Common Core

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News/Politics 11-7-13

What’s interesting in the news today?

First up today, the Rev. Billy Graham has a message he’d like to share. He says it may be his last “crusade” opportunity due to age and illness, and I for one, would like to hear what he has to say. If you’re interested, here is a link for the listings on when this message will air. TBN has it at 8PM tonight, Fox News will show it at 10PM. Further showings on numerous other networks are available at the link.

http://watchbillygraham.com/

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ObamaCare memos are painting a pretty bad picture of the days leading up to the law’s rollout.

From YahooNews  “More than 175 pages of internal Obama administration memos, obtained by the House Oversight Committee, released Tuesday and reviewed by ABC News, present the most detailed account yet of the troubled rollout of the federal health insurance exchange, HealthCare.gov.

While there are no bombshell revelations, the documents make clear that the administration grossly underestimated the scope of the website’s technical problems; struggled to contain widespread confusion among insurers and applicants; and now faces a barrage of new challenges triggered by its emphasis on paper applications.

The memos from Oct. 1 through Oct. 27 are “war room notes” from the government team charged with overseeing the health care law rollout. They don’t provide any hard enrollment figures, which officials have promised to release later this month. But they do suggest the administration likely fell well short of its 500,000 enrollment target in the first month, possibly reaching fewer than one tenth of that goal.”

The numbers from individual states that have reported are nowhere near a tenth of that, or 50,000 When the numbers come, it won’t be pretty.

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Again here, I’m having trouble feeling much sympathy for ’em. This is their baby too, they all own it.

From RollCall.com  “President Barack Obama heard an earful at the White House Wednesday from Senate Democrats running for re-election next year who are fuming about the Affordable Care Act’s rocky rollout.

During a two-hour meeting that was not on the president’s public schedule, the president met with 15 Senate Democrats facing the voters next year, as well as Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee Chairman Michael Bennet, D-Colo.

Sen. Mark Begich of Alaska issued a release after the meeting torching the administration.

“It is simply unacceptable for Alaskans to bear the brunt of the Administration’s mismanagement of the implementation of the Affordable Care Act and that is the message U.S. Senator Mark Begich delivered to President Obama today,” his office said in a statement blasted to reporters.”

Reading it, or maybe delaying it to work out the bugs may have helped huh? 🙄

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Wait a minute………. I thought Photo ID requirements were racist and an attempt to disenfranchise old people?

From RedAlertPolitics  “America rejoiced when the White House announced it would re-open for tours after cuts to funding from sequestration. But in a blatant display of irony, visitors to President Barack Obama’s home must show a government-issued photo ID to enter, but not to vote.

Tours of the White House resumed after a seven month hiatus, with the first official tour given to tourists yesterday. But for visitors looking to head inside 1600 Pennsylvania Ave., they must show valid, government-issued photo ID.

“All guests 18 years of age or older will be required to present a valid, government-issued photo identification … . All foreign nationals must present their passport,” it states on the White House’s ‘Tours & Events’ page.

This criterion is particularly ironic given the fact that the man living inside the White House adamantly opposes voters showing photo ID before heading the the polls.”

Yeah….. 🙄

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The campaign for the 2016 Republican presidential nomination has begun. Paul has a point here too. Anyone who’s seen the ad will probably agree.

From HotAir  “Rand Paul: Can you believe that certain people who shall remain nameless used Sandy relief funds for campaign commercials?”

“Alternate headline: “GOP primary campaign officially under way.” New Jersey got $60 billion of federal funds for Sandy relief, $25 million of which went to a “Stronger than the Storm” tourism campaign that showcased a certain gubernatorial candidate and his family. Here’s Rand Paul celebrating that candidate’s victory last night by basically accusing him of corruption. Not the first time he’s smacked Christie over Sandy funding, either: That’s what prompted the “king of bacon” comment back in July when the two of them first started throwing punches at each other. The outline of his strategy against Christie in 2016 is already fairly clear. He’s going to knock him not only as a big spender who cares more about buying off constituents with federal money than he does about shrinking government but as someone who’s ethically dubious across the board.”

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The old guard and RINO faction want the nominee to be another RINO or old guard type. Romney says Christie and Ryan should be the top choices. Yeah Mitt, that whole picking milquetoast candidates worked out so well the last 2 elections huh? 🙄

As I’m sure you’ve noticed, the media would be all too happy to pick another RINO for us, they’ve been tooting Christie’s horn in an effort to have a say in the selection. So how about we decide instead of liberals? Here’s a few good reasons why Christie is the wrong guy, despite the media’s opinion.

