Source: http://news.feedzilla.com/en_us/stories/politics/top-stories/215318142?client_source=feed&format=rss
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NFL Draft 2012: Cody Fleener’s 40 Time Impresses At Stanford Pro Day
Coby Fleener’s 4.45 second 40-yard dash time has NFL scouts and draft experts convinced that he is the No. 1 tight end prospect. Various teams are interested in Fleener’s potential, including the New York Giants who hold the No. 32 overall pick:
Sayre Bedinger from SB Nation’s Mile High Report believes the Denver Broncos might consider drafting Fleener in the first round with their No. 25 overall pick:
Currently, Fleener is considered a first round fringe prospect, but his speed and athleticism that were on display at Pro Day may vault him to the first round. If Fleener is picked in the first round he will likely be the fourth Stanford first-round pick. Andrew Luck, David DeCastro and Jonathan Martin are all projected to be picked in the draft’s first 20 picks.
To learn more about Fleener and Stanford football, check out Rule of Tree. To discuss the NFL draft, go to Mocking the Draft.
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WRUF850: 8:15pm & Gator Baseball. Check out Gator Baseball vs. South Carolina on our sister station, Country 103.7 the Gator
8:15pm & Gator Baseball. Check out Gator Baseball vs. South Carolina on our sister station, Country 103.7 the Gator
Source: http://twitter.com/WRUF850/statuses/183338945571078145
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Stuck with high gas prices, drivers just pump less
Americans have pumped less gas every week for the past year.
During those 52 weeks, gasoline consumption dropped by 4.2 billion gallons, or 3 percent, according to MasterCard SpendingPulse. The decline is longer than a 51-week slide during the recession.
The main reason: higher gas prices. The national average for a gallon of gas is $3.89, the highest ever for this time of year, and experts say it could be $4.25 by late April. As a result, Americans are taking fewer trips to restaurants and shopping malls. When they take a vacation, they’re staying closer to home.
But the decline in gas consumption is also a sign that efforts to push carmakers to produce vehicles with better gas mileage are paying off. The average new car now gets nearly 24 miles to the gallon, compared with about 20 mpg just four years ago, according to the University of Michigan Transportation Research Institute.
“I’d expect to see lower gasoline consumption for several years to come,” Rice University energy expert Ken Medlock says.
Americans have cut back on fill-ups for extended periods before. In 2008, gas spiked from $3.04 to $4.11 per gallon in seven months. It wasn’t until January 2009, when the national average for gas had dropped to $1.86 that consumption increased. Drivers bought more gasoline for 23 weeks in a row.
“The spike in 2008 was a real shock to the system,” Medlock says. “There’s still a residual impact on people’s driving behavior.”
There were other stretches of reduced gas use, notably two into the 1970′s and one in the early 1980′s. But in those cases, Americans eventually went back to driving big cars and trucks that guzzled gas.
This time may be different. Medlock thinks economic growth will be too modest and gas prices will stay too high for Americans to start driving more anytime soon. Economists expect the U.S. economy to grow 2.5 percent in 2012. The government estimates that gas will average a record $3.79 per gallon for the year.
John Gamel, who oversees MasterCard SpendingPulse’s weekly consumption report, points to rising sales of fuel-efficient vehicles.
“People have gotten used to elevated prices and they’ve made their long-term purchases,” Gamel says. “They’re going to be using less fuel.”
Consumers now care more if a car gets good gas mileage than if it’s reliable, stylish or comes with a great deal, according to a survey of more than 24,000 new-vehicle owners taken last summer and fall by J.D. Power and Associates. That wasn’t the case in the nine previous years that J.D. Power conducted the survey.
Automakers have listened to consumers, and responded to stricter government fuel economy requirements. They’ve improved engines and transmissions so cars burn less fuel. They’ve also made cars more aerodynamic, boosting mileage by cutting wind drag. The government is gradually increasing gas mileage requirements so that by 2025, cars and trucks will have to average 54.5 mpg.
Between February 2011 and February 2012, the combined city-highway mileage of a new vehicle sold in the U.S rose to 23.7 mpg from 22.7. Better gas mileage has a huge impact on the overall economy. At $3.86 per gallon, U.S. drivers would save $35.8 billion per year with a 1 mpg improvement for the entire fleet of cars, trucks and buses, according to Michael Sivak, a research professor with the University of Michigan Transportation Research Institute.
