Posts from — May 2009

The Memphis Commercial Appeal reports today that 100% of the senior class at the state’s first charter school will receive their diplomas at their graduation ceremony this weeked. The 89 students who began their journey in 2003 as 7th graders at the Memphis Academy of Science and Engineering (MASE) will walk across the stage of the Cannon Center for the Performing Arts. From the article:

“They’ve proven there’s no excuse. Every child can learn,” said State Rep. Beth Harwell, R-Nashville. “We have a responsibility to give our children the best education we can, and that’s what this public charter school has done.”

Harwell has vowed to resurrect a bill she sponsored in the legislature that would ease the restrictions on charter schools and nearly double the number of children in Memphis who are eligible.

In Tennessee, which has the strictest standards in the country, a student must be failing or come from a failing school to be eligible.

“The success at MASE emphasizes how important it is for more children to be able to attend charters,” Harwell said. “Some students need a different learning environment than the traditional school.”

This Session, Nashville Representative Beth Harwell (R – 56) sponsored legislation (HB 2146) that would expand the availability of charter schools to more students. From an article in The Tennessean:

The bill would open charter schools to students on free and reduced-lunch programs in the state’s 12 largest school districts. About three-fourths of the 70,000-student Metro school system would qualify under the bill.
…
Democrats united behind Memphis representatives and Rep. Tommie Brown of Chattanooga, who accused charter school leaders of targeting urban areas to draw poor, black students — and their state funding — away from the public school system for monetary gain.

“When you dip down into the communities with fewer African-Americans in their population, you don’t find there’s poverty, (or) there’s problems,” said Brown, a retired schoolteacher. “So why are you targeting these areas? You draw your own conclusions.”

Race baiting on the part of the Memphis delegation and Representative Tommie Brown? You draw your own conclusions.

Despite the success of MASE and other charter schools, House Democrats took a position in opposition to their prolifersation and deferred Rep. Harwell’s legislation until 2010.

In a statement to the House Education Committee, Speaker Kent Williams admonished House Democrats for playing politics with the education system. “When you don’t allow an individual to vote their conscience because of a caucus decision, I want to go on record saying that I think that is terribly wrong, and that’s what’s wrong with our system,” Williams said.

According the the Commercial Appeal, MASE outperforms both Memphis City Schools and Tennessee public schools overall on several levels:

ACT Scores
MASE (2009): 21.5
MCS (2008): 17.7
State (2008): 20.7

Graduation rate (%)
MASE (2009): 100
MCS (2008): 66.9
State (2008): 82.2

While inner city students struggle to learn in a failing education system, we can thank House Democrats in Nashville for making them struggle that much longer.

I was watching television, and I saw this commercial:

Curious to know who paid for this commercial, I checked out their website, Constitutional Values. The website is bland, but it pointed me toward a K Street organization called “The Coalition for Constitutional Values.” Further investigation revealed that this site was actually registered by the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights Education Fund – and it was registered on May 22 of this year – several days  before Sonia Sotamayor was selected as the nominee for the vacancy on the Supreme Court.

The site’s “About” section reads:

Civilrights.org is a collaboration of the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights and the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights Education Fund.

The Leadership Conference on Civil Rights (LCCR) is the nation’s oldest and largest civil rights coalition, consisting of nearly 200 national organizations, representing persons of color, women, children, labor unions, individuals with disabilities, older Americans, major religious groups, gays and lesbians and civil liberties and human rights groups.  LCCR was founded in 1950 and has coordinated national lobbying efforts on behalf of every major civil rights law since 1957. LCCR is a 501(c)(4) organization that engages in legislative advocacy.

The Leadership Conference on Civil Rights Education Fund (LCCREF) was founded in 1969 as the education and research arm of LCCR. LCCREF produces educational materials such as special reports, email newsletters, the Civilrights.org website, and the Civil Rights Monitor. In addition, LCCREF tracks legislation, court decisions, and the enforcement of civil rights laws. LCCREF is a 501(c)(3) organization and contributions are tax-deductible.

Interesting…

Last week, Jason Johnson – columnist for The Murfreesboro Pulse – sounded the death bell for the GOP. In his column, Johnson writes:

It’s official; the Republican Party as we know it is dead. Samuel Wurzelbacher, a.k.a. Joe the Plumber, announced that he has abandoned the GOP, Sarah Palin ran back to the hills where words aren’t complicated, and Rush Limbaugh is still an idiot who only fringe lunatics take seriously. And those are just a few false figureheads.

The actual half-working party is plagued by infighting and doesn’t appear to have any legitimate leadership or firm ideals to stand on. Senator Arlen Spector switched to the Democratic Party and some prominent Republicans recently went on a town hall tour to find out what America is thinking. They used to be the party of bad ideas; now they’re the party of no ideas. 

Amused by Johnson’s inadequate assessment of the GOP, I was naturally inclined to respond. And because many people do not follow the links through to the various websites, I will repost my letter in its entirety here:

The Pendulum Will Swing

I find it increasingly disturbing that the decision makers at The Pulse have allowed Jason Johnson the opportunity to spew his filth for such an extended period of time. His diatribes would make even a novice columnist shudder. Take for instance his most recent piece: “It’s Party Time, Unless You’re a Republican.”

To quote that American intellectual Samuel Clemens, “The reports of [its] death have been greatly exaggerated.” It being the Republican Party.

In his scholarly work, Johnson asserts that the Republican Party is dead, and shores up his airtight claim with three anecdotal substantiations: (1) Joe the Plumber has left the GOP, (2) Sarah Palin “ran back to the hills” and (3) “Rush Limbaugh is still an idiot.” At the risk of weakening his argument, I will allow his assertions to stand on their own merit.

What consequence does one ignorant columnist in Murfreesboro have on the future of the GOP? None, essentially. But his words do highlight a growing problem with the mainstream media. The MSM has all but read the eulogy for the modern GOP when, in reality, the Republican Party of today does not look very dissimilar from the Democratic Party of the 1960s. Held hostage by one fragment of the party, the Democrats of the 1960s floundered aimlessly for some time before eventually growing out of their adolescent stage. Modern Republicans, resistant to change (i.e. a re-branding of sorts), seem to be held hostage by the stalwarts within their party.

I am not suggesting that Republicans abandon principles of limited government and personal liberty, I am merely suggesting that Republicans expand those concepts to all facets of American culture. Alienating groups of people is no way to win an ideological battle against the Democrats, who have spent decades dividing Americans into easily-appeased “groups”—union workers, minorities, women, homosexuals, etc.

The British Conservative Party recently experienced a successful “re-branding” and they are now poised to make substantial gains in government during the next general election. The modern Tories did not abandon their ideology in the process.

So, while the GOP struggles to find itself, writers like Jason Johnson will be all too quick to suggest the Republican Party is dead. As has been the case historically, however, the pendulum often swings back when Americans feel one party has gained too much control over the American political system.

Johnson would do well to sit tight for about 18 months or so.

I want to convey just how humbled I am by Representative Mumpower’s resolution and how honored I am to be recognized by the Tennessee House of Representatives. At the state level, I interact with some of the most fascinating people – most of whom debate important issues regularly in the House chamber. I hope that one day I am able to contribute to this body what so many Democrats and Republicans have given in the past: my time, my committment, and my willingness to one day serve the great people of Tennessee.