Teacher’s political discussion with students under review

Fayetteville, N.C. — Cumberland County Schools officials expressed shock and disappointment Friday upon learning of an online video in which a local teacher tells a student her father might be deployed for years because the family supported John McCain for president.

A Scandinavian film crew making a documentary last spring on support for Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama captured McArthur Elementary School teacher Diantha Harris talking to her fifth-grade students about Obama and McCain.

When one girl said she was backing McCain because her parents were, Harris responded, “Oh Lord.” She later called the war in Iraq “senseless” and told the girl that McCain planned to keep U.S. troops in Iraq for 100 years, if necessary.

…………Officials discussed the matter with the girl and her parents, who said they weren’t upset about the exchange with Harris, according to McPhaul. The parents said the girl had a good experience in Harris’ class last year, she said.

http://www.wral.com/news/local/story/3918046/

First of all I want this teacher arrested for a hate crime. She hates republicans, the military, the USA, etc… Second, one can conclude from her name her ethnic persuasion and why she is an Obama supporter. Third, if this had been a black kid, being told Obama wasn’t going to give his family extra money by a white teacher, well, we can all imagine the outrage.

Going to be??? They have been there for years my friend. They just don’t try to hide it anymore.

The word among GOP insiders here in Georgia is that Newt Gingrich is considering throwing his name in the hat to be the next Chairman for the RNC.

As Georgia Republican Leadership meet today to plan for the expected run-off of Saxby Chambliss against Jim Martin, my sources tell me Gingrich is having meetings to discuss his own race.

Newt is best known for leading the charge for the Contract with America. It is this famed Contract that has been credited for the Republican take-over of the US House and Senate in 1994. It is also well believed among traditional Republicans that it has been the abandonment of this contract by elected Republicans that has lead to their downfall.

Since his retirement from elected office, Gingrich has stayed involved in the political grind on many different levels. Newt has released several books, founded American Solutions, and has acted as a political analyst appearing on numerous political programs and radio talk shows.

The Republican base in Newt’s home state of Georgia still hail him as a hero and hold him in high regard much like national Republicans do Ronald Reagan. Considering the obvious divide among Republican voters, Newt Gingrich just may be the leader they need to help them once again unite. Gingrich has a proven record of understanding the will of the American people and his experience as a leader is a proven matter of record.
http://www.digitaljournal.com/.....amp;local=

Turnout did not explode

“Despite lofty predictions by some academics, pundits, and practitioners that voter turnout would reach levels not seen since the turn of the last century, the percentage of eligible citizens casting ballots in the 2008 presidential election stayed at virtually the same relatively high level as it reached in the polarized election of 2004. … The percentage of Americans who cast ballots for president in this year’s presidential election will reach between 126.5 million and 128.5 million when all votes have been counted.” There were 121.5 million votes cast in 2004. Turnout would be about 61% of the electorate, about 1 point higher than four years ago. “A downturn in the number and percentage of Republican voters going to the polls seemed to be the primary explanation for the lower than predicted turnout.”

http://blogs.usatoday.com/onpo.....new-3.html

From Broadcasting & Cable:

HBO Acquires Obama Documentary

Edward Norton’s Class 5 Films docu to premiere in 2009

By Alex Weprin

HBO has acquired the rights to a documentary from actor Edward Norton’s Class 5 Films following President-Elect Barack Obama. The still untitled doc will premiere on HBO in 2009.

The documentary crew has been following Obama since his trip to Africa in the summer of 2006, and since then has had “unprecedented access to Obama, his senior campaign staff, family, friends, and volunteers,” throughout his campaign, according to the network. The crew will continue shooting footage through the inauguration. The film will document his rise, while “examining American politics and culture through the prism of his candidacy.”

Director Amy Rice initiated the concept in 2006, recalling his speech at the Democratic national Convention. Norton approached Senator Obama and his staff “months prior to his decision to run for President,” and he granted them access shortly thereafter.

“Senator Obama’s history-making race for the White House has given our film a perfect framework to explore the pulse of the country at this vital moment in our history,” Norton said, announcing the film. “We believe this film will capture a tipping point in American history when a new generation of leadership emerged and old prejudices were finally vaulted over. We’re thrilled that this film will be presented by HBO, which has long been one of the notable champions of the documentary film but, more importantly, offers us by far the best chance to share this film with the widest audience.”

