Monday, September 24, 2012
Arne Duncan translated: We'll work with everybody except teachers to improve education
Count how many education "reform" cliches Secretary of Education Arne Duncan uses in this "Education Nation" clip from today's Morning Joe on MSNBC. If you listen to Duncan and the other guests, charter schools are responsible for every good thing going on in education today. As usual, "Education Nation" is showing one side of education and is misleading America.
Joplin School Board to discuss what to do with Hope High School sign
The Hope High School sign, which became a symbol of Joplin during its recovery from the May 22, 2011, will be a topic of discussion Tuesday when the Joplin Board of Education meets:
Superintendent C.J. Huff has expressed his commitment to preserving the sign, which he said has become somewhat of an icon in Joplin since the tornado. He recently said the primary challenge in moving the sign will be its size, as it extends into the ground nearly as deep as it rises above the ground.
Steele said board members on Tuesday plan to discuss how to move the sign as well as where it should be moved, whether it be storage, the new high school or the Joplin Museum Complex.
“We’ve had some people concerned about what we’re going to do with it and where we’re going to put it,” he said. “There’s a lot of options out there, and we just want to make sure we’re going to make the right decision.”
Steele said the subject of moving the sign would possibly be a discussion-only item on Tuesday, without any formal decisions being made.
“Whether a vote takes place, I don’t know,” he said.
Anyone have any thoughts?
Chris Christie: Voting for Jay Nixon is like voting for Obama
Chris Christie told a Springfield audience Sunday that voting for Gov. Jay Nixon is like voting for President Obama:
Christie spoke to the crowd at a rally for Republican gubernatorial challenger Dave Spence. In his 20-minute address, Christie said Nixon is essentially the same candidate as Barack Obama, and that he has failed to move the economy forward.
“I see startling similarities between the campaign run by the governor of Missouri and the campaign of the President of the United States,” he said.
Republicans accuse Nixon of trying to distance himself from Obama, who carries high unfavorable ratings in Missouri. Earlier in the week, Spence unveiled a new ad seeking to link Nixon and Obama, arguing both Democrats have pursued failed economic polices that have hurt Missourians.
“It’s time to fire the CEO of Missouri,” he said. “It’s time to get a CEO who has been out in the real world.”
Friday, September 21, 2012
Court filing: Wal-Mart tornado victim responsible for his death
The late Stanley Kirk was at least partially responsible for his own death at the 15th Street Wal-Mart during the May 22, 2011, Joplin Tornado, according to a filing today in U. S. District Court for the Western District of Missouri.
"Stanley Kirk was comparatively at fault in failing to take cover in an area designated for safety or directed by Wal-Mart employees," attorney Maureen Brady of the law firm of Sanders, Warren & Russell, said in Wal-Mart's response to the lawsuit filed by Kirk's wife and daughter, Janice and Jodelle Kirk. Another attorney in the firm, partner Bradley S. Russell, will be the lead attorney, according to a separate filing.
The company also denied nearly all of the allegations in the lawsuit and said it did not have enough knowledge to comment on the remainder.
Wal-Mart wants a jury trial, another filing indicated.
The wrongful death lawsuit was transferred to federal court Sept. 14 after initially being filed in Jasper County Circuit Court.
The suit charges the company for not being prepared for the EF-5 tornado that destroyed the store on May 22, 2011, and for not having an adequate emergency plan.
According to the petition, Mr. Kirk went to Wal-Mart that day for a "golf-related item." The tornado siren sounded at 5:17 p.m. At some point between then and 5:24 p.m., Kirk "attempted to leave the store to return (to his) home" which was three miles away, "or a seven minute drive from the store and located in an area outside the path of the storm and untouched by the tornado."
The suit alleges "(Kirk) was forced to stay in the store and directed to an unsafe/improper location. Defendants had the responsibility to adequately design and construct the store, keep patrons safe during emergency, and design and implement a proper emergency plan."
The lawsuit accuses Wal-Mart of negligence. "Defendant Wal-Mart knew or should have known that Joplin Store No. 59 was located in an area that was at a high risk of tornadoes and violent wind."
It also says store officials knew or should have known that the building was "not constructed properly considering this increased risk of violent storms and tornadoes," and "knew or should have known there was not a proper emergency plan in place at the store, including a lack of signage and identified safe areas/tornado refuge areas.'
