Common Core: The PREQUEL . . .

Charlotte was not like the other bureaucrats.  She was only supposed to be a place-holder in President Reagan's US Dept. of Education until the department would be eliminated -- which never happened. While there she was shocked to find documents detailing federal plans to control the hearts and minds of our school children, leading to the ultimate goal of a planned economy.  She went public years ago with her findings, but received scant attention.

Implementation of the Common Core, which appears to be the culmination of 40 years of planning, brings new immediacy to Charlotte's discovery.

I found the interview below compelling, and well worth the 1 1/4 hr spent watching it.



Charlotte Iserbyt Interview - The Secret History of Western Education (1 1/4 hr)

For more information:
Charlotte's Book: The Deliberate Dumbing Down of America
Documents: AmericanDeception.com

Shooting the Messenger . . .

NYS Education Commissioner John King must resign . . . at least that is the cry from many parents and teachers and the group "New York State Allies for Public Education" after Dr. King cancelled all of the remaining public forums dealing with the "Common Core" following the one marked by controversy in Poughkeepsie.

While the groundswell may make those calling for the Commissioner's resignation feel a sense of collective power, especially in light of the Commissioner's poor judgement in cancelling the forums, it is doubtful that it will change anything. Dr. King is a minion. At best, Dr. King will simply be replaced with someone else who pushes the same agenda, but with more finesse.  Dr. King may be the face of Common Core in New York, but he did not invent it and did not make it a requirement in New York's schools.

Give your thank-yous to the Board of Regents who "committed" the state to Common Core in January 2010! Also thank the Obama and Cuomo administrations for the "Race to the Top" in which Common Core is the centerpiece.

The Federal grant money is in the State bag and the Common Core is the string attached.

Focus on ridding the State of the Common Core, rather than the Commissioner.

Consider replacing it with the approach taken by "Core Knowledge,"  which is closer to the style of education in the past.   While this, too, has its critics, the approach has already worked, creating the most prosperous society the world had ever seen. The debate will then be over what "knowledge" will be transmitted to the next generation . . .  but at least it will be out there on the table for all to see, instead flying in under the radar of "performance" standards.

Common Core: Too Hot In the Kitchen . . .

YNN Hudson Valley: Parents raise concerns over Common Core standards
Twitchy.com: New York’s education commissioner gets an earful on Common Core [video]

Apparently shortly afterward, the State Ed. Commissioner cancelled the remaining Town Hall Meetings on Common Core, including the one scheduled for October 30th in New Hartford.

According to a post on the NYS PTA Facebook page this morning:

While our goal was to provide an opportunity to learn and share, based on review of the initial October 10 meeting, the Commissioner concluded the outcome was not constructive for those taking the time to attend. Please know that NYS PTA will continue to work with all education and child advocacy partners to keep our members updated and informed on education, health, safety and welfare issues affecting children and families.

My guess is the "sharing" was anticipated to go one way -- and did so for well over an hour -- but the parents insisted on "sharing" what was on their mind when it was their turn, and were in no mood to give the Commissioner more time when he insisted on interrupting during the public's time. The public outcry clearly was not what the Commissioner wanted to hear. In the end, the public was only given 23 minutes to speak.

Public hearings are an important opportunity for government to get feed back on how well it is doing, and to make course corrections when it is on the wrong track.

It will be revealing in coming weeks whether NYS government will respond to the public concern and ditch the Common Core, or if it will forge ahead with this terrible program dictated out of Washington because it "knows better."

8th Grade Math: Then and Now . . .

Common Core standards, testing, and materials have become the topic of conversation in numerous public meetings around the state.  A lot of parents, students and teachers are upset.  What's the fuss about? I thought a simple comparison of "then" and "now" might be helpful.

