The "Bundy Experience" is truly Nevada.

The land in Nevada is federal land and that is why the FBI is involved, but, there should be an interest in upholding the law by the State Bureau of Investigation as well. The 5000 armed separatists in Nevada came from all over the country. There should be State Bureaus of Investigation in those citizens participating in breaking the law. They are implicated in the crime.

More than 1,500 ranchers graze cattle on federal land in Oregon. Federal agencies report that only 45 are delinquent in paying their grazing fees. (Les Zaitz/The Oregonian)

By Les Zaitz 
May 12, 2014 at 6:01 AM
updated May 12, 2014 at 6:03 AM

Past-duebills (click here) owed by cattlemen for grazing on Oregon's federal lands aren't enough to cover the price of a new pick-up truck.
The U.S. Bureau of Land Management said that as of late April, 45 cattlemen owed a collective $18,759. And most of that is barely past due, with just two ranchers leaving their bills unpaid 60 days or more, considered a truly delinquent account in private business.
The U. S. Forest Service reported an even better record from the 400 permit holders using national forests to feed their cattle. No one is past due with their fees, the agency reported.
The Oregon experience stands in stark contrast to the Nevada rancher who surely is the nation's most infamous deadbeat rancher. Cliven Bundy, whose white hot clash with the BLM recently made national headlines, owes the federal government more than a $1 million for grazing....

Secretary Clinton was in office from 2009 through 2013. There is something about her initiatives that failed? Read the job description. She is not the defense department and her budgets were cut to insure the State Department was impacted. When Congress makes cuts to the country's budget it should never impact the safety of our diplomats abroad. That is the last place where budget cuts should occur. 

This is the Benghazi Consulate before the fires. It doesn't even come close to being secure according to demands of USA standards. Congress can blame themselves.

The Inman Report, formally known as the Report of the Secretary of State's Advisory Panel on Overseas Security, was a report released in 1985 in response to the Marine barracks bombing and the April 1983 US Embassy bombing in Beirut, Lebanon. The report is usually known by the name of its chairman, Admiral Bobby Ray Inman, USN (Ret.)

The report recommended a range of security improvements, including increased distance between embassies and public streets (known as "setback.") It also recommended a major building program to improve security in existing embassies, and build new embassies to replace those that could not meet security standards. A direct result from the Report was the creation of the Bureau of Diplomatic Security and the Diplomatic Security Service within the U.S. State Department.

The US embassies around the world are substandard even by our own laws. In order to defend an embassy it starts with secure facilities. I don't care how many soldiers were going to be in Benghazi, there would never have been enough. It is East Libya. It threatened Gaddfi enough to cause him to seek genocide of the people there. 

Rubio may not have enough experience for President, but, there is always Dan Quayle.

This is the same old world dolt rhetoric we have heard from Republicans for decades. It is exactly that type of disregard of scientists both inside and outside the USA government that has landed us where we are today. 

Energy independence used to mean minimizing the dependency on carbon fuels, now it is about fracking and drilling the USA lands into disasterous condition. Rubio obviously doesn't have the experience to be President. He can't come close to the leadership of President Obama. 

May 11, 2014
By Brian Bennett

“I do not believe (click here) that human activity is causing these dramatic changes to our climate the way these scientists are portraying it,” Rubio said on ABC's "This Week." 
"I do not believe that the laws that they propose we pass will do anything about it, except it will destroy our economy,” he added....

Exactly. 

He doesn't believe because his comprehension of print material is minimal. And the 'answer' should be an embarrassment. It isn't a matter of BELIEF. It is a matter of scientific finding. Belief has nothing to do with this.

What happened to freedom in Myanmar?

May 11, 2014

Paul Mooney 

Reuters

YANGON (Reuters) - Two years (click here) after Myanmar scrapped censorship in one of its boldest reforms, its journalists are again living in fear of jail and are convinced a state-sponsored crackdown is under way to limit press freedom.

Eight members of the media have been arrested since December and two jailed in what critics say is government backsliding on some of the wide-ranging reforms that led the West to lift sanctions after decades of military rule....

Human Rights abuses in Egypt. 'Near Death' and organ damage is a human rights abuse. The Egyptian officials need to be held accountable.