Wal-Mart should have known that customers forced to stay in the store "would be exposed to an increased risk of serious injury or death during violent storms."
The store was negligent in the following ways, according to the lawsuit:
a. Failing to allow Kirk to leave the store to seek shelter elsewhere
b. Failing to leave the doors unlocked to ensure access for emergency personnel
c. Failing to leave doors unlocked to ensure access for emergency personnel
d. Failing to address the increased potential for tornado hazard in construction of the store
e. Failing to have proper tornado refuge areas identified
f. Failing to have a proper safe room or tornado shelter
g. Failing to have proper signage regarding building design or other indicators for employees and patrons during emergencies
h. Failing to properly label safe areas
i. Failing to have emergency plans conspicuously displayed
j. Failing to direct all patrons to, and ensure all patrons were in safe areas
k. Failing to perform vulnerability assessments prior to storm
Store Manager Andy Martin is also charged with negligence for his actions during the storm, but an affidavit filed in Jasper County Circuit Court indicates Martin was on vacation when the tornado occurred.
The Kirks are seeking "fair and reasonable" damages, interest and costs.
The Kirks are being represented by the Hersehewe Law Firm of Joplin.
"Stanley Kirk was comparatively at fault in failing to take cover in an area designated for safety or directed by Wal-Mart employees," attorney Maureen Brady of the law firm of Sanders, Warren & Russell, said in Wal-Mart's response to the lawsuit filed by Kirk's wife and daughter, Janice and Jodelle Kirk. Another attorney in the firm, partner Bradley S. Russell, will be the lead attorney, according to a separate filing.
The company also denied nearly all of the allegations in the lawsuit and said it did not have enough knowledge to comment on the remainder.
Wal-Mart wants a jury trial, another filing indicated.
The wrongful death lawsuit was transferred to federal court Sept. 14 after initially being filed in Jasper County Circuit Court.
The suit charges the company for not being prepared for the EF-5 tornado that destroyed the store on May 22, 2011, and for not having an adequate emergency plan.
According to the petition, Mr. Kirk went to Wal-Mart that day for a "golf-related item." The tornado siren sounded at 5:17 p.m. At some point between then and 5:24 p.m., Kirk "attempted to leave the store to return (to his) home" which was three miles away, "or a seven minute drive from the store and located in an area outside the path of the storm and untouched by the tornado."
The suit alleges "(Kirk) was forced to stay in the store and directed to an unsafe/improper location. Defendants had the responsibility to adequately design and construct the store, keep patrons safe during emergency, and design and implement a proper emergency plan."
The lawsuit accuses Wal-Mart of negligence. "Defendant Wal-Mart knew or should have known that Joplin Store No. 59 was located in an area that was at a high risk of tornadoes and violent wind."
It also says store officials knew or should have known that the building was "not constructed properly considering this increased risk of violent storms and tornadoes," and "knew or should have known there was not a proper emergency plan in place at the store, including a lack of signage and identified safe areas/tornado refuge areas.'
Wal-Mart should have known that customers forced to stay in the store "would be exposed to an increased risk of serious injury or death during violent storms."
The store was negligent in the following ways, according to the lawsuit:
a. Failing to allow Kirk to leave the store to seek shelter elsewhere
b. Failing to leave the doors unlocked to ensure access for emergency personnel
c. Failing to leave doors unlocked to ensure access for emergency personnel
d. Failing to address the increased potential for tornado hazard in construction of the store
e. Failing to have proper tornado refuge areas identified
f. Failing to have a proper safe room or tornado shelter
g. Failing to have proper signage regarding building design or other indicators for employees and patrons during emergencies
h. Failing to properly label safe areas
i. Failing to have emergency plans conspicuously displayed
j. Failing to direct all patrons to, and ensure all patrons were in safe areas
k. Failing to perform vulnerability assessments prior to storm
Store Manager Andy Martin is also charged with negligence for his actions during the storm, but an affidavit filed in Jasper County Circuit Court indicates Martin was on vacation when the tornado occurred.
The Kirks are seeking "fair and reasonable" damages, interest and costs.
The Kirks are being represented by the Hersehewe Law Firm of Joplin.
At Women for Akin rally, Todd achin' for women protesters to shut up
In this Progress Missouri video, Todd Akin reveals that America has won two world wars and has a hard time drowning out the women in the background.
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