“At least at this time of the year they are prepared to give generously but the worry is that a system based on charity will mean that the supply of donated food will always ebb and flow,” he [Mark Winne] said. ” We may be entering one of those perfect storms where everything goes wrong but if we depend on food charity rather than ending poverty, this is what is bound to occur.”Calling it "a perfect storm" somehow implies that the hunger crisis facing Americans and those who would help them is an act of God. Make no mistake -- this is one more product of the greed and callousness of the Bush administration, whose policies have willfully created a shrinking middle class, a rise in the number of "working poor" and homeless families, a culture of rampant materialism, selfishness at the top, despair at the bottom, and no "safety net."
I'm really sick of former aides to George F. W. Bush publishing "tell all" books. Scott McClellan is only the latest in a long string of weasels (my apologies to the cute little animal above) who continues to profit off of the misery that has been visited on the world over the last 7 years.
"Any of the other cities would attack us if they had these golems," said Lord Downey, "... Surely a bit of conquest would be in order?"
"An empirette, perhaps?" said Vetinari, sourly. "We use our slaves to create more slaves? But do we want to face the whole world in arms? For that is what we would do, at the finish. The best we could hope for is that some of us survive. The worst is that we would triumph. Triumph and rot. That is the lesson of history, Lord Downey. Are we not rich enough?"
A nice trend around here is the blossoming of house concerts. I've been to a few, but tonight was a first -- a firehouse concert. I went to hear Mary McCaslin, a favorite of mine from waaaay back in the seventies. Unfortunately, there were about a million other musical events happening around town and it was in a temporary firehouse way out on the outskirts of town on the edge of what was once cornfields not so long ago, so it wasn't really well attended. It was a little surreal too, to see the CPR training dummies stacked like logs off to the side of the room. But I thoroughly enjoyed myself.
To the editor:
I’ve spent the last week thinking about a response to Jason Shepard’s article, Rethinking How Kids Learn. Where do I begin? It continually floors me that so many people in progressive Madison have a blind spot when it comes to charter schools. Can you say “privatization?” Charter schools are back door privatization, if you will. Using public funds to run a school to which students must apply and be admitted: that sounds a lot like the voucher system, doesn’t it? Both Jonathan Kozol and Alfie Kohn -- two passionate advocates for progressive education -- speak equally passionately against school privatization, including charter schools. According to Kozol, not only do they skim resources from public schools, but they skim off the parents who have the time and wherewithal to contribute to their child’s school, leaving many children poorer. Whatever happened to working for the common good?
The dichotomy that Shepard’s article sets up between “progressive” private schools like Wingra and “traditional” public schools is false. Madison Metropolitan School District has 6,288 teachers. Philosophies of education and teaching styles run the gamut, but I would hazard a guess that many of those teachers would identify themselves as being closer to the progressive end of the spectrum. And what if they don’t? My two children have had great experiences in Madison schools, with all kinds of teachers. Furthermore, as a veteran Madison public school teacher myself, and one who believes deeply in and advocates passionately for education that is progressive and child-centered, I am insulted by that dichotomy.
Wingra School can provide things to students that Madison public schools cannot: smaller numbers that make it possible to serve organic meals from Willy Street Co-op, for example. I am also assuming a significant amount of money is available that many public schools simply do not have. Wingra trustee Patrick Sweet’s example of choosing Lombardino’s or L’Etoile [two extremely upscale restaurants] speaks volumes to that. But public schools can provide good experiences that a private school cannot replicate. Trying to compare the two, or implying that Madison is missing the boat by not modeling a school on Wingra is wrong.
The “lack of choices” in Madison that “is sending middle- and upper-class families packing” sounds like another name for white flight. “High needs kids” and kids from “unstable homes” are code words for low income and minority students. I will not deny that there are kids who can be quite disruptive in public schools. As the director of Wingra says, “The reality is, the resources just aren’t there” to adequately meet the needs of all children. However, is the answer then, to create schools which will further deplete resources, or to work together for change; doing away with the revenue caps and requiring businesses to share the property tax burden? (Ironically, the article on outsourcing immediately preceding Shepard’s, brought up the tax revenue issue which is at the heart of Wisconsin schools’ funding crisis.)
