Friday, April 29, 2011

How the Republicans have been received 'back home' after their vote for Paul Ryan's VOUCHERCARE

MOA is trying to keep you informed about what's happening out there with VOUCHERCARE. That's why I am posting as many videos as I can about it. We have to spread the word. YOU have to spread the word to everyone you know about VOUCHERCARE.
..........................


How is it going back home for the GOP in their Townhalls since their vote for Paul Ryan's VOUCHERCARE?

Well, here are some videos.

Beginning with Paul Ryan himself.

From Politico:

Record crowds of supporters and opponents flooded town hall meetings throughout southeastern Wisconsin on Tuesday to hear Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) defend his plan to trim government spending — including controversial changes to the Medicare program.

In the district’s Democratic stronghold of Kenosha, at least 200 people were left outside once the 300-seat auditorium filled to capacity. The people in the crowd largely opposed the Ryan plan, holding signs such as “RyanCare = Dying Bare,” “Leave Medicare Alone” or simply, “Save Medicare!”


Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy





Ed Schultz also has a segment about the townhalls, and how the GOP believes it just has a ' messaging' problem.

It's not a 'COUPON' or a 'VOUCHER'...oh no, according to the GOP, it's ' VOUCHER SUPPORT', and it's going to help our Seniors.

BULL----

It's VOUCHERCARE, people.


To quote the GOP -----how they will ' fail' if the campaign discussion is about MEDICARE....but, if they can ' muddy the waters' with lies, then they can compete.

Look at the folks in these townhalls.....the GOP nightmare.

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy






Here's Congressman Dan Webster's Townhall in Florida:




Ed Schultz says - A Choice of Two Futures

Schultz does a great breakdown of what VOUCHERCARE is all about.

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy





Another one from Rachel Maddow. She expresses surprise that the story of the townhalls is getting press in the MSM.

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Thursday, April 28, 2011

If the GOP Hates Federal Money So Much, Why Are They At the Public Trough

When I first read the headline, I thought I had to be misreading it, because the numbers were so big.

From TPM.com:

'Prince Of Pork' Funneled $236M To His Nonprofit Groups

The new chairman of the House Appropriations Committee, Rep. Hal Rogers (R-KY), has funneled more than $236 million in federal funds to nonprofit groups he created since 2000, according to a new report by an ethics watchdog group.

Another $227 million in federal loans, grants and contracts went to a group of private firms linked to Rogers and the nonprofit companies, the report by Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) found.

"During the past few months, there have been many glowing stories about Rep. Rogers, and how he has supposedly sworn off his porkish ways," CREW Executive Director Melanie Sloan said in a statement.

"CREW's research shows, however, this is not an accurate portrayal of the true Hal Rogers," Sloan said. "In reality, Rep. Rogers has built a fiefdom, where millions in federal funding can continue to be funneled to home state projects each year."




A spokeswoman for Rogers did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Politico received an early copy of the report.

The report finds that Rogers' family members, donors, business associates and former and current aides benefited personally from their relationship with the congressman. One example: his son John worked for a Kentucky company that received a $4 million contract from the Department of Homeland Security in 2004.

CREW's report also included a chart of Rogers' various relationships with the various companies and nonprofits mentioned in the report:






The numbers shocked me, I think because they were coupled with the words " NONPROFIT GROUPS".

This is only 2010. This was since 2000. That's 10 years. Average it out, it's 23.6 MILLION /YEAR.

I know a lot of non-profits that I could help with 23.6 MILLION/YEAR.

But, he's one of these GOP Hypocrites talking about Government Spending....all the while funneling money by the truckload to his cronies back home.

Look at his vote. Oh, I bet he's a devotee of all the right-wing bull on the ' evil' of government spending. He's taken 236 million of Government Monies, but voted to END MEDICARE AND MEDICAID.

The GOP is chock full of nothing but frauds and hypocrites.

Under ' THEY ARE WHO WE THOUGHT THEY WERE' News: Foster children would be allowed to get clothing only from second hand stores

hat tip-djchefron
from TPM.com:


Foster children would be allowed to get clothing only from second hand stores
By Todd A. Heywood | 04.22.11 | 11:40 am

Under a new budget proposal from State Sen. Bruce Casswell, children in the state’s foster care system would be allowed to purchase clothing only in used clothing stores.

Casswell, a Republican representing Branch, Hillsdale, Lenawee and St. Joseph counties, made the proposal this week, reports Michigan Public Radio.