From TheAmericanSpectator  “Arnold Schwarzenegger won re-election handily in 2006, defeating his hapless opponent Phil Angelides by a 56% to 38.9% margin. Yet this sizable win was a meaningless victory for the GOP. Similarly, Chris Christie’s thumping victory on Tuesday night over an equally forgettable candidate contains almost no national meaning, save that Chris Christie is good for Chris Christie. Like Schwarzenegger, Christie cruised to re-election not as a real Republican but as a preening non-partisan moderate. Like Schwarzenegger, Christie’s popularity hasn’t translated into any support for Republicans in his own legislature.”

“The breathless burbling about how Chris Christie’s victory “shows the path forward for the GOP” conveniently ignores his inability to turn New Jersey red for anyone but himself. Before election day, the New Jersey media didn’t see any reason for the Dems to worry about a Christie victory, as they enjoy a 48-32 majority in the Assembly and a 24-16 lead in the state Senate. While these numbers may change, early reports indicate most incumbents will be reelected. The New Jersey media reported that most polls indicate support for Christie won’t help any down-ballot Republicans. In 2009, Christie’s coat-tail effect was negligible too, resulting in only one new Assembly seat for the Republicans.”

“Even the media found it a little difficult to sustain the this-is-a-defeat-for-the-Tea-Party narrative after the Virginia results came in, as they showed a race that the Republicans could easily have won, had the Libertarian not run, had Cuccinelli actually tried, had stingy Republican fat cats donated money to ad campaigns, had Republicans bothered to expose McAuliffe’s radicalism, etc.

The future of the GOP is not Christie but Cruz. Have the Republicans learned nothing from Romney’s loss, McCain’s loss, Dole’s loss? The lesson is simple: do not run moderates; that just hands victory to the Dems from the start. A basic test for any GOP nominee should be: Can this candidate win his own state? In Christie’s case, the question, despite Tuesday’s results, remains open. After all, he wasn’t exactly running against Hillary Clinton. Another test is: Can this candidate reclaim his own legislature for his party? If not, all the enthusiasm is empty. Republican governors in blue states that remain for all intents and purposes blue always end up doing damage to the party, racking up personal victories for themselves while selling out the party’s principles.”

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And yesterday someone mentioned Common Core. Here’s yet another reason to be against it.

From FoxNews  “It’s exactly what critics of the Common Core school curriculum warned about: Partisan political statements masquerading as English lessons finding their way into elementary school classrooms.

Teaching materials aligned with the controversial national educational standards ask fifth-graders to edit such sentences as “(The president) makes sure the laws of the country are fair,” “The wants of an individual are less important than the well-being of the nation” and “the commands of government officials must be obeyed by all.” The sentences, which appear in worksheets published by New Jersey-based Pearson Education, are presented not only for their substance, but also to teach children how to streamline bulky writing.”

““Parents should insist on reviewing their children’s school assignments,” said Glyn Wright, executive director of the Eagle Forum, a think tank that opposes implementation of Common Core. “Many parents will be shocked to find that some ‘Common Core-approved’ curriculum is full of inappropriate left-wing notions, disinformation, and fails to teach the truth of American exceptionalism and opportunity.”

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News/Politics 9-20-13

What’s interesting in the news today?

Open thread, here’s a few to start things off.

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From Breitbart  “Obamacare is before the U.S. Supreme Court again. On Thursday, Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF) lawyers filed the first viable petition for Supreme Court review involving Kathleen Sebelius’ HHS Mandate, which requires employers to provide abortion-related insurance coverage, even if those employers have a religious objection to abortion.  

Section 1001 of the Affordable Care Act (ACA, or Obamacare) requires all large employers to offer “preventive services” to their employees or face enormous financial penalties. With President Obama’s approval, Sebelius issued a regulation that defined preventive services to include access to birth control, including those that cause abortions after conception. The regulation issued by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) only allows narrow exceptions, such as for churches, but leaves other religion-oriented or religiously-owned employers subject to the regulation. “

“These lawsuits argue both that the HHS Mandate violates the Free Exercise Clause of the First Amendment as well as a federal law called the Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA). The federal appeals courts have split on whether a religiously-owned business can claim religious-liberty protections and whether requiring people to provide abortion-related services is a substantial burden on religious faith.”

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But Democrat Chris Murphy would like you to believe that forcing folks to violate their religious convictions is the morally right thing to do. 🙄

From CNSNews  “Senator Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) said that it would be morally justifiable for Congress to pass a continuing resolution that forces Americans to buy health care plans covering abortion-inducing drugs even if doing so violates their religious beliefs.

