Barrack Obama and Nancy Pelosi Want a Big Three Bailout

Barrack Obama and the democratically controlled congress are posturing. They have, and have always had, every intention of passing out your money to the Big Three automaker’s CEOs in just the latest bailout. Think about this. Democrats are in control of Congress, soon to strengthen that control and add the White House. Liberal philosophy is based on big government spending. If you think that the Big Three automakers are not going to get their bailout, then you’re fooling yourself. If the message from Washington was “No!” then the CEO’s would not have come back. But that’s not what is happening. They are coming back again and again. The American public is not going to change their mind and suddenly feel the urge to bail them out, but congress doesn’t need any mind changing because they want this to happen. Democrats are playing games with the public, pretending to be guardians of taxpayer money against frivolous government spending. The reality is that they are foaming at the mouth to do it. If Nancy Pelosi was really concerned about CEOs traveling in private jets, then why don’t you get rid of your first, Madam Speaker? I am telling you now; the Automakers will get their bailout.

Mad at Obama for not getting involved? The Office of the President Elect is not concerned with showing deference to the man still holding the reigns to make this decision, as he is implying. He knows that once congress passes this bailout, Bush must either support or reject it. Either way, Obama wins. If Bush rejects a bailout for automakers, he will be drawn and quartered in the main stream media who will tout that Bush caused this mess and then is doing nothing to fix it. Obama then gets to come in and show his “change.” If Bush signs the bill, the billions of dollars becomes a burden on his deficit tally and not Obama’s. If it fails, and it will, Bush gets blamed because he agreed to the deal and Obama gets to keep talking about the failed policies of the last eight years. Obama gets what he wants in the bailout, and he keeps billions of dollars of strain off his next budget and credits it to Bush’s out of control spending. If it succeeds, and it won’t, Obama takes the credit since he will be sitting in the big chair.

Here me now. There will be a bailout for automakers. Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid will get on TV and talk about how they forced CEOs to sacrifice their big paychecks and make concessions. In the end, the American public will provide billions of dollars to CEOs in a plan that will only temporarily sustain them. Then, we will give them more, or they go into bankruptcy anyway. Of course democrats will argue that since they already have invested in them, letting them fail would be a waste of that money; so we should waste more.

Want a better solution? How about Louie Gohmert’s, a congressman from Texas, idea for a federal income and social security tax holiday for January and February 2009. This stimulates the people, not CEOs, by providing them with potential thousands in tax savings to spend in this faltering economy? Don’t give me that line about only the rich will benefit. Are not CEOs the hated wealthiest Americans? Yes, I know an idea from someone named Louie must be questioned, but let’s at least look at alternatives that does not involve giving tax payer money away to sustain failed business models.

The Problems With No Child Left Behind (NCLB)

For most Americans looking in from the outside at public education, there is a lot of disgust. The knee jerk reaction has been to criticize public school standards, or teachers themselves. In 2002, largely in response to this, President George W. Bush signed into law, in collaboration with Senator Ted Kennedy, the No Child Left Behind Act. The major stated goal of this program is that 100% of students across the nation will be proficient in reading and math by 2014. Each year, Annual Measurable Objectives (AMOs) are set by each state in math and reading by grade-level. A School’s Annual Yearly Progress (AYP) is met when all subgroups and all grade levels meet their AMOs. In Maryland, the AMO for reading in fifth grade was 71.8% and 69.1% in math. AMOs incrementally increases annually until every student is required to score proficient or advanced in math and reading in 2014. States are forced to disaggregate data into nine subgroups for evaluation. Each subgroup in each grade level must meet the AMOs or the entire school fails to meet AYP. For beginners, there are five major problems with NCLB.

First, the idea that 100% of a school’s population will pass reading and math standards is like mandating world peace by 2014. We all know that there are many elements that play into the success of a child. Students spend approximately 90% of their lives outside of school in their K-12 years. 10% cannot compete with the influences of 90%. That is why family and community are so important. NCLB is fundamentally flawed because of this. What happens in 2014 when not one public school in the nation meets the standard?

Next, a school’s progress is not measured as a whole student body, but broken into subgroups. Each subgroup must meet their AMOs. English Language Learners (ELL), Special Education, etc., all must meet AMO in order for the school to meet AYP. Here is the problem. Let’s say you are in a school with three ELL students in the fourth grade. If one fails to pass, then AYP is not met because that subgroup is only at 67% passing. One student throws the entire school into chaos. Now apply this logic to special education students. Here we have students who have documented disabilities. They must pass as a subgroup as well in each grade level.

