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Sep

27

Remains of the Day, 9-27-07

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1. Top Ten Reasons to Love Cleveland (and the post is a good reason to love Michelle’s blog, thanks for the tip, BFD).

2. In case I need more reasons to leave SPJ, I can start and end with the fact that its President thinks Michael Wolff’s Vanity Fair piece was “wonderful” and his project, Newser.com is “brilliant.” So very, very not.

3. Hate crimes legislation gets out of Senate.

4.  Myanmar, first-person reportage.  A perfect example as to why sanctions etc. are such dubious tools, even for those of us who wish they would work.  Some governments are impervious, period, to any and all tactics.

5. Wide Open posts today:

Shield law lurches forward

Ohio utility complaint line opens

Major college cost assistance arrives

6. Anybody ever been to or plan on going to Wikimania?

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By Jill Miller Zimon at 11:00 pm September 27th, 2007 in Remains of the Day | Comments Off 

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Sep

27

No gains in reading as Bush’s Reading First cronies profit

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The National Assessment of Educational Progress results for the 2007 Nation’s Report Card, while good for Ohio in general (though limited to the extent that they’re meaningful since they’re intended to help us compare the U.S. to other countries, thank you Janet Okoben of the Plain Dealer for explaining that this morning on WCPN – I didn’t really realize that), showed problems with gaining achievement in reading. From the NAEP executive summary for reading:

The average reading score for eighth-graders was up 1 point since 2005 and 3 points since 1992; however, the trend of increasing scores was not consistent over all assessment years. In comparison to both 1992 and 2005, the percentage of students performing at or above the Basic level increased, but there was no significant change in the percentage of students at or above the Proficient level.

Likewise, as Stateline reports, the very important effort to close the so-called achievement gap between white and minority students isn’t getting the gains desired.

One of No Child Left Behind’s main goals is to close the achievement gap between white and minority students. On that, results were mixed. Scores for most ethnics groups have increased since 1992. But since the last NAEP test in 2005, the gap between white and black students narrowed only slightly, while the gap between white and Hispanic students was unchanged. The gaps also remain substantial, about 26 points in reading.

So, as I heard the reviews of the reading stats, all I could think about was this post last February and this post last April about the U.S. Department of Education’s Inspector General saying, in this report, that yes, the DOE had improperly tried to get schools to choose from only certain Reading First curriculums, and those were sold by a company operated by a major Bush donor.

Sigh.

Where’s that investigation these days?

I’m not sure, but I’m looking into it and I’ll let you know what I learn.

An appalling side note, especially given the IG’s report and the not impressive NAEP reading results is that the federal government wants to replicate Reading First for math.

Run away, as fast as you can.

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By Jill Miller Zimon at 10:25 pm September 27th, 2007 in Education, Government | Comments Off 

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Sep

27

OH-14 Dem candidate, Bill O’Neill on LaTourette’s “bipartisan” behavior

Filed Under Congress, Military, Ohio | 1 Comment

Two days ago, I wrote this in a Remains of the Day post:

2. I would like to hear Democratic candidate for OH-14, Bill O’Neill’s opinion on Steve LaTourette’s move to join this bipartisan group allegedly saying enough is enough.

The effort is officially known as the Bipartisan Compact on Iraq Debate.  This press release includes the following principles to which the signators say they agree:

We agree that the U.S. Congress must end the political in-fighting over the conflict in Iraq and commit immediately to a truly bipartisan dialogue on the issues we are facing.

 

We agree that efforts to eliminate funding for U.S. forces engaged in combat and in harm’s way in Iraq would put at risk the safety and security of our service members.

 

We agree that there must be a clearly defined and measurable mission for our continued military involvement in Iraq. This mission must be further and continually defined so that the military and the country are aware of the end goal of our mission in Iraq and what progress toward that goal is being achieved.

 

We agree that the Government of Iraq must now be responsible for Iraq‘s future course. The Government must continue to make progress on the legislative benchmarks outlined in Section 1314 of the recent Supplemental Appropriations Act (PL110-28).

 

We agree that it is critical for members of the U.S. Armed Forces, including members of the reserve components, to have adequate rest and recuperation periods between deployments.

 

We agree that a safe and responsible redeployment of U.S. Armed Forces from Iraq, based on recommendations from our military and foreign policy leaders, is necessary to transition the combat mission over to the Iraqi forces.

 

We agree that the continued military mission of U.S. combat forces must lead to a timely transition to conducting counterterrorism operations, protecting the U.S. Armed Forces, supporting and equipping Iraqi forces to take full responsibility for their own security, assisting refugees, and preventing genocide.