Consumers would appreciate the help. The rise in gas prices has been so steep that they’re still spending more on gas than a year ago despite using less.
Gasoline prices rose by 24 percent in the last 52 weeks, according to auto club AAA, Wright Express and Oil Price Information Service. MasterCard, which collects purchase receipts from more than 100,000 service stations around the country, said spending on gas rose by 20 percent during the period.
In 2011, Americans spent 8.4 percent of their household income on gasoline, or about $4,155, compared with 6.7 percent in 2010, according to experts at OPIS.
W.M. Lewis, a general contractor in Anchorage, Alaska, says he is spending as much as $150 a week on gas. He’s consolidating his errands, but still limiting his driving because fuel keeps getting more expensive.
“It’s changing everybody’s plans,” he says. “You have less money to spend.”
Behind all this is the high price of oil. Brent crude, which is used to price most of the oil used to make gasoline at many U.S. coastal refineries, has jumped by 16 percent this year to more than $124 per barrel. Benchmark U.S. crude has risen 9 percent this year to more than $107 per barrel.
Increased gas use by the growing number of drivers in China and other developing nations more than makes up for the drop in the U.S. That contributes to an increase in global demand for oil, which in turn pushes the price higher. Fear of a disruption to oil supplies from the Middle East also is keeping oil prices at lofty levels.
____
Krisher reported from Detroit. Associated Press Writer Rachel D’Oro in Anchorage contributed to this report.
___
Follow Chris Kahn on Twitter at http://twitter.com/ChrisKahnAP
Source: http://news.yahoo.com/stuck-high-gas-prices-drivers-just-pump-less-131753279.html
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Bachmann Owes $1 Million in Campaign Debt
Posted at: 03/23/2012 8:57 AM | Updated at: 03/23/2012 9:41 AM
ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) – Minnesota Congresswoman Michele Bachmann owes more than $1 million from her unsuccessful bid to become the Republican presidential nominee.
Bachmann detailed her finances through late January in a federal campaign report filed this week. The report had been due Feb. 20.
She left the GOP race after finishing last in Iowa’s leadoff caucuses. She is running for a new term in Congress.
Half of the debt is owed to a fundraising consultant and her campaign manager is also due a large chunk.
(Copyright 2012 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
Source: http://www.wdio.com/article/stories/s2550776.shtml?cat=10335
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Clinton to let military aid to Egypt continue, says State Department official
US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton speaks before presenting the George McGovern Leadership Award to Howard G. Buffett and Bill Gates in recognition of their leadership in addressing food security among small scale farmers at the State Department in Washington October 24, 2011. ? Reuters pic
WASHINGTON, March 23 ? US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton will allow US military aid to Egypt to continue despite Cairo’s failure to meet pro-democracy conditions, a senior State Department official said yesterday, a move sharply criticised on Capitol Hill.
The office of Senator Patrick Leahy, who chairs the Senate subcommittee on foreign aid, revealed Clinton’s decision and made clear his deep unhappiness with it, arguing that Clinton should now limit the amount of military aid that is released.
Clinton should “release no more taxpayer funds than is demonstrably necessary, withholding the rest in the (US) Treasury pending further progress in the transition to democracy” in Egypt, Leahy said in a statement.
Hours later, a senior State Department official confirmed Clinton would on Friday waive a requirement, recently passed by Congress and authored by Leahy, for Egypt’s government to support a transition to democracy in order for US military aid to continue.
“On the basis of America’s national security interests, she (Clinton) will waive legislative conditions related to Egypt’s democratic transition, allowing for the continued flow of ‘Foreign Military Financing’ to Egypt,” the official said.
The move reflects “our overarching goal: to maintain our strategic partnership with an Egypt made stronger and more stable by a successful transition to democracy,” the official said, asking not to be named.
Since long-time Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak was toppled by a street revolution early last year, Egypt has made marked progress toward democracy. It has held parliamentary elections and is scheduled to elect a new president in May.
However, a crackdown on pro-democracy forces – including some US groups – over the last several months infuriated US lawmakers and caused the Obama administration to warn Egypt that its aid might be in peril.
Congress has approved US$1.3 billion (RM4.01 billion) in military aid to Egypt – the same level the country has received for years – for the current fiscal year, which ends on Sept. 30. Congress also approved US$250 million (RM771 million) in economic aid and up to US$60 million (RM185 million) for an “enterprise fund.”
