Comments on: Daily Headlines, Saturday, 1/10/2009

By: Concerned Fiscal Conservative

Concerned Fiscal Conservative — Sun, 11 Jan 2009 14:21:38 +0000

# 9 this is the type of analysis the Gov and others hope for. We are all very busy so in most cases they know to throw a few basic statistics and we all seem to buy in and move on to the next thing in our day. I’m telling you anyone who spends any amount of time will clearly see all this education progress stuff is 80% smoke and mirrors. We really need to be taking a closer look at some of this programs; especially the distance learning program. Even though I am not a big proponent of all which is said about the reading initiative I would be the first to say we would be better off at worst if the state took all the money out of the distance learning program and put it into the reading initiative. You might want to call the department of education and request to view some of the courses on the distance learning menu. Problem with this is they will point you to a couple of the better ones and not the MANY which are pure junk obtained from something called FLORIDA VIRTUAL. In these times we can’t afford to pay north of $20 million a year for a program like this. I would also add the Governor’s office decides almost exclusively which schools get to participate in the distance learning program. The leaders of distance learning can’t go to the bathroom without getting the ok from Governor Riley. The Gov can say all day he has removed the politics from Alabama education. NOTHING COULD BE FURTHER FROM THE TRUTH.

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Sat, 10 Jan 2009 23:06:29 +0000

All I know is that we’ve gone from 48th in education to the mid thirties in recent years so we must be doing something right. Or at least better than we used to.

By: Pecan Jim

Pecan Jim — Sat, 10 Jan 2009 18:18:43 +0000

Anonymous #4: Nope, I mean the coastal resort areas won’t have as many customers. You, like most modern corporate Republicans have forgotten the lesson Henry Ford learned. That is for American businesses to succeed, American workers have to be paid enough to buy what the businesses produce.

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Sat, 10 Jan 2009 17:09:12 +0000

#4, you mean these retired auto workers won’t be able to live at a coastal resort 4 months out of the year? Cry me a river.

By: Don

Don — Sat, 10 Jan 2009 16:53:46 +0000

LA in comment 5, it would help if you said who you mean.

By: LA

LA — Sat, 10 Jan 2009 16:47:57 +0000

# 3. Very, very interesting. Because of some work I’m doing concerning education in Alabama, would love to visit with you directly about this matter. But don’t know how to reach you. Thanks.

By: Pecan Jim

Pecan Jim — Sat, 10 Jan 2009 14:13:20 +0000

The Mobile Press article on the decline in coastal resort visitors notes that many of these snowbirds are retired auto workers. Once Richard Shelby gets through gutting the wages of the current auto workers, they won’t be able to afford to be snowbirds once they retire.

By: Concerned Fiscal Conservative

Concerned Fiscal Conservative — Sat, 10 Jan 2009 14:04:52 +0000

I am all for improved education. I will be the first to acknowledge Alabama had made improvements over the last 10 years or so. What is a fallacy however is this propaganda if we lose $500 million or so in this upcoming education budget the Alabama Reading Initiative, the Math and Science Initiative, and the Distance Learning program will all but go away. Anyone who looks into the real statistics of these programs will learn very quickly there is a lot more fluff than pencil meeting the paper. The distance learning program is an absolute joke. What has happened is Gov. Riley along with culprits at DOE have very successfully created an image around these programs which is much more than is actually there. Riley would have you believe he is the sole person responsible for creating the reading initiative and the distance learning program and so forth. Don’t get me wrong these are “GOOD” programs but don’t mislead into thinking these programs are something different than essentially every other state. They are not. These are reading and math programs. Last time I checked schools were in the business of teaching reading and math. Point being, a $500 million shortfall in the education budget in not completely a bad thing. The initiatives I mentioned have a ton of bureaucracy within them. It is time these initiatives be trimmed of the typical bureaucratic fat which comes with any government program over time. Also, this is a great time to really examine just what the hell the distance learning program is. At the end of the day if the people and the legislature take a hard look at the distance learning program they will find $20 or $30 million immediately which could be available to subsidize their beloved reading and math initiatives. We must all remember the majority of people praising the reading and math programs are the teachers, administrators, and state department officials all who are biased to them from day one. Yes, the fed education department has recognized Alabama for 4th grade reading gains. This means we one had a long way to go in fourth grade. Last time I looked K-12 education includes a lot more areas to be proficient in. The people of Alabama really need to take a close look at these so-called miracle programs in education. They are growing at a rate unlike anything else in either of Alabama’s two budgets.

By: Don

Don — Sat, 10 Jan 2009 13:22:46 +0000

I’d like to add this one in the Tuscaloosa News: Lawsuit challenges Alabama ballot access law @ http://www.tuscaloosanews.com/article/20090109/APN/901092914

By: waltm

waltm — Sat, 10 Jan 2009 12:25:37 +0000

A few things that slipped the feeds this AM Gadsden Times - Lawsuit challenges Alabama ballot access law Times Daily - Aderholt earns leadership post Tuscaloosa News - Pickens County Sheriff admitted to Texas hospital. This has been a bad week to support your local sheriff