CNSNews.com asked Murphy about funding the controversial provision in the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, commonly known as Obamacare, following a press conference on Capitol Hill Wednesday.”

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Tom DeLay is back in the news. His conviction for money laundering has been overturned on appeal.

From KVUE/ABC  “Found guilty in 2010, the lawmaker known as “the Hammer” became a convicted felon.

 “It is what it is and we will carry on,” DeLay told reporters after the  verdict was announced. Lead attorney Dick DeGuerin assured the gathered  media, “This will never stand up on appeal.”

On Thursday, a two to one decision by the Third Court of Appeals  overturned that conviction, citing a lack of evidence. In the majority  opinion, Justice Melissa Goodwin explained, “The fundamental problem  with the State’s case was its failure to prove proceeds of criminal  activity.”

This decision will be appealed as well, but by prosecutors.

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Just think, when Common Core is fully implemented all public school kids will be learning the important stuff they need to succeed.

Or not. 🙄

From FoxNews  “Fourth grade students in Vermilion Parish, La. were given a homework  assignment that included words like “Po Pimp” and “mobstaz,” but school  officials said the worksheet was age appropriate based on an education website  affiliated with Common Core education standards.

“I try to instill values in my son,” parent Brittney Badeaux told Fox News.  “My goal is for him to ultimately to become a great man, a family man, a  well-rounded man. And now my son wants to know what a pimp is.””

“Vermilion Parish School Superintendent Jerome Puyau told Fox News the  “po-pimp” assignment was aligned to a fourth grade English Language Arts  standard for Common Core.

“Out of context, this word is inappropriate,” Puyau said. “However, within  the Common Core standards, they do want us to discuss real world texts.”

The Superintendent says this will help them later in life when buying albums. I kid you not. 🙄

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And here’s one that Chas posted last night, in case you missed it.

There’s a whole lot I’d like to say about these cowards not having the decency to hear these folks out. But I won’t. I’ll just say that I find this disgusting and shameful, which is exactly what I’ve come to expect from Democrats.

From TownHall  “During the second portion of a House Oversight and Government Reform hearing about Benghazi Thursday on Capitol Hill, the majority of Democrats on the Committee left the room and refused to listen to the testimony of Patricia Smith and Charles Woods. Ms. Smith is the mother of Sean Smith, an information management officer killed in the 9/11 Benghazi attack. Charles Woods is the father of Navy SEAL Tyrone Woods, who was also killed.”

More here from HotAir, along with some video.

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by

News/Politics 9-17-13

What’s interesting in the news today?

First up, some good news. 🙂

From ChristianityToday  “For Abby Johnson, the closing of a single Planned Parenthood center demonstrated her dramatic reversal from abortion clinic director to leading pro-life advocate.

But for pro-lifers throughout the United States, it marked another exhibit in a hopeful trend—abortion centers are shutting down at an unprecedented rate. The total so far this year is 44, according to a pro-life organization that tracks clinic operations.

None was more telling for Johnson than the mid-July closing of the Planned Parenthood center in Bryan, Texas. It came less than four years after Johnson, burdened by her involvement with abortion, walked out of that clinic as its director and into the offices of the Coalition for Life.”

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Needless to say, some aren’t as happy about it.

From HuffPo  “At least 54 abortion providers across 27 states have shut down or ended their abortion services in the past three years, and several more clinics are only still open because judges have temporarily blocked legislation that would make it difficult for them to continue to operate. Nebraska and Massachusetts have each added one clinic since 2010, and the other 21 states and the District of Columbia, most of which have not passed new anti-abortion laws since 2010, were unable to accurately count their clinics because their health departments do not license abortion providers separately from other kinds of medical providers. The Huffington Post’s tally did not include hospitals that provide abortions.

“This kind of change is incredibly dramatic,” said Elizabeth Nash, state issues manager at the Guttmacher Institute, a reproductive health research organization. “What we’ve been seeing since 1982 was a slow decline, but this kind of change … [is] so different from what’s happened in the past.””

“This has turned into a nightmare,” said Kat Sabine, executive director of NARAL’s Arizona affiliate. “The kind of efforts the women have to take to get family planning or abortion services are just incredible, and you can only get care if you can get out of the community to do it. If you’re on a reservation or rural part of the state, unless you have reliable transportation, you’re not going to get care.”

And then doom and gloom scenarios end exactly where you would expect them to.

Yep. Cries of a “War on Women” by Republicans. Yeah, we didn’t see that comin’……

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Next, the DC Navy Yard shooting.