Norton, Stuart Blumberg and Bill Migliore are producing the feature, with Rice and Alicia Sams directing.

Sam Pollard, editor of HBO’s When The Levees Broke, will edit the film.

http://www.broadcastingcable.c.....12416.html

How much do you want to bet this will be mandatory viewing, shown in school classrooms across the country?

N.C. State students admit to racist graffiti

Raleigh, N.C. — Four North Carolina State University students could face disciplinary action in connection with racist graffiti in the university’s Free Expression Tunnel, officials said.

The tunnel is a place where students are encouraged to speak their minds.

While some painted pro-Barack Obama messages in the tunnel Tuesday night following the historic presidential election, racist graffiti, including the phrases “Shoot Obama,” “Black House” and other terms that bordered on threats against the president-elect, were in the tunnel early Wednesday, campus police said.

Campus police said four students have come forward and admitted to spray painting the words. The Secret Service searched their residences and found no real threat against Obama, police said.

The names of the students have not been released.

The wall was painted over Wednesday. Campus police said hate crime charges will not be filed because no crime was committed.

The incident prompted hundreds at the school to gather Thursday for a unity rally at the campus Brickyard.

http://www.wral.com/news/local/story/3913132/

Shame to see it happen to my Wolfpack.

Yes, he can!!

TEHRAN,Iran — Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad on Thursday congratulated Barack Obama on his election win — the first time an Iranian leader has offered such wishes to a U.S. president-elect since the 1979 Islamic Revolution.

An analyst said the statement was a gesture from the hard-line president that he’s open to some sort of reconciliation with the

Obama has said he is willing to hold direct diplomacy with Iranian leaders as a way to break the impasse between the two countries or give the U.S. more credibility to press for tougher sanctions if talks fail. His policy marks a departure from the Bush administration, which has refused high-level engagements with Iran.

In his comments, Ahmadinejad congratulated the Democrat on “attracting the majority of voters in the election.” The text of Ahmadinejad’s statement was carried by the official IRNA news agency.

Ahmadinejad also said he hopes Obama will “use the opportunity to serve the (American) people and leave a good name for history” during his term in office.

Iran and U.S. have no formal diplomatic relations since 1979 and the hostage drama when militant Iranian students held 52 Americans captive 444 days.

Current U.S.-Iranian relations remain tense, with Washington accusing Iran of trying to develop nuclear weapons and of providing support for Shiite militants who are killing U.S. soldiers in Iraq — charges Iran denies.

In Jerusalem, Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni, a contender for prime minister in her country’s elections, warned against any dialogue with Iran — a first sign of Israeli disagreement with the incoming U.S. administration.

“Dialogue at this time is liable to broadcast weakness,” cautioned Livni, who is head of the governing Kadima Party. “I think early dialogue at a time when it appears to Iran that the world has given up on sanctions could be problematic.”

Israeli officials describe Iran as the biggest threat to the Jewish state’s existence, citing Ahmadinejad’s frequent calls for Israel’s destruction and its development of long-range missiles capable of striking the Jewish state.

Livni has repeatedly said she hopes international diplomacy prevails. But she doesn’t rule out force if U.N. sanctions don’t pressure Iran to scale back its nuclear aims. In June, she said Iran “needs to understand the military threat exists and is not being taken off the table.”

Iran sees Obama’s victory as a triumph over the unpopular policies of U.S. President George W. Bush, who repeatedly clashed with Iranian leaders while in office over Iran’s nuclear program and its opposition to the U.S.-led invasion and occupation of Afghanistan and Iraq.

Ahmadinejad went on in his Thursday message to say that “nations of the world” expect changes from Obama — mostly that he will change current U.S. foreign policy.

That policy, Ahmadinejad claimed, was “based on warmongering, occupation, bullying, deception and humiliation, as well as discrimination and unfair relations” and has led to “hatred of all nations and majority of governments toward the U.S. leaders.”

Ahmadinejad also said that Obama is expected to replace such a policy with “an approach based on justice and respect, as well as lack of intervention in the affairs of others.”

