayers are paying for these, they should have the freedom to come and go as they please. I'm not a fan of government supporting any political party but it seems a reasonable public service. Much more reasonable than say...oh, another convention center, free parking for green cars or public 'art' of dubious value.

And while, I'm rocking the boat, let's go ahead and make it a bit easier to start a party and get your name on the ballot (that taxpayers are paying for). Having spent a good bit of 2009 fighting to keep the DCRP a Republican (socially AND fiscally conservative) entity I'm also wary of interlopers who, because our system is designed to keep small parties off the ballot, decided to usurp our party as a way around the archaic rules. Too many brand spanking new 'Republicans' showed up at our convention. We had no effective device for ferreting them out and having Republican control over our own convention. Make it easier for them to get their own party started.

I'll end with what I told the interlopers over and over again, pick a team and stick with it. Don't "join" a team with the express purpose of changing it or manipulating it. The Republican SEC needs to give us a way to bring an end to that very tactic. It's the right thing to do.

TN GOP SEC member Mark Winslow has the actual resolution here. Take a few minutes to read it. Leave Mark a note of support there and then encourage your SEC member to vote for this. resolution.

Spoofing the Senator

noreply@blogger.com (Kay Brooks) — Sun, 31 Oct 2010 22:05:00 +0000

This had me laughing out loud. I know this former member of the US Army was offended by Sen. Barbara Boxer's insistence on being called "Senator" instead of the still respectful "ma'am". I'm delighted to see David Zucker's take on this--and just in time for Tuesday's election.

Kerr err...

noreply@blogger.com (Kay Brooks) — Sun, 31 Oct 2010 12:39:00 +0000

And here is a perfect example of why so many people have just quit reading The Tennessean newspaper. They can't even get their own facts straight let alone report accurately on the facts out there in the real world. Frankly, they don't need another Democrat shill columnist. They could use several good "copy girls" though.

Vote for Eric (Crafton)

noreply@blogger.com (Kay Brooks) — Wed, 27 Oct 2010 11:34:00 +0000

While we're all busy voting the Republican ticket for political offices from Governor on down there is another election that will take place tomorrow that folks need to know about and weigh in on. The Davidson County Election Commission will interview seven people for the job of Administrator of Elections. This job is political. The person who gets the position serves at the will of the Election Commission and, frankly, that's worked well for Ray Barrett and not so well for Davidson County Republicans who technically have an advantage in the make up of the Commission as a legal result of winning a slim majority in the Tennessee State House. This is a call for those Republicans to act like Republicans and give this job to someone who will not only do the job well, but is actually a strong conservative with solid Republican credentials and support.

I've seen all the resumes submitted. Frankly, many of these folks should never have even applied. Three of them rise to the top as potential candidates. While I supported Buck Dozier for mayor as the best of the lot in this (for now) Democrat controlled city with some very good ideas, he's a Democrat and that's a deal breaker for me. Albert Tiche already has some connections to the Election Commission but, frankly, his credentials don't rise to the level of the last and most qualified candidate, Eric Crafton.

The Dems in town will howl in protest that Eric's 'gaming' the system previously for the English First legislation, and a whole host of other baseless charges, means he shouldn't get the job. I'm not listening. To paraphrase their own leader "We won" and the Republicans need to benefit from the spoils of our having won a majority. Eric's conservative Republican bone fides are unquestionable. Eric clearly has an excellent education. But by far what Eric has that the others don't is a clear understanding of the rules and the players. He'll know immediately what to look for and what improvements should be initiated. He's interacted with the system from every angle: voter, candidate, and adversary. Why Eric would want this job is beyond me, but obviously he does and I stand behind him and his application for this job.

See this City Paper link for more info on the process and applicants. See their recent poll of readers at left. Obviously, I'm not alone in my support for Eric Crafton.

Where in the world is Candidate Jim Cooper?

noreply@blogger.com (Kay Brooks) — Sun, 03 Oct 2010 22:00:00 +0000

Folks who were looking forward to a debate between Rep. Jim Cooper and Republican candidate David Hall were very disappointed that he chose instead to hang out with Greenway donors on the Shelby Street Bridge instead of actually meeting with constituents and his opponent just weeks before this important election. Those disappointed folks might want to consider the following invitation that was published to many of the East Nashville and Inglewood email lists this afternoon as an alternative venue to speak with their current Congressman.

