Postd by AzBlueMeanie: The Arizona Advocacy Network announces an HB2305 Signature turn in/press event: HB 2305 Signature filing and Press Conference We are headed to the ballot! Be part of history making and join Arizona Advocacy Network and partnersto file the signatures to refer the anti-voter bill HB2305 to the ballot Join us and represent … Read more
Posted by AzBlueMeanie:
The state of Hawaii may be the next state to authorize same sex-sex marriages — if the New Mexico Supreme Court doesn't beat them to it. the Washington Post reports, Hawaii likely next to legalize same-sex marriage:
Hawaii Gov. Neil Abercrombie (D) has called the state legislature
back into special session to vote on legalizing same-sex marriage, a
step that likely means he’s corralled the necessary votes to pass a
bill.
Democrats have overwhelming majorities in both the state House and
Senate, but some Democratic legislators weren’t on board with a same-sex
marriage bill. Party leaders met in late August to count the votes;
Abercrombie said he would call a special session if legislators could
agree on language that would withstand a court challenge.
“The merits of holding a special session include the opportunity for
the Legislature to focus squarely on this important issue, without
having to divert attention to the hundreds of other bills introduced
during a regular session,” Abercrombie said in a statement.
by David Safier This is a question I'd never contemplated before reading a column in today's NY Times, and I'm throwing it out to any commenters who want to jump in. When you think of your favorite teacher, is the teacher male or female? You might throw in whether you considered her/him a younger or … Read more
Posted by Bob Lord
Undergirding the 21st Century attack on welfare recipients is the notion, rarely challenged, that the denial of safety net benefits to those who possibly could work is crucial. The recent Cato Institute "study" bemoans its finding that the package of safety net benefits available to some single mothers of two young children has a value greater than the compensation from a minimum wage job. Translation: A mother who is unable to work and has the responsibility of supporting two children should receive no more in beneifits than the compensation of a 19 year-old kid who lives with his parents and spends the lion's share of his minimum wage pay indulging himself. Why? Because we just can't take the chance that people will lose the incentive to work if their kids aren't starving.
Laura Clawson at Daily Kos recently reported on the implementation of this principle in conservative Kansas:
Kansas could be kicking 20,000 people off of food stamps starting in October. Able-bodied adults without dependent children will only get three months of Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits every three years before they face a requirement that they work 20 hours a week or participate in a job training program for those hours—regardless of whether a job or job training is available.
The only problem with conservative philosophy on this front is that it completely clashes with the advance of civilization.
by David Safier
It's great to see this AP story on the Star front page: More parents opting kids out of standardized tests. Not because it's new news. Grumblings about our obsession with standardized testing has been growing for awhile now, spreading from progressive educators to increasing numbers of teachers and more recently to parents. It's great because the Star considers it front page news, and the AP story has been picked up by papers and other media outlets across the country. It's the first national MSM acknowledgement of the growing anti-testing trend I've seen, meaning the movement is growing larger and louder.
The opt-out movement, as it is called, is small but growing. It has been brewing for several years via word of mouth and social media, especially through Facebook. The "Long Island opt-out info" Facebook page has more than 9,200 members . . . In Washington, D.C., a group of parents and students protested outside the Department of Education. Students and teachers at a Seattle high school boycotted a standardized test, leading the district superintendent to declare that city high schools have the choice to deem it optional. In Oregon, students organized a campaign persuading their peers to opt out of tests, and a group of students in Providence, R.I., dressed like zombies and marched in front of the State House to protest a requirement that students must achieve a minimum score on a state test in order to graduate.