Showing posts with label Media Swampland. Show all posts

Sunday, July 28, 2013

Swampland: States Seek A Way To Pass On Digital Accounts After You Die

States Seek A Way To Pass On Digital Accounts After You Die

Posted: 27 Jul 2013 02:45 AM PDT

What happens to all your digital possessions—your witty Gmails, your candid Facebook snapshots, your exhaustive iTunes collection of Barry White—when you shuffle off this mortal coil? More than 10 states have considered bills so far this year related to so-called digital assets, and two made it past the governor’s desk. That brings the total to seven states that have laws on the books, addressing an issue that will only become more important as tech-obsessed generations age. A digital asset is essentially anything with financial or sentimental value that you can’t hold in your hand, from emails to gaming accounts to domain names. And unlike your record collection or your box full of love letters, it’s often unclear how—or whether—you can give others access to them. When TIME did a deep dive into digital legacies last year, the five states that had related laws were Connecticut, Indiana, Idaho, Oklahoma and Rhode Island. In March, now-beleaguered Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell signed a measure that helps survivors access deceased minors’ online accounts. Nevada Gov. Brian Sandoval approved another bill in June, empowering personal representatives to obtain a deceased person’s emails. But the new laws, like the older ones, deal with only pieces of the digital-assets puzzle. Virginia’s narrow scope—applying just to minors—reflects the nature of recent controversies about digital assets, which often involve service providers and parents who have lost children. In Virginia, resident Ricky Rash and his wife fought for better access to Facebook after their 15-year-old son committed suicide in 2011; looking for answers, they turned to his account but were initially blocked and later given limited access. “We were just grieving parents reaching out for anything we could,” Rash told the Washington Post in February. Companies like Facebook may look rather heartless in such stories, but they’re in a sticky position, needing to respect federal privacy laws and their own terms of service, a contract that often says an account is non-transferrable. One fix the companies themselves can implement is letting account holders indicate once-I’m-out-of-touch preferences. In April, Google announced a

This Week’s Best Politico Instagram Photos

Posted: 27 Jul 2013 02:45 AM PDT

More political personalities are joining Instagram by the day, using it to engage with voters, record moments in history—and post silly photos of cats wearing sunglasses (we’re looking at you, Issa). This week, White House photographer Pete Souza, Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal and Rep. Kevin McCarthy’s dog all shared their first shots. Here’s the latest in our occasional roundup of the best Instagram photos from political personalities. Posted by: Chief Official White House Photographer Pete Souza Handle: @petesouza Caption: Pres Obama boards Air Force One Posted by: California Rep. Darrell Issa Handle: @darrellissa Caption: Went and saw the giant Corpse Flower today. It didn’t smell too bad though. Posted by: Kansas Sen. Jerry Moran Handle: @senjerrymoran Caption: It’s an honor to wish Senator Bob Dole a happy birthday today. Americans know the sacrifice Senator Dole made on their behalf during WWII, and every Kansan knows that he’s been there for them every day since. God bless Bob Dole — a true role model for us all. Here, we’re pictured at the WWII Memorial in front of a plaque that was dedicated in his honor. Posted by: Vermont Gov. Peter Shumlin Handle: @govpetershumlin Caption: Bringing this year’s garlic in to dry. Posted by: New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo Handle: @nygovcuomo Caption: At yesterday’s #adkchallenge w/ Mayor Bloomberg#tourism #rafting #Adirondacks Posted by: Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal Handle: @bobbyjindal Caption: My wife is a pretty good shot #firstinstagrampost Posted by: First Lady Michelle Obama Handle: @michelleobama Caption: Fresh from the White House Kitchen garden: Radishes, fingerling potatoes, hot peppers and red onions. #GardenGoodness Posted by: Georgia Rep. Tom Graves Handle: @reptomgraves Caption: Riding like a champ back in the day #tbt #dirtbikes#georgiaoutdoors (Note: tbt = Throwback Thursday. See an explanation here.) Posted by: Arizona Sen. John McCain Handle: @senjohnmccain Caption: Old McCain family photo – looking good in those sweaters @cindymccain, @meghanmccain, @jimmccain!#tbt Posted by: California Rep. Kevin McCarthy Handle: @repkevinmccarthy Caption: The U.S. Majority Whip wishing the #housepfcardsMajority Whip a Happy Birthday Posted by: Mac (ostensible best friend of McCarthy) Handle: @macthewhipdog Caption: #tbt #aussies #canoodlepets Circa 2011