But for the US military aid to flow, the law requires Clinton to certify that the Egyptian government is supporting a transition to civilian government, including holding free and fair elections, and implementing policies to protect freedom of expression, association, religion and due process of law.
Clinton is using a provision in the law that allows her to waive those conditions on national security grounds. Leahy said this sends the wrong signal to the Egyptian military, which has ruled the country since Mubarak was ousted.
“The Egyptian military should be defending fundamental freedoms and the rule of law, not harassing and arresting those who are working for democracy,” Leahy said.
“They should end trials of civilians in military courts and fully repeal the Emergency Law, and our policy should not equivocate on these key reforms.”
The State Department official argued that Egypt had made “more progress in 16 months than in the last 60 years” toward democracy. But the official allowed that “more work remains to protect universal rights and freedoms.”
US law also requires the Secretary of State to certify that Egypt is meeting its obligations under its peace treaty with Israel to receive any of the US aid, and Clinton also made this certification, the State Department official said.
Mixed reactions
The Republican chair of the House of Representatives foreign aid subcommittee, Kay Granger, said she was disappointed Clinton had decided to waive conditions on military aid while the Egyptian government’s transition was still underway.
The law still requires Clinton to consult congressional appropriators before any funds are transferred to Egypt, Granger added in a statement.
However, another Republican, Senator Lindsey Graham, said it was in US national security interests to provide the aid.
“The United States military has a close working relationship with their Egyptian counterparts. These relationships proved to be invaluable and have been a stabilising influence during these troubling and uncertain times in Egypt,” Graham said.
Egyptian authorities recently accused US, Egyptian and other pro-democracy campaigners, including the son of US Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood, of working for groups receiving illegal foreign funding, and initially prevented some of the Americans from leaving the country.
Most of the US pro-democracy activists flew out of Egypt on March 1 after Egyptian authorities lifted a travel ban. But the charges have not been dropped against either the American or Egyptian activists, and trial is set for next month.
David Kramer, the president of Freedom House, one of the non-governmental organisations affected by the crackdown, said a resumption of military aid sends the wrong message to Egyptians.
The message is “that we care only about American NGO workers (who were allowed to leave), not about the aspirations of the Egyptian people to build democracy.”
Brian Katulis, a senior fellow at the Centre for American Progress think tank, said the Obama administration may be making a tactical move by keeping some aid going for now.
“They don’t want to make any massive overhauls in our assistance until we have greater clarity for what the new Egypt looks like,” he said. ? Reuters
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You should understand rules and regulations for vacation insurance …
The importance of holiday insurance is vital and you should know the rules and regulations for vacation insurance so that you are able to get maximum benefit from different travel policies that are offered by various insurance companies for the traveler. In the interest of the safety of the family and friends, you should plan the vacation and take the coverage of vacation insurance to tackle various untoward situations during the travel or at the travel destination.
Travelers do not like to think of negative situations in the travel trip and do not usually give importance to holiday insurance. But when they experience the unfortunate event, they look for ways and means to tackle the rough situation. Whether it is about the medical assistance or the cancellation of flights and so on, the travel insurance coverage works very much in favor of the traveler. It should be appreciated by the traveler before making the travel plans and should include the insurance coverage to remain safe and secured.
If you are planning for travel to holiday destination with the extended family, you should take notice of the insurance coverage to avoid foul situations and become able to take right steps required in the respective conditions. Discuss with your insurance agent and understand the full benefits of the insurance coverage and the travel insurance eligibility for all the candidates that are included in the travel party.
It is an important section of the insurance policy where eligibility matters in the application of an insurance policy to a particular individual. The individual may be a child or an aged person and there is separate eligibility criterion for each member, which should be properly understood before taking the respective policy. You can also earn certain discounts in the policy on various grounds, which should also be exercised.
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The Province As A Corporation ? Education | Meddling Kids
Now, my kids don?t live here. For a while, I had Spazz living with me, but today they all live in the beautifully forested province of British Columbia, and so one might believe that matters of education do not concern me. That would be an incorrect assumption. For starters, there?s Demon, the child of the Lovely Lady who lives with me and is knee deep in the public education system. But more than that, there is the pride in knowing that I live in a country that values education for children no matter what their political and economic backgrounds. And there are my friends who teach in public schools and the legacy of my parents, both of whom were public school teachers. I care very much about the education system, and the current situation gives me a great deal of reason to be concerned.