 On the left is the table of contents from "Making Arithmetic Work" Silver-Burdett Company 1952 edition, an 8th Grade math textbook, editions of which were commonly used in the Utica area throughout the 1950's. Flipping through the book, the "Money and Interest" chapter describes family budgeting, what money and thrift are, what banks do, various kinds of checks, and paying for use of money (interest). "Sharing Risks and Benefits" explains the purpose of fire, auto, hospitalization, accident, and life insurance and how they work.  It also describes different kinds of taxes and common terminology in working with them.  Other chapters to note are "Earning a Living" and "Borrowing and Investing Money."


On the right are the Common Core grade 8 math standards. (I was unable to find a textbook for them.)  In a nutshell it is all mathematical theory.  Searching through CC standards for other grades I was unable to find where the useful practical information from the 60 year old book above are addressed.

An Eighth Grade Education used to be generally accepted as being prepared for everyday life.  That is clearly reflected in "Making Arithmetic Work"'s contents.  It's not clear what these Common Core standards prepare students for, although it is proclaimed that they make students "college and career ready."

What happened to being life ready?

Headlines to Cheer About!

This has been a long time coming . . . .

• Chip companies to spend $1.5B on research at SUNYIT near Utica
• More than 1,000 jobs coming to SUNYIT

Yes, there are grave reservations of the "Public-Private Partnership" model: (1) it's constitutionality under the NYS Constitution (it seems to violate Article VII Sec. 8) and  (2) it's self-sustainability once the initial slug of taxpayer funding is used up.  Comments during the congratulatory speeches to the effect that such partnerships are now necessary because normal market forces no longer work were troubling because national trade policy and state taxation and regulation have changed the market forces.

Yes, there are reservations on the environmental impacts of this development and spinoffs, particularly on the viability of our water supply to support non-chip related uses and population growth.

Yes, there are reservations on whether or not this mega-development will become an excuse to burden area residents with even higher levels of taxation and water and sewer fees.

Nevertheless, this is still a positive announcement.

Let's cheer about it!

Rep. Hanna's "Common Sense" . . .

From Rep. Hanna's Facebook account this morning:

"This morning I voted to pay federal employees who have been furloughed because of the government shutdown. . . .  It isn’t fair for employees to be involuntarily furloughed and lose pay because of Washington’s inability to approve a spending plan. I commend my colleagues on both sides of the aisle in the House for approving this commonsense measure, and I urge the Senate to quickly send this bill to the President’s desk."

How does this work, Congressman? Are you saying that if furloughed federal employees are not working we are going to pay them anyway? For doing nothing? That's not "Common Sense" --- It's "Nonsense."

Now is the opportunity for you and your Republican colleagues to put your money where your mouths are . . . not only on Obamacare, but on the debt ceiling and our out-of-control federal spending.

Do what the President refuses to do: PRIORITIZE, then cut.

Put the employees in the programs we really need back to work -- and layoff the rest. A Federal Job isn't welfare. People in the private sector are laid off every day and government employees should expect no different treatment. Or are you afraid of prioritizing Federal Spending for fear of offending some of your favorite groups on the dole?

We sent you to Washington to make tough decisions, but you've become like everyone else!

Common Core: What Are They Pushing?

Everyone, not just parents, should be aware of what is being taught in school these days . . .

• Allegiance to the UN instead of the USA? Fifth-grader receives credit for claiming human rights are gifts of government
• Indoctrination? Florida school’s 4th grade writing assignment: “I am willing to give up some of my constitutional rights” 
• Pornography? Fifty Shades of the Common Core: how much porn is too much for high schoolers?
• Hate? Common Core writing assignment: “Think like a nazi…argue why Jews are evil”
• Emotional reactivity over logic? How to be manipulative?  Clinical Mental Health Therapist Interviewed (A "must-watch" video here -- especially near the end where "group think" school activities are discussed.)
• False complexity? [What simple subtraction now looks like]

It looks like Common Core is pushing an agenda that most Americans would disagree with ... and it is making the simple so complex that parents are unable to help their children (undermining the family, and blocking the transfer of knowledge from one generation to the next).  

It's all the better for government to control the minds of its subjects.    

Beware . . . the next generation will be our keepers . . . What are we creating?

See www.StopCommonCoreinNewYork.com for more information.

Public Schools: Anything But Education!

