Everything But Hanging Chad Advice
The Institute of Governmental Studies Library has produced an online brochure of information on next month’s Special Election. For those of you who don’t feel Beetle’s summaries are an adequate enough source for voter education, IGS may be of better service. There are pro arguments, con arguments, and endorsement lists for all propositions being considered.
CalStuff writers may or may not post our votes for the Special Election. We would do it for two reasons: 1) so we can pretend you all care, inflating our egos and 2) so it would be clear how our leanings influence our writing. If anyone does care, please feel free to let us know.
Beetle… You endorsed every crap initiative that Schwarzenegger is trying to cram down Californians’ throats. Are you trying to get a job as the Gropinator’s lotion boy or something?
Comment by jonp — October 7, 2005 @ 12:31 am
Since I don’t care about teachers, unions, services, or redistricting, and don’t like spending money, it seems only natural.
Comment by Beetle — October 7, 2005 @ 12:41 am
fukin unions need to be put in dere place… thatcher had da right idea by confronting and crushTing dose fukers. hopefully ahnold can do da same.
join ahnold and smashT da bakwards socialist special intewests in dis state.
“time to demolishT da unions”
Comment by smashT — October 7, 2005 @ 1:36 am
Unions need to be “put in their place”…? That’s mighty elitist language from a guy who can’t spell. Just because you’re subliterate, that doesn’t mean you have to insult the people who actually teach people to read in this state.
Comment by jonp — October 7, 2005 @ 3:04 am
Isn’t it funny that Beetle’s hipster bullsh*t “I don’t care” pose doesn’t extend to “not caring” about Republicans? Stop being a GOP shill, Beetle.
Comment by jonp — October 7, 2005 @ 3:07 am
Parents should teach their kids how to read. It’s known that kids who know how to read before they get to public schools end up doing better int he long run. In many inner city schools, those teachers don’t even teach the kids how to read. Many kids go throughout school not even knowing basic math. The state, instead of trying to find out why there are problems, would rather just throw high school diplomas at kids who attend class.
Although I support American jobs, it’s kind of hard to support the idea of unions automatically asserting that their money is going to Democrats, especially when corporations are almost evenly split between Democrats and Republicans these days. It’s no wonder that the richest man in America, Bill Gates, is a liberal who donates equally to both parties and wrote amocus briefs supporting Affirmative Action in Grutter v. Bollinger. Kerry outspent Bush in the last election.
Comment by DTI — October 7, 2005 @ 5:31 am
I’m voting No on everything except redistricting because I hate special elections. I’m voting Yes on redistriction because my hatred of political gerrymandering supercedes my hatred of special elections.
You know, in case you care.
Comment by holohan — October 7, 2005 @ 7:55 am
screw the unions, especially the UAW.
anon54: “another gsi who refused to join the union”
Comment by anon54 — October 7, 2005 @ 9:03 am
Yes, I don’t care about Republicans either. Happy? Relevant?
Comment by Beetle — October 7, 2005 @ 11:08 am
jonp, you’re a member of the elite for being a graduate student and being in a much hugher socioeconoic bracket than probably 90% of America.
Most people in the Bay Area have a much higher standard of living than the rest of the country, anyways. They also think they’re better than everyone else and they think they know what’s best for everyone who happens to live in Middle America and poorer. This probably makes them elitists.
Comment by Anonymity — October 7, 2005 @ 11:57 am
“Just because you’re subliterate, that doesn’t mean you have to insult the people who actually teach people to read in this state.”
Maybe he’s subliterate because unionized teachers failed at their job?
Comment by Steve — October 7, 2005 @ 8:19 pm
The right has been harping on teacher’s unions for the past 50 years. If they don’t have any new ideas can’t they at least get new scapegoats?
Hey, I wonder which organization is out there lobbying for more money for schools and for money to hire better qualified teachers. I wonder which organization is out stopping conservatives from penny-pinching our schools because God forbid *they* should have to pay their tax dues. Yeah, it’s the teacher’s unions.
You know, teacher’s unions are far from perfect, but if the conservatives haven’t come up with an idea better than “get rid of them” in the past 50 years then I guess they’re fine the way there are.
Comment by Tommaso Sciortino — October 7, 2005 @ 10:16 pm
“You know, teacher’s unions are far from perfect, but if the conservatives haven’t come up with an idea better than “get rid of them” in the past 50 years then I guess they’re fine the way there are.”
I’m not saying I agree with them, but this is an unfair statement. They propose vouchers, which a majority of the black community supports. Why? Because blacks in the inner cities (and other ethnicities in the inner cities) know how incompetent the teachers and schools are.
Comment by DTI — October 7, 2005 @ 11:00 pm
Fair enough. If set up correctly school vouchers are a pretty good idea. The problem is that they always seem to be set up in a way that sucks money and good students out of public schools while leaving the special needs children which require more help. And they always seem to be a way of getting around teacher Unions which just makes it a variation of the “get rid of unions” idea which the public has rejected for 50 years.