But there are even larger concerns. An educated society is one where great things can happen. That does not mean that I expect everyone to go on to a great post-secondary education and a career at Super Corporation, but the opportunity should be provided for all citizens to be able to move in whatever direction they desire. Encouraging intellect to grow is a positive for society, and leads to a more competent and capable work force. This is a good thing. Our country is made up of people, and the more well rounded those people are, the better off our society is.
The corporation of the province has a vested interest and an obligation to ensure that each student gets the best possible education. All of the parties tell you that, but I want to look at their actual policies and pick them apart. Again, I?m biased here. My dog in the fight is the Alberta Party, and I do not pretend to be unbiased. Still, my intention is to look objectively at the various policies and figure out what I think works and what doesn?t.
The Current Situation
40 years of Conservative rule have definitely left a mark on the education system. When Ralph Klein was elected Premier, one of his first acts was to slash the hell out of public education. I remember my mother, a music teacher at a poor school, being told that the school had to choose between her music program and the phys ed program. Personally, I was disgusted. Music is such an important part of rounding out students, giving them pride of performance, and helping their minds develop properly, but phys ed is an integral part of the school as well, ensuring both that kids are challenged and tested physically, and that they burn off energy in a positive way. That?s like being asked which of your testicles you don?t want anymore.
Things haven?t gotten better. The school boards have responded by encouraging early retirement. Teachers with experience cost too much, and new teachers fresh out of college are cheap. Of course, this totally devalues the importance of teaching experience, and teachers are left with a knowledge vacuum. Any successful business knows the value of its experienced workers, and a corporation should be smart enough to try to balance cost and experience. Of course, it?s cheaper to run a business with fresh-out-of-the-blocks college graduates, but without more senior staff to watch out for the pitfalls, push the best practices, and share the wealth of knowledge they have accumulated, such a company is doomed to make the same mistakes over and over again. And that?s just bad business.
Today, we are left with massive class sizes and limited resources. Classes with special needs students are at an immediate disadvantage, because getting the appropriate resources for special needs children is difficult. I know this, as both my own and my friends? children have encountered the difficulties inherent in gaining understanding from teachers and access to learning resources.
There are other issues, but these ones are the ones that are front-and-center in my mind. So shall we begin?
Conservatives
Once again, I?m not going to waste my time looking. I don?t care how revolutionary their educational policies may or may not be, they?re the reason that education is in the position it is right now. To assume that as of election day they?re going to change 40 years worth of hacking and slashing is just ridiculous.
Liberals
The first thing I?m reading is that the Liberals want to end school fees. I?m not sure I entirely agree with that. I believe that school fees amongst the poor and working poor are a nightmare, and I would know, but to simply suggest that the government shell out another 40 million dollars (I?m basing this number on the NDP?s figure taken from this page from 2005) when those with money could take on some of that seems like an unnecessary burden to be dropped on the taxpayer. $40 million isn?t actually a lot of money in the provincial budget, but if it could be at least partially handled by the more wealthy parents, so much the better. I?m certainly not advocating dividing $40 million by how many rich kids there are, but if everyone over a certain earning level can spend their current fees, that will help.
Their next main point is to create a school lunch program. I honestly can?t comment on this, because I don?t know how many students in Alberta are going to school hungry. If it is a sizable number, then a school lunch program absolutely makes sense for the reasons they have said. If it isn?t, then it is a waste of money.
Then they suggest a $500 tax credit for teachers. I?m not against this per se, but I?m not for it. The argument is that teachers put a certain amount of their paycheck into the job. I know this to be true, but I?m not sure I agree with giving them a tax credit for it. In a normal job, any expenses you incur become tax deductible expenses. Would that replace the ability for teachers to keep their receipts and be remunerated for them? Are teachers not presently allowed to submit these receipts? To me, a $500 tax credit either overcompensates something that is already being taken care of or doesn?t solve the problem properly.
Their next point is to expand registered apprenticeship programs for students who want to learn a trade. I have no problem with this. Their last point, however, is stupid. They want provincial policy to denote that there is a zero tolerance policy on bullying. I personally hate bullies and would love to see the behavior quickly and efficiently rooted out of schools, but a provincial policy means nothing. Are they going to require schools to react to bullying in a specific way? How is the provincial government going to enforce this policy? To me, this stinks of currying favor with parents. Bullying is very topical right now due to a few high profile incidents, and I see no way for the provincial government to in any way impact this. It?s not like there are schools who have a ?Bullying is cool? policy that would need to be overturned. Unless this policy specifically addresses bullying behaviors with direct ramifications, then this whole point means absolutely nothing.