Third, states are free to develop their own assessments. Yes, In Maryland, we use the Maryland State Assessment (MSA). Florida and Virginia develop their own tests. Therefore, there is absolutely no way to compare the educational programs of one state with another. This is basic data manipulation. One state claims success, but the reality is they are assessing on different levels. Their students could actually be doing worse if a valid comparison is used.

Fourth, getting back to subgroups, each state gets to decide how many members of a particular subgroup are necessary to count the results. This is called the N-Value. In Maryland, this mystical number is five. In Maryland public schools, if any subgroup has more five or more students, then that subgroup is counted. So, let’s say one school has four ESL students and all four fail to pass. Well, it doesn’t matter, the subgroup is too small to count and those students are left behind. Here’s the problem, states get to decide what their N-Value will be. Maryland has the lowest N-Value, which means they are counting just about all of their students. The next highest N-Value is 15, and Virginia’s is 70! Basically, Virginia is not counting their students who would reflect poorly on their public school system. There is again no validity and how states meet NCLB requirements.

Finally, NCLB is not fully funded. Basically, the federal government is telling all public school systems what standards they have to meet, but providing no support in achieving it. They can talk the talk, but not walk the walk.

Now, if you are thinking…thanks Mr. President, you failed again; then you need to know that NCLB is nothing more than an extension and modification of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act originally adopted in 1965. NCLB is not new; it just has a new name. And guess what? Barrack Obama is likely to reauthorize it again with a new name and a few more modifications. In fact, he might not even change the name. After all, this is the brainchild of Senator Ted Kennedy as much as George W. Bush.

That aside, I don’t believe the law should be scrapped. There are a lot of legitimate problems with NCLB, as I have just outlined. But there is also a lot of unsupported criticism floating around. Despite its problems, schools have greatly improved across the country. The sense of accountability does exist in the nation’s public school systems where it did not before. President Barrack Obama needs to gather experts in the field of education to work out the kinks. However, it’s never going to be perfect because there is no perfect solution. There will always be students, for a variety of reasons, which will not meet math and reading standards. Simply increasing the rigor of graduation requirements does not solve that problem, even though it feels good to demand. Some kids just don’t have what it takes. But I tell you what; there is nothing more valuable to Americans than a trustworthy auto mechanic, contractor, landscaper, etc. But, it is political suicide for anyone in any type of position of power to say so. So instead, we have mandated that no child will be left behind by 2014.

Coin Role Hunting – A Resource for Your Coin Rolls Collection

One of the cool things about my grandfather is that he kept a lot of junk from…a long time ago. Yes, he also keeps pancakes frozen in the freezer for indefinite periods of time, but that’s just disgusting. The cool part is the collection of coins and coin rolls ,including silver dollars. I also have a collection of pennies, nickels, and dimes that my mom and I started when I was just beginning to show my keen intellect. I imagine many families own such collections since coin collecting is such a cheap hobby. Of course, what everyone wants to know about such coin collections is…how much are they worth?

Well, welcome to Coin Roll Hunting! Coin Roll Hunting is a website dedicated to coin collecting as a cheap hobby. Although there are several ways to coin collect, Coin Roll Hunting promotes purchasing coin rolls from the bank, and then scouring them for gems.

At first glance, I found myself asking…what the heck is coin roll hunting? The website would benefit from prominently displaying this piece of information, given that most users do not stick around too long to find out that it has the answer on the homepage. Problem is, the homepage is a little busy, and important information doesn’t stand out. Their tag line of “Building Collections out of Spare Change,” would serve them well as a top banner. However, once I took some extra time to figure out what the site was all about, I have to say, there is a lot of good information if you are into, or want to start, a coin roll hobby. There is information for beginners to advanced, as well as forums, links, and collecting tips.

The site has been working on a redesign, so I expect good design improvements. Mainly, the site needs to add color. Currently, the idea of Coin Roll Hunting sounds boring and the website doesn’t do anything to dispel that thinking.

Nonetheless, information is easily navigable on the sidebar, organized by categories. But what the average user still wants to know is how much their pennies are worth? I have had a hard time easily finding that information. However, I did find some estimated values given if you sold on EBay. I think the real potential for Coin Roll Hunting enthusiasts, or soon to be enthusiasts, are the forums and links. As more and more Coin Roll Hunters discover this resource and how great of a cheap hobby coin roll hunting is, the more and more information on the hobby will be shared.