Another Day in Washington: About 50 Arrested At Keystone XL Protest

Posted: 26 Jul 2013 02:50 PM PDT

About 50 people were arrested in a Keystone XL pipeline protest Friday, amid growing concern by environmentalists that the Obama administration will approve the project, which stretches 875 miles from the tar sands of Alberta to the Gulf of Mexico. Around12:15 pm, approximately 70 protestors rushed the DC lobby of Environmental Resources Management, a consulting firm which produced a bulk of the State Department’s March report that did not conclude that the pipeline should be shut down for environmental reasons. The crowd was a part of the ”Summer Heat” campaign and led by members of Greenpeace, 350.org, and Walk for Our Grandchildren. Organizers of the event claimed that over a hundred walked from Camp David to Washington, a 60 mile trek, in opposition of the pipeline, which they say violates President Obama’s rule that “it does not significantly exacerbate the problem of carbon pollution.” Once inside ERM’s office, six locked arms in metal pipes labeled “No KXL,” blocking the elevator doors. When asked to leave, those that did not wish to be arrested set up a protest outside, and watched about 50 of their colleagues taken into custody for unlawful entry. Police brought in bull cutters to cut off the metal arms. “Hey! Obama! We don’t want no pipeline drama!” the protesters chanted, led by the rhythm of tom-tom drums, and a single megaphone. ”Thank You! Thank You!” they cheered as their colleagues were escorted out in plastic zip ties. DC Police had three motorcycles and thirteen vehicles at the protest. “They lied about their ties to over a dozen oil companies that would profit from the Keystone Pipeline being build,” said Zack Gerdes a 21-old Amherst student from Germantown, MD. “We strongly believe and know that the Keystone pipeline is a huge detriment to the environment and it’s going to exacerbate the problem of climate change.” In March, Mother Jones reported that an ERM employee who worked on the report had previously worked for the owner of Keystone. “My future matters more than corporate greed,” said 14 year-old Anna Farlessyost from Mars Hill, North Carolina. She and her

John McCain Defends Strippers, Not For The First Time

Posted: 26 Jul 2013 02:15 PM PDT

Arizona Sen. John McCain, 76, turned heads this week when The Hill reported he was hopeful that a proposal to eliminate the $1 dollar paper bill from circulation would help increase tips for the nation’s strippers. “Then I hope that they could obtain larger denominations,” he told the paper, in response to a question on the topic. Later, in a shout to the reporter, down the hall, he added, “Fives, tens, one hundreds!” But it was hardly the first time McCain had expressed concern over the wellbeing of exotic dancers. McCain’s turns with strippers and youthful hijinks from his time in the Navy actually played a role in his 2008 presidential campaign — at least for a week during a introduction tour of Florida. ”I enjoyed every single moment of my life here, from learning to fly to blowing my pay at Trader Jon’s,” he said in Pensacola, shortly after winning the Republican nomination. Trader Jon’s, during his time in the Navy, had been a bar often filled with dancing girls, some of whom he dated. The 1996 book The Nightingale’s Song describes the scene: ”He dated everyone from schoolteachers to the strippers at Trader John’s [sic], the fabled airdale raunch bar, often returning to base just in time to change clothes and drag himself out to the flightline,” Robert Timberg wrote. In his own book, Faith Of My Fathers, McCain said the bar scene was the watering hole of “almost every unmarried aviator in Pensacola,” featuring at the back “local girls, trained as exotic dancers” who “entertained rowdy crowds of aviators.” One of them was the “Flame of Florida,” whose stage name was Marie. “She was a remarkably attractive girl with a great sense of humor,” McCain wrote, saying their dates were on Sunday nights when the bar was closed. McCain recounted one night out with friends, when the Flame reached into her purse, popped open a switchblade and began to clean her fingernails, shocking some of those around her. Afterwards, McCain wrote, he took the “worldly, lovely Flame of Florida to dinner.” In the two

San Diego Mayor to Get Therapy Amid Scandal

Posted: 26 Jul 2013 12:25 PM PDT

(SAN DIEGO) — San Diego Mayor Bob Filner says he will undergo therapy after less than a year in office amid allegations that he sexually harassed women. Filner announced his plans ion Friday after a series of women claimed he kissed, groped and placed them in headlocks. The allegations resulted in widespread calls for him to resign, plunging the nation’s eighth-largest city into political turmoil. When the allegations surfaced, Filner apologized for disrespecting women and said he needed help. But soon after, he said he was innocent of sexual harassment and resisted calls to leave office. The chairwoman of the Democratic National Committee called on Filner to resign as did leaders of the San Diego Democratic party. The former congressman was San Diego’s first Democratic mayor in 20 years. MORE: San Diego Mayor Bob Filner Digs in as Sex Harassment Troubles Mount