His explanation?

“I never had anything new,” Caswell says. “I got all the hand-me-downs. And my dad, he did a lot of shopping at the Salvation Army, and his comment was — and quite frankly it’s true — once you’re out of the store and you walk down the street, nobody knows where you bought your clothes.”


Under his plan, foster children would receive gift cards that could only be used at places like the Salvation Army, Goodwill and other second hand clothing stores.

The plan was knocked by the Michigan League for Human Services. Gilda Jacobs, executive director of the group, had this to say:

“Honestly, I was flabbergasted,” Jacobs says. “I really couldn’t believe this. Because I think, gosh, is this where we’ve gone in this state? I think that there’s the whole issue of dignity. You’re saying to somebody, you don’t deserve to go in and buy a new pair of gym shoes. You know, for a lot of foster kids, they already have so much stacked against them.”


Casswell says the plan will save the state money, though it isn’t clear how much the state spends on clothing for foster children or how much could be saved this way.

Contact info for the guy is here.

Phone: 517 373 5932
Fax: 517 373 5944
e-mail SenBCaswell@senate.michigan.gov




You know, everytime you think that these folks can't go any low...they always find a way to get lower. This is about humiliating these children. These folks are just evil. Period. Soulless, evil folks.

More about the GOP's Attempt for 2012 Voter Suppression

You have to be alert. You have to understand the repeated attempts - concerted attempts of the GOP to VOTER SUPPRESS for 2012.

Rachel Maddow is the town crier on this issue, because she's literally the only person on TV who continues to point this out.

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy




Incoming DNC Chair Debbie Wasserman-Schultz talks with Rachel about the DNC and what they will do to fight back against the GOP for 2012.

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Tornados In Alabama





LINK 1
LINK 2

Wednesday, April 27, 2011

Lawrence O'Donnell Rips on Trump, NBC and the Birthers

As someone pointed out, they don't know how long Lawrence O'Donnell will remain employed by NBC after what he did on last night's show about Trump, NBC, and the Birthers.


Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy





Here's the video of O'Donnell grilling Orly Taitz tonight and ultimately kicking her off his show - now this is my idea of Classic Television!



David Remnick discusses the racism behind the whole Birther issue.

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy




Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

With President Obama’s Birth Certificate, Klansman Trump Reminds Blacks They Will Never Be American

from Baratunde Thurston, over at Jack and Jill Politics:


The President to Release His Long Form Birth Certificate

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy






While I think it’s ridiculous, because if someone put a gun to my head, I couldn’t produce my long-form birth certificate. Have no idea what it look like, have no idea where to get it, because the hospital I was born at has since closed. The only birth certificate I have is one that has similar information to what the President has already released.

It’s an absolute crock of shyt, and it’s only because this President is BLACK.

BUT….politically, I think it’s brilliant of the President.

Because, guess what, folks?

The President knows what I know….

IT WON’T MAKE A DIFFERENCE.

There will be a poll taken next week, asking now, if the Republican Birthers are satisfied…

the answer to that poll will be NO.

A RESOUNDING NO.

Because it’s not about the Birth Certificate…it’s about him being a Black Man.

PERIOD.

And, once that poll is released that reveals that POTUS even releasing the Birth Certificate doesn’t make a DAMN BIT OF DIFFERENCE WITH THESE PEOPLE…

The albatross that is the Birthers will be hung around the GOP going into 2012 like an anvil.

PS-all I know is that I better be able to look up EVERY LAST GOP PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE’S LONG FORM BIRTH CERTIFICATE.

Tuesday, April 26, 2011

IMPLEMENTASI BOS TA 2011 DI KAB. BANDUNG BARAT


Januari sampai Maret 2011 ini kami melakukan penelitian terkait pelaksanaan Bantuan Operasional Siswa (BOS) triwulan I di Kabupaten Bandung Barat (KBB). Daerah penelitian terdiri dari 3 kecamatan dengan Responden terdiri dari orang tua siswa, kepala sekolah, komite sekolah, dinas pendidikan, dan dewan pendidikan.

