July 18, 2012

A liberal education, in the classical sense.

"Ideally, a liberal education produces persons who are open-minded and free from provincialism, dogma, preconception, and ideology; conscious of their opinions and judgments; reflective of their actions; and aware of their place in the social and natural worlds."[3] Liberally educated people are skeptical of their own traditions; they are trained to think for themselves rather than defer to authority.[4]"

From wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liberal_education

IMO, the emphasis on education for a specific career path has produced a less educated population. This is particularly noticeable out here in redneck-land where Faux, blech, and rushbo are the main sources of information and people are too uninformed to vote for their own economic interests.

July 14, 2012

It is called the Educational Improvement Tax Credit (EITC) program.

There are a lot of links if you Google it. Corporations get a tax credit for funding scholarships to private schools. Some of the links were to Parochial and religious school publications, which gave it positive coverage.

There is an income eligibility (seems like around $82,000 for a family of four, I think) for students. Apparently the money follows the student who can use it to pay for private school tuition, including religious schools.

I believe that the program received increased funding this year, while public schools were frozen at last year's levels which had around $1 billion in cuts. If you feel like digging, there is a wealth of information out there about it.... it's just a lot to sift through.

July 14, 2012

Wish they would take a look at Pennsylvania.

There is a back-door system by which corporations can fund "scholarships" to private schools in return for a tax break. Seems to me that tax money is still going to fund private schools, some (most?) of which have to be religious. Our corrupt governor has slashed funding for public schools at the same time.

July 10, 2012

Charter schools are '' double-dipping '' on pension reimbursements.

Public school groups decry formula for funding charters

By Debra Erdley
Tribune-Review

Pennsylvania charter schools are reaping a multimillion-dollar, taxpayer-funded bonus on pension reimbursements at the expense of public school districts, a coalition of school groups contends.

The associations, representing urban and rural schools, school boards, business managers and administrators, say the state’s calculation for the tuition that districts must pay for charter school students requires them to pay double the amount they should for employee pensions.

The problem, according to those who have studied it, is that school districts pay 50 percent of their pension costs and the state pays the rest. Charter schools, likewise, are reimbursed 50 percent of their pension costs from the state.

But in addition, school districts must include the state and the local pension payments in their calculations for charter school tuition, a formula that theoretically provides charter schools with 150 percent of pension costs.

More at link: http://triblive.com/news/2145443-74/charter-schools-tuition-costs-pension-district-districts-state-formula-students?printerfriendly=true

From femmocrat: The article states that 105,000 students are enrolled in PA charter schools with another 40,000 waiting to enroll. The school districts, which took a huge hit from Corbett's cuts to education, are having to spend their fund balances to pay for charter school enrollees.

July 6, 2012

Unfortunately, but by posting it here....

you will make it available to countless trolls who will promulgate the hateful message.

I don't even understand the picture, but the words are just ignorant.

I had a friend who used to send me crap like this. I wrote back saying that I was so hurt and confused that she thought I would enjoy receiving such propaganda.
I never heard from her again.

July 6, 2012

Over 750,000 (or 9%) registered voters with no PennDot photo ID.

More than 758,000 registered voters in Pennsylvania do not have photo identification cards from the state Transportation Department, putting their voting rights at risk in the November election, according to data released Tuesday by state election officials.

The figures - representing 9.2 percent of the state's 8.2 million voters - are significantly higher than prior estimates by the Corbett administration. Secretary of the Commonwealth Carol Aichele has repeatedly said that 99 percent of Pennsylvania's voters already had the photo ID they will need at the polls in November.

The new numbers, based on a comparison of voter registration rolls with PennDot ID databases, shows the potential problem is much bigger, particularly in Philadelphia, where 186,830 registered voters - 18 percent of the city's total registration - do not have PennDot ID.

Under Pennsylvania's new voter ID law, various other forms of photo identification will be accepted at voting places in November, including U.S. passports, student identification cards with expiration dates, current military identification, and ID cards issued to government employees.

More at link: http://www.philly.com/philly/news/breaking/20120703_Voter_ID_law_may_hit_more_in_Pa__than_originally_estimated.html

From femmocrat: The state is supposed to notify those voters who do not have a PennDot ID by mail this summer. We'll see....

July 5, 2012

Our asshat neighbors put on a huge sky show.

It lasts from dusk to whenever they run out of ammo. You would think the police could see it from miles away. I guess they are busy with more important matters on the Fourth.

Last night, they had some kind of motorized "launching" devise! It sounded like a tractor "putt-putt-putt" before the KA-BOOM!! I was seriously considering going over there and killing someone. It would have been justifiable homicide... or temporary insanity, or something.

My dogs were traumatized for days. Next year I am getting them tranquilizers... and some for me, too.

July 4, 2012

:woohoo: This is my 12,000th post.

Congratulations to me!

July 3, 2012

I blame reagan.

He brought the religious right into the tent and that led to Pat Robertson, Jerry Falwell and those narrow-minded social conservatives' eventual take-over of the GOP.

They formed a symbiotic relationship with reagan and it has hardened over the decades into the hate-fest that characterizes the repuke party. The rise of vitriolic wing-nut radio was another factor.

JMO

July 2, 2012

It's a done deal. The budget is signed, sealed and delivered.

Governor Tom Corbett signs budget with minutes to spare
Published: Sunday, July 01, 2012, 12:31 AM Updated: Sunday, July 01, 2012, 1:48 AM
JAN MURPHY, The Patriot-News By JAN MURPHY, The Patriot-News

Gov. Tom Corbett avoided the embarrassment of a late state budget, but he made it close.
Like last year, he only had minutes to spare before the clock struck midnight on the last day of the fiscal year when he signed it in the Capitol Rotunda.

The nearly $27.7 billion budget includes no tax increase or new taxes. It ensures that no public school or public university receives less money than last year.

The 2012-13 budget cuts business taxes by $288 million and doubles funding for tax credits for businesses supporting education.*

At the same time, it cuts spending on child care programs for low-income working families, eliminates cash assistance for a slice of the state's welfare recipients, cuts funding for county-provided human services and cuts funding for environmental protection.*

Link: http://blog.pennlive.com/midstate_impact/print.html?entry=/2012/07/governor_tom_corbett_signs_bud.html

**emphasis added by poster.

The big tax break for the cracker plant in Beaver Co. passed, as did another $75 million cut for businesses who offer "scholarships" for students to attend private schools. A tougher teacher evaluation system will be implemented, based 50% on student test scores. Funding for schools and colleges remains at last year's levels. According to the right wing Tribune-Review, 14 democrats voted for it.

Link: http://triblive.com/news/2133876-74/schools-budget-corbett-bill-public-million-cameras-fiscal-legislation-signed

And there you have it....