Vision Circle

College Graduates and Affirmative Action

If you listen to some people, Blacks don't graduate at the same rate from college as white students because of affirmative action.

Right now, overall, the percentage of Blacks in college is around 14%.

The number of Blacks with a college degree is around 12% while, for whites, it's about 28%.

I bring this up for one reason:

Study: Most College Students Lack Skills
Jan 19 2:43 PM US/Eastern
By BEN FELLER

Nearing a diploma, most college students cannot handle many complex but common tasks, from understanding credit card offers to comparing the cost per ounce of food.

Those are the sobering findings of a study of literacy on college campuses, the first to target the skills of students as they approach the start of their careers.

More than 50 percent of students at four-year schools and more than 75 percent at two-year colleges lacked the skills to perform complex literacy tasks.

More than 50%?
That can't be mainly Black students, can it?

One Reason Why NCLB Stinks

This is one of the reasons why I think the No Child Left Behind act is bad policy:

The majority of Maryland's fourth-graders are either reading whizzes or they are stumbling miserably. It all depends on who is doing the testing.

If it's the federal government, only 32 percent of Maryland's fourth-graders are proficient at reading. But if state educators are accurate, 81 percent of fourth-graders have met a passing standard.

A renewed debate over testing erupted across the country after the release of a new round of national assessments in reading and math that showed enormous gaps between the national tests and the state tests required under the No Child Left Behind Act.

Some educators say states might be setting standards that are too low, in essence dumbing-down their tests to meet a federal requirement that says 100 percent of schoolchildren should be able to pass the exams by 2014.

You, Sir, Have Gone Too Far

When Clinton was in office, I believed that the Republicans and conservatives who were crowing about the low moral of the war fighters, "because of Bill Clinton", was taking things too far. In the case of Clinton, it was another case of the "opposition" going too far.

Now, we have this statement by Rep. John Murtha:

Most U.S. troops will leave Iraq within a year because the Army is "broken, worn out" and "living hand to mouth," Rep. John Murtha (news, bio, voting record) told a civic group.

I thought in the past, and I think now, that the enemies of the U.S. read and view our news media. Statements like that quoted, does nothing but give strength to our enemies as well has hurt the moral of our war fighters.

Murtha should know better.

Civil Rights

The Civil Rights Movement was about changing public policy to allow full access to the promise of America.

It was about allowing full access to all schools.

It was about allowing full access to the voting booth.

It was about allowing full access to jobs.

It was about allowing full access to opportunities.

It WASN'T about disallowing people to "act the fool". That is a home training and/or moral and/or gray matter issue. It's not a "Civil Rights" issue.

Stopping rappers from spewing filth isn't a "Civil Rights" issue, it is a moral and human rights issue.

Stopping the insane use of "nigger" by Black people is not a "Civil Rights" issue, it is a self-respect issue.

Stopping crime is a moral and community issue not a "Civil Rights" issue.

Lowering the high rate of out of wedlock births is a moral issue and a poverty issue and a social issue, not a "Civil Rights" issue.

At least that's how I see it.

Government Abuse

During the too late "debate" concerning the Patriot Act, defenders of the abuse of power asked for instances of government abuse. In particular, I remember Diane Feinstein defending the Patriot Act.

Wiretaps and search warrants require a high level of proof and permission from a judge. The tools in the Patriot Act are fully consistent with the U.S. Constitution. As Senator Diane Feinstein said, "I have no reported abuses."

OK, so what about this?

Previously classified documents being released Monday show numerous misuses of FBI surveillance, including improper searches and seizures of e-mails and bank records, The Washington Post reported in Monday's editions.

The documents, which were turned over under a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit filed by the Electronic Privacy Information Center, show that FBI auditors have investigated hundreds of potential violations related to the agency's domestic surveillance since Sept. 11, 2001, the Post said.

Some of the violations found in the documents included:

• FBI agents failing to file annual updates on ongoing surveillance, as required by Justice Department guidelines.

• A violation of bank privacy statutes.

• An improper physical search.

• Improper collection of e-mails after warrants had expired.
  

Gun Control Is Shooting With Both Hands

Convicted Calif. sex offender shot, killed by alleged victim

Convicted Calif. sex offender shot, killed by alleged victim

Friday, September 16, 2005

ASSOCIATED PRESS

A northern Idaho man who was shot and killed by a woman he was attacking was a registered sex offender convicted in California, Bonner County Sheriff's Capt. John Valdez says.

A 34-year-old Clark Fork woman shot Christopher Michael Schmidt, 42, Tuesday night during a struggle after she gave him a ride home, Valdez said.

"He grabbed her and physically attacked her and told her she was coming with him," Valdez told the Spokesman-Review newspaper of Spokane, Wash. "There was a struggle and she couldn't overcome him. All the physical evidence matches what she says, all down the line."

----

I lubs me some pistol packin' mommas!

The Analysis

Let's examine some of the details of the speech.

Bush Speech Analysis Coming Up

After I do some work around the house, (I took off today after pulling
massive hours doing work in FL), I'm going to break down the Bush
speech.

I am prompted to do so because, like I said, there are things that
Blacks should like in the speech. Plus, after seeing excepts of last
night's Nightline, where Blacks in the Texas Dome like what they
heard, if this gets through, the Dems are in a world of hurt.

Lets be real for a moment. How can Dems claim people are racist to
support what Bush says? How can Black Dems call supporters of what
Bush said, sellouts or Uncle Toms?

Bush's Speech In NOLA

Uhhh....
The speech sounded good.
He hit things Blacks, in theory, should support.

More later after sleep.
Have I mentioned that business travel gets old?

Katrina: The Race Aftermath

Right now, one of the things being discussed in the aftermath of Katrina is race.

Well, as usual, it's infantile if you ask me.

But, THIS is what should be watched. This is race in America, 2005: Old-line families plot the future. Note the class issues that are also involved.

The power elite of New Orleans -- whether they are still in the city or have moved temporarily to enclaves such as Destin, Fla., and Vail, Colo. -- insist the remade city won't simply restore the old order. New Orleans before the flood was burdened by a teeming underclass, substandard schools and a high crime rate. The city has few corporate headquarters.

The new city must be something very different, Mr. Reiss says, with better services and fewer poor people. "Those who want to see this city rebuilt want to see it done in a completely different way: demographically, geographically and politically," he says. "I'm not just speaking for myself here. The way we've been living is not going to happen again, or we're out."

...

Black politicians have controlled City Hall here since the late 1970s, but the wealthy white families of New Orleans have never been fully eclipsed. Stuffing campaign coffers with donations, these families dominate the city's professional and executive classes, including the white-shoe law firms, engineering offices, and local shipping companies. White voters often act as a swing bloc, propelling blacks or Creoles into the city's top political jobs. That was the case with Mr. Nagin, who defeated another African American to win the mayoral election in 2002.