Why are our schools failing? (FL)
July 31, 2008
STARLA VAUGHNS CHERIN, Florida Courier
- Florida has more “A” rated schools than ever, but inner-city, predominantly Black schools are still struggling with “D” and “F” ratings. Of the 2,889 schools graded this year, 2,125 are considered to be high performing (receiving either an “A” or “B” grade), according to school test results for 2008.
Additionally, the number of schools considered to be low performing decreased significantly compared to last year. There are 154 schools that earned a “D,” a decrease of 62 schools compared to last year. This year, instead of 89 schools receiving “F” grades, there were only 45, a decrease of 38 schools compared to last year.
But the picture is misleading, especially when it comes to actual students’ progress. This year only 24 percent of Florida schools made the federally mandated Annual Yearly Progress (AYP). Last year, 34 percent made the mark. Based on the No Child Left Behind initiative, it doesn’t matter if the school is rated “A” or “F”—it’s the smaller sub-groups within a school that determine whether its AYP is met.
‘Two-for-one’ says Jones, as he pairs himself — again — with Obama
July 31, 2008
Atlanta Journal-Constitution
- Despite what Joe Lowery may say, DeKalb County CEO Vernon Jones hasn’t given up on selling himself and Barack Obama as a pair in Tuesday’s Democratic run-off for the U.S. Senate race.
In what looks like to be Jones’ final mailer to voters, there’s no funny stuff with photos. But Jones does put himself in a line of African-American senators that include Edward Brooke, Carol Moseley Braun and — of course — Obama.
“Let’s make it a 2-for-1!” shouts the latest Jones mailer, with a check by his name and the fellow from Chicago.
Racial Issues Return to the the Campaign
July 31, 2008
Katharine Q. Seelye, New York Times
- The McCain campaign’s accusation that Senator Barack Obama is “playing the race card” brings the race issue out in the open while allowing the McCain team to say it has not made the first move — a strategy we saw to some degree in the Democratic primaries.
Whether that works or not, this will mark the day that race officially became an issue in the 2008 general election.
The McCain camp no doubt watched the evolution of race as in issue during the primaries, when the Clinton campaign also suggested that the Obama camp made it an issue after the Clintons made some indirect comments that angered many black voters and politicians.
House passes bill to regulate tobacco
July 31, 2008
RICARDO ALONSO-ZALDIVAR, Associated Press
- The House on Wednesday overwhelmingly passed legislation that for the first time would subject the tobacco industry to regulation by federal health authorities charged with promoting public well-being.
Its backers call the Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act “landmark” legislation. While the bill appears to have enough support to pass this year, it’s unclear whether the Senate will have time to act, and the Bush administration issued a veto threat Wednesday.
The 326-102 House vote signaled solid bipartisan support for the measure, with 96 Republicans breaking with President Bush’s position to vote in favor of the bill. Both presidential candidates, Sens. John McCain, R-Ariz., and Barack Obama, D-Ill., back the legislation.
Rep. Henry Waxman, D-Calif., worked for more than a decade to get the House to pass tobacco regulation.
“This is truly a historic day in the fight against tobacco,” Waxman said. “But it took us far too long to get here.”
The bill would further tighten restrictions on tobacco advertising and impose new federal penalties for selling to minors. But its most far-reaching provisions would give the Food and Drug Administration the power to regulate tobacco, from cigarettes to new kinds of smokeless products.
While the agency could not outlaw tobacco or nicotine, it could demand the reduction or elimination of cancer-causing chemicals in cigarette smoke. The bill would prohibit candy flavored cigars and cigarettes, and would give the FDA authority to ban menthol - by far the most commonly added flavoring.
Opponents of the bill say having a public health agency regulate tobacco would send the wrong message. Besides, they argue that the agency is overwhelmed dealing with food and drug safety problems, and doesn’t need complicated new responsibilities.
“In short, what we don’t need is creating at the FDA a new draconian bureaucracy, since they’re already overburdened and have more work than they know what to do with,” said Rep. Joe Barton of Texas, the top Republican on the House Energy and Commerce Committee.