NDP
Now, this is nitpicky of me, and I get that, but the language on their page is awful. It actually should be read as ?Alberta?s NDP would the lack of appropriate funding has led to class sizes larger than recommended by the Alberta Commission on Learning?. Now, most people suck at working bullet points, but that?s just awful, and it makes me highly dubious of anyone who can?t get their official web site to read correctly. But again, that?s my grammar freakout, and doesn?t reflect the strength or weakness of the policy. Actually, as I read further down the page, this is just bad HTML. That?s still bad form, and just makes you wonder how they can run a province if they can?t proof-read a web page, but again, semantics.
Because it?s jumbled, I?m going to have to jumble a bit on how I deal with each point. It starts out with a good evaluation of the current state of things, including some points I hadn?t brought to light earlier. One of the stand-outs is that some schools are considering arrangements with private corporations. I?ve heard of this, and it freaks me right out. I thought calling it the Pengrowth Saddledome was tacky until I found out about Providence, RI?s Dunkin Donuts Center. How would you like Dunkin Donuts Elementary? How comfortable would you feel in saying that the landlords wouldn?t be willing to use their ownership of the building as a means to impact curriculum? That?s a yucky concept to say the least.
The first thing they want to do is implement caps on class sizes. I agree. I?m not sure what the Learning Commission targeted as right class size, but caps are important. There are just too many students in a typical Alberta classroom, and the mandatory decrease in class size means an increase in the number of teachers, which means a direct increase in cost. I?m all for this. That increase in cost is simply the cost of doing business for the education system. Health care would be remarkably cheap if you didn?t have to pay health care workers, but we accept that we do. It?s the same with teachers. Teachers are probably the most maligned public servants, and the notion that they are making the Big Bucks is just ridiculous.
Next up is ensuring that there are enough support staff for schools. Duh. I mean, I hate to say it, but how is this even a question? If you?re running a business and you want it to be successful, you assume that there are certain overhead positions that are going to be required to keep the ship running smoothly. And while having an office manager does not contribute to the income of a company, not having one directly diminishes the income as those duties take away from the time that others can spend actually working.
Funding full day kindergarten I?m good with. Funding half-day junior kindergarten I?m definitely not behind. This sounds to me too much like government-funded babysitting, and is that really what we want to do? I?d be all for offering to help with the cost of funding day care for the poor, but to make that a burden for the education system just seems pointless.
Their next point is weak. ?Make high school completion a priority by providing students with the support they need to stay in school and reach their educational potential.? That doesn?t really say how you are going to do it, and to me, this just comes across like the kind of statement that is made by someone running for Class President. Saying that you?re going to encourage something and saying how you?re going to encourage it are two different things.
Next, we?re eliminating fees and fundraising for learning essentials. I agree with this. If a computer is required for a classroom, it shouldn?t come down to the schools to find a way to jury-rig it in.
One of the things I haven?t touched on yet, but that I truly am appalled about is the fact that private schools are receiving public funding. I absolutely agree that this should be stopped immediately. If you as a parent have the means and the desire to send your child to private school, the public system should not be contributing a dime. As for charter schools, my understanding is that they are already under the jurisdiction of school boards, but if they aren?t, they should be.
Again with the healthy and nutritious food options. The NDPs are taking it one step further and making it breakfast and lunch. I still really don?t know if I agree with this concept, and would have to see how common the problem of children not having food at home is. The idea of the school system stepping in and feeding my kids just doesn?t seem right.
Lastly, they want to ensure that parents of students from 6-12 years old have access to after school care. Again, I agree with the concept of the government assisting with day care and after school care, but to me this isn?t educational policy. I would not be comfortable with the Calgary Board of Education deciding who was going to look after my kid between 3:00 and 5:00.
Wild Rose Party
Their main points start with putting the decision making into the locally elected school boards again, instead of largely coming from a centralized body in Edmonton. I agree with this. I also find it uproariously funny when a political party refers to the public servants as ?government bureaucrats?, both because it sounds like some cartoon character blaming ?those doggone bums in Warshingtin? and because they?re ACTIVELY TRYING TO BECOME GOVERNMENT BUREAUCRATS. That?d be like me saying how much I hate Business Analysts because they?re always over-thinking and never bloody well doing during a job interview to become a Business Analyst. Stupid!