OD: Community schools address more than academics

“Community schools are designed to address social, emotional and health issues that students have that might interfere with their learning,” said Billy Easton, executive director of the Alliance for Quality Education, an advocacy group.
“It can range from counseling services to health services - anything to make sure that their basic needs as a human being are being taken care of so they can be able to succeed educationally,” Easton said.

And "anything" will mean "everything" if these people get their way . . .

It's particularly beneficial in low-wealth areas where children might face challenges such as malnourishment, unattended health and dental issues, unmet social and emotional needs, or even a lack of a regular place to sleep, according to the Alliance for Quality Education. . . .
On Saturdays, the school would be open for the community from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. during the school year, and some days over the summer to allow students and their families to see physicians, visit dental clinics, work with librarians and social workers, and get legal advice such as working with parents on leases . . .

In this day and age of welfare, foodstamps, federal school breakfast and lunch programs, and medicaid, one has to ask WHY are children malnourished, have unattended health and dental problems, and lack a place to sleep? The answer, of course, is that the "families" of these children are not meeting their responsibilities. . . . and the lack of responsibility becomes the excuse for the government to step in AND REPLACE THE FAMILY.  And the more the government steps  in, the easier it becomes for individuals to become lazy and abandon their familial responsibilities --- providing an excuse for more government involvement.

Replacing the family is really what these programs are all about, because cohesive family units nurture perspectives and values that might run counter the latest dictates out of Washington and Albany.   

In similar fashion, government-sponsored charter schools are designed to bring about the demise of parochial schools, because parochial schools also nurture perspectives and values that run counter to government dictates.

"Community Schools"  have little to do with education and everything to do with extending government control.

It's time to break this cycle.

So when DO you take action that means something?

OD: Hanna Bucks Republican majority in shutdown battle

Hanna was one of two Republicans who voted against delaying Obamacare . . . "I would take a clean (continuing resolution),” he said. “I have voted dozens of times to repeal, reform and defund Obamacare. There are glaring problems with the law and we see more daily.”

Problem is, the Democrats and the Administration are not negotiating to change Obamacare.  Instead, they simply exempt their friends and politically connected cronies (including THEMSELVES) from Obamacare's onerous requirements.

Mr. Hanna's voting "dozens of times" to repeal Obamacare at times when the votes had no impact are meaningless.

This time, the Republicans are finally using what little leverage they have to bring the Democrats to the negotiating table. . . . but Mr. Hanna sides with the Democrats.  One can only conclude that Mr. Hanna tacitly supports this law.

The American public should have the same exemption from Obamacare that Congress has.

Delay Obamacare for a year.

Dump Fed Education . . .

Joe Bottini is spot on in today's OD's Guest View: Common Sense trumps Common Core anyway

. . . The 10th amendment of the U.S. Constitution dictates public education is a state issue. They should dismantle the U.S. Department of Education and help Arne Duncan find a real job. . . .

The federal government sets requirements for states for their “piece of the ill-gotten pie,” and local districts are given state requirements to receive some crumbs from that “piece.”

And like crack addicts, states and local school boards will do whatever is asked of them to get those federal funds. . . with the funds fostering policies and programs of questionable value while advancing the careers of those bringing in the $$$.

Mr. Bottini correctly points to big businesses, the money they will make producing educational materials, and their influence over politicians as motivation for the federal involvement . . . But I believe there is more.

With Federal Funds comes a Federal Agenda a/k/a Federal Control over what is in the hearts and minds of our children. Give them a few more years and control over the nation's populace will be a snap!

Given the state of public education today, can anyone really say that it is better today than 40 to 50 years ago when there was minimal federal involvement? Public education these days is less about giving students knowledge and more about telling them how to think.

While there will be short-term withdrawal pains, we'll all be better off if funds for Federal education programs get cut off.

It's about time!

No communion for Nancy Pelosi: Vatican court head

Mrs. Pelosi should be denied Communion until she changes her advocacy views on abortion, Cardinal Raymond Leo Burke said, according to the Western Center for Journalism.  