Penelitian awal ini bertujuan untuk menemukan fakta-fakta di lapangan tentang implementasi BOS. Tujuan akhir dari penelitian ini adalah untuk membuat model dalam mengembangkan integritas dan akuntabilitas pemerintah daerah di sektor pendidikan. Berikut hasil temuan lapangan yang sudah kami sampaikan juga dalam pers konference dengan media di KBB pada 20 April kemarin :

1. Alokasi Dana BOS

Semua responden orang tua siswa tidak mengetahui besarnya dana BOS yang diterima di sekolahnya dan biaya satuan BOS per siswa per tahun. Tidak adanya pengumuman besaran dana BOS di mading sekolah sehingga menyebabkan orang tua kesulitan dalam mengetahui informasi tersebut. Semua responden berpendapat pentingnya mengumumkan dana BOS dengan alasan supaya mereka mengetahui penggunaan dana oleh sekolah.

Dari semua responden yang diwawancarai, 75% sekolah memasang spanduk “Sekolah Gratis”. Terkait pungutan sekolah, 75% sekolah memungut biaya kepada siswa untuk pembelian Lembar Kerja Siswa (LKS) yang rata-rata sebesar Rp 120.000,00 (12 buah). 25% responden keberatan terhadap pungutan sekolah berupa pembelian LKS ini dengan alasan mereka harus membayarnya setiap sekali dalam semester.


2. Pendataan Siswa penerima dan Perencanaan Penggunaan BOS

Jumlah siswa yang diajukan sekolah untuk menerima BOS diketahui oleh komite sekolah. Komite sekolah memiliki jadwal rutin berkunjung ke sekolah. Hanya saja, 50% responden komite sekolah menjawab tidak mengetahui atau tidak ikut turut menghitung jumlah siswa yang akan diajukan oleh pihak sekolah. Sehingga yang diketahui oleh mereka hanya jumlah kasarnya saja.

Komite sekolah terlibat dalam perencanaan penggunaan dana BOS. Masih ditemukan komponen yang tidak boleh dibiayai oleh dana BOS namun tetap masuk dalam perencanaan seperti pembangunan ruang kelas baru dan WC.

Keterlibatan komite sekolah dalam perencanaan penggunaan dana BOS masih sebatas formalitas. Hal ini dibuktikan semua responden orang tua menjawab tidak tahu tentang siapa perwakilan dari mereka yang terlibat dalam perencanaan penggunaan dana BOS.

Sosialisasi dokumen RAPBS pun tidak disampaikan secara detail dalam pertemuan orang tua, hanya secara umum seperti rencana pembangunan fasilitas sekolah saja. Orang tua pun tidak pernah sama sekali dimintakan pendapatnya mengenai belanja sekolah yang akan masuk RAPBS. Semua responden menganggap penting bahwa dokumen RAPBS perlu diumumkan kepada orang tua agar mereka mengetahui penggunaan uang di sekolah dan tidak penasaran tentang kemana alokasi uang.


3. Pencairan Dana dan Penggunaan Dana BOS
Pencairan dana BOS dilakukan oleh kepala sekolah dan bendahara. Tidak ditemukan adanya biaya tambahan sebagai persyaratan khusus administrasi dalam proses pencairan. Besaran dana BOS diumumkan oleh pihak sekolah melalui papan pengumuman atau mading.

Pencairan dana BOS yang dilakukan Sekda/Dinas Pendidikan jauh lebih baik karena mempermudah koordinasi. Sekolah melakukan jemput bola dengan mendatangi dinas terkait apabila menemukan kesulitan dalam proses pencairan. Upaya untuk mencegah terjadinya korupsi dan kebocoran dalam aliran dana BOS dilakukan oleh Dewan Pendidikan dengan melakukan monitoring dan evaluasi serta sosialisasi kepada anggota komite sekolah.

Ketentuan mengenai komponen yang boleh dan tidak boleh didanai oleh BOS tidak bisa dilaksanakan secara konsisten oleh sekolah. Dari ke 14 komponen yang ada, komponen yang paling sulit untuk dihindari adalah pengadaan sanitasi seperti WC dan ruang kelas baru.

Adanya persetujuan antara pihak sekolah dan komite sekolah apabila sekolah menggunakan dana BOS diluar ketentuan yang ditetapkan.

Semua responden orang tua tidak mengetahui laporan penggunaan dana BOS baik lewat rapat orang tua, komite sekolah atau mading. Sekolah tidak mempunyai mekanisme pengaduan terkait pertanyaan seputar BOS.