In the Freedom To Choose section, they say they want funding for the student to follow the student to the school they attend, which makes sense. I thought it already did. They also want schools to be accountable by posting graduation rates and subject-by-subject assessment rates. This seems to me to be a great model for teaching to the test. Lastly, they?re perfectly fine with maintaining the 70% funding for private school students. SAY WHAT?
The Respecting Individuality section kinda gives me the creeps. It?s good that they realize that students aren?t all identical, and that tailoring learning is important, but statements like ?Students won?t be moved on to more advanced material until they demonstrate a strong understanding of the subject matter? leave me a little frosty. What happens if a student simply doesn?t understand a topic? Do we just keep hammering them with it day after day? And then they say that they want to get rid of the stupid old standardized tests with brand new standardized tests. Yay! Something new to teach to!
In their final section, Support For Special Needs Students, they talk about how special needs kids eat up resource time, and how they want to determine as early as possible that students have special needs and then find the best choice from them, be that staying the classroom or not. I?m all for that, but in my own prejudiced mind, I don?t trust the super-Conservatives not to just create some weird super soldier program where they root out the special needs kids and feed them to the strongest ones. But obviously that?s just ridiculous.
I thought these people were supposed to be Conservatives? but the idea of funding private school with government money, of supporting special needs students, and respecting ANYTHING simply don?t jive with that. That is a concern to me. Is this a party that isn?t as Conservative as they let on, or are they a party that lies to get elected?
Alberta Party
And again, we save the best for last. The Alberta Party policy is what I would consider most in line with what I as a typical Albertan would want to see. There are a lot of points in it that are brought up that the others haven?t touched on, and what I would consider largely the best of the other plans. Read the policies of all the parties, and see if you don?t agree?
For starters, we?re back to taking the control of local education out of the hands of the regional body. Things ranging from where schools are built to decision making for those schools should see more involvement from the regions affected.
This is the only plan that talks about teacher professional development. I have always been amazed at the general lack of professional development available to teachers. In any field I?ve ever encountered, employers pay for training courses, encourage professional growth, and feel the need to challenge employees. That is tragically not the case for public education, and it is a shortcoming the Alberta Party seeks to resolve.
Another first is the plan to remove the ridiculous age limit on coverage for completing high school. A high school diploma is a major prerequisite for so much opportunity, and until the age of 21, the government will pay for it. But what about those who wish to get it later in life? Well, the present system says that they can pay for it at a cost of around $350 per course. I?m guessing here, but I?d imagine that most people who don?t have and eagerly want a high school education would find it awfully difficult to find an extra $350 per course lying around the house. It becomes yet another barrier to success, and for what benefit?
And then the topic of Bill 44 comes up. I had trouble with this bill when I first read it because it seems innocent enough. It means that parents are to be warned whenever the topic of religion, sex, or sexual identity is planned to be brought up in class, and they have the option of having their children opt out of the lecture without penalty. Now, on the surface that doesn?t seem to be a big deal. If parents want their children to be ignorant about sex, sexuality, and religion, so be it. But there are things wrong with this. For starters, what happens if students turn discussion in that direction? For example, let?s say a teacher is lecturing about evolution. This is not a religious topic, it?s a scientific topic, but what happens if students actively lead the conversation into a discussion on evolution vs. creationism? In this, the student is the one who has created the issue, but any attempt to discuss it with the class has not been previously cleared with parents, and the teacher might be considered in violation of this law? What about teaching history without reference to religious impacts on war? How many topics have the potential to spill into violations of the law? Let?s say the topic of Artificial Intelligence (or code breaking, or World War II) brings mention of Alan Turing, and students wish to comment on his humiliation and suicide? It might be easier to find topics that could not possibly link through legitimate discussion to religion, sex, or sexual identity. The Alberta Party?s plan to remove this section of the law seems to me to be a protection of both teachers and free debate.
A common theme with several of the policies is about the damage that standardized testing like the Provincial Achievement Testing does to education. Teachers are teaching to the test, and that has a long history of blowing up in our faces. They plan to remove this testing and replace it with a better solution. As well, they want to reduce the weighting of diploma exams. I wholly agree. Why does a single test constitute half of the student?s mark? One bad day (at a time when the student is under maximum stress and fatigue) and their mark tanks hardly seems a fair notion. When I taught college, my mid-term and final exams were typically worth something like 25%, because exams are hardly the only evaluation of a student?s competency in a topic.
