Community Roundtable

Are some of you readers asking yourselves HOW this GOP sweep happened, despite the extremely poor performances of House Repubs in recent years?   How they can cause the federal govt. to shutdown, use dirty tricks to cause voter suppression, be against immigration in a land of immigrants, against affordable medical care for all our citizens, against a living-wage our for nation’s workers, against help for seniors, veterans, and the poor in this country while we send billions of dollars in aid to other countries, and even be against requiring RX plans to provide low-cost birth control for women in 2014?  Why were so many Repubs voted in when we know what they’re for: WAR, corporate welfare, tax breaks for the rich, and pillaging programs like Social Security and Medicare.  I almost never agree with Harry Bulkeley, but we agree on this: NOT everyone should vote!  When all these ill-informed people tear themselves away from viewing their Fox News channel to get to the polls, or read the propaganda clips online from The Weekly Standard, and base their entire worldview and opinion on these misinformation sources…..this is what happens.  When citizens in our country know and care more about how a football game works than they do about how their government is supposed to work…..that’s a problem!       ****************************************  Now that the Senate and House will both be controlled by Repubs, the President will sign Executive Orders (like every President has done), and Ted Cruz will lead the charge to impeach our President for over-reach and general “lawlessness”, because the Repubs have stupidly forgotten the disastrous effects on their own party from the last time they tried that action. And the 2016 Repub hopefuls they’re announcing now are: Jeb Bush, Rick Perry, Rand Paul, and Chris Christy. OMG!!  That’s the best the country has to offer for Repub Presidential hopefuls?  Yeah, that’s what I thought!

Sure I do.  The Boston Marathon bombers identities were discovered due to surveillance tape, and many other criminals have been apprehended due to their acts or appearances being caught on video camera.  Many large cities have used traffic light cameras and license plate readers, which are becoming more commonplace.  Businesses have long used “in store” video cams to record thefts, and for security in their parking lots.  “Cameras paired with software that compares plate numbers with lists of wanted suspects, missing persons, and stolen vehicles” is a big step forward in helping police track criminals. Video footage has long been used in court cases to prove all manner of offenses, so there are obviously many people who do not think about the possibility of their acts being recorded.  I don’t think the majority of people have a sense of “no privacy” at this time, but Big Brother is watching, or can watch you, so don’t screw up.  I do see a need, however, to come up with rules that set a proper “balance between the legitimate needs of law enforcement and civil liberties”.  And I think uniform cams would be a good next step in law enforcement for officers and citizens.

I’m voting for Pat Quinn because he’s a Democrat; and Yes, the Democrats ARE the stalwarts for the middle class.  Democratic values and unions have brought us a long way from the Robber Barons of the past century.  Fair labor standards, safety measures and the eight-hour workday, vacation time, pensions, and access to decent health care for the masses were all contributions to society from forward-leaning Dems.  We stand for liberty and justice for everyone, fairness in voting procedures, wages people can live on, better education, help for the poor and the elderly, and respectful treatment for our veterans!  Unemployment in Illinois is at a six-year low under Quinn.  I’m a retired working stiff.   The goal of Republicans is to keep the nation’s wealth for the wealthy.  Rauner is a billionaire vulture-capitalist, who is for out-sourcing whatever American jobs still exist.  He has lauded Scott Walker as his idol.  He’s against unions, raising the minimum wage, and expanding Medicaid.   He’s for privatizing Social Security and agencies like the Dept. of Motor Vehicles, (as Missouri did; then the focus isn’t on services, but profit margins).      My president, Barack Obama, endorses Pat Quinn, as does IL State Senator Dick Durbin, and former president Bill Clinton, and so do I.

Well, as Molly Palmer succinctly spelled out in her email to Mike Panther, we the public, are too ignorant to understand the full implications of the teacher’s strike and back to work agreement, which I guess is true enough.  She or someone else should have written a more educational article outlining what exactly was at stake for the taxpayers and the school system.  Her unprofessional email certainly sounded very hostile to the teachers, who had the audacity to strike for benefits, and it sounds like she wants to cut the nose off District 205 to spite its face!  ….to make sure that the teachers never strike again!  I’ve been a union worker most of my life, and I’m appalled at her angry tone toward the teachers, GEA, and the public that “supported the teachers”.  Sometimes “we can’t change” conditions, as employees, unless we utilize our strike rights.  Molly says that, “restoring those days won’t lead to healing”, but I think she’s wrong, and from my limited understanding of the issues, I say: add back the six days and let’s move forward without rancor.  (And lift the ban on retired teacher, Jim Jacobs,  from school properties; for his peaceful “demonstration” last month; because really, who is ever banned forever for such an act?  That’s just being petty!)