Al Jazeera Arabic reporter Abdullah Elshamy has been held in Egypt for 270 days without trial [Al Jazeera]

Last updated: 12 May 2014 02:02

The lawyer (click here) representing jailed Al Jazeera Arabic reporter Abdullah Elshamy has asked Egyptian authorities to transfer the journalist to hospital after medical tests showed his health was failing.

Shaaban Saeed said he submitted a request to Egypt’s public prosecutor on Monday, asking for the release of Elshamy and his transfer to a hospital outside prison within 48 hours.
Blood and urine tests conducted at a private laboratory on May 8 showed the 26-year-old was dangerously close to death..

The test results said Elshamy showed signs of microcytic anemia, which was preventing proper levels of oxygen from reaching his vital organs....

Snyder's favorite gift.

May 11, 2014 6:55 PM

...But Snyder (click here) may keep a welded sculpture of a brown trout that was made by high school students in the Traverse City area because it represents job training, one of his priorities, Wurfel said.

“He is taking pride in that fish, showing to people the talented students that we have,” said Michael Hill, superintendent of the Traverse Bay Area Intermediate School District....

This is amazing. I am more than thrilled Michigan has incredible artists. But, the treasured gift is uniquely interesting. See, in October of 2012 Snyder's Michigan Department of Natural Resources looked the other way while the drunk Traverse City mayor pushed through a deconstruction of "Brown Bridge Dam" destroying the pond at this natural park.

It not only destroyed the pond, but, the incompetence of the engineering firm, AMEC (a global company) caused a complete collapse of the temporary coffer dam. The incident was predicted by local conservationists, but, that never mattered. The corruption is incredible. 

Recently, there was flooding in the same exact place as in October of 2012 which has now resulted in a $8.5 million lawsuit. The residents that experienced the first assault by an incompetent mayor and administration had began to rebuild and recover their property only to have it happen all over again. And yes, the mayor and his administration were warned about the continued flooding once the dam was removed.

Today, the Michigan Department of Natural Resources states it will take at least two generations for people to even see a consistent population of flies. Why flies? Because that is the food source of fish. What fish? The fish that used to be abundant at Brown Bridge Pond. Trout, walleye and other game fish. Boardman River was once considered a Blue Ribbon Trout Stream and it is that which the young artist was relating to. The people along the Boardman River have been there for generations. One generation after another treasure their river property.

Today, there is no pond and there are no fish and the toxic sludge behind the deconstructed dam is washed down stream to the next dam and quite possibly into Lake Michigan with each rainfall.

All the people along the Boardman River both upstream and downstream of the deconstructed dam are effected by the wayward project. The upstream folks have lost the 'back water' from the former pond and the people down stream have lost water levels due to water draw downs at the two remaining dams.  These folks have lost their riparian rights. They have been told they no longer own the land to the center of the river.

The corruption Synder is overseeing is incredible. All this occurred because the Grand Traverse County wanted a new bridge at Cass Road. Amazing. Both the city and county are lucky no one has died to date.

It might be Snyder's sculpture will be the only trout the people of Traverse City will see for generations. 

Snyder's bold economy? Oh, it was bold alright.

There is a unique question to ask of candidates in 2014.

By KENNETH P. VOGEL
5/9/14 5:01 AM EDT  
Updated: 5/11/14 12:29 PM EDT

The Koch brothers’ (click here) main political arm intends to spend more than $125 million this year on an aggressive ground, air and data operation benefiting conservatives, according to a memo distributed to major donors and sources familiar with the group.

The projected budget for Americans for Prosperity would be unprecedented for a private political group in a midterm, and would likely rival even the spending of the Republican and Democratic parties’ congressional campaign arms....

"How much of the $125 million did you get from the Koch Brothers?"

The Koch brothers (click here) are the second wealthiest family in America, making most of their money in the fossil fuel industry.  According to Forbes Magazine, they saw their wealth increase last year from $68 billion to $80 billion.  In other words, under the “anti-business”, “socialist” and “oppressive” Obama administration, their wealth went up by $12 billion in one year.  

The Democrats simply don't get that money and it is completely obvious this family wants to own the USA and all it's representation in Washington, DC. They want to monopolize a democratic government.

I don't think so.

These passports are invalid and should not be recognized by the international community.

