April 20th GrokTALK! Snippets – Segment Four: Guest – NH Business Owner Josh Youssef

In Segment four we talk with Josh Youssef, local small business owner and former candidate for the New Hampshire State Senate,  about HB 370 (repealing education choice),  State Senator Andrew Hosmer, education in general, what the Teachers Unions are actually after, and more.  (With Dr. Julianne Cooper who sticks around to add to the conversation.) … Read more

Red Rover in Dover

In Norwegian, apparently, Røver means Pirate.  I won’t hold fast to that definition.  I just learned it on Wikipedia, which is about as reliable as a school board in Dover spending your tax dollars to pay lobbyists to push legislation you may not support.  Which is what I mean by pirate.  The Dover school board, like many similar cabals throughout the Granite State, spends your tax dollars on professional lobbyists to promote the “interests” of the “district” up in Concord over your own, though they will always insist these ideas have parity when they do not.

So follow the bouncing ball.

Schools, like any government agency, seek bigger budgets.  Those budgets are paid for with local and state taxes.  The folks who run the school–boards, committees, administrators, the unions and the teachers, want budgets to exapnd to protect their jobs and benefits.  To that end they are funding or promoting the funding of other professionals, with your tax dollars, to go before those with taxing power, including the state Legislature, to support laws and policies that will give them more of your money, and further secure their monopoly on education.

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Public Educators Caught in Massive Cheating Conspiracy

cheating is wrong-Image property of fox television
Image Credit: Fox Television

Public Educators in Atlanta have been caught in a massive cheating conspiracy designed to hide poor reading and math skills.  “The four principle crimes that are charged in the indictment are the statements and writings, false swearings, theft by taking, and influencing witnesses,” Fulton County District Attorney Paul L. Howard, Jr. said.

Racketeering charges are also being filed.

Nearly 200 educators admitted to taking part in the massive scandal: they tampered with students’ standardized tests and corrected answers to inflate scores. Some teachers had pizza parties to erase wrong answers and circle in the right ones. One principal allegedly handled altered tests wearing gloves to avoid leaving her fingerprints.

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Oh WHY did we think that this would be part of those FAA tower closures?

I learned to fly out of the Lawrence Airport in MA and part of the training was to fly in and out of smaller airports.  I learned the radio frequencies to use to announce my entry into the landing / takeoff patter and to toggle the runway lights.  Standard fare as most of the airports in the US are considered “general aviation” fields – small biz jets and prop planes – not having a Tower talk you in was no big deal.  So upon hearing that the FAA was going to close some of these towers of the mid size fields was not a big deal – pilots are trained to deal with this.  But like much of Obama’s response to his own sequester plan (for it was the White House that came up with it), instead of a corporate handling of a 2.4% lowered budget (where true non-essentials are cut out), his Administration has been intent on causing the taxpayers and citizens as much grief as possible (even as his Administration just caused all of us to live 2.4% less due to raising out taxes).  So closing FAA towers is part of that – but WHY these particular 149 Towers?  From Hot Air:

The Federal Aviation Administration on Friday told 149 regional airports across the country it would begin closing their air traffic control towers in April, but said it would spare another 40 towers that had been on the chopping block.

As the post says, this is all about less than 2/3ds of a $Billion out of budget of $58 Billion – small change at the 50,000 foot level.  But take out paper pushers first?  But what is so special about those 40?  Oh, sure:

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The War on Poor Children by Religious Bigots in New Hampshire

There is an excellent article over at Math Wizards, on the effort by some in New Hampshire to repeal a scholarship program for poor kids titled “HB370: A WAR ON POOR CHILDREN IN NEW HAMPSHIRE by RELIGIOUS BIGOTS?” The article observes that opponents are pointing to the NH State constitution as a reason for repeal, but … Read more

What Ever Happened to The Inductive Method?

Another great video on education destined to make the public school union folks bleed out their eyes.  Here’s the blurb from PJTV and Next Generation TV. Victor Davis Hanson joins Col. Allen B. West to discuss our modern system of education. In the zero sum game of educating our children, Dr. Hanson asks, who is … Read more

I’m a Doctor, You’re a Doctor, He’s a Doctor….

…She’s a Doctor, wouldn’t you like to be a doctor too?Dr pepper

You might be a doctor and you didn’t even know it, because that is how you solve a doctor shortage caused by oppressive legislation in the peoples Republik of (in this case) Kalifornia.  Not enough “Doctors”… change the definition of doctor and Bam! Problem solved.

As a result of Obamacare and its expansion of coverage to millions, many states will begin to experience doctor shortages. California is dealing with this problem by redefining who is a “doctor.”

State lawmakers are working on legislation that would permit physician assistants and nurse practitioners to set up independent practices. Pharmacists and optometrists could now act as “primary care” providers.

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How Teachers Unions Hurt Schools

Prager Universitie’s latest great video is “How Teachers Unions Hurt Schools.” I’m in a hurry so  I’ll just snag some context from Breitbart for now: ” ‘How Teachers Unions Hurt Schools is narrated by Stanford Professor Terry Moe.   Moe explains how the Obama administration’s admissions that the education system is broken contradict their pro-union stance. “Union … Read more

Are You a Union Member or a Lease?

Listen closely to what I'm saying...
Listen closely to what I’m saying…

After reading an article posted by Mike Antonucci yesterday at HotAir – included in it’s entirety below – I went to the NH Public Employee Labor Relations Board site to scan some NH collective bargaining agreements to learn whether this question should be asked here in NH.  In at least one case – the first one I read, in fact – the answer maybe ‘yes’.