Dan Heller and Hope Browning, and Shawn and Elizabeth M-K Sullivan invite you to coffee and conversation with

U.S. Representative Jim Cooper

Date: Sunday, October 10, 2010
Time: 2-4 pm

Location: Riverside Village Courtyard –
The corner of McGavock Avenue and Riverside Drive in the Inglewood neighborhood - 37216

Parking available at Riverside Village, behind M&M Furniture and on the grassy lot at Maxey & McGavock Avenues. Please carpool and/or ride your bike. Bike parking at the courtyard aplenty

Free, casual, family friendly, come and go as your schedule allows.

Refreshments from Mitchell Deli provided.

RSVP: Email elizabethmksullivan at Comcast dot net to RSVP or to ask questions.

Dan Heller has remade that corner into quite a lovely respite for the neighborhood. Even if Jim Cooper is a no show (again) it'll be worth the trip. http://www.myspace.com/riversidevillagenashville

Using old math on school budgets

noreply@blogger.com (Kay Brooks) — Sun, 03 Oct 2010 17:10:00 +0000

Life as been tremendously busy. I took some time this morning to clear out the Firefox tabs of stuff I intended to get to but just haven't had time to read. Among those was this funny from JUNE! (I told you I was behind.)

Here's a snip from P.J. O'Rourke's "The Weekly Standard" entry for June 21, 2010 entitled "End Them, Don't Mend Them":

There are other numbers that make better sense. As of 2006—of course the numbers are out of date—4,615,000 people were employed full-time by some 13,000 school districts (although if school districts used the same definition of “full-time” as the rest of us the number we’re talking about would be zero). Of these 4,615,000 there are 300,000 “clerical and secretarial staff” filling out No Child Left Behind paperwork and wondering why 64,000 “officials, administrators” aren’t doing it themselves, which they aren’t because they’re busy doing the jobs that 125,000 “principals and assistant principals” can’t because they’re supervising 383,000 “other professional staff” who are flirting with the 483,000 “teachers’ aides” who are spilling trail mix and low-fat yogurt in the teacher’s lounge making a mess for the 726,000 “service workers” to clean up, never mind that the students should be pushing the brooms and swinging the Johnny mops so at least they’d come home with a practical skill and clean the bathroom instead of sitting around comprehending 29 percent of their iPhone text messages and staying awake all night because they can only count 31 percent of sheep.

(snip)

Enough, however, of outrageous statistics. Let’s generate some pure outrage. Here’s my proposal: Close all the public schools. Send the kids home. Fire the teachers. Sell the buildings. Raze the U.S. Department of Education, leaving not one brick standing upon another and plow the land where it stood with salt.

“Wait a minute,” the earnest liberal says, “we’ve got swell public schools here in Flourishing Heights. The kids take yoga. We just brought in a law school placement coordinator at the junior high. The gym has solar panels on the roof. Our Girls Ultimate Frisbee team is third in the state. The food in the cafeteria is locally grown. And the vending machines dispense carrots and kiwi juice.”

Close them anyway. I’ve got 11,749 reasons. Or, given the Cato report, call it 15,000. Abandon the schools. Gather the kids together in groups of 15.4. Sit them down at your house, or the Moose Lodge, or the VFW Hall or—gasp—a church. Multiply 15.4 by $15,000. That’s $231,000. Subtract a few grand for snacks and cleaning your carpet. What remains is a pay and benefit package of a quarter of a million dollars. Average 2008 public school classroom teacher salary: $51,391. For a quarter of a million dollars you could hire Aristotle. The kids wouldn’t have band practice, but they’d have Aristotle. (Incidentally this worked for Philip of Macedon. His son* did very well.)

Sometimes you just have to laugh about the ridiculousness of the public school system or you will just sit down and cry-- again. The absolute waste of lives and resources should be criminal. It's not. It's rewarded over and over again. We're promised over and over again that THIS new program will fix the system and the children will exit the other end of this sausage factory physically, mentally and spiritually fit for adult responsibilities. They lie. It's broken and it won't be fixed with the same folks in charge using essentially the same tools with new labels. The only answer is more competition. More families voting with their feet and moving to other counties, other systems, staying home or going virtual. More power to them. The system's had far too much for far too long.

* Alexander The Great

Getting the shaft

noreply@blogger.com (Kay Brooks) — Mon, 27 Sep 2010 01:52:00 +0000

Paying the bills and actually took a moment to read the "Power Notes" included with the Nashville Electric Service bill. It's no surprise to me that TVA and NES want to raise rates. It's no surprise that NES want to start using 'smart metering' and 'time of use' rates. What was a surprise was their assertion that it costs more (or less) to produce power at some times of the year. When did it get more expensive to mine coal in the summer and winter? Did they start heating and cooling those shafts? Are they paying miners more so they'll not take vacations and be available during peak AC and heating times to keep that ore flowing through power plants? Are they having to compete with Ocoee river rafters for use of water for hydro-electric power? Wonder if those TVA and NES offices are conserving all they can and set at 78 and 68 degrees.