By PETER LEONARD, Associated Press 

Updated 10:04 pm, Sunday, May 11, 2014

 

An elderly man (click here) brandishes his passport at the camera, with it's cover bearing a former Soviet Union sign, near to barricades at the Ukrainian regional office of the Security Service ahead of the regional referendum in the eastern Ukraine city of Luhansk on Saturday May 10, 2014. The Sunday ballots seek approval for declaring so-called sovereign people’s republics in the Donetsk and Luhansk regions, where pro-Russia insurgents have seized government buildings and clashed with police and Ukrainian troops. Photo: Igor Golovniov, AP 

These passports were issued after deaths in Ukraine, including Crimea. They are illegitimate. The only passports from the Ukraine has to be issued by that government.

Donald Sterling needs to get out of the way, NOW!

It doesn't matter why he said what he said; he said it. He is racist. His marketing strategy alone dictates a racist tone. He needs to give it up and sell the team.

His net worth is $1.9 billion according to Forbes. (click here)

If he was at all interested in expanding his outreach to bring in attendance he could well afford it. He did not have to racialize his marketing strategy. 

May 12, 2014
By Eric Pincus

The Clippers (click here) survived a challenging week, overcoming a huge deficit in Game 4 on Sunday to tie their second-round playoff series against the Oklahoma City Thunder 2-2.

Led by Chris Paul with 32 points and 10 assists, the team opened the week with an impressive 122-105 win on the road over the Thunder in Game 1.
Thunder stars Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook were tremendous in Wednesday's Game 2, a lopsided 112-101 win in favor of Oklahoma City -- that wasn't as close as the final score.

The Clippers needed more out of Blake Griffin, and a better effort on the boards to challenge the Thunder. The franchise also needed additional bench support and depth, with players such as Danny Granger struggling to hit shots....

There is no climate crisis? Really?

The kidnappers need to put something current into any video.

The girl in the video needs to hold a newspaper with today's date. It is greater reassurance of their well being.

In the USA, today is "Mother's Day." 

Be happy.

I am not a big fan of Pew Polls, but, the focus is interesing in this instance.

I found this poll about Russia interesting. 55% of Russians believe it is a great misfortune the Soviet Union does not exist. However, 37% believe it was not a misfortune the Soviet Union dissolved.

I think with 8% undecided, the potential for political parties within to emphasis Russian autonomy is important. The Russian people are regressing. They don't believe they are a great country as they are today. That's the communists talking. The communists are pushing a regressive agenda.

That is an opportunity for a different political party to lead the people into a new day in Russia. Is there a reason why they should be ashamed of their country without all the trappings of a huge landmass? The tasks of protecting the Russia people have not been accomplished by the current government majority. 50,000 people died in fires not long ago. There are many issues facing the Russia people and they aren't engaging them.

May 8, 2014

...In the past, (click here) Vladimir Putin has described the collapse of the Soviet Union as a “catastrophe,” and many Russians seem to concur. A 55%-majority agree with the statement: “It is a great misfortune that the Soviet Union no longer exists.” Views on this question have been relatively steady since Pew Research first asked it five years ago. In 2009, 58% described the collapse of the USSR as a great misfortune, and 50% expressed this opinion in 2011.
Nostalgia for the Soviet era is particularly common among older Russians. About seven-in-ten Russians age 50 and older (71%) characterize the end of the Soviet Union as a great misfortune, compared with 46% of people ages 30 to 49 and 40% of those under 30....

Russia needs a different political dialogue. How can other parties begin to map out a better path for Russia if all there is is a singular dialogue regretting the fall of the Soviet Union? 

May 6, 2014
By Agnes Lovasz and Anna Andrianova

As Russia’s central bank (click here) struggles to shield the ruble from the standoff over Ukraine, Vasily Isaev says it may already be too little, too late to save his Italian vacation plans. 

“If you get your salary in rubles, a trip to the beach in Europe is going to be difficult this year,” said the 37-year-old sales manager, looking up from his English homework in the park near Tverskoy Boulevard in central Moscow. “We’re going to Bulgaria instead of Italy this year and we’re renting an apartment a little further away from the sea.” 

Consumers like Isaev, spending more than a few months ago to fill a shopping cart with everyday items, may be squeezed most by the currency’s decline as inflation quickens. Wobbling consumption threatens to knock out another pillar of the economy reeling from sanctions that stoked capital flight....