7.3.1 Breaching of Contract.

Bargaining unit members will not be released from their individual teacher contracts without special permission and agreement from the Merrimack Valley School Board. Board action will be taken at the next regularly scheduled Board meeting after receiving such a request.

Any attempt by a bargaining unit member to resign, except in extenuating circumstances and when released by the School Board as set forth in this section, will constitute a breach of contract. A premature departure cost equal to 2% of Bachelor Step One (payable to the District before a release is granted) will be levied against any bargaining unit member who attempts to breach their individual teacher contract after June 1st. The amount will increase to 4% of Bachelor Step One after July 1st and will increase again to 6% of Bachelor Step One after August 1st. In addition, the District may charge the departing bargaining unit member legal fees incurred while enforcing this part of the collective bargaining agreement.

So, is this a bad thing?  Read the rest of the story.

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Heh

More from The Looking Spoon

The Left’s War on Education

The left’s objection to even one tax dollar finding its way into the hands of a church is legion.  It is (apparently) a matter of even greater concern that we might engage in tax policy that accidentally encourages others–by allowing them to keep more of their own money–to give some of it to a religious group.

Such is the current quandary, pressed into the arms of the New Hampshire Superior court judiciary; if a business owner is incentivized by the state to give their own money for a k-12scholarship to a non-profit that manages such scholarships, and some kid or their parents just happens to use their qualified scholarship award at a school run by a religious group, has the state shown an establishment of religion?

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Footage from Inside AFP Tent In Michigan

This is footage shot from inside the AFP tent in Lansing as the tent was overrun by angry union protesters and began to come down.  It’s very shaky but here it is. http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=0NUGfR4cWkM

Witness To Union Thuggery

Breitbart is posting a series of statements by people who observed or were objects of Union thuggery in Michigan.   I’ve posted one here on the front and several more on the jump.   They are each relatively short so take a few moments to watch them.  It is important to understand that this was not just a bunch of toughs flexing, people who followed the law were denied the right to peaceably assemble for no other reason than that they had an opinion different from that of the union protesters.

Oh, and then there’s the profanity, spitting, threats, and physical abuse.  And make sure you watch the last video with Tim Bos.  He’ll tell you about the Lansing Union cops who watched the whole thing unfold…and did nothing.

Stu Sandler

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Tweet of the Day – Week – Ever? on Unions Vs Right to Work?

Fellow Grokster(ette?) Susan Olsen dropped this into our email this morning.  No, not ‘the royal ‘Our’ as in the royal ‘we,’ as in ‘We are not amused.’  I mean “Our” as in our Grok group email.  Anyway, this hits it out of the park on Michigan and Right to Work, and the Unions and Democrats and Obama (oh, My!), or anyone for that matter,  squawking about benefits for those who accept the choice to not have to pay dues…

Union Benefits in a Right to Work state vs Govt benefits
This guy is officially Our hero.  I am embarrassed that We didn’t think of it first.

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Michigan AFP Tent Truthers?

You’ve heard by now, I hope, that the American’s for Prosperity (AFP) Tent in Lansing, Michigan (State Capital), was knocked down and overrun by angry Union protesters–while some activists remained trapped underneath?   (You can find Grok Coverage on that and more  here, here, here, and here.) AFP was there on the front lines to educate and … Read more

Update AFP -Michigan

Right to Work Coming Soon to Michigan
Right to Work Coming Soon… to Michigan!

Right to work Bills have passed both Houses of the Michigan State Legislature and the governor has already said he’d sign them into law.

Earlier today Tim Condon updated us with the video of union protesters knocking down the Americans for Prosperity tent in Lansing, trapping some activists under it.  It’s sad but none of us were surprised by this. Nor are we surprised by this from a recent email blast by Tim Phillips, President of Americans For Prosperity…

Right now, the Left—union bosses, special interest groups, and even President Obama himself—is ramping up pressure for him to not sign these necessary workers’ rights reforms.

Tim Phillips continues…

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More Compensation and Job Growth In Right To Work States

Compensation RTW vs Forced Union - RTW states do better in both categoriesIf union thugs are not beating on you, they are lying to you (about job growth and wage growth), and so is your President.  But here’s the truth…

According to Michigan’s Mackinac Center, using data taken from the Bureau of Economic Analysis and Bureau of Labor Statistics, private-sector, inflation-adjusted employee compensation in right-to-work states increased by 12% between 2001 and 2011 compared with just 3% over the same period in forced-unionization states.

There’s more…

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Decay Point

Hostess-strike-biddefordSocietal decay has many symptoms.  One of which that mottles our society like a cancerous blotch on the drooping bosom of freedom is the unending, unforgiving, and unyielding sense of entitlement –entitled to things coming not just from government, but directly from fellow citizens as well.

The expression supposedly uttered from Marie Antoinette to the people suffering from a bread shortage, “let them eat cake” has been transposed and inverted to the 21st century version of “let them never eat golden sponge cake again,” coming from not a Queen, but from a whaling union worker as a union strike eats the last Twinkie and a bakery shuts its doors, laying off 18,000 workers (if you want the details, Google it for yourself).

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Who cares about a child’s education? Conservatives!

Liberals (typically Democrats) and Conservatives (typically Republicans) have very different viewpoints about education.  Liberals see the public school educational establishment (the unions, the government bureaucracies, the University Education Departments, etc.) as the way to educate children (except occasionally for their own children).   

Conservatives believe results are the important thing, “Is the child getting a good education?”  Government ads claim that every day 7000 children drop out of school and millions more graduate lacking basic knowledge.  The educational establishment isn’t meeting society’s need to prepare children for adulthood.     

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