And throughout the whole document are a few constants that I think are imperative, and are generally lacking in the other party policies. Words like accountability and transparency as it pertains to what we?re paying for and how our investment is faring are important to me. I am a believer in public spending, but I am against blind public spending. The money exists in this province to properly fund an incredible system, but it has been diverted into middle management and bad decision-making. We give too little to the public education system and are given too little information on how that money is spent, and that is a failure.
(My) Conclusion
I can?t help but feel, after having read all of the educational policies (save the Conservatives) that the only one that is thorough, reasonable, and matches what I think are the priorities of the majority of Albertans with regards to education is the Alberta Party platform. Again, I?m biased. I have a dog in this race, and I encourage you to look at the policies and make up your own mind.
Education in Alberta needs to change. It needs more funding, smaller classes, better measures, better support for different types of learning and abilities to learn, better treatment of teachers, better treatment of students, and a general increase in the importance we place on this service. All of the platforms that I have read speak to this in different ways, but the Alberta Party does so thoroughly and thoughtfully, much more so than any of the others.
Once again, the Liberal policy comes across (at least to me) like empty promises by people who know they haven?t a hope in hell of having to back up their words. The NDP would be a cost mistake as leaders of the province. The Conservatives have proven that they have what it takes to cause problems, but not what it takes to fix them. The Wild Rose Party are clearly of the rich, for the rich, and by the rich. I mean, come on. You?re supposed to be Conservatives and you support the public system giving public money to private schools? Oh, right. Your kids go there. Any cost savings they see go directly to you. Right. Way to look out for everyone, guys.
When you look at the various policies, try to think about things from that corporation perspective. They are the leaders of the corporation. We are both their customers and their staff. We expect a certain level of quality when it comes to all of the services we utilize. We have services that require retooling. Who do you think has the best plan for that retooling to best his
Jim
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Video: Sen. McCain Calls for Syria Intervention
Sen. John McCain, (R-AZ), makes the case for why the U.S. should lead an intervention to stop the slaughter in Syria now.
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Landscaping Outdoor Decorating | Blogs.CityofLasVegasArea.com
Fire bowls are so inside right now. However have you any idea they have held it?s place in lifetime more than generations? And also inspite of the breakthroughs inside technology, these people stayed well-known which will be mostly due to their flexibility.
History
Within olden days, fire has been key for the livelihoods of numerous ethnicities. The origins came to be from necessity; man required hearth to survive. So the history of fire pits started out.
Today, they come in various styles to select from. Your designs fluctuate with regards to fuel resource, materials, dimensions and also goal, simply to name some. Fire pits have become inside popularity weight loss homeowners, interior designers along with landscapers are introducing these types of gorgeous backyard heating choices to their particular outdoor spaces, making a attractive ambiance along with flavoring with a modern day man?s garden.
His or her accessory for your own terrace, no matter which design and style you end up deciding on, will make your firm stand out about your style. Moreover, a fireplace opening inside your back garden will surely are the center of attention for almost any collecting along with quickly become the covet of one?s guests along with your entire area.
Their Advantages
While some folks may obtain a fireplace as a decor to provide attractiveness for their scenery, it can even so be than just a good looking accent in your outside living places. Technology-not only for a lot of diverse uses, primary ones will be as the temperature provider. It?s also an outdoor food preparation unit, where one can cook anything you like.
You can actually barbeque grill your preferred beef, or beef roasts sausages even though hanging out in arenas enjoying the heat of the comfy fireplace. That is certainly a great location pertaining to chatting, dancing, audio, and so on. Foods grilled by using an wide open hearth has in which unique taste as well as scent. Furthermore, the combination of the company, outside air along with the smoke contributes types to the most straightforward involving foods.
Safety precautions
Of course, with your portable leaves is a superb method to have a camp out fire expertise in the comfort of obviously any good small backyard. However, these outside heating units can be dangerous, the same as almost all products that deal with flames. Incorrect make use of could put all the valuable property in danger. Even though these kind of backyard fireplace storage containers are made with safety features, it is always advisable to adopt correct security precautions to avoid mishaps. Remember safety is regarding prime relevance when utilizing a hearth hole.
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