Iranians will welcome such changes, Ahmadinejad added.

Iran’s government refused to publicly side with any of the U.S. candidates throughout the presidential race, although Parliament Speaker Ali Larijani said last month that Obama seemed “more rational” than John McCain.

Saeed Leilaz, an independent analyst in Tehran, said Ahmadinejad’s message was a “positive step” that now leaves Washington with the responsibility for the next one. Leilaz added he believes Obama’s victory will “weaken radicalism” in Afghanistan, Iraq, Iran and North Korea
———————————————————————————————————————————————-

Yes! And so it begins!! Iran’s favorite nut job is so confident in Obama’s lack of resolve and gross inexperience that he can openly support his presidency, knowing full well that annexing Iraq will be only a matter of months as our new King forces us to pull out and leave Iraq hanging.

From the Los Angeles Times:

Retailers post worst October sales figures since at least 1971

The report sends stocks lower for a second straight day. More bad economic news is expected as the government reveals unemployment figures for October.

By Maura Reynolds and Andrea Chang

Reporting from Los Angeles and Washington — New signs piled up Thursday that the ailing economy is taking another turn for the worse, with a mounting toll on ordinary Americans.

Retailers reported the worst October sales figures since at least 1971, a grim harbinger for the holiday shopping season. The report sent stocks lower for a second straight day, handing the Dow Jones index its biggest two-day percentage loss since Wall Street’s October 1987 collapse.

Another dose of bad news is expected today, when the government reports on unemployment for October. Economists estimate that 200,000 or more jobs disappeared last month, about double the average this year. That would bring job losses to about 1 million in 2008.

“This is probably just beginning for the average worker and consumer,” said Ed Leamer, director of UCLA’s Anderson Forecast, who predicts that large job losses are likely to continue for five or six months.

“The consumer is going to do some serious belt tightening, which means that businesses won’t sell as much and that means employment is going to be cut,” Leamer said.

Americans are already reining in their spending. Sales at major chain stores surveyed fell by 0.9% last month compared with October 2007 — and by 4.2% if discount king Wal-Mart Stores Inc. is excluded, the International Council of Shopping Centers said.

“These are awful numbers,” said Michael Niemira, the council’s chief economist. “All this concern about the financial markets caused consumers basically to freeze up any purchase that had a whiff of discretionary spending.”

Based on October’s numbers, Niemira lowered his holiday sales forecast to a 1% gain for the combined November and December period, down from his earlier estimate of 1.7% growth.

Luxury retailers in particular suffered, with high-end department store chains Neiman Marcus Inc., Nordstrom Inc. and Saks Inc. all posting double-digit declines.

Neiman Marcus is reducing inventory and marking down prices after suffering a staggering 26.8% sales decline, Chief Executive Burton M. Tansky said.

“We expect retail demand will remain weak for an extended period of time as our affluent customer reacts to the continuing volatility of the financial markets,” he said.

On the other end of the spectrum, Wal-Mart exceeded expectations and reported a 2.4% sales increase, excluding fuel sales. But even the world’s largest retailer is nervous.

Eduardo Castro-Wright, who heads Wal-Mart’s U.S. division, said he feared that consumers “have maxed out.”

“Our customers, like a bunch of Americans, are going through some hard times,” Castro-Wright said during a visit to Los Angeles last month. “Clearly the consumer is making a choice in terms of looking for better value to stretch their dollar and make ends meet.”

Other retailers that fared poorly included Abercrombie & Fitch Co., down 20% from a year ago, and San Francisco-based Gap Inc., which suffered a 16% drop. …

http://www.latimes.com/busines.....3887.story

The key to take away from this is:

All this concern about the financial markets caused consumers basically to freeze up any purchase that had a whiff of discretionary spending.“

Yes – the press’ continued drumbeat about falling markets that in no way affect the average consumer but benefited the Messiah in the race for the White House caused consumers to stop spending, exacerbating retailers’ problems.

In interview after interview you’ll hear people say the same thing – “I’m doing fine, but I’m worried about my neighbor.”

But of course if you talk to their neighbors, they’ll say the same thing.

As we all know, consumer spending drives the economy, and the press has succeeded in frightening Americans into believing their neighbors are eating dog food and they should be ashamed of themselves if they buy anything.