Coin Roll Hunting is more about the joy of coin collection by searching through coin rolls, not about how to get rich. If you are looking for a cheap hobby, Coin Roll Hunting is a good choice. But, I don’t think I would actually sell my coin collection. I have always enjoyed knowing I have it. Keep those coin rolls coming!

Plaxico Burress and Gun Control - Part 2

So, as promised, the media’s use of Plaxico Burress to promote gun control. Or I should say the elimination of the Second Amendment. Because I am tired and don’t feel like listing every site I found, I selected the biggest one to prove my point. It is titled, Burress should've packed his brain, not a gun, by Mike Celtic (MSNBC). A quote:

“No matter how often guns get innocent people either dead or in more trouble than anyone ever wants to be in, people can always point to an incident where they can convince themselves having a gun would save a victim’s life.”

Celtic then goes on to argue that if Sean Taylor had a gun, he would still be dead. I say, maybe, maybe not! The maybe not wins the day.

Plaxico Burress Equals Gun Control for the Left?

I want to be the first to predict that the latest debacle by an NFL player, Plaxico Burress, will be used by the Left to advocate gun control. Somehow, an idiot who shoves a gun into his pants, yes, in his pants, will be used to argue why gun control must be legislated immediately. I challenge you to pursue the blogs and mainstream media sources and read the articles that are sure to be bountiful. Read carefully, they will not come out and say it; it will be hidden under the details of the incident. Leave a comment with the proof you find. I will update tonight with what I find.

Ticket Solutions – A Resource for Hard to Find Tickets

I hate trying to find tickets to sold-out events or at the last minute. I find myself carrying out Internet searches and looking up vendors in the phone book. Then, I never know if I can trust the person or if I am getting totally ripped off. Often, I come out empty-handed, which always sucks.

I recently discovered Ticket Solutions, a UK based website for hard to get and sold-out tickets to concerts, football (the soccer type), arts, and theatre. The downside is they only sell tickets to UK events. But, in the name of helping my fellow British friends, I present this review.
My first impression of Ticket Solutions is that I can trust the company. Their site loads quickly and is appealing. It doesn’t have the feel of some scalper running a website out of his mom’s basement. Ticket Solutions offers a number of good features, beginning by presenting a quick list of major events by categories on their homepage. They also provide a quick search feature to help you find your tickets more efficiently. Another great feature is the “Last Minute Offers.” This section, displayed on the homepage, provides tickets for events at the last minute, which is good for those times I bore myself into action. A brief description of each event is also included, which really adds flavor to the site and the excitement of the event. For sporting events, a description of rivalries and each team’s history are often included.

If you are finding that hottest events in the UK are sold out, Ticket Solutions could be your saving grace. Although there is no guarantee they will have tickets for you, it’s another avenue to try. They clearly show the quantity of tickets they have available for each event and the price for each. You are going to have to pay more than face-value, but that is expected for sold-out events.

Ticket Solutions would benefit from updating their copyright to 2008, as well as eliminating events that have expired. I was able to find tickets to events several days after they had taken place. It is not a big deal, but would go a long way in building their site status. Ticket Solutions is in the process of creating their FAQ page, a frequently visited link for regular users. However, a phone number and email address is provided and easily locatable on every page, allowing me to contact them directly and check them out. Sometimes I just need a human with pricier transactions. Ticket Solutions accepts all major credit cards and is a member of the Association of Secondary Ticket Agents (ASTA), which although I don’t know anything about it, makes me feel better.

So, if you are finding tickets to the big event in the UK elusive and you don’t mind paying a bit extra, give Ticket Solutions a try and let me know about your experience. I hope they are able to eliminate the need for shady Internet searches and phone book perusing in order to have a good time out in town.

Mumbai - Terrorists Still Killing - Now What?

The majority of the American public recognizes the situation Israel is in. A small, democratic country surrounded by those that wish its destruction. Israel is at constant war, and in hindsight, is not without blemish. So how does the world eradicate terrorism? By talking them to death? The war in Iraq and Afghanistan, in my humble opinion, proves Americans and the people of the world do not have the resolve for such an endeavor. This is my main point of respect for Bush, like it or not. Despite the waxing and waning support for a war, he recognizes what must be done and has taken the hits. Will Obama do the same? As terrorists continue to hit one country at a time, will the world learn terrorism is a common enemy, not just the Great Satin's and their allies?