Minor Surgery Can Be Big Deal for Aging Politicians
You know Jerry Brown still has better than three years left
in his term as governor if he’s willing to take time off for surgery. And admit
it.
Sure, it was just a low-rent, low-risk skin cancer the
governor had removed from his nose last week. And there are plenty of people
who would rather undergo surgery than spend a weekend at the state Democratic
Convention.
But when you’re 73, the oldest man ever to hold California’s
top job and at least looking at the possibility of winning a second (or fourth)
term in office come 2014, you can be forgiven if you’d rather stay in seclusion
for a few days to avoid those inevitable photos of a man looking bandaged,
hurting and, just possibly, old.
Investing in education will keep California on the Road to Recovery
Gino
DiCaro of the California Manufacturers and Technology Association calls me out here for not being understanding enough
about the plight of his bosses in the California manufacturing sector.
His
beef is with a recent piece in which I pointed out that
employment growth in California last year actually outpaced the nation if you
remove the effect of government layoffs and ongoing problems in the
construction industry, which was particularly hart hit by the collapse of the housing
market in California.
Legislators Should Not Wear Badges, Either
Citizens in Charge strongly opposes any legislation requiring state legislators in California to wear—whenever speaking to members of the public—a large badge on their chests, which must read in no smaller than 30-point type, “Member of the California Assembly” or “Assemblymember” or “State Senator” or “Member of the California Senate.”
We also disagree with making legislators wear a large badge that reads in no smaller than 30-point type, “Paid Member of the California Assembly” or “Paid State Senator.”
In fact, we oppose mandating that any citizen of the United States of America must wear any large badge or sign on their chest in order to participate in public speech—regardless of what the government might require be printed on such a placard. Additionally, we do not favor labels for paid or volunteer door-to-door canvassers or campaign managers or campaign volunteers or even for high-priced advertising gurus.
Welcome to 21st Century Algebra – There’s an app for that!
There’s no shortage of difficult news when it
comes to California schools. But amidst the budget shortfalls and funding
challenges is a tremendous achievement. California students are making history,
introducing America to the future of instruction.
Since last September, over 400 eighth grade
students have been part of a pilot study, using Houghton Mifflin
Harcourt’s award winning Holt McDougal Algebra 1 core curriculum on
an iPad. In Long Beach, San Francisco, Fresno and Riverside Unified School
Districts, students are learning algebra with the fully interactive HMH FuseTM: Algebra 1
App for iPad.
"HMH is transforming content delivery and the
overall learning experience to take advantage of the iPad environment as well
as alternate digital device platforms. These apps aren’t just digitized copies
of a textbook," said Mike Lavelle, Education Group President, HMH. "HMH Fuse‘s
interactive format takes students to the cutting edge of innovative 21st
century instruction. It represents the next era of digital education."