4. Monitoring dan Mekanisme Komplain
Monitoring dilakukan oleh komite sekolah, Tim Manajemen BOS Dinas Pendidikan Kabupaten, Bawasda, BPK, dan Inspektorat. Masih ditemukan sekolah yang memberikan uang transport kepada Tim Manajemen BOS dari Dinas Pendidikan. Tidak ditemukannya kasus auditor eksternal meminta sekolah untuk mengembalikan uang BOS karena kesalahan penggunaan, dan pemberian sanksi apabila auditor menemukan adanya penyimpangan penggunaan dana BOS oleh sekolah.

Semua responden orang tua menjawab tidak tahu tentang adanya kelompok orang tua siswa yang mengawasi pengelolaan dana BOS. Sekolah tidak memberikan informasi tentang mekanisme pengaduan tentang BOS sehingga orang tua tidak mengetahui kepada siapa harus bertanya. Hal ini dikarenakan sekolah tidak mempunyai saluran khusus maupun mekanisme komplain. Pengaduan yang ada masih minim, umumnya masyarakat jarang melakukan pengaduan.

Di tingkat daerah, Dewan Pendidikan KBB memiliki manager complain yang menangani secara khusus tentang komplain yang dilakukan oleh masyarakat.


5. Skema Program BOS

Kelebihan dari skema BOS sekarang adalah upaya mencegah kebocoran bisa diminimalisir dan kelemahannya berupa proses administrasi yang cukup rumit.

Mekanisme dana BOS yang baru memberatkan pihak sekolah. Pada triwulan pertama, dana telat datang ke sekolah yaitu seharusnya diterima bulan Januari menjadi sangat terlambat diterima pada bulan Maret. Ketelatan dana BOS berdampak pada sekolah-sekolah yang menggantungkan biaya operasionalnya hanya dari BOS. Mereka sangat keberatan membayar gaji guru. Selain itu, pengambilan dana BOS yang cukup jauh juga sangat riskan. Tidak jarang pihak sekolah datang beramai-ramai ke Bank untuk mengambil dana BOS agar terhindar dari perampokan. Hal ini membawa implikasi biaya yang tinggi pula.

Komite sekolah menyarankan agar skema BOS ini dikembalikan ke skema lama. Perubahan iklan gratis pendidikan pun sebenarnya sedikit membawa dampak pada masyarakat. Masyarakat pada umumnya sudah menerima iklan lama yang mendengungkan bahwa pendidikan itu gratis. Pemerintah sudah dinilai serius dalam pendidikan gratis ini namun demikian masih banyak aspek yang harus dibenahi. Salah satunya adalah pihak sekolah masih belum bisa memanfaatkan dana bantuan dari pemerintah secara efektif. Hal ini sangat berpengaruh karena ternyata dari sisi tenaga pengajar masih kurang. Belum ada upaya kebijakan yang serius untuk peningkatan mutu tenaga pengajar khususnya untuk pendidikan dasar.

Besaran dana BOS tidak mencukupi untuk membiayai pendidikan gratis. Mayoritas masyarakat yang tinggal di pedesaan Kabupaten Bandung Barat (KBB) adalah masyarakat miskin. Alokasi dana yang ada harus ditingkatkan untuk membiayai kebutuhan lain seperti pakaian seragam.

Semua responden orang tua tidak mengetahui perkembangan terkait skema program BOS yang baru. Harapan mereka, pihak sekolah bisa memberikan informasi secara terbuka kepada orang tua baik lewat rapat pertemuan maupun mading sekolah.**

Poll: Trump & Palin Can't Win

It is obviously a little early for this, but a recent poll confirms what I have been saying for sometime:  Donald Trump & Sarah Palin can't win:
More than 6 in 10 registered voters nationwide say they would definitely not vote for Donald Trump or Sarah Palin for president in 2012, significantly more than say the same about possible Republican candidates Mitt Romney or Mike Huckabee, or about President Barack Obama.
H/T - OTB

Will The GOP Nominate Someone Who Can Win?

This is my recent column on the subject:

“I believe that abortion should be safe and legal in this country.”

“I want universal coverage. I want everyone … in this country to have insurance … and also make sure people can’t be denied on the basis of pre-existing illness.”

“I was an independent during the time of Reagan/Bush. I’m not trying to return to Reagan/Bush.”

Who are these quotes from you might ask? President Obama? Some San Francisco liberal? No, they happen to be previous quotes from the current leader for the GOP nomination for president, Mitt Romney.