That’s canon law, not opinion, he said. Canon 915 states that Catholics who are stubbornly contrary “in manifest grave sin are not to be admitted to Holy Communion.”

I wondered when someone from the Church would finally set Mrs. Pelosi straight on Church doctrine since she had gotten into a habit of twisting things around to fit her political agenda.

One-Way Parochial Walls??

The OD's View:  Parochial walls must come down.

The smoldering tiff between the Utica Common Council and a committee that recommends federal funding for nonprofits once again puts an accent on the embarrassing parochialism that can threaten growth in our community. . .

In this case, the flames are being fanned by the age-old city residency argument. . .

Hopefully the people that might be considering setting up a multi-billion dollar computer chip operation here aren’t watching all this. It’s theater of the absurd. . . .

To believe that someone from outside one set of lines doesn’t care about what happens across those lines is just plain silly.

What's silly is OD's claim that city officials believe that people from outside don't care about what happens in the city.  Untrue! The city has long recognized that "outsiders" care and invited them in to help -- e.g. the Utica Master Plan steering committee which had several non-residents among its members.

What is absurd is the OD's position that residency requirements are not relevant.  If that is the case, let's get rid of the residency requirement for mayor . . . or how about New Hartford town supervisor?  . . . . Yes, those suggestions are ridiculous.  Even though someone in Utica "cares" about what happens in New Hartford (because NH's decisions have caused increases to Utica's tax, sewer and water rates) NH would not allow a Utican to run for town supervisor. The laws contemplate that municipal officials have "skin in the game" by being resident within the municipality.  If Utica is forming a committee to distribute public funds to city projects, it is Utica's prerogative to limit participants to residents who will live with the consequences of their decisions.  "Caring" is not enough.

It is interesting that it is always Utica that is on the receiving end the OD's cries of  "parochialism."  The "parochial walls" always operate one way,  favoring suburban interests.

If the OD is seriously interested in eliminating "parochialism," it would advocate ridding ourselves of multiple municipal boundaries that allow suburban jurisdictions to accumulate wealth at the expense of city residents.

Municipal Boundaries = Parochial Walls

Somehow I do not think the OD is ready for this.  Until the OD stands for a true merger of city and suburban governments, it should be ignored.

Utica: Letting Others Do Its Planning . . .

OD Today: Carl's Furniture City closing its doors.

Another loss of a taxpaying business from the City of Utica! . . . In hardscrabble West Utica no less. . .

While only Carl knows the real reason or reasons for closing his doors, the closure of his store should come as no surprise.  As this blogger noted back in 2011 in a post about the Utica Common Council's seeming lack of interest in determining the true impacts of the N-S Arterial Project . . .

The Council is apparently prepared to allow huge swaths of properties to be removed from what should be in private hands and have them turned over to highway use. That guarantees that they will never be the site of economically productive activities . . . never create jobs or wealth . . . and never generate a dime of tax revenue for the financially-strapped City of Utica.

. . . no attempt is made to estimate the potential revenue loss that can be expected to result from the change in traffic patterns when Sunset Ave. and Warren St. are cut off. Businesses, such as Carl's Furniture, will lose customers when they become difficult to reach and the city will lose sales tax.

This did not have to happen this way, but it was too easy to let the State do all the planning for its highway with the city just there to "tweak" the plans with suggestions on whether the retaining walls should have ivy covering them or not. The City never had a real plan for the surrounding West Utica neighborhood . . . So the State's arterial plan became West Utica's plan.

Something similar is happening in the Utica Harbor.  While the new Holiday Inn Express is a lovely addition to the neighborhood and it is touted as part of the Utica Harbor development, the hotel is surrounded on three sides by a tall white privacy fence that separates it from the Harbor.  The hotel developer, no doubt, looked at the location near the thruway exit and downtown and thought it was an ideal place for a hotel ... but the harbor played no role in it, otherwise why the privacy fence?  At the Harbor, it looks like individual developers are doing their own planning with no overall view to relate the private developments to each other.  