U.S. Seeks Transfer of 2 Gitmo Detainees to Algeria

Posted: 26 Jul 2013 11:50 AM PDT

(WASHINGTON) — The Obama administration is transferring two Guantanamo Bay detainees to Algeria, the first movement of terrorist suspects from the prison since the president announced a renewed push to close the contentious military-run facility in Cuba. The White House said Friday it was starting the transfers as part of President Barack Obama’s goal to close the prison, a campaign promise that has eluded him since he took office. “We are taking this step in consultation with the Congress, and in a responsible manner that protects our national security,” Obama press secretary Jay Carney said in a statement. Pentagon spokesman Lt. Col. Todd Breasseale said that under long-standing policy, the names of the two detainees will not be released until after the transfer. He also wouldn’t say what security assurances they had from the Algerian government as part of the arrangement. “We will not discuss the sensitive, diplomatic arrangements associated with the transfer,” Breasseale said. (MORE: Judge Faults Gitmo Force-Feeding But Won’t Stop It) A spokesman for the House Armed Services Committee said the panel received the certification, which requires the defense secretary to ensure that in transferring a detainee to another country that the individual will not engage in terrorist activities. An administration official said the detainees were chosen because Algeria is a close U.S. ally that has successfully managed detainees in the past — none of the previous 12 to be released have returned to terrorist activities, unlike some returned to other countries. The official, speaking on a condition of anonymity without authorization to publicly discuss the process, said it has been in the works since several months before Obama announced his intention this spring to push anew for closure. Pentagon Press Secretary George Little said Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel signed off on the transfer based on the recommendation of an interagency team after a monthslong review. “Secretary Hagel fully supports the president’s goal of closing Guantanamo Bay and this upcoming transfer brings us closer towards reaching that goal,” Little said in a statement. That’s a high bar that had

Like a Rock Star, Pope Francis Calls For “Disorder” In Rio

Posted: 26 Jul 2013 10:44 AM PDT

The Pope keeps shaking things up in Rio. From the moment he arrived on his visit to Brazil, the Pontiff has been traveling with the car windows down to be closer to the people. Then he shed his security detail and bulletproof car when visiting the slums and shantytowns. Now he is calling for young men and women to stir up trouble in their dioceses—on purpose. The message he gave a gathering of 30,000 young Argentines in Rio yesterday was so revolutionary he apologized to the bishops in advance for its implications: What is it that I expect as a consequence of World Youth Day? I want a mess. We knew that in Rio there would be great disorder, but I want trouble in the dioceses! […] I want to see the church get closer to the people. I want to get rid of clericalism, the mundane, this closing ourselves off within ourselves, in our parishes, schools or structures. Because these need to get out! If his message sounds almost evangelical in tone, it is because it is. Pope Francis wants young Catholics to spread the gospel, to evangelize, and to focus on relationships, especially with the poor. His message is on de-centralizing Vatican power, and getting the gospel message, literally, into the streets. The theme has been prominent throughout his young papacy, and even earlier. As Cardinal of Buenos Aires, he spoke out against the temptation of clericalism. “When the Church does not come out of itself to evangelize,” he said, “it becomes self-referential and then gets sick.” More than one million people came to hear him preach last night at Copacabana Beach, and his sermon itself had an evangelical tone. He used classic evangelical language about becoming Jesus’ friend and responding to Jesus’s invitation for salvation. The optics themselves were far more like a theatrical evangelical set up than a traditional Vatican mass. Francis arrived by helicopter. Blue and pink lights flooded an enormous stage. A giant cross—without a Christ’s body—hung front and center. The evangelical emphasis is

Ethics Committee Investigating GOP Rep. Bachmann

Posted: 26 Jul 2013 09:47 AM PDT

(WASHINGTON) — The House Ethics Committee is continuing an investigation of Republican Rep. Michele Bachmann of Minnesota. The committee announced on Friday it had received a referral from the Office of Congressional Ethics, an independent investigative body, and said in a brief statement it would continue to look into Bachmann’s case. The committee says it will announce its course of action in September and notes that an extension does not in itself indicate an ethics violation. A lawyer for Bachmann had previously acknowledged the investigation by the OCE and said that Bachmann was cooperating. That probe is focused in part on her short-lived presidential bid. Bachmann, a leader in the tea party movement, announced earlier this year she would not seek re-election.