The current path Russia is on isn't in the best interest of the country. President Putin is finally 'getting it.' He realizes the economic community is not interested in instability and uncertainty. He did make this statement about the Ukraine rebels and their elections. He states he has pulled back the Russian troops from the Ukraine border. That is 40 thousand troops. The West hasn't verified it yet, but, the financial community is giving Russia a new look.

May 7, 2014
Oren Dorell 

Russian President Vladimir Putin (click here) on Wednesday called on militant Ukrainians to cancel a referendum to join Russia that many feared would ignite further killings in volatile east Ukraine.

The planned referendum appeared similar to one held in Crimea that Putin used as a pretext to invade and make part of Russia - creating what Europe said was its greatest crisis in decades.

"We believe that the most important thing is to create direct, full-fledged dialogue between the Kiev authorities and representatives of southeast Ukraine," Putin said....

That is the new path for Russia. It is one of the BRIC countries. The communists are not a good influence within Russia if the country is to move forward with all the other emerging economies. That is the new dialogue. The new image of Russia is to be a partner in global relationships without playing brinkmanship with nukes. Nukes are old world. The financial turbulence of the global markets with the Russian annexation of Crimea is proof of that. No investor wants to wake up and find out his money doesn't belong to him anymore because there was an overthrow of government.

Infrastructure of any kind is extremely expensive. War? You've got to be joking. 

The West is moving forward with a better quality of life for it's citizens since the 2008 global economic collapse. War? That isn't the path for Russia and it will be left hopelessly behind if that type of image of Russia continues and is enforced with similar events as occurred in Ukraine. The future isn't about destruction, it is about healing and healthy economies. China doesn't want war either. It is busy establishing it's Middle Class. War is not on the agenda, that is why all this 'island' stuff is so silly. All those old issues need to be resolved without military conflict. 

Chancellor Angela Merkel of Germany, left, and President François Hollande of France, center, in Stralsund, Germany. Credit Alain Jocard/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images
 
By ALISON SMALE
MAY 10, 2014

...In a joint statement, (click here) Ms. Merkel and Mr. Hollande, both 59-year-olds but of quite different backgrounds and political beliefs, warned Russia that it would face tough sanctions if it did not help defuse the crisis in Ukraine, including taking “visible steps” to pull back its troops from Ukraine’s border. Last week, President Vladimir V. Putin said he had already done so, but NATO and Western leaders said they had seen no evidence of a withdrawal....

I think President Obama and members of the EU are going to join President Putin on D-Day. We were allies then. 

Do human beings know how much they don't know about the final outcomes of the unleashed monster CO2?

This is the kind of nonsense that goes on with this mess. HAARP (click here)

These jerks actually believe the USA government has control over the climate. If only the government would "get it right" this would all be okay and we could still keep burning carbon. Gee whiz, what is it with Obama already.

That 'idea' that the USA government has control over the future of the planet provides the platform 'this is all political.' If it is all political than Obama is feeding his cronies. These jerks are the worst predatory political nut cases I have yet to witness. 

The overwhelming evidence regarding a very dangerous troposphere cannot be disputed. Yet, these political weirdos don't care if the USA stops polluting the troposphere with carbon. They don't care about the very lives in Kansas they purport to control. They are god. They control everything. 

The dialogue is over! 

July delivery of wheat $14.8700 per bushel.

By Nancy Gaarder / World-Herald staff writer
Published Saturday, May 10, 2014 at 1:00 am / Updated at 7:18 am

Drought and poor winters (click here) continue to take a toll on Nebraska's winter wheat.

Yields on winter wheat this year are expected to be below average but significantly above last year's even poorer returns.

Winter wheat, which isn't irrigated, is a hardy crop but vulnerable to the vagaries of weather.

It needs moisture to germinate in the fall, a blanket of snow to insulate it while it goes dormant, and then more moisture to nourish it to maturity after it breaks dormancy.

Nebraska's wheat growing region has been in drought, and the past two winters have been lacking in insulating layers of snow.

According to the University of Nebraska-Lincoln CropWatch, average yield is likely to be 40 bushels per acre this year, down 5 bushels from the longterm average. That's based on the analysis of Royce Schaneman, executive director of the Nebraska Wheat Board.

