NCLB - Football version (unknown source)

No Child Left Behind - Football Version
The football version of what is going on in education right now. (If you're not an educator, this may not make a lot of sense to you:
1. All teams must make the state playoffs and all MUST win the championship. If a team does not win the championship, they will be on probation until they are the champions, and coaches will be held accountable. If after two years they have not won the championship their footballs and equipment will be taken away UNTIL they do win the championship.
2. All kids will be expected to have the same football skills at the same time, even if they do not have the same conditions or opportunities to practice on their own. NO exceptions will be made for lack of interest in football, a desire to perform athletically, or genetic abilities or disabilities of themselves or their parents. ALL KIDS WILL PLAY FOOTBALL AT A PROFICIENT LEVEL!
3. Talented players will be asked to workout on their own, without instruction. This is because the coaches will be using all their instructional time with the athletes who aren't interested in football, have limited athletic ability or whose parents don't like football.
4. Games will be played year round, but statistics will only be kept in the 4th, 8th, and 11th game. This will create a New Age of Sports where every school is expected to have the same level of talent and all teams will reach the same minimum goals. If no child gets ahead, then no child gets left behind. If parents do not like this new law, they are encouraged to vote for vouchers and support private schools that can screen out the non-athletes and prevent their children from having to go to school with bad football players.

Senator Clinton is Endorsing Obama...

Well, Hillary Clinton is finally out of the nominee race. Surprisingly, I am actually saddened about this. I feel loss. It is as if every single woman in this country just crashed into the glass ceiling all at once. I was never a Clinton supporter, but now that she is leaving, I wish that she were staying. I guess this is a typical "you don't know what you've got 'til it's gone" story. I just pulled this from the HillaryClinton.com blog:

Dear Friend,
I wanted you to be one of the first to know: on Saturday, I will hold an event in Washington D.C. to thank everyone who has supported my campaign. Over the course of the last 16 months, I have been privileged and touched to witness the incredible dedication and sacrifice of so many people working for our campaign. Every minute you put into helping us win, every dollar you gave to keep up the fight meant more to me than I can ever possibly tell you.
On Saturday, I will extend my congratulations to Senator Obama and my support for his candidacy. This has been a long and hard-fought campaign, but as I have always said, my differences with Senator Obama are small compared to the differences we have with Senator McCain and the Republicans.
I have said throughout the campaign that I would strongly support Senator Obama if he were the Democratic Party's nominee, and I intend to deliver on that promise.
When I decided to run for president, I knew exactly why I was getting into this race: to work hard every day for the millions of Americans who need a voice in the White House.
I made you -- and everyone who supported me -- a promise: to stand up for our shared values and to never back down. I'm going to keep that promise today, tomorrow, and for the rest of my life.
I will be speaking on Saturday about how together we can rally the party behind Senator Obama. The stakes are too high and the task before us too important to do otherwise.
I know as I continue my lifelong work for a stronger America and a better world, I will turn to you for the support, the strength, and the commitment that you have shown me in the past 16 months. And I will always keep faith with the issues and causes that are important to you.
In the past few days, you have shown that support once again with hundreds of thousands of messages to the campaign, and again, I am touched by your thoughtfulness and kindness.
I can never possibly express my gratitude, so let me say simply, thank you.
Sincerely,
Hillary Rodham Clinton

"Glass Ceiling" photo by net efekt via Flickr.

http://www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/06/03/election.democrats/index.html
Despite Obama having all the necessary electoral votes to be the democratic nominee Hilary has shown no sign of giving up yet. She still clings to the fact that she has the most popular votes.

i'm sorry but i have to ask...

Is there a page requirement on the final paper? i just looked over the website and didn't see anything *cringes awaiting the blasting for doing this last minute*

Clinton says she's open to being Obama's VP

Read more click here

Just a Reminder: Vote Today!

I should be preparing for finals right now, but this is important.

