out-of-the-box

I wasn’t at all surprised at this story, and for a few days I’ve been pondering about just how we got to such an abysmal level of erudition.

Maybe its the fearless leader that is moving out of 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue in the next two months.  Or could it be that ridiculous No Child Left Behind nonsense that has been holding education for ransom over too many years.

In Washington state I am sure it is the WASL that has something to do with these results.

To me its just a disgrace of the first order.

I don’t know about them but I went and took the test, thought the questions were simple and scored 100% correct answers.  I graduated high school over 40 years ago.  It was a time when education had substance.

It, to me, is like judges and attorneys.  They all need remedial education. Looks like another bunch can be thrown in to the cook pot.  Maybe this is how we can get some collective brain power.

And remember you voted them in and they appointed their cronies to plush jobs.

US officials flunk test of American history, economics, civics

Thu Nov 20, 2008

WASHINGTON (AFP) – US elected officials scored abysmally on a test measuring their civic knowledge, with an average grade of just 44 percent, the group that organized the exam said Thursday.

Ordinary citizens did not fare much better, scoring just 49 percent correct on the 33 exam questions compiled by the Intercollegiate Studies Institute (ISI).

“It is disturbing enough that the general public failed ISI’s civic literacy test, but when you consider the even more dismal scores of elected officials, you have to be concerned,” said Josiah Bunting, chairman of the National Civic Literacy Board at ISI.

“How can political leaders make informed decisions if they don’t understand the American experience?” he added.

The exam questions covered American history, the workings of the US government and economics.

Among the questions asked of some 2,500 people who were randomly selected to take the test, including “self-identified elected officials,” was one which asked respondents to “name two countries that were our enemies during World War II.”

Sixty-nine percent of respondents correctly identified Germany and Japan. Among the incorrect answers were Britain, China, Russia, Canada, Mexico and Spain.

Forty percent of respondents, meanwhile, incorrectly believed that the US president has the power to declare war, while 54 percent correctly answered that that power rests with Congress.

Asked about the electoral college, 20 percent of elected officials incorrectly said it was established to “supervise the first televised presidential debates.”

In fact, the system of choosing the US president via an indirect electoral college vote dates back some 220 years, to the US Constitution.

The question that received the fewest correct responses, just 16 percent, tested respondents’ basic understanding of economic principles, asking why “free markets typically secure more economic prosperity than government’s centralized planning?”

Activities that dull Americans’ civic knowledge include talking on the phone and watching movies or television — even news shows and documentaries, ISI said.

Meanwhile, civic knowledge is enhanced by discussing public affairs, taking part in civic activities and reading about current events and history, the group said.

Copyright © 2008 Agence France Presse.

It isn’t so much that the Austrians were and are correct, it is that we have had a runaway government for too many decades.  The explosive expansion of governmental agencies and jobs that fill a roster more than they fill a need or are effectively operational.

Even at the state level, such as with recently re-elected Christine Gregoire in Washington state, who ran on a no new tax platform, is now faced, because of lack of planning and understanding basic economics,   with raising taxes and ignoring a critical issue needed in Olympia - mandate a total management overhaul in every state agency, increase standards and clean out the dead wood.

End the Fed

The Austrians Were Right

by Ron Paul

Before the U.S. House of Representatives, November 20, 2008

Madame Speaker, many Americans are hoping the new administration will solve the economic problems we face. That’s not likely to happen, because the economic advisors to the new President have no more understanding of how to get us out of this mess than previous administrations and Congresses understood how the crisis was brought about in the first place.

Except for a rare few, Members of Congress are unaware of Austrian Free Market economics. For the last 80 years, the legislative, judiciary and executive branches of our government have been totally influenced by Keynesian economics. If they had had any understanding of the Austrian economic explanation of the business cycle, they would have never permitted the dangerous bubbles that always lead to painful corrections.

Today, a major economic crisis is unfolding. New government programs are started daily, and future plans are being made for even more. All are based on the belief that we’re in this mess because free-market capitalism and sound money failed. The obsession is with more spending, bailouts of bad investments, more debt, and further dollar debasement. Many are saying we need an international answer to our problems with the establishment of a world central bank and a single fiat reserve currency. These suggestions are merely more of the same policies that created our mess and are doomed to fail.

At least 90% of the cause for the financial crisis can be laid at the doorstep of the Federal Reserve. It is the manipulation of credit, the money supply, and interest rates that caused the various bubbles to form. Congress added fuel to the fire by various programs and institutions like the Community Reinvestment Act, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, FDIC, and HUD mandates, which were all backed up by aggressive court rulings.

The Fed has now doled out close to $2 trillion in subsidized loans to troubled banks and other financial institutions. The Federal Reserve and Treasury constantly brag about the need for “transparency” and “oversight,” but it’s all just talk – they want none of it. They want secrecy while the privileged are rescued at the expense of the middle class.