I have little quibble with the parents like the one described in the article, who choose a private school when their child is not thriving in the public school. A small number of students have always attended private schools and most seem to offer tuition aid to families that want to attend. What I object to, and will continue to object to with every last breath in my body, is the parents who make that choice, and then want the state to pay for it, either through vouchers or the establishment of charter schools.
Old progressive that I am, I am proud of many aspects of Madison public schools. I think that the fact that charter schools have not caught on here in a big way speaks well of our public schools. I wonder if some of the push for “choices” is coming from newcomers to Madison, who have come here from other cities where the expectation is simply that one’s children will go to a charter or private school. I wish that Jason Shepard would visit and write an in-depth story about a different Madison school each week, instead of going for the sensational soundbite that once again puts Madison Metropolitan School District down.
If we build it, wilt thou comest? he thought. But the hoped-for god never came. It was sad but, in some celestial way, a bit stupid. Well, wasn't it? Moist had heard that there were maybe millions of little gods floating around in the world, living under rocks, blown about like tumbleweeds, clinging to the topmost branches of trees ... They awaited the big moment, the lucky break that might end up with a temple and a priesthood and worshipers to call your own. But they hadn't come here, and it was easy to see why.
Gods wanted belief, not rational thinking. Building the temple first was like giving a pair of wonderful shoes to a man with no legs. Building a temple didn't mean you believed in gods, it just meant you believed in architecture.
I'm just ... speechless. I guess I won't be quitting the day job for the glamorous life of a full time blogger anytime soon.
Display and photo by Friend, Lester Doré. He says, "Day of the Dead altar at Casa Doré-Hanner. The red poster lists the names of all confirmed US military deaths from the beginning of the Iraq War to September 4 2007; the black poster has on it thumbnail-size photos of all confirmed military deaths in Iraq and Afghanistan since the last Day of the Dead. That's pan de muerto on the plate."Winky the elephant, Winky the elephant,(We really had an elephant named "Winky" at our municipal zoo, which happened to be 2 blocks from my house. When I was around 7, a young child visiting the zoo climbed into Winky's cage with a bag of popcorn, and was stepped on and killed. I remember hearing the ambulance sirens. They sent Winky away after that. I hope that wasn't just a euphemism for euthanizing her. It was not her fault.)
You live in a great big zoo.
Winky the elephant, Winky the elephant,
It's fun to look at you.
This has languished for too long. The list of co-sponsors has notable absences, and one hopes that Kucinich's action will spotlight representatives who wear a liberal mantle, but refuse to really act on the will of their constituents. (John Conyers, among others.)Broadcast media’s gate-keeping “stars” have done just about everything in their power to keep the matter of presidential accountability off the radar of the American people. That was evident during the most recent Democratic presidential debate, when NBC anchors Brian Williams and Tim Russert meticulously avoided following up on Congressman Dennis Kucinich’s three references to impeachment but somehow found time to grill the contenders on UFOs and what costume Barack Obama would be wearing on Halloween.
Pollsters are almost as bad. Rarely are questions about impeachment included in statewide or national surveys.
Despite the lack of media coverage, however, when citizens are asked what they think about holding members of the Bush administration to account, they respond with an enthusiasm far greater than that displayed for impeaching Richard Nixon at the height of the Watergate scandal. It is this reality — as opposed to the state of denial fostered by so much of the media and the political class — that Congressman Dennis Kucinich will act upon next week, when he offers a privileged resolution on the House floor to bring articles of impeachment against Vice President Dick Cheney.
Kucinich will face an uphill fight in a chamber led by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, the California Democrat who continues to say that impeachment is “off the table.”
The Ohio congressman and long-shot presidential contender may not be following the rules of engagement as dictated by major media and his party leaders. But when Kucinich raises the issue of impeachment, he will be speaking for a great mass of Americans who agree with his argument that, “Congress must hold the Vice President accountable.” Read it all ...