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Kevin Dayhoff Soundtrack: http://kevindayhoff.blogspot.com/ = http://www.kevindayhoff.net/ Kevin Dayhoff Art: http://kevindayhoffart.blogspot.com/ or http://kevindayhoffart.com/ = http://www.kevindayhoff.com/ Kevin Dayhoff Westminster: http://kevindayhoffwestgov-net.blogspot.com/ or http://www.westgov.net/ = www.kevindayhoff.org Twitter: https://twitter.com/kevindayhoff Twitpic: http://twitpic.com/photos/kevindayhoff Kevin Dayhoff's The New Bedford Herald: http://kbetrue.livejournal.com/ = www.newbedfordherald.net Explore Carroll: www.explorecarroll.com The Tentacle: www.thetentacle.com

Sunday, July 21, 2013

Swampland: The Secret Communion on the Moon: The 44-Year Anniversary

Top Posts on TIME's Swampland: The Secret Communion on the Moon: The 44-Year Anniversary

The Secret Communion on the Moon: The 44-Year Anniversary

Posted: 20 Jul 2013 02:45 AM PDT

The date, July 20, 1969, will forever be known as the day the United States of America put the first man on the moon. What most people do not know is the date also marks when Edwin “Buzz” Aldrin celebrated the first and only Lord’s Supper on the moon, a fact the U.S. government refused to make public at the time. Inside the lunar module, just hours before stepping onto the moon for the first time, Aldrin radioed Houston Space Center Mission Control. He asked for a few moments of silence “to invite each person listening in, wherever and whomever they may be, to pause for a moment and contemplate the events of the past few hours, and to give thanks in his or her own way.” In that moment of silence that followed, Aldrin silently read a passage from the book of John that he had written out on a 3×5 card: “I am the vine, you are the branches. Whoever remains in me, and I in him, will bear much fruit; for you can do nothing without me.” Then he took out the miniature chalice and bread and wine from his personal allowance pouch. “I poured the wine into the chalice our church had given me,” he told Guideposts magazine in 1970. “In the one-sixth gravity of the moon the wine curled slowly and gracefully up the side of the cup. It was interesting to think that the very first liquid ever poured on the moon, and the first food eaten there, were communion elements.” Neil Armstrong, the other astronaut onboard, did not participate. But that was not Aldrin’s original plan—he had wanted to celebrate communion on the air with the rest of his comments, and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) was not happy about it. Just months earlier, the Apollo 8 astronauts broadcast parts of the Biblical creation narrative from the book of Genesis while orbiting the moon on Christmas Eve: ”In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. And the earth was without form,

House Votes to Replace ‘No Child’ Education Law

Posted: 19 Jul 2013 01:25 PM PDT

(WASHINGTON) — House Republicans voted Friday to dismantle the troubled No Child Left Behind law for evaluating America’s students and schools, saying states and local school districts rather than Washington should be setting rules for ensuring that kids are getting good educations. The legislation would eliminate federally required testing of students, which has been controversial from the start. But the measure passed with no Democratic support and drew a veto threat from the Obama administration, which said it would be a “step backward” in efforts to better prepare children for colleges and careers and to bring improvements to low-performing schools. Democrats in the Senate, where they hold the majority, are working on their own bill. It would also give states greater flexibility in designing school improvement standards. But it would maintain the authority of the federal education secretary to approve those plans. A Senate vote on that legislation is unlikely until autumn. The House bill, which Republicans named the Student Success Act and Democrats dubbed the Letting Students Down Act, passed 221-207, with every Democrat, and 12 Republicans voting against it. That partisanship comes against a background in which nearly everyone agrees that No Child Left Behind, while achieving some successes in improving achievement levels, is too inflexible and needs a major overhaul. The law was passed by Congress in 2001, a bipartisan effort led by, among others, current House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, and the late Sen. Ted Kennedy, D-Mass. President George W. Bush was a strong supporter and signed it into law in early 2002. It required that all students be able to read and do math at their actual grade level by 2014. But the Obama administration, in a tacit acknowledgement that the goal was unattainable, last year began offering waivers to states that came up with their own federally approved plans to prepare students for college and careers and to measure student and teacher performance. To date, 39 states and the District of Columbia have been granted waivers. President Barack Obama said he was forced to

