Video- Billy Long conducts auction for D. C. public school

In the accompanying video, Seventh District Congressman Billy Long puts his auctioneering skills to use at a fundariser for Brent Elementary School in Washington, D. C. April 2.

Hartzler urging Reid to pass spending bill: Make sure our troops are paid

Fourth District Congresswoman Vicky Hartzler issued a plea to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid to pass a spending bill and prevent a government shutdown:

Congresswoman Vicky Hartzler (MO-4), a member of the House Armed Services Committee, is urging Senate Leader Harry Reid to pass a spending bill to ensure America’s men and women engaged in fighting abroad continue to receive paychecks in the event of a government shutdown.


She is among a group of House Republicans who have sent a letter to Senator Reid to ask that he take action to head off any threat to America’s military readiness. Congresswoman Hartzler is one of the original co-sponsors of the Ensuring Pay For Our Military Act, legislation that would guarantee members of the military receive their pay and allowances in full and on time in the event of a government shutdown.


“A recent Department of Defense Guidance memorandum states that while the military will continue essential operations and continue to engage in combat during a possible federal government shutdown, service members will not be paid during this period,” said Hartzler. “We must not allow this to happen to tens of thousands of brave Americans and their families.”

“Service members need to be focused on field tasks at hand – not on whether their families back home will be able to pay bills,” added Hartzler. “Sadly, the liberal leadership in the Senate seems more interested in the politics and talking points of a government shutdown than adopting a budget that reduces our deficit and focuses on job creation. It is my hope the supporters of the shutdown will, at the very least, not play politics with our fighting men and women. American military personnel in harm’s way and protecting our freedoms should not have to worry about liberal inaction on government funding.”

The current Continuing Resolution funding the government on a temporary basis runs through this Friday, April 8th.

Akin: Our budget plan will put us on the path to solvency

Congressman Todd Akin (MO-2) joined Republican members of the House budget committee this morning to unveil their 2012 budget resolution.


Akin released the following statement on the proposal:

Count Rep. Todd Akin, R-Mo. on board for his party's Path to Prosperity budget plan:

“The Budget Committee has produced a reality-based ten year budget that puts our country back on the path to prosperity and averts a European style fiscal crisis.”

“Unless we change course now, the next generation will inherit a lower standard of living, a broken social safety net, crippling debt and fewer opportunities.”

“Republicans and Democrats have been complicit in the irresponsible and unsustainable spending that has obligated us to upwards of $14 trillion in debt. But now the contrast is clear between the President’s budget, which will only accelerate our country’s financial ruin and our budget, which will address these realities head on and put us on the path to solvency.”

“It’s our responsibility to choose what kind of America we want to pass on to the next generation. If we choose a course correction and fix autopilot spending programs as well as making the rest of government more efficient, our future can be brighter than our past. But if we continue on the current course – as the President’s budget does – we will force future generations to pay heavily for our irresponsibility.”

Cunningham anti-tenure, merit pay bill draws action alert from Missouri NEA

Missouri NEA is asking its members to contact senators to let them know how they feel about Sen. Jane Cunningham's legislation, SB 372, which would eliminate teacher tenure and base teacher pay on standardized test scores.

A hearing for the bill is scheduled for a meeting of Sen. Cunningham's General Laws Committee at 1:30 p.m. today.

In an action alert issued Monday, the NEA outlined its position on tenure:

Teachers need an effective voice in their schools. Teacher tenure is just a process to address issues of concern and ensure teachers are not fired arbitrarily. Where districts face challenges with under-performing teachers, the real issue to address is establishing a quality evaluation system that provides teachers with feedback and support in improving performance and addressing concerns.

My thoughts on teacher tenure can be found in my latest Huffington Post blog at this link.

Kinder bills taxpayers for scores of hotel stays, blames Democrats for not auditing Nixon

Peter Kinder would have fit in right into one of my eighth grade classes.

On many an occasion, I have students who are talking when they are not supposed to be and when they are called on it, they respond, "Well, I'm not the only one doing it."

That appears to be the reaction Peter Kinder and those who support him took after the St. Louis Post-Dispatch caught him redhanded billing the taxpayers for hotel stays that had little or no connection to state business.

Nixon's response- No one has audited Jay Nixon and he had a bad audit in 2007. Kinder and his supporters seem to have a faulty memory about the way the media has been handling the governor, also.

For instance, hasn't the media been all over Nixon, and rightfully so, about his use of state planes and billing other departments for their use.

Kinder's best response, though he doesn't quite put it in these words is that he stays in cheaper hotels when he is staying in hotels on trips that have nothing to do with taxpayer business.

On the accompanying video, Kinder and talk show host Dana Loesch attack the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, but never really answer the allegations. Instead, they say the story was designed to take the spotlight off Claire McCaskill.

And in the end Kinder stayed all of those nights in St. Louis because he loves the city of St. Louis and had a deep commitment to them.

Cunningham attack on teacher tenure set for committee hearing Tuesday

Sen. Jane Cunningham's latest attack on public schools and teachers, a law that would eliminate teacher tenure and base teacher pay on standardized test scores will receive a friendly committee hearing 1:30 p.m. Tuesday.

Instead of the Education Committee, SB 372 is in the Genaral Laws Committee, which has Mrs. Cunningham as its chairman.

In SB 372, Mrs. Cunningham asks for the following:

-The abolition of tenure, to be replaced by "continuing contracts," which can be two,three, or four years, depending on how well teachers' students perform on standardized tests.

-Abolition of minimum salaries for veteran teachers or those who have earned master's degrees

-Performance pay would become effective in 2013

-Teachers cannot campaign for school board candidates in their district. (It should be noted that Mrs. Cunningham was a one-term member of the Ladue Board of Education and lost her re-election bid after she ticked off school officials, teachers, and students, with her attempts to push a religious organization.)