A loss of 5 bushels per acre means a loss of $74.35. The average family farm is 400 acres. That is a total loss to the farm of $29,740 for one wheat season.

The USDA is forecasting similar yields, about 39 bushels per acre in Nebraska. The USDA notes that yields like that are slightly higher than a 10 percent improvement over 2013 yields.

If the USDA is correct that means there will a loss of one additional bushel per acre or $5,948.00 per wheat season in addition to estimate of the University of Nebraska - Lincoln Crop Watch. A total of $35,688.00.

Another factor in improved harvest this year is that more acres of wheat are expected to survive. This year, 95 percent of the acres that were planted are expected to yield a harvest, compared with 77 percent a year ago.

Overall, the USDA is forecasting a 40 percent increase in Nebraska's winter wheat harvest.

What does that level of loss mean? Irrigation is an investment. Besides the hardware needed for irrigation and taping into an aquifer, the actual pumping of the irrigated water is a direct investment to the income from the crop. It is a cost to the final income from the crop.

...The performance (click here) of the pumping plant (Pp) in terms of energy use per acre-inch of water is then the ratio of the amount of energy used per hour divided by the volume of water pumped per hour: 

Pp = hourly fuel use rate (gallons of fuel/hour) / Vw (in acres inches/hour)

If tens of thousands of dollars is lost to the farm operation of 400 acres that translates into rebalancing the farm budget for production. It could mean the farmer will hope for good weather if the budget doesn't allow for the purchase of diesel fuel or gasoline.

The cost of diesel fuel today is $3.946 in the Midwest and gasoline is $3.640. Farmers don't have to pay the tax. If production falls the farm enters into a failure curve that is exponential. We know for a fact family farms do a better job of protecting the land and preventing erosion. They are vital to the food supply in and out of the USA. This entire trend is disastrous. People can't eat emergency funds to farmers to help them pay their bills.
 

In general, about half the state's winter wheat crop is in good to excellent shape.

Here's the breakdown:
Very poor: 3 percent
Poor: 16 percent
Fair: 35 percent
Good: 42 percent
Excellent: 4 percent
Source: University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Nebraska Wheat Board, USDA

There are real people worried about their livlihoods and how the nation is going to feed itself and the right wing pulls these stunts to confuse the public and illegitimately effect elections.

The Climate Crisis is not a democracy.

There is no discussion by laymen. The average citizen needs to pay attention. The Climate Crisis is not a ballot issue. This is a matter of physics. Earth is a dictatorship and civilization needs to get their mind around that. Earth is only mildly plastic, but, there are extremely solid limits to the abuse of it's tropospheric balance.

ORRICK, MO (KCTV) -
Spring weather continued to wreak havoc (click here) on Saturday with two possible tornadoes ripping through Orrick and Marshall in Missouri....

What about this does the USA media not understand? This is life and death. Get out of the way. There are no politics here. Earth does not provide options.

There is no choice in the approach to resolving the Earth's troposphere. There is no generating revenues unless it is wind and solar energy. It's over. The dialogue is over. GET OUT OF THE WAY!

This is a map of the highest paid public employee in every state.

#CustomizeYourFederalGovernment

#FamilyUnitInNameOnly

#MyBackPocketIsEmptyAndWaitingForYou

The Perfect Storm

Does anyone actually believe the one man that was absolutely correct about Iraq is going to abandon veterans for a cushy salary?

The backlog was the result of a perfect storm of circumstances that flooded the VA with benefits claims like the storm surge from a category four hurricane:



1 . A rapidly aging population, many of whom are wartime veterans

Baby Boomers 

2. More veterans requiring need-based benefits due to weak economy 

3. A massive influx of younger veterans of the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq

4. Obsolete, paper based tracking system

5. A 1973 fire at the National Archives that destroyed up to 18 million veteran’s military records

VA officials made statements about their commitment to reduce the backlog, but heavy skepticism surrounded their ability to do so.

The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) provides a nationwide system of health care services and benefits programs for America’s Veterans.Through the Veterans Health Administration (VHA),VA provides health care to approximately 5 million Veterans annually. VA operates the nation’s largest integrated health care system with more than 1,400 sites of care, including hospitals, community clinics, nursing homes, domiciliaries, readjustment counseling centers, and various other facilities. VA health care facilities provide a broad spectrum of medical, surgical,and rehabilitative care....
  