Obama: Black Americans Feel Pain in Martin Verdict

Posted: 19 Jul 2013 11:45 AM PDT

(WASHINGTON) — Looking for positive lessons to draw from the shooting death of Trayvon Martin, President Barack Obama said Friday the nation needs to do some “soul-searching,” look for ways to bolster African-American boys and examine state and local laws to see if they encourage confrontations like the one in Florida. “Where do we take this?” Obama wondered aloud in an impromptu appearance in the White House briefing room. “How do we learn some lessons from this and move in a positive direction?” The president said it’s time “for all of us to some soul searching,” but he also said it’s generally not productive when politicians try to orchestrate a conversation. (WATCH: Trayvon Martin’s Parents Speak Out on Not Guilty Verdict) On the positive side, he said race relations in the United States actually are getting better Looking at his own daughters and their interactions with friends, the president said, “They’re better than we are. They’re better than we were.” The president declined to wade into the detail of legal questions about the Florida case, saying, “Once the jury’s spoken, that’s how our system works.” But he said state and local laws, such as Florida’s “stand your ground” statute, need a close look. Obama said it would be useful “to examine some state and local laws to see if they are designed in such a way that they may encourage the kinds of confrontation” that led to Martin’s death. He questioned whether a law that sends the message that someone who is armed “has the right to use those firearms even if there is a way for them to exit from a situation” really promotes the peace and security that people want. And he raised the question of whether Martin himself, if he had been armed, “could he have stood his ground on that sidewalk” and shot neighborhood watch volunteer George Zimmerman if he felt threatened when being followed. Obama’s appearance marked his first extended comments on the Martin case since Zimmerman was acquitted last weekend of second-degree murder and manslaughter

Beware “Underwear 2″: TSA Chief Offers Rare al Qaeda Bomb Details

Posted: 19 Jul 2013 11:44 AM PDT

For many Americans, airline security is an onerous and even excessive burden. But in remarks at a national security forum on Friday, Transportation Security Administration chief John Pistole illustrated why the federal government is still on high alert. Speaking in unusual detail, Pistole offered specifics about an underwear bomb devised by a master al Qaeda bomb-maker in Yemen meant to be exploded in an airliner over the United States last year. The plot was foiled thanks to a double-agent inside al Qaeda’s Yemen branch, in a case that has also become the subject of a controversial Justice Department leak investigation. In an exchange with ABC News reporter Brian Ross at the 2013 Aspen Security Forum, Pistole described the bomb as “Underwear 2,” a successor to the underwear bomb worn Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab tried to detonate on Northwest Flight 253 near Detroit on Christmas Day 2009. Abdulmutallab’s bomb fizzled, severely injuring his groin but no one else. Pistole described the May 2012 bomb as “a next generation device” that was “new and improved in many respects” from the Christmas 2009 bomb. Designed by one of the most wanted terrorists in the world, Ibrahim al-Asiri, the device featured “a new type of explosive that we had never seen,” Pistole said. “All of our explosive detection equipment… wasn’t calibrated to detect that. And all of our 800 bomb-sniffing dogs had not been trained for that specific type.” The use of a new explosive has been previously reported, but Pistole continued with less familiar details about Underwear 2 that reflect the growing sophistication of Asiri’s sinister craftsmanship. He said the device included redundancy, by mean of two different syringes to mix liquid explosive compounds–”a double initiation system,” apparently a response to a failure of Abdulmutallab’s initiation process. In essence, Pistole said, “they made two devices.” Finally, Pistole said, the new bomb was encased in simple household caulk in an effort to trap vapors that might alert any bomb-sniffing machines or dogs that did happen to be capable of identifying the explosive. “So you really have

Obama Speaks: “Trayvon Martin Could Have Been Me 35 Years Ago”