Of course, he has explanations for all of these previous policy positions now, but will that be enough to gain an exemption from an increasingly critical Republican base? My money is in the negative, but the more interesting question to me is if the GOP primary electorate is willing to shoot itself in the foot for an ideologically “pure” candidate or if it is willing to be pragmatic about the 2012 selection process and nominate a candidate who can win?

According to several recent polls, Mitt Romney is basically neck-and-neck with President Obama and, more importantly, is leading him in several “swing” states like Florida. Also on the former Massachusetts governor’s side is that every GOP nominee post-1964 has been someone who has already run for president before and didn’t win or in other words someone who “waited his turn” (ala Bob Dole, Ronald Reagan, etc…).

Despite the history and the polls, one cannot ignore the effect the “Tea Party” is having on the GOP primary process as it stands now. There is ample evidence of this from last year’s midterm election as well as their active support of certain less mainstream candidates this time.

In 2010 the Tea Party rallied behind Sharron Angle in Nevada and Christine O’Donnell in Delaware, among others, and nominated candidates that created controversy where none need be. There were victories as well, but in these two races in particular, a noncontroversial nominee would have definitely served the party’s interest better in the long-term.

Even victories in state’s such as Florida help to illustrate the trend toward more ideologically inclined candidates. In this year’s (impending) primary process, I would point to long-time Tea Party darling Sarah Palin, the recent rise of Donald Trump, and the fact that Michelle Bachman out-raised Mitt Romney in the first quarter of this year as examples of a changing GOP electorate.

GOP candidates stand to upset the proverbial apple cart even if someone as electable as Mitt Romney can get the nomination. If Gov. Romney does manage to win amongst Tea party favorites, will candidates such as Trump or Bachman push the conversation so far outside of what independent voters see as the mainstream as to be a fatal blow to Gov. Romney’s general election ambitions?

This is the real danger for the Republican Party in 2012. Despite bowing to the Tea Party in public in may ways, many GOP insiders will be happy to tell you that the likes of Donald Trump scare the hell out of them. Granted, these people rarely have the same ideological goals as the people whose votes they need the most, but it is a very real fear.  Make no mistake about it, whoever wins the Presidency in 2012 will need a candidate acceptable to the roughly 18 percent of the electorate known as independents who decide national elections.

And what about the Democrats? They can read the same polling data I can, but don’t seem to be as concerned as they should be about the GOP in 2012. There could be many reasons for this, bravado being the most malefic, but more than likely, they are hopeful of the type of GOP Primary described here.  That is a nominating process bereft of real policy proposals and bogged down in rhetoric about birth certificates, doing away with Medicare, and the like. The White House could also be optimistic about their chances because of the anticipated fundraising prowess, especially with the mystic of the Presidency to bolster those efforts, and their goal of spending $1 billion from now until election day.

I would say the most auspicious thing the Democratic Party can hope for is that the GOP’s worst enemy is not the opposition party, but themselves. In essence, that the GOP presidential primary is their “Trump” card to reelection.

Monday, April 25, 2011

Who Is To Blame For The "Increase In Federal Spending?"

Facts are indeed such stubborn things.  Paul Krugman seeks to quickly ask the question of why federal spending has apparently increased so much in recent years in a blog-post today that I found most interesting.  Basically what massive new federal program signed onto by the Obama Administration is spending all this money?  Uh, Professor Krugman:
A large part of it is a slowdown in GDP rather than an accelerated rise in government spending.

Nominal GDP rose at an annual rate of 5.1 percent from 2000 to 2007; it only rose at a 1.7 percent rate from 2007 to 2010. How much would the ratio of spending to GDP have gone up if spending had stayed the same, but there had not been a slowdown? Here’s the answer:
DESCRIPTION

So about half of the rise in the ratio is due to a fall in the denominator rather than a rise in the numerator.

That still leaves a significant rise in spending. What’s that about? Here’s one way to look at the federal budget; I compare growth rates in spending from 2000 to 2007 and from 2007 to 2010:

DESCRIPTIONCBO
“Income security” is unemployment insurance, food stamps, SSI, refundable tax credits — in short, the social safety net. Medicaid is a means-tested program that also serves as part of the safety net. Yes, spending in these areas has surged — because the economy is depressed, and lots of people are unemployed.

What we’re seeing isn’t some drastic expansion of Big Government; we’re seeing the government we already had, responding to a terrible economic slump.

What To Read Regarding China's Economy

For those of you who don't read Foreign Affairs they often do suggested reading lists on certain topics and this months topic is the Chinese economy which I found good and especially relevant:
The Chinese Economy: Transitions and Growth. By Barry Naughton. MIT Press, 2007.