Nice job, guys.

The fun part? Discretionary spending, say on newspapers, goes first.

Obama prepares for presidency as electoral, Senate margins widen

He gets his first classified security briefing and accepts invitation from Bush to visit the White House. Fresh tallies give North Carolina to Obama while Democrats gain another Senate seat.

By Peter Nicholas and Michael Finnegan

Reporting from Chicago — As the scale of his mandate widened Thursday, Barack Obama began preparing for a rare wartime transfer of power, getting his first classified national security briefing, accepting an invitation to meet with President Bush next week and naming a White House chief of staff.

Rahm Emanuel, a Chicago congressman who is widely considered one of the Democratic Party’s sharpest strategists, accepted Obama’s offer to run the White House.

Obama spent part of the day returning calls to nine world leaders who had phoned to congratulate him on a historic victory that put his party firmly in command in Washington. Election results still dribbling in increased his odds of achieving his ambitious agenda. Obama can bank on solid majorities in the House and Senate, plus a decisive margin of victory.

Republican Sen. Gordon Smith of Oregon conceded defeat Wednesday, pushing the Democratic hold on the Senate to 57. And fresh tallies showed that Obama narrowly won North Carolina, which had not voted for a Democrat for president in 32 years.

With that pickup, Obama carried nine states the Republicans won four years ago, while his electoral vote victory over John McCain rose to 364 to 162. Missouri is the lone state still too close to call.

At the White House, the Bush administration is making plans for the transition. The Justice Department has already given security clearances to the president-elect’s transition team.

Bush told his staff Wednesday to see to it that the Obama team hits “the ground running.” The two men are to meet at the White House on Monday. On the agenda will be the Iraq war and the reeling financial markets.

“We face economic challenges that will not pause to let a new president settle in,” Bush told Cabinet members and other White House staff gathered on the South Lawn. “This will also be America’s first wartime presidential transition in four decades. We’re in a struggle against violent extremists determined to attack us, and they would like nothing more than to exploit this period of change to harm the American people.”

In a statement released by his campaign, Obama said: “Michelle and I look forward to meeting with President Bush and the first lady on Monday to begin the process of a smooth, effective transition. I thank him for reaching out in the spirit of bipartisanship that will be required to meet the many challenges we face as a nation.” …

http://www.latimes.com/news/po.....8902.story

What, Obama didn’t take Holy Water to prepare for a meeting with Satan himself?

Sarah Palin returns to a chillier Alaska

The governor’s approval ratings have fallen since she joined the campaign trail. She’ll have to mend fences over Troopergate, budget concerns and her national ‘pit bull’ image.

By Kim Murphy

Reporting from Anchorage — On election day, a smiling Sarah Palin touched down briefly on home turf at Wasilla City Hall to cast her vote, declaring how much she was looking forward to waking up in “transition mode” as vice president. Then she headed off to spend election night in Arizona with Sen. John McCain.

One day later, Palin was on a plane back to Alaska, this time to pick up where she left off before joining McCain’s presidential campaign: as the state’s overwhelmingly popular governor, praised for her bipartisanship by Democratic allies in the state Capitol, championed for her fight for ethics reform and presiding over a state with, thanks to soaring oil prices, a multibillion-dollar surplus.

But wait — what fairy tale is that? After several months co-starring with its governor in one of the hardest-fought presidential campaigns in modern U.S. history, America’s 49th state bears little resemblance to the friendly, folksy place Palin left in August.

With her vice-presidential carriage turned back into a pumpkin, Palin faces a return to a state rife with hard feelings, a sagging budget and rising political uncertainty. Will its powerful veteran U.S. senator hold on to his job despite a felony corruption conviction? And what can Palin do about her home-grown political adversaries, some of them showing a gleeful appetite for torpedoing whatever national political ambitions the governor may harbor?

Palin’s approval ratings in Alaska, once in the stratospheric 80% range, have tumbled to a mere mortal 65%. A minor dust-up over the firing of her former public safety commissioner has blossomed into two full “Troopergate” investigations, with some lawmakers threatening to lead off the coming legislative session by sending some of Palin’s senior aides to jail.