This was telling also: "TVA hopes to avoid or delay construction of costly new power plants." Yeah, let's delay providing customers more of what they want and need. Let's make sure they never see any clean and cheap nuclear facilities. Ignore those French power plants. Never mind we need to create jobs and power industries that will do the hiring. No more power plants for Tennesseans.

Seems like the depression is what fueled TVA's inception. Seems like someone forgot, in this current depression that fuel is essential for job building and family finances.

During his 1980 Labor Day speech at New Jersey's Liberty State Park, Republican presidential nominee Ronald Reagan listed the economic failures of his opponent, President Jimmy Carter. With the Statue of Liberty as a backdrop, Reagan used the moment to respond to Carter, who had accused Reagan of misusing the term "depression" to describe a recession that began in January of that year. "Let it show on the record that when the American people cried out for economic help, Jimmy Carter took refuge behind a dictionary. Well, if it's a definition he wants, I'll give him one. A recession is when your neighbor loses his job. A depression is when you lose yours. And recovery is when Jimmy Carter loses his." Newsweek

Here's another family trying to hold on through the Obama, Pelosi and Reid administration. We lost a job, half our retirement and now we can look forward to higher electric rates. Here's another Reagan quote...slightly altered:

Are you better off than you were 2 years ago? Absolutely NOT!

Looking forward to recovery starting in November when voters start kicking out Dems and RINOS and Barak Obama loses his job. It can't come soon enough for us.

Dancing votes, I guess.

noreply@blogger.com (Kay Brooks) — Mon, 27 Sep 2010 00:22:00 +0000

WRKN...the word is ballot. It's about voting not dancing. Dr. Shelley clearly said "ballot". In this day and age of jobs being hard to come by...seems like this proofreader needs to be more careful. In the meantime...

I'm glad to see some churches taking on this ruling. When a candidate clearly violates a Biblical position, I'm all for pastors informing their congregations of such violations. This whole dance of creating 'non-partisan' educational documents to be handed out to congregations in lieu of plainly speaking the truth is a huge waste of effort. And, frankly, lots of folks are tired of this 'Johnson Amendment' being unfairly applied like recent testimony from Christopher Coates revealed regarding Department of Justice decisions not to pursue voter intimidation cases. If any church preaches that one party is holier than another, they're walking in plenty of error as it is, but pointing out where individual politicians, individual legislation and specific actions of our government violate Biblical standards is part of the mandate of The Church to speak the truth and protect the innocent and the poor.

We have a Constitution that makes no mention of any right being a one way street. It's past time to make that case and take back this part of our freedom of religion.

Dogs in restaurants

noreply@blogger.com (Kay Brooks) — Fri, 17 Sep 2010 11:49:00 +0000

I believe I now know how the folks who were/are adamantly against guns in restaurants feel. Nashville Council Lady Karen Bennett has offered a bill to allow dogs in the outdoor dining areas of restaurants. The City Paper has some of the details here. Here's the actual bill BL2010-761. I'm going to be as wary of those restaurants as some people are about entering one that allows guns. And like them, I won't be dining there.

It does no good for anyone to tell me that little "Fifi" won't bite...I don't trust your dog, don't want to be around your dog and don't believe in 'fur kids'. Dogs are unpredictable. They cannot be controlled absolutely. Allowing them in close public quarters where the unexpected happens is asking for trouble. The only dogs I trust half-way are guide dogs who are specifically trained to handle, appropriately, the unexpected.

Frankly, I'll feel safer with gun carriers than dogs. No gun is going to get startled by the clattering of a dropped tray, or take offense at some small child innocently tugging on its tail. It'll stay in its holster, it won't be petted by the server who then brings me my food, it won't smell bad or drool. And based on my own experience, someone is going to need to leave the dog at the table and head into the restaurant for some reason: use the rest room, refill their salad plate, take a moment to say high to a friend and the dog will be unattended. Actually, I'm betting that if the dog is small enough, they'll carry it in with them and be highly offended if you dare to give them the hairy eye-ball for doing so.

And I fully expect cries of discrimination coming from cat, parakeet and iguana owners across the county.

No, this bill is not a good idea. But if Metro Council insists on passing this bill, make sure I can see the "Dogs are Welcome" sign from the street so I can move right on by.