There are only 50 states and few territories. Hello?

...VA manages the largest medical education and health professions training program in the United States and maintains affiliations with more than 107 medical schools, 55 dental schools and more than 1,200 other schools across the country. Each year, about 90,000 health professionals are trained in VA medical centers. More than half of the physicians practicing in the United States had some of their professional education in the VA health care system....

I think the VA is doing a great job and getting stronger and more efficient everyday. While there may be issues with some employees and agencies, that can be found in any large system. It is called ethics and when ethics means nothing the system breaks down and our veterans suffer.

There is a provision in the standards at the Veteran's Administration allowing physicians to refer a veteran to a private concern for treatment if there is not enough resources at the time to treat them.

Authorizations and Referrals (click here)

...To ensure that VA pays for the appropriate care needed, services should always be preauthorized, except in the case of an emergency. This process helps to ensure that the Veteran, provider,and VA know what care VA is responsible for providing. If a Veteran is being treated at a VA medical facility or is under the jurisdiction of a VA provider and the provider determines that the Veteran needs care that is not available in the VA medical facility, VA is responsible for obtaining and paying for that care.Veterans cannot self-refer for medical care or services....

INTAKE of veterans needing health care is vital and should be expedited at every opportunity which means 'acute' needs, such as cancer and mental health, are addressed BEFORE other non-acute needs. Veterans get their medications at far less cost than the USA general population, too. Why? Because the 'known' population in need of those medications provides advance ordering and in large amounts to reduce costs.

The VA system respects the taxpayer while providing necessary services.

WASHINGTON (Dec. 11, 2013) – At a hearing today (click here) before the Senate Committee on Veterans’ Affairs, the Department of Veterans Affairs’ Under Secretary for Benefits, Allison A. Hickey, outlined progress made by the Veterans Benefits Administration (VBA) in reducing the backlog of Veterans’ disability compensation and pension claims by 36 percent since March — attributing the success to the combined impact of VBA’s transformation initiatives and increased employee productivity.

...Key accomplishments highlighted in the testimony included:

• Decreasing the pending inventory of claims by 22 percent;
• Decreasing the number of claims in the backlog (those pending over 125 days) by 36 percent;
• Increasing claim-level accuracy from approximately 83 percent in 2011 to 90 percent today;
• Increasing medical issue-level accuracy to approximately 97 percent today;
• Completed processing of 99.9 percent of all claims that were pending over two years;
• Completed processing of 97 percent of all claims that were pending over one year through the end of October;
• Converting over 360 million images of paper claims documents into a digital format for electronic processing; and
• Establishing over 3.2 million Veteran, Servicemember and family member accounts in eBenefits, the joint Defense Department/VA web portal for accessing and tracking VA benefits.

Also, VA’s web-based, paperless electronic claims processing solution, the Veterans Benefits Management System (VBMS), was successfully deployed to all 56 of VA’s regional benefits offices across the country, six months ahead of schedule....

Interesting point. The question I have is how much of cash benefits to recipients are used for gun purchases?

Posted on 5/9/2014, 4:47:44 PM by 2ndDivisionVet

...The firearms ban (click here) is a blatant violation of the Second Amendment. Cash benefit recipients presumably have the same rights as the rest of us to purchase guns for hunting, sports shooting, or even self-defense. Obviously they don't have much money to spend on that, but they do have the right under the Second Amendment to do so.... 

I doubt he is really endorsing gun sales with cash from government subsidy programs, however, his point is valid. Once the cash is provided to recipients, the government loses control of it. I am interested in knowing how many of the poor are armed by the cash benefits of government subsidies?

Walmart gets welfare for it's employees and now so does the NRA. 

I think Arne Duncan had it right.

July 24, 2009

...Today (click here) we cross an important threshold in education reform. Today we are announcing the draft guidelines for states to apply for the $4.35 billion dollar Race to the Top fund. Today we are here to announce—and celebrate—a new Race to the Top in schoolhouses across America....

He provided an incentive for states to participate in funding that could IMPROVE their educational systems. An incentive. "Race to the Top" never dictated standards like Common Core does. It provided a venue to which states could evaluate their shortfalls and seek to change them. That is a reasonable place for the federal government to be.