If some Republican govener is willing to set up charter schools in their own state I’d be interested to see how they turn out.
Comment by Tommaso Sciortino — October 8, 2005 @ 8:24 am
Mayor Jerry Brown in Oakland did a good job with a few charter schools he set up. It just takes some politician who at least cares enough to ignore the special interest tug of war. Sadly, all of our politicians are selfish and greedy in the lust for the limelight.
Comment by DTI — October 8, 2005 @ 9:39 am
da teachas union is responsible for keepin minoroties poor and holding dem bak. dey is responsible for da lack of education reform across da country.
look at DC… highest per pupil funding in da country… shittiest school system. smashT da issue isnt about moneys anymore. its about reform.
open education up to free market compeitition… guarantee every kid a certain level of funding based on dey income and let da market werk its magic.
and yea we need some1 like thatcher to crushT da teachas union like she smashT da coal miners.
“smashT da union”
Comment by smashT — October 8, 2005 @ 11:16 am
Even with “strong unions,” teachers still get paid next to nothing, work long hours with little support, pay for supplies out of their own pockets, and perform one of the most crucial jobs in our society. What incentive do highly-educated individuals like those of us at Berkeley have to enter the teaching profession at the K-12 level? Very little…the idea of going to school for 4-6 years, coming out with loans to repay, and then taking one of the lowest-paying professional jobs requiring a graduate degree out there is not incredibly appealing. Prop. 74 will only decrease incentive for individuals to enter the profession, and there is already a shortage of well-qualified teachers. To address two common arguments,
“If people are really dedicated to being teachers, they will enter the profession regardless of the pay or conditions or firing practices”: That sounds very nice, but regardless of how badly you want to teach, if you can’t pay off your student loans or feed your family doing it, and are forced to go into debt by becoming a teacher (and trust me, this happens all the freaking time), something has to give. What will increase the quality of our teachers is paying them more and providing more incentives for highly-educated individuals like us to join the profession, not making teaching conditions worse.
“All Prop. 74 will do is end the unions’ ability to never allow teachers to be fired no matter what they do”: This is complete bullshit. As CA law currently stands, schools can fire a teacher for NO REASON in their first two years of teaching. What other profession allows employees to be fired without just cause? This proposition would extend this period to five years, which only 2 other states have, and which hardly seems fair. Secondly, the Governor’s attempts to make people believe that teachers cannot be fired after the first two years under current law because of the strength of the union is ridiculous. Teachers can absolutely be fired after their first 2 years, they just have to be doing something to warrant it.
Certain individuals’ spelling and grammar prove the point that our schools need help and change, but punishing teachers and discouraging highly-educated people from teaching is not the answer. Nor is vouchers, which give a little bit of money to everyone, but not enough to send the “at-risk” kids to “better” schools. The poorest, most disadvantaged families will still be unable to leave their current schools, which will get worse when the little money they’re currently receiving is diverted into a voucher system and given to schools that aren’t held accountable for anything.
Comment by get educated — October 8, 2005 @ 12:13 pm
Have you seen my tax returns? My income is well below median, just like most any other grad student. 90th income percentile? I just checked census records and you need to be making at least 100K to be 90th percentile. So unless the Tooth Fairy is hiding about 90 grand under my pillow, I think you are sadly mistaken about my economic condition or economics in general.
Comment by jonp — October 9, 2005 @ 2:01 am
Of course you care, Beetle. Why else would you vote for them?
Comment by jonp — October 9, 2005 @ 2:02 am
oh please. in just about any non-union job, an employee can be fired at any time for almost any reason (as long as it isn’t racial/sex discrimination). you can spin all you want, but teachers have more unwarranted job security than just about any other profession.
and you’ve completely dodged the point that some of the best funded districts in the country produce some of the worst results.
jonp smasht.
Comment by captain anonymous — October 9, 2005 @ 9:01 am
jonp, so are you saying you’re as bad off as the poor in America? If so, I can direct you to some families who make as much as you claim you make and let’s see whose lifestyle is harder: being a privileged grad student who “only makes X blah blah blah”, or a working single mother who may make “more” than you but she has to actually work for a living doing manual labor or working at the local grocery store.
You have a better life than 90% of America. All you do is take classes, teach a section or two and write endlessly on blogs. You even have your own blog, you have so much time on your hands.
Comment by Anonymity — October 9, 2005 @ 9:20 am
Ah, I see. So, Jon, you vote for Democrats because they’re Democrats, not because they just happen to support things that are preferable to you, right?
And, as it happens, I don’t vote for Republicans.
That makes you 0 for (large number) on assumptions. The good news is that you don’t need to worry about hurting your percentage.
Comment by Beetle — October 9, 2005 @ 9:33 am