-All teachers who have already earned tenure lose it as of 2012 and become probationary teachers once again.

Teacher tenure subject of latest Huffington Post blog.

In my latest Huffington Post blog, "When It Comes to Teaching, Who Needs Experience?" I refute the major arguments made by those who are clamoring for the elimination of teacher tenure.

The post comes at an opportune time, since Sen. Jane Cunningham, R-Chesterfield, appears to be pushing this bill through the Missouri Senate, beginning with the General Laws Committee she chairs.

My blog can be found at this link.

Among the observations in the post:

The conceit of No Child Left Behind is the idea that prior to its enactment, public school teachers and administrators were doing their best to deprive children of the American dream.

I can tell you categorically that the teachers I have worked with these past 12 years have not been sitting around, waiting to get tenure so they can take a long nap until retirement. We agonize over children who do appear to be slipping through the cracks, ones who move from school to school, never staying long enough to get an education.

We agonize over how to help children who suffer from physical, emotional, and sexual abuse that is almost impossible to comprehend. We deal with children who have parents in prison, who are exposed to drug and alcohol use every day, and who sometimes do not receive any kind of nourishment from the time they leave school until they arrive for breakfast the next morning.

The most remarkable story, and one that has remained untold, is the incredible number of successes we have with these children. While Waiting for Superman took cheap shots at public schools, emphasizing children with parents who care and failing to interview any teachers, veteran teachers have been in the trenches, doing what we have been doing all along, educating the vast majority of American children, and doing our best to succeed with the rest.

For this, we have become the nation's villains, labeled as selfish and self-involved.

If you agree with what I have written, please pass along the link.

President Obama: We are constantly trying to elevate teaching as a profession

In this video from a town hall meeting sponsored by the Hispanic network Univision, President Barack Obama addresses educational issues,

At one point, the president says he is not in favor of the teaching to the test mentality that our nation's schools have been under since No Child Left Behind was enacted 10 years ago.The discussion on standardized tests begins at about the 45 minute mark.

"We have piled on a lot of standardized tests on our kids. There's nothing wrong with a standardized tests being given occasionally to see where kids are at," Obama says.

"Too often, what we have been doing is using the tests to punish students" or schools, the president added.

"One thing I don't ever want to see is schools that are teaching to the test."

The president adds that the tests are making the schools boring for children which will have a negative impact on learning.

Other issues addressed educational funding in light of the country's participation in three wars, bullying,and affording a college education.

President Obama also praises teachers and says he is working to constantly elevate the status of teachers.

"I think it's very important for us to say to young people who are thinking about a career 'think about teaching.' There's no job that's more important and will give you more satisfaction and give you more impact and influence over your community than teaching. We are constantly trying to elevate teaching as a profession."

It's about time the president's actions matched his words.

Coverage of convicted embezzler/MSSU instructor earns Journalist of the Year honors for Brennan Stebbins

The Missouri College Media Center named Chart Editor-in-Chief Brennan Stebbins Journalist of the Year Saturday.

From the news release:

“This is a great honor,” Stebbins said. “The Chart has a long history of Journalists of the Year, and it is nice to add my name to the list.”

In presenting the award, Dr. Charles Fair, adviser to The Muleskinner at the University of Central Missouri, cited Stebbins’ coverage of Missouri Southern’s hiring of convicted embezzler Norman Katz to teach accounting.

“The story was well-written, well-sourced and fair,” he said.

Fair also said Stebbins exhibited a “passion for the profession” and represented journalism’s best ideals.

“Dr. Fair was very kind,” Stebbins said. “I just went into the interview and told them what I do and how I go about it.”

This is the second year in a row that the Chart has earned a major MCMA award. Last year, adviser T. R.Hanrahan,was named adviser of the year. Hanrahan, who was MCMA Journalist of the Year in 1995, praised Stebbins.

“Brennan and I have a unique relationship,” he said. “We don’t pull punches with each other. I am close friends with two other Chart editors who won this award and I can say without a doubt that Brennan might be the most deserving.

“Frankly, I was surprised he didn’t win last year.”

Stebbins also took first place in investigative reporting and regular column; second place in editorial writing and in-depth reporting; and honorable mention in news writing.

The Chart captured 20 MCMA awards, including the Sweepstakes award in its class.

Stebbins and the Chart were the ones who discovered what university officials somehow overlooked during their vetting of Norman Katz for an accounting instructor position- that he had pleaded guilty to embezzling $129,000 from the William McKinley Museum in Canton, Ohio. Katz later resigned his teaching post.

(Photo: Brennan Stebbins, center, with Chart staff last year after earning top MCMA honors. From left, Alexandra Nicolas, Luke Taylor, Stebbins,T. R. Hanrahan, Nathan Carter)

Swift Boat financier Simmons contributes $25K to Kinder

The $70,000 in oversized contributions reported by Lt. Gov. Peter Kinder Friday included $25,000 from Harold Simmons, one of the chief contributors to the Swift Boat campaign against Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry in 2004.

Simmons, 79, contributed $4 million to the Swift Boat campaign.

This is not the first time Simmons has placed money in a Republican candidate for Missouri governor. As noted in a 2007 Turner Report post, Simmons gave $50,000 to former Gov. Matt Blunt.

Simmons has not been the only Swift Boat financier to pour money into the campaigns of Kinder and others in the Missouri GOP. Robert Perry provided money to the Missouri Republican Party three years ago that was funneled into the campaign accounts of Kinder and Michael Gibbons, who ran unsuccesfully for attorney general.