From an email today:
Did you hear the new pro-voucher radio ad? …I have heard it two or three times now and have to laugh at it. It paints the NEA as a Nazi liberal Clinton following camp, hoping that we’re all idiots who won’t realize that the NEA is being kind enough to step in to help our underpaid Utah public teachers.
My question in response to this ad is, do you think our current public school teachers, (who are vehemently against the voucher system) are in it for the money? Or do they really care about our children as a whole.
Lately the pro-voucher campaign’s main argument for vouchers seems be the fact that the UEA is against them. Why would they think this point will resonate with voters? I’m certainly no fan of many of the things UEA advocates but I do recognize that if the vast majority of Utah’s teachers are against vouchers maybe we should hear them out.
I shouldn’t complain about the self-destructive campaign PCE is waging but when I see them do stupid things I can’t help but wonder why they think they’re on the right track. Here’s some free advice for PCE/ACM and other pro-voucher campaigns. We Utahns don’t hate our educators nearly as much as you do. Spending money on ads which demonize our public school teachers will never convince us that this voucher plan is a good idea.
Fingertips is my favorite music blog. If you like free music I highly recommend adding it to your aggregator. One of their songs this week really agreed with me so I figured I’d link to it here.
That’s That by Cass McCombs
A post with a good song is better than another voucher post any day!!!
I think Niederhauser might be on to something with this idea. Until I hear more specifics on the plan I won’t decide one way or the other but I’m inclined to support the idea of letting voters be the decision makers on tax increases instead of local government leaders.
Read this article. Why do Utahns keep putting clowns like Rep. Clark in office?
Hat Tip: The Third Avenue
Here’s a great post from Ed at Part Of The Plan on the ethical problems with the whole idea of vouchers, whether for private school students or private golf club members.
I just want to publicly thank Tom at KVNU for introducing me to Jake Boyd, an American hero.
Accountability First has a great post up tonight about conservative headhunters who are recruiting “missionaries” to come to Utah to proselyte the glories of taxpayer subsidies for private school students. Since this recruiting campaign appears to be pleading for conservative college students from all over the nation to come help evangelize for vouchers R1’s first question is a good one: “Are no Utah college students interested?”
It seems PCE can’t get enough volunteers from the reddest state in the nation for their voucher campaign headquartered in that very state. That doesn’t bode well for them.
PCE is paying $6000 for six weeks work. I might apply!
Voice of Utah asks two great questions but gets no answers from Utah’s legislators.
1. How much did the China junket actually cost?
2. Are Utah’s taxpayers expected to reciprocate by inviting Chinese politicians to Utah?
Why won’t legislators answer these two seemingly simple questions?
Paul Mero recently published a 44 page propaganda piece attempting to use early Utah and LDS church history to support his contention that Utah’s taxpayers need to subsidize private school students. I don’t think the piece will succeed in convincing many people of the benefits of the current voucher plan but it does make for some interesting reading.
Mero’s defense of Mormon theocracy in the late 1800’s and his contention that the territory government was doing everything right with its schools and everything else in the years right after pioneers arrived here is my favorite part of his argument. It shows just how out of touch he really is. You’d almost think after reading his screed that Mero would prefer that Utah still be a state run by an LDS church from the 1850s. Mormons would still participate in polygamous marriages, church run schools would be paid for by taxpayers and we’d all live in the Nation of Deseret instead of the United States of America. That we don’t live in that blessed state of existence is all due to the fact that the U.S. brought its blasted public schools to Utah and forced a willing populace to send their kids there.
Thanks Mr. Mero…but I’ll pass.
For more response to Mr. Mero’s piece check out:
“Paul Mero - Armchair Prophet” at Utah Amicus
“Why Exploit Religion For Politics” at Accountability First
I have purposefully tried to stay away from commenting on foreign policy for quite a while on this site. I just find the subject too depressing to dwell on. On this day every year the topic of U.S. foreign policy is more significant to me than normal so I figured today I’d link to the most insightful blog post I could find relating to our nation’s present troubles then link to it and feel like I’ve fulfilled my quota on this topic for the next year or so.
He doesn’t know it but Frank Staheli, a veteran of the Iraq war and a Utah blogger, is one of my heroes. He is completely wrong on the latest Republican scheme to provide a new welfare entitlement for people who don’t need it in the form of tuition vouchers but that can be forgiven. Frank is absolutely correct in everything he says when he blogs on the topic of American foreign policy. If anyone ever needs to know what’s right for our nation in the post 9/11 years I’m happy to refer them to Frank. Here’s his post today…it doesn’t directly relate to America’s post 9/11 policies but it covers what I think are the most important points. I’m grateful that he is out there making the case for a more humble and thoughtful American foreign policy. It would sure be great if Utah’s politicians who hold national office would listen to him.
For religious reasons I don’t drink coffee or tea. I rarely drink carbonated beverages because they have too much sugar and the bloated feeling I get when I drink them is amplified by the fact that I’m way fatter than I’d like to be. That said, I do drink a Mt. Dew from time to time when I’m feeling run down and need a quick pick-me-up. Yesterday I tried Mt. Dew “Game Fuel” for the first time. I drank it at about 3:PM and couldn’t fall asleep till after midnight. Ouch.
Here is a cool website which lists the caffeine content in nearly every soda you can imagine. “Game Fuel” is new and isn’t listed on this website. For the record it has 73 mg of caffeine in a 12 oz can. For me…thats way too much.