I am sure he as well as President Obama endorse Common Core, but, it isn't endorsed as a imposed demand on schools.

Disclaimer: This is not meant to endorse one particular bill over an other. (click here)

And I think the states are handling it well.

The states are examining the standard and deciding whether or not they want to institute it. The states can tailor make their standards and apply them as needed. 

What bothers me more and more about this thing called "Common Core" is it's mass application. If I wanted to corporatize education for Wall Street I'd be a big supporter of Common Core. 

It isn't the place of the federal government to demand local school districts to COMPLY with a standard. It is the place for the federal government to do exactly what Secretary Duncan did and provide an opportunity for state educational departments to participate and find ways for local governments to bring improvements to their school systems. 

Get for real. We are talking children. How is a federal standard ever going to 'trickle down' to being effective at the local level?

Children learn because their teachers care about them. They learn because they have parents that engage their local school boards when their children are struggling. When the local school boards are replaced by CEOs at charter schools and/or corporate educational companies the local school boards become meaningless. 

As a standard, "Common Core" is fine for examination and application as every state and local school board reviews their CURRICULUM. But, to demand "Common Core" as the law of the land is hideous. No different than No Child Left Behind.

There was a study conducted comparing drop out rates in 1982 to 1992. The drop out rate fell by 50%. EXCEPT. For one group of students.This study was by the National Center for Education Statistics (click here).

This report (click here) examines the changing demographics of high school students over the last decade and investigates the impact these changes may have had on high school dropout rates. We show that while during the 1980s a growing number of students with characteristics traditionally associated with school failure began attending high school, at the same time, high school dropout rates decreased by almost 50 percent. These declines occurred among students with a variety of characteristics for minority and majority students, for students in intact families and non-intact families, and for students with children of their own living in their household. Many groups of students traditionally considered “at-risk” for school failure dropped out at lower rates in 1990 than in 1980. However, there were other groups of students whose dropout rates did not improve. These were students from poor families, who had histories of poor academic achievement, and who had multiple risk factors in their backgrounds. These students seem to have been left untouched by the factors that have led to lower overall dropout rates during the last 10 years.

The reason children do poorly in the USA educational system is because they don't have resources. It has absolutely nothing to do with teachers.

The USA educational system is built on PARTICIPATION. It is build on local school boards providing every advantage to the children of their town or city.

When I was being educated I was measured according to PROFESSIONAL STANDARDS set down by the people who educated the teachers. Did I make that clear?

"When I was (in my primary education) educated it was according to PROFESSIONAL standards set down by (the ethical) those that educated the teachers." In other words, teachers are professionals with knowledge of growth and development and at what age it is appropriate to teach children lessons in math, english, science and social skills. The PROFESSION of teachers knows these things. It is called TRUST and witnessing the effectiveness of our graduates that tells parents and educators they are 'spot on.' 

I took two standard tests growing up. The PSAT and the SAT. I took each once, won a state scholarship and went to college. 

The USA educational system, NO MATTER WHOM IS TEACHING IT OR HOW, falls apart when parents are not a part of it and there are no resources at the home. Why? Homework. 

My father didn't necessarily understand the new math, but, he knew he could come to understand it enough to make sure I was applying my studies correctly. He 'was interested' in how my education was progressing and while he worked in a job that did not require a college degree, he was smart enough. 

The USA adult population is falling further and further into an impoverished state, working more and more jobs to support what my Dad did with one job. When parents don't have time to 'participate' in their children's outcome, the outcome is not good. When parents aren't 'available' to provide supervision to their children, the children fall to a predatory social structure that uses them for it's own purpose.

The ONLY problem with the USA school system is poverty. Charter schools increase the poverty of educational systems and set students within them apart and superior to what the public educational system can provide. 

Now.

Parents need good wages to support their families with upward movement WITHIN IN A 40 HOUR WORK WEEK, of which my family enjoyed, so there are parents available to participate in their children's education.

And.

The Public Education System needs to be REFUNDED to pull it out of poverty so it can actually educate every student EQUITABLY.

The USA is corporatized and the profits are amazing. But, the profits are at the cost of OUR COUNTRY'S brain trust and the quality of life of it's people.

It is so easy to be a savior of children. Now. Politicians need to be a better savior and rather than creating 'government schools' where money flows to corporations, they need to actually GOVERN!