Posted: 19 Jul 2013 11:38 AM PDT

To read TIME’s cover story, “After Trayvon,” subscribe here. Already a subscriber? Click here. In an unscheduled statement to the press Friday, President Barack Obama addressed the state of race relations in America, less than a week after George Zimmerman was acquitted Saturday on self defense grounds for killing the unarmed black 17-year-old Trayvon Martin, speaking with surprising personal detail on the subject. Obama, who has been called on by African American leaders to spearhead a national conversation about race, instead spoke personally about the tragedy and the national controversy, calling for individuals to engage in soul searching instead of “stilted and politicized” conversations driven by elected officials. It was his most detailed address on race in America since his noted 2008 address following following media coverage of incendiary remarks by his pastor, Rev. Jeremiah Wright. In the aftermath of the shooting last year, Obama said that if he had a son he would look like Martin. “Another way of saying that is Trayvon Martin could have been me 35 years ago,” Obama said Friday. “There are very few African-American men in this country who haven’t had the experience of being followed when they were shopping in a department store. That includes me. There are probably very few African-American men who haven’t had the experience of walking across the street and hearing the locks click on the doors of cars. That happens to me — at least before I was a senator. There are very few African-Americans who haven’t had the experience of getting on an elevator and a woman clutching her purse nervously and holding her breath until she had a chance to get off. That happens often.” Obama said those experiences inform the African American community’s response to the shooting and to the subsequent court decision. “It’s inescapable for people to bring those experiences to bear,” he said. Speaking without notes, Obama detailed some ideas he is thinking about to help restore trust, from a look at state gun laws to anti-racial profiling legislation and talks between local community leaders and law enforcement.

WATCH: President Obama’s Remarks on the Trayvon Martin Case

Posted: 19 Jul 2013 11:30 AM PDT

[*] QUESTION: Whoa! That’s so disappointing, man. QUESTION: What’re you doing here? Jay, is this the kind of respect that you get? (LAUGHTER) You know, on television, it usually looks like you’re addressing a full room. (CROSSTALK) I got you. All right. Sorry about that. Do you think anybody else is showing up? Good. Well, I wanted to come out here, first of all, to tell you that Jay is prepared for all your questions, and is very much looking forward to the session. Second thing is, I want to let you know that over the next couple of weeks, there are going to obviously be a whole range of issues — immigration, economics, et cetera. We’ll try to arrange a fuller press conference to address your questions. The reason I actually wanted to come out today is not to take questions, but to speak to an issue that’s obviously gotten a lot of attention over the course of the last week, the issue of the Trayvon Martin ruling. I gave a preliminary statement right after the ruling on Sunday, but watching the debate over the course of the last week, I thought it might be useful for me to expand on my thoughts a little bit. First of all, I want to make sure that once again I send my thought and prayers, as well as Michelle’s, to the family of Trayvon Martin, and to remark on the incredible grace and dignity with which they’ve dealt with the entire situation. I can only imagine what they’re going through and it’s remarkable how they’ve handled it. The second thing I want to say is to reiterate what I said on Sunday, which is there are going to be a lot of arguments about the legal — the legal issues in the case. I’ll let all the legal analysts and talking heads address those issues. The judge conducted the trial in a professional manner. The prosecution and the defense made their arguments. The juries (sic) were properly instructed that in a

House Passes Bill to Replace No Child Left Behind Law

Posted: 19 Jul 2013 08:45 AM PDT

(WASHINGTON) — House Republicans on Friday passed legislation outlining their vision for national educational policy to replace the No Child Left Behind law. The measure would give state and local governments greater powers to determine how best to improve schools and would sharply reduce federal involvement in education matters. The Student Success Act reflects the long-held Republican premise that Washington has no business determining how local school systems are run. The measure drew strong criticism and a veto threat from the White House, which said the bill “would represent a significant step backwards” in the effort to prepare children for the future. The partisan divide came despite general agreement that the No Child Left Behind law, signed by President George W. Bush in 2002 and expired since 2007, needs a thorough overhaul. (-** Perspectives on No Child Left Behind, 10 Years After Its Signing) The vote was 221-207, with no Democrats supporting it and 12 Republicans voting against it. The House bill has no chance of moving through the Democratic-led Senate as it is written. The Senate committee overseeing education has completed work on its own measure that would give states greater flexibility in writing their own plans to improve schools. But, unlike the GOP proposal, that bill would allow the education secretary to retain approval power over those proposals. Full Senate consideration of the measure is unlikely to happen before the fall. The House bill would eliminate No Child Left Behind’s testing and teacher evaluation systems, instead giving states and local school districts responsibility for setting up methods for measuring student learning. “This legislation will restore local control, empower parents, eliminate unnecessary Washington red tape and intrusion in schools and support innovation and excellence in the classroom,” said Education and the Workforce Committee Chairman John Kline, R-Minn. The 2002 law was a bipartisan product of, among others, current House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, and the late Sen. Ted Kennedy, D-Mass. It required that all students be able to read and do math at grade level by 2014. But the

Motor City Meltdown: Long Road Ahead for Detroit’s Record Bankruptcy

Posted: 19 Jul 2013 08:25 AM PDT

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