Despite decades of health warnings and smoking bans in most indoor spaces, about one in five adults still smokes. Smoking related-illnesses, including cancer and diseases of the heart and lungs, claim an estimated 440,000 lives a year, more than 10 times the number who die in traffic accidents.
The bill represents a compromise between major tobacco control groups and Philip Morris USA, the nation’s largest tobacco company. The maker of Marlboro cigarettes broke with most of its peers in the industry to support the legislation. Other big companies, including R.J. Reynolds - the maker of Camel cigarettes - remain fiercely opposed.
Public health advocates supporting the bill say regulation will slowly but surely put pressure on the industry, reducing the overall number of smokers and the harm that is caused by tobacco use.
“When you think about it, we regulate pet food, cosmetics, orange juice and many other products,” said Cass Wheeler, CEO of the American Heart Association. “We’re regulated in every other area and unregulated in tobacco products. But tobacco causes more preventable deaths than anything else.”
Philip Morris, however, is hoping the legislation could lead to a new market in federally certified, reduced-risk tobacco products. The bill sets up a process for the FDA to scientifically assess manufacturer claims that certain cigarettes are less risky.
The legislation appears to set a high bar to such claims. Not only must a reduced-risk product “significantly” reduce harm to tobacco users, but it also must “benefit the health” of the entire population. A less risky cigarette that enticed nonsmokers to light up might not meet that test.
Nonetheless, Philip Morris has invested heavily in a new research center to develop less harmful tobacco products. “Our reduced harm research is a big focus for the company,” spokesman Bill Phelps said.
Wall Street market analysts predict the legislation will have no major immediate impact on the industry, except to cement Philip Morris’ position as the market leader, since the bill’s advertising restrictions tend to undercut the competition.
House Minority Leader John Boehner, R-Ohio, who smokes, said he didn’t need the federal government to tell him it was bad for his health.
“This is a boneheaded idea,” Boehner said. “How much is enough? How much government do we need?”
But some supporters said the bill was more about protecting children than adults. Rep. Tom Davis, R-Va., said tobacco use has become synonymous with rugged independence and a refutation of authority, traits that he said many teens desire.
“In large part, the marketing tactics by tobacco manufacturers fanned the flames of youthful angst,” Davis said.
A potentially thorny issue as the bill heads to the Senate will be its treatment of menthol, a highly popular flavoring with black smokers. The National African American Tobacco Prevention Network has withdrawn its support for the bill, saying an outright ban on menthol is needed to protect the health of black communities. But with menthol brands accounting for more than one-quarter of cigarettes, Philip Morris’ support for the legislation could be in question if the Senate bans the flavoring.
The bill calls for an FDA advisory committee to issue recommendations on methanol in cigarettes within one year of its establishment and requires the agency to publish an action plan for restricting the promotion of methanol and other types of cigarettes to youth.
Obama campaign rejects rapper Ludacris’ rhymes
July 31, 2008
Associated Press
- Barack Obama’s presidential campaign says a new rhyme by supporter and rapper Ludacris is “outrageously offensive” to Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, Republican Sen. John McCain and President Bush.
The song brags about an Obama presidency being destiny. It uses an expletive to describe Clinton, calls Bush “mentally handicapped” and says McCain doesn’t belong in “any chair unless he’s paralyzed.”
The lyrics don’t spare the Rev. Jesse Jackson, who recently apologized for making crude comments about Obama. “If you said it then you meant it,” intones the rapper.
Obama’s campaign blasted “Politics as Usual,” which is on the “Gangsta Grillz: The Preview” mixtape with Atlanta spinner DJ Drama.
“As Barack Obama has said many, many times in the past, rap lyrics today too often perpetuate misogyny, materialism, and degrading images that he doesn’t want his daughters or any children exposed to,” campaign spokesman Bill Burton said in an e-mail statement Wednesday. “This song is not only outrageously offensive to Sen. Clinton, Rev. Jackson, Sen. McCain and President Bush, it is offensive to all of us who are trying to raise our children with the values we hold dear. While Ludacris is a talented individual he should be ashamed of these lyrics.”
Ludacris’ publicist and manager did not immediately return calls Wednesday for comment.
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