Propositions 98 and 99 are up for a vote today. These propositions pertain to eminent domain which is government acquisition of occupied residences. Prop 98 pretends to be about eminent domain, but it is actually trying to prohibit rent control, rent stabilization protections, and renter eviction protections. I am voting against Prop 98. Prop 99 is a straight-forward eminent domain proposition that came in to being as a response to Prop 98. I am not sure if I will vote on Prop 99 because we already have eminent domain laws, but if I do, I am going to vote in favor of it. There are also California State assembly and senate primaries, district attorney, LA County Superior Court Judge, and a few district supervisor elections today. These are somewhat daunting, but here are a few links that might help.

Check out these links:

Arguments for and against Prop 98

Arguments for and against Prop 99

Official Voter Information Guide Online

LA Times Vote-o-Rama Guide (Just be careful with this one because it is in the opinion section)

Pasadena Weekly Election News (Opinionated, but I like the way they think and they highlight the shady way these elections are structured to be over our heads.)

Photo by author.

McCain on Education Re-vised

Here is a list that highlights McCain’s views on education:

1. teaching creationism should be decided by school district

2. believes in evolution, but sees the hand of God in nature; against nationally imposed standards & funding strings

3. believes in teaching virtues in all schools

4. wants to enlist retirees for tutoring

5. believes good teachers should earn more than bad lawyers

6. believes decisions on teaching evolution should be made locally

7. supports helping unqualified teachers find other lines of work

8. supports tax-free savings accounts for education expenses

9. supports “Reading Excellence” and rewarding good school

10. supports at-risk programs; homeless ed.; anti-drop-out ed

11. supports internet access, with filters, at every school & library

12. supports merit pay & competency testing for teachers

13. supports the Ed-ACT Bill: college plans; language proficiency.

14. McCain has said he would present most federal education money to states in unrestricted block grants -- he would include an additional $500 million earmarked broadly for teachers’ merit pay -- and leave it to the states and districts to spend as they see fit.

15. does not favor nationally imposed standards or federal funding strings. State and local education agencies should be responsible for developing & enforcing high academic standards.

16. voted to declare that erecting religious symbols and praying on public school campuses as part of a memorial service does not violate the First Amendment to the Constitution, and to provide legal assistance to any government entity defending such a case.

17. voted yes to cut off federal funds to school districts that deny students their right to constitutionally protected voluntary prayer.

18. He believes in ‘no child left behind’ and improving it, not abandoning it

19. believes in choice and competition/ charter schools and vouchers

Check out this link that highlights McCains views on Charter schools and his Voting record on education related issues. http://www.ontheissues.org/Social/John_McCain_E

Breaking Ranks

There is an excellent documentary called "Breaking Ranks" that ties in perfectly with tonight's panel discussion. It discusses the plight of four American military deserters seeking sanctuary in Canada for resisting the war in Iraq. I think it was produced by Tribune Media Services. If tonight's panel interest you at all, I strongly suggest tracking down this documentary.

Take a second ...

read this post better to preserve your blog and your post

bring us back

can hilary really bring us back? When i say US i mean the middle class... I am really interested in seeing how the middle class gets upped so to say... we all know we are the spine of the nation... if not for the spine whats good bout everything else...we should be the ones getting helped out and beniefeting from all that has to be given.. This is why im doing my final paer on how she will bring back the middle class...

Power, Law, Equality

The conflict between progress and stability in the development of the law can be seen as a ‘tug of war’ between ‘the people’ versus elite interest. Conflicting elite interests often hinder the progression to the top of the ‘justice ladder’, where we as a nation can finally stare true equality within the eyes of all. Law is used as a tool to help serve elite interests that far too often put money over the well being of society. Law operates at different levels with a dynamic relationship with social norms. These norms reflect some prejudicial attitudes, which have been institutionalized in our society. These attitudes are deeply rooted and integrated within our laws.

Progress is the reason why slavery was abolished, women could vote, segregation was seen as unconstitutional, and why sodomy laws were reversed. At one point laws were explicitly discriminatory and unconstitutional. Marx maintains that, “laws is simply a reflection of the capitalist economy, and as an element of capitalism, law is complicit in the oppression, exploitation, and alienation of ordinary people, or workers.” How can true equality exist when people don’t experience the legal system equally? Poor minorities are at a disadvantage of every part of the criminal procedural process.