The state faces the potential of an operating deficit if oil prices go much below $63 a barrel. The heavy lifting to get Alaska’s natural-gas pipeline off the ground is going to have to go through a not-so-friendly new Democratic administration in Washington. And with a stronger Democratic majority in Congress, Palin likely will wait for the proverbial freeze-over before anyone drills in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.

How she gets through the next few months is crucial to her future, analysts say, since Palin’s return to Alaska is an inevitable costume change before her national relaunch — probably in 2012, or sooner if she decides to run for the U.S. Senate.

“She’s obviously been bitten,” said former Alaska Atty. Gen. John Havelock. “She’s seen Paris, you know?”

A small crowd was chanting “2012! 2012!” as Palin’s plane touched down in Anchorage on Wednesday night, though the governor said she would be thinking more about getting her kids back in school than running for president.

“We’ll see what happens then,” she said. “I just thank God for this opportunity that I have to be your governor.”

Most Republican strategists are predicting that Palin will chalk up another couple of years of executive experience in Alaska and take the opportunity when appropriate to speak out on national issues.

“I think she’s got a great future,” said Kenneth L. Khachigian, attorney and senior advisor to President Reagan. “What she should do is go back and get resettled . . . and get sort of reoriented back to Alaska.”

Khachigian counseled against even a suggestion that she might run for president next term. Instead, he said, Palin should “create a little suspense and mystery about her future.” …

http://www.latimes.com/news/pr.....1599.story

Oh no! Palin’s satisfaction rating is down to 65%!

While Congress’ is in single digits.

I would think that means Congress needs Palin, not vice-versa.

From the Madison, WI Capital Times:

UW Regents weigh pay increases against maintaining costs

By Todd Finkelmeyer

It’s the University of Wisconsin System’s version of a riddle, wrapped in a mystery, inside an enigma.

On the one hand, system leaders agree it’s time to seriously address the issue of low pay — at least when compared to peer institutions — for faculty and staff. To help close this widening gap, some are asking that UW System President Kevin Reilly request a hefty 7.78 percent annual pay plan increase for each of the next two years.

Yet as determined as people seem to be to tackle this pressing issue, no one knows where the money is going to come from to solve the problem. After all, the state is facing a budget shortfall of at least $3 billion, and many system leaders are leery about making students shoulder the large pay increase in the form of significant tuition hikes.

“As the old adage goes, we’re trying to turn lemons into lemonade,” Reilly said Thursday during a UW System Board of Regents meeting at Van Hise Hall on the UW-Madison campus. “And we’re going to be squeezing those lemons extra hard in these coming months and years.”

The regents spent about two and a half hours listening to presentations and discussing the topic of faculty recruitment and retention challenges. And while there were plenty of tough questions being asked, there were no easy answers.

“We are in a really hard economic time and we are facing a lot of difficulty,” said Kevin Opgenorth, who attends UW-Platteville and is one of two students on the Board of Regents. “Realistically, I think everyone is going to have to put their portion into the pot. So the question is, ‘Who puts what portion into the pot?’ And I would like to see the students’ portion of that remain at a minimal amount. But, realistically, I think you would be hard-pressed to say that students will not see a tuition increase.”

No decisions were made Thursday. The Board of Regents will vote on a final pay plan recommendation at its next meeting Dec. 4-5 in La Crosse, and forward it to the Office of State Employment Relations for approval.

UW System leaders say the issue of academic work force recruitment and retention is becoming increasingly important for a couple reasons.

First, the work force both nationally and within the system is getting older. In 1985-86, 27 percent of UW System faculty members were 55 and older, while that number grew to 39 percent in 2007-08. Similarly, the UW System’s academic staff and limited appointees also are aging — with 15 percent 55 and older in 1997-98 and 28 percent 55-and-older last school year.

When UW System institutions try to replace these retirees, they’ll be competing for the best and brightest against universities across the nation — and even the globe — who are facing similar losses. And if, as some experts are predicting, the number of new academic professionals entering the work force can’t keep pace, it could set the stage for what Reilly referred to as a “talent auction.”