Economic Development and Transition: Thought, Strategy, and Viability. By Justin Yifu Lin. Cambridge University Press, 2009.

"The Great Leap Backward?" By Elizabeth C. Economy. Foreign Affairs (September/October 2007): pp 38-59.

China's Great Economic Transformation. Edited by Loren Brandt and Thomas G. Rawski. Cambridge University Press, 2008.

Studies in the Economic History of Late Imperial China: Handicraft, Modern Industry, and the State. By Albert Feuerwerker. University of Michigan Press, 1996. 

Capitalism With Chinese Characteristics: Entrepreneurship and the State. By Yasheng Huang. Cambridge University Press, 2008. 

"Formal and Informal Lobbying Practices in China: The Capital's Ambivalent Embrace of Capitalists." By Scott Kennedy. China Information (July 2009). 
Chinese Negotiating Style: Commercial Approaches and Cultural Principles. By Lucian W. Pye. Quorum Books, 1992.     

This follows an article about how to tax Chinese owned American assets until they readjust their currency which I also recommend reading.  Here is the jist:
How would the mechanics of this tax actually work? As the administrative and legal processes leading to a tax are unfolding, the Chinese authorities would have time to preemptively change their currency practices -- a win-win outcome. The first step to instituting the tax would be for the United States to give notice, consistent with the treaty itself and prior to July 2011, that the U.S.-China tax treaty will be canceled as of January 2012. The second step would be for the U.S. Congress to amend several sections of the U.S. Internal Revenue Code that ensure tax-free treatment of income derived from financial assets held by the Chinese government and other official Chinese entities. This amendment would allow the United States to impose a withholding tax at rates determined by the Treasury Department, so long as China's currency manipulation continued.

More Ramifications from the Michigan Financial Martial Law Bill:Look at what's happening in the Detroit School System

A question here ----where is the opposition from the CBC Members from Michigan? Why aren't they on tv talking about this?

................................

Rachel Maddow has done a yoeman's job in trying to be the town crier on the violence against communities that is resulting from the Financial Martial Law Passed in Michigan.

Here is a piece on a school in Detroit, a school that sends its graduates - teenaged mothers - onto college.

Rachel said this towards the end of the story : "What is new here is that this state has decided that local elections, locally elected officials are a problem that has to be done away with, that democracy is in the way of fixing problems in the United States now, of making things more efficient, particularly in poor places. Not that democracy is the way we fix problems but that democracy is the problem and it therefore needs to be sidestepped for efficiency sake, for our own good. Governor knows best.

"The point here, what makes Benton Harbor a national story and Katherine Ferguson Academy a national story is that the whole idea of choice for them anymore is purely hypothetical. The state has chosen for them. And that they've got is, frankly, that aforementioned dictator. Their hope -- their one hope -- is the dictator is benevolent.

"Is that how we think problems should get solved in America now?"


Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy




Here's more background on this story:



from Daily Kos:

EFM Takeover Of Detroit Schools: Teen Mothers Arrested, Children taken Into Temporary Custody

Approximately a dozen teachers, teen mothers and their children were arrested and taken away by Detroit police while staging a peaceful sit-in protest at the Catherine Ferguson Academy in Detroit on Friday April 15th. Eight students, along with their children and some faculty members of the Catherine Ferguson Academy of Detroit, MI began the sit-in at the end of the school day in protest to Emergency Financial Manager Robert Bobb’s announcement to close the school for pregnant and parenting teens. The decision to occupy was made after many other attempts by students, staff and supporters to have their voices heard by EFM Robert Bobb through letter writing and petition campaigns, to no avail.

The protestors were told by police that they were trespassing and the building needed to be closed. The peaceful occupiers refused to leave and many were brought out in handcuffs. It has been reported by local news that “Some struggled, some screamed, all were put in squad cars and hauled away", while many more protestors and supporters outside watched in shock. The students themselves say they did not resist arrest. One told local reporters, "We just stood there and they just arrested us one by one ."
One supporter recorded this video of a protestor who describes being “manhandled” by police after choosing to sit down and not leave the building:







The protesters were planning to occupy the school building for an unspecified amount of time and had arranged food and water and plenty of support from outside protestors to accommodate a possible extended sit-in. The protestors released a list of demands prior to the occupation:

No School Closings
Keep All Detroit Schools Public – No More Charters or Privatization
Reinstate all programs and services that have been eliminated, including art & music as well as counselors & social workers
Student Control of Curriculum and School Character to assure that every Detroit school provides equal, quality education for all
No discipline or retaliation against any of the participants in the occupation
source


On the heels of the shocking announcement last month by Detroit Public Schools Emergency Financial Manager (EFM) Robert Bobb to close up to eight schools and sell up to 45 schools to charter companies, he slated the highly successful and unique Catherine Ferguson Academy for closure. The school, which has been featured in the film Grown In Detroit documenting the school’s urban farm and in O: The Oprah Winfrey Magazine, boasts a 90% graduation rate and 100% college and higher education acceptance upon graduation. The award winning school is specifically for pregnant and parenting teens and their children, offering a wide range of classes and child care. It is the only school of its kind in the nation.
.......................


Lastly, EFM Robert Bobb also plans to close the Detroit Day School for the Deaf.


More Information about this Robert Bobb:

Detroit EFM, Robert Bobb, Salary Paid in Part by Billionaire Conservative Foundation


So who is Robert Bobb?

It turns out, he’s a recent graduate of the Broad Foundation’s Superintendent Academy. The Broad Foundation, along with the Kellogg Foundation, pays Bobb $145,000 a year on top of his $280,000 government salary. For those of you not familiar with Broad, it is one of the leading foundations promoting school choice and privatization across the country. One might almost think that paying a public official hundreds of thousands of dollars a year might amount to nothing short of bribery, especially given the very specific agenda of a foundation like the Broad Foundation.

Now, Bobb is proposing to create charter schools for 16,000 students from 41 schools slated for closure. He argues that this will save millions of dollars. I have to wonder, however, at the conflict of interest.

And the money quote:

This is nothing short of a coordinated effort between the billionaire foundations pushing school reform and Tea Party conservatives intent on slashing benefits and ending collective bargaining rights. Public schools are under assault by the forces of privatization, and public school teachers face benefit and salary cuts while the very rich are promised tax cuts.

The 2011 White House Easter Egg Roll

Today was the annual White House Easter Egg Roll.


















U.S. President Barack Obama walks behind the Easter Bunny at the annual Easter Egg Roll at the White House in Washington April 25, 2011.
---REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque


President Barack Obama, with First Lady Michelle Obama and daughters Malia, center, and Sasha, right, their grandmother Marian Robinson at rear, and the Easter Bunny, wave as they arrive for the start of the annual White House Easter Egg Roll festivities, at the White House in Washington, Monday, April 25, 2011.
---AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite





President Barack Obama cheers on children rolling Easter eggs at the White House Easter Egg Roll on the South Lawn of the White House in Washington, Monday, April 25, 2011.
---AP Photo/Charles Dharapak















Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy












President Barack Obama hits a tennis ball from between his legs during a tennis workshop with children and Chris Evert, right, Monday, April 25, 2011, at the White House Easter Egg Roll on the South Lawn of the White House in Washington. ----AP Photo/Charles Dharapak


WASHINGTON, DC - APRIL 25: (AFP OUT) U.S. President Barack Obama shoots a basketball while participating in a "Let's Move" clinic with members of the NBA, WNBA and the Harlem Globetrotters during the White House Easter Egg Roll on the South Lawn of the White House April 25, 2011 in Washington, DC. About 30,000 people are expected to attend the 133-year-old tradition of rolling colored eggs down the White House lawn.
----Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images



WASHINGTON, DC - APRIL 25: (AFP OUT) U.S. President Barack Obama (R) shakes hans with retired NBA player Darryl Dawkins while participating in a "Let's Move" basketball clinic with members of the NBA, WNBA and the Harlem Globetrotters during the White House Easter Egg Roll on the South Lawn of the White House April 25, 2011 in Washington, DC. About 30,000 people are expected to attend the 133-year-old tradition of rolling colored eggs down the White House lawn.
----Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images









Family pet Bo (C) walks up to U.S. President Barack Obama as he and First Lady Michelle Obama read a book titled "Chicka Chicka Boom Boom" to children during the annual Easter Egg Roll at the White House in Washington April 25, 2011.
---REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque



U.S. President Barack Obama reacts to their dog Bo (bottom) as First Lady Michelle Obama (R) reads a book titled "Chicka Chicka Boom Boom" to children during the annual Easter Egg Roll, at the White House in Washington April 25, 2011.
----REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque