I try to be civil but Scott Walker pushes my buttons.
Fill in the blanks. Scott Walker is a buffoon. Scott Walker is a menace to freedom of thought. Scott Walker hates people who are better-educated than he. Scott Walker is a college dropout who resents those who earned a degree and are advancing the frontiers of knowledge.
Scott Walker intends to destroy the University of Wiscondin system (is Arne Duncan anywhere to be seen?)
Scott Walker is the epitome of the anti-intellectual strain in our history: a man with no respect for teachers or professors or learning.
The thought that this man is running for the presidency is a national embarrassment.
Diane Ravitch's blog 
Scott Walker is “an Un-American, Un-child-friendy, Un-public education jerk.”
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Scott Walker is a reflection of American culture.
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I thought George W was bad. He is but one wonders if Herr Walker is even worse. A toss up for sure.
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You are correct when you say buffoon. Where do these fools come from. The most amazing thing to me is how they come into power. It’s also amazing how they get people to follow them with their crazy ideas!!!!
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Follow money is the answer.
MONEY control the media which plays fool on the population
Naive and trusting academic leaders with falsified hope and coward decision in fear of their own positions are the source of chaos.
Media terrorized people with all falsified and twisted information which helps the charismatic Fool to get elected into power.
I hope that would be a helpful hint. Back2basic
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And leading in the polls!! Crazy!!
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Scott Walker is terrifying. I’ve thought for a long time that Republicans would like to bring down the education system, because illiterates are more easily deceived and controlled., and Scott Walker confirms my fear.
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grrr… this high school graduate has got to go! he has ruined all that was good in my birth state…
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Careful, formercheesehead. Don’t tie Scott Walker’s idiocy to his level of education. You are insulting many fine high school graduates. Walker seems to have discovered early on that he had some special sauce for political power plays. Apparently, what he discovered did not include ethics.
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My parents were high school graduates and fine people – and were always loyal liberal democrats! They opposed the education policies of Reagan and Bush I, for example. Nevertheless, they expected me to go on to college since they – along with my non-college graduate grandparents – understood the power and necessity of advanced education. So here is the long an short from a guy with a blue collar background. Having a guy with only high school degree and a college dropout run the country is a big problem for a raft of reasons that Diane begins to address. Right on Diane! If I do not want a person with only a high school degree performing heart surgery – then I personally do not want a person with only a high school degree run the country! Sorry – I guess I am biased! And yes – there are plenty of college educated and non-college educated people who are ethically challenged.
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I certainly don’t downrate the value of education. I have a masters myself and would love to take more college level courses, but I will be paying off college debt for my children (as they are too) probably for the rest of my life. My comment was partially tongue in cheek although not totally. The ability to think and learn does not require a college diploma although I would hope any thinking individual could appreciate the potential value of college.
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my concern with walker as a high school graduate stems from the fact that he quit college in his last semester under a cloud of suspicion. if he can’t go the distance when he’s this close to a goal, how can he possibly have “grit” – tee hee! I, too, know many individuals who didn’t go to college, & some of them would be exceptional candidates because they have common sense & good critical thinking skills, both of which walker doesn’t have – he’s just a bully, plain & simple – he doesn’t appear to be very intelligent, & he’s certainly been rude & arrogant to others he opposes – the tapes of his conversations regarding the koch brothers also bother me – this man is in this for himself & them, and we already have too many politicians who forget that they are supposed to be working for us, ALL of us!
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Scott Walker is a legend in his own alleged mind.
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Scott Walker should be wearing a clown outfit. Clowns scares the sh** out of me.
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Yvonne, you are correct. It is the same for me.
Actually, any fake smiling is the scariest way to face to, such as corrupted politicians’ smiling face. May
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Don’t insult good clowns, Yvonne. I know they scare some people, but I did clowning to help pay my way in college. Clowning pays quite well. I also know American Sign Language, and that is an added bonus. You should see deaf children light up when I’m a clown and begin signing.
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Joseph McCarthy came from Wisconsin. I wonder if Scott Walker is McCarthy reincarnated.
Maybe—I found this:
“An op-ed column in the Times by a respected history scholar at the University of Wisconsin-Madison makes a Joe McCarthy connection to Walker. …
“Their political convictions and the two moments in history are quite different. But there is something about the style of the two men — their aggressiveness, their self-certainty, their seeming indifference to contrary views — that may help explain the extreme partisan reactions they triggered. McCarthy helped create the modern Democratic Party in Wisconsin by infuriating progressive Republicans, imagining that he could build a national platform by cultivating an image as a sternly uncompromising leader willing to attack anyone who stood in his way. Mr. Walker appears to be provoking some of the same ire from adversaries and from advocates of good government by acting with a similar contempt for those who disagree with him.”
http://www.uppitywis.org/blogarticle/scott-walker-joe-mccarthy-link
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I’d like to alter your last sentence, Diane: the fact that he has people who will vote for him is our national embarrassment.
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I’m wondering if the certain citizens who
voted for Walker—those voters who are parents
of school-age children—are reconsidering
their decision in light of the new plan.
The same goes for couples planning
on having children and sending them
to Wisconsin public schools.
His latest plan for K-thru-12 is to basically
eliminate any standards or requirements
to teach in public schools. Someone who
possesses a sufficient threshold of “life
experience”—both the threshold and
what qualifies as “life experience” to
be decided by Walker’s people, not
educators—will now be allowed to teach
in public schools.
A degree in education will no longer
be required.
A bachelor’s degree in ANYTHING will
no longer be required.
Even a high school diploma will not
be required.
Think about that one.
High school dropouts teaching in
high schools?
I’m reading the plan here, and it also looks
like schools and school districts will
be barred from doing criminal background
checks on those “life-experience”-having,
“no-bachelor’s-degree” holding and/or high
school dropout teachers.
That does NOT mean that, under
Walkers plan, that criminal background
checks will now be merely suggested—
you know, a good idea maybe, but it’s up
to the schools and/or school districts
to do them if they see fit. They can “opt
out” if they want to.
No, no… no sirree, the plan says that
criminal background checks are NO
LONGER ALLOWED after 15 days of
the employee being hired. If the check
is not done within 15 days of being
hired and signing a contract, well…
too late. You missed the boat,
school district officials, and
any attempt to do so at that point is
illegal, and presumably opens up
the school district to prosecution
if they then attempt a background
check on a suspicious employee.
Doesn’t that potentially put children
in danger?
If an unexamined employee with
a criminal record then commits
some heinous crime—child abuse
being the most obvious one that
comes to mind—doesn’t that
leave the school district
open to an insane level of liability?
What could possibly be the argument
in favor of this? That maybe, if a
rash of child abuse incidents then arises,
the school districts will then be sued into
insolvency, and then forced to convert
to private charter management?
Sure, some kids will be raped in the
process, but hey, the end justifies
the means… so bring on the charters!!!
http://blogs.citypages.com/blotter/2015/06/scott_walkers_brand_of_public_ed_has_high_school_dropouts_teaching_wisconsins_kids.php
——————————————
“It would also put a time limit of 15 days for districts to do background checks.”
” … ”
“Fiene admits he was blown away by Czaja’s sweeping rule changes.
” ‘This proposal takes us way beyond what we think is prudent and in the best interests of students,’ he says. ‘It actually totally destroys the licensing requirements for teachers here, and puts Wisconsin at the bottom of all states.’
“Superintendent Evers echoed this when he told Wisconsin Public Television that the policy would drop the state’s teacher standards to the lowest in the country.
“Opponents of the proposed rule changes have little time to spare. They have about three weeks to squash or at least limit the extent of Czaja’s proposal before it goes before the entire legislature.”
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Not only is he running, the talking heads treat him as one of the two most serious GOP candidates (Jeb being the other). Talk about a national nightmare.
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So, frustrating…. the talking heads no longer ask tough questions. Where is our Edward R. Morrow today? Americans have grown soft and complacent, refusing to question political leaders or ideology. We are the blob people of Wall-E. How could we end up with so many weak candidates like Bush, Walker, Clinton, and the rest?
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Dienne… did you forget to add Ted Cruz to the list??? There are way too many candidates that define “national embarrassment”. How the “F” did these narrow-minded, slow-minded. dangerous-minded fools make it to lead anything at all let alone opportunity to vie for presidential nomination!! Big business and big money is definitely not brains nor humanity… it is greed enrobed in power run amok.
What does common core stand for… “coring out the gray matter” of our citizens starting in “public” school?
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Oh there’s any number of embarrassing GOP candidates – the whole darn field is pretty embarrassing. But the fact that Walker and Bush are the “best” of the field is truly tragic.
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Diane,
You are mostly always civil, and I am grateful for that. I am also grateful to know that you are mortal like the rest of us and that sometimes you also have moments when you are exasperated by buffoonery!
Thanks for sharing!
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BTW, my fill in the blank is short and simple: Scott Walker is evil.
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It seems in American politics we are getting bottom of the barrel candidates. This is not in all cases but it is true of far too many cases. The really clever minds and compassionate hearts are channeling their talents elsewhere. Politics has lost its allure for the smart and talented. We need a charismatic leader to make politics attractive again, someone who will inspire more talent to run. The media is heavily to blame for why good people don’t run. The scrutiny and gossip that gets spun by parasite journalists is the primary reason the best people don’t come forward. Nobody has a squeaky clean closet so it is likely for anyone of worth to win in the future they will need to have a very good sense of humor about the cobwebs and dust bunnies which inevitably will be shared with the public. I just got word that Jim Webb is considering running for president. As far as I know he has a pretty clean track record. He demonstrates a sharp knowledge of international politics. He also served in the military and comes from a military family and therefore could be a well respected leader or our troops who undoubtedly will be called upon again in the future to defend our interests overseas. Scott Walker doesn’t concern me because I feel fairly certain that far right and far left politicians don’t stand a chance in a national election. On the other hand if I lived in his state I might tear my hair out.
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I agree. None of this clown car of candidates (sorry, Yvonne) will I vote for, EXCEPT, maybe, Sanders. Both party’s candidates scare the crap out of me.
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I agree with you about the character of Scott Walker, but I don’t agree with you about the embarrassment to have him running for President. I think that our higher education system needs to rethink its position in American society. Since WWII college has grown to be a part of the middle class, but the price has gotten exorbitant. The value of a college degree is in many cases out of line with its cost. If Scott Walker succeeds in implementing his plan for the university system of Wisconsin, that will be a travesty for the State of Wisconsin. However, if he is successful, it will be because the people of Wisconsin do not value their own university system. The mere fact that Walker could be successful should make everyone in the Wisconsin University system question their value(s). Considering the string of Presidents we have elected in the last 50 or more years I don’t see Scott Walker as any more or less embarrassing. I won’t vote for him, but I won’t condemn those who do any more than I condemn the lot who voted for our current President TWICE.
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Scott Walker is a fascist. He and his policies epitomize what Sinclair Lewis was referring to when he (possibly) said: “When fascism comes to America it will be wrapped in the flag and carrying a cross.”
For example, Walker is all for “choice” when it comes to public schools, but not so much when it comes to women having choice and control over their bodies. See:
http://www.progressive.org/news/2015/06/188166/scott-walker%E2%80%99s-%E2%80%9Ccool%E2%80%9D-attack-women%E2%80%99s-health
Walker is a tool of the wealthy corporatists and is determined to make over our country as he is making over the birthplace of Progressivism, Wisconsin, into a white, fundamentalist Christian fascist state. Can he and his ilk be stopped?
Sinclair Lewis said (and wrote): “It Can’t Happen Here”. Maybe.
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How about the Bafoons who voted for him in the recall or didn’t bother to vote at all. How about the Bafoons who re-elected him? What’s up, Wisconsin? Look to your neighbors to the west for a better example of how a state should operate.
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I agree but for different reasons. I can just add these to the list I created of my own issues with him.
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Educators of all levels in America will need to cultivate voters the pros and cons of all presidential candidates.
Without any bias, please just plainly and honestly show the public the logical analysis of all of the president candidates’ CAUSE and EFFECT in their past and present GOOD, BAD and UGLY actions and ideas that will ultimately lead to a prediction of future actions.
The gullible and trusting southerners from commanders to commoners in Viet Nam are the best example to the world that we need to fight back immediately any BAD ETHICAL ACTIONS from authority without WAIT-and-SEE attitude. Otherwise, we will pay a stiff price as a lost career, family and life without a chance of a fair fight in later defense.
The best line of defense is that NOBODY can be a general WITHOUT SOLDIERS. Governors cannot function if higher education leaders unite with all unions in the workforce to withdraw their support immediately = overthrow the governor.
If mafia gang without knowledge can snipe/terrorize any judge and prosecutors with force, then what kind of knowledge that intellectual leaders is surrendered by academic under-achieving invader? Isn’t it so sad and weird to let it happen?
It will not be a national embarrassment, but a gigantic disaster. Back2basic.
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The Washington Post does a good job of
summarizing the latest events.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/answer-sheet/wp/2015/06/05/is-gov-scott-walker-putting-the-university-of-wisconsin-system-in-jeopardy/
This “mission change” bit stuck out:
———————————————————–
“Earlier in the year Walker created a related controversy when he submitted a budget proposal that included language that would have changed the century-old mission of the University of Wisconsin system — known as the ‘Wisconsin Idea’ and embedded in the state code — by removing words that commanded the university to…
” ‘search for truth’ and ‘improve the human condition,’
” … and replacing them with…
” ‘meet the state’s workforce needs.’
“Walker was recently sued by a nonprofit watchdog group, alleging that he is refusing to make public documents relating to the mission change effort.”
———————————-
Welcome to the corporate state:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Corporate_statism
—————————————
“Corporate statism or state corporatism is a political culture and a form of corporatism whose adherents hold that the corporate group which is the basis of society is the state.
“Corporate statism most commonly manifests itself as a ruling party acting as a mediator between the workers, capitalists and other prominent state interests by institutionally incorporating them into the ruling mechanism.”
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Kurt Gödel, the famed logistician, claimed to have found a fatal flaw in the Constitution that allowed a dictatorship to replace our representative democracy. Maybe the Republicans have found it. They represent less of the American populace views than ever and are a fading party. But they control most states, both houses of Congress, the Supreme Court, and are trying to rig the electoral college and voting rights to win the presidency. It is a frightening thought, but America could easily be under one party rule and that party is controlled by a few people. Will the voting public let that happen?
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*logician
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Gerrymandering is a terrible thing, and unfortunately both parties engage in it as much as possible.
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Yes. Ohio Democrats had a chance to reform apportionment but passed up the opportunity because of hubris. Now Republicans rule and are running the state into the ground. But Republicans took it to the extreme. Most famous is the “snake on the lake” district. At least with Democrats, we had both parties involved with checks and balances. Today, half the state has no voice in government. Add to that the Republican obsession with non-existent voter fraud leading to voter suppression and a flurry of anti-worker legislation meant to starve the Democratic party, and you have the coup de grâce ending what is left of democracy.
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I wonder if anyone who saw the funeral of Beau Biden today, was impressed with how a political family can quietly command respect.
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And then there is Ted Cruz.
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Apparently, Biden has always commanded respect from both sides of the isle for the value he has demonstrated he places on family.
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What’s Diane ‘s reaction to the proposed Milwaukee public schools?
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Katherine Geiger, I have written on this site. about the Republican plan to abolish public educationin Milwaukee. What do you think I wrote? It’s horrible.
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Is he actually elected? I suspect his position is the result of gerrymandering. The majority people in Wisconsin could not be in support of such a buffoon.
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Scott Walker is a piece of shit who looks like someone set his face on fire and put it out with a sack of nickels.
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doodoo
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Scott Walker is the world’s largest single-cell organism.
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I think we probably end up with a few public “flagship” universities for the top 10% of students (along with the elite private colleges, of course) and the rest will be workforce training in specific sectors, industries and even companies.
It’s a great deal for employers. It shifts the entire burden for workforce training in specific sectors, industries and companies from the private sector to the public sector and then on to the individual student.
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I think a version of that has been true in the tech industry for years. Since the industry have shifted so many of their workers to the contract world, workers are now responsible for their own training. They get released at the end of a contract and have to “retrain” on their own dime for the next opportunity, experience be damned.
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As someone who went to college in WI (when it was still a good place to go to college…thanks walker for a guaranteed future of that not being true) the most common insult, from the 80’s, in WI comes to mind…SW is a douchebag (sorry that’s not very PC but boy it sure fits this time)
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The picture that goes along with the piece is funny, too. This is what Walker is announcing:
“Taxpayers would foot half the cost of a new $500 million arena for the Milwaukee Bucks under a financial deal that would rely on current and former team owners for the rest, Gov. Scott Walker said Thursday.”
A huge taxpayer subsidy for a private, for-profit company. The company got it by threatening to leave and lawmakers of course accepted their demands.
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/breaking/ct-milwaukee-bucks-arena-20150604-story.html
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He’s just a puppet. Don’t be too distracted by his antics — look for the puppeteers behind the screen.
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I love the photo of the lawmakers handing out the subsidy for the stadium.
The headline should read:
“Grateful hostages make first ransom payment, hope for eventual release”
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Or “Grateful hostages take $250 million from University of Wisconsin, give $250 million for basketball stadium”.
And yes, coincidentally (or not), those are the numbers.
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Scott Walker is “a giant welder.” (Since nobody in the press is willing to use the word “liar”).
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2015/06/03/1390323/–Governor-Walker-he-s-a-giant-welder-What-the-WI-press-refuses-to-say-outright
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Diane, Hillary Clinton has a new edu-PAC. In accordance with campaign finance laws it not *technically* Hillary Clinton, so now that we’ve gotten that purely legalistic distinction out of the way….
http://linkis.com/blogspot.com/eaQZc
Looks like same old ed reform boilerplate. Bush-Obama- Clinton or Bush-Obama-Bush or Bush-Obama-Walker.
She’s adopted the preferred framing of the The Movement- unions versus reformers. Public schools aren’t mentioned at all- this is a battle between labor and management.
The single-minded obsession with labor unions in the ed reform movement is a real “tell”, I think. When I look at my son’s public school the first thing that comes to mind is not “labor union” yet it seems to be the entire focus and framing of The Movement.
It’s really kind of bizarre if you’re not a member of the club.
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The mainstream media in Wisconsin fails to hold Walker accountable for the lies he tells and the laws he breaks, so it’s easy for people to be misled and misinformed.
The bloggers are trying their best, but their audience is limited. See this posting by James Rowen which chronicles Scott Walker’s misdeeds (the list is long, unfortunately) http://thepoliticalenvironment.blogspot.com/2015/03/scott-walker-facts-little-known-outside.html
Big money is the culprit, and Scott Walker is the tool. It really is all smoke and mirrors where Scott Walker is concerned.
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Clinton believes public schools are about “unions versus reformers”
“Unions and reformers CAN agree on a lot. Hillary will show leadership and bring both sides together for our kids.”
Purely political, narrow framing and framing that is ridiculously skewed toward ed reform. Same old, same old.
Next up: Hillary Clinton asks “are you PRO testing or ANTI civil rights?”
This is not a real debate. It is 100% managed and controlled.
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Scott Walker is a menace to society. Among his education proposal is the Josh Duggar Full Employment Act, in which Wisconsin schools and school districts would be prohibited from doing background checks on the high-school dropouts who will be hired to teach high school students.
Wisconsin, home of Bob LaFollete, R.I.P.
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Of course, Walker’s proposals regarding reproductive rights and education (both k-12 and higher education) are odious, regressive and repressive. Lest we forger,Walker was elected governor and survived a recall vote. It would appear that his governorship represents the will of the citizens of Wisconsin; at least those who voted.
Anti intellectualism has a rich and long history in American life; Walker represents the dark side of the Populist response to the complexities in out society. If we want to understand Walker and his Republican ilk, I direct you to Richard Hofstatder’s seminal work, “Anti Intellectualism in American Live…”
The issue that smacks us upside our heads is: What needs to be don to defeat or ameliorate his proposals in Wisconsin; and what needs to be done to terminate is run for the nomination and throw him out of office ?
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Walker’s policies are disastrous for public schools and public higher education. The long term damage to these institutions and prospects for Wisconsin’s youth are extremely serious.
I agree that Hofstadter reference is relevant. Walker actually values education, but is anti-intellectual, does not fully value our current longstanding institutions of learning and believes/assumes there are alternative models. His view is wrong, but he is willing to risk lots of futures to find out the hard way.
The first thing to prevent his nomination and White House bid is not to underestimate him. Despite his attacks on educational institutions, he is more energetic and intelligent than some of his critics admit. He is a very capable politician.
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Scott Walker is In Power.
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I have been on a personal boycott of Wisconsin products since this neo-fascist was first elected. Granted, I have not made even a dent in Wisconsin’s economy, but, as I said, it is personal. Now, if others would join me . . . hmmm.
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The comments on the NYT cheese me off so much about professors having lifelong protection, etc. Do they realize how hard it is to get tenure as a professor? In the end, it doesn’t even matter as tenure is such a nonissue given the current trend to adjunctify our professoriate.
http://www.theatlantic.com/education/archive/2015/05/the-cost-of-an-adjunct/394091/
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…an embarrassment to the people of Wisconsin, the citizens of the United States, and to human beings everywhere…
Now that concerned, caring, and responsible Americans have spoken, this might prompt the billionaires to open their checkbooks and shower the monster from Wisconsin with more money…
…a new Common Core story…”The Puppet and the Puppeteers”.
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One group that is taking risks and spending money for court cases to expose Walker’s transgressions, is the Center for Media and Democracy- PR Watch. They are also the group that has had success destabilizing ALEC, so that Koch/ALEC anti-democratic influence is stopped in state capitals.
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Wisconsin State Standardized Assessment Test 2015(Excerpt)
Question: In the passage above, SW(Scott Walker) is ….
a. Squeaking Weasel
b. Squandering Wisconsin
c. Stalker Walker
d. Squashing Welfare
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Chiara, thanks but we do not need to worry about “”F”” threat from greedy and corrupted corporations
Please DO NOT repeat twisted info from media that is controlled and manipulated to terrorize population.
Population will be welcome all “”pop and mom”” stores business style more than any big CORRUPTED corporations.
Population prefers to have all greedy and corrupted BIG BUSINESSES to GO AWAY. Back2basic
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on Sunday this is what Robert Reich wrote: “Oh, and he rides a Harley. He’s a brainless knee-jerk conservative whom the media is celebrating because he happens to be up in Iowa, whose Republican caucuses haven’t predicted anything in years.” and I certainly agree.
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Scott walker is a -holistic
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Who are you telling? He is a failure as a governor and his arrogance is frightening! Just because he has convinced the Kochs that he can carry the ball for them does not make him the heir apparent. He and Ted Cruz should become a duo and go on the road. They are both bad for America. Walker taking money from the UW and giving to the sports teams shows where his alliances lie!
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Scott Walker is a titanic poopoohead.
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No doubt true,to say the least. Unfortunately, such analysis has its practical limitations. Simply put, Walker has succeeded in hijacking the state of Wisconsin and could very well continue on to secure the Republican nomination. Perhaps, the real deal is to generate a strategy to turn back the Scott juggernaut in his home state and bury him during the nomination process.
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Diane, I think the heading of this post needs to be changed to “Scott Walker is a(n)…..”, thus allowing a greater choice in words, and we know how Walker loves “choice.” Now if I could only think of a word beginning with a vowel that aptly describes Walker….
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Lehrer,
You can add “n” or use words like nincompoop, dope, McCarthyite, creep, etc.
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Reblogged this on David R. Taylor-Thoughts on Texas Education.
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Scott Walker is a………….. fascist. Just sayin. Many thanks,David Cunningham
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In my many years of research into the demise of education in general in America, I have found that the most truthful flow of information originates from those who have stopped being an ideologue for either side of the ridiculously toxic political parties. To hate Scott Walker and support Hillary Clinton, hate the Koch brothers and overlook Bill Gates, hate George Bush but prop up the miserable current resident of the people’s house, hate corporations but believe in government means you haven’t a clue about how we arrived at this day in American history. You are still a part of the demise of everything America promised to ever be and now, will never be again.
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From a Robert Shepherd post last year, 4-19-14.
“Let’s begin with some adjectives:
Artless, beslubbering, bootless, churlish, craven, dissembling, errant, fawning, forward, gleeking, impertinent, loggerheaded, mammering, merkin-faced, mewling, qualling, rank, reeky, rougish, pleeny, scurvie, venomed, villainous, warped and weedy,
And then add some compound participles:
beef-witted, boil-brained, dismal-dreaming, earth-vexing, fen-sucked, folly-fallen, idle-headed, rude-growing, spur-galled, . . .
And round it all off with a noun (pick any one that you please):
Bum-baily
Canker-blossom
Clotpole
Coxcomb
Codpiece
Dewberry
Flap-dragon
Foot-licker
Hugger-mugger
Lout
Mammet
Minnow
Miscreant
Moldwarp
Nut-hock
Puttock
Pumpion
Skainsmate
Varlet”
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It is sad the left must resort to vile, false attacks because they lost the battle against Scott Waker twice.
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The only people worse than Walker are those who voted for him. My friend Tom Barrett ran against his Koch brothers financed machine. Tom is one of the most decent human beings I know. Unfortunately evil won.
Walkers only claim to fame is breaking teachers. A profession that is 84% women. Lowering their in pocket income by forcing them to pay more for their pensions. And we wonder why women have an income gap
He opened up choice to rich people that even Dr. Howard Fuller disagreed with. All this to balance the budget on the backs of educators. On top of that he took on the university system.
Walker was gutless when he dropped out of Marquette University. The real reason? He lost when he ran for student council president. Why did he lose? When a negative article about him was written in the campus newspaper, his thugs stole all the papers so no one could read them. They got caught and the paper printed the story just before the election. Gotcha! however, he got away clean. Just like when he was county exec. His thugs went to jail and he got away clean. Just like now when he is under investigation for campaign violations in the recall election.
He dropped out of Marquette because he is weak. He thinks he can slip and slide for the rest of his life. I don’t live in Wisconsin anymore and there is no way I would return until they come to there senses.
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You all sound stupid. And pointless. Ravitch, you have created an echo chamber and proven yourself to be irrelevant to any meaningful help for the children of America. I can’t even pretend to tolerate your blather anymore.
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Well, that certainly advances the conversation.
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tonibmo wrote, “You all sound stupid.”
To tonibmo: There’s an old saying that says “It takes one to know one,” and I want to suggest that you look in a mirror to see the face of stupid.
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You think Scott Walker is a good for education, and helpful to “the children of America?” Elaborate please…?
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“Irrelevant”?
Well, her blog is “relevant” enough for a slob like you to be here blathering away about how “irrelevant” she is.
Let’s see… her blog gets 10 million views a year. That’s a lot of people who find it “relevant.” Don’t you think?
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Calling it echoing effect. Your rant passes the conduit of echo chamber, and guess where it goes!
It directs back at you.
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Tonibo,
Scot Walker has led a class war against Union workers, has destroyed public education in Wisconsin, and wants to do the same nation-wide. He is an enemy of working class Americans. I’m sorry that you disagree, but there are none so blind as they who will not see. Now, what is your name?
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some may see this as off topic but in reply to Tonibo I want to send this petition along. you don’t have to agree with the issue at hand but please note the language that Walker is using with his slang etc. it goes along with the helmet and the motorcycle etc? Now don’t get me wrong my 60 year old ex-marine nephew has a motorcycle shop in Seattle so please clearly note that I am commenting on Walker’s slang use of language in his “convincing rhetoric” for women and I am not asking you to sign anything …
Petition: Friend:
We sent a strong message to Republicans that it’s time to end their war on women.
But some people didn’t get the message, including potential presidential candidate Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker. He signed a bill that forces women seeking an abortion to get a mandatory ultrasound, then defended himself by saying women will be getting access to a “lovely thing” and a “cool thing.”
That isn’t OK. Walker needs to apologize for his insensitive comments; demand that Scott Walker apologize? We have to stand together and reject the GOP’s shameless and harmful attacks on women’s health care before they get worse. These out-of-touch politicians need to focus on their jobs instead of coming between a woman and her doctor. Thanks for stepping up. Always, Lois
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as I stated earlier, the teaching force is 80% female (not true of the fire department , or other unions) but it speaks clearly to me as female by a union buster like Walker or Christie
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Jean,
Where do I sign? I am sick of the GOP trampling on the rights of people who cannot join the top one percent! But, we must remember that, while the GOP under the Bush II Reign, began the war on public education, the Democrats under Obama have continued the persecution. Walker is the enemy, so is Dannel Malloy in CT.
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I am firmly convinced that “DINO Dan” is Satan’s spawn. I cannot fathom how people in this bluest of states do not see the damage he is doing. I know I’m dating myself here, but I sure miss Ella Grasso!
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Lehrer,
I enjoyed your comment! I have frequently referred to Malloy as “Satan’s Spawn”. However, I am more disgusted by those turncoats who should have known better by reelecting him, teachers and other educated people who panicked and voted the Party line. Satan Malloy is destroying public education while his apologists reacted to the possibility of his opponent doing the same. They ignored the fact that Malloy was proven to be our enemy, while fearing that his opponent might turn out to be our enemy. It truly disgusted me.
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Bill Morrison It came to me in an email from Lois Frankel for congress. I am not in her state but I certainly support the viewpoint that she is expressing. Last year on this list someone wrote that Rick Perry was such a “laggard” (my word) that he couldn’t get into the vet school at Texas A&M…. now my vet taught there and my nephews (2 of them) went there and I have great respect for these 3 guys and what they learned… I have no respect for someone like Rick Perry or Scott Walker . When I was in Houston and Austin at the New Year I was reading their local papers about the women’s issues and the women in TX who share my viewpoints seem to be outnumbered and have been losing ground (specifically health care)… Another who is writing today about the issues of health care is Tammy Baldwin with her petition for vets and these issues, to me, are related. How they deal with public education and how they respond to the needs to set up health care within their own states. Not my business if I only look at MA; but when they come into the homeless shelter in MA from NH we could get them signed up for health care (the children) right away upon entry.
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and please tell me where your ideas of “Substance” are written so that I can critique your ideas… or, wait a minute you have none so you have nothing to offer and you don’t write down any program improvements you might suggest? You just need to criticize the rest of us who are working on local educational policies, being active in school committees? I offered 5 years of volunteering in the women and children’s shelter during the worst of the recession all of the time that Scott Brown (failed senator) was telling taxpayers that “the federal funds are not useful” and I could see the funds being spent in the shelter and the food bank. So I did door to door canvas to get Elizabeth Warren elected. Being retired I have this time to make commitment to program improvements. Would you please list what you have done or what you are doing to make any kind of positive impact anywhere?
but now gloss over her work for more substance.
jeanhaverhill@aol.com
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“Would you please list what you have done or what you are doing to make any kind of positive impact anywhere?” Even though this question was probably aimed at tonibmo, who I think is a troll or in the pay of the RheeFormers, I couldn’t resist answering it. :o)
I’m retired and have more time but I refuse to go door to door. That isn’t in my DNA. So I spend a lot of time Blogging, Tweeting and leaving comments.
I also will not be joining any street protests. That also isn’t in my nature since I am more of an introvert but an introvert who came home from Vietnam with a severe case of PTSD and that PTSD causes me to avoid crowds because crowds are a trigger that sets off the PTSD and then I start to lose a lot of sleep.
So here is a brief report on what I have accomplished from the chair in front of my desktop as a member of the resistance fighting back on my terms.
To start, my most recent post is a six-part series about public pensions and specifically about teacher retirement programs that CalSTRS, the 2nd largest public pension program in the country with hundreds of thousands of members, picked up and Tweeted out yesterday, and that one post was viewed by almost 100 people on Monday.
Here’s the CalSTRS Tweet:
@CalSTRS
Writer reveals the FACTS about Teacher Retirement Programs. http://bit.ly/1Klfq9X #education #pension @lflwriter
That Blog that focuses on Education is called Crazy Normal, and it has 802 posts and 922 comments with a total of 56,325 views and more than 12,500 followers.
http://crazynormaltheclassroomexpose.com/
I also wrote a memoir about the reality of teaching in a school where the childhood poverty rate was 70% or more, and that memoir has picked up a few literary awards and was an Amazon bestseller for a few days earlier in the year.
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Jean,
Persecution of one is persecution of all. I am very sympathetic of these persecutions against women and will do anything in my power to help them.
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I was referring to tonibo (or if that is how he spells the name) and I didn’t want to get into over-generalizing but sometimes I do…. tonibo was “echoing” the Checkers Finn assault (when they say “bomb the teachers collieges” etc) and Checkers Finn has special names for the individuals like me in particular so let’s leave it at that. The individuals at the Finn Fordham Institute are closely aligned with the Paul Peterson economics school and a lot of “stuff” comes out of “Cambridge MA” with headings such as “principal pension payoff” and whenever I see it I vociferously complain at their site . The others that have a direct line to our Commissioner of ED are of course Arne Duncan , Massachusetts Business Alliance , and Acheve Inc. Someone here mentioned “trade groups” and even our professional associations were co-opted into the super- marketing hype. The important issue is they have squandered precious R&D monies and the students have been penalized and we have great opportunity costs in terms of the creativity that has been squashed.
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here is another example: ”
“If the System Can’t Kill the Bunny with $312k per classroom, perhaps new choices will help them out”
this ideology has been spewing out titles like this and it proves to me they have a lack of substance to offer. The metaphors they use? I saw one powerful man on tv yelling at the teachers “you bet the house on class size” and you lost so now I’m in charge. I don’t talk like that or think like that. “kill the bunny”, “money ball”, “bet the house” and if they are approaching the dialogue with that type of language then I react. When they give out SIG school improvement grants and they use this rhetoric (like bomb the teachers colleges) I revolt. Some of it is from Paul Peterson when he uses Schumpeter’s destructive economics but they carry it way over board.
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Scott Walker may, or may not, be the Republican candidate. He certainly will have influence either way! My real concern is where will-would Hillary Clinton take us over the next 4-8 years? If it is the same place as Walker, backed by similar big money reformers, then what?????
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The only difference would be that Clinton would not kill the unions. Walker has made union-killing the priority of his administration in Wisconsin, and will make it a national priority if elected. That is a huge difference!
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