Cheri Bustos gets my vote because she’s an honest, hard-working Democrat, who is working for middle class values in Congressional Race 17 and in Washington.  Job creation and keeping American jobs in this country are middle class values, as are standing up for the disabled and America’s veterans, and protecting Medicare and Social Security and retiree’s pensions and affordable healthcare.  Bustos wrote and passed a law requiring that American flags purchased with American tax dollars are made in America — by American workers!  Schilling and Rauner are cut from the same cloth; they’re both big liars, who are going to sell out to big corporations and big money concerns and cause big problems for Illinois.  And we can all kiss our pensions goodbye if Rauner becomes the next Illinois governor.  VOTE BLUE for BUSTOS!!  For Hard Work and Strong Leadership!

Common Core standards were not set by the federal government, but by the National Governors Assoc. in 2009, to create a “level-playing field for the states to be evaluated upon”; and states are free to choose if they will implement them or not.  Illinois did so, and this is our second year of the initiative.  Only six states, so far, have not implemented the standards, which were introduced to fix the problems of “teaching to the test” that were inherent in the “No Child Left Behind” program.  Illinois’ Constitution mandates the state to fund education in full, but for decades the schools have not received their full funding.  Illinois was awarded a grant of $42.8 million (for 4 years) from the federally funded “Race to the Top” grant, that is only available to states that have implemented the Common Core standards.  Galesburg school kids are “learning material that is at least one year ahead of previous expectations”, and it will take several years for the full implementation of the program.   My fourth-grade grandson is learning from a Chrome Book in the classroom, computer skills in the library, and last month began the study of principles of Geometry.  It’s a rigorous pace for instructors and students, who will need support from aides, parents and administrators.  It’s time for a new paradigm in learning!  We need to give this program, and the educators, time and resources to adequately implement these standards before we can judge its worth.  *************

Our U.S. Senator Dick Durbin said, “We need to continue to look for ways to elevate the quality of our schools, to improve college readiness, and to ensure that our children have the skills they need to compete in the global economy”.  I agree with that.

This proposed legislation sounds great to me; that Illinois would become the sixth state to allow monitoring devices to be installed in nursing home patient’s rooms to help protect them.  Mydear 89 year old mother is currently in a nursing home in Galesburg; she receives good care, but she has fallen a couple of timesas she sometimes forgets she can no longer walk.  If a patient turns on their call light and aides take too long to respond, hopefully someone at the nurses station can scan a screen of those rooms to see if someone has fallen or appears to need immediate help.  Many nursing homes are definitely understaffed.  I don’t understand the privacy issue; these folks lie around all day, reading if they still can, or sitting in their wheelchairs.  Some can walk around and visit.  Bathrooms would still be private.  And if residents or their families decide and pay for the equipment where’s the problem?  Nursing homes are worried about retaining quality staff if they have such monitors?  Why would someone doing their job well have such a concern?  I also think most good cops should welcome a uniform camera to record interactions.  Even good care can be improved upon, and there are probably many nursing homes in the state where such devices are very necessary!

Teacher tenure is basically a permanent contract with teachers, “ensuring them a guarantee of employment for life”.  The practice began in the early 20th century when changes in political parties, racial or personal bias could result in an otherwise excellent teacher being fired.   Now the practice makes it nearly impossible to fire bad teachers. I feel that most employers should have to show “just cause” for firing an employee.   In the teaching profession, the dismissal review process can be very involved and costly.  “Some states and school districts are beginning to turn to merit-based models for tenure and pay.”  The Center for Education Reform, President Jeanne Allen said,  “Many states have set the bar too low for the achievement of tenure”.    With the huge amount of influence that teachers have in the lives and development of self-esteem in our kids, it’s not fair to waste our children’s time and growth in school years trying to weed out the most ineffective educators.  Our kids deserve the best educational opportunities available, and to be surrounded by those best-suited to bring out their full potential.  More than in any other profession, those who are burnt-out or tired of the young minds in need of constant inspiration, they should retire and allow fresher, more innovative instructors to take over, revamping the tired, old system into a new paradigm of learning.

Our response should probably be just what it is, controlled and cautious on the face of things, while doing all we can diplomatically and politically behind the scenes to assist the recovery and impending investigation; as senior U.S. intelligence officials state they “have no evidence of direct Russian government involvement” in the incident, and investigators believe this was the result of a missile, mistakenly fired by separatists. World leaders are demanding a full-scale investigation; pro-Russian separatists have shown little willingness to allow it, and President Putin says he will put pressure on the rebels to investigate, though Russian media is supposedly blaming USA/CIA and Ukraine for the incident.  Such “investigations” can be lengthy.  On July 3, 1988, the U.S. Navy, guided-missile cruiser USS Vincennes, shot down Iran Air Flight 655 civilian passenger plane over Iranian airspace in the Persian Gulf, killing 290 people (66 children and 16 crew).  President Reagan responded by saying that “the Vincennes had taken proper defensive action”.  It took four years for the administration to admit that USS Vincennes was in Iranian waters.  In 1996, an agreement was finally reached on the suit brought by Iran to the International Court of Justice; the U.S. agreed to pay $61.8 million, plus the cost of the aircraft and legal expenses.  “The U.S. government expressed regret only for the loss of innocent life, and did not make specific apology to the Iranian government.”