From TheWaPo  “At least 13 people are dead and 14 others were injured after a gunman opened fire at the Washington Navy Yard on Monday, Navy officials said, spreading fear and chaos across the region as authorities sought to contain the panic.”

“D.C. Police Chief Cathy L. Lanier and Mayor Vincent C. Gray announced the mounting number of casualties in a series of news conferences. The suspected shooter, identified by the FBI as Aaron Alexis, 34, living in Fort Worth, is among the 13 dead. Alexis was a military contractor, one official said.”

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Why does this not surprise me?

From NYPost  “‘Are you sexually active? If so, with one partner, multiple partners or same-sex partners?”

Be ready to answer those questions and more the next time you go to the doctor, whether it’s the dermatologist or the cardiologist and no matter if the questions are unrelated to why you’re seeking medical help. And you can thank the Obama health law.

“This is nasty business,” says New York cardiologist Dr. Adam Budzikowski. He called the sex questions “insensitive, stupid and very intrusive.” He couldn’t think of an occasion when a cardiologist would need such information — but he knows he’ll be pushed to ask for it.

The president’s “reforms” aim to turn doctors into government agents, pressuring them financially to ask questions they consider inappropriate and unnecessary, and to violate their Hippocratic Oath to keep patients’ records confidential.”

But we’ve always been told it’s Republicans who stick their noses in what happens in private bedrooms and other people’s sex lives. Who knew? :roll:.

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Like I said last night, it’s good to be part of the exempt ruling class huh?

From NationalReview  “Prostitution. Bribery. Blackmail. Thuggery. Hypocrisy.

Those were just some of the incendiary words thrown around the U.S. Senate last week, and that doesn’t count what people said in private.

The Senate may still have a reputation as a genteel club, but lawmakers seemed to abandon rules of decorum completely last week in arguments about whether Congress should be treated like the rest of the country when it comes to Obamacare. 

Senator David Vitter, a Louisiana Republican, has demanded a floor vote on his bill to end an exemption that members of Congress and their staffs are slated to get that will make them the only participants in the new Obamacare exchanges to receive generous subsidies from their employer to pay for their health insurance. Angry Senate Democrats have drafted legislation that dredges up a 2007 prostitution scandal involving Vitter. The confrontation is a perfect illustration of just how wide the gulf in attitudes is between the Beltway and the rest of the country — and how viciously Capitol Hill denizens will fight for their privileges.”

It’s their “Precious.”

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We’ll finish today with a story related to yesterday’s on “Common Core Curriculum.” Or, if you prefer, you can call it what I do. Just another reason to home school.

From TheDC-Clothesline  “I am a high school English teacher. I became a teacher because I believe that literacy, which goes beyond just reading the words on the page, is an absolute necessity for maintaining our Republic. Proof of that is found in the many laws against reading certain texts, or against reading altogether, that have been passed down by every tyrant since literacy became available to the general population. A few examples of such tyrannical laws are the Taliban banning reading for any female or laws against teaching slaves to read or the Soviet Union’s banning of such books as A Wrinkle in Time, Where’s Waldo, and To Kill a Mockingbird. The communist Khmer Rogue in Cambodia so hated literacy that just wearing glasses was cause for execution. Literacy leads to freedom and tyrants know it.

 I have been teaching for over twenty years. Generally, I have been given either no curriculum or curriculum that was focused on skills, not specific texts. I would have to get those skills taught in whatever way I wanted to get there. Sometimes I was given more direction and that direction was generally pretty good including texts, key terms, supplemental stories, and suggested writing assignments. These directions were created at a school level by the teachers in the school. I helped write some myself. Mostly, I have had a lot of freedom in how I could achieve the learning goals. Not anymore.

Today I was in a professional development session for my school district. Our school system has swallowed the Common Core curriculum whole. Why wouldn’t they? The federal system has said that it is “voluntary”, but “voluntary” means that the district gets cut off from major federal funding if it does not adopt the standards, so “voluntary” is subjective. Here is what the Washington Post reported Sen. Charles Grassley has to say about Common Core:

Current federal law makes clear that the U.S. Department of Education may not be involved in setting specific content standards or determining the content of state assessments. Nevertheless, the selection criteria designed by the U.S. Department of Education for the Race to the Top Program provided that for a state to have any chance to compete for funding, it must commit to adopting a “common set of K-12 standards” matching the description of the Common Core.”

She then goes on to expose the ugly heart of Common Core. It’s a liberal educator/indoctrinators dream come true.

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