If the nanocenter becomes a reality, the prediction is 5,000 jobs there plus another 15,000 spinoff jobs. That represents a lot of new money and new people coming into the area.  Where will they go?  Will they create more cookie-cutter sprawl into Marcy, or will they come into Utica to recreate a vibrant, interesting city?  These new people are the "creative class" and will naturally gravitate to a dense diverse urban environment because it is more stimulating.

If Utica is not ready with a vision where the new arrivals can see a place for themselves, they will build anew elsewhere.  

Nano: Finally Getting It Right!

WKTV: Mohawk Valley EDGE finally succeeds in securing Marcy Nano site

Officials with the Mohawk Valley EDGE have travelled the globe time and time again in attempts to lure a chip-fab manufacturing plant to the Marcy Nano site at SUNYIT. In the end, the end user came...from Albany. The problem for years has been that an end user would not commit to the site without a wetlands permit in place, and the Army Corps of Engineers wouldn't grant the permit without an end user committed. But now, the EDGE has announced that CNSE, the College of Nanoscale Science and Engineering in Albany, will act as the committed end user; a developer, really, to build a 450 mm manufacturing facility on SUNYIT property in Marcy.

Here's why, for the first time, I think the NanoCenter project is going to succeed.

(1) The "Big Guns" have been brought in . . .

In this post from a year ago I said the following about the elusive federal wetlands permit . . .

EDGE and the County need to turn this problem over to Big Guns who are better equipped to deal with the Federal government and have as much, if not more, at stake: the State of New York. . . . The State has environmental expertise, has working relationships with the Federal environmental agencies, and even has a potential to assume some of the federal authority in certain circumstances. Marcy NanoCenter is beyond local capabilities to pull off.

Bringing in the CNSE as developer is bringing in the "Big Guns." These guys have a track record of success.

(2) The Feds finally have a credible "end user" of the site that they can hold accountable . . .

In another post from over a year ago commenting about EDGE's creation of another not-for-profit I said:

Frankly, if I was the Army Corps I probably would not issue a final permit either. With the "wheels within wheels" approach, just whom would the Army Corps hold accountable to ensure that all permit conditions are complied with? SUNYIT? EDGE? Fort Schuyler Management (with no track record, no assets, and no individual co-signers to secure performance)? An unknown developer or tenant for the site? There are too many players involved for the Army Corps -- or we the taxpayers -- to keep track of.

With CNSE as developer, the Federal Army Corps of Engineers only needs to deal with one entity, CNSE, that will have control over the site. In the end, the situation becomes somewhat similar to the shopping centers which have obtained ACE wetlands permits without securing tenants. EDGE could not credibly substitute as a "shopping center" developer . . . but CNSE can.

This is going to work!

Total Failure!

Obama/Clinton/Kerry's Total Failure foreign policy . . .

From "France 24": Russia 'to renew offer to supply S-300s to Iran'

Russian President Vladimir Putin will offer to supply Iran S-300 air defence missile systems as well as build a second reactor at the Bushehr nuclear plant, the Kommersant business daily reported Wednesday.

Get ready for WWIII!

County Mission Creep . . .

OD: $500,000 could be available for flood mitigation in Oneida Co.

A proposal made Monday by Oneida County Executive Anthony Picente . . . could provide municipalities with a chunk of $500,000 to help put a dent in the bill’s associated with flood mitigation projects . . . “This region has been dealing with numerous issues with flooding the past few years,” Picente said. “This past storm really exposed a lot of the flaws in creek beds and streams that we were able to look at afterward and say, ‘Ah, that’s the problem.’”

The problem, Mr. Picente, is not "flaws in creek beds and streams," but, rather, flaws in Town-level decision making on where to allow development and the form that the development should take.

New Hartford's now-legendary storm-water problems are self-induced ... created by allowing development in the wrong places, allowing developers to get away without mitigating the impacts of their developments, and taking monies reserved for addressing adverse impacts and using them to foster more development.

