Comment Archives: stories
Re: “War, policy, and Obama”
I find the selection of the subject of Obama's speech on the US and terrorism as an amazing attempt to look at this past week through rose colored glasses ...... To ignore three separate scandals with this administration over its head in defending its actions for a speech which was clearly an attempt to deflect the attention from the scandals is just amazing even for a liberal leaning paper ..... But lets take the speech, "the destruction of Muslim Extremist terrorism" is anything but close to an end. Right now the US is working on a method to cover their gun running to Syria via Benghazi and Turkey by getting multiple countries to remove the international restriction on aiding any single side to overthrow a government. The US government violated international law by these actions. Gun running is exactly why the Ambassador was in Benghazi in the first place..... Tunisia, Libya, Egypt, Palestine, Syria are all being controlled / disrupted by the Muslim Brotherhood and its associates. The Coptic Christians are fleeing Egypt by the 10s of thousands due to the attacks by members of the Muslim Brotherhood there...... but Mary Anna Towler chooses to do a critique of the President's speech and describes it as " eloquent, principled and rational one"..... She references the need for an "informed public" .... I must suggest that what we need is "a more informed media" at all levels ....... then maybe we would get those who have access to this administration to start the inquiries to expose the tyrannical actions of big government , and specifically this administration.
Re: “Feedback 5/29”
Dr William Carla, "on children and protest" suggested that the business community is behind the core curriculum drive in this nation. Now, yes Bill Gates, who once was a major business player, is involved with the core curriculum program, At the same time, few in the business community who understand the major goals of Core Curriculum would support such a program . This is all part of "the fundamental change" of President Obama. The Federal Education Department has its fingerprints all over this poorly designed program to create a national indoctrination and data gathering program. It is all about increasing federal government control of our lives and Dr. Carla either knows the true sources of this diabolical scheme or has not done his homework. The most important part of any protest is knowing who and what you are demonstrating against.......
Re: “Feedback 5/29”
BEE'S DEMISE: It seems there is another possible cause of colony collapse disorder. It is the substitute provided by the commercial bee keepers to feed the bees. They use high fructose corn syrup to feed the bees and although the other possible causes have not been ruled out, the substitute food may not be activating the detox/immune system of the bees. Here is a link to a good article on the subject: http://arstechnica.com/science/2013/05/fee…
Re: “War, policy, and Obama”
"Trillions"? Hardly. But, hey, the poor have too much and the rich not enough. How about winding down the right-wing war on the middle class?
Re: “War, policy, and Obama”
"It is time, though, to wind this war - whatever you want to call it - down. It's also time to wind down the war on drugs, now, after how many hundreds of billions of dollars? "
How about winding down the liberal "War on Poverty" that has been in place since the Johnson administration? TRILLIONS of dollars have been spent on that and guess what? We seem to have more poor people than ever.
Re: “The RCSD's grant dependency”
So RCSD spends $600,000 to fund Hillside Work-Scholarship while they cut the RCSD staff that coordinate Student & Family Support Centers?? Someone's playing the politics game!
Re: “Rochester school board candidates see only the tip of the iceberg”
I attended the forum as well. Tim Louis Macaluso, maybe the reason why the "issue" of a "declining student population " appeared to have gone unaddressed may be due to the fact that "declining student population " is the focus of you and administration but not the immediate focus of parents; hence why the "issue" was not raised. Perhaps, unlike yourself and current administration, we parents are wise enough to understand that the issues that were raised and addressed are the reasons why parents/guardians are taking their children out of the RCSD and therefore leading up to a "declining student population". In actuality, the "issue" of "declining student population " WAS addressed by the candidates by them focusing on a plan to transform the current horrific condition of the RCSD, which will ultimately produce an environment conducive to learning, evidently make the RCSD a viable option for parents/guardians and students as a provider of a quality and competitive education, and will in turn improve the "issue" of "declining student population ".
Re: “The RCSD's grant dependency”
One additional dilemma faced by RCSD is the fact that city residents do not vote on the school budget like residents of suburban districts. Many residents likely vote to increase property taxes if these increases supported additional funds for the schools. The system in place in Rochester and several large cities in the state uses the elected board of education members as the proxy for direct voting on the budget by the citizens. And we all know how effective the elected board members are.
Re: “THEATER | "Little Shop of Horrors"/"Re-Invented: A Dracula-Inspired Goth Rock Musical"”
Was an amazing show, my daughter kaitlyn played " Audrey" and I couldn't be more proud. The cast was amazing, and as with all of her productions, Judith once again brought magic to the stage! What an awesome group of talent! Thank you for sharing your God given talent with us!
Amy Baldwin
Re: “Rochester school board candidates see only the tip of the iceberg”
What the hell does a declining student population have to do with the fact that the RCSD has proven to be incompetent when it comes to educating Rochester's children? The declining population is a symptom of the problem, not the cause.
I was at the forum, and I found it to be both a robust and entertaining discussion. It's time for a new approach to educating our children. what we're doing now isn't working.