A social movement must take place to make the invisible visible and strive to finally fulfill the “dream” of all men are created (and treated) as equal. Acts of discretion by judges can actually push us to analyze what is really happening. Law is a function of these acts of discretion to protect social values.

Law can disrupt a society and address conflicts successfully. The criminal system that determines our freedom is known to be unjust and unequal. The need for efficiency in our criminal justice system is detrimental along with procedural regulations to make sure that lower class minorities don’t continue to become collateral damage to state budgets or a weak legal system.

We need more of our best lawyers fighting for the “public” good instead of capitalist interests. “Law is a mechanism that the powerful use to coerce, dominate, and intimidate the powerless.” (Friedrich) Law can be good but it can also be a tool that threatens democracy, equality, and the interests of "the masses". My goal is to go to law school to better understand the law, in order to change it, because law is power, and by changing laws we can head towards a truer democracy.

A Blogging Proposition...Your Thoughts?

I just read that Contexts is looking for sociology bloggers. It is a sociology magazine published by the ASA that aims to make sociology accessible to all people and it is brimming with the most interesting and relevant current sociology discourses. It is always such an engrossing and easy read that I should have included it on my summer reads list. It is the sort of publication that makes you damn proud and happy to be a sociology major. Anyway, they are making a blog of blogs, or something like that, and I was wandering if anyone was interested in continuing to blog on East LA Power with me and if so, would you like to try to submit it for consideration for the Context blog site? The info page says that the blog can contain anything from serious research to casual musings. Check out these links if you are interested and get back to me. I have no idea what they are looking for specifically, but I kinda sorta want to try to submit it anyway and see if they are interested because an ASA affiliated blog means sociology street cred. If many people are interested, it could work without being a huge time commitment...especially if we could bring on other good sociology writers.

Contexts Blogger Search

Contexts Magazine

Contexts does not let you read the articles for free online, but if your have an NIS account you can read them for free by using the CSULA Library website.

Photo by kmevans via Flickr.

Some serious beach reading

So inspired by FimP's book list, I made one of my own - but FimP's takes the prize. see FimP Post below.

4 "The Crock of Gold"1912, James Stephens. Pure enchantment. Read it here.
4 "The Temple of the Cosmos" Jeremy Naydler, scholar, written at end of 90s, makes ancient Egypt come radiantly alive. My favorite Sociology book not written by a Sociologist.
4 "A World Lit Only by Fire" William Manchester, some say this great historian makes the Midieval Mind too easy to understand. That's what I liked about it.
4 "Beginner's Guide to Constructing a Universe" ever heard of 'sacred geometry'? This is the primer, by Michael Schneider.
4 "True Love" Thich Nhat Hanh, the Vietnamese monk, leaves nothing unsaid in this tiny book - and look only $6.95 at Amazon.
4 "The Summing Up" Somerset Maugham's literary memoire - read it only after you read his books, e.g., Of Human Bondage.
4 "The Deptford Trilogy" Robertson Davies. Want to get lost for a month? Dive in. This is perhaps my favorite of his three trilogies. In Deptford you get the circus, social class, psychotherapy - in the next trilogy you get Nazi's stealing art, the art world, and academia; in the first trilogy you get music, studentship, and the birds and the bees.
4 "Lost Illusions" Honore Balzac - a poet in Paris, written between 1837-1843. How you gonna keep him down on the farm after he's seen Paree? What started all this?
4 "Courtesans" Katie Hickman - doesn't belong with the greats on this list - but a good historical beach book of the trend setters in the late 19th century in London. Go, girls!
4 "Pilgrim at Tinker Creek" Annie Dillard - meditation on nature in the form of a novel
4 "The Intelligent Universe" 2007. Subtitled: AI, ER, and the Emerging Mind of the Cosmos: James Gardner - trying to pave a road between Intelligent Design and Darwinism.