It is unimaginable that Congress could be so derelict in its duty. It does nothing but condone the arrogance of the Fed in its refusal to tell us where the $2 trillion has gone. All Members of Congress and all Americans should be outraged that conditions could deteriorate to this degree. It’s no wonder that a large and growing number of Americans are now demanding an end to the Fed.

The Federal Reserve created our problem, yet it manages to gain even more power in the socialization of the entire financial system. The whole bailout process this past year was characterized by no oversight, no limits, no concerns, no understanding, and no common sense.

Similar mistakes were made in the 1930s and ushered in the age of the New Deal, the Fair Deal, the Great Society and the supply-siders who convinced conservatives that deficits didn’t really matter after all, since they were anxious to finance a very expensive deficit-financed American empire.

All the programs since the Depression were meant to prevent recessions and depressions. Yet all that was done was to plant the seeds of the greatest financial bubble in all history. Because of this lack of understanding, the stage is now set for massive nationalization of the financial system and quite likely the means of production.

Although it is obvious that the Keynesians were all wrong and interventionism and central economic planning don’t work, whom are we listening to for advice on getting us out of this mess? Unfortunately, it’s the Keynesians, the socialists, and big-government proponents.

Who’s being ignored? The Austrian free-market economists – the very ones who predicted not only the Great Depression, but the calamity we’re dealing with today. If the crisis was predictable and is explainable, why did no one listen? It’s because too many politicians believed that a free lunch was possible and a new economic paradigm had arrived. But we’ve heard that one before – like the philosopher’s stone that could turn lead into gold. Prosperity without work is a dream of the ages.

Over and above this are those who understand that political power is controlled by those who control the money supply. Liberals and conservatives, Republicans and Democrats came to believe, as they were taught in our universities, that deficits don’t matter and that Federal Reserve accommodation by monetizing debt is legitimate and never harmful. The truth is otherwise. Central economic planning is always harmful. Inflating the money supply and purposely devaluing the dollar is always painful and dangerous.

The policies of big-government proponents are running out of steam. Their policies have failed and will continue to fail. Merely doing more of what caused the crisis can hardly provide a solution.

The good news is that Austrian economists are gaining more acceptance every day and have a greater chance of influencing our future than they’ve had for a long time.

The basic problem is that proponents of big government require a central bank in order to surreptitiously pay bills without direct taxation. Printing needed money delays the payment. Raising taxes would reveal the true cost of big government, and the people would revolt. But the piper will be paid, and that’s what this crisis is all about.

There are limits. A country cannot forever depend on a central bank to keep the economy afloat and the currency functionable through constant acceleration of money supply growth. Eventually the laws of economics will overrule the politicians, the bureaucrats and the central bankers. The system will fail to respond unless the excess debt and mal-investment is liquidated. If it goes too far and the wild extravagance is not arrested, runaway inflation will result, and an entirely new currency will be required to restore growth and reasonable political stability.

The choice we face is ominous: We either accept world-wide authoritarian government holding together a flawed system, OR we restore the principles of the Constitution, limit government power, restore commodity money without a Federal Reserve system, reject world government, and promote the cause of peace by protecting liberty equally for all persons. Freedom is the answer.

Idaho government ranks 44th.

Boy was this no surprise!  And of course it was Larry Wasden to the rescue again, trying to bail water from the sinking canoe.

 2008 BGA-Alper Integrity Index

The Better Government Association (“BGA”) is proud to release the 2008 BGA-Alper Integrity Index. The Index ranks all fifty states on the strength of their laws relating to transparency, ethics, and accountability in government.

More information, including a full copy of the BGA-Alper Integrity Index is available for download on the BGA’s website at http://www.bettergov.org. In addition the website has state specific press releases.

Originally published in 2002, this updated edition of the Index rates the performance of the states in five areas of law: open records, whistleblower protections, campaign finance, open meetings, and conflicts of interest.

“These laws are representative of a state’s responsiveness to its citizens, and its commitment to maintaining ethics in government,” said BGA Executive Director Jay Stewart. “Just as the fifty states compete to see which one is the most business-friendly, they should also compete over their respective commitment to governmental integrity.”

IDAHO #44 IN BGA-ALPER INTEGRITY INDEX

Today the Better Government Association (“BGA”) released the 2^nd edition of the BGA-Alper Integrity Index.  The Index ranks all fifty states on the strength of their laws that relate to transparency, accountability and limits in government.

This edition of the BGA-Alper Integrity Index rates the fifty states on their performance across five different laws: open records laws; whistleblower laws; campaign finance laws; open meetings laws; and conflict of interest laws.  A full copy of the BGA-Alper Integrity Index is available for free on the BGA’s website at www.bettergov.org.

