Letters To The Editor
To The Editor: Everybody from President Karl Rove, Emperor George Bush, “Shotgun” Cheney, Donald Rumsfeld, Condo Rice who had anything to do with ordering the illegal war in Iraq, which has resulted in the deaths of more than 2,500 of our brave troops who were wrongfully ordered to “fight for OUR freedom” plus thousands of innocent Iraqi women and children, should be held accountable for their participation in these crimes against humanity. Our brave troops are efficiently fighting the war which they were ordered to fight by their commander in chief, just as we were ordered to fight in Vietnam for The Dragon Lady and for General Ky to remain in power, by Eisenhower, Kennedy, Johnston and Nixon. George Bush should not be allowed to use the lame excuse of “Establishing a
Outsourcing Of Public Services Is Not Working
Outsourcing Of Public Services Is Not Working By Celia Hagert Senior Policy Analyst, Center For Public Policy Priorities, Austin The state
Bush League Media & Sins of Intermission
Bush League Media & Sins of Intermission
Covering Up The Democratic Senate Hearing On Pre-Iraq War Intelligence
Radical Roots: Congressional Oversight Showdown, 11/3/05
The Senate Democrats took a great step towards acting like senators November 2, 2005, when they used a bit of parliamentary footwork to shut down their house of Congress, and went into closed session to demand answers on the “misinformation and disinformation” that led to the war.
The corporate media folks who helped to sell the war were quite alarmed as they stood outside those doors that night, wondering what new lies to tell the public
Endless War
Endless War
As we approach the 5th Anniversary of 9/11, I believe it is time to question the concept of Endless War.
You probably haven
Phony Millionaires Spend Themselves Into Poorhouse
Phony Millionaires Spend Themselves Into Poorhouse A Gainesville jury tried to decide on June 30, 1967 whether Ernest and Margaret Medders were a couple of folksy con artists or bumbling bumpkins caught up in an incredible charade. The strange saga began in 1961 in Memphis, Tennessee, where the impoverished parents struggled to support ten children. Ernest was a four-grade dropout, who worked days as a mechanic
Will Rick Perry Have A Bad Reelection Hair Day In November?
Will Rick Perry Have A Bad Reelection Hair Day In November? Will Gov. Perry Take The Ferry? Look, I know I
King George, We
King George, We
Amusement Park Diplomacy
Amusement Park Diplomacy Recently, President Bush took Prime Minister Junichiro Koisumi of Japan on a tour of an important American landmark. It wasn
Having A Hot Time In Texas
Having A Hot Time In Texas
Ken Lay Would Make A Great Texas Governor Providing, Of Course, That He
Ken Lay Would Make A Great Texas Governor
Providing, Of Course, That He
NCLB Should Not Be Reauthorized In 2007
NCLB Should Not Be The No Child Left Behind Act has been a five-year debacle of unaccountability and wasted prospects, proving that the federal government does not have the capabilities to handle something as complex as the education of our children. Its heavy-handed intrusion into public education with a testing system has done nothing but politicize education while robbing from educators their abilities to comprehensively teach. Although it is expected that NCLB will be renewed, perhaps with some revisions to entice the general public to shy away from yelling “Uncle” just yet, the continued power sweep of the feds into our classrooms would be a dangerous mistake. The nature of the problem of lifting minorities and the poor to higher educational standards remains misunderstood in Washington, since the life issues behind these problems are not being addessed, and, in fact, are being expanded upon as the gap between economic classes grows. One size does not fit all, which probably depicts the greatest blunder, but also harrowing is the insane idea that teaching to a test defines education and the best tools of enforcement are threats to decrease funding if certain irrational mandates are not met. It is also a matter of priority. Outside of education, look at how Congress and The White House has spent the money of taxpayers, which does not set a good example for students of economics. With poverty and its tributaries key issues that play into the lack of resources column, which deeply impacts education, Congress chose instead to provide excessive no-bid contracts and invest in war, while carrying the U.S. deeply into debt. It was a choice. Proponents of NCLB have been grappling with identifying what some have perceived as an achievement gap and redefining it, whittlling down comprehensive education in the process. Students are being terrorized and dumbed down to fit into a society that is being dumbed down economically. The premise behind NCLB was that public education was broken, requiring the federal government to whip it into place. The ultimate goal, of course, is to make it necessary to privatize public education. NCLB has failed our students and our nation. Its renewal would be a vote against our states, our school districts, and, most important, our future generations of Americans.
Reauthorized In 2007
Enron Founder Dies At 64
HOUSTON
Impeachment Teach-In Day Set For July 19
FORT WORTH
Visitor Safety, Resources, Services Now ‘Seriously Compromised’ As Result Of Cuts — Summer 2006 U.S. National Park Report
Summer 2006 U.S. National Park Report 37-Park Review by Coalition of National Park Service Retirees (CNPSR) Finds Nearly All Parks Suffer From Reduced Law Enforcement, Emergency Response Personnel; No Longer Able to ‘Hide’ Service and Maintenance Woes From Public WASHINGTON, D.C. Visiting a national park this summer? If so, you should expect reduced law enforcement protection, longer emergency response times, fewer lifeguards, scaled back water and trail safety patrols, dirtier campgrounds and other visibly deteriorating facilities and resources, according to a major new report based on a 37-park review by the Coalition of National Park Service Retirees (CNPSR), an organization of more than 515 former NPS employees with an accumulated 15,000 years of national park experience. Entitled “Reality Check: What Visitors to America’s National Parks Will Experience During Summer 2006,” the CNPSR report concludes: “Despite ‘happy talk’ assurances from political appointees at the Department of the Interior and National Park Service, all is not well this summer in America’s national parks. A Coalition of National Park Service Retirees analysis of the status of 37 national parks finds widespread evidence of major problems that will be evident this summer – including decreased safety for visitors, longer emergency response times, endangerment of protected resources, and dirtier and less well-maintained parks – and that the problems will only grow worse in the coming years.” Bill Wade, the former superintendent of Shenandoah National Park and chair of the Coalition’s Executive Council, said: “The budget crisis in our parks is real and it will be felt keenly by park visitors this summer. Nearly all surveyed parks will have fewer law enforcement rangers on the job this summer to protect park visitors and park resources. Our intention here is not to be alarmist, but to ensure that American citizens and lawmakers know the facts: Forget about cutting the flesh or any ‘fat.’ We are now cutting deeply into the sinews and bones of our national parks. Congressional budget increases of recent years have been welcome, but these modest hikes have only succeeded in bringing some parks out of the depths of the financial abyss and back to its brink. The sad fact is that these budget add-ons are the proverbial drop in the bucket of at least $600 million in operations funding deficits and an enormous maintenance backlog of up to $7 billion.” Bill Supernaugh, the former Superintendent of Badlands National Park and a member of the CNPSR Executive Council, said: “It is important to understand that there is more to the problems this summer in national parks than a higher level of risk posed to visitors and resources. Effectively, there is no meaningful preventative maintenance program today in the NPS because very few parks now have the resources to carry out such a program. Unfortunately, today’s preventative maintenance deferral turns into tomorrow’s increase in the already multi-billion-dollar NPS maintenance backlog. Reduced seasonal employee hiring contributes directly to increased maintenance backlogs, increased resource crimes, and the increased prevalence of the already shameful number of shabby and ill-kept national park sites and facilities.” OTHER KEY FINDINGS