Town of New Hartford government and its cronies have benefited richly from the development, induced by cutting corners, in the form of tax revenue and reduced development costs.  The Town's taxpayers, meanwhile,  have had to fork over millions to fix storm water problems created by poorly regulated development in the past only to see new developments create new problems.

And now the richest municipality in Oneida County will soon have help from ALL County taxpayers?

Lines need to be drawn as to what level of government is responsible for what service.  Storm water management has always been the responsibility of the local municipality because the local municipality has direct control over development.  Not allowing development in harm's way, and not allowing development that creates runoff and harm to others, eliminates the need to fix "flaws in creek beds and streams."

The County should not ding all its taxpayers to reward poor decision making on the Town level.

Something Perverted About This . . .

Jeb Bush to award Hillary "Liberty Medal" on eve of Benghazi anniversary.

Regardless of party, the New World Order takes care of its own.

Chinese Chickens?

Almost 3 years ago it was Chinese Garlic  that got me thinking about trade policy and gave me a big case of agita.  Now it's the prospect of importing Chinese Chicken that is making my stomach turn!

What are our bureaucrats thinking of?

In the name of free trade we give a potential enemy the means of attacking us biologically ... Sorry ... We have the means internally to satisfy our need for chicken and do not need to take this risk.

This is a failure of our system of narrow-focus administrative agencies that cannot or refuse to comprehend the bigger picture. It's not in their job description.

And Congress, which has the power to do something about this, is either bound by their political ideologies and allegiances or entirely missing in action.  No one protects ordinary citizens any more.

Not Nearly Skeptical Enough!

WKTV quoted Congressman Hanna as saying:

"The actions of the Syrian regime against its own people are heinous and go against all tenets of human decency.  . . ."

Our congressman has apparently already accepted as fact that the Assad government has gassed its own people. . . . But based on what? . . . John Kerry's say so? (A lot of Vietnam Vets wouldn't trust this guy.)  Do we know for sure that rebel factions are not responsible?

Can this administration be trusted to give truthful and accurate information to Congress and the American People?  Did a "You-Tube Video" cause the Benghazi attack? . . .  I don't think so.

"The American people need to know that any potential action in Syria would help achieve clearly-defined, limited and attainable policy goals that further U.S. interests in the region."

You said a mouthful there, Mr. Congressman! What "clearly-defined . . . policy goals" will be achieved? What U. S. "interests"  will be furthered? Please identify the goals and interests to your constituents.

Can this administration be trusted to give a truthful portrayal of "policy goals"and "interests" to Congress and the American People?  What "policy goals" and "interests" have been advanced in Libya? What "policy goals" and "interests" have been advanced in Egypt?  Are they American "policy goals?" Are they American "interests?"  It seems that the only goals and interests getting advanced have been those of the Muslim Brotherhood . . . which has led to slaughter of Christians and burning of churches.  

No surprise here . . . when James Clapper, Director of National Intelligence, essentially described the Muslim Brotherhood as a bunch of "good guys."

No surprise here . . . when the top aide to Fmr. Secretary of State Clinton, Huma Abedin, comes from a family steeped in Muslim Brotherhood. (How does someone with familial connections to the Muslim Brotherhood get the security clearance for a top government position?)

Mr. Congressman, you are not nearly skeptical enough!

Ominous Rumblings . . .

The headlines from the Middle East are ominous. . . .

After Syria chemical allegations, Obama considering limited military strike

Syria crisis: Russia and China step up warning over strike

Syria accuses Kerry of lying, disregarding UN

It's interesting to compare this situation with the beginning of the Iraq war.  Then the Hussein regime was (again) threatening its neighbors.  It was feared that both nuclear weapons and WMD would be involved. We made a preemptive strike after 6 months of dithering (which gave time for the WMD (if any) to be smuggled over the border.

Now we are threatening to intervene in a purely civil war over the use of WMD in Syria.

President Bush was called a "liar"  when no WMD were discovered in Iraq, in spite of the best intelligence in the world saying otherwise.  Now that WMD are being used just across the border in Syria, we supposedly know who used them and are ready to make a strike?

Scarey!