The UW System also needs to retain its faculty and staff to successfully move forward with its Growth Agenda for Wisconsin, which is designed to help a higher percentage of state residents attend college and earn degrees. The idea is for the UW System to be the economic engine that can drive the state’s knowledge-based economy. …

But system leaders say recruiting and retaining top faculty and staff is getting increasingly difficult due to the relatively low salaries it pays. …

http://www.madison.com/tct/mad/topstories/313285

The answer, of course, will inevitably be increased federal funding.

A “talent auction?” That sounds suspiciously like (gasp!) a market economy.

http://radioequalizer.blogspot.....ivist.html

From the AP:

No charges for ex-NY governor in prostitution case

By Tom Hays and Adam Goldman

NEW YORK — Federal prosecutors said Thursday that they will not bring criminal charges against Eliot Spitzer for his role in a prostitution scandal, removing a legal cloud that has surrounded the former New York governor since his epic downfall eight months ago.

U.S. Attorney Michael Garcia said investigators found no evidence that Spitzer or his office misused public or campaign funds for prostitution. Investigators found that Spitzer solicited high-priced call girls, but federal prosecutors typically do not prosecute clients of prostitution rings.

“In light of the policy of the Department of Justice with respect to prostitution offenses and the longstanding practice of this Office, as well as Mr. Spitzer’s acceptance of responsibility for his conduct, we have concluded that the public interest would not be further advanced by filing criminal charges in this matter,” Garcia said in a statement.

A remorseful Spitzer issued a statement in which he expressed relief that he will not face charges.

“I appreciate the impartiality and thoroughness of the investigation by the U.S. Attorney’s Office, and I acknowledge and accept responsibility for the conduct it disclosed,” he said. “I resigned my position as Governor because I recognized that conduct was unworthy of an elected official. I once again apologize for my actions.”

Spitzer was out of town and unavailable for further comment.

He resigned in March after it was disclosed he was referred to in court papers as “Client-9,” who spent thousands of dollars on a call girl at a swanky Washington, D.C., hotel on the night before Valentine’s Day.

Garcia said that Spitzer later revealed to investigators that on multiple occasions he arranged for women to travel from one state to another state to engage in prostitution.

The scandal ruined a promising political career for Spitzer, who won a landslide election in 2006 with a vow to clean up corruption. He has remained out of the spotlight since his shocking resignation, spending time with his wife and three daughters, working for his father’s real estate business and occasionally being photographed running in Central Park.

The lawyer for Ashley Alexandra Dupre, the former call girl whose tryst with Spitzer sparked the investigation, said she’s glad the matter is resolved.

“She’s going to move on with her life,” attorney Don D. Buchwald said.

Authorities could have charged Spitzer with violating the Mann Act, a federal law that bans carrying women or girls across state lines for “prostitution or debauchery, or for any other immoral purpose.” But the legal experts say the law is rarely used to prosecute johns.

“I would have been more surprised had he been charged,” said Elkan Abramowitz, chief of the criminal division in the U.S. attorney’s office in Manhattan in the 1970s. “Once they determined that he didn’t use state or campaign money but apparently must have only used his personal money, I am not surprised they decided not to prosecute.” …

http://www.denverpost.com/breakingnews/ci_10916858

Mark it down now; here the MSM’s planned political resurrection of Eliot Spitzer begins.

http://sweetness-light.com/arc.....ent-123297

Obama’s record on firearms triggers run on sales in state

By Jason Blevins and Nancy Lofholm
11/06/2008

GRAND JUNCTION — John Faulkner and his wife, Brenda, thought Wednesday was a good day to buy a handgun.

“I’m 37 years old, and this is the first time in my life that I am really scared for our future,” said Faulkner, an oil field worker, as he perused the collection of weaponry in A Pawn Shop here.

At Aurora’s Firing Line gun shop, Steve Wickham was also purchasing. “Anything I can get my hands on,” he said as he cradled a $699 9mm handgun.

Same thing in Lakewood: “I was selling guns before I even opened the door,” said George Horne, owner of The Gun Room. “It’s gone completely mad. Everyone is buying everything I’ve got on the shelves. Sales have been crazy.” …

http://www.denverpost.com/breakingnews/ci_10910395

Yall best get them while you can. Also stock up on all the ammo you can get since that will be the easist to ban.