Vast Write Wing - January 2009

[lwoolley]

Based on TSTA's disgruntled and whiney comments, you can be sure that Gov. Perry said something right in his state of the state address today. Money does not necessarily equal academic achievement. In fact, the more money given to schools, the more money wasted on frivolous programs, consultants, and vendors. All of us need to live within our means, and school districts are no exceptions. Inexpensive curricula/programs do exist, and wasteful spending on elaborate educator conventions, expensive staff development, and high-priced technology should become a thing of the past. Take our online tutorial as an example. Students can improve their English / Language Arts / Reading skills (with a deep emphasis on grammar) on our site for the ridiculously low cost of $35 per student/per year with no charge for staff development, initial setup, updates, or maintenance fees. Compare that with the pricing of some of the leading software programs. For instance, Read 180/Scholastic, Inc. is $616 per student; Academy of Reading/Autoskill, International, Inc. costs $1,000 per student. Plato charges $1500 per day (10 - 12 teachers) for staff development; the company recommends four days of training (http://www.mystudyhall.com/myskillbuild ... OGRAMS.mht).

Donna Garner

The Lone Star Report, 6:43:07, 1.27.09:

Excerpt from Texas State Teachers Association President Rita C. Haecker:

As he runs for office yet again, this governor once again wants public schools, their students and their employees to pick up the cost of his re-election campaign gimmick. Instead of providing new money to our hard pressed public schools, whose funding is frozen at 2006 levels, Gov. Perry wants to further reduce the resources available to provide even that insufficient level of funding ... Texas today ranks 34th among the states in average teacher pay, $6,129 below the national average. Gov. Perry proposed absolutely nothing to raise that. So we call on the many friends of public education in the 81st Legislature, in both parties, to do what the governor would not do: figure out how to sufficiently and flexibly pay for his three public education goals we applaud. This is the investment in the future Texas very much needs, an invesment that ultimately will benefit all Texans."

© 2003, The Lone Star Foundation
10711 Burnet Road, Suite 333 • Austin, TX 78758 • (888) 472-6051

[lwoolley]

Bush bankrupt the country with the help of the reactive conservative movement legacy bill.
rsm

[lwoolley]

Would not this bill be suitably labled, "The Social Bribery Bill". They are trying to bribe us into supporting a socialist agenda!

Russell A. Krumnow
Independent Agent

[lwoolley]

Lynn,

Floyd hit the nail right on the head. As I remember the biggest thumb in the eye was when he toured the borders and stood up against illegal immigration and then we later came to find out that he was just pulling a Bush.

Kevin Morris

[lwoolley]

Lynn, the recent cold spell is testimony to the hard work of Al Gore's war on global warming. We won!

MIKE LICAVOLI
Harker Hts, TX

[lwoolley]

Corruption? How quick you are to start pointing fingers.

You ought to focus on the past administration’s follies first. Clean up Alberto G’s mess, Bush and Cheney’s deceitful use of pilfered stats and figures to get us into a silly invasion, the outing of agents – and the endless list goes on.

Or, would you overlook those things in your right wing ideological zeal?

LS

[lwoolley]

Lynn, Ed sure needs to remember how much of a chance the Dems gave George Bush was given. And Bush didn't start out with the blunders and mistakes that his president has.
Remember "gravitas"? Give me a break!

Russell Livingston
Midland, Tx

[lwoolley]

LOL How about the non-vegetarian bill.

Kevin Morris

[lwoolley]

Lynn, when will the democrats in congress learn that words have consequences? They have screamed and screamed about ceo getting bonuses. Well, now the ceo's and other top employees are not getting so many bonuses and it is costing New York state one billion less in tax revenue for the year. I feel like I am living in someplace other than the United States of America. Maybe the old Soviet Union. Bonnie, Midland, Texas

[lwoolley]

America needs to be aware that the whole whoopla behind the "Fairness Doctrine" could be that the leftest agendas radio/TV programs are not being listened to. The danger is that if this doctrine could pass--conservatives would support those liberal programs by calling in to dispute the spewing trash. This would help them grow and advance where they can't do it themselves.
Susan

[lwoolley]

Lynn, In light of B.O. (Barack Obama) bringing Chicago politics to Washington….

I was catching up on some of my “Human Events” reading and they had some interesting “Political IQ” questions in a previous issue on the topic:

1. The sensational arrest of Illinois Democrat Gov. Rod Blagojevich last week made headlines. There is talk that the governor may get prison time. Who was the last sitting US governor to be convicted of a crime that carried prison time?

2. Blagojevich served in the US House of Representatives from 1996-2002. Who currently holds his seat?

3. Before Blagojevich’s election to Congress, who was the last Democrat to hold his House seat?

4. There are increasing calls for Blagojevich to step down. Who was the last sitting US governor to resign from office?

5. When he was in Congress, Blagojevich was one of only two members of Serbian heritage. What current member of Congress is of Serbian heritage?


ANSWERS: (my comments are in NTR BOLD)

1. Republican John Rowland of Connecticut, convicted on corruption charges in 2004 and sent to prison for ten months in 2006.
This child’s play compared to Democrat corruption – not even comparable, IMO.