“The BGA feels that these laws go to the core of responsive and ethical government.  Just as the fifty states compete to see which one is the most business friendly or has biggest population they should also compete to see who has the strictest laws in regard to governmental integrity” said BGA Executive Director Jay Stewart.

Idaho ranked 44^th among all fifty states overall.  By issue area Idaho ranked 24^th in open records laws; 9^th in whistleblower laws; 29^th in campaign finance laws; 44^th in open meetings laws; and 48^th in conflict of interest laws.  With its number 44 overall ranking, Idaho achieved a modest 39% overall score.

“Idaho managed to beat out six other states” said Stewart, “however, there is clearly a lot of room for improvement.  If you look at the percentage score, Idaho received 39%, the equivalent of a F letter grade, hardly a cause for celebration.”

The 2^nd edition of the BGA-Alper Integrity Index relies on data compiled through 2007.  Most of the data was collected by the BGA and the BGA created the scoring system for four of the five laws.  The BGA relied on the work of the Center for Public Integrity in regard to conflict of interest laws.

Generally the BGA reviewed the relevant laws in all fifty states and created a scoring system for each law that ran on a 0 to 2 scale with half point increments or a 0 to 4 scale on whole point increments.  The better the law the higher the score.  For the BGA better was usually defined as lower limits, more transparency and higher penalties.   The BGA scored areas of each type of law that were common across all fifty states.

The BGA-Alper Integrity Index is the only tool that attempts to measure the performance of all fifty states across a number of good government laws.  As with any analytical tool, it can’t measure every variable that impact on government integrity.  However, laws are generally the reference point against which ethical behavior is measured.  By rating the quality of the laws we reviewed it at least gives an indication of how important ethics are to each state.

“We hope that legislators and leaders in Idaho will use the Integrity Index as a tool to spur reform and upgrade their laws in regard to transparency, accountability and limits.  Better yet, we hope Idaho comes up with a tough new standard that then becomes the measure against which other states will be judged” said Stewart.

The interesting issue is that this lack of attention to citizens is pervasive throughout the state; it’s not just limited to the “Brainless in Boise”.

There’s more to say about the Idaho Way.  We’ll keep you posted.

I had a great run down on Randy Dorn before the election and gave him my endorsement.  Not only has Bergeson become outdated,  her support of the WASL is outdated too.

Basically this test was to comply with the way to get Federal funds, teachers had been teaching to the test, and kids just weren’t learning.  I’ve been opposed to the WASL since its inception.

Tough to get people who have been ensconced in Olympia to move off dead center, get creative and restore some semblance of creative thinking and problem solving.

Dorn is a well liked fellow, more of an open door kinda guy, and an effective administrator.

Some so-called libertarians I know of refused to vote for Dorn because “he was the head of a union”.

In this case parents and children are lucky to have gotten a good candidate.  Sorry that some other voters were so closed minded.

Everett, Wash.

New leader plans overhaul of WASL

By Kaitlin Manry
Herald Writer

Randy Dorn has won the closest state schools chief race in two decades.Incumbent Terry Bergeson conceded defeat Thursday afternoon. She was trailing Dorn by about 3 percentage points three days into the ballot count.

“I’ve been watching the numbers and having people track for me and they’ve been getting worse as the hours have gone by,” Bergeson said Thursday. “I saw the 3 o’clock numbers and they were down again. I called Randy Dorn and congratulated him.”

Dorn didn’t pick up, so she left the union leader a message on his cell phone.

Bergeson, 66, has led Washington’s public schools for 12 years and had planned to step down after serving one more term as state superintendent of public instruction.

“It’s a great feeling,” Dorn said Thursday evening. “We saw the numbers on Tuesday night and felt good about those numbers and they’ve been moving our way. … But in politics it’s never over till it’s over. She conceded and it’s over.”

Dorn and Bergeson eventually spoke on Thursday and Dorn said they agreed to begin the transition quickly. He plans to work closely with her staff, starting next week.

The position pays $121,618 a year.

Throughout his campaign, Dorn criticized the Washington Assessment of Student Learning, a statewide exam Bergeson developed and backed during her tenure. As a legislator, Dorn supported the creation of the WASL, but he thinks Bergeson went astray and developed a test that is unfair and doesn’t accurately measure student knowledge.

He won the election by convincing voters to associate Bergeson with the test, said Cathy Allen, president and chief executive of The Connections Group consulting firm in Seattle. The company did not work on either candidate’s campaign.

Bergeson led five other candidates in the primary, but she didn’t want to speculate on what went wrong in the general election.

“There’s a whole bunch of things people think, and I have no idea,” she said. “I’m going to let people who analyze these things analyze that for me. I just know the voters have decided.”

Bergeson, a former teacher, counselor and administrator, is unsure what she’ll do next year. She said she’ll help Dorn get going in his new position over the next two and a half months, and then she hopes to stay involved in education.

Dorn, 55, is the executive director of the state union for classified school workers, including custodians, cafeteria workers and bus drivers.

A former teacher and principal, Dorn received a major boost in his campaign when the state teachers union endorsed him. Bergeson ran the union in the late ’80s, but she lost favor with many teachers over her support for the WASL.

Dorn said he plans to begin reshaping the test as soon as he takes office. He plans to shorten the high school WASL by a third to a half by spring 2010 and reduce the amount of writing required on the math portion of the test.

As schools chief, he can make some changes to the test, but in order to get rid of it, the Legislature would need to act. Passing the WASL, or another standardized test, will still be required for graduation, he said.

Though Bergeson has shortened the test in recent months, she has also defended it as a good way to prepare students for college or work. Many state business leaders support her and want to keep the test.

Bergeson acknowledges that Dorn could change the test but said much of the work she’s done over the last 12 years will live on.

“I don’t know what’s going to happen with the system overall, but I just accept the fact that the strong, good stuff will be sustained,” she said.

Reporter Kaitlin Manry: 425-339-3292 or kmanry@heraldnet.com.
© 2008The Daily Herald Co., Everett, WA

DISTRICT 2 In Nebraska “GOES BLUE” for the first time since 1964 and my friend in Omaha is ecstatic!

She says, “I can’t tell you how happy I am to live in a “blue ZONE” at least, in a state that’s considered red! I’m happy that we were able to at least send Obama one electoral vote! “

Things in Idaho could use a good rinsing of Blue-ing…

It gets cold on the plains where winter weather often comes early, and with a vengeance.

Battling 70 MPH wind gusts and heavy snow, South Dakota’s governor declares a state of emergency.

However, it appears that Michael Rounds excluded reservations hard hit by the storm.

This morning, volunteers loaded up food, water, diapers, blankets and other necessities, and took them to Wanblee to help people at a shelter set up at Crazy Horse School. Up to 200 people have stayed at the shelter since Wednesday night.

The Red Cross received the call for help late Friday.

According to Lacreek Electric, it’s expected to take two or three more days to restore power to Wanblee. It could take a week or longer to get electricity back to the outlying areas. The company has uncovered 120 downed poles around Wanblee, but expect to find more as snow is removed.

The UK Telegraph gives us the following headline:

“Sarah Palin blamed by the US Secret Service over death threats against Barack Obama

Sarah Palin’s attacks on Barack Obama’s patriotism provoked a spike in death threats against the future president, Secret Service agents revealed during the final weeks of the campaign. “

But if you read through Tim Shipman’s article from the Washington bureau, you read something very upsetting about Governor Palin.

She drinks diet soda, and it seems as if her favorite is Dr. Pepper.

Sarah, this is sad.

Aren’t you aware that the artificial sweeteners can lead to birth defects, thyroid and other endocrine issues, tumors, depression, Alzheimer’s, cancer, diabetes and more?

This writer surely hopes you’ll change your ways, and soon.

Right now is the time that “W” should be granting pardons.

Bill Clinton should have issued this pardon when he left office but instead some went to his cronies, one being a big campaign contributor with a criminal history.

One pardon long overdue is for a fellow who was the fall guy at Pine Ridge for allegedly killing two agents of the FBI.  Propaganda and spin does have its way to warp the truth, but also hide the facts.

Never forget Leonard Peltier.  Write the White House now, and call for his immediate release.

From the Writings of LEONARD PELTIER

Silence, they say, is the voice of complicity.
But silence is impossible.
Silence screams.
Silence is a message,
Just as doing nothing is an act.

Let who you are ring out and resonate
in every word and every deed.
Yes, become who you are.
There’s no sidestepping your own being
or your own responsibility.

What you do is who you are.
You are your own comeuppance.
You become your own message.

You are the message.

May the Great Spirit Make Sunrise in Your Heart . . .

Hoka Hey!

Leonard Peltier

learn more 

Glad to see Bill Sali, Idaho’s poor performing congressman, leaving D.C. for the potato state. 

It’s tough to elect a D in the reddest of red states, but I’m hoping Minnick will shine through the muck and mire of the ‘Brainless in Boise’ and put people first.

http://www.newwest.net/topic/article/democrat_minnick_wins_idahos_first_district/C559/L559/

The year I benefitted from the safe voter registration law I got passed an attorney from the town where I lived at that time sent me a congratulatory note:  “turning Idaho BLUE, one voter at a time!”

I’m really much more of an independent, not ever declaring a party preference, except in this year’s WA primary. (Had to in order to vote against Gregoire.)

Yes, I moved.  All those red rednecks are just too closed minded for me.