The Falling Man

noreply@blogger.com (Kay Brooks) — Sat, 11 Sep 2010 22:01:00 +0000

On this day, if your heart can handle it, I strongly suggest viewing the hour plus documentary "The Falling Man". On that morning, as I made the bed and casually watched Good Morning America, I literally dropped to my knees when I saw these people falling. I don't want to remember the horror I felt, let alone be reminded of the unspeakable, unknowable fear I could only imagine they were experiencing. It was terrifying. It was an act of war. It is why they must must never be allowed to build a rabat anywhere near that land-- in this land. It was evil. It still is evil. We cannot make nice with it. Understand it. Accommodate it. It must die or we will.

Hat tip: Thanks to Kelsey Grammer's new http://RightNetwork.com for introducing me to this.

Never gonna stand for this

noreply@blogger.com (Kay Brooks) — Mon, 06 Sep 2010 12:19:00 +0000

Another TEA Party song from Nashville. On this Labor Day a reminder to politicians to listen to" the man living by the plow". Really like the recitation of Declaration snips. Catchy tune too. Sorry, you'll have 11 seconds of Janeane Garofalo schooling us on what we do and do not know and who we are. That'll get yer engine started.

GMA adds fuel to the mosque fire

noreply@blogger.com (Kay Brooks) — Sat, 04 Sep 2010 14:59:00 +0000

Good Morning America lied to America this morning. No surprise to some of you, I'm sure.

Their report just after 7:00 am this morning on the Murfreesboro mosque construction site shamefully contained misinformation that will only fuel more dangerous ill will. While the talking head stated the fire was determined by officials to be arson the video showed a picture of a firefighter in full gear among building rubble and showed a white building block building with smoke stains around a window with the word "Mosque" on the building. This is a severe misrepresentation of the actual event which occurred in a cleared lot with no buildings at all let alone rubble. I expect showing a burned dump truck isn't as exciting as they needed so someone decided to enhance the story. The problem is those visuals were a lie that will be remembered. Unfortunately, I'm unable to find the video at the ABC News or GMA site or I'd embed it here for you all to view and judge for yourselves.

It's one thing for some idiot to torch a dump truck and another for what used to be a trusted news source to add fuel to a serious situation that locals are trying to work out in a civilized manner.

It's reporting like this that explains why I hardly turn on the networks anymore.

Lacking big girl panties, Murray sues

noreply@blogger.com (Kay Brooks) — Wed, 11 Aug 2010 11:01:00 +0000

I've been waiting for this other shoe to drop. Former Councilwoman Pam Murray was too quiet after her ouster. She was suspiciously quiet, for her own usual conduct. It's been nearly a year and so the filing deadline was coming due. According to this morning's City Paper she's suing the very citizens that did us a favor and pushed to get rid of her. Defamation of character is the charge. The City Paper hosts the actual filing here.

And as if we need more proof of her incompetence, and those that support her, her attorney's filing calls Jamie Hollin "Hollins" and in the boilerplated section describing the defendants the Mike Peden section states "Defendant Hollins was an active participant with Defendant Hollins".

Pam Murray's conduct in this community was appalling and she provided plenty of legitimate ammunition to use against her in this battle.

The search box for this blog on the left column will bring up quite a few posts on the battle a year ago between Murray and her own constituents.

Yes, there was opposition to the zoning Murray was supporting.
Yes it would have negatively impacted many of the property owners in that district. Since when it is unlawful to object to bad landlords and political donors getting sweetheart zoning deals?
The lawsuit points out these folks met in 'late evenings'. Most likely because they had real jobs that kept them busy during the day.
The lawsuit states Murray's friends in West Africa read about her shenanigans.
Does Murray still have her Detroit job? Then what does it matter if someone complained to her employer?
Murray has suffered humiliation, distress and embarrassment as a result of her ouster. Well, she should have. It was embarrassing behavior and she should have felt humiliated for not doing her job well.

Anyone can sue anyone for anything. Let's hope this is assigned to a judge who'll toss it out as being without merit.

Murray needs to put her big girl panties on and move on.

CeCe Heil on Fox & Friends this AM

noreply@blogger.com (Kay Brooks) — Sun, 25 Jul 2010 22:04:00 +0000

CeCe Heil is running for the 5th Congressional seat here in Tennessee. This morning she was among three "Mama Grizzlies" featured on Fox & Friends this morning. These women were so concerned about bad politicians disassembling their children's futures they decided to run for political office. They "raised their heads up from [their] family calendar and wondered what happened to the country".

In this quick three minute video we hardly get a decent introduction and I'd like to hear much more from each of them. It's encouraging to know they're out there, also fighting to take the country back. Good on them all.