 

We agree that U.S. diplomatic efforts should continue to be improved and that the U.S. State Department must engage in robust diplomacy with Iraq’s neighbors in the Middle East to address the Iraq conflict.

None of the representatives who signed, out of 14 Democrats and 14 Republicans, with the exception of LaTourette – are from Ohio.  And none of the Dems are from any of the Midwestern states.

So, I asked and, today, received a response from O’Neill, via Toby Fallsgraff:

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
September 27, 2007

CONTACT: Toby Fallsgraff, 440.247.7340, woneill08@gmail.com
HEADLINE: O’Neill Calls LaTourette’s ‘Bipartisan’ Iraq Compact a
‘Political Stunt’

CHAGRIN FALLS, Ohio – Democratic candidate for Congress Bill O’Neill
(OH-14), who earned a Bronze Star for his service in Vietnam and whose
son served in Afghanistan and Iraq, released the following statement
today in reaction to Rep. Steve LaTourette’s signing the “Bipartisan
Compact on the Iraq Debate”:

“I agree that bipartisan efforts are the only way we are going to get
our troops out of harm’s way. But this compact appears to be nothing
more than empty words in lieu of action – an attempt to put a happy
face on what has become a foreign policy disaster.

“It’s hard to take Rep. LaTourette seriously when his record simply
doesn’t match up to his words.

“This compact requires that our troops have adequate recuperation
periods between deployments. But last month Rep. LaTourette voted
against a bipartisan bill that would have done just that (H.R. 3159).
And this compact requires a mission that is ‘clearly defined and
measurable’ – a goal I applaud. But Rep. LaTourette has consistently
voted against such measures.

“It is intellectually dishonest to suggest that defunding this war
places our troops in peril. The truth is that funding without
benchmarks is precisely what has placed our troops in peril over the
past four years.

“This bipartisan compact is nothing more than a political stunt. And
our men and women in Iraq deserve so much better.”

# # #

You can also find it here on his campaign website.

I’d like to thank Toby and whomever else in O’Neill’s campaign who saw my Remains item for reading WLST and then taking the time to convey what they saw and then more time for answering the question.

Political stunt? Probably similar to the wasted time spent on slapping Moveon.org’s wrist over its very poorly chosen New York Times ad about General Petraeus.

Though very much unlike that stunt?  I expect that there will be little to no impact, discussion or other notice of what LaTourette signed.

If I were him, I’d be paying a lot more attention to his upcoming race in the 14th.

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By Jill Miller Zimon at 3:53 pm September 27th, 2007 in Congress, Military, Ohio | 1 Comment 

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Sep

27

Bush signs major college cost assistance, loan forgiveness bill

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Not to over-pimp the new Wide Open blog, but here’s the entry I wrote over there on this topic.

This bill, now law, has been a long time coming.  As Bush is quoted saying in this CNN story:

U.S. President George W. Bush signed a $20 billion expansion in student aid and deep cuts in federal subsidies to lenders into law Thursday, just as concern over the legislation and weak credit markets threaten the proposed purchase of student lender SLM Corp. (SLM).

At a White House signing ceremony, Bush said the bill will help bring higher education to millions of low-income U.S. citizens through the expansion of federal Pell grants.

“I love the fact that this country is dedicated to helping people who want to realize their dream,” Bush said. “The College Cost Reduction and Access Act expands one of America’s most important and successful education initiatives – the federal Pell grant program.”

I didn’t think it would happen, but I am extremely content that it has. I previously referred to the effort in May in two different posts, here and here.

Noticeably absent from this White House presser?  No mention of the massive loan forgiveness program that’s now law.  Here’s the specs on the bill, and specifically, loan forgiveness, from the National Association of Financial Aid Administrators:

Title IV – LOAN FORGIVENESS

The proposed legislation would allow the Secretary of Education to cancel the balance of any interest and principal due on any Federal Direct Loan – including Direct Stafford, PLUS, or Consolidation Loan – that is not in default for borrowers who:

  • Have made 120 monthly payments on a Direct Loan after October 1, 2007 as part of an income contingent repayment plan or a standard repayment plan based on a 10-year repayment schedule
  • Are employed in a “public service job” and has been employed in a public service job during the 120 payment period.

A public service job is defined as a full-time job in emergency management, government, military service, public safety, law enforcement, public health, public education, social work, public interest law services, child care, public library sciences, or any other job at an organization that is described in section 501(C)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986.

Here’s the text of Bush’s comments upon signing the bill.  Not one mention of loan forgiveness.

Sourpuss.

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By Jill Miller Zimon at 1:41 pm September 27th, 2007 in Announcements, Education, Government | Comments Off 

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