2. Democrat Rahm Emmanuel, recently named chief of staff to Barack Obama.
Chicago Trib calls him profane, ruthless and no one will confuse him as a bi-partisan.
http://archives.chicagotribune.com/2006 ... hm-emanuel
He also has Chicago corruption ties with a corrupt Chicago city water department boss named D-Tomczak (Donny Tomczak), who intimidated Daley’s precinct workers, who feared for their jobs. Tomczak admitted to pulling in $400,000 in bribes and ran a mayoral patronage army for Daley in violation of federal court orders. Koss (Chicago Times link below) wrote that without the corrupt Tomczak, Emmnauel wouldn’t be able to bask in the love of the media. He likens it to another certain Chicago politician who has his corrupt friends – a certain Barack Obama and Tony Rezko.
http://archives.chicagotribune.com/2006 ... 20202nov22

3. Dan Rostenkowski, who held the seat from 1958-94, when he was defeated after being indicted on corruption charges.

WOW… I had forgotten about Rosty. Indicted for 17 counts of embezzling public and campaign funds, mail and wire fraud, conspiracy, and obstruction of justice. He spent 15 months in a minimum security prison, Oxford, Wisconsin; 2 months in a halfway house. $100,000 fine. Rosty earned 16 cents an hour at his prison job (monitors boiler gauges in the prison powerhouse); but get this… he still got his Congressional pension when he was released: $104,000 a year and was pardoned on December 23, 2000, by Pres Bill Clinton in his last few days in office along with Mark Rich and 400 others…geeeze

4. Democrat Elliot Spitzer of New York, who resigned earlier last year after reports of his involvement with a DC prostitute.

5. Republican Sen. George Voinovich of Ohio, who recently called B.O. a socialist, "He is left of Teddy Kennedy. With all due respect, the man is a socialist."
http://blog.cleveland.com/openers/2008/ ... arack.html

[lwoolley]

As of November 19, 2008, the total U.S. federal debt was $10.6 trillion. The October 3rd, 2008 bailout bill (H.R.1424), section 122, raised the U.S. debt ceiling from $10 trillion to $11.3 trillion. This debt does not include intra-governmental debt obligations or debt held in the Social Security Trust Fund. The annual national budget in 2007 was a mere $2,730,000,000,000 (that’s trillion). This means that of the estimated 330,000,000 people of the United States only 85,000,000 actually pay taxes. These taxpayers will have to pay a minimum of $32,117.65 just to meet the national budget. That’s the good news, if there is any in this debacle we call government.

Now for the bad news. Our current national debt is an estimated $11,300,000,000,000, (that again is trillion), and growing. At a meager borrowing interest rate of 3.5%, each taxpayer would have to pay an estimated $4652.94 annually in interest payments alone. But wait, it gets worse. At some point someone or a group of someone’s are going to have to attempt to retire this debt. Based on our current taxpayer base that would be $132,941.17 for each and every taxpayer. That brings our total to $169,711.76 per taxpayer, keeping in mind that the national budget was based on 2007 numbers and that the national debt grows daily.

With the exception of our military, and only because it is not ran directly by politicians, do I believe that government has the capacity or desire to identify the financial problems. More importantly though, I do not believe it has any idea of how to resolve them. If politicians had any idea what they were doing would we have an 11 trillion dollar debt? This is not a democratic issue or a republican issue, but an American issue. If we don’t become more involved and correct this wrong, we are doing nothing more than mortgaging the future of our children and grandchildren to satisfy the greed and power of those in government.

Please encourage your listeners to contact state and federal representatives from each state and remind them of how capable you would be of stimulating the economy if you could just keep half of the taxes you have sent in over the last year. Suggest to them that unless they cut spending you will be forced to make an adjustment in their position. America doesn’t have the money to buy root stimulator for a tomato plant much less to stimulate an entire nation. Please get involved.

By the way Lynn, if Liberals thought with their hearts we wouldn’t have abortion clinics.

Craig Bailey
Big Spring, TX

[lwoolley]

Hi Lynn,
I'm listening to your program today (1/28/09) and there is discussion
about Obama, stimulus, economy, and taxes and it reminded me of some
thoughts I had this morning watching C-SPAN. I've noticed for some time
now that there seem to be a lot of callers to C-SPAN who are advocating
socialism (the government should do all kinds of great things for its
citizens) though I'm sure they don't understand that's what they are
advocating.

Keeping in mind that approximately no more than about 25% to 30% of our
population has college degrees, I think we should seriously be looking at
teaching at least some minimum level of economics in high school. Enough
so that HS grads would understand for instance that the government has no
money except that which is taken from citizens. Also, should include
enough to be able to calculate percentages, as in tax brackets, and
preferably sufficient to understand compound interest.

Best Regards, Allen
____________________________________________

[lwoolley]

Lynn, I have been looking over the Alinsky's Rules and I zeroed in on rule number 4 that could start playing dividends. Rule 4. states " Make the enemy live up to its own book of rules". If I was in the commentary field, I would start a list of the empty suits reversals...such as "no lobbyist shall work in my administration:. Every chance moment I have I would recite this ever growing list. I'm not a big fan of Sean H. but he is good at this.

MIKE LICAVOLI
Harker Hts, TX

[lwoolley]

Mr. Woolley,

Thank you for your show and the work you do. Keep up the great work.

Regards,

Dennis Melton