Re: “Rochester school board candidates see only the tip of the iceberg”
With all due respect to City Newspaper reporter Tim Louis Macaluso, his news report only adds to confusion, surrounding specific types of things that must be done in order to produce widespread change and improvement within the Rochester City School District, and make the District a solidly viable and healthy institution. Rather than viewing, and describing issues raised by me and my colleagues during a recent candidates forum (such as "helping students with skills training to become firefighters, police officers, plumbers, and electricians," i.e., authentic alternative education programs; "better health services for students"; "stopping [the criminal practice of systematic] social promotion"; significantly reducing "high salaries for Superintendent Bolgen Vargas’s growing cabinet"; ensuring that additional "support for students [is] being directed down to the classroom level"; making sure that "more resources [are] devoted to early childhood development"; and producing "more parent engagement and cultural awareness training") --- as representing the types of things that must be addressed in order to effectively halt "a declining student population," and the wild proliferation of (in some cases) semi-private-like charter schools, which he maintains will "fill their seats with city students" --- Mr. Macaluso made the critically important mistake of setting up a false dichotomy. That is, because none of us mentioned "declining student population," which he refers to as "the iceberg that’s sending a chill through the administration," apparently he falsely assumed that we are so "perennial" that we are not aware of "the iceberg." He is even more off-base via his simplistic, and unrealistic declaration that "whomever voters put into office better have a plan to navigate around it." It's like the guy doesn't really get it. There is no magic. We did articulate the "plan" via the issues raised above, which must necessarily be effectively addressed in order for the Rochester City School District to compete with charter schools --- the latter of which (in many cases) will prove to be no more effective than traditional schools, particularly as it relates to serving our most challenging students (well), which is why most charter schools routinely engage in "creaming" --- while lying about so-called random lotteries. Charter schools do not represent a panacea for the very old, deep-seated, urban education crisis. In fact, in many cases the corporate and wealthy forces that are behind them, are nothing more or less than sophisticated poverty-pimps.
Re: “Feedback 5/29”
“Unjust laws exist; shall we be content to obey them, or shall we endeavor to amend them, and obey them until we have succeeded, or shall we transgress them at once? Men generally, under such a government as this, think that they ought to wait until they have persuaded the majority to alter them. They think that, if they should resist, the remedy would be worse than the evil. But it is the fault of the government itself that the remedy is worse than the evil. It makes it worse. Why is it not more apt to anticipate and provide for reform? Why does it not cherish its wise minority? Why does it cry and resist before it is hurt? Why does it not encourage its citizens to be on the alert to point out its faults, and do better than it would have them?”
― Henry David Thoreau, Civil Disobedience and Other Essays
Re: “War, policy, and Obama”
This would have been a great speech, had Obama made it in 2009 as part of fulfilling his campaign promises, or rather his implied campaign promises. Four years later however it's stale, trite, disingenuous and way too late.
Re: “War, policy, and Obama”
@Reggie: We are neither going home nor declaring victory, although at least this President has decimated al Qaeda. He's also made us more hated in Pakistan than India, an ominous situation with a country that is producing nuclear weapons by the dozens. It is time, though, to wind this war - whatever you want to call it - down. It's also time to wind down the war on drugs, now, after how many hundreds of billions of dollars? And with what results? but is now in 115 countries. 115 countries! That's the definition of insane.
This "war on terrorism" lexicon is nuts, too: Are we really at war with, for example, Shining Path? The military wing of the Irish Republican Army? Does anyone recall Franklin D. Roosevelt declaring war on carrier-based airplanes on December 8, 1941?
Re: “Richards' campaign off to a slow start”
Richards has been doing an exceptional job by most accounts and is viewed quite favorably. He is the incumbent and has the party leadership's backing. He's extremely qualified and in my thinking he could easily be the mayor of any city in the country. I just don't see Warren as being a real factor in the upcoming election. Rochester has plenty experience with bad mayors to avoid moving from a known-good mayor to be working towards a questionable alternative.
Re: “War, policy, and Obama”
Oh, so that's how you end the war on terrorism: declare victory and go home.
Re: “Confirmed: Spider-Man crew member beaten, robbed while in Rochester”
Breaking: City of Rochester and downtown merchants beaten, robbed by Spiderman movie
Re: “Rock-n-Roll Social Club”
LOVE Rock-n-Roll Social Club!!!!! Xoxo
Re: “"Game of Thrones" Season 3, Episode 8: An Imp-ulsive wedding”
Fabulous review.. Spot on Sir/ess/, I have come to Game of Thrones in a very circuitess (?) way. Don't have Sky, wanted to watch it but couldn't. Picked up the book 2nd hand, enthralled/ Had deep conversation with someone who had watched the tv production, then found out about how to watch online. Can see inconsistencies even though I have not read the other books, dramatic license & all that.. But what a hoot! Tyrion seems to be the only american actor & he puts us all to shame.. I absolutely adore his portrayal. Yummy. Is this as big as I think it is in the States? So many fantastic (& shit) british actORS.. In fact, seems totally UK staffed.. It is a bit buttocky, in the same way the Tudors was, but commendable. Tasteful buttocks, greedy dragons. I like the fact that it can make me laugh even when I'm grimacing. So many programmes are entirely up their own backsides without even knowing it. This production is nigh on pornographic in its shameless self love. It's such a shame that the north/south divide has to be won. As if..
Re: “RCSD: Longer days for an out-of-school culture?”
"The other absences were not due to playing hooky, as some have suggested, but the result of sickness, family emergencies, and scheduled personal days, according to Urbanski." Well guess what, the same could be said about students in the RCSD. So when does it go from being a plausible explanation to a lame excuse. I guess when it's a double standard that's practiced with the RCSD. If attendance is important in reference to education, let's not hold some accountable an not all. Urbanski, stop making excuses for "your" teachers and acknowledge, accept and then make changes!!!