ELL: Game on, again
December 21, 2009
by David Safier Around and around and around we go. Just when Horne & Co. thought the Supreme Court ruling on our ELL program meant he had won the battle and didn't have to spend more money to educate ELL students, the battle begins anew. Judge Collins was told by The Supremes he couldn't take
New AZ anti-tenure laws and New Orleans
December 21, 2009
by David Safier I've written posts on BfA condemning the new law that cut the heart out of teacher tenure in Arizona. My most recent column in the Explorer is on the same topic. A number of newspaper editorials and op eds have chimed in as well. But I haven't seen anyone looking beyond the
Rodney Glassman gets married
December 21, 2009
Posted by AzBlueMeanie: Tucson City Councilman (and possible U.S. Senate candidate) Rodney Glassman married the lovely Sasha Borsand on Sunday in front of a couple of hundred or so family members and friends in a wedding ceremony at Congregation Anshai Israel. Congratulations to the newlyweds. Mazel tov! Rodney's former boss Congressman Raul Grijalva was in
Problems commenting
December 21, 2009
by David Safier I've heard from others who are having problems commenting on BfA. It's happened since Typepad, the platform the blog runs on, made an "upgrade." We're trying to fix the problem. BfA isn't BfA without the active input of its readers.
Filibuster facts
December 21, 2009
by David Safier The other day I asked why Senate Dems didn't make the stallers go through with their filibuster threat and talk themselves hoarse. AzBlueMeanie schooled me about the rules that allow them to Just Say No if they can muster 41 votes. Here are two further filibuster facts from Krugman this morning. The
UPDATE: Health Care Reform bill survives cloture vote in Senate
December 21, 2009
Posted by AzBlueMeanie: In an historic early morning vote, the Senate voted for cloture on its version of the Health Care Reform bill along party lines. Health Bill Passes Key Test in the Senate With 60 Votes Senate Democrats held ranks early Monday in a dead-of-night procedural vote that proved they had locked in the
Pass the health care reform bill to keep the process moving forward
December 20, 2009
Posted by AzBlueMeanie: Americans hate stories about process. They are not taught about the legislative process and what little they learned years ago from Schoolhouse Rock- How a Bill Becomes a Law is simplistic and inaccurate today. It is probably a safe bet to say that 99% of Americans don't understand the legislative process –
Imagine Schools: When is a non-profit a for-profit?
December 19, 2009
by David Safier I'm back on the Imagine Schools story, which I've never really let go of but haven't written about lately. They've been in the news recently in Indiana, Texas and Florida, but I'm the only one looking at them here. (Imagine Schools is a Virginia corporation that runs 70-something charters across the country,
