While I bask in the Florida sunshine, a small break from vacation, if that makes sense, to note a couple of items from last week…
Who needs a public vote, especially when we all know it will surely end in failure?… The quote resulting in the most buzz, shock and awe — as well as a few guffaws — during the week was undoubtedly that of longtime community leader Malin Burnham, an icon of the downtown San Diego business establishment. On Thursday he argued against a public vote for a new (and controversial) $432 million city hall:
There’s less than one percent of the citizens in the United States of America that understand the complexity in how to put these kinds of projects together, so why would we want to ask the other 99 percent?
Oh my…talk about tossing a dirty diaper into the playpen.
Richard Rider was also part of the SD Downtown Partnership forum where the instantly classic comments were made. Rider’s account is priceless, including saying that an irate Burnham yelled at him following the event. Read it on San Diego Rostra.
Busby leaving special needs kids behind?… Francine Busby, the near perennial (or is it erstwhile?)candidate for Congress against Brian Bilbray, is mounting another effort in that regard. As such, it’s the right time of year for a challenger to be sending out some op-eds taking on the incumbent.
But, yesterday in the North County Times, Sunana Batra skewered Busby for her most recent Bilbray criticisms. Some excerpts:
"In the first place God made idiots. This was for practice. Then he made school boards."
In 1897 Mark Twain wrote that and it came to mind last week as I read former Cardiff School Board member, Francine Busby’s editorial criticizing Rep. Brian Bilbray for supporting an effort to hold public schools in California accountable for the progress, or lack thereof, made by students with learning disabilities. She said, "One of the most-needed changes (is the need to) waive the requirement that test scores for students with learning disabilities … be included in determining the overall performance of a school."
She’d rather we marginalize kids with special and unique challenges by not including their success or failure in the schools assessments, as required of all other students. The idea that’s its better to lower standards in order to have a shiny gold star on the front door, come what may, is short-sighted.
Most learning disabled students are capable of learning at grade level if taught well, and parents of these kids want them to be included in accountability measures so schools will be motivated to teach their kids. It is clear schools will face challenges in implementing No Child Left Behind for students with disabilities, but these challenges should be met, not removed altogether.
Read the entire Batra piece.
Radio Host Amato asks for your input… KCBQ AM-1170’s Rick Amato (www.kcbq.com), also of Washington Times Radio, poses the following:
Your Opinion Please?
As many of you know 2010 is a critical election year for conservatives at all levels of elected office.
Each election year poses its own set of challenges but 2010 is especially so given the blatant bias and vested interest the mainstream media has shown recently in promoting its liberal ideology and pet candidates.
…As such ‘The Rick Amato Show’ is giving consideration to launching the "Great 2010 Conservative Comeback Tour"…
Each month we would take the show live-on-the-road in front of a large Southern California audience…and highlight the issues and key candidates who most represent core conservative values.
…Along the way we would raise voter awareness, get people fired up, hear what is on the minds of voters…and have some fun while we’re at it.
But we will only do this if there is widespread interest among those of you out there.
Our Question Is:
Do you like the idea? Would you show up and support the "Great Conservative Comeback Tour" if it came to your part of town?
Please email ‘Yes’, or ‘No’ to rick@amatotalk.com.
Or comment on Rick’s Facebook post regarding the matter (if you use Facebook).
We posed the very same question in our ‘Insider Newsletter’ earlier today and are receiving responses from throughout SoCal and